|
8-27-05,
6:10 PM
Hey...you wanna see something really
scary?
Music:
John Coltrane - Spiral
One Night at the Tivoli: How I Went
From Loving Bruce Campbell to Hating
Bruce Campbell Then Learned to Stop
Worrying and Love Bruce Campbell
Again (A Story with Pictures)
Sleep didn't come easy the night
before, but it wasn't because of
Bruce Campbell. Sleep tends to be
hard when I know I have to be up in
just a short amount of time (read:
five hours) and my body works
against me, trying to deny me any
amount of rest. Staring at the clock
at three in the morning, knowing I
have to be up in less than four
hours, I realize today is probably
going to suck. At some point my
brain yields and allows me to sleep
for a short amount of time.
When
the alarm goes off at 6:30 I get up
slowly and realize this isn't going
to work, I set the alarm for five
hours later and go back to sleep. I
decide I'm going to do an afternoon
shift at work and miss my class.
Normally I would ditch work and just
attend class, but I had already
missed the first two days of work
this week and don't want to tempt
fate by making it 1 for 4. At 11:30
I awake and go to work which passes
without incident.
The
dark clouds in the sky on the drive
home look disconcerting and they
will come into play later. I get
home roughly around 4:30 and make
myself something to eat. I'm in no
hurry, the doors open at 5 for the
signing, I figure I could show up
around 7 and still have time to get
through the line before the 9
o'clock showing of the film.
Obviously, I'm dumb, but I'll expand
on that later.
I
hop in the shower around 6 and as I
come out I hear something that
sounds suspiciously like very heavy
rain hitting the roof of the house.
Toweling off, I look outside and see
that the source of the noise is very
heavy rain hitting the roof of the
house. When I say very heavy, I mean
very heavy. Water is falling from
the sky with a velocity generally
reserved for fire hoses and
Wisconsin Dells fun parks. Shit.
Quickly dressing and throwing my
copy of Bruce's book into a plastic
bag, I overhear my dad telling me
that my mom isn't leaving work just
yet, she doesn't want to drive
through this rain and is going to
wait for it to clear up. That's
pretty heavy. Nevertheless, I grab
an umbrella and head out the back
door, having a hard time keeping the
umbrella in a good position to keep
myself from getting wet. Making my
way down the driveway I try to
fumble my keys out of my pocket, I
unlock the car and open the door,
tossing the book into the backseat.
Now the tricky part: Closing the
umbrella, putting it in a good spot,
getting into the car and shutting
the door without getting very wet.
I
failed.
Now
I'm soggy and irritable, which
probably contributed to some of my
reactions later in the story. It's
raining very hard, visibility is
limited because even on the fastest
setting the windshield wipers can't
clear it fast enough. Turning on to
Ringer I see that I have less than a
quarter-tank of gas, I have to stop
by a QuikTrip. Hell, that's just
going to take more time, because I
have to go by Walgreen's and get
film for my camera. Cursing, I turn
on to Sappington Barracks Road and
hydroplane the whole way down to
Buckley. I'm not kidding about that,
the road was almost entirely
flooded, every passing car splashed
a fresh load of water on to my
windshield, which limited my vision
further. I realize how funny it
would be if I were to get into a
fatal car accident because I wanted
to see Bruce Campbell.
Pulling into QuikTrip the clouds are
beginning to part and the rain is
starting to let up, which angers me
that I would've been better off just
waiting five minutes. While the car
fills up I head inside the QT,
thinking they must have film. Then
the next dumb thought enters my
brain: I should just get a
disposable camera rather than
fiddling with loading the film into
the one I have. I open it up and
test it, you can see
how shitty it
is outside.
I
speed all the way to the Tivoli,
traffic is surprisingly light, and
nothing notable happens. I pull on
to Delmar, expecting to see a long
line coming out of the doors of the
Tivoli. No, I just see small pockets
of people standing around under the
marquee. I turn into the parking
garage and pay the three dollars for
a spot. I drive up to the second
level and find a space, getting out
and gathering my things. I see a
couple of people heading towards
their truck behind me, one of them
holding a big plastic bag of items,
so I assume, correctly, he just came
out of the signing.
