Back From Peru

A.J. and I have returned from our sojourn to South America. In fact, we've been back for something like 4 days, but I'm still not recovered enough to write a coherent post.

Like the first few days in Peru, the last few days were a whirlwind of activity. Thursday we headed for Ica and the Nazca lines. Originally, we intended to rent a car and drive ourselves, then hold onto the car for a few days to tour around Lima at our convenience. There was some hesitation due to the fact that Limeños drive like lunatics, but I lived there and learned to drive there, so I figured I could handle it.

We headed to the local Hertz location where we had a reservation waiting for us...great car, GPS, the works. We got a great deal on it, 5 day rental for $300 bucks. Anyway, we got the rental counter and just got swamped by 1000 pounds of total bullshit. The long and the short of it was they were just trying to lay it on us thick and wrangle a few more bucks out of us. Now if our ENTIRE TRIP to Peru had already not been an experience of people lining up to rip us off, I probably would have just laid low. But by the time they had finished with us, the rental had climbed from $300 to $700 plus a $1200 cash deposit. I had enough. I grabbed up my information, passport, their paperwork and stormed out the door. AJ and Dan got to follow me as I walked back to the hotel cursing.

At that point I had enough and just needed a break. Luckily, we found a driver to take us to Ica and wait there for us overnight for a mere $150. So we made it to Ica and chartered a plane to fly over the Nazca lines.

The plane ride was an experience. It was a tiny Cessna with just enough room for the 4 of us (pilot included) to squeeze in. After a bumpy 25 minute flight to the lines, we buzzed around taking pictures and movies. None of us lost our lunch, but it wouldn't have been too suprising if anyone had!

After the flight we were pretty pumped up and decided to hit to pools at the resort we were staying at in Ica. It was terrific. We had a good dinner, drank some Pisco sours and just had a good time

Friday we headed back to Lima, met back up with Tom and Kari and went to my favorite restaurant from back in my high school days. It was all good. Saturday we took it easy, slept in a little, toured around Miraflores then hit the airport for our midnight flight back to Miami.

Unfortunately, things kind of unraveled for us there. Our flight left several hours late from Lima, at about 3 in the morning. This left us unable to catch our connections back to St. Louis and we ended up getting routed all over the east coast until finally getting back to St. Louis around 7 the next day.

In 10 days, we took off or landed no less than 18 times. I'd have to say my fear of flying is cured! Overall, a great trip

-b

Dan Eats Crow

Well, usually my predictions are pretty spot on, but lately I haven't been doing too well.

I honestly thought they would retire Bruce Wayne and Dick would take over as Batman. I did predict Jason Todd would be Nightwing, but not that there would be two Nightwings. Though this would not be first time for that.

The one that is really sticking in my craw this week is Spider-man. Only a week or so ago I said that it would be months before we saw the "Iron Spidey" suit in the rest of the Marvel books, but low and behold they did it already! So maybe Marvel is actually working to put together a cohesive and structured universe. You know, I hope they do. It's weird, but nothing would make me happier then if Marvel books were set in a continuous universe like the DC books are. Take Vigilante for example; this book has no real ties to the DCU, but I have no problem believing that it takes place in the DCU, there's just this feel about it.

And that's what the Marvel books need more of as well I think. Runaways is a really good example of this. I easily believed it was in the Marvel U, even before they started getting all the guest stars. I also like the fact that they aren't based out of New York. But it does seem a little weird that Marvel doesn't use more locations then it does. Maybe it works the same way for super-heroes as it does for actors, actors go to Hollywood, super-heroes go to New York. Apparently places like Chicago, Portland, Miami, Houston and the like don't really have any problems with alien invasions or the like. I think that was one of the brilliant concepts behind Runaways, a cabal of smart super-villains in a town without any heroes. Yes, that sounds like a much better idea then robbing a bank in Manhattan half a mile away from Avengers Tower.

