Tagged: PC

Done Playing / Misc. / Nintendo / Now Playing / PC / Sony

25 Feb, 2009

Katy’s lately post

I know I don’t write often and then I show up with a “what I’ve been up to” type post.  This is that post.

I bought a new PC last Saturday and I can now play Sims 2 again!  It’s a refurbished HP Pavillion and it runs great except for the fact that one of the four internal fans (or multiple, I suppose) is noisy.  Sometimes it rattles, sometimes it whirrs, both louder than a normal pc fan would.  The newer noise it does is a high pitched squeeling noise that hurts my ears.  I called HP about it and the pc was silent the whole call.  It figures.   My car does the same thing when I take it in for weird noises/behavior.  So I will see if I can pinpoint the offending fan and call back, I guess.  We suspect the Video card fan from Shawn’s Google search results.  Others with the problem haven’t received help from HP.  After 90 days my microcenter coverage kicks in, so things may improve then in the satisfaction department.

The PC despite the noise plays Sims 2 very well.  I’m ok with it having Vista so far.  I haven’t come across things that won’t run yet.

XBOX 360

  • Fable 2, I’m still working on my second game, this time being evil.  I have a nice set of horns and towns people don’t care for me.  Much different from this game!  It’s not as much fun a second time around.  Before I was set on us buying the game, but I’m ok with just finishing this game and sending it back to gamefly.
  • Lips, yes we bought it.  I can’t believe how few songs are available.  COME ON!  Being able to plug in my Zune and sing is a big bonus, but I wish it could find lyrics.  I don’t realize how little of the lyrics I know until I am singing them there.

DS

  • Retro Gaming Challenge on DS was really fun until I got to Rally King.  I love the idea of the game, but it’s caused me to swear and get angry a ton already.  Watching Shawn play it I can see it will just get worse, so I may be done with it.  It’s a great idea though.
  • Slingo Quest, I always liked Slingo, so it’s just nice having it to go.  I had played a trial of the same game on PC, so it’s nothing new to me.  Can I just say that Slingo may have the worst game art that is actually polished and trying to be cute.  I really hate it.

Playstation 3

  • Noby Noby Boy,  is so bizarre.  I was having trouble with the camera controls at first, but I have gotten the hang of it all now.  I managed to get really stretched and then I was sort of hooked.  I love the map with the windmill!  I get all wound up and it pulls me off the map.  heh
  • Flower, I didn’t get into it like Shawn and many others have.  I liked it, I completed it, but I wasn’t choked up by it.  This is really surprising since I get choked up by many things.  Shawn wonders if it was because I was too involved and not just watching like with a film.  Could be!

PC

  • Sims 2, I’m back!  Just started really.
  • Pogo.com, of course.   They’re on twitter now.  I followed them and told them my pogo name and they gave me tokens.

Done Playing / Feature

21 Oct, 2008

Done Playing: Fantastic Contraption

LittleBigPlanet is now one week away. One week further away than originally intended, unfortunately. Passing the time from now until then doesn’t have to be a total loss, fortunately. If you’ve never played it yet, Fantastic Contraption (FC) is a wonderful way to pass the time. FC is a free web browser game. Like most free games of this nature, it’s very simple, at least at first glance. The goal is to move an object, a red ball or square, from one area to another. How you get it to move is entirely up to your imagination.

You’re given a small area to build in. Within that area, you can use a limited set of tools to build. Various rods and wheels can be bound together in just a few ways. At first, it doesn’t seem like there’s much to it, and indeed for the first few levels, you can complete the challenges with very rudimentary contraptions, such as a rotating wheel that simply drags the red ball over to the goal. It doesn’t take long for the game to get very tricky, so don’t get too proud of yourself. Some levels will seem to be impossible at first. You could very well end up spending a whole day just trying to get past one level.

Despite the challenge, the game is incredibly fun. There’s virtually no limit to how many pieces you can string together. It doesn’t take long to realize you can build catapults, tanks, elaborate machines, and anything else your mind can conjure up. The game has the effect of taking you back to your childhood, where you could turn a few Lego blocks into just about anything your imagination wanted them to be.

There are only 21 levels to the game. If you want more, or the ability to create more, the creator only asks for $10. Even without paying, there’s nearly limitless appeal to the game. Once you’ve wrapped your head around a level and moved on to the next, you can go back and look at all of the creations other players built to get past that challenge. Some of the solutions other people have come up with are ridiculous and insanely complex, others are so simple that you’ll laugh at their efficiency.

All in all, Fantastic Contraption is a perfect gateway for LittleBigPlanet. FC helps unlock the creative juices of our inner-mechanics and helps us come up with new, sometimes bizarre, methods to overcome simple problems. I can’t wait to apply what I’ve learned from this game to LittleBigPlanet. Check on the image below to see one of the solutions I came up with to get the red ball across a gap. Keep in mind that you can not build anything outside of the blue zone.

As soon as the machine starts, the pink wheel rotates counter-clockwise, while the vertical plank on the right side falls to the forces of gravity. The rods attached to the pink wheel eventually strike the red ball, causing it to shoot up the descending drawbridge. The bridge finally falls into place, conveniently covering up the gap. The red ball continues due to its momentum and rolls into the Goal zone. This is just one solution; there are an infinite number of ways this level could be completed.

