GamerDad Woes
Anyone attempting to visit GamerDad has likely noticed that the site is down, and the forums are largely down as well. It is an unfortunate thing, and Bub is looking for alternate hosting because the reliability has been faltering as of late, and we just can't afford the downtime just as the site is taking off.
Update Sept 1st:as of today, the main site for GamerDad has transitioned to the new host. Unfortunately the forum is still on the old site ... and because of issues all might be lost ...
Monday, August 29, 2005
Friday, August 26, 2005
Dinner Party with other people
My wife and I got the rare opportunity to go out to dinner together without worrying about the babysitter. Last week was our 13th Anniversary, and on our anniversary day we went with the kids out to Deerfield to a place called 'George's Rocks' which had a nice litte Dinosaur exhibit and a man-made 'mine' for kids to get a bunch of polished rocks. It was fun for an hour or so. We also went to the Yankee Candle Factory store, which is always fun - they make it such a pleasure just to explore that the shopping part is secondary. Then we went to a nice little Italian place (Monty's Garden in Leominster) for dinner - one of those places that was good as a family, but not so much of a 'me & the wife' things.
Last week we also had Theresa (Lisa's good friend from college and Christopher's godmother) up from Wed - Sun. She offered to stay with the kids while we went out Saturday. Whew! Normally we have to deal with the babysitter (she is very good, but only 13 so we are careful about time) or my parents (...).
We went to a very highly regarded place called the Herb Lyceum, which was a herb garden that has evolved into a fine dining place. No liquor license, bring your own wine. They have a single fixed menu for the month. All that was fine, but seating was 'communal' - meaning that there were two tables for 10 and one for 15, making their 35 person capacity. We tend to like more intimate dinners, but thought we'd try. Our thoughts were 'not bad, never again' - see, we had no real together time. Intimate side-talk during a dinner party is rude. Also, you don't know anyone, and there were two very nice couples we sat with and had some nice discussion. Then there was a 'younger' couple, early 30's. They never relaxed and weren't much fun to talk to because of it. Finally there was a very pretentious couple, who would throw out names and places, but when anyone would want to discuss them, would seem bored and detached. Not much fun. But at least we got to dress up, have *awesome* food and wine, and a little time away.
So what did we learn? While we both enjoy the company of others, what we relish most is intimate time alone to celebrate our life together. In an age of 50% divorce rates - some of which have hit awfully close to home recently - I revel in the love and friendship I share with my wonderful wife. So even though we didn't have the greatest time at this 'dinner party' style night out, we did it together, and shared in that experience and learned something about ourselves as individuals and as a couple.
My wife and I got the rare opportunity to go out to dinner together without worrying about the babysitter. Last week was our 13th Anniversary, and on our anniversary day we went with the kids out to Deerfield to a place called 'George's Rocks' which had a nice litte Dinosaur exhibit and a man-made 'mine' for kids to get a bunch of polished rocks. It was fun for an hour or so. We also went to the Yankee Candle Factory store, which is always fun - they make it such a pleasure just to explore that the shopping part is secondary. Then we went to a nice little Italian place (Monty's Garden in Leominster) for dinner - one of those places that was good as a family, but not so much of a 'me & the wife' things.
Last week we also had Theresa (Lisa's good friend from college and Christopher's godmother) up from Wed - Sun. She offered to stay with the kids while we went out Saturday. Whew! Normally we have to deal with the babysitter (she is very good, but only 13 so we are careful about time) or my parents (...).
We went to a very highly regarded place called the Herb Lyceum, which was a herb garden that has evolved into a fine dining place. No liquor license, bring your own wine. They have a single fixed menu for the month. All that was fine, but seating was 'communal' - meaning that there were two tables for 10 and one for 15, making their 35 person capacity. We tend to like more intimate dinners, but thought we'd try. Our thoughts were 'not bad, never again' - see, we had no real together time. Intimate side-talk during a dinner party is rude. Also, you don't know anyone, and there were two very nice couples we sat with and had some nice discussion. Then there was a 'younger' couple, early 30's. They never relaxed and weren't much fun to talk to because of it. Finally there was a very pretentious couple, who would throw out names and places, but when anyone would want to discuss them, would seem bored and detached. Not much fun. But at least we got to dress up, have *awesome* food and wine, and a little time away.
