Blog - Tidy Up

I've been having a bit of a tidy up on my blog & have decided to remove all the movies/tv posts, tried it for a while but I think I prefer to leave this blog to gaming only. Also removed some odd posts about videos & splurge.

I then started reading my posts about Owen & got all sad thinking about him. I'm posting about E3 etc and getting all excited about the new games coming soon, none of that is fucking important, it is all so trivial when I think that Owen is not with us anymore.

E3 2014 - Summary

A lot of the games shown are not due for release until 2015 & some may slip even further into 2016/17.

A list of games that I can't wait to play

No Mans Sky - This just looks amazing, get in a spacecraft & fly off anywhere & explore planets

Batman Arkham Knight - Shame it got delayed would have really loved to break the yearly Assassin Creed xmas game trend.

Far Cry 4 - Loved the gameplay shown at the Sony conference, I've not played a Far Cry game since the first.

Zelda Wii U - A long way off but if it is truly open world with Wind Waker style graphics, I can't wait.

AbZu - From the artist & music director of Journey, should be a nice experience, not sure on release date?

Destiny - I've still got my pre-order & have registered my BETA access code for July.

Grim Fandango - I've never played it so glad it is getting remade.

Uncharted 4 - It's Naughty Dog & I have warmed to them since the Last of Us.

The Division - Still looking amazing, hopefully will not get delayed till 2016.

Assassin Creed Unity - Due out this year !! with co-op gameplay, need to persuade the claptrap boys to buy a PS4.

Microsoft & Sony had good press conferences showing off lots of games. Nintendo's press conference could have been better showing off more games, EA was a dull affair but that's because I hate the yearly sports titles & everything else was just way too early to be shown. Ubisoft had a good line up of games which are due out this year The Crew, Far Cry 4 & Assassin Creed Unity but no news on Assassin Creed Comet for the 360/PS3.

The 2014 Shopping list then

September
Destiny - still on for a release day purchase, depending on how the BETA plays.

October
Borderlands Pre-Sequel - I expect this to be a day one purchase for the claptrap boys.

December
Assassin Creed Unity - Will purchase to play over the xmas holidays.

I may pick up a few others this year like Far Cry 4 & Watch_Dogs but that all depends on time. I'm sure there were other games shown over the past couple of days that deserve to be mentioned but information overload !!

History Update - Wii U is back !!

With the upcoming release of Mario Kart 8, I have decided to give the Wii U another chance.

Nintendo's offer of a free game with Mario Kart 8 is a very good deal & I will be going for Zelda Wind Waker. I have also purchased New Super Mario Bros, Super Mario 3D Land & Zombi U.

Will look at also purchasing Nintendo Land & Wii Party U which I know the kids will enjoy.

Weekend drawing challenge - Goku

Monster Goku

Drawing challenge with Monster on Goku from Dragonball Z.

He is enjoying watching the series & playing the latest Dragonball Z game.

His effort, he started off drawing from the bottom & by the time he got to head he knew he was running out of paper but a very good effort especially with the hands.

gospvg Goku

My effort was a lot smaller so no issues with running out of space to draw, I found the eyes section quite difficult & added bit of effect lines.


Next weekend challenge is Sonic the Hedgehog.

Micro Transactions

"EA is building micro-transactions into all of its PC and console games, the company has announced"

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-27-ea-putting-micro-transactions-into-all-of-our-games

Seriously !! WTF !!

You know EA will also be charging up front for the game & then expect you to shell out more with in-game purchases etc.

What worries me is that all the other big publishers will also follow EA's lead.

Watchdogs in-app purchase to upgrade hacking abilities.

Final Fantasy 47 in-app purchases to gain a level-up or purchase a powerful weapon.

I know EA had in-app with Dead Space 3 & you can complete the game without but how long before a game is designed with in-app purchase in mind.

Resident Evil game to heal yourself you need to purchase a med pack or rest for 8 hours.

The possibilities are endless.

I may have to think twice about clearing out my collection, I think keeping a few choice titles from previous generations may be a wise move.

The next gen will be approached with caution, I'll sit back & wait a few years & then go buy a Nintendo Wii U.

Sonic the Hedgehog Wallet

My trusty Animal wallet has died so deciding on a new wallet to purchase I enlisted the help of UGVM. After giving me many options I decided on purchasing a Sonic the Hedgehog wallet.

