So I picked up Dishonored and haven't put too much time into it. Don't get me wrong. It's an amazing game which mimics the gameplay of Bioshock and the old Thief series in a steampunk world. I just didn't feel like playing a single player game. What I did put solid time into has been Halo 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. I went through the Halo 4 single player campaign online with a buddy and it was funtastic! I also logged tons of hours in both games competitive multi-player and CoD: BlOps 2's zombie mode. My review will come soon.

It's Like Chess... With Zombies.

With the Dishonored review still in progress, I've been playing Last Night on Earth, by Flying Frog Productions and creator Jason C. Hill, to keep my competitive, social, and strategic skills sharp. It's also Halloween next week and this game fits the theme perfectly.

A zombie apocalypse has always been a fun situation to imagine ourselves in even though its reality would be horrific. The idea of holing up in buildings with crowbars, shotguns, and limited supplies while defending yourself against hordes of decrepit zombies trying to feed on your brains just seems exhilarating. With the board game, Last Night on Earth, players can experience the adrenaline of blasting zombies clawing at them while frantically running from building to building searching and hoping for items to aid them on their mission without the problem of potentially dying in real life. Players can also work on the flip side of the experience by hunting down survivors, chipping away their health, and turning them into zombies. It's all mostly balanced and a frighteningly great time.

Last Night on Earth pits two teams against each other playing as either zombies or heroes. Heroes place and move their pieces on the board trying to accomplish their objective for the night while zombies try to stop the heroes' progress. There are a number of random factors which keep the game new and interesting even when played for the hundredth time. There are 8 different heroes (expandable to 16) with different skills such as Billy the student being able to move extra spaces on die rolls or Amanda the prom queen with the ability to skip a battle as well as varied starting points for each character. Jake the Drifter starts on the road out of town while Sheriff Anderson starts in the police station. There are 6 diverse scenario objectives (expandable to 12) such as killing 15 zombies or searching for gas and keys to fuel an escape truck. Every scenario has a specific number of turns tracked before "dawn" comes and one team loses depending on the scenario. If the zombies can keep 15 of their own alive by dawn in one scenario, they win. In another scenario, if the heroes stay alive until dawn, they win. The board has random corners which change up the layout of buildings and the card order for both teams also keeps every game complicated and fresh. Sometimes taking too long to find the shotgun in the deck will be the catalyst of losing a game. The cards all benefit the teams that draw them by hindering the opposing team. There are cards which make the other player re-roll their fight dice, stop players from entering or exiting buildings for a turn, or cancel other cards in effect. The planning and timing of using these cards play a huge role in swinging the game around for both teams.

At the start of the game, the board pieces are chosen, card decks are shuffled, and survivors are chosen and placed in their respective area. Heroes and zombies then take turns doing their tasks in a specific order. Zombies always start the game by setting the number of turns available on the "Sun Tracker" and moving the marker at the beginning of their turn. They draw their cards to play from the "Zombie Deck" or save for later use. They then move zombies already placed and place any new available zombies in zombie spawning pits. The heroes decide if they want to move their survivor or choose not to move and search in the "Hero Deck" for items if they're in a building. When zombies and heroes are on the same space together, a fight ensues. The most action and tension come from these encounters. All the strategic player placements and item searching culminate to winning these battles. All the items and powers picked up only serve to bend your chances in your favor slightly. What twists the game even more is that it all depends on the luck of the dice rolls. The somewhat uncontrollable chaos of luck creates the excitement. There have been many fights which have been stacked in favor of one side from great items which have gone awry simply because one player rolled incredibly against another. The game essentially goes back and forth with these moves, searches, and battles until the scenario chosen is accomplished or the marker hits dawn.

The board and pieces are well constructed, look pretty, and will endure many sessions, even with pizza and beer being consumed and hazardously placed nearby. The board is stiff cardboard with a glossy finish on both sides which protects it from scrapes and liquids. Artwork on each board piece is detailed and clear with buildings, walls, and outdoor areas. Each building is unique and furnished well. The police station is small and has desks, holding cells, and a front office. The gym has basketball hoops and bleachers while the supermarket is large with checkout lanes and aisles littered with groceries as though it were scavenged by a mob. The zombies are varied and posed in different menacing positions. The player tokens are molded from plastic and finely sculpted to look just like the characters they represent. The heroes are dressed so they can easily be recognized. Jenna the farmer's daughter has her flannel shirt, jeans, and cowboy hat, Becky the nurse sports the typical cliche nurse's outfit, while Johnny the jock has his varsity sport coat and baseball bat. Each character token is also packing a weapon that is available in the card deck such as sledgehammers, dynamite, and revolvers. All the pieces are plain plastic so it's possible to paint each token to add even more individual flair and style. The cards are straight-forward with player abilities and each have artwork which represent their power. The entire set is done well and looks enticing when arranged on a table ready for play.