So what did we learn? While we both enjoy the company of others, what we relish most is intimate time alone to celebrate our life together. In an age of 50% divorce rates - some of which have hit awfully close to home recently - I revel in the love and friendship I share with my wonderful wife. So even though we didn't have the greatest time at this 'dinner party' style night out, we did it together, and shared in that experience and learned something about ourselves as individuals and as a couple.
On the gaming side, a few things:
- I picked up Dungeon Siege II. I didn't like D1 all that much, but got it for the Mac for $5, so it was sort of a throw-away. But after playing the demo and really enjoying it, I took the plunge. I wasn't disappointed - it is a solid 80% game that reminds me of my recent experience with Project: Snowblind. That is, not a stellar game, but just plain solid.
- More purchases - Death Jr. (PSP), Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS), and Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil (PC). Death Jr. started great, but faded fast to 'meh'. I'm really starting to wonder about the versatility of camera and controls on the PSP after the last three games! The Doom 3 expansion is actually very good - I just finished it over lunch. Even prettier, with some cool weapons (double-barrel shotgun! and grabber). Advance Wars is the coolest of the three, and a surprise for me since it is a strategy game. But after the first several missions I love it.
... and one other thing ... if you check the image below, you see that Dungeon Lords has been removed from my gaming laptop, marking the end of that game - the disks are in my storage box, and I don't think I'll see them again soon.
- I picked up Dungeon Siege II. I didn't like D1 all that much, but got it for the Mac for $5, so it was sort of a throw-away. But after playing the demo and really enjoying it, I took the plunge. I wasn't disappointed - it is a solid 80% game that reminds me of my recent experience with Project: Snowblind. That is, not a stellar game, but just plain solid.
- More purchases - Death Jr. (PSP), Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS), and Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil (PC). Death Jr. started great, but faded fast to 'meh'. I'm really starting to wonder about the versatility of camera and controls on the PSP after the last three games! The Doom 3 expansion is actually very good - I just finished it over lunch. Even prettier, with some cool weapons (double-barrel shotgun! and grabber). Advance Wars is the coolest of the three, and a surprise for me since it is a strategy game. But after the first several missions I love it.
... and one other thing ... if you check the image below, you see that Dungeon Lords has been removed from my gaming laptop, marking the end of that game - the disks are in my storage box, and I don't think I'll see them again soon.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Friday, August 05, 2005
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Saying Goodbye to ‘My Next Favorite Game’
I remember the excitement from April of 2004 as if it were yesterday. A friend of mine from a Star Wars gaming forum had mentioned an upcoming RPG called ‘Dungeon Lords’. The details were pretty sketchy at the time, but the game looked very promising. It reminded me at once of Gothic II and Baldur’s Gate and Jedi Knight II – a few of my all-time favorite games. I also knew that D. W. Bradley – who I didn’t know, but knew of from the famed Wizardry games (that I’d never played!) – was heading it up … so it really seemed like a sure thing.
An aside on what it means to be 'my next favorite game'. One of my key personal attributes is loyalty. Not blind, dumb loyalty, but the sort that is hard earned and long-kept. The same is true with gaming. The games I fall in love with and remain loyal to are ones that I continue to play and speak about often. Games like the original Castle Wolfenstein, the entire Dark Forces / Jedi Knight series, anything by Bioware or Black Isle, and more recently Gothic I / II. These are games that I have played not two or three times, as I have with 'games I like' such as Half-Life I/II, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and so on. These are games that I replay again and again - I have fully played Jedi Knight II more than thirty times at this point, and have recently embarked on at least my tenth full trip through Knights of the Old Republic. When I looked at Dungeon Lords, I thought I saw my next gaming love, my next gaming obsession, the next game I'd be saying 'on my fifth time through I did ...' about.
I quickly joined the game forums at Typhoon Games in April, then DreamCatcher as soon as they opened up in July. There was a great bunch of people there – especially at Typhoon, where there was already a small community going. Joining in there was a very positive experience, as there were many other 30-something game fans looking forward to DL. We shared gaming pasts and current experiences, as well as our thoughts on what we had heard about Dungeon Lords. Every time a new preview of screenshot was released, we would pick it apart and share our thoughts. The backstory we heard about seemed pretty standard stuff, but also a solid basis for establishing conflict and possibilities – and it gave us plenty to talk about.
