Thursday, April 26, 2012

Paging Mr. Sandman

It's going to be a magically nerd-filled weekend.  In a few short hours I'll be packing my machine up so I can take it with me to work tomorrow.  Once I've finished justifying my presence at the office I'll be setting up at a friend's house for what can only be described as potential awesome.

A game I've mentioned several times in this blog and in other postings around the internet, Guild Wars 2, has it's first closed beta session this weekend.  We will be battling it out with hopefully little technical issues and finding what I hope to be the game of the year for the guys I game with.

It would destroy me a little bit inside if the game doesn't live up to expectations, however from all the material that's been released so far I don't think I'm going to have a problem there.

ArenaNet has taken the past 6 years making this game, which in an ecosystem of a new Call of Duty or Rock Band iteration every 6 months, is an impressive amount of dedication.  When a franchise really seems to improve upon its predecessor I can respect that.  For some of the more mainstream franchises for the most part it's just a new graphics package on the same everything else. Boo.

In other news, I have no other news.

Punch it, Chewie!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Clean Hands With A Bit Of A Buzz

Largely I avoid the mainstream news and zero in on gaming or science and technology, but this was just too dumb to completely ignore.  According to the news outlets, teenagers have found a new way to convince their parents that they are, in fact, brain-dead.

There is alcohol in hand sanitizer, which is used to help clean your hands. The only word in that sentence that teenagers are hearing is alcohol, so they are of course now drinking it.  If you haven't heard about it, there's always Google, or you can check out this link.  I saw the different articles on the subject several times in my news feeds throughout the day so it shouldn't be too hard to find.

The information is starting to come out on a daily frequency for the Guild Wars 2 Closed Beta Weekend coming up.  I know I'm still waiting on my invite email, but the amount of emails they are sending out for this is crazy, since this really seem to be the game for the summer of 2012.  If it's going to be the last year on Earth, let's have a good time with it with some games and friends, right?

Things are a little chilly here, but starting to come back around to Spring-like weather, so just hang in there. It'll be shorts weather before you know it.

Punch it, Chewie!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Brains For Birds!

Spring has most definitely sprung around the Manor, and with it comes back all those avian menaces that decided it was better to travel elsewhere than strap on their snow shoes.

This morning they decided to announce their presence a bit more loudly than normal to the point that it sounded almost as if they were aiming their attention at my bedroom.

It's been a very Beta-licious day in gaming news.  Tera announced that they'll be stress-testing their servers with an open beta until they launch their game to paying customers on May 3rd.  I doubt that I'll be able to spend any real time with it, so I may just end up leaving it as one of those I let pass by.

Also posted on their website, Arena Net announced that their first Beta weekend for everyone that pre-purchased their game will be April 27-29.  I will be able to spend some time with this game, and may even figure out a way to record some video or impressions to post up on Ink & Pixels.  Either way it's bound to be a fun time figuring out if the game looks like it may be polished and ready for a summer release.  Fingers crossed!

Punch it, Chewie!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

We're Going Dark!

Going dark is a term I use often, but follow rarely.  It's a Catch 22, showing how excited I am for something that I want it to be awesome and unspoiled by any media hype or trailers but at the same time those trailers are feeding my own excitement.  It's a fine line that I walk, but it may be my ripe old age letting it finally sink in a bit.  All too often in the past I'll go to the theater and see a movie I'm excited for, and that one scene from the trailer comes up.  Instantly I'm removed from the experience and remember seeing a trailer, and then I'm thinking instead of just watching.

For the upcoming Avengers movie, I really don't want this kind of experience to happen.  Granted, I've seen a few trailers, but they were all early enough that hopefully it won't interrupt my movie-going time too much.  All the 'exclusive' material coming out in these last few marketing pushes will fall on deaf ears, but I'll still fork over my money when the time comes.

After getting back from an amazing vacation, I had the opportunity to get out and throw some frisbees around for a while and it reminded me of an activity that I love and have neglected. Why does there have to be so many awesome things to choose from in this world?  That overly dramatic question aside, this summer will hopefully prove to have many weekends trying out different disc golf courses in the surrounding area.  I know the courses at a state park nearby are fantastic, so they'll probably be one of the first stops.

Now that we're all done Spring Breakin', get back to work!

Punch it, Chewie!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Sweatin' To The Fuzzballs

So readers may know that we have a home gym.  I should probably clarify that a little bit: we have a room that in theory is a home gym.  At the moment, we've gotten so far as to assemble interlocking mats and put an old TV in there so that the Lady of the Manor may do her royal yoga and pilates.

With so much other good stuff going on, grabbing the equipment to finish it off for myself has become a lesser priority, but still on the list.  Since I enjoy (or tolerate with the right podcast) running outside I usually find that becomes the bulk of my exercise in the warmer months. Either way, it's a luxury room to be able to do anything with at all, so I'm just glad that it didn't stay a room where boxes go to retire.

Speaking of other good stuff, I'm staring at the "zero" and first issues of Avengers vs. X-Men!  The local shop was running a midnight (and by midnight they mean the last hour of their normal closing time) release of the first issue.  I'm trying to stay as objective as possible, but the amount of hype in the comic book world that's gone into this event has me worried.  Hype generally equals disappointment, but I'm sure that I'll get swept up in it as we progress through the next six months.  Go Avengers!

The groundskeepers reaped their first cutting of the lawn this evening, and it's playing havoc with my sinuses. Oh well, the price for such a wild and crazy lifestyle.

Punch it, Chewie!