I almost regret having played MGS4 before working through my “Pile of Shame.” I fear they shall forever remain unbeaten! Damn you Kojima!! *shakes fist angrily in the air*

“Mad props” must be given to the folks over at Bethesda for their latest Fallout 3 trailer featuring the happy 50’s era family living in the “Home of Tomorrow.” The trailer did a wonderful job capturing the tone and atmosphere that is Vault-Tec! Also, I greatly appreciate the fact that the Vault-Tec phone number presented in the trailer is actually a working number, however nothing special happens after dialing it, just some funny comments by an outdated robotic voice asking you to please hold. Go ahead, give it a try! (1-888-482-8588)

Technorati Tags: E3, Fallout

It was the wee hours of the morning when I finally guided the most heroic old man I’ve ever known to meet his fate. An old man who, in his youth, single handedly took down the most skilled military unit in the country that went rogue after being taken over by a man with delusions of grandeur. A man who proved a single person can destroy a next-generation, nuclear weapon equipped, all-terrain, bi-pedal tank time and time again. He was no ordinary old man.

I knew his father and his mother, in fact I can honestly say I had a hand in their first encounter. She was a beautiful woman who could handle any situation thrown at her with an iron fist. His father was a strong leader, and an even stronger soldier with big ideas to create a world free of government oppression and control. A haven of sorts, for people to live out their lives with out fear. A place that could not be influenced or changed by the likes of evil men and their twisted ideas.

I guided him and witnessed the countless horrors and betrayals which he endured through out his life. This old man has traversed countless battlefields, witnessing first hand the depravity of man. His brother in arms and commander betrayed him for his own twisted purpose. His former unit turned against him in order to achieve a greater power. His two brothers plotted his demise and ruthlessly carried out their plans without remorse. No, this man had no life…he was dead from the beginning. His existence was merely to serve a purpose, to serve the very government who empowered the evil men he would later be sent to destroy.

To kill your commander, to kill the members of your unit, to kill both your brothers, to waste your youth on the endless battlefield, this is an impossible burden which no one man should be able to endure; yet this old man has lived through it all and is willing to keep fighting until he encounters his destiny, and finally earns some rest.

It was the wee hours of the morning when I finally guided this heroic old man to meet his fate. There he sat, alone in a graveyard, with a single bullet in the chamber. A gun, pointed directly into his mouth. This old man is tired, and has served his thankless purpose to the world…he is no longer needed, he is an obsolete relic of wars past. “War has changed,” his body is giving out, and an ungrateful nation survives yet another tragedy. A single gunshot is heard in the distance…this unheard of hero’s flame is extinguished. He has earned his rest.

Technorati Tags: Kojima, Metal Gear, MGS4, Old Snake, Solid Snake

This past Saturday, my day began way too early! 5:30 am is not exactly my preferred time to wake up on Saturday. In fact, I believe waking up that early on a Saturday should be a crime, but I digress.

A fellow martial artist, my father and I all agreed to take a “concealed handgun” course in order to earn our own certification to carry concealed handguns. The initial course is about 10 hours total, 8 or so being a typical lecture/classroom environment, while the other 2 was actual training and certification on a live firing range. At the end of the 10 hours course, a test was administered serving as the main means of “feedback” to ensure that we comprehended the material. Needless to say, everyone of us passed with flying colors both the written and the practical portions!

The basic class breakdown was like this:

1. the basic rules of any firearm, something most people this day and age should be familiar with.
2. rules of the firing range and how to handle our weapons while on the range.
3. (The best part in my opinion!) Using a handgun, we were tested at our firing proficiency at what I recall being 3, 9, and 12 yards.
4. Another couple hours of legal discussion. The two instructors made sure to cover the laws regarding concealed handguns, including but not limited to:

• places we can & can’t carry
• properly identifying yourself as a “Concealed Handgun License” (CHL) holder to a police officer.
• Rules regarding the use of “Deadly Force”; when & when we can/can’t use it legally.
• Legal ramifications for breaking any laws
• Suspense, Revocation, Expiration & Renewal of a CHL.

The instructor also explained to us exactly what to expect after having had to use “Deadly Force” on someone. Its not pretty, but if its your life or the life of a loved one on the line, then its totally worth protecting by any means!

Although some my disagree with carrying a concealed handgun, and I may rarely ever carry one, I still believe this 10 hour course and the certification was extremely valuable. Now all thats left is having to submit the paperwork to the proper authorities, and of course purchasing myself a new gun. (My old 1902 Colt .38 ACP is far too valuable to carry around and fire in this day and age.)

Technorati Tags: Concealed Handguns, Handgunes, Texas CHL

I have to be honest, when I first heard about a Get Smart movie, I wasn’t quite sure what to think. I had been let down before by the short lived Get Smart Again! series, ‘fool me once shame on you! Fool me twice’…well you get the idea.

Fast forward almost two years, and now this movie is poised to release in the coming weeks. The more previews I see for this movie, the more excited I become! The thought of having one of my favorite classic TV shows revisited and updated to fit into our current society excites me!

I was vaguely familiar with Steve Carrell’s work by association, some of my friends love his work. So in preparation for this release I’ve been watching some of Steve Carrell’s movies from the past few years. He seems like a very capable comedian, and I’ve grown to like his style. In fact, if I had to pick any current actor to portray Maxwell Smart, Steve Carrell would be the guy! Which of his works brought me to this conclusion? Dan in Real Life, and The 40-Year Old Virgin.

The ‘Cone of Silence’ gag has already been revealed in many of the movies trailers, but to this day I have yet to see a scene where Max is using his famous shoe-phone. The shoe-phone is a staple of the Maxwell Smart character, and it just wouldn’t be a proper remake without it .

