The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Exciting news guys! The next Zelda (or as some people call it, Link) game is coming out soon. Of course it will be released on Nintendo's main console, the Wii.

Super Mario 64

GoldenEye 007

As a matter of fact, many gamers believe this will be the last major game for this console. {Warning: Tangent Bitch Rant} Nintendo high ups have been quoted as saying that they want to focus development more on their handheld platforms, the Nintendo 3DS and the new Wii U. This is disappointing news for me. I don't feel like there have been any real groundbreaking games released on the Wii. Sure they integrated the motion control remote but I don't need all that. I'm a true gamer who is perfectly fine being fat and lazy, thanks. I just seem to pick the wrong systems again and again; the Wii over the Xbox360: FAIL, the Xbox360 over the PS3: FAIL. There's just a vast lack of really great games on these systems. Sure they get a hit every now and then, think Call of Duty, but even a broken clock is right twice a day. At least Xbox finally got a Final Fantasy game. Stupid Sony agreements. I miss the days of GoldenEye 007 and Super Mario 64. Now those were truly great games.

Anyway, back to Zelda. I loved Twilight Princess. I would even venture as far as saying that it is the best game on the Wii. I'm talking call in sick to work love. Therefore I have high hopes for Skyward Sword. So far reactions have been mixed. Some old complaints are still there; Link still gets fatigued if he sprints too far, and shields can still break. Not biggies though. Here's a kicker though, no Ganon. Yep, that's right, the third piece of the tri-force will be absent this time. I have a friend who named his computer Ganon. He will be crushed. Oh well. Another negative is that Skyward Sword will require the Wii MotionPlus expansion device that improves the accelerometer and allows the controller to more accurately capture complex motion. This is needed because apparently the swordplay in Skyward Sword is going to blow our minds. Hopefully, it's better than Red Steel, which to be honest, sucked.

In the grand story line Skyward Sword is a prequel to Ocarina of Time. Ocarina of Time may have been the best Zelda so far. Not surprisingly it came out for the Nintendo64 (see Bitch Rant above). In Skyward Sword, Link is born and raised in Skyloft, a group of islands floating above the clouds. Using the Skyward Sword, which later becomes the Master Sword, Link travels back and forth between the sky world and the land world. He eventually learns why the two worlds are separated. Once the sword transforms into the Master Sword it assumes the form of a female figure who gives Link advice. Hopefully she is more like Navi and less like Midna, who I wanted to drown and/or throw into a volcano. In this game, Zelda is not a princess but a childhood friend of Link. She has been kidnapped by the baddie Lord Ghirahim and Link is searching for her. Sound familiar? *cough* Mario and Peach *cough*

Lord Ghirahim doesn't quite strike fear in your heart like Ganon does.

Skyward Sword is due out November 20, 2011 in the U.S. It will be able either as a stand alone game ($49.99) or as part of a bundle that includes a gold controller with built-in WiiMotion Plus ($69.99). As my eyes glaze over it's evident that I must have the new shiny controller with the Hyrulian decal. Regardless of whether you buy the stand alone or the bundled version, you will also receive the 25th anniversary soundtrack which features "select orchestral arrangements of iconic music spanning the history of the franchise which will be performed at The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert performances in October 2011." Currently I have Saria's Song as my ringtone.  With this new CD I feel like that could change.

Dragon*Con 2011

Where's the one place that geeks and nerds can come together for four days every year and feel completely normal? Dragon*Con of course! Dragon*Con for the uninitiated is "the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the world" Yeah, yeah, Comic-Con is bigger but Dragon*Con is more diverse. Dragon*Con is held every year on Labor Day weekend. Which means...get your cosplay on and get down to Atlanta, GA because the party's about to start!! I can't really express the chaotic, crowded, sometimes drunken camaraderie that is Dragon*Con in words. There is so much to do; gaming, vendors, cosplay, contests, speaker panels, workshops, demos, concerts. You really just have to be there.

Here are just a few of the almost 400 Guests that will be there this year:

Terry Brooks
Laura Hickman
Tracy Hickman
William Shatner
Felicia Day (from The Guild)
Wil Wheaton
Nicholas Brendon (Xander from Buffy)
Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy)
Lou Ferrigno (Hulk)
Martin Landau
Peter Mayhew (played the Wookiee Chewbacca)
Mary McDonnell (President Laura Roslin in the Sci-Fi channel's hit series Battlestar Galactica)
Michael Hogan (Colonel Saul Tigh, Executive Officer of the Battlestar Galactica)
Lea Thompson (Lorraine Baines McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy)
Beau Bridges
Stan Lee
Boris Vallejo

If you can only afford to go one day things won't ramp up until Saturday, September 3, so I'd go then. I, unfortunately, won't be able to go at all this year; recession and all. Last time I went, my husband and I spent about $500, including hotel. If you stayed in one of the five host hotels, particularly the Hilton, and bought autographs you could easily spend over $1000 in 4 days.

Here are a few tips for saving money:

1. Stay outside the Downtown area. We stayed near the airport and rode the Marta Rail in. Yeah, it added 40 minutes travel time or so to our day but we saved something like $100/night on hotel. A Marta Pass for 4 days is $15. Plus, I liked riding the train.

