I need advice, actually. I'm in the market for a quality digital camcorder and would like any and all suggestions from people that have them to give. I have two gift cards with $100 each left over from last Christmas, and I've been holding on to them forever because I wanted to use them on a "big" purchase and not just piss it away on movies or games.
So I came to the conclusion that a digital camcorder is something I could really use. I was in Best Buy earlier browsing and saw some models to get a feel for what's available. I talked to an employee as well but I'm not exactly comfortable with their knowledge since they basically don't "know" or have experience with the products other than re-iterating what you can already read on the little info cards next to each camera.
So that's why I'm turning to actual people that may know a little more about this topic. Basically what I'm looking for is something easy to use where I can upload videos to the 'Net (as the camera would double for me doing video blogs as well). Preferably HD capable, but it's not a necessity. Night vision mode would be cool to have as well, but again not necessary. I'm looking to stay around the $200-$250 range, and the most I can probably spend is $300 even though I wouldn't want to, but if it's a good deal I will.
So if you can help please leave your remarks or links so I can check them out. I'm also doing my own research so please don't think I'm just sitting back and wanting everyone else to do this for me. I need guidance as far as which brands are good, what features are preferred, etc. I've heard Canon makes some quality cameras. And there's Sony of course. It's a bit overwhelming especially when you're not familiar with all the current tech and that's basically where I need the bulk of the help.
Thanks!
Come, take a stroll with me through my day yesterday………. But first, a little background to set things up.
Last week Monday, we had Comcast come out to the hose to swap out a digital box, for a full HD box. When the tech got there, I brought him to the TV was that was getting the new box, and within about 4 minutes he had done the swap. However, the new HD box would not turn on, and, of course, this was the ONLY HD box he had on the truck.
After a 1.5 hr round trip to the Comcast service center, the tech came back with a new HD box and did the swap…. YES! Everything worked………. So we thought.
We did not realize (until too late) that the OnDemand feature, and a few of the premium movie channels did not work. So this past Saturday we spent a few minutes (more like 35) on the phone with the geniuses over at Comcast while they tried to "PING" the box in hopes of getting it to work properly. No luck, the box just would not work. SOOOOO… we had to set up another appt for them to come out.
Fast forward…..
Tuesday:
Saturday before we hung up, we set a new appt for Tuesday between 10:00am, and 1:00pm. You know, because they can only give you a 4 hr window.
10:00am rolls around… 11:00am passes, 11:45 I leave my home office to go check on the painters downstairs. I come back into my home office at 11:47 (yes, a grand total of 2 minutes had passed) and I noticed that I missed a phone call on my cell (we do not have a landline phone, have not had one for 7 years)
Turns out it had been comcast calling to confirm our appt for 10:00—1:00, (remember it's already 11:45) OH.. one other thing, they called and confirmed this appt THREE times between Saturday night and Monday night.
Any way, I retrieve my voice mail that was left no more than 2 minutes ago, and to my SHOCK.. the voice mail says " Hi, this is (blah blah blah) With Comcast, I was calling to confirm you appt for today, but since you did not answer the phone we will consider you not there, and have canceled your appt. Please call us back to reschedule."
I'm sorry WhAT? This is where the fun starts….
Right away I call them back, but of course sit on hold for almost 15 minutes before I get Einstein on the phone.
ME : Hi, I am calling about an appt I had for today, that I was just told has been canceled because I missed your phone call.
Comcast: Yes sir, I see that at 11:46 we tried to contact you, and because there was no answer, the appt has been canceled, would you like to reschedule that?
ME: Ummm no, I would like for the tech to come out during the time frame I was give for today :10:00 – 1:00.
Comcast: I'm sorry sir, but the tech has already been rescheduled to another customer.
Me: So let me get this straight. You (Comcast) called us THREE times between Saturday and last night to confirm this appt, and because I had to walk away for 2 minutes to check on something my appt is canceled?
Comcast: That is correct.
Me: I called you back within 2 minutes of that voice mail, sat on hold for another 15…
Comcast: Sir, you should have answered your phone.
ME: Oooo k, SO.. if I had to really use the washroom, or was on a business call, I don't get a chance to call you back to say "YES I AM HERE"
Comcast: I see your point, let me see if someone from the tech scheduling dept can give you a call back.
ME: Thank you, I will be waiting for your call.
45 minutes go by…. Time to call back. I will shorten up this conversation for you.
ME: Hi JOE at Comcast… please look up my account, and hand me over to a Manager.
Comcast: Yes sir, I see the notes, and understand you need to speak with a manager.
Me: Thank you
Comcast: Please hold.
25 minutes go by, nobody picks up……
THIRD CALL BACK.
ME.: blah blah blah blah (as I explain the whole thing AGAIN)
Comcast: WOW.. I really feel your pain, and understand.. this really was not fair to you.
ME: Thank you, now, how will we get this done today.
Comcast: well…. I can try my best to use some backdoors to the tech dept, but they will probably just make you reschedule.
Me: Tim…., just so you understand, if I reschedule this appt that Comcast confirmed THREE TIMES, the next guy coming out will be Verizon to hook up FiOS.
Tim: I understand.
The tech was at my door 23 minutes later. AND… the box did not even need to be swapped, just PINGED correctly from their end.
Comcast lives in my house to see another day.
