Signed up for netflix because it has cheap streaming to the nintendo wii. First tried it on a xbox1 w/ xbmc using playon but it would stutter and have other issues (PC Software did have to process and send it to XBOX). While the wii might have a bit of qualit loss it is uber smooth so far and good enough for me (I want good story, graphics don't matter as much).
So far this year I have watched:
We Were Soldiers, Moon, There will be blood, Watchmen, The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Stalker, The Illusionist, The Hurt Locker, Flags of our fathers, The Blind Side, 500 Days of Summer, Book of Eli, The Office S1-S5, Metropolis, Beer Wars, Lat Jetee, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, THX 1138, Wall-E, Better off Ted S1, Up, The Tick S1 (Live Action), Silent Running, Man From Earth, Omega Man, When Your Strange, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, King of Kong, SLC Punk, Bubba Ho Tep, Dead Like Me & First Men on the Moon.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Latest Artwork
Son of 5 Minute Doodle (31 July 2010): Based on a quick doodle I did at work while waiting for a business objects query to run. Felt I needed to get a work at in 2010. Other stuff still rolling in my mind just having put it to paper yet.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Crysis (2007)
Picked this one up on a steam sale with its sequal Warhead. Waited a while since I knew my old rig would cave on it. Actually surprised how well it runs on my current one since while its quadcore and lots of ram, the vid is only a HD 4600. She was still able to handle the game on mostly medium settings @ 1440x900. Still looked very nice and had a steady 30+ for most of the game.
I really enjoyed Far Cry, even the alien parts (except that last bit) and enjoyed this one too. Lots of nice set pieces that were fun to replay. Good physics and AI for the most part. Suit powers were nice though I mostly just used hide or strength when not using bullet protection.
While I often more prefer most realistic FPS, this one still hit that itch even with the power suit. In fact, the suit sort of made this make more sense as to how I was a super soldier, unlike other games where you mow tons of enemies down. You still had to play defensively though and hide a bit to recharge or the AI would take you down.
Good amount of weapons. I mostly went with a sniper gun, an auto rifle and then pistol. Tanks and jeeps were fun and wish the flight parts lasted a bit more or were more open. Also enjoyed how destructable they were (Shoot out wheels to effect steering, etc.). Only thing missing was a ride in the helis I often shot down.
Story wasn't bad. Sort of made me think of Predator in a way. Definitely worth a play through. I didn't even mind the alien parts, which were better in this one than in Far Cry. Need to clear out some other games before trying out Warhead. Won't be too bad even if its more of the same.
I still need to go back to Far Cry 2 and see how they compare/diverge even though its 2 in name only (Diff dev).
I really enjoyed Far Cry, even the alien parts (except that last bit) and enjoyed this one too. Lots of nice set pieces that were fun to replay. Good physics and AI for the most part. Suit powers were nice though I mostly just used hide or strength when not using bullet protection.
While I often more prefer most realistic FPS, this one still hit that itch even with the power suit. In fact, the suit sort of made this make more sense as to how I was a super soldier, unlike other games where you mow tons of enemies down. You still had to play defensively though and hide a bit to recharge or the AI would take you down.
Good amount of weapons. I mostly went with a sniper gun, an auto rifle and then pistol. Tanks and jeeps were fun and wish the flight parts lasted a bit more or were more open. Also enjoyed how destructable they were (Shoot out wheels to effect steering, etc.). Only thing missing was a ride in the helis I often shot down.
Story wasn't bad. Sort of made me think of Predator in a way. Definitely worth a play through. I didn't even mind the alien parts, which were better in this one than in Far Cry. Need to clear out some other games before trying out Warhead. Won't be too bad even if its more of the same.
I still need to go back to Far Cry 2 and see how they compare/diverge even though its 2 in name only (Diff dev).
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (2006)
Took a break from tactical FPS and RPGs to go for this hack n slash. Heard good and bad when it was released. Most liked the physics, especially the kicking, but felt it got stale. I enjoyed most of it though did get lost of where to go from time to time, yet the game is quite linear.
