Yeah, I’ve been playing SC2, a lot. Probably too much, as I’ve given up on my job and just play at work all day. It’s amazing that no one notices.

So here are my thoughts.

• Graphically, not the most awesome thing I’ve ever seen, but gameplay experience has been vastly improved.
• MP balance is pretty good, but I’m disappointed that so many of the units in single player were left out.
• Love 2v2!
• Good matchmaking.  Would be nice if it included some way to rank your coop partner.
• Void Rays, again, seriously.  Try something more original.
• I wish the random game types I mentioned before were still in there.
• Cannon rushes are lame, and rather satisfying to beat.

Well, at least the boss isn’t here.  Which leaves me to do dumb things like watch replays.

This has to be one of the most ridiculous all-in’s I’ve ever seen. Also the voice over nearly brought me to tears.

Trying to decide if it’s worth picking up StarCraft II if the only PC I have that’s capable of running it is the one on my desk at work.  My work environment is kind of a joke, so it’s unlikely I’d be caught, but still, I like to devote a lot of time to a new purchase and I’m wondering if I could really just close my office door and ignore the world for a few weeks.

Already, I’m just spending my time catching up on music I haven’t listened to in 15 years, but that’s basically accepted practice at any job isn’t it.  Somehow just found out that my phone can receive FM radio, so that’s been awesome, as I never bothered to load music onto it.

Ran 2.5 miles this morning. I wonder if there’s a 5K I can register for any time soon.  Probably.

Actually getting up ass early and running 4 miles helps too.  Not sure how I pulled that off after the night of dodging firework debris and downing High Life and Coors Banquet Beer.  On that note, if you should ever have the opportunity to sit 30 feet away from where a series of firework mortars and such are being set off, it’s a good time.  Have bits of gunpowder smelling wrappers fall on you, some of which still enflamed, is a trip.   Use your best judgement as to whether the persons controlling said display are licensed and skilled enough to have you sitting so close.

Anyway, LHP is okay.  I’m just watching someone else play right now.  I was never really into the books or movies so it’s not as much of a draw for me as Lego Star Wars or Indiana Jones were.  Still, the TT guys came up with some new mechanics like the set of spells your character can use.  Not a vast change from the last few incarnations.  I feel as though it’s just too easy for them to just pump out Lego remakes at this point, and frankly, they don’t feel altogether fresh.  Lego Rock Band in particular.

To recap.  4 miles run, good.  Hangover, bad.  Participatory fireworks, good.  LHP, so-so, so far anyway.

4th of July.  Up way too early on a holiday.  Got in an 8 mile run before 9AM.  That should count double or something.

Considering I haven’t fired up the Xbox in 4-5 days, I’ve banked a good amount of play time.  I think I’ve nearly given up on Alpha Protocol anyway.  It’s really annoying trying to figure out how to get certain outcomes over the course of the game and even with my OCD I find it unlikely that I’ll get 1000/1000 out of this one.

I’ve been messing around with StarCraft multiplayer a bit recently and although I only play normal “Melee” type games, I often wondered what the other ones were.  So after some research…

• Top vs Bottom – Players are automatically teamed and share vision.
• Melee – Basic game type.  Eliminate other players.  Teams allowed.
• Free for All – Eliminate other players.  No teams allowed
• One on One – 2 Player FFA
• Use Map Settings – Uses the settings in the map itself.  This is typically used for the more scripted maps, those that have triggers and follow some sort of story.
• Capture The Flag – Flag Beacons are placed on the map.  After 10 minutes a flag is placed on one, and you must retrieve it.
• Greed - First player to reach a set number of resources wins
• Slaughter – Player with the most kills in a set amount of time wins
• Sudden Death – Players are eliminated upon losing any of their Command Center/Nexus/Hatchery buildings
• Team Melee – 2 players share a single base.  These 2 players may team up with other teams of 2.  Interestingly, you start with harvester units of each race.  Your starting race determines your starting building.
• Team Free for All - 2 players share single base against up to 3 other teams (4 total).   No teams.
• Team Capture The Flag – 2 players share base in Capture the Flag

It’s watching someone else play all day.

I didn’t bother to pre-order StarCraft II and get the beta code since I don’t have a PC of good enough specs to play it at present.  I’ll probably end up getting SC II at some point, think it release at the end of the month and that gives me at least a few weeks to scrounge a half decent gaming PC from part laying around at work.

