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Denver, 7:01 AM
Wed Nov 25
53 posts in the last 24 hours
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Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
11/24/09
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11/24/09
I'm only about a level 30 in the multiplayer because I prefer single-player games.
11/24/09
Have you ever "discovered" a completely unique game years after everyone else?
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11/24/09
[www.handdrawngames.com]
11/24/09
I'd elaborate more, but basically I can't really afford another subscription plan, so there goes the 360, sadly. (Yeah, not really uplifting on the card either.) But I'm also looking for a good purchase of a Blu-ray player, and I'm thinking that the PS3 seems perfect for my needs. ^_^
So, what games do you suggest are the best for buying? (That includes multiphatform games. :P)
11/24/09
I said Fat Princess, but you've had that discussion earlier further down (hence the edit).
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Oops... ignore that last part.
11/24/09
Σ(ﾟДﾟ)!? *avoids the beer bottle*
Yesterday i was hanging out at the queen center mall with my friends Edward and Luis and three other guys(friends from work)and i told them that i was going to buy a 360, and the first thing the came out of one the guys was..
"finally you'll will know how much better is Live than the PSN"....that's the clean version of what he say ^_^
Now i've play Edward 360 and neither Edward or i have found the difference between the two(other than the lack of demos for PSN games), and the guy couldn't provide me with a good example of what makes it better...other than the same old arguments ^_^
So what exactly makes Live better than PSN?
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Apparently cross game chat is a big deal. I for one wont be using the feature if it is implemented in PSN but a lot PSN users are clamoring for the feature to be included.
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And I'm not gonna edit it, for the principal of the thing. So there! =P
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All is well again!
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11/24/09
@Curse lily: A lot of people would probably agree that it's a lot easier to hook up with friends, because Live is built with that sort of thing in mind. You can party up with friends and just chat while playing different games, or jump into a game lobby with them no problem. PS3 games all have to do that on a game-by-game basis.
As a UK user I'd also agree that the marketplace is a lot better. Since the EU PSN Store updates are either scarce or missing things altogether and only happen once a week, the 360 wins by default. It gets things earlier, gets more things and has all the extra arcade stuff PSN might not get and with demos to boot.
PSN has been catching up though and is not far behind.
11/24/09
I've personally had problems with using PSN over a wireless WiFi where I couldn't connect, couldn't join games, or would get dropped from games. It was fixed by using a wired connection.
Live doesn't seem to update as often as PSN, and when it does it is very quick and painless. It prompts you and gives you an easy option to start it right then. You don't have to remember where the System Update option is. The download just takes a few seconds, restarts automatically, and doesn't bother me with series of menus each time about "Agreeing to things," or "Would I like to turn off the system when it's finished," kind of stuff.
I hate how often after getting a new PS3 game I find I have to spend 20 minutes downloading the new system update, and then more time for it to install.
Game updates install much quicker too. I remember the SOCOM update taking over 3 hours to download, and then it had to install it (which took a long time too). I think the longest I've had to wait for a update over Live is about 20 seconds, with no separate install wait needed.
As well, Live features party chat. I'm often playing one game while chatting with my friends playing different games. The nice thing about party chat is that you can't hear the strangers you're playing with, and they can't hear you. A big convenience for some of us.
But overall, the network just seems more stable in my experience.
11/24/09
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11/24/09
PSN is slowly but surely catching up to XBL in features. It is more of a wash now than it was, but at first there was really no comparison, PSN just didn't have any of the features that XBL did.
I personally like the fact that MS forces devs to go through their infrastructure and to integrate live into the games. PSN matchmaking is done solely by the publisher/developer of the title, and it is really hit or miss (or at least it was).
Back when I had access to and played a launch PS3, I was always amazed at the variations in online quality between different games. On XBL it is a very similar experience across the board. Friends can invite you in, matchmaking is usually behind the curtains, etc etc.
The PS3 also didn't have trophies and game comparisons for the longest time.
Cross game party chat is also fantastic. It is one of the features that you don't know you'll take for granted once it is there. I'm REALLY hating MW2 for disabling it...
11/24/09
11/24/09
1) I know way more people on Live than on PSN.
2) Finding people and talking to people is far more simple, intuitive, and pleasant on Live IN MY EXPERIENCE. I can't claim the experience of others.
