Well, ACD and I finally beat L4D, and then played some Versus. I can't speak for him entirely, but I think we can both agree that it is easily one of the top contenders for Game of the Year.
I've been sitting here for 30 minutes, and I can't think of anything else to write.
Showing posts with label VALVe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label VALVe. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
HOLY SHIT
This game DOES kick SO. MUCH. ASS. I haven't played it much (ACD left me before we beat the first scenario D; ), but what I have played is so awesome. This is EASILY a Game of the Year contender. I haven't played past where ACD and I got, because I want to wait for him. I don't know if I can, though. I've been playing Versus mode for a while now. It is SO. MUCH. FUN.
Ok, going to play more.
Ok, going to play more.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
eMusic kinda sucks.
I signed up for eMusic, mainly to get the song Man, It's So Loud In Here by TMBG, but when I signed up, it gave me 25 free songs. There's a problem with that. They're mostly Indie music, so they don't have hardly anything I like. We also got pizza from Pizza Hut tonight, and it came with a code for 50 more songs. So now I have to try and find 61 (I still have 11 left over from the first 25) songs worth downloading before my 14 days are up. I may just end up downloading stuff I don't really want. I don't know.
So that's pretty much my day. I need a life. NO. L4D comes out in a few days. Having a life would just get in the way. I can't decide whether or not to play through the game in Singlplayer or in Multiplayer first. Probably Multiplayer if any of my friends are on.
So that's pretty much my day. I need a life. NO. L4D comes out in a few days. Having a life would just get in the way. I can't decide whether or not to play through the game in Singlplayer or in Multiplayer first. Probably Multiplayer if any of my friends are on.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Review: Ricochet (PC)
As a reviewer, I feel I should be somewhat balanced in my scores, to not seem so biased. Last night I got to thinking, "Most of the games I reviewed have all gotten fairly high scores. Maybe I should try to find a bad game to review." I was thinking about all that again today, and then I remembered I had gotten Ricochet as part of the Counter-Strike 1 Anthology from Steam (which also included Deathmatch Classic, Day of Defeat, Counter-Strike, and Counter-Strike: Condition Zero), and thought "That game is PERFECT for a bad review!"
Ricochet. The Half-Life mod that nobody knows about (or has tried to erase from their memory). It makes me sad to think that this game has disgraced the likes of Half-Life for eight years now. I was sitting here, thinking about what I was going to say in this review, when I realized that this game is so bad, I'm not sure I can put it into legible words, but I'll give it a try.
Now, I've never seen the movie Tron, but I'm pretty sure that Ricochet was inspired by it. The neon graphics look similar, and I think that there were some throwing discs in the movie.
I'll admit, I haven't played very much of Ricochet, but there isn't really much to do. It's kind of a one-trick-pony. You go into a game (if you can find one. The most servers I've ever seen open at one time was 11, and at 10:30 P.M. CST, there was only 10 servers, and only one of them had any players, and even THEN, there were only two players and they were both assholes.), and you go from platform to platform throwing discs, trying to knock people off the platforms and down into the abyss, where they die and you get a point. There are a few problems with this. First, you can't jump. You just have to run onto little arrows on the platforms which flings you across to another platform. Second, your discs are your only weapon, and you can't aim them up or down. That's right, you can only throw your discs parallel to the ground (more on that in a minute). Third, you can only have 3 discs at a time, and even though they replenish, they don't do so nearly fast enough. When you have 3 discs saved, you can right-click to throw out a Decapitator disc, which is just what it sounds like, but even that is boring.
Now, back to the aiming. There are several levels of platforms which you can get to by going to the right jumps. Separating those platforms are bars that you cannot shoot through. They just bounce off (hence, the title of the game). Since you can't aim up or down, you can only shoot someone when you're on the same platform as them, or when you're in the air. The problem with that is, when you get shot by a normal disc, it doesn't kill you, it just pushes you a little, meaning if you get shot in the air, you'll probably end up missing your jump completely, and then fall to your death. Another problem is that this is one of those games where you can't walk through other players, so if two people are jumping at one another, they bump into each other and fall, killing both. It's also hard to hit people unless they're right in front of you, because your discs move extremely slow.
There are a few power-ups, although they're all things you've seen in plenty of other games, like Multi-Shot, Power Shot, and one that just freezes you, leaving you defenseless.
The graphics are really, really bad, even for the year 2000. They're boring, lifeless, and I think that Half-Life looked better, despite being two years older. Actually, I took a screenshot (click to enlarge (that's what she said)).