Anyway, work sucks.  I guess that’s a given.  So I’ve taken to watching replays of StarCraft II games on YouTube, which is an astoundingly effective way to waste time at work.

Several months back, a friend introduced me to the fact that there is a Korean Pro Circuit for StarCraft.  Huh?  Yeah, people play it professionally, as in they make money doing it.  Since it’s so popular over there, they have TV stations which carry the games and have commentators going nuts over these games like a guy on UniVision giving the play-by-play on Mexico vs Brazil in the World Cup final.  That, my friends, is comedy.

The pro leagues haven’t picked up SC II yet, so right now it’s a bunch of young amateur replay broadcasters pumping out commentary on SC II video replays on YouTube.  I figure I’m watching at least an hour or two of replays each day at my desk, and theoretically picking up some decent strategy for when I get to play it myself.  Listening to these commentators trying to make like Howard Cosell is pretty funny.  No way I could take any of this as seriously as they do.  Worse, they tend to cast games by the same guys over and over again, and they seem to get a lot of the games from replay packs that the contenders post themselves, so it isn’t exactly a mystery as to who is going to win.  Top that off with the wit an average 23 year old can bring to the table, listening to their bad puns gets kind of painful.

There are at least 4 guys that I’ve been following.  At least decent.

http://www.youtube.com/HDstarcraft#g/u

http://www.youtube.com/HuskyStarcraft#g/u

http://www.youtube.com/StarCraftLegacy

http://www.youtube.com/BlizShouter

Made a slight mistake in grabbing Alpha Protocol.  It’s not that it sucked bad in general, but it did suck bad at being an RPG.  About the only thing that they get right is the abundant talking.  Other than that, it tries to be a Mass Effect-ish action RPG and it’s just not well executed.  The inventory customization bit fails as the weapons just don’t feel very different when customized and aside from the Endurance/Damage Reduction bonuses on armor, nothing else feels like it has a huge effect (e.g. hacking bonus).

On to another pet peeve I have.  Without reloading saves at critical points 3+ play throughs are necessary to get all of the achievements.  I know I’m just achievement whoring at this point, as enjoyed my one play through but am now fast forwarding through all the dialog and  at the same time trying to pay enough attention to it to sway one NPC or another into doing what I need for the achievement.

On the plus side, since this game isn’t so awesome and I already sent back Red Dead, I’ve been getting a little more exercise.  about 10+ miles this week.  Nothing ridiculous, but still good for me.

Lego Harry Potter on its way.  Gotta get something family friendly once in a while.

http://gizmodo.com/5563483/power-a-makes-a-wireless-xbox-360-controller-for-the-ps3

It’s about time.  Someone essentially copied the Xbox 360 controller as an accessory for the PS3.  Finally I don’t have to cripple myself using the god awful PS3 sixaxis.

I can’t really put my finger on why, but I never got into Grand Theft Auto.  I like mob movies, love sandbox games, tried most of the GTA games in the last 5-10 years and they just never grabbed me. 

So for me, Red Dead Redemption was a bit of a risk.  I might play it a bit and the lose interest just like with all the rest of its more modern ilk.  Yet after a few hours I was legitimately hooked.  The game is beautiful, vast, the characters deep, and gunfights abound.  The combat system is great, though I still don’t have Expert targeting down just yet.  There’s so much to do in Red Dead that it’s hard to get bored.  Skin some bears, hunt some boars, fight a few duels, haul in a few bounties, all in a day’s work.  Single player took to around 1.75-2 days play time.  Not bad.

Multiplayer is better than I thought it would be, though worse in some ways too.  Playing coop through gang hideouts is plenty fun, and the Outlaws to the End hasn’t even been released yet (plus it’s free DLC, gotta love that).  On the down side, it’s a little too easy to get bullied by higher ranked players who just feel like constantly shooting you in the dome.  Since the weapons get significantly better as you rank up, as opposed to MW2 where in general there’s a lot of parity, you can be held at the mercy of a guy that just lives to give you a hard time as he’s harder to kill with your cattleman’s revolver than you are with his high power pistol.  I’ve blown a few hours being harassed in that way already.  They can follow you if you go to a different Free Roam session too, so that kind of adds to it.  The PvP modes don’t appeal to me much.  Played some Gold Rush, thought it was okay.  Maybe the experience there is better with a bigger crowd of friends.

All in all it’s a great experience.  Well worth the current rental, likely to a buy in the not so distant future.  Before Red Dead becomes too much of a time sink, I need to get into Alpha Protocol.