So this last week has been incredibly busy for me, and I'm sure I'm not alone, what with the obvious christmas craziness that inevitably swamps most people at this time of year. I returned back home [from University] to spend a couple of weeks with my family, and although normally it's a fairly normal-paced christmas atmosphere, this year it's felt like everyone is in overdrive!
I normally come back from Uni and take a few days to cool off. This was especially needed after the intense workathon that my last week of the Autumn term provided. I had 5 days during which, 2 assignments were due, 2 presentations needed to be shown and also I had to send off part of my dissertation to my tutor, so she could look at it over her holiday. Instead of my usual cooldown time, I have been thrown into a frenzy of helping out with christmas decorating and cleaning and all sorts of stuff that I'm completely useless at! It's not that I'm complaining about having to do all this work, indeed whenever I come back home, I work for my dad on the farm so I can get a bit more cash to help me comfortably get through the next term at Uni. My complaints lie more with the IGN Top 25 Xbox 360 Games list.
I flicked through the list a few weeks ago, and wasn't really expecting to be wowed, or surprised by any games. I had expected that the top game was likely to be Modern Warfare 2. And much to my relief, it wasn't!
Mass Effect was. A game I had barely heard of. Now, bear in mind that I've only had my 360 for about a year. All the games I own have tended to be slightly more recent releases. In fact, the oldest game I own is probably Dead Rising, and I soon rendered that unplayable due to the infuriating lack of savepoints.
So, IGN thought that Mass Effect was superior to all those other big AAA titles. I went out, bought a preowned copy, and my life has been consumed. I think in the first day of getting that game, I managed to dedicate about 5 hours of my day to it. The world is so enticing. I'm not really much of a RPG fan, and was sceptical about playing a sci-fi space game, but I am now so glad that I picked it up.
But damn, I need to start working for Dad at some point this week...
Monday 21 December 2009
Wednesday 9 December 2009
Movie Night
Hey!
So, tonight me and my girlfriend decided to have an evening at the cinema! We both have special cards that allow us to see as many big screen movies as we want, for a small monthly fee. It roughly means that we need to watch two movies in order to balance out the charge. We've both been pretty busy this past month, so we figured we'd watch two movies in one night!
So, after a busy day of last-minute University work, I met her to watch Law Abiding Citizen , so we grabbed our ice creams many other snacks [Cinema food=Dinner tonight] and shot off to our seats. Surprisingly, it was ram-packed in there, with only a handful of seats not filled right at the front!
I really enjoyed this movie, and was action packed right from the start! Now, I'm pretty easy to entertain, but even so, the plot kept me intrigued throughout. On a related note, I watched Saw II for the first time the other night, and I realised that movies which adopt an antagonist whose reasons are fairly justifiable, are often some of my favourite. With this in mind, the character that Gerard Butler plays is really interesting. I won't spoil anything, but coming out of the film leaves you questioning who was the baddie!
I would certainly reccomend seeing this film, though I'd be unsure whether I'll want it included in my DVD collection!
Talking of which, The Box is a film that I know will not. We watched this after a half hour lounge in the foyer. 2 hours after it started, me and my girlfriend left the cinema not really knowing how to feel about The Box. More accurately, we actually had to discuss what had happened in the film itself. I had seen trailers that involved a couple having to make a moral choice; Push a button that would kill someone in the world, that you do not know, and recieve $1,000,000. I thought it would be a film focussed on this decision. The idea of financial happiness over the guilt of murder. However, the film went off on quite a tangent. Again, no spoilers here, but if your curiosity gets the better of you then I suggest reading a review somewhere on the internet, before deciding to see it. I'll just say that out of the 15 people that were in the cinema at the time, only 9 stayed until the end.
All in all though, I managed to devour a large ice cream, an enormous coke and a packet or Revels and saw about 4 hours of cinema, which to me, is an evening very well spent!
Eugene
So, tonight me and my girlfriend decided to have an evening at the cinema! We both have special cards that allow us to see as many big screen movies as we want, for a small monthly fee. It roughly means that we need to watch two movies in order to balance out the charge. We've both been pretty busy this past month, so we figured we'd watch two movies in one night!
