Picked it up yesterday. Rail shooters are so fun. Especially when your killing loads and loads of zombies and other infected beings.
I'm pretty happy with it, I'm about to go play some now.
Anyone else get it? What's your thoughts on it?
It has a slight shaky cam at times, but I think it makes the game more fun and more challenging. It makes you focus more. IMO.
When criticizing a game, forum posters love to throw around certain buzzwords. For shooters, one of those words is "run 'n gun." In this big thread about Call of Duty, that phrase popped up in about every other post. There was quit a bit of debate about whether or not Call of Duty is a "run 'n gun" (RNG) shooter.
Here's a better question: Why's that matter?
| I wrote: |
| What's "run 'n gun" mean? If I look at it literally, that seems to mean I can run and shoot at the same time, or at least fast movement will have minimal effect on my accuracy (like in Unreal Tournament, for example). People get in arguments over terms without ever defining them. |
So let's say our game in question is RNG. Most shooters are. So many posters in this thread seemed to think that if they said "COD's RNG!" enough, that automatically means it's a bad game. I've literally seen posts that were a single sentence: "CODs a run and gun shooter, lol." Okay, what does that prove? I'm not even getting into the argument of whether the game is RNG or not. When you break down what RNG means, it shines absolutely no light on whether a given game is good or not. It's just irrelevant jargon, like FPS versus TPS.
Tomorrow: "Realism" in shooters, another word people love to throw around as if it's actually relevant.
Hello people, its been a long time since I made one of this things I know. Please dont complain or anything.
Well I would talk about the many games I have played since I last posted a blog but the truth is that I don't really remember them all, I rate them all so if u see the recent ratings I have given then you might be able to tell if I liked or not whatever I have played lolz.
Im here to announce that today in the night im moving to the city where im gonna study university, yep I finally finished high school and now im moving... I know it really doesn't make a difference for internet friendz since we don't really know each other and because I never really post anything here in gs, many people surely thought I was dead... but HA! I was not.
I will probably spend a few days without playing gamez or coming to the internet since I hav no idea where im staying and im looking for a place, meanwhile I do it I will only play DS lolz.
Also I'm gonna live alone, omg its gonna be awesome im soooo gonna get high and wasted every dam night of the rest of my life...... naaa not really but living alone FTW
Soo emmm.. I don't know why I made a blog to comment that... maybe cuz im a little nervous or cuz im bored of packaging and I wanna kill the time... but thats not very smart since if I kill time I will have less of it to finish... so OMG I better go back to pack my stuff in boxes 
Ok emmm thats all, any comments, doubts, suggestions or clarifying, please lave a comment (I don't accept complains -.-)
And with a new path to walk ahead of me, a new university and an uncertain future, Shantrix out.
P.D. THE CONDUIT RULZZ!!! (screw allwho says that it doesn't, I like it dammit)
After the last blog, I told myself, "Self, don't write when you're feeling down. It looks bad."
...so, I didn't. See how that worked out (as in, nearly disappearing for a month and a half)?
I also refuse to even think the words "it can't get any worse" (because it always can).
At the end of the week that saw the deaths of Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett, and the recall of Michael Jackson to his home planet, I got a phone call from someone I hadn't heard from in 4 years, telling me to check the newspaper... specifically, the obituaries.
That's how I found out a co-worker and good friend, who I hadn't seen o heard from since he went over to the Phillipines to do missionary work, had passed away.
Now I remember why I was happy to leave that job: some people just don't know how to deliver bad news.
Out of that long, fuzzy weekend of parties (my youngest graduated from pre-school) and funerals (well, more like a memorial service... no body, since the Phillipines hadn't released it yet), I got the distinct feeling that maybe... just maybe... it was time to kick myself out of my fugue and start living again.
So... I got my mind back together. I tried to determine if it's a mid-life crisis, but decided the whole transition from midnight-shift convenience store clerk to programmer qualified nicely... since that's over: end of mid-life crisis.
