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.
Showing posts with label surprise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label surprise. Show all posts
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Taking down Las Vegas (Rainbow Six Vegas)
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.
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)
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
I am weak [Edit: And increasingly popular!]
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.
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.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Need For... killing time online
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
