After finishing up Neon White, I found myself in the ever-familiar what-to-play stage of life. Summer vacation has begun, I have some PSN credit and nothing is beckoning me. So, on this Friday afternoon, I booted up the best pinball game ever: Demon’s Tilt. Now, its successor, Xenotilt is a great game and truly does address some of the issues with the original. But I think the first remains the best and since Xeno never came out on console, today was a Demon’s Tilt kind of day. I’ve hit a billion points a number of times, and that’s always the goal, but alas, I lost my first ball with less than a million points. What followed was a 20-minute run unlike any other. Multi-balls, Wizard Mode, more multi-balls. My console record was 1.53 billion. My PC score is about 1.8. Today’s result? A whopping 2.23 billion points! I haven’t touched the game in months and I get my highest score ever! Pretty fucking cool. I saved a video of the run that I’ll never watch, but still.
Archive for the Best / Worst Category
Return To Demon’s Tilt – New Record!
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, High Scores/Accomplishments on June 21, 2025 by slatemanNeon White: Stylish Flair & Incredibly Unique!
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, Personal on June 20, 2025 by slatemanI started this game on PC last year and waited for a sale on the PSN to grab it and play it on console. After a few short spurts, I was enjoying it, but not fully sold. Then something clicked. And for a week and a half, I was hooked entirely. I simply couldn’t get enough. The superhero feeling, flashy style, zippy flow and cool presentation all kept me returning. Despite some frustrating sections, it was, overall, just remarkable. Easily on of my favorite games of the last few years. Without question.
Concert Review: Emperor – Silver Spring, MD – 11 May, 2025
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Music, Reviews on June 16, 2025 by slatemanI remember hearing In The Nightside Eclipse in my freshman year of college. It truly was beyond my comprehension at the time and while it grew on me, it was Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk that was the moment of my tr00 conversion to black-metal fanaticism. Still, the band’s debut album always held some sense of mysticism: the raw production, legendary album art and airy allure kept it almost at an unreachable level of appreciation. Until tonight, that is.
I was fortunate enough to see the band in 2006 (sans Samoth) in New York and then again in 2017 in Norway where they played all of my top-10-favorite album Anthems in its entirety. When the mini-tour in the spring of 2025 was announced, imagine my surprise that this small Maryland town would be privy to host the mighty Emperor’s presence. Tickets were secured without a moment of hesitation. The fact that Nightside would be celebrated on this night was merely icing on the proverbial cake.
Google took me straight through DC for my trip this evening and the stop lights aplenty were enough to diminish spirits. Arriving in time to catch a glimpse of Wolves In The Throne Room was fortunate, and I enjoyed their droning sounds as I waited in the lengthy merch line. A quick trip to the bar and the head, not in that order, led me to meeting up with Tim, Erin’s former colleague, whom I’ve seen almost annually, after last years Mother’s Day Wayfarer concert and At The Gates’ revisit of Slaughter Of The Soul in 2022. The conversation was heavy on AI and the inevitable demise of the future, but I respect his vantage point and his words I revisited in the coming days.
Unfortunately, such distracted banter and my less-than-two-week-old surgery meant that we didn’t get very close for tonight’s festivities. I was quite disappointed in that, but while my desires to be close are never far from my thoughts, being anywhere near was impractical. Far away I resided for the night, as evident by some of my photos.
The album’s intro began with members emerging one by one into view. Ihsahn arrived last, just as the opening blast beats began and Into The Infinity Of Thoughts issued forth, its memorable-yet-simple riff accompanying Trym’s consistent rhythm. Shoulder injury may have relegated me to the detached realms of the venue, but my enthusiasm was not affected by said distance. I was immediately immersed into one of the less-known but most-influential recordings in history. They sounded fucking fantastic. Almost unrealistically so. The draw of the original LP is its sound and production, but it’s not the most approachable. Tonight, I could hear it all: Secthdamon’s booming bass, appropriately-mixed keyboards, Trym’s clocklike perfection and the one-two punch of Samoth and Ihsahn – it was fucking perfect.
That this was all written as teenagers isn’t lost on me. The Burning Shadows Of Silence, Cosmic Keys To My Creations & Times – it’s all such nonsense. But it sounded simply incredible. With each subsequent song, my appreciation grew. Emperor has always been my favorite black-metal band and despite having seen them twice before, tonight cemented this forever, with Nightside magically moving up my favorite-albums-ever list despite being three decades old.
And thus, as the night continued on, I realized that black metal – now three decades old – is all grey. Neither Ihsahn nor I have yet to hit 50, but Samoth certainly has. Tim mentioned how he resembled Father Time. The band’s balance between the extreme and the melodic – few have done it as well as they did on this record and this evening’s performance sounded as good as I could’ve hoped.
The final two songs from Nightside are legendary in their own right and they were both, almost dismissively, just as expected: phenomenal. This alone would’ve constituted a perfect evening but of course, there was more. While other shows (Europe, mainly) had some early-era material, they instead moved along with newer songs: one of my least-favorite IX Equilibrium songs, the requisite Prometheus entry and four from Anthems. You can guess which from each appeared, but predictability does not diminish quality and as Ye Entrancemperium concluded, my enthusiasm was exhausted. I often revisit my introduction to this song way back in 1997. The moody vastness of Alsvartr leading into the mind-boggling speed of this track was indubitably my introduction to their claim: “Emperor plays Sophisticated Black Metal Art exclusively”. Holy shit, it exceeded even my lofty expectations.
The night’s outro, The Wanderer, felt apt. An epic finale to a journey decades in the making. Having seen them several times over numerous years and in different states and countries – the voyage from teenage angst to mature adult – it all felt both perpetual and fleeting. I’d certainly see the band again, but I couldn’t ask for anything more after such a tremendous night. Simply amazing.
