Baldur's Gate I
I have owned this game twice, once intentionally. The other came with my old Gateway computer over a decade ago. I just never got around to finishing it. I know the first time was just the general disdain of playing the computer in the living room and my hatred for my first computer.
The second time was destroyed by the monster that was Everquest.
I'm somewhat tainted in that I know the "canoncal" ending party for the game... and my favorite practical characters are not in that group. So I'm switching people in and out constantly so I can at least get some play time with Kivan. It kind of sucks that there has to be a certain group if I want Baldur's Gate 2 to start with making sense.
Fatal Fury Special
Quite a bit ago I decided to work my way Chronologically through some fighting games. I will get around to Street Fighter 2 soon, but that is really my most played fighting game. The SNK fighters were regulated to the arcade for me, so I'm learning them through and through as I go through them. I am surprised by how much I retained while going through Fatal Fury 1 with each of the 3 characters available, so I'm optimistic that working my way through Fatal Fury Special will be fun for me. I skipped 2 because Special is 2 with cleaner combat and a few returning characters that weren't in 1. I don't feel like I'm missing anything. It is kind of like playing Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo and skipping Super Street Fighter 2.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
EQ2 Velious Expansion brings back Memories
I played the original EQ shortly before Kunark came out, to the point I can barely remember the update for Kunark. Unlike later MMO's, there was no reason to get expansions in EQ unless you planned to specifically go there, and you can say that about WoW's expacs, but it will not be true. At least not to the extent of original Everquest.
Velious was my first expansion to an MMO that I looked forward to. A big ice continent was all I knew about it. Spoiler sites were more rare back then, so to find out about Velious for the first few months, you relied on people in your local sale zone for stories. It really was a kind of "what's going on in the New World" kind of atmosphere.
"Tell me of far away places and adventure!"
Velious is the prototype for modern MMO's. I know everyone says that MMO's haven't grown since WoW, but the truth is, Velious was the forerunner.
The new continent had living and moving cities, with people walking the roads, NPC's running scripts about talking to each other and visiting different houses. Furthermore the civilizations were in a sort of 3 way war, and you chose which side you were on. A kind of indirect "realm vs realm" went on here between Dwarves, Giants and Dragons. Each side had their own line of quests, allying with one meant being kill on sight by the others. They had their own equipment sets. Even their own raids and "leader" raids much like WoW factions do now.
Speaking of quest lines. What started with Epic quests in Everquest quickly expanded into regular quests here first. Whole story lines connected by threads into other story lines popped up in Velious. Velious was the first real "quest hub" in MMO's. Before you had to stumble upon quests and they all had little to do with each other. Velious' quests would change the landscape. They would determine who ruled which parts of Velious, they even determined what content was in game and what was gone forever.
Not many could forget the Coldain Ring quests, which involved tiny upgrades to a single object, and evolved into a several hour war between giants and dwarves.
Velious was a true marvel of MMO expansions, and it changed the game for the industry like no other expansion to an MMO ever. Though Moria now claims the title as my favorite MMO expansion, its only because Moria is like a Velious redone in "modern" mmo times.
Velious was my first expansion to an MMO that I looked forward to. A big ice continent was all I knew about it. Spoiler sites were more rare back then, so to find out about Velious for the first few months, you relied on people in your local sale zone for stories. It really was a kind of "what's going on in the New World" kind of atmosphere.
"Tell me of far away places and adventure!"
Velious is the prototype for modern MMO's. I know everyone says that MMO's haven't grown since WoW, but the truth is, Velious was the forerunner.
The new continent had living and moving cities, with people walking the roads, NPC's running scripts about talking to each other and visiting different houses. Furthermore the civilizations were in a sort of 3 way war, and you chose which side you were on. A kind of indirect "realm vs realm" went on here between Dwarves, Giants and Dragons. Each side had their own line of quests, allying with one meant being kill on sight by the others. They had their own equipment sets. Even their own raids and "leader" raids much like WoW factions do now.
