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Game Reviews in 10 Words or Less, Pt. 2

March 21, 2010

For some reason, I can now access my server from home. I hope it stays like this, so that I can actually start doing updates again.

As I seem to be procrastinating from my practical project assignment, I might as well write something up on here about more methods of procrastination – games. I did something like this before, so I’ll have a go at it again. I’ll try and focus on just Xbox 360 stuff, as there should be enough material there… and look. Look at all the games I’ve bought in the last 3 months since I got my new console. God damnit.

I just can't stop buying them...

Battlefield: Bad Company – Starting to enjoy realistic shootan, at least it’s not Halo.

Borderlands – Cool start, but worried that equipment management will get confusing.

Burnout Paradise – Fast, fun game. Online is okay, when others aren’t retarded.

Fallout 3 – Wow, big game. For a completionist, will take months.

Forza 2 – Never been a fan of realistic racing. Still, quite good.

Lost: Via Domus – Pretty crap story, bro (coming from a Lost fan).

Mirror’s Edge – Great mechanics, quite short but surprisingly addictive. Grab the DLC.

Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland -It’s not THPS2, but I like it. Nobody else does.

Pew pew pew.

Battlefield 1943 (XBLA) -Great fun, really getting into the Battlefield series now.

Carcassonne (XBLA) -Wanted to try for ages, and it’s pretty fun stuff.

Castle Crashers (XBLA) -HACKAN, SLASHAN, BEATAN, SCROLLAN, PRINCESS RESCUAN.

DOOM (XBLA) – Still quite scary, even now. Ch4 custom levels are dickish.

Perfect Dark (XBLA) – Faithful update. Seems a bit easy, but great retro fun.

‘Splosion Man (XBLA) – SPLODE SPLODE SPLODE. Hardcode mode can go to hell.

Hopefully I’ll be back with more frequent updates soon. For now, back to coding…

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Top 3 Gadgets of 2009

January 12, 2010

For some reason, my hosting server has trouble being accessed from my home connection… very odd. I’m going to have to look into it, and maybe I can post stuff now the University’s open again and I can use their connection.

I might as well get around to doing one ‘top 2009′ list (even through it’s late), and here’s mine for technology I purchased this year (but not necessarily released this year):

1) BlackBerry Pearl 8100

Aquired around November (for free!) to replace a breaking Motorola Razr v3, and it’s a great phone that does nearly everything I want it to. Upgrading to a phone that can actually access the internet / MSN / Facebook / Twitter is a big step-up for me, and yet I still want to go bigger and better – maybe to a later model that can use 3G and WiFi. Not that I have the money, of course, but I guess that’s part of the ‘crackberry’ addiction.

gadget_bbpearl

2) Sandisk Sansa Clip+

I lost my Creative Zen Stone at some point in October (it had served me well), and took the opportunity to upgrade to something better. The Clip+ came well recommended from various portable media websites, yet it wasn’t advertised very well at all in the UK, and it was being sold dirt cheap, so even better. It’s a fantastic little thing with 8GB internal storage and expandable with microSDHC cards, and I’m glad I bought it. And so are the other people I know who own one, including my father. If you’re looking for something cheap and good, go for it.

gadget_clipplus

3) Microsoft Xbox 360

So I actually got around to purchasing a next-generation console this year, and I’m glad I did, as I’m enjoying it far more than the Wii. I’ve enjoyed games like GTA IV (100%’d, including all DLC), Fallout 3 and Mirror’s Edge, and I still have a big stack of 30+ I’ve bought over the past month to play through at some point… although with the current state of university work, it doesn’t look like I’ll have much free time in the future at all. Hurr.

gadget_xbox360

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Can’t Be Bothered…

August 22, 2009

…to think of a witty title for this post, that is. I never can.

So I’m now settled back in the ‘boro, everything’s found it’s own place in the new house, and nearly all of the utility bills are sorted out – 02 still haven’t activated the internet service, but that should be done by Monday, fingers crossed. The major issue was sorting out the pre-paid gas meter, which hadn’t been used for a year and had over £200 of debt on it. I must give a thanks to Kexgill for what they’ve done with the house, which was a complete trash when we viewed it a few months ago. New flooring, furniture, mattresses, wall coverings, the lot… I’d have to say that the house is better than the Python one I had last year, actually. We also managed to get a cheap TV for the living room off eBay, currently hooked up to a PS2 and two metal dance mats, which should be amusing as I flail around like a retard.

I’ve been playing Burnout Paradise on the evenings to keep me entertained, and it’s a pretty good game. It’s quite addictive as well, seeing as I played it for 6+ hours yesterday and ended up with a headache. Once you have the later racing cars, it’s like “HOLYFUCKINGSHITTHISISFUCKINGFASTAAAAAHHHH *crash*”, which is hilarious when you’re shouting at the screen. It does get a bit repetitive after a while, and the fact that all the events keep resetting until I get the final license is bullshit, but I don’t really mind doing them again. It’s fun, and that what games should be, right?

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100%’d

July 18, 2009

So I finally got around to 100%ing Grand Theft Auto 4 on the Xbox 360, and like I said last time, I highly enjoyed it. From a technical point of view, the engine is fantastic, and it’s making me want to look into open-world technology for my degree’s final year project (Something to do with loading, memory usage, level-of-detail, etc?). I’d certainly enjoy it, but it’d all depending on whether I can do something like this. I’d best learn Direct3D soon, so I’ve got a big advantage off the bat.

Well, I’m not completely 100%, to be honest… just the single-player mode. I still have the multiplayer achievements to get when I buy a Live Gold account, and I’ll probably purchase The Lost and Damned at some point as well when I’m bored.

Other stuff? Went to see Spinnerette last night, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The place was full of skinheads expecting Brody Dalle to start playing Distillers-style music, and boy, did they look pissed when they first song was over.Oh, and I complete the new Monkey Island episode as well, which was fantastic. Here’s hoping it gets even better.

And because of the release of the new Harry Potter movie, my search results for Tonks are going through the roof. Damnit!

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Passed!

July 13, 2009

In case you cared, I managed to pass my second year of university. Wooh. An average of around 74%, which is actually higher than my first year, so I’m pretty proud of that. I still have no idea what I’m going to do for my three choose-your-own-project modules I’m starting in September, but I’ve still got a month or two to think about that yet.

As a nice treat, I bought myself an Xbox 360 – I thought that I might as well buy a current-gen console before the new gen comes around the corner. Probably won’t be long now. After leeching off my housemate’s console for a year, it’s nice to have my own. Got around 12 games and a bunch of Live Arcade titles, so it should keep me busy for a while… I’m aiming for 10,000G score so I can be an achievement whore.  Shouldn’t be too hard, but I’m not going to play games like Avatar and King Kong – I’m going to achieve my achievements with skill, damnit! And those 1000G from Harry Potter were because I actually wanted to play the game, okay?

Oh, and my portfolio website should be done soon. Maybe. Just tidying up a few things in the XHTML, and rewriting all the text to go onto it. Keep your eyes peeled.

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