71/78: A Gamer's Blog

I've relocated

2007-01-11T23:27:00.000+02:00

With just a couple of posts to go until I hit one hundred, I've moved to self-publishing. The blog got a new name, host and address. (And re-vitalization, I hope.)

Please update your bookmarks to http://dustygamer.mcmuumio.net.

Changes

2007-01-05T10:33:00.000+02:00

With a new year upon us, I've looked at my blogs with a fresh eye. This one has a bunch of things I need to consider:

There's the name. I regret it, since it's so obscure you can't tell at all what the blog's about. Initially I thought I didn't care about readers, but it looks like you can reach a reasonable audience these days, and now the name feels like dead weight. Then again, there are sites like rllmukforum.com, which obviously don't have any problems because of their obscure name. I can't just change it, though, because -

- although I'd like to, I can't just relocate. I have my own web space these days, over at mcMuumio.net. I've spent quite a bit of energy promoting the blog, getting links and some readers, and it would largely be for naught if I changed my URL or name. It'd easily be a year's work all over again. (I just got accepted for Text Link Ads, which took several months after the initial rejection.)

It would be so easy to set up a blog software over at my webhost and a domain doesn't cost much, if I wanted a new name (which I do). I'm quite frustrated by Blogger's limitations; simple layout changes are a pain to do.

Then there's the whole Blogger image to consider; I know I consider Blogger blogs less worthwhile than ones you've set up on your own. Of course it shouldn't matter next to the quality of writing, but it does.

I'm not sure what I'll do. I know I'm a lot more proficient with the whole blogosphere these days, maybe I could get off from the ground a lot faster this time, but hmmm. Maybe I'll relocate my life blog first and see how it goes technically.

Probably because of this uncertainty I've got some drafts waiting for completion; usually I post immediately.

Frets On Fire: keyboard update (Apple vs. Logitech)

2006-12-18T14:09:00.000+02:00

So I've played Frets On Fire quite a lot more. It is so good. I have some issues with performance., though. It could be either the framework (I think it's Python-based) or maybe my dual-core rig. It's not game-spoiling by any means, but weird, as the game appears light-weight. Sometimes it skips frames in-game, and quite often the menus stutter and crawl.

My initial recommendation of my Apple keyboard for FOF is hereby withdrawn. I've noticed it's no good for gaming: the feel is very nice in typing, but it's too soft for gaming, where you often need to hold keys down for extended periods. My old, flat Logitech proved a better match, as it has only a little space on top of the function keys you need for playing, it's light and it has a soft, yet precise digital feel.

Ticket To Ride: Europe edition, Pirates

2006-12-15T13:56:00.000+02:00

We've been looking for a boardgame and have heard plenty of good things about Ticket To Ride. Eventually we got the Europe edition, because the map looked a lot more interesting than in the original US edition.

We've only played it together once, but came away impressed by the simple, rich rules. The components are also first-class.

What really impressed me was their online version. You get a code with the boardgame which allows you to play the game's online version for an unlimited time. It's a simple Java conversion of the original, with lacklustre graphics and token sounds. However, it's a joy to play and works very well as an online multiplayer game. They've done this with a couple of their games, but Ticket To Ride is the only with a sizeable player base.

It made me think they should make a good-looking version of the online game and sell it separately.

Related to this, Sony Online Entertainment is releasing a separate online version of the popular Pirates collectable... cardboard ship... game ("constructible strategy game", they call it), today. They're giving all their launch-day profits to Child's Play. This is the first time I'm applauding Sony for something in quite some time.

Speaking of Child's Play, the gamer community has donated over half a million dollars so far, this season alone. That's really something.

Next generation sales

2006-12-05T15:40:00.000+02:00

So all of the next-gen consoles are upon us. Well, unless you live in Europe, that is, but regardless, I found the NexGen Wars site (NexGenWars.com) interesting. They claim that the sales data is up to date - I'm not at all sure about it. The "how many people prefer which console" data isn't at all interesting as the site is obviously targeted at the nerdcore. But if the sales data is anywhere close to the truth, it'll be interesting to follow how the market develops, instead of forming your opinion based on separate claims made by the console manufacturers over the next year.

Not surprisingly, the 360 is leading the pack with its year-long headstart (over 7M sold), but the Wii has really gotten off to a running start (over 1M sold), leading Nintendo to speculate that it may well surpass its financial projections for the year. Sony's 400K doesn't sound like much, but of course they did "launch" well before they had the stock to support it. I haven't been following the news that closely, but it seems that Sony is really getting beaten in the massmarket reviews, while Wii is welcomed everywhere.

I'm still fearing that Nintendo goes all Gamecube with Wii, though. Launching a fine console and supporting it with good releases are two different things.

Personally, I'm entrenched in the "wait and see" camp regarding the Playstation 3. It needs quality titles and a lower pricepoint to become desirable. Lacking a PS2, I'm willing to shell out a bit more for the third-gen Playstation, but so far I've heard nothing good. The Wii I'm ready to buy the minute there's a couple of quality titles for it.

Roleplaying for the masses

2006-12-05T14:17:00.000+02:00

I've been reading the Finnish tabletop roleplaying scene's thoughts on making a low-threshold game meant to attract new people to the hobby. This has resonated with my own thoughts on roleplaying. I do believe there should be a low-threshold game, however, I'm on a completely different track to the majority of people discussing this.

The common idea seems to be a rules-light game based on a popular stereotype (generic fantasy). Why bother? If all you want is vanilla D&D, there is already vanilla D&D. You'll never get into it unless you're into rules, so the very high threshold to entry should work merely to deter those not cut out for it anyway.

A better take I've seen is taking a pop-culture icon and turning that into an easily digested game. Say, Lost. Or Alias. Then the game should be found in places where non-gamers tend to shop. The less there is to study about the game's framework, the better.

What I haven't seen discussed is breaking the ages-old roleplaying methods down a bit. Boardgames are living a new renaissance right now. The practice of playing a roleplaying game could be moved more towards that - use a board, a theme everyone gets without explaining it and have goals for everyone. This could be good because a boardgame doesn't have the gamemaster vs. players setup, and everyone is working together to gave fun - there is no gamemaster doing all the work.

It probably shouldn't be marketed as a roleplaying game, though, if mass market appeal is sought.

On disability (Nintendo Wii)

2006-11-23T16:18:00.000+02:00

I am a healthy person. Regardless, I can't play Burnout for more than around half an hour at a time: I can't keep gas (RT) and nitro (A) down all the time without my right hand aching. I have often wondered how much my life would change if I was no longer able to hold a joypad or use a keyboard and mouse. (It's pretty scary, actually: people break their hands all the time.)

Everyone is not as lucky as I am. I find the people's dickheadedness in this post's comments section astonishing. The guy is just saying that it would be nice if there were consistent options to adjust the Wiimote's sensitivity to accommodate people who can't move their hands that well, and people are crying "cheat!" and "tough luck, disabled guy, live with it!". This being the internet, many are drawing ridiculous parallels like "well, the guy with no hands can't play either, next we'll have to help him!".

I've ranted about usability issues before. Microsoft has pushed the developers into conforming to their standards on the usage of the 360 joypad's buttons, on respecting customized soundtracks and incorporating Live. They even have a setting for console-specific "preferred controls" to avoid having to set your invert, gearbox and viewpoint preferences in every FPS and driving game you play.

Is it possible that they haven't even thought about demanding customizable controls while at it? What about all the people who prefer "southpaw" layout, with movement on the right stick? Like many left-handers? There are no technical reasons to limit the user's customization of controls, yet it's extremely rare to see that an option.

I imagine there are a lot of people with minor hand problems, like missing fingers, aching joints and whatever, who could be helped just by giving them the option of, say, using RB instead of A for the majority of gameplay.

Even very common disabilities like hard of hearing and colorblindness are usually not taken into account. This could be remedied with simple rules on user interface design. I understand that these options can be the last thing to finetune before shipping and thus being very barebones, but we're talking about the overall quality of not just the one game, but the industry. If accessibility (to a sensible point...) was taken into account in the planning and design stage, these would be non-issues.

Since developers don't seem to take this up and publishers won't make them to, some industry entity should take up the accessibility flag. There's a lot of cheap, good PR on the offer, if you need an incentive beyond being as good as you can be.

I find this especially depressing because playing videogames can be one of the few ways a disabled or bed-ridden person can communicate with her peers on an equal level. To limit their options for no good reason is a shame.

Update: A couple of links to complement the post. First, there's One Switch, which is a campaign for greater accessibility in games. Then it appears that the International Game Developers' Association, or IGDA, has already taken accessibility into account in a special interest group's blog.

Happy birthday Xbox

2006-11-15T14:30:00.000+02:00

The Xbox is five years as of today. It really doesn't seem like so many years. Allow me to recall some Xbox moments in my life.

The Xbox party. I went to this Microsoft-sponsored Xbox party, given out by the Pelit magazine. Our crew were all readers of said magazine. It was a hoot, and I think I decided that I needed an Xbox at the event.

Dead Or Alive 3. I could not believe how good DOA3 looked. It still ranks among the top cats, mind. Instalment 4 doesn't have nearly the same impact.

Completing Halo for the first time. I've done it quite a few times since. I lost count, but I imagine I've been through something like five times since. Also, playing Halo in co-op is a unique experience.

Hooking up on Live. I only did this with the 360 this year, but it was a revelation, nonetheless. How easy can you make online gaming?

Losing myself in Morrowind. The Xbox certainly saw many PC ports, which was nice since I couldn't afford a gaming PC. The PC crew may boast about their mod-support all they like, they can't take away my dozens of experiences with Morrowind on TV. Although the bugs did grate.

Listening to my music while carving up a mountain in Amped 2. Customizable playlists are a big thing to me and it's great they've only made them better with the 360. I was so into Amped 2 for some time that whenever I got a new record, I ripped it to the Xbox and listened to it on board.

Kung Fu Chaos. Kung Fu Chaos was the very first item on my Xbox "want" list and I finally got it a month or so ago. It's very good indeed and feels like a fitting goodbye to the console.

I will be playing on my Xbox for a good time to come, but I can't see myself buying very many new games. There are still some titles I want to check out, like Otogi 2, but my heart is very much in the next-gen playground already.

It's also fitting that the five-year old has finally learned how to talk.

GamesIndustry.biz has an article up on this, check it out.

Update: Eurogamer has put together a pretty cool list of quality Xbox titles you probably missed. Handy shopping list if you're picking one up now that they're as cheap as a Gamecube.

Massively Multiplayer (EVE, Stormreach, World Of Warcraft, CCP + White Wolf)

2006-11-14T10:33:00.000+02:00

I've been intrigued by the massively multiplayer games for a long time. I've played some Anarchy Online and tried free demos of a couple of others, but haven't really gotten into any of them, mostly due to the grind of the games being such a bore: the games don't properly start until you've invested dozens of hours and made friends with other players.

These games are commonly called massively multiplayer online something-or-other, usually roleplaying games. The "massively" is just needless gloating, and "multiplayer" says the same as "online", really. If it's an RPG, I like to stubbornly call them net-RPGs or something of the sort, as I feel just stupid saying "MMORPG" aloud. Don't you? If it's not an RPG, can't we just say it's an online game? Or a net-game?

There is one game in which the "massively" part rings true, which is one of the reasons I'm itching to try it out. Eve Online's players truly are all in the same world, running it in unison. It's a grand social and economical experiment, hailed by some as the ultimate game and by others as the, well, ultimate bore. There's been a lot of cool stuff done in Eve, like the way the economy actually works and the way the players have set up the world's allegiancies on their own, without GM intervention. We intend to check out EVE with my wife in the Christmas holidays.

Then there's World Of Warcraft. It's massive in the sense that everyone and their cats have played the game and there's a truly massive amount of players at it at any given time, regardless of how many separate servers they inhabit. The games has one thing going for it: it's visually so pleasing that I find it hard to resist jumping in whenever I see it running on-screen. We had already decided against ever trying it out, wary of some of our friends' regret over the time they'd put into it, but last weekend the fever hit again.

I really don't want to spend all my spare time on a (single) game. However, there's nothing wrong in playing something for a while. There's another online RPG I'd really like to check out, Dungeons & Dragons Stormreach, but I always thought that I shouldn't touch it as I wouldn't have the time it required, anyway. But so what if I only played for a couple of months, as with other games? If the game can't offer proper gameplay during the opening moments, it's probably not worth my time anyway.

As I had pondered about these things and settled on rying out at least the free demos of these games, the news hit that CCP, the company behind EVE, had agreed on a merger with White Wolf, the company behind my beloved Vampire tabletop RPG. Something good is bound to emerge from this union.

XSATA

2006-11-09T16:13:00.000+02:00

With Microsoft's outright weird decision to bundle the 360 with a 20GB hard drive (with a mere 12GB free for use!), this Datel product may soon become a common item among the gamer hardcore. I know I'm tempted. It isn't strictly necessary yet, but with TV and movie downloads on the horizon, an easy solution to the storage problem is needed.

There are also relatively straightforward guides to exchanging the 360's HD to a bigger capacity one, but those would all void my warranty.

Previews (Warhammer, PC FPS titles)

2006-11-08T10:54:00.000+02:00

PC back catalogue

With a gaming PC in the house after a long hiatus, I've naturally seeked out demos of interesting PC titles I've missed over the years. Some initial impressions, then:

Far Cry: highly interesting. Runs super-smooth with high settings and looks lovely. The sense of freedom is something I haven't previously experienced in a shooter title and it really feels like you can approach situations any way you care. I was initially lured by the bright, tropical graphics, but the gameplay feels like a winner, too.

I played the demo through obsessively, delighted at how challenging it was. As a sidenote, I remain a fan of the checkpoint system. I don't want to break my immersion with quicksaves - which often leads me to forgetting to save my progress if the game doesn't have a checkpoint system. Checkpoints also split the game into bite-size chunks. This demands further play.

FEAR: FEAR is perhaps the PC title I was most looking forward to, but I'm a little disappointed. The controls feel as off as they did with the 360 version (a Monolith mainstay, unfortunately) and the graphics stutter more than they do on the Xbox. I remain intrigued by the premise, so I'll likely look more into it, but with diminished expectations. It could be I'd be better off with the 360 version, which runs smoother.

Half-Life 2: that's correct, I haven't played Half-Life 2 yet, though the original game is among the best games I've ever played. I intend to, especially after playing the demo. The game still looks good and runs super-smooth.

Gameplay feels more like, well, playing than running and gunning in the classic FPS sense. With limited ammunition and the environment-manipulating gravity gun, you're left thinking of other ways to solve the problem of staying alive. The aesthetic design is so cool, too.

Warhammer: Mark Of Chaos

I only briefly treid the demo of the new Warhammer real-time strategy title. It felt a lot like actual, miniatures-based Warhammer, which is only a good thing. I'm not sure, but it looked like they were even playing by the "real" rules. Units are counted in models, not "men", and that kind of thing. There is an option customize some unit colors, although it would be awesome to be able to actually "paint" the models.

I was worried they'd go the popular Warcraft way of candy colors and high fantasy, but it seems they've kept the premise down low and gritty. My other fear was that they'd go all Warcraft on the gameplay, too, with base-building and whatnot, but this seems unfounded. You pick forces, set them up and go at it.

This is very much the way I envisioned a computer-Warhammer back as a kid when playing around with the models. Only that with a computer game, you can field a thousand-strong army and it'll only cost you the 50€ for the game.

Child's Play 2006

2006-11-05T21:25:00.000+02:00

Penny Arcade is again organizing Child's Play, the gamer charity for children's hospitals. I'm going to participate with my wife. It would be great to have you along.

We haven't participated in earlier years because it's been a US thing, but now that there's an Egyptian children's hospital to donate to, we really have no choice but to chip in. We've been to Egypt a couple of times, since my wife studies Egyptology. The last time we visited an orphanage for handicapped children in Luxor, and the people and their need has stuck with us.

You can buy toys (including videogames) or donate cash via PayPal. It's a great Christmas gift not only for children, but for the gamer community: there really is no better PR for the often criticized and ridiculed gamers than this campaign.

Tech survival +1

2006-11-04T19:07:00.000+02:00

I'm writing this on my new computer. It is the first I've built myself, right from choosing parts to assembling the thing. It's not quite done yet, there's a bunch of cables hanging from the case which need to find their counterparts on the motherboard, but it works and I've got everything installed with just one day of tinkering.

Thankfully, the speed increase does seem worth it. Of course I've ran some old 3D Mark benchmarks to see the delicious 100+ FPS scores, and I also intend to test-drive some old games which used to be too much for my old rig (Update: Half-Life 2, FEAR, Unreal Tournament 2003 all run well. Great!). I'm doing something wrong, though: one guy on the 3D Mark 05 benchmark has an identical system to mine, yet he's scored over double the points.

Anyway, I'm just glad I've got it all together. There was a brief feeling of desperation when I couldn't get the graphics card to display anything, but apart from that, it's been remarkably trouble-free. (Update: Simply unplugging and replugging the GPU did the trick.)

And what games am I anxious to try out, apart from the great Frets On Fire? There's at least Dawn Of War, FEAR, Far Cry and just to see how the rig handles it, good ol' Doom 3. And some indie stuff I couldn't handle previously.

So far there's just one let-down: it makes a lot of noise. I'm real happy that I chose slightly less noisy components, but it could be that a couple of low-noise fans and a proper power supply would be in order. At least the hum is stable and low in frequency.

Frets On Fire, new computer

2006-11-02T10:23:00.000+02:00

One of my reasons for finally getting around to upgrading my computer (see below) was that even indie games are too heavy for my old setup. Luckily this latest gem I came across does work, and it's sweet indeed! Frets On Fire is a simple clone of the hugely successful Guitar Hero series on the consoles. Holding your keyboard like a guitar feels great one you're past the "I can't believe I'm doing this" stage. At least my Apple keyboard works great this way.

New computer

Might as well mention what I ordered and why, since this is the kind of information I looked for in the net for weeks before figuring out what I need. We wanted a rig to last us for the next three or four years in mostly light home use, with forays into graphical applications (Photoshop, InDesign mostly) and gaming. Some care was taken into keeping it upgradeable.

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ boxed, 2.2GHz, 1MB(2x512) Cache. We settled on a dual-core because it felt like with Vista right around the corner, now would be a good time. Our heaviest resource loads are graphics applications, which could really benefit from better multitasking. I simply picked a dual-core processor in the mid-range price, landing at 215€.

Motherboard: Abit AN9 32X AM2 nF590-SLI. We needed an AMD M2 socket for the processor and the price difference between the recent nForce 590 and ageing nForce 4 chipsets wasn't huge. This one cost 180€. Reviews suggested that this board or one of its variants was a good choice for a powerful, upgradeable setup. I wanted the AM2 socket for future-proofing, too; it seems like socket 939 is phased out byt the time we'd need a new processor. It could be I went overboard with the motherboard and it doesn't help with the next upgrade after all, but I like knowing that the base of the rig isn't shaky. I went for SLI because I wasn't going to buy a high-end graphics processing unit, but I wanted the option to boost GPU power cost-effectively. Oh, and the mobo is passively cooled.

