A Few of My Favorite Things...

Well, la dee freakin' da!!!!

OK, fine, so another week lurches its way to a slow close. The weeks, as they say, are flying by. Super Bowl was today. I watched exactly none of it. Last year I watched the entire thing, this year, zippo. I have no answer for that, sorry. I didn't care for the teams this year or last year...

Of course, it might have had something to do with the fact that Vye came over to install my new video card for me! MUAHAHAHAHA!!!! Vye the Conqueror saves the day YET AGAIN! I got my work-related projects done yesterday, so I can play on my newly-revamped system for a few days, guilt-free! Lucky me! Yeah, I know... I'm petty like that... sometimes...

If you're into indy gaming, there's a little gem called LIMBO that is very fun, atmospheric and challenging, without being too difficult...

The whole game is black and white, and kind of dark and flickery, like old film. There is no music sound track, just sort of an eerie, windy, cold vibe that is very fitting and just a hint creepy. There are also some soft, appropriate ambient sounds, depending on the level...

You play as a little boy, who appears as a silhouette with two glowing eyes. The movements are extremely simple - just movement keys (including "jump") and an action key for throwing switches or grabbing onto items to pull them.

The puzzles are all physics-based puzzles, so if that is your cup of tea, you will love this game. But be prepared to get killed often, as you experiment and discover through trial and error what each of the stages is asking of you. 

There is a macabre vibe to it, and lots of very creative ways that the little guy can be done in, including being impaled, shredded on spinning saw blades and smoooooshed. The first time a giant (and I mean GIANT) spider makes its appearance, the chills in your spine will be legit. And figuring out how to defeat it is incredibly satisfying.

There were only two particular stages that gave me enough trouble to quit and go find the walk-through video on YouTube. I'm glad it was only two - it was almost more! I came close. But sticking with it and finally figuring out how to proceed on your own is immensely satisfying.

It took me about 4 hours total to beat, so a couple sittings and you're done. Very fun game, and the professional critics seem to agree. In fact, PC Gamer considered it one of the Games of the Year for 2011 and also listed it in their latest edition of the 100 Best Games of All Time (at #76). I got it during the Steam holiday sales for next to nothing ($2 I believe). Money well spent - and you don't need a powerful rig to play it. Highly recommended.

OK, enough of that....

On the book front, I'm 31% into Second Sight (the sequel of The Riddler's Gift) by Greg Hamerton, and, as hard as it may seem to believe (given my shamelessly gushing review of Riddler's), this book is even better, in almost every way. It deals with much deeper themes, which the author attacks with full confidence... good thing, too... a less confident author would certainly make shipwreck of what Greg is conquering thus far. He's already secured his place on my Favorite Authors list, but if this book continues strong and ends powerfully, he'll end up in my top 5 for certain. No small feat, for someone I'd never even heard of before December...

If you haven't read Riddler's Gift yet, by all means, read it and tell me if I'm wrong.

So I've been feeling the rather strong urge to dust off my "A Few Of My Favorite Scenes" video clip concept and make some new episodes. I got my Flip Video ready, and a stack of movies/scenes to share, so look for some new episodes soon. I think I'm going to be a bit more creative with them as well (I've got ideas! MUAHAHA!) For those of you that haven't been following this blog long enough to remember them, I would usually share a scene from a movie I like/love and talk a bit about it and the movie it came from. I enjoyed making the clips back in the day (you can see most of them HERE if you are so inclined), but like most things I do, I burn on something while the fire's there, but then I reach a point where I'm just done... so I stop. Well, looks like the fire's stoking back up again. 

Speaking of "Favorites", here's one of my favorite stand-up comedians, Brian Regan. He's goofy, I love him.

The problem (for me) with watching clips like this on YouTube is that I watch another... then another... and then three hours has gone by...

OK, well, another week begins. Thanks to all who participated in the comment exchange in the last post. Good stuff. I don't have any real discussion-starters this time, sorry. But that doesn't mean you can't leave me a lengthy rambling comment again if you want to! By all means! Let me hear your lovely voice!

Have a good week. That's an order.

Dave the Gump