What I’m consuming

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I haven’t done of these in a while, but I’m currently on travel in Maine and have a little time to work on this. Here is the media and entertainment I’ve been consuming lately.

My education in the Science Fiction and Fantasy “classics” continues, but I took a break to read A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trailby Bill Bryson. A very hilarious and thoughtful travelogue of a couple guys ill-fitted for the task of tackling the Appalachian Trail. Hysterical. Another side track I took was to read the classic The Richest Man in Babylon,the gold standard for teaching hard work and personal finance. I think everyone needs to read this book. I’m working on a list of books my kids will read as they grow up and this one will be at the top of that list.

Finally, I got back to the classic. I’m embarassed to say I had never previously read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.I recognize that HHGTTG has a place in the pantheon of Sci Fi classics, but I felt it was a tad overrated. Just a tad. It was good and had laugh-out-loud moments, but it wasn’t great. I then moved on to The Mote in God’s Eyeby Niven and Pournelle. I know I’m drawing from a shallow well at this point, but Mote is probably the best Sci Fi novel I’ve read. A story of the first contact of humans with aliens, it starts slow but finds a comfortable pace and is an excellent read. It strikes the balance between story and science that I like. It also had a “goose bump” moment that I had to go back a read multiple times. Hopefully you know what I’m talking about, a moment that takes a great book and elevates into rarefied air. (One of my favorite “goose bump moments” was in Crichton’s Timeline, when the students find the professor’s note, “Help me,” written 400 years in the past. I loved that moment.) I’m recommending The Mote is God’s Eye to anyone who’ll listen.

Having finished Mote, I’m now moving on to another couple of classics. I have both 1984 and Brave New Worldin the queue. Another book I’m ashamed to say I never read, 1984,was riveting (I just finished it) but a tad depressing. I’ve moved on to Brave New World and then it’s on to the stack of graphic novels Nat provided me with.

Not a whole lot new on the TV consumption. I’m still watching Prison Break and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Fox, and the trifecta of Earl/Office/30 Rock on Thursdays. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: 30 Rock is my favorite show on TV. We got hooked on Dexter earlier this year and we’re anxiously awaiting the next season (we’re catching it on CBS, as we don’t have Showtime).

On the music front, I haven’t been listening to much new stuff. The newest couple of groups I’ve been listening to have been Bodies Without Organs, a swedish Europop group I came across on last.fm. I can’t find much of their stuff on iTunes or Amazon, but YouTube has a lot of their stuff (my favorite being “Chariots of Fire“). Another group I recently start listening to is Clutch. I love the lead singer’s voice, and any band that performs a song called “What Would a Wookies Do?” is hard to pass up.

So that’s quite a bit. Hopefully I can do these more regularly so I don’t have so much to catch up on. I’ll let the other guys chime in, as well.

I’d like to know what have you been consuming?

(Image Credit: Stacks from Patrick Gray Illustration’s photostream)

November 18, 2008 | Filed Under Entertainment | 5 Comments

Impressions Galore

You’d think I’d talk a little more about games, seeing how this is a video game blog and all. So now that I’ve poured a few hours into some games, let’s talk:

Fallout 3

This goes beyond the regular first impressions, I’ve logged almost 20 hours. First things first, Fallout 3 is a GREAT game. I’m not going to go through the superlatives. It’s good. It is not without hiccups, but overall it is excellent.

The game is an explorer’s heaven. If you’re like me, you have to open every door and open every container and look in every corner. If your front door is left unlocked (or not), I’m coming in. Some people refer to this as kleptomania. So be it. In Fallout 3, it’s survival. The explorer itch is scratched over and over. In fact, it’s starting to hurt and get red. There is just so much to see. You could be heading to a specific location and take two hours to get there as you look around, take on new missions and find boxes to open. I can’t miss a thing.

The story starts off slowly and I really didn’t care much for the characters at first but things are getting interesting. The world they have crafted feels real without being realistic, if that makes sense. Seeing the dilapidated Washington Monument was jarring. There’s something about seeing a familiar sight and something not being right. Well done, Bethesda.

There are problems, things that aren’t deal breakers, but issues nontheless. My biggest issue is with the NPCs. I believe Oblivion suffered from some of these issues. First off, most are terrifying to look at. Character models are not this game’s strong suit. Their interactions with me, the Vault 101 guy, also leave something to be desired. One minute they’re rushing up to me in town, telling how happy they are for what I’ve done, and giving me the goods. Two seconds later they hate me. What gives?

