So, I decided I need a smaller, more portable computer, that's not for gaming but for mostly internet, word processing, data analysis and music and stuff (and Starcraft 2).
Biggest gripe...
Vista, sucks up 1 gig of my 4 gigs of Memory just running. I haven't put it through the paces yet, but it runs very cool and quiet and is very light and small. The price was right, considering I have 40$ in Best Buy reward cards (that covered taxes).
Again, I ran into one of those snags in life. It's complicated and about my research life and about my professors and who said what, and how I need to focus better, rather than "work harder or longer". And I don't know, life throws curveballs that you strike out with sometimes.
Can't win them all.
So I'm sorting things out while my life is on hiatus a little while, but it's ok, I'll move along. Hope everyone is doing well. I'll be stopping in again soon.
Yea, I know the blogs are flooded with these things, but it's my blog and I'll cry... err post if I wanna.
First off, let me say this. Grand Theft Auto 4 is good, great even, I know Niko would want me to say that or he'd break my kneecaps or throw me out a window or something.
For real though, he's a well rounded character with a lot of depth, more so than any GTA character yet, by far. I didn't think it was going to work, but it does. Heck, fresh of the boat, I was able to guide him into the promised land of Michelle. Twice. "I think she understands me just fine" ;)
Anyways, rather than spoiling specifics, I'll break it down into the good and bad.
Good:
The production values are at an all time high. By this I mean the attention to detail, random objects in a room, the diversity of the locales and people in game, the sheer amount of stuff you can do, it's more than the Sims. Heck, I played Bowling, Darts, Pool, watched in game TV for about 40 minutes last night (Katt Williams was great).
The sound is unparalled. The radio does not dissappoint, at all. The voice actors, especially Niko and Roman are amazing, they come of sounding both stereotypical and also firmly based in reality. You know, the Rockstar type attitude and dialogue, but you could see them as real people, and the voice acting brings that to life. The sound of the explosions, tires burning out, crashes, gunshots, people talking on the street having real conversations, wind and rain, all top notch. If anything deserves a 10, the sound is it.
As I said before, the graphics are diverse, with much more complexity to them. The hils are real, sloping and curving, not just at angles, there are many more curved roads this time around. The textures, yes, GTA 4 actually has textures, are pretty good, not on par with Gears of War mind you, but pretty damn good. It's an improvement over the past. Also the animations are very fluid and lifelike, and the characters have distinct digits this time and facial expressions.
Melee combat has been revamped (like the rest of the game's combat). It is good. Locking onto people allows you to get into a boxing type stance where you can throw different punches depending on what button you push, plus a kick. If you also walk up to someone (like I did in a mission) and talk to them and get close you can smack them with a sucker punch for an instant KO.
The cell phone is great, you can call for a ride from your cousin, go out on dates, call up employers for missions, go hang out drinking (I was going to blow chunks watching the screen after the Cousins Bellic got loaded. But its too funny to not watch them stumble aroud in traffic) or eating, seeing a cabaret, etc. Again, the Sims come to mind.
You just have to sit and appreciate the update to the series they gave. Yes, it is more of a good thing...
Bad :
... ultimately it is the same thing. Sure, some more tweaks, different types of objectives, but its ultimately a rise to power take over the city type deal again, which is why we are here. It's like Halo, or MGS, or whatever in that regard. So it's not mindblowingly revolutionary, just more of a good thing.
The graphics have a lot of issues though. Not quite as many as "The Times", but they should see a shrink. First, the game often skips frames, and turning the camera isn't smooth. I sometimes doubt this game operates at even 24 frames a second... considering it supposedly runs in 630P. I would tend to agree, as this game has a LOT of jaggies...
Additionally, while I have only experienced a slight problem (namely the game froze for like 5 seconds while the sound kept going, but I magically teleported to my destination), people on both the Xbox and Playstation camps say that there are fatal game ending crashes. Keeping my fingers crossed.
The cars handle like utter ass. Stopping is very hard, turning is hard too, oftentimes I slide out like I'm playing Gran Turismo. Ok, clearly a better car handles better, but this is turning into less fun, more of a hassle. Maybe they are putting a premium on high end exotic cars, I don't know.
