I am weak...

I found copies of Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and The Legend Of Zelda for NES for pretty good prices, so I picked those up. Later today, I hope to pick up Battletoads for Genesis and Yoshi's Island for SNES (prolly just jinxed my chances though), and I've got a line on some cheap copies of Need For Speed and Return Fire for 3D0.

There's also some new Deus Ex 3 info out today, and it reminded me of a conversation I had on a message board not too long ago regarding the upcoming game:

mistrmojo: Can't wait! Deus Ex 2 was a lot more fun than the original and hopefully this title will continue that tradition.

twicesliced: I really can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but I'm gonna agree with what you wrote anyway. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed both Deus Ex 1 and 2, I much preferred 2. All of the cries of "consolisation" are usually just based on superficial complaints from selfish dorks; there was a really dynamic gameplay experience based in a very solid world in Invisible War. 

If you wanna knock Deus Ex 2, give me better arguments than high system requirements (still looked great on low settings), smaller areas (but with way more character than the original), and unified ammo (it's sci fi kids; how about a little suspension of disbelief?).

BlackCat9: I'm entirely fine with the "console-ization" of Deus Ex 2. Honestly, I hardly noticed it, and I'd even say that the UI improvements were quite a bit better than DX1. But there were two things that made the game a let-down for me. 

First, I didn't find the world as believable as DX1. Because they pushed the timeline out further, it pushed the plausibility of it. The world of DX1 felt like a very real future to me. DX2 was an idea that was farther off and I didn't feel as connected to it. Because of that, I didn't feel like the things that happened mattered as much. 

The second issue, and the one that's really much larger, is that I also felt disappointed by the presentation of choice. Part of the marketing for the game was that they were going to make a game where you could choose how you wanted to play, but I felt like ultimately, that made it so that choices were presented in a very gameplay-oriented way. In DX1, scenes could unfold without ever telling you what the possible outcomes were. Rescuing Paul, helping the owner of the 'Ton with his daughter, stopping Ana from killing the NSF leader on the plane, letting the leader of the Illuminati die, these things were all choices that came about naturally from your interaction in the environment. I felt like, because there was so much emphasis on choice in DX2, all the choices had to boil down to a binary good or evil decision. Similarly, in combat, I felt like they had to balance every possible choice so much that there was never a big advantage in exploring different styles of play. The way choice was presented in Deus Ex, even at the ending, was more about the player's personality than the gameplay mechanics underneath, and that's something that no game has been able to do as well.

I love it when people really rise to the challenge and offer a well-supported argument.

Oh, and tearing down the final straightaway on Nürburgring Nordschleife in a Ford GT (in Forza Motorsport 2 on XBOX 360) is suprisingly exhilarating! :)

Oh wow...

Between Wario Land: Shake It!, MadWorld, Punchout!! Wii, Sin & Punishment 2, The Conduit, Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, and the ability to play downloaded games directly from SD cards, I'm suddenly very excited about my Wii! Plus I still have to finish NiGHTS: Journey Of Dreams, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Zack & Wiki, and No More Heroes!

He finally came through!

Got my copy of Alien Vs. Predator for Jaguar today; only cost me $20 :) The guy couldn't find Nightshade though :( I also bought a copy of NHL 94 for SEGA CD on an impulse ;)

I've spent a little bit of time with AvP already, and it's shaping up to be a solid FPS. Keeping in mind that this game came out less than a year after DOOM and almost two years before Quake, its impressive to see such dynamic gameplay and high-resolution sprites on any system, let alone a gaming console that hadn't even been out for a year. I don't get the feeling that its going to be a great game once I really get into it, but it'll definitely be a pretty unique experience to tackle the FPS genre under the Alien coccoon system and the Predators' honour system... I'll explain more once I've spent some quality time with each race.

Okay, I think this should be it for a while...

I splurged and picked up The Adventures Of Batman & Robin and Light Crusader for Genesis. I also stumbled upon (and subsequently purchased) a copy of Eternal Darkness for GameCube. Then I traded-in my SNES (just the console, which had been filed-down to play imports and is missing a connector in the cartridge slot used by the Super FX chip and the like) towards an SNS-101. The funny thing is that I got more for the bare console in trade-in value than I paid for the system, all the cables, two controllers, and a game ;)

Anyway, I've got a lead on Alien Vs. Predator for Jaguar and Nightshade for PS2 this Saturday. Oh, and Wario Land: Shake It! is tempting, but I really should slow down a bit with all of this, eh? Maybe after the price drops a little on that one...

Let's see if I can remember everything...

I got stuck late at work on Wednesday recovering an employee's e-mail box from a nightly backup, and when there's a 1.2GB Exchange mailbox involved, the recovery process can consist of a lot of waiting... So I went to grab something to drink and ended up stopping by a local independent game shop. That's where I saw an NES-101 in their display case. I ended up buying it (I've never owned an NES before) along with a gray Zapper and a Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt cartridge. Since then, I've picked up Batman, Blaster Master, Kid Icarus, Kirby's Adventure, Little Nemo: The Dream Master, Mighty Final Fight, and Metroid. I remember having a much harder time with Batman when I was younger, and I also remember Little Nemo having much prettier graphics... Otherwise, I'm loving the whole experience. The only real downside is the existance of faint vertical lines on the screen, thanks to the NES-101's shittay RF modulator :\

Anyway, I've also picked up copies of Vigilante for TurboGrafx 16 (traded-in my Master System version), Virtual On and Brain Dead 13 for Saturn ($10 each; the latter is sealed; I love Brain Dead 13), a second Wavebird, and Vectorman 2 for Genesis. Oh, and I went back and got a $5 trade-in value for an NHL 97 Genesis cartridge (I don't think I even paid that much for it), and an additional $15 off the NHL 98/World Series Baseball '98 combo I mentioned three posts back; I didn't feel too bad spending $30 on those two.

I also bought a copy of Batman for Game Boy while I was out. I remembered owning this one back when it first came out, and thought I'd sold it to a friend years ago. Turns out I didn't sell it, so I suddenly had two copies... It was only $7 though, so I gave it to one of my brothers :)

I finally got around to testing a third-party (BEI) Dreamcast lightgun that I purchased used back in May, and it doesn't work. It took me so long to actually test it because my Dreamcast has been hooked up to my HDTV via s-video, and light guns don't work with HDTVs. It was when I set up my new Dreamcast VGA box that I remembered to dust off that lightgun. I wonder if they'll still do an exhcange at this point... P.S. Dreamcast games are pretty at 480p... Especially Dead Or Alive 2 LE.

One last thing: I finished Metroid Prime! So amazing! Dunno what to play next though... Yakuza 2? NiGHTS: Journey Of Dreams? The Darkness? Or should I just jump right into Metroid Prime 2?

Getting there...

So I did pick up copies of Shadow Dancer (complete), The Revenge Of Shinobi (cart only, latest revision) and Shinobi III (cart only) for Genesis... As well as Alex Kidd In Shinobi World for Master System. I talked the place down a bit in price and worked out a decent trade-in value for some old games I never really wanted (Fear Effect 1 & 2 for PSX, Maximum Carnage and Primal Rage for Genesis).

I haven't spent too much time with any of them yet, but Shadow Dancer seems pretty solid, The Revenge Of Shinobi is every bit as awesome (and as difficult) as I remembered, Shinobi III seems a lot easier than its predecessors and I'm not thrilled by the new art direction, and Alex Kidd In Shinobi World is frigging cool :)

Also, even though I'm not a fan of the series (save for Rockman & Forte and The Power Battle), I really would like one of these. 

Frequencies

I was playing with an FM car radio that has "Info", "P-Type" and "Traf" functions. Info displays text messages (such as radio station and song information) that are broadcast with the audio signal on an LCD in the dashboard. P-Type allows users to browse radio stations based on their programming type (talk, rock, r&b, country, etc...), as indicated by data broadcast with the audio signal, effectively bypassing any unwanted genres. Traf allows users to select their preferred station that broadcasts traffic reports, and have the radio automatically tune to that station when a traffic report is broadcast; this only works on stations that broadcast a traffic flag with the audio signal. I dunno about any of you, but I think that's really cool :)

I also just read this. While it's not a great exploration of the subject, it's still a thought-provoking article on the kinds of social commentaries that video games are capable of effectively achieving. It also kinda makes me wanna go out and find a copy of Persona 3 FES, even though I really have no idea when I'd get a chance to play it :\

Anyone remember Polterguy?

Found copies of NHL 98 (complete in the box) and World Series Baseball '98 (with manual, but no box) for Genesis, but they wanted $50 for the pair... Yeah... Not gonna rush to come up with the cash for those.

I did, however, come away with copies of Baku Baku for Saturn, Raiden for Jaguar (no box), Haunting for Genesis (no manual), and Shinobi II and Ristar for Game Gear.

I'm thinking of picking up Shadow Dancer, The Revenge of Shinobi, and Shinobi III for Genesis tomorrow, which would leave me with just Shadow Dancer (SMS), The Cyber Shinobi (SMS), Shinobi Legions (Saturn), and Nightshade (PS2) to complete the series... I know where to pick up a copy of Alex Kidd in Shinobi world as well, but it's going for $30 for just the cartridgde :\

Shiny!

The new iPod Touch is just plan sexy... And I do not use that word lightly when it comes to technology because, really, regarding such things as being sexy is just plain weird ;)

Also, I've been using Google Chrome at work since it came out, and I love it. It's exactly what I want in a browser; basic, lightweight, and fast. I never use plug-ins or any other such add-ons in Firefox or Internet Explorer, and I appreciate effective use of on-screen real estate, so Chrome is right up my alley. The only issue I've run into so far was with FTP access, but that may have been the particular site's fault. I'm also aware of the public outcry regarding Chrome's EULA, but read sections 1, 8, and 11 carefully and you'll see that it 's not as bad as you might've heard.