"Hey," I call out, "How bad's the
line?"
"Do you already have a line ticket?"
Line ticket? The hell?
"A line ticket?"
"Yeah, you have to get a line ticket
with a number on it with the book,
they're doing the signing by number.
When I was in there they were just
getting past number 100 and I heard
they've sold about 400 tickets."
"Oh. Thanks."
"Good luck."
I'll
make a note right here that
disposable cameras suck. Really,
really suck. We're talking
industrial-sized Hoover vacuum
sucking. Here's a good example: I
took
this shot
while standing next to my car in the
parking garage. The time when I had
taken the shot was about 7:30. It's
cloudy, but the sun is still up,
even though it looks like I took
this picture at three in the morning
during an eclipse. Yes, I did use
the flash.
Slightly confused, I walk across the
street and into the theater, the
friendly ticket taker tells me that
the signing is in the main theater.
I ask about the line ticket thing
and he says just go down the
hallway. Down the hallway towards
the main theater there's a table
with two men sitting at it, selling
copies of Bruce's book. After a few
minutes I get to the front of the
line and ask about the line tickets
and am told I have to buy a copy of
the book to get a line ticket. I
tell them I already have my own copy
of the book but that makes no
difference, I still have to purchase
another copy.
Angry, I walk away,
into the main
theater. People sit about
randomly in the rows, there's a line
down the right aisle that isn't
moving. If the camera didn't suck
you could see that. Bruce isn't
there at the moment. I find a chair
and sit down and think about how
angry I am. It's all about the
money, isn't it, Bruce? I think,
I already paid for a copy of your
book, I paid twelve bucks to see
your new movie, and now you want
more. I think about leaving, I
even went out the parking garage and
put my copy of the book back in
there. I figure I might as well
stick around for the movie and then
write a really shitty review of it
on my site afterwards. I go back in
and sit down and stew some more. I
finally think You know, I could
just buy a new copy of the book, get
him to sign it and sell it.
Yeah, that'll stick it to him.
So I
get up again and head back to the
table. When I got to the front of
the line I was probably more shitty
than I should've been to the poor
guy who was just selling copies of
the books. I reach for my wallet and
say, a little hostile, "So whose
idea was it to have to buy a new
copy of the book to get it signed
even if you already own a copy?"
"Uh... All details were handled by
the author, Mr. Campbell," I give
him my money and he hands me a book
and
a line ticket,
"Sorry about the confusion."
I have to say that even though I was
pissed and sort directing negative
vibes toward him the guy was
extremely nice.
I
find a different seat and sit down
again (Yes, still angry). Bruce
returns and walks down to the front
and sits in the little orchestra pit
behind a table. Someone announces
that Bruce is back and will begin
signing again. He notes that people
with line tickets numbers 130
through 160 should begin lining up.
If you look at the link you'll see I
have ticket #349. It's now been
about three hours since the signing
began. I'm not getting up any time
soon.
So
during that time I finally start to
rationalize. You know, this is a
tour for his new book, after all.
This sort of keeps people from just
flooding the line with their random
crap who don't even have copies of
the book. Then I had the only
good idea I've had all day, probably
all month. Hey, I could get him
to sign both copies and still be
able to keep one. I lighten up.
So I had to go back out to my car
again to get the other copy of the
book, but to keep myself from being
too smart I leave behind the plastic
bag so during the entire film I had
to keep the books balanced on my
lap.
Again, I find my seat and sit down
and wait for 9 o'clock to roll
around because I'm clearly not
getting into the line before the
film begins. Two girls come down
into the row and sit next to me. One
of them, the one who sits next to me
and never acknowledges my presence,
is also in a really shitty mood and
it carries throughout the rest of
the day. She begins ranting about a
friend of theirs that clearly she
hates because she's always bitching
about her "relationship problems," a
phrase I hear no less than one
hundred times in a half hour. I pull
my GBA out of my pocket and start
playing a game, concentrating on not
listening to this girl. I find you
can't concentrate on not
listening to someone right next to
you, that's fucking impossible.
