Monthly Archives: August 2009

"Days Missing" #1 Review

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“November 11th, 2004”

Writer: Phil Hester

Art: Frazer Iving

Archaia Publishing (Mouse Guard series) and Roddenberry Productions (Star Trek) bring us the story of a man who literally lives on borrowed time, in Days Missing.  And you really need to do yourself a favor and avoid missing the first issue of this mini-series.  Be warned, this review may contain spoilers.

Days Missing is the story of The Steward, a being who has existed since the dawn of time, who walked with dinosaurs and inspired kings.  Throughout history, he has aided humanity with a unique gift: he can shift events in time, putting people where they must be and inspiring them to do what is necessary for the insured survival of humanity, and afterward leaves them with a faint memory and steals away the previous 24 hours.  Humanity forgets it’s day of horror, as The Steward lives on to record the lost time.  As issue #1 opens, a plague is tearing through Africa in 2004…one which The Steward doesn’t believe he can stop in time.

Phil Hester (Green Arrow, Nightwing) crafts a beautifully written tale, a unique take on the classic tale of an immortal through history.  The Steward is written as a truly tragic hero, seeing the world in a time frame different from ours, commenting in the book’s first pages that our “years pass in front of me like hours” and that “when death comes for even an elderly human, I am watching the death of a child”.  It’s a refreshing take, as we witness an immortal with care and love in his heart, as opposed to the atypical characterization of a pompous dick that most of these characters carry with him.  And while there is still much mystery to The Steward, to how he came to be and what he is responsible for, the book tells us just enough to hook us, and makes it clearly known that this man has saved humanity a lot.

Even more refreshing than this book’s premise is the absolutely gorgeous artwork of Frazer Irving (Inhumans: Silent War).  I must admit, I was incredibly surprised.  Irving also did the work on Azrael: Death’s Dark Knight, which I said I wasn’t a huge fan of in this review.  Irving has stepped up his game here.  This book is damn beautiful, with a stark look to it and brilliant use of colors and a gorgeous stylistic approach.  The book is one of the best looking that I’ve seen in ages.

Regrettably, Days Missing is only slated to be a 5 issue mini-series.  If the remaining issues are anything like this one, it’s going to be sad to see it go.  This is a fresh, fun idea, a story of one man desperately racing to save the world from a fate they’re already suffering.  And better still, is the cost: the standard cover of issue #1 is a mere 99 cents.  Days Missing #1 easily scores an A.

"Deadpool" #13 Review

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“Wave of Mutilation: Part 1″

Writer: Daniel Way
Penciler: Shawn Crystal
Inker: Shawn Crystal and John Lucas
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Cover Artist: Jason Pearson

Everybody’s favorite Merc with a Mouth takes to the high seas in Deadpool #13. Hey, let’s face it, if you suddenly became filthy rich, wouldn’t you want to become a pirate?

After the strange ending of Deadpool #12, Deadpool returns to spend the riches he obtained in the previous issue. What does he do with all of that money, you ask? He becomes a pirate, of course! As silly as the whole premise of the comic sounds, I found it to be a rather enjoyable story and I must say I had fun reading it.

However, as fun as it was to read, I found it a little odd to have Deadpool go off pirating after battling with Norman Osborn in the previous 12 issues. While it’s true that this current arc could take him back in that direction, it currently seems like that was pushed out of the way when Deadpool was paid off. Personally, I hope Way decides to take the story back in that direction rather than just having Deadpool go on a number of “wacky adventures”. I also found it odd/disappointing that the much mentioned ending of #12 was only mentioned once, and even then it wasn’t really explained.

As far as humor is concerned, I must say I thought the book was pretty damn funny. This aspect certainly redeemed the sudden plot change, in my opinion. It would be really easy to write a Deadpool book and have every piece of humor fall completely flat, Way luckily avoids this and offers up a book that contains laughs from beginning to end.

Shawn Crystal handles the art in this issue and does a fairly decent job. The art isn’t awful or anything, I just felt that it didn’t “click” like Paco Medina’s work did in past issues. Crystal’s work seems to resemble a sort of “MAD Magazine style” of art that is there to inflate the wackiness of the issue. And in that sense, I suppose it does the job.

