Adam’s Cerebral Spillage

I’ve spent the last couple of days at home worshipping the white porcelain god in my bathroom with a nasty stomach bug. It’s not been pretty, but I seem to be on the mend now. I knew there was something up after Sunday’s training when I felt like death, even though (warmup aside) it wasn’t a particularly tough lesson. It gave me a chance to plough some more hours into what’s been my favourite game in a long time though, Quantic Dream’s magnum opus, Heavy Rain.

Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain was on my pre-order list as soon as I found out it was being developed by the same team and producer as the criminally under-rated Fahrenheit, which I loved on the PS2. That style of game doesn’t appeal to everyone, as it’s pretty much an interactive story with limited choices available, and a series of QTEs (Quick Time Event – reflex tests, first really shown in the likes of the laserdisc classics Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace, but only really given its new moniker when Shenmue came along), but I love it. I actually finished Heavy Rain yesterday for the first time, and I have to say I loved every minute. This game does a LOT of things right, namely story-telling and presentation, and you can tell that it’s been a real labour of love. Nothing’s been left to chance, and it’s got the same polish and feel as a tense movie thriller. I realise a lot of people haven’t played it yet, and may want to in the future, so for those people, avoid the section below as there are some pretty big spoilers

************************************** SPOILERS BEGIN ***************************************

Firstly there are a few things that still seem unexplained to me, which a bit of backstory would’ve helped with at times. For example, why are there intruders at Madison’s place the first time you meet her? I thought it was going to be related to the story, but it never comes up again, it just felt like an unnecessary mechanic to get her into the motel. Also, where did Norman’s ‘Tripto’ addiction come from? It feels like we were dropped into their storylines a few chapters late.

I didn’t see the twist at the end coming at all, they did really well at keeping the suspicion of guilt moving from one person to another. I’m still not sure how mentally unstable Shelby was supposed to be though. He was obviously very aware of what he was doing, and meticulous in his preparation and execution, so why risk his own life in gunfights trying to get to people he would then accuse of his own crimes? I can only assume he was meant to have pretty stark split personalities, but it was never eluded to, not even when it came to light that he was the guilty party.

Ethan’s own foible’s were never properly explained either. Why was he getting the blackouts? Why would he wake up somewhere completely different? Why was he holding an origami animal each time? Are we to assume Shelby was somehow drugging him and leaving the origami with him? It doesn’t make much sense. I’m hoping a lot of the questions I raised above can be answered with a second or even third playthrough, but with a different direction taken at certain points.

There are a few things that make me wonder what would have been different if I’d done it differently. Does taking the Tripto whenever given the opportunity do anything to Norman? What difference did it make when I accidentally (yes accidentally!) shot the religious nut? Was there any way to save the girl from the car underwater? What if I’d shot the man in the fourth trial? What if I’d rejected Madison instead of forgiving her, or never found out she was a journalist in the first place? I guess it’s these questions which are the genius of the game, it makes you want to play again to see what other things could’ve happened and how the game would’ve ended.

My own ending was one where Norman died (I guess I missed an important QTE during his final fight), Shelby got away (he’s seen walking in the rain at the end), and Ethan and Madison end up in a lovely new studio apartment with Shaun. Carter takes Norman’s ARI glasses and is haunted by Norman in the virtual world (again, WTF??).

*************************************** SPOILERS END ********************************************

If you’ve resisted reading the spoilers, and are even the slightest bit curious about it – Hell, even if you aren’t! – I implore you to get the game. There really is something for everyone in it. The story-telling is masterful, the presentation and graphics are second to none (and that’s saying something), and the soundtrack is great. Norman’s ARI glasses, crime scene investigation and clue analysis are a Minority Report fan’s wet dream. I can almost guarantee you won’t end up seeing the same story as I did, and you might even have a completely different ending. It asks a lot of very difficult moral questions during the course of the game, and several times I found myself pausing the game and thinking ‘Should I do what I would do, or what I think the character would do?’, and it’s being made to think that way that lifts this game above the rest of the crowd. The sense of panic and tension it can generate, messing around with people’s fears (claustrophobics will love one section of the game ), and making you actually give a damn about the characters is pretty unique.