I'm refering to games as art. I found it interesting that in The_Druggies recent soapbox entry, I noticed a blacked out comment by grigjd3. Being curious I had to find out what it was. His response to the blog? Why does it matter? So it looks like instead of getting a response he got lots of thumbs down. But I'm curious. Why DOES it matter? It has been talked about a lot over the last couple of years, and I'm not ready to put myself in either camp, for or against. But if Roger Ebert turned around and proclaimed that games were art, what would change? I'd still be enjoying games like I am now. Maybe it would mean we would have some more musuems devoted to video games (as I believe there are already some around the world), but I don't see this form of entertainment being validated as an art form having much impact on the industry or our personal enjoyment of it. Does it really matter?
I have to say, being away from GameSpot for so long is unfortunate, but that doesn't explain why my writing history just up'd and blanked out. That kinda sucks... 
[-Edit-] Whoops... seems that GS was messing with me again... everything is still intact...
Oh well, the world keeps on turning and everyone continues to game. I might not have online, but some how that didn't stop me from picking up a copy of Modern Warfare 2. Extremely silly of me no doubt, but since my Black Friday mission to pick up a dirt cheap flat-screen TV was unsuccessful, I grabbed the game for 30 bucks instead.
Besides being the same thing I remember MW being amazing at (online that is) the game is pretty fun even through the campaign. Most people play shooters for one portion of the game, I on the other hand adore all the efforts that gone into MW2... its like the perfect Tom Clancy story with tons of toys!
Sitting here at the library with nothing to look forward to this evening kind of deters me from really leaning into this current rant, so I'll keep it brief for anyone crazy enough to keep reading whatever I end up whapping on this germ-infested keyboard. Dragons Age is awesome. The Vikings are still a strong football team. Snow is really not all that bad. Working on your birthday is common, but it still sucks. And last but not least... women... the best way to describe them is like fire. They keep you warm, but they can also burn ya 
Best wishes to all my fellow gamers as we trudge our way into 2010. I sure miss bs'ing with yaw online.
Let's not forget, everyone was super sceptical on this Batman videogame before it came out. There hasn't been a single good 3D Batman game. There hasn't been a single great superhero game (Spiderman* games are only good for the swinging). So, BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM had a lot going against it. How will the game keep true to the Batman character? Will the gadgets have lame gameplay? Would the combat system be a generic beat-em-up? Would the story suck? Who's ever even heard of Rocksteady Studios?
NO ADDED JUNK
Thankfully, it was the exact opposite of those questions. BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM is a tight experience, with game design that sticks stringently to its goals. There is no Batmobile driving sequence. There are no Quick Time Events. There is no co-op. There is no multiplayer. There is no big Gotham city open-world where you do side-quests to pad out more hours. Rocksteady was confident in its single-player campaign, to not have to add any obvious filler.
That's major confidence from a fairly unknown developer studio.
I'M THE GODDAMN BATMAN!
So, what should a Batman game be? A platformer? A brawler? A detective game? Or, be like other clever developers, and dip into all those genres? Not many games combine different gameplay genres, or when they do, they're bloated. There's been only one game that I remember that did it well, which was BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL. Most games just rely on what they're good at, and stick to that. I think it's called the "if it's not borken, don't fix it" paradigm that has led to the most generic games ever.
BATMAN: AA isn't that. The developers put excellent gameplay that defines every aspect of the character. Due to this, everything about the game feels fresh. From the insanely refreshing and satisfying freeflow combat system (Batman's the best at martial arts, and it shows) to the exploration of the world with your grappling hook (he's gotta perch like a bat, too) and other geekgasm gadgets (no Bat credit card), you know you're playing a Batman game.
The Batman combat is just genius. Instead of combo mashing, every single face button is a tactic. Little input = big output. You must be an economical businessman with your button presses, especially when it comes to the Combat Challenges. Is it the only game where there isn't a single-button-mashing combo? The variety of moves leads into the animations, with some of the most beautiful mo-cap work I've witnessed from a protagonist. Animations never get old, because they hardly ever repeat. They're dynamic. This again is a huge achievement, to not have "animation fatigue" even in this HD era of having hundreds of animation cycles.
Stealth gameplay could've been screwed up so bad. How many good stealth staple games are there really? I have to give props to Rocksteady for making the most universally simple and elegant stealth system that anyone can pick up. This is the new wave of aggressive stealth. The artificial intelligence is great, which allows you for sandbox SPLINTER CELL-like gameplay where you're toying around with the enemies, and then snapping up the last enemy who's peeing his pants. When you're on a gargoyle, you feel so Batman it's creepy. SPLINTER CELL CONVICTION is also going along this new wave of aggressive stealth (which is resonating a lot more with people who've always wanted to try these games), so let's see what grandpa Sam can muster up. Wait-and-pounce stealth is dead.
Character gameplay even comes down to how Batman never kills, and so never clashes with the overall story unlike in UNCHARTED (let's face it, Drake is Marcus Phoenix in a half-tuck, and a superhero because of his unbelievable jumps of saving grace). To me, it didn't feel like the game was ripping off other games' specific minutia. Sure, if you're reductionist, you could say it's a mix of SPLINTER CELL, TENCHU, METROID but it never plays like one of those games. That's a huge accomplishment and shows Rocksteady are confident in creating Batman-centric gameplay. I want to see enemies' heartbeat in SPLINTER CELL now. I want to glide in every game now. Also, it's beaten TENCHU in the grappling hook department and is making SPLINTER CELL run for its money.
LET ME TELL YOU A STORY
Of course, I wouldn't forget the excellent storytelling. Notice, I didn't say the word "story". It's still a great plot, of Batman being stuck in a prison for 1 night with the Rogue's Gallery, but what shines is the multiple venues of storytelling used. There is soft storytelling through Joker on the intercom or on TVs and the audio interview tapes. Then there's the typical hard storytelling through cutscenes.
