Lets get this blog machine a rollin’

WOW! It has been a LOOOOOONG time, even by my standards. So whats up internet. School started so everything has been very busy. Plus, I have been getting my hands into some new projects/hobbies the past couple of weeks. Let us kick this all off with some game related stuff.

First, I bought Fat Princess. I haven’t played too much of it. It is quiet a lot of fun and I plan to get together with my buddies from the Syndicate. These are a great bunch of guys i teamed up with about the time Killzone 2 launched. On an additional note i have been playing through Ninja Gaiden Sigma from my gamefly list and i forgot how fun this game was. Last time i rented it i never got very far because a big release came out i just had to get but now that I have returned I am loving it. I miss games with grueling difficulties. What I love about it is that although its hard, it doesn’t quiet seem unfair to me. It always feels like i can do better and eventually, I do. I find the experience extremely satisfying.

I also beat Quake 2 for like the 6th or 7th time, go me. If you don’t know Quake 2 is pretty much my favorite shooter of all time. Why? I just think its damn fun. It is not terribly story heavy, yet still feals like you are progressing through a unvierse. Sort of like the original half life (but not quiet as amazing and deep) yout ake int he story and the universe simply by being there. Very little is told to you. You crash on the strogg planet during a massive assault and now as one of the few surviving Marines you must forge a bloody path to open up the planet to the main assault and eventually destroy the Strogg leader. I love it.

Champions Online has launched, and I have purchased the game. I loved City of Heroes, and for me, Champions is just a more advanced and sophisticated CoH like experience. I think the game is fantastic. Sadly I probably wont be able to renew my subscription since i am in between jobs at the moment but i have a new job lined up in the near future so here is to hoping i get hired and can continue to bring the beat down with my gunslinger bounty hunting bad ass of a super hero.

Last bullet point on gaming here. Direct2Drive is having a celebration for its 5th birthday. For the next 5 weeks they will be selling select games for only 5 dollars. if you have a computer that can run stuff you should go check it out. Some of the games are kinda old (X-Com pack of all the old X-com games) and some are more recent (Bioshock and Saints Row 2) but regardless there are some good deals in there. I personally picked up Saints Row because I only rented it and never got to finish it. To me Saints Row 2 was a fantastic little break from GTA IV and its… overly realistic atmosphere. Saints Row is over the top and just fun. However I need to get my ps3 controller hooked up because driving with the keyboard is not happening, at all.

Now, on to other important matters. As you guys probably remember I was talking abut a new guitar….

well hereis my new Schecter C-1 classic

I’m happy with it. Plays great, sounds great, feels great, looks great, how can I complain. I don’t have much to say ont he gutiar itself but i can say this. I currently play in a band called Jigawatt. I play guitar and sing and thats all fine and dandy. Very ****c rock inspired metal. Now, I wanted something a little mroe modern. Let me introduce all of you to…… ALL HAIL THE CRIMSON KING! (AHTCK! for short) Now my real name is Darren but i am credited as Orlandun on there. It was a misunderstanding that is now a running joke I guess, haha. Regardless I think the songs on there are awesome. i am not playing on thsoe recordings but I will be on future recordings. WE plan to start doing shows in the LA area soon. Check us out and if you like us spread the word around. THE AHTCK HAS BEGUN!

Finaly, one last thing to add to the list. In a moment of weakness and good deals I bought the Black Reach starter set with my cousin (we weant half ad half) and for 25 bucks I got a starting army of Orks for Warhammer 40k. The past couple of weeks I have been painting nd for not really have painted before I’m quiet proud. I original primed them black but form what I am hearing i am gonna try priming in white and hopefully that will make things look a bit brighter and better where i want it too. Here is a couple shots of my handy work.

I am particularly proud of this Nobs head. The eyepiece and the highlights look awesome. I wanna try and see if i can get a more glass like effect on that targeter but other than that i think its going fairly well. I did add a teal color on his arms that i am using on my higher ranking Boyz to signify how bad ass they think they are, it actually looks really good but i haven’t taken pics yet. If you guys want i can post more.

Well that’s a nice update on what’s going on with me. Also, I am going to start doing a blog on word press that should be updated more often. I plan to sort of link it up with AHTCK! but it will be about the same thing you see here. Me talking about random music and games but I won’t feel as obligated to talk about just gaming related stuff. Thanks for reading guys. This blog isn’t going away I will try and update both at the same time. You can see the new blog here.

Until next time, stay frosty!

