Oklahoma is lame... Sometimes

Here in the windy confines of Southwest Oklahoma, two things are certain in this time of year.
1) Horrible heat
2) Horrible storms
The last two weeks, No. 1 has been the boss with temperatures reaching 111 and over on many a day, it was hell on the AC but great in the fact that I felt obligated to stay indoors and play a lot of games.
Let's just say that the obligation was more of a excuse, I hate going outside even when it's nice.
Well, starting yesterday No. 2 reared its ugly head and brought down the hammer on our little area.
With some annoying results.
Have you ever felt that you needed to play a game, I mean like really needed to play a game?
You get all excited and race home to play and then when you get there you find out that the power has been out for 30 minutes?
That's what happened to me last night around midnight. I get home from a long day at work, wanting to get in 18 holes of the British Open at Turnberry on the Wii then I step into my house and see that the wife has lit candles.
Sadness crept into my heart as we sat in the dark.
However, it gave me more than enough chance to play the DSi, and Dr. Mario got his fill of me.
I can't wait until Sept. 15, when Scribblenauts hits shelves.
It will be a nice birthday present, an original game with thought and substance.
Well, the power came on around 2 a.m. and the wife and I decided to go to bed instead of booting up a system with the thought that another lightning strike would possibly ruin everything.
So today we woke up and again that anticipation was there. Boy, did I want to play some golf.
Then the power goes out... AGAIN!
However, this time the power is out for just a scant few minutes. Lucky them, I was about to get a case of the ass.
So finally, I was able to get on the course... But more on that in a second.
But in the end, it was just a couple of days in this part of the world. With more foreboding weather creeping in I don't think the systems of our household may get a start again until tomorrow.

Boy I suck at golf

Now to the funny stuff, I suck at golf.
I mean really suck at golf.
Through two rounds of the British Open, I am currently dead last with a 26-over par.
I need to finish 23 under tomorrow just to get out of the cellar.
My drives had a case of the shanks and my reading of the greens was like a blind man groping around in the dark. I just had a horrible day.
At least I can continue playing, unlike most of the field I can't get cut.
Let's hope that my final two rounds can be just a little more respectable.
Or just as bad, cause fail=funny.

An awesome contest

Indie game developers out there! Here's what this blog is about... sometimes.
Here is a link to a site that will allow you to jump out there and get seen.
The Indie Games Challenge
Sure, it's sponsored by Gamestop, who are the Wal-Mart of video games, but it's nice to see that the big dealer supporting the little guy.
Get on there, get your game entered and give me a shout. I'd love to see your idea!
Indie games are such a key component of this industry so we don't have Madden Killzone Halo 245 for Holiday 2012.
But don't take my word for it, here's G4's Adam Sessler, who I look up to as a fellow journalist, making the point oh so eloquently.

Video Game - E3 2009 - Sessler's Soapbox

Keep me posted. Here in the Outlands the little guy is our favorite. Let us know what you are doing out there, and we will get your news and info out there for public consumption.

A little behind on golf

As promised, I was going to play the British Open with the pros on my Wii this week. After two practice rounds yesterday I set myself up to play my first round this afternoon, but found that it was time to head into the day job.
I will work to get in the round when I get home tonight, and will post my results for hopefully two rounds at Turnberry. Expect to see where I stand on the leaderboard, cause that's where I'm going to be looking to all afternoon.

What am I to do now?

Well, being away from the computer on Monday was a good thing in the end.
On Monday, Bethesda announced that the Fallout 3 DLC would not hit the PS3 until September, much later than the late June original release date.
If I were around on Monday, my head would have likely exploded.
Instead, the news broke for me late Tuesday and now I have had a night to sleep on it before getting so upset that I will storm around and complain.
Complain I will, but not here, not as much anyway.
Everyone says that's what I get for running a PS3, but to them I say, "Fudge ya!"
Anyway, there is a silver lining. The PS3 rollout of the content will be different than the XBox version.
Instead of getting Operation: Anchorage first and players like myself having to use a new character to jump right into the mix, PS3 owners will get Broken Steel first.
Broken Steel raises the level cap and allows the game to be played after the original ended.
That is great, cause I want to play as my good character again!
But I will have to wait until September to get my hands on that, so now comes the question as to what to play in the meantime.
Prototype and inFAMOUS are two titles that are really calling to me right now, but being on the cheap for the time being may keep Fallout in the drive until I can get some payola.

Follow me at the British Open

If you don't know who I am, I am a sports journalist for a newspaper in Oklahoma.
With this week being the British Open, I have decided to hit Turnberry with the pros on my Nintendo Wii.
Therefore, the rest of the week I will be posting my scores at the end of my blog entry. Hopefully there will be a leaderboard that will show how well I did against the guys that get paid to stand in the sun.
This will either be very good or very bad. I know that everyone out there wants bad, cause everything is better with fail.
See you tomorrow. Feel free to give me game suggestions in the comments section.

Welcome to the Outlander

Welcome to the Outlander Games blog!
I will be your host as we try to make sense of a lot of the weird stuff that happens in games and the like.
My name is Nick Livingston, and I am a journalist. I am a sports journalist, but as many people know I have a passion for video games.
Expect a little something every day from this blog with updates on news, videos and pictures of the kind of games I like to play.

In the PS3 right now - Fallout 3 and MLB 09: The Show

Waiting impatiently for the Operation: Anchorage DLC to drop, I have continued my evil trek through the Capital Wasteland. It's a lot different making my home Tenpenny Tower after blowing up Megaton.
This isn't my playthrough by far, but here is a fun video of Megaton getting nuked.

It was so easy to just head to Megaton and start my treks from there. Now I am in the corner of the map and have to march a long way to get anything done the first time.
Also, I'm so used to my level 20 good character, that it's weird to be grinding for XP again. However, in the Wastes it really doesn't feel like grinding.
Anyway, on to The Show, where my Houston Astros season had been on the back burner for a while. Jumped back into the mix today and got destroyed by the Braves, but it's a nice change of pace.

In the Wii - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

Don't really see any game taking hold of this system any time soon. It's just too good to take out and try to find something else to put in the Wii.
Don't have much to say other than bravo to Nintendo for their Wii Motion Plus and what it does for the game. I have never liked golf games, but this one is really fun.

Well, good first post. If you have stumbled across this, drop me a comment. I would love to see what you are playing and what you think of things.
Until next time.