Today is the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing. Am I the only one who thinks that's cool?
I really hope we see a resurgence of the space program both here in the US and abroad in the near future. Obama has said that he wants to go to the Moon again soon but I don't see it happening any time soon since they are halting the shuttle missions for 10 years or some-such.
I think the next big step (or giant leap, whatever you want) for mankind will be establishing a permanent settlement on the lunar surface. Hopefully I'll see it in my lifetime.
Monday, July 20, 2009
That's OK, I'll walk
You know, I was going to write a post complaining about Battlefield 2 Modern Combat, and then I saw this.
I don't think I can put it any better with words. And yes I know they are talking about Battlefield 1942 but it's the same thing.
I don't think I can put it any better with words. And yes I know they are talking about Battlefield 1942 but it's the same thing.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Elite
It only took me eight months but I have finally reached the Elite rank in Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Yay me.
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Tenuous Veil
ARG! Why isn't Marvel vs. Capcom 2 out yet?! Not even a demo! ARG!
Sigh. I'm at work as I write this. My job allows a certain about of down time between tasks. Usually I spend this time surfing the net and reading about games. Recently though I've reached a saturation point were everything I care to read about has been read. Digested, regurgitated, consumed again. It feels very bovine. But my pasture has turned sour and the sweet veil of this distraction has been lifted. What it reveals is the harsh reality that I am at work, and as such I am not playing video games. I need to find some other sort of mind candy to suckle so I don't have to spend the next 9 hours facing this reality. To form an analogy (because I like analogies), I am like a small child being made to sit quietly through some long, gray, adult ritual, and I need some freaking crayons.
Wikipedia to the rescue.
Sigh. I'm at work as I write this. My job allows a certain about of down time between tasks. Usually I spend this time surfing the net and reading about games. Recently though I've reached a saturation point were everything I care to read about has been read. Digested, regurgitated, consumed again. It feels very bovine. But my pasture has turned sour and the sweet veil of this distraction has been lifted. What it reveals is the harsh reality that I am at work, and as such I am not playing video games. I need to find some other sort of mind candy to suckle so I don't have to spend the next 9 hours facing this reality. To form an analogy (because I like analogies), I am like a small child being made to sit quietly through some long, gray, adult ritual, and I need some freaking crayons.
Wikipedia to the rescue.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Funny Man
I've recently discovered a new tasty treat and it's name is Zero Punctuation. Now I know what you're thinking, you're thinking "How in the hell are you only now finding out about this?" I know, I know. It's been around for a while. BUT NOT A LONG WHILE!!! So I'm OK.
Anyway if you don't know what ZP is I will explain it like this. Imagine you are a tourist taking a tour of something that most people like yourself find fascinating and somewhat sacred (let's say the White House). On this tour your guide is an underpaid, bitter, jaded little man who hates his job, the White House, the president, the country, you, dogs, Halloween, carnivals, flowers, Kobe Bryant, and his brown bag lunch, and feels the need to share his opinions in an endless stream of vile commentary. Now imagine that every bit of what he says is riotously funny and more than a bit true. It's like that, only about video games.
The guy's name is Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw, and he reviews games. The reviews are these animated videos that enhance his rapid fire criticism which plays as the soundtrack. This guy really puts the "critic" in game critic. Most of his reviews are scathing attacks, usually on games that receive high scores from more established reviewers. I love every second of it.
He gets a lot of venom from the fan community claiming he doesn't understand the game or is being overly harsh. But I think what he does is very important. It's easy to get sucked into believing that games are better than they are because you have fond memories of their prequels or because the magazines told you to. But it is dangerous to hold these things up on an untouchable pedestal. Maybe you love a game and maybe is really is a good game but to someone else it may not be enjoyable at all. It's helpful to have a reviewer who points out the shortcomings of even the best games so we can better know what we are buying (and so we can laugh at them). Despite the name of the show, what Croshaw really does is "punctuate" the never ending steam of media hype and nonsense designed to open our wallets. He pokes holes in the wall of noise and lets the light shine through. And he makes me cry sweet tears of laughter in the process.
