Oculus Rift Makes Virtual Reality... A Reality

So we've all seen it. This inevitable future in gaming. It's in like ever science fiction flick ever. Back to the Future, Tron, and even an episode of Captain Planet. The tech's always been way ahead of our time, but it's already 2012 dammit! BTTF promised we were supposed to get it at least two years ago, but no. It's also rather annoying, considering how the big names don't wanna give us anything new, except better graphics and performance, but with less freedom. Now, from one lone hobbyist, comes the start of the invention we've ALL been waiting for.

The Oculus Rift is the first ever virtual reality headset design for videogames. We've already got the technology, out in the wild, but they don't exactly work too well, considering the low resolution, and latency in motion tracking, but finally, the OR is here to do some justice. Best part is we've already got some big names, the biggest outside of Japan really, already backing it. Valve, ID, and Epic are all putting work into this device, dying to see this baby come to life.

Despite this though, it's still gonna need your support. I mean of course. Where will the device be without its audience? There's a Kickstarter up, (Yes, that again.) asking for a goal of $250,000 by Sept 1st. Of course, like all awesome projects that go up there, it's already surpassed double it's goal in just a few hours, but don't let that discourage you. The more cash they get may help speed development, improve the technology, or maybe even keep the price down. Come on guys, lets make the happen!

Avengers by Egoraptor

I always said he needed to be careful when summoning that thing...

EVO 2012

So this was my first time actually ever streaming EVO. Never knew much about it before, except the infamous Daigo vs Justin Wong match from way back. This time, I was finally able to follow up on it, due to constant reminders by some of my favorite youtubers, namely the announcement of fighterpedia's Woolie being pitted against Daigo in round one. (He lost of course.)

I must say, it was quite enjoyable, from what I did catch (Bad internet is bad!) I didn't exactly know who to route for, considering practically all of these guys were new to me. I wanted to root for Justin Wong, considering he did make it his start here in NYC, but I couldn't say the other performers didn't do well themselves. He didn't win any of the tournaments though, but still did great.

Something sparked while watching the King of Fighters matches though, and I found myself getting really excited watching. I really wanted to root and cheer, but figured there wasn't much point since I was merely watching from a computer screen, plus I didn't want to draw attention from my family. (Not that they really give it much though...) It was just so exciting, seeing all those combos performed, and with such amazing precision. Finally I realized what went on through peoples heads whenever they watched a sports game. They really aren't all crazy. Though that's still up to debate. Honestly. I went to some wrestling a little while back with a friend, ( i was dragged) and I had to say, it really was not worth it. The show was pretty decent and all, but it was so not worth standing out in the hot sun for two hours, listening to the fans bicker on and on about nothing.

I think events like this should actually be considered a sport, really. I mean, there were teams, like Cafe ID, a group of Korean KOF players, and the Street Fighter X Tekken matches were all team-based. There was some great sportsmanship going on, unlike what I've seen and heard about of other "official" sports leagues, and its already got its audience, so why not? You can't say these people aren't athletes eithes either. Movements like those take immense skill, and the brain's the best muscle we've got, so come on! Anyone with me?

Overall, it was a great experience. Like I said King of Fighters was my favorite match. Unfortunately, Super Street Fighter 4, and Street Fighter X Tekken, despite being my favorites to play, didn't do much for me. The matches were okay, but just didn't have that great a level of excitement. Mortal Kombat was okay, Marvel vs Cap was okay, and surprisingly Virtua Fighter 5 was pretty good. I was never into the series before, not having a console to play it on, seeing those matches really makes me want to get into the series. I wish they had Skullgirls though, and I can't wait to see Injustice, and Tekken Tag 2 next year. What did you guys think?

Everyday Hulk: In the Bathroom

So, what if Banner ever ran out of toilet paper, while on the can? I'm pretty sure we'd all have the same reaction.

Be sure to check out more animations by the creator on their youtube!

The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes

I remember hearing about this series back in 2010, just thinking, "great, just another big budget movie ad for the kids." In any case, I was definitely gonna watch, considering my obsession with animation at the time, plus I'd been getting more into The Avenger's books during Dark Reign. I didn't expect much though, looking at the blocky animation style, and there was no way it could top Spectacular Spider-Man season 2. In any case, it had to be better than the original Avengers cartoon they had back in the day.

