http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannyoneil/2008952027_oneil31.html

Man! The Green Street Hooligans movie is a crock! Supporters are glad to bring those Journo's into the games! Friggen Hollywood!

Anyways. The group the article is about sits a section over from my seats, seems like a cool group. Hopefully we can get soccer some headlines by showing the support a local team can get in the right places.

Also, don't know if you have been following but Monetero won player of the week last week and Keller won it this week. Montero won MLS Goal of the week last week and is destroying the competion in the voting for this weeks award... haha. We're going to have a sounder for player of the week and montero for goal of the week all season it looks like! haha.

Game Review: GTA: Chinatown Wars

I finally finished the game over the weekend, and I've already talked about it a bit, but I figured I would go ahead and write something up.

Liked:
- The touch screen controls are pretty ingenious. Rather than just tacking on touch screen stuff to warrant a DS release, it feels like they designed the whole game around it. It's used in a ton of cool ways, and it rarely ever felt tedious. It can be kind of a pain when you have to hotwire a car when cops are chasing you, but honestly I never really jacked that many parked cars, so that never became an issue. I thought it was going to be sort of a gimmick, but this game really excels because of this stuff.

- The drug dealing is beyond fun. You can and will waste a ton of time hordeing drugs for cheap and then trying to unload them for the best deal.

- The PDA totally destroys the cell phone from GTA IV. Everything you need in this game is just a couple clicks away. Things like setting GPS routes, checking email for missions or drug tips, and looking up the gang territory complete with buy/sell preferences is all easily done with a couple touches of the stylus. Another thing I really liked was being able to order new weapons and body armor from the Ammunation site and having it delivered to the nearest safehouse. It's way more convenient than looking for the nearest store.

-There is way more variety than GTA IV. Outside of the main campaign there are plenty of other activities for you to get lost in. There are tons of side missions, including vigilante, taxi, ambulance, and food deliver to name a few, and in this game they are actually worth doing because they each offer unique perks for completion (like infinite sprint). Also, the random strangers are back, as well as Rampages from the earlier games. Stunt jumps are back as well, and instead of pigeons or packages, we have security cameras. In this game they actually serve a purpose, as the presence of security cameras affect the prices of the local drug trade and determine your likelihood of getting busted at a deal.

-The missions also seem a lot more varied. Although there are still plenty of 'drive here, shoot these guys' missions, they were broken up enough to keep from feeling stale.

-I actually liked the main character more than I should. This game is a lot less mature than GTA IV. There are plenty of dick and sex jokes, but Huang plays a good straight man. The dialogue is just dripping with irony and sarcasm, and it's hard to hate on a predictable twist or character, when Huang basically does it for you. There are plenty of the stereotypical characters and situations that you would expect from GTA, but I think the self-awareness the game exhibits keeps it lighthearted and easier to consume.

Neutral:
- The new police system is pretty good. I don't know if I would say it's better or worse than the other game, but it is fun to actively try to destroy cop cars rather than just running away. I do think it's easier though, as the police AI isn't really the smartest, so you can easily get them to smash into barriers or other cars.

-The game is actually a lot longer than I expected. It's not really a bad thing, and actually it means you get more bang for your buck. When I get about 3/4 of the way through a game, I always get anxious to finish for some reason, and it seemed like there were a couple twists that were thrown in just to make it longer. Luckily, with the mission variety this was never really a problem.

Disliked:
-While I had no problem getting used to the top-down view, the controls do take a little practice. Sometimes you have to hit the lock-on button a couple times to aim at the right person (this is true for pretty much all the GTAs), and the touch screen grenade throwing is kind of awkward to use during firefights. You need to make sure that however you are sitting, you still have the stylus handy because sometimes you need to do some split second touch-screen stuff.

-There were a few missions that took a few tries and got sort of frustrating, but honestly, you have to expect a few of those when playing a GTA game. My main problem was shooting a car or motorcycle that was too close to me and having it explode immediately and kill me.

Overall:
It's ridiculous how much stuff is packed onto this DS cart. The game is a lot more like GTA IV than I would have ever expected. I think that all the people who complained about the 'more realistic/less fun' approach of IV should definitely check this out. I didn't really expect to list THAT many "Likes", but I just kept thinking of stuff. I guess that pretty much speaks for itself.

The (possible) Future of Gaming!

http://i.gizmodo.com/5183416/onlive-demos-streaming-games-yes-thats-crysis-on-integrated-graphics

This has an hour long video showing the new system in action and, I'm assuming, explaining how it works. I haven't watched the video yet since I'm at work, but I probably will flip through parts of it later today when I get home. This could be the next (all-encompassing) console!

Steezy out.

I am an album fan. I do not listen to singles and shuffle is an abomination. The Decembrists’ new release “The Hazards of Love” is a refreshing new album made for people like me. Not only is every song worthy of listening to; when combined they tell a fantastic story that enhances the experience.

