I’m not really into vampires (blame Twilight…and Twilight fans), so I was surprised by how jazzed I was after seeing screens for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. This upcoming action-RPG for Windows PC and Xbox Live Arcade has Dracula’s nemesis hunting baddies with a sword, a pistol, and magic. Fans of games like Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and Bastion will definitely want to give this one a look. As a mark for action-RPGs of this style, I’m excited to get my hands sink my teeth into this one. It looks like a fun romp of slaughtering minions, collecting treasure, powering up, and fighting bosses — the classic action-RPG formula.
Check out the screens and video below. When you have a moment, please let me know if you’re interested in The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.
Surprisingly, I didn’t see any bad movies in 2012 — certainly not anything like 2011’s soul-sucking Green Lantern. I also made the wise choice not to see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. That probably saved my head from exploding. All that said, there was one movie that really frustrated me. It had the potential to be something unique and great, but ended up a sloppy mess with moments of brilliance sandwiched by several moments of ambition-fueled haphazardness. I’m talking about…more
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, laughing as the Lakers struggle against the Bobcats, being more excited about Game of Thrones season than the new year, or Taylor Swift looking sexy in a Santa hat, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Surprisingly, I didn’t see any bad movies in 2012 — certainly not anything like 2011’s soul-sucking Green Lantern. I also made the wise choice not to see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. That probably saved my head from exploding. All that said, there was one movie that really frustrated me. It had the potential to be something unique and great, but ended up a sloppy mess with moments of brilliance sandwiched by several moments of ambition-fueled haphazardness. I’m talking about Cloud Atlas, of course.
While I enjoyed the individual storylines and performances in the movie, I didn’t like the overall structure. The book moves forward chronologically until the halfway point. From there it moves chronologically backwards. The movie skips all over the place, hopping back and forth at a dizzying rate, particularly in the beginning. The quick and abundant cuts sometimes made the movie difficult to follow and the characters difficult to connect with.
The book interweaves Cloud Atlas’ six tales neatly. The movie places the six tales in the hands of two separate directing teams. When you throw in the distinct directing styles with different time periods, the actors playing different characters in different storylines, and the aforementioned quick cuts, it was no surprise that the movie left many viewers bewildered. It also wasn’t a surprise that critics and fans that love boldness praised the movie.
I felt that the ingredients were all there and could have made for a tremendous movie, but it just didn’t come together. My disappointment with Cloud Atlas is similar to my fascination with Russell Brand — I think he has the potential to be amazingly great, but he hasn’t put it all together yet.
Okay. Time to change the record before I start getting sad. I want to hear about your crap movie experiences in 2012. Was was the worst movie you saw this year?
Raina and I checked out three e-liquids from E-Juice Plus: Menthol, Coffee, and Butterscotch. These juices are available for the relatively low price of $20 for 60ml. For an additional $5, you can add the unique option of ganoderma extract. Ganoderma is a mushroom used in Eastern and alternative medicine. It is believed to have many health benefits.
Now, I’m not a doctor (nor do I play one on TV), so I can’t say whether or not vaping ganoderma will improve your health. What I can say is that the extract absolutely does not make e-liquids taste like mushrooms (a common misconception). It adds a background taste, for sure, but Raina and I enjoyed these juices on their own. I liked all three, but Raina really liked them. Now onto the flavors!
Menthol: This is a mild menthol, so if you’re looking for something to clear out your sinuses then this juice isn’t for you. Out of the three juices, this one had the most noticeable background taste, but it didn’t make the juice taste bad by any means. Both of use liked this flavor, but it didn’t blow us away. In general, we both prefer menthols and mints with a little more strength, so we wished this one had more of a kick. If you like your menthols mild then this is a serviceable all-day vape.
Coffee: Both of us liked this one better than Menthol. The coffee taste in this juice is similar to canned ice coffee or coffee mix. It’s a light milk-and-coffee taste that does a good job of masking any background taste that ganoderma infuses. As some of you know, I’m pretty insane with my coffee (burr grinder, Chemex, and freshly roasted beans), but I also enjoy canned coffee and view it as a its own unique flavor — kind of like enjoying Taco Bell, but not considering it real Mexican food. With that in mind, I enjoyed this juice as an approximation of canned coffee as opposed to fresh coffee.
