Episode 5: Underachieving with Style!

SoapBox T400 and Why I didn't get it for review:

• Men and women are instinctually different
• Main difference when it comes to tech is the man's need for "Upgrades"
• Women don't understand the need for upgraded toys since you can't really upgrade a purse, you just buy a new one

The Underachiever's Manifesto

• Hilarious satire on the status of our working North American society today
• "Good Enough is Good Enough"
• Very funny and applicable read, check it out here on Amazon.ca

Around The Net Apple September 9th Announcement

• New iPod Nano's announced with a redesign
• iPod Touch redesign and new specs
• New Apple in ear headphones complete with mic and remote MSRP $80, not compatible with iPhone according to Apple's site
• iTunes 8.0 and the new Genius feature - big brother anyone?
• iPhone 2.1 Firmware, maybe this will prevent my 3rd restore in the last month?

Google Chrome

• Fun and "google-esq" but not going to replace my main browser anytime soon
• Large resource footprint
• Download and try here

EA/Crytek/Nvidia/Ultra PC Custom PC

• Interesting concept, a gaming PC capable of running Crysis at 30 FPS for under $700USD
• No word on what OS this ships with
• Specs are here

Spore DRM Crisis...again

• Reviews are firebombed on Amazon and other online retailers
• DRM issue is installation limits, how does EA define a "computer"
• Hardware changes are taken into account for "new" computer installs
• You can see a more detailed article here on Tom's

Impressionistic Force Unleashed Demo

• Fun times and really makes you feel like a powerful Jedi
• Has the potential of being a Dynasty Warrior clone if not done correctly
• Breaks download record with over 1 million downloads
• Hope that this isn't another Too Human where the demo was better than the game

Spore

• Fun but a bit light on deep content in terms of gameplay
• Lots of other games do the parts better but Spore does the god sim the best
• Very deep creature creation

TV Series: BONES

• CSI meets Hardy Boys
• Great cast chemistry
• Takes a bit of getting used to and doesn't really pick up until half way through season 1
• Currently going into Season 4 and I'm only half way done season 2

MAILBAG Letter from KYJELLY:

" Hey, love the podcast and your blog is interesting. Just wondering what you specifically didn't like about Too Human since you spoke about it a bit last week. Keep up the good work. Thanks."

Thanks for the Email KYJELLY, I won't judge your name! I did have enjoyable moments with Too Human but if I were to pin point a few things I didn't like, it would have to be:

• The story was very convoluted and lofty without having any substance. It had some very interesting potential but overall, as a standalone game (I know it's supposed to be a trilogy but so was Shemue) it just didn't cut it.
• The gameplay was too similar to titles such as Dynasty Warriors. There was no real consequence to death, your enemies kept scaling to you, and if you had a dedicated button to "equip best" this game would have been easier than Lego Starwars.

Thanks for your emails and readership, remember to leave an itunes review if you can! Until next time!

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.

Touched by Steve

Whao! Hey! Watch it! Yeah, touched by Steve is right...Steve Jobs that is. What the hell is up with this guy that anything coming out of his mouth is gold? As reported today by DailyTech, Apple issued a press release detailing its financial forecast, stating once again it has finished above expectations and that the next quarter may not be as great as it had been historically. However, with a single tag line at the end of the release where Steve Jobs says, "...and we’re busy finishing several more wonderful new products to launch in the coming months." sent Apple stocks rising again. So what is it about Steve that makes the industry swoon and the financial analysts quiver in their suits? Brand recognition is largely it, and with Steve Jobs heading up Apple in the late 90's to now, their rebranding and reimagining has been a huge success. Look at the recent iPhone 3G release, that was like the release of a Blackberry Pearl 8120 after a year and a half of having the Blackberry Pearl 8100. Or it really should have been and not what everyone blasphamistically referring to it as the Jesus Phone (that's seriously a good one, but what are you going to call the 4G?) Dispite what all the iPod and Apple haters want to say or how much they fight against the norm and accepted social staus quo that is defined by the latest iPod or iPhone, they won't be able to win. History has taught us that there will always be the hottest new thing that defines a generation. This current trend just happens to have lasted a bit longer than expected. Whether or not Apple will survive to be the leader of the next trend depends on how much more innovative they can be. Look at Motorola, they were the first on the market with a widely accepted and popular design for the clam-shell phone we know today. But where are they now? They haven't been able to make too much headway since and have slowly been losing their sales over to others that have been more innovative. Apple needs to be the Madonna and Cher of consumer electronics if they want to stay on top (or keep in the top tier). Why post about Apple again? Well I was able to get my hands on an 8GB iPod Touch at a substantial discount thanks to the mistakes of some drone working at a data entry position at Wal-Mart. If you have been following my blog for a while, you know that I don't have a lot of love for the iPod. Simply because of the restrictions Apple places on its use. But I can't say anything bad about its interface. It is still the best, easiest, and cleanest to use for a MP3 player. I will still use my Cowon A3 for videos because I can't be bothered to encode my Divx files for iTunes but in the car and out and about, this new iPod Touch is really something. It's basically a iPhone minus the phone. And with the 2.0 Firmware upgrade (which I didn't pay for and if Apple wants money for this they can shove it) and the new apps store, I could see it replacing my Blackberry one day. I just have to get used to the virtual keyboard, which I slow am. It's still not as great as the blackberry's tactile keyboard but I think it does everything else so well that it doesn't really matter in the long run. The beautiful thing about iPods is also its horrifiic flaw, you simply can't use them longer than 2 years. They either start to fail or functions have changed so much that you want the next best one. That's what Apple designed them to be, and that's what they want you to do. iPods, along with iPhones, are made to be disaposable electronics. Should they be? Environmentally, a resounding no. However all other sectors would call it nothing short of genius. Steve has effectively convinced the world that it needs a new iPod every 1.5 years and that it's totally normal. It's like I'm riding on a rollercoaster to hell and I can't off but oh is it ever fun while it lasts.