It has come up before in posts, where I have a reservoir of patience compared to Gabe's decorative thimble-full, and it is this reservoir that allows me to access what I consider the higher order genres like Role-Playing or Tactical Strategy. It's a simplification, but as a general rule it's accurate. Another way to look at it is to say that I am simply more forgiving, more tolerant, and Gabriel sees boredom in a videogame - a device ostensibly designed to produce enjoyment - as a personal insult. Outbreak has completely exhausted my supply. Usually I will exhort him to give a game a bit more time, just a few more minutes, wasn't that a cool thing we just saw, but this time even I was like fuck it, I'm out of here.
Played online, Resident Evil: Outbreak is a game that accurately captures the feel of the series - not only that, the addition of more active participants substantially but reverently appends RE canon. Helping a friend nearly overcome by the virus up off the ground so that you can continue running to safety is a sensation I recommend to all gamers. The brief comfort afforded by a compatriot nailing boards across a doorway to staunch the zombie tide. All these things are good. And the special abilities afforded to each character - things like a backpack for storing items, medical training, lockpicking, or a toolkit - they help you make the best of a bad situation. If you die, which in this game means succumbing to the virus, you become a zombie and may chew on your former associates. Visually, I have to say that I give it high marks - textures are a little muddy, but there's a lot going on. Maybe too much, actually.
It pains me to tell you that I would call the game in its current state unplayable without the hard drive - and even with it installed, the issue isn't entirely obviated. I assumed that the lack of voice support would be the sticking point - it would have been appreciated, but that's not the dealbreaker. Any tension created by the scenario is drained away by these ponderous level loads. Depending on how curious you are about your surroundings, you will spend as much time loading as you do playing, and this is not an exaggeration. Now that we're starting to see some truly compelling online content available for the Playstation, in the case of Final Fantasy XI it requires the hard disk and in the case of Resident Evil it might as well. I honestly wonder what made them release it in this state. What about the games I'm looking forward to for the PS2 online - Capcom's Monster Hunter, or the platform debut of Syphon Filter. Is this the sort of performance we can expect? So you buy a network adapter for forty dollars, screw that in, only to find that in order to be viable platform you need a hard disk as well? If they keep securing shit-hot online content, that'll take some of the sting out - but even the most basic math skills will inform you that you've essentially just bought another console and then grafted it on to the old one.
A few months ago, I received a really strange media kit from Microsoft. The purpose of the kit was to remind news sites what a great platform Windows, specifically Windows XP, was for gaming. I was never under the impression that there was a platform that actually competed with Windows - it's true that there are major releases that launch multiplatform, but I think of that as politeness on the part of developers and publishers as opposed to something that signifies genuine competition.
When people started telling me that as a part of this campaign, a patch for Tron 2.0 had been released that only installed on Windows XP, certainly this was agitating - but since I had already beaten the game and rarely played in the online arenas it was asinine but didn't strike that close to home. With this new one, the two bonus Onslaught maps for Unreal Tournament 2004, they really just look like a bunch of cocks.
I appreciate that someone took the time to get those files out in a format anyone could download, but they shouldn't have needed to. It's apparently not enough for Microsoft to hold unchecked dominion over personal computing, oh no - they also want to determine what kind of fork you use. If there are genuine reasons to upgrade, then please - I'd like to know about them. But actively breaking compatibility doesn't craft a compelling case. In fact, it makes people believe all the things that get said about you.
(CW)TB out.
and i threw my roses down
PAX is the Penny Arcade Expo and it’s being held this August 28th and 29th at the Meydenbauer center in Bellevue Washington. Essentially Tycho and I have decided to throw a big ass, two day party for gamers and you’re invited. Here are some of things you can expect from PAX:
-Game developers showing off hot new titles.
-Panels with industry professionals on a Varity of topics.
-Musical guests
-A big ass LAN party
-A huge console room
-table top gaming
-A bunch of shit we haven’t even thought of yet.
Seriously, we have a lot of great stuff lined up and I think it’s going to be fucking huge. We will be opening up the PAX website in the next few days. This will have tons more info about special guests and events. When that site goes up we will also open the doors for pre-registration.
What we’re looking for right now is actually someone who can supply us with a bunch of high quality television sets. Maybe you own your own electronic super store, or maybe Bob Panasonic is your neighbor. If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor or an exhibitor please fire off an e-mail to pax@penny-arcade.com.
-Gabe out
-Gabe out
THE MERC
-Try to mix up the kinds of mines you use. Throw in more laser mines whenever possible. A good trick is to place a laser mine at eye level directly above the terminal. A spy will see it and crouch in order to sneak up on the device. However when he starts to deactivate it he will automatically stand up, breaking the laser and blowing himself up.
-Don't place your mines directly on the devices. Instead place mines along the paths that you think the spies will take in order to reach the devices.
-If a spy drops a smoke grenade in front of you switch to motion tracking. Also use the "A" button while moving forward to charge through the smoke. By charging you can get through a pocket of smoke without passing out.
-During close range combat switch to motion tracking. This will help you keep track of the spy and make sure he doesn't get around behind you. Also, the spy's flash bangs have no effect on you when you are using one of your enhanced vision modes. Also switch to your tazer since grenades at this range are useless.
-If you happen to see a spy choking your partner you can zoom in and deliver a head shot to the spy and kill him. It's a tricky maneuver but it can be done.
-You and your partner should each have certain points that are your responsibility. For instance, in the Hospital one Merc should watch the upstairs while the other guards the bottom floor. Stay in constant communication. Always keep your partner informed about your situation. Do you have a spy on your floor? Do you know for a fact that both spies are on your floor? Did you see a spy run towards your partner's floor? This is the sort of information you need to constantly be sharing with your teammate.
-It is important to understand how the "hearing" works as merc. Your targeting reticle is broken up into four quadrants that can be lit up as well as have an arrow placed over them. A glowing quadrant is telling you what floor you hear something on while the arrow is telling you what direction. Let's say for example that on your reticle you see the upper quadrant light up and an arrow appears in the bottom quadrant. This tells you that you are hearing something behind you, on the floor above you. Be sure and alert your teammate to noises you hear coming from his floors. Also take note that you cannot "hear" anything when using the laser.
-If you're grabbed by a spy your first instinct needs to be to call out your position to your teammate. No matter what kind of bullshit the spy is whispering into your ear you need to alert your partner of exactly where you are and what's about to go down.
-It is important to have a solid understanding of each level from the point of view of the spy. The better you understand the various routes in and out of a map the better you can defend those points.
-Gabe out
