The Arcade

The arcade is nearing completion. I have here several photos that show my overall progress so far. I created a cardboard "shell" of the tv to measure how well it'd fit in the arcade, as the tv is downstairs and weighs about 100lbs. Also keep in mind the layout for the joysticks have not been cut out yet, I plan on doing that asap. The bottom door has also not been cut out, and the perferated metal that will hold the speakers has not been installed. Aside from that and some paint it's finished. It will be able to play playstation 3, playstation 2, and a mame arcade pc. I plan on creating another drop-down door for the pc to enable keyboard and mouse support.

I will also be putting the playstation move on this bamf using the gun controller and some old fashioned rail-shooters like time crisis. There will also be a kick-plate (and hopefully a footrest) and some barstools for anyone who wants to just chill on it.

As it plays ps3 wireless controllers for players 3 and 4 will also work and to enable 4 player co-op mame style I have an xbox 360 pc adapter for the controllers so that players 3 and 4 could play games like dungeons & dragons shadow over mystara over the mame computer.

The cabinet itself is 36 inches by 38 inches, making it a freaking beast and it cannot fit through any of the doors to the house so I am currently working on a solution to cut the bad boy down to size. Any suggestions welcome.

It's name is Retro.

On Metro 2033

As an already huge fan of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise this game was right up my alley. This game, for me, is the pinnacle of post-apocalypse games at the moment. The graphics are great, the storyline is great, the controls are great, and the scares are great. This is just a great game overall and I highly recommend it to any post-apocalypse or horror fan. "Horror?" you say? Yes horror. I have jumped more at this game than Amnesia. This game has a habit of throwing mutant creatures or unexpected bandits at you out of nowhere. I almost fell out of my chair when I was walking down a tunnel and suddenly got shot by a bandit. "But doesn't the game mostly take place in a subway?" Yes it does, but this is definitely not a bad thing. You do go up to the surface ever so often but it is highly irradiated, requiring you to wear your gas mask at all times (which can run out of filters) and there are monsters everywhere. Underground, however, there are marketplaces, societies, and even underground wars going on. This game is highly realistic, requiring you to buy filters for your gas mask, if you are attacked while wearing your gas mask the glass could break, causing vision to become impaired, your quests are written down on a little pad that you pull out in real-time, no esc menu quest reviews, the HUD is only a crosshair and ammo supply, to heal you have to inject yourself with what I believe is morphine, you have to recharge your headlight, etc. This game is great, and I could talk about it all day, but I do not want to spoil anything for you. All I will say is it is a great game with the bonus of a great scare and I definitely recommend it for any post apocalypse or horror fan.

On Section 8 Prejudice

Sec 8 is a $15 dlc game. I personally purchased it for PC, as I am primarily a PC gamer. Sec 8 is primarily a multiplayer game although it does have a single-player campaign. The campaign is quite terrible with bad voice acting, bad story, and stupid bots. The AI in this game is not exactly the best. At first me and a friend of mine started a game and went against bots to understand the controls. I put the bots on normal and we decimated them, so we bumped the difficulty to the hardest setting and still we decimated them. Multiplayer is something to behold, however. It brings me back to days of the original Halo, prancing about in huge levels searching for your 3 other buddies, only this time there can be up to 60+ players and objective based gameplay. Objective based games mean that you aren't just running around aimlessly shooting one another, but actually have different goals that can allow individual player's skills to shine, while improving overall teamwork. There are too many games today where the highest ranked player shines instead of the team as a whole and this game takes one tiny step in the right direction.

On From Dust

From Dust is a quaint little game. It is by all means a time-killer. I was so anxious for Ubisoft to release this game (especially after they delayed it for pc and ps3) but when I finally got it I played for about 2 hours before I became just so bored I couldn't play anymore. The graphics are quite beautiful but aside from that it was quite a let down. I expected nature to change on it's own a bit more and for the villagers to be able to do ANYTHING on their own but all they do is build villages in extremely dangerous places and then want you to protect them. In one level there was a volcano that kept erupting over and over about every two minutes, shaking my screen violently and causing a loud boom. I actually just took my headphones off while attempting to make a bridge out of stone (which did not work because the waterfall would not stop flowing no matter how much Istopped it up.). All in all this game is basically the equivalent to solitare. It's there, its pretty fun for a while, but no one wants to play it for too long.

The Draw-Distance of the World

So it's been a while since my last post and the reason being is because, well, gaming has been coming to me in small doses and now I believe I have enough spoonfulls to make a hearty soup.