In-game footage, it really is a gorgeous looking game

Go and buy it, or at the very least borrow it. Set yourself a few hours aside and enjoy. I can only hope David Cage and the rest of QD are working on a Sequel.

Seriously, go and buy it now!

Technorati Tags games, Heavy Rain, PS3, spoilers

So Audley wants the Klitschkos? Oh dear, oh dear.

Audley Harrison and Albert Sosnowski

Now I know being a heavyweight champion by-and-large requires a certain kind of self-confidence and arrogance, but you’ve got to be there first. Quotes like this…

“No disrespect to David Haye, but no-one is talking about David Haye,” said Harrison, an Olympic champion in 2000.

…do you no favours Audley. Haye is by far the best chance British boxing has had to produce a Heavyweight champion. Yeah he’s brash, yeah he’s sometimes offensive, but he has the skills to back it all up. At Cruiserweight he got back up off the floor to beat Mormeck in France and take the belt, and he’s already beaten Valuev. Ok, that wasn’t the greatest fight in the world, but it showed that he’s got the brains and endurance to make it as a champion. Anyway, this isn’t about Haye, it’s about Harrison. If (IF) he beats Sosnowski, does he really think the Klitschkos are going to be beating a path to his door to get a fight arranged? What’s in it for them? A fight against someone who was a good amateur but has been a terrible pro? Dream on Audley.

I went to London last year to watch Audley’s ‘last chance’ when he fought in the Prizefighter tournament. Danny Williams was an embarrassment to himself more than anything, but I was keen to see how Harrison would fair after so long away from competition. My overriding feeling at the end of the tourney was one of ‘well, it was ok….’. He just comes across as mediocre, and it’s frustrating as much as anything. He’s got a hell of a punch on him, but he never seems to want to throw it. Watching him plod around the ring soaking up shots and never going on the offensive makes me want to tear what remains of my hair out. He needs some fire in his belly! The punch he threw to knock the other guy out in the final of Prizefighter was a peach, but why did it take so long to come? The same goes for his pro fights, it’s infuriating to watch. It’s no wonder MMA is taking so much attention away from boxing when you’ve got lumbering bulks leaning on each other for twelve rounds – remember Williams v Skelton? *shudder*

I think if Harrison wants to fight the Klitschkos he should have to go through Haye first, and that’s a fight I’d pay to watch! The Heavyweight division is stale at the moment, and that’s a result of the lack of decent American fighters and the showmanship and over-the-top hype they bring to the ring. Here’s hoping Audley turns it on and produces a demolition in April, but sadly I think hoping is all it’s going to be. Please prove me and the rest of the British public wrong.

“I want to get my London fans in their St George’s T-shirts and I want to get nostalgic and hear chants of ‘Audley’, ‘Audley’, ‘Audley’.

“I want to hear the fans of boxing, the fans of Audley, the fans of perseverance and the fans of overcoming adversity and get back to boxing.”

If you want to hear them, put on a boxing display, otherwise the only chant you’re going to hear will be ‘Auuuuudreeeeey, Auuudreeeeeeeey’ again.

Technorati Tags Audley Harrison, boxing, Sosnowski

That’s the noise currently living in my ears after last night’s Machine Head gig, and it’s one of the painful reminders of just how awesome last night was. The others would be the aches and pains of hours of pit antics, and a severe lack of sleep.

We got there way too early; I was expecting much worse traffic than was actually on the roads, so we were inside waiting for the arena doors to open by 5:45. It was disheartening at first, as teen after teen arrived and queued, most of who were wearing the same one or two Machine Head t-shirts, and all of who looked way too young to even remember the likes of Davidian. I was sat there feeling very old as emo haircuts, leggings(!) and bumfluff beards queued, wondering why on earth anyone would stand and queue to get in before the first support act starts, but each to their own.

