allround geek

"TRON: LEGACY" trailer is here!

2010-03-12T02:32:00.005+02:00

The first real trailer for the sequel to TRON (1982) is finally here! Watch it and good luck waiting for months to watch the film. This one looks like a winner!

As always, the best way to view this trailer is in glorious Quicktime HD.

Oscars 2010

2010-03-08T12:03:00.006+02:00

It's a well-known fact that the Academy Awards have now lost their former glory. The creation and continuous advertising of semi-independent films with strong cast which usually deal with "important" issues led to a huge stream of so called Oscar-bait movies in the past decade. The front-runner company was of course Miramax, which was recently led to bankruptcy, paving the way for the closure of the artistic sections of other large distributors (Paramount Vantage, Warner International Pictures). Finally, after some dubious choices (does anybody think that Crash was the best motion picture of 2005?), the Oscars have settled down to being an entertaining awards ceremony - like a prestigious SNL show, but with more celebrities.

Which brings us to Oscars 2010.

Technical awards: Avatar and the Hurt Locker shared the loot, with Avatar gaining awards for Visual Effects, Art Direction, and Cinematography, while Hurt Locker received (deservedly in my opinion) the two sound awards and the Editing Oscar. Star Trek received a make-up award (why?) and The Young Victoria got a costume award.

Music: Michael Giacchino's score for Up received the award (one of the most memorable recent themes in film), while T-Bone Burnett finally took a long-deserving award (after so many great Coen movies) for a song in Crazy Heart.

Writing: In the original material category, the Hurt Locker received the award, which comes a bit strange when considering the competition being A Serious Man and Inglourious Basterds. Oh well... In the adapted section, Precious got the Oscar, without facing any serious competition.

Acting: Christoph Waltz's win was the most predictable of all awards; his performance by far outmatches everyone else's in the Supporting Actor category. Mo'Nique received the Supporting Actress award for Precious, facing no opposition, since there were split votes for Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air. Jeff Bridges finally got the Oscar after 40 years of acting his socks off, again without any serious contestants. Finally, Sandra Bullock's win was the surprise of the night, especially after having received a Razzie for All About Steve the previous night (personal opinion: Meryl Streep was robbed)!

Directing: Kathryn Bigelow finally moved on to the A-list after having proven repeatedly she's one of the best action directors of all time. Although the Hurt Locker wasn't a great movie, it was expertly directed. But I really wish she'd gotten the award for Near Dark (if you haven't seen this movie, do it now!).

Best Foreign Film: The Argentinian movie A Secret in Their Eyes received the award, winning over The White Ribbon and A Prophet. Once again, the academy proves the golden rule that the best movies are deprived of an Oscar (as well as the best directors, a.k.a. Kubrick, Hitchcock, Welles...).

Best Film: Again, the Hurt Locker received the award, with the Academy completely snubbing Avatar. Personally, none of these movies deserved a Best Picture award, but I had a perverse pleasure watching a little movie directed by Cameron's ex receiving the award over the overwhelming-but-a-bit-silly Avatar...

Overall: Although the snubbing of Avatar (in the prestigious awards) was refreshing, the Hurt Locker is a film that will probably be forgotten in the near future.

New Iron Man 2 trailer hits the web

2010-03-08T11:17:00.004+02:00

I have a feeling this summer is going to be a good one, at least movie-wise (Inception can't get released soon enough).

Iron Man 2 will be one of the biggest blockbusters of the summer and from the newly released trailer it seems to be a very fun movie that doesn't offend the intelligence of the audience.

Enjoy Iron Man and War Machine in action!

For better quality get the trailer in glorious quicktime HD from Apple's site

Shutter Island review

2010-03-01T17:24:00.008+02:00

Phew, that was a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong winter in movie land; especially for the cinematically isolated island of Crete, where we sit, unsure if even the biggest movies releases will make it to our humble shores. As enjoyable as Avatar was as a movie going experience, I believe the fact that it stayed top of the charts for so long in the US of A was mainly due to a distinct lack of competition.

