In which I lose several hours

So the death of the local video store is pretty much upon us. Redbox and Netflix have just about done them in I suspect. The latest victim is Hollywood Video and the attached GameCrazy stores. They are no more. Which meant liquidation sales. You have to be a little careful with liquidation sales, the "deals" aren't always that. You need to know going in what certain things are worth and then what you're willing to spend. We managed to find a few deals (mostly on video games from the GameCrazy) and there was much rejoicing.

We now have a copy of Kororinpa on the Wii. It's a fun little dexterity sort of game similar to the Monkey Ball series where you tilt the world around a marble in an effort to get it through the level. Good fun. There are lots of little twists in level design and plenty of different marbles/balls to play with. They all react a little differently and depending on your skill and what you're trying to accomplish you'll want to mess around with which one you're using.

I also snagged a copy of Shiren the Wanderer for the Wii. That's right, the game that drove me crazy on the DS has a Wii version. I'm sure it will drive me just as crazy. My initial report is that honestly the game is better for portable systems. Mostly because I can then play it as much as I want without monopolizing the TV. The graphics are certainly prettier. And it's more Shiren. Mwa ha ha ha MORE!

Sorry.

I also managed a copy of Etrian Odyssey II for the DS. This is currently scratching the dungeon crawler itch that completing the initial quest in Shiren left open. It's a little bit fiendish. But compelling. Well, if you like dungeon crawlers. Which I do.

Lovely wife got a copy of Picross 3D for the DS for Mother's Day. Don't know what Picross is? Go knock yourself out. It's much better than Sudoku. It might be her gift, but we're waging quite the battle over who's going to finish what puzzle first. I actually like the 3D version a touch better than the old 2D game. Just a touch though. At least while the difficulty level is low. Heh. It's really hard to put down.

We picked up a couple movies as well, but whatever.

Currently we're watching Survivors a BBC drama from, I dunno, a couple years ago or something. They keep advertising it during the new season of Dr Who. I thought it looked interesting so we're giving it a go. It's not bad. Plague wipes out most of the population and you follow the survivors (see what they did there?) as they, well, try to survive. Honestly this show reminds me a lot of the zombie comic series The Walking Dead. Only without the zombies. I suppose it's because apocalyptic fiction follows some basic tenets, but there's definitely some deja vu there. It's interesting to watch. And there are some absolutely gorgeous scenery shots. I'm not quite sure what they're doing to the colors and so on, but it actually makes me want to visit Scotland again. I remember similar vistas to what you get to see in the show.

I suppose I should also point out that McK seems to think she's a year older now. We're one step away from a teenager. In other words we're doomed. She had a grand time skating around with her friends at the roller rink. And there were some presents or something.

It was also Mother's Day. Lovely wife was suitably pampered (although mostly by me, I'm not sure where the kids were, playing Kororinpa most likely). My sisters have very nice bits written up about our own Mom. I don't really have anything to add except she is indeed missed. She's been in my thoughts lately and there are things I would really have loved to have seen her be a part of. (I suspect she'd get a real kick out of Picross) Thanks Mom.

So there you go. A glimpse into the insanity of Casa del 'd' recently. Poor souls.

Owly and some other stuff

I heard about Owly a year or so ago. And then forgot about it for a bit as I figured it would initially appeal to G and he wasn't quite ready for picture storybooks at the time. The other day I saw an ALA poster featuring the character and decided it was certainly time to check it out. And I'm glad I did.

Owly is (wait for it) an owl that lives in the forest and pretty much wants to be friends with everyone. Due to his owlish nature and the fact that most of the creatures he wants to befriend are lower on the food chain, this is usually a problem. But as is the case with most stories of this nature, perseverance and kindness pay off. The books are graphic novel in size and shape, but there are (almost) no words. When characters talk, you get the word bubbles, but the words are replaced with pictures. It's an ingenious way to tell a story for just about anyone. The art is great and the stories are often moving in spite of their simplistic nature. G and I both quickly devoured all five of the books I brought home. I haven't quizzed him on the contents yet to see just what he picked up, but he certainly seemed to enjoy reading through them. I recommend giving them a go regardless of how old you are, there's something here for everyone. Owly rocks.

Casa del 'd' is currently making its way through the old Nadia Secret of Blue Water anime series as well. It's not bad. And not really that dated either. It's an earlier series, but the art is still quite nice and the story holds up. Probably at least partially as it's based somewhat on Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Follow Nadia and Jean as they have adventures above and below the waves on their quest to discover the nature of the Blue Water - the gem Nadia wears.

