Now for that elaboration.
As for the PSP, its an interesting situation. I never expected the launch of the handheld to be anything but another PS2 debacle, meaning it would be the talk of pretty much the entire nation. Instead it may have been a debacle of the opposite sort; not enough systems are being sold as was expected. What can we make of this? Not much really. The gaming media is still in love with it, and will continue to push it into the minds of gamers (knowledgable ones and those notso) everywhere. We are also finally seeing real marketing for the thing by Sony. Finally, there are still many blockbuster games that are in development but awaiting release. Bottom line, the best gauge for the PSP's future is its performance during the holidays. If the DS could sell out at launch with hardly any decent games, the PSP can be deadly with a strong christmas lineup.
Still, the launch really does make you wonder what the hell happened. It seems that Sony hardly did any hyping or marketing of any sort; I have yet to see a PSP TV spot myself, and those who have seen them have claimed they've only appeared in the last week. Was it cockiness on their part? A lack of finances (doubtful), or maybe just a dumb blunder? One also has to wonder if consumers know about it and simply don't care. There are so many Gameboys (and Gameboy games) already out there, and the PSP is rather expensive to invest in ($250 without games, extra batteries or a sufficiently large memory stick). Not to mention the iPod is still the current marker of cool. So many questions, and no real answers....
In other Sony news, this is a very interesting development. I don't think it will mean the end of PS2 on the market (I hope not; I still need to buy one), as Sony can still win an appeal. But the ordeal may cost them a pretty penny indeed.
And here is your Final Four: UNC, Michigan State, Illinois and Louisville. Two number ones against the four and five spots. Let's go underdogs.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
I'm back.
Such a short little break, but so much to say. Unfortunately it is rather late, and my lady is not feeling so well tonight. Let's run over the main stuff real quick. Elaboration later:
PSP is out, and is apparently still widely availible. I didn't believe it until I walked into an EB today and found several boxes stacked up by the register, and people glancing at them without even a smidgen of curiosity as to what the hell it was. Very interesting situation
Final Four is ready. Interesting indeed. Both no 1's and two underdogs.
Picked up a couple of games on my weay back to school. Skies of Arcadia Legends finishes my hunt for one of my favorite RPGS ever (I would have actaully preferred the Dreamcast original over the updated Gamecube version since I'm a purist, but I'll take the new version too). Neverwinter Nights Platinum should be a long and interesting summer play. And of course, Ashley rounded it out with DDR Extreme, finding the last copy left.
And that's it for now. Busy week ahead, but I should be back here tomorrow.
PSP is out, and is apparently still widely availible. I didn't believe it until I walked into an EB today and found several boxes stacked up by the register, and people glancing at them without even a smidgen of curiosity as to what the hell it was. Very interesting situation
Final Four is ready. Interesting indeed. Both no 1's and two underdogs.
Picked up a couple of games on my weay back to school. Skies of Arcadia Legends finishes my hunt for one of my favorite RPGS ever (I would have actaully preferred the Dreamcast original over the updated Gamecube version since I'm a purist, but I'll take the new version too). Neverwinter Nights Platinum should be a long and interesting summer play. And of course, Ashley rounded it out with DDR Extreme, finding the last copy left.
And that's it for now. Busy week ahead, but I should be back here tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
moving it all
It finally dawned on me today that I should try to have as much of my mail be sent to my gmail account instead of my school provided email. You see, I check my loyola.edu mail through Mozilla Thunderbird rather than the Novell web-client most students use. Its just easier that way. The problem is all those messages are still sitting there on the school servers as well as my own machine, forcing me to go into the mail client every three weeks or so and clear out the messages. Then I come to realize I removed a few improtant mails, and has just purged T-birds trash bin, causing me to frantically search for the info I need.
Now if I just utilized the entire gig of gmail storage I wouldn't have to delete anything for a very very long time. Feel free to call me stupid anytime.
Now if I just utilized the entire gig of gmail storage I wouldn't have to delete anything for a very very long time. Feel free to call me stupid anytime.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Marathon
So yeah, those marathon games are quite good. Incredible texturing and sprite work for a doom era FPS. And an actual story. Not bad at all.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Fallout
Finished Fallout 1. Certainly one of the finest RPG's I've ever played, and one of the best games ever bar none. Review sometime soon (I can't let this one stew).
