The Recycle Bin

And it is Go, Go, Go! (Copycat Racing Goes Underground)

This is ridiculous. In a span of eight days we have NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup (due Aug 31), Street Racing Syndicate (Aug 31), Burnout 3 (due Sep 7), and Juiced (due Sep 7). The NASCAR game makes sense – it is timed around the new playoff format, but what about Juiced and SRS? They are coming out so damn close to each other that they are sure to stunt to the other game, not to mention that Burnout 3 has more “buzz” behind it, plus the EA marketing arm (and $$$).

The second wave of racing games starts in October with TOCA Race Driver 2 (due Oct 5), which is a surprise release. I thought it was going to remain an Xbox exclusive. I have no idea how well the first title did, but the PSX TOCA titles never did that well. I do not have actual sales data to back up that claim, but I just do not remember any of those titles being chart toppers, despite being solid racing games. TOCA 2 and 3 were way ahead of their time, complete with great racing AI and visible damage.

November will see the release of the heavy hitters – Gran Turismo 4 (due Nov 14), Need For Speed Underground 2 (Nov 15), and Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition (Nov 23). I have preorderd GT4 and NFS:U2, but I have no interest in Midnight Club 3, which is going to be completely lost in the wake of the other two games.

What is the deal with all the copycat underground games? Yes, I know NFS:Underground was late to the party, but EA does this type of game so well that I do not see SRS, Juiced, and Midnight Club 3 standing a chance. Oh well, I have a feeling that 2005 will be a great year for bargain bin racing.

Google Gmail

Someone at work hooked me up with a beta test account with Google’s new Gmail. To be honest I missed all the fuss until recently. I did not know that Gmail was once considered exclusive, and even fairly popular on eBay. Talking about being out of the loop.

I have yet to publish any sort of contact info – I really need to take some time to clean up the layout. Anyway, find me at any of the following:

* Calvert Games mail
* Google Gmail
* Yahoo mail
* formula1calvert – AOL IM
* jonathan_calvert – Yahoo IM

So what is so great about Gmail? Hard to say at this point since I have not done much with it, but its conversation view looks interesting as do the label features. Of course you get 1GB of space, and the ads (so far) are not nearly as intrusive as Yahoo.

Falcons vs. Bengals – Football 101

This weekend I managed to make it to my first Falcons game in several years as part of my new season ticket package. Some guys at work hold a block of five seats; one guy from last year dropped out, so I picked up the seat. The seats are pretty good for $125 (all home games including preseason) – they are fairly high up behind the endzone opposite of the score board/TV matrix display. Cheap seats they are, but they do offer a good view for the money.

There was no time to tailgate since I had baby sitting duties for most of the morning through lunch. Plus the kids had to have a nap, which would really hamper my efforts to take my six-year-old son, Joshua, to his first ever sporting event. I am sure the guys will have some better tailgating sessions lined up for the regular season. We will have to just to afford to go, what with beer at $7 per cup. Freaking ridiculous.

I lived in Atlanta for about six years and did not mind it one bit, except for the traffic, which really does suck as much as you read about. We decided to part south of downtown and do the Marta thing – its smarter, so the slogan goes. Parking at the Marta stations is free, and a round trip to the Dome and back was $3.50, which I suppose is not too bad.

Joshua was pretty excited about his first train ride. Thankfully he did not ask me the unanswerable questions about what some of the young punks were singing on the train. Would not have been a pretty sight – that junk was making me blush. Of course that is the price you pay for taking Marta – you have to mingle with inner city thugs that would sooner kick the shit out of you than say “excuse me.”

Poor Joshua. After we got off the train we had to walk, and walk, and walk just to get to our gate at the Dome. Of course our tickets are on the far said of the considerably large stadium. Once safely inside, we had to walk, and walk, and walk again, to go up, up, up to the seats. Joshua did great – he was taking in the sights and sounds, watching pregame warm-ups as we migrated from level to level, oblivious to the fact that it was going to cost a ton for dad to drink a few beers.

Anyway, enough about getting to the game. The game was great if you are a Falcons fan (a nice 37-10 shellacking), but unimpressive if you were there to see Vick, who was scratched from the game as a last minute precaution. Schaub looked like the second coming of Montana. OK, maybe that is a stretch, but he looked really good against Cincinnati’s number one defensive unit.