And I must point out that I have managed to make it to the end of the initial quest in Shiren the Wanderer. Oh yes, I battled my way through all 30 levels ultimately freeing the Golden Condor. It was glorious. Of course, that just opens up the 100(?!) level dungeon that is your reward for taking on the initial task. I haven't ventured forth to see it yet. Shiren needs to rest up a bit from all those mindless deaths. It only took a Master Sword +16 and a decent shield and armband to do it too!

Other than that, life continues here at casa del 'd'. The weather is currently in that constant state of flux that marks the winter/spring border so it might be rain, it might be sunny, it might be snow. And we're about to start planting our squarefoot garden. Yay vegetables! Very excited. More beans, more peas, more tomatoes and peppers!

A little of this, a little of that

I managed to finish another Dune audiobook over my commute. This time it was Children of Dune, the third book in the series. I believe I read somewhere that Frank Herbert conceived of these three books as one story. And there is certainly evidence of that. And hooks to the stories that are yet to come. I liked this one for the most part. It does contain the beginning of the transformation of young Leto II into a sandworm. And it is a little odd, but it's Dune, so really, I guess not that odd. This time around we focus on Ghanima (I believe is how her name is spelled, audiobook yo) and Leto II, Paul Atreides's children (the titular Kids O' Dune) as they try to stay alive long enough to rule the Universe. Alia, Paul's sister has become possessed by their old arch enemy Baron Harkonnen and their Grandmother has designs of her own. Well, the sisterhood's designs. So intrigue, clones, worms, Fremen. Pretty typical stuff for the series. I have reached the point at which I may or may not continue forward. I'm just not sure I'm ready for a Sandworm ruler and several Duncan Idaho clones and whatever else happens...

We've just about finished off season the first of X-Files. Still good. A couple missteps, but not too bad.

I'm not entirely certain which rule of the Universe it is, but it's the one that goes to the effect of: Your kids will be better at videogames than you are. Oh sure, there are certain games that you'll win, but when it comes to those visceral games that involve combat and so on, prepare to have your ego stomped on. Lovely wife picked up the Monster Hunter Tri demo from Gamestop for me. I didn't know much about the series other than it was sort of an MMO lite for consoles. You can get a party of 4 people together and then go fight giant dinosaurs. It's basically all boss battles combined with the opportunity to make your own gear from the poor creatures you've just eviscerated. Mmm, Dino armor. It sounded interesting and I wanted to give it a try. So far I have yet to beat the easy sample quest. I am... not good at this game. I knew it took some time to get used to the controls and how the weapons work and so on. In fact there's very little in the way of instruction. But I still have yet to have things click. I've gotten close (switching to the classic controller helped) but no dead Dino.

And then I gave the controller to G. He just about killed the critter on his first attempt. Even M seems to have some better luck than I do. I guess I'm over thinking things. Apparently I need to jump up and down and just wail away at the thing. Huh. Who knew...

Woke up in the Inn at the beginning of the trail again. I've lost count of how many times this has happened. But I decided this would be the last. It was time to get the big sword out of storage. And the good shield. I had spent time on their craftsmanship. They wouldn't rust (accursed Slime creatures) and they were very sturdy. And sharp. Mustn't forget sharp. I found my comrades wandering the wilderness like always. Oryu agreed to come along. This time we'd make it to the top of Table Mountain.

And things were going well, I had plenty of food and had acquired a few artifacts of power guaranteed to help me make it to the top. But then I stepped into the Monster House. Traps. Monsters. Treasure. I got greedy. And I knew that if I didn't pull my weight in the fight Oryu would wind up dead and some creature suddenly more powerful would find me. So I waded in, used a scroll to put the room to sleep and then promptly stepped on a sleep trap. There went half my time. Even the Blastwave scroll failed to fell all the monsters. And suddenly one of the chain heads that had fed off one of the other creatures in the room felled poor Oryu. And turned my way, impossibly stronger. Worse it was between me and the door. My Mastersword +9 cut into it's flesh, but to no avail. It was too strong. And I knew that stepping into this room had been a mistake.

I woke up in the Inn again. No money. No weapons. No food. At least I still had Koppa. Although he's starting to get this look.

As you can tell I've yet to reach the top of Table Mountain in Shiren. But I'll get there. Oh I'll get there...

