Gears of War 2

I was fortunate enough to be able to finish two great games this weekend. Mostly due in part to not wanting to be idle and needing to get my mind off things. Gaming is a great way for me to relax and escape for a bit. I tackled Gears of War this weekend along with Shadow of the Colossus. Two very different games but two very good games in their own right.

Gears picks up right where the last one left off as the humans of Sera continue to fight off the locust invasion and protect one of the last human strongholds of Jacinto. If you've played the first game then you should be able to hop right into this one with no problem. I didn't really notice too many significant changes to the gameplay this time around. It still follows the duck and cover style of gameplay. Of course there's nothing wrong with that. It works well for the game and why fix what ain't broke right? Story-wise, the sequel does do a great job of making you feel like your part of a much larger world and there's much more at stake than the first did. You really feel like the fate of humanity hinges on your shoulders in this one. The addition of the sub-plot involving Dom's search for his wife was well done and made you feel for the guy. It gave the game more character and depth than the first. 2nd game I finish this week that has a guy trying to be reunited with his lost love. Parallels anyone? It usually takes me awhile to finish a game as I like to take my time. It took me a couple months to finally getting around to finishing Shadow of the Colossus but I was able to finish this one in 2 weeks. I don't know if it's because I played it more than I normally play or if the game is just short. I think it is a little a both but the game still sucked me in and made want to stick it to the locust and finish them off.

While not much was done to change the gameplay from the first, they made some pretty significant additions to the mulitplayer portion. Instead of 4 on 4 matches, they now allow for 5 on 5 games which makes the game more well-rounded. They also added some clever modes to play online including Guardian and Wingman. Look them up if you don't already know what they are, you are already on the internet anyway. The addition that'll probably have the biggest impact is the addition of Horde mode. It basically pits you and however many friends you're playing with against a crap-load of enemies coming at you in waves. I've had a blast playing this mode and when you get to the tougher waves, you'll get toasted fast if you don't use teamwork and strategy. If you liked the first game then you definitely need to pick this one up. Even if you never played the first one this is still one you should play if you own a 360.

Shadow of the Colossus

Just got through beating Shadow of the Colossus and I must say that it is a spectacular game. It works on so many levels and it is one of the best games available on the PS2 platform. With the current-gen systems chugging along with their HD graphics you may be asking yourself why I'd go back and play this last-gen game. Well a great game is a great game no matter when it was released or how it looks compared to current games. I had heard so much hype about this game and I saw it for $5 at Target one day so I snatched it up. I think they may have had it at that price in error because I've never seen even crappy discount games going for that cheap.

The game is different than your typical sword fighting game. Instead of there being several mini enemies as you progress through a stage, there are only 16 enemies in the ENTIRE game. That's no typo, 16. The thing is that these enemies are colossi and they sometimes take up the entire screen. You pretty much start out as a dude who needs to kill 16 colossi to bring his girl back to life. It's as simple as that. The simplicity of the game is another thing that makes it so appealing. It's just you, your faithful horse, your sword, and bow. That's it. You travel to various locations in the game world and take down these huge beasts. It gets pretty intimidating each time you encounter a colossi and it all plays out kind of like a puzzle game. You need to locate their weakness and find a way to attack it. Repeat 16 times and you got yourself a classic. Even the story elements are very simple and you never get much plot other than at the very end of the game. This is one you're going to want to watch until the end of the credits too and the ending is one of the best I've seen in a video game.

The only complaint I would have about this game would be that sometimes the controls can get to be pretty wonky and so does the camera. It's not a big deal but sometimes it gets in the way of what you want to do. I would highly recommend that anyone who appreciates good games pick this one up. It elevates gaming to an art form and the simple story speaks to how sometimes man can destroy their surroundings with no regard to the consequences while at the same time telling the story of a man who will stop at nothing to be reunited with his love.

Jaxon's IPA

Went to go have a beer with a friend from work and we decided to go to Jaxon's. They have $2 pints all day Wednesday and that is a fantastic price for their beer. For those who have never been, they have anywhere from 6-9 offerings on any given time depending on the season and availability. I've gone a couple times where they simply run out of their best brews. If you ever decide to hit it up there are a couple I'd recommend. First would be the Chihuahua Brown Ale which I hope to review soon but if you're a fan of Brown Ales you really can't go wrong with this one and it's one of their best sellers. I'd also try the Black Jack Stout for those Stout/Guinness fans out there. The Cactus Jack Amber Ale is solid and I was surprised how great the Rosa's Raspberry Ale was compared to other fruit beers I've had.