I've added the link in the "Sites I Enjoy" section in the side bar. (Or whatever it is I called it)
OVER 5000!!!!!! (WHAT?! 5000?!)
Attention readers:
I have achieved a gamerscore of 5000! Like all nerd pastimes, the many hours required to reach such a level of awesomeness are a testament to not-getting-laid. I'd like to thank my thumbs, my electric company, and my low self esteem. That is all.
I have achieved a gamerscore of 5000! Like all nerd pastimes, the many hours required to reach such a level of awesomeness are a testament to not-getting-laid. I'd like to thank my thumbs, my electric company, and my low self esteem. That is all.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
A letter to Infinity Ward
You sons of bitches are just the spawn of the very living devil you mother fuckers. I swear you’re a bunch of circle jerk baby killers. You slaughter them in their cribs and feast on their tender flesh. I’ll bet you even laugh at their mothers as you smear the blood all over your faces. You fascist shit suckers.
What the fuck made you think it would be a good idea to put a checkpoint RIGHT FUCKING IN FRONT OF A GROUP OF ENEMIES? Did you do it on purpose? Did you really feel it was necessary to force me to watch myself get gunned down over and over again and have to read some bullshit war quote every time?
In case you don’t know what I’m talking about here is the scenario. Call of Duty 2. Second mission of the second level. Veteran difficulty. I and my comrades (read: guys who run in front of my gun while I’m firing so I can be called a traitor and have to restart) have just liberated a station house in the middle of the train yard. As soon as I clear the top floor the enemy stages a counter attack. No problem! I just happen to be on the top floor with a sniper rifle. I’m happily picking off Krauts when suddenly I see checkpoint reached message in the top corner and about two seconds later I’m being shot in the back! I turn just in time to see four Germans who have ascended the staircase behind me pump me full of hot German lead.
So, first of all, WHERE IN THE HELL DID ALL MY GUYS GO?! Are they so fucktarded moron useless that they can’t hold a position for 60 fucking seconds? I don’t even see their bodies. They are just gone. Did they jump out? Did the Germans use a cloaking device and sneak past them? Did the thin third floor atmosphere cause them to pass out? And we just cleared the building! A building surround by open courtyard. So where did those soldiers even come from? Repel in from helicopters? Hide in a cardboard box?
So now every time I respawn I have about 3 seconds to turn around, throw a grenade and crouch behind a flimsy wooden table, shoot the guy who runs around the table, and then pick off any one else. I died about 40 or 50 times. Only twice did I… Wait I forgot one, I had to change weapons in those 3 seconds too because I got the fucking checkpoint holding a rifle instead of a machine gun and it only had ONE FUCKING ROUND LEFT! This means that I had to turn with the right stick, hit the b button to crouch, the right bumper to throw the grenade, and the y button to swap. Usually I died half way through the swap animation. As an aside, why is b crouch? Why isn’t it left stick down like many other games? That makes more sense since it’s movement oriented and frees up your right hand to do other stuff. Like STAY ALIVE. So anyway I managed to get past the initial 4 man onslaught only twice and when I did I found myself trapped on the top floor and when I moved over to the staircase I was immediately shot in the face buy the guy who was just waiting there with his gun pointed at the space where he knew my head would be. That wouldn’t have been such a bad challenge if I had a checkpoint right before THAT. Why couldn’t they have put it there? What did I even do to trigger that checkpoint? I all did was shoot a few guys, I wasn’t even moving! Did it trigger because some of the enemy made it to the building? That would be an example of BAD GAME DESIGN. You put a checkpoint somewhere safe. Somewhere the player can pause if he wants. Somewhere he is not going to get his head BLOWN OFF. You don’t put it right before the enemy kicks down my door, especially not while my BACK IS TURNED!
