Revolution Software gave the sourcecode to their second game, Beneath a Steel Sky, to the ScummVM team to add to their awesome program. Revolution also released the game for free legal download for use with ScummVM. I had never heard of Revolution before, as I didn’t venture out too far from LucasArts when I was looking for an adventure game to play when I was a little girl.

I absolutely loved Beneath a Steel Sky, so I researched Revolution to see what else they had made. I bought Broken Sword I and II on eBay in cheap UK Sold Out Software re-releases, and tried them out in ScummVM to see what they were like.

Broken Sword blew me away. I was impressed with the storyline of Beneath a Steel Sky and the game world that Robert Foster inhabited, but Broken Sword showed me that Revolution was worth every penny of my money as much as the LucasArts of old.

The game opens with our hero, American tourist George Stobbart at a cafe in France. He witnesses a murder, and is soon put on the list of suspects by the police. He meets a journalist named Nico and the two soon realize that the murder was just the tip of the iceburg.

The art of the game is truly beautiful. The animation is fluid, the backgrounds are vibrant, and the characters have a wonderful look that’s not too cartoonish while also being not too realistic. It’s a perfect blend that really adds to the dramatic storyline.

The voiceover work is also excellent. I can still hear George Stobbart’s voice in my head, even months after playing the game. The music is not instantly memorable, but it fits the atmosphere wonderfully.

There is at least one instance where it is possible to die, so saving the game while playing is definitely recommended. I don’t like the save early, save often mentality of some adventures, and luckily Broken Sword is not like that. It seems that the only way to die in this game is to do something that defies common sense.

This game definitely is in my top 10 favorite adventure games list. I’m glad ScummVM introduced me to Revolution, as they have opened my eyes to possibilities beyond the SCUMM. :)

War is one of those card games that is so simple, yet still so fun to play. Two people keep throwing down their top card, and the person with the highest card gets to keep both cards. It’s the “war” aspect that makes it so much fun. When both of you have the same card, it’s war. You throw down two cards face down on top of the war card, and then a card face up. The person who has the highest face card gets to keep all eight cards. This aspect makes it so that it is very hard to know who the winner of the game is going to be. You could have only 10 cards left, but win war several times, and end up winning in the end. The “you never know” aspect of the game is what makes war so much fun. :)

When the new consoles come in, the first system that I have from the lot is always (with the exception of the 128-bit generation – as I had a Dreamcast and a Playstation 2 before a Gamecube) a Nintendo console. Every generation Nintendo manages to impress me, but in the 32-bit era Nintendo really impressed me since their franchises took the leap into 3D beautifully. While some 2D franchises had bumpy transitions (Sonic for example), Nintendo crafted the 3D versions of their 2D franchises in such a way that it seemed to mesh perfectly into the game’s 2D world.

Mario 64 is one of my favorite Mario games of all time, I still play it today from time to time along with the NES originals. The mechanic stayed the same, Mario bopped bad guys on the noggin and picked up powerups. But, this time it was done in a 3D environment. It was different from anything before, but somehow it still felt the same.

The same could be said for Ocarina of Time taking Link into the 3D realm, Mario Kart 64, and even Dr. Mario. The latter is my favorite version released yet for any system, as it added a new background tune and a much needed story mode to break the monotony up a bit in single player.

Out of all of Nintendo’s systems, the Nintendo 64 is probably tied with the Super Nintendo for the system that I still play the most on to this day.

I didn’t play this game when it was first released, as I unfairly lost interest in the series on the second game when I first rented it.

Now, having completed all three games, I can say that all three were definitely worth playing. The first is my favorite, but each game after it has it’s own worthwhile changes.

In Donkey Kong Country 2, the game mechanic was changed a bit. The strong character was gone, and a character that could hover was added in his place. That meant that the strong baddies couldn’t be destroyed by either character with just a hop, and hidden passageways could no longer be found by pounding the ground.

Part 2 was a lot of fun, but I really missed that gameplay mechanic. Thankfully, part 3 added it back in. But, not with Donkey Kong. Here, the big character is a giant baby ape (which reminds me of Harvey Comic’s Baby Huey). Both Diddy and Donkey are out of the action here, but Dixie is still around, so her hovering abilities are thankfully still available. This character dynamic is the best of the series in my opinion. Diddy doesn’t really bring much to the table. He’s fast, but he lacks the brawn of Donkey or Kiddy, and he lacks the hovering ability of Dixie.

The thing that brings this game down from being my favorite of the three is the adventure mechanic. Like Sonic Adventure, there is an overworld where you must perform certain “adventure” tasks in order to proceed to other areas. Also like Sonic Adventure, it’s not so much adventurey as it is fetch-quests, and it slows the action down.

Thankfully, the levels themselves are nicely designed, and the gameplay in those levels retains the Donkey Kong Country feel even with the lack of both of the original stars from the first game.

I like many things about Windows XP over Windows 98 SE. I like the way previews of the images show in folders when you browse through them. I like the fact that you choose an account name and a personal icon, though I never use more than one account and skip the startup user selection. It is neat that your icon and name show up in the start menu though. I’m not too crazy about the new look, I have my computer set up in the classic look.