I've recently worked on a friend's virus-laden Hyper-Threading Pentium 4 machine (they were just gonna buy a new one), a brand new iMac (they're very pretty, and so is Leopard), and a Windows computer with an obscene amount of hard drive partitions... I mean, really, what's wrong with two partitions (one for software and one for data) and a bunch of folders?

Work has seen me digging old machines from before my time there out of the warehouse, and repurposing them as workstations around the building; we had a good number of mid-range Pentium 4 boxes just collecting dust in there.

And what would an update be without mentioning me unhealthy obsession with video games? I snagged a copy of Landstalker for Genesis (good condition, in the box, but no book) for $10, a pirated copy of The Super Shinobi for Mega Drive (Rambo! Godzilla! The Hulk! Spider-Man! Batman!) for $5, Forza Motorsport 2 for 360 for $10, Spore, and Yakuza 2!!! Once I've got Metroid Prime out of the way (just a few more boss fights and artifacts to go), Yakuza 2 is a top priority :)

Epic

I neglected to mention in my last post that the 3D0 I bought was without a controller. I'd seen them online and at various shops, so I figured it was no big deal. The ensuing adventure was of epic proportions: The shipping on eBay was kinda outrageous, the people at the flea market stalls were adamant that these controllers were extremely rare and wanted no less than $25 for used Panasonic-branded controllers, and the specialty shops would only order new ones for $30 + tax... Yeah, not quite worth it to play Shockwave. 

In the end I scoured a ~50km radius around the city of Toronto over a few days. Four stalls at two flea markets, five independent shops downtown, two in Mississauga, one in North York, one in Oshawa, and one in Richmond Hill.

Not only did I finally find a third-party 3D0 controller for $10 at the last shop I checked out, I also picked up a lot of cool stuff along the way.  I bought a pack-in copy of Gex for 3D0 (just to have it on its original system), Wipeout 64 for N64, the Game Boy Color edition of Wario Land II (finally have all five Wario Land games!), and Congo and Last Bronx for Saturn. I was offered a copy of Return Fire for 3D0 for $35, and while it was one of the best games on the system, it's just so readily available everywhere else that I couldn't bring myself to spend that much. Anyway, I saw some completely weird things too, like two model 2 Sega Master Systems, an Odyssey, a Tiger R-Zone Headgear, Atari 7800 Joypads (CX78), a PC Engine CoreGrafx II, copies of Alien Vs. Predator and Power Drive Rally for Jaguar (not for sale, else I'd've bought them), a Famicom Disk System, and probably a bunch of other weird stuff that I'm forgetting about... It was a good nerdy weekend :)

Sins Of The Fathers

I saw this article in the paper on my way to work the other day, and I chuckled. Let's see if you can figure out why. Here's a hint: This game took place primarliy in New Orleans ;)

Unlocking the remaining secrets in Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles has become awfully frustrating, and Echochrome (while still wonderfully interesting) has failed to really hold my attention, so I've moved on to Wipeout Pure and N+, which are both solid, fast-paced, and lots of fun.

Castle Crashers is also great. Totally lives up to my expectations of a highly stylised, old school arcade brawler. 

I don't think I mentioned this before, but I found a copy of Virtua Fighter 5 Online for around $20, so I picked that up too.

Metroid Prime is still amazing. I have only one complaint thus far: A save point on the way to pick up the power bomb would be swell... I know, it's not an impossible section, but it's more challenging and feels a lot longer than a lot of the previous sections, and having to replay it (for the third time, later this evening) just doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the game so far. The experience isn't ruined for me, but what was a nearly perfect experience suddenly feels as though it has a balance issue. Yeah, so I'm wihining about a scuff on an otherwise flawless product... I'm a jerk :)

As for that Dark Sector write-up I talked about not too long ago, here goes: I liked Dark Sector a lot. The fact that I got it for $15 only made the whole thing that much sweeter, but I would've gladly paid up to $40 or so. There were some dissappointing aspects, such as occasional "skating" enemies (is there any excuse for poor walking animations these days?) and questionable hit detection (which just about ruined melee combat, made opening certain doors unreliable, and made breaking small item boxes on the floor needlessly cumbersome), but they didn't ruin the game. What came very close to ruining the game, however, was the poorly-told story. I remember reading early treatments of Dark Sector and being intrigued, and even though the final product was markedly different from those early descriptions, it was still brimming with potential. Unfortunately, all of the immersive plot points were either briefly glossed over or ignored altogether. Important characters appear out of nowhere with minimal backstory, chapter five is just plain perplexing (arbitraily releasing monsters, inexplicably unseen explosions), and the two main plot points hinge on the main character's history, of which we're only given a fragmented executive summary! By the time it's all over, with some note-taking and suspension of disbelief, there's a vaguely interesting narrative to be pieced together, but it's just not worth the effort... Play the game for the gameplay, the pretty graphics, and the score. Try not to think about the story, what it could've been, and how it would've taken this game to a whole new level; it'll just make you sad.

I was about to rant about why I'd never buy a 3D0 (noting how lot of big 3D0 titles, such as Alone In The Dark, Creature Shock, D, The Daedalus Encounter, Gex, The Horde, Killing Time, Need For Speed, Off-World Interceptor, PO'ed, Quarantine, Return Fire, Road Rash, Space Hulk, Star Control II, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Super Wing Commander, and Wolfenstein 3D were either already available on other platforms, or were ported to the likes of the Saturn and PlayStation and improved shortly after their 3D0 release), but then I bought a 3D0. A Goldtsar 3D0, to be exact. It's was an even $40 at a flea market and included Shockwave, so I couldn't say no...

P.S. You can play Psychonauts for free on GameTap. You don't even need to make an account. If you haven't tried Psychonauts yet, please do.

Knights 'n Geckos

I forgot to buy Castle Crashers yesterday. Sure, I got home late the night before, had sort of a long day at work, zoned out when I got home, and had to head out in the evening to catch a local show, but still... I forgot to buy Castle Crashers!!! What the hell!? I've been more excited about that game than just about any other current-generation release, and I just plain forgot about it!

Well, I'll take care of that when I get home this evening, but until then, I'd like to reminisce about Gex. Remember Gex? He's that smart-assed gecko (voiced by The Simpsons writer and voice actor Dana Gould) who seemed poised to be the 3D0's mascot... Kinda like how Rayman seemed poised to be the Jaguar's mascot. Anyway, during my recent tours of independent game stores and flea markets, I stumbled across copies of Gex for 3D0 and PlayStation (but sadly not Saturn, else I'd have probably picked it up) and remembered always wanting to play it but never having the right system. Rather than buy the PlayStation version (or a 3D0 and the 3D0 version) on an impulse, I opted to do some research... And found out that there was a Windows port! Thinking back now, I'm sure I've seen the Windows version on discount racks before, but I guess it didn't have the same impact of seeing the old console version boxes. So I managed to hunt down a copy of the Windows version (runs great on XP SP3; no so much on Vista), and while it's not as pretty as I recall, it seems like a really solid platformer so far!

Up next on my list of old games that I always wanted to play but never got around to tracking down: Pandemonium! I'm also still considering copies of Loaded and Space Hulk 2 that I saw for Saturn...

P.S.

I am friggin' excited about Fable II, especially after seeing this.

Dirt Malls 'n Stuff

Dark Sector review still forthcoming.

I decided to check out some of the flea markets in the area after having neglected to go anywhere near them for years, and came away with Iron Soldier, Rayman, Tempest 2000, and Zool 2 for Jaguar, Baku Baku for Game Gear, and an Atari Lynx II. Unfortunately, the "A" buttons on the Lynx II weren't working, so I brought it back and swapped it for an original Lynx... On which one of the "B" buttons was stuck :\ I also saw a SEGA Genesis 3 and a Vectrex, but neither was for sale. Oh, and a model 1 SEGA CD... Tempting, but entirely unnecessary.

Anyway. while I was riding the subway last week, this guy got on carrying a Game Gear and played it with the volume turned way up (without headphones). The guy beside him looked like he was gonna snap from the annoying sound... It was awesome :)

I bought Braid and Bionic Commando: Rearmed on XBOX Live Arcade. Both are wonderful.

Finished Call Of Duty 4. It's a really solid game, and the chapters "Shock And Awe", "All Ghillied Up", and "One Shot, One Kill" are simply amazing experiences that absolutely everyone should check out. I'm just about done Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles on PSP, with just a few more secrets to locate. That UMD alone is reason enough to buy a PSP. Not only is it a gorgeous remake of the last great Castlevania game, it also includes the previously-unavailable-outside-of-Japan original version as well as the equally-great-but-just-a-Metroid-clone follow-up, Symphony Of The Night! Speaking of Metroid, I'm steadily progressing through Metroid Prime and constantly in awe of how well the game was transposed to a first-person perspective; Konami should be taking notes for Castlevania ;) I also played through the first episode of American McGee's Grimm (it's free, so I haven't given GameTap any money yet). It's very, very simplistic, but it's a whole lot of fun; really charming and a great way to sit down and kill some time. I'm sold on the concept, so I'll likely be getting a year-long subscription... But not until I plough through a few more titles on my "to play" list.

Finally, after picking up DOOM for the Jaguar, I got sucked back in and dug out all of my copies. On the PC, that includes The Ultimate DOOM, DOOM II, Master Levels For DOOM II, and Final DOOM. I also fired up the 32X and Nintendo 64 versions. It's really amazing how good they all still are, especially on PC with new source modifications like ZDOOM.

Nostalgia

I stopped by the shop where I picked up the Jaguar to see if they'd brought in anything new (they had gotten Tempest 2000 in, but someone beat me to it), and I saw a sealed copy of World Series Baseball '96 for Genesis for $10! I loved the first World Series Baseball game when it first came out in 1994, and I didn't even know they'd made a third one for Genesis. I've never actually owned any of them, so it was an easy sell. Anyway, it was just a strange experience to unwrap the cellophane from a sealed Genesis game box... Since then, however, I've (re?)discovered that there was a 32X version (that I'd love to find a copy of) and a fourth Genesis version ('98). Rats... Here I thought I'd gotten the final iteration of one of the Genesis' better games... I knew '98 had come out on the Saturn, but had no idea there was a Genesis release as well.

