Friday, June 20, 2008

What's the damn point of giving us a great female protagonist if this is what you do with her?

I'll be the first to admit that Lara Croft of Tomb Raider fame isn't your ideal representation of real women - that she's more well known for the size of her...attributes than she is for her intellect, but what was always cool about her was that she was really a strong female character with a strong presence. She held her own around all the boys, some times kicking their asses in the process. And yeah, she was designed to have a killer body so that men/boys wouldn't feel so badly about playing as a female character, but that was just to get her foot in the door, so that people would try her game. But with the new box-art being revealed for the newest incarnation of Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider Underworld (and I do see that it almost sounds like your saying Tomb Raider underwear but whatever - one topic at a time), it's like she isn't important anymore, just her body.



As you can see in the image that they chopped off the parts of Lara on the box-art that just don't matter, one, her feet, because who really cares about a woman's feet unless they hideous, and two, the top of her head, where most people keep their brains.

Maybe I'm just reading way too much into this, but then again maybe I'm not. I've always felt a little uneasy playing Tomb Raider games, almost like I'm above this kind of thing, but when the box looks like this, I'm even more uneasy to go into a store and purchase it, like I'm some prepubescent adolescent who can't get real porn and must settle for this.

I have absolutely no problem with Lara Croft being damn sexy, actually I encourage it, but when her sex-appeal starts to over-shadow everything else about her, well then, she's just another pinup model without any redeeming qualities. What about her puzzle solving abilities, or her exploring through jungles and dangerous tombs? If, after the game comes out, I find out that it really is a great game, I'll probably play it, but otherwise I'll pick something else.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Pretty god damn sweet



With the Pixies Doolittle album coming to Rock Band as Downloadable Content, I so want to get the PS3 more now then ever. I want to rock out to the entire amazing track list that makes up this CD. Every single one of these songs is pure, unadulterated awesome, and if you don't agree with me, go soak your head. I want to scream "TAME!!!" into the microphone while playing the bassline to "Tame". I want to play the main rif to "Here Comes Your Man". I want, I want, I want.

"Got hips like Cinderella..."

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Guilty Pleasures

It's really quiet here in the office today. My boss is in his office with his door shut, one other employee is quietly working in his office down the hall, and the last employee isn't here the rest of this week because of a death in his family (Yes, I work with only 3 other guys in my office).

With the office being this quiet I'm getting loads of Unit Test written for a new application I designed and implemented earlier this week, but it's also given me the chance to listen to some complete albums over my headphones without the tracks being interrupted by anything.

Today this is what I've been listening to all morning:





So what are some of your guilty pleasures. Those tunes you love to listen to but only when no ones around, and only through your headphones if you're sure no one will ask you what you're listening to.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

I'm man enough to say I think strong, powerful women are hot

Check this woman out. Big guns, black leather, oh yeah. She can kick my ass any day (wait, does that even make sense).