Games

Pixel Perfect Memories: Beyond Good & Evil

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So, this may become a 4th Tuesday thing if you alls is up for it.

I own a Wii and a DS (both gifts), but unfortunately cannot afford a Playstation yet, which I desperately want. Thankfully, some great games are also made for the PC as well.  This is one of them.

Release Date:  Nov. 11, 2003
Platforms:  Windows, Xbox, Playstation 2, GameCube

One of the most engaging, charming games I have ever played, Beyond Good & Evil certainly earns a spot in my hall of fame.

The labour of love from Michael Ancel, BGE takes you to a world where citizens are in a war with aliens and must rely on the powerful military to help defend them from brutal attacks.  As a young woman named Jade, you are compelled to help in the war effort when your orphanage is attacked by the aliens.  Naturally, however, you go it alone with the help of your “uncle” Pey’j (a pig mechanic, no less).  While the plot itself is fairly straightforward (with only some minor twists), the story never slows down.  And the characters, backed by some excellent voice acting, carry you the whole way through.  It is tough not to care about the people you meet here, which goes a long way in providing an entertaining game.

While there are some adventure elements, this is more or less a strategic action game.  Enemies are rarely shot at and are mostly avoided by stealth, timing, and distraction.  You’ll be doing a lot of crawling, side-stepping, and wall-hugging to avoid detection (and since you are often far outnumbered, it is essential to survival).  What makes this game unique is that most currency (to buy upgrades, health restoration, etc.) is acquired by taking photographs of different species (benign and otherwise) on the planet for archival.  You sometimes have to photograph your enemies before you attack them!

For those who are comfortable with action games but don’t consider themselves to be experts, there is a reasonable learning curve.  Moreover, if you die while on a mission, you will be restored to a predetermined checkpoint (often only one or two minutes back), so even if you are unable to save the game for a while, you don’t lose all of your hard work.  My only complaint, and a fairly significant one, is that the PC version does not support game controllers, which is idiotic and unfortunate for those who are not keyboard inclined.  I was able to become fairly adept at the controls, but it would have been significantly more comfortable to play with a game pad.

The game is short, about ten to twelve hours for the average gamer to complete.  And while there are secrets to be found, the only significant replay value comes in simply wanting to see the story again.   For those who like the focus of their actions games to be more on story (without endless cut scenes), Beyond Good and Evil will not disappoint.

A sequel is in the works, though no release date has been confirmed.

Okay, what have you all been playing?  Should I beg someone to buy me Portal 2?

 

Minnesota Twins, MLB

Brainstorm

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Do the Twins ever trade players who both have a few years ahead of them and are not supposedly difficult to manage? Off the top of my head, I can think of the following players who have been traded and had value:

(J.J. Hardy? were there personality issues there? -- 0.3 fWAR and counting)
Carlos Gomez -- 2.0 fWAR and counting
Jason Bartlett -- 7.7 fWAR and counting
Matt Garza -- 10.2 fWAR and counting
Kyle Lohse -- 9.8 fWAR and counting
A.J. Pierzynski -- 12.9 fWAR and counting

Going back further, I suppose you could even add Chuck Knoblauch (6.9 fWAR) and Todd Walker (11.1 fWAR) to that list. Castillo was traded not that long ago, but his knees barely worked and I don't think anyone expected him to have a lot of productive seasons ahead of him. If Jim Mandelero is to be believed, Ramos was hard to manage and didn't get along with his teammates. The Twins arguably got along well enough with Pierzynski, but I can't help but think that if he had Michael Cuddyer's personality, Joe Mauer's road to the majors would have involved additional minor league stops.

Excepting J.J. Hardy perhaps (I'm not sure what the Twins thought of his personality) I think maybe the last guy the Twins traded away with much potential for a future but no personality issues was Bobby Kielty. At least, I don't remember any run-ins with management, and I do remember being peeved that the Twins traded him for Shannon Stewart. Kielty went on to do essentially nothing, and Stewart had a great 750 PA with the Twins until 2005 hit and he ran out of gas.

Anyway, this was motivated because this Slowey situation is a dead ringer for Lohse's 2006 Twins exit. In terms of age and value over the three seasons prior to their trade, it practically couldn't be closer:

Slowey, trade pending, age 27, last three seasons fWAR: 2.2, 1.4, 3.0
Lohse, traded age 27, last three seasons fWAR: 2.2, 1.8, 3.3

I can't really argue that most of these guys were easy to get along with. Bartlett and Garza didn't last in Tampa all that long, Lohse pitched well for the Reds and they let him go, the Giants lost their minds and let AJP go for nothing in return. For all I know, I couldn't stand being in the same room with them. Yet, personality is a really frustrating motivation for a trade from where this fan sits. I can't tell you anything with any degree of certainty about any Twins' personality. I'm sure there are some legitimately good guys, and I'm sure there are some pricks. But I don't feel I can rely on the media to make those judgements, so I generally don't. And at that point, I'm left looking at a move where the Twins traded away a useful player, sometimes a player I was pretty excited about.

Anyway, am I missing someone big here? Or is just about the only way to get out of the Twins' organization to become a free agent or get on someone's nerves?

