Chile stuff.

So for the upcoming Phi Alpha Theta potluck I plan to make spicy pork.  Though I may not make it as infernal as might for others I do plan to bring a bottle of bhut jolokia vinegar.

I still have a whole bunch of ghost chiles just sitting around, menacing everything else in my spice cabinet.  I figure it's time to put them to good use.  Ghost chile vinegar to give the spicy pork an extra kick.  nom.

A reflection on Easter and a declaration of moritorium on "Zombie Jesus".

I usually don't spout off about religion on HYR but a conversation me and the missus had this morning has me thinking.

To begin with I am declaring a moritoium on the phrase "Zombie Jesus".  It's not cute, it's not original, and it's about as pithy as any other trite hipster t-shirt logo.  It's not simply a matter of a dose sacreligious smirking, it's rather rude. 

The underlying reason that "Zombie Jesus" irks me is because it to me that the term is (often) used by people who purport the practice of religious tolerance.  You can't pick and choose what you're tolerant of.

I guess this all might sound a bit weird coming from me who has about as twisted, inappropriate, sacreligious, and filthy senses of humor as they come but for some reason this made me get on my soap box.

Personally I'm your standard late 20th Century grab-bag of religious beliefs kind of guy, an amalgamation of: Protestantism, Buddhism, animism, and a good bit of folksy superstition thrown in.  I have interests in religions around the world, etc, etc, etc. 

I'm not sure if I really understand Easter completely.  Yes, I know the story of Easter and the gross commercialism involved and qua qua qua but it seems like such a morbid holiday.  Come to think of it Christianity is pretty morbid, what with all the martyr worship.  I think I am missing a piece of the story so if anyone feels like explaining you're more than welcome to. 

In any case, Happy Easter no matter how you feel about the holiday.  Eat some candy, hug your kids, have something good to eat but please, stop saying "Zombie Jesus".  Now if you absolutely have to call someone a zombie call Lazarus a zombie.

GameCrush - PlayDates? - Camming for gamers?

I saw mention of a new social networking site aimed directly at gamers and thought, "that's cool".  Then I read a bit more and thought, "Is it like match.com but for gamers?  What a sausagefest."  Then I read more and it's actually a site where you pay for a "PlayDate" ($6.60 USD for ten minutes) with someone...so...it's a...?

"SAN FRANCISCO – March 23, 2010 GameCrush, now available in public beta, introduces an entirely new interactive social gaming experience allowing gamers to meet, match and pay to play online games with other users (PlayDates). GameCrush is the only online service that allows gamers to choose a companion to spice up their favorite online games. Both Players and PlayDates define the experience they want- either “flirty” or “dirty”, choosing from some of the most popular console titles and casual web-based games. To register for free, visit www.gamecrush.com."

So, it's a thinly veiled cam site?  Brilliant, I wish I had thought of this years ago.  However, there's something that sticks in my craw about the operation.  While I would join a facebook for gamers there's just something...I can't put my finger on it.  There's something rotten in Denmark. 

Now I'm not opposed to anyone flouncing their goodies for good old American dollars (or Euros or yen) for an ultimately empty act of voyuerism.  Maybe I just prefer a separation of gaming and smut (a la church and state) and there's an extra touch of sadness to gaming/cam, sort of like calling a 1-900 just to have someone to talk to or hiring a hooker to play MarioCart with.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

HYR Cooks...impending recipes of madness?

As many of you fine folks may know I have dipped my toe into the waters of North African spices and condiments (ras al hanout, harissa, etc) but I might be one verge of attempting to try my hand at some dishes.  I was poking around and saw tajine; a cooking device that lends it's name to the dish(es).  Basically a variation on the ubitquitous dutch oven/slow cooker using a melange of spices and good stuff along with any number of variations of meat, veg, starches, etc.  So...it's North African stew?  Sign me up, though I might be more inclined toward chicken than lamb but it's been years since I've had lamb so...tastes change right?

Here's a recipe from Paula Wolfert for Tunisian Egg and Parsley Tagine that sounds brilliant.