When I decided I wanted to review a bad game, I think I did good in choosing Ricochet. This is a game that should never have seen the light of day, much less the $5 that Steam wants you to pay. There is not an ounce of fun in this game, and I really tried hard to like it, but I just couldn't. As a reviewer, and as a person who doesn't generally wish the worst on people, this is a form of torture that I couldn't wish upon my worst enemy, much less recommend it to anyone I care about. If you already have this game, you have my condolences. 1 out of 5.
EDIT: I forgot I took this video earlier today, when there were about 10 people on.
Ricochet. The Half-Life mod that nobody knows about (or has tried to erase from their memory). It makes me sad to think that this game has disgraced the likes of Half-Life for eight years now. I was sitting here, thinking about what I was going to say in this review, when I realized that this game is so bad, I'm not sure I can put it into legible words, but I'll give it a try.
Now, I've never seen the movie Tron, but I'm pretty sure that Ricochet was inspired by it. The neon graphics look similar, and I think that there were some throwing discs in the movie.
I'll admit, I haven't played very much of Ricochet, but there isn't really much to do. It's kind of a one-trick-pony. You go into a game (if you can find one. The most servers I've ever seen open at one time was 11, and at 10:30 P.M. CST, there was only 10 servers, and only one of them had any players, and even THEN, there were only two players and they were both assholes.), and you go from platform to platform throwing discs, trying to knock people off the platforms and down into the abyss, where they die and you get a point. There are a few problems with this. First, you can't jump. You just have to run onto little arrows on the platforms which flings you across to another platform. Second, your discs are your only weapon, and you can't aim them up or down. That's right, you can only throw your discs parallel to the ground (more on that in a minute). Third, you can only have 3 discs at a time, and even though they replenish, they don't do so nearly fast enough. When you have 3 discs saved, you can right-click to throw out a Decapitator disc, which is just what it sounds like, but even that is boring.
Now, back to the aiming. There are several levels of platforms which you can get to by going to the right jumps. Separating those platforms are bars that you cannot shoot through. They just bounce off (hence, the title of the game). Since you can't aim up or down, you can only shoot someone when you're on the same platform as them, or when you're in the air. The problem with that is, when you get shot by a normal disc, it doesn't kill you, it just pushes you a little, meaning if you get shot in the air, you'll probably end up missing your jump completely, and then fall to your death. Another problem is that this is one of those games where you can't walk through other players, so if two people are jumping at one another, they bump into each other and fall, killing both. It's also hard to hit people unless they're right in front of you, because your discs move extremely slow.
There are a few power-ups, although they're all things you've seen in plenty of other games, like Multi-Shot, Power Shot, and one that just freezes you, leaving you defenseless.
The graphics are really, really bad, even for the year 2000. They're boring, lifeless, and I think that Half-Life looked better, despite being two years older. Actually, I took a screenshot (click to enlarge (that's what she said)).When I decided I wanted to review a bad game, I think I did good in choosing Ricochet. This is a game that should never have seen the light of day, much less the $5 that Steam wants you to pay. There is not an ounce of fun in this game, and I really tried hard to like it, but I just couldn't. As a reviewer, and as a person who doesn't generally wish the worst on people, this is a form of torture that I couldn't wish upon my worst enemy, much less recommend it to anyone I care about. If you already have this game, you have my condolences. 1 out of 5.
EDIT: I forgot I took this video earlier today, when there were about 10 people on.
Monday, November 10, 2008
L4D Demo
Well, I've been playing the L4D Demo for several days now, and I've had Fraps for a while, so I figured the next logical step was to film myself playing through the demo to make people who haven't played it extremely jealous (no offense, ACD). The result:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 1
Part 2
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Random Ramblings
Well, last night I was really mad and tired, hence the terrible blog post. Tonight I'm tired, but not as mad.
I signed up for eMusic.com, just to get the 25 free songs. So far, I've only gotten 4, because it's all Indie music and I can't find much of anything I want. They DO, have, however, all (I think) of Jonathan Coulton's albums, both of What Made Milwaukee Famous's albums, four of the Young Fresh Fellows albums, a few of They Might Be Giants albums (I finally got my digital hands on Man, It's So Loud in Here), the album from The Giraffes that Chris Ballew was on, Chris and Tad's only album (which I already have), and two of PUSA's albums (both of which I already have), so I'm sure I can find something to get.
