buttonmashing

Mashing buttons since 1984

Archives for February 2008

Weekend Gaming

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In lieu of a real post (of which I’m working on a few, promise!), what are you going to be playing this weekend?

Due to my self-imposed ban on buying new games until I finish something I already own, I’ll be working my way through Pokemon on the DS (I am very close to “finishing” it) and Bioshock on the 360. I was probably 3/4’s of the way through before Halo 3 came out and never got back to finishing it.

When I finally do finish a couple games, Burnout Paradise and Call of Duty 4 are at the top of my list of games to get.

What will you be playing?

More trebuchet fun

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A while ago, I linked to a fun and educational flash game involving trebuchets, physics and math. My brother-in-law has pointed me to another one, a little light on the learning side of things but high on the “wing furniture at an old Asian woman” side of things:

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Birthday Recap [Nat]

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Carrot Cake?I don’t normally post personal stuff, but one can only hope that Tony is having a better birthday than I am. (Our birthdays fall in succession.) Let’s run a tally. Here’s what I wanted to do today:

  • Clean the house
  • Play games such as Sins of a Solar Empire, Burnout Paradise, Fairway Solitaire, and some DS love.
  • Read a new book such as Armor or Inside Delta Force
  • Fix my favorite meal: chili
  • Post two writeups on buttonmashing
  • start on a watercolor

Here’s what I’ve done:

  • Cough
  • Lose my voice
  • Clean up our youngster’s puke (All four of us are sick with random things.)
  • Go to the store and get nighttime cough medicine when I needed daytime
  • Watch my oldest and his grandma play Wii and Burnout Paradise
  • Cough
  • Clean crap out of my youngster’s eyes
  • Played about five minutes of Fairway Solitaire
  • Fixed my own birthday supper: chili with chocolate and cinnamon (trying something new). It was actually very delicious. A highlight of the day.
  • Passed on my birthday cake. (Not much of a cake eater, but I love carrot cake. My wife tried a new recipe and it came out like a carrot fruit cake. We all laughed.)

I may play some PC games tonight in a delirium. I might actually do well.

Ding!

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Oh, I guess I should also mention that today is not my unbirthday.

Consoles I have known (cont’d)

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I linked to the first article in this series a little while ago. Here’s the second part. (I loved the mention of The Amazon from the NES game Pro Wrestling. I hated getting my face eaten by that guy!)

Continuing his saga through the gaming systems that formed him, TODD LEVIN recounts the lessons found in his first Nintendo, particularly as taught by the highs and lows of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out.

Link. Another funny read.

Down, and pretty much out.

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My family and I have apparently been stricken by a military-grade, full-spectrum flu super-bug, because whatever I have has completely thrown me for a loop since Sunday night. I haven’t been myself since. My desire to game had dropped to nil and my desire to blog had dropped even lower. It’s been a painful four days, but I think I’ve made it through the worst of it and I’ve somehow made it out alive. I wouldn’t wish the cold shakes I had on my worst enemy. Pure torture.

So blogging should resume its normal, sporadic pace shortly. I’ve got real work to do before I get to play, so in the meantime, here’s a video to keep you mesmerized (I can’t stop watching it):

Check out this video of a thousand cars driving at once, too. Equally mesmerizing. Must be my feverish brain.

(Explanation for the Mario video can be found here)

Keeping It Alive: Gaming Quickies

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I don’t know what it is about the beginning of the year that spurs me to buy a bunch of games, mainly PC games. I guess I don’t want to see PC gaming die. However, I would like for it to evolve. PC games for me anymore have to be extremely accessible and not have a need for me to tweak my system in order to play. Oh, and I’ve got to try before buying as well. Here’s some short mini-reviews of what I’ve been doing since January 1 (in no particular order):

Burnout Paradise [360]: This has been our go to game almost every night. For the first time in a long time, both my son and I got the “you’ve been playing a little too much speech.” Essentially, it’s like riding bikes with your friends and playing Hot Wheels in the dirt at the same time. (I don’t take credit for that analogy).

Endless Ocean [Wii]: Scuba diving in a digital ocean should be incredibly boring. However, this title stands on the premise of discovery alone. Relaxing as well.

World in Conflict [PC]: This game has taken all the conventions of real time strategy games and thrown them out the window. I love the idea of no resource management. I just want to fight. The atmosphere of the game, another plus, is just a little to real and creepy for me.

Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends [PC]: Another RTS from a year or two ago I missed. It’s predecessor is my favorite. This game gets a bonus for a steampunk setting and a mark against it for being steampunk. It’s basically the first game with a few tweaks.

Puzzle Quest [PC]: At $10 I could not pass it up. I was easily reminded; however, that early on the game is stacked in favor of the enemy AI.

Fairway Solitaire [PC]: At $10 and the fact I’ve heard so much about this game, I’d thought I’d give it a try. I hate golf and I’m not much of a fan of solitaire. Barring all that, this game is an addictive blast! I don’t think I’ve ever put so much time into a card game.The game mechanics implore you to just play one more round, and then another, and then another…

I’m curious. Has anyone else played any PC games lately?