Review: Falling Skies: The Game

Posted on December 16, 2014 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation 3 (also on Xbox 360/Wii U/PC)

Developer: Torus Games

Publisher: Little Orbit

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Score: C+ (70%)

You could say that there are two types of turn-based strategy game fans out there: those who’ve played XCOM and those who yet haven’t. Falling Skies: The Game works better for those in the latter category as well as those XCOM fans who won’t bash this too harshly for its intentional lifting of much of that game’s mechanics. While it’s a well-made game and plays just fine with only some pesky camera issues in tight spots, a few gameplay flaws knock it down from being a great entry in the genre. However, if you’re a big enough fan of the show, the game will probably warrant a buy right off the bat. Just don’t expect anything revelatory in the plot or handful of familiar characters you’ve come to know and love and you’ll more than likely have a fine time over a rainy weekend… Continue reading →

SCIENCE! Nintendo Helps Learn You a Lesson To-day…

Posted on December 15, 2014 by geelw

And now, a tiny little science lesson for all you boys and girls out there. Now, now. Don’t run away! This is an easy lesson. Those pics above are the results of me storing a couple of water bottles from the Nintendo World Store grand opening at room temperature for nine years. *Boo!* But also *yay!* Oh, why am I so conflicted, ladies and gents? Because it’s SCIENCE in action, folks! Okay, well… I would have stored them in the fridge here, but let’s see now… I had a few more of those bottles and DID store them in the fridge here only to find out a bit more about how people work.

You see, boys and girls, some people tend to come by to visit for a spell, look in your fridge and take stuff out to drink if you let them do so. For some of these people, small and unimportant looking bottles of water seem to be a magnet. I’d gather that some of those people didn’t want to seem greedy or imposing, so they went for the smallest thing they saw. An odd thing indeed, as I’m a pretty damn generous guy who doesn’t care what you take out of the fridge. Well, provided it’s not a bottle of water that’s hard to replace.

So, yeah… that wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had in terms of a storage solution and Plan B didn’t work out so well either. Oh well. science is fun, though, isn’t it?

Some Games for Your Mad Monday, Mister or Missus?

Posted on December 15, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, you know the drill by now. Sometimes you absolutely need a pleasant diversion on a manic Monday, so here’s some of what’s up on a few of the usual bundle selling suspects you should be frequenting regularly because they have deals you just can’t pass up:

IndieGala Every Monday Sale: Six games for ONLY a measly $1.89? How DO they do it? Well, no matter because it’s always a great deal even if you only actually play one or two of the games you buy. This week gets you some adventure games, a strategy game, a hidden object game and more fun all for a song. I’ll bet you that $1.89 that you’ll be happy with at least one of those games…

Bundle Stars has a small army of The Lord of the Rings games in this week’s bundle, so get ready for the silliness of two LotR games and their DLC and the straight up seriousness of War in the North and the online only competitive madness that is Guardians of Middle Earth. To paraphrase one Gandalf the Grey, “YOU SHALL NOT PASS (this offer up)!” A ha and ha-ha. Okay, enough with the puns, as I don’t want the Eyebrow of Sauron to raise itself any higher than it’s gotten after reading that last line.

On Sony: Oh, Baloney!

Posted on December 15, 2014 by geelw

Someone asked me last week what I thought about the recent Sony hack (allegedly from North Korean hackers upset about an upcoming movie) and I told him I’d have to get back to him on that because I wasn’t following the story at all. Well, I wasted a half hour looking it up and can safely say a hearty “Who Cares?” springs to mind.

I’d bet you a whole penny that EVERY entertainment company on the planet is stocked with executives behaving badly who say nasty things about people they know, don’t know or don’t care about after they leave their sight. Big deal. The fact that news organizations are bending over backwards to churn out daily updates on who said what about whom and how “bad” it all is in mind-blowing to me because it’s not only OLD news, it’s something anyone and everyone (who’s not a bald-faced liar) has done to someone else they’ve worked for or with… Continue reading →

Holiday Gift Guide 2014: Altec Lansing Life Jacket

Posted on December 15, 2014 by geelw

A few days ago, I was laughing while a speaker floating in my bathtub blasted assorted tunes as water splashed around it. Nope, it wasn’t another repair nightmare taking place, but Altec Lansing’s waterproof Life Jacket Bluetooth Speaker ($149.99 MSRP), one of which I got to review. It certainly nails the waterproof thing to a T, but how does it sound outside the pool or tub? We’ll get to that below the jump. Continue reading →

Kitchen Nightmares VI: Wood Work and More Oddball Occurrences…

Posted on December 15, 2014 by geelw

So, they sent a carpenter today instead of a plasterer… but that was actually a good thing. It turns out that most of the fault lies in the overall incompetence, laziness and just not listening to what tenants are saying folks who answer the phones in the management office. According to the carpenter, they pretty much just sit around and talk about reality TV for the bulk of the day and those work orders they write up from half listening are often incorrect.

Which of course means workers showing up to do jobs with the wrong equipment or being thrown under the bus by the office because they have to deal with irate tenants who’ve been sitting around waiting for scheduled appointments that can’t be completed. There are also a bunch of newer maintenance guys and gals who aren’t very good at what they do because they’re still being trained, but there seems to be not enough of the old guard around to walk them through what they need to know. That’s how we get painted leaves and some sketchy plastering and painting jobs around here.