Joshua was very disappointed that Vick was not playing, but since the Falcons were winning, and scoring at will, he was happy. Tonya, my wife, presented him with a replica Vick shirt right before we left for the game – he was truly happy to have a shirt like dad’s. So we got over Vick not playing, learned a little about football, learned about cheerleaders, and learned how to “boo” the opposing team. Of course I explained that we do not dislike the opposition, we just want our team to win. Something like that to keep his mother from tearing into my hide. I figured the cheerleaders were going to get me in enough trouble so I better explain the booing.

The best part of the game for me was taking Joshua to see a “real” football game. He was a real trooper. The game started at 7:30PM, which is pretty much his normal bed time. He was wide-eyed for most of the 1st quarter, but midway through the 2nd quarter he was ready to go home. He managed to hang in there for the better part of 3 quarters, so all in all his performance was quality stuff!

My parents divorced when I was fairly young, so I do not have memories of my dad taking me to my first football or baseball game. I am not sure who will have the fondest memories of our Falcons experience – I think I will always remember my son’s expressions, and hopefully he will become a lifelong sports fan thanks to his outing with dad.

Father/son bonding is great! I now understand some of those “priceless” Visa commercials – I did spend $50 on food, adult beverages, and mass transit passes, but it was worth every penny to share the experience with my son.

QB Controversy in ATL – Schaub Eyes Vick’s Job

While many may think it is far fetched, Schaub looks like a starter in the making, while quite whispers abound about Vick’s lack of a grasp on the newly installed West Coast offense. I saw Schaub first hand last Saturday as he single handedly dismantled the Bengal’s defense. Schaub not only looked sharp, he looked very, very comfortable playing with the rest of the first stringers while Vick sat and watched.

It had to be disconcerting for Vick to watch Schaub complete his first 6 passes, and look damn impressive in the process. The statistics will not show a beautiful 40 some-odd yard post to Price that was simply amazing; too bad it was lost due to a mysterious penalty [OK, I admin penalties are hard to see from the cheap seats]. Before it was all said and done, Schaub put Atlanta into a comfortable 27-7 halftime lead behind 214 yards (14 for 20) and 3TDs.

Thus far Vick only has 35 passing yards (5 for 9), which is not so impressive. Schaub on the other hand is a rookie, which makes his statistics all the more remarkable. Schaub’s QB rating is 111.0, he has 6 TDs to 2 INTs, and he has completed 66.7% of his passes (42 for 63) racking up 527 yards.

Is it far fetched for Schaub to steal Vick’s job? Perhaps – after all Vick is making a ton of coin. Some of this I say in jest – really, it is just preseason, but it is hard to ignore the underlying statistics. Thankfully, as fun as it is to stir up a QB controversy, it looks like Mora is sitting on a gold mine. Not only does Atlanta have one of the most exciting players on the planet, it looks like Mora and company drafted a truly capable backup in Schaub, which is important because Vick continues to put himself into situations where he gets his nuts knocked into the dirt.

When it is all said and done, I love me some Vick – I even laid out a decent amount of cash for a replica jersey for myself and my wife did the same for Joshua (our oldest son). Say what you will, Vick is a truly amazing talent (especially in Madden), and he is a joy to watch. I just hope Vick comes to terms quickly with the West Coast offense because Atlanta fans need this guy to succeed.

Burnout 3 Looks Impressive

This weekend I had a chance to play a Burnout 3 (PS2) demo at Best Buy. I have never played any of the games in the series so I do not have a barometer, but this thing was pretty fun and impressive. In the few minutes I played I decided a couple of things. First, the game has an awesome sense of speed. Second, the game’s crashes are nothing short of spectacular. I have no idea what sort of lasting appeal the game will have, but I bet the crash mode is about as good as it gets for “pick up and play” action.

Need For Speed is about the closest thing I get to arcade racing these days, but Burnout 3 certainly got my attention. I would put it on my buy list if it was cheaper, but $50 is a little too much for my taste for this sort of game. Speaking of which, I am not sure what EA was thinking when it decided to take over publishing rights; maybe they are playing to make Need For Speed an “exotic” racer once again, while the Burnout series takes over the Ridge Racer arcade style formula. It will be interesting to see how EA positions the two series with future releases.

