Big Gears 2 announcement at GDC by Epic...
Been working on a couple new things that don't involve gaming - I actually cancelled my subscription to Gamefly (which means I'm serious).
I'm currently writing a non-video game related book that I will self-publish and researching rental real estate (slow and lots to learn).
Getting taxes together (ugh - living in 2 states for part of the year sucks).
Thought we were going to buy a new car, and wasted lots of time looking at cars.... and then we didn't do anything.
Got the Xmas/Holiday cards out via e-mail and some via postal only 2 months late.
We went to Vermont and to Virginia Beach on weekends to visit Michelle's brother and sister... so we're not totally homebound.
Anyway, not a great update - but something to keep this from becoming a dust bunny under the internet bed.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Yeah, been neglecting this
Haven't written in a while... we still need to get out Xmas cards with the move and all... so you can see we are a little behind.
Things of note -
Things of note -
- Passed 30k Gamerpoints - now I can show everyone how much of my life I have wasted playing video games... Mom would have been proud!
- Sold the house in CHI - yay!
- Finished Mass Effect, Jericho, Transformers and Hour of Victory. They were Great, Not as Bad as I Would Have Thought, Boooring and Horrible.
- Playing Assassins Creed and Beautiful Katamari/Pirates at World's End should be arriving via Gamefly.
- Played Drakes Fortune and Rachet and Clank:Future after hauling out my PS3 from the closet and liked them both.
- Need to buy a new car in the next year or so... its getting expensive to repair my 15 year old jalopy
- Making games.... making games....
- Oh, I turned 37 this month.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Playing Tetris with real boxes
Yep, moving day was this week... so we are playing Tetris with all the boxes around our house. We (er, Michelle) is making good progress.
I sent back COD4, I advanced to Prestige level 7 and then I stopped... I just didn't see the sense in going farther.
Over Thanksgiving weekend I went on a game bender... playing through Halo 3 on Legendary and Kane and Lynch on the Morphine level.
Both were okay and both had parts that were frustrating as COD4 was in spots, but I persevered.
So I have played through 40% of Mass Effect and I am enjoying it immensely. Some minor faults, but it's a typical Bioware game.
In the queue is Jericho, Transformers and Flatout 2... a little lighter fare than Mass Effect.
I sent back COD4, I advanced to Prestige level 7 and then I stopped... I just didn't see the sense in going farther.
Over Thanksgiving weekend I went on a game bender... playing through Halo 3 on Legendary and Kane and Lynch on the Morphine level.
Both were okay and both had parts that were frustrating as COD4 was in spots, but I persevered.
So I have played through 40% of Mass Effect and I am enjoying it immensely. Some minor faults, but it's a typical Bioware game.
In the queue is Jericho, Transformers and Flatout 2... a little lighter fare than Mass Effect.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Playing COD4: MP
So I started playing MP and I must give kudos to IW. They have built a game that keeps me going. I am level 43 now and want to get to the last levels to see what this "prestige" thing is. With all the weapon mods and unlockables it's pretty deep.
The only thing is - where are the MP achievements?
Next week I get Kane and Lynch: Dead Men and I'm pretty stoked for that. I loved Freedom Fighters by IO Interactive, so hopefully it will be good.
I may try Skate - since it's different from the Tony Hawk games that I suck at and with that game I may have a hope to get some achievements.
Otherwise, my left wrist hurts from clicking down for "run" on the left stick for COD4. So, I've stopped running - and I'm like the Terminator in battles - I hold my ground and fight until I die an untimely death.
The only thing is - where are the MP achievements?
Next week I get Kane and Lynch: Dead Men and I'm pretty stoked for that. I loved Freedom Fighters by IO Interactive, so hopefully it will be good.
I may try Skate - since it's different from the Tony Hawk games that I suck at and with that game I may have a hope to get some achievements.
