Archive for the ‘Gaming’ Category

• New Site: Player Versus!

  Date: 2011.09.02 | Posted by Jeff | Category: Gaming, Site Related | Response: 0

  I didn’t lie, this post is sooner than the gap between the last posts. Sort of.

  I come to you today to announce Player Versus, a World of Warcraft / Gaming blog. Unlike I R Blogging this will be a more dedicated blog to a subject, where as currently I R Blogging is just whatever I want to talk about. We do this not to make you subscribe or read another page, but to direct more of a focus. Some may care about my gaming views, but couldn’t care less about everything else.

  In the near future (possibly tomorrow) I’ll also be putting up some posts on 122 Review, our blog where we give things either 122 minutes (Two hours, Two Minutes) of our time, or a 122 variant (such as 122 pages of a book). Unfortunately, it died pretty quickly when it was first launched. However, we have some half-written posts that should get the chance to see the light (even if they go unread). I encourage you to keep an eye out there.

  I’ll also be attempting to update the sites to post on My Twitter account when a new post is published. Following me there may be the best bet if you don’t feel like subscribing to all the other sites.

  Fret not about I R Blogging, it will still be used for posts that don’t fit elsewhere. It will likely be about updates that we have or rants. If you like that, then stay tuned, because I’m sure something will provoke another rant.

• Why Next-Gen Consoles Are Skill Downgrades

  Date: 2011.07.04 | Posted by Jeff | Category: Gaming | Response: 0

  I think it’s been a fair statement for some time that there are those ‘classic gamers’ and then there are the games that play the latest and ‘greatest’ consoles. The two sides can easily be grouped and interchangeable from an outsider’s POV, but there are always going to be the extremists on both sides. For mere convenience we’re going to say everything from the Nintendo Gamecube, Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation2 era and newer is a Next-Gen console. Everything 64 bits or lower is ‘classic’. I’ve chosen this margin because this is where there is the largest noticeable difference in the switch between the two types of games.

  I’m not actually getting into where I stand on the scale, but will point the one fact that you all should know: Next-Gen consoles are breading gamers that don’t know how to play a game.

  The definition of Game:
  noun /gām/ 
  games, plural
  A form of play or sport, esp. a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck.

  You’ll notice it doesn’t say “Everybody wins”. It requires skills, strength or luck. I would also add into this time. If you can open a game and have it beaten completely in 4 hours, you should ask for your money back.

  Let’s compare two games; one from classic gaming and one from next-gen gaming.
  Let’s go with Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988 for NES) and Halo 3 (2007 on Xbox 360).

  Super Mario Bros. 3 was one of those games that if you beat it, you were it as a badge of honor. Heck, it’s fair to say if you even got to World 8 you were good. There was no cheat codes, you either knew how to do it or you didn’t. You either had the timing and skill down to hit it just right, or didn’t. You pressed two buttons and did it right to win. Button mashing wasn’t even an option for NES, unless the game required you to just press buttons quickly, which it never did.

  Halo 3, on the other hand is often referred to as child’s play when it comes down to difficulty. This game can easily be beaten in one sitting, with time to spare, and you can save it. Throw in the fact that the game is engineered in the gamer’s favor so that they do not get stuck or have to over think (or think at all in most cases) to get to the end. Button mashing, grunting and yelling at the TV will easily get you through it. The game does have an extended multiplayer mode, but still on the same premise.

  This brings up the question: Are games getting easier to please the new gamers, or are the gamers getting dumber? I feel the answer is yes to both. The current generation is used to winning all the time, because losing may hurt their feelings. We wouldn’t want somebody to be sad, would we?

  I hooked up my N64 earlier today and popped in Perfect Dark. I will always love this game. It was challenging, but was fun. You had levels of difficulties and tons of scenarios to work with. It was FPS, but you needed to work through it to get to the end. This included the clunky, over-sized controllers and unrealistic graphics (and deadly paintball mode!). It took my brain about 15 minutes to adjust to thinking again, but it was there. Unfortunately, it took the younger gamer beside me 10 to decide it was ‘too hard’ and quit.
  Newer FPS may have you controlling a whole platoon, but how often do you need to pull the trigger and come up with the strategy yourself?

