My top 5 games of 2004

I wanted to list my top 5 games of 2004 before this year comes to a wrap. As most of you know I am a huge gamer. I have been playing computer games since I was 8. My first computer was a TI994A from Texas Instruments. Now that was one hot piece of hardware. My favorite game on it was "Adventure" which I am sure any geek my age remembers. I would stay up until 4am with my friends playing that game...ahh the nostalgia...

At any rate games have changed dramatically from that innocent time. Now its all about kill kill kill usually...though there are plenty of games that aren't about death and destruction. However, I will start at the bottom of the list as all lists go. Coming in at number 5 is none other than is Star Wars Galaxies: Jump To Lightspeed. This long awaited expansion adds space combat to Star Wars Galaxies. I have been playing this game for a year and a half now and the space expansion adds so much to the game that my Master Artisan/Merchant character has had to shut down most of his vendors because nobody is buying anything for the land game now...it's as expected for any MMO when a new expansion comes out. The combat is really well done, and the explosions and camera shake really add a lot to the experience. Sony adds loot to the game by way of components for your ship (finally), and you can sell what you don't want to the chassis dealer which is nice because then you don't have to carry around a lot of garbage with you. Looting in space also happens automatically so you won't get blown up while trying to get your components from the carcass of your enemy. The downside of course is the grind. Sony loves to make you grind your way through a profession. Most missions involve "duty missions" which means you go into the specified region of space and destroy ship after ship in a given area denoted by a waypoint. It's more of the same kind of mission style battles just like in the ground game. For some reason the developers think this is content. I have to disagree. If I am going to spend my time doing missions, I would rather they involved some kind of storyline the entire way. Sure it may take more time to develop and may involve alot more creativity but heck, we are paying for it monthly...It still earns this top 5 spot because of the great gameply while in space and the graphics are top notch.

Coming in at number 4 is none other than Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. This installment of the Tom Clancy game is superb. It focuses on stealth more than outright gunfights. In fact most of the time you aren't supposed to kill anyone. The graphics are incredible and the gameplay is very well done. The puzzles aren't ever impossible to figure out and I think the game has the right pacing for the genre. It has a solid storyline and really makes you think before you act.

The number 3 spot this year goes to Need For Speed Underground 2. This tricked out, hopped up, no holds barred racer is sure to please not only race fans, but especially mod fans. Imagine taking Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and letting you tune your cars, minus the guns and violence. The city you start in is HUGE, including a freeway and lots of city streets with the ability to unlock other areas of the city as you progress and earn more streed cred. I have been having a lot of fun with this game because you are free to drive around wherever you like. Sometimes you come along side a car and you can race them in a competition called "Outrun". If you take the lead you then have to try and lose them. If you are successful you get cash and more respect. It's a great game if you just want to get out and go fast, and it adds a new race called "Street X" where you compete with 3 other cars on a short track with tight turns, smashing and bashing your way to the finish line. If you enjoyed the first NFSU then you will love this one.

Arriving at number 2 in our list is Thief 3: Deadly Shadows. This is an amazing game with mind blowing graphics. Like Pandora Tomorrow, this game is focused on sneaking around and not getting caught. You actually try not to kill anyone which I think is a nice element in a game because it forces you to think. The plot is very good and the cinematics are top notch. My favorite thing about the game is the lighting and mood that is set right when you start. The environment is moody and very real. The voices are very well done, and add a lot to the game. Some of the scariest moments I have ever experienced in a game happened in Thief 3. The children's home level has to be the freakiest thing I have ever seen...I get the chills just thinking about it. Definitely check it out.

The coveted number 1 slot belongs this year to Half Life 2 (I haven't played Doom3 yet). This update to the original Half Life is so amazing...the details are just incredible. From the rippling water surface to the particle effects, I was completely blown away. My only disappointment with the game is that it seemed to wrap up much to quickly. Finishing the game on normal difficulty I was able to complete it in just about 20 hours...that's pretty short in my opinion for a game that occupies a whopping 4.5 gigs on the hard drive. The story is well done and you are dropped into it without really knowing what's going on. It also comes with the new version of Counterstrike which updates the graphics and is also very well done. Overall I was really happy with the game (as short as it is) and I look forward to the next one. I am playing it again on the hard level to see what it might add to the experience...sometimes you just can't get enough.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I wish everyone a very happy and safe holiday. We deep fry our turkeys and they always come out soooo good. Have a fun one.

-J
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Bowling Rules

Tuesday night is business as usual, which means bowling, bowling, and more bowling. Regardless what you might think it's a fun sport. Yes I said sport. If Synchronized Swimming and Baton Twirling is a sport so is Bowling. Look I sweat more bowling than I usually do walking 20 minutes to catch my train every day.

