Though I haven't been staying up late enough to catch much of this last week of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, I have been keeping up with the whole debacle every day on the internet. A proud member of Team Coco, I've been hunting down the latest clips every day, and have been greatly amused by Conan's increasingly insulting monologues. I've also had good fun seeing all the other late-night hosts weigh in on the issue, as well as people completely outside the blast radius (Ricky Gervais had some awesome things to say at the Golden Globes).
Anyway, it's too bad Conan won't be doing The Tonight Show for longer. I always liked him on Late Night, and he seems like a much funnier guy than Tonight's former (and soon, once again) host, Jay Leno. Hopefully Conan goes on to something much better and stomps Leno in ratings. Leno deserves it for not taking the high road and bowing out, and to a greater extent, NBC deserves it for making crappy decisions at the whims of their affiliates.
I was thinking about doing a write-up of my favorite games from 2009, but as I was going over most of the games I played last year, many of my favorites turned out to be from 2008 or earlier. I got a few of 2009's finest for Christmas, but so far, I've only had time to play through one of them - Assassin's Creed 2. Luckily, it turned out to be one of my favorite games in a good while, so instead of doing a list I thought I'd just write a game review instead. Read on for tales of free running, theft, death-defying acrobatics, and of course, assassination.
As a note of precaution, I am going to try to keep spoilers for the first game to a minimum, but in order to talk about the opening sequence of the second game, there might be some slight spoilers for the first one. If you haven't played Assassin's Creed 1 yet, and you're planning on doing so, proceed with caution. I will not spoil the content of AC2, save for the introductory portion of the game.
A little over two years ago, I picked up Assassin's Creed 1 (also as a Christmas gift, I believe), and quickly played through it over the course of a few weeks. It was a fun game. With sprawling ancient urban environments, the visuals were particularly impressive, as were the movement mechanics for the player. In the end though, the whole thing became somewhat repetitive, with each level in the game playing exactly like the last. There were a few quirks with the fundaments of the game that could probably have been overlooked if the rest of the game had been better, but which ended up standing out instead. And the finale of the game, which was deliberately left open for a sequel, was somewhat of a letdown.
Despite the first game's drawbacks, however, I did have a good time with it. So when November 2009 rolled around and Assassin's Creed 2 was released to better reviews than its predecessor, I was excited. Unfortunately for me, I usually don't buy myself many games between November and December, just in case someone decides to get me a game for Christmas or my birthday. I waited for the holidays, did in fact, get the game, and played through it over the last few weeks. After nearly 24 total hours of game-time and collecting 47 of 50 achievements, I can say with confidence (and puns) that Assassin's Creed 2 is leaps and bounds above Assassin's Creed 1; it's truly a great game.
AC2 begins right where the first game left off. Desmond Miles, the surrogate protagonist of both the first and second games, has finished locating the Piece of Eden for Abstergo, and locked in the laboratory with the Animus. Lucy, the technician who projects sympathy for Desmond in the first game, returns to the lab and the two escape from the Abstergo building, seeking refuge with a group of modern-day Assassins. Armed with their own Animus, the group enlists Desmond to help them find out the truth behind the Piece of Eden, and we delve once more into history via Desmond's biological memories.
Almost all of the game takes place inside the Animus, in a virtual recreation of ancient Italy. The story follows Desmond's ancestor Ezio as he uncovers a vast Templar plot, and includes many historical figures like Niccolò Machiavelli, Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI), and even Leonardo da Vinci.
One thing you'll notice right from the start is that AC2 makes a much stronger effort to explain the story better than the first game. The virtual past is a bit different, it is explained, because the new Animus is more feature-packed than the one used at Abstergo. At various points in the story the other characters who monitor Desmond's progress will voice over and explain what is happening. And all the people and places of interest you visit in the game is explained in historical context via a large collection of database entries that are added to Desmond's Animus menu as you progress through the game. It's all very well done, and I spent a lot of time reading the database as entries were added to it. In many instances, the historical information is actually a pretty interesting read, and it adds a lot to the game as well.
The story that Ubisoft has woven into real-life history for Assassin's Creed, particularly this second game, is compelling. The interactions between Ezio and other characters, both historical and fictional, is very well done and does much to add a distinctly human element to the game. Whereas in the first AC game you were relegated to performing the same pattern of actions over and over with very little narrative in between, the second game gives you many more unique missions while stringing them along with strong story elements in between.
Gameplay in AC2 is varied and thoughtful. Once the initial theatrics are over and you've assumed your role of Ezio, you're given free reign to explore a sizable portion of Renaissance Florence. Similar to AC1, you're able to climb tall structures and use them to scope out nearby missions. Unlike AC1, however, you'll find that you now have access to a few different types of vendor stalls, where you can buy weapons, new armor, quick-travel to different parts of Italy, etc. Missions that do not progress the story include assassination contracts, races, and fighting. There are also many treasures scattered throughout each explorable area that pad your wallet and eventually help you learn more fighting moves and increase your health points.
