Rise From Your Grave

I knew this would be a busy semester, and damn was I right. Its been tough just to play my traditional-game-a-day (screw apples), let alone blog.

Speaking of games, I've been playing a lot of demos lately. The first being for Dawn of War. I've always been a fan of Relic's games, and this one seems to continue their tradition of excellence. In theory its a strategy game in the ilk of Warcraft III, but there are quite a few twists to the formula. For instance, units are built in squads, and the cap on them is much more restrictive than even WCIII was. These squads can have more units added on the fly, as well as commanders and special weapons. Rather than sending wave after wave of cannon fodder, the key to victory is to use a few fully upgraded squads and sound tactics to take out larger groups of enemies. Its often difficult to keep track of even three squads in larger conflicts, but the results pay off when you're not rebuilding your attack force every half hour. Its very nice to see an RTS that doesn't rely on the swarm and rush tactics that have been par since Starcraft. The game also sports some very nice animations - characters are shredded booted and bloodied in a variety of ways, and is certainly deserving of its M rating. (After all, it is Warhammer here). Seems like a small addition, but RTS games are some of the most repetitive out there. The more variety the better.

I've also tried my hand at the Tribes: Vengeance beta. Let's just say its Tribes on speed. For the most part, the game feels authentic, with plenty of jetpacking and all the classic weapons. With the addition of land skiing, and faster movements, however, the game is much more frentic, especially on the smaller maps. This is a good thing, as many of the old Tribes maps were far too spaced out, and were useless for small groups of players. I remember when Vengeance was first announced, and all the focus was on the Single Player portion. Fans everywhere were worried that they'd get a half assed multiplayer portion that would be a complete bastardization of Tribes. Fear no longer my friends, your game is back, bigger than ever before.

This Sunday was a disgrace for all Giants fans. I knew they'd loose to the much improved Eagles, but they hardly put up a fight. Its one thing to go down by a touchdown or something, but letting T.O. and pals gloat their way through the whole game is ridiculous. I have a feeling this will be an interesting season, and not in a good way. I'm just glad Im' out of Pennsylvania where the nastiest, rowdiest Eagles fans roam. On the other hand, it will be funny to listen to them when their team folds in half in the playoffs and misses the Super Bowl yet again. The Eagles are the Atlanta Braves of the NFL, and will continue to be so as long as McNabb is their QB. Maybe I should just follow the Packers this season. Who knew old guys could kick so much ass?

Its like a Koala crapped a rainbow in my brain