I've been listening to Ladyhawke's song Magic, courtesy of Youtube.
First time I listened to the song, I likes the beat. And the chorus was alright.
But listening to the song on Youtube and not over the radio, I can really pick out the lyrics.
And they don't make much sense.
Let's go through the song, shall we?
(kovideo.net supplied the lyrics, with little formatting but thankfully no god awful 'send this song to your cellphone' ads. Also, they didn't capital the I's.)
(We start off with a great intro. The music and beat is awesome.)
You came to my show, and I saw you in the crowd (Ok, not bad so far)
I didn`t know your name, I didn`t know your name (Hmm. Well, it's still ok.)
I asked all my friends who you were and your story (Good rythum with the words,)
They told me the same, they told me the same (Ehh, she did this again.)
I`ve left my heart to you, but it`s not fair (The last four words sound like they're a little off, but nevermind)
Coz you`re taking me for granted baby (Bonus points for adding 'Baby' in there)
I made a start with you, but it`s not fair (Again, the last four words...)
Coz you`re over the atlantic baby (Wait, Atlantic?)
One journey for you but it`s worth it (Seriously, what does the Atlantic have to do with anything?)
One life here with me and it`s magic (Are they over the Atlantic somewhere? Like, in a plane?)
One journey for you, but it`s worth it (Is the objct she seeks at the Atlantic?)
One life here with me and it`s magic (Aargh I'm so confused.)
You stayed in my head where I saw you all the time (Dreams, I'm sure.)
I didn`t think you care, I didn`t think you care (Or nightmares.)
I found you one day with a mouth full of attitude (Yep, teens will do that.)
And you stole me away, you stole me away (Why would she repeat the last four words twice? It butchers the rythem for me.)
I`ve left my heart to you, but it`s not fair (Fankly, this is a pretty good verse.)
Coz you`re taking me for granted baby (I guess you could call it the Pre-chorus.)
I made a start with you, but it`s not fair (Or, I suppose, a Post-verse.)
Coz you`re over the atlantic baby (Although that doesn't carry nearly as much punch as the former.)
One journey for you but it`s worth it (When she says 'you', does she mean the listener, or someone else?)
One life here with me and it`s magic (Is it someone else, fine.)
One journey for you, but it`s worth it (If not, how could she possibly know it's worth it? she doesn't know me.)
One life here with me and it`s magic (At least I hope she doesn't.)
Coz your over the atlantic baby (Cue wierd techno mix.)
And you`re taking me for granted baby (And odd voice remix.)
Coz you`re over the atlantic baby (For all three lines, they each have 'Baby' as a suffix. That has to be a top score.)
One journey for you but it`s worth it (How could there be multiple journeys?)
One life here with me and it`s magic (Define 'magic'.)
One journey for you, but it`s worth it (Is it, like, great sex?)
One life here with me and it`s magic (Or more of a romantic, blissful living thing?)
One journey for you but it`s worth it
One life here with me and it`s magic
One journey for you but it`s worth it (Wait, haven't we been here before?)
One life here with me and it`s magic (Like, four lines ago?)
One journey for you but it`s worth it
One life here with me and it`s magic
One journey for you but it`s worth it (I'm so deep I can't see the light at the top.)
One life here with me and it`s magic
One journey for you but it`s worth it
One life here with me and it`s magic (It's just a tiny white spec.)
One journey for you but it`s worth it
One life here with me and it`s magic (I can't see the bottom; it's just so dark.)
One journey for you but it`s worth it
One life here with me and it`s magic
One journey for you but it`s worth it
One life here with me and it`s magic (I can no longer see the top. I'm begining to worry.)
One journey for you but it`s worth it
One life here with me and it`s magic (Oh god.)
One journey for you but it`s worth it (Was that my cable snapping?)
One life here with me and it`s magic
One journey for you but it`s worth it
One life here with me and it`s magic (Yes.)
One journey for you but it`s worth it (Yes, it was.)
One life here with me and it`s magic
One journey for you but it`s worth it
One life here with me and it`s magic (Sh*t.)
One journey for you but it`s worth it
One life here with me and it`s magic
One journey for you but it`s worth it
One life here with me and it`s magic
One journey for you but it`s worth it
One life here with me and it`s magic
One journey for you but it`s worth it (OH GOD OH GOD I'M GONNA DIE DOWN HERE!)
One life here with me and it`s magic
One journey for you but it`s worth it (*cries*)
One life here with me and it`s magic
One journey for you but it`s worth it
One life here with me and it`s magic
One journey for you but it`s worth it (*more hysteric crying*)
One life here with me and it`s magic
One journey for you but it`s worth it
One life here with me and it`s magic
One journey for you but it`s worth it (*even more hysteric crying*)
One life here with me and it`s magic
One journey for you but it`s worth it (AAAAAA)
One life here with me and it`s magic (AAAAAAA)
One journey for you but it`s worth it (AAAAAAHHHH)
One life here with me and it`s magic (HHHHHHH)
One journey for you but it`s worth it (HHHHH-)
One life here with me and it`s magic (*SMACK*)
Bedrock--Bedrock--Bedrock--Bedrock--Bedrock--Bedrock--Bedrock
(Note: the song doesn't go on for that long. I'm just making it bigger than it really is.)
Most artists I know only repeat the same line (sometimes lines) about three or four times, max. That's the same two lines six times.
