The Girl Gamer is Under Construction Again

If things look a little funny right now, its because I'm redoing my blog again.

My banner is too short for the new layout and I will be bringing in google ad sense hopefully.

Please mind the mess for now.

Must Watch: Llamas with Hats

I work with wonderfully weird people and this is one of the cool things those people turned me onto - Llamas with Hats. There are 2 episodes only so far in the video series but the creator, Film Cow has made various other series like Charlie the Unicorn, which is so awesome and a must watch.


Enjoy!

Storm Troopers are Strangely Sexy

redandjonny: cute skirt and magnolia tree, originally uploaded by RedandJonny.

This is strangely hot. Congrats to this girl's husband. You know how to pick the good ones.

Found via Red & Jonny's Flickr account
(I believe I saw these two at the Fan Expo last year in their Red & Jonny outfits)

Dragon Age: Origins - Loving the Official Game Soundtrack

So I've been playing a lot of Dragon Age: Origins, so much so that I think this is clearly my new favorite game of all time. I recently buy all available downloads for the game from the Xbox marketplace and I've even purchased the newest expansion, Awakening which I am working my way through now.

One thing that makes this game so great is the music especially the tune that plays at the very beginning of the game as you're just starting to load up your last save. I wish developers had found more places to insert this tune because you just don't hear it enough. I believe its called "Ferelden at War" or at least this is the closest piece of music I could find on the soundtrack which sounded like what I keep hearing during that load screen. You can hear it at EA.com in their music section. Here you can also purchase the soundtrack if you like. I wish I had the cash to buy this but funds are low and also I couldn't think of a place to play this that wouldn't seem weird. This really isn't car music but I could possibly clean to this stuff.

Death to the dust bunnies!

The Ghost in the Blue Ghost Tunnel Found!

So my boyfriend has gotten in photography recently and like the loving girlfriend I am, I have been driving him around to various locations and even going on his trips with him. One of his recent trips took us to a local urban legend spot called the Blue Ghost Tunnel which is apparently an abandoned train tunnel in the old Welland Canal.

Apparently the tunnel's curse started with an accident with two trains that crashed into each other and the two firemen who were operating the boilers who died in the accident. Ever since this train crash, there have been more deaths in the tunnels including 8 men who died from the Lock 6 disaster and this caused rumors to spread that the tunnel was cursed. Those who come to the tunnel now tend to experience feelings of sickness and report hearing sounds of children crying or whispers.

Personally I just got mud on my shoes and heard the squeaking of my boyfriend's camera case. But the complete lack of light and having to walk on wet wood did scare the crap out of me nicely.

Photographers have been able to capture pictures of the tunnel with glowing blue orbs in its center which is apparently proof enough of the tunnel haunting for some. This phenomenon of the blue orbs has earned the tunnel its name, The Blue Ghost Tunnel. While there at the tunnel, my boyfriend managed to snap his own photograph of the Blue Ghost and you can see it here.

Hit the jump for the picture of the Blue Ghost.

A Big Thank You to My Readers

I don't say it much but through all the projects I been involved in, it's nice to know that at the end of the day I still have my blog no matter what. Sure, I don't have a mass amount of readers on my blog and it has never been a huge money maker for me but overall I just like to know that it's here for me.

No one can fire me from it and no one can tell me how to run it. The Girl Gamer will always be mine as long as I keep it alive on a server somewhere.

I want to thank everyone who takes the time to read my thoughts here. I appreciate that you come here and support me.

Review: God of War III

God of War III
SCEA, Santa Monica Studio
Available for Playstation 3

Perhaps I’m just getting older and more sensitive but God of War III has to be the most violent game I’ve played in a long time. So violent in fact that I actually spent most of the game looking for alternative puzzle solutions because the obvious ones always ended in some poor person’s death. Don’t get me wrong – I like death and blood in my games as much as the next person but when you get to crush a person’s eyes out by pushing in the analog buttons, the line between reality and game gets just a little too thin for this gamer’s soul to bare.

