Archive for April, 2008

27 April, 2008 | No comments

The Basics Of Starting Your Own Gaming Clan

They say 75% of all startup companies fail within their first 2 years. This is also true with clans, only perhaps even more clans fail than companies. I would say the percentage is probably somewhere around the 85%-90% mark. If you're reading this, you've probably already taken into consideration running your own gaming clan. I will say, as a former leader of my own for around 3 years, this is no easy task. There are certain things you have to ask yourself before you begin, that will ultimately lead to either the demise or rise of your new organization;

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26 April, 2008 | No comments

Play Star Wars Atari Arcade Game - Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope

tThis article is for anyone interested in play Atari title Star Wars for Arcade 1983. The game was based around Star War Episode IV: A New Hope. It focuses on a space simulator of one of the final scenes destroying the Death Star. It is a 3-D scale projection with a Star Wars theme made by Atari. How can you go wrong. On top of that you even play the role of Luke Skywalker.

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26 April, 2008 | No comments

XBox 360 Common Problems - XBox 360 Common Problems And How To Fix Them?

Microsoft's XBox 360 is a great invention of the twenty first century. The gaming console has given a new dimension to our perception of computer games. This gadget has now become a major part of lives for many of us.

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25 April, 2008 | No comments

Play Dig Dug Namco-Midway Arcade Game Online Free

This article for those of you looking for 1982 title Dig Dug online game information and more. The concept behind this game was that you (Dig Dug) are suppose to destroy all the underground monsters by dropping rocks or inflating them. By inflating them so much you can eventually pop them destroying them. You can also kill yourself with any rock that falls on you. The music only plays when you are moving or digging. The controls and game are very easy to learn. You will learn the patterns and enemy movements in a round or two.

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25 April, 2008 | No comments

Buy Cheap World of Warcraft Gold to Play the Game - Bad or Good?

Recently there are many reports in the market saying playing video games, especially World of Warcraft, has a lot of bad effect to the game players. Some experts claimed that playing world of warcraft can cause the players addicted in the virtual gaming world. And even more, some psychologist reported that those who suffered from dry eyes, headaches, back aches, erratic sleep patterns should stop playing the video games.

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24 April, 2008 | No comments

World of Warcraft Gold Guide Tips and Strategies for Beginners

World of Warcraft Gold Guide Tips and Strategies for Beginners

Many new players find it difficult even frustrating to make gold. I've seen new players begging for gold in the trade and chat channels till they get some gold out of pity. It's really not their fault, it's not that they're lazy, they just don't have a clue on how to earn gold. They think World of Warcarft is just another video game. Unfortunately, while it is a game, you do have to earn money to buy things you want or need. In this World of Warcraft gold guide you'll learn straight forward steps on how to earn gold while still enjoying the game.

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24 April, 2008 | No comments

Fast World Of Warcraft Gold - How Many Different Ways Are There To Make World Of Warcraft Fast Gold? by Calvin Loh

Fast World Of Warcraft Gold - How Many Different Ways Are There To Make World Of Warcraft Fast Gold? by Calvin Loh

Ah! Gold, that shiny yellow stuff around which your life in World Of Warcraft revolves. When you have lots of it, you are like a god.

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22 April, 2008 | No comments

Heated Debate on Game-Based Learning

Mark Oehlert, who owns and write the e-Clipping Blog, commented on a post today by Paul McNamara which has caused some heated debate "I wonder if maybe we should continue the debate about whether or not games are good for learning or maybe, here is an alternative...just shut up, accept the data and start really figuring out how to do it write and for PETE"S SAKE understand that design principles, ESPECIALLY design principles (except they aren't really design principles are they Adriana? ;-))...are not crafted in stone and can and should change and that BY ALL THAT'S GOOD AND PURE the classrooms and instructor-led training were probably NEVER studied RE their effectiveness as learning environments but rather as production environments. I'm sure that the Romans thought their empire wold stand for all time as well and look what happened to them."

The original post can viewed here and be sure to read the comments which currently run onto a second page. There are comments from people of varying ages and opinions and it is all well worth a read!