Dead Snow (2009) Dir. Tommy Wirkola

Dead Snow is a Norwegian movie that had fallen off my radar until about a week ago when a friend and I were looking up zombie movies - rather I was looking up zombie movies with Nazis in them.  It has a good amout of humor in it and a solid amount of gore.  It wasn't a great movie but the production quality was top notch, the acting was solid, and by in large Dead Snow was far superior to a lot of the undead crap I've seen lately.  Certainly worth watching but not quite as good as The Bunker.

Add:

Calling Dead Snow a "zombie" movie is somewhat incorrect.  The baddies are more along the lines of revenants a la "The Fog" or any movie with vengeful spirits than shambling wormfarms.

In other news:

Hooligan Youth Reviews is almost up to 16,000 views since going live on 02/15/07 and just shy of 600 posts.  Thank you to everyone who reads, checks on, or links to HYR.  I may just be another crackpot on the internet but I'm your crackpot on the internet.

Thanks to Warcrack I am woefully behind on any other game releases.  Of course I haven't even touched my 360 console in weeks.  Hopefully in the next few months I'll be caught up and will be able to write some more of the reviews you have come to love (like a one-eyed three legged dog).

My cooking has pretty much gone to crap lately.  Again, in the next few months I hope to remedy this.

Any questions, ideas, advice, assorted goodness?  Well let me know.

Thanks again folks, like the Nanny says:

Thirty days of Warcraft, Spring Break marathon, and hopefully a return to regularly scheduled programming.

So I blew past the thirty day marker on Warcraft this week.  It was Spring Break/hide from the world and wear jammies week as well.  Here a few observations:

1. Warcraft was designed by diabolical masterminds who have in their employ people who worked on government mind control projects and the people who invented crack.  Of course I joke but this is a game that has an addiction level like no other I've played.  Perhaps the addiction level is the same but there's no end in sight, there's always just one more x,y, or z.  Warcraft's reward system is brilliantly designed.  Each goal is tantalizingly out of reach but ultimately completing the goal is empty because here's the next carrot.
2. Warcraft has been a welcome escape from my personal life.  While this is not the appropriate forum or time for such a discussion, let me just say it hasn't been a sun-warmed basket of fluffy kittens.  People on Warcraft are, on the whole a fairly nice bunch, and thanks to the blessed anonymity of the Internet and a "toon" ("toon" is the in-game term for your...sigh...avatar), it is fairly easy to get along with people.  Plus the ability to simply block having to listen to any dipshits from chat avec "ignore" is a blessing.  I also have also found that I am a fairly humourous individual and oddly enough play well with others as long as they aren't being pricks, trolls, gloryhounds, or SHOUTERS (a.k.a. people who type in all caps).  I do have a tendency to be kind of a jerk about there, their, and they're and appropriate usages.  Once I simply refused to understand what someone was saying because of their grammar.  Childish I know but I think I was drunk.  Probably was times being what they are and things being what they are.
3. I think I should have gone with an RP (role playing) server instead of a PvE (Player v environment) server.  While I wouldn't go all Ye Olde Renn Fairre Forsoothing, it would be kind of fun to do some good old fashioned role-playing d20 style.
4. My new personal favorite dungeon quip, "Are they bringing pancakes?"  in reference to being alerted to the presence of something big and hurty.  The best reply I've gotten is, "Yes, but you have to beat the pancakes out of them." followed by a conversation about what type of syrup the monsters bleed.
5. I managed to beat my goal for Spring Break of passing level 50 (as of last night I was up to level 52 or 53).  Now I'm staring down the barrel of 60.  Bastards.
6. Followers of Eli are an awesome guild though sometimes I wonder when people sleep.

And there's more but mostly in-game quibbles that I won't go into.  Will I keep playing for another month?  Probably, but will I be a long range player?  I dunno, I guess that remains to be seen.  Until then, if you're on Fizzcrank look me up: my main is Scoville and my alts are Bessler and Capsaicin.

New character...

Day 10...

A quick update on my WoW travels.  I promise I will post some real posts ASAP (probably about Dragon Age)...

• Bessler is up to lvl 32, has a tiger named Mittens and a giant snapper turtle named Tabasco.
• I have taken to wandering the highways and byways
• I joined The Followers of Eli, a 244 member guild that's got some pretty reasonable folks in it.
• I got the living bejebbus scared out of me by my first encounter with a Horde faction member.  I was running through Westfall and ran over the crest of a hill.  There was a big gnarly looking dude on a big gnarly looking mount.  fortunately he just menaced me and didn't turn me into dead.
• I am thinking of starting a new character, possibly Horde.  I dunno...