I don’t even remember the name of the first band, but I feel for them. Trying to get a small crowd going for it at half-six in the evening, with really crazy vocals and heavy guitars is a pretty thankless task. They had one half-decent track but the others left me cold. Next up was Bleeding Through, a group I knew of through the likes of Metal Hammer, but had never really listened to before. They were pretty good, very heavy and really good at working the crowd (I’d never been a part of ‘The Wall Of Death’ before last night), but still pretty indecipherable. To be honest, I think the sound setup for the first two acts left a lot to be desired. All you could hear was guitar and nothing else. I’m as big a fan of heavy guitar as the next man, but I want to hear the rest of the band too.

After the first two small sets Hatebreed took the stage. Now Hatebreed I’m more familiar with. They were great, big heavy riffs and a lot of bouncing. They were the first ones to get me moving on the floor. They played a long set much to everyone’s very vocal enjoyment, and I think I’ll be investing in an album or two soon. Lights up, curtains up and time to mill around and get a drink before the headliners take the stage.

Stood there with my mate having a chat before they started, the roadies started doing the sound check, and I can honestly say I’ve never heard – or more accurately ‘felt’ – a louder bass drum. It made every part of me shake; we looked at each other in instant acknowledgement that this was going to be loud, very loud, and very excellent! Once the curtain dropped they opened with a track from the ‘The Blackening’ album and the whole arena went fucking crazy! They weren’t promoting an album so they treated us to a mix of old stuff and some of the less well-known album tracks which was just brilliant. Everyone in there knew every track, the pit was bouncing, shoving and getting into it (and we were in the middle of it), it was a metal-head’s wet dream. At one point the band got everyone to clear the centre of the floor and demanded to their very obliging fans, that they start ‘the biggest circle pit this place has ever seen’. We didn’t disappoint, it was immense and incredibly good.

Machine Head take the stage, Plymouth erupts

Robb Flynn and the rest of the guys are consummate professionals; every track they played sounded as good as the studio versions. Harmonised solos, awesome vocals and finishing with an encore of Halo followed by Davidian just topped off the perfect night. You haven’t heard Davidian until you’ve felt the machine gun double-bass drumming hammering your chest. There’s not a bit of me that isn’t aching this morning, I didn’t get in the front door ’til after 1am, and I can barely hear a thing today, but it was all worth it. I can happily say that I’ve seen one of my favourite bands in the world, and they lived up to my expectations and far beyond. I was going to go to a local Rock Night tomorrow night, but I don’t think I’ll bother now, there’s no way it can top that while it’s still fresh in my head .

A very blurry Robb Flynn in glorious phone-cam-o-vision

Technorati Tags Bleeding Through, Hatebreed, Machine Head, metal, Plymouth Pavilions

Machine Head are playing in Plymouth tomorrow night and I’m going to see them! I can’t tell you how excited I am, I’ve loved this band for a long time now, ever since the first time I heard the double bass drumming on Davidian (where this post’s title comes from), and this will probably be the only time I’ll have a chance to see them this close to home. I’m going up with a friend who shares the same love of very loud, very heavy and very excellent music, and despite having to work the next day, I already know how awesome it’s going to be.

I’m still in the hire car I was given after mine was written off a couple of weeks ago, and while it’s nice to drive a swanky brand new car around, I know that I won’t be buying a new Astra in the forseeable future. There’s something I don’t really like about it, something I can’t really put my finger on. Maybe it’s a combination of little things, like the way the indicators don’t click down into position; you have to press it down once to indicate left, then the arm resets back to the middle while the lights stay flashing. I’m tall and from my seating position it’s almost impossible to see the dashboard lights telling me if they’re on or off, and with music on I can’t hear it either, which means I have to duck and peer through the steering wheel to see if I’m still indicating… not good. The windscreen wipers work in a similar fashion, it’s a small niggle, but it makes the driving experience that little bit more annoying. The Focus we just bought though, despite being 8 years old, is brilliant, I really enjoy driving it.