So it is, with great pleasure, that we now welcome Martin Scorsese’s latest journey into movie making; "Shutter Island", starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Ben Kingsley to name just two of the many recognisable faces.

The Scorsese/Di Caprio partnership has now become a familiar one with Leo starring in Scorsese’s last 5 feature films, and Scorsese really has succeeded in bringing out the underlying talent from the once typecast pretty boy that we all remember from the "Titanic". Even when those films were found to be lacking in some areas, Di Caprio’s performances have been top notch. "Shutter Island" is no exception, only that it is also a really impressive movie to boot.

We meet our main character, US Marshall Teddy Daniels, on a ferry to a hospital for the criminally insane with his newly assigned partner, Chuck (played by Mark Ruffalo) to investigate the apparent escape of one of the hospital's patients. Upon their arrival, it soon becomes apparent that there is more to this place than meets the eye and as the plot unravels further we discover that Teddy has his own agenda on the island, but getting to the bottom of it all is going to test his own sanity.

I have read comments about the great photography, powerful supporting cast and the clever script of this deep psychological thriller; and while I agree with all of these statements, I must add how surprised I was by the directing. Scorsese has been directing longer than I have been living, but this is a movie where he has chosen to step away from his own conventions on movie making. Gone are the gangs, and the streets and the brutal violence; replaced by dark, atmospheric scenery, haunting characters and horrific images broadcasted through the medium of dreams. There were moments I had to pinch myself so that I was reminded exactly whose work I was watching. A brave move, but he definately pulled it off!

Verdit: Go see it! 8.5/10

The Brit Report: Mini reviews galore!

2010-02-20T19:19:00.012+02:00

The Road: John Hillcoat's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic best-seller is a brave and inspired, even if slightly pedestrian, effort. Hillcoat follows very closely the novel in its slightly episodic but nevertheless endlessly repeating pattern, with very few actual modifications (some exposition in the form of Charlize Theron as the Mother). The movie is superbly acted by Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee as the Father and Boy, respectively, and several big-name actors pop-in in small appearances throughout the movie, with the best cameo being attributed to the great Robert Duvall in an earth-shattering 4-minute turn. However, the movie's (as well as the novel's) lack of plot evolution, along with any lack of characterization or solid ideology, makes the movie effective while it lasts, but ultimately forgettable. Still, it's a worthy addition to the genre with a most naturalistic depiction of what life would be in a post-apocalyptic situation. 7/10

The Wolfman: Yet another Universal horror movie remake, The Wolfman was a troubled production from the start, which is 100% evident in the final product. Part B-movie, part Victorian drama, the movie is unsure which direction to follow. This is not helped by the fact that there is absolutely no chemistry between the four leading actors whatsoever; Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins especially seem to be playing in totally different movies. The editors are also partly to blame for this, with an introduction that seems like a trailer from a proper movie, ultimately getting rid of all characterizations and racing for the monster's intro. The replacement director, Joe Johnston, is more a visual entertainer than a proper filmmaker and couldn't have been a worse choice for the subject. Still, it's a most enjoyable disaster (even for the wrong reasons) that will perhaps satisfy horror enthusiasts. 6/10

The Lovely Bones: Another troubled production, this movie ultimately is a glorious error made by a director who has absolute creative control, but also no sense of subtlety. The movie starts very strongly, with believable characterizations and situations, but once the famed killing takes place, the script comes to an abrupt halt. In come Peter Jackson's CGI manifestations of an in-between "haven", which seem wrong in visual terms (although some are obviously impressive). Since the main heroine is also in this so-called afterlife, her character development is nonexistent, which makes the movie suffer in its second act. Thankfully, things pick up in the third act, with a brave and ultimately chilling resolution to the killing. The performances are a bit hit-and-miss: Saorise Ronan is superb as the leading character, but unfortunately Mark Wahlberg makes me still wonder why he is picked up by first-class directors. Rachel Weisz fares better given the limited material she has to work with, and Susan Saradon gives an enjoyable turn as the alcoholic grandma. The main problem of the movie though is Stanley Tucci's turn as the killer - it makes me wonder why this (very efficient otherwise) actor was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar for this role. His turn is overly simplistic, full with the necessary receding hairline and big spectacles that all Hollywood-appearing child killers seem to sport. In the case of the Lovely Bones, it seems that less is actually more, and unfortunately PJ opted for much more. 6/10

Have a good "tour of duty" mastorak!

