Loot edition probably isn't a necessary descriptor since I don't think I'll have another Christmas-centric post, just subnotes to other posts relating back, at most.
Just got a good 10 minutes of amusement watching a flatbed driver unsucessfully get a forklift onto his truck. Problem was the ramp was graded steeply enough to prevent the forklift from managing the climb. And I must say, watching a forklift 95% up a ramp, wheels spinning and smoking, but not actually moving, is pretty fun.
I didn't ask for alot this Christmas (since I went with a modified form of the original list -- trimming the Xbox entries) so I got all I expected.
The list, combining the family's gifts (well, relevant to the cause), longer explanation items will be detailed/explained/etc in the rant below, so as to not disrupt the list's flow.
Doom the Boardgame, and Expansion -- Rant below.
Cradle will Rock (DVD) -- David's movie
Basement Jaxx - The Singles (CD) -- Great stuff.
Andy Bell - Electric Blue (CD) -- Good stuff.
Guild Wars: Nightfall (PC)
Neverwinter Nights 2 (PC) -- More specific rant below.
.Hack ... and .Hack .... (PS2) -- Yes, I've forgotten which two Dot Hack games specifically, but two different onces.
Valkerie Profile 2 (PS2) -- Holy crap that's pretty cover art.
Guitar Hero 2 (PS2) -- See below.
Kirby Squeak Squad (DS)
Children of Mana (DS) -- Haven't played much at all, but good stuff.
Nintendo Wii / Legend of Zelda -- Yep, see below.
So, if you've been keeping count, this little rant should include the Doom Boardgame, Neverwinter Nights 2, Guitar Hero 2, and the Wii/Zelda, plus whatever else I opt to throw in there.
The Doom Boardgame falls into the Scenario style games, using planned missions rather than freeform random generation, though the latter could easily be performed. The game is objective driven (ie, escape with your life) rather than combat driven (kill all the enemies) and the ruleset enforces this (monsters generally hit harder than you, don't worry about ammo, and the only cards that get played to influence this are played against you). It's pretty amusing, but horrendously difficult if you take a gunslinger approach. You have to focus on moving fast enough to evade your enemies while acquiring the weaponry to suit your talents before you're really able to fight back against the hordes. It's fun and everything, but it'll take awhile to get through. If you've got that much time to spare, go ahead and spend the extra hour or two for a came of Call of Cthulu instead, cause that game is creepy-good (scales better too).
So, my inital pass at NWN2, which was a hefty install and a heftier set of patches, I recreated Loriel. I played the original game through as her, Half-Elves Rogue, Dual Wield feat progression for maximal sneak attack potency, giving her a mix of Skills (8+Int tw) but very few of the personable ones. Present version has 9 Skills -- Appraise, Craft Weapon, Tumble, Use Magic Item, Hide, Move Silently, Search, Disable Device, Open Locks -- I tend not to use Slight of Hand anyways, though I should've purchased some form of Diplomacy/Bluff/Intimidate. Either way, I'll probably be recreating, much as I like the class, the additional work of moving behind an opponent to get my Sneak Attacks, while an appropriate change, is just extra management on my part, and I keep losing time when the game decides to crash (twice so far).
Guitar Hero is great, like tons of fun great. Both of the brothers seem to have gotten the hang of it, Ian even played a song I'd been playing cause he liked the rhythm (He even passed it, despite having only ever played Level 1 or 2 Songs on Easy, and it being a Level 5 Song on Medium). We've gotten one Uncle to play, it was Christmas after all, and my father once, though we'd like to see more out of him doing it. Rocking out with Judy Nails as my Avatar of choice (well, first pick and only pick so far too), out in the UK-Stonehenge venue for now, that's about 4 hours worth of playtime, in the Face Melter's category. Very afraid of Free Bird.
