I will finally put Android through its proper paces soon.

I posted a picture to Google+, which is to say, I’ve been really trying to start using the service again. However, this particular picture is the start of something more than simply trying to start using Google+ a lot more.

51963e85d535cf295d000012

Yep. I bought a Nexus 4 from the Google Play store. I intend to transplant the micro-SIM from my iPhone 4S to it for at least two straight weeks worth of testing.

In this test, I’m going to see if I enjoy the Nexus 4 enough to switch from the iOS app-ecosystem to the Android app-ecosystem. All indications are that I should be able to find a way to enjoy it and that it’s better than any iPhone and that I’m dumb for using an iPhone in the first place.

It should be arriving early next week. We’ll see what all the fuss is about, then.

The third of three posts regarding why I think the Mass Effect trilogy is great.

I’ve put off this post for a bit longer than the other two so that I could play a few other games with multiplayer modes to be able to put it into some sort of perspective. The multiplayer part of this post won’t be terribly long, because no one really plays it any more as the game has long passed its youth, in a way of speaking.

The third title presents an interesting change in the focus of these posts. Where, historically, the first two games’ mechanical and technical aspects have been stumbling blocks that negatively affect the title, this third game doesn’t have those issues and goes above and beyond the previous titles to a point where its shortcomings do not relate to the gameplay or the technical failings at all.

The story on the other hand… we’ll need to rant about that.

Continue reading →

A short rant about the state of WCS America.

To preface this rant: I’m just upset that the whole WCS thing feels rushed out the wazoo and that Blizzard is content to just sit back and throw money at folks who actually do most of the work. I have decided not to publish more scathing rants than this, if only because as much as I don’t like what’s going on (from what I know), I still want this all to succeed for the good of the game.

That having been said, let’s get on with the ranting.

Continue reading →

The second of three posts regarding why I think the Mass Effect trilogy is great.

In the previous post, I discussed the first of the three games in the Mass Effect trilogy. The combination of experiment and exposition made for an edgy take on the action RPG genre and the gaming community latched on to it. Its success prompted EA to make two sequels, the first of which we’ll discuss in a moment.

First, I’m going to chat a bit about the previous game played through as a renegade character. For those of you paying attention to the previous post, I didn’t mention how I completed the game and my take on the ending. I did this intentionally to avoid specific spoilers, although, I did pretty much outline how the game’s last sequences could differ, so why not just write about all the things?

Continue reading →

The first of three posts regarding why I think the Mass Effect trilogy is great.

While it sure seems that the whole of the gaming community is grabbing pitchforks and torches in response to the ruining of SimCity by Maxis and EA (completely evidenced by the game costing only $40 USD on Amazon only two weeks after its official launch), I have to say… damn, am I hooked on this Mass Effect property they have.

I picked up the Mass Effect Trilogy recently and after only spending maybe 30-40 minutes with the first title in the past, I think that it might have vaulted up to one of the top-10 gaming experiences that I can remember. It wasn’t just the gameplay of the titles, because let’s be honest, it was pretty rough at first but the way that the game’s story can be molded is pretty damn impressive.

Here’s the first part in a three part series on why I think the Mass Effect Trilogy is important.

Continue reading →

The best Old Spice ad mashup I’ve ever seen.

This minute-long mashup between a Super Mario 64 track and all of Terry Crews’ loudest performances combined is a piece of art that, I think, rivals the development of the ads used as the basis for the video.

Prolific remixer and YouTube star Mowtendoo is responsible for this creation. Super Spice Bros 2, originally intended to celebrate the original Super Spice Bros video reaching 1m views, has almost hit 900k views after over a month and a half of being online.

Blizzard pulls a Riot in Korea; Slasher makes a deal.

Nine o’clock rolled around last night and I fired up the LiveOnThree stream, as I had set an alarm to remind me to stop what I was doing and sit down to watch some esports history. Fingers crossed, I watched the start of the show. iNcontroL was brought in as a guest host and was a fairly cool customer for the opening segment. He might be a fan of other esports, but he knew he was there because of the Blizzard announcement and he kept his cool. For anything that followed, no one can blame him for anything.

Meanwhile, Slasher explains some of the other news that the show covers in its first forty-five minutes. Everything is fairly standard at this point and the ravenous crowd in the chat is waiting with bated breath for any SC2 news to come out of that Blizzard press conference.

Continue reading →