Crash ‘N’ Burn – Out of the Loop

Today I was slogging through mounds of email, and I noticed that I was sent an invitation from the PlayStation Underground to apply for a beta test position for Eidos’ Crash ‘N’ Burn. Two things come to mind. First, I have never received an invite to be a beta tester before, so that was fairly cool. Second, I am so far out of the loop that I have no idea what this game is about. Still, the email said, “you meet all of the requirements and have been invited to participate in the online public beta test…”

Kind of interesting since I am not a big online fan, and it is a little disconcerting that I am completely out of it when it comes to release lists. There was a time in my life when I could recite (in great detail) tons of games that were on my radar and even complete lists of games that I figured would be lame, or discount rack material. I assume this game is kind of like Destruction Derby, and all good readers (and I suspense Sony too) know that the rolling demo for DD convinced me that I needed this new shiny known as the PlayStation months before Sony took over the world of video gaming.

Alas, this said tale ended with a message that stated that the enrollment period was over and all beta tester positions have been filled. At least I know that there is still some hope for me. After all, I did get the email saying that I was cool enough to be a beta testing. Then again, I am sure 1000s of others received the same letter. Still being invited to beta test is something to hang my hat on … I guess.

Cheers – US Women Capture Soccer Gold

I admit it, I do not follow women’s soccer, much less women’s sports of any sort; just not my thing you see. Still, it is hard not to be happy for this amazing group of women collectively known as the “Fab Five” – Hamm, Foundy, Fawcett, Lilly, and the shirtless one Chastain.

As I said, I do not follow the sport, so there is no point commenting on the 2-1 victory over Brazil. I also do not know which of the other star players are retiring along with Hamm after the Olympics. I do know that I am proud of this team for bringing home the Gold.

Job well done ladies!

Former Staffers Now Bloggers

Webdanzer is now a blogger at Webdanzer’s Spin and Ted Leiker (i.e. Grantofan) has gone blogging with Granatofan’s Corner. I wish them both the best of success and look forward to reading the creativity that flows from their new-found homes.

Now we wait to see if Adam and Kevin join the party with a blog of their own, join another site, start up something fresh, remain low-key, or something else equally exciting.

Couch Falters in Green Bay … Q-Q-Q-Quincy and the Jets

It is hard to believe that the once promising career of Tim Couch has quickly crashed and burned. Couch was clinging to hope that his career could be revived in Green Bay behind the tutorage of Favre, but it appears that Couch is about to hit rock bottom. Thus far Couch has a QB rating of 39.6%. 8 completions in 28 attempts, good for an abysmal (you do the math) completion percentage, a 2.9 yards/attempt average, and 82 measly yards. Green Bay fans better be praying that (A) Favre does not get hurt (B) Favre does not call it a day anytime soon.

Quincy Carter landed with the “J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS” today. I have a whole lot more to say on this, but I will save it for later. I just question if Jets offensive coordinator Paul Hackett has been in Ricky’ stash:

“I think this guy is a magnificent fit,” offensive coordinator Paul Hackett said of Carter playing in a West Coast offense. “I said it when he came out of Georgia. I looked at him extensively. … I likened him to Steve Young, in my opinion.” [source – NFL.com]

Steve Young? Give me a f’ing break. That is about the most ridiculous thing I have heard. Ever. I am hard pressed to think of anything more ridiculous than comparing Steve Young to Quincy Carter. I think the NFL should hand down a fine for that one. Talking about a low blow for Young. If I were Young, I would sue Hacket, the Jets, and the NFL (deep pockets) for defamation of character.

Father’s Day Game – Champions of Norrath (PS2)

I continue to enjoy the “Father’s Day Game” as my oldest son is fond of calling Champions of Norrath; yes – it was one of my father’s day presents last June. I have yet to finish this game, and I have not played online yet, but it continues to suck me in each time I play. This game definitely causes a case of “just 5 more minutes.”

So why does this game have lasting power? Fun factor and serious replay value; true hallmarks of a worthwhile game.

First, it is hack-and-slash action at its finest! If you just want to power your way through a game with little regard to anything other than “mash, slash, and bash” this one is for you. The cool thing is that the game plays completely differently depending on your character of choice. Do you want to plow through the game with brute force, or would you rather use a vast array of spells? Either way the game is equally fun.

