I spent most of the weekend playing the 360 for an article that got posted today. Most of the article is true except for the part about Kim being my wife. I think usage of the term
fiancée sounds snooty, so I just went with wife for simplicity's sake. I should be getting more 360 games in the coming days.

posted by Travis at 6:53 PM

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Friday, November 18, 2005

I was able to procure some 360 games today during lunch so we can really test that sytem out this weekend. I picked up Kameo, Project Gotham Racing 3, Gun, and NBA 2K6. Dead or Alive 4 got pushed to December 2nd, King Kong has a street date for launch, and Call of Duty 2 was all pre-sold. Perfect Dark Zero was nowhere to be found. I think the games I got will give us a good idea of what the system can do.

The guys from Tom's asked me to play on the system as much as possible and get something written in the next day or so. Let me repeat that a different way. Someone has given me the job of playing on a yet-to-be-released video game console all weekend and then writing what I think about it. Gaming and writing...for money...from in my house. I'm beginning to think I may have been killed in a car accident months ago.

posted by Travis at 2:33 PM

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Thursday, November 17, 2005

Xbox 360 comes out next Tuesday, so all the console crazies are probably running around in a panic hoping they can actually get one (some of the stores had their shipments cut in half). I was thinking of getting one because I tend to get caught up in the newest, greatest thing and think I need it, but then I went to San Francisco and spent a day playing them and was left a bit wanting. So I'm glad that I did not preorder one.

None the less, I'm getting an Xbox 360 TODAY as opposed to next Tuesday with the rest of you peasants and I'm paying $0 for it. What a country!

posted by Travis at 11:21 AM

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Friday, November 11, 2005

For the last two nights, I've pretty much come home from work, started playing The Movies, and then reluctantly headed to bed around 1:00am. I feared this game would consume me, and while it may not be the creative tool I hoped it would be, it is a fun game. It's one of those games where there is always one more thing to do thus ravenously devouring time at, what feels like, an accelerated rate. Basically there are two modes; the regular game and sandbox mode. In the regular game you start with a little money and a blank lot in the 1920s and you have to build up a fully functional movie studio researching new technology and wrangling actors and directors the whole way. Sandbox mode allows you to just create movies with the virtual sets, props, technology, and costumes that you unlock in the regular game without any restraints. So, I'm trying to power through the regular game so that my sandbox experience is unbounded. I peeked at the sandbox mode (also known as AMM for Advanced Movie Making), and it looked pretty robust, but I don't think I will be able to translate my script into it. I do see myself diving pretty deep into it, though. There may be voice acting.

posted by Travis at 10:47 AM

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Monday, November 07, 2005

My interview with the guys behind Penny Arcade posted today. I got to meet the guys at BlizzCon and they were very nice.

We watched High Tension (in French with subtitles) this weekend. It's OK. Like Saw II, it is more about violence and discomfort than scares, but not a complete waste of time. It has kind of a neat ending, but one that forces the viewer to take a lot on faith.

posted by Travis at 2:54 PM

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Tuesday, November 01, 2005

My BlizzCon article for tgdaily.com posted today. There are still a couple stories out there that have yet to go up.

Went to see Saw II over the weekend. Kim liked it but I thought it was just kind of bleh. I think I still harbor resentment towards the first Saw for not being as good as I hoped it would be, and that may have carried over when watching the sequel. Saw II is definitely an uncomfortable movie to watch. I wouldn't call it scary, but definitely uncomfortable. I think it was much scarier seeing Miguel Alvarez in person buying popcorn.

posted by Travis at 10:20 AM

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