Nuclear fallout for the win!

Late last night (or early this morning), I finished the single-player campaign of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow Of Chernobyl. Immediately after the credits rolled, I started playing it again. Yeah, it's good :) Most of the reviews of it that I've read are pretty spot-on with their assessments; that the graphics are about on-par with Half-Life 2, the gameplay is most similar to Oblivion, and it's full of bugs. The graphics are indeed a little dated, but still look quite nice (especially with dynamic lighting enabled); the gameplay is more of an action-oriented FPS-with-RPG-elements than Oblivion's RPG-with-FPS-elements, but the similarities (mission structure, resource management, exploration) are undeniable; the bugs though... Oh man. While I didn't run-into any real show-stoppers, the ones I did see were glaringly bad. Everything from bodies disappearing before they hit the ground to infinite armour, the glitches were ever-present. They didn't, however, detract too much from the overall experience. The other common thread throughout the major reviews is their praise of the game's atmosphere; this game is immersive like few others, and so the bugs are ultimately excusable. Vast (though not as open as Oblivion's) landscapes and buildings to explore, plenty of side-missions to complete (or ignore), in-game politics to consider, a good variety of weapons and enemies, and an interesting (albeit somewhat perplexing) story with (I've heard) seven potential endings make for a particuarly good game.

I have only a few real gripes about the game, and they won't even affect most players anyway. First, as pretty as the dynamic lighting is, it kills my GPU (over-clocked AGP GeForce 6800). I can run the game with all settings at maximum using static lighting and it's very nice, but dynamic lighting brings it to its knees at anything over 1024x768 and "medium" detail settings. Second, a patch was released shortly after the game's release, and while it's nice to see so many issues addressed (and sad to see a broken game shipped), it was painful to learn that it breaks your saved games! Gah! Finally, there's the script. While the voice acting is superb, some of the bits of text are a little off... Like when the middle-aged Ukrainian guy refers to his "homies", and when the military commander calls an opposing force "the shit", and when your new armour is called "inefficient" when it's pretty safe to assume that they meant to write "efficient". Still, it's a rock-solid game that will draw you into its world, plus it's only $40.

Oh, and while I was out this afternoon, I noticed that Best Buy has Viva Pinata marked-down to $20! The two locations I checked were out of stock though :\ They did, however, have the Guitar Hero II XBOX 360 demo unit running. The graphics weren't a huge improvement over the PS2 version and the controller felt small and cheap; I was not impressed. Then I tripped (but didn't fall) over the cord connecting the controller to the demo unit, taking the 360 to the floor. The noises coming out of that thing didn't sound very healthy at all, but the salesperson was cool about it :)

Changes...

Just a quick one before I head out for the evening... I finally got around to playing with the default template of this space, as I'm sure you've noticed. This is the result of a first run-through of the default code, so I'll soon fix the rough edges near the top and continue to tweak the text colours.

Getting back to the usual stuff, I *shudder* traded-in some old PS2 and Windows games that I had lying around; various titles that were either given to me or I picked-up for about $10. As expected, the resale value of not-exactly-rare software still sucks, and I'm sure the mark-up will exceed 100%. I was, however, glad to finally be rid of them (stuff like Devil May Cry 3 for Windows and Tekken 4 for PS2), and used the store credit towards a new copy of the Devil May Cry 5th Anniversary Collection for PS2. This collection includes Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2, and Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition. As expected of any Capcom game, the translation sucks, the design is weird, and the controls are awkward, but the graphics are killer, the gameplay is rewarding, and it's generally a fun experience by the end... Or at least that's how things are shaping-up so far; I'm only about a quarter of the way through the first game :)

I was gonna make some crack about a mirage, but...

Beyond Oasis is apparently now available on the Wii Virtual Console service! If you've ever wondered where SEGA's answer to Zelda was, here it is! It was originally a Genesis game, and there is a sequel (Legend Of Oasis) for the Saturn. Both are spectacular games that definitely hold their own against the Zelda franchise. Definitely worth a download if you have a Wii.

Upon further review...