Workload has been insane lately, and its had a negative effect on grades. I won't trouble you all with that stuff, I just hope the last month before finals gives me enough oppurtunities to improve things. We'll see.
I'm downloading the free versions of the Marathon games from Bungie.org. Wonder how they'll play next to Halo (prob. well).
I haven't had any time to follow the NCAA tournament. Damn shame really.
Workload has been insane lately, and its had a negative effect on grades. I won't trouble you all with that stuff, I just hope the last month before finals gives me enough oppurtunities to improve things. We'll see.
I'm downloading the free versions of the Marathon games from Bungie.org. Wonder how they'll play next to Halo (prob. well).
I haven't had any time to follow the NCAA tournament. Damn shame really.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
World's Smallest Violin
Fred Gallagher, you whinybitch. People are complaining for your lack of rants lately, so you lash out at them and use sarcasm? Just... great.
You'll never read this, but I know why people are complaining; because every time you do rant (and btw, rant is such a poor word for it), you go into super long details about everything that's on your mind. Stupid things that most people wouldn't care about.
Everyone except your fans that is. They're mainly otaku; they like your comic for its long plot and emotion. So you should not find it surprising that they care about your feelings and emotions too. Not to mention that most webcomic artists do like to chat a little about something every update.
Not only is your lack of perception incredible, so is your behavior. These are the people that are (possibly) buying your stuff, clicking your ads, allowing you can do this for a living. So you decide to bitch at them? Real classy.
Gallagher always insists he is not a professional. I don't think this guy realises that "professional" does not directly correlate to quality of work. Anything you do that you make a living off of is your profession. Hence he is a professional. You couldn't tell though by the infrequency of his updates and his general attitude. The farther along this comic goes, the more I believe that it should just drop the website and go exclusively to print. It wouldn't feel as if its moving at a snail's pace, and we wouldn't have to deal with excuses and whining. And I wouldn't have to hear fans complain that all the other webcomics out there don't have enough story.
Sound like a win win to me.
You'll never read this, but I know why people are complaining; because every time you do rant (and btw, rant is such a poor word for it), you go into super long details about everything that's on your mind. Stupid things that most people wouldn't care about.
Everyone except your fans that is. They're mainly otaku; they like your comic for its long plot and emotion. So you should not find it surprising that they care about your feelings and emotions too. Not to mention that most webcomic artists do like to chat a little about something every update.
Not only is your lack of perception incredible, so is your behavior. These are the people that are (possibly) buying your stuff, clicking your ads, allowing you can do this for a living. So you decide to bitch at them? Real classy.
Gallagher always insists he is not a professional. I don't think this guy realises that "professional" does not directly correlate to quality of work. Anything you do that you make a living off of is your profession. Hence he is a professional. You couldn't tell though by the infrequency of his updates and his general attitude. The farther along this comic goes, the more I believe that it should just drop the website and go exclusively to print. It wouldn't feel as if its moving at a snail's pace, and we wouldn't have to deal with excuses and whining. And I wouldn't have to hear fans complain that all the other webcomics out there don't have enough story.
Sound like a win win to me.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
New music
Yes, I finally did it. I downloaded Bad Religion's entire album No Control through nothing but free iTunes caps from Pepsi bottles. Now I can go back to not drinking the stuff.
Monday, March 14, 2005
March Madness
For some strange reason no one I know is filling out tournament brackets this year. Ah well, guess I'll just go for Gonzaga like I do every year and watch it play out.
I never thought about what dastardly purposes the proposed camera included in the Xbox2 could be used for until now. Sad thing is I can see this happening.
I never thought about what dastardly purposes the proposed camera included in the Xbox2 could be used for until now. Sad thing is I can see this happening.
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Break Down
Returning to Maryland tomorrow. Break was quick, but not so bad.
