Some of you have started doing this already through Coffee Talk, but I wanted to keep it going. It would be cool/fun if we followed each other on iTunes Ping. If you’re interested, please leave your Ping name in the comments section. As for me, I’m “Raymond Padilla”.
I actually buy more music from Amazon than iTunes, so my iTunes selections aren’t that interesting. Have any of you discovered (or rediscovered) cool music through your Ping friends?
I’m still getting back into the swing of things in America, but as far as I can tell there’s only one interesting game out this week: Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
Any of you down with Shattered Dimensions? Perhaps there’s something else on your wish list for this week? Remember, with great power comes….
I caught up on several movies while flying to and around Asia. Most of them were new releases that are out of theaters but not yet available on Blu-ray/DVD. There were some surprises for me, but for the most part I was happy that I didn’t pay money to see these movies in theaters. Here’s the rundown.
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, Intelligentsia’s Organic Ethiopia Sidama Shilcho, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. being a racist prick, or your fantasy football team, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
I caught up on several movies while flying to and around Asia. Most of them were new releases that are out of theaters but not yet available on Blu-ray/DVD. There were some surprises for me, but for the most part I was happy that I didn’t pay money to see these movies in theaters. Here’s the rundown.
The Karate Kid: I had a huge problem with this movie conceptually. The martial art used in this film is kung-fu, not karate. In my head it just confuses kids into thinking that all Asian martial arts are the same…which is just a step away from saying all Asians look the same. Still, I heard that Jaden Smith was absolutely charming in this movie and I was curious to see if superior genetics spawned a great star. In my opinion, the genes cancelled each other out. Smith is just another crappy child actor. I’m convinced that everyone that praised his performance was really kissing his parents’ asses. Most importantly, the Karate Kid remake didn’t have the awesome music that powered the first two films. Joe Esposito’s “You’re the Best” is legendary.
The Cop Out: Kevin Smith gets tons of praise for his writing and loads of flack for his directing. I was surprised that a studio gave him a movie — with none of his fantastic writing — to direct. There are a handful of laughs in the film, which wasn’t a surprise because Tracy Morgan is hilarious, but for the most part it really sucked. Ironically, Smith’s did a capable job directing the film. The writing was just mediocre.
Shrek Forever After: I like the Shrek movies. They’re entertaining for children and adults. While this one is a step down from the previous films, I was entertained. It’s pretty much what I expected and wanted from Shrek. That said, I’m happy I didn’t pay $10 to see it in a theater.
The A-Team: This movie surprised me. My expectations were low and they were absolutely obliterated. It’s a fun, fast, and stupid flick with some sweet action. Liam Neeson wasn’t nearly as ridiculous as I thought he’d be and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has a nice future in action movies (if he wants it). Although Jessica Biel is completely unbelievable as a military women, she’s always nice to look at. Out of all the airplane movies I watched, this was my biggest surprise.
Iron Man 2: I love this movie (except for the 15 seconds with “Bolivia Bunn”). The dialog and action are fantastic. I watched it at least five times, with several partial viewings that were interrupted by sleep. I haven’t watched all the big movies of 2010, but out of the ones I’ve seen, this was my favorite.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on any or all of these movies. Fire away (please)!!!!
Hot on the heels of Ariane’s introduction, BioWare has revealed that Dog and Finn will be in the mix in the “Witch Hunt” DLC for Dragon Age: Origins. If you’ve played the game then you know that Dog (or whatever you named him) is a charming and devastating companion. As for Finn, here’s the scoop:
Finn is a young mage from the Circle of Magi in Ferelden. He considers himself the Circle’s best linguist and foremost expert on ancient Tevinter history — even if others might consider him more of a bookworm, a recluse that spends all of his time in the tower’s dark library. Finn is the unlikeliest of adventurers… but it may come to pass that his academic expertise will force him to out of the library and into an adventure where his arcane might is the only thing that stands between him and certain death.
I like him already. He sounds much more interesting than Ariane — almost like that dork wizard Presto from the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon. Reluctant adventurers can be loads of fun and I’m looking forward to hearing other characters pick on him in “Witch Hunt”.
Any thoughts on the Dog and Finn?
Aside from Wordfeud for Android with RPadholics Big Blak and SlickyFats, I’m still not playing much of anything in Asia. I will be playing some games on United’s business class IFE on the trip back, but that’s about it. Surprisingly, I don’t miss my consoles too too much. I love traveling, seeing different countries, and experiencing different cultures. My mind has been so busy with Asia, the shoot, and my cold that I haven’t regretted not brining my PSP or DS. Yeah, that sounds blasphemous, but I’m being honest. Ha!
Soooooo, what are you guys and dolls playing this weekend?