2010-02-08T11:27:00.011+02:00

Today is a sad day for allround geek.

The blog's founder, mastorak, departed today for his mandatory 9 month tour of duty in the Greek army. It is a time during which boys become men.

It is also a time when all your earthly possessions are getting plundered by your friends and relatives.

As I am writing this post, mastorak is waiting at the airport and already his sister got his car, hotshuk got his PlayStation 3, his cousin got his PlayStation 2 and yours truly is enjoying access to his steam account.

Goodbye Kostis, we'll really miss you man!

Bioshock: So good you will crap your pants!

2010-01-24T23:03:00.014+02:00

Every once in a while, a game is released that raises the bar for everyone else. Two years ago Bioshock was released and did just that. Since then very few games have managed to be as immersing as this one. Rarely we see a game of that quality and so high production values. I was late to trying it, but when I did, I did not stop until the credits were rolling. I was so thrilled by it that when I was not playing the game I was thinking about the game. Every aspect was so masterfully done that I simply can not find anything to bitch about.

Bioshock is one of those games/films/books that can create really strong emotions through its story and setting. You start the game as a lone survivor of an airplane crash in the middle of the atlantic ocean. Soon you find yourself in a city(Rapture) built under the sea. NO GODS OR KINGS, ONLY MAN. This is the banner that greets you into Rapture and sets the tone for the mind of the inhabitants of this city. Something though, has gone terribly wrong and all those bright minds; the scientists, the artists, instead of freeing themselves and excel, they where enslaved by greed and power. You soon find yourself in sick situations and witness horror and perversion. This game is not for the faint of heart. You will have to find out your place in the story and try to save yourself.

Even though the game at first appears as your usual FPS, it is not. I mean it is definitely not. The gameplay is so rich and offers so much depth that you simply can not call it an FPS. The game has numerous RPG mechanics built in to it. You acquire a certain resource by killing powerful enemies (the infamous Big daddies) and squeeze it from helpless kids (the little sisters) by force or kindly. You use this essence to advance your skills, and powers. Besides your weapons you can use your powers (plasmids) in various occasions. Your plasmids range from simple attack powers to freeze, burn, control and defensive mechanisms. You can use them in many different ways and the environment is highly interactive to help you with that. For example, if you use your lightning plasmid on an enemy that is in the water, besides stunning him for a few seconds, you will damage him due electrocution as well.

The levels are full of items to gather and there are many machines to interact with. You can use vending machines to buy ammo, health packs and any other items using the money you got from the mad depraved inhabitants of the city you just killed. There are slot machine, health station, turrets, weapon upgrade machines, you name it. All play a very important role in the game and you better use them effectively in order to survive.

The sights and sounds of Rapture are breathtaking. Wandering around the city's corridors haunts you with the destruction that has taken place. The misery of the city is present in every corner and the blood that has covered the walls reminds you not to let your guard down to check out the fantastic job the game designers and artists have done. On the same level are the ambient sounds the music and the voice acting.

This is a unique game, one, I dare say, of the same quality as Half Life 2. It is one of those games that make other developers hide in shame because their games will be laughable before this masterpiece. Bioshock is not a game, it is art in all its interactive glory. Now, that Bioshock 2 is around the corner if you still, like me, had not played this one get it. It will be a revelation. It's so good you will crap your pants.

Loom: a magical adventure

2010-01-18T13:00:00.001+02:00

Welcome to the age of the great guilds! we hear the narrator say and our magical journey begins. 20 years ago Loom was released by Lucas Arts and after all this time it still manages to lead us in its mystic world. This is one of the most enchanting games (adventure games for that matter) that i have ever played. Swans, music, art guilds, magic all blend together in a way to offer us a unique experience.