No new games to speak of, I’m tightening the reins for the time being, I’ve got loads to be going on with and a bank balance which seems to be freefalling toward the end of the month. There’s another big squad training session this wednesday with an eye on the European Champs in April, and I’m looking forward to trying to smarten up my competition forms and sparring again. Plus it’s always good to mix with the guys from the other clubs.

On top of all of that, it’s sunny and beginning to feel like Spring! The sunshine on  the beach yesterday was actually warm! Can you imagine!

Technorati Tags Machine Head, Plymouth Pavillions, spring

We’ve been a two car household for a long while. Both of us need our own cars for work and other things, and last week Mrs Adamr sold her car with a view to getting something a bit more comfortable, which meant we had to rely on mine until we got a replacement. On the weekend we chose one, but someone up there thought they’d have a bit of a laugh at my expense first.

After we chose the car (a Focus if you care) we went back home to get the deposit, but on the way back down to the car sales place (which is only a mile away), someone driving a taxi decided to pull out of a junction straight into the front of my car. I wasn’t driving, I wasn’t even in the car, and getting a phone call from your other half telling you they’ve had a crash isn’t a pleasant thing. Luckily she’s ok other than a few bruises, but it also meant that my car’s been written off. From two cars to no cars in three days.

After a very long weekend of phone calls to insurance companies, car hire places and the like, I had my replacement car delivered yesterday at work, a lovely shiny brand new Astra. It’s being paid for on the other guy’s insurance as he admitted liability at the scene with the police present, so I’ve got that until the insurance company take my car away, do the engineers report, and then send me a cheque to the amount that my car was worth. Quite what I’m going to find to spend the fifty quid on I have no idea . Before it’s taken away I had to go to the recovery yard and get my personal belongings out, so I headed down and did that after work last night. There was surprisingly little I wanted to keep, but I did find some trainers, shorts and a training uniform I forgot I had, as well as a drum kit for Rock Band and a wire cooling rack.

Once I’d loaded up the boot of my posh new car I took a minute to have a last look at my poor Polo and it was quite sad. I racked up over 30,000 miles in that car; it took me to Bristol, London, Cardiff and all sorts of places, and never gave me a minute’s trouble. Leaving it alone in the yard with only my old (scratched) CDs for company was surprisingly difficult – it’s only a car after all. Still, at least it doesn’t have to drag my sorry ass to work in the freezing cold any more.

I can’t wait to see how much they’re going to give me in settlement, but I’m not going to get overly excited, I think I’m going to be driving a much older car than the one I’m in at the moment. If I get anything as good as the last one, I’m going to be very happy.

RIP Polo - You earned your rest.

Technorati Tags car crash, memories, Polo

Yesterday we gathered students from all three of the different schools in the county currently training under our Kwan’s banner and got together for a big training session. It was the first steps toward the European championships being held this spring, and it was to give us a chance to have a look at what categories we might want to compete in. It was an early start for a Sunday morning, I’d normally be tucked up snoozing at 7.30, but instead I was in the kitchen ironing my dobok and making some sandwiches. It was absolutely perishingly cold too, there was ice outside and just after we got to the dojang in Falmouth it started pouring with snow. Conversely the dojang was really warm inside thanks to the central heating, a blessing which soon turned into a curse once we started exercising, it wasn’t long before I was dryer than a <insert dubious metaphor here> and gasping (although having a cold didn’t help my cause any).

