• 4Oct 09

  Wolfenstein review UP, Borderlands specs, Assassin's Creed, OPETH and District 9

  Well finally I got around to reviewing Raven's latest. Please, PLEASE make the time to read it and give me your most honest feedback - I'm taking this reviewing thing quite seriously and would like some constructive critique - I'd especially like to know what kind of expressions and slang I can use (you know, stuff like "state of the art" and "push the envelope" and "doing the cha cha" or whatever) since English isn't my main language.

  Hope you enjoy it!

  I also uploaded an older review for Opposing Force, but that one's much shorter and lighter since it's an expansion and all (:

  I'm now playing Assassin's Creed which is mostly quite awesome so far, though traveling through the Kingdom is quite tedious as is saving civilians - and that's as early as the first Acre mission! Hopefully it gets more interesting soon because so far the incredible game mechanics don't really make up for some of the repetition I'm encountering.

  On top of that, Gearbox has published the recommended specs for Borderlands which are quite moderate. This is understandable because it uses Unreal Engine 3, which is about as well-optimized as half an onion in a chicken salad. The specs are:

  OS: Windows XP/Vista
  Processor: 2.4 Ghz or equivalent processor
  Memory: 1GB System RAM (2GB recommended with Vista)
  Graphics: 256mb video ram or better (GeForce 8 series or higher/Radeon R8xx series)
  Hard Drive: 8 GB or more free space
  Sound: Windows compatible sound card

  Those make me one happy puppy. I have a Q6600 and a 8800GT which have proven very adequate at running UE3 games before. Wooptidoo! This game is going to be way too awesome.

  Next reviews coming over the upcoming weeks, depends on how much work I'll have. Maybe something older, maybe Assassin's Creed, depends on which game I beat first - that or Condemned.

  In other GRAND news, I'll be seeing OPETH live on November 11th in Tel Aviv. I really can't wait - they're my favorite band. Next friday I'll be at a Korpiklaani show. Life is sweet.

  Saw District 9 the other night. This is without a doubt one of the finest movies I've ever seen. Yeah, this whole aliens-speaking-noisish-but-understanding-English-and-people-speaking-English-but-understanding-noisish was kind of silly, but the concept, and the political statement, and its criticism against human nature - it's all very powerful and emotionally engaging. I wrapped up watching the movie feeling part ashamed, part despaired and part apocalyptic. I'd recommend watching it as soon as possible if you haven't already! Click here for a trailer. This is an amazing debut for Neil Blokmamp, and I can't wait to see what he does next, especially if he retains a contract with Peter Jackson as producer.

  ***SPOILER***

  Oh, and the alien child thing biting Wikus for abandoning the alien daddy - way too cute, I must say

  Anyways, have an awesome, peaceful, rainy week everyone!

  • Posted Oct 4, 2009 3:19 pm GMT
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• 22Sep 09

  Fun does not equal innovation! A Wolfenstein blog.

  People can be darn stubborn, and unfairly hard to please. Note to Raven Software: You've done nothing wrong.

  I've been playing Wolfenstein for a while now and I'm pretty sure I'm about to beat it as the game says I'm over %80 done. I've been enjoying this wonderful game to no end, but surfing the internet and reading others' opinions, I find myself baffled at some of the responses I've seen. People have been dismissing the game as average and mediocre if not even downright bad, for reasons that I (mostly) find hard to accept.

  Let me start with artificial intelligence, as this is the main gripe that I, and many others, have with the game. The AI, as stated by many others, is a bit… indifferent, I'd say. They can take their sweet time realizing you're standing right beside them and with the exception of them making good use of cover, their in-battle behavior is quite basic. On top of that, the graphics really are hit-or-miss. Sometimes the game can be quite attractive with dramatic lighting and well-animated enemies, but it can also look quite dated, especially when exploring some of the ins and outs of Isenstadt itself.

  But, if there's one thing that I don't agree with people doing, it is blaming Raven for being unoriginal. Yes, the game has little to no innovation in it, but that's part of the whole thing. With the exception of then-astonishing graphics and enemies that could climb ladders (I'm not talking multiplayer here), what was so innovative about the praised Return to Castle Wolfenstein? Nazi zombies? Please…

  

  I said it many times before and I'm going to say it again – games do NOT have to be original and innovative in order for them to be enjoyable. Hell, people have been playing Call of Duty 2 with different skins since 2005 on a yearly basis and I don't hear one eighth the complaints that I see about Wolfenstein, and those games had infinite respawns. Did Gears of War bring anything particularly new to the table? No. It refined the gameplay of one kill.switch and made it look and feel really great.

  Now, Raven has done innovative stuff in the past, with the best example being the successful implementation of a third-person perspective to what is essentially a first-person shooter (see: Heretic II), but man – if there's one thing these guys can do, it's make action feel, sound and look good. And that is exactly what they've done with Wolfenstein. So yes, it doesn't break any new ground and it isn't always the prettiest kid in town. Screw that – this game is pure, unadulterated nostalgic fun, and for creating this pure, unadulterated nostalgic fun, Raven Software deserves some kudos.

  

  My review will be coming soon. Thanks for taking the time and reading my blog. Now, for some questions:

  1) Did you play Wolfenstein?
  2) What did you think of it?
  3) Do you believe games should be original and/or innovative if they want to be fun?
  