Second, the graphics are exceptionally solid. Snowblind Studios is one of my favorite development shops – they also developed Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, which was the previous bar for hack-and-slash action on the PS2. The graphics in Champions of Norrath are about as good as it gets; regardless of the effects, be it water, fire, spells, arrows sticking to attacking creatures, pools of blood (option for those with small children), level design, or pretty much anything else. Seriously, even your most jaded graphics whore will be impressed.

Third, the intangibles are impressive. The flexible “level-up” system provides some strategy and makes the game a little more interesting than your normal flavor of hack-and-slash games. You get to allocate points to various attributes (strength, dexterity, intelligence, and stamina) and you get to allocate points to various skills (power up your slash attacks, shoot ice/freeze arrows, cast disease attacks, and so on). On top of all this, you also get to power up weapons for a truly creative system that provides a few reasons to plan out your path through the game.

Fourth, the game is a joy to play in co-op mode; my son and I are having a blast playing through this one together. Needless to say, this game has me convinced that I may actually be missing something by not playing online. That is a big omission for this gamer.

Final words – Champions of Norrath has what it takes; the game has an extremely high fun factor, and the reply value is easily worth the price of admission [currently $19.99 new at most major retailers]. Check out Game Rankings for more Champions of Norrath information.

Buy

Ratings System

I think we all knew that I could not make it very long without spouting off about this, that, and the other. As I have said elsewhere, lack of an opinion and things to write about was never an issue. Instead I grew weary of the current format – detailed, unbiased content is one thing, but I no longer have the time or desire to write reviews that are so damn long that your head starts to spin half-way home.

For now, whenever I feel like writing about videogames and whatnot, the following will be my overly simple rating system:

– Buy; worth spending your hard-earned duckets on this product.
– Rent; a cheap “look-see” is a good idea because your cash may be better spent on something else.
– Dud; a can of beans on the discount rack is a better buy then this steaming pile of sh^+.

Air Style Wireless Controller (PS2) – Full of Hot Air

Last summer I imported an Air Style Wireless Controller (produced by Fountech) from LinkSang after reading rave reviews from IGN and PSM. I needed something on the PS2 equivalent to the GameCube’s WaveBird. The Air Style Wireless Controller does fit the bill.

After PSM named the controller one of the best wireless options on the PS2 and IGN gave the controller some sort of 2003 E3 “Best of” award, I figured I could not go wrong. After all, the specs on the box listed the controller as having 50+ hours of battery life, a 30 foot range, and the latest RF technology, I figured I was good to go – wireless I would be – life would be good.

So why am I writing this sad little tale now? After laying out $61.99 ($39.99 + $22.00 shipping) to import this little wireless wonder, I cashed in my losses on eBay last weekend – recovering $17.00 + shipping. Could have been worse I guess.

This controller acted more like IR (line of sight) instead of RF. I had to sit within about 5 feet of my system to get decent response, and even then at times the inputs (button presses) often queued up and really messed up my playing experience. I could go on, and I will…

The controller’s vibration response is almost non-existent, the D-pad is completely flaky when in analog mode, and the controller’s response time complete stinks. Game after game I wondered what I was doing wrong. Gone were my dreams of being untethered from the entertainment center, gone were my hopes of burning a perfect lap, lost were my chances to hit the perfect button combo in pretty much any game.

I found myself frequently changing the 2-AA batteries, and constantly switching between the full-analog mode and the power-saving economy mode. At times the economy mode actually worked better than full-analog mode. Something just did not add up. Maybe my Asia version does not work so well on my US PS2? Maybe the new US version actually performs better? I am not really sure, but I must say that I was completely disappointed in the controller IGN and PSM crowned the would be king of PS2 Wireless.

If you must be wireless, try the Logitech Cordless Action Controller, which is a fabulous alternative to the standard Sony Dual Shock controller, and is actually the real deal when it comes to RF technology.

Dud

Willis McGahee – JA, Ignorant, or Just Plain Stupid?

Is Willis McGahee a jackass, ignorant, or just stupid? In this “what have you done for me lately” society, McGahee has yet to do jack-crap. The Buffalo Bills drafted McGahee 23rd overall in the 2003 draft despite have a messed up knee. The Bills pulled the string anyway, and rehabbed McGahee, and now the dumbass demands to be traded? McGahee, what have you done for me lately?

