Bang!



So, the other day I decided I would finally give Shadow the Hedgehog a try. Sure, I knew the game took one of my favourite franchises and pointlessly injected gunplay into the mix. But hey, how bad could it be, right? Maybe the guns would not feel as invasive as I had feared.



After placing the disc in my Gamecube and powering up, I was greeted by message in a blue, innocent looking window. The message asked if I would like to create a save file on my memory card. Easy going fellow that I am, I gave the game my permission.



In Shadow, the mere act of selecting OK is accompanied by the sound of a gunshot. You don't just approve your menu selections, oh no... you pop a cap in them.



That pretty much sums up my experience with the game.



Sam Logan

Tat tat rat



Ratatat can be described by words arranged into phrases: one part thick electronic beats, one part juicy guitar riffs, one part Super Mario Brothers synths. (No parts vocals.)



But while their first CD was primarily a dance/hip-hop affair, their new album applies their trademark instrumentation to a much wider range of genres. In addition to more "traditional" Ratatat dance songs like Wildcat, you get really strange rock-influenced stuff like Tropicania, or almost Beck-like blues numbers like Loud Pipes. And hey, if you don't feel like settling for my shaky textual approximations, you can check out two of those songs at the band's (ugh) MySpace page. Maybe you will like it! Maybe it will change your life.



(Or maybe it will kill ten or fifteen seconds of your time before you close the window in disgust and send me a disapproving email.)



Sam Logan

She's all right, selling me watches



Whew! These double-length comics always seem to take twice as long to get ready for updates. I wonder why that is?



(PS: I don't actually wonder that, please don't email me about it.)



It's my birthday on Sunday, right smack in the middle of the long weekend! I figure the occasional epic 3-day birth-celebration is nature's way of making up for all the years where my birthday fell on the first day of school. Anyhow, don't forget to tune in on Monday, even though it is a holiday. Sam and Fuzzy never takes a day off!



(PS: Except when it does.)



Sam Logan