So good job Marvel! Now keep it up for six months and I might believe it.

Peru Day 5

I need to play a little catch up for everyone reading this, so I'm going to start with summarizing our trip in Cusco, Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu.

On our first day in Cusco we all got totally sun burned before we even knew it. Dan and AJ were like lobsters, and I'm wasn't much better off. But the weather was awesome - no rain until about 10 the second night and highs in the low 70's.

We had some great food - but were still trying to find a good place for guinea pig - a staple in Cusco apparently.

We had alpaca steak, a wide variety of traditional andean dishes (which were great), some terrific bbq and lots of crazy jungle fruit. We hiked up tall hills, but in the thin air it doesn't take much to wind you.

The first night we had a little trouble - there was a car in front of our hotel with the alarm going off until 2 in the morning. After the first hour of it, Dan and I pelted it with jungle fruit out of frustration. We also had to get Dan an oxygen bottle because the altitude sickness was still giving him trouble. He was fine the next day and we all seemed to have finally acclimated to the thin air.

The next day we took an 11 hour tour of the sacred valley of the Incas. We went to places I had never been before and it was awesome! We had a really terrific time.

There have been some amazing churches - some as old as 500 years. It's quite remarkable

The next day we hit Aguas Calientes. Talk about a tourist trap! I've never been so glad to leave a place.

On Tuesday we went to Machu Picchu. We were picked up at 6 am and taken up to the top of the mountain.

Our guide was a little spacey - probably was an Incan shaman in a past life. Very funny guy. He took us on a tour for about 3 hours then we had the day to ourselves. It rained on and off, and we got shrouded in clouds quite a bit. Nevertheless, we got some great pictures and movies.

We hiked all over the place and exhausted ourselves completely. It was great fun.

Kari and Tom stayed for another day in MP while Amy and Dan and I returned to Cusco Tuesday night. We had a great dinner at a 'European' restaurant as we were all kind of tired of Peruvian stuff.

Wednesday we returned to Lima and enjoyed some sightseeing and checking out my old hangouts. The city has changed dramatically - for the better, I think. We enjoyed some great cebiche and anticuchos and just basically took it easy.

Today we're getting our rental car and driving to Ica where we'll charter a plane and check out the Nazca lines.

This trip has been a marathon!

Golden Age of Mini-Comicdom

If you've noticed the mini-comic section sucking lately, then I'm to
blame. Apparently, there was a golden age of mini-comicdom in the
store back when April was running it. 'That's her thing' I'm told. I
like mini-comics. I just don't know a lot about them or where to find
the latest and greatest.

So with that in mind, I'm going to try to get some new hot stuff in
here. If anybody knows of any websites or forums I should be checking
out, let me know... or if there's something specific you'd like to
see in the store, lemme know that too. In the mean time, I'll be
posting here with updates and reviews like so...

(all reviews should be read in a kids voice a la Reading Rainbow,
because 1) My opinions are often uneducated and 2) Reading Rainbow's
the shit.)

POSTCARDS FROM A GHOST TOWN:
OLD WEIRD AMERICA #1
by Rose White

I liked Old Weird America by Rose White because it has a nice cover
and string binding, a touch that says 'I care'. There aren't any
pictures on the inside, but its still good. Rose White writes about
her life in Detroit. If you like hearing about dogs getting run over,
guys kidnapping people for entertainment, and neighbors commiting
suicide, then you'll like Old Weird America.

OSTRICH, HIPPO, AND JESUS ON GRASS
by Ryan Wells

I liked Ostrich, Hippo & Jesus on grass. It follows the old formula
of drawing in a kids style, with subject matter that isn't for kids.
but its still pretty funny. It runs a little long, though. After
staring at crayons and reading kidspeak for 30 minutes, your head
starts to turn to mush.

