Gaming Buzz

So carrying forward the last review…

The PS3 POP has changed the way the fighting works too. Instead of the basically button punching, in mindless patterns bit, you now have more delicate combos to aim for. While this makes the game more challenging, it’s not quite as much fun, something I find a little irritating, in a very real way. The game, during combat seems to slow down, and the prince looses almost all his powers. Apparently it becomes somewhat linear based, what ever that means. He’s actually better at blocking than at attacking, and much faster, this is supposed to foster a more precise sort of attacking strategy. It also makes the game run longer and slower. The combat is definitely one of the fames weaker points.

Apparently the amount of combat too has been lowered, and you fight in very predictable patterns across similar parts of the world. And have to combat the boss of each level multiple times, which also makes the game a little repetitive.

There are fewer puzzles though, something I appreciate, and more run and jump, death, and gravity defying feats, a definite plus as far as I’m concerned. Though the way in which they work has changed a little too, its not quite as structured or fixed as before, and apparently, those moments in which you were suspended in air, wondering what to do next, and then watched yourself fall into the pit, have been eliminated, or atleast, you have other options. But with the game being so elaborate, the tutorials etc. are very long too.

The environment and effects, as I’ve said before are a real USP, and anyway, anything tha the PS3 magazine rates with an 8 on 10, has got to be good. If you like POP buy it, if you like Fun, I’d suggest the same course of action.

This too is a secondary source piece. I’ve not played the game, I don’t like the PS3, but the game seems interesting, actually pretty good, good enough to get an 8 on 10 from the PS3 magazine. But that is not supposed to be its greatest achievement.

The game is slightly new, and has done away with the old time warping system, something  I found really irritating. On the other hand, one of my favourite parts of the game, the lady is far more prominent. She appears right at the start, and plays a really imp. Part in the game, actually, as his guardian angel. Everytime you make a mistake that should cost your life, she very coolly put him back on safe ground. A bit of a hit for our egos, but a convenient substitute for all the time wasted redoing bits of the game, and watching that LOADING screen.  

The story is based as usual on the prince having to save the world. And blah blah… its been corrupted by some bad magic, or whatever….

But what is cool is the world itself. Apparently its huge, with really well done everything, and if PS3 says it you better believe it. I’ve not yet seen it though.

The prince has some pretty cool new moves too, as well as all the old ones. He can slide down walls with his iron claw and use the woman to make extra long jumps, and a few other nifty moves. This has also changed the way in which the game reacts to things, its no longer quite as linear, both in geometry and in story line.

But more on that later.

Anyone who’s read my blog so far, will know that I’m a fan of the NFS underground series, simply for the variations in racing styles it offers you, and the amazing mods you can pull off in the game. I mean it’s great fun… and that’s what makes a good game for me.

The latest title in the game seems to less inclined to be fun. The title is based along the lines of the fast and the furious with you playing and undercover cop. The game is based on a story, and the only reason you’re trying to get to the top of the cities racing circuit is to bust it.

The game play is standard NFS stuff, though apparently the Muscle cars are a pain in the ass, with handling being virtually beyond the average human. The tuners as usual are the most fun.

Upgrades have been simplified to a degree, where you can buy both ‘packages’ and individual components. You can also strap on visual mods, etc. and change the way your ride looks… a standard feature right now.

The game looks really good, and the soundtrack is done by some of the top artists right now. But even with Maggie Q throwing in the occasional appearance, intense police chases, which are stressed on in this game, and decent sound effects including radio chatter, nothing I’ve read so far would induce me to buy this game. Yes even the pirated one.

Sorry NFS but its just too bad a case of been there done that right now.

Now this is a game I’ve not yet checked out. Largely because I don’t get to, being a college student in India, doesn’t help. But I’ve read up on it, and I’ve played a few earlier sonic titles, so I can at least pretend I know what I’m talking about.