  Guess I’ll just become better by process of elimination. Everybody can’t be winners, they don’t give gold stars to losers. Wait, yes they do. Damn.

  So what do you think about the current evolution/devolution of gaming? Let me know in the comments!

• Ready Player One [Book]

  Date: 2010.09.15 | Posted by Jeff | Category: Gaming, Geeking, Movies / TV / Books | Response: 0

  Book Title: Ready Player One
  Author: Ernest Cline
  Genre: Fiction
  Target Audience: Children of the 80′s and technology buffs.
  Pages: 372 Pages

  Time To Review (TTR): 122 Pages

  Book Intro/Preface: Ready Player One takes place in the not-too-distant future where our protagonist, Wade Watts, is in search of an ‘Easter egg’ which could reward him a late billionaire’s estate. This all happens within a virtual world called the OASIS, which has become nearly a complete replacement for the shambled and distraught real world. Every man, woman and child wants to find the egg, but it will only be rewarded to those able to solve the late billionaires obscure riddles and mazes within the game itself.

  Reading difficulty: The book uses a very simple and easy-to-read tone, and contain a lot of in depth or layered context. However, it does revolve around a lot of 80′s trivia and references, which can be lost on those unfamiliar with the decade.

  Character Development: Ernest does a fantastic job developing the characters attributes, as well as personalities. Given that much of story takes place in a virtual world, he has taken the liberty to indulge the reader with details of the outfits chosen by the characters to actively attribute to their personalities in a way that is near impossible outside of the game. A large part of the opening chapters is building up the characters, which in connection with the setting puts the reader into the right set of mind to imagine the story line.

  Setting: The setting of the story, both in the real world as well in the OASIS, are clearly laid out and described in detail by the author. The minute details given can easily be seen by the reader as our main character, Wade, lives in the contrast of the two worlds. This provides a thriving atmosphere for the story to flourish, and the reader to connect and empathize with the characters living in this environment.

  Plot Advancement: The plot and story is wonderful. The story does advance quite slowly compared to main story of similar length, however given the situation and ‘set up’ needed for the rest of the novel to work it is absolutely excusable. The Prologue more than serves it’s purpose and I feel it is absolutely needed for the story to make any sense.

  Originality: Though there are an ample number of books that can place in a distraught future, none I’ve read involve so much reference to pop culture of yesteryear. This makes it more enjoyable then the typical ‘the future will suck’ stories.

  Wasted Time: About 20 Pages. I love details, but some of the details that went into the setting seems (at least at this point) a little much and weren’t needed to contribute.

  Hooked Time: The remaining 102 pages read. It’s a great read, I just needed to get over the ‘is he still going on about this?’ part, and get back to the story.

  Pros: It’s an easy read; believable; relatable; in-a-sense, desirable.
  WOW-factor(s): I love the 80′s, and I love virtual realities. The combinations of the two would be put me into a blissful coma if they truly exists.

  Can-be-Improved: Cut down on the initial details of the setting and focus more on the virtual reality. It’s easier to imagine a ruined trailer park (they exist), but putting more description about a about a virtual reality system good enough to replace real life? That could use a little more attention.

  Continue/End Book: Hell Yes!
  If yes, how long to continue? Until I’m out of quarters.
  Rating: 5 = Go buy this book.

  Summation: I’m loving this story, it’s right up my ally. Any book involving the future and technology that makes me want to squeal like a little girl at the though of having some thing that cool is a book I’ll read. My only fear is when I’m done the novel, I’m done. I’d like to see the author put more stories inside the OASIS. I’ll definitely be passing this along to a friend to read when I’m done.

• Red Steel 2 [VG]

  Date: 2010.07.07 | Posted by Jeff | Category: Gaming | Response: 0

  Game Title: Red Steel 2
  Developer: Ubisoft
  ESRP Rating: T
  Genre: First-Person Shooter
  System: Wii

  Game Briefing: You’re a wild west/samurai cowboy who is rescuing a town from a gang. Of course, this evolves deeper as the game goes on/
  
  Controls/Gameplay: Though still not perfect, Red Steel 2 is a HUGE improvement over the 2006 release of Red Steel. Using the Wii Motionplus, I don’t think it could get much more precise.
  Graphics: The cell shaded like graphics made for a nice blend of Japanese and western, which fit the game perfectly.
  Audio: Fantastic sound track, one of the best I’ve heard it quite some time. It helped you feel as though you were there. No complaints in this department at all.

