Football and Nike

As the NFL season settles in continues to keep me entertained I felt the urge to post up the newish Nike commercial that has been on pretty heavy rotation this year. Why post it? I've got very little interest in advertising these days, in fact I wouldn't wish a career of trickery for dollars on anyone (smiley face:). I'm posting because it isn't getting old. Anybody who has seen and love "The Good, Bad and Ugly" will recognize the base tune. While Nike's soccer adds have been hitting the mark for a decade, their (or should I say Weiden Kennedy) football ads have fallen short. Which is a shame because of the uniqueness of the sport of football in our culture. Part of it may have to do with the way American sports operates with out ads on uniforms or plastered all around the rim of the stadium. Whatever the case, ads for football have fallen short. That is until now...



It is in the same vein as last years Steven Jackson, Sean Merriman ad but better. But, just for pure entertainment value and because Nike owns sports advertising; a soccer one that I could watch a hundred times. If I imagine Smitty in that first person view i could watch it 100 times more.

Ranged Weapons and Matt T.

Been a while since I've written. Moving gets in the way of that. It's a funny thing moving for a 2nd time in an unfamiliar place. But I digress. Alas! I am move-en. And much Fable II is been play-en. And much North Carolina has been thought-en. Fable brings back many good memories. It is what I call a Matt game. I play deep into the night hours, early in the sacred Sunday morning holiness. Matt, I miss you brother. While my time in Ohio may still be ticking on, I often wonder now how much I miss. North Carolina is a like a myth to many people in Ohio. OBX coffee mugs on co-workers desks. Stories from friends here that recount a ten year old trip to the mountains. It was all there in my hands, a missed opportunity to expound on. But here I am, making more then enough to be where I would rather be. Ohio, my friend, you have learned me much. Most importantly, what is important.

Hell's Highway Review

It's worth mentioning that just the fact that I am getting around to writing about a game like this means I enjoyed it. I'm awful proud of myself for finally 'finishing' a triple A title this year. Let's get started:

STORY: 7
I'm going to throw out the dreaded 'mix bag' cliche here. After all it is WWII so it is tough to look at is strictly as a game. Gearbox is still going strong with a coherent story with the same set of characters as in previous games. Admittedly though, I haven't played one since the first, but it was refreshing to see Matt Baker and team back. I'm giving the game a 4 almost solely based on the attempt Gearbox made a creating a story. An 'A' for effort kind of thing. Maybe I want it to be better then it is? Regardless, see Matt Baker's decent into madness is fresh and different. However, the 'cut scenes' are edited choppy and the writers choose to bounce back and forth in time more then they should have. Combine that with Baker's 'visions' and it gets confusing. No doubt a 2nd playthrough would help that though. Anyway, a story is there and it is good.

OBJECTIVE: 10
BiA has wonderful gameplay devices that I enjoy. The cover system used is good and the level set pieces are very well done. There are plenty of different ways to complete an objective. I've read other reviews that liken it to 'whack a mole' gameplay. I see it, but don't agree in simplifying it down to that. I like the use of the map screen and really enjoy commanding a couple squads around the battlefield. Controls are simple and the team responds to your orders.

IN GAME ART & DESIGN: 7
Excellent full usage of HD. Menus are fast and clean, the opening menu screen is very well done. In game design is really well done, simple and uncluttered. I think it looks great. Cut scenes go from 'jaw dropping' to 'wow, they mailed this in'. Personally, I enjoyed the daytime battles but lots of reviews prefer the game better when it goes to night which just proves that most of them are entertained by flickering lights. The game is very impressive during the night portion of the game, but I wouldn't say it is much better. Interiors of buildings could have been done better. Other then a few odd moments the game looks fabulous.

AUDIO, SOUND: 7
Voice work is some of the best I have heard in a while. Environmental sounds like gunfire and explosions are as well. Towards the end of the game, I was hunkered down right outside a building when I realized that my teams voices echoed while shouting inside the building. Well done. Music is good. The game may be too ambitious for what the soundtrack accomplishes though.

