So I guess its Thanksgving in the south or whatever. Which would explain my lack of internet related entertainment today. Just cuz you have a day off doesn't mean that you have a day off entertaining me. But, its not all bad! It's really not, friday this christmas shit gets into full things. I don't say christmas shit because I'm bitter, I say it because it means that if I want to avoid crowds I have to stay away from the malls and the booze shops. I stocked up on egg nog and liquor yesterday so now all I need to do is pick up a game to play in between rounds of Dragon Age. Heard good things about Uncharted 2, Assasins Creed 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii... Or I could just go back and play some of my old games. How often do you do that?
Not counting the amazing Dragon Age I don't see a single game in my stack o' games that I've beat more than one. Of course not counting L4D, duh. There are some good games in that pile too, inFamous, Uncharted 1, Batman. Though I did complete AA 100%, first game in a long time that I've done that. On a side note, does anyone still regularly play their Wii anymore? I haven't touched in probably 10 months. Wow, that is just ripe for dong jokes isn't it? Go ahead, make em, no one is watching. I think now that we have all spent our life savings on the glut of fall games this year we go back and play our old games again. I need to do that evil run though of inFamous. I need to run through MGS4 again; the only game to really make me feel sad. Never even finished Ninja Gaiden 2, which is weird, having beat Black on very hard. No, thats not bragging. Maybe a bit, but I'm sure you've beat it on master ninja haven't you?
So this holiday season I'm going back and I'm going to re-play my old games and see how they stand up. At least until I break down and buy Modern Warefare.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The Origin Of Dragon Ages
Lets rap about how fantastic Dragon Age: Origins is for a minute shall we? Yes, we shall. Did I just give away how the rest of this post is going to unfold? Yes, I did. If you're like me DA was pretty much the best birthday present you could wish for. Well that and a blow job (Birthday dreams do come true, well mine anyway. Kids, don't lose hope.). I grabbed the Deluxe edition which comes in a sexy case, oh my yes. After downloading all the extra content, like 3 fucking DLC packs which was a little confusing (hint: you need to type your code in caps). I was ready to go.
I'm gonna go right ahead and say that I'm a BioWare fan. Everything that they do just seems so great. Different endings, top notch voice acting and the game play, oh my how the game plays. On the release day I spent most of my day at work deciding which version to get; I went with the 360 version. For the record my choices were between the PS3 and 360 version, no way my laptop could run this. The PC version does play better, but not owning a PC is no excuse for missing this game.
I was worried because the general consensus seemed to be that the loading times were long and there were frame rate issues. So, being ahead of the curve I used that nice little "Install To Hard Drive" feature on the 360 and I am pleased to say that the game runs fine. Loading times are minimal, frame rate is pretty good(if I had to judge by eyesight alone I would say high 40's.). The graphics are NOT as good as they are on the PC; assuming you've got a decent rig. The ring system for the console versions works fine, but I do admit having an MMO style bar like the PC version would work even better.
What really pulls me in here though is the story, call it generic fantasy if you want. I enjoy it quite a bit. One of the best realized worlds in a game. Fully fleshed out history, tons of stuff to read if you're into that. I was disappointed that you never got to go off to other lands though. Hopefully in the sequel. Make it happen BioWare.
I really cannot stress how much I enjoy this game. I think it's the only game that I have ever completed 3 times in row while planning for my 4th run in advance. Fuck, I love this game. Go check out Dragon Age if you haven't already. If you enjoyed either of the KOTOR games, Mass Effect or enjoy high fantasy you need to play this game. Enjoy!
I'm gonna go right ahead and say that I'm a BioWare fan. Everything that they do just seems so great. Different endings, top notch voice acting and the game play, oh my how the game plays. On the release day I spent most of my day at work deciding which version to get; I went with the 360 version. For the record my choices were between the PS3 and 360 version, no way my laptop could run this. The PC version does play better, but not owning a PC is no excuse for missing this game.
I was worried because the general consensus seemed to be that the loading times were long and there were frame rate issues. So, being ahead of the curve I used that nice little "Install To Hard Drive" feature on the 360 and I am pleased to say that the game runs fine. Loading times are minimal, frame rate is pretty good(if I had to judge by eyesight alone I would say high 40's.). The graphics are NOT as good as they are on the PC; assuming you've got a decent rig. The ring system for the console versions works fine, but I do admit having an MMO style bar like the PC version would work even better.
What really pulls me in here though is the story, call it generic fantasy if you want. I enjoy it quite a bit. One of the best realized worlds in a game. Fully fleshed out history, tons of stuff to read if you're into that. I was disappointed that you never got to go off to other lands though. Hopefully in the sequel. Make it happen BioWare.