God of War III continues the long and brutal journey of Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta as he seeks revenge against the Gods for the killing of his family. You start the game right where God of War II left off with Kratos on the back of the titan, Gaia as they climb the side of Mount Olympus in the middle of a great battle with the Olympian Gods. Kratos and the Titans are out for the blood of Zeus and won’t stop until he is dead.



The first 30 minutes of this game is epic which should automatically tell you just how great the rest of the game is. In those 30 minutes, you will have to fight a water horse creature, Poseidon, various minions of the Gods and more, all while you climb the side of Mount Olympus and throughout the body of Gaia. I’ve never seen so much action packed into the beginning of a game let alone the background of an environment. As Kratos battles his way towards Zeus, you see Titans fighting monsters, enemies and Gods in the background on such a grand scale that they make Kratos look like an ant.

I got a chance to play the demo for this game back a few months ago and I was surprised that it didn’t show off more of the advancements made in the series since the God of War II. I was half expecting to play the same old God of War franchise with updated graphics but was pleasantly surprised to find a ton of new elements that they didn’t even hint at in the demo like the new over the top combat moves and the combination of boss battles and level platforming.

The game is stuffed full of challenging puzzles, enemy combat, level platforming, flying mini games and even our favourite, the sex mini game. To say God of War III is full of variety is an understatement as every level is its own incredible experience full of epic boss battles, gorgeous environments and challenging puzzles. I barely finished this game and I played it on easy, so expect a grand challenge on normal game play and a torture fest on the hard difficulty. There’s even a harder mode that you unlock once you finish the game on any of its difficulty settings.

The controls were easy to pick up if you are okay with plain button mashing your way through the game but if you actually like learning combos, then plan on memorizing a lot of moves because this game has 4 weapons, each with their own list of deathly moves. The only move I couldn’t seem to master was the jump and glide move which sent me to my death more than any enemy did. The button just didn’t seem to react on time and I would plunge to my death before my wings would emerge.



If I were to pick only one thing that made this game so epic, it would be the graphics. Just play through the first 30 minutes of the game to complete the Battle of Olympus, so you can see all the spectacular battle scenes and background animations that made my mouth hang open in amazement. As you climb the side of Mount Olympus, you can see the epic battles in the background between monsters, Gods and titans that is just so mind-blowing that you just have to stop and watch. Of course, this is just the animation in the background, so imagine how beautiful the actual cut scenes are! Overall if you compare the graphics between God of War II on the PS3 collection disc to this game, the difference is light years away and especially when it comes to the characters. They were the most realistic looking this time around. Santa Monica Studios should be proud of how amazing this game turned out.

The voice acting was also stellar this time around with the usual voice talents of T.C. Carson as Kratos and Linda Hunt as Gaia but they also brought some new actors like Clancy Brown as Hades, Kevin Sorbo as Hercules, Rip Torn as Hephaestus, Adrienne Barbeau as Hera and Malcolm McDowell as Daedalus. Talk about one epic cast for one epic video game. The music was also phenomenal as usual with the traditional God of War soundtrack – beautiful music to crush heads to.

Overall, God of War III has tons of variety to keep you interested and lots of challenge to keep you busy but really any game that lets you kill Gods and lots of them will always make my top ten play list. I look forward to see what Santa Monica Studios comes up with for God of War IV which looks like a possibility. I guess you just can’t keep a vengeful Spartan down.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Buy it!

Another Reason Why I Have to Stop Buying from EB Games

Okay, so generally I don't like to buy from EB Games unless there is some amazing deal going on there or they are having a midnight launch with cool prizes and stuff, but today I had no choice in the matter because my usual videogame supplier, Entertainment Overload didn't have the game I wanted.

I did trade in my games there because they always have the better trade in value but I ultimately had to give in and go over to EB Games to buy my copy of Dragon Age Awakening because they didn't have any copies in stock. Hell, I even had EO call over to their second store in town to look for a copy but no such luck.

So I head over EB Games with cash in hand and a small credit on a EB Games gift card that I got back in November when I went to the midnight Modern Warfare 2 launch. When I get there, I look around for a used copy but don't see one, so I ask about it. And here's where I ultimately regretted walking through the door - the clerk gives me some line about how the game is a download from disc deal and the company won't take used copies on trade because people can download the game onto their hard drive and then trade the game back.

