CE Wills

    Hey, I'd like to give a shout to Cooper for his comment on To Kill A Lobster . I totally agree with you on this great and aggravating game called Shadowgun. Since the other day when they put out the update for this game it has been acting weird. For instance, I was playing it today and on the regular game, (not the new levels), every time I got in to the hot and heavy action the game would just shut down and send me to my home page with all the icons. I suspect that your problem with no green ball above the Cyberlobster's head may be because of the update too. Hey, another thing, right now I'm playing the new levels and I'm stuck in a hallway where there is really no exit. I got there by sprinting through these electrical fields that come out in bursts. I'm thinking about just starting over at level one of the extension pack and trying a different path. In that first level, you have a choice between dropping down an air duct or hacking a computer. Because the h...

     Hey, everyone. I wanted to thank my reader who commented on the post called The Shadowgun Manifesto . It's always nice to get feedback, especially from another gamer. At any given time, I may have as many as a dozen games that I am stuck on. The Driller on Shadowgun has been by far the worst. To this day, I have never beaten it. Nor do I ever wish to play that portion of Shadowgun again.     Again, feel free to comment on any post, at any time. From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.      

    Hey, everyone. I have a review of the new game called M.U.S.E.. It is a 3rd person shooter, which means you are looking over the dude's shoulder and controlling him as he walks the blasted streets of a big city and battles some sort of cyborgs. It has the look and general style of Shadowgun , without being quite as polished. Let me correct that. Not anywhere near as polished.       You can do the body rolls to get behind cover. You can crouch behind barriers like Shadowgun. You pick up ammo from cases which are lying around in the streets. (Wouldn't want to leave ammo laying around like that in real life. Ha. ha.) I like how you can shoot at cars that the cyborgs are hiding behind and blow them up. You can also shoot drums of gas and cause them to explode.     The graphics are good. You start out in front of City Hall and start fighting the bad guys immediately. If you are close to death, according to your health meter, you ha...

     Hey, everyone. Wow, have I been gaming a lot? Yes. In fact, it was with difficulty that I took some possible gaming time and did some household chores today.  The best thing about gaming is that you can escape from harsh realities, the aggravations of working for a living, and to a certain degree, your worries.     The first game I want to talk about today is called N.O.V.A. and you will doubtless say to me, "Hey, dude, that is not a new game."     You would be correct. It is the original of the currently popular Nova 2, which I have reviewed and recommended. It is a Halo clone, so they say. My answer to that is "I have never played Halo." At any rate, I have decided that since I enjoyed NOVA 2 so much, I would go back and play the original in the series. There is a free version of NOVA and I had played it and liked it. Let me say up front that the best thing about the original NOVA is that it is easier than NOVA 2. I can act...

    Hey, everyone, out there in the ether. I've just finished a book you might enjoy. As you might guess from the title of the post and the picture, it is called Rage , by Matthew Costello. This book was a Christmas gift from a friend who knew that I was a gamer. Of course, I have played the I-Pad version of this game, and a bit of the X-Box 360 version. Interestingly enough, the book is actually taken from the game, I believe, rather than the other way around. It reminds me of going to see a movie, after you've read the book. It gives you the feeling of being privy to hidden knowledge as you progress.      Here's the recipe for this entertaining story. Nicholas Raine is a Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He has a background in special ops and is a warrior. Because of his background, he is chosen to be buried. Not in the sense that you think. He is chosen to be entombed in an 'Ark', along with scientists, doctors and others. This is for the purpos...

    Hey, everyone. I am currently reading several books. I received several as Christmas gifts and they are all interesting, forcing me to shuttle between them. I think we can agree that this is not the optimum way to read a book. I just finished a book which I have read many times before called A Princess Of Mars , by Edgar Rice Burroughs. You can pick this book up free of charge as an e-book, on most of the on-line stores. Here's the recipe. John Carter is a southern gentleman from Virginia. He is prospecting for gold in the western United States when he is transported to Mars through a magical spell, dream, or hallucination. When he arrives on Mars, he has the ability to jump 40 feet, has great strength and is, in general, a superman.     John has always been a warlike guy and his penchant for swordplay stands him in good stead, because Mars is a warlike planet. They have Radium Guns, which can dissolve metal, but swordplay is highly popular.  ...

     Hey, everyone. I have sufficiently recovered from my eating, gaming, Baggage (TV Show) binge to blog once again. Here is Carley's list of her favorite puzzle games. 1) Scrabble- Yes, scrabble. Most people would think that this tried and true board game would not translate well to the modern world. Ha! It is to laugh. I kept telling Carley, "This thing is in the top ten list again and again. Well, it is by far her favorite game. She got it for 99 cents the last time it was on sale and has played it for hundreds of hours. 2) Hidden Wonders of the Deep 2- She played this game all the way through, then started on it again. She especially likes the smack-talking crab who skitters about the game board. She also likes the fact that the puzzles vary inside the game. It is not so monotonous as other games. Truth is, when the shooter games @#%! me off, I play this game, myself. 3) Cover Orange- She has played over 200 levels of this. It is cute, environmentally sound a...

     Howdy. I thought I'd change my greeting to a more country sounding one. Today is Christmas and I thought I'd help out the folks who have a new I-Pad or I-Phone. Here is a list of the very best games for you to buy for that shiny new device. I have a list for the puzzlers and one for the shooters among you. Let's start with the shooters, since my wife is cooking breakfast and can't tell me about puzzles right now. 1) 9MM- This is a game in which you are a slightly shady cop. You steal a satchel of money from a drug dealer and have to shoot it out with his minions. I played it all the way through. It is very long, very intense, very cool. For 99 cents, you should be investigated by Internal Affairs for buying this game. (Sale) 2) Nova 2- The preeminent space shooter on the app store. You fight your way across an alien world. You don't have anything personal against the giant mechs and soldiers but hey, you have to put them down. It is very deep and very good. O...

    Hey, everyone, and a Merry Christmas to you. The other day I mentioned that I almost never liked Tower Defense games. The exception is the beloved Plants Vs. Zombies, of course. Inevitably, when you make a bold statement, you are proved wrong almost immediately. I have been playing a game from Playbean called Fantasy Defense , hence the title of this post. This is a japanese style game and it is really cute and fun. The game is 99 cents right now instead of its typical $2.99. It is worth either price.     This is a game of monsters and wizards, heroes and ice mages. Monsters and bad guys come out of their gates and try to make it to your gates. You set up a bunch of your guys to stop them. Your heroes throw ice at them, hit them with swords, shoot arrows etc. Each time a monster enters your gate, you lose a point and get closer to losing the stage. As you go along it gets tougher. It becomes tempting to do an in-app purchase so you can advance more ra...

     Hey, everyone. To begin with, all you folks who haven't bought  Shadowgun can now buy it for the price of $2.99.  Not too shabby for what may be the best game on the app store.     I recieved an I-Tunes gift card today and have plans for it already. There are a few games that I intend to buy and I may sit down tommorrow evening and search the music store for some cool oldies to buy. I need enough for a new CD. About 20 should do it. I may, perchance, partake of a limited number of suitably festive drinks while doing that. As far as the games go, the games I've been eye-balling are as follows. 1) Modern Combat 2, Sandstorm. 2) Batman, Arkam City Asylum. 3) R.U.S.E.     There was another one which I can't remember at the moment. Whatever.      Today, tonight, we had a get-together here at the green retreat. We ate a ridiculous amount of food. Excuse me, I ate a ridiculous amount of food. There was turkey...

    Hey, everyone. Carley and I went out to dinner and a movie today. Traffic was crazy, the stores were crazy, the theater was crazy; and I fit right in. We went to see this really long movie called The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.     I really liked it. Carley did too, though not as much as I did. This movie, of course, is taken from the best selling book by Stieg Larsson. Don't go to see it if you are expecting to see a Disney movie. It is harsh and raw. The guy writes a lot like I do. He just writes and doesn't try to follow a pre-set pattern designed to put the most fannies in the seats. It is a good strong 'R' rating or perhaps an 'MA'. (It is listed as an 'R'.)      Daniel Craig, (James Bond to most of us) plays an investigative reporter who has fallen on bad times. He has been sued over an expose which he wrote about a corrupt corporate type. The resulting judgement against Mikael Blomkvist (Craig) wipes out his life savings. Even his lo...

     One post seems to lead to another these days, when you have to correct your mistakes. Concerning the Shadowgun update, you can indeed play the new levels without finishing the game. The screen shot will show two boxes. You click on the box on the right hand side that says expansion pack. Then you choose, 'start new game'. I didn't want to click this, because I was afraid that it would wipe out my progress that I have labored for the last few months. I know. It is pretty lame. Can I use the Old Guy excuse? Thanks.     At any rate, I have played quite a bit of the expansion pack. It is fun. You start out fighting these guys from Toltec Corporation who have come to kick John Slade's muscular butt for his depredations on Dr. Simon's abode. In reality, their motivation is more monetary, I suppose. The research in genetics by the twisted Doc is probably uppermost in their mind. At any rate, they are all wearing some sort of contamination suits and it ...

    Hey. I just tried the update for Shadowgun on my old I-Pad. The graphics are even better than ever, if you can believe that. The rolling feature is a nice defensive weapon during battles. It is activated by a small button next to the fire button. It was kinda cool. On my old Padster, I was on the level where you kill the Cyberlobster for the first time. I certainly settled his hash a lot faster this time. I hid behind a shield and popped up and down, blasting the yellow ball that signifies his AI controls. I must say that, at least on the I-Pad 1, there is a bit of crashing, in spots, with this update. I am sure they will fix this quickly. I haven't played the new levels because my I-Pad 2 is charging and you can't play the new section, called The Leftover Expansion Pack , until you have finished the game. Very cool that they didn't charge for this update. Class.     I am looking forward to Shadowgun 2. From the lair of the Cyberlobster, this is CE Wi...

    Hey, everyone. The game store is rocking, so don't bother knocking. EA games and Gameloft have placed their titles on sale for 99 cents, for the most part. I saw some guys I know at the library yesterday. They were running their hands down behind the couch cushions, racking up a few quarters and dimes. I asked them what was going on and they said, "Hey, 9MM is on sale for 99 cents."     "I can see where you're coming from," I said. Then I gave them $5 and said, "While you're at it, grab Back Stab, Desert Zombies, Nova 2, Rainbow Six and Scrabble."     They laughed and teased me about the Scrabble, but I had to give the puzzle people some love. When I reached the door, I turned and said, "Hey, try the hospital waiting room. All those old guys up there wear polyester pants."      Sure, this is a joke. But it illustrates my point. Panhandle, spare change people, or sell coke bottles but it's that time of the year! Almost e...

    Hey, everyone. My latest novel has been published on Smashwords and Amazon. It will be on Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Sony, I-Books and the rest of the stores within a couple of weeks.      Lost Gap features the return of Miller and Mai. It is the conclusion of a trilogy. This novel, in particular, is about Americans dealing with the aftermath of World War #3. It is fast paced and action packed. It is certainly not a book for anyone under the age of 18. This is the third and final novel in the series that started with KGB Retirement Program and Karina's Journal. It is a good read for 99 cents, in my opinion. If I were you, I'd start at the first of the series.     There is a link to your right for my author pages, if you are interested.      I'm CE Wills.

    Hey, everyone. Just a quick note on games. Nova 2 , the great space shooter game, just went to 99 cents at the app store. This is a steal at that price. Also, Hero of Sparta 2 , an epic, lengthy game with awesome graphics, is free at the moment. It's a sword fighting game but is cool enough that even I liked it. There are monsters and climbing, all the stuff that big kids like myself like. Gangstar Rio is another $6.99 game that has dropped to 99 cents. I just bought it, at that price, so I can't say if it is good or not.     My wife just bought one of the Brokensword   games (The Smoking Mirror). It is a mystery, but she hates it. You just walk around tapping stuff to see if it will help you. It is 800 Mbs. of memory. Should have been good. Maybe I should give it more of a chance before I slam it? I mean, for 99 cents, what do you have to lose? I feel guilty if I complain at all.     EA games has started their Christmas sale with a lo...

     Santa has had a tough Christmas season this year. He is now emaciated and limp as a noodle. Yet he still has the big night ahead of him. He has so many deliveries that UPS couldn't even help him. Yet he keeps a brave smile on his face. He landed here at the green retreat, hoping for a little peace and quiet. He said he just had to get away from those noisy elves. So he just hung about with me all day Saturday.      The dude reads the blog, I guess, and he was a bit irritated with me for my earlier blog about Christmas. He did acknowledge that those retailers who doubled the price of toys for this time of year, would get a lump of coal in their stocking.       I bought a game yesterday. It is called Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters. I haven't played it much but it seems a bit repetitive. It was on sale for 99 cents, so there wasn't much of a gamble. I'll get back to you if it is good. So far, you dodge aliens an...

