Recent intelligence confirms that WMFTD* are being stockpiled in my home

What makes me walk by a window at the mall and say “I could use a few more games….” when I have 5 unopened gems on my desk at home? Probably the same instinct that drives squirrels to collect nuts, or the same urge that makes women buy 5 different colored pairs of the same shoe.  Either way - I make no excuses….or plans for the weekend.

I honestly would not be mad if I had to take a short term disability leave from work. As long as I didn’t have to have anything disfiguring happen to me…..anything visible at least 

*Weapons of Mass Free-Time Destruction 

Well I’ll be the first to admit that I have gotten a bit soft playing World of Warcraft these last, er, few months. When you mention ‘twitch skills’ in reference to your prowess bidding in the auction house…..well, its time to get back to some gib-blasting action for a (virtual) reality check.

Enter the EMB Winter Games. Thank you, EMB….you made me remember why I have enjoyed wasting so many hours of my life getting a cathode ray tan. Plenty of action and options are the cornerstones of good gaming….and Unreal Tournament 2004 has them in spades.

Long dormant, the Alfredicus Destrucum has returned to wreak havoc upon bots everywhere…..and occasionally commit the odd self-kill.

I’ve reached the top of 3 out of 4 ‘ladder matches’ and the lauded Finals are so close I can taste the bio sludge. Will the Ultimate victory be a cake walk like the preliminaries? Stay tuned for visual confirmation…..

My personal theme for Winter Games has been ‘a healthy dose of FPS.’ A year ago I would have laughed in your face if you would have told me I’d be looking to shooters for a “change of pace” now….but that was before Brixtone so kindly got me (and a few fellow editors) hooked on the RPG juice. First to fall was Far Cry. Next on the block is another one of those games that i could never bring myself to get on board with….Unreal Tournament 2004.

I guess my reluctance to purchase what was hailed all over as a critical success was mainly due to the fact that, at the time of its release, I had stacks of FPS action……from Battlefield 1942 to…..well, Unreal Tournament 2003. Not forgotten in the equation was the acclaim previously given to the $50 graphics engine demo known as Unreal 2.

As it turns out, I’m glad I waited for two reasons: 1) I was able to obtain a DVD Editors Choice edition of the game with tons of extras (incidentally I’m sick of 4 cd games, have we not embraced the DVD as a form of media yet?) AND 2) at the price I paid - $15.95 @ EB in upstate New York - this is possibly the best value game I have ever purchased.
(Read on …)

Its done, the adventure that is Far Cry has been fed & put to bed. With some gentle coaxing I have completed the first item from my Winter Games list and I’m glad to see it to completion (even if I did come in second to Brixtone).

Far Cry was one of the many games I have convinced myself I HAD to have, only to install it and never get past the first few levels. It has survived being uninstallled twice because I knew that deep down under the beautiful graphics and campy acting was a gem….at least I hoped I knew.

(Read on …)

I would apologize for my lack of posting as of late save for two reasons: 1) it has come to my attention that the quality of my “work” has been somewhat sub-par and 2) I haven’t the mental energy to formulate a reasonable apology due to the fact I have been staying up until 3am most nights.

One could argue that the latter contributes somewhat to the former in this case, but that would be ignoring my inherent inability to formulate a sentence that ISN’T a complete run-on for 90% of the time when I’m writing. (See - there it goes again!)

Additionally, one could argue that I’m not actually “staying up” till three AM when I’ve been known to fall asleep at the reins of my Nightsaber more than once a week. Luckily, I have developed special sign to indicate to my fellow EMB crew when an impending narcoleptic episode is imminent (or has just occurred). If I type “ahfrtdgfrts” (this is the region of the keyboard my face is statistically most likely to come into contact with if i take a sudden nap) then everyone knows its time to take a break - while I dream of far away places, huge XP bonuses and epic mounts….

(We all know you’re lying - you dream of kittens in your sleep - ed.)

Next week - I’ll bring you reports from the frontline of Winter Games ‘06….if Brixtone hasn’t completed all my games and reviewed them first, that is….. Bastard.

So here it is - the final update to the ongoing Prince of Persia: Warrior Within experiment. (I swear, honest-like.)

I’ll cut to the chase: given the horrible (am I being too kind?) experience a fellow editor here had with the Xbox version of this game, I’m frankly flabbergasted I enjoyed the PC version so much. I finished the game long before my co-editor was driven to smash said game with a hammer. I went back to make sure I wasn’t simply too inebriated the first time around to notice the bugs which he detailed.

Nope, none. (Aside from the useless ‘map’ feature that is supposedly there to help you - but thats more a poor design choice than a bug.)

In fact, I went so far as to go back and replay to unlock not only all the available life upgrades - but also the mysterious hockey stick & water sword.

How’d it go? You tell me.
(Read on …)

First, I’d like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas - happy holidays & happy gaming.

Second - I have to turn you on to a Mod for one of my favorite Space based games (Homeworld 2) - its Tactical Fleet Simulator. It adds hours of replay to a game I found to be great fun to look at as well as play. There are plenty of mods for Homeworld 2 out there - but this one really gives new content and changes some of the play dynamics that were marginal in the original game.

Third - I will be back tomorrow to (triumphantly) post my completion of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within - having reached the alternate ending and obtained the mysterious “water sword”. TBC…… (side note - i think this has turned into a interesting contrast in gameplay experience across two different platforms - given Dodongo’s less than stellar time with the Xbox version of the game)