Demo Friday

Today has been a demo day for me. First up on the list was Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution on the PS3.

The only other Sid Meier game I have ever played was one of the first Civilization games. I found that game to be dull, complicated, and had absolutely no patience for it. Civilization Revolution, on the other hand, plays at a faster and more entertaining pace. I was so engrossed in my fight against the Aztecs and the more recent discovery of the Egyptian culture (I was playing as the Romans) that I became a little angry when the demo came to an end. What would happen to my cities of Bryantopia, Bryansville, and Awesome? I guess I’m going to have to buy the full game to find out.

The next game on my demo tour was Ron Gilbert’s DeathSpank.

Unlike the humor found in the Monkey Island series, I just couldn’t connect with DeathSpank’s humor. I found myself continually skipping through the quest text, bored. The combat was fun and the controls were tight. Overall, just not my thing.

Dreams

Sorry the picture is so grainy…no flash photography was allowed in this part of the game. Might scare the zombies!

I do not do well with scary stuff. Take for instance a sudden twist in the Uncharted storyline last night. Everything had been going along swimmingly, when suddenly a past Nazis influence was introduced. Poof! Cue the supernatural elements such as killer Zombies -thankfully not armed with weapons, yet!-. After battling through darkened corridors with only a flashlight, I finally thought I had gotten away from this demonic horde. I was wrong. Very wrong. The game’s developers then decided to chuck not only zombies at me, but terrorists as well. A deadly combination burrito. Without the cheese.

Jurassic Park. Apparently not a fun place considering all anyone does is run and die.

All of the above to say that I had some pretty intense dreams last night. I dreamed of a zombie apocalypse that was somewhat akin to the movie Jurassic Park. Except this time…all of the golden retrievers died.

Dreams can take us to the wildest of places. Sometimes making sense and other times not. I am thankful not to live in a dream world…the nightmares are far too intense.

What crazy dreams have you had recently?

Victory in Death

“Stories of people who died after living godly lives are stories with happy endings.” – Francis Chan, Crazy Love

I recently had the privilege of attending my wife’s grandfather’s funeral. As words were said about him, I couldn’t help but feel convicted over where I am in my own spiritual walk and life. Her grandfather was a man of:

  • Prayer
  • Conviction
  • and Dedication

Married for over 66 years, my wife’s grandfather was a fantastic example (while still humanly flawed) of how a Christian should live his life.

Death, that thing that we shove into a corner for a rainy day, awaits us all one day. It is something that could happen to anyone of us, even in this very moment. If your like me, you don’t think that this is true. You somehow feel invincible. Guess what? Your not.

Of this we can all be certain:

  • One day we will all die.
  • On that day we will be judged.

27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, – Hebrews 9:27

Even now, you might find yourself wanting to continue to push this topic aside. “It’s too morbid,” you might say. Making a decision to accept Christ, by simply believing in Him, is the difference between living a life of victory (in Christ!) versus one that ends in defeat.

Confessions of an MMO Tourist: Cataclysm Edition


A few months back, I had heard that there had been a cataclysm in Azeroth. All of the lands and continents of the game had been changed. Realizing that this might be a great time to visit at a discounted rate, I made sure to keep my eyes open for travel deals. No sooner had I started my search, when an e-mail arrived in my inbox with this subject line: “Bryan – Try World of Warcraft: Cataclysm FREE for 10 Days.” 10 whole days of vacationing in a new land, for free? How could I not pounce on this offer? A game client download and a few patches later, I found myself venturing once more in the lands of Azeroth.

A giant lurks in the mist.

Blizzard wasn’t joking when they said that things had changed. Right away I noticed the two new races featured in the game, the Worgen and the Goblins. So I decided to choose a new race. The thought of being a werewolf was too amazing to pass up, so I quickly created a Worgen mage by the name of Ruford. Ruford and I rode around the Worgen starting area, slowly learning about the Worgen infestation and how the great cataclysm occurred.

Ah Gilneas, World of Warcraft at its most refined.

My adventures with Ruford lasted until level 9. It was then that I decided that enough was enough. Though Cataclysm represents a fantastic upgrade to the World of Warcraft experience, the game is still the same. Frustrated, I quit playing. 10 days later I find myself wanting to play again…but alas, it is not to be. Farewell new content!

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