The projectile combat system sucks. You have to "half hold" the button to go into free aim or hold it completely for locked aim, and shooting is quite slow and it's just, well maybe I need to get used to it, but the revamped version of the combat is not sitting well with me so far.
Little quibble, but I was able to wash my dishes, make my bed, pick up my living area and take a leak all in the 15 minutes it took to install the 3.4 gigs on my PS3 version... really annoying when you just want to start playing.
So, In all, the game has a few flaws that are technical and objectively assessed, and then some which are subjective. But by and far, this game does actually deserve much of it's praise. Does it surpass GTA 3 in terms of being revolutionary... of course not, but to say it is not a step forward in almost all directions would be wrong.
Overall, after 5 hours of play, I'm going to give GTA 4 a 9 out of 10.
I know I've put this up in the RPG Temple, and I know some people have read it. But the two people on my friends list... who happen to be in the temple... who happen to have never played this game... haven't read it.
I promise a more substantial blog next week.
And for those that already read it in the Temple or want to comment again, feel free. Just consider this a dragnet to catch those lallygaggers who have been asleep or something.
I told you guys I got a camera a while back. Well I took some pictures back when my 360 was still alive and before I got my latest addition (Metal Gear Solid Essentials Collection), but otherwise, this is what my room looks like, in terms of entertainment setup.
Games and Controllers and what not
Bottom Shelves (Blu-Ray, PSP and Camera)
You might ask why I have ghetto second hand furniture. Easy. You know how much that TV + Game systems and stuff cost? Yea, some day I intend to get nice furniture. Well, my bed is a Tempurpedic (not shown).
I really need an interior decorator.
This is a multifaceted look at where the Xbox is at now from my perspective, and where it's going (I have some very close sources who know a lot about what's going on, which you will be privy to).
First off, let's start with the Software:
This generation, the Xbox has been my favorite system by far. Gears of War, Dead Rising, Saints Row, Mass Effect, Lost Odyssey, those have all been some stellar applications in my book. Some people will disagree with those, some will say they are great, whatever. The fact is I love most of what the 360 has to offer...
But the hardware is junk. I say this as my 2nd Xbox died last night. No I'm not going to mourn, or complain. Hell, I knew what happened the second my screen went black in the middle of Lost Odyssey.
Now this you people may or may not have heard before, so I'm saying it again.
From my source at ATI, the major problem with the Xbox 360s (not the only causes of failures, but the major proponent of the 3 red ring kind) is that Microsoft moved from using lead solder joints to some silver/zinc/copper mixture to be more eco friendly. This is what I say...
No SciFiCat, not really, I love animals, but the fact Microsoft is buying into this whole hybrid eco friendly imagineering BS to save a few trees or whatever from a little bit of lead is entirely BS. Anyone who owns an Xbox 360 knows it heats up and can fry an egg. Hell the PS3 can do that too, but what it has is lead solder joints and more internal cooling space. Something the electrical engineers at ATI and Microsoft warned the design team about.
This heating and cooling causes thermal stress on the solder joints and cracks them over time. As we know, you break a circuit you get no electricity flow. No electricity = no game time fun hour for you.
So, the current gen 65nm process, plus some crappy design features DO add up to the 20% to 30% failure rate, although I personally now believe that all Xbox 360s have this flaw.
So what is the future of the 360?
From the Software perspective : A slew of multiplats, as it has always had to compete with the PS3, but Gears of War 2, Mass Effect 2, Ninja Gaiden 2 are just a few of the things that will keep people coming back for more. Including me.
From the Hardware perspective : Now pay attention here. I've posted this in one of my unions, but will elucidate it again.
There are secretly (that is Microsoft will not divulge upon heresay, or anything for that matter) Xbox units that are being made that have lead based solder joints (Supposedly) and the 40 nm processor (you know the "Falcon" Xbox, that's it). This will make the machine run cooler and will be near impervious to thermal damage. ATI is testing 135 of these commercially bought Xbox 360s right now.