Combat is somewhat basic, but less frustrating than in the original game. There are more ways to dispatch enemies, and there isn't as much emphasis on maintaining an overall rhythm, so there are many fewer times where you get caught in a string of attacks that are impossible to stop. Additionally, you can buy new weapons from blacksmiths, and you can use weapons dropped or taken from enemies as well.
Sometimes, you might not want to fight the throng of guards chasing you - not a problem! There are far more places to hide in AC2, and it's much easier to tell when you're blending into a crowd (for anonymity). You can also hire bands of thieves, mercenaries, and courtesans to help give you a little cover and distract or fight guards when necessary.
Finally, player movement in Assassin's Creed 2 seems much more refined than before. Ezio climbs and swings around structures much faster than Altaïr, and if you're like me, you will be happy to see is that swimming has been added to the game engine, so you no longer have to fear the random instant death of a bad jump near water. Overall, player movement in AC2 is very fluid, and even though you'll be spending much of your time watching Ezio perform stunts that seem super-human, the animation is so natural you'll come away feeling like it really could be possible for a person to move the way he does. With Prince of Persia, Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell, and a host of other games, Ubisoft has a good lock on games involving non-linear movement/acrobatic mechanics, and with each new game, the engine only seems to get better.
In addition to the regular assassin gameplay in AC2, there are also a good number of hidden puzzle sequences, where you solve a collection of ever-challenging puzzles in order to uncover more of the secrets about the Piece of Eden. These puzzles serve as a good break from the action now and then, and are quite devious towards the end of the game. Luckily, you can always choose to solve them later on. These puzzles, along with the collectible codex pages and all the other supplemental information included in the Animus database, are a good example of the efforts Ubisoft went to in order to explain the Assassin's Creed world better in the second game. Both the cryptographer and conspiracy buff inside you will jump for joy.
Gameplay aside, the very first thing that might draw you into AC2 (or the franchise in general) is the look of the game.
The original game, Assassin's Creed 1, had some good graphics; even playing the game today, I am still amazed at how well the game engine draws the vast expanse of ancient cities and surrounding countryside. Assassin's Creed 2 is no different - and oftentimes better! It is a visual feast, and Renaissance Italy has never looked so good. Everywhere you go, people are walking, talking doing things. The buildings in each area you visit are gritty yet fantastic. Historical sites, like Basilica di San Lorenzo and Basilica di San Marco, are recreated somewhat faithfully (at least, close enough for a game), as are the surrounding area structures. The day/night cycle is slower than most games, and both look great. Visual effects for the Animus and Eagle Vision have been ramped up from the original game. Ezio even looks wet after he climbs out of some water.
Sound is equally good. The voice acting for all the major characters is believable, and the little bits of Italian you hear now and then (attributed to a flaw in the Animus' translation software) adds to the illusion of the whole thing. I thought the soundtrack was particularly nice; it instills feelings of awe, tension, mystery, and urgency at all the right moments, and fills in the gaps between the action nicely.
Assassin's Creed 2 isn't without its faults of course, but they number much fewer than the original, and are ultimately much easier to forgive for all the greatness of the rest of the game. For example, as with Altaïr in the first game, Ezio manages to make some clumsy jumps now and then, which can sometimes result in an accidental falling death. It doesn't happen often, and I can see how the game engine can get confused about exactly which platform you might be aiming for in the distance, but it's not a fun time when it happens.
As with another game I reviewed not so long ago, health potions also seem to make the game a little too easy. Naturally, the farther you get into the game, the harder the bad guys can hit you, sometimes taking 4-5 hit points in one attack. But early in the game you gain the ability to carry around vials that can refill many depleted hit points at once. You eventually are able to carry a maximum of 15 of these vials, and with so many at your disposal, it becomes almost impossible to die, save for an accidental fall. The vials are important to AC2, because unlike AC1, you do not regenerate health over time, but it still feels a little cheap sometimes to be able to just click the D-Pad and become healed. Of course, I also like the idea of your character becoming more adept at what he/she does as you progress through a game, so I can't hate on this too much. Poor planning or lack of funds will limit your supply of vials, so I can live with it.
One final thought I had on the subject of problems is that some of the puzzles you uncover are either unclear in what they want you to do, or are difficult to devise. I didn't have many problems with them for the most part, but some of them seemed to require some very non-linear thought to be solved, and I actually had to wait for the hint to appear before I could get through (an optional hint can be given after a certain amount of time has been spent on a puzzle). This isn't really a problem with the game, I guess, but for some people who aren't very good at deciphering numerical puzzles, it could prove frustrating.