Otherwise, my left wrist hurts from clicking down for "run" on the left stick for COD4. So, I've stopped running - and I'm like the Terminator in battles - I hold my ground and fight until I die an untimely death.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Playing COD4: Modern Combat
Okay, someone pointed out my review of COD4 was a little harsh, so my synopsis is this:
I felt like I was in "I Married an Axe Murderer" and I needed Charlie's Dad to pop up and yell:
"Gaz! Move your head! Look at the size of that man's head! Crap, he just shot you."
"I'm not kidding, that's like an orange on a toothpick! Dammit, Gaz moved into your snipe!"
"Well, that's a huge noggin! That's a virtual planetoid! Has its own weather system! Head! Move!"
At that point I was usually dead due to not being able to get off a shot to kill the enemy.
If you are a friend and I actually know you I'll send my review to you if you request it.
I felt like I was in "I Married an Axe Murderer" and I needed Charlie's Dad to pop up and yell:
"Gaz! Move your head! Look at the size of that man's head! Crap, he just shot you."
"I'm not kidding, that's like an orange on a toothpick! Dammit, Gaz moved into your snipe!"
"Well, that's a huge noggin! That's a virtual planetoid! Has its own weather system! Head! Move!"
At that point I was usually dead due to not being able to get off a shot to kill the enemy.
If you are a friend and I actually know you I'll send my review to you if you request it.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
TimeShaft
Ok, so I'm playing Timeshift now. Most people are saying... damn, does he work? Yeah. I work and then I come home and play games for an hour, go to sleep, get ready for work, work and then rinse and repeat. Without a wife, cat, furniture and anything to distract me... this is what happens to a male workaholic/video game developer.
Plus, this all changes in less than 20 days when my 3 months of near-bachelordom come to a screeching halt when all of the above finally arrive in North Carolina. The only thing missing is the sale of our house in Chicago, which will remain empty until spring when the housing market should be better (or a tornado demolishes it - I'm rooting for the tornado).
Anyway, TimeShift.... so Vivendi did FEAR (no, I'm not using the goddamn periods) and they also made this. Wouldn't you think the accountants there would say to their producers...
"So what makes this different?"
"Uh, you stop time... but you do it manually."
"Er, okay.... so how is that fun?"
"Well, you get to decide how to stop it."
"And, are there other things you do?"
"You shoot guys in the head."
"While you are trying to decide how to manually stop time?"
"Er, yeah... well, it sounded good in the meeting."
"And how is this more fun or different than FEAR?"
"Um, I gotta go now..."
It makes me think that besides World of Warcraft, Vivendi has nothing but producers who want to stop time and hire studios who only know how to do that type of game ("Well, we can't hire you until you show us some time manipulation.... sorry... wait, do you have some dwarves in this game?").
Also, this is not the way I would do any kind of time manipulation. FEAR was one button, with that button you stop and start time - simple - no interface with lots of stuff.... click on, click off.
When I play TimeShift and I want to stop time I get what looks like a set of instructions for some alien boom box on my screen.... I can go back in time, stop time or go forward in time... and all of these block my view of 16 guys trying to kill me.
Not good.... not bad enough to get the Mielke Corner Toss... but I've only played the first 2 missions. More time hilarity to ensue....
Plus, this all changes in less than 20 days when my 3 months of near-bachelordom come to a screeching halt when all of the above finally arrive in North Carolina. The only thing missing is the sale of our house in Chicago, which will remain empty until spring when the housing market should be better (or a tornado demolishes it - I'm rooting for the tornado).
Anyway, TimeShift.... so Vivendi did FEAR (no, I'm not using the goddamn periods) and they also made this. Wouldn't you think the accountants there would say to their producers...
"So what makes this different?"
"Uh, you stop time... but you do it manually."
"Er, okay.... so how is that fun?"
"Well, you get to decide how to stop it."
"And, are there other things you do?"
"You shoot guys in the head."
"While you are trying to decide how to manually stop time?"