3) Party chat and cross-game chat, for me, is imperative. It is simply not an option for me not to have it. These two things alone are worth the crappy $4 a month.
4) I like sending voice messages. PSN needs this NOW.
5) Finally, although this has nothing really to do with PSN or Live, I hate... HATE... that you have to be a network administrator in order to get the PS3 to download updates to games any faster than a 56k modem. The 360 works lightning speed right out of the box without any adjustments. The PS3, doesn't. Burnout Paradise updated in 15 minutes on the 360. On the PS3 it took an hour and 20 minutes.
If that's the kind of online capability I experience with the PS3, it's no wonder that my experiences playing online GAMES on it have been less than satisfactory, and that's WITH it connected hard-line.
11/24/09
11/24/09
I want this gen to at least last another 3 more years. Also, natal is coming out and if that takes off, hopefully this gen will be prolonged.
11/24/09
and it hasnt red ringed yet? im shocked
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11/24/09
I just listened to the entirety of In Utero by Nirvana, and I think it's awesome, and I'm about to go out and nab the new Them Crooked Vultures album, which sounds funky.
How about you guys? Favorite bands? Songs on repeat?
11/24/09
Trying not to listen to Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 too much. It's a good album.
11/24/09
11/24/09
Just throwing this out there but you may like a band called Apollo Up! [www.myspace.com]
Got a great straightforward rock sound. And the singer sounds a lot like Speedo from Rocket from the Crypt (another great band. RIP RFTC!).
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11/24/09
I'm the same way with music as I am with games.
My favorite band is always the next new one.
11/24/09
11/24/09
#speakup
11/24/09
Yeah, Homme is awesome. I just hope he actually gets around to remastering the self-titled. Thing is beastly.
#speakup
11/24/09
Music's awesome, though. It's a whole different medium for expressing the world we live in. Or just a damn good time. Or depressing as shit.
Well, it's good, whichever way you want it.
#speakup
11/24/09
#speakup
11/24/09
#tips
11/24/09
I just found that there was this great concept behind The Fame, but that the tracks didn't really support it that well, and some were just clearly better than others, but if those new ones are consistent I may as well try it out.
iTunes, GO!
#speakup
11/24/09
@DCSimian: Oh, definitely! I took a break from the whole rap/hiphop genre up until I heard Lupe. He's what brought me back.
11/24/09
I'm not sure whether to continue this project yet. Anyone interested from this little screenshot?
11/24/09
That better be the multiplayer mode.
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Maybe Ocarina of Time.
11/24/09
1. Go to [www.gamespot.com]
2. Scroll down until you see a BC2 banner.
3. Sign in or create an account. You will get your code as soon as you sign in.
For US addresses/PSN only.
#speakup
11/24/09
Save me, have you signed up? Is it looking like it'll be a good game?
11/24/09
Yeah, I've already signed up, downloaded, installed and updated it in less than an hour ago.
I'll check it out later today.
11/24/09
#speakup
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11/24/09
The majority of the readership here is in their 20's. Yet they come in here talking about their childhood like they are Walter Matthau.
Games weren't BETTER back then. You were just more easily amused, and a lot less cynical.
Remember that at the same age you thought Megaman was so flipping awesome, you also thought Thundercats was high drama worthy of a primetime slot, and you would spend hours playing with a cardboard tube and pretending you were Lion-O.
11/24/09
(Still waiting for a sprite-based, 1080p Megaman X9, you hear me, Capcom?)
11/24/09
And, for the record, Megaman is, and will always be awesome. No need for the hate, my friend. =)
11/24/09
Fun games are fun, and that includes the old ones and the new ones. I occasionally spend too long playing an unfun game waiting for it to become fun...but there's definitely still a decent number of fun games coming out, and nothing from yesteryear matches the fun I have from jumping online with friends I otherwise wouldn't be able to game with, and socializing while working towards a common goal in a game.
(Which, tonight, was zombies in Borderlands, an excellent example of fun.)
11/24/09
*Tear of joy*
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11/24/09
Why else would we see so many remakes of games on handhelds or PSN/XBA that encompass exactly those traits from the games of previous generations?
There's something to be said about the booming industry that is simple Wii and PopCap games...
11/24/09
I think games, in general, were better when I was younger. Don't get me wrong, there have been some great games of recent time, but my favourite games are all from around 1985-1998 (or so).
