Blogs

By Mashira

With all of the E3 news buzzing around square being the sneaky tricksters they are have released a benchmark tool for FFXIV.

It shows what I'm pretty sure is the opening cutscenes. You get your choice of premade characters of every race/gender combination. The goal of the benchmark tool is to assess your computer's readiness for FFXIV, though the final specs have yet to be released.

If you're too lazy, or cant download it i'll write up a quick summary of what takes place just for you! Check it and my thoughts on the experience after the jump.

Hey everyone. It's been a while, if I haven't spoken to you recently. If I have, then I guess it hasn't been a while. Sorry to lie like that, then.

I just graduated. From college. I am really proud of myself. I have come to realize that this is an extremely important year in my life, and the things I do now will shape the entire direction of my life. And so far, I've been wasting time at my mom's apartment, doing absolutely nothing worthwhile. Before I continue, those nothing things are:

"Doctor Who" - Season 5 started a little while ago, and it's been interesting, at least. The new companion is the best of the series, and the new Doctor is pretty fun, just not entirely the Doctor I'd like. Some shit just went down that has my mind blown still.

"Big Bang Theory" - Just had its 3rd season finale. This show actually came to my attention before I graduated, and I watched all of it then. It is also dumb, but still amusing. Worth a shot. It's rare that a show has so many good characters. Now, if only the plot was as good...

"My Name is Earl" - All four seasons of this show are on Netflix Instant Watch. It is not particularly spectacular, but it is amusing. The first two seasons are the best. I'm a little surprised it got canceled, as I've seen worse shows go longer.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Bought this the other day, wanting to play a game, but not wanting to approach Mass Effect again for the hundredth time (I'll get back to it later). Once I complete the game, I'll post a review, but I can say now that it has been amazing. People say that it's really just Galaxy again, as though Galaxy were made into a longer game. It's kind of true, in a way, except you would also need to imagine that Galaxy never existed, then this game came out. Of course, it did, so every little problem is smoothed over, and made awesome. I'm not actually in love with the game. But, with Mario games, I get in this mood to collect every little item, and can't stop until I do, and this game is making that quite fun. Better than the first one, for sure.

"Invader Zim" - The first season is on Netflix. It's not as funny as I remember.

"The World's Fastest Indian" - Just watched this movie last night on Instant Watch, and I absolutely loved it. Anthony Hopkins is one of the greats, but it seems like his skill is put to waste so often (Bad Company, Zorro, etc.). In this surprisingly low-budget indie film, you see him at his best. The story is uplifting, and provides many moments for our dear actor to pull you through a full spectrum of emotions. There is tangible fear for the man's safety and true happiness for his success. So good.

Scott Pilgrim - There's a movie coming this August starring Michael Cera called "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World." For me, the trailer was out of nowhere, shown before Iron Man 2 (which was also quite good), and seemed like another stupid Michael Cera as Michael Cera movie. The friend I saw Iron Man 2 with quickly informed me that the movie was based on a recent comic series. On his recommendation, I just started reading it, and boy, is it awesome. I read through the first volume dubiously after being hooked by just the preview on the site, then ordered every volume in the series from Amazon. I'll probably give it a full article sometime soon - once I read the rest.

So that's the random media I've been enjoying. Read on for more about my -life-.

Okay, real quick post. Portal (That ever so awesome game) is currently available at the Steam store. Not big news you say? Slooooowpoke you say? YOU SAY WRONG! For the first time in ever Portal is up......for FREE!

http://store.steampowered.com/freeportal/ (Web-page is no longer up.)

If you have never had the chance to play this wonderful game, here's your chance. AND GUESS WHAT ELSE! It doesn't matter if you're using some sort of non-gaming operating system (Mac) because steam is now fully functional on Macs! Make sure you act soon, though. You've only got until May 24th to pick up your 100% FREE copy of Portal! Now, if Jonathan Coulton could lead us out in song, please.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxNmeMklFk8

Thank you very much sir. You keep doing what you do.

Update: If you didnt grab it you've missed your chance, sorry.

SPOILER WARNING! If you don't want spoilers for WoW: Cataclysm, do not continue reading.

Okay I think they're gone. Listen up, mon, old Cygor gonna be tellin ya bout all da pre Cataclysm events goin on in the wowaverse. First and foremost the joint retaking of The Echo Isles and Gnomeregan. Since WOW began, two races have always felt a bit....left out they didn't have their own racial capitals and their racial leaders were practically unknown. But coming in a future patch that's going to change! Players will be able to help Vol'jin/Mekkatorque respectively depending upon faction. For the offical announcments check here:

Troll event

Gnome event

I'm sorry,how did that get there?
Actual Gnome event

Pretty neat huh? (Click to read more)

As you may or may not know a hobbit movie is currently in the works. And as you also may or may not know it's been planned as two movies from the start. But the twist here is that originally part one would contain the contents of the hobbit,while part two would contain events that occurred between the end of the hobbit and the start of lotr. WELL NOT ANYMORE!

Del toro seems to want to give more focus upon the relationship between Bilbo and the dwarves by stretching the book into two movies. While I wasn't really saddened by this news, I was surprised. It's been widely accepted by fans that the hobbit was too short to really constitute two full length movies. But I believe that is partiality due to people focusing on a few key events in the book and overlooking the journey itself.

There was a lot of in between in the book. The travel between the Shire and the last homely house, for instance could easily take thirty minutes. With the encounter of the trolls and locating the trail leading to the house itself. Stretching the plot of the book into two movies was probably the best possible way to stay true to the original content. And on a personal note; this movie needs Bearon in the worst way.