Tag Archives: uncharted

It’s Not a Purse…It’s a Map Case!

3
Posted by Rob on January 6, 2012 – 1:31 pm
Filed under Randomness
Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’ve got a lot of stuff, and I’m a pretty forgetful guy. So when I jump in the car to drive either five minutes to the store or eleven hours to my parents, I forget to bring a lot of the things I need for car drives. The most important item is my prescription sunglasses, as without them it it a pain to drive in the daylight. I also tend to forget my iPod (the only Apple product I will ever own) which means I’m stuck relying on finding a decent FM station to listen to. Then there’s the bluetooth headset for my phone, as well as other things. Long story short, I wanted something that I could put all that stuff in so that I could just grab it and go.

So I had to find something that didn’t look feminine or would label me as being “fruity”. I have a couple of messenger bags that I used for my laptop and other supplies when student teaching, but that was too big for non-business every day use. I didn’t want a backpack since I did not want shoppers thinking I was some hobo who was going to go camp out in the outdoors section or alert security that I would attempt a five-finger discount on DVDs and men’s shaving razors. So then I thought about my two favorite treasure hunters/ archaeologists would do: Read More »

Happy 5th Birthday, PS3!

0
Posted by Rob on November 17, 2011 – 11:59 am
Filed under Video Games
Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

On November 17, 2006, the PS3 was released here in the United States. I wanted one pretty badly back then but the price at the time was astronomical. I had went from the PS1 to the PS2, and I was intent on going for the PS3 once the price was right. And on November 8, 2008, the price was indeed right. I had $400 saved up and Wal-Mart had a promotion where if you bought the PS3 (which was $399.99 at the time) you got a $100 gift card. So I went to Wally World early that morning, waited on a line for over two hours, and eventually snagged my PS3. I’ve now had the PS3 for three years and I have to say I’ve really enjoyed it as a system. It introduced me to so many new features like online play, trophies, wireless controllers, affordable downloadable games and voice chat that I hadn’t experienced with the PS2 (no, I never played PC games).

Before the PS3, I only had a small handful of friends that I knew that played video games, and it was always a local co-op affair. With the PS3 I was able to play with people from anywhere and I made some new online friends. In my quest for finding co-op partners I happened across C0-Optimus which is a site dedicated to co-op games and meeting fellow co-op gamers. Now I never have a shortage of gaming buddies to hit up when I jump online for a co-op game.

Of course, the biggest part of the PS3 are the games. I will now regale you with tales of some of my favorite ones: Read More »

360 Review: Alan Wake

0
Posted by Rob on January 12, 2011 – 11:57 am
Filed under Video Games
Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I hadn’t seen too much hype around the 360-exclusive Alan Wake, but the few people I have heard discuss it had nothing but good things to say. Initially, it wasn’t an exclusive that made me want to get the 360, like Fable and Mass Effect were. Within minutes of starting up the game, I realized that this was something different than anything I ever played, and the more I played it, the more I got sucked in. The game is very story-driven, so I will make this review relatively spoiler-free.

You play as Alan Wake, a writer who has taken a vacation with his wife to a small Washingon town. Shortly after, your wife disappears and you wake up behind the wheel of a car that has just had an accident, with no recollection of how you got there. Armed with simple weapons (revolver, shotgun, hunting rifle, flare gun) and a flashlight, you set out to uncover the mystery of what is going on. The game was definitely inspired by the works of Stephen King, which can be seen by not only the general story, but also the references. I noticed nods to The Stand, The Shining, Insomnia, and Misery, as well as the couple of times that Wake, through narration, gives a direct quote of King.  Overall, the general story is amazing, and you can really picture the game as a book.

Read More »

Pros and Cons of Mass Effect 2 Going Cross-Platform

0
Posted by Rob on August 19, 2010 – 8:11 am
Filed under Video Games
Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

To the horror of 360 “fanboys” and the cheers of PS3 users, it was officially announced yesterday at Gamescom that Mass Effect 2 would be released on the PS3 next January. To add on to my anti-fanboy argument, when I looked at the post on Joystiq (see above embedded link) for this news, I saw several comments where people were either saying “nooooooo” or “this sucks now all we have is halo and fable”. That is just stupid talk, and I hate it. I would be pleased as punch if God of War went to the 360, and I think it should!While this is a major victory for gamers who only own a PS3, it also has some problems.