In any case, none of these things detracted from the experience much for me. The level of polish applied to AC2, especially compared to AC1, really shows in this respect.
On the whole, I really enjoyed Assassin's Creed 2. It continued the story from the first game in a smart and provocative way, it fixed many of the problems from the first game, and it did so without being tedious, and without running out of gas. There are lots of things to do in AC2, and if the story line for the series interests you, I definitely recommend giving this game a shot (and the first game before that, if you haven't played it already). I'm really looking forward to Assassin's Creed 3, which I hear is due out in about 2 years. That's alright though, because I'll probably need a while to collect all those feathers (think flags from AC1).
Well, that last post was a doozy. A bit of a hard act to follow, eh?
Jokes aside, that last post really was partially to blame for my recent hiatus from posting here. After the fallout over the old-new Game Maker logo settled, the dust cleared, and (some of) the anger subsided, YoYo Games stated that they'd be open to suggestions for altering the new logo. So, I helped produce a topic on the Game Maker Community to get everyone's suggestions in one place, and we eventually ended up putting logos to vote and submitting them to YYG as the community's official suggestions.
As many of you might already know, it worked out well, Sandy Duncan/YYG liked our ideas, and they ended up changing the logo. It was a great accomplishment for the GMC, and I am glad that we were all able to come together and set things right - but keeping it all organized left me quite exhausted. That, and I have had a lot of other work to do lately, helping a friend get a website off the ground, working on my own games/projects, doing the last Reflect Games game development competition of the year, fixing my laptop, shopping for the holidays, etc.
So the blog got left behind a bit. I did manage to sneak in and fix up some of the graphics on the theme. It's that time where I've started wanting to change it (again, I know), but a quick refresh of the sloppy parts has satisfied my urge to change it for now.
Most of the things I mentioned above are over or winding down now though, so I'm hoping that after the holidays I'll have more time to play with Game Maker, website development (yes, the ongoing Reflect Games website is still in the works!), and other related stuff. It's just been a busy time.
Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll be updating the blog again before the bulk of the holidays hit, so I just wanted to wish everyone out there a happy holiday and a good new year! I hope the end of 2009 turns out to be well for everyone!
Thanks for reading, and I will see you all in 2010!
I'm really disappointed with the new Game Maker 8 logo.
Let me preface this entire post by saying up front that I am not mad that I lost, since I had a logo in the running. I'm really just dismayed over the logo that did win, which I felt was one of the worst of the four runners up.
I also want to say that as a runner-up, I will be receiving a free copy of Game Maker 8, and I am grateful for that. I am glad that since YoYo Games has taken over the Game Maker project, they have kept the community involved as much as possible. I think that hearkens back to the days when it was still only Mark Overmars working on the project, and if you'll pardon the pun, it keeps a friendly face on the company.
Since YYG's inception, I've been a supporter of theirs. When questionable decisions have been made, I've tried to see things from their side of the aisle, and most of the time, I've ended up agreeing with what they have done. I've defended them many, many times on the GMC, in some cases above and beyond what I would consider what is "required" of the forum staff.
But this time, for the new Game Maker 8 logo, I strongly disagree with their choice. As both a professional graphic designer and a Game Maker user.
When I was brainstorming for my own logo ideas, I considered using a gear or cog in the image. In the beginning, it seemed a fitting and iconic thing to use in a new logo for game construction software, but as I played around with various other ideas, I began to feel that the gear was too cliched. I also felt that too many other users would enter graphics with gears in them, so I was not surprised to see that half of the runners-up had done so.
Not only does the winning logo contain the over-used cog, but it also makes use of a giant smiley face - which is, at best, a rip-off of other iconic images (Yahoo Messenger's logo, the 4chanC&H smiley), and at worst, a childish and shallow attempt to bring in a young crowd of indie game developers.
Also, it looks like it's crying.
The designer in me cringes every time I see it; every part of the logo is covered with gradients. This ensures that reproducing the logo in print will be difficult, and it makes the design look unprofessional. Not that Game Maker is a professional program, but this point doesn't have to be hammered home at every facet.
And that's the other problem I have with this decision - I understand that Game Maker isn't a professional tool by any means, and I know that YYG wants to convey this to potential users. And maybe they want the program to appeal to a younger demographic as well. But the bottom line is that nobody, new and old users alike, wants to feel like they're using a program that is gimpy or for children. And that's the vibe this logo emanates.
I suppose it's oddly appropriate that a tool for amateur game developers employs a logo that looks like it was created by an amateur designer. I just really feel that YYG took this idea and ran a bit too far with it.