All in all Deadpool #13 does a great job of being a entertaining read. If you turn your mind off and forget the fact that it’s certainly different from the first 12 books, you’ll find yourself laughing along with every page.

Final Grade: B

Happy Birthday, Sega Genesis

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I found out a bit ago that today marks the 20th anniversary of one of the greatest gaming consoles ever released, the SEGA Genesis.

I got mine when I was in 3rd grade.  My dad was stationed in Turkey for the year and had bought one to practice for a Street Fighter II’ tournament, and afterwards sent it home to us with copies of Sonic The Hedgehog, Streets of Rage 2 and Pebble Beach Golf Links.  The Genesis was already well into it’s lifespan by this point, and I wasn’t able to really start buying games for it until it was almost defunct as a console, but I played the hell out of this thing.  Mortal Kombat II, The Incredible Hulk,Spider-Man/X-Men, there’s just so many great games for this console, and so many of them don’t get the praise they deserve.

The most notable was a story I was telling Derek last night, after I’d finally tried out Sonic The Hedgehog’s 360 iteration (which is playable but only barely so), was when my cousin’s then-fiance/now-husband let me borrow his copy of Sonic The Hedgehog 2.  It was summer break before I went into fourth grade, if I remember correctly, and I spent about two weeks in front of the Genesis, barely moving.  And almost beat the damn thing before my mom finally made me give it back to him.

The old Genesis has found it’s way into my possession, very much to my sister’s disdain.  It’s not hooked up at the moment, because there’s just too many other things hooked into my TV, but I’ll probably be hooking it back up tonight now that it’s on my mind.

So, what about you guys?  What was your first experience with the Sega Genesis, if you had one.  And if you didn’t, why the hell not?  Forums are wide open, and this is your oppurtunity to share your story and get to know your fellow HomeWorld readers, but I’m really interested in hearing some awesome stories about classic, vintage gaming.

"Adventure Comics" #1 Review

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“The Boy of Steel“, Part 1

Writer: Geoff Johns

Artist: Francis Manapul

Colors: Brian Buccellato

The return of Connor Kent is something that has been highly anticipated for some time now, and with the recently concludedLegion of Three Worlds, the Boy of Steel is finally back in the DC Universe.  Geoff Johns is hit or miss lately, with Blackest Night only growing in excitement as Flash Rebirth continues to be pushed back, but what can the lauded writer do with Superboy and a Legion of Super-Heroes back-up?  Spoilers after the jump.

Connor’s back and living in Smallville with Ma Kent, which I’ve got to admit is strangely reassuring.  Ever since these first pages were first previewed, the general fan reaction has been “Thank God that someone’s out there with Ma!”, which stands to the testament of these characters.  Regardless, it’s a fairly straight forward first issue, as Connor sets about re-establishing his life in Smallville, as well as on the Teen Titans (which is also reassuring, because maybe that book can finally get itself out of the rut it’s currently in).  We also learn that he’s trying to understand more about Lex Luthor, who’s DNA was used to clone Connor, seemingly concerned that he’s becoming more like Luthor than he is Superman.

Johns is quickly becoming the go-to guy for character revivals and resurrections.  He spearheaded the revival of Hal Jordan inGreen Lantern Rebirth, which went over well, and is currently working on the oft-delayed Flash Rebirth, which is going over not so well.  Here, it’s pretty middle of the road, and I think a lot of that has to do with timing.  With Hal and Barry’s returns, they were popular characters who had been out of the spotlight for years, and their respective fanbases had grown up away from them.  When they returned, they found their characters in a new world just as lost as they were, and had the oppurtunity to grow with them.  Here, Connor’s been dead for barely a year in-universe, and for us it’s been less than three years.  While Connor’s loyal fans have been crying for his return, there’s been barely any time for his death to really have meaning or effect.  As a result, there’s not a lot of emotional impact to his return, which I think really lessens the feeling of awe and joy with seeing him back in Smallville.

But there’s a saving grace here, and that’s the art.  Manapul’s art style is simply gorgeous, his portrait of Smallville full of lush, warm colors that feel comforting and homely.  There’s a wealth of emotion and beauty within the pages of this book, leading the reader clamoring for more by the end of the book.