The first sign of trouble came last fall. At that time the release date was supposed to be in November, a demo was to be released on September 30th, and a call for beta testers went out. Very quickly the demo was pushed back and then cancelled. Then the beta date came and went with seemingly no one chosen. And then finally the release date was pushed back to Q1 2005. There was a lot of activity on the forums about all of this – we gained many new members, some positive, some simply looking to cause trouble. But that is the nature of any user forum, isn’t it? What seemed clear was that communications were not being handled very well.
We honestly did not know what state the game was in, but everything in previews still looked promising, so we hung on through the winter. Many of us were distracted with games like Half-Life 2, Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines and later Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II, so we really didn’t mind the delays too much. But as Q1 2005 wore on, and we entered the middle of February, we began to wonder what was happening. Then a whole series of new press build previews came along, touting the combat and challenges. They all talked almost exclusively about the combat, and a few puzzles, but not too much else. The community was again abuzz over the possibilities, and we were imagining what the game might be like.
That is the funny thing about looking forwards to a game. You are only given a certain amount of information, and left to shape the rest in your imagination. The longer you are waiting, and the larger the community, the more the game seems to take on a life of its’ own. Some communities are well guided by developers and publishers – I specifically recall all of the helpful input the Jedi Knight II fanbase got from Raven Software in the year leading to the release of that game. However, neither Heuristic Park nor DreamCatcher were very good communicators – except for this guy named ‘CHUK’ who would show up periodically on the Typhoon forums and throw us a few tidbits. He was a great guy, and the way that he reminded me of ChangKhan from Raven just got me more excited for the game. But there were more signs that the game would require a miracle to be ready for release. In one preview – on LANAddict, if I recall – the reviewer mentioned that there was so much missing and not right in the game that they hoped that it could make the timeline. I took the initiative to jump on this and write to the developers and publishers, and tell them that they should really heed those words. I posed the following question: Would you rather be remembered as the guys who released a really good game some months late, or the ones who pushed the unfinished and buggy mess out the door on time.
I could not have imagined how relevant that question was at the time.
The game got delayed for a couple of months, and then for a few more weeks, during which time the DreamCatcher forums became much more lively, and the main place CHUK would provide information … and therefore the place where I hung out. Also in that time period the demo was released … which I can see now was the beginning of the end.
The Dungeon Lords demo was a disaster – it took forever to install, had loads of glitches, a single screen to tell you what to do, and mammoth respawning right from the start. None of the options worked … it could be fun, but was generally just a mess. The fact that there was a general agreement that it was pretty much a repack of the press build from November seemed to calm us a bit , leaving us only feeling disappointed that we didn’t get a representative look at the game.
The problem was, of course, that we really did get a good look. When the game was released the first week in May, many of us ran right out and grabbed it. I know I did, even though I had a review copy coming the following week – I had basically invested myself in the game, and made my decision to support it with a purchase. I started playing right away, and over the next couple of weeks put more than 100 hours into the game, playing through twice, once as a Mage and once as a Paladin.
I had fun, but I have barely touched the game since, and don’t think I really ever will. Why? Because it is very substantially unfinished. Enough so where I didn’t feel that the two runs I had were much different – only the combat changed things, and there is only so far that can take you. As a role-playing game, it was lacking too much. But what of the patches – can’t they help? Possibly, but let’s look at the track record. The demo was released in March, and was much like the build from January, which it turns out was much like the November build. The release build in early May had some changes, but much of it was the same. Therefore we can assume that making changes is very slow. That is confirmed by looking at the patches – each one has fixed a few things, but pretty small stuff given we are now about three months since release.
Heuristic Park would need to revamp the journal, add character customization, add many, many NPC’s and environmental items, deal with the spawning issues, give us quests and rewards … which is entirely too much to ask or expect. Dungeon Lords is what it is, which is a mediocre, unfinished RPG that reeks of ‘what could have been’. I warn people off of it all the time and now look back on it with bittersweet feelings of the fun I had despite the way the game ended up. I made some new friends, and watched one of them – Chuk, who was the only one to stick his neck out and talk to the fans – get his heart broken watching so much of his work getting trashed because of the final quality of the game. It was a sad thing hearing how he had been missing out on time with his wife and their new baby in order to build assets that will likely never be used in the game.
