We started playing LOTRO again several months ago with someone who has never played an MMO before. They took to the game so we purchased all in game content areas/expansions (including this one) and have been steadily working towards L75 to be ready to dive in to Rohan. We just got out of Moria (which was a lot better than I was expecting) at L60 and now working our way towards Mirkwood/Isenguard areas. So we should be about ready for Rohan by the time we hit L75.

I've been avoiding reading too much in to the expansion as I'd like to be somewhat surprised but am looking forward to trying out the mounted combat for myself.

I have to say this game has held up very well over these years. We played it when it initially came out, then again when it went F2P, and now a year or so later. It still looks great and is fun to play - I'm obsessed with collecting all the in-game horses. The only major complaint I have about it is the UI which has become outdated. They need a little streamlining in that area.

Agree with pretty much everything you posted there with things getting less scary.

I didn't care for this episode as much since they seemed to be all over the place and not really focusing well enough on one subject. Like the initial detective guy seemed like an odd, and drawn out way, to introduce the angels. There's the collector who I though was going to be the focus of the episode as he knew about the angels and figured they would focus on why he would risk his own well being on pissing off the angels. But he was kinda just dropped to the wayside - literally.

I also must have missed why River was there at that time and place but she also seemed unnecessary - although I did like her and the Doctors interactions in this one.

To me the episode just seems all over the place moving from one thing to another too quickly. By the time they got to the final reveal I was kinda disinterested. So it didn't work for me.

[Taxi:]

Pinball Arcade has two new table packs out now and they are:

Taxi: A table from 1988 and a really good one. It's one of the faster tables I've played. Its easy to follow, quite a bit of fun, but pretty challenging with the speed and some tough shots. There also a quick 2-ball multiball which is fun when triggered and I like the Spinout at the start. This is also the Free table for this month.

Harley Davidson (3rd Edition): A table from 1999. Was not expecting to like this table but I think this might turn out to be a favorite. There's a lot going on with this table with several ramps and a toy Harley motorcycle in the center which raises up to reveal a hidden ramp. I also hit one digital mini-game which was a nice distraction, but hope there are others. The crazy part about this game is how easy it seems to trigger various multiballs. I seem to be triggering them quite often. And the multiballs are with 4 or 5 balls on the table at once which is a lot of fun.

Oddly enough this table also seemed to be free in the Free App version of Pinball Aracde. Not sure if they fixed that but if not you can try both Taxi and Harley out for free this month.

Elvira Party Monsters: This is the older Elvira table from 1989 rather than 1996 table Scared Stiff. I only played a few games of this but I think I really like this one too. Was expecting a bit more humor but maybe I haven't played enough of it as I haven't completed many of the goals. But I like the table layout and the theme so far and its been fun to play.

No Good Gofers: Table from 1997. It was on the Williams Collection disc where I've played it before but never really gave it a chance since I found it a bit too complex at the time. But somehow on my first game I blew past the high score without really understanding any of the nuances of the table. I'll have to dive in to this one a bit more and read up on all the goals. I know this one is considered somewhat of a classic.

There are also a number of updates to existing tables and you'll have to re-download them again. Also apparently the October pack table will be the other Elvira table Scared Stiff and an older table Big Shot.

I've had my Panasonic plasma set for several years now (4 years?). No regrets on that purchase at all - other than I purchased right as prices were starting to fall on HD sets. Works and looks great.

[Spoiler]

I enjoyed the Power of Three episode with the exception of the ending where they tried to both expand the story and wrap it up in 3 minutes; and the final line. But the overall slow invasion story was quirky and kinda fun. I also liked the Ponds much better in this episode as they actually enjoyed their company and were having fun.

Which brings up the speculation of whats going on this season. Mainly that these episodes, while shown in order, are actually out of order from the Doctor's point of view. That he's actually going back in time to spend certain moments with the Ponds. So the Daleks episode is actually later in the time line where the Ponds are not getting along and going through a divorce. The Dinosaur and Mercy episodes likely happened at some point when they stepped out for "7 minutes" from their party in this last episode.

Spoiler for Hiden:

The producers have been pretty open about the Ponds being replaced by a new companion this season. So if they're dieing or whatever this could show how the Doctor is coping with the loss and going back in time for one last blast.

In any case it would be pretty neat if this theory is correct and would shed some new light on these last few episodes.

It seemed to help so I did it. 