The one thing that I don’t like too much is that many older programs don’t run too well in Windows XP. I’ve been using an IBM-compatible computer since I was a little girl on MS-DOS 3.3, so there are a lot of programs I would like to fire up for nostalgic reasons from time to time, but Windows XP won’t run them correctly, even in compatibility mode.

Though, it’s not too much of a complaint, as there are solutions. DOSbox runs most of the older programs under Windows XP, and it also solves the problem some older games have with speed issues on newer, faster computers. VDMSound also solves some of the problems with DOS programs run in Windows XP compatibility mode, such as the programs not playing any sound or music.

So, I’m happy with Windows XP, and with the solutions available my complaints are minor. It will probably be a while, if ever, until I switch to Windows Vista or it’s successor.

It’s amazing how tastes change when you get older. I used to hate fish with a passion, but now I love it. There are two places here to get a delicious fish fry. The VFW on our street has the best fish fry I’ve ever eaten, along with some really delicious macaroni & cheese. Unfortunately, making up large batches of fish and mac and cheese every Friday became too much for them, and they cut their Fish Fry day back from every Friday to just the first Friday of the month.

It’s no big deal though, since Legends in Elmira Heights, NY has a fish fry that is just as good, and they serve theirs every Friday. Theirs also comes with Macaroni & Cheese, but it’s not as good (though it’s much better after it’s reheated the next day). Both places are lightly breaded, and the fish doesn’t have a fishy taste at all. Light breading is definitely better, and my mom has the best description for heavy breaded fish: you get a piece of fish that looks huge but over half of it is breading. With lightly breaded fish, the fish actually is the size that it looks. And both the VFW and Legends have large portions. I usually eat half and leave the other half for the next day.

When I was growing up, our family always had a video game console for each generation. We were all very big fans of Nintendo, so we got Nintendo’s new system every time they came out. Except for the Oddyssey 2 and Atari 2600, and the Sega Genesis, which I purchased with my own money, we never had any systems from anyone else. For the 32-bit generation, our family had a Nintendo 64, which I got a lot of enjoyment from.

After I imported a Dreamcast from Japan in 1998, and enjoyed the games on it a lot, I decided to try some games on systems from other companies besides Nintendo. I purchased a PlayStation in 1999. When my dad passed away in 2000, I would drown my sorrows on the PlayStation. I played a lot of Hydro Thunder at that time, and my sister’s boyfriend convinced me to try WWF SmackDown, which I must admit I actually enjoyed a lot.

When bleem! released their first PlayStation emulator for the Dreamcast, for Metal Gear Solid, I bought it immediately. I have always loved games with great storylines, but strangely I had never tried any for the PlayStation. I completed Metal Gear Solid on bleemcast, and I immediately went out and purchased Metal Gear Solid 2 for the PlayStation 2. I was forever hooked on the series. :)

There are a lot of gems out there for the PlayStation that I haven’t even played yet, so I’m sure I’ll be playing PSOne games for many years to come.

Pixar’s shorts have become an event for me. I really do go to the theater as excited to see the premiere of their newest short as much as I am to see their latest feature.

Presto is a magician that neglects to feed his rabbit one too many times, and the bunny gets his revenge while Presto is on stage. As with many slap-sticky cartoons, the characters pull objects out of nothing for comedic effect, but here it is done in an exchange through magical hats, to really great comedic effect.

Pixar never ceases to impress me. Last year’s Lifted was a really funny short, but Presto topped it in the humor department, and Pixar even threw in some emotion as well. For the Birds is still my favorite Pixar short, but this one is a really close second. :)

I just saw Wall-E at the drive-in last night, so I have now seen all of Pixar’s feature films. They are the only studio that I can say that I have absolutely enjoyed every single one of their movies, and I have watched each one (with the exception of Wall-E, but that will change once it comes out on DVD :)) multiple times.

John Lasseter, the creative head of Pixar, has been compared to Walt Disney for his eye for knowing what works in a story and it shows. Even though Pixar is owned by a big corporation, their movies really show that their was a lot of love, both of animation and of storytelling, behind each one. There is definitely a parallel in my opinion as well, as Walt’s movies (with the exception of the few double-features and collections of shorts he made as feature films in the 1940’s during World War II when the studio was facing financial difficulty) always seemed to have a lot of love behind them as well.

It’s nice to see that mentality (and also nice to know that John Lasseter is in charge of Disney animation as a whole now) in today’s consumer-based marketplace. These movies will always be used as cash-cows for the Disney corporation with their toy lines and hundreds of product placements, but the movies themselves don’t seem like stories just meant to cash in on the money of parents buying related merchandise for their children. That’s really refreshing to me.

As of yesterday, I have been a member of SparkPeople for one year. I’ve lost over 60 pounds in that year, and I plan on losing over 60 more by next year. It really is a great site to help with getting your fitness goals on the right track. They have a nutrition tracker, where you can put down what you ate that day and track the calories and vitamin and mineral input. That is the best thing there in my opinion, as it’s amazing how much you can eat in a day if you don’t keep track. They also have a weight tracker, an exercise tracker, free workout videos, instructions on various exercises from from licensed fitness professionals, and more. It’s amazing that all of this is absolutely free.