Interestingly enough, most of the time I find other gamers to be some of the most frustrating people to discuss video games with. It’s one of those areas where people are so closed-minded it becomes frustrating.

One of the most tiresome comments I hear is how the game industry is in trouble, and we’re basically experiencing a trend of mediocrity. I find this amusing, because ever since I got an Xbox 360 I’ve enjoyed playing video games more than I have in the past several years. In fact, the last time I enjoyed gaming this much was when the Super Nintendo was the latest and greatest thing.

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I’m a fatty. Plain and simple. I’ve come to terms with this fact long ago, and do what I can to try and fix it. I don’t feel extra sympathy for other fat people, however. If I see someone relentlessly insulting a person for being overweight, well, I think they’re an asshole. I think they’re an asshole because they are blatantly being an asshole about it. Yet when someone sues McDonald’s for making them fat, no. That’s a result of personal stupidity and lack of responsibility. It isn’t the fault of McDonald’s that you ate their food too much.

As such, I think this reaction to Sony’s new Playstation Network game Fat Princess is retarded.

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Now, while the three main companies completely failed at this year’s E3, and a couple of other companies followed suit, it wasn’t all bad. It was pretty irritating that Capcom’s was nothing but a panel about how “great the Lost Planet movie will be…..when it comes out in 2011″, and half of Ubisoft’s conference was all about how they’ve managed to get tween girls to start playing games (with some of the most horrible IP imaginable). However, Activision managed to deliver quite a bit, and even more so, EA is beginning to show that they can be a quality company after all.

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So I’ve stumbled upon some new comics in the past couple of weeks, and surprisingly they’re all good. I know it probably sounds odd of me to say “surprisingly”, but in all honesty I am not a fan of most other online comics. Too many of them seem to be ripping off of the styles of other online comics without looking at other mediums of entertainment. As well as many other flaws that are far too rampant. But, that topic is for another time.

Geeks Next Door - I discovered these guys through the Otakon Webcomics Challenge. For most people, it’s probably not going to have you in stitches each strip, but there is certainly a lot of material to bring a smile to anyone’s face. It is easily enjoyable, and I had a fun time reading it. It’s easy to recommend to anyone.

Pictures For Sad Children - A stick figure comic for pessimists and cynics. This comic has an excellent narrative going, though the simple art can sometimes confuse gestures. However, the writing often offers some of the most simple concepts in excellent and hilarious ways. It is certainly not a feel good comic, though, so people that don’t find negative things funny should probably avoid this comic…and grow a sense of humor.

Gone With the Blastwave - Considering how excellent the art is, I actually thought this was a serious comic at first. Upon closer inspection, it’s not serious at all. It’s a generic post-apocalypse setting where armies identified only by their color are trying to get out of a city. That’s really the only basis so far. It can be hard to tell different characters apart, what with the only difference being symbols on their helmets, and since it is not the artist’s primary project it is very, very rarely updated. Only bookmark if you don’t mind keeping a barely updating comic in there. The real tragedy here is the author’s primary project did not amuse me in the slightest. It would do them better if they shifted their focus onto this, as it is pure Gold.

So by now most everyone has already made up their mind about Too Human. You either hate it, or you figured out how to actually play the game properly and enjoy it (or, potentially, still hate it for whatever baby-kicking reason). The unfortunate truth to the game is that, despite Silicon Knights making it common knowledge that the right thumbstick is used for attacks for over a year, people still went in expecting you to mash buttons. The first instinct from just about everyone, once you discover the thumbstick’s functionality, is to instead mash and click the thumbstick in every which direction as if it were trying to be a Wiimote.

This is, in fact, wrong wrong wrong.

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I honestly don’t update this blog often enough, and I really should. However, sometimes work and the comic get in the way, so that leaves large gaps where nothing is posted.

However, I wanted to make sure I posted this week. Maybe it’s more for myself since I’m technically repeating what has already been said by more eloquent people. Still, the press conferences at this year’s E3 were a disgrace. I need to make that clear.

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Through some perusal I stumbled upon Your Webcomic Is Bad and You Should Feel Bad, headed by a fellow whose pseudonym is John Solomon. Occasionally his three cohorts also step up to take a webcomic and utterly destroy it, beating it to a submissive pulp. Most of the offerings on the site truly are absolutely horrible and not very well known, though there are also a few that have pretty large followings. As such, said fanatics naturally take their pitchforks to the reviewers most vehemently, particularly against Solomon.

On the whole, I feel that any person making an online comic needs to read Solomon’s blog. If anything, just so you can be prepared when/if your own comic is chosen for judgment (assuming it ever updates again). It’s always important to be critical of the work you are doing, and most online critics aren’t going to provide much more feedback than “it sucks”. Well, that or they’ll tell you how brilliant you are. It’s always black and white with people on the ‘net.

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A pair of my friends had told me that this film was, apparently, bad. I had liked the look of the trailer, though the name did not seem quite fitting, and was a bit disappointed to hear this. Then another friend of mine claimed it was amazing, and that people simply have no taste these days. During my trip home last week I managed to see it with my family, and I feel both parties are honestly wrong.

There Will Be Blood was certainly not a bad movie, but it’s also not for everyone. It isn’t going to follow the typical “rising action” rules and such that just about every film is going to follow. It’s told in a biographical manner, simply retelling events in a story until they lead up to the end of how things happened. In this case, it’s about how a man named Plainview was informed that this small, insignificant town was sitting on an oil well, and how he had wisely taken the proper measures to build a success on it. It also shows how the precursors of the televangelists were also assholes, just as they are today. Good to know some things don’t change.

The character of Daniel Plainview is honestly not very likeable. On the one hand, you can tell he’s a pretty smart guy, raised to rely on no one but himself. On the other, he makes some pretty dick moves, and in the end wonder just how much of a nutcase he really is. Even so, you don’t hate the guy. He’s likeable enough to keep the movie interesting.

Now, the real problem with the film is the music, and this can truly break it for people. You see, it always sounds as if there is some uneasy tension going on, or something terrible and dramatic is occuring. It doesn’t at all fit the tone of, say, a man and his son browsing a section of the mountains, shooting birds, until they find a spot of surface oil. Really there are only a few moments where the music fits, and it is these scenes, and the ones without any music, that pull you in the best. However, most other scenes with music just create a mismatched atmosphere, leaving you…well, in my case a bit irritated.

It’s not a movie I would see a second time, I’ll be honest, and it wasn’t done well enough to earn high praise. It certainly wasn’t the worst film ever, but if you’re only interested in the same cookie cutter scripts going around with the Marvel films and Indiana Jones, then this is certainly not for you. For anyone wanting something a bit different out of Hollywood than the typical summer blockbusters, though, give it a try.

Still don’t know why they named it “There Will Be Blood”, though.