Massive Update Part III

I bought a Wii in April. Some may say I'm a nutter. At the moment it's been worth the money even though it hasn't had as much love as the 360 or PS2.

Up to the point where I put my money down my experience had been limited to a bit of Wii Sports bowling at family gatherings. Brilliant fun, although I'm finding it a little less so on my own. I was warned this would be the case.

A big spend for not much play, you might say, and maybe you're right. But if you saw all my old computers and consoles you'd know I am not the sort of person to bin something the moment everyone else gets bored of it. Hopefully it will come into its own at some point in the future.

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Since April was a rather expensive month for me, games-wise, I have been trying to keep spending to a minimum these last couple of months. And I was doing okay.

May saw me buy three games: Civilization IV Complete from Direct2Drive for £4.95, Shatter for PC via Steam, and Super Mario Galaxy. Compared to previous months May was a rather frugal one.

June was even better: Burnout Paradise Ultimate Box for £4.99 from Steam and a cheapo copy of an old favourite Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 on the PS2. It was all going really well until last Thursday.

Steam was originally Valve Software's way to sell their ace Half-Life and Counterstrike games via download, but over the past 6 or 7 years it has grown into a full-blown store for buying all sorts of games you then download to your PC, and recently for Mac too.

Some games are priced higher than a boxed copy, but Valve have the infuriating knack of doing the best deals, and their current summer sale is no exception.

A combination of timed daily deals and other discounts, as well as me being weak, have seen me snap up a number of games in the last couple of days:

The Witcher Enhanced Edition (£4.78)
Gridrunner Revolution (£2.99)
Painkiller Black Edition (£2.99)
Serious Sam HD First and Second Encounter (£5.50)
Aliens vs Predator 2000 Classic (75p!)

There's no way I'll play all these in the near future, in fact I have a backlog of games from previous Steam sales here - let's hope they don't go under any time soon!

Damn you, Steam! (and my weakness for a bargain)

Stop Buying Games!

So, yes, I apologise, I'm slipping again, as far as the blog goes. However I have been playing some games:

Call Of Duty 4 - it's strange, as I think about it I've had no compulsion to go back to this. Whilst I could see why the multiplayer was so popular I found it a real chore and never felt I was in control. The best thing about games is when you feel you're improving, something happens that makes you realise you are getting better and that spurs you on. With CoD4 though I am not feeling that.

Beatles Rock Band - after a day out with my friend Michelle I was persuaded to pick this up. HMV had it for £25, about as low as it's likely to get this side of Christmas. I ploughed through the story mode in a couple of hours although I need to 5-star all the songs. As I've said before the presentation is stunning.

Fallout 3 Game Of The Year - I wanted to play this since it came out, and was pleased to see the Game Of The Year edition come out with all the DLC. Unfortunately it doesn't agree with my PC, at one point a reset borked my BIOS! I will keep the PC one for when I next build a PC, but if it gets cheap in the new year I'll try the 360 version. There really needs to be more SF RPGs.

I'm such a slut when it comes to games, I don't like it. I really need to stop buying games and complete the damn things first.

The Week In Games

It's been a varied week as far as games have gone:

Call Of Duty 4 - I have tried to keep on at this despite my ineptitude. It really is incredibly tough to get into still. I switched to Team Deathmatch so, as someone said to me, only half the players are out to kill you, and whilst it makes finding enemies a little easier I still keep getting killed because I cannot see them.

To explain, I don't have 100% eyesight, it's good enough for most things but you could say I'm slow at picking up detail. So when I turn a corner and don't see anything, then get fragged by someone I can't see, I have to ask myself am I bad at the game, is it my eyesight, was it just plain bad luck? Compared to other FPSs the enemy on this are pretty hard to spot.

Quake Live - such a convenient game to have as it just sits in a tab in my browser and within seconds I can be running about having fun. In contrast to CoD 4 the enemy in this are much easier to spot, although I did enter a couple of console commands to make the enemy bright green - I can spot them a mile off. Cheating? Not really, but it makes me wonder would I be any good if they weren't green?

Gran Turismo 4 - not totally sure why I am playing this again. I bought this on pre-order in 2005, played the hell out of it but never got past the Beginner Stadium. It's such a grind. But something drew me back, nostalgia? Who knows.

Painkiller Overdose - I bought this on Steam when they had their massive sale last Christmas, thought I'd install this and give it a go. It's a Doom-style FPS, no pretentions, just straight-up blasting. Very arcadey and no bad thing for it. However I'm finding it a bit of a pain. There's little or no damage feedback so you don't know when you're being hit, it has these awful voice samples that get very tiresome very quickly. Plus it has some technical issues that stop me playing more. Might have to uninstall this as it's not working right.

