Title says it all, this all seems very meta
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Featured Website: Bungie.net
Today's website is meant to go along with all the Halo 3 craziness that has been surrounding the tubes the last week or so. Bungie.net is not only a great site to keep track of major Halo news but it's also a great site to check out your Halo 3 stats and rankings. The list of features for the site has only grown with the list of new features in Halo 3. It's an awesome site for the Halo fan. Check it out here.
Zero Punctuation: Peggle
It seems that with the launch of Halo 3 there has been very little noise about other games. So just sit back and check the latest Zero Punctuation review of "not Halo 3", actually its a casual game called Peggle.
Halo 3: My review
So just in case you don't know I'm a huge Halo fan so if I gush too much you'll know why. It would be easy to say that Halo 3 is the best of the trilogy and call it a day but it seems I should have some sort of explanation so here goes.
The campaign is told through a run and gun method that has a few cuts scenes in between, this has pretty much been a staple of the series since its inception. I personally like it since you get a choice of your game experience, i.e. play for target practice or play for story.The main thing you'll notice about Halo 3 is the levels, they're huge and have a much grander feel to them. Not only that but there is action all around you, it's kind of sad that some of most interesting and fierce battles don't have you in it. Don't know what I mean? Watch a saved film every now and again and you will. There are a few instances where the arbiter looks like a one man recking crew (unfortunately most of the time its when he's not around you). I do like the throw backs to the original Halo game but some of the levels feel like a re-design rather than a new experience.
In fact a lot of Halo 3 feels like the original Halo, but who's to say that is a bad thing? Personally I though the original Halo was better game than Halo 2 and the big reason for Playing Halo 2 over the original was Live support. The next thing to talk about is AI and the strange balancing act on both sides. You're accompanying AI is pretty stupid and really only serve the purpose of moving meat shields.However, the enemy AI is very aggressive and "intelligent". So much so that it picks its moments so much so that you'll have trouble playing through the same areas the same way this is part of Bungie's balancing act that is the campaign. In general the enemies in Halo 3 are tougher than the previous games, jackals, grunts, and drones are actually viable threats. The Brutes are still pretty dangerous but are more fun to kill in this installment. For some reason it felt as though the easiest enemy to take out were the blue armored brutes, I don't really have a good explanation of this other than it seems that this enemy variation is highly susceptible to a mid-range fighting preference. Overall many of the missions are fun to play over and over again, just to see what kind of approaches you can take but some are just down right frustrating and require better help from supporting AI (I can't tell you how often I've been blown up by friendly grenades).
On a side note the ending won't make you throw your controller at the screen but you won't be happy either. Overall the campaign is fun to play through and wraps up a lot of the questions from the series. The different ways to play through the co-op mode does stretch out the campaign modes re-playability but overall the game feels short (especially in co-op) and doesn't quite give us the ending you'd expect. Overall my experience with the campaign was good but not great, I'm not sure why it didn't grab me as much as the original but it did seem to lack something.
Now for the multi-player this is where Halo 3 shines and delivers on its promises. The multitude of new features alone warrant the purchase of this game. First of all the theater mode is a great way to learn from your mistakes and figure out the best patrol routes. It's also an awesome way to show off your pwning skills. Matchmaking options allowing for people to choose based on connection, rank, and language is a small feature that makes big differences in the multi-player experience. The new maps and map modder tool (Forge) will drive even more game types that have never been seen on a console shooter before. In general Bungie, got a lot right with multi-player with Halo 2 and have pushed it even further with Halo 3.
Since, there isn't too much more to say about the game than go buy it. I will leave you with this comment, though this is the last of the Halo franchise, Halo 3 brings something else, a real reason to own an Xbox 360. Yes, ladies and gentlemen the 360 now has game that will push console sales, now the console wars have really begun.
The campaign is told through a run and gun method that has a few cuts scenes in between, this has pretty much been a staple of the series since its inception. I personally like it since you get a choice of your game experience, i.e. play for target practice or play for story.The main thing you'll notice about Halo 3 is the levels, they're huge and have a much grander feel to them. Not only that but there is action all around you, it's kind of sad that some of most interesting and fierce battles don't have you in it. Don't know what I mean? Watch a saved film every now and again and you will. There are a few instances where the arbiter looks like a one man recking crew (unfortunately most of the time its when he's not around you). I do like the throw backs to the original Halo game but some of the levels feel like a re-design rather than a new experience.
