All posts by Eric "smurph" Murphy

Eric is a software engineer and father of two, who's hobbies include video games, open source software, and just being a geek.

Happy 1st Birthday, Emma!

Today is Emma’s first birthday. One year ago today, we stayed up all night after some Gears of War 2 Horde rounds to welcome the youngest of our daughters into the world. Emma wasn’t as early as Payton, but she was about a month early so, once again, it was a little scary. This past year seems like it has gone by so fast. I can’t believe she’s one year old already.

Emma is a such a bundle of joy. She always smiles, loves cuddling, and giggles a lot. She’s quite a bit different than her big sister so it’s exciting to watch them grow up. Her birthday will always be special since it marks the day our family became whole (no more babies for us).

Happy Birthday Emma!

It’s a Smurfy Day | The Brothers Brick | LEGO Blog

Lego Papa Smurf

If you don’t know by now that I have a life long connection to the Smurfs by namesake, you should just leave this blog and never come back. Just kidding. I saw this today and was amazed. This is SOOOO cool I want to build one myself and keep it in my non-existent office, right next to all the other geeky things I want to build (like a Mame cabinet).

Pure. Awesome.

It’s a Smurfy Day | The Brothers Brick | LEGO Blog.

Thanks to bs angel of Hawty McBloggy for thinking of me 🙂

We got a Wii!

My wife surprised me yesterday with a Wii for our anniversary! We only have Super Mario Party 8 and Wii Sports but we’ll be adding more to our collection soon. We also had a GameCube way back when we started dating so we’ll dig those games out too.

So far the Wii is exactly what I’ve expected. Lots of fun, simple games that get you off of your chair/couch which is a nice change. I’m impressed with all the channels available but the community features are lacking. What the hell is with the Wii ID code thing? That’s just ridiculous.

Graphics, of course, could be better. Its hard to go from Xbox 360 to Wii but at least the graphics are very clean and pleasant to look at. I like the integrated WiFi (connection was a breeze) but I would have opted for an ethernet port since I already have a switch in my cabinet.

Overall, I’m really excited about having a Wii finally. I’m excited that Payton should be able to start playing some of these games. Of course, its every gamer dad’s dream of having kids that will game with them. My wife rocks!

If you have a Wii, feel free to add me. My code is: 4351-0219-0087-7428

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone has a blast this Christmas season. I know I haven’t posted in a long time and that really sucks… a lot (sorry). We’ve been incredibly busy and frankly, have had some weird happenings going on keeping us from blogging among other things. But Christmas is turning out pretty well!

So lets catch up… A few months ago, Borderlands FINALLY made it to our doorstep and we couldn’t be happier. The game is an absolute blast! We’ve logged 45 hours in the game and we’ve still got a ways to go. We have a few minor complaints, but overall, its definitely one of our favorites.

The following month, Halo 3 ODST came out and we had a blast with that one as well! The campaign really surprised me, I was not expecting such a gripping story and incredible graphics. Its hard to believe its just a tweaked Halo 3 engine. We’ve also had a lot of fun with Firefight which is definitely way more exciting than survival/horde modes in other games. I really hope Bungie is working on some Firefight DLC, but it doesn’t sound like that will happen. Firefight could definitely use some more maps.

Earlier this month, my lovely wife gave me an early Christmas present. Just like last year, we were slaying zombies before Christmas, this time in Left4Dead2. The game definitely has a lot to offer despite all the controversy. Although, I must say, I wouldn’t pay full price for it. The survivor AI got dumber and the AI director got tougher. After the fourth time one of our AI buddies spooked a witch, I started getting really annoyed. We left them behind quite a bit because going back for them was usually more trouble than it was worth. Overall, it is a fun game, and I look forward to logging some more hours on it. I’m not sure I want to try the next difficulty without having a full crew of friends though. The AI was just too aggravating and I don’t think we stand a chance with them.

Achievements! Wow, I’ve had fun with achievements lately. I’ll just list my recent favorites…

From Left4Dead2: CL0WND, CLUB DEAD, and HEAD HONCHO were all a blast.
From Halo 3 ODST: Be Like Marty (drove my wife around on a ‘hog), Vidmaster Challenge: Déjà Vu, Vidmaster Challenge: Classic (way easier than I thought it would be), and Vidmaster Challenge: Endure.
From Borderlands: You’re on a boat! (ok, I confessed, I kind of cheated on this one), Facemelter (LOVE corrosive weapons… *sizzle*), and that’s it so far. I really want to figure out what the rest of those secret ones are but without cheating :).

I’m REALLY looking forward to Halo Reach. The trailer was fantastic. I’d link to it but I won’t because I strongly recommend you download it on your 360 and see it in HD with glorious sound. I’ve watched it several times now and I’m still all giddy.

Another one on my list is Brink. There are four videos on XBL for that as well. They show off the SMART system of movement which is pretty snazzy. Its Mirror’s Edge craziness but easier (or at least the dev made it look easy). The other videos show off a few different classes and the objective system. Brink is really shaping up and six player co-op has me extremely excited. If there’s no split screen, I’m going to be extremely bummed.

That’s about in on the game front and I don’t have a whole lot to add about anything else either. If you see me online this weekend or next week, send me an invite! Tuesday, we’re getting together with my brothers for some in-person gaming but other than that, we’re pretty free. So again, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Can I Has Reconz?

There’s a ViDoc for that.

Bungie was nice enough to let everyone earn their recon armor with the addition of Halo 3: ODST. I’m not quite there yet (still need classic and deja vu) but I’ll be there soon. If you’re having trouble with the Road to Recon or are in the mood for some good ol’ Bungie developer humor, check out the latest ViDoc.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead! Watch at your own risk. You’ve been warned!