Although the game played exceptionally well, there were a few hiccups that occured while playing. The first part was the steep learning curve of setting the game up and all the intricate rules from "line of sight" for weapons to learning all the individual card's rule and the proper usage. There are hundreds of cards in total and most of the cards have unique powers that need to be discussed for fair play since the rule book doesn't explain them. Another issue that that arose was due to the randomness of the scenarios, player placement, dice battles, and card orders. There were times when a game lasted 15 minutes or about 4 turns because the right cards just happened to come out coincidentally and the dice rolled perfectly to end a game. Other times the game took 4 hours to finish and decks needed to be re-shuffled and started over because nothing was working right. A majority of the games did play around the stated 2 hour mark, however. The last gripe is that the way the teams are set up can make for some awkward interactions among players. The game allows up to 6 players at once. There can only be a maximum of 2 zombie players total. Depending on how many people play, the teams are set up differently. If 2 players play, it's obviously 1 zombie player and 1 hero player. If there are 3 players, there are 2 hero players and 1 zombie player. 4 players would even the teams out again. 5 or 6 players would stack the hero team 4 to 2. In the lopsided situations, it feels sometimes that the zombie players are getting ganged up upon. Four heads thinking together is usually more powerful than two. The team dynamics tend to also create more camaraderie, energy, and morale for the hero players with four people. Ultimately though, these are all minor gripes which don't detract from the major enjoyment of Last Night on Earth, but do add issues that may bother some.

Last Night on Earth is a zombie themed "chess-like" board game with "Magic the Gathering" card play mechanics and a splash of "Risk" style dice battling. The game is extremely well designed and implemented with only a few minor gripes. It delivers a great experience which mimics a strategic zombie apocalypse and should be enjoyed. As an added bonus, Last Night on Earth includes a CD with hours of eerie mood music to set the atmosphere and pulls players in even deeper. The randomness of the game creates huge replay-ability and value and can be further expanded with expansion sets.

Tis' a Season Ender and Season Starter

I was looking forward to a leisurely ride on beautiful wooded paths around the Quabbin Reservoir in MA. There were six of us riding in total on a nippy Columbus Day Monday. A variety of bikes were there from a Ducati, to a couple CBRs, and my GSXR. After meeting up with the crew and chatting in a parking lot in South Bay Center, we started our engines and blasted towards our riding route. We took I-90 north, or the Mass Pike, and maintained a steady 90MPH in tight formation during the long straights and only stopped for the tolls. It was so cold going that fast I shivered the entire way up. "Need to get better riding gear", I thought. The brief stops at the tolls and waiting for others gave everyone a chance to get warm. After 45 minutes, our exit in Auburn, MA was reached and we stopped in at the closest gas station for a quick rest.

After warming up, re-fueling, and getting bio breaks, we started up again and hit the wooded paths of Auburn. It was beautiful as well as dangerous. The roads were narrow and as winded and twisted as an overly excited snake. It takes an advanced skill to navigate these roads at high speeds. Adding in the fact the roads were still a bit damp from the rain the day before and cluttered with wet leaves made it even more difficult. This one particular corner was menacing. It was at the end of a downhill and veered to the left sharply where I wasn't able to see. My folly was not calculating my speed going in versus knowing how sharp the turn actually was. "Uhh ohhh", I thought. Skreeeeetchhhhh... BOOM!

Round 1. I lose.

I went into the turn too fast and without leaning my bike down enough to the left to clear the turn, I under-steered into a small open area with wet leaves and small branches breaking me and my GSXR's fall. I landed on my left shoulder and the bike laid on top of me. "Ouch", I thought. After accessing what happened, I felt I was OK. There were no severe injuries and I only had mild left deltoid pain. I was glad I hit the gym frequently, because that probably played a role in saving me from a visit to the hospital. I picked the bike up and with help from my fellow riders, started it back up. There were issues with the bike so I couldn't continue any further without slowing everyone down. We said our farewells and I headed home. The ride home sucked. The bike topped out at 45MPH and kept shutting off when I wasn't throttling. It took me twice the time to get home and I was so relieved to finally get back.

I had a great time riding. I busted my bike my up, but I walked away unscathed, luckily. At least it's the end of the riding season, so I can just put my baby into storage and fix her up next year. What that means is that I'll have more time to jam on some video games! The weather is colder and there are few things as lovely as bundling up in sweats and a hoodie and rocking to some new games. The holiday season is fast approaching and it is gaming's hottest time of year. Borderlands 2, Resident Evil 6, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown are already available and I'm far behind. I'll probably hold off on those titles and purchase Dishonored by Bethesda Softworks and Arkane Studio. Stay tuned for my thoughts on that.

