Dairy Aisle

A couple weekends ago I traveled to the other side of Missouri with Dick and Jane to compete in the St. Louis Classic. It was sort of an end of an era as it was really the last ride of Dick and Jane. It was a shame this fact wasn’t touched on a bit more. New leadership, new faces and a new outlook will certainly shake things up as the Summer flows onward. I don’t think Threat Level Midnight will be quite the same. But, considering we weren’t subbing for the win and how early it is in the club season 5th isn’t too bad. @fesaj took some lovely photos of the event that are certainly worth checking out.

I must say I wasn’t moving too bad given the fact that my knee just recently got back into more respectable shape shape. It’s feeling leaps and bounds better than last year which is a huge plus. The handful of solid younger players from the Kansas colleges that will be vying for playing time are getting me motivated to continue working to physically get beyond last seasons limitation. I was in a funk from the blown ACL back in the summer of 07.  2008 was a rough season personally and it’s going to be a challenge to become relevant once again.

I figured it was about time for a follow-up to my previous post where I asked, “Should I Buy MadWorld?“ 

I decided to go ahead and pick up the game using the remaining spoils from Christmas gifts and overall I have to say that I’m pleased with that decision. It’s true that the game does feel repetitive at times. At some point impaling enemies with various types of spear like weapons gets a bit tired. I also agree that the music, voice and sound effects have a tendency to overlap to morph into this mass of noise. This makes it a bit difficult to enjoy any single aspect of the auditory presentation which is a bit of a shame. Also, the targeting and lock on doesn’t always behave as accurately or as quickly as I would like.

These few quibbles aside there is a lot that MadWorld does very well. This game is incredibly violent but it’s so over the top that it really becomes absurd. I think the Sin City like graphic style does a good job in moving it many degrees away from believable. I’m typically not into the blood and gore but I can’t say I minded it too much. Even if the graphics were a way to overcome Wii shortcomings they are still very compelling. In between the gore there is some semblance of a story which is a pleasant surprise. The music fits the game like a glove and while vulgar, the commentary by Greg Proops (Whose Line is it Anyway) and John DiMaggio (Futurama) is generally very funny and entertaining.

The MetaCritic score is a respectable 81 right now. The B grade is probably about right. MadWorld certainly isn’t for everyone. But it’s unique to the Wii and makes a very interesting addition to my video game library. It’s not a surprise that VG Chartz is reporting rather low sales given that it’s such a niche title that doesn’t contain Mario or a title ending in the letter Z. Hopefully, this doesn’t scare away Platinum Games or any other developer from investing time in creating unique experiences on the Wii as they are so desperately needed. 

The marshmellow Peep is a staple of the Easter diet. It’s an iconic candy that stands toe to toe with the jelly bean as the must have in any Easter basket. While you can just tear open the package and eat the marshmellow goodness you will find yourself in a less than ideal position. Like a fine wine, the best way to consume the Peep is after aging. 

In it’s natural Easter basket setting the Peep is in a free range environment outside the confines of cardboard and cellophane. The fresh air gives the Peep a firm staleness. This is preferable to the soft gooey state when first removed from it’s packaging. If you don’t have the luxury of a basket habitat then consider opening up that package and setting the Peep free for two days. You will be left with the optimal Peep dining experience that rivals the natural basket habitat.