Carl the Cog, from Conker's Bad Fur Day.
I've always said the power in a tool lies in the hands of the person who wields it, and not solely in the tool itself. And while I still believe this to be true, I also think it's important that the tool isn't made to look completely stupid by its manufacturer. Perhaps the many people who claim to be leaving the GM scene over this are over-reacting, but when a decision is made that so negatively affects the nature of this tool in the eyes of others, I can't blame people for being upset about it.
Ultimately, this logo was a piss-poor choice, and that's all there is to it. I leave you with this quote from the logo's creator, Albert Zak (courtesy of Game Maker Blog):
I’m however still kind of puzzled why only 8% picked this as their favorite, but I’m glad Sandy and a few others realized what’s really behind this logo.
Is this what's behind the logo? Maybe that's why the big face is laughing so hard.
After being barraged by a flurry of game announcements on Steam the other day, I decided I'd try out the demo for one of the more interesting looking titles, Torchlight.
I was pleasantly surprised with the game, however - what initially looked to be merely a poor man's Diablo 3 turned out to be a fun and addictive, if somewhat simpler, dungeon crawler. After playing the demo for an hour or two, I purchased the full version, and have since descended into the mines many levels below the village of Torchlight, in search of fame, experience, and of course, fantastic piles of loot. Read on for my quick review!
Anyone familiar with Blizzard's dungeon-based role-playing franchises (Diablo, World of Warcraft) will be right at home with Torchlight. Just as in Diablo, you click to move your character around, click (ad infinitum) to attack, you can add items to numbered slots and trigger them with the numbers on your keyboard, and as you play you earn experience points that allow you to increase the base skills of your character, as well as select talents from a tiered tree of abilities. Quest-givers are indicated with floating exclamation points and question marks, items come in different levels of rarity and some can be slotted. And scrolls can be used to identify new items before you can use them, as well as create town portals for you to bounce back and forth between the village of Torchlight and the dungeons below.
At times, things can seem almost too familiar. But if you enjoyed the Diablo games and are aching for Diablo 3, that's not always a bad thing. Runic Games borrows elements from Diablo and WoW liberally, and works under the mantra "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
So as you might expect, the game progresses pretty similarly to Diablo games; you begin the game in the town of Torchlight, you're informed of a growing menace originating from the mines below, and then you spend hours and hours going into the mine, click-fighting a bunch of bad guys, and occasionally returning to the surface to empty your bags and replenish your potions. Thankfully, Runic Games has made a few appropriate changes to this formula, which have improved the classic dungeon crawling experience immensely.
One of the biggest changes you'll notice appears right on the character creation screen: no matter which class you choose, each one comes with a pet (either a cat or a dog). This computer-controlled companion has two primary functions. First, he (or she, depending on your naming preference) will attack any enemies you encounter, helping you punch through waves of bad guys with ease. Your pet also has a separate inventory from your fighter, so you can use him to store your excess items, and even equip a few items for extra effects beyond those offered by your main characters' gear. That brings me to the second, and arguably more important function of your pet — using the extra pet inventory, you can send the little guy back up to the surface to sell your extra junk while you continue to fight through the dungeons. This prevents you from breaking up the action every few minutes to empty your bags, so you really only need to go back up to the town whenever you want to turn in a quest or buy new supplies. Along with other changes, like the ability to remove slotted gems, and upgrade gems and spells, your pet is a great example of how Runic Games has streamlined the classic dungeon crawler formula in order to make the game more accessible and more fun.
This allows you to concentrate on the finer points of dungeon running, like loot. Loot drops often, and lots of time is spent comparing new gear to old. Enchanted gear can affect a great number of attributes, and the game contains gear sets that offer bonus attributes when you equip multiple pieces of the same set. Gear names are also color-coated according to rarity (the same color coding as seen in World of Warcraft) and as mentioned above, newly found gear often needs to be identified before it can be used.
Gear is one of the few things I have to gripe about with Torchlight, however. While there is indeed a huge variety of gear, multiple gear sets, and a great number of possibilities granted by gem slots, I find it slightly annoying that I have to mouse over each one to know what it is. Games like Diablo or World of Warcraft use naming schemes to hint at the abilities gear can offer. Any piece of armor in World of Warcraft that has the suffix "of the Monkey," for example, will grant the player increased agility. Armor with the suffix "of the Whale" grants spirit. "Of the Bear" grants strength, and so on. Though the naming scheme in Torchlight shares some characteristics with this system, it's not quite as precise. The result is that sometimes, you'll find two pieces of gear that have similar (or in one case I've encountered, identical) names, and yet the stats for the item will be different. It isn't a deal-break by any means, but it's not good, either.
