In Blood Ties, you are recruited to help private investigator Vicki Nelson solve some unusual missing persons cases. This is accomplished by finding clues around town. There isn't anything particularly amazing about the game. It's a fairly typical hidden object game. Some of the locations are interesting because they look a bit more life-like than in other hidden object games. I really wish there was more for me to talk about though. I did enjoy playing the game but not any more than I enjoyed playing the Dream Date series or Mystery Case Files.
Website of the Week: TheatreAlliance.org
Most people don't know that I was a Theatre Arts major in college. While I haven't been active in the theatre community in a really long time, I do enjoy watching performances. The Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia is a wonderful site for anyone interested in the stage. Besides listing all of the current and upcoming performances in the Philadelphia area, the site also maintains a list of open theatrical jobs. Whether you enjoy performing on-stage, backstage or just watching from the audience, this really is a great resource.
Music review: Blind Melon - No Rain
Artist: Blind Melon
Members: Shannon Hoon (vocals), Brad Smith (bass), Rogers Stevens (guitar), Christopher Thorn (guitar), Glen Graham (drums)
Album: Blind Melon
Release date: 9/22/92
Video link: Via YouTube
Lyrics: All I can say is that my life is pretty plain I like watchin' the puddles gather rain And all I can do is just pour some tea for two and speak my point of view But it's not sane, It's not sane
I just want some one to say to me I'll always be there when you wake Ya know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today So stay with me and I'll have it made
And I don't understand why I sleep all day And I start to complain that there's no rain And all I can do is read a book to stay awake And it rips my life away, but it's a great escape escape......escape......escape......
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain ya don't like my point of view ya think I'm insane Its not sane......it's not sane.
About the song: Most people know this song from the infamous Bee Girl video. There's nothing particularly wonderful about No Rain other than having a catchy tune. I have to admit that Blind Melon is one of those bands that make me wonder what they could have been if they weren't involved with drugs. Would they have been more successful? Supposedly the band didn't start using until they started touring for the Blind Melon album. While it's too late for them now (beyond their current reunion with a new singer, which just isn't the same), I wish I could have known what would have been if things were different.
Game review: Greek Goddesses of Solitaire
Hades has kidnapped all of the Greek Goddesses. In order to save them, you must beat the God of the Underworld in various games of solitaire. I have to say that the game pretty much delivers what you would expect. Each goddess has a different variation of solitaire that you need to beat in order to rescue her from Hades. In between some of the levels, Hades tries to trick you with a card game. He shows you a card, mixes up all the cards and you need to pick the correct card. It's not particularly difficult.
Overall, the game is dull. It's fairly easy to beat Hades in each card game and when you do save the goddesses, you don't receive any sort of reward. This might be a nice change of pace if you play a lot of solitaire games but it's not something you'll be playing very often.
Favorite Friday
I thought about posting this earlier in the week but I decided to be patient and wait. As everyone knows by now, Heath Ledger passed away on January 23. In tribute, today's Favorite video is his performance of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" from 10 Things I Hate About You
TV review: Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Now I've finally had the chance to watch third episode of Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles, I think I might be ready to talk about it. I've never been a big fan of the Terminator movies. As a matter of fact, I only classify the movies by their bad guys: "Arnold is the bad guy," "That shape-shifting one" and "The chick is the baddie." Beyond that, I don't know a lot about them. Keeping that in mind, I have found the television series to be pretty interesting. I'm not worried about continuity. I just want a show with some kickass chicks beating bad guys up. That's not too much to ask for, right? Well, I can say that it definitely delivers for me. Summer Glau makes an absolutely awesome protector-Terminator. (Protectinator?) And thanks to the Firefly franchise, we all know that she can definitely kick some ass when she needs to. I'm not too thrilled with Lena Headey as Sarah though. She seems a lot more fragile than Linda Hamilton was in the movies. (Yes, I will let them play with the timeline of the movies but c'mon, these are supposed to be the same people!) The writers also seem to be playing up the maternal role and making her less willing to do whatever she needs to do to protect John.
Ah, John. Thomas Dekker isn't terrible in the role. Though I think I'd like to see John be a little less emo. Yes, his life sucks but, at some point, you just have to suck it up and accept it. I hope that he'll get to that point in the series.