I find myself playing older games over and over again, not because of nostalgia, but of how good the games were. I don't find much re-playability in newer games. Maybe this will be different in the next 10-20 years. We shall see.
11/24/09
I do take the time every weekend to play around with a cardboard tube and fight crime, and I suggest you all do the same.
No, for your safety, please don't do that.
11/24/09
With respect to games, I'm interested to see where it's going. I want to know what comes next.
11/24/09
Anyway, agree with your point. If you've ever gone back and tried to relive the nostalgic gaming of your childhood, you'll often be easily frustrated--not because of the difficulty, but the archaic game design. No save points? Stupid jump mechanics? Shoddy menus? Exploitable bugs? Sloppy level design? They've got 'em all.
And for the record, both the old school Mega Mans and Thundercats are still great.
11/24/09
Funny, lots of people would call these classics. :)
11/24/09
And someone also commented on the simplicity... not in the level of difficulty, but the controls. I miss that too. I think there's something to be said for that ability to pick up and play and just have brainless fun. I don't think it's a coincidence that some of the most fun I've had this year has been with fairly simple stuff like EDF, Klonoa, Punch-Out, Shadow Complex, Trine, Plants vs. Zombies... there's not too much going on with complexity but they are still so much fun.
The childhood factor has something to do with it too, nostalgia and all, plus our imagination and the ability for a game to capture it starts to wane as we get older.
On the other hand, the power to make a wonderful, immersive game is much greater today. I don't think it's maximized enough, but a game like Uncharted 2 is an experience that is different from anything an old school game can deliver.
11/24/09
I'm not saying there were not *good* games. Just that they weren't awesome. It is the same with this generation, though. There are great games, but 15 years from now I know they'll have *better* games.
If these discussions were filled with critical looks at old gaming, that would be one thing, but they aren't. They are filled with will abashed love for titles that were good for the time.
To understand my point, just look at all the comments in TAY today. Half of them already saying how much they loved Donkey Kong.
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This applies to this day and age too. There are games that are only 'good for the time' now. In my humble opinion, there is plenty of absolutely terrible games now, I'd say the bad far outweighs the good. Every generation is going to have it's good and bad games.
11/24/09
""Seriously, are things really getting worse? Well, a pessimist might say that everything in the world is steadily going downhill – that nowadays, everything is shit. Well, call me a cockeyed optimist, but I don't think that's true. I think everything has always been shit...
"Yes there were some great movies or novels or politicians back in the old days, but we remember them precisely because everything they were surrounded by was shit. Most old movies? Shit. Most old novels? Shit. Most actors? Shit. Most rock music? Shit. Most shit? Shit."
Any comparison between the levels of shit and good is always out of whack because you only remember the really good (or the really bad) from 15 years ago. You don't remember all the mediocre shit inbetween.
I've actually written a little essay about this before: [talkamongstyourselves.freeforums.org]
11/24/09
On the flip side, what about current gen games makes them better? I'm interested in what you think games these days do differently that older games don't offer. Or can't offer, I suppose in some cases.
11/24/09
"Classic" gaming also couldn't deliver multiplayer. The earliest games that could (and I played them) were good (or great) at the time, but they are all put to shame by the stuff out there now.
Purists may argue that Counter Strike is still popular, but CS is popular because people are comfortable with the gameplay, not because it is executed better than CoD or anything else.
The list of RPGs that are *better* is long as hell... Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Oblivion, Fallout... the list goes on and on, and it is full of games that could not be executed like they are now 10 years ago.
Sandbox games exist because the hardware is now capable of realizing them, and budgets are big enough to make them. Borderlands, GTA, Infamous, Prototype, Crackdown, etc etc... They all deliver worlds that light years beyond what was realized before.
#speakup
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11/24/09
Sounds like you've become waaaaay too cynical and high-minded and largely blinded by technology. Just because something wasn't possible on older stuff does not mean the new stuff is instantly better.
11/24/09
@Yossarian: Bioshock would not have delivered if it had been done in 1989. Heck, I could argue that it couldn't deliver if done in 2001.
"Look at you, hacker. A pathetic creature of meat and bone, panting and sweating as you run through my corridors. How can you challenge a perfect, immortal machine?" -SHODAN
11/24/09
I agree with you on Counter Strike, RPGs, and Sandbox Games. However, I still don't think that advances in gameplay or graphics negate the fun created by a previous game. If a game is fun, it's fun for whatever reason. Do some games withstand the test of time and tech better than others? Definitely. Do others continue to be fun after a decade or more? Definitely. I think it generally falls under your article you wrote: 90/10.
