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Mind Melt

For some reason my head feels odd today. I think it?s due to my repaired specs. I had a minor problem with them in that one of the clear plastic nose-rests had snapped off. When I walked into the optician I didn?t actually expect them to break the glasses further. A week later, they?re back from .. wherever .. and I have fixed nose rests AND new arms. Dunno what that?s all about but they feel like they?re squeezing my head a bit too tightly. Time will tell.

Last night I watched Jack Bauer walk away into the distance after saving mankind as we know it (or the USA as the USA knows it, it?s the same thing) from evil people who are different from Americans. It looked like something right out of those old The Hulk episode with Dr. Bruce Banner trudging off with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Why do I watch this pap? We all know Jack?ll do it. We all know that he? got a hardon for the US of A that?d make Ron Jeremy blush.

All I can say in my defence is that, however preposterous 24 may be, it?s still infinitely more believable than Most Haunted.

I?ll leave you to draw your own conclusions from that.

I played through Area 51 on my PC last week. Really enjoyed it. It?s fun in the sense a B-movie that doesn?t take itself too seriously is fun. It?s production values aren?t up there with Half Life 2 (in spite of some cracking FMV and roped in ?stars? doing voice acting). The game is solid, trashy fun that delivers a nice earnest challenge. Unfortuantely, it continues Midway?s reputation of making shockingly bad narrative climaxes. Psi Ops was pretty terrible, this is fairly poor too.

Had a download of Gamespot Complete?s stab at the Gamespy client and found I couldn?t log in. I was that disgruntled with the whole thing that I couldn?t even be arsed to check out the support forums. I kinda assume that if they email me to check out their ?sneek peek? then it should be ready for checking out. Looks like I?m wrong.

Elsewhere, the TGN chat-room is alive and well. I yanked out my web-interface at pointed it at the new server. Looks like the triv-bot is still winning fans. Considering half these chatters are frothing at the gash for next gen gaming technology they?re really happy to play a simple game of online trivia. Go figure.

TGN Chatroom

My final observation of this wittering drivel is focused on the PC version of GTA: San Andreas. The game seems pretty much identical to it?s PS2 counterpart. Indentical that is, with the notable exception of having to install it and select video resolutions.

So, Rockstar haven?t made any noticeable improvements to this epic title and I can understand that. What I can?t understand is why a game that was originally played comfortably on a 2-stick, 10-button controller now has key-mappings for about 60 controls.

I have a festering rant about TV videogame programs but I?ve droned on long enough for today. Look out for it later in the week.

Ketchup

There were actually a number of things I found quite blogworthy in my trawl around the interweb yesterday. However, my pesky full-time job got in the way of it all. So, to the thousands of you that read this, here’s a summary in classic News at 10 format:

BONG!

Rail congestion charged proposed
In a ‘so absurd it could only come from British politics’ kind of way, it now appears that the success of London’s road congestion charge is to be considered for rail. Surely, rail congestion has increased (God knows how, I can’t see how they can cram more sardines into those tins) because of the road charges. Now Alistair “I don’t actually use public transport” Darling is saying the same concept will solve rail’s woes?

I suspect the plan is to alternate between hiking up road and rail charges so that poor commuters endlessly ping-pong between the lesser of the two evils.

What I’d really like to know is where all this extra money is going? I see charges always on the increase but I don’t see it being spent.

God I’m glad I don’t commute through London any more!

BONG!

Bastardtris
You know how you’ve always suspected that the ‘next piece’ display in Tetris is ALWAYS giving you the worst piece possible? Well it wasn’t. This new Linux version of Tetris on the other hand, uses complex algorithms and geeky science to make your block-falling experience as painful as possible.

Government bureaucrats worldwide have expressed an interest.

BONG!

Command line for the web
For those of you who recall typing commands to get results (Try “Format C:”) you’ll like this. It looks like Google but behaves like CMD. Typing “gim Lara Croft” does a Google Image Search for Lara Croft. Faster than clicking. Brain not included.

BONG!

Videogames-in-the-news hat-trick!
The Good: Videogame teaches kids conflict resolution
The Bad: Official – Parents ignore videogame ratings (until it’s too late)
The Ugly: Senator Denounces Game Still Under Developement

BONG!

Someone likes my words and has requested 300 on a regular basis (hey, it’s a start)

BONG!

SPOnG.com have new screenshots of Shadow of the Colussus and expanded gameplay speculation.

BONG!

That’s the headlines. Update at 11. Goodnight.

Battlefield 2

With Gamespot giving the new game a 9.3 rating and Gamespy offering a perfect score to EA’s latest offering it seems that even the EA bashers may have to keep tight-lipped about this one.

The best thing that we can say about Battlefield 2 is that even when it’s at its worst, it can still be as much fun as its illustrious predecessors. However, when you experience Battlefield 2 like it’s meant to be played, with everyone working together and using real-time voice chat, the game quickly becomes unlike anything else that you’ve played before. When it’s at its best, Battlefield 2 elevates online gaming to whole new heights. Put simply, this is a thrilling and revolutionary game that just has to be played to be believed.