To celebrate the two-year anniversary of its Chrome web browser, Google has release version six of its excellent web surfer. Here’s a clip from the official Google blog:
We’re releasing a new stable version of Chrome that is even faster and more streamlined. Chrome is now three times faster than it was two years ago on JavaScript performance. We’ve also been working on simplifying the “chrome” of Chrome. As you can see, we took the already minimalist user interface and stripped it down a bit more to make it easier to use. We combined Chrome’s two menus into one, revisited the location of the buttons, cleaned up the treatment of the URL and the Omnibox, and adjusted the color scheme of the browser to be easier on the eyes.
Chrome has been my main browser for about a year and I’m thrilled with its performance. I used to be a Firefox guy, but that browser has been getting slow and bloated. I’m super impressed with how quickly Chrome has progressed in a short period of time.
Any of you download the latest version of Chrome? Is it your primary browser? If not, how does it compare to your main browser?
The title of this edition of Coffee Talk should really be “While I Was Out”, but then it wouldn’t fit in with one of my favorite Mr. Majestic trade paperbacks. Majestros is cool and underrated. You should read his books. Anyway, today’s question is really simple: what was the biggest gaming news while I was away from the site?
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, Kaval winning NXT season two, that giant woman from NXT season three, or if you’re buying a new iPod Touch, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
The title of this edition of Coffee Talk should really be “While I Was Out”, but then it wouldn’t fit in with one of my favorite Mr. Majestic trade paperbacks
I’m still in Asia catching up on the industry from afar, but I heard a lot of buzz on the new Xbox 360 controller, Epic’s iPhone game, and Steve Jobs claiming that iOS was bigger than Jesus the PSP/Nintendo DS as a gaming platform. So what happened in the last week that was super huge in your opinion?!? I really want to know…because…well, I missed you all!
A few days ago, Rpadholic bsukenyan made some interesting statements on the importance of story over graphics in videogames. He wrote:
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, the latest Apple iTV rumors, seeing a chicken get its head chopped off, or your prediction for NXT season two’s winner (go Kaval!!!), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
A few days ago, Rpadholic bsukenyan made some interesting statements on the importance of story over graphics in videogames. He wrote:
This idea of “mobile gaming is about to erupt” also supports story over graphics in the classic which is more necessary debate. Story is much more important. I think there are plenty of arguments to be made in favor of story, but for the sake of this topic mobile gaming as the platform works for right now. If graphics were the only thing that made games great then we wouldn’t be having this discussion now, mobile gaming would have already erupted because the graphics are already extremely good.
While story is more important to me as a verbal entertainer and an avid reader of nerd things (comics, R.A. Salvatore, etc.), I completely disagree it’s more important than graphics in the grand scheme of things. In fact, it made me shout out a Brian Fellow, “That’s crazy!!!” Graphics are sexy. Graphics sell consoles. Casual gamers are wowed by the hottest graphics and rarely care about the latest compelling story. The vast majority of people are into visuals, whether it’s games, movies, or members of the opposite sex.
Hopefully bsukenyan forgives me for calling him out (I swear I’m not picking on you), but it’s an interesting debate (even though I know I’m right :P). What’s your stance on videogame graphics vs. story?
Google has started rolling out a VoIP service that allows U.S. callers to make free calls within the U.S. and to Canada for free (for a limited time) through Gmail. The service also allows you to make cheap international calls. If you have a Google voice number, those digits will be displayed as your caller ID. Here’s a clip from the official Google blog:
We’re rolling out this feature to U.S. based Gmail users over the next few days, so you’ll be ready to get started once “Call Phones” shows up in your chat list (you will need to install the voice and video plug-in if you haven’t already). If you’re not a U.S. based user — or if you’re using Google Apps for your school or business—then you won’t see it quite yet. We’re working on making this available more broadly — so stay tuned!
I’m a Gmail, Google Voice, and VoIP junkie that’s always looking for cheaper and more convenient ways to stay in touch with friends, particularly overseas. I’m thrilled that this features has been implemented into Gmail and will be experimenting with it over the next month. If it works the way I think it will then it should be a valuable part of my VoIP arsenal.
Any of you interested in Gmail’s new VoIP features?
BioWare has revealed information on Ariane, one of three new characters in the upcoming “Witch Hunt” DLC for Dragon Age: Origins. Here’s the official word on this Dalish warrior princess:
Ariane is a gifted Dalish warrior, and her clan’s best hunter. When an ancient artifact belonging to the clan’s Keeper is stolen, one with a history tied to the very roots of the elven people, Ariane is charged with the task of reclaiming it. She is determined to carry out her solemn duty, and when her task turns out to intersect with the Warden’s quest to find Morrigan she realizes that there may be far more to the artifact’s disappearance than simple theft.
Hopefully she’s not an angry Dalish woman like Velanna from Awakening. I’m totally over Dalish people whining about the slavery, being ousted from their lands, etc. I’m pretty sure there are better ways to deal with persecution than becoming a nomadic people that wear funky facial tattoos…but that’s just conjecture.
