Thought this article had a very nice point, that I've been trying to put words on myself while playing it. It's short so go ahead and read it, but the summary of it is: the gender of your main character - Shepard - has little to no effect on the actual story and gameplay. There's a general limitation on who you can romance, which is quite realistic since not every person of every gender will throw themselves at you. Other than that your gender is basically never mentioned. In a future where people run around with biotic and tech implants left and right, complex AI's bordering on independent life, and fibers you can weave into your skin to make you sturdier, there's no reason why the gender of your soldiers would matter at all, rather you would want the right minds at the right places. Shepard has the mind of someone who gets shit done at any cost, and who can inspire people to do their best, and so she's a commander.
One can argue about the average boob size or the greatly uncommon and revealing dress of a certain news anchor and the frequency of female "dancers" but absence of male, but these are details. There are many things one can complain about in a game, but then again, there's a lot more one can complain about in reality. All I ever wanted out of games, as a female gamer and as a human being who believe we must abandon prejudice to grow as a species, was to see these minds in female bodies, because I know that they exist in real life already. There are women out there who make real commander Shepards, and while they still suffer from the limitations of their biology, there is no reason why that wouldn't be fixed in the future - why that wouldn't be one of the great things about the future. A world where what you are born as put even fewer limitations on what you can become.
Something that someone showed me recently made me think along these lines: If art and culture are to guide us into the future, if we are to learn morals and values and ascend through the works of Shakespear and Jane Austen, then that should be true of all creative accomplishments. Artwork, movies, and now in modern times, games. So here's to BioWare guiding us into the future, by showing us a possible future where it doesn't matter if you're black or white, girl or boy, a saint or a ruthless bastard. All that matters is that you get shit done, stand up for yourself and what is important to you, and are prepared to sacrifice everything if it comes to that.
Showing posts with label Games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Games. Show all posts
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Amnesia
It's been around for a while, but I haven't talked about it so I will now. I'm gonna recommend Amnesia: The Dark Descent. And if you're not going to play it, or am too much of a wuss like me to play it, I'm going to recommend watching Day9 play it. It's not only very amusing, it's like a crash course in fantastic game design, and fear.
I found it very interesting, on top of getting to "play the game" through him, to see my own reactions together with his and see where they overlapped and stuff. It's obviously very different playing the game and watching someone else do it, but watching it is as much as my nerves can take (I am a huge scardycat in games) and I knew from the earlier games from the company that they are absolutely awesome at what they do - which is to slowly, gently, carefully wrap you in dread and leave you standing in front of a door going "no, fuck this, no, no no I'm not gonna open it, no".
It also struck me that you have to accept the conditions of fear to actually feel fear. It becomes very obvious in a game or movie, because you can go "this is just a game, those are just pixels, I'm not going to care" and kill the whole game, pretty much. It's harder in a game because you're going through the motions, which fools your brain into thinking that it's actually happening more than just watching a movie. And it can still freak you out once or twice, but only because nobody's completely immune to surprise. However, most of the game builds of dread, and dread only works if you play along with the conditions. I am scared as fuck in games because I can be scared as fuck in games, it's okay. In real life a little fear is a good way to protect yourself, but being scared out of your mind is mostly detrimental to the effort, so I try to cast off the conditions as best I can. Neither of those two are chosen; it's just how my brain has decided it should be, so I can't play scary games and I dismiss most real life fear within seconds - the more abstract the harder to dismiss. I'm trying to figure out exactly what the conditions are; it's clearly something about wanting a certain outcome, like survival, and being only partially or only under the illusion of control of the situation, yet not leaving it completely to chance, and that there must be a chance of success however small.
Anyway enough rambling. If you're going to ignore both recommendations, go look up a "best moments of day9 playing Amnesia" on youtube or something because it's really too good to miss.
I found it very interesting, on top of getting to "play the game" through him, to see my own reactions together with his and see where they overlapped and stuff. It's obviously very different playing the game and watching someone else do it, but watching it is as much as my nerves can take (I am a huge scardycat in games) and I knew from the earlier games from the company that they are absolutely awesome at what they do - which is to slowly, gently, carefully wrap you in dread and leave you standing in front of a door going "no, fuck this, no, no no I'm not gonna open it, no".
It also struck me that you have to accept the conditions of fear to actually feel fear. It becomes very obvious in a game or movie, because you can go "this is just a game, those are just pixels, I'm not going to care" and kill the whole game, pretty much. It's harder in a game because you're going through the motions, which fools your brain into thinking that it's actually happening more than just watching a movie. And it can still freak you out once or twice, but only because nobody's completely immune to surprise. However, most of the game builds of dread, and dread only works if you play along with the conditions. I am scared as fuck in games because I can be scared as fuck in games, it's okay. In real life a little fear is a good way to protect yourself, but being scared out of your mind is mostly detrimental to the effort, so I try to cast off the conditions as best I can. Neither of those two are chosen; it's just how my brain has decided it should be, so I can't play scary games and I dismiss most real life fear within seconds - the more abstract the harder to dismiss. I'm trying to figure out exactly what the conditions are; it's clearly something about wanting a certain outcome, like survival, and being only partially or only under the illusion of control of the situation, yet not leaving it completely to chance, and that there must be a chance of success however small.
