We're planning to bring gonzo parents back from the dead, we swear.

Here's Miette singing an original song of hers to tide you over. :-)

Maxi's Video Game Reviews: CoD MW3

Call of Duty MW3
Review!

To break the CoD series from the WWII timeline, CoD 4 was made. Being named “Modern Warfare” meant it took place in the modern time. It was pretty good, but the sequel was even better! Being MW2 (Modern Warfare 2), it needed some new features, which it had. It had a co-op, enhanced graphics and an optional 3rd person mode. On the release of MW3 in late 2011 though, CoD took a giant leap, the Co-Op is good, multiplayer is amazing as ever, and singleplayer is an experience never before seen. So MW3 is by far the best game in the series.

List of Characters:

• Soap, from CoD4 and MW2, the main character in the series.
• Price, the main AI character.
• Makarov, a Russian terrorist, and the main Antagonist of MW2 and MW3.
• Yuri, formerly one of Makarov’s men, now a member of the disavowed Task Force.
• Marcus Burns, a member of the S.A.S. (Special Air Forces)
• Frost, a member of the U.S. Marines.

Sometime in the 2000’s, Russian terrorists are attempting to take over the world, and employing mercenaries to support them. You play as at least 6 characters, and have to combat the Russian Army in many different cities, including New York and Paris. Many characters return for the fight.

(Spoiler Alert. Spoiler Alert.)
At the end of MW2, Soap was wounded, and at the beginning of MW3 Price and Yuri had to fight their way to a helicopter and help Soap escape.Meanwhile the Russian President is captured my Makarov’s men. Later Marcus Burns and various S.A.S. members battle through the London underground, only to be killed by a biochemical weapon. Then Kamarov helps Price, Soap and Yuri lead the resistance against the enemy, but Kamarov is captured. When Soap, Price and Yuri attempt to save him, he is blown up. Then the building where Soap and Yuri are hiding is destroyed, Yuri escapes, but Soap is wounded. Soap dies after reaching a resistance base. Price places an M1911 on Soaps chest, then punches Yuri down a flight of stairs. Later, Yuri and Price attack Makarov’s castle, as Frost and a group of U.S. Marines attempt to save the President’s daughter from Makarov’s men, but fail. Afterwards Yuri, Price, and Frost’s group save the President, but escape without Frost’s group, because they had to give Price and Yuri some time, so they could escape with the President. Yuri and Price hunt down Makarov, but Yuri dies. Price chases down Makarov and violently chokes him with a wire. He then quietly lights a cigar which is totally bad-ass by the way.


In a way, I expected it to be like MW2. It plays like MW2 and it looks pretty similar. I did not expect, however, to be travelling the world and destroying every building in sight. So it’s similar to MW2 but it’s not entirely like it.

Campaign has an awesome storyline, and the animations are so complex that they feel like you are really struggling to not fall off the chopper, which you hold onto for dear life. I can’t even write about the zero G part. It’s so cool! I’d say you should play!

Special Ops is amazing. My brother and I play it all the time, in split-screen. The survival is cool too! Everything is amazing and you get every mission almost at the beginning, so for me, no annoying star gaining here.The missions and survival really get you hooked. All the survival maps and challenges are incredible.

Multiplayer is really why you have to play MW3. All the weapon attachments and kill streaks are awesome. Split screen is so much fun, grab three buddies and blast each other to pieces. The coolest attachment is the reticules! So many reticules for your holographic and red dot sight! Then the 3rd person, it’s so cool to watch your character in motion, doing what he does best, whether it be sniping or camping or all out warfare.

Online captures the CoD spirit in every way. It’s really crazy! I can never rest because I know there is a sniper, camper or juggernaut waiting around the corner to kill me. I have a lot of weapons but my favorite is m16 and mp7. It’s so awesome, and juggernauts are pretty easy to kill if you work with the team. There is always someone ready to kill you, always someone with there scope aimed at your head, and always some guy to shoot your gun at.
Online is pretty awesome.