On this particular evening I decided to go with the Andale IPA. As many of you know just from reading my blog, I'm a big fan of IPA's and I don't know that I've ever tried one that I haven't liked and this one did not disappoint. This one has a light hazy golden-amber appearance which is fairly typical of most IPA's. There is a little head on top of the glass which gives off a nice aroma. This brew has a sweet flowery, hop smell not unlike most other selections of the style. I think IPA's and Stouts probably have the best smells of all beers. There are exceptions of course but for the most part I love taking a big whiff of those. That and Travis' hair are among the sweetest smelling things on this earth. Waking up with one on each side of me has to be one of the best experiences in my life. Never thought I could be aroused by smell, I was wrong. This beer has a sweet hoppy taste which surprised me because I thought I remembered it being much more bitter. I guess it's just this batch that came out like this but I'll need to retry it again soon for confirmation. Oh wait, the bitterness emerges more in the aftertaste but still not at the level I remember or expect from a good IPA. I swear I remember it having more. There's some light lacing on the glass. That's something I'd like to see more in a beer. I rarely drink my beer out of a glass but when I do I like to see some good solid lacing on the sides. The beer gets better as it warms and this is definitely a solid choice, especially at the price. Also, I'd like to thank Carmen for the gratuitous boobage shot. Enjoy!

Samuel Adams Octoberfest

Been awhile since I posted a beer review. Not for lack of trying new beers but because I've just been lazy. Been meaning to get to this one and I guess as you can tell from the title I'm behind about a month on it. Oh well, at least you'll know to avoid this one for next year. Sorry for those I wasn't able to reach in time. This is the first and only Octoberfest beer I've tried so I have nothing to compare it to but I've heard it's a good style. I had it a couple years ago when I first got into beers and don't remember it being too great and this cemented that belief.

Had this one from the bottle at the bar after one of our softball games. Smell is decent. Smells very malty and doughy in the background. I'm picking up a slight spice/pumpkin scent too. Wow, taste is very light and tame, especially by Sam Adams standards. Decent malt up front and a tame wheaty aftertaste but I'm not picking up much else, I'll let it warm a little to see if it brings out more of the flavor. This beer remains unchanged throughout even after it warmed. Have to say I'm pretty disappointed with this offering from Sam. Probably the worst I've had from them. I'd say avoid it unless you really want to give it a try or to sample the style. This beer turned me off to trying more Octoberfests which it shouldn't because this is most likely a weak offering of the style (I'm hoping).

Life and Death

Ok this may sound a bit odd and out of left field (for this blog, but not necessarily for where I am in my life) but as I was sitting here at home outside, enjoying a beer and just reflecting on things and some very intriguing thoughts came to mind. The idea of mortality crept into my head. Nobody really knows when they'll go but the question is how will you react when it's your time? Will you be ready? Will you be scared? You can't really answer that until you're in that situation. People always ask, if you were told you were going to die in a month or a week or a day, what would you do? Most people would undoubtedly answer they would go out and experience everything life has to offer, do everything they've always wanted to do, and be with the family and friends. My question is if you never really know when your time is coming, why not live like that everyday? I'm not saying you need to go and be reckless because not knowing when you're time is up also means you must be prudent with your resources. I think my answer would be slightly different than this though. My reasoning is that while I would want to experience and see things before I go, I can't take all that with me. In essence it's not about what you take with you but rather what you leave behind: your legacy. What kind of impact will you have had on people's lives? What will people say at your funeral? I think if I could've lived my life and made a positive impact in just one person's life I think I would be able to die happy and complete.

When you look back at your life and what you've done, will you be happy? Will you feel like you accomplished something? Will you feel like you wasted your life? Of course nobody would ever say they've wasted their life but you can ask anyone if they regret any decision they've made in their life and 90% of the time you'll hear "Yes, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world." That's good because those experiences make you the person you are today and but in all reality, being placed back at the moment where you made a certain decision knowing what the outcome would be would most likely yield a different result. I'm going off on tangents now...

Of course the answer to this will be different for everyone but to me life is about the relationships you form with people. The family and friends whom you hold closest to your heart. I am lucky in that I have a very close family and I cherish each moment I spend with them. I am also very lucky to have a tight circle of friends that I know I can talk to about anything and they will always be there and have my back no matter what. When the day comes that I have children of my own, that to me is the perfect opportunity to leave a legacy behind. Nobody impacts that life and development of a child like their parents. I just got through reading To Kill A Mockingbird and the character of Atticus in that book left a profound impact in my life. He stands as a moral icon and the way he remains steadfast in doing the right thing no matter what, is highly admirable. I can honestly say that's the first character in a book that has gotten me to change some of the ways I think about things. That is a true man who stuck to doing what is right in the face of inredible opposition and is a great model of the type of father I hope to be someday. I have much more thoughts on the subject but it's hard to get them all in order and say what I want to say with out repeating myself too much. Just wanted to get this down while it was fresh in my mind.