The day was a great success, we all mixed and worked with people we wouldn’t normally train with or speak to, and everyone got on well. Everyone got a taste of competition style performing, being marked and feeling what it was like to perform in front of a crowd of people, and I think it was a bit of an eye-opener for some. While the first half of the day was entirely forms-based, the afternoon saw the stark contrast of sparring. After some tough strength-building exercises things got moving and everyone got to feel what it was like to throw, and more importantly take a punch or kick. We organised a mini-tournament towards the end of the day and stood out (as seniors) to referee and take charge of the teams. It was really encouraging to see how into it everyone was getting, so much so that the fighters couldn’t hear us screaming ’stop!!’ when we wanted to award points. Seeing and talking to some of the junior students afterwards, for many of whom this was their first taste of proper sparring, it was a real flashback to my own first tastes of it. Everyone was buzzing and grinning and saying they wanted to get back in and go again, which is always a good sign. Sure, there are going to be some bumps and bruises today, and at least one black eye, but that’s all part of it. Six-and-a-half hours after we started and a few of us trundled down to the local pub for a quick pint and a natter.

Actually it would be remiss of me to not mention the other thing that happened before the end of the session while I’m at it. Everyone was asked to sit, and then I was told to stand, walk to the front and turn to face everyone. In all of the excitement of the day I forgot that I was due to have my black (blue) belt presented to me. Sadly I’ve seen enough of these presentations to not know what was coming next, the legendary ‘Chilli powder test’. Lots of martial arts clubs like to take their newly promoted students down a peg or two to make sure ego doesn’t get the better of them, for some it’s a run down the line as the rest whip them with their belts as they go, for us it’s the chilli powder test. ‘Chilli powder’ is a bit of a misnomer, as times and tastes have changed, so just plain chilli powder doesn’t cut it any more. No, today our instructor likes to mix things up with his own concoctions, and it wasn’t until after that I found out what was in mine. A spoonful of the ’stuff’ was pushed into my mouth and then I was told to do twenty good pushups in front of the assembled mass without swallowing any or spitting any out, with everyone counting them out for me (and don’t think I didn’t notice those of you who tried to reset the count partway through!). I took my trusty old red belt off and had my new one tied around me, and then made a hasty retreat to the kitchen to rinse my mouth out! It turns out that my own personal blend of heat was a mixture of chillies, chilli sauce, rehydrated chillies that you’re not supposed to touch with bare hands(!), a tub of wasabi paste and to top it off, a sachet of the sauce from a Bombay Bad Boy pot noodle. Nice.

I’m enormously proud of what I’ve achieved, and it was made all that more special by having it presented to me in front of the rest of the students. It still hasn’t sunk in yet really, maybe once it does I’ll have more to post, but I think I’m going to be kept pretty busy in the meantime now. Here’s what my 1st Dan certificate looks like (it feels good writing that).

My 1st Dan certificate - this one's going in a frame!

Technorati Tags 1st Dan, belt presentation, chilli test, sparring, tang soo do, training

It’s no secret that I still love games, and still play and buy them regularly, but recently I’m up to my neck in them. First up was Darksiders which I wrote about in a previous entry, and it really is a fantastic game, but I’m stuck at a save point where I have a tricky fight before I can get any further, and after dying umpteen times it’s been relegated to the games shelves until I can be bothered to try again.

I picked up Forza Motorsport 3 on the cheap at the end of an online January sale and got stuck into it, and it’s a great racing game. I’ve always like the Forza series, they seem to find a great balance between realism and fun, and 3 is no different. There are an enormous number of cars to choose from as your career progresses, and as always with Forza, an insane amount of customisation options. As well as being able to change and tweak every part of the internal workings and chassis, there are the famous aesthetics options too. The Forza car editor has no equal when it comes to custom decals and paint jobs, and the inclusion of the storefront (which enables players to buy and sell customised cars and paint jobs) means that everyone has access to them. I’ve still got a long way to go in the career mode, but it’s a gorgeous looking game and I’m so pleased they managed to keep it all running at a silky-smooth 60FPS. If you can pick it up for under thirty quid (easily done online) then do it if you’re at all into racing games.

