EQ2, Rock Band, Goong, Xbox, PS3, PotBS, and stuff.

Huh. I wonder if I spend too much time gaming?
Anyway. Some minor news from my various gaming related interests:
EQ2: Finished Tier 2 last night (finally!) as the Overking went down quickly and painlessly. The raid leaders decided not to flag everyone who needed him in one go, instead some of us (including me!) got in this time, and the rest will go the next time. It’s more important to actually win than to try to do it all at once, but lose. We went on to do Leviathon, the hentai tentacle monster in the Chamber of Destiny (which is not that crystal emerald sphere after all, but a different place entirely), to finish Tier 3. I’d have pictures, but I sat out of that raid. Next time! Listening to the fight on guild chat was fun. People turning into fishes to grab things from the beast’s stomach… some of us sitting out did a Vault of the Eternal Sleeper run, and they were still fighting that same guy when we were done. LONG fight. I finally got Dina’s Coat of Imperious Strikes (legendary RoK scout-set bp) from the boss of VoES… I’d though that dropped only in Maiden’s, but apparently not.
Afterward, I got Dera and we did a CoA run. No masters, but Dera got a ring that procs power on heals. That was kind of embarrassing, because I wasn’t aware Inquisitors *got* heals, but a careful examination of my spell book revealed some toward the end. Who knew? That was nearly as embarrassing as finding myself suddenly in Jarsath Wastes as we were clearing. That hammer gets me into so much trouble…
I’m not questing with Dera. Instead, her final two levels are being done entirely through dungeon runs. She is now 60% through level 79. Would it be faster to quest? Yes, definitely.
Rock Band: Some of my son’s friends got Rock Band for Christmas, so we’ve been forming online bands with them — usually me on drums but sometimes lead guitar. It’s better having friendly people in the band… when I screwed up one of my solos on “Green Hills and High Tide” on Hard and failed out, they didn’t complain, I just got to try it again (and nailed it the second time). We downloaded a lot of the DLC (Downloadable Live Content). Last night I downloaded the new Hives song (for me) and the Metallica pack (for my son). I was tempted to get Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Gimme Three Steps” but didn’t. Still no Queen.
I couldn’t find any publicly available episode guides to Goong AKA Princess Hours, so when I get a moment I’ll start with those. Because you all care about Korean comedy fairy-tale soap operas? No, because you might if you knew more about it 🙂 I wasn’t that enthused but my sister kept nagging me to watch it, so because I loves my sister, I did, and… hey, you know, this is pretty good… I checked out my Bittorrent this morning. I was drawing bits of it from Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Italy, even some from the good ol’ US. And I was amazed that out of all these fellow fans all over the world, NONE of them had the last 2.8% of the second episode.
What’s up with THAT?
As much as I like Rock Band, it’s hard to look at that Xbox as anything but a piece of white plastic crap. It’s as loud as an idling car, daily (it seems) one or more of my son’s friends goes offline suddenly because their Xbox died with the Red Ring of Dead (RRoD), and my son tells me OUR newly-purchased Xbox went halfway to RRoD once.
I just GOT that thing. It didn’t come with WiFi, the controllers are expensive and crappy, it’s just cheaply and sloppily made. Compared to the Wii and PS2, which are WAY better constructed (GRANTED they are simpler boxes)… I resent that little toad-like creature. I put up with it because I must. I’d rather have gotten a PS3.
Now that the High Def format wars are essentially over (Blu-Ray, shockingly, the winner) and the PS3 is one of the cheapest Blu-Ray players around (above and beyond its ability to play games), I’m thinking of replacing it. But backwards compatibility with my older PS2 games is vital.
Unfortunately, Sony REMOVED backward compatibility with their new, cheap 20 Gb machines. And the 80 Gb machines emulate it in software — not the best solution (though cheaper to manufacture). It turns out the old 60 Gb machines that are no longer manufactured have the “sweet spot” — Wi Fi *and* hardware PS2 compatibility. These are hardly anywhere to be found — certainly NewEgg and EBGames had none online. While we were food shopping at BJs last night, I noticed that the PS3s they were selling were the old, fully compatible, 60 Gb machines. I’ll have to see if my straining checkbook can handle the $500 they’re charging.
Second step would be to force my son off the Xbox occasionally so I can use the TV to play MY games. Or watch movies. I don’t have a HDTV, but plan on getting one this year. I think that 32″ 1080p Toshiba I’ve been eying might fit the bill. And heck, since my son monopolizes the TV with his Xbox addiction, I could just move the new HDTV and PS3 into *my* room for luxurious movie watching while I play, you know, *my* games. My little 15″ color TV (yes, it’s tucked away on a side table next to my desk) could use some upgrading…
Pirates of the Burning Sea… I don’t have it. I intend to play it *sometime*, but who the heck has time? I’m not a serial adopter, always dropping what they have to flock to the new shiny. But I’ll check things out when I can. It’s clear that you can only seriously play one MMO at a time. I am probably years away from giving up EQ2. I’ll try PotBS, though, sometime. Vanguard first. I’ve heard good things and bad things about it, and by the time I get to it in a few months, probably all the launch issues will be gone and the rough edges smoothed away. No reason to play it from Day 1 that I can see. If a month helps some, a year should give the devs enough time to make it the game they would have liked it to have been if they’d had more time.
By then all the serial adopters will have moved to Conan and Warhammer (and will be hotly anticipating the new shiny after that) and those who have found a true home in PotBS will be able to explain all the ins and outs of their world. I’ve predicted it will become *the* place for huge naval battles at the expense of a PvE or a solo, 1v1 PvP game — I think Warhammer will turn out to be the home for the more casual PvPer.
Guess I don’t have much other ‘stuff’ to talk about. Weather is warm in Connecticut this week, but that will change. It’s still winter. It’s been totally fun watching the Democratic race. First Hillary is the anointed one! The Obama wins in Illinois and Huffpost sanctifies him and tears Hillary apart! Obama ftw! Nothing can stop his inevitable victory! Just swear him in already!
And then Hillary wins New Hampshire! OMG! She was supposed to LOSE! Didn’t she read the SCRIPT?
New Hampshire is the most Libertarian state in the Union. We’re natural cynics. You can’t just SAY. You have to DO. And what has Obama DONE?
I dunno if Hillary will win the nomination. In fact, I think probably it will go to Obama. But I love the soap opera. And anyway, none of the Democrats really match how NH thinks. That nod goes to the Republican John McCain, who is so plain-spoke he could be a native. It’s no surprise he won the Republican race. Heck, even though I’m a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, I might vote for him as someone who actually would have the ABILITY to heal the stupid left-right division in American politics and get something done. Hillary can’t do that. Obama says he can but has no track record. And none of the other Republicans has the slightest interest in doing so.