And in the second feature…

“Long Live The Legion!“, Part 1

Writer: Geoff Johns

Artist: Clayton Henry

Colors: Brian Reber

Johns brings the Legion of Super-Heroes, which fans are kind of irked by, since the sales figures seemed to be high enough to justify keeping the book running a bit longer.  We’re treated to a brief origin of the Legion before diving head first into reuniting with Starman, still absolutely crazy and in the 21st Century, carrying around R.J. Brande’s Last Will and Testament, which he refers to as their “battle plan” as he meets with fellow Legionnaire Tellus, also in the present day.  There’s implications that there’s something going down in the present day, but we don’t find anything out about it, which is the biggest problem with this back-up: it wastes it’s pages.

Now, the brief re-introduction to the LoSH is pretty cool, but right after that we jump in to 3 pages of Starman having hijinks with a bird and at a bowling alley.  There’s a few pages of brief exposition right before we get a “Coming Up In..” teaser that DC is so fond of.  This is a horrible example of how to do a second feature.  The plot stops far too soon, and while Starman’s antics are always fun, it’s wasted space in an already short back-up.

Adventure Comics‘ reboot is a nice start, with an enjoyable main feature, but the wasted space in it’s second feature bring it down fast.  As a result, Adventure Comics #1 gets a C.

"G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra" Review

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Starring: Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Rachel Nichols, Dennis Quaid, Christopher Eccleston, Sienna Miller, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Joseph Gordon Levitt

Director: Stephen Sommers

Writers: Stuart Beattie, Michael Gordon, Stephen Sommers

Our childhoods are the new big things for movies.  Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen were box office hits, comic book movies are still an insanely profitable business, and projects like He-Man And The Masters of the Universe have been in development hell for years.  The latest comes from Stephen Sommers, who knows a few things about summer blockbusters; he did do the recent The Mummy franchise, after all.  Yes, it’s time to take a look at G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and what can I say? Well, I guess I could say that knowing is half the battle, and it’s probably best that you know right off hand that this movie is mindless and boring, with a number of plot inconsistencies and reasoning that will leave the audience baffled.  Spoilers after the jump.

See what I did there, sneaking in a little nod to the cartoon?  Get used to it; the movie spends the first half hour reminding you that there was a cartoon, with slogans and nods.  Then it spends the rest of the time changing up the cartoon needlessly.

Now, before we go any further, let me make this clear: I’m fine with changes from source material.  I understand that some things that work in other mediums will not work cinematically.  This has worked very well with franchises like X-Men (well, for 2 movies at least) and Batman; but these changes need to make sense.  They shouldn’t detract from the reasons we love these characters, from the emotional bonds we’ve shared with them for years.  And most importantly, they should make sense.  If you do have to change something, you absolutely should have to.  It should be because there is no other way around it but to change it.

That said, what the hell made them think G.I. Joe is a love story?  Why was Duke once engaged to The Baroness, who is needlessly revealed to be not really evil but instead mind controlled by The Doctor (who later becomes Cobra Commander)?  Why do the two still pine over each other after years of separation, after Duke couldn’t save her brother? (Her brother’s Cobra Commander, there, I just saved you $9)  Why are Scarlett and Ripcord a couple by movie’s end?  More importantly, why aren’t Scarlett and Snake Eyes a couple, as the characters are classically depicted?

The casting for the main characters is all over the place.  Channing Tatum’s Duke comes off way too “brodude”, Marlon Wayans is playing the same character he’s played in every movie, and Rachel Nichols is passable as Scarlett.  I was passable because while she may not have done much besides flirt with Marlon Wayans and speak a little Celtic, she’s really hot, so she gets a pass.  Snake Eyes has a horrible costume, but character wise he’s pretty good, since it’s Ray Park as a silent martial artist and he’s pretty well got that nailed at this point.  As far as the heroes go, that’s really it.  Yes, you’ve got Heavy Duty, Breaker and General Hawk, but they’re mostly in the background after their one moment.  You’ve also got a 2 minute cameo by Brenden Frasier, as a character that is intended to be a descendant of his character from The Mummy, not that you’ll care, since he’s barely on screen and somewhat annoying.