I bowl a 33 week league, this being my 3rd year. I have a cool team this year which includes two new teammates. We are all pretty decent bowlers averaging between 160-190. Tonight was really fun because I finally bowled a 225 after 9 weeks of slugging it out. Last year I was able to raise my average from a 146 to 173 and won an award for most improved average. It might not sound difficult but 29 pins over 33 weeks is a pretty tall order. That's almost 1 pin better each week. I am struggling a bit now with a 165 average, but tonights 533 series helps. For those of you that don't bowl, or don't really care...well don't worry about it and why are you here anyway? But I digress...bowling 7 strikes in a row at the end of a game is a pretty tough concentration game...so it felt good.

Now I don't know if any of you collect Star Wars figures or if you did when you were a kid, but I sure did and I have a big collection of all the (I am sure worthless) Episode 1 figures...now if only they had figures from "Troops" or as you will see here from Episode 4. But if you have seen Troops you know what I mean. I just about died laughing seeing this. My friend is a huge fan of Planet Dan's blog and always sends me links from there so I hope you appreciate the morbid humor as I did.

I forgot to mention last post that my halloween pics are online now. You can find them here.

I'm gonna suck down this Newcastle and play some Star Wars Galaxies now.

Ciao.

-J

The Halloween Battle is Over

Halloween and the Election are finally over! whew!

October was a whirlwind this year with me getting ready for Halloween and balancing a full time workload. That's right, I started a new job...I actually started back in mid August as a web developer for Wells Fargo. I am very happy there and everyone I work with is great.

Now back to October. I built two columns to flank the entrance to my Halloween decorations which somewhat resembled the inside of a manor. We decided to be vampires this year and it was a lot of fun. It took about 3 full days of building to make the columns and as you will see they turned out awesome.

Oct. 30th we had a party and it was really fun. A lot of people came and a couple of them I had not seen in years. Everyone dressed up and we even had some Halloween pictionary that my wife was in charge of. Lots of food and drink and everyone had fun. Pictures can be found here.
Next year I am planning on adding even more to the decorations and I might even do a bigger theme...I am thinking of a Haunted Mine...That could be a lot of fun. Thanks to Devious Concoctions for their instructional manuals which were invaluable.

Now, to quote old Dennis Miller "I don't mean to get off on a rant here but"...In the words of my co-worker, ah cripes! I really can't believe so many people are so deluded about the state of this country. GW got more of his "base" and we are still in the crapper as far as the economy goes. He's taking this country to hell in a handbasket and we all get to come along for the ride. Do I think Kerry could get us out of the "war in Iraq" sooner...Maybe, but we will never know. At least Bush actually got elected this time...The first time is always the sweetest I say.

With his foreign policies in place however we aren't going to see an end to this illegal invasion he calls a war for some time. At least a year, if that. I wouldn't be surprised if the draft or some form of it were re-instated. There is a great game at http://www.emogame.com/bushgame.html . It's worth checking out, especially if you voted for Bush. He and his cabinet have single-handedly pulled the US out of the U.N., effectively nullifying all the peace treaties we worked hard to put in place, and unilaterally pulled us out of any other peace accords. The UN did not sanction our invasion of Iraq. It is an unnecessary war and has cost US taxpayers almost 8 Trillion dollars. That figure is not inflated by the way. According the the U.S. National Debt Clock we are fast approaching it. Say what you will about Clinton, but he built up a 5 billion dollar surplus in his term that the current president quickly squandered. Now, here is the great news! The Republicans control EVERYTHING now. Why is that great? Because now they have to clean it up. They need to fix it, by controlling the senate, the house and the congress they have noone but themselves to blame for anything that doesn't change. You called down the thunder, now you got it. This administration has their work cut out for them now...they not only have a huge mess to clean up, a war to get out of but they also have to turn this country's economy on its end and get it rolling again. We have nearly 8 million out of work, hundreds of thousands poor or destitute and a failing economy...I can't wait to see what happens in the next four years.

Whew! I could go on but I think you get the idea. The american people need to start educating themselves on policies and understand who we are electing to be our leaders. We can no longer afford to have this country run by the rich for the rich. We need to stop forcing our opinions on the rest of the world and start focusing on domestic problems. We are a divided nation being led by a president bent on war and destruction and handing out kickbacks to the top 2% of the populations wealthy. He's not on your side, he doesn't care and he's not your friend.

I hope you find at least some of the information listed here helpful and/or amusing. You may not agree with me but guess what? It's my blog!

-J