Anyway enough rambling. If you're going to ignore both recommendations, go look up a "best moments of day9 playing Amnesia" on youtube or something because it's really too good to miss.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Conscience
Buying The Witcher 2 from www.gog.com gives pretty much the full amount paid directly to the creators of the game, as far as I've understood. It's 49.99€ for the digital download, where some shit like maps and making-of videos come included. Bear with me, this isn't a commercial, nor a review. It's gotten pretty decent reviews, packs quite a long playtime in a well thought-out world, and comes from the company that made the first The Witcher. They were a fairly unknown Polish group, who produced one of the best RPG's of its time. GoG also recognizes that because of laws and taxes and all that funky stuff, the European digital download costs 16$ more than the US, so they give you games from their store to the same value. The Witcher team also makes a point of trusting their players, choosing to believe that if their product is good it will stand for itself: The Witcher 2, like the first, comes without any DRM. No, this is not a request for them to have my babies.
So what is it? It's a question: If I hypothetically said that I know a site that is 100% reliable and legal but possibly much less ethical (in how they acquire what they sell, but I don't know, I don't know if anyone knows), that sells The Witcher 2 for a little more than 16€, but where it's very doubtful if the developers get very much, if anything at all... how is that different from torrenting it for free? Because it feels different. If this was any other game I would probably buy it cheap, but why? Have they successfully guilt-tripped me into buying their game from being too nice? I'm extremely curious how the game sales are. Is the DRM-free way the way to go to win the war against pirating, not because you defeat the hackers, but because you win the players hearts and loyalty? Or is it the eyes full of hope of a catholic sheep on its way into the wolf's den?
Does a product that is good ever stand on its own?
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Classic Fantasy Puzzle Adventure RPG
So far my new shiny Nintendo DS Lite has done what all good game systems with good games should do: keep me from doing what I should be doing. Nintendo have almost equal respect in my eyes as Disney, in both cases strongly affected by their modern developments (*cough* Wii), and my inability to look past the classy piano black exterior of the competing power machine from the land of the Rising Sun. Despite this the DS sports a fancy number of decent games and if I am to say from the games I've tried so far, the royal family of these are well worth the money. If it's worth failing my courses, we'll find out in just a week or so.
As for the title that gave a title to this post, Might & Magic - Clash of Heroes, it kept me occupied today until my batteries ran out. Among the many games I've just tested for fifteen minutes or so, those I most vigorously wasted away time on were Professor Layton, Final Fantasy 3, Shin Megami Tensei and Picross DS, all of which positively surprised me in different ways. Most surprised probably with Shin Megami Tensei's story that seems awesome for now at least, and most positively with FF3 which has nice updated graphics but kept the style and feeling of the original very well. I've tried The World Ends With You before on a friend's and know that I'll probably want that too. And KH 356/2 has pretty decent reviews actually so I might try it, same friend has that too. And... yeah. I suddenly need a week or three. Dear ___ what I want for my birthday is some time outside of time so I can play all these games...
As for the title that gave a title to this post, Might & Magic - Clash of Heroes, it kept me occupied today until my batteries ran out. Among the many games I've just tested for fifteen minutes or so, those I most vigorously wasted away time on were Professor Layton, Final Fantasy 3, Shin Megami Tensei and Picross DS, all of which positively surprised me in different ways. Most surprised probably with Shin Megami Tensei's story that seems awesome for now at least, and most positively with FF3 which has nice updated graphics but kept the style and feeling of the original very well. I've tried The World Ends With You before on a friend's and know that I'll probably want that too. And KH 356/2 has pretty decent reviews actually so I might try it, same friend has that too. And... yeah. I suddenly need a week or three. Dear ___ what I want for my birthday is some time outside of time so I can play all these games...
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Dragon Age 2
38 hours over three days later, I was done with my first playthrough of Dragon Age 2 and could begin on the two other necessary to explore how much freedom of choice you actually have and how much is set in stone with the illusion of choice. My impression is that it's a very well thought-out game with an engaging story and very fun game mechanics. If a little... overzealous at times.
There are a few questions. With the perceived size of the city, where the hell do they get the one hundred raiders and bandits and hunters and thieves that your group murders every night? Admittedly only a dozen nights every three years, but still. Considering the Blight, the common conflicts, and supposedly the victims of these raiders and bandits and hunters and thieves, one wonders just how large a population would be necessary to sustain them, and to breed new ones quickly enough to sate the next three years. And the same can be said of mages, somehow. There are very many mages. So many I'm wondering why they don't prance off and claim a little country of their own instead. Oh yeah, maybe because if they're all as crazy as the ones you get joining you, they'd be gnawing each others toes off within a year. No but seriously, in a normal encounter the game would throw around twenty people at you, ten of which are only there as cannon fodder, but usually there's even more. Fun maybe, but... where the hell do they all come from? And why do they keep running at you after fifteen of their sturdier friends have already tried and died?
But overall the story is good, and have successfully made its point; humans are complicated, dirty, easily breakable things that are right in many things and wrong in others, unfortunately about different things so they insist on fighting over everything.
