Why you should marry a gamer...

31 Reasons to marry a gamer:

1. They have extensive weapons training.
2. They know to take a zombie out with a headshot.
3. They always stop to pick up extra treasure.
4. They know the value of a princess.
5. They are excellent multi-taskers.
6. They can survive long periods of time without nourishment.
7. They know all the little places that things can hide, like under a turtle shell, in a box, in the corpse of a giant radroach...
8. They are not grossed out by blood or dismemberment.
9. Live in tech support.
10. They know what they want and are willing to go to another castle to get it.

The nerd is a better choice than the jock because:

1. The jock is more into his own looks than yours.
2. The jock is always the star of the show whereas the star of the anime convention is the girlfriend.
3. The nerd can do your budget in his head whereas the jock needs a calculator, Google, and a tutor.
4. When chased by a robot assassin from the future, the jock may be able to run faster, but the nerd will be able to reprogram the robot and make it vacuum your floors.
5. The jock might have more upper body strength but the nerd knows how to command army.
6. The jock may have run a team, but the nerd knows how to run a country and overtake the world (or at least the rest of Sid Meiers).
7. The jock only knows how to be a jock, but the nerd knows how to be a warrior, dwarf, mage, scribe, elf, plainswalker, and cleric.
8. No jock has ever defeated a two-headed dragon.
9. Jocks always die first in zombie movies.
10. The nerd will never judge you if you want to stay in your pajamas and eat ice cream rather than run and eat a salad.

Gamers make better dads because:

1. They understand the importance of imagination and role playing.
2. They will be just as excited to buy toys and research new baby/kid tech as you are.
3. They have an extensive knowledge of everything.
4. They understand the importance of knowing where you come from and will teach your children modern history. (The Atari system was first release in the US in what year, Junior?)
5. They can fix your child's remote control car, Nintendo DS, cellphone, and your blender.
6. They love legos just as much as any five year old.
7. They understand the importance of plush animals and action figures.
8. They will teach your children to read starting with the classics (Detective Comics, Action Comics,  Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman).
9. They will want to see all the comic book movies too.
10. They will teach your children to use the Force before they can even talk.

And the number one reason to marry a gamer: Your life will be infinitely more fun and funny, and you will have a partner to mourn every game over and celebrate every level completed!
~This is all in good fun and if you can't see that, you probably could use a gamer in your life. :) 

Comic Fan?

If so check it out:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/81790390/green-lantern-25-ornament

Project Mirai

So... Nintendo just announced a new game, Project Mirai which features none other than Hatsune Miku! For those who don't know, Hatsune Miku is a vocalic program and hologram that has become a major influence on the Japanese popular culture/music. Here's her vegetable juice commercial:

Seriously, almost makes me want to drink vegetable juice. I mean, if it can make you that happy!

Anywho, here's a trailer (sorry, it's in Japanese) for the game. Sadly, the game is not likely to come to the US, but I'll keep my fingers crossed (when they're not typing)!

http://www.5min.com/Video/Project-Mirai-Trailer-517159470

Dracula!

They had Halloween toys out at Petsmart, so I got Simon a little bat! After all, Simon needs to start practicing for his big fight with Dracula!

Any Tri-gun fans out there?

Some of you may know that I'm the crafty type... Well, One of the items I'm currently working on is a painting of that favorite black cat from the anime Tri-gun! You can see a picture of the work in progress here:

http://1casacampbell.blogspot.com/2011/09/works-in-progress.html

Feel free to check out the blog for updates of my other crafting projects and other postings such as book reviews and recipes!

Review: Catherine

Played on PS3

The gamer anxiously awaited Catherine and then had a really hard time finding it, but he did prevail! Being from some of the people who worked on the Persona games, I was really excited about this game too. And let me just say, the decision-making storyline did not disappoint! Like the Persona games and those choose-your-own-adventure Goosebumps books, you play as the main character and make important decisions that affect the game play and decide which of the eight possible endings you will get.

