Why Did I Not Liveblog Not Watching the Super Bowl?

Unlike last year, it would have been boring, that’s why. I played video games, went to an evening church service, came home, ate chicken wings whilst watching Simpsons reruns, and went to bed. Boring, like I said.

I even made it over 24 hours before finding out who won. NBC 5 ruined it this morning, to which I say: May your obviously not Hispanic news anchoresses with Hispanic names grow beer bellies and beards.

Apparently, this was a Super Bowl ad. It made me want to grab some guns:

Tip of the Hat: That Other McCain

Read a Game?: Mass Effect 2

Gamerscore after 1 playthrough: 815/1015

For those of you thinking that 1015 is an abnormal number, Mass Effect 2 is the first game to really take advantage of my newly Interweb connected X-Box 360. One of the “Week 1″ DLC featured a 15 point achievement (REVENGE!). If I could find the image of Homer Simpson brandishing a bat and yelling “REVENGE!”, I would put it here.

Mass Effect 2 is the sequel to arguably one of the best RPGs of all time. An RPG that I played over 6 times.

The biggest dock I have on the game is what most reviewers consider the biggest improvement. Instead of the game being an RPG wrapped in a thin, crunchy shooter shell, Mass Effect 2 is a shooter with light RPG elements. I am no fan of shooters. I freely admit it, so please take this with a grain of salt if you are one of those Frat Boy Bromancing FPS players. I can live with some of the combat improvements: it’s nice to have body position specific damage, ammo types switching on the fly, and hits not being dependent on dice rolls. What royally sucks? Having to mess with reloading. The first game had a cooldown meter if you fired too much at once. You sit in cover and wait for the meter to go down. This new game has heat exchangers. When the gun overheats, you dislodge the heat exchanger and put another one in. If you run out, you cannot fire that weapon until you find one to pick up. This especially blows when you play as a soldier (like I started out as in the original) because your powers are dependent on HAVING AMMO and there is one gun to rule them all (the battle rifle)! I had to fight the final boss using the sniper rifle because I run out of battle rifle clips.

The rest of my thoughts will be presented in the typical bullet form:

The Good

• Gameplay: They made mineral collection worthwhile by integrating upgrades as research projects. Those “find doodads” on uncharted worlds were the first I stopped bothering to do in the first game.
• Gameplay: Side missions are not in one of three cookie cutter locations like in the last game.
• Presentation: No more visual pop-ups.
• Presentation: The background music is cool enough to get added to the collection (just like the first one!)
• Interface: The Cerberus network is a semi-convenient way to get informed on DLC. It would be very convenient if it was not for my Scylla, Charybdis, and Charazard conundrum.
• Interface: They cleaned up the various inventory interfaces to where inventory management is not an issue.
• Interface: One of your powers is automatically mapped to the Y button, which is nice.
• Replay: Despite the fact that I hate shooters, I’m jonesing to start a second playthough right now.

The Bad

• Gameplay: Kelly does not count for the paramour achievement. Kelly! She is the only (how do you say…) emotionally attractive crew member that you can pursue a relationship with.
• Morality: There is unavoidable violence and language. There is avoidable gore, nakedness, evil pursuits, and sexual issues.

The Meh

• Gameplay: They got rid of the Mako sequences.
• Gameplay: They streamlined the skill tree
• Gameplay: Experience is only earned by completing missions.

Total Time:

Gameplay: 4/5

Presentation: 5/5

Interface: 5/5

Replay: 5/5

Morality: 2.75/5

Total: 4.35/5

Anti-Facebook Statement o’ the Day: Fightin’ Laziness

So, reader Tony told me that I should get Facebook so that he can use that instead of a personalized communique to invite me to his birthday party.

What is wrong with the personalized touch? If he just wants to be lazy and only send a form invitation, he can act his age and do it via e-mail.

Oh, and apparently everyone is invited to his party. Not being one to publish other people’s e-mail addresses, you can try and reach him on his Xanga, but he has not used it since 2006.

Again, MASS EFFECT 2!!!1!!!1!!!1!!1!11

…and Hayseed Dixie sings Bohemian Rhapsody:

Tip of the Hat: Moe Lane

As a side note, I just got a spam comment on how I do not post enough videos. This is the fourth video post in a row. Happy, spambot?