Hold on though, there's a new type of storytelling too. Non-linear storytelling. This was experimented with PRINCE OF PERSIA 2008, but felt disjointed at times. Here, you're going from one part of the island to the other, and while the game's missions are not linear, there is still interactional dialogue and reactions. For example, after the Medical Pavillion mission, you can go back and find out that the Doctors haven't escaped but instead have boarded themselves up behind desks! They stay there until the end of the game! Nearly all of the characters give context-dependent dialogue too, at certain points of the game. All the personnel of the island are free to talk to, at any point of the game, so for example Aaron Cash can cheer you on to finally beat Joker when Joker's "party" starts. Because of such reactionary dialogue, it can make the Arkham Island come alive no matter how dreary it is, and showcases that Paul Dini can also write games.
Blah, blah, ALWAYS WITH THE HERO SPEAK!
Now, I won't say it's the most original game ever, but for this year, I feel it sticks out against the crowd. For such a bold game, it also excels on execution which MIRROR'S EDGE (the most original game of recent times) and other original IPs couldn't be. It is in the very rare club of a first game being nigh-on perfect on Day 1 release, like last year's DEAD SPACE. There is no need for a sequel, or any improvements needed other than very superficial ones like more bosses. It also helps that it's the best superhero and licensed game ever made. Riddick, you now have a friend.
I'M IN CONTROL OF THE ASYLUM!
All the reviews of the Batman game have been very favourable. The only negatives about the game are things that are very nitpicky. Batman's figure covering a large part of the screen (there is a non-Batman centred camera). Yes, the Titan bosses repeat a couple of times, and yes, there aren't 20 types of enemies, but this is par for the course with nearly every action-adventure game ever made. Plus, as long as they're fun, I don't see the criticism of some good repetition. One that everyone can agree on is that the final boss battle is shallow but it does show how unpredictable Joker really is. BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM is so damn good, people are finding it hard to find legitimate criticism. Usually, with triple A games, you can bash the character gameplay or story, but here it's just damn good.
You also have to remember, a great game has to be as great for newcomers. It should be as pick-up-and-play as MARIO. Because of the excellent controls and simplified systems, BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM happens to be that. BATMAN: AA is definitely up there with MARIO games in terms of being accessible for everyone. Most of the games this year can have very specific audiences, like all of the shooters. Shooters are not every girl's best friend.
THE LONGEST JOURNEY
While most games up their pacing by putting more variety through newer locations or "palette-cleansing" gameplay (turret sections, vehicle sections), BATMAN: AA goes about it by completely changing the level design of Arkham Island at times. Rocksteady didn't feel the need to up the variety by letting you go to Gotham city (even though, you sort of do at one spoilerific point). Enemies appear where they weren't before, like snipers or crazed inmates. Poison Ivy's vines blocking away paths. Scarecrow, period. Batman's armour and face takes a ton of damage throughout the course of the game (for once, it's not a gimmick!). Because of such pacing and setpieces, the non-linear world never gets boring through the amount of backtracking you'll do. There's always something to look forward to.
Thanks to the magnificent pacing and every single moment being memorable, the game ends just at the right moment. So, while you might spend 15-20 hours with the game, it feels you've been through a lot with the characters and the island. This is one night you and Batman won't ever forget.
OVER? IT HASN'T EVEN BEGUN!
Because it stands out amongst the pack of games this year and had the MOST TO PROVE, this is easily the Game of the Year.
No sequelitis.
Totally new gameplay, like the freeflow combat where animations never recycle.
Most fun stealth gameplay ever.
Non-linear backtracking that's always interesting.
Great storytelling.
And that it's damn memorable! Every moment in the game was given love and care, from Harley Quinn's office to the Riddler.
Everyone loves the game, which is not something you can say for a game franchise other than MARIO. This is a great game for people not privy to Batman's loving cape. The best games are the ones where everyone finds something to love, and for 2009, it's BATMAN ARKHAM ASYLUM, in my opinion.
* except for Spiderman: Web of Shadows [credit: 100th_bullet]
Well I thought that I would write a small blog tell you all what I have been doing, I have been playing alot of Dragon Age and Modern Warfare 2 for the PC.
I just finished modern warfare 2 for the second time, completed it on the hardest setting, not as hard as I thought it would be, I actually found it more thrilling to play on that setting then normal that I used for my first play threw. I don't know I thought it would be hard but it made it hard enough that it made Call Of Duty feel more fun to play and pride for every level I could get threw. Modern Warfare 2 was sum rush, and wow, shockers around every turn, I feel for the poor space man, (you will know when you come to it) lol. I kept running into a crash after a boat scene but found with the internet that if you set textures to auto, you can continue the game, it was drivin me crazy, I couldn't finish the game would crash for some reason lol. so lucky I was able to 
would have drove me nuts haha. I'm happy with the 40 steam trophies thatI have, I think 40/50 rewards is good enough
So I'm slowly making my way thew all my games sigh...a big list it is, thought I would reinstall Mass Effect and start playing only to launch the game and to my Horror DRM struck me, with my upgrade to Windows 7, it informed me painfuly that I had reached my max activations....didn't like that......so had to wait like a good little gamer for a EA tech rep to give me more activations, I got (1) but hey at least I can play the game now.......looking forward to finishing the game then wellI start playing Fallout 3 (who knows how long that will take, but not before I try to finish Bioshock lol (ya i know) i got far then gave up but I really want to finish these games before new ones come out )
Contacting me: For thse that care to contact me, you have to ways, Steam, Mar044 same as well gamepot, add me if you wish and I will be happy to talk to you if im on also find me in the long running Gamespot game night club on steam. I check that all the time, although please try and tell me who you are or your gs name so I dont wonder who im talking to.
