Archive for the ‘Review’ Category
January 27th, 2010 | 
Author: Are you looking for a delightful waste time? Then look at Champions Online, it is a fantastically fabulous time waster. What makes this game so great the inquiring mind may ask? It knows it is a waste of time. And let me be clear: self actualization is king. Even in the video game world there is no substitute for knowing oneself.
For those of you out there who remember the first generation of Cryptic Studio’s Super Hero gaming experience, City of Heroes, know that while Millennium City is still there, it was once again destroyed and rebuilt in the story line. Result: Atari gets a brand new city and server configuration, and we don’t have to worry about that whole City of Heroes/City of Villain thing. Champions gets to wipe the board of the rigid architecture of the “City” but gets to keep the back story.
Death penalties, XP debt, rigid character structure, permanent team rolls, and fixed avatar all get blown away. The designers of Champions have given the paying customer maximum value for their buck: a video game with no down time. Fluid character specialization and appearance modification allow the user full dominion over their digital representation in the cyber world. What is the catch? All the player has to invest is time (or pay farmer cash under the table for digital cred). In Champions your Champion has millions of possibilities to fit your needs or style. Do you have a regular gaming crew that would benefit from a division of labor? Are you a loaner that needs to be able to handle it all? Are you a guild member who out logs your mates? No problem. Champions gives you the ability to make 3 tunes for the price of one by having balance options and gear sets that cater to the players needs. Find yourself under or over specialized? No problem. Get over to the trainer and change you powers, traits, or stats. Cryptic has found the winning formula: give the customer freedom to play the game however they like, and then get out of the way.
Champions Online is a big shot of adrenaline into the heart of any comic book junky. What is the purpose of a video game? Is the video game supposed to educate? Is the video game supposed to inform? To instruct? No. The video game is to entertain. It is to flood the brain with high levels of Dopamine; to make the user drunk with the satisfaction of the easy money of quick reward and intense action. For all the blathering the RPG crowd has about “suspension of reality” and “getting in character” the MMO geeks forget the abject reason they log on for in the first place: stimulation.
Massively has an intriguing Q&A with Cryptic concerning space combat.
Here’s a snippet…
Lok1: Why is combat so important in STO? Why does it happen frequently?
Al Rivera: There are several reasons. We wanted to build an exciting game that appealed to Trek fans and non-Trek fans (let’s call them future Trek fans) alike. The epic space battles from Wrath of Khan to the Dominion War of Deep Space 9 offered great gameplay potential. We wanted to create something exciting, unique, and decisively Trek – and the tall combat mechanics of Star Trek offered an abundance of all 3. But combat is not the only option is STO. There are plenty of exploration, research, gathering and humanitarian opportunities throughout the STO universe.
-Drexel-: How will the use of our weapon systems and abilities be limited during combat?
That’s a pretty big question, so let’s focus on the basics. There are 4 power systems – Weapons, Shields, Engines and Auxiliary. During combat you will need to manage power between these 4 systems, which will modify one system at the expense of another. Your ship has a several weapons slots where you can equip weapons like beam arrays, cannons, torpedoes and mines. Your weapons and some abilities have limited firing arcs – for instance phaser arrays have a 250 degree firing arc, while cannons have a 45 degree firing arc. Many weapons can be fired at once, but firing too many energy weapons will drain your weapon power. Some weapons, like torpedoes have individual cool-down timers as well as linked cool-down timers, as are many Bridge Officer abilities.
I’m cutting Fallen Earth a lot of technical slack as it is an indie game that is working to get it’s act together and offer something new and unique.
Creating the Character
The character creator was similar to that of Guild Wars, but with a bit more refinement to each options. Generally speaking, I was able to make my character distinct and personal… which is all anyone can ask for.
Tutorial
I found it to be very intriguing and entertaining. It threw me into the game world and did so in a very well made environment (the bowels of Hoover Dam).
The combat was similar to that of Hellgate London… a mix of FPS and RPG. Entertaining… but not deep. Again… this is just the tutorial. I expect ore details when other elements, such as crafting, mutations and level abilities are added to the tactical mix.
The “mount” I was able to use was a ATV and it was well done, IMO. Excellent responses, but more of an arcade type of physics than “realism” or simulation.
Starter Zone
After the tutorial, I picked my starter city and got some exploration in. The graphics look a few years old, but the game world design is well done. It’s not the magnificently rendered desolation of Fallout 3…but it is it’s little brother. I kind of reminds me of Star Wars Galaxy, but with vastly superior terrain designs.
I enjoyed the experience enough to want to learn more about what lies ahead so I can give it more than a glancing appraisal. I’ll comb the forums for some directions, because my newb gear is no where near as fun as the tutorial stuff… and I want to approach this wold well-healed.
Note: Technically speaking, the game has some obvious glitches and graphic anomalies. There was occasional rubber-banding of mobs that broke immersion. I’ve also heard reports of patching troubles. I had to download hours of content before getting started, so I can understand the frustration if you did so… and found you had to do it again because of some unreported installation failure after the fact.