A friend of mine has been singing the praises of the next game for months, and I finally gave in and decided to have a look at what all the fuss was about. Tatsunoko Vs Capcom is the latest in the ‘Vs’ series from Capcom, which now that I think back has been going for years, and includes some cracking games. Marvel Vs Capcom 1 & 2, SNK Vs Capcom 1, 2 and Chaos, X-Men Vs Streetfighter to name but a few, but new on the scene is Tatsunoko Vs Capcom. Tatsunoko is the Japanese cartoon house which won’t be overly familiar to most people, unless they’re old enough to remember the ‘Battle Of The Planets’ cartoons in the early 80s. In Japan it was known as Kagaku Ninja Tai Gacchaman (Science Ninja Team Gatchaman), and was a far different cartoon (violence and transgenderism being common themes), but it still provides some of the characters for the game, along with other less well-known series. Surprisingly it’s a Wii-only release, but I kinda like that, it’s a reason to use my dust-collecting console at the very least. The gameplay is excellent, proper ‘Vs’ style fighting with over the top super moves, tag play and all manner of intricacies to work out. There’s a decent roster of characters with both sides well-represented, just don’t let the fact that you may not know many of the Tatsunoko cast put you off. Capcom have covered all bases with characters ranging from the stalwarts (Ryu, Chun Li) right through to some you might not to expect to see (Frank West from Dead Rising and a giant mech from Lost Planet spring to mind). It’s well worth a buy for anyone fond of Capcom 2D fighters, but even moreso if you like the ‘Vs’ games. It’s out today, although I luckily got mine yesterday after nattering to the guys working in a local indy games shop and them telling me they were breaking the release date. I was weak, I bought it, and I’m very glad I did. You should do the same.

Tatsunoko wasn’t the only game I was surprised to be playing yesterday. Some time ago I wrote about the beta of MAG and how I enjoyed it, so much so in fact that I pre-ordered the game. Shopto had both the normal and collectors editions of the game, but I didn’t want to pay the extra five pounds for an extra outfit in the game and some themes, so I stuck with the cheaper option. The game’s released today, but Shopto being the efficient little elves they are, they got it to me yesterday (in fact the postman needed a signature, so signed it himself and wrote ’signed for it, hope that’s ok, Postie’ on it – I have a great postman!). I opened it up and found the steelbook collectors edition inside too, ideal! I didn’t want to pay extra for it, but if they’re going to give it to me for free then who am I to argue?! I’ve only had time to play one mission so far, but initial impressions are good, it feels far snappier and more inclined to hit the person I’m aiming at, rather than the lagfest the beta could be at times.

I need to get these games out of my system before April when the clocks go forward and I get my evenings out with the dog back again, and there are still a few more to come before then too.

Technorati Tags 360, capcom, Darksiders, Forza, games, MAG, PS3, shopto, Tatsunoko, Wii

This last week or so has been the first time I’ve been back in proper training since before Christmas, and it’s kicking my ass so far. Our instructor is determined to get us back in shape and strong again after a festive break of decadence and not working hard, and despite the pain and panting it’s causing so far, I’m very glad.  We’ve been focusing on strength work which is always a good thing, and on top of that I have new things to learn, for the first time in ages.

There’s quite a gap between 1st Dan and 2nd, and with good reason, there’s a lot to take on board. I’ve started learning the first on the new forms I need to know, namely Naihanchi Ee Dan (Tekki nidan). The Naihanchi hyung have always seemed strange to me, very different to any other that we practice, and I hope that as I progress further I’ll start to understand more. I find it interesting that traditionally it was always seen as a really important kata/hyung, and yet it employs so few of the ‘basic’ moves that we as Tang Soo Do practitioners understand as staples of the art.

