Things that make you go hmmm....

There's been a couple of things that have struck me as odd lately. Good and bad. So I'm going to tell you about them.

1) I can't believe we played something other than Gears of War 2.

The regular crowd really cranked it up in Gears during the double points week for the new maps. Of course when the week was over we were pretty much burned out on Gears. Oh, we still played. But are hearts weren't really into it and we played badly. So I was only a little bit surprised when a bunch of us picked up Call of Duty: World at War and started playing that.

Of course that game just came out with more zombie maps, and who doesn't like killing zombies? A couple of the guys had already sold their original copy back in order to get another game (come on, why do you people do that?) so they had to purchase the game, yet again. Evil Ric couldn't find a used copy so he had to purchase it new . . . again.

We did some zombie killin' and jumped into a few multiplayer matches. One thing that hasn't changed is the glitching and manhandling we got occasionally. Yes, they complained about it. I did too, sometimes. But I'm more use to being the lowest scorer on the team, with more deaths than kills, so I guess the unfairness of it all doesn't bother me as much.

2) I can't believe we played a non-FPS game

On Wednesday 1 vs. 100 was doing a "Movie Quotes" game that Evil and c5ride suggested we join in on. I didn't think the idea would fly with everyone but Evil, c5, Genghis and I jumped in and started guessing. Evil and c5 really know their movies. There were quite a few that I just randomly guessed at (once I used up all my skips). It was fun, but mostly for another reason. Who knew c5 could cut a rug? It was hilarious to watch the three guys bust a move during the down times. I think I even heard c5 giggle like a school boy at some of his avatar's more spectacular dance steps. It didn't matter that I came in last either because I laughed so hard that even after a night of killing . . . I mean dying in the game we played next, I still went to bed with a smile on my face. Thanks guys.

3) I can't believe I got to play with Cleelost.

Clee's a friend from back in the old Star Wars Battlefront days. I played a lot with him when we first got our 360s. Lately though it seems like every time I see him come online he's watching a video instead of playing a game. When I got an invite from him to play Gears of War 2 I immediately jumped out of my Texas Hold 'em tournament and joined. And as an added bonus (I think it was a bonus) I got to hear MarcDNPain's voice. At least he use to be that gamer tag, now I don't know what he calls himself. That cackle of a laugh in my ear was unmistakable though. It was fun to reconnect with those guys for a night. Let's hope it doesn't take another several months before that happens again.

4) I got to talk to El Sand Dog.

Sand Dog's Xbox 360 has been on the fritz lately and he hasn't been able to play some of the games that he usually plays. Because of that his time online has been very limited or restricted to what he can do. I haven't talked to him in ages and I always love hearing that deep, slightly stoned out voice of his. He's one of those guys that can actually get the line "How you doin'" to work for them. It's worked on me. I miss Sand Dog. He's a blast to flirt with and a great guy to play with. I hope he gets his 360 issues worked out soon.

5) I got a message that I'm sexist

In my profile online my bio lists both the address for this blog and the address for the Xbox360GamingWorld site that my friend Pogue Moran (yes, I called him a friend) runs. I got a message from a total stranger, after playing some Texas Hold 'em that said "ur website is sexis". Yes, those typos and netspeak were in included. At first I thought they were talking about this blog. Sexist? Here? I don't see it. Yes, it's called "Life of a Gamer Girl" which might be sexist, but since I am a girl, AND I play video game, AND these entries are mostly about my life playing video games I really don't think it's sexist.

As for the Gaming World website? Eh? Maybe. There are quite a few guys on the site from all around the world that like to do a bit of chest thumping and fist pumping, but it's mostly guys just being guys and showing off. There have been a few avatar pics/vids that I wouldn't want to open up while at the office, but since the site is now banned at work for "gaming" because of all the flash games it's not a problem anymore.

There are quite a few girls on the site as well. We tolerate the boys for the most part and have put them in their place if the moment warranted it. But one things is certain those guys on the site are thrilled about girls playing video games. No matter how much trash talking, chest thumping or fist pumping they do, none of them have every berated a girl for playing video games. No "you suck because you're a girl" or "girls can't play video games". In fact some of them are very happy to admit when a girl gets the better of them in a match. Some other guys might call that a little perverse, but I find it welcoming and inclusive. I met a lot of great guys through that site and I don't regret any one of them, although Pogue isn't for the faint of heart. He's more of an acquired taste.