Dungeon Lords will not be remembered as a game – if it is remembered at all, it will be as a beacon of what an unfinished game or a messy release looks like. I doubt D. W. Bradley will ever get another release funded. I imagine that Heuristic Park will fold sooner than later, and I hope Chuk lands on his feet as he is surely a very talented person. As for myself, I hope I maintain contact with a few of the friends I made, but I have moved on to other games.
That is the way of the gamer.
I remember the excitement from April of 2004 as if it were yesterday. A friend of mine from a Star Wars gaming forum had mentioned an upcoming RPG called ‘Dungeon Lords’. The details were pretty sketchy at the time, but the game looked very promising. It reminded me at once of Gothic II and Baldur’s Gate and Jedi Knight II – a few of my all-time favorite games. I also knew that D. W. Bradley – who I didn’t know, but knew of from the famed Wizardry games (that I’d never played!) – was heading it up … so it really seemed like a sure thing.
An aside on what it means to be 'my next favorite game'. One of my key personal attributes is loyalty. Not blind, dumb loyalty, but the sort that is hard earned and long-kept. The same is true with gaming. The games I fall in love with and remain loyal to are ones that I continue to play and speak about often. Games like the original Castle Wolfenstein, the entire Dark Forces / Jedi Knight series, anything by Bioware or Black Isle, and more recently Gothic I / II. These are games that I have played not two or three times, as I have with 'games I like' such as Half-Life I/II, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and so on. These are games that I replay again and again - I have fully played Jedi Knight II more than thirty times at this point, and have recently embarked on at least my tenth full trip through Knights of the Old Republic. When I looked at Dungeon Lords, I thought I saw my next gaming love, my next gaming obsession, the next game I'd be saying 'on my fifth time through I did ...' about.
I quickly joined the game forums at Typhoon Games in April, then DreamCatcher as soon as they opened up in July. There was a great bunch of people there – especially at Typhoon, where there was already a small community going. Joining in there was a very positive experience, as there were many other 30-something game fans looking forward to DL. We shared gaming pasts and current experiences, as well as our thoughts on what we had heard about Dungeon Lords. Every time a new preview of screenshot was released, we would pick it apart and share our thoughts. The backstory we heard about seemed pretty standard stuff, but also a solid basis for establishing conflict and possibilities – and it gave us plenty to talk about.
The first sign of trouble came last fall. At that time the release date was supposed to be in November, a demo was to be released on September 30th, and a call for beta testers went out. Very quickly the demo was pushed back and then cancelled. Then the beta date came and went with seemingly no one chosen. And then finally the release date was pushed back to Q1 2005. There was a lot of activity on the forums about all of this – we gained many new members, some positive, some simply looking to cause trouble. But that is the nature of any user forum, isn’t it? What seemed clear was that communications were not being handled very well.
We honestly did not know what state the game was in, but everything in previews still looked promising, so we hung on through the winter. Many of us were distracted with games like Half-Life 2, Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines and later Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II, so we really didn’t mind the delays too much. But as Q1 2005 wore on, and we entered the middle of February, we began to wonder what was happening. Then a whole series of new press build previews came along, touting the combat and challenges. They all talked almost exclusively about the combat, and a few puzzles, but not too much else. The community was again abuzz over the possibilities, and we were imagining what the game might be like.
That is the funny thing about looking forwards to a game. You are only given a certain amount of information, and left to shape the rest in your imagination. The longer you are waiting, and the larger the community, the more the game seems to take on a life of its’ own. Some communities are well guided by developers and publishers – I specifically recall all of the helpful input the Jedi Knight II fanbase got from Raven Software in the year leading to the release of that game. However, neither Heuristic Park nor DreamCatcher were very good communicators – except for this guy named ‘CHUK’ who would show up periodically on the Typhoon forums and throw us a few tidbits. He was a great guy, and the way that he reminded me of ChangKhan from Raven just got me more excited for the game. But there were more signs that the game would require a miracle to be ready for release. In one preview – on LANAddict, if I recall – the reviewer mentioned that there was so much missing and not right in the game that they hoped that it could make the timeline. I took the initiative to jump on this and write to the developers and publishers, and tell them that they should really heed those words. I posed the following question: Would you rather be remembered as the guys who released a really good game some months late, or the ones who pushed the unfinished and buggy mess out the door on time.