I also got dragged to another of my wife's concerts: REO Speedwagon, Styx, and .38 Special. Styx put on an outstanding show, but REO almost ruined it by making it political (is there anything more annoying than dealing with a preachy singer for 2-3 minutes between songs, when you are at the concert to escape from the crap he's preaching about?!?). .38 Special was... well, there.
The highlight, though, was a special on tickets for Creed on August 11th. Looks like 5 of us (my wife, our oldest, his friend, one of my friends, and me) are going; it's going to be epic.
In other news...
I found some good books at a flea market on a road trip out in the middle of nowhere: State of Fear by Michael Crichton (it will change the way you look at global warming) and The Face That Must Die by Ramsey Campbell (has to be one of the most off-beat horror writers around... definitely an acquired taste). I also found a $5 copy of Jason X (awful movie I've seen several times... I saw it, and immediately had to have it) and Far Cry (finding a second-hand PC game anywhere is notable these days... makes me hopeful for the future of mankind).
After seeing Styx, I hunted down a copy of Paradise Theatre on CD (oddly enough, my cassette seems to have disappeared). I'm happy.
Finally... I'm writing an editorial by the end of the week (barring an intervention). Keep your eyes peeled.
Have a good week, and stay warm. 
I've made a review of the new Nintendo DSi on my blog.
I have to give credit where credit is due and thank Saruman1719 for inspiring me to create this list. Please check out Saruman1719's blog for a list on favorite Castlevania tunes that is completely different than this one.
Castlevania is known for having some of the best game music of all time. While most gamers became aware of this after the series' most successful release, 1997's Symphony of the Night, the series had actually had a legacy of excellent music dating back to the first Nintendo Entertainment System release in 1987. In my 30 year gaming career I have been priveliged to be playing the Castlevania series since it's inception, and have played every game in the series except for the recent American mobile phone release: Castlevania - Order of Shadows. No tracks from that game will be making it's way onto my list.
All other Castlevania games are fair game. There are a few rules I restricted myself with while making this list and they are:
- No remixes: Although there are better versions of some these tracks in other games, it was important to me to show the original game in which the music was inspired. This means that a game like Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is forfeit. While Circle of the Moon has excellent music, it does not have many original tracks within the entire game (actually, it does have one original track...it's called "Awake").
- Only American releases: If I was to include tracks from games that aren't available to the people who might read this blog, the list would become so obscure it would be irrelevant. It also keeps the naming of the games clear as well.
- No soundtrack tracks: There have been sountracks and bonus disks of a wide variety released with Castlevania games over the years. I will only be picking actually tracks from the games themselves.
I will post the entire list on my first post, and add commentary as time allows. Please check back to this blog for more comments and interesting links at a later date if you are interested. The list is in descending order with #20 being the least favorite on the list and #1 being the most favorite.
#20 Ripe Seeds from Belmont's Revenge
Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge is the best title for the original Gameboy, and that means that many of the game's compositions are no slouch either. The best of the compositions is "Ripe Seeds" in my opinion. It's just a really catchy tune that is upbeat and inspiring. This is one of those examples where the composition goes beyond it's hardware limitations. There was a bonus sountrack disc (Dracula Battle Perfect) released with the Japanese version of Symphony of the Night which contained a remix of this track.
#19 Castle Centre from Legacy of Darkness
While I refuse to acknowledge the existence of Castlevania 64 as a complete game, it successor "Legacy of Darkness" was an excellent chapter in the Castlevania series. To the surprise of many, it is actually my favorite 3D Castlevania...even outranking the recent PS2 releases. While the game is not known for it's music, it does have one original track that is just outstanding. One of the few good Castlevania tracks not composed by Michiru Yamane, Castle Centre is a forboding dark trck with an excellent beat.