So a bunch of highs and lows for the week, but overall a very good week in the gaming world. It would be better if I didn't have to go to work but could stay home and play games all day. But then again, without the job I wouldn't be able to afford to buy new games or pay for the internet to play online with the games I do have. I guess I'll keep the job for now. My gaming habits will change a bit over the next couple of weeks, but only temporarily. You'll read more about that in a post sometime in the next couple of days.

New Poll - How's your summer been so far?

Here's the latest poll:

How's your summer been so far?

Hotter than normal
Cooler than normal
Drier than normal
Wetter than normal
Same as always

Remember you can always leave a comment to tell me why you voted the way you did. You don't have to be a registered member of Blogger to do so.

Poll Results - OVERALL best movie franchise

Here are the poll results:

What movie franchise has the best OVERALL movies?

Lord of the Rings = 3 votes
Star Wars = 3 votes
Alien = 0 votes
Rocky = 1 vote
Star Trek = 2 votes

I think two of you are letting one good movie (released this summer) sway your opinions, but I won't mention which one.

I will admit that I tried to cheat with my vote on this poll. I voted from my computer at work. At home I was going to vote from that computer. I wasn't going to vote for the same movie either. I just couldn't make up my mind which one I wanted to cast a final vote for.

I never got around to voting from home so only my vote at work counted. That was for Star Wars. How could I NOT vote for Star Wars? I have a whole bookcase dedicated to Star Wars books, a closet full of Star Wars toys and I own the original trilogy in at least 4 different versions/formats . . . possibly more.

What made me doubt the overall integrity of the Star Wars films was there were some very horrid things about the last two that I didn't like. I'll get to that later.

My other vote would have gone for Lord of the Rings. I think those are great movies. They're engrossing, entertaining, imaginative, beautifully filmed and solidly cohesive as a franchise. They are long (especially if you get the extended, director's cut editions) and are not for those with bladder control issues who can't sit still long to watch them uninterrupted. And they're worth every minute too. I would have gladly sat through a four hour movie in the theaters if the results would have been the same. I will admit that I might be a little biased about these movies, but not in the way that you think.

See, I haven't read the Lord of the Rings trilogy yet. I've read The Hobbit at least 3 times, but I've never gotten around to reading the other books. I own them, just haven't read them. So why does that make me biased? Because I haven't read the books I don't have any expectations to the story. No, what did they leave out? Or, that doesn't happen in that order. I walked into those movies with no preconceived notions as to what to expect. And I wasn't disappointed.

I wasn't surprised at getting votes for Star Trek. Although I haven't seen all those movies I hear they are either really good or just plain horrible. Since this question asked for the "overall" result I had to eliminate Star Trek (and not because I'm a Star Wars fan).

I was a little surprised that Rocky got one vote and Alien didn't get any. These are two other franchises where I haven't seen all the movies. I heard Rocky movies went downhill fast, except for this last one which I heard was okay. The first Alien movie scared the bejeezies out of me. There was no way I was going to see a sequel . . . especially in a theater. But I've heard they're pretty good. And I'm not counting the Alien vs. Predator movie as part of that franchise. I thought for sure that Alien would get at least one vote because of how well it did at the box office and the scary/creepy factor. Oh well.

But back to Star Wars.

I loved the first trilogy (I think I've already established that) and I couldn't wait for The Phantom Menace to come out. I think I saw it 30 times in the theaters that summer before I stopped saving my ticket stubs. It was different than the original movies (they were so much more chatty) but I liked it. And Jar Jar Binks doesn't bother me as much as he does other people.

When The Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith came out I equally as excited. And then I was disappointed. I don't want to get into a debate about every little detail of the films but let me point out some high (or should that be low) lights as I saw them.

1) I don't think Hayen Christenson did a very good job as Anakin. It's more than his hair is curly where as Jake Lloyds was straight. He over acted his part. I would have much preferred to see Ryan Phillipe in the role instead. I think he would have brought that quiet menacing aura to him that I think Darth Vadar needs to have (even though he wasn't Darth Vadar yet).

2) the dialogue was horrible. The worst line (at least to me) is when Obi-Wan and Anakin are trying to rescue the Chancellor and they finally get surrounded by droidekas. Obi-Wan says "Come on, we're better than this". Cheesy. Lame. And so unlike the witty, sharp dialogue of the other movies. And so unlike the Jedi. I cringe every time I hear it. And unfortunately that isn't the only line that is bad. There are many more so I won't quote them. I wish those that helped make the first trilogy so great could have worked on the scripts for the second trilogy.