GPU: Club 3D GeForce 7600GS 256MB Silent, PCI-E. The choice in GPU was basically between the GeForce 7600GS and GT. The 7600GT is currently the mass market choice in the around 150€ range. GT is only slightly more expensive and considerably more powerful than the GS, but I really wanted a passively cooled GPU. The GS should be enough for our needs and since it's SLI-capable, I can always just plug in another similar card to boost the power to something approaching the levels of mid to high -end cards (I think). You can get a passively cooled 7600GT, too, but delivery would take several weeks and they cost over 200€, compared to the 120€ for the GS.

Case: HyperCell2 6211L-CA with a 400W power source, at 70€. I did think about purchasing a separate power source as my old computer has an Antec power source which alone cost 70€, but we settled on a cheap case which looked good.

Memory: Kingston 1024MB (1GB) 533MHz DDR2, PC2-4200, CL4, for 130€. we were tempted by 2 GB, but 1GB felt adequate for now. It can always be added to later.

I won't bore anyone with the DVD toaster and hard drive details, especially since I don't really understand anything about them. I do expect the SATAII HD to feel lightning-fast compared to the IDE (PATA) drive I currently use. Well, as far as "triple-speed" equals "lightning-fast", anyway... I also think we'll get a major reduction in noise, since the thing will only have a processor and power source fan. Well, it may be that we need a case fan, too, but I'm only adding one if necessary.

Expect massive complaining once I get to assembling the thing and find out that nothing fits.

Update (9 November 2006): Some clarifications!

The motherboard is not passively cooled. It just has a heatsink in addition to two small fans. I was distracted by the "Silent OTES Heatpipe" designation. I ended up getting an Abit AN9 32X Fatal1ty AM2 nF590-SLI for the motherboard. It's basically the same board, I can't tell of any major differences between the two.

The case does have one case-fan to begin with.

I also picked up another GPU, as the one I wanted initally wasn't readily available. I got an Asus GF7600GS 512MB PCIE, which is basically the same unit, except with more memory. I'm slightly mystified by the card's performance in tests, as it routinely rates lower than the 256MB variant. Oh well, runs well enough.

The SATA2 hard drive is sure fast, and silent. Actually the more silent HD and optical drive are maybe a bigger thing than more silent fans would be.

I'm thinking about overclocking, too, since the Athlon 64 X2 4200+ AM2 should go up to 2,9 GHZ with ease, with just air-cooling. I don't want to risk my new hardware, though, so we'll see. If performance becomes an issue.

Taking down Las Vegas (Rainbow Six Vegas)

2006-10-24T23:23:00.000+03:00

The same night I checked out the very promising Tony Hawk's Project 8, I got to get a taste of the Rainbow Six Vegas demo. I've been a fan of the Tom Clancy's series since Rogue Spear on the PC, and especially the original Ghost Recon I played far too much of.

Put simply and based on the demo, R6 Vegas is the game I always imagined when playing Rogue Spear back in 1999. It looks so good, the animation puts you right in the midst of things, the effects (especially being wounded) are great. The action feels believable and played on the "realistic" setting, there's quite enough of a challenge. After the disappointing but popular Rainbow Six 3 on the original Xbox, I was cautious about this, but I'm a convert. (In case you're wondering, I'm not going to touch Lockdownafter the reviews it got.)

I imagine that this will be a Live hit, too, but the single-player experience feels a very worthwhile effort on its own.

It's a little hard to put your finger on any single facet of the game to explain why it leaves you breathless. The excellent cover mechanic and animation are important, the instantly spot-on controls are certainly a part of it. Ragdolls are done well and you can even collect enemy weapons, always a pet gripe of the series' fans. Facial animation is a big thing, as are the excellent weapons.

Based on demo versions, this is probably the game Ubi was hoping Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter would've been, if it had more time to polish.

Goddamn! (Tony Hawk's Project 8)

2006-10-24T22:51:00.000+03:00

If there was something I felt fairly certain about in the videogaming world, it was that I really was not going to buy another Tony Hawk's title. Underground, in my opinion, was just boring, and its predecessor Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 really had everything I wanted.

Until Tony Hawk's Project 8's demo rolled out in Xbox Live. Skating never felt this good. Sports never felt this good. Indeed, I daresay videogames have very rarely felt this good. I noticed I was breathless after I figured out how to Nail The Tricks.

The new instalment is "next-gen"; it looks a lot better than last-gen skating titles did, but that's not a lot said about a Tony Hawk's title, which never looked that good. The physics are a lot better, but nothing exceptional. Animation, if anything, is truly good. They say the gameworld (naturally, a city) is entirely seamless, which sounds promising. It feels a lot more realistic, with less over the top air.

The new thing is the Nail The Trick mode, which is initiated during any aerial, including your most basic ollie (tap A), by clicking both control sticks. This zooms the view into your feet and deck and engages a very slow motion effect. In Nail The Trick, the sticks no longer control your spin or speed - instead, they directly control your feet, one for each stick. Then you kick the deck to make it spin and time it correctly to land with your deck upright. Naturally, you can combine half-spins and using both feet, kicking the deck into another direction in mid-spin. Everything is directed and animated to perfection.

You use Nail The Trick all the time and it feels sublime. The most basic leap down a curb feels so right when you add a perfectly executed simple spin to it. I couldn't stop doing the basic tricks.

Something comparable can be found in Amped 2's style meters, which encourage balletic, slow arcs, timed to perfection with your landing. Those felt very good, too, but Project 8 finally tops the sensation. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Phantasy Star Universe beta, Lumines Live outrage

2006-10-18T10:41:00.000+03:00

Phantasy Star Universe

So I played one night in the PSU beta on Live. I loved the character creation. I made a chick robot. I like the setting a lot - it's so unpretentious: you have a dedicated shopping mall/lobby, you select a mission and get to it. The unplausible yet aesthetically pleasing mix of fantasy and science fiction appeals to me.

The graphics are lame. They do the job and the design is very good, but you really do expect more on a next-gen console. The visuals are basically Dreamcast era graphics moving smoothly and somewhat smoothed over with anti-aliasing. Textures are poor and the models have nothing going for them... but on the whole, it's a pleasing sight.

Based on that one evening's play, I'm not going to pay the separate online fee Sega is asking for the privilege. There isn't enough variety of stuff to do and for me, the social elements wouldn't be enough, since I definitely wouldn't be hanging online every day.

Lumines Live

Lumines finally came on Live. It caused an uproar. First there was the price of 1200 points (around 14€) and then it turned out that the so-called full game is anything but. There are mere samples of most game modes, with only the time attack and online versus modes completely unlocked for your 1200 points. I could stomach that, if the basic "challenge" mode featured more than seven skins (levels), which is really pushing it. They're going to release a lot more skins for a further 600 points, with individual game mode packs coming later, too.

I can see what they're trying to accomplish here (besides money), and I applaud it. However, the decision to ask for a record-breaking 1200 points for the demo version ("Base") is an unwelcome move. I'd buy the bits and pieces happily if the base pack was a lot cheaper or indeed free.

The game does seem worth of 14€, I really like the demo, but they should never have called it a "full game". Obviously Live Marketplace is a still evolving thing, but incidents like this don't really help people's willingness to indulge in micropayments. And, well, 14€ isn't exactly "micro" in any fashion.

Profit, weird dream, Burnout Revenge

2006-10-17T09:23:00.000+03:00

Profit

This article sheds light on the retailer side of things on the console war front. I was surprised to see how little the retailer makes on the sale of a single console. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but certainly more than $15 for an Xbox 360.

Dream

I had a weird videogame dream last night. There was an article on Eurogamer or Joystiq (both of which I follow daily) that an Insert Credit (which I read irregularly) forumite from Finland (where I live) had declared a competition to come up with four-letter words used as combat phrases in a JRPG. You know, like "ATTK", "PASS" and so on. Can't say what was significant about that. No, I haven't been thinking about JRPG combat phrases lately. Weird. I remember my dreams very rarely.

Burnout Revenge

I got Burnout Revenge for Xbox yesterday. Based on a single sit-down with the game, it's cool enough. None of that darkness I witnessed in the 360 demo, which I dare to guess is an issue with 360 games being designed for HD displays, which are most of the time (back-lit) LCD, not CRT.

The game is entirely in Finnish, which is hilarious. The voice-over doesn't much impress, but otherwise it really brings another level of absurdity to it all. As to why I chose the Xbox version over the 360 version, well, you can't say no to 10€.

It's weird how fast I've become accustomed to the 360 being online all the time. I was so let down that I didn't get to see global leaderboards after a race in Burnout Revenge. And I got no Live achievements for my time investment, what's up with that?

Online fees (Phantasy Star Online)

2006-10-11T19:54:00.000+03:00

I'm completely happy with paying for Xbox Live Gold. Around 7€ per month is not much and I get a lot for that money.

However, paying for the service makes me extremely wary of paying more for individual games. I was super excited about Phantasy Star Universe, but I find it highly unlikely that I'd pay the further (around) 7€ they're asking. I do understand that online RPGs require money to operate, but publishers (Microsoft included) should understand that the consumer view of things is that they're already paying for the online experience.

In the case of PSU, I'm quite skeptical about the publisher's need for the money, in any case. It's a very simple game. I don't have a clue as to how the load is spread between Microsoft's infrastructure and Sega's (the publisher in this case) - for all I know, they could be just asking for more money for the sake of it. It's not like PSU requires ongoing development, new storylines or whatnot - it's a social dungeon bash.

I predict that the game doesn't sell very well and the community ends up being too small to really sustain itself. I do hope all the best for the game and I'm not saying I'd be immune to its lures despite the additional cost, but the threshold for taking part has suddenly gone way up. Let's just say that without the additional "GUARDIANS License" monthly fee, I'd likely pick this up without a second thought.

Introducing: The inner nerd

2006-10-06T22:49:00.000+03:00

We've talked about it for years, and finally I got a domain with my wife. It's called mcMuumio.net per our shared Live Gamertag. There isn't a whole lot in there yet, and I don't know what I'm going to do with the space, either. But it's there. A friend helped us settle in, I'm not at all sure whether I'm tech-savvy enough to do it all on my own. We chose Dreamhost.

This notification is merely to let you know what the new link in the sidebar is. I'm actually pretty enthusiastic about this, just to know that I have a technological playground when I need one. There have been many times in the past when I've wished I had one, and now I do.

Online leaderboards (feat. Doom), 3D platformers (feat. Sonic), Defcon

2006-10-03T10:53:00.000+03:00

Doom

I purchased the 360 version of classic Doom at 800 MS points (roughly 9€). It's a no-frills conversion, exactly what I wanted - no tricks done to the original graphics or sounds, all four episodes, controls work very well. It's a great game. I have one thing to complain about: the map is utterly worthless on a non-HDTV. Really, you need to take the massmarket (like all of Europe) into account when designing your game views.

A couple of things came up during playing the first episode through in one sitting.

First and foremost are the online leaderboards, viewable per level. All games need this feature. It plays straight to my competitive spirit. It feels so good to be the best player among your friends and to, say, finally break the global top-1000.

Leaderboards are what keeps me playing Geometry Wars, too. It bugs me that I'm sitting right on the average level (according to MyGamerCard.net). I need to break that half a million to get above the crowd!

Then there are Doom's controls. As per the original version, there is no Y-axis; you don't aim up and down. The character automatically targets monsters above and below you, provided that they line up with your gun. I'd really like to see a modern shooter do the same. Sure it needs some clever level design (Doom's essentially flat), but it would keep things much more free-flowing and immediate.

I recall the makers of the original Unreal Tournament's Xbox version attempting something in this vain, via level design. I don't know how that worked out, though.

I didn't buy Doom merely because I loved it as a kid. I imagined that it would be a great game, period. And it is. If anything, provided you can look past the low-res graphics, it's even better today. It absolutely wipes the floor with so many modern shooters, despite being released in 1993. The lighting is very effective, the level design is engaging, the overall aesthetic design hasn't aged at all.

Oh, and like reviewer Kristan Reed on Eurogamer put it, this game features bodies which do not disappear. Thirteen years ago. Get with the times, shooter designers.

Sonic: The Hedgehog next-gen

I've said it before and this latest offering only enforces my position: platform games should never have made the jump to 3D presentation. It doesn't work! I tried and tried and tried and simply could not hit the lines of rings with any confidence. The automatically aimed spinning attack does work, but as usual, the camera is worthless (you wouldn't believe how slowly it spins).

There's been a single instance of 3D platforming working well - Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time - but even that one stellar example of the genre had some problems with the camera.

So in a nutshell: kill 3D platformers, kpls.

Allegedly the original Sega Megadrive/Genesis Sonic is coming to XBLA in the near future. That's an almost guaranteed sale right there and I imagine it will work much better than this entirely competent, but by its nature, awkward offering.

Defcon

I've liked Introversion ever since I found Uplink, the awesome hacker game they released in 2001. Their latest release Defcon has generated a lot of hype. The game was released a few days ago and the demo is now out, too, go get it.

I had trouble imagining how the game would play out in practice, but having played through the tutorial, it's all clear now. I've yet to try a full-fledged game, but it's pretty safe to say at this point that it's a sure sale for me (PC hardware permitting, my home machine's ancient). At 14€ for a brand new game, I really can't complain. Although I might go for the boxed copy, which is priced a little higher, but even that's a ridiculous 21€! And it feels good to know that you're paying straight to the developers themselves.

It's also interesting how cool and distinctive Introversion's games look, despite the authors claiming that it's all "programmer art". Their soundscapes are thoughtful, too. I hear that Defcon sports "situation room ambient" consisting of cigarettes lighted, coughs and so on, which is really a magnificent idea. Can't be witness to that myself, yet, because I didn't have audio on the laptop I tried it on.

Update: Defcon runs just fine on my 900 MHZ/512 MB RAM home system. I've taken a beating from the computer twice, now. Well, at least it runs fine with only two players, that is.

Guitar Hero 360, the lack of a PS2 and Tenchu Senran, DS

2006-09-28T09:40:00.000+03:00

All right, Guitar Hero II is coming to the 360. This is very cool, now there's no pressure to finally get that PS2 I still haven't bought. However, as you can see from the link, the proposed controller looks hideous. That cannot be the finalized product.

PS2

While I'm on the subject, let's see why I still have a craving for a PS2, despite not sating my hunger years ago. I'd like to say why I don't have one yet: because I'm cheap. I haven't been able to justify paying so much for one when the technology is so outdated and Sony are being so arrogant. I know I'll have to, eventually, but I've put it off for a long time, now.

I already have a PS2 game I really want to play: Atari's Transformers.

Then there's a bunch of games I think I need in my game library: Metal Gear Solid three, R-Type Final, Gradius V, Dragon Quest VIII, God Of War, the Devil May Cry series and the platform also has the best versions of the Dancing Stage series. There are a whole lot more, but these are among the titles I'm most looking forward to.

Tenchu

I went to the trouble of getting myself a Japanese Xbox Live account in order to download the demo of Tenchu Senran, published at Tokyo Game Show this week. I'm sorely disappointed. It looks like a mediocre Xbox game, albeit with a good draw distance and a solid framerate. The animation is shoddy, the controls are clunky and it's still constructed from the same blocks of scenery that made up the game way back in the original Tenchu on the Playstation.

I really liked the first and second installment of Tenchu on the PS, but I did expect the series to mature and evolve by now. If the only change is draw distance, I just can't get excited. I'll stay posted for reviews, though, because this is a game I really want to like. And the trailer (pop-up warning!) was so exciting!

However, the DS ("Dark Secret", heh) version is interesting, if only because it doesn't use the same age-old presentation of the series. Instead, it takes the old Metal Gear Solid top-down viewpoint, which might fit the series very well.

I am weak [Edit: And increasingly popular!]

2006-09-26T10:37:00.000+03:00

I don't know how on Earth I'd missed this before, but Armored Core 4 is coming to the 360, too. Previously a Playstation exclusive, AC is pretty much the one true mecha videogame. I loved the series debut, even with its weird and difficult controls (yes, I get the irony).

The TGS06 trailer takes while to get going, but there is mecha goodness to the point that I'm exhausted. The series' mecha design has always been top-notch, save for maybe the weird hover and tracked models.

Even better is that the 360 version (it's also out on the PS3, naturally) is supposed to be all about online warfare, which suits me fine indeed. From is fast becoming a defining 360 devhouse for me.

Edit: On popularity

My post on Gundam: Operation Troy is my single most popular page. This is no surprise, as it is a relatively hot and upcoming game and I am currently on the first page of Google hits on it.

While this is not particularly newsworthy in itself, studying the page popularity rankings I also noticed that my visitor count has doubled over the last two months. At this rate, we'll hit the 2K mark in a little over a month.

I really am trying to provide useful and/or interesting commentary for your consuming, even though the focus is on my personal gaming experience. Feedback is always welcome.

On fearsome controls

2006-09-26T09:34:00.000+03:00

While I understand that development time is limited and you have to make sacrifices, your game's controls simply cannot be at stake.

I've waited for FEAR's 360 demo with baited breath. Granted, I've only yet played it for fifteen minutes, but they have some polishing to do with the controls. There are two big problems.

One: you need to hold the left stick in to crouch. Never do this. It has to be a toggle: crouch/stand up. Even if it's intentional because they don't want you to move while crouched (I doubt), it's a pain.

Two: unless tweaking the sensitivity of the sticks alleviates the problem, the movement and aiming feel horribly off. I tried upping the sensitivity a lot, which didn't help at all. It feels to me like they've copied the PC original's control scheme directly - movement doesn't feel analogue, which it really has to be on a twin-stick setup, and aiming feels like you're using a mouse. Which doesn't work at all. You need to factor in a little auto-aim, you need to make the smallest movement of the stick to register, you need to fine-tune the acceleration until it's natural. I spent many a frustrating second trying to move my aim a head's or a limb's width to get a shot at a stationary target. I didn't have a hope landing shots without the use of the - incredibly nifty - slow-motion power.

Halo did the twin-stick console FPS control scheme so well that each and every FPS designer needs to study it. If you can't make it any better, just copy it. There have been examples of working alternatives; for instance, I never cringed at Battlefield 2's controls. You can look past spotty graphics, but if you don't feel like you're in control, you just can't enjoy the game.

All that said, I remain enthusiastic about the game. Maybe I can learn to live with the controls, but that's really the wrong way around.

Regardless of controls, there were also quite a few graphical glitches, but I'm willing to look past that to bask in the glory of the supremely satisfying bullet-trails, particle effects and chunks blown off the environment. We'll see how it all hangs together after a couple of play-throughs of the demo.

Edit: All right, taking the sensitivity down a lot helped with the aiming. The movement still feels clunky, but I believe I can live with it, now.

Come to think of it, I shouldn't be surprised. Monolith's games have always felt weird to control, all the way back from Shogo and No One Lives Forever. Regardless, those two titles are among my all-time favorite games, which just proves that a game is more than the sum of its parts.

Epic miniatures

2006-09-24T22:14:00.000+03:00

I came across an almost pristine copy of Games Workshop's Space Marine (1st edition of the current Epic system). I hold the game dear. As a kid, I had a good-sized Blood Angels army. I remember being humiliated by a friend's Squat (aka space-dwarves. No, really!) army time and time again.

So yesterday I evaluated the contents of the box, assembled the cardboard buildings and washed the miniatures. I set aside two vehicles and four squads. The box holds twice as many Space Marines as it does Orks and Eldars, so I thought I'd paint two varieties of Space Marines.

