Angry Web

As an old school gamer that used to rock the old “Dragon Quest” games as a child, I dropped some cash on “Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors” for the Nintendo Wii. And by dropped some cash I mean I rented it from GameFly.

The first thing I noticed was that the whole game was controlled by the Wiimote (sans nunchuck). After getting used to the free roam play by holding the Wiimote upright, I ventured into my first combat area. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

The game is extremely linear in the fact that you can’t explore the areas outside of your town. You walk like you are bound to a rail and swing your Wiimote at anything that pops on the screen. Imagine it as some sort of Disneyland attraction that you can ride in your underwear.

Mix some repetitive combat elements with some RPG elements and put them into a pot with a decent story featuring your run of the mill Japanese characters (like French girls dressed like prostitutes and a flamboyant prince). Mix well with your Wiimote and you have yourself “Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors”.

All in all, I actually enjoyed this game. It wasn’t anything cutting edge and the story wasn’t all that spectacular, but there was something about it that made me sit through it and finish it. I recommend it to anyone that wants to be an interactive swordsman assuming you can get past the sore wrist and the whole looking like a jackass thing.

So this weekend I caught up on back episodes of the new AMC show “Breaking Bad”. When a buddy of mine described it to me as a high school chemistry teacher who puts his knowledge to use by cooking meth to make more money for his family, I thought the show was going to be amazing. Though I can’t really say anything bad about the program, it really is depressing. Am I the only one that thinks the premise of “Breaking Bad” would have flown better as a comedy of some sort? Just think of all the wacky situations a high school teacher can get into when he teams up with a former student to sling drugs. Sometimes I impress myself.

So in an attempt to find out if Michael Crichton is currently writing a new novel, I took a journey to his website. Now for those who aren’t familiar with Crichton he has authored such underground titles like “Jurassic Park” and “Rising Sun”. Yeah…like the movies.

Anyways, his site has been updated since I last visited it and to my amazement he allows fans to mail in a copy of his book for a personalized autograph and will then mail it back. I don’t know about you but I’m ecstatic.

Crichton became one of my favorite authors by mixing political issues with fictional storylines. From global warming to the privatization of gene research, his novels are guaranteed to entertain while they teach.

You can check out Crichton’s site HERE.

What seemed to have come out of left field, Nine Inch Nails released a 4 part instrumental album entitled “Ghost”. Though volume 1 could be downloaded for free from their site, I popped for the $5 full version which contains all 36 tracks. It’s soothing and haunting at the same time. This album, like Radiohead’s “In Rainbows”, is a step in which the artists are leaving out the record companies which have been stealing artist’s revenues for so long. I decided to buy “Ghosts” more for the principle than the music. There are many different versions of the album at different price ranges but I urge any general music fan to at least drop the $5 to let organizations like the RIAA know that the consumers are fed up.

Trent Reznor explains, “I’ve been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years, but by its very nature it wouldn’t have made sense until this point. This collection of music is the result of working from a very visual perspective – dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams. I’m very pleased with the result and the ability to present it directly to you without interference. I hope you enjoy the first four volumes of Ghosts.”

You can get the new Nine Inch Nails album HERE.

UPDATE: I have reason to believe that there are subliminal messages on this album. I have never listened to instrumental music for such long periods of time while awake. I will look into it and set an appointment for some psychoanalysis. Great album.

Long story short, writing about things that aren’t of great interest to me can get awfully tedious. This will be my own personal review site for the things that I enjoy. If I go to the store tomorrow and get some sort of delicious cookie that I feel is too amazing to put into words…I’m going to try anyways and you, yes I’m pointing at you, are going to hear about it. Imagine Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory but much more intense. Welcome to my Blogatorium.