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ZooCube (Nintendo GameCube, 2002)

01 Jan, 2018

Hidden gem. Spatial rotation puzzling at its finest. Cheesy.

Summary: At first glance, the idea seems sort of Tetris-like, because there are falling pieces. The pieces are animals that attach to your cube. A cube has six sides, and you can rotate your cube any way you want to catch the falling pieces. When you match up two pieces, they go away; unmatched pieces build up, and quickly become a problem. Controls: Smooth as silk. You can quickly rotate your cube for pitch, yaw, and roll- so when you lose, it was totally your fault. Timing can be critical, but the Gamecube's analog stick is responsive and precise, which suits the game perfectly. Gameplay: It eventually gets overwhelming, which can be downright fun. Every time you lose, there's a feeling like, 'I could have done better.' The tension is offset by music that is pleasant and non-annoying, but the colorful backgrounds are slightly distractive, without being visually impressive. There is also way more stuff on screen than a human being can soak in- tons of stuff going on. There are lots (and I mean LOTS) of power-ups, but this allows you to use different strategies to win: for example, you could choose not to pay attention to the power-ups, instead focusing on your reaction speed and accuracy... or, you could choose to focus on power-ups, and disregard the pieces that pile up, trusting that you will later wipe them out with a bomb. Cons: It gets tedious. As you progress to the point where you start to become skilled, it will take 15 minutes of play (through the easy slow parts) just to get to the part where it starts to challenge you. By the time you get there, you begin to feel burned out, and after two or three tries, you're likely to just quit playing. From the technical angle, the graphics are low-budget for the era, the plot is ridiculous and irrelevant, and the animal premise is cheesy. The game might have done better if the penguin piece, for example, were instead just a black cube; simplicity could have made this game more adult-looking. I also would have liked a few more options, and especially more variation in game type. I pretty much just stuck to the 'classic' mode until I grew bored. Conclusion: What an unexpected surprise! If you can get past the corniness of its appearance, and play it strictly for some quirky fun, ZOOCUBE will not disappoint. This game is a short burst of super original fun. Smart, addictive, and original, this game builds a fast pace that bombards you from all six directions. Don't dismiss it as too childish; I suspect that there were lots of parents out there that never gave this brilliant puzzler a second look- meanwhile, as their future engineer sat there, glued to the tube over it. 8.5/10 Jan 2018

Zoo Cube (Nintendo, Gamecube)

01 Jan, 2018

Hidden gem. Spatial rotation puzzling at its finest. Cheesy.

Summary: At first glance, the idea seems sort of Tetris-like, because there are falling pieces. The pieces are animals that attach to your cube. A cube has six sides, and you can rotate your cube any way you want to catch the falling pieces. When you match up two pieces, they go away; unmatched pieces build up, and quickly become a problem. Controls: Smooth as silk. You can quickly rotate your cube for pitch, yaw, and roll- so when you lose, it was totally your fault. Timing can be critical, but the Gamecube's analog stick is responsive and precise, which suits the game perfectly. Gameplay: It eventually gets overwhelming, which can be downright fun. Every time you lose, there's a feeling like, 'I could have done better.' The tension is offset by music that is pleasant and non-annoying, but the colorful backgrounds are slightly distractive, without being visually impressive. There is also way more stuff on screen than a human being can soak in- tons of stuff going on. There are lots (and I mean LOTS) of power-ups, but this allows you to use different strategies to win: for example, you could choose not to pay attention to the power-ups, instead focusing on your reaction speed and accuracy... or, you could choose to focus on power-ups, and disregard the pieces that pile up, trusting that you will later wipe them out with a bomb. Cons: It gets tedious. As you progress to the point where you start to become skilled, it will take 15 minutes of play (through the easy slow parts) just to get to the part where it starts to challenge you. By the time you get there, you begin to feel burned out, and after two or three tries, you're likely to just quit playing. From the technical angle, the graphics are low-budget for the era, the plot is ridiculous and irrelevant, and the animal premise is cheesy. The game might have done better if the penguin piece, for example, were instead just a black cube; simplicity could have made this game more adult-looking. I also would have liked a few more options, and especially more variation in game type. I pretty much just stuck to the 'classic' mode until I grew bored. Conclusion: What an unexpected surprise! If you can get past the corniness of its appearance, and play it strictly for some quirky fun, ZOOCUBE will not disappoint. This game is a short burst of super original fun. Smart, addictive, and original, this game builds a fast pace that bombards you from all six directions. Don't dismiss it as too childish; I suspect that there were lots of parents out there that never gave this brilliant puzzler a second look- meanwhile, as their future engineer sat there, glued to the tube over it. 8.5/10 Jan 2018

Outdoor Zipline Rescue Lifting Rock Climbing Fixed Rope Pulley Equipment USA

10 Jun, 2018

Xinda pulley: quality product, fair price.

This climber's pulley is nearly identical to the older Petzl Fixe. I'll include some pictures for comparison. It's very well built, so I would recommend. It's a nice design that's lightweight and compact. I've always kept the Petzl on my harness while climbing and rappelling. It was used with a 1/2" static line for everything from hoisting stuff to tree ascension and zip-lines. Don't expect a high-speed zip with a pulley like this, but it can be lots of fun if you have a chasm to cross. Just be sure to learn your knots. In comparison to my old Petzl, the Xinda seems every bit as well built, and dimensionally it's almost identical. In fact, the Xinda has less play in its bearings laterally, and the machining even looks a bit nicer than the Petzl. My one complaint is that the attachment holes have sharp edges when new; this would be harsh on equipment (like a carabiner) until the pulley holes 'break in,' so gently filing, sanding, or just rubbing those edges with a piece of metal before use might be a good idea. Conclusion: because the Xinda seems so rugged and costs so much less, I'm extremely satisfied with the product. I would totally trust it. Note: in the second and third pictures, the Xinda is on the left, and the Petzl is on the right. The Black Diamond carabiner is for scale.

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