In fact a lot of Halo 3 feels like the original Halo, but who's to say that is a bad thing? Personally I though the original Halo was better game than Halo 2 and the big reason for Playing Halo 2 over the original was Live support. The next thing to talk about is AI and the strange balancing act on both sides. You're accompanying AI is pretty stupid and really only serve the purpose of moving meat shields.However, the enemy AI is very aggressive and "intelligent". So much so that it picks its moments so much so that you'll have trouble playing through the same areas the same way this is part of Bungie's balancing act that is the campaign. In general the enemies in Halo 3 are tougher than the previous games, jackals, grunts, and drones are actually viable threats. The Brutes are still pretty dangerous but are more fun to kill in this installment. For some reason it felt as though the easiest enemy to take out were the blue armored brutes, I don't really have a good explanation of this other than it seems that this enemy variation is highly susceptible to a mid-range fighting preference. Overall many of the missions are fun to play over and over again, just to see what kind of approaches you can take but some are just down right frustrating and require better help from supporting AI (I can't tell you how often I've been blown up by friendly grenades).
On a side note the ending won't make you throw your controller at the screen but you won't be happy either. Overall the campaign is fun to play through and wraps up a lot of the questions from the series. The different ways to play through the co-op mode does stretch out the campaign modes re-playability but overall the game feels short (especially in co-op) and doesn't quite give us the ending you'd expect. Overall my experience with the campaign was good but not great, I'm not sure why it didn't grab me as much as the original but it did seem to lack something.
Now for the multi-player this is where Halo 3 shines and delivers on its promises. The multitude of new features alone warrant the purchase of this game. First of all the theater mode is a great way to learn from your mistakes and figure out the best patrol routes. It's also an awesome way to show off your pwning skills. Matchmaking options allowing for people to choose based on connection, rank, and language is a small feature that makes big differences in the multi-player experience. The new maps and map modder tool (Forge) will drive even more game types that have never been seen on a console shooter before. In general Bungie, got a lot right with multi-player with Halo 2 and have pushed it even further with Halo 3.
Since, there isn't too much more to say about the game than go buy it. I will leave you with this comment, though this is the last of the Halo franchise, Halo 3 brings something else, a real reason to own an Xbox 360. Yes, ladies and gentlemen the 360 now has game that will push console sales, now the console wars have really begun.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Zero Punctuation: Manhunt
It seems Yahtzee is still at it, with his latest review of the highly controversial game Manhunt. Now I know its an older game but he still manages to make some decent point and be pretty hysterical in the process, so enjoy.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Halo 3: "Enough already!"
Now if you've been following this little blog of mine for a while, you'd probably be able to figure out that I'm a pretty big fan of Halo. No I'm not that little 5 year old cursing like a sailor on Xbox Live, but I'd say that it's easily one of my favorite games of all time. For me it is the reason to own an Xbox/Xbox 360.
Now all of that being said, can we stop with all the name throwing already? I don't mind the little diorama videos (I kind of actually want one... built with legos) but the rest is just annoying as hell! I'm glad that I can pre-order Halo 3 just about anywhere I could concievably think of but seriously Barnes and Noble? It's afreak'n book store!
I know Halo has a lot of brand recognition but Microsoft (Bungie this includes you too) is just whoreing out Halo like its a pimp with a drug problem. I'm sure there are worse names for soft drinks than Game fuel but come on! Caffine practically sells itself when dealing with long sessions of gaming. I don't even want to get into the car sponsor ship portion either, unless Pontiac is going to seel a warthog with a working gun turret there is no point to this promotion.
Alright now that I've rambled on for a bit, I'll be back to waiting for the fight to begin!
Now all of that being said, can we stop with all the name throwing already? I don't mind the little diorama videos (I kind of actually want one... built with legos) but the rest is just annoying as hell! I'm glad that I can pre-order Halo 3 just about anywhere I could concievably think of but seriously Barnes and Noble? It's afreak'n book store!
I know Halo has a lot of brand recognition but Microsoft (Bungie this includes you too) is just whoreing out Halo like its a pimp with a drug problem. I'm sure there are worse names for soft drinks than Game fuel but come on! Caffine practically sells itself when dealing with long sessions of gaming. I don't even want to get into the car sponsor ship portion either, unless Pontiac is going to seel a warthog with a working gun turret there is no point to this promotion.
Alright now that I've rambled on for a bit, I'll be back to waiting for the fight to begin!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Zero Punctuation: Tomb Raider Anniversary
Tomb Raider has never been a game that I've enjoyed but at least has at least one funny review
Featured Website: XNA 101.net
After contemplating a bit about my next XNA project, I thought it would be good to check out a few XNA tutorial sites. XNA 101 .NET is a blog/tutorial site written by Bill Reiss (XNA MVP) who has some great tutorials on how to get started with the XNA framework. Check it out here.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Quick Tip: C++ Bit Fields
Since it's been a really long time since I've done one, I figure its time to write a programming tip. The C++ bit fields is a nice little C++ trick to limit the size of data type. Now it may not be apparent but this is a super easy way to build a structure with variable size data bits.
