Monthly Archives: February 2009

[  Mood: Cool ]
[  Currently: Watching the Watchmen! ]
I’m very thankful for 2-D games.

Without them, my wife and I would never play videogames together.

We’ve spent many hours pummeling the minions of Smash TV, Galaga, and Golden Axe, and many more shattering the jewels of Luxor 2, Hexic HD, or Bejeweled 2. Unfortunately, some of those games don’t have a 2-player co-op option, so we end up handing the controller back and forth between us, or waiting until the other person’s turn is up before blasting the (insert enemy noun here) back to hell, or wherever they’ve come from.

See, my wife suffers simulation sickness when she watches me play more than a few minutes of just about any FPS, so I’m playing games alone a lot. Funny thing is, if you’d met me a little over ten years ago, I’d have been ranting about what a waste of time and energy those games are. Ah, how time changes the perspective.

Ironically, the games I play most often are Pac-Man Championship Edition or Jewel Quest (I’m ready for Jewel Quest 2 on the Xbox Live Arcade, Microsoft!), but since I’ve gotten all the achievements for both, I suppose a bit of the thrill is gone.

Just a few short years ago, I played the Halo: Combat Evolved campaign, on Legendary, almost everyday (It’s a great way to relieve stress).

I’ve lived this moment 25+ times, and loved it, every one:

My dear wife used to watch regularly, and since it was the game I played most, she got used to seeing the way I moved Master Chief on the screen, but she was never able to play the game herself. (An aside: after playing though over 20 times, Halo 2 finally came out, and while the sequel was enjoyable, Legendary difficulty was punishing to me, and I’m not proud to admit I never beat the game on that setting. I’m still working on Halo 3’s hardest natural difficulty (and I dount I’ll face down Mythic anytime soon).)

First person shooters are simply not her forte, but get her into a game of Galaga, Luxor 2, or Feeding Frenzy, and her top score will trounce my best effort by thousands of points.

I enjoy the few videogames my wife and I can play together, but when we get into the arena of competition (e.g., opposed to the co-operative nature of Smash TV), she gets absolutely vicious, and I’m often the sorest loser.

The competition is most evident in the board games we play. I should just concede her victory when we sit down to the table–heck, when we get the boxes out–to play Dominoes, Sorry, or Marvel Heroes Monopoly, but I know, when I can connive her into a game of Battleship or Chess, I’ll emerge victorious.

I hope.

This blog entry is just one of many on this subject…
You could be doubling alone
Next Gen Killed Our Gaming Relationship
Forced PerspectivePlaying With My Toys
From Gaming Geek to Heroes Freak
My Lady and Gaming
Gaming with your significant other
Gaming Together, Maybe?
Girl Gamers = Hawt
Gaming with my significant other
Move Over Hott Boy, I Want to Play
‘Til Mongoose Mowdown Do Us Part

You’ll also find an awesome fellow Halo fan here.

[  Mood: Sick ]
Halo, Halo, Halo.

I’m a big Halo fan, evinced here, for those who missed it.

As I write this I’m wearing one of my Halo hats…like this one, but cooler, because I got mine direct from Bungie (makers of all things Halo until they broke free of Microsoft’s silky bondage to forge their own path). Getting direct from the makers of the game sadly, is no longer an option, since their webstore has closed. This doubly pisses me off, as the cool keychain I had (a gift from my wife, THE sweetest woman in the world) broke, leaving me to use an old McDonald’s keychain I found in a thrift store.

I’d very much like that webstore to reopen, so I can continue opening my wallet for the boys and girls at Bungie to plunder it. I’m going to need new mugs soon, dammit! Like the one you can find here, but better, because Actual Halo artists worked on the products, and the art wasn’t pasted on a regular mug, Cafe Press-style. The mugs I have are colored blue (first set, circa 2003) and orange (gaudy but great, circa 2007), and satisfy a Grunty thirst, for those few readers who may be familiar with this Halo easter egg.

Today is a sad day, though. I’ve learned that Marvel has done something I’m having a hard time excusing. Those fine fellows who entertained me with X-Men, Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man movies; who showed surprising cojones in hiring pulp writer Charlie Huston to resuscitate the Moon Knight franchise; who’ve partnered with Bungie on the brilliant Halo Graphic Novel; what have they done now?

This.

I guess it makes perfect sense. Marvel couldn’t finish the first series of Halo comics, meant to bridge the gap between the games Halo 2 and Halo 3 (the fourth and final issue of that series is due…this year? We’ll see), so why not start not one, but TWO new Halo comic series? That’ll take those Halo fans’ minds off the horrendous gaffe! I’ll say this for them: Brian Michael Bendis isn’t attached, so perhaps they have a chance of releasing on time…

I won’t know, though, because Marvel has soured me so much on the Halo comic book front, with the repeatedly promised and delayed "bridge" comic between Halo 2 and 3, and the horrific realization that, when those issues did arrive (the first over a month AFTER Halo 3 came out), they weren’t worth the paper they were written on, let alone my hard earned cash. Bendis concentrates (present tense, because at this rate, this four issue series may never end) on the story of two humans caught in the invasion of Earth by Covenant forces. Excellent angle. With Michael Bay producing, I believe it could have been AWESOME. With Bendis at the helm, we get crappy dialogue and a convoluted plot about a hotel concierge who meets and falls in love with a Madonna(the pop star)-like character who rings about as true as a dinner fork with busted tines.

The new Halo series may be good simply because Bendis won’t be involved. Hell, they may even be on time! But each time I consider the news of these new series, I can’t help but hear the gentle refrains of The Who…