The only other gripe I have about gear is that there don't seem to be enough different models/textures for all the stuff you pick up. Supposedly, Torchlight only had 11 months of development time from start to finish, so I suppose this can be overlooked. It's a shame, but most games with the amount of different gear to be found as Torchlight suffer similar limitations, so I guess I can't complain too loudly.
The graphics in Torchlight seem a little cheap at first, but they get the job done, and once you get into the action and the camera pulls away from your character, you'll completely forget how simple they are. If you squint your eyes a little, it even looks a bit like all the Diablo 3 screens/videos we've seen so far, and that's definitely not a bad thing. It's not going to wow your friends like Crysis might, but the graphics are consistently good, and that's what's important. Player and enemy models are nice, and have a broad range of animations. Color is used well and spell effects are appropriately awesome. The cartoonish graphics are nice to look at, and the world is vibrant and detailed. Actually, sometimes it's so detailed that you might lose some of the dropped loot in the background of the dungeons, but luckily Runic Games included another all-too-familiar feature, which lets you toggle nameplates for all the items on the screen. I should also mention that the game runs great on my machine.
Sound and music are nothing to write home about, but get the job done as well. The music is dungeon-ish and serves its purpose; it fills in the gaps between sword slashes and enemy grunts. And speaking of sword slashes and grunts, those effects are decent as well. There is even a little bit of voice acting sprinkled here and there, between levels where the story progresses, as well as when you talk to merchants in the town.
This is yet another area of Torchlight that crosses dangerously over into Blizzard's realm. Some of the music, like the town theme and the library theme, actually sounds like they were lifted straight from Diablo. And the first time you leave the blacksmith behind, and he yells "watch yer back" in his Scottish accent, you'll wonder if Runic Games didn't cast the same guy who did all the dwarven male for World of Warcraft. All of this makes the game seem, again, familiar to anyone who has played these other games, but I still wish Runic had gone the extra mile and not been quite so blatant in lifting ideas from Blizzard.
I've not beaten Torchlight yet, but I've spent many hours with it so far, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. It's not entirely original, but everything it's borrowed from other games adds to the experience so well, it's really hard to complain about it too loudly. At only $20, with three-character classes to play, and a near infinite number of levels to play through, thanks to the random level generator and upcoming level editor, Torchlight it a great value. I'm not sure if the game will last me until Diablo 3's eventual release, but it should be good for at least partially filling the gap we've been in since Diablo 2. The Torchlight MMO that's in development might also be good for filling the void, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
For now, go try the Torchlight demo. If you like these types of games, or if you're a loot whore in training, you'll probably like it a lot.
Though I would normally shun someone who would buy an operating system on launch day, a week ago I bought, downloaded, and installed the newest version of Microsoft's OS, Windows 7. It's nice to have a modern OS on my recently assembled machine, and though the transition from XP was a bit jarring in some respects, any unexpected problems have been minimal so far. Overall, I'm glad I made the switch.
Of course, I went into this only after reading a lot about the upcoming OS and playing around with the beta version for a while. Despite its many criticisms, Vista represented a big leap forward in terms of the underlying systems of Windows, and a lot of growing pains for the platform were felt upon its release. Most of the issues that plagued Vista in its early days have been resolved however, and this makes for a far more comfortable Windows 7 experience.
Here's a quick run-down of how the (mostly painless) upgrade process went for me, from my old rig turning into a massive paper weight to the re-birth of Windows on my new machine.
If you completed the homework assignment, you've already read about my old computer breaking down, and my quest for parts to rebuild a new one. Gold star for you. If not, you can read about it here - there's no use in going into that much detail about it again.
Once the new computer was built, I put a minimal number of games on it, but held off on installing a massive amount of other software. My reasoning for this was twofold - first, I would save myself a great deal of time backing up data for the Windows 7 install, which was only a month away, as well, I would be avoiding any licensing problems that would arise from too many installations of protected software. This happened anyway, but I'll get into that later.
After a month of having only two major games on my computer, World of Warcraft, Windows 7 launch day finally came. I failed to find a copy of Win 7 Professional in stores (Best Buy only had upgrade copies, and Office Max/Office Depot had nothing but Vista), so when I got home from work I jumped onto Microsoft's online store and bought a digital copy directly. Since Win 7 Pro comes with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, I was given the option to download either. I chose the 64-bit version and started the 2.3Gb download. It took about two and a half hours to finish.
I burned the ISO file to a DVD and dropped the stuff I wanted to save onto one of the other hard drives in the machine, and then I restarted the computer and began the install.
