Life (not the game)

Life is full of ups and downs. It’s not just a cliche…old saying…whatever. It can be a lifestyle.

My wife often accuses me of waiting for the other shoe to drop…there is another one of them old sayings…because if things are going well I start to brace myself for the bad. Then when the bad does come I say “I told you.” Even if it takes the bad a year to get here.

Well, the bad has already been around me lately. Don’t get me wrong. I live a charmed life. But things have been kind of tough lately. I’m having to deal with things I have never had to deal with. So now I am waiting on someone to pick up the other shoe. It’s time for some ups.

Uncharted 2: My personal struggle

This past year I received a game for the PS3 from my wonderful wife. That game was Uncharted 2. I was very excited about this gift because it was on my list of games that I really, really wanted. My wife is very attentive to these types of things.

I hopped right into the game. I whizzed through the first chapter in pretty short order. The story in this game is amazing. It’s so rich. The graphics are what you would expect. Awesome. However, the game play in this game is not what I consider a true first person shooter. Which is what I thought it was going to be. The game is more on the lines of a first person puzzle game. I know this is not news to anybody who has played the game.

Here is the struggle. I get easily deterred when I have to play a single level about 20 times to figure out the “trick” to solving the puzzle. So what happens? I end up just going to You Tube and watching walk throughs to get past the tough parts. Then I feel guilty or just plain stupid.

What a silly thing for me to frustrate myself over. Ugh.

The Final Score #4

Recently I have been playing a lot of casual games such as Plants Vs. Zombies on the iPod Touch and The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom on the PC (Steam.) While I love casual games, sometimes I need something that only a full blown game title can give you. However, full blown titles cost full blown cash and as a result I have to make a decision on what game I will pursue.

I do not buy games unless they are part of a franchise I am already familiar with or I have already played a demo of the game. So this past week was mostly about me trying out demos. The first demo I grabbed was Split/Second (xbox 360), a racing game. I’ve been flirting with the idea of a good racer. I haven’t been dipping into that genre much lately so I spent some time focused on Split/Second and Blur. Both of which are coming to the Xbox 360 in the coming weeks. I won’t say much here about the games as I have already said my piece on The Final Score podcast. Let’s just say I prefer Split/Second.

I was all ready to preorder Split/Second before the recording of the show. However, Steam (PC) had other ideas. They are/were running a special on a Codemasters Racing Pack. The pack includes Dirt, Dirt 2, Fuel, Grid and Toca Race Driver 3 for only $17.95. Well, that sealed that deal. I’m cheap and these race games are going to keep me busy for a while. Especially Dirt 2. I still want Split/Second but I can probably wait a little while longer now.

Listen To The Final Score #4

Baldo Turns 10

That’s right folks, the comic strip Baldo has been in syndication for 10 years now.

To celebrate Carlos and Hector hosted a party line style love in. They had guests and fans who popped in and asked questions about the comic and their careers. I was lucky enough to be invited and was very pleased to be there for this milestone moment. I was able to get a question in and I was entertained with the answer given…SCORE!

Carlos should be posting the recording of the party line soon. When I find out where I will post it here as an update.

Until then be sure to check out Baldo at http://baldocomics.com

Congrats to Carlos and Hector. Here is to 10 more years.