Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Senate Takes All Night to do Nothing

Taking legislative publicity stunts to a ridiculous low, the Senate was in session all last night at the insistence of the Democrats debating...you guessed it, an Iraq pullout bill. The bill, which will likely not escape filibuster, would be destined for veto regardless making the entire childish maneuver a ridiculous and meaningless waste of everyone's time.

Unfortunately, wasting time has become the hallmark of the Democrats' time at the Legislature's helm. Though a great number of post offices have been successfully renamed, the liberal leadership of the Democratic party has apparently insisted that only token legislation be passed. Apparently the Democrats have yet to realize that the endless stream of time-table bills destined for veto doesn't show President Bush the error of his ways, it merely shows the American people they made a mistake allowing the Democrats to take control.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

A government intelligence report released today states that the United States is currently in a "heightened threat environment," as Al Queda operatives have been stepping up their effort to launch an attack in the United States. The report, a hodgepodge of declassified intelligence agency documents, centers largely on concerns that the terror organization is pushing to plant agents in the United States while still devoting many of its resources to obtaining ever infamous weapons of mass destruction.

Suggestions for how the average American can prevent these impending attacks are, unfortunately, entirely absent. Specific warnings are also nowhere to be found. In function, the report serves only to increase the growing cloud of dread which has only thickened since towers fell. Our governments generic message to you: Be afraid, be very afraid.

Sorry PS2, No Disgaea for You

Third party publisher Nippon Ichi announced today that the next instalment of quirky strategy series Disgaea will be released for the Playstation 3 rather than for the series old stomping ground, the Playstation 2. This likely comes as a blow to those who have not forked over the cash for next generation hardware. With two dimensional sprites and turn based game play, Disgaea 3 seems as if it would make an excellent Playstation 2 holdout. That, however, is simply not to be. Disgaea's jump to the Playstation 3 likely signals the end of the Playstation 2's life as a viable console.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Animal Crossing in Smash Brothers Brawl

Smash Bros. Dojo announced today that an Animal Crossing stage will be available for combatants in Smash Brothers Brawl due out for the Wii this December. The stage itself changes and tracks specific events utilizing the Wii's internal clock. Nothing has indicated whether or not these changes will be anything more than cosmetic, though concerts by Animal Crossing's resident canine guitarist, K.K. Slider, have been promised for every Saturday night.

The release of this stage makes it highly likely that an Animal Crossing character will also enter the fray as a Brawl combatant. Up to this point, there has never been a game themed stage in the Smash Brothers series which did not have a combatant from the game it represents in competition. Tom Nook, one of Animal Crossing's most recognized characters, seems the strongest candidate. The raccoon already served as a trophy in Smash Brothers Melee demonstrating that, at the very least, the developers are aware of him. The only indication otherwise is that it seems as if Nook can be seen as a prop in one of the screenshots of the stage. If Nook or another Animal Crossing resident will be in the game, however, don't expect to hear an announcement about it any time soon. My bet is that Animal Crossing's competitor will be a secret unlockable character.

Rumbling Sixaxis in the Works? Not Likely

Speculation is running wild after gaming blog Kotaku erroneously claimed yesterday that Sony had confirmed the development of a Sixaxis controller with built in rumble. According to IGN's conversation with a Sony spokesperson, the alleged "confirmation" was nothing more than a Sony employees observation that news reports had claimed third party rumbling PS3 controllers were in the works. Pretty big slip on Kotaku's part.

Either way, it is not entirely unreasonable to assume that a redesigned Sixaxis may be announced in the not to distant future. The current Sixaxis is far too light and seems cheap compared to the beefy PS3 unit. In such a redesign, however, a rumble feature would be relatively unlikely. Sony has hopped aboard the motion sensing controller train and precise motion control and vibrations simply do not mesh well. The relative imprecision of Sixaxis motion control when compared to that of the Wii Remote, however, may ultimately allow for rumbles. Regardless, anything on a new Sixaxis is still a far way from being "confirmed."

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Barbara Boxer Fires at Bush and Misses

In a radio interview today, Senator Barbra Boxer stated that the impeachment of President Bush should be "on the table." Why she feels this way: the advice of John Dean.

For those who do not know, John Dean is believed to be one of the architects of the Watergate Scandal. During the interview, Boxer recounts meeting Dean on a book tour and sharing with Dean her recent discovery that "the administration" had been spying on citizens without a warrant. Dean supposedly responded that absent a justification, that should be impeachable.

Putting aside the potential "justification" of investigating potential threats to the security of the United States, one critical question arises: Why is a United States Senator basing her policy judgments off of the advice of one of histories greatest political sleaze balls? If the Democrats really want the American people to take their fight against the "Culture of Corruption" seriously, perhaps someone should let Senator Boxer know she should be more careful when picking her sources and confidants.

You can listen to the interview yourself here.

Scare on Flight Sure to Cause Future Delays

An American Airlines flight set to travel from Los Angeles to London had to make an emergency stop in New York this morning because of concerns about one of the passengers. Though details are few and far between, it appears as though the passenger somehow reached his flight via a bus meant for airline employees. As a result, airline security never had the chance to molest and or harass him. The only rational and reasonable response was then of course to disturb the travel plans of hundreds and put the plane down as soon as possible.