I do miss the dialogue of the first DA, because this is Mass Effect style and a little too short-hand; I feel more like I'm playing 1-X-2 than having a conversation. Also the elves look like tiny non-blue Avatars. Do they have bones in those skinny little bodies, or just twigs? There are talents that are so obviously, incredibly much better than others that you wonder why you'd ever use a different build. The Exiled Prince DLC gives you another friend that isn't mind-numbingly crazy, contributes to a more complex choice of combat tactics, and that I'd rather have had in the base game. If you set your mind to it, every melee boss can be soloed by ranged characters running about, because melee can't hit and move at the same time and have three-second hit-animations, which feels a little silly when a dwarf with a crossbow run around a pole for fifteen minutes killing a dragon bolt-by-bolt. Or when a mage has an "honorable" duel with a badass warrior by pewing him with his staff, then running away, then pewing him again, (because sensible spells have too long cast animation) in front of an awed public. And again the Spirit Healer rocks the boots off of everything else, but that doesn't make a huge difference since it's kinda satisfyingly easy on normal, and equally fun playing all classes.
There have been laughs, but no tears, which sufficiently illustrates my level of involvement. Specifically two peak quotes that I was going to share but realized they're much better if you hear them in context, so: do Avaline's personal quests, and bring Isabela and Fenris at the same time in your party for a while. I know, Isabela is kinda useless gameplay-wise. But you shall not be dissappointed.
Wow this post is beautifully structured! Look at it! Wicked sick! I'm awesome. (Viewer satisfaction not guaranteed; depending on your screen resolution.)
There are a few questions. With the perceived size of the city, where the hell do they get the one hundred raiders and bandits and hunters and thieves that your group murders every night? Admittedly only a dozen nights every three years, but still. Considering the Blight, the common conflicts, and supposedly the victims of these raiders and bandits and hunters and thieves, one wonders just how large a population would be necessary to sustain them, and to breed new ones quickly enough to sate the next three years. And the same can be said of mages, somehow. There are very many mages. So many I'm wondering why they don't prance off and claim a little country of their own instead. Oh yeah, maybe because if they're all as crazy as the ones you get joining you, they'd be gnawing each others toes off within a year. No but seriously, in a normal encounter the game would throw around twenty people at you, ten of which are only there as cannon fodder, but usually there's even more. Fun maybe, but... where the hell do they all come from? And why do they keep running at you after fifteen of their sturdier friends have already tried and died?
But overall the story is good, and have successfully made its point; humans are complicated, dirty, easily breakable things that are right in many things and wrong in others, unfortunately about different things so they insist on fighting over everything.
I do miss the dialogue of the first DA, because this is Mass Effect style and a little too short-hand; I feel more like I'm playing 1-X-2 than having a conversation. Also the elves look like tiny non-blue Avatars. Do they have bones in those skinny little bodies, or just twigs? There are talents that are so obviously, incredibly much better than others that you wonder why you'd ever use a different build. The Exiled Prince DLC gives you another friend that isn't mind-numbingly crazy, contributes to a more complex choice of combat tactics, and that I'd rather have had in the base game. If you set your mind to it, every melee boss can be soloed by ranged characters running about, because melee can't hit and move at the same time and have three-second hit-animations, which feels a little silly when a dwarf with a crossbow run around a pole for fifteen minutes killing a dragon bolt-by-bolt. Or when a mage has an "honorable" duel with a badass warrior by pewing him with his staff, then running away, then pewing him again, (because sensible spells have too long cast animation) in front of an awed public. And again the Spirit Healer rocks the boots off of everything else, but that doesn't make a huge difference since it's kinda satisfyingly easy on normal, and equally fun playing all classes.
There have been laughs, but no tears, which sufficiently illustrates my level of involvement. Specifically two peak quotes that I was going to share but realized they're much better if you hear them in context, so: do Avaline's personal quests, and bring Isabela and Fenris at the same time in your party for a while. I know, Isabela is kinda useless gameplay-wise. But you shall not be dissappointed.
Wow this post is beautifully structured! Look at it! Wicked sick! I'm awesome. (Viewer satisfaction not guaranteed; depending on your screen resolution.)
Saturday, March 12, 2011
BAAI
Pull out your binoculars and settle down with a bowl of chips because I'm about to backlink to myself: here. In that post, that's like a month old (gimme a "whoaaaa") I looked for a couple of things in videogames; dark, broody guys in leather, sensible women, coolness... well it seems Dragon Age 2 read my mind (more like the developers I guess, kinda freaky if the game read my mind). I've gotten pretty much exactly what I whined for, which is kinda lulz. And also explains if I disappear from the world for a couple of days. So bai.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Where my money goes
The big titles of this (half of the?) year:
The Witcher 2
Dragon Age 2
Killzone 3
Sequels all of them...
Then some other stuff...
The Last Guardian - except who knows if it actually exists or if wild gnomes stole and ate it.
Ratchet & Clank A Crack in Time - that I've wanted forever but for some reason never buy.
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep - that I want but don't really want to play :p it seems annoying but the story is fun.
Valkyra Chronicles - the new one on PSP that I'm holding off until I've finished the PS3 one... and you know how good I am at finishing games...
And of course... the next Final Fantasy... yes it's basically only for nostalgic, loyal reasons... and character design...
