The Older Gamers Forums - Blogs

Sportsmanship and Rules

A_Rageaholic — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:20:19 GMT

A lot of things in TOG, as with life, are very black and white. We do not tolerate cheating, hacking or glitching games. We frown upon disrespect towards other players, whether they are TOG members or not. There are also rules to abide by when posting in our forums. And we have an AUP and TOG guidelines to ensure that these rules are understood and followed. But I've come to realise that there are also area's of grey at times, that we can't just sweep into one category or another. As a DC, this is something that I've become more aware of.

Point in case; Last night I played a couple of rounds of MW3 and encountered a fellow TOG member unrelentingly using a grenade launcher. For those of you with no background in the Call of Duty series, the grenade launcher is a bit of a gaming fopar. It is a weapon that can be shot from a great distance, easily killing 3 or 4 players with a single explosion. With a team of 8, that can easily reduce your team by 1/4 or more and this regularly happens. Now when playing Search and Destroy (which we were playing at the time) it means there is no respawn until the next round, so losing 1/4 of your team for an entire round due to a weapon that can be shot from the other side of the map, becomes very frustrating.

Now there is no rule that says a player can't use this weapon, but needless to say, they weren't winning any friends last night. They were asked several times to choose a different weapon, but refused and ultimately, the game finished up with many players rage quitting as a result.

So here's my point; Eventhough I'm DC, I'm not about to go setting rules in place to say which weapons the division can and can't use. The guns were put in there and can be used at the players discretion. However, I do believe in respect for other players and fairness of play. I'm continually surprised by the number of people that have no regard for others, by putting their level of enjoyment in front of everyone else's. Use the grenade launcher if you like. But if you're asked by others to put it away, then there are a couple of options and all of these result in respect;

Go play on another server.
Put the launcher away, just like you were asked.
Use it more sparingly. Even this will help your cause.

Respect that everyone else's level of enjoyment is just as important as yours. ESPECIALLY if it's fellow TOG members asking it of you.

Rage quit.

Hard + Core = Dark Souls

delushin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 06:25:43 GMT

Oh yes I know it has been out for quite awhile now ... And well between that and ... /faceplam having to work, I have totally neglected this blog that I have been blessed access to! Well fear not fellow toglets and nublets for I have finaly clocked round one of the game after about 72 hours worth of my life!

This is everything I was wanting and more, I love it and once they make it legal I will marry my games and sexy them to make hybrid versions of them and then I will take those and marry them off to various members of ... oh um sorry about that anyways, how #$%!ing funny is this guys reaction to his mates setting him up! First through I will give you some background on why he is so upset, to get to where he is at the first play through of the game without using any walkthroughs or hacks is pretty hard and nerve racking, he would have died ALOT (in true DS style of course) and the boss on the first encounter is pretty dam scary so ...

OMFG ... tell me you didn't laugh and the devestation on his face and then I will call LIES!

Pretty much guys there is nothing more I need to say as apart from Demons Souls this release is very well known now .. just buying it and enjoy getting your ass kicked, oh and by all means hit me up on PSN if you want to PvP .. delushin <3

Talera vs Splice

Talera — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 06:53:36 GMT

While I was intrigued by the trailer for this film when it was released in cinemas, I figured it was one of those films that could wait until it was on weekly status at the local DVD store. How right I was.

This movie is marketed as a horror/thriller. Realistically, it is a drama for the first 90% of the film, then thriller, scratch that - attempted thriller, for ten or so minutes, then a plot hook for potential sequels. Yes the whole genetic enginerering often goes into a sci-fi category, but they focus less on that and more on the concept of this creature 'developing' and how the social relationships form and change between the parties.

Unfortunately the movie is also entirely predictable, obvious scripting. While the actors make the best of their role, they are let down by these other two factors.

I haven't written much about this film because ultimately I don't have much to say. I may consider watching any sequels, which no doubt there will be, but only on weekly status. I don't think I'll watch the original one again though. While I can see why some people may like it given the moral concepts of science playing with genetics, it was not explored well enough to bring these issues to the forefront of the movie.

Talera vs Zombie Town

Talera — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 04:46:06 GMT

I have to admit I have a soft spot for B-Grade horror. It has spawned such legends as Bruce Campbell. Every now and then I queue up a movie that is beyond B-Grade. This is one of those movies.

This movie is probably between D to F-Grade. The camera moves about not for effect but because it was probably filmed with a hand held camera and they could not afford a tripod.

The dialogue and acting is cheesy, but it is intentionally so. This movie is indeed done to be a zombie comedy film. It opens with bogan townspeople who have been turned into zombies wondering through the scrub finding further willing victims. The idea is that the 'survivors' band together in order to determine how to stop them as well as what is causing the phenomenon. However, the trailer and even the back of the case gives away what is causing people to turn into flesh eating red necks (pun intended).

While this film does have some good one liners and also classic things such as zombie geriatrics, it did not have enough of them to fully rescue the film. It does leave you wondering what could have been achieved with a larger budget or even non-amateurs. Having said that, budget and experience does not always make a film better.

The film was entertaining for the 95 or so minutes it ran. But it is not a classic Zom Com like Braindead. You may not find me saying this often, but I think this movie is better watched intoxicated when life generally seems more amusing. However, then you run the risk of doing something silly like singing about how you're going down down down to Zombie Town.

Talera vs The Human Centipede

Talera — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 08:00:52 GMT

This movie was banned from cinemas in some countries of the world. The planned sequel will apparently be banned from more.