Day 4 of WoW.

"Man, you are in the Bell Jar!"

Well, my Dwarven Hunter (Bessler) is Level 17, on the Fizzcrank server, a Crocolisk named Pequin, a cat named Orange Tabby, formed a guild called Hooligan Youth Unite and has a beer stein for a hand weapon.  I have learned the hard way that I can't just can't run into any area.  I have died...a lot...and then died more trying to escape areas like the Badlands. 

Day 1 of HYR in the World of Warcraft.

Yesterday I got home from work and downloaded the free trial of World of Warcraft.  Besides pausing for beer and smoke breaks I pretty much was glued to the computer for a good couple hours. 

So, is Warcraft the end all be all game?  I don't think so.  I am not used to PC controls (thank god I found the link to hook my 360 controller to the PC) so there are several controls/camera issues which should be fixed soon.  As far as character customization I didn't see anything super special.  The game looks good though the characters are a bit...cartoony is a word I've seen bandied about and I have to agree.  As far as story or plot I have no idea what's going on, who's who, but then again I'm fresh off the truck.  The quests, at the level I am are standard step'n'fetch, get me this, get me that, I want, I want quests.  You why NPCs just stand around in games?  Because they have people to do shit for them.  NPCs are digitized managers/shaolin delegators.  I also wish there was an icon or something to let people know that you are soloing.

So those are some gripes.  On the other hand I like being a stranger in a strange land.  I don't know what's going on, who anyone is, the customs and norms, and in some cases I don't know what the hell people are talking about.  While gameplay is pretty simple to pick up it's all the other stuff I need to learn and I like it.  Exploration and discovery is what I am about and Warcraft has it.

I think I might go onto the Role-Play section of the game and play a Dwarven Hunter/Mountain Man.  Antisocial and somewhat deranged, only entering town to sell pelts.  We shall see.

HYR 2010: A new computer and forays into the world of MMORPGs

So I finally (finally!) got my school money and was able to pick up a new computer: Gateway DX4831-01e package deal.  I spent a good chunk of time last night tinkering with settings and deleting crap I didn't want.  I didn't know Best Buy put in a program to set up my programs for me.  No big, I just 86'd it.  There is still tinkering and fine tuning to be done.

I am still having a bit of trouble figuring out what MMORPG I want to play.  I am looking at Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.  At the very least I will give the trial a shot.  Of course the Warhammer 40K MMO is still in the creation stages otherwise I wouldn't be having this debate. Then there's Star Trek Online which I am curious about but I don't know if I can become a Trekkie at this late date.  Bioware's Star Wars: The Old Republic is pretty sweet but is not out yet (or even close according to some).  Then there's The Lord of the Rings Online...cue Aragon's theme...

Once again, any readers out there with comments/suggestions please let me know.

Scars are sexy, especially on video game characters.

I have to wonder why there are only two games - that I have encountered - where you can scar up your character during creation Mass Effect and The Godfather.  I wish I still had a copy of The Godfather (PS2) so I could take a picture of my goon character who was - according to Amanda "hard to look at".  I would say he looked like he used his face to cut down the ugly tree.  My new character in Mass Effect is fairly beat-up looking as well, with a potato nose, deep facial scars, and acne scars as well.  My previous female character was fairly attractive but also had scars, though I noticed that female character creation have fewer gnarly looking scars than males.

I think that having the ability to make a beat-up looking character is as important - if not more so - as being able to make some Adonis/Venus.  Personally I don't want to my PC to be a Ken doll. 

Mass Effect 2 almost final thoughts and a new character is created...

Well I polished off my first playthrough of Mass Effect 2 last weekend on hardcore.  I enjoyed it very much.  The universe is safe again...for now...dun dun dun.  The last section of Mass Effect 2 is actually one the better endings to an RPG out there, even though it's a cliffhanger.  I'd love to discuss the plot and what happens to characters but I don't want to spoil it for anyone else.

I decided to begin a whole new character in the ME-verse and downloaded Mass Effect.  Last night I created "The Inquisitor" - a ruthless Earthborn adept with nothing but disdain for xenos and weakness in humans.  I'm gonna play him pure Renegade (my other character is a Paragon...for the most part).  He's a really ugly fucker, scarred and beady-eyed, with a potato nose.