This is the $20,000 indie flick that could.
The premise is simple: A young day trader buys a video camera to try and record “paranormal activity” that is graduate student girlfriend has been telling him about. He zealously records conversations about these events, taking the whole thing as a bit of light adventure. His girlfriend is more serious about it as these events scare her and she ultimate just wants them to stop. The main story takes place in these video clips, as well as the very stirring and effective nighttime shots where the camera is left on overnight to monitor them while they sleep… and the activities predominantly occur. As the couple give more attention to the activities, they intensify into oppression.
Comparisons to The Blair Witch Project are apt, in that the film reports to be video evidence that was found by authorities after the fact of the events. The entire film is presented as an archive of real recordings, and for the most part…does a good job in maintaining that level of immersion. While watching the film, I never think of script, direction or acting. It’s very organic and I think most people would view it as if it were made live and with real people who are experiencing he plot, not re-enacting it.
The movie starts out slow, but once we begin with the “Activity”…it becomes engrossing. This is a movie that uses sound… and the absence of sound, most effectively. I found the film to be quite chilling…literally, hair raising. The bedroom scenes are absolutely immersive… you really get into the vulnerability of sleeping people…especially with an unknown menace lurking in the darkness.
Regardless of the chills, Paranormal Activity is not a perfect film. A very regrettable scene with a Ouija board was an odd man out. When you see it, you will know what I mean. The beginning is slower than I think warranted, and the whole feels slightly out of pace. The male lead comes off as kind of a douche-bag… but I think the role called for it. Even so, he was at times unpleasant to watch. The ending was acceptable and even appropriate… but somehow I am not satisfied with it. I do admit it is a better ending than Blair Witch.
I think this is a great flick to see with the significant other… it is scary and leaves you unsettle, much like the end of The Ring. I was most definitely aware of every sound my house made that night… that has to count for something.
On Saturday my wife and I had a night out at the theatre. I knew her choice of movie would be down to two of the new releases this weekend. When she gave me that blood crazed look, I knew which tickets to buy. At the 7:40 showing Saturday night, we sat in the upper right corner of a crowded large viewing room and watched Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Colm Meaney (two to beam up Mr. O’Brien), and others in the action packed Law Abiding Citizen.
The movie was just the right length (108 min) and right from the opening sequence it draws you in and holds your attention. It is hard, fast, edgy, thoughtful, and action packed. It only slows down to set-up the next punch. It is pulse pounding psychological joy ride that has you (and a large mixed crowd) cheering for the film’s title character: Clyde Shelton.
The film has abysmal ratings on Rotten Tomatoes (24% at the time of this writing, 22% when I checked 24hrs prior), but that is understandably so. The film is in many ways “red meat” and “candy” but those things are just so mmm, mmm good. Look, without giving anything of substance away, the film has 1) high tech killing, 2) low tech killing, 3) self centered “justice” officials getting what they deserve, 4) a hot chick in a pantsuit, 5) a naked Gerard Butler, 6)Jamie Foxx, and 7) von Clausewitz quotes. I could go on, but I think you get the point. Did I mention the film has high tech AND low tech killing? Yeah. It’s true.
But to be fair to the reviewers, the abysmal ratings are due in large to the few plot holes (yes there are a few), and the movies ambiguity of message. In fact I will go so far as to say the movies ratings are a commentary on the larger society as a whole. And not for the reasons the statists, government is right types want to imagine. No in my view people agree with the title characters point of view, possibly not with his actions, but certainly with his point of view. Arguably what the writer of this film missed is the simple fact that when a comedian suggests that 50,000 dead lawyers is a good start the audience almost always laughs and agrees.
If you are looking for “red meat”, “candy”, or just some good ol’ fashioned “a man vs. The Man”, then Law Abiding Citizen is for you.
**Trailer below the fold** Read the rest of this entry »
District 9 Poster from Filmofilia.com
Neil Blomkamp’s debut feature film is a smashing success. At a cost $30 Million to make, the film earned more on its first weekend ($37 Million) and to date has earned over $115 Million world-wide. The movie stands as s testament to the quality of “undiscovered” talent that exists in the film industry and speaks directly to the reality that a “megastar” is not needed to tell or sell a feature film.
Blomkamp’s tale is a serious look at Apartheid and the plight of refugees as seen through the lens of cricket-men from outer space. The “Prawns”, as the aliens are called, are a mirror of a majority modern human society. The millions of aliens who come on the mother-ship are sickly, starving, malnourished lot; they are largely devoid of the intelligence that has them cast across the stars. Humanity takes a stand for these visitors and provides them with food and shelter on the ground beneath their hovering ship. This ground is a slum in Johannesburg known as District 9 (a most direct reference to the actual District 6 of Apartheid infamy).
