Thursday, February 27, 2014

Sega CD Longplay - Silpheed




I now finally have a reason to own a Sega CD... besides Sonic CD, of course.

- Lord Publius

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

All the reasons why I admire 'the Gamer Next Door', Pamela Horton

NOTE: There will be no nude pictures or links to anything exceptionally racy here. You can search for that on your own.

So, why do I admire the Playmate for October 2012? Besides the fact that she is a Playmate, of course? How did she even manage to get my attention since I haven't seen an issue of Playboy (including the one that featured her pictorial) in years? Well, I have at least 8 reasons so far...

1.) She came to my attention because Playboy made her their 'Gamer Next Door' last year.

How often do you encounter a female gamer that is actually hot? For that matter, how often do you find a female gamer? Maybe I just need to get out a lot more but, they seem to be relatively few in number. That is sad.

2.) She was also gaming long before she became a drop-dead gorgeous Playmate.

3.) She's also an all-natural Playmate. No silicone here, buddy! :)

The exact measurements that I have found are 5'7" tall and a 32C-22-35 figure. That is just right. :)

4.) She seems reasonably well-spoken and intelligent. That is a huge plus.

I'm not expecting many folks to be able to hold a discussion with me on particle physics. However, I do want the conversation to have some depth. Gorgeous body or not, lacking brains is a real turn-off for me.

Based on prior experience, I already know that an association of any kind between me and the proverbial ditz/dumb blonde/stereotypical cheerleader type is not going to work. I've tried. It's as if the ditz and I were from different planets.

5.) I find it very easy to empathize with some of the things she mentioned in an interview with Joystiq that I found on 23 Feb 2014...

Specifically, her job interfering with her plans to game (I hate when that happens), not having the money to pay for college, et al. I feel her pain...

6.) Her birthday just happens to be 'Force Day' for Star Wars fans, May 4th. I find that to be a hilarious coincidence.

7.) This little quote from the aforementioned Joystiq interview stood out for me...

 "I'm not your typical Playmate," she confessed during a phone interview with WoW Insider. "I get told that a lot: 'You're different. You're not like other Playmates.' Because I'm not materialistic or I don't dress up all fancy and I don't know any designer names or anything like that. If you give me $300, I'm going to go to GameStop."

I like how she doesn't obsess over fashion. Fashionistas also have a sad tendency to be very shallow individuals. I'm not overly crazy about her actually confessing to going into Gamestop, though. Oh, well... I guess no one is absolutely perfect. I can forgive that transgression since I'm such a sucker for a pretty face... :P

8.) It's rather difficult to NOT start drooling when you see a gorgeous creature like this...




Have I, at long last, found Mrs. Publius? It certainly seems like an ideal scenario but, you never really know someone until you've been with them for a while. Still, there is much to admire in this young lady, her lovely figure not being the least of them. And no, this does NOT mean that Leanna Decker no longer fascinates me or is off the proverbial hook. No self-respecting paisan is ever going to stop loving a Redhead with HUGE natural boobs... :P

- Lord Publius

LINKS:

Her personal website:

http://www.misspamelahorton.com/

Her FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/pamelahorton13

A nice interview she did with Joystiq:

http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/06/26/playmate-pamela-horton-a-gamer-before-i-was-ever-a-pretty-girl/





Saturday, February 22, 2014

Gene Simmons: "The fans killed the record industry"



Gene always did have some very controversial opinions... And so do I...

In my far less than humble opinion, I don't believe that fans killed the music industry. The industry killed themselves by not offering a lot of good product for the last 20+ years. They went with the trend when Nirvana (somehow) got big and then the music turned to CRAP.  I still buy Records and CD's when you offer me a product that is worth a purchase. I did during the Napster era too. Instead of stealing music, I used it to sample new bands. If I liked them, I went out and bought their albums.

However, he is right about Rock Stars suddenly becoming pussy whiners instead of chick magnets with the Hugh Hefner lifestyle that we all wish we had. On that, Gene and I definitely agree. I despise grunge for that AND making very boring music. That's also why I tended to ignore virtually every band that came and went in the 1990's and early 2000's. I knew they didn't matter and wouldn't last. How could they when the KISS Reunion of 1996-97 turned into the defining musical event of those 2 years? Everyone and their mother swore that Hard Rock was dead and that big stage shows didn't matter anymore. Then, an old 1970's act comes along and DESTROYS them all. Hell, Metallica had more influence over time than Nirvana did and they didn't release a single album in all the time Nirvana was signed to a major record label. Want to tell me again about how much people love Nirvana, music industry? Hell, Metallica released 2 records with songs that felt like they had a Nirvana/grunge influence (Load and Reload) and fans started turning on them. That should be a valuable lesson to the band and music industry as a whole. Unfortunately, they didn't listen.

Nirvana still (sadly) survives in the popular consciousness as a 'period piece' type of band. Hipsters probably collect their albums now since anything retro is automatically cool to them. However, I won't miss them or that era. I doubt anyone who didn't grow up in that era would get into them either, except the aforementioned Hipsters. I remember once in high school (we're talking about the year 2000 or 2001 here) when I tried to give my Nirvana CD's to a friend. After a few months, he gave them back. That makes me laugh when I think about it now. Also, I don't remember anyone in High School even talking about Nirvana. For a band that supposedly had so much influence, why was no one talking about them? It wasn't that long after Nirvana ended, either. My high school years were 1997-2001. Nirvana lost its head (tee hee) and died in 1994. A band that is so 'influential' would not be so quickly forgotten only 3-7 years after they split. After all, no one ever forgot The Beatles.

Also Gene, Rap is NOT the biggest thing in music today. People outside of the Black community and stupid white kids in suburbia usually HATE that shit more than Punkers hated Disco in the 1970's. Bragging about their money and access to women doesn't make them look like a Rock Star, either. The way they do it usually just makes them look obnoxious and RETARDED.