Speaking of quest lines. What started with Epic quests in Everquest quickly expanded into regular quests here first. Whole story lines connected by threads into other story lines popped up in Velious. Velious was the first real "quest hub" in MMO's. Before you had to stumble upon quests and they all had little to do with each other. Velious' quests would change the landscape. They would determine who ruled which parts of Velious, they even determined what content was in game and what was gone forever.
Not many could forget the Coldain Ring quests, which involved tiny upgrades to a single object, and evolved into a several hour war between giants and dwarves.
Velious was a true marvel of MMO expansions, and it changed the game for the industry like no other expansion to an MMO ever. Though Moria now claims the title as my favorite MMO expansion, its only because Moria is like a Velious redone in "modern" mmo times.
Friday, November 19, 2010
A little something about Games and Money
Ellen Degeneres' show is doing a "Top 12 toys of 2010" show. I don't watch the show, I don't care about the show. The thing is, her and her kind(talk show hosts people, mind out of the gutter) have made big gaming news lately.
I give you exhibit A. Oprah gives all her audiences Kinects.
Exhibit B. Ellen gives all her audiences Kinects.
I'm pretty sure Fallon did the same... though I can't remember. I do remember him practically having commercials on his show about it.
Anyway. I just find it funny that people think Oprah knows what the hell a Xbox is, much less a Kinect. These people were payed money to do it. Now, Fallon I can't look down upon so much, he probably would've had SOME kinect coverage, and if they're gonna throw money their way, why not take it.
The point is, Microsoft gave them the consoles free of charge and if anything payed them money.
Now we get to Ellen's Top 12 toys. On that list is going to be Tony Hawk's latest videogame. I call bullshit. Why? His first "skateboard controller" game is a infamous bomb among the gaming community. So much so that the sequel sold 3,000 units in its first MONTH. THREE THOUSAND UNITS. The worst of the worst bullshit games usually do at least 20,000. Its bad. Horrible. And its going to be on a list of the best toys for Christmas? Ellen got a check, don't let anyone tell you different.
I give you exhibit A. Oprah gives all her audiences Kinects.
Exhibit B. Ellen gives all her audiences Kinects.
I'm pretty sure Fallon did the same... though I can't remember. I do remember him practically having commercials on his show about it.
Anyway. I just find it funny that people think Oprah knows what the hell a Xbox is, much less a Kinect. These people were payed money to do it. Now, Fallon I can't look down upon so much, he probably would've had SOME kinect coverage, and if they're gonna throw money their way, why not take it.
The point is, Microsoft gave them the consoles free of charge and if anything payed them money.
Now we get to Ellen's Top 12 toys. On that list is going to be Tony Hawk's latest videogame. I call bullshit. Why? His first "skateboard controller" game is a infamous bomb among the gaming community. So much so that the sequel sold 3,000 units in its first MONTH. THREE THOUSAND UNITS. The worst of the worst bullshit games usually do at least 20,000. Its bad. Horrible. And its going to be on a list of the best toys for Christmas? Ellen got a check, don't let anyone tell you different.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
A renewed look at offline Multiplayer for PS3
I never achieved a circle of online friends in my console gaming. When it comes to PC Games, I achieve it rather easily. Due to the inherent user investment of time, there are many mature and fun circles of players in almost any PC game.
When it comes to multiplayer with consoles, I prefer the offline kind. In my earlier years, it was important for me to have games like Mario Kart or Road Rash 2. Later I got away from that kind of stuff when I went hardcore into RPG's. Goldeneye and WCW/NWO Revenge brought my friends together again for 4x multiplayer. After that it was rare I enjoyed anything. Wii Bowling was good for a few days, Guitar Hero came and went.
When I got my PS3, I found myself with a room full of family members of many ages during our holidays and grill outs. When I had somewhere along the line of 20 game demos, it was Little Big Planet that stood out. I soon got the game and now had a new outlet for people of any age. It was also really great single player when no one was around.
