Step up to the Aliens?

So I just got Unreal Tournament 3, and amusingly (and alarmingly) it is just as PA described: Malcolm is the very image (vocally, I suppose) of some kind of terribly stereotyped black gangsta voice. I guess we can determine from this and Gears of War’s “Coltrain” issues that the people at Epic don’t know any black people, or have never met anyone who is black for even a second, and did all of their “research” using music videos and movies. Still, hearing Malcolm inform us that the next match is “personal” because the aliens invaded the market where he buys his threads… I wonder who writes this stuff? The game is classic UT, and it looks mighty nice on the PS3. Also, wonderfully, enemies still taunt me after they kill me. Will I hear the “You be dead!” insult soon? I can only hope. Also, Rock Band is amazing, Buddy Holly rocks, and so do I. Go Manimals. 

The Sickness

My illness is at an end, although I appear to have infected every single one of my friends. Which is not awesome. So Sandy, Taylor, L-con’s, and their families (in Taylor’s case) sorry. More importantly, I have found out that you can’t progress in World Tour mode past the Jetliner phase without playing on Hard… What the hell? What if I’m not super guitar/drums sexy guitar guy who “used to be in a band” like Jason Bateman’s character in Juno? What if I am comfortable playing it on medium? Oh well.

Important Things!

First off, I see that I can purchase “Buddy Holly” for Rock Band, whenever I get the chance to connect the old PS3 to the internet. Excellent. I’ll be keeping an eye on this, any other awesome music must be bought immediately.

 Secondly, I’d like to take a moment to say that writing that post about AVP:R made me think about Aliens versus Predator 2, a PC game by Monolith that was the opposite of this latest movie in every way. The story was a classy enough Aliens homage (not soulless theft, an homage), the single-player was scary, fun and multilayered, and the multiplayer took up weeks if not months of my life.

 There really hasn’t been a shooter like this since, with its three races and interesting abilities. The ability to evolve from a face-hugger to a Queen was incredibly satisfying. I don’t know if it is available, but if it is, you should all pick it up. Ok, it is available used. Forget the expansion (Primal Hunt?), as it was not so good. Still, the original stands out in my memory as one of the few scary games that I didn’t rush through or become bored with (these days, this is mostly due to pale little girls and wall-climbing mutants), but maybe that’s just because I love aliens.

 Seriously, if the servers are still up, you owe it to yourself to play this. Wall-climbing above a marine, dropping on top of him and poking a hole in his skull is terribly amusing, as are the Predator cloaks and vision modes. In case the patron saints of gamers are listening, I have to mention that another AVP game also handled by a classy joint like Monolith, using some modern Engine (UT3, Source, whatever), would be both terrifying and amazing. Please?

Aliens versus Predator: Requiem

So I went to see AVP:R on Christmas Day. I’ll say right off the bat that it was a horrid, idiotic and offensive piece of entertainment, but something else needs to be pointed out first. Today I read with incredulity the NYT review of the movie, which (while nodding knowingly at the film’s cheesiness) felt that “it’s a perfectly respectable next step in the series.” Really? AVP:R is a piece of trash, and it tarnishes my memories of actually good movies, and this is why.

Rocking for you Today

So, I must get back to doing important stuff, Holiday stuff, but I thought I would say hi to people. Hope that your breaks of various varieties are going well. I also hope that all of you will be doing what I am doing what I am doing later today: going to see Aliens versus Predator: Requiem! Hell yeah. This morning, my brothers completely surprised me with the awesome gift of Rock Band. It is amazing and I will be putting pictures up of us playing it, whether they want me to or not. I rock the singing part of Say it Ain’t so by Weezer, in case all of you were wondering. Everything else, not so much of the rocking. Until next time.. 

Sickie

So I have the flu, it’s almost as bad as the gastro, if that were possible. But, amid the alarming and forcefull punishment being delivered upon my person, I am going to play some Tabula Rasa with Taylor. We’ll see how it goes? There is a 3 day free trial game option on their site, might be worth a peek.

