Archive for the ‘Asides’ Category
Sunday, May 16th, 2010
I don’t mean to jump the gun here, especially as I only booted Alan Wake up this evening, but I’m pretty certain it has been worth the wait. In case you didn’t know, Alan Wake has been milling around the Xboxsphere since the launch in 2005, victim to many delays and a significant lack of updates.
Games that are in development for a long time are, in my opinion, typically underwhelming. Prey, which was in development for 11 years, was rubbish (IMO). It certainly lacked the quality you’d expect from a game that had been at the centre of such TLC for a long time, and it failed to grab my attention enough to even finish the game. Too Human, while I never played it, was released to a mixed bag of reviews after a decade in development.
It seems that games that have been in development for lengthy periods of time are naturally met with high expectations, but rarely live up to these expectations. I think Alan Wake is different.
Tags: Alan Wake, Aside, Asides, Prey, Too Human
Posted in Asides | 4 Comments »
Thursday, April 15th, 2010
In my last post, I mentioned lack of sidequests as one of Mass Effect 2’s downsides. At 60 hours in, I now realise there are in fact a ton of sidequests… It’s just that most of them are hidden.
Admittedly I shouldn’t have left scanning the planets for minerals until I was so close to the final mission, but I realised I needed to better upgrade my ship, and I had been holding off for so long because of the monotony of probing planets. Now I’ve spent many hours scanning the planets, I’ve come across many missions I would have otherwise missed.
I fail to understand why Bioware have tucked away many of their sidequests, and I simply can’t see how it’s beneficial to the game or the player. Hopefully this is something we won’t see with Mass Effect 3.
Tags: Aside, Asides, Bioware, Mass Effect 2
Posted in Asides | 7 Comments »
Friday, January 15th, 2010
I’m not usually one to link to stories that crop up in my feed reader, but I’m guessing many of you have reservations, like myself, regarding Project Natal. I’m not massively stoked on the idea of it. Not because of the technology itself, although the E3 demo initially had me thinking it seemed too ambitious, but more so about it changing the way we play video games entirely. Then I read this article, which had a quote from Jon Burton, the Traveller’s Tales Director. Burton said “[the controller is] exceedingly clever, but the lag on the input and lack of physical buttons is really going to restrict the kind of games that can be done with it.”. This has eased my mind in a big way.
Playing a triple A shooter with nothing but my body as the controller isn’t something that gets me excited. At all. And I was worried that this was where the future of video games was indefinitely headed. Who knows, it possibly could be, but I have a temporary ease of mind knowing that this may not be possible any time soon. Call me a lazy gamer, or call me too stubborn to embrace the changes Natal may bring about, but I’m suddenly feeling very at ease with the motion control phenomenon. How about you?
Tags: Aside, Asides, Project Natal
Posted in Asides | 6 Comments »
Monday, December 28th, 2009
I was lucky enough to get Dragon Age: Origins for Christmas (thanks, Phil). When it comes to character creation I’m fairly unadventurous. I always stick to playing as a human, which is stupid given I am a human in real life. Surely I should be willing to try something different given that gaming is all about stepping out-with your usual boundaries? This time I made a conscious decision to try something new. I’m a freakin’ elf warrior people! A City Elf to be exact.
What are you playing as?
Tags: Character Creation, Dragon Age: Origins
Posted in Asides | 4 Comments »
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Dear Microsoft, Xbox Live is now 7 years old, which begs the question, why are you still capping the friends list at 100? It’s stupid. My friends list has been full for several months, and I can’t make room for new friends without removing other friends. It’s stupid.
There are a couple of issues that irritate me here. Firstly, Xbox Live is a paid service. I put an annual £40 down for the privilege of using this service, so I feel this issue should have been addressed by now, especially as I’m not the first to raise it. Also your competitor’s alternative is entirely free, so maybe you should be trying harder at justifying the cost and keeping paid subscribers happy. Secondly, despite charging users for Xbox Live, you are clearly investing your time elsewhere. Most likely on creating ludicrous props for our Avatars, which, if we want to take advantage of, we also have to pay for. I still haven’t gotten over that goddam Q-tip. It’s stupid.
Microsoft, please invest your time - for once - into the good of your users, without profit being at the forefront of your agenda. I’m pretty sure no one bought the giant Q-tip. Maybe that time would have been better invested in something useful?
Tags: Avatars, Microsoft, Xbox Live
Posted in Asides, Rants, Xbox Live | 3 Comments »
Monday, November 9th, 2009
As I sit here counting down the hours until I get my hands on the 6th installment in the Call of Duty series, Modern Warfare 2, I realise my excitement has become clouded with doubt. I know, I’m a hypocrite. Only last month I mentioned I pay no attention to the hype that surrounds bigger video games, but having loved the original Modern Warfare and not feeling we’ve seen a shooter quite on par since, I guess all my hopes hinge on Modern Warfare 2 being a truly great experience.