FOUL #17
by Brandon Wetherbee

I liked Foul #17. Its full of letters of apology to different people
for things that the author did to them. He writes to roommates,
girlfriends, teachers, a train station, non-males, non-caucasians,
and even you! I particularly enjoyed his apology to his mother. If
you don't feel the need to apologize to your mother, you're probably
a dick. There aren't any pictures in this one either. Not even on the
cover. C'mon people. really. consumers like pictures. I may stop
taking zines with no pictures. Even though they're occasionally good.

All of these and more are 10% off this week. They're usually dirt
cheap anyway, so check em out.

-Nick

While the cats are away...

So I read Nick's posting the other day, and yes, he has been hammered all week. Now I like my liquor as much as the next guy, but there is only so much a man can take!

But seriously, despite Ben and Aj out of town things have been running fairly smoothly around here. It's good to see that we're not totally incapable of behaving ourselves.

It was weird too, I have to get up much earlier on Wednesdays then I usually do, to go and pick up the comics. Most Tuesdays I'm in bed early and get a pretty good night's sleep, and in the morning Ben is always telling me how he was up all night thinking about stuff at the store.

Well guess what? With Ben not here, that all got put on me and it took me three or four hours to get to sleep! I kept thinking about all the things that needed to be done, customers to be called, orders to call back, damages to ship, all kinds of stuff! But I had to realize that the more I worried about it, the longer I was gonna be up, and the sleepier and crankier I was gonna be on Wednesday. But it all worked out, I got in this morning and James and I just flew through the shipment, took care of all the pull customers and had everything ready to go with 5 minutes to spare.

So I'm not sure what the moral of this story really is, but if there is anything I have learned over the last couple days it's this: While working in a comic book store may only drive you nuts, owning one will keep you up nights. Take that for what you will.

Day 3 in Peru

Today we´re in Aguas Calientes - a tiny little town that has sprung up around Machu Picchu to accomodate the large number of tourists coming to visit the ruins these days. I´m sitting out a massive rainstorm at an internet cafe right now. I´m amazed by two things: there´s internet cafes within walking distance of Machu Picchu and there´s an entire town here that wasn´t here 12 years ago.

Yesterday we had a marathon tour of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, visiting ruins, checking out churches and just sampling the local wares. I actually had authentic chicha yesterday. Chicha is beer made from corn or strawberries. I admit that I liked the strawberry better than the corn, but they were both pretty good. There isn´t a lot of alcohol content, so they serve it in HUGE mugs. You need to drink about half a gallon to get the effect of a pint of beer.

Tomorrow, we´ll get up at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise at Machu Picchu. Should be good!

-Ben

Day 1 in Peru

I´ve decided to go ahead and keep a blog of our trip to Peru. Some of you might already know that AJ and I are touring through Peru for a few days.

We flew out of St. Louis yesterday, St. Patrick´s Day and got into Lima this morning (3/18) around 5 in the morning. Fairly uneventful, but long flight. Customs was a breeze and I was glad to see how nice Lima is looking.

We got some help from and airport administrator who got us on an early flight to Cusco, saving us all kinds of time and giving us more time to acclimate to the high altitude. Cusco is 11,200 feet above sea level, so you spend this first few hours drinking coca tea and letting your body come to grips with the low oxygen level. Some bodies come to grips faster than others!

We´ve hit a restaurant and sampled some of the local cuisine - pretty good I´d say. Tomorrow we hit the Sacred Valley of the Incas and some ruins...I´ll try and post some pictures tomorrow.

-Ben

Upcoming Events (ROLLER GIRLS)

I just wanted to tell everyone about some upcoming events. First, come up to Blueberry Hill this Saturday at 9 for the Arch Rival Roller Girl 'Rock N Roller Benefit'. 3 bands in the Duck Room, 50 or so roller girls (sans rolling), good times...ten bucks. If you haven't heard of our fair city's new Roller Derby league, its because they haven't started competition yet. Look for that later this year. You can check out www.archrivalrollergirls.com for more info, and I'll probably be throwin updates on here too. Star Clipper likes Roller Girls. You should too.