So that's 'Magic'. More proof that the subject matter doesn't exist and never will.
And I'm not too sure were I was going with that last statement, but I'm not going to cast it away because I spent five minutes on it.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Exhaustion
I'm just so sleep deprived.
I haven't done much in the way of 'work' this week (christ I loathe that word) and please excuse any punctuation problems in this post. I haven't got a decent night's sleep in just under a week.
I've really been enjoying COD4 Multiplayer, primarily for one reason;
The 'Kill Cam'
I have no idea why nobody else thought of this. It shows the last five seconds of the other player's movement before he (or she) killed you.
It's ingenious, fankly. It's easy to say "Aww, what a fu***n' aimbotter", but the Kill Cam, 85% of the time, shows the other guy is just as frantic as you are (were, sorry).
10% of the time, the bastard knows where you are and is waiting for you, and 5% is an aimbotter (usually, servers with hackers usually lack Punkbuster, Kill Cams, and fun of any sort).
And anyway, you can usually spot an aimbotter. They carry a LMG and always get headshots.
I haven't done much in the way of 'work' this week (christ I loathe that word) and please excuse any punctuation problems in this post. I haven't got a decent night's sleep in just under a week.
I've really been enjoying COD4 Multiplayer, primarily for one reason;
The 'Kill Cam'
I have no idea why nobody else thought of this. It shows the last five seconds of the other player's movement before he (or she) killed you.
It's ingenious, fankly. It's easy to say "Aww, what a fu***n' aimbotter", but the Kill Cam, 85% of the time, shows the other guy is just as frantic as you are (were, sorry).
10% of the time, the bastard knows where you are and is waiting for you, and 5% is an aimbotter (usually, servers with hackers usually lack Punkbuster, Kill Cams, and fun of any sort).
And anyway, you can usually spot an aimbotter. They carry a LMG and always get headshots.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Music #2
Man, I'm weird.
(And I wouldn't have it any other way, thank you.)
So, my music preferences are all over the place. I only like a certain number of bands or artists, but some bands/artists made a piece of music I really like.
I like Bach Tacotta and Fugue in D Minor.
And I quite like Inside the Fire by Disturbed.
They're, like, at the opposite ends of the spectrum.
I really like instrumentals, though. The music from Modern Warfare 2 is still awesome. The Transformers score is awesome, and anything that Hans Zimmer does is awesome (Dark Knight and MW2 just to name a few.)
(And I wouldn't have it any other way, thank you.)
So, my music preferences are all over the place. I only like a certain number of bands or artists, but some bands/artists made a piece of music I really like.
I like Bach Tacotta and Fugue in D Minor.
And I quite like Inside the Fire by Disturbed.
They're, like, at the opposite ends of the spectrum.
I really like instrumentals, though. The music from Modern Warfare 2 is still awesome. The Transformers score is awesome, and anything that Hans Zimmer does is awesome (Dark Knight and MW2 just to name a few.)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Ahh, video game violence...
Where would we be without you.
So... Modern Warfare 2 again comes under my blogs spotlight.
I don't know how old this is, but Fox came out with a segment of news that states, and I quote, 'Lets you play as a terrorist, and kill people'.
And I'm hearing this, and my mind is screaming 'MASS EFFECT SYNDROME! MASS EFFECT SYNDROME!!!'
For those who don't know, Mass Effect Syndrome is when a very stupid number of people (mostly the population demographic I like to call 'Concerned mothers') gather together to slander a perfectly good game.
Mass Effect was target because of a thirty (or less) second sex scene which showed about 3 seconds of ass and was put in a very dark room.
Worst still, it wasn't even a part of the game; the sex scene was completely optional.
So, anyway.
The best part about this video was the line 'A fair and balanced debate'. That made me vomit a little in my mouth, because I knew he was lying through his teeth.
He had never played the game, the stupid prick that said it's so violent and evil never played the game, and the poor bastard that stood up against these two asshats was eventually shouted down.
Halfway through explaining the deal with the mission, he starts loosing it. Now, the two bastards against the gamer start ripping him apart.
I love how they can just ignore any number of people, whether it's one person or (and I'm pulling numbers out of nowhere here,) six million gamers that bought the game and know the real story, and be totally convinced that they are right and nothings changed about their previous opinions.
I suppose Infinity Ward should have been prepared for this sort of thing. That mission, entitled 'No Russian', was just a little disturbing for me to play. I mean, mowing down a full airport of civilians with a LMG isn't what I'd call fun.
But even then, it's nothing terrible. Eventually you get out of the terminal and out into the light, where you take out armed police carrying riot shields and one gets sucked into a airplane engine.
Anyways,
The accusation that it allows you to be a terrorist couldn't be farther from the truth.
In actual fact, you are an undercover CIA agent, trying to get close to a very nasty man by the name of Makarov. The best way to do it is to help him mow down a airport, but he know's your american and betrays you by shooting you with a pistol, and you get blamed for everything, which is the major cause of the conflict in MW2.
Oh, right. ^ SPOILER ^
Seriously, how could they call this 'too violent'? Prototype had you viciously ripping, shredding, maiming and absorbing various members of the military, plus Blackwatch, and lets not forget civilians and the many infected that appear as you get through the game.
Why wasn't there a media sh!tstorm about that? No, Prototype wasn't nearly as anticipated or advertised as well as MW2, but still.