Tonight I’ll head to the midnight launch in Greenock, which won’t be too bad considering I’ve booked tomorrow off work to give my undivided attention to this /geek. If a video games drags you out of the house at midnight to drive into town, it must be special. It has to be. I hope it lives up to my expectation.
Tags: Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 2
Posted in Asides | 5 Comments »
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
By the age of 20, seemingly every girl has their wedding day perfectly mapped out in their head; each excruciating detail covered, from flower arrangements and wedding gowns, to what song the bride and groom will first take to the dance floor with. And they likely won’t have even met the dude yet. I can say with much certainty I have never been that girl. No, if you delve into the inner workings of Ashley Baxter’s head, you will likely find a mixed array of thoughts on what it would be like if I were a superhero, merged with the odd Daniel Craig fantasy, followed by what kind of Bond girl I’d be. However, I have to give my hat off to a good ceremony when I see one, and no union comes better than a Left 4 Dead 2, zombie themed wedding (that links to an image you have to check out).
Video game themed weddings, eh? Apparently some people do that. In front of 4,000 zombie impersonators no less. The undead couple also honeymooned in New Orleans, and it’s no coincidence that New Orleans is where the upcoming sequel to Left 4 Dead is set. They were also transported to their honeymoon in a hearse kitted out with a ‘Just Infected’ sign, and a wreath that read ‘Left 4 Dead 2′. Morbid? Yes. Crazy? Also yes. Whether it was a mutual decision, or the hubby’s hardcore game addiction that bullied the bride into splattering blood on her dress, I can only wonder if the marriage will last after the inevitable fight for who gets to play Left 4 Dead 2 first commences. I sure hope so.
Tags: Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Zombies
Posted in Asides | 3 Comments »
Friday, October 16th, 2009
To say I have a love / hate relationship with my Xbox 360 is an understatement. It gives me great pleasure by offering a platform to play amazing exclusives on, not to mention an easy way to connect to friends while playing these amazing exclusives. But it also has a very evil side, which I’ve been discovering on a daily basis recently.
My console refuses to read discs. All discs. Even though there are zero scratches on these discs. My console requires to be booted up three times before the game actually begins, simply because my console enjoys freezing on various parts of the process (the Xbox logo, the dashboard, the game etc). My console prompts for discs to be inserted, despite there already being a disc inside. Give it up, Xbox! Can’t you just work?
I’m on my third Xbox 360, which, given the fact I’ve been gaming on the Xbox for 4 years is a poor, poor figure. Especially as the above symptoms suggest I may well be heading into 4th RRoD territory. This time I’m not going to threaten I’ll jump ship because I now own a PS3, and I certainly won’t be trading anything in for a Wii, but I will be very angry at myself for remaining loyal to Microsoft. I’ll be even angrier towards them for being, well, shit. I dream of the day Apple make gaming consoles (I kid, I kid).
Tags: Microsoft, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, RRoD
Posted in Asides | 13 Comments »
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Los Havros and I recently had an in-depth chat about the social aspects both the 360 and PlayStation 3 possess; a conversation spurred by my recent purchase of a PlayStation 3, and a few negative Tweets directed at the social features it seems to lack. Hopefully we’ve pulled off a nicely done debate, steering clear of any fanboyism (and fangirlism).
I’m sure Los Havros would like you to chime in with further discussion just as much as I do. It’s an interesting area of debate, and it’s great hearing from both sides of the argument. Even more so from gamers who have experience with both consoles. Discuss!
Tags: Los Havros, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox Live
Posted in Asides | 7 Comments »
Friday, August 21st, 2009
I didn’t see this coming, but one of my favourite games (and a bit of an older title), Mass Effect, has just had 150 G’s added to the total, bringing it up to 1200. Considering how long Mass Effect has been out, it feels the news of impending DLC is completely out of the blue. Having said that, I figured it was always odd having the total ME Achievements sitting at 1050 G’s.
Funnily enough, I’ve been pestering myself to go back to Mass Effect; I think that’s one game I’ll never get bored of, considering every playthrough unfolds differently. Referring to my recent rant about DLC Achievements, this is one game I welcome any new missions on. It’s just so freakin’ awesome!
And on that note, if you’ve yet to hop aboard the Normandy, now seems the perfect time to do so. New missions coupled with Mass Effect hitting Games on Demand? No excuse not to.
Tags: Achievements, DLC, Mass Effect, Xbox Live
Posted in Asides, Xbox Live | 4 Comments »
I don’t have anything derogatory to say about Alan Wake. My advice to you? Spend a night in Bright Falls and soak up the eerie atmosphere. Alan Wake excels at thrilling you psychologically. Which is why it’s called a psychological thriller, I guess…
