April Hauls

[138 Scourge]

Chocolate, other candies, eggs, stomachache.

Also, thanks to Scourge I now have DOTM dlx Topspin without paying ridiculous prices. The figure has charm, I like the transformation, but the robot mode's weapon pods are just not well-executed and they drag the figure down considerably. I don't know why Hasbro does that sort of thing, that and the "let's put about a third of the paint on this figure even though it won't look very good until it's entirely painted" move that DOTM suffered so much of.

Weapon pods...the bigass rack o' guns in the back? Yeah, those things, man. I get what they were going for with it, but it could've been better executed. I like the idea of Topspin going around with just a ton of weaponry strapped to his back, but it winds up just looking like a giant pile of kibble just hangin' there. At least you can move the kibble around to find a configuration you like better, which I think is why I had those things upside-down. Probably thought at the time that they looked a little better that way.

I do like all the clamps that dude has on him, though. Both hands, and a crossbow deal that doubles as a clamp? Topspin's ready if a position ever opens up in the robot mafia.

[annhell]

He actually comes with a cup of coffee! And his sword.

Oh, so he DOES have the cup? Cool.

Oh, and my haul:
Finally got my truck-monkey and bunny-copter. GoBuster-Oh stands tall.

Oh, and, just had 2 pairs of glasses made today, which will be done in about 2 weeks.

[JediTricks]

Chocolate, other candies, eggs, stomachache.

Also, thanks to Scourge I now have DOTM dlx Topspin without paying ridiculous prices. The figure has charm, I like the transformation, but the robot mode's weapon pods are just not well-executed and they drag the figure down considerably. I don't know why Hasbro does that sort of thing, that and the "let's put about a third of the paint on this figure even though it won't look very good until it's entirely painted" move that DOTM suffered so much of.

Weapon pods...the bigass rack o' guns in the back? Yeah, those things, man. I get what they were going for with it, but it could've been better executed. I like the idea of Topspin going around with just a ton of weaponry strapped to his back, but it winds up just looking like a giant pile of kibble just hangin' there. At least you can move the kibble around to find a configuration you like better, which I think is why I had those things upside-down. Probably thought at the time that they looked a little better that way.

I do like all the clamps that dude has on him, though. Both hands, and a crossbow deal that doubles as a clamp? Topspin's ready if a position ever opens up in the robot mafia.

That is the pods I meant, just kibble piles over his shoulders. They didn't do a good job with these, not enough stuff going on, the kibble doesn't fold away enough, and their ball joints pop out when you look at them funny. I currently have them folded flat behind his arms, tucked down as low as they'll go, so it's like a wide jetpack type look, but it's still just a kibble pile. I don't know why the designers don't work harder on problems like that, this figure uses kibble on his legs wisely and then drops the ball in the last steps with the back junk.

His clamps are cool, but I don't know why the designers won't let the lower clamp jaw on either arm open at all, that makes no sense. I think Francis might take offense at someone else bringing in the clamps. I dunno about making his weapon also a clamp though, if they had changed the design a little it could have gone from a nice-looking crossbow to a straight blaster instead of giving him yet more clamps like he's a clamp fetishist (you don't want to see his robo-nips).

[138 Scourge]

So I got some stuff over the weekend. Picked up a couple PSP games because they were stupid cheap. I got Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicle. Eight bucks, and I've been meaning to check out some Castlevania. Also, a game called WTF: Work TIme Fun. I love PSP games that are just weird collections of mini-games, and this one was only three bucks so why the hell not?

Also got the first three issues of RiD. That catches me up there, right? Right.

[Shockwave]

Also got the first three issues of RiD. That catches me up there, right? Right.

You and me both man. And so far, I'm really enjoying it.

[Onslaught Six]

So I got some stuff over the weekend. Picked up a couple PSP games because they were stupid cheap. I got Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicle. Eight bucks, and I've been meaning to check out some Castlevania. Also, a game called WTF: Work TIme Fun. I love PSP games that are just weird collections of mini-games, and this one was only three bucks so why the hell not?

Dracula X Chronicle is, by all accounts, a great compilation. It's a remake of Rondo of Blood, the prequel to Symphony of the Night that was never properly released in America. (There was a somewhat butchered SNES port that came over, called just Castlevania: Dracula X.) It also has Symphony of the Night unlockable in it, which is neat.

[JediTricks]

Hauled in a brand new Canon T2i with 18-55 and 55-250 IS lens kit plus Squaretrade warranty. The 18-55 lens is not a permanent haul though, it's only there to help me sell my 30D without having to give up those lenses (even though they're not IS), nobody wants to buy a DSLR like that without a lens, even if it does have a battery grip, extra battery, LCD protector, and 3 CF Ultra cards (you'd think that'd be enough, but without a lens it's not something anybody would want because anybody with their own lenses will already have a body, and anybody without a lens won't have any use for all that stuff without a lens). I'm selling the 30D to recoup the cost of the T2i, along with another DSLR I had, a Samsung GX-1S, the plan being that I can turn those 2 older machines into this 1 newer machine without breaking the bank - the 30D is a much nicer camera body really, but its sensor is only 8mp and it's much noisier with a lower ISO and less features, I figure if I get more into shooting with the T2i, I'll probably upgrade it next year to the 60D, but for now the T2i is like having 4th-gen Pontiac GTO (the one from '04) in that it has a cheaper body but a smokin' Corvette engine: it may not handle quite as nicely or have as well-built a chassis, but it's got the performance where it counts for half the price.

I also hauled in a cheapie lens hood for the 55-250 lens, plus a Tiffen UV filter to protect the outer lens (it's not a coated filter so in the future I may upgrade if I get a lot of ghosting). I only have a 4gb SDHC card fast enough to shoot video, so I ordered a 16gb Sandisk Extreme last night, should be here on Saturday.