I'm not saying Prototype isn't fun - it is. Hugely. And so is MW2 (if I hadn't already made myself clear).
So... Modern Warfare 2 again comes under my blogs spotlight.
I don't know how old this is, but Fox came out with a segment of news that states, and I quote, 'Lets you play as a terrorist, and kill people'.
And I'm hearing this, and my mind is screaming 'MASS EFFECT SYNDROME! MASS EFFECT SYNDROME!!!'
For those who don't know, Mass Effect Syndrome is when a very stupid number of people (mostly the population demographic I like to call 'Concerned mothers') gather together to slander a perfectly good game.
Mass Effect was target because of a thirty (or less) second sex scene which showed about 3 seconds of ass and was put in a very dark room.
Worst still, it wasn't even a part of the game; the sex scene was completely optional.
So, anyway.
The best part about this video was the line 'A fair and balanced debate'. That made me vomit a little in my mouth, because I knew he was lying through his teeth.
He had never played the game, the stupid prick that said it's so violent and evil never played the game, and the poor bastard that stood up against these two asshats was eventually shouted down.
Halfway through explaining the deal with the mission, he starts loosing it. Now, the two bastards against the gamer start ripping him apart.
I love how they can just ignore any number of people, whether it's one person or (and I'm pulling numbers out of nowhere here,) six million gamers that bought the game and know the real story, and be totally convinced that they are right and nothings changed about their previous opinions.
I suppose Infinity Ward should have been prepared for this sort of thing. That mission, entitled 'No Russian', was just a little disturbing for me to play. I mean, mowing down a full airport of civilians with a LMG isn't what I'd call fun.
But even then, it's nothing terrible. Eventually you get out of the terminal and out into the light, where you take out armed police carrying riot shields and one gets sucked into a airplane engine.
Anyways,
The accusation that it allows you to be a terrorist couldn't be farther from the truth.
In actual fact, you are an undercover CIA agent, trying to get close to a very nasty man by the name of Makarov. The best way to do it is to help him mow down a airport, but he know's your american and betrays you by shooting you with a pistol, and you get blamed for everything, which is the major cause of the conflict in MW2.
Oh, right. ^ SPOILER ^
Seriously, how could they call this 'too violent'? Prototype had you viciously ripping, shredding, maiming and absorbing various members of the military, plus Blackwatch, and lets not forget civilians and the many infected that appear as you get through the game.
Why wasn't there a media sh!tstorm about that? No, Prototype wasn't nearly as anticipated or advertised as well as MW2, but still.
I'm not saying Prototype isn't fun - it is. Hugely. And so is MW2 (if I hadn't already made myself clear).
Stupid Game Advert
So... I just saw this.
It's so short, it just skims over my mind. It has no effect on me whatsoever.
Apparently, both the girls are porn stars (or at least one of them is, I can't remember) and the one who dressed up as red riding hood is pissed because she thought it was something for a movie.
Anyway.
The reason it has very little impact for me is due to many reasons.
1. It's way too damn short; 40 seconds length, including the criminally short gameplay footage and the ERSB rating at the start.
2. Disappointingly politically correct, but I guess this is a trailer for a game, after all. That kids are likely to play.
Oh wait.
3. Because of it's PC rating, they have to cut the kiss thing short. And it was a damn shame, too.
4. It doesn't even have the Evony syndrome, because both woman aren't showing much - if any - cleavage or parts of their body.
There's... nothing to look at.
5. There's a fat guy in the background and he does all the talking.
Pretty much a 50. cal round to the head instantly for attracting your male audience, on top of everything else mentioned.
Terrible ad. At least Evony had a shred of dignity left. A shred so thin it would make a strand of hair look fat, yes, but still.
For an ad that starts off the way it did, it failed spectacularly.
It's so short, it just skims over my mind. It has no effect on me whatsoever.
Apparently, both the girls are porn stars (or at least one of them is, I can't remember) and the one who dressed up as red riding hood is pissed because she thought it was something for a movie.
Anyway.
The reason it has very little impact for me is due to many reasons.
1. It's way too damn short; 40 seconds length, including the criminally short gameplay footage and the ERSB rating at the start.
2. Disappointingly politically correct, but I guess this is a trailer for a game, after all. That kids are likely to play.
Oh wait.
3. Because of it's PC rating, they have to cut the kiss thing short. And it was a damn shame, too.
4. It doesn't even have the Evony syndrome, because both woman aren't showing much - if any - cleavage or parts of their body.
There's... nothing to look at.
5. There's a fat guy in the background and he does all the talking.
Pretty much a 50. cal round to the head instantly for attracting your male audience, on top of everything else mentioned.
Terrible ad. At least Evony had a shred of dignity left. A shred so thin it would make a strand of hair look fat, yes, but still.
For an ad that starts off the way it did, it failed spectacularly.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
COD: MW2 Multiplayer
A lot of criticism has been raised against Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer, making it out as terrible (on PC).
Now, I would check the multiplayer out, because I was honestly surprised by COD4's multiplayer being astoundingly good, and I figured MW2's would be similar.
BUT, the server list won't load (it's stuck on the 'finding playlists' thing) so I can't. I waited ten minutes and nothing changed, so I just left it alone.
Let us go through some of the criticisms for the MW2 multiplayer for PC.
1. NO DEDICATED SERVERS
This is actually a real bastard.