So, after a busy day of last-minute University work, I met her to watch Law Abiding Citizen , so we grabbed our ice creams many other snacks [Cinema food=Dinner tonight] and shot off to our seats. Surprisingly, it was ram-packed in there, with only a handful of seats not filled right at the front!
I really enjoyed this movie, and was action packed right from the start! Now, I'm pretty easy to entertain, but even so, the plot kept me intrigued throughout. On a related note, I watched Saw II for the first time the other night, and I realised that movies which adopt an antagonist whose reasons are fairly justifiable, are often some of my favourite. With this in mind, the character that Gerard Butler plays is really interesting. I won't spoil anything, but coming out of the film leaves you questioning who was the baddie!
I would certainly reccomend seeing this film, though I'd be unsure whether I'll want it included in my DVD collection!
Talking of which, The Box is a film that I know will not. We watched this after a half hour lounge in the foyer. 2 hours after it started, me and my girlfriend left the cinema not really knowing how to feel about The Box. More accurately, we actually had to discuss what had happened in the film itself. I had seen trailers that involved a couple having to make a moral choice; Push a button that would kill someone in the world, that you do not know, and recieve $1,000,000. I thought it would be a film focussed on this decision. The idea of financial happiness over the guilt of murder. However, the film went off on quite a tangent. Again, no spoilers here, but if your curiosity gets the better of you then I suggest reading a review somewhere on the internet, before deciding to see it. I'll just say that out of the 15 people that were in the cinema at the time, only 9 stayed until the end.
All in all though, I managed to devour a large ice cream, an enormous coke and a packet or Revels and saw about 4 hours of cinema, which to me, is an evening very well spent!
Eugene
Tuesday 8 December 2009
Colin McRae: Dirt 2 Review!
Ahoy!
So, this was in the same issue as my article about pricey games! It's just a quick review of recent rally simulator Colin Mcrae: Dirt 2! Let me know what you think!
Colin McRae: Dirt 2 Review
The Colin McRae franchise has been home to gaming’s best rally simulators for over ten years. However, Codemasters’ latest addition to its driving catalogue takes rally gaming in a new direction.
The first change that you will notice in Dirt 2 is the overhaul that the menu system has undergone. Instead of a scrolling option layout, the player is placed into their rally tour trailer, where you can walk around and select the options you wish to explore.
The racing is similar to the game’s predecessors, though I was surprised to see that half of the eight race modes were circuit based. As a result of this, I found myself sometimes tiring of playing on the same circuit in different race modes. The variation between these modes sometimes feels a little forced. My personal view is that time could’ve been better spent on creating more rally stages rather than creating similar arcade modes.
Online multiplayer has been developed quite a lot too. Now, player’s can choose from a range of ranked or unranked game modes and compete in either solo or team based races. There is also the introduction of a ‘tournament’ mode in Dirt 2. For this, Codemasters will decide on a weekly instruction which drivers need to complete in order to enter. This can range from setting a fastest time on a certain stage, to wrecking the most cars at breakneck speeds. This attention to online play is well received and was an untapped resource in previous Colin McRae games.
The game looks great and provides players with new modes and tracks, but with the lack of weather variance and championships that feel a little short, Dirt 2 falls a little short of my expected standard.
8/10
Eugene
So, this was in the same issue as my article about pricey games! It's just a quick review of recent rally simulator Colin Mcrae: Dirt 2! Let me know what you think!
Colin McRae: Dirt 2 Review
The Colin McRae franchise has been home to gaming’s best rally simulators for over ten years. However, Codemasters’ latest addition to its driving catalogue takes rally gaming in a new direction.
The first change that you will notice in Dirt 2 is the overhaul that the menu system has undergone. Instead of a scrolling option layout, the player is placed into their rally tour trailer, where you can walk around and select the options you wish to explore.
The racing is similar to the game’s predecessors, though I was surprised to see that half of the eight race modes were circuit based. As a result of this, I found myself sometimes tiring of playing on the same circuit in different race modes. The variation between these modes sometimes feels a little forced. My personal view is that time could’ve been better spent on creating more rally stages rather than creating similar arcade modes.
Online multiplayer has been developed quite a lot too. Now, player’s can choose from a range of ranked or unranked game modes and compete in either solo or team based races. There is also the introduction of a ‘tournament’ mode in Dirt 2. For this, Codemasters will decide on a weekly instruction which drivers need to complete in order to enter. This can range from setting a fastest time on a certain stage, to wrecking the most cars at breakneck speeds. This attention to online play is well received and was an untapped resource in previous Colin McRae games.
The game looks great and provides players with new modes and tracks, but with the lack of weather variance and championships that feel a little short, Dirt 2 falls a little short of my expected standard.
8/10
Eugene
Monday 7 December 2009
Downloadable Content: Is it justified?
Hola!
Just a short little post today! This was another article that I wrote for the student paper that I had hoped to recieve some feed back from, but obviously the students were all far too busy with all that work that they do!
I still belileve that DLC is a questionable format for games delivery. To me, it feels like the Games Developer is just going "Hey! We released an unfinished product, this is what we WOULD have released, buy it and see what it would've been like!"
Downloadable Content: Is it justified?
Downloadable content (DLC) is a medium through which game developers can fix or upgrade games that you have already bought. It has become a common tool for all platforms of gaming. The Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Playstation 3 all have online stores through which you can purchase and download games and game add-ons. However, I put forward the notion that the standard of modern gaming is worse off as a result of DLC.
Presently, DLC has become a largely accepted phenomenon. Should this be the case? With the hike in game prices, surely we should expect, if anything, for games to be more polished than ever. Instead, we are often given software that is riddled with minor glitches and technical issues.
In the case of paying for additional content for games, should we really have to pay extra for a game that we’ve already shelled out £30 for? In the case of the Xbox 360 , all transactions for DLC are made with Microsoft Points where 100 points is roughly equal to 85p. This system means that often the gamer is unaware of just how much they’re spending on extra content. I find it questionable that some games are shipped with extra data already on the disc, but in order to utilise this, players are required to pay to unlock it, as was the case with Resident Evil 5.
What are your feelings on Downloadable Content? Do you think it is a justified means of unlocking additional content, or do you believe that the content should already be available from the purchase of a game?
Just a short little post today! This was another article that I wrote for the student paper that I had hoped to recieve some feed back from, but obviously the students were all far too busy with all that work that they do!
I still belileve that DLC is a questionable format for games delivery. To me, it feels like the Games Developer is just going "Hey! We released an unfinished product, this is what we WOULD have released, buy it and see what it would've been like!"
Downloadable Content: Is it justified?
Downloadable content (DLC) is a medium through which game developers can fix or upgrade games that you have already bought. It has become a common tool for all platforms of gaming. The Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Playstation 3 all have online stores through which you can purchase and download games and game add-ons. However, I put forward the notion that the standard of modern gaming is worse off as a result of DLC.
Presently, DLC has become a largely accepted phenomenon. Should this be the case? With the hike in game prices, surely we should expect, if anything, for games to be more polished than ever. Instead, we are often given software that is riddled with minor glitches and technical issues.
In the case of paying for additional content for games, should we really have to pay extra for a game that we’ve already shelled out £30 for? In the case of the Xbox 360 , all transactions for DLC are made with Microsoft Points where 100 points is roughly equal to 85p. This system means that often the gamer is unaware of just how much they’re spending on extra content. I find it questionable that some games are shipped with extra data already on the disc, but in order to utilise this, players are required to pay to unlock it, as was the case with Resident Evil 5.
What are your feelings on Downloadable Content? Do you think it is a justified means of unlocking additional content, or do you believe that the content should already be available from the purchase of a game?
Sunday 6 December 2009
Students Vs Video Games
Sup!!
This was my first article for the student newspaper I write for. I'm the Games Editor don't you know! It's all about what students can do in order to combat the rising costs of video games. Let me know what you think!
Students Vs Video Games
Eugene
This was my first article for the student newspaper I write for. I'm the Games Editor don't you know! It's all about what students can do in order to combat the rising costs of video games. Let me know what you think!
