Gaming pickups Christmas '10 edition

There is always someone on your Christmas shopping list who is difficult to buy for.  I have never been one of these people.  It's very easy to please me.  I just want one thing:  games!  We did something a little different for my gifts this year.  Instead of giving my wife the name of a few games and having her pick them up at retail price we got all of the shopping on black friday weekend.  This was great for a couple of reasons.  First, we were able to get everything on Amazon and not have to fight the crowd.  Second, I was able to get a LOT more for the money.

Before I dive into what I got though, let's take a look at what we got for my son Reid.

Epic Mickey - He's a big fan of Mickey so this seemed a no-brainer.  Turns out he hasn't quite gotten the hang of pointing the wii remote at the screen just yet.  Also, there is a lot of reading involved.  He'll get there though.

DS Lite - Reid has been rocking the DS Phat for a couple of years now and it's on it's last legs.  The time (and the price) was right to get him an upgraded system.  He's had to charge it multiple times already.  :)

Nyko Wii remote and nunchuck - This will make the family's 4th and final wii remote.  Reid needed his own and this was a good deal in a combo pack with Epic Mickey.

Toy Story 3, Kung Zhu, & The Backyardigans - Picked these up on Amazon's black friday deals.  Backyardigans was a gift from a relative.  Reid has spent a lot of time playing all 3 already.

Donkey Kong Country Returns - I needed a gift for Reid to give to mommy.  They both had a lot of fun playing the first DKC on my super NES so I feel like this was a good pickup.  Also got it on sale from Amazon.

Now for my pickups!

Bioshock 2 - Really dug the first game.  Was just waiting to catch this one for cheap.

Dragon Quest IX & Glory of Heracles - I love RPG games on the DS.

Ratchet & Clank games, God of War Collection - All 3 of these PS3 games were $10/ea and the PS2 Ratchet was $8.  Me and Reid both really enjoy the Ratchet & Clank series so these were great buys.  God of War 1&2 with HD graphics was a steal for $10.

3D Dot Game Heroes and White Knight Chronicles - Picked these up for $15 a piece.  3D Dot looks like a lot of fun, but I took a total stab in the dark on White Knight; I know next to nothing about the game.  Hopefully it will be fun too.  If not I can always put it on Goozex.

Eternal Sonata - This was on my want list of 360 games until I found out it was coming to the PS3 with more content.  Scooped it up for super cheap too.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom - I've heard it compared to Ico.  That was enough for me.  Ico was one of my favorite titles on the PS2.

Also got a few blu rays on the cheap.  I'm treating my blu ray acquisitions as my definitive movie collection.  I'm only getting stuff that I know will be viewed multiple times.  I have way too many dvd movies that will never see play again, not gonna repeat that mistake with blu rays.  The Batman movies and the Firefly series are all upgrades from dvds I already own.  The Book of Eli is my favorite movie of 2010 and Snatch is one of my all-time favorite movies.

All in all it was a great christmas for games.  Not sure how I feel about purchasing my own gifts, but really how much different is it from giving my wife a list of games?  Either way I know what I'm getting.

Anyway, enough about me!  What did Santa bring you?  Let me know in the comments.

Happy New Year!
-Van

Gaming pickups Nov-Dec 2010

Wanted to share some of my recent gaming acquisitions with you from November and December.  At this point I'm just looking to pick up games on sale I haven't paid full price for a game since Dragon Age was released in '09.  There are still some titles/series that will always guarantee a day-one purchase from me (Half-Life, The Elder Scrolls, Lord of the Rings Online, etc...), but for the most part I'm content to wait for a cheaper price.

Amazon pickups
Kingdom Hearts II - $12  Still haven't played the first one, but I eventually will.  Hard to pass on a brand new copy of the sequel for this price.
Little King's Story - $16  Keep hearing good things about this one.  Been waiting for a deal and finally found one.
Final Fantasy The 4 Heroes of Light - $14  Can't believe this got so cheap so fast.  Snapped it up super quick.

 Final Fantasy IV - $14  Picked this up from Newegg just before Black Friday.  I'm currently playing the FFIII DS remake and really enjoying it.

 Shenmue II - 150 Goozex points  Was surprised by this one.  My Goozex point balance has been low for a long time and wasn't expecting to get anything.  Played the first and enjoyed it and I've heard good things about this one.

Xenosaga - $25  Picked this up from a fellow user on CheapAssGamer.  Been looking to complete the trilogy for a while and this was a very fair price.

Finally, I stumbled across a cool local gaming store I had forgotten about and picked up some Zombie Dice.

I'm always on the lookout for cool games to play with my close group of friends and this one has been in the back of my mind to grab if I ever saw it in the wild.  Also randomly picked up a pack of Magic the Gathering cards too.  First pack I have opened in nearly 10 years.  Thinking about getting back into Magic., I've really missed how new cards smell.