Essentially, from what I've gathered, Dedicated Servers are servers that a hosted on the host's computer. This gives the host full control of who gets kicked, banned, whatever, and since it's the hosts computer, he gets to decide the server rules.
Either that, or it's a server that is located within the company's data centers, which is specifically kitted out for dealing with a bunch of players playing on it simultaneously.
I could be wrong about both, but I'm pretty sure I'm not.
Anyway, not having Dedicated Servers means it forces people that want to host a game have to host it on their own server, and since the host probably won't have much in the way of anti-cheater software as a Dedicated Server would, there's going to be a lot of wallhacks and aimbots.
At least, that's what everyone is saying.
2. SMALL TEAMS
The maximum players you can have in MW2 is a 9v9 fight. Some people say this is too little.
Most of these people are stupid.
For one, 9v9 is a pretty good size for a fight. For two, most of these people that say it's too small a fight are people migrating from things like Halo and the Battlefield series, which are used to huge fights with over fifty players, where most maps stretch on for ages.
Maps in COD4 wern't all that big, so they where made for a smaller group of players. I imagine the ones in MW2 are roughly the same size.
Unless, of course, consoles get a bigger team size, in which case Infinity Ward has truly left us PC gamers in the lurch.
...I think that's it. There's only two real problems with MW2 I've seen so far.
Frankly, the single player is amazing, and if you aren't interested in multiplayer there's no real problems with the gameplay or experiance.
Now, I would check the multiplayer out, because I was honestly surprised by COD4's multiplayer being astoundingly good, and I figured MW2's would be similar.
BUT, the server list won't load (it's stuck on the 'finding playlists' thing) so I can't. I waited ten minutes and nothing changed, so I just left it alone.
Let us go through some of the criticisms for the MW2 multiplayer for PC.
1. NO DEDICATED SERVERS
This is actually a real bastard.
Essentially, from what I've gathered, Dedicated Servers are servers that a hosted on the host's computer. This gives the host full control of who gets kicked, banned, whatever, and since it's the hosts computer, he gets to decide the server rules.
Either that, or it's a server that is located within the company's data centers, which is specifically kitted out for dealing with a bunch of players playing on it simultaneously.
I could be wrong about both, but I'm pretty sure I'm not.
Anyway, not having Dedicated Servers means it forces people that want to host a game have to host it on their own server, and since the host probably won't have much in the way of anti-cheater software as a Dedicated Server would, there's going to be a lot of wallhacks and aimbots.
At least, that's what everyone is saying.
2. SMALL TEAMS
The maximum players you can have in MW2 is a 9v9 fight. Some people say this is too little.
Most of these people are stupid.
For one, 9v9 is a pretty good size for a fight. For two, most of these people that say it's too small a fight are people migrating from things like Halo and the Battlefield series, which are used to huge fights with over fifty players, where most maps stretch on for ages.
Maps in COD4 wern't all that big, so they where made for a smaller group of players. I imagine the ones in MW2 are roughly the same size.
Unless, of course, consoles get a bigger team size, in which case Infinity Ward has truly left us PC gamers in the lurch.
...I think that's it. There's only two real problems with MW2 I've seen so far.
Frankly, the single player is amazing, and if you aren't interested in multiplayer there's no real problems with the gameplay or experiance.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Today is a special day
For today is Friday the Thirteenth!
You know what that means; superstition is abound. People on the streets of Wellington will be yelling 'the end is nigh!' and 'repent your sins, for today is the day of the black cat!'
To be honest, I'm not sure where this Friday the 13th business actually comes from.
I imagine it has something to do with all these things related to Twelve (apostles, zodiac, tribes of Israel, gods of Olympus etc) and that thirteen was a very irregular number.
Friday's have usually been hailed as bad luck days. Black Friday has something to do with stock market crashes and other bad events.
Probably doesn't help that Jesus was crucified on Friday (hence, Easter Friday, one of the many, many days that have been commercialized by big, heartless corporations to fatten our children).
That last sentance was a little histerical, yes, but it needed to be said.
You know what that means; superstition is abound. People on the streets of Wellington will be yelling 'the end is nigh!' and 'repent your sins, for today is the day of the black cat!'
To be honest, I'm not sure where this Friday the 13th business actually comes from.
I imagine it has something to do with all these things related to Twelve (apostles, zodiac, tribes of Israel, gods of Olympus etc) and that thirteen was a very irregular number.
Friday's have usually been hailed as bad luck days. Black Friday has something to do with stock market crashes and other bad events.
Probably doesn't help that Jesus was crucified on Friday (hence, Easter Friday, one of the many, many days that have been commercialized by big, heartless corporations to fatten our children).
That last sentance was a little histerical, yes, but it needed to be said.
MW2 Music
I've been siphoning and listening to the MW2 soundtrack that Hanz Zimmer (and some other guy, german I think) composed.
Amazing. Each, while somewhat similar, carries a unique sound that goes perfectly with the mission. Most have middle-eastern sort of sounds to them, which I quite like.
Some of the music seems to have been stiched together by the poster, as in a few sound like they have two seperate tracks in them. But overall, it's brilliantly composed and performed.
Here's the channel.
EDIT
Wait, don't do that, because on Rapidshare there is all the music for each individual mission in three parts with muuuuuch better quality.
All three can be found here. Well, not there, but links to all three.
Amazing. Each, while somewhat similar, carries a unique sound that goes perfectly with the mission. Most have middle-eastern sort of sounds to them, which I quite like.