Oh, and I'm goin to see this nutty Matisyahu guy tonight too. Gimme a holler if you see me.

and finally, tomorrow marks the first of ten days with the owners in Peru. I hope they enjoy their vacation and get some decent R&R. Back at the store, we'll be doing shots on the hour, every hour. If I can walk a straight line, you get your comics free!

that's it

-Nick

Ben Stole My Blog...

Ben stole my blog. that punk. If you've talked to me in the store, then you know I have nothing to say worth hearing. Then I finally had something to say and Ben stole it. I was going to write about the shoplifter, with a first-hand tale of the drama that unfolded, but Ben beat me to it. Sure, he provided a pretty detailed account of the events, complete with pictures. And yes, he mentioned the awesome speed of the U City Police. but he neglected to mention the real moments of heroism. Like me chasing the thief down (8-10 feet) on his getaway bike or when Amanda said 'Go get em'

Not to sympathize with the thief, but when I was a dumb kid (around his age), I got caught shoplifting and I was let go with with a slap on the wrist. But the icy stare of a Jamaican-born Best Buy manager was enough to scare me out of ever doing it again. If this kid turns to a life of crime, I blame only myself, for not being cabable of anything beyond a mildly chilly stare.

So what am I gonna blog about then?...hmm, current events?...uh...Jessica Simpson snubbed a presidential invitation because she didn't want to support republicans, on behalf of the non-partisan organization she's involved with...Operation Smile, devoted to giving free plastic surgery to children (sure there's a little more to it than that, but lets leave it at that)

...no, that's not interesting. hmm, well check this out then.

yeah, that's interesting. sure.

-nick

Planetes, Planets Pluh-screw it.

So I finally got to see the anime Planetes this weekend. It's the anime of essentially the only manga series that I have ever read completely through. The anime seemed to follow the manga more closely than most adaptations do.

The manga is a pretty cool story set about 50 years from now about this guy Hatchimaki, an E.V.A.(extra-vehicular activity) specialist who works as a debris collector in near Earth orbit. Now this debris can be anything from old satellites, or empty fuel canisters, to simple nuts and bolts. Have you ever seen when the space shuttle opens the outer cargo bay doors? Ineviatebly you can almost always see something floating up around the bay and out into space. An extra washer or nut that was accidently dropped while they were prepping the shuttle.

Now you may think, No big deal, right? Most of the time they're not, they fall into the atmosphere and burn up. But when they stay in orbit they can pose a significant problem. Do you know what a single washer traveling at orbital velocity (17,000+mph) can do to a space shuttle or satellite traveling at the same speed going the other way? The words hot knife and butter come to mind. So fifty years in the future, when humanity has colonized the moon, Mars, and the asteroid belt, there's a lot of debris in orbit, and someone has to clean it out. This is where the story picks up as the reader joins the crew of debris collector DS-12, "Toy Box" as it's crew calls it.

Now I gotta warn you right off the bat that there are a few of stereotypical Japanese characters in this book, such as Tannabe, the new girl on the ship. She's overly optimistic and has this compulsion to make everyone live up to her expectations, and yells at them until they do. I don't know why this type of character is so prevalent in Japanese anime, but I really wish they weren't. Are there really girls like this in Japan? Even though I find it hard to believe, there must be, why else would they be such a fixture of Japanese fiction? Anywho, this is one those books that I was talking about earlier this year, science fiction, not science fantasy. You can find the book series here at the store, and it's actually featured on my Best Books endcap this week.

-d

Crime doesn't pay...again

Somehow, somewhere, I wish there were a website for would be shoplifters to check all the worst places to shoplift. And if anyone knows of such a place, tell me how we can get Star Clipper on there, would ya!?

I have to think that we take security a lot more seriously than most other comic shops out there - and if you've shopped with us, you know about the cameras and the whatnot...so why do kids *still* try to lift stuff? We have busted so many kids since we moved to the new digs, and admittedly we're heading into a stretch where it's just gonna get worse, but what the heck.