The villains are a little more spot-on.  Sienna Miller’s Baroness had a nonsensical mind control back story,  Joeseph Gordon-Levitt is disappointing behind horrible designs and poor timing as The Scientist/Cobra Commander.  Storm Shadow is pretty cool, but seems to exist only to remind the villains that Snake Eyes is utterly badass.  And there’s Zartan, who is only in about half the movie.  Christopher Eccleston is great as Destro, but he’s woefully underused.  Oh, sorry, I called him Destro.  He’s not really Destro until the last 5 seconds of the movie, until then he’s McCullen.

Which brings us to the movie’s biggest letdown: the story.  The movie isn’t an origin film for G.I. Joe, it’s an origin film for Cobra.  The needlessly elaborate plot is that McCullen is an arms dealer, who sells to both sides of any warring faction, as his family has for years.  He’s developed NERF footballs missiles with nanomites which can eat through any metal, because…well, I guess metal is not something he appreciates.  His ultimate goal is to hold the world hostage and straighten things out using chaos.  He’s got in his employ an army of nanomite infused soldiers (assuming you call 20 an army), as well as Storm Shadow, The Baroness, and The Doctor.  The Doctor’s goal is to finish his research and take over McCullen’s army to form the terrorist organization Cobra.  The Joes don’t realize much by themselves and only stumble upon McCullen’s base because Duke gets kidnapped.

Well, at least the actions is pretty good, right?  No!  There’s no point to it!  The first major sequence has the Joes trying to stop Cobr–sorry, McCullen’s agents from trying to destroy the Eiffel Tower.  Since you’ve already seen the trailer, I think you can guess how this one ends.  So as Baroness and Storm Shadow are fleeing in broad daylight in an SUV, the Joes follow in a van.  Out of Duke and Ripcord in Accelerator Suits that allow them to run faster than a car, Snake Eyes and Scarlett, who is the first person that you would send after a speeding car?  If you selected Snake Eyes, by God, you exist on G.I. Joe logic.  Duke, Ripcord and Scarlett finally join in on the chase, but Scarlett is taken out pretty fast, while Duke and Ripcord tear through moving cars and buildings, effectively killing or maiming a large portion of Paris’ citizens.  Then they’re shocked when they’re asked to never again return to France.  Yo Joe indeed.  The movie ends with the Joe using snow camoflauge to infiltrate an artic base, which is pretty effective camouflage except for the giant white and grey snowmobiles they use on the approach (Stealth!), a Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow fight that is alright but way too short, Ripcord getting arrested again, Destro being given a nanomite infused mask with horrible CG lips, The Doctor declaring himself Cobra Commander, and Duke and the newly saved Baroness leading the army that arrests the two.  Yeah, you read that right.  Cobra rises just in time for it’s leaders to be arrested.

The films seems to hang on a love story, a buddy story, but primarily tries to be a needlessly complex origin story for Cobra.  And why even try that?  Terrorist organizations do not need origins!  Why is Cobra trying to blow things up?  Who gives a shit!  It’s Cobra!  They just want to blow things up, and G.I. Joe is there to stop them!  Remember the point I made that the changes should make sense?  Is there just not a good plot out there that involves Cobra Commander leading an army and G.I. Joe must foil that plot?

There’s plenty more I could go on about.  Snake Eyes’ horrible, molded costume (something similar to Storm Shadow’s would have been much more fitting and looked way better), the dodgy CGI, the overuse of false technology (a camouflage suit exists to be used solely for one fight) which I’m sure was meant to be a nod towards GI Joe’s extensive use of toys as plot devices but instead serves to tip the audience off as to what happens next; the movie is just a trainwreck.  I’m sure a sequel is already needlessly greenlit, so here’s hoping that it does better in the next installment.

Now you know that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra gets a D, only saved from it’s F by Snake Eyes being an awesome ninja and Scarlett running on a treadmill, so hopefully you’ll fight your half of the battle and not spend money on this horrible movie.

First Impressions: "Batman: Arkham Asylum" Demo

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1:46:12 PM: Alright guys, liveblog time again! Taking a look at the Batman: Arkham Asylum demo, out today on PS3, XBox 360 and PC.

1:46:39 PM: I’m checking the demo out on XBox 360. For those who care, the demo is 1.6Gb in size.