Some of the music seems to have been stiched together by the poster, as in a few sound like they have two seperate tracks in them. But overall, it's brilliantly composed and performed.
EDIT
Wait, don't do that, because on Rapidshare there is all the music for each individual mission in three parts with muuuuuch better quality.
All three can be found here. Well, not there, but links to all three.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
I've just spent from 11:30 to 2:30 playing COD4: Modern Warfare 2.
I can't think of anything to say that would do the game justice. This game is just so damn awesome.
It is intense, balls-to-the-wall action from start to finish. Infinity Ward have outdone themselves in almost every area.
It's like they went to their local movie store, bought a bunch of movies like Die-hard, Black Hawk Down etc, and thought 'Ok, how can we turn these into a game'.
And they have succeeded. Let's go through the various aspects of MW2.
COMBAT
The combat in COD4 is hectic, brutal and fast paced, with enemies shooting at you and red filling your screen when you get hit.
I imagine, similar to real combat ('cept the red screen bit), although nothing can really emulate a real firefight.
If you want to shoot someone in COD4, they go down. There's no enemy health bar to worry about. Head shots are instant kills, like they should be, and with the right weapon, one or two bullets will take someone down.
LIKE IT SHOULD BE. Not the Crysis combat, where the Korean bastards have the same armour and health that you have but are a lot more hidden, and since the scenery doesn't do sh!t to conceal you, your pretty much screwed right from the get-go.
The combat also forces you to think, primarily about cover and weapon loadout. Three shots is sometimes all it takes to kill you, grenades are pretty deadly too. Figuring ou and planning where you're going to run to if you get 'red screened' is essential, and weapon loadout for different situations in important, too. You need not a sniper rifle if your running around inside a Gulag, and you don't need a pistol if your up against a lot of infantry as well as helicopters/vehicles.
Sometimes heavy weapons are useful too, if your fighting through a thicket of infantry, as in one mission.
ENVIRONMENT
...Looks very realistic.
Buildings, interiors, plants, bullet shells, and your enemies/allies all look very well made.
Streets, city blocks, slums and building layouts all look very real. The last three look like they where drawn up by an architect who's quite good at his job, and the overall feel of each 'level' or 'mission' puts you in the perfect mindset.
Speaking of which, each 'level' or 'mission' is almost always set in a totally different place than the last one, which removes the issue of repetitiveness.
STORY
Very interesting story. It seems 'betrayal' runs thick in Modern Warfare 2's story, with your supposed friends turning on you. Not your actual friends, but the guys at the top.
It seems you're a pawn, being used in a very big game of chess.
MUSIC
The music goes really well with the gameplay. Each 'level' or 'mission' has it's own music score, which really helps to lull you into immersion.
'LEVELS' or 'MISSIONS'
Before I begin, I might as well come out and say it's a bit of a rail shooter. There's a bit of leeway (such as go left, right, take that path up the hill or stick with the road, etc), but otherwise there's only one true progression path.
And frankly, that's OK. It means you can focus on where you need to go and what you need to shoot instead of worrying about the multiple paths of entry/exit.
In theory, anyway.
The (let's just call them) missions vary depending on what team your with. You switch between the US Rangers and Task Force 141 almost every mission, except in a few cases.
With the Rangers, most of the missions drink from the same trough, as in 'You're in a place crawling with enemies. Welcome to hell.'
One Ranger mission has you recapturing the White House from Russian infantry which I thoroughly enjoyed.
The TF-141 missions thankfully have a lot more variety. At one point, your in an intense snowmobile chase, and another your rescuing hostages on an oil rig after you Swimmer Delivery Vehicle your way up to it from a submarine.
Not all missions are like that, obviously, but that's how MD2, for me, escaped the shackles of 'every mission is a slight variation of the last'.
MULTIPLAYER
Yeah.
Infinity Ward decided to take away ALL dedicated servers for MW2 for PC, so I hear multiplayer for the PC is a bit screwed, which dissapoints me.
Hackers, cheaters, aimbotters and other wretched scum and villans have probably infested the servers availible.
Infinity Ward have raised their riot sheild by saying that Valve's anti cheater software will protect against all those pricks who aimbot and wallhack their way to the top. But remember, grenades can take down riot shield carrying men if thrown properly, and I can't remember where I was going with that metaphor.
Apparently, there's a petition that has been drawn to Infinity Ward's attention that essentially says 'Give us our dedicated servers you ponces'. Not in those exact words obviously, but they say that, and I quote form the Wikipedia page,
'When asked for comment on the petition, Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling said, “Definitely made a big wave, and the response will not be ignored. I’ll ensure everyone at IW sees the petitions and responds to it,”[92] though no further response has been made.'
Hmm.
So that's COD4: MW2.
For people unwilling to read through all that or still can't decide whether or not I like it, I think MW2 is one of the best games I've played in a while.
Would definently reccomend it. Four stars (-1 for Infinity Ward not caring about PC gamers and screwing our Multiplayer).
I can't think of anything to say that would do the game justice. This game is just so damn awesome.
It is intense, balls-to-the-wall action from start to finish. Infinity Ward have outdone themselves in almost every area.
It's like they went to their local movie store, bought a bunch of movies like Die-hard, Black Hawk Down etc, and thought 'Ok, how can we turn these into a game'.
And they have succeeded. Let's go through the various aspects of MW2.
