Monthly Archives: June 2008

Condemned: Criminal Origins Disappointment

I’ve continued playing Condemned: Criminal Origins on the XBox 360 for a bit more, and I have to say I’m disappointed. I guess the disappointment stems from the same reasons that I was given a mild first impressions from the game.

The poor AI of the enemies seems to be a problem throughout the game. They just seem so static and can only just about hide behind corners. When they run, they seems so rigid, and the physics just don’t seem up to scratch.

The other thing about the foes is that they are practically all the same. The play the same, some pop up with guns instead of melee weapons, but that’s about all the difference that you will find. I still have the sequel to play, and I’m hoping that I won’t be disappointed by it.

So besides that, I decided to play Star Wars: Empire at War again. I had the game when it first came out some two years ago, but since then sold it or traded it. So I downloaded the demo and have been working my way through that.

It’s been ages since I last played a strategy game, mainly since they take up so much time. But since I have nothing much to do at home, I thought it’s a nice way to relax and pass some time.

The game is very impressive, graphically, strategically and in terms of enjoyment. Fans of Star Wars will find an immediate liking, while general RTS (Real-Time Strategy) fans will also find it enjoyable.

I plan on getting the full game soon, so will give further views once I do.

Laptop Issues & Heroes Season 1

Well, I’m having some hardware laptop issues. Or really, only one issue, but it’s pretty annoying. It seems that the click on my laptop mouse button has gone. That basically means that it’s hard to tell when the mouse button has actually been clicked. There is a bit of click left in the middle of the button, however it’s far from normal. I paid a trip to the Apple Store recently and fortunately I can have it repaired for free, since it hasn’t quite been a year yet since I purchased it, however I need my laptop 5 days a week for work, and it’s possible that when I hand it in for repair it may take a little longer than just the weekend until I have it back. This is a definite problem for me, and my Asus Eee PC won’t quite cut replacing it for the work I’m doing at the moment. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do about this, but I really need to repair it soon since my one year warranty expires next month.

While I was at the Apple Store, I had a good look at the MacBook Air laptops. Boy, they sure are nice! I was tempted to purchase one and then sell both my MacBook and my Eee PC, since having the MacBook Air would do exactly what I want & all the work and programming that my MacBook does along with the portability of my Eee PC. It definitely seems like the perfect combination for me for both work and university. It’s certainly something I’ll look further into, but it’s a rather pricey solution for something that doesn’t even have a disc drive and just has one USB port.

However meanwhile, I’ve started watching Heroes. A lot of friends have recommended me the series, however I’ve put it off for a long time since I don’t get much free time, plus I was preoccupied with keeping up to date with Prison Break at the time. I’ve watched the first four episodes, which still seem to be setting the scene up. It seems quite typical that while there are super heroes around and so on, that the ultimate bad guy they could come up with would be the stereotypical terrorist attempting to detonate a nuclear bomb in New York City. That’s a pretty bid disappointment, since it just seems to be cashing in on the stereotypical views and fears of the general public. I would’ve much rather preferred seeing Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as the nemesis.

Putting that aside however, it’s an entertaining show so far. It’s interesting how these different people in their normal lives begin to experience these powers and then use them and master them. I’ll certainly continue watching and finish the first season since I’ve rented it, and I’ll probably end up following the series.

Flight Simulator 2004

Huh? Flight Simulator? Lol, you must be kidding me! No, I’m being serious here, I’ve actually been playing some Flight Simulator 2004! Why the 2004 version? Well the latest version requires Windows Vista, which I don’t have, and an insanely high spec machine, which I also don’t have. Meanwhile, FS2004 works fine on my laptop, can be purchased for very cheap and plays the same from what I gather anyway. Sure, the graphics may not quite be up to date, but it still is enjoyable and a relaxing play.

I always wanted to give FS2004 a try, but it was never high on my gaming list. There were always new titles coming out that I was more eager to try, so FS2004 kept getting pushed back. Well, it never had a high priority in the first place anyway. Now that I’m actually working with some relation to flight, I thought it would be a good chance for me to give the game a try.