Shortly after my last post, I had another go at the first boss of Link and promptly kicked his ass on the first attempt. I'm still not sure why I had so much trouble before, but oh well, moving on... The game still hasn't done much to hold my attention, but it is nice to be making progress. My only real gripe at this point is having to start at the beginning of the game each time I load a saved game; repeating the journey to get back to where I left-off ad nauseam isn't exactly the most fun I've had in this title. I suspect this will get more bearable once I get the hammer from Death Mountain and open up some alternate routes, but still, not a great way to start a game.

That's what she said...

...Well, that was short. I finished The Minish Cap in about two days of solid play. It was fantastic and is possibly my new favourite of the series, but I want more. Sure, you can go back after finishing the game and find all sorts of new items and secrets, but without a grand purpose behind it all anymore, it's just not the same. The problem lies with the dungeons, and there are two possible fixes: Either have more of them (there are really only five), or make them longer. I found myself spending more time unlocking new dungeons than I did conquering them. Still, this is a great game that is definitely worth everyone's time. The new play mechanics (The Minish, kinstones, sword skills, etc...) were well-executed, and exploration was very organic. Perhaps I've just become accustomed to the grid-based play of Zelda, Link's Awakening, and the Oracle games, but exploration was never tedious and always fluid; it really helped to immerse me in the adventure. The game was also a touch on the easy side, but aside from that and the length, everything was done right. If you're a Zelda fan of any measure, you should definitely be picking this one up.

I've now gone back to finish The Adventure Of Link, and I'm still having a hell of a time getting settled-in. Perhaps it's just the first boss, who I find infuriatingly frustrating to beat, but I'm quickly getting a very bad taste in my mouth. That's a real shame after being so impressed the last three titles that I played in the series. Also, as you may have noticed from my XBOX Live gamer card on the right there, I picked-up Tony Hawk's Project 8 and King Kong for the 360. I stumbled upon both of them new and cheap at a usually over-priced and relatively sketchy shop on Yonge Street today. I already own the latter for Windows, but the StarForce copy protection irks me to no end, so I'm hesitant to install it; besides, the 360 version has much better graphics. Project 8 is just amazing. It's classic Tony Hawk (like, the first two in the series) with awesome graphics and some new gameplay innovations; "nail the trick" mode breathes a whole new life into the experience.

Tender!

I finished the Oracle games! Both Oracle Of Ages and Oracle Of Seasons were top-notch titles, and the linking features really tied the whole experience together nicely. The weapon, item, and ring transfers weren't tedious, and the way they handled the plot cross-over was clever. The final battle, only available after completing both cartridges, really made it all worth it. I definitely recommend giving these ones a go.

So now I'm on to the The Minish Cap, and it is spectacular. It features gorgeous graphics, classic gameplay with a few new twists, and some familiar touches from previous Zelda games in the sound and music. What really grabbed my attention, however, were the new interpretations of some of the traditional aspects of the franchise. From redesigned (yet still familiar) enemies to Link's hat, there's a lot to rediscover here, and it's definitely welcome as it breathes new life into the series. Oh, and I really like the way they handle the mine carts in this one :) The only complaint I have so far is that it seems as though this adventure is going to be a little short... I'm already nearing the half-way point of the game, and I just started playing it this morning :\ I'll keep you posted.

Curses!

Neither Castle Crashers nor Fable 2 will be available until some time in 2008, and that's only if things stay on schedule! Gah! Oh, and Casino Royale is only on Blu-Ray DVD! Also, while Rogers On Demand has The Illusionist in HD, The Prestige is only in standard definition! I hate my life.

Well, I am on the last dungeon in Oracle Of Ages, but then I also seem to have develpoed a bit of an addiction to Texas Hold 'em on XBOX Live, so that doesn't really help matters at all :\

So I was productive yesterday...

...I helped one friend order a new battery charger for her camera, fixed this guy's borked Windows installation (plus data back-up and PSU and GPU fan repair), got a friend's new laptop (some kind of Celeron D Toshiba running Vista Home Basic) and home wireless network (the interface for Bell's SpeedStream wireless modem/router combo is painful) running all spiffy, and set-up another friend's two new digital cable boxes... Now all they need is a new line to the house for a stronger signal; some channels are kinda chunky in one room :)

*fingers crossed*

Since finally getting this digital cable thing up and running, I've had the HD terminal freeze once, had it lose its signal twice, and lost various channels for seemingly random periods of time. I really hope it's just because of the weather we've been having lately and not another problem with the line or the terminal, and I especially hope this isn't indicative of Rogers' usual service :\

I bought a used copy of The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap the other day; it was $10 cheaper than the cheapest new copy I could find. I'm about two-thirds of the way through Oracle Of Ages, and I can hardly wait to move-on to The Minish Cap; it's easily one of the prettiest things I've ever seen on a GBA.