Anyway, I also picked up DooM and Trevor McFur for Jaguar, as they agreed to drop the prices and gave me a decent trade-in value on some old stuff I had (Ghost Recon for XBOX, Mind Quiz for PSP, King Of Fighters EX for GBA, TrickStyle and Royal Rumble for Dreamcast), and added myself to their waiting list for Tempest 2000, Wolfenstien 3D (higher-resolution sprites than the original, but they're always facing you), and Alien Vs. Predator.

I've recently finished Dark Sector and plan on writing something a little more in-depth in the near future, I'm almost done Call Of Duty 4 (three scenes stand out as being absolutely phenomenal so far), and Metroid Prime is quickly shaping up to be one of my favourite games ever... Seriously, I wish I'd bought a GameCube when this came out, and I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to play it!

Digital Distribution

I'm not at all against digital distribution. XBOX Live Arcade (XBLA) and Steam are amazing. I do, however, prefer to own physical media and have the ability to play my games without being connected to the Internet. I'll still bite the bullet and submit to these licenses and downloads, but I'm cringing just a little when I do it. What really upsets me is when none of the choices I'm given are ideal. I understand that this is still a fledgling industry finding its way, but strange price differences and an overwhelming number of accounts to manage make me want to avoid the whole thing altogether.

I generally go with the PC platform over the consoles when I have the choice, but that rule has failed to make my life any easier. I made anew account and bought Penny Arcade's first game through their Greenhouse service instead of XBLA , only to see it released on Steam (where I already had an account) shortly thereafter; I really want to play Braid, but I have no idea when it'll be released on PC; Bionic Commando: Rearmed is more expensive on the PC and will not be available via Steam; American McGee's Grimm looks like the kind of game I'd love, but I can only play it with a GameTap subscription (which I assume means I can't go back and play the game once my subscription runs out). I kinda wish Steam was ubiquitous or that Microsoft had just gotten out of the gate first with a Game For Windows Live Arcade and done it properly from the beginning.

*sigh*

I'm not saying that I want platform exclusivity or a clearly superior platform; just some consistency across the board, especially on the PC side of things.

"64-bit"

New acquisitions: Sonic Advance 3 (GBA, can't remember if I ever finished the second one, so I'm starting the whole series over), The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (XBOX, surprisingly hard to find! I only ever came across two PS2 copies and this one for XBOX), an Atari Jaguar and Cybermorph (they also had Checkered Flag, but that was awful, and Trevor McFur and DooM were just too expensive), and a SEGA CDX (that actually had the CDX power adapter, and they threw in a European 6-button Mega Drive controller).

I'm hoping to pick up Sonic Blast for Game Gear and a second AES joystick for my Neo Geo (I'll be trading-in my Neo Geo CD stick) later today. Oh, and I almost picked up copies of Shinobi II and Tails Adventure for Game Gear, but they were a touch too pricey.

So Dark Sector has really sucked me in. It's not a great game, and there are some really glaring issues, but it's pretty decent as a whole package. I'm already on the second-last chapter, and intend to write more once I'm finished. I've also taken the time to sit down and get somewhere with Call Of Duty 4. I've probably said this before, but it's slick, and I like it. I also finished Crush. Wonderfully unique game with plenty of replay value, that everyone should try. I needed help with three or four of the 40 levels, but it's not as hair-pullingly frustrating as I heard it was. The ending is a little weak, but then it's not exactly a game one plays for the plot.

New Old Stuff

Picked up Dark Sector (360, only $15!), Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (GBC), and Sonic: Triple Trouble (GG, which means I now have every Game Gear Sonic game worth playing) on the way home from work today. I also considered a SEGA CDX for $150 and an apparently mint condition Turbo Express in its original box for $250, but thought better of both in the end.

Handkerchiefs!?

I completed Sonic And The Secret Rings last night. Underneath all of the convoluted menus, cheesy plot, and questionable voice acting, there's a really good Sonic game! Sonic just runs all the time; the player steers, slides, jumps, attacks, and brakes as he or she sees fit; it's a logical evolution of the classic Sonic gameplay into a 3D world. The problems are mostly cosmetic, but they sure do make things trying; like how the designers had the good sense to separate the party games from the main game, but they didn't seem to think it was important to separate races and challenges (finish with no rings, defeat 20 enemies, don't die) from the story missions (à la Sonic Adventure) and it makes things feel... Disjointed? Confusing? Overwhelming? Take your pick.

Next up are the skill rings. They're an interesting idea, but I found them awfully annoying as I played. Sonic starts out with some basic skills, and earns more as players progress though the game. Skills like speed-ups, better acceleration and manoeuverablility, ring bonuses, and fire-enhanced attacks are split into three sections (essentially speed, attack, and rings), and players are given four skill rings to which any combination of these skills can be attached. Each skill has a point value, and each ring can accommodate only a certain number of points (which increases as Sonic levels-up). I made a balanced ring, a speed ring, an attack ring, and a rings ring, but before too long I was using the speed ring almost exclusively. It all feels just a little overcomplicated for the subject matter. I mean, it's a game about running really fast, based around a character who's known for running really fast... And the fact that they don't seem to really explain a lot of these skill mechanics doesn't help matters. If they were really set on the skill development aspect of the game, that's okay, but was the micromanagement really necessary?

Finally, there's the finale. The real final battle is only available once all seven world rings have been collected, and, well, maybe I should've just left that last ring be... The second last battle is actually pretty cool, but the last battle just gets silly. Characters transform (Sonic gets racing stripes and a really horrible new voice), gameplay mechanics change with minimal explanation, and the final scene involves "a mountain of handkerchiefs". Yes, I'm quoting that from the game.

Despite all of this, there's still a lot of fun to be had with Sonic And The Secret Rings, and it can be picked up pretty cheap these days. Some of the levels are absolutely breathtaking, and the sense of speed can be exhilarating. I was hoping that this game was a big step in the right direction for the Sonic franchise (the portables have been carrying the torch since Sonic Adventure), but Sonic Unleashed's werehog sections and Sonic And The Black Knight's swordplay have me pretty worried...

Finally got that beast out the door...

Even at 1066MHz, 9-9-9-20-2T, RAM@1.7V and SPP@1.4V, the NVIDIA RAID controller seemed to be reporting (false?) SMART errors on the RAID drives. After hearing back from one of the RAM's manufacturer's tech guys with some suggestions, I was able to start narrowing down the possible issues. At 1333MHz and 9-9-9-20-2T at 1.7V, I was finally able to get one stick from the second kit to fail relatively consistently; it gave me two garbled "Unexpected Interrupt" lockups on its own and one black/green/purple screen of junk when paired with another stick, both in memtest86+. The retailer was nice enough to swap it for another kit though, and all seems to be working well at the advertised settings.

The annoying part is that the bad RAM caused errors with the NVIDIA RAID controller, and they affected the two 500GB drives, which then recorded those errors to their SMART logs. So even though the drives test fine and the problem has been remedied, they've exceeded the SMART thresholds and report as "failing" devices. Grrr.

The system's running Windows XP Professional x64 Edition SP2, and it's pretty slick. I did have to get creative with the drivers for the Linksys WMP300N though; Linksys and D-Link don't seem to like XP x64, but the Linksys card is based on a Broadcom chipset that is supported in XP x64. A custom .inf over the Broadcom drivers, and all is well.

In other news, my nose is broken, so I haven't been playing much Virtual Boy. I did, however, finally finish Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters on PSP. Not a bad game on the whole, very pretty, lots to do, definitely challenging, but just not quite my thing.

Timing is everything.

Got my hands on four 2GB sticks of 1333MHz DDR3 RAM, and that quad core system I mentioned last time turned out pretty sweet. Well, at least it did when I only had the first 4GB in there. Upon adding the second 4GB, things got sketchy. I've tried countless combinations of timings (9-9-9-20-1T and slower), voltages (RAM@1.9V and SPP@1.45V and lower), and bus speeds (1333MHz and 1066MHz) with 4x2GB, but lockups and errors are not consistent... Except that they occur regardless of configuration. I have been able to get all four sticks working together at 1066MHz, 9-9-9-20-2T, RAM@1.7V and SPP@1.4V... But this is supposed to be 1333MHz RAM :\

Back to work...

So the Bad Company demo was vaguley interesting. Good presentation and solid gameplay, but nothing really stood out for me. The destructible environments are cool, but it was nothing to write home about. Then again, I hear that multiplayer is where this one really shines, so I guess this one just isn't for me. Too Human felt... Well... I didn't mind the camera or the cinematics, but the game just didn't gel for me. I had too many questions about everything from the plot to the controls, little direction, and minimal satisfaction. Perhaps a quick training level and some more cohesive storytelling would've helped me, but it's just not coming together yet. I think there may be something interesting going on in Too Human (reminds me of Unreal Championship 2, actually), but it's not in the demo.

I got back into some freelance work recently. Salvaged some data from a G5 PowerMac, replaced the bad RAM that was causing hard drive issues, and reinstalled OS X 10.4; cleaned a particularly annoying spyware infection from a home office machine (DON'T OPEN RANDOM E-MAIL ATTACHMENTS!!!); picked up most of the parts for that system I mentioned in my last post:

• Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450
• EVGA 132-CK-NF79-A1
• 512MB BFG GeForce 8800GT OC
• Linksys WMP300N
• Two 74GB Western Digital Raptors (WD740ADFD)
• Two 500GB Seagate Barracudas (ST3500320AS) in a RAID 1 array
• LG GH20NS10 SATA DVD-RW
• Seasonic S12 Energy Plus 650W
• Antec P182 Mid-Tower

I've been trying to secure 8GB of DDR3 (either 1333MHz or 1600MHz), but there seems to be a shortage in this city. Speaking of shortages, I'm pretty sure I found the last 790i Ultra-based motherboard in the area... Anyway the idea is to be able to upgrade to a 1600MHz CPU, 2000MHz DDR3, and a three-way SLi setup down the road; client's idea, not mine. Accommodating that upgrade path didn't raise the price too much though, so it's not a complete waste of money.