I could not have imagined how relevant that question was at the time.
The game got delayed for a couple of months, and then for a few more weeks, during which time the DreamCatcher forums became much more lively, and the main place CHUK would provide information … and therefore the place where I hung out. Also in that time period the demo was released … which I can see now was the beginning of the end.
The Dungeon Lords demo was a disaster – it took forever to install, had loads of glitches, a single screen to tell you what to do, and mammoth respawning right from the start. None of the options worked … it could be fun, but was generally just a mess. The fact that there was a general agreement that it was pretty much a repack of the press build from November seemed to calm us a bit , leaving us only feeling disappointed that we didn’t get a representative look at the game.
The problem was, of course, that we really did get a good look. When the game was released the first week in May, many of us ran right out and grabbed it. I know I did, even though I had a review copy coming the following week – I had basically invested myself in the game, and made my decision to support it with a purchase. I started playing right away, and over the next couple of weeks put more than 100 hours into the game, playing through twice, once as a Mage and once as a Paladin.
I had fun, but I have barely touched the game since, and don’t think I really ever will. Why? Because it is very substantially unfinished. Enough so where I didn’t feel that the two runs I had were much different – only the combat changed things, and there is only so far that can take you. As a role-playing game, it was lacking too much. But what of the patches – can’t they help? Possibly, but let’s look at the track record. The demo was released in March, and was much like the build from January, which it turns out was much like the November build. The release build in early May had some changes, but much of it was the same. Therefore we can assume that making changes is very slow. That is confirmed by looking at the patches – each one has fixed a few things, but pretty small stuff given we are now about three months since release.
Heuristic Park would need to revamp the journal, add character customization, add many, many NPC’s and environmental items, deal with the spawning issues, give us quests and rewards … which is entirely too much to ask or expect. Dungeon Lords is what it is, which is a mediocre, unfinished RPG that reeks of ‘what could have been’. I warn people off of it all the time and now look back on it with bittersweet feelings of the fun I had despite the way the game ended up. I made some new friends, and watched one of them – Chuk, who was the only one to stick his neck out and talk to the fans – get his heart broken watching so much of his work getting trashed because of the final quality of the game. It was a sad thing hearing how he had been missing out on time with his wife and their new baby in order to build assets that will likely never be used in the game.
Dungeon Lords will not be remembered as a game – if it is remembered at all, it will be as a beacon of what an unfinished game or a messy release looks like. I doubt D. W. Bradley will ever get another release funded. I imagine that Heuristic Park will fold sooner than later, and I hope Chuk lands on his feet as he is surely a very talented person. As for myself, I hope I maintain contact with a few of the friends I made, but I have moved on to other games.
That is the way of the gamer.
Yet a few more of my reviews are up.
Boiling Point: The Road To Hell for the PC. This is a very interesting and engaging game that is also highly flawed. Too bad, really ...
Goldeneye: Rogue Agent for the Nintendo DS... the best handheld FPS controls EVER ... too bad they're attached to such a mediocre game.
Pariah for the PC. Another mediocre game, not terrible, just mediocre - oh, and really short.
Interesting how I noticed - I was scanning GameTab, and went to Voodoo Extreme, and saw the Pariah review - seems everyone picked it up quickly.
I'm playing Dead to Rights Reckoning, which isn't bad, but not good either.
Boiling Point: The Road To Hell for the PC. This is a very interesting and engaging game that is also highly flawed. Too bad, really ...
Goldeneye: Rogue Agent for the Nintendo DS... the best handheld FPS controls EVER ... too bad they're attached to such a mediocre game.
Pariah for the PC. Another mediocre game, not terrible, just mediocre - oh, and really short.
Interesting how I noticed - I was scanning GameTab, and went to Voodoo Extreme, and saw the Pariah review - seems everyone picked it up quickly.
I'm playing Dead to Rights Reckoning, which isn't bad, but not good either.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Game rentals - I did my first one yesterday. As someone who is normally on the cutting edge, I'm way behind on this ... I rented a Scobby Doo GameCube game for the kids a year or so ago when my wife was going away for the weekend, but this is different.