But, there are some flaws. The connection to Xbox Live is pretty bad, but that might just be me. The dogs are really just not as threatening as they were in MW2 and they look stupid with c4’s strapped to their legs. As for Special Ops, it’s only two player. I was hoping it would be four player, so that’s a bummer.

All in all, MW3 is awesome. The graphics are shiny and the campaign goes for about 3 or 4 days. I give it an 8/10. You should try it!

-Max

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Thanks,
Buddy

Kids and gaming: Art vs. Entertainment

Check out the attached link for an interesting read on realism in games. I had a very similar conversation with the GonzoKids recently but more about digitally animated movies striving to look "real". Setting aside the war porn genre of games where realism IS the art why would you settle for making your game or movie look merely real? 

Oh look you've spent 8 hojillion dollars to make grass that looks really really similar to the grass I have in my yard. Well done. But I've seen real grass. 

Wow you've really done a great job making that water look almost, but not quite, like water from the real world. But it feels like it's all just some kind of technical masturbation, like the ever climbing number of megapixels in my camera.

Used properly the animation becomes a part of the story conveying deep feeling and meaning.

Watch: A Scanner Darkly

A Scanner Darkly Trailer

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405296/

The digital animation was used to augment the madness of the story. The constant shifting and changing, the movement, the colors, nothing looks permanent or real. It makes you feel like your grip on the reality of the movie is as tenuous as the protagonists. 

Another example is The Secret of the Kells

The Secret of Kells - Official US Trailer

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0485601/

Pixar undoubtedly revolutionized the kids animated movie genre by smashing the shitty disney formula that came before it, but then it turned around and got stuck under its own weight and formula. Watch the Secret of the Kells and randomly press pause, chances are you could frame what you pause on and be happy hanging it on your wall. Every element of the art is there to augment the feeling and meaning of the story and it does so brilliantly. Does it look real? No, it looks better than real. And I think that is the best part. I live in reality, show me something that transcends reality. That's what real art does.

Criss cross applesauce

Who remembers criss cross applesauce from when they were kids?

Lord of the Pies!!!!

The kids put together a shadow puppet production of the Lord of the Pies with a lot of help from our friend Dan.
In case you missed the live web stream, here it is on You Tube:





Let us know what you think!!!!

Kids and cooking: Weekend challenge Part 2

Here are the first three entries from our cooking challenge:

A caesar salad which used the anchovies, the baguette, jamon. 

Cheese and pepper dip with pan tostada.

And finally a grapefruit and cava sorbet.

More to come as we move on to dinner.

:-)
Buddy

Kids and cooking: Weekend challenge

Hello internet!
Miette and I have made a weekend cooking challenge. We just ran through the market and grabbed a bunch of interesting things and now we will try to make some meals using as many of the ingredients as possible. Here's the list:

1. Lamb fillet (1/2 espatlla de xai tallada)
2. Hard crackers (Pan integral tostado)
3. Cava
4. Grapefruit
5. Seaweed wrap (Sushi nori)
6. El Piñón miolo de pinhao (cuddly Pine nuts)
7. Pineapple marmalade
8. Red Leicester
9. Filo dough
10. Baguette
11. Pebrot Escalivat (aka Yummy peppers)
12. Anchovy fillet
13. Ham and bacon strips
14. Greek yogurt
15. Alfábrega (Basil)

If you have any suggestions please post to the comments!!! We will post pics and reviews of the results. :-)

Buddy

Parenting Stories: Secret Reading Spot Part II

It appears that the secret reading spot idea has spread to the boys in our brood as well.  :)

Kids and Music: Saturday afternoon groove

Miette and I were playing around with a couple of songs this afternoon. I used my iPhone to record them so the quality isn't perfect.

Old Enough:


Who will save your soul:


Send me a tweet or an email if you want the mp3
Buddy