Students Vs Video Games
It is no secret that Students aren’t typically made of money. Unfortunately, I expect the freshers among us will be soon finding this out. With this in mind, I put forward the question; Are video games becoming too expensive? New games for the present-generation consoles (Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii) have typically found price tags ranging from £40 to £50 depending on the retailer, platform and game itself. I remember in the heyday of the Playstation One where new games entered the market at a RRP of about £30, and even then, I would rarely ever spend that much on a game. However, this Summer I have been keeping an eye on high profile Autumn releases and their prices
Activision have made a bold move with their release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in November this year, by placing their RRP at £55. This is the highest RRP for a non-peripheral video game in the history of the sector. It would be worth noting that there is also a special edition of the game including, among other things, a pair of night vision goggles, retailing for around £115. Also coming in the final quarter of this year are a bunch of peripheral-based games: Rock Band: The Beatles, Band Hero, DJ Hero and Tony Hawk:Ride will all be sold with various plastic instruments used as controllers for their respective games, (except of course for Tony Hawk:Ride which will require a plastic Skateboard for play). Most of these games will have a triple digit price tag.
So, is there anything that you can do to avoid paying such astronomical prices for these games? Surely you can’t be expected to pay half a months rent just so you can bash a few plastic drums? Thankfully, there are a few handy tips I can share. Firstly, use the fact that you are a student to your advantage. Everywhere you go, always be sure to ask if there are any student discounts available. One shop that I am aware of that do give a 10% student discount is HMV. Unfortunately though, in the past they have only been able to hand out Student discount cards in certain outlets throughout the country. This meant that I had to make a special trip and a day out in Bath to pick one up. The savings you can get though are fantastic, so if you can, it would be worth getting hold of one of these.
Just as there are price comparison sites for insurance that I’m sure you’re all aware of, there are also a select few websites that allow users to post any games deals that they may come across while shopping on the internet or in towns and publish these in a nifty feed (no meerkats to be found here though). The most helpful I’ve found is www.cheaparsegamer.com Thanks to this site I have managed to find several high profile games going for less than half price!
Another useful tip is to subscribe to mailing lists. www.zavvi.co.uk provide a ‘Monday Madness’ deal to all members of their mailing list database (which is completely free). This deal involves certain items being slashed in price for 24 hours, but make sure to act quickly if there’s something you like. Often if there is a popular item, it will sell out in next to no time!
Finally, be patient. Give a game a few months to fall in price if you can resist the urge to buy it straight away. I have seen the Band Bundle for Guitar Hero: World Tour going for £89.99 which is a fantastic price considering that its original release price was £150.
I hope that this manages to help at least a few people! Happy gaming.
Eugene
Saturday 5 December 2009
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to Goatesque's Blog!
With this, I hope to create a sort of ongoing portfolio of writing and interesting projects that I am involved in.
Call me Eugene!
I'm currently a final-year University student in England studying English Literature. I still have no clue as to what I want to do when I graduate although I'm hoping that this will serve as an experiment to see whether a career in writing would be viable!
I hope to put links to Games, Music and Film reviews in this blog, along with a couple of podcasts, and youtube videos just for entertainment's sake! University life is pretty hectic at the moment, and I'm trying to do all I can in my spare time to discover just how far I can go with my writing!
My hobbies include [obviously] playing video games, writing for the student newspaper, seeing my friends, DJing and working at a night club in my current town!
I live with my girlfriend of nearly two years who is amazing and puts up with a lot of my crap! She's currently undertaking a tattooing apprenticeship which she's really enjoying! She's a brilliant artist and we both share a lot of interests!
Anyway, now that you've got to know me a little bit, have a peruse of some of my writing and leave as much criticism as you can! It'll all be useful in progression!
Eugene
With this, I hope to create a sort of ongoing portfolio of writing and interesting projects that I am involved in.
Call me Eugene!
I'm currently a final-year University student in England studying English Literature. I still have no clue as to what I want to do when I graduate although I'm hoping that this will serve as an experiment to see whether a career in writing would be viable!
I hope to put links to Games, Music and Film reviews in this blog, along with a couple of podcasts, and youtube videos just for entertainment's sake! University life is pretty hectic at the moment, and I'm trying to do all I can in my spare time to discover just how far I can go with my writing!
My hobbies include [obviously] playing video games, writing for the student newspaper, seeing my friends, DJing and working at a night club in my current town!
I live with my girlfriend of nearly two years who is amazing and puts up with a lot of my crap! She's currently undertaking a tattooing apprenticeship which she's really enjoying! She's a brilliant artist and we both share a lot of interests!
Anyway, now that you've got to know me a little bit, have a peruse of some of my writing and leave as much criticism as you can! It'll all be useful in progression!
Eugene
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