Setlist
- Into the Infinity of Thoughts
- The Burning Shadows of Silence
- Cosmic Keys to My Creations & Times
- Towards the Pantheon
- The Majesty of the Nightsky
- I Am the Black Wizards
- Inno a Satana
- Tape: Opus a Satana
- Curse You All Men!
- Thus Spake the Nightspirit
- The Loss and Curse of Reverence
- With Strength I Burn
- In the Wordless Chamber
- Ye Entrancemperium
New 5×5 and 7×7 Records
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Cubing, Cubing Records on May 18, 2025 by slatemanAfter adding a Gan 562 M to my collection, I also nabbed an Aofu WRM M 7×7 used alongside several other high-quality puzzles. I knew my 5×5 record was in reach but my times were really nothing particularly good. The expensive Gan cube just wasn’t giving me the edge I needed. So, with my wife out of town and my shoulder slowly recovering from surgery, I did a few 7×7 solves. My first one was 16:16.92 – literally one second slower than my record! After a few botched efforts with edge pairing going repeatedly awry, I busted out a 14:21 – breaking my record by two full minutes!
So, naturally, the question was: could I break two records in one day? The 5×5 record has stood for three-and-a-half years after all and a sub-four-minute time always seemed out of reach. Well, after a record-setting 4:03.70, I shattered the record with a 3:48.81! Sub-four and two records in one day. These new puzzles are just unreal compared to what things were like when I started. I’m quite satisfied with both and while that 7×7 could probably get better, I’m never in a rush on puzzles that take so long. Now to edit and update my cubing-records page!
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Gan 562 M UV: A Premium 5×5
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Cubing, Cubing Records on May 1, 2025 by slatemanMy history with cubing nears its 15th anniversary and that time has been spent on both the speedcubing side and the collecting side of the hobby. While most of my best times are likely behind me, I’ve also reached a point in my life where I don’t need to make quibbles over an extra few dollars per puzzle. In recent years, I’ve replaced many of my older collection with higher-quality puzzles, matching the hobby’s current state in the mid-2020s. Some of those additions have helped me break records, others just made the process of solving that much more fun. My Gan 356M got my times lower, but my Gan Megaminx didn’t break any new records. Nor did my now Moyu Aosu V7 4×4. A great puzzle, sure, but my times may have hit their peak in brevity, residing forever in yesteryear.
Today’s new purchase was the 562 M – and like the Aosu, I opted for the UV coating. This puzzle has a premium feel and is the most-impressive higher-order puzzle I own. While the Aosu feels like a half notch between quality and budget, the 562 looks and feels like my hard-earned dollars were spent wisely. My first timed solve was 4:19, just seven seconds off my record. And, I’m wearing a sling after shoulder surgery three days ago.
I feel confident this puzzle will help me break my record and perhaps the ever-elusize sub-four-minute solve may even be in sight. Regardless of time accomplishments, it’s safe to say I will never go back to any of my prior 5x5s: not my original YJ Mini, nor my original ShengShou or even the SS magnetic stickerless from a few years ago. All retired for this new one. And I’m sold: you get what you pay for and OMG, this Gan 562 is one of the best puzzles in my entire collection.
2025 In Concerts
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Music on March 7, 2025 by slatemanI’ve got some big shows coming up this year and I am quite excited. This list will hopefully grow, but as of early March, I have four really-exciting concerts on the horizon. Let’s see.
11 May: Emperor
28 May: Metallica
09 Jul: Ghost
14 Sep: Bruce Dickinson
There are a few others but I may not make it to those shows.
PSN: 10,000 Trophies!
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, High Scores/Accomplishments, Lists on December 1, 2024 by slatemanThrough some strategic planning, this morning I achieved my 10,000th trophy on the Playstation Network – and that trophy was the platinum for Vampire Survivors!
It’s a geeky journey which means little to few…any, really. However, I find it interesting. Some quick stats:
- First Trophy: 2 July, 2008
- First Game: Super Stardust HD
- Total Days Since: 5,996
- Total Platinums: 70
- Additional 100% Games: 20
- Most Trophies/Year: 2016 – 1,122
- Fewest Trophies/Year: 2023 – 315 (excludes 2008)
- Total Months With 0 Trophies: 7 (4 within the first year of Trophies)
- Most Trophies/Month: 236 (Thank you, My Name Is Mayo)
- Most Platinums/Year: 2019 – 16 (Thanks Vita shovelware)
- % of Bronze: 75%
- % of Silver: 17%
- % of Gold: 8%
- % of Platinum: 0.7%
Platinums By Platform
- PS5: 10
- PS4: 24
- PS3: 10
- PSV: 26
Perhaps more to come.
Minishoot’ Adventures: Fun!
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games on April 27, 2024 by slatemanI’ve been quite enjoying Steam’s indie offerings as of late. Not that fantastic entries weren’t available in recent times, but for some reason, my patience for PC gaming has increased and after being simply obsessed with Balatro (after my second 100+ hour Elden Ring run), I’m now firmly entrenched in Minishoot’ Adventures! It’s simple and light and precisely what I need. Looking forward to continuing this adventure and the prospect of more in the future!!!
Balatro: Surprise Game Of The Year
Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games on March 26, 2024 by slatemanIt’s another case of, “I never knew I wanted a game like this,” yet here we are and I’m enthralled, utterly, with Balatro and its mechanics.
It’s simple but deep and full of game-breaking strategies – all of which are designed to be so broken. After a bit of time just messing around, I started trying to win and…to my complete surprise, today was the day! Armed with the powerful Triboulet joker and four kings of hearts, I beat the eighth ante, earning a whopping $260k on one hand! It was quite silly, really, but that is the point. I’m having such a blast with this stupid game.