Just from the theme song, I was instantly hooked on the first episode. I don't even know why really. The lyrics pretty cliche, but the tune was really catchy. Of course a theme song's not gonna make the show, but it an important first impression. Now for the episode. Awesome. Just awesome. Pretty nice twist to the origin story. I never read the original story Stan Lee did, but Joe Casey did an origins series early that year, which I'm pretty sure stays fairly true to the original, but with a lot extra. The original team was there and everything, and of course Loki was the cause of all the trouble, but instead of having The Hulk being the center of all their attention, it was a whole bunch of villains who escaped from a bunch of different prisons, especially one in particular who was made for the show that could control gravity.

After all that's done and taken care of, they'gotta catch the rest of the villains, revive Captain America, and recruit the rest of the team. The season then ends with the revelation of the Skrull's. That, mixed with the little brush-in with the Kree, naturally you've gotta suspect a Secret Wars storyline coming in next season, right? Nope. Jump about 20 years, and we have Secret Invasion. That was actually quite the surprise, considering it was such a recent story, and it was pretty well played out, possibly even better than Bendis' version. Quite a bit of other big jumps in the story came about as well, like the Ant-Man/Giant-Man mantle being passed on, Yellowjacket being introduced, (Minus the woman abuse of course. Still is something of a kids show after all.) bunch of cameos, even from that of Luke Cage. (Much better than their Ultimate Spider-Man counterparts.)

Now, more recently we got the Kree invasion, which is pretty good for those, reading Avengers vs X-Men, trying to get up to speed about them, and the Supreme Intelligence. Biggest surprise was the introduction of the New Avengers, who were lead by Spider-Man, who actually didn't look like a total fool within a team for once. Finally the season ends in a one-parter with Galactus. Seemed rather out of place for me, since I feel he should only be left to the Fantastic Four 4, but seeing as Marvel vs Capcom 3 broke that rule, it's fine. Another off thing though was the fact that Silver Surfer wasn't his herald, instead he just used four elemental beings. Ah well. This forced a massive team-up of practically every character introduced in the show, including the Fantastic Four. Of course the geniuses, Iron-Man, Mr. Fantastic, and Black Panther took care of him, and the earth was saved! The only thing missing though, were the X-Men, but I guess they were too busy off on their little island, trying to fight for mutant rights, and making a name for themselves.

Obviously this series far exceeded my expectations, and I really hope it gets a third season. It's definitely on the level of the 90's X-Men cartoon, and Spectacular Spider-Man. It should probably focus on the Infinity Gauntlet, introduce the fans to Thanos a little,  before the next Avengers movie comes out. We need to see Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, along with Wonderman and Spider-Woman. Heck, with the rate they're going, they should even bring in Sentry! Come on guys, let Marvel know that this is what we want, instead of that mediocre Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon that just got cleared for another season.

Living Things

I can't believe it... They really did it! They really really did it! They've once again defined a decade!
This has go to be one of the most amazing albums I've heard in the longest. I don't even know where to start. Well, first off at least, lets just get the biggest (dumbest) question out of the way.

No, this is not Hybrid Theory, or Meteora, so clingy fanboys and girls can leave already. Does it share similar elements though? Yeah, definitely. Just like Minutes To Midnight, the band has done a complete 180 with their sound. Of course, we all had our disappointments with that album. "It was too soft", "where's the rapping?" "Where the heck is Mr. Hahn?" It was a radical change, and was a lot to take in, for all of us. A Thousand Sun's did some things better, but not so much. I especially liked the call out they made to all the winy fans in When They Come For Me, but then you reach the end of the album, and have to sit through The Messanger...

Not saying those albums were bad though, but if they weren't attached to the name, I probably would not have picked them up so easily. This time though, they really did it right. The sound of this album, from start to finish is just insane! Actually, the start's rather unique this time around, considering there's no intro. It just goes straight into the first song, something they haven't done since Hybrid Theory.