Glad to be back....seem so lost, left behind lol...glad to see names I remember still remember me I havn't forgotton about any of you
Talk to you all later
Who's got either and which is better to play first?
Dragon Age or Left for Dead 2?
Screenshots look fabulous for both but please help me out.
cheers
dev
Might as well, amirite?
- Ballad of Gay Tony: GTAIV's 20 dollar add-on with stuff that should've been in the original game. Yeah, that's basically what ALL DLC is good for, but this one in specific left me wondering whether they took the DLC deal with Microsoft as a excuse to catch up on old times. I recall Rockstar Games' PR dudes going "We're dead serious now" story-wise and this comes along. Sure, I'm complaining... But it's here, and minus the 20$ pricetag - It's finally here, and it's damn good fun.
- Dragon Age: Origins: BioWare's new poke at old times. Quite frankly, I didn't play DA:O's "predecessor" so I can't really say anything in relation to it. So I'll just stick with saying BioWare nailed it again. I bought it for the X360 causeI can't be assed installing it and all that considering the graphics aren't worth debating about anyway. The game plays a bit like Mass Effect on a Oblivion kind of structure. Though there's this really neat, and a wee bit clunky party system that covers most of the combat - All in all, it's definitely designed for the PC I can tell you that, it works like a pain in the ass on the X360, and I think it's fair to assume the PS3 suffers from the same issue. All in all, it's a great game... And loooonnnnnngggg.
- Halo 3: ODST: I bought the game for 35$ at a mom and pop's store, and I still feel cheated out of my money. Part of me was stupid for buying a game I'm not all that interested in, part being that the game is rather... minimalized if you catch my drift. The character flashbacks put aside, which are by a mile the best things about the game, the "lone ranger" pulling through an abandoned city with maybe 5-or-6 enemies every 4 intersections really left me bored. Halo 3 was a thrill ride, from one epic firefight to the next. As much as I like a occasional 'break', a 4 hour trek through a empty city... I didn't like that so much. All in all, flashbacks are awesome. Lone city treks are boring. Firefight is a nice addition though it won't justify a purchase, atleast not for me. Though the 2nd disc with ALL Halo 3 DLC on disc was a nice addition.
- Left 4 Dead 2 Demo: Boycott bull**** set aside... I've got just one thing to say: Kill all sons of *****es, that's my official instruction. That uhhh... that means it's good.
After four years of service, my beloved 40 gigabyte Zen Touch portable music player is not giving me anything close to the 26 hours of battery life per charge that it used to.
When you are used to going three weeks or so between charges, it is irritating to suddenly have to re-charge every day or three. Especially when you are someone who obsesses over battery life.
In 2005, the Zen Touch offered, by far, the longest battery life for a high capacity portable music player. It was my only option. Today, multiple portable media players last 30 hours or longer (for music) before needing to be re-charged. The battery life-obsessed can now look at features besides battery life when choosing a portable media player.
So what do I replace my Zen Touch with.
A PSP go, the new, download-only version of the PlayStation Portable, which lasts about 10 hours per charge for playing music. With the screen off.
(I chose the black model.)
This was an impulse buy. For some time I was considering replacing my Zen Touch with a Zune HD (which Microsoft claims lasts 33 hours per battery charge) when a 64 gigabyte version of the Zune HD was released or my Zen's battery died completely, whichever came first.
But when I learned that I could buy a PSP go at a discount, that was more temptation than I could handle.
The concept of having all my portable games and all my music available to me at all times in a device that easily fits in a pants pocket is one that greatly appeals to me. I can live with changing discs or cartridges or cards or whatever on a device that stays in one place because the system and its media tend to be near one another. If I want that kind of choice with a portable device, I need to carry everything with me, and I can only hold so much in my pockets at one time.
Say I'm on a bus playing Burnout Legends. Say I'm getting bored of Burnout Legends but I still want to play a game. A few button presses and I'm playing LocoRoco 2. When I'm finished with LocoRoco 2, I can press a few buttons and play Tetris. And when I tire of playing games, I can press a few buttons to listen to The Chair in the Doorway album by Living Colour and then place my PSP go in my pants pocket. All without changing physical media; it's all in the PSP go's internal storage.
This sort of scenario is what makes the PSP go an amazing device, and it is not currently possible with any other hardware.
Not legally or with good games anyway.
Still, it would have been nice if the PSP go had a touchscreen. A few months ago, I went as far as saying that I would not buy a PSP go because it had no touchscreen. A touchscreen and stylus are what make the Nintendo DS versatile, allowing it to run games and non-games that do all sorts of things that are impossible or difficult by pressing buttons. (Ever try playing Meteos by pressing buttons? Don't.) But even without a touchscreen, there are plenty excellent games to be played on a PSP go, and they are all available at all times.
Not that there is no buyer's remorse with my PSP go impulse buy. The PSP go is weak as a music player. It can play music well, but it is missing basic features that devices that are primarily music players have. There is no play queue, so unless you want to listen in artist/album/track order (or by mood with the optional, free SenseMe channels software), you must first create a playlist on a computer and then transfer it to your PSP go or select a new track as soon as the track that was playing ends. Windows Media Audio files cannot be played until after WMA playback is enabled, which requires an Internet connection. Copy-protected audio files will not play. And as already mentioned, battery life is weak compared to devices designed primarily for music.
So if anyone wants to buy me a Walkman X, please do.
