What the heck, man? Pizza Hut does it again

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-pizza-hut-cheeseburger-20120424,0,5324643.story

Summary: After the recent release of the hot dog stuffed crust pizza in the U.K., Pizza Hut attempts to innovate again with its Crown Crust Pizza, where the crust is essentially made up of mini cheeseburgers.

Notable Facts/Ideas: Restaurants are, in general, experiencing an increase in revenue in the last 12 months, which opens them up to ideas such as this.  Innovations like this exist overseas because America seems to have a smaller tolerance for wild ideas such as this.  Unless, as the article notes, you're a fan of the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas, which has had another (yes, not the first) death of a customer recently.

Opinion: As with the hot dog stuffed crust pizza, I just want you to take a look at this:

Unlike the hot dog stuffed crust, I don't know if I can find any way to justify this, or to make it sound more appealing.  I suppose that if you're sitting around one night and want to gorge yourself, but can't figure out if you want pizza or burgers, this one item will solve that issue.  Also, at this point, is that really still a pizza?  Beyond the bread, sausage, and cheese between the cheeseburgers in the crust and the lettuce in the center, it doesn't look like it has any pizza-like qualities.  I would almost just refer to that as the "party plate", where mini burgers are cooked (efficiently) at the same time, allowing for pull-and-eat sessions.  I could see myself enjoying the hot dog stuffed crust, but this?

Thumbs down, and a resounding "What the heck, man?".

What the heck, man? The $301 Taco

This is a good one.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7832384/ex-florida-gators-player-erving-walker-ordered-pay-301-stolen-3-taco

 

Summary: Erving Walker, who just finished his final season with the Florida Gators after setting the career assists record for the school, decided that he absolutely couldn't pay for the $3 taco he received from a street vendor in Gainesville, Florida.  He grabbed his taco and ran, soon to be followed by the Gainesville police.  Reports state that the police told Walker to stop, but he saw them and continued to run.  Walker was eventually caught a few blocks later after a foot race with the police and several police cars.

Notable Facts/Ideas: Walker was charged with misdemeanor petit theft and was forced to pay $301 for the taco as punishment.  That's over a 10,000% mark up.  Walker could've purchased 99.33 more tacos with what he paid for one.  If he ate three tacos a day, he could've fed himself for a little over a month with the money from his punishment.

Opinion: Not much to say on this one.  Admittedly, Walker's reasoning concerns me:

"It was just a silly mistake," Walker said after his court appearance. "I apologize to everybody. I'm embarrassed about it. That's not me. I'm just trying to put it behind me and move on."

He also claims that he was "just playing around".  Now, normally instances like this bother me because Walker's statement is the type that devalues other instances of similar word usage.  Those other instances generally apply to more legitimate situations and even when spoken sincerely, lose value because of how often the words are spoken, especially in dumb instances like this.  Luckily, this instance is seemingly ridiculous enough that nobody will tie any value to Walker's words.

This one deserves a resounding statement, so say it with me: What the heck, man?

Free Games For The Win

The internet is both good and evil.  There are so many things wrong with the world that we can see on the internet, and yet, it truly is an information superhighway.  As one of your resident nerd friends, I have noticed over time how wonderful the internet has been to the gaming community.  It has gotten to the point where the most successful game in our time, World of Warcraft, offers what is essentially a massive free trial of the game, allowing new players to play without paying until they reach level 20 (which, I've never played WoW, but probably doesn't take very long).  I've grown more keenly aware of free games online over time, and there are truly some gems that you can find online.  There are many many more resources than I care to try to fit into one blog post, but here are some of my favorite free games (and game websites) online.

The Lord of the Rings Online - http://www.lotro.com

What was once a pay-to-play game has transitioned over to the world of free-to-play and in my opinion, this is the best free MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) out there today.  Admittedly, the user interface isn't as clean and accessible as other MMORPGs (including one I will mention later), but it's a minimal sacrifice compared to the experience of questing in the Lord of the Rings universe.  This game, like most MMORPGs, is more fun when played with a friend, but it's an enjoyable single-player experience, as well.  The company makes money by selling additions and further areas/quests through microtransactions, but if you really enjoy the experience and want to play more, there's no reason you shouldn't support the team by paying a bit for additional content.

League of Legends - http://leagueoflegends.com

A prototypical MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game, League of Legends provides what is perhaps the most complete experience of the free games that I've played.  A new rotation of 10 champions out of the dozens available provides those playing for free with a fresh experience each week.  Points can be earned through the game to purchase in-game add-ons; thus, unlike LOTRO, you do not have to pay real money to enhance your experience.  There is a massive community of gamers online at almost all hours, featuring player vs. player matches, as well as player vs. AI matches (for those who just wanna team up and not deal with awful people online).

Team Fortress 2 - http://www.steampowered.com

You will need to acquire the Steam software before getting Team Fortress, but Team Fortress 2 may be the best free-to-play shooter online, so this is a minor inconvenience.  Made by the highly-respected team at Valve software (Half-Life, Portal), Team Fortress 2 was also originally a pay-to-play game that eventually converted to the free-to-play with microtransactions model.  If you want a fast-paced, arcade style first person shooter, you can't go wrong with Team Fortress 2, as it offers about ten different classes of player that you can use in working with teammates to accomplish goals in each round.  Team Fortress 2's foray into the free-to-play world was a big surprise, given the quality and popularity of the game, but we certainly all appreciate Valve for allowing it to be this way.

Scrabble - http://www.pogo.com

For a bit of a different flavor, I really enjoy Pogo's online Scrabble software.  You can either set up a private match with a friend or get into one of the many channels available to play a quick game with someone random.  There are a lot of details you can set about the match, from a time limit on turns to letter balancing, including hints and a dictionary.  It's a very customizable Scrabble experience and though you will deal with occasional ads, the overall experience is polished and certainly worth a spin.

Honorable Mentions:
DC Universe Online - http://www.dcuniverseonline.com (A different and cleaner experience as compared to LOTRO)
Plants vs. Zombies - http://www.pogo.com (just like the real game)
Battlefield Heroes - http://www.battlefieldheroes.com (Battlefield experience with Team Fortress graphics)
Tetris Friends on Facebook
Quake Live - http://www.quakelive.com (just like the old Quake you know and love)

You'll notice that beyond Tetris, I omitted flash games and Facebook games.  I have nothing against those; in fact, some of them are very well done.  I just figured that most of you know about casual games and thus, I would enlighten you on the more fully-featured games out there.

Any suggestions for things I missed?  I might not have played them, so I would love to know about them.  That said, game on!

What the heck, man? - Hot Dog Stuffed Crust Pizza

Oh, you read that title correctly.  Here we go:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/hot-dog-stuffed-crust-pizza-hut_n_1412110.html

Summary: In the UK (of all places), Pizza Hut has introduced the hot dog stuffed crust pizza, which is exactly what it sounds like.  Just take a look at the picture.

Notable Facts/Ideas: The Brits aren't the innovators here.  Apparently, this product has been available in Thailand and Japan for years.

Opinion: How did this not originate in America, you ask?  Well, despite the hot dog's status as a defining American food, we've never really innovated with it much.  We stopped around the chili dog, so other countries probably saw an opportunity with our favorite mystery meat and thought to attempt new things.  Look, this idea grossed me out at first, but then I sat back and thought about it again.  Pizza Huts in the U.S. need to adopt this as soon as they can, because what they've essentially done here is turned the pizza into two separate entities.  The hot dog stuffed crust pizza is now a crust-less pizza surrounded by pigs in a blanket.  To alleviate the gross factor a bit, people would simply have to just remove the crust from the pizza before eating.  You can't tell me this wouldn't sell here.

That said, still a crazy idea.  The hot dog stuffed crust undoubtedly deserves a hearty "What the heck, man?".

Video Game Music is Excellent

First off, thank you for all of the comments and opinions on my entries thus far.  It really gives an extra level of value to have you all read my entries and develop thoughts about them.

Now, to the entry.  Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Video Games Live concert in Bethesda, Maryland.  The experience was unique: to see the worlds of the symphony and video game culture combined is a treat for someone like me.  I've grown up with classical music and video games, and I'm happy to see that some of the great works found in video games aren't going unnoticed.  The orchestra played selections from the Legend of Zelda, Halo, Final Fantasy, and many other game franchises.  When I first walked in and had my ticket accepted, the first thing I heard from the staff at the Strathmore was "We have a young crowd today."  This is perhaps what I most appreciate about this concert series: video game music is an incredible avenue for younger generations to experience classical music and to have the honor to hear stellar orchestras like the National Philharmonic.

I'm writing today to share a couple of songs I heard at the concert with you, because hearing them live is certainly on my list of some of the best things I've had the chance to experience live.  Certainly, hearing these through YouTube won't be the same experience but nonetheless, I hope that you will listen and simply appreciate it for what it is: stellar music.

I'll share a couple songs with you today.  First up was a piece that was performed for the very first time at the concert I attended.  With assistance from the University of Maryland's Gamers Orchestra (which has 120+ members), Video Games Live arranged and performed this work from Final Fantasy VII, one of the most legendary games in history.  This version is a piano solo but features the same striking chords and melodic themes.



Secondly, and to close the entry, I give you something that is instantly more recognizable to our generation: the Halo theme.  My girlfriend will tell you the same thing: hearing this performed live is totally epic and an amazing experience.  Fewer things in music make me happier than when the drums kick in and the low strings bring in the theme.  [With this recording, you may want to skip to about 1:10 in; the first choir part can drone on a bit]



Now, let's be clear: experiencing the music isn't the same as experiencing the music with the game.  If you haven't tried it, you totally should sometime.

Mass Effect 3 (Spoiler-less!) and Ramifications of the Response

Mass Effect 3 released last month and since then, for anyone who's kept up with the news, it has generated tons of controversy.  A recent Consumerist tournament-style poll saw fans vote Electronic Arts (the publishing company for Mass Effect 3) voted as the "worst company in America", edging out Bank of America.  For the last half-decade, the Mass Effect series has been celebrated as one of the revolutionary, landmark games of this generation.  In my personal opinion, Mass Effect is king when it comes to providing solid gameplay alongside of careful, cinematic story telling.

The majority of the uproar from fans has been related to the ending of the game.  Having just finished playing through it, I understand the gripes that fans have, even though I may not agree with those gripes.  At times, I've felt that fans have been allowing their sense of entitlement to reach unacceptable levels, but I do respect the opinions that have been voiced.  More than anything else, the fan uproar should be a positive sign of passion for this product.  Any devoted fan should be passionate about their experience; just think about what the uproar would have been like if J.K. Rowling had provided an ending to the Harry Potter series that was deemed unacceptable by fans.

That said, nobody would discredit how hard Rowling worked on the series, just as no one should discredit what the Bioware crew put into the Mass Effect series.  Video games themselves may or may not be art, but the stories that developers attempt to tell within video games should certainly be viewed as such.  Thus, everyone should respect what Bioware put into the series and the ending, no matter how they felt about it.

One of the most troubling things for me is the way in which fans have responded on review/rating sites such as Metacritic and Amazon.  The information on these sites matter to companies and consumers.  It was recently reported that the developers of Fallout: New Vegas did not receive bonuses for their work because the Metacritic score for their game was 1 point short of the target for the bonus.  Mass Effect 3 was (at last check) sitting at a 2/5 stars rating.  It is my hope that employees at Bioware don't have their jobs on the line because of this.  In particular, the Amazon rating is troublesome, as consumers who might not know as much about games and are looking to possibly buy a game as a gift for someone may be deterred by the 2-star rating.

Like I said, I like that everyone has an opinion about this as it reflects their passion for the product.  However, when the opinions are expressed in such a manner that they can affect the lives of others (such as rating/review scores), that's when I start to become a bit disappointed.  The good news is that sales of the game are doing fine, and at most, this will probably stand as just a moment of passionate outcry from the fans.

All of that said, Bioware has been kind enough to respond to the fans' cries by announcing a free "extended cut" download "that will offer gamers deeper insights into how their personal journey concludes."  They are in no way obligated to do this, and I appreciate that they followed through with it and made it a free product.  But to compare back to Rowling again, we can just hope this "addition" is better-received than that "epilogue" Rowling had at the end of book 7.  Yikes.