So, I have been playing some Sports Champions. The games aren't bad, but some can be fairly frustrating. Some of them definitely take a lot of training to master, but they don't have modes that allow you to just train, only modes to compete with all the annoying load screens.
Anyway, I played a bit of Fallout: New Vegas today and went through the trophies for that game. Seeing as I hadn't seen all the trophies for Sports Champions, I skimmed it as well. And what do I see?
Trophy Type: Bronze
Trophy Name: Look Ma, 2 Hands!
Description: Play at least 1 match of Gladiator Duel, Archery and Beach Volleyball in Champion's cup or Free Play using two motion controllers.
Really Sony? You're going to have an elitist trophy there? I mean, I know eventually most people will have two wands if they end up liking the motion controller and can get it, but you went with a trophy that essentially is telling people to buy another controller even though you decide to release the damn game at a time when it has been nearly impossible to get a second motion controller outside of buying the full $99 package twice.
Sony, don't do this crap. Bad enough paying extra money for more peripherals, gamers don't need to have trophies designed around them buying extra peripherals for your products when one is good enough. What's next, a trophy for playing a local multiplayer game using 4 wands?
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn angry birds. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn angry birds. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Thứ Bảy, 22 tháng 10, 2011
Fallout: New Vegas (First Impressions)
(Originally posted on www.madoverdose.co.nr)
So after trading in a lot of dust covered games and a spare console or two, I picked up the highly anticipated Fallout: New Vegas for the PC. Now let me get this out of the way by saying that I !#@%ing LOVED Fallout 3. Many's the time I can remember sitting in front of my monitor in the early hours of the morning, just exploring the wasteland, about to turn it off when I come across some crazy new character with a quest he wants me to do and bam! -- another 2 hours of my life gone.
Sadly, I must have spent a little under 2 hours of my life getting this game to even load...
Yes, I should have come to expect bugs in games using the Gamebryo engine (Oblivion, Fallout 3) but this just took it to a whole new level. I quickly rushed to the official Fallout forums only to find a mob of other angry gamers who were not happy chappies either. I mean, take into account that this is the kind of release that people schedule time off work to play, fake being sick to get out of school...it's a big deal, and when you read some of the problems that people have been having, I can understand why they may be a little bit upset. I didn't expect my evening to consist of editing config files and searching desperately for answers. I didn't even expect to write this blog. It's all time that should be spent playing the game but I simply cannot.
I know Fallout 3 had bugs, I know Oblivion was plagued with them, I'm sure they still do have issues but it seems to be a general consensus that Fallout: New Vegas is by far the worst yet. We're talking crashes to desktops on main menu, not being able to even begin loading the game, performance issues, not being able to install the game, issues with losing save games, quick save not working properly, custom weapons displaying huge exclamation marks, dogs with no eyes to name a very few. Check it out for yourself. From what I've been reading, the PC version seems to be suffering it the most, with fans questioning whether or not they even tested it on PC whatsoever. As I have only played the PC version, that is the only version I will talk about.