#18 Christopher's Theme from Adventure
There was a time in my life where video game music in stereo was a big deal. Yes, that makes me feel very, very old. In 1989, when the original Gameboy launched...the "Castlevania Adventure" came not long after. The Castlevania Adventure may now be considered one of the worst games in the series, but at the time it was amazing to have this close to NES experience in the palm of your hand. It was also amazing to hear Castlevania quality music in stereo for the first time too. Many of us bought Gameboys because of this jump in music quality, even though you could barely see the screen. Christopher Belmont's theme is the most memorable track from this game, and due to the games punishing difficulty, the only track many players ever heard.
#17 Jail of Jewels from Portrait of Ruin
Personally, I consider Portrait of Ruin to be the best thing that has happened to the Castlevania series since Symphony of the Night. While this game also has many, many outstanding tracks, the one that resonates the most with me is Jail of Jewels. An upbeat tune that is surprisingly longer and more varied than most Castlevania tracks, yet still undeniably "Castlevania". There is another excellent remix that was included in the original soundtrack bonus disc.
#16 Horrible Curse from Simon's Quest
From Simon's Quest, "Bloody Tears" is most often picked as the fan favorite. While this is justified, Horrible Curse is often overlooked. The perfect antithesis to Bloody Tears, Horrible Curse is a forboding, dark yet upbeat track at the same time.
#15 Riddle from Dracula's Curse
Found in the final stages on this game, it's doubtful that many players have heard this one. If you have made it to the end of Dracula's Curse then chances are you spent a bit of time listening to this song due to the final stages punishing difficulty. Luckily this track provides the stamina needed to see these difficult stages through. The recently released Order of Ecclesia has an excellent remix of this track in it's later stages as well.
#14 Sinking of the Old Sancutary from Bloodlines
While the sound chip in the Genesis could never match the that of the Super NES', the compositions found in Bloodlines are not to be overlooked. This track has that definate Castlevania feel while taking the music to some new and interesting places, just like the stage in which it's based on. This track's staying power is expressed with remixs appearing in Legacy of Darkness and Circle of the Moon.
#13 Clockwork Mansion from Super Castlevania IV
Super Castlevania IV was the greatest Castlevania game ever released before Symphony of the Night, and a large part of that was due to music. Another part of it was mind-bending "Mode 7" effects which blew our minds back in 1991. I think this track holds it's own without those effects, even though it was played during the most effect heavy part of the game. Others must think so as well since this track also appears in Circle of the Moon.
#12 The Pinnacle from Dawn of Sorrow
While Aria of Sorrow's tracks are technically competent, I didn't think any of them where memorable enough to make my list. Dawn of Sorrow on the other hand was a different story. This game has some really inspiring tracks with the power of the DS hardware to show them off. The Pinnacle is an excellent track that comes so close to Symphony of the Night quality. Castlevania's first DS game showed us that musically, Castlevania games had a bright future on that platform.
#11 Dracula's Castle (opening) from Order of Ecclesia
Of all of the wonderful tracks in Order of Ecclesia, Dracula's Castle is the one that continues to stick out above the rest. While the in-game track is excellent in its own right, the pace of the music in this opening sequence creates an emotional effect that very few tracks can.
#10 Simon's Theme from Super Castlevania IV
There is so much that is perfect about this track it's hard to know where to begin. First, it was the first Castlevania track that wasn't 8-bit sound that most of us ever heard. Second, it defines the series' music in such complete way that anyone listening to it can almost immediately guess which series of games it's from. This track has been remixed in various games, including Bloodlines , Dracula X and Portrait of Ruin, where Simon is conspicuously absent. It is also remixed in Castlevania Chronicles, a remake of the original game for the PSX. One of my favorite versions is from the bonus soundtrack disc that came with the Japanese version of Symphony of the Night, "Dracula Battle Perfect".
