Before we were derailed by David Horsey, we had it as our intention to detail what a criminal act it is that Freaky Flyers lacks Internet play. Oh, I know what you're saying. "Freaky Flyers..." You knit your brow. You've heard that Midway was doing some sort of flying race game, and you have scrupulously avoided any contact with it for fear that its mediocrity might somehow be virulent. I bet Gabe that it would be terrible, and it wasn't, so now I have to fuck a dog. It was a stupid bet, and I should never have agreed to it. But I had no reason to believe that an off-brand flying racer would be enjoyable, or that the parts they meant to be funny actually would be.

When I smarted off about Counter-Strike a few posts ago, wondering aloud why people would still play it and raising dark questions about their heritage, it was (of course) only a matter of time before I began playing it again nightly. I don't know how I expect to be an Internet demagogue when I consistently fail to take my own advice. I've lost my Half-Life again, and I've bought it more times than I can remember, so I wasn't going to do that. Valve's "Steam" content delivery service has CS 1.6 on there, and I had been meaning to check it out anyway, so hey. I'd used it before, a while ago, and it appears to have matured a bit since then. It's nothing you have to pay for at this point - but I'm swiping my card feverishly at the air in anticipation. The concept of buying games that are delivered to me digitally while I chew the ice from my Whiskey Sour is something I have great passion for, and I have never shared the mania that associates a physical object with my Game Experience. I was overjoyed by Stardock's brilliant "Stardock Central" app, which allowed me to download their latest games with such elegance that I check it daily for updates. Also, I believe that it emits an inaudible tone that subverts my will. In any case, try out Steam if you never did, and if you've been out of CS for a few years like I have, just jump back in with both feet. It's like riding a bike while you fire a submachine gun at international police.

I've been sort of sick of Internet Explorer for a while, so I've been spinning the chamber in a deadly game of Browser Roulette. I spent some time with the newest Mozilla, which was fine, though I always did prefer the lighter Firebird. Went back to Opera for a bit, and found it well, but the grim realities of IE's browser hegemony began to set in when I tried to use services like BuyMusic, which I found to be excellent, but if you're not using you some Internet Explorer they're simply not interested in your business. That's when it basically hit me that I didn't want a new browser, not really, I just wanted IE to act more like a piece of modern fucking software. You know, block pop-ups and browse in tabs and do some year 2003 type shit. All I can say is Thank God For Avant Browser, which has brought some welcome sanity to my Internet usage. It's essentially a shell for IE, so you get all the compatibility you miss out on with other software - without sacrificing the sensible additions that browser evolution has wrought.

I certainly hope you haven't mailed me the last couple days, because my Internet only just came back on - if you've tried to correspond, you probably got a whole lot of nothing. I'll turn it back on Thursday morning, when I will be more than happy to talk to you about that pipebomb Jesus told you to send me.

Yes, that's from a real mail.

(CW)TB out.

you're not part of it yet

Just to clarify, Lanwerx is a gaming/lan center here in the Seattle area, where we are holding our next event. What we are in need of, is a few more 32" or larger TV's. If you or a friend own/work/manage/etc. a TV rental place or Electronics shop, and would like some good advertising for said place, then send Brad an email.

So the next gaming day will be happening at Lanwerx in Bellevue on August 23rd. That is a Saturday so I don't want to hear any bullshit about how you can't make it or whatever. As you can see from these pictures the last gaming day was a huge goddamned success and we plan to make this one even bigger.

This month's event will revolve around a Halo tournament as well as some Guilty Gear XX action. To go along with our Halo tourney, Bungie will has agreed to come down and show off a bit of Halo 2. We aren't sure yet if it will be the same stuff they showed at E3 or something new but either way it's pretty fucking exciting. Just like last time there will be 60 or so PC's available for your CS, BF1942 or WC3 needs. On Friday I'll post some more details on the tournaments and the event in general. We will also start letting you register for the tournaments on Friday, so be sure and check back if you're interested in that. Last month's Soul Calibur tourney filled up fast and I have a feeling this Halo one will do the same.

Everyone knows that the unbiased news site EvilAvatar hates the Gamecube. I still found this news post of theirs especially amusing:

"Reports from the US state that Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter will not appear on the GameCube, with the North American PC version also canned. It's still due out over here on the beige box, and has actually picked up some fairly decent early reviews."

News for the Cube seems to be on a downward spiral at the moment. I wonder what Nintendo plans to do to pull out? A $99 Cube with a game?

This truly is distressing news! First Acclaim says they won't make games for the cube and now this. If this sort of thing continues you may not be able to purchase any shitty games for the cube. This is a portent of dark times ahead. Yes…dark times indeed.

So I finally wrapped up KOTOR yesterday. Light side ending thank you very much. This left a Star Destroyer sized hole in my heart though. Just for reference I am referring here to an Eclipse-class Star Destroyer, making said hole roughly 17,500 meters in length and protected by a thick solid black hull. At any rate, I needed to plug this gaping hole with some Star Wars and I needed to plug it fast. Lucky for me while I was engrossed in KOTOR the next book in the NJO series came out. So I am ass deep in Force Heretic III: Reunion right now whenever I'm not playing Freaky Flyers. We are nearing the end of the NJO series and I am excited to see how they wrap this up. I'm also curious to see where they go after NJO. I am assuming we will see the final victory over the Yuuzhan Vong but then what? Surely we cannot expect a decade or so of peace an harmony in the galaxy. Although I'm sure or friends in the New Republic would appreciate some down time after nearly 50 years of constant strife. That wouldn't be any fun to read though. My bet is that the Empire will take advantage of the weakened New Republic and seize power again under the leadership of some new Sith lord. I guess it all depends on how they wrap up NJO. It looks as though we may see a large number of Vong switching sides which would mean there would be a population of Vong in the Galaxy after the war. It will be interesting to see how the New Republic handles these refugees. Will they stick them on some planet in the outer rim and attempt to forget about them or will hey play a larger part in the next story arc? I guess we'll find out pretty soon.

-Gabe out

The new Battlefield expansion Secret Weapons would be a lot more invigorating in a universe that had not already developed Desert Combat.

That isn't to say that I was not invigorated! You, too, might be drawn in by crazy planes which amount to aerial roller-coasters, essentially rockets with a rudimentary harness to strap you in. The large, floating transport was a nice addition - as is the floating jeep, though we have seen an analogs of these machines in Desert Combat. What Secret Weapons brings is eight new maps, having apparently learned from the community that Road To Rome's six was unacceptable. I maintain now, as I did then, that if those six maps are the best maps the game has ever seen then I'm going to cut them some slack. If you played the Hellendoorn map that came with the demo, you probably saw the sharp new buildings and strategically placed waterways that flex the new vechicles I mentioned. Even if I believe that the vehicles in Desert Combat essentially pre-empt those in the expansion, it seems clear that the the professional, scenic maps and new Objective-based gameplay warrant a purchase.

Actually, speaking of DC, looks like we're due for a new version come Friday.

(CW)TB