As well as the practical applications of any form, I’ve always found myself drawn to learn the origins wherever possible. Naihanchi is a nice form from that point of view, as the history is largely well-known and seldom disputed. I’ve known for a long time that the Japanese name for the form is Tekki, which translates as ‘Iron Horse’, but what I didn’t know was a) how recently it got that name, and b) that it was almost inadvertently a return to tradition. Let me try to explain a little more clearly. Naihanchi is now taught as three separate forms, but originally was brought (from China naturally) as one, longer form. This longer form was named Nifanchin, which (apparently, my Japanese isn’t great these days!) also translates as Iron Horse, but it was that stalwart and lynchpin of modern karate, Gichin Funakoshi who renamed it Tekki. He renamed it in honour of his teacher (and creator of the Pyung Ahn/Pinan/Heian forms), Anko Itosu. Between the two it became Naihanchi, which means ‘Internal divided conflict’, and that’s where it stuck as far as Tang Soo Do is concerned.

Although anecdotal, I think for once the Chinese origins of the forms might actually be explained quite well too..

In the 1960’s a kung fu practitioner, Daichi Kaneko, studied a form of Taiwanese White Crane Boxing, known as Dan Qiu Ban Bai He Quan (Half Hillock, Half White Crane Boxing). Kaneko, an acupuncturist who lived in Yonabaru, Okinawa, taught a form called Neixi (inside knee) in Mandarin. This form includes the same sweeping action found in the nami-gaeshi (returning wave) technique of Naihanchi. Neixi is pronounced Nohanchi in Fuzhou dialect, which could indicate Neixi is the forerunner to Naihanchi.

The fact that it was called Inside Knee sounds right for me, especially with the movements contained in Naihanchi Cho Dan, as anyone who has learned the form will recognise.

The fact that those three short forms are considered so important in karate, even to the extent that not so long ago teachers were teaching them to students with the understanding that they contain everything they need to know, is strange to me. That’s probably just a result of the way the arts have changed though, and the changes in training and teaching in the last hundred years. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in one of those old Okinawan dojos to see just how it was taught, practised and applied in those days.

Technorati Tags hyung, naihanchi, tang soo do, tekki, training

I’ve tried to think of a clever title for this entry for ages, but I’ve failed each and every time. It’s one I’d always hoped I’d have to write at some point, I just hadn’t expected to creep up on me so quickly. In a nutshell, I passed my 1st Dan (Black Belt) grading.

Seeing it written down like that is strange, and if I’m honest it still hasn’t sunk in yet. I don’t think that’ll happen until I’m actually presented with the belt and certificate, which hopefully will be around the end of the month, and I imagine it’ll start to hit home then. Perhaps fittingly, I found out I passed on the 4th, which was exactly four years to the day since my very first lesson. Four years, wow.

This isn’t going to turn into a misty-eyed retrospective, I’ve done that far too often in the past on here, but it’s nice to have a little bit of reflection and to get it down on paper (well, recorded in bits and bytes at least). The grading tests themselves were tough, and for different reasons; the physical was obviously very demanding, the written test gave my brain a bashing, and the essay made me take a good look at myself. It’s done now though, and although I didn’t do as well as I’d like to (isn’t that always the case?) I did well enough to earn my belt. There’ll probably be a few people out there who’d find it strange when I say that I won’t be getting a black belt, but rather a midnight blue one, but it’s essentially the same thing. Tang Soo Do traditionally uses midnight blue, as this is what the founder chose. The reasons for choosing it are a matter of debate for some, but it’s the same thing.

The strangest feeling for me is that there isn’t the sense of completion that I’d anticipated when I first started training. Some people (most I’d imagine) look on the black belt as being quite final, the end of a journey, but it’s perfectly apparent to me now that this isn’t the case. I’m very proud of myself for seeing it through this far, because I’m a serial starter-of-things-I’ll-never-see-through, but I can genuinely see how this is far from the end of something, it’s just the start of something new, a continuation of what I’m already doing. After all, it’s only 1st Dan right, there’s still another 9 to work toward .