Still in. It's not great but good enough for now. It'll probably go the way of Flash Forward or The Event which steadily got worse as it went along.

It was fun seeing C Thomas Howell again. Haven't seen him in anything for years. But they got rid of him pretty quick which was kinda too bad.

Are people really confused by all the store deals where you get a gift card or a free game with your console purchase? This isn't a new concept. So that sounds like BS reasoning to me.

Oh nice. Still have to read the 3rd book but did enjoy the first two. Thought the setup was great and that should translate in to TV well. Hopefully they don't cheap out on it. I can see the series getting a pretty decent following.

Finished up the reality show Top Shot: Season 2. Was a lot better than the first season which I liked too. Kinda the show I liked watching before heading to bed to just chill out. Was kinda watching them in a rush the last few days as it looks like Netflix is dropping all their History shows for now (Pawn Stars/Storage Wars/Hoarders/ect) - which might explain why they were not getting the new seasons for those shows.

Watched a crummy Korean movie called "Wolfen". Which I went in expecting to be werewolf related. But it turned out to be a really bad melodramatic crime thriller about a killer is using a half wolf half dog to do their killings. Like a few Korean films I've seen they add too many twists. In the end you get lost of who did what and how they are connected. Bowed out with just 25 minutes to go. Just wasn't worth it.

On the good side of things I finished up Breaking Bad: Season 3. Been really going through this series slowly where I'll watch it for a burst then not watch it again for weeks. But this season went by pretty fast. Just too many great things about it and is by far my favorite season of the series.

Oh and for those in to Vampire Diaries (and who shouldn't be?) I did see that they added the last season that aired to Netflix.

I laid in bed last night thinking of alternative strategies to deal with intruders and whether to spend my money on this system or that.

For dealing with intruders and stopping the spread of fires I found upgrading the doors to Blast Doors helped so much. With blast doors intruders have to destroy a door first to get through. So it takes them longer to get anywhere in the ship and allows you to gather forces to deal with them. As a bonus the Blast Doors will stop fires from spreading so they're well contained and don't get out of hand like they sometimes can.

Other beginner things I found out was with your first two guys put one on shields and the other on weapon systems and keep them there. They'll help with the recharging/firing of both. They'll also level up as you use them.

Been playing it for a bit and man is this game addicting.

Had a few neat games already. In one I had only just started when a fire killed two of the three crew members. I was almost scrapped the game but figured I'd continue to see how far I got. It turned out to be quite the adventure and lasted far longer then I thought I would. Ship to ship combat battles were a bit crazy as I had to leave the pilots chair a few times to fix the shields or the reactor. Putting out fires were as simple as venting all the atmosphere but keeping the pilots room door closed to keep O2 in. But I became quite good at repairing things as usually by the end of battles I would have a system or two to fix.

But it was tough going as I had to spend my earned scrap to fix the hull and I wasn't coming across any new replacement crew members.

Finally I went in to a new sector and hit a store that had crew members to offer. I had to sell an extra weapon I got from a ship battle to pay for both the crew member, fixing my hull, and for fuel I was sorely lacking. But it looked like things were turning around. However I didn't realize the crew member I purchased was a marine type fella. She was bulky and so slow moving it was a pain to watch her move from room to room trying to repair systems. Ugh.

Finally though we had a battle were some bugs teleported aboard. I was elated as I sent my big marine bitch to wipe the floor with these guys. Problem was she didn't know how to fight for shit apparently. They were killing her pretty quick. She made a feeble attempt to make it to the med bay but died even before escaping the room. I hate to say it but I screamed "Move bitch!" as I saw how slowly she was escaping followed but a gutteral frusrated sound as she crumpled over in death. I took matters in my own hand and left the pilots room to confront the attackers. Only to be massacred in a few seconds.

Sheesh. Rough game. Love it.

I have a co-worker like that too. Sometimes when he walks by you can barely hear him whispering things under his breath. When you ask him "what did you say?" he'll deny he said anything. It's a bit spooky. He has a bunch of other vocal quirks too. Like he has a habit of starting a conversation in his head but doesn't vocalizing anything until he's part way through it. So he'll begin talking to you and you have no idea of what he's talking about as he's begun in the middle. Very confusing.  You're constantly asking him "what are you talking about?" or "what's the context?". But even then if he's really stressed (he's just normally stressed all the time) it can take him two or three go's before you get what's talking about. He'll also do the opposite where he'll start a conversation, usually with a query, but will quickly trail off leaving you hanging there. Like he'll say something like "You know..." and then silence. Am I supposed to respond? Was that directed at me? Was he just thinking outloud? No idea. Usually I'll just let those go.

