Random, Rants and Reviews #2 April 16, 2008
Posted by mitchfrizzell in Awesome, PSP, Random Info, Video Games.add a comment
I’ve come up empty…: That’s right, no real random info for you this time. Sorry.
Auto-Play: Or what ever you want to call it, it’s the default action Windows takes when a certain media type in inserted into your PC. It’s a great concept, but it really frustrates me. I frequently use two types of removable media: DVDs and my Flash Drive. I want my DVD (all video DVDs) to automatically open in PowerDVD (the only DVD playing program I have). But instead, a dialog box opens up which says Open with PowerDVD, Open in Windows Explorer or Take no Action. Hmmm… That’s a hard one. I tried editing the default action in the drive’s properties dialog, and it seems to work for a while, but after I turn the PC off, I get the dialog again, but this time with a checkbox (that’s checked) saying “Make this the Default action”. Now for my Flash drive. I want it to open in a folder when I stick it in. So, I edit the default action in the drive’s properties, but I have to select one for Music Files, Movie Files, Pictures and mixed Content. Since I don’t have any music or videos, I shouldn’t have to do it, but I still do. Anyways, I select Open in Window Explorer for all options, Apply, remove the flash drive, and pop it back in. It opens up a windows explorer window! Woo-hoo! Do it again, however, and I get the stupid, stupid dialog box. Maybe Linux (Ubuntu) is right in making an icon on the desktop whenever you put a flash drive in. I really despise this system.
Aedis Eclipse: Generation of Chaos (PSP): I just hit 100% completion of Gundam Battle Chronicle, so I’ve moved on to Aedis Eclipse. AE is a unique strategy game with a mix of a few genres. First off, there’s the field map. This one plays like a board game (similar to most strategy games, but along straight paths). On the map there are element blocks, city blocks, etc. Also present are a Player base and an Enemy base. If either is captured, the other side automatically wins. On the field map, should you land on the same square as an enemy soldier, you will enter combat with him. Combat is done in real-time, and the only thing you directly control is the basic strategy/movement of your soldiers, and the use of skills and items. Movement might sound like a big thing, but it’s a lot more limited than in most RTSs. The game is great, but there’s too much great implementations to write about here, I’ll be doing a more in-depth post later.
Gundam Battle Chronicle (PSP) Review April 14, 2008
Posted by mitchfrizzell in Reviews, Video Games.add a comment
Gundam Battle Chronicle is the third in the Gundam “Battle” series of games for the PSP system (the other two being Tactics and Royale). Chronicles is a throw back to the older PS2 games like Federation vs. Zeon, and to a certain extent the extra mode in Journey to Jaburo. It’s a fast paced action game with a BOAT-LOAD of characters and many, many unlockables. Read on to find out more of this awesome game.
Graphically, the game is one of the best I’ve seen on the PSP. The character models are excellent, and the larger enemies simply look great. One of the best things about the game is the environments. Although there are only a few places to battle in, they all look great. There are a few city levels, some mountainous levels, space levels (including the space around Solomon), and even some ground-based space battles. The HUD is also very nice. It really looks like what you would imagine a mobile suit having. Most of the in-battle dialog is dubbed (although completely in Japanese), and it sounds great. The music is okay, but most of the time, you’re going to go “there’s music?”.
The game lasts a long time, actually. I can’t give an exact number, but I know I’ve spent at least 35 hours on this game. Probably more, and I’ll most likely spend a lot more time with it. The amount of unlockables in this game is ridiculous. There must be some where around 150 playable characters, maybe 20 pilots, somewhere in the vicinity of 30 unlockable BGMs and an outrageous 150+ loading screen pics. There is so much to do here, it’s almost unbelievable. You’ll be back for more each time you put it away.
Gundam Battle Chronicle is definitely the best Gundam game I have ever played, and its also one of the best PSP games currently on the market. The language barrier isn’t really something to worry about, there’s not a lot of reading to be done anyway. Get this game if you’re a Gundam fan, you’ll thank me later.