Now the first time I played through ME I was kind of disappointed.  This time around I am really enjoying myself and have been noticing some remarkable differences between ME and ME2.  The main difference is in the first game there's a great deal of control over your character's skills, armor capabilities, combat prowess, even what kind of upgrades and gizmos you can equip on weapons and armor.  Personally I love tinkering with my character and equipment - it goes with the territory of being an RPG-hound and is still one of favorite things about Elder Scrolls IV. 

In comparison there is minmal tinkering with any item, armor, or character in Mass Effect 2.  Sure you can upgrade weapons and armor to a certain extent, however you cannot change any character's armor.  You can equip some different types of armor on your PC but once you get decent armor you never change it again.

This may sound like a petty argument to most of you but I view it as one of the downsides of blockbuster games.  In order to make a game accessable to the masses (no pun intended) fiddly elements (item selection/equipment/character stats) need to be streamlined.  In some cases it works, in ME2 skills and biotics are far easier and faster to use than in ME.  However, removing in-depth customization of a character and their gear takes a major element of challenge out of a RPG, tactically and otherwise. 

I will make one more complaint about ME2.  There ain't grenades!  There are grenades in ME!  Jeez, Bioware - did the grenades not test well?

Okay one more gripe, squad control stinks and especially stinks in comparison to ME. 

More reviews to follow re: ME & ME2

ps: the story of ME2 is truly great and one of the best I've ever played through despite gripes about gameplay.

Mass Effect 2 (2010) Bioware, XBOX 360: First Impressions in five hours

Mass Effect 2...I don't even know where to begin this review.  My review of Mass Effect was generally so-so.  I enjoyed the game but wasn't overly impressed.  I only really started getting excited about ME2 while playing the hell out of Dragon Age: Origins.  ME2 is a different animal than DA:O though both games were made by the same company.

Here are some of my first impressions (good and bad in the first five hours)

1. Jennifer Hale is back as the female voice of Commander Shepard.  Jennifer Hale is one of my all time favorite female voice actors. 
2. ME2 is shockingly gorgeous.  While there are some problems with human character's mouths looking a little weird everything else is astounding.  The alien races are totally believeable and in some cases, horrendous to look at.  The evironments keep making me stop and look around like some hayseed who just left Tattooine. 
3. Scanning planets instead of driving around in the MAKO makes me very happy.  Systematic scanning with a grid method?  Planet mining?  I don't like those things, nooooo.  Snickering when I see a planet's status after mining listed as depleted?  Not me...
4. Combat is pretty intense.  Insanely enough, Bioware managed to perfectly capture the thrill of 3rd person actioners in an RPG.  Two tastes greats that taste great together?  Damn right.
5. Downside to squad control:  I haven't gotten the mechanics of moving the squad around as easily as with tactical shooters - leap-frogging the squad and getting squaddies into postition.  Personally I'd be content to use them to draw enemy fire. 
6. Upside to squad combat:  So far I've only had to minimally baby-sit my crew.  What's cool is that they are just using their skills without me having to poke them with a stick.
7. Here's an insane revelation: ME2 has a cover system that works in combat.  No really.  I need more combat time to really get the mechanics of it but so far I am very pleased.
8. Story, voice acting (all characters), and the characters themselves (human and non) are top-shelf.  I am really looking forward to expanding the story.
9. I worry about game length.  Mass Effect I tore through in forty hours.  That being said, Mass Effect 2 is two fucking discs.  Two.  Dos.  Aweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesome.

Metro 2033 Story Trailer = AWESOME!

Hooligan Youth: new and improved Rogue/Ranger in Dragon Age: Origins (XBOX 360)

Note: Yes, I did use the Ostagar cheat up to level 20. Okay here's my newest new new (maximized?) character: Moxie Rogue/Ranger Strength: 20 (Considering that the Felon's Coat only needs a Str 20 to equip this seems reasonable.  Medium Armor requires up to Str 34 for the good stuff. Dexterity: 36+ (The Rose's Thorn requires Dex 30, the four best longbows require Dex 34.) Cunning:  22 Constitution: 20 (any left over points will be dumped here) Willpower: 20 Magic: whatever the base score is, not wasting points here. For skills I am taking: Ranger (because having a Giant Bear as an ally is always a good thing) Traps aka Booty Traps (Leliana has poison, Morrigan has potions so why bother wasting points on those skills?) Nature: It's not just for paving over anymore. Pickpocketing (aka "What has it gots in its pocketeses?").  Apparently you can pickpocket to your heart's content with little/no consequence. For armaments I am going for the tried and true longbow and instead of going for two hand weapons I am staying truer to class and wielding daggers.  Too bad they aren't throwing daggers. More news to follow as I progress.

