Back. Momentarily Indisposed.

We're back. Our travel out was actually just as bad our travel in. Sandals more or less lied to us on our way out of the resort. I have like 67 more emails to go through, another cup of coffe, I feel like a bad Johnny Cash song and am pretty booked for the day - so the tale will have to wait for another day. This is the weekend of the Chicago Marathon, so I might not get a chance to do much until Monday.

To come later, other than another Sandals rant: some iPhone game reviews, some basic tips on travel entertainment and a description of the BitTorrent hookup we've got going on at home. Also, I'm trying to get some Q & A out of EA about the creation behind No Known Survivors still, so hopefully there will be some meat on that.

Sandals Travel Sucks

So we are not in Antigua.

We might not be tonight.

Sandals booked our flight an hour after our connection was to leave. Without a time machine we were screwed.

Then things got bad. And weird. American Air was a champ. Karen V and your supervisor? Angels. Thanks again. After much work we were at least booked for the next day.

Then they noticed someone booked a local Carribean flght. American has no connection with them so they couldn't do much more than tell us it was there.

Mind you - if they hadn't ... nobody would have.

So we fly to San Juan and head to Liat, the local carrier, to see what is up. They are pretty much as surprised as we are to our predicament.

But we are booked.

It will just cost us $300.

I call Sandals Antigua. I get forwarded to what think was the front desk. This happened this morning too. And nobody picked up. This time nobody picked up.

So I call back. Last I called back I got into a debate which almost certainly sparked our odd booking.

This time I am almost certain someone hung up on me.

So I called the 800 number and got angry with one person and then the next and then a supervisor. At one point I was on hold for not one, not two but four Marley songs.

In the end I was told it was my fault.

All my fault.

Because in June and I think April I got emails that notified me of my schedule change. Apparently without calling them - and I kid you not - they aren't even aware it is happening.

Tip to Sandals: if you are going to send a blind email that will require me to say use a time machine to keep my schedule ... IT SHOULD SAY TIME MACHINE IN THE SUBJECT. That will get my attention.

But what if I had changed emails.

Or as The Girl pointed out - I was blind.

So far today I've disappointed, left on hold, left to a ringing phone, hung up on and ultimately blamed. A fine statement to the true nature of Sandals.

The highest name at Sandals I got was Yoni Epstein. Yoni: your service sucks. This entire setup sucks. And to pay what we have paid Sandals over two holidays and to be treated to and blamed for a $300 scenario is dangerously stupid.

I build software for a living, Yoni Epstein, and I can tell you were I truly responsible for this situation I would have been fired.

And anyone who thinks "blame the customer" is sound policy should be as well.

I haven't even made it to the resort and I can tell you we will never ever do Sandals again. And we don't recommend it to anyone else.

The Girl is opting to pay Liat and just get to beach drinks sooner. I'm inclined to agree as they are probably our best remedy for now.

Sent from my iPhoneIn San Juan

---

Also, Sandals Sucks Part Two!

Island Bound

So we're packing up and gathering a wealth of entertainment so that we don't go on insane on the long flight to Antigua. This is the follow up to the Honeymoonicane from last year, so we're getting a pretty cheap trip out of the deal.

A bit of housekeeping before I head out:

Apple drops the NDA. Thank god. This was far too wide of a net to protect some of their software patents which was becoming more and more of a detriment to development in general as more developers jumped into the pool.

Nintendo DSi. Sounds good. Might be tempted to pick one up, I never did get a Lite and the one drawback from the model, the lack of a GBA port, isn't an issue since I still have the original DS. On the flipside - I have an iPhone and the camera, web browser and music player simply aren't a draw. The new memory and downloadable content, though, could be a big one.

Hopefully I'll be able to talk a bit more about Dead Space when I get back. I have some questions about No Known Survivors's creation. If you haven't checked it out yet, check it out. There's apparently a $5 coupon at the EA Store for you when you register - and also the grand prize winner is due the Ultra Limited Edition of the game and now a replica of Issac Clarke’s Helmet as well.