I’d also just like to take the time here and now to thank everyone involved in my progress one way or another up until now. My instructors, my fellow students and everyone who showed me some support along the way. It was all appreciated, from people telling me I could do it, to people kicking my ass all over the dojang.

Onwards and upwards.

Technorati Tags 1st Dan, black belt, grading, tang soo do

It snowed more than it has down this way for a long time over the last week or so, which meant I had to take a couple of days off from work. My car got completely iced up – even the locks, I couldn’t get my key in – and the roads were like an ice rink, there’s no way I’m risking it for the sake of work. Luckily, I found a great way to spend the time off. Once the house was thoroughly cleaned and tidied that is…

Games. Lots of games. Or more accurately, a lot of time spent playing them. First up was the Beta version of MAG for the PS3. The game’s been in closed beta for a long time, and last week was the developer’s chance to stress test it with a free download for anyone who wanted it. MAG stands for Massive Action Game in this case and is a 1st-Person shooter, but with one departure from the norm with its scale. Battles in MAG go up to 128 vs 128 based on huge maps, and I have to say, it does it pretty well. I wasn’t too sure what to expect, FPS games are everywhere now and for every decent one there’s a ton of average ones, but I’m impressed with this one. The teams are split into platoons, which are in turn split into squads of eight people. Each squad has a leader who can issue orders, and they in turn get their orders from the platoon leaders and so on. It’s a proper chain of command and works well.

Players have a fair amount of customisation options, and each loadout is customisable too, so it’s easy to make a few setups of snipers, heavies, medics, engineers etc. The levelling works well, although it feels like a bit of an uphill battle to start with. Once you hit level 10 (on the beta) at least, new game types are unlocked, and at 15 you get your first leadership qualifications. I was trying to remember what it reminds me of for ages, and I’ve realised now that it was Battlefield 1942/Vietnam/2 for the PC. It’s a decent game, I think I’ll definitely get the full thing once it’s released, but I can see it being one of those where you need to invest a lot of time to get the most out of. As a FPS it’s not spectacular, it doesn’t do anything new, but the marriage of RPG-style character progression and the sense of ‘team’ is brilliant.

On top of that I also managed to snag myself the first new game on release day since Modern Warfare 2 I think, and treated myself to Darksiders. I’ll confess I didn’t really know anything about it up until about a month ago, but my friend’s constant rambling and eulogising meant I took notice and got excited about it too. The first time I saw video of it I was pretty unimpressed, it just looked like any other generic hack’n’slash, and I had my fears about it right until I started playing. The premise this time is that as War (capital W, one of the Four Horsemen) you’re duped into thinking the final battle between Heaven and Hell has started, and start kicking-off on Earth. The long and short of it is that you piss off the powers that be (sorry, ‘The Council’) and get banished to Earth, sans powers, to put things right and find out what’s going on.

The game is gorgeous both aurally and to look at, and the presentation just ooozes (yeah, three ‘o’s) class and attention to detail. If I had to give it a label I think I’d go with God Of War meets Zelda. Free-flowing combat involving big blades and the softer parts of enemies is the order of the day, combined with proper, old-fashioned, Zelda-style dungeons. I say dungeons, but as anyone who’s played a Zelda game knows, it doesn’t necessarily mean dank, dripping stone walls underground. I’m about five hours in so far and I’m loving every minute. I love some of the stats it gives you, such as total amount of demon blood spilled so far measured in gallons – classy. If you like the brawling and slashing you get from something like God Of War or Devil May Cry, and the exploration-with-inevitable-boss-encounter style of the Zelda series, I can’t recommend it enough. There’s a teeny bit of screen-tear with the 360 version I have, which apparently isn’t present in the PS3 one, but it’s nothing like enough to detract from the game.

Technorati Tags Darksiders, MAG, snow