Warren Spector and Coolness

So I just read this interview with Warren Spector, it’s pretty cool. Warren Spector is my own personal favorite when it comes to “intellectual” aging designers. Ken Levine and Will Wright don’t have nearly the same aura for me as this guy does. Plus, Spector created Deus Ex, and thus he (along with the makers of Baldur’s Gate) will forever be enshrined in my gaming memory. I just want a few more awesome games out of Spector, because those three to five games will be better than ninety percent of all other games out there.

A Quick Break

Now that I’m home, it’s time to start in on Late Victorian Holocausts, which I have to finish in 2 weeks (I am so lazy). Also, it’s time to try out the Wii and Mass Effect, which a friend of mine has. Or maybe just steal someone else’s 360… Anyway, most gaming for a while will probably be multiplayer-type stuff on all systems. However, I may pick up Ninja Gaiden Sigma, maybe Taylor and I can get farther than the 1st boss this time. Have fun with all of your Holiday-affiliated gaming.

COD4 Christmas Crash

So I guess PC owners of COD4 got a snow/Christmas themed version of the “Crash” map some time recently? I really want this, anything to escape those perpetual dusty streets. [thanks to Kotaku for news]

Mass Effect on the PS3? PLEASE

So apparently some analyst named Michael Pachter is absolutely sure that Mass Effect will be released on the PS3, even though the rights to the first game are owned by Microsoft… I really hope he is right, maybe the Blue-Ray format will make it easier to get rid of the super-long elevators and pop-ins? Wow, I really want this to be true.

French Rock Out!

So, I am not terribly interested in Guitar Hero, but this video is awesome. Look, they speak the French! Plus the fact that it is a French band called “Trust” with a song called “antisocial” is weirdly appropriate. Go bad 80’s French music!

News: The Witcher is No Longer Hideously Slow

So there is a new patch out for The Witcher, and aside from a number of bug fixes, it alleviates the amazing slow load and save times, as well as transition periods. If anyone actually plays or likes this game, check it out.

Done and Done

So finals are over, just a few things left to turn in. This of course means that I have a lot of time on my hands till I leave. So, I’m thinking a lot of finishing of games needs to get done. Also, maybe season 2 of The Wire? Oh, and someone navigated to my site today using a Hayden Christensen tab… I knew I wrote about him for a reason. Finally, in totally unrelated news, the new Rambo movie looks SO bad. Also, I really want to see that Will Smith movie. Finally, I really want to listen to Christmas Carols, but I have none. Sad.

New Picture!

So, There is an new picture up in the Flickr album over there. The game is hilariously called “Wet.” This of course allows some news-sites (IGN, who also provided the picture) to make Totally Funny comments. Like so: “We get wet and wild with Rubi, a vixen you wouldn’t want to cross.” Sweet! Vixens! Wet stuff! Wild stuff! It’s like being back in high school! But they are grown people, and they write like this…. Anyway, game looks cool, I found out about it via Cerise, I guess they think it’s a step forward for the representation of women via video game trailers. Maybe. It’s certainly a step up from the normal stuff, dunno how big a step forward, but Cerise is right, the trailer (included in the above link) looks pretty awesome, if the game plays half as cool as the trailer looks, it could be a lot of fun. Maybe the main character will be created with care and a lack of stupidity, like Alyx Vance, Portal Woman (who is she!), April Ryan and Kate Walker, as opposed to… anything else, I guess. Plus, those wide-open, old dusty western town-looking areas look very cool. It’ll be like Call of Juarez mixed with some kind of crazy platforming third-person shooter, without the suck!. Oh, and 1up has a preview here, it is less weirdly sexual than the IGN one.

Oblivion, Again

So I have been playing a lot of Oblivion for the PS3 (the GOTY edition, with the Shivering Isles expansion and the Knights of the Nine expansion). It’s amazing what a big difference this makes. I used to play it on my old computer, and then on my MB Pro. Honestly, when you play it on the PS3, and the framerate stays solid and fast, and the game looks actually pretty, I see what all the fuss is about. The world is pretty impressive, and when everything loads so fast, the experience is pretty seamless. So, if you haven’t tried this game yet, or didn’t play it ’cause your PC sucked back when it came out, try it now.Oh, and the story is still completely unoriginal and lacks real character, but what are you going to do? Playing an RPG like this makes me weep for Mass Effect’s exclusivity. WHY!