• 21Feb 09

  PC Gaming from a Console Player's Point of View

  Wow I just realized that it's been over one year since I did a blog! Provided that people don't really read them too much, but I digress. Well a lot has changed in my two years absence and while I still go on the site on occasion I really haven't really contributed too much so I figure now is the time to change that. Well with that out of the way lets get to the matter at hand and that's my new fascination with PC gaming. Now I've never been much of a PC user in the past usually sticking with consoles for as long as I can remember.

  That all changed back in August however when my old PC decided to crap out on me (mostly my doing actually, I was messing with my BIOS when I really didn't know what I was doing) so as a result it was off to Best Buy. Now at the time I really wasn't looking for anything too fancy, just a computer that can do some basic stuff and maybe play some older games, that was it. That all changed as soon as I stepped into the store. Now I like to think of myself as a pretty good shopper when it comes to looking for the best price, but in all honesty I really didn't consider price too much when I got my current PC. The PC I got was a newer gateway (I went with them mostly because it restricts any dangerous changes to your BIOS which was the death of my last computer) with a Phenom quad processor 4 gbs ram, 350 W power supply, and a motherboard that had a single PCI express x16 slot overall a pretty decent computer. Now at first I wasn't really interested in upgrading too much, basically out of fear that I'd ruin my computer again and while I had basic knowledge of computer parts I really didn't have the confidence to tinker with it too much. I decided to do some shopping around for a newer video card (what PC is complete without one), however I noticed that not only did most video cards needed at least 400-550W power supplies they also needed there own cables to provide power for them (I know this should be pretty obvious to most of you people out there, but to me it was a brand new thing). I realized that I was going to end up upgrading my PC more than I thought I would. I ended up buying a new power supply (550W Thermaltech) and a radeon HD4850 (I'm not really interested in the whole Nvidia versus ATI thing so please leave your opinions to yourselves). I decided to take a chance and install the parts myself, when I actually got everything to work a certain feeling of accomplishment ran over me and some how I felt like I can do anything. It's kind of like how a surgeon feels when they do a good job on a patient, my computer was my patient and I was the surgeon. It was odd firing up a brand new game on my PC and it actually working, remembering that just a couple of months ago I could barely get WOW running on my last rig. My first game was Far Cry 2 and playing on a PC was different from what I was use to. However after a couple of months playing using a mouse and keyboard it almost feels just as natural to me as playing with a controller. Of course I couldn't just stop with what I had, I was like any other guy, I wanted more. I was actually kind of surprise how quickly my stuff seemed to be outdated. All of a sudden 4850's and Phenom processors weren't doing it for some games. I was constantly looking for ways to make things run faster and smoother. I noticed that with PC gaming it's all about FPS (frams per seconds) the more you had the better the braging rights. I couldn't really notice a difference after about thirty, but some people claimed to get well over one-hundred on certain games. That's what I wanted. I ended up buying an even faster video card (a hd4870 1gb version) and a new processor (AMD Phenom II 3.0mhz black edition) and also installing those myself. Once again it was an exhilarating rush when I got everything to work (the processor was surprisingly easy actually).

  Now I'm pretty content with what I have, but looking back PC gaming is very expensive compared to my old console playing ways. With the video cards, new processor, power supplies I spent probably around $1600 total. Is the pay out worth it? Well I wouldn't say I regretted any of my purchases (maybe the 4850 might have been a little underwhelming), but it did make me take certain things into consideration. Is the price we pay for PC gaming really worth the pay off? I would say yes. I'm not about to abandon my consoles anytime soon, but I do understand the appeal of the PC gaming experience. There are tons of Mods out there (playing goldeneye source comes to mind) and the games really do look noticeably better than it would on a console. It's also amazingly fun to tweak hardware inside my computer. To me it brings a little more ownership to the machine. Of course I'd be lying if I said everything about PC gaming is great. Besides the price I noticed that there are certain inconveniences that comes along with gaming on my PC. For starters there's the whole DRM fiasco that has been kind of annoying and while it hasn't cause huge problems for me it's an inconvenience none the less. There's also a lot of things that can go wrong. Games crashing randomly without warning. Odd screen corruptions certain hardware needing constant updates to ensure they work properly, it can definitely be a hassle. I wouldn't necessarily call them deal breakers but it was an unexpected side effect. All that aside however PC gaming is actually pretty great and if you have the means (I know it's not cheap) I would suggest you try iy for yourself.

  • Posted Feb 21, 2009 11:11 pm GMT
  • Category: Games
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• 22Sep 07

  Resurrecting a Classic

  Have you ever had a weird moment in your life where you wonder what if? You know like what if I decided to play basketball instead of band or asked that super popular girl out when I was in high school? For me it was what if I never sold my Sega Genesis almost eight years ago. Well Friday on my way out of my house I got a chance to catch up with an old friend and see what I have been missing for the last eight years. As I got into my car I peaked at the trash can next to me and sitting in a box filled with a bunch of old records I saw a Sega Genesis. Now before I tell you what I did next I want to explain to you why this was so important to me.

  A long time ago when I was barely old enough to talk complete sentences I always had a desire to play video games. At the time the Sega Genesis was really the only system I ever knew. Sure I played NES, but this was new and this was better (Although I was unaware of the awesomness that was SNES). I begged my parents for months to get my hands on that system and sure enough one bright Christmas morning there it was. You see it wasn't only a video game system, it was my first home console (Game Boy was my first ever video game system, at the time I was four). The system provided me with unknown hours of entertainment, whether it be playing Sonic 2 or even all nighters with Aladdin I rarely had a dull moment with the system. Unfortunately as all systems do they get old and out dated replaced with something new. For me it was the N64. However I always had a soft spot for my Genesis and kept it for several years, until I was 12 when I decided to finally sell it. I didn't get much for it, it was about fifty bucks for the system and all my games. I almost shed a tear as I saw my system driving away, it would always be the system that got me into home consoles for the first time (and is currently my main means of playing games today).

  Now that you received that lovely back history into my gaming life, back to where I left off. I saw the system in the trash can and I felt this odd feeling in my head. It was joyful and fresh, yep it was nostalgia. All of a sudden I remembered the great times I had with the system before I sold it. The all night Aladdinfests, the hours of running around in Sonic, the awesome feeling of shooting guys up in Gunstar Heroes and vectorman, it all rushed back to my head. I knew that I had to have my system again. So I ran up to the door of a complete stranger, and basically asked him, hey can I have that Genesis that you have sitting in the trash. Obviously you can imagine the look I got as a response to the question, he eventually said yes after I explained to him that me and that system go way back and it serves as one of fondest childhood memories. Russiling the system out of the trash, along with all the cables (and two games to boot!) I ran in to see if I could get the thing to work. After some extensive wiping down of the cartridges and the system the classic SEGA logo popped on my screen and I smiled a joyous smile. It's funny how at the oddest times the unexpected happens, Who would of thought that eight years ago as I saw that system leave for the last time that I would one day own it again.

  • Posted Sep 22, 2007 11:49 pm GMT
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• 13Sep 07

  Bioshock Review Up

  It took me a while, but finally my Bioshock review is up. Read it and let me know what you think.
  • Posted Sep 13, 2007 3:52 pm GMT
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