Chief Oddball – Page 2 – Oddball Update

My Next-Gen Game Plan (Or: How GameStop Bought Me an Xbox One)

September 15, 2013September 15, 2013 Chief Oddball

Since video games are my #1 hobby, I naturally spend the better part of my spare hours dedicated to making sure I get more of them. That statement carries more weight now than it has in some time, because 2013 is the year both the Xbox and PlayStation platforms introduce their next-generation console hardware.

The Xbox One and the Future of Video Games

June 6, 2013June 7, 2013 Chief Oddball

As recent statements from game publishers and hardware makers appears to show, what the games industry is aiming for now is a locked-down system of bite-sized drib-drab entertainment that you don’t own, can’t modify and should feel good about paying full price for even long after it’s been released.

Full Stop

June 5, 2013June 6, 2013 Chief Oddball 3 Comments

The sidebar of this site proclaims that Oddball Update is home to “rants”, though precious few have appeared here in recent years. (As it happens, my last post — in which I complained about the direction Microsoft is taking with the Xbox One — may be the closest thing in a while.)

Xbox None

May 24, 2013May 24, 2013 Chief Oddball

Ooooh guess what guess what? This week Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One, hardware successor to the Xbox 360 game console. It’s been a long seven and a half years since the 360 landed in stores, and it’s probably been the game console that I’ve gotten the most enjoyment out of (my SNES comes in at a close second).

Oddball Review: Tomb Raider (2013)

March 26, 2013March 26, 2013 Chief Oddball

This Lara is different than the walking-tall, nigh-indestructible badass personified by Angelina Jolie in her film portrayals of the character. The new Lara Croft bleeds. She screams. She cries. She shakes and shivers. She limps about, clutching her wounds and recoils from physical efforts too taxing for her damaged frame to tolerate. She is far more real.

Heritage R/T Badge for 2011-12 Dodge Charger

March 17, 2013March 18, 2013 Chief Oddball 8 Comments

I live for small details, the finishing touches we put on things after everything else is just so. Like the cherry on the top of a masterfully-engineered ice cream sundae, our new Dodge Charger needed an equally polished -- and equally red -- finishing touch. I found just the thing...

Gamelog: Twilight Imperium Day 4

March 15, 2013March 15, 2013 Chief Oddball

In our final three rounds, the Muuat get sneaky, the Jol-Nar strategy is unleashed, and the Naalu get annoyed and start torpedoing the hell out of everything. Bring a bucket of popcorn and watch as galactic chaos ensues.

Gamelog: Twilight Imperium Day 3

March 13, 2013March 13, 2013 Chief Oddball

Political panic! Crazy cruiser mania! Nebula sightseeing tours! It's all present and accounted for as we chronicle rounds 4 and 5 of my first game of Twilight Imperium. Will there be epic war? Crushing defeat? Or just a cushy victory party for someone's council elders?

Gamelog: Twilight Imperium Day 2

March 12, 2013March 12, 2013 Chief Oddball

[notice]This article is part of an ongoing series that chronicles the playthrough of my first full game of Twilight Imperium: Third Edition from start to finish. Look here for the initial installment.[/notice] Round Two Galactic expansion continued today for myself and my two compatriots-turned-opponents in our game of Twilight Imperium.

Gamelog: Twilight Imperium Day 1

March 11, 2013March 12, 2013 Chief Oddball

Today I embarked on an epic journey: I began playing my first game of Twilight Imperium: Third Edition. This is perhaps the most epic of all epic board games, a stunning maelstrom of components, cards, rules and objectives that requires an inordinate amount of processing power to wrap your head around.

Author: Chief Oddball