Big lack of mmm guys in all the games I play lately. Not just visually; character wise. I'm trying to think of a cool guy and it's really really sad that the only I can come up with is Ezreal or Kassadin, although landing Ez would probably also land me in jail since he looks about... fourteen. Kassa is just cool. This includes The Witcher, League of Legends, (Killing Floor, lol), Starcraft... I really need a new Squall. People underestimated FF8, methinks, and the sublime depths of his mind woooo. Also fur-lined leather. Yes, gimme a well-dressed man, damnit! How hard can it be! To those who thought Isaac looked like a toaster in Dead Space: No, he looked cool, but now he certainly looks like a toaster in DS2. Also they've done a character of him in Dragon Age 2 that you get if you buy DS2, and he looks so damned awesomely fun(ny) that I consider buying DS2 just for that :D No I don't know why I thought of Isaac... oh yes, because thinking about well-dressed men always makes me think of speedway drivers, and the suit has sort of the shape of a speedway driver suit except for the helmet and the spine thingy.
Hey! I just realized Darksiders don't have any pretty boys I can chase, which means it's even more praiseworthy because my love for it isn't based on some female hormone running rampage. Not a lot of female hormones overall in that game, it made *me* feel like the manliest most badass dude on the planet - awesome! ^^ Also the horse rocks. Hold on wait... are there women in that game? I can't recall a single one. No boobs? Can an awesome game exist without boobs? Ahh no right the freaky scary fanatic angel woman. She has boobs. But she utterly freaks me out so... now I'm trying to think of what kind of guy would actually get the hots for her and... disturbing thought. I don't think she's a booth-babe, besides when you meet her you're usually too busy keeping her sword out of your spine to think about boobs. That's how women should be! ;D Hmmm... not a single cheap flirting line or women-degrading quest or anything. That might just add to the awesomeness and general manliness of the game actually.
Geralt, you're nice and all (not really) but I really have no idea what women see in you. Also the women you score are either whores or bitches, so I guess you get the fish you bait for. Tip: if you look for game portraits of actual cool, hawt women, don't play the Witcher lol. My cat is more complex than the women in that game, and I don't have a cat. If this is how women are, no wonder I'm game-straight. (I'm making an exception for Lightning, but then again everyone knows she's a female Cloud.)
Woohoo this post got longer and longer and longer and longer... It also is really only relevant to myself heh. I would add pictures just to make it longer but I can't be bothered. Google it! Or don't! Google eats your brain!
The Witcher 2
Dragon Age 2
Killzone 3
Sequels all of them...
Then some other stuff...
The Last Guardian - except who knows if it actually exists or if wild gnomes stole and ate it.
Ratchet & Clank A Crack in Time - that I've wanted forever but for some reason never buy.
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep - that I want but don't really want to play :p it seems annoying but the story is fun.
Valkyra Chronicles - the new one on PSP that I'm holding off until I've finished the PS3 one... and you know how good I am at finishing games...
And of course... the next Final Fantasy... yes it's basically only for nostalgic, loyal reasons... and character design...
Big lack of mmm guys in all the games I play lately. Not just visually; character wise. I'm trying to think of a cool guy and it's really really sad that the only I can come up with is Ezreal or Kassadin, although landing Ez would probably also land me in jail since he looks about... fourteen. Kassa is just cool. This includes The Witcher, League of Legends, (Killing Floor, lol), Starcraft... I really need a new Squall. People underestimated FF8, methinks, and the sublime depths of his mind woooo. Also fur-lined leather. Yes, gimme a well-dressed man, damnit! How hard can it be! To those who thought Isaac looked like a toaster in Dead Space: No, he looked cool, but now he certainly looks like a toaster in DS2. Also they've done a character of him in Dragon Age 2 that you get if you buy DS2, and he looks so damned awesomely fun(ny) that I consider buying DS2 just for that :D No I don't know why I thought of Isaac... oh yes, because thinking about well-dressed men always makes me think of speedway drivers, and the suit has sort of the shape of a speedway driver suit except for the helmet and the spine thingy.
Hey! I just realized Darksiders don't have any pretty boys I can chase, which means it's even more praiseworthy because my love for it isn't based on some female hormone running rampage. Not a lot of female hormones overall in that game, it made *me* feel like the manliest most badass dude on the planet - awesome! ^^ Also the horse rocks. Hold on wait... are there women in that game? I can't recall a single one. No boobs? Can an awesome game exist without boobs? Ahh no right the freaky scary fanatic angel woman. She has boobs. But she utterly freaks me out so... now I'm trying to think of what kind of guy would actually get the hots for her and... disturbing thought. I don't think she's a booth-babe, besides when you meet her you're usually too busy keeping her sword out of your spine to think about boobs. That's how women should be! ;D Hmmm... not a single cheap flirting line or women-degrading quest or anything. That might just add to the awesomeness and general manliness of the game actually.
Geralt, you're nice and all (not really) but I really have no idea what women see in you. Also the women you score are either whores or bitches, so I guess you get the fish you bait for. Tip: if you look for game portraits of actual cool, hawt women, don't play the Witcher lol. My cat is more complex than the women in that game, and I don't have a cat. If this is how women are, no wonder I'm game-straight. (I'm making an exception for Lightning, but then again everyone knows she's a female Cloud.)
