Mark Danger Chen

Hey all…

The UFO:Aftermath demo is out today and worth checking out. This is sort of the unofficial sequal to X-COM. I haven’t played it much yet, but some things strike me immediately:

1. the attributes and character development is more detailed than the original X-COM which is great.

2. the combat is pausable real-time instead of turn-based which is okay, I guess, but you don’t get the same sense of urgency and motivation to maximize your efficiency… you spend less time thinking about what you should do and instead just sort of move your guys around… power in numbers here instead of strategy.

3. NO enterable buildings meaning no destructable walls and floors! and no varying levels of elevation! WTF??

This coupled with the fact that no significant gains in user interface have been implemented despite this being 9 years after the original came out might make this game dead in the water.

That is just too bad, but to semi-make up for it is the Silent Storm demo. This is another squad based tactical combat game this time set in WW2. The missions are pre-made instead of random like in X-COM or UFO: Aftermath so it might not have that much replayability, but I could see the UFO: Aftermath missions getting stale really fast. A bonus is that Silent Storm is supposed to come out with a level editor so the fan-made list of missions might make up for the non-randomness. This game is truely turn-based except during non-combat periods and it also features a skill system similar to Diablo 2. Actually, if UFO: Aftermath is an unofficial sequal to X-COM then Silent Storm is the unofficial sequal to Jagged Alliance 2, except that it carries the legacy on quite well. It’s always fun shooting nazis, after all.

UFO:A comes out later this month while Silent Storm comes out Q1 2004. At this point, I’d wait for UFO:A to hit the bargain bin but getting Silent Storm as it is released would be a safe bet.

Hahahah Mark, I’m with you on that one. Did anyone see Maddox’s take on the Honda Element? Maybe you should add the “Aztek” to the most-wanted list, Melhus?

Another fun bit of news: our esteemed National Security Advisor thinks that the David Kay report, if released last spring, would have led the whole world to support the invasion of Iraq. Check our her comments here. An interesting commentary, on the whole. As another masterstroke, she mentions that the Kay report runs 6000 words. It MUST be bad if it’s a whole 6000 words! I mean, government documents are usually no more than 58 words! Saddam MUSTA been up to something if they have to take a whole 12 pages to summarize the combined results of 1500 people looking for several months…

you sure do like fugly cars

so the choice is between a piece of luggage and an 80s Transformer?

I’d love to get a new car, but first I need to get a real job. Here’s my wish list:

1) Scion xB (Toyota). This car is fresh, plus it starts at $14K- which isn’t too nasty.

2) Element (Honda). Start’s around $16K. Katie’s parents just got one of these (in the color pictured, Sunset Orange). I got a ride in one a week ago, and the interior is huge. That is a precious commodity for a tall dude. As much as I like driving Katie’s Civic, I get a little tired of having my dome rub against the ceiling all the time… I do have one complaing with this car, though. Why put the sun roof in the back over the trunk? The best part of a sun roof is looking up, seeing the sky, and sticking your head/hand up there…

OK, here it is: Schrag, pass the salt. I need to eat my words about the Sox. So maybe they aren’t really losers, and maybe- just maybe, they’ll continue to put it on the Yankees like they did last night. You watching this weekend? Maybe I’ll come down…

PS. What’s the sales tax down there in RI? I gotta do a little shopping this weekend…