You are Bobbin Threadbare, the Loom child, a young man of the guild of weavers, off to find answers to your questions and possibly save the world. I will not go into the details of the story 'cause I don't want to ruin it for anyone. When the game came out in retail 20 years ago in the box there was a cassette containing an audio drama that helps the player get into the game world and story. I strongly suggest you hear it. You will thoroughly enjoy it and it is only 30 minutes. You can find it on youtube in three parts: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Having just finished the game again after so many years I still find it refreshing, unique and immersing. I simply did not want it to end. Being an adventure game you solve puzzles in order to progress into the story. In Loom though the puzzles are not you usual inventory based, slider or mechanical puzzles in other games, but rather, a unique use of musical notes. You wave your stuff to play music and according to the melody something happens. So basically, you have melodies that perform certain actions and you use them when you want something done. You hear this melodies when something is happening and then you play them again to perform an action. This works very well and its use blends wonderfully into the game world. There are many ways to use a melody. For example if you play the melody of 'open' backwards, you close something!

The game is rather easy and short. An experienced adventure gamer will finish it probably in an afternoon and that is the game's biggest drawback. In order to extend its length you can play it in a higher level of difficulty. The different levels of difficulty do not have to do with the puzzles themselves, but instead with, how the notes are presented to the player. In the easiest mode the game shows you the notes of the melodies that you hear in order to play them again. In the highest difficulty mode you play the game by ear alone. In any difficulty level though, it is essential to note down the melodies and what they do, which is fun on its own.

The game's finalle clearly suggest that there will be a sequel, but 20 years have passed and nothing. I would have really loved to play the next Loom game but unfortunately Lucas Arts probably is not going to give us one. You can get this game from steam for a very low price, or try your luck in Ebay. If you encounter any old disks of any version(PC disks, Amiga CD, FM Towns, etc) it will play wonderfully with ScummVM. I strongly suggest this game to anyone that likes a good story and an immersing experience in a magical world.

Geeking out: Ridley Scott sci-fi double feature.

2010-01-16T10:53:00.011+02:00

Last night I went by a friend's place to hang out and ended up watching two of the greatest science fiction films ever made, Alien (the Directors Cut) and Blade Runner (the Final Cut).

The crew of the Nostromo.

As we were sitting there we decided to watch a movie and immediately a problem emerged. You see when 4 film geeks get together to watch a film, it's not always easy to decide what that film should be, since between the four of us we have watched a very large number of movies. But then the host said: "What about Alien?" Since none of us had watched it in quite a long time and we all love sci fi, our little problem was solved.

Upon finishing that movie we decided to make it a double feature. And what better way* to follow up Alien than Ridley Scott's next film, Blade Runner. Especially when it's the Final Cut which none of us had ever watched before.

Downtown L.A in 2019.

Watching those two films after such a long time, sure makes you realize they deserve all the praise they get and why they are considered classics of not just science fiction, but cinema in general!

PS. A little fun detail we spotted: a screen readout as Ripley is leaving with the shuttle from the Nostromo is exactly the same as a screen readout in the Police car as Gaff is picking up Deckard from the noodles place. Both screens say ENVIRON CTR PURGE 24556 DR 5. And here are the screenshots to prove it!

Alien: Space Shuttle screen

Blade Runner: Police car screen

*OK, maybe Aliens, but a) we didn't have it and b) it was the obvious choice.

We live in the future: Mega-Corporation vs Super Power

2010-01-14T12:47:00.007+02:00

The last couple of days have been witnesses to something that was only possible in William Gibson stories. Those stories spoke about a future where mega-corporations would be as powerful as states and would be at war with the world's Super Powers. If that is the case, then we live in the future. That is the only way I can perceive the bomb Google dropped on China a couple of days ago.

