Trying out a new toy

Short 37-second clip of my brother Jorge and I goofing around with my new Kodak Zi8 HD video recorder. I'll try and post a review at some point once I put more time into it. For now, just total idiocy. :)

Bioshock 2 Special Edition

As far back as August when I first submitted my pre-order, I've been anticipating my return to Rapture. But this time, it will be as a Big Daddy.

With a street date announcement of February 9, 2K Games' Bioshock 2: Sea Of Dreams will release simultaneously worldwide. I was equally excited and disappointed. Excited because I've been waiting for 2 years for the follow-up to my 2007 Game of the Year selection. I finished Bioshock twice and still own it in hopes of playing it once more before the sequel debuts. But I was disappointed because a special edition hadn't been announced and I was worried one wouldn't or if one did eventually get announced, it wouldn't be as cool as the previous one.

The special edition of the first Bioshock game came with a making-of DVD, and a soundtrack CD (with 3 tracks from the game). But the prized possession in the collector's special edition was a 6 inch, 1.5 pound Big Daddy figurine. Unfortunately, due to the figurine's weight and poor packaging, most Big Daddy's arrived severely damaged. I missed out on the Xbox 360 version of the SE and I wasn't too disappointed by it since they were all just about damaged but when I learned that 2K Games would issue replacements, I feverishly set out to hunt down a copy by any means. I managed to find a Gamestop that had one final copy of the PC version.

Even though the figurine was badly damaged and the game was for a platform I didn't own, I purchased it anyway for the chance to get a replacement figurine. It ended up working out great. I sold the PC game on eBay and was able to get a replacement figurine from 2K Games. Additionally, they sent out a softcover book "Bioshock: Breaking The Mold" filled with artwork from the game for all those that had received a damaged Big Daddy figurine. Pretty cool.

Just last week, Amazon made Bioshock 2: Sea Of Dreams Special Edition available for pre-order. This time around, the special edition will bring the following:

• Bioshock 2 game
• Bioshock 2 hardcover art book (164 pages)
• 3 vintage Rapture advertisement posters (rolled)
• audio CD with Bioshock 2 orchestral score
• vinyl 180g LP with Bioshock 1 orchestral score

So, while it packs quite a bit of goodies, it's strangely missing what everyone was hoping for: a figurine of the central character, a Big Sister. I guess the big grab in this special edition is the LP. For those too young to know what an LP is, google it. :)

I can't wait for February to get here as I'm anxiously looking forward to going back to Rapture.

2009 World Series Champions

Haven't posted anything lately because of trouble I've been having with my blog HTML settings. Nothing I can add to the outcome of the 2009 World Series that hasn't already been covered hundreds of times so I'll just add this cool video I found on YouTube.

Enjoy