He also sometimes does the cursing thing when he gets really upset. It'll be quiet in the office and then you'll hear him yell "Fuck!" or "Shit!" which on occassion is accompanied by a slam on the keyboard or desk. Its startling but we chalk it up to being the stress that comes with programming work. We're a small team and have known each other for years so we're used to everyone having their own quirks and we'll playfully rag on each other about them. Just part of the fun of going to work.

FTL is coming out tomorrow on Steam so will be buying that. It's gotten a lot of buzz from beta Kickstarter participants.

This will sell like gangbusters for the holiday but I'm out at $350. Think they priced this too high. I'm anticipating a price cut or some significant bundles before too long after release (6-months). Especially if Microsoft/Sony annouce new consoles at E3 in July.

We'll see.

I just started re-watching this myself. I skipped the entire first season this time through (once was enough) as mentioned it was pretty bad. Here's where to start: Season 2 Episode 3. This is where the chemistry for the characters begins to get better and the episode puts to bed the boring story arch carryover from Season 1. More importantly it introduces Spike and Drusilla which will play a larger part in the show down the road.

Re-watching the show today it does seem quite cheesy at times. What was new an inventive back then is now just old hat or has been done better in today's show. Also its somewhat difficult to watch some of the silly 90's stereotypical characters they put in there and the pop culture references that just don't sizzle anymore.

But try Season 2 out. There's going to be a few duds in there, like any 22 episode season run, but its worth sticking out. The show gets really good in the later seasons and there's some fantastically creative episodes in the future like the nearly silent episode "Hush" and the catchy and very well done musical episode "Once More With Feeling."

Hopefully they've priced this right. Given how negative gamers have been towards it they really have to price it low to get back interest - like $200. But I would imagine it's going to be in the $250-$300 range. Anything more and they'll lose my interest in it.

Can't beat that deal. But man I tried playing those games awhile back and it was brutal in both interface and complexity. Did not have the time/patience to invest in playing them.

I love virtual pinball but for some reason missed out on these tables. Played them more recently and couldn't get in to them.

However since they have Pat Lawlor designing the new table I'm in. Will probably go in $15 or $25.

The Dinosaurs episode wasn't so great. They seemed to want to amp up the humor but it didn't quite succeed. I also didn't care for the two new random companions. And maybe I missed it but the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, she was from the past right? I found it odd they seemed to be technologically advanced. Was that set up at some previous point or was this some futuristic or other worldly Egyptian?

The Doctor seemed a bit ruthless in handling Solomon at the end there which kinda surprised me. He's been ruthless to villains before but will typically make a case of why he's doing what he's doing or show his anger is getting the better of him. This time he didn't seem to give it a second thought.

FYI a patch for the PC version came out the other day. Bug fixes but importantly a few new graphic options including AA,shadow map resolution, and Screen Space Ambient Occlusion.

The graphic options have a very noticable improvement to how the game looks to where I muttered "wow".

FYI if you have Comcast On Demand you can watch the 1st episode of the show now.

It's not bad but not great either. Basically everything in the previews occured in the first epsiode which is kinda good as it doesn't spoil the rest of the season but it did spoil the epsiode somewhat since you knew many of the things that were going to happen and there wasn't much surprise. In any case I'll be setting up a season pass and give it a chance.

A bunch of stuff was added on September 1st. But will do a reccomendation for the animated flick "Titan A.E."

This was a Don Bluth animated movie that bombed in theaters when it came out in 2000. Mainly because I don't think it had an audience around that time. It's a sci-fi adventure where a kid who's lost everything tries to find his father in hopes of saving the human race. It has one of the best openings for a film I have seen and one that that was also pretty shocking to me back then. I'd say the film is geared more towards the late teen audience but I think anyone can enjoy it. There is some silly slapstick in there but mainly serious throughout.

I also watched Conan (2011). It was watchable but barely. Basically a minor step up from Prince of Persia and a major step down from the original film. I still don't get why they were dragging that ship all over the place. They never seemed to make good use of it.

Looks like all Muse albums (regular releases) are $5.

FYI Battle Royle 1 & 2 are back on Netflix. Not sure when they made it back on.

Go out in the rain with them on the leash and have them do their business. Or better yet just tie them up out there, wait for them to bark when they're ready to come in, and go get'em.

