The Last Post Of 2008

Yes that's right folks, I'm going to be taking a short break from Infinite Possiblogities. I'm sure after Christmas and New Year I'll have many cool new toys to play with and things to bitch about. I won't be gone long, you probably won't even notice. So from Mr.B to all his loyal fans I'd just like to wish you all the best for Christmas and the remainder of 2008. Here's a picture of me looking bored and wearing that elf hat that my friend gave me with the sack of porn (anyone remember?)
Enjoy!

Join Me and Improve Television

As some of my earlier reviews may have suggested I'm not a huge fan of most TV shows. TV is a horribly predictable creature; only rarely able to learn an exciting new trick and then unashamedly thrashing the colourful new element until it turns the same putrid brown as everything else on the moron box. Television is dying a slow death and is pulling out the cheapest tricks in the book to try and claw back fans that have turned to the internet or DVD boxsets. But while I'm watching the TV networks groan and writhe about in agony with a malicious grin on my face I wouldn't mind seeing something good on it for a change. That's about all I want in my introduction so let's just cut to the chase. It being Thursday and all I watched Zero Punctuation this morning and was told that the pilot for GameDamage was up and on the internet. GameDamage is a show by Yahtzee, Yug and Matt and seems to be something of a Topgear for gamers. The eventual plan is to hopefully get a TV network to pick up the show and pay the lads to make a series out of it and I for one would be very happy to see this happen. I don't know exactly what we, the little people, can do to make the show a reality (I'm blogging and that's about it I guess) but just on the offchance that any of my readers own a large multinational corporation in great need of sponsorship I suggest you check out the pilot and take it from there. Anyone who's interested (probably none of you ungrateful bastards) should click this link here. Oh and Keep checking up on Infinite Possiblogities. I promise I'll start bullying shit again soon.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Review

There's quite a bit of anime out there these days isn't there? In a lot of ways it's a rather inaccessible form of entertainment for us Western folk, seeing as how pretty much every anime that is broadcast over here is mediocre at best and aimed at kids young enough to buy all the trading cards and not feel ripped off. If you're reading this blog and haven't seen an anime that isn't Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Dragon Ball Z or Naruto then I can totally forgive you for thinking that anime is nothing more than an infantile, slow-paced bucket of jargon-filled dross starring over-excitable morons with Sonic hairdos and huge watery eyes. BUT, as my massive praise of Ghost in the Shell might've hinted, I'm a guy who can appreciate a really good anime. This is a very good thing indeed considering that the anime I'm about to review IS an excellent anime. So if you haven't closed the window by now, let's get down to buisiness.

Just the other day I bought myself the complete boxed set of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and after watching the first 2 episodes decided that nothing in the world was as important as watching more of it and I promptly slammed out the rest of the season; thoroughly enjoying every minute of it I might add. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is one of those hard-to-describe affairs which are excellent to watch but make it hard to recruite followers without using the old "just trust me" lines. But seeing as how this is SUPPOSED to be a review I guess I should try and explain the set up. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is set in a high school and follows the adventures of a school-based club called the SOS Brigade and their excitable and eccentric leader, Haruhi Suzumiya, as they attempt to delve into the world of aliens, espers and time travelers. It's funny, it's charming, it's slightly romantic and it has fully fleshed-out characters who you will actually grow quite fond of. Haruhi herself, who could easily have fallen into the annoying category as so many excitable anime leads tend to do, comes accross as an engaging, multilayered personality who will probably become the victim of erotic fan fiction at some point. I don't really want to say too much about the series for I fear that I may simultaneously make the show sound crappy and spoil key plot developments. So all you really need to know is that I was overjoyed to hear that there will be a second season and I will gladly fork over the $100 or so to buy the boxset when it comes out.

Hardcore, Casual and Leet

Ok, lets just say for the sake of argument that you aren't one of my close friends. Now you've probably been able to piece together enough about me to figure out that I'm a bit of a gamer. Oh yes, I enjoy a good old chat about the merrits of games like Braid and Half-Life 2 and throwing in the odd Portal quote that'll cause a few raised eyebrows amoungst those whom are unenlightened. One thing you WILL NOT EVER find me doing is "leet speaking" on some horrid online game. I will also never ever spell leet with numbers (eg. 1337) because that is just completely fucked on a multitude of levels. I am not the only gamer out there who feels that they are looked down upon because of their passion but I feel that if you're going to carry on like a complete arsehole by simultaneously bastardising the English language and spreading racial hate then you somewhat forefit your right to complain because you are so seriously part of the problem. Another recent trend in gaming I cannot stand is the labelling of games as "hardcore" and "casual." No matter what you think, pigeonholing games into stupid little categories like that is really just as arbitrary as arguing which current generation console is the best. In other words let me just proclomate...

"A good game is a good game, no matter what else you say about it"

-Mr.B

That perhaps sounds a little too optimistic. Because whilst douchebags call themselves 1337 and abuse the casual gamers they'll hold up the "harcore" games like sparkling jewels despite the fact that they might be complete shit. What exactly makes Halo 3 hardcore? Is it because you shoot stuff or is it just because you have to be super devoted to put up with the shitty AI, clumsy self-awareness and a multiplayer that lags like a motherfucker? And more to the point what makes a casual game? Most people label a casual game because it can be easily enjoyed by most people. If so then why would you hate casual games? I'll tell you why. Because leet speaking dickheads love to think of themselves as hardcore gamers. So just to wrap things up, the following things can be added to my list of complete disdain...

1. leet speak
2. the division of games into Hardcore and Casual
3. the majority of the online community

Feel free to point out spelling errors, gramatical errors and tell me how you dislike my more serious blogs and I'll hook you up with a spot on the list.