Apparently the friend we all hate
isn't even in a real relationship!
Her standards are too high! The
other friend argues they're too low!
She's always going to bars and
picking up random guys that tell her
they have no interest in forming a
relationship but she thinks she can
change them! Boy, the original
friend sure hates hearing all these
problems but she can't stop fucking
talking about it!
So
it's getting close to 9. The manager
speaks up, asking for the attention
of the crowd. He says the 9 o'clock
showing will go ahead as planned,
asking everyone there not for the
showing to leave, because it's sold
out and they need the seats. Bruce
will continue to sign things in the
lobby while the film plays, so
they're dumping the whole ticket
number thing and just having people
line up while the film plays. Bruce
gets up and walks by, out of the
theater. Several staff members come
around and start checking
everybody's ticket one by one,
verifying everybody there has a
ticket. This passes without
incident.
Minutes before 9 rolls around and
the girl next to me is still
bitching and moaning and going on. I
contemplate forming my right hand up
into a fist and, keeping my elbow on
the arm rest, bringing it up into
her face. That wouldn't be very nice
and might cause a scene.
Finally, Bruce comes through the
door, "Okay, let's get this started
already!" Thunderous cheers and
applause, complete silence and
immobility from the girl next to me.
Bruce hops on stage and begins
introducing the film we're about to
see, The Man with the Screaming
Brain. Much of what he said can
be heard during the
interview Paul
Harris did with Bruce earlier that
day on KMOX.
I
tried to get a shot of Bruce
on-stage and
this is how it
turned out. Then he took
some questions from the audience. I
can't remember all of them, but I'll
try.
Fan: "Are you going to be the
next Spider-Man movie?"
Bruce: "Well... Let's go
through the chronology, shall we? In
the first movie I named the
character, without me the movies
would be called The Human Spider.
In the second movie I was the only
character who actually defeated
Spider-Man. In the third movie I
actually play Spider-Man. (Mimics
Spidey shooting some webs). Imagine
that, just a couple real shots of me
and then a CG guy jumping around
everywhere."
Fan: "Are we going to see
another movie with Ash in it?"
Bruce: "Are we going to see
another movie with Ash in it?...
(audience murmurs while Bruce
remains silent)... No, no, I'm just
hesitating because I never
get this question. Look, here's your
job: You have to convince Sam Raimi
that Evil Dead IV is worth
making over Spider-Man 3... I
don't think it's going to work."
Fan: "Which movie did you enjoy
making the most?"
Bruce: "You know... I don't
want to play this game, here, I'll
just turn my back to you and you
tell me which movie you want your
money back for. But it's not going
to happen because someone will yell
out a movie before I get a chance to
turn around. Okay, here we go..."
Other Fan: "TEXAS BLOOD
MONEY!"
Bruce (pointing): "There you
go, thank you, sir."
Another Fan: "CONGO!"
Bruce: "Congo... Look,
it was adapted from a novel by
Michael Crichton, one of the most
best-selling authors out there, the
screenplay was written by the same
guy who wrote Moonstruck, it
was edited by Anne Coates, who
edited Lawrence of Arabia,
and it was produced by Steven
Spielberg's producers... They just
forgot to hire a director. And the
monkeys were shit."
Yet Another Fan: "Oh come on,
it had monkeys and lasers! That's
the best movie ever!" (slow laughter
that builds up)
Bruce: "...Monkeys and
lasers, that's what makes a great
movie for you? Tell me, do you like
bright colors?"
Fan: "I heard a rumor that--"
Bruce: "Oh, a rumor, let me
guess, did you year it on... The
internet?" (laughter)
Fan: "I heard a rumor that
there's going to be a remake of
Evil Dead."
Bruce: "I haven't heard
anything about it, I don't think
it's going to happen. It probably
wouldn't be called Evil Dead,
there would be something evil and
something dead, but that's about it.
Besides, if they made it they
wouldn't let me anywhere near it, it
would be Ashton Kutcher."
Fan: "Is Sam's Delta in this
movie?"