Maybe I'm doing it wrong...

Virtual Boy number two started displaying horizontal lines in the left lens. Only an isolated incident so far, but still... :\

I'm at the final battle in Virtual Boy Wario Land (found all the treasures), and finished Wario World last night (found everything but one red crystal and two heart pieces in the final level). I didn't like how the final level in Wario World was considerably more challenging than the previous seven; not because it was too hard, but because it was noticeably inconsistent with the rest of the game. The final battle was kind of a joke, too; the previous two battles were much more challenging and epic. Anyway, Metroid Prime is up next on GameCube, but I need to stop by my brother's place to borrow his copy... I'm excited!

I took some more time with the SEGA Superstars Tennis demo on 360, and concluded that I still don't like it. Top Spin 3 was much more fun, but is definitely gonna take some getting used to. The controls, while certainly a new direction, were not as counter-intuitive as most review sites led me to believe. The Bourne Conspiracy demo was fun, but felt a little dry and repetitive by the end... And that's bad for a three-level demo. Dark Sector was the same. Despite being very pretty and having some interesting new gameplay elements, it felt like a mishmash of Gears Of War, BioShock, and Wolfenstein. Not a bad game, but just not cohesive and polished enough to really grab me. I also didn't appreciate certain unexplained deaths or the boss battle that gave me little indication of whether or not I was doing any actual damage, though perhaps these issues are addressed in the full product. Ninja Gaiden II, however, was very cohesive and super polished. Pretty much what I expected, and more forgiving than the first one, I'll pick it up once I get around to actually playing through the first one. Battlefield: Bad Company, Too Human, and Civilization Revolution are next in line...

Oh, and it looks like I'm building a sweet Photoshop/Lightroom computer for someone! Current specs are as follows:

• Asus P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP @n
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450
• Four 2GB sticks of OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800
• Two 10,000RPM 74GB SATA hard drives
• Two 7,200RPM 500GB SATA2 hard drives
• 512MB Sapphire ATi RADEON HD 3870
• Antec TP3-650

...And a sweet LaCie LCD. We're trying to keep the hardware inside the tower around $2000 while still allowing room to grow. That motherboard supports 1600MHz FSB quad-core CPUs, up to 16GB of 2000MHz DDR3 RAM, and CrossFire support (apparently CS4 will be able to take advantage of GPU power).

I guess I should also mention...

I got to play a Vectrex for the first time at a party last week! I kinda want one now :) I played Berzerk, Space Wars, Spike, and Star Trek. Spike stood out the most, with it's pseudo-3D graphics and voice synthesis, but it's awfully repetitive. I hear they're going for upwards of $150 on eBay, so I'm in no rush to run out and grab one, but I'll definitely keep an eye out.

I also picked up the first two seasons of the late-'80s/early-'90s cartoon Captain N: The Game Master. It was one of my favourite shows when I was younger, and I remember having a hard time figuring out exactly when it was on... Perhaps it got bounced from one time slot to another here in Canada, or maybe I just had a hard time waking up on Saturday mornings :) Anyway, I'm almost through the first season, and it's pretty terrible; the nostalgia value is great though, so it's still fun.

Finally, I picked up one of these. I'm not exactly sure why... I mean, yeah, it enables me to play a bunch of awesome ports of great Neo Geo and CPS-2 games on my Saturn, but then I could just play them on my Neo Geo or an emulator. Well, I guess there's always Final Fight Revenge... *shudder*

Virtual Boy Mini-Reviews

Galactic Pinball

• It's pinball in space. A solid game with some nifty 3D effects and a slightly awkward perspective (long view of the table), this one doesn't seem to be anything particularly special at first. Once some of the bonus challenges are earned, however, the Virtual Boy really begins to do what it's good at. Where a standard pinball game might reward players with a brief cinematic or a sound clip, Galactic Pinball has full-on minigames; one involves assuming a first-person perspective and fending off invading aliens!

Golf

• Standard golf game with a vaguely unique take on play mechanics. The hideous graphics undermine any 3D effects.

Mario Clash

• Inspired by the classic Mario Bros. but with some new twists; like throwing turtle shells through pipes, as well as into and out of the screen, all while lining up combos. 3D isn't exactly necessary to pull this one off, but it definitely helps.
  

Mario's Tennis

• One of my favourite tennis games on any platform. Despite its simple controls and presentation, difficulty ranges from cakewalk to frustrating, character choice affects gameplay, and the 3D effects really add to the experience.
  

Nester's Funky Bowling

• It's a bowling game featuring Nintendo Power's Nester character. That's it. The 3D effects aren't all that great, and the gameplay is pretty simplistic. Definitely not worth the price to anyone but collectors... And maybe die-hard Nester and/or bowling fans.

Panic Bomber

• A challenging head-to-head puzzle game with great graphics and animation, plus a fun plot to follow. 3D is not necessary (this game is also available on non-3D platforms), but the developers make good aesthetic use of it here.
  

Red Alarm

• Vector graphics, tight controls, and awesome music combine to create a frantic indoor 3D flying shooter. Don't let the wireframe graphics be a turnoff, as there's great fun to be had here in one of the system's best games.
  

Teleroboxer

• It's like this is the game the Virtual Boy's controller was designed for. The great graphics and challenging gameplay (but not too challenging, once you learn your opponents' patterns) gel together to create a truly immersive 3D experience.
  

V-Tetris

• Developed by Bullet-Proof Software, the makers of the original Game Boy classic, V-Tetris is, well, Tetris. While it's disappointing that the music is not up to the high standard set by the Game Boy original, it's still passable. "A" and "B" type games return with some superficial 3D effects, and there is a new "C" type that allows players to rotate the playfield in a quasi-cylindrical manner. While interesting, this new game type doesn't really take advantage of the 3D power the Virtual Boy offers.
  

Vertical Force

• A solid, traditional top-down 2D shoot-'em-up with a 3D twist that allows players to dive down into the screen and back up for multiple playfields.
  

Virtual League Baseball

• Nothing special and nothing horrible, it's a pretty basic baseball game with some lacklustre 3D effects.
  

Virtual Boy Wario Land

• One of the best Wario Land games and one of the best Virtual Boy games... Simple as that. Great graphics, huge sprites, catchy music, ingenious bosses, and effective use of 3D that not only accentuates the gameplay but creates a wonderful level of immersion in what is essentially a 2D game. This game is reason enough to track down a Virtual Boy.
  

craigslist part two

Until I get a proper game bit screwdriver, my store bought Virtual Boy will remain out of the oven and out of commission. Luckily, I happened across a pretty good deal on a Virtual Boy on craigslist last week! I got a perfectly working system with four games and a carrying case. I already had two of the games (Red Alarm and Vertical Force) and the other two are kinda weak (Galactic Pinball and Golf), but I was able to haggle the price down to something in line with what a similar bundle goes for on eBay. It would've been nice if he'd mentioned that it was originally a Blockbuster rental unit (man, did that neoprene shade stink! Luckily a wash in hot water remedied that) that still had gunky security stickers on every part (some lighter fluid made short work of that mess), but I suspected as much from the carrying case in the photo he posted. It also would've been nice if he'd mentioned that the stand is being held together by electrical tape, but that's a common weak spot of the system, so again, no real surpise. The fun part was when I met the seller; he's a nice old guy who was never really into video games but really likes 3D :)

So I now have two Virtual Boys, a custom carrying case, two AC adapters, one battery adapter, ten of the 14 games released in North America (still need 3D Tetris, Jack Bros., Nester's Funky Bowling, and Waterworld), and I may be picking up the Japanese-only release of V-Tetris later today (an entirely different game from 3D Tetris).

Just about all of the time I've spent playing games lately has been with Wario. Virtual Boy Wario Land really is fantastic, but a little short so I'm trying pace myself with it. It has reminded me of what the original Wario gameplay is like though, and I'm seeing that Wario World, while still a simplistic side-scrolling brawler with hints of exploration and puzzle solving, is much closer to the series' roots than I originally thought. The transition to 3D and the greater focus on combat feel like changes for the worse, but it's still fun and captures a lot of what Wario is all about.

I've been fighting with a Xerox WorkCentre 5675 at work for the past little while. It suddenly started hanging on print jobs without giving any specific errors, so I went through the settings and tried a few different combinations with little luck. Next was a driver update which didn't do much better, so I blew everything up and let Xerox's automated installer do everything (new TCP/IP port, drivers, settings, etc...). I got it to the point where things were working most of the time and I was able to clear the queue remotely if it did run into a problem, but that wasn't good enough. I called a Xerox technician in to give things a look, and he upgraded the firmware and wiped a few parts down. Everything was still wonky when I came back the next day. So I've now changed the machine's IP and it's name on the network while reverting back to the drivers it was using when this all started, all manually, and it seems to be holding up. If things are screwy again tomorrow, I'm wiping my hands of it and letting Xerox take over.

Just my luck...

Upon firing up the Virtual Boy after work today, I couldn't help but notice that the right lens is now displaying glitches as well! Turning up the brightness helps, which seems to support the loose connection theory. I guess it's time to look into opening the thing up and pre-heating the oven :\

At Long Last!!!

Remembered seeing Bug Too! for Saturn at a local shop for relatively cheap a while back, and decided to go pick it up yesterday. Snapped up Ecco The Dolphin and Ooga Booga for Dreamcast while I was there, and then saw ReBoot for PSX, so I picked that up (after reading this)... AND THEN I SAW VIRTUAL BOY WARIO LAND!!! FINALLY!!! Seriously, you don't understand how excited I got! So I bought that, and you know what was underneath it? Mario Clash! My Virtual Boy was immediately dusted off when I got home, and despite my crossed fingers, it was still suffering from what appears to be a loose connection to the left lens (I don't get horizontal lines, but I do get glitches). It's a pretty common issue, resulting from a design flaw with the system (let's use glue to connect a ribbon cable to a moving part in a closed environment that may get hot!), and not too hard to fix. Luckily, the longer I left the system on, the better it got (yay heat!), so I've been thoroughly enjoying both new acquisitions. Virtual Boy Wario Land is as wonderful as I remember, and Mario Clash is a lot more fun that I expected it to be. I really wish that system had taken off, or at least hung in there a while longer... So much potential.

