Thursday, April 30, 2009
Radio
Been listening to a lot of on line radio lately. I have an iPod with every album I own (and some that I don't heh heh) on it which is a lot of music. But I've been opting for internet radio because of the opportunity to discover tons of new music. Usually I listen to Pandora, and I have about 12 finely tuned stations made that I would link to here if I could figure out how to maintain my secret identity. Anyway, tonight I was in the mood for game music which Pandora does not do well. In the process of looking for a site that just streams game music I came across one that's probably even better. StreamingSoundtracks.com plays soundtracks from both movies and games. I find that as movies and games are representative of journeys so too is listening to this station. You would think that that all the different sounds and themes mashed together would be jarring but so far it works quite well. I started out hearing the dramatic main theme from Dante's Peak, then on to an impressive all drum piece from Drumline, then on to Macross Plus. How's that for range? Next up was the intro to Alien Resurrection and then the ending to Final Fantasy VIII. The transition between the two songs was so seamless (their ending and beginning so similar) I didn't realize it had happened. Kind of eerie. Anyway check it out.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Digging in pt. 2
Part II: Playing with friends
So my brother-in-law finds out I have an XBox360 and generously decides to send me one of two games so that we can play online. My choices were Gears of War 2, or Left 4 Dead. I chose Left 4 Dead because the concept appealed to me more than Gears and because my friend (who I will call "William") had it and had been badgering me to buy it as well. So I had gotten together online with William and another friend with the game (who I will call "Jeff") thinking that we would play some L4D but the game had not yet arrived.
I initially convinced them to play some co-op Aegis Wing which is a delightful and might I add free little XBLA game. Bored with that Jeff convinced us to pick up Castle Crashers. I had not anticipated buying anything that night but he promised that if it sucked I could kick him in the nuts the next time I saw him. So we both downloaded the game ans spent the next 4 hours or so with it. Fortunately for Jeff's nuts the game doesn't suck.
If you are unaware Castle Crashers is an old school hack and slash (button mash) side scroller where you play as a knight or any of 20-odd unlockable characters. The fun comes from the frantic action and some small RPG elements. As you grind through the enemies you also grind levels which gives you points to put into speed, strength, defense, and magic. If you play through the story your character will end up around level 30 with probably one of your stats maxed out. You can then continue with that character up to level 99 or play through with someone else. This lends a high replayability to the game because you can choose to specialize in something different each time. There is also an "insane" mode that you can access with any character that's gone though the main game. The part of the game that really sets it apart are the comedic elements. The tone is akin to something you might see on Adult Swim (is that even still on?) with lost of mad-cap poop jokes and references to pop culture. The scene that sticks out in my mind is one in which you ride a deer through a saw mill trying to escape a monster. The deer (apparently due to fear) is propelling itself solely by explosive diarrhea.
So the next day my copy of Left 4 Dead did arrive. I'm not sure I have a lot to say about it. You play a "survivor" making their way through one of four levels going from safe house to safe house (the save points) on your way to some destination that ostensibly will help you escape danger on a more permanent basis. By danger I mean endless swarms of zombies or "infected". The game is fun but you really need 3 friends to get the most out of it. It's designed to be a co-op game and it does a wonderful job of it. Once you've played multiplayer though you really can't enjoy the single player game. At least I couldn't, it just feels... lonely.
I will also point out that the competitive multiplayer mode is the most enjoyable of all. The game has special types of infected that have deadly abilities aside from the normal run-screaming-towards-you-and-eat-your-face attack. In the VS mode four players play special infected and four play as survivors. The survivors play the level as normal but the infected try to stop them. What's great about it that there is a high level of teamwork needed on both sides in order to succeed. Coordinating your abilities into an organized attack with devastating results is a real thrill.
So my brother-in-law finds out I have an XBox360 and generously decides to send me one of two games so that we can play online. My choices were Gears of War 2, or Left 4 Dead. I chose Left 4 Dead because the concept appealed to me more than Gears and because my friend (who I will call "William") had it and had been badgering me to buy it as well. So I had gotten together online with William and another friend with the game (who I will call "Jeff") thinking that we would play some L4D but the game had not yet arrived.
I initially convinced them to play some co-op Aegis Wing which is a delightful and might I add free little XBLA game. Bored with that Jeff convinced us to pick up Castle Crashers. I had not anticipated buying anything that night but he promised that if it sucked I could kick him in the nuts the next time I saw him. So we both downloaded the game ans spent the next 4 hours or so with it. Fortunately for Jeff's nuts the game doesn't suck.