And this invites the question, are the Twins building a team of nice guys, and as nice guys are they indeed destined to finish last?

2011 Twins Game Logs

2011 Game 46: Mariners at Twins

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Another "tough weekend" in the rearview mirror.

Twins fans were a-twitter after a three-game run against Seattle and Oakland that seemed to signal that the end of the dark times was nigh, as predicted by the prophet Harold Camping. All those hopes foundered on the plain of Megiddo Maricopa, as the Righteous were denied three times by the serpents in the service of Kirk Gogson.

But the false prediction might not be so easily effaced from the lives of Twins followers. The L.A. Times writes that a 38-year-old tractor trailer driver took a road trip with his family to see the Twins before the world ended.

"With maxed-out credit cards and a growing mountain of bills, he said, some wins would have been a relief," the paper writes.

But he is not angry at Camping for his false prediction. "Worst-case scenario for me, I got to see Baker and Liriano outhit their catchers," he told the paper. "If I should be angry at anybody, it should be me."

An east coast fan, who spent $140,000 of his life savings to advertise the Twins resurrection in New York, said he was dumbfounded when life went on as usual Saturday.

"I do not understand why ...," he told Reuters while awaiting the event in Times Square. "I do not understand why they just can't seem to get it done. I thought Morneau was out of his slump and that Dusty Hughes would make all the difference."

Fortunately, life and the season go on.

Seattle comes in on a roll, having won five straight since the Twins bested F-Her.
Pitching matchup:

Jason Vargas (3.39 ERA, 3.16 FIP, 3.78 xFIP, 110 tRA+, 41:14 K:BB, 4 HR in 58 1/3)
Pavanostache (5.30 ERA, 4.25 FIP, 4.65 xFIP, 85 tRA+, 20:14 K:BB, 5 HR in 54 1/3)

also, THOME TONIGHT!!!!!1111one1111!!!! (thanks, socal)

Soccer

EEE & MMM – The Season’s Over

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The 2010-11 Premier League season is over. So this will be the last EEE until the transfer window opens in July. From here on out, MLS all the way

Relevant EPL Results

  • Fulham 2 - 2 Arsenal
  • Aston Villa 1 - 1 Liverpool
  • Everton 1 - 0 Chelsea
  • Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 1 Birmingham
  • Sunderland 3 - 0 West Ham United
  • Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 - 3 Blackburn Rovers

Relevant EPL Table

Position Club Games
Played		 Points GD
2. Chelsea 38 71 +36
5. Spurs 38 62 +9
7. Everton 38 54 +6
8. Fulham 38 49 +6
9. Aston Villa 38 48 -11
10. Sunderland 37 47 -11
17. Wolves 38 40 -20

Continue reading EEE & MMM – The Season’s Over →

Keeping Track

Minor Details: Games of 5/22

Syracuse 9, Rochester 3 in Rochester.  The Chiefs built an 8-0 lead half-way through.  Ray Chang had two doubles and a single, raising his average to .324.  Matt Brown had two hits.  Eric Hacker surrendered eight runs (six earned) on six hits and three walks in four innings.  Carlos Gutierrez pitched two scoreless innings.

New Britain 6, New Hampshire 5 in New Britain (Game 1—Scheduled 7 innings).  Joe Benson’s two-run double in the bottom of the seventh won the game for the Rock Cats.  Steve Singleton singled and doubled and Chris Parmelee had two hits to raise his average to .322.  Deolis Guerra pitched five innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks.  Tyler Robertson allowed two runs on four hits and a walk in two innings but was credited with the win.

New Hampshire 4, New Britain 0 in New Britain (Game 2—Scheduled 7 innings).  Chris Herrmann’s fifth-inning single was the only Rock Cats hit.  Herrmann was 1-for-1 with two walks.  Steve Hirschfeld struck out six in six innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks.

Ft. Myers 6, Tampa 3 in Tampa.  The Miracle scored three in the third and never trailed.  Nick Romero had three hits.  Nate Hanson had two doubles.  Aaron Hicks and Jon Goncalves each doubled and singled.  Brian Dozier and Anderson Hidalgo each had two hits.  Logan Darnell got the win with 5.1 shutout innings, giving up two hits and three walks.  Andrew Albers struck out three in two scoreless innings of relief to get the save.

Kane County 4, Beloit 0 in Beloit.  The Snappers had only three hits.  Manuel Soliman allowed all four runs on six hits and three walks in five innings.  Blayne Weller struck our four in three shutout innings, walking none and giving up two hits.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–May 23

Dummy Hoy (1862)
Deacon Phillippe (1872)
Zack Wheat (1888)
Arch McDonald (1901)
Willis Hudlin (1906)
Augie Galan (1912)
Lawrence Ritter (1922)
Clyde King (1924)
Skip Bertman (1938)
Tom Penders (1945)
Reggie Cleveland (1948)
Buck Showalter (1956)
Ricky Gutierrez (1970)

Some interesting names who were not major league players on the list today, including an early broadcaster (McDonald), an author (Ritter), a college baseball coach (Bertman), and a college basketball coach who played minor league baseball (Penders).  However, there do not appear to be any major league players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.