Simple post. The gamer in me wants this HJC helmet solely for it's paint job. The helmet probably ain't bad either, but the dragon is cool!

Nuclear stacks hold a place both dear and fearful to my heart. How could I pass up this Mad Max meets Fallout photo, sans the mohawk and ash-colored sky.

A bit of perspective: As a child growing up during the super escalation of the Cold War, both sides promised they'd would leave the world in cinders -- two suns in the sunset so to speak. Impressionable as anyone, my youth was spent convinced we'd all die long before 2010 came around. This wasn't debatable in my mind for many years. Thus, as a coping mechanism to an inevitable doom propagated by popular culture and governments, I became a fan of post-apocalyptic science-fiction. Unrealistic...sure, but it makes for great adventure and exploration of the human spirit to survive all odds. Unlike some dystopian future fiction, post-apocalyptic fiction is gritty and more about pure survival in a world run amok. From films, books and games, I've probably watched, seen or played them all -- with the Fallout series being one of my favorites -- but also including The Road Warrior, The Terminator, A Boy and His Dog, Wasteland and too many others to list.

Suffice to say, my birthday this year is a pause for reflection, as mutually assured destruction -- at least between Russia and the United States -- seems to have been avoided. For this, I call this my Fallout birthday, because I'm, make that WE'RE, still here in 2010. Who'd have thunk. ;-)

Of course, the Cold War may be over, but tensions religious, racial, eco, biological and territorial seem to be rising. It's hard to say when we'll kill ourselves, but if we don't the planet probably will. For now however, I'll enjoy the fantasy that is post-apocalyptic and that fact that I don't need to use my plasma rifle to fend off mutants. Tomorrow's another day.

Sometimes it's the little things that make you smile. In my perusal of one of my many web design resources I discovered our favorite bad boy of dreams needs a job.

Like some amalgum of creatures from my very own RPG Rhunyen, scientists have found a wide range of 850 new species down under in Australia, in underground caves. They speculate that's just the tip of the iceburg. So cool! Read it on Yahoo.

One of my favorite computer games of all time is Eidos' Deus Ex (wikipedia). At the time it came out it was quite unique as a mix of role-playing and first-person stealth/shooter, which I think lead to a new cross-genre game style. The gameplay alone made it worthwhile, but the cyberpunk setting, angsty characters and paranoid storyline are what really made it fun, frightening and fascinating. You could play in several different ways and there are usually 2-3 ways to handle any situation, plus the cyber-mods are AWESOME. Alas the follow up game isn't very good, but sequels rarely are.

Anyhow, at one time I had a brief dialog with one the game's writers regarding one of his post-game articles following 9/11. It wasn't too far off from EDGE magazine's gamedev homage to this eerily 9/11-ish game that preceded that ugly day. Mind you, Deus Ex is fiction, which is a good thing, but under the layers there's might be some truths you don't wanna know if you believe your government is transparent. You can find an uber cheap copy online for Mac, PC or Xbox if you're looking for a bit of gaming greatness.

To my great surprise, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law sent me a surprise gift: the new Batman Arkham Asylum collectors edition. It came with all the Dark Knight's goodness, including a batarang and asylum diary.

Thank you Lena for the gift and Bob for dropping it off. Now it's time to go collect that Joker!!!

Sweet deal! This weekend only (as in July 17-19), the entire Penumbra series has been repackaged as one download and is just $5 fricken dollars. That's a LOT of great horror for less than a pint-o-blood. Don't miss it.

Check it out Mac/Linux gamers.

Are you prepared for the Go'Mo invasion? The FreeFrog has been busy creating Go'Mo critters for mass consumption. They'll be spinning around this world in March 2009.

Stayed tuned you hue-mans!

I know, I know... it's "affected" but bear with me since the game's called Mass Effect. I just finished the game for the first time and must say, it was a TRULY satisfying experience. I'm a fan of BioWare already, having played (and finished) all the Balder's Gate games, KOTOR games and Jade Empire, but Mass Effect is right in line with what I like in science fiction. It may be a bit heavy on the action and short on the role-play, but visually, it's stunning. For instance, while exploring planets in your trusty AFV Mako (see image above), the many diverse skylines, weather and terrain are breathtaking. The storyline is epic and satisfying. The characters, equipment and ambience unbounded. I played an Infiltrator the first time through, but I'll try my hand at a biotic master the next time.

If I had a gripe it would be inventory management is a pain, and why-o-why CAN'T I PLAY A FRICKEN ALIEN for a change. I mean, I get tired of all RPGs always forcing me to be human when the games are filled with cool species'. What's up with that you lazy ass developers? To quote TOOL... "I want, what I want!"

Regardless, I may be late in playing Mass Effect, but it'll go down in my rather short list of brilliant RPGs that fully immersed me and made me want to live in them.

Sad news today for gamers the world over. The co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, Gary Gygax has passed away. Though always a controversial guy in the gaming world, between him and Dave Arneson, the entire world of pen & paper role-playing games, as well as all the video/computer games inspired by RPGs need to give him some love, because we might not have the awesomeness that are RPGs without 'em.

Despite all attempt to resist, once the MMO sci-fi universe of EVE Online came to the Mac I had to give it a whirl. It has a very steep learning curve and can get tedious at times, but for sheer stunning graphics, awesome ships, etc., it's pretty nifty. I'll play it for another month or two to see if it's worth the time. So far my biggest surprise was how easy it is to get Player Killed (PKd)... I lost an cruiser and destroyer doing nothing dangerous, but flying in the wrong area of space. Now I'm flying around in a Minmitar "Rupture" class cruiser armed to hilt and with a fleet of drones just to be safer, but it's a hard game to play if you're not in a corporation (EVE's version of guilds).

My Rhunyen universe is evolving leaps and bounds, so I gave Rhunyen its own domain. The site needs to be fleshed out more -- time permitting -- and the fully-revised game system completed, but for now you can see what's there.

Okay, I'm not much of a fan of online multiplayer games -- though I do enjoy console party games. So, despite thinking it would suck, Disney's Pirates Online is actually a really fun adventure RPG for non-hardcore MMORPG gamers. It offers a delightful world to swashbuckle and sail around in, with a mix of hack-n-slash (complete with voodoo, grenades, pistols, swords and daggers) and broadside "sailing" battles that can be done solo or with a crew. Drawn of course from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies it's lighthearted fun.

I got an early Halloween present from the Mistress-o-the-Night for my Nintendo DS for all my hard work preparing for Samhain. For survival horror fans of such classics as Alone in the Dark, Resident Evil and Silent Hill, the new Nintendo DS game Dementium: The Ward offers a creepy romp through a messed up hospital ward. It's not an rpg, but a FPS horror game, so it's a bit more like Doom meets Silent Hill. It's basic, but strangely satisfying since the atmosphere is creepy, the controls restrictive, and the monsters are tough. Thank you my mistress for bringing the little spooky treat.