Up Down Left Right (and a little on FF 13)

After the epic blog i just posted on my comic book adventures and my metal rant ill give you guys something a little more digestible. First off is a little announcement mentioned int he last blog. I have recently become a member of a gaming blog and podcast known as Up Down Left Right A B Start. Starting with episode 002 I ahve joined the podcast and we have recorded one additional podcast reffering to the Sony and Nintendo Press Conferences as well as written a write up or what went down. I’m excited to be part of this little project seeing as it is the kind of thing i have always wanted to do. Right now it is something very small but I ask that you guys check out the podcast and give me your thoughts. If you like it please reccomend us to your friends

Also i have my own wordpress blog but it will rpetty much mimic what i ahve here. You can find that at this link

Now for something with a little more meat on it. As many of you alreayd know Microsoft announced FF13 for hte 360. Obviously this is pretty big news and a bit of a blow to the Sony loyalists. However the amount of BS being thrown around on the net over the issue is rediculous. Although I won’t play down that this is a signicant blow to Sony this sin’t something to start claiming victory over. Do you people realize that your saying you won becuase you know have a multiplat title? On top of that a multiplat title that won’t be coming to the 360 untill long after it has landed on the PS3? If i recall correctly they said they wouldn’t start working on the 360 verison till the PS3 verisonw as done.

Not to mention this is one of those events that brings the worst out of the fanboys on the internet. So some Sony fans used to tout a exclusive sequel. Now you return their snobery with even MORe snobbery? Over a multiplat? Please people if anything you guys should just be happy your getting the game. Many of the poeple I see being the biggest jerks over the whole issue mention they don’t even really care about the game, this is just stupid and immature. this is one of the reasons i left the system wars forums in the first place.

The thing you poeple should really be talking about is why Microsoft showed 80% multiplat games at their conference. You should also be discussing how many more sony had at theres. I think the announcement of a potentially magnificant game and idea from Zipper Interactive known as MAG carries a lot more weight as a exclusive title then any multiplat announcement for the 360, even FF13. Think about these things people. Your claiming victory over a tie. A DAMN TIE. This isn’t a win, its a stalemate. Don’t make it look like it is something it is not.

Of Mayhem and Comic Books

This was originally posted on my gamespot blog but i figured i would use to jump start the wordpress feed here.

Alright i know this blog is a tad late. I meant to post the next day from my last one but as you can see it didn’t happen. there are a couple reasons for that. First of which i will be talking about further down the blog. The second of which will come in a little announcement once i get past a little technical issue.

Now as i mentioned before i have been sucked into the world of card games once again by the evil strands of randomization and fun damage to be had. However in order to get to the golden fortress that holds the prized pieces of art covered slaps of card stock i have to run one through one of the most challenging of perils, the infamous Comic Book Shop.

Now i don’t want to sound like these places are bad. But have oyu ever been to one? I don’t know about most others but BAses Cards and Comics where i live is an absolute nerdy wonderland. Decked from wall to wall in awesome posters from all corners of the geek world, collectible toys (such as the Mcfarlane toys and other geeky little brands), and collectible cards from everything from I love Lucy to Star Trek ( you wish i was joking). I have to fight the urge with every footstep not to fall to my knees as i cry out in anguish, throwing the contents of my wallet at the cashier as my self control is smashed by the awesomeness that stands before me. Then we have the comics, my god the comics. From Transformers to Captain America to Led Zeppelin, everything can be found in a place like this. All i can do is gaze in delight at the secrets to be found in such a wonderland of geeky pleasures. For the first two isits i managed to control myself and keep it too eye of Judgment cards and Star Wars Minis Booster pack. However on Friday i snapped as i discovered that they carried one of my major weaknesses….. Warhammer 40,000. For a little background i ahve read around 25 books or so from the warhammer universe. From the adventures of Kal Jericho in Nechromunda (whom inspired the fictional character spawned for the Dark Fantasy Universe known as….. Orlandun), to the tales of the fantasy based series of The Blackhearts serving Lord Manfred of Altdorf. I absolutely love the dark gritty setting of the universe. After buying the comic i was instantly sold as the orks dooped each other and talked like a bunch of drunk ogres with the collective I.Q. of about 13. The moment the lone Guardsman speaks of the Emperors protection i get all giddy at the prospects of reading more.

The money spending won’t end there, no. There are so many more comics to read from Kick Ass (highly recommended) to Spawn, to GI Joe Transformers (you read that right). The joys of a comic book shop are endless, and things only get better in the independent section. I suggest you go out and support your local comic book shop right now and show that there are still people out there who can appreciate this art form. Comic books are not doing so great right now and this is one art form that should never go away.

Now for the next half of the blog the subject is pretty basic. Its essentially just the events of sunday and the craziness that ensued that caused this late blog. It starts with a malfunctioning alarm clock and ends with a splitting headache, a lingering smell of burning plastic and the horrid taste of pepper spray.

First off i finally had enough money and a day off to go out and play airsoft for the first time in years. I had my brand new gun, a G&G replica of an H&K UMP sub machine gun, and brad new gear to tear up the competition. We planned to leave at about 8 and get there at about 9:30 (games generally start about 10:30) but we didn’t arrive till about, ooooooooh, 10:30. What happened is the googlemap directions we had happened to go through a road that no longer existed, this was a problem. Now where i live the entire city is a big grid. If you can count and know the alphabet you can get ANYWHERE in the city no problem. However, although in the same general Area, Victorville is not in a grid. It’s a crazy twisty mess swerving about small foothills and dried up river beds. We spent an hour driving in circles until we finally managed to figure out that where we needed to go was along the train tracks and used that knowledge to follow them to our destination.