If you are unaware Castle Crashers is an old school hack and slash (button mash) side scroller where you play as a knight or any of 20-odd unlockable characters. The fun comes from the frantic action and some small RPG elements. As you grind through the enemies you also grind levels which gives you points to put into speed, strength, defense, and magic. If you play through the story your character will end up around level 30 with probably one of your stats maxed out. You can then continue with that character up to level 99 or play through with someone else. This lends a high replayability to the game because you can choose to specialize in something different each time. There is also an "insane" mode that you can access with any character that's gone though the main game. The part of the game that really sets it apart are the comedic elements. The tone is akin to something you might see on Adult Swim (is that even still on?) with lost of mad-cap poop jokes and references to pop culture. The scene that sticks out in my mind is one in which you ride a deer through a saw mill trying to escape a monster. The deer (apparently due to fear) is propelling itself solely by explosive diarrhea.
So the next day my copy of Left 4 Dead did arrive. I'm not sure I have a lot to say about it. You play a "survivor" making their way through one of four levels going from safe house to safe house (the save points) on your way to some destination that ostensibly will help you escape danger on a more permanent basis. By danger I mean endless swarms of zombies or "infected". The game is fun but you really need 3 friends to get the most out of it. It's designed to be a co-op game and it does a wonderful job of it. Once you've played multiplayer though you really can't enjoy the single player game. At least I couldn't, it just feels... lonely.
I will also point out that the competitive multiplayer mode is the most enjoyable of all. The game has special types of infected that have deadly abilities aside from the normal run-screaming-towards-you-and-eat-your-face attack. In the VS mode four players play special infected and four play as survivors. The survivors play the level as normal but the infected try to stop them. What's great about it that there is a high level of teamwork needed on both sides in order to succeed. Coordinating your abilities into an organized attack with devastating results is a real thrill.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Digging In pt. 1
Ok so let’s dig in to that list I gave you last time.
Braid. Great little game. I say little when I really mean short. I suppose that if you really just couldn’t figure out the puzzles that the game could be very long indeed. To my credit I finished the game in a couple of weeks but I will admit to looking on line for the solutions to two puzzles and felt awful both times. I guess it’s inevitable but whenever I cheat on a puzzle I immediately go “ooooh, DUH!” I could and should have figured that out. One thing I did learn from looking online after I beat it was that there are 8 stars hidden through-out the game. This isn’t advertised in the game and I don’t know how anyone could have accidentally stumbled upon them because they are freaking HIDDEN. I started to collect them but got distracted by other games and haven’t been back. There is also a timed challenge that I have read is pretty nasty but would nab me the final achievement for the game. Time will tell if I go back to complete these herculean tasks.
The two things you hear the most about this game are the ingenious puzzles and the unorthodox story. Both of these things are great, no doubt, but what I enjoyed the most was the music. Music is always important for setting the mood in a game and Braid has mood to spare, in no small part to the music. It’s almost spiritual, I don’t want to use the word haunting, but spiritual, and makes you feel like this game is some sort of journey or pilgrimage, which I believe is one of its themes. I think I read somewhere that there was going to be a soundtrack available. Ah, here is a collection of links if one wanted to by the tracks individually. I spent some time on Jonathan Blow’s webpage, and I found the time to be well spent. He is a man of many interesting ideas, and I recommend his musings to anyone interested in the state of games, which I assume if you’re reading this that you are.
Unreal Tournament 3. Still haven’t played it. My current highest-tech computer has adequate RAM and CPU speed but is equipped with the Radeon X300 GPU. Not a bad card but older and not designed for games, at least not games that came out four or five years after it did. Looking at the Radeon 4650 HD as an upgrade, not top of the line by any means but more than enough for my purposes. Of course my purposes are ostensibly to use the level editor to practice my game design over the summer. But we both know I just wanted the game… and then an excuse to buy a new graphics card. Shhh, don’t tell my wife.
Final Fantasy Dawn of Souls. I had forgotten until just now that this game was made for the Play Station back in 2003 as Final Fantasy Origins. I passed up on it then, largely because I bought Final Fantasy Anthology in 1999 and was disappointed by the crippling load times. I'm glad I waited six years to pick this up and for a platform more suited to it. The Game Boy Advance has served as a system for the rebirth of great classic games, especially Final Fantasy. It makes sense, being that it's a cartridge system with graphics capabilities on par with the 16 bit systems. Also the game is something better suited to casual entertainment while traveling or sitting on a conference call than sitting down in front of a TV and logging hours.
Really I waited longer than six years to play this game (or games really since the long lost FFII is on there too). Final Fantasy came out for the NES in 1990. I did not have an NES in 1990 and in fact do not own one now. I spent many hours watching other people play this game. Later when I had acquired a SNES and had FF3(6) all to myself that the mystique behind the first game grew and I always meant to go back and play it.
Well now I can. I have to say that even though the game is 19 years old its is still fun to play. The addition of a bestiary is cool I guess. The best part is that you can save anywhere, not just at inns which is nice especially since it's on a portable system and you may be in a place where you have to put it down in a hurry... like traffic. I haven't played FFII yet. Looking forward to forgetting to do that.