My first instinct was to recreate my childhood army, but frankly, the all-red force is boring, and the Ork army will most likely sport black and red as their colors. Since I always wanted an Ultramarines force but was too much of a deviant to go for the obvious choice (they're featured on the box coverart), now it's time to indulge myself.

The other Space Marine army I always wanted is the Space Wolves. Their white and grey ought to be simple to reproduce.

With these two armies selected, I began experimenting with the paint schemes. The Ultramarines were easy; just simple blue with highlights. I believe they'll look all right with little effort.

Two Ultramarines squads. These guys are really small. The scale is 6 mm, so a trooper is about the height of a regular 25-30 mm miniature's foot! Also, I'm not sure what I'll do with the base. It's a street-grey, now, but I'm thinking of making it brown and maybe adding some texture with sand.

Space Wolves Land Raider with supporting troops. This is the same vehicle that's in the post's title image. It turned out fine. You can't see it from this angle, but the doors have been accented with white, sort of like UN vehicles, with a unique unit designation - in this case, "I". I was thinking of maybe painting the guns with the chapter colors, too, instead of the usual gunmetal and black.

Two squads of Space Wolves. These are the same guys as in the picture above, but they're here in proper focus. I had a lot of trouble getting the paint scheme right. Plain grey and white looked boring. The squad on the left is the result of three attempts at a plain grey or white base, black ink and light grey highlights. Not too convincing.

The squad on the right I'm pretty happy with. I went for a straight white coat, with a black helmet as an accent, washed with brown ink, shoulders cleaned and the whole squad highlighted with white. Now they look all grimy and seasoned, as they should! The bases haven't been cleaned yet.

Pilotwings

2006-09-20T10:13:00.000+03:00

Helicopters attract attention in most Battlefield 2: Modern Combat games I've played.

On the one hand there is the chopper pilot with elite skills. He dominates the battlefield. There are counter-measures, but they require some patience to use. Last night our game on DeadlyPass was completely stalled by a pilot who knew his stuff. He flew low, never hovered, always struck with precise bursts, not giving you time to seek cover. I went against him in a chopper at one time. I don't think I scored a single hit before being blown out of the sky.

On the other hand there is the chopper pilot who manages to crash his aircraft during take-off. You see this a lot. Why don't these people play the single player campaign enough to learn the ropes? It walks you through this stuff. I had to try the first chopper mission in the single player campaign many times before getting it right, but I did learn how to handle a helo.

The point is, it's difficult. The helicopter doesn't handle like the videogame vehicles you're used to. It takes some learning to make a clean strafe, let alone close maneuvers under fire. The battle chopper is a fearsome tool, but it really does take dedication to pilot one. And once you finally can execute a good gun-run, you know you're the shit. I've yet to experience that in an online game, but merely tagging along as a gunner feels very good.

I think it's brave of Dice to keep the helicopter handling tricky. It's much more satisfying when you know that most of the grunts couldn't follow your example. And it allows them to maintain the helicopter's power, since there are so few players who can really put it to use.

Treasure + 360 = RS3

2006-09-19T17:03:00.000+03:00

I am not one to scream in all caps, but I couldn't contain myself after reading this rumor: Treasure might be working on a sequel to Ikaruga, also known as Radiant Silvergun 2... for the 360. Man, I've had a craving to plug in the Gamecube and play some Ikaruga after a summer-long break. Maybe it was a premonition.

Tokyo Game Show and X06

2006-09-19T09:13:00.000+03:00

TGS & X06

I really do love Xbox Live. I like the ease of playing online games. I like the community system. I like to download demos and videos. I like the way it allows publishers to patch the games I've bought from them bugged.

Now I'm all excited about Live bringing the Tokyo Game Show and X06 to my home. No more relying on blogs and news sites to cover the press releases. No more waiting one to two months to get magazine coverage on the events. These events generate excitement on Live mainly because of their exclusivity: much of the content is for Live users only, only available through the 360 dashboard and only available for about a week.

Many new demos are expected. Personally I can't wait for FEAR. (Edit: Oh! And Gundam: Operation Troy! As I've said before.) There will also be new videos, video coverage of press events, interviews and whatnot. A great way to get ready for the coming game season!

Microsoft is yet again demonstraring that it understands the internet. This is refreshing when compared to recent events with some other monoliths of gaming.

Battlefield 2

In game journal type of things, I've played Battlefield 2 lots more. Now that I've seen some of the other maps (a total of five, I think, of the game's 16!), I understand why BridgeTooFar and Backstab are so popular. Still, I'm left wondering whether there are some more gems among the rest of the maps. I'm not convinced I'll ever find out, though, because it feels like a good four fifths of all games are played on these two maps.

There is just so much to do in BF. I love driving a tank and flying a chopper. And who wouldn't love being a gunner? And the feel of taking a flag together with a good crew is just priceless, especially if there's heavy opposition.

The game's totally worthless manual disgusts me, though. I still don't know what the "PPH" in my game stats means. (Edit: well okay, I googled it. Points Per Hour. Logical, really.)

There's also been one annoying problem: sometimes the game just won't display a friend or foe marker on some guy and when in doubt, I tend to blast away. I've killed three mates because of this. It sucks to be voted to be kicked from the server!

Battlefield Chaos

2006-09-16T21:04:00.000+03:00

Kung Fu Chaos

I finally came across Kung Fu Chaos by Just Add Monsters (these days known as Ninja Theory). It was the first title on my Xbox want list back in 2003, actually, so it's about high time, too. Regardless of my high expectations, they were easily surpassed. The game is delicious.

You may not know KFC, since it came and went with little fanfare, despite generally positive reviews. It's a humorous beat 'em up where you face from one to a gang of opponents at a time, usually in scrolling environments. The game is set in the set of a cheap 70s kung fu flick. There is no plot; you act out fighting scenes, with the director yelling all the time. There is a bunch of minigames, too.

It's amazing how much top-notch presentation can add to the whole. From the moment the game boots up, you're feeling like you're watching a kung fu show. The interface is grainy and scratchy like cheap film, and you really can't help but smile when Kung Fu Fighting begins pouring out of the speakers.

Based on two sessions with the game, KFC is pure feel-good. Even when you're losing, it's funny, and there's an abundance of neat stuff, like the minigame where you have to throw a difficult princess at the other contestants to make them fall of the poles you're all standing on. So far the stages haven't repeated themselves at all. The basic gameplay is more varied than the old-school scrolling beat 'em ups this game is based on.

I don't even like the character design, but the game still holds a huge appeal. Catching falling stuntmen is great fun, there's no way around it!

Battlefield 2

Battlefield has always sounded like a lot of fun, and with the 360 and Live, I'm finally able to take a bite. I've now played around five hours of it on Live and a couple of hours of the singe player campaign.

It's a great game with a couple of really nagging things, more on which below. It's a shame there are only two online game modes - Conquest and Capture The Flag - but BF really seems to be built on Conquest, anyway.

The game looks good - I've been impressed by most of the maps. The physics don't feel right, which is a shame. Seeing a helicopter blown out of the sky is neat, but when the pieces tumble on the battlefield, making little sound and ricocheting all over the place with no weight to them really takes the edge off the experience. "Oh right, we're playing a game here." I also can't understand why tanks can't overrun small trees and fences. Surely it can't be that hard to implement?

For a Live-game, it' crucial that there are players on the servers. I haven't played in a game with fewer than 17 participants, with most up in the 20-24 category. There have been zero issues with lag. The game has been downscaled from the PC version, but the scale feels just right, at least with mostly full servers.

I like the way the armies speak their pre-recorded reports in their own languages. It's no roleplaying, but it does add to the overall feel a lot to hear Chinese in your headphones. On the whole, though, the audio becomes tiring due to the constant bass-overloaded explosions and shots. The music fits the bill rather well and gives some structure to the cacophony.

There is one thing I'm really irritated about. Electronic Arts has completely neglected us poor people with old-school, standard-definition TVs. BF2 uses tiny type and interface elements. which are nigh-invisible on my 32" SDTV. Thankfully there's an option to switch the interface colors to colorblind-friendly choices, which makes the essential data a little better visible.

Related to this is the fact that you can't adjust the game's brightness, contrast or gamma. This is a shame because I need to crank my TV's options quite a bit to make the game playable - it's very dark.

Also, I can't use my whole 4:3 ratio TV screen. The game forces itself to a wide-screen format, which does bug me.

Iä! Iä!

Along with Kung Fu Chaos, I also bought another secondhand game - Call Of Cthulhu: Dark Corners Of The Earth. I'm a fan of Lovecraft and especially the pen and paper roleplaying game on which this videogame is based - at least I think so, based on the game's logo.

Also, Konami is bringing a Marvel trading card game to the DS. This is the kind of shit I've been waiting for on the DS. Which begs the question of where's Pokémon, though?

Oh and speaking of Cthulhu, the Mythos collectable card game, based on the Cthulhu Mythos, is good fun. I haven't checked out the newer Cthulhu CCG, though.

Introducing: Life

2006-09-11T14:40:00.000+03:00

I've set up a new blog, Post 1978, to cover my life. Yes, the kind of blog every kid has these days. I've been trying to avoid getting one, but after much deliberation, I've come to think that I might be able to better handle some issues through it. So it likely won't be a "dear diary" type of everyday journal, since I don't have time for that kind of thing, but a distillation of stuff that is affecting me.

This also means that the blog you're currently reading will be more strictly about gaming. Hooray! Being on topic must be a good thing.

New languages to be humiliated in

2006-09-08T20:26:00.000+03:00

I finally hooked up my original Xbox to Live. This wasn't as easy as I'd hoped, since I had to use the Gamertag recovery function to get set up and I found zero instructions on how to do things from 360 to Xbox and not the other way around. (In the end it was all logical, I just felt like groping in the dark.) We'll see if I have to move the Gamertag back to the 360 once I'm done. If so, well, that sucks. However, I discovered something so good on the Live-enabled Xbox that I just might be willing to suffer the pain of the gamertag recovery again.

(Edit: no additional hassles once the ethernet cable flew back to the 360. Go Microsoft.)

The reason being that playing Dead Or Alive Ultimate online was even sweeter than I'd imagined. Playing in the "winner stays on" mode and watching the others fight it out before my turn was really damn near the best online experience I've ever had. It felt just like the arcade! I didn't win a single match (rounds, though), but I've never had so much fun getting my ass handed to me (I'm at C- rank currently.)

I got to play several Japanese guys. It felt really weird to hear realtime Japanese in-game. I don't have the slightest idea of what they were saying, but you know, the language of buttkicking is universal. I was rather surprised to discover that the only time we had trouble with lag (I was hosting) was when playing with Americans. There was some lag, yes, but I didn't find it a problem.

Dead Or Alive 4 on the 360 is a no-brainer for me, now. Of course, it plays a lot differently than Ultimate, but I never was any good at Ultimate. I've played DOA3 lots, but it can be argued that it has a broken system due to far too easy countering. From my DOA3 experience, my favorite character by far is Hitomi.

There aren't too many things as pure as playing real humans one-on-one in a beat 'em up.

In-game advertising

2006-09-05T08:59:00.000+03:00

Gamesindustry.biz had an article on in-game advertising. It's a quick read on where we're at, now.

I know that most hardcore gamers react very negatively to in-game advertising. I can see the problem of advertising seeping into ever more facets of our lives, so I can't say that the critics are wrong, per se, but additional income is sorely needed to fund next-gen games. (Or so they say.)

It looks like the publishers want to do this right. Was anybody ever bothered by the ads in sports and car games, where they're placed on billboards, like in the real world they emulate? Probably not. The only thing that bothers me about the ads in, say, Burnout 3, was that they're static and look dated very quickly - apart from the Axe ads perhaps, which are timeless in a sad sort of way.

When advertising came into Anarchy Online, we could see what could go wrong. The first ad was an animated billboard for Alienware gaming PCs, which was absolutely spot on for the context. The next ad, for Mötley Crue's new album, was not integrated to the game world and thus it stuck out. I can imagine there being a Mötley Crue in the far future of the game world, but I have trouble with the "out now" slogans; stuff which breaks my suspension of disbelief and connects me with the day to day real life.

In sports and car titles, I actually like the presence of real-world brands. It brings an air of authenticity, as long as there's a believably large number of brands present. Need For Speed Underground gained lots of atmosphere due to every tuning part being a licenced product. Not just any neon, Streetglow neon!

If I'm going to be affected by advertising anyway, I'd like that advertising to be really targeted at me and those influences to come from stuff I actually like (games), instead of the mass market bombardment. Every banner I've ever clicked on has been on a fringe or community site, heavily targeted at that site's audience. Penny Arcade has stated that they only display ads on products they feel they want to endorse, which lends them immense weight - the stuff feels like genuine recommendations, not just blind advertising. The guys have even drawn many of the ads themselves to better integrate them into the PA experience.

I trust that the videogame publishers know they need to treat their end-user relationship delicately and that they'll handle their advertisers as carefully crafted partnerships.

There are some larger issues at hand, though. If in-game advertising becomes as big as I think it might, what about games which cannot incorporate real-world advertising in a natural manner?

How do you go about putting real-world brands into World Of Warcraft? Some have speculated about sponsor messages in loading screens, menu screens and the like, but I'm afraid that they would still detract from the user's enjoyment of the fantasy theme.

If in-game advertising becomes a commonplace, substantial part of a game's budget, what happens to games which can't benefit from it? Or are we destined to have fantasy worlds swamped by branding, drinking our mead at a fantasy-themed Starbucks and using Snap-On tools to fix our equipment?

Are videogames art?

2006-09-03T09:12:00.000+03:00

End of discussion.

This is amazing on so many levels. Gentlemen, I salute you.

It is an exciting time to be into videogames. People are doing things that go far beyond the original intended use of the games. This video could be up in a museum and nobody would think twice about whether it's art or not.

(Yes, yes, of course the accepted answer to the question is "well, they can be".)

Canned entertainment and a shift in medium

2006-08-31T14:00:00.000+03:00

Gamer videos

I've been wanting to post links to certain videos for some time now, but now I don't have to, since this list Eurogamer presented includes every cool one. Do check out Daigo's Street Fighter performance, the Ikaruga video and the Morrowind speedrun, at least.

Old school, welcome to the new school

Microsoft has really upped the stakes in the quest to firmly embed me in Live. Tycho's post in Penny Arcade pointed me to Microsoft's ploy to bring so-called "eurogames" (for European board games) to Live Arcade. I applaud this wholeheartedly. Sure, they might still blow the execution, but XBLA has been so strong that I allow myself to feel optimistic.

If this catches on, chances are we might see other games in the same venue... miniature battle games (Warhammer) and Pokémon come to mind. Let alone Magic: The Gathering.

There are lots of quality board games I'd love to play in Live (with friends, of course), if they can capture that livingroom feel. Most good games require quite a few like-minded players, and finding the time and matching the schedules in the real world is a pain.

On longevity

I told about switching to a Creative Zen Nano Plus recently for my portable music playing needs. Now, either my previous Philips player had some sort of manufacturing fault or this thing's battery life is impressive indeed. I've been using it for 24 days, usually on both commutes of the day, and my first battery died yesterday. Compared to the 1-2 batteries per five-day week I worked through with the Philips, this is very good.

I haven't encountered any bugs or lacking features yet. No wonder these things are becoming very common. (The same goes for the Sennheiser PX-100s, by the by.)

The F games (FEAR, FlatOut 2)

2006-08-30T09:20:00.000+03:00

Upcoming game I'm excited about

The F.E.A.R demo is on the coverdisc of OXM magazine right now. It's expected on Live in a couple of weeks. This is one of the very few games I've envied from the PC world, so it's great to finally get a chance to play it. Interesting article on the game's AI here.

Current game I'm excited about

I got Flatout 2 (Eurogamer review) for the Xbox some time ago. I have now played it about halfway through and I have to say that it rocks. There is much more content than in the original game (which I also liked) and everything is just better.

One thing they could work more on is difficulty. I play a lot of games, if not exclusively driving games, and I found the road rather rocky at around the halfway point. It isn't nearly as demanding as the original Flatout, though. The key differences are improved (more interesting and life-like) AI and a more forgiving handling model.

(Edit: I've now completed the game to above 90%, having finished all the race classes. My problems were due to sticking with rear-wheel drives, which can be very hard to control at high speeds. Changing to front-wheel-drives and four-wheel-drives solved my problems.)

The graphics are really good for a last-gen title, the previously overdone ragdoll effects have been toned down (increasing their punch), the minigames are plentiful and improved considerably, and there are lots more cars and tracks.

One huge change is the effect of physics. They're downplayed a lot. It's quite unlikely you'll lose a race due to a stray tire or a two-by-four, like in the predecessor. In exhange, there's thousands and thousands ( I recall 5'000 mentioned somewhere) of separate objects to be scattered across the track. I would like some weight added to them, though, just to get that danger aspect back.

Flatout 2 features the best tracks I've seen in a driving game. I have so many favorites it's hard to pick one, but for instance the military airplane graveyard in the desert is a blast. I haven't yet come across a dull track. I really like the way there are multiple routes to take and that the AI drivers know how to use them. Or the way that someone needs to clear a given shortcut of debris before it's beneficial to use.

The career model is rather good, really, even though it's been lamented in reviews. I liked the freedom to go to an upper class when I felt like it, simply by purchasing a car of that class. The upgrade system is also more involving than before - you need to make decisions on what attributes of the car to increase, possibly decreasing some others.

As it happens, just yesterday I got a chance to replay my old driving game favorite, Burnout 3, due to it becoming backwards compatible (BC) on the 360. Flatout 2 doesn't dull in comparison and indeed, the much more accurate driving model gives it a feel of depth and precision that's missing from Burnout. I'd venture that Burnout needs tons of content because it's so shallow. Insanely fast shallow, but still.

Now, if only Microsoft could get around to making Outrun 2 play on the 360, too. There's shallow gameplay married with perfect content. Outrun doesn't leave you feeling bloated like an obsessed session of Burnout does.

Holiday bliss

2006-08-22T05:03:00.000+03:00

As the increase in my Gamerscore may indicate, yesterday I played Oblivion some nine to ten hours straight. It was good. I cleared the entire Arena quest in one sitting and got some mileage in the Fighters' guild. My 360 is happy.

I was pretty surprised to find the energy to install and begin playing the original Fallout in the evening on top of the day's unheard-of-in-many-years gaming stint. I've only played the sequel and Fallout Tactics previously, so it was rather exciting to embark on the original Vault-Dweller's journey. The interface was a little clumsy and the resolution is low (looks kinda muddy on my laptop), but otherwise it rocks a lot. The soundscape is excellent.

Today we're off to Tallinn for three days; gaming is probably limited to Dweller on the phone.

Get a friend

2006-08-19T22:59:00.000+03:00

My 360 friendlist is very short. Naturally I'm expecting all of my real-life friends to get 360s one day and then we can be one happy gaming family, but until then, it would be nice to have some more familiar faces to play with.

Along comes 360 FriendSpot. It helps you to hook up with people with similar 360 gaming habits as you. I found it via my 360's blog, so maybe it wasn't such a useless service after all.

Blogger Beta

2006-08-18T13:07:00.000+03:00

I've switched to the new Blogger today. It is still in beta testing. If there's something wonky with the site, pay no mind to it, I trust that all issues will be dealt with.