GAMEPLAY: 10
I already covered this a bit up in objectives, but I say it again. I'm a sucker for the way the this game works. Command squads around a map to complete the mission. Good stuff. That said, there are a handful of 'Tank' missions. Meaning they plop you in the belly of a 'steel beast' to wreak havoc. It is fun, but it's like a different game. I'm also laughing as I write this because there is a strange tangent in the story where you try and save a kid while atop a building sniping off Germans. So, yes... there is a 'sniper level' hahaha.

EMOTIONAL IMPACT: 7
I got fairly involved in Baker's story. I wanted to know what was driving him insane and in the end it pays off pretty well. I was also impacted by what was going on with Hartstock. But you'll have to play the game for those moments because they are the best in the game. Part of the game touches on something rarely done well in video games... the opposite sex. Not with any of the main characters but you will find your heart aflutter when you see one of your team chase after a pretty girl into a burning city. One of the best parts in the game, actually one of the best things I've seen in a game ever. I found myself motivated a great deal and I gave more purpose to what I was doing. I wanted to save them.

LONGEVITY: 5
It is what it is. A WWII game and only one part of a much bigger story.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: 5
The game is a part of a series, I think the best is yet to come.

X FACTOR: 10
I enjoyed the game. I'm writing about it. Again, a triple A title delivers for me! yay!

PACKAGE DESIGN: 5
I purchased the 'Limited Edition' version. Very Band of Brothers. Giant, thick box that is deserving of the game inside. Now, the action figure and comic inside? Maybe not. But it works well. You're always going to get extra points for special packaging with me. Artwork is great. I like the simple duotone red sky with the soldier silhouettes.

FINAL SCORE: 78

Excellent game well worth anyones time. I've touched on some of the better moments of the game already, but I'll say again that approaching a burning city from the outskirts and marching straight into it is fantastic.

Mark Goes For a Swim

That's Mark... the rules: 1. Be careful which raft you get back on. 2. Hold on to your paddle.

Not just a day on The River.

Hells Bells

Don't trust the lukewarm reviews of Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway. It is a great game. Its the kind of game you think about at work and want to get home to play it kind of thing. Is it as silky smooth as Call of Duty IV? no. Does it have the same war game mystic of Ghost Recon? nah. Does it have enough of both and and engaging story to boot? Yes. The guys down at Gearbox are proving that the 'Band of Brothers' theme is more then just something to piggy back on. They are sticking with it and have created a fantastic game that is balanced. What is balanced you say? Well... it means problems and challenges are achievable and solvable first go round. Not the 20th trial and error go round and after 5 Dundee Wheat Beers and 2 god awful Bacardi Mojitos that have been sitting in the fridge for a month. Maybe the game has just hit my sweet spot, but regardless... I like it. In fact so much that I don't need to dig into my Mojitos.

That's sayin' something.

'splainin 2

Welp, here I am again in sort of a quasi build up to my next Whale Watcher video explaining myself on another video I'd done in the past. This time it comes in the form of something I put together not long before I'd finally moved up to completely to Ohio. First off though, I'd like to mention that I'd already had a long history with editing down Logan's Run to Whale Watchers music. My epic plan was to almost re-edit the entire move and put it to Roctannica songs. I even tried. I carried it out to about three songs. before I started running out of space on my mac.

The first song I completed was 'I see a Devil' (i think that was the name of the song). I fleshed it out completely on Smitty's mac I think. A couple years later I revisited it on my own mac with, again, full intention of making an epic. I re-re-edited the same thing even and carried further with 'Animals at the Levers' to a chase scene after the famous gladiator type scene in the movie. Later, after a show the WW put on I'd revisited Logan's Run for "Rock n Roll".

I think, as far as my Logan's Run edits go, this was my most coherent. Take that for what it is worth I guess and nothing more.



In this the WW blow up walls, ignite pyrotechnics on an extras ass, and rock a glowing anka. In the end 'Box' lets us all know what it is all about... Rock and Roll.

Enough is enough though. Can I say that I'll never revisit Logan's Run? Honestly... no.