A nice surprise

Valve released a new game this week with but a few day's notice:

It's a top down shooter similar to the low-budget Alien/Zombie Shooter titles. There isn't a single player mode (you can try offline practice to become acquainted with the controls, but cannot earn any achievements or experience) as the game is more focused on co-op multiplayer. Up to four players work together to complete objectives and reach the end of each level while fighting off aliens who have infested the environs.  Me and some clan mates put the game through it's paces last night and came away very impressed. 

There are 4 player classes to choose from: Officer, Medic, Tech, and Special Arms. You unlock more weapons and options as you level your character up. Not nearly as deep as MW2's customization, but still satisfying.  Every class also has 2 different character options each with different stat bonuses.  For example the female Special Arms character has a leg up on reload speed, but her male counterpart has more health.

Only one campaign available right now, but it has 7 levels and a good bit of replayability. Fortunately, like everything else Valve does, it's made in the Source engine so modders will be able to make their own levels.  We probably shouldn't forget that Valve has a good habit of post-release support either.

Oh, and did I mention it's FREE?

Enjoying the creative process

July was supposed to be my month for webcomic'ing. After putting some more thought into it I've decided I'm just gonna wing it instead.  I compulsively feel the need to structure things that don't necessarily require the addition of said structure.  From now on I'll try to simply enjoy the creative process and give into my whimsy.  Did a little level design (Team Fortress 2) on Tuesday, and a bit of drawing Wednesday.  Me and my whimsy are so far, so good.

I doodled up an old design idea for a TF2 king of the hill map using the cp_egypt theme.  I have wanted to use this environment for a full-fledged map ever since I submitted my contest entry last year. Koth_nucleus gave me the idea for a precariously placed control point:

Obviously there is not terribly much to see yet as I'm still working on the layout.  I've put together what you see here in the level design program already, trying to get the scale down before positioning the spawns and overhead routes.  Trying to decide now if it will be located outdoors or the interior of a pyramid/temple.  I think I'd prefer an indoors scenario, but it will depend on coming up with a reasonable way to light the play area.

My doodling did not end at level design!  I've also been practicing my drawing, both on paper and digital pages.  It's odd, but I feel more control over my line work on paper versus a tablet even though I can't erase errant lines on paper as easily.  I suspect it's my tiny 6"x4" tablet.  When I zoom in on an the page to put down ink lines I'm losing some natural arm and wrist motion being confined to such a small area.  Maybe one day I'll spring for a larger tablet.  This is a little something I sketched up, wanted to try my hand at doing shadows:

The more I look at this the more areas I see need changes, but that's why we practice right?  I'm really excited about evolving my art and creating a unique style.

Speaking of unique style, I recently became enamored with a game called Puzzle Agent.  I've always had an eye for Telltale Games' offerings.  They make good games, but my yearning for PA was exceptional and immediate.  The hand drawn characters and environments blew me away.  I very nearly bought the game as soon as it was released, deciding to hold off only at the last minute.  After all, there are no lack of games on my backlog waiting to be played.  One week after release though, the game hit Steam with a $1.00 discount.  Turns out it was the only arm-twisting I needed.  I purchased and devoured it in a span of 3 days.

Through reading interviews and consuming as much media as possible concerning the game I learned about Grickle.  I could try to tell you what or who Grickle is, but this animation can do it far better:

Graham Annable is the creator of Grickle.  Not really a place and not so much a person either, Grickle is a state of mind.  Mr. Annable's mind to be precise.  It can get pretty weird in there.  Fortunately, it's very entertaining.  Comics, animations, and now a game; Grickle is everything I want my art to be someday.  I think I've found a new favorite artist.

I'm resisting the urge to buy his latest book right now.

Resistance is NOT futile

So, I spun up the disc for Resistance Fall of Man today in my PS3. The last time I played an FPS on a console system was around the time of Halo 2. After spending 10 minutes with the game I remembered why it's been so damned long: Playing an FPS on a gamepad is such an unorthodox thing for me. It goes against my grain. A more unnatural way to play a game I could not conceive.

I could invest some time into this game and no doubt rejigger whatever portion of my brain rails against this input method. For what reason though? Is there a frigging famine of well-made shooters on the PC? I fear Resistance will not find itself featured in the column to the right.

Last week I wrote about the crossroads I faced. This week I can relate to you the decision I made. Starting July 1 and continuing through the end of September I'll be devoting one full month to each option. At the end of the 3 months I'll make a choice based on which one I enjoyed more. July will be for webcomics, August for level design, and September for writing.

Who knows? Maybe I'll figure out what direction I want to go in before the 3 months is up. Should be fun either way and I look forward to updating you on my progress in the weeks to come.

What I'm playing: 6/18/2010

League of Legends:

I dig on MMOs.  I love RTS games.  Then along comes Riot Games, combining the 2 genres into a multiplayer, PVP-driven game.  I should probably also mention that the game is free.  There is no excuse for me to not play this game, and oh boy do I play it.  In 5 short months LoL has become the #2 most played game on my xfire profile.  I'll talk more at length about LoL in a future blog.