“The Hazards of Love” essentially tells the story of Margaret and her lover, who is a shape shifting creature from the forest near her cottage. She meets him in the forest one day when he is in the shape of a fawn. She heals his broken legs, he changes shape, and they fall in love. She returns home but finds out she is pregnant, and returns to the woods. Her lover is the minion of the forest queen, who saved his life when he was young, (I think; I’m bad at this part…. Haha) and she doesn’t like his new friend. She does what she can to keep them separate. The story also introduces us to the Rake a guy who killed his three children after his wife died. Margaret gets captured and our hero has to get to her and fun is had by all. The story is classic Decembrists’. It really reminds me of the Tain with its darker themes.

The best part of this album is the way they use the music to help the story. Each character has their own musical theme that comes up throughout the album to introduce the characters. Not only does the band use repeating notes and hooks, they also change the distortion of their instruments to hatch each person. The Queen’s hook is awesome. It does a better job of making me picture her character then any description could possibly show. The album is very Pink Floyd like in that it rehashes musical themes throughout the album almost as a reminder of what it has already brought up. Like I said before, this album is not meant for picking out your favorite tune and skipping to that one. Doing so really makes you miss out.

Musically, the album has a lot more punch then some of their older music. It is pretty clear the band learned a lot from The Crane Wife about how awesome their organ player is and they really turn her loose in some of the songs. It is amazing to me how many different instruments the band is able to put into this album. I’m pretty sure I hear a harpsichord in there a number of times and I love it.

In all, I think this album is one of the best complete albums I’ve had the pleasure of listening to. It takes what I loved about The Tain, combines it with the best of the Crane Wife, and expands it into a 60 minute experience. They sprinkle some great musicianship and some fantastic lyrics to make one hell of an album. Well done.

PS The Rake is one bad ass mother fucker. He could give the Shankill butchers a run for their money.

"What can one do when one is widower
Shamefully saddled with three little pests
All that I wanted was the freedom of a new life
So my burden I began to divest
Alright, alright, alright

Charlotte I buried after feeding her foxglove
Dawn was easy, she was drowned in the bath
Isaiah fought but was easily bested
Burned his body for incurring my wrath
Alright, alright, alright"

Awesome

South Park - The Coon

Last night's episode was pretty good. It's a play on The Dark Knight with Cartman dressing up as "The Coon". They got the Batman voice and dramatic music down pat.

http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/220759

Memories!

Hey guys, I saw this video and it got my all misty eyed. First off, the editing of the video is amazing. Well done by the creator, but that is not what this post is about. This video got me thinking about all the great times we had at the opening of JFT. I remember hour long Capture the Flag games on Blood Gulch, going camping with Jun on Sidewinder, every being pissed off at John for being the only guy there that was actually good at the game, and the list goes on. Everyone yelling at a certain someone for camping in that little hole in the ground in the teleporter level; that same someone comparing chicken sandwichs with pizza! Making up crazy rules, like everyone having to saw explosion before firing their rockets or having to crouch on every freshly killed body. My personal favorite memory; Dan swearing his head off in front of my Dad, “BOYS”! Classic

Then the college days when Dan and I actually started playing the game on a regular basis. We brought Lee into the fold and the real fun began. Highlights include: Lee’s random noises, John’s screen peaking, Dan’s sticks, and my all around awesomeness. 

Anyways, all this is my way of saying, “Thanks for the good times guys.” Cheers!

Watchmen Opening Credits Easter Eggs

http://io9.com/5167732/easter-eggs-and-missing-parts-in-watchmens-titles

In one of the first shots of the montage, they show the original Nite Owl knocking out some random bad guy. On closer examination, apparently he is saving Bruce Wayne's parents from getting shot outside the opera. It's pretty cool how they incorporated that into their alternate universe.

You're Welcome (in advance)

http://i.gizmodo.com/5168233/gadget-deals-of-the-day

So I know you guys have always been jealous of my dvd collection, specifically in regards to my Friends box sets. I wanted to make sure I told you all about this in time - there is a deal for the complete Friends series for only $85 right now! Get it while you can!
Also, if any of you are thinking about having kids, you might wanna check this next one out. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal: http://i.gizmodo.com/5167993/child-for-sale-on-xbox-live-free-shipping-included

Happy 69th Birthday, Chuck Norris!

Castle Crashers Dev New Project

http://kotaku.com/5167291/a-glimpse-at-the-new-game-from-castle-crashers-dev

Ok so there isn't much info here. Just one screen shot. However, I am really excited for this developers next project. Castle Crashers was great. I guess the only thing we can take from this screen is that they have maintained their cool art style. Hopefully they can keep some cool gameplay also. Anyway. Can't wait to hear more.

For John: More Lost stuff

Sorry, I don't know how to format this so you have to highlight it to read. EDIT: Hell yeah I figured it out.
EDITED FOR TIM