As I said before, I watch horror. The notion it is gross doesn't impact me. So the concept of this movie being 'graphic' also didn't concern me. I was interested in the concept of the mad scientist going to an extreme, in the same way I often watch the ones based on human experiments.

Really, with this one I shouldn't have bothered. Seriously, don't bother with this film. The supposedly uber gross scene does not show any detail. The theory is that the first person in the centipede has to defecate and due to how they are joined it passes into the next person. You don't actually see anything though, it is just referred to.

The script and direction was woeful. The acting (for the most part) was terrible. We had the screamer who didn't have any passion behind it, just a loud voice. We had another valley type girl just as unbelievable, who seemed to believe she could convey melodrama just by putting her hand to her forehead every 10 minutes. The same actress, while on the phone at the start, also tended to wait one second before responding to something that the other person could not have possibly said in that time frame (one of my movie pet peeves). The police were stereotypical for movie police and unrealistic for real life ones.

The only positive thing about this film was the performance of the evil doctor. He was so believable as crazy and evil. In fact I don't think if I saw him in real life I could be convinced he was nice. He even managed to convey it with body language, including his facial expressions. It's sad that he was cast in such a terrible movie, I don't think it would help his career.

It doesn't worry me that the second one may be banned in Australia, I don't really want to watch it anyway if the quality of the first one is an indication of the sequel.

Talera vs Resident Evil Afterlife

Talera — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 02:55:08 GMT

Hm, I found it difficult to put my thoughts together on this movie.

Firstly I wasn't expecting much in the way of plot. The background story is the same as previous movies with the whole virus, Umbrella Corp and so on. a female super human seeking out the evil corp behid the conspiracy and shooting a bunch of zombies along the way. I don't watch these movies for plot, I watch them for action and zombie splatter gore.

I know this movie was at the cinemas in 3D. I didn't get to see it there, which was a shame. However, I do not have a 3D home entertainment system and I had to watch it in the normal 2D version. I have to be fair and say I think the special effects and fight scenes would have been a lot better in 3D as they appear to be designed/choreographed for that format.

The movie itself wasn't enough to engage me. While I paid great attention during fight scenes, the parts in between I tended to multi-task. Again, to be fair to the movie, I don't play the games. Perhaps if I did play the games I would be more interested in the 'filler' between the 'biff'.
The fight scenes themselves were great. While the concept of normal humans being able to undertake such feats is incredibly unrealistic, we have to acknowledge it is based on a game and of course game characters tend to be able to undertake unrealistic feats of heroism.

The highlight of the first Resident Evil movie for me (besides zombie creatures, I lurve zombies). was actually the soundtrack. I own very few soundtracks as I tend to only like one or two songs, but I do own that soundtrack. Again in this one the music was appropriate and assisted in highlighting theme and action as intended. Especially the song in the starting scene.

Talera vs I Spit on Your Grave

Talera — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 04:53:31 GMT

Sorry for the frequent entries, I'm on holidays so have time to catch up.

Okay, let's face it - I'm a horror girl. I love a good splatter as much as the next horror buff (though I prefer there also to be a mind screw in there). I saw the original of this film when I was in my teens, during a period where it was not banned in Australia (for those overseas, the original went through a couple of periods where it was banned in Australia due to the sexual violence).

Only one other person at my work has seen the original. When we saw there was a remake we both grimmaced. Still when it first came out she rented the remake and told me it was well done and I had to see it. So off to the quickflix queue I went and added the film to my list, putting it at the top of my queue.

Last friday night, after child was asleep and I was the only adult in the house, I put it in and watched it. It disturbed me. It was not scary by any means, but I was left disturbed.

I can take a lot of things being on my screen without batting an eyelid. I have seen sexual sadism on screen and while I abhor it in real life I know it is fiction I am watching. I don't want to get into a discussion about whether it contributes to sexual crime rates by having such films, I just want to focus on the movie here as I don't think you need to be subjected to my beliefs on the issue (though if you really want to know, just send me a PM and I'll spill).

Why did the movie disturb me? The gang rape scene pure and simple. The original film had a brutal rape scene, but while certain things were shown (I'll never forget the bottle) much was left to the imagination. I think this is best as it is a plot where your mind can fill in the blanks quite adequately. However, in the remake, the scene went on for almost half of the movie. It was prolonged and much less was left to the imagination. I know that it was done to horrify the audience and really make you feel for the victim. I know in order to do that it would have to be more graphic given today's society than when the original film was made. Having said that, I have to admit I found it a bit too prolonged and confronting.

While the revenge killings are imaginative and well done, I found the main actress' performance lacking. The actress had the original character down pat, but really after an event like that she is now a new character. I didn't find her believable as this second character.

All in all, actually not bad for a remake. However, I think their focus on shock value to make you feel victim empathy went overboard and I think the main character was miscast. Despite this, it is brought back up by the performances of the perpetrators, who acted in a creepy and ugly manner wonderfully considering the roles they ofen take in other films.
　

Talera vs Inception

Talera — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 01:56:26 GMT

Dreams. Fluid, intangible. Somehow even the most unrealistic concept can seem to be real and possible. Trying to grab hold of it and feeling it slip through your fingers.

Sometimes the dream is so real that when you wake you have to consider whether it actually happened. The vividness causing deja vu as a temporary state.