Woohoo this post got longer and longer and longer and longer... It also is really only relevant to myself heh. I would add pictures just to make it longer but I can't be bothered. Google it! Or don't! Google eats your brain!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
2 minutes
We'd just watched my brother almost get his knee kicked off in his first hockey game of the season (luckily the idiot hit his thigh instead and left him limping for two days but otherwise fine), and in the car on the way home I tried to explain League of Legends to my mother by comparing it to hockey. I realized why they call it e-sports, because it's very much exactly like any sport except digital. My mother didn't realize much at all, aside from that there was some kind of game I liked that ended with small colorful figures killing each other. I swear I made a valiant effort. It makes me a little sad that the things I care about are so far away from my parents. My brother can always talk hockey with my parents, with anyone really. And for the love of... why is is more violent to have small colorful figures killing each other on-screen, than kicking people's knees off with skates in front of an audience in the real world?
Although I suppose, what's the point with it always being violence and death? A game could be just as exciting, and as much of a challenge, with different graphics... right? But LoL doesn't even have blood... people could just as well be fainting as dying, who knows. Except some creepy voice announces someone has been slain when they... uh... faint... >.>
Although I suppose, what's the point with it always being violence and death? A game could be just as exciting, and as much of a challenge, with different graphics... right? But LoL doesn't even have blood... people could just as well be fainting as dying, who knows. Except some creepy voice announces someone has been slain when they... uh... faint... >.>
Monday, June 28, 2010
Electronic desires
I kinda miss playing WoW. It's this sneaky addiction that comes back after six months, every time. A sudden urge to let a pile of pixels hit another pile of pixels in predictable ways for a few hours. Strange. I also miss LoL, mostly because I felt I was getting somewhat good at it and I don't really have a substitute for that kind of gratification. Then I miss, lo and behold, my Razer keyboard. Old, fat HP and Logitech ones, and tiny laptop ones, can only satisfy my gamer fingertips for so long. Finally and conclusively, I miss my Playstation 3. For a myriad of reasons, but once again mostly for the feel of a Playstation controller in my hands, the weight, the perfect fit. The closest I get here is an XBox360, and as everyone knows, that's like replacing your girlfriend with a blow-up doll...
I could make variations of that joke all day. "So that's why all the jocks have one." "For those who are too cheap to get the real thing." "I guess that's fine if all you want is to pump and cross the finish line." "Be sure the batteries will run out just when you're getting comfortable."
Join the fray, it's make-fun-of-xbox-day!
I could make variations of that joke all day. "So that's why all the jocks have one." "For those who are too cheap to get the real thing." "I guess that's fine if all you want is to pump and cross the finish line." "Be sure the batteries will run out just when you're getting comfortable."
Join the fray, it's make-fun-of-xbox-day!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Dreamhack
Dreamhack på SVT, t.ex finaler i HoN (med en hel del StarCraft 2 snack). Känns lite konstigt att se på mainstream tv... this is the future, huh? En dag kommer SC2 ha samma tv-space som basket och handboll? För ögonblicket känns det alltid lite awkward, typ, de vet inte alltid vad de pratar om, folk som intervjuas vet inte hur mycket jargong de kan använda...
De varnar för våldsamma scener inför HoN matcherna dock, lol? O.o
De varnar för våldsamma scener inför HoN matcherna dock, lol? O.o
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Value of a Good Story
I just finished inFamous and... wow.
Wow.
I did not see that coming.
I mean... yeah.
And... well, I suppose...
but...
Wow.
Wow.
I did not see that coming.
I mean... yeah.
And... well, I suppose...
but...
Wow.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Dissidia - does that mean anything btw?
The new PSP game Dissidia: Final Fantasy from Square-Enix is something as awkward as a Square-Enix fighting game starring characters from Final Fantasy, the key word in awkward being fighting game. Considering that Enix is a pure rpg company and the first thing that comes to mind in terms of fighting and Square is The Bouncer and Ehrgeiz, hardly any technical knockouts, I looked at this game as pure marketing fluff that might amuse FF fans but mostly just abuse the fame.
However, now it's been released in Japan and the US, and it's getting pretty decent reveiws. Especially as a fighting game with an actual story (can always rely on Square for that) no matter how haphazard one would expect a game combining twelve different sets of characters would be stitched together. It also appears Square has learned from more action oriented games such as Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core and the fighting is both easy to pick up and with some depth for those who like to learn timing and supercombos. I also get the impression the fighting is very intense, with a lot of things happening at once. I'm hoping for battles in the spirit of the Sephiroth battle in Kingdom Hearts II; fast, difficult, all over the place, but quite obviously within reach of victory with a little bit of effort and skill, and of course with the burning determination to beat the bastard dead.
The final word remains to be said; the game is released Sept 4 in Europe, and I will return then with the verdict. Do expect that I might be a bit more inclined to hail it to the skies then; having Cloud visibly present does tend to put me in a very agreeable mood.
