Monday, June 29, 2009

Episodes 1 - 10

Episode 1 - June 8, 2009: We talk about Left 4 Dead, discuss some movies, and call a special guest!

Episode 2 - June 9, 2009: David and Jenn discuss bathroom ambushers, Lord of the Rings Online, Kevin's personal life, Joey, and why Sheri hates Tom Hanks. Also, Fallout 3, Henry Hatsworth, Uncharted, and Sims 3. Also, the website went live! http://www.betterthanjenn.com/

Episode 3 - June 10, 2009: Our first ever guest show! David and James talk games, both modern and classic, as well as co-op couples, and the pros and cons of the various downloadable games markets. Jenn sits on the floor and takes notes.

Episode 4 - June 12, 2009: We get socially conscious with discussion on gun control after a child shoots his brother over a video game, video games in schools, and kids quitting school to game full-time. We also talk about moving to Seattle, Dungeons & Dragons Online going free, the incredible success of Sims 3, a bit about EA and Godfather games, and life at work.

Episode 5 - June 15, 2009: TV talk, music games run amok, Beatles Rock Band, lackluster PSP thoughts and more L4D!

Episode 6 - June 15, 2009: We have no friends, bikini car washes, Pride Week and Christian protesters, our trip to WEM, and David's Game of the Week.

Episode 7 - June 17, 2009: We discuss David's video game addiction, the gals at his office, the Edmonton Queer History Bus Tour, how Sheri ain't afraid of no ghosts on her birthday, and what's happening for some upcoming family birthdays.

Episode 8 - June 21, 2009: Kevin: Angry or dead? Past and present relationships, Jenn's lunch with the cast, Crystal's party and her hot roommate, what it will take for David to leave Jenn, OK Cupid, zombie apocalypse, why David's GPS is stupid, and some games.

Episode 9 - June 21, 2009: Getting back to game talk! We talk about the re-release of the original Fallout Trilogy and David reviews Turok. Talk about life at home and a little work talk as David ponders whether a gal at work just doesn't like him, pointless bureaucratic meetings, and finds out where the mystery door leads. Also, are the kids just creative, or are they exhibiting signs of early game addiction?

Episode 10 - June 22, 2009: We discuss the movies we've seen recently, pornographic films, the new southside Future Shop and Sony promo trailer, furniture shopping, and the fights we had over Episode 8 and credit cards.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

BTJ EP 1 commentary Pt. 3

Kevin may never be on the show. He wants to big a deal made about him and i'm not gonna beg. Our show is good enough without him

Movie talk! Just like promised. Too bad our audio is so quiet we can barely hear it.

Ha ha. Tom hanks talk. Sheri hated it!

Chris does have a soothing voice, and that's the first reason why I can't tell anyone at work about the show.

Despite not wanting to copy other shows, I wish I had the audio skills that Mike D from Red Bar. I want bumpers in our show.


I still don't know what that weird space of silence is about.

I like the tag line at the end.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

BTJ EP 1 commentary pt. 2

We probably won't ever try to monetize the show.

Ten plus shows and only one so far without Jenn. Boo potential guests.

VINDICATION! You can't just get a splitter for these headphones. You need a special box that costs like, $150+. On the list of things to buy, after a third mic.

BTJ ep 1 commentary

Sound quality sounds decent, the awkwardness in my voice is noticable so far though.

Blog plug!

The intro is boring to me already. Yawnzorz. Background is important, but this wouldn't grab me.

Blog plug!

Ha ha, i'm better than Jenn, but my blog wasn't. Blogging is a lot of work. I probably could have blogged about podcasts, but I don't like them as much as games.

The show didn't focus on games for long. We didn't want to pigeon hole ourselves or have such a niche appeal.

We also decided after the fact to keep some level of anonymity, though it wouldn't be hard to find out our secret identities. The beep is funny to me too.

Plugging the show web site before we even had anything there. Whoops!

I forgot we only had one mic for the first show. Yech.

I can't stop saying something-sphere.

We're not funny. FACT!

I did a really poor job on selling people on why they should listen. Boo me

BTJ show commentary.

I want to start doing written commentary for the shows. I'll add addendums, corrections, behind the scenes and more! Enjoy!

Monday, June 22, 2009

I've been smitten! Or smited?

Still really digging the show, and apparenty so are other people. We fell behind in posting, even though we had the shows recorded early, so to offset it we recorded a bit extra show. Now my voicebox is broken.

Friday, June 19, 2009

lunch

Eating lunch in the lunchroom at work for the second time. I'm familiar with everyone but not friendly. Awkwardness incoming!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Mixmaster D.

Bought some software for the psp that claims to be a portable studio. I can make beats, create midi's and record samples.

Once I have it figured, it'll be mad cool.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Shows!

Man, being a Podcast superstar is busy work! Recorded 2 shows back to back last night so i'm home free until sunday.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Website!

The website, such as it is, should be live any time now. For now, site.betterthanjenn.com.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Through the power of radio!!

Bought some podcasting equipment today. Provided I can actually set it up, I might have a show ready to live this week!! EXCITEMENT!!

Uncharted

Just finished Uncharted. I'm pretty happy with the experience, despite the unbeleivably aggravating end sequence. Going to plug away a little more at bully before jumping into inFAMOUS.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Terminator

We went and saw terminator last night, J3nn, Kevin and I. I really enjoyed it, kevin thought it was entertaining but cheesey and J3nn really wasn't into it. There were quite a few nods to the previous movies which were amusing, and some nods to other movies, either intentional or un, but all in all i really dug it.

