Monday, November 30, 2015

Episode 21 The Big O and Beef Show Reunion Special

This week Panda was out of town, so look forward to hearing about her adventures in LA next week.  But this week, you have the glorious return of the Big O and Beef show.  As I'm sure none of you know, Beef and I did a very short lived YouTube show six years ago (Picture and Link below).

Big O and Beef Show

For the podcast this week, we decided to bust out one of our old unused scripts.  Have you ever had a game that everyone loved but you couldn't get behind?  What about a game you loved but you seemed to be the only one?  Join myself and Beef as we discuss the most under and overrated games on our lists.  


-Big O

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

A Walk in My Irradiated Shoes: Chapter 2


A Walk in my Irradiated Shoes: Chapter 2
12/02/2287

Goodneighbor. A suburb of Diamond City filled with ghouls and chem addicts with a serious attitude problem. That's where I find myself on this particularly dark day in the ruins of Boston. After a run-in with a thug at the main gate I find myself conversing with the mayor of Goodneighbor, Hancock. He's a ghoul wearing old colonial attire, and to be fair he is the biggest badass I've had the pleasure to meet since leaving Vault 111. After the pleasantries are out of the way (which involved him stabbing the aforementioned thug to death in the middle of the town), I ask him if he has any extra work for me. He tells me of a place called Pickman Gallery that he needs a status report on, so I gear up and head out.

Hell yes I added him as my companion at first chance!
Art is in the eye of the beholder...I guess.
I arrive at the Gallery to be greeted by a small band of raiders at the door. I switch out my sniper for my silenced 10mm pistol and clear them out quickly and quietly. I enter the building to more raiders who are arguing about finding the aforementioned Pickman. After picking off the raider scum, I start to realize just how freaky this house really is. Creepy paintings cover the walls. People are beheaded and impaled on spikes. Bodies are chained to tables. All the corpses have calling cards on them with the words "Find Me- Pickman" signed in blood. I see a hole in the wall and follow it under the house.
"I love what you've done with the place!"
How many raiders does it take to change a lightbulb?
The tunnels are filled with radiation and raiders. It's tight quarters down here so it's time for my trusty combat shotgun. After blowing through several bands of raiders, and navigating many twists and turns, I come upon a scene of three raiders surrounding a man in a classy suit. They tell him this is the end of the line, but the man doesn't seem concerned. The raiders open fire. In a split second I decide to help the man in the classy suit. Two of the raiders go down with easy headshots, but the leader is a tough S.O.B. After a few shotgun blasts to his ugly mug, the raider is on his last legs. Out of the corner of my eye I see the man in the suit run behind the raider and finish him off with a clean stab to the back.

As the smoke cleared, the man in the suit turns to me. He thanks me for the help although he's kind of a creep. Looking over at his name it all becomes clear, I just helped the serial killer Pickman get a fresh kill. He explains that although his methods are brutal, he only kills raiders. Since the only good raider is a dead raider, I decide to let him leave to continue his bloody streak across the wasteland. I find a lockpicking bobblehead on the floor of the room and head for the door. But something on the table catches my eye...

"Ohhhh comic!"

"IN SOVIET RUSS... Oh nevermind."
-Rory

Monday, November 23, 2015

Jessica Jones AKA The Spoiler-Free Review






Over the weekend, between sessions of writing my paper for school, I binge watched Marvel and Netflix's newest super hero drama Jessica Jones.  I have to point out that I wasn't going into the series blind due to the fact that I have some experience with the comics.  Since I'm a fan I was really excited for this show.  So, what did I think?

First, a brief explanation of plot.  Jessica Jones is a private investigator in New York city with super powers and a troubled past.  She's hard drinking, hard fighting, and doesn't take crap from anyone.  After finding her old nemesis/tormentor is back in town, Jessica has to decide what lengths she is willing to go to in order to settle the score.  Yes, that explanation was purposely as vague as possible.  Let's get into the meat of this show, the writing and acting.  

To start off, I just need to say whomever is in charge of casting for Marvel movie and TV projects deserves more money.  The actors cast to play these characters are always on point and Jessica Jones is no exception.  


Krysten Ritter who is most famous for her role in Breaking Bad does an amazing job of bringing the title character to life.  I must confess, I haven't seen her in many of her other roles so I'm not sure if this tougher than nails part is par for the course for her but in any case she captured the spirit of a person who is torn between duty and revenge.  She shows the pain that Jessica Jones has endured and the psychological scars she has because of it.  I really can't praise Ritter enough so I should probably just move on.


