Andy Laub

On Christmas day, I found myself with a conundrum: four games with great potential, accumulated at various times leading up to the holiday season, sat before me and I had to figure out which one to play. I made Abe choose for me, and that’s why I am playing Dead Space, a survival horror sci-fi spaceship 3rd-person shooter thing with an emphasis on “strategic dismemberment combat.”

Why did I buy this game in the first place? I am not sure. I hate horror anything. I dislike being scared. Playing through Bioshock was a stretch for me. And yet, I elected to spend money on something that I knew – knew – would not be a good fit for me. The problem is, the game is good, both technically and creatively. It’s so good at what it does that I don’t want to play it anymore.

I am trying to force myself through at least a chapter a day (I started out strong, hitting the first 7 chapters on Thursday and Friday, and I’m up to chapter 10 now), and then when it ends I can finally play something I actually want to be playing. Everything about the game is too stressful for me. I’m not a fan of scary alien combat. I’m not a fan of not being able to find enough ammo. And I’m definitely not a fan of non-regenerative health, which shouldn’t even be allowed in a shooter in this day and age.

Seriously, give me a damn break. I am stuck on this mining ship, 600 years in the future, wearing what is some sort of incredibly advanced armor that allows me to store a ridiculous amount of weapons and ammunition (if I can find it) without weighing me down, but the same suit can’t restore my vitals over time? To me that just smells like an arbitrary way to make the game harder – it doesn’t really add any enjoyment or value. Alternatively, as you upgrade your suit throughout the game, make it an unlockable ability. But really, health packs? So 90’s.

So yeah, Dead Space – once it’s done, it’s done.

I went to the Twin Cities Friday. Then I came back. I bought pants. I bought a coat. I read that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We went to Olive Garden. We looked at Acuras. We bought curtains at IKEA. I have no Christmas shopping done.

It’s officially time for the XMASLIST. Here goes:

1. A car would be nice. Like this one. ($$$$$)
2. Maybe an Xbox. And Halo. ($$)
3. A G5. Loaded or not. + Cinema Display. ($$$ – $$$$)
4. Clothes. Shirts, pants, I don’t care. Shoes too. ($$)
5. Since it’s a wishlist, how about some local Cingular service? (-)
6. And a decent phone. ($$)
7. What’s a wish list without a TV? ($$$$)
8. Drums! ($$$)
9. Money ($$$$$)

Since the move earlier this year, we’ve acquired much of what we wanted. Abe made the excellent point that with most of the stuff we want, we just buy it. I need to stop doing that or start making more money.

Speaking of money, I’ve been sent a lot of fake credit cards as of late – you know, the ones that look real but say “YOUR NAME HERE.” Well, Discover sent one that’s almost not worthy. It’s made of cardboard, kind of to simulate plastic. That is really probably the most pathetic thing I’ve seen. It wasn’t even attached to anything, just floating around in the envelope.

Well, this will be the last entry this year, which is kind of nice. I survived another year and put in at least one entry a month. My Christmas/Birthday was good, I got some great games (Mario Kart, Simpsons Hit & Run) and so did Abe (Mario Golf). We bought lots of IKEA stuff in leiu of buying Christmas presents for eachother. We also found out yesterday that the move-in date for the new apartment Cheap Oakleys will probably be towards the end of February as opposed to the beginning. It will be absolutely fantastic to be in a place twice the size of our current one. I can hardly wait. Also fantastic is the fact that MacWorld San Francisco is only a week away. I really hope the 12″ Powerbook gets some updates. I wish for a larger amount of non-removable base RAM (512 Mb would be nice) and maybe the 1.25 Ghz G4. Those two things alone would make me very happy. So, we’ll see.

It is the 7th of December today, and still no snow. Normally I wouldn’t be even remotely disappointed by this (because of commuting), but since my drive each day has been cheap oakleys reduced from 45 minutes to, well, 4, the snow is now OK in my book. It’s kind of disappointing and weird to get up and think “hey, it’s December,” but then look outside and not see any snow. We had a little bit very briefly in November but it’s gone.

Also, being that it’s December and almost Christmas, here is my 2003 Want List:

1. Herman Miller Aeron PostureFit Chair : $850
2. LaCie d2 160 Gb : $200 (ed. discount)
3. Apple PowerMac G5 dual 2Ghz maxed out : $10400 (ed. discount)
4. Sony Grand Wega 42″ LCD Projection Monitor : $2800
5. Sony PS2 : $180
6. Mario Kart Double Dash : $50
7. Infiniti FX45 : $50000
8. $$$$$ : $?

I do. And so does Abe. I think that’s why there’s so much in the apartment. I could actually put together a “stuff list” if you really wanted one, and if I’m bored enough later on I may actually do so. Anyway, how was Christmas? And New Years? Mine were ok. I got, of course, more stuff, something that I’m very proud of. Seriously though, I somehow actually got most of the stuff on my list, with the exception of numbers 7-9. All I can say right now is, I like the tires, and I am really glad I picked up the Game Boy Advance when I was in Schaumburg (we went to the big IKEA again). I haven’t played any of the games on the list at this point, because I am in the middle of Yoshi’s Island. That game is so freakin’ cute, and if I didn’t have it, I think I’d be insane right now. Anyway, sitting next to my TV are Metroid Prime, Sonic, and Mario Sunshine, and also a Memory card 251 and a black controller, but no Gamecube. Abe and his parents went together and got it for me for Christmas, whish was awesome, and I was totally off guard, but there was a problem with it, and we had to send it back to Buy Rite, which is being a real bastard about it. They recieved it two days after we mailed it (on 12/26) and refused it (on 12/28). So now, it is somewhere between North Carolina and here, maybe it will come back to day, at which point I can send it out again. Yay. I’m hoping it gets lost so I can get the insurance from it and cheap oakleys get one from Best Buy. Pain in the ass. So I guess I am a little irritable about having to wait, but I’m really looking forward to actually using it. Some times I take the controller that I have out and just press buttons on it to pretend I’m playing a game. No, that’s not really true. I bought a game for the ol’ Playstation, of all things, that’s been helping me take my mind off the situation. It’s called The Italian Job. It is worth 8 dollars, possibly more. So yeah, that’s what the story is. Yoshi is calling me now.