So pointless

2006-08-18T12:24:00.000+03:00

This is so pointless that I love it! 360voice.com gives my Xbox 360 its own blog. Not only can I check via Microsoft's official offering what my 360 is doing right now (say, from work), now I can also check out what it's thinking about.

We laughed very hard at the Lego Star Wars II trailer on Live and promptly decided that we need the original game. Sadly, it's all sold out at Play.

In other news from a galaxy far, far away, Darth Vader is an ass.

Update: We got the original Lego Star Wars for the Xbox used from the local EB Games. Based on a half an hour's play, it's cool, but a little slow and unpolished. The easygoing nature is very much appreciated, though, and it really does feel like playing with Lego! I especially like the way they gloss over the plot. Much like the Clone Wars animation series, this is Star Wars at its best - condensed so much you don't even cringe at the acting, the writing and the pacing.

It's my vacation, by the way. I've watched some telly (Miami Vice, Over There) and taken it so easy that I've been pestered by a headache all day. Maybe I'll play Oblivion all day tomorrow and not feel bad about it, since I don't have to work the next day.

Google Analytics data

2006-08-14T17:12:00.000+03:00

I've been using Google Analytics for around half a year now. Here are some statistics - likely none of you are that interested in them, but since I gathered them for my own use anyway, here you go:

43% use Firefox, 38% Internet Explorer, 10% Safari, 5% Opera. I'm a Firefox user myself, but I have to say that Opera 9 is a sweet browser. I just might switch one day.

75% are Windows users, 22% Mac geeks and 2% on Linux. Nothing surprising here.

The vast majority use the relatively small resolution of 1024 x 768 (45%), but this is explained by the increasing numbers of laptops people have. The next most favored resolution is 1280 x 1024 with 18%. 1440 x 900 (never heard before!), 1152 x 864 (I've got that at home), 1280 x 800 and somewhat surprisingly 800 x 600 are neck and neck at around 6% each. If you're using 800 x 600 and you're on IE, do try one of the alternative browsers - they're much easier on screenspace.

68% use computers that speak English, 22% use Finnish operating systems and there are five more exotic languages in there, too. All told, 48% come from Finnish IPs, 22% from the US 6% from the UK, and the rest are a sub-5% bunch, with Hungary leading the pack. Go Hungarians!

A whopping 98% have Java enabled. This is somewhat more than I've come to expect. Flash version 8.0 is used by 73%, while the newest 9.0 is used by over 10% (I hadn't even heard of v9 yet!). Older ones drag behind at a combined 6%, while 2% don't have Flash at all (Luddites!).

The real surprises here are the number of dialup users (over 13%) and those on corporate LANs (over 5%). For instance, our company site's visitors have under one percent of corporate-cabled users.

What I find encouraging is that the vast majority of visitors take a look at two or more pages when they stop by. Also, 21% of you come back for another round!

28% use direct links, suggesting I've been bookmarked or stored in history folders, 24% come from organic Google searches and 11% from Blogilista.fi. Kotaku and Blogger are also noteworthy sources of referrals. Random hits generate from Roolipelaaja.fi, Roguepolitical.net, non-Google organic searches and Edge Online.

So there you go, my distinctively north-American and Scandinavian audience. Your interest is much appreciated!

Gundam: Operation Troy

2006-08-11T12:37:00.000+03:00

After the disappointing From title Chromehounds, my hopes are set on the 360's Gundam title, last known as Mobile Ops: One Year War. It's now apparently called Gundam: Operation Troy, and it's looking much better than previously. See for yourself over at Xboxyde (warning: annoying pop-ups ahead). I am especially enthusiastic about the first-person mecha piloting.

Lots of stuff

2006-08-08T15:17:00.000+03:00

Regarding difficulty

I've been playing more Perfect Dark Zero and Oblivion. Both have proved to be challenging. PDZ's (default) Secret Agent difficulty has me retrying levels a lot, which I don't mind, but the stealth sections are beginning to grate. I like the multiplayer DarkOps, in which you play several rounds of a given gametype and get money to buy equipment with between rounds. Infection and Onslaught are my favorites. I'm wondering whether the map pack would be worth its price on the Marketplace.

I've got the collector's edition of PDZ. The bonus disc is utterly useless, but the tin can is sweet indeed.

In Oblivion, as I have levelled my character (I'm at level 11 12 13), trolls have cropped up everywhere and they're so much tougher than the wolves and the like I've had to deal with so far. Will o' wisps are also a pain - empty magicka on low-damage spells, run away to recharge, repeat around ten times... Of course you get better at casting spells while at it, but still.

I do like the way the new threats make you think and evolve. Last morning I had to retrieve some items from a burial complex. The faded wraiths patrolling the place are far too hard for me, so I took off my boots and sneaked through the grave barefoot (it's easier to sneak without shoes) and upon discovery, legging it. It was fun, and I improved my sneak skill by quite a few points.

Nevertheless, Oblivion is still very good. Only the conversation system has proved to be utterly pointless - once you figure it out, it's no more engaging than hammering away on the A button.

There's quite a bit of things to do in the game. I only realized today that you can apply poison to your weapons!

Speaking of hard games, I tried my trusty old Ninja Gaiden on the 360. It works just fine, but the Hurricane Packs proved way too hard for me; I can't even reach the first boss! I guess I have to complete the basic game again (fourth time) to pick up my skills for the new challenge.

Next gen rising

So far the biggest next-gen vibes I've got are coming from the recent demo of Dead Rising. It's simply... fun. I like everything we've been hearing about the game, the first reviews are very positive, it looks good, it plays great, it's an absolute laugh. Its looks aren't really anything you could not achieve on an Xbox, but there are hundreds (hundreds!) of zombies on-screen, all moving smoothly. Bodies and blood splatters don't disappear anywhere - indeed, your clothes get stained rather convincingly as you plow through the horde. I've played the demo quite a few times, looking for new weapons (bowling balls, gold clubs, cash registers...) and comedy opportunities (cream cakes). You can even spit at the undead. I really didn't expect a basically very simple "zombie game" to be this good.

Capcom looks like it's got its next-gen development in capable hands. In addition to Dead Rising, their Lost Planet is very promising. I trust that more stuff is on the way.

Random observations

As a geek pursuit, I like checking out what Google searches people are coming to my site from. Yesterday one guy was looking for whatever the King Tut mask is for in Animal Crossing Wild World. Nothing much, really, but it looks awesome!

I'm also getting back into tabletop gaming after a dry summer. Miniatures, too, especially Heavy Gear (check these out... I'm salivating here), but also Warhammer 40'000.

So they chose a director for the Halo movie. Interesting! That short movie he's done is quite something else. I'm getting more and more positive about the whole endeavour. The new comic book seems like it'd be worth the (little) money they're asking for it.

[Edit: so cool! In addition to the rather neat short movie above, the Halo director has also done this excellent Transformers-alike Citroën film, which would be first of the three car commercials I can recall from the top of my head.]

I got a new portable music player yesterday. The 512 MB Philips I had was not only lacking in storage capacity, it's bugged, unreliable and cumbersome to use. My wife's Creative Zen player seems like the right stuff, so I got a Creative Zen Nano Plus (white, 1 GB). I would've liked a black one instead, but what's with charging +5€ just for the color? I haven't used it much yet, but initial impressions are good.

Update: since someone's been Googling stuff on faded wraiths in Oblivion, I finally found something that works: an ehchanted sword which does fire damage (15 pts) on strike. Unfortunately, it runs out of charges pretty quickly, but you can follow up with damage-dealing spells to conserve charges. I cleared a ghost ship I've been trying some dozen times with this. These swords started dropping from looted enemies at around level 14. If only I had the strength to carry several!

Also, after some more use of the Zen Nano Plus, I can say it rocks. It's very well-designed and the battery life is impressive, compared to the pitiful one of my previous Philips machine.

Fire on slopes, fighting chicks, consistent soundtracks and throwing enemies

2006-07-31T13:58:00.000+03:00

Completely non-game-related stuff: I was going through my photo archives and stumbled upon my cellphone photos of the Makasiinit fire this summer. It was an old railroad warehouse complex, used for flea markets and concerts, which was scheduled to be demolished this same summer, to much controversy. It used to cater to young people and the fight to keep them as they were was very much a struggle between the leftist and right-wing types. We happened to go by just as the fire was picking up in ferocity. They still can't say whether the fire was intentional or not.

An unrelated, but gamer topic: more backwards compatibility experiences with the Xbox 360! I threw in Amped 2, which I dearly love, and found that it worked without additional patches. I created a new snowboarder and signed into Xbox Live. It wouldn't let me download the, well, downloadable content, presumably because it hasn't been upgraded for current Live standards. Oh well, I can live without that, I was primarily looking forward to some King of the Mountain action. No "quick matches" were to be found, so I set up my own. I had gone at it solo for one round (two minutes), when the first two guys joined me on the slope. Sweet! I was rather worried that there were no players of Amped 2 online any longer, but it seems that's not the case.

The gamer community has been vocal about the demise of E3 as we know it. Just as well. Every respectable game media I know of keeps complaining about how horrible it is, and you get hundreds of games you should care about: it just doesn't work. Please do drip the news all over the year, don't waste money and energy on catering to "professionals". I know I get a sort of "oh no, here we go again" -feeling, opening one of those E3 special editions of my favorite magazines.

Dead Or Alive 4. I've been playing the demo, thinking whether I should buy the full game or not, and I'm still undecided. The AI seems to be broken. One morning I breezed through the time attack in under two minutes, not losing once, later in the afternoon I got kicked around so hard that I was about to give up. I finally cleared the time attack in 13 minutes. Many times, I couldn't land a single blow! The AI blocked, threw and kept the pressure on faultlessly. This has been complained about in the retail game's reviews, too, so apparently there really is something wrong with the AI. Still, it would be primarily a Live game for me, provided that lag isn't a problem. Too bad I can't test that with the demo.

I played the DOA4 demo to the rhythm of Paradise Lost's One Second album. I love the 360's way of letting me listen to my own music within any game, at any time, replacing the game's (often crappy) soundtrack effortlessly. It even works with backward-compatible games, although you need to kill their built-in music manually.

They released a demo of Ninety-Nine Nights. The aesthetic design is unexciting (indeed, rather bland), but plowing through hundreds on enemies like Sauron on fast forward is good fun. I can see that it might get too reptitive in the long run and it seems to be all the same whether you just hammer the attack buttons randomly or concentrate on executing precise combos, but it's sweet that there ate literally hundreds of combatants on-screen at once and the framerate never suffers.

Update: Oh, and we're past one thousand visitors now, if my Statcounter is to be believed. Go audience! Also according to the same data, some of you are returning visitors. Go regular audience! An average of seven people comes to the blog each day, although recently we've seen peaks of twelve about twice a week.

Wallpapers

2006-07-25T08:51:00.000+03:00

I was tidying up my hard drive and throwing out old junk, when I came across some wallpapers I did a few years back. I'm putting them up here, should anyone wish to use them.

Of course I feel an urge to make them better, but luckily for me I can't, because I think I've lost the original files.

I haven't done computer graphics like this in years. Some years ago I used to make posters and stuff, along with new personal homepage layouts every other month. I think I'm better off without. Although just recently I found my meager Photoshop skills in high demand at work, although I shouldn't need that know-how in my normal duties.

This stuff is actually somewhat videogame-related. The woman in the close-up is from a Silent Hill title, the woman with the green background is from Dead Or Alive. I'm not sure, but some of the backgrounds and effects are likely to be heavily distorted videogame views, too.

Sennheiser PX-100

2006-07-24T14:05:00.000+03:00

My previous pair of Sennheiser MX-550 headphones broke. I knew I had to get an on-ears (not in-ears) model next, as I wear phones for hours on end at work, in commute and at home, perhaps averaging at two hours per day.

The last time I'd gone for the in-ear kind ('canal') because of portability and ease of use, for instance at the gym. They are very uncomfortable to use for extended periods of time, despite the MX-550s sounding very good for their price.

I used Creative's on-ears model HQ-1300 for a year. They soundedgood and were easy on the ears, but they were rather too heavy for extended use. But the real killer was the headband: it really irritated my scalp, due to being hard foam.

So comfort and reasonable sound quality were the main things I was looking for. I had testdrived Koss Porta Pro, but found that the most convenient retailer was charging a hefty brand premium on it. So I checked out the alternatives and after much deliberation settled on the Sennheiser PX-100, initially on the clerk's heartfelt recommendations. I wasn't willing to pay over 50€, anyway, since these things never last me over a year.

The PX-100 is a very modest gadget: they simply don't look like much. But there are a couple of things that have made me really like the things after a couple of days of use.

First of all, they're portable. They fold up into a hardy carrying case, effectively eliminating worrying about them getting crushed in a bag. They're lightweight, too. But related to this, they're also very comfortable to use. The headband is padded with imitation leather cushions, the adjustment works effortlessly, the speakers don't put pressure on your ears. I didn't notice any discomfort after several hours of listening to music.

The build quality seems very good, you definitely feel like getting your money's worth. Because of the fold-up design, I was worried about the hinges, but all the components seem sturdy enough and click into place satisfyingly. The cord is also sturdier than with most headphones I've used.

Then there's the matter of the sound. I listened through eight pairs of headphones at the store, using my own portable player (which is the main device I'll be using the headphones with), and these stood out, even when listened next to some considerably more expensive models. This was the first thing that put these on my radar, the clerk's very enthusiastic praise came second. When I finally compared sound, features and price, there just wasn't competition. The only real alterntive was Koss: the Porta Pro was as good in my ears, but the all-metal headband makes them a pain to wear, and the price was just too much.

I've been happy with my purchase, and it seems that so are some other folks.

Some might argue that you'd want a closed model to keep out the background noise, but it isn't really a problem for me. I hadn't considered it before, but the open design actually enhances the sound - it sounds more, I don't know, natural. Then again, you're bleeding out quite a bit of what you're listening to, so your fellow human beings might object.

Image test

2006-07-21T14:48:00.000+03:00

This is a test, as I haven't tried uploading images to Blogger before.

I might as well tell what the drawing (hopefully) on the right is about. Around two years ago I was playing around with Photoshop and a Wacom Volito tablet (that's the home/hobbyist size), seeing what sort of computer-assisted drawing style would fit me naturally. This is in no way a "serious" piece, I wanted to get it done in one sitting and have resisted the temptation to touch it up later.

I haven't drawn too much since then. I used to draw a lot; back in high school, I wouldn't sleep until I had finished an illustration per day. These days, maybe an image or two per year, including doodles.

So that's that.

A Plot. Now With Voice!

2006-07-21T09:33:00.000+03:00

I just completed Perfect Dark Zero's singleplayer mode on the easiest "Agent" level. While I remain enthusiastic about the game's sports-like approach to levels and statistics, I have to say that this game would've been much better off without voice actors and cutscenes. This would've rid us of the plot.

I can't say much about the plot, because I couldn't make any sense of it. There was a dead father, crazy old Chinese man with tubes in his head, his mean daughter and the Graal, of all things. I don't know how these things connect, or why was Joanna there, etc. Most of the plot is carried in conversations during the missions, but without subtitles I couldn't make out much of it. Which is just as well, because the voice actors are so horrible that I don't want to hear them. The cutscenes are short, but add nothing to the experience.

The end sequence is so lame that it reminds me positively of old videogames! Spoiler ahead, be warned, although really I'm beyond why anyone would actually care, in this case. When the final bad guy is shot down (I couldn't make sense of the instructions, so I just shot him until he dropped), the arena crumbles around Joanna. Allies rush to scene. Joanna rises from the rubble, wobbly. Chief ally steps up to support him (I still don't know why they're working together). "Are you all right?" "I could use an aspirin." The allied boss (a Scotsman, total mystery to me) comes on stage. "So how did I do?" Both salute. Fade to black.

Why did this game have a plot at all? It serves absolutely no purpose. The stages are sensibly accessed from a mission select screen, one at a time, and all the story bits do is add to the confusion. This would be so much better with mission-specific goals, without an overarching sad excuse for a plot. Thankfully, all of it is skippable.

And really, you spend years and years making a game, then leave your audience cringing at god-awful voice actors. That's just dumb. Surely there must be no one anywhere who would applaud the acting. I actually feel bad saying that, but they substantially take away from the game. I don't know, maybe it's just a director who doesn't know his job, but it's a mess of a job regardless.

Oh, and I only realized in the second to last mission that I could choose my gear for every mission. I don't know where that was explained, I just stumbled upon it.

Perfect Dipper Super

2006-07-17T08:55:00.000+03:00

I won Kotaku's comment of the day contest. The story about the World Of Warcraft guild paying for its member's family's upkeep during a three-month stint in chemotherapy is exceptional, and I felt awkward commenting on it, but I do stand by my observation on communities being the real "next generation" of videogaming. Anyway, I'm getting gaming swag and a couple of games from the cool folks at Kotaku.

The game loot is all PC, sadly: Guild Wars: Factions, Lineage II and Auto Assault. I don't know much about the latter two, but Guild Wars sparks a lot of monologue.

Seeing that I don't have a gaming PC, I don't know if I'll ever play Guild Wars, but the game intrigues me mightily. (Indeed, I immediately checked out how much a minimum-spec grpahics card would cost to run the game, though I've said again and again that I can't be arsed to buy a gaming PC... again.)

I was always interested in GW due to its excellent art direction, but Eurogamer's enthusiastic review really got my attention. GW seems to do lots of things right.

To begin with, there is no level grind. There is a level progression, but I'm told you'll cap out on level 20 within one week of playing. I take it that the levels are there mostly to gradually introduce the elements of the game. But you won't be spending your valuable time killing ever so slightly more powerful bunnies to get a couple of percentage's worth of increase to your damage potential, when you reach the next level in perhaps a couple of more hours of killing bunnies. Many folks say that World Of Warcraft doesn't really "begin" until you reach level 60. I'm supposed to grind until that to enjoy the game? No thanks.

Guild Wars is based on instances: whenever you embark on a quest alone or with your mates, you go at it without the other gazillion players in the same space with you. While many argue that instances kill the "realism" (yeah, right) in an online game, I say the opposite. World Of Warcraft and its like suffer tons because you have all the other players (many of whom look exactly like you) crowding your view.

GW allows the player interaction (and everyone's in the same world, no server-specific content here), but only in the hub areas - out in the instanced world, you can adventure just with your buddies. No queuing (sp?) to kill the monster spawn that's required in your quest. No killstealing. I couldn't put it better than Eurogamer reviewer Kieron Gillen in his review of the original Guild Wars:

"I was recently playing another MMO Beta. No name, as I'm currently under a non-disclosure agreement. It's very much based in the Korean model, with lots of extremely repetitive monster-bashing, but cute enough.

At around 3 AM in the morning I had a moment of terrifying clarity as I pulled back my camera to examine the surroundings. I was in a field packed full of people, all hacking down virtually identical monsters with their own virtually identical attacks and sullenly ignoring each other. Everyone's attacks, for a second, seem to synchronise, in a steady heartbeat, pumping XP through the body of the playerbase and money into the heart of the developer.

This is humanity reduced to the rhythm of a machine, the player as a combine-harvester, the point of the game suddenly clear. Not to be fun, but to be addicting. I was in a Killing Field. If this is all that MMOs are - and the core of most mainstream MMOs are - what exactly is the benefit to the player of these areas being shared?"