Here's the kicker - if you go on the EB Games website which I did before I opted to buy the game, the site shows the game for sale used in the local stores. If the company didn't take the disc in for trade, then how could they sell it used? Also the game isn't a download from disc - you must have the disc in the system at all times in order to play it. So she lied on both accounts which just made me want to walk out right there but I had the stupid credit to spend, so I just swallowed my pride and bought the game.

Best part was when the other clerk offered me a disc guaranteed. No, thank you. See I won't need to buy that guarantee if I can download the content from the disc and play without the disc. I'll just keep my disc save and sound in its case the whole time. God, I hate people sometimes.

If this is not another reason to buy from local businesses then I don't know what is.

Epic 8-Bit Art: Clap Trap Bead Art

In my effort to support the local bead artist 501 union, here's another bead artist I want to showcase because her and I were victims of art theft today plus I have been in love with her Clap Trap piece for a while now since I saw it on Etsy.

GamerArt or Ashley as I've come to know her today has just a few items on her Etsy store but so far they are wicked cool. My favorite is the Clap Trap which runs for $30.00US plus shipping but you can also find a Batman symbol, Mortal Kombat symbol and a Companion Cube.

Check her store out for lots of goodies. Support the union! We have our bead habit to support.

My Tribute to Lost - Hurley

So I was watching season one of Lost one day and I decided to draw - most of the stuff that came out of that session was crappy except this - cartoon Hurley. This was the only character I liked, so here's he is.

Someone Got Bored the Other Day and Stole My Work - UPDATED

I have spies everywhere - remember that and I have Google - http://twitter.com/SporkEnthusiast - her real name is Samantha Allison. Hi bitch!

So today I get a Flickr message from a very nice person who informs me that some douchebag named SPORKENTHUSIAST (got that... good) has decided to claim my bead artwork as their own and post it on Reddit.com. And before anyone starts into the whole copyright debate, I'm not talking about patterns, I'm talking about actually pictures of my friggn' work.

They actually ripped pictures of four of my creations from the net, along with two other images from two other artists. They posted old pictures of my Sonic, Tails, Master Chief and Link & Zelda creations. I've updated most of the pictures in my flickr account now to newer ones, but I still have the old ones to compare to in my Etsy store. You can see for yourselves from the links I posted above that they are the same.

Luckily my bead work is so easy to spot that my Flickr friend noticed they were mine and pointed out his theft. Also they were exposed by one of the other artists they stole from and that ultimately got the thread removed.

The thread is still there for viewing but I can't put in my two cents in the comments, so instead I reported everything they were doing - every comment, every story - everything. Hopefully the people at Reddit.com will ban them for something.

God I hate the internet sometimes - cause it makes it too easy for people to do this.

TV Show Theme Song Medley

This guy is pretty good especially when considering he's singing with himself. Themes from various TV shows including a bunch of my favorite geek shows like True Blood, Family Guy, Big Bang Theory, The X-Files and The Simpsons.

Flynn Lives - Countdown to Tron Legacy

So a little while ago my boyfriend stumbled across a viral game for the new Tron Legacy which is the sequel to Tron. This game was a 8-bit art picture which was filled with picture references to various video games and you had to guess what they were. If you managed to guess them all, you would win a prize. Well, my boyfriend and I put our heads together and figured out all the games and this is what we won - an ENCOM employee badge.

Now he put in his picture for the first win but I entered the game a second time and got my own badge which is what you see above. The main site promoting the movie is Flynn Lives.com but the game can be found on Arcade Aid.com.  Make sure you create a login in to save your progress and win.

Sweet Tee - 8-Bit Blues

Available to buy on Threadless and created Jacques Maes, 8-Bit Blues is an awesome gaming shirt. It features Mario as a blues singers blowing into a NES game cartridge like a harmonica. So sweet. Too bad Threadless doesn't take paypal or I would totally buy some from their site.

Super Mario Go!

Super Mario Go!, originally uploaded by Arcade Art.