Javascript: A Primer for C++ April 10, 2008
Posted by mitchfrizzell in C++, Web Programming.add a comment
Javascript really is the place to start if you’re looking to get into programming. You get a little taste of what you’ll get with C++, but in a lot easier package. In JS, you can choose how far you want to go. Want to get some HTML DOM in? Or would you like to skip over AJAX? Javascript can be as basic or as complicated as you wish. But there’s the problem. You won’t make a big splash in the PC world if you only know basic JS. Everyone knows basic JS. It’s when you start mixing it with other languages and functions that you really break out of the beginner’s mold. Using JS and HTML together (which is still rather basic), JS and XML (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), JS with XUL, and many more – is where it really counts.
Javascript and C++ syntax are basically the same. Functions, classes, variables, calling variables or functions from an object: it’s all basically the same. The only big difference is JS being a little lax in ;s at the end of statements. In terms of basic functionality, you’ll also grab it in JS. Loops, conditions, switches, arrays, variables: it’s all there in JS, and just as important in C++.
But, that’s as far as JS will really take you. It’s here where JS moves onto other technologies to fulfill its purpose, but C++ moves on to its own, more complicated set of functionality. First off we’ve got pointers. Pointers can really throw you for a loop when you read about them the first time. Especially trying to read the reference operators and dereference operators. It can get pretty hard. But once you get the hang of it, you’re ready to move onto structures, unions and classes. I’m not sure what’s beyond that, as that’s as far as I’ve gotten 
All in all, JS has served as a great primer for the somwhat harder C++. If you’re looking for a test run in the programming world, you should check out Javascript.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC) Review April 8, 2008
Posted by mitchfrizzell in PC, Reviews, Star Wars.2 comments
Well, I’m back with another review, this time for the PC game, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. As the name suggests, the game takes place long before the original trilogy (or most other media we know for that matter). It’s an epic game, taking you across the galaxy, forcing you to make the decision to be good or evil (or should I say many decisions?), and it features one of the biggest plot twists I’ve ever seen in a game to date. Read on to find out how the game itself was.
Graphically the game is nice. It’ll never really wow you, but it does look pretty great. The cinemas are short and far in between, and generally nothing to write home about. However, character design is really nice, and although you do tend to see some faces many times, there are a lot of models, and it all looks pretty nice. The soundtrack is typical Star Wars style, but there’s not really anything that will stick in your mind. The voice acting, however, is really great, and everything is dubbed (even random NPCs are dubbed). That’s not to say that they all have unique voices, but there are a number of languages present in the game (Twi’lek, Huttese, Ithorian, etc), and each sounds great.
The gameplay is rather hard to describe. The action is seen from a third-person view, and you may switch between your main character and two other characters at any time. However, unlike almost every Star Wars game before it, the game is an RPG. Everything is done in real time, even combat, but you’re allowed to pause the game at any time to review your skills, items, combat choices, etc. It’s a really unique system, that you really have to play to understand. Speaking of combat, it’s real time and turn-based at the same time. It’s also somewhat based on a D20 system, so expect some classic random damage. During battle, you can use your two partners and, like out of combat, take control of them at any time. Another huge part of the gameplay, as mentioned above, is the choice between evil and good. Being good is harder in some aspects, and most of the time you walk away with only the satisfaction of having done the right thing. Being evil, is a little easier in the short term, and definitely opens up the path to bigger rewards. The choices you make also affect your items, force powers and the story. After a certain point in the game, you are allowed to travel the galaxy in any order you want, and there are a few mini-games (pazak and Ebon Hawk turret game), but neither are really exceptional in my opinion. There is no multiplayer option for KOTOR.
The game took me right at 25 hours to beat, and it was really worth it. I never really felt bored, and with an evil playthrough about half way done right now, we’re looking at around 45-50 hours overall gameplay time. Seeing as you can get the game for around $20 or less for now, it’s really worth the buy, whether you’re a SW fan or not. I really enjoyed the game as it gave us a few look and feel on the overdone action genre present in almost every Star Wars game ever.
