GRIFT

Random thought after watching the most recent trailer, but instead of having showcase modes that let you relive big moments from the past like they have for the last few games, I think it would be a hell of a lot cooler if they started to entertain some of the stories that likely won't ever actually happen. Like, give us a branching tale where Steve Austin returns to try and put down The Authority for good and let us decide who goes over in the end. Lets start playing with some of wrestling's great "What Ifs". Maybe have an NWO storyline that plays out with Sting as the third man. WWE 2k being their version of Elseworlds would rule.

She was a catch. We were a match. I was the match that would fire up her snatch. - Mermaids by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds

I am a huge Nick Cave fan -- mostly of his Bad Seeds stuff. If you are a Spotify user he actually put out a really neat app in 2013 that helps to make sense of his rather extensive back catalogue. It lets you listen to songs from all of his bands that Nick himself put into the categories of: Sex, Comic, Heart Break, Blasphemy, Confessional, Murder to Mayhem, Classic, Love, Spiritual and Super Dark. It even lets you add a second wheel so you can fine tune your playlist to such delightful combinations as Super Dark Heart Break, or Comic Blasphemy.

I was actually listening to the Comic setting when I saw this thread.

I had both but just dropped Netflix. Amazon is cheaper and offers more services than just its streaming content which, as others have mentioned, is great if you order through them at all. They also have a great TV selection including HBO series which I enjoy. I have a pretty demanding job and by the time I get home from the gym I am wiped out. It is nice to have something that Lady Grift and I can chip away at it two or three episodes a night once I get home. There is some crossover content but I think Amazon's library is all stuff that I'd be less likely to see in theaters or torrent if I really wanted to watch it. In the last few weeks of having netflix I'd often find myself searching for something to watch just to justify keeping it as opposed to popping on an episode of Big Love and relaxing.

I like this game. The game play is the closest any game has ever come to replicating an actual wrestling match. It has a good ebb and flow to it. Grapples out of the front facelock are reversed at a freakishly high rate but outside of that I don't have a single complaint about the in ring mechanics.

MyCareer is a good first outing, and like NBA 2k's version, I am sure it will get more and more engrossing in future volumes. Even if it is a little light now, honestly, it has more story to it story wise than Destiny did . I love that winning and losing aren't as important as putting on a good match at most places other than a PPV and I've had some really fun matches where I've tried things I wouldn't otherwise as a result.

The CAW mode getting strip mined is frustrating but I understand the limitations. That said, I was able to use the likeness feature to paste a pretty convincing version of my own face onto my CAW which is pretty fucking surreal, and I have my company logo on my trunks. I imagine that given enough time and tinkering this game could reach No Mercy levels of customization. My biggest gripe creation wise is that the hair selections are so limited -- it is the biggest thing holding back decent creations given the number of things you can do through imports.

I haven't really jumped into the Showcase modes all that much, they weren't really that appealing to me and with how gorgeous most of the character models are it is a little jarring to play as non-face captured HBK as retro-HHH. The models just look a little too chunky and plasticized. I am sure I'll dive into it eventually, probably once I finish MyCareer.

Oh man, I used a suicide dive in the Performance Center and when I was outside the ring I realized I was able to attack Bill DeMott, who, even then as I was beating the shit out of him, asked me if I "really thought the WWE Universe wanted to see that?"

It's also worth noting that you can go to the performance center once every week to have a practice match and earn more SP.

You can use VC to train with other wrestlers and unlock their moves in the game.

I'm quite enjoying everything in MyCareer aside from the lack of actual storylines. I find it funny too that even though my Heel bar is maxed out, when I enter a program, I'm always seemingly the face unless it offers me the choice. Barron Blade and Dean Ambrose kept attacking me, and I even had to face them in a handicapped match...but I'm a heel. Shouldn't I be the one heeling it up?

Any tips for boosting your heel rating without outright losing matches? I've got the remove the turnbuckle skill, but aside from that and DQs I am having trouble boosting my rating.

For anyone trying to make Career Mode last as long as possible, here's a word of advice (and a spoiler on the ending of the mode in turn)

Don't win the WWE Title. 2k has said career mode last 15 years, but evidently that's only the maximum amount of time it can last. Now that people have had the game for a few days its being said that you retire as soon as you win the WWE Title. You don't even get to have a title reign. How dumb.

You lose a bunch, while desperately trying to get over with the crowd, and when you finally win the world title you immediately retire? Sounds like a Daniel Bryan sim...

You play Wolfenstein, GRIFT? For my money, it's one of the few decent story based shooters in years. The story is bonkers, but in a good way. What else would you expect from Space Nazis?

I haven't yet! I will have to read up on it a little.

There is part of me that is tempted to get something low stakes like Madden or NBA 2k15 that won't get me too involved (work is crazy right now until the election is over and I basically want to turn my brain off once I get home) but then I also wouldn't mind a game with a quick story mode to get me through until Dragon Age and WWE 2k15. I am also interested in Lords of the Fallen (I typically prefer RPGs) but worry that I won't have enough time to get into it now or finish it before Dragon Age drops.

I also haven't played Destiny in a few weeks, so it might be time to jump back into that mess.

I also finished this last night. This was a lot of fun but I don't see it having much replay value. I am sure there will be a few DLC expansions but I don't think I will end up playing them. This was a lot of fun in that it wasn't particularly hard, and was easy to pick up after work and just as easy to put back down before bed.

I am going to trade this and Watch Dogs in today for something. I am not sure what though -- got to find something to hold me over until the next big wave of releases hit.

Whoa, I could get behind a Crow-Stingesque John Cena who seethingly quotes Dylan Thomas in lieu of any heel turn.

So I pre-ordered this last night. The graphics, NXT, and career mode were initial sells. Then they had to announce a Mark Henry-centric play mode and Lazerus Pit versions of Fit Finlay and BILL F'N REGAL who can blood feud over every title like I normally do with CAWs? Yes please.

Ha, no I am saying not enough of my friends are nerd so I will slum it up with you neck beards!

I am Mr-Grift on PS4!

Add me you fools! Not too many of my friends are gamers.

I am playing now, PS4 tag is MR-Grift

I am not sure what all the fuss about this new Lady Thor is about -- afterall, Tony Stark has been Fe-Male for years.

I'll see myself out.

I guess it's hard to question the guy that created it but how does that work? Wouldn't them involving Cable in Apocalypse mean they could spin off from that and expand the universe?

The time table for the X-Force movies, which had previously been rumored to be in the pipeline after Days of Future Past will now be pushed back. It is totally possible that it will be as a spinoff to this movie but for now the extra step of Apocalypse has changed the original plans.

Rob Liefield is saying the previous plans for X-Force have gone out the window.

Original Sin continues to be cool, just read #1, waiting on some of the other comics that the story's involved with to show up.

Have literally no idea who's behind it all, but the suggestion that it could well be one of the heroes is a cool one - Nick Fury flat out said that there's only a small list of people who even know the Watcher exists, let alone would have the capacity to kill him. Fury's great so far too, being reluctantly convinced to come out of "retirement" only to immediately get back to old tricks and start going behind people's backs and setting up contradictory reports, getting different teams behaving differently and so on.

The secondary team he's set up has potential to be a lot of fun, too - Dr. Strange, The Punisher, Moon Knight, Winter Soldier and Gamora could be the most delightfully bonkers superhero team-up going. Strange and Punisher could be so much fun together even without the others. Looking like Fury's reached out to Cyclops' X-Men is promising too, if only because that's the side of the Marvel universe I'm most interested in.

All good stuff so far, anyway.

I am also loving it. It is great having classic Fury at the center of a major arc.

I am a huge Fantastic Four fan but I really don't have high hopes for this movie. The casting of Jordon has little to do with it. ComicsAlliance hit the nail on the head when it come to the subject and if you have a problem with that casting you should check out this article which sums up my stance more elegantly than I can here.

My real issue is that the best Fantastic Four stories aren't origin tales -- they are the stories that show a fully formed family reacting to the world of super heroes they live in. It is why the Incredibles will likely go down as the best "Fantastic Four" movie and why Jonathan Hickman's run on the book is so widely celebrated. His entire arc is built around the interplay of those relationships and the cosmic MacGuffins are all just window dressings that make exploring that interesting. Again, I will never understand Hollywood's obsession with origin films. I guess it is in the simplicity of the arc. Either way, it is hard for me to get excited about Fantastic Four -- Fast Times at Baxter Building High.

I am pretty sure the hockey organist for the USA vs Slovakia game just played "Personal Jesus" which is what the Slovakian's would need to turn this game around -- and that might not even work. I mean, they already have a Zdeno Chara.

The only thing I don't like about the new Gaurdians is that they ditched Star-Lord's awesome mask. It seems especially odd considering it appears to be the look they are using in the film. I can get down with the rest of the retro-redesign, the Pratt look, and him getting the element gun back but his mask was badass!

”Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.” - Steve Earle

"I've met Bob Dylan and his bodyguards, and I don't think Steve could get anywhere near his coffee table." - Townes Van Zandt.

Anyone who has been on this board for more than a cup of coffee has probably heard me talk about the music of Townes Van Zandt. His songs have accompanied me on many a weary road and have been a constant companion for my life's many highs, lows, and in betweens. In many ways, I think anyone who hears Townes and "gets it" becomes more than a fan -- you become a disciple and there is a missionary like instinct to share His with a capital 'H's works, which at times can be a frustrating enterprise. Due to a number of factors (covered in greater detail in the excellent film Be Here To Love Me) Townes had a great deal of trouble keeping his records in print and while others have had great success covering and reappropriating his music, Townes never really had a breakthrough single or album.

As a result, he has one of the most intimidating and sprawling song books in all of modern music and it is not entirely uncommon for a song (or several songs) to appear in a number of incarnations from one studio album to the next.

Below I have a sort of Starters Guide playlist I made for Spotify. This playlist is meant to be a comprehensive entry point for anyone who is interested in seeing why he has such an ardent cult following but it might be a fun follow for folks like Hobo and Skummy as well. Beyond having a fairly representative body of his work, each song I've included is what I consider the "definitive" recording or each.

I have a few other lists like this for other artist that I might share if this is well received.

http://open.spotify.com/user/1246011431/playlist/5NF36flkcOlOTheksOab1Z

He had a heretofore never mentioned son named Marcus Johnson. Marcus was a Marine who served in Afghanistan who came home after his mother was murdered, enlisting the help of his buddy Phil Coulson (an ex-Ranger inexplicably nicknamed "Cheese"). Over the course of looking into his mother's death he loses his left eye and finds out Nick Fury was his father, that he has Infinity Formula in his DNA that helps him heal and perform at peak condition-- although not his eye, because because. He also takes his father, who he has never met before this caper, Nick Fury's name and becomes a rank and file agent of SHEILD after Nick Sr. disappears having had his remaining Infinity Formula drained from his body either giving him a death sentence that will make this change permanent or later be revealed as another of Fury's clever tricks, also because because.

What is really nuts about this is that Fury is one of the few characters that doesn't ever need rebooting. The Infinity Formula is a perfect out for why he isn't aging at the right rates and his character grows to be more interesting and gets more depth as you get him further and further along the timeline. He is like J. Edgar Hoover taken to an ultimate extreme.

Moreover, I get the push to introduce an African American Fury in the 616 for synergy but I'd be a lot more interested in Nick Fury Sr. and Nick Fury Jr. working together, or Sr. training him to take his place rather than one simply supplanting the other. There is fertile ground in that story and it makes a hell of a lot more sense then them having one adventure together after NEVER interacting and Fury Sr. fading into the shadows. Can you imagine if your long lost missing father showed up for like a week and then ditched again? I am guessing you wouldn't take up his fucking name and continue his life's work.

Yeah, the wipe of 616 Fury is super heartbreaking. I get why they're doing it, but I kind of feel like we've been over exposed to Ultimate Fury from the entirety of the Ultimate line and the MCU. Way more interesting stories to be told from Nick "I've been around for fucking ever and have seen fucking everything" Fury.

It's going to take a lot to fight back Fraction and Hawkeye from the "best run" title though, GRIFT! But I'll upgrade Hickman's Fantastic Four to my next read post-Brubaker Captain America.

It really is a shame, and yeah I get why they are making the move, but I hold out hope that this will all pass as a fad and we'll get Classic Fury back at some point. He is such a great figure in the history of Marvel, both as a viewpoint character who has been there for its entirety and individually. I think it would be an easier transition if New Fury had any sort of character other than uh, just being New Fury. He has been in capable hands in Secret Avengers but has really nothing to show for himself almost a year in. Instead of having a character with rich relationships to draw from and history that dates back to WW2 we just have a sort of milquetoast replacement who seems less like Nick Fury and more like the SHEILD agent who gets killed at the beginning of a Nick Fury story.

HawkGuy might catch up to Hickman, but isn't even in the same league right now due to the scope of the runs. Fraction has a great 17 issues compared to Hickman's Fantastic Four: (#570–588, renumbered, 600–611) while simultaneously writing FF: (#1–23).