Spray painted Mario Box Art from Arcade Artist, one of my favorite videogame artists. This lovely piece has already been sold, but at least we can enjoy it from a distance.

These piece was made to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros on the NES.

Stop Motion Animation with Perler Beads

The Pixelgasm forum's newest member, Hardened Heart posted this recently - this guy must have the patience of a Buddhist master to be able to bead and then remove each item for this video.

8-Bit Dr. Horrible Sing-Along Blog

Tis finally complete! My dear friend, Doctor Octoroc aka Levi Buffum has finally complete the full Dr. Horrible Sing-Along Blog soundtrack in chiptune quality and even included a NES version of what the movie would look like as a game.
You can download the entire soundtrack for Dr. Horrible here and check out the NES version of the game in video form above. If you love the soundtrack, please donate to Doctor Octoroc to show him you appreciate his work.

Lost Beer Glasses - For Drinking Your Dharma Beer

Ian Leino has finally found a way to drink your Dharma beer in style - Dharma beer glasses! Each glass comes with a Polar Bear logo and Dharma Beer Logo etched on either side. These beer glasses are guaranteed to make you the envy of the island. Glasses costs $8.50 each and are only available in the US.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World Trailer

I've never read the comic book before but this trailer looks amazing. I want to now! It's so video game!

Dexter meets Dexter's Lab

Tee Fury had an awesome Dexter t-shirt for sale for those who love both Dexter the cartoon mad scientist and Dexter the serial killer but sadly its gone now. They need to bring it back.

My Friends Rule - Me as Batgirl

I have a wicked artist friend, Eric DeSantis who created the pinup girl picture you see on my sidebar and he posts his artwork on a blog with other fellow artists. It's called Cup O'Doodle. Lately he's been doing comic book stuff and I challenged him to not only do Batman but do me as Batgirl. Today I found this - "Have Faith in Batgirl". Okay, girl scream!

Eric is so amazing for doing this. Please check out the Cup O'Doodle blog, his other blogs and buy his stuff. Support Eric and his amazing work!

The Girl Gamer's Gaming Tech Guide - Gadgets for Gaming

Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010 – Top Shot Pack
Activision, Cauldron
Available for the Nintendo Wii

For the hunter in the family, there’s Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010 Top Shot Pack which includes the game and a Wii remote peripheral shaped like a shotgun. The peripheral has a spot to place both the Wii remote and nunchuk and once the game is switched to the top shot control scheme you can use the shotgun peripheral to shoot almost like a real gun.

The Wii version of Big Game Hunter 2010 gives you 12 story missions and 13 shooting gallery challenges to work your way through, each with various animal life to hunt.

Nyko Charge Base IC for the Nintendo Wii
Holds two Wii Remotes or Nyko Wands

One of the biggest problems facing gamers right now is controller battery life and Nyko is serving up various solutions for all consoles. The Nyko Charge Base IC for the Nintendo Wii is probably the prettiest and most functional of all the chargers I’ve come across. The magnetic grips allow you to stick your remotes onto the charger without removing the rubber sleeves and the blue LED lights on the charge base turn green when the charge completes. The charger comes with two battery packs to insert into your Wii remotes and also includes a USB port on the back should you choose to charge another device like your iPod.

Charge times range from 8 hours with a rubber sleeve on to 4 hours without the rubber sleeve. I suggest taken a minute to remove your rubber sleeves before each charge. The base’s magnetic grip also improves with the sleeve off.

Nyko Charge Base 360 for Xbox 360
Holds two Xbox 360 Controllers

Also available from Nyko to help you with your charging issues is the Nyko Charge Base 360 which charges up to 2 Xbox 360 controllers. I love this charging kit because my regular Xbox battery won’t last more than a few hours lately and the Nyko NiHM battery lasted the full 25 hours it claimed in the manual. One controller takes 2 hours to charge and two controllers take 4 hours. The base has an indicator on the front which glows red when the controllers are charging and green when they are done. The controllers sit perfectly in the cream coloured cradle.

The only downside to this kit is that you can’t charge the batteries on their own without the controller being attached which I would love because I only have one controller that takes a battery pack but I read on CNET.com that you can charge the batteries separate by placing a book on top on them. I haven’t tried this method yet, so don’t blame me if a fire breaks out.