1:47:12 PM: Very nice menu screen. I’m digging the moody feel to the characters. I was kind of opposed to Batman’s design at first, but it grew on me

1:47:41 PM: Alright, we’ve got 5 options available: New Game, Character Bios, Character Trophies, Options and Exit Demo

1:47:53 PM: Two other options, Challenge Mode and Downloadable Content, are grayed out.

1:48:37 PM: Character bios is fairly self explanatory. Story, Facts and Attributes about characters, accompanied by some very nice concept art.

1:49:33 PM: Only The Joker and Batman are available right now, with another 39 slots showing as questions marks. 41 total, for those who suck at math.

1:50:43 PM: Character Trophies is a place to look at the renders of the characters. There’s only 20 trophies, with only 2 initially available…

1:51:00 PM: …Batman and Killer Croc. And both look gorgeous. It’s really nice to get to zoom in and look at the detail on these.

1:52:16 PM: Nothing too special under Options. Only have Game Options, which consists of controller inversions and brightness, and Audio Options…

1:52:43 PM: …which I guess is pretty self explanatory. That said, let’s dive into the New Game.

Note: Some spoilers for the opening of Batman: Arkham Asylum after the jump. Consider yourself duly warned!!

1:53:22 PM: Demo isn’t the same Free Flow Combat from before, but instead is the beginning of the game. The first 10 minutes were online yesterday…

1:53:53 PM: …and can be viewed at MTV’s Multiplayer Blog http://bit.ly/WmGn2

1:54:55 PM: Not the full beginning. The ride in the elevator isn’t int eh demo, but instead cuts right to letting Joker in the Asylum.

1:55:24 PM: Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are pretty fucking awesome so far, I must say.

1:56:10 PM: Game jumps in with some free flow combat.

1:56:56 PM: As I’d mentioned a while ago, Free Flow combat feels a little weird at first, but it’s easy to get the hang of. X to strike, Y to counter.

1:57:28 PM: When moving around, holding A dashes. The cape animation looks great.

1:59:15 PM: After two rounds with thugs, Joker invites you into an obvious trap and the Commissioner Gordon bio is unlocked.

1:59:36 PM: Game allows you to pause and view new Bios as they’re unlocked with the Back button.

2:01:13 PM: Some Batarang training now, it’s pretty intuitive. Left Trigger aims, Right Trigger throws.

2:01:30 PM: You get a reticle that’s normally white and turns orange when on a target.

2:02:32 PM: Right trigger typically crouches. Moving with a Batarang armed and ready to throw is pretty easy and convenient.

2:02:59 PM: Unfortunately, I don’t see any way to crouch with a Batarang armed, or to throw one. Which kinda sucks.

2:04:08 PM: Camera normally stays in a third person over the shoulder perspective, but pulls back and becomes more fluid during combat.

2:04:37 PM: The transitions from exploring to combat are also very fluid too.

2:05:04 PM: Unlocked an Oracle bio! Giggle giggle. I’m such a nerd.

2:06:29 PM: First boss is up, it’s Zsasz. Looks pretty creepy, but I don’t see the tally marks that are normally carved into his skin.  On my second play through of the demo, I used first person view to see Zsasz’s body and yes, the scars are apparent up close.  They’re rendered as scars, and therefore can’t be seen unless you’re right by him.

2:06:58 PM: Goal is to take out Zsasz and rescue a guard. If Zsasz sees you, the guard dies.

2:08:04 PM: Zsasz bio unlocked now. There’s a lot being unlocked for just the demo, I’m pretty impressed.

2:08:29 PM: Using Detective Mode, you locate Gargoyles which you can grapple to.

2:09:49 PM: Pretty easy to pull off, grappling around the room to take out Zsasz. Then it’s revealed that Gordon is hostage.

2:10:06 PM: No, not Gordon, the Warden of Arkham. My bad.

2:14:02 PM: Three guards with guns head on, running straight in is suicide.

2:14:26 PM: Grappling around the room, you can walk right up behind them and initiate a “Silent Takedown” by tapping Y. Pretty efficient.

2:15:04 PM: Tapping Right Bumper shoots the grapple line. An icon flashes at the top of the screen when a grapple point is available.