Sword fighting felt good, bows felt basic and the magic I tried (fireballs/freeze) worked fine. Decent enough RPGness to it with the user picking different abilities to use as you gain exp points for completing tasks. I mostly went with strength, magic/mana (mostly for healing), and bow. Picked a few other things but most seemed unnecessary or duplicated by magic/scrolls one could easily find.
Kicking the enemy off cliffs or into fire/spikes never got old. Quite helpful for some of the stronger little beasts. I liked my fire sword that I got later on as a few blows decimated most (or a single hit if I held for a power strike). Rope bow was nice and reminded me of the old Thief games. I spent lots of time looking for high places to bow snipe from and getting their using the rope bow.
The HUD was decent. Easy enough to hover over items and know their specs. Same with picking what abilities you wanted or moving stuff to the quick use bar. Lots of nice graphical effects during explosions, lightning strikes, magic aura-stuff.
Decent enough change of environments from castles to caves. Though lots of the middle was just cave or dungeon. Lots of good height going on in the levels along with large monsters to avoid or figure out non head on ways to take them down.
One of the better non gun FPS I've played (not that there many). While not a RPG like the old Might and Magic games or turn based game like Heroes ofMight and Magic games, it was still a good M&M game. Would like to see one with more of a RPG feel to it as the engine was nice and while linear still felt open enough to enjoy.
Sword fighting felt good, bows felt basic and the magic I tried (fireballs/freeze) worked fine. Decent enough RPGness to it with the user picking different abilities to use as you gain exp points for completing tasks. I mostly went with strength, magic/mana (mostly for healing), and bow. Picked a few other things but most seemed unnecessary or duplicated by magic/scrolls one could easily find.
Kicking the enemy off cliffs or into fire/spikes never got old. Quite helpful for some of the stronger little beasts. I liked my fire sword that I got later on as a few blows decimated most (or a single hit if I held for a power strike). Rope bow was nice and reminded me of the old Thief games. I spent lots of time looking for high places to bow snipe from and getting their using the rope bow.
The HUD was decent. Easy enough to hover over items and know their specs. Same with picking what abilities you wanted or moving stuff to the quick use bar. Lots of nice graphical effects during explosions, lightning strikes, magic aura-stuff.
Decent enough change of environments from castles to caves. Though lots of the middle was just cave or dungeon. Lots of good height going on in the levels along with large monsters to avoid or figure out non head on ways to take them down.
One of the better non gun FPS I've played (not that there many). While not a RPG like the old Might and Magic games or turn based game like Heroes ofMight and Magic games, it was still a good M&M game. Would like to see one with more of a RPG feel to it as the engine was nice and while linear still felt open enough to enjoy.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Last of the Emusic (Q3 2009)
Some time ago I unsubscribed to emusic. I'll go back again but waiting until they restock up on things I want. My last sub to them I hauled in random albums from:
Alice Donut
Angrey Somoans
Church of Misery
Clutch
Flipper
Future of the Left (Basically McClusky!)
Giddy Motors
Graveyard
Jello Biafra w/ Melvins & JB w/ NoMeansno
Jesus Lizard
Marginal Man
Painted Willie
Propagandhi
Rollins Band
Silverchair
Still Little Fingers
Weirdos
Think that was it. Some was grabbing things to replace old cassettes or getting the full album of bands where I only had a mp3 or two from. Favorite new find was Future of the Left since its McLusky. Once they and Turn Me On Dead Man release something I'll resign up if emusic gets it.
Alice Donut
Angrey Somoans
Church of Misery
Clutch
Flipper
Future of the Left (Basically McClusky!)
Giddy Motors
Graveyard
Jello Biafra w/ Melvins & JB w/ NoMeansno
Jesus Lizard
Marginal Man
Painted Willie
Propagandhi
Rollins Band
Silverchair
Still Little Fingers
Weirdos
Think that was it. Some was grabbing things to replace old cassettes or getting the full album of bands where I only had a mp3 or two from. Favorite new find was Future of the Left since its McLusky. Once they and Turn Me On Dead Man release something I'll resign up if emusic gets it.
Mirror's Edge (2009)
Mirrors's edge is an interesting change of pace for a game by DICE. No longer tons of gunfights on a battlefield, its mostly just you doing extreme urban running, jumping and climbing from building to building. It feels a lot like playing a first person platformer.