Guild Wars has no subscription fee. This is the single thing that got noticed when it was gearing up for launch, and probably the reason why it's successful. Now, I perfectly understand why most "massively multiplayer" games have subscription fees and I have no regrets paying for the excellent Xbox Live Gold service. But paying money for a single game does not fit my gaming tastes, because I'm a dipper; I dip in and out of games, often playing a single game for one or two nights and then shelving it for months (or years!). So committing myself to spend all of my game time to one game just won't do.

Related to this, Guild Wars is also designed to not require lots of time to enjoy. Many people tell me they only play it occasionally, and it doesn't punish you in any way for this. You can compete, even though you're not a hardcore online nerd. Indeed, the game notifies you when you've played for a long time and advises you to take a break! Commendable.

Guild Wars is built on player vs. player (PVP) gameplay. PVP is not for me in other online "ropleplaying" games, because it's reserved for the elite only, novices need not apply. GW removes the barrier by setting the level cap within reach of the casual player. So you can get immediate access to the good stuff. I don't know if I'll like it, but it sounds so tactical with its interchangeable skills that Magic: The Gathering and its ilk spring to mind, which is a good thing.

Speaking of the interchangeable skills, this is a major innovation. All online RPGs to date (to my knowledge) suffer from new players making blunders in character creation. Then they notice that they can't succeed with the character they've made... after playing for weeks. GW takes this crap away, you can be a different guy in every single game you play. Although you'll probably have favorite setups you always use, you're not stuck with them. Every time you head out from the hub areas, you pick eight (yes, just eight) powers from your selection to use. This reminds me delightfully of building a deck in a collectable card game (albeit a small deck).

In Xbox 360 news, I got Perfect Dark Zero. It does a couple of things very well despite not being anywhere near the Halo-levels of FPS goodness. The basic gameplay is all right, although nothing special. But the structure keeps things tight.

There is no saving: you need to complete a level in one sitting. This is not a problem, because they rarely take you more than half an hour to complete. After every level, you get very detailed statistics of your performance, which are then compared to your personal best, and crucially, to the world record. I have a strong urge to beat the par times and get higher on the world ranking. This leads you to viewing the singe player game as a sports arena; you play through the levels thinking how you could be more effective, not just to see the next level. Once you know your way around, the levels can often be completed in around five minutes. I would urge other developer to take note of this, it is very compelling indeed.

In pop culture news, I first saw a trailer for the new Superman movie last night. I'm suddenly interested in it, because the bullet in the eye stunt was cool. Beyond. Words. Neo, eat your heart out.

Aloha

2006-07-07T09:09:00.000+03:00

I've been looking forward to Test Drive Unlimited. The whole Hawaiian island of Oahu modelled for driving, realistic roads and traffic, garage full of sports cars (and motorcycles), what else would I need? Based on the demo, not very much. It's as good as they promised.

It's fun just to... drive. There's a great sense of freedom to drive along nice and slow, keep to your own lane, pick your own path and then slam down the accelerator when you feel like it, dodging traffic and hear the engine scream in joy. Bliss.

However, a couple of niggles worry me. First, is there enough to do? While free roaming is fun for a couple of days, sooner or later you'll want some objectives. There will be taxi missions and such in the retail version, but I wonder if it's enough. Of course there are online races, too, but keeping just one location - no matter how delicately reproduced - fresh, is quite a task.

Second, excessive speed equals danger. The danger element is completely missing from this game. If you career out of control and slam at oncoming traffic at full speed, the traffic just flies out of your way, denting some metal while at it, but you merely spin a little, if that, and continue on your way completely unaffected. Rubbish! If the game is based on a "realistic" experience, I want to live with the consequences of my actions. If licencing contracts forbid the thrashing of the sports cars, fine: send me back to my last checkpoint or something, whatever to feel like it's a bad idea to crash.

Allegedly there are Hawaiian cops who chase you if you hit other cars. I haven't seen them, though. All I get is a textbox informing me that I've been fined. Police chases would be an essential element of this package.

UPDATE 11 JULY: There are cops. I don't know why I didn't see them once during my first plays of the demo. They're a little easy to shake, though, at least in the demo's Lamborghini. It's good fun to play Getaway In Stockholm, waiting to let them close in and then lose them in a successful run. The protagonist's whimpering "Oh no" when the police lady comes in to write a ticker is pathetic, though.

The environment looks convincing, but not very next-gen. Blocky shapes, not much in the way of HDR goodness in lighting, no pedestrians. The cars do look sweet and I love the way sunlight plays in my in-car view. The driver models are all right, but not realistic and regardless of their very limited posing, they exhibit clipping problems.

The in-car view kicks ass. You can even adjust the seat and play with the windows. It may be that Hawaii wins Need For Speed: Most Wanted in the shopping list priorities.

As For The Launch Titles

2006-07-04T08:19:00.000+03:00

I have now tried Project Gotham Racing 3 and Perfect Dark Zero, both launch titles for the 360.

Project Gotham Racing 3 didn't make much of an impression: it's just as good as I thought it would be, no surprises there. On a standard-definition 4:3 CRT TV, the graphics don't seem much better than on the original game on the Xbox. But the in-car view is excellent, the presentation is flawless, the cars handle well... this is very likely the one car game you need in your 360 library. Of course, the take on the car theme is very different from Need For Speed, and I don't see them as competitors.

Perfect Dark Zero, Rare's much-lamented 360 launch title, was something of a surprise for me. No, it's not the Halo-killer it was set up to be, but I really can't find reason for the kind of beating it's taken in the gamer community.

The demo is good fun, presented very well indeed, it looks nice and plays well. Sure, it's basic FPS action with secret agent overtones, but I don't see anything wrong with that. The Live gamemode Dark Ops feels like a lot of fun, too.

There are plenty of nice touches. The comic book -like character design is cool, and they blend with the game's (excellently) ragdoll-powered ultraviolence in a fine manner. The way the enemies' body armor blows off as if launched by springs when shot is very satisfying.

Seeing that PDZ's being sold for last-gen prices just about everywhere, I might have to pick one up.

As a sidenote, Quake 4 did not pass the demo test. It's Doom 3, only without the pacing, the design aesthetic, the mood or the technical flair. I do not expect to see an Xbox-engine creak and stutter this way on the 360. Bleugh.

Xbox Live Arcade continues to be the main use for our 360. Yes, Hardwood Hearts and Geometry Wars, on a 500€ console. Forget about the processing power, the real generation leap is the Live connectivity.

Speaking of Live, Live Anywhere could be a really neat thing, once it matures. No, I don't need to see what my friends are playing at this very moment once I'm on the go myself, but if I could, say, manage my character's shopping while in commute, that could be cool.

Last night and this morning I've played some Total Overdose, an Xbox title that came and went with little fanfare. It's good fun: basically Max Payne in Mexico, with more fun and less plot. The developers give me what I need, including instant access to missions via a menu, available at any time, without wandering aimlessly on the GTA III -alike map. There are cutscenes, but they can be skipped, as I have done. Needless to say, the plot is so basic that you get the hang of it regardless.

I find I'm having little patience for crappy stories these days. If you want to force-feed me a storyline in a game that doesn't need one, at least either make it entirely skippable or integrate it into the gameplay in a way that doesn't hamper my playing.

Car games don't need storylines. Why do gunplay games need one? The Rainbow Six series are a fine example of what's wrong: these games consist of separate scenarios, in which you kill terrorists. There is no need for a story, indeed, it takes away from the suspension of disbelief as you have to accept that there's this global terrorist conspiracy with hundreds (thousands) of members you take down in successive missions. Please, cut the crap and pass the ammunition.

I really like Max Payne 2's storytelling, but it just doesn't cope with replay. I want to play out the action scenes again, not take in the storyline all over again. There's the survival gamemode, but it's not the same. Give me a separate story mode if I'm into that kind of thing and you really deem it necessary - otherwise, please, just the gameplay, in a separate "arcade" mode if need be.

For a positive example, Doom 3 does this well. There's a story of sorts, but it really never gets in the way of playing the game. You can view the story bits in audio logs and diaries when you want to, but there's no need to do that. The setup is so simple that the level design and the mission prompts tell you all you need to know. There are cut scenes, but they're short and they don't really force any bad drama on you: they're there just to show you what's going on.

New games! Well, demos, actually

2006-06-28T21:34:00.000+03:00

Amped 3 is one of my personal biggest letdowns ever. I've played Amped 2 to bits, it's one of my all-time favorite games. The next-gen sequel absolutely ruins it. It's disgusting. I can sort of get the humor (not quite, but sort of), but it handles horribly, the camera is awful (what's with the jumping? Huh?) and it even doesn't look considerably better than its predecessor - I would've expected decent shadows and some proper snow. In a word, I'm shattered. I deleted the demo after a couple of runs. My wife was equally disgusted. What a shame! And I was so looking forward to this.

Speaking of letdowns, Blazing Angles didn't do anything for me, either. One of the most boring tutorials I've had to endure, lazy gameplay, visuals didn't much impress. Pass. Top Spin 2 and the latest Tiger Woods also did not impress. Boring, boring. Might've been better with real company, maybe.

The new Tomb Raider is decent. Nothing fancy, but it looks good and plays well. Might be on the buy list from the used or budget bin, one day.

I'm getting better in Geometry Wars. I'm in the top 33K now on the global leaderboard (for some reason, 22K according to Mygamercard.net), having pushed myself up a good 30K positions this night with a good run.

The Chromehounds demo is up. I'm downloading it now, but first impressions are extremely weak. I would've expected at least some customization and multiplayer, not two slow-moving single player missions. Still, I remain a fan of From Software, so here's to hoping it's all good anyway. And multiplayer's clearly where it's at with a title like this.

Update: I played a round of the Chromehounds demo. Sadly, it's almost impossible to get excited about it. It moves very slowly - travel is tedious. Weapons don't feel powerful, accurate, weighty or adequate. The scale isn't there. The graphics are all right, except for lackluster effects. Combat is... dull. You just stand there, firing inaccurate, underpowered weapons at faraway targets, incapable of dodging return fire. The HUD is nonexistent - you feel like you're piloting a WWI-era tank. Still, the highly customizable multiplayer might be another thing entirely, but I find my hopes considerably lowered.

Update 2: Apparently the Chromehounds demo is from the retail game's training missions. According to first reviews, the game indeed does open up very slowly, but one you've got the customization options available and an online group going on missions together, it's all good. Hmm, will have to see if it attracts a dedicated community or not. If it does, this could be sweet indeed, singleplayer drudgery or not. And, hey, Famitsu liked it.

Need For... killing time online

2006-06-23T09:30:00.000+03:00

Yesterday I was nursing a hangover and once mandatary work was out of the way, I had to get my mind off my sorry state. Seemed like the perfect time to learn the ropes with Rainbow Six 3 on Live. I played a small warehouse level for so long that I learned it adequately. To my surprise, I did manage myself after some time. It still does take a lot of lead to take down a Tom Clancy trooper, which explains why fragmentation grenades are the order of the day.

With the 360's headset I finally got to sample Rainbow Six 3's single player with the voice command system. Ordering flashbangs and regroups and so on is great fun, but I'll be damned if I can get the boys to move where I want to. I tried some dozen pronunciation variations of "go to" and didn't find one that would've worked twice in a row. A bit frustrating, yes, but maybe I'll feel less like a fool pointing the ground and repeating "go to" all the time (and instead just pressing A).

Oh, and I also tried out the famed Halo 2 multiplayer. Seemed a lot like Unreal Tournament without the craziness, which I'm not sure is a good thing. It was smooth and fun, but kinda been there - done that. Can't see myself playing that a lot, although I have to say the match I was given via the "optimatch" system was pants. Something team-oriented with vehicles might be another thing entirely.

Moving on to more contemporary pursuits, the Need For Speed: Most Wanted demo on Live Marketplace totally surprised me. I was so let down by Burnout Revenge that I certainly didn't have my hopes up. I've played Need For Speed: Underground a lot, but the shoddy framerate, weird handling model and unforgiving gameplay finally put me off it (Xbox version). Seeing that Most Wanted is basically an up-specced Underground (with cops), it is weird to admit that it's actually all good.

As next-gen games go, Most Wanted looks stunning. It is only let down by a disappointing framerate. It's not unplayable by any means, but I do expect better from a 360 driving game. In this respect only, Burnout leaves it choking.

The scenery is just beautiful. The fall setting, with a small-town mentality, falling leaves, flocks of birds and sunsets to die for make this one driving game setting I'd like to live in. The only problem is that the town's deserted; there are no people and so little traffic you'd think the area was quarantined. The cars are, of course, lovingly crafted. Bloom and speed blur are used with care.

What really puts this one over Burnout (based on demo versions, now) are the tracks. In Most Wanted, they're wide enough for racing. You can see the bends and forks. In Burnout I kept hugging the walls all the time. This was never an issue with my long-time loved one, Burnout 3.

The Most Wanted demo is hefty. There are plenty of tracks, game modes and cars to check out. The police chase is great fun, and speedtrap checkpoint racing is all good, too. You can even opt to disable the elastic AI, which slows down cars ahead of you and speeds them up when they're behind you - this is what made Underground so frustrating: in later levels you couldn't make a single, tiny mistake or the opposition (which you could never lose) would zoom right past you to the finish line. It was nerve-wrecking. By the by, Burnout 3 did elastic AI very well, and I never had qualms with it.

I even like the slow motion super power they've given you. It enables you to make very tight corners and generally give you a second to gather your wits in a tight situation.

This one goes on the shopping list, pronto-like.

Looking back

2006-06-21T08:59:00.000+03:00

I tried out the Xbox 360 backwards compatibility (BC) with the original Xbox this morning. I threw in Rainbow Six 3 and watched the console patch itself, again - actually it downloaded an emulator. Then I quickly checked out the singleplayer, which worked fine. Although it has to be said that having played next-gen graphics, albeit on a STD TV and only for a couple of days, the last-gen graphics seemed pretty much extinct.

So on to Live! At this point I got a last-gen notice screen and a prompt to download more patches. This took considerably longer. One that was out of the way, games were found quickly. As this was the first time I ever player R6 on Live, I got my ass handed to me repeatedly. I did get into actual firefights, but it seems awfully hard to kill a guy with an assault rifle on fully automatic fire at the range of less than five meters. I mean, I emptied a whole clip at center mass (I think), to no visible effect, at least twice. Some warping was evident, too, but it din't really bother me.

All of the players were decent (and better than me), although there was quite a bit of cursing pouring from the headset.

The game looked and felt exactly like it did on the original Xbox. The comparison with the 360's offerings, say the new Ghost Recon, are horribly unfavourable to the last-gen stuff. I didn't really expect to be this shellshocked by it, but it's hard to go back. Of course, right now I'm just content to play on Live, but it seems inevitable that there won't be very much of going back to the history for me.

Other titles I'm going to check out are Dead Or Alive Ultimate, Halo 2, Crimson Skies (if there are still players out there), Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and Burnout 3.

...and more demos

2006-06-19T09:39:00.000+03:00

I'm just going to go over my impressions of a couple more 360 demos.

Burnout Revenge was something of a surprise. I didn't like it very much, although I played Burnout 3 to bits. It's prettier, yes, but it feels very chaotic. The graphics are much too dark, at least on my TV: it's mostly just black cars on black roads against black backdrops. Anything that's hit by sunlight is glaring so that you can't see it clearly. I take it this is because the game's been designed to look good on back-lit LCD screens, but it's a major problem.

Related to visibility problems, many of the games are nigh-unplayable because of way too small onscreen typeface. I literally can't read the instructions on kicking a teamkilling player in Battlefield 2. Burnout recognizes that it's being run on a STD TV in 4:3, and doesn't display in widescreen format, so there are no problems there, but many others insist on widescreen format. Maybe this is just a problem of the demo versions.

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat has an excellent multiplayer demo. I haven't played the Battlefield games before, but they've always sounded like a blast. The vehicular warfare moves very fast and is good fun. The 16 players in the demo servers feel like enough, although certainly there's room for more. This is going very near the top of my shopping list.

Special kudos to Battlefield for having an option to display the HUD in colorblind-friendly mode. Way too little attention is paid to make games accessible, when in reality a lot could be done with very little effort. It is very odd indeed that they've gone to the trouble of taking the colorblind into consideration, but haven't given an option to double (at least!) the size of the typeface.

Electronic Arts could bring about a change with a simple checklist for designers: make it playable to colorblinds, deaf and lefthanders, at least. Not to mention people with normal TVs.

The 360 demos

2006-06-18T11:36:00.000+03:00

First a general observation on the demos downloadable on Xbox Live: it feels counter-intuitive that you can't download full versions of full-size games. Yes, you couldn't fit too many on the 20GB HD, but it would be a natural thing to do after the Marketplace having taught us to do so in the case of, well, smaller games. And I do understand that the retailers wouldn't much like it. Still, it's fairly easy to say that fully downloadable console games are certainly the future. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft released a bigger HD and the possibility of downloading at least their firstparty titles - during the life cycle of the 360.

Next: it is great to download playable demos of the expensive games you're thinking about buying. The demos are hosted on very fast servers and you don't have to eye the expensive official magazines just for demo discs. I only have one full 360 game bought, yet I've played hours and hours of new stuff and made several decisions to purchase while doing so.

So what sort of impact did the demos make? Basically, they're better than I expected. Only one let me down in any way and for the most part I was blown away by the visuals. Gameplay's all right, too, but Ghost Recon is always Ghost Recon and Burnout is always Burnout. You know what you like; a generation shift isn't going to make you like a genre.

The biggest graphical treat is clearly Fight Night Round 3. I don't care about boxing, but it's just hard to fathom that you're looking at a videogame. There are so few breaks to the illusion - mostly the upperbody stance shifts while blocking. The perfect title to show that your loud box is better than your old box. I need to play the demo more, as I'm not sure if I'm into the gameplay or not.

Experience-wise I was enthralled by Lost Planet. It's very basic third person run and gun, but the graphics are really something else and the gameplay feels very solid. In the demo's parking lot you can witness quite likely the best explosions seen in a videogame to date. Extra points for making the protagonist's feet always touch ground in a most convincing way. No rotating on an invisible disc when looking behind your back, here. Also, I'm a sucker for mecha, and Lost Planet features very tasty walkers. Which can step on aliens. Definitely on the shopping list.

Moving on to even more traditional ground, Call Of Duty 2 is a World War II first-person shooter. I haven't played any WWII shooters at any length (really!), so it feels like a fresh experience to me. I remember cringing at the jagged outlines at a 360 demopod, but I can't see them in my CRT TV. Looks very good, sounds very good, plays very well... I can imagine buying this at a good price, sometime. Probably low on replay value, though.

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter was on the top of my want list initially, but the demo feels like very common business, being a Ghost Recon veteran, myself. It does look splendid and plays well, but I reckon the meat would be in the multiplayer. It's like Ghost Recon with lots of make-up; familiar, but still good.

I was always very interested in Climax's official MotoGP franchise, but I never got around to playing it. The MotoGP 06 demo is intriguing. It doesn't look nearly as good as the titles above, but it does play well. Presentation-wise the MotoGP feel isn't quite there, at least in the demo. I'm not sure if I'm up to the challenge; just staying on the track feels very tricky, let alone winning anything. I played some 20 rounds and the best I could manage was seventh. I have yet to try out the multiplayer, which could very well be addictive.

The Next Generation

2006-06-17T12:13:00.000+03:00

Last night I hooked up an Xbox 360. It worked on my DSL router automagically. Signing up for Live (Silver) was a pain, though, must've taken over an hour with all the patching and already reserved Gamertags and whatnot.

The console downloaded three patches and Oblivion installed one before we could get down to business. We had to restart once, because it wouldn't install a downloaded patch.

I've now played a couple of hours of Oblivion. It really is so cool, truly "nextgen". I played a lot of Morrowind some years ago, and Oblivion is precisely the game I dreamed about back then.

On the whole, the 360 really feels like the entertainment of tomorrow, compared to the old Xbox. The wireless pad is just a pleasure to use, so much better than the old, fine Controller S. The Xbox dashboard, available straight from any game, any time, is a tad confusing to use, but aesthetically pleasing and it's just so convenient to be able to download demos, queue downloads and so on.

I was thrilled to download and play Geometry Wars - Retro Evolved (and am going to buy the full version for sure): tried and true arcade action with absolutely killer presentation, which wouldn't've been achievable on the hardware of yesterday.

As for bad stuff, the Live headset feels and looks cheap. The DVD drive makes a hell of a lot of noise. I had one dirty disc error (crash) half an hour into Oblivion. The hard drive ought to be larger: it's 20 GB, but I've downloaded one demo (and the GRAW MP demo is small) and I'm already down to 12 GB. The power brick is humongous, rather ugly and handily hidden behind the TV. It reminds me of the C=64's ol' radiator.

I played some Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter multiplayer demo, too. I got spawncamped around 30 times, otherwise killed 10+ times and managed 3 kills myself. Average life expectancy 11 seconds. That was a tad frustrating, yes. Teams weren't balanced, either. Maybe I'll do better once I get some singleplayer GRAW under my belt and, for instance, learn the controls.

Launch

2006-06-13T09:41:00.000+03:00

I just placed an order for an Xbox 360. The complete edition, thank you very much. I really don't see who's buying the Core System edition, seeing that you don't get the wireless pad, the headset, the proper A/V cable, or the hard drive and you still need something to save your games on. No patches, no downloadable content, no Live Arcade - where's the next generation in that? Some more polygons? No thank you. It just bugs me out that we have to suffer through increased loading times compared to the original Xbox, which just baffles me. And the Core System buyers are getting a raw deal anyhow, since the bundled goodies in the complete ("premium", "pro", whatever they're calling it) set are dirt cheap, but very expensive to buy separately.

Live seems to be the big revolution to me. I never got into the original Xbox Live, but online rankings, plenty of downloadable demos and trailers without a monthly fee sounds like a desirable thing. I do think I'll be getting the paid-for Live membership to be able to play online, though.

I believe that XBLA will be the venue for tiny-budget games in the future, what with stuff like Geometry Wars and Mutant Storm already available, and Introversion's guys negotiating about the release of their upcoming nuclear game. Small developers like Jeff Minter must see this for the goldmine it is - provided that Microsoft keeps a tight leash on quality control, as they have done up to this day. I'd like the micropayments to be lower still: around 10€ is real money, not micromoney. The difference of course being that I think twice about spending a tenner and not at all about spending, say, two euro. Anyway, all of this makes this an exciting time to jump on the Live bandwagon.

I haven't been enthusiastic about the HD generation before. Fact is, I still am not. We're going to plug the 360 into our old standard-definition 28" CRT. I reckon I'll be happy anyway, if the games are good. As a matter of fact, we're buying the thing mainly because my wife wants to play Oblivion. I'm more interested in Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and XBLA. I am interested to check out how the 360 would look on a 19" CRT monitor, though. Ought to be crisp.

This is the first console I've bought at launch - well, at least going by how Microsoft defines the launch window. I wasn't that interested in the 360 initially, but Microsoft have been doing things well over the past half a year and things are looking good. Certainly moreso than in Sony's camp, where the PS3 is looking bleaker day by day.

In game journal news, I've kept at Advance Wars Dual Strike despite finishing the campaign. Last weekend I played two long sessions of Jade Empire, which is absolutely ace. It's actually much better than my previous RPG favorite Knights Of The Old Republic, from the same team. Jade Empire always leaves you wanting more, never stretching the content past its welcome. In contrast, I've played maybe one fifth of KOTOR II: The Sith Lords. It's a good game, but there's a lot of backtracking and tedious corridor shootouts, which never seem to go anywhere. If I ever finish it, it's because I'm bored with other stuff, not because I feel an urge to see what's next. Jade Empire excels in this, among other things. It's also lovely to look at and mostly a joy to play. Needless to say, I'm excited about Bioware's next console RPG, Mass Effect (on the 360).

Rated E for Everyone

2006-06-05T14:24:00.000+03:00

I've been reading Gamers With Jobs' Pass The Press lately. They picked up a recent Penny Arcade topic, regarding ESRB, the Entertainment Software Rating Board.

I was considered an adult by the time a ratings system for videogames reached Finland, so it never really affected me. I've been thinking about the issue over the years, seeing more and more anti-videogames stories in mainstream media.

Fact: Grand Theft Auto or the Hitman series are not meant for children. Fact: they are played by children. Most parents don't seem to care, yet are eager to join in on the blame game.

My parents did check out what kinds of games I played and I had to explain what I was doing in them and why (yes, my mother was interested in my alter-ego's motivation). They also said when they disapproved and explained why, although I was never banned from playing a game. Then again, this was back in the 8-bit days, the Commodore 64 being my platform of choice (well, C=128D, to be specific). I reckon that if I was a kid these days, I wouldn't be allowed to play Hitman or the like, with highly realistic violence.

Most gamers seem to not understand why the ESRB is targeting gamers via the Penny Arcade campaign. It looks like the ESRB has sort of given up on the parents. Grownups seem to be either of the "anything goes" or the "ban the sick filth" school of moderation. Maybe if the little gamers themselves (say, under 16 years of age) understood that the ratings are there to protect them, their parents would also get it.

I firmly believe that a child shouldn't play Counter-Strike all day. It makes you obsessive and aggressive. Kids shouldn't discuss the best way to murder an unwitting man (or how to achieve it with a golf club). But this is just common sense. The ratings absolutely cannot achieve this, no matter how strictly implemented they are at the retail level. Parents must take an interest in what their children are playing - and why, and how. Better yet, they should play the games with their children.

The ratings are there just to inform the parents of the general level of, say, harmfulness of a game so that they can easily make a decision to purchase or not. They should understand that buying their kids a kid-safe game is not a permit for them to not care what their kids are playing. They should care, if only because the games are important to the children and thus they should be of interest to their parents.

Rest and relaxation

2006-06-05T09:40:00.000+03:00

It's been a hard couple of weeks at work. I haven't had time to play games, really, and I've been so tired that the brain hadn't really worked for the last day at work. However, I took last weekend out of the schedule and just laid down on the sofa for two days, watching bad movies and playing videogames. It was sweet.

I played some single-player Flatout, Halo 2, Gladius and Advance Wars DS. I completed the Advance Wars campaign. I can't applaud the game enough, it's very good indeed. The difficulty was just about perfect, even though the AI does not convince. I don't see how I could've beaten some of the harder missions against a human player.

I've mentioned Flatout before, but now I got down to playing it solo. It's just very enjoyable, although the difficulty is a bit too high. Not devastatingly so, but enough to probably frustrate quite a few people. I'd prefer all games to be like Burnout 3, where any beginner with a pad can complete the races, but it takes effort to score well. Still, the physics-powered racing with beat-up cars in really atmospheric, run-down tracks is something of a unique experience. Much of it is down to the handling model, which differs considerably from the car game norm, but I'd say it's for the best.

I haven't played Halo 2's singleplayer campaign until now. I played it in co-op for a couple of days, which didn't quite convince me to buy the game. The single-player fares a little better, but I'm afraid it just doesn't get up to the sublime levels of the original game. Part of it is down to the inconsistent technical quality: there's pop-up, flickering, disappearing models, missing textures, shaky physics and so on. Bumpmaps are overused. Then there's level design: the environments are somewhat cluttered. They don't feel like the finely crafted arenas of the first game. Then there's the story - while I'm nowhere near finished with it, I really dislike its dual-nature, especially regarding the protagonist.

Regardless, it's a blast, but not as much as Halo was. The third instalment is eagerly awaited, make no mistake, and there have been plenty of really standout moments already. The actual grind of the moment-to-moment gameplay just doesn't feel as satisfactory.

The weekend's real champion comes in the guise of Gladius. It was little noted when it came out, despite scoring a respectable 80% on Metacritic. I'm into tactical battles and Gladius really rubs me in a good way. Good production values don't hurt, and it looks like the game also puts up a fight. Still, progress could be faster; now it feels like an hour's worth of playing doesn't do much to your fighter school's progress. The 3D models, animation and texturing aren't anything noteworthy, but it's all solid and the overall feel is elevated greatly by the careful animation of the character's faces. The actual combat is a little slow and the menus are cumbersome. Otherwise a great experience so far, and highly recommended to all attracted to, well, turn-based gladiatorial combat! I know it grabbed my wife for the whole of Sunday. She hasn't gamed six hours straight since last summer. I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or not, but it was great to see her really get into a game.

The Sisters Of Mercy

2006-05-22T22:02:00.000+03:00

I was a teenage goth. I stopped painting my face and dyeing (sp?) my hair right after high school and cut the hair for college. It's been over a decade since my best/worst days. But the music lives on! I never even dreamed of getting to see one of the big ones live, but now The Sisters Of Mercy is coming to the local metal festival, Tuska (translates to PAIN in English, for what it's worth).

It'll be an interesting weekend. The Sisters on Friday, and Billy Idol on Sunday. Considering I go to concerts maybe once in two years.

UPDATE: Gee, now my other long-time favorite is coming over, too. It's been only a year or so since I last saw Paradise Lost, but this year's set lists seem cool enough. And right in the middle of summer, too, in my home city. Now if I only managed to catch Type O Negative and System Of A Down some time. I missed TON a couple of years back.

UPDATE 2: Paradise Lost was mighty fine - not as excellent as the last time, but good nonetheless. Billy Idol did kick butt, I was thoroughly entertained.

Sisters Of Mercy was something of a letdown because there was lots of trouble with the sound, but they did get it together before embarking on the biggest hits. All in all it was all right, but the biggest gripe I have with is volume. They've had to pipe it down in the downtown Helsinki festival and as things stand, I don't see much point going over there when I can listen to music at work louder.

I also put up a couple of snapshots from the Sisters Of Mercy gig, late as they are, since people seem to come to this post from search engines, looking for SOM info.

Games that I'm excited about

2006-05-16T16:46:00.000+03:00

So E3 came and went. This year it was much, much easier to get your hands on the juicy trailers and information, and keynote speeches and whatnot. Nice, that. Some games stood out, but before I go into those, I really must wonder at the lack of enthusiasm towards the Playstation 3.

I mean, nobody seems to care. Sure, it's coming, but nobody's gawking at the trailers, nobody's asking when they can get their hands on one, everybody's saying that $600 is way too much. I for one will not pay $600 for a console. (Well, according to Sony it's not actually a gaming machine.) Nothing we've seen is better than what's on offer on the 360 and the developers are all saying that the machines are so near identical that the games will be exactly the same on both platforms. We'll see how it plays out, but for now it seems that Microsoft has really played their cards so much better than Sony, who's bound to lose some market space to their competitor.

I'll give Sony this much: the Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer was cool, especially with the final scene of old Snake. We haven't seen ageing heroes in too many games. Also, points for bringing back Raiden despite the ridiculous fanboy backlash to MGS2's protagonist.

Speaking of things you just don't see in videogames: Assassin's Creed. I've played Hitman quite a bit, so I wasn't that interested in another assassination franchise. But at the time of Crusades? In Jerusalem? As an Arab, killing Christian knights? In broad daylight, amidst real crowds? The trailer was really something, breaking a bunch of boundaries I wouldn't expect to be approached with a launch game for a mainstream platform.

Chrome Hounds: I've proclaimed my love for the mecha genre before. The Armored Core series is one of its cornerstones, so I am thrilled to see it coming to the 360, even if the trailer doesn't show anything spectacular.

Gears Of War: So call me gullible. I've been unenthusiastic about this 360 heavy hitter, but Penny Arcade's slack-jawed reaction to it has me excited. I've been waiting for games to reach a sense of solidity, of real physical mass, and early reports indicate that GOW may have achieved just that.

Recent games

2006-05-08T15:05:00.000+03:00

I've been wanting to post about Beyond Good & Evil for some time now. I've put it off because I wanted to get further in the game before getting all vocal about it, but what the hell. Chances are you've already played BG&E. Good for you. But if you haven't, I very strongly urge you to do so right away. It's been out for something like three years.

I knew it was supposed to be good, but this good, never. It really feels like you've walked into an animated adventure, complete with great pacing, acting, art and music. The character design is really very good, although the world could be perhaps a little more engaging. It's written well, and the central gameplay is solid. The camera can be a pain, though.

It's interesting how taking photographs of the bad guys is much more exciting than fighting them. I wouldn't mind more games about photographers. The photography in Metal Gear Solid 2 was one of that game's standout moments, too.

Another cool older game I've been at recently is FlatOut on the Xbox. We've played it with a couple of friends - going at the singleplayer, taking turns to get through the really rather challenging races. It's good fun. I wonder when mere physics cease to be fun, but that day is certainly not here yet.

There are the physics-based, driver-flinging minigames, too, but I really prefer the singleplayer experience. Well, make that "communal", perhaps... As a bit of trivia, I was on a Nile cruise with a guy working on the game some years ago. (He wasn't at Bugbear back then, though.) I hope the soon to come sequel all the best, although I'm a little worried about the addition of explosions. The original was fine without them, suitably down to Earth, yet over the top.

And yes, I'm still playing Advance Wars DS. It's just really very good.

A note on advertising

2006-05-04T15:50:00.000+03:00

You might have noticed the Google AdSense banner on the page. It's there just to test the system, as I want to know how it works. Unless I suddenly begin to get thousands of hits instead of the handful I'm seeing now, there's no money in it for me. The blog is just serving as a professional (as well as creative and personal) playground for me.

Going pro

2006-04-27T15:06:00.000+03:00

I became a search engine marketing guy. Today I got my Google certification to show for it.

The more I study Google AdWords, the better the whole system seems. It's easy to use it all wrong, effectively burning money on zero-value contacts, and effective use does necessitate forethrought, planning, upkeep and general knowhow. I'm not saying it's some arcane art which takes months to understand - indeed, the basics are very easy to grasp, just that it's complicated enough to warrant the use of a professional to handle it for you.

Enough shop talk. What's relative (AdWords pun, I am so sorry) is that proficiency with professional tools means more money to spend on games. And games-front, it's been exclusively Advance Wars Dual Strike for me. I'm on the second planet of Knights Of The Old Republic II, but really the lure of Nintendo's strategy goodness is much stronger than the Force. Yesterday, I was thrilled to have to try a mission four times before finally overcoming it.

I've tried to participate in my wife's Animal Crossing Wild World mischiefs (by digging hidden holes and stomping on neighbor's flowers), but even my King Tut mask (which is awesome) can't put up a fight.

On pain, and introducing the Handan DVB-T 6000

2006-04-18T22:30:00.000+03:00

I've now been using the Nintendo DS for some time. Yesterday, I played for close to four hours. This is mostly a note on ergonomics. Playing the amazing Advance Wars DS, I have absolutely no problem with ergonomics. With Animal Crossing, it becomes an issue after a prolonged stay in the virtual village. (Say, half an hour in my hands.)

But I've played a little GBA F-Zero on it, and it's so excruciating, you'd swear it was meant to inflict pain. I literally can't pass a single game without gritting my teeth in agony. Seriously, I'm not going to buy any straight-on action titles for the machine. Yes, Castlevania may warrant an extended test-run on a friend's copy... Then again, it's really not the ideal environment for those kinds of games, either.

But Advance Wars really does rock a lot. The campaign is ideally challenging - you'll make progress, but the highest ranks take some doing. The additional single missions are very challenging: I haven't been so thoroughly beaten in too long a time.

In totally unrelated news, we bought a Handan DVB-T 6000 digital receiver/HDD-recorder to replace the old VHS VCR. Installation was easy - and free and very able Finnish suport was available on the phone even at 20:57 when I had a problem! The image does seem a little worse than on our previous (non-recording) digital receiver, but otherwise it's swell. We've only tested the thing so far, but the menus seem easy enough and I'm having high hopes. I do think I'll be watching more TV in the near future, if only because it's so easy to "bookmark" shows for later viewing, without the need to manually enter showtimes and so on. It very much eliminates the need for a separate TV guide, too.

Not that there were too many choices in the matter. We weren't willing to pay more than 500€ for the thing (it was 427€), we had to get a twin-tuner model and it had to have a minimum of 160 gb of HDD space. There was a whopping two models to choose from, then, and one of them was getting consistently better reviews. We thought that we had to give up the chance to get data out of the machine, but they've actually added two-way connectivity as a software update to the USB channel. Cool.

Mecha does the 360

2006-04-07T11:55:00.000+03:00

I'm a sucker for mecha. That is, fictional Japanese machines of war, typically meaning giant humanoid robots wielding swords and machineguns. So Xboxyde's new images of the forthcoming Xbox 360 Gundam game have me positively excited. Xbox is sorely missing out on mecha. There's only the legendary Steel Battalion, but I don't have the kind of money to buy it. There is a handful of disappointing titles available, but nothing to match the Playstation's Armored Core and Gundam games.

This would be the second reason to get a 360. Last night we checked out Oblivion over at a friend's (med-spec) PC. It was sweet: just like Morrowind, only better. The advances didn't feel like major, it was still the same game, but suitably advanced. The graphical splendor was indeed impressive, but on the other hand the more realistic surroundings made the shortcomings of the gameworld's logical consistency only more grating. That was the first time we thought that maybe we should check out the 360.

Then there's Xbox Live Arcade, which sports the likes of Smash TV, Mutant Storm, Geometry Wars and whatnot. The "XBLA" has interested me from the get-go, but buying a brand new console just to play "old games" doesn't seem like a very smart thing to do.

With Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (I actually used to play in a Ghost Recon clan on the PC) and the new Japanese RPGs coming out, maybe this summer would see me buying a 360. But so far there have been really too few reasons to do so, especially since we don't have a HDTV telly.

Nintendo DS

2006-04-02T14:02:00.000+03:00

We bought a blue Nintendo DS. I haven't been terribly excited about it before, but I am a satisfied customer, now. The plastic looks and feels a little cheap, it's not very ergonomic, it's really quite large and the second screen feels gimmicky. Nevertheless, the whole package does work. And buying one of the colored versions also makes it look a lot better. Personally, I would've preferred the pink one, but my wife wouldn't accept it.

I've known a long time that I must get a Nintendo handheld. We've been thinking about the Gameboy Advance SP, but the DS is newer and it plays the GBA games. What really landed the deal, for us, was Animal Crossing: Wild World. We both played AC on the Gamecube a lot, and this is simply a better version of the same vision. There is one problem, though: the controls feel a little awkward. I don't know if it's because I'm left-handed or what, but I can't find a satisfactory method to control AC for an extended period. Then again, it really is best in frequent but short sessions. The upper screen is almost useless. I think Wild World is the only game, to date, which I've bought on release.

