I Just Wanted To Say...

...That I like turtles. Do you like turtles?

Number One Baby!

I know it wont last, but I am currently number one on the leaderboard for the Excalibur table on Pinball FX! Granted, this table was only released tonight, and only about 100 people are on this leaderboard, but screw you... I am on top.

First Excalibur, then... THE WORLD!


EDIT: There really needs to be a "FUCKING AWESOME" button.

Have A Vote On New Forza 3 DLC

Head over to http://jalopnik.com/ for an opportunity to have a say on which cars will be released in upcoming DLC packs.

It's good to see a few aussie cars being listed ('68 Monaro, XB Coupe & VL Walkinshaw), but unfortunately the XY GTHO Phase 3 didn't get a mention.

Everybody, please vote for the T5 Volvo stationwagon, and I'll be your best friend.

... Hopefully other game developers will look at this, and let the consumers have say.

Impressions: ModNation Racers

As per my previous post, I've been playing the beat for ModNation Racers. So far, I have played about 6 or 7 hours and this game will be a must-have when the retail version is released.

The gameplay has definately been inspired from Mario Kart. There are alot of weapons (rockets, lightning, etc) and over the top powerslides. On the beta there are 4 premade tracks and the ability to create and download other uploaded maps. You can also customise your driver/car and download designs from other users. I have seen other racers sporting designs such as Spiderman, Mario & Sonic.

This game will be much more that your standard Mario Kart clone. Like in Little Big Planet, the true star will be the user created content. I cannot wait for the full release.

ModNation Racers Beta Starts Today

Here is a reason to fire up the PS3. Today a beta is available on the PSN store for ModNation Racers, but is limited to only 100,000 in Europe, Australia & New Zealand.

This game looks hella cool, check out the track customisation in this trailer:



Get in quick, and i'll see you in the beta.

Youtube Friday!

We haven't had a Youtube Friday for a while. This week we have 3 funny clips from Flight of the Conchords, who are a comedy/folk duo from New Zealand.

First up is "Business Time": 2 minutes in heaven is better than 1 minute in heaven.
Next is "Boom King": Who's the boom king? I'm the boom king!
Last for this week is "Sugar Lumps": The ladies go crazy for my sugar lumps.

Canuckistan Gaming Nights?

I was thinking about this during the week. Would you be interested in having some 'formalised' gaming nights with other Canuckistan readers? These sessions will be rather casual, and low-key, but should be alot of fun none the less.

We could get together for games such as: Rainbow Six Vegas, Forza, Farcry, or even some XBLA games?

I can post results/stories from these sessions, and pictures on the blog. It could even be a good opportunity to expand this community and make new friends.

Post some comments to let me know if you'll be keen, and maybe offer up some suggestions to which games we'll play.

Canuckistan and You

Just a quick one today. I am constantly amazed at how the blog has taken off. With many page hits daily, and positive comments, I am encouraged to write more and post more drivel.

I would not have this level of excitement without you, but there are a few small things which you all can do to motivate me even more...

- Leave comments: There is nothing more I love than reading & receiving comments. Comments let me know what you think about blog posts, positive or negative.
- Be a Follower: Sign up, and become a member of the Canuckistani nation. Let me know who are the most dedicated and loyal subjects.
- Reactions: If you don't want to leave comments, there is a quick and easy way to make an input. At the bottom of each post, there is a 'Reactions' section with 3 boxes to tick. Let me know if you think that post is funny, interesting or cool. If the post isn't any of those things, feel free to leave a comment.

I don't want it to seem like I'm begging, but doing more of these things would mean alot to me. With input from you guys, I believe we can steadily develop a strong community.

Impressions: Matt Hazard BBB

Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond is a side-scrolling shooter, and a follow up to Canuckistan favourite, Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard. Much like Eat Lead, the gameplay is not the star. It is the amazing sense of humour throughout both of these titles which makes me such a big fan.

The gameplay is rather generic, and takes inspiration from classics such as Contra and Metal Slug. Basically, you just run right & shoot enemies. This isn't a negative though, as the gameplay is both fun and challenging (the most difficult setting is called "Fuck this shit", I just play it on "Wussy"). There are alot of jokes within the game too, often with the developers making fun of their low budget title.

Just like in Eat Lead, there are many homages to classic games within this title. Games such as Bioshock, Mirrors Edge & Super Mario Brothers receive tributes throughout this game.

Here is a trailer, which doesn't show much gameplay, but definately shows off the level of humour and tongue-in-cheek tone of the game.



Matt Hazard: BBB is available on XBLA & PSN for around $15. I do think this is a little pricey, but only overpriced by a few dollars. For the people with an Xbox 360, there is a free demo for this title, and I encourage you all to give it a go.

Taste Sensations

Here is another food gem. This time, I'm telling the world (well, people who read this blog) about the greatest thing to come out of the United States. Ever. No, I'm not talking about George W. Bush, or Britney Spears, or even the Ford Taurus. I'm talking today about the wonderous thing called Milk Duds.