First off lets talk about Dota 2. For those of you unfamiliar, Dota was a mod for warcraft 3 that became massively popular and even moved on to league of legends and other type games. Dota 2 is now accepting BETA applications and you know I'm in on that. Dota, in my opinion, resembles a diablo-esque hack and slash and is a good time-waster if you play alone.
Secondly Age of Empires hos now gone free to play and although I have not yet played it I do have it downloaded. Judging by the former AoE games it should be quite good. Eric Ruth will be releasing the Team Fortress Arcade game soon and I have every intention on installing it on my actual arcade machine. I finally purchased Terraria and I must say it's quite lonely on single player. I had an npc hanging around for a while but then he ventured off to die I suppose. I look forward to playing it with a few of my friends once they are back from vacation and reporting how fun or awful it is in multiplayer.

Now that you've read all the above you are probably thinking to yourself "Where is the lovable snark we love so much?" and there is only one explanation...
I've been playing Trade Fortress 2 so fuck off unless you got a Stout Shako for two refined!

(I will post an elaborate detailing of From Dust after I play it all day tomorrow so be sure to check back in!)

Arcade Machine

I'm actually building an old-school arcade, did I mention that earlier in my posts? No? Well I don't see why not, it's the biggest project I'm currently working on. Anyway, its a big ol' MAME cabinet and it's not quite finished. I'll be updating this little post every time I change something or buy more materials.

What I have so far:
TV $25
Computer running XP $25
Speakers with (wired) remote control $20
MDF sheets $32.28 (x3)
Particle Board (Free)
2x4 (8 ft) $2.21 (x3)
USB Arcade Stick $39 (x2)
Cam Lock $6.57
Hinges $2.77
TOTAL: $260.81

What I still need:
Metal hole mesh (for speakers)
Coin Door (Decided on fake door)
Power Strip (Remote controlled)
Marquee
Light (for behind marquee) (Decided against the light, too much energy wasted)
Fan & Vents (To ensure it doesn't overheat) (just going to drill holes in the back and top instead)

What needs to be done:
Sanding
Painting
Insert TV
Insert Controllers

Dick Move

Way to go, Ubisoft. You tell us From Dust will be released tomorrow and then only release the Xbox version. No reason for the pc and ps3 delay was given. Why? Because they are dicks. Perhaps I'm being too harsh, but I mean come on...I mean, at least let us know a week before or something. I got off work, all excited to download it at midnight only to find that it won't be coming out for at least another month. Well there goes my week.

Live Feed

On Age of Conan Part II

Age of Conan is very hard to put down. I am now level 27 and roaming the plains of Khitai. Or at least the Gate. Age of Conan is kind of hard to explain. It's brutal, realistic (as realistic as an mmo can be anyway), and it's set in a unique world and time period that I adore. The armor and weapons in the game are awesome and very unique to each land. Like Egyptian stuff? Go to Stygia. Like Asian stuff? Go to Khitai. Like Viking stuff? Go to Cimmeria. Like Roman stuff? Go to Aquillonia. Like any or all of these? PLAY AGE OF CONAN! It's not restricted to stereotypes and has alot more than just those four lands to play. Unlike most mmos today, it's a universal world with no set bad-guy. everyone is technically on the same team and against each other at the same time, much like Hyboria would be if it were real.

Although the game is marketed as free-to-play that of course means if you want to play it for longer than 1 month you're gonna have to buy something. You are only given 12 bag slots for equipment which is by far the most annoying thing. Secondly, you are given a 2 gold limit, which you can pay to have removed. They also sell mounts and such, but you can buy those in-game, so there is no point. Also, you are only given a very small handful of dungeons you can actually do, but if you pay somewhere around either 12 or 20 bucks you'll be able to permanently unlock several pre-80 duengeons. What about post-80 you ask? they rent them basically and it's stupid. Also, you cannot raid, so raiders...I guess go back to wow or pay per month. Basically, if you pay about $50 you can pretty much OWN the game forever, with a few restrictions.

Whats funny is most free mmos are either Chinese or Korean and so therefor set in a feudal oriental land and I normally dislike this, but I am drawn to the land of Khitai very strongly. I am a Cimmerian (viking) barbarian with "bear" facepaint and a huge beard running around in samurai armor lobbing off heads of zombies and raiders. Oh, that's another thing; Lets talk combat!

Ok so AoC is much more fun than most mmo grinders. AoC has 3 main attack buttons, left, right, and up. Your enemy has 3 guard points he puts up, either 1 in each, 2 in 1 with 1 left over, or all 3 in one. The guard points represent how hard he is defending one point, and you need to attack the area that is open. Also, feats and abilities don't just do something magical; you are required to perform a combo, which gets larger as you level up. These combos are both spectacular to look at and very effective. There are also multiple ways to play each class. As a barbarian, I am technically a rogue with hiding skill and whatnot, but I fight like a tank and rarely die. At first I was a two-hander guy, but now I'm a dual-weilder, and the feats and abilities don't restrict me, they open up more options depending on which fighting style I choose. Also, sometimes randomly, you get a badass finishing move. Most of the time my barbarian hacks into their stomach, causing them to fall to their knees as you throw up your weapon and lop their head off causing a huge trail of blood to spew from their neck cavities.

