posts by tyson
tyson

Review – Afrika

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Upon first hearing about Afrika for the PS3, I was intrigued for a few reasons. Natsume (of Harvest Moon fame) was publishing a photography sim set in Africa. Since photography has been touched on in video games but never done to my satisfaction I figured I would give this title a shot. It also helped that Afrika had a very limited run of copies localized for North America and you all know I am a sucker for hard to find games.

There is a lot to like about Afrika. Good graphics, realistic photography (to an extent; more on that in a few minutes), and lots of stuff to take pictures of. I like taking pictures in real life so I figured that my skills and knowledge of photography would translate well into the game. You start off by picking one of two characters and getting sent on assignment to a wildlife preserve in Africa. From there you take various photographic assignments with varying degrees of difficulty and reward. →  The happiest post on Earth.

Review – What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!?

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One of the first games I played on my computer was the Dungeon Keeper series. I was an evil overlord who managed my dungeon with more gusto than a sixteen year old who had been newly promoted to fry manager at McDonald’s. I strove to be as evil as I could and I was good at it. Sometimes I think I missed my dictatorial calling in life. I loved being able to build traps and spawn new monsters to kill whatever hero was foolish enough to traipse into my lair.

Unfortunately, after Dungeon Keeper 2, Bullfrog stopped making the series and my dungeon-building prowess dulled – the lands were freed of my evil grasp. I have always wanted a game to fill the dungeon keeping hole in my heart but alas, the void remained…until recently.

While browsing the selection of download-only PSP titles available on the Playstation Network, I happened upon “What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!?” and after waiting a couple minutes for the download to complete, I was in love. →  If you die in the article, you die in real life.

How The West Went Wrong

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Let’s play a game that we’ll call, “Count The Genres”. Video games do a pretty good job of covering their bases in terms of the copious amount of scenarios and storylines they deal with. You have your run-of-the-mill sci-fi game, fantasy plots set in mystical realms, hospital simulations, farming sims, sports, you name it, there is probably a video game that touches on it in some way. There is one genre though that I am constantly amazed by the lack of coverage it receives and that is, the Western. How many Western themed games can you name?

I am curious as to why the Western genre gets as little love from electronic gaming as it does. This is especially true when you consider how romanticized the genre has been in books, radio, and film since the turn of the century. If one were to examine television from the Fifties and Sixties, shows like, “Gunsmoke”, “Rawhide”, and “Bonanza” were mainstays. The Seventies and Eighties brought viewers “Little House on The Prairie”. →  Lose belly fat now!

Cloud Gaming Paranoia!!!

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Call me paranoid but I have never been a fan of “cloud” computing. I like having all of my files stored on my computer. I like having my games on discs. I like knowing that if something goes haywire, I am the one responsible and I am the one that can fix it. It seems like the general trend for computing has been to have massive servers out there in the wilds of Oregon and Washington take care of all of the heavy lifting and maintenance of data while the computers we are using keep getting smaller and more portable. Gaming has followed these trends and I find it troubling for handful of reasons. I have always written off these worries as the product of my overactive imagination but recent events have given me reason to suspect I might be right to worry.

Take the recent issues with Ubisoft and Assassin’s Creed 2 for instance. Here you have thousands of people locked out of a game they own because the serverside DRM took a huge dump. →  Are you ready for some readball?

Review – Play!: A Video Game Symphony

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Last week my buddy, Tony, called me and told me that I should drive my unemployed butt to Salt Lake City to go see a concert with him. As an added bonus, he had already bought my ticket and was willing to part with it for the awesome price of free if I could make the trip. The concert is a traveling event called Play!: A Video Game Symphony. Play! started in 2006 and the name of the concert pretty much says it all, a full symphony orchestra, accompanied by a choir, playing some of the best video game scores in existence. Of course I made the trip!