Sony Playstation 3 Wireless Keypad

If you’re like me and you talk to your friends a lot online during gameplay but don’t have a headset, then you have to use the basic controller to type in all your messages which can take forever. Luckily I discovered the solution to my messaging problems with the Sony Wireless Keypad for the Playstation 3. This small keypad device plugs into the top port of your Playstation SIXAXIS or Dualshock 3 controller and fits perfectly over the top portion of your controller. The keypad has its own separate power source, so you’ll have to charge it via the USB cord that plugs into your Playstation 3.

The QWERTY style keyboard features Bluetooth functionality and a few dedicated buttons that allow you to jump to preset features on the XMB like your message box or friends list. There’s even a touch pad button that allows you to use the entire surface of the keypad like a touch pad simply by moving your finger over it which is very useful for moving the pointer while using the web browser.

Nyko Wand Action Pack for Nintendo Wii

If you’re looking for the perfect solution for the over-priced Nintendo Wii controller problem, then look no further then the Nyko Action Pack which contains a Nyko Wand (Wii remote alternative), a Pistol Grip which allows you to enjoy accurate light gun action during all your favourite Wii games and a rubber sleeve to protect your Nyko wand.

The Pistol Grip has a trigger and a button on the back of the handle which can be assigned to either the B or A buttons on the Nyko Wand which respond digitally to the Pistol Grip via its trans-port technology. Putting the wand into the Pistol Grip can be difficult as the directions don’t tell you to pull the trigger away from the wand when installing it, so please be careful or you could break the thing. Ultimately this is a great alternative to buying another Wii remote as it is cheaper and you get more.

Your Shape Featuring Jenny McCarthy
Ubisoft
Available for the Nintendo Wii

Generally I am the last person to promote exercise as I am the last person to get off my butt and game, but the toned body of Jenny McCarthy has found her way into the home of my sister along with a Nintendo Wii and I’m all for anything that will get my sister gaming again. Ms. McCarthy helps lovely ladies find their waist line again with her innovative exercise program that utilizes a Wii camera tracking system. This is a far easier system than holding the Wii remote and nunchuk in your hands or strapping them to your legs like in other Wii programs. You’ll be sweating to some general disco sounding tunes while taking instructions from Jenny and viewing yourself on screen via camera.

This is pretty much an aerobics based program which features jumping jacks, walking & running in place, etc. I suggest you alternate this program with another weight based game or a game with sports in it in order to mix it up a bit.

Punch-Out!! bead art

Punch-Out!! bead art, originally uploaded by BrYaN-55.

From another fellow bead artist, BrYaN-55, this Punch-Out!!! bead art scene contains 40,368 beads on 48 full pegboards. The statue and building's lights are fluorescent, so they shine in the dark.

ByYaN-55 stated on his flickr account that is piece didn't make it through the ironing process - I'm guessing that means it warped or the beads came up. It looked amazing before ironing though. Too bad - we applaud his effort.

Hoppy Belated Easter - Stand By Me from The Muppets

I love these internet video from The Muppets and I can't wait for the new movie to hit the theatres. This newest video features a giant monster disguised as a bunny singing "Stand by Me".

Spitting Pixels - Jelly Bean Pixel Art

Fellow pixel artist and Canadian, Patrick Pilon posted this video this morning on facebook. I love the idea of making anything pixelated out of stuff you can find around the house. So far I've done stickers, paint and beads but nothing else but I've seen cross-stitch, food, beer caps, yarn, lego, spray paint, pop cases and more. People can be so creative. I want to make something out of the coloured price stickers at work but I doubt they will let me.

Happy April Fools from Think Geek - The Dharma Alarm Clock

Oh how Think Geek teases us each year on April Fool's Day with fake products and this year is no different. Meet the fake Dharma Initiative Alarm Clock which has two modes: one minute warning and electro-magnetic cataclysm. Too bad this one is fake but sometimes if the people demand a product enough, sometimes Think Geek will really make the product for sale. Here's hoping!