buttonmashing

Mashing buttons since 1984

Tony

Games this weekend

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I didn’t have much time to play games this weekend, but Friday night the husbands got together while the girls went to the movies and we got some gaming in. We were going to play some one-on-one NCAA but didn’t get much football in. We ended up playing some Pac Man Vs.

The game was included in a copy of R-Racing Evolution I picked up for ten bucks at Best Buy. We played it while we were in Utah but this is the first time I’ve mentioned it. The game is actually pretty dang fun. It is simple and not very deep but it still holds our collective interest a lot longer than some games have. The concept is simple – one player is Pac Man and he uses the GBA and gets to see the whole board. The other three guys play the ghosts and only see a portion of the board. Pac Man then tries to clear the board while the ghosts try to catch him. Suprisingly, there is strategy and actual structure to the game. We like it a lot and it is a wife-friendly game, too. I highly recommend it.

Fable’s first impressions

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I didn’t update last night, I was too busy playing Fable! Before I get my second crack at it this evening, my first impressions:

Presentation is pretty sharp. The graphics definitely aren’t the best in the world but it still looks darn good. The character models look great, if not a little over-exaggerated. The big gloves and boots you wear as a kid look a little disproportionate but it works. My adult character has already done a couple quests involving battle and he’s beginning to develop scars. That is pretty cool. Music is great, as well.

The openness of the game has been great. A game that will let me fart, burp and flirt at will has been great. Character interaction is pretty well done, too. As a little boy I decided to punch a little girl looking for her lost teddy bear. She screamed and ran away from me. The next time I talked to her, she cowered in fear and pleaded that I not hurt her and would I please find her bear. Then I ran into a town guard who informed me that if I was an adult he’d have to rough me up. Then later still my dad said he heard I’d been doing some bad things and pleaded with me not to sully his good name. I like that.

The gestures are pretty cool. I’m getting some renown and girls are already swooning for me. It’s fun to flirt and watch her heart grow as she gets enamored with me, then fart and make a mean face and watch her run. I just learned the “I’m sorry” gesture and now I think I’ll go punch someone and then tell them I’m sorry. I’ll be interested to see how that affects things.

So far I must say I’m impressed. I think I’ve barely scratched the surface (I’ve only played for about 2 hours) so I really can’t form a coherent opinion just yet. I like it a lot and I’ll reserve judgement for later.

Video games aren’t all bad!

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For a while there, video games only received bad press. GTA-inspired shootings and murders involving an Xbox were the headlines. Now stories of what good can come of video games are starting to come out. There have been stories of surgeons who play video games have more success. Now, Wired News has this story about a “Games for Health” conference where game makers and health educators are getting together to talk about games. There are games that can be used for training –

Rosser, who heads the Advanced Medical Technology Institute at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, knows how he’d like to see games used. Since 2001, he’s worked with games like Super Monkey Ball, for Nintendo’s GameCube console, to train doctors in laparoscopic surgery. What Rosser found was that students who had played video games for more than three hours in one week — even once — had 37 percent fewer errors during the procedure, and got the operation done 27 percent more quickly.

And for treatment –

… which has used video games and digital worlds to treat more than 400 people with anxiety disorders. Patients there use the games to face their phobias. People afraid to drive play Midtown Madness, a racing game; those with fear of heights use a custom-crafted level from the Unreal Tournament shooter game, which features pixelated skyscrapers 50 stories tall.

Neocron 2 Open Beta

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I’ve participated in a few open betas, most recently I played Planetside (which was okay but not worth picking up). So when I saw Neocron 2 was holding one I decided to give the game another chance. Maybe. My Neocron character, “I ain’t yer Pa,” is currently in a cryo-genic holding pattern since I cancelled my account last month. I figured I’d give Dome of York a chance, and now with an open beta I may just find out. If Neocron 2 is any good he may come out from his slumber.

I was a little confused, though, because I thought Dome of York was an expansion, not a new game, so I’m interested to see how that plays out. I’m currently Bit Torrenting my copy, but since this isn’t the WoW Stress Beta there aren’t too many seeds out there, resulting in a SSSSLLLLOOOOWWWW download. I probably won’t get around to it until tomorrow.

