Alright, so I've decided to emerge from writing hibernation to once again gush about the greatness of the latest game that actually compelled me to finish it. That game is System Shock 2. As usual, after playing such a great game, I'm left to wonder what the hell I was doing when it originally came out. I won't beat myself up over it, but it probably wasn't something as cool as System Shock 2. I don't even know where to begin with this game so I'll save it for my inevitable review, but suffice it to say, this game is totally awesome. I was absolutely riveted to my computer from start to finish, taking only short breaks to work full time and hang out with my fiance (Though, were I able, would have skipped both to finish this game. Just kidding sweety. ;) Oh and by the way, an 8.5 Gamespot? I know it was 8 years ago, but still, what the hell?

So now I am left with a problem. BIOSHOCK isn't out yet. Two weeks isn't that long of a wait I suppose, but I do have half a mind to bury myself in the snow to assuage my impatience (like Eric Cartman in anticipation of a Nintendo Wii). Fortunately the lack of snow due to 100 degree weather prevents me from acting on such irrational decisions. Speaking of irrational decisions, why in Gods name did 2K change Irrationals name to 2K Boston? Worst. Idea. Ever.

So anyway, if anyone could find me an early copy of BIOSHOCK I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Holy crap! Just finished this game about 2 minutes ago and felt the need to rant about how truly brilliant it was. I've never played another game that was quite as exhilarating as this one. For a five hour game they certainly crammed as much excitement and intensity in as they could. The cinematic presentation was awe inspiring and really leaves you wanting a lot more by the end of the game. I can understand why some people have been upset by its short length, but this game by no means deserves anything less than a 9.0 despite that. If the original Half-Life 2 had been this awesome the whole way through I would have definitely hopped on the HL2 fan boy wagon. I think by the time all three episodes have been released people will be talking about how much better these episodes were than the original game. Oh and the short teaser they show for Episode 2 looks amazing and the graphics appear to be getting a nice overhaul as well (hope my computer can run it like that). Any who, better go reinstall Half-Life 2 now.

I'm not quite sure what I was thinkin 12 years ago when this game was released.  I owned a SNES and to this day still think fondly of it has being the pinnacle of console gaming, yet I never even thought about playing Super Metroid.  I have friends that have played it many times and qualify it as a classic game.  I listened and I heard them, but for some reason one that I am not quite sure of, I effectively ignored them.  What have I been smoking?  This game is simply amazing.  I have yet to beat it but unless something goes horribly wrong by the end of the game it will be receiving a 10 from me.  In fact, I would give this game an 11 if I could and even that may be an understatement.  I'm sure it's arguable but I don't believe a better game has come out since, perhaps equal but not better.  The simple fact that I am 24 and playing it for the first time with as much excitement as if it was released this year is a testament to its quality.  I don't review games very often but once I'm finished with this one my review will be posted shortly there after.

P.S.  I hope this made sense, I'm on weird surgery drugs. 

I have done the unspeakable. I have been cheating on my computer and I must say, I don't feel bad about it at all. It had been incapacitated for 2 weeks until today and I have been unable to play my most anticipated Christmas present, Civilization IV. In the meantime my eyes have wandered elsewhere, to an unexpected place: Board Games! More specifically, German board games. It may come as a surprise to some people but Germany is the largest producer of board games in the world. In fact, the most prestigious award that a board game can receive comes from Germany: The Spiel des Jahres Award. There are so many quality games from Germany out there it would be impossible for me to mention all of them. I recently purchased a few which include Power Grid, Torres, and Tikal. These are all very good games and anyone who enjoys computer games could very easily get into this underground world of board games as I have. I become no less excited when I play one of these games than I do when I play my favorite Computer games.

Check these links for more:

funagain.com

boardgamegeek.com

Spiel des Jahres

I have been playing computer games for god knows how long and Sid Meier has probably been making games for just as long.  But for some reason I just never paid any attention to his games; perhaps because Strategy games didn't used to be my thing.  Well, I picked up Sid Meier's Pirates! at the beginning of this year and then the proverbial avalanche began.  In the past year I have added Civilization III, Alpha Centauri and Gettysburg to my collection (Civ IV is next).  If a game bears Sid Meier's name it is probably worth owning.  The balance of depth and quality in his games is simply amazing and I am unaware of any designer who is as consistent.  If Sid Meier were to run for President I would probably vote for him.