Having so recently done an XP install, I am happy to report that Windows 7's install process is much more streamlined, and possibly even faster (I didn't time it, but it seemed to take about 20-25 minutes). Win 7's disk partitioning and pre-install setup is now done in a much more modern environment, with mouse support and a slick GUI. It asks only a minimal number of questions, and lets you set up the details later on once the install is finished. I was impressed by the speed and simplicity of the whole thing, especially compared to the old XP installer. Ars Technica actually has a great 15-page review of Windows 7 up, including a good portion on the new installer.
Once 7 installed, the system restarted one last time, and before long I was staring at a shiny new OS, all ready for my antics and exploits. Not too much had to be tweaked for the system to be the way I like it, either. UAC is relaxed in Win 7, so the interruptions aren't as annoying. The OS also seemed to find drivers for just about everything in the system, save for the GPU. That was really the only piece of system software I've had to install so far.
The only trouble I've really had with Windows 7 so far rests on the software side of things. On the first install of my Adobe software, something happened (I think I left the system waiting for the next disc for too long at some point) and the installation failed. All the programs seemed to install fine, but their licensing software was broken, so I had to re-install them. Then I had to call up the Adobe licensing support line because I'd already used my allotted two installs and wasn't able to de-activate my old computer's software before it died.
Aside from that, and a couple of times where a program crashed or froze, I've had no problems. Some of these issues may stem from the fact that I am running mostly 32-bit applications/games on a 64-bit OS, so I've expected a few hiccups.
Overall, however, things have been great. I'm finally able to use more than 4gb of RAM (I've got 6gb of RAM in triple channel mode now), and most everything seems to run solid. The improvements to the taskbar have taken me a lot less time to adjust to than I thought they would, and I actually feel like the new features, like Aero Peek, have helped me be more productive with my machine.
I'll probably have more to report as my collection of games and software trickles onto the new computer, and I start using it for other multimedia purposes - but for now you can consider me impressed.
And of course, glad that I don't feel like a sap for being a day one adopter.
I know this is a little bit of old news right now, but I can't help but gloat a tiny bit.
Over a year ago, I posted about Sega's continued efforts to ruin their best franchise, Sonic the Hedgehog. I posted about how the 2D elements of the old games just don't translate to 3D. And I posted about how a 2D game, drawn in 3D, would still likely be met warmly by Sonic fans. This was pre-Sonic Unleashed, and I not-so-secretly hoped Sega would prove me wrong by refreshing the franchise with the it.
If you've played the game, however, you know that this wasn't the case. Sonic Unleashed was horrible. Stanky, even.
So now, almost a year after the release of Unleashed, and almost a year and half since my Sonic rant was unleashed, Sega has announced that in 2010 we'll be seeing a new, 2D sonic game via the following trailer:
So, I guess ol' Marty has his finger preeetty close to the pulse of the gaming industry, eh? Now I just need to wait for the downfall of Twitter, and my life will be complete.
I got my new computer parts earlier this week, and after an hour or two of assembly, it gracefully sprang to life. And on the first try, no less. I'm proud of myself, because it's been a while since I've built a computer entirely from scratch.
Here's how the final build turned out:
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz Quad-Core CPU
Corsair XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Diamond Radeon HD 4890 1GB (PCE-E 2.0 16x) GPU
Asus P6T Deluxe V2 Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar Green 500Gb SATA HDD
HP 24X Multiformat DVD Writer SATA
Cooler Master Silent Pro 600W Modular Power Supply
Antec Solo Black/Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
The only parts I didn't buy were two existing HDD's that I threw in at the end, for good measure (another 500Gb and my old 74Gb Raptor, both SATA). I was planning on adding the sound card from my old computer, but it won't fit well without blocking off the fan from the GPU, so I'm just going to roll with the onboard sound for now. Lastly, I'm currently only using two of the RAM sticks, because I'm running 32-bit XP, and I'm waiting for Windows 7 to release for the move to 64-bit.
The build went quite well and was fairly easy this time around. The power supply fit the case nicely and was easy to install. This was my first modular power supply, so the lack of cords (at least, initially) was a welcome addition to my computer-building experience.
The most difficult part of the whole build was easing the board into the box, as it was a snug fit. Antec makes great cases though, and there was plenty of holes for mounting the board properly.
The only other real problem I had with this build was just making sure I was grounded at all times - my current apartment has carpeting everywhere except for the kitchen and the bathroom, and neither of those places is a good place to build a computer. So, my hands were in contact with the case at all times, and no electronics were harmed in the production of this computer.
Anyway, back to the build... Antec also makes great sliding mounts for hard drives, so installing the drives was easy. Those had to go behind a separate door behind the front panel, so while they took a little more trouble to get in and out of the case than I would normally like, I don't do a lot of drive swapping, so it doesn't bother me much. Getting the DVD drive to install flush with the front of the case took some fiddling but wasn't difficult either.