Everyone has considered certain things in their life. Is it possible for someone to read your mind? Is it possible for someone to enter your dreams?
When this movie first came out, I saw the trailer and knew I would love it. I could not go to see it at the cinema and wanted to wait until I had the house alone to enjoy it in full. I stayed away from reviews, told my friends not to speak of it to me and so on, just so I could experience it fresh and not go in with the bias of other's opinions. I also tend to be able to predict twists and I wanted this movie to be unpredictable for me, in the same way dreams often are.

This movie was everything I wanted it to be and more. The artistic direction managed to provide such movement within that it was as fluid as one conceives dreams to be. The notion someone can construct worlds for you and control the progress of a dream was effective in that the same concept revealed it could not control the dreamer. While your setting may be falsified, your actions are still your own. Your mind is their dominion, but you cannot be ruled.

The introduction of latent meanings, hiding items from our subconscious in places such as a safe is also fantastic. So often we believe a dream was trying to tell us something, but we just cannot bring the thoughts to mind. It is as if it is locked away and only the right combination can unlock the information.

For such a long time I have been waiting for another movie to give me a twist I could not predict within the first 30 minnutes. This movie did that for me. While I picked the twist before it was revealed, it certainly was not the twist I had envisaged for the first half of the movie. I'd like to say what I thought it was going to be, but that would be spoiling it for people.

No matter how many times I have tried to describe this movie in this entry, I cannot find the words to capture it and give you an image to take with you. I think this is truly one of those movies where everyone will take something different, the movie leaving its own individual snowflake in your mind. All I can say is it is a must view if you have not watched it to date.

Talera vs Adaptations

Talera — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 11:55:20 GMT

So another book has been made into a film. Naturally you compare the book to the movie, but how do you decide if the movie is a good reproduction of the books?

A few friends and I have been discussing this of late. What elements do we need in order to provide the movie with our tick of approval? While initially I thought most of us would agree, given most of us tend to agree when a movie is a good version or not, I was totally incorrect.

I found my friends fit into three distinct camps when it comes to giving their assent, each camp desiring a particular element as their main attribute. I now understand with more insight why, on some of the movies, we haven't agreed.

The first camp I like to call the 'purists'. They want the book repeated on the big screen. They grumble when characters have their gender or ethnicity changed. For the most part they can overlook these smaller things, but they are tempted to yell at the cinema screen when Frodo is carried across the river. One of my friends who fits in this camp, in that very scene, stated 'they only did that to get the chicks more involved in watching it'.

The second camp, which by the way seems to be the one I am in, is what I like to call the 'spiritists'. Yes I am making up words, but hey its's my blog. Anywho, this group does not care if things are changed. We do not need things to be perfectly literal when it comes to converting the book. If we wanted literal we would simply read the book again because in our opinion there is no way a movie can capture everything. We know characters need to be reduced, there are practical considerations such as budgets and screen time. All we ask is that the 'spirit' of the book is captured and made larger than life for us. We know that even if a movie managed to be totally faithful with words, looks and events, it could still be empty. We know that while the closer it gets the better, as long as it has the same moral quandaries, the deeper lessons of the plot and the struggles of the characters then it is a good reproduction. We are less likely to yell at the screen when the movie annoys us, instead looking at our shoes. But we are more likely to cheer along and be swept up in the emotion of the film when the spirit rides high.

The last camp is the 'comfortists'. For this group it is almost as if knowing what is about to occur gives them a sense of comfort. While they are willing to have a certain amount of departure from the events of the book, they cannot abide too much of this or they squirm in their seat, just like a person being asked to do something outside of their comfort zone. Despite this, they also recognise that a faithful reproduction can be emotionally hollow, and require a certain amount of 'spirit' to engage in the film.

So which camp are you in? Have I missed any simply because I have not come across another group within my limited social circle?

This is nice, very nice.

theZee — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 23:45:03 GMT

Sitting here with my 2yr old daughter reclining on my knee. She's chomping through apple slices and watching Peppa Pig on one half of the screen while I'm browsing TOG on the other half.

Perfect Saturday morning. :-D

`Zee

Retro Console Collecting - Interlude 4 (I really suck at updating)

Schizo — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 20:13:24 GMT

Hello there!

Yes, it has been three months since I last updated. Want to know why I haven't updated?

Well, I'll tell you!

No wait, get back here! Sit down....I said sit down! You're gonna listen to my tale, and you're gonna like it!

Are the ropes too tight? I'd hate to have to get the shackles out. Comfortable? Well, I am...so here we go.

It all started about three months ago. I was sitting on my laptop cruising ebay for some more retro gaming goodness, when out of the blue a messenger hawk landed on my window sill. Knowing full well how messenger hawks (and other forms of archaic communication) are most certainly harbingers of a dire emergency, I immediately slammed the window shut and began a search for exterminators.

Telegrams? Pfft. Sealed letters? Don't waste my time. Engraved invitations? Don't bother. However, it was when I saw the smoke signals in the air, I knew something big was up.

I grabbed a pen and paper and began jotting down a quick translation. It seemed there was an infestation of rabid polar bears wielding semi-automatic rifles up at the north pole, and my help was needed! Either that, or it was an advertisement claiming "Eat At Joe's!". I'm not too sure, and I often get the two mixed up as my smoke signal translation is a bit rusty.

Anyway...my help was needed! Ready for battle, I immediately jumped aboard my trusty steed. I was then immediately punched in the face by my girlfriend, and I was told in in no uncertain terms that she would pack up her stuff and leave if I ever again jumped on her back and called her 'my trusty steed'. I don't think the bridle and the 'giddyap!' helped any either.

Next I....look, your continued groaning isn't helping things any. Don't make me go get the duct tape to cover your mouth with!

Now, where was I? Oh yes...eventually, I made it to the north pole, where a three-month long war was waged against the rabid polar bears and their ill-gotten weapons. There was tremendous blood spilled on both sides, and there are tales and songs of individual feats of heroism, courage, loss, and forbidden romance. But those are tales for another time...

Nevertheless, I emerged alive (though not entirely unscathed) from the whole ordeal, and I was made an honorary chieftain amongst the polar bears (my name to them is Natuk-Oh). I traveled my way back here to share this tale with you.

I promise the next post will be chock full of updates on the retro console collecting. I just felt that you all needed to know the reason for my absence.

Thanks for bearing (bear...get it? yeah, puns are the lowest form of humor) with me through all this. Now, let me untie you and we'll never speak of this again.*

*note: All of the above is entirely true. Completely. No, really. It is. All of it. Because who would believe that Schizo has been too busy being slammed at work, and having other outside issues that prevent him from posting? Everyone! And that makes for B-O-R-I-N-G reading. Besides, if you really believe all that, I have some ~~swampland~~ prime waterfront real estate out in Florida I'd like to sell you...

A departure of sorts

Talera — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 03:04:50 GMT

It is days like today I hate my job. Well to phrase it better I don�t hate my job, I hate some of the things I�m exposed to.

Normally I love my job, even with all the frustrations. While I get exposed to negative things, it still interests me. While many would find those exposures upsetting or tragic, I tend to be able to distance myself from them and deal with the task at hand.

Occasionally I have the days where the �thing� I�m exposed to is so tragic not even I can distance myself. It is today, one of those tragic days, where I hate my job.

Today someone died at the hands of another. While my rational mind knows I could not prevent it no matter what I did and ultimately it was not I who was dealing with the taker, knowing my colleagues were makes me wonder if I had just had more involvement, gave more guidance�

I can�t go into too much here because of the nature of my work and I must remain confidential to do with my involvement in the perpetrator�s (sorry alleged) life. I can�t even contact the victim�s family to advise them of just how sorry I am for their loss. Rationally I know there was nothing I or my colleagues could have done to prevent the tragedy. Still my human nature comes into to second guess things in an irrational and purely emotive manner.

I know this is not the sort of thing normally discussed in these blogs. I know that most people want to read about gaming and geeky topics.

I don�t write this in order for sympathy, I know my emotions will pass once my head regains control. I simply write these words because I feel I need to say sorry to someone, but due to my job requirements this is the only way I can.

Sorry for your loss.

Talera vs Advent Children

Talera — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 01:49:51 GMT

So on the weekend I watched Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. It should be noted I watched the 2005 version and not the revised edition which had more information inserted for people who haven�t played the game.

I was looking forward to this as I found the game play frustrating. The thing I found most enticing about the Final Fantasy games was actually the storyline/plot. The concept of having it purely that and with gorgeous animation was something I looked forward to.

The movie takes place about 2 years after the game ends. While the movie introduces the concepts of Jenova and the Lifestream well, it only provides minimal information regarding Sephiroth and Shinra. It also provides no information on Cloud or his connection with Tifa and the other characters. For this reason alone I think it would not be a movie suited for those who have not played the game. My understanding is the revised edition rectifies some of this, but not to a level for those who have not been exposed to Final Fantasy to get full benefit from the film.

Having played the game (in fact FF7 was the first one I ever played) I enjoyed it immensely. Admittedly it did not flow as well as I would have liked and did come across as a bunch of cut scenes put together but really this did not detract from my enjoyment that much. The animation was, in my opinion, very apt given the subject of the film ultimately being the game franchise. In fact it almost made me want to pull out that old game until I remembered the whole chocobo irritation.

It isn�t a long film and went well for entertaining me on a lazy Sunday afternoon while I was making my pumpkin soup. The movie is very story based instead of trying to accrue tension and so the periodic pausing did not cause issues.

Talera vs Assault on Precinct 13

Talera — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 03:14:56 GMT

I think this review may cause some people to wonder what I�m on, or want to hate me for things I�m saying.

I know this movie came out yonkers ago, but I only got around to seeing it last night. Currently I�m on two minds about whether I should have bothered.

Ethan Hawke, good actor, pinnacle in my opinion was Gattaca and to be honest since he split with his wife, he looks more and more washed out (but I do acknowledge some good movies in that time). Which of course meant he looked totally appropriate for playing the ex-undercover police officer who is drinking away his guilt while hiding behind a desk.

Laurence Fishburne does well in his crime boss show no emotion where possible character. No surprise there.

Queue start of movie, 2 minutes on why our main star is a guilty hero. Wakes up and drinks. That is really all the background we get on him bar a small conversation with a shrink later in film.

Queue moving boxes (okay, I can see without reading the back we have a siege in an understaffed secluded building unlikely to attract attention). Main baddie arrested, taken to shiny new station. Emphasis placed on some �elite� awesome rep police officers.

Sorry, but straight up we can see bad guy has secrets on the �elite� police because they are the real villains and they will organise him to be held at dodgy building only guarded by guilty police officer where they will attempt to kill him. Guilty police officer goes through an amazing transformation where he takes charge and becomes a hero again. Guilty police officer and bad guy will form some sort of respect for each other without actually becoming friends.

Voila. The first 10-15 minutes tells you how the rest of the movie will pan out. Sorry if you think I have put in spoilers, but really if you didn�t pick it then not my fault as it is very obvious what is about to roll over your screen. So I sat tight and thought �hey maybe the action will make up for lack of subtlety�. Um, no.

