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My Resident Evil obsession continues
December 24, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 My Resident Evil obsession continues. I have a few complaints, mostly around some sections being so difficult that I have to play through a few times before I can succeed. Video games are made for video game professionals. Still, the number of save points sprinkled about keeps the stress to a minimum. This is in stark contrast to Metroid Prime, where I sunk 30 minutes to make it through a tough boss fight, only to die on the way to a save point with my health critically low.
I don't think I'll ever go completely for consoles. PC games have lots of advantages, such as patches, mods, and greater capabilities.
My current PC game is Civilization 4, which Sam and I were playing hotseat together. We were cooperating extensively, sharing our technology quite a bit. Eventually the unruly Japanese offended Sam, who had recently discovered gunpowder. A couple dozen turns later, he had rolled through the last Japanese city, renaming it to Conquored City 5.
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Yesterday was a mini-Christmas for me, with R...
December 11, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 Yesterday was a mini-Christmas for me, with Resident Evil 4 for the Gamecube and Civilization 4 showing up in the mail. Playing RE4 was a bit of a challenge, but I managed to hook up head phones so I could play while the kids were asleep. I only played for a few minutes, but the tone is distinctly creepy. I ended up having scary dreams about a haunted village. My only complaint so far is that I completely suck at aiming with the Gamecube controller. I keep missing at point blank range.
I've been having better luck with Metroid Prime. There's something simple and special about getting power-ups and doing boss fights. It's occasionally frustrating in a "can't save everywhere" sort of way, but I've managed to work around it so far.
Finally, I played Civilization 4 last night. It's very similar to the previous ones, yet polished to a shiny finish. I'm also falling into my normal bad habits, ignoring the military until a nearby civilization decides I'm easy picking. Right now I'm fighting off the primitive Romans, who actually built up a significant army.
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I admit it
December 05, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 I admit it. I'm a console boy. For many years, I've stuck with computers, passing by the PS2s, the XBoxes, and the like. My last console was an Atari 2600, which played Pong.
Now I have a Gamecube in our house and I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. It's was primarily for Sam, who seems to somewhat enjoy it. He's still adjusting to the controls and the twitch-based requirements and lack of ability to save anywhere.
Still, it's interesting. I've been playing Metroid Prime a bit, which is a different experience than on a PC. The controller is different, especially how it vibrates when you're hit or fall. It's also strange sitting on the soft couch, staring at the big screen.
I treated myself to Resident Evil 4, which is supposedly the best game of last year. I'm not sure how I'll play it. Most of my game playing happens after the kids are tucked into bed. It wouldn't do to have them trying to fall asleep while the screams of monsters lull them into dreamland.
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Well, I finally finished up Fable
December 04, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 Well, I finally finished up Fable. The overall concept was neat, the idea that you start as a boy and you change your look dramatically depending on your outlook and profession. It was fun changing hair styles and getting tattoos. Unfortunately the main plotline was merely okay. I get a little tired of the standard save the world and avenge my parents sort of quests. I've lost count of the number of worlds I've saved and parents I've avenged.
Once the game is over, you can still wander around. I decided to get married and settle down. Since I had Legendary renown and was as attractive as possible, I grabbed a woman at random, pumped my arm a few times, handed over a few choice gifts, and got married. Here's a picture of the loving couple outside my newly purchased home. If you're curious, yes that is a pimp hat I'm wearing. I'll let you do the Google search on your own to find out how I got it.
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I've been having some annoying problems with ...
November 18, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 I've been having some annoying problems with my computer lately. Fortunately I figured out the problem was due to bad memory. A few days later, I'm up to 1.5 GB of memory and all is good.
I also picked up Fable: The Lost Chapters and Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault. I loaded up Fable last night and Sam played for a bit. It's interesting how you start as a boy and are forced to make moral decisions as you go through the world. Sam's being completely good, though we'll see how long that lasts.
I'm not sure if it's revolutionary, but it's entertaining so far. I like being able to crank up the resolution and anti-aliasing with my new video card, watching it on my new big LCD. It puts consoles to shame.
