It’s Halloween and I’m good to go in my Solid Snake Hiding Box costume. Wedge55 is behind the camera in his Naked Boy costume.

(vector_black tribute to the costumery of Lady “Jenn Cutter” Guardian)

I’m just trying to break the main page.

(vector_black)

EDIT: still works!
EDIT: EDIT: woo!

1. I don’t like Pikmin 2. Everyone else seems to love it, so either a) I’m right and everyone else is wrong, b) there’s something fundamentally wrong with me, or c) my disk is faulty in some way. I’m betting it’s a combination of all three.

2. I’ve literally played only Tribes: Vengeance for ten minutes (two on one map and eight on another), but oh what a ten minutes they were. If I were to describe T:V in a single “word,” and that single “word” was more of a non-word than an actual word, I would use “Tribes-esque,” which is really the biggest complement anyone can give Irrational at this ponit.

3. GameSpot has a System Shock 2 retrospective which you shouldn’t bother reading. In fact, the only reason I’m even mentioning it is because the author seems hell-bent on repeating over and over again that tomorrow GameSpot will reveal a new project by Irrational which will “likely please fans of System Shock 2.” That should be really relevant in four years. My money’s on anything but a Doom 3-powered System Shock 3.

4. My poisonmancer died. Again. Ajojdflbmlmaopsj;ldsjbikjaoijjsdf

5. Why is it that every time Nintendo opens its (PLZ don’t treat a singular company as a plural KTHX) mouth about the DS I want one more and more but every time Sony says anything about the PSP it just makes me really, really sad? You can’t even blame this one on Nintendo bias, really. Or you could. It’s not like I have any say in the matter.

6. I love me some Frosted Mini Wheats.

7. Sign ups for the World of Warcraft Beta start soon. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

8. I’m going to bed.

So I’m installing Tribes: Vengeance right now - the install program is literally running while I type this - and though the game seems to be proof positive that Irrational is quite literally a manufacturer of dreams (based only on demos (plural), betas, and reviews), this game has what has to be the worst installation program ever. The status bar quickly filled to its brim, despite the fact that I am on only the first install CD of four, which came not in a multi-CD jewel case, but in four separate cheap paper sleeves. Meanwhile, my CD-ROM drive is making horrible, horrible sounds akin to the fevered mating of imaginary wild beasts.

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned my complete distain for Vivendi Universal before, despite the fact that they pretty much let Blizzard do whatever the hell they damn well please. I think the real shame with VU Games, as apposed to something like Acclaim, is that the games they publish and the developers they represent are usually quite good. Maybe they should put some effort into reflecting that.

A productive day of Half Life co-op.

(vector_black cake recipe)

GameStop.com always has one fantastic time-based sale or another running at any given moment, ranging from free shipping for select games or free pre-owned games after spending X amount of money to discounts on used games or guidebooks across the board. One of the reasons I almost exclusively buy my games from GameStop’s website (and avoid their brick and mortar stores whenever possible), is because if you wait long enough, checking back at the site every day or two, you can always get that game you’re interested in with free shipping, and sometimes you get a free copy of Wario Ware to boot.

So, the other day GameStop’s website was running a code which gave 20% off all used games. They run similar offers all the time, and every single time I quickly browse through all the used games I�m even remotely interested in only to find each and every one back ordered. It’s a good system they have running over there, mainly because it forces me to use eBay instead and actually get a jewel case and instruction manual with my CD. Imagine my surprise when I found Klonoa: Door to Phantomville very much in stock, as the “usually ships in 24 hours” text is quick to point out. I added G-Darius and F-Zero X to my cart alongside Klonoa and proceeded to check out, applied my code, and waited patiently from my box o’ goodies to arrive.

And arrive it did, only it did so (arrived) sans Klonoa, which is still waiting patiently to “ship within 24 hours,” according to my GameStop.com account page. Oh, well. It’s not like I actually wanted to play the game or anything. At least I got F-Zero X to keep me company.

There’s a new replay online and hidden somewhere on this website. First person to find it wins.