Butterscotch: This was our favorite juice of the three. Trying it blindly, Raina thought it had a nice “vanilla cake” taste. The butterscotch flavor is mild, so if you like e-liquids that are strong and sweet then this isn’t for you. If you want a distinct sweetness that’s good for an all-day vape then this is a good choice. The ganoderma actually complements the butterscotch flavor, giving it a unique twist. While we thought Menthol was okay and Coffee was good, Butterscotch was the flavor we fought over.
Juice Contents
10% Basic juice
15% PG
45% VG
10% Ganoderma
20% Flavor (50/50 VG/PG)
Steeping Notes
Menthol
10mg nicotine
Uncapped: November 19, 2012 6:35PM
Recapped: November 21, 2012 7:00PM
Tested: December 18, 2012
Coffee
10mg nicotine
Uncapped: November 19, 2012 6:35PM
Recapped: November 21, 2012 7:00PM
Tested: December 18, 2012
Butterscotch
50/50 PG/VG ratio 10mg nicotine
Uncapped: November 19, 2012 6:35PM
Recapped: November 21, 2012 7:00PM
Tested: December 18, 2012
There are a few takeaways here. First, I’m reminded of tech pundits that dismissed the iPad as a content creation tool. While I always viewed the iPad more as a consumption device (which is what most people use it for, primarily), I’ve been blown away by the amount of great apps that allow for content creation. There are some truly (insanely?) great music, office, and image editing apps out there. There have been several days when this blog has been updated through a combination of Clean Writer, Filterstorm, and WordPress. As far as content creation goes, the iPad has exceeded most people’s expectations.
Secondly, Warren Ellis has always been one of the coolest cats writing comics. (You must read his run on The Authority!) The fact that he wrote a large chunk of his novel on an iPad makes him even cooler.
My brother’s album, Almost Home, is now available digitally through Amazon and iTunes. Click on the video above to hear “For Dani,” the track he wrote for his wife. While buying this fine jazz album through Amazon helps me out a bit, buying the physical CD from Pass Out Records helps my brother out a ton. So if you’re looking for a great stocking stuffer for one of the jazz lovers in your life, kindly consider picking up my brother’s album.
Hey…I just realized that he has tracks for his wife and his dog, but not his (more) dashing and (more) charming brother. Hmph. I’m going to chalk that one up to sibling jealousy.
Now get ready to enter the bitter barn, as the rest of this week’s Coffee Talk columns will be about…more
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, getting review units of phones more than a month after the product has been released, Nonito Donaire’s 4-0 2012, or boxing’s return to network television, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Just in case you missed it, here are my — and more importantly, your fellow RPadholics’ — picks for the “Best of 2012.”
Now get ready to enter the bitter barn, as the rest of this week’s Coffee Talk columns will be about games, movies, TV shows, etc. that you didn’t like in 2012. Hopefully things will get nasty as you talk about your “Worst of 2012” experiences!
Sony is having its annual “Play Days” event, offering discounts on PlayStation 3 accessories and peripherals. The promotion runs until January 12 and includes discounts as high as 60 percent off the MSRP. Here are some highlights:
If you happen to pick anything up, please leave a note in the comments section. Extra-special thanks goes to everyone that takes advantage of these deals through the Amazon links above.
Since so many of you are big (American) football fans, here’s some space to talk about the latest NFL games. Whether you’re discussing your fantasy league players, the Seattle Seahawks’ fake punt, or the San Francisco 49ers holding off the New England Patriots’ late surge, please talk it up in the comments section!
The Alt Smoke Silver Bullet is one of the most popular mods on the market and its popularity is totally deserved. It’s a great performer, the build quality is outstanding, it looks great, and it has fantastic flexibility when used with an Evolv Kick. Going into this review, I expected to like the Silver Bullet a lot. I ended up loving it and it has become one of my favorite vaping devices. Here’s the breakdown.
What’s In the Kit: The barebones Silver Bullet kit costs $84.99 and comes with a simple microfiber carrying case. Alt Smoke offers additional configurations that include atomizers, cartomizers, batteries, chargers, and more. If you are an experienced vaper and don’t need the accessories, you’re good to go with just the mod. If you’re new to vaping then Alt Smoke offers everything you need to get started.