Phoenix Wright Justice for All:

I really enjoyed the first game and finally got around to pick this up on Goozex recently.  Justice for All reuses much of the graphics, characters, and gameplay from the first game.  It's more of the same and that's exactly what I wanted.  It does add one new mechanic that enables you to break through some of the lies being told to you while you are investigating between courtroom battles.  My lone complaint from the first game was the investigations became boring over time, and this change makes them much more interesting (and provides a means for you to refill your health meter).

Lord of the Rings Online:

I finally pulled the trigger on a lifetime subscription a few months ago.  Knowing this, one might think I should be a little upset at Turbine's announcement that LotRO is going free-to-play.  I'm really not though.  Free players are getting a gimped LotRO.  Maybe if I were new to it I wouldn't mind playing a scaled-down version. 

Modern Warfare 2 (multiplayer):

Sometimes I love this game and other times I hate it.  My love/hate is directly proportional to how well IWNet is working/not working at the time.  I'll probably never play this game as much as say a Left 4 Dead or Team Fortress 2.  Though when it plays the way it should (no hackers or poor connection issues), it's one of the more enjoyable multiplayer shooters in my library.

Age of Empires 3:

One of my favorite RTS games.  Trying to polish off the rest of the campaign right now.  I've always adored the physics in this game.  Slamming my enemies colony with cannon fire never gets old.

The most wonderful time of the year

E3 is a magical time of year for many gamers for obvious reasons. Here is a quick list of the top 5 games featured at E3 I'm most looking forward to:

5. Metal Gear Rising
4. Portal 2
3. Donkey Kong Country Returns
2. Star Wars The Old Republic
1. Dead Space 2

Creation Complex

I find myself at a crossroads at the moment. Multiple paths are open to me and deciding which one to embark upon has me paralyzed. These options are simply ways in which to spend my free time at the present, but have the potential to make some changes for the better in my life down the road as potential careers. I'll outline my options:

Create a webcomic

I may or may not have mentioned that I am an out-of-practice artist. It has been years since I've drawn regularly.  Wait, let me be more clear:  I was in middle school the last time I drew anything frequently.  Were I to pursue this course of action, much rust would need to be knocked off of my drawing hand.  Vacuums and brooms would need to be in arms reach at all times.

All rust having been sucked, swept, and otherwise removed; I'd want to shoot for a serialized story rather than a gag-a-day comic. There are a few ideas making the rounds inside the duct-work of my head that I could use to manufacture a comic from.  The writing would need to be really well done which will necessitate a good bit of prep work ahead of time to get it all down.

Depending on how my work flow ends up I would like to have the comic updated 2 or 3 times a week. Therein lies my biggest concern:  maintaining the discipline to keep up with it and make sure the new comics get posted on time.  This means ignoring the inevitable invites to play "one more match" of League of Legends when Drawing Time comes.

This option is appealing because it can be done from home and I already own all the tools necessary to get started.  Though to be fair, my graphics tablet is very small and I would look for a much larger replacement the further along I got.  Big tablets ain't cheap.

Level design 

It's no secret to readers of this blog that I am interested in level design. I've posted at length about various level design projects that were begun and never completed. Among the wreckage you'll find a couple of Counter-Strike maps, half a dozen Team Fortress 2 levels, and 3 or 4 abandoned Left 4 Dead concepts.  Aside from a few small set pieces and small scale contest entries, I have never taken a level design project to completion. 

I enjoy the idea of level design as it compares to other forms of creation: the ability to place the viewer in an environment. No other form of media I create in will achieve the level of immersion inherent in level design. If I were to ever take a level design concept to a finished product the level of personal satisfaction would be pretty damned high.

My biggest concern here is the length of time involved in any level design project.  I always go into a venture gung-ho, but my desire to muster on rapidly diminishes as the clock ticks forward.  Were there a way to maintain the level of excitement present in the opening minutes throughout the entire endeavor I can only imagine the cool shit I could produce.

The biggest obstacle with this option is it's the least likely to ever to become a career.  Level design jobs are hard enough to come by for those of us without university training.  Never mind the fact that eastern Tennessee is hardly a hot spot for game companies.  Realistically I would only be free to move elsewhere over my wife's dead body.

Writing 

I have been interested for a very long time in writing short stories or perchance even a novel. I've made notes here and there for story ideas, but never an attempt to put anything together. The idea of telling a story that can inspire real emotion in the reader is very attractive to me.  The writing process in general is something I really gravitate to (the last few months notwithstanding dear readers).

Any story I tell will likely be set in fantasy or sci-fi. I could see myself writing something in the real world only if it involves zombies, but I fear the undead have already been done too much in all forms of entertainment media.   Horror is definitely a genre that I would like to traipse about in. Zombies or not.

My biggest concern again is the length of time involved and my ability - or inability - to see it through to completion.  The benefits of this choice are obvious:  work can be done at home and no investment other than time would be needed.

So which path do I take? That's what I'm still trying to figure out. 

-Van out

She still got it

I'm coming back soon for real. These video posts aren't cutting it I know, but I couldn't pass on sharing this one.

Neo Geo 4 Life

A cool video I rediscovered this morning. Always wanted to own one of those sweet red cabinets.

Video Games | ScrewAttack | Four Bright Buttons & Two Joy Sticks HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii