Tag Archive: Borderlands


Gimmie More Streams

Filed Under: Distribution, Off-Topic by Tony — Leave a comment
Thursday, July 22, 2010

Goddamn those Euros, I’m so jealous they’re getting this!

A bit of background to help you understand my response. First, I don’t subscribe to cable. It’s a cost I cut a long time ago and I don’t really miss it. Then television got great. Suddenly I was hooked on shows like VERONICA MARS and FRINGE; my latest addiction is MAD MEN (I blame my former roommate for that).

For a while it seemed that for $1.99 iTunes could give me what I needed but damn if those files aren’t huge and season passes are expensive (and what if the show starts sucking?). Hulu seemed like the answer. Just a couple of problems: the window of viewing and the window for viewing. A couple weeks of “nose to the grindstone” and I end up with 20+ hours of NBC sitcoms and Fox animation I wanted to watch but they’re expiring in 14 hours.  Plus I was locked into watching episodes on my laptop. Sure, I could always get the DVDs from Netflix but…

But then Netflix introduced streaming on the PS3 and it was as if a whole new world opened up to me.  Suddenly I could follow my whim and watch a movie or a documentary or an episode of KING OF THE HILL and all I had to do was start buffering while I cooked dinner.  I consider that a big win but instantly I wanted more.  I wanted more than a handful of THE OFFICE episodes and why do I still have to use that stupid disc?

So when I heard that Hulu was offering a paid service that would show current shows and allow access to their back catalog, I was interested. When I learned that I’d be able to do this on my PS3, which is hooked up to a sweet TV, I immediately signed up for an invite.

(Still waiting for that invite.)

So obviously I’m excited for streaming services that let me view quality content via my PS3. Therefore, it should be obvious that a film nut like me wants a service showing Criterion like programming (plus I’m dying for something to tear me away from BORDERLANDS). Those are the movies I love, the kind I need to be watching, discovering.

Here’s hoping Mubi & Sony make this happen in North America.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Not Like The Other

Filed Under: Off-Topic by Tony — 1 Comment
Tuesday, April 27, 2010

One of these trophies is not like the others (the background is your hint).

eltigrerox

Okay, back to to finishing God of War 3 before Red Dead Redemption arrives… along with some more Borderlands level grinding for good measure.

Tags: , , , ,
Comment

Games Save The World

Filed Under: Off-Topic by Tony — Leave a comment
Monday, March 29, 2010

You’ve heard about TED talks, right? Great. Have you seen the one about how playing games will save the world? No? Then check it out.

Suddenly I don’t feel so bad about my turn as a shut-in trying to level up my BORDERLANDS characters. And once I get hooked on GOD OF WAR 3 it’s over. Damn you PS3! I love/hate you so much.

On the other end of the spectrum, did you hear about the prolific writer whose life went to hell once he discovered GRAND THEFT AUTO and cocaine? Yeah, I know, right, it’s crazy! I’m not that bad but then again I’ve barely played GTA IV.

(gulp)

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

Must See Web TV

Filed Under: Industry by Tony — Leave a comment
Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Okay, time to get off the SXSW high (but the new Frightened Rabbit album is still on repeat play on my iPod) and time to get back to the creative grind.

That means time to get my multi-platform web series back on track but first, allow me to take a look around the playing field. According to Mashable, these are among the most watched (and therefore the best, I guess) web series around.

I’ve mentioned The Guild before and am excited to see that I can watch episodes via Netflix streaming on my PS3 (when I’m not playing BORDERLANDS or GOD OF WAR 3).

What would the web be without violent cartoons?

Here’s a fairly typical “high concept” web idea.

Wait, you loved BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, right?

And this is the most watched web series out there.

No, seriously, 8 million people have watched this. EIGHT MILLION?!?!?!

Let me be honest and say that I don’t get the mass appeal of most of these. I’ll forgo skewering the technical shortcomings and simply point out that most employ terrible storytelling and awful acting. I can see why the internet has given “sketch” a bad name.

But I digress… back to grind stone… after a little more GOD OF WAR 3.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Comment

Addiction Is Spelled B-O-R-D-E-R-L-A-N-D-S

Filed Under: Off-Topic by Tony — Leave a comment
Thursday, February 25, 2010

Yeah, I’m addicted to BORDERLANDS. I play it at home, I play it online, I’ve downloaded both Zombie Island (and beat it) and Moxxi’s Underdome (looking for an online buddy to tackle this with me).

So you can imagine my excitement when I saw that the latest DLC is being released today. Say “hello” to General Knoxx.

And say “good bye” to my free time.

Tags: , ,
Comment

Portal

Filed Under: Off-Topic by Tony — Leave a comment
Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Being stuck home sick while having to execute renders that range from 17 minutes to 26 hours gives one a pretty good excuse to waste a lot of time on the PS3.

So while I hurtle towards the conclusion of BORDERLANDS, I was reminded that TOMB RAIDER: UNDERWORLD was not the first game I beat. No, it was actually PORTAL.

For most of you, PORTAL was an “also includes” when you bought HALF-LIFE 2. When my buddy (and soon to be “hot s#!t” screenwriter) Jeremy let me borrow it, he said it’s like “Radiohead but as a video game.”

Naturally, I was skeptical. I play the puzzle shooter and found it fun. Once the puzzles got loopy, the game really got more interesting. And then once you think you’re done it kicks into this other place that’s pretty f**king cool. Yeah, I’m with Jeremy, I loved this game.

I should also mention that my buddy Sean, the one that got me hooked on BORDERLANDS, also let me borrow SPIDER-MAN: WEB OF SHADOWS and while it was fun web-slinging around Manhattan I found the narrative and missions too repetitive to recommend this game.

And there’s my alarm. Time for another DayQuil.

Tags: , , , ,
Comment

Friday Fun: Beer Wars

Filed Under: General by Tony — Leave a comment
Friday, February 5, 2010

Happy Friday everyone!

If you’ve ever met me in a bar or seen me in a decent restaurant and asked “what’s a good beer” then you’ve heard me give an impromptu lecture on brown ales or how a pilsener is different from a lager.  Yes, I’m a beer geek and it’s all because of a documentary called BEER WARS.

This week, that documentary is available on iTunes (and apparently my PS3 too but I can’t stop playing BORDERLANDS to check–help). Don’t believe me? Here’s the proof.

(that’s the documentary on the “iTunes->Movies” homepage sandwiched between NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU and some Hulk cartoon while I download the latest FRINGE).

Of course I’m biased (dear FTC, I worked on it for almost three years but I am not being compensated for this mention… but if the director wanted to buy me some tasty cupcakes I wouldn’t say “no”) but I think it’s a pretty damn good doc. Also, the “making of” was mighty interesting so I can’t wait for the behind-the-scenes book (hint, hint; nudge nudge).

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Comment
Powered by WordPress | Theme: Motion by 85ideas.