I really cannot stress how much I enjoy this game. I think it's the only game that I have ever completed 3 times in row while planning for my 4th run in advance. Fuck, I love this game. Go check out Dragon Age if you haven't already. If you enjoyed either of the KOTOR games, Mass Effect or enjoy high fantasy you need to play this game. Enjoy!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Today, lets talk about the difference in price between buying games here in the land of maple syrup, poutine and hockey we know as Canada and our friendly neighbors to the south.
So lets start out with some facts: most new games in the US for current generation consoles cost somewhere between $50 and $55 (maybe in rare occasions they get up to $60). In Canada new games cost anywhere from $65-$75 and thats before tax. As you can tell, this is completely retarded. So, why?
I know! It's because the Canadian dollar is so weak! Let me see... Nope, as it stands right now $1CDN=95 American Cents. The Canadian dollar used to be weak in the past. By in the past I mean fucking 1970-1980 or so. But for the past few years the dollar has been rising and generally sitting above or around .90USD. So I suppose that rules out the weak Canadian dollar.
What else could be causing this.... Shipping! Nah, that can't be it. Maybe a very small portion per game for independent retailers. But for big places like wal-mart who have their own massive distribution network it really doesn't make a dent.
I know what it is. It's greedy publishers. No really. Factoring in the Canadian dollar and the tiny amount one would expect to pay for shipping doesn't nearly make up for how much more expensive it is. So in a note to publishers or whoever decides these crazy prices:you can bring them down. I would personally buy more games if you brought the prices on new games down to say something reasonable like even $55. These are tough economic times but it could be worse. At least we don't live in Brazil. Thoughts?
So lets start out with some facts: most new games in the US for current generation consoles cost somewhere between $50 and $55 (maybe in rare occasions they get up to $60). In Canada new games cost anywhere from $65-$75 and thats before tax. As you can tell, this is completely retarded. So, why?
I know! It's because the Canadian dollar is so weak! Let me see... Nope, as it stands right now $1CDN=95 American Cents. The Canadian dollar used to be weak in the past. By in the past I mean fucking 1970-1980 or so. But for the past few years the dollar has been rising and generally sitting above or around .90USD. So I suppose that rules out the weak Canadian dollar.
What else could be causing this.... Shipping! Nah, that can't be it. Maybe a very small portion per game for independent retailers. But for big places like wal-mart who have their own massive distribution network it really doesn't make a dent.
I know what it is. It's greedy publishers. No really. Factoring in the Canadian dollar and the tiny amount one would expect to pay for shipping doesn't nearly make up for how much more expensive it is. So in a note to publishers or whoever decides these crazy prices:you can bring them down. I would personally buy more games if you brought the prices on new games down to say something reasonable like even $55. These are tough economic times but it could be worse. At least we don't live in Brazil. Thoughts?
Monday, November 23, 2009
Fuck you DICE/EA
Alright so a little bit of back story: I picked up Mirrors Edge for $10 brand-spankin'-new last week. 'Great deal - I'd be retarded if I missed this' I thought to myself. Well Goddamn it if I didn't wish I was retarded.
Ok, before I launch into why this thing is a giant pile crap let me start out by going over the one (maybe two? 1.5?) things that they did right with the game. If you know anything about this game (read:thing) you can probably postulate that what I'm going to say is that I like the graphics. It actually looks pretty good and has a nice clean style. Which is to be expected when you live in the future and everything is perfect, right? Nice use of colour and I can't say that I hate the music.
Moving on to what I hate about the game: every fucking other aspect of the game. So what should I start with... Controls? The controls are crap. The left bumper basically controls your upper body and the right bumper controls the lower part. I'm not even sure I can begin to explain how shitty and imprecise that feels. You're running around at fucking 900 miles and hour you need feel like if something happens and you miss-step you will at least have a chance to save yourself. So you're running around and running on walls and shit and it seems kind of cool for about 10 seconds until you start missing jumps because you can't fucking see your feet. There is a lot of jumping from building to building in this game, shit glows red to show you were to jump or climb. I've come up with a good comparison for this game: you know those levels in FPS' where they force you to do a bit of platforming, you know how it always sucks (Metriod Prime is an exception) well this game is like if they took that concept and made a whole shitty game out of it. Because of this I found myself dying, a lot, even when I knew exactly what to do and how to do it. Maybe (read:most assuredly) I suck at this game and video games in general but not even I should die that much and in such a frustrating fashion. You die a lot and unlike real life its not your fault. Also unlike real life its probably not alcohol and sex related. But you're saying "Dude did you know you can slow down time in this game?" Yeah you can slow down time, just like you can in pretty much every game ever. They even fucked up slowing down time, you press X and time basically stops (just like when you're at work!) shit just basically stops for 5 second, you can move a little bit maybe you'll get like two steps in. Slowing down time is pointless in this game. Fucking pointless.