Long Live Sid!

Next month is, simply put, going to be totally awesome for PC gamers. I can't remember the last time so many highly anticipated games were scheduled to come out in the same month for the PC, or any system really. Not only are they highly anticipated, but considering the line up it seems as though a great many of them, if not all of them, are actually going to be excellent games (the ones on my most wanted list anyway). Here's my most wanted list for October in no particular order:

F.E.A.R.

Civilization IV

Age of Empires III

Serious Sam II

Quake IV

Black and White II

Isn't that just nutty? If you aren't aware of why this list is just plain nutty, then perhaps you should just click on any of those game titles and find out more about them. And do you notice how many roman numerals are attached to the end of those titles? Who ever said sequelitis was a bad thing? Now all I have to do is find a way to pay for all of these games and I will be in gaming heaven.

Dammit technology!

I can understand the desire for game developers and those in the computer/console industry to live on the cutting edge of technology and to constantly push themselves over that edge; I mean hell, this stuff is cool and keeps getting cooler. But by always striving to live on the frontier of technology developers aren't giving us less financially stable gamers enough time to catch up. This is especially true for PC gamers, like myself, who must upgrade their system almost annually just to play new games, that is if they want the game to look like it wasn't made 5 years ago. Would it really be so bad if the technology industry paced itself a little more like the tortoise and less like the hare? That might sound crazy to some, but maybe it would buy us some more time before the robot apocalypse...

Ah yes, Smash T.V. If you were playing video games in the early 90 's you better have played it! Not too many games were quite so fast paced, crazy, and hard (or impossible) as Smash T.V. I still get flashbacks of that gigantic human tank that shot frickin' laser beams out of his eyes. I just loved that game; I'm actually getting goose bumps as I write this. But apparently not too many other people love it so much because it has yet to be reborn as the modern classic that it surely would be. Considering the number of old school games that get the makeover treatment, I am somewhat saddened that Smash T.V. is apparently undeserving. I for one think a modern version of the game could be amazing; in fact, the FPS genre would lend it self beautifully to a new Smash T.V. game. I mean with twitch based FPS games like Unreal Tournament and Quake being so popular one would have to believe that a new Smash T.V. would find itself right at home.

Until Smash T.V. is reborn I suppose I will just have to dream...

Thats right, you guessed it! Adventure games!

What happened exactly? I mean these games used to get popped out like there was no tomorrow. But now it is tomorrow, for Adventure games anyway, and not many people seem to care. I mean, The Adventure Company makes their attempts and occasionally succeeds, but for the most part fails miserably. The largest glimmer of hope was The Longest Journey, and a huge glimmer it was, but it seems that even a game such as that won't save this dying genre. I guess the attention span of the average gamer just isn't enough to latch on to a game that doesn't involve moving faster than one of natures slower animals ( i.e. the turtle or the snail). So it's in the game developer's, and their wallet's, best interest to make games that hold the attention of the average gamer; something that Adventure games just don't do. Also, since technology has allowed developers to make faster, more graphically impressive games, the visceral experience of video games has gone through the roof. The technology required to make the best possible Adventure game was reached over a decade ago so I suppose it makes sense that developers spend most of their time making Action games these days. Not to say that this is a bad thing, I mean I do like other types of games other than ones of the Adventure variety, but I sure do miss them...

The demo of F.E.A.R., which took about 6 hours to download and lasted maybe 15 minutes, was freakin awesome! I now have a good reason to upgrade my graphics card and RAM, which unfortunately will require the sale of my right kidney. But that's OK because I have to play this game with as many bells and whistles turned on as is possible. The A.I. was very impressive as well, it looks like it could turn out to be the smartest I've ever seen, but we'll see when the full version is released. And talk about creepy, this game sent chills up my spine and it was just the beginning of the game. I can't wait to see what the entire game has in store, I should be wetting myself on the regular come october!