- Lord Publius

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Teenager Shot Dead for Holding a Wii Remote

And the gamer community is now fully aware of an incident that I read about on the Libertarian Republic's website on February 19th...

I don't think the cops were monsters in this case, just a bunch of retards that shouldn't be allowed to hold a gun, vote and/or procreate. To paraphrase Hanlon's Razor, 'Never attribute to malice that which can EASILY be explained by sheer stupidity...'

Not all cops are crooks or morons but, I still find myself, as a general rule, not trusting them. After all, they get to walk around with a gun without any kind of reprisal or rebuke and I, as a citizen, often can't. There is something VERY wrong with that sad fact.

The video should be considered NSFW because AlphaOmegaSin cusses a lot.



Ever hear that phrase 'Who watches the Watchers?' before? I think that's easily applicable to this case. NEVER trust a man who can freely walk around with a gun when you can't.

- Lord Publius

The Pole Position challenge

One of my younger brothers and I have had a very long-standing rivalry over a particular classic arcade racing game: Pole Position. We have gone back and forth for years topping each other's high score. He swears he can beat me (and I am having a hard time NOT laughing as I type that) and I swear that he can't even compete with me. Unfortunately, no records were actually kept. So, I propose to end this dispute once and for all. As of this moment, I am issuing my younger brother a gaming challenge: Beat me in EVERY version of Pole Position and Pole Position II that I have in my massive game collection. Scores will be recorded with hand-written notes and screenshot pictures taken with a digital camera by a trusted 3rd party. The winner has bragging rights for all time.

The versions I have are as follows...

Pole Position

Atari 2600
Atari 5200
Mattel Intellivision
Nintendo GameBoy Advance
Nintendo 64*
Nintendo GameCube*
Sony PS1*
Sony PS2*

* = The challenger can pick from N64, PS1, PS2 or GameCube since they are all a perfect arcade port in a Namco Museum title.

Pole Position II

Atari 7800
Nintendo GameCube*
Sony PS1*
Sony PS2*

* = The challenger can pick from GameCube, PS1 or PS2 since they are all a perfect arcade port in a Namco Museum title.

So, what do you say, little bro? Are you man enough to challenge me? Or, are you afraid that I will OWN your ass like Charlie Murphy playing Prince in a game of Basketball? :P

Here's a nice comparison video for those who are (sadly) not familiar with this classic arcade racer...




- Lord Publius

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

A tour of a really bitchin' Game Room

One day, I will have a room in my house that is very much like this one. The music setup is going to be in a different room, though. My music and game collections are too large to co-exist in a single room. Anyway, this is basically a prototype for what I'll have.

The guy in this video, Metal Jesus, has some pretty similar tastes to my own. I have every one of the consoles he showed off except a Colecovision, Intellivision and a HALO Edition XBOX. My 2 XBOX consoles are the ones with the regular black shell. I don't care for RPG games. I don't own all that many PC games, either...




Furthermore, I think I'll forego any kind of posters on the walls too. That takes up valuable space for shelves and entertainment centers holding TV monitors, consoles, controllers, extra cables, et al. The game posters I do have will probably end up lining the walls in the hallways, bedrooms and/or the den instead.

- Lord Publius

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Bullet Hell - A (somewhat) original game idea

I was trying to think of a game that I could make myself with a simple game design program like Gamemaker or something similar. It's something I have wanted to do for years but, work/school/world travel got in the way. However, an idea that is just PERFECT came to me last week while I was sitting at work, bored out of my skull... and watching a game comparison video on YouTube featuring different titles in the Raiden franchise.

Then, while writing it all down into a TXT document today, I came up with a way to make it an extremely METAL game as well. I had a few YouTube videos of various Rock songs playing in the background and decided that would make a perfect soundtrack. Instrumental MIDI versions of certain really Balls-to-the-Wall Hard Rock/Metal songs would be perfect for the soundtrack. Anyway, without further ado, here's the basic idea (so far)...

Working Title: Bullet Hell

Genre: Top-down Shooter

Platform(s): Digital download services like iOS, AndroidOS, Nintendo eShop, PSN and XBLA (And, in my dreams, the Arcade...)  If there's a physical copy of this game, it will probably be for the DS and/or 3DS.

Inspiration: Space Invaders, Galaxian, Galaga, Gaplus, Galaga '88, Galaga Arrangement, Zaxxon, Raiden, 1942, 1943: The Battle of Midway and Space Megaforce .

Difficulty Settings: 5 difficulty settings with various funny names ...

Easy as Pie
Hurt you plenty
Mess you up (I may just get rid of this one altogether)
Totally Insane
Nintendo Hard (This one references how insanely difficult some games can really get on the classic NES console, especially Shooters.) 

(Probably pointless) Story:

It's the year 2117. The Earth is peaceful and governed by a single world government, which takes the form of a Constitutional Republic. There is no more war. People do not go hungry or without access to medical care. Humankind has also spread out into space, establishing colonies on the Moon, Mars and Saturn's moon Titan. People live to better themselves and the universe around them through new knowledge and scientific advancement. Faster-than-Light travel and Interstellar Exploration may even be possible in another generation or two.

Then, without warning or any known provocation, the Invaders came. No one knows where they came from or how they reached this star system but, the Scientists were absolutely sure they came from another star. They quickly overran the colonies on Titan and Mars. Neither of them had much in the ways of Defense since none had ever been needed. The only reason they had any kind of defenses was for dealing with space pirates and asteroids that could threaten their worlds.

The Invaders also quickly gained footholds on the Moon and Earth. Earth's military was unprepared for this kind of attack. War had been unknown on Earth for a century. Their only experiences with armed conflict was patrolling global/interplanetary shipping lanes and fighting pirates. The Invaders have established strongholds in...

- The American Midwest
- The Amazon jungles of South America
- The Antarctic wastes
- The declining manufacturing centers in Mainland China
- The petroleum-producing regions of the Arabian desert
- The International Free-Trade Center in Earth Orbit (It's a large space station)
- Tycho City on the Moon

Intelligence reports that the Alien's Mothership controlling this invasion is orbiting Mars with a small garrison or two being left near Saturn to occupy Titan.