Normally I buy everything I'm looking forward to 'new', meaning I generally pay full price. In late 2003, as I got into RPG's, in order to 'catch up', I began spending more time on eBay, picking up some good deals along the way. I got some pretty good deals along the way.
But this year, with the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP coming along, and a number of small-shop RPG's, I've found myself paying full price for games. And given the quality of many of these games ... it was just too much. I wanted to try renting ever since Blockbuster announced PSP rentals, but the closest shop to me didn't carry them (or participate in the 'no late fees' program!). But I just found that there is another store a few miles away, and they had Dead to Rights Reckoning. Perfect - I've heard that it is pretty mediocre, and I already regret paying $40 for Coded Arms.
Normally I buy everything I'm looking forward to 'new', meaning I generally pay full price. In late 2003, as I got into RPG's, in order to 'catch up', I began spending more time on eBay, picking up some good deals along the way. I got some pretty good deals along the way.
But this year, with the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP coming along, and a number of small-shop RPG's, I've found myself paying full price for games. And given the quality of many of these games ... it was just too much. I wanted to try renting ever since Blockbuster announced PSP rentals, but the closest shop to me didn't carry them (or participate in the 'no late fees' program!). But I just found that there is another store a few miles away, and they had Dead to Rights Reckoning. Perfect - I've heard that it is pretty mediocre, and I already regret paying $40 for Coded Arms.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
GamerDad has posted a few more of my reviews:
Postal 2: Apocalypse Weekend for the PC. This is my most scathing and lowest score review yet - 1 star out of 5. I was initiatially wavering between 1 and 2 stars, but after some discussions, it was clear that my words back only one outcome.
Restricted Area for the PC ... another disappointment in this year that seems full of them.
Coded Arms for the PSP, was an unfortunately pretty but lousy FPS. The controls were terrible, the levels cramped and bland, and the story played out in the first few seconds. I gave it 2.5 stars.
I still have a bunch of reviews in the queue ... including Star Wars Episode III for the DS, Fire Emblem Sacred Stones for the GBA, Project: Snowblind for the PC and GoldenEye Rogue Agent for the DS. I'm writing up stuff for Riviera on the GBA, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory on the DS, and Boiling Point for the PC. Whew ... lot of stuff. I know I also have the action-RPG Metalheart: Replicant Rampage coming to me, but I'm starting to want more time to play games I really love or have been looking to play - so I started Beyond Divinity today, and am also replaying Baldur's Gate II.
Postal 2: Apocalypse Weekend for the PC. This is my most scathing and lowest score review yet - 1 star out of 5. I was initiatially wavering between 1 and 2 stars, but after some discussions, it was clear that my words back only one outcome.
Restricted Area for the PC ... another disappointment in this year that seems full of them.
Coded Arms for the PSP, was an unfortunately pretty but lousy FPS. The controls were terrible, the levels cramped and bland, and the story played out in the first few seconds. I gave it 2.5 stars.
I still have a bunch of reviews in the queue ... including Star Wars Episode III for the DS, Fire Emblem Sacred Stones for the GBA, Project: Snowblind for the PC and GoldenEye Rogue Agent for the DS. I'm writing up stuff for Riviera on the GBA, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory on the DS, and Boiling Point for the PC. Whew ... lot of stuff. I know I also have the action-RPG Metalheart: Replicant Rampage coming to me, but I'm starting to want more time to play games I really love or have been looking to play - so I started Beyond Divinity today, and am also replaying Baldur's Gate II.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Yet another generic shooter ... this time it is called Pariah. It is a beautiful game, tightly put together, and everything works very well. Yet is reminds me of Rune in that you seem to be on a journey the entire game, then *bam* end boss. The story is pretty weak even though the game feely story-driven. The characters never give you much reason to feel empathy/sympathy/antipathy, and the enemy AI is inconsistent. I have noted price drops on this one already ...
Given my disappointment at Postal 2: Apolcalypse Weekend, and since I needed to have Postal 2 installed to install the expansion, I played through Postal 2 again. I hadn't touched it in quite a while - well, two years to be more precise.
Postal 2 is still as I remember it - a pretty generic shooter, with some cool things wrapped around it. It is free and open, there is humor and interesting characters and good interactions, and totally rediculous situations. It is just plain stupid fun.
Playing it only cemented how bad I thought the expansion was.
Postal 2 is still as I remember it - a pretty generic shooter, with some cool things wrapped around it. It is free and open, there is humor and interesting characters and good interactions, and totally rediculous situations. It is just plain stupid fun.
Playing it only cemented how bad I thought the expansion was.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
I spent another 'gaming lunch' ... and finished two games. (ok, it ended up ~1.5 hours, but I'm good for it ;) )
Restricted Area: I predict that this game will win an award - worst voice acting for whoever did Victoria ... she should just shut up and kill stuff. A cool looking and sounding game that turned quickly into a real yawner.
Postal 2 Apocalypse Weekend: The first game wasn't highly reviewed, but many found it a fun 'guilty pleasure'. I fall into that pack - worth playing once, try out the 'napalm urination', never played again. The expansion took ~4-6 hours, was completely inane and not fun.
Mike
Restricted Area: I predict that this game will win an award - worst voice acting for whoever did Victoria ... she should just shut up and kill stuff. A cool looking and sounding game that turned quickly into a real yawner.
Postal 2 Apocalypse Weekend: The first game wasn't highly reviewed, but many found it a fun 'guilty pleasure'. I fall into that pack - worth playing once, try out the 'napalm urination', never played again. The expansion took ~4-6 hours, was completely inane and not fun.
Mike
GamerDad has put my Fate review on the main page today. It is really a fun game, but I have personally run into the 'unlock limit' issue already - I installed on my main gaming laptop (1), and then tried but failed on my work machine due to firewall (2), then installed the low-res version on my little Dell Latitude D400 just to check (3). I went to install on the Dell Inspiron 8500 at home for the kids to keep playing, but got the 'invalid key' error. Oh well ... email to tech support.
I'm playing Postal 2: Apocalypse Weekend right now. Two words - lame and tame. The first one at least put some choices in your hands in the midst of being an idiotic and uninspired shooter that tried to distinguish itself by being completely offensive to everyone. The expansion shows no sense of style or focus, and the graphics still look the same. It reminds me of being a kid and seeing things that were controversial back in the early 60's and having a chuckle ...
I'm playing Postal 2: Apocalypse Weekend right now. Two words - lame and tame. The first one at least put some choices in your hands in the midst of being an idiotic and uninspired shooter that tried to distinguish itself by being completely offensive to everyone. The expansion shows no sense of style or focus, and the graphics still look the same. It reminds me of being a kid and seeing things that were controversial back in the early 60's and having a chuckle ...
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
My review for Dungeon Lords is up at GamerDad. (Thanks Dhruin!) I scored it as a 3/5 (60%) and it was a very difficult review to write because:
- I had very high hopes for the game as my next Gothic II
- I got to know some of the people involved and they are all wonderful
- I actually had a blast playing it for >100 hours!
But in the end, there were so many glaring problems and deficiencies that the amount of fun I had actually went to 'tilt' the score from 50% to 60%.
I'm playing Restricted Area, and have gotten my 'Victoria' pretty powerful. It is a decent game, but while I'm going around accomplishing goals, I really can't say I'm having any fun.
As opposed to Fire Emblem Sacred Stones, which is just a joy. I am anguishing over turns early in battles, then relishing in my strategy as I see the tide of battle turn in my favor.
I've also been on an eBay buying spree ... picked up DarkStone, Revenant, Wizardry 8, Postal 2 (I traded Unreal II with a friend to play it originally, then we traded back) - so I can grab the expansion, and Boiling Point. Boiling Point is supposed to be a bit of a mess, but I got it for cheap ...
- I had very high hopes for the game as my next Gothic II
- I got to know some of the people involved and they are all wonderful
- I actually had a blast playing it for >100 hours!
But in the end, there were so many glaring problems and deficiencies that the amount of fun I had actually went to 'tilt' the score from 50% to 60%.
I'm playing Restricted Area, and have gotten my 'Victoria' pretty powerful. It is a decent game, but while I'm going around accomplishing goals, I really can't say I'm having any fun.
As opposed to Fire Emblem Sacred Stones, which is just a joy. I am anguishing over turns early in battles, then relishing in my strategy as I see the tide of battle turn in my favor.