The story is simple. Google gets hacked, with what is saying was a very sophisticated way, last month. Google says that the target was the accounts and data of numerous Chinese activists. In addition said that numerous other IT targets were hit for more information. What Google does not say directly but strongly suggests is that behind the attacks was the Chinese State itself! Basically China, the country, attacked Google. Google being certain of this declared that it is closing down its Chinese office (like withdrawing their ambassador), stops all operations in China (like pulling out all investments and money) and finally stops censoring search engine results from Chinese IP addresses (Google was had agreed with China to censor anything the Chinese government thought it was threatening to the state. Thus Google basically attacks the Chinese disinformation operation).

This is all very exciting. A country(superpower basically) attacks a mega-corporation, the mega-corporation is pissed off and retaliates and finally the country fights back. WooHoo. Whats next? Robotic cops? VR cubes in our houses? Cables sticking out of our necks? Prosthetic arms that can interface with our computer? We live in exciting times!

Christopher Nolan's "Inception" has a trailer

2009-12-29T00:52:00.004+02:00

Is it official! Inception just became my most anticipated film for 2010. Watch the trailer and tell me that doesn't look like a serious contender for best film of 2010.

I've included a YouTube embed but I highly recommend watching it in Quicktime HD here.

KICK-ASS will do just that in 2010.

2009-12-23T09:50:00.006+02:00

KICK-ASS looks like one of the most fun films coming out in 2010. Let me prove it:

Exhibit #1: Teaser Trailer

Exhibit #2: Film clip

and finally Exhibit #3: Red Band Trailer

I rest my case.

A Technical Overview of 3D Viewing

2009-12-20T13:20:00.006+02:00

Now that Avatar is upon us, it's worth indicating that it's the first movie to really capitalize on the emerging 3D technologies. One of the striking things about Avatar, is that like all quality commercial products, it is offered using various formats, offering different price and quality ranges. I'll try to present an outline of the various viewing modes:

Standard 2D - It's obviously the cheapest, but also the worst way of viewing the movie.
RealD - it is the most standard way of projecting stereoscopic 3D images, utilizing cheap disposable polarized glasses and an alternate circular polarity projector. This can cause the unavoidable "ghosting" effect, which can blur the details of the 3D image. A sliver screen is required, in order to reflect as much light as possible and to prevent any viewing losses due to polarization. Brightness levels are usually low, and combined with the glasses and the silver screen tend to create a "greyish" haze that misinterpret the actual movie colors.
Dolby 3D - a more advanced but also more expensive method, it utilizes reusable passive glasses on a normal white screen. The projector uses a rotating wheel, spinning 6 times per frame, displaying the 3 basic colors (RGB) for the two stereoscopic frames. Gosting effects are not present, and the viewing experience is not affected by tilting. At 144Hz, no rainbow artifacts are created, similar to ie. DLP projectors. One disadvantage of Dolby 3D is the increased cost for the glasses. Brightness issues are natrually still present.
XpanD - an even more expensive system, uses active LCD glasses that are remotely synchronized from the projection system to alternatingly block light from each eye using an LCD shutter. These glasses are obviously much more expensive, but several disadvantantages are countered, such as ghosting and tilting. Brighness levels are also improved due to the lack of filtering.
IMAX 3D - it offers basically a larger curved screen and usually a more elaborate sound system. It uses cheap reusable glasses and a linear polarity projector. Brightness issues are rectified, due to projector intensity and screen size. One disadvantage of IMAX 3D is that viewer placement needs to be exact, due to screen curvature. If the viewer is not facing directly the screen, the stereoscopic perception is destroyed. This leads to fewer seats in IMAX cinemas compared to normal screens.

AVATAR review

2009-12-16T23:30:00.008+02:00

After many months of waiting, today was the day we finally visited Pandora. And what a wonderful trip it was!

James Cameron's first fiction film since Titanic is a unique cinematic experience. Cameron (with the help of many talented people who deserve just as much credit) has managed to create a world so rich and full of details that you can't help but get lost in it for the 160 minutes of Avatar's runtime.

The first 15-20 of those minutes are a bit tricky because that's how long it will take your brain to a) get used to the 3D and b) be convinced that those tall blue people are real! After that you just get immersed to the incredible jungles of Pandora marvelling at the images that pass before your eyes.

