So as long as you have one round in the magazine when you fire, you will have another round loaded after for you (provided there isn’t a jam). If you fire your last round off, most semi-automatic weapons will eject the round and prepare the gun for easy reloading by keeping the chamber open. If you’re firing a pistol, the slide will stay back, and if you’re firing a rifle, the charging handle will stay in the back position. Pushing the slide forward is what will load the next round into your chamber. If you have a completely empty gun and you haven’t fired any rounds, you’ll have to pull the slide back on a pistol, or pull the charging handle back with a rifle.

The point of this rant is this: I’m sick of seeing games where when you reload a weapon with a round in the chamber, you work the action to get another round in the chamber. This would cause the unfired round to be ejected and a new round to be chambered. I’m playing Fallout 3 and every reload animation is the same, regardless of the ’status’ of the chamber. I’ll fire 15 shots out of my Chinese Assault Rifle, reload (with a chamber in the round, ready to fire) and watch as my character chambers a round even though there is already a round in it. Irritating to me.

In fact, the only game I’ve ever seen address this is Rainbow Six: Vegas. It’s actually a tactical issue: If your magazine holds 12 shots, and you fire six of them, then reload a fresh magazine with 12 shots, you’ll actually have 13 shots, counting the one already in the chamber. For a discussion on this, please see Hollywood Homocide, Leathal Weapon, and my ass.

A background of the game: It’s a fantasy RPG set in Raymond E. Feist’s fictional world of Midkemia. It features several minor and major characters from the Riftwar Saga, and fans of the work will love the game. The story was not written by Feist, but was officially licensed by him at the time of release and is considered canon, as a novelization of the game was later written. The game is meant to be played like an interactive story; it is divided into nine (9) chapters, with each chapter featuring a written introduction , complete with a fancy book-like script and short scenes with digital bitmaps of actors and very slight animation . Descriptions of everything are written like a book and the player can find these descriptions absolutely everywhere. The game features a three-player party system for the majority of the game, with the classic fighter/rogue/caster combination. It also features several different views: The main one being in the first person, allowing the player to walk forward and backward and turn left and right using the arrow keys of a keyboard or using a mouse to click on movement keys displayed on the interface. Characters and trees are rendered as sprites, with buildings and terrain being rendered in 3D. During combat, the view switches to third person, again with 2D sprites representing characters. If all of this sounds unimpressive now, well, it is, what with our bump mapping, volumetric shadows, realistic water and real time lighting, but at the time, this was cutting edge.. Entering towns brings up a familiar adventure game interface, where moving the mouse or the arrow keys allows the player to examine different parts of the town. For example, when the cursor hovers over a shop, the pointer changes to the word shop, which allows the player to enter the shop interface. Likewise for a tavern or a secret location.

So what’s so great about this game? Well, everything. It has all the makings of a good RPG, and indeed a good game: An engaging story, believable and interesting characters, excellent combat, good progression, and phat lewtz. It even has a beautiful and moving soundtrack, that still sounds amazing, even in MIDI. The grid-based combat is turn based, and requires strategy as well as tactics. For example: spellcasters cannot cast spells if a character is within 1 square of them, and the computer isn’t stupid: it knows to close the gap quickly and engage a spellcaster in melee combat, where their weaker armor and lower defense makes them all but mincemeat pie to a sword wielder. But this is where the tactics and strategy come in: Each turn, each player only has a certain amount of movement points, and moving around two fighters blocking a caster takes precious points and allows the caster time to escape to set up his spells on the next combat round. Setting up for combat is just as important as combat itself: If you’re vigilant and have high enough skills, you can get the jump on would-be ambushers, allowing you one or two precious extra turns before they attack, and this can mean the difference between looting their bodies, and uttering a curse to Lims-Kragma, the goddess of death as the last breath escapes your body.

It’s not just the combat, or the story, but as with most masterpieces, the little things which make this game a classic. And Betrayal at Krondor is chock full of these little things. From the sound of birds chirping in the wilderness, to Moredhel puzzle chests which provide a nice break in the story by giving the player a chance to solve clever riddles, to the random characters you meet on the road, this game has it all, and will make you want to keep going. And make no mistake: just because the game is fifteen years old does not mean it is simple or easy. Be sure to use the game’s quicksave feature, cutely called a bookmark, often. As with most PC adventure games, the rule of thumb stands: save often; save well.