It is more than just a game

History - The start of the 90's

The history page has been updated with the first 5 years of the 90's, a return to console gaming, the taste of arcade gaming at home, the international world of import gaming & the tales of sorrow with day one purchases.

Next update will include the dawn of Sony, Sega's last hurrah & the joy of handheld gaming.

Hardware Update - Xbox 360 Slim

I needed to get a bigger 360 hard drive with the Rage install coming in at over 20GB & stacks loads of XBLA & DLC content a 120GB Hard drive was just not big enough. Another issue with the old 360 was that it's dvd drive kept on sticking on opening.

This led to an impulse purchase of the 360 Slim & I do not regret it one bit because it looks nice in black & has a nice large 250GB hard drive. Also is very very quiet.

2012 - The year that I will

The year that I will ... call these my new year resolutions but being gospvg it is all about gaming of course :)

So this year I will ...

Complete a Playstation 3 game
Quite easy just need to get round to playing Uncharted

Not purchase any game above £15 except (Borderlands 2 & presents for the boys)
With my current backlog of games again this should be quite easy to achieve. I cheated a bit by purchasing quite a few titles towards the end of 2011 :)

Complete a Wii game
I've own the console for quite a few years & have not completed a single game, looking at possibly Super Mario Galaxy or possibly even a Zelda game?

Clear out my ATTIC !!
I have no choice, this has to be done to make way for the attic conversion

Only 4? Yep that's it I could not think of any more & wanted to set myself goals I could achieve. Of course if this is the year of the Armageddon then I will not be around to post in December on how I done :)

2011 - The year that was

Back in January 2011 I posted my 2011 The year that I will so time to recap on how I done last year.


This year I will not buy games to sit on a shelf #2011 #ugvm
Ok I think we all know this was a big #fail

This year I will play the games that I have forgotten inc Fable, Mass Effect, Bioshock & Dragon's Age #2011 #ugvm
Apart from Fable 2 I have not played any of the other games mentioned above #fail

This year I will play at least 2 UGVM PMGs a week #2011 #ugvm
This sort of worked through-out the year but mainly it was just the usual Monday PMG game Borderlands followed by Lost Planet 2 #Win

This year we will have our first UGVM meet in February at Cambridge #2011 #ugvm
In fact we done better we had two meets Cambridge & Nottingham #Win

This year I will go back to pc gaming thanks to Guild Wars 2 & Back to the Future game. #2011 #ugvm
I did purchase new PC during the year but alas I have not played a single PC game #fail

This year I will win a game of Chess with Friends ..... hopefully :) #2011 #ugvm
The few games I did play I was dreadful at #fail

And last of all this year I will clear out my attic & reduce my video game collection :( #2011 #ugvm
I got rid of a few consoles during the year but not near enough #fail

On now to 2012...

Gaming OCD

Gaming OCD - Obsessive compulsive disorder that manifests during gaming. A person may not have OCD in real life, but will display OCD behavior in a game with exhausting inventory organization, breaking every possible breakable object in the room or always reaching the level cap.

The "Large Mutant" collector card incident recently in Rage has bought my gaming OCD to my attention.
Why must I spend hours doing every little sidequest, collecting every card & getting achievements?

Why does it take me much longer to complete a game and yet Abbas will run through it and complete it in a fifth of the time?

The incident in Rage has taken me to a crossroad. Do I restart the game having already put in 18 hours? or Do I continue playing the game ignoring my OCD tendencies to complete it and move on?

Time is a very precious commodity and like previously in my gaming years once I realise a game has made me waste that time I will forever hate that game. Previous examples of this I can recall are Half Life 2 after playing for 20 odd hours I got to a section where I had to activate a door & the game stopped dead, I could not go any further, my response was to delete the game.

Dungeon Siege 2 on the PC having played for 40+ hours I was nearing the end of the game when I was hit by a game saving bug that wiped out all of my 6 save files, on that occasion I snapped the disc in half.

Rage oh Rage !! what shall I do with thee? Your poor gaming design choices have stopped my gaming OCD by not allowing me to collect a card I need to complete the achievements for "Collect Them All" & "Obsessive Compulsive"

I spent time playing your mini-games, competing in your races ensuring I would finish first, purchasing schematics & completing sidequest upon sidequest !!

And you then go WALLOP !! me around the face by not allowing me to collect a card !!

But is that your fault or my gaming OCD?
Leaving the minigames, sidequests & races to one side and coming back to the main game. Have you stopped me playing that? Have you caused me to get stuck in a lift I cannot advance from? Have you deleted all my gamesaves? No but what you have done is bought my gaming OCD to my attention, be it the fault of "Achievements" or me the "Gamer"

I will learn from this & I will change.

To start with I am not going to leave you unfinished, I will finish you BUT & it's a big BUT my love and enjoyment for you has gone & it is has been replaced by Anger & RAGE !!

Retro Consoles - Rose Tinted Specs

The walk down memory lane, how often do you make that journey? In this generation of Nintendo's, Xboxes, Playstations & iOS devices do they give you any spare time for you to visit the old consoles?

If you answer the question truthfully then it will always be no but yet I cannot bring myself to depart with these glorious pieces of electronics because they are a part of me, they are implanted into my dna, the history, memories, painful & joyful moments they have given me over the years.

It is only fair that I keep them to maybe on that one fleeting moment I decide to walk down memory lane again ......

Here come the GAMES !! - Recap

So a quick recap on my "Here come the games" post

Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)
Chances of buying? 0/10
Sorry I'm not tempted to play anything on the Wii, far too many games on the 360/PS3 to enjoy.

Deus Ex - Human Revolution (360)
Chance of buying? 10/10
Um I've purchased this already, Gamestop had an offer on yesterday for a few hours and were selling this for £20.97 !!
Now my only dilema is do I stop playing Torchlight/Splinter Cell Conviction & play Deus Ex to ensure I finish it before Batman AC is released or do I put it on the shelf & leave it till after Batman AC?

Dead Island (360)
Chance of buying? 7/10
Depends on the reviews the 4-player campain appeals to me with a cross of Left 4 Dead & Borderlands style of gameply this could be interesting.

Gears of War 3 (360)
Chance of buying? 10/10
It is easily one of the best local co-op games & good fun online but I will not be buying on release unless any offers below £24.99

Rage (360)
Chance of buying? 8/10
This looks like a nice Fallout style game but again I am going to wait on the reviews.

Batman Arkham City (360)
Chance of buying? 11/10
Obviously this is the big title for me, however I do not have a pre-order & will wait until release day before buying just in case there are any offers.

Battlefield 3 (360)
Chance of buying? 3/10
Yes it looks amazing but I am bored of these online shooters.

Uncharted 3 (PS3)
Chance of buying? 5/10
I've yet to play the first two games so no need to rush out and buy the third.

Modern Warfare 3 (360)
Chance of buying? 8/10
Highly likely because the boys want it & it will almost guarantee be on offer on release day.

Skyrim (360)
Chance of buying 1/10
Does not interest me at all, I'm more interested in the game engine because I expect it to be used for the next Fallout game.

AC Revelations (360)
Chance of buying 9/10
Highly likely depends on how I get on with Batman AC & if I have finished it.

Halo Anniversary (360)
Chance of buying 2/10
No interest to buy it on release when it drops in price then yes I will.

Sonic Generations (360)
Chance of buying 7/10
My youngest son wants this game so depends on release price.

Now to go and finish off Torchlight & Splinter Cell Conviction on local co-op.

Here come the GAMES !!

We are approaching the last quarter of the year & looking at the release schedule there are so many games I want to get.

19^th August

Xenoblade Chronicles

Could this be the game to tempt me back onto the wii?

26^th August

Deus Ex – Human Revolution

I’ve not played any of the previous games but this looks very impressive.

9^th September

Dead Island

The Zombies are back !!

20^th September

Gears of War 3

The best co-op shooter continues it’s storyline

7^th October

Rage

Looks like an awesome post-apocalyptic Fallout

21^st October

Batman Arkham City

The BIG ONE, oh Yes, can’t wait.

28^th October

Battlefield 3
The start of the FPS war vs COD

2nd November

Uncharted 3

Drake is back but I have yet to play his first 2 outings

8^th November

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
Another yearly release .. Yawn, Yes I will probably buy it.