The Pros

First and foremost, the biggest pro is that more people will be able to enjoy the wonder world of Mass Effect. If I didn’t have a 360 I would be just as happy, and being a 360 owner I’m not crying over this…I hate console-exclusive games. The fact that before I had a 360 I never got to touch the likes of Left 4 Dead, Mass Effect, and Castle Crashers, and that I know that there are people out there in the world who have never played Uncharted, God of War, or Resistance, just makes me so angry. There is absolutely no way any gamers win from console-exclusive games…unless they count “bragging rights” as a pro. Personally, I don’t, and I think the only people who benefit from exclusive games are the system owners (Sony of Microsoft), since a person like me has to own both systems to enjoy all the greatest games. Not even the game developers win, because they would sell a hell of a lot more units of a game if it appeared on both systems.

So that all being said, gamers will win because more people will be able to enjoy the story of Mass Effect, and Bioware will win because more copies of the game will sell. It can also be assumed that, with this happening, that Mass Effect 3, due out next year, will also be a cross-platform game, which is great. Read More »

My First 24 Hours of 360 Goodness: The Technical Stuff

3
Posted by Rob on August 6, 2010 – 5:06 pm
Filed under Video Games
Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’ve had the system for a full 24 hours, and I wanted to lay down my first impressions of the system and the games I’ve checked out so far. Firstly, I would like to address the controller. It’s nice, and is very comfortable in my hand. I like how the left analog stick is slightly higher than the right one, giving you a more natural feel. I was also glad to see that there was a sync button, like the PS3 controller has, to get to the main menu, and to turn the system on. Good stuff! However, there were two things I’m not as big a fan of. First, I don’t like the directional pad. It feels kind of wobbly, as it is on a raised, circular platform of sorts. The PS3 controller has the directional just as four separate buttons, while the 360 has it as one big button. It works fine and all, but just feels a little odd. Secondly, I was disappointed in the controller power situation. I like how the PS3 controller has a battery installed right inside the controller, and to charge it you just plug it into either the system or a computer…wherever you can find a nearby USB drive. The 360 controller CAN do that, but only if you purchase a separate device that hooks it up to do that. Otherwise, your two options are to use two AA batteries per controller or to purchase a battery charging station, which is the path I chose to go. Don’t get me wrong, this is not going to kill me or anything, but I just liked the convenience of being able to use my PS3 controller out of the box and never have to worry about changing batteries. The 360 controller is still pretty awesome.

The PS3 Directional Pad:

360-016-small

The 36o Directional Pad:

360-018-small Read More »

PS3 Review: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

0
Posted by Rob on April 13, 2010 – 1:29 pm
Filed under Video Games
Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

uncharted_2_final_box_art1

I got Uncharted 2 in from Gamefly early last week, but I had a busy schedule and had little time to play it. Luckily with the weekend spent at home, I was able to get in a few hours in the mornings, and got a good feel for the game. All I can say is, like the first Uncharted, it is a must-have!

The game continues the adventures of Nathan Drake, pro treasure hunter. The story takes you from Africa to Nepal and other locales as you search for clues to lead you to the lost treasure fleet of Marco Polo and eventually to the fabled city of Shang-ra-la. Along the way you meet up with some old friends from the previous game (Sully and Elena) as well as some new buddies. The game is totally beautiful, and boasts the best graphics you have seen yet on the PS3. The game uses cutscenes not just to help tell the awesome and in-depth story, but also serves as loading time in between levels. Thus, once you start up the game, you will never have to suffer though a load screen, which I was very pleased with. The voice acting is also top-notch, and does a lot for moving the story along.uncharted2cinematic Read More »

Where Have All the Health Bars Gone?