I had the stereotypical first impression – “what the hell do I do?” The game has video tutorials right in there, and it’s actually pretty easy to start off with. You start out in small planes and work your way up. While there does seem to be some structured hierarchy to play through, I much prefer just jumping into the game and creating my own flight, and then chilling and fly around like I want. It’s pretty easy once you get the hang of things, and despite the cockpit having tons of various meters and radials, you realise that only a handful are useful and the rest can be ignored.

I’ve noticed that there are various downloads available as add-ons that enhance the graphics and so on, so I may give one of those a go soon and hope that I can get a more updated look and feel in the game without having to purchase a new machine. I’d definitely recommend people interested in flying to give FS2004 a try, or even people who just want a relaxing experience different from the norm.

iPhone 3G Impressions

So, the new iPhone was announced over a week ago, and to be honest, I’m thoroughly disappointed. I’ve owned the original iPhone since last November, and love it (mostly thanks to it being unlocked and jail broken so I can install third party apps on it). For the next iteration of the iPhone I was expecting a lot of improvement, how about a thinner and more compact design with a better camera? Nope, instead Apple went and made it a curved design, since it’s actually thicker in the centre than the original. And also, despite tough competition from competitors, a 2 mega pixel camera is good enough. Very disappointing.

So the new features of the iPhone 3G, are well, introduction of 3G. So now we’re expected to have higher data transfer rates and compatibility for other 3G services. The other notable feature is the addition of built-in GPS navigation, which is indeed useful. Those two features are really the only two contributions that make a difference between the original and this new version. Oh, and unlockers/jailbreakers/hackers, there’s a catch.

Apple obviously know that a very small percentage of iPhone sales were actually ever activated with the contract that it was supposed to be on, well now the phone must be activated in-store. You can’t activate it at home through iTunes anymore, so no more purchasing the iPhone and then doing what you want with it (usually throwing away those bundled leaflets pleading you to active the ludicrous contract deal, and unlock it to put your own sim card in).

On the whole, pretty disappointing. At the conference Steve Jobs, CEO and Co-Founder of Apple, introduced the new version of Mac OS X, dubbed Snow Leopard (current version is called Leopard). For the average user, there are no real features here, it’s more of a technological move forward to get things ready probably for future software development by utilising the new and more powerful processors.

For most consumers, the announcements would be completely disappointing and pretty much irrelevant. It certainly wasn’t the conference full of big surprises and giddy new features on various products.

On the Rain-Slick Precipe of Darkness Episode One

I’ve been meaning to write this entry for ages, but unfortunately I haven’t got around to doing so until now. That lengthy title of this blog entry is a name of a game, probably more commonly known as the Penny Arcade game. For those for aren’t aware, Penny Arcade is an extremely popular webcomic (http://www.penny-arcade.com/). While I really wasn’t, and still am not, a fan of the earlier comics (i.e. where I really felt it was pointless and stupid humour), the comics certainly did improve over time. The comic grew enormously and now they actually got the chance to make a game, and so they did using their art style, humour and created their own spin-off plot.

The game plays like an RPG, and due to its humour and easy art style, feels enjoyable to play. I’ve played the demo on XBox 360 and also on my MacBook, although it wouldn’t work on my Windows partition (the error message stated my graphics card, Intel GMA, was incompatible, however the same graphics card is used for my Mac partition where the demo worked). A little more research showed that there are a lot of Intel GMA models that aren’t compatible with the game, however it’s also possible that I should have checked for the latest drivers for my graphics card before giving it a go.

The demo is quite short, however that is to be expected since the game is being released as episodic content. This means that the complete story will take place over a series of episodes. I’m not sure at the moment how many episodes are planned, but I’m sure there will be a few to come. Priced at just $20 on online purchase, it definitely is a great deal since the game is pretty addictive. It just came out on Steam as well, so those of you like me who enjoy having a Steam account to manage your entire PC gaming can take advantage and download it straight through there.

The story goes like follow: You create your own character in a fictional world dated back to the 1920s, where a giant robot stamps on your house. Straight after you see two guys, the main characters of the Penny Arcade comic Gabe and Tycho, run after this robot. You then join the two to embark on a crazy adventure to stop that robot.

You really need to try the game for yourself to get a proper feel for it, and fortunately they’ve made demos available for all the platforms that the game is available for, so there’s no excuse not to try!