Up late talking games & writing? You're...

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Baby: Took the wife into our local medical center today following our appointment at the OB. Nothing alarming or dangerous, but the doc felt that a little observation would be prudent. We canceled our afternoon plans and spent some time at the labor and delivery center, but it wasn't quite time for our little boy to make his appearance. The wife is resting comfortably, and no further news to report at the moment.
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Games: Spent a fun couple of hours playing PomPom's Astro Tripper on the PS3. A download available for $5, it's a colorful, slightly abstract shooter similar to one of my favorites on 360 Arcade, Mutant Storm Reloaded.
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It appears simple at first, but there is a nice level of depth to it without being overwhelming. Recommended.
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Without having anything else really juicy to sink my teeth into, I hit my to-play stack and came up with Crimson Sea 2, from Koei. I'm not at all a fan of their infinite Dynasty Warriors games, but I had an okay time with Devil Kings and I was willing to give this one a shot since it's more about aliens and guns than a cast of characters from Asian history. Although it's really simple and straightforward (and the camera friggin’ bites) it's not bad… there's something intrinsically rewarding about taking out hordes of aliens and leveling up equipment, and I greatly appreciate a game that includes a rapid-fire function so I don't need to kill my thumb. It's keeping me busy enough, though I will say that I'm glad I only paid $10 for it…
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the character design is pretty atrocious, though. More than a few times, I thought I'd be more into the experience if the characters looked more Sci-fi and less period-costume fruity.
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TV: Had a little bit of downtime over the weekend and spent it with the wife catching up on some shows that we've been recording.
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Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire: I never intended to watch this, but I saw a commercial as I was passing by the living room and after being disappointed with Legend of the Seeker for being dreadfully serious, I figured I'd give it a spin. What the hell, right? Glad I did-- I found it to be pretty hilarious for the most part.
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Basically, it's a sword and sorcery satire in the vein of Hercules or Xena, but more parodic than both of those. Although a few of the jokes bomb pretty hard, the characters are cast well and there's a good mix of personalities. I think the sorcerer character still needs some work and the evil overlord needs to tighten up a little bit here and there, but I've added this one to my regular DVR rotation.
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Harper’s Island: Over the last few years, the wife and I have really been disappointed that television programming has continued to bring series after series that are planned as indefinite runs. It's not bad with sitcoms or the occasional drama such as ER, but I'm a strong believer in having a beginning, a middle, and an end. It's hard to sustain suspense or energy in a show when the writers have no clue how long they need to keep an arc going for. Heroes, anyone?
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Harper’s Island is a murder-mystery taking place on a fictional island off the coast of Washington where a wedding is taking place. However, everyone seems to hold at least a few secrets and the people attending the ceremony are being murdered, one by one. Although I wasn't exactly too impressed with the first two episodes I watched, the big draw for me is that this is a finite series-- it's been announced from the start that it will only run for a certain number of episodes, and the mystery will be wrapped up at the end. The simple fact that I *know* everything will be over and done by the time the final episode roles makes it a little easier to watch (although it’s certainly not terrible) and if nothing else, I certainly want to support more efforts like this. The UK’s been doing this for ages and winning awards with the content… it's about time we finally caught on ourselves.
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Parks & Recreation: The new sitcom from the creators of The Office starring SNL’s Amy Poehler, the show is about a woman who works for the Parks Department and is currently trying to get a giant, open pit filled in and turned into a play area for kids. It's a shot in a style exactly like The Office; the characters often speak directly to the camera, the viewer is supposed to get the sense that the cameraman is a person following the actors along on a kind of documentary, and so on. The characters are also very Office-like. Each one is quirky in their own way, and some of the dialogue is very painfully-awkward in an attempt to elicit laughter.
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To be perfectly frank, I love The Office, but The Office is already The Office, and I don't need another one. What's happening on Parks & Recreation is far too similar to the hijinks at Dunder-Mifflin (or the newly-founded Michael Scott Paper Company) and as I watched each episode, I couldn't help but get the feeling that Poehler was constantly doing a Steve Carell impersonation. The pauses, the double takes… it all just feels completely recycled and stale. I gave this a red light and took it off the DVR recording schedule. Sorry, but lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place.
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