product review: Creative Inspire A200 speakers

When do someone know that they need new speakers for their PC? When your current ones break or when you can not stand the cheap speakers that came with your pre-built. Well you can say both for me. When I bought my pre-built Gateway pc 5 years ago it came with some of the shittiest speakers I have ever seen but at the time the whole thing was only 500 dollars and I was in save money mode so sound quality was the last thing I worried about. Today those speakers are starting to go bad but hell they did last me 5 good years even though they are not even shielded speakers I was saddened by their passing. This is the time for me to pick out some relatively cheap yet good speakers for my pc.

I had my sights on the Altec Lansing speakers as they are known for good speakers but unfortunately for them they were sold out everywhere. Therefore I had to settle for the same priced Creative Lab Inspire A200 series. It is a 2.1 speaker system priced roughly around 30 dollars, so it's not expensive at all but is it a cheapo speaker? Previously I have never had any experience with Creative Lab products but my first impression is that these speakers are very stylishly design, a contrast to the often boring Altec Lansing speakers. The speakers sits on a nice stand and itself looking like a miniature version of much more expensive stereo systems. Another thing I noticed right away is how big the subwoofer is. It's so huge it would not fit the side cabinet on my computer desk which is kind of disappointing since I visually planned this lay out many times before the purchase, and so now it sits on the floor.

Onto the sound quality now. The speakers are loud and clear although it might just be a sharp contrast of how shitty my old ones are. One thing I didn't like on these speakers is not only the subwoofer is physically huge it's also a cannon. What I mean by that is the default bass is so loud that I can feel my floor shaking, almost like hearing some dumbass with their bass on full blast in their car driving past your house at night...do you know that feeling? Since the subwoofer itself doesn't come with any kind of physical volume control I am stuck playing around the Equalizer that came with my sound card until I find a suitable setting. So this is a great annoyance to me, but other than that the speakers look nice and sounds nice as well all I need to worry is how long they will last since I have had no experience with the Creative Lab brand.

epic rick roll video

would have been a lot more funnier if the guy actually knew what is happening to him.

Chevy Volt Presentation

This is how America will sell the cars of the future.



I actually quite like the video.  Its nice to have a presentation that doesn't involve someone literally fucking a car.  Quirky music and dancing actually works really well.  I'd like to see more..

AAAAaaaaHHHHhhh skeet skeet skeet!

Bioware is one of my all time favorite video game developer, there is no doubt about that. They are perhaps the lone bright spot in the industry's current state of fail, and to my likings they have been much more active in current generation than their previous ones. With one big title after another, taking gamers to glorious adventures to save the galaxy or save the kingdom of Ferelden while siphoning their hard earned money. But hey they deserve it, with all these endless shovel wares I am willing to give my money to Bioware.

Just when you thought you could take off your wizard hat and robe after saving Ferelden, Bioware's upcoming Mass Effect 2 has been gathering more and more hype in the community and I'm on the verge of exploding in my pants. They have just released a trailer revealing the voice cast for Mass Effect 2 and let me tell you something I have always been impressed by Bioware's dedication to story development and voice casts but this is just ridiculous. Martin Sheen? Seth Green? ADAM FUCKING BALDWIN??? AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH SKEET SKEET SKEET!!!!111!1 I didn't know we are casting for a high budget hollywood movie here.

Game review: Dragon Age: Origins

It has been awhile since we updated the blog with anything video game related but that is because I have been in a foul mood. Everywhere I go I see endless shovel wares being sold for millions of copies and every forum I visit I see endless deluded console fanboys fighting over games that has nothing to offer but pretty graphics. The casual movement angers me and the amount of casuals that are playing games now and pretending to be hardcore angers me even further.

Just as I thought that all hopes have been lost Bioware swoops down and saves the day again with the release of DnD based dark fantasy RPG Dragon Age. So does this game live up to the expectation of spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate? Or is it just another casual release by Bioware to garner more fanbase?

-Story
no matter how casual a game gets but as soon as Bioware puts their name on the box you know that its a game with story that will have you dreaming about it at night. Dragon age is a well crafted sword and magic RPG with a rich back story and lively fantasy world that will have you remember this title for a long time to come. In the Land of Ferelden you will meet many interesting characters each with complicated background history from many races, and all in you will become a hero to fight in a cause to save the world. This is Dungeons and Dragons at its best, Lord of the Rings esque at its best, Bioware story telling and creating a world at its best...
The game starts with you picking 1 of 6 different races and then a class, nothing new in the RPG genre. Then it moves on with a unique origins story for that race you have picked, a few hours of game play to get to know who is the character that you have picked whats his/her story, whats his/her situation like. It ranges from being a dwarven prince to being a lowly elf slave, but everyone has their own problems to deal with. In the end no matter what origin you pick it all end up at the same place where you have to save Ferelden by fighting an impending attack from the dark spawns. Personally I did not care for the setting much as Sword and Magic with medieval fantasy setting has been done to death. However I can not deny the fact that Bioware has done it again with the story, characters and the world. I much prefer Mass Effect with its refreshing Space setting even though the game is a lot smaller in terms of scale compare to Dragon Age, but Dragon Age is an epic adventure none the less.



-Graphics
Bioware games have never been known for their graphic achievements except for maybe Mass Effect, and they have always opt to spend time on the quality of the game, mostly story and presentation. This is true with Dragon age as well, its not a very good looking game by today's standards but it gets the job done. Out of all the version its no surprise PC version looks the best then PS3 and 360. The setting is blend and gloomy which fits the dark fantasy theme, and characters are detailed somewhat close to Oblivion rather than the extremely polished Mass Effect. One thing about the graphics is that after slaying enemies large amount of blood will show up on characters' faces and body making some conversations and cut scenes appear slightly awkward.

-Game Play
on PC the game plays a lot like some MMOs with hot bars on the screen where you can put you skills onto. Character level up and will get stat points to spend on various stats and skill points to spend on their skill tree, so nothing is out of the ordinary. Combat starts like an MMO with all the point and click business but it soon transforms into the good old Baldur's Gate style tactical combat. You can pause the combat at any point and then plan the up coming strategy and since you will have control for all party members that presents a good amount of planning and playing around. You can also set behaviors for your party members if this gets kind of overwhelming so the party members will act according to the behavior sets rather than stand there until you take control of them. Bioware has gotten a lot of criticisms in recent years for lack of depth in their game play department. Most of are apparent in their Mass Market console movement games such as Star Wars Knights of the old Republic and Mass Effect. But have no fear, Bioware has been true to their words with Dragon Age, the game indeed plays like Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter nights. Its another master piece in their list of hardcore PC stategy RPG. So the game is hard and sometime overwhelming, but what is it like on consoles? Because the lack of some strategic advantages on console such as locked 3rd person view, the game is slightly easier and instead of hot bars you get to good old radio dial menu via Mass Effect.



-Presentation
Like all Bioware games Dragon Age is story and conversation heavy. But unlike some of the games this one does not have the good or evil paths, it does present you many different choices to have a conversation or solve a problem and they do lead to different results with different consequences. If the different classes combined with different origins stories weren't enough to warren countless replies then simply trying to see the result of one different choice will. Even if you don't replay the game for some reason this game is massive enough to take around 50 hours to beat. So take some time off and put on your wizard hat...maybe robe too and embark in the epic adventure to save Ferelden! And maybe get a piece of ass along the way, or two.

-Conclusion
So how good is Dragon Age? Is it really on par with some of Bioware's claims to fame? Or is it just another dumbed down game to the ignorant console audience? In my opinion Dragon Age is one of the best single player RPG in years, its game play and presentation surely will bring all Bioware fans to great memories of Baldur's Gate. It's an Epic game to every small detail as all Bioware game tend to be but in the end of the day I have to say it falls a little short to the greatness that is Baldur's Gate 2, however it does deserve the title of spiritual successor to the BG franchise.

Over 9000?!?!?!