COMBAT
The combat in COD4 is hectic, brutal and fast paced, with enemies shooting at you and red filling your screen when you get hit.
I imagine, similar to real combat ('cept the red screen bit), although nothing can really emulate a real firefight.
If you want to shoot someone in COD4, they go down. There's no enemy health bar to worry about. Head shots are instant kills, like they should be, and with the right weapon, one or two bullets will take someone down.
LIKE IT SHOULD BE. Not the Crysis combat, where the Korean bastards have the same armour and health that you have but are a lot more hidden, and since the scenery doesn't do sh!t to conceal you, your pretty much screwed right from the get-go.
The combat also forces you to think, primarily about cover and weapon loadout. Three shots is sometimes all it takes to kill you, grenades are pretty deadly too. Figuring ou and planning where you're going to run to if you get 'red screened' is essential, and weapon loadout for different situations in important, too. You need not a sniper rifle if your running around inside a Gulag, and you don't need a pistol if your up against a lot of infantry as well as helicopters/vehicles.
Sometimes heavy weapons are useful too, if your fighting through a thicket of infantry, as in one mission.
ENVIRONMENT
...Looks very realistic.
Buildings, interiors, plants, bullet shells, and your enemies/allies all look very well made.
Streets, city blocks, slums and building layouts all look very real. The last three look like they where drawn up by an architect who's quite good at his job, and the overall feel of each 'level' or 'mission' puts you in the perfect mindset.
Speaking of which, each 'level' or 'mission' is almost always set in a totally different place than the last one, which removes the issue of repetitiveness.
STORY
Very interesting story. It seems 'betrayal' runs thick in Modern Warfare 2's story, with your supposed friends turning on you. Not your actual friends, but the guys at the top.
It seems you're a pawn, being used in a very big game of chess.
MUSIC
The music goes really well with the gameplay. Each 'level' or 'mission' has it's own music score, which really helps to lull you into immersion.
'LEVELS' or 'MISSIONS'
Before I begin, I might as well come out and say it's a bit of a rail shooter. There's a bit of leeway (such as go left, right, take that path up the hill or stick with the road, etc), but otherwise there's only one true progression path.
And frankly, that's OK. It means you can focus on where you need to go and what you need to shoot instead of worrying about the multiple paths of entry/exit.
In theory, anyway.
The (let's just call them) missions vary depending on what team your with. You switch between the US Rangers and Task Force 141 almost every mission, except in a few cases.
With the Rangers, most of the missions drink from the same trough, as in 'You're in a place crawling with enemies. Welcome to hell.'
One Ranger mission has you recapturing the White House from Russian infantry which I thoroughly enjoyed.
The TF-141 missions thankfully have a lot more variety. At one point, your in an intense snowmobile chase, and another your rescuing hostages on an oil rig after you Swimmer Delivery Vehicle your way up to it from a submarine.
Not all missions are like that, obviously, but that's how MD2, for me, escaped the shackles of 'every mission is a slight variation of the last'.
MULTIPLAYER
Yeah.
Infinity Ward decided to take away ALL dedicated servers for MW2 for PC, so I hear multiplayer for the PC is a bit screwed, which dissapoints me.
Hackers, cheaters, aimbotters and other wretched scum and villans have probably infested the servers availible.
Infinity Ward have raised their riot sheild by saying that Valve's anti cheater software will protect against all those pricks who aimbot and wallhack their way to the top. But remember, grenades can take down riot shield carrying men if thrown properly, and I can't remember where I was going with that metaphor.
Apparently, there's a petition that has been drawn to Infinity Ward's attention that essentially says 'Give us our dedicated servers you ponces'. Not in those exact words obviously, but they say that, and I quote form the Wikipedia page,
'When asked for comment on the petition, Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling said, “Definitely made a big wave, and the response will not be ignored. I’ll ensure everyone at IW sees the petitions and responds to it,”[92] though no further response has been made.'
Hmm.
So that's COD4: MW2.
For people unwilling to read through all that or still can't decide whether or not I like it, I think MW2 is one of the best games I've played in a while.
Would definently reccomend it. Four stars (-1 for Infinity Ward not caring about PC gamers and screwing our Multiplayer).
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Perfect Game
A friend asked me this morning what my perfect game would be.
I couldn't answer him.
I know what makes a bad game, from the player's point of view, and I'm not just talking strictly gameplay. The look and feel, the writing, whether or not it's set in World War f*@%ing II...
Take Batman: Arkham Asylum. For all the gush filled reviews and 10/10 scores, it has some serious problems. The final boss fight with the Joker is completely pathetic, the Scarecrow platforming sections are about as enjoyable as a shivving yourself with a rusty nail, and the Ivy fight has to be done twice after you kill her the first time. I thought we learned from the mistake Prototype made of fighting Elizabeth Greene over and over again until she FINALLY dies, but apparently not.
COD4 came appealingly close to one of my favourite games, up until the end mission I was having a blast.
[SPOILERS ARE FUN!]
The one where it's a race against time to disarm the missiles heading for the coast of America. That's intense and fun, but the fun soon gets rubbed away by you getting shot at by three different directions. Then, when the final cutscene happens, Gaz gets shot, Price dies and you shoot the evil Russian bastard. Closure, yes, but it's still a massive kick in the balls.
[Spoilers end.]
I have a lot of fun with MDK. Every mission is widely varied in environment, and thus it's never the same level repeated six or seven times. And the concepts they come up with are pretty cool. I would list them, but that would take up a lot of the page.
