Resisting Temptation

12:41, 22-Oct-2008 .. Posted in Gaming Stuffs .. 4 comments .. Link

I'm broke.

Okay, that's not entirely true; I still have some savings and an overdraft to see me through to my next loan cheque in January, but with several weeks of food shopping, three months of Mastercard payments, two birthdays and Christmas between now and then, it's going to be tight.

So seeing stuff like this doesn't help matters:

Want.

Can't have.

Bugger.

Breathe Me

05:21, 10-Oct-2008 .. Posted in Gaming Stuffs .. 10 comments .. Link

I'm beginning to admire the musical tastes of those peeps behind the new Prince of Persia game. First they went with a lesser-known Sigur Ros track for a trailer (which I thought I'd posted, but can't find it, so check it out here), and now a bit of Sia:

I first became aware of Sia when she sang for Zero-7. On hearing the below track, I bought her album:

Believe

02:16, 9-Aug-2008 .. Posted in Gaming Stuffs .. 12 comments .. Link

This was perhaps the most haunting and original of the many Halo 3 trailers around just prior to its release:

With the coming of yet another epic to the 360, the idea has been somewhat borrowed to admirable affect:

Not Very Princely Behaviour

06:01, 28-May-2008 .. Posted in Gaming Stuffs .. 7 comments .. Link

Actually, I'm not too impressed by this trailer, but everything I've been reading about the game so far looks goooood...

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness

11:22, 22-May-2008 .. Posted in Gaming Stuffs .. 16 comments .. Link

I know there are a few Penny Arcade fans kicking around on the blog, which is why it's surprising that I haven't seen anyone post this yet (it's very possible someone has and I've simply missed it):

For those among you who aren't aware, this has just hit Xbox Live. I'm downloading the trial version as I type...

And Just How Good Does This Look...?

11:11, 8-May-2008 .. Posted in Gaming Stuffs .. 12 comments .. Link

Arrgh!! Blue screen of death!!

I was just coming to the end of writing this post when it happened, too >:(

Fortunately I had the foresight to write it in Word, so I only lost the last paragraph :)

Alas, I did lose a chunk of my Psychology assingment *sob*

(and now efx is struggling... not a good day for technology)

Anyway...

In other game-related news; spurred on by the release of GTA IV and then having an extended go on it on my cousin's PS3, I've finally joined the current-gen market with the purchase of an Xbox 360 :)

In fact, I lucked out. Seeing as my financial situation isn't fantastic, but is far better than it has been for the past eight years, I decided to shop around for a pre-owned console. I know the 360's had its issues, but I couldn't argue with a price tag of £140 with a year's guarantee. Unfortunately, the store offering that oh so attractive deal had none in stock and, from the reaction of the staff, didn't look likely to in the near future, so I instead had to fork over an extra £20 at another store.

It wasn't till I got home and checked the memory that I found it didn't have the standard 20gig HD-Drive that usually comes with the system. No, it was kitted out with a 120gig, which, for those not in the know, costs upwards of £100.

I also picked up a play-and-charge kit for £10 and Gears of War and Halo 3 for £25 (for the pair).

I'm very much happy with my 360 and, in particular, the exclusive titles available for it, however, it is now clear to see why the PS3 is so much more expensive (almost £100 more). For starters it's a Blu-Ray player; pricey bits of kit on their own and made all the more valuable with the death of HD-DVD (though the advantage of this is the HD-DVD player for the 360 is now dirt cheap, and the films themselves will soon be less expensive than regular old DVDs).

Also, online play on the PS3 is free. Okay, £35 for a whole year isn’t bad, but that’s not really the point.

Then there’s the little things. The PS3 has an in-built wireless modem. On the 360 it costs and extra £60. The PS3 controller has an in-built battery pack which can be charged from the system while you play through a standard USB cable. On the 360 that costs an extra £13 (though I went with a non-official pack to save cash - it works just as well (in fact, if the manual’s to be believed, the battery actually lasts longer than the official one)). On the plus side for the 360’s controller, it can turn the system on and off and the trigger buttons are far better then the PS3’s L2 and R2 (which have been changed from the old to be more like triggers, but are too slippery). Finally there’s the system interface, which is frankly a lot neater on the PS3.

But there are two significant advantages the 360 has over the PS3. Firstly, unless you bagged the now discontinued 60gig model, the European PS3 has no backwards compatibility; not even through software emulation. The 360’s is limited, but it is there and it is expanding. Secondly there’s the exclusive titles. Of course, these come down to your own opinion, but I lean more towards the 360 than the PS3 in this respect. Yes, the PS3 has Motorstorm, Heavenly Sword (which I’d like to experience, despite its underwhelming reviews) and the upcoming Killzone 2 and Resistance 2, but the 360 has Halo 3 and Gears of War, and the upcoming Halo Wars, Gears of War 2, Fable 2 and a handful of others that I had in mind, but presently escape me. I know the PS3 has Metal Gear Solid 4, Gran Turismo 5 and Final Fantasy XIII on their way, but, as stunning as they all look, I never really got into the MGSs beyond the first, I’m more of a Burnout fan than Gran Turismo (Paradise is an absolute riot) and FF VII and IX are the only ones I’ve ever managed to stick with without getting bored (with such RPGs, it all comes down to the strength of the plot and characters for me). Besides which, my PS3-owning cousin is a fan of all three, so I can always try them out when he inevitably gets hold of them.

The majority of other great titles on their way - including the above - are all cross-console games and it feels good to finally be able to properly look forward to them.

All that aside, at the end of the day it came down to the price. Through a little shopping around I got my 360 with a 120gig HD-Drive, a play-and-charge kit, Halo 3 and Gears of War for a grand total of £195. Colour me chuffed!

At some point over the next couple of days, when I'm finally done with this damned Psychology assignment, I'm going to seek out GTA IV and trade in my old Xbox and games that don't work on the newbie.

*Edit*

Re: the 120gig HD-Drive thing. I must've been looking at it through tired eyes. It didn't say 114gig remaining, it said 11.4 *rolls tired eyes* I've been staring at my monitor too long...

There Can Be Only One

07:58, 23-Jan-2008 .. Posted in Gaming Stuffs .. 9 comments .. Link

(2,000 years of roaming the world and he hasn't lost his accent?)

Slowly But Surely, It's Coming...

11:29, 6-Dec-2007 .. Posted in Gaming Stuffs .. 39 comments .. Link

Underwhelming, apparently :(

06:32, 14-Nov-2007 .. Posted in Gaming Stuffs .. 4 comments .. Link

A couple of months back, Heavenly Sword - the big hope for the PS3 and first big poster-child for the current-gen systems - fell someway short of expectations. An impressive feat of production it may have been, but as a game, it was short, repetitive and ultimately disappointing.

And so to the next big hope: Assassin's Creed. Alas...

A Long Time Coming

10:23, 18-Oct-2007 .. Posted in Gaming Stuffs .. 11 comments .. Link

It's been over 20 years since Street Fighter first hit arcades, about 17 years since its sequel and 10 years since (the mostly ignored) number 3. In that time there've have been innumerable versions of the second, one or two takes on the third and a handful of Alphas (including the tentative and pretty abismal Ex+ 1 and 2) and spin-offs (in the guise of Marvel/SNK vs. Capcom and Super Puzzle fighter) with varying degrees of success.

At very long last, we have this:

Okay, it shows nothing of the game, but it has certainly sparked my interest.