Back from the dead
Wow. I haven’t posted since October 22nd. I suck. Well, hello all!
I guess the biggest news is that I succumbed to the dark side. Despite all of my foot stamping and vitriol I plunked down hard-earned cash and bought myself a Xbox-360. Yes, I now own the “Tickle-Me-Elmo” of this Christmas season. Feel free to make fun of me, I deserve it after the 1/2-year rant I went on. Ok enough of that, here is what I think of the system:
- You can finally turn your game console on and off remotely. Hold down the button on the controller and the machine pops on. Hold down the same button and a menu comes up asking if you want to shut down. This should have happened like 22745394875 years ago. Now I just wonder if I can get my universal remote to turn my XB-360 on for me so I can “one-button” right into gameplay. Woot!
- I was hating on the dashboard integration into games but after seeing it in action I love it. It reminds me of being able to receive txt messages on a PC while working / playing IF such a system were integrated to not pull you out of the app. You can appear invisible if you don’t want to be bothered with menus so that’s cool too. I also like being able to download demos from Xbox Live; I wonder how that will impact the OXM magazine DVD? Perhaps the DVD will have exclusivity for awhile before the DL is available.
- Kameo is actually really fun, or at least I think so. I would right now call it my #2 favorite game for the system. It looks nice, it plays fun (but not without issues such as camera control while fighting as the plant), and overall is a solid platform game. It is very apparent that Kameo got Rare’s “A” team. Which leads us to:
- Perfect Dark is only perfect IN the dark. I don’t like it at all. It looks like an N64 title with more polygons and some extra rendering tricks. Their 1st person shooting isn’t all that hot, AND their gimmick that is the dodge / cover system just disorients me. Rent this one only is my advice.
- Condemned is my #3 favorite game for the system right now. Visceral, fun, and mean. Not to mention beautifully rendered.
- Which brings us to Call of Duty 2. Wow what a game. It is interesting to note that the game I like the best can be found cheaper on the PC and was out BEFORE the XB360 was. But there it is. This game is a load of fun.
On the work front I saw one of our key defining features for the game I am working on running in its very first baby iteration on Wednesday. No I can’t tell you what the feature is. No I can’t tell you what game it is in. No I can’t tell you who the publisher is. What I CAN tell you is when I saw it I did the geek dance for almost an hour; this “hey this might be fun” concept that was on paper LOOKED FANTASTIC. My design brain exploded with gameplay ideas based on the first implementation. That is always a good sign! :)
On the home front I am going... HOME soon. I fly out to California on the 17th (good lord, two weeks!). I look forward to seeing Mom, Dad, Lori, Stephen, Josh, Rachel, Tim, Lee, Weezie, and you most of all Tin-man. I can’t believe Christmas is so close.
Well that’s it for now. Sorry for the long gap in time between posts. I’ll try to be more active!
I guess the biggest news is that I succumbed to the dark side. Despite all of my foot stamping and vitriol I plunked down hard-earned cash and bought myself a Xbox-360. Yes, I now own the “Tickle-Me-Elmo” of this Christmas season. Feel free to make fun of me, I deserve it after the 1/2-year rant I went on. Ok enough of that, here is what I think of the system:
- You can finally turn your game console on and off remotely. Hold down the button on the controller and the machine pops on. Hold down the same button and a menu comes up asking if you want to shut down. This should have happened like 22745394875 years ago. Now I just wonder if I can get my universal remote to turn my XB-360 on for me so I can “one-button” right into gameplay. Woot!
- I was hating on the dashboard integration into games but after seeing it in action I love it. It reminds me of being able to receive txt messages on a PC while working / playing IF such a system were integrated to not pull you out of the app. You can appear invisible if you don’t want to be bothered with menus so that’s cool too. I also like being able to download demos from Xbox Live; I wonder how that will impact the OXM magazine DVD? Perhaps the DVD will have exclusivity for awhile before the DL is available.
- Kameo is actually really fun, or at least I think so. I would right now call it my #2 favorite game for the system. It looks nice, it plays fun (but not without issues such as camera control while fighting as the plant), and overall is a solid platform game. It is very apparent that Kameo got Rare’s “A” team. Which leads us to:
- Perfect Dark is only perfect IN the dark. I don’t like it at all. It looks like an N64 title with more polygons and some extra rendering tricks. Their 1st person shooting isn’t all that hot, AND their gimmick that is the dodge / cover system just disorients me. Rent this one only is my advice.
- Condemned is my #3 favorite game for the system right now. Visceral, fun, and mean. Not to mention beautifully rendered.
- Which brings us to Call of Duty 2. Wow what a game. It is interesting to note that the game I like the best can be found cheaper on the PC and was out BEFORE the XB360 was. But there it is. This game is a load of fun.
On the work front I saw one of our key defining features for the game I am working on running in its very first baby iteration on Wednesday. No I can’t tell you what the feature is. No I can’t tell you what game it is in. No I can’t tell you who the publisher is. What I CAN tell you is when I saw it I did the geek dance for almost an hour; this “hey this might be fun” concept that was on paper LOOKED FANTASTIC. My design brain exploded with gameplay ideas based on the first implementation. That is always a good sign! :)
On the home front I am going... HOME soon. I fly out to California on the 17th (good lord, two weeks!). I look forward to seeing Mom, Dad, Lori, Stephen, Josh, Rachel, Tim, Lee, Weezie, and you most of all Tin-man. I can’t believe Christmas is so close.
Well that’s it for now. Sorry for the long gap in time between posts. I’ll try to be more active!
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