Speaking of the first song though... Wow. Freakin amazing! Lost in the Echo is catchy, energetic, yet powerful. It's got the perfect blend of everything the band has ever had to offer. Electronic, heavy guitars, kicking bass, soft vocals, screams, and Mike just really outdoes himself on the rap. It's pretty much a "$%#^ you" song to anyone who's ever put you down or something before. In the end, you've gotta tell that person person off, give em the finger, and go about your business. I know I'll definitely be rehearsing the lines in my head, for whenever something like that happens to me again. That's actually pretty much the same message throughout the whole album really. Words of wisdom, comfort and motivation. 


We've already heard Burn It Down, which is all about human stupidity, and how we're constantly repeating the same crimes. Lies, Greed, Misery is a revenge song, but with an upbeat tune, as if one is saying "#$&% you" while on their happy pills. Castle Of Glass actually has something of an old western feel to it. I can totally see a video for it! Mike's the conductor of a train, while the rest of the band are cowboys or something, and maybe one of them (Phoenix) is a robber.


Roads Untraveled has a fun winter chime to it. (Seriously. Listen to this, and tell me you don't think of wandering through a snowfield.)  It's something of a break up song, with Mike doing clean vocals on the first verse. The clear message is that we shouldn't dwell too much on our broken hearts, since the pain can't last forever. The chorus is really easy to get into, being a basic set of "whoa's". The last verse though is was really gets me, where Chester comes in, stating that even if the situation's tough, there's a "seat right beside him." Just that extra assurance from a friend is something we all need during our down times.


I find the song rather ironic though, considering it can be looked at as the tragic aftermath of one of their older songs My December, which was pretty a love song, where the singer was willing to give up all his good fortunes, just to be with the one he loved. How awful it would be if this were the same exact relationship, and this bitch done went and left him after all that? Thing is though, if the word "heart" and "love" were taken out, the song could have an even broader meaning, pertaining to all past mistakes.


The album ends with Tinfoil, leading into Powerless, which always has me confused at the start. First it sounds like Burning In The Skies, but then you've got a little of Isho Ni. It's about a friends foolish betrayal, and how they wound up paying the price in the end. It's not the greatest ending, but it's certainly is enjoyable this time around.


Overall, this is a great album. Best thing I've heard in a while. Does it beat Hybrid Theory? No, not to me, but it's certainly up there. Lost In The Echo is my favorite track out of them all, but it certainly doesn't beat Points of Authority, my favorite song of all time. This is a must listen, for everyone, no matter what your tastes. It's literally got something for everyone, and certainly speak all of us as well. My only issue with the thing would be its short length, something that also plagued Hybrid Theory and Meteora. Seriously. You just know they had a ton of other tracks laying around, why not add some more?


Be sure to pick up the album in stores, or download it off Amazon and the Zune Marketplace on June 26th! Oh yeah, and that iTunes thing too I guess.

The Avengers Movie Review

So the other day, a buddy texts me, asking if I wanted to go with him him to see the Avengers. Now, I'm not really much of movie buff anymore anymore, actually having not even gone since like what? 08, 09? I dunno, it's just not my thing anymore, specially considering some of the terrible things that have making it on screen, specially when it comes to adaptions, *ahem* Green Lantern *cough* but I reluctantly said alright, and everything was set. Boy do I regret not planning to go sooner.

No, tickets weren't sold out or anything. It was just that damn good. Honestly, it was not at all what I suspected. Yeah, I saw all the lead up movies on DVD, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and Captain America, Thor probably being my personal favorite, and I enjoyed them all, but I never really regretted not going out to see a theatrical release, but this. This was sweet. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, not even noticing the two and a half hour clock in time.

The thing didn't even betray it's comic book counter part at all, except of course, the replacement of Giant Man and Wasp, with Hawkeye and Black Widow, but it was fine, although Hawkeye could've really used a whole lot more screen time. I'm not really of him in the comics, Ultimate or 616, but they could've really portrayed the reasons as to why I felt that way, but oh well. The reasoning behind that loss did benefit the story. Oh yeah, about that story...

