PixlBit

So there it was, I finally got a Jury Duty Summons. This was something I really wasn’t regretting because after all these years of voting this was one I could actually attend. The last time I got Jury Duty it was during Finals Week of my last semester in college. When I called to get it pushed back the lady on the other end was quite rude, and I said in her tone “I MUST GO” I countered with it was right in the middle of my Finals and I MUST GRADUATE. She tried to bully me, and I countered with the same thing, finally she gave up and I got excused. Flash forward to last week when I got my first Jury Duty Summons since that point. You could say I was a little excited (watching Law & Order, and other court dramas can do that to me)

 

As I was talking to my cousin who went through it, he said he sat in the waiting room for something like five hours before being excused, and that got me a little worried so I decided to put together a “Keep Chris Busy Pack”

 

 

This was a pic I shot the morning of Jury Duty for my Instagram. I figured I’d bring the tablet for watching some HBO Go and Watch ESPN, as well as a couple of tablet games, the Vita was packed with a couple of new games, the iPod to listen to a bunch of podcasts, and when all else fails/batteries die, a hard copy of Maxim (because I can’t figure out how to transfer my print subscription to digital). I was ready, I had a plan to play a bunch of games and call it the State Of California Needs Me To Review Games Blog *working title.

 

 

This is my good luck dressy setup: Jordan boots, and Nike SB socks

 

So I was ready, I went to the local courthouse, found a cozy spot in the waiting room among the 80 or so other folks (many of whom had tablets running)

 

 

I had ESPN Go running on the free WiFi for about 15 minutes before it was booted. I tried to reconnect, but it wouldn’t let me, which means my plan to watch Game Of Thrones was out of the question. Blah.

 

My backup was playing Fake Scrabble aka Words With Friends, but this was the first time my friends who would always reply quickly….did not. (what the hell was I supposed to make from those letters?)

 

 

I got in a good three or four games of this before stopping so that I will still be interested in it. As I finished my fourth game, the lady running the Jury Duty show, gave us the info on what to expect, check our parking, and then watched a 15 minute video that reminded me of the videos that the gang of Bayside would shoot (think the Johnny Dakota episode where they make an anti drug commercial)

As the video played I looked around, and some folks went back to their tablets/newspapers/books, and I figured that they were Jury Duty vets. They saw the Saved By The Bell like video, and were over the situation, unlike a newbie like myself. Heck some guy started playing Angry Birds in the back with the volume all the up. It took 30 seconds before he put it on mute.

 

Video ended, and I was gonna tackle the Vita, and then it happened: I was named to one group that would head out to the courtroom (all this took one hour BTW). As we made our way to the courtroom, following a couple of nice Police Officers, we looked like a tour group that people would stop and stare at.

 

The courtroom is a lot smaller than I thought it would be (Thanks a lot Law & Order). We sat down, and were facing a small army of lawyers, and when the Judge walked in, he talked about the case. Turns out the person in question of committing the crime was sitting in the courtroom. Yeah hello, mind, you’re about to be blown. Basically everything people told on what to expect was thrown out the window, because the judge basically laid out the entire case, the person’s name, not to Google them (oh you know when we went outside everyone was on their phones Googling them.)

I didn’t make the cut, and was out by the two-hour mark. Overall it was an interesting experience, and if I do experience it again, I’ll probably pack up enough stuff to do for a whole day.

There was a couple of games I wanted to play a bit of during Jury Duty but I have since played and here are some thought about them

 

Ninja Gaiden

 

I have to say my first feelings about this game was bleh. There wasn’t anything really new or exciting about it. It felt like a typical run around fight folks with your sword, find stuff, rinse, repeat.

 

 

I got into two levels of this game, really don’t care for it, and I’ll probably remove it from my Vita soon. It takes too much space and doesn’t really excite me. I’m happy that it was a freebie, and I didn’t shell out $30 bucks.

Plants Vs Zombies

 

I’m pleasantly surprised how much I like this game on the Vita in comparison to the tablet versions. What sold this game for me is that I figured out how to “properly” play it, and even though I have this thing against Zombies (seriously why are they popular?) it is a lot of fun.