That presents a second conundrum. Fable is available tomorrow, too. I’ll give both a chance but since I’ll be paying for Fable I expect it will take more of my time off the bat. We’ll go from there.

GameSpy.com – Gaming’s Homepage

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GameSpy.com – Gaming’s Homepage – It’s been said a lot here and there, but September is looking crazy for gaming! Along with Fable (a game I’ve been looking forward to for a long time, the reason why I bought an Xbox) there’s also Tiger Woods 2005, Burnout 3, Evil Genius (a PC game on the list!?), and of course a new Pokemon.

Craziness. Looks like I’ll be exercising my right to rent games.

Back from vacation

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I took a week off last week from the internet and blogging (but not from video games!) while we vacationed with my wife’s family in Utah. A good time was had by all. Luckily my brother-in-law is a big NCAA 200* fan, so we played two seasons of my team on the big screen projector. Many good plays, celebrations and awards were won.

Now that I’m back I am super stoked about Fable coming out this week. I can already see myself punting chickens in my underwear, farting all the while! Can things get better?

We are the music makers…

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I read about this a couple days ago, but I don’t think a Willy Wonka video game could be that good. There have been some great movie-based video games (Goonies on the NES being my favorite) but The Chocolate factory doesn’t seem to be one.

But I would like to see what a Vermicious Knid looks like.

ESPN NFL 2K5 vs. NCAA 2005

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Since I don’t have Madden 2005 and I haven’t played it yet, I thought I’d compare my experience with the two football games I do have. I know I’m not technically comparing apples to apples, but it’s close enough. It’s Fuji Apples vs. Granny Smiths. Or something like that.

B00020V4RG.01._AA_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpgFirst and foremost, the graphics, animations, and presentation aren’t even close. ESPN looks pretty darn good. There are times that the players look a tad “squatty” but it’s not too bad. I am amazed at how nice it really looks, screen shots don’t do it justice. It has made me much more disappointed with NCAA’s graphics. It’s just no contest. It makes NCAA look old.

Control and feel are both still solid. I am still getting the hang of ESPN’s controls but NCAA’s are second nature to me. The feel is pretty wierd to get used to. NCAA seems more responsive, ESPN is loose and touchy. Passing in ESPN is an exercise in frustration at times.
B0002IJY2U.01-A1AJVWO2HMT2XY._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpegComputer opponents are better in ESPN and there’s the VIP which is a profile of how you play the game and you can use it to play against, well, yourself. Sounds cool, I want to let it learn more of how I play before I try it.

Environment or atmosphere is definitely NCAA’s domain. It really does capture the feel of a college football game. ESPN looks prettier (NCAA’s crowds look like burn victims) but I like NCAA’s overall atmosphere.

I haven’t delved into ESPN’s franchise mode yet but I think NCAA will edge it out. Dynasty mode, with its awesome recruiting aspect, will be nearly impossible to beat.

There’s more to it than just this, but that’s my five minute take on it. I’m sure I’ll revisit this topic some more in the future.

I still haven’t won a game yet with my Brownies. The Lions and Seahawks have both beat me by a field goal.

Video game-free weekend

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I didn’t play any games this weekend, including the ritual FF:TA battle before bed. It was actually kind of nice, we were actually outdoors, camping and picnicking and what not. I didn’t miss the games as much as I thought I would. It has been a nice break.

Now that the work week is upon us I hopefully will get a game of NCAA 2005 in and finally give ESPN NFL 2K5 a whirl. Should be fun.

Gamecube’s Fall Lineup and new peripheral

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Over at PlanetGamecube.com they’ve got a list of up coming games this fall/winter for both the Gamecube and the GBA. I’m looking forward to (in no particular order): Paper Mario 2, Metroid Prime 2, Viewtiful Joe 2, and Mario Tennis. I’ll probably pick up NFSU 2 for the Xbox.

They’ve also got news concerning the new “controller” for Mario Party 6: a microphone. This could be good or this could be lame. I don’t do karaoke but I can scream with the best of them. Maybe some voice recognition to see who could imitate Mario saying “Itsa me, Mario!”