22 April, 2008 | No comments

Assassin Creed (PC) - Review

Review Date: April 22, 2008
Game Rating: 7.8 (Very Good)
Award: Technical, Artistic, Innovation

Basic game informations:
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Release Date: April 8, 2008
Other platforms: Xbox 360, PS3
ESRB Rating: Mature
Genre: Action
Difficulty: Normal
Number of players: 1 Player

Good Points: Great graphics, great use of audio, good engine, innovative NPCs interaction, interesting plot, fun combat system, and innovative controls.

Bad points: Repetitive missions, much better to use a gamepad than a keyboard, break of immersion, and unclear ending.

Assassin Creed was one of the most popular games on its launch, and it is still very popular. This is largely because of how well they have generated prior market-interests, how remarkably they have set the atmosphere of the game, and how well they have executed the technical and artistic side of the game. Ubisoft has done a great job in creating a historical action game environment, which is very fluid and realistic, worthy of applause.

One of the game’s strongest points is the innovative interaction with the surrounding and the realistic environment. As you play as Altair, who has to do missions for his assassin master, you can run freely from rooftop to rooftop and climb almost any building based on the buildings’ constructions. The crowd control mechanics allows soft or hard interactions with the surrounding based on Altair’s body, where four action buttons are given that correspond to each side of Altair’s body—head, left hand, right hand, and feet.

For some, it might stay to be entertaining to look at the richly detailed artistic environment, unfortunately, the similarities of the buildings and the barren land does become repetitive after the fourth city. Slowly climbing the twentieth or thirtieth view point just gets monotonous and does not hold the appeal that was there when climbing the first view point. Each time we go up there, and ‘synchronize’, the camera span around out of our control to show us how similar the barren areas are. Even the entertaining action dubbed ‘leap of faith’, where we jump from a high place to land in a soft pile of grain hay doesn’t cover this flaw enough.

In our missions, we will interact with the NPCs by pushing them aside gently, tackling them, pushing them hard, or by blending in. This is especially useful when we are found out by the authority—We can escape by sprinting out of sight then blending in with certain NPCs or hiding in any of the scattered hide spots. As we rescue citizen, more and more of them will come to our aid in the general area—while if we destroy their belongings, more and more of them will start attracting attention to us by blocking our way.

It is true that this aspect could be improved upon, however, as they began to get dull after I have done the same mission over and over again. Saving my twentieth citizen the same way, who will then say the exact same thing as the others I have saved, made me realize how repetitive most actions in the game are. The fact that the citizen that I have bothered in the past now come back with vengeance and stays around forever, also get exasperating pretty quickly.

The missions for example usually only revolve around assassinating a target or several targets, following someone to beat on him in a quiet place, running to a different location within certain time limit, sitting on a bench to listen to two person talking, and running around to collect flags. In the end, it feels that there are only a dozen of small missions in the game that we have to keep repeating until the end of the game.

The game’s simple but effective fight mechanic is quite enjoyable, and serves very well in making the gameplay more immersive and less tedious. There aren’t many bad points to the fight system, even if it feels like they didn’t spend so much time on it, judged by the limited amount of movements and actions that the player could do. There are two parts of the fight mechanic, which are the normal fight and the silent kill system.

One part of the Silent Kill system that I have enjoyed the most, is the ability to sneak behind an archer on rooftop to stab him with my hidden blade. The well-done close up camera, slowed down time, and sound effect makes it a gratifying experience. It only slowly gets old after I have done the same thing to my 30th or 40th archer.

The counter attack and guard break system, that the game’s basic fight mechanic revolves around, are quite simple, yet engaging and well done. There are only several actions you would generally do in a fight, which are guarding, attacking, countering, stepping in to destroy their guard, grabbing the enemy, and throwing them. Each of them changes between several variety of the action, making the fight more fluid and engaging rather than repetitive as they could have been.

The game artistic and immersion value is quite high, with the very realistic world where arts, AI, music, innovative interaction with the surrounding and sound effect combining together into a very immersive environment. Almost every NPC moves about in the cities their daily life to create a living and breathing atmosphere. The sound inconspicuously set the tone for the game, with the voice acting for all the characters and sound effects wrapping the package, although the repeated voice-acting of the NPCs have to be noted. The graphic is quite well done, detailed, and abundant as well.