A quick Google Image search reveals one screen capture of Steve Carrell using the phone. Don Adams, the original Maxwell Smart used his trusty shoe-phone to call CONTROL headquarters and update the chief on the current situation. The shoe-phone’s shoddy design required Max to insert a dime before making any outgoing calls, and the obnoxiously loud ring would constantly draw the attention of civilians and enemies alike to Max’s shoes. “Excuse me, your shoe is ringing.”

Its impossible to please everyone, and although I love the shoe-phone, I will be a little disappointed if the new “modern” shoe-phone isn’t something more. There is no justification for our beloved “Agent 86″, Maxwell Smart, to still be carrying around a rotary dialed shoe-phone in an age where cellphones, laptops, and wireless internet are all common place. Perhaps an “enhanced” shoe-phone with added functionality would be more appropriate. A mini super-computer shoe-phone or something of the sort would appease me, as long as it isn’t over done.

Technorati Tags: Don Adams, Get Smart, Shoe Phone, Steve Carrell

Upon initial impression "Age of Conan" is a beautiful looking MMO, no doubt about it! The promise of future support of DX10 effects via a "soon to be released" patch will only benefit an already gorgeous MMO. In an era where most MMO worlds look ages behind our current gen graphics, "Age of Conan" is an MMO graphical jewel.

The character creation screen is pretty robust for an MMO allowing you to make various small and large tweaks to your appearance, including several tattoos and scars. Of the several cultures to choose from, each has its own interpretation of the various basic fantasy RPG classes. I created a male Tempest of Set, which is the "spellcaster/healer/priest" class of the Stygian culture.

Every newly created character arrives in the city/state of Tortage after a devastating storm wipes out the slave ship you were serving on. It is here where you will learn to play the game and your class properly for the next 20 levels, give or take. Tortage is your typical "n00b" zone with your basic fetch quests, kill x number of this, and solve that mystery.

What really sets Tortage apart from other MMO starter cities is the well done voice over work for all your quest giving NPCs. Reading blocks of text explaining why sorcerer Y needs X number of frog tongues is not really my idea of "immersion." I demand voice overs for all MMO quest NPCs from this point forward!

Another very unique feature of Tortage is the ability to carry out story specific quests in your own private instance of the world (aka single player mode). The entire single player mode in Tortage takes place at night, while the multiplayer mode takes place during the day. This MMO single player mode for important story quests ensures that you will experience the story on your own without any griefers, or long periods of waiting for the quest item/enemy to respawn. This is an ideal way for my "lone wolf" styled play habits of most MMOs I play, while still maintaining the option to "group" and take on more "epic" challenges. Who really needs to group up to run fetch quests anyway?

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My main (and only) character at the moment is a level 22 Tempest of Set. This particular class is a spell caster/healer, which is my specialty in most other MMOs. "Age of Conan" has created a unique role for our healers/spell casters in this game. Gone are the days of standing in the back of the group spamming healing spells whenever needed. Instead, the Tempest of Set is actually made to be in the thick of battle going mano a mano against the strongest of enemies. At a certain level, in order for a Tempest of Set to maintain a sufficient mana pool and strengthen their heals/attacks, this class must inflict heavy damage to the enemies. This means a tempest’s ability to heal is directly linked to his ability to inflict damage!
*note: My character is level 22, and I have only experienced a very limited aspect of this class’s handling.

Unfortunately, my favorite aspects of "Age of Conan" came and went…the NPC voice overs seem to be present only in the starter city of Tortage, afterwards big blocks of text are all you get. I really hope Funcom is working on adding voice overs for all other areas/zones, but this seems like something that should have been present at launch.

Also, upon leaving Tortage, you will no longer have the ability to slip into "single player mode." This isn’t a big deal, but I was just getting used to the fact that I could isolate myself to my hearts content in an MMO and choose to experience the "massively multiplayer" aspect of this game on my own terms.

The gory, bloody combat system is another banner feature of the game which promised to make it stand out above all others. Every melee weapon in the game is controlled in what seems like ‘real time’ and instead of a generic "attack" button players are provided with three directional buttons in which to control their weapons with.

• The "Up" button swings your weapon in a downward slash, hitting any enemy directly in front of the player.
• The "Left" button swings your weapon in a left-to-right arc which damages any enemies besides or in front of a player.
• The "Right" button swings your weapon in a right-to-left arc which damages any enemies besides or in front of a player.

Enemies have an additional "shield" marking directly over, or to either side of their character, which indicates which side their armor/shielding is best at. Naturally, you want to strike an enemy on its weakest point, making the up/left/right buttons very useful for directing your precise strikes. Certain special abilities and strikes can be linked together to perform "combos" which inflict even more damage or various other bonuses.

Fatalities is a pretty major bullet point on the list of features this game sports. Every once in a while, your character will perform extra brutal executioner style "fatalities" on enemy NPCs. It seems that each type of weapon has its own unique fatality animation. Unfortunately, I cannot elaborate further on the fatality aspect of the game. It seems that a Tempest of Set rarely ever performs fatalities of any kind, and when the miracle fatality does occur, players have been left underwhelmed and disappointed by the mere electrical melting/disintegration of enemy NPCs seen below.

I still intend on playing "Age of Conan" for a while longer, but the post-Tartage let down after the initial awe of the coolest starter city I’ve played in is a huge deterrent for me. With the added fact that my chosen class seems to rarely experience the bloody, gore infested, fatality system, I might not be around more than a month or two. I really hope that the game starts to pick up during the higher levels and with the almost daily patches/fixes Funcom has been churning out since launch.

Technorati Tags: Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, Conan, Tempest of Set