Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Star Wars: The Old Republic beta
Since the NDA has been lifted...
SW:TOR is pretty much Bioware "playing it safe"; it has nothing really new, the graphics are lackluster so they will run on your neighbour's machine from 2005 and it focuses on the usual level- and gear grind.
It will not make a real dent on WoW's armor, but it will probably have a few hundred thousand Star Wars fans and people bored in the WoW grind flocking to it, at least for the first "free" 30 days.
I played my trooper come commando to level 18 during sunday and monday - and while fun at times, there's too much running around (and the 35% speed boost you get at level 16 doesn't really help) and all the quests are pretty much of the standard "kill X monsters" or "fetch X items" variety.
I have to admit that they *did* accomplish something I wished the Conan game had perfected before; nearly all the quests have complete voice acting (except the "quest automat" ones). Now, I can't honestly say if this continues all the way until level 50, but it does to at least 20. Then again, so did Conan's...
Will I get this one on release? Not a chance.
Would I play this for free, with "pay to play" content bundles? Probably.
SW:TOR is pretty much Bioware "playing it safe"; it has nothing really new, the graphics are lackluster so they will run on your neighbour's machine from 2005 and it focuses on the usual level- and gear grind.
It will not make a real dent on WoW's armor, but it will probably have a few hundred thousand Star Wars fans and people bored in the WoW grind flocking to it, at least for the first "free" 30 days.
I played my trooper come commando to level 18 during sunday and monday - and while fun at times, there's too much running around (and the 35% speed boost you get at level 16 doesn't really help) and all the quests are pretty much of the standard "kill X monsters" or "fetch X items" variety.
I have to admit that they *did* accomplish something I wished the Conan game had perfected before; nearly all the quests have complete voice acting (except the "quest automat" ones). Now, I can't honestly say if this continues all the way until level 50, but it does to at least 20. Then again, so did Conan's...
Will I get this one on release? Not a chance.
Would I play this for free, with "pay to play" content bundles? Probably.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Ok, why is it that the PS3 always seems to get the short end of the stick?
Seems like the choice of getting Skyrim for the PS3 was the least favorable one.
Why? It is starting to look like it's the platform where the "big saves bug" will most likely drop your frame rates or freeze your game. Oh, and speaking of freezing, the game has frozen / crashed on me on at least three occasions - so save often.
The game also looks crappiest on the PS3, I believe. Though neither of the console versions can hold a candle to the PC one - especially after you download a couple of "hi-res texture" mods for it.
I know I should've got the PC version - it's a Bethesda game after all and Oblivion was in the exact same situation even though the PC hardware was the underdog in 2007.
As for other games, every time there's a comparison, the Xbox 360 seems to come out as a winner - even though the PS3 is supposed to have superior hardware. How does, exactly, the superior processor, etc help you if you're memory limited and most of your games aren't even anti-aliased like the competitor's?
Don't get me wrong; owning all the current gen consoles, I would love to, well... "love" the PS3, but real world experiences make it harder and harder. I would especially love to prefer the PS3 for multiplayer titles, where paying for the actual game is enough and you don't have to pay the console manufacturer monthly for playing online. ;P
So come on PS3 developers, get your freaking act together and release less buggy games even though you're only doing a conversion (most dev studios seem to target the 360 as their main system, if not the PC). Sheesh!
Why? It is starting to look like it's the platform where the "big saves bug" will most likely drop your frame rates or freeze your game. Oh, and speaking of freezing, the game has frozen / crashed on me on at least three occasions - so save often.
The game also looks crappiest on the PS3, I believe. Though neither of the console versions can hold a candle to the PC one - especially after you download a couple of "hi-res texture" mods for it.
I know I should've got the PC version - it's a Bethesda game after all and Oblivion was in the exact same situation even though the PC hardware was the underdog in 2007.
As for other games, every time there's a comparison, the Xbox 360 seems to come out as a winner - even though the PS3 is supposed to have superior hardware. How does, exactly, the superior processor, etc help you if you're memory limited and most of your games aren't even anti-aliased like the competitor's?
Don't get me wrong; owning all the current gen consoles, I would love to, well... "love" the PS3, but real world experiences make it harder and harder. I would especially love to prefer the PS3 for multiplayer titles, where paying for the actual game is enough and you don't have to pay the console manufacturer monthly for playing online. ;P
So come on PS3 developers, get your freaking act together and release less buggy games even though you're only doing a conversion (most dev studios seem to target the 360 as their main system, if not the PC). Sheesh!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Play-Asia - buy for $60 with PayPal before year's end and receive a $6 off coupon.
Here: Grab a US$ 6 off US$ 60 Limited Coupon!
Might be nice if you're a frequent customer. ;)
Oh, and Skyrim is still very nice. Level 20 and going strong - have left the main quest line nearly untouched and just played the side quests that go on, and on, and on and...
Might be nice if you're a frequent customer. ;)
Oh, and Skyrim is still very nice. Level 20 and going strong - have left the main quest line nearly untouched and just played the side quests that go on, and on, and on and...
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Skyrim!
Finally got to play Skyrim last sunday (got it since the release day) and all I can say is that it's good, good, RPing, slashing & hacking, sneaking & spellcasting good.
Yes, it's basically Oblivion V2.0 and the console versions are really starting to show the age of the current consoles vs the PC that nowadays has 4+GBs of memory and 1+GBs of dedicated video memory - where it really, and I mean REALLY, shows is the texture resolution.
Looking at the screenshots I'm left feeling I should've gotten Skyrim for the PC instead of the PS3.
Then again, I like sitting in the living room and playing with the wireless controller (which I could do if I dragged the huge PC there and set up the controller with some crazy software, no thanks ;) ).
Yes, it's basically Oblivion V2.0 and the console versions are really starting to show the age of the current consoles vs the PC that nowadays has 4+GBs of memory and 1+GBs of dedicated video memory - where it really, and I mean REALLY, shows is the texture resolution.
Looking at the screenshots I'm left feeling I should've gotten Skyrim for the PC instead of the PS3.
Then again, I like sitting in the living room and playing with the wireless controller (which I could do if I dragged the huge PC there and set up the controller with some crazy software, no thanks ;) ).
Yakuza 4 & L.A.Noire sale
Update:
L.A. Noire for the Xbox 360 is sale for $19,90 + p&p.
And Yakuza 4 is still on sale:
Yakuza 4 (PS3) is on sale at Play-Asia for $17.90 + p&p... ;)
L.A. Noire for the Xbox 360 is sale for $19,90 + p&p.
And Yakuza 4 is still on sale:
Yakuza 4 (PS3) is on sale at Play-Asia for $17.90 + p&p... ;)
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