So lets say you have a message packet that has 8 different flags that is 1 byte a piece, normally you'd probably do some sort of bit shift operation and some masking. However, you can skip all that nonsense and write something like this
struct Flags{
unsigned short A:1;
unsigned short B:1;
unsigned short C:1;
unsigned short D:1;
unsigned short E:1;
unsigned short F:1;
unsigned short G:1;
unsigned short H:1;
};
Thus allowing you to use a nice well defined structure rather than doing all that unnecessary bit shifting. The bite field operator is used in conjunction with a variable definition by using the colon operator (Example int test: 5;) this example specifies a signed variable that has a 5 bit length.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Quick Tip: When Linux Locks Up
If you've finally figured out away (accidentally or on purpose) to get your Linux box to freeze and not respond. Just channel Douglass Adams for a moment and DON'T PANIC! The experienced Linux user would probably try a few things before even considering the ultimate computer "fix" (reboot the system). So here are a few steps you can go through that will hopefully get you back to all the open source goodness.
1. DON'T PANIC! (I'm not sure what font constitutes as friendly but seriously, don't freak out yet, more than likely some process is locking up your desktop environment.)
2. Try a combination of Ctl+F1..F4, by default most Linux distributions have multiple sessions that are mapped by pressing Ctl and F1...F4. This forces the system to jump out of your GUI Desktop Environment session (Ctl+F1) and into a command line login (Ctl+F2..F4). That way you can login through the command line session and either restart X server (Window Manager) or kill the process that's causing all the problems. Most distributions have at least the 4 sessions but you can usually set it up so that all 12 function key has new sessions associated with them.
3. If you just want a quick way to kill X (Window Manager) just press Ctl+Alt+Backspace. This is effectively the kill button for your current X session. Note if a process is locking up your machine, this probably won't do much.
4. Don't press the power button just yet, there is yet still another way to reset you r machine. Found this tip on FOSSwire, check it out here. Basically you need to hold down Alt+SysRq(Print Screen) buttons and type the following REISUB, this should reboot your computer. If not go to step 5.
5. Alright press the power button or reset button (which ever you prefer)
6. Wait if your system is still shot after this ... IT'S TIME TO PANIC!
7. Alright don't panic but your more than likely going to have to reinstall or boot up with a live CD and start editing some configuration files.
1. DON'T PANIC! (I'm not sure what font constitutes as friendly but seriously, don't freak out yet, more than likely some process is locking up your desktop environment.)
2. Try a combination of Ctl+F1..F4, by default most Linux distributions have multiple sessions that are mapped by pressing Ctl and F1...F4. This forces the system to jump out of your GUI Desktop Environment session (Ctl+F1) and into a command line login (Ctl+F2..F4). That way you can login through the command line session and either restart X server (Window Manager) or kill the process that's causing all the problems. Most distributions have at least the 4 sessions but you can usually set it up so that all 12 function key has new sessions associated with them.
3. If you just want a quick way to kill X (Window Manager) just press Ctl+Alt+Backspace. This is effectively the kill button for your current X session. Note if a process is locking up your machine, this probably won't do much.
4. Don't press the power button just yet, there is yet still another way to reset you r machine. Found this tip on FOSSwire, check it out here. Basically you need to hold down Alt+SysRq(Print Screen) buttons and type the following REISUB, this should reboot your computer. If not go to step 5.
5. Alright press the power button or reset button (which ever you prefer)
6. Wait if your system is still shot after this ... IT'S TIME TO PANIC!
7. Alright don't panic but your more than likely going to have to reinstall or boot up with a live CD and start editing some configuration files.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Random Music Video of the Day: Love Two Point OH! by johnnyOnline
Wow, my random searches through the tubes has lead to some pretty interesting stuff. Most of it suited towards the most nerdy of people out there, which leads me todays vodeo. The song is actually pretty catchy and definetly doesn't take itself to seriously. It's worth checking out, if only to hear a love song about Web 2.0
Saturday, September 8, 2007
My take on the Format Wars
Alright so let me get this straight, with the new HD (HDDVD or Blueray) format's I get new higher resolution images in my video quality right? So anything shot with HD cameras will look considerably better, which is true but only a handful of people are pushing this stuff out now. So then the question why the hell do I care more than half the content I care about isn't/wasn't shot in digital, which means its up converted. So then the question is why switch from DVD? So until there is a lot more HD content out, the HD format wars are a complete joke. Until then I'll just a get a rocking up-converting DVD player, so screw you Format Wars!
Friday, September 7, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Software Pick of the Day: Abiword
There are days that you wish that there was something other than Microsoft Word. When you have those days, you have Abiword. This nice little free word processing application, that I think works just as well as Microsoft Word. I've been a huge fan of this little application for a while, its my goto application when I can't stand using Word. Check it out here.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
The Big Purple Elephant: New iPods
Alright since I went through the trouble of speculating on what Apple would do in it's little keynote. I guess I should go over some of my speculations since some of it was right on the nose and some not so much. Hooray for random guessing!