The low down on Sonic the Hedgehog is that it has two kind of gaming modes. The first is classical fast, racing… streaky, sonic action. Which is obviously good, but apparently there is too little of this sort of action. Though it is much faster and closer to the original, and best loved Sonic, speed wise. Apparently there are much nicer tracks, which are hugely long, and fulfilling, with fewer obstacles, and better controlling, though apparently the sensitivity of the handheld Wii remote might be an issue. So the racing has a universal thumbs up.

The other side of the gaming involves a were-wolf Sonic. This guy is rather large, has a long arms, is very hairy, and has a loping, it would appear, gait. Not really very attractive from the screen shots. The game play here is platform based, and the usual issues like positioning angles of the character, and to a much larger degree of the camera come into play. The stages are hard, and falls can be unmerciful, and painful. The levels are apparently, sometimes to long and tedious to complete, and Sonic purists will hate it.

There are some good points though, like the fighting with Sonic becoming adept as time and stages progress, and creating some nifty combos, which using the Wii remote, might make fun. I think the game play is a bit like i-ninja if anyone remembers the game. I never got bored and never completed it, but the levels I played were great fun!

The graphics are supposed to be really cool, and I cant comment on what people using the Wii will feel about controls etc. the sounds is classic techno stuff that listeners found consistent with Sonic, the game, and pleasure. I don’t know what else to add. Go play the game.

What to Look for in a Gaming Computer

Gaming computers have high–end graphics cards, processors and lots of RAM—those components needed to enhance your gaming experience. When considering a gaming computer you should carefully evaluate your needs. Most manufacturers provide individual customization, so you can get a desktop that will fit your gaming style and budget.

Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate gaming PCs.

• Processor – A fast CPU, or processor, will prevent lags in large or complex games like first person shooters or MMORPGs (massively multi–player online role–playing games). Some systems have dual core processors for hard–core gaming.
• Memory – A large memory allows the computer to quickly access frequently used information or programs. This is critical for gaming. A gaming PC should have between one and two GB of RAM memory and a sufficient hard drive.
• Video/Audio – A game is only as good as the graphics card supporting it. Many games have life–like, real–time images that require a high–end graphics card. Most computer manufacturers allow you to upgrade your graphics card. The sound should be a clear as the image.
• I/O Device – Some computers come with various peripherals including a mouse, keyboard, speakers and a monitor while others don’t. This may or may not be important depending on the buyer. Additionally, some gaming systems come with uniquely designed towers with sleek cases and neon lights.
• Value/Price –unfortunately, most gaming computers are comparitively expensive largely because they drive the hardware industry. Most other programs do not have such high system requirements. Its sort of a vicious circle, where games with high requirements are made to make people buy high end computers, which in turn make better graphics possible. However if you’re smart, and assemble your computer from scratch, you’ll save a few bucks, the downside is you may get cheated by the dealer, since he’ll probably know more than you. So do your homework.
• Support/Warranty – The first–class manufacturers provide quality help and support through email, phone and

Right, so for various dif. units, and groups different moves and tactics should be possible. For example, if I designate a group of cavalry, as cavalry, and then I should be able to order them to charge, through an opposing group, or to a point, and then either return or move on to the next position I want them.

The problem, for example with what happens right now, is that if you send your horse to charge, they’ll just charge through, and instead of mowing down some archers, for example, they’ll just run through them, being shot at from all angles.

That is one thing that needs to change, at least for the way most RTS use horse.

Another issue is something I’ve mentioned before, that pike men, when joined with archers do not adhere to the logical role they should play, that of protecting the archers, but they break formation very stupidly. Instead, it should at the very least be possible to designate a group of archers/pikemen, to fight together.

The other thing is artillery, while they aren’t as bad as usual, setting units to guard them is impossible, and they too, quite naturally break formation, when they aren’t supposed to. It can get on your nerves, very lieterally.

The guard feature needs therefore to be worked out for units too, not just buildins etc.

Actually, even if just this feature, and none of the others I’ve talked about is worked out, and we can then set aside troops to do something specific, in terms of strategy, we’ll have much more fun, though the unreality of having to deal with war/ peace simultaneously could also be removed.

