Category: Gaming
I really liked
this article because it's true and brings up a gaming element that is often overlooked. They're right, of any "modern" game that I've played (and remember...), World ofWarcraft is alt-tabbing perfection, it tasks in and out instantaneously.
One of the PC's greatest strengths is its versatility. It's a shame that more games don't multi-task well. Many titles will tab out quickly but not many will tab back in without lagging, crashing or bugging out. All source games as mentioned in the article take forever to get back into. The Sims 2 takes a good 15 to 30 seconds to load back into at full screen. To circumvent the lag, I play it in windowed mode. The catch is that you can only play it at a maximum resolution of 800x600 windowed, what the fuck is that?
I love the "maximized windowing" feature in WoW, I wish all games had that. It offers every single advantage of running a game in windowed mode but with no borders and no taskbar. It will maximize to fill the entire screen. The options in WoW are also easily accessible. No configuration file editing and no hidden commands.
Also, I like it when games (mostly strategy games) allow you to choose between edge scrolling and click dragging. The reason being that I have a dual monitor setup. If I run a game in windowed mode (which Iusually will), edge scrolling doesn't work very because the mouse doesn't lock into the game window.
Resistance: Fall of Man, one of the Playstation 3 launch titles was inducted into the Greatest Hits line a couple of weeks ago. Setting wise, it feels like a cross between Call of Duty and the combine sections of Half-Life 2 with a standard Halo-ish console shooter feel. You play as Nathan Hale, a US solider who I swear looks like Keith Malley from Keith and the Girl...
Criticism: The cut scenes are awkward because they occur fairly often during odd spots and don't blend very well with the gameplay. The game will blur out, a bit of dialogue with a slide show of pictuers will occur and then the game will fade back in, sometimes in the middle of a zone. Awkward. The plot, though engaging feels derivative. The AI (at least on normal difficulty) is semi-retarded...
Good things: It's pretty, it's high definition, and the areas are visually appealing. The checkpoints are well spaced and the difficulty curve so far at least, is smooth. It's well paced and the plot, the maybe not incredibly original feeling is still very interesting and works well with the game's atmosphere. The controls are also easy to learn. If you are comfortable with console shooters you should be able to pick this up with no problem
Verdict so far: It's fun. I wouldn't give it a perfect 10, but I like it and will probably purchase Resistance 2 whenever it comes out. If you have a Playstation 3, this is worth picking up because it's a good console shooter. But, if you are looking for a groundbreaking plot with innovative gameplay, keep looking.
I have interest in tinkering with this site again, hehe. Entering a general gaming lull: there's not a whole lot new or interesting releases coming until Fall. WoW wise, I think expansionitis is setting in for half the server o_O. I want a beta key!
Resistance
At some point I might pick up Resistance Fall of Man whenever the Playstation 3 greatest hits come out. The viral marketing for Resistance 2, its sequel piqued my interest (well, partly because the videos feature Katee Sackhoff, aka Starbuck from the most awesomest show on Television). It sounds intriguing and seems to have been reviewed highly. I find most console shooters and their cludgy controls a turn off though.
…continuing my Metal Gear fixation
I find MGO interesting though I haven’t played it a whole lot. It’s not quite a shooter and integrates some of Metal Gear Solid’s stealth elements into the online gameplay.
Errata
I have this… inability to play full screen games for long periods now without having to check my email, check my news feeds, IM’s, guild forums, etc. That is, unless they really grab me. Windowed games (like WoW) as well as console games are nice because they don’t require full focus of my computer.
I feel like blogging again.
Super Stardust HD
SSHD is an arcade style shooter (destroy anything that moves, collect power-ups, dodge anything that moves and isn't a power-up) available on the PSN. Oh God it's crack...and has over the past week or so, admittedly occupied more of my free gaming time than I care to admit. I miss this game genre.
Shadow of the Colossus
I was reading an interesting discussion earlier this week on games with sad plot lines and this title came up multiple times. I know that it has received extremely high regard when it was released in 2005, but I never picked it up for whatever reason. It's only like, $15 used at Gamestop; Might pick it up this week.
Metal Gear Solid 4
I have a huge strictly metaphorical gamer hard-on for anything Metal Gear. I consequently adore all aspects of the game/story, including the parts that make abso-fucking-lutely no sense. I was going to type out a lengthy afterthought review but I'm sure that at this point, anything that I could possibly ever say regarding the gameplay and plot has already been covered a hundred times over.
Among all installations, 4 by far has the best gameplay and control scheme. They really polished and streamlined it to the point where it is *gasp* actually valid as an action game. But that said, you really do have to play through all of the previous Metal Gear Solid games in order to fully appreciate and understand MGS4.
WoW
*Thinking about going to BlizzCon this year* I am, to be honest, not really much of a convention goer though...
Happy umm June! I had five or so half-completed entries milling on Google Docs for two months. By the time I got around to editing and reviewing them, all were out of date/irrelevant; Meh. Gaming stuff:
- I updated the guild site/forums. Note to self: Update the homepage recruitment, kills, etc.
- Bought a Playstation 3, GTA IV, and HDMI/DVI adapter the other week and have spent every free moment fawning over it.
- Speaking of PS3 games, Metal Gear Solid 4 comes out soon. I should really wait until I beat GTA IV before buying it, but we'll see how temptation goes. My gaming life follows this pattern: Buy a game, half-complete it, buy another game, ignore game one. Consequently, I have a stack of unfinished games. Though, most of them are left unfinished because they sucked or were a giant waste of time (*cough FFXII*).
Workspace obsession
My living space is becoming a dump. I'm on a small quest again to organize it but I cannot find office furniture that fits my exact needs dimension wise. Everything is either too wide, too tall, or does not match. I want a relatively narrow drawer/filing unit. No wider than 12" & no taller than 27".
This one from the wonderful world of Ikea might work. I very badly need more storage space to organize guitar cables, charging cables, USB cables...Everything at the moment is on the floor.
Other things/WoW
- I am bent on learning how to play every single tune from Mega Man II on the guitar. I tabbed around half of the Wily Castle theme, but got lazy and just googled the rest.
- A guild member pointed out this site. Handy quick gear check/reference /App vetting tool.
- I have a growing stack of badges and nothing to buy for my tanking set. I should just blow them all on Emp Saph's and epic gem out the rest of my slots. There's not a whole lot of gear that I'm going to be upgrading any time soon (until Hyjal).