I guess I should also note that Wario World is kinda growing on me (especially the pause music!), that I'm at the final battle of Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, and that I'm getting back into the last few levels of Crush. Oh, and I spent some quality time with Team Fortress 2 earlier in the week... Good times.

Also, that Diablo III teaser mystery on the Blizzard's splash page was fun... I noticed the runes and uncovered the pieces of the penguin drawing in the CSS, but didn't bother looking into what any of it meant :)

Anyway, there was a surprise waiting for me when I got to work yesterday: The server had crashed! I'd had it running for like months without a hitch! What the hell!? Turns out some dude installing additional security cameras was doing some work over the server, didn't bother covering it (so it was littered with bits of copper wire when I got there), and left his magnetized tools up against the tower! Yeah, hey, kids, just so you know, magnets and tiny pieces of conductive metal are bad for computers! Gah!

Italians

I couldn't sleep last night, so I finished Super Mario Sunshine. It was great. The final battle was kind of easy, but then so were all of the major battles. There were some pretty frustrating parts towards the end (like navigating that damned boat in Corona Mountain, and The Goopy Inferno episode in Pianta Village), so I wasn't too disappointed that the parts surrounding them were only mildly challenging :) I remember there being a general sense of disappointment when this game first came out, something about gimmicky (nozzles) hippie (cleaning graffiti) crap... But it really is a fantastic game, and a worthy successor to Super Mario 64 (they're almost identical in terms of their core gameplay).

Anyway, I'm now on to Wario World, and I hafta say I'm kinda disappointed. I've been disappointed with just about every Wario game since Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land (save for the first WarioWare), but this one is a real departure from the original portable series. It's essentially a simplistic side-scrolling brawler with hints of exploration and puzzle solving. I've only completed the first section of the first area, but I think I've got a pretty good sense of where they're going with this. It's fun, but it doesn't look or feel particularly polished; definitely not in the way that Luigi's Mansion and Super Mario Sunshine are. Apparently it's quite short though, so that means I'll be able to get to Metroid Prime sooner :)

I like Firefox 3. I hear Opera 9.5 is quite good as well, but I've never been a big fan of the interface.

I learned a lot more about Xerox multifunction printers and managing them over a network than I ever expected to at work this week. Up next is consolidating our servers (decommissioning the old one) and internalizing our MX record.

They found me!

Finished Assassin's Creed. I enjoyed the game quite a bit and can't wait to see what happens next in the story, but the gameplay did get pretty tired by the end. Then again, I saved every citizen, scaled every viewpoint, and completed every intelligence gathering mission (almost completely unnecessary to finish the game), so perhaps being less of a completist would've alleviated a lot of that repetitive feeling. It's interesting that at the outset I couldn't wait to get into the 1191 gameplay, but by the end I was pretty impatient with the 1191 setting and looking forward to new developments in the near-future setting... I guess that's effective at setting up sequels :)

I've now moved back to Dead Rising. That game frustrates me. It's unconventional in its design, so the learning curve is steep... Initially, I had a huge problem with missing side missions and dealing with the save system, but now I'm getting comfortable with the idea of focusing on the main mission, managing my time and resources within the unfamiliar limitations of the game, and bothering no further than is convenient with side missions. It's a sandbox-style game with some pretty huge limitations, and that kinda rubs me the wrong way... But this could still end up being fun. I just need to remind myself that I'm playing this game for the zombie-bashing experience rather than the story or the achievements.

Still devoting a lot of my time to unlocking characters in Marvel Vs. Capcom 2; 13 to go.

Found a copy of Panzer Dragoon Zwei yesterday... Finally :)

I also grabbed the free demo of the Spore Creature Creator. It's limited, but still fun. After seeing the creatures that some people out there have come up with though, I'm thinking this is a product that really appeals to children, visual artists, and perverts... And I'm none of those things. Hopefully the full game offers something I can really sink my teeth into.

Anyway, I was downloading a build of Debian over BitTorrent the other evening, and noticed things were moving pretty slowly... 30kB/s, to be exact. I'm pretty sure that's not 7Mb/s, so I tried a few other Torrents; same deal. It was fast again around 2:00am. Looks like Bell finally got around to throttling its customers in the newly fibre optic-ified neighbourhoods :\ So... Do I wait to see what comes of this, or switch to cable and hope for the best?

Finally, I figured out what's been wrong with my main PC! Looks like one set of the front USB ports on my case (I have two sets of two) is the culprit. I'd been keeping my XBOX 360 controller plugged into one of them, and keeping it unplugged for a month solved the problem. Plugging it back in this week had things acting funny again. I tried my iPod on the port just above that one (same motherboard connector), and got the same result. That's annoying.

Forgot how much fun MvC2 was...

New acquisitions: Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Skies Of Arcadia, Resident Evil: Code Veronica (all for Dreamcast), and Wario Land 4.

I've almost completed Assassin's Creed. I'm about halfway through Memory Block 5 and the gameplay is really starting to drag here. The story's taken some really interesting twists leading up to this point, but the designers decided that throwing even more of the same tasks and enemies (because your character has apparently become quite well known to the enemy) was a good way to ramp up the difficulty... Yeah, not so much in an already repetitive game. Being noticed every 30 seconds and having to fend off ten enemies, while not particularly challenging, isn't exactly fun and organic; I've gone from a master stealth assassin to a street fighting swordsman... Wasn't the point of this whole experience to re-learn the value of subtlely? The game's still fun, but just a little less so now. The ending had better be worth it!

Speaking of worth it, Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness - Episode One was totally worth it :) It was a little easy and a touch repetitive, but it was fun throughout. The combat was great fun, the story was engrossing, the writing was top-notch, and there were a few real laugh out loud moments for me... Which are generally pretty rare.

Anyway, I've been learning my way around some rat's-nest of a dated Nortel phone system at work these days... I wonder if my predecessors - who designed and deployed the various networks here - even cared about what they were doing, or just wanted it to kinda work so they could do something else :\

A 9GBps dedicated line and an array of over 2,000 servers!

So I splurged a little today... I bought Wario Land 3 for Game Boy Color (still need Wario Land 2 for Game Boy and Game Boy Color, Wario Land 4 for Game Boy Advance, Wario Land for Virtual Boy, Wario: Master Of Disguise and WarioWare: Touched! for DS, WarioWare: Mega Party Games for GameCube, as well as WarioWare Smooth Moves and the upcoming Wario Land Shake for Wii... And I guess Wario Blast too ;) ), Donkey Kong 64 (oh holy crap, the intro is horrendous! The actual game doesn't seem all that great either so far; I'm having a hard time believing that this was made by the same company that made Donkey Kong Country and Conker's Bad Fur Day), Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (with the bongos... SO GOOD!!!), Link's Crossbow Training (surprisingly deep, and lots of fun so far), and LostWinds (really, you should just buy this one if you haven't already; it's gorgeous, intuitive, great fun, and only $10). Now, I still have 1000 Wii points left... I was thinking of downloading Opera so that I could play these, but does anyone else have any other suggestions?

Read this article at Ars Techinca... Does anyone else find what MediaDefender has at its disposal frightening? Seriously, it reads like the beginnings of some new techno-thriller story!

Oh, and today I learned how to write nifty login scripts using VBScript.

Oh my God, yes...

Beyond Good & Evil 2!!!

Who knows...

Got a pre-POST hang at 2.4GHz @ 533MHz FSB... Seeing as how the CPU, RAM, and HDD all pass numerous diagnostics with flying colours, swapping video cards and CMOS batteries made no difference, two clean installations of two different versions of Windows solved nothing, and there were months of flawless operation with the exact same configuration for months before this all started, I'm beginning to suspect the PSU... Guh... I'm just gonna put up with the sketchy startup until something dies :\

Hrm...

DDR320 speeds didn't fix things... Looks like the CPU is going back down to stock speeds for the time being.

On a happier note, the demo for Penny Arcade's new game, On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, is pretty sweet. Very pretty to watch, awfully funny throughout, and it sports some pretty solid combat mechanics. My only two gripes were the lack of colour choices in the character creation section and the pacing of the first area; things felt a little stilted, running from screen to screen, searching objects, and interacting with characters. Then again, these complaints were derived from a sampling of what looks to be a pretty unique game, and it's likely that these mechanics will make more sense (or at least be something I'll become accustomed to) as I play the full thing. Yes, I intend to play the full thing :)

P.S. Does anyone else think that these look awesome? ;)

DDR320?

Just a brief update: I've ramped the CPU back up to 3.6GHz @ 800MHz FSB, but I've scaled the RAM down to DDR320 (yeah, 320... That's what the BIOS says). So far so good...

AdSense thinks I'm gay?

I just added a Google AdSense box over in the right column of this page (for testing purposes; I don't expect to make any money from this site), and while previewing the changes, there were all kinds of ads for gay bloggers and gay dating sites... I don't remember writing anything like that here, but then who am I to question the power of Google's omnipresence. Perhaps it's a little joke the Blogger people like to play on bloggers previewing their sites, or maybe they were pre-emptive ads meant to make me post something like this ;)

Anyway, the bad video card theory fizzled, as my old GeForce 6800 yielded the same results. I scaled the CPU back down to stock speeds (2.4GHz @ 533MHz FSB from 3.6GHz @ 800MHz FSB), and things seem peachy again, but that's a preformance sacrifice I'm not prepared to make... Especially since it also scales the RAM back to DDR333 speeds. What happens if I find a replacement CPU that runs on an 800MHz FSB stock and the RAM starts acting up again at DDR400? I could start swapping parts and build-up around my Athlon XP 3200+, but that raises the question of nForce2 support in Vista... *sigh*

P.S. The FireWire Solo doesn't like S3 in Windows XP either.