3) the movies looked too digital. The first trilogy was shot on location, real people were used in real costumes, that may or may not have been easy to move in. The movies looked like they were full of real life, in a real galaxy, far, far away. For the most part the second trilogy (especially the last two movies) were all shot on a sound stage and the backgrounds filled in digitally. TPM had locations shots and maybe that's why I like it better than the others. When Padme and Anakin frolic through the hills of Naboo it's almost the only scene shot outside. I think the whole of the last movies was shot inside. Yes, I know they can do things with lighting and digital effects to make it look they are outside, but to me it comes off more as a painting than an actual place teeming with life. I just miss that in the later films. Not filming "on location" might have kept those costs down so they could apply that money to the digital budget, but I don't think it necessarily made the movies better.

I could go on, but I won't. I don't hate the Star Wars movies. I think they offer more to imagine and wonder at than the Lord of the Rings movies. Besides, those were based on an existing story. The blueprint to the tell the story was already created. Star Wars, on the other hand, was created especially for the screen. It wasn't based on anything so it could be free to explore or do things without being constrained to an existing structure. For that imaginative quality (have you watched the movie just to stare at the people going to the theater, or in the bar scene?) I have to say Star Wars gets the edge over Lord of the Rings. Even if I tried to cheat and vote for both of them.

I'm changing my gamertag

No, I'm not changing it to "Hot Fantasy Girl", that one's already taken. And I'm not changing it to any derivative of that name either. We encountered HFG again last night. The guys reception of her wasn't as warm and fuzzy as before (I think it didn't help much when she kept killing them with the Hammer of Dawn).

I'm going to change my name to "Buzz Kill". Or maybe "Kill Joy". Or "I ask a question and suck the life out of the party and distract my teammates so we lose the match". Do you think it's too long?

In my defense we weren't actually in a match at the time I asked the question. It just carried over into the match. And I thought it was a simple question to answer. Yes, I know there's a lot of baggage that comes with asking an ex-soldier what the Medal of Honor is usually given out for, but a simple "it's the grand-daddy of all war medals for going above and beyond the call of duty" would have sufficed. I don't think that belittles the recipients of what they achieved when they've earned a Medal of Honor if you sum it up that way. After all, I'm not military so my feelings are much more pedestrian than what an ex-soldier would feel when the talking about the Medal of Honor.

I'm sorry I brought it up. Not because we played horribly and lost the match. But because I'm sorry that it seemed to suck the life out of the party and turned a couple of outspoken-extroverted-guys-who-thrive-blowing-the-heads-off-of-locust into a couple of thought-provoking-introverted-let's-sit-and-ponder-about-it-road-kill in the middle of what should have been a fun match. It won't happen again.

And to mark the occasion and remind myself to keep my mouth shut I'm changing my gamer tag. I'm kind of partial to "Kill Joy" but what do you think?

Just one of the guys

You know you're "just one of the guys" when your teammates get all hot and bothered playing against "Hot Fantasy Girl" and you lose a couple of rounds because of it. And then when "she" sends an invite to play they start squealing like little school girls at a Jonas Brothers concert. Maybe I need to crank up the flirting again. After all, I'm a girl too, you know.

So, how you doing? *wink wink*

I don't remember joining the circus . . .

I had a REALLY bad day at work yesterday. All I wanted to do was go home, have a glass of milk and go to bed. I didn't care what might be on TV or whether the sun was still up or not. I was hot, miserable, tired and grumpy. Throw in a few more adjectives and I would have been all the seven dwarfs rolled up into one.

One of the things that made me grumpy was paying my bills. I was already set to leave work when I realized I hadn't written the checks for my bills and they needed to get out in yesterday's mail. So after hanging around work for another 1/2 hour while I wrote check after check after check and watched my bank account dwindle to almost nothing I finally packed up and left the office. I was so tired that instead of turning toward the post office I started towards home. Oops. I made a U-turn and headed in the right direction. Now I wanted to get home and go to bed more than anything . . . and I was getting hotter by the second.

On the way home I realized that the new maps were coming out for Gears of War 2 today. While this thought was not earth shattering in its nature it was enough to brighten my day and I started to look forward to getting home and playing Gears and then going to bed. But I was still hot. I figured it would take a while to download the maps so I planned to log in as soon as I got home, start the download of the maps and then go out swimming to cool off while the map pack was being delivered to my system. Sounded like a good plan to me.

When I got home all that changed.