2:15:31 PM: From there, you can throw Batarangs, glide down to perform a Glide Kick that renders thugs stunned, or hang upside down…

2:15:44 PM: …which I presume is going to pay off for scaring the shit out of thugs in the full game.

2:17:09 PM: There are air ducts that are opened in a “God of War” style Tap To Open sequence.

2:17:36 PM: Joker learns that you’re on the way, and decides not to warn his thugs because it’s a “nice surprise”. How sweet of him.

2:18:52 PM: You can also grapple back and forth from different levels of the rooms.

2:20:04 PM: Just got axed! You really can’t be spotted, Batman can’t survive much gunfire.

2:21:48 PM: You also need to do a Takedown to take out thugs after a Glide Kick…RT + Y.

2:22:58 PM: Demo ends with Batman facing a boss battle against a mutant of some sort, not anyone I recognize from the comics.

2:23:25 PM: Game is definitely a lot of fun, and I normally don’t enjoy stealth games. Controls will take some getting used to, but they’re very easy..

2:23:35 PM: …easy to pick up, and the game takes the time to teach you how to do a lot of it.

2:24:27 PM: Fortunately, for those of us who are somewhat dense (myself included), Batman’s narration provides clues as to what to do next.

2:24:48 PM: The game likes to hold your hand and help you, but at the same time their isn’t a giant arrow pointing to the exit.

2:25:16 PM: Full version comes out in a few weeks! Maybe I’ll get lucky and can afford it, but I definitely want it now.

2:25:39 PM: If you’ve played the demo or are getting the full version, leave us a comment! http://www.thehomeworld.net Thanks for joining me guys.

2:33:00 PM: Something I noticed after I’d finished this liveblog, “Patient Interviews” are unlocked for The Joker as you beat levels.  Not sure how or if they’ll affect gameplay, but still pretty cool.  Only two available right now, but appear to be 5 total, and can be listened to from Joker’s character bio.  They’re denoted by an orange cassete reel by the character’s picture on the bio list.

Testing The New Xbox 360 Dashboard!

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I’m liveblogging my experiences with the new XBox 360 Dashboard!  For the most up-to-date info, refresh your page or follow me at http://www.twitter.com/jcbaggee



4:42:23 PM: Alright guys, I just got the new XBox 360 Dashboard, BECAUSE I AM AWESOME. Gonna take a quick look at it.

4:42:44 PM: First up, the install size is supposed to be smaller on some games, so I’m gonna test that out. Since I only have a 20 Gb hard drive…

4:42:57 PM: …this is kind of a big deal for me! Testing with Fallout 3; the original install is 6.0Gb.

4:44:04 PM: Game install is starting now!

4:48:31 PM: Jesus, the install certainly seems to be going faster….

4:52:20 PM: Fallout 3 installed, size is now reduced to 5.5Gb! Not much, but hey, every little bit counts. Gonna try it with MASS EFFECT, now…

4:52:35 PM: …since MASS EFFECT is older, maybe the size is smaller. *shrug*

4:53:36 PM: I don’t remember the exact size of the original Mass Effect install, but I believe it was around 4.7 Gb of so.

4:55:30 PM: One thing of note on the Fallout 3 install, it only took 9 – 10 minutes, which is (if I recall correctly) a marked improvement in the…

4:56:05 PM: …speed it takes the game to install. The time isn’t necessarily cut in half, but I think it took a little over 15 minutes before.

4:56:16 PM: Granted, I could just be delusional *shrug*

4:58:00 PM: Mass Effect install taking much longer than Fallout 3 did…but I’ve always had issues with that disc. So who knows!

5:05:47 PM: Oh goodie, I seemt o have broken my liveblogging app :P

5:05:59 PM: I’m sure Twitter is weeping.
5:06:31 PM: Mass Effect install now at 81%.

5:08:13 PM: No, wait, never mind. It’s working now. I think.

5:10:15 PM: Mass Effect is installed, and I was apparently WAY off on the install size. It’s 6.8 Gb! No major improvement.

5:10:45 PM: Gonna try The Orange Box for the last one, then move on to look at some other stuff.