*grumble grumble*

Installing M-Audio drivers and then installing Windows XP SP3 works fine, but my system started hanging pre-POST again with the XP installation... So I went back to Vista SP1. My current theory is video card overheating; it's plausible since this all started after running Assassin's Creed, a particularly taxing game. I will test this theory further this evening. I'm pretty sure the card in question is still under warranty.

Today, at work, I deployed BlackBerry Professional Software on the server. Wireless e-mail synchronization is cool :)

I finished Halo 3's single-player campaign the other day. It was fun and a good length, but I found the story a little hard to follow, especially since the voices were kinda quiet in relation to everything else... Though my sporadic gameplay and the great length between playing Halo 2 and Halo 3 likely didn't help either ;)

Grrr...

I wiped my main computer's C: drive before messing with the hardware any further... Decided to go with XP SP3 instead of Vista, just for the hell of it. Looks like M-Audio doesn't want us installing SP3-uncertified device drivers post-SP3 installation. I guess I could've installed the OS, then the drivers, and then SP3, but that's something I'll test later (unless they get SP3-certified drivers out in a timely manner). So my main PC is now running Windows XP Professional SP2 and all seems well. No pre- or post-POST freezing so far *fingers crossed* I'm still tempted to blame Assassin's Creed.

At work today, I've set up WSUS 3.0 SP1 on the server, which entailed learning more about IIS and GPOs.

Silver linings...

Luigi's Mansion is a little short, but oh so sweet! In all seriousness, one of the best games I've played in a long time. Super Mario Sunshine is next, and anything else on any platform is on hold.

Replaced that sketchy drive in the RAID array at work. 68-pin Ultra320 SCSI drives are getting harder to find around here... It's all SAS these days.

Still can't figure out what's wrong with my main computer. Changed the CMOS battery, disabled my motherboard's integrated sound hardware (which had been enabled around the same time things started acting funny), tried bypassing Vista (to see if it was something caused at shutdown), tried different ACPI settings... Still no luck. I'm gonna try scaling the CPU back to stock speeds, different RAM, and a different hard drive. If none of that does the trick, then fuck it. Salvage what I can, sell the rest, and build myself a nice 64-bit quad-core setup ;)

Just more stuff...

I'm may have mentioned this already, but I picked up one of these from a local shop a little while back. I also picked up Metal Slug: 2nd Mission and Dark Arms: Beast Buster 1999 for Neo Geo Pocket Color.

On the Wii/Game Cube front, I've picked up a new Nintendo 251-block memory card and a new platinum Nintendo wired controller, Luigi's Mansion, Wario World, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Master Quest.

One of the older physical drives in one of the RAID arrays on the server at work failed... I updated controller drivers, firmware, and management software; rebuilt the array for now; deciding what do next. Remote management is cool :)

Wheee!!!

Impulse-bought a Wii while I was waiting for a friend's photos to be developed at a local Wal-Mart. Picked up Wii Play (mostly for the extra Wiimote), Sonic And The Secret Rings (quite possibly the best 3D Sonic game yet; too bad the story's so lame), NiGHTS: Journey Of Dreams (analog control is a little sketchy and having to replay entire levels after failing to beat bosses is lame; pretty good otherwise), and a bunch of GameCube games (Super Mario Sunshine, The Legend Of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, F-Zero GX). I'll be borrowing the likes of Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the Metroid Prime games, and Zack & Wiki from my brother, and I'll buy Wario World and anything else awesome that I've been missing as I find them. Had to knock my XBOX off of the component switch to make room for the Wii in 480p though :(

Still not sure what's up with my main PC hanging around POST, but I did end up buying one of these and got my important stuff backed up.

Also, I think I'm starting to get the hang of Pro Tools :)

Oh, and the server at work is finally in top shape. Dual dual-core 2.8GHz Xeons, 4GB of RAM, two RAID 1 arrays totalling ~240GB plus a single 500GB back-up drive. No more error reports aside from the odd mistyped login info and failed print jobs.

Been too long...

Let's start with the easy stuff...

Grabbed the demos for Iron Man and Condemned 2. Iron Man was kinda fun, if simplistic; I'm curious to see how the full game pans out. Condemned 2 is just weird. I wasn't really sure what was going on, couldn't see much, and then Yahtzee's video review of the full game just made me sad... I really dug the first Condemned, and this sequel's just rubbing me the wrong way. I'm sure I'll get around to playing it some day, but I'm suddenly not in any kind of rush to do so.

I did pick up a used copy of Assassin's Creed for XBOX 360, and it's a hell of a lot of fun :) SUPER repetitive, but the fantastic graphics, wonderfully cinematic presentation of a vaguely interesting plot, and freedom to run wild makes it all quite bearable. I like this game like I like Crackdown; it's the freedom that makes it fun.

My main PC is acting up. It's crashing at different points of the start-up process, sometimes with error beeps before POSTing, sometimes during POST, and sometimes while Vista is starting up. I've tested the RAM, hard drive, and CPU extensively, tweaked various settings in the BIOS, checked the motherboard for burst capacitors and the like, and even reseated and rerouted various cables inside the case... Still not doing the trick. The weird thing is that it only does this once after turning the machine on, and then boots fine after a reset... Gonna get going on some external data backup next :\

Now then, the big stuff. Finally got an opportunity to go to town on the server at work. The system is now split over three drives (two RAID 1 arrays and a backup-image drive); e-mail, database, user, and shared data is now organized in a sensible manner; backups include the RAID arrays, the backup drive, tape backups, and a clone of the system drive on another hard drive that's sitting in a fire/waterproof safe. I fixed various bugs during the overhaul process as well, including a few long-standing (from before my time here) Exchange and time synchronization issues that had been affecting things like backups and security audits. Up next is a RAM upgrade (Dell was late shipping it to us; just got here this morning) and some spring cleaning of outdated user profiles and enormous log files (many resulting from those Exchange issues). I was at work for some 20 hours straight getting everything done, but it was actually really interesting and a lot of fun in the end :)

I thought you'd changed!

Ubisoft really aren't doing themselves any favours with Assassin's Creed...

I'm rarely an early adopter, and when I heard there'd be a Windows port of the game, I opted to hold off on the console versions and wait. After hearing about the new gameplay features of the Windows port, I even passed on a sale of the 360 version ($30 off). When I tried my brother's copy of the game on my single-core Windows machine to see if the dual-core requirements were true, I found out that while the game is sluggish, it is artificially so because of the 'phone home' DRM. Disabling my Internet connection worked wonders to improve performance (the game is actually playable now), but the game still isn't super smooth at higher settings and is ugly as sin on lower settings. So I've decided to go back to the 360 version, but I'm tempted to hold off in case there's a re-release with the new PC content...

I think I'm just gonna go and find a used copy of the 360 version and hope for some new downloadable content over Live... That'll be my screw you to Ubisoft; I get to play their pretty game, and they fail to profit from me ;) The StarForce-laden Windows versions of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Prince Of Persia: The Two Thrones hurt me bad, but this one may leave some scars. Bad form, my Canadian brethren... Bad form.

Stuff 'n Junk

Downloaded the Army Of Two and SEGA Superstars Tennis demos for XBOX 360. The former requires two players (which I didn't have at that point in time), and I don't really like the shot controls in the latter... Though that may change with more experience. Hrm, guess I shouldn't've bothered mentioning either yet :)

Anyway, I picked up Assassin's Creed for Windows, and yes, it really does seem to require a dual-core CPU. It actually runs pretty well with decent graphics settings on my single-core CPU, but then starts to chug after maybe a minute. If I change even the refresh rate, the sluggishness disappears... For another minute or so :\ I'm guessing that it's more of a design issue rather than a capability thing. The game was designed for the multi-core processors of the XBOX 360 and PS3, and I'm guess that Ubisoft didn't think it was worth their time to rewrite the engine from scratch just to accommodate li'l old me. Funny thing: Since uninstalling Assassin's Creed, my computer has twice failed to POST and once failed to find an OS on my hard drive. I've run memory and hard drive tests, but have found nothing wrong. Hrmmm...

In other news, I recently discovered that if you have a Seagate or Maxtor hard drive attached to your computer, you are eligible to download and use a Seagate-branded copy of Acronis True Image 10. That's a pretty sweet deal, kids. Also, I'm considering picking up one of these, though I'm not sure if the $22 premium for a FireWire400 port is necessary for my needs.

Business As Usual

Recent developments:

Picked up Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection. Played the first one on Windows, never finished the second on account of the XBOX version's sketchy control scheme, and never played the third because I never finished the second.

Finally made some progress in Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. Luna wasn't that hard to beat, but it was just so frustrating to have to replay all of those preceding mindless minigames each time that I never wanted to try more than once or twice at a time. The following levels aren't proving to be much more fun, as I'm learning that the game rewards failure... Even if you keep dying, your character and weapon stats (and your bolts, if you're careful) increase, ultimately making things easier the more you fail. It's a clever system, but I'm not sure that I enjoy it a whole lot.

I didn't bother to re-install any of the three latest Need For Speed games after my Vista SP1 upgrade, and I don't seem to be missing them... The later police chases in Most Wanted were getting ridiculous (and time-consuming), ProStreet was fun but wasn't really holding my interest... A little too much seriousness in my Need For Speed :\ I may throw Carbon back on though, just because it's simple, over-the-top ridiculousness.

I did put Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 on though, and that's been fun... Frustrating, starting out with a new golfer, but ultimately pretty fun. I'll probably be picking up the Windows version of Assassin's Creed soon as well, which may or may not run on my single-core PC. Worst-case scenario, it'll run nicely on either of my brother's machines, so they can enjoy it.