"You'll believe people are blue!"

This of course does not mean that the movie is perfect. Anyone who has watched the trailer (or any movie with Indians/natives being oppressed by white people) pretty much knows the story from start to finish. A little originality would be welcomed here, but at least the story (although clichéd) is well executed so it didn't bother me that much as I was watching it.

James Cameron is back and he is in top form. Follow him to a theatre (preferably 3D, IMAX 3D even better!) and you're in for a hell of a ride!

Age of Conan:Unlimited Free Trial till level 20

2009-12-15T18:40:00.003+02:00

Funcom announced a new trial program for its not so successful MMORPG Age of Conan. The game suffered from a bad launch with very few content available after a magnificent first 20 levels. Funcom fixed that with many content and balancing patches so far and now tries to win new players. Will the company succeeds in that I do not know. What I know, is, that quality free gaming is always welcomed? It is important to note that you can level as many characters as you want to level 20 and try them without any time limit as long as you get the trial before the 1st of January.

The original announcement:

Our original seven day trial has been very successful so far," says Morten Larssen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Funcom. "But with the holiday season coming up this is the perfect time to shake up our trial offer a bit and try out something new. So everyone who downloads the trial before January 1st will be able to play the first part of the game for free, forever.
We are confident that many of those taking advantage of this offer will choose to become permanent players, allowing them to experience all of what the game has to offer including all the additions and improvements introduced since launch.

Diablo III: Who cares?

2009-12-12T10:05:00.005+02:00

How can one define the word replayability? Well, I think that ten years of community playing and company support could indicate that a game is highly replayable. I'm of course talking about the forefather of hack & slash games, Diablo II. One could argue that the game's replayability rests on the shoulders of the following middle option, which is both a blessing and a curse:

Thus, with the release of Diablo III ever looming in the distance (I hope I haven't died when it's released), Blizzard has announced that the Diablo II v1.13 Patch has hit the Test Realm. That apparently includes a new mystery for Hell difficulty players as well as several bug fixes...

Chrome 4 Beta available for Mac and Linux

2009-12-09T01:14:00.008+02:00

Chrome is finally available to both Linux and Mac users. I have really enjoyed using Chrome in Windows but since i don't use Windows that often I would have really liked it to be available for the Linux and the mac platform. Google heard my geek prayers and released Chrome 4 beta.

I installed it and run to both platforms without any problems and to my delight there were ready-made packages for Ubuntu, as well as for Fedora and Suse all having 32 bit and 64 bit versions.

One noticeable difference of the two versions is that the Linux one keeps the default blueish theme while the Mac version has a metallic theme obviously to play along with the rest of the metallic theme of OSX. In addition one, hiccup is that In Ubuntu, Chrome does not follow the windows behavior set in user preferences. Thus, for example, if you have set for a window to roll-up if you double click on the titlebar it will just stay there which is kinda disappointing. I guess its still in beta and better integration will come in the near future as soon. In addition, the mac version does not support extensions for now which is a bummer since extension have some very useful stuff. in Linux version though they are enabled and ready for use.

I like Firefox but it has started to get to my nerves how painfully bloat it has become. When Firefox came out 5 years ago it was bleeding fast compared to Internet Explorer, which was one of the reasons it became the browser of choice for many people. Chrome still lacks the plugin support that Firefox enjoyes but it will come in the near future (the extensions are in beta as well). All I can say Chrome is the new Firefox.

Cult: Charlemagne, By the Sword and the Cross

2009-12-07T21:10:00.004+02:00

Ok, this is almost absurdly cultist item: the history of King Charlemagne in a concept album sung by Christopher Lee. Lee still rocks at 89! Keep walking!

Charlemagne MySpace page

Dawn of a New Era

2009-12-06T11:45:00.003+02:00

This is not a technology related post per se, it's more of a personal one. Still, it deserves attention because: I've officially converted to HD.

...and for just 39 pounds! Thank you Sony! I will not badmouth you again (for the next few weeks).

The Brit Report: A Serious Man

2009-12-03T23:12:00.006+02:00

Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you.

- Rashi

Thus begins the new Coen brothers movie. The most mature movie the groundbreaking duet have ever made. For me, it is obvious they're going through a dark phase: after the so-so Intolerable Cruelty and Ladykillers, they're really dived into darkness, with each new film more misanthropic than the earliest.

A Serious Man is also the most personal movie the brothers have ever made, taking place in 1967 among a suburban Midwestern Jewish community, reminiscent of their childhoods. The titular character is a somewhat respectable physics professor whose life begins to crumble, much like Job himself. He is of course surrounded by idiots (it's a Coen movie after all) and he slowly takes that downward turn into stupidity. The film - much like A Man Who wasn't There - is of course not for everyone, but it's practically perfect. The camera placement is expertly calculated (courtesy of DP demigod Roger Deakins), the music is haunting (by permanent collaborator Carter Burwell) and every single performance is pitch perfect.

Unlike other movies of the duet, this one feels like a riddle I was unable to solve. What did it mean? The religious references were obscure to say the least (reading a bit of the Old Testament certainly helps), but is this the point? (9/10)

- We can't know everything.
- It sounds like you don't know anything.

Crossover games 8.1.2. Better support for Lord of the Rings Online on Mac

2009-11-27T02:46:00.008+02:00

A while ago I wrote a post about running Lord of the Rings Online on the mac platform using Crossover Games. This post was much visited from people that wanted to find out how to play lotro on the mac which shows that the mac crowd cannot be satisfied by the native WoW boredom.

I still do my Orc-bashing using a mac and I am very happy to say that the performance with the new version is even better. Some glitches like the floating names or the sound in videos belong to the past.

The Shire is more beautiful using a Mac...ok who threw that at me?

The new version of crossover games brings better support for other games as well, such as, the very popular Left 4 Dead (1 and 2). Since, lately I 've been playing a lot of Fallout 3 I decided to give DEFCON a spin just to get in the nuclear-war spirit. Crossover Games performed perfectly and you just could not tell that this was a windows game. Kudos to the codeweavers team...

Dr. Claw may not be ready yet but his cat is!

2009-11-19T11:00:00.007+02:00

Ars Technica published an article yesterday about IBM creating a super computer that is significantly "smarter" than a cat having around 4.5% of the capacity of the human brain.

This is good news, right? Or is it not? Oh well i guess that too many years of watching/reading/playing the destruction of the human race from machines have that effect. At any rate this is very exciting news!

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at IBM have presented at paper at the SC09 supercomputing conference describing a milestone in cognitive computing: the group's massively parallel cortical simulator, C2, now has the ability to simulate a brain with about 4.5 percent the cerebral cortex capacity of a human brain, and significantly more brain capacity than a cat.

The rumored Fallout MMO might be something more than just rumors

2009-11-17T16:44:00.004+02:00

The post-apocalyptic world of Fallout was rumored for sometime now to being turned in to an MMO setting. Vault published some screenshots claiming to be from this project and that they come from a very reliable source. The screenshots are said to having been used in court.

The graphics on the screenshots look very dated and they might be just long lost screenshots of an old project presented in the court to serve a purpose. I am not entirely convinced that this is evidence of the game being in development.

The vault says:

Thanks to an anonymous, but reliable source, I have managed to acquire the very first screenshots from Project V13, which everyone knows is a Fallout Online MMORPG even though Interplay is not allowed to say it because of its legal struggle with Bethesda.

As you can see, they show a ruined city, some supermutants and a hero with a 13 on his back. These screenshots were actually submitted by Interplay as court evidence to show that the game is in full production already.

Gabriel Knight 2: A true epic that doesn't age.

2009-11-04T15:27:00.007+02:00

I will start by saying that Grace Nakimura is bitch. A horrible, horrible bitch. That is how much she annoys the shit out of me; I start the review of one of the most fantastic adventure games ever created by stating my feelings of hate towards that particular character. To a certain reviewer of a certain classic adventures' site that found Grace sexy I 'll tell one thing. You are particularly dangerous to society, a pervert and a fool, dig a hole and stay in there.