Review of Afterworld 1-20 April 6, 2008
Posted by mitchfrizzell in Awesome, Random Info, Reviews.add a comment
After watching the first twenty episodes of the online show Afterworld, I’ve decided to share my opinion on the series so far. For those of you who haven’t heard of Afterwrod, it’s an online show, like I said earlier, and all 130 episodes can be found on YouTube (I think they’re all out by now). If you can’t get them where you are, just head over to video.aol.com or megavideo.com and you can catch them there. AW starts after the “fall” in which 99.99% of Earth’s population die, their bodies are “taken” and all technology in the world is also gone. The story revolves around Russel Shoemaker and his mission to discover the cause of the fall, and find his family in the process (at least that’s the story’s point so far). So, what might have caused the fall? Here are my opinions on the two most accepted in-show theories. Note that there will be some spoilers for the first twenty episodes, so read carefully.
The EMP Theory: So, the first theory that’s brought up is the EMP theory. An EMP would explain the lack of technology, but it doesn’t explain the death of most of the people on the Earth. Also, wouldn’t there have to be a HUGE bomb, or a huge number of bombs to knock out all of the technology in the world? Then again, we all (yes, we all) saw something similar to this in Jhon Carpenter’s Escape from LA, so if it can happen there, why not in AW? In my opinion, though, the terrorism story is a little unbelieveable. How did they launch a HUGE EMP attack and a likewise huge chemical? attack that took out 99.99% of the population out and their bodies? Also, wouldn’t that mean that of the .01% of people, most of them would be from the terrorist group, or is .01% a lot more than I’m thinking?
The God Theory: The second theory is a little scarier: God basically got fed up with the people on Earth and killed most of them off and took out the technology too (because people were putting their faith in it and not in Him). But there’s a problem. If we’re talking about the Rapture, then why were so many taken? I’m not sure, but the amount of people in the world who have putten their trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior is not that high. But, on the other hand, if God were repeating the events of the days of Noah, would his promise be void? Or would we be running on a technicality, due to it not being a flood? I guess this theory makes a little more sense that number one, as it explains the loss of technology and people, but it doesn’t seem to fit in with God’s personality or the events laid out in His Word. Then again, it’s a show, so it can make up its own rules.
That’s it for now, tune in a little later next week for episodes 21-40.
My “Third” Life April 4, 2008
Posted by mitchfrizzell in Awesome, Random Info.add a comment
I was recently sucked into the awesome world of “Torn City”, a text-based MMO. Now, I know you’re most likely thinking “A text-based MMO?”. It does sound crazy, but it works, and it’s extremely addictive. The best part? It takes only a few minutes of your time each day. I’m normally on five minutes a day, max.
The game is based on crime. Now, you can play as a “good” person, but as we all know, that’s not what it’s all about. That’s akin to playing a pirate game and being a trader or a fisherman. Being evil is so much more profitable! But, besides crimes, there are also jobs (that give you daily income and “stats”; more on jobs later), education courses (that increase your working stats), a gym (that increases your battle stats), and a huge city to explore (with shops, a casino, a dock to buy “imported” cars, etc.). Now on to the specifics.
Stats are divided into two categories, as explained above: battle stats and job stats. Both are pretty self explanatory. Battle is a subject I don’t know a lot about, as I’ve never done it. I do know that you can attack other players, but I don’t know what the rules for initiating a fight are. Should you lose a fight, you will be sent to the Hospital to recover (likewise, if you are caught doing a crime, you must wait out in the jail, in real time; the amount depends on the crime). Jobs however, are easier, and require no action every day. After your stats are high enough, and you have enough “job points” , you will be able to get a promotion which pays more money and gives more stats increase each day. You can also use the points to get certain bonuses off-job, but they’re normally rather expensive.
Now, you might just be thinking “That sounds pretty cool, but where does the MMO come in?”. Well, it actually seeps in most of the aspects of the game. There is a market where players can freely sell items (for the prices they set); there are jobs that users can begin, and other users can join; there are factions (think gangs) which can war with each other, and many, many more things to do. Like I said, though, you can easily spend only a few minutes a day on this game and it’s still one of the most engaging things to do on the ‘net. However, should you deign to do so, there’s enough stuff to do to spend an hour or more each day, depending on your social-ability.
If you’ve not played the game yet, get on it at “http://www.torncity.com”, and send me a line, we can get togther in game.