Well, Raven said I had some blogging to do, and I don't have anything to do at the moment.* So I decided to do a general update blog, just to say "Why hello thar" and such.
*Note: By don't have anything, I mean I have something, but I really can't be bothered to actually do it.
To get this party train rolling, College!
It's been a bundle of fun and I've basically been assimilated into the college life. Weekends filled with beverages and football, weekdays filled with school work and the constant battle with everyone's dreaded enemy, the snooze button. I've moved into a townhouse with 3 of my friends from last year. This is honestly some of the most fun I've ever had in my life. You'd think that as a political science major, I'd have copious amounts of time to spend playing games and things of that nature, but I've found time to be at a premium for some reason.
I really should be doing better in a lot of my clas.ses, and I'm working on doing so. I'd inform you all of my grades but that's for me to know and my parents to never ever find out. Suffice it to say, I'm an average student when I could be a lot more. This happens in more aspects than one, particularly when it comes to cheering for my Number 4 Ranked Hokies. If any of you have been following college football, you may have heard about the Virginia Tech-Nebraska Game which VT won 16-15 in the final seconds of the game on 82-yard and 11-yard passes and the 31-7 beat down VT issued the University of Miami in the cold and the rain. To all of you people that know what I'm talking about: I WAS THERE!! Having season tickets on the 50 yard line is something else, let me tell you. Particularly when you give your team up for dead, promise to eat your own shoe if the quarterback pulls through in the last minute, only to watch him prove you wrong, as if he really did want to see you eat your own shoe. Also: massive rainstorms can turn your clothing into 30 pounds of dead weight and give you a strong enough cold to make you miss 2 days of classes. (Totally worth it)
In non-sports news:
- I really don't know how I'm surviving. I'm eating pasta for dinner 6 nights out of 7 with the other night being pizza. If anyone has any quick healthy and tasty meals, I'd love to hear from you.
- Having my own room again is a godsend, even if I took up most of it by using 2 twin mattresses to form a king.
- I've developed a strange love for all things Rhodesian/South African. Don't ask me why, I do however know why I love having their flags hanging in my room.
- I bought a pith helmet while uh....slightly tipsy. (Visible in flag photo, look on the pillows.)
In gaming news, I bought Beatles Rock Band and one of the Guitars. Originally Gamestop sent me a ps3 controller instead of an xbox one, but the local store was kind enough to provide me with one in exchange. Great times have been had, hell, even my mother stopped by and played rock band with me and the guys at one point. Just goes to show that music and video games can bring people together. I've also pre-ordered Modern Warfare 2, and I honestly can't wait to play it. The new features, weapons, modes, etc is just too much for me to take. My favorite weapon in the world, the venerable FN FAL, has been confirmed to make an appearance, much to my excitement. I might lose my social life and academic responsibility when it finally arrives at my townhouse.
I've rediscovered my love for CoD4 yesterday and today. There's something satisfying about watching someone keel over as my G3 bucks on the screen. Been playing with old friends, my brother, my cousins, and random people. It's been a fantastic time and really reminds me how I lost so much time to this great game. I can only imagine how MW2 will turn out.
Few entertainment notes:
- District 9 is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time.
- The Hangover and The Goods: Live Hard Sell Hard follow it closely.
- Vortex by Larry Bond is easily my favorite novel of all time.
- I've been spending a lot of time (embarrassinglyenough...) playing the Text Based RPG "Nationstates." It's like writing a cooperative novel.
- Taylor Swift reminds me of an angel.
- Kanye West is a terrible person D:
So this year was my first time going to E3 and I have to say there hasn't been an experience like this in my life. Ever. Normally I follow it on GameSpot but going there makes watching news coverage of it seem like a waste of time. This was an opportunity to meet some people, see some booth babes and maybe get some hands on time with some upcoming releases. Amusingly enough this was the first time I'd allowed pics to be taken of myself in awhile and I had a blast with it. You can see those on my Facebook page if you happen to know where that is, muwahaha!
I was actually at E3 as part of the staff of GamingExcellence. It was great meeting the team that I've been working with for over a year for the first time... silly Canadian publications. This meant that E3 was as much work as it was play. I had appointments and such, some behind closed door stuff that needed to be done between me doing sightseeing and taking pictures.
Anyways, on to E3!
Pre-E3: After getting our media passes I figured it might be a good idea to do some shopping before the show started. Picked up a bunch of shirts and stuff. Nothing too interesting here. However I did get to go to the Ubisoft press conference. While most of the stuff they showed there wasn't that interesting Splinter Cell Conviction looks absolutely fantastic and I WILL be purchasing this title ASAP. After that I got to head on over to the Microsoft Canada Media Reception for drinks, free food and meet some of the other Canadian media outlet people. That was a lot of fun. Apparently I was an honorary Canadian since the site I write for is all Maple Leafy.
Day One: Since I had some appointments right from the get go I headed right on over to the Atlus booth. While there me and Nicholas, one of the other GE guys, got to see and try out Demon's Souls and Trine with one of the Atlus PR guys. Trine took my interest there; something like Lost Vikings with crazy physics sums it up pretty well. Look it up if you haven't heard about it. After this I chatted up the Atlus editor on the floor and got some hands on with Devil Survivor and the redone SMT: Persona title for the PSP both looking really promising although Devil Survivor is a bit odd. I've got a preview of it up on GE for those who are interested.