#9 Bloody Tears from Simon's Quest
Bloody Tears is the best of a trio of music that will forever define Castlevania, Vampire Killer, Bloody Tears and The Beginning, all legendary tracks hailing from the original Castlevania NES trilogy. I feel that of these three amazing tracks "Bloody Tears" is by far the best one in regards to composition. It has reappeared in many, many Castlevania games. These games include Super Castlevania IV, Dracula X, Castlevania Legends, Castlevania Chronicles and Dawn of Sorrow. It could easily be said that this is the "fan favorite" Castlevania track, and deservingly so.
#8 Successor of Fate from Harmony of Dissanance
Successor of Fate is a clear example of when the composition is better than the technical platform in which it was played. How important is music in Castlevania games? Harmony of Dissanance sets out to answer this question by delivering an adventure that is clearly on par in visuals and design as Symphony of the Night, but given the limitations of the Gameboy Advance hardware gives us one of the worst soundtracks in the franchise. While 8-bit sound never impeded Castlevania games before, the tracks from this game were unmemorable, save Successor of Fate composed by Michiru Yamane. To add insult to injury, the end credits plays a version of Successor of Fate that shows us what it could have sounded like if Nintendo had built the Gameboy Advance with a dedicated sound chip. When all is said and done though, Successor of Fate is a phenominal track that ranks high in Castlevania's musical legacy.
#7 Requium for the Gods from Symphony of the Night
As Symphony of the Night took Castlevania to a new level, Requium of the Gods took Castlevania's music to a new level as well. The eerie church choir theme takes Castlevania from "Monster Squad" to something feeling a little more adult, dark and sinister. In a game where almost every track can be included in top 100 best video game music of all time lists, this one had an incredible inpact in my opinion.
#6 Wicked Child from the original Castlevania
Vampire Killer, Heart of Fire, Stalker and Out of time were all amazing tracks that defined the original NES game, but the track that stood head and shoulders above the rest was Wicked Child. Strangely enough, Wicked Child has not been remixed in many other games. It was remixed in Castlevania Chronicles, but that version of Wicked Child is not close to the original to be instantly recognizable. The best remixes seem to be from soundtracks and what is available on the internet.
#5 After Confession from Dawn of Sorrow
All of the Gameboy Advance Castlevanias had some problems with music, whether it was from not enough original tracks, technical problems concerning hardware, or an overall mediocre composition. The first title for the DS changed all that, with a number of excellent tracks that used the hardware wisely. After Confession brings the soundtrack back to the rock-pipe organ origins of the series 16-bit entries, while updating the technical aspects of the sound accordingly. The result is nothing short of amazing, and distinctly Castlevania.
#4 Iron Blue Intention from Bloodlines
Coming Soon
#3 Baljhet Mountains from Curse of Darkness
Coming Soon
#2 Aquarius from Dracula's Curse
Coming Soon
#1 Dance of Pales from Symphony of the Night
Coming Soon
Crysis... wow...
I will begin with a side note - I built a computer recently to get back into pc gaming. I went and bought very high end parts such as a GeForce 8800 GT and hoped that games like Bioshock and FEAR could bring me back to pc gaming and justify the fact that I had spent nearly $1000 on a computer. And while both games were great entertainment, I still had the lingering thought that I could have had a nearly equal experience on the Xbox 360 that I already owned. I mean the difficulty of patching, updating, and installing games onto a pc is always slightly frustrating - whereas on the Xbox 360 it is just a simple matter of inserting the game disk and you are instantly playing. Also a lack of (oddly satisfying) achievements instantly made me feel like I was playing on an inferior system in the past. And I still believe that a much better experience with Bioshock can be had on the Xbox 360, but, Crysis has most definitely justified my recent spending spree and Reinvigorated my passion for PC gaming.
