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

Games: As promised in the last update, the randomly-drawn winner for the 360 copy of Two Worlds II is...


Congratulations! Please contact me via DM or email and let me know where you'd like your game sent!


Games: If you read this blog with any regularity or if you're a follower of GameCritics.com, then you no doubt know that I hold Demon’s Souls (PS3) in extremely high regard. Not only was it chosen as Game of the Year when it was released, it immediately landed a spot on my Top Ten of All Time. Naturally, it's pretty safe to say that I'm a wee bit excited for the spiritual sequel.


Titled Dark Souls, it's from the same development team as Demon’s Souls, though it is not a direct sequel (as in, it will not continue the storyline of Boletaria) and it's switched publishers as well.

I don't know any of the details of the deal, but I will say that I was disappointed that Atlus didn't land it. If you ask me, Atlus did a wonderful job launching the first game, and gave a truly superior level of post-release support. I can only hope that Namco-Bandai will match that effort.

In any event, here’s a link to the official trailer and a very nice interview posted at the PlayStation Blog courtesy of the always-effervescent Sid Shuman. Check out the vid if you haven't already seen it. Oh, and start getting yourself ready -- early word is that the developers have substantially increased the difficulty.

Yes, I said increased. Just let that sink in for a moment.


Medical: At the moment I'm currently recovering from a cold/sinus infection sort of thing that really kicked my ass this week. Whenever I come down with something like this, there generally isn't much that makes me feel better outside of rest and some hot tea, although there is one thing:


This really isn't a paid advertisement or anything, I just like this stuff so much that I totally swear by it. The beauty of it is that it doens't sting at all, the way some nasal sprays can. You can shoot it all around, and all it does is moisturize and cleanse without any pain whatsoever. it's a beautiful thing. I definitely recommend it to anybody who has sinus issues, and if I had any money to spare, I'd buy stock in the company. It's good stuff.


Food: One last thing to round out the blog tonight, and in keeping with the theme of being random, it's a egg-free, milk-free, butter-free chocolate cake recipe -- and it's dynamite.

Apparently this recipe (and others like it) were developed during the Great Depression when those three ingredients were expensive and hard to get. Clever people during hard times came up with this workaround, and to be perfectly honest I enjoy it much more than a "regular" chocolate cake recipe. It's got a great mouth-feel, and the flavor is subtle and chocolatey without being overpowering.


It's probably one of the favorite desserts my wife makes, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who needs a recipe avoiding those three ingredients, or to anyone who wants a super-tasty chocolate cake in general. Seriously, it's great.


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cocoa powder
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 cup water

To make:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients together by hand. Add all wet ingredients until well combined. Pour into an 8×8 pan coated with non stick spray. Bake for 30 minutes until done, and completely cool before serving.