     Hey, everyone. The picture above was taken of a fan that I have on the wall, here at the green retreat. It is hand painted and I bought it in a Chinese curio shop. I thought it would give a splash of color. Peoples' reactions have varied from a polite nod to one lady who commented that it was on the level of a velour picture of Elvis Presley. I was not crushed by her rudeness, nor did I tell her that she was free to leave, if she felt she were slumming. It was of little import to me, what her opinion was. For that matter, I have yet to find a picture of the king of rock and roll that I didn't like fairly well, because I liked the man. Hey, I like elephants too, especially when they are happy.       I had sort-of promised to tell you guys about a free game that I downloaded from the app store called Judge Dredd Vs. Zombies. For a free game this is pretty cool. It has a similar control scheme to the popular Min-Gore and it is a shooter ...

    Hey, everyone. I ventured forth into civilization today. While there, I went to see the latest Sherlock Holmes movie, starring Robert Downey Jr. as the fabled Detective. The capable Jude Law stars as the capable Dr. Watson.     In this story, Mr. Holmes is pitted yet again against his arch nemesis, the evil Dr. Moriarty. It seems that Moriarty has invested rather heavily in things like munitions factories and the bandage making industry. To insure a nice return on his money he decides to stir up a war that will involve the whole continent. As a starter, he uses some typical mad scientist leverage to make a revolutionary do his bidding. The revolutionary is good at one thing. He makes bombs and his own minions put them in key places. Places that should ensure one nation turns against another. The bomb maker has been an idealist gone bad until Moriarty bends him to his will. Now he is merely a wicked pawn in the hands of the dark king.   ...

    Hey, everyone. I was on the I-Pad just now and noticed that you can buy the I-Phone version (plays fine on I-Pad too) of Plants Vs. Zombies for 99 cents. One of the best games on the store, for sure. Also, Asphalt 6, Adrenaline HD has gone free today. It is the best racing game on the store. Let me say that my version was bought some time ago. I was reading some reviews on the store and it may be that Gameloft has inserted more in app purchase stuff to cover this game going free. Still, just refrain from buying stuff for real money and you're cool. Also, it looks like Gameloft has put out some free versions of other games. I can't check them without downloading a new version so just use your head. Chief among them is 9MM, one of my favorite games. The free version may be a partial game or ad supported. I don't know.      This morning I downloaded several more freebies but I haven't had time to try them, so I wouldn't be able to recommend them yet...

    Hey, everyone. It's a foggy, drizzling rain, sort of night here at the green retreat. It's quite warm for mid December, at 52 degrees. It's a good night to sit at home and play games on the I-Pad. Gee, speaking of games...     My wife downloaded a couple of free puzzle games today. The first one is called The Seventh Day . She beat 30 levels of it and played it for several hours, I think. High praise from the 'High Priestess of Puzzling'. I tease, but she is pretty darn good at puzzles. I'd tell you about this game but she is in bed and I think it looks freaky. The tutorial tells me that the goal is to fill in the blank boxes with the correct colors. For instance, if you have a green #3, you should fill in 3 of the blank boxes with symbols which are green. The symbols appear to be ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. (Believe it or not, I actually get readers from Egypt, along with 91 other countries.)     The other freebie she got today is called ...

    Yes, this is a paraphrase of the George Harrison song. Yes, it is about Christmas. Yes, it refers to the classic line from Scrooge , "Bah, Humbug".     Lest I get any odd visitors, let me say up front that I like Christmas. It's a cool time of the year. The reason I am writing this is merely to talk about the merchant thing. A few years ago, Carley and I were out shopping for the Grandkids' presents. We had decided on a certain amount of money to spend on each person and for the kids, of course, we were in the toy aisles. Because the toys are fun for me to play with and check out. Much to my surprise, it was plain that all the items had been marked up by about a third or more, just for the purpose of ripping off people who had to buy for children. Some of the stuff had actually doubled in price.       So, instead of getting quite a bit of cool stuff for the money, we got a rather pitiful looking buggy of stuff to take home and...