 

I haven’t gotten very far in this game but I’m pulled in enough to want to continue to play it.

Spy Hunter

 

I have to say this game still feels a lot like the PS2 version of the game. Same graphics, gameplay, and same reaction from me: it’s ok.

 

I’ve played through a handful of missions (I finally got past the one that I was stuck on) and I do admit Spy Hunter has some points where it’s fun. Something’s wrong if you complain about a car with a bunch of weapons blowing up stuff, but the enemies bland and generic.

 

I do enjoy earning points to buy upgrades for the car, and the missions aren’t bad. They’re predictable, but not bad.

I think I’m probably expecting too much from Spy Hunter. I mean if my first impressions are “Hey it’s like the PS2 version” and it’s on the Vita, something’s wrong.

 

 

Real Racing 3

 

I’m moving up in the game. I unlocked three different races so as one car is getting repaired, upgraded, I can switch over and continue the racing. I’m really enjoying this game, and I keep thinking too bad this isn’t on a console, however I wonder if this game would still be as interesting if it was on a console. It’s a striped down version of a Forza, and NFS Shift, and I guess the game’s charm is mostly based on it being on a tablet.

 

I got a new car! I’m slowly earning cash to make the jump to Pro. I’m currently on Level 21, and I never venture onto the Multiplayer section.

 

In non portable gaming…

 

*No Spoilers

 

I think I’ve either hit GOW Burnout, or simply lost interest. I played through another portion of the game, but instead of being excited to go through and explore/destroy the bad guy, it seemed more of a chore. Also I’m really not big on certain sections. I really need to get myself back into this game, because I do like the character, his universe, and his story.

 

You would think climbing up walls just to glide around, while absorbing people’s energy would get old, but nope. Still flying around. Eventually I’ll probably get back to the game, but I do enjoy running up buildings and gliding.

 

 

PICKUPS

 

While on a trip to a local GameStop, I noticed they still sold PS2 games. I’m shocked they’re not like 70% off or else I would have bought all the games I didn’t have. Instead I decided on these two because I know how terrible both are yet, I still want them

 

Too bad I can’t play as Apollo Creed because well

 

Apollo is an AZTEC! As for Tomb Raider, well we all know it’s a really terrible game, but I do need it to continue the series. All I need is the current release.

 

I added the final new Iron Man set to the collection, and the first appearance of Pepper Potts. Surprisingly the Mansion isn’t bad. When I finally get the Avengers set with the Hulk, I’ll be done for a while on the new Lego Sets.

 

Tony Stark family picture with the various Iron Man figures

 

I bought some polybag boat sets because the minifig looked interesting with the different colored firefighter helmet, and goatee. The vehicle itself wasn’t a must have, but for $6 during the Toys R Us Buy1Get1 50%. This boat set reminds me of a cheaper version of a previous set they released (pictures in the next blog)

 

 

In the spirit of Easter I bought The Ten Commandments. Chuck Heston and Yup Brynner are real movie stars. What I always get a kick out of in this movie is how Moses has free run of the Ramses’ palace. I thought it was funny.

 

 

Some new music. I didn’t now Dido had a new album. I love her voice, and because of this CD I was going to do a music blog about my CD library…maybe next week. I also bought

 

 

I liked The Band Perry’s first album, and the second album so far sounds really good, but each song reminds me of a different singer and their styles. You can kind of pick out Shania Twain and Queen influences. Best part about this album is that it is autographed! Pretty cool Target exclusive for $14 bucks. Phillip Phillips well I wanted physical copy of Home.

 

Randoms

 

Get Glue let me pick my 20 stickers and I decided to be “That Guy” and pick 20 stickers with pictures of women on them. Oh you know the person putting together my order thought it was creepy. My friends and I thought it was funny.

 

 

Last night I asked my phone to tell me a joke

Yeah I’m impressed by simple things.

 

Finally baseball season started and to kick off the season I wore my favorite jersey my Garret Anderson Anaheim Angels jersey. It is my first authentic baseball jersey and I love the dang thing. I’ll probably wear my Padres jersey later on today.

 

Well that’s all for now, more later!

-Chris