Rachael Taylor plays Trish Walker, the childhood best friend and for lack of better term side-kick.  Walker is also a big character in the Marvel comics but I won't get into that.  If you want to know you can look it up.  Taylor plays this part well and I never had a hard time believing that she cared about Jones.  She did a good job in her role, I don't really think she added anything above and beyond but the part didn't really call for it either.  



 I just want to start off by saying how happy I am to finally see Luke Cage in the Marvel Cinematic (TV Show) universe.  I've been a fan of this character for a long time and I wasn't sure if we were ever going to see him.  Again, casting was spot on with Mike Colter knocking it out of the park.  We don't see much of Luke in the season but something tells me that will be changing somewhere down the line.


Now, my Doctor Who fanboy is going to be showing a little bit, but I feel that David Tennant stole the show as the villain Killgrave.  Killgrave has the ability to control the minds of others.  All he has to do is tell you to do something, and you will.  One word and you're his.  Honestly, he's one of my favorite Marvel villains simply because he has the power of a god and he's rotten to the core.  My only really complaint about this portrayal in the show is that they try to make him a sympathetic villain when in the comics he's evil and he friggin loves it.  I will admit, it was a little hard to dissociate Tennant from the Doctor and I was a little uncomfortable at first.  Now, I can't imagine Killgrave being played by anyone else.  


The writing and story lines in the Marvel films and television shows have been superb and Jessica Jones does not disappoint.  While the Marvel films such as Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy showcase the bright vibrant areas of the Marvel Universe, the Netflix shows like Daredevil and Jessica Jones highlight the dark underworld.  This can be seen in the darker tone of the shows and grittier settings.  Marvel and Netflix have already announced a Defenders (the super hero team of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Daredevil, and Iron Fist) show for the future and it's gearing up to be pretty amazing.  I'm still disappointed about the Iron Fist show being cancelled due to the fact that Netflix believed there would not be enough interest in the character.  However, we should get to see the character show up in a future episode of Jessica Jones, Daredevil, or the Luke Cage show that got approved.  I am very interested to see where the future takes Jessica Jones and what story lines they choose to tackle.  I can't recommend this series enough, which probably shouldn't be a surprise considering I watched the whole first season in a day.  You gotta love binge watching.


-Big O


Episode 20: The Future is Here, Today!

As far back as I can remember movies, video games, and television shows have told us what the future was going to be like.  Generally, they involved flying cars, robots, and zero gravity sports.  But the future is here and we don't have any of that stuff.  What went wrong and what can be done to fix it?

Episode 20: The Future is Here, Today!

-Big O

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

A Walk in My Irradiated Shoes


A Walk in my Irradiated Shoes
11/27/2287

I wake up in my house in Sanctuary Hills, ready to greet the wasteland. Well rested bonus in hand, I head outside to see what’s in store for me next. I trade a few things with Trashcan Carla, then head over to Preston Garvey to see who needs help from the Minutemen today. He tells me of a settlement named Greygarden that is requesting assistance as soon as possible. I scrap a few things, mod my sniper rife for more damage, then I’m on my way.

What do robots need with all this fruit?
Having not been to Greygarden before, I fast travel to the Corvega Assembly Plant just a few minutes away. It’s a pretty smooth walk there, other than some Mole Rats that I quickly dispose of. Cresting over a hill, Greygarden comes into full view and I’m taken aback by what I see. The whole place is run by Mr. Handy’s, under the watchful mechanical eye of Supervisor White. The robot leader tells me that the facility was finished being built mere days before the bombs dropped 200 years ago. But it isn’t all idol chitchat, White gets down to business and tells me of a water treatment plant down the hill that is needed to keep the garden alive. Only one problem, the place is crawling with super mutants. Of course it is.
"I have ALL of my eyes on you."
It looks so innocent from here
After climbing down the hill to the plant, I post up a good distance away to figure out my plan of attack. Through my sniper scope I count around ten mutants, with a mirelurk a safe distance away from them. I line up my first shot on a super mutant brute’s cranium. Bang. Watching their leader go down in one shot clearly pissed them off, because they all start charging and shooting my direction. My explosive indicator pops up pointing to my left. I narrowly avoid becoming charred bits flying around the wasteland, then enter V.A.T.S. to find the culprit. The targeting system lands on a super mutant wearing a tire on his head, who is aiming a missile launcher in my direction. I think we have our guy. So I line up a shot with a 54% chance of hitting. I use my critical strike to change that to a 100% chance. Better save than sorry. Bang.

