Being Distracted

It feels like an eternity but I've had no internet since Wednesday last. Your net-addicted writer spent a couple of hours wondering how the hell to fill his time before settling down to actually playing games.

Without the constant desire to check email and engage in IM chat my mind was free to concentrate on a game for once. The game in question was 2005 FPS Black on the old Xbox, a game notorious for its stingy save points. You have to go a fair while before you reach a checkpoint and even then it doesn't save your position, it merely allows you to go back there if you die.

So I knuckled down and tackled the second mission. The (unskippable) cutscene before it made absolutely no sense and was ultimately pointless. You just move forward, shoot and try not to die. There are also lots of tankers, fuel dumps and the like that you can blow up, gives you a buzz.

Without the constant pull of the internet I managed to get through the lengthy second mission which, on the third try, I managed to complete on Normal. If the net had been there I'd have not stuck at it, if I'm being honest. That isn't something I'm proud to say, and it actually does worry me - how much else could I achieve if I wasn't sat on the internet all evening?

I'm not saying I want to lose my net connection, it's great to have, but it just goes to show how much it has affected how I play games.

Headshot!

Another Saturday evening in. The combination of wine and games stop me me getting totally bored. Typically I play more arcade-style games at this time as I just want to relax.

So whilst I enjoyed a packet of Sainsbury's Salt & Vinegar Twists I decided to fire up Urban Chaos: Riot Response, an arcade-style first-person shooter that came out towards the end of the original Xbox' life.

Basically you go around and bring the pain to a city full of masked rioters. It's simple fun, not a classic, but it's very replayable as you try and get medals for completing various goals in each section. And never has the headshot been more satisfying in a game than it is here.

As I said, it's no Halo or Half-Life 2, but for me it was very playable, even if it is pretty cheesy.

Bear in mind I am playing on Rookie difficulty. Not sure how the settings differ but even a dullard like me is finding Rookie a tad easy. It says something about my resolve that I haven't got to the point where everything has to be really easy for me to enjoy it - I still like a challenge.

Consolevania's review sums it up well.