There’s a lot of other crap going on as well, but it all boils down to the folks who run this place wanting to keep making a profit even at the cost of current renters being given the shaft. There are also politics involved and a lot of it the usual dumb stuff that always results in the bad apples being rousted and roasted in public once their plans are foiled and the truth rises to the top. Noe of which I care much about because I just want my damn kitchen back to 100%. That carpenter made up a short list of stuff he saw that needed to be done as we chatted for about 20 minutes or so before leaving. Another call was placed to the office and they’re supposed to send what seems like the sole inspector they have in the complex here in a few days (Thursday) so he can take another look around. Yep, the notes I left are still up and will stay up so he can see what needs fixing. Hopefully this time stuff gets done right, but we’ll see. At this point, I’d be happy for at least an acknowledgement that the place is clearly in worse shape after what’s been going on, but again, we shall see…

Enough of This Stupid Sunday. Let’s Go Dancing!

Posted on December 14, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, Swudanst Harlow!)

Sure, why not? A little freshly made bathtub gin (wooo!), maybe a few attempts to do the Charleston without looking too dumb flailing around, maybe a burger later at a cheap diner? Yeah, I could go for some of that action tonight. Who’s with me? (Checks wallet, moths flit out)… Er, you’d be buying this time because I’ve just blown all my cash on lighting up the kitchen floor like an airline runway. Hey, how about this? Just come on over with a pound of ground and I’ll make the burgers. Oh, and bring some buns with you as well. I’ll toast them up for those patties nice and warm. I’ve got an onion left and the old cast iron pan got a good seasoning on it earlier this week, so those burgers will be extra tasty. What, you want to being those big portabella you get from the farmer’s market instead? Sure, fine – that’s probably even better and healthier. So, sure, why not?

I’ll be here and up a bit late, thanks to needing to make those signs I posted for the plasterer a bit bigger. You know, just in case they send a new guy to do the plaster job who’s got worse eyesight than the last two. Better safe than sorry, right? Now, hurry up and get on over here – I’m getting hungry and I just pressed a pair of pants! Okay, I was sitting on them for the last hour, but same result once I put them on and stand up. Oh, I have mustard and ketchup too. I might need some more coffee, though. It seems to magically disappears around here like someone’s eating it right out of the can. I hope it not a mouse or anything like that. I don’t need a hopped up rodent around here jazzed on java keeping me up all night…

(Mystery Rodent): Wooooo!

Kitchen Nightmares V: Doing the Limbo for No Good Reason…

Posted on December 14, 2014 by geelw

Believe it or not, my kitchen STILL isn’t done and for the life of me I can’t figure out why. Well, other than the management here in Parkchester being incredibly insensitive and frankly, virtually shiftless in responding to the basic needs of renters. Being put on hold or hung up on after a time, then being put back in line for repairs that should have been done right the first time around is bad enough. But having to reschedule appointments because the workers didn’t even do the job they were contracted to to correctly is just insanity. What’s the definition of insanity, folks?

Yeah, you know the rest…

Based on the slapdash work done in the kitchen and other rooms here, it almost seems as if they’re telling the maintenance folks to do as little as possible and pass this off as actual quality work because it’s become a common thing over time and a few management transitions. Do they really want this nice three-bedroom top floor corner apartment that’s been in the family since oh, about 1976 or ’77 SO badly that they’re willing to make it look worse to the point the current tenants flee in frustration? It sure as hell seems like it. Hmmm, I guess Yelp can be trusted for fair reviews after all? If this is even the tiniest bit true about what’s taking place in this apartment, it’s wrong, inhumane and needs to stop before someone gets sued and loses somewhat badly in court.

Or at least the court of public opinion. With all the stories I have to tell about this apartment alone, I’d hate to be doing PR for a place that claims “comfort and convenience are the hallmarks of every 1, 2 and 3 bedroom Parkchester home”. Given that no one could drop by for Thanksgiving this year and this Christmas may be a bust for company as well thanks to this nonsense, my own “comfort and convenience” levels are fully drained to the point of glaring laser eyes at every maintenance guy or gal I see walking around this place smiling and laughing away… Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week(end): Camel Spiders

Posted on December 14, 2014 by geelw

Okay, I was bored, annoyed and in the mood for something stupid to waste about an hour and a half or so. That sort of opening line is usually reserved for someone confessing to a crime of some sort. But it was my excuse for sitting down last night to watch Camel Spiders, a 2011 direct to video “B” flick so laughable and intentionally awful that it made me forget about most of the stuff bugging me.

Initially, just seeing the title made me laugh enough to want to check it out and see if it was as cheesy as it sounded. But it wasn’t until about 2/3 of the way in that I remembered that “Camel Spiders” are real, really large and have a somewhat larger following. Well, I’m sure those so-called fans would run the other way (and right into a wall) if they came across one or more of these eight-legged freaks in real life. Unlike too many of the victims in this dopey film who just stand there and get attacked or approach those puppy-sized pests with curiosity that just gets them killed off quickly… Continue reading →

Bundles Up, It’s Games Outside!

Posted on December 13, 2014 by geelw

Well, I’ve been busy working on stuff and hoping I don’t blow a gasket because of the sloppy job going on this week in the kitchen. Anyway, here are some AMAZING game bundle deals for you bargain hounds out there. Let’s just say the first three games in the Batman: Arkham series for ten bucks over at Bundle Stars is SUCH a steal that you better not be at all surprised when Batman himself pops into a window and knocks you out for getting those games so cheap.

Meanwhile, the Humble Weekly Sale features a nice mix of Iceberg Interactive games for a low price. Pay what you want for four games, make it $3.60 or more for seven games, and if you’re feeling generous, $25 gets you eight games including a few mighty and massive space simulations that will take you forever (and a day) to complete. All that and the Humble Store is blowing out a ton of games for low, low prices in its Humble Store Winter Sale. Remember, you’re not only filling up your hard drive, you’re helping out assorted charities in the process. Get busy so you can get busy, I say!