This movie is what it is. The action itself is limited because they have to make the building and the characters last for the entire show. The �fight� scenes are limited because the main antagonist is outside hidden in his warm car in the snowstorm. The characters �emotional� stories are too quick and unbelievable. This movie just didn�t sell me. I don�t think I�ll watch it again.

Talera vs Mock Songs

Talera — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 22:28:48 GMT

One of my weird habits is changing lyrics. I�m no Weird Al, don�t get me wrong, but I can be talking with friends and then just suddenly come up with a song in my head appropriate to the topic. I�m not very good at it, but it has scored me amusement points in groups previously. It has also scored me comments like �mum, sing the real words please�.

I have plenty of ones done at home for various themes, my tribute to Friday the 13th was one I got asked to pass around. It even led one night to friends and I all coming up with the �top 5� for slasher films. I have been told that even though my opinion of them is low, I should circulate them more. One of my friends through work, who moved after a transfer, had me give him a song rewritten to be about him and he still has the lyrics up at his new office.

So in an effort, below I have the first verse of my tribute to True Blood and Twilight Cosplayers�Groupies. Do understand it was off the cuff and far far far from my best work. For those who can�t pick up the tune it is to Billy Joel�s Still Rock and Roll To Me. If you enjoy it let me know and I�ll post more in future.

What's the matter with the fangs I'm wearing?

Can't you tell the teeth are too white?
Maybe I should buy some werewolf pelt?
Welcome back to the age of pile.
Where have you been hidin' out lately, honey?
The blood and lunar cycle send the groupies all a funny.
Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new book
Funny, but it's still wolves and vamps to me

Talera vs Supernatural

Talera — Tue, 31 May 2011 06:40:23 GMT

I watch Supernatural. Loved it from the first episode and watch it religiously. I can even tell you which episodes made me laugh my patootie off and which ones were a bit shocking. I can tell you the last episode of season 6 made me say �Oh my god� out loud (but I won�t say why � spoilers and all).

I converted someone else to it this year, not realising I had not converted all my friends. I got into a discussion with him and I realised part of the reason I liked it. It is not a horror which relies on gimmicks. In fact in many ways it�s family friendly.

I know, yes there are the occasional references to material containing nudity or the subtle comment on sexual events. Really, even some PG shows have this now. Despite the references no nudity is actually shown and most things are �alluded� to only.

When it comes to the monster bits there isn�t much gore compared to other �horror� based shows.

The swearing is minimal and what there is I consider to be low grade cussing.

It has the loyalty of �family� even when those you consider relatives are not by blood.

So how does this show, with no real nudity/sex, swearing or gore manage to still draw in audiences despite most other shows relying on at least one of these themes?

Answer is story. Ok yeah some may watch it because those Winchester boys are just so darn hot in jeans, but really that can�t carry a show for six seasons.

I find it refreshing that there is a show on TV which does not rely on the mainstream gimmicks current modern programming contains. That they rely on story each and every episode. They don�t drown with constant character development, swapping in monster of the week episodes. The shows don�t always take themselves seriously and humour abounds. There are pop culture references for a varied audience and really what other show has slow dancing with aliens to ballads after being abducted?

I admit I was concerned when they extended it beyond the five originally intended seasons, would they be able to keep on story. Initially season 6 seemed forced, but my doubts were alleviated when I realised it was just because of plot set up for the big �oh my god� finale.

Carry on my wayward son, I will continue watching.

You call yourself hardcore...

delushin — Sun, 15 May 2011 02:15:53 GMT

Ok lets get this straight from the start ... this entry is about a PS3 title, and yes it is for the hardcore gamers! "Oh console is for casual wanna be gamers, if its not on PC then its shit!" ... Well nub enough with the versus this versus that I have had it! I love my PC and my PS3 and my 360 and my wi... well not as much as the others that ones just for Mario ... BUT FFS your either a "Gamer" and you can apretiate all platforms and the products (when they deserve it) or your a "Burnt out winger who can't let go of unimportant formalitites" :twisted:

Alright now that all the wanna be gamers have closed the browser and called mummy to help pick up their bottom lip, which has become lodged between the floor boards of the attic where they reside ... lets get on to business!

This game is so HARDCORE if you think that you will in any way "own" this game with a mad KD ratio then don't even bother because you will get used to seeing this message ...

And you will try again only to see ...

And then you will get frustraited and try and rush past some "weaker" enemies only to find ...

:D HAHAHA its not a joke you will die, A LOT! However for some reason even though there were times I wanted to through the controller at the trophy wife *** SLAP :eek: *** "sorry baby just saying those things to try and make people laugh, I don't mean it" ... anyways maybe this video can help explain how intense this game is ...

Also just for LOL's and please BE WARNED there is some bad language in this video, do a youtube search for "Demon's Souls - Difficulty = Bullshit" that guy let it get to him :p

See you get it now ... YOU WILL DIE! ... but it is so dam addicting that you go back for more and more and more ... finally a game that is like some old titles ... finally a game that will KICK YOUR EFING ASS!

Now get out there and train because it isnt long and this will be released:

Now tell me how mad this game mad you, and if your not playing it tell me why ... below!

Talera v Materialism

Talera — Mon, 09 May 2011 01:57:08 GMT

I�m not what I consider to be materialistic. I do not need the latest and greatest items. If I need an item to do A, B and C I will buy something that does that and not see the point in getting one that also does D, E and F if it costs more.

