Archive for the ‘Games’ Category

Slow Afterburn #4

11th

March 2010

new-mass-effect-2-concept-art3

I think I’ve fallen off the wagon. As new games have come and gone I’ve always returned to Mass Effect 2 for a few hours of distraction. However, since I’ve gotten my PC everything has changed.

I’m nearly at the point where I can just finish the game but I was enjoying it so much to just cop out at the first chance. I know that you need a fully developed team before committing to the endgame so I’ll at least wait until I have that. Despite being like 20 hours into the game, the one thing that would help me get back on the wagon is buying the game on the PC, stupid I know.

Data Loss

10th

March 2010

data-loss1

A few days ago I mentioned that I’d been playing Eufloria, long story short, it’s excellent. The problem is that the game was yet to produce a real challenge, I felt that my first four to six hours were spent learning the game and the way it works. Just as soon as it started to turn, I went to bed for another night, it was getting late.

The title of this post will probably give-a-way where I’m going with this, my save game has been lost. Now I haven’t touched the files or moved anything but hours of my time have just gone up in smoke. The weird thing is that despite a completed level only being noted by a leaf next to the number and despite the fact I can use the ‘cheats’ screen to unlock to the level I was at, don’t feel compelled to carry on. It’s a shame as I was really enjoying my time with the game, maybe I’ll pick it up sometime down the line.

Hopefully this year’s GDC will throw up some equally as grabbing games of indie goodness.

Buried In Settings

7th

March 2010

gaming-part-1

I’m actually really enjoying having the option to play all these indie games but I’m starting to pine for something that will really benchmark my new system. That DiRT 2 demo running quite smoothly (1680×1050 Ultra settings DX11 = 34 FPS) scratched some of that itch but I’m still pining for something long term. Maybe the next Steam sale will throw up some goodies for me to download, something else that I’m really enjoying.

This whole experience has made me realise how much I miss PC gaming. Messing around with a ton of settings I’ll never really understand before playing a game, messing around with patching and reading release details. Some things that are just quintessentially related to PC gaming.

In my two year absence I used to moan about all that, it turns out I missed all that faffing around more than I thought.

Eufloria

6th

March 2010

eufloria_5

I recently purchased the Indie Love Bundle – which the more I think about, the more it feels like stealing – that included Macharinarium, Osmos, And Yet It Moves, Auditorium, Aztaka and Eufloria. The latter two didn’t have Mac versions, but as regular followers will know I’ve recently built a PC.

I haven’t touched Aztaka, I plan to but I haven’t yet, because I’ve spent all my time in Eufloria. If you have a spare second check out their website and eventually buy this weird RTS. Unfortuntely it’s priced at £15 everywhere I can find it, which is quite steep, but if you like your RTS’ to be different then you should at least give the demo ago. I’m still debating whether I should review the game, as it did come out 5 months ago so it wouldn’t exactly be timely.

I probably won’t because, well it came out 5 months ago, but you should support indie games and play Eufloria. Its unique brand of methodical and slow building across planets before engaging in epic fights is more than worth the money I paid for it.

It really does feel like stealing…

Salute Your Solution

5th

March 2010

Every month or so a release for Rock Band sparks up my interested. Be it a band I like or one that other people might like, I always debate whether I should pony up and buy a few more tracks. The truth is that I always decide against it because this whole weekly download business isn’t working.

I’d be one of the first ones to bemoan the annual releases after EA promising that Rock Band was a platform not a franchise, but I’d also never buy those extra tracks. Obviously during the beginning I downloaded anything I was vaguely aware of but something has happened, either my interest has waned or buzz surrounding the game has waned.

This week The Futureheads – one of the few I’ve seen live – are putting out two tracks. I still know I won’t buy them because Rock Band has lost its appeal. We all knew it wasn’t going to last for ever but it’s definitely petered out quicker than I thought.

I guess the real question is, does anyone care about Rock Band in 2010?