  Multiplayer: None.

  Originality: Obviously they tried at this style of gun-slinging and sword-swinging in the first Red Steel, I wouldn’t hold that against them. It makes for a fun combo though, which isn’t often seen.
  Personalization: You get to to choose the icon for the save file at the beginning of the game. I think that was fairly all in this category.

  Wasted Time: There was way too much unskippable training points through out the game. Though this is apparently only while you learn new techniques, is annoying when you need to repeat them.
  Play Time: There was about 30% of our time spent doing cut scenes. This can be expected to build up the story line. I wouldn’t count this as a genitive, as it was all needed cut scenes.

  Pros: About time that the Wii got an exclusive FPS on it’s side. It made to feel as though you were that character.
  WOW-factor(s): The sword play is tons of fun. Being able to stab, spin around the guy and stab them in the back is killer (literally).
  Can-be-Improved: I think the only thing more I could ask for is a multiplayer mode. Had they taken the one from the first Red Steel and put into play the new controls and Gameplay, it would have been a powerhouse.

  Continue/End Game: Continue. It’s supposed to be around 12 hours to complete the game, and I wasn’t so much bored as I was sore. I can see myself playing it again.
  Rating: This was a good game, which is saying a lot for the history of the Wii’s FPS. I hope only that more developers follow in step of Ubisoft. I give it a 4/5:
  If FPS are you main drag; buy Red Steel at full cost.
  If you like FPS, but not so much; Buy it at a discounted price if you see it.

• Overlord: Dark Legend [VG]

  Date: 2010.05.16 | Posted by Jeff | Category: Gaming | Response: 0

  Game Title: Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles
  Developer: Cavia and Capcom
  ESRP Rating: M
  Genre: Rail Shooter
  System: Wii

  Darkside Chronicles is a rail shooter for Resident Evil series. A chronicle series similar to Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles. . Starts out in South America with Leon Kennedy and Jack Krauser before going into flash back stages of the Raccoon city story line with Leon and Clair Redfield which recaps the plot of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil Code Veronica.

  Controls are simple enough, as to be expected with a rail shooter, mostly point and shoot. You can use the nunchuck or the D pad to quickly change between weapons. I personally preferred the nunchuck for this, I kept hitting the middle of the D pad and switching to the wrong weapon.

  The camera movements mimic the movements of the characters as if the game were played in first person. You don’t actually control the movement yourself and this can be a bit awkward for aiming but gives it a more realistic feel.

  In game graphic are pretty good, consistent with no glitches in the in the background or game play that i have noticed so far. Response time with the controls is very accurate. The quality of the cut scenes were excellent as well, on par with many CG movies I have seen. Including Resident Evil Degeneration. I have always been a fan of the music and sounds of Resident evil games. The sounds fit the game well without drawing your attention away from the game play.

  Darkside can be played one player or two player co-op. In the first 2 hours that I played you always had the option to choose between 2 characters at the start of each stage. With two players you play with both. Haven’t tried two players yet, I’ll need to find someone to play with for next time.

  You can collect gold through out the game to power up your weapons. I started with powering the shot gun. The short gun is one your most useful tool against the undead and mutated….. once you power it enough that it not so damn slow. It is able to push back multiple attackers within range which is very useful if you are playing solo and don’t have backup. You can also shoot at random items in the background of the game play (recommend using handgun with unlimited ammo for this) to uncover more gold and hidden files with extra information about the characters and story line. But really its about the random destruction.

  Probably about 90% of the time I was shooting at something. There are longer higher quality cut scenes are the start and end of every stage and usually a few short cut scenes during the stage, but they are blended well into the game pay as not to be distracting.

  As much of a fan of the series as I am, this is a Chronicle game so I wouldn’t call it original. The resident evil series is great for pouring out side games to go along with the main story that re-introduces past story lines and story lines mentioned in other games. Resident Evil 4 mentions the Kennedy report which I believe is based on the South American mission that Darkside chronicles starts with. I personally like all the side story games, they easy to play and is a great refresher for the main story line.

  If I wasn’t wasting my time shooting Zombies I would probably be wasting it with Smash Bros Brawl. Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles is what it is, a straight forward rail shooter. Not much decision making is needed you just point and shoot. Personally after work this is what I look forward to. I don’t have to worry about anything except getting that next head shot. I wish the realistic movement was toned down a bit, it’s frustrating to miss a shot because your character suddenly turned and ran the other way, otherwise this is a fun game to play if your are looking for something quick that does not require a big commitment. Given another 2 hours and 2 minutes I think I might be able to finish the game.

  I would give this game a 4/5 as it is one I would play over again and would like to own.

• Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles [VG]

  Date: 2010.05.11 | Posted by Jeff | Category: Gaming | Response: 0

  Game Title: Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles
  Developer: Cavia and Capcom
  ESRP Rating: M
  Genre: Rail Shooter
  System: Wii

  Darkside Chronicles is a rail shooter for Resident Evil series. A chronicle series similar to Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles. . Starts out in South America with Leon Kennedy and Jack Krauser before going into flash back stages of the Raccoon city story line with Leon and Clair Redfield which recaps the plot of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil Code Veronica.

  Controls are simple enough, as to be expected with a rail shooter, mostly point and shoot. You can use the nunchuck or the D pad to quickly change between weapons. I personally preferred the nunchuck for this, I kept hitting the middle of the D pad and switching to the wrong weapon.

  The camera movements mimic the movements of the characters as if the game were played in first person. You don’t actually control the movement yourself and this can be a bit awkward for aiming but gives it a more realistic feel.

  In game graphic are pretty good, consistent with no glitches in the in the background or game play that i have noticed so far. Response time with the controls is very accurate. The quality of the cut scenes were excellent as well, on par with many CG movies I have seen. Including Resident Evil Degeneration. I have always been a fan of the music and sounds of Resident evil games. The sounds fit the game well without drawing your attention away from the game play.

  Darkside can be played one player or two player co-op. In the first 2 hours that I played you always had the option to choose between 2 characters at the start of each stage. With two players you play with both. Haven’t tried two players yet, I’ll need to find someone to play with for next time.

  You can collect gold through out the game to power up your weapons. I started with powering the shot gun. The short gun is one your most useful tool against the undead and mutated….. once you power it enough that it not so damn slow. It is able to push back multiple attackers within range which is very useful if you are playing solo and don’t have backup. You can also shoot at random items in the background of the game play (recommend using handgun with unlimited ammo for this) to uncover more gold and hidden files with extra information about the characters and story line. But really its about the random destruction.

  Probably about 90% of the time I was shooting at something. There are longer higher quality cut scenes are the start and end of every stage and usually a few short cut scenes during the stage, but they are blended well into the game pay as not to be distracting.

  As much of a fan of the series as I am, this is a Chronicle game so I wouldn’t call it original. The resident evil series is great for pouring out side games to go along with the main story that re-introduces past story lines and story lines mentioned in other games. Resident Evil 4 mentions the Kennedy report which I believe is based on the South American mission that Darkside chronicles starts with. I personally like all the side story games, they easy to play and is a great refresher for the main story line.

  If I wasn’t wasting my time shooting Zombies I would probably be wasting it with Smash Bros Brawl. Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles is what it is, a straight forward rail shooter. Not much decision making is needed you just point and shoot. Personally after work this is what I look forward to. I don’t have to worry about anything except getting that next head shot. I wish the realistic movement was toned down a bit, it’s frustrating to miss a shot because your character suddenly turned and ran the other way, otherwise this is a fun game to play if your are looking for something quick that does not require a big commitment. Given another 2 hours and 2 minutes I think I might be able to finish the game.

  I would give this game a 4/5 as it is one I would play over again and would like to own.

• Breaking News: NY City destroyed by pixels!

  Date: 2010.04.10 | Posted by Jeff | Category: Gaming | Response: 0

  If you’ve ever wanted to see New York city completely taken over and taken apart by your favorite 8-bit characters, now is the time to do so. Patrick Jean did an amazing job on this, I’m astounded and in awe.

