[bad soda]

It’s possible Episode 2 will not be ready until after October.  Impossible to believe, considering the quality I know.  Also, a new interface for the website might be in order after at least half a dozen episodes have bee released.  Which, given the current momentum, gives Stuart an eternity to figure out what that new layout will be.  I’m thinking newest episode will be a locked image at the top of the page, regardless of any other updates that come between it at the next episode.  Then a few classic archival links (next episode, previous episode, whatever) nearby, with an accompanying tab to keep the PSP Backgrounds tab company.

Episode 2 coming in November.  For sure.  I am fairly certain.  This is kinda a three-man project.  I draw, T scans and delivers back to me, and I arrange and complete the cartoon, then Stu optimizes the size and layout for the page.  Finally, I post.  You see, since I draw on paper, and T lives oh-so far away (hours and hours now), even those he manages to scan are too large of files to send via email.  So he has to either hand-deliever them by way of flash-drive or something (remember, hours and hours?) or somehow get them to Stu (who is also hours away) who can better size them for delievery.  I’d rather have the file as large as possible so I can work with the highest quality before commiting them to compression so… we’re stuck for a good deliever method.  But we’ll nail it.  It’s a group effort.

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Screw it.  I’m making my freaking comics.  That’s what Bad Soda was, and that’s what it is, no matter how crappy they look.  Welcome to Bad Soda motherf!@#ers.  This is episode 1.

[PS3] Metal Gear Solid 4 – SCORE: 10
Highest Level Achieved: One complete playthrough on Normal. Finished it in about 20 hours.
Description: The story is the culmination of every modern Metal Gear character, plot and theme; the gameplay is more of it’s own master, clearly drawn from predecessors but not “classic” Metal Gear. The cut-scenes that are throughout the game are so long they almost dare defiance. There is an online mode that I imagine is somewhat like the beta that closed a few weeks ago.

I try not to commit loyalty to any one franchise, to avoid becoming a slave to a specific system or series. But there are rewards for being a biased “fanboy,” for flipping on the blinders and seeing only what you want to see. The raw excitement of an upcoming release for a fanboy is a powerful thing, and for Metal Gear Solid 4 it’s more than just the next release, it’s the last. The send off. I am a Metal Gear nut, so I’ve been looking forward to this moment for a long time. And, for once, it seems like the moment was made for me.

The story-telling arguably takes center stage through the whole MGS series, but there is little argument when it comes to MGS4. The playable segments segue through the mildly intractable cut scenes the way most games do the opposite. More than any title before it, the story builds on its predecessors. Old friends reappear en masse, as if they knew that this was the Solid Snake swan song and wanted to pay their respects; those who could not show in person appear in triggering “flashbacks” for the attentive player. The more incomprehensible elements of previous stories are ironed out in traditional Metal Gear retcon, while new incomprehensibles are added in for good measure. Even old areas are revisited to mark the occasion. This is, storywise, a Metal Gear to end all Metal Gears.

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[PS3] Grand Theft Auto 4 – FIRST IMPRESSION:  The best GTA yet, but perfection?

I have only played about four hours, tops, across the entire GTA franchise.  Most of it was Liberty City Stories and GTA III.  I think the sandbox genre is wicked, I love Mercenaries and Gun and pretty much conquered all of Bully but GTA has awful driving and worse shooting.  Why would I play a game primarily made up of driving and shooting when doing either was like playing any other game with my feet?

I’m completely at odds with the recent reviews that say the word “perfection.”  A top score of 10 (or its equivalent) doesn’t need a perfect game, but when the reviewers in Game Informer actually use the word perfect I have a hard time not criticizing.  The graphics are finally up to PS2 standards, and the shooting is still worse than any other game in its league.  I’m finally getting better at driving, and honestly: the game is awesome.  It’s finally got me into a GTA where I’m going to buy and beat it.

I’m most impressed with the characters and the story; T was actually kind of wondering why I didn’t head off immediately and start wasting cops but I wanted to see what my cousin Roman was up to, and my new asshole “boss” Vlad.  Maybe that’s where this game gets it’s positive scores, and I’m not ready to say I wouldn’t give it such a high number with only a few hours in, but I would never say perfect to a game that looks and plays like this.

[PS3/PSN] Metal Gear Online Beta – FIRST IMPRESSION:  A sad glimpse into what I will play too much of

The path to get playing this Beta is laden with roadblocks, twists, bumps, subterranean detours through grimlock infested tunnels, riddles presented by various lesser sphinxes (perhaps not any that Jason would have troubled with, but daunting still) and one massive volcanic river that was only safely traversed with insulated thermonuclear underwear.

One download, one installation, two lengthy and troublesome patches, two separate (and non-identical with strangely differing password requirements) ID creations, none of which takes advantage of the PS3’s XMB (other than constantly sending you back to it so you have to restart the program and re-watch the company logos), and I was finally –playing?  No.  Then there was some obtuse character creation that included customizable features like hats that, once donned, could be switched for others but never removed completely.  Then I selected my Call of Duty 4 style skills that offered crazy descriptions that included non-existent terminology.

Then I start the match-making and enter a game lobby which had me alternate between the settings “Ok” and “Ready” with the start button.  The twelve of us there just flipped back and forth between the two, having no god-damned idea which one meant “Yes, even after all of this, for some f!@#ing reason I still want to play.”  It turns out it was “Ok,” and remaining at “Ready” left you behind when the timer ran out.  I think.  My commando, looking pretty much just like every other friend and foe, entered the map and found myself controlling my character with the ease that an armadillo shows when doing cartwheels.

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