I changed into my swimsuit, logged onto my Xbox and went to the marketplace to download the maps. I saw that it would cost me 1,200 points to do it and I only had 990 points in my balance. I was hoping it would only be 800 points, but I figured I'd have to buy points anyway. I hit the button to "add microsoft points," selected an appropriate amount and then selected "confirm payment". Unfortunately I realized my credit card had expired in June and I forgot to update the expiration date. Because of this the system wouldn't allow me process my purchase. No points. No maps.

At the same time I started getting invites from my friends to play Gears. I jumped in the party and told them I was trying to download the maps and would be on later. I guess swimming might have to wait awhile. After looking around for five minutes for a place on my Xbox 360 to change my expiration date on my credit card (I opened up every menu options and then some) I realized I would have to change the date by using my computer. Great.

I went into my office and turned on my computer. I waited while it went through the boot-up cycle before it came to the screen for me to pick my log in ID (dain also has an ID on my computer for repair purposes). Then I had to wait while it loaded all of my preferences. Then I had to wait while my system ran it's virus, spyware, etc. checks. Once that was all done I clicked on my internet icon (Firefox) and waiting for my internet browser to open. What I got instead was a pop-up message box saying my Firefox application was being updated. Great. And how long was that going to take?

Now I was hot, tired, miserable, even more grumpy and looking at my dog I could tell that she couldn't figure out why I had my swimming suit on but wasn't going out side into the pool. I decided to say "screw it" and take my dog's advice. I would stay out and swim and cool off in the pool as long as I like and would come back in to change my expiration date, buy points, download maps and play Gears when I bloody well felt like it. So there.

At least that's how I thought it would go.

After about five or ten minutes in the pool, just when that knot in my head and body was starting to unravel Zoe went ballistic at the back gate. I floated over there to see if I could tell what set her off. All I could see was someone going back and forth in front of my house. Great. What now?

I decided to get out of the pool, go inside and see if I could tell what was going on in front of my house. So dripping wet, I trundled to my front window and looked out. There was a kid (jr or sr high school age) riding a skate board back and forth on the sidewalk. Really? It's 115 degrees outside and you're skateboarding? Go home and stay in the AC idiot.

Since I was already inside (when the AC kicked on it did a really nice job of cooling me off, but that was because I will still dripping wet) I decided to check up on my computer. I put my towels on the chair and sat down. Apparently after the update my system froze and I lost all access to my desk top. The only thing for me to do was to turn my system off and restart it. Which meant I had to sit through another boot-up, log in, virus check, etc. Once I got through all of that it took 2 minutes for Firefox to open up a web page. I was just about to give up for good and go back to my original plan of going to bed when I decided I came this far I might as well finish the deed.

I found the right web page, changed my expiration date and selected the map pack from the marketplace to download to my Xbox 360. While it was downloading I went and changed out of my wet swimsuit and waited for the system to finish. When it finally did I checked my friends list and found all of my friends were already playing in full groups. I thought about trying the new maps on private so I could walk around and learn them before I actually had to fight on them, but I had had enough. I put in Eternal Sonata hoping a nice quiet RPG with bright colors would improve my mood.

That's when the invites started coming again.

I seriously considered not joining Evil Ric and G Sneaka in their game but I had jumped through so many hoops just to play these news maps I wanted to see if it was worth it. I felt like a dog at the circus, performing trick after trick, and now I just wanted to hear the applause. What did I think of the new maps like, you ask? Eh.

I think I played 5 matches. Two on Sanctuary, two on War Machine and one on The Highway (I think that's the name). After that I just didn't care to play anymore. Not that they are bad maps (although I don't think I like the new War Machine) but I just wasn't in the mood. Sometimes at the end of the day this old dog just wants to lay down in her kennel and call it a night.

I went back into the pool afterwards and spent a good twenty minutes or so trying to relax. After that I packed it in and crawled under the covers. I was in bed about a quarter after 10pm and asleep abut one minute later. For me, going to bed before 11pm is early. I usually end up in bed by 11:30 and I don't usually fall asleep until around 12am. But last night I needed it. Who knew this circus life could be so tiring. I wonder what feats of daring I'll have to perform tonight when I get online. And you know, you can teach an old dog new tricks . . . it just takes too much out of her when you do.

New Poll - What movie franchise has the best OVERALL movies?

Here's the new poll:

What movie franchise has the best OVERALL movies?

Lord of the Rings
Star Wars
Alien
Rocky
Star Trek

Vote and tell me why in the comments.