"Er, yeah... well, it sounded good in the meeting."
"And how is this more fun or different than FEAR?"
"Um, I gotta go now..."
It makes me think that besides World of Warcraft, Vivendi has nothing but producers who want to stop time and hire studios who only know how to do that type of game ("Well, we can't hire you until you show us some time manipulation.... sorry... wait, do you have some dwarves in this game?").
Also, this is not the way I would do any kind of time manipulation. FEAR was one button, with that button you stop and start time - simple - no interface with lots of stuff.... click on, click off.
When I play TimeShift and I want to stop time I get what looks like a set of instructions for some alien boom box on my screen.... I can go back in time, stop time or go forward in time... and all of these block my view of 16 guys trying to kill me.
Not good.... not bad enough to get the Mielke Corner Toss... but I've only played the first 2 missions. More time hilarity to ensue....
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Guilty Pleasures
One of the best collections of gaming reviews is on The Escapist by a guy whose name is Yahtzee. I don't know if being named this made him a cynical bastard and infused him with the spirit of Old Man Murray, but his reviews are awesome. His reviews are under Zero Punctuation.
If I could write gaming reviews... if you are a constant reader you will notice I have stopped... this is how I would love to have enough humor to do something similar.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/
Right! Well I have finished Overlord and I am on to bigger things - even though I am kind of cheesed off at the game since it didn't give me a lousy 20 achievement points when I beat a particularly hard boss because I skipped a cinema and didn't watch the guy die.
Another game that got thrown in the corner for being bad was The Simpsons Game by EA. I thought "Man... I really must be getting old when I can't make timed jumps." Then I figured out I was using logic and someone at EA thought the rules of physics in games should be altered since logical physics just weren't fun.
I compared my frustrations with co-workers who also played the game about making timed jumps and the randomess of floating/hangliding that you do in the game as Bartman or Homer and we all had the same frustrations. We also put (or threw) the game down after not being able to complete the Natural History level (level 2).
The witty dialogue wasn't enough for me to make the same jump for the 17th time... only to miss... oh, so slightly.
Other games... DiRT < what is with the lower case "i"? Anyhow, lots of fun and I'm enjoying it. I won't finish it... but it hasn't gotten the Mielke Corner Toss.
I've seen COD4 in the office and watched people play the intro level and it does look good. I will be getting it shortly in the mail and I can give my opinions on it. If it's like Call of Duty 2 and I have an escort mission with snipers all around... and mortars are shelling me... it's getting tossed not in the corner - but into the street.
If I could write gaming reviews... if you are a constant reader you will notice I have stopped... this is how I would love to have enough humor to do something similar.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/
Right! Well I have finished Overlord and I am on to bigger things - even though I am kind of cheesed off at the game since it didn't give me a lousy 20 achievement points when I beat a particularly hard boss because I skipped a cinema and didn't watch the guy die.
Another game that got thrown in the corner for being bad was The Simpsons Game by EA. I thought "Man... I really must be getting old when I can't make timed jumps." Then I figured out I was using logic and someone at EA thought the rules of physics in games should be altered since logical physics just weren't fun.
I compared my frustrations with co-workers who also played the game about making timed jumps and the randomess of floating/hangliding that you do in the game as Bartman or Homer and we all had the same frustrations. We also put (or threw) the game down after not being able to complete the Natural History level (level 2).
The witty dialogue wasn't enough for me to make the same jump for the 17th time... only to miss... oh, so slightly.
Other games... DiRT < what is with the lower case "i"? Anyhow, lots of fun and I'm enjoying it. I won't finish it... but it hasn't gotten the Mielke Corner Toss.
I've seen COD4 in the office and watched people play the intro level and it does look good. I will be getting it shortly in the mail and I can give my opinions on it. If it's like Call of Duty 2 and I have an escort mission with snipers all around... and mortars are shelling me... it's getting tossed not in the corner - but into the street.
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