Welcome to the Home of Game Strategies and Stories
9 Sept 05
Another quick update tonight. I have to keep my streak going. I'll try to get back to the deep, intellectual columns next week. Yeah, right. It's hard to have deep thoughts when you have to do spot checks on yourself to see if you have too much baby drool on you to go out in public. Still, wouldn't trade it for the world.
I don't know which is worse, Microsoft admitting they killed PC gaming by reducing emphasis as a publisher and encouraging developers to move to consoles or their decision to revive PC gaming as a selling point to push customers to Window's Vista. I guess I'm thankful. Maybe they'll put in some nice features for gamers into vista and pay for development of some great games to demonstrate them. It seems like they could have done this after the Xbox was established. Then it wouldn't look so crass.
Here, to prove I'm not too bitter, I'll give Microsoft some good, free advice on Vista. Here's a feature I'd like to see, global age awareness. What? I said global age awareness. This is not some cult thing. It's a parenting thing. Look, you've got programs like net nanny and proposals like .kids. Rather than have parents have to set up all these tools to protect kids, have it at the OS level.
When a parent creates a new account, the OS asks if it's a child, and if so, what's their age? Then things like browsers, media players and games can do a simple OS level age check. If the user is too young, access is denied. Once it's a standard feature, companies will be scrambling to implement checks on everything. It will save parents a lot of headaches, and help Microsoft sell lots of copies of Vista.
If that's too complex, here's something easier for Microsoft. Publish Darwinia in the US. It will show you're not mindless, market research driven, corporate suits.
That's about all I can do for Microsoft. Have a great weekend. Don't forget about our contest.
Jason
Read/Post Comments
8 Sept 05
I like that things are picking up again, but it reminds me of a topic I'm reluctant to bring up. I tend to harp on the community aspect of this place, but I also try to keep things interesting for those who prefer to lurk rather than pad posts in the forum. As things pick up, I realize there's going to be more and more opportunities slipping by the wayside.
David is getting more mobile. He's more vocal. He's more insistent. That means less free time to devote to the site. That's not a problem in the middle of the doldrums. However, as the season heats up, I might miss more and more. Don't worry, this column, for what it's worth, will keep coming. News items and other little things might start slipping.
That's where you can come in if you're interested in helping. I'm not asking for anyone to take over the site or function as an administrator. I'm just saying if you see I news item that would be of interest to the community, post the link either in the forum or submit it as a short news item. Ether of those actions does require you sign up as a member, but since it's easy, fast and free, that's not asking too much. Don't worry too much if you don't have perfect grammar or spelling. I get a chance to edit entries before they're posted as news item. It's much faster for me to do several quick edits than it is for me to research all the strategy/tactical gaming news and post all the relevant items. Help here is appreciated.
The other item is reviewing games. I have limited game time so I only solicit and take review copies that I know I can complete and review. I've turned some offers down due to lack of time. If anyone is interested in writing reviews for the site, please let me know. I'll need your name and the type of games you'd prefer to review. You also have to be willing to write up initial impressions quickly. The final review can take longer (some games just take a long time to play), but I like to get something up for PR people willing to support us with review copies. The down side to reviews is that if a game doesn't capture your interest, you still have to slog through enough to write a review. Anyone interested can just click my name at the end of the column and drop me a line.
Thanks to everyone for their support of the site. Extra thanks to those of you who shop with the sponsor links and click the google adwords. Even more thanks to those of you who support the site with your community entries. Cheers.
Jason
Read/Post Comments
7 Sept 05
David is trying to learn to crawl. He pushes up on his hands and kicks his legs. Then when that doesn't work, he starts screaming. I'm sure there's a gaming metaphor there somewhere.
We are coming out of the doldrums. If you check out the news section, you'll see that Rebelstar is here, and Winter Assault and the new KUF are golden. There's a Bet on Soldier Demo, an Age of Empires III demo, and a Vietcong 2 multiplayer demo out (see the Usual Suspects). THQ has hinted that Civilization IV is coming out this quarter. The Rome expansion is almost here. Then we get into the real feast season, the holidays.
I think that's why I'm slowing down now. I'm getting ready to try to keep up with the rush. It looks like it's starting. Buckle your seatbelts.
Don't forget about our contest. It may not be the biggest, but don't start turning up your noses at free games. Right now we're still in the single digit entries, so your odds of winning are pretty good.
I almost forgot. IGN has a new hands on preview of Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers. It sounds much improved, and the original was no slouch.
Jason
Read/Post Comments
6 Sept 05
Don't forget about our contest. It may not be the biggest, but don't start turning up your nose at free games. Right now we're still in the single digit entries, so your odds of winning are pretty good.
While I'm at it I should mention that my wife is selling some of her old My Little Pony items on ebay. Apparently, we need more room. It's fine as long as she's getting rid of her stuff. I don't know if any of you know someone who'd be interested, but I thought I'd throw it out there just in case.
I saw that Capcom is giving up the ghost on Steel Battalion's online campaign mode. It's still too bad they didn't get the netcode right, but I still applaud the effort.
It seems that EB and Gamestop have gotten the go ahead to merge. Now just comes the vote. They're still trying to spin this as the consumers win, but only time will tell.
There's finally some confirmation that straight ports will be more difficult in the upcoming generation. Personally, I think that's good. Either developers will spend more time customizing games to the platform (perhaps with special editions) or they'll just choose a platform and stick with it. I can't help but feel that the lowest common denominator mind set was bad for gaming.
Finally, I'm sure some fanboys will crow about this, but it seems that the PS3 is better suited to the PhysX technology than the Xbox 360. That's hardly surprising given the architecture. I really hope both platforms get a strong installed base. That will encourage developers to commit to the exclusive route for their game. That will mean more quality games for gamers. I think that can make multi console households more common especially after a price drop or two.
Jason
Read/Post Comments
5 Sept 05
It's Labor day here. Ironically, that's the day when no one works. So I wouldn't expect much from this entry. Fortunately for you, I won't even go into how organized labor is going down the tubes in this country. Some might cheer that, but I think that if labor went back to being an advocate for workers instead of a political point of view, it would be worth saving.
Enough on politics. There's good news out of the Big Easy. The levee repairs seem to be holding and the pumping has begun. It's a big step on the way back to normality.
The Blitzkrieg II demo is out. Look for it at the Usual Suspects.
I saw this article on the Inquirer. I realize the Inquirer isn't exactly a rock solid source for news, but here they're not even trying. They give out an unsourced number, $100 per Blu Ray drive. Did Sony say that? I can't find it anywhere. Is it an analyst or developers estimate? Based on what? The implication is that this came from the Game Developers Conference Europe, but the only console speaker I saw on the schedule was from Microsoft. That's hardly an unbiased source. You know it's bad when Joystiq calls you out.
Wrapping up this eclectic day, we have the news that the greatest receiver of all time in the NFL has retired. We'll miss Jerry Rice, but we'll always have the memories. They're already clearing his spot in the hall of fame.
This week's game is (hopefully) a new classic from an old friend. It's Rebelstar Tactical Command (official site) from CODO Games. Rebelstar is a Strategy RPG with classic Xcom style tactical battles. What else would you expect from the creators of Xcom. You lead a human resistance movement against alien invaders who have conquered the earth. You'll gain access to new weapons, team members and skills as you progress through the campaign of liberation. Rebelstar Tactical Command should be on shelves soon.
Jason
Read/Post Comments
© Talk Strategy 2005