The Last Act is (Almost) Over

I was listening to Meat Loaf in the truck last Friday because the CD player wouldn't give it back to me the day before. It has to cool down before it will eject anything. I have an iPod and iPad and listen to most of my music ripped to my PC, streaming from Spotify, Pandora, MOG, and YouTube, but when I'm driving it's CDs. I don't have an iPod adapter. Don't really want one. I have ten times more music than I can fit on it anyway. So, lately I've taken to closing my eyes and picking any CD from the rack, because they're all choices I love. I've sold all the CDs I haven't cared about in years, from back when I was still trying to find my musical taste, so what's left is what I want to listen to for eternity. Guaranteed to always be in the mood for whatever I grab.

Wait, why did I come here? Oh yeah. So, The Very Best of Meat Loaf was stuck in the player and "Not a Dry Eye in the House" came on. It immediately brought up memories, as it does every time, of Virtua Racing on the Sega 32X. Yes, unfortunately we had one of those and maybe three games for it, but at least I played the crap out of Virtua Racing. Every day after school I would bring my CD player into the kitchen and play on the tiny 13" screen, always listening to Meat's Welcome to the Neighborhood. Wow, that was in 1995. It's been a while. That got me to thinking of the PS4 announcement and how I am so not ready for a new console. I never am. Not only because they're always too expensive and I never seem to save money for them, but that there are so many games to finish. I still have games from the Dreamcast I haven't started! Okay, new rule: When a new generation is coming, everyone stop making games for at least a year before so that I can catch up.

Adam mentions how there isn't much of a difference in graphical quality. That's not the factor in getting a new console for me, though. I don't expect leaps and bounds, never have. It has to be because everyone from gamers to developers to publishers are adopting it and there must be unmissable exclusives. If a sequel to a favorite game is only available on that console then I'll eventually get it. What I'm concerned with is it should have room to grow. The full potential should be reached at the end of the PS4's life years down the road, not months after it debuts.

I would love to be an early adopter for all consoles, since it always seems like the new generation comes so soon after I got into the last one, but that would break the bank. Hopefully, PS4 is a little cheaper. I don't know much about it yet, because I've been too busy to read up, but something Adam said about it being more accessible ("It's made for people to make games, to get those into the hands of the audience so they have more games to play.") makes me think it might be. It sounds as if they're not so adamant about power without regard for what it takes the developers to get a grasp on it. Though, I wouldn't expect games to be any more affordable.

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A Companion Cube for Valentine's Day

So far Portal is winning today's TeeFury battle. Yay! I'm finding I have a bit more free time after being stupidly busy for months, as evidenced in how little I contributed here. So, I thought now would be appropriate to start posting about video game shirts. Don't know why I never did before, because that might have kept me blogging. I used to do so quite a lot over at Reinbeast.com before Fringe took over.

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Glad to Have Revision 3 Games

No gamer should ever have to go without the Sess, so it's great that Revision 3 Games came along and Sessler's Soapbox returned in the form of Sessler's Something a little while ago. I was very disappointed when G4 cut him loose, but at least I could keep up to date on Twitter. And now that they've rid themselves of X-Play completely, meaning no more Morgan or Blair, I have no reason at all to watch that pathetic channel. X-Play was the only reason I came back after they cancelled Call for Help. That and the Quantum Leap marathons. Oh, well, nothing lasts forever. All I really need are Adam's opinions and reviews anyway. It doesn't really matter how I get them. Here's the latest...

I always dread a new console generation. I never have the money for it. I would love just once to be an early adopter, but I need to wait for some kind of deal or a price drop. Wouldn't mind if someone got me one as a gift, though. Hint, hint. ;) As for microtransactions, I don't usually care for them, but I don't go nuts because they're available. Of course, if a company makes microtransactions necessary to finish a game then I will certainly make a fuss. As always, Sessler is a level-headed source of gaming info. Probably why I've been a viewer for more than a decade.

Oh, and a little thing called Dead Space 3. Besides Halo, I have to say this is my favorite series. I played the first two much more than I should have. It never got boring and always had scream-for-mommy scares and creepiness to rival Silent Hill, even on my fourth play through. (I just can't stand being pursued by something that can kill me in seconds.) I try to always keep my hopes very low, especially with trilogies since the third installments can be let downs and ruin your opinion of the first two. That way I'm never disappointed. I'm either surprised or indifferent to the results. The only time I let expectations run rampant was with Fringe, and I was still amazed by the incredibly well done ending. So, with Dead Space 3, I went in expecting nothing and I'm very happy to see it's been getting some great reviews. It will be the next must buy game for me.

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Finally Selling Gaming Magazines

Gaming Magazine Back Issues

In the last few weeks I forced myself to get off the iPad for a while every day and start reading gaming magazines regularly again. It used to be one of my favorite things, but I've been so preoccupied with posts about Fringe (still am) for the past many months that they've mostly just piled up unread. And damn do I have a lot of them. I certainly can't keep them all. I've pared my subscriptions down to Game Informer and EGM due to the cost and time constraints, but I used to have every one I could get my hands on: Playstation the Official Magazine, Official Xbox Magazine, Play, GamePro, et cetera. I even went to Barnes & Noble a number of times to get a couple very nice British mags, but they were too expensive to keep that up.

I haven't rid myself of them to reclaim valuable space yet because gaming is one of my passions. I don't like the thought of them being recycled, and BackIssues.com doesn't buy gaming magazines. I am stubbornly holding onto this form instead of moving digital, because when I'm online it's for work, play, or blogging. If I don't have a physical magazine I just don't read about gaming. Even if I paid for a digital subscription, it would go unused. In fact, I have the new EGM, but the digital portion of it I've looked at only once. I watch videos instead, like the ones from Revision 3 Games with Adam Sessler. I'll follow the Sess wherever he goes, because I've gotten more game news from him than any other source over the years.

I don't know when I'll get the chance to actually put any of these magazines online, but if I wait until I'm not busy then I'll never start; it's happened to me before. If I list one that doesn't have a link or isn't in bold, that means I have it but haven't put it on eBay, eCrater, Bonanza, or wherever, yet. The list will continue to grow for some time, because there are so many. Please don't hesitate to ask if I have a certain magazine from the 2000s until now that's not listed. I just may, but it could take a while to find.

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The Chronicles of L.A. Noir, Part 1

I'm driving to a street crime half way across town in L.A. Noir. Seeing how fast and far I can go with my siren on and without hitting with someone. I accidentally take a wrong turn and it's when I'm going maybe 5 MPH that some a-hole sideswipes me. Why not? Well, really, it's kind of my fault. Then a few mnutes later I'm almost there and see a dump truck I know I've never been in. I stop him and get in number 71 of 95. Woohoo! But I stopped near a gas station. Of course, I had to drive right into the pumps to see of anything would happen. Boom! Officer Down. Case Failed. HA! Oh, wait, now I have to drive to the street crime again. Damn it. That's me. Always thinking ahead.

Why didn't I take a screenshot? Because I thought of it only after it reloaded. Then I finished the case and ended up back at the precinct, where there was another vehicle I hadn't driven yet: a firetruck. :D And right across the street was another gas station. >:D So, I did it again. Then the game wouldn't pause when I blew myself up and I didn't get a picture. *grumble* *sigh* I guess I'll try again later...maybe.

There will probably only be a couple posts about this game since I'm certainly more than half way through and life is busy.

Xbox 360, $19.99 @ J&R

PS3, $19.99 @ J&R

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