After this I went on over to the upstairs meeting room for Dreamcatcher / JoWood. While here I got shown around, getting to see the new Hardy Boys game for the Wii (not as bad as it sounds), a DS Agatha Christie game that looks pretty good and the new Gothic title, Arcania. The only one that really stood out strongly to me was Arcania so I took some time to start working on a preview for it in the press room while relaxing. I did hear a great story about how one of the guys from JoWood got... questioned about bringing a DS capture unit into the states since it looks like a bomb. The games were pretty good and the people were really friendly. Good times.
With a break of about an hour here I took the time to trawl the floor and get some camera shots, booth babe shots and pick up swag. Then it was on over to the Paradox Interactive on-floor room where we got to see East India Company, Hearts of Iron 3 and Majesty 2. The people here were really awesome as well but I lost the notebook page with my Hearts of Iron 3 info on it so I couldn't write a preview. That game is immense though... deep enough to scare me thoroughly.
Finishing up there I got to have a whole lot of fun by going on over to the Vogster booth. Meeting a friend of my boss there I was shown the tower defense game Robocalypse - Beaver Defense. If you haven't heard about it look it up; it's a pretty simple game but it definitely looks like a lot of fun. I wrote a preview for it but it hasn't made its way up onto the GE site just yet. After this I had about thirty minutes or so to kill so I made my way on over to the THQ booth and got into a screening of the new Warhammer 40,000 game, Space Marine. Got a preview of that bad boy up and I'm dying for more info.
With this done it was time to retreat back to the hotel rooms to rest and recuperate for the next day.
Day Two: I was supposed to have a whole lot of free time today but I agreed to take some time from Isabel so that she would have more time on the show floor to look around. With that decision I got to go in to see Sega's games first thing in the morning. First things first were Obsidian games showing off Alpha Protocol. Not only was the game so good that I just had to write a preview for it immediately (I want that title, like yesterday) but I also got to meet Matthew Rorie.
If that name doesn't mean anything to you... you're a philistine. He was the old game guides' writer for GameSpot and he wrote some of the best guides I've seen. It was actually his work that got me writing FAQs and guides which are what, in the end, got me started in trying to get a job in the games industry. When I heard he was moving on from GS I was alternately upset and hopeful to try for that job position, heh. But meeting him was really awesome and put me in a good mood for the day.
As a favor to the other guy I was with, Nick, I took a hit for the team and did a write up for Mario vs. Sonic at the Olympic Winter games. Not bad but not the best either. More swag hunting and picture taking followed before I got to go into the Bethesda booth to see Brink. It's not my sort of game so I didn't do a write-up for it, a friend from the site is doing that I believe. I did meet an interesting girl from Mygamer which is funny because I applied to work on that site before GamingExcellence.
After another break I was supposed to go to the Square-Enix booth to see some stuff but apparently they're too good for that. Seems that they blew off several Canadian media outlets again this year, likely for not being big enough sites. Whatever, I'm no fan of their games anymore so not writing previews for them causes me no grief. Also, to the Squeenix guy who wouldn't leave me alone so I could do a write-up for Final Fantasy IV: The After Years thanks for saving me the writing.
I didn't get to go to my Sony appointment since I was trying to deal with Square but it worked out fine since they didn't show anything anyways. Probably the high point of this day was the Konami booth where I got to play Saw a tiny and Silent Hill Shattered Memories. Saw is more of a puzzle game but there's some combat to it, nothing to write home about but the puzzles look awesome. Silent Hill is bizarre since it's more like a Clock Tower title than a Silent Hill game with its absolute aversion to combat. I also got to play the Silent Hill game for the iPod Touch, The Escape. It's weird to control but it was fun nonetheless.
After hours I got to go to a Riot Games party in the Lucky Strike Lanes bowling alley. League of Legends was on display here and it was a pretty solid game. I think I liked it a fair bit more than Demigod which I reviewed not too long ago. Even better than the games was the free liquor and I drank a fair bit there but had to stop myself since I didn't want to take the train too blitzed. Good times!
Unfortunately we had to stay up pretty late trying to figure out our "Best of E3" award nominations from the show. This meant that, in the end, we only got about four to five hours of sleep this night which really began to drag us downfor the last day. Especially when we finally realized we had the show, after hours dinner, packing and previews to dothe next day.
Day Three: For this day I was with Isabel doing behind closed doors stuff with EA. Not only did I get to see the Dragon Ages Origins trailer twice (different each time) but I got some hands on time with the 360 version of the game. When it shows up on GE you will be able to hear me extolling the virtues of the title. Then getting to see Mass Effect 2 which they revealed some spoilers for that made me squeal like a little girl. Lastly was Dante's Inferno which, oddly enough, I'm more interested in than God of War 3. Don't ask how that happened when DI is so clearly cribbing off of GoW.
Since I had a lot of free time today, but I knew there was stuff to do after this last day, I went to the media room to do a lot of typing. Figured to get a bunch of work out of the way early which ended up working out pretty well. Then me and Alan got to go to Lucasarts to see the new Clone Wars game (pretty good looking actually), the Secret of Monkey Island remake, the new Lego Indiana Jones game and a new Star Wars Battlefront.
All of these were pretty good but Secret of Monkey Island and Battlefront: Elite Squadrons stole the room for me. Both of these were stellar looking titles from series that I have an affinity for and both of them are incredibly promising. I can't wait to get my hands on them when they finally release. They kept the Loom guy for chrissakes! With all that excitement, and photos with Jedi and Stormtroopers, I unwinded with some Left 4 Dead 2 gameplay which was pretty awesome. I was mauled by that walking Witch repeatedly thank you!