I mentioned the game looks good, but whatever you do, DO NOT go third person. The game suddenly looks markedly worse. Game-play is mostly on the level. Character progression is well paced and the variety of skills are expansive. Combat isn’t terrible, either. This isn’t a shooter,. I love the VATS targeting system. Unloading my minigun on some Super Mutant’s head is very satisfying.

If I had to guess, I’d say I’ve made moderate progress in the “actual story”. That might not seem much, having played so much already, but I’m okay with that. I’m in no hurry for this game to end.

Gears of War 2

I enjoyed the first Gears. It wasn’t my favorite, but it was a fun game and didn’t take itself too seriously. The sequel (or as Nat calls it, expansion) takes what was fun in the first one and makes everything better and tighter. The core game hasn’t changed. Gears of War 2 lives up to its expectations.

Thing is, it’s almost too polished. Gears of War 2 is the video game equivalent of Pop Music. It is expertly produced, aimed directly at it’s core market (18-34 y/o males), glamorizes a particular lifestyle, and is narrowly focused. It doesn’t take a lot of risks. I guess it really doesn’t need to.

In the end, I’m enjoying quite a bit what I’ve played so far. most of my time has been spent playing the main story. Everything I’ve read about the multiplayer games has me really excited to dip into those waters. I gave Horde Mode (survival mode) a try with split-screen co-op, and this mode resonates strongly with me. I can see this be the beginning of a long relationship.

Disgaea DS

Let me be brief here. Here is a game where the level cap is 9,999. My main character is level 8. It is a strategy RPG (read: portable crack). It may or may not have a story. It has exploding penguins.

I will be playing this for a long time.

Boom Blox

I grabbed this one on a whim, needing to justify ownership of my Wii. The idea is simple — there’s a stack of blox, knock them over with a ball. Simple. I figured the kids would dig on it pretty good. Turns out both kids really like the game. In fact, my little 3 year-old is quite the Boom Bloxer. Not sure if this is a keeper, but it will provide plenty of Wii gaming.

Phew. There’s quite a bit on my plate right now, with more to come.

November 13, 2008 | Filed Under NDS, WII, X360 | 3 Comments

Chariots of Failure

I can not stop laughing trying to figure this game out.

November 11, 2008 | Filed Under Casual Games | 8 Comments

You look tasty, Mr. Bubbles!

I usually leave the video-game-food-blogging to the other sites, but this was too cool to pass up:

(Bioshock Big Daddy & Little Sister bento! from kickintheheadcomic’s Flickr Photostream)

November 8, 2008 | Filed Under Blogging | 4 Comments

Weekend Gaming

After seeing Brock’s over-flowing stack of games, I wanted to know what people are playing this weekend. I’ve got Fallout 3, Disgaea DS and (when it shows up) Gears of War 2.

This looks like it’s going to be one of the first crummy-weather weekends of the fall, so I’m planning on getting in as much gaming as I can.

What will you be playing?

November 7, 2008 | Filed Under Blogging | 8 Comments

As if I didn’t have enough already to play…

Now I have this to deal with.

November 6, 2008 | Filed Under X360 | 6 Comments

Little Big Street Fighter?

Saw this the other day perusing some blogs over at CAG. CAG blogger RelentlessRolento has put together a pretty cool looking marionette Street Fighter game in Little Big Planet. Very cool.

I’m gonna got out on a limb and predict this Little Big Planet game is going to be something special.

November 5, 2008 | Filed Under PS3 | 2 Comments

October in Review

Where does the time go? Yet another month has come and gone.

This has been Buttonmashing Dot Com’s best month since I’ve been doing this. With the addition of new bloggers and increased activity, we had 36 posts 186 comments. Traffic increased 10% month over month. Hopefully this trend continues. I’m still working on a fairly big project, just putting the finishing touches on it. We think you’re going to like it.

Here are the top eyeball getters:

5. Dead Space [360] - First Impressions
4. October Releases
3. Halo 3 Recon
2. Fable II - Am I missing something?
1. Game Review - Dead Space [Xbox 360]

Previously, on Buttonmashing

A year ago, we were witnessing some tender moments in Halo 3.
Two years ago, I came to the sad realization that I may never get the Survivor Achievement in Dead Rising.
Three years ago it was all about Guild Wars.
Four years ago I was getting the first links to my blog. Man, what a feeling that was.

Strange, funny searches

None this month, I’m behind on my honey to-do list

November is Gamer’s Paradise. Won’t you join us?

November 5, 2008 | Filed Under Blogging | 1 Comment

WRU?

I miss Foton.

That is all.