The Left 4 Dead pre-order demo came out today. This game is EPIC. Sure, there are a few bugs here and there, but if they can work them out, I can easily see this a the Game of the Year, although this year, it has some pretty tough competitors. I'm trying to talk my brother into pre-ordering, so he can get the demo, and ACD wants it, but he'll have to talk his mom into letting him get it. I hope he can do it, too, because no-one should miss out on this game.
AUGH, I'm so behind on NaNo. I haven't written anything for a few days now, and I'm just stuck in the story. I'm thinking of just writing portions of stories, and then compiling them all in one book, you know, so you can make up the ending for yourself. That way, you will never be let down by a shitty ending. Kids today need to use their imagination more anyway.
I signed up for eMusic.com, just to get the 25 free songs. So far, I've only gotten 4, because it's all Indie music and I can't find much of anything I want. They DO, have, however, all (I think) of Jonathan Coulton's albums, both of What Made Milwaukee Famous's albums, four of the Young Fresh Fellows albums, a few of They Might Be Giants albums (I finally got my digital hands on Man, It's So Loud in Here), the album from The Giraffes that Chris Ballew was on, Chris and Tad's only album (which I already have), and two of PUSA's albums (both of which I already have), so I'm sure I can find something to get.
The Left 4 Dead pre-order demo came out today. This game is EPIC. Sure, there are a few bugs here and there, but if they can work them out, I can easily see this a the Game of the Year, although this year, it has some pretty tough competitors. I'm trying to talk my brother into pre-ordering, so he can get the demo, and ACD wants it, but he'll have to talk his mom into letting him get it. I hope he can do it, too, because no-one should miss out on this game.
AUGH, I'm so behind on NaNo. I haven't written anything for a few days now, and I'm just stuck in the story. I'm thinking of just writing portions of stories, and then compiling them all in one book, you know, so you can make up the ending for yourself. That way, you will never be let down by a shitty ending. Kids today need to use their imagination more anyway.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Review: Portal: Still Alive (X360)
Back at E3 '08, VALVe surprised and excited many gamers by announcing Portal: Still Alive, and expansion for the award-winning Portal, which was one of the five fantastic games in The Orange Box. The day has finally come, and Portal: Still Alive is finally released.
First: Portal by itself was an absolutely fantastic game. It was fun, challenging and humorous all at the same time. The Portal Gun was something that hadn't been seen in games before. You played as Chell, a female Test Subject for Aperture Science. Throughout the game, you were guided by the often witty and sarcastic GLADoS, a talking supercomputer who would taunt, threaten and applaud you, sometimes all at once.
Portal: Still Alive is not a full-out sequel. It's an expansion of sorts. It adds 14 new Challenge Maps in the game, all of which amazingly creative and super fun to play. The maps are based off a fan-made map pack which was based on Portal: The Flash Version, so if you play through P:TFV, you not only get the general gist of Portal itself, but you also get a sneak-peek of sorts at P:SA.
Since it's based on the Flash version, which had several hazards that weren't in the original Portal, a few of those hazards are in P:SA. In turn, P:SA "feels" a lot different than Portal. P:SA requires an entirely different way of solving the puzzles, so you'll have to learn to "Think With Portals" all over again. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad thing. The thing that I always liked about Portal was that it never seemed to get so frustrating that I would want to quit, and the same goes for P:SA. Even though it can get frustrating, it's never too much.
Now for the bad. For one, it's an Xbox Live exclusive, at least for a while. It's also the biggest XBLA game right now (it's about 630Mb). This isn't necessarily bad, but it can take up quite a bit of space if you don't have a very big Hard Drive. Next, since it's basically just a Map Pack, GLADoS isn't in any of the 14 new Challenge Maps. A lot of people will say that since it doesn't have GLADoS, then it's no good. That is not true. It's still amazingly fun, just not as humorous. The last thing is a problem that everyone had with the first: it's ridiculously short. Most people can beat Portal in about 3 hours. I beat P:SA in a little over two.
Portal: Still Alive is a fantastic game, and an even more fantastic deal. 1,200 Microsoft Points ($15) may seem a little steep, but it's well worth it. If you haven't played Portal then this is a definite buy, and if you have played it, then you should still buy this, as even though it contributes nothing to the storyline, it's still a fantastic game, and on top of that, the original Portal in it's entirety is also in there. 5 out of 5.