I will know more later. And perhaps get one of them, along with like 5 or 6 free wireless controllers, brand new (they just have hundreds laying around from commercial boxes.
Also, the Xbox 720 (it's the codename don't sue me) was awarded to ATI again. Production is tentatively slated for 2009 (late). Expect your next generation Xbox in mid 2010.
Now whether you believe me or not (I know most of you will as you are on my friend's list), this is the truth from someone who is knee deep in the proverbial mud.
1.) I didn't ride a bike until I was 12. Why? I crashed into a mailbox and got all messed up and bruised and hurt and well I was unwilling to try for years and years.
2.) I saw Jurassic Park in the theater 12 times. And I own it on DVD.
3.) I'm allergic to penicillin. Yea, that's lame(this thing you didn't know about me and the fact that I am allergic to it).
4.) My great grandfather lived to be 108.
5.) I am not black, contrary to what none of you thought about me.
Bonus Fact : I am slightly drunk right now.
So, who to tag next?
50 Cent : Bulletproof 2 - It exists
Why god... why must this game have a sequel that sees the light of day?
Blood on the Sands? What the hell? Is this gonna be some bunk ripoff of Uncharted? 50 Cent Raider? Ugh...
Why can't there be a sequel to Double Dragon?
Why can't Billy and Jimmy Lee kick ass again as shown in this computer simulation?
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We've gone from making gems like this game previously mentioned to completely eschewing that genre for games that have the developmental advancement of sea foam. 50 Cent Bulletproof couldn't be considered good on the original Playstation.
Sure, we have Parasite Eve making a comeback... on mobile phones... in Japan only.
We need a grassroots movement to bring back games like the following:
Now we got crap replaced by Final Fantasy rerererererelease number 145 (once was enough, thanks), NFL Street 3 (I think that's what we are on), and of course.... 50 Cent Bulletproof 2.
Old favorites like Smash Bros, Final Fantasy (new ones), Halo, Grand Theft Auto and such are good, but remember back to an old time when people made different games, unlike any others? Remember when there were different genres, not a bunch of hybrid ones?
I want my old fashioned beatemups, my shootemups (not today's modern FPS), I want an RPG that isn't either turn based or ATB alone, I want something different.
What I don't want is 50 Cent Bulletproof 2 (Subtitled : Blood on the Sand. Can we take this seriously?)
That's what I don't want.
Heck, I have a Ipod, Razr cell phone, a camcorder.... not to mention my 42inch 1080p LCD TV, 5.1 Surround Sound upscaling DVD/Ipod dock setup, PS3, 360, Wii and PSP in terms of technology, I've gotten myself one of these:
Click on the image for more info (including price for those who will ask).
I got a bunch of pictures of New Orleans and such, but I figure that I need to do an obligatory "Show your Setup" at some point. Which will be my next blog. Also I need time to take a picture that doesn't make me look like a total jackass (which so far I've been doing with incredible success).
Anyways, time to get to use Facebook too, all my friends and family are insisting upon it and I feel totally illiterate in regards to these social networking sites.
I don't have anything to say really in terms of gaming or how's my life going... maybe busy (yes better than my last blog or two would indicate). Someday I plan to make a blog of true substance that touches the very meaning of life and existance. Well, I can't promise that.
So um yea. I realized one thing though about my camera... Isn't 8 megapixels kind of excessive?
I just went through a rough time with work and a whole existential breakdown and such. My hand being broken took a toll on me and my work, and being a graduate student is hard work, but I think I figured it out now. Anyways, I am alive, but haven't played games in like 2 or 3 weeks as I need to do a lot of other stuff. Actually this sunday I am heading to New Orleans for a conference meeting. The American Physical Society meeting, I'm giving a poster presentation with the rest of my lab mates.
I also went through a depressive phase, which really sucked, but I'm getting over it now. Just chalk it up to one of those funks people go through sometimes. Anyways, I am alive and should be posting every so often again now.
So that's the short version of where I'm at now. Sorry everyone.
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