I've also been on an eBay buying spree ... picked up DarkStone, Revenant, Wizardry 8, Postal 2 (I traded Unreal II with a friend to play it originally, then we traded back) - so I can grab the expansion, and Boiling Point. Boiling Point is supposed to be a bit of a mess, but I got it for cheap ...
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Another day, and some more new games.
Restricted Area is a post-apocolyptic isometric action-RPG, which looks pretty nice, but has been giving me fits on the very first mission! I have started four games - two as Mr. Johnson and two as Victoria - and had to dump all of them. My Victoria missions failed because I died trying to conserve medkits. One Johnson ended the same way, the other I got stuck in a wall (i.e. BUG!) The CD is taking a rest right now ...
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is a RTS/RPG for the GBA. It is very well done, I'm playing on 'easy' so I get the full tutorial, and it is going pretty well. I have lost one of my people, whose name I can't forget, it was a minor fighter, and it is interesting how death is *final* in this game.
Dungeon Lords continues to get pummelled in reviews ... to the point where people can get away with barely playing any of the game, having a tough time and blaming the game ...
Restricted Area is a post-apocolyptic isometric action-RPG, which looks pretty nice, but has been giving me fits on the very first mission! I have started four games - two as Mr. Johnson and two as Victoria - and had to dump all of them. My Victoria missions failed because I died trying to conserve medkits. One Johnson ended the same way, the other I got stuck in a wall (i.e. BUG!) The CD is taking a rest right now ...
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones is a RTS/RPG for the GBA. It is very well done, I'm playing on 'easy' so I get the full tutorial, and it is going pretty well. I have lost one of my people, whose name I can't forget, it was a minor fighter, and it is interesting how death is *final* in this game.
Dungeon Lords continues to get pummelled in reviews ... to the point where people can get away with barely playing any of the game, having a tough time and blaming the game ...
Monday, June 06, 2005
Last week I played a nice little RPG called 'Nox', from 2000. It was a decent game, with reasonable graphics and questing. It was a fun play, about 30 hours in total, with good increase in difficulty as the game goes on. The music and spell effects were well done - it is a game that keeps you playing.
I am still torn over the review I submitted for Dungeon Lords. I had some conflicting ideas on scoring the game, as I have very conflicted feelings about the game itself. Ultimately I tried to be as objective as possible in describing the good and bad without it turning into a large volume.
I have been unable to get to see Episode III again ... just too busy. I'd love to get to see it again in the theaters ... may have to take time off of work to do it ;)
I am still torn over the review I submitted for Dungeon Lords. I had some conflicting ideas on scoring the game, as I have very conflicted feelings about the game itself. Ultimately I tried to be as objective as possible in describing the good and bad without it turning into a large volume.
I have been unable to get to see Episode III again ... just too busy. I'd love to get to see it again in the theaters ... may have to take time off of work to do it ;)
Monday, May 23, 2005
So I finished some games ...
Star Wars Episode III for the DS - I finished this weekend, with both Anakin's and Obi-Wan's 'paths', and did some 'skirmishes' - which are basically multiplayer flight matches against bots. A very fun game, best Star Wars handheld game I've played.
Dungeon Lords - how do I even begin ... it is really good, yet very problematic. For instance, there is once trigger I had to reload about 10 times to have work. Also, when starting the 'end-game', there were four quests in my log, one of which was from the very beginning of the game, and all of which I had finished long before. But the end areas were fun and challenging, as were pretty much all of the dungeon areas. My thoughts are basically - cool game, good combat, decent story, missing loads of stuff ... just not done. Oh, and I have never really gotten multiplayer to work ...
... now I have to write up my reviews for both ...
Star Wars Episode III for the DS - I finished this weekend, with both Anakin's and Obi-Wan's 'paths', and did some 'skirmishes' - which are basically multiplayer flight matches against bots. A very fun game, best Star Wars handheld game I've played.
Dungeon Lords - how do I even begin ... it is really good, yet very problematic. For instance, there is once trigger I had to reload about 10 times to have work. Also, when starting the 'end-game', there were four quests in my log, one of which was from the very beginning of the game, and all of which I had finished long before. But the end areas were fun and challenging, as were pretty much all of the dungeon areas. My thoughts are basically - cool game, good combat, decent story, missing loads of stuff ... just not done. Oh, and I have never really gotten multiplayer to work ...
... now I have to write up my reviews for both ...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)