While your mostly in the city, there is a good mix of environments. After jumping and climbing around (and falling!) you do spend some time kicking open doors and running through office buildings, boats, subways and shafts. I only played the story mode, not the speed runs, etc. but enjoyed the level designs/setting.
There are a few gun fights where either you can fist fight them, grab their guns to use against them and sometimes just run away. While the combat felt a bit off, I didn't mind since your character is a courier (even if they prefer the roofs to street) and probably not the best shot.
One big plus is the auto save on this game. When you died, you only had a minute or so to retrack to get where you were. Saves usually occured before most boss fights too so you didn't have to redo whole levels or large sections to get back to where you were. There were only a few spots before big tricky jumps where I wished it saved but it wasn't that hard to get back to that spot.
The style of the game was good too. I liked how they highlighted in red where you needed to go or jump to/from. Also liked the general color scheme. While a lot of the buildings are mostly white, there is still some vibrant colors around. I also liked that there were people and cars way down below you if you peeked down from an edge.
Not sure how long the game actually is but since I played it in spurts it took forever. Worth the $5 or so I paid for it from gogamer. Ah, the joy of waiting until last year's hit games are uber cheap.
While your mostly in the city, there is a good mix of environments. After jumping and climbing around (and falling!) you do spend some time kicking open doors and running through office buildings, boats, subways and shafts. I only played the story mode, not the speed runs, etc. but enjoyed the level designs/setting.
There are a few gun fights where either you can fist fight them, grab their guns to use against them and sometimes just run away. While the combat felt a bit off, I didn't mind since your character is a courier (even if they prefer the roofs to street) and probably not the best shot.
One big plus is the auto save on this game. When you died, you only had a minute or so to retrack to get where you were. Saves usually occured before most boss fights too so you didn't have to redo whole levels or large sections to get back to where you were. There were only a few spots before big tricky jumps where I wished it saved but it wasn't that hard to get back to that spot.
The style of the game was good too. I liked how they highlighted in red where you needed to go or jump to/from. Also liked the general color scheme. While a lot of the buildings are mostly white, there is still some vibrant colors around. I also liked that there were people and cars way down below you if you peeked down from an edge.
Not sure how long the game actually is but since I played it in spurts it took forever. Worth the $5 or so I paid for it from gogamer. Ah, the joy of waiting until last year's hit games are uber cheap.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Risen (2009)
Finally got around to finishing Risen. I really enjoyed Piranha Bites Gothic 1. Just something about Euro devs I like more than other ones. Even if G1 was clunkier than Morrowing/Oblivion I still like its world and story more though I liked all of them. I still need to get around to G2.
I thought the graphics did their job well. Only had 1 crash and the main bugs I noticed was voice not playing in chapter 3. I speed click after reading text and don't listen to the voices so it didn't bug me. While the game's island might be small compared to other games, it still had tons of content and unique locations. Took about 45ish hours total but I also tried to explore every nook and go back and smack all the tough monsters once I levelled up.
I did get bogged down and lost after getting to the swamp during the first few hours. Then once I decided to actually dig into the game, I found my way and enjoyed it. Quest log and map were useful in finding where to go. I did give up at the final quest and used a walkthrough, but by that time was ready for it to be over. Part of the issue was the underground/dungeon quests were all stuffed into the last 2 chapters. I think it would have been better if they were spread throughout the game since the early dungeons were just 1 or 2 rooms.
Combat worked well. As you improved you could use better weapons and had more attacks. Defintely felt improvement as creatures that once smacked you around were now laid waste as you came back for revenge. I mostly used swords with just magic for buffing, healing, etc. Quests were fun and many seemed to have different ways to solve them. The island was also 1 big world. No loads time once the game was going.
Of course once I finished it a patch was finally released. Maybe it fixed the annoyance of having to reinvert my mouse each time I started the game (Setting wouldn't stick even though it showed it was inverted). I really need to go back and play G2 but want to get through a few FPS and maybe some other shorter RPGs first.
