Monopoly Achievements

After learning that EA is scheduled to publish a video game version of Monopoly on various platforms, Binkley and I started talking about possible Xbox 360 achievements for the game. We came up with quite a good list:

Boardwalk King

Class Act

Repeat Offender

Sidewalk King

Slow and Steady

Slummin' It

State of the Union

Subprime King

Subprime Sucker

April 30th, 2008 / paladinz / Tags: monopoly, video games, achievements / Trackback / Comments

EVA's not bad, it's just overhyped. It's like the HALO of anime.

— Binkley

April 30th, 2008 / Binkley / Tags: neon genesis evangelion, anime, halo, video games / Trackback / Comments

i.Beat blaxx

So does this MP3 player have an awkward name or what? I can see the advertisements now, the mp3 player for KKK members!

April 29th, 2008 / Binkley / Tags: awkwardness, money / Trackback / Comments

GTA IV Cometh

So tomorrow is the launch of GTA IV. Gamestop and other retailers are having a midnight launch. I'm sure things will go smoothly...but this flier with security tips was apparently distributed in the Orange County area.

Wear color-neutral grey or brown clothes. Avoid clothes associated with gang colors. Avoid clothes with sports teams logos, religious symbolism, or hip-hop groups or acts.
Do not listen to music through headphones. Keep alert and aware of your surroundings.
Do not listen to music through a boom-box. Do not criticize the music of others or ask someone else to turn down their music.
Do not take out money or credit cards before entering the store. Do not wear jewelry or wristwatches.
Avoid making eye contact. Do not stare at other people or hold a gaze.
If you are cut ahead of in line, do not start a confrontation.
Do not respond to racial slurs.
Orange County PD will be patrolling all Gamestop locations on Monday night and have full authorization to evict or arrest any person or persons.

So would it be poetic if someone got mugged for their copy of the game?

April 28th, 2008 / Binkley / Tags: grand theft auto, video games / Trackback / Comments

I was going to submit this to Graphjam, but I think it might be too otaku to get voted up. So enjoy!

Here is the cheat sheet.

April 25th, 2008 / Binkley / Tags: graphjam, gundam, anime / Trackback / Comments

Two Easy Ways to Improve Comic Books

Binkley and I both love comic books, but neither of us read them as much as we could. I present to you the two ways to improve modern comic books from our discussion the other day:

1. Dead means dead: no more resurrections, recostuming, passing the mantles, Lazarus effects, second or third lives, or playing dead. Dead means dead. Also, there is no retconning. Real writers don't erase their mistakes in public and say, "Nah, I didn't really mean that." Well, unless you're Anne Rice. Oh wait, I said "real writers", so I didn't need to bring her up.

2. No more crazy spinoffs: I understand it's easy to get greedy and capitalize on your success, but all too often you end up diluting the brand or churning out crap. TV shows and movies do this all the time. I don't want Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, and a dozen other spinoff storylines and world arcs. Look at Apple - they don't release new iPods and iPhones every 3 months. If you make sure that your readers can keep up with the slew of new releases, you might actually manage to get a mainstream.

Not that anyone cares.

April 25th, 2008 / paladinz / Tags: comics / Trackback / Comments

"It's my fault we missed free throws. It's my fault we lost both games. Blame me. It's my fault we fouled to tie the game up. That's my fault. It's my fault they get easy layups. It's my fault we're not executing well on the offensive end. It's my fault a couple people in the stands ordered Heinekens and they got Budweiser. It's my fault. I'm sorry."

— Tracy McGrady on why the Rockets are down 2-0 against the Jazz.