Rogue Nation readers - be sure to get your geek on and check out Geek Bouteek’s Cyber Monday sale!  Get 20% off storewide.  Don’t miss this 1 day sale!!

Rogue Nation is  in the process of being listed on Technorati.  To verify we are who we say we are, they’ve asked us to publish this: PZYVQCTYGXJ3 .  Exciting, no?

We here at Geek Bouteek have a lot to be thankful for this year.  We especially want you, our Rogue Nation readers, to know that we are thankful for you!  Here’s wishing you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving.  Be sure to pile that plate full of turkey, stuffing and delicious desserts.  As always, keep it geeky.  Hopefully your post Turkey haze includes some video games with the family!

It seems that we can’t help getting caught up in madness that is Black Friday so we’ve decided to offer EVERY shirt in our store for 30% off its original price starting 8 pm EST Thursday, November 26th through midnight EST Friday, November 27th.

So stop by the Geek Bouteek before (or after) you spend the night camping at your local Best Buy, Walmart or Target in the hopes of scoring a $200 laptop or a $300 flat-screen TV.  Worst-case scenario is that you end up with a sweet deal on some awesomely geeky tees.

So one of the challenges of being a parent and a gamer, as well as a full-time consultant and t-shirt peddler, is the fact that’s it’s sometimes very difficult to find the time to actually play video games, particularly those of the “M” variety.  Because of this fact, I was pretty thrilled this week to be able to not only score a copy of the latest Call of Duty game on release day, but also because I was able to fit in a little game playing as well.  Granted, I wasn’t able to get a lot of gaming in, but enough to at least give you my first impressions of what’s be hailed as the BIGGEST GAME OF ALL TIME.

Now, if you’re into games at all and don’t live in a cave on some South Pacific island you’ve heard of the Call of Duty:Modern Warfare franchise.  Released in 2007, COD:MW is a FPS that marked a departure from the series’ WWII roots and became a gaming sensation all on its own, particularly because of its incredibly strong multiplayer modes.  While I did get a chance to play through the original’s single player mode, I must confess I never did once attempt the multiplayer, mostly because a) I feared if I started I would never stop and b) I didn’t feel like getting cursed at by 12 year-olds.  I have decided, though, that I will take the plunge and try out the multi-player, if nothing to see what all the fuss is about (although I will leave that for another upcoming post).

Although almost nothing this big ever lives up to the hype, having played through the first act of the single player campaign I can definitely say that Modern Warfare 2 delivers the goods in that it is both a technical marvel and a blast to play.  The one area that it falls a little short in is in the narrative of the single player campaign.  While the first Modern Warfare had a very tight story that revolved around a single set of events, in MW2 the story feels a bit more scattershot, with less time devoted to making it a coherent single-player experience.  Now, I know most people don’t buy COD games for the single player, but you can just feel the difference in terms of story between the original and this game, and it’s just a tad bit disappointing.

Also, the first game “felt” very relevant due to the fact the a good deal of the action either revolved around or was related to the Middle East, although in the end it became about Russian UltraNationalists.  In COD:MW2, it truly is the United States versus Russia, going so far as to have a level called “Wolverines!” in a homage to Red Dawn.  Again, it just feels like a missed opportunity to have made it a been more pertinant to the world today.

****SPOILER****

Of course, I can’t go without mentioned the infamous airport level, the leaked footage of which was making the rounds of the Internet prior to the game’s release, without context of course.  Within this level you are embedded uncover among Russian terrorists as they slaughter hundreds of civilians throughout an airport.  I have been playing video games for a long time and I honestly cannot recall a more disturbing or shocking video game level.  But it actually serves a purpose within the context of the narrative and is integral to the story.  The problem, in my eyes, is the number of parents who will cave into their children’s wishes and buy this game for them, most likely for Christmas.  Children are simply not equipped to process and understand the context of something like this in framework of an obviously adult-targeted game.  I am very much against video game censorship, but I am also very much against lazy and disinterested parenting.

So yeah, this game is fantastic, and if you’re at all into military-themed games or first-person shooters, you really need to play it.  And if you’re a parent and you buy this game for your kid, you’re an idiot.

Over the last century, many names have come and gone in the auto industry, and with the fall of the American automaker’s economy it’s no surprise that more brands are set for the chopping block.  GM’s decision to phase out Pontiac and discontinue Saturn has many feeling sentimental, myself included.    Pontiac has been manufactured by GM since 1926, going through ups and down of industry and style.  My husband’s first car was a Pontiac Sunbird and even though most of us had beaters for our first car, it was still ours and there’s a sense of pride and ownership that goes along with it.

Personally, I’m really disappointed to hear that it’s the end of the line for Saturn.  I’ve owned 2 and they both treated me well.  I’m full aware that Saturn is a baby in the car industry, having only hit the market in 1990, but their message always struck a chord with me.   In the early days, there were meccas to the Tennessee factory where they would have gatherings of Saturn owners and you didn’t feel like you owned a car, you felt like you were part of a family.  There was something geeky about them too, which is maybe why I liked them.

Certainly when Saturn first hit the market, there was nothing else like it on the road.  The fiberglass side panels improved gas mileage while also providing resistance to dents.  Saturn hit its adolescent stage for a while in the late 90’s where there was little variety, the models had model numbers as opposed to names and the initial excitement wore off.  Thankfully, adolescence turned into young adulthood and Saturn has some very popular, stylish and economical offerings right now.

Maybe I’ve just got a case of the grass is greener on the other side.  I’m an earth lover and I hate that my 2001 Maxima is a gas hog.  I hate that it has a poorly designed trunk that you can’t fit anything in.  I pine for a new car but can’t justify the expense.    I want something functional, stylish, green and a little geeky.

So it’s with a tinge of longing and sadness that I say goodbye to Saturn.  Maybe I’ll find a nice Vue on the cheap.  Problem is getting GM to hold up on the warranty.  There’s always a catch, isn’t there?