Damn Distractions!

Between the iPad, GOW3, Easter and work, I actually went nearly 3 days without a fucking post! Well, I got a few free minutes while I wait on some jackasses to get their shit together so, let's have at it!

I already posted enough about the iPad. Needless to say, I'm in love withe the damn thing and SketchBook Pro from Autodesk is the tits!!! I'll post some of the work I've done with it, soon. I brought the iPad into work, yesterday, and it got plenty of 'ooohs' and 'aaahs'. I bet there'll be a few more purchases on the way. One thing that having it in the office really showed me was how bad I need a case for it. Not so much for holding it, but for traveling with it. The thought of my naked iPad bouncing around inside my computer bag, totally exposed, really unnerved me. That'll be remedied later today with a quick run to the Apple store.

Ok, enough iLove. Onto GOW3. Wow. Um. Yeah, just wow! 3 years of waiting (and an extra couple weeks) was well worth it! What an incredible game. The look. The sound. The carnage! Oh, the carnage!!! I haven't played a game in quite a while that satisfied my subconscious, violent urges as GOW3 did. All of the classic features were intact: chain blades, quicktime kills, sex mini games...you name it. It's all there, only better. My favorite update (besides the obvious graphical overhaul) has to be with the quicktime events. One thing that always bothered me about these is that they tend to obscure what's actually happening on screen. I don't want to miss the action because I have to pay so close attention to the commands (I'm looking at you, Heavenly Sword!). The GOW team came up with a subtle, yet very effective solution to this. Instead of putting the buttons mid-screen, they use the sides of the screens (top, right, bottom, left) and use the corresponding buttons of the control pads placement. In other words, X=bottom so it only shows up on the bottom of the screen. That way, you can look directly at the action and respond to peripheral commands. Simple, yet GENIUS! Why didn't anyone think of that before?

There's an amazingly simple, yet poignant and artsy event that takes place just before you unmercifully rip Helios' head off, and happened to be left off of the demo which made it a wonderful surprise. I don't want to spoil it, but it involves blocking a light with your hand. It's actually a pretty beautiful scene, but, unfortunately, there aren't too many scenarios like this in the game. However, this is a game filled with violence and based on a violent story, so, it's understandable. The boss battles are very cool, and there are some surprises, especially when you realize who the voice actors are. Very slick, Sig!

If I had any real issues with the game, it had to do with the end. It kind of goes off in an odd direction and almost feels like it starts to overstay its welcome, a bit. Again, I don't want to spoil anything, but it involves a lot of 'wandering in darkness'. Even the very last scene kind of just 'happens' and it's somewhat abrupt. Maybe that's just me being a big fan of the series not wanting to see actual end, ya know? I will say that it is fitting and, for the most part, satisfying. I kind of want to go back in and play just to bash the shit out of people with the Nemean Cestus! I just can't stop saying, in a Russian accent, "I must break you!" before each skirmish. Good, guilty fun. Get this game. It's worth it!

Uhg, what else is there? Oh, Easter. Gotta talk about Easter. Well, actually, I don't have to since not much happened. Had lunch with the family at the Portuguese Clube. Food, wine and laughs. That's pretty much business as usual at one of those gatherings. Oddly enough, being that Lent ended, I actually didn't touch red meat, chocolate or ice cream! Imagine that? Me, free of the shackles that held me back for over a month, and I didn't even SEEK OUT the treasures I so deserved! Maybe that's a good thing. I did lose 7lbs, which I intend to keep off. Guess I gotta stay on the wagon as long as I can.

You stay awesome, intarWebbz!

- S