Girls have almost delivered all their GS cookies. Soon the house will return to normal. Boxes no longer overshadowing the living room. And McK had her welcome to the Junior High night. She was only a little excited to go. She only dragged lovely wife out the door in about 3 seconds instead of 2.

In which I read some, watch an old TV series and die some more

I finished Black Rain by Graham Brown. It's one part Congo, one part The Lost City of Z and a few bits of other things thrown in for good measure. It was a fun read and I'd recommend it. There's just something about those lost civilization stories that I enjoy. The letter 'r' goes for the apocalypse (and really they're good too) but I like lost cities. Especially with creepy things thrown in. This one has it's own brand of monstrosity (not super creepy but effective) to deal with. The ending is a little silly (mostly a plug for the sequel) but mostly forgivable since the rest of the story was good.

I also finished volume 7 of 20th Century Boys. Which was frustrating. Mostly because a plot element I'm really interested in was just about to be talked about and then the book ended. And given the time jump nature of the series, I can't be sure the next volume will actually answer those questions. Gaahhh! But so so good. I really like this series.

Lovely wife and I have been watching season one of The X-Files. Oddly I don't know that I ever actually saw the first season. Some of the stories seem familiar and I probably have seen them, but there are just as many that I know are new. It's really good. Too bad the rest of the series didn't live up to the first season. I like the broad paranormal aspect that they pretty much left in favor of all the alien story lines. Oh well.

I've managed to make it a little further in Shiren the Wanderer, but then I died. I think I'm going to have to spend the next few trips out building up a decent sword and possibly a shield. And maybe find some armbands. I forget exactly which critter done me in last go round, but I'm sure it was tough. Now if I can just get rid of the fluffy bunnies... (What?! They're vicious. Mostly because they keep healing the monsters you're trying to kill. And then they teleport away. Evil things I tell you!)

And that's about all the news I've got. The kids keep trying to grow up. G has been registered for Kindergarten and McK has been registered for Junior High. I'm pretty sure that makes me old. Older than I'd care to admit at any rate.

On my many deaths

I did mean to mention that I have been playing Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer on the DS pretty religiously. And I've died. A lot. And I've lost some pretty good loot. I have yet to make it to the top of Table Mountain, but I have reached said Mountain. Once. I was pretty close to adding a little widget over to the side chronicling my many horrid deaths, (Curse you Piggy! I want my sword back!) but I've died so many times the practicality of updating it is a little silly. Just know that I will get to the top of the Mountain. Oh yes I will. In spite of the Tanks and the Piggos and the Cursed Girls and the...

In which I go Rogue...like

This week on a very special episode of Brought to you by the letter 'd' we will be discussing Roguelikes. Mostly because I'm playing Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer on the DS and it is awesome. If you can locate a copy (it took us a few stores) you can pick it up for around $15 and I recommend you do so. Unless you hate fun. But there are a few things you should know first so you don't come crawling back to ol' letter 'd' complaining about how this isn't fun. (In which case I will tell you that you are wrong and then go back to playing.)

Roguelikes are a genre of video game based upon the game Rogue. For they are Rogue like. You see? Simple. Typically they are a dungeon crawl in which you, the poor wandering fool, are attempting to reach a goal so many levels into said dungeon. You will encounter treasure and random dungeon layouts and monsters. Occasionally in that order. In the Shiren games they are turn based so that for every move you make, the monsters in that level of the dungeon also get to make a move. Oh and if you happen to get killed (you will) you are sent back to the beginning minus your levels and items. You get to start over. Armed only with the knowledge you acquired and a pithy statement about how you died at the hands of a Rice Boss.

Additionally the Shiren games let you make small adjustments to the world over time. You will encounter people that may become allies. You occasionally find storehouses where you can leave things for your future self to take and so on. But yeah, you'll get terribly familiar with the first few areas as you learn how things work and so on. Good fun. There are several roguelikes available for trying out. Nethack is one of the more famous ones, although I've heard it can be pretty difficult to dive into without some knowledge about how it works. Angband is another one with a Tolkein bent. This here column talks about roguelikes in some detail. Also Episode 9 of Active Time Babble talks about them at length.

In other news a decent three day weekend was had as casa del 'd' visited friends way up North. We watched the Percy Jackson flick (it was good if wildly different from the book) and played some games. Tobago is indeed better with 3-4 players. But that will most likely get its own post once I get some pictures. Really not good at the taking and posting pictures.