I thought the graphics did their job well. Only had 1 crash and the main bugs I noticed was voice not playing in chapter 3. I speed click after reading text and don't listen to the voices so it didn't bug me. While the game's island might be small compared to other games, it still had tons of content and unique locations. Took about 45ish hours total but I also tried to explore every nook and go back and smack all the tough monsters once I levelled up.
I did get bogged down and lost after getting to the swamp during the first few hours. Then once I decided to actually dig into the game, I found my way and enjoyed it. Quest log and map were useful in finding where to go. I did give up at the final quest and used a walkthrough, but by that time was ready for it to be over. Part of the issue was the underground/dungeon quests were all stuffed into the last 2 chapters. I think it would have been better if they were spread throughout the game since the early dungeons were just 1 or 2 rooms.
Combat worked well. As you improved you could use better weapons and had more attacks. Defintely felt improvement as creatures that once smacked you around were now laid waste as you came back for revenge. I mostly used swords with just magic for buffing, healing, etc. Quests were fun and many seemed to have different ways to solve them. The island was also 1 big world. No loads time once the game was going.
Of course once I finished it a patch was finally released. Maybe it fixed the annoyance of having to reinvert my mouse each time I started the game (Setting wouldn't stick even though it showed it was inverted). I really need to go back and play G2 but want to get through a few FPS and maybe some other shorter RPGs first.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Latest Artwork
Handosaurus Sins (30 Oct 2009): I was going to draw a Handosaurus and Handturkey battling but not enough room. Then thought about the Teach the Controversy shirt where the devil is hiding dino bones. So now Handosaurus bites the devil and is doomed by a meteorite. God watches using his universal lensed telescope as the devil reads the bible and has his shovel ready. The devil has 3 hands just to ref the trinity to bother someone out there with symbols.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Latest Artwork
Return of the LMing Dead (21 Sep 09): I've always thought the lunar module looked like a face. So decided to use it as one and that somehow transitioned into the LM as a zombies head. Then I thought up bad movie puns. Sort of fitting though as the once dead project arises from its budget grave.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Emusic Q1 & Q2 09 Recap
Skipped the Q1 as I suspended my account for awhile but have now reactived it. Had nabbed some in Q1 but never mentioned it so here it is combined with Q2.
Bad Brains - 'I Against I'
Crossbones - 'Goin To The Show', 'Incinerator Blues' & 'Stick of Rolling Dynamite'
Devillac - 'Devillac' & 'Three Hours to Coma'
Flipper - 'Blow N Chunks'
Fu Manchu - 'We Must Obey'
Inner Mountain Flame - 'Inner Mountain Flame'
Laudable Sepia Dominical - 'Laudable Sepia Dominical'
Los Deloreans - 'Back to Moldavia'
Mclusky - 'That Man Will Not Hang', 'The Difference Between Me And You Is That I'm Not On Fire' & 'Undress for Success'
Melvins - 'A Senile Animal' & 'Nude With Boots'
Minutemen - 'Post Mersh Vols 1-3'
Murdervan - 'Jaundice'
Nebula - 'Charged' & 'Heavy Psych'
Sowbelly Bitchhog - 'Coming Out Squealing'
Turn Me On Dead Man - 'Sunshine Suicide'
Some was getting on mp3 what I had on cassette (Skipped the whole CD thang') - Bad Brains, Flipper & Minutemen. Some was nabbing the other Poison Tree Records artists that tickled my fancy. Some was grabbing my new fav bands I first heard on emusic - Mclusky, Fu Manchu, Nebula & Turn Me On Dead Man.
Meanwhile emusic changed their pricing. While it bumped it up a smidge its still way cheaper than other sources and added a lot more bands (Even if they might be less up my alley its still good). For some weird reason I got a free month out of it too as their site thought I missed a month, which technically I did since I was suspended).