5:11:21 PM: Actually, on second thought, let’s look at GHOSTBUSTERS and see if it’s decreased any.

5:12:09 PM: Ghostbusters install starting now.

5:17:57 PM: Just found a list that says The Orange Box is down to 3.9Gb installed. That list is on Cheap Ass Gamer forums, click! http://bit.ly/RcHTR

5:19:54 PM: The full list of the install size changes are at http://bit.ly/3H6jhr

5:22:09 PM: Ghostbusters install done, final size is 6.2Gb. Time to take a look at the Avatar updates.

5:22:57 PM: First big difference is the addition of an Avatar Marketplace, and Avatar Awards.

5:23:40 PM: Lots of new shirts. Black hoodie! Yay! Some of the new items have color selections, also.

5:26:49 PM: Correction: Only 1 shirt with color options, the “Power” Tee, which was only available in Green before. I don’t see many other new items.

5:28:44 PM: There do seem to be a few new pants, but I’m not really sure.

5:30:01 PM: Some name brand stuff in the Marketplace. Looks pretty cool, but I can’t bring myself to buy clothes for my avatar at this point.

5:30:27 PM: Avatar Awards and Props are purchased or unlocked through games. Guess I should dive back into Oblivion and see if I get anything!

5:32:27 PM: Here’s one @bluraven will like, since he uses Parties a lot I’ve noticed…users who are disconnected are now automatically reconnected.

5:33:10 PM: Also, it seems they have streamlined the Party invite system, but I don’t know anything about that! Ho hum.

5:33:59 PM: 5-star rating systems for games and such in the marketplace, available from the Game Information screen.

5:34:29 PM: Also allows you to sort games in the Marketplace by User Rating; should be useful once Games On Demand starts up.

5:35:22 PM: G.O.D. purchases are stored, so you can delete and reinstall later, and manuals are available via XBox.com…also, that Gamertag can…

5:35:41 PM: ..play the game on any console.

5:36:56 PM: Supposedly some change to the In-Game Achievements browser; gonna fire up Ghostbusters and check that out.

5:38:37 PM: Achievements in the game are now displayed with the description above the list of icons, similar to the browser in the main Dashboard.

5:41:14 PM: I don’t have Netflix right now, so I can’t test that out. Hrm. Anyone here have it? Let me know of any of the improved features.

5:43:58 PM: There’s a new Achievements page right past the Gamer Info page on you dashboard, with a Min/Max of your Gamerscore points and…

5:44:14 PM: …a Min/Max of earned Achievements. Which only serves to remind me how fail I am :\

5:44:56 PM: I don’t notice any changes to the Video/Music/Picture libraries right off hand.

5:47:55 PM: XBox Live Community Games are now known as XBox Live Indie Games.

5:49:18 PM: I’m seeing Demos available for Indie Games now, I never noticed those before but I could be mistaken.

5:50:38 PM: Alright, I think that’s really all there is to say about it. I’ll update in the future if anything else comes up. Leave comments if you…

5:50:47 PM: …have questions, comments, etc!

How Much Mayonnaise Again?

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I spend a lot of time on YouTube searching for the next Chris-Chan, but unfortunately I’ve not found anything near as entertaining yet.  I did, however, discover Simply Sara.

Sara likes to share her own concoctions on the Internet, teaching us all how to cook with some brief lessons.  Let’s take a look at one, shall we?

Wanda’s Macaroni Salad

It’s not your traditional macaroni salad!

In a bowl, beat together and incorporate…

  • One 14 oz can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1 cup of white vinegar
  • 1 pint of “real” mayonnaise

Afterwards, add

  • 1 pound box of elbow macaroni
  • 1 large green pepper, seeded and diced
  • 3 stalks of celery, chopped
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 large carrots OR 2 cups shredded carrots
  • Salt and Pepper, as desired

According to Sara, the final calorie count is 6805, with 358 grams of fat…but only 68 of those are saturated!

Now, I’m not an expert chef or anything, but I do enjoy cooking.  That said, am I the only one who thinks this seems a bit overboard?  Why is there so much mayonnaise?  There’s only a few more videos up on Sara’s ID.  From what I gather, she recently deleted an account and re-upped the videos, choosing to disable the comments, since all the videos were uploaded one month ago.