However, now it's been released in Japan and the US, and it's getting pretty decent reveiws. Especially as a fighting game with an actual story (can always rely on Square for that) no matter how haphazard one would expect a game combining twelve different sets of characters would be stitched together. It also appears Square has learned from more action oriented games such as Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core and the fighting is both easy to pick up and with some depth for those who like to learn timing and supercombos. I also get the impression the fighting is very intense, with a lot of things happening at once. I'm hoping for battles in the spirit of the Sephiroth battle in Kingdom Hearts II; fast, difficult, all over the place, but quite obviously within reach of victory with a little bit of effort and skill, and of course with the burning determination to beat the bastard dead.
The final word remains to be said; the game is released Sept 4 in Europe, and I will return then with the verdict. Do expect that I might be a bit more inclined to hail it to the skies then; having Cloud visibly present does tend to put me in a very agreeable mood.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Mini-Games Recommendation
Some of you might remember that little strategy game I played over Midsummer, with win95 graphics, capturing land to build bigger guys to murder the little guys. It's called Slay, and I found the page containing it and some other awesome games concerned more with gameplay than graphics made by the same guy. Seeing as I could easily imagine paying $5 for Slay, I bought the pack of 13 games for $30. But there's also demos of all of them, including the Slay one I played all Midsummer. Here's the link:
I've tried Rats before and it's hilarious and awesome. I'll try the others now and let you know, but I think with names like Football-o-saurus and Mother of All Battles, it's rather promising :) These are great for filling those twenty minutes before catching the bus, or waiting for food to be cooked, or for those not quite as serious as to put down three hours a day on WoW :P Easy, fun and demanding absolutely nothing from your computer other than that it possesses a screen, mouse and keyboard. So enjoy!
I've tried Rats before and it's hilarious and awesome. I'll try the others now and let you know, but I think with names like Football-o-saurus and Mother of All Battles, it's rather promising :) These are great for filling those twenty minutes before catching the bus, or waiting for food to be cooked, or for those not quite as serious as to put down three hours a day on WoW :P Easy, fun and demanding absolutely nothing from your computer other than that it possesses a screen, mouse and keyboard. So enjoy!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Kick me
I went back to my parents' place for summer thinking it could be a new beginning of sorts. I haven't been writing much. Since I decided to take school seriously enough to not fail the courses, and began playing Left4Dead with not just the intention of having fun but also to become good at it, alongside trying to keep up with cooking, cleaning and general chores, my days filled up rather well. On top of that trying to be social once in a while, and for intellectual golden stars reading books at open moments like when visiting the bathroom. And then accidentally stumbling upon an excellent PSP game called Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness did not help. Do I have too high expectations on what to manage day-to-day?
Okay, so going home was going to give me a new start. Away from Left4Dead, and not having to do all those chores anymore, as well as having a valid reason for being very unsocial, left me with no pressure and a perfect opportunity. What did I do with that opportunity? I started playing WoW.
Cue ironic laughter.
I bet Shakespeare didn't have to deal with those distractions. I'm willing to sacrifice a lot for a writing career. Money, time, cooked food, social life, even love life. But apparently, my gaming needs tops all of that. And behind all this I can't help but feel that I'm stalling. I'm making all these excuses to not write. "I should cook more seriously." "I haven't visited my friends in a while." "I have time to play one more round." "I should be outside to get a tan."
Writing used to be the core of my life, the time when I felt best about myself. It didn't change. Did I make it change? Did I fall into the trap of leading a "normal" life and lose that magical link to the other worlds? No. Not yet in any case. But I need to stop. I need to leave this "normal" crap. I need to sit down and write, no excuses. Because in the end I think I'd rather die poor and alone, then never channel these worlds where they won't die with me.
One thing I know for sure; I can't have both. Maybe it's time to make a priority list and stick to it.
Okay, so going home was going to give me a new start. Away from Left4Dead, and not having to do all those chores anymore, as well as having a valid reason for being very unsocial, left me with no pressure and a perfect opportunity. What did I do with that opportunity? I started playing WoW.
Cue ironic laughter.
I bet Shakespeare didn't have to deal with those distractions. I'm willing to sacrifice a lot for a writing career. Money, time, cooked food, social life, even love life. But apparently, my gaming needs tops all of that. And behind all this I can't help but feel that I'm stalling. I'm making all these excuses to not write. "I should cook more seriously." "I haven't visited my friends in a while." "I have time to play one more round." "I should be outside to get a tan."
Writing used to be the core of my life, the time when I felt best about myself. It didn't change. Did I make it change? Did I fall into the trap of leading a "normal" life and lose that magical link to the other worlds? No. Not yet in any case. But I need to stop. I need to leave this "normal" crap. I need to sit down and write, no excuses. Because in the end I think I'd rather die poor and alone, then never channel these worlds where they won't die with me.
One thing I know for sure; I can't have both. Maybe it's time to make a priority list and stick to it.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
News and Previews
Dunno what this is, or where it came from, but if someone does make a game from it, I think I'd like it.
Also, another thing to distract me from studying; BlankIt (a webcomic). Great art and not too much text, so quick to read and fun. And not that I'm a pedantic browser of the gigantic webcomic world, but I haven't really seen anything like it this far. And have you noticed that reading the comments for webcomics are as fun (and somethimes more fun) than reading the comic in itself? Not this one though. Despite the infinite lolness of internet voyeurs, the comic does manage to one-up it most of the time.