  

  • Posted Sep 22, 2009 2:15 am GMT
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• 20Jun 09

  ...of Gears of War 2 and PC.

  Disclaimer: I do not hate Gears of War on its own. In fact, I love the game and consider it one of the very best games I've ever played. You can check out my review for my full impressions

  Well, there's something about Cliffy B's recent anti-PC attitude that really pisses me off. It's as if his goal in life is to take PC gamers and screw them over, as royally as possible, and then just sit back and spitefully laugh at us with his 360 controller in hand, what with Unreal Tournament 3 lacking some game modes like Bombing Run and... Assault, and of course, the ultra-problematic PC portion of Gears of War, whose sequel we're going to discuss today in our How to Hate Cliffy B c!4ss

  So, it all started when I bought Gears of War with my very own hard-earned money. I ran home like one postcard-holding Peter Griffin, smiling and thinking of the moment I put the DVD in the drive and install the game. I got home, I put the DVD in the drive, and I started installation. Two days later, I was ready to play the game.

  It was on a Friday. I started the game, and then - I was forced to create a Games For Windows Live account, something that I wanted to do as much as I'd like to put my thing up Celine Dion. Why I need to install and sign into this crappy service to play a single-player game is beyond me. The game even threatened not to save my games. Hehe.
  So I create a local account because Live, for some reason, cannot connect to the remote server. Nice work, Microsoft.
  Anyways, I start the game, and it is absolutely awesome. The action is smooth and intelligent, the graphics are spectacular, and the controls show absolutely no sign of consolitis.

  I reach the gas station fight in act 2, and then my phone rings. It's time to go out and have some Guinness.

  

  On my way home, I feel all but tired, even with around 2.5 litres of Guinness now laying comfortably within the warm embrace of my stomach. I do not want to sleep. I want to do something more awesome, like, I don't know. CHAINSAWING SOME ALIEN BIATCHES TO HELL AND BACK!

  

  When I get home, the only thing I want to do is continue my game in Gears of War. So I start it up, connect to my local account because Live can't connect, and go on about continuing my game. My excitement is comparable to that of a 12-y/o girl meeting Alejandro Singsgaysongsalot from some Spanish musical TV-crap. I press the Continue Campaign button, and... WHAT THE !@#*&?!

  

  I look at the screen with the same shock and terror as when I first saw Cameron Diaz act. I decide to try again. Checking that my Vista, drivers and game are all fully up to date. They are. I start the game again, you know. Never hurts to give a second chance. But NO. I get owned by the game again. So I decide to investigate.

  I go to the official Gears of War forums and realize that, for over a year, the developers and MS knew about this problem and, since they couldn't "recreate the problem at home", what they decided was...

  

  So, I see there's nothing I can do, so I disdainfully put the game's nice DVD case back on the shelf and decide not to play it again, as much as I loved it. Saddened and insulted, I started a new game of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

  
  Go and get Gears of War today! Disappointment guaranteed!

  At some point during that very day, I find online what seems to be the perfect solution for Gears of War's random save-game deletion. It's proven and working, and what it does is... Disable Games for Windows Live. I reinstalled the game, and once again, two days later I can play it. I apply the patch, and voila! After two more days I beat the final boss. So I realize it's a Games for Windows Live thing and am pissed at Epic for not realizing this and doing what needs to be done for players. Money shmoney deals business my ass, we are what matters, Mr. B.

  
  The right way to get Gears of War

  After beating the game, I wanted to check out its online component. So I uninstall the game because Games for Windows Live is disabled, and reinstall it. Again.

  For a whole whopping week, I cannot log into Games for Windows Live with my online account. At some point, I manage to do it, but there are pretty few players online, as enjoyable as the game is. At this point I'm really wishing for cross-platform online play at least so there are more players online. Anyways, my hate for Microsoft's online game service is all the more annoying upon knowing that it is to blame for the game's problems.

  So this is where Gears of War 2 and Cliffy B come into the picture. Since Epic has done an amazing job of bringing this game to PCs, it's of course all the more distressing that Microsoft's crappy service has ruined it with experise. So, what Epic decides is... not to bring Gears of War 2 to PC. Way to go, fellas, you've made a very, very wrong choice. The only reason that people were prevented from buying this game for PC was its lack of support and show stoppers, not to mention the globally despised Games for Windoes Live.

  Damn you, Cliffy. You could just dump Games for Windows Live, or at least make sure it doesn't !@#-up the game prior to release, instead of leaving an entire willing, potentially-paying audience behind in the dark and making them feel cheated. Don't get me wrong, guys, I would happily buy a 360 if it weren't so expensive in Israel, so I can play not only Gears of War 2 but other amazing games that don't show up on PC. But it is overpriced, so much so that I don't even think about saving up for it. Every game reaches the $75-100 mark and that's just a waste of money. The console itself? Around $600-700. That's insane.

  There is absolutely no reason why PC gamers should be confronted with problematic isntallations and games to play, and absolutely no reason why their problems shouldn't be fixed nearly two years after release. So yes, Cliffy. Thank you very much for screwing us PC gamers as well as you could. If that's your attitude, then you can rot with your 360 controller and shove as much sand as possible. As awesome as your games are, your attitude ruins everything.

  

  Yay for maturity.

  • Posted Jun 20, 2009 2:02 am GMT
  • Category: Games
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