Well, I don't want to spoil a thing, but basically it all just starts up where Thor left off, Loki being up to his old tricks, which of course, how can you have an Avengers Mythos start off any other way? Ultron, or Aliens? Nah. It's gotta be Loki. Cap is trying to adjust to the grand new reality he's found himself in, while Stark is just being Stark. Thor doesn't come in til later, looking for his brother, while Hawkeye and Widow are just doing their jobs. If you saw Thor and Iron Man 2, there's nothing new there, and Fury was Sam Jackson. Nuff Said.

What, and who is new however was the new Bruce Banner, Mark Ruffalo . I wasn't really too sure how to take in the new guy really. He was nothing at all like the past two, being more soft-spoken, and confident, thought it worked, considering how at that point, he really would've been in more control of his counterpart, who admittedly, I was rather too excited to see. Took a while for him to finally change, the first time not under the prettiest conditions.

The action was truly on point. Every time Cap swung his shield, I felt it. Thors struck his hammer, boom. You get the idea. The Effects were amazing, rivaling that of Transformers. (Yes, they at least deserve that kind of credit.) Sometimes I literally had to remind myself that "no Iron Man's not really flying through the city like that, it's just CGI". The comedy was perfect. Very subtle, and never forced. Stark makes a funny, you laugh, and it's back to the action.

A little quip I did have with the thing though was the constant bickering, though that's kind inevitable when you put so many powerful men in one room. It was actually a pretty nice set up one time to show off Cap's leadership capabilities, which I loved most about his portrayal. I was also very worried about the lack of the Stan Lee cameo around the first act. Trust me, when you see it, you'd have completely forgotten about it.

Overall, this was an awesome movie. Nothing intense and graphic. No yucky stuff going on on top of someones car, or in a broom closet or something. Just straight fun. Bring your friends, bring your family, anyone. At the end of the day, it will be a great experience.

Avenger VS X-Men #1

So with another year, comes another Marvel event. This time, it's The Avengers Vs The X-men. This one actually gets started due to the incidents of a previous event "House of M." Since that time, the mutant race has severely declined, after the Scarlet Witch wiped away the powers of most mutants on the planet. Mind you, it was their powers that were lost, not their lives. Their POWERS! That's gonna come up as a huge point later on.

For a while now, we've been following the development of the young mutant Hope. She's literally the only mutant who's been born since Hous of M. It's believed that she is literally the last "Hope" for mutankind, and was adopted and raised in the future by Cable. Of course things went screwy, and is back in the present as a teenager, under the care of the X-Men.

The Phoenix Force, which has plagued the X-Men many times, ultimately forcing its host Jean Grey to kill herself, has been seen manifesting within her, and has the team worried. Finally, a huge force of it slips out, and this is where the tension finally begins. The team has no idea what to do about this, but Scott somehow convinces himself that this can be an opportunity for mutant-kind, since the Phoenix not only means death, but also rebirth, and we all know what he wants most.

Up in New York, a fireball is seen falling out of the sky, and hits a plane. The Avengers manage to the aircraft, and upon investigation of the fireball, discovers a severely injured Nova. We then cut to the team discussing the incident with the president, revealing that they found energies similar to the Phoenix force radiating off of Nova's body. Clearly it's heading towards us, and is looking for a host. Just then they get a huge signature of the same energy, coming from Utopia, as Hope has just awakened some of the energy that was withing her. So wait, there's two? Ah whatever.

The team consults Wolverine about what might have happened, and he reveals that it was definitely Hope, but he knows that of course, Scott being Scott, definitely will not hand her over to them. They arrive on the island, explaining the situation to Cyclops, but he proves Wolverine right, and refuses, arguing they need her, and an take care of the situation themselves. Captain America does not take this well, refuses to leave without her. They both call war, and here our even begins.

Can't say I actually appreciate this book. Everything that went was predictable since it was announced way back. I'm tired of stories that are only started over some misunderstanding. So of course I'm not a fan of Cyclops, due to his constant irrational behavior. One would think he'd have learned from the events of Schism, but of course "Character development? What's that? Derp." All these years dude? Really?