The game itself installed just fine on my machine. I was a bit miffed to find out it used Steam as copy protection. So naturally, I enter the product key and sure enough, it activates and begins to install. So far so good. I launch the game from my Steam library and the launch screen comes up, accompanied with an error telling me that SteamOverlayGUI has caused an error and needs to close, bringing the game down with it. I try it again, same thing. I try it a third time and miraculously it works. I instantly hit play and the game begins to load. After starting a new game and watching the introduction cutscene, the game crashes to my desktop. I researched the issue on the Fallout forums and well, to cut a long story short, I finally get a game going. First thing I notice, missing character sounds. As in, the dialogue..it's not there. I later find I have to manually set the games priority to high in the Windows Task Manager. Strangely, it works. At this point I think to myself that I can just deal with it, I just want to play the goddamn game. I play for a good 2 or 3 hours. I notice various graphical glitches. The most disturbing of which being a dog with no eyes and instead, has two eyes coming out of it's neck. My first reaction was to chuckle and think of it as a mutant dog. I notice people half way in the ground, I noticed doors not opening for me when they were unlocked and available, all kinds of madness. My biggest issue I noticed while playing is probably the performance drops when interacting with characters. I would be exploring the wasteland at around 60+ frames per second, then as soon as I start talking to someone or so much as get near them, it would plummet to around 10-20 frames per second. I don't seem to be alone as pretty much every topic I've seen has been relating to this. I finally get to the town of Primm in search of the sharply dressed man when I decide to save it, exit the game and check on any other issues being reported. Ten minutes later I decide to go on the game only to find that only my first save game was available, and an autosave from a long ways back. It seemed to have only 'remembered' the first quicksave I made and at some point in time, the autosaves must have just...stopped. After researching this issue further, it seems to be the most troublesome. Something to do with Steam wanting to syncronize savegames and Fallout reading another location. I don't know, but it's something that I, the consumer, should not have to worry about. All I know is, I've played the game for a few hours and have absolutely nothing to show for it due to a broken save system. I can understand games having bugs but that is something major to have missed that.
I should probably end this mini rant here before I begin to ramble. Let me say that I am fully aware that all games have bugs. All games have issues that should be addressed and with games as open and as vast as these, it should come as no surprise. But for a series as well respected as Fallout, and considered a major release title, I'd expect to at least be able to save my game. Sure, there may be a third party fix or tweak to a config file that I may have to edit, and it's a good thing the game is genuinely as good as it is, because any other game I would simply shelf until an official patch was released.
...with all that being said, it's a brilliant game though. From what little I played, the atmosphere, setting and the characters seemed to interest me much more than those of Fallout 3. I wish I could share a more detailed opinion on the games new features, the storyline and what not but I simply have not been able to. I will hopefully give my full opinion on Fallout: New Vegas on the next episode of the Mad Overdose podcast. I don't like to
recommend games this early on. But if I had to rate it in it's current state:
So after trading in a lot of dust covered games and a spare console or two, I picked up the highly anticipated Fallout: New Vegas for the PC. Now let me get this out of the way by saying that I !#@%ing LOVED Fallout 3. Many's the time I can remember sitting in front of my monitor in the early hours of the morning, just exploring the wasteland, about to turn it off when I come across some crazy new character with a quest he wants me to do and bam! -- another 2 hours of my life gone.
Sadly, I must have spent a little under 2 hours of my life getting this game to even load...
Yes, I should have come to expect bugs in games using the Gamebryo engine (Oblivion, Fallout 3) but this just took it to a whole new level. I quickly rushed to the official Fallout forums only to find a mob of other angry gamers who were not happy chappies either. I mean, take into account that this is the kind of release that people schedule time off work to play, fake being sick to get out of school...it's a big deal, and when you read some of the problems that people have been having, I can understand why they may be a little bit upset. I didn't expect my evening to consist of editing config files and searching desperately for answers. I didn't even expect to write this blog. It's all time that should be spent playing the game but I simply cannot.
I know Fallout 3 had bugs, I know Oblivion was plagued with them, I'm sure they still do have issues but it seems to be a general consensus that Fallout: New Vegas is by far the worst yet. We're talking crashes to desktops on main menu, not being able to even begin loading the game, performance issues, not being able to install the game, issues with losing save games, quick save not working properly, custom weapons displaying huge exclamation marks, dogs with no eyes to name a very few. Check it out for yourself. From what I've been reading, the PC version seems to be suffering it the most, with fans questioning whether or not they even tested it on PC whatsoever. As I have only played the PC version, that is the only version I will talk about.