Oh, and I hooked an APC Back-UPS 400 up to my downloading/burning/service PC. I got the UPS for free, and figured I might as well put it to use... Though I have no idea how long it'll last under that kind of load; hopefully at least a few minutes :)

Expansion Module #1!

I walked into a local game shop on my way home from work today, and noticed a cardboard box by the front door with an Intellivision, an Atari 7800, and a ColecoVision with the Expansion Module #1 in it. These boxes are usually reserved for crappy Game Boy accessories and 16-bit sports games, so I was a little surprised to see those systems piled in there too. I was mostly curious about the ColecoVision Expansion Module #1, as I'd never seen one before (though I have seen Expansion Module #2) and because it allows you to play Atari 2600 games on your ColecoVision. I gathered up the parts (it also included a power adapter and two controllers) and brought them to the counter where the clerk told me that they were broken, and $1 each. I figured I might be able to use the main console for parts (I already have a ColecoVision), and just show off the Expansion Module #1... Or maybe I'd be able to get them working. Well, I didn't have to do much to get both parts working flawlessly, so I've been playing the likes of Venture, Donkey Kong, and Keystone Kapers all night! Probably the best $2 I've ever spent :)

Suspensions, sleeping, and hibernation...

Suspending (S1) and resuming Vista seems to agree with the FireWire Solo.

Does anyone even use S2?

Putting Vista to sleep (S3) and then waking it up does not agree with the FireWire Solo at all; lights blink continually, system shutdowns stall... It ain't pretty.

Allowing Vista to hibernate (S4) and then rousing it is a little more agreeable with the FireWire Solo, but the interface doesn't seem to want to produce any sound after that.

S1 it is for now, I guess...

More audio stuff...

In non-audio related happenings, I'm still prepping for some major server overhauling at work; currently deciding which disk cloning software to use to get a 12GB non-RAID partition from a SCSI drive onto a new 74GB SCSI RAID 1 array.

In audio-related happenings, I recently slapped together a budget recording rig for my friend's PC (Windows XP on a Celeron D, Creative Sound Blaster Live! Drive I, CoolEdit Pro)... Well, all he really needed was a decent dynamic mic and an XLR-to-1/4" cable, but he doesn't know too much about that kind of stuff so I helped him out.

Back on the FireWire Solo front, I noticed that Pro Tools (M-Powered 7.4cs3) was knocking the interface's sample rate from 96kHz down to 44.1kHz and locking it there... Vista supports 24-bit/96kHz just fine, so this was perplexing... Turns out it's a documented issue. I was able to work around it by re-enabling my motherboard's integrated audio (some C-Media CMI97xx, using Windows XP drivers) and setting it as the default audio device before I load Pro Tools. Annoying, but not too bad.

All of this audio tweaking and research (coupled with a little bit of scandal) has me thinking about the state of sound processors in today's PC realm. Is resource-sharing onboard audio finally good enough? If PCI slots start disappearing en masse, will PCI Express take over, or is an external interface the way to go? If things go external and PCI disappears, will FireWire controllers adapt or is resource-sharing USB good enough? Perhaps digital outs and external receivers will become the norm? Then again, with all those multi-core CPUs becoming commonplace, maybe they'll just take over the grunt work and onboard audio will become nothing more than a pass-through...

Of Sickness And Service Packs

I got sick last week... Like, debilitating, bed-ridden, sweating, hallucinating, sleepless nights sick. I missed a week of work, a show that my band was booked to play downtown, and the release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1.

Well, once I was up to the task of moving my body and concentrating on something for more than five minutes at a time, I downloaded the SP1 redistributable package from Microsoft, made my back-ups, wiped the C: drive, and started fresh. Zero problems, runs great... I don't actually notice much of a difference from before. My FireWire Solo still has issues coming out of S3 mode, but that's it; otherwise, I've had a fantastic Vista experience, even since my days with the betas and release candidates.

Creativity

As if their history of questionable product support and false advertising wasn't enough, Creative Labs presented customers with this in the wake of Windows Vista.

Yes, that's old news, but I was reminded of it all when I went to format my Windows 98 SE machine. The CT4830 (Sound Blaster Live!) that I had been using in the previous (ancient) installation on that machine had worked just fine. After the re-installation, however, it would detect as a "PCI Early VGA Device"... Sweet. I tried a number of different fixes without any luck, so I installed the SB0220 (Sound Blaster Live! 5.1) I had lying around... Didn't detect at all. Now, it's worth noting that those two cards are special because they're OEM products that Creative Labs refused to support for many years, even though they're based on hardware identical to their corresponding retail products... Creative has since released drivers for these products, but I couldn't get them to recognize either card in my old Pentium II system. So I popped in my ISA Sound Blaster 16 (from my old Digital 486 DX2 machine), and it worked like a charm :)

In my frustration, I've removed the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS from my main system, opting to use my FireWire Solo exclusively as that system's sound card.

I'm still here...

New job's been keeping me busy remedying Windows SBS 2003 and Exchange Server issues, recovering accidentally deleted databases, resurrecting computers that run proprietary climate control software, establishing testbeds for web development, upgrading server hardware (new Ultra320 SCSI RAID arrays!), and so on... Good times :)

Anyway, I accidentally killed my NHL 08 season and my back-ups weren't working, but I'm gonna use that as an excuse to play with all the mods out there; new rosters, jerseys, etc...

Before I go, I should mention that I really dig Patapon, and God Of War: Chains Of Olympus is awfully impressive.

Damnit, Tycho!

Penny Arcade and Psychonauts fans might recall this. One of the finest and most under-appreciated of last generation's impressive achievements in gaming was skipped by one of the community's most influential outlets because the guy who does most of the writing is neurotic about collectibles in games... And then he neglects to even mention it for months because he is ashamed of that fact. I was disappointed, to say the least. Now, I'm not saying those guys must play and promote every game that I feel deserves such publicity, and I'm certainly not suggesting that neuroses are trivial; but I cannot hide my frustration...

...Especially now that it seems as though he's done it again. Today's post mentions Patapon for PSP. I've been playing around with this one myself, and while I've barely scratched the surface, I can already say that I disagree with Tycho's personal take on the game. Like his Psychonauts nod, he doesn't suggest that the game is bad, but he makes sure to note that his annoyances with the sound design affect his gameplay experience, and I can't help but regard his impressions of the game as a sort of bad review. Personally, I love the graphics, audio, rhythm, and creativity of Patapon. The only downside for me is the strategy slant of the gameplay; the very aspect that will draw many further into the experience.

Does Tycho truly realize what kind of power he wields? I can't help but wonder if Psychonauts would've done better at retail if he had endorsed it outright, and I'm curious to see how Patapon fares after this line: "It's only twenty dollars I suppose, a savings over most games on that platform, but you can save an additional twenty dollars if you don't buy it at all." I mean, this man may have single-handedly relegated the pinnacle of 3D platforming (Psychonauts easily rivals Mario 64 in my books) and the first major foray into the interesting new genre of rhythm-strategy games into relative unpopularity simply because he has a hard time collecting things and can't find a rhythm through the sound effects.

How allusive...

The vast majority of my time gaming over the past little while has been spent with NHL 08 and Adam Foster's two Half-Life mods, Someplace Else and MINERVA: Metastasis. While neither mod is particularly long, they are reasonably challenging and entertaining as they expand upon the Half-Life universe. Also, while I personally only fleetingly paid any mind to the unique level design, I later learned that both mods employ specifically efficient and unconventional (in such games) design philosophies. Definitely worth checking out. I've also just started working my way through City 7: Toronto Conflict V1... It's not as tight as Adam Foster's work, but then it is a decidedly different kind of mod project.

Anyway, I performed my first kernel upgrade in Slackware the other day... Went pretty smoothly; reconfiguring LILO and nVidia's drivers was the worst of it. I'm now looking at tackling Sabayon (huge download) or Gentoo (just plain intimidating) as my next project. Oh, and I've reverted back to 'stable' releases of Debian for my laptop after some tricky WiFi issues with the latest 'testing' releases.

Vista compatible, eh?

M-Audio recently released non-beta 32-bit Vista drivers for the FireWire Solo... My FireWire Solo still doesn't work properly when waking from S3 mode. I tried a different FireWire controller just to make sure that wasn't the problem. It wasn't. Avid/Digidesign has also recently released ProTools 7.4, which introduces 32-bit Vista compatibility to the product... Time to see what this ProTools thing is all about.

In other news, did you know that FileMaker Pro has an option to delete all records in a database? Did you know that it apparently can't be undone? Did you know that the delete all records option is immediately below the delete current record option in the drop-down menu? Rest assured, I didn't accidentally delete an entire database, but someone I know did... And I got asked to try and recover it from an unlabeled Excel export of the data... Wheee! :)

An adventure 65 million years in the making, eh?

I completed Jurassic Park on SEGA CD last night. The graphics have held up reasonably well since 1993, and the game is just long and challenging enough to keep an adventure gaming fan such as myself really engrossed in the experience. I particularly liked how collecting each dinosaur species' eggs required a realistic approach that is specific to each dinosaur's traits; how utahraptors require frenzied combat, dilophosaurs require speed, tricerataops require caution and timing, etc... It adds a decent bit of realism to the game. The acting isn't too cheesy either, and Dr. Bakker's informational videos are genuinely interesting and educational while providing crucial hints to help players solve many of the game's puzzles. While Jurassic Park would've been close to perfect with a quicksave or checkpoint feature, their absence led to a lot of wasted time travelling back to the points where the dinosaurs killed you; it's the only real strike against the game, as anything else would just be nitpicking.

Anyway, I've picked up Sonic CD (what a fantastic soundtrack!), Tomcat Alley, and Panic! for SEGA CD, Virtua Fighter Kids and Fighters Megamix for Saturn, Beyond Good And Evil for XBOX (it was $10, and I loved it on PC), and Rez HD since my last post. Panic! (a hand drawn cartoon game comprised entirely of arbitrarily pushing buttons and watching what happens as a result) and Fighters Megamix (Virtua Fighter vs. Fighting Vipers vs. random SEGA characters) are two in particular that I've been meaning to play for many years now, and they both live up to my expectations... They're both exceedingly weird and inexplicably fun to play :) Oh, and Rez HD is as amazing as ever. Buy it.