Oh, and here's something potentially disturbing: A while back, Activision bought Red Octane and the Guitar Hero franchise, to be continued by Neversoft (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater). EA just announced that they're publishing Harmonix's next game... So, yeah, it looks like Guitar Hero won't be handled by its original developer anymore at all... I don't like the sound of that.

The Arcade

I downloaded some demos from the XBOX Live Arcade, and I'm a little torn; I enjoyed Robotron 2084 quite a bit, Time Pilot and Contra bring back some great Commodore 64 memories, and Smash TV would be a blast in mutliplayer... I'm leaning heavily towards Smash TV, but then I'm also considering just hanging-on to those 450 excess points and putting them towards Castle Crashers or Castlevania: SOTN when they come out... Or maybe DooM is the way to go. I mean, classic deathmatch! Gah! Stupid Microsoft and their money-grabbing trap! I walked right into it!

Damnit!

I went to exchange a defective keyboard today. The guy said they only do direct exchanges in the first 30 days from purchase, and after that, I have to deal with the manufacturer because it's refurbished. That's standard policy, so I left without fuss... But it was an OEM product, not a refurbished one, and it was only $10, so I'm not about to pay to ship it to Logitech when I could just buy another one for around the same price.

I also picked-up a 1250-point XBOX Live prepaid card while I was out, and bought Alien Hominid HD when I got home. I have 450 points left-over now... What should I get? Gauntlet? Contra? Uno? Many choices... I just can't decide. I noticed something funny though; 1250-point cards tend to cost around $20, I've seen 1400-point cards for $25~$30, and 2800-point cards for $40... Anyone else see the problem here? Yeah, the 1400-point card is actually the worst value in terms of points-per-dollar, even at $25. What the hell!? Crooks. I also picked-up Tony Hawk 2x, Wreckless, and Ninja Gaiden Black for XBOX for $35 altogether.

w00t!

Found one of these. More expensive than my two-composite-switch solution, but I'll get by...

In other news, the ice storm I mentioned in my last post knocked-out cable to the neighbourhood later that night, and service wasn't restored until earlier today. I'm willing to bet someone's messing with me ;)

Ooh, and I downloaded demos for Alien Hominid HD, NBA Street: Homecourt, and MLB 2K7 for XBOX 360. They're all very pretty, but I'll probably only be purchasing Alien Hominid... Followed by Castle Crashers (from the same developer), whenever they get around to releasing it :\

Respect.

Big ups to Mike, the cable guy, who really kicked-ass at his job today. He showed-up well within the appointed time frame, asked if I wanted him to take his boots off, made perfectly enjoyable small talk while still totally intimidating me (he was almost as tall as I am, but I was in a hoodie, baggy pants, and slippers whereas he was wearing winter outerwear, a tool belt, and a Harley-Davidson belt buckle), and then ran a whole new cable to my house from the telephone pole across the street in the middle of the crazy fucker of an ice storm that has been pummeling us all afternoon! He had me do some of the wiring inside the house because he couldn't feel his hands... But he stuck it out and got the job done, so I made sure to get his card. To tie things up neatly, I now have HDTV over digital cable, and analog cable is much cleaner with the new line. The problem was indeed the old line running to the house that was installed, I'm told, nearly 30 years ago! The guy said it was the two splitters, the amplifier, the coupler, and the surge protector causing the problem, but I tried it without all of those the other night, and it didn't help. So, the only loose end now is the component switch. I think the easiest route would be to pick-up two sub-$30 composite switches and use one for component video and the other for stereo audio.

I'm worried now though... My computers are all solid and still fast enough to keep me from upgrading to a whole new build, I have no service or consulting jobs lined-up in the foreseeable future, my home theatre setup is just about complete, and no video games are really holding my attention. I guess that leaves me to focus on university and my band... Weird. I'll try to find something to post here until things pick-up :)