Also ordered the Art of Ralph McQuarrie Star Wars Japanese convention book from the publisher before it runs out, and 2 McQuarrie artwork posters on canvas from Zazzle due to a generous grant from the Mom foundation (she wanted me to get some art for the condo's walls).

[138 Scourge]

Dracula X Chronicle is, by all accounts, a great compilation. It's a remake of Rondo of Blood, the prequel to Symphony of the Night that was never properly released in America. (There was a somewhat butchered SNES port that came over, called just Castlevania: Dracula X.) It also has Symphony of the Night unlockable in it, which is neat.

It's pretty solid, exactly what I remembered Castlevania being, but with better graphics. Which is cool and all, but on the other hand...and I can't believe I'm saying this as an old-school ass video game fan who loved his Atari 2600...the character's fighting style just seems so...simple. Just hit shit with the whip the one way. Maybe I'm spoiled by God of War and Arkham Asylum and such, where you basically just have "hit people with knives" and "punch the shit out of some dude", but it's done in different ways? Eh, I dunno. Still a cool game, been playing and enjoying it when I'm not seduced away by the PS3. Also, I love the name "Dracula X". I can't really explain why. Just sounds cool.

So, today's haul is from a trip to a small old moviehouse out here that was showing "Scott Pilgrim VS the World" that my girlfriend took me to. Being able to see Scott Pilgrim (one of the best movies) in the theater again is enough of a thing, but this place had a Sex Bob-omb cover band (all dressed in character, which was hilarious because "Kim" looked more like Knives, "singer guy" was a longhaired chunky dude, and "Scott" was a bald guy with Glenn Danzig's build) and a metric fuckton of movie paraphenalia that the movie studio kicked over to 'em. I got a Sex Bob-omb shirt for my girl, and a burgundy Scott Pilgrim shirt for myself, and a couple of stamp things that'll print Michael Cera's bass-playing sillohuette from the movie posters. Fun night.

[Onslaught Six]

Dracula X Chronicle is, by all accounts, a great compilation. It's a remake of Rondo of Blood, the prequel to Symphony of the Night that was never properly released in America. (There was a somewhat butchered SNES port that came over, called just Castlevania: Dracula X.) It also has Symphony of the Night unlockable in it, which is neat.

It's pretty solid, exactly what I remembered Castlevania being, but with better graphics. Which is cool and all, but on the other hand...and I can't believe I'm saying this as an old-school ass video game fan who loved his Atari 2600...the character's fighting style just seems so...simple. Just hit shit with the whip the one way. Maybe I'm spoiled by God of War and Arkham Asylum and such, where you basically just have "hit people with knives" and "punch the shit out of some dude", but it's done in different ways? Eh, I dunno. Still a cool game, been playing and enjoying it when I'm not seduced away by the PS3. Also, I love the name "Dracula X". I can't really explain why. Just sounds cool.

Well, Dracula X was an SNES-era game, so of course it had better graphics. The different subweapons help that out in Rondo of Blood, mind you--knives, axe, the Cross, holy water, etc. They also each, if I'm not wrong, have a "super" attack that takes up more Hearts. Also, I can't be certain but I'm pretty sure you can hold the whip button and maneuver it around and even do a Thor-style whip tornado thing. Plus I'm pretty sure you get some crazy ninja shit later on, since you can do it when you unlock Richter in SOTN...

The previous game, Super Castlevania 4 on the SNES, was actually the step up I think you're looking for. It's basically just an extended remake of Castlevania I but you can do way more shit. Simon can throw his whip in any direction, for one, and do some other fancy stuff.

Once you beat Rondo of Blood, though, you unlock Symphony of the Night--the game that redefined Castlevania. Sure, the level design is all Metroid and no Castlevania (hence the introduction of the "Metroidvania" moniker) but the atmosphere and music are pure CV, and the amount of abilities you get over the course of the game are nuts. Double jump boots! Turn into a bat! Turn into a wolf! Armour that breaks spikes! Magic! Etc.!

So, today's haul is from a trip to a small old moviehouse out here that was showing "Scott Pilgrim VS the World" that my girlfriend took me to. Being able to see Scott Pilgrim (one of the best movies) in the theater again is enough of a thing, but this place had a Sex Bob-omb cover band (all dressed in character, which was hilarious because "Kim" looked more like Knives, "singer guy" was a longhaired chunky dude, and "Scott" was a bald guy with Glenn Danzig's build) and a metric fuckton of movie paraphenalia that the movie studio kicked over to 'em. I got a Sex Bob-omb shirt for my girl, and a burgundy Scott Pilgrim shirt for myself, and a couple of stamp things that'll print Michael Cera's bass-playing sillohuette from the movie posters. Fun night.

We watched this again while we were cleaning the apartment, forgot how much I loved it. Makes me want to go back and play the game more.

[JediTricks]

Got the McQuarrie posters from Zazzle - very nice, I was right about canvas, it feels much more appropriate for the artwork than mere poster paper. I think their odd 2:1 size means I'll need to use a frame that's 3" overhead on top/bottom and 1" side/side, but they'll look classy. Unfortunately, greedy stupid Lucasfilm slapped their copyright text in big letters in the bottom corner, which kills the "art" of it - I'm thinking of matting that out on both, but it'll mean removing some of the actual picture.

Got the McQuarrie book from Dreams and Visions Press too, it's a nice presentation, I haven't gone through it carefully or read the translation book yet, but I do feel like the presentation is doing the heavy lifting because so much of this material is in other books already. Still, there are some pieces new to me, and some forms of existing pieces I wasn't familiar with.

A 16gb SDHC Extreme card for the camera.

Car is getting an oil change right now.

Got some MP3s from Amazon and Google, mostly free.