Dragon Age: Origins tips and tricks (mild spoilers) and character creation musings...

So last night I started a brand new character in Dragon Age: Origins.  I also deleted almost all of my other character files.  Additionally, I am going to leave the difficultly level at Nightmare. I have come to the realization that crafting in Dragon Age: Origins is pretty much pointless, unless you create a character who has no combat skills and can only wear the very lightest of armor.  One of my character files was a craftsman, building traps, poisons, and had the ranger/summon animal ability for back up.  I think that may work for some games, in particular a non-party based RPG, but for DA:O it's not a practical skill set.  Sure, you can stealth up to the enemy area, set up traps, chuck a grenade at the baddies and then haul ass back to the party ambush but it's often just as easy to have "clobberin' time".  Plus I got sick having a total wuss as a character who spends more time running away than anything else. Maybe I haven't taken full advantage of the tactical skill sets but most of the time I can have a crew that will put a serious dent in whatever they come across by just sending one poor bastard out in front and having the rest hang back and shoot or spell cast. My new character is yet another rogue.  This time I specialized in the following: Dirty Fighting, Combat Movement Below the Belt, Deadly Strike, Lethality, Evasion Deft Hands I-IV Combined with two hand weapons, dude can slice and dice with the best of them (especially once I get my hands on some better equipment). I also shifted Alistair over to the two hand weapons speciality instead of sword and shield.  Snikity-snak. I will see how this plays out.  I might end up having a rogue based team (Mr.Joshua, Leliana, Zevran, and someone else - maybe Morrigan or Wynne) just to see how it plays.  It might be a bit squishy but I might also have some tactical fun with that set-up. Either that or I might just start another character.

Darksiders (2010) - Vigil Games

Darksiders is a must play.  Not necessarily a "must buy" or "sell a kidney" but there's something about the game that is very damned enjoyable.  There's some plot about something, something balance something, something player character is The Horseman War  something, something...whatever.  You're a gnarly ass-kicker who is regaining his powers in order to put the hurt on the big bad guy. Playing the game is really fun.  Yes, ripping demons and angels apart with swords, scythes, and other goodies is fun.  Sure it will remind you of other games but Darksiders has taken the well done elements of games and crafted an experience worth having.  The puzzles get head scratching combing a newly learned skill with previously learned skills.  The boss fights can be frustrating until you find their weakness.  There are gates to open, gates to close, things to push, climb, etc.  Some how the folks over at Vigil Games have made it seem fresh and fun.  Darksiders isn't an easy game per se.  Some of the platforming sections pissed me off but only because I am not great at platforming sections.  Other parts of the game have made up for it though.  In particular, one part involves closing a gate by defeating a large number of foes - basically an arena fight.  However, each gate requires a different goal and each goal is made easier or more difficult depending on which weapons you have at your disposal.  Simple variation, huh, keep gameplay fresh, who'da thunk?  I'm only about a third of the way through the game.  I had to take a break last night to play Dragon Age: Origins RTO and wolf down some food.  Plus one jumping sequence made me want to punch myself in the groin.

Sherlock Holmes (2009) Dir. Guy Ritchie

Truth be told I wasn't expecting much from Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes.  I have only recently begun to like Robert Downey Jr. .  Ritchie's movies are hit and miss for me - more often miss than hit.  That being said, Sherlock Holmes was a thoroughly enjoyable ripping yarn.  I walked out the theater thinking damn I wish I could buy that just for the special features. I don't have anything bad or critical to say about Sherlock Holmes.  Hell even Hans Zimmer's score is on my list of albums to pick up ASAP.  I just had a lot of well needed fun watching Sherlock Holmes, genuine action movie going fun.  Hell, I'd watch it again now if I could.