    Hey, everyone. Since I have been a bit too focused on gaming lately, I felt like I'd break out of that genre and talk about other stuff.     Writing is a  funny thing. If I try to write about just anything, it usually doesn't have the verve that I want. That's why I tend to write about those things I am fired up about at any given time. If I am hanging around in the woods, finding tracks and seeing animals, the odds are good that I'll blog about that stuff. If I'm playing songs on the keyboard I may talk about that. Then there are games, books, movies.      Some people call it inspiration, others call it the "Muse", like some Grecian oracle of yesteryear. Sometimes the storyteller just comes over you. True, there has been a time when I saw a mushroom and decided to write a story about it, just to see if I could. The other day I thought of a cool title for a book and decided to write the story afterwards . I even worked up a go...

     Hey, everyone. I've had a good day, here at the green retreat. I've been playing the new robot game called Epoch . In this action game you are a robot with hi-tech weapons and a yen for destruction. You have come into a futuristic world, tasked from 'birth' with finding and protecting a slick looking princess. She is in a tower, we have that Intel, and we must wade through a plethora of enemy robots with attitudes that seem to indicate that they have migraine headaches. Not to make light of migraines, because I know some folks who suffer from them.       Let's start with the base line data. This game is one of the most visually striking games ever put on an I-Pad. It's graphics are powered by the Unreal Tech Engine and they kick buttsky. It weighs in at 246 MB. It costs $5.99 normally but is priced at $2.99 on sale, as we speak.       This is a shooter game, my favorite genre. Let me say up front that if you a...

    Hey, everyone. Thank God it is Friday. I've been working on my new novel all week. Tonight I've sat here at my desk and done a bunch of corrections to it. Key among them was some better sentence structure, which was badly needed. I had printed off a hard copy of the typed file and the pages look like a dying chicken has drug his bleeding carcass over the paper. I used most of the ink from a red pen on the darn thing.     I goofed off quite a bit, earlier in the day, messing with the I-Pad, trying new games etc. I noticed on App Shopper , an app which tracks sale prices, that the cool new robot game called Epoch was marked down in price to a reasonable $2.99. It is normally $5.99, so I jumped on it at the sale price. Due to my duties as a scribe for humanity, I have only been able to play just a little of it, but the graphics are indeed remarkable. I'll try to give you a full review before the weekend is over.      The other day I ...

    Hey, let me give a quick shout to AzNDuDe about his comment. When you are fighting the cyberlobster, you can do another thing besides running from side to side. Let's face it, it's more difficult to aim when you're running. Try crouching behind one of the shields. The missiles should go over your head. Then you can slide your crosshairs over the yellow ball and pop up and down to shoot. Make sure you keep a full clip in your gun and pour the bullets into that tennis ball looking thing. It will take a number of hits to kill it. Lots of luck and thanks for reading the blog!     (This was a comment on my post To Kill A Lobster. )    From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.

    Hey everyone. Gameloft has placed a new game on the app store. It's a title I've been waiting for and I wasted no time downloading it. This game is free, with in-app purchases. It is a whopping 422 MB, which means it is deep.    Gameloft has created a virtual wild west and you are a gunslinger. I have only played the game for a few minutes but allow me to give you some of my first impressions. First off, the graphics are very good. There seems to be a few bugs that will need worked out. For instance, it gives you these missions. When I rode out to protect this big tree (it has spiritual meaning for the Apaches, I guess), I won the battle but it keeps pointing me back to the tree. When I walk that way, it starts that battle over. Very frustrating. So, I just whistled for my horse and rode off into the desert on my own, against the wishes of my guidance arrow that I normally follow. I saw a railroad station in the distance and rode over there. It was deserted...

    Hey, everyone. It's no secret that I am an Apple fan. I love gaming on the I-Pad and the whole thing. I was proud of Apple the other day when they stopped Big Fish Games from initiating the subscription gaming deal on the app store.     However, it seems that I can see a bit of a change in the general spirit of the company. I read a quote from Steve Jobs biography to the effect that Steve was not thrilled with the direction he foresaw the company moving under some of the people at the top.     Since Steve has left us it seems that there are quite a few of the developers on the store taking little liberties with app updates and in-app purchases. Things that, while not dishonest or illegal, are a bit unsavory. With the former regime, the customer always was a factor in the decision making process. Apple really 'got it' about how to treat people.    Forgetting the app store for the moment, let me talk about the I-Cloud. Are they trying to...