The cause of this particular rant is last night's run in with a would be shop lifter. And I gotta add here, kudos to the U. City police who did a bang up job responding. They're always fast, but they set some kind of record last night. Check it out (names and faces altered to protect the guilty):

Grabby decides to leave store with a GTO DVD Manga box set stuffed down pants. You can see him leaving the store with a beige shirt and white baseball cap. He sets off the EAS system. Note time stamp of 18:30:29.



Nick, NOT wearing his super-manager tights brings Grabby back into store, where he proclaims his innocence. 18:31:10.



Grabby is brought out of the doorway and into the store. 18:31:28.



Police arrive. 18:31:52. That is only 1 minute and 23 seconds after Grabby set off the alarm!



Police take Grabby off to juvenile hall, where he will most likely get a mild tap on the wrist. 18:36:06



Total time elapsed from alarm to being led off in cuffs: 5 minutes 47 seconds! Kudos to the University City Police Department! Kudos to Nick for taking Grabby down!

Get Yer V Shwag Followup

I just wanted to let everyone know that there are still some passes available for tomorrow's V for Vendetta sneak peak. I put them out at the front counter for everyone on a first come, first serve basis.

-Dan

Get Yer V Shwag!

Hey All, Dan here with a special announcement for all of you. As most of you probably already know, V for Vendetta comes out next Friday. But, I have passes for a sneak preview this Tuesday, the 14th. Now I only have twenty, so the first twenty people who come in and say they heard about the preview from the blog gets one. You must mention the blog to get one. The first two people will get a V t-shirt as well. Now run!

-Dan

Marvel vs. DC, Part Deux

Previously we talked about Marvel, this time it will be DC.

Well, actually, when I come to think about it, I have no real gripes with DC. Oh sure, there some storytelling things, you know, go right where they went left, but thats about it. DC consistently hires the best in the business and lets them work on the type of projects that they want to, telling the type of stories they want to. In my opinion one of the best things that DC has going for it right now is a consistent universe. Usually this means when Superman gets made into Red Superman and Blue Superman, it's reflected not only in his own book, but any book that he guest stars in during that same time, or is featured in, such as JLA. But right now, with them doing their Crisis, this means that they're keeping things in continuity from week to week. This week's comics happen after last weeks comics and before next weeks comics. I'm sorry, but when you see a company doing some thing like this, keeping track of 40+ books and only dropping one or two here and there, it really puts Marvels attempts into perspective. I mean really, how long do you think it will be before Spider-Man has his new costume on in New Avengers? Or any other book for that matter?

But DC is not above copying Marvel if they think they see a good thing. As evidence, I point out the All Star line, and DC's new Showcase books. The Showcases are their answer to Marvel's Essential books that have been coming out for quite a long time now, while the All Star line is similar to the Ultimate line. I had originally hoped the All Star books would be our first look at a whole new universe from DC, some sort of Earth 3 if you like, but oh well.

Where DC really shines is their commitment to things outside of their core super-hero audience. Do you know how many imprints DC has? Six. There's the DCU, Vertigo, Wildstorm, Johnny DC, DC Library, and CMX. Seven if you count DC Direct which handles all the toys, statues, posters, etc. DCU is the mainstream, with titles like Superman and such ilk. Johnny DC makes the kids comics like Batman Strikes, Elfquest, Looney Tunes, and Scooby-Doo. Wildstorm, while still containing the original Wildstorm Universe has expanded to include any sort of crazy super power book that can't go into DCU. Ex Machina is a good example of this, as is Jack Cross, or the winding down ABC Universe from Alan Moore. These titles are usually more mature or violent then would go into a regular DCU book. Vertigo, as we all know is DC's Mature readers line for the non-super powered. This is usually the one to watch in my opinion, as books from this imprint tend towards large, engrossing, character driven books such as Y the Last Man, 100 Bullets, Fables, and (my new favorite) DMZ. Now technically CMX and DC Library are sort of the same thing, so I guess you could say I was wrong and that there are only five imprints, and of course CMX is probably winding down into nothingness. DC Library for the most part is imports. This covers reprints of the fantastic English label 2000AD, European publisher Humanoids, who DC acquired US distribution rights with, and CMX, which does Japanese imports.