The checkpoint is designed so that the player doesn’t have to start the level all over again every time they die. This is a wonderful invention that some games don’t even have and for most of this game you do a good job with (this is especially important considering the difficulty level). All of that is ruined by this one experience. In this case the checkpoint did the opposite of what it’s supposed to do. I decided to just start the level over (I didn’t have much choice). As soon as I did I found that I no longer had the same weapons! Instead of the sniper rifle and machine gun I had from the previous mission I had a crappy iron sight rifle and a pistol. A fucking useless pistol! I guess you guys just had to have one more little laugh at my expense. Next time why don’t you just come to my house and stab me in the eye, it would be easier than making a game.
What the fuck made you think it would be a good idea to put a checkpoint RIGHT FUCKING IN FRONT OF A GROUP OF ENEMIES? Did you do it on purpose? Did you really feel it was necessary to force me to watch myself get gunned down over and over again and have to read some bullshit war quote every time?
In case you don’t know what I’m talking about here is the scenario. Call of Duty 2. Second mission of the second level. Veteran difficulty. I and my comrades (read: guys who run in front of my gun while I’m firing so I can be called a traitor and have to restart) have just liberated a station house in the middle of the train yard. As soon as I clear the top floor the enemy stages a counter attack. No problem! I just happen to be on the top floor with a sniper rifle. I’m happily picking off Krauts when suddenly I see checkpoint reached message in the top corner and about two seconds later I’m being shot in the back! I turn just in time to see four Germans who have ascended the staircase behind me pump me full of hot German lead.
So, first of all, WHERE IN THE HELL DID ALL MY GUYS GO?! Are they so fucktarded moron useless that they can’t hold a position for 60 fucking seconds? I don’t even see their bodies. They are just gone. Did they jump out? Did the Germans use a cloaking device and sneak past them? Did the thin third floor atmosphere cause them to pass out? And we just cleared the building! A building surround by open courtyard. So where did those soldiers even come from? Repel in from helicopters? Hide in a cardboard box?
So now every time I respawn I have about 3 seconds to turn around, throw a grenade and crouch behind a flimsy wooden table, shoot the guy who runs around the table, and then pick off any one else. I died about 40 or 50 times. Only twice did I… Wait I forgot one, I had to change weapons in those 3 seconds too because I got the fucking checkpoint holding a rifle instead of a machine gun and it only had ONE FUCKING ROUND LEFT! This means that I had to turn with the right stick, hit the b button to crouch, the right bumper to throw the grenade, and the y button to swap. Usually I died half way through the swap animation. As an aside, why is b crouch? Why isn’t it left stick down like many other games? That makes more sense since it’s movement oriented and frees up your right hand to do other stuff. Like STAY ALIVE. So anyway I managed to get past the initial 4 man onslaught only twice and when I did I found myself trapped on the top floor and when I moved over to the staircase I was immediately shot in the face buy the guy who was just waiting there with his gun pointed at the space where he knew my head would be. That wouldn’t have been such a bad challenge if I had a checkpoint right before THAT. Why couldn’t they have put it there? What did I even do to trigger that checkpoint? I all did was shoot a few guys, I wasn’t even moving! Did it trigger because some of the enemy made it to the building? That would be an example of BAD GAME DESIGN. You put a checkpoint somewhere safe. Somewhere the player can pause if he wants. Somewhere he is not going to get his head BLOWN OFF. You don’t put it right before the enemy kicks down my door, especially not while my BACK IS TURNED!
The checkpoint is designed so that the player doesn’t have to start the level all over again every time they die. This is a wonderful invention that some games don’t even have and for most of this game you do a good job with (this is especially important considering the difficulty level). All of that is ruined by this one experience. In this case the checkpoint did the opposite of what it’s supposed to do. I decided to just start the level over (I didn’t have much choice). As soon as I did I found that I no longer had the same weapons! Instead of the sniper rifle and machine gun I had from the previous mission I had a crappy iron sight rifle and a pistol. A fucking useless pistol! I guess you guys just had to have one more little laugh at my expense. Next time why don’t you just come to my house and stab me in the eye, it would be easier than making a game.
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