• 28Apr 08

  Systems and Interchangability

  I am not a picky gamer... not when the numbers come down. I like playable, open floor games that we as gamers can play through and replay with a sense of interest, intrigue or just frustration. I like strategy games, I love shooters and above all else customizable features, maps/skins/sounds/modules and modes of play.

  There aren't alot of games that seem to offer a combined access to modify or changemore than 2 of the previously mentions features at once. I would like to see and would pay for it, a game that allows users to play through in a free ranging game set without herding a player offering cross class functioning and a range of options that once beaten would allow the player to alter the game. Features that allowed the player to changes the game with a range of easy to use interfaces.

  I know it will never happen but I can live with my dreams and play mods that are a pain to install or extras that take forever for anyone to download so that they are 'synched' with my version.

  • Posted Apr 28, 2008 8:20 am PT
  • Category: Games
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• 11Jan 08

  A General moan

  Firstly thank you for reading another edition of 'Psycho whingers are us' secondly use the coaster not the table... your leaving marks!
  
  I bought a lovely game to placate my adoring and viciously enthusiastic partner. Viva Pinata was the game and for the better part of two days she played this, kindly neglecting the fact that I had to test some of my games before the week expired rendering the return of bad copies fruitless. Long story short I got on and decided to play some assasins creed. I noticed right away that there was an issue because the screen and all the images on it had a heavy blue gradient. I thought nothing of it really until the console crashed, well the screen turned blue. Blue screen of death blue and though I could hear my character getting thrashed by some templars and even move around and try to do stuff, the visuals were a dead end.

  I asked myself, what happened? And found out through internet trawling that my model XBox360 is one of several that seem to have intentionaly been designed with a latent suicide pack on the graphics chip. Thats right microsoft shrewd as they are design a product seemingly to be intentionally faulty, its a good thing I wasn't born on mars or this might have been a shock to me!

  The technical support team could only offer two bits of advice, try a hard reboot and if that didn't work buy a new one. I eventualy got through to a techie with a brain larger than a horse fly and who seemed to have a clue as to the operation of a customer services desk. So after paying microsoft £60 to take my console away I have to wait 6-10 weeks for them to take one little chip out and put another in its place. Sweet huh.

  There is no real point to this blog if indeed you could call it that but I'm talking, your evidentally reading so herre is another tid bit for you bill gates and any member of microsoft staff have 'aegri somnai' plenty enough for an asylum.

  Thanks again for reading this, see you next time in the 'PSYCHO WHINGERS ARE US' diaries

  • Posted Jan 11, 2008 4:53 am PT
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• 11Dec 07

  Starting out

  Here goes. I never was good at blogs, but since your here I'll give you my opinion on something to do with gaming. It has been my experience that over the past six or so years games have majorly changed, your probably sitting there perplexed as to how I manage to co-ordinate my breathing with blinking after a statement like that but that is not the whole of it. Games have changed to suit a fickle market, the players what features and they want graphics and they are right to want those things because who wouldn't in a game. My point is that some of these games are nothing but graphics, attractive flashy and sometimes gory but always good graphics and thats where some of the newer games have fallen flat, look at Metal Gear Solid? Its still going, its past its sell by date but there isn't anything out there with an emersive story like MGS to replace it, so it trucks on and slowly decays the brand. Another good one is Dynasty worriors, its a grand series that is constantly set in the same period with little actual change but plenty of 'updates' such as the make your own officer feature or the conquer the whole of china in a turn based strategy feature or the give cao cao a wedgy feature soon to be featured! Yes lots of features but wheres the substance.

  I might have scared you off by now and I am aware that what I'm saying comes across as "All new games are evil and make good names stretch and fail because they aren't any good to play forlonger than the rental period!" But I'm not saying that, there are plenty of absolutely great games out there that have been made recently and even more dating back but they don't have much potential to carry on or keep themselves up. Who here thinks that the story behind many if any of the new games will expand like these classics being tossed about have done? Who thinks that Crysis could replace MGS or that Ninety nine knights can take the mantle from Dynasty worriors? I don't and I am asking as a consumer, a lover of games and a man who is still a boy at heart that the companies pumping these plastic discs out into the market think before signing off on a new title or more promptly think before signing on a new title to be designed. Make a good hand full of games that can heartily and smoothly replace the classics that myself and many other gamers are unhappy to watch get torn to sunders.

  That is for your consideration, I hope you don't want to smack me in the mouth but if you do then I obviously touched a nerve so just stop and think, if you aren't happy with this statement then why am I so wrong? I don't want titles and brand names thrown at me I mean what has gone into games that can be bought and played like we used to? Not ones like WoW or LOTRO but console games that keep us quietly happy or ear burstingly frustrated? They are dry and rehashed versions of older games or snippets from obvious games that don't mesh together. I know its hard to write a good an enjoyable story, I've tried and failed myself but maybe rather than quantity in our gameswe should be asking for a little less flash and a little more spine.

  Your faithful and honest observer Arturius TollanMaxwell

  • Posted Dec 11, 2007 3:03 am PT
  • Category: Editorial
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