The Man in Blak

If you're looking for an FPS in the mold of Counter-Strike, but with more depth and a larger scope, you might want to try something like Battlefield 2.

Yeah, I'm a little surprised that it took to page 3 for Katamari to even warrant a mention. There are some good tracks on the We <3 Katamari OST, but I think I prefer the original, overall. Both of them are great mixes of diverse musical styles, though. The Final Fantasy series has been mentioned a lot already (and deservedly so), but I think that IV and VI really stand out as a whole from the series. The strange thing about IV is that, while the in-game tunes are weaker overall from VI (which is the absolute best OST you'll find for any video game, IMO), the alternate versions that you hear on other soundtrack releases are very strong. The theme from Toroia is a great example: when you hear it in the game, it's merely pleasant and not really striking...but when you hear the versions on the Piano Collection and Celtic Moon releases, it really elevates the tune. The "Red Wing's Theme" that opens the game is another song that just comes to life outside of the game, specifically in the full orchestral performance. As for Chrono Cross...eh. There are definitely some good things going on with that OST; the references to the original CT material are deftly handled and the inclusion of different instrumentation is a nice touch. The tracks that don't allude to Chrono Trigger themes are noticeably weaker, however, and perhaps I'm alone in saying this, but the "electric guitar" piece really isn't that great. Ultimately, I believe the original Chrono Trigger OST is a much stronger soundtrack as a whole.

Yeah, there is a pretty big difference in gameplay between the two levels - one is a complete "real time" battle system with no pausing, the other is the "wait" system, which allows you to pause the action and issue commands, which are resolved in real-time (think Baldur's Gate for the PC). The latter is an interesting shift for the series and actually makes for some decent gameplay. The former is like an MMORPG without the MMO, which has all the appeal of beer without the alcohol. Which level did you play - the beach or the castle?

I don't think the Reds had any idea that they were going to get Brandon Phillips midseason, complete with an S on his chest.

The perception on Williams, IIRC, is that he's overweight and that he isn't assertive around the plate at all. He nibbles constantly, when he should be attacking the strike zone with something that actually have some sort of movement on it. Rusch isn't much better, but it's obvious that they aren't content with using Williams for many innings in the pros, so why not ship him to the minors to work on something? Maybe he can add another pitch, like a cut fastball or a two-seamer, that will actually allow him to pitch with the element of surprise, rather than living or dying by his location.

I wonder how many people voted for this as "the theme song from Charmed." And yeah, the list is idiotic and truly bizarre, but it's VH1. If my brain were poisoned by a constant flood of Flavor Flav and Celebrity Fit Club, I'd probably forget that John Lennon and Tom Waits existed too.

Thankfully for Dusty, the Cardinals have Scott Spiezio on their major league roster. It takes a lot of veteran presence to saunter to the plate for at-bat after precious at-bat, each time looking like you'd have problems driving a ball off of a tee, let alone a major league pitcher.

Ah, there's that Dusty Baker, flexing that managerial muscle with another double switch, this time bringing in Scott Eyre and shifting out Matt Murton for Freddie Bynum. How does he only have three Manager of the Year awards? I just don't get it.

I take it that this means the Cult of Abreu blog is on the outs?

It went double platinum, that right there is the definition of mainstream relevance. Yeah, and so did O-Town's self-titled debut. Lateralus took six months to go platinum and a whopping two years to reach its double platinum status. "Schism" was the only top ten modern rock single from the album, and it didn't even crack the Billboard Top 50. I realize that it made No.1 on the Billboard albums list upon its release, but I don't really lend a lot of credence to that, especially considering that the band had half of a decade to build up interest in the release. And, once again, the radio airplay for the album was weaker than it was for Aenima, where "Stinkfist", the title track, and "Forty-Six and 2" made their way into regular rotation. It just doesn't strike me as a landmark release.

Yeah, because Tool was just ripping up the music scene in 2002. Lateralus wasn't exactly an industry-shaking event.

Never mind that they've been around for almost 15 years now. Or that MJK seems to constantly be involved in side projects. Or that they've toured very irregularly throughout their career. (No doubt they'll tour to support 10,000 Days, but when's the last time they hit the road? 2002?) Or that they take about five years to make a studio album. Five years. Their last single, "Schism", was a lengthy progfest that even dedicated modern rock stations flinched at playing with any regularity. Not exactly Top 40 material, or even "46 and 2" or "Sober" or any of Tool's more popular singles. At their peak, Tool catered to a gleefully devoted niche of metal fans, not really bothering with self-promotion other than those kooky music videos - and that peak is long gone. But why bother with the details, when you can throw out some flacid, misdirected jab at the independent music fans on the site for not waving the banner of a band that hasn't even approached mainstream relevance for ten years running.

The fire is spreading - Mike & Mike on ESPN's morning radio talk show were apparently talking about an interview that they had with Hawk on that very subject. Apparently, home runs are up a whopping 11% from last year. Nevermind that there have been two "flukish" games with a team hitting six home runs already, one involving a pitcher experimenting with a knuckleball and another involving the Cubs on a windy day in Wrigley. Speaking of the Cubs... Dusty Baker Not Worried About Cubs' Hot Start

Whenever A-Rod is in the building, they should just have Colon skip his start. In 45 career at-bats, A-Rod has torched him for eight home runs and a robust line of .444/.460/1.133.

Wouldn't it be just a hoot if Shelton got nominated to the All-Star Team, since the game is being held in Pittsburgh this year? Also, can somebody explain to me why Dan Wilson's name has been painted in large letters behind home plate in Seattle tonight?

Not to throw this discussion back on topic or anything, but you can also find a lot of the good indie stuff (or good music in general) on the Indious Indie Life and Indiecent hubs on DC++. Just search for "indie" off of the master list and those two should come up for you.

You know that the TSM/Pit rivalry is for real when it starts bleeding over into the e-fed discussions.

Dames is still the same doof that he was three years ago. If it seems like he's made a startling change, it's because he's posted a handful of times in the last year and a half and, throughout that time, you've probably grown up a little bit. Bravo.

Pavano going away greatly increases the probability of a Jaret Wright sighting in the starting rotation. Do you really want that?

Don't forget Michael Tucker. He's in the running as well. Ryan Church would make all sorts of sense for the Cardinals, given that they need a No. 2 hitter and a corner outfielder with plus defense. And the best thing is that the Cardinals have all sorts of toolsy goodies like Skip Schumaker and Aaron Miles to ship to Washington to make a deal. Maybe they could even give Junior Spivey back!

Yeah, like I said, the site is a very mixed bag. The We Love Katamari review is definitely one of most egregious mistakes - the "shirt comparison" GIF in that review would be classless on a blog, let alone a big site like IGN. However, while there are complete crappers, there are also very insightful reviews scattered amidst the junk. The KH2 review isn't Shakespeare, but it does actually expound upon the reasons that it rated Kingdom Hearts with such a mediocre score. I guess I shouldn't have said that it's interesting to see a dissenting opinion on a big site - there are plenty of crazy reviews on IGN, such as the aforementioned WLK review, that would qualify. Rather, I should have said that it was notable that there was an IGN reviewer willing to take a high-profile "surefire" release to task over gameplay subtleties (abilities essentially being useless later in the game) that a lot of online critics would have missed.

I can't link to it since I'm at work, but IGN slammed Kingdom Hearts II in its review, calling it a disappointment and criticizing the downturn in the gameplay. I believe they gave the game a score of ~7.5, which is a bit of a surprise. The quality of reviews on IGN varies wildly, but it's still interesting to see an opinion like that from a big source in gaming criticism.

There's always that Grandia III song. As for KH2, Gamefly and most of the retailers around here have it listed for release on 3/29, but I'll definitely be picking it up ASAP.

There's Allard Baird doing the one thing - perhaps the only thing - that's he's demonstrated an ability to do well: scoop up the best of everybody else's garbage. Steve Andrade could be a very good addition to the Royals bullpen and, even though he'll technically be bumping another reclamation project in Esteban German out of a majority of at bats, Graffanino will be a boon to a Kansas City team that seems to be comprised almost entirely of 1B/DH/COF types.

Cue BX. (He was hanging around here the other day.)