21 thoughts on “EQ2, Rock Band, Goong, Xbox, PS3, PotBS, and stuff.”

  1. I’d like to see Hillary (not the sistery variety) or Obama elected to prez. But, at least, with Hillary you get the benefit of Billy boy as first husband. 2 for the price of 1 – can’t beat that with a stick.

  2. oh – as far as the last 2.8% of the Goong episode. Perhaps that’s the re-cap at the end of the show. At the end of every episode they have Shin’s teddy bear (several of them) posed in costume re-creating what just transpired in that episode. And then they show you a preview of the next episode. You’re likely not missing anything substantial in the last 2.8% of the episode download.

  3. Yeah, we Americans (probably even moreso in politics than in MMOs) love to embrace polish with very little content, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Obama won the bid. Frankly, I think he’s the lesser of the two evils. I actually saw eye-to-eye with Hill on a lot of issues back in the day–until she became a senator down here and I got to witness firsthand how, like any candidate making a bid for the White House, she so easily changed her spots for political gain. I think it’s about time either a Black American or a woman runs things, but neither of these two are the ones I wanna see doing it unfortunately. I do respect McCain’s “shoot-from-the-hip” approach, but he just strikes me as a bit of a crazy old coot whose ideals and concepts of America and our relationship to the rest of the world are anchored in some 1950s fairytale.

  4. McCain was one of the few Republicans who continued to see the role of Congress as an independent body given charge to make the laws of the land and put brakes on the power of the Executive branch, even while most of the Reps abandoned their role in order to become rubber stamps to all the policies of the White House. Congress needs to be independent. They are SUPPOSED to be OUR voice. Not the President’s. I was very impressed with how he handled the immigration debates a couple of years back. I was also impressed with how he went out of his way to build coalitions with congressional Democrats on important issues. So yeah, even though I am a Democrat, I am leaning toward McCain because I am tired of American languishing because of partisan politicking. I guess I’m becoming more of an Independent? I dunno… I took that political compass test again today, and it still showed me solidly as a liberal Libertarian.
    I wouldn’t mind if Hillary won. I think, given the support of Congress, she could make real advances, especially in health care. I just don’t think she will get that support, and all we’ll get is four more years of nothing getting done. Plus, her stance against gamers… well, I can’t support that. Even though I know it’s just a political point.
    Obama might unite the country through sheer charisma, like JFK did. An Obama vs McCain election would make a tough decision for me. In the end, I would likely go with Obama purely because while McCain is willing to keep an American presence in Iraq “for 100 years”, Obama seems willing to include Iran and Syria in the discussions and try to find a way out that won’t leave Iraq in a civil war. Dennis Kucinich would have been fantastic at this, but he’s not a viable candidate.
    @Genj — the missing 2.8% of Goong’s 2nd episore isn’t just at the end, it’s scattered throughout. I could watch it anyway, but since the subtitles are in a separate file, they’d get more out of sync whenever the player hit a missing bit of the video. My Korean is a little rusty so I need the subtitles 😛