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Sam and I had a little time to play on the co...
November 08, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
Sam and I had a little time to play on the computer together last night. More often than not, we've been gravitating towards Garry's Mod on Half-Life 2. Basically it lends itself towards very open-ended gameplay. You can spawn in enemies, objects, and you have a variety of tools for manipulating them. We dropped ourselves into an empty map and proceeded to play.
Initially I spawned a bunch of zombies for Sam to dispatch, just to warm up. He was getting a little frantic towards the end as I had made a huge mob. Fortunately I also dropped in a ton of explosive barrels for him to cause havok with.
After that, we decided to go after each other in interesting ways. Sam's preferred method was to drop down a bunch of barrels and then say "come over here, dad". Other time's he'd simply spawn in a massive shipping crate and drop it on my head.
I was going for the more elegant methods. I spawned in a car and attached thrusters that I could use to control its movement. It was a little tricky to use, basically a mini-rocket that bounced about on the ground. A later version was airborne with dozens of balloons attached to it, though it was basically impossible to get through doorways.
Good times.
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I finished F
October 31, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
I finished F.E.A.R. the night before last. I wasn't able to stop playing after I reached a certain point in the game, when the story begun to steamroll ahead and the scares kept coming. The ending was perfect in an homage to The Ring sort of way. Excellent use of creepy revelations.
The gameplay itself was primarily a great big gunfight with scary parts in between. The slow-motion was fun to play with. Hearing the enemies swear in slow motion as you ran in, guns blazing, was viscerally exciting.
Now it's back to working on my endless Neverwinter Nights campaign. At least we're starting to get some pretty screenshots and more information.
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I loaded up Spellforce, which came with my vi...
October 17, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 I loaded up Spellforce, which came with my video cards. I wasn't expecting much, since my experience with bundled games has been generally poor. I'd tried out the racing game earlier in the day and while it was pretty, it was just like Pole Position from when I was a kid.
It turns out that Spellforce isn't too shabby. Sam quickly usurped my place at the computer and was having a good time going through the tutorial. It's very similar to all the other RTS games out there, but it was new to Sam. He fought evil orcs, created a base, harvested resources, and raised an army. Now he's finishing up the tutorial and will likely move on to the real game pretty soon.
I'm also waiting on F.E.A.R., which I think ships today or tomorrow. It's gotten pretty good reviews, other than being a bit short.
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Some of my favorite times on the computer are...
September 28, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
Some of my favorite times on the computer are those I spend with Sam, playing cooperatively. It's pretty rare that we can arrange for the time, as I typically have Emma with me. We've been playing Counterstrike a fair bit, and to be honest we're both equally bad. I'll turn around the corner, see a few terrorists, hide for a moment, and then poke my head out again. Oops.
Still, on occasion we work really well as a team, sticking together, diffusing bombs, saving hostages, and the like. It's funny how in the modern age this seems to be the equivalent of grabbing spears and heading off to go hunt. If they ever make a mammoth hunting game, I'm sure Sam and I would do quite well.
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A few weeks back, I picked up a second copy o...
September 26, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 A few weeks back, I picked up a second copy of Half-Life 2 for $10. As expected, the CD key had already been used, so I sent it in for a new one. Well, after a lengthy delay I finally got it back and set it up on the second computer.
The whole point was so that Sam and I could play together, so this weekend we finally did. The first game was simple Deathmatch, though with the added fun of the gravity gun. We would grab toilets and launch them at each other, toss off explosive barrels, and generally amuse each other throwing debris around. Sam did surprisingly well at holding his own. He got me more than once in a completely fair fight.
Today we played Counterstrike, which is one of the more popular games on the net. We ran around as counter-terrorists, taking on a bunch of bots while working as a team. He did very well again, and both of us had a great time doing it.
There's another Half-Life 2 mod being worked on that lets two people play through the official game together cooperatively. I can't wait for that to be finished up.
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Sam's been playing Dungeon Siege 2 after doin...