Can anybody blame EA for being so keen to hold onto Digital Illusions? Is there any major publisher that would act differently?

I never played the original but I was certainly aware of it’s power to convert lunchtime CounterStrike players over. I guess I’m just not sharp enough at FPS games to make a worthy contribution to a game such as this. Heck, the last FPS I can remember truly enjoying was Quake 2 in network deathmatch mode. I liked the purity of it and don’t really think too much of all the added features that are offered in today’s efforts.

Still, the quote above (from Gamespot) certiainly compells me to check this one out. As if I need another excuse to spend more time at the PC!

Game of death

A 4-month-old girl suffocated alone at home while her parents were away at a Korean Cyber Caf? playing World of Warcraft, according to the Digital Chosunilbo.

The online paper is reporting that the 29-year-old dad and his wife left their daughter in their bedroom about 4 p.m. on May 24 to go play WOW at a caf?. When the couple returned five hours later their daughter was lying on her stomach, dead. Police believe she suffocated.

Great. Can’t wait until The Mirror gets hold of THAT one.

As a fairly dedicated gamer, although one with no real interest in MMORPGs, I have to respect Blizzard and their product. It’s certainly done well for them (a little too well by the sounds of some irate gamers who can’t get on the game’s servers) and it’s clearly a compelling game to play.

I’ve never been so involved in a game that I’ve entirely forgotten the world around me. If there’s something in the oven the I’ll remember it’s there. If the front door to the flat is left open, I’ll know about it. I always used to think I understood the mentality of gamers to some degree. What the hell kind of people LEAVE their home to go to an internet cafe for five hours and forget about the child they’ve only had for four months? I just can’t understand that one.
Please explain it to me.

Likewise, anyone who puts more blame on the game than the parents are free to be sent my way also.

Dirk would know..

Holistically speaking, what would you assume from these events:

• Last week I was in tug of war as the anchorman
• After a small operation on Friday I now have a hole in the flesh under my tongue
• Instead of fixing my glasses, the optician made them worse. I’m without them for a week and wearing my perscription shades in the office all week as a result.
• I’ll be getting a ?300 bonus in this month’s pay-packet
• The fire-alarm test that runs every Monday at 10:30am at my place of work has now been mysteriously scheduled to run at 10:45am from now on.
• My primary hard disk died on me on my home PC.

These events must all add up to SOMETHING.. ..but what?

Mario None-two-eight

I’ve just been pointed to an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto by Wired, an excerpt of which reads:

WN: This is the first traditional side-scrolling Mario game Nintendo has made since 1991. Why wait this long to do a new Mario game in the original style?

Miyamoto: Because we’d spent all this time working on 3-D Mario games. And of course, when we had Rare developing the side-scrolling Donkey Kong Country games, we were able to rely on them, which kept us from coming back to side-scrollers for a long time.

WN: But there’s still no sign of the long-rumored Mario 128 for GameCube.

Miyamoto: It’s still floating around. We’re searching for that fundamental idea that’s going to drive the next 3-D Mario game. But we’re not sure when that’s going to jump out at us. We’re doing lots of tests with small groups.

WN: If that’s the case — if the design process is still at the point where you’re doing experiments and tests — is it even possible that Mario 128 could come out on GameCube at this point? Or is it definitely a Revolution title?

Miyamoto: We think we want it on Revolution.

WN: So, there will be no new GameCube Mario platform game.

Miyamoto: Right. The Mario team can’t create too many games at the same time, so they’re concentrating on the Revolution.

A summary of which was provided on a game forum thus:

Kohler: So, Mario 128. Where the fuck is he?

Miyamoto: We’re, uh, still running tests.

Kohler: So you’re telling me nothing actually exists and you’re just jerking us around.

Miyamoto: Basically.

Hate to say I told you so…

[Full interview]

Naval fluff

I’m with stupid

A New Hope

Are you pondering what I’m pondering?

I doubt it. You probably think of far more practical things like if you’ve got enough milk in the fridge to see you through till shopping day.

There’s been a number of things flitting through my mind. All game-related of course. The whole PSP vs DS thing. GTA: San Andreas. Will my fiancee beat Ico before the weekend ends (update – yes! She did!)?

Weighty stuff, I think you’ll agree.

More recently, I’ve been looking at my game collection and wondering what’s wrong with me. I love games. And I really enjoy playing them. But I have many games that, although purchased with the intent of playing to the end, I’ve barely started.

I’m easily distracted by the next shiny object – and at this time of year there’s a whole load of highly polished shiny things all vying for my attention.

It’s not that I don’t have the finances or discipline to save for the games. I’m not particularly worried about getting a game on launch day or anything like that. I begin to worry when I hear everyone talking about San Andreas when I know I’ve barely even started my tour of duty in Vice City.

I think, what with my financial restraints loosened and my playing time at a premium I’m far more a game collector than a game player these days. I can live with that. I do want to see every corner of each and every game I own but when I look at the wealth of them I somehow think I never will..

..Oh well. The boxes look pretty. Especially the shiny ones.