New Author For Me?

For my tastes in fantasy fiction, I like a serious story that is often dark and/or violent, but not just a descriptive action-fest, like I typically get from R.A. Salvatore. To hold my interest, the story needs to bring me often into the minds and feelings of the characters, giving me a reason to invest in their experience. And books that are part of a series are always preferred. Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind and to some degree Margaret Weis, combine these elements well.

I'm currently looking for a new author to read, since I've run out of books by my main authors. I took a list to the bookstore with me, but ended up finally leaving with a book by James Clemens, an author not on my list that I'd never heard of. Wit'ch Fire is the first in a series, and although the first chapter is a little confusing, clarity begins to form in the chapters that follow it. I'm only on chapter three right now. So far, it's fitting the bill for my tastes, but only time will tell...

Hope For A Good 360 RPG?

Although the PS3 is a barren wasteland when it comes to RPGs, the XBOX 360 has, so far, churned out nothing but a lot of mediocrity. Lost Odyssey is the best RPG for my tastes so far (hate the constant directional reminders of Fable 2 and Fallout 3 is too much FPS, not enough RPG) and it has some wonky balance issues in the last 3rd of the game that killed all the joy inside of it.

I've been sticking to Neverwinter Nights on my PC (should be called NeverENDING Nights with all the great user made quests online!) and some KOTOR and KOTOR2 on my 360. Although the PC reviews have been mixed, I'm hoping that "Sacred 2" (releasing in May) will be the RPG experience I've been waiting for on the 360.

It's an action RPG, so it won't scratch the turn-based itch I sometimes get, but that's fine by me. I'll just be happy to enjoy an RPG, from beginning to end, that was made for the 360. I bought my console over a year ago. And though I've certainly made use of it, it hasn't yet payed back the investment in "fun".

Unless the reviews for Sacred 2 look considerably sketchy, I'll probably make the purchase, since I don't see any other 360 RPGs on the horizon until "Dragon Age: Origins" in November.

Anyone have thoughts on a 360 RPG (or original XBOX RPG for that matter) that I should try?

There Can Be Only One...

... thing I'll spend my time watching for quite awhile. Seasons 5 and 6 of "Highlander"! (Okay, I guess in once sense that's two things.)

I was given both sets for my birthday and my free time has been pretty well scheduled for the next few weeks.

Die, Richie! Die! ('bout time!)

One Question For Geoff Johns

This May 2nd, I will be going to my local comic book store for Free Comic Book day. If the lines are not ridiculously long, I will stand and wait to ask Geoff Johns, who will be signing books that day, one question:

When will he get Dan Didio's gig?

He has such a great sense of the essential essence of each DC character that I'm convinced he should be pulling the strings for the entire DC Universe.

Hopefully I'll get the chance to ask him this question and have an answer for you here on May 4th!

Knights Of Bloodsteel

Okay, I feel somewhat obligated to comment on this sci-fi channel miniseries, though I'd rather not waste the time. And I'm certainly not going to invest the time and thought needed for a review.

The previews had me very intrigued. It looked dark or at the very least, serious. Not the kids stuff we've seen in the fantasy genre in recent years. (The Seeker, Bridge To Taribithia, Narnia, etc.)

While it didn't seem geared toward kids, and while it wasn't terrible (at least part one wasn't), it came across bland, unfocused and suffered from the usual tv movie budgets.

As I've so often felt in the past, this miniseries has the budget of one truly solid tv movie, yet it stretches that budget into a two-night event. The eye candy is too far separated by uninteresting dialogue and the CGI dragons look extremely fake.

I did appreciate the blend of sci-fi (the assassin's claw) with the fantasy genre, but it wasn't enough to win me over.

Don't get me wrong, I understand it's a TV/direct to DVD movie. But with titles like "Merlin" and even "Dungeons and Dragons: Wrath Of The Dragon God" to compare it to, it falls far short. In Merlin, we have fewer special effects and spell-slinging in particular than I would like. But the characters and story carry us through until the next scene of epic magic. And though D&D2 was anythinng but a masterpeice, it used special effects liberally and fits in nicely with those poorly acted/scripted fantasy films of the 80's (Beastmaster, Krull) that I still love to watch.

Knights Of Bloodsteel hasn't delivered in either category, and unless that radically changes tonight, it will be another two hours of my life that I could have spent playing Neverwinter Nights.

Not Enough Raid In The World

This weekend I'm going on a church Men's Retreat to one of my least favorite places... outdoors.

I am not a hiking/camping kinda guy. I hate bugs, because bugs seem to hate me. They have no respect for my personal space and leave me no choice but to squash, swat or spray them on site.

The body count will be high. I will strike without mercy for my enemy grants none. The line has been drawn, and the end is nigh. Fear me, creatures of darkness. I am your doom.

Yes, that's right. Go toward the light. Closer... closer...

Where are the good old games?

I'm currently enjoying yet another module on "Neverwinter Nights" and occassionally switching over to KOTOR 2 on XBOX. I'm also looking forward to Dragon Age: Origins this fall, yet another RPG from Bioware.

But despite my gamer bliss, there's still an itch I need to have scratched now and then. That classic, turn-based japanese rpg kinda itch. I've played every Final Fantasy Game on NES, SNES, PS1 and PS2. Well, except for "Mystic Quest" (lame) and FF11(not a fan of monthly charges). And suffered through experimenting with many other JRPGs on those systems as well.

The most recent Dragon Warrior/Quest game came out only on the Nintendo DS. I've also seen many of SquareEnix's previous games remade for the Gameboy Advance or the DS. Is this where I should be heading next if I want to scratch my itch?

Maybe a quick trip to Gamespot will help. See ya!

Go See Terminator: Salvation!!

Maybe it will be terrible! Maybe Christian Bale will just scream a series of F-bombs at a crew member for 2 hours. I don't care! You must all see this movie because Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles is in danger of being cancelled and a huge Box Office for the movie may be the only thing that can save it. And after the cliffhanger ending of this season, there MUST BE A SEASON 4!!

Don't let me down, people.

Worst Flu Ever

I just recovered from the worst flu of my life. It didn't last the longest, but it was definately the worst. An 8 hour storm of liquid fury blowing from both ends without mercy. I'm still sore from wretching and it hurts to laugh.

Yeah... good times.