Bad Brains - 'I Against I'
Crossbones - 'Goin To The Show', 'Incinerator Blues' & 'Stick of Rolling Dynamite'
Devillac - 'Devillac' & 'Three Hours to Coma'
Flipper - 'Blow N Chunks'
Fu Manchu - 'We Must Obey'
Inner Mountain Flame - 'Inner Mountain Flame'
Laudable Sepia Dominical - 'Laudable Sepia Dominical'
Los Deloreans - 'Back to Moldavia'
Mclusky - 'That Man Will Not Hang', 'The Difference Between Me And You Is That I'm Not On Fire' & 'Undress for Success'
Melvins - 'A Senile Animal' & 'Nude With Boots'
Minutemen - 'Post Mersh Vols 1-3'
Murdervan - 'Jaundice'
Nebula - 'Charged' & 'Heavy Psych'
Sowbelly Bitchhog - 'Coming Out Squealing'
Turn Me On Dead Man - 'Sunshine Suicide'
Some was getting on mp3 what I had on cassette (Skipped the whole CD thang') - Bad Brains, Flipper & Minutemen. Some was nabbing the other Poison Tree Records artists that tickled my fancy. Some was grabbing my new fav bands I first heard on emusic - Mclusky, Fu Manchu, Nebula & Turn Me On Dead Man.
Meanwhile emusic changed their pricing. While it bumped it up a smidge its still way cheaper than other sources and added a lot more bands (Even if they might be less up my alley its still good). For some weird reason I got a free month out of it too as their site thought I missed a month, which technically I did since I was suspended).
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Latest Artwork
Gettysburg Mechasaurus (1 Aug 09): Started off as Abe as an Astronaut. Then added the dinosaur and then converted it into a mechasaur. The dino then needed some defense/offense so added the turret gun.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Fu Manchu - Action is Go (1997)
The Fu was one of my emusics new music loves. Good album but not the best. It never shows up on emusic so got it from amazon. Its currently tied for third with 'No One Rides For Free'. Not quite up there with 'Daredevil' or 'In Search Of'.
Turn Me On Dead Man - God Bless the Electric Freak (2005)
Sometime ago I got Turn Me On Dead Man's 'Technicolour Mother' album from emusic. Never heard of them before but really enjoyed it. Good Alt90s/Acid Rock/Beatles influenced sound going on. Got there newest 'Sunshine Suicide' from emusic too and nabbed Electric Freak off amazon since emusic doesn't have it. While not as strong as there other two albums its still good. Nice to like a band that gets better with each album instead of worse.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Mudhoney - My Brother The Cow (1995)
Even though they are one of my favorite bands I never picked up this album. Stumbled across it the other day so I purchased it. At first I liked it for a Mudhoney fix but wasn't sure how much I really liked it compared to their other stuff. Now I can't stop listening to it so its a good sign. So far my favorite songs are "Judgment, Rage, Retribution and Thyme" and "Orange Ball-Peen Hammer". Think I'm just a Mudhoney junkie though.
Only main thing of theirs I have left to get is "Since We've Become Translucent" and "Five Dollar Bob's Mock Cooter…" but neither albums samples make me want to. I have enough of their stuff now to stay entertained.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
NoMeansNo - All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt (2006)
NoMeansNo is my favorite band, with Mudhoney in a quick second. For whatever reason though I'm always slow to get their latest stuff. Was going to get this online but stumbled across it locally for cheap. It was marked as used but looks pristine.
Soundwise it reminds me of NMN's 'Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie'. Its no 'Wrong' or 'The Worldhood of the World (As Such)' but still a solid NMN album. I think I like the last 1/2 of the album more than the first, which is odd since most albums start good and then peter out.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
System Shock 2 (1999)
After this replay, SS2 still holds up as one of my favorite games. I really like the mix of FPS and RPG thrown together. The story is good, the level design great and sound is excellent. I like the small details such as being able to lean forward/left/right and even climb boxes along with the GUI, HUD, Map and all the other bits of the game. Maybe its the C64 simmer/RPGer in me, but I wanted games like this and Deus Ex to continue the FPS-RPG hybrid mesh instead of the streamlined games we get nowadays (Get off my lawn!)
Once you slap on some of the texture upgrade mods then game looks really nice for being from 1999. The levels flow well and it does feel like you are on a ship. Even though its basically the same local for the whole game, I never got bored. Enough tension and little changes depending on which deck helped keep the pace going. Audio is excellent in both the environmental sounds and audio logs from the ship mates. At first I wasn't bugged by the enemy audio since I'd played it before, but over time it started to creep me out again, especially when there were multiple enemies getting close. So much gaming goodness is packed in this game.
I meant to play this time as the PSI guy, but I can never do it. I always end up a Hacker with lots of the Marine weapon skills. I even thought about cheating in some modules to pump up my PSI skills just to play with them. I didn't in the end, though I did do the 'Easy' mode when picking skills to stretch my module usage out, then going back to 'Normal' during play. After a certain point, I never have PSI due to drinking to get health back and didn't want to waste inventory space on PSI boosts. I like to spend my points and time in hacking and modding weapons.
This game doesn't feel old and I had just as much fun with it as other newer games. It adds to my belief that the current quest for ubergraphics pulls to many resources from other aspects of a game and the need for a wider audience acceptance waters down modern gameplay. Only part of the game I don't like is the 'Body of the Many' but its nowhere near as bad as Half Life 1's 'Xen' levels. It sort of made up for it by the next level's homage to System Shock 1 with the old school graphics look and cyberspace feel.
For the replay I did use the texture upgrade mods that are out there: SHTUP Beta6 and Rebirth Beta 01 - Complemented Version. They really make the game still look nice to play through. I also used the dark engine widescreen mod Darkwidescreen v6r2. I used SS2 Mod Manager v1.1 to help manage the mods. I did the no weapons degrade and no respawn both in the mod manager and manually in my ini. I've downloaded a few of the fan made campaigns from Strangebedfellows, a SS1/2 mod site, but have yet to try them.
I need to play SS1 someday as I never have played that one.
Once you slap on some of the texture upgrade mods then game looks really nice for being from 1999. The levels flow well and it does feel like you are on a ship. Even though its basically the same local for the whole game, I never got bored. Enough tension and little changes depending on which deck helped keep the pace going. Audio is excellent in both the environmental sounds and audio logs from the ship mates. At first I wasn't bugged by the enemy audio since I'd played it before, but over time it started to creep me out again, especially when there were multiple enemies getting close. So much gaming goodness is packed in this game.
I meant to play this time as the PSI guy, but I can never do it. I always end up a Hacker with lots of the Marine weapon skills. I even thought about cheating in some modules to pump up my PSI skills just to play with them. I didn't in the end, though I did do the 'Easy' mode when picking skills to stretch my module usage out, then going back to 'Normal' during play. After a certain point, I never have PSI due to drinking to get health back and didn't want to waste inventory space on PSI boosts. I like to spend my points and time in hacking and modding weapons.
This game doesn't feel old and I had just as much fun with it as other newer games. It adds to my belief that the current quest for ubergraphics pulls to many resources from other aspects of a game and the need for a wider audience acceptance waters down modern gameplay. Only part of the game I don't like is the 'Body of the Many' but its nowhere near as bad as Half Life 1's 'Xen' levels. It sort of made up for it by the next level's homage to System Shock 1 with the old school graphics look and cyberspace feel.
For the replay I did use the texture upgrade mods that are out there: SHTUP Beta6 and Rebirth Beta 01 - Complemented Version. They really make the game still look nice to play through. I also used the dark engine widescreen mod Darkwidescreen v6r2. I used SS2 Mod Manager v1.1 to help manage the mods. I did the no weapons degrade and no respawn both in the mod manager and manually in my ini. I've downloaded a few of the fan made campaigns from Strangebedfellows, a SS1/2 mod site, but have yet to try them.
I need to play SS1 someday as I never have played that one.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Gravity Bone (?)
Somewhere along the way I ran across this weird Quake 2 mod. I really like the art style. Nice blocky headed people.
Its quite short so try it. I need to try this guy's other stuff. Go here for blendo games' stuff.
Its quite short so try it. I need to try this guy's other stuff. Go here for blendo games' stuff.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (2001)
After finishing up the Conspiracies mod, I finally went back to actually finish the last mission of the original OFP campaign. For whatever reason, I stalled out on that one but have spent lots of time with single missions and just playing in the editor. Even with its age I still enjoy it thanks to the mod community. Not bad for a game I got on ebay for about $1 with all expansions (Think it cost more to ship it than my final bid).