Back to my regularly scheduled playing video games for several hours.

MASS EFFECT 2!!!!!!1!!!!1!11!

Also, an economics rap where Keynes totally gets trashed (I hope I am using the slang properly):

Tip of the Hat: IMAO

Now back to my regularly scheduled video games for several hours.

Still Cannot Resist Deadpool Cosplay Videos…

The dedication slide at the end is the best part. At least it is if you are a giant nerd like me.

Looks Like Crowder Did Not Make a Video This Week…

…so here is Andrew Klavan on the Culture:

Tip of the Hat: Big Hollywood

Due Diligence

A random drag racing aggregate site linked how I hate video game drag racing.

And my appeal for bloggers to cover the Texas gubernatorial campaign got some notice.

In Massachusetts Election News…

…Martha Coakley says devout Catholics should not work in ERs:

And you think ObamaCare is not going to crush religious freedom.

For those a little confused, chemical contraception is a no-no. By tricking the female body into thinking it is constantly pregnant, it messes with God’s design on how the female body is supposed to work and treat one of His gifts, fertility, as a disease. Granted, the “mainline” Protestant denominations gave up that battle line and the Evangelicals are a little muddled in their opposition, but it does not change the fact that chemical contraception is a no-no. The especially egregious chemical contraception would be “the morning after pill” and it’s ilk (also called the abortifacients). By preventing the fertilized egg from implanting into the woman’s uterus, it is effectively the most common form of infanticide.

And here is someone gung-ho about ObamaCare essentially saying that , if you cannot tow the government approved line, you should not bother to be in the health care industry when we take charge.

Tip of the Hat: Big Government via Big Hollywood’s headlines

A note to some of the commenters of the original story: The typical medical procedures we think of as “abortions” do not take place in the ER, but abortifacient contraceptives can be given. Even Planned Parenthood (who would rather you come to them for the typical medical procedure) says so.

Thoughts on the Governor Primary Debate

*Man, that debate was a little too short. An hour for three candidates? Especially when you try and throw so many curve ball formats, that is just not enough time for every candidate to get their message across.

*It’s nice to see that the moderators were equally hostile to all candidates. It’s the joy of the liberal “mainstream” media; since they ultimately want whichever Republican gets the nod to lose, they are more (for lack of a better term) fair than they would be otherwise.

*The zinger directed at Kay Bailey should have been better expected. She knew she was going to be question on her infanticide stance. I can understand why she would want to say her voting record is consistently anti-infanticide and could not utter the words “I support the continuation of Roe v Wade”. Unfortunately, her record is not squeaky clean (click the “votes” tab to see her record), with her vote to endorse the continuation of Roe v. Wade (as highlighted in the debate) and, more recently, her votes supporting embryonic stem cell research. She also ducked out on voting for/against allowing infanticide to be offered on military bases.

*The zinger directed at Debra Medina will probably backfire on the media. Trying to paint Medina as a “gun nut” is more likely to get Republican primary voters to want to support her, not less. And in a state where even the Democrats like playing with guns, being seen as pro-gun is a universal good thing.

*It was pretty ballsy of Kay Bailey to use her question to Debra Medina as a backhanded attack on Governor Goodhair. And attack Medina did.

*I think Medina was the straightest talking candidate there. Both Goodhair and Hutchinson were too “slick”.

*Hey, R.S.! I’ll throw $20 in the tip jar if you come cover this race once the Massachusetts special election is done. I’ll even buy you a cup of coffee if you cut through Denton on the way when I am off work. Need convincing?

• You would get to rub ‘Bama’s win over the Fightin’ Moo Cows in Austin!
• Medina is ya’ll’s kind of crazy. She made a Battle of Goliad ad! Would a RINO pose with a cannon and praise people who fought an imperial government?

• Hey, if Kay Bailey Hutchinson wins (or steps down after the primary as she has promised at one point), Cornyn would be the liberal Senator from Texas! A potential net win for conservatism!
• I’ll pretty sure Philosopher King Chuck Norris will not roundhouse kick you for being a foreigner…