  5. I think it’s a nice theory that a politician can go through their career without changing their opinions – or giving in on some issues. But, unfortunately, it’s not realistic. Whenever you work with a group of people (eg senate) there has to be some give and take. You have to know when to dig your heels in on an issue and when not to – otherwise you get nowhere.

  6. @Tipa your hat —- The subtitles are in a seperate file? Yikes. ::coughs.netflix.coughs:: I heart that show. I might just have to rent it again from the beginning. I miss it already. 🙁
    I’m starting a new korean TV show this weekend called “Stained Glass” – this too has gotten rave reviews from my fellow netflix movie watchers. I expect to feel the tinge of addiction at any moment. lol Even after only viewing 2 korean tv series – I’ve already identified the staple plot points korean shows like to touch on. But I don’t care – they still have me on the edge of my seat, biting my fake nails in anticipation of good winning out over evil and the romantic leads ride off into the sunset. It also doesn’t hurt that the male leads are hotties. 😉

  7. Well, out with it. What are the staple plot points of Korean dramas? That good wins over evil and that the hot couple fall in love? That sounds pretty universal to me.
    I don’t really understand why you don’t like anime. Love Hina is a lot like this. Though that has some of those odd Japanese obsessions in it. Ally had Full Metal Panic on when I went out to Cali, the story of a mercenary soldier sent undercover to a Japanese high school in order to protect (and fall in love with) a girl who doesn’t know she is special. I frankly don’t know what you don’t like about anime 😛 There’s so many different kinds, it’s like saying you hate all movies, or all television shows, or all music. Really? All? I think there’s plenty of anime you would love.
    Re: Netflix. Yeah yeah, but I hate subscriptions.

  8. Both korean shows I saw had the nice, regular girl (aka “good girl”) who ends up in a romance with a hot, rich man that comes about under improbable circumstances. Ex girlfriend (aka bad girl) poses a problem by seeking to break up the relationship because she wants man back. Ex seems nice at first until she realizes the hottie man is truly not interested in her anymore. Bad girl attempts suicide in last ditch effort to get him back through sympathy. Hottie man is not enticed by ex or fall for her attempts to win his heart back. Even though the show will leave u with cliffhangers thinking he might go back to ex.
    Additionally, circumstances result in a series of misunderstandings that seem to jeopordize the relationship – but eventually get clarified. There is also an evil male in the show who falls in love with this diamond in the rough “good girl” and seeks to win her heart. Evil male resents lead hottie male because he’s played second fiddle to him his whole life and this time (re: winning good girl’s heart) he is not going to play second fiddle again. No matter what he has to do. And at one point you think the evil male will get his way.
    But in the end, love wins out and they live happily ever after.

  9. I got the 60 GB PS3 from Amazon.com for a decent price back in October. Looks like they are no longer in stock and its just people reselling them for 499$ now though. I never got a PS2 and I missed out on a lot of quality gaming so backwards compatibility was a important feature for me.
    My preference is for either McCain or Obama who both seem willing to cross political lines. McCain even risked pissing off his own party for attempting to help reform immigration. Huckabee also seems like a good guy though that might just be because Chuck Norris is behind him. While he’s a little too conservative I do like the minium fair tax he’s been talking about. Anything to destroy the monster that is the IRS.

  10. My wife loves the Korean and Hong Kong soap operas. She always tells me I would like them but hers are all overdubbed in Vietnamese with Cantonese subtitles so I can’t exactly watch them. They tend to just have one person overdub everyones’ voice too, so even if my Vietnamese was a bit better I would still struggle to keep up with the plot.
    I had no idea they were available in English, I’ll have to give it a try.