Even though I stalled out playing it, this is still one of my favorite FPS games. While I prefer RPG-FPS like Deus Ex or System Shock 2, I also enjoy the tactical games. I played Ghost Recon first as OFP was too much at the time, but once I was used to the squad play in GR I dug back into OFP. I've done the 1st campaign, some of the single player missions, and lots of custom mod missions or just random editor play.
Yes, the game can be a bit ugly and clunky, but there is just so much to do from infantry to tanks to air combat. If you don't like the setting, just download some mods to change it (WW1, WW2, Vietnam, Cold War, Future Combat, etc.). Even a Mad Max style mod which is the closest to Car Wars/Autoduel I can get besides Interstate 76. Even if you just want to play the original campaigns there are good mods to change the units to look better (I love the models by Sanctuary).
Besides ArmA, I really don't think there are other games out there like it. While there are some tactical games with vehicles, they don't have the scope and moddability of OFP. With OFP, I can open the editor, then either edit an existing mission or just plunk down troops and see how it all goes. Of course, I could do scripting to get even better missions, but I like that it lets any skill level use it. For a change of scenery, just download another island someone has made and see if there are missions for it or make your own. So while some areas could be improved past what Bohemia has done with the patches and users with mods, I still think its one of the best tactical FPS out there.
Now to play the expansions and the multitude of user made campaigns/missions I've downloaded with a liberal use of the savemission cheat so I can have unlimited saves. It's just so easy to die in this game so I don't want to worry about having only 1 save.
Even though I stalled out playing it, this is still one of my favorite FPS games. While I prefer RPG-FPS like Deus Ex or System Shock 2, I also enjoy the tactical games. I played Ghost Recon first as OFP was too much at the time, but once I was used to the squad play in GR I dug back into OFP. I've done the 1st campaign, some of the single player missions, and lots of custom mod missions or just random editor play.
Yes, the game can be a bit ugly and clunky, but there is just so much to do from infantry to tanks to air combat. If you don't like the setting, just download some mods to change it (WW1, WW2, Vietnam, Cold War, Future Combat, etc.). Even a Mad Max style mod which is the closest to Car Wars/Autoduel I can get besides Interstate 76. Even if you just want to play the original campaigns there are good mods to change the units to look better (I love the models by Sanctuary).
Besides ArmA, I really don't think there are other games out there like it. While there are some tactical games with vehicles, they don't have the scope and moddability of OFP. With OFP, I can open the editor, then either edit an existing mission or just plunk down troops and see how it all goes. Of course, I could do scripting to get even better missions, but I like that it lets any skill level use it. For a change of scenery, just download another island someone has made and see if there are missions for it or make your own. So while some areas could be improved past what Bohemia has done with the patches and users with mods, I still think its one of the best tactical FPS out there.
Now to play the expansions and the multitude of user made campaigns/missions I've downloaded with a liberal use of the savemission cheat so I can have unlimited saves. It's just so easy to die in this game so I don't want to worry about having only 1 save.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
OFP Mod: Conspiracies Deluxe
A while back I downloaded the Conspiracies Deluxe mod for OFP. If I remember right it was sort of a STALKERish inspired mod for OFP that was released before the actual STALKER game was out.
Decent enough little mod that tries to do something different. I really liked the atmosphere in a lot of the levels early on. After the 20th or so level I ran into more bugs and got lost more than in the earlier ones so resorted to some endmission cheats to get past that. It had a nice mix of troop combat and then zombie combat.
Even though OFP is old I still like how it looks for some strange reason. Still amazed by the amount of mods and activity it still has. It really makes me want to try my own mod, at least mission wise, building something postapoc. I also tried some Chernobyl mod but it didn't have any missions at the time (At least that is what I recall). Sort of makes more sense to just replay STALKER but there is something about OFP (and also ArmA) that draw me back.
The author's website is here. Filefront currently still has a link to the mod up here.
Decent enough little mod that tries to do something different. I really liked the atmosphere in a lot of the levels early on. After the 20th or so level I ran into more bugs and got lost more than in the earlier ones so resorted to some endmission cheats to get past that. It had a nice mix of troop combat and then zombie combat.
Even though OFP is old I still like how it looks for some strange reason. Still amazed by the amount of mods and activity it still has. It really makes me want to try my own mod, at least mission wise, building something postapoc. I also tried some Chernobyl mod but it didn't have any missions at the time (At least that is what I recall). Sort of makes more sense to just replay STALKER but there is something about OFP (and also ArmA) that draw me back.
The author's website is here. Filefront currently still has a link to the mod up here.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003)
Think I picked this up about a year after its release. Most likely on sale or when it hit the bargain bin. It took about 30hrs total with 1/2 that around the time I got it and the rest recently when I finally went back to finish it. It was a decent enough RPG and a good SW game.
Story was decent enough and gameplay was fine. Its always fun to use sabers, force powers and blasters on the mobs of enemies. I played through on the light side but did pick some dark side approaches, but in the end was still more of a good guy then bad. I know many have replayed it multiple times to see the good and bad endings but I don't feel like playing it again at this time. Maybe some other day but probably not.
While I did like it since it was more scifi than traditional RPGs, it still felt like I was just playing a D&D style game with the Force instead of magic. While there were blasters and rifles, the engine didn't seem built well for ranged combat. I normally had 2 melee people and 1 guy hanging a bit back with blasters but felt the ranged combat was lacking. I always felt too zoomed into the combat for ranged to work well. I think NWN even did it better since I can zoom in or out as I wanted. The last level was also a respawning grindfest.
Even the with a melee/force focus, I think I prefer NWN and its many modules. While that engine is older, I felt like I had more control over the combat vs Kotor. The ability to zoom out in NWN allowed for ranged combat to work better. I also had issues with the path finding during combat as my people would get stuck in close quarters and waste time trying to get to the enemy. I also got tired of opening boxes and remains just because of the slow animation. Though this is games in general since other RPGs I would be bashing barrels but it just seemed slow here.
A little bit better ranged combat by having a more open/zoomable field would have helped my enjoyment. While the dialogue was good it was nothing that could not have been done in NWN1 though Kotor did look prettier. While I enjoyed it I think I'll stick to the Jedi Knight FPS games (Due for a replay) instead of replaying this and I already know to avoid Kotor2.
I only used a few mods during my gameplay as I hated the ship shooter parts. The mouse control was horrible so after suffering through the first few encounters I got some mods to remove that mini-game. I used this link to get kitty kitty's no_fighters.zip and also the no_turrets_after_leviathan.zip from tk102's posts.
Story was decent enough and gameplay was fine. Its always fun to use sabers, force powers and blasters on the mobs of enemies. I played through on the light side but did pick some dark side approaches, but in the end was still more of a good guy then bad. I know many have replayed it multiple times to see the good and bad endings but I don't feel like playing it again at this time. Maybe some other day but probably not.
While I did like it since it was more scifi than traditional RPGs, it still felt like I was just playing a D&D style game with the Force instead of magic. While there were blasters and rifles, the engine didn't seem built well for ranged combat. I normally had 2 melee people and 1 guy hanging a bit back with blasters but felt the ranged combat was lacking. I always felt too zoomed into the combat for ranged to work well. I think NWN even did it better since I can zoom in or out as I wanted. The last level was also a respawning grindfest.
Even the with a melee/force focus, I think I prefer NWN and its many modules. While that engine is older, I felt like I had more control over the combat vs Kotor. The ability to zoom out in NWN allowed for ranged combat to work better. I also had issues with the path finding during combat as my people would get stuck in close quarters and waste time trying to get to the enemy. I also got tired of opening boxes and remains just because of the slow animation. Though this is games in general since other RPGs I would be bashing barrels but it just seemed slow here.
A little bit better ranged combat by having a more open/zoomable field would have helped my enjoyment. While the dialogue was good it was nothing that could not have been done in NWN1 though Kotor did look prettier. While I enjoyed it I think I'll stick to the Jedi Knight FPS games (Due for a replay) instead of replaying this and I already know to avoid Kotor2.
I only used a few mods during my gameplay as I hated the ship shooter parts. The mouse control was horrible so after suffering through the first few encounters I got some mods to remove that mini-game. I used this link to get kitty kitty's no_fighters.zip and also the no_turrets_after_leviathan.zip from tk102's posts.