In addition to Animal Crossing, I really wanted Advance Wars: Dual Strike. It kicks butt. I appreciate the challenge: I've already had to yield one mission and I haven't been getting straight S grades. It does some interesting things with the upper screen, but mostly it's redundant. The touch interface works fine, though you don't need it.

Games I'm looking forward to on the DS include the new Pokémon (Diamond/Pearl), the new handheld Zelda (Phantom Hourglass), New Mario Bros, Zookeeper and some Castlevania. Yes, mostly updates to previous GBA successes, but hey, whatever.

I haven't got around to checking out the Wifi abilities of the console yet, so more on that some other time. Looking forward to head-to-head Advance Wars. And crossing animals, of course! Imagine the babies of today: they won't recognize a cable when they grow up. Yes, we used need those on our controllers. Yes, they maimed people, lying around in livingrooms, creating deathtraps and unsolvable knots.

In geek-related news, they rolled out the new Coca-Cola Light. It's okay. I did prefer the old one. I would've loved to post a link to a cool Coke site, but disappointingly Coca-cola.com ain't worth a visit.

Bookshelf: My War

2006-03-27T10:07:00.000+03:00

Last night I finished Colby Buzzell's My War: Killing Time In Iraq. In case you didn't know, Buzzell was the US infrantry soldier stationed in Iraq who got in the limelight via his popular blog, CBFTW ("Colby Buzzell, Fuck The War"). The book details Buzzell's experience in the army, in Iraq and how it all went down with his blog.

Buzzell is a pretty good writer. A lesser author's recount of the whole army experience would likely be really very boring. If you've watched the same war movies as I have, you already know most of the cliched experiences he goes through. The guy himself is a walking cliche. However, this is precisely what makes the book interesting. It's not how exotic and memorable his story is, it's the other way around. The war isn't some epic story he has to tell: it's just day to day stuff, starring very casual people. It appears that the war doesn't even change him to any noticeable degree.

Recommended light reading.

Second Sight

2006-03-14T14:24:00.000+02:00

Sometimes you can tell that the studio was really into their project. You can tell that Free Radical was enthusiastic about Second Sight. The game just radiates a good feel right from the get-go. Mostly it's just that they've bothered to take on the details. The first impressions are carefully constructed - you're in the game's world from the second you see the main menu. As a good example, the typography is top-notch throughout.

I tend to find stealth games frustrating, as your awareness of your surroundings is always hampered by lackluster sensory input. Second Sight fares no better, yet it's so charming that I keep at it. The chief woe is the camera - it's not hopeless, but I find myself constantly toggling between the fixed angles and the controllable camera. The controllable cam keeps banging itself on the walls, which is why you don't want to use it all the time.

The game sports some excellent controls. Close combat is one-dimensional and doesn't feel like anything, but the shooting controls are awesome. They seem to be built around the idea of making the firefights feel good, not "realistic". Metal Gear series, take note! Especially sniping is a joy. You really feel like a kick-ass soldier, taking down the enemies with excellent auto-aim, finetuning your shots effortlessly and making the combat more tactical. Your auto-aim only works when you let it work by taking your time to (auto-) aim, keeping still and targeting only stationary enemies or ones moving towards you. So you can't just run around blindfolded and let the auto-aim do the work for you.

Your protagonist sports psychic powers. Of these the projection and telekinesis abilities are the most fun. It's really too cool to distract guards by throwing stuff around telekinetically - and later, throwing guards around telekinetically.

I've played plenty of "cinematic" games, but Second Sight uses cinematic techniques exceptionally. Scenes are short and to the point and they're full of cool set-pieces. For instance, games are now going all out on creating destroyable scenery. This must be technically challenging. Second Sight has featured a couple of instances where the pillars or walls used for cover by the combatants erode very convincingly under fire - and that's all I need! You get the effect, the experience, in a straightforward manner. Nevermind how complicated or all-encompassing (not very) the underlying system is.

Top that experience-centric approach with fun gameplay and you've got a winner. I'm maybe one third into the game, but unless things become dramatically worse, this one's definitely recommended.

Oh, and it's visually great, too. The framerate never drops below absolutely smooth. The characters are designed in a charismatic comic book manner, making them feel much more convincing than the "realistic" identikit characters usually seen in "serious" videogames.

Writely, meet DOA Ultimate

2006-03-10T11:39:00.000+02:00

Google bought a small Silicon Valley company, Upstartle, which brought their service Writely.com to the public eye. I hadn't heard about this before. I'm guessing Microsoft is cursing quite a bit right now. This steps clearly onto Microsoft Office's toes. Which makes one wonder why they haven't come up with an online solution like this.

I signed up for a Writely account immediately. Still, there's a nagging thought of how much of my information do I want Google to have? Up to now they've done a splendid job with it, though (613 MB of email and this blog).

In completely unrelated news, I played me some Dead Or Alive Ultimate at a friend's house the other night. I like DOA3 plenty, but Ultimate is so much better. The graphics are roughly the same quality; there's some trendy glow and some anti-aliasing and the arenas are more detailed, but that's about it.

However, the game system puts DOA3 to shame. No more cheap holds and throws. I managed to land something like one hold per three matches, whereas in DOA3 the one who attacks tends to be the one to lose, due to the easy holds. It's a fundamentally better experience now. An obligatory purchase for my Xbox shelf.

Star Wars Republic Commando and a bunch of lesser games

2006-03-07T12:24:00.000+02:00

A local supermarket was selling a bunch games for 5-15€. We bought eight of them. I haven't had time to sample them all yet (Second Sight and Knights Of The Old Republic II remain unopened) , but here are my first impressions on the lot I did get to try out already.

Conan, Spider-Man, Judge Dredd: disappointments to a varying degree. I was intrigued by all of these due to reviews in the usually very dependable Finnish magazine Pelit. We got the Gamecube versions. It should be noted that I was very consciously buying B-grade games. "Not great" can still be fun.

Conan (crappy official site, my apologies) opens strongly and I don't mind the basic graphics, but movement is clumsy and the camera can be a pain. The combat is all right, though, and the theme works well. If it weren't for Conan, I likely wouldn't play this much more, as there are vastly better third person action adventures available. My expectations weren't high, though, and as a "Conan game" it's okay.

It's cool that when you die, you appease your god Crom by dispatching a few enemies in the afterlife and then come back, all without using a "load game" spell.

Spider-Man I've played for a couple of hours. I was rather surprised by how difficult the game is: I couldn't get past level three or something on the normal difficulty, actually losing my nerve completely by how unfair the game was. (I never found Ninja Gaiden too difficult.) Going at it again on "easy", things were much more enjoyable. The camera is something of a plague and combat doesn't feel like much fun. But zooming and swinging around the levels using webbing is plenty of fun! It just that you're often pushed into tight confines, where the game is at its worst. But flying around as the Spider-Man is very much a childhood dream come true. Still, I was expecting much better camera, walking controls and combat. Maybe I mixed this with up the sequel, which got better reviews... oh well.

Judge Dredd - Dredd Vs. Death (I don't quite agree with the Eurogamer review, but it's the only decent link I can find) is a decidedly sub-par first person shooter, which so far seems to be remedied by a very strong licence. The shooting is dumb, the graphics are... disappointing, but it really does feel good to lay down the law as a fascist cop. There aren't too many games which give you the chance! You get to arrest unarmed civilians (smoking in public, holding a demonstration, spraypainting walls, that sort of thing) and blow up armed ones, along with fighting all sorts of mutants. They say the story and gameplay does pick up later, but for now, I'm content with a flawed version of being in Dredd's boots. Flawed Dredd is better than no Dredd. (Whoah, Dredd is a year older than I am!)

Then there's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. The last game in the series I've played, Tony Hawk's Underground, was a disappointment, although it seems I'm pretty alone with that opinion. I just didn't get excited about completing the moronic "story" missions, complete with missions requiring the use of the worst driving model in the history of videogaming.

Instalment #4 (being Underground's predecessor) is a superior game, at least based on how much more fun it's been so far, and I'm only in the first stage. The challenges are more worthy. Then again, if Horse is all the Tony Hawk's series is good for, I guess it doesn't matter which version you're going to play. But I'd appreciate it if the single player experience was worthwile, too.

As for the title in the post's subject line, Star Wars Republic Commando blew me away. It got mixed reviews when it came out and I can see where the less than eager reviews are coming from. But whereas Dredd is saved by the licence, Republic Commando is lifted to "awesome" from "okay". Without the licence, this would be an adequate squad-based shooter with seriously underpowered weapons. But integrated tightly with the Star Wars licence, the game becomes an engaging foray into the Star Wars sidelines. There's not a light saber to be seen, yet you're thoroughly inside the world. The game's opening is perhaps the best I've seen to date.

The game's been critiqued for how the teamwork is just tack-on. Yes, it's all done via hotspots, but those are in-game hotspots your hi-tech armor is pointing out to you. And it's not just for flavor: your squad functions much better when they're commanded. Yes, it's all artificial, but it works. The game does stutter a bit graphically, though, but the audio is top-notch and the commandos themselves are cool. Special kudos for the revival system, which makes the game over screen a rare sight. The constant bacta fills are a little ridiculous, though. (I mean, a bacta tank in every room? Come on.)

It's weird but cool that the best Star Wars moments are not in the movies at all - no, they're the videogames Knights Of The Old Republic - and now Republic Commando - and the animated series Clone Wars. Hell, I enjoyed my Star Wars pen and paper rpg campaign much more than the Episodes I-III. Oh, and I'm still looking forward to Lego Star Wars.

Rifts, Pathway To Glory, D&D Online

2006-03-03T11:08:00.000+02:00

My N-Gage hasn't seen much gaming. Last evening I checked out the demo versions of Rifts: Promise Of Power and Pathway To Glory, the platform's famed "single good game". They've both been very good.

Pathway's production values and the level of general presentation are so high that you really forget that you're playing the game on a phone's tiny screen. Pathway feels like it's pretty much the best tactical game I've played, ever. I must see if I can secure myself a full copy from somewhere. I was delighted to have my squad wiped out in a few rounds on my first go!

Rifts is very much like the numerous Japanese "tactical rpgs" that are popular on the numerous Gameboy formats. It sports fine graphics, likeable audio, pretty well-written dialogue and an interesting world. You control an adventurer in real-time, from an isometric perspective, and fight your opponents, taking turns to do so.

I was delighted to notice that the designers have decided to retain much of the original game's overly complex themes and game system. It really does feel like Rifts. Also, it was refreshing to see that you have to work to get your first level of experience. I don't understand the Japanese method of piling XP levels on the player after every couple of fights - they just don't feel like they're worth anything, when you don't have to put up an effort in order to get them.

The original Rifts pen and paper rpg is a hopeless mish-mash of styles and themes, coupled with a train wreck of a game system. (It's got lots of fans, though, so they must be doing something right. For the rest of us, I've got one word: Splugorth!) I was very curious to see it licenced as a videogame, but hats off to the team for making it worth the trouble.

Dungeons & Dragons Online was launched. Apparently they've made D&D into a proper videogame. By the first reviews it seems that they haven't dumbed down the mechanics and that combat (of which there is plenty to go around) requires some skill on behalf of the player, requiring him to dodge and block in addition to merely clicking away at the foes á la traditional net roleplaying games (Anarchy Online, World Of Warcraft, what have you).

The game also requires you to function as a party and most of the quest content are proper dungeons. Most of the stuff one might like in a game of Dungeons & Dragons, edition 3.5, seems to be included. All of this is very cool. While there's still apparently no player-driven narrative or any of the other stuff that I'm really looking forward to in a net rpg, the proper implementation of the D&D ethos in digital form is really a welcome thing in itself.

The one thing I would miss, though, is a 20-sided die.

Baten Kaitos II

2006-02-28T13:20:00.000+02:00

1Up has a preview of Baten Kaitos II. I quite like the original. I feel compelled to share my initial thoughts on the revised game system. Thank the heavens for RSS feeds - I would've never seen this story otherwise, since navigating 1Up is too much pain for not enough gain.

What really drove Baten Kaitos was the excellent game system. It really kept things fresh. I saw no real fault with it, which is why I'm skeptical about the changes they've incorporated. It's not all bad, though.

The game is a prequel to BK, being set fifteen years before the first game. The cast is different. I don't care, really: I don't remember much of why I was running around the beautifully rendered world in the first game, either.

They haven't touched the basics of combat, which is good. The way it worked in BK really kept things interesting even in the most mundane battles. There is one change I like right off the bat: no more separate card decks. So you only have to build one deck, which ought to keep things more manageable.

The magic gauge which enables the characters to use their most powerufl attacks is filled by using normal attacks. Hard to tell if this will be a good thing or not. I do think it sounds like a needless element. The original's system of enabling powerful attacks only when you had managed to string together a sizeable combo worked very well. That required forethought and skill, a gauge makes me think of mechanical repetition. At least the gauge is for the whole group.

Then there's the "relay combo system". The idea is that you can combo the characters together so that their attacks flow seamlessly through the party. This sounds good, provided that it isn't too easy to do. Successful relay combos grant you "Tech Points" which are another word for EXP (-erience points). The original's way of upping your level only by finding special cards wasn't satisfactory at all, so this seems like a good idea. And it should award skillful play.

What I'm not sure that I like are the new "equip" cards. They modify attacks and give you defensive properties, but they're in effect over multiple rounds. Also, there are no more defensive rounds, at all! Attack/defense used to bring a nice rhythm to the combat, but admittedly the defensive round was a little hit and miss. So now you don't get to defend: instead, you pick your defense beforehand and hope that it can deal with whatever's incoming. I'm a little worried that this might turn combat into a passive "waiting for my turn" -game, which the original never was.

What I know that I don't like is the way that the sequel lets you combine cards in shops. Combining cards during the battles is what kept things always interesting.

You won't see me complaining over the new quest log. It was a pain keeping tabs on where you'd met people in the game, since the original didn't feature any sort of log.

We know the visual and audio assets are in excellent hands - provided that the same team is working on them - and the less said about the JRPG stories, the better, so all thing told, this is a sequel I'm waiting for.

Although someone could please fire the English dub team.

Eurogamer TV

2006-02-25T10:36:00.000+02:00

My gaming site of choice, Eurogamer, has launched an interesting service, dubbed Eurogamer TV. Eurogamer is my favorite because they've kept a check on how much clutter the user can appreciate, because they write well (most of the time, at least), because they're Euro-centric and because there's a good overall feel to the place.

I know the other gaming sites (Gamespot, what have you) also host trailers and the occasional video review. The thing is, Eurogamer TV's layout is easy to read, they've collected all sorts of "specials", such as short developer interviews, and most importantly: they're using just Flash to display the content. No need for downloading video files, no additional plugins, no worries about video formats and players. I'm always interested in viewing game trailers, but I really can't be bothered to hunt them down from various sites, much less lose any sleep over Quicktime not working, again.

I had to add a few games to my waiting list because of Eurogamer TV. Lost Planet's mecha action seems sweet indeed, as does Hellgate London's demon vanquishing.

Update: yes, I know there are alternatives to Apple's own Quicktime player. I can't get the alternatives to work, either.

Deceitful marketing

2006-02-23T09:48:00.000+02:00

The British have taken a stance against the deceitful marketing of videogames. According to Edge Online: "After receiving complaints claiming Call of Duty 2 and Big Red One television adverts intentionally portrayed scenes 'superior to that of the game itself,' the Advertising Standards Authority has ordered that Activision pull the ads from air."

I find this questionable. As one of the commenters on the Edge site implies, everybody knows you can't trust marketing. People don't actually believe that the new shampoo would make them look like supermodels. They just like to link themselves emotionally to that idea of a supermodel. It's the same with games, I think. Of course it could be that those unfamiliar with the state of current graphics engines just might think that they would get the level of visual experience that's in the ads that have now been banned, but I do maintain that it's meant to be about the feel of the scene portrayed, not the quality of graphics. I was thrilled by the ad, knowing full well that the game wouldn't be of the same quality visually.

There was a recent Battlefield 2 ad, also shot in first person. It was live footage, using real actors. As the line continues to blur between reality and CGI imagery, when does it become objectionable to use real people to portray a game world in an ad?

Most gamers seem to think it's wrong to use CGI footage in place of in-game footage when displaying a game for demonstration purposes or advertising. How come it's any worse when it's shown from the same angle as the actual game? Once again I'm inclined to think that non-gamers just don't understand the field well enough to make rulings on the things that matter to us.

Not that the hardcore would ever admit that game advertising has any effect on them.

EA leads the way

2006-02-22T09:57:00.000+02:00

According to the industry business site Next Generation, Electronic Arts is slashing the prices of highly anticipated current-gen titles by a considerable 20% in an attempt to fight dwindling software sales. That means a drop to $39 USD from the common $50 USD. This is great news, I think, and about high time, too.

While I am something of a videogame enthusiast, I really can't afford to pay 50-60€ ($58-70 USD) per title, which is what the retailers are asking around here. Which means I buy almost all of my games secondhand or from sales. In the case of secondhand titles, the publisher is getting nothing from my purchase. In the case of sales, the retailer is losing out. Then there is online shopping, which is almost guaranteed to be cheaper, but I really, really like to browse the games and buy them personally.

Now, if the $40 USD would translate to 33€ in Europe, I actually would buy games brand new. Not all the time, but a lot more often. (It's more likely we'll see these new EA titles at around 40-45€, though.) As it stands, I think I've only bought Baten Kaitos, Animal Crossing, Burnout 3 and Morrowind at full price, out of several dozen console games.

Many would think it surprising that EA is coming up with this price drop. It's certainly getting the attention. A while back, Take 2 dropped the price of its 2K Sports line to well below (29€) the EA standard to get a slice of the pie. I don't know how that worked out, but since they've been doing it for some time now, I guess it did the trick.

We'll see how this turns out. EA must believe in this since they're subjecting their heaviest current-gen hitters to this treatment, but don't forget that their next-gen titles are still carrying the hefty $60 USD (64€) price tag.

Update: Play.com seems to carry Black for the usual 49€. Not much improvement there, then.

Doom 3

2006-02-17T13:18:00.000+02:00

I very rarely play new games. Most of the time I hunt for bargains (which is also much more exciting than buying new games). Which is why I bought Doom 3 for the Xbox only last night, at an agreeable 15€. There were quite a few other cheap games on the "preowned" shelf, too, but Doom 3's been intriguing me ever since it was announced.

I haven't played the game on the PC, simply because my PC setup is no gaming rig. (Hell, it's barely a Windows rig.) But the game does feel at home on the Xbox. With the lights down, headphone volume up and gaze fixated on the big TV screen, I began a very scary trip to Mars.

I'm no Doom-phile. I've played the original a lot way back when it was released, even completed the shareware Doom on the N-Gage, and I liked the movie adaptation rather a lot. But I had no expectations going in, apart from being entertained.

After the mediocre intro sequence, I was almost floored by the actual in-game graphics. I had no idea the Xbox was capable of sights such as these (no, I haven't played Riddick). The lighting in itself is so much more than in any other game I've seen. In Splinter Cell and Thief, the lighting can be very cool and it's factored strongly into the gameplay, but it doesn't feel real the way it does in Doom. It's like the environment is sculpted from light and shadow. The flashlight feels like your very personal friend, something you're extremely hesitant to ever put down. And then there's something running at you in the pitch-black, only illuminated by your firearm's muzzle flash. Simply because of fearing the dark, I spent roughly half of my game-time standing with my back to the wall, steeling my resolve to approach a T-junction, listening very carefully for any approaching footsteps. I haven't been this scared since System Shock 2.

