Mild Dogs? No! Scary Cats!
Not much else to say really. But, oh, theres a new link in my blogroll – to my dads art gallery.
Joe.
Quick Notes…
Ok, just some quick updates because I’m fairly busy at the moment. Some stuffs come up that I’ll talk about at a later point.
First update is that theres a hands-on of Penumbra: Overture over at Pro-G which gives a good idea of what the game will be like. I’ve interviewed the folks at Frictional Games before and they’re all pretty solid guys, plus the original Penumbra game is available for free at various places on the internets. Its got great graphics and is sweet for those who fancy a nice little scare before bedtime. One of the things in the preview that I don’t agree with is that they reckon the graphics are dated, which I can’t really believe judging by the depth of field effects. Still, Tom Orry is a solid editor and he has played the preview once more than I have at least.
Second update is that I’ve joined Facebook at last, so add me as a friend and make me look popular to all the other sad people whose lives are stuck in the days of secondary school.
Also, I bought a suit! A proper one. It makes me look like I belong in a bank, but nevermind. Hannah says its amazing how awkward I can look in ‘proper clothes’, which means you can look forward to photos possibly at a later date.
Oh and check out this link for some proper stupid blonde moments. They know nothing of inner beauty knowledge brings…or something.
Thats all for now.
Joe, out.
Mr Freeman gets it on…
http://hl2orgy.ytmnsfw.com/?c239dd71b5f0f276d1c1d4655f8d672f
That has to be the funniestbloody thing I’ve heard in a long, long time. It’s compiled completely from soundbytes from Half-Life 2 and its priceless beyond compare.
Thank god there weren’t any crowbar references.
Oh, but if its a bit too geeky for you, then maybe you should try looking here: http://forums.facepunchstudios.com/showthread.php?t=271040
Joe, out.
Enterestant…
A few little tid bits to tell people about. Firstly, theres an interesting article located here. It basically talks about stereotypes of hero archetypes and their journeys in computer games, using games like The Secret Of Monkey Island as an example of mythical structures. Its not too complex and is quite interesting for people like me who see games as a progressing art form (Link here if you disagree with that) and also for creative writing and linguistics buffs (again, like me) who find this type of thing compelling.
Also, getting a bit less intellectual, Survival Crisis Zero is now available for free over at Ska Software. It’s a neat little zombie arcade game with several nice little modes. It clocks up at under 10MB too, so download it and kick some pseudo-3d zombie arse!
Cheers, Joe.
The Secret of Monkey Island is NOW FREE…
Attention those of you coming from Eurogamer forums: This blog post isn’t entirely correct. The series isn’t free. I wrote it ages ago (literally, years ago as of writing) and when slightly drunk. You CAN pick the game up on Abandonware sites, but the copyright hasn’t been relinquished. On the plus side, you can pick up the Monkey Island re-release for less than £7 on Steam. So, go do that instead – and be aware that the rest of this post below the picture has been left unedited. For posterity, or somesuch.
Obviously, as the world has circled the sun once more it has presented us all with new things. New challenges, obstacles, keyboards and other periphials. One other thing it has bought with it is a brand new selection of Abandonware titles, which is to say perfectly good games that have expired past their copyright and thus entered the public domain. These games may be a dated compared to all the fancy gee-whiz factors of games like Prey, but they hold thrice the quality. Therefore, i am pleased to announce that, yes at last, The Secret Of Monkey Island and The Secret of Monkey Island II: Lechucks Revenge have entered the Abandonware phase of their shelf life. You should now be able to find them on geeky games sites everywhere.
Why not start here: http://www.cdosabandonware.com/std_games_details.php?gameid=1189
Yeah, I know I linked right to number two. Sue me, its the best in the series and they’re both up on that site. Now you have no excuse not to relive the best adventure games ever.
Joe.
Protection…
This was the result of an entire day spent trying to deal with Kernal based memory leaks and problems with graphical drivers and the HDR present in Gmod 10 and HL: Ep 1. This single screenshot is all I had the energy to create after fixing it all (well, actually the memory leak is still kinda there, help anyone?).