To my relief, the GPU fit the space very nicely. The new Radeon HD 4890 is actually a tiny bit smaller than my old GeForce 8800 GTS. The only other large difference I noticed between the make of the two cards is that the circuit board of the Radeon seemed a tiny bit thinner, and more susceptible to bending, than the old GeForce.
Installing the CPU is always a harrowing experience for me. I'm always afraid I'm going to bend the connectors by placing the CPU in the slot the wrong way. Or that I'm going to accidentally rub off the thermal paste on the bottom of the fan (almost happened this time). Or that I'm not going to press hard enough on the fan mounts, and the fan will fall off later. Or that I'm going to press too hard on the fan mounts and crack the motherboard. Or... alright, I'll stop. It went smoothly. That's probably all I should have said about that to begin with.
RAM was similarly easy. Just pop it in the correct slots and snap it into place.
Once I got done putting all the parts in the box, I plugged in all the necessary cords and pressed the power button - which to my delight, worked. I hadn't closed the case yet though- I've built enough computers to know not to bother doing that until I know everything is working. I installed Windows XP. Installed some games. No problems. So far, I haven't even been hit by the notorious lockups I've heard about so many people getting from running 32-bit Win XP with more than 3Gb RAM.
Overall, this was a pretty straightforward computer build. I didn't have to consult manuals too often, and all the parts fit together well. Nothing got broken, nothing got fried. And now I've got a new computer that eats games for breakfast. Yayuh!
I haven't been able to update the blog as much as I'd like over the last few weeks, but that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about things to write about. Instead of letting all of my random thoughts go to waste, I thought I'd present them here as a collection. If you're just looking for a few moments of entertainment, you like reading the musings of the slightly insane, or you're looking for something to spark your pent-up rage, the following list is probably for you!
Never Too Zune
Each time I plug my iPod (5th generation) into my computer and it freezes up, I secretly hope that it won't come back on, so I have an excuse to buy a Zune HD. From everything I've seen online, these things look pretty nice, and I'd like to try something different than iPod for a while. I have absolutely no interest in the iPod Touch or an iPhone; the 32gb Touch is $110 more than the 32gb Zune HD and being tethered to AT&T again just makes me feel sick.
But I digress; the Zune HD looks slick in its own right. Wireless streaming capabilities and built-in HD radio are great, and I also like the idea of being able to output HD video and, of course, web browsing. If Microsoft opens up the Zune to user-created applications, it will become an even great alternative to the iPod. They seem to be making an effort to get developers to consider their other mobile devices, so I don't think this is too far-fetched. So far, however, they've been pretty tight-lipped about it.
Marvel Comics Feeling a Little Disney
Though I am not a huge comic book buff, I still felt as though I could almost hear the collective groan of fans as Disney scooped up Marvel Comics for a cool $4 billion early this week. Though both companies are distinctly American, and I am sure DIsney will handle Marvel with care, I still feel like Disney is starting to (or maybe already has) hit that critical mass where a company gets so big, with a reach so broad, that it ends up losing focus on all fronts.
There are plenty of companies out there who handle the multiple prongs of modern media quite well, but Disney has already been in danger of losing its grip on things in the past, and with yet another large addition to their stable of interests, I can't help but wonder what the future will be like for both Disney and Marvel.
Will Disney change how Marvel presents its franchises?
Will we see Marvel characters integrated with Disney's other mainstays, in titles like the Kingdom Hearts games?
Will we see another feud in Disney's management as these things happen?
Who knows? It could be interesting to watch, but it'll be a shame if either brand is hurt because of this.
All-Out Fallout
When I got sick a couple of weeks ago, I spent a few days laying around my apartment, relaxing and recovering. My girlfriend had some things to do up at her mom's house, and didn't want to risk getting sick, so I was all by myself for much of that time. Instead of doing anything productive, I used the time to get re-acquainted with my Xbox; I decided that there was no better way of doing this than by collecting all the achievements in Fallout 3.
I did all that I could with my existing character (why did Bethesda choose to make one bobblehead impossible to go back and get?), and then made another so I could focus on slightly different talents to pick up a few odd achievements, like the one for 50 speech successes, and also so I could hit the appropriate levels with neutral and bad karma.
I've now gotten every achievement in Fallout 3, as well as in Operation: Anchorage and The Pitt, and have had a lot of fun in the process. I've seen a lot of things that I missed in my first go-round, and have grown to appreciate, for a second time, the vast world of Fallout 3.
Hackintosh is Dead
Though I usually get my fill of OS X at work, a few months ago I got OS X up and running on some old PC hardware I had laying around at home. I was mostly interested in trying my hand at iPhone App development, so I downloaded the iPhone SDK and got everything up and running without many problems. I didn't use the old rig often however, and I let it sit around for a while before firing it up again last week.
Though I've been told it isn't a good idea, I've used the system update on my Hackintosh before, and everything's turned out fine. When I booted up to find a 300+ mb system update waiting for me, I thought nothing of it as I proceeded with the download and installation. Unfortunately, the update broke my installation, and for some reason I haven't been able to re-install it since. Either something has changed on my box (something which sticks around after multiple hard drive re-partitions?) or I simply can't remember the settings I used to install OS X the first time. It's a drag, but frankly I haven't had time to learn to code iPhone Apps anyway. I'll probably dig into this a little deeper one of these weekends when I've got nothing better to do.
Can't Take the Heat
Recently, I was playing some World of Warcraft on my desktop computer, wrapping up a dungeon with a group of others, when the image on the screen stuttered, a strange dot pattern appeared around my cursor and the UI elements, and then the computer locked up. After a quick restart, and about a minute of play, the same thing happened. In a hurry to get back into the game (and in an effort not to be the reason for the deaths of my entire group), I threw open my laptop and loaded the game up there. In-game disaster was narrowly averted, but it left me worried about my desktop machine.
In my experience, most graphical glitches of this kind are attributed to overheating hardware – the bane of all computer gamers.
So earlier today, I opened up my desktop computer and dusted it out. Then I turned it on and started World of Warcraft again, and let it sit. About 10 minutes later, I came back into the room to find the screen flickering and the computer frozen. Not good.
I guess this is a good excuse to get a new GPU, something I've been wanting to do for a while anyway, but my existing motherboard doesn't have a PCI-Express 2.0 slot on it, so I'm back to the same conundrum as before I assembled my current desktop - upgrading one part means upgrading two or three others as well. And since these are all the most expensive parts (GPU, CPU, motherboard), I might as well just splurge a few extra hundred bucks and update the rest of the hardware. But if my apartment is getting too hot (it's hot here lately, but not that hot), I'm not too keen on buying and subsequently ruining more computer hardware either. It's a problem, I guess.
That's All For Now
Anyway, I think that's enough of this rambling for now. I've been a bit of a scatterbrain lately, and now the madness shall spread!
Time flies when you're having fun, I suppose - I'm back from BlizzCon 2009, and though I don't quite feel ready to head back to work, and all the other responsibilities of non-vacation time, it's good to be home.
My trip started off as the typical Marty-planned trip does: poorly. I happened to hear about when tickets were being sold for BlizzCon 2009 only a few days before the first sale, but I wasn't able to grab any of the tickets in the first round, as I wasn't home that weekend. My luck turned around somewhat quickly though, and I was able to get in and score a couple of tickets very early in the second (and final) round. I also got two cheap plane tickets. As was the case last year, this trip was to be for myself and my brother, to celebrate his birthday.
As the old saying goes, however, the best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry, and Spencer (my brother) found out only a week before the trip that his work couldn't give him the required time off. He was upset, and I was faced with a dilemma; I wanted to go on the trip, but I didn't want to go alone. Geeking out simply isn't as much fun by yourself. I felt bad too, since the trip was originally for Spencer. So I could skip the whole trip and just spend the time off with him instead. A friend of mine was attending the show this year, and he could pick up our goody bags if I chose to stay home.
After a few days of mulling it over, I decided I'd just go on the trip by myself. I wasn't entirely pleased with this, but I didn't want the money spent on tickets for the show and for flight to be a complete waste. This way, I would also be able to pick up our bags of junk myself, so my friend didn't have to bother with it, and I could attend some of the panels of the show, which I knew would be interesting and fun. I made some changes to my flight times, jumped on a plane, and made it down to BlizzCon for a fun couple of days.
Lucky for me, I didn't have to go it alone after all; my girlfriend happened to have enough miles on her frequent flier rewards card for a free flight to Anaheim and back. So, my trip, which had up until this point, looked like it was going to be lonely and somewhat disappointing, actually turned out to be quite fun. My girlfriend isn't really into games, but she still had a good time as I showed her around the exhibition, explaining all the odd sights and sounds. And we got to venture out and do some shopping, as well as just hang out and relax, something we'd both been needing. I really appreciate the effort she took to come with me, and it was a great impromptu vacation!
But now we're both back at home, and at work. My new World of Warcraft pet, Grunty, is prowling around in Azeroth. My n00bz is guarding the rest of the junk on the shelf in the computer room. And even though I'd rather be off on vacation again, I'm happy to be back. Hopefully my next vacation isn't so long in the making - and better planned to boot!