Bruce: "You're referring to,
of course, Sam's old Delta '88 that
was in every single one of his
movies. No, it's not in this, but
let me tell you, he managed to get
that thing in The Quick and the
Dead, a western, for god's sake.
What they did was they stripped it
down to its chassis and built a
wagon over it, just so Sam can have
his stupid, shitty car in the
movie."
Fan: "I don't really have a
question, but I tried to make love
the Bruce Campbell way and I hurt
myself, so I'm going to sue you."
Bruce: "You're going to sue
me?... Well, first I think you
should try fucking yourself.
(Laughter and applause)... And I
mean that with all due respect."
Fan: "I heard a rumor--"
Bruce: "On the internet?"
Fan: "--That there was going
to be a Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash."
Bruce: "I heard about that,
too, look, it was some studio
executive's wet dream that just
managed to leak out on to the
internet. But, come on, let's face
it, that's a really dumb idea for a
movie. Besides, who would win? It
would just be about which franchise
had the best lawyers."
Fan: "I heard you were going to
be playing yourself in a movie,
what's the story with that?"
Bruce: "Well, Dark Horse
Comics is getting into the movie
business, which I think is cool, and
they're producing some movie where a
monster is terrorizing a town and
they don't know what to do about it.
Eventually, someone says 'Hey, let's
get the Evil Dead guy' and
they get me. But they're not getting
Ash, they're getting me, so I don't
know what to do and when I show up
more people end up dying than
before."
Fan: "Who would win in a fight
between you and Sam Raimi?"
Bruce: "(Pausing, light
laughter and some murmuring)... I
would, Sam's a pussy."
Afterwards, he thanked us for coming
out, for supporting beautiful
theaters like the Tivoli, and then
went into a rant about this summer's
films. "I used to apologize for
being in B-movies," he said, "But
when I look at the line-up from this
summer I don't feel bad about it
anymore. I'm more embarrassed to
admit I have anything to do with
Hollywood. They're making B-movies
now, disguised as big budget, 'real'
movies. What do you have this
summer? The Dukes of Hazard,
a crappy movie based on a shitty TV
show from the 70's. Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory, a film
that was perfectly great thirty
years ago with Gene Wilder, who's
funny, as opposed to Johnny Depp,
who's just weird. Herbie
the Love Bug, those have been
around for so long and they're all
so bad I've been in a Herbie
movie. Hollywood's making B-movies,
let's face it, a guy getting bitten
by a radioactive spider and getting
super powers, that's a
B-movie! The only difference between
Alien Apocalypse and War
of the Worlds is the amount of
zeroes at the end of the budget."
Cheers and applause as he finally
presents the film and gets off
stage. The girl next to me is still
giving no reaction. I manage to get
a
quick shot of
Bruce as he goes by.
So
then the movie begins, The Man
with the Screaming Brain. It
wasn't great, I'll tell you that
right now, but it was silly and
funny and was pretty much what I
expected it to be. For a synopsis,
check the
Internet Movie
Database, a relatively
unknown website that you just might
find useful. It won't be making a
theatrical run, it will be
premiering on the Sci-Fi Channel
sometime next month and then on DVD
in early October. The film ended to
cheers and applause. I don't think
the girl next to me even allowed
herself to laugh once the entire
time. Everyone got up and shambled
out. I was sitting close to the back
so I was one of the first out, which
helped me get to the new line in the
lobby for the book signing quickly.
Thankfully, they had done away with
the whole line ticket thing, so in
the end I didn't have to purchase
another copy of the book and they
were allowing anybody to come in
with anything for Bruce to sign. I
wasn't that far away from the front,
and the
line behind me
grew quickly.
After I was only five people back
from the front, Bruce had to get up
and introduce the 11 o'clock showing
of the film. I managed to get a
shot of him
passing by in front of me.
I also got a shot of the back of his
head, and from
the length of
his hair I was wondering
if he still hadn't completely let go
of playing Elvis. Then we stood
around for roughly fifteen minutes.