Apart from lighting, the models all feel solid and convincing. They may not be super-detailed, but they've got polygons where it counts. I haven't seen any illusion-shattering clipping problems or tearing. Much of the setting's weight is gained from the superb way it's bump-mapped. The same technique was used in Thief: Deadly Shadows and Deus Ex: Invisible War, for instance, but it felt really tacked-on in those titles. In Doom, it just works, adding immeasurably to the overall effect.

The presentation, overall, is very slick, down to menu design and ambient audio. There are very fews breaks to the experience and the loading times are short. The game just doesn't let you go. Yes, the PDA (inventory and log) screen does take you away from the action, but even then there's the option to put the PDA down and listen to the audio logs you find while exploring the setting. Even the sound is mixed so that it feels like it's playing from a PDA you're carrying at your side, as opposed to the basic stereo mix of the PDA view playback!

And the details are so rich. The way the monsters throw you around with their physical attacks, the way your flashlight sways a little, the manner in which your aim is thrown off by every shot you fire... it all adds to the experience.

I've only played the game for a couple of hours up to now, but I'm eager to continue as long as I don't play very late at night. I suspect it's a disposable ride, but with rides like this, I'm not complaining.

The one thing that grates me are the lousy weapon sounds. It really doesn't sound at all like you're unleashing destruction at your mortal enemies. Which is kind of odd considering that the rest of the audio design is top-notch.

Update: Whereas the regular weapons have unsatisfactory audio, the plasma gun is pretty much spoiled by weak effects. The visual thrill just isn't there, and it sounds like you're using a kids' toy gun. Weak! Then again, the "Mach 2" chaingun is very cool, as is the obligatory franchise crowd-pleaser, the chainsaw.

Also, the outdoor sections on the surface of Mars are tres neat.

Sports

2006-02-14T12:56:00.000+02:00

It's a shame Neversoft can't make the Tony Hawk's series single player experience anywhere near as fun as the good old "Horse" two-player gamemode. If you're unfamiliar with Horse, it's played by taking turns. The first one up sets a benchmark with a single trick (or more likely, a combo), then the second player tries to beat it. The loser gets a letter, the first one to spell "horse" loses. I played Horse with my brother last evening, it was good fun as always. I was beaten once my challenger learned his way around the Gamecube pad.

Another cool two-player event is the Amped 2 mode in which you claim trick spots (jumps, rails) by landing the best trick on them. The ride is short, the spots are plentiful and you've got time to claim them over and over again.

Speaking of Amped 2, I finally (after over a year of grinding) secured my primary avatar the coveted top-eight position in the game's fake leaderboard. After an hour more fo riding, it's only four more spots to go and I have beaten the game. There was a time I thought I'd never get to top ten, so steep was the challenge after around the 20th position. What's the deal with the blind, 100-meter drops to a two meters wide target area, huh? Regardless, I've played three characters to the mid-20s. It's a really cool game, shame that the sequel on the Xbox 360 doesn't sound like it'd appeal to me.

Recent gaming

2006-01-31T10:11:00.000+02:00

I've been at the bongos every now and then, seeking those gold crests and the very elusive platinum ones. Jungle Beat is simply a good ame, even if it does get to your stamina very quickly. I hope the bosses don't get much harder than Karate Kong. My arms were cramping from the desperate clapping.

Ikaruga is still not completed. I can get to the last boss on "easy", though, and most of it doesn't feel so difficult anymore. I'm tempted to move on to "normal" once I can clear the game, but maybe it would be a better idea to hone my skills until I can complete it with just one credit on "easy".

Yesterday I played some Metroid Prime after a long while. I'd been stuck in the game for the first time. Turns out I just hadn't thought of clearing the ice in a tunnel in the Phendrana Drifts with missiles... I got the Wave beam, which should open up quite a few doors all over the play area. I remain puzzled about my completion rate, which is merely 19%, while I think I've seen quite a bit more of the game up to now. I believe there are some items I haven't noticed, just waiting to be grabbed up (Spiderball, where art thou). The game remains one of the best designed ones in my library, and one of the best-looking.

Once again I thank Gamefaqs.com. The game would've likely been abandoned at this point without a FAQ to consult.

Then there's been PBEM (play by email) Space Empires IV (yes, a PC game). We're playing SEIV among four friends and a bunch of computer-controlled empires. It's one of those games where you're certain that you're making huge mistakes all the time, but you won't know it until a challenger comes kicking in your door, probably two months down the line in real-time.

One quick go

2006-01-25T09:25:00.000+02:00

I've noticed lately that I rarely find the time or energy to sit down with a game for hours on end. Baten Kaitos must've been the latest game to get that treatment and since the wife hogged it, I haven't found time to continue it, despite being very enthusiastic about it.

I am very much into Ikaruga, OutRun 2 and beat 'em ups (Soul Calibur II foremost). I think this is because I can play a meaningful game in just ten minutes. A successful OutRun run takes just under five minutes, as do a couple of rounds of Soul Calibur. Donkey Konga you can only play for five minutes at a time - I was about to give up because of physical exhaustion when first fighting Karate Kong.

Another cool thing about these quick games is that you don't have to think about them. When playing an RPG or strategy game, you need to keep the game in your mind, merely put on shelf while you're not playing. That can be tiring.

There are some games which absolutely require more than an hour of gametime. With these games, I essentially need to arrange a date with the game, plan the session in advance, informing my wife that this evening I'm going to play a game and nothing else. While I feel this is somewhat silly, it does lend a nice air of... expectation to the event.

Games which require this treatment are Madden NFL, the Metal Gear Solid series and, say, Morrowind (if only for the loading times). But of course, in practice you do this kind of thing pretty rarely, no more than once a week, with the possible exception of weekends.

I don't know if this is a good thing or not. On the one hand I miss really delving into a game and burning away hours upon hours in a game world, but on the other hand I like the way these less time-consuming games don't take over my life. Although having played games all my life, I highly suspect this is merely a phase and a time will come when I'm exclusively into more demanding games, again... like King Of Dragon Pass, which I haven't still tried out, or I-War 2, which I really want to get into, but haven't found the time or energy yet.

Edit: quickie games aren't the sole property of the consoles, of course. On the PC I fancy Mutant Storm, Parsec47, MAME and the zany Typing Of The Dead, which is only made more hilarious by its awkward technical merits.

Blood Bowl

2006-01-19T08:43:00.000+02:00

Last year I played Games Workshop's Blood Bowl with a group. I had a lousy Lizardman team in this fantasy take on American football. The group's interest waned and we stopped playing some time ago. However, I was still interested in the game, so I was keen to try out a Java application that enabled me to play Blood Bowl with my friends over the Internet. You can find a link here.

The game is delightfully fast and easy. I imagine it might be a tad confusing for a newcomer, but we had a blast. I don't know whether we'll actually start to keep records on team experience and match results and everything all over again, but the actual play is fun. Recommended to all old fans of the game. You can find leagues online.

I've played a handful of matches via the Java version now, losing all of them. My orcs really keep getting pushed around by the elves. I've always hated the elf teams, they seem to have no weaknesses. It does feel very good to stomp on them when they're down, though. The game works very well, we haven't encountered any bugs. If only the team upkeep could be automated, too, without having to resort to the manual at all.

Bookshelf: And The Ass Saw The Angel

2006-01-17T11:59:00.000+02:00

Over my holiday I read a book by Nick Cave which I got for Christmas from a friend. I had seen it on another friend's bookshelf, but never got around to loan it. Which is just as well, I hate returning (good) books to their owners. I read the Finnish edition, Kun aasintamma näki Herran enkelin.

Cave's writing is very fluid. The story drags in mud and ugly (very ugly) things, but the writing rolls on independent of its subject matter. I wouldn't recommend this to everybody, but it's very much worth checking out. It feels good to read, even if the portrayed proceedings make you feel ill. It's all about one setting and one overall feeling to it, which pull the novel together much in the way of some of my other favorites, like James Ellroy's American Tabloid. It's more about the way it's told than the story itself.

Luxor, Egypt

2006-01-16T22:24:00.000+02:00

I was away on a two-week vacation to Luxor, Egypt. It was my first actual paid vacation. I'm 27, so I guess I'm a bit late to that train, but it did feel good and did the recharging trick pretty well. It's the middle of the winter and very dark in Finland. It was good to get some sun in and be really away from the day to day.

I did miss videogames out there. I played some Dweller on the phone, but nothing more. Once I got sick and had to stay in for a couple of days, in the very cold apartment (+14 centigrade), I was longing for some multiplayer Soul Calibur II or Dead Or Alive 3. Something relaxing to take the mind off the boredom and the cold. I read the books I had along before craving for videogames, though, so I guess I'm not that hopeless. But I sure hope I had brought some card games along! Like Mythos, Pokémon and INWO - I was quite a bit into the collectible card game thing back when they were new.

Our group was mostly students of Egyptology. We didn't have a paid guide, but the trip was organized by a former guide. We got to know some interesting people over there and two weeks of free time is quite enough to get to know a small city like Luxor (150K inhabitants). Some culture shock did set in, in the end, but I got to like the atmosphere a lot before that.

When I came back, I played some Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, but that's been about it. Too much quality TV occupying the free time right now: backlogs of Shield, Survivor and Desperate Housewives. Deadwood and Galactica open this week in Finland, too, so lots of tube time heading my way.

Bookshelf: Century Rain

2006-01-16T14:08:00.000+02:00

I picked up Alastair Reynold's novel Century Rain at the airport. I quite like the author; I'm still going through his earlier effort, Absolution Gap. (And haven't read the latest, Pushing Ice.)

Century Rain doesn't take place in the same Revelation Space continuum as the body of his work does. It is much simpler in terms of plot complexity and characters than his space opera outings are.

The book was a good holiday read, easily digested. It didn't always feel convincing, though: it seemed to lack a character or two and there was a bit of running on empty. The portrayal of Paris in the 1950s didn't really hold, either. I felt the author was dropping French names to sound authoritative, without success. The future stuff held some crunchy bits, but overall I was a little underwhelmed. Not a bad effort, but I was expecting more. In the end, it feels like the author needed a break.

Ultima

2005-12-28T09:32:00.000+02:00

Ultima V Lazarus was released just before Christmas. I got to try it out last night and my initial impressions are very good. It's a mod for Dungeon Siege, so you need this now-oldish action RPG to play. I never bothered to play DS very far, but I bought it as a budget re-release specifically in order to play Lazarus one day. Granted, I didn't really expect the team to ever finish their massive task. (So it's still buggy, but the first patch is already out.)

I never really played the Ultima series before. I was too young to grasp them initially, and then I lacked a PC to play on for quite some time. I lack the emotional attachment to the game most Lazarus players are likely to bring along. Still, the game's opening really grabbed my attention and I already feel like embarking on a truly epic quest.

Ultima V doesn't dumb down the experience. You really feel that the characters have a history together (which they, of course, do, but I never experienced it) and that they are real people. You're actually given choices right from the start (go to the Abbey? Go straight to Britain?), stuff isn't over-explained and combat is actually risky. The first clues to solving the situation at hand are intriguing (a demon seeking redemption). And you're no barehanded newbie, you're Avatar, who's already saved the realm once!

It's been a long time since I last wished to get home quickly and get back to playing, but Lazarus is doing that. Very much recommended.

I like the game's little touches a lot. You need to gather materials for casting spells (ginseng and garlic to cure poison, for insance), and these are actually harvested from the wilderness. Your party needs to eat, so you have to keep an eye on rations, but you don't have to actually manually make them eat. You can also hunt. Dialogue is largely very good and there seems to be real motivation to do stuff.

Bear in mind that you need to stomach quite a bit of bugs to enjoy the game, though. Even if this is subject to change if the team keeps up its pace.

Bongos

2005-12-26T14:24:00.000+02:00

So I got my wife a set of DK Bongos for the Gamecube. We didn't find the music game (titled Donkey Konga) that much fun at the store, but the action game, titled Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, seemed great fun. It is. It may seem odd to control a traditional 2D platform game with a set of drums, but it plain works. Playing is great fun, even if you can only play for a couple of levels before needing a break.

The bongos recognize the left beat, the right beat, beating them together and a microphone picks up the clap of your hands. So you only have four controls, but that is quite enough, really.

While the game features heavily on not being too demanding on the controls, it leaves plenty of room for skilled play. While you can just run and clap your way through the levels, major points are only scored for long aerial combos. I can't really see how to achieve 1200 bananas required for the platinum awards just yet.

I doubt it's very long-lived fun, but fun it is. Recommended.

Pre-Christmas grievances

2005-12-21T10:54:00.000+02:00

While I am generally a happy gamer these days, there are some grievances that bear mentioning lest they be forgotten. These things weigh on the mind from time to time, maybe I can move on once I put them out here.

Grievance I: the HD era. They tell us we'll see PC-level graphics on the telly. I've played some Call Of Duty 2 on the Xbox 360, on a proper HD display, and it just ain't all that. Yes, there are more details apparent and the resolution is higher, but I recall being told we'd get rid of the jagged outlines for good. If anything, I was bothered more by the jaggies on a crisp resolution display than I ever was on a good ol' CRT display.

And it doesn't look like HD sets would be likely to become very common around here anytime soon. (Unlike US citizens, we don't have cheap CRT HD sets available.) There isn't any talk of HD tv broadcasts yet, we're only going from analog to digital in two years.

I trust these issues will be remedied in the year or so to come, but I do expect to see some anti-aliasing, at least on a level even my ancient PC (sub-1G processor) could manage. In any case the next generation doesn't much excite, unlike the current generation did.

Grievance II: PC copy protection. I usually apply a no-CD crack on games I've bought for the PC, simply because I dislike having to dig for the discs when I want to play for a bit. However, I have quite a few games which won't play unless a no-CD crack is applied. This is just wrong, considering that those playing pirated games won't ever see this crap.

Worse yet is the Ubisoft model, where the game snoops around your hard drive, looking for software which in the publisher's discretion is objectionable. They've discriminated against CD copying software, commonly used by pirates but also by perfectly legitimate customers.
This is unacceptable and it makes me wonder who they think they are to even contemplate doing this. My HD is none of your business, mr. publisher. (This is from a person who loves most of what Ubisoft does, by the way.)

Luckily I play so few PC games these days that copy protection doesn't spoil my day as often as it used to. It's still a bad idea to implement half-assed solutions which only bother your own customers.

Ikaruga

2005-12-18T16:47:00.000+02:00

The only type of game I'm playing somewhat regularly on the PC is the shoot 'em up - of the sideways or vertically scrolling 2D kind. Most of these games are played on MAME, the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, some on other emulators (SNES, Sega Megadrive/Genesis, mostly) and some are modern freeware, mostly from Japan (see ABA Games for free goodies). I'm by no means a shmup wizard, but I do like my shooters.

So getting Ikaruga (cool fan site here) for the Gamecube was a no-brainer. Indeed, it was my primary reason for getting a Gamecube in the first place. It did take some time tracking down a copy for an agreeable price, though, because the game was never manufactured in large numbers and I only got a Gamecube a few months back.

I've now played it for around four hours - I don't know how long exactly, because I didn't realize the autosave wasn't on by default, so I lost the records of my first few sittings. (Duh.) It is sweet. I can get to halfway of the fourth level (there are five), but the third level's boss really makes it clear that if you're not after a challenge, you need not apply. It's just brutal. But never really unfair, you can always see where you made a mistake.

And boy, I've missed a challenge. I grew up playing games with largely mythical endings: in the 8-bit days, games used to be so hard that completing a game was really an event, something we used to talked about for rather long times. I was very disappointed to see that nobody was making old-school shmups with the power of today, save for the few Japanese amateur artists. There are some quality shmups released on the PS2, but that's about it. It's a shame. The shmup is definitely not for everyone and the kids of today are likely baffled by the difficulty level, but that's just the point. It feels so much better when you've had to work for it.

Make no mistake, I do grow frustrated with difficult games. But this is because today's games tend to be difficult because they're designed badly, not because they're challenging by design.

Now, I can see myself completing Ikaruga on "easy", but the "normal" difficulty (let alone "hard") seems such a challenge that I have my work cut out for me for years to come, knowing that I won't be practicing every day. Considering this, it does feel perfectly fine that the game can be completed in something like 20 minutes, once you're good enough. But can you do it with just one credit? There's actually an endearing shmup term for this, "to 1CC a game". To 1CC means you've mastered it, and that is my goal with Ikaruga. The art of shooting, truly.

Edit: I've now clocked in about three hours plus the initial couple of evenings' worth and can get to the last level, which is insane. The chaining system really does keep things interesting. I've so far managed to chain only 24 in the first chapter. Things get real hairy real fast in the beginning of the second chapter, chaining-wise... I can get to chapter three's boss on one credit and generally don't die before chapter three anymore.

In other gaming news, Tony Hawk's Underground's last objective (beat Eric) is rock hard. And I've been playing on "easy". I really miss a highscore mode in the game. It's still fun on two-player, but there doesn't seem to be anything much to do in single player besides the disposable campaign. It's the only Tony Hawk I've played since the original on Playstation and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2's demo on the PC, which I played way more than this full-blown game on the Gamecube. Shame, really.

At the movies: King Kong

2005-12-17T01:21:00.000+02:00

While there was too much action for too little drama, Jackson's King
Kong is still a resounding success. Kong himself is so great that I
really didn't want the movie to end, knowing how it would go down.
Really intense stuff, the PG rating seems way too low.

A mobile experience

2005-12-16T14:59:00.000+02:00

I'm typing this into my N-Gage (QD model, no sidetalking), eager to
find out if I can post on the go. If I can, well, expect to see
pointless, mercifully short posts from time to time. Indeed, I like
reading blogs on the phone, it's a good way to while away the daily
commute to work.

Edit: whee, it works. Sort of, the template still needs tweaking. Bonus information to make the post somewhat worthwhile: So what do I do with my N-Gage, game-wise? First and foremost, I play Dweller to kill off the random 15 minute wait. Here's a link for mobile phone browsers to the free download, it should work on most Java-enabled mobile phones. Dweller is a roguelike (as in, like Rogue, or the rather more famous Nethack), suitably simplified for mobile entertainment, and it kicks ass.

Also, I couldn't send email from my phone if it wasn't for Opera Mini. You can get this great Java application here, if you're using a phone browser. It runs Gmail and even better now that Google launched Gmail mobile, which is superfast, like.

So.

2005-12-16T14:14:00.000+02:00

Having downsized my old-school "personal homepage" at http://koti.mbnet.fi/meadow/current in spring 2005, I've sometimes longed for a forum to post random ramblings to. So here I am. I really wanted to go with the easiest possible solution, because I really don't want to lose myself building yet another sprawling website, thereby losing any free time I might otherwise have (been there, done that). Blogger couldn't be much simpler, and it seems to be the way of the world as of today.

The title, then. I wanted to reflect upon my physical location, which is Helsinki, Finland. 71 is the post code I use daily, being shorthand for 00710. And 78 is the year of my birth. 1978 also happens to be the year of Space Invaders, which is wholesomely appropriate: I'm all about videogames, and this blog will likely reflect that.