September 12, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 Sam's been playing Dungeon Siege 2 after doing work around the house for "DS2 points". He's gotten into it quite a bit, getting past the place where the demo ends. I've been playing along side him for the most part, keeping an eye on his party's health and clicking the "Drink Health Potion" button at appropriate times. On occasion it gets rather tough, though it's often easier than other games in the genre if you're somewhat paying attention. It's about the right challenge for a six-year-old, I think.
Once my new computer gets installed and ready, I'll be eagerly awaiting getting some of the newer games to try it out. F.E.A.R. will likely be the first one. After that, Oblivion, which will probably keep me busy for a couple months.
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I've had a lull in games as of late
July 12, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
I've had a lull in games as of late. Mostly I work away on my game campaign and fiddle with the occasional older game. Sam's been replaying Half-Life 2, which he enjoys greatly. Josh was also excited to play it for awhile.
The next batch of games I'm looking forward to are F.E.A.R., a survival-horror game with lots of guns and a creepy little girl, as well as Oblivion, which is a fantasy game. Oblivion will likely cause me to get a new computer as there's lots of new graphical goodies and more. They've incorporated the Havok physics engine as well, which is something I enjoy immensely. For some reason, it's extremely entertaining to push boulders down upon your enemy or shoot an arrow into a hanging bucket and watch it tilt realistically.
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Well, Sam and I wrapped up Psychonauts
June 21, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 Well, Sam and I wrapped up Psychonauts. It was generally a fun, enjoyable game. Rarely do I see that sort of creativity and humor in games these days. Mostly they seem the polished big-budget types that aren't terribly creative or daring.
There really isn't that much out these days. The Summer months tend to be pretty dry gaming-wise. Fortunately there's some great stuff coming out towards the end of the year and there's always my own little project to work on.
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Over the weekend Sam and I picked up a new co...
May 31, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 Over the weekend Sam and I picked up a new computer game called Psychonauts. It's quite funny, very creative in both art direction and story. Basically you're at a summer camp for psychic kids, all of which look like weird clowns with big teeth and funny hair. Your tasks are vaguely comical and typically involve delving into people's brains. At the moment I'm going into the mind of a mutant fish. It looks like a giant city populated by lungfish and you're an incredibly huge monster. Very amusing.
My favorite quote after learning to set things on fire: "Remember, use your abilities only when it's useful . . . or entertaining. And when trying to impress girls, make sure they don't have on lots of hair spray."
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I played a little Knights of the Old Republic...
May 23, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
I played a little Knights of the Old Republic 2 over the weekend. Now I just have the urge to finish the game and be done with it. Fortunately I think I'm getting pretty close.
E3 has come and gone, the big gaming convention of the year. Nothing too excited appeared. I was really hoping for some NWN2 screenshots, but nothing showed up. There were some interesting games that look interesting: Alan Wake and Spore seemed very different.
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I haven't had much time to play any new games...
May 08, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 I haven't had much time to play any new games lately. Splinter Cell and Knights of the Old Republic 2 continue to sit unused on my hard drive.
Sam's been playing old games again, mostly Black and White, but also Garry's Mod for Half-Life 2. It's the one where you can play around with physics, spawning creatures, attaching wheels and thrusters to things, and launching weird junk in odd directions.
He spawned a creature to attack, and configured his rocket launcher to fire televisions. He started launching them at the creature and exclaimed, "Too much TV can be bad for you!" It had me cracking up and soon enough the beast had died under a pile of televisions.
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Sam and I managed to play a little bit of Spl...
April 14, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 Sam and I managed to play a little bit of Spliter Cell: Chaos Theory last night. It's pretty fun, very similar to the earlier ones. Mostly I've been sneaking around and knocking people out, which seems to be the mainstay of stealth games. The graphics are quite nice, though it seems that I'm looking at the world through night vision goggles most of the time.
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I'm slowly working away through KotoR2 still
April 08, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
I'm slowly working away through KotoR2 still. My free time with just Sam has been limited, but hopefully we can put in some quality gaming time this weekend.
