Gaming by GlossGreen

There's nothing quite like getting a brand new game. The excitement of trying a new game for me is kinda like when I was a kid on Christmas Eve, and it all starts at the store. First is choosing the perfect game. Then I get to take the game home, that 20 minute drive can be excruciating. After arriving home I get to open the package, with (for whatever reason manufacturers find it necessary) about four layers of plastic. Next comes the power and slapping the disc down on the try or sliding it into the slot. Then comes the waiting, waiting, waiting, through endless loading screens. Finally, I get to push start and play the damn thing. What happens next? One of two things. One, it's a good game that I play for hours. Or two, it's garbage that I play for a few minutes.

Thankfully, the big 3 allow us to try the games before we buy them. I'm talking about downloadable demos people, the best thing to come around since...oh, yeah, disc demos. I love trying out games that haven't even been released yet. It kinda makes me feel like the publishers and developers actually care. Here they are, letting us test out their game before it even gets released. Unfortunately for the people in line to make the money, this can go either way for them.

How many times have you played a demo just to delete it a few minutes later? Sure, it could just be a really early build of the game, but, how likely is it that you would give it a second chance? For me, not really likely. My opinion is that if they can't get it right by the time they've released a demo, it probably won't ever be right. I won't waste my money giving a developer a second chance that they possibly don't deserve. Granted, sometimes the developer will pull through, but getting me to buy a game after that will take a lot of convincing.

And that convincing takes the form of gaming magazines and websites. Both are plentiful out there and all have a different opinion. My advise? Find a publication that you are happy with and stick with them. I have my favorites that I've read over the years. Nowadays, I tend to pick up all the magazines I see in the store and read quite a number of websites, but I still have my favorites.

The bottom line is to find the method you prefer to get gaming info from. Whether from the publisher/developer directly, a trusted magazine, or maybe even an upstart website or blog (hint hint), find something that matches your attitude and style. We all have our favorites, go out and find yours.

OK, so anyone that's read this blog here knows that I picked up my very own Xbox 360 a few months ago. Having said that I decided to select a newer game for the system when I made my purchase. I was lucky that day and I happily added Mass Effect to my Elite purchase. Why not Halo? The store I purchase my gaming goods from has a very limited selection of games, so I got the best of what they did have at the time. Several months have past now, so what's on the plate today? Like I have for every system I've purchased, I decided to bone up a little on the Xbox gaming history with a few original Xbox titles. Two problems. One, due to my location, I can't download any Xbox Originals from Live. Two, I can only connect to Live once or twice a week due to my internet situation. My solution? Amazon.com.

I love buying used games. Why? Because I can pick up great titles (if a little dated) for a usually low price. Does that make me a cheap bastard? I don't think so, because for the $60 cost of a new game I can get 3 or 4 older titles shipped to me instead. With my non-existent budget here at Gaming by GlossGreen (I'll have to talk to my CFO about that) I have to picky about what I get. Simply put, by purchasing older titles I get to buy more of them. Granted, everyone else has played the game before me, but it's still a great opportunity to play good games. I still get the occasional new game, but there are plenty of excellent older ones to try also.

A couple of days ago I received my first shipment of older titles, the first two being Panzer Dragoon Orta and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Both, I understand to be, excellent games. I don't plan to stop there with the original games either. I plan to pick up Fable (in preparation of the release of Fable II) and Conker (a game that was release for the N64 after I had already given up on the platform) in the near future. Unfortunately for me, with my hectic work schedule as of late, I haven't actually had much time to play games, not to say that I've had no time to play. I currently have one of last years 360 games in my tray, Crackdown. Again, as an older title I picked it up pretty inexpensively and still had money left over for another game. Now, when I finish playing through that one KOTOR is next on my list.

What I'm trying to say with this is not to forget about the older systems. Every console has had at least a few must own games with it. Don't be afraid to buy a last gen game. Both the 360 and PS3 (most of them at least) support backwards compatability for a reason. Play an Xbox original. Play a PS2, or even, a PS1 game. But, don't get stuck on a game's graphics quality. Just because a game looks last gen doesn't mean it's not worthy of playing. Get them for the gameplay.

I know I haven't written anything here for a while, and for that I'm sorry. Unfortunately, I've been more than a little busy. Military obligations have kept me away from my computer and the internet for quite some time. I have been away from my 360 and PS3 for far too long. I was actually in the middle of playing Halo 3 when I had to leave. I finally managed to finish the game, now I'm trying it on Legendary.

