TerryN Blog

Music in the Final Fantasy Series

2011-02-28T21:27:00.007Z

I recently came across an old hard drive with a lot of music that I must have "acquired" about 5-6 years ago and I've only now had a chance to properly go through it and it seems a big chunk of it is actually tracks from the various Final Fantasy games. It made me have a think about the franchise in general and I came to the conclusion that lately it sucks! Something I never thought I'd say or think possible about 10 years ago.

After I got over the shock of it all, I realized that while the direction the franchise has taken might be questionable, the one thing that rarely, if ever isn't top notch quality, is the music.

Nobuo Uematsu has been the leading man for Square pretty much since their inception back in the 80's and while he might not actually work for the company anymore he still scores for them, has produced some amazing music that was probably too good for video games and is the quality worthy of big screen movies.

I remember as a kid a lot of people turned their nose up at the Final Fantasy series because it wasn't fast paced action like most other games on the market but I think anyone who appreciates orchestrated music will find something they like in the soundtracks to these games, even if the game doesn't seem interesting to you. Square Enix really set a bar when it came to the quality expected for music in video games, something I always believed was a mechanism they used to execute the story where the graphics might not have been able to express the emotion required to really enjoy a scene in a game. This is something that isn't so apparent in games today thanks to HD graphics but it can be seen from the perspective that a lot of companies (including Square Enix themselves) believe that thanks to better graphics, they don't need solid gameplay and a good story to make a good game which is absolutely wrong but that's a different blog all together!

For those of you that might not know what Final Fantasy is(shame on you!) or have never played/heard the music I suggest you check out some tracks, for those of you that have played it I suggest you go back and listen to some old classics!

Here are a few tracks, in no particular order I suggest that can most definitely be found on YouTube.

Final Fantasy X - Suteki da ne (Orchestral)
Final Fantasy VI - Forever Rachel (Orchestral)
Final Fantasy VIII - Eyes on Me
Final Fantasy XI - Battle in the Dungeon
Final Fantasy XI - Battle in the Dunegon 2
Final Fantasy XI - Mhuara
Entire Tour De Japon Concert
Final Fantasy VII - Aeris' Theme
Final Fantasy IX - Kuja's Theme

I could literally keep naming off songs but those are some of my personal favorites that come to mind straight away.

FIFA 11 Review

2010-10-02T15:32:00.003+01:00

Having the ability to re-release the same game with minimal updates every year and not only get away with it but top the charts every time is like a dream come true to a developer and publisher and that's how things work for EA with the FIFA series and 11 is no different.

Loved

The Personality+ system really makes the game feel a lot more realistic and sometimes it can feel like you're really watching that player move around in the game
The UI update while offering the same functionality as past games has had graphical change which is welcome. The Manager Mode UI is also much easier to navigate and isn't as slow as FIFA 09
Finally being able to play as a goalkeeper!

Hated

The music in the FIFA series hasn't been up to scratch since 98' in my opinion and this version isn't any different, I don't think I recognised one song.
For some reason EA decided to remove the majority of managerial duties from the Manager Mode. Pretty much all you can do now is buy and sell players.
A lot of the commentary has been reused from FIFA 10 which was very disappointing.
Penalties are now impossible, no matter what you do it sails into orbit.

3 new features have been added, rosters and jerseys have been updated and some of the old features have been tweaked which mixes things up for the hardcore fanbase who have been following the series religiously but the average gamer probably isn't going to notice any of it which is why I'd only recommend the game to newcomers. Personally I think EA should really be releasing these as DLC updates every year because at it's core, FIFA 11 is the same game as FIFA 08/09/10 with a new paint of coat over it.

Halo Reach Review

2010-09-18T21:17:00.004+01:00

I'm a bit late getting around to writing this but better late than never eh?

The story follows Noble team who are posted on the Planet Reach who are sent to investigate a disabled communications tower and end up finding the Covenant preparing to invade the planet. The story is fairly simple from beginning to end and there aren't really any twists or surprises. One thing that really did stick out was that the story's only real focus was that it put the events of Halo: CE into action and as such, the characters aren't very deep and their only purpose was to fulfil their destiny (which it turns out, was to die for no good reason at all.)

Another glaring issue with the story is the continuity of the characters. Some of the them had already been introduced through the series of novels and their fates seem to be different to that of the game. Dr. Halsey, George and Kat are the three that spring to mind. In the books they fight off hordes of Covenant troops and get transported somewhere by the forerunners yet in the game, George dies setting off a bomb and Kat gets sniped and god knows what happens to Halsey. Maybe they're different characters to those in the books or maybe Bungie just decided to use them differently in the game which would mean the novels aren't canon. I plan on reading through the books again so I can be 100% sure, maybe I missed something but I don't think I did.