The game itself installed just fine on my machine. I was a bit miffed to find out it used Steam as copy protection. So naturally, I enter the product key and sure enough, it activates and begins to install. So far so good. I launch the game from my Steam library and the launch screen comes up, accompanied with an error telling me that SteamOverlayGUI has caused an error and needs to close, bringing the game down with it. I try it again, same thing. I try it a third time and miraculously it works. I instantly hit play and the game begins to load. After starting a new game and watching the introduction cutscene, the game crashes to my desktop. I researched the issue on the Fallout forums and well, to cut a long story short, I finally get a game going. First thing I notice, missing character sounds. As in, the dialogue..it's not there. I later find I have to manually set the games priority to high in the Windows Task Manager. Strangely, it works. At this point I think to myself that I can just deal with it, I just want to play the goddamn game. I play for a good 2 or 3 hours. I notice various graphical glitches. The most disturbing of which being a dog with no eyes and instead, has two eyes coming out of it's neck. My first reaction was to chuckle and think of it as a mutant dog. I notice people half way in the ground, I noticed doors not opening for me when they were unlocked and available, all kinds of madness. My biggest issue I noticed while playing is probably the performance drops when interacting with characters. I would be exploring the wasteland at around 60+ frames per second, then as soon as I start talking to someone or so much as get near them, it would plummet to around 10-20 frames per second. I don't seem to be alone as pretty much every topic I've seen has been relating to this. I finally get to the town of Primm in search of the sharply dressed man when I decide to save it, exit the game and check on any other issues being reported. Ten minutes later I decide to go on the game only to find that only my first save game was available, and an autosave from a long ways back. It seemed to have only 'remembered' the first quicksave I made and at some point in time, the autosaves must have just...stopped. After researching this issue further, it seems to be the most troublesome. Something to do with Steam wanting to syncronize savegames and Fallout reading another location. I don't know, but it's something that I, the consumer, should not have to worry about. All I know is, I've played the game for a few hours and have absolutely nothing to show for it due to a broken save system. I can understand games having bugs but that is something major to have missed that.
I should probably end this mini rant here before I begin to ramble. Let me say that I am fully aware that all games have bugs. All games have issues that should be addressed and with games as open and as vast as these, it should come as no surprise. But for a series as well respected as Fallout, and considered a major release title, I'd expect to at least be able to save my game. Sure, there may be a third party fix or tweak to a config file that I may have to edit, and it's a good thing the game is genuinely as good as it is, because any other game I would simply shelf until an official patch was released.
...with all that being said, it's a brilliant game though. From what little I played, the atmosphere, setting and the characters seemed to interest me much more than those of Fallout 3. I wish I could share a more detailed opinion on the games new features, the storyline and what not but I simply have not been able to. I will hopefully give my full opinion on Fallout: New Vegas on the next episode of the Mad Overdose podcast. I don't like to
recommend games this early on. But if I had to rate it in it's current state:
Thứ Năm, 20 tháng 10, 2011
In Praise of Autolog
I’m sure many of you reading this will have heard of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit’s much lauded Autolog feature. For those of you who haven’t I thought I would write a few words in praise of autolog. It’s basically a glorified leaderboard system that lets you know your friend’s times on any given track. What sets it apart from other online leaderboards, and has drawn the most praise from game critics, is that it also alerts you when your times have been beaten. Then, with the press of a button you can instantly take up the challenge to win back that coveted 1st position.
Chuck in a few half-arsed social networking features stolen wholesale from Facebook, such as a wall to post messages on and an ability to share in race or even garage based photos of your cars and you get what EA is calling an, ‘innovative approach to connected social competition’. I have been playing the game and would certainly agree that it is an awesome feature. It adds many hours of gameplay as you are consumed in a constant battle of one-upmanship that continues long after the single player mode has been finished.
I am, however, confused as to why no developers have done this before. To me it seems more like a natural progression than a massive innovation.
Of course it is easy to look at ideas others have come up with and claim it seems obvious, but in this instance I really think it was. I’ve been crying out for a system like this for years and even if you don’t know it yet so have you.
Gamers are a notoriously competitive bunch, and it is developers who have trained us to be that way. The structure and design of nearly all games is informed by a sense of competition. This is especially true of consoles, where even seemingly uncompetitive games like Flower have trophies that can be added to your collection for ultimate bragging rights (even if one of them is just for leaving your controller on the side for so long it turns off – best trophy ever). PC gamers have been playing online since time began and console gamers for the last few years. So it baffles me as to why it has taken so long for a feature like Autolog to appear. It’s not a complex idea and one that would cost next to nothing for developers to implement into their games.