Budweiser American Ale

Since I haven't posted in awhile, here's a bonus post about my thoughts on a beer. No taste test, just thoughts. I refer to the new Budweiser beer I'm sure you've seen advertised all over TV. For years now there has been a slow and steady move toward better tasting beer. The movement is alive. There have been advertisements for the different brews Sam Adams offers, the Guinness "Brilliant" commercials that mysteriously died out and more recently the Michelob variety offering and Budweiser American Ale. The Budweiser American Ale is different than all of these though because it is being pushed by a true giant of the industry. And unlike the Michelob advertisements, they’re heavily marketing this one on its own. When they show the Michelob ones on TV, it is always as a group and they have other commercials not referring to those craft brews. Plus I have never seen those in stores. Mike, the disciple who opened my eyes to wonderful world of beer, said he ran into a variety pack at Sam's and said they were pretty good but they are not easily available to the masses as I have no doubt this new Budweiser beer will be.

My initial thoughts on the beer were I doubt it would be any good but I’m still going to try it. Then I thought I should approach it as I do all beers - with an open mind. However, I think Budweiser might be in a catch-22 with how they’re approaching this beer. In my opinion they are playing with fire because if it’s too strong, which I doubt, people aren’t going to like it and it will fail and fade to black as quickly as it came to Lite (get it). If it's too light then people won’t see the point to it or will simply drink it to be different and it won’t gain a large market (then again, people love Amber Bock and that’s just as flavorless to me however it has a strong market. Maybe the new Bud might succeed for the same reason of people drinking it to be different because I don't know as many hardcore Amber Bock fans as I know Bud or Miller fans). Now if they hit it right, and you know they’ve done thousands upon thousands of taste tests to get it to where they think it should be, then I think it might actually hurt them. If it's decently strong, it might keep people from going back to Bud or Bud Light seeing them as too flavorless. Then those people and others who normally wouldn’t try other beers will think “This is a good beer with more flavor.” Then they might want to see what else is out there and leave the Budweiser brand completely.

Regardless of what happens, I think the winners are us good beer drinkers because if it’s decent tasting, you know it will be carried at all the popular places so it might be a go-to drink if there’s nothing better like Sam or Guinness. If it's wildly successful, it might inspire other large breweries to go that route and try their hand at stronger, more flavorful beers. Again, I doubt there will be much of a dent put into the Budweiser empire as a result of this but it just helps the movement of good beer drinkers. Expect a review of the beer when it hits stores.

Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale

Invited my friends over for some drinks and fun on Saturday night for my birthday. Being that we had pretty much stayed out really late the night before and drank a good amount, I didn't expect anyone to be in a huge drinking mood. That didn't matter to me though because as long as the company is good (and whenever my friends are there it always is) I know I'll have a good time. Initially I was right about nobody wanting to drink much, however as the night went on and the spirit became more festive, the beers started going down a little easier for everyone.

So for my birthday drink, I picked a special beer I have had in my fridge for a couple months now - a Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale that Tabi brought me from Austin. It's in a 24 oz. bottle so I knew I would have to wait for a special occasion to bring it out. The label is really interesting, the Southern Hemisphere part of the name comes from the fact that the hops are flown in from New Zealand and mixed with American malts. It sounded very intriguing and I couldn't wait to open the bottle. I decided to pour this into a glass so I could get the full experience of this beer. It poured a hazy reddish-amber color. Sweet, citrus hops dominates the smell upfront. I couldn't make out exactly what citrus I was getting as it was kind of a mix of orange and grapefruit but not quite both. I had to keep smelling it (which I always get flack for) to see if I could make out one or the other but no success. There is also a fairly strong floral, piny aroma in the background accompanied by caramel malts. There is a solid finger and a half of head in this beer which is a pleasant change from the last beer I had in a glass. It doesn't linger long though. Tasting this beer, the first thing I notice is a sharp hop bite. I'm not positive what style this is but it feels like I'm drinking an IPA because of the dominant hops, maybe it's just that New Zealand hops are incredibly strong and badass. The mouthfeel is smooth with just the right amount of carbonation. It goes down very smooth and is even kind of creamy which is rare for this style of beer. Must be high-quality hops to get the oil to give the beer that texture and the taste lingers in the mouth long after the beer is gone. The beer leaves a decent lacing on the sides of the glass but nothing to write home about. The hops continue to get better as the beer warms but a caramel malt flavor begins to emerge in the background as the beer warms. This is definitely a great beer that goes down easy even though there is no lack of flavor whatsoever. I highly recommend it. Great beer for a great day. It made the pale ale's I had after this pale in comparison.

Also, Anabel got me a brewing kit for my birthday! How badass is that?! I am looking into what style to brew first but Casa de Fierrote Brewery is now open. It takes 4-6 weeks to make a beer depending on the style and I have yet to decide what it'll be but expect a review of my first hand-crafted beer within that time frame. I'm leaning towards a nut brown ale but we'll see...