Mount Hood National Forest

This past weekend we camped out in Mt. Hood National Forest. It's pretty awesome out there. We just hung out, took a hike, drove up to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, took a ski lift up the mountain... all around good time.

Pics here.

Rafting the Deschutes

Back in June, the wife and I went rafting down the Deschutes river with a crew from work. It was a three day trip, starting in Warm Springs and ending just past Oak Springs. We had a good time, and we're looking forward to doing it again. I was in charge of happy hour. So I prepared some Mojitos in 2-liter bottles, brought a bottle of sake, and made watermelon margaritas. Good times.

I fucked up my back pretty good when I jumped from a 30 ft cliff into the river, which sort of ruined my Summer. I'm still healing, a full two months later. So while I won't be doing that again, I will be back on that river next year. Here's some pictures.

Genesis of Shannara

I'm just about done with The Gypsy Morph, the final book in the Genesis of Shannara trilogy by Terry Brooks. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Shannara is a high fantasy world, first explored in Terry Brooks' award winning Sword of Shannara. Since then, there have been a slew of books. There was a prequel trilogy, The Word/Void Trilogy, that takes place in modern day Illinois. This trilogy, Genesis of Shannara, takes place in the post-apocalyptic Northwest and leads into the creation of the Shannara fantasy world from the ashes of the Age of Man.

Brooks is a solid author. While some books are better than others, they are never bad. This trilogy, while not his best, is still a good read. Light and entertaining. Some of his earlier Shannara books had better characters; people that were real and I felt invested in. The characters in this trilogy, with a few small exceptions, never quite come to life. There are a couple supporting characters that I feel are alive, specifically Panther and Owl. But the main characters are a bit two dimensional. In any case, the story itself is serviceable. There's a few plot devices that felt like cop-outs. Like the owl that guides Logan. Where was this nifty owl for the previous two books? Were the faerie creatures out of mana points and recharging?

In any case, I can't recommend this particular trilogy unless you are a fan of Shannara. If you haven't read any Shannara yet, then start at the earlier books (Sword, Elfstones, etc). They're better. If you become a big fan then ultimately you can read this trilogy, but otherwise, give it a pass.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

I was a huge GI Joe fan as a kid. I read the comic, watched the TV show, and collected the toys. I would miss my school bus because I was watching GI Joe repeats. I loved GI Joe, I think maybe more than any other toy line. And I still love GI Joe. Just last year I bought a comic. And I have a couple of the newer action figures.

So, like Transformers, making a live action movie based on something so fond from my childhood is dangerous. You are almost guaranteed failure. The hate was quick to surface, long before the movie was released. I didn't like that they made it an international force instead of an American one. I hated the first character shots. Everyone was in those terrible black outfits that Hollywood slaps on all super heroes. Storm Shadow looked retarded in his white outfit. GI Joe was going to suck, and it was clear from day one.

But somehow, it didn't suck. I saw the movie despite my jaded attitude. And it was fun. In fact, I really liked it. In fact, I will admit that I almost, almost, loved it. Movie Bob over at The Escapist hit the nail on the head. The movie was a lot of fun. It was like all those battles you had with your GI Joe figures and vehicles came to life on screen and did all the wild shit you imagined they did. There are some character changes that purists will surely whine about. But at the heart of it is exactly what every kid loved about GI Joe: good guys and bad guys tearing it up with real and imagined military technology.

Go see it.

And Baroness is HOT.

Ninjato

When my mom dropped $200 cash on me for my birthday (a big surprise BTW) I had all kinds of things I could spend it on. But I tend to look at cash and gift certificates like this: spend it on something you normally wouldn't buy. Because that's usually what gifts are. You don't buy someone a gift certificate for an oil change for a reason. Gifts are superfluous, fun things. So I bought a ninja sword.

Like I said before: I'm a geek, through and through.

I've been thinking a lot lately of another visit to Japan: our 5th anniversary is coming up next year, I'm enrolled in Japanese language class at the local community college, and I just had a blast playing Tenchu Z. I love my katana that I bought in Kyoto four years ago, and I plan on getting another one next time I visit. I certainly do not plan on getting a ninja sword in Japan, not to mention it would be hard to find. The Ninjato as we know it never existed. It is a construct of Japanese film, Hollywood, and anime. The exact origin of the straight sword and square tsuba design seems to be unknown. But it is known to be not historically accurate by any means. So this sword is purely a celebration of the pop culture ninja. So that's why I would feel silly buying a ninja sword in Japan. Instead, I bought a Hanwei Ninjato.

Hanwei is a Chinese company that manufactures many functional historical swords of all types. Martial artists actually use Hanwei swords because they are functional, rugged, and much cheaper then true Japanese swords, or nihonto. So practice and destroy the cheap ones while the authentic ones sit safely on your wall. This sword is made for business. While not folded, it is differentially hardened, and it has a real hamon to prove it. The guys at Sword-Buyers-Guide.com did a review, and they have plenty of video to show how sharp this thing is. I've read that folding is only a matter of tradition today anyways. They used to do it to improve the carbon content of the steel, but that is unnecessary today - though it also makes for a beautiful effect on the blade. Point is, a lot of swords made today are as good as the classics.

So this sword is kick ass. It has all the details that make it feel like a "real" ninja sword: black colors, hamon, flat black saya, square tsuba, and it even has a kamasu-kissaki (the striaght line tip, where others are traditionally curved). More pictures here.

Oh and BTW, I'm adding Edo Wonderland to my todo list for Japan. The ninjas sold me, lol.

And I never posted a pic of it, so here is my Kyoto sword:

Fatal Frame 3

I like me a good scare. Unfortunately, there are few ways to get one. Horror movies are 99% garbage. I hear there's a good author by the name of Stephen King who wrote a few good books. But I tried to read one ("The Shining") and he put me to sleep for five chapters before I gave up. A lot of "horror" video games are terrible in the horror department. Resident Evil hasn't been scary since the first game. Silent Hill, same. Most others are scary in the "monster jumps out of the closet" type scare. You might as well buy a jack-in-the-box for less money. But Fatal Frame... is different.

This is the third Fatal Frame game. I got it off eBay for a whopping $50 new, for a PS2 game! I guess it was a limited run. I've played most of the first game and recently completed the second game. So it was only natural that I now play the third one. And man was it well worth the money.

The gameplay hasn't changed at all. You are still a diminutive Japanese female stuck in a creepy old Japanese mansion full of vengeful ghosts. You are defenseless for a short period of time before you find a Camera Obscura, an antique camera that can damage ghosts when you take their picture. Of course, you do more damage to them the closer they are, and you get a special "shutter chance" when they are actually attacking you. So you are encouraged, if not required, to allow the ghosts to stalk you while you charge the camera and grab a snapshot at the last possible moment before their icy hands grab your throat. And believe it or not, that is not what makes the game scary.


What makes the game scary is the atmosphere. This mansion is creepy. It creeks. It has unseen children singing lullabies. It has ghostly women hiding in corners crying to themselves. It has ghosts who talk as if still alive, replaying the horror of their last moments. It has hooded priests who walk with their Buddhist staffs, which rattle like a chain as they strike the ground. There are little girls, shrine maidens, who are trying to stake you to the ground with a mallet. You know when those are near because you hear this wood-on-stone tapping sound of their mallet as they approach. Run bitch. Run.

The ghost list goes on. But you get the point. They are surprisingly varied in style and execution. And every single one of them is a character in an unfolding past drama. A drama which has spilled over into your own life. This game also links the first two games to this story, including characters from those games. Let me tell you: when you walk through a door and things start to look familiar, until finally you realize you just entered the "rope hallway" from the first game, that is fucking creepy. That is not someplace you want to be. In fact, that is one characteristic of this game that I haven't felt since the original Alone in the Dark. In both Alone in the Dark and this game, there were places that I did not want to be in. When I had to pass through those areas, I ran like hell until I came out the other side.

So in conclusion, I give Fatal Frame 3 a 5 out of 5. I also think it is the best of the series. Most reviews seem to think that 2 was the scariest, and thus the best, but I think 3 actually has it beat. There were some unforgettable moments in FF2; like dropping your camera in the caves and having to run from a pursuing ghost because you are defenseless; or when the little girl turns out the lights on you in the middle of a hallway battle. But FF3 just had more atmosphere, beginning to end. I wouldn't play the game after dark, alone in the living room. When the wife went to bed, I turn it off and play something else. That's how good the game was.

Tenchu Z

I am a geek, through and through. I like zombies, wizards, vampires, Star Trek, and ninjas. You put any one of those things in a game or movie, and you have my attention. So it should come as no surprise that Tenchu was one of my favorite Playstation games. I also liked many, though not all, of the sequels. Tenchu Z is a two year old Xbox 360 game. I played the demo when it came out, and was not impressed, so I took a pass. But I have since heard that some people absolutely loved the game. So I just picked up a copy on eBay for $14 shipped. For $14, you don't have much as far as expectations go. If the game sucks, then so be it, I'll eBay it back for $12. Well, I didn't put it up on eBay, I played it beginning to end, and then some.


Tenchu Z takes a different character approach than previous games. All other games you play Rikimaru, Ayame, or a couple other minor ninjas. In Z, you create your own ninja and take orders from Rikimaru. As you play, you unlock new clothing, accessories, saya, items, skills, and abilities. It was quite rewarding to be honest. I had a lot of fun picking out badass outfits for my ninja everytime I got a new batch of clothing. Little things make me happy.

Gameplay hasn't come very far since Wrath of Heaven. Stealth Kills are still the focus, combat is still weak, items are still completely unneccessary (though fun to use), and the AI is still completely dumb. After the first few levels, I played the entire game on "hard", and the only difference was the guys gained a little bit of vertical field of view, meaning they could actually see you if you were on the roof in the moonlight directly in front of them. The AI is so terrible, they give up chasing you after 5 seconds, usually kicking the dirt in frustration before running back to their predetermined walking route. Some new elements were introduced, like the ability to cling to ceilings, run along walls, stealth kill through shoji, etc. The difficulty didn't really require you to make use of any of these new abilities, but they were fun to play around with anyhow.

The level designs left much to be desired. The maps are reused several times each, with minor differences such as a few daylight missions, different start/end points, and different enemy load out. This isn't so bad since the levels are large enough that changing goals and enemy locations actually is enough to make the stage feel almost new. You can tell they wanted to show off the beauty of feudal Japan with their level design, but just didn't have the resources to do it. Either lack of ability or lack of funds means the levels are all a bit lackluster. I think a little bit more time and artistic talent could have really made the levels pop, and let feudal Japan shine. I also think more environmental changes could really put some variety into the game. Snow could cause crunching footfalls and leave footprints to be found. Rain could make dark nights darker but leave loud puddles to splash through, and muddy footprints at building entries. Stylish, fast moving storm clouds could cause dynamic shadows, blocking moon or sun, so that one second you are hidden in shadow but the next you are exposed as the clouds reveal the moon. The possibilites are endless! It would be a lot of fun to design a ninja game...

Finally, the actual missions themselves could use some variance. You get points for every kill, regardless of where you are (unless they are non-combatants; but if they have a sword they are fair game). Missions that take place in your own backyard still reward you for killing random guards, despite the fact that they are your own countrymen. I think changing mission parameters would make sense but also create interest. Imagine if you were given a mission to assassinate a spy, but since he is in your own territory you are forbidden from killing anyone else. Or even in foreign territory "retrieve the secret documents" type missions, you might want to require total secrecy, so again, no kills. Mix it up!

So you might be thinking that this game really sucks. Well, it's no AAA title, and it certainly has it's flaws. But in the end, the game is a lot of fun. If you like the idea of sneaking around and cutting people down with sprays of blood, then you won't go wrong here. I had a blast and played the game for hours on end. I'll probably go back and grab a few more achievements and play with some more items that I never got to use. If you liked any of the previous Tenchu games, then this one is certainly worth the $14 you will pay for it.