With these five imprints there is not a story that DC can't tell. You want super-heroes? Done. You want something for your kid to read while you're reading Lucifer? Done and done. Hell, they even have comics that your grandmother will like. Marvel doesn't. Look at one of their recent endeavors, the I Heart Marvel books, ostensibly a line of romance comics. Well, not really a line so much as a series of one shots. And I can't help but notice that they're all super-hero romance comics. It's like walking into a bookstore and finding out all they carry are novels about 19th century English ladies-in-waiting. 100,000 books and they're all Pride and Prejudice (sorry to all you P & P fans out there -b).

With that in mind, I would like you to answer me one question: When was the last time you read a novel? I know there are some of you out there who don't read anything but comics, my best friend is one of you. When was the last time you read a NON-fiction book? If it was for school it doesn't count. I'm talking about a good non-fiction book that you read because you liked it. If you can't remember, shame on you, you might as well be shopping at the Jane Austen store. Variety is the spice in life, don't forget. Tell you what, come in and I will help. We'll even start you off easy with a non-fiction comic. I know, I know, blasphemous, right? But I assure, they do exist, and they tend to be great reads.

Behind the Scenes

I figured that as one of the owners of this shop, I should actually post something...dunno if it's interesting or not, but what the heck...

AJ and I are going to miss your smiling faces for a few days this month because we're heading down to my old stomping grounds. Most of you probably don't know, but I grew up in South America, and graduated from high school in Lima, Peru. Some friends of ours talked us into returning there for a little R & R, so we decided to pull the trigger and do it.

I'm sure you can imagine just how hard it is for AJ and I to leave Star Clipper alone for any extended period of time, especially when we'll be incommunicado - I mean, can you get cell phone reception in the Amazon jungle? Actually, it turns out that you can, at least in Machu Picchu, one of the many places we'll be hitting. We'll be visiting Cusco, Machu Picchu, Nazca, Lima...I'm actually getting quite excited about it. I downloaded Google Earth (best freeware EVER) and putzed around with it, finding our hotels, restaurants we'll be patronizing, etc.

But back to the point - how can we leave Star Clipper alone for so long? I suppose we're leaving it in pretty good hands with Dan and Nick and all, but being total control freaks...well, y'know. I don't imagine they'll burn the place down.

Speaking of burning the place down, I'm very proud of myself for just installing a timer on the switch for the lights in the front of the store. Dan gets all the credit for the idea, but installing it was a royal pain in the butt. It turns out that of all things, our entire computer infrastructure runs on the same circuit as those lights, so turning off that circuit entails a bit of work: shutting down our database server, telephone server, music and backup server, powering down our wireless hub, and our cisco hub and our internet bridge, turning off the battery backups...cameras...it's a huge pain! And wouldn't you know it, the dang electrical box for the switch was too small, so I had to switch that out too! Anyway, now the lights in the front of the store will stay on into the wee hours of the night so all the late partiers can see what they can't buy until the next day. It's the little things, people!

Oh yeah, one more thing...some people think the store is too dim. I agree. You should soon notice a major change in the brightness of the shop in the next few days. We've found a solution that doesn't result in the heat problems we had with our old lights. Calculate the BTU output on 200 60 watt incandescent lights, and that'll give you some idea of what we were up against...