Also, another thing to distract me from studying; BlankIt (a webcomic). Great art and not too much text, so quick to read and fun. And not that I'm a pedantic browser of the gigantic webcomic world, but I haven't really seen anything like it this far. And have you noticed that reading the comments for webcomics are as fun (and somethimes more fun) than reading the comic in itself? Not this one though. Despite the infinite lolness of internet voyeurs, the comic does manage to one-up it most of the time.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Update xxyy
Been a while, huh. My life lately has been food, Team Fortress 2 and the fascinating Left4Dead. I seem to have forgotten this blog, which is odd, don't think I've ever done that before.
Today is sunny sunny. I'll try for a tan this year, but I say that every year. Sunbathing is so very very boring, and the sun is so very very warm and uncomfortable. It's the same with the sun as with relationships, alcohol and a lot of other things. I don't actually like it or want it, but some part of me that belongs to the great hive-mind of humanity does want it and like it because it thinks it's supposed to. So there's some kind of drive to go after it, although I know I'll be disappointed.
I'm dieting. Bad stuff. I'll go through with it because I've said I would go through with it, and once I've done that, no matter if I lost any weight or not, I'll have a huge bag of chips. What dieting is good for, however, is erasing any shard of guilt or shame for shoving candy down my throat, because being without it has me realizing that yes, it is worth it.
But I'll try making diet-ok orange mousse tomorrow, and maybe that'll put a stop to my unproportionate cravings for Euroshopper chips.
Today is sunny sunny. I'll try for a tan this year, but I say that every year. Sunbathing is so very very boring, and the sun is so very very warm and uncomfortable. It's the same with the sun as with relationships, alcohol and a lot of other things. I don't actually like it or want it, but some part of me that belongs to the great hive-mind of humanity does want it and like it because it thinks it's supposed to. So there's some kind of drive to go after it, although I know I'll be disappointed.
I'm dieting. Bad stuff. I'll go through with it because I've said I would go through with it, and once I've done that, no matter if I lost any weight or not, I'll have a huge bag of chips. What dieting is good for, however, is erasing any shard of guilt or shame for shoving candy down my throat, because being without it has me realizing that yes, it is worth it.
But I'll try making diet-ok orange mousse tomorrow, and maybe that'll put a stop to my unproportionate cravings for Euroshopper chips.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Shun, I summon you!
You can now get your Spore Creatures as figurines, and however silly and however disappointing that game was, I feel a slight tug at my heart at the thought of getting a tiny Shun to guard my desktop.I wonder what having a figurine done costs, generally? Wouldn't it be awesome to make the roleplaying characters one has played for a while? Or make them before starting, so they can be used as "tabletops" for those annoying situations where it matters if you stand to the right or the left of the shooter. If I was filthy rich, this is one of those ridiculous, environmental-destroying things I would do, I imagine.
I also read an interview with a scientist, who, shockingly, unveiled that scientists do not believe Spore to be very scientifically correct, while on the other hand horribly fundamental catholics have been known to protest against it (not to be confused with the impressive amount of intelligent fundamental catholics who don't believe a stupid, fluffy game to be insult enough to their religion to raise their voices). What surprised me, however, was how the interview revealed that EA actually had made claims before its realease with hopes that it would be a "tool among the scientific community". What? The lady scientist said that the prototypes that had been released earlier were much more likely to ever be used in a serious setting.
So like many, many others, I wonder; what the hell happened to this game? Halfway towards a groundbreaking, mindblowing game about evolution, about the very cornerstones of intelligent life, Maxis suddenly decided, screw this, let's make this based on five-year-olds, yet illogical and boring enough to make sure no five-year-olds ever play it. The question on everybody's lips is (or were, when they released it, I'm just slow) when did they turn into Microsoft?
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Worldly comments
In other news: North Korea has agreed to allow nuclear inspections, which means the US no longer automatically considers them terrorists. Yay.
In less globaly and politically relevant news: Swedish Idol for the first time sports a participant of Asian descent who can. actually. sing. Wow. I was just starting to wonder if Asians were too smart and stuck up to sing.
Gaming comments: I've been playing a lot of different PSP games lately. FF:Crisis Core is, of course, a favorite and, thankfully, everything but a disappointment. But I actually want to bring some attention to a game I did not expect to enjoy; The Godfather. I mean, what could have been another horrible transportation from movie to handheld game turned out not only keeping the original's manlyness and tone, but also having excellent gameplay and lots of value. Tumbs up for EA.
In less globaly and politically relevant news: Swedish Idol for the first time sports a participant of Asian descent who can. actually. sing. Wow. I was just starting to wonder if Asians were too smart and stuck up to sing.
Gaming comments: I've been playing a lot of different PSP games lately. FF:Crisis Core is, of course, a favorite and, thankfully, everything but a disappointment. But I actually want to bring some attention to a game I did not expect to enjoy; The Godfather. I mean, what could have been another horrible transportation from movie to handheld game turned out not only keeping the original's manlyness and tone, but also having excellent gameplay and lots of value. Tumbs up for EA.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Update at the End of Things
Hope all of you had a good time Thursday-Friday celebrating your new freedom. For some it won't last long, for others longer than they wished.
