Archive for June, 2008

There were three games that I’ve been following the development on closely for they look(ed) really promising. Alone in the Dark was one of them but it was released recently to some poor reviews despite the unique gameplay aspects and item mechanics it uses. Another was delayed and is now not scheduled to come out until next year (I’ll discuss that one in a later post). The third is a game called Mirror’s Edge developed by DICE, first announced in the summer of 2007. Mirror’s Edge is a first-person action adventure game with some shooter elements. Although the emphasize is on avoidance rather than fighting. When I first heard about it, I was mildly intrigued as the mention of parkour elements being a core part of the game play. I had already given thought to how cool a game with parkour or free running would be. It wouldn’t even need to be a parkour game. It would just need to include it.

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Boobies, lots of boobies. That’s what we bought Conan for, right? Well, sort of. The majority of its buyers claim to have purchased the product for a true “M for mature” rating, and not just for the bare skin and blood either. They wanted a game that would transport and encompass them into the brutality, sensuality, and dark lore of the Robert E. Howard world. Did they get what they wanted? Not sure, but here is my small insight into this new MMORPG.
Ok, first off, before you even consider buying this game, you’d better have a nice computer with a newer graphics card. Even with a top of the line PC, graphical options such as anti-aliasing will drastically reduce frame rate. Running it at medium settings is fine, but here is a comparison between a midrange and an extreme PC. Latency is on the higher side, especially in the larger cities, but that is to be expected.

Speaking of graphics, in game visuals are nice but somehow lack the flair of other games. They get the job done, I suppose, but there are still plenty of glitches (rendering, clipping, textures, jitters) to work out. Sadly, armor in game is not what I envisioned and not even close to the concept art – my character is running around in paper bags and has been for many, many ugly levels.

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In Team Fortress 2 there is a class called the Spy. He is a cunning, sneaky bastard who takes great pleasure in the suffering and frustration of others. Ninja-ing through the backlines, he takes down Engie nests, stabs an übered Medic or three, and causes a general panic among the gun-toting populate, all without getting a single fleck of ash on his well-tailored suit. People hate him. Unless, of course, he’s on their side or they know better:

• Turn around a lot. Really, it helps. Just keep looking over your shoulder.
• Turn off your music. Listen for his cloak/uncloak and invisible footsteps.
• Script any unused right-click buttons to auto-switch to melee.
• Keep moving; never, ever stay still.
• Avoid dark areas and less used pathways.
• Avoid areas with an overhang.
• Do not crouch.
• If a Spy approaches you while playing Engie, kill him first before attempting to destroy sappers. Don’t worry; there will be time enough to save your sentry. Also, be suspicious of everyone.
• While you’re playing the Heavy, listen to your Medic for Spy! calls.
• The main Spy deterrent is the Pyro. Just flame everyone.
• Snipers looking through the scope should especially be aware of Spy! calls. Script that rick-click key to your kukri and switch locals often.
• If you are playing as a Spy and find someone in your hiding spot, attempt a backstab, otherwise switch to your pistol and start shooting immediately.
• And for fuck’s sake, turn around. Do it. A lot.

I was looking at the Team Fortress 2 Achievement page and noticed something I thought was little weird. More people have gotten the “Milestone 2″ achievement (24 Medic Achievements) than the “With Friends Like these…” achievement (Play on a team of 8 made up of only players from your friends list.) with 4.4% and 4.3%, respectively. These just barely knocked out “Chief of Staff” (Accumulate 1 million heal points) at 4.0%. The least achieved one, excluding “Milestone 3″, is the “Family Practice” achievement (ÜberCharge ten of your Steam Community Friends). Sad lot, we gamers, eh?