What I got right:
iPod Touch - yay! I got the name... not like it was all that hard to figure out but it counts. Wireless iTunes store, yeah I was just as suprised as anyone about this one.
iPod Classic - more hard drive space.
iPod Nano - got the video treatment and a larger screen.
iPod Shuffle - More colors (apparently Shuffles are the new M & M's)
I pretty much got everything else wrong, which if your curious can be found here.
Now on to the big purple elephant in the room.
First of all, did anyone actually think Apple wasn't going to announce new iPods? Alright just checking, in fact Apple announced a couple of different iPod lines one of which had an extremely easy name to guess. That's right the iPod Touch is very iPhone like and what makes the whole thing seem that much more desirable is that its got WiFi. Not only did Apple announce the long rumored WiFi enabled iPod but it'll serve a purpose such as purchasing from the iTunes store and surfing the web. Needless to say I'm a bit excited about this new addition to the iPod family.
The iPod Classic got the usual hard drive upgrade and has dropped the classic white look, which I'm seeing as an end of an era. The polished white iPod has been the iconic face of the iPod family line for a long time now.
The iPod Nano got a few changes that pretty much everyone saw coming. With video playback and a lager screen Apple has added the one feature the Nano line has lacked. However, I'm not entirely sure if it was needed. Sure I could watch videos on it, but would I really want to watch video on it is an entirely different story. Not to mention I'm not crazy about the Nano's updated design granted there probably wasn't a good way to fit the larger screen and scroll wheel, but come on this is a copout!
However probably the most interesting aspect of todays keynote is that most of the rumor sites were right on the money with the product releases. Is Apple slipping in its tight lipped ways or was this just a fluke? In any case it seems Apple is still setting the bar when it comes to the portable MP3 market.
What I got right:
iPod Touch - yay! I got the name... not like it was all that hard to figure out but it counts. Wireless iTunes store, yeah I was just as suprised as anyone about this one.
iPod Classic - more hard drive space.
iPod Nano - got the video treatment and a larger screen.
iPod Shuffle - More colors (apparently Shuffles are the new M & M's)
I pretty much got everything else wrong, which if your curious can be found here.
Now on to the big purple elephant in the room.
First of all, did anyone actually think Apple wasn't going to announce new iPods? Alright just checking, in fact Apple announced a couple of different iPod lines one of which had an extremely easy name to guess. That's right the iPod Touch is very iPhone like and what makes the whole thing seem that much more desirable is that its got WiFi. Not only did Apple announce the long rumored WiFi enabled iPod but it'll serve a purpose such as purchasing from the iTunes store and surfing the web. Needless to say I'm a bit excited about this new addition to the iPod family.
The iPod Classic got the usual hard drive upgrade and has dropped the classic white look, which I'm seeing as an end of an era. The polished white iPod has been the iconic face of the iPod family line for a long time now.
The iPod Nano got a few changes that pretty much everyone saw coming. With video playback and a lager screen Apple has added the one feature the Nano line has lacked. However, I'm not entirely sure if it was needed. Sure I could watch videos on it, but would I really want to watch video on it is an entirely different story. Not to mention I'm not crazy about the Nano's updated design granted there probably wasn't a good way to fit the larger screen and scroll wheel, but come on this is a copout!
However probably the most interesting aspect of todays keynote is that most of the rumor sites were right on the money with the product releases. Is Apple slipping in its tight lipped ways or was this just a fluke? In any case it seems Apple is still setting the bar when it comes to the portable MP3 market.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
The Way Game Reviews Should Be Done
Even if you don't play video games, this video is worth checking out. The creator of this witty fast paced demo review is an Australian who is now developing content for a video game review site known as The Escapist (here) The this review who obviously drinks way too much caffeine, has his own site,which some more content that I'm pretty sure he produced. In any case I really wish more game reviews were like this and by that I mean show opinion and talk specifically about good and bad experiences. Personally I think the number rating system sucks out loud and could easily be replaced by buy it, rent it (if its and option), or avoid it like the plague.
Random Music Video of the Day: Hip Hop Violin
Give a person enough time in a music genre and they'll blow you away. At least that seems to be the case with today's video.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Random Video: 3 Ways the Internet Keeps You from Scoring
3 Ways The Net Keeps You From Scoring - Watch more free videos
Alright normally I don't post videos that revolve around this topic, but this is actually quite funny and yes the girl is quite hot. She's actually only got a couple of videos up, but all in all they're pretty good;she either does or knows someone who does a Christopher Walken impression. (Check here).
Saturday, September 1, 2007
XBOX 360 Weekend Deal
For the few of you own Xbox 360's there is a nice little sale going on this weekend only (as far as I know). Where all xbox live arcade games are half off, so now you don't have an excuse to not have that full copy of geometry wars.
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