May 30, 2008
My pseudo GTA IV review.
I have not played GTA IV myself, so I can not review it yet. However, I spent a few hours watching other people play it and thins is my report of their reactions.
First 5 minutes: The writing is really good and the graphics are good.
First 15 minutes: The controls and camera controls suck!
First hour: I don't want to run any more missions. They are annoying and dull.
Second hour: The TV is off and everyone left to go do better things...
So, I am guessing it is not as good as the hype made it out to be. I suggest that this game is good for men ages 16 to 30+ who are looking for a fantasy world to vent their angst over their disappointing real life.
Posted by binhqx at 4:18 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 20, 2008
Medaverse in BusinessWeek
Check out this article in BusinessWeek. If you like that, check out the interview.
Posted by binhqx at 4:29 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 2, 2008
Video Games rock stars.
Apparently Medaverse is a new breed of video game rock star developers.
A business magazine saw some of SB's interview to another magazine. Now they want to write about hour little upstart video game up-start in the back woods of NH.
So today a photographer came by the office and was taking pictures of the founding dev staff (the four of us).
It was so cool. I felt like one of those indy rock bands that the industry is just starting to take notice of. But instead of rock lyrics, I lay down code. Just as bad @$$, just not as easily perceived.
Posted by binhqx at 12:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 9, 2008
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl has been the most anticipated game on the Nintendo Wii. It was released last night at a midnight launch.
Since then the only thing that has been happening at LaTour is endless rounds of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. We have been having a absolute bast with game.
Posted by binhqx at 12:10 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 30, 2008
Endless Ocean
This game is so cool.
Posted by binhqx at 11:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 13, 2008
Rock Band (continued...)
We had to limit the time we played Rock Band yesterday because it got late and we had to quiet down. Today we loaded the game up around noon so we would have lots of time to play.
Cap and I made in-game characters. He plays guitar and i am on the drums. Neither of us have much interest in exploring out vocal skills though. We played through quite a few of the easy career gigs and are stating to become proficient with our instruments (virtual instruments).
Later SB and Nicole came down and they made some characters of their own. The four of us formed one rock band and we played for the rest of the day. We did not stop playing till we reached some kind of musical exhaustion.
This game is good to play alone, great to play with a friend, and the best to play with three friends.
Posted by binhqx at 3:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 12, 2008
Rock Band!
Today, Cap bought a videopgame called Rock_Band. The games premise is very simple: you pretend that you are in a rock band.
Here is that the wikipedia had to say about it:
Rock Band allows players to perform in virtual "bands" by providing up to four players with the ability to play three different peripherals modeled after music instruments (a guitar peripheral for lead guitar and bass guitar gameplay, a drum peripheral, and a microphone). These peripherals are used to simulate the playing of rock music by hitting scrolling notes on-screen.
My opinion is this game rules. It is fun and musical. We just can not play it late at night or we would be waking up the enter neighborhood (just like a real rock band).
Posted by binhqx at 9:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 27, 2007
Earth Defense Force 2017
Earth Defense Force 2017 is a good example of a game that would be no fun if it did not have two player cooperative mode.
Basically the game revolves around running around Tokyo with bigger and bigger guns killing all manor of giant insects, robots, and UFOs. It is "inexplicably fun" to play. The story is weak and campy but the ability to level a city in the midst of a firefight makes up for it.
Earth Defense Force 2017 is seriously fun to play with friends.
Posted by binhqx at 4:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 5, 2007
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Cap and I played through Uncharted: Drake's Fortune this weekend. Yes it is a PS3 title. Yes we do have a PS3 at LaTour. This is the only game on the PS3 that I have enjoyed.
The game itself is very well crafted. It flows well and the story and characters are just as well thought out. The gamely mechanics are on pair with any other third person fighter puzzler game. Nothing too special there.
The game is short. Cap and I finished it in just two days. I like games of this length because it does not require dedication of my entire schedule just to play it.
I recommend Uncharted for anyone looking for a fast action packed adventure (and have $500 to buy a PS3).
Posted by binhqx at 4:29 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 14, 2007
tons of new video games this week.
There are a ton of new video games out this week. Cap and SB are all excited about Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 and Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. Raving Rabbids is another party game with a very silly rapper. I never got into the whole RE story so I only find it slightly interesting as the first real light gun type game on the Wii.
Cap is getting into Assassin's Creed. I have not seen it being played yet so i do not know much about it.