Where the true inconvenience of this whole ordeal will develop, however, goes well beyond the passengers on the affected Boeing 777. Undoubtedly airline employees will now be subjected to tighter monitoring and screening processes. The result will be more crackling terminal announcements of, "We are sorry for the delay, but we are waiting on our flight crew. There is a bit of a backup at their security screening." Sadly, the passengers hearing those messages will be the lucky ones. Others will simply be stuck on their planes without water, leg room, or clean lavatories as they wait for baggage handlers who are held up having their baggage handled.

Such a change in policy will fit right in line with the TSA's pattern of painting isolated incidents as systematic nationwide threats. A single idiot attempts to blow up a flight with a shoe-bomb and millions of Americans must dirty their socks on filthy airport floors. Some halfwit attempts to sneak liquid explosives on a plane and now we all need to keep our sunscreen in three ounce clear containers in a one quart clear plastic bag.

While safer flights are important and it is good to have a system in place to keep dangerous people and items off of planes, at least a small portion of common sense in airline safety regulations would be a refreshing change of pace.

Smash Brothers Brawl Release Date

For all you fans of Nintendo's popular Smash Brothers franchise, a North American release date has finally been set for the series next outing: Smash Brothers Brawl. According to the Smash Bros. Dojo, Brawl's official website, the game will be on North American shelves by December 3, 2007. This comes as a pleasant surprise amidst some speculation that the game might not be released until sometime early next year.

For those unfamiliar with the series, the Smash Brothers games allow players to duke it out with one another using a large stable of popular Nintendo characters. The game, however, isn't a simple slug-fest, the purpose being knocking your opponent out of the battle arena rather than simply beating him/her to a pulp (though the later does help with the former). Smash Brothers Brawl will bring the series which has already made showings on the Game Cube and Nintendo 64 to the Wii.

If you are looking forward to Brawl, be sure to check the Smash Bros. Dojo often as the website has promised daily updates through the release of the game. So far, the information has always been of at least some substance and is definitely worth checking out. As a proud Wii owner and a big fan of the first two Smash Brothers, I know that I personally will be lining up for this title.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

IGN Finally Updates Spore Coverage

The good folks at IGN have finally dished out an update on the development of Spore after the game disappeared off the map around the beginning of this year. The update takes the form of an interview by Dan Adams of IGN with Patrick Buechner, VP of Marketing at Maxis. There is also a shiny new video available. The article can be found here if you would like to read it.

For those who know nothing about Spore, it is the latest pet project of game designer/visionary Will Wright. You may or may not know him as the father of such PC gaming jackpots as Sim City and the Sims. Spore, following in the footsteps of Wright's other sandbox success stories, will allow the player to design and develop, through evolution, an organism to thrive or parish in a virtual universe. The promised scope of the game is impressive. If development stays on course, Spore will allow gamers to evolve a species of organism all the way from being a single cell in the primordial soup to being an intelligent intergalactic superpower.

If the concept behind Spore blows your mind, you are not alone. Since its impressive outing at the 2005 Game Developer's Conference, Spore has been a buzzword for the next big thing in PC gaming. That was, however, until the pipeline of information on the game was crimped shut several months ago.

Thankfully, information appears to be flowing again and all appears well on the Western front. From the interview and video on IGN, it appears as if little has changed since the games grand unveiling. The current video shows that at least a primitive interface very reminiscent of the Sims 2 is in place. Further, Buechner asserts that the core game play is all fully developed and functioning properly. The only real cause for alarm is Buechner's confirmation that Spore will not be hitting shelves this year. Confirming the worst fears of eager fans, the game will not be released before April of 2008. Though it is certainly for the best that the game not be released before it is brought to a shiny polish (anything less would surely disappoint in the face of overwhelming expectations), the long delay does make one wonder if everything is as far along as Buechner indicates.

For those of you expecting even more information to come out at this years E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo, America's largest video game tradeshow), do not hold your breath. Spore has decided to take its business elsewhere this year and will focus all its energy on a positive showing at Europe's big gaming show instead. This seems to be a positive move for Spore as, having taken home the top PC gaming prize at last years E3, the only direction Spore could go at the Expo would be down, likely in a storm of uncomforatble questions about why the game hasn't been finished yet.

Hopefully the playable demo which will be made available to the press at the European Games Convention in Leipzig (August 23-26) will confirm that development is in fact going swimmingly. If not, dear Mr. Buechner will surely have some explaining to do.

Legal Gamer Blog Begins

Hello all and welcome to my Blog.

First, as a matter of introduction, I am a rather young rising third year law student. Married, but sans kids, I do manage to make some time for activities other than studying (unlike a number of my peers). I am sure more details about myself will emerge as this Blog develops, but for now that seems to be enough background for the casual reader who stumbles upon this tiny nook in the broader Blogosphere.

I am hoping to use this Blog to share my ideas on the things that intrest me, namely: the law, politics, and video/computer gaming. I am sure other topics may seep in as things progress. Hopefully I can manage to produce something that is at least moderately entertaining and/or informative. If not, what did you expect, it is a Blog.

Feel free to email me with any feedback or ideas about topics I have discussed or you would like me to discuss. I assure your email address and identity will be kept in confidence unless you direct otherwise. Where as I tend to disagree with the general assertion that two heads are better than one, I will admit that they are often more interesting, so please do pitch in.

With that said, on with the show....