You are Vincent, a regular guy with a regular life. Vincent is dating Katherine. (Pay attention to spelling, it makes all the difference!) Vincent is happy with his life, but his girlfriend is starting to drop the M-word: Marriage. (Dun dun dunnnnnnnn.) Vincent starts to freak out and looks to his buddies at the Stray Sheep (the bar) for help. Well, after a night of a few too many, Vincent wakes up with Catherine. (Notice the C.) Apparently he has a thing for Katherines/Catherines. Vincent doesn't remember meeting Catherine and is really freaked out about this encounter. Here's where your/his choices really start to change things... and I'll leave the rest up to you.

But wait! That's only the part of the game that takes place during the day! At night, Vincent is having these really strange dreams. He has to climb these towers of blocks and make it to the top before he wakes up. Remember that story you probably told your friends in middle school about how you die in real life if you die in your dreams? Well, that seems to be the case. Vincent doesn't know who or what has chosen him for these "trials" but each night Vincent, and other men, are faced with a series of towers to climb.

Got it? Maybe? Well, I promise I won't spoil anything.

Visuals: This game was really interesting. Most of the action of the game is very typical somewhat realistic video game graphics. However, for many of the cut scenes the animation is a mix of typical video game and drawing. The characters, particularly their faces, are often drawn in a typical animation style. Think American cartoons, not anime. The animation is maybe a little bit more stylistic in a Japanese watercolor/line drawing manner, but definitely not what you usually see in video games. This was a little odd to me, but once I really got into the game, I hardly noticed.

One thing to look for is the tie-ins to the other games from these creators. There's a Teddy and a Gekkoukan High School logo in the game. There are also a lot of really neat small details through out the game.

Audio: The soundtrack for this game is somewhat understated. The musical style is very similar to the Persona series and to many anime shows. It provides a good setting for the game without being too overpowering for a game that is so strong in its story. One thing I will mention about the audio is that the bells can get to be really annoying. When Vincent is climbing the towers in the nightmares, a bell begins to sound as he gets closer to the top. This is really encouraging as you play as its a sign that your almost there, but when you have to replay the last five levels of the tower because you just can't figure it out and all you hear is that bell going bong bong bong every few seconds, it gets to be a bit annoying.

Involvement: This game provides a huge opportunity for the non-gaming girlfriend to get involved. During the daytime story, you can help your guy to make decisions regarding how he's going to respond to text messages and conversations. Which, he might need. However, the nighttime tower levels are an even better chance to get involved. The tower puzzles are hard, and I mean hard. Having an extra set of eyes to think through which block to move where can be incredibly helpful. Just remember, as in games like Portal, know your gamer. Some gamers don't do too well with their girlfriend solving puzzles for them, while others love getting the extra boost.

Overall: This game was really pretty awesome. The story was great and kept me guessing how it would end. The game is really well developed and has great depth. There are excellent opportunities to get involved and the game is really engaging.

One thing I will mention, the whole concept of the cheating boyfriend might anger some girlfriends/wives. I found myself calling Catherine a little hussy a few times, maybe even more than a few. I also kept thinking that I'm really glad my gamer doesn't have friends like Vincent's. Just a little advice to remember that it's just a game and Catherine isn't real and therefore isn't a little hussy home-wrecker.

Overall though, this game was really awesome and we had a lot of fun playing it through. I would say that it easily passes the wifey-watchability test (but should not even be introduced to a child-watching test).

Afternoon Quickie: El Shaddai

Ok so, to say this game is beautiful is a total understatement! The graphics are amazing and each new area takes your breath away. The backgrounds range from the serene looking like Japanese watercolors to the wild looking like an intense acid trip. The soundtrack is amazing and incredibly relaxing. (If it weren't for all the fighting going on, it would be great for meditation.)

You are Enoch and you are on a mission to retrieve the fallen angels. The came combines platform and 3D qualities and is mostly a fighting game though some levels have some puzzle-like qualities. There aren'y many wifey/girlfriend-involvement opportunities, but I enjoyed just sitting back and watching. Overall, I would recommend this game, and the husband seems to enjoy playing it as well.