August 28 is Hate Wedge55 Day, a religious holiday observed by a few isolated sects of secular religious sects. The day’s always held special significance for me, usually because it’s the day before the upcoming Wal-Mart adventure.

Today I celebrated in style. ScottLee (whose identity has been hidden via Internet handle), vector_black, and I went to our local, drivethrough-less Carl’s Jr. this morning and each ordered a delicious Low Carb Breakfast Bowl. It tastes about as good as you’d expect a low grade patty of meat of indeterminate origin wrapped in egg and then covered in unmelted shredded cheese and several tons of bacon to taste. It leaves you feeling just as bad too. Of course, we ordered the things as combo meals, which means they came with a drink and tater tot nuggets, making the thing ridiculously high in not just fat and cholesterol, but in carbs too. We effectively prevented the meal from being labeled as health food, regardless of how twisted your standards are. Suck on that one, Dr. Atkins.

Then we didn’t go to PAX.

Later, vector_black and I saw AVP, which is apparently a much cooler title than Alien Versus Predator. The movie was unbelievably stupid. So stupid, in fact, that I’m not even going to waste time discussing it any further here. The sequel will be fantastic, I’m sure.

Then (actually earlier), I downloaded a shiny copy of the Tribes: Vengeance beta. I wanted to hate this game so bad. I wanted the game to suck and I wanted it to cost Sierra several bundles after they fired the entirety of Dynamix, but it looks like Irrational has pulled through and has created a game which is more of a sequel to Tribes than even Tribes 2 was. The game shifts the focus away from the massive (and hilly) levels of Tribes 2 and its slow, slow gameplay and back on the tight, action-packed goodness of the original Tribes.

The game is laser focused. All of the old packs have been reduced down to four, each of which now has an active and passive function. The weapon roster is set at eleven, with none of the guns encroaching on any other’s functionality. Each weapon remains extremely unique, useful, and above all else, fun to use. Of particular note are the grappler and buckler. The former is a massive energy shield which allows you to block enemy shots as well as hurl the shield itself at your opponents like a giant, purple boomerang. The grappler replaces the ELF gun, as it can prevent enemies from flying away as you literally grapple them to yourself. It also allows you to swing on objects in the world, and in one particular level, set entirely in a subterranean cave, it’s not uncommon to see people swinging along the ceiling just like a spider can. The vehicles, too, are excellent. Each is terribly fun to use and none of them are just slightly varied repeats of one another, a problem which plagued the first two Tribes game.

All told, the game’s incredibly excellent, and this is only a four-map beta test. But I know what you’re probably thinking. Why is he having so much fun on Hate Wedge55 Day is that thing which you’re probably thinking. Don’t worry, though. The game’s a lot of fun, there’s no doubting that, but so far I’ve spent more time wanting to play the game rather than actually playing it. This being a beta and all, it’s still saturated with all kinds of fun bugs. Stations have a tendency of lagging me in place for several minutes or just crashing my computer entirely. Sometimes the entire game just freezes, leaving me to fly around the map and shoot my opponents and team mates alike, both unable to defend themselves. Then it crashes to desktop.

And though I’ve spent the day hating me, I still didn’t watch any Warcraft 3 replays. I don’t hate myself that much.

Now I’m off to watch vector_black play Mech Warrior 4, I typed several hours before actually posting this!