• 28Jan 09

  Gimme some time

  Due to my job I really don't have much time to spend playing video games lately. So I've got Age of Conan on hold, although it's really tempting now that they merged the low population servers. Apart from the fact that my current internet connection is far too slow to play online, I usually simply don't feel like playing a game crowded by people - I see enough of them every day.

  So, I'm back to playing solo games again and enjoy them a lot. With Fallout 3, Mass Effect and finally GTA IV, I've got more than enough options. There's also Far Cry 2, Pure and now Mirror's Edge if I ever get rid of the aforementioned titles.

  While Fallout 3 was kinda short and I'm just left to complete some side quests and perhaps get my hands on the new addon, Mass Effect turned out to be quite huge, despite it's archaic looks and simple handlings. GTA IV is a tough nut though because there're days on which I spend more time recovering from crashes and rebooting than actually playing.

  That's why I decided to get ArmA: Gold Edition. It aged a lot, in the passive way video games tend to age. But it's still challenging and finally a little more realistic, if not a simulation. Last time I tried it at a friend's it was great but unplayably slow, one more reason to give it a try on a PC with more or less modern hardware. There're also quite a big bunch of mods out there which usually enhance a lot of aspects of the game in a way that you don't wanna miss them afterwards.

  Well, a lot of great titles and so few time... what? Get a life? What's that?

  • Posted Jan 28, 2009 7:09 am GMT
  • Category: Games
  • 0 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 26Jun 08

  been busy

  Age of Conan is taking most of my free time lately, so there wasn't time nor reason to post something here. But seeing all the reviews out there that condemn Age of Conan as buggy or insufficient make me add my cent to the debate.

  First off I think it's a huge mistake to compare AoC with behemoths like World of Warcraft which were just as buggy in the beginning and only achieved the balance of classes through many months if not years of patching. In my opinion the developers at Funcom did a great job looking what we already have right now. The combat system is charming and everything but boring, the classes are interesting, the maps are monumental and design and story behind it all is truly epic. And one thing that I've missed dearly until now in all the other MMORPGs is mature content - and AoC provides plenty of it.

  The bugs and minor issues will get ironed out sooner or later. As a programmer I know damn well how difficult it can be to manage huge software projects where on bugfix can lead to dozens of new bugs, where compromises have to be made regularly in regards of fixing priorities. In such projects it's not only plain source code that has to be maintained, but also scripts (AI, quests, classes), models (characters, items), server functionality and infrastructure (such as game server, web server, download framework) and last but not least customer support. All that can get quite out of hand with hundreds of thousands of players online who might notice bugs much faster than hundreds of beta testers could.

  Let's see where Funcom will lead Age of Conan by the end of this year.

  • Posted Jun 26, 2008 4:37 am GMT
  • Category: Games
  • 0 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 16May 08

  Downloading Adventures

  Looking at the ETA makes me wonder if my 'Early Access' download will be completed before the 'Regular Access' begins the 20th.

  

  At least I won't be washed ashore Hyboria during the next couple of hours. But well, at least there's enough time to take care of real life until then.

  Let's see... mobile phone is charged, enough supplies of coffee, phone number of the pizzaservice is at hand, alarm clock is switched off.

  Looking good so far.

  • Posted May 16, 2008 12:46 pm GMT
  • Category: Games
  • 0 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg

See Previous Blog Posts »