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16 Dec 05
Just as a reminder, if there's something you'd like discussed here, a game you'd like more information on, my take on something in the gaming industry or even would just like to see your name here, post comments, post in the forum or drop me an email. Sometimes I hit a topic dry spell. I don't want you to suffer. Let me know what you want.
I wanted to mention Video Game Media Watch. It's an ambitious idea to cover all the coverage of video games in the press. There have been some really thoughtful pieces there. Check it out if you're interested. More importantly, we all have come across ignorant reporting on gaming at time. You've probably wondered where you could report articles like that. Well, now you know.
I'm always interested in new economic models for gaming as you've probably noted with the coverage of Totalgaming.net and Steam. Well, someone pointed out another one to me. It's Albatross 18, a golf game. It's visually reminiscent of the Hot Shots Golf series. It's online and multiplayer with chat and tournament functions. The interesting thing is that it's free to download and play. As you play well, you earn experience that lets you equip better items and currency that lets you buy those items. But if you want the best items, you have to pay for them with real cash. It's a very interesting idea. I'll try to check it out and report back.
Jason
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15 Dec 05
Your shopping days are running out before Christmas. To help you (and us) out we've added a new affiliate link, Funagain Games. They sell all the hard to find board games that you won't find at Toys 'R Us. If you recall our Board Gaming article, board games are still cool in Europe, and there are some great new games coming out all the time. As strategy gamers, there's a great chance you'll find something or some things you'll like.
There has been some mention that people might like to use the affiliate links if they were a little easier to use. I took this to mean that with them scattered down the side (or both sides in the news section) with graphics and animation, it's not always easy to go here and get the link you want. I'm here to help. I've created a small, text only (hence fast loading) Affiliate Page that you can bookmark to use to start your shopping. Throw it in your shopping links (or if you're weird like me and have an actual shopping button on your keyboard, assign it) and use it to quickly access some good shopping sites while helping to keep the lights on here. Thanks to everyone who has supported the site. Hopefully, this will help.
Remember back in the summer when I was complaining that Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked kept crashing on me? I worked with Atari & Frontier to try to get it resolve, but they eventually told me it was my system. I resigned myself to wait for new graphics drivers or a patch. Well, they finally released a patch, and it addresses several crashing bugs (that they never admitted back then). It seems to have done the trick. That's part of the reason I'm so late tonight. I was messing around with the game. It's really a fun game. It's just too bad that waiting so long for the patch probably killed it for some people. If you need it, grab it at the Usual Suspects.
What happens when a real martial artist takes on the Eyetoy version of Virtua Fighter? Check it out.
Also from GameSetWatch comes word of a new, Onion like, gaming humor site. It's call the game rag.
Finally, does Starforce really think this will help with their image problem? Maybe the should stick on resolving driver conflicts and making their protection more robust. From personal experience, they've already improved it considerably (stability, I have no cracking skills).
Jason
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14 Dec 05
I'm not by nature an overly organized person. I put things away so I can find them again, but there's nothing alphabetized in my life. I don't have organizers in my drawers to keep my paperclips from moving around. On the other hand, I find that I'm not doing well with chaos.
I've determined that little David has joined the forces of chaos. He seems sweet and innocent, but then you turn your back. Suddenly he's pulling trash out of the bin. He's taken to pulling all my console games off the shelf and scattering them on the floor. He broke one of those thirsty stone coasters today. Those things are like granite, but they shatter before him.
Back when I played D&D (AD&D actually) all the time, I had to play chaotic good characters. It was mainly because the people I played with couldn't stand my paladin. Always wanting to do the right and noble thing seemed to stick in their craw. I tended to play my chaotic good characters as cavalier Robin Hoods.
As far as real chaos goes, I remember the arguments from back then regarding who was worse, devils or demons. Of course, this was back in the time when we were all labeled satanists for even playing D&D. Devils could work together, but wouldn't take unnecessary risks. While demons couldn't hold a plan together for anything, but just went around doing acts of evil great and small. I don't think we ever came to a conclusion. We just agreed to destroy them all. After all, we were the good guys.
Back to David, he's not trying to do harm. He just finds any sense of order disturbing and sets out to fix it. One of the arguments against violent games is that children aren't naturally violent; they have to learn it. Personally, I'd like to meet these children because I haven't found any of them in the real world. If an adult tried half the things David has done to me for fun, even my generally peaceful nature wouldn't prevent a fight. Maybe someday justice will arrive. Just kidding.
Darwinia has just been released on Steam. In many ways, that's simply amazing. Digital distribution should lead to exposure of some very interesting niche games. I'm always excited about the future of gaming.
I've got a couple more random links for you. Buildforge looks interesting. I'm always interested in better structure in game development.
Slashdot just posted a bunch of reviews including Civ IV and the Movies.
Jason
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13 Dec 05
I swear I've been sick more since David learned to crawl than in the five years preceding. He's a germ magnet. He dutifully passes them on to Daddy. I'll soldier on, but I do need some rest.
Since, I have been playing Homeworld 2 again, I wanted to make a point about Relic. Admittedly, Homeworld was a tough act to follow. It had solid gameplay that actually used the 3D space, beautiful graphics, good balance and an epic story. I think the story was what really set it apart. Here was a story that everyone could relate to. It involved the struggles of generations and the desire to go home. There were mysterious strangers and hints of vast, unseen powers. In short, it had all the makings of a good myth.
Homeworld 2 doesn't seem to lose much of that in revisiting the universe. I guess that's why Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War was so strange. They had a well developed universe with rich histories and factions. The gameplay and graphics were arguably much better, but the story, while interesting, was shallow. Considering that most game stories are shallow, that's not a killer, but you can't help wondering what could have been. The Winter Assault expansion gives you two stories, but again, it's just characters and action without the drama and connection. I can hope they get back to epic with their next effort.
That brings us to our game of the week. It's Company of Heroes (official site) from Relic Entertainment. It's a World War II RTS. You lead the men of Able company from the Normandy invasion to the end of the war. Relic is promising a dynamic, fully destructible battlefield populated with smart soldiers. The emphasis is on solid squad tactics. It showcases Relic's shiny new Essence engine. Look for Company of Heroes in 2006.
Jason
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12 Dec 05
I put some site maintenance news in the forum. Basically, spammers were closed down and the visual editor was causing forum problems so it was turned off. If either of these actions caused other problems with your website experience here, please let me know.
We're hitting the last releases of the year now, so it's not too early to start thinking about game of the year nominees. Sure, there are the obvious ones like Civilization IV and Battlefield 2, but I wouldn't mind seeing some dark horse nominations like Darwinia, Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich or SWAT 4. Anyway, drop me a line with your nominations, or post a comment at the end of this post or post in the forum. The top vote getters will be announced early next year. I reserve the right to add qualified nominees to the final list. Voting will be the same as last year.
The Independent Games Festival announced its finalists. Darwinia scored highly in several categories. Don't forget it will be available through Steam soon.
Finally, thanks to Kotaku for a link to an article by Henry Jenkins of MIT. He debunks the top eight myths surrounding gaming. It's a good read.
Jason
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