Bruce
returned
and the line began moving once
again. Once I got to the front I
handed my camera off to one of the
Tivoli employees who was handling
photos for everybody. Then I stepped
up and
shook his hand
for the second time in my life. As
opposed to the first time where I
sat down next to him and sort of
mumbled a question, I managed to
keep myself together, telling him I
enjoyed his movie, it was funny, and
asked how he
transformed Ted Raimi into such a
convincing Bulgarian. In
the film, Ted Raimi, Sam's little
brother, plays a lab assistant to
Stacy Keach, who is, of course, the
mad scientist type. The film is set
in Bulgaria, and Ted's character is
kind of a dopey, wanna-be rapper,
playing it extremely over-the-top.
Bruce
chuckled,
then
answered.
"Well, Ted's... Ted's like dogs,
wives and children, sometimes you
just have to let them go and do
their thing. It was his idea to do
all the rapping, like the song at
the end of the movie. We needed a
song at the end, after all, and I
just let him do that shitty 80's rap
tune. Then there was other stuff,
like the gag where he's crying and
blowing his nose with the rag and
getting oil all over him, that was
like an old 1930's slapstick kind of
gag."
"Yeah, it reminded me of an old
Stooges episode."
"Exactly, that was probably where he
got it."
Bruce had regaled me with his
answer, and
merriment was
had by all.
So I
left, taking a quick
couple shots
of the Tivoli to
finish off the
roll, which also look
like crap. So at one point I had
hated Bruce and was ready to leave,
and then he won me over again in a
short, but thrilling amount of time.
Also, I now have a non-personalized
autographed copy of his book. If
anybody wants it, I'll sell it for
$30. If that seems a little steep, I
paid $25 for it, $3 for my parking
space, and $12 for the ticket to the
movie, so I'm not making a profit
out of this deal.
Notes: Yes, I look like shit and
need a hair cut. That was my first
reaction to the pictures. The second
reaction I had, apart from having a
bunch of useless shots because the
flash on the camera sucked, was that
the guy who was taking the pictures
while I talked to Bruce was a
fucking genius. I like how there's
that gigantic empty space at the top
of all the photos, that's just
brilliant.
-K.
hail
8-25-05,
1:19 AM
Bad news
sells best. Cause good news is no
news.
 Music:
John Coltrane - Countdown
Yeah, I'm on a John Coltrane kick.
Haven't updated the What to Think
section, I apologize, but I doubt
any of you find unexpected. It is
likely I will update much later
today and it will be then.
Pulled a muscle in my neck while
using the little time I had between
work and class rushing like a madman
back home, having a quick shower,
grabbing something slightly more
portable than a regular meal to eat
and driving well above the speed
limit to Webster. I somehow jammed
my right middle finger because it
hurts to move it. When I got there I
found out the class had been
cancelled, and I wasn't really sure
if I should have felt better about
being able to go home and rest or
slightly angry for having gone
through all that for nothing.
Well, I'll live. Barring that the
pain in my neck isn't some kind of
carnivorous worm that burrows into
human flesh, but I think I would've
noticed that.
Topics in Politics: Left vs. Right
turned out to have an unexpected
slant of students towards the
conservative, the results thanks to
the information sheets we filled out
beforehand. Here I was thinking the
university I was attending was made
up of smart people.
I kid, I kid.
I'm sure one of them is bright.
Valve, supposedly working out
whatever problems they've had with
Gearbox Software, has finally been
up to put up Half-Life: Blue
Shift on Steam, offering it to
anyone who has purchase Half-Life
or the Half-Life 2 Silver or
Gold packages. Naturally, people are
very upset it hasn't been ported to
the Source engine, so essentially
being given something for free makes
Valve bad people.
Also, Pat Robertson is
still crazy.
This is no surprise to anyone, I'm
sure. He
apologized
for his recent showing of idiocy,
but then sort of negated any effect
that would have by lying, claiming
his comments were taken out of
context by the oh-so-evil liberal
media. He claims he never said
"assassinate," which I guess would
be a valid point if it weren't for
the fact that he did. That kind of
defeats the argument. He claims he
simply said "take him out," which
could mean "any number of things."