When E3 was over we got to go to a group dinner with the entire GamingExcellence crew, some friends of my boss and two of the guys from the Vogster booth. One of them, Ted, does some work for CDV and agreed to my offer of writing a guide for Sacred 2 (main quests mostly with some side-quests thrown in). Doing a guide for a game company? Yes please! That's gonna give me something to do for the next week or so.
It sucks that I missed the E3 emblems from GS but I'd say the tradeoff was worth it. As rough as the whole thing was on my sleep and poor feet I have to sayI'm eager to see you next year E3! Although let's just hope that the plane rides are a bit easier on me this time, eh? Last thing I need is another weird old guy so on top of me you'd swear he was trying to spoon with me. Apparently I'm the little spoon.
...Paradise is about to be finished in a few days/weeks.
Wow I just realized that it's been over one year since I did a blog! Provided that people don't really read them too much, but I digress. Well a lot has changed in my two years absence and while I still go on the site on occasion I really haven't really contributed too much so I figure now is the time to change that. Well with that out of the way lets get to the matter at hand and that's my new fascination with PC gaming. Now I've never been much of a PC user in the past usually sticking with consoles for as long as I can remember.
That all changed back in August however when my old PC decided to crap out on me (mostly my doing actually, I was messing with my BIOS when I really didn't know what I was doing) so as a result it was off to Best Buy. Now at the time I really wasn't looking for anything too fancy, just a computer that can do some basic stuff and maybe play some older games, that was it. That all changed as soon as I stepped into the store. Now I like to think of myself as a pretty good shopper when it comes to looking for the best price, but in all honesty I really didn't consider price too much when I got my current PC. The PC I got was a newer gateway (I went with them mostly because it restricts any dangerous changes to your BIOS which was the death of my last computer) with a Phenom quad processor 4 gbs ram, 350 W power supply, and a motherboard that had a single PCI express x16 slot overall a pretty decent computer. Now at first I wasn't really interested in upgrading too much, basically out of fear that I'd ruin my computer again and while I had basic knowledge of computer parts I really didn't have the confidence to tinker with it too much. I decided to do some shopping around for a newer video card (what PC is complete without one), however I noticed that not only did most video cards needed at least 400-550W power supplies they also needed there own cables to provide power for them (I know this should be pretty obvious to most of you people out there, but to me it was a brand new thing). I realized that I was going to end up upgrading my PC more than I thought I would. I ended up buying a new power supply (550W Thermaltech) and a radeon HD4850 (I'm not really interested in the whole Nvidia versus ATI thing so please leave your opinions to yourselves). I decided to take a chance and install the parts myself, when I actually got everything to work a certain feeling of accomplishment ran over me and some how I felt like I can do anything. It's kind of like how a surgeon feels when they do a good job on a patient, my computer was my patient and I was the surgeon. It was odd firing up a brand new game on my PC and it actually working, remembering that just a couple of months ago I could barely get WOW running on my last rig. My first game was Far Cry 2 and playing on a PC was different from what I was use to. However after a couple of months playing using a mouse and keyboard it almost feels just as natural to me as playing with a controller. Of course I couldn't just stop with what I had, I was like any other guy, I wanted more. I was actually kind of surprise how quickly my stuff seemed to be outdated. All of a sudden 4850's and Phenom processors weren't doing it for some games. I was constantly looking for ways to make things run faster and smoother. I noticed that with PC gaming it's all about FPS (frams per seconds) the more you had the better the braging rights. I couldn't really notice a difference after about thirty, but some people claimed to get well over one-hundred on certain games. That's what I wanted. I ended up buying an even faster video card (a hd4870 1gb version) and a new processor (AMD Phenom II 3.0mhz black edition) and also installing those myself. Once again it was an exhilarating rush when I got everything to work (the processor was surprisingly easy actually).
Now I'm pretty content with what I have, but looking back PC gaming is very expensive compared to my old console playing ways. With the video cards, new processor, power supplies I spent probably around $1600 total. Is the pay out worth it? Well I wouldn't say I regretted any of my purchases (maybe the 4850 might have been a little underwhelming), but it did make me take certain things into consideration. Is the price we pay for PC gaming really worth the pay off? I would say yes. I'm not about to abandon my consoles anytime soon, but I do understand the appeal of the PC gaming experience. There are tons of Mods out there (playing goldeneye source comes to mind) and the games really do look noticeably better than it would on a console. It's also amazingly fun to tweak hardware inside my computer. To me it brings a little more ownership to the machine. Of course I'd be lying if I said everything about PC gaming is great. Besides the price I noticed that there are certain inconveniences that comes along with gaming on my PC. For starters there's the whole DRM fiasco that has been kind of annoying and while it hasn't cause huge problems for me it's an inconvenience none the less. There's also a lot of things that can go wrong. Games crashing randomly without warning. Odd screen corruptions certain hardware needing constant updates to ensure they work properly, it can definitely be a hassle. I wouldn't necessarily call them deal breakers but it was an unexpected side effect. All that aside however PC gaming is actually pretty great and if you have the means (I know it's not cheap) I would suggest you try iy for yourself.
I enjoy keeping track, mainly for my own records.
Game Boy
Final Fantasy 5 Advance
MegaMan 2
Disney's Magical Quest 3 starring Mickey and Donald
Genesis
Taz in Escape from Mars
N64
Disney's Tarzan
Perfect Dark - Secret Agent
Pokemon Puzzle League
Snowboard Kids
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Blast Corps
Snowboard Kids 2
Chamelon Twist
NES
Dragon Warrior
Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom
PC
Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden
Half-Life
Portal
PS1
Skullmonkeys
Syphon Filter
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (both castles)
PS2
Kingdom Hearts II
Maximo vs. Army of Zin
God Hand
SNES
Phalanx
Sonic Blast Man
SoulBlazer
Super CastlevaniaIV
Wild Guns
Xbox
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
NBA Ballers
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict
Blitz: The League
King Kong: The Offical Game of the Movie
Xbox 360
All Pro Football 2K8
PS3
Metal Gear Solid 4
For what it's worth, Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden was the most entertaining game I beat this year.
