Wash your Hands Afterwards

I had to admit I was wrong a few weeks ago. I refused to accept any of the hype leading up to the launch of Starcraft 2 and I insisted that I wouldn’t buy it. That the game was simply a rehash of the original being that the style of the RTS is mostly unchanged and the majority of the units are identical. However, Starcraft is not pretending to be anything that it is not. Starcraft is a refinement of the classic RTS formula and the way the game has been updated graphically and the tweets to the units and introduction of new units have made the multiplayer balance almost perfect. It is the most fun RTS multiplayer experience I’ve had in a long time. Not intense. In terms of intensity Supreme Commander 2 far out shines Starcraft but Supreme Commander lacks the polish and refinement of Starcraft. It is a polish that only a company like blizzard can implement and it is difficult to put into words.  The multiplayer games have a flow and structure that is able to take the set amount of units and three races and make it infinitely complex and enjoyable. Each game becomes completely different even if you try and play it the same exact way. You need to adapt and change with the pace of the game, think and rethink what your opponent is doing.

The multiplayer infrastructure is also far superior to anything attempted outside of steam before. The matchmaking is fast and accurate, a feat many have promised in the past and no one has been able to deliver. Not to mention the rich campaign which features a non-linear storyline and some of the deepest story I’ve ever experienced in a real-time strategy game. I’ve been playing mostly multiplayer but desperately want to finish the campaign, It has become hard to juggle the two. >_<

I didn’t want the game, I want to make that clear, but after playing the seven hour trial I found myself wanting more and had no choice. For a great read on the history and growth of StarCraft check out this 1up article. If you want to add me to your friends list just use my email: Gundampilotspaz@gmail.com Now I have to go back to climbing the rankings.

I love messing with any kind of wallpaper on any kind of device but the wonderful screens on the iPhone 4 and iPad make it even more of a treat. After watching Evangelion 2.22 I have a new found obsession with the classic series and a love for the new character, Mari. Here are my current home and lock screens. I’m very proud of them.

» Read more…

It stated off where I was the son of the president in a haunted house. I saw some terrifying things but when I went to alert my father he was off limits because he was in a meeting. I remember the images were really gruesome, severed heads and the like.

The next part was so real that I reached the point where I didn’t believe it was a dream. The point where you start to reflect how the things that happened are going to affect the future and it becomes truly frightening. I was at an anime convention with friends and we didn’t want to spend money at the normal garage so we park in a strange place where the safety point is raising the car above the ground so criminals can’t get at it. I don’t remember it happening in the dream but stuff we bought at the con gets put into the car because we think it is “safe” but when we put everything inside the passenger side door falls off of the minivan. We can’t do anything about it so we shrug and raise the car again. When I return at a different point the entire van has been stripped down to the frame and, of course, all our things are gone.

A storm came out of no where today. It died down quickly but there were some of the hardest rains and strongest winds I’ve seen in a while. This storm caused some serious damage in Bridgeport when a tornado touched down.

Conan’s live show was fantastic, a real treat that came out of a rather unfortunate incident. The iPhone doesn’t resolve light well so many of them are washed out but the sound quality of the video is pretty good.

Click the jump for the videos.

» Read more…

I was one of the suckers who preordered the iPad and relieved it the day of release. I came back from Anime Boston on April 3rd, 2010 and the box was waiting for me. This is my first reaction to the device itself.

Back to school again. As sure as the rising of the sun it has to come again. But everytime it comes back it feels wrong. Unnatural. As if I’m not supposed to be there anymore. I’ve always had this feeling. The end of high school felt so final that returning to a class room setting is just strange. An unexpected second act.

I kind of blame my job. I blame my job for far too much but I think it made me grow up a little faster than I wanted too. I remember sitting in meetings reviewing product test plans with engeeniers and quality managers. I was a 19 year old kid. I should have been home playing video games insteading of evaluating medical software.

Since community college I’ve been planning, scheming up ideas to follow my dreams. Media companies mostly. I wanted to start them now and do something with my life. Create something, not sit in a classroom and be part of a 100 year old broken system. Be someone.

But in order to be someone I need to pass this test. This four year gauntlet.

I only come here when I’m in some kind of crisis. i should talk about my blog more or my plans for steamlining my life but I think the result will be the same.

I’ve stopped myself from buying an abundance of new games over the last few months believing that they would distract me from school since I was already playing Left 4 Dead 2 and Borderlands as well as trying to rewatch all of Battlestar Galactica. During those lulls where I did have time I have started to go back and play games I have never finished. The two specific ones being Shadows of the Colossus and Okami.

And no, I didn’t bite the bullet and buy Modern Warfare 2.