The immersive world is so well constructed that it feels like a crime when the game keep throwing me to the future, breaking my immersion. While it might be useful to do the linear story-telling, which is abundant in linear medium, it doesn’t excuse breaking the immersive value of the game and giving nothing to do in the future. We just listens, walk about in the same two rooms, and sleep. I’ve not finished the game yet, even though I’m half way through the game, so don’t quote me on this but I have also heard that the ending doesn’t clarify the game’s story line and quite a failure.

From purely the artistic and technical stand point, Assassin Creed is very impressive, however I believe it fail to deliver as a great game. The recurring dozen of missions is a big no-no in proper game design, although there are some interesting distractions and production value that manage to give the game some appealing values. The game is worth trying, if just for the unique approach of free-running, story-line and the innovative interaction with the surrounding.

If you can forgive the repetitive nature of the actions, the game becomes a much better game. Just make sure to try it first before spending too much money on it, and make sure your system can handle it. I’ve also heard that the Console versions are more repetitive and inferior, so you may want to choose the PC version if possible.

Gameplay: 7
The missions are repetitive and lack depth, but these flaws are partially pardoned by the well-done fight mechanics and immersive world. The context-sensitive character controls are simple, but innovative.

Graphics: 8.5
Great graphics, especially on good computers, although its’ not so special anymore by the current graphic standard in computer gaming. However, the similar nature of the buildings and the environment makes it looks a little bland, ruining the perfect graphic score the game could have.

Audio: 7.5
Everyone have voice-overs, the background sound and music set the tone of the game imperceptibly, and the sound effects are pretty much everything that could be asked for. However, the repetition of sound clips hurts the game some.

Longevity: 6
Repetitive missions get dull pretty quickly and the linear story can only be experienced once, but the game can at least last one or two dozens of hours.

Innovation: 9
Innovative free running and interaction with the surrounding are done very well, although two or three innovative ideas aren’t enough to give the game a score of 10 in innovation.

Overall: 7.8
Assassin Creed is a very good game with unique artistic values and innovations, but it falls just short of being a great game.

note: Check out a Hi-Res screenshot of Assassin Creed (PC) at http://www.windowsvistamagazin.de/?article_id=637552.

22 April, 2008 | No comments

Indian jokes

"It's a beautiful mooorning, i don't need to shower today. I have a beautiful feeling, everything going my way... is O.o"

So i'm at work, and figured i will use this wonderfully DULL opportunity to write a post. Don't get me wrong, i like my job, and dull times. I'm oh so very good at filling them with things i love to do...

It was my moms 54th birthday yesterday, and such an occasion deserves at least a little notice on my blogg. I've decided to stay at her place for the nigh, so i went over after work and made dinner for her with some stuff i bought on the way. Very standard stuff, but also very tasty. I've decided on this while i was working, so i forgot to bring my DS with me to keep me entertained during the night... I miss it, haven't played World ends with you in 48 hours now, almost.

It's acctualy quite funny, because i've started noticing that i have developed a real relationship with the game. When i first met it, it seemed fascinating and new to me, so i wanted to spend as much time as possible with it. After a while i noticed that it will probably be very much of the same all the time, so i kindof lost some of my initial interest.... and later on i discovered that not all it has to offer is something i want. The feeling culminated when she (the game) separated me from my in-game partner, whom i have grown very fond off, and replaced it with some pretty boy prick whom she likes better. That was too much for me, so i've turned it off and put it away for the time... But i know it won't last. She's got me hooked. I'll forgive her with time, and soon will be destroying noise, and hopefully that pretty boy prick too...

I know that people usually talk about the weather when they have nothing better to say, but our current weather has me absolutely ecstatic, so i have to mention it. It's so sunny it could be the middle of summer. Of course, here in sweden even at noon in the middle of summer, everything has very long shadows, making me feel that my surroundings are somewhat... surreal. Just a different environment from where i grew up, i guess. Unfortunately the winds are still cold, but at least that give some room for improvement for the coming summer ^^

I guess that's it for today. No picture for you.

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