Well, if that last sentence didn't do it for you...Maybe you should play World of Warcraft.
Or you know...Hello Kitty Online.

On Summer

Well, I am now engaged to my beautiful girlfriend...I mean fiance...I mean...What do I call it again? Anyway this is the happiest month...No, YEAR of my life!

Now, I know this is a gaming blog so you don't want to hear about me getting engaged after almost 5 years of being with this girl, blah blah blah. I also know that you are all heartless brigands.

Anyway, for me personally this has been one of the best summers for gaming ever. Let's recap what all games I've got in just the last 2 or 3 months;

Jamestown
Magic The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012
Minecraft
League of Legends
Monday Night Combat
Mount and Blade with Fire and Sword
The Sims 3 for PC
Trine
Age of Conan
and just today; Amnesia: The Dark Decent.

I'll do quick little one paragraph on all of these games right here just for you all.

1. Jamestown - Jamestown is an indie "bullet-hell" game in which you play 1 of 4 colonial characters in a futuristic-yet-not-futuristic scifi re-imagining of "the new world"...which is mars...It's plot is strange and quirky and by far the best aspect of the game. It can be multiplayer up to 4 people (1 using mouse, 1 using keyboard, and 2 using xbox 360 controllers). It's great fun for an old-school shoot-em-up style game and it has almost unlimited replayability, what with all the unlockable missions and whatnot. I definitely recommend it for anyone who is feeling nostalgic and who has friends to play with as well.

2. Magic the Gathering - If you've played the card game there isn't much to talk about. It's a card based game in which you battle with monsters and magic, trying to kill the enemy opponent. This game has an offline and online mode and being a fan of magic the gathering and NOT having friends who also play, this was great way for me to get my Wednesday night magic fix without having a comic book store in my area.

3. Minecraft - I will not review minecraft until it is more complete. At this point in time the game is boring and broken. All you can do is build blocks and mine for stuff with no purpose, but the game is in it's early stages, so hopefully soon it will get better. Some quests and NPCs will be nice.

4. League of Legends - I...Well, I haven't actually played it yet! Quite honestly the only thing that drew me to it was A. a friend plays and B. Penny Arcade mentions it almost monthly, so if they think it's that great, I will probably like it as well.

5. Monday Night Combat - Monday Night Combat is a game reminiscent of the old days; A game in which you simply kill other people for money and temporary upgrades. Now that I've played it out a little more, it reminds me very much of the game Shadowrun for pc. Yes it's a class based shooter and yes you have upgrades that you can unlock by playing one game long enough to get money to do so. I don't actually care for these kinds of games, because I don't like losing that which I worked so hard to achieve. One of the reasons I love Team Fortress 2 is because once you have the item it's yours forever and you can do with it as you please. I will be playing more Monday Night Combat in the future, but it by no means as good as Team Fortress 2 (which is also free now...yeah...free.)

6. Mount and Blade with Fire and Sword - This game baffles me...The graphics are horrid for this day and age, but the game lags so bad on my computer that it is unplayable, even on low settings. I can play APB Reloaded, Crysis (one), Far Cry 2, Unreal 3, etc. on the highest (if not close) settings, but when it comes to M&B it just refuses to play. So, no review for this one, just make sure your computer can actually run this shitty looking game.

7. The Sims 3 (PC) - I originally bought Sims 3 for PS3 and it was horrible. You are so limited in the PS3 version it's not even funny. The pc version freed up all those restrictions and then some, not to mention it looks much better on pc. That's right, IT LOOKS BETTER ON THE PC VERSION THAN ON PS3! That is horrible because ps3 is supposed to have some of the best graphics out there. Anyway, the sims is the sims, its a game in which you do everything you are SUPPOSED to do in real life...you know, like get a job, take a shower, and eat vegetables. But by the gods is it enthralling...

8. Trine - Trine is a great game, but I can't review it too much, as I haven't completed it yet. All I can say is if it weren't for all these other great games I've just got in the past couple of months, I would be glued to this game. I still haven't figured out if there is a coop option or not, but then again I haven't really looked. As soon as I start the game I jump right into continuing where I left off. It kind of reminds me of Little Big Planet just a tiny bit...maybe that's because it's a modern side scrolling adventure game? It harkens back to the days of Castlevania and Ghouls 'n Ghosts without being too overly hard and adding modern elements of gaming, like being able to create a box by moving the mouse in a box shape. Overall I highly recommend this game so far.