Done Playing / Feature

22 Sep, 2008

Done Playing: Iji (PC)

I finished playing Iji about a day after my previous post went up and just now got back to it for a second playthrough. Unfortunately, the time vs. reward ratio for hunting down secrets and trying not to kill enemies is a little too extreme for me. Hours disappear and one tiny little screw up means a complete restart. The unlockable maps are indispensable in secret hunting and the option to play single stages is handy but the replay value is clearly aimed at the hardcore.

There’s loads to do afterwards but the majority of the game can be experienced in just a few day’s time. Like Braid, Iji is an experience whose value lies in its engrossing world and compelling gameplay. I had originally likened it to Out of this World but I realize now that the similarities end at their visual style. Iji is an action /platform game but it manages to set itself apart from everything I’ve ever played. This is thanks to its strategic approach to enemy encounters and its array of weapons and skills.

It may be 2D but every inch of these levels presents a new way to deal with an enemy. You can use blast damage from other enemies or nearby turrets to take out opponents, you can reflect their attacks back at them, or you can avoid combat altogether. Or, ya know, you can use one of eight weapons to destroy anyone in your path. Experimenting with weapons and “cracking” them via a minigame to find their alternate forms is just one of the many surprising subtleties of Iji.

Of course, you can’t crack hardly anything without improving your cracking ability; one of seven skills that you’ll find yourself painstakingly pondering over when you finally get another upgrade point. You can quickly build up points by killing enemies and grabbing their Nanofield (long story, think of it like their souls) but the game is so expertly designed that you can collect most without having to personally kill anyone.

The story and dialog tries to get you to think about the enemies attacking you but the message never quite hits home until the end of the game. By that point I’d killed hundreds of aliens and figured I’d do better the second time through. Which brings me back to the start. Iji is an action game by design and sparing the lives of as many aliens as possible takes a surprising amount of time, strategy, and consideration. I’d like to think that one day I’ll load it up again and explore my compassionate side. Until then I’ll always keep a free 35 megs of space on my hard drive and a warm spot in my heart for the amazing and unforgettable experience of Iji. Thank you Daniel Remar.

Done Playing / Feature

16 Sep, 2008

Done Playing: Dino Run (online)

Web gaming or Flash gaming or Independent gaming, whatever you wanna call it, is something I’ve never kept up with. With my hands being the way they are I really can’t play anything that use the keyboard and even back in the early days of Newgrounds I only got into one or two offerings. Thanks to GlovePIE, though, I can easily connect and remap the Wii Remote (wirelessly even) for any keyboard commands I want. It’s not my ideal controller as it still bugs my hands after a while but it’s quick and easy and a helluva lot less painful than WASDin’ my way through a game.

Dino Run is a great example. Using the keyboard was almost instantly painful as you’re pretty much constantly holding down the run-to-the-right key in order to escape the shockwave from that big meteor that allegedly wiped out the dinosaurs. Using only a few buttons the Wii Remote is perfectly suited for the game.

While running from a wall of flaming death is really all the game is about (and an exhilarating experience) the developers at PixelJam built in a simple stat-upgrading system and even a few Achievements Milestones. By collecting eggs and bones that are scattered all over the stages you’ll be able to increase your speed, acceleration, jumping, and strength skills as well as unlock a series of bonus features and content. The charmingly retro and brightly colored pixel worlds also go a long ways towards giving the game a lot of character.

And it’s a good thing the game has charm because you’ll be replaying the same six stages over and over. It’s impossible to grab every egg and gobble up every critter in any one stage as each one has several paths to discover. If you want to max out your skills you’ll have to keep coming back.

Dino Run is surprisingly robust for a web game. You’ll be hooked for at least a few days, there’s always more stuff to unlock and the game even has an online multiplayer race mode for up to four players. Donate a little cash to the developers and you’ll unlock a ton of hats and colors for your little dino (see my current comment avatar). Give it a shot. With no installation or cost and only a flash-enabled browser required there’s no reason not to hop on over to the Dino Run homepage and start playing (with or without Wii Remote).

Done Playing / Feature

15 Oct, 2006

Done Playing: Half-Life 2: Episode One

I picked up Episode One for $10 about a month ago when Circuit City was doing a little clearance and I have to say that if I’d paid the original $20 I’d be most disappointed. I have no interest in the multiplayer deathmatch nonsense (HL2 Deathmatch and HL1: DM Source are included) so all that’s left is the alarmingly short single player game.

I know it’s just a new “episode” (read: Don’t Call it an Expansion!) but I only played for a mere 6-8 hours before reaching the end. And in classic Half-Life fashion the next big payoff remains a distant promise in some sure-to-be-delayed sequel; in this case it’s Episode 2.

I did enjoy the brief adventure — and its handful of classic and hilarious moments — but I was expecting at least a few more levels. Where’s the lost stages from the Half-Life 2 leaked beta? Where’s a new dune buggy/hover boat stage? Of course there’s plenty of unique physics-based puzzles but each is padded with ridiculously overwhelming fights, usually in the dark. The trailer promised plenty of action involving the Scanners — the screeching, deformed drones of the Combine Citadel — but there’s only one scene where you’re able to directly attack them. Fun, but again not the payoff I was hoping for.

None of this matters, really. It’s Half-Life 2 and it remains a great experience. While there’s hardly any new story development there’s plenty of great interaction with Alyx that makes suffering through picth black head crap attacks all worthwhile. In fact, one of the most memorable moments takes place in said darkness. If you see it cheap, pick it up. Otherwise it may be best to wait for Episode 2 which should offer much more excitement both in and out of the Half-Life universe.

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