Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Video Game Adventures - Diablo III Beta Weekend

So, Blizzard allowed us Diablo fans to have a sneak peek of Diablo 3 this past weekend, which was pretty neat. The only downside? My computer sucks. I mean, it's only 3 years old, and it's a pretty nice laptop, but it's specs just are not up to par with what is needed to have a proper Diablo 3 gaming experience... which totally blows. But besides that, I'm pretty please with the game itself.

I chose to play a barbarian on single player, and because of my laptop's issues, I only played until he reached level 3. But in that short time, I did develop some likes/dislikes about the game.


LIKES: 
  1. The amount of options there are for game view modes, especially that there is an option for windowed mode. So much easier that having to create that option manually, like we had to with D2.
  2. The music in-game is pretty good, at least in New Tristram. I've always like the Tristram music in Diablo 1 and 2, so it's nice seeing that Blizzard kept it around.
  3. The fact that you can choose a male or female version of each character class. It's a little detail, but still a neat one.
     
  4. The character classes themselves. I actually can't wait to play as a monk!... but I will have to wait until we buy the game.
  5. The inventory is better organized. I also like that when you mouse over an item in your inventory, like weapons or armor, it automatically opens up another little box showing what stats your equipped weapon/armor has. Very convenient!
There are a bunch of other aspects I liked too, but I'm not sure you want to be here forever reading this, lol.

DISLIKES:

Well, there is really only one. The game's start menu music could have been a little better... it's not horrible or anything, but it's just not really grabbing my attention that much. Any other issues have been caused by my own computer's inadequacies.

So in addition to all of the screencaps I threw into this post, I am also giving you a little gameplay video I recorded on my very own computer! Sorry it's a bit laggy... it's not the video, or the game, it's my slow processor. But enjoy anyway! :-)

D3 GAMEPLAY VIDEO:

So yeah, like I said, the game was VERY laggy on my computer. More so here because I was recording my desktop. But it's still pretty cool. Hopefully I have time to save up for a new PC before Blizzard releases the game!


Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to.

So leave me something! (Please?)

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)



Monday, April 9, 2012

Geek NOMs: Homemade Mocha Coolatta!

So like any good geek, I love (and NEED) my caffeine, which for me is usually coffee. And when I want coffee, I would rather not have to run to a coffee shop and leave my computering/gaming behind just to get my fix. My solution? Make my my own!

Sure, a pot of coffee is easy enough to make on your own. But when the weather gets warmer, I lean more towards coffee Coolattas from Dunkin Donuts... but that is inconvenient and can get expensive. So when I got my new blender for Christmas, I decided that I needed to solve this problem!
And after much trial and error, I think I finally have this recipe down. So go ahead and try it out, and see if I'm right!


Homemade Mocha Coolatta

Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 Cups of crushed ice
  • 1/2 water
  • 3/4 milk (I used soy milk for mine)
  • Sugar, however much you would usually put in your coffee
  • 1 tablespoon instant coffee
  • 1-2 tablespoons cocoa powder (optional… for awesome mocha!)
Directions:

Put all ingredients in a blender, and… blend, lmao.



Yes, it sounds simple... but that is because it is, haha. Not to mention convenient, because it's made from stuff I always have in my kitchen. And this recipe makes enough to fill my ginormous mug! Awesome, right? Now off to drink my coffee...



Did you try the recipe? Let me know how it came out! Found some ways to make it better? Then send those ideas my way! (Please?)

And as always...

Thanks for reading!! (^_^)

Monday, April 2, 2012

Light It Up Blue for Autism Awareness!

As part of Autism Speaks "Light It Up Blue" campaign, we will be changing out our regular front porch bulb for a blue one to promote Autism Awareness. I am hoping that some of my readers, new and old, will do the same. Want to learn more? Visit the Light It Up Blue website at http://www.lightitupblue.org !

I am also hoping to help raise at least $100 by the end of the month for Autism Speaks. Visit my campaign page (http://www.lightitupblue.org/Markslist/campaign/display/profile.do?campaignId=24003) or go to the link below if you would like to help out:

Donate $10 or more to Autism Speaks.





Has Autism touched your life? I would love to see your stories in the comments!


Thanks for reading, and please don't forget to Light It Up Blue!