Re-format and Re-boot

After a couple years of inactivity, it is time to reboot my inner mental monologue turned text. The mission is to share the inner energy of an avid video gamer, technology fanatic, and zealot of all things geeky. In addition, there will be insight on extra hobbies such as motorcycling, weight lifting, and boozing adventures. May the Tech Boob games recommence!

Playstation Network Down

After a long night of hanging out at the bar with my buddies on a Sunday night, I came home late and just wanted to veg out on the couch and enjoy my alcohol buzz while rocking out to another chapter of Heavy Rain. Unfortunately for me, the Playstation Network is down and I can't log online with my Playstation 3.

I thought something was wrong with my internet network, but my computer works fine. After a bit of web scouring, I found out that quite a few users are experiencing the same problem and losing data as well, such as game saves and trophies they've earned. They recommended that anyone experiencing the problem should keep their Playstation 3's off until a fix was announced. The problem is also only affecting the early adopters of the Playstation 3 and is debilitating the "fat" models. The recently released "slim" models are working fine. There are rumors stating that it has something to do with the early programming of the Playstation 3 clock and calendar and how it wasn't prepared for a leap year. It reverted my calendar to an earlier date in 1999 for some reason. Way to screw the pooch Sony.

Weekly Xbox Live Review: Darwinia+

Charles Robert Darwin proposed the theory that all species descended from common ancestors in a branching pattern of evolution. This idea is the basis for the real-time strategy game of Darwinia+ by Introversion Software. Darwinia was initially released for the PC in 2005 and was popularized as cult classic. The game has been improved upon visually, expanded with new content, and has now been ported over to the Xbox Live Arcade.

A vicious group of viruses called "virii" have taken over the once peaceful land of Darwinia. Players control a group of sprites called Darwinians in attempts to recapture bases and recoup their world. Players are tasked with the mission to reclaim their bases which are able to churn out more Darwinians and improve their armies' numbers. With more Darwinians, the fight to eliminate the virii becomes more feasible. When virii are destroyed, they drop resources called "souls" which the Darwinian engineers are able to scavenge and bring back to base and used them to build even more Darwinians or other military weapons and vehicles such as transports and grenades.

The game is broken up into stages where players must travel from one area to the next via a branching map to places such as the "mine," the "yard," and the "generator." Dr. Sepulveda is the programmer of this digital world and serves as a guide for players. He brief players at the start of every mission and provides updates through the game. Darwinia contains varied colorful environments from the deep crimson hues of the mines to the lush greens of forested areas. At the start of every stage, players begin with a meager set of troops and slowly capture bases while killing off the virii, collect souls, and build their Darwinians to tackle bigger and badder virii that are scattered throughout the stages. As the game progresses, players are introduced to more items and units to wreak havoc on the evil computer virii.




The developers of the title took a humorous approach to Darwinia+ and it shows. The game doesn't take itself seriously and surreal feeling of the worlds and Dr. Sepulveda's presence set the mood of the game. The Darwinians are a two dimensional green sprite that just glide around the surface of the world with no realistic movements. Still, it's awe inspiring to see a horde of Darwinians bunched up toward the end of a long bout. The game developers gave them much personality too. In between stages, the Darwinians will pop up with signs telling you how they're feeling with smiley faces or thumbs down depending on efficient you were in the last mission and you're decisions for the next mission. It made me chuckle.

Darwinia+ looks like a title that was produced in the 80's, but it was done like that on purpose. It harks back to the early days of video gaming and works well with the whole Darwin theory of evolution. The worlds surface is usually a shade of one color with three dimensional topography. There are plains, hills, and valley which affect battles and strategic placement of troops help to overcome odds. The world is drawn in grids to add to the purposely rudimentary feel of everything. The maps are surprisingly large and the actual design and layout of structures is intelligent and pretty.




The music is an eerie mix of 80's electric funk and techno which works well with the art styling of the rest of Darwinia+. Coupling with the old school styling, the sound effects of squad guns are the generic "pew-pew" of lasers and the digitized howls of dying virii which sound like a mix of babies crying and elephants trumpeting. There is an added multiplayer mode in this iteration of Darwinia and it is well done. Players who need to take a break from the campaign can hop into a skirmish with up to 7 other players to duke it out on any of the plethora of stages. The same game mechanics apply to the multiplayer mode, except players are now dealing with tactical and strategic humans. The gameplay is more competitive and challenging and makes it highly rewarding to know that you've beaten another person.

Darwinia+ is a bizarre game that infuses a retro 80's art style with military real-time strategy gameplay. Its creative world and gameplay is fun and intriguing. The story behind the world is interesting and the new multiplayer mode brings strong replayability to the game. If you're willing to invest yourself into a strange world with odd technological references and tongue in cheek humor, Darwinia+ is a solid purchase.

