March 31, 2009

Baby BANTHA!






He's presently red. :)

Zen and the Art of Being Laid... Off.










(Perverts. Laid OFF.)

So my layoff took affect today. I'm about to go sign my severance agreement. It was a job. I don't really care that much. I can do lots of things, so I'm bound to find something to replace it. (PS: That's the crud I'm saying to myself to make sure I feel better about getting the boot. I'm still in the angry phase.)

I was reading a book about Mind Mapping. The short version - you take notes by drawing and coloring, starting in the center of a landscape page (I find it interesting for a method that is supposed to be breaking the rules that the book specified your mind map had to be landscape.) Regardless, it occurs to me that this might be an interesting way for us to create a sort of MMO landscape of goodness. The book and proponents of this method suggest that this strange ameoba type of brainstorming uses both the left and right sides of the brain equally. The result, they claim, is a more creative solution to whatever you're working on.

I didn't believe it at first, although I will admit that I was drawn to the pretty colors. But I did one of their exercises and it WAS more successful. I was completely surprised.

So... Since we don't have a share version of a mind map (although I'll set Azzy to the task of seeing if we could get it), I propose putting up one picture each day that represents part of the overall map. The center blob will be "The Ideal MMO". I'll commit to combining our efforts into a map each day (since I'm unemployed now and have nothing better to do). The idea would be that over time, we'd be able to identify the components of the perfect game. Who knows? Maybe if we do it the right way, we could actually get game developing houses to listen.

It's not an overnight project. It will be one that will take effort from all of us. Let me know what you think.

In the meantime, my mind map picture of the day is this:

Another Resident Evil?!

That's right folks, Capcom has once again released yet another game in the survival horror series we all know and love (or not). Resident Evil 5 is now out on both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. I picked it up for Xbox and have been playing it quite a bit.

First off it plays like RE4, so if you were a fan of that one you will surely enjoy this one. The graphics are definitely improved over RE4. The biggest change is that you now work with a partner this time around (which can be controlled either game AI or a 2nd player). The game's AI is actually pretty good and its shots are damn accurate. Its pretty good at getting items you don't have space for and if it grabs ammo your weapon uses, its good at handing it over to you.

Also, as stated, a 2nd player can control your partner by a number of methods. There is a two-player, split-screen system link. You can also have friends or random players join into your game via Xbox Live or PS3 network.

Onto controls and game play. Once again your character movement is just like Resident Evil 4. They still move and turn like a tank (thank God for quick turn!) and there is still no ability to move and gun even though most RE vets are fine with this. Enemy AI is slightly improved from RE4 but they made some changes to make it a lil harder on you - like armor wearing baddies where you have to shoot at certain spots to even hit them. I didn't really find the bosses all that hard this time though, which was a lil disappointing but I still did enjoy fighting them so it was all good in the end.

As for game length, I probably spent about 7 hours total playing this on my first run through, which is about normal nowadays with these type of games. The unlocks are pretty nice. When you fully upgrade certain starting weapons, you unlock its ultimate version to purchase. Also fully upgrading weapons gives you the ability to purchase infinite ammo for that gun via exchange points at the bonus features menu (these points are earned via playing through the game or Mercenaries mode which is unlocked after beating the game once). There are other unlockables as well but I don't want to give it all away now do I? =p

If you're a fan of the RE series then this game will not disappoint, though people who were not into RE4 may not be into this one so much, but still worth a rent at least. Good gaming all. Runex out. =)

March 30, 2009

Non-game Angst


BAH!  I go on record saying that corporations are friggin' weak.  They're octopus-armed conglomerations that have long since amputated any connection they once had with "people".  Any seemingly sound or moral principles they might espouse are solely the products of some marketing agency team who convinced them it was good PR.  Even as I think about the failing auto industry and am proud again to be American by virtue of the actions of its leader, I think about the people on the line, like my own grandfather was until his death.  Unions aside, no one there would care about the decades of service he gave.  They'd be more concerned that he'd bring a lawsuit against them for a work-place injury, or for perceived discrimination.  They'd gladly cut his wages to ensure they had enough money for the excess insurance premiums in case of such an eventuality.

This world is becoming unacceptable. The human behind the blog is even more homogonized than before.  We're all boiled down to the choice of Arial, Courier, Georgia, Lucida, Times, Trebuchet or Verdana.  These seven possibilities better be enough variety to catagorize yourself in.  Oh sure.  Take a walk on the wild side and try out Wingdings.  I'm sure there's a translator somewhere for it.

Grrr. "Peace comes from within.  Do not seek it from without." - Flippin' Buddha.


March 29, 2009

fanboyism

For some reason, the Console Wars have really brought out some militant fanboyism. And if I had to put myself into a category, I'd definitely be an xbox fanboy. But what is it about the consoles that drive us into this? Why is there so much hostility here? And how are Playstation fans any different from Wii and Xbox fans?

I know there's a big .. HUGE misconception out there about Wii fans. I mean, the Wii is just for kids and grandmas, right? Well, I suppose with all the crap out there on the wii, this is true in SOME cases. Then again, what use is the Arcade console, if not to cater to this exact same demographic? There are some amazing games on the Wii, including some that are incredibly violent and gory. Personally, I have a slight drunken addiction to Deal or No Deal on the Wii, and its graphics are worse than Gamecube graphics!

I don't know where I was going with this. I just wanted to spark discussion, even though that spark will be slightly dim, given that its just us posters here. Also, don't attack me for saying fanboy instead of fanperson. I don't believe in political correctness.

Sunday...

...is a day for a doughy juggernaut of delight (a.k.a donut) and gaming. I know. Slow down, right? But what to play?

Warhammer? Could be fun. However, I'll probably just run around avoiding quests and wishing my armor was pretty while waiting for the server to actually get populated for pvp fun-times. Meh. Not into it.

Runes of Magic? Not a bad game. However when I log in, I feel dirty like I'm cheating on other games because RoM is cheap and easy. Oh Frogster, you tempt me with your dirty little whore. Not on a Sunday!

Conan? Bah! I'm still bitter about being lied to. "But it's better now," and other ridiculous babble. Well that may be, but being bitter is still easier than being disappointed... AGAIN! AoC you were to be my true love. /cry

WoW? I hate you! No, I love you! Wait, I hate you. Oh gawd! I just don't know anymore! Must...resist...resubbing! One day, I'll come back for my friends still trapped in your evil clutches. /shakes fists at threatening skies

Sigh. Did I mention that donuts are good? What's that? Classic RTS? Why don't mind if I do. Zerglings you are so d-e-d.

March 28, 2009

Recognize!

Sup?

Welcome to our blog, foos.

A small group of us gamer types (and one non-gamer) decided to put this little ol' blog together to offer words on gaming, gamers, the state of gaming, and our enjoyment or malaise with said topics. We've got a lot of collective experience with gaming (mmos and console) but that doesn't mean we know what we're talking about. We just like to think we do.

And don't try to put us in a box, you bastards! If non-gaming topics amuse us, we shall also write about those as well. Short attention spans must be recognized.

Hopefully posts will be abundant and entertaining, but don't hold us to that.

Followers