Gary Gygax is dead.

Rikathos reports that Gary Gygax has died. It is a sad day for gamers everywhere. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia about him:

Ernest Gary Gygax (July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American writer and game designer, best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) with Dave Arneson, and co-founding the company Tactical Studies Rules with Don Kaye in 1974. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of the role-playing game.^[2]

On March 4th, the Associated Press confirmed reports of Gygax's passing that originally were made by Troll Lord Games, a small role playing game company Gygax had been working with.^[3][4] He had been in poor health, suffering multiple strokes and a near-heart attack.

Gygax was the son of Swiss immigrant Martin Gygax and an American mother. His gaming experiences began at the age of five and six with playing pinochle and chess as well as the usual pretend games of any child that could be likened to live action role-playing together with Jim Rasch as referee/game master, John Rasch and Don Kaye as fellow participants. At about the same time Gygax began educating himself in science fiction novels with Ray Bradbury's The Veldt in Bluebook and Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Conqueror.

Fifty Five dollars??

Foster City (CA) - Sony today announced a firm release date and MSRP for the "Dualshock 3" controller, the first PS3 controller to include the rumble feature.

The rumble force feedback was one of the defining traits of the Playstation brand dating back to the PS One. However, Sony faced an infamous lawsuit with Immersion over patent rights to the technology.

Sony said today the Dual Shock 3 wireless controller will be available in April for a suggested retail price of just under $55.

Also today, Sony said it will be launching a new PS3 bundle with Metal Gear Solid 4 packed in and a new PSP pack with the upcoming God of War: Chains of Olympus in-box. Both are set for Q2 2008 releases, with the PS3 bundle slated for around $500 and the PSP at around $200.


Come on Sony, don't you think that is a bit much for a controller featuring something it should have had in the first place? Are you trying to recoup some of the losses from the lawsuit with Immersion?

Lost Odyssey and Xbox 360 woes.

I like my Xbox 360. I have had some great gaming experiences with it, but I have also had a ton of frustration akin to the kind I used to endure with PC games. The consoles were supposed to be a better experience right? Well, not so much -- at least where the Xbox 360 is concerned. So far I have had two "Red Rings of Death". I dealt with that ok, by spending time on other pursuits while I waited for the unit to be "repaired" and sent back. There is one other insidious problem with the Xbox 360 that really rankles me. I will sometimes be in the middle of a game and get a message saying that my CD could not be read and that I should eject it and wipe off the dust that must be accumulated on it. There could be no other explanation like the drive actually being a piece of shit I suppose. Like I said, I can live with being without the system for a period of time. But, when I am playing a game and I get this error randomly, it kind of makes me forget I am enjoying a quiet pastime and makes me want to shove the damn thing up Bill Gate's ass.

This brings me to Lost Odyssey. It's a great game, and has a wonderful story and character development. There are fantastic cut scenes and an ongoing narrative about the main character's lost memories. It's all very good stuff. The problem lies in that there may be an hour or more of play time between saves. Guess when my Xbox 360 decides it can't possibly read my horribly disfigured CD? After a good hour of game play without any chance to save, that's when! Did I mention the CD is in pristine condition? This irritates me to no end. I now have a great game I want to play and I am afraid to because I don't want to be repeating the same shit over and over again because Microsoft can't make a stable console. I already can't do 1080p over component cables which may or may not be the fault of Sony, but never-the-less, it is another frustration with the system.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Xbox Live functionality and Xbox Live Arcade is great, but I swear in the future if a game is coming out on both Xbox and PS3 and there is no compelling multi player aspect to it, I will be buying the PS3 version. Even then, I will be royally pissed if I am in a multi player game of Civilization Revolution and I am a few hours in and the game can't read the CD. I am told I could trade my Xbox 360 in and get one with HDMI out and hope the CDRom problem is fixed, but there is no guarantee and why should I have to pay more money to get something to work the way it should?

Table cat likes tables.

We have two cats. My cat Frodo, who has made an appearance on this site and my soon-to-be step daughter's cat Kallie. They are both great cats and we love them, but we are having a problem with Kallie always wanting to be on the dining room table. Our method of discouraging her has been to squirt her with a water battle and yell. This seems to not have much of an effect on her. When she sees the water bottle she cringes and gives out a little meow as if she knows what is coming, but she waits until we actually squirt her before she gets off the table. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to break her of the habit of getting on the dining room table? We chase her off that thing a good 10 times a day.