Posted by binhqx at 1:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 28, 2007
Finished Half-Life 2: Episode 1 and 2
I had some time today so I decided to finish off the rest of the Half-life 2 series. Although episode 1 had been released in 2006, I never got around to playing it. With the release of Orange box, I now had the entire available Half-Life 2 at my finger tips.
The story was more of the Half-Life 2 stuff. Running around with Alyx, trying to stop the Combine and survive the process. If you like Half-life 2, you will like the episodes. However I need to point out one particular place in Episode 2 where the developers at Valve really did well. Near the end of the game the player is put in to a mini-game of defend the base from striders. To accomplish this you are given a car and a unlimited supply of special explosives. To win you must stop the striders with all of the driving, throwing, and shooting skill you have leaned throughout the game. It works so well, it could have been a game al by itself.
Posted by binhqx at 4:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 24, 2007
Portal is a fantastic game.
Jesse picked up The Orange Box. By far the best game in the package is Portal.
Here is the description from the wikipedia artical:
The game consists primarily of a series of puzzles which must be solved by teleporting the player's character and other simple objects using the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. The goal of each puzzle is to reach an exit point. The "portal gun" and the unusual physics it creates are the emphasis of this game.
This is just the type of out of the box (inside the box) game play mechanics that brings a new element to the FPS scene. The execution of this new mechanic is just perfect. The game flows smoothly and from start to end. Perhaps one of the reasons this game works so well is its simplicity. The only other character in the game is a computer AI called GLaDOS. GLaDOS provides hilarious commentary as you proceed through the various test chambers.
I can not get enough of this game.
Posted by binhqx at 3:53 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 2, 2007
Putting the smack down on the Wii's memory management.
I can not say much about what we did, but Adam and I have finally got the Wii's memory system all figured out. It will now be much easier to bring over all the libraries that we need. It feels so good to know that there is one subsystem that is finally behaving its self.
Posted by binhqx at 3:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 25, 2007
Up all night playing Halo 3
Cap and I stayed up all night playing Halo 3. Now I am having trouble keeping my eyes open.
So far the game is great. However, I am reserving my review of this greatly enticipated game untill I have finished it.
Posted by binhqx at 4:44 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 2, 2007
Metroid Prime 3: Mission Complete!
I power gamed through Metroid Prime 3 and got the 100% complete ending in just under 20 hours.
Over all, this is my favorite Metroid Prime game. The controls of using the Prime lock-on system ad still being able aim freely around the screen works very well. Lock-on is not the "I WIN" button you might expect it to be. Many enemies have a quick doge move that will break out of your lock-on.
One of the biggest differences from the other Prime games is Samus does not lose her suit components that the player has to re-gather. This time all the upgrades that are found bring new abilities (or classic abilities) to Samus' suit.
I was happy to see the return of a few classic Metroid moves like Screw Attack and ledge grabbing.
Through out the game there is a fantastic balance between combat and puzzles. The bosses are a combination of both.
The biggest complaint about the other Prime games was the amount of backtracking. Metroid Prime 3 attempts to alleviate with the command visor. This allows you to call Samus' ship to ant landing pad you find. This saves a lot of time.
There will be quite a bit of backtracking if you want to find all of the suit power-ups. If you are patient enough to wait till Samus finds al of her ability upgrades before hunting down the difficult to acquire pick ups, you will only have to revisit most locations twice.
The story if good, but I do not want to say much about it. It is a lot more fun to discover it for yourself.
The game is a must buy for any Metroid fan or someone who likes FPS with strong platformer puzzle elements.
Posted by binhqx at 3:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 30, 2007
Still playing Metroid
I'm still playing Metroid and not doing too much else.
I forgot to mention the Medaverse picked up a new programer on Tuesday. He is a student who has worked on some of his own game projects in the past. I am very excited to start working with him.
Posted by binhqx at 4:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 29, 2007
Metroid Prime 3 ... all night long
Last night I did something I have not done in a long time. I said up all night playing a video game. Not just any game but Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. This game is fantastic, here is my early review: Beautiful graphic. best FPS control on a console ever. Classic Metroid Prime gamely with changing puzzles and bosses. A perfectly refined pace that keeps me from putting the controller even after playing for 12 hours.
Posted by binhqx at 11:05 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 28, 2007
Medaverse gets some press with Gravitronix
Last night, Medaverse sent out as press release announcing their WiiWare game called Gravitronix. This set off a flurry of activity throughout the Nintendo community. Check out this thread in the forums keeping track of all the news sites carrying the news. It is so cool to see this happening.