0
Posted by Rob on January 27, 2010 – 1:29 am
Filed under Randomness, Video Games
Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I got to thinking tonight about the progression of a player’s health status in games. Think about it. Back on the NES, many games had a health bar of some sort. Whether it was an actual bar (like in TMNT or Mega Man) or some other series of symbols (a la Duck Tales or Legend of Zelda), there was usually a way of knowing how much additional damage you could take before you lost a life. Granted, some games did not offer a health bar, so it was either a one-hit kill, or your character physically changed as you took damage. For example, in Super Mario Bros you knew if you were small, you would die with one more hit, and in Adventure Island you would always die with one hit (unless riding the skateboard or a dinosaur.) Then there were the games with no health, where in one hit meant you were dead (ex- Bubble Bobble.) So whether there was a health bar or not, you always knew where you stood in regards to survival.

teenage_mutant_ninja_turtlesnes duck_tales_nes_screenshot4 adventure_island_nes_screenshot2 bubblebobbleaction1

Read More »

Dragon Age: Origins Going Back to Gamefly

0
Posted by Rob on November 11, 2009 – 11:12 pm
Filed under Video Games
Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

I have a full review partially done and saved as a draft, so I wont get too much into the game here. All Im gonna say is that it is one of the best RPGs on the PS3…it definitely gives Sacred 2 a run for its money. I had it about a week, and have returned it, simply because I know that I have to buy it, and theres no point wasting my Gamefly time on renting it any longer. I will own this game by the end of the year!

I am going for Beatles Rock Band next. I keep meaning to snag it from Gamefly so that Shell and I can give it a run-through, but the past two months have been full of awesome new releases (Uncharted, Borderlands, WWE, Dragon Age), so I kept pushing it back. But now there is nothing else of interest releasing in the near future, so I will go for the Beatles.

Sending Borderlands Back to Gamefly

0
Posted by Rob on October 26, 2009 – 10:14 pm
Filed under Video Games
Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I really enjoyed Borderlands, and was sad to send it back. But in the end, I made the right decision.

For the few hours I put into it, I knew it was a game I would love to own eventually. Having just purchased Uncharted 2 I was in no position to purchase a new game, so I decided to return it to Gamefly and get something else. Plus, Uncharted 2 and MUA2 are just begging for attention.

I did this so that I would be able to really enjoy the game when I did finally obtain it. If I played through a lot of it now, I would not be as excited to get back into it in the future. So my character is only level 13, and has not really gotten too far in the game yet. I look forward to snagging the game and playing a lot more in the future.

Im hoping to get either Beatles Rock Band or Batman: Arkham Asylum. Both games are listed as medium availability right now on Gamefly. I have been dying to snag Batman for a long time, especially after hearing so many good things about it. Also, I think Shell and I would have a good time playing through Beatles Rock Band for a bit. So yeah, Im hoping for either game. I also have the new WWE game SvR2010 on my list, but I don’t expect to be snagging that anytime soon since its still a new release. We shall see whats next.

Ryan Reynolds = Nathan Drake for Uncharted Movie

0
Posted by Rob on October 11, 2009 – 9:49 am
Filed under Movies, Video Games
Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

So I was thinking this morning as I played the Uncharted 2 demo for a bit. If they make an Uncharted movie (which I think is actually in the works somewhere), who would play Nathan Drake. But as I thought about it, a person came into my mind, and I said “he has the look and the wit…I think he would be good.” Im talking about Ryan Reynolds. Now I was not a fan of his portrayal of Deadpool in the Wolverine movie (well, I liked his Wade character, but I didnt like what the movie did to Deadpool in the end, but thats not really Reynold’s fault), but I like him in general. So below is a pic of Nathan Drake and a pic of Ryan Reynolds. I think its good chemistry.

nathandrake ryanreynolds

Yup, this would work well, and I would be one happy pappy.

Uncharted Finally Getting a Price Drop!

0
Posted by Rob on August 13, 2009 – 6:47 pm
Filed under Video Games
Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

uncharted-2-among-thieves2

Its about damn time! One of the best PS3 games, Uncharted, is finally going to see a price drop. The game has been out for a long time, and has never seen a drop. The used price is still around $40-45, which is ridiculous for such an old game. Im very excited, and hope to pick it up on the cheap someday soon.

I played the game early on. I had enjoyed the demo, and it was one of the first games I rented from Gamefly. I had a blast rocking through it, and since I wasnt in school at the time, I rocked through it in like two days. However, my internet was out at the time, so I never installed the trophy patch. So I got all these trophies, but they never registered on my official trophy collection.

Thus, I want the game to play through it again. First, because it was so awesome, and secondly, because I needs my trophies!