Wow, so much stuff going on at the Game Developers Conference. One day soon I might elborate on it all, but I suppose I can sum things up so far:
1) Microsoft confuses me
2) Nintendo has no answers to the tough questions
3) I still don't like Sony much
4) Warren Spector is a rockstar
I don't know why, but coming home for break did a number on my stomach. I suppose it was a detox session or something. Perhaps all the sugary beverages, sodium and grease that is the college diet will actually calm things down as my innards slowly dissolve.
Wow, so much stuff going on at the Game Developers Conference. One day soon I might elborate on it all, but I suppose I can sum things up so far:
1) Microsoft confuses me
2) Nintendo has no answers to the tough questions
3) I still don't like Sony much
4) Warren Spector is a rockstar
I don't know why, but coming home for break did a number on my stomach. I suppose it was a detox session or something. Perhaps all the sugary beverages, sodium and grease that is the college diet will actually calm things down as my innards slowly dissolve.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
super hyper content
Rant mode on:
As the web continues to evolve, one would think that getting information would be easier than ever. It seems however that the opposite it becoming true, thanks to the insistence of nearly everyone on the web to code websites almost exclusively in flash.
Let's take my daily web routine as an example. I like to check a lot of game news sites to get all the latest industry info, even the ones I don't like in case they have a juicy tidbit. If I go to gamespy, game-revolution or insert credit, I get my info quick, as these sites use plain ol' text and images (GS can be a bit slow with its flash ads though). Go to IGN, and you must wait forever for its crazy flash enabled main menu to load up. Gamespot has a simiar menu at its top, only instead of loading slow it simply wonks out and never loads properly (though this might just be incompatibility with firefox). Then there's 1up, which is coded almost entirely in flash. I wanted to learn more about the new Robots movie the other day. I found nothing; the entire site, like every other movie site, was done in flash, and provided nothing but trailers, AIM icons and stupid games.
So why do I hate all this heavy flash usage?
1: They run slowly. Most heavy flash sites load up quickly enough, and run fine on my personal machine, but any box with a crappy video card or a modest CPU seems to slow to an absolute crawl. My family's computer is somewhat ancient, but it still manages to run most apps well enough, even games with system specs beyond its own. Try to load a flash site on it, and you can barely navigate through anything. I can understand the necessity of a broadband connection (to a certain extent) to access the web's best features, but someone who can't afford the latest and greatest in tech shouldn't be hindered from enjoying it because site designers insist on making things look "pretty".
2: flash is counterintuitive. Firefox lets you tab browse web sites. Try tabbing a link in a flash site. Doesn't work does it? Try navigating a flash site using the buttons and links they give you. Its generally not very easy. Flash sites even seem to have hindered information itself. They give plenty multimedia, but actual text and facts are hard to come by.
I understand the reason for this trend; the general populous likes pretty pictures, likes to be entertained, rather than do something like read or (god forbid) think a little. But the internet is, more than anything, information, not another form of entertainment like tv or film. Perhaps, rather than cater to what they want (or think they want), the web should try to just keep it simple. A fast, well organized website, with good information and content is far more valuable than something that looks, um, "flashy" but devoid of life. Maybe if we saw more of this, then more people would agree.
End rant.
As always, my rants are truly that; rantings and ravings that come straight out of my head, with little attention to format or structure. They aren't meant to be serious, though maybe you'll find something interesting in them.
As the web continues to evolve, one would think that getting information would be easier than ever. It seems however that the opposite it becoming true, thanks to the insistence of nearly everyone on the web to code websites almost exclusively in flash.
Let's take my daily web routine as an example. I like to check a lot of game news sites to get all the latest industry info, even the ones I don't like in case they have a juicy tidbit. If I go to gamespy, game-revolution or insert credit, I get my info quick, as these sites use plain ol' text and images (GS can be a bit slow with its flash ads though). Go to IGN, and you must wait forever for its crazy flash enabled main menu to load up. Gamespot has a simiar menu at its top, only instead of loading slow it simply wonks out and never loads properly (though this might just be incompatibility with firefox). Then there's 1up, which is coded almost entirely in flash. I wanted to learn more about the new Robots movie the other day. I found nothing; the entire site, like every other movie site, was done in flash, and provided nothing but trailers, AIM icons and stupid games.
So why do I hate all this heavy flash usage?