Posted by binhqx at 2:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 16, 2007
Disappointed by F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R. is a fist-person shooter that combines tactical game play with Japanese inspired horror elements. While the story and horror parts of the game make it fun, the level design and pacing drag the whole thing down.
The levels are the most uninspired I have seen since Halo 1, THey just drag on and on through repetitive meaningless. The first area the game presents the player with is a generic industrial building near some docks. It is just filled with nondescript concrete rooms with no apparent meaning. Eventually you are taken from the industrial building and drop into a office building. It is just a maze of offices and cubicles. Everywhere are posted the same memos and same five magazines. But fear not! Once you finish with the mundane office you will go the the adjoining lab building. It is like the office but has lab equipment. This is about the halfway point in the game.
As the player passes through the brain numbing repetitiveness, they will often find themselves lost. Now they will have to backtrack around to figure where to go next. The game has no map or goal indicator, so wandering around looking for the next area is just par for the course.
The only thing that keeps this going is occasional spooky stuff and unrolling a mystery by listening to peoples voicemail.
So I am not sure why this game got such high critical acclaim.
Posted by binhqx at 11:39 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 30, 2007
Starcraft Crazy
LaTour has gone Starcraft crazy. After the announcement of Starcraft 2 earlier this week, we decided to pull out the old Starcraft disks and relive past glory.
What we did not realize is that we where opening a Pandora's box of a video game. Pretty soon everyone at LaTour was playing all the time. We have already had more then one night where we stayed up to 5:00 AM playing long multiplier games.
We have all matured a bit and I think this has allowed us to become better players. In the past the game-play would become incredibly heated resulting in shouting matches between teammates. Now we are a lot more cool and collected in the face of adversity. When one player gets in trouble due to a early Zerg rush we can effectively communicate to our teammates and help each other out.
Posted by binhqx at 11:43 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 30, 2007
More mainstream news about DDR and physical education
I love it when news about the fitness benefits of beat games like DDR hits the mainstream. In this case the The New York Times :
P.E. Classes Turn to Video Game That Works Legs
Posted by binhqx at 4:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 19, 2007
Bust-A-Move Bash! on the Wii
SB bought a copy of Bust-A-Move Bash! for the Wii. I was curious about the multiplayer that advertised eight player competition.
Puzzle Bobble is a old Taito game that mac users would recognize as Snood. The game has gone through many revisions, but the core gamely has not changed.
The multiplayer game is won by collecting gem bubbles from the play field or ones found in the the UFOs that float by. However I was disappointed by the lack of Puzzle Bobble strategy involved with the multiplayer. There is no incentive for the players to work for or against each-other. The best way to win is just to continuously fire your bubbles at the gems on screen.
So in single player it s a puzzle strategy game, while in multiplayer it becomes a button smash.
Posted by binhqx at 2:23 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 17, 2007
Guitar Hero II
I got a chance to try out Guitar Hero II. This game is really fun. My beat game of choice is DDR, but I can see how Guitar Hero II has become so popular.
It is played using a special guitar controller with five buttons on the frets. It is played by pushing the fret buttons and strum switch in time with the indicators on screen. The better you play, the better your timing is, and the higher score you achieve.
The learning difficulty is not bad for any one with video game level hand dexterity. I got to play twice over two days and I can now get through all of the songs on medium difficulty.
You must know that Guitar Hero will not help you play a real guitar. Nor will being a guitar player help you play Guitar Hero. It is funny to watch guitar player pick up the game for the first time and be completely frustrated with a higher difficulty.
Posted by binhqx at 4:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 3, 2007
I'm in your Mojitos. Setting up your Wiis.
Mojitos runs a few video game type events throughout the week. So far ths has just been populer sports gamer tiltes like Madden or FIFA. SB, Cap and I are fans of the much more casual gamer sports games like Wii Sports.
So we took it upon ourselves to setup Wii games at Mojitoss. We talked to Opa about the idea and he allowed us to setup a Wii in Mojitos for the afternoon. Tuesday afternoons are quite times over there, but the response we got from the few patrons was encouraging. It worked just like the Wii ads, we set it up and showed a bit of game play then handed off the controller. Our game of choice was Wii Sports. Everyone who tried it just picked up the game play and had fun with it.
We will find out tomorrow if Mojitos will host some Wii events. Then it will be up to us to get players in the doors.
Posted by binhqx at 9:44 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack