Reid Picks: Top Three Video Games

Alex J. Cavanaugh, author of the science fiction book titled CassaStar, is hosting a blogfest today called: "It's All Fun and Games Blogfest." Participants are asked to list their "three most favorite games and why. Board games, card games, RPG, video games, physical games - even mind games!"

I'm not too excited about board games, so I'll scratch that out as a topic. Card Games? Not really. Role-playing games (excluding video games)? Nope. Physical games? I guess not. Mind games? Cool, but no. That leaves video games for my favorite list.

Since I hardly have the time to play video games as I used to, my picks are going to be some older titles (but not as far back as the Sega Master System and NES era). Here are my top three video games:

Reid Review: 'Star God' Novel By Allen L. Wold

There have been so many science fiction books published that it's impossible to read them all (unless you're really an android). So I'm going to highlight a little-known book by a big-time publisher. It's called Star God by Allen L. Wold, published in 1980 by St. Martin's Press. Although I believe Wold considers his Planet Masters series better, I haven't read those. Also, it's been a while since I read Star God, so I'm mainly going to discuss what the story is about rather than get into minute details.

Image from Amazon.com

Frankly, one of the reasons I bought the book is because I liked the title. That and I've met the author at a convention. The short blurb on the back of the book didn't interest me. It says, "There is a strange force at work in the universe. It must be stopped. But first, it must be understood." It seemed too generic and vague, but after reading the novel, I realized how true that phrase is.

Here's the review:

Happy Birthday, George Lucas

Today (May 14, 2011) is George Lucas' 67th birthday. He's widely known for creating Star Wars, but THX 1138 was the first feature-length film he directed. It was based on a short film he did in 1967 as a student at the University of Southern California.

So let's wish him a birthday blast with some THX 1138!

THX 1138 costume from moviemaker29 on photobucket.com.

Here's a trailer of the director's cut version of the movie:


And here's part 1 and 2 of his student film version, titled THX 1138 4EB:

Portal 2 Review and Gameplay Videos

I had originally thought about posting a Portal 2 video game trailer before the game came out, but it was shown a lot on TV, so I opted to wait until the game was released before talking about it. Naturally, I wondered whether the game would flop or exceed the high standards the first game set. It did the latter, and top video game reviewer IGN.com gave it a 9.5, rated higher than its predecessor.

Essentially, Portal 2 is a first person science fiction puzzle game. You use a portal gun to travel from one place to the next to solve puzzles. There also are new puzzle elements introduced. It's available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

Here is IGN's review of the game:


Here's a machinima.com video showing the gameplay from Portal 2:

Easter Bunny and Boba Fett

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter!

Here's an Easter-related picture I found:

Picture from incomT65 on photobucket.com.

I guess chibi Boba Fett from Star Wars needs the bunny alive to collect on the bounty.

Want to Be Published? Here Is a Video with Some Tips.

It can be tough submitting your writing for publication, but don't get discouraged if you keep getting rejections. Editors and publishers have different likes and dislikes. You should also keep a record of your submissions.

David M. Harris, who "has taught English at Vanderbilt University and elsewhere," according to the description of the following video, shares this advise to whoever aspires to be a published author. He also gives helpful websites. One such website is ralan.com, which lists science fiction and other speculative fiction markets.

Check out the video here:

Odd News and Transformers

A saw a video of odd news from Yahoo News that I'm going to share. It includes an alleged sighting of a Bigfoot as well as the existence of a Chupacabra being debunked. There also is a man named Moses Lanham Jr. who can turn his feet backward.

Lastly, Drew Beaumier wants to market his "morph machines," or Transformers suits, that can transform and drive. Beaumier was on American Idol with the suit. It's good to know that the science fiction cartoon and now movie series Transformers has such a devoted fan. I'm sure he gets lots of photo opportunities.

Do you remember Greg Proops from the Whose Line Is It Anyway? show (hopefully you've watched it)? Well he's the anchor, so he puts a funny twist on the odd news. Here's the video:

And since Beaumier is the star of the video, as a tribute to him, here's a trailer for the next Transformers movie coming to theaters July 1.