When I reflect on it I'm not sure if any of this was really satisfying. CoD 4 was frustrating, I'm not really my best on Quake Live of late, GT4 is still a grind, and Painkiller Overdose, well, a bit of a let-down.

I need that boost of fun you get when a game is going right, when you can feel you're getting into it and can't really stop. I've not felt that in a good while, sadly.

Just A Quickie

Just a quick update really.

It's been a hard week at work so I've been trying to relax with a few games, the main one being Saints Row 2 on the Xbox 360. It's essentially a homage to the GTA games and an alternative to GTA IV which I found a bit too realistic. SR2 puts the emphasis firmly on fun, everything you do is a bit silly and slapstick. I feel that I can actually do missions rather than getting flattened like in the GTA games.

The game may not look as funky as some recent games but it makes up for it with pure gameplay and pure enjoyment. It'll doubtless get frustrating later on but right now I'm loving it, albeit in small doses, although that's how I tend to play games these days, sadly.

Other than that there was a spot of Team Fortress 2 on the PC as well as the usual bout of Quake Live.

It's Been A Long Time

Hello! Yes, I apologise for not being abot these past few months. If I did have an excuse it would be 'the summer' - it's really hard to sit in playing games when it is lovely and warm outside, plus I don't thing the 360 would have been able to cope.

September is here and with it the cooler weather and darker evenings. This will hopefully draw me back into playing more games.

I've not been totally absent from gaming though, what have I been playing?

Quake Live - really been getting into this, and despite my bitching and moaning earlier in the year I have to say I've improved a great deal. Not only can I die less than I frag but my accuracy has improved too. It is so convenient, I can jump into a game on an evening quickly and feel the rush.

Trials HD - I got hold of some cheapo MS moon-bucks and picked this up. It's basically Kikstart II for the Noughties with some excellent level design. I had the previous game in this series on the PC and couldn't even get past the tutorial, it was that rock-hard, but I'm glad to say this is much more approachable and very addictive.

Rainbow Six Vegas - the first one. I started playing this about a year ago but couldn't get on with it, but for some reason I thought I'd give it another go, and have found myself enjoying it much more. Yes, it is rock-hard and my crap eyesight isn't really ideal, seeing as you're mainly firing at bits of targets miles away. Picked up R6V2 recently and am hoping to do a bit of the Terrorist Hunt mode with that.

Team Fortress 2 - the Thursday games of this have moved from the 360 to the PC now. We all got fed up waiting for the much-needed update and jumped over to play on a hired server. It really is amazing stuff, simple as that really.

Anything else? Hmm, bits and bobs really, nothing worth going on about here.

Excuses, Excuses

For various reasons I've not really been playing much. Other than a bit of Quake Live and the new update for Team Fortress 2 on the PC I haven't played much else.

Honestly I cannot fathom why I've not been playing. Is it because I'm getting older, or is it merely the fact when I get home I am usually knackered and just like to sit there watching crap on Youtube - usually reviews of games, ironically.

It's the hot weather, I'll blame that, yes, that'll do.

Uninspired Again

It pains me to write this but my recent experience with games hasn't been an inspring one.

I played some Team Fortress 2 on the PC last night, a rarity as I tend to play it mostly on the weekend when I've had a drink or two, so I thought perhaps I'd be a bit better and score higher being sober and all that. No chance. In fact it didn't matter what class I chose, it just didn't happen.

Halo 3 next. I thought I'd complete the game properly seeing as it didn't count the chapter I did co-op as counting, the bloody thing. So I had a go but got so cheesed off I packed that in.

In other Halo 3 news I had another crack at it online with a few friends, and whilst I wasn't absolutely awful I was still knocking around the bottom of the table again, seemingly waiting to respawn more than actually playing it. My rank did go up a few notches, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

Apart from that I really can't be bothered to play much more. Despite a great start I find myself not being drawn back to Far Cry 2, and Quake Live doesn't draw me in either.

It's all a bit stale really. Hopefully this is the lull before the great resurgence.

"Right, it's on!"

Once again it's been a fair while since I posted, although I have a good excuse: I've been playing computer games. Yes, those timewasters.

The most-played game recently has to be Far Cry 2 on the PC. I saw it on Play.com for a tenner with the DLC included (that's downloadable content for those who probably didn't need to know). The first Far Cry didn't really click with me, at least on the PC. Here though for some reason it has grabbed me, albeit in a non-aggressive fashion.

