My Corner of the Interweb

For those about to rock...

Mood: Good!
Music: Starlit Skies (10pm-Midnight on Wednesdays) KSER, 90.7 in Seattle...or listen online at HeraldNet.com!
Game: Battlefield 2142, Lord of the Rings Online, Puzzle Quest, Guitar Hero II, Halo 3 Beta
Book: Not much.
Watching: Little notes travel down my screen.
Weather: Cloudy, cool.

So, I've been pretty busy at work. It hasn't kept me from grilling my face off...I'm still grilling about 4 days a week. I've been through almost two full tanks of propane since I got the grill. Crazy, right?

I've also picked up Guitar Hero II. All I have to say about it is that it's ridiculously addictive. I love it.

Allow me to say that I am completely and utterly devoid of musical talent. I can whistle, and I've been accused of, occasionally, being able to keep a beat. But an instrument? Hell no. That's all my brother. He plays like 8 instruments, from the piano to the trombone to the saxophone. Me? I'm lucky if I can tell you what instrument is what when I listen to it.

This, however, isn't music. It's a videogame that lets you believe that MAYBE you might be able to play a guitar. The controller is a guitar with a bunch of buttons where the frets are. You "strum" another rocker button, and hold the appropriate fret buttons down as little notes cross a line on the screen. The songs are all guitar rock stuff, ranging from Surrender to Freebird. You can download more songs, and as you learn to play the songs successfully, you earn money you can use to buy more songs, new guitars, new characters (avatars of yourself on the screen perform as you play), outfits, and other goodies.

It's a lot like playing air guitar...but more realistic, and it makes it feel like you're actually playing. Some of the songs, like Misirilou or Institutionalized are just plain insane...even at medium difficulty. I've aced easy, and now I'm working on perfecting medium. I've unlocked all the basic songs on the tour, now I'm just trying to get 5 stars on each one.

When I first started, I couldn't even play on medium. Too fast. My fingers didn't do that. And so on. Now, I can flail Message In A Bottle without even looking at the screen, and play it just about perfectly, on medium. It's really cool how you "learn" how to play guitar. Not for real, of course...but you learn to play videogame guitar. So I've been playing it a fair amount, and just this past weekend, I got a second controller, and Chelsea's joined me...you see, you can play tandem! She's playing bass while I play guitar...she's still on easy, but she's learning fast! She completely nailed the bass line on Message in a Bottle. So it's cool to play a game alongside a friend.

Speaking of...Smitty went and picked up 2142, which effectively catalyzed the rest of the crew to coordinate and play 2142. There were seven of us on at the same time tonight...which I find somewhat ironic after my post of a few weeks ago. Maybe we're not quite dead yet.....

Oh, and I'm downloading the Halo 3 Beta. Yeah, I know I won't like it...but I should at least try it, right? I mean, before I go off loathing something, I should have some first-hand experience. Net? It'll be a console FPS with bunny-hopping and all sorts of flailing around in a high-latency environment. Woo hoo.

But I guess I should try. Let you know how it goes.

Last, the Lord of the Rings Online guide by Prima Games came out a few days ago...with sections written by yours truly. Baino the Burglar, at yer service. If you're considering playing LoTRO, you should pick up the guide...or if you're just wandering past a game store, go have a look at the guide and see what I helped write!

I'll be starting work on another guide in a few days. Should be interesting....

Posted by Glenn at May 16, 2007 10:58 PM