In a real battle, you cant change, tactics at any given moment of time, you can suddenly withdraw troops committed to an engagement, nor can you respond to a new set of troops coming at the wrong time.

You set out a plan, the first wave, the second, artillery barrages, cavalry charges, and then you tell them, when to attack… I mean, no general gets to click on his troops. I think the over simplification forced on fighting by the way in RTSs work, is really irritating.

You should set out your troops in the same manner that a normal gen. would. Send out scouts, to figure out what the other army is using as its units, where they are coming from, and the array yourself in response.

AOE II has sort a similar system, but they give you clues in the start of a game, and so instead of being clues for battle, they become just random pieces of info. I think it would be great fun, if you get to research your opponents, research the terrain you’re fighting on, and then plan out the battle.

That way, upsets like water loo will be possible.

I’ve got an idea for what I shall do, I shall set out alternate commands that I think we should be allowed to give units, or groups.

Orders like the patrolling order that you can give in AOE II. Its cool, because you can set your units to patrol, and feel relatively sure that they will take care of things, of course they might die, but then that’s a real risk. Unlike an entire company slipping through.

That is another thing that needs to be worked on. The dynamics of a troops organized into bands. Its sort of stupid for pike men grouped with archers to break formation and attack foot soldiers, while the horse is still no where near,  when you actually need them to protect the archers, who will easily kill the footmen….

For now.

M: how do you know, you haven’t used it yet.

E: I don’t want to find out, why should I?

M: Because you’re using something that’s not as good as something else…

E: but its more than sufficient for me

M: so you’re gonna be satisfied with less than perfect?

E: I’m gonna be satisfied, isn’t that what we’re trying to get to anyway… satisfaction?

M: but…

Well, we backed and forthed like this for a bit, until we got to an impasse, I’ve never had any reason to shift to linux, but I’ve never had any reason not to, and yes it is better, cheaper, more democratic, and all in all, an upgrade. But for me, it would mean unfamiliarity, change, things going wrong that I don’t understand, and lot else. And the question remained, why?

It was much later, last night actually, that I found out why Linux is not the most popular OS…

I was talking to a couple of friends, one of them, G, has messed up his computer. It boots, and then hangs, almost simultaneously. He was asking the resident super tech geek M, what to do. M being different to the one above, who if you haven’t yet guessed, is a woman.

This M told G that the only option he had was to format his disk, and re-install the OS. I chipped in with the best place to buy a pirated CD from. But G was slightly unconvinced about using illegal software… so I suggested Linux.

M Liked the idea, in fact he even suggested a couple of distributions he had, and it seemed pretty good, until…

M(the tech geek) : what do you use the computer for?

G: well, writing, movies, and I don’t know… music

M: you don’t play games or anything do you?

G: well… sometimes, actually yeah I do.

M: well Linux doesn’t run games.

So now all I have to do, is tell the initial M about my discovery. That will take sometime, she doesn’t speak to me anymore. I thought it was because I still windows, but it turns out its because I respect tailors.

Alright, now for the details of the garrison style fighting.

So basically what happens is, you either have one or multiple cities. Each of them will have a garrison. Now, the point of having a city and a garrison, is that you can use the city structure as a part of the war fare tactic. For example things like city walls, embattlements etc. can be brought into play. Multiple gates, and their positions, and other stuff….

Basically, you can design your city… or at least its defenses. So you can place cities against mountains, or near rivers, etc. and use the terrain tactically as well. You can design the city to provide for things like emergency get aways, and trap doors to attack beseiging armies etc.

In actual battle, you will have a slight advantage, in that you can set up various buildings like hospitals etc. which will be more efficeint than theif field equivalents, which is obvioulsy what the opponents will have to use. But you wont be able to call on reinforcements, or will have some other disadavantage.

In battle itself you will have many more options, that of hiding behind your walls, that of going out to meet the army. That of abandoning the city. Or of cutting losses, by leaving only a small force behind, and sending the others of to anotehr settlement, or the next best thing.

Battles itself willl be handles along similar lines to a regular field engagement, except you will have walls, and the rest of the city to work with…