I looked through a few games but didn't see anything all that exciting. What should I be taking a peek at?

If Amalur is for Steam then I'll probably pick that up for that price. Steam hasn't had it on sale yet.

Also wish they would do Max Payne 3 as a non-bundle price.

Just played through episode 2 tonight on the news the next episode is due out. Wow episode 2 had some really unexpected and shocking moments to it. Not much adventuring or puzzle sovling in it but I think I liked this episode more than the 1st since the story was really strong and I wasn't sure what was going to happen from one scene to the next.

Was really getting pulled back and forth throughout the epsiode figuring what sides to take and what to do.

I don't think Clementine trusts me much anymore. I feel pretty bad about that. And I also think I lost Kenny as a friend and ally.

Good stuff.

Just wanted to mention this Kickstarter since it needs some love and there may be some interest from those that played Wings back in the Amiga days. Wings was a World War I game from Cinemaware (Rocket Ranger/Defender of the Crown/TV Sports/etc) where you played a combat pilot that joins at the start of the War and goes to the end. It was an odd hybrid of a game that featured simulation elements (dogfights), arcade elements (bombing trains and flying over trenches) and some simplistic RPG elements.

It was hands down my favorite Cinemaware game as it was so much fun to play (although frustrating at times), had an engaging story, and was one of those games where you care about your squadmates make it back from the mission with you or not (aka Jagged Alliance).

In any case a Kickstarter began awhile back for an HD remake of the game. It looks pretty neat from the concept images they've posted but its not getting much traction. Which I can see since I'm not sure how popular the Amiga exclusive games were. But wanted to mention it in case anyone else that has fond memories of the game is unaware this has begun.

There's a nice video over there going over the histroy of the game for those that are unfamiliar with it to.

Another unnecessary sequel. But I'd still likely be IN.

I think Videodrome is on Netflix streaming. At least I tried watching it many months ago and just couldn't get through it. I know I've sat through the movie before but the only thing I had recalled about it was the sense of confusion.

And Ultima 9 is up there too. Which I'm somewhat tempted to get as I only played the demo that didn't work very well but have always been curious about it.

Comixology has some of the graphic novels on sale for a bit if interested.

8-16

A Valley Without Wind $7.49
http://store.steampowered.com/app/209330/

plus, Weekend Sale:

Sniper Elite V2 $16.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/63380/

Alan Wake Sale
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/15407/

Alan Wake worth it?  (I know, I know... going to check forums, reviews, etc.... just being lazy!)

I enjoyed the original game quite a bit. The collectors edition is not worth it in my opinion, as it's missing all the licensed tracks of the game. And while I was looking forward to American Nightmare it fell well short for me and lost a lot of the magic of the original game.

So if you want to go cheap and still have a good game the first one is my choice. But given its $7.50 on sale might as well put the extra $2.50 in there and get everything.

That's too bad as the technology is neat and actually worked despite the naysayers. But they never did get to the point where the video quality was comparable to what I would see from a game if it was playing off my computer. The graphics were always somewhat muddy and missing that sharpness on my monitor. Plus all the silly data caps was always a concern for me in the back of my mind.

I sure do love Online for demoing games and would love for more companies to use the streaming technology for demos - or basically allowing you to play the actual game for 15 minutes to get a taste. It's pretty awesome to just click on a game and start playing it a few seconds later.  But in the few years I've been a member I've spent a total of $1 on Saints Row: The Third which I probably played for 2 hours then just bought it for like $12 on Stream when it went on sale a bit later.

Not crazy about the voice actors but I'll still get that.

I only put an hour in to this so far and really enjoying it so far - wish I had more time I could devote to it at the moment. The combat is solid and I like the atmosphere of this one much more than the original, which I stopped playing after a few hours. Some neat characters and set pieces in it already.

I also got "email" in game which came with a few new weapons which kinda surprised me. Not sure what all that's about.

This is the PC version I'm playing and the complaints about the graphics are somewhat warranted but still overally picky. The graphics could be a bit sharper but are fine for me. The only graphical issue that is bugging me is the FOV seems too narrow and it takes my eyes awhile to adjust. I haven't had any other issues beyond that.

They should CG Alf but never show more than the top half of him.

I typically wait for the PC version to go on sale. Then buy the deluxe version. Then don't play it for a month or two. Then play it for a few hours. Then don't play it again for another month.