The VP debate just ended. A lot of the talking heads are scoring points for Palin. Fine, she didn't make an ass out of herself, but she's still a religious fanatic who couldn't bring herself to admit that global warming isn't man made.

So I'm out for about seven days. I'll have very little access to nearly any kind of modern communcation.

But there will be plenty of snorkeling.

Game Play: Pure

I got a chance to sit down with Pure for a while, toss together an ATV rig and jump into a few races. Pure aims to bring trick ATV racing to the console and the bottom line is that the game hits all the cylinders quite well.

I want to compare it to WipEout HD, which I downloaded and also briefly got a chance to toy with - but that doesn't seem fair. WipEout is trance music, whereas Pure is grunge rock. Pure holds its own by doing something I really hope more racing games try - push the genre by changing the mechanics somewhat. Pure's trick setup isn't just a cosmetic change, but the way you can gather enough boost to nitro your way past your opponents. The tricks need to be properly timed and considered as you come over that hill and "pump the jump" to gather more air - otherwise it's easy to get too tricky and end up flying off your ride.

Graphically the game is pretty dreamy as well. The tracks are full of debris, buildings, backgrounds, the occasional helicopter - with visual cues to look out for alternate routes and hills as well. Frame rates were smooth and the sense of speed was well stocked.

I don't have much to critique on the game. I'm not entirely crazy about the rig garage ... it might almost be too detailed for what seems like just another ATV when you're done - but that feels like a squabble and I'd rather have the garage in it's current state than many other alternatives.

Solid recommendation.

Jeff Freeman, Rest In Peace

I noticed an uptick in traffic to Cathode Tan about Jeff Freeman, who I interviewed a while back when I was tracking down parents who were gamers and/or game designers to get their opinions on children and gaming. He gave me one of the most positive perspectives on the matter - that gaming was an activity he enjoyed with his children and something that brought him closer.

Jeff was old school, and he was real and I enjoyed immensely corresponding with him. Seriously a high note in blogging.

Sadly the uptick has a tragic reason: he has passed. According to the obituary, he took his own life on Sept. 24th.

I am shocked and saddened. I know he was greatly respected among others in the MMO community. My condolences to his family on what is simply a horrible loss.

David Foster Wallace On McCain

In 2000, Dave had written a piece on McCain and left several wondering what he would have thought of him now. Salon tracked down a quote from the Wall Street Journal just last May:

"McCain himself has obviously changed; his flipperoos and weaselings on Roe v. Wade, campaign finance, the toxicity of lobbyists, Iraq timetables, etc. are just some of what make him a less interesting, more depressing political figure now—for me, at least. It's all understandable, of course—he's the GOP nominee now, not an insurgent maverick. Understandable, but depressing."

I can't agree more - and that was in May ... before McCain chose Palin as his running mate - a woman who couldn't epitomize more his now desperate ability to throw away earlier ideals for a bump in polls. McCain has proven himself a Bush style opportunist who is willing to go negative (which in 2000 he fought against), play politics with national issues and select a running mate who works against values he supposedly supported in the past. His maverick status is lost on me now - the man simply wants to win. Moderates who are seriously considering voting for the man need to check their scorecards.

Excellent El Train Sticker Vandalism

While the stick people moshing, falling off train, was pretty funny, it was actually the addition of Pac-Man eating pellets from train to train that caught my eye...

High Def Hijinks: X-Com

Been meaning to post this for a while:




That's the original PlayStation version of X-Com: UFO Defense splashed onto our 50" plasma. Tactical brilliance in pixelated glory.

And people wondered why I insisted on backwards compatibility.