Maybe McGahee is ignorant. Maybe he does not realize that the Bill’s current starting running back, Travis Henry, rushed for 1,438 rushing yards (4.4 yds/rush) in 2002, and in 2003 rushed for 1,356 yards (4.1 yds/rush). What did McGahee rush for last year? Oh yeah, he was rehabbing his bum knee.

In McGahee’s first preseason game against Denver he had 58 yards on 13 carries (4.5 yds/rush), which was pretty good, but not “I should be the starter or else” good. Sure the TD was nice, but this is the preseason – don’t go getting excited.

This weekend McGahee managed another TD, but only scampered for 28 yards on 11 carries good for a paltry 2.5 yds/rush – ouch! “Look at me, look at me! I am special, I am a star!” What a jackass!

Personally I think McGahee must be stupid – I have yet to see him do any damage control despite some reported PR type BS coming out of the Bill’s front office. McGahee may one day be a star, but for now he should just be thankful someone rehabbed his knee. McGahee should also shut the f-up and do something on the field, when the games actually count, before making his next trade demand.

Jackass, ignorant, or plain stupid? You make the call.

Nuke Cops and BAD-TAGS

I guess I am just a bitter b*st^rd about the whole php Nuke fiasco. Nuke is not a bad CMS by any stretch, and it certainly proved its usefulness to me over the last year, but this junk is completely unsecured and hack prone.

Nuke Cops is a fairly respectable site when it comes to securing a php Nuke deployment. They have 1000s of registered users, and it is the first place a php Nuke admin should look to find the latest downloads, mods, and security fixes. It really is a one-stop shop for php Nuke security info.

Too bad Nuke Cop’s user ban system is so f’ed-up. Seriously. I kid you not – their system completely sucks. After the first couple of hack attacks on the previous manifestation of Calvert Games, I decided to explore Nuke Cops to see if I could come up with a solution. I made the mistake of including “script” in one of my searches, thinking about the “admin script” add-on. Too bad for me because the “admin script” is actually “admin secure” and I later learned that fortress (another php Nuke security add on) was responsible for the auto-ban.

And by the way – admin secure is not a good solution in and of itself; it should be run in conjunction with other security scripts such as Fortress.

Fortress is a pretty cool script; I encourage all php Nuke sites to run it – I think it was responsible for finally eliminating the hack attacks on my humble site. While looking at the code I learned that sending the word “script” through a request would trigger an auto ban (assuming a site has this option enabled). Sure is helpful for stopping injection attacks, but down right piss poor for users. I mean, who would not search for the word “script” on a security site (i.e. Nuke Cops) that provides scripts for a CMS script (i.e. php Nuke)?

To this day I still cannot get to Nuke Cops – I am presented with “Banned by BAD-TAGS.” So Nuke Cops is now on my official wanker list. Why have an auto-ban system that does not even provide any sort of contact info “just in case” a mistake is made? Pretty poor decision on the part of Nuke Cops.

Thankfully cheers go to Computer Cops, which is incidentally run by the same guy that founded Nuke Cops. The Computer Cops community was extremely helpful in getting my php Nuke based site secure. The owner even provided me with contact info for the Nuke Cops guys, but no dice. No reply; banned to eternal damnation.

Nuke Cops and BAD-TAGS can jerk off for all I care.

Dream Team No More

After yesterday’s debacle I hope that the current NBA representatives known as would-be Dream-Teamers will be known as the clank and crib club. This new generation of “players” – these guys are truly an embarrassment to the US and to the NBA. It is time to get back to fundamentals.

I think I what I had to say on this matter yesterday was somewhat more cleaver, but all of that was lost with the hack attack. Too bad. Still, something has to be said, even if I have now lost my thunder.

I will leave it at this. The current Olympic team is a disgrace to the fundamentals of the game. Does anyone even care? These guys are almost irrelevant; just a bunch of NBA Ballers that are out for the individual instead of the team. The rest of the world understands the basic concepts of the game – teamwork, possession, precession passing, parameter shooting, and sound shots from the charity stripe. These birds may yet win which as an American I truly want, but man-o-man do they piss me off. You cannot just throw together 12 NBA “super stars” and hope to intimidate the rest of the field, let alone take home the gold.