Essentially you're a mercenary in some war-torn African country doing various tasks, although they all involve you driving somewhere (which takes bloody ages) then killing people. The landscape looks amazing, maybe not quite on Oblivion levels of gorgeousness but close. The day/night cycle is particularly impressive, nothing can beat driving along some dusty road into the sunset, except maybe the hugely-irritating roadblocks

They keep remanning these checkpoints with mouthy South Africans who drive straight at you shouting abuse. It really does hamper progress, having to keep stopping every 2 minutes to clean up these fools.

It's strange that at times I feel useless, I'll die and try again, yet if I push on it gets more enjoyable, like each death makes me think how I could approach that mission differently. It does a great job of letting you approach objectives in whatever way you like, although sniping is pretty much mandatory, which suits me down to the ground.

So yes, a tenner well spent there.

What else have I been playing? Let's see: more QuakeLive and Battlefield Heroes, more Halo 3 online - I'm still utterly useless. I even managed to get in a bit of Left 4 Dead seeing as theer is the new Survival Pack DLC just out. It's not bad although it didn't pull me back to that game as much as I thought it would, sadly.

Rant Alert

I wanted to do a seperate entry about why I'm going through all these online shooters as it's been on my mind alot recently.

Since playing Doom 2 on my mate Richard's work PC in 1994 I've loved the first-person shooter. Down the years I've played stacks, though never online until I got a broadband connection in 2002 and played some Quake III with people on an IRC channel I frequented at the time.

Here are a few of the online games I've tried:

• Counterstrike - first tried to play this on dial-up in 2001 but a thunderstorm cut the power. Never really bothered again until the release of Half-Life 2 in November 2004 when I thought it would be a good time to get into CS:Source. Played several unsatisfying games with randoms on public servers. With one-or-two-shot kills I spent more time waiting for the next round than actually playing. Great game, great concept, just not for my slack skills.
• Quake III Arena - mainly played with people I knew online, with the occasional random person joining in. I'd always end up at the bottom of the table although being fragged by friends is somehow less galling than being shot by strangers. Tried to carry on but it simply wasn't as enjoyable with strangers, something I've found to be the case with most games online.
• Quake Live - I managed to get an invite to the closed beta. It is essentially Quake III via a web browser, fast, simple fun, well that's the theory. I was totally slaughtered the moment I stepped on there, and what was worse - as I'm sure most people who've played online will atest - was being remind how crap I was by other players. Perseverence saw me get somewhere eventually - don't go near me when I have a shotgun - but I have a long way to go before I can comfortably say I'm okay at it.
• Battlefield 2 - see my last entry.
  
• Team Fortress 2 - now this is a little different. Was intrigued by this when it was first announced, but going by my previous experience thought I'd never get into it - I was wrong. Maybe it's the pace, or the wide variety of classes, or the comic violence, but it just somehow clicked with me. As has been mentioned here before I play on 360 with online friends and on the PC with randoms late Saturday nights (when I've had a few).
  

Despite all this I can't really say my skill has increased, and if it has it'll be minimal. However, I have to admit my poor eyesight may have something to do with it. I get the feeling I'm just not fast enough at spotting the enemy, and unless they have a big glowing arrow over their head I tend to be looking so hard I end up getting gunned down. This wouldn't be a problem if games didn't have friendly fire ...

Okay so why am I putting myself through all this pain? Basically I've found that, despite periods of total humiliation at the hands of online players I find that after a drink and with some decent tunes backed up on the MP3 player online shooters are really absorbing, when they're going well. Settling down for a couple of hours of TF2 is really satisfying.

I mentioned in my last entry that the Unreal Tournament 3 reviews I'd read were next to useless as they weren't written with new players in mind. It's something of a bugbear of mine that new players really aren't catered for. It's almost like developers have forgotten there are people out there who have been playing online FPSs for over a decade day in, day out. You'd think they'd be doing more to encourage new players, help them ease into the flow of the game rather than drop them in the deep end.

I'm not saying as a noob I need my hand held, but it would certainly be more encouraging if, when I go on a server, I know I won't get the shit kicked out of me the moment I hit 'ready'. Yes, I know it's a dilema that has faced various developers, some have tackled it better than others. Gears Of War 2 on the 360 has training rooms to help you prepare for online, Halo 3 has the beginner areas.

And the reviewers, whilst I don't need an online FPS explained to me it would be nice for them to acknowledge some people are coming to a game fresh, and not just pandering to the hardcore. Okay, I'm having a whine but again it's the attitude that discourages more people from playing.

You could come back to me and say well all these experts started somewhere, you didn't hear them moan about being a noob, true but as I said we've had a generation of rabid online players who could wipe the floor with new players with both arms tied behind their backs.

