by Matt | Aug 15, 2006 | Personal
I doubt heavily that’s actually a word.
Completely out of the blue, yesterday I had the urge to open up Steam. Now, I realize I’ve slacked by being the last person on the planet to try HL2:Ep1, but I planned on getting both Ep1 and Ep2 at the same time, mostly for its tasty Portal and Team Fortress goodness.
This sudden urge to play HL percipitated the systems launch. As it opened I couldn’t help but be impressed by the ease of Steam. I hadn’t played any of those games in 6-8 month and in less time than it took to warm up the oven for the pizza rolls I was about to enjoy, I was up and running. Seeing everything updated that quickly and easily made me realize just how long it had been since I played CS. Three (literally) mouse clicks later I was logging into a server.
At this point I really have to hand it to both Valve as well as the CS:S community as a whole. I had a very enjoyable experience, played on a smacktard free server running so very innovative mods and some great maps and I really had a good feeling thay what I was playing was fun.
When I began playing CS:S when it came out it really felt like a rehash. It was a game I was “done” with. The maps were the same maps from 8 years ago, and there were only a few of them. Last night I played at least 20 maps I had never heard of and really enjoyed each one.
So, after all this time, CS of all things, made me feel that computer games were really fun again. Ah the memories…
by Matt | Jul 31, 2006 | Personal
By union I mean my own stupid ass. I’m sitting in a oil and lube place getting my cars oil changed and a new inspection sticker. They seemed short staffed, so I might be here a while. My only consolation is that there’s a new Vietnamese noodle house across the street that I plan on trying when I’m done.
At a personal level, I’m really wanting to do something creative. I think my computer case project last month was just what I needed in terms of constructive projects. Now I’m looking for a new one. I’d say that I’d like to redesign this blog, but I want to do that daily, so its hardly a revalation. I’d also like to design a video game. Fuck, I’d love to work in the game industry. I think I could come up with some fantastic games. I’ve read numerous articles that mention the best way to break into the industry is to create something. Levels, models, mods, anything. Actually, as a project, I’d really love to try my hand at a weapons conversion mod for bf2. Tweak the weapons load outs, new skins and animations, that sort of thing. Maybe push it towards the side of fun instead of realistic. Plus most of the BF2 weapons need a serious tweak anyway.
Also, along the same lines, has anyone noticed the downhill side that retailers (both online and B&M) have taken in their attitude and shelf stocking habits in terms of PC games? I walked into EB last week and I couldn’t find the PC section. You know why? Because there wasn’t one. They had the PC games behind the counter and you had to ask for them. I walked into WorstBuy looking for V for Vendetta and it was the same thing. They’re down to half an isle. Online, same thing. Both ebgames.com and gamespot.com now feature pathetic PC sections (actually, identical sections considering they’re the same company now). Its also hard as hell to get good reviews. Places like gamespot, rottentomatoes, ign, 1up, etc, all place PC games well behind consoles in terms of priority. I suppose most of that has to do with the new round of “console wars” but honestly, I’m still waiting for nextgen games to impress me. Things like Gears of War, Assasins Creed and Crysis are going to be so vastly surperior on the PC.
I guess part of that comes from the fact that, as a gamer, I’m incredibly bored right now. There’s NOTHING worth playing for more than “Matts 15 minute test”.
I need a project, or a game, or both.
Well, looks like my car is done. I’m out.
by Matt | Jul 25, 2006 | Personal
Best. Concert. Ever.
Holy fuck that was awesome. Even the opening bands were good.
Transition started off the night, followed by Whole Wheat Bread. Then it was Streetlight’s turn. Fucking fantastic. The 9mm / Point-Counterpoint / Keasby Nights medly was off the hook. I’ve never seen people jump like that, myself included. After that is was MXPX who played mostly a “best of” show which hit the sweetspot in the crowd and got everyone going. Their cover of “I would walk 500 miles” is definatly best when see live. Then it was Reel Big Fish’s turn. They rocked the house, even covering “Enter Sandman” at one point. Good stuff.
Best concert I’ve been to in a long time. I took my brother-in-law, who was mostly there for SLM, but who had a blast the rest of the night too. There were a few instances of really long transition times between bands, but nothing that spoiled the show.
Good stuff.
by Matt | Jul 24, 2006 | Personal
My brother in law Chris and I just found out over the weekend about StreetLight Manifesto playing here in town tonight. The show is a complete trifecta with Reel Big Fish and MXPX being the other two headlines. I’ve yet to see RBF in concert and MXPX is one of my favorite bands to see live. It should be a kick ass show. Doors are at 6, so we’re going to try and swing by early to get tickets. I can’t wait. It’s been so damn long since I’ve seen a band I really liked. I think the last “big” concert I went to was way back in college when I went to see a DJ or two with Chris in Boston durring a summer break.
Anyway, should be good times. I’ll let you know. Jason, wish you were here bud.
by Matt | Jul 20, 2006 | Personal
All sorts of stuff going on here at the ranch. First off, I’ve nearly abandoned the idea for SavvyNation. I know, it’s sad, we’ll get through this together. I started to realize that there are far better places for me to get hardware reviews, software reviews, game reviews, movie reviews, etc. The only difference is that I envisioned them all in one place. Then I thought about it. When, EVER, has a site expanded to cover more than one thing and been sucessful. You’ve got game sites, you’ve got hardware sites, seperate. You wouldn’t want ShackNews or RottenTomatoes covering the latest motherboards and you wouldn’t want Tom’s Hardware or DL.TV covering what’s opening at the box office. So, in reality, a mereged content site is a nice idea, but a very impractical one. I’m reworking my idea in my head and maybe something will come of it, maybe not. If not, it’s just one of a dozen domains that I’m not doing anything with. Speaking of which, anyone want to buy HairyBeanBag.com??? I’m kidding.
I don’t really want to get into movies today, I have limited time to post this, but I did want to mention that I caught Superman and Pirates over the past few weekends. Enjoyed them both but I thought Pirates was a little weak. The Ninja agrees. It felt more like a setup to the 3rd movie, which, for it’s own sake, better seriously rock or else I’m calling Matrix-esque sequel shennanegans.
I also checked out a few new games. Prey is very interesting. The Doom3/Quake 4 engine finally gets put to good use along with some VERY innovative gameplay. Kinda borring though. Also, Need For Speed: Most Wanted has grabbed my attention lately. I think it’s more a case of having not played a racing game in a while than really liking it, but it’s a fun sort of “no brain required” game. The music sucks hard though. I really wish that the PC versions of these games would let you get MP3s from your collection to play. Hell, GTA did that 5 years ago, what’s the deal guys? What if I don’t want to listen to “I am Rock” over and over again? Also, a few quick links. First, you NEED to check out the new Portal trailer as well as the new Team Fortress 2 trailer. Crazy stuff. When you’re done with that, fire up Steam and grab a copy of “The Ship“. It’s like Clue, on crack, on a boat… ummm… plus deathmatch. You’ll like it. Promise.
Romey. Out. Bang your monkey.
by Matt | Jun 27, 2006 | Personal
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present, for the first time ever, the world famous Texas Combat Crew in their very first movie.
LINK
Made by yours truely, and about 16 minutes in length, I think it gives a good feel for both Battlefield 2 as well as the fun we have playing it. Let me know what you think. I kinda like it. It’s my first project of this kind, so I didn’t know what to expect, but I think it turned out well.
Also, please realize that the compression from a full beautiful MPG4 into crappy Google Flash Video makes it look like ass. The original quality was very impressive. I hope some of that comes across.
Lastly, as promised, the photos from the LAN are up in my Gallery. Click here. Also you can get to them via the “projects” page above and clicking on “personal gallery”
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