I like Dawn of War, and Company of Heroes is pretty good, too. Both RTS's, both uses an interesting resource system and both have squads instead of individual units.
I honestly can't answer the question of what my perfect game is. I have a bunch of ideas of games I would really like to play, but most are heavy modifications of game that already exist.
For example, Vampire: the Masquerade (probably the only real PC RPG), plus an open world, plus more places to visit and people to meet, plus a slightly bigger char sheet, plus the ability to eventually have a fourth Discipline, plus a slightly improved combat system (B:AA had a pretty good one) would come appealingly close, if not outright, to my vision of a perfect game.
But since Troika games shut down because of low sales of one of my favourite games ever (VTM), I can't see that happening in the near future.
(HINT HINT GAME STUDIOS, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE)
I couldn't answer him.
I know what makes a bad game, from the player's point of view, and I'm not just talking strictly gameplay. The look and feel, the writing, whether or not it's set in World War f*@%ing II...
Take Batman: Arkham Asylum. For all the gush filled reviews and 10/10 scores, it has some serious problems. The final boss fight with the Joker is completely pathetic, the Scarecrow platforming sections are about as enjoyable as a shivving yourself with a rusty nail, and the Ivy fight has to be done twice after you kill her the first time. I thought we learned from the mistake Prototype made of fighting Elizabeth Greene over and over again until she FINALLY dies, but apparently not.
COD4 came appealingly close to one of my favourite games, up until the end mission I was having a blast.
[SPOILERS ARE FUN!]
The one where it's a race against time to disarm the missiles heading for the coast of America. That's intense and fun, but the fun soon gets rubbed away by you getting shot at by three different directions. Then, when the final cutscene happens, Gaz gets shot, Price dies and you shoot the evil Russian bastard. Closure, yes, but it's still a massive kick in the balls.
[Spoilers end.]
I have a lot of fun with MDK. Every mission is widely varied in environment, and thus it's never the same level repeated six or seven times. And the concepts they come up with are pretty cool. I would list them, but that would take up a lot of the page.
I like Dawn of War, and Company of Heroes is pretty good, too. Both RTS's, both uses an interesting resource system and both have squads instead of individual units.
I honestly can't answer the question of what my perfect game is. I have a bunch of ideas of games I would really like to play, but most are heavy modifications of game that already exist.
For example, Vampire: the Masquerade (probably the only real PC RPG), plus an open world, plus more places to visit and people to meet, plus a slightly bigger char sheet, plus the ability to eventually have a fourth Discipline, plus a slightly improved combat system (B:AA had a pretty good one) would come appealingly close, if not outright, to my vision of a perfect game.
But since Troika games shut down because of low sales of one of my favourite games ever (VTM), I can't see that happening in the near future.
(HINT HINT GAME STUDIOS, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE)
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Windows 7
Microsoft, once again, has missed the fucking point.
At least XP has some degree of usability in it. I'm imagining that Windows 7 once again has different sounding names for everything, different locations, and it still has the same stupid 'start' button.
It... it boggles the mind. Why make it so awkward for XP users to transfer over to Vista, in terms of GUI? And lets not forget they screwed around with the names of the Properties tab.
It's now Preferences. Starts with a P, yes, but there's no need to change something like that. Especially if you've gone with that since, what, 1985 or thereabouts?
Why do I say that they've missed the point? They made the same mistake Vista did by slaughtering the GUI in favour of making it prettier, thus taking up more memory to run the damn thing.
The start button recives particular ire from me. It's not really a start button, it's a button with the windows logo on it. For people used to the 'press the Start button to do shit' demographic, i.e most windows users, the new Start button installment just comes across as pretentious.
And it is. And so is it's GUI.
I loved Aero and the Aero interface, or should I say Aqua.
I'm sure most of you have heard the argument that Aero is ripped off totally from Aqua.
I'm getting in over my head here. Aqua and Aero make things translucent, like the very fine borders on the edge of the window (which you hardly ever see anyway) and the top bar with the Minimize/Restore/Close buttons.
Not that I care about that stuff. In fact, I'd rather it not do it, but some people obsessed with making everything look nice and sparkling and don't have a Mac most likely use Aero, which makes their computer run that bit slower.
Looking at screenshots for both Mac Snow Leopard and Win7, I see that Microsoft have taken the translucent taskbar idea. Not that the translucent taskbar idea is copyrighted by Apple or anything, just saying.
I'd have to say, Win7 looks very nice, like Vista, but I'm unconvinced that there's anything inside that empty little OS that would make me want to upgrade from my beloved XP.
I've actually grown a little attached to XP, due to the fact that it's been cast out.
Like a leper.
You see, their morals, their... 'code'... it's a bad joke.
Dropped at the first sign of trouble.
*Ahem*
There's no support for it anymore (at least, I don't think there is) and they don't package it with any computers anymore. Soon, Vista will be shunted, and Xp isn't going to help it off it's feet, because it will remember all the times Vista laughed at XP, and said that daddy (Microsoft) loved him more.
At least XP has some degree of usability in it. I'm imagining that Windows 7 once again has different sounding names for everything, different locations, and it still has the same stupid 'start' button.
It... it boggles the mind. Why make it so awkward for XP users to transfer over to Vista, in terms of GUI? And lets not forget they screwed around with the names of the Properties tab.