1: They run slowly. Most heavy flash sites load up quickly enough, and run fine on my personal machine, but any box with a crappy video card or a modest CPU seems to slow to an absolute crawl. My family's computer is somewhat ancient, but it still manages to run most apps well enough, even games with system specs beyond its own. Try to load a flash site on it, and you can barely navigate through anything. I can understand the necessity of a broadband connection (to a certain extent) to access the web's best features, but someone who can't afford the latest and greatest in tech shouldn't be hindered from enjoying it because site designers insist on making things look "pretty".
2: flash is counterintuitive. Firefox lets you tab browse web sites. Try tabbing a link in a flash site. Doesn't work does it? Try navigating a flash site using the buttons and links they give you. Its generally not very easy. Flash sites even seem to have hindered information itself. They give plenty multimedia, but actual text and facts are hard to come by.
I understand the reason for this trend; the general populous likes pretty pictures, likes to be entertained, rather than do something like read or (god forbid) think a little. But the internet is, more than anything, information, not another form of entertainment like tv or film. Perhaps, rather than cater to what they want (or think they want), the web should try to just keep it simple. A fast, well organized website, with good information and content is far more valuable than something that looks, um, "flashy" but devoid of life. Maybe if we saw more of this, then more people would agree.
End rant.
As always, my rants are truly that; rantings and ravings that come straight out of my head, with little attention to format or structure. They aren't meant to be serious, though maybe you'll find something interesting in them.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
No Honor
Here's an interesting look at EA's new Medal of Honor game. The interesting part of it is not the content, but the fact that it sounds identical to PC Gamer's new preview of Call of Duty 2.
Its funny; EA lets a large portion of the MOH Allied Assault team leave to go make their own company, Infinity Ward, most likely thinking that their philosophy of "throw a lot of money and manpower at a project and it will sell" would keep their series on top. Instead, Inifity Ward makes the award winning Call of Duty, while MOH gets worse with every iteration. Now EA has to copy their former employees to even compete, though something tells me that one company will truly deliver (hint: there are no E's in the name) while the other will create a half baked monstrosity (hint: there's an E in this one). If that ends up being the case, then I suppose it serves EA right.
A good friend of mine just had his PS2 break on him. Didn't sound out of the ordinary, until he told me his new copy of Gran Turismo 4 was scratched to hell in the process. Its like a double "f-you for being a loyal customer" from Sony. I know that electronics will break, and others will have no troubles whatsoever, but I after the many horror stories I've heard I don't understand how Sony products are still considered durable, quality hardware.
Its funny; EA lets a large portion of the MOH Allied Assault team leave to go make their own company, Infinity Ward, most likely thinking that their philosophy of "throw a lot of money and manpower at a project and it will sell" would keep their series on top. Instead, Inifity Ward makes the award winning Call of Duty, while MOH gets worse with every iteration. Now EA has to copy their former employees to even compete, though something tells me that one company will truly deliver (hint: there are no E's in the name) while the other will create a half baked monstrosity (hint: there's an E in this one). If that ends up being the case, then I suppose it serves EA right.
A good friend of mine just had his PS2 break on him. Didn't sound out of the ordinary, until he told me his new copy of Gran Turismo 4 was scratched to hell in the process. Its like a double "f-you for being a loyal customer" from Sony. I know that electronics will break, and others will have no troubles whatsoever, but I after the many horror stories I've heard I don't understand how Sony products are still considered durable, quality hardware.
Friday, March 04, 2005
Spring... Break?
Leaving for the week break today. While others have already gone off a few days earlier to far warmer climates on another person's tab, I'll be doing my assignments and shopping for a car. I really don't mind having a busy break though; as long as I can catch up on some sleep and return somewhat refreshed I'll be happy.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
The Source
So I was reading Wired magazine's yearly awards for spectacular achievements in the tech world. One of the winners was a game developer: Bungie for their work on Halo 2. "Okay", I said to myself, "They did make a real popular game". Then I saw who else was on the list of nominees:
Gabe Newell and Valve Software.