When we got there we played until 3 PM with about 16 total players in an area that was essentially a destroyed city full of small buildings and some random bunkers. We had an absolute blast and despitethe heat managed to keep fairly hydrated, although i had a hell of a time keeping sweat from drowning my eyes in searing pain. Also for some reason Quiquexbs wanted me to mention in here, so here it is. Anyway Desert Fox Field in victorville California was a great place to go and i was happy to give them my five dollar donation when i left, next time ill give more.

So we got out of there on time but due to the road work it took an extra 20 min to get home which drastically cut into the delicate time schedule of te rest of the days events. Mayhem fest. If you don’t know Mayhem fest is basically Ozzfest without Ozzy with the big one this year being Dragonforce, Disturbed, and Slipknot at the main stage.

After i dropped Rob off at home i made a mad dash into the house yelling t my friend shawn to be at my house in fifteen minuets. I ran into the house throwing the ice chest down in the living room and ran up stairs stripping off clothes to take the quickest shower of my life and get out the door. Further delays came up as we couldn’t get the proper google map directions working and my id was nowhere to be found. Finally 20 min later then i wanted to we were at the door and picking up one of my co workers and we were off. But THEn we had to pick up his cousin whos ride ditched him. It was no problem since it was on the way and just off the freeway, but still another bump int he road. He was a great kid though, about my age and really easy going.

We finally make it to the show and the $6.66 lawn tickets are actually 17.50 after the service and venue fees and we all annoyingly coughed up the cash to get in. On the inside it was a sight to behold. I have never attended Ozzfest or anything even close to something this size and it was certainly a site to see. WE walked in during Dragonforce and hearing everyone cheer at “through the fire and flames” was absolutely awesome, sending chills up your spine. However the real show didn’t start until Disturb took the stage.

Now I am more of a Euro metal head then anything else but Disturbed and Slipknot hold a special place for me as two of the bands that next to Blind Guardian shaped my taste in music and metal. Looking at my taste in music many are shocked to realize i am as big of a Slipknot fan as I am, but for some reason there first album strikes a chord with me that can only be beaten by blind Guardian. And next to them Disturb has always impressed me, in particular the singers voice. That guys voice cuts through he air like a knife, its amazing. A event like Ozzfest is quiet a site to see. It brings out the best and the worst in metal heads. Yesterday i saw everything from garbage bonfires in the lawn area, to people getting airlifted out from fight injuries. AT one point a riot almost broke out next to us. Nearby somebody got hurt, im assuming from a fight. Security gathered around the guy in a circle to keep people from coming back for a second round and the crowd was drawn to the scene like flies to a bug zapper. We were on the outskirts of the crowd but cuold still see to the center and people were throwing trash and yelling at the security guards. Eventually about 20 people decided to start a circle pit to the non existant music around security and thats when the pepper spray went off. We quickly backed away but got some of the stuff that spread through the air. As security dragged the injured man off the lawn area (we were right by the exit) the cops came rushing in at the screaming angry metal heads who chased them off wielding their batons. I don’t think anyone got hit but it easily could have exploded and there would be little they could do. By the end of the night the smell of burning plastic was thick in the air mixed with cigarettes and weed to create a toxic cloud of epic proportions. Three people got their port potties tipped and two guys wrestled each other to the ground during slipknots set. Yet in all of this chaos you find what i come to conerts for. The brotherhood of metal heads all there for one reason. When Disturbed’s frontman comes on stage and shouts “My Brothers My Sisters My Blood” and the crowd replies with tens of thousands of fists as the horns are p[resented in unison, its a site to behold. Disturbeds “Ten Thousand Fists” is an anthem that brings over 20 thousand people together as their fists rise at the climax of the chorus and you hear the roar of the crowd as they all chant in unison. You don’t see this anywhere else. When you look at those wild seemingly out of control mosh pits and watch a man fall over only to see ten guys form a wall to protect him as they get him back to his feat, pat him on the back, and continue to smash into one another. Its something i can’t even begin to describe how it feels. I’m no mosher, i tend to be in front or on the edge of the pit, but i would be lying if i said i never got knocked over in a surging crowd and without that mentality i would ahve been crushed. (Dethklok comes to mind)

When slipknot hits the stage and They play “Duality” (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Xps7AM8HbjE) and the entire crowd yells the lyrics it is one of the most powerful things you could ever witness. I know this isn’t really the music of my few readers but this is something that means a lot to me. What i hate is when people insult my genre and my metal brothers and Sisters for what we listen do and the way these concerts can be. But when that band hits the stage and fists are in the air, well if you don’t understand, you don’t have to. This is a subject i wanted to write about since i started writing this blog and its good to get it out there. “We all are disturbed” (http://youtube.com/watch?v=WCHvTMtVZCg)

Long story short i came home at 2 in the morning with the smell of burning plastic in my clothes and a ringing in my ear which was accompanied by the ensemble of aching joints of a really good day.