Before a massive counter-attack can begin, their forces need to be disrupted and distracted. It has been decided to use a new space fighter just recently integrated into the Earth's military forces called 'Paladin.' (Or will w call it 'Sting Ray'?) The Fighter's mission is to attack the Invaders at whatever stronghold they have on Earth and the Moon. Then, after the main counterattack has launched, the Fighter will proceed to Mars to attack the Mothership. If the Fighter survives that assault, it will then go on to Titan and destroy the garrisons left there. It's an insane mission but, the Government is hopeful that it will work. After all, who'd ever expect a single fighter to launch an attack against a massive invasion force?

Level Settings/Locations:

- Forest/Jungle
- Mountain Range
- Farming/Agricultural Area like the American Midwest
- Deserted Metropolitan area/Factory complex
- Desert region
- Earth orbit
- The Moon
- Alien Mothership orbiting Mars
- Remnants of the Alien fleet hiding near Titan and in Saturn's rings

Player character/ship:

An experimental space fighter codenamed 'Paladin' or 'Sting Ray'. I haven't decided which name should be used. It looks like a super beefed-up version of an American F-15 Eagle. It will also have a shield that can protect it from a maximum of 10 hits. Shield can be replenished with energy capsules or slowly through solar power. (Solar power recharging replenishes 1 hit point per second.)

Player's Weapons:

- Blue Cutting Lasers (Upgrade to the Machine Gun Cannons)
- Drones armed with the Blue Cutting Lasers (No more than 2 at a time. The drones can be destroyed by enemy fire.)
- Gamma-Ray powered Death Rays (Used only in space levels)
- Homing Missiles (First available weapons upgrade in the game)
- Machine Gun Cannons (Standard weapon with which the player starts the game)
- Shield-replenishing energy capsules
- Tactical Nukes (These will be rare and used only in the space levels)

Graphics:

Something akin to Mode 7. 'Nuff Said.

Music: Instrumental MIDI versions of certain Hard Rock/Metal songs including...

Black Sabbath - Children of the Grave 
Black Sabbath - The Mob Rules 
EPICA - Storm The Sorrow 
Iron Maiden - Wasted Years
Judas Priest - Love Bites 
KISS - My Way 
MetallicA - Metal Militia 
MetallicA - Seek and Destroy 
Nightwish - Over the Hills and Far Away
Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon 
Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin 


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Sound good so far? It certainly should with all that kick ass Metal in the soundtrack...

And to those of you who think I would never be able to get the rights (or make the songs sound good in MIDI), think again. Doom featured nothing but music that was instrumental versions of various Industrial and Metal songs. The game's music producer, Bobby Prince, sampled songs from Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera, AC/DC, Alice in Chains and Black Sabbath. If id Software can do it, I should be able to get the license too. Besides, Musicians love receiving royalty payments. :P

- Lord Publius

Monday, February 17, 2014

If only this advertisement was real...




Even if it didn't have backward compatibility, I would still love to see a Dreamcast 2. I loved the first one so much that I have 2 of them in my collection. It may have been the Swan Song for SEGA as a console maker but, it sure was one Hell of a way to go.

- Lord Publius

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Why I reject both Liberalism and Conservatism

I came across an editorial on the Libertarian Republic recently, describing the author's reasons for rejecting Liberalism and Conservatism. Various niggling grammar mistakes aside (mostly run-on sentences), he did make good points. Both sides in that struggle have lost sight about what this Constitutional Republic we call the United States of America was intended to be by its Founders. They are also both out of touch with the People's needs, their wishes and probably reality too.

Here's a link to the original article:

http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/reject-conservatism-liberalism/#axzz2tLvbJLsY

And here is my response/colorful commentary laced with HEAVY sarcasm to various passages that caught my eye...

"As a modern libertarian, I must agree with Hayek and concede that conservatism today is still lacking in its belief in free markets, indeed in the very idea of freedom itself. The conservative claims to favor free markets, but will still champion farm bills and subsidies that result in the passage of welfare in the form of food stamps."

Farm subsidies and food stamps are both Bullshit.

If you want to help farmers, tell them to plant crops that actually sell on the market. You will make MUCH more growing lettuce for salads than you would with Brussels sprouts.

If you want to feed starving people, support your local non-government charities and soup kitchens. Leave the government OUT of the equation. Uncle Sam is NOT doing anything to help them. He's been making their lot in life much worse ever since these farm bills were first passed in the 1930's.

Better yet, if he insists on using my tax dollars to keep farms in business (Which the lousy bastard definitely should NOT be doing anyway), tell Uncle Sam to take the food he buys to artificially inflate market prices and use it to supply food banks and soup kitchens. Even if that doesn't eliminate the problem of people going hungry, it does at least alleviate SOME unnecessary Human suffering...

"And Hayek was also correct in the fondness of modern conservatives for authority. It underlies everything, from their willingness to defend the NSA’s spying, to their desire to police the world and in their defense of local police forces when they abuse the civil liberties of Americans on a daily basis. Conservatives desire order over freedom. Freedom is only secondary to their desire to shape the world around them according to their own subjective preferences. Libertarians are not afraid to allow creative chaos into the world, because underlying libertarianism is the belief in the inherent goodness in man. To be a conservative is to believe that man is inherently fallen, and must be reformed."

Yet another example of gubmint people in their ivory towers just casually assuming that We The People are somehow too stupid to even wipe our own ass without their help... Smug, cock-sucking bastards...

That would also explain why so many of these so-called Conservatives are all (supposedly) devout Christians. They get this 'inherently fallen' crap from the story in Genesis about Original Sin. They don't realize that all those crazy Old Testament stories were allegorical tales the Jews made up to explain what was (at the time) unexplainable. Some people really should learn to take an objective look at the history of their own professed faith traditions...