Like what, Pat, you want the Special
Forces to go in and treat him to
dinner and a movie?
Though he says this sort of thing
happens all the time, the Associated
Press is always getting things he
says wrong. Kind of like when he
agreed with Jerry Falwell that God
allowed 9/11 to happen because,
essentially, we're too nice to gay
people.
Really, I'd like to know what the
real context of that was, unless it
was actually "[I would have to be a
total fucking raisin cake to say] I
agree."
Today is going to be interesting, to
say the least. Surprised they
weren't sold out, I bought a ticket
to tonight's 9:00 screening of Bruce
Campbell's The Man With the
Screaming Brain which is to be
introduced by the man himself after
a book signing. I'll be working from
7:30 to 11:30, then I'll have an
hour or so of free time before
having to go to class. With my class
ending at 4:20, it is likely I'll
show up to the book signing before
the doors open at 5, meaning, if I'm
lucky, I'll have been through the
line before 7. But then I have two
hours to do absolutely nothing by
myself. Going home would take a half
hour, which means I could spend 45
minutes at home, then I'd have to be
out the door again. Getting
something to eat seems likely,
though I don't think I can stretch
that out. I live a life of constant
excitement.
I have forgotten the request in
which I was asked to be photographed
with Mr. Campbell, though I will
attempt to provide at least one
picture. I'll be using one of those
old-fashioned film-using
pictureboxes, so I don't know when
I'll have the photos, if any, up.
More
later.
-K.
ladies and gentlemen please
8-23-05,
12:56 AM
They
don't advertise for killers in the
newspaper.
 Music:
John Coltrane - Giant Steps
I
will update the What to Think
section tomorrow, I believe.
So,
classes have started, and I attended
my first tonight. Gee, only my third
year and finally getting around to
Filmmaking I. There will only be two
projects during this semester-long
class, but they count for most of my
grade. The first will need to be at
least 30 seconds long, the second
and final project somewhere between
5 to 6 minutes. I'll be filming in
16mm, black and white, and be able
to transfer the final project to
digital, which is nice, so I'll be
able to show you my upcoming failure
over the interweb. The surprising
detail, which was expected but still
somehow surprising, is that I may
not use any dialogue, everything
must be presented visually. Makes
sense, really. I already have an
idea for my final project and some
storyboards in my head, the only
problem is getting the people
necessary to complete it. Theron, I
have a feeling I'll be calling in at
least two favors for the assistance
of you and your fellow acting
cronies.
Also, despite having shelled out the
$90 for the textbook minutes before
class started, it seems that the
instructor of the course, a thin,
very animated bald young man with a
somewhat thick Slavic accent, won't
be assigning any reading. He says
he's more concerned with his
students getting hands-on experience
and learning the technical aspect of
filmmaking through actually making
films. I like this guy.
Tomorrow I will have Topics in
Politics: Left vs. Right which could
turn out to be interesting and
informative or infuriating, or
possibly another adjective starting
with the letter I. Irrelevant,
perhaps, maybe irreverent. Possibly
intolerable or insufferable. Maybe
even a chance of being incandescent.
Wait, what?
Or, quite possibly, it could just be
boring.
My other half-semester class,
Introduction to Computer
Applications, also has that very
real possibility.
Later this week we will have an open
discussion on all things impossible.
Have
obtained copies of Savage Worlds
and Shadowrun, though it's
not likely I'll do anything with the
latter because it's just so
goddamned big. I also should've held
off on buying it since the fourth
edition of the sourcebook will be
released in about two weeks. I am
also probably going to bid on a
collection of West End Games'
Indiana Jones books.
I hope to continue work on the
Savage Doom bestiary as well as
continue overall work on Savage
Half-Life 2. I've got a little
more interest in the latter since I
had originally been planning to
design a turn-based strategy mod
within the game's universe, with the
player commanding a squad of
resistance fighters against the
Combine on missions to support the
cause or assist other major
characters. Since the only person I
could enlist the help of has some
newfound interest in life outside
his home that isn't likely to become
a reality, but some of those mission
ideas would translate nicely into
some Savage Tales, I think.