Bungie decided to revamp some of the mechanics in the gameplay, I guess to compete with the likes of Battlefield and Modern Warfare. Guns now an area reticule which means that the more you shoot in succession, the larger the spray area. This really only effects longer ranger weapons, the likes of the assault rifle or the needler don't see any difference.

They've also upgraded the HUD and UI quite a bit. They are both visually similar to previous iterations seen in Halo 3 and ODST but are streamlined now. It was nice to see Bungie using concept art as the background images of the menus instead of being wasted and never seen.

The multiplayer is where the majority of the game really is and it's what is going to keep bringing people back to play for a long time to come. Bungie completely redeveloped their ranking system this time around, you earn credits which acts as currency to buy new armour and as experience points to level up your characters rank. This effectively means that it's only a matter of time before you hit the top ranks, I've been playing all weekend now and I'm only inching up very slowly so I can only imagine what the higher ranks is going to take.

At the moment the multiplayer is fun, but there is only 9 maps on the disc, a few of which are actually remakes of Halo 2 maps. I can see myself burning out very quickly here unless Bungie (or 342 Industries) start releasing map packs. Another problem I've found is that the original maps are copy and pasted from the campaign which I think is very lazy, it doesn't look like any of the maps were specifically made for the multiplayer this time around.

Another small thing worth mentioning is the music. Marty O'Donnell never ceases to amaze me with some of the scores he puts together for the Halo games, there's always at least 1 song which blows me away. Reach wasn't any different. I just hope he continues this trend with the next franchise that they're are building with Activision.

Bungie have gone on record to say that this is their swan song to the Halo franchise and that they'll be moving on to greener pastures as an independent studio. While the game might have it's problems, anyone who is a fan of the series is going to overlook these shortcomings and enjoy the experience. Microsoft would be fools not to expand this game further with new maps, armour and game types, it won't take much to convince people to keep coming back.

Improvements I'd like to see in Borderlands 2

2010-09-01T18:35:00.002+01:00

Borderlands is just over a year out at this stage and Gearbox have released 3 DLC packs with another one to be released in a few weeks. I originally played it on PC at launch and I got bored of it very quickly. It's only in the last few weeks that my cousin decided to buy it for the 360 and I ended up playing it with him too and for some reason I enjoyed it a lot more the second time around.

We're currently working through the Secret Armoury DLC pack and should be finished soon.

Gearbox have said that the next pack is to be the last which brings up a lot of speculations and rumours that they might be working on a sequel. As much as I'm enjoying the game it definitely does have it's faults. So what would I like to see added/removed/changed?

Ammo and cash should automatically be picked up if it can be used instead of having to pick up each clip individually.
Better collision detection for vehicles. So many times I've nudged a wall and gotten stuck in the scenery.
Make it easier to distinguish between gun types.
Instead of having set characters, let the player create their avatar and then choose a class.
Bigger variety and more distinct differences in classes. (Healer/Gunner/Engineer/Ranged etc)
Ability for players to be in different zones in the same game.
Better level scaling.
Player pets. (Claptrap, Rakk or Skag could have different pros/cons)
Better overall story.
Add an auction house or trading post system to swap equipment with different players
Add a crafting system.
Add a World Map and a personal waypoint system.

People might argue that what I'm really looking for is an MMO but I think Gearbox are really on to something with this sub-genre FPS-RPG and this would be a good way forward for them.

It probably won't be long until we find out if they truly are working on the sequel, my bets are that we will get an announcement at E3 next year at the latest (or maybe even PAX this year?) We have the next DLC to look forward to first anyway!

Final nail in the coffin for FFXIV?

2010-08-25T19:13:00.002+01:00

The only news I seem to be hearing lately about FFXIV seems to be bad news and I think this could actually be the final nail in the coffin for the game. It seems that Square Enix in their infinite ~~undiscovery~~ wisdom have decided to add a limiting feature on the game. After 8 hours your character will start to earn less experience which degrades over a further 7 hours. After this your character will stop earning experience completely. To make matters worse, this "feature" is on a weekly timer which means you effectively have 8 hours a week to play the game at full capacity.

Square Enix say this is to level the playing field for those of us who aren't free to play on a full time basis. I'm in this category and I still think this is a ridiculous thing to do. They think this is going to limit the hardcore players from playing too much, what's going to end up happening is after 15 hours of levelling a week, players are going to grind for materials/reputation/items instead.

I think they could only really get away with something like this in a free to play business model but the fact that Square Enix are expecting you to pay a monthly fee and then limit the time you can actually progress in the game sounds like robbery to me and it's looking less and less likely that I'll be subscribing past the free 30 days that come in the box.

FFXIV to suffer from same problems FFXI did?

2010-08-19T17:37:00.004+01:00

Massively.com have recently added a new post telling of the current beta testers who are complaining about problems in the Final Fantasy XIV which are very familiar to a lot of problems that FFXI suffered from too. It's also disappointing that the producer of the game Hiromichi Tanaka has gone on the record to say that these complained about features are actually intended.

Players are complaining that the cooldown on Guildleves (quests) is way too long, it takes 48 hours for a quest to reappear after you've completed it which is about double the amount of time that you see in other MMO's like World of Warcraft and Star Trek Online. Tanaka says that this is the case because they don't want players to rush through the quests solo, it's expected to be a team effort. This coincides with the next problem the majority of players are upset about. The regeneration of Mana in the game is slooow. This is a problem that I felt bordered on ruining FFXI for me and it seems that XIV won't be any different. Anything that breaks up the momentum of gameplay for me is a huge no-no. Again Tanaka explains that this is intended because the player is expected to tactically use points and work as a team.

Unfortunately the more I read about the game the more I'm starting to feel that they really should have just called it FFXI-2 instead of making it another numbered entry in the franchise because it really doesn't seem to be much different from it except maybe the class system and the quest system, otherwise it really is starting to look like an graphically updated XI.

As I've said before and will most likely say again, I can't really make any lasting judgements until I've actually played the game for myself. As much as I might complain about features and decisions, I'll still be picking it up at launch and playing through the first 30 days to see how things go.

Not long now!

Impressions after using the iPhone 4 for a week

2010-08-07T19:43:00.004+01:00

With the iPhone 4 officially released in Ireland last week I couldn't help myself and picked one up. I'm glad to say that I'm unable to recreate the "death grip" on my phone, before or after updating to iOS 4.0.1 but thats not to say that there is reception issues with the phone. Since changing to the iPhone I have noticed that the bars on my phone are a lot lower than that of my last phone (which was a HD2) I've only experienced one dropped call and that was on a train in the middle of the countryside which would have happened on any phone.

I have to say I'm really in love with the design of the phone, it's even nicer to look at in person than it is in pictures. The retina display is also a treat, best screen I've ever seen. Everything really comes out crisp and clear. Battery life is quite good too, heavy use gets you about a day. Charging is fairly quick. Looking at about 1-2 hours for a full charge.

Can't really say much about the apps since there are so many. My last phone was WinMo6 which sucked donkey balls for choice (and price) changing to a platform with so many options in the app department is great. I've spent a few hours every so often browsing the free sections of the iTunes store which has some useful stuff.

So for anyone who might have been on the fence about getting this phone, I can tell you that I haven't been disappointed and I suggest to pick it up.

iOS4 to get an update to fix reception issues?

2010-07-02T19:44:00.006+01:00

So Apple have finally come forward to officially address the reception issues that iPhone 4 users have been complaining about and it turns out, at least according to them, that there is no issue.

Apples open letter describes that the problem is actually with the software and how it calculates how many bars to show depending on the reception in the area, they go on to explain that this was also present in older models of the iPhone because they all used the same formula. The software update will use a more precise calculation that they have obtained from AT&T.

You can read the entire letter here on Gizmodo but the gist of it really is that Apple won't admit that after extensive testing from many different reputable blogs and websites that there is a design flaw with its antenna and while this software update is going to more realistically display the reception of the phone, people who have been experiencing issues are going to continue to do so.

Final Fantasy XIV Specs and Release date announced?

2010-06-30T18:35:00.004+01:00

It seems that the official FFXIV website has posted the release date and the requirements for the game and here they.

Release Date: September 3oth 2010

Requirements:

Windows XP
Intel Core 2 Duo (2.0ghz)
1.5GB RAM
16GB HDD space
Geforce 9600 512RAM or equivalent

So there we have it. Personally I'll have to upgrade if I want to play it comfortably (or buy it for the PS3)

Check out the official website for more info (that is, if you can read Japanese) here

iPhone 4 issues

2010-06-29T21:28:00.003+01:00

So the iPhone 4 has sold 1.7 million in 3 days probably making it the fastest selling phone ever created but this time around Apple have been getting a lot of complaints, the majority being that the phone loses reception if held in a certain way. Personally I can't imagine how a flaw as huge as that got through Apples QA processes. It's not as if you have to hold the phone in a very awkward position to replicate it, most people are going to notice the problem.

Apparently the issue is because the silver band which covers all sides of the phone is actually the antenna when it comes in contact with skin it dampens the signal, this isn't a problem in most phones because the antenna are usually on the inside of the phone.

Steve Jobs has given mixed responses to some people who've emailed him, he has supposedly said that it isn't an issue and not to hold the phone that way, most recently he said that it isn't an issue and to "stay tuned". Another "fix" is to buy a bumper case which Apple sell which covers the sides of the phone in rubber.

People speculated that this means that Apple are going to release a software update which will resolve the issue but I wonder if this is even possible? I was considering picking up the iPhone because its specs are impressive and the phones design is beautiful but until this issue is fixed or even officially addressed by Apple, there's not a chance a lot more people are going to pick it up.

For potential buyers, best case scenario; It can be fixed via software update. Worst case? Next years model will fix it. People who already own it, I would return it and demand my money back.

Another problem I've heard about is the phone shatters very easily when dropped due to the new glass that in the design. Apple have gone on record saying that it's less likely to scratch but the materials used to accomplish this actually weaken the overall integrity of the glass as a whole which means it's less likely to survive a fall than older models.

So at the end of the day, buying the bumper case which Apple are extorting $30 for seems to be required if you want the phone to work and survive which is a pity because the new design is too nice to hide.

A year old!

2010-06-29T20:40:00.006+01:00

It just dawned on me today that the blog must be a year old by now, checking back on the posts it seems I was right, officially we a year and and 18 days old! I know that I've have been neglecting things around here a bit in recently months but I can't believe that it's been going for that long.

Here's to many more!

Alpha Testers Guide Appears Online

2010-04-13T20:45:00.003+01:00

A lot of information has been leaked regarding the current Alpha testing phase of Final Fantasy XIV thanks to http://ffxivjourney.blogspot.com/

It seems to be all the information that Square Enix passed out to the current testers to help them along with playing. There are also a few videos to check out which reveals a bit more information about how things are going to play out.

First things first, it looks like one of my main fears has happened, something that was a main problem for me in FFXI. I didn't see any mouse movement while using the menu systems which suggests that, like XI, you'll have to use keys rather than a cursor to navigate through them. This is something that really annoyed me and it was very close to being a game breaker in XI.

Another thing that I did notice and I wasn't really surprised was the "invisible walls" which is a big issue in all Square Enix games has reared it's head here too. Places where you expect to be able to walk or fall down is really a wall. It seems to be an accepted practice for them which is why I wasn't surprised.

I also wasn't surprised that it doesn't look like the player will be able to jump either :(

I still have high hopes for the game, this is only alpha footage which is very obvious so it's almost expected that we'll see a lot of changes.

Make sure you check out http://ffxivjourney.blogspot.com/ for all the information, if some of the videos don't work, as I suspect they won't once Square Enix gets wind of them, you can see the majority of the information here on Kotaku

Is the iPad worth it?

2010-04-02T23:02:00.003+01:00

It seems like every tech site on the internet is covering the imminent launch of the iPad which for those of you in America is only a few hours away. I've been keeping an eye on the news in the last few days and I've read some of the reviews so I've decided to weigh in and give my opinion on the matter.

I'd be lying if I hadn't thought about ordering an iPad for myself, I've been quietly waiting for Microsofts Courier to be officially announced and released since it was leaked last year and as of right now the iPad is probably the closest thing to that, but I've been burned by Apple before which is why I've decided to wait. I got caught up in the hype of the iPhone when it originally launched back in 2008 and picked one up.

The phone was epic for it's multi-touch gestures and accelerometer but that was it really, no app store, poor iTunes connectivity and very buggy software. A year later they released the 3G and then the 3GS slowly adding new things. If they'd have released the 3G/S first, I probably wouldn't be writing this now. That is why I'm going to wait because I'm sure the same thing is going to happen with the iPad too.

Apple made a huge mistake not allowing flash support on this device. I think they got away with it on the iPhone (barely I might add) because it was a mobile phone but the iPad is supposed to be a Tablet PC. Apple have effectively blocked a good chunk of the internet thanks to this move, something which has downright stopped me from ordering one. I've seen some of the tech demos out there for HTML5 and it really is looking impressive but until it takes off and becomes widespread, the iPad is missing something too big to ignore. It's my opinion that the only reason Apple choose to block Flash is because of it's development capabilities. Why would you bother going through the process of getting your application approved by Apple when you could just post it online with Flash and let people use it that way?

I know a lot of people will tell you that Apple products are ridiculously overpriced and that you're paying for the brand name, not the actual product and they're right, $500 is a lot of money for what is, in reality a glorified iPhone/Touch XL. My main reason behind considering one is the application development, something I will definitely be playing around with in the near future and the possibilities open up even more with an iPhone XL, more space to do cool things.

