In general, this is where I'll blog about all things gaming related. With the current generation console war in full swing, There's plenty to talk about.

• 30Nov 09

  Voodoo Vince custom crochet

  I thought this was pretty cool:

  

  • Posted Nov 30, 2009 2:26 pm PT
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• 17Nov 09

  Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm, Zune Video Marketplace Impressions.

  Facebook. Twitter. Last.fm. Zune Video Marketplace. All nice additions, I'm sure. I'm also sure that people just starting to experience it starting today will be all aglow in the newness of it all. However, after being in the preview and having used these features for the past couple of weeks, my honeymoon period is over.

  Like I said, nice additions to be sure. But a couple of things left me scratching my head.

  Why are these wholly separate apps? I've always loved how Xbox Live features are so well-integrated into the system. But the features of the new updated, oddly, aren't. They are apps that need to be launched individually and do not work outside of being in the app's interface. Why am I not able to tweet from anywhere in the dash or in a game? Will there be games that auto-tweet or auto-update my Facebook status with achievements if I want them to? Is that in the plan?

  Why can't I run Last.fm like I would any streaming media? I mean... what distinguishes it from running Last.fm through the PS3 browser? Heck, how is Facebook and Twitter any more convenient or compelling on the 360 than it is via PS3 browser?

  At this point, they really aren't, leaving the whole new experience not so new. In fact, this implementation feels a bit flat. This feels like something Sony would implement, not Microsoft.

  • Posted Nov 17, 2009 12:49 pm PT
  • Category: Opinion
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• 12Nov 09

  Old Game Manuals: part 1

  I was cleaing out one of the shelves in my study when I came across a box of old PC game manuals that, for some odd reason, I held on to.

  Laying on top of the pile was a blueprint of a Terran Confederation Rapier. Almost immediately, I was pulled, rather willingly, into a time-warping vortex of nostalgia. The game: Wing Commander.

  

  All the way back in 1990, I had a 386 with a luxurious 1 MB of RAM and a monitor capable of 256 colors. In those days, that was considered pretty swanky. After tinking with the autoexec.bat and config.sys files on my Wing Commander-only boot disk, I was able to load things into high memory and and run the game at a blazing 15 frames per second.

  The game came with a "magazine" which doubled as a game manual, accompanied by four blueprints of the Confederations fighters. I remember playing this game and living my Last Starfighter fantasies. I looked over... no... studied the manual and blue prints until I instinctively knew the ranges and flight characteristics of each weapon. I knew I needed to strike early with long range lasers, then pummel those cursed, feline Kilrathi with my mass driver cannons up close. I knew that the Dralthi had wicked-fast rate of pitch, but its yaw rate was too slow for any Confed ship I flew.

  To this day, I haven't run across any game that put so much love and care into things like the interactive menu system and the ability to evoke the feeling that I AM THERE. That I was the ace pilot that could protect the Earth from the best that Kilrah could throw at me.

  I loved it so much, I bought ever Wing Commander game that followed, except for the abortion that made its way to Xbox Live Arcade.

  

  For the love of the series, I added an extra 1mb of RAM that I bought from Egghead for $50 and learned to install a CD-ROM drive.

  

  The series makes another technological leap with full FMV cutscenes with big name actors like MarkHammil playing Christopher Blair, John Rhys-Davies as Paladin, and Malcolm McDowell as Adm. Tolwyn. It also had semi FMV menus if you can believe that. For this game, I upgraded from my two-button joystick to a fancy CH Flightstick.

  At the risk of sounding like an old man.... they just don't make 'em like this anymore.

  • Posted Nov 12, 2009 7:23 am PT
  • Category: Games
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