So, overall, it's not completely terrible. I suppose it might upset you if you are a big fan of the movies but the writers did try to explain their way out of a few things. We're just going to have to wait to see where it goes from here.
Website of the Week - Qassia
In order to jazz this place up a bit, I'm going to start a website of the week feature. Once a week, I will link to a website that I think is interesting or informative or one I just like. Today I would like to talk about Qassia. It's a little difficult to try to describe the site. It is almost like wikipedia due to the user-generated content. However, unlike wiki, Qassia requires that the users vote on the information or 'intel' before it can be posted. By writing intel and screening it, you obtain Qassia credit called Qassia dollars. This credit can't be exchanged for money but, in the future, they are planning to allow users to purchase advertising space and other things with it.
I find myself checking the website multiple times per day. A lot of my Qassia dollars have been accumulated through screening intel from others. I've written a few pieces myself but I've found it a lot more interesting to see what other people have written. Hopefully I'll be able to screen something you've written soon!
Game review: Chocolatier 2: Secret Ingredients
Back in October, I talked about the first Chocolatier game. Since I had a lot of fun playing the first one, I gave the sequel a try. Chocolatier 2 was even more fun than Chocolatier 1. Perhaps it was due to playing the first one but I was able to make a ton of money and gain new recipes very quickly. The basic gameplay is the same and it's easy to pick up if you haven't played the original. The big change is that now you can make your own recipes. Once you reach Entrepreneur status, you can buy your way into the lab to research new recipes with various ingredients. To show just how easy it can be to achieve this, I only played the one hour demo and managed to not only access the laboratory, I also created two brand new recipes. I even got the chance to implement those recipes before the trial ended.
I've played a lot of casual games lately and I have to admit, this is the most fun I have had in a long time. I think anyone would enjoy Chocolatier 2.
Music review: X-Japan - Tears
Artist: X Japan
Members: Deyama "Toshi" Toshimitsu (vocals), Hayashi Yoshiki (drums and piano), Matsumoto "Hide" Hideto (lead guitar), Morie "Heath" Hiroshi (bass), Ishizuka "Pata" Tomoaki (rhythm guitar)
Album: Dahlia
Release date: 11/4/96
Video link: Via YouTube
English translation: "Wherever we go is okay," You said Now what may have been Has been stopped by time
On that night that was too long I had a dream where you left me Staring at a foreign sky I hugged my loneliness
My fallen tears Are piling up on the winds of time At the end I feel your breath
DRY YOUR TEARS WITH LOVE DRY YOUR TEARS WITH LOVE
LONELINESS... YOUR SILENT WHISPER FILLS A RIVER OF TEARS THROUGH THE NIGHT MEMORY... YOU NEVER LET ME CRY AND YOU, YOU NEVER SAID GOODBYE SOMETIMES OUR TEARS BLINDED THE LOVE WE LOST OUR DREAMS ALONG THE WAY BUT I NEVER THOUGHT YOU'D TRADE YOUR SOUL TO THE FATES NEVER THOUGHT YOU'D LEAVE ME ALONE
TIME THROUGH THE RAIN HAS SET ME FREE SANDS OF TIME WILL KEEP YOUR MEMORY LOVE EVERLASTING FADES AWAY ALIVE WITHIN YOUR BEATLESS HEART
DRY YOUR TEARS WITH LOVE DRY YOUR TEARS WITH LOVE
My fallen tears Are piling up on the winds of time This feeling at the end Makes my blue rose change DRY YOUR TEARS WITH LOVE DRY YOUR TEARS WITH LOVE
My fallen tears are piled on the winds of time again At the end I can feel your breath DRY YOUR TEARS WITH LOVE DRY YOUR TEARS WITH LOVE DRY YOUR TEARS WITH LOVE DRY YOUR TEARS WITH LOVE
(talking) If you could have taught me anything You would have found what love is If you could have taught me what was on your mind I could have shown you the way Someday... I will be before you Have you ever thought about that time? I never imagined the pictures of that night For now I will try to live for you And for... I will try to live Try to live the love, the dreams, And finally, the tears. About the song: Tears is an amazing power ballad. Toshi's voice is powerful enough to rock yet still give the song the raw emotion it needs. A good portion of the song is the vocal, a piano and a small orchestra. When the guitar, bass and drum kicks in, everything pulls together wonderfully. I'm not the type of person who cries at songs but this song makes me weepy.