11^th November

Elder Scrolls Skyrim
You know this is going to be so buggy

15^th November

Assassin’s Creed Revelations
I don't approve of these yearly AC games but I did enjoy Brotherhood

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
Time to revisit a classic

25^th November

Sonic Generations

Take your pick 2D or 3D Sonic

Worth mentioning - Bodycount, Crimson Alliance, Driver – San Francisco, Disney Universe, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection,

So from the list above Batman Arkham City I will buy on release. AC Revelations & COD MW3 are possible on release depending on if any of the local supermarkets do a release day deal. Gears of War 3, Rage, Sonic Generations & Deus Ex will all have to wait until I have caught up with my backlog which currently includes Bioshock 1 + 2, Dragon Age, Mass Effect 1 + 2, Uncharted 1 + 2, Fable 3, Halo Wars, Front Mission Evolved & others I forget.

So what are you going to buy? 

Hardware Update - iPad

The big brother to the iPod Touch, having the bigger screen does help especially on apps where I do a lot of reading like Twitter, TapaTalk & Newstap. Also very useful for playing iPad designed games like Carcassonne & Words with Friends HD.


The battery life is very impressive easily approaching 9 or 10 hours. I'm going to be more selective though on what apps I buy for the iPad, splashing out 69p on every app that goes on sale is not the way for me now. If I like it then i'll get it regardless of the price, of course if it's free then i'll get it. I've got 64GB to fill up on this baby.


I'm keeping it away from the kids for now & they can only use under my supervision but they all enjoy playing their favourite games on the bigger screen & yes Angry Birds was one of the first games they tried.

I'm not a core gamer anymore :(

Apparently a core gamer plays an average 18 hours per week & purchased 5.4 games over three months.
The digital gamer plays 16 hours per week but buys 5.9 games over a three month period.


My average on the consoles over the last few months is probably only 2 to 3 hours a week & purchases in the last few months only 3 & one of those for my son.

Mainly playing Borderlands DLC with the "UGVM Claptrap Crew" & I did complete Costume Quest. Also April to June & the next three months to Sept are probably the worst 6 months for me to game. The daylight months usually have me involved in RL activities & gaming takes a back seat. I started Splinter Cell in May & even though it is a short game I'm still playing it. Unlike Abbas who likes to run through his games I take my time & play all the side-quests but worse my OCD kicks in to ensure I collect all the collectables.


On the iPod touch I average a lot more probably 6 to 8 hours a week & 7 purchases over the last few months. Mainly these have been the "My go, Your go" games like Carcassonne, Words with Friends, Disc Drivin & Hanging with Friends. Occasionally a game will come a long like Sword & Poker or currently 1000 Heroz which I enjoy playing playing on the iPod & shows off the device's potential. To me it's the perfect portable gaming machine.

Anyhow I'm not a core gamer or a digital gamer, I'm just an old git who does not have enough time to play video games. So I'm now GOAHNTTPVG (getting old and have no time to play video games)

I wonder if that domain is available ...

Happy Birthday Sonic

 

Everyone must have played a Sonic game surely? If an old gamer like me it would have been the original megadrive release of Sonic the Hedgehog or if you are a younger gamer then maybe one of the mobile releases.

Happy 20th Birthday Sonic.

I tried the Sonic Generations demo which only lets you play the classic mode on Green Hill Zone. Sonic seems small compared to the backdrops & it felt at times jerky. I'll probably end up buying the game because my youngest son loves Sonic.

30 years of gaming

Today I celebrate 30 years of gaming. 1981 my father gave me a Mini Munchman which started my love for video games & computers.

30 years !!

Woah !! so many changes in the gaming industry from text based adventure games & tape loading software to the current HD generation. My portable mini munchman to the ipod touch, so much power in my pocket.

I hope I am around to enjoy the next 30 years

Metal Gear Solid HD - WTF?! I have the POWER !!

Only yesterday morning I was saying on my A to Z - M that a MGS Collection would make me go and play MGS2 & 3. Today Konami announce a MGS 2, 3 & Peace Walker are coming in a collection for the PS3 & 360. Shame they could not do a proper collection & include MGS 1?

I obviously have the power to influence the gaming industry so here goes my wish list Mech Commander 3, Front Mission 6 (Strategy Turn Based RPG), Final Fantasy 7 remake & just for Zo Shenmue 3