November 3, 2008 | Filed Under Blogging | Leave a Comment

November Releases

It’s the monthly releases, yay hurray!

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Week of November 4th
Gears of War 2 - Yes, I want Gears of War 2. No, I do not have time to play it. Yes, I don’t care. It’s been moved to the top of my Gamefly queue. We’ll see what happens when it arrives.
Gears of War 2 Amazon.com Exclusive Lancer - What’s that they say about nerds and their money?
Tom Clancy’s EndWar
Bond 007: Quantum of Solace
WWE Smackdown vs Raw ‘09
Legendary- Casualty #1 of this stacked season.
Secret Service: Ultimate Sacrifice- I know nothing about this game, but with a name like “ultimate sacrifice,” I’m guessing that the goal of the game will be to die in the line of service. I hope it’s not an RPG. And I hope the first assignment isn’t to the first lady’s dog or something. That wouldn’t be very fun.

Week of November 11th
Call of Duty: World at War- I haven’t played many of the CoD games, I don’t see me starting now.
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
Mirror’s Edge- It’ll be tough, but I’m definitely making time for this game.
PES 2009 Pro-Evolution Soccer
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe- Ehergeiz is chomping at the bit for this one.
Blitz: The League II
Shaun White Snowboarding- Not sure it makes sense to get this unless you can play it on the Wii-fit board.
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3- Casualty #2. It’s a shame, I’ve been hearing good things about this one.

Week of November 18th
Left 4 Dead- So very much looking forward to this one. VERY MUCH.
Tomb Raider Underworld
The Last Remnant- Sad about not having a chance to play this one right away, if at all.
Need for Speed: Undercover
Lips
Naruto: The Broken Bond
Karaoke Revolution: Presents American Idol Encore 2 w/Microphone- Casualty #3… JUST KIDDING!
You’re in the Movies

Week of November 25th
Stoked
Sonic Unleashed

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Week of November 4th
Monster Lab
NPPL Championship Paintball 2009
Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine
Bond 007: Quantum of Solace

Week of November 11th
MLB Superstars
Imagine Party Babyz- Candidate for creepy box art of the month.
Rock Revolution
Big League Sports- If they manage to make a game similar to Wii Sports, I want it.
FaceBreaker
WWE Smackdown vs Raw ‘09
Call of Duty: World at War
Tales Of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World- Is there no end to these Tales games?
Hasbro Family Game Night
Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels- You know you’re going to buy it, you Star Wars Nerd.

Week of November 18th
Animal Crossing: City Folk- I know this is going to be the exact same game as Animal Crossing on both the Gamecube and the DS. I know I’m going to run errands for a bunch of moronic animals that I’ll grow to hate. I know I’ll owe Tom Nook (who I also hate) an exorbitant mortgage. And yet I am compelled to buy this game. HELP ME.
Championship Foosball- No, that is not a typo.
Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party
Shaun White Snowboarding
Sonic Unleashed
Cooking Mama World Kitchen
Castlevania Judgment
Skate It
Tomb Raider Underworld

Week of November 25th
Ultimate Band
King of Fighters Collection- The Orochi Saga
Cake Mania: In the Mix!

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Week of November 4th
Guitar Rock Tour
Monster Lab
Dragon Ball: Origins
Exit
Bond 007: Quantum of Solace
Tom Clancy’s EndWar

Week of November 11th
Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled
Guinness Book of World Records: The Video Game- Going for the record for most suckers to buy a lame video game?
Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia
Star Wars The Clone Wars: Jedi Alliance
Amazing Adventures: The Forgotten Ruins
Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff- “Take me back, to the place, where I once belonged.”
Call of Duty: World at War
Avatar: The Last Airbender-Into the Inferno
WWE Smackdown vs Raw ‘09
Populous- Tempting, but no.

Week of November 18th
Animal Boxing- Not the greatest name for a game, but I’ve heard this is actually a fun game. Maybe the sleeper of the Holiday? I think you hold the DS upside down with this title. Sounds interesting.
Robocalypse (Nintendo DS)
Luminous Arc 2
Cradle of Rome
Metal Slug 7
Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party
Tomb Raider Underworld
Moon
Skate It
Need for Speed: Undercover
Tony Hawk’s Motion

Week of November 25th
Age of Empires: Mythologies
Chrono Trigger - Oh yes, she will be mine.

I’d just like to point out that I’m linking probably 25% of the new DS titles coming out this month. There are literally dozens of “Imagine Babyz”, “Petz” and “Cooking” games I’m skipping over. It’s ridiculous.

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