tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88862791103168417302011-11-18T09:33:43.024-05:00Think about it. I dare you.Michaelnoreply@blogger.comBlogger211100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-5084578498611133352011-07-30T00:39:00.004-04:002011-08-01T17:47:38.165-04:00

Brand new post for a brand new obsession. I found myself briefly enjoying a rather familiar/unfamiliar sensation. Well, emotion. I'm sure the one reader I have won't be surprised. A second one (presuming that such a creature exists) may be. Fear, is the emotion I'm talking about.I'm sure it has something to do with the delightful cocktail of chemicals and the relief following fear

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-37151085859424929682011-06-29T11:25:00.003-04:002011-06-29T12:11:24.827-04:00

I'll be the first to admit, text adventures are a wholly zombified medium of video games. But I was rather fond of Zork when I first got my hands on it a few years ago. The inherent problem of course, with any text adventure game is the inability of the designer to think of everything.Take Santhworld for instance. It's a quasi-text adventure. The game graphics are mostly static images, but you

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-87074676135146948442011-05-25T21:30:00.004-04:002011-05-26T14:49:06.971-04:00

I recently played Dead Space 2.I am not impressed. The first Dead Space was an excellent game, it had good pacing, good set pieces, interesting changes in interface, and a reasonable story.Dead Space 2, much like EA's other sequel set in space, throws the baby out with the bathwater.While Mass Effect went from Space Opera to Action (IN SPACE), Dead Space, went from Survival "Horror" to "Survival

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-17082273930331919642011-05-18T15:01:00.002-04:002011-05-18T15:09:38.948-04:00

I'm not a huge fan of multiplayer, but I enjoyed playing Battlefront (the second, the first was a bit of a shambles when it came to a bunch of things), so I assumed brink would be a bit of a return to that for me. Sadly, not so much.The biggest problem I have with brink is that the controls aren't... intuitive or explained, except through an in-game manual. A quick tutorial sequence *would not

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-10807030350235988322011-04-25T11:18:00.002-04:002011-04-25T12:11:12.284-04:00

Some games have a serious problem. They hide their best parts behind mindless tedium.A few examples:Dragon Age: Origins- The Deep RoadsThe Deep Roads is, doubtless the longest, most tedious, repetitive section of Dragon Age. At least to me. I purposely leave Orzammar for last just because of the Deep Roads. For those not familiar with the Deep Roads, let me describe them. Grey or brown tunnels,

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-64748896293845837102011-04-20T09:36:00.005-04:002011-04-23T11:45:13.735-04:00

The problem, I think with the divide between gamers and non-gamers is the skills required to play. Not Leet skills, or even mad skills, just the basic tool-use that you've likely acquired between the 1980s and now. Gamers might see each individual game as a rehash of something they've learned somewhere else. Even the vague differences in the shape of a controller don't matter much.I've only got a

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-45751761688401444722011-04-14T11:56:00.003-04:002011-04-14T12:36:08.551-04:00

I have spent the last three hours in a presentation about partner abuse.I have decided, as a result, that western culture has a rather serpent-like tendency to be misandrist.Not familiar with the word? Let's look at it for a minute!Misandry:The hatred of, or pathological aversion to men.Well, Nonesuch! you say, from where do you draw this conclusion?I'm glad you ask Timmy!This presentation had

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-83922138158719577222011-04-11T14:41:00.002-04:002011-04-11T14:58:46.521-04:00

I enjoy jam. It's sweet and delicious, and you can use it in so many ways. Unfortunately, I have to walk to the grocery store and I'm a student. A friend got me to buy a bag of frozen berries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries for making smoothies and milkshakes because I don't eat especially well.This week I discovered another use for those berries.Jam is essentially

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-90553537218246818482011-04-11T14:35:00.002-04:002011-04-11T14:41:45.416-04:00

A course, or even basic learning about ethics seems a little weird.Marking someone on their ethics seems wrong to me.Whether or not something is ethical is subjective. It is true, that some ethics are widely shared by cultures, not killing people, not stealing, but when we're getting into case studies, having right and wrong answers for the subjective ethics of a group of students is

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-33420420305889881292011-04-05T20:14:00.002-04:002011-04-05T20:30:07.798-04:00

It's better than it sounds.I cook experimentally, when I don't know what I want to eat. The result is either utterly horrible or bloody delicious.This evening's dish started out as baked beans in a pot, on the stove.Poking through the freezer I found the last of my pre-portioned ground beef, and the bag end of a mix of frozen veggies. So I toss those in the frying pan together on high.I find a

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-24926777058570888082011-03-21T15:18:00.002-04:002011-03-21T15:32:41.432-04:00

It's been snowing and raining outside. At the same time.What are you doing weather? Do you hate doing one thing? Do you hate sidewalks that can be walked on?