  11. @rmckee78 — Well, obviously Tipa and I would recommend Goong (aka Princess Hours) as a korean show to watch. lol I wish it was easier to find these shows on DVD. There are certain actors where I’d like to see more of their work and it’s hard to get a hold of – or even find. Part of the problem is they have several ways of spelling an actor’s name so if you don’t key it in how it’s set up in that system – you’re going to be out of luck. I’d like to see more shows/movies with Joo Ji Hoon or Kim Jeong Hoon (aka John Hoon) but it seems like mission impossible even though they’ve done several projects.

  12. Finding a certain actor seems to be a pan-Asian problem. Not only do they often have different spellings but they even can have completely different names. If my wife gets a Korean movie that was translated to Vietnamese in California the actor might have the name A. If the movie was translated in Viet Nam name B, Hong Kong name C. Worse if that same actor stars in a Hong Kong film they might go by name D and if they come to America they may adopt name E. And all of these names might be different if the movie is translated into another language.
    All of her movies have this problem as near as I can tell. When we went to Viet Nam she bought a whole bunch of movies because they were cheap (pirated). The same actor would literally have different names on different discs of the same movie! This only seems to be a problem with the translated movies not the native VN films. But nobody wants to watch those. One sticks out in my mind as having tinfoil covered, robot vampires that were defeated by party members and lots of long shots of Ho Chi Minh portraits.

  13. Well the actors I mentioned officially spell it that way as they have official websites with that spelling. It’s just sites like netflix who just want to put any old spelling or throw in a dash randomly. They certainly make it a chore to be a fan, huh?

  14. Because of course they don’t spell it that way in Korea, so any translation to Latin characters will be kind of arbitrary. Works the same way in reverse — some of the ways English words are transliterated to Japanese (English (as an adjective, not the language), for instance, is spelled イギリス, “igirisu”) — would defy a Japanese person looking for an American name.
    Wonder how tough it would be to learn enough Korean to recognize their names in their original language?

  15. Speaking of Goong, Genj, that airport where Yul bumped into Hyorin — the departure monitors were in Japanese. What airport were they supposed to be at? Or do the monitors there, you think, display in multiple languages — which would make sense, but then I would wonder why they didn’t include English. And then where did Hyorin go? That place she was staying where her friend was getting her time in a practice studio had an obviously Western couple walk in.
    And for that matter, why do the royal women in the Goong have to wear those traditional outfits, while the men get away with more modern clothing (aside from Shin, who apparently thinks he is living in Victorian England sometimes….).

  16. @Tipa – I realize it’s due to the fact that they don’t write with the english alphabet. But at the same time one would think they’d establish a standardized spelling of their name which is, as with any star, essentially their “brand”.
    I bet it’s the airport scene when she breaks her phone. I don’t know which airport that’s in – I don’t remember why she was there in the first place. Maybe that was the episode where she was going to get a full scholarship to a dance school? There was a white couple in that episode who was offering her the scholarship. Anyway – I don’t know which airport that was.
    You’ll notice the crown princess doesn’t wear those traditional gowns either. I think the men wear suits when the queen and queen mother wear traditional garb is because the queens don’t really leave the palace. But you will see when they do venture out of the palace – they wear present day clothing.
    But, to be honest, those dresses they wear are still worn today. The same way in japan they still have women wearing their version of it (geisha gear). I saw this korean game show where it was new years holiday and the women were dressed in those gowns and the men were wearing something fancy and equally dated.
    As for how Shin dresses – you will soon notice they all dress like fancy pants men in this show. I’ve noticed through watching youtube videos of the actors who play Yul and Shin that korean men are a lot more fashion forward then USA men. There are items they sometime wear that just looks a bit on the feminine side – but not just them, other korean men too. Different culture – different fashion sense.

  17. @Tipa – Oh and I remember in that other korean drama that there was this engagement party and the mothers of the bride and groom both wore the same type of gowns that the queens do in Goong. Of course the queen’s outfits have gilded designs where the other ones don’t.

  18. I wouldn’t even bother with PoTBS. I’ve been in the beta for the last 4 months and, well, it just sucks. If all you like to do is go ship hunting and blow ships out of the water, then I guess that’s your game. But in my experience, the quests are bland, the on land combat is marginal at best and other than that…there’s just nothing interesting about it. So far, no player housing, it feels very much like SWG in the mission area and like Sid Meier’s Pirates! in the ship to ship combat area. I’d skip it. For the record, I’m a die hard EQ2 player (though I don’t get to spend as much time as I’d like). Level 55 Berserker (Kurrota) on the Bazaar server.

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