The nerd in me just exploded in excitement and joy. This movie looks like it’s going for that gritty reboot style of the Nolan Batman’s, but still trying to keep it’s 80s roots intact. I dig it.

fuckyeahlost:

Anti-Kate posts seem to be very popular, so I think a lot of you will like this.

More comics: Jack gives Sawyer an eye exam; Sayid fixing things; Sayid knows what’s up with Claire; Flocke meets Richard.

[submitted by makracosm]

“Designers are starting to realize that they can use game mechanics to get users to do things they wouldn’t do otherwise.  You could make a game out of seeing all of the Oscar-nominated movies before the awards, or seeing all of the bands your friends have recommended to you.

Of course those things are kind of trivial, but there are other things you could get people to do that become borderline important.  You can use games to make people more rounded individuals, encourage them to volunteer more, get them going to the gym, or feel better about themselves.  This year you’ve read x amount more than you did last year.  Imagine if Nike+ placed powerups all over the city where you live, and you had to run over them to pick them up.”

This sounds like a world I want to live in. Yes, please.

You are a horrible, horrible game. I am not sure I want to keep you in my Steam library, next to my other good games.

• You are boring.
• Your controls suck.
• 3rd person with the character off center sucks.
• Your weapons are lame.
• You tried to be like the movie Heat, but failed.
• You’re either a realistic shooter or a fun shooter; you can’t be both.
• Just because the characters are criminals doesn’t mean 75% of all the dialogue should be swear words. I think one of the worst lines was “That fucking old fucker fucking took it.” Seriously.
• Your characters are super one-dimensional. Oh I know you thought they weren’t with your sparkling dialogue, but no, they suck.

Do not play/buy this game. I think its metacritic score of 62 was too high by 50 points. You get 12 points for figuring out how to make levels and how to move characters through them (albeit poorly).

I know there is a sequel coming out. I am not holding my breath for it.

We use the enterprise software @JibJab. This looks like a more streamlined, consumer facing version. Probably not without its limitations, but for some simple data visualization, it might be enough.

Wow, super cool infographic. Outlines the method of transportation people use to get to work.

xmaox:

commuting to work (via likethewaterfilter:laadeedaa)

but I find it weird whenever someone calls me “bro” or the more emphasized “brahh”.

“Dude” though, dude I can take all day long.

And promptly stopped.

I remember now why these sandbox/GTA clones aren’t for me. I get bored of the super weak main storyline after about thirty minutes and then devolve to just running people over. Sorry. There might be a game in there, but it’s just super boring.

Updated: Whoops, typo’ed the title of the game. See? It was that unmemorable. Hat tip @fillup

David Brooks is the man. He’s a guy you would love to talk politics with, because he’s just so level headed. It would be a political discussion that wouldn’t end up with both parties yelling at each other. (via fillup)

Finished BioShock 2 this evening. You can read my initial thoughts on the game at the half way point here.

- Overall, it’s a very stylized game and was fun to play, but was fall short from the epic I was expecting/hoping to be delivered for the sequel.

- The setting is amazing. I love the whole universe they’ve created with this series. The overall design is amazing, the graphics are just stunning. The character design is super creative and the Big Sisters were especially spooky and cool. Level visual design is great, especially the outdoor jaunts. Just beautiful. I hope they make another sequel just so I can come back to Rapture and see what the developers can think of next in terms of pure visuals.

- The gameplay is more of the same; if you dug it in #1, you’ll like it here. Shoot, run, use plasmid, find cash, get items, get Little Sister, harvest ADAM, fight splicers, get key, kill boss, finish.

- I know I touched on this in my half way review, but they really went to the well on the game mechanics and level design. They have it down to a science, and I don’t begrudge them for using what worked, but in this game they felt like chores, while in the original they felt novel.

- You only need to upgrade your plasmid of choice; just max out whatever one you like and use it over and over. I chose Electro Bolt because of the stun effect. Save your ADAM for the health and eve upgrades.

- I had hoped the lack of character development would be remedied as the game went on, but it stays the same. I am sorry, but if I don’t know the background of the character I am playing other than a quick cutscene to start the game, I don’t see how you can expect me to care about him. The only character development really is the dialog of your daughter where she constantly refers to you as “father”. It’s as if the developers felt that if they said father 100 times, you might get attached. I didn’t. It was just annoying.

- The twist in this game is a shallow representation of the twist in the original. [SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED THE ORIGINAL BIOSHOCK] In the original, when Ryan has you murder him and reveals the reality of the situation, it was jaw dropping. It worked because it came in the natural flow of the story and was setup by the great development of your character. Without the great storytelling preceeding that moment, it would have been a gimmick. But with the backstory, it felt as if the rug had been pulled out from under you. Everything was a lie before that moment and now you knew the truth! And you were pissed! [END SPOILER] In BioShock 2, it all felt like gimmick. I didn’t care about the twist (and also, it lied about the twist, but that’s another issue). It didn’t have any of the drama of the original.

- Yes, the twist is a lie. No, I didn’t ruin anything for you because, well, it doesn’t matter because you don’t care about the character. It had the potential to redeem the whole story, but it doesn’t. It is just blah. I don’t want to get any more detailed, but lets just say I was really disappointed.

- The best part of the game doesn’t happen until the last hour of the game. Which is sad. It was the most novel part of the game and actually developed the setting for the character that you play (what they see v reality) and it just bums me out that the mechanic wasn’t more integrated into the whole game.

- The ending was pretty indicative of the whole game. Lots of “go and fetch” goals, highly scripted, and predetermined. That said, it was very intense but I think that had more to do with the fact that they just threw tons of enemies at you versus me caring if my character made it out alive or not. Either way, it was hectic, lots of explosions, lots of running and hitting the button at the right time. It was very much like the ending to an action movie.

Sitting here having just finished it, I would definitely recommend you play it. It’s fun and the setting is too awesome to not experience. The enemies are unique, the weapons cool and the world is way cool.

It’s just not the unique, well written epic that I was expecting it to be. Which is a let down, because BioShock was so good.

This show would be amazing; I hope he makes it out to SF! I would love to be there as part of this revival tour.

Love this guy’s dedication to getting the rarest drops in the game and his concise approach to understanding the underlying mathematics of the game mechanics.

Also, 11 hours of game time (and counting!) for a single uber rare drop. That’s dedication.

Update: So this “guy” is Cal Henderson, of super awesome Flickr fame. So it seems like he does at least two things well! :p Thanks for the clarification @temojin

The Daily Show and other MSM outlets investigate this new craze from the internet called, “ChatRoulette”. Hilarity ensues.

fillup:

Jon Stewart’s take on ChatRoulette — so good.

This is really awesome news. Glad to see reMail didn’t get erased off the face of the Earth.