Weekly Xbox Live Review: KrissX

Games involving words such as word jumble or crossword puzzles are fun and potentially help improved player's abilities to recall upon their vocabulary. KrissX, pronounced "criss-cross", by developer Regolith Games Ltd. has just been released earlier this week for the Xbox Live Arcade. It's a word game that combines both letter jumble and crossword puzzles into a new and unique package.

In KrissX, words are already set up in random crossword puzzle formation with all the letters jumbled up except for a few that are set in their proper places. During the first few words of a game, there is a glowing cloud that points to a particular word and gives players a hint to what the word may be. Players then swap out the letters in the word until the correct word is created. The crossword line is then locked into place and will net you points. Also when this happens, color coded "tokens" pop out with buttons linked to them. Players can then hit the corresponding button on their controller to collect the "tokens" which yield bonus points, automatic letter swaps, or extra tips and hints for other words.

The objective is to finish the KrissX puzzle as fast as possible with as few swap errors as possible to combo up as many points as possible. In between finishing a word and moving onto a new word, the "token" collecting adds as filler as with incentive to help you. The game becomes challenging in the later stages when there are blocks of jumbled words placed adjacent to each other in to grids and the mixing of one word begins affecting two other words. There are points when the player no longer gets hints for certain words and requires player to plan out their layouts. It'll eventually require players to put on their thinking caps.




KrissX's mascot comes in the form of a wise and helpful owl who belts out tidbits of information, chuckles and frowns when you make errors, and cheers when you complete words. He'll also snore and get bored when you take to long to make a word. The owl's voice sounds a tad muffled and his tone seems condescending when he does speak to you. The voice acting for him could have been better.

There is just a simple 2D backdrop of either a forested area or a snow covered plain behind the main focus point of the crosswords. The words and puzzle set ups are straight forward and change in themes alongside the backdrops. The words burst into a bright flash of stars when players finish words and explode into a supernova when the entire puzzle is complete. The game is broken up into stages and reward players with badges after each stage, such as finishing without swap errors or within a certain time frame.




There is a varied soundtrack to the music in KrissX. The majority of tracks are peaceful and lull in the background while players pick their brains completing words without much distraction. There are sounds of crickets and birds chirping every so often to break the uniformity. There is also a track during the pause and main menus which sound like a low-quality awkward mix between Arabian music and Asian string instruments. It made the menu experience seem cheesy.

This game is not action oriented at all. It is geared to those who enjoy word jumbles and crossword puzzles. If you hated one or the other, then I wouldn't recommend this either, but if you wanted a new type of game that combines these two ideas, KrissX should have a spot in your Xbox's library of games. If you don't like word games or a slower pace, I'd recommend skipping this title.

All Your Data Are Belong To Us

Imagine spending two weeks writing a paper or report and saving it to a computer only to find that the file was deleted by a shared user or corrupted and lost forever. Hard drive reliability is vital so that work done can still be recalled upon 10 years down the line. In steps the external hard drive. There are few things less exciting when it comes to computer hardware than a hard drive. Its only function is to sit and store data files. Still, the pragmatic purpose of a dependable hard drive cannot be denied.

Just this past weekend I came across a LaCie 500GB external hard drive designed by Neil Poulton and boy is it sexy. It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. My computer was running low on space from all the files I've accumulated over the years. I couldn't find any way to pare down any of it. The LaCie hard drive does its job by storing all my data. By simply dragging and dropping all the extra file folders I had over to the new hard drive, I freed up tons of space on my computer. That means all my essays, mp3 files, and multiple seasons of The Simpsons have a fairly permanent and safe home to hibernate in until I need to call upon them again.

The LaCie hard drive is sophisticated and super sleek. It is encased in a glossy black rectangular shell with no markings beside a LaCie logo etched on the rear of its exterior. There is a clean bright blue LED light emitting from the bottom front of it that makes it scream cool. The LED serves as two functions. When the light is on, it shows that the hard drive is on. When the LED flashes, it indicates that the hard drive is currently being accessed and it shouldn't be disconnected. The hard drive as a whole also runs as quiet as a tip-toeing ninja. There are plenty of options for external hard drives available, but none provide the same level of charm as the LaCie.


500GB can hold up to 550,500 images, 135,000 songs, or 710 movies. There is a 750GB and a 1TB flavor available which is roughly double the capacity. The LaCie is compatible with PCs, Macs, and any laptop for an on-the-go backup of indispensable data. The LaCie runs at 7200RPM which the fastest speed available for data saving and accessing speeds. It uses a USB 2.0 connection for decent data transfer rates, however there are faster connections available. A downfall to its glossy black exterior is that it is prone to smudges and fingerprints. It also requires its own power supply. Regardless of those issues, it is still a solid hard drive. The LaCie 500GB hard drive can be picked up at retail for about $129. I found it on Amazon.com for $75.