Scott.Buffington.me

I posted a version of SFCave I had in Java applet about a year ago.  The game is not outstanding graphically and the controls could not be more simple, yet there is just something about it.  A couple weeks ago a friend of mine pointed me to SFCave for the iPhone and iPod, and best of all it is FREE.  I have been tempted to purchase the 3D SFCave, but I find it hard to believe that I would find it more enjoyable than the classic.  

I did look for SFCave for the iPhone when I first bought the iPhone two years ago and I checked again when I posted my Java applet.  There were some imitations, like iCopter, which may or may not be better.  I kind of prefer the original no frills worm of the original SFCave though.  So I am very happy Sunflat is still around and ported SFCave to the iPhone.

I never played SFCave on the Palm, so I cannot say whether it was more or less difficult than the Java applet version I have.  The iPhone version I have is much easier than the Java applet version because the touch sensitivity is so good.  When I try this Java applet version I find I do not even like it anymore, the controls seem so robotic and jumpy.  I am also sure the full screen iPhone version compared with my tiny Java applet version adds to the ease of play.  For those with an iPod Touch or iPhone, I highly recommend SFCave, a fun and simple free game.

While my programming plans were pretty much an epic fail this weekend, I did earn an achievement on the game Left4Dead that makes those hours of studying The Zombie Survival Guide all worthwhile.  

I managed to kill 53,595+ infected (zombies), which is the equivalent of eliminating a small city of the living dead.  This monumental task earned me the Zombie Genocidest achievement and confirms that I am quite skilled at eliminating the living dead.  Not bad for a Friday night and occasionally Saturday night gamer.  

Found this oldie but goodie in my archives.  Requires just a left click to play.  Hold your left mouse button to rise and release to fall.  Post your highscores to the comments.

Mattel Electronics Soccer
Originally uploaded by Scott B.

Julie's dad had this original Mattel Electronics Soccer game with his sports memorabilia.  He brought the game over so Riley had something to play with, as Jake is always playing my 30 year old Mattel Electronics Football 2.  This Mattel Soccer is 30 years old too, according to the 1978 date on the back, but seems to be in a little better shape than my football game. 

While the Mattel Football 2 is still my favorite of these games, the Soccer game is a lot of fun.  I still play a game of Mattel Football and Baseball at least once a week.  Although someone left the baseball game turned on during our fantasy football draft, so no baseball for me this week until I replace the batteries.  It seems whenever someone sees one of these old Mattel Electronic classics that they just have to give it a try.  Just remember to turn them off when you finish up.  ;)

Soccer feels a little more like one against an entire team.  Unless I am missing something there is not an option to pass and there appears to be no one to pass to.  Both buttons appear to be just a kick toward the goal.  Despite being one against six, there is a lot more scoring in the LED version of soccer than in the actual game.  In the few games I played, I scored over ten for each team every game.  Usually finishing with scores in the ranger of thirteen to twelve. 

Just like all the other original versions of these Mattel Electronics sports classics there is no way to turn the sound off.  So while they are a lot of fun, they are best played without others in the room.  It does not take long before the various beeps will annoy those who are not enjoying the LED nirvana.

Chess 2008
Originally uploaded by Scott B.

To my surprise Jake began inquiring about learning to play chess.  Back in the early days of this website (blog) I had numerous online chess games on the site.  My last games of chess were a few years ago though, I do not play online anymore and the last game I played on a board was against my friend Scott Wood before he moved to Charlotte.  Most of my board gaming is when the kids want to play a game.  I was thrilled that he was interested in learning chess.  This is the end of our first game in which I really just tried to teach him how each piece moves.  What I was wondering most is that if he would still enjoy the game after finding out that it was not checkers.

He seems quite taken, we played two more games last night and three today and while we are still working on piece movement, we are beginning to explore using pieces in combinations.  He spent the afternoon setting up the pieces and playing games against himself.  I thought this would be good while he is interested so that he could cement learning how the pieces move.  It is fun having someone in the house interested in playing chess and what a great game for learning how to develop strategy. 

Of course the tough part right now is that he really does not have the skill to beat an adult, which means there is some frustration.  He does like to win and that is not really happening right now.  Sure I can throw a game, and I have done that in order to up morale.  We could set up scenarios and teach him to play through those, but I never really did that when I was learning.  I am self taught and am not a strong player in my opinion.  But at least he has someone to show him some tactics, something I did not have being self taught.  I can teach him a few tricks that he should be able to use to grab some games

Rock the Rhythm, Lead, and Bass Guitar tracks in the follow-up sequel to the Best Music Game of the year of 2005. Form your guitar duo and shred riffs cooperatively or go head to head in all new multiplayer modes. With over 70 tracks to rock out to, you'll go from Guitar Hero to Guitar god in one press of a fret button. Choose from multiple rock characters and jam at concert venues that grow in size as your rock career progresses! You will start your rock career playing small clubs and bars, but if you play well you will work your way up to stadiums and arenas.

One of the game's features was the narrator's voice. It would frequently make statements reiterating the game's rules, including "Remember - don't shoot food!" and "Warrior needs food badly!" Occasionally, the narrator would encourage (or mock) the players in the thick of battle by saying "I've not seen such bravery!" or "Let's see you get out of here!" A memorable statement of the game occurred when a player's "life force" points dwindled to the point where he or she was in jeopardy of dying permanently: "Your life force is running out" or "Valkyrie...is about to die"!