I’m not bothered about the social-networking side of it. I can’t for the life of me think why anyone would want to post a picture of their in-game car let alone look at someone else’s, but I really do hope that most games in the future use a similar leaderboard system. For one thing, it would save me texting my mates to let them know I have just smashed their times on Trials HD!
Chuck in a few half-arsed social networking features stolen wholesale from Facebook, such as a wall to post messages on and an ability to share in race or even garage based photos of your cars and you get what EA is calling an, ‘innovative approach to connected social competition’. I have been playing the game and would certainly agree that it is an awesome feature. It adds many hours of gameplay as you are consumed in a constant battle of one-upmanship that continues long after the single player mode has been finished.
I am, however, confused as to why no developers have done this before. To me it seems more like a natural progression than a massive innovation.
Of course it is easy to look at ideas others have come up with and claim it seems obvious, but in this instance I really think it was. I’ve been crying out for a system like this for years and even if you don’t know it yet so have you.
Gamers are a notoriously competitive bunch, and it is developers who have trained us to be that way. The structure and design of nearly all games is informed by a sense of competition. This is especially true of consoles, where even seemingly uncompetitive games like Flower have trophies that can be added to your collection for ultimate bragging rights (even if one of them is just for leaving your controller on the side for so long it turns off – best trophy ever). PC gamers have been playing online since time began and console gamers for the last few years. So it baffles me as to why it has taken so long for a feature like Autolog to appear. It’s not a complex idea and one that would cost next to nothing for developers to implement into their games.
I’m not bothered about the social-networking side of it. I can’t for the life of me think why anyone would want to post a picture of their in-game car let alone look at someone else’s, but I really do hope that most games in the future use a similar leaderboard system. For one thing, it would save me texting my mates to let them know I have just smashed their times on Trials HD!
Thứ Năm, 6 tháng 10, 2011
Stadiums full of people become Angry Birds players with Uplause
Could the Angry Birds replace the proverbial demands of "Make Some Noise" at your next baseball game? Maybe not your next one, but soon you could be cheering to fling the irate winged beasts into their plump green enemies. Pocket Gamer reports that Uplause, a Finnish developer of crowd-based games, has rebuilt Angry Birds with its creator, Rovio, into a version controlled by noise.
The self-proclaimed "social game maker for big crowds" has created similar games for use in stadiums for ice hockey games, soccer matches and even music festivals. Over the past summer, Uplause worked with Rovio to create a version of Angry Birds that is controlled using noise as an input device. (Namely, cheering, clapping, stomping and perhaps even booing, we assume.)
"As in the original, there's about a four second period before firing," Uplause CEO Veli-Pekka Marin explained to Pocket Gamer. "For live events, we'd expect each gaming session to take a few minutes." But in that time, thousands of folks will play at the same time. If anything, it's terribly efficient.
While all we know about this seriously social version of Angry Birds is that noise generates power for the game's slingshot, Pocket Gamer guesses that aiming is done automatically. Rovio and Uplause will first test this massive version of Angry Birds at a Formula 1 race taking place in Singapore this weekend, and the company's CMO Peter Vesterbacka sounds excited for its imminent global expansion.
"Through social participation, our fans will get to interact with the Angry Birds in an entirely new way," Vesterbacka said to Pocket Gamer. "We think this new form of gaming will give fans a great opportunity to form a strong emotional connection with the characters." I think Vesterbacka is confusing "emotional connection" with "drunken, crowd-fueled stupor." Check out the video below to get an idea of how it might work. Who knows you might be doing the same thing at the next World Series.