Now perhaps its the Half Life fanboy in me speaking, but I don't understand how in the world Valve didn't win for their work on Half Life 2. Wired has always seemed like a publication that recognized and praised creativity and innovation. Yet their reasoning for Halo 2 was its "deep story, incredible gameplay and amazing multiplayer". Take a look at any gaming website and you'll find as many die hard Halo-ites disappointed with the sequel as thrilled with it. I'm not going to debate the quality of the game(although I very much disagree with the first two points) , but these deciding factors seem a little too subjective. It just reeks of a popularity contest.
So why do I think Valve should have won? Anyone can debate the relative quality of their game, just like Halo 2. But its hard to debate the significance of the Source engine and Steam. With Source, you have a incredible visuals, a powerful physics system and sophisticated animations. And the entire thing was built from the ground up to be as easy as possible for the mod community to use. Modders have done some impressive things over the years with just the original Half Life engine, and already some interesting Source based projects have started up. This time however, the potential to shake up the industry is even greater. As for Steam, there have been many complaints about its reliability and privacy practices (the latter of which seem completely unfounded), but no one had thought of an online content delivery system as a viable platform for game delivery until Valve stepped in. Game journalist everywhere have been calling for more industry big-wigs to follow suit and offer similar services, and when it finally happens it will be Steam that everyone uses for inspiration. Through the technology behind Half Life 2 Valve is once again trying to shake up the system, and how Wired was unable to recognize this is beyond me.
But then again maybe that's the fanboy in me speaking again...
I saw Grave of the Fireflies last night, and while it was one of the most depressing films I've ever seen, I can see why it is regarded as an anime classic. The story is a side of World War II rarely told by anyone, and the mannerisms and dialogue of the characters are some of the most natural and believable I've seen in any anime. Two thumbs way up.
The Mets played their first exhibition game against the upstart Washington Nationals. They lost 5 - 1. I hope this isn't a foreshadowing of the regular season.
Gabe Newell and Valve Software.
Now perhaps its the Half Life fanboy in me speaking, but I don't understand how in the world Valve didn't win for their work on Half Life 2. Wired has always seemed like a publication that recognized and praised creativity and innovation. Yet their reasoning for Halo 2 was its "deep story, incredible gameplay and amazing multiplayer". Take a look at any gaming website and you'll find as many die hard Halo-ites disappointed with the sequel as thrilled with it. I'm not going to debate the quality of the game(although I very much disagree with the first two points) , but these deciding factors seem a little too subjective. It just reeks of a popularity contest.
So why do I think Valve should have won? Anyone can debate the relative quality of their game, just like Halo 2. But its hard to debate the significance of the Source engine and Steam. With Source, you have a incredible visuals, a powerful physics system and sophisticated animations. And the entire thing was built from the ground up to be as easy as possible for the mod community to use. Modders have done some impressive things over the years with just the original Half Life engine, and already some interesting Source based projects have started up. This time however, the potential to shake up the industry is even greater. As for Steam, there have been many complaints about its reliability and privacy practices (the latter of which seem completely unfounded), but no one had thought of an online content delivery system as a viable platform for game delivery until Valve stepped in. Game journalist everywhere have been calling for more industry big-wigs to follow suit and offer similar services, and when it finally happens it will be Steam that everyone uses for inspiration. Through the technology behind Half Life 2 Valve is once again trying to shake up the system, and how Wired was unable to recognize this is beyond me.
But then again maybe that's the fanboy in me speaking again...
I saw Grave of the Fireflies last night, and while it was one of the most depressing films I've ever seen, I can see why it is regarded as an anime classic. The story is a side of World War II rarely told by anyone, and the mannerisms and dialogue of the characters are some of the most natural and believable I've seen in any anime. Two thumbs way up.
The Mets played their first exhibition game against the upstart Washington Nationals. They lost 5 - 1. I hope this isn't a foreshadowing of the regular season.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Sold!
I dont' know how I didn't see this earlier than I did. Suffice to say, it has been purchased, and shipping home for me to pick up on spring break.
And in case you aren't too familiar with PC RPGs, the Fallout games are considered by the most rabid of fans to be the pinnacle of roleplay on any system, even years after their release. I'm game.
And in case you aren't too familiar with PC RPGs, the Fallout games are considered by the most rabid of fans to be the pinnacle of roleplay on any system, even years after their release. I'm game.
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