Andy Wood

Spooky, kooky, creepy, and fun! Halloween is the time of Ghosts, Goblins, Gravestones and Graveyards. Of Spooks and Spirits and silly-fun tricks. Of Witches and Warlocks and Scary Black Cats. And Candy Corn, Jelly Apples, Pumpkins and Bats.

If you know me, then you know that my favorite comic book super is Iron Man. (I said so yesterday) and I have some nice statues and action figures to strut as well:

So, today at the shop.  While I was bagging, pricing and boarding comics.  The phone rang (it happens) but, I was awe struck (a little) to see who was calling:

I have noticed on this site and the main site, a new kind of blog spam.  Basically relevant comments, being written by real people but linking to spam sites. I have noticed an increased number of these types of comments.

It would seem that those that make money from comment spamming are feeling the pinch and are not using real people. It is very apparent when you load the linked URL, they either try to link it from their contact info or are trying to hide a hyperlink in a period or single word so that it is not so obvious when you view the comment thread.

Bots are relative easy to beat but if spammers are using real people to leave relevant comments linking to their spam sites this will be a bigger challenge.

I went ahead and pre-ordered the next COD,

Now that I am part of the Multiplayer beta, I think I can say that playing through the maps and modes made it clear that Treyarch has some good ideas at work here.

The large-scale of many of the vehicle maps is a nice change of pace from the tight nature of many Modern Warfare maps, but at the same time if you want brutal infantry combat it’s here as well, too. The perk and level systems will encourage long-term play, as you can unlock plenty of fun new toys

I can tell you what was my very first comic book that is still in my collection is Howard the Duck #8.  I can also tell you that Iron Man is my favorite comic book character, but who was my hero growing up?

Lone Ranger? Nah, didn’t like the whole cowboy and indian thing.  Neal Armstrong?  Cool idea, but someone like that just wouldn’t have been around enough.  Bob Wilkins?  It is very true, I spent many a late night in front of the black and white tube watching this dude, but then I would need to have an uncle like Tom Savini to make it a set.

Nope - since I was a typical kid growing up, I was hooked on the Saturday morning ‘toons.  The corny, but good ones like Space Ghost, Herculoids, Johnny Quest, but my absolute favorite was:

None other than Frankenstein Jr and his pal Buzz.

I never thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I thought this morning that I would take a stab at being a Vault Dweller with my handy Pip-Boy 3000 secured firmly to my arm.

So, I took a little break today from bagging, boarding and pricing comics and dove into The Fallout universe which paints a picture of a dystopian future.

It exists in what people on the cusp of the atomic revolution in the 1950s saw as the sci-fi world of tomorrow…if several thousand nuclear bombs were dropped on it.

You play as the Vault Dweller, a blank slate for you to write your story on. The game begins with your birth and then quickly moves through childhood with snapshots of pivotal events, like when you turn 10 and your Pip-Boy 3000.  It’s a character creation and tutorial sequence that sets the backdrop of the story. You live in one of the many vaults/bunkers designed to keep its occupants alive through the nuclear war that ravaged the surface. However, vault 101 didn’t reopen when the war finished and as the opening cinematic informs you, it is here you will die because nobody ever enters or leaves Vault 101. <gulp>

Update:

Christ!  There is so much to do in Fallout 3 that it would take well more than 1,000 blog posts  to come close to covering everything.  I mean, there is the ingenious turn-based/real-time combat system known as VATS, not to mention about the coolest/grossest graphics, like when you blow the limbs off a raider or when you have to retrieve Dog Meat. (yes, you will eat dog meat, if you want to survive.)

Fallout 3 is a post-apocalyptic (my favorite genre) triumph, one of the best RPGs ever made and a definite candidate for game of the year.

These are exciting times for Empire, because on their newest issue is about to hit shelves and it’s jam-packed with exclusive images and interviews from JJ Abrams’ Star Trek.

Not only does our cover replicate an iconic Kirk and Spock pose with the new cast, Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, but we also shot special character images of both actors and scored some never-before-seen stills from the film itself, showing Kirk and Spock at work on the USS Enterprise.

Empire talked to both stars and director JJ Abrams about bringing Star Trek to a new generation and as a taster, here’s what JJ had to say about the challenges he faced even in the wardrobe department.

“For me, the costumes were a microcosm of the entire project, which was how to take something that’s kind of silly and make it feel real. But how do you make legitimate those near-primary color costumes? How do you make legitimate the pointy ears and the bowl haircut? It’s ridiculous and as potentially cliched as it gets. How do you watch Galaxy Quest and then go make a Star Trek movie?”

Marvel would like to announce that the hotly anticipated, extra-sized Secret Invasion #8 will now arrive in stores on December 3rd, 2008. The top-selling comic book event of 2008, by award winning scribe Brian Michael Bendis and superstar artist Leinil Yu, concludes with this final issue that redefines the Marvel Universe and begins Dark Reign!

“The additional pages in #8 did both Leinil and the schedule in,” explained Executive Editor Tom Brevoort. “Anybody who pored over the artwork from #7 a week ago can easily see how he and Mark Morales have been putting their all (and then some) into every page and every panel, and that effort has finally caught up with us. Hopefully, retailers and fans will forgive us these extra two weeks as we make sure that everything is in the shape it should be in for the extra-sized climax—and from there, it’ll be smooth sailing straight into DARK REIGN.”

David Gabriel, Marvel’s Senior Vice President of Sales, added, “In speaking with retailers, Marvel decided it was more important to preserve the creative integrity of the series, rather than rush out the final issue. This not only creates a stronger product for our loyal readers, but also for our retailer partners, whose support helped make Secret Invasion a huge success.”

GameSpy’s running the first online Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 review today, giving the co-op-centric real-time strategy game a solid 4/5:

Hard-core RTS gamers may find the strategic model of Red Alert 3 a bit simplistic, but taken on its own terms, Red Alert 3 is the strategy game equivalent of Super Smash Brothers — simple, brutal, fast and fun. The game’s strategy model is built around three fun-to-use armies that exemplify classic RTS archetypes. The Soviets are a brutal direct damage army best at building big and hitting hard. The Allies are built around versatility with shifting troop-carrying units that change their combat role based on the type of troop they’re carrying. The Empire army is a fast-moving hit-and-run strike force built around stealth and transforming. The sole “innovation” in the game is an increased role for naval units — normally not a popular thing in RTS games — that the game makes work by adding in lots of amphibious units and vehicles that are easy to use and as filled with personality as their land-based counterparts.

Ultimately, it’s Red Alert 3’s multiplayer components that really sell it. Almost every unit in the game has a single secondary power that’s activated by pressing the (default) “F” key on the keyboard and any selected multi-unit squad can be tabbed through to use a specific power. The result is a game of slam-bang back-and-forth action where players who are quick enough at reading the situation can employ specific powers to take out enemy units. Even for players who aren’t that good, simply spamming the “F” and “Tab” keys will probably do something useful — or at least amusing. The simplicity and the user-friendliness of this design ensure that strategy newbs can have a good time without a lucky break frustrating more skilled players.