Yet I own a lot of �stuff�. This tends to be things that look like crap to everyone else but mean a lot to me, for example, I have an origami dragon made from dragon print proper origami paper which was made by a good friend when I was in college.

To reduce the �clutter� this causes I often have them packed away in boxes where I can pull them out every six months and go all warn and fuzzy with sentimentality.

I remember not only what happened to bring about the ownership, but also things to do with how I was back then. All bright eyed and not yet jaded by the professional world that came with some of my earlier career choices.

When the flood came through, I didn�t lose major possessions. I lost this sort of stuff. Yes I also lost most of my comic collection and some books, but those were not what I cried over. I cried over losing the first ever birthday card I bought my child and the first one he made for me. I cried over losing the things given to me by a dear friend who no longer walks this earth. Those things cannot be replaced by insurance and those things hold so much value to me. I cannot imagine how I would have felt had I lost everything, whether it is like others I know recently, in a fire or anything like that.

So it reminds me that as I age I will forget some of the memories associated with my items no longer owned. I may start to lose touch with that bright eyed girl I once was. I had to find a way to anchor myself without using those things as to who I once was. It reminded me just how much I need to let go of any form of possession and instead use my friends to remind me who I am, which is not materialistic.

Beliefs, Opinions and Respect

A_Rageaholic — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 03:53:13 GMT

It's been a while since I've posted to my blog but I'm feeling like I need to just get something off my chest so I'm going to take this opportunity to have a huge vent/whinge. Just post up some thoughts and feelings into the world wide intraweb for all my fellow older gamers to read and perhaps comment on :)

Five weeks ago, we were blessed with our 3rd child. A little (well not so little) baby girl. Something that I've not told everyone is that it was a VERY difficult birth for my wife, to the point where I feared for her life. She spent a night in ICU after losing 3 litres of blood.

The damage was done by what they call a "shoulder distocia" but I digress somewhat. I've never been a firm believer in "chiropractors" but after my first child was breach and after trying almost everything to get her to settle and stop crying, we took her to see a chiropractor. The whole trip there, my daughter cried and the whole trip home, she slept. It was an immediate positive response. We've not needed to go again.

So after such a traumatic birth with our third, we just today took her to see a chiropractor as well. My wife tells me it's another immediate positive response.

Now, I'm not suggesting either way, whether a chiropractor is ... as some might suggest, a "quack", but my experience has only ever been positive. Sharing this with a work colleague though, I was bombarded for about 15minutes about how they're quacks and basically how stupid, naive and gullible I am to see one. I immediately saw red :mad:

I don't care if you don't subscribe to my beliefs, but give me the respect to at least have them. I'm a man that believes in God, let me have that belief. I don't mind if you want to ask me questions of why or even debate it, but at least be open to the possibility that you could be wrong. I've found this colleague to be EXTREMELY narrow minded, that if someones opinions don't line up with his, then they're wrong.

Just pisses me off :mad:

Rage quit

No social networking for you!!

Stuman — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 05:14:38 GMT

I'll be straight up and say that I don't have a facebook account. I had one, once upon a time, but in the face of banality, tedium and a general profound sense of uselessness, I deleted it.

I have a twitter account - well one does exist - but I forgot the password one day, then I forgot the name of the #tag I was using, and that was that for twitter.

Do I miss either? No not really.

I sort of miss the games .... must check my farmville crops and see how my mafia crew is going!! ... though now that I think about it, no I don't miss the games.

Do I miss the social interactions that happened within my network of hundreds of people?

Well, considering that of the 800 or 900 that I had listed as friends, most of those hundreds were in fact complete strangers "friended" just purely for the games (I think I may of failed to mention that the games were pretty addictive), the whole "social interaction" thing probably didn't exist in the first place.

"Social voyeurism" on the other hand though, existed in massive amounts. But really, voyeurism is not interaction. In real-life you wouldn't find yourself having indepth conversations with the neighbourhood peeping tom, but on facebook that is the reality.

Anyway, notwithstanding these "friends who are not really friends but are in fact complete strangers" - of the actual real "friends" I had, the vast majority were in fact relatives or in-laws or work colleagues.

Now granted that some of those were people who I would consider to be "friend-like", they were in the main people who I had not chosen to know voluntarily but knew through happenstance circumstances (though I suppose in-laws can be considered voluntary in that you did choose to co-habitate with someone that they are related too).

You happen to work with me? well I'll add you as a "friend". I happen to be related too you through a quirk of genetics? you too can be a "friend". Social etiquette of the early 21st century means that if you have access too and use social networking and haven't added someone you know, then you (in their eyes at least) must think they are the spawn of hell or have a really bad personal problem or that you (gasp, shock horror) may not "like them"!!!

Like all etiquettes, the semblance of "reality" to "actuality" is a vast chasm in which many a personal relationship has inadvertently plunged (generally in a slowly cartwheeling through the air whilst on fire sort of way).

Of the actual "friends who are friends", well I saw most of them of a frequency that was enough to ensure that the intervening spaces between our meetings were of sufficient length to acquire suitable conversation material that could then be discussed at the next occasion when we should see each other face to face.

Unfortunately, continual postings on social networking forums of these tidbits of observations on strange goings on; saved up commentary on funny people met/seen/tripped over; gripes/whines about work/life/kids/in-laws, sort of negated the whole conversation thing.

It does get annoying when you start to say "oh, I meant to tell you about such and such.." only to have the sentence completed for you by someone who read about it last week and thus knew just as much - if not more - than you do. All that is left for you to say in those circumstances is a conversation ender such as "well I heard that it heals" or "I think that there is an ointment for it".