After thinning a few more out of the herd of monsters, there are just a couple of stragglers left. I get charged by a mutant using a 2x4 as a weapon. It’s too close for the sniper, so I switch to the shotgun. Bang. He SPLINTERS into a million pieces thanks to the Bloody Mess perk. A horrible sound cuts through the chaos, and I quickly change to my sniper. It’s the beeping sound from a mini-nuke being held by a super mutant suicider. He begins his death charge at me. I pull up V.A.T.S to aim for his explosive, but the mirelurk has decided that now is a good time to come attack me. Not cool. I can’t aim at the bomb through the mirelurk, so I use V.A.T.S. to quickly drop him. Bang. Having no AP left, I realize I’m going to have to shoot this bomb unassisted. I look down my scope as the beast closes in. Take aim at the mini-nuke. BOOM. He’s gone in a dark mushroom cloud. That was too close.
They won't be needing this stuff anymore.
Now that the mutant problem is dealt with, time to steal all their stuff. Desk fans, guns, armor, ammo, it’s all up for grabs. I spot a tool case in a shack across the yard. As I cross the threshold of the building, I hear the sound of a wire snap. My explosive indicator points straight down.

Bang.

-Rory

Monday, November 16, 2015

RAD Chat Episode 1

This week we're taking a bit of a break from the normal to post the first episode of RAD Chat.  This is the West Coast Nerd Corps Fallout themed podcast.  Join Rory and I as we talk about previous Fallout games and swap stories about Fallout 4.  How does Boston differ from DC?  Is the crafting system a good improvement?  Will we ever find our son or will he just need to grow up as a raider?  The answers to these questions and much much more in episode 1 on RAD Chat:

RAD Chat Episode 1

Also, I decided to finally take advantage of the PS4's screenshot taking abilities.  Here are some of the random things I've come across.


(Seeing the Sun for the first time in 200 years, probably pretty accurate to how most of the players feel after they're done)




(A glimpse of the perks chart)






















(The Hero the wasteland deserves)






















(Cowboy Curtis of Boston)






















(That's no way to get ahead in life)






















(I've heard of being bored to death at church, but it's usually not the preacher)






















(Sorry man, I'll knock next time)

Look forward to new episodes of RAD Chat coming every few weeks.  We need more time to build up our stories and such.

-Big O

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Crawl Out Through the Fallout!



Crawl Out Through the Fallout!
11/11/2015
            I’ve spend the past two days picking the corpses of raiders, eating canned dog food, and fishing boxes of Dandy Boy Apples out of dirty toilets. Safe to say, I’m already in love with Fallout 4. Everything I like about Bethesda games has been refined and polished to the point of damn near perfection here. Sure weird clipping still happens, textures pop in, frame rates can stumble in large battles, and I couldn’t care less. 

            Trekking through the ruins of Boston is as fun as it is dangerous. Radiation storms roll through with yellow fog and thunder. Raiders place traps around unsuspecting corners. Mirelurks wait in the water for you to stumble into their territory. And cars become ticking time bombs that will send your charred corpse flying across the wastes. It’s dangerous, but you don’t have to go it alone. At the first landmark you’re likely to pass, a Red Rocket fueling station, you’ll find a trusty dog to aid you. He can help you in a fight, or be sent to gather supplies. He’s a welcome addition to your lonely journey.

            I’m about 15 hours in, but I haven’t even touched the main story. I’ve been so wrapped up in a side quest involving recruiting settlements for a faction you meet early on that I just haven’t had the time. I’ve ventured into Boston once or twice but just recently found the crown jewel, Diamond City. I won’t spoil anything about it but it’s a really special location to be sure. The new DJ for the radio station is not nearly as special unfortunately. Following up Three-Dog and Mr. New Vegas is difficult, but they really screwed the pooch with the new guy. He has no personality and is so boring that I haven’t even bothered to listen for his name. At least he’s slinging good music. With a great blend of Fallout 3 jams and some new songs, blasting away raiders has never sounded so classy.

            My time in the Commonwelth is just beginning, and I can already tell you that I’m in for the long haul. So it’s time to strap on my power armor, pop a Rad-X, and head back into the irradiated ruins of Boston to put my new Bloody Mess perk to good use, painting the town red. See you in the wasteland, vault dwellers!
-Rory