Best Books You Haven't Read Display

Hey everyone, just wanted to throw you quick note here. Be on the lookout for one of our new displays in the store called "The Best Books You Haven't Read". Every couple of weeks yours truly will be highlighting what I think are some of the all around best comics that just aren't getting the attention they deserve. Past books have included Captain Atom, Batman and the Monster Men, The Losers, and Jonah Hex. This week look for Down by Warren Ellis & Cully Hammer, Paris by Andi Watson & Simon Gane, and Scott Kurtz's PVP among others.

You can find the display on the end cap facing the plasma TV in the back of the store.

Art School Confidential

Dan Clowes' new movie, Art School Confidential, has a trailer out.

Its directed by Terry Zwigoff, who did Ghost World (and the Crumb
documentary). But does the trailer flash "From the makers of Ghost
World" in giant letters? No, its 'from the director of Bad Santa".
sigh.

Looks like its got some potential though. 'I was one of the first' -
's a funny line. I've often said Ghost World is my favorite comic book
movie. That's only because it pisses off my friend Chris, who wants me
to say Spider-man or whatever, but it is a good movie. This new one is
based on a comic that I think is available in the Twentieth Century
Eightball trade, but I'm not sure. I haven't read it yet.

And while you're on Apple, check out the second Scanner Darkly trailer
too. I'm thinking thats the movie I'm most looking forward to right
now. It better be good. Keanu Reeves owes us.

-Nick

Galactica

So I know I said last time that we would get back to the whole Marvel Vs. Dc thing, but you're just going to have to suffer another day or two.

I want to say something about one of my favorite TV programs real quick here. Well, you know, quick for me at least. As I have said before, big sci-fi fan here, so of course I am a huge fan of Battlestar Galactica. Actually, most of us here, sans Amanda I think, are big fans of the show.

Anywho, I know that I am probably preaching to the choir on how good a show it is, so let's talk instead about the Battlestar Galactica video game that came out about the same time as the pilot. In the current show they are actually fighting the second war with the Cylons. Apparently the first war ended 40 years ago with the Cylons leaving known space not to return till now. One of the nice touches on the new series was the 40 year old Cylons looked like the ones from the first series, ships and all.

Now I must admit, I was never a fan of the original. It's not that I didn't like it, I was just really too young to know anything about it. I remember my older brother and my dad watching it, and I know my brother had some of the models, but it never really made an impression. So consider my anxiety when I pop Battlestar into my PS2 and find out it's based on the original. But wait, what's this, I'm playing as Bill "Husker" Adama?! Turns out the video game is actually based on the new show, but set in the FIRST Cylon war! You get to fly a Mark II Viper(the original), an experimental Mark III Viper, a Cylon raider, and use the point defense batteries on the Galactica in several missions.

The thing that really got me about the game though was the fact that they use real space combat physics! Need to make a strafing run on an enemy Basestar? Try this. Approach the target on a parallel course, cut your engines, and rotate 90 degrees to face the target. Your momentum will keep carrying you forward along the axis of the ship while you're free to bring a world of pain to the enemy. Now being a veteran of such campaigns as Descent: Freespace I & II, all three Colony Wars, and Freelancer, I thought I was prepared to go in and kick some major ass.

Yeah, not so much apparently. This game is tough! Not tough in the unbeatable sense, but tough in the sense that just like the show, you are routinely outnumbered something like 50 to 1. Or, as in some cases, the mission profile they give you is just insanely complex. Such as the one that I have been stuck on for the last six months or so. Yeah, this game is that much fun, that even though I've been stuck on the same mission for six f'ing months, and still come back to it at least twice a week to try again. Actually, I might have to go and try again tonight. I just know I can take that Basestar this time! In conclusion, it's cheap, it's not that hard to find, and it's one of the best space combat simulators I've ever played. Whether you're a fan of the original series or the new one this game has something for you. I have spoken, now get out there and get it.

P.S. And if you can beat the game on the hard mode, I'll buy the drinks. Bonus points for anyone who can tell me what other semi-famous ship makes a cameo in the series and what scene it's in. Here's a hint, I said semi. Good hunting!