Episode 4: The one where I wish I was still using a Mac

Episode 4 Show Notes: SOAPBOX

• Career is going back to the future - I'll be starting my old job again in a few weeks. Unemployment was fun but Money talks.
• Internet Journalism: IGN is slowly following the path of Gamespot and others that are more opinion sites than objective reviews. Check out Gametrailers for a more refreshing take on reviews.
• Mac Switch: Sold my Hackintosh and my Thinkpad and have ordered a new T400 Thinkpad. If Steve Jobs decided to grant my wish of an updated MacBook with dedicated graphics, I'm cancelling the Thinkpad and getting a mac instead. Not an Apple fanboy but I still want one if only it's comparable in specs and price to the Thinkpad. For a review of the T400 that's coming soon, check out notebookreview.

AROUND THE NET

• $1000 iPhone app: Here's a douchbag pretending to have bought the app but gives you a good idea of what I'm complaining about:

• iPhone Mania: iPhone Girl as reported by USAToday. How sad is it that iPhone mania has made a forgotten erase procedure into worldwide headline news!
• BlackBerry Bold: Best multimedia blackberry ever made, but still not an iPhone. For the converted iPhone-nites (yours truly included) it's hard to consider going back but if the bold is an indication of things to come, RIM isn't going to go quietly. Check out a fairly indepth review from APC of the BB Bold.
• Apple Announcement: Rumored by Kevin Rose of Digg.com, before the end of September, shooting for September 9th to be the magic date, there is going to be some pretty big chages to the Apple product line. I'm personally hoping for a Macbook refresh but that may not happen. Check out Kevin's blog to see what he thinks will be announced.
• Stargate Closed: Stargate Atlantis was canceled by Sci-Fi this past week. Boo! I love that show and don't know what will be there to fill the void.

IMPRESSIONISTIC

• Soul Calibur 4: Worth a rental or a purchase at a discounted price (read: 50% off). Fun for the SC lovers and man-parties. But nothing too new here to warrant a full price purchase except for the diehard fans.
• Too Human: Not Human Enough. It's fun for the first few hours and then the story drags on and loses focus. Clearly this is meant for a sequel but it still feels like a game that was either rushed (which can't be if it's been in development for 10 years!) or that the developers just were good enough. It's a worthy rental since it's about 8 hours long the first time through but there's nothing really there to keep you coming back.
• Burn Notice: This is the perfect reimagining of 80's detective shows. Think of it as a Macguyver, Remington Steele, Magnum P.I., and a bit of Quantum Leap all mixed into a 21st century bowl. YUM!
• Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: This is a brainless romp through a post 90210 neighbourhood. It's still an entertaining show, lets just hope season 2 picks up right where they left off and gets the juices flowing again.
• iPod Shuffle: Piece of gimped iPod poo! The only thing good about it is the integrated clip and form factor. Can't even sync properly, can only auto fill. Bah! Spend the money and get a good armband for your iPhone instead.

Remember to shoot me off a review if you get the podcast on iTunes, and send your questions and comments to ikeagamer(AT)gmail.com.

Tuesday Update

Yeah, I know. I'm late again. Trust me, it's not all been fun and games this last week. There was a bit of personal stuff I had to deal with right away so the blog has be slightly neglected. But it's sort of back on track now so here's a quick update. I've played through the Too Human demo on XBL this past weekend. Took me about 45 minutes but I was taking my time, customizing my character, etc. I played as a Champion, which likes to fly around the screen and jump a lot. It was pretty fun, I would imagine it as a dumbed down Diablo clone (if that's even possible to dumb D down any further *read: SOJ, Dual Leech). I think I will give the game a chance when it comes out, I won't be putting down $60 for it since it's definitely not worth that but it's worth a few hours of my attention. The other major gaming event in my life is that I've started to dual-box for my World of Warcraft account. If you guys are up with WoW, you will know that the latest Refer a Friend has some pretty sweet incentives but since all my friends already play WoW and those that don't are simply not interested, I decided to refer myself and reap all the benefits. So far, it's been pretty good. I leveled from 1-15 on 2 character in a mere 2.5 hours. That's a personal record considering that's on 2 characters at the same time. I'm excited in seeing if I can bring this dual character up to 60 ASAP (or at least before I'm going back to work). Speaking of work, I'm looking to head back to my old job mid September. Hopefully they will have me, otherwise you will be able to visit the Ikeagamer at your local Wal-Mart soon! Podcast will be up tomorrow, and you can take that one to the bank!