ilomilo DLC coming out March 9th

Weee!!!! Southend will finally release brand new downloadable content for ilomilo (the cutest, bestest, and awwww-inducing arcade game ever) on March 9th...that's three days from now!

According to the developer blog over at ilomilo.com, the DLC titled "Autumn Tale" will include:

• 2 new chapters that continue the story of ilo and milo
• 19 new levels of puzzles
• 6 new bonus levels
• 3 new achievements

Yay!! I can't wait!! If you still haven't gotten on the wagon and played this adorable puzzle game yet, well then, I guess you don't like puppies!

Reading is Sexy!! Goodreads.com 2011 Reading Challenge

Behold a sampling of our massive collection of books

As part of the 2011 Reading Challenge for Goodreads.com, I've decided to tackle some literary works that I normally wouldn't read. Usually I'm all about fiction, memoirs, classics, the occassional graphic novel, or nothing. This year as part of my 28-book reading goal, I'm going to try to change that by adding science-fiction, fantasy, and even *gasp* romance.

The photo above is only a sampling of the books we bought at our favorite used book store, Camelot Books in Fountain Valley, California. There are a few in there I received as birthday gifts, and a couple others I purchased from Barnes & Noble and/or Borders. 

Dead Island trailer: are developers putting kids in harm's way on purpose?

Image courtesy of Wikimedia/Deep Silver

Last week the cinematic trailer (probably one of the BEST game trailers I've seen in a long while) for Dead Island made its way on the Internet and into the hearts of zombie aficionados everywhere. I admit, I decided to ignore the news about this forthcoming game mainly because I'm over the zombie apocalypse and we've already decided that if zombie warfare were to happen, you definitely want to team up with me. But after reading this little opinion piece from CNN titled, Why I can't get behind 'Dead Island', I was intrigued. Writer Omar L. Gallaga sums it up by stating that game developers are taking quite a few liberties in putting young children in the face of danger for the good of the game's story.

"...I'm getting uncomfortable with how comfortable game developers have become with putting children in peril and, often, allowing them to be gruesomely killed."

I went to IGN.com to check out the Dead Island trailer and knew it was pretty serious business when they asked me to punch in my birth date to make sure that I was over 18 (something any 10 year old can easily bypass). The trailer itself is amazing; the quality of the rendering is up there, the music serves as a melancholic dischord to the chaos that ensues, and the story is told in reverse and in slow motion. You can view the trailer at the end of the entry, but please take into consideration that the content is graphic and should not be viewed by/with children under 18.

BAFTA 2011 NOMINATIONS!

OMG! You guys! The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nominations for video games are in and my favorites LIMBO, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Halo: Reach, Mass Effect 2, and Kinect's own Dance Central have made the cut!! This is exciting news and such a terrific way to start my Wednesday morning!

I've never paid much attention to the BAFTAs, although I think they're like the UK's version of the Academy Awards, so to have these titles recognized by such a prestigious institution is totally off the chain! :)

I'll be sure to tune in March 16, 2011 to see which of my favorites walk away with that awesome BAFTA mask.

Visit http://www.bafta.org/ for more information.

Mini-Bibliophile Quiz!

My former Chipotle buddy, talented DIYer and Hello Kitty aficionado @LilMissTati posted this awesome book quiz a while back on her blog Tatiana Supports the Arts, inspiring me to do the same. SO, like a brownie, I snuck into her blog late one night and "borrowed" the quiz (she hasn't found out yet but methinks she soon will once I post this on Twitter, in which case, Hi Tati! When are we gonna hang out and get Chipotle like the good ol' days?) My goal for this year is to read 28 books in 12 months. Why 28? Because that's how old I'm turning in about two weeks (wah!)

After I finished the quiz, I realized that I haven't read enough:

• books written by women
• fantasy/sci-fi novels
• graphic novels
• historical fiction
• steamy romance novels that I'm too embarrassed to buy at the store myself

I'm hoping to change all of this starting this year.

Oh and while you're at it, be sure to check out @LilMissTati's etsy shop, Babushka Designs on your way out...her beautifully hand-crafted goodies are made with yarn, love and no preservatives :)

1. What author do you own the most books by? Chuck Palahniuk
2. What book do you own the most copies of? NONE but I seem to have accumulated quite a few issues of Motor Trend and InStyle
3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions? I’ve learned to tune that kind of stuff out when I’m not on the clock    
4. a. What fictional character are you secretly in love with? I’m not entirely in love with him, but if I could have a fictional fling with him it’d be Oliver Mellors from Lady Chatterley’s Lover
4. b. What fictional character would you most like to be? Marla from Fight Club…that girl was absolutely crazy and lived life on the edge, something that I can’t really see myself doing  
4. c. What fictional character do you think most resembles you? Max from Where the Wild Things Are. To this day I still daydream about things that could be

Current Obsession: ilomilo on XBLA

Image courtesy of SouthEnd Interactive and Microsoft Game Studios

THE BASICS

• Released on XBLA: January 5, 2011
• 800 MS points (about $10 USD)
• ESRB: E (for everyone)
• Puzzle platform
• Single and multi-player capable - however, there can be only one active character playing at a time
• Collect stuff, get prizes
• EASTER EGGS (10 to be exact)

Do you like cute things? How about real cutesy music, do you like that too?? Do you also happen to like solving puzzles? If you answered 'yes' to any of those questions, then you will absolutely LOVE ilomilo!

ilomilo was developed by Sweden's SouthEnd Interactive, the same company that brought you Deathrow and XIII. The story is simple: two friends, ilo and milo, meet at this bizarro park every day to drink tea, hang out, and enjoy each other's company. At the end of the day, both ilo and milo go home to their respective homes and meet again the next day. However, this proves to be a challenge because every day the park somehow changes and it gets progressively harder for ilo and milo to meet up. The objective is to unite ilo and milo who start off at separate ends of each level of this strange park.