9. Age of Conan - If you follow me on facebook you'll probably know this about me; I love Free to Play games and I fully support microtransactions. You'll also know that Team Fortress 2 is my favorite game of all time. I played Age of Conan back when it very first came out and you actually had to pay for it...Not that I believe in superiority or anything, I just think that if you payed for a game that went free to play you should get something in return...You know...Like a hat. Anyway, all that aside, I am a HUGE fan of Conan. I have both the movies, I've read almost all of the old and new comics, I even bought that horrid Conan game for xbox just because it was about Conan. I've based many-a-d&d character on Conan, the most similar being Bodun the Barbarian, etc. etc. So of course I love AoC, and not just because it's based on Hyboria. I love AoC because of the GREAT graphics, the stunning landscapes, the human-only races, the more brutal and realistic atmosphere, and the time period and plot of the game. I hate how almost all fantasy rpgs and mmos now are set in SUPER HIGH FANTASY MEDIEVAL EUROPE! I like fantasy, don't get me wrong, but ever since WoW every mmo and rpg out there believe they have to do it over-the-top magic and fantasy, usually with modern day things made to look medieval, like trains, planes, motocycles, etc. Anyway, this review is getting too long, the game is FREE god damnit, so go and download that shit now.

10. Amnesia: The Dark Decent - This is, bar none, the scariest game I've ever played. No guns nor weapons to save you...All you have is your trusty lantern and your sanity...But for how long?That's right, your lantern can go out and you can be trapped in complete darkness and your mind can play tricks on you. Was that the wind that just slammed the door down the hall or is someone...Or Something down there...I have become so engulfed by this game sometimes I truly feel like I am fleeing for my life. So far one of the scariest parts in the game is when the whole corridor becomes flooded and something strange lurks in the water. Of course, my lantern gave out so I was extra scared and I actually died. What kind of kills it though is when you die you just start over where you last left off, which is good, but as soon as you die you are no longer afraid. It's like your brain tells you "Oh, this thing can't actually hurt you. Go on, just open the door, nothing can scare you now, you are invincible!" If you are looking for an ACTUALLY scary game, buy this cheap game (you can even get it at walmart), turn off all the lights, turn the sound up really loud, and prepare to wet yourself.

On Age of Conan

AGE OF CONAN IS NOW FREE TO PLAY! GRARGLEFLARGLEARGLEDARGLEMARBL​ESGURGLEBURBLEDERPINDURRR!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksXQx8UX9Ng

On the Steam Summer Sale (Sims 3)

So I've basically bought 1 game a day since the steam sale started. That sounds bad, but in fact, I haven't even gone over twenty dollars yet. Today I'll be buying the most expensive game yet; The Sims 3 for $13.60. "You don't have the sims 3 yet?" you ask? Well, actually I do...for the PS3. It's horrid and should not even be called a game. The PS3 version is so restrictive and lacking in any updates or expansions it's not worth it. So I'm just going to hope my computer can run it effectively. I'm running Nvidia Geforce 8600x2 at the moment, so it should run on at least medium.

On Monday Night Combat

I've only played it for about 2 hours or so, so I can't be too judgmental. It does remind me a lot of Unreal Championship for Xbox (original), mixed a little with Counter Strike. You have a preset of character classes (like sniper and assassin) and you use in-game money to buy powerups and such, like longer jetpack flight. So far, It's not doing it for me. Maybe I just need to spend more time with it. Right now it's like the weird son...You know, the one who wears his mother's high heels and plays Barbie with his sister...

Introduction

Hello all! If you are a follower of anything else I do, you'll know that I have an art blog and almost all I talk about on my facebook is video games. Facebook doesn't allow me to fully talk about the game to the extent I would like, so I've decided to go ahead and create another blog devoted to video games!

Now, before I get started I'd like to say I'm not a critic and I don't consider myself a professional game reviewer or anything of the sort. Instead, I like to think of myself as a game enthusiast. I will be talking about games I have, games I have played, etc. and telling you both pros and cons of the game. There is rarely a game I just hate, and I try not to be biased in my opinions but this is just about what I think about the game and whether or not I like the game based on the pros and cons.

Before I get started "reviewing games" I'd like to tell you about the systems I currently own in a list format.

NES
SNES
N64
PS1
Sega Dreamcast
PS2
Gamecube
Gameboy Color
Gameboy Advanced
Nintendo DS
(Used to own a PSP)
PS3
Xbox 360
Nintendo Wii
Gaming PC (I will reveal specs later, but keep in mind it is a 2008 computer)
MAME

I will also be reviewing trading card games, tabletop games, board games, etc. but those are more rare.