Thompson Disbarred, Remains Completely Insane

As if this wasn't a treat enough:

In a disposition from the judicial body, the court stated that it had taken particular note of multiple transgressions from Thompson, including that he “made false statements of material fact to courts,” “falsely and publicly accused various attorneys of engaging in a conspiracy/enterprise involving "the criminal distribution of sexual materials to minors",” and that he “sent courts inappropriate and offensive sexual materials.”

Thompson has a maximum of thirty days left to close out his legal practice and protect his existing clients, though disbarment could come earlier should Thompson complete these responsibilities before his time expires. Thompson will not be able to reapply for admission to the Bar following his disbarment. He is also required to $43,675.35 to the Florida Bar in costs.

-- Jack Thompson Disbarred [Next Gen]

But they also point to Thompson's response as posted on Kotaku, which includes this peach:

Thompson looks forward to successfully litigating his federal claims, now before US District Court Judge Marcia Cooke in the Southern District of Florida.

Thompson always wanted to own a Bar. Now, armed with multiple US Supreme Court rulings that no state bar can do what it has done to Thompson, he is set to own that Bar.

-- Thompson Responds To Disbarment [Kotaku]

Remember that this is Thompson writing this ... about Thompson. Owning the Florida State Bar.

Sorry, BatJack, not even Fox will book you now.

Game Play: Spore Origins

Spore Origins is a heavily modified version of the first stage of Spore redesigned for the iPhone. One's expectation might be that it is essentially the same gameplay, but that's not entirely the case.

Spore Origins has actually far less emphasis on evolution than one might think. Customization is certainly present, and options like the ability to use your own images as textures are much appreciated, the watered down creature creator doesn't come close to the kind of flexibility as the full version. Plus, "evolution points" which can be spent on items come infrequently throughout the 30 level game and there's no ability to sell back parts to try out new ones.

Most of the gameplay involves tilting the phone to either catch or avoid other creatures. The accelerometer makes for tricky input in general, but I will give EA bonus points for adding the ability to reset the baseline angle so that you at least have the chance of being able to use it when you can't comfortably stare directly down onto your phone. Still, when gameplay requires you be careful of where you're running, going up or down gives the user scant little room to see incoming objects. I've died more than a couple times by what felt like completely accidental collisions.

The gameplay can get repetitive over time and so EA tries to mix it up occasionally. Some levels are bridge levels where you navigate through a maze. There's an attempt at a boss mechanic, but the results are pretty uneven.

What really sells the game for me is the excellent production values. The game looks great, sounds great and runs very smooth. There's a lot of attention to detail that has been hard to find in some iPhone applications to date. In the end it feels more like a decent distraction rather than a good game - a hard sell at $9.99 perhaps. This would be one game which could benefit heavily from a decent demo version so that people could try a level out and see for themselves.

TV Watch: Heroes, Season 3 Opener

While I'm not sure Heroes merited the SuperBowl style countdown we stumbled on right before the show, I will say it was a strong start to the season and worked to get us excited about this year. Granted, Heroes has always been pretty good at the beginning of the show before devolving in to a series of plot twists that general get punctuated with a confused face.

Tip of the hat to Francis Capra, who played Weevil alongside Kristen Bell's Veronica Mars, for getting on the show. It's hard to tell how much we'll see of him, being mostly a reflection and what not, but if we just got Fennel on the show we could practically call it a reunion (albeit in a wacked out alternate universe kind of way, of course).

As usual, Hiro steals the show for me - although evil future Peter is pretty interesting as well. I'm still not in love with Sylar's return or anything about that subplot, but can see how he might be a necessary character to offset Peter down the road.

TV Watch: House Premiere, Sarah Connor, Heroes Tonight

Quick make up post while I wait for servers to get done talking to each other.

The House premiere was kinda so-so, which is a bit disappointing after the unique and entertaining closer from last season. House needs to learn from shows before - the longer you go on ... the more you have to diverge from the formula.

