I have two hobbies: I enjoy sarcastically understating things. I also like sometimes playing the occasional video game  every once in a great while. Sometimes, I find a game that I think you (the internets) should be playing. I think to myself “seriously, why isn’t everybody playing this awesome game?” But then I realize, oh, maybe nobody told you. So, here I am, telling you, The Internets, about some awesome game that you really should be playing.

The first game in this multi-part, highly edumacational series is called Audiosurf. It’s a music/rhytm game, so it’s pretty much like Guitar Hero. Except, there’s no guitar, it’s more of a puzzle game with somewhat of a racing vibe, the visuals are very Tron/Rez/What Nolan Bushnell Probably Sees While on Acid type trippy, it’s really super cheap (10 bucks on Steam), it has worldwide high score tables for every single song, you can buy it without standing in line and then special ordering a second guitar, and uh… oh yeah, you can play any song you want on it. No, I don’t mean any crappy cover song that you had to buy in a bundle with the song you really wanted (man, I don’t want “Take it Off” I just want “Killer Queen”). I mean, you can play any old song you got sitting on your hard drive. It’ll take that song and make a level out of it. Yeah! For reals!

The basic gist of the game is this: you choose a “character” (basically a different difficulty and mode of the game), you choose a song, and then you guide a little rocket ship type thing down a track to the beat of the song, scooping up and matching blocks of different colors and/or avoiding others (depending on what character you pick) while using the ships special abilities to tilt things in your favor (i.e. hanging on to a block to use later, grabbing a whole row of blocks at once, doing a little jump to avoid bad blocks, etc). When the song is over, your score for that song is uploaded to the Audiosurf servers and you are shown the high score table and where you rank in it (as of right now, I have the medium-difficulty high score for Kraftwerk’s Computer Love. That song was harder than you would think!)

I know, it doesn’t sound as exciting as Rock Band, and it is indeed far more abstract. It has that whole synesthesia thing going on though, that the Guitar-Rock-Hero-Bands don’t have. It has an amazing level of that in-the-zone zen feeling. The only game that beats it in that regard is Rez. (Though I mean seriously: can you imagine playing Rez with any song you want?)

It’s not always spot on, but when it is on, it’s fucking on. Many times the visuals and the music sync up so perfectly it almost seems like there is an invisible hand at work; it seems as though someone has surely pre-designed the track. It’s  apparently all the work of an algorithm in the game, however, that at times seems almost magical, and others… maybe not so much. For at least half the times I’ve thought to myself “How does it possibly know to do that at that part of the song??” I’ve also thought “What the heck is it thinking putting that way over there?” Even still, most of the people I know have multiple gigs of music sitting on their hard drive. If one song doesn’t work so well, try another. The vast majority of songs I’ve played on the thing have been at least satisfying, and at best “holy fucking hell this is the best music game ever.” In my own playthroughs, it seems to prefer rock songs to electronica, oddly. Some of the best songs I’ve played so far were even Jazz. (Who knew that Coltrane was an amazing level designer in addition to being an amazing musician?)

Because you’re using all prerecorded songs with levels rendered on the fly, it does lack the whole “you are actually making the music happen” feeling of Guitar Hero/Rock Band. Though, by the same token, unlike Guitar Hero, Audiosurf doesn’t abruptly stop the song after it feels you’ve screwed it up too much. In fact, you can’t lose a track at all. The game will never forcibly and frustratingly dump you into a game over screen. Any frustration felt while playing this game is brought to the table by the player alone, probably in an attempt to run a track as perfectly as possible in a bid for the top score for the song. That, combined with the curiosity to see what every single song on my hard drive looks like as a playable puzzle game race track is a pretty big driving force for me personally to play.

This post has somehow gotten reviewery, which I wanted to avoid, so I’m gonna stop being reviewery and just tell you to go download the demo on Steam, because seriously: this is a game you should be playing.

I totally have “Killer Queen” stuck in my head now, so I’m gonna go load that up as soon as I’m done typing this sentence right here.

Posted by nick on 28 Feb 2008 at 01:35 am

5 Comments »

Can we believe in anything else?

 All these comics were published by DC and released on 2/20/08.  Maybe I’ll mention some Marvel stuff later today. 