And unless something interesting fell from the sky, that particular "social interaction" would end about there.

One day in the not to distant past, I actually found myself and a friend reduced to saying the words "yeah, it was funny" over and over whilst our brains tried to fill in the sudden gaping void that opened up in the conversation upon the realisation that we already knew what the other was going to say. It was almost like being married but without the damp spot.

Facebook went out of my life not long after that.

So do I social network? Well I still do in fact, I just rarely do it online and not with anywhere near as many people.

Though there are days when I miss playing something that is named "....ville".

Talera vs the Void

Talera — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 02:43:52 GMT

So I have been absent, I fell into a �void�.

What did my void consist of?

Well I got sent out of town for work, and it flooded there. Then I went away a week and it flooded there. Then I went back out of town and it flooded there. I returned home for work and it flooded at home. Now I�m not making light of the whole flooding in QLD issue, I was lucky in that my residence only sustained property damage, the goods that were damaged were not essential (though they were incredibly sentimental and included my comic book collection) and nobody I know lost their life. However, once could see that the never ending wherever I set foot ends up wet, well it did not help me want to go anywhere in near future.

So while recovering physically from the water debacle my work increased. Somewhere in there my PC also died, has not been resurrected yet and as such I am confined to a work computer or at best my 6 year old laptop that has keyboard issues.

So while I am confined to a work computer, I will not have time to check the forums. I do undertake to put random words into this thing more frequently�. Sucks to be you having to read my rushed warbling and bastardisation of the English language. I�m sure you will cope and that whatever does not kill you will make you stronger.

Good wishes to all

Retro Console Collecting - Part IX (I Suck At Updating)

Schizo — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:34:33 GMT

Woah.

You're still here reading this? I applaud your tenacity. I've been far too busy lately with work/life/world domination to post a proper update lately.

Well, here goes.

Managed to pick up the following games off of ebay:

I may be forgetting some others, but I've not had great luck lately in scoring complete in box versions of games in halfway decent condition for halfway decent prices.

*shakes fist* Damn you other collectors!

I also have become in desperate need of another A/V switch. My current switch only has positions for 4 inputs to choose from, and I currently have six devices I need to switch between (soon to be seven as soon as I get off my butt and order the proper A/V cables for the Genesis). However, the ones I've found on ebay are quite small (3-4 ports), so I'm holding out hope that I can find a monster 8+ port switch somewhere...because let's face it: swapping cables sucks!

More good news in terms of finding games locally - yet another video game store has opened up in the area. In fact, it is across the street from the only other store in the city that sells retro games. I stopped in yesterday to purchase a copy of Portal 2. Partially because I would prefer to support a locally owned and operated store, partially to check out the digs.

Compared to the other gaming store in my area, they probably have a smaller selection of retro games, but their Complete in Box selection is much greater. The pricing is a bit (ok, more than a bit) high for a lot of these games, but being that it is locally owned and operated, I probably can haggle the prices a bit. The upside is that you get to see what you're buying before you buy it (unlike ebay), and if the game isn't working or defective, you could easily return it. Try getting an ebay seller to do that!

Here comes the best part. While I was in there discussing old console collecting, I brought up the Gen 1 Sega CD I'd fried (more details can be found here, because this is nothing more than a shameless self-plug to my own blog). The staff at the store stated that they wanted to learn how to repair these, and that they'd take a look at mine and repair it for a discount as long as they could play guinea pig with my Gen 1 Sega CD.

Considering the thing is a brick right now to me, I figured why not? So I'll be dropping that off with them this weekend. I hope they can fix it.

I also learned another valuable lesson. If you go to a store looking for games to add to your collection - bring a list! I have a list of games I'd like saved on my laptop...but it doesn't do me any good there when I'm in the store. So for any of you who would like to start your own collection, make a list of games you want to get. Keep adding to it, and hopefully you can find the ones you want when there are good deals to be had.

Finally (and the most important!), enjoy your collection! I'll gladly admit that one reason I've not been expanding the collection as much lately is because I've been having too much fun playing the games I've bought!

The whole point of this collection was never to achieve 100% completion of owning every game for a system, or getting the most ultra-rare games created. I wanted to play and own all the games I never got a chance to do so when they were new. To sit down and enjoy these older games...and to that end, my collection is a success.

Good lord, I must be sick. I've made an entire, coherent, sensible, and serious post with little to no humor in it at all. I'm sure your reaction has been as such:

Are Video Games Getting Easier?

daranthered — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 09:14:59 GMT

Question. Have you ever gone back and played the games you did when you were growing up? How did you find them? For me, the answer can be summed up in one word: Hard.

Finding and playing the games from the 70's, 80's and 90's isn't difficult. Emulators and Apps abound. My preferred method has been for years, to play them on my old Gameboy Advanced, which imported many old titles from the NES, SNES, and SEGA systems. Some of my favorites are Altered Beast, Mario 3, and Castelvania.

When I go back and play these games, I'm struck by how difficult they are to play. I think, paradoxically, it's because they're simpler. Because there wasn't as yet as much ability in graphics and story in gaming, the concentration was on sheer difficulty. If you don't believe me, go back and the Original Sonic the Hedgehog. Or Pac-Man. That game's a bloody nightmare after three levels.

A large part of the difficulty I have in playing these is the two-dimensional nature of them. My brain is used to being able to side step, strafe and sidle up to my quarry in games like Halo, Fallout 3 or Dragon Age. Reduce the number of possible options to a few route responses to given situations, and the mind of a modern gamer freezes. I can now manage a head-shot while jumping off a cliff, but I can no longer properly time a jump over a mushroom with feet.