  PIXELS by PATRICK JEAN.
  Uploaded by onemoreprod. – Arts and animation videos.

  [Via Mashable!]

• Dr. Horrible in 8-Bit

  Date: 2010.04.09 | Posted by Jeff | Category: Gaming, Movies / TV / Books, Viral | Response: 0

  I don’t know what to say other than ‘Holy crap’ and ‘I want to play this game!’. A guy (or gal) going by the name DoctorOctoroc redid the first act of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. It’s NPH in Nintendo form, that’s totally and utterly badass! I don’t even want to get into how incredibly epic the soundtrack is. It makes me feel all warm and squishy inside. Watch it, love it, then go buy me the DVD off Amazon kthx.

  [Via Mashable]

• eRepublik: The New World

  Date: 2009.06.08 | Posted by Jeff | Category: Gaming | Response: 0

  Have you ever wished that you could live your life all over again? I have!
  The idea behind eRepublik is that you can create an account and live it day to day as you would in real life. Boring? Nah.
  After inital sign up you’re forced to pick a job and horrible wages and work. Sucky? For now. After you work two days you’ll level and get something a little better as well as join the army and train. At level 5 (I think it was 5) you can participate in any wars your country is in. Eventually you can vote for political parties and what not as well.

  Personally I’m still pretty newb at this, but looking into the future of the game with user-created political parties, different countries and regions and fluctuating economies it can hold a lot of potential. A key factor that interests me is that the game is based on real-time logic, so those with more time on their hands won’t overrun the game.

  I’d recommend to give it a try for a week or so, see how it plays out. I like the idea of being able to represent my region. Look me up while you’re there, name is Egen.

• Games: No More Heroes

  Date: 2009.01.22 | Posted by Jeff | Category: Gaming | Response: 0

  Right off the bat, this game is SO not a kids game. If anything, No More Heroes might very well be the most violent, mature, sexual explicit game out yet for the Wii. That said, it’s pretty awesome.

  UBI Soft’s No More Heroes’ gameplay is a typical beat ‘em up, but with a very adult-oriented theme. Instead of trying to save a princess, you’re killing other assassins so that you can be number one. That’s it. Along the way, you’re forced to do odd jobs like collect coconuts and mow lawns to earn money so that you can enter the battle against the next ranked assassin. This keeps the game from getting too boring too quick. (Imagine his resume: Travis Touchdown, Assassin and part-time lawn mower)

  The style of this game is strange at first glance as it seems to have a choppy-anime’ish look. After around 15 minutes or so, they seem to smooth out and you realize how incredibly amazing the look of this game really is. The dialoge between characters in the cinematic scenes are fantastic and incredibly witty. However, during the game the taunts get quite repetitive, and could use some fine tuning (even if that just means being removed completely).

  The controls are generally just push the button or hold the button down to attack. You can either attack with punch/kick and wrestling moves (B) or with your bean katana (A). an interesting twist on the controls though is that for wrestling moves you have to move the wiimote and nunchuck in the same direction to do the attack. Also with the beam katana when in a draw, you draw circles to win it. It’s strange, but to be expected for the Nintendo Wii. Overall fairly easy controls to get used to.

  One of the coolest things about this game is that he has a cell phone. Whenever you get a call on his phone, your wiimote vibrates. When you push the button to answer it, the voice (other person on the phone) comes through on the wiimore speaker, not the TV speakers. So you actually have to hold the wiimote up to the side of your head. Strange? Yes. Entertaining? You betcha!

  Though only about 1/3 of the way through the plot, I’m having one problem with this game when it comes to the missions. If a mission is failed, you can not simply ‘retry’, you have to go all the way back to where the mission was picked up, get it again, then go try the mission once more. This is frustrating when it takes you 10 minutes to travel between the two locations. Though the missions are pretty easy for the most part, it would be nice if they didn’t waste my time with the odd one that I mess up on.

  The game is fairly cheap to pick up (Amazon has it for $20) so might be worth adding to your collection. Given that 95% of the games currently out for the Wii are targeted at family/children this is a nice change. I’d recommend it if not just to be able to say you own it, it’s right up there with Conker’s Bad Fur Day for N64.