Let me preface this by saying I didn’t have a Nintendo growing up and I didn’t get a Sega Genesis until very late in the game when it was on deep deep sale. So the majority of my game playing had to happen in between turns at a friend’s house making the likelihood of completing a game nearly impossible. That said, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to revisit most of these games as an adult and I have still not been able to complete them.
1) Super Mario Bros. - I know, it’s ridiculous. I’ve never got to the end, okay. This one is the ultimate had to play it at a friend’s house. My friend Tiffany owned a copy and I would go over after school to try and play. I never got past World 2. As an adult, I haven’t had the attention span nor desire to even World 8.
Likelihood of Ever Completing: Zero
2) Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - This one I don’t have much of an excuse for. I owned it and played every single day. But with no save point and a series of tough bosses at the end I was never able to complete it in an entire sitting. I mean, I only had till dinner time. I would play for hours, get to the end, lose, freak out, eat salisbury steak and then wait another day before trying again. Since I did get to the very end but failed to beat Dr. Robotnik, it’s complete in my head and I don’t feel like revisiting. Likelihood of Ever Completing: Zero
3) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - The GTA games are less embarrassing to not complete because they’re so long and involved. Besides, what constitutes completion is vague. Is it for making it through the main story or is if for doing that plus all the side missions and challenges? The reason San Andreas makes my list is because I stopped playing for the lamest reason. I really enjoyed the story but for some reason when I returned home to my hood and had to clear it of gangs I couldn’t get the job done. So I just walked away and never looked back. Because I’ve got more recent gta titles to play I don’t think I’ll ever revisit San Andreas but I keep it around just in case.
Likelihood of Ever Completing: Possible
4) Spiderman 2 - I don’t know if this counts as failed to complete because I hardly played any of the story. As soon as I had most of the abilities I needed to get around I just took off and explored that giant map of Manhattan for hours on end. I think I could jump off the top of the Empire State building forever.
Likelihood of Ever Completing: Zero
5) Toe Jam & Earl - This one is super embarrassing to me because I love this game and again it’s one I played endlessly. But I never got all of the pieces for their ship! The levels would get too sticky and filled with shopping cart ladies. Or I would usually get bored and walk away because it was a game I played to relax and wander around. This is something I still really want to do someday. Maybe someone will come out with a new one and I’ll get geared up by playing the original again.
Likelihood of Ever Completing: Certain
Unfortunately, I don’t have time to play a lot of video games. Hopefully, someday I’ll get paid to review them (*wink* to any review sites reading my blog) and then I’ll get to play them as part of my job. But for now, I’ve got too many things on my plate to dig into every game that comes out. So usually I only choose games that are already getting positive reviews so I’m not wasting my time with a dub. However recently I downloaded the CSI: Fatal Conspiracy demo for Xbox on a whim and immediately got sucked in.
I’m a big fan of all the cold case, forensic file shows and this game was exactly like playing a point and click version of them. I can’t stand CSI or Law and Order because I hate the fictionalized drama especially when the real stories have enough drama on their own. But this game has little to do with the show and more to do with the reality of gathering evidence and piecing together clues. When I found out the game was made by Telltale, the maker of some of my favorite point and clicks, it made perfect sense that I would get sucked in.
They don’t put as much time into make these games as their other franchises and it shows. The controls aren’t very smooth and the graphics don’t look great. Also, because I’ve watched too many forensic shows I would get frustrated when I wasn’t allowed to analyze evidence the way I wanted to. I can’t dust the murder weapon for prints? I can’t check under the victim’s fingernails for DNA evidence? What the hell? The game is very linear in that way and you can only search the evidence the way it wants you to. But otherwise it does a decent job of keeping the player from getting ahead of game and figuring out the crime before it’s solved. They’re worth a playthrough since you can pick up most used copies for $8 bucks.
Although really this is just holding me over until the Jurassic Park game comes out. Incidentally, the movie is playing at midnight this weekend at New York’s Landmark Sunshine Cinema.
I don’t think I’ve ever been more disappointed by a game release then by Epic Mickey. But that can only happen if I’ve been especially looking forward to the game which I was. Disney used to be my personal leader in video games. I wore Aladdin for Sega out when I was a kid. And Mickey World of Illusion was the first game to create a world that I wanted to live in.