I'm going to have to leave it here for now. I know, this post is incredibly short and not so coherent, but I'll get back to my regular writing in about a week and a half. Vacation time again, I am so ready for it.

'Til later,
GlossGreen

Quite a few years ago, Halo was released for the original Xbox. At the time I had a buddy that owned an Xbox and, of course, picked up THE game for it. I admit, I was a Sony fanboy at the time and thought that Microsoft getting into the console gaming business just had to be a terrible idea. Because of that attitude, I initially dismissed the notion of picking up an Xbox or even playing Halo. At the time, I don’t even think anyone else I knew had an Xbox. Bias? Of course, but I’ve matured and learned a lot since then. Like I’ve said before, it’s all about the games. And being all about the games, I recently decided the time was right, so I finally picked up all 3 Halo games.

Let me get this out right off the bat. The first Halo didn’t impress me, and honestly, I don’t get what all the hype was about. The game had decent graphics, a solid frame rate and decent (if limited number of) weapons. What the game didn’t have was a compelling story or very interesting characters. The story itself was standard sci-fi fare, and not very exciting at that. In the future, humans are at war with an alien species with superior technology. Hadn’t heard that one before, have you? The overwhelmed humans are then forced to fight in a previously unknown part of space. Now there’s some groundbreaking writing. And the clincher, both species are confronted by an even worse enemy. Wow, never would have seen that coming. Oh, yes I did. But sometimes even bad plot lines can be forgiven. Star Wars: A New Hope had an equally bad story, but what endeared that movie to fans were the unforgettable characters.

I know people are going to disagree with me about this, but after playing the first game did you have any idea who Master Chief really was? Of course not, how could you? He had no back story, very little dialog, not even a face to look at. The supporting cast of characters also gave me the same sense of…meh. Captain Keyes was just another character; other than the forced story element, I had no compelling reason to want to rescue him. Did seeing his final fate evoke any emotion from me? No, I didn’t care, and why should I? He was just a face with a name, a few forgettable lines of dialog, and nothing else attached. In this game, he’s not the only forgettable one, the enemies are no better. With the exception of the limited dialog of the Grunts, the Covenant forces have zero personality. All you hear from them are a series of shrieks, growls and howls; positively boring. These are supposed to be the baddest of the bad guys in the universe, but hell, they’re not even interesting enough to really want to kill. Oh, and don’t get me started on the Flood (For the record, my biggest gaming pet peeve ever is when constant waves of enemies jump out of some vent or other area that I can’t access. How can 30 of these guys hide in a place like that?).

The bullet sponges themselves may be pretty dull, but at least the act of killing them is interesting. There are several areas where combat is engaging with varied environments, but mostly you’ll fight in a nondescript outdoor area or the same endlessly twisting corridors (ala the library). The few weapons that you get are well designed and actually pretty fun to shoot. Plus, unlike most FPS games, the standard pistol is surprisingly useful in itself. I found myself relying on the M6D many times throughout the game.

Overall, the first entry in this popular series had a solid, if uninspired, start. More importantly, it helped to establish the Xbox as a legitimate gaming console in the eyes of hardcore players. All Bungie had to do next was make Halo better.

Nintendo, hey Nintendo! It's me. GlossGreen. Remember me? We used to play together as kids. Remember the time we used to play Zelda? No? How about Metroid? You don't remember that either? I know, it was a long time ago, but you seem different these days. It seems like you're trying to be someone else these days. What happened to you? I remember first meeting you way back in grade school. You were there to pick up the pieces after the whole Atari thing. Damn E.T., why did it have to be that bad? Luckily, you were there to swoop in and pick up the pieces. Seeing you in the store for the first time, I think it was a Sears, I remember being excited (as only a grade schooler could). I used to spend hours looking at the box art of games, heck, I even thought R.O.B. looked cool. I know, I was young and didn't know better. Playing the games were great, I could actually tell the difference between my character and a rock. That was a huge improvement over the other guys stuff. We spent hours and hours having fun, and then things got better.

A few years later, you got a slight bit more mature and grew a tad bit bigger. You got smarter and became able to do some pretty cool things. Zelda looked better, Mario could do more things, and Samus had more toys. Those were the good old days, some say the best. I have many good memories playing through those years, but changes were on the wind. A new media for games was on the horizon and you tried to join in. CDs were going to be the next big thing for games. They were cheaper, had more storage, and hell, people just thought they were cool. Too bad you made the wrong choice.