"Living in America today is to live in a nation that is bound together by traditions of classical liberalism. America is liberal in the sense that, unlike some nations, our women do not fear legal retribution for appearing in public without a veil, and unlike in Russia, our homosexuals do not have to fear violent mobs."

Try telling that to the Homosexuals that are constantly harassed, assaulted or dehumanized in any other way. There may not be any laws banning Homosexuality in this country anymore* but, that doesn't mean they aren't still mistreated. Prejudice, like any other form hatred based on ignorance, is a global phenomenon.

(* = There are some Anti-Sodomy laws still on the books in a few states but, those are now unenforceable. The SCOTUS ruled them Unconstitutional in a 6-3 decision circa 2004.)

"The ability to invest one’s capital as one sees fit is an important component of the total package that is liberty. Progressivism today seeks to capture the wealth of the individual, and demand that it serve subjectively defined collective good. For instance, Obamacare. While it may seem objectively that public health is an issue of critical importance, and it is, the modern progressive today does not realize that economics is about the allocation of scarce resources. Health care is not a limitless resource. The amount of time and energy that doctors and nurses can spend treating patients is finite, even if the amount of prescriptions that could be written were enough to satisfy every disease known to man. There simply are not enough minutes in a day and doctors available to treat every single human being in need. This is why a price system is important and must be used in order to allocate scarce resources."

Sad but true. There aren't enough Doctors to go around. It's a rough job that not many people can do. The schooling, malpractice insurance and stress is also enough to make many Doctors (or those thinking of going into Medicine) to choose other occupations instead. There is much room for improvement in ANY healthcare system but, putting it in the Government's hands is akin to deliberately shooting yourself in the foot. No good will come of that decision. After all, have you ever known the Federal Government to get something right without many years (and many billions of wasted Dollars) of trail and error?

It's bad enough when Soldiers and NASA Astronauts die because of Uncle Sam being an idiot. We shouldn't be forcing that on John Q. Public too. There are times when doing something will alway be the wrong thing and doing nothing is the only viable/ethical course of action. Government's relationship to healthcare is one of them.







Thank God that having VA healthcare benefits will exempt me from Obamacare after I return to civilian life... Not that I'm expecting the VA to be much better. That system is extremely overwhelmed...

"Palmer related to me an inherent contradiction contained within the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. In it, there is a definitive statement that all humans have a right to healthcare. And in another passage, it claims that every human has a right to leisure time. The contradiction is laid bare when one consider the fact that if a doctor has a right to time off, then how can a patient demand they be treated at the same time? The doctor’s right to leisure is in conflict with the right of the patient to be healed. These are not rights, so much as incoherent demands. Modern liberals seek to institute laws that put humans in positions to which they cannot obey, and then punishes them for not obeying."

Palmer refers to Tom Palmer of the CATO Institute. I have never seen the documents that (supposedly) lay out how the U.N. is supposed to run. I never had a need to do so because that is not a real government body and it has no real authority whatsoever. Any one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (The USA, UK, France, Russia and China) can veto an action and prevent the U.N. from taking any action on any issue. The organization is a farce and a colossal waste of our time and tax dollars. To my knowledge,  it doesn't even do a good job of serving it's intended purpose: providing a place for ambassadors to meet and address international issues. When was the last time that the U.N. actually prevented a war? Does anyone know?

Furthermore, the U.N. Charter is NOT the Rule of Law in this beloved Republic. That honor and glory goes to the United States Constitution. Beyond what is specifically codified in the Bill of Rights (that's the first 10 Constitutional Amendments for those of you who slept through Social Studies class), you are not entitled to ANYTHING as far as the government is concerned. You are responsible for your own life and happiness. No government can ever guarantee you these things since only you can determine what constitutes happiness for you as an individual. So, quit burdening the taxpayer by trying to get Uncle Sam to wipe your ass from Cradle to Grave and go out and work for what you want, you fucking hippie piece of shit! I, the American Taxpayer (or, should I say 'victim of theft on the part of Uncle Sam's shakedown crew known as 'the IRS'), am tired of supporting your lazy ass.

"Another reason to reject modern liberalism is its push for material egalitarianism. They push economic fallacies such as the idea of a gender wage gap, which has been thoroughly debunked and lies on the assumption that both genders want the same things, or at least they should want the same things. Liberals decry the inequality of wealth in the world, while ignoring the fact that modern capitalism has provided for even the poor to have greater wealth than at any point in history."

First of all, if your employer pays you less for the same work as a co-worker just because of your gender, you need to find a new employer. That guy is a sexist asshole. Second, why would anyone want to pay someone less just because that person is a woman? That has never made sense to me.

Second, 'material egalitarianism' sounds like another way of saying 'communism' to me. It might also mean that Left-wingers think that everyone should have the same things I do. If a person is willing to work for them, I have no objection to someone owning a house, a vehicle or large collections of books, records, video games, et al. I have no problem with them having more than me, if they gained it through their own means and industry. However, I am not paying for an increase in their living standards through taxation. That is not going to bring them up but, ti will bring everyone else down. Being equal should not also mean 'equally poor.'

When the Founders talked about Equality, the did not refer to material possessions or money. They referred to everyone being treated equally under the law. That is what should be you primary focus, not ensuring everyone has the same things as me. Not all of my things are really that great anyway. Who actually wants a house they have to rent out to afford the mortgage or a 13 year old pickup truck with shitty gas mileage?

"Liberal hypocrisy on material equality extends further into their misguided quest to raise the minimum wage, a token gesture which has only certain beneficiaries, namely those who are already employed. Those who suffer are those who do not have a voice in the debate, the unskilled who are priced out of the marketplace due to an employers unwillingness to take a risk on someone who may not be able to provide enough value to compensate for the governments demand on their wages."

Ah, the minimum wage debate... What complete HORSESHIT. The idea of a government-mandated minimum wage is in and of itself a form of economy-destroying SOCIALISM. Why should I pay you $15 an hour for random, unskilled menial labor? Many skilled labor jobs don't even make that much.