I mentioned the other day that instead of feeding the evil machine that is Gamestop's used game rapefest, people could donate games and systems to Child's Play. Well here is another good outlet for your used stuff courtesy of Cheap Ass Gamer:


Please send your game donations to:

SK1 Shane Neuhaus
30 NCR DET 1
FPO AP 09381-1702

Current generation games are preferred. Postage should be similar to shipping to most other USA destinations.

Once your games arrive in Iraq, they will be photographed along with their recipient. We've got a Flickr gallery showcasing the current haul.

Wombat and other CAGs have already started sending some games over and I'll be shipping out my donation this week. Please join us in the official thread for more details and discussion.

Another guest post...

Hi, my name is Frodo and I have a few things to say. First of all, being a cat and therefore a higher life form than you hoomins, I don't understand your silly little rituals and your love of sporting events. I understand something you call the "Super Bowl" was going on last night while I was taking a well deserved nap on the carpet. My owner and his insipid friends scared the piss out of me when they all jumped up and screamed in unison for some reason. This left me shaken and perturbed for quite some time. I shall have my revenge, don't worry. And one last thing, hahahahahahahahaa the Patriots lost!!!!

Child's Play

I have bemoaned the insidious nature of Gamestop's trade in policy in the past, but never given an alternative to people trying to shake that nasty habit. Here is a great one: Child's Play, is run by the guys over at Penny Arcade and collects not only money, but games and game systems to help out those youngsters who are forced to endure long hospital stays for whatever reason. Why not send some kid that game you were going to get raped for at Gamestop. I'd rather know that some poor sick kid is enjoying that game then know that Gamestop is profiting from this nebulous transaction.

Mount&Blade

ombining a sophisticated, dynamic game world and intense medieval swordfighting action, Mount&Blade strives to create a game experience never seen before. Playing Mount&Blade, you will venture through a world filled with daring enemies as well as friendly groups that will come to your aid or need yours. In a land torn by constant danger, raids and skirmishes, you will raise and lead your own war band, commanding dozens of hardened soldiers. You will hunt down your enemies following the tracks they leave behind. And you will fight epic battles where arrows cut the air with deadly hisses, axes and swords hack with fury, and horses and men clash into a violent melee.

Go to this site NOW and download the game. You can play it for free up to level 6. It's one of the best computer games I have played in a long time and evokes the passion and wonder that I had for PC games back in the day. Absolutely stellar! Here is the link.

UPDATE: Mount and Blade has been picked up by a publisher! They promise improved graphics, more quests and polish. Here is the link to a preview.

Do you have a lair? I have a lair!

The long awaited debut of .... Rikathos Speaks.

My Name is Rikathos

Let’s get this straight. I have no idea what I am doing. I’ve been graciously asked to contribute here and I have no credentials other than a College education and Pop Culture encoded into my DNA.

I’d like to use the space provided to leave links to interesting sites, pictures and what have ye. I’ll also sound off on various things from time to time. You’ve been warned.

To start off.... A creepy picture of Cats taken by

Ivan Capraro from JPG Magazine

I'm just trying to figure out which creepy piece of music fits this chilling scene. Do you go with "Tubular bells", "Dance Macabre?"

Let's talk TV for a Moment shall we?

I've talked myself bloody trying to get my friends to check out these alternate programs currently playing on the Boob tube.

Thankfully they are shows with get this... Writers..and not reality crap.

Coming up this Saturday 2/2/08 at 8PM(Eastern) on BBC America (Check your local listings) is an awesome little program that has spun off from another awesome show. The first being "Torchwood" and the other the recent reincarnation of "Doctor Who"

Think Doctor Who meets The XFiles with a decidedly adult perspective.

Its new and most importantly its DIFFERENT. Its not a remake of anything and it is creating its own Mythology and by god its not from Hollywood. This week is a replay of the first episode of Season Two followed by a regularly scheduled episode. What? Don't want to check out the 2nd Season before seeing the first? Well the First Season is or will be out soon. Consult your Netflix queue!

And before I go here's a link to an interesting site...The WebUrbanist

See interesting and forgotten buildings and sites across the globe!

Until next time...