Songlisting (The Cross signifies a song where Co-Op gets Rhythm Guitar, if unmarked the other option is always Bass)
Main setlist
1. Opening Licks
"Shout at the Devil" - Mötley Crüe
"Mother" - Danzig †
"Surrender" - Cheap Trick
"Woman" - Wolfmother
"Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" - Spınal Tap † (Encore)
2. Amp-Warmers
"Strutter" - KISS †
"Heart-Shaped Box" - Nirvana
"Message in a Bottle" - The Police
"You Really Got Me" - Van Halen
"Carry On Wayward Son" - Kansas (Encore)
3. String-Snappers
"Monkey Wrench" - Foo Fighters
"Them Bones" - Alice in Chains
"Search and Destroy" - Iggy Pop and The Stooges
"Tattooed Love Boys" - The Pretenders
"War Pigs" - Black Sabbath (Encore)
4. Thrash and Burn
"Cherry Pie" - Warrant
"Who Was in My Room Last Night?" - Butthole Surfers †
"Girlfriend" - Matthew Sweet †
"Can't You Hear Me Knocking" - The Rolling Stones †
"Sweet Child O' Mine" - Guns N' Roses (Encore)
5. Return of the Shred
"Killing in the Name" - Rage Against the Machine
"John the Fisherman" - Primus
"Freya" - The Sword "Bad Reputation" - Thin Lizzy
"Last Child" - Aerosmith † (Encore)
6. Relentless Riffs
"Crazy on You" - Heart
"Trippin' On a Hole in a Paper Heart" - Stone Temple Pilots
"Rock This Town" - Stray Cats
"Jessica" - The Allman Brothers Band †
"Stop" - Jane's Addiction (Encore)
7. Furious Fretwork
"Madhouse" - Anthrax
"Carry Me Home" - The Living End
"Laid to Rest" - Lamb of God †
"Psychobilly Freakout" - The Reverend Horton Heat
"YYZ" - Rush (Encore)
8. Face-Melters
"Beast and the Harlot" - Avenged Sevenfold
"Institutionalized" - Suicidal Tendencies †
"Misirlou" - Dick Dale
"Hangar 18" - Megadeth
"Free Bird" - Lynyrd Skynyrd † (Encore)
Bonus tracks
"Arterial Black" - Drist †
"Collide" - Anarchy Club
"Elephant Bones" - That Handsome Devil
"Fall of Pangea" - Valient Thorr
"FTK" - Vagiant
"Gemini" - Brian Kahanek †
"Jordan" - Buckethead
"Laughtrack" - The Acro-brats †
"Less Talk More Rokk" - Freezepop †
"The Light that Blinds" - Shadows Fall
"Mr. Fix-it" - The Amazing Royal Crowns
"The New Black" - Every Time I Die
"One for the Road" - Breaking Wheel
"Parasite" - The Neighborhoods
"Push Push (Lady Lightning)" - Bang Camaro
"Radium Eyes" - Count Zero
"Raw Dog" - The Last Vegas (Winner of the "Be a Guitar Hero" Contest)
"Red Lottery" - Megasus
"Six" - All That Remains
"Soy Bomb" - Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives †
"Thunderhorse" - Dethklok
"Trogdor" - Strong Bad †
"The X-Stream" - Voivod
"Yes We Can" - Made in Mexico
For the sake of Contrast, Guitar Hero's Tracklist:
Main setlist
1. Opening Licks
"I Love Rock & Roll" - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
"I Wanna Be Sedated" - The Ramones
"Thunder Kiss '65" - White Zombie
"Smoke on the Water" - Deep Purple
"Infected" - Bad Religion
2. Axe-Grinders
"Iron Man" - Black Sabbath
"More Than a Feeling" - Boston
"You've Got Another Thing Comin'" - Judas Priest
"Take Me Out" - Franz Ferdinand
"Sharp Dressed Man" - ZZ Top
3. Thrash And Burn
"Killer Queen" - Queen
"Hey You" - The Exies
"Stellar" - Incubus
"Heart Full of Black" - Burning Brides
"Symphony of Destruction" - Megadeth
4. Return of the Shred
"Ziggy Stardust" - David Bowie
"Fat Lip" - Sum 41
"Cochise" - Audioslave
"Take It Off" - The Donnas
"Unsung" - Helmet
5. Fret-Burners
"Spanish Castle Magic" - Jimi Hendrix
"Higher Ground" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
"No One Knows" - Queens of the Stone Age
"Ace Of Spades" - Motörhead
"Crossroads" - Cream
6. Face-Melters
"Godzilla" - Blue Öyster Cult
"Texas Flood" - Stevie Ray Vaughan
"Frankenstein" - The Edgar Winter Group
"Cowboys from Hell" - Pantera
"Bark at the Moon" - Ozzy Osbourne
Bonus tracks
"Fire It Up" - Black Label Society
"Cheat on the Church" - Graveyard BBQ (Winner of the "Be a Guitar Hero" Contest)
"Caveman Rejoice" - The Bags
"Eureka, I've Found Love" - The Upper Crust
"All of This" - Shaimus
"Behind The Mask" - Anarchy Club
"The Breaking Wheel" - Artillery (Now known as Breaking Wheel)
"Callout" - The Acro-brats
"Decontrol" - Drist
"Even Rats" - The Slip
"Farewell Myth" - Made in Mexico
"Fly on the Wall" - Din
"Get Ready 2 Rokk" - Freezepop
"Guitar Hero" - Monkey Steals The Peach
"Hey" - Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives
"Sail Your Ship By" - Count Zero
"Story of My Love" - The Model Sons
So obviously the Tracklist of the First game is far more recoignizable, but both sets have their merits, and I'll probably pick up the first cheap after I've torn the second one apart.
Not much to be said about the Wii save for the fact that we did get one. Haven't set it up or played with it yet, too busy with Guitar Hero, Setting up NWN, and Family.
