Zombie Suburbia

Posting an exerp from a short story created by one of our reviewers.

Neighbor Z

            Teeth ripping through sinew and tender muscle.

            Fingers separating flesh from bone.

            The sound of flesh ripping and bones being sucked dry.

            The Johnson's always have dinner together in their little suburban home. They're the picture of your perfect all American family; husband and wife, 3 kids, the family dog, and the 5 goldfish. 

            "How was work today dear," Mrs. Johnson asked her husband as she was cutting up her youngest's steak.

            "Just another day at the office hon. Too much to do and never enough time to actually get it done," Mr. Johnson said as he placed a large scoop of mash potatoes on his plate.

            Placing her napkin in her lap, "So have you met the new neighbors yet?"

            "No, I didn't even knew there was anyone moving into that house across the way. It's been a while since anyone has lived in that place," he stated as he settled back in his chair. "I might have to go over there and introduce myself."

            "That's a great idea honey. Maybe you and the husband have something in common," Mrs. Johnson said. "He seems like a really nice guy, just a little distracted or distant."

            "Hmm," he said taking a sip from his Coke. Placing the glass back on the table, "So you got to at least meet him?"

            She giggled a little, "I met the whole family just this morning as I was taking the kids to the bus stop. The wife is a homemaker who thought it would be a great idea to have a block party," she said putting ketchup on the edge of her plate, "and everyone bring one of their 'signature' dishes to share."

            "That sounds like it'll be really fun for everyone." Raising his hand wavingly, "Before I forget, what's their name?"

            "Oh, it's something foreign," she paused trying to think of something. "I think it's Austrian or something...

                                                            Zombienski."

JSRF - A blast from the futuristic past

"Return to the futuristic streets of Tokyo-to for more extreme inline skating and artistic turf-marking in Jet Set Radio Future. Though more a critical than commercial success, Sega's late-2000 release of Smilebit's Jet Grind Radio (titled Jet Set Radio in Japan) had an impact that continues to influence the field of game development. This sequel is designed to retain and enhance the innovative gameplay and exquisite presentation that were so engaging in the original."
This was one of the many definitions given for a game that took gritty street graffiti and loud techno, and made it a unique gaming experience. Jet Set Radio Future was mile stone for the "next-gen" consoles at the time of its release. Its unique art style introduced cell shading to the masses, blending anime style artwork and real world appearances together.
Though it has collected dust over the years, true video game enthusiasts still might find this little gem true entertainment among all the current and new release to come. If you haven't tried JSRF, you don't know what you're missing. If you have, then you might want to kick off your shoes and throw on some techno-neon headphones for the hell of it.

T.V. at its Digital Finest

Most people have a great time watching their favorite shows or movies, but what happens when you can't catch the showing on time or can't afford the DVR. Several web sites have come into existance in the past few years that makes watching T.V. a lot easier for the average joe who has access to a computer.
Hulu is a great example for main stream T.V., if you can handle watching your favorite shows or movies a day or two after they aired. There are dozens of make shift sites that follow in Hulu's shoes, some not nearly as well designed as their originator. Other sites that aid in numerous types of shows are LetMeWatchThis, which doesn't limit itself to mainstream but appeals to all types of avid T.V. and movie watchers. The nicest difference between LetMeWatchThis and Hulu is that it is setup by the users in the sense that if a show or movie airs at 7pm on a monday, you can generally see a watchable version of it on the site by 8pm and several more links to the same episode by 9pm.
Other sites that are available are mainstream channels such as TNT, USA Network, NBC, ABC, and so on. When it comes to something a little more specialized sites like Anilinkz specialize in anime shows and movies, and there are dozens more out there just like that.
Now keep in mind that the sites mentioned do allow you to watch for free, but other sites out there might want you to pay or install some programs to watch. When it comes to watching your T.V. shows or movies, why not enjoy them and watch them on your own time.

Forever Ouver - First Stone (Live)

Forever Ouver
Alt. Metal/Female Vocals

MySpace

Fallout: New Vegas - War seems to have long pauses or crashes, but never changes.

For something that was a long time in waiting people have strong opinions about Fallout New Vegas, a lot of good and unfortuantely just as much if not more bad... for now.

As most open world games from Bethesda go, Fallout has given players a great experience even with its minor hiccups. With the original FPS introduction of Fallout 3, we saw the 2D world transformed into a very well designed game that introduced new and old fans of the Fallout world to the masses. With the sequal to that being New Vegas, there were problems to be expected. Unfortunately it seems that Obsidian Entertainment (the developers behind New Vegas) wanted to rush the release for the game. Despite having easily over 60 hours of gameplay, there are just as many issues with the game itself.

Several issues came up on release night when people playing experienced huge issues with freezing/lagging/crashing. Several videos hit YouTube showing the major issues, and not a single one was designated to any one console (Xbox 360, PS3, or PC). The following links are just a few of the many bugs that New Vegas has to offer.

Posession of Dr. Mitchell

Weathered 10mm Mods?

Computer Terminal Freeze

Now don't get me wrong, with all the bad there happens to be a lot of good to go with this game. For the most part the gameplay is solid, despite the issues with lagging or freezing. The story adds a lot to the overall Fallout experience, with each side mission allowing for an additional few hours of gameplay on top of the original storyline. Each side mission works on reputation as well as your character's morality. The more you help a faction the better your standing and the more they're willing to help you, the more you killed faction members or work against the faction the worst your standing and the more the faction tries to "remove" you.

The customization is improved from Fallout 3, again despite the issues with freezing/lagging/strangeness(?) that seems to happen. Weapons have mods, attire (armor/clothing/etc) works in conjunction with different factions, weapons have positive/negative effects on armor, and several other new items/features improved from its predicessor.

Overall New Vegas greatly improves on all of Fallout 3's luster and glamour, making it a great way to spend dozens of hours of your life in the Wasteland. With all its great additions and adjustments there comes several gameplay issues that can drastically hinder being able to enjoy New Vegas as a whole. If you're one of the lucky few that managed to get around the bugs, it's definetly a title that could hit its mark.

In with the new, start of something impressive?

Time to update and setup reviews, opinions, previews, etc for the digital media world. I plan to express my opinion on all forms of digital media that is readily available to me.