What do you imagine a noise-controlled version of Angry Birds would be like? What other games come to mind when you think of this approach? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
The self-proclaimed "social game maker for big crowds" has created similar games for use in stadiums for ice hockey games, soccer matches and even music festivals. Over the past summer, Uplause worked with Rovio to create a version of Angry Birds that is controlled using noise as an input device. (Namely, cheering, clapping, stomping and perhaps even booing, we assume.)
"As in the original, there's about a four second period before firing," Uplause CEO Veli-Pekka Marin explained to Pocket Gamer. "For live events, we'd expect each gaming session to take a few minutes." But in that time, thousands of folks will play at the same time. If anything, it's terribly efficient.
While all we know about this seriously social version of Angry Birds is that noise generates power for the game's slingshot, Pocket Gamer guesses that aiming is done automatically. Rovio and Uplause will first test this massive version of Angry Birds at a Formula 1 race taking place in Singapore this weekend, and the company's CMO Peter Vesterbacka sounds excited for its imminent global expansion.
"Through social participation, our fans will get to interact with the Angry Birds in an entirely new way," Vesterbacka said to Pocket Gamer. "We think this new form of gaming will give fans a great opportunity to form a strong emotional connection with the characters." I think Vesterbacka is confusing "emotional connection" with "drunken, crowd-fueled stupor." Check out the video below to get an idea of how it might work. Who knows you might be doing the same thing at the next World Series.
What do you imagine a noise-controlled version of Angry Birds would be like? What other games come to mind when you think of this approach? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Thứ Ba, 4 tháng 10, 2011
Chuck star Yvonne Strahovski is awfully addicted to Angry Birds
Another falls to the power of casual games. Just as actress Emma Stone had to go cold turkey on FarmVille, Chuck star Yvonne Strahovski has admitted to Collider an acute Angry Birds addiction. The actress (and voice of Miranda Lawson in Bioware's Mass Effect series) told the website she's not just hopelessly addicted to the game, but has some serious bird-slinging game.
"I don't know if this classifies as a video game, but I have a terrible obsession with Angry Birds," Strahovski admitted to Collider. "I have 3 stared every single level that has ever come out ever except for this one in this moon thing that just came out." Well, she already has me beat, it seems, and likely many of you.
When asked whether she used YouTube or something else to cheat, the Australian starlet replied, "No. I am legitimate. The only thing I looked up is that I could't find the last two golden watermelons in the Rio version. I could't find them. I was like, 'Where are the watermelons?!' So I had to go online and find out where they were." Alright, we get it, so you know your stuff.
Her next mission? Clear every level in the game with 100 percent using the Mighty Eagle. Well, I guess that's about the only challenge she has left, considering she's obliterated every last level. After that, maybe she might consider voice over work for the upcoming Angry Birds movie when it goes into production in oh, I don't know, two years? And who knows, maybe you'll catch her in a Starbucks, flicking away to destroy your high score sometime soon.
[Via Kotaku]
[Image Credit: Collider]
Are you still addicted to Angry Birds after all this time? Have you accomplished more in the game than lovely Yvonne? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
"I don't know if this classifies as a video game, but I have a terrible obsession with Angry Birds," Strahovski admitted to Collider. "I have 3 stared every single level that has ever come out ever except for this one in this moon thing that just came out." Well, she already has me beat, it seems, and likely many of you.
When asked whether she used YouTube or something else to cheat, the Australian starlet replied, "No. I am legitimate. The only thing I looked up is that I could't find the last two golden watermelons in the Rio version. I could't find them. I was like, 'Where are the watermelons?!' So I had to go online and find out where they were." Alright, we get it, so you know your stuff.
Her next mission? Clear every level in the game with 100 percent using the Mighty Eagle. Well, I guess that's about the only challenge she has left, considering she's obliterated every last level. After that, maybe she might consider voice over work for the upcoming Angry Birds movie when it goes into production in oh, I don't know, two years? And who knows, maybe you'll catch her in a Starbucks, flicking away to destroy your high score sometime soon.
[Via Kotaku]
[Image Credit: Collider]
Are you still addicted to Angry Birds after all this time? Have you accomplished more in the game than lovely Yvonne? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
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