The Grind

So.. I was a bit dis-heartened when the 1up gang went through their old lay-off thing.. and still sad about the closing of EGM.. but the website seems to be bouncing back.. they have done a bit of restructuring.. several of the old podcasts are gone, but several more continue on (or are re-done; for example, 1up Yours is now Listen Up)... but they have added a cool blog feature.. in addition to their usually news and video segments they have added a section of "thematic" blogs.. consisting of posts by multiple members of their staff, and occasional special guests.  What's the big deal? you ask... doesn't seem that new... other sites have blogs as well...  Well, the big deal is that these 1up blogs, so far, cover really great topics, are updated multiple times a week, and are very well written.   The two that stand out for me are the Retronauts Blog and The Grind. (they also have the old Hsu and Chan comic from EGM on its own blog too!)

The Retronuats Blog is all about, you guessed it, retro games.  This is tied into their excellent podcast (of the same name) Retronauts.   Its a really great resource for those who have been gaming since the good ol' days of Atari 2600.  (did I just admit how old I am)  I actually find myself strangely nostalgic at times with this blog, and other times, its very informative.. you can learn a great bit about video gaming history with this here blog (and its podcast equivalent).

The Grind however, just started recently, and already has become one of my favorite online destinations.. This blog covers role-playing games.  It covers ALL role-playing games... as their blurb states "The Grind covers all aspects of the role-playing genre: eastern, western, console, PC, handheld, massively multi player and good old-fashioned tabletop RPGs."  They have specific segments running on different days of the week.. one day is a history of Square Enix games, another focuses specifically on upcoming RPG's, and another focuses just on table-top RPGs.   As I said, this blog is just getting started, but its a great resource, and a great read.    

Twitterific

So, Twitter is kinda fun.  I am enjoying it, what little I have experienced so fgar.

Here's some of the folks I am following..

• Darth Vader
  
• Neil Gaiman
  
• Wil Wheaton
  
• Capcom
  
• A bunch of the guys from 1-up
  
• an old friend from college
  
• some weirdo named lokipan.. dunno who he is...
  

Oh, and this guy... Levar Burton.

SF4 Downloadable goodies...

from Joystiq earlier today.

The game's not even on shelves, yet Capcom's gone ahead of the curve to firm up details of Street Fighter IV's first DLC, the "Championship Mode Expansion Pack." Now, before you start getting all riled up about spending more money on a game you just bought, know this: it's free.

Expected to hit shortly after the game's release, the add-on will introduce three significant features aimed at hardcore players. Replay Mode is pretty much what it sounds like: share recorded matches, watch top-ranked ones and vote for your favorites. The enhanced tournament matching system will deliver "improved tournament match making for beginners and mid-level players," with Capcom explaining that "competitors earn Grade Points (GP) to earn entry into more advanced tournaments." Finally, there will be two new point systems -- Championship and Tournament -- for measuring player skill.

The release dates and pricing for alternate character costumes have also been confirmed. The costumes will be released weekly on XBLM and PSN in themed sets containing one costume per character. Each set will run 320 ($4) on XBLM and $3.99 on the PS Store. The full schedule and details of each set are after the break.

Gallery: Street Fighter IV - Alternate Costumes DLC

Sounds like they got some cool stuff planned! (too bad they are losing so much monies) Be sure to check out the gallery of costumes! They look pretty neat!

TWITTER

Hey guys! Follow me on Twitter!

http://twitter.com/pondrepof

Sign up if you haven't  :)

I promise it will be almost as exciting as reading my blog... hehe..

Achievement Unlocked!

OMG!  I FINALLY BEAT AKUMA!!!

In Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix!! I finally beat that sonuvabitch!  It took me soooo long.. and sooo many tries... but I defeated him with Chun Li!  It was the most hard fought 25 achievement points I have ever earned!  :)