Right, rant over, make of it what you will. Maybe I should stop writing and start playing.

Bye-Bye BF2

Right, I've had it with Battlefield 2. Goodness knows I've tried to get into it, but it really isn't happening.

Just now I thought I'd settle down and do as my good friend Michelle suggested: play a bit of single-player BF2 on Easy just to get to know the maps and the flow of play. However, it soon became apparent that even on Easy I wasn't having any luck. For all the reasons stated in my first post, plus that sinking feeling that this really wasn't my thing.

A real shame. I've only heard good things about this and really wanted to give it a real go, was prepared to take the blows as a learning experience, then earn my stripes with continued play - it wasn't to be.

I'll keep it installed on my PC for a while, see how I feel later, but it really didn't take long for me to realise perhaps I wasn't cut out for this sort of game, rather like me and Counterstrike.

So it probably isn't the best time to say that, thanks to a deal on Steam, and having some spare money on Paypal, I picked up Unreal Tournament 3 at the weekend for about £8. 8gb download! Having to get a bit every day - is this our bright digitally-distributed future?

Looking at reviews - most of which are uttely useless because they're written by people who have played every iteration of the game to death and give no insight into how the game would be for someone coming at it anew - it looks like a cross between BF2 and Quake, twitch warfare with vehicles. It remains to be seen if I'll be similarly useless at that too, but I'll give it a go.

Another Weekend

Another weekend, more games played.

The highlight of the weekend was World Of Goo, a puzzle game of sorts on the PC (also available on Wii, I believe). It was 75% off on offer for £4.74 on Steam so snapped that up. It is superb! You create structures that look like 2D molecule diagrams from balls of goo, the aim to get them near the pipe at the end of the level where a certain number of blobs have to be sucked up.

It's one of those games that leaves you with a big smile on your face as each new element is introduced. The presentation is top-notch, the puzzles thusfar have been the sort where you don't see the obvious solution but when you do you get a real 'eureka' moment, very satisfying.

Is it a casual game? Maybe a lightweight like myself should be playing more of this sort of thing, but I get the feeling later chapters will have puzzles fit to make your brain fizz.

Apart from that I played more Team Fortress 2, and also a spot of Forza Motorsport 2 - crikey, it was like driving on ice. I was sliding all over the shop, smashing into cars, braking too hard. I really need to get out of the arcade driving habit in order to get any further in this.

Scout's Honour

As I type I'm looking forward to a long weekend as I have Thursday and Friday off, and I don't doubt games will be involved at some point.

Since the weekend I've mainly been playing Rock Band 2, both Tour mode on my own and Band Quick Play with Michelle and Dan. Not much has changed, it's still good fun and I'm yet to tire of it.

Today saw the release of the Scout update for Team Fortress 2 on the PC, the latest in the on-going class updates. They tend to breathe a bit of life back into the game, although it's far from dead. So I thought I'd jump on and have a go, release some tension.

Servers were mainly full, but I managed to squeeze onto one and hold on. As you'd expect there were plenty of Scouts about trying to get the new weapons - a bit rubbish but it'll calm back down again soon enough, said he sounding like he is some TF2 vetteran.

This is the thing with me: I sort of know about games, what's going on, how they're played, etc, but I can't really back it up with stacks of experience. It does make me feel a bit of a fraud sometimes - more of that another time.

I may play some more TF2 before I go to bed, I don't have to be up desperately early in the morning.

Weekend Blanks

Another weekend almost over, far too quickly as per usual. Wasn't the best for games, it has to be said. Not really felt it, the pull wasn't there. I can't put my finger on why.

What did I attempt to play?

Rock Band 2 - spent a few hours in Tour mode ploughing on through. Call me thick but I don't understand the setup, I much prefered the old Guitar Hero career, it was a list of songs, you played them, more came along, you played those. You didn't get all that nonsense about hiring staff or 'spice' like Quadruple Or Nothing.

Project Gotham Racing 4 - it's one of those games I can keep going back to for a quick burn, even though I'm shocking at racing games. It's so satisfying, at least when I'm not bouncing off the corners.

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland - on the old Xbox, fancied some uncomplicated fun as I was downing a bottle of wine. Classic mode is still the best, throwing your boarder or skater or whatever about. Reminds me of a few years back when this sort of thing kept me rapt for hours.

Team Fortress 2 - on the PC this time, the game that keeps on giving. I put a few drum & bass mixes into Foobar2000, fired up TF2 and settled down for an hour or two. Next weekend I might just cut my losses and spend Saturday evening doing it, really go for it.

No great insights into the inept gamer this episode, I'm afraid. My twin brother is still here and it would be rude to spend more time than I do playing games.