First of all hippies, flipping burgers at Micky D's is NOT supposed to be your career. It's the job you do after class in the afternoon while you're still in high school. It's only purpose is to help you buy that clunker we all had for a first car and enough gas to get you and your sweetheart to make-out point. If you are still flipping burgers by the time you should have graduated from college, you have screwed up somewhere and need to re-evaluate your life/career goals.

Second, this bad idea is based on the notion that society owes you a life. It doesn't. It never will. You are expected to take care of yourself. End of Discussion.

Finally, $15/hour minimum wage = unemployment for all of you. If you think Micky D's is NOT going to replace you with a robotic system that prepares the burgers with little or no Human involvement, you are wrong. I'd venture to guess that it hasn't happened yet just because it would cost them too much. However, if minimum wage is $15/hour, you can bet someone will make it affordable enough for Micky D's to implement that large-scale solution... and for the designers to get rich overnight at your expense. (Note to self: Invent robotic fast food assembly line to replace idiots who CONSTANTLY screw up everyone's order at Micky D's.)



"As a libertarian, I declare my individual right to self-ownership, and this right is not in conflict with any other individual person’s rights. I trust that humans are good, and they also deserve to own themselves and to do as they wish, provided that they harm no one else. For this, and for many other reasons, I reject both conservatism and liberalism."

That just about sums it all up for me... That sounds just like what the Founders wanted too. As a general rule, most people are good. You don't get too many truly rotten Mother Fuckers like Hitler, Stalin, Chairman Mao or Pol Pot in the world. However, you are more likely to end up under the heel of one if you engage in in this modern Socialist crap that calls itself 'Liberalism' or what Republicans call 'Conservativism.' Remember, it's always someone who gets people pissed off about something and then promises to 'get the trains running on time' if you give him the power. And no matter how much power he or she is given, it's never enough...

Both of those groups just don't get it AT ALL. Social problems are just that: Social. They are problems that society must deal with, not government, religion or any group who thinks they are wise enough to determine the best course of action for another individual. No one knows your problems better than YOU. You are better off solving them yourself.

Government's only true purpose is to protect your inherent and unalienable God-given Rights as codified in the United States Constitution and U.S. Bill of Rights. ANY action government takes that is not related to that purpose is an example of disruptive and unnecessary intrusion into the lives of the citizenry. It may not involve rounding up Jews in a death camp but, it is still no less of a TYRANNY. It must be resisted and harshly rebuked.

Remember, Government may be a necessary evil but, it is still VERY EVIL.

- Lord Publius

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Porn in games pt. 3 - Boy Rapes 8 Year Old Sister After Watching Porn On XBOX 360



AlphaOmegaSin expresses my thoughts and feelings on the matter of this rape pretty well. I have nothing further to add. However, I do have a few questions...

1.) How did this kid look at porn on his game console?

2.) Were the parental controls on this console ever activated? (Probably not...)

3.) How long is it before some assclown (Jack Thompson, I'm looking at you) tries to claim that some video game made the kid rape his own sister? That would be as ludicrous as the 'Son of Sam' killer claiming that he received telepathic messages from a dog ordering him to kill. Yes, David Berkowitz actually made that claim. Yes, it is quite ridiculous.

- Lord Publius

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Porn in games pt. 2 - Porn App Coming to Wii U



A porn app for my WiiU? Old news by now but, I had no idea such a thing ever existed. Yeah... NOT interested, buddy.

That app actually even being conceptualized is actually kinda creepy... and it probably never happened... Or, at least, never got very far... Also, I did not need AlphaOmegaSin to mention something like 2 girls 1 cup. That shit is gross. (no pun intended.)

Furthermore... Rule 34. No exceptions.

- Lord Publius

Monday, February 10, 2014

Porn in games pt. 1 - Gamestop Sells a used 3DS With Porn on the SD card



Think this is funny? Well, you shouldn't. It's not funny. Okay, I chuckled a little at the thought of some kid finding out about the birds & the bees with a used game system. However, it is still not funny. This incident might seem like an embarrassing mix-up on GameStop's part but, it's only the tip of the iceberg. It gets so much worse. Just wait until parts 2 and 3...

- Lord Publius

Saturday, February 8, 2014

6 Gaming Misconceptions

Gamers can be a rather foolish lot sometimes, buying into all kinds of BULLSHIT they are told by the news media, worthless gaming sites like IGN or other gamers. So, I'm going to dispel some of the more popular myths I keep hearing right now...

1.) Console wars in general

Console wars as you know them are a thing of the past. In fact, Console 'wars' are a media-manufactured concept that never actually existed. It doesn't really matter which console sells the most. What matters is that a hardware manufacturer is making money from the console they marketed. In that respect, there has not been a true failure in the console marketplace for many years. Portables might be different. I don't know if Sony made or lost money on the PSPGo but, they are not making money on the PS Vita right now.

There is enough room in the market right now for anyone and everyone to make money. Microsoft and Sony will compete with each other for that fanboy dollar. Nintendo's fans and Portable gamers that want a dedicated system over a smart phone or iPad will keep that company rich with cash forever. Casual types will keep independent developers alive on smart phones and tablets. If Android-OS ever takes off as a serious gaming platform, the Ouya (or something like it) might also become a big sales success. Simply put, there is room for everyone AS LONG AS THEY DON'T SCREW UP AND MAKE CUSTOMERS FEEL CHEATED.

In fact, even when the term 'Console Wars' did mean something (like in the 8 and 16-Bit days), there was still enough room in the market for all comers. The only reason that Atari and Sega became 3rd party software developers is because they ran out of money after MANY years of making mistakes. The reason why Mattel and Coleco left the game business after the Crash of 1983 was because it wasn't making money for them at that moment. They incorrectly believed that video gaming was a fad that had worn out it's welcome. There are too many examples of successful platforms for any company to really screw up bad enough to get forced out of the market now. (Unless the company has some truly EPIC bad leadership...)

2.) WiiU only appeals to casual gamers and has few games?

Not quite. Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition, Batman: Arkham Origins, Call of Duty titles and ZombiU are not casual at all. Neither are many 1st party Nintendo games. I suspect this misconception came from everyone releasing a lot of casual titles using the motion-control gimmick on the Wii and expecting it to carry over to WiiU. That didn't happen quite as much as some apparently expected. That cuts down on the number of titles available but, it also cuts down on the number of poor-quality releases.

As for the number of games available, Wikipedia says there are 216 available as of 17 Oct 2013. 216 is a lot of games to have available on a system that was less than a year old at that time. Nintendo also has a list/search feature on it's own site for all the games on all their current platforms. I wish there was one for all their previous systems as well.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wii_U_games

http://wiiudaily.com/wii-u-games-list/

http://www.nintendo.com/games/gameGuide?term=&source=search

Finally, as for the system's appeal... I don't believe that Nintendo was totally wrong for going after the family demographic. Whenever I see someone playing with the WiiU at an in-store display, it's usually a child or teenager whose parents often join them after a few minutes. I don't know what the 'hard core gamer' crowd thinks of that and I don't care. I play the games that I think will be fun and ignore what anyone else thinks. Following the crowd means playing Call of Duty or some RPG game that I don't even understand. That isn't fun for me. Also, I think people are forgetting that PS4 and XBOX One are getting lots of buzz right now because they are new. Will that buzz keep going in the future? Will they still sell? You'll never know until it happens. None of the so-called 'industry experts' expected the Wii to sell more than 100 Million units.

3.) Nintendo is NOT leaving the console market.

Recent remarks from Iwata-san about the successor to the 3DS acting as both portable system and a controller for the WiiU does not mean that Nintendo is giving up on the WiiU GamePad or slowly drifting away from making consoles, either. Nintendo has been finding ways to make their portable systems interact with the consoles and TV screens for more than 20 years now.

Remember the Super Game Boy on the Super NES?

How about those Game Boy Color games that could sync up with their N64 counterparts through the GBC's infrared port? (Perfect Dark did this, in addition to a few Pokemon games, I think...)

How about the Game Boy Player and GBA link cable for the Game Cube? I loved those accessories...

How about the Wireless interaction between the DS & the Wii?

These kind of actions on Nintendo's part is not even close to being new...

4.) Sony can do no wrong...

Bullshit. They have made mistakes with every console generation. Some have just been less well known (or less of a big deal) than others.

PS1 - They discouraged game companies from making 2D games for PS1. They were afraid it would make the system look out of touch with the latest trends in the market. All that really did was make Shoot'em ups and side-scrollers virtually non-existent on their platform. Maybe that's why PS1 didn't hold a lot of interest for me back in the 1990's...

PS2 - Only 2 controller ports when everyone else offers 4? Was this seriously a design oversight or just an attempt to make money from selling multi-taps?

PS3 - There's 2 things that kept the PS3 from just plain murdering the XBOX 360 in sales... Besides Microsoft having an ungodly amount of money to toss at the XBOX Division of their company...

A.) The Cell processor, while basically a Super-computer on a chip, was also very difficult to program. It also had poor documentation in the beginning of the system's life. That kind of oversight would have killed smaller companies. In fact, it did help to kill Atari with the Jaguar and heavily crippled Sega with the Saturn. Unorthodox hardware designs are not necessarily a death sentence but, if you do that, you better make development as easy as possible. Developers like to make use of the skills they already have. It costs less than having to devote time to learning totally new technologies.

B.) The price was too damned high at launch. $500 and $600 is a LOT of money. I can build a pretty good gaming PC for that kind of money. Or, I could buy a competing system and spend the money I saved on a selection of new games. If any other company had done this (except cash-rich companies like Microsoft), that company would suffer huge losses. And we all though that Sega selling the Saturn at $400 was extravagant...

PSP - Several things wrong here too...

A.) It costed too much at launch. (That seems to be a recurring theme for Sony...)

B.) They tried turning UMD into a new format for portable media, not just for games. That might have succeeded if I couldn't just put a digital file on the memory sticks that the PSP uses for game saves and play them on my PSP from there.

C.) The PSPGo. Basically, a PSP that is download-only and uses no physical media for its games. Not hard to see why this thing failed... Good for hacking and running emulators, though...

PS Vita - Again, several things wrong...

A.) Price is too damned high! (Seriously, Sony. WTF?)

B.) Lots of games available but, the whole library is almost all 3rd party stuff. Even worse, I can find almost all of them on EVERY OTHER PLATFORM  ON THE MARKET. That's not good. You won't challenge the 3DS that way... However, I do like how I can connect one of these to a PS3 or PS4 to enhance various games and features. That is pretty cool...

PS4 - So far, it's just a matter of $400 being too high of a price for me and a lack of interesting games in it's library. It all seems to be more of the same stuff that was/is available on the PS3. I'm sure this will change with time.

5.) Publius is a Nintendo fanboy?

Bullshit. If that were true, I wouldn't own any games from other companies like Atari, Coleco, Jakk's Pacific, Magnavox, Mattel, Microsoft, Sega and/or Sony, to name a few. I wouldn't own any computer games, either. Have ANY of you ever known me to criticize a person for their choice in games or platforms? I don't care if you like different games than me. Or, is there something about the 'fanboy' mentality that I just don't understand?

Yes, I am very fond of Nintendo. They make excellent games and very innovative hardware. They have been a faithful companion over the years as I have grown up and they have a very special place in my heart. However, Atari and Sega have a place like that in my heart as well. Yet, no one accuses me of being an Atari or Sega fanboy. I've also collected 3 Sony systems and around 70 games for various Sony platforms in the last year. Yet, no one accuses me of being a Sony fanboy. Why does Nintendo get that unique attention?