I also ordered the new Splinter Cell game. It was $30 and hard to pass up. The last one was graphically amazing and full of tense sneaking. I hear the latest is quite good as well.
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Sam and I put in some quality KotOR2 time ove...
March 14, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 Sam and I put in some quality KotOR2 time over the weekend. He gets bored with some of the longer dungeons, as well as the occasional endless talking to people. Still, there were some high points for him. We managed to construct a lightsaber last night before he went to bed. He excitedly exclaimed "I love you dad!"
So far I've been pretty happy with the game, especially the story itself. I love the way that characters from the old game keep making an appearance, sometimes in unexpected ways. Fun stuff.
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Sam and I have been slowly going through Knig...
March 12, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
Sam and I have been slowly going through Knights of the Old Republic 2. So far, the story's fairly interesting, though the gameplay itself is quite similar to the original. That's not bad, necessarily, just familiar. They have improved a number of small things, making it a generally more interesting play experience. The pace is pretty slow, though, as Sam and I only play for an hour every other day or so. We'll probably finish up in another month.
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I haven't really had a chance to play on my c...
February 05, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 I haven't really had a chance to play on my computer much. It's typically focused on working on my own games, which isn't always entertaining.
I recently ran across a mod for Half-Life 2 called Garry's Mod. It's a small but flexible mod that lets you play around with the physics aspects of the game. There's no plot to speak of and only one open level to mess around with.
Still, it's been loads of fun for both Sam and I. I had my dad laughing out loud as he launched endless floating robots to stick to each other and create this huge monstrous thing. Well, the funny part was when I switched his weapon to a balloon launcher and he floated the creatures away.
I even made my own car using a big block, oil drums, and a propane tank for thrust. It didn't work out very well, though, as you can see by this picture. It's all fun and games until someone launches the car into the water and catches everything on fire.
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I continue to play Pirates!, which suits my 1...
January 10, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 I continue to play Pirates!, which suits my 15-minute play times these days. I can go for a quick couple of sea battles or perhaps searching for buried treasure. I'm pretty much doing the same things over and over, though they're generally fun.
I managed to win me a Dutch wife through gifts of ruby rings and diamond necklaces, along with a lot of fancy footwork on the dance floor. I had to rescue her from some evil pirate captain along the way, but she finally agreed to be married.
I've also avenged my family, which I suppose ends one of the main quests of the game. The villian is now serving in the galley, the scoundrel. Still, there's part of a map to a lost city of gold that needs finding. I could also work on maximizing my piratey loot. I'm still quite young and the sea is full of booty.
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I haven't had as much time to play my new gam...
January 06, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 I haven't had as much time to play my new games as I would have liked. I'm too busy fiddling with my Neverwinter Nights projects or playing with kids. Pirates! is something that can easily be picked up, played for ten minutes, and put away. The only negative aspect about that is that since there isn't much of a plot, there's not really a driving reason to press on.
I played through the prologue for Rome: Total War, which was mostly a learning experience. The big downside was that I couldn't save the game until ten turns had passed. This sounds quick, but some of the turns had twenty minute long battles that you also can't save in the middle of. Still, it's shaping up to be a fairly interesting game. The combat is pretty amazing looking, very epic with the huge numbers of men crashing into each other. Capturing a town is pretty entertaining, with catapults to smash down the gates, troops streaming chaotically into the town center. It all has a very cinematic feel.
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I treated myself to a couple new games with m...
January 01, 2005 by Adam in Adam's Games
 I treated myself to a couple new games with my Christmas money - Pirates! and Rome: Total War. So far I've only loaded up Pirates!, a remake of the classic game from years gone by. Though there's a certain amount of repetition that might make it eventually boring, so far it seems like a truly great game. I love the ship battles, finding buried treasure, invading towns, and generally sailing the Caribbean. There's even a dancing game where you can woo the governor's daughters. That's the one game that's difficult to the point of frustration at times.
I'm hearing very good things about Rome: Total War as well, so I'll stop typing and see if I can play it a little while the kids are still asleep.
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