THE SPIRIT #14:  Bummer.  I couldn’t even finish this, it was so dull.  And I was excited for the new creative team of Mark Evanier, Sergio Aragones, and Mike Ploog, too, all of whom are accomplished professionals responsible for a ton of great comics.  The Spirit’s appeal has nothing to do with its characters, instead hinging upon the creators’ manipulation of form, both artistic and in terms of storytelling.  Unfortunately these new-ish guys aren’t so hot at the form manipulatin’.  Darwyn Cooke’s excellent revival didn’t approach the groundbreaking work done by Eisner on either front, but his artwork was reliably beautiful, his design and layouts often inspired, and his stories snappy and pulpy enough to make the finished product a fine tribute to the original.  Evanier, Aragones, and Ploog fall short, though.  The murder-revenge plot is formulaic, and the dialogue far too often fails at being funny.  Ploog’s artwork is fine, and closer to Eisner than Cooke’s work ever was, but it also lacks Cooke’s beauty and dynamism, and can’t help but feel like a step down.  I’m sure I’ll get accustomed to the art soon enough, and hopefully by then Evanier and Aragones’s scripts will be more assured. 

CHECKMATE #23:  Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann are off the book as of issue 25, and that really sucks.  Along with Ed Brubaker’s Captain America, Checkmate has been one of the tightest-plotted comics around the last couple of years, and its “superhero espionage” slant provids a natural opportunity to explore global politics within the DC Universe (yes, I can enjoy comics that take their fictional settings semi-seriously, and no, I won’t apologize for that).  Rucka and Trautmann’s final arc promises to resolve the Kobra storyline that’s been slowly unraveling in the background all along, and issue 23 kicks it off by revealing what Pawn 502 has been up to since he was placed undercover within Kobra back in issue 10 (or whenever).  It’s an exciting start, despite feeling rushed.  It’s a shame Trautmann couldn’t take over on his own after Rucka’s departure, and please forgive me for being deeply skeptical about Bruce Jones taking over the book.  At least Rucka will be rejoining Brubaker, his Gotham Central partner, on Daredevil, which is really quite genuinely exciting, for real.  Joe Bennett, meanwhile, dishes out a startlingly vivid double-page splash amid his typically dull DC house-style art.  Yeah, Mr. Terrific is in pretty good shape, but since when did he start looking like a dude from Gears of War?   

BRAVE AND THE BOLD #10:  And another founding creator takes leave, as George Perez finishes his run on this BATB revival with the tenth issue.  What we have here is another good DC book not nearly selling well enough, which basically describes every book they currently publish that’s worth reading.  Supposedly Mark Waid will be off the book soon, as well, at which point they really should just cancel the damn thing.  Few writers can modernize Silver Age concepts and storytelling techniques as successfully as Waid, and the ones that can (Busiek, Morrison) have more than enough already on their plates.  In this issue Waid and Perez retrieve original ‘50’s Brave and the Bold character Silent Knight from obscurity for a team-up with Superman, and then follow that up with the latest in a series of recent tributes to the ‘60’s Teen Titans in a excellent story that focuses primarily upon Aqualad.  Waid cleverly incorporates contemporary disdain for (and incredulity over the necessity and utility of) the Aqualad character into that story, while lightly redeeming him in the process.  Both tales further the larger story that Waid’s been seamlessly crafting since the beginning; hopefully he can tie everything up just as successfully before (maybe) taking off.  And Perez is Perez, a reliably top-notch super-hero artist that, along with Byrne, completely defined the style for my generation. 

Posted by Garrett Martin on 27 Feb 2008 at 02:31 pm

No Comments »

I saw my favorite new product in the East Campus Village restrooms yesterday: the Sanitary Door Opener. 

 

It’s not that it’s such a terrible idea, especially when you have doors that require handle use rather than mere shoving with a shoulder. There are plenty of people who are obsessive about hand washing to the extent that they can’t bear to touch a door after having soaped up and dried off (although not so obsessive that they’re worried about wrist germs, the new menace of the 21st century). What I like best about it is the posture it encourages.

 

 

I might use it just so I can feel powerful and full of African pride each time I leave the restroom.

 

–HB 

Posted by teambrown on 27 Feb 2008 at 09:07 am

8 Comments »

In advance of tonight’s episode of Lost, EW.com published a great interview with producers Damon Lindelhof and Carlton Cuse which sheds a lot of light on the whole space/time thing happening this season as well as what questions might be answered before the end of the season. Read it HERE.

Posted by ryan on 21 Feb 2008 at 02:12 pm

No Comments »

Obama trounced Hillary tonight in Wisconsin - with pundit’s referring to the win as a “landslide” and an “Obamassacre**.” Looks like it is time for the condescending madame Clinton to step aside and let this whole “Hope” thing play out.

The fact that a politician came along when I (and most folks I know) had all but given up hope on the future of our nation (and world… though the two are hardly unrelated) and inspired me (us) to believe that perhaps mankind isn’t out of the running just yet is amazing. I mean it is science fiction amazing that anyone could come along and drum up enough support that he could inspire even the most jaded of voters.

As the wife says, why can’t Hillary just step aside and let this thing happen. Does she not realize that there is a true movement towards progress in America and it is far bigger than her personal push for power? No, chances are she is too isolated and self involved to even understand the magnitude of what we are witnessing. Maybe someone could throw a bucket of water on the former first lady and shake her out of her paranoid power trip for long enough that she could see Obama for what he is (the future) and get the fuck out the way.

So yeah, Hillary should drop out so that we can get on with the main event… Obama v McCain AKA: Olde Timey Hero McOlderson v www.Captain-Holy-Shit-Maybe-We-Aren’t-Fucked.com/barackobama.shtml

* and by tonight I mean the 10m minutes I spent “writing” this post

** Ok, no pundits said Obamassacre, it’s one of those ridiculous words I talked about making up in the title of this post (and the above asterisked footnote). I mean surely it is no more ridonk than “Mittmentum.” Meta? And how!

Posted by ryan on 20 Feb 2008 at 03:47 am

2 Comments »

being into music isn’t just an interest…it’s a fucking full time job for some folks.

Music Snobbery is something that most people of a certain demographic will take part in from their late teens well into their early 30s. for most music snobs it was likely that during college they would spend some time working for the local college radio station or at a record store honing their craft…or maybe even starting a band to help out in the endless cycle of trying to be cool and get laid…..or if they were really lucky and had some rich parents or a trust fund they might even put out a record or two on their own label..this is the Mortal Kombat finishing move of Music Snobbery. this is essentially what happens to people who didn’t like sports or weren’t good enough to make their highschool baseball team. and this goes on and on until they stop caring as much about music because they either:
a)have a kid and have less time to devote to finding out about cool music or
b) get burnt out on trying to one up their friends and retire from music snobbery content with the knowledge that they have excellent taste and can no longer learn anything of true value.

back in the olden days before the Internets it was a very difficult thing to be a music snob, you had to read magazine articles and books about underground rock n roll to hear about new bands or “important” older bands and then you had to devote lots of time and money into traveling to out of the way independent record stores or ordering things through the mail without ever hearing it first. this made for some interesting discoveries (raincoats, wipers, vaselines….aka anything kurt cobain listed as a major influence) or it could result in some really crappy cds that you couldn’t sell at the used cd shop (free kitten, gumball!). and back in these happy times it really meant something to be able to namedrop some bands on other music snobs  to let them know you were in the know and not a total poseur.

then something terrible happened: THE INTERNET. and everything went to shit and it was as easy as clicking on your mouse and downloading a song by some obscure band from scotland that only had 2 eps and you could suddenly claim you’d heard them way before anyone else or whatever. the effort was now totally gone. but even though it has become much much easier to know about cool music, it’s still important to be into the right cool music…especially if you are a person younger than 23 who is talking about music to a person older than 29. there are certain bands that you must be aware of if you are to ever shed the label of young poseur. post punk as a genre is really a cottage industry for a good name dropper to verse themselves in. liking the Cure and The Smiths don’t count.

the top 25 bands to name drop if you are worried peope think you are a poseur

1. Sonic Youth (although very popular at one time, you must always list them as one of your favorite bands)
2. The Nation Of Ulysses
3. Nick Cave (Bad Seeds/Birthday Party)
4. Gang Of Four (it’s important to understand that all dance punk bands are gang of four clones)
5. The Jesus And Mary Chain (it’s important to call bands out for ripping off the JMC)
6. Modern Lovers
7. ESG (also good to play their songs at dance parties to impress certain people)
8. Pere Ubu/Rocket From The Tombs
9. Mission Of Burma
10. The Fall/Wire (UK punk bands that stayed aroud forever and everyone likes to list as an influence)
11. Joy Division/New Order
12. The Clean/The Bats/The Verlaines (any indie band from new zealand as this is the birth of indie pop and that’s what the Shins are)
13. Can/Faust (or any krautrock band really, you can’t go wrong)
14. James Chance
15. The Stone Roses (unless you are british…then it’s like listing Nirvana as your favorite band)
16. The Replacements
17. The Gun Club/X/The Zeroes (other early LA punk bands as they are less popular than New York and London bands)
18. Suicide/New York Dolls/Television (70s new york city punk that isn’t the Ramones or Blondie)
19. Swell Maps (important to note they influenced Pavement)
20. Captain Beefheart (although i don’t know anyone who actually listens to them who isn’t 40)
21. Pylon (unless you live in athens…then it’s not big deal)
22. The Sonics/the Monks (garage punk pioneers)
23. Neu!
24. Drive Like Jehu/Jesus Lizard/Big Black (thinking man’s dude rock)
25. The Wipers/Raincoats/Vaselines (aka the Kurt Cobain obsessions)

posted here from my new blog http://makinglists.blogspot.com

Posted by justin on 16 Feb 2008 at 04:42 pm

1 Comment »

when i’m at work i try to avoid doing things i am supposed to do at all costs…you know, like working. writing on my many thousands of blogs is of course one of my favorite methods in the battle to avoid being productive. another is watching free porn on redtube or youporn or megarotic.com. online sports betting is another i enjoy. but one of my new favorite things to do is to read this new blog i found out about and laugh my ass off. it’s called Stuff White People Like and it’s painfully true and funny as fuck. if you are white or know anyone who is white then you should go check it out, http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com.

here’s one of my favorite posts that pretty much sums up everything you need to know about the blog.

#60 Toyota Prius

February 7, 2008 by clander

Over the years, white people have gone through a number of official cars.  In the 1980s it was the Saab and the Volvo.  By the 1990s it was the Volkswagen Jetta or a Subaru 4WD stastion wagon.  But these days, there is only one car for white people.   One car that defines all that they love: the Toyota Prius.

The Prius might be the most perfect white product ever.  It’s expensive, gives the idea that you are helping the environment, and requires no commitment/changes other than money.

The Toyota Prius gets 45 miles per gallon.  That’s right, you can drive 45 miles and burn only one gallon of gasoline.  So somehow, through marketing or perception, the Prius lets people think that driving their car is GOOD for the environment.

It’s a pretty sweet deal for white people.  You can buy a car, continue to drive to work and Barak Obama rallies and feel like you are helping the environment!

Some white people decide to pull the ultimate move.  Prius, Apple Sticker on the back, iPod rocking, and Democratic Candidate bumper sticker. Unstoppable!

There are a few ways you can use this to your advantage.  If you are carpooling to an event or party you can always say “can we take your Prius? my car doesn’t get good mileage and I feel guilty driving it.”  And bam! Free ride!

Also, if you see a white person in a Prius you can say “wow, that’s great to see that you’re doing something for the earth.”  The white person will feel very good about themselves and offer to drive you home, to Ikea, or drop you off at 80s night.

Posted by justin on 15 Feb 2008 at 10:01 pm

1 Comment »

Come check it out kids!

Posted by ryan on 15 Feb 2008 at 04:31 pm

No Comments »

Last night’s Lost was another barn burner. As usual EW.com has a great recap HERE that covers way more ground than I have time to tackle while at work! Definitely worth the read!

Posted by ryan on 15 Feb 2008 at 03:26 pm

No Comments »

It’s a bunch. You might say it’s a day late. I say it’s not as though all expressions of affection are confined to one particular silly day in February.I’m doing my darnedest to locate videos of some of my favorites.The first one is Cole Porter’s “Looking at You,” which was memorably rendered by Goldie Hawn and Alan Alda in Woody Allen’s Everyone Says I Love You. I can’t find their version, but I can find a version by Andrea Marcovicci, which isn’t embeddable but is view/listenable on YouTube here. Pete Townshend has a gift for writing love songs that remain interesting, and one of my favorites is “A Little Is Enough,” a sentiment rarely expressed, but done so particularly beautifully here (although the production is a bit dated). Mary Wells’s “My Guy” might be an oldie, but it’s a well-expressed and purty one, especially when she gets almost hiccupy toward the end. The Ramones’ “I Want You Around” is so darn simple, but that’s all it takes. Lou Reed’s “She Is My Best Friend” is apparently too great to find on the internet in form other than blurry video from a Yo La Tengo concert, so that’ll have to do.I’ll keep thinking, and I’m sure my partner in crime will have additions. –hb  p.s. I attempted to embed those YouTube videos, but it was a disaster, so go offsite.

Posted by teambrown on 15 Feb 2008 at 02:19 pm

2 Comments »