Also, I am not a fanBOY, dear readers. There's nothing boyish about your not-so-humble Mad Scientist with a blog around here. I don't know why any of my friends or readers would ever get that idea. I don't even like the term 'fanboy' because it is often used in a VERY pejorative sense. Contrary to all popular beliefs about Aspies in general and me in particular, I do have other interests and hobbies. I'm even developing something of a social life. Kinda hard to emulate those proverbial losers living in their parent's basement when you don't live with the parental figures and actually leave the house on a regular basis. Also, there are no basements where I grew up, kiddies. Most of NOLA is too far below sea-level to make that idea viable.

Anyway, here's the rundown on just how much stuff I have for my game collection as of 8 Feb 2014, including all duplicate copies of various games on various platforms. After looking through it, you can decide for yourself whether or not I should be classified as a gamer who sticks to one company (or an handful of them) at the exclusion of all others...

Atari Consoles

Atari 2600 - 141
Atari 5200 - 16
Atari 7800 - 13
Atari Jaguar - 6

Atari's 8-Bit pre-Crash of 1983 Competition

Colecovision - 11
Mattell Intellivision - 12

Computers of all kinds

Atari ST - 6
PC (includes all DOS, Windows, MacOS & Linux Titles) - 51
TI-99/4A - 12

Microsoft

XBOX - 27
XBOX 360 - 3 (These were included on the same discs with their XBOX counterparts)

Nintendo Consoles (Physical copies only, no downloads)

NES - 90
SNES - 27
N64 - 58
GameCube - 46
Wii - 40
WiiU - 10

Nintendo Portables (Physical copies only, no downloads)

Game Boy - 14
Game Boy Color - 6
Game Boy Advance - 35
DS - 31
3DS - 10

PROPRIETARY HARDWARE

Atari Flashback
Atari Flashback 3 - 6 units
Atari Flashback 4 - 2 units
Atari Flashback 64 - 2 units
Intellivision 2nd Edition: 10 Video Game System
Jakk's Pacific TV Games: Activision
Jakk's Pacific TV Games: Atari 2600
Jakk's Pacific TV Games: Atari Paddles
Jakk's Pacific TV Games: Mortal Kombat
Jakk's Pacific TV Games: Retro Arcade featuring Pac-Man
Jakk's Pacific TV Games: Space Invaders
Magnavox Odyssey 3000
SEGA Genesis Classic Game Console: Special Edition

SEGA

Master System - 9
Game Gear - 4
Genesis - 40
Saturn - 6
Dreamcast - 20

Sony

PS1 - 26
PS2 - 39
PS3 - 24
PSP - 11

Imagine that... The system for which I have the most titles just so happens to be the Atari 2600 with a whopping 141 titles. And the closest competitor here, NES, is a distant second with only 90. Who would have guessed? :P

6.) The 'fanboy' mentality...

You think your system is superior to all others because of it's game library or sales numbers? You also think that makes you better than other people? Please, pull your head out of your ass.

The sales numbers only matter to the business end of things. That doesn't matter to most gamers. When you buy a system, it should be because you like the games it has or will have in the future. NOTHING else. This kind of elitist snobbery is not helping to disprove the stereotype of the lonely nerd living in his parent's basement. QUIT BEING AN ASSHOLE.

Also, having System A instead of System B does not make you superior or inferior to anyone. Just imagine if I had behaved that way when my younger brother got a SEGA Genesis for his 8th birthday in 1993. I would have missed out on the 2D Sonic the Hedgehog games, Eternal Champions, a version of Mortal Kombat with the blood and gore intact, a good Jurassic Park game, Vectorman, Earthworm Jim and numerous other classics I played on that console. Instead of being pissed that he didn't get a Super NES (which is what I had thought he would get at first), I was just happy that we had a new games. Plus, I was curious to see what this console had to offer. Thanks to that kind of open-mindedness on my part, I went on to form some of my happiest gaming memories. Playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and all the games he rented that weekend is probably the happiest thing about being 11 that I can still remember.

So, to quote an old 90's cliché: Don't hate, appreciate!


- Lord Publius

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Angry Video Game Nerd destroys a few old Star Trek games



I have some of the games he reviews here, specifically the Atari 2600 and NES games. They weren't bad at all. However, the NES game was an adventure game that required a LOT of exploration. That could get tiring... Good thing I have the issue of Nintendo Power that gave an in-depth play-through of that particular game...

Also, the Nerd got the details wrong on the episode that inspired that NES game he reviewed. The Enterprise did NOT go back through time in the episode entitled A Piece of the Action. It was a planet previously visited by an early Federation ship named Horizon before the Prime Directive was established. They left behind a book on the Chicago Mobs of the 1920's and the people on Sigma Iotia II mistook it as a guide book on how to run their society. And he calls himself a nerd... *pfft*

- Lord Publius

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Why the War on Drugs is Racist BULLSHIT



Criminalizing drugs is probably one of the dumbest things that lawmakers have ever done in all of American history. They created an enormous social ill and set up a scenario where someone puffing on a joint goes to jail for years. That makes LESS room in jail for actual criminals. (Murderers, Rapists, Robbers, ex-politicians, Bernie Madoff, et al.) No, building more prisons is NOT the answer to that problem.

By the way, the bit about 'Cocaine-crazed Negroes' was about Black dockworkers in New Orleans using cocaine as a stimulant. They worked 18 hours a day (or more) loading and unloading cargo, which is backbreaking work. Instead of sending them to jail, why didn't someone just introduce them to coffee instead? That 'stimulant' has always been quite legal and popular...

- Lord Publius

Monday, February 3, 2014

The media bias against Nintendo is ridiculous

Many actually believe what the Media says about Nintendo being in serious trouble. I never did because I do my own research and employ facts and logic. (And I'm sure the Media HATES it when people do that too...) Anyway, despite their claims of Nintendo being a sinking ship, Amazon is telling a different story...

After disappointing financials, the media has been keener than ever to portray the Kyoto company as a fading force – a former giant in crisis. Amazon certainly doesn’t see it that way. “I think Nintendo have this imposed on them and it’s driven by a lot of the media, and the media drives perception,” continued Patel. “Nintendo are getting a lot of bad press and PR and as soon as anything negative is out there it’s a media frenzy. It diminishes what they’ve actually done. If you look at 3DS as a format, it has done very well last year – had that sort of performance been with Microsoft or Sony, my personal opinion is that everybody would be thinking ‘wow, what a fantastic job’. Because it’s Nintendo and they’ve been embroiled in this negative PR frenzy, everyone thinks it’s a dying format. It’s absolutely not.”

And...

So while the media continues to give Nintendo a difficult time, even with the relative success of 3DS, one console that has apparently escaped such criticism is Sony’s PS Vita. Patel has concerns for the system. “Vita is struggling, absolutely, in terms of the market segment,” he tells us. “Firstly I think that the price point is too high. I think the compatibility with PS4 will give it a bit of a kickstart and Vita will have a better year, I just don’t know whether it will meet the expectations Sony had with Vita.”

SOURCE: http://www.edge-online.com/news/amazon-uk-on-the-next-gen-race-nintendos-plight-microconsole-rumours-and-accidental-leaks/#null

^^^You see, I told you there was bias in the News Media. :P

And this is actually pretty typical of game industry coverage in the Media for the last 15-20 years. Whatever Sony does and succeeds in is a business miracle. Anything Nintendo does is evil or never going to work. That has been the mantra with these bums since I was a teenager. Despite their claims of the Big N going down, it never happens. Their 1st party franchises and their dominance of handheld gaming have kept them alive and profitable for a long time. Despite smart phones, iPads and Sony all getting into portable gaming, they still dominate that market. I don't expect it to change anytime soon since the 3DS is awesome.

Nintendo makes mistakes like any other company (No blood in the SNES release of Mortal Kombat, Virtual Boy, N64 sticking to cartridges, not advertising the WiiU more agressively, et al.) but, they aren't going anywhere.

As far as I am concerned, Nintendo is the only hardware manufacturer that is really innovating these days. The WiiU has kept me fascinated and looking forward to new titles. I wish more of them would be coming from a 3rd party company instead of just Nintendo themselves but, I had similar complaints about the N64 as well. I am surprised that I didn't have that complaint with the GameCube. I'm not surprised that I didn't have that complaint with the Wii since it became the console of choice for gamers and companies looking to make a profit. It did have over 1,200 games released for it in it's lifetime...

PS4 is (so far) just a technology upgrade to PS3 with a few interesting features. I like the idea behind the share button and the touch pad on the controllers. The games, sadly, aren't any different from what came before. I'm actually quite disappointed in it's line-up of launch titles. Not a single one of them was even remotely interesting to me. How does that happen? You have nearly 80 games at launch (which is far more than most launch line-ups) and I am not interested in ANY of them? WTF, Sony? You have never had that much of an EPIC FAIL with me before. Why start now? BTW, $400 is too much. Get the price down below $300 (and more interesting games) and we will talk.

As for the XBOX One... Well, if you follow this blog, you already know of my very negative opinion of that device. It costs too much ($500?! WTF?), includes features I don't want and I suspect that M$ will try to help the NSA to spy on me with that machine. That is no way to separate me from my hard-earned cash, Microsoft. Even worse, there's nothing interesting, or overly distinctive from the PS4 in it's game library so far. WTF? During the Console wars between SNES & SEGA Genesis, there were a LOT of exclusive titles on both systems. Nowadays, that just doesn't seem to happen as much. That makes all the consoles seem like they are the same as any other. There's no real difference between them. Don't copy people, Microsoft. INNOVATE!!!

Personally, I don't really like Microsoft as a company anymore. The 360 had way too many problems for a consumer product that would cost buyers several hundred dollars at retail. The games were pretty much identical to the PS3 library and the only franchise I knew of that was XBOX exclusive is the same one that attracted me to their first XBOX console: Halo. Despite liking that franchise, I am still not interested in ever having an XBOX 360 in my collection. Chances are good there will be a 'greatest hits' package with all of them on some future platform that's worthy of owning in a few years anyway. I won't go into my complaints about Windows because you can (and probably will) have those exact same complaints about any other operating system on any machine.

So, in conclusion, the Media is as full of shit as ever. Take anything they say with a grain of salt.

- Lord Publius

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Penn Jillette: Mistrust of Government Is a Beautiful Thing

In this video, Penn Jillette of the magician duo Penn & Teller explains...

1.) Why Government should NEVER be trusted...
2.) What exactly Libertarianism is...
3.) Why it's not fair to label someone as Evil 99% of the time, including politicians you disagree with...




I've been *quite* guilty of calling politicians evil, both as a whole group and certain particular individuals. I've done it many times in this blog and it will probably happen many more times. However, what I think I haven't made very clear is that I don't believe many of these politicians (or 'politickin' pezzonovante' as I normally call them) started out as evil. It seems to me that many of them get seduced by the Dark Side (i.e. drunk with power) or wrapped up in party politics. And that is also why I fully support term limits for EVERY kind of elected office.

Furthermore. I have  never believed that anyone elected to be President of the United States ever wakes up in the morning and says 'How can I fuck over the American People today?' An asshole like that would be easy to spot, no matter how much the media tried to make him look like a golden Greek god with their spin machines. The problem is that these people are all Human and like any of us, will make mistakes. And when you are the Leader of the Free World and responsible for the well-being of millions, you will invariably screw up somewhere along the line.

All that being said, I don't like President Obama even talking about executive orders, let alone signing so many of them. In my view, that is NOT Constitutional. It also seems to undermine the checks and balances that are designed to keep any one branch of government from dominating the others. I don't care if he hates the GOP with every fiber of his being, he was elected to work with them. If he can't do that, then he needs to find another line of work. The same goes for any Republican President who might hate Democrats.

- Lord Publius