Build Quality and Construction: The Silver Bullet is built like a tank. It’s made from aircraft aluminum and feels very sturdy. The finish — available in a wide variety of colors — is also topnotch. This is a beautiful mod that will last most vapers a very, very long time. I was extremely impressed by the quality of the Silver Bullet. It’s a fantastic example of a high-quality vaping device that’s made in the USA. (And yes, I’m partial to made in the USA goods.) The Silver Bullet is backed by a six-month warranty that covers mechanical failure.
Ergonomics and Design: This is as straightforward as it gets. The Silver Bullet is a simple (though extremely well made) mechanical mod. It’s a solid tube with a button that won’t accidentally fire off in your pants or pocketbook. Due to its mechanical construction, you don’t have to worry about any circuits dying or breaking down. Since it’s made from aircraft aluminum, it has a really nice heft. Vapers that prefer lighter devices might be put off by the weight, but I loved the solid feel of the SB.
Operation: There’s a single button. You press it. After that, you just vape and enjoy. The mod uses a standard 510 connection, so you can use it with a wide variety of atomizers, cartomizers, and clearomizers.
Performance (Standalone): As a fixed voltage device, I was surprised by the strong performance of the Silver Bullet. This thing kicks like a mule — easily one of the best fixed voltage mods I’ve ever used. Running on a single 18650 battery, I was able to get a day and half on a charge, sometimes a little bit longer. Performance does go down when the battery hits the 1/4 mark or so.
Performance (With Evolv Kick): Using the Silver Bullet with the Evolv Kick gives this mod incredible versatility. The Kick allows you to adjust the wattage to your liking. You can use the Kick with an 18490 battery or buy the optional $24.95 extension sleeve to use it with an 18650 battery. The Kick gives you consistent output and versatile performance at the expense of battery life. Still, with the extension sleeve and an 18650 battery, I was able to get more than a day of vaping with the device.
Verdict: The Silver Bullet has quickly become one of my favorite vaping devices. The build quality is fantastic and the standalone performance is great. When used with an Evolv Kick, you get the versatility of variable wattage. My favorite setup at the moment is the SB, a Kick, and an 18650 battery. This gives me more than a day of fantastic vaping. Whether you prefer fixed voltage or variable wattage, I highly recommend the Silver Bullet. It’s a wonderful vaping device.
[Special thanks to RPadholic N8R for filming the intro and outro of this review! The ins and outs were done pre-surgery, while the rest of the review was done post-surgery.]
There were a lot of great console games I enjoyed in 2012. The PlayStation 3 had two of my favorites in Journey and The Unfinished Swan. As far as traditional console games go, I quite enjoyed Final Fantasy XIII-2. On the PC side, I had some fun with Diablo III. To my surprise, my favorite game of the year wasn’t for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, or a handheld console. It was for the iPad. I’m talking about…more
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, wishing McKayla Maroney a belated happy birthday, the hapless Los Angeles Lakers, or Josh Hamilton signing with the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim (such a stupid team name), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
There were a lot of great console games I enjoyed in 2012. The PlayStation 3 had two of my favorites in Journey and The Unfinished Swan. As far as traditional console games go, I quite enjoyed Final Fantasy XIII-2. On the PC side, I had some fun with Diablo III. To my surprise, my favorite game of the year wasn’t for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, or a handheld console. It was for the iPad. I’m talking about Final Fantasy Dimensions.
I loved almost everything about Final Fantasy Dimensions. In many ways, it’s the spiritual successor to Final Fantasy V. It’s an old-school JRPG that’s centered around the awesome FF job system, which I’m a total mark for. The graphics aren’t impressive, but they’re certainly nostalgic. The soundtrack is highly enjoyable. The writing is fun. Between the job system and “fusion abilities,” the gameplay is very deep. As a fan of old-school JRPGs, Dimensions has it all.
The only thing I didn’t like about the game is that the random battles could be a bit much, but that didn’t stop me from spending more than 70 hours playing the game. It was a delightful experience that reminded me of everything I love about classic JRPGs.
Now it’s your turn! What was your favorite game of the year?