Everything I had seen from Epic Mickey gave me the impression that it was going to be a World of Illusion reboot of sorts. Mickey enters a fantasy world and has to fight his way back to reality. The concept design and visuals for Epic Mickey looked amazing but unfortunately the reality and the game play kept me from even finishing.
The first problem, right off the bat, if you’re going to design a stunning game, don’t release it exclusively for the Wii. I was worried about how it would ultimately look when I found out it wasn’t going to be on PS3 or Xbox but I decided to put my fears aside until I actually played the game. To me, if the story and gameplay is good enough the visuals don’t matter as much. Hell, World of Illusions was 8-bit but the overall atmosphere is created blew my mind. Unfortunately, what I expected was true and the concept art for the game didn’t hold up to what it actually looked like on my screen.
I would have put that aside because most concept art doesn’t hold up to reality but the gameplay was so terrible that I couldn’t make it through. Every level is repetitive clearing of bad guys and grinding for items. For a game that tried to be such a different re-imagining of Mickey they forgot to do anything interesting with the gameplay.
I’ll admit my expectations were high but this game didn’t turn out to be anything worth playing even after I got past my disappoint. The only thing it did make me want to do was replay Kingdom Hearts or pick up World of Illusion for an emulator.
One of the awesome things about having a taco blog is hearing people’s suggestions. It creates some fun debates and makes my job of seeking out the very best tacos easier. The only downside is I usually get more than I can handle. I’m only one little lady and it’s hard to keep up with all the amazing tacos in this city. Plus, most of them end up being pretty far out of my range of locations. That’s why I was so very pissed when I found out about an amazing taco joint mere minutes from my home base.
Taco Truck is located in Hoboken, NJ. It started as a truck as the name implies, but it became so popular that they now have a storefront. All this happened right under my nose. I almost felt betrayed when I found out about it. The menu looks amazing and they have delivery, something my favorite local place doesn’t offer. I can’t believe I had gone so long without trying it.
I stopped by their store on a miserable Saturday afternoon.
It was sleeting outside but as soon as I stepped inside the bright, well designed interior helped me forget all about it.
They have a large menu board hanging on the wall and the registers where you place your order are set up to look like a truck reflecting their humble beginnings. They have a nice selections of tacos, sides and tortas with a focus on locally grown, organic ingredients. That’s nice and all but how does it taste?
The tacos come in orders of two which makes taste-testing a bit of a pain. Lucky, I had someone to share with so we placed three orders and split the six tacos between us. We choose Al Pastor, Chorizo con Papas and Hongos with vegetables and pickled onions.
The spread:
The al pastor tacos were right on the money. Tender pork, nice pineapple kick. They were exactly as good as I was expecting.
The Hongo/mushroom tacos with vegetables and pickled onions were very good for a vegetarian taco. The vegetables were nicely seasoned and I’m always a fan of pickled onions.
The chorizo and potato tacos had a great flavor to them but the consistency was too soft and mushy. The chunks of chorizo were nearly indistinguishable from the almost mashed potatoes. It would have worked better as a breakfast burrito but it still tasted well.
We also ordered a side dish that sounded interesting, esquites, corn with mayonnaise and queso fresco in a lime chile broth.
With two different types of dairy I was expecting something sturdier but the dish ended up being very soupy. Again, great flavor but wrong consistency for me.
Taco Truck ended up being exactly what I was hoping for. Flavorful, fresh, well made tacos. I’m looking forward to going back and trying everything they have to offer.
Taco Truck
62 Newark Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
Update: I ordered take-out and had the Barbacoa and Carnitas tacos. The steak tasted amazing but I made the mistake of getting habanero salsa on them which ended up being too spicy. The pork was a perfect example of carnitas but I could have used something a little more moist and tender.
Oh my! What a taco week it’s been! Not only was our anniversary on Tuesday (celebrated by getting tacos with friends at Pancho Villa ) but I’ve got a new review for you today!
The anniversary taco party was great. I had some steak tacos, and rice and beans. Everyone was impressed, except for one person who ordered vegetarian tacos, but got pork instead. I was pretty impressed with her taco diligence, because she still ate the tacos. Well played, Pancho Villa. Thanks again to everyone who came out!
About us:
We are two ladies who love tacos and want to share that love with the rest of the world.