Now I'm looking to expand my multiplayer capabilities. I have a few guidlines
-must have simultaneous multiplayer that is fun for a whole room to watch
-must be controller trading friendly so the room can quickly rotate in and out of the game
-must look impressive and not have sluggish framerate even in 4 player split screen
-must be fun from 12ish years up to sky is the limit on ages that can play
My first look is to Modnation Racers. This game isn't as loved as I expected it to be. Its like Little Big Planet combined with Mario Kart. Except there's no blue turtle shell BS. You can create your racer, you can create your kart. You can even create your track. I pretty much would have to limit people to choosing to either make a kart or make a character, but not both... in the interest of time.
Another I'm looking at is Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game. Its a cheaper download only game. It has 4 player fighting and it is sort of like a Double Dragon/River City Rampage game based on the comic book. I hear its very challenging even though its only 7 stages. Plus its like 15 bucks. The game is very enjoyable to watch, so I think it may fit well.
The hard thing to decide on is a multiplayer first person shooter. I do not think Goldeneye was that enjoyable to watch. We usually only had 4 people around when we played that one, so it wasn't an issue then. I hear Resistance has some good 4 screen matches, it uses more familiar WW2ish era weaponry, so nothing crazy like the RPK90. That's all I got for now, so I need to look for more.
Wrestling matches are too long these days to even bother with.
There is no interst in the group for something like Street Fighter. Fighting games are just too dependent on someone having prior experience with the game. No one would play me.
Party games are not an option, I will not "waste" my gaming on a game I'll bring out 10 times a year. I have to have something that I will play when no one's around as well.
Oh well. I'll just have to keep looking
When it comes to multiplayer with consoles, I prefer the offline kind. In my earlier years, it was important for me to have games like Mario Kart or Road Rash 2. Later I got away from that kind of stuff when I went hardcore into RPG's. Goldeneye and WCW/NWO Revenge brought my friends together again for 4x multiplayer. After that it was rare I enjoyed anything. Wii Bowling was good for a few days, Guitar Hero came and went.
When I got my PS3, I found myself with a room full of family members of many ages during our holidays and grill outs. When I had somewhere along the line of 20 game demos, it was Little Big Planet that stood out. I soon got the game and now had a new outlet for people of any age. It was also really great single player when no one was around.
Now I'm looking to expand my multiplayer capabilities. I have a few guidlines
-must have simultaneous multiplayer that is fun for a whole room to watch
-must be controller trading friendly so the room can quickly rotate in and out of the game
-must look impressive and not have sluggish framerate even in 4 player split screen
-must be fun from 12ish years up to sky is the limit on ages that can play
My first look is to Modnation Racers. This game isn't as loved as I expected it to be. Its like Little Big Planet combined with Mario Kart. Except there's no blue turtle shell BS. You can create your racer, you can create your kart. You can even create your track. I pretty much would have to limit people to choosing to either make a kart or make a character, but not both... in the interest of time.
Another I'm looking at is Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game. Its a cheaper download only game. It has 4 player fighting and it is sort of like a Double Dragon/River City Rampage game based on the comic book. I hear its very challenging even though its only 7 stages. Plus its like 15 bucks. The game is very enjoyable to watch, so I think it may fit well.
The hard thing to decide on is a multiplayer first person shooter. I do not think Goldeneye was that enjoyable to watch. We usually only had 4 people around when we played that one, so it wasn't an issue then. I hear Resistance has some good 4 screen matches, it uses more familiar WW2ish era weaponry, so nothing crazy like the RPK90. That's all I got for now, so I need to look for more.
Wrestling matches are too long these days to even bother with.
There is no interst in the group for something like Street Fighter. Fighting games are just too dependent on someone having prior experience with the game. No one would play me.
Party games are not an option, I will not "waste" my gaming on a game I'll bring out 10 times a year. I have to have something that I will play when no one's around as well.
Oh well. I'll just have to keep looking
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Minecraft Relocated.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Season 2 Minecraft: The River 5 Vengeance in Mine!
