Smoke and Mirrors (and Lights)

So, I got the Rock Band Stage Kit in for review. You know, the fog machine / strobe light / LED lighting effect kit that says, "Hey, I take Rock Band waaay too seriously."

Well, you can see my review of the Rock Band Stage Kit at GameVortex.com, but in summary, I'll just say that it really does change the feel from simply playing a game to much more of a performance. This is just the desired effect for parties that I go to, so I'll have to tote it along.

I tried it out at a "Gaming Day" at work, with Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360), Guitar Hero World Tour (PS3) and some various Wii games and it was a big hit. The gaming session lasted from 4:PM to 8:PM and, at the end of the day, we were down to five people rotating in and out of a Rock Band 2 game, with the Stage Kit going... well, without the fog, since you can't lower the amount of fog to reasonable amounts... and we wanted to actually see the screen.

Post PAX, Post Gustav, Post Guitar Hero World Tour Press Event, Post Ike Update

A lot has transpired in the past few weeks, and thank God, it seems we've lived through it all. J.R. Nip and StarScream did, eventually, make it back from PAX, the GameVorplex wasn't blown away by hurricanes, I made it out to participate the Guitar Hero World Tour press event in Santa Monica, CA (and will be posting a report on all of the coolness that entailed) and I've gotten sick and (as of this writing) just about over it.

Due to the hurricanes and the resulting power outages, we've gotten a little bit behind on things, as it's difficult to play games or even movies when you have no electricity, but we're working hard on catching up. Check for lots of updates... soon.

"How are you going to get them back on the farm once they've seen PAX?"

And I think it's gonna be a long, long time...

Going TO Louisiana is rarely a problem for people interested in the gaming industry. Typically, people from Louisiana are trying to go elsewhere to be where the gaming industry is... such as going to Seattle to attend PAX. Take, for example, J.R. Nip and StarScream, both of whom are currently in Seattle, for PAX.

The problem is, with Hurricane Gustav barreling through the Gulf of Mexico straight toward the GameVorplex, our esteemed comrades are unlikely to be able to fly back into Baton Rouge until, well, I don't know when they'll be able to fly back in. I assume it won't be until the storm is done, according to the FAA or whoever determines that for the commercial airlines.

StarScream was coming back a day earlier than J.R.Nip, and we were assuming that it the weather wouldn't effect StarScream's flight, but now it's looking like both flights will be affected. What does that mean for our reviewers? I wish I knew. Time will tell.

A Wing and a Prayer

So, the Penny Arcade Expo (or PAX, for short) is upon us and I, for one, don't get to go. J.R. Nip and StarScream will be covering the event for us, so they're flying to Seattle today. I know that J.R. Nip is in the air as I write this, and has been in airports and in the air since 4:30 a.m. this morning. I don't envy a day wasted with commercial flights, but I do wish I was able to go to PAX this year. Oh, well... hopefully I will be able attend next year.

...That is, of course, supposing that I live to next year. Not the kind of thing that one would typically say, but I'm scheduled to help Kambur O. Blythe and Psibabe in batting down the hatches to prepare for Tropical Storm Gustav, which looks like it's expected to be a Hurricane by 8:00 p.m. tonight.

So, either this evening or tomorrow morning I will be in a tree, wielding a chainsaw, which I have had no practice at using. I will be doing a fair bit of praying, I think, and trying to think of a way I could practice.

Hmmm, perhaps there's a game that I could train with... Maybe a Resident Evil or some FPS, perhaps?

Meeting "Chuck"

So, we got a TV series, "Chuck" in for review. I wasn't reviewing it; Psibabe did that one, but I got to watch it with her. Perks of being married to the boss, I suppose. Anyway, Chuck is an awesome show. I loved the blatant parody of "Best Buy" - "Buy More," as they called it in the show.

Chuck is part comedy, part espionage and often has the feel of a show from the eighties, with the occasional flub of the way technology works. It's laughable at times, but that somehow works for a comedy.

Anyway, if you watch Chuck, then I'm sure you're waiting anxiously for a fix, as I am. If you're not familiar with it, check out Psibabe's review of Chuck: The Complete First Season.

CSI gets a "Dexter" injection by "Professor Morpheus"

So, I was looking around the net for something or other when I saw a story posted somewhere (CNN?maybe?) about Laurence Fishburne joining the cast of CSI. As a fan of CSI (the original - Las Vegas only), this was big news. I figured that, since we will eventually be reviewing the DVD of the upcoming season, it's germane to what we do and of interest to our readers. So, I found the original press release to write my story.

I couldn't have been more surprised when I found out that there was going to be a conference call a little over an hour from the time I found the press release. I waited, then took a thirty minute lunch break during the conference call, so I could listen in.

I didn't get a chance to ask any questions, personally, but that's good, because after I indicated that I had a question and before the call was over, other people asked the questions I was going to ask, anyway. It would have been really embarassing to get to ask a question and basically say, "Laurence Fishburne, Do you like toast too? As do I. It is warm and crispy, and a perfect place for jelly to lay... Now get away from me, I've got nothing to say to you!" - to paraphrase Mitch Hedberg.

At any rate, I think the news story about Laurence Fishburne joining CSI came out pretty good, when I weaved in the quotes from Mr. Fishburne and the CSI producers. Some of the quotes were pretty cool, especially to hear Laurence Fishburne say, "Hey, this will work!" excitedly after seeing how dark and moody CSI can be.