With that out of the way let us begin.

I do not know if it's the rain that brings that feeling of wanting to relax playing a good adventure game, or that I am getting old and I want to relive the glory days of my gaming youth, but I definitely wanted to play a Gabriel Knight game these days. I decided to play the second in the series as it is my personal favorite (not that the 1st or the 3rd one are not fantastic). Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within (as is its full title) takes place mostly in the area around Munich in Germany and the Bavarian countryside. It revolves around a werewolf story that goes back many centuries, the last Bavarian King Ludwig II and Wagner. I really cannot say anything without spoiling something to anyone who hasn't played it before. As, in all Gabriel Knight games it is very good at blending real history with the occult and create a fantastic totally immersing setting. The game starts with Gabriel going back to his ancestral castle to reclaim his long lineage of Schattenjägers (Shadowhunters) and investigate a series of mutilation murders.

In Munich city center

This is the most brilliantly produced adventure game ever made and I am not exaggerating one bit. It makes use of full-motion-video and prerendered photorealistic backgrounds as they were made back in the good-old mid 90s. The acting is top notch and the direction is brilliant. The actors really bring the characters to life, as Jane Jensen had intended, with Gabriel Knight the protagonist being an absolute dick. He parades his cockiness and american ignorance on European culture at all occasions, even though, the game is created by Jensen and the all-American Sierra Online. Jensen stresses the differences in culture between Europe and the US with any chance using caricature characters as well(Fat loud lady from Pennsylvania anyone?).

Music plays a particular important role in the game. It features an original score especially written and conducted for the game. It creates the perfect atmosphere and sets the tone. The production values are so high that an actual original Opera was written and performed for the needs of the game. The opera is supposed to be a long lost Opera from Wagner who plays an important role in the background story of the game.

Investigating Ludwig II

The gameplay spans across 6 chapters and you control Gabriel and that bitch Grace in turns in each Chapter. Gabriel investigates the mutilation killings while Grace researches the history around Ludwig II. Most of the riddles are logical and inventory based. Some are particularly smartly conceived but all of them are well blended into the story just as any good adventure should do. If it wasn't for this stupid and unfair reflex thing in the finale.

I played this game again after 12, or so, years. I can testify that this is a timeless gem and one of the best adventures ever made. Once you start it you will not want to let it go until the credits start rolling and even then it will stay with you for a long time. Heck, its been 12 years and I was still thinking about it every now and then. Make yourself a favor and buy this one as well as the rest of the GK games. You can find them in compilations in online shops as well as on ebay. If you find any trouble playing the game in modern computers you can try dosbox(for 1st and 2nd) as well as the tools provided by the Gabriel Knight 2000 project. Also dont forget to join the Gabriel Knight 4 campaign.

Oh...and Grace Nakimura is a bitch...

"World of Goo" and Windows 7 problem - SOLVED

2009-11-03T01:37:00.009+02:00

A couple of days ago I decided to finally make the move from Windows XP to Windows 7. The installation was a breeze with no problems whatsoever and it took around 30 minutes for Win 7 to be up and running with the latest updates.

Although it is a bit early to judge, I have to say that my initial impression of Microsoft's latest OS is very good!

Ten minutes ago I encountered my first problem when I tried to install World Of Goo which I purchased some days ago through the pay what you want offer.

The installation started just fine but when it completed, windows informed me that the program may not have been installed correctly and asked me if I wanted to re-install it using the preferred settings. I did that and after the second installation tried to run the game. The screen went black and after a few seconds an error message appeared saying that World of Goo had a problem and windows needed to shut it down.

Running it in compatibility mode for Windows XP did not help so I decided it was time to exercise my google-fu! Sure enough after 2 minutes the answer was discovered on the official 2DBoy forums (thanks GMMan!).

I edited the config.txt found in the World of Goo folder and I changed the resolution from 800x600 to my monitor's native 1920x1080. That did the trick and now the game runs just fine.

Now I can enjoy an excellent game on a very good OS. But that is a story for a future post.