Milk Duds are great. They are rather basic; they're just caramel covered in chocolate, but it is so much more than the ingredients. Milk Duds, like a fine scotch, it's all about the experience. Ok, cutting out the bullshit, Milk Duds taste great. They taste simular to Fantales, but without the teeth-breaking hardness from the caramel.

If you have a shop near you which sells American candy, do yourself a favour and grab a box... or two.

Green Men at the Canucks Game?

I saw this when watching the game between the Vancouver Canucks and the Nashville Predators today. Here we see two Canucks fans taunting the Predators players in the penalty box.

Watching this again has me in tears. =)



Oh yeah... the Canucks went on to lose this game 3-2, thanks to some dubious referee calls towards the end.

Forza Sessions

Tonight I had an excellent Forza 3 session with buddies Kenji Urban & TnTzuidema. We probably had about a dozen races, and here are some shots from the two most eventful races...

MAPLE VALLEY:
This race featured myself driving the 'Steampunk' Bora (paint by buddy Jelly Muffin), Kenji driving the silver Camaro and TnT driving the black Camaro. This one was raced on Maple Valley, which is a track I'm known for flipping cars. This race didn't disappoint with a flip on the 2nd lap, and a near flip on the final lap (despite going alot slower that time). Both times Kenji/TnT were very close to hitting me.





NEW YORK:
We saved the best for last. Our last race featured us driving in New York with American Stock Cars. Kenji was driving the red "Montoya" livery, I was driving the blue car "Ambrose" livery, and TnT was driving the green/white livery. There were many incidents during this race, mainly due to the amount of tight chicanes on this street circuit. The incident causing myself & TnT being airborne occurred after TnT hitting the tyres in front of me, and leaving me nowhere to go. The last picture shows me weaving my way through a Kenji/TnT incident at high speed.





Kenji has his own blog, with Forza pictures/news being a major focus. Please check out his blog, as he has been a BIG supporter of Canuckistan. http://kenjiurban.blogspot.com/

Normality Will Resume...

Now that it is no longer 40-plus degrees (seriously, who likes fucking summer?), I have no excuse to not post anymore. I also have the next 3 days off work, so will look to do some writing soon. I might post a couple "Impressions", or some Forza pics... or something, anything.

I will leave on this thought: Short-shorts should be outlawed. 99% of the people who wear them, don't look good in them. Ladies who aren't pencil thin can look hella sexy by wearing a wide range of clothes. Short-shorts showing off the cellulite (perfectly natural and not unique to "fat" women) is not hella sexy.

Bring back the sexy =)

Forza 3 Tune Release: Boxster S

Given my recent desire to buy a Porsche Boxster (despite not being able to afford one), I thought it is only fitting that I make a Forza tune for this car. I have released not one, but three different class (A, B and C) tunes. These Boxster's are all fairly good handling cars, and the class A Boxster can be alot of fun when driven on the edge.

All three tune files are up on my Forza 3 storefront. The Boxster is a fairly cheap car to purchase/upgrade, with my class C car being around $65k, class B being about $75k, and the supercharged class A Boxster coming in at around $115k.

Borderlands: Finished

The other night, I finally finished Borderlands. I have been playing this game alot over the last month or two, and was loving every second of it. Borderlands is the perfect blend between a shooter and an RPG. It has been one of the most enjoyable games I have played for quite a while.

I do have a bit of a gripe with Borderlands though. The ending SUCKED! The last hour or two of gameplay was really building upto something great, and the excitement was really there when the final boss showed up. This boss is massive, and I thought to myself "this is going to be a really long, and tough fight". It was, the first time I fought against it. The second time around, I worked out how best to beat the boss, and it was over very quickly.

That was a big letdown, but it wasn't the worst bit. Essentially, the game ended there. With barely a closing story to explain what happened, or why your character went through all of this, it was over.

The ending to Borderlands was probably the worst I have ever came across.

The one good this is, now I can play through the game again with the same character's stats, weapons, etc but now with more difficult enemies. With Borderlands being 99% awesome, that is a great thing.

The 2010 Winter Classic

Today I watched a hockey game. Not just any game, but the 2010 Winter Classic. For the past 3 years on New Years Day an outdoor game of hockey has been played. This year's Winter Classic was played between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers. Apart from being an outdoor game, the venue was also unique. This game was played at Fenway Park, which is home of baseball's Boston Red Sox.

Despite the Vancouver Canucks not playing this game, I had enjoyed this game far more than any other this season. The atmosphere of nearly 40,000 people at this famous baseball stadium was truly amazing. But apart from the crowd, the game itself was excellent. It was a hard fought battle, which was decided in overtime.

People ask me why I love hockey, and it's because of the skill, speed & passion of the players. The 2010 Winter Classic is a perfect example of those things.

Please take some time to watch the highlights & enjoy a great game of hockey. The Bruins are wearing yellow, and the Flyers are in white.