The vast majority of symphonies I have been to (and oddly enough, that has been quite a few) tended to be stuffy events that required me to shower, do my hair, and dress nicely. Too much work. Play! is a concert for video game nerds by video game (and orchestra) nerds. Therefore, hygiene was optional and costumes were encouraged. →  Guitar Hero III: Legends of Read

Houston, Wii Have a Problem

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When the Wii was first heralded as the “next big thing” in video games, I was watching from the sidelines (or possibly the frontlines) in Japan. I admit that like everyone else, I got caught up in the hype and wanted…nay…needed a Wii. That was a couple of years ago. Since then, I have decided a didn’t need a Wii and then ended up getting one for practically free off of Craigslist about five months ago. I haven’t played the damned thing in almost three months, confirming my suspicions that the Wii was not a console for me. However, this is not a blurb of why I dislike the Wii; it is an article explaining why I think the Wii was a bad idea for Nintendo.

At first glance, the Wii was a nifty concept. Instead of a controller, you get a wand that you wave like a madman at your television and stuff happens. People seemed to enjoy the idea of having to play games standing up (though I have never understood why) and actually going through the motions of the activities portrayed on the screen. →  You do not simply walk into reading more.

Review – The Sims 3

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The Sims 3 was released to the masses today (note: it is no longer today) and being the good little Sims whore that I am, I went to my local pixel merchant and picked up my copy. I am slightly surprised with myself because I have played through both sequels and every lame Stuff and Expansion pack they have crammed down my eager gullet, yet here I am, all hot and bothered to play the third iteration of this game. Having not played the game a great deal since I picked it up a few hours ago, I can’t say this article is a complete review of The Sims 3, more so a summary of my initial impressions of the game.

Slow install times for computer games are the bane of my existence. Watching that progress bar creep and lurch across the screen is like having to make out and do the whole foreplay thing before sex…just annoying. The Sims 3 installs slower than the second coming of Christ. →  You think about everything.

A Brief Synopsis of How Playing EVE and Gangbanging in South Central L.A. Are Somewhat Similar….But Not Really

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Being from the largest city in Idaho, I have had a lot of experience with gangs. Most of this experience comes from playing GTA: San Andreas and living vicariously through the O.G.s from Wyoming that ride through Boise throwing up signs and representing the “Equality State”. Man, I wish my 2005 Toyota Matrix was half the ride that the 1979 Ford F250 is, but I digress. Other than gangs, my passion of the month has been EVE Online. Strangely, EVE and gangbanging have several things in common and knowing about how my bros in Cali do their “thang“ has actually helped me weather the steep learning curve that EVE presents to newcomers.

When a young blood starts out on the streets of L.A…or Cheyenne, he sees po po and 5-O everywhere. You definitely do not want to be busting and/or popping caps in people with the man lurking at every turn. The same holds true in EVE, you start out in a pretty high security area with a crappy ride and must learn to play nice with the other peeps that be rollin’ in your hood and if you don’t, you get popped. →  The Last Readment

The Four Things I Would Like to See at E3 But Won’t

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In the small world of my mind there are essentially three things that put my imagination into overdrive. First and foremost, any kind of holocaust involving zombies or nukes. Second, any kind of holocaust involving me winning stupid amounts of money. And third, video game conventions/trade shows. Twice a year I get to dream of what wondrous gaming splendors await me when E3 and TGS roll around and twice a year I get to be disappointed by 95% of what gets announced. I have already concluded that this year will be no different but I can still dream of what would make me extremely happy if it were announced.

1. EA Announces That The 2010 Series of Sports Games Will Be The Last and Any Future Updates Will Come in the Form of Downloadable Content

Like most people reading this, I am not the biggest sports fan in the world. I am especially not overly keen on sports games. However, I do like college football and this translates into me eagerly awaiting NCAA 2010. →  How many games must a gamer play before you call him a gamer?

Stranded in Portland or How I Helped a Guy Discover Treasure in His Closet

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Yesterday was one of those days that started on an off note and ended unexpectedly well. I made a small road trip to visit a cousin and some friends in Portland, Oregon and to just escape Idaho for a day or two. What was expected to be a weekend voyage has now stretched into the middle of the week thanks to a clutch that was out for vengeance in the pristine Oregon wilderness. I knew the clutch in my Toyota was slipping a bit and would soon need replacing but I expected to be able to limp back into Idaho without too much trouble and get it fixed later in the week. I was wrong and what had started as a fine morning had turned into a ride in a tow truck by lunchtime.

Fortunately, my friends were cool and let me chill at their place for an extra night or two as long as I was up for going out with them and another couple for Thai food. →  Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Bore me and I sleep.