I had never read any of the Riftwar Saga before I played this game so many years ago, but that did not detract any from the enjoyment I got out of it. In fact, the game inspired me to read all four books in the Saga, and I’m glad I did, even if it was ten years after the fact. And while it won’t take away from the game if you haven’t read the books, being familiar with them will only increase your enjoyment of the game.

As a side note: I’m loath to give too much information away about the game, for fear of spoiling some of the secrets that await people who haven’t played it. And secrets will be there. It took me hours before I finally figured out a basic strategy of how to play the game and how I wanted to proceed.

So if you’re bored, or looking for a cheap source of entertainment, give it a shot. You won’t regret it, I guarantee it. If you do, be sure to direct all complaints to Daniel.

Nintendo announces full motion 1 to 1 control…wait wasn’t that what the Wii did already? Don’t fret though Nintendo fans Nintendo did not intend to disappoint this year at E3. They have announced another revolutionary product, WiiSpeak, the ability to communicate while playing online.

Microsoft made some announcements, the most exciting are the Final Fantasy releases and the partnership with Netflix. Somehow the conversation digress to a debate about how awesome Voltron is, and somehow Bucky manages to insult the Japanese yet again.

Finally we close out the episode with a quick news rundown, including a rant by Bucky about the Fallout censorship in Australia.

links:

• Deckard Cain Rap : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMAbNFptzAA
• Meet the Sniper : http://storefront.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=app&AppId=5051
• Gamasutra E3 Wrapup : http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=19486
• Ctrl+Alt+Del SPORN Comic : http://cad-comic.com/comic.php?d=20080627
• Duke Nukem Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36746.html

score:
+1 Topical Humor
+1 New Pundit
+2 Friends of Bucky
+1 First!
+3 Poos

links:

• Corey Hart - Sun Glasses at Night : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9p0Ac5bLlI&feature=related
• Street Fight: The Legend of Chun Li : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0891592/
• Devil May Cry Movie : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0932986/
• Duke Nukem Forever Sneak Peak: http://crackle.com/c/Jace_Hall/Jace_Hall_Ep_1_DUKE_NUKEM_FOREVER_-_SNEAK_PEEK/2298717/#ml=o%3D12%26fpl%3D297045%26fx%3D
• Age of Conan Bust Nerf : http://www.gamingnewslink.com/2008/06/03/age-of-conan-bust-nerf/
• Cambrian explosion : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrian_explosion
• Limbo of the Lost Screen Comparison : http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=310683
• Famicon Disk System : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famicom_Disk_System
• Great Image of SF Ryu : http://www.gamasutra.com/db_area/images/news2001/18784/Image1.jpg
• Valve Perspective on Game Development : http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18843
• NY Times Article about Miyamoto : http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/arts/television/25schi.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1212769006-fhd535269tyJsyb48rFLZQ

links:

• Team Fortress 2 Free Weekend : http://www.steamgames.com/goldrush
• Meet the Scout : http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=game&AppId=5032&cc=US
• Fewer Mechanics, Better Game : http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3621/fewer_mechanics_better_game.php?page=1
• Mummy’s Tomb (Choose Your Own Adventure, No. 24) : http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMummys-Tomb-Choose-Your-Adventure%2Fdp%2F0553152947%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1209695741%26sr%ZD8-1&tag=danroo-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325
• Game Theory: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory
• Tim Tom : http://suckit/

It wouldn’t be an episode of 2nd Player if Bucky didn’t flame some nationality, so take that Aussies! Oh and Daniel declares he is a white supremacist, and is offended by the mockery of the obesity problem facing lumas.

There is a STRONG BAD VIDEO GAME, and Bucky schools Daniel on Adventure games, and YES MYST SUCKS!

links

• SimIsle : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SimIsle
• GTA IV Magazine Scans : http://www.gtagaming.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1772627#post1772627
• Unreal 3 Engine Tech Demo from GDC (2 words: meat cube): http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q0gNJfAkPSw&feature=related
• Jack Thompson Strikes Again : http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17738
• Gamers In Real Life Competition (G.I.R.L) : http://www.station.sony.com/girl/
• Silicon Knights On Development : http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17789
• Corey Bridges on Online Distribution : http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17782
• Virtual Property Rights Panel @ SXSW : http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17783
• Angel Devoid : http://www.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/angeldevoid/
• Last Dynasty : http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/last-dynasty

There is also a new layout. I was continually frustrated with how poorly the old layout rendered numerous pages on the site. I still have some kinks to work out with the new color scheme, but over all I am happy with the new look.