This game makes me sick to play - literally. After about 4 hours straight of playing I was starting to feel a little noxious. It might be a good joke to make someone who gets motion sick play it and bet on how long it takes them to throw up. Come to think of it, that could be a new underground sport. Move over cockfighting, here comes Mirrors Edge.
I forgot to mention the story. It sucks. Moving on.
Now I'm sure all one of you that are reading this are saying, "Well why don't you make a better game if you think this sucks so bad?". Fuck you, I'm a busy man thats why. But you know, all they needed to do with this game to make it better was include a third person mode. That fixes about 99% of the problems here. No more missing jumps because you can't tell where you. No more looking around in a dizzying first person mode looking for conveniently placed red tubes to climb, just swivel the camera and have a look around.
What it boils down to is that this game is just a big fuck you to everyone who plays it. It could have been good! All of the elements are there for a good game, it had a big budget. It's like they did it on purpose just because they knew it would sell a bajillion (may not be a real number or sales figure) copies. To this I say, fuck you EA. You're doing everything wrong you can possibly do wrong. Reopen Pandemic studios and have them make a third Battlefront game. Shitty PSP games don't count. Make it happen EA, you have the power.
Ok, before I launch into why this thing is a giant pile crap let me start out by going over the one (maybe two? 1.5?) things that they did right with the game. If you know anything about this game (read:thing) you can probably postulate that what I'm going to say is that I like the graphics. It actually looks pretty good and has a nice clean style. Which is to be expected when you live in the future and everything is perfect, right? Nice use of colour and I can't say that I hate the music.
Moving on to what I hate about the game: every fucking other aspect of the game. So what should I start with... Controls? The controls are crap. The left bumper basically controls your upper body and the right bumper controls the lower part. I'm not even sure I can begin to explain how shitty and imprecise that feels. You're running around at fucking 900 miles and hour you need feel like if something happens and you miss-step you will at least have a chance to save yourself. So you're running around and running on walls and shit and it seems kind of cool for about 10 seconds until you start missing jumps because you can't fucking see your feet. There is a lot of jumping from building to building in this game, shit glows red to show you were to jump or climb. I've come up with a good comparison for this game: you know those levels in FPS' where they force you to do a bit of platforming, you know how it always sucks (Metriod Prime is an exception) well this game is like if they took that concept and made a whole shitty game out of it. Because of this I found myself dying, a lot, even when I knew exactly what to do and how to do it. Maybe (read:most assuredly) I suck at this game and video games in general but not even I should die that much and in such a frustrating fashion. You die a lot and unlike real life its not your fault. Also unlike real life its probably not alcohol and sex related. But you're saying "Dude did you know you can slow down time in this game?" Yeah you can slow down time, just like you can in pretty much every game ever. They even fucked up slowing down time, you press X and time basically stops (just like when you're at work!) shit just basically stops for 5 second, you can move a little bit maybe you'll get like two steps in. Slowing down time is pointless in this game. Fucking pointless.
This game makes me sick to play - literally. After about 4 hours straight of playing I was starting to feel a little noxious. It might be a good joke to make someone who gets motion sick play it and bet on how long it takes them to throw up. Come to think of it, that could be a new underground sport. Move over cockfighting, here comes Mirrors Edge.
I forgot to mention the story. It sucks. Moving on.
Now I'm sure all one of you that are reading this are saying, "Well why don't you make a better game if you think this sucks so bad?". Fuck you, I'm a busy man thats why. But you know, all they needed to do with this game to make it better was include a third person mode. That fixes about 99% of the problems here. No more missing jumps because you can't tell where you. No more looking around in a dizzying first person mode looking for conveniently placed red tubes to climb, just swivel the camera and have a look around.
What it boils down to is that this game is just a big fuck you to everyone who plays it. It could have been good! All of the elements are there for a good game, it had a big budget. It's like they did it on purpose just because they knew it would sell a bajillion (may not be a real number or sales figure) copies. To this I say, fuck you EA. You're doing everything wrong you can possibly do wrong. Reopen Pandemic studios and have them make a third Battlefront game. Shitty PSP games don't count. Make it happen EA, you have the power.
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