The old games aren't about thinking, they're about acting. I never realized until years later that my ability to play through Mario 3 on one life was as much muscle memory as anything else.

It's a bit humbling to go back to those games you mastered as a kid, and find that all you uber skills at Warcraft avail you not in the halls of Castlevania. But there's also a plus side. There's a whole library of games out there to master again. Gannon needs to be dealt with.

Go Forth: The Princess is still in another castle. And Cutsmen is still the lamest idea for a hard level boss ever.

Good Video Game Novels

daranthered — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 03:25:05 GMT

A friend and I had a discussion the other day about the worst books we had ever read that were based on video games. Mine was The Ruins of Dantooine. His was a Sonic the Hedgehog novel he had had the misfortune of reading in middle school. Amidst the reminiscences of these truly awful books, I made the assertion that most video game books were bad, which brought my friend up short. The majority, he said, of game books he'd read were actually pretty good. When I stopped and thought, I realized he was right. Most of the game books I'd read were pretty good. It was just that the bad ones were really bad. In the spirit of rehabilitating this disparaged genre, I'm going to list a few of my favorite video game books, in the hopes that someone picks up some one these books when they otherwise wouldn't have

My first is the Hellgate:London books, written by Mel Odom. It was a gliltchy and badly scripted game, but the novels smoothed out a lot of the story problems, and made the characters really rather likable. The only real downside to the novels were the number of spelling mistakes in the series, which was a result of poor editing and proof reading. Other than that I devoured each of the three books in one sitting, and I'm considering rereading them more than a year later.

My second choice is the Resident Evil series, by S.D. Perry. She's done a number of tie-in books over the years for franchise like Aliens and Star Trek, but my favorite are her works in the Resident Evil world. She gave the characters from the games more dimension than they have when you play them, and likeable characters was never a problem for the series. The books takes you from the first game through Code Veronica, with every other book being an original story. Those originals are the books that really shine.

The Halo books, particularly by Eric S. Nylund, are some of the best adaptations ever made. One of the smartest moves Microsoft ever made was to have their story bible guy write the novelization, so the lore of the games and books meshed. The result has been a series of books which really pull the reader into the world of Halo, and act as a kind of appendices; answering questions players may have had about the back story of the games.

My favorite game adaptation is without doubt is, Baldur's Gate by Phillip Athans. In the interests of disclosure, I loved the game so much, it might have colored my perception of the book. But I'm told by objective sources that it is in fact a good book. There's a grim sort of Conan the Barbarian flavor that makes this a great Sword and Sorcery read in its own right. I like Phil Athand from hos Forgotten Realms books, and this is really one more of those.

My last pick is one I have not yet read. In asking friends what their favorite game books are, one series came up several times. One I have not yet read: the Doom series. These three books, written by Dafydd ab Hugh, and Brad Linaweaver are very early example of tie in novels, and apparently very well done.

There are many other novel adaptations out there; some I would recommend, some I would not. I know many people who think highly of the Warcraft books, but I've never been able to get into them. Same goes for Starcraft. I think that, like any genre, there's a bit of good and bad. I won't be so quick to judge in the future. Unless it's movie novelizations. Those all suck.

The Age of Empires

daranthered — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 06:17:47 GMT

I saw this the other day, and was glad.

It's hard for me to express just how much I love the Age of Empires franchise. When I bought my first "just for me" PC more than a decade ago, I couldn't leave the store without a copy of the original Age of Empires. I installed it even before I did Office, and I certainly spent more time using it than I did Office.

It was the first game I ever played PvP. I still have the archaic Ethernet hub I bought just for that purpose. My best friend and I spent hours throwing waves of ballistae, and throngs of priests at each other. And don't forget the War Elephants. I still wonder at how dumb a spear hurler has to be to hear "WOLOLO," and think to himself; "That's a very convincing theological argument. I'm joining your side!"

When Age of Kings came out, it got even worse. For someone like me, who loves Medieval History, and loses all concept of time while playing an RTS, it was like someone saying. "Here's your regular Meth, but now we've added crack. Because, we know what our customers like." The closest I ever came to liking the French was when I was playing as the Franks in AoK. I also remember arguments about the correct pronunciation of Trebuchet. The French again! Curse them.

The Star Wars game based on the Age of Kings engine took all of my free time for months. It was a classic chocolate and peanut butter moment. It was one of those rarest of things; A good Star Wars game. This series has my favorite cheat code character -Simon the Killer Ewok. There's nothing quite like the feeling of commanding an army of ravenous (in my mind, at least) cannibal Ewoks to destroy a Gungan base.

I've never had a bad experience with an Age of Empires game. I bought the collectors editions of AoE III, and Age of Mythology. Those, along with Warcraft III, are the only games I've ever judged worthy of that extra expense.

When, this last week, they finally previewed Age of Empires Online on XPlay, I was optimistic. If the franchise could survive the kiss of Star Wars, after all, it could survive the transition to an online format. And I'm still optimistic, but now rather more cautiously. The graphics are more cartoonish than in previous iterations, and the Free-to-Play mechanics weren't explained to my liking. But for all of that, it still looked like Age of Empires. I am also very happy with the two starter civilizations: Greek, and Egyptians.

In any case, whatever my reservations, I'll play it. The previous games alone make it worth the $49.99 of a standard new release. And this is Free! My hope is this is a harkening back to what made the franchise great, not Microsoft's version of Farmville.