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-12090838127143440862011-03-14T00:41:00.003-04:002011-03-14T01:05:24.180-04:00

So, a while afterwards, let's make a point of this.It's not worth the hype. The bit at the end seems like a bad cross between the Matrix and the Village. Not to say that the Matrix (at least the first one) was a bad movie. And, really, the only problem with the Village was its predictability. Twist endings have their place. They've become culturally ingrained enough that it's very hard not to

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-56026312851057567282011-02-03T09:31:00.000-05:002011-02-18T09:54:27.732-05:00

What is it about Nintendo's games that makes them good?I honestly can't be sure. The music is quite often good, and despite their systems being underpowered when compared to the competition, I've never found that the first-party titles for Nintendo systems fail in that regard the way some third-party titles seem to. But those are both cosemetic, so I suppose I should list suspect one here.Formula

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-64054571282838170232010-10-13T08:38:00.003-04:002010-10-13T08:52:07.488-04:00

If, like me until recently, you haven't seen or listened to Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, I will make this quite simple. GO WATCH IT! At the very least, listen to it. It is on youtube for crissakes. However, I imagine such people will be few and far between, but if you're still waffling about it, let me try to convince you of the brilliance of this form of aetheric entertainment.Doctor

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-57057686645327549232010-06-19T15:32:00.002-04:002010-06-19T15:54:24.625-04:00

So, I've been playing Red Dead Redemption.And I've got to say it doesn't quite live up to the hype.To break it down these are my problems.*It's bland.*It's uninteresting*More rails than Neverwinter NightsThe game scenery is bland. Despite the claims of an open world, you can't really travel anywhere unless you complete the story. And yes, the scenery changes from area to area, but inside of each

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-79497497932224916462010-06-15T11:25:00.005-04:002010-06-16T12:38:22.198-04:00

We left off the last post with Alan in the Well-Lit Room, in possession of the Clicker, and a passel of existential questions. Those will come at the end since the game is left rather open to interpretation.The second piece (did I forget to mention that?) dictates the conditions for Alan returning to Zane's Cabin. He has to go back to Cauldron Lake with the clicker, and jump.Alan leaves his

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-87680040610394036642010-06-14T16:54:00.004-04:002010-06-15T11:24:46.996-04:00

Alan Wake has a lovely story, I must say.You are Alan Wake, a famous writer who hasn't written anything in two years. You've travelled with your wife to Bright Falls, which is in the middle of the mountains and surrounded by what some people would call "untamed wilderness". Mostly forests, which is where Alan spends most of the game. Ostensibly you are here for a vacation. You start by running

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-86980999202738562732010-06-14T16:22:00.003-04:002010-06-14T16:26:33.888-04:00

Everything needs a plan. Or at least some vague sort of goal that you can change if it doesn't work out.I started this blog three years ago and it's risen sporadically like a zombie, or some strange sort of plant. Which really isn't a good use of the space. So I suppose it need a goal for this?Update the blog every day. That's the plan. Let's see how it goes

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-84174117931584015432010-06-13T23:37:00.005-04:002010-06-15T22:19:18.297-04:00

Carrying on from yesterday, more about Alan Wake.You play Alan Wake, a writer with writer's block on vacation in scenic Bright Falls, Maine. He wears a tweed jacket with elbow patches and a hood.Mr. Wake is not the most in shape of characters it would seem, he's not very good at running and doesn't do well with falls.Wake does battle with assorted possessed people, birds, and objects,

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-47125067579134572882010-06-13T11:06:00.006-04:002010-06-15T22:19:03.001-04:00

I picked up Alan Wake the other day, started playing this morning, so I think I should get the first impressions out of the way.Praise first then:The developers have done a good job, graphics wise. I'm not a fan of bleeding edge graphics tech, since it won't run on my ancient computer and the types of games that tend to use it aren't my cup of tea to begin with. They seem to have had a little

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8886279110316841730.post-84887530047301204162009-05-14T16:04:00.004-04:002009-05-14T16:38:47.600-04:00

Shamus (over at Twenty Sided) has posed an interesting question. Given that I could travel through time, and was sure I'd wind up somewhere in Europe between 1000 CE and 1300 CE and I could only carry a loaded suitcase. Assuming a normal sized checked bag on an airplane, this is my list.1. A monk's cassock. When in Rome, do as Romans do. A monk is essentially untouchable, and it gives me an

Michaelnoreply@blogger.com3