2. Pack your own breakfast and lunch. We saved big money by only eating one meal/day at a restaurant.

3. Buy your tickets ahead of time. Little late for that now but maybe something to keep in mind for next year. Pre-registration 4-day passes tend to run about $75. Tickets at the door are always more expensive. Good thing is you can buy one day at a time if you so desire. Be prepared to wait in long ticket lines though. Go very early, first thing in the morning. Seriously.

Dragon*Con 2011 September 2 - 5 Memberships (aka tickets)
$120 Friday to Monday 4-day (available for purchase on Thursday and Friday only)
$90 Saturday to Monday 3-day (available for purchase on Saturday only)
$60 Sunday to Monday 2-day (available for purchase on Sunday only)
$40 Friday only (available for purchase on Friday only)
$50 Saturday only (available for purchase on Saturday only)
$40 Sunday only (available for purchase on Sunday only)
$30 Monday only (available for purchase on Monday only)

Registration hours are as follows:
Thu 9/1 - 10am - 10pm
Fri 9/2 - 8am - 10pm
Sat 9/3 - 8am - 10pm
Sun 9/4 - 8am - 10pm
Mon 9/5 - 8am - 5pm

4. Buy your souvenirs on Sunday or Monday. Vendors will often reduce their prices as the convention wears on so that they don't have to pack all that stuff back up.

If you've never been it's definitely something to look into, especially if you're into sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, and/or hot, barely clothed chicks. They used to allow non-convention people into the hotel lobbies to view the cosplay. Recently I've heard that they have locked up security a bit and no longer allow that. If you wanted to see the costumes though but don't want to pay for admission, definitely check out the parade on Saturday, September 3, at 10:00 AM. Just be aware that if it looks like rain the extravagant costumes won't be there.  I mean would you want to get your $2000 Darth Vader costume wet?  You can also view Dragon*Con TV, which is broadcast to all guest rooms in the host hotels, online.

Coke Freestyle

Recently, I was coerced into driving across town to Moe's Southwest Grill. I love Moe's and normally don't really need a reason to go. This time, however, I was on an adventure to try out the new Coca-Cola Freestyle drink dispenser. Yes, my friends forced me to drive across town to, well, have a Coke. Apparently, I wasn't sufficiently excited about the prospect because I was chastised the whole way over there. "But...there are 106 different combinations," they said. Wait for it...they even had a print out of the options: Raspberry Sprite, Grape Vault, Caffeine-free Diet Cherry Vanilla Coke, Minute Maid Orange Lemonade, Powerade ION4 Lime, just to name a few. "You should decide what you're going to get before we get there," they pressured. "I'll probably just get Diet Coke with Lime." Oh no I didn't! "But you can get that anywhere!!"

= THE DEVIL, clearly

Now before you think my friends are nutso, I have to admit it was pretty awesome although I do have a few complaints about it. Firstly though, let me explain what it is just in case you haven't experienced one. Coke Freestyle is Coca-Cola's new fountain dispenser that uses micro-dosing technology to dispense more than 100 sparkling and still beverage brands from a single freestanding unit. What that means is that you can dynamically change what you're drinking. Say you have a 16oz cup and you want a drink that is 1/2 Hi-C Fruit Punch, mixed with 3/8 Raspberry Sprite, topped off with a shot of Dr. Pepper. You can easily do that with this machine. It uses flavor cartridges to blend concentrated ingredients with water and sweeteners at the point the drink is dispensed instead of using the usual syrup bags and carbonated water. It also has the same micro-dosing technology that was developed for pharmaceutical dispensing. The most important inner workings, however, and why I'm sure Coke decided to implement this machine, is that it uses cell phone technology to transmit user data back to Atlanta headquarters. Without a doubt this is high-tech food service. With ever declining soda sales, Coke needs all the resources they can find to figure out how to keep making money.

OK, now for the bitch fest. The first thing negative that I noticed was the wait. There is only one fountain dispenser so the line can back up pretty far, especially with newbs like me who don't know how to work it. I had to wait for 5 people (maybe 10 minutes) to fill up before I got my turn, which is a long time when you just want to sit down and eat. Secondly, maybe this particular machine just receives a lot of use but the touch screen was not very responsive. You kind of had to touch and hold your finger on the screen for a second before it would register your choice. One of my friends said that he had visited another restaurant in town with one of these and it didn't have that problem. This brings up the question, is it a defect of the machine or of the users? Thirdly, I seriously question the economics behind this. Due to the fact that there are more options available most people will tend towards drinking more so that they can try different combos. Myself, I had 3 refills (well one initial and 2 refills) whereas I would normally only fill up my cup once at a standard fountain. All of my friends also admitted to drinking more than they would have normally. I can't help but feel like restaurants will have to pass this additional cost onto the customer at some point. All things considered though it's a refreshing take on fountain drinks and was a fun experience. Currently the machines are in just over 1000 locations nationwide so look for one near you and let me know what you think.

Just in case you're wondering my favorite combination was half Hi-C Orange, half Raspberry Sprite Zero which tasted somehow tropical. All of the Sprites were good. Be warned; the Dasani Sensations are nasty unless you like tonic.