"This isn't where we agreed to meet for tea, is it?" Big ups to
blog.ilomilo.com for the image!



Spring Cleaning

Usually when I make plans for my blog it consists primarily of post ideas from the blogging machine. But after running this blog for the past couple years and uploading a considerable amount of content, I think it's time I take the next step and submit it to Google FeedBurner. With that said, I'm going to have to do some major Spring Cleaning before submitting my blog, kind of like getting rid of a bunch of clothes and donating them to Goodwill. But instead of clothes, it'll be irrelenvant blog posts, giving proper credit to any photos/images, and cleaning up my language.

When I first started Fake It Like Bacon, my intent was to share my gaming and life experiences, but I had no idea how long I would keep this blog going. Now that I know that I have an audience, I'm going to keep writing and keep gaming for as long as you'll have me :) My intent is to make this blog kid-, parent- and gamer-friendly. Of course, I'll include anything of interest in my personal life without turning it into a 13-year-old's LiveJournal.

Thanks again for reading, and keep an eye out for any minor cosmetic changes.

Have a neat summer & K.I.T.!! *smooches*

Tuff Ryderz (@Vickipedia)

FAKE IT LIKE BACON IN NEW JERSEY/NEW YORK 2011!!

Disclaimer: I'm still a bit sick and medicated...if things in this post don't make sense, let me know and I'll fix it when I'm over this cold.

Hola my whimsical whimsies!! Fake It Like Bacon is going on the road to New Jersey and New York! We just booked our tickets for our week-long vacation to New Jersey/New York for April 11-18th and we're looking forward to visiting the Big Apple! (Why is it called the Big Apple anyway?) Two of our really good friends will be getting married in Livingston, NJ but since we'll be out there for a good week, we're going to act like tourists and see what the city has to offer two born and raised Southern Californians.

If you live in the NJ/NY area, get in touch with me with me via Twitter or leave a comment on this blog - what should tsudoku and I do during our brief stay in the East Coast? We both love to eat and drink, I love museums, and have every intention to visit NYU while we're there. And, I hear Dina Lohan (Lindsay's mom) lives in Long Island...if you can make it happen so that we can party with her, that would be uber awesome :) Of course, no trip would be complete without a trek to the famed Jersey Shore...going there will be our ultimate goal!


I'm sure the wedding will be beautiful. Thanks paleisthenewtan.com!

Fist-pumpin' in a town near you starting April 2011!

Review: A World of Keflings

Image courtesy of recgamers.com

A World of Keflings
Developed by NinjaBee
Released December 22, 2010 for XBLA
Cost: 800 MS Points ~$10
Downloaded December 22nd
Completed December 25th (Merry Christmas to me!!)

In a nutshell

PROS:
- Multi-player
- Story-driven
- More floorplans
- Three kingdoms to explore
- High replay value

CONS:
- Not enough kingdoms
- Length vs. cost (still on the fence about this)

2010: A Reflection

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! 2010 has been a great year for gaming but for me, it was a terrific year for personal growth. I hardly ever check my horoscope but for some reason I started the year by seeing what mine had to say:

Year 2010 Overview for Aquarius

Aquarius often gets pegged as being a little too cerebral for its own good. But the truth is, that's where you do your best work. The next year is going to give you the opportunity to use those sharp mental powers to focus on what it is you really want out of life. Two eclipses fall in your Twelfth House, which will bring out your intuitive side, and give you a chance to see your life from a less-strictly-logical (yet no less valid) perspective. The additional information they give you about your life and your position in it will be your big chance to put things in order.

Saturn is also going to be bringing big changes as to your philosophical approach to life. What fundamental approaches to life have worked for you, and what haven't? You may have never stopped to ask that question, or known the benefits of finding the right answer to it. This year, those answers will come, and your life is likely to be a saner, better-adjusted place for it.

Of course, it's impossible to have a well-ordered world around you without having a few other people in it. The middle part of the year will see close friends and partners coming and going in your life, more so than you've seen in a long time. In part, this will be a reflection of the changes going on in your "higher mind." And again, the overall effect should be a positive one. It's your worldview, Aquarius -- make it the best you can!

Now, I have no idea what these eclipses are doing in my Twelfth House, but I made sure to keep a look out and shoo them out the front door should they provide me with any problems. However, I didn't take the last paragraph about how close friends and partners will be coming and going out of my life seriously until it actually (coincidentally enough) happened.

But let me talk about the highlights and what I've learned (or cared to remember) about this year before it goes flying out the window.