What follows is a steady moving story that speaks to the problems of encampment and segregation; governmental mistakes, multi-national corporate greed, and the age old human fear of the unfamiliar. It is masterfully put together and beautifully layered. A more perfect and gritty sci-fi film has not been produced in years. Does the story pull punches? Yes. Does this story have plausibility holes? Certainly. Does the story have pieces that don’t quite fit snug? Absolutely. But what sci-fi set in a “current day” scenario doesn’t? If you can see past the flaws (and what geek can’t) you should find a thoughtful and introspective story that asks a serious question about man’s inhumanity to man.
*** More, with spoilers, below the fold. ***
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Rumor has it, Windows 7 will be available for Technet and MSDN on August 6, 2009. Volume License customers will be able to get it on August 7. OEM’s – well, shortly. 
General availability – October 22. If I hadn’t renewed my Technet subscription already, I would before August 6!
I’ve been in the computer industry for almost 25 years now. I’ve gone from the lowest on the totem pole to the service manager, and increased in pay faster than anyone ever in two of the companies I have worked for. I’ve seen some weird things in my time. At my first job in the computer industry, my coworkers started calling me the System Master because when no one could fix a system, they would call me in. And I never found a system I couldn’t fix, unless it was unfix-able. All that to let you know, when it comes to computers, I know a little about what I am talking about.
I remember working on a system some years ago. It was at a local law firm, here in Atlanta, back in the late 80’s. This system had two other technicians dispatched, and neither one could get this system working. I was finally called in. I don’t remember too many of the specifics of what I did initially, but I remember the end result and the fix. The system was so fragmented, it was actually working, but it took over an hour to boot. This, back when DOS was the norm. Talk about a totally screwed system.
After I defragged the system, everything worked fine.
Today, we have all kinds of different system tools out there to speed up the systems under the various flavors of Windows. Some work good, some are a scam, and some are just plain fraud or malicious. However, the best tool that anyone can use – to begin with – when the system is slowing down is Windows Defrag (Disk Defragmenter). This can be a life saver, and a cheap one at that. After all, it comes with Windows!
In all my years of tech support, one of the first questions I still have to ask all of my end users when they call me for a slow system is “When did you last defrag your system?” 95% of the time I get “Defrag? What is that?” Even if it is not the first time I’ve asked them. (If you are in Tech Support, you absolutely know what I mean here.)
Microsoft has finally gotten it right in Windows 7, in more than one way. But one of the first and most basic win’s they have here is they have Defrag automatically scheduled to run on a weekly basis as a default for the operating system. Whohoo! Finally! This one feature here will probably cut out about 20% of the tech support calls that companies get with computers. I know when I made it a company standard about 2 and a half years ago, to install Diskeeper on our systems, my calls went down to almost half. People quit complaining about the system slowing down.
Defragmentation of the hard drive is sort of like exercise for humans. Keep it fit, and it will keep running at optimum for you. Too bad Microsoft can’t come out with something to let us do exercise automatically, while we sleep.
What!? You haven’t seen Supernatural?! Christ, are you living in a f**king cave?!
I am a big time genre TV fan. B5, Trek(s), BSG, XFiles, Smallville, Heroes, TrueBlood, Terminator and all things Whedon flows through my veins.
So, how did I miss Supernatural?
*sigh* I can only blame Smallville.
See, I have a love/hate thing with that show. I love the idea, but HATE 90% of the implementation. That 90% is pure WB/CW formula teen drama pap. And when I saw another genre show coming out of CW, I immediate thought “here we go again” and passed on what I thought was going to be a cheap knock off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
As seasons moved by, I noted that the show continued and never really got what I would call “bad” press from those places where reviews matter to me. Even so, I figured that if I am missing something, I am likely not missing much. Six months ago, an eFriend started pushing me toward checking out the show as something “I think you will like”. After much nagging on his part(and a fair bit of forgetfulness on mine), I put the show in my list of things to watch and finally got around to viewing it with SheGan.(who likes “creepy” stuff…me included, I assume)
After the first episode, I was blown away!
Seriously…it was probably the best pilot to a series I’ve seen since Lost. I was immediately hooked on the characters and meta-story… and couldn’t wait to see the next episodes. I was shocked something this good could have strolled out without huge fanfare…at least in the Geekly quarters. But here it was and I dedicated myself to watching as many episodes as I had time in the week.
I’ve recently caught up to the finale of season 4 and now I want to talk about it a bit.
By the late 1970’s the Anarchist movement in the United States had matured. After two centuries of debate and hard fought reality, the movement had strengthened its core beliefs and dispelled most of the it fallacies it had at inception. While Anarcho-Collectivists still exist, the rift between Bakunin and Marx is filled with the spilled blood patriots. The ghosts of the Russian Revolution and Spanish Civil War will whisper their truth as long as we remember them.
The 1983 documentary, Anarhism in America, is now available on Google videos uninterrupted. 74 minutes in length, the documentary shows footage of several of the turn of century anarchists and has interviews with several of the movements thought leaders. The spirit of anarchism is the spirit that built America. Let us never forget what the Founders were declaring independence from!
Happy Independence Day my friends. May God bless and keep you all.
