"Maybe I'll just sit here and bleed at you."

More Elder Scrolls question mark?
Editors hate when you use a question mark at the end of a headline. They just do. Sure, they'll let you get away with it if it's a question that can't be answered with a simple yes or no -- like: "How did Hungarian nymphos become the best nymphos?" -- but they'd really prefer if you skipped it altogether. Got it? Since I don't have an editor, I'm going with the question mark headline. Suck it. Anyway, do you remember Fallout 3 studio Bethesda Softworks' seminal (heehee) Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion? Sure you do. That was the 2005 fantasy RPG that swallowed about 70-100 hours of your life at some point in the last few years whether you loved playing it or thought it laughable. That one. With its ridiculous combat mechanics, estimated three voice actors (one of which was Linda "Wonder Woman" Carter -- true!) yet incredibly engrossing and obsession-inducing quests and adventures. It was a lot like Fallout 3 in that any given session of play included some of the greatest and most terrible moments of gaming you had ever experienced -- sometimes simultaneously. It's a game you have to play if you consider yourself a gamer -- whether you like it or not is irrelevant. Okay, so, why am I going on about it? Well, there's a new Elder Scrolls novel coming out and this has once more fanned the Elder Scrolls V/Oblivion sequel flames. Not surprisingly, I'm both excited and dreading the prospect.

Brick
If you haven't seen Rian Johnson's Brick, please do. It's an incredible film. Even four years after its release, it's still fresh and unique. Unless you know of other convincing, 21st century high school-based Chandler-esque noir films out there. Here, Johnson discusses the production of the film.

Avatar
Want some new Avatar pics? Enjoy!

And finally…
I wanted to play Borderlands. It sounded like a long game I probably/ultimately wouldn't like but, shoot, I wanted to give it a go. It's a Mad Max-y romp set on a desolate and lawless planet and features, literally, billions millions of weapons. So, yeah, I didn't get a copy of the game. Well, I could always go out and buy me one, but, pft! A free one didn't come in the mail so I'm not playing it. Simple. Done. And it looks like a good thing, too. Well, if you compare this one dude's first opinion and then his next one 16 hours later. Guess I dodged a bullet there, huh?

Monday (Boo!): NFL observations and the usual fun stuff

Welcome back. Hope you had a great weekend. I took 'er easy and, as a result, I'm a lot further along in Uncharted 2 (about 7.5 hours played; 78% complete) -- and it's definitely one of the year's best, a near-perfect game.

In NFL football, three teams remain undefeated with Denver playing tonight looking to make it four. I gotta say, though, things are kicking into high gear. The Saints are playing amazing football -- with QB Drew Brees and coach Sean Payton playing angry, which is how you win Super Bowls. They're sick of not winning Super Bowls and it's made them angry so now they're playing angry and they're gonna win some Super Bowls.

That's how it's done. There are three ways to win them. Play happy (Joe Namath, John Madden); play angry (the Bears, the Steelers) or play like robots (Patriots, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning). When you fall in between these extremes, you fail. It seems like that makes no sense, but think about it. See?

Anyway, on top of the Saints, you've got Peyton Manning putting on a clinic in Indy and now it looks like Tom Brady just woke up. Five TD passes in a quarter. If you get five in a game you're a hero. I don't even know how a team can have five offensive possessions in a quarter but, wow, okay.

As for Denver and Minnesota: meh, I'm not sold yet. I think the Vikings have a great team but it's going to come down to Favre staying healthy over the stretch and last year he didn't make it. It doesn't look like the Vikes are resting him either, so I don't know. November and December punish teams. Like, beat them to a pulp. We'll see if the old dude makes it.

The Broncs have a coach who appears to be playing angry (for some reason) but I think he's just an asshole -- there's a difference. I kinda feel they're the team that turns in a great 13-3 or 14-2 record but gets knocked out in their first playoff game. Like the Titans last year or the Cowboys the year before. Besides, Kyle Orton's moustache is too ironic to make it past the first round.

Anyway, the season just kicked into high gear and that means we're the ones who win, right? Right. On to the good stuff...

Borderlands
The reviews are starting to come in for this intriguing, stylish, self-styled role-playing-shooter from 2K. I'm hoping I'll get a review copy of this because it looks kinda bitchin'.

Killzone 3?
I liked Killzone 2 a lot. It didn't try to be anything but the best FPS on the market and I think they nailed it. Seeing first hand how much work Guerilla Games put into the various mechanics behind the title, it's no surprise that they'll be fast-tracking the next installment of the franchise using the mad-genius level of fundamentals they created. Read a couple of interviews (here and here) with some of the developers for more insight on the intense creative process.

The future of the X-Men film franchise (do we care?)
Do we care about the X-Men film franchises/properties any more? I mean, after X3 I stopped. Actually, not to be that guy, but I stopped once I heard Brett Ratner was directing X3. I haven't seen Wolverine, but I've heard it's pretty laughable. So I'm not that bullish on other films that might be planned. But they're out there. Oh, yes, they're out there. Here's a full update on where those all stand. In other X-Men news, a new DLC character for the cheesy-but-awesome Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 has been announced and it's Psylocke. That's not so bad, I'm thinking. Although, I really wish there was a huge database of almost all the Marvel characters available because I'd love to come up with some crazy four-hero combos. Here's the first one that comes to mind: Dazzler, Moon Knight, Master of Kung Fu and She-Hulk. Boom! Makes no sense but it's awesome. Also, you could recreate (sort of) some cool teams. Like do up that cool X-Men team that they had for like, two issues, with Dazzler, Psylocke, Havok and Longshot. And, man, how sweet would it be with some Alpha Flight downloads. Canada, represent. (Ugh)

Women of D&D
Topless Robot is an awesome blog. One of the things I like best about them is their in-your-face love of Dungeons & Dragons. They know we've all played it. They know we all know the references. They know we love it. Why hide it? This is one of their best D&D-related countdowns.

And finally…
Your tax dollars at work: The reboot.