Braid. Great little game. I say little when I really mean short. I suppose that if you really just couldn’t figure out the puzzles that the game could be very long indeed. To my credit I finished the game in a couple of weeks but I will admit to looking on line for the solutions to two puzzles and felt awful both times. I guess it’s inevitable but whenever I cheat on a puzzle I immediately go “ooooh, DUH!” I could and should have figured that out. One thing I did learn from looking online after I beat it was that there are 8 stars hidden through-out the game. This isn’t advertised in the game and I don’t know how anyone could have accidentally stumbled upon them because they are freaking HIDDEN. I started to collect them but got distracted by other games and haven’t been back. There is also a timed challenge that I have read is pretty nasty but would nab me the final achievement for the game. Time will tell if I go back to complete these herculean tasks.
The two things you hear the most about this game are the ingenious puzzles and the unorthodox story. Both of these things are great, no doubt, but what I enjoyed the most was the music. Music is always important for setting the mood in a game and Braid has mood to spare, in no small part to the music. It’s almost spiritual, I don’t want to use the word haunting, but spiritual, and makes you feel like this game is some sort of journey or pilgrimage, which I believe is one of its themes. I think I read somewhere that there was going to be a soundtrack available. Ah, here is a collection of links if one wanted to by the tracks individually. I spent some time on Jonathan Blow’s webpage, and I found the time to be well spent. He is a man of many interesting ideas, and I recommend his musings to anyone interested in the state of games, which I assume if you’re reading this that you are.
Unreal Tournament 3. Still haven’t played it. My current highest-tech computer has adequate RAM and CPU speed but is equipped with the Radeon X300 GPU. Not a bad card but older and not designed for games, at least not games that came out four or five years after it did. Looking at the Radeon 4650 HD as an upgrade, not top of the line by any means but more than enough for my purposes. Of course my purposes are ostensibly to use the level editor to practice my game design over the summer. But we both know I just wanted the game… and then an excuse to buy a new graphics card. Shhh, don’t tell my wife.
Final Fantasy Dawn of Souls. I had forgotten until just now that this game was made for the Play Station back in 2003 as Final Fantasy Origins. I passed up on it then, largely because I bought Final Fantasy Anthology in 1999 and was disappointed by the crippling load times. I'm glad I waited six years to pick this up and for a platform more suited to it. The Game Boy Advance has served as a system for the rebirth of great classic games, especially Final Fantasy. It makes sense, being that it's a cartridge system with graphics capabilities on par with the 16 bit systems. Also the game is something better suited to casual entertainment while traveling or sitting on a conference call than sitting down in front of a TV and logging hours.
Really I waited longer than six years to play this game (or games really since the long lost FFII is on there too). Final Fantasy came out for the NES in 1990. I did not have an NES in 1990 and in fact do not own one now. I spent many hours watching other people play this game. Later when I had acquired a SNES and had FF3(6) all to myself that the mystique behind the first game grew and I always meant to go back and play it.
Well now I can. I have to say that even though the game is 19 years old its is still fun to play. The addition of a bestiary is cool I guess. The best part is that you can save anywhere, not just at inns which is nice especially since it's on a portable system and you may be in a place where you have to put it down in a hurry... like traffic. I haven't played FFII yet. Looking forward to forgetting to do that.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
A Long List of Games
So I've picked up some games recently. Depending on how far back in time we can include as "recently" it's a lot of games. I kept meaning to write about them but I'd put it off and before I knew it I had bought another freaking game. They seem to come in pairs too. I'm just going to make a list and say a few words about each and I'm going to try to do it in order of acquisition starting from early March.
OK actually February... I think...
Braid: Just as good as everyone says it is.
Unreal Tournament 3: Haven't played it yet since I don't have a beast enough GPU
Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls: This is FF 1 and 2 on GBA. I've only played 1 so far.
Castle Crashers: A game I was talked into buying by a friend so we could play online.
Left 4 Dead: A belated Christmas gift from my brother-in-law.
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat: One of a few older FPS that I wanted to try.
Call of Duty 2: Another of a few FPS I wanted to try.
Penny Arcade OTRSPOD ep.1: Like Briad, this XBLA game was a weekly special and 50% off so I grabbed it.
So 8 games in about 2 months. I'm ready to admit I have a problem. I'll talk more about some of these games later.
OK actually February... I think...
Braid: Just as good as everyone says it is.
Unreal Tournament 3: Haven't played it yet since I don't have a beast enough GPU
Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls: This is FF 1 and 2 on GBA. I've only played 1 so far.
Castle Crashers: A game I was talked into buying by a friend so we could play online.
Left 4 Dead: A belated Christmas gift from my brother-in-law.
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat: One of a few older FPS that I wanted to try.
Call of Duty 2: Another of a few FPS I wanted to try.
Penny Arcade OTRSPOD ep.1: Like Briad, this XBLA game was a weekly special and 50% off so I grabbed it.
So 8 games in about 2 months. I'm ready to admit I have a problem. I'll talk more about some of these games later.
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