'splainin 1

Much moons ago in a place near a place called VA Beach a band played. and played. and played. Three quarters of the way through they seemed to get loose, and by loose, I mean let it go, and by let it go, I mean get to the moment where you try and force it then go past that to the point where it let go of them. I remember driving up in pretty heavy snow and calling a girl named Sherri Fain's parents to try and get hold of her. I think she got engaged that weekend. I'd have to check with sources on that though. Too much information there, but it part of what 'splainin' is. It is what it was.

I drove up from Raleigh that night and drove back that night. Rocktannica's number one fan. Looking for magic then creating a mess just to see what happened.



I wanted deep shades of simple colors. Stevens was in a red shirt, Matt in white and Geoff in blue. Never found the yellow I wanted, but it worked for me. I layered about three different shots on top of each other and blew out the contrast. I want it there but not there. Animation with bold lines. I wanted it to be the visual representation of the sound I was given that night as well as capture the feeling I got by taking the trip up there.

At the time I remember being frustrated by the quality of that I got out of compressing files down so they didn't take up too much space. I knew that the band name would be a mess but it looked crappy large. So at the end I blew it out so it looked even worse. A big middle finger to compression. Yeah! Take that technical constraints. Rock n Roll!!!

To this day one of my favorite shots is Wood and Wood breaking apart before I fade them out at the end. This is probably why I picked this video got explain first... That one second I like and am watching a hundred times over just like I did when editing it.

A mess. But I remember it and it still conjures up the same feelings I had then. So something worked.

What I would give to hear Stevens poundin', Matt givin' it his all and Re searchin' for magic just one more time live.

Pick It Week 1

One of the things I found fun last year with Madden was keep track of the games it picked as I progressed through the season and compare them to those from major sports people. In the end, the video game finished in the middle of the pack. Which was surprising because i figured it to derail halfway through the season because of injuries, trades and whatnots. But this is a new year. How will Madden do this year? Let's put it up against the experts at ESPN. Part of me wants Madden to fail and another part wants ESPN to epic fail. So it's all fair here, lets take a look...

Week 1 accuracy:

1. Allen 68.8%
1. Accuscore 68.8%
2. Jaworski 66.7%
3. Wickersham 62.5%
3. Sclereth 62.5%
3. Mortensen 62.5%
4. Fleming 56.3%
4. Hoge 56.3%
4. Pick 'em 56.3%
5. Golic 53.3%
6. MADDEN 37.5%

Not surprisingly Mike Golic is near the bottom... but Madden only picking 6 games right in week 1?! Maybe I should ad a control picker like my cat or how about picking the first team mentioned in the box score... okay I just did. 37.5%. Same as Madden. Woops.

Lotta ground to make up here EA.

OSU Gets Ripped by Ohio*

Ohio State University. An interesting place.

It is impossible to not get wrapped up in the largest University on the face of the planet. Don't ask why I'm taking the time to write about it, because I don't know for sure. It's Sunday though so in opening the Columbus Dispatch today I wasn't shocked to find the headline "RUDE AWAKENING" in large type face on the front page of Sports section. OSU did beat Ohio University yesterday but apparently not to the liking of the entire state.

To me it is no surprise that OU played well against OSU. Many of the players on both teams are born, bred and coached in this state. They probably played with or against each other in-between cornfields, factories and suburbs all over the state whilst growing up. Football, it is said, is single most direct representation of America and Ohio is essentially the cradle of sport. Over the past few years I've learnt that Ohio is truly the countries heart, good and bad. Woody Hayes, one of the most iconic figures in the history of the game and long time former coach for the Buckeyes, embodied not only OSU football but the entire state of Ohio. "Three yards and a cloud of dust." he once said about his run first mentality. Physically beat the other team to submission. He also said "I've had smarter people around me all my life, but I haven't run into one yet that can outwork me. And if they can't outwork you, then smarts aren't going to do them much good." I couldn't come up with a better way to describe the state and people of Ohio then those two quotes.

OSU's stadium can seat almost 110,000 people. It sells out every home game. Think about that. Getting that may people together on Saturdays during the fall is not just a sporting event, it's a historical phenomenon.













Hahahahaha. That clip gets me every time.



Woody Hayes was fired the day after that punch happened.

In other news UVA officials ban signs from games.