And I agree: I try not to let the shadows of old games taint my enjoyment of new ones. I never enjoyed Donkey Kong and I still don't. I'm not sure how that figures in though...
I disagree with your thoughts on Bioshock based on my ignorant opinion of the game. My opinion is cloaked in tiny bits of evil, over-hype, and general lethargy. So we'll need to agree to disagree there - if only because I'm silly.
Sorry it took so long to reply - work's busy right before the holidays. A web designer's work is never done.
11/24/09
Games have that interactive factor. Playing DKC when I was younger (I'm 28 going on 29) was fantastic b/c I had fun controlling the character through all the levels and whatever else they threw at me. I'd probably still have as much fun with it today, not only b/c of the nostalgia factor, but b/c it was a well-designed game that's just fun.
With a TV show like Thundercats, we grow out of it b/c the dialog is silly and we realize it's cheesy as hell. But even then, some shows stand the test of time b/c they're well made, like some older Looney Tunes cartoons or Batman: TAS.
But with games, I think a well-designed interactive experience resonates with us more. I still play ski-ball, air hockey, foosball, basketball, etc., b/c they're fun. They really haven't changed in years. All these things challenge us and we all like a good challenge.
My 2 cents.
11/24/09
I can clearly remember the mediocre, the great and the downright shit, I have wasted a lot of cash on some seriously shit and mediocre titles (as did my parents). I still find myself thinking why the hell did I buy this these days. There is a lot of great, good, OK and shit titles at the moment, it's always going to be like that. It just seems to me, for my tastes, there is way more crap.
11/24/09
@DCSimian: To clarify, I'm not claiming that old games are all shit. I'm just bemoaning the constant nostalgia that goes on in TAY and puts games up on pedastals. Also, I would never argue that there are defining games in all generations that came up with a gameplay mechanic, nailed it, and defined it for all games to come. That is exactly what ski-ball, air-hockey, etc have done. They were the games that nailed an experience that in some cases (like pinball) had been evolving for a couple hundred of years in various forms.
@NeöStarr: I knew someone would immediately throw System Shock out there. I was going to call it out by name, but decided not to in the hopes of painting a broad stroke. That said, if you played it today could you honestly say that it had the visual and audio impact of Bioshock?
@Ueziel: It sounds like you don't like anything modern just to be contrary. It is obviously just your opinion versus mine, but you can't seriously claim all of those games are crap. You may prefer your RPGs to use sprites and have written text. That may make the game better for you because you get to animate the characters in your mind and make up their voices. I happen to think that as far as entertainment goes, Fallout 3 and Mass Effect are about as good as they have gotten.
Here's an example from my past: I LOOOOOOOOOVED X-wing vs Tie Fighter. LOVED it. There is NO way, though, that I don't think it could be made even better with modern graphics, physics, increased storage, memory, etc etc. That doesn't mean the game was great. It was. For it's time. A modern iteration, though, would blow it out of the water pretty damn easily.
#speakup
11/24/09
11/24/09
Are You In The UK?
Are You Holding Out Until the Hardened Edition is at a Reasonable Price for a Special Edition?
Does £50 Sound About Right?
[www.shopto.net]
Then you May want to head on down to ShopTo.net . I ordered my copy yesterday, and I am awaiting it's arrival.
Just thought this was a deal that people might like to hear about...
Then Head on Down
11/24/09
*me is eliminated by a pak of Pez hunters*
11/24/09
*Pokes Starman with a red hot poker*
What the hell just happened to you?
11/24/09
90s trends has started its resurgence.
Also it makes me feel slightly old considering that the English remake of the Danish film Brothers (it's ok but the original's still better) has a cast that I'd consider roughly around my age and well they're pretty much playing people my age married and such (though of course there's still plenty of twentysomethings still playing teenagers).
11/24/09
Oh god, seriously?
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11/24/09
05:01 AM
Grunge and Nirvana is in fashion. Look at the clothes we wear. It can be compared to the 60s and 90s. A lot of stuff is happening but it's just slow and subtle. Heck look at what's on TV and the type of topics covered :P
#speakup