My brother finished 9th grade. Dunno when all this growing up happened, I sure wasn't there to see it. But it's only fair, I guess. When I turned 20 was the first birthday I actually felt a difference; it felt like I was an adult now, like I was only pretending before. Bro had his first taste of it now, I think, realizing things like that the future is a scary place, that progress is both good and bad, and that just when you start to really get to know people it's time to break up. I think he'll be okay. And he looked smashing in new jeans and a striped shirt. Been ages since I saw him in a shirt.
As for me, I won't have a job this summer. I can only pray I get into school, because I have no second choice. Otherwise my life will be pretty empty, and I can't take sitting by the sidelines another year. It already feels like the world, and the people in it, is moving along without me. This summer, however, will be pretty full anyway. I have some projects I want to finish up before getting busy with important things. Stuff like two novels and a few short stories to polish off, some drawings and illustrations, losing those three kilos I gained this winter, doing Math C unofficially just for the heck of it since I have the book, and so on. And I need to make some time for friends too. I dunno what everyone fill their summers with, but this is good enough for me.
Oh, and for those with free time and a computer; play The Witcher. Wonderful rpg, without the silly "good or evil" choices, but with choices that actually make a difference without being too obvious. I've torn my hair more than once wondering who to assume is the bad guy. And combat can be everything from a pushover to a real challenge, since there are three difficulty levels to choose from.
Tan carefully, buddies!
My brother finished 9th grade. Dunno when all this growing up happened, I sure wasn't there to see it. But it's only fair, I guess. When I turned 20 was the first birthday I actually felt a difference; it felt like I was an adult now, like I was only pretending before. Bro had his first taste of it now, I think, realizing things like that the future is a scary place, that progress is both good and bad, and that just when you start to really get to know people it's time to break up. I think he'll be okay. And he looked smashing in new jeans and a striped shirt. Been ages since I saw him in a shirt.
As for me, I won't have a job this summer. I can only pray I get into school, because I have no second choice. Otherwise my life will be pretty empty, and I can't take sitting by the sidelines another year. It already feels like the world, and the people in it, is moving along without me. This summer, however, will be pretty full anyway. I have some projects I want to finish up before getting busy with important things. Stuff like two novels and a few short stories to polish off, some drawings and illustrations, losing those three kilos I gained this winter, doing Math C unofficially just for the heck of it since I have the book, and so on. And I need to make some time for friends too. I dunno what everyone fill their summers with, but this is good enough for me.
Oh, and for those with free time and a computer; play The Witcher. Wonderful rpg, without the silly "good or evil" choices, but with choices that actually make a difference without being too obvious. I've torn my hair more than once wondering who to assume is the bad guy. And combat can be everything from a pushover to a real challenge, since there are three difficulty levels to choose from.
Tan carefully, buddies!
Friday, November 16, 2007
Nerdy Gerdy
Since I can now surf somewhat fluidly, I started out looking for a first-person shooter. I found F.E.A.R. and the recommended system said: please have 3.0 GHz. I thought: crap. But. Gamespot was nice and provided a online service that checks what your computer can manage, and judge my surprise when it states that my AMD can manage stuff up to 3.2 GHz!! When did that happen?! Not that I complain. ^^ *happehness* It did complain about that my graphix don't do DirectX 9.0c, so I looked for cards that do. Three hours, loads of googling and reviewreading later, I have this:
Wishlist:
Graphix: Radeon X1600 Pro
Monitor (LCD): Mirai DML-419W210
or: Acer AL1916WCS
Sound: Trust Sound Expert Optical
And I should find a better mouse, but I'll do that tomorrow.
Learned today:
Which Radeon you Want To Own.
The Meaning Of All GC Endings, eg. Pro, SE, Hypermemory, sosf.
Difference between LCD and CRT monitors (okay, so I already knew that, but not the details).
Now meanwhile I've busied myself writing this (as much for my own memory as your information), I've burned all burnable stuff on my com so that I have some free space. Puh. Let's go to bed.
Wishlist:
Graphix: Radeon X1600 Pro
Monitor (LCD): Mirai DML-419W210
or: Acer AL1916WCS
Sound: Trust Sound Expert Optical
And I should find a better mouse, but I'll do that tomorrow.
Learned today:
Which Radeon you Want To Own.
The Meaning Of All GC Endings, eg. Pro, SE, Hypermemory, sosf.
Difference between LCD and CRT monitors (okay, so I already knew that, but not the details).
Difference between VGA and DVI monitors, why DVI is better, and the stupid extras like DVI-I.
Meaning of Hardware T&L (Transform and Lighting).
Use of S-Video, HDMI, TV-Out and why LCD tv's are easier to connect to a computer.
Why ATI kicks NVidia butt on my computer (because I have AMD processor, which btw kicks Intel butt).
And I am so going to be corrected x 1000 now, because I'm probably wrong about everything. But I've proven that: Learning is fun! And Answers.com rulez.Meaning of Hardware T&L (Transform and Lighting).
Use of S-Video, HDMI, TV-Out and why LCD tv's are easier to connect to a computer.
Why ATI kicks NVidia butt on my computer (because I have AMD processor, which btw kicks Intel butt).
Now meanwhile I've busied myself writing this (as much for my own memory as your information), I've burned all burnable stuff on my com so that I have some free space. Puh. Let's go to bed.
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