And now back to my point about the fact that the mutants only lost their powers and not their lives. Seriously. Why does it matter? First off, there are so many of them who've benefited from this, since many of them didn't even want their powers and can appreciate the effect, and also others who've bodies were very unstable, and could not even live a normal life. Also, they're all still alive! Literally there's been no harm done to anyone in this case. The evolutionary track has been slowed down due to this, but it really wasn't even stable enough to keep going anyways. What in the world would The Avengers even do to Hope anyways? Cyc clearly doesn't even know what he wants to do with Hope anyways. The whole idea of The Phoenix being used for rebirth was just a spur of the moment thing, and there's no way anyone else was going to agree to it anyways. He's literally the only fool looking into things in such a light.

I dunno. Maybe this thing will improve drastically within coming issues, but I can't see myself religiously anticipating every issue, and tie-in. 

Google Prepares To Make Way For The Future With Project Glass

So yeah, we all heard about it and everything already, but now we get a demonstration. Damn! I want this!!! Seriously. Growing up on video games and comic books, I've seen tech like this all the time, but it's so disappointing that we've yet to have it in the real world.

Having recently gone through Heavy Rain, I was introduced to the possibilities of the tech again, in the form of Norman Jayden, an FBI agent who uses experimental augmented reality glasses to help in his crime investigations. Unfortunately they caused terrible side-effects which forced him to go on a special drug, which he grew addicted to. Of course designers will have to make sure those side-effects are never a factor when this comes to real life.

Imagine what else can be done with these things. We wouldn't need computer moniters, since we can run everything through the glasses, or hey, maybe no computers in general, and just let everything run in the cloud. Who the heck would need to go to a physical school? Just throw on your glasses, and you're right in the classroom. Forget buying the latest and greatest flat-screen for your movies and video games, when the entertainment's right in your face!

Ah, the possibilities... Too bad this probably wont come to pass as nicely as the video suggests, but hey. Someday! Be sure to follow the project on Google Plus for constant updates.

Optimal Gaming

Not sure how this blog suddenly exploded recently, but hey, can't complain. Except for the fact that I've moved  most of my attention to another blog. Realizing that I've had such a big focus on game on this blog, I figured, I start one for such a thing, exclusively, thus Optimalgaming.blogspot.com was born. Basically, there I report gaming news, whatever I find most interesting out of the day. I'm also planning on starting a Lets Play series with some friends, and maybe do a few skits, if any of them get their act together and start helping out. So, for anyone interesting, please check us out, comment, share with your friends, and most importantly, enjoy!

I'll definitely be back, soon as things pick up there though.

Wow

    So CES started today, and already I'm impressed. Intel showed off their new tech, which looks like they're going the Nintendo route with motion controls. They claim this is gonna be the standard in how we operate everything, but I really don't see that happening outside of games. What interested me was the Ultra book designs. A fault i always saw in tablet PC's were it's bulk, but damn these things are thin! Then came the hollow sensor on the other one. Man I'd love to get my hands on these.

Steve Jobs Doll

And this is why our world needs help. It's pretty obvious that I'm not an Apple fanboy in the least, however I still have great respect for the company, and was among those paying my respects to Steve Jobs, over his recent passing, but then I ultimately just got sick to death of hearing

Google to release their own tablet?

Is this even necessary? So according to Gizmodo, google is set to release their own tablet, under the Nexus name. Why? They've already got everyone else making tablets and phones for them, and there is just WAY too many of them out there already. Really all of them do the same thing by running android, so their only differences are power, and design, so what happens when someone releases yet another tablet with a little more power, and a sleeker design? Just seems like a waste, but you know the fans will eat it up.

Carol of the Bells in the Cello.

Whoa this guy is sweet! So, I have this tradition, where every year during December, I would listen to a bunch of different versions of Carol of the Bells via youutube, ever since I stumbled onto some sweet amv's for the transiberia orchestra version. This year, I got kinda lazy, mainly listening to TO, Thrice, and August Burns Red, but today, being Christmas, I decided to do more searching, and stumbled onto this little number. The Cello's way too overlooked as an instrument, and can add some great tone a lot of songs. I just love the editing here, and the different methods implemented.

Check out the rest of their channel too. These guys are definitely gonna be a big sensation. Oh yeah, and Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays everyone.