*sigh* If only...

I'm 22 games into the season on "Difficult" and Mats Sundin leads the league in points, Jason Blake leads in goals, and Bryan McCabe leads in assists... Isn't that how it was supposed to be? :\

Not quite as complicated as converting celcius to fahrenheit...

Why does iTunes tell me how many minutes long my playlist is until it gets to be over an hour long, at which point it gives me a decimal value ("1.2 Hours")? I mean, if I'm making a playlist to burn to an 80 minute CD, I'd like to know that it will fit without converting decimal values to minutes (1.25 hours = 1 hour and 15 minutes)... I mean, honestly! Also, just because I'm a jerk, I played the same song on both iTunes and foobar2000 at the same time... foobar used ~14MB of RAM, and iTunes used ~54MB... Guh.

So I got a slightly more regular job the other day. I'm now an assistant sysadmin at a not for profit company downtown... Should be interesting :) Anyway, I treated myself to a SEGA CD and some games after getting the job... It's nice to finally see my Genesis-SEGA CD-32X combo in all its glory :) I picked up Jurassic Park (it's like Myst!) and Spider-Man vs. Kingpin (it's not like Myst!) for the SEGA CD, as well as Mischief Makers for N64 and Venture for ColecoVision... Turns out my ColecoVision doesn't quite work :\ Also got started on Stuntman: Ignition, and while it's pretty frustrating and reptitive, I'm have a lot of fun with it :) Oh, and finally, Rez HD hits XBOX Live Arcade tomorrow!!!

Progress!

Kane and Lynch is now out of the way... While I enjoyed the first half of the game more so than the final half, it was a pretty solid experience all around. I covered most of the qualities of the game in my previous post, and things seem to remain consistent throughout in those departments. I did find that tactical positioning, weapon choice, and ordering crew members around can really enrich the experience, but people who prefer to run 'n gun through the game will manage as well, albeit with a few more retries ;) What I really liked by the end was the engaging, morally charged story; no fairytale endings here. Really, with fantastic graphics, varied locales, quality acting, open ended gameplay, and a challenging story, I don't see why so many people are putting the game down. I had a great time with it... Maybe the console controls really are that painful, but the Windows version does not deserve the drubbing it got from a lot of critics.

Anyway, I'm now on to Sam and Max: Season 2, Episode 1 - Ice Station Santa and Episode 2 - Moai Better Blues. That leaves me with Call Of Duty 4, Lost Planet, and Overlord to finish on the PC front; it's nice to be making progress there... Of course, after those three, I still hope to play through Indigo Prophecy, Riven, Myst IV & V, Outcast, Jade Empire, Fallout 1 & 2, Planescape Torment, and all three Thief games... Yeah :)

Dead Men

Finished The Two Thrones. Great game. Played through BlackSite: Area 51 and, wow, I can't believe how low the scores have been for this title! It's got great graphics, solid acting, reasonably varied locales, a poignantly politically charged narrative, and classic Area 51 gameplay successfully transplanted into a modern-day FPS mould. I think that's where a lot of people missed the point; this is an Area 51 game (i.e. a dumb shooter a la Lethal Enforcers, Virtua Cop, Time Crisis, House Of The Dead, etc...) with an anti-war message. It is not Call of Duty 4. It was a bit short, but very pretty and a lot of fun to play through.

There was one thing that really bugged me about BlackSite though: You can't turn off the rumble function of your gamepad, so if you choose to play with a mouse and keyboard, your gamepad will rumble across the desk as you play... Yeah, wonderful :\ It gets worse though; I've started playing Kane and Lynch: Dead Men, another harshly received title, and it won't even let me use my mouse and keyboard while my gamepad is plugged in! Argh! For a game that is near unplayable with a gamepad (yet satisfyingly entertaining with a mouse and keyboard), you'd think they'd give you the option...

This brings me to my next point: I'm about a third of the way through Kane and Lynch, and I'm loving it. The graphics are really fantastic at times, the story is compelling, and the acting is great. The gameplay, while admittedly little more than a simple mechanic to involve players in the story, is still pretty satisfying... Play the nightclub level, and you'll see. No, Kane and Lynch is not a particularly challenging game, but it does entertain with its simplistic gameplay and high production values.

It looks as though many reviewers got a little wrapped up in the hype and pretense surrounding these two games and kinda missed the point. Both titles are mindless fun and tell stories that are a cut above what the majority of games are laden with. While I don't think either is worth the ~$60 they're going for (I don't like paying more than $50 for any game, personally), they are both definitely worth picking up of you ever find them on the cheap.

Speaking of on the cheap, I got my free copy of Undertow... Did you get yours? :)

Oh, and one last thing, if this is true, I'll just get Assassin's Creed for my XBOX 360, thanks...

More, please!

Bionic Commando: Rearmed. Yeah, I'm excited :) More remakes, please! I'm also kind of excited to learn that we'll be getting a free copy of Undertow on XBOX Live Arcade in response to the network outages over the holidays! While the demo didn't blow me a away, it's not at all a bad game, and free is always nice.

NHL08 seems to have gotten pretty easy as my "difficult" season has progressed, but it's still the best hockey game out there, and it is fun, so I guess I'll manage ;) Also, I've almost finished The Two Thrones, and, thankfully, that arduous puzzle-to-minigame-to-boss-battle sequence seems to have been the worst of things as the final chapter is progressing along quite nicely.

I also finished TimeShift. There's a lot of potential for an original experience in there, but the pacing really holds things back. The novelty of the time shifting gameplay wears off pretty quickly, and first half of the game starts to drag; combat becomes either frustrating or gimmicky, and travel from point to point feels tedious. While I had a lot more fun during the second half, I don't think it was because of a drastic shift in gameplay (though the missions did seem shorter, and the combat more frenetic) or because my guys started making some real headway in the war, but rather because the plot started to make a little more sense and I had a compelling reason to finish the game. The over-arcing story in TimeShift is revealed through painfully short and horribly fragmented (and thus mildly confusing, even without the time travel motif) cutscenes interspersed throughout the game. That was a bad idea. Give me a solid intro movie, reveal important plot points through cohesive and non-intrusive means throughout the first act, give me the big honkin' plot twist after the midway point in the form of the the whole movie that you hacked to pieces, and then build towards the climax and give me a rewarding cutscene for the finale. I say that the game has potential because all of these components are present in the final version of TimeShift, but are so mangled that it takes a concerted effort to understand just exactly what is going on, let alone the importance of the whole story. TimeShift could've been a more action-oriented Half-Life-esque title, but instead we got a dumb, gimmicky action game that narrowly fails at delivering any kind of redeeming narrative... Still, it's worth a rental.

Aw, and they were sooo close...

I loved the original Prince Of Persia, I never played the second one, was late playing the third one (thank God!), and loved The Sands Of Time... I felt really disappointed and frustrated by Warrior Within, not because of the focus on combat, the darker tone, or the nu-metal soundtrack, but because of a very few game design decisions that marred the entire experience for me. The boss battles were more like a bad 3D fighting game than the fantastic, fluid, acrobatic experience that The Sands Of Time had brought to the table, and there was no way to backtrack to discover certain secret areas that not only unlocked a powerful new weapon, but THE PROPER ENDING TO THE GAME as well! This isn't like a special bonus cinematic or an unlocked game mode, but rather how the story actually goes! Imagine me, maybe halfway through the game, realizing that I'm fucked because I missed one of several secret areas earlier and now must restart the entire game with a strategy guide by my side throughout if I want to see how it's supposed to end! Frustration doesn't even begin to describe what I was feeling as I plodded through the rest of what was an otherwise entertaining game.

Anyway, I finally picked-up The Two Thrones and was delighted to see that the designers had remedied many of the problems introduced by Warrior Within. Speed Kills essentially make combat optional, boss battles incorporate the surrounding environments and thus require more than just combat, and secret areas seem to yield only health bonuses, making them optional but still rewarding. I thought everything was actually pretty wonderful until last night, when I got to the end of the 4th chapter. I found myself faced with a terribly unintuitive puzzle that can be solved with trial and error, which lead directly to an extended chariot driving scene with no checkpoints, followed by an unskippable cutscene (why these exist in any game is beyond my understanding) that leads directly into a boss battle... Of course, I saw none of this coming, and was terribly low on resources by the time I got to the save point just before this boss battle, and now must revert to an earlier save (before the unintuitive puzzle; thank goodness I was making multiple saves) in order to conserve enough resources to have a fighting chance at this boss battle. They were so close! What a solid game otherwise! I really hope that sequence isn't indicative of the fifth and final chapter...

Otherwise, I've been trudging through TimeShift, playing through TrackMania United (uses a runtime version of Star-Force; no performance-inhibiting drivers installed!), and getting into a new season in NHL08 on the "difficult" difficulty level... As my record on the right side of this page shows, my suspicions of rubber-band gameplay need be further honed (the first three games of the season were mighty suspicious), but things do seem much more realistic at this level than at others.

Sweeet...

The other day, on the side of the road, covered in snow, I found an HP LaserJet 4MV with a toner cartridge, a JetDirect card, and 20MB of RAM installed... Works like a charm :) For what it's worth, the self test page count is 229061.

Otherwise, I've been playing some more NHL08 and TimeShift. I'm still not digging the strictness of the offside calls in NHL08, and I'm almost certain that there's some rubber-band gameplay employed; I've seen too many unlikely goals (like three in a row) at fantastically opportune moments. I know this stuff happens in real life too, but the regularity of it in a hard season in NHL08 really detracts from the experience for me; it's just not fun when the difficulty levels essentially consist of "blow out for your team", "closer games, but you still always win", and "the other team will beat you by one goal due to highly unlikely comebacks". Oh, and TimeShift has gotten really boring... I'm only about a third of the way through.