More
later, I've got to see if I can
sneak in five hours of sleep before
I get up and go to work.
-K.
i love this party
8-11-05,
11:12 PM
You know
you're not too funny today, fat man.
 Music:
Eric Clapton - Change the World
Yes,
I finally updated the What to Think
section.
I'm
still waiting for The Next Big
Thing™ to come around, a game deep
and addictive enough I can easily
sink hours into it. I don't want to
start Knights of the Old Republic
II without having finished the
first and that idea's not really
flipping any switches for me. Also
after having played the demo for
Dungeon Siege II and finding out
it's really just more of the same
without any major changes I can
safely say that's out.
Neverwinter Nights is still
mind-numblingly boring. Oblivion
is still quite a ways off, and
that's my only hope.
Speaking of games, still, EB is
running a sale on brand new copies
of Doom 3 and its
expansion, Resurrection of Evil,
for $15 each. Not the greatest
shooter ever, I know, but that's a
pretty damn good price for a fairly
polished and enjoyable, if not
perfect, piece of entertainment.
I also just purchased my own copy
of Savage Worlds. I hate you
guys. Someone explain to me why it
cost me almost forty dollars,
including shipping?
-K.
rumble in
the jumble
8-6-05,
7:23 PM
Let's
kick his ass and take his coat!
 Music:
Ben Folds - Landed
So
out of boredom I put together
a video of me
playing
F.E.A.R.
using Fraps. I also remembered
about the gig of webspace I got for
signing up for Fileshack's Mercury
service, so I might as well put it
to use. I apologize for the quality,
I had to keep it under 25MB because
of some kooky Shack rule.
The demo is very short, but I've
played through it at least ten times
already, and it's still fun. The
video doesn't really show off the
dynamic AI well enough, but nothing
about it scripted. You can quicksave
and go through a firefight several
times usually with different
outcomes. An enemy can decide to hop
over a barrier, crawl under an
obstruction, dive through a window,
fire from cover, flank you, toss a
grenade and none of it is
pre-programmed to occur. Impressive,
really. I'd include another video or
two of playing through the same
section just to show you how it can
differ, but I don't feel like taking
the time to upload more videos when
I'm starting to get sleepy.
There are a couple examples of the
kind of scares found in the demo in
the early part of the video, but
they don't compare at all to what
happens toward the end, and I didn't
want to give that away by including
it.
This may become a habit with other
games I really enjoy, because I
can't think of anything else I'd use
that webspace for.
-K.
manhole
8-5-05,
3:13 PM
Trill,
are you wearing my underwear? 'Cause
I'm wearing yours, and it ain't
doing the trick.
 Music:
The Eagles - Journey of the Sorcerer
I'll
get around to updating the What to
Think section some time later today,
or very early tomorrow. I've fallen
back into odd sleeping habits,
waking up at 1 AM today, so I'll
probably be heading off to bed here
in a minute. So here's some game
news:
If any
of you are still on the fence on
whether or not World of Warcraft
is for you it would probably be
beneficial to know that the latest
issue of PC Gamer contains the
full game on the issue's DVD,
including a free two week trial. I
liked it quite a bit for the week
that I played it, up until I got to
the point where it was pretty much
impossible to continue playing by
myself and I didn't really feel like
giving the game that added
dedication by joining a guild.
The
single-player
demo for Monolith's
F.E.A.R. has finally been
released and boy does it deliver.
Set in the not-too-distant future,
this FPS puts you in the boots of a
new recruit working for the First
Encounter Assault and Recon unit, an
organization created to investigate
and eliminate paranormal threats.
Between frantic and explosive
shoot-outs this game creates a very
ominous atmosphere with some truly
unexpected and effective scares. The
last portion of the demo level alone
freaked me out more than Doom 3
ever managed. Be warned, though,
it's not small (670MB) and it
demands a very beefy system if you
plan to run it at a decent detail
setting.
GSC GameWorld's FPS/RPG hybrid
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost
has been pushed back to 2006.
Bummer.
That's
about it for now, I'll post again
soon.
-K.
i will have an apple
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