The FUTURE

So, i've been trying to explore my artistic side, as well as establish some sort of goal/dreams for myself. Maybe its because i'm a dad, or maybe because I've always had a real job and responsibilities, but being artistic, or chasing dreams has never been me. That is going to change today. My life is at a very stable point right now, I have a good job, i'm in the most stable relationship of my life, i'm close to being debt free, etc. Now's the time to start exploring what I want out of life to make me happy.

First, I want to write more. I have a story I want to tell, and i'm going to start putting it together. The blog was originally supposed to be a tool to help me develop writing habits, and its been a good resource, but now I need to step up.

Second, I want to share my passion, video games, and podcasts. The blog has gone a long way in doing that, and i'm gonna commit to more of it, especially now that i'm more used to mobile blogging, but i'm also going to move into the world of podcasting. I'm going to hopefully have the equipment by tomorrow, and a website and hosting service live by next week. The plan is to have a rotation of guests, with me as the only fixed host, but that may change if the podcast grows.

Third, though this is more of an extension of the second one, I want to start a gaming store. I want it to be a blend of video games, board games, etc. This is more of a long term goal, as although my financial security is decent, I still need to be cognizant of responsibilities to my family. This is something i'm going to pursue over the next few years.

That's it for now. I'm excited about the potential for everything, but cautiously pessimistic.

Game update, June 6

I'm in a renaissance of gaming right now. I went through a dark ages period in which my Xbox, Ps3, Ds and PSP had been stolen, but they have been replaced, and I've been going whole hog on gaming since then. I'll break it down by system.

DS: My tried and true friend. Its been a lot of GTA Chinatown Wars, and I've been hot and cold on it. Its been lauded as perhaps the best GTA to date, but I don't know that I'm ready to agree. I think the usage of the touch screen controls are the best I've seen on the ds to date, with the exception of using it to throw grenades, and the narcotics trading system is an excellent addition, but the birds eye view can be challenging and the controls and aiming aren't always intuitive. I'm struggling a bit with length, but will likely stick to it.

PSP: When I first replaced the PSP, I was all about D&D Tactics. I'm a d&d fan from way back, and the way the stick to the mechanics sang to me like a siren song, but there were some camera and pacing issues that made it difficult to enjoy. I'm still going to go back to it, but for now the PSP is all about puzzle quest.

Xbox 360:
Bully, which is a Rockstar game. Similar in play and mechanic to the GTA games, but more of a cruel intentions type theme. You play Jimmy Hopkins, a roustabout whose mom and stepdad ship him out to Bulworth academy while they go on an extended honeymoon. Everything is exaggerated of course, but its a fun game with some new ideas and some aggravating achievements.

PS3:

Uncharted: Drakes Fortune. A sort of tomb raider meets gears of war with incredible visual design and powerful graphics. I'm late to the party on this one, but definitely a great game. Should be finished up by the end of the weekend, then on to inFAMOUS.

Wii:
The Wii hasn't got much love from me lately as a game machine. Primarily I've been using it as a workout system, but I had to take a break because of the ills of working out on concrete floors in bare feet. Threw in Super Mario Galaxy the other day and finished a few levels. I also remembered how frustrating it is and why I quit in the first place

PC:

WHAT?!?! PC GAMES?!?!
That's right, I'm back into PC games. Bought Sims 3 for j3nn and got surprisingly into it. Also, the Klondike Kid bought me a copy of Lord of the rings online, so I'll be rocking that.

On co op pt. 2

The only downside to Uncharted, other than the bullet sponges that are your enemies, is that it occasionally pairs you with an AI partner for firefights.

While the enemy AI is extremely well designed and tactile, using cover, pinning you down by alternating reloads, and even flanking you, the parter AI is the opposite. They take random pot shots, ignore enemies, and get in the way of your cover. The biggest offense is that they posess so little threat to enemies that enemies can walk past them five feet away shooting at me wildly, and they won't even so much as wound them.

Maybe i've been spoiled/blessed by great co-op partners, but i'd sooner have no partner than a useless one.

On co-op

I've had a lot of co op game partners, probably the best of them being Joseraph, in regards to being able to mesh and operate as a well oiled machine, and J3nn, for great communication and being able to complement my shortcomings.

It comes up because i've been playing Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, on the PS3. Its a great game, beatiful graphics, fun game play, and good controls.

Dramaticus *UPDATE*

Sheri bought me a copy of dead space for $10 at Eb. They priced matched without checking Future Shop's stock. My new low for yesterday was buying Civilization Revolution for the Xbox 360 to play at home with Kevin and getting home and finding out it had no local multiplayer. Boo urns.

music

My mp3 car deck is on random and its playing a lot of tupac. I like this. Also, i'm gonna look into a zune pass this weeknd.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Dramaticus!

I think when the low point of your day is that you drove to the mall on your lunch break to get a couple games that you were only passively interested in at a discount but they didn't have them, its safe to say your life is pretty good.

The high point thus far is getting five games for $30. Total, not each. 3 for the kids, 1 for J3nn and I, and one that good go either way.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Self awareness

Huh. Went and bought new shoes to work out in so I don't destroy my legs and joints while working out and found out i've been wearing shoes that are 2 sizes too big for a loooooong time.

New athletic shoes that fit well. I feel bouncy.

Random thoughts.

What would it be like to have lego hands for a day?