Crysis has the most interesting new feature of any game I have played in recent memory. It introduces the Nano-suit, a powered armor suit (think halo's mjolnir armor) that can enhance the performance/abilities of the player in a few key categories. The suit supports Maximum Speed, maximum strength, maximum armor, and a cloaking system. You can switch between each one at the press of a button but you can only use one at a time and each one depletes power from the suits main energy reserves. So, while sneaking around completely invisible is very fun it does not last for forever and you must find a place to hide and recharge before you run out of power. the same goes for things like maximum armor and speed, you are invincible for a couple of hits or fast for a short burst, but afterwards you are very vulnerable until you suit has time to recharge. This system makes you feel like an unstoppable force, but if you don't think smart and fast a few KPA soldiers can take you down in a matter of seconds, so while you may be the ultimate force you are not unstoppable.
The story revolves around an alien invasion, but I won't say much more to avoid ruining it for people who haven't played it yet, but you play as a US Special Forces squad member who is parachuted onto a remote island in the middle of the ocean to rescue a few scientific hostages. The North Korean Army invades the island to try to take over the unearthing of a mysterious power source buried under the island, but the Koreans seem to have run into some trouble and it is your job to figure out what is happening on the island as well as rescue the prisoners. You guys can play the game and figure out the rest.
Crysis also has some of the most beautiful graphics I have ever seen. The jungle looks absolutely fantastic with swaying tree limbs, realistic shadows, and awesome lighting in general. But the jungle is not the only thing that looks great; the alien ships and the aircraft carrier you board look absolutely fantastic and really blew my mind. For example, when I escaped from the alien ship for the first time a cut scene kicked in and the graphics were so amazing that I didn't believe that it was running real-time and I actually thought that it was a high quality prerendered video until all of the sudden the framerate stuttered momentarily and brought me back to the realization that "yes, this was running on my machine!".
My system specs are as follows:
Core 2 Duo E4500 - 2.2 GHz, 2mb L2 cache, 800 MHz fsb;
2 GB PNY DDR2 677 MHz;
BFG GeForce 8800GT OC 512Mb;
160 GB 7200 rpm HDD;
Integrated sound
BFG 650 watt SLI certified Power supply
Intel 945GCCR main board ( HAHA I know, it was $25 so shut up!)
I was able to run the game on my desktop with all settings turned to medium, with the exception of textures, shaders and motion blur being turned to Very High at 1024x768 with 4xAA. I found that the framerate could be much higher at 1024x768 with 4xAA than 1280x1024 with no AA and looked about the same on my pretty lame 17" Samsung monitor. Also, on my hp laptop I was able to run the game on low settings around 20 fps at 800x600 (dv9207us – GeForce go 7600 256mb, core duo 1.73 GHz, 2 GB ddr2 667) but with overclocking I was able to achieve about an average of around 31 fps. So, crysis seems to like my overclocked settings more than any other game and probably showed the highest performance increases of any game on my laptop
Also the multiplayer is very fun and also quite strange to get used to. All of the nanosuit powers are available to each player and it is interesting to see how each person tries to use a different method to win. Also each level is carefully constructed and very pretty. My favorite level being the fully rendered aircraft carrier, complete with a full flight deck and very expansive interior network of chambers.
So, to sum this all up, crysis is innovative, very fun, has great graphics and is a game that cannot be missed. And I really can't wait for the sequel. So this is a message to crytek - PLEASE MAKE THE SEQUEL!
I just thought that you guys would like to see how i'm doing art wise, so here's some more art from me.
The ORIGINAL LINEART is not mine, but i enhanced it by re-inking it and coloring. Made in the gimp 2 months ago.
This is from a scene from the current naruto series, but i drew, ink, color, and blured this one myself (that means no tracing, just 100% photographic memory baby!) Made a month ago in Photoshop cs2.
I liked doing this one, i made it look like a video game cutscene, and of course i drew this. Made 2 days ago in Ps cs2.
This was a toughy to do this one, the drawing part was the eaisest part, but the coloring part was the hard part, but thank god i got it done.
And the last one, this was another scene from the current Naruto series, i liked this scene alot and i wanted to try my hand on this one.