It's now Preferences. Starts with a P, yes, but there's no need to change something like that. Especially if you've gone with that since, what, 1985 or thereabouts?
Why do I say that they've missed the point? They made the same mistake Vista did by slaughtering the GUI in favour of making it prettier, thus taking up more memory to run the damn thing.
The start button recives particular ire from me. It's not really a start button, it's a button with the windows logo on it. For people used to the 'press the Start button to do shit' demographic, i.e most windows users, the new Start button installment just comes across as pretentious.
And it is. And so is it's GUI.
I loved Aero and the Aero interface, or should I say Aqua.
I'm sure most of you have heard the argument that Aero is ripped off totally from Aqua.
I'm getting in over my head here. Aqua and Aero make things translucent, like the very fine borders on the edge of the window (which you hardly ever see anyway) and the top bar with the Minimize/Restore/Close buttons.
Not that I care about that stuff. In fact, I'd rather it not do it, but some people obsessed with making everything look nice and sparkling and don't have a Mac most likely use Aero, which makes their computer run that bit slower.
Looking at screenshots for both Mac Snow Leopard and Win7, I see that Microsoft have taken the translucent taskbar idea. Not that the translucent taskbar idea is copyrighted by Apple or anything, just saying.
I'd have to say, Win7 looks very nice, like Vista, but I'm unconvinced that there's anything inside that empty little OS that would make me want to upgrade from my beloved XP.
I've actually grown a little attached to XP, due to the fact that it's been cast out.
Like a leper.
You see, their morals, their... 'code'... it's a bad joke.
Dropped at the first sign of trouble.
*Ahem*
There's no support for it anymore (at least, I don't think there is) and they don't package it with any computers anymore. Soon, Vista will be shunted, and Xp isn't going to help it off it's feet, because it will remember all the times Vista laughed at XP, and said that daddy (Microsoft) loved him more.
'Hate' and Stupid Emails
You know what I mean.
The 'send this to X people and you'll get lukcy in one way or another'.
I fn#*ing hate those emails.
When most people say they hate something, they don't really hate it. They dislike it.
It seems the word hate is thrown around a lot these days, and people seems to have forgotten their meaning.
Let me give you an example. Yahtzee (and most if not all gamers in austrailia) hate Michael Atkinson and his censorship crusade thing. That's hate.
Another good example of true hate is the Klu Klux Klan and people that aren't white and rich.
If you say you hate, say... vegetables, you don't really hate them. You just prefer not eating them.
As I mentioned before, 'hate' is a word that has had it's meaning dulled. I say we should stop using hate as a everyword and use it for what it actually means.
Hate actually means you dislike it so much you're prepared to go to great lengths to ensure it either dies or have some other atrocity befall it.
I'd like to run through the stupid prick who came up with those damn emails. With a rusty spork. A reeeealy rusty spork. That's how much I hate those emails.
They are the bane of Emailhood.
The 'send this to X people and you'll get lukcy in one way or another'.
I fn#*ing hate those emails.
When most people say they hate something, they don't really hate it. They dislike it.
It seems the word hate is thrown around a lot these days, and people seems to have forgotten their meaning.
Let me give you an example. Yahtzee (and most if not all gamers in austrailia) hate Michael Atkinson and his censorship crusade thing. That's hate.
Another good example of true hate is the Klu Klux Klan and people that aren't white and rich.
If you say you hate, say... vegetables, you don't really hate them. You just prefer not eating them.
As I mentioned before, 'hate' is a word that has had it's meaning dulled. I say we should stop using hate as a everyword and use it for what it actually means.
Hate actually means you dislike it so much you're prepared to go to great lengths to ensure it either dies or have some other atrocity befall it.
I'd like to run through the stupid prick who came up with those damn emails. With a rusty spork. A reeeealy rusty spork. That's how much I hate those emails.
They are the bane of Emailhood.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Music
I got some really good tracks of the Newgrounds audio portal the other day. This just goes to show how messed up my music preferences are.
~Burden~ (reminds me a little of Evanescence)
MAC6 TANKMEN Theme (by Arbiter)
On Patrol (reminds me a little of Team Fortress 2)
CKC - In The Night
Not from Newgrounds;
Impact Event by Hamster Alliance
Ain't no rest for the wicked (Borderlands intro music)
~Burden~ (reminds me a little of Evanescence)
MAC6 TANKMEN Theme (by Arbiter)
On Patrol (reminds me a little of Team Fortress 2)
CKC - In The Night
Not from Newgrounds;
Impact Event by Hamster Alliance
Ain't no rest for the wicked (Borderlands intro music)
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Reset, part 4
Now to start the long, arduous process of installing MS Office, yaaaaay...
PS, Wasn't the MSDN disks, we actually have a copy of Office.
PPS, Note to self: stop using Blogger like Twitter.
PS, Wasn't the MSDN disks, we actually have a copy of Office.
PPS, Note to self: stop using Blogger like Twitter.
Reset, part 3
Not having MS Office installed sucks.
Not being able to use Word is the worst part. That means I can't really do anything work related until I find the bastard MSDN disks, and naturally I need to hire Sherpa guides to help me traverse our cupboard to look for the damn things.
Not being able to use Word is the worst part. That means I can't really do anything work related until I find the bastard MSDN disks, and naturally I need to hire Sherpa guides to help me traverse our cupboard to look for the damn things.
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