Merry Christmas
December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas to All!
Thus far, it has been a wonderful Christmas for the Klasens, albeit an early one. We have this little family tradition where the kids cant see the Christmas tree in the morning until Mr Papa goes out and checks to see if Santa managed to find our house this year. Since the tree is in the family room and the family room is between the kids bedrooms and our bedroom, the kids usually spend Christmas Even sleeping on the floor of our bedroom so they dont see the tree before I check it out in the morning.
The kids decided to wake early this morning, a little after 5:00 am. Well, that’s too early, but we only manage to stall until about 5:45 before we all decided to get up. Mr Papa went out to see if Santa came or not and let out a time honored traditional yell of “Oh no!”. To which the kids, responded “Papa!”. After another 30 seconds of teasing about Santa missed us, the kids were let out of the room to see if the Jolly Old Man had stopped by. Their expression as they rounded the corner was priceless. Suzanne had the camcorder rolling, so we should have some good photos of it. It sure doesnt take long for the kids to open a pile of presents.
After the opening, the assembly and destroying of boxes begins. Some time, I would like to meet the designer of those stupid grey twist ties that hold things in place in a dark alley. And dont get me started on how long it takes to get a single Barbie out of its box. Does it really have to be that secure in the box?
The kids had a nice haul. They got many new boardgames which the family will enjoy for years to come. That is one family activity they we all enjoy doing together. Savannah got a bunch of Barbie and Bratz stuff. Sean got some Lego Star Wars stuff and three football and fitness training DVDs. He really wants to start an off season training regime and these were high on his list of wants. Only time will tell if he uses them.
For the Xbox 360, the Savannah got Viva Pinata and Sean got Rainbow Six Vegas and Tiger Woods 2007. I guess we better hurry up and finish Gears of War on Insane difficulty so we can start Rainbow Six. We are on the last chapter.
Christmas Eve dinner was fantastic. The leftovers were enjoyed this morning. Suzanne munched on some Prime Rib and Rost, while Savannah and I enjoyed a fried egg on top of our Rosti. A Rosti is German dish and is kind of a homemade hashbrown.
Now, its time to start playing some of these new games and start cooking the Christmas Day dinner.
Tomorrow, we head off to Cloudcroft, NM for a few days in a mountain cabin and maybe some skiing. I doubt I will have any internet connectivity, so see yall next weekend. Merry Christmas!
Gears of War
November 10, 2006
I recently picked up Gears of War for the Xbox 360 and all I can say is Wow. The graphics are downright stunning. The cut scenes, which use the game engine, our out of this World. The game is a beauty to behold.
I have had the game for three days now and tonight, I completed the game on the casual gamer level. About 50% of the game was completed in coop mode with Sean. We have had a ball playing it the last 3 nights. The game is nice in that I can play by myself or a friend can join in coop via xbox live or split screen at any point.
As mentioned earlier, the graphics are stunning. They are easily the best I have seen on any console or PC game. It is very easy to get caught up in the beauty of the game and forget what you are doing.
As a bit of background, the game is a third person shooter. The genre is a bit of a fantasy shooter in that its aliens (Locust) and such. Its not exactly my favorite genre. I much prefer 1st person shooters and current times or historical (such as WWII). Still, the game has fully captured my attention the last three days.
Despite how much fun and engrossing the game is, it has a few draw backs. While it is a whole bunch of fun, its really not all that innovative. The use of a single button for controlling a lot of the actions is nice. The requirement to use cover is very nice. Too many shooters allow you to stand in the open and “gun sling”. Do that in this game and you will die. The storyline is not the best, but the dialog is fantastic although quite heavy on the four (and five) letter words. For the kids, there is an option to turn off the gore and language. And the cut scenes? WOW… I have never seen better. They very successfully draw you even further into the game.
The frame rate of the game is pretty much rock solid the whole game. Some reviews I have read talked about some frame rate issues, but I never noticed them. The game plays a bit short but seems to have some replay value as I am anxious to try again on the hardcore level. There is also an insane difficulty level that is unlocked when you complete the hardcore difficulty level.
If I were to rank the game on a scale of 1 to 10, I would probably give it a 9.25. This would be because of the lack of innovation in my opinion. Still, the game is a must buy for the Xbox 360 to see the graphics and cut scenes. Hardcore level, here I come…
On a side not, I ordered the History Channel Civil War Xbox 360 game tonight. None of the local stores had it so, an online order was required. I am very intrigued by this one. Being a Civil War buff, my interest was immediately piqued. The game is a first person shooter set in the Civil War. That just sounds amazing. Most Civil War games are RTS, so I am anxious to give it a go. A review will follow at a later date.
-
Subscribe via Email
Sign up to receive the latest Mr Papa's World site updates! -
Subscribe via RSS