Well, there you have it, my deviantart sampler 2 is finished. I hope you guys liked it. See ya later!
Even if I am to be enslaved in my PC's cycle of rebirth,
The hardware that was left behind will open the door!
Even if the infinite crashes were to go against me,
My burning blood will cut through fate!
I broke through heavens and dimensions!
I showed my computer my path through force!
Tengen Toppa Blitzar!
WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?!
--
The words, that promise.
"We will return."
And I just did.
Hi everyone!
OK so the faulty motherboard was the problem behind the crashes all the time. I'm still amazed that the new one did not need reinstalling of the drivers except for things on the motherboard itself. Windows XP keeps surprising me.
During my absence I've seen one great anime. "Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann". It's totally crazy and often illogical but when you watch it you want to scream "HELL YEESS!!!!!" all the time. Incredibly inspiring comedy with giant mecha (a total record of the biggest mecha in the genre - final upgrade Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann was galaxy-sized).
I'm also coming back to the PLU. I noticed I wasn't removed from the profile registration PMing list . If another officer board exists could someone send me a PM with the link? Thanks. See you on the boards.
Yup, Clefairy2000 is back and ready for duty! Sorry about being gone for the last few months, but if you had to get up at quarter to five in the morning and in school for over 12 hours, you'd be pooped too! All the hard and grueling practices were worth it, though. We finished our season with 9-1 overall, 5-0 in our division, and we won the MAC White Division finals! This makes us back-to-back division and duel meet champions.
I also got myself a new pet lovebird a week ago Saturday. We don't know its gender yet, so its still nameless. But once the results of the blood test come back, we'll name it! BTW, the bird did NOT like the vet handling it at all. It kept chirping and screaming the whole time she was examining it. Oddly enough, though, it didn't make a sound when she was actually drawing the blood.
I didn't realize you guys missed me that much! I found 55 messages in my inbox! 
But oh well. Today is also my 15th birthday, wahoo!
Lastly, my brother got me hooked to World of Warcraft. It took a lot of pursuasion from him to convince me, but I like the game. He's CONSTANTLY playing Warcraft... But I'll try to get on when I can.
Sorry that I haven't been on much, I've had a busy weekend!!!
Rock on Wildcats.....
This whole AO scandal is making people froth at the mouth, and when they do that they end up saying incredibly stupid things. I've read the comparisons between video games to film, literature, and music far too often in the past day.
Grab a clue...they are not the same thing. Last time I checked, I didn't have to interact with a Friday the 13th movie to advance the "storyline". That level of interaction, that currently only games offer, is a sticky situation. And it's one that has to be critiqued differently than other mediums. Especially now, with the introduction of the Wii controller, which potentially elevates the interactive nature of the game.
Hostel 2 can not be compared to Manhunt 2. Get over it. There are quite a few reasons to critique the whole AO decision by the ESRB. Use one of them. You might look like less of an idiot.
After all thosearduous months I finally got out of that dreaded level 20... Huzzahs are in order!
He says: IF a game is easy its kiddie unless its got online.
If enemys are big in a game its kiddie
and if a game is cell shaded its kiddie
http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=25025368&msg_id=277923831 heres ur Cell shaded comment....its quoted I think the 10th post
http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=25025368&msg_id=277924072 Online= not kiddie its quoted agin and the 14th post
http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=25025368&page=10 Heres ur larger than life comment once agin it was quoted and its the 8th post...
Things Wii can do that GC can't....
Graphics 2-3 times better than GC
Free online
The VC downloading NES, SNES,N64, Turbo Graphics and Sega
Plus backwards compatibility for GC
It also has many "Wii channels"
Store photos
Store Videos
Photoshot the pictures
The Mii function
and many more soon to be announced
Wii connect 24
DS connectivity
Wireless/Single disc lan play
Web browser
The discs hold 5-6 times more data
PLus Nintendo will be announcing yet another thing at launch
Oh and did I mention it plays MP3's