On the plus side, I also finished Soma Mode on Dawn of Sorrow for the DS.
Big Move – Cancelled
Yeah, so the big move got cancelled because it was obvious we weren’t going to get any jobs and the only flat we liked was on the very upper limit of our budget. Hence, Hannah and me are back at home and oh so miserable at the prospect of more family time. Well, I am at least. A little.
Jesus, I need to get out of this house sometime soon. Currently scouring the internet for jobs on an hourly basis while listening to some Tom Waits. Oh yeah – the one man whos misery and melodrama rivals my own. Feel it, dawg.
Anywho, if anyone knows of some art related or journalism jobs going anywhere then be sure to drop me a line. In the mean time, random amusing photo that’ll exist to celebrate my renewed interest in Fallout 3. If you don’t know what that is then I suggest you get down to HMV and pick up the fallout classics selection for £3.99. It’s money well spent even if you hate computer games because the writing and humour (not to mention bitching soundtrack) is enough to promise years of gameplay.
On the topic of soundtracks, how pissed off am I that nobody told me about the Video Game Soundtrack Concert until it was too late. I would have got together with the guy who went as Grim Fandangos Manny Calavera and gone as Guybrush Threepwood. Talk about l33t plans.
Oh, and what the hell, amusing cat photo as well. I know the ladies love that shit (at least, my lady does).
Did this post even have a topic?
Joe, out.
Impending Effort…
The big move approaches. Currently Hannah and me are set to move down to Lancaster and stay with our very good friend Maddy for a few days as we view some flats. Theres little else to say beyond that which would possibly be of interest to anyone reading this.
Psychonauts on the other hand has proven to be an interesting game. The level design is as excellent as the humour and the use of directional gravity has already left me nauseated more than once. What time I have that isn’t spent either planning the move with Hannah or downloading mods for Garrys Mod 10 (none of which I ever use) is currently spent absorbed in this beauty of a platformer whose randomness knows no bounds. Waving bacon in front of your own nose to summon the head of a mentally unstable psychic commander from your own ear in order to get advice from him is perhaps the best example of this games bottomless imaginations.
I can’t think of anything else to say now.
Joe.
To those that wait…
Psychonauts! From the cartoon loving comedic genius’ who bought us The Secret Of Monkey Island, Day of The Tentacle and Grim Fandango. Sure, its been a while, but now its mine – all mine, like a bucket of mud. Plus, it was mislabelledin Game and wasn’t actually £14 quid like it said. It was £3.98, which seemed an odd price to me. I’m pretty sure that the guy at the counter must have messed up. Since he didn’t even know what Steam was when I asked him a question – he in fact admitted he didn’t own a PC and him and his co-workers just looked at me when I tried to explain Steam to them. One of them actually said “Half-Life 2?”.
I’m betting half the people reading this won’t understand why I consider that sacrilege.
Out, joe.
Ask an expert…
Yep, those cheeky folks at Pro-G have finished their ‘Best Games of the Year’ feature, of which I was a contributor. If you want to check out my (small) contribution then head straight to the Staff Picks section. I’m not ashamed to admit that I was the only person to make mention of Sin Episodes: Emergence because I think its a great game that actually offers a few innovations over Half-Life: Episode One. For one, when replaying the game it becomes possible to see some small changes in enemy placements and dialogues which, while tiny, are enough to add real replayability to a game with such a short lifespan. Everything about the game feels streamlined too, especially the weapons and ragdolls and while HL: EP 1 offers the best story arc by far, theres something about popping into a room of baddies and blowing heads open that I like – especially when the force of the bullet flips their body round in the air. The dynamic difficulty is a beautiful thing too.
From what I’ve heard and seen the only game that might challenge its status in my mind is Psychonauts – the cartoony platformer where telepathic kids invade the minds of secret agents, created by the m inds behind The Secret Of Monkey Island - but I have to admit that I haven’t played the full game yet. I will, soon.
All my other favourite new games are actually re-discovered classics: Vampire: Bloodlines, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay. And a few other games with colons in the titles – though as I always say, “its better to have a colon in your name than shit in your mouth!”
Ahem. What was this post about anyway?
Out.