I still stuck by you...for a while. I didn't care that you still used cartridges while the other systems started using CDs. You still had some great games. All the usual suspects were there, and some new ones too. I spent many, many hours playing Rogue Squadron, my favorite Star Wars game to date. Unfortunately, all was not well. At the time, I was starting a family and had a job that didn't pay so well, and there in lies the rub. New games for you ended up costing nearly $70. I couldn't believe it. Why the heck were you so expensive? I know things weren't going well for you against your former partner, but did you really have to cost so damn much? Were you trying to alienate all your friends? Let me tell you, price gauging is not cool. After that things got worse.

I didn't even recognize you the next time you hit the spotlight. You went from a cherished family friend to...a toy. That's what I thought. Sure, Resident Evil looked pretty good, but a cube shape? With a handle? Let's get one thing straight, you were not a portable system. The handle was just stupid. What really got me was the fact that you didn't learn your lesson from the last time. Hello, remember the CD fiasco? Anyone? Why the miniature discs? That's just like a racehorse on the track with a broken leg. You can get some mileage out of it, but it won't go far. I an not ashamed to admit that I turned my back on you then. I thought you'd be done for sure.

Revolution. Now that was a cool name and it showed that you were going to try something new. I was interested, even though I'd sworn you off the last time. You had some big plans and ideas that really impressed me. But you let me down again. What did you choose instead? Wii. What the hell were you thinking? Underwhelming hardware with a stupid name. Looking back at it now, I'd say you were in it for the money. Go cheap with the hardware and take advantage of everyone with garbage software. Even with the occassional Mario, Zelda, or Metroid game you have still lost me. I know you are making money hand over fist these days, but let's be honest. How long do you think this can possibly last? I can see it now, death by shovelware. With games like Gingerbread Man, who needs enemies?

Things aren't over yet, I know you are only half way into your second year and there is still plenty of time to fix things. First, get quality back. Remember the Nintendo Seal of Quality? I took heart knowing that you actually looked at the games that developers were trying to get on your system. Sure, the occassional bad game made it through, but nothing like the old 2600 days. Nothing like an E.T. to be seen. Second, get some games that people like me would actually play. Wii Sports? No. Cooking Mama? Hell no. Ging...Stop right there. You see my point? Remember the old days. Strive for excellent, fun games. Don't just do it because you can. I know Nintendo could slap the Wii name on a rock and sell millions of them, but it doesn't mean they should.

It may surprise you to learn that like 99.9995% of gamers, I was unable to attend E3 this year-or any year for that matter. I know what you are thinking; "How does an incredibly talented and superb blogger like GlossGreen not get an invite to the biggest gaming event of the year"? This is going to sound amazing, but, I'm not actually that important in the gaming industry. Not yet at least. But, no use crying over spilled milk (or no milk in this case).

E3 is definitely one of the most covered electronics oriented events in the world. Granted, it's not as grandiose as it used to be, but it still pulls in the crowds. Gone are the days of binge drinking and booth babes (well, maybe not the drinking part), the party atmosphere, and definitely a lot of the showmanship. I remember reading about my favorite writer's escapades in the latest issue of PSM or GamePro, days, if not weeks, after the actual events happened. Then something happened to change how I got my information. I discovered the internet. I have to be honest here, up until 2 years ago, I didn't even own a computer. My news access was limited to what I could find in print, but no more. Now with sites from all the major magazine publishers, plus independents like N4G, Kotaku, Hooked Gamers, and Ripten, I have all the news I need. Almost.

It's kinda funny sometimes. I happen to visit a site almost everyday, but I can still miss something. I did that today. My wife says I'm the most unobservant person she knows (next ot our daughter), and here, she is absolutely right. I regularly visit IGN for gaming new, plus I also post these blog posts there. What I didn't notice is one of the links right on the front page. On the left side, not too far down from the top, was a link to their Live Wire Show. I had no idea what that was, thankfully, now I know.


Live Wire is where IGN is broadcasting LIVE all the press conferences from E3. I know a few other sites are doing that, too, but Live Wire looks absolutely amazing. I just watched the first few minutes of Microsoft's press conference and I have to say that seeing all that live impressed the hell out of me, and of course, my inner fanboy. Instead of waiting for the written press coverage, or days for a video, I can see the whole thing live. I get to see what was-previously-only available for those people that could attend the show. We get to see the first looks, the hands-on demos, the secrets from out of left field that no one even thought about. All from the comfort of my couch.

Does this take the sting away from not being able to attend in person? I does a little-but only a little. One of these days, I will make it to the promised land. Either that or maybe I'll hit PAX one of these days instead. Until that time, back to Live Wire.