I'd put the Sarah Connor opener in pretty average turf. The show feels like it has some legs but hasn't fully learned to run. Watching Glau as a killer robot is certainly a treat, but it only run on that juice for so long. Honestly it feels like the show is fighting against the budget more than anything else. In the end, though, it's a show I'm totally rooting for.

In what's been an uneven year for TV with some decent shows, the writer's strike, etc. - I somehow feel like we should be celebrating the return of new shows in full.

And yet kinda, sorta, not. Not sure if we'll hop on the Heroes opener tonight or just wait to download and watch later (in what has become a kind of post-Tivo time shifting tradition for us).

Microsoft Advertising Spirals On Downward

Now it seems that those "I'm A PC" ads? Created with Macs.

Don't even know where to start.

Spore gets patched

You lucky PC users get an updated version of Spore, we Mac people will have to wait a bit.

Of interest:

* Creature phase: Improved the pacing towards the end of the game, and increased the challenge in Normal and Hard modes.
* Tribe phase: Increased the challenge in Normal and Hard difficulty modes.
* Civilization phase: Increased the challenge in Normal and Hard difficulty modes.
* Space phase: Made Empires in Easy and Normal modes demand reasonable amounts of money in exchange for peace and adjust the level of punishment if the player doesn't pay
* Space phase: Made disasters less likely to occur in Easy and Normal modes and increased the time between each attack from the enemy empire when the player is at war.

-- Official Spore Patch

It always worries me a little when games need to tweak things like this. It eludes to the "maybe this is the patch that adds the fun" joke which I'm sure has only been uttered about a billion times today alone.

But seriously - war in the Space stage is a broken down mechanic, plain and simple, and I don't know if just adjusting ransom money and frequency times will fix it. The real problem is that my one spaceship versus their entire army isn't really a war - it's annoying losing battle that doesn't seem to ever stop.

Game Play: Endless Ocean

Endless Ocean is one of those games that is quite simply a hard sell. You don't blow anything up, the graphics already feel a bit dated and it wasn't made by Will Wright. It's hard to even get "scuba diving arcade sim" out with a straight face.

And insert "of course it's the best scuba diving game out there when it's one of the only scuba diving games..." at any point (actually Endless Ocean is an extension of the Everblue games for the PS2). The truth is - Endless Ocean shows some extremely smart design choices. There is a simplicity to the game that makes the whole thing a joy to play. The fundamental rule of the game seems to be: you can't really do anything wrong.

Basically you drive your boat around, dive into the water and poke fish around. Want to go somewhere else? Just select "Return to Boat" at any time. You can't get hurt. You can poke sharks to your heart's content. You don't have to worry about air or pressure or anything. Theoretically you can run out of air, I haven't done it yet but I'm pretty certain you just get magically teleported back to the boat.

Endless Ocean is a rare subgenre of gaming based pretty much solely on exploration. It's entirely possible this game would bore the heck out of you. But if it doesn't within the first ten minutes or so - you'll probably get many hours out of the game before repetition sets in. Even by the time you've scoped out most of the Manoa Lai sea, you'll have reasons to revisit areas and discover new things. Heck, I thought I had covered nearly everything only to run into a derelict ship last night.

And when it works, when you get that kind of cool chill because some enormous sea creature just emerged out of nowhere - it works really well.

Cons: it looks like it might be somewhat short and once you've gone everywhere there may be little incentive to simply complete your knowledge by poking even more fish. Honestly, the whole poking thing is not my fave and it occupies a lot of the game (to learn about fish, you interact with them, sometimes by clicking A repeatedly). It seems like the camera mechanic is underused here - I would have rather snapped shots of fish and analyzed than tapping buttons.

Also, and this totally and completely not fair and some Wii fanboy will rightfully smite me for it - but I really wish for a PS3 version of the game. With dense HD visuals and a large hard drive with downloadable content, this game would be an easier sell. This doesn't mean Wii users should pass it up though and the game is certainly a safe rental title at least.