I'm getting back into SFIV after a long hiatus after a friend convinced me to finally get a fightstick.  I went the cheap route and got the HORI Fighting Stick 3 for PS3.

It's a little cheesy and I kind of wish I had splurged a little and gotten a better one.  But hey, I'll learn on this one and beat it up and when I feel I'm ready I'll upgrade.  I'm having some trouble doing some commands but some combos and specials I am allready doing more accurately than when I used a pad so even though I'm struggling now I think I will be a better player in the long run.

So feel free to message me on PSN if you want to practice for the upcoming SSFIV.

BTW, my PlaystationNetwork widget doesn't work... does anyone know why?

~ Marc aka CyberSasquatch

Picking this game up today, not sure exactly what the online is going to be like but if you want to play with me feel free to add me.

PSN - CyberSasquatch

Fall is finally upon us, and if you're like me, when you think of Fall you think of 2 things: football and pumpkin beer, my favorite being Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale.

I first fell in love with Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale when it won the first Octoberfest I ever went to.  But when I went into my local liquor store this weekend, much to my surprise they had no less than 10 different pumpkin beers I had never heard of.  At that moment I knew it was my responsibility to try each one and decide once and for all which pumpkin beer shall rule them all.  Of course, I will be blogging about my findings.

Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale - This is the current champion, as is it is the beer that first introduced me to pumpkin beer and remains a favorite in my household.  This is a lighter wheat beer, which is very smooth and has a very delectable cinnamon and nutmeg taste.  It basically tastes like you are eating a pumpkin pie.  The beer itself is practically orange.  Love this beer.  Score: 4 out of 5 pumpkins (it's not really fair to give it 5 out of 5 right off the bat.  Presumably if another beer is able to surpass Shipyard it will get 5 out of 5)

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale - This is the second beer that I tried, and I was pleased to see that it is very similar to Shipyard's.  It's very smooth and crisp, but the pumpkin taste is actually more pronounced than Shipyard, and it has a very distinct spicy aftertaste.  Very good.  Again, this beer has a very pleasant golden color.  My only complaint is that it is prohibitively expensive and it only comes in a 4 pack.  Score: 4 out of 5 pumpkins (right on par with Shipyard and actually surpasses it in some ways. Easily a front-runner in this contest)

Saranac Pumpkin Ale - I am a big fan of Saranac and was surprised to see their Pumpkin Ale.  I had to try it.  Unfortunately I was disappointed with it - it is much darker than the other beers reviewed today (it is practically a lager) and I am not a fan of the flavor.  The pumpkin flavors are much more subtle, and are really more of an aftertaste.  This beer is also slightly bitter which some people like but is not my thing.  Score: 2 out of 5 pumpkins (Entirely disappointing.  Maybe I got a bad batch?)

That's it for now.  I will test some more candidates this weekend during Sunday's games.  Go Pats!

~ Marc aka CyberSasquatch

Check out this fan art I did for my two favorite Resident Evil characters - Leon and Jill (please excuse the moire pattern).

What do you guys think??  

In other news, I finally beat Valkyria Chronicles last night.  That game is quality - very long and hard (that's what she said).  I feel very accomplished to have completed it without any outside help from FAQs or walkthroughs or anything (though I was tempted many times to do so).  Now if they will only patch it to include trophies...

~ Marc aka CyberSasquatch

I have achieved the Batman: Arkham Asylum Platinum trophy.

My thoughts on the game - excellent game but WAY too short.  I beat the game on two difficulty modes, completed all challenges and found all the hidden Riddler puzzles in about a week and a half, and I really didn't play it that much.

The gameplay itself is excellent.  The fighting is very satisfying beat-em-up style, and the stealth sections are very well done and fun.  There just needs to be more.  More areas, more enemies, just plain more!

Speaking of enemies, there was too little variety in the enemies - especially in the bosses.  The game literally makes you fight the same boss no less than 5 times.  When I got the game I was looking forward to all the awesome boss battles but there just weren't any.  Very disappointed in that regard.

All-in-all the game was a very fun experience but ultimately I regret not buying it used/renting/borrowing it.  I bought it new, got the platinum in about a week in a half and now its going on eBay.

Overall I give this game an 8.5/10.

~ Marc aka CyberSasquatch