First: Portal by itself was an absolutely fantastic game. It was fun, challenging and humorous all at the same time. The Portal Gun was something that hadn't been seen in games before. You played as Chell, a female Test Subject for Aperture Science. Throughout the game, you were guided by the often witty and sarcastic GLADoS, a talking supercomputer who would taunt, threaten and applaud you, sometimes all at once.
Portal: Still Alive is not a full-out sequel. It's an expansion of sorts. It adds 14 new Challenge Maps in the game, all of which amazingly creative and super fun to play. The maps are based off a fan-made map pack which was based on Portal: The Flash Version, so if you play through P:TFV, you not only get the general gist of Portal itself, but you also get a sneak-peek of sorts at P:SA.
Since it's based on the Flash version, which had several hazards that weren't in the original Portal, a few of those hazards are in P:SA. In turn, P:SA "feels" a lot different than Portal. P:SA requires an entirely different way of solving the puzzles, so you'll have to learn to "Think With Portals" all over again. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad thing. The thing that I always liked about Portal was that it never seemed to get so frustrating that I would want to quit, and the same goes for P:SA. Even though it can get frustrating, it's never too much.
Now for the bad. For one, it's an Xbox Live exclusive, at least for a while. It's also the biggest XBLA game right now (it's about 630Mb). This isn't necessarily bad, but it can take up quite a bit of space if you don't have a very big Hard Drive. Next, since it's basically just a Map Pack, GLADoS isn't in any of the 14 new Challenge Maps. A lot of people will say that since it doesn't have GLADoS, then it's no good. That is not true. It's still amazingly fun, just not as humorous. The last thing is a problem that everyone had with the first: it's ridiculously short. Most people can beat Portal in about 3 hours. I beat P:SA in a little over two.
Portal: Still Alive is a fantastic game, and an even more fantastic deal. 1,200 Microsoft Points ($15) may seem a little steep, but it's well worth it. If you haven't played Portal then this is a definite buy, and if you have played it, then you should still buy this, as even though it contributes nothing to the storyline, it's still a fantastic game, and on top of that, the original Portal in it's entirety is also in there. 5 out of 5.
Monday, October 6, 2008
i think Age of Chivalry is a pretty cool guy. eh makes for some epic battles and doesn't afraid of anything
As you may know, VALVe has recently started hosting Half-Life 2 Mods directly from Steam, as opposed to just having a page with a link to a site that hosts the Mod. Due to this new feature, I finally got around to downloading Age of Chivalry, and it's actually very good. If you can get on a server with several people (which isn't too hard right now, but the player numbers may eventually start to go down as soon as the "new" wears off) on a large map, it can actually make for some pretty epic battles, because there's maybe 30-something people all fighting fairly close together (all classes are melee except for the archer, but even then you have to be pretty close because it's kinda hard to aim the arrows), and the classes are, for the most part, pretty balanced, so it's actually pretty great.
I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't have anything of importance to blog about, but I needed to go ahead and do it now, because I plan on going to sleep soon and I probably won't be up for twelve hours or so.
I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't have anything of importance to blog about, but I needed to go ahead and do it now, because I plan on going to sleep soon and I probably won't be up for twelve hours or so.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Codename: Gordon?!
Yes. Very yes. Now, if you don't know what Codename: Gordon is, it was a 2D sidescroller fan-created game released in 2003, based on VALVE's Half-Life 2(actually, since it came out a year before HL2, it was more based on whatever little bits of HL2 trailers and small pieces of gameplay people had seen), and it was picked up by some company named Nuclearvision Entertainment. It was distributed over STEAM(VALVe's online delivery system), but was taken down due to Nuclearvision Entertainment's bankruptcy. If you want to read a little more on the history and plot and such, then just visit the Wikipedia page for it.
Anyway, being the sneaky little bastard that I am, I found out a way to download it(by trolling various forums). Apparently, VALVe never took it off their servers(or something, I don't know the details), so you can still download it.
If you want to, then first download the STEAM client, then in your internet browser, type in "steam://install/92" in the URL bar, then in STEAM it will bring up a box that lets you download and install Codename: Gordon. Have fun, and good night.
Anyway, being the sneaky little bastard that I am, I found out a way to download it(by trolling various forums). Apparently, VALVe never took it off their servers(or something, I don't know the details), so you can still download it.
If you want to, then first download the STEAM client, then in your internet browser, type in "steam://install/92" in the URL bar, then in STEAM it will bring up a box that lets you download and install Codename: Gordon. Have fun, and good night.
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