I started out pretty simply. I ran out at dawn, found several creepers and killed them with arrows. It takes about 5 arrows to kill them, so the "sling" sound was pretty fulfilling, but it was not enough for me. They weren't suffering.
For something filled with gunpowder, these guys sure do take a long time to burn. Which is actually fine with me, they squeal while they burn to death. Just light the ground in front of them on fire and they run strait through. Ah. That felt good.
But was it really enough? No.
This guy fell in a hole, and was then helpless. He couldn't escape, just hop there, hoping I would get close enough for him to explode... but I had other plans. I covered the hole with wood... nice flammable wood. Then I stacked gravel, nice heavy gravel on top. Oh? You didn't know that gravel falls as if held down by gravity? Neither did he.
It would be bad for him if somehow that wood was to disappear and allow all that rock come crashing down on his head.
"I don't deserve this." he said to me.
"Deserve ain't got nothin' to do with it" I said, as I lit the wood.
I then remembered I get extra rewarded for killing Creepers.
Poetic justice.
"I'll see you in hell" this one told me.
"Yeah... I reckon so" then I lit the fuse.
EDIT
----
To anyone that is new to this, this is season 2, titled: The River. Season 1 was titled: The Bay. You have to dig back a few posts to find The Bay as this is my gamer blog and I have some non-minecraft stuff going on.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Minecraft: The River episode 04
This one gets interesting at the end.
The next big cut was a rather large one, the first where I really cut into a mountain side. It was during this cut that I realized how drastic a change to the scenery this would be. This would not just require cutting work, but eventually sculpting landscapes as well. For now, the grunt work.
I surround the land areas I want to cut with torches because they are plentiful, renewable, and easily seen at night. I decided my route and I placed them down in what I thought would be a manageable cut.
Next I went to "water level" and I traced and cut out the shape so that I knew when to stop digging down while I was clearing the land to the bedrock.
I continued like this for several blocks of land. Each night I would return home with my tools, unload a ton of dirt and rock, and prepare for the next morning. The time in my treehouse was rather nail-biting. There was not a lot of room up there, and every morning I was greeted to this:
That was a light morning. I also learned the flaw to a treehouse... it shaded the undead from the sun, so every morning I had to jump out of my tree house, turn around and kill whatever it was keeping me awake at night.
So this particular morning I woke up and waited for the dead to turn to ash and I jumped out of my treehouse, only to see this in front of me:
If you remember, these things are full of gunpowder, they hiss, blow up and destroy things. I didn't want my tree house to be blown away, so I ran as well as I could. I must've stubbed my toe cause it blew up...
my oven! :(
This was a declaration.
This was war.
The next big cut was a rather large one, the first where I really cut into a mountain side. It was during this cut that I realized how drastic a change to the scenery this would be. This would not just require cutting work, but eventually sculpting landscapes as well. For now, the grunt work.
I surround the land areas I want to cut with torches because they are plentiful, renewable, and easily seen at night. I decided my route and I placed them down in what I thought would be a manageable cut.
Next I went to "water level" and I traced and cut out the shape so that I knew when to stop digging down while I was clearing the land to the bedrock.
I continued like this for several blocks of land. Each night I would return home with my tools, unload a ton of dirt and rock, and prepare for the next morning. The time in my treehouse was rather nail-biting. There was not a lot of room up there, and every morning I was greeted to this:
That was a light morning. I also learned the flaw to a treehouse... it shaded the undead from the sun, so every morning I had to jump out of my tree house, turn around and kill whatever it was keeping me awake at night.
So this particular morning I woke up and waited for the dead to turn to ash and I jumped out of my treehouse, only to see this in front of me:
If you remember, these things are full of gunpowder, they hiss, blow up and destroy things. I didn't want my tree house to be blown away, so I ran as well as I could. I must've stubbed my toe cause it blew up...
my oven! :(
This was a declaration.
This was war.
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