Fighting Game- Super Smash Bros. Brawl- Wii
I've already explained this, but I don't really think this needs explanation anyway.
Platform Game- LittleBigPlanet- PS3
There are so many great innovations abour this game, from the physics engine to the level creator. This game only looks to get better over time.
Best RPG- I didn't play enough RPGs from this year and I'm not giving this award to Fallout 3.
Best Original Score- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots- PS3
Best Use of Sound- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots- PS3
Best Voice Acting- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots- PS3
This game has great sound in all departments.
Best Artistic Design- Braid
Don't get me wrong, LittleBigPlanet is an amazingly creative game, but in the end Braid is the game that sticks out as being a clear work of art in almost every way. From the emotional story to the endlessly inventive gameplay, this game really makes you think outside the box to solve many of its puzzles.
Best Graphics- MGS4
As I've mentioned before, the beautiful graphics used in the cutscenes for this game are the same graphics used when you're playing the game, and that is pretty cool. Not to mention this game looks better than any game to come this year anyway.
Best Shooter- Gears of War 2- Xbox 360
I didn't play many shooters this year, but this game deserves recognition for polishing over the problems of the first game while keeping the core gameplay the same.
Best Action/Adventure- MGS4
I've explained so many reasons this game is great, but I guess I'll add I like the ability to play certain sections in either a stealth-oriented or action-oriented way. That freedom in certain areas of the game is very cool, especially for such a linear adventure.
I'll have my Game of the Year nominees out soon.
After owning Hotel Dusk: Room 215 for nearly a year I finally got around to finishing this bizarrely entertaining game. Done in the style of adventure games of 'yore, Hotel Dusk is the second effort from Cing, makers of Trace Memory (Another Code). Fortunately, it's safe to say that in all respects Hotel Dusk is a significant improvement over Trace. Refined controls, challenging puzzles, and a more likeable cast can be considered the real steps forward for Dusk. Despite a rather lackluster showing of adventure games on the platform thus far, Dusk definitely makes it's case heard. Is this is the best game on the NDS? I can't say, but it's sure up there.
Hotel Dusk follows the story of ex-cop Kyle Hyde who now pays the bills as a traveling salesman. Pretty awesome, no? As a side job Kyle Hyde actively pursues his old partner, known simply as Bradley, who betrayed him years ago and is the main reason he left the force. So now Hyde has shown up at Hotel Dusk on a job from his employer. The plot thickens significantly and soon we find out that everyone in this hotel is connected and has ulterior motives behind their stay at Dusk. The story is one of the game's highest points. The writing is right on the mark and the dialogue definitely gives each character an unmistakeably human quality. Despite what I felt to be a strange ending I can't fault the storytelling in any other way.
Dusk is modeled after the old point and click formula and uses this concept very well. The NDS hardware is perfect for this kind of gameplay and Cing takes full advantage of this. On the top screen is a picture of the area you're in and on the bottom is a bare-bones map of the hotel. Using the stylus you can move around the hotel rather quickly and solving puzzles is fun and interactive. While the usability of the microphone is questionable all the puzzles retain a unique feel.
Hotel Dusk is shamelessly noir. Featuring an almost entirely jazzy soundtrack the music is repetitive but enjoyable enough. The real draw for many will be the interesting art style incorporated into Dusk. While the environments and items are styled realistically the characters are drawm and animated in a style most reminiscent of that cheesy, old a-ha video. Despite this strange reference I found the art work very functional and visually appealing. The characters always appear to moving and the style makes Hyde look almost humourously scruffy and noir.
All is good in the world of Hotel Dusk and I recommend this adventure highly. The charmingly adventure tone is great, but the likeable cast is what really makes this game. Despite a few shortcomings in the pacing department there are very few faults to be found in Hotel Dusk.
Pros: Well there is nothing but pros to talk about in the game. For those of you who love a open ended city this is it. First about the game technology, you have an open city where you can roam around looking for trouble or just to earn some cash, the graphics are breath taking on the Xbox360, and the sound is so realistic. The main story is nothing much as I mentioned earlier but it takes you on various adventures all over Liberty city meeting various characters. The game mechanics are really cool, the controls are so comfortable on the 360 and the physics are so real for example, the rag doll effect when being thrown out of a car or when blasted by a bomb are so cool. Small things do matter, and the game developers have looked in to so much of details. For those who like detail this is it from car damage to injuries of the character. There are so many side missions for you to choose from street races to vigilante missions, they have taken out the fire and ambulance missions, but there is so more to fill in. San Andreas was a more gang story and environment, which some of us enjoyed the change, most who like the original GTA's i.e. Vice City missed the mafia and GTA IV delivers. Be ready to get addicted for 30 hours at least to one of the best games of 2008.
Cons: None to talk about I've only played it on the xbox360 so can't really comment on how it runs on other platforms. May be more character customizations could have been added on i.e. the gym from San Andreas has been taken out.
For anyone who loves RPGs this is one for you to play, for anyone who wants to try out an RPG then this is one game you have to play and you will be hooked on to it.
Please every one who read this find user called Nano_Assassin(thats my new account) and add me to your friend list!!! TTTTTTTTTTTHHHNNX!!!