In the end though I will be waiting until the iPad G or whatever the next iteration is going to be called comes out some time next year with the improvements and lower price tag before I think about getting it again, maybe by that time the Courier will be released.

So is the iPad worth it? No.

Official Final Fantasy XIV YouTube Channel is up!

2010-03-31T15:34:00.002+01:00

Square Enix have opened up a Final Fantasy XIV YouTube channel which can be found here

There's only one video up at the moment but it's full of new gameplay (new to me anyway!)

The video brought back a lot of memories of FFXI to me. I think with the races being the same in both games, it just all seems very familiar but new at the same time. The locations shown in the video looked very promising, everything looked very grand and with what I'm imagining will be the theme song to the game being played in the background I'm sure it will be epic.

Unfortunately I had no clue what they were talking about but thanks to ZAM you can get the translation here

I hope that the game is still set for release this year, I'm definitely looking forward to getting my hands on it

See you soon STO

2010-03-25T19:12:00.004Z

Star Trek Online has been a success, at least in the eyes of Atari and Cryptic Studios. I don't think the same thing would be said by a vast majority of the initial player base, myself included. I don't think it's a failure, but it definitely needs some work!

The game has been launched nearly 2 months now and while Cryptic are still pushing out content updates like the recently released Season One which adds new PvP maps, more missions and a few other things you can find out about here

I've decided to cancel my subscription to the game for a while. My reason is being is that I can't justify the cost of a monthly subscription when there's so little to do. While the first taskforce mission was a lot of fun to play, in reality (for the moment anyway) it's the only real piece of endgame content available.

Another reason, which might not have played a part in my original decision to cancel the subscription, has definitely helped me in not regretting it. Charging real cash for in-game items. Aka - Microtransactions. I've made my opinions clear on the MT subject and they've officially become a reality today. Charging $4 dollars so you can create 2 more character is ridiculous. While I can understand stupid cosmetic things like new uniforms or bridge layouts, charging you to make more characters??

It's always been my opinion for an MMO that the first thing the developer should be concerned about is how they're going to keep people playing the game. Allowing the player to create more characters so they can play as different classes or factions usually does the trick for a while, it gives the developer enough time to build on it's existing end-game content. Cryptic, in their infinite wisdom decided to only give 3 character slots (5 if you bought the lifetime subscription)

I think it's very cheeky to ask a player to pay a fee on top of a monthly subscription for a slot to make a new character, something I think Cryptic (and any other company that does it) should be very ashamed of. I don't care that more characters take up extra server space. This is why you pay a monthly subscription in the first place!

In the end it's the long time/loyal player base who are the ones being targeted here. A new player isn't going to worry about multiple slots, retraining options and god knows whatever other ideas they come up with, it's the end-game players who need to consider them which is eventually what happens. I think as long as Cryptic keep game changing items out of the C-Store, people are most likely just going to accept these charges, but if Cryptic do cross that line...Game Over

I know I sound very harsh, that just goes to show how strongly I feel about it I guess but I don't want to say I'm finished with game forever because it's not true. You'll never see me using the C-Store, if they can continue to add more missions and new types of end-game content I would definitely come back to play them, but until then I'll watch from the sidelines so I don't miss anything and wait for the right time to come back.

Final Fantasy XIII Review Scores

2010-03-05T18:45:00.005Z

I've been certain for the last few years that it's very hard to trust the scores that websites and magazines give to high profile games, simply because I'm convinced they are payed off in some sense to give it favorable reviews. Today IGN wrote what I thought was a very fair review and gave it a score it deserved. Unfortunately they picked a game I had the high hopes for to give a low score.

I've already had people come back at me with saying that 8.3 isn't a bad score for a game. Normally I would agree; A lot of people and a lot of developers would be happy to get above 8 but I don't think there has been a numbered Final Fantasy that has ever gone below 9 on its first-time review (remakes don't count!) which what upsets me I guess.

From what I've gathered, there isn't really a "Bad Guy" like Sephiroth. There aren't any NPC's to interact with and no towns to explore. Basically, it seems like they took out all the RPG elements (much like Bioware did to ME2) and have made it more of an action game.

Yeah I know this post doesn't really have a point, you might say that this is my way of venting on the subject. I just read EDGE's review and they gave it a 5/10. Stating the same issues I mentioned above :(

The game isn't out till Tuesday and I'll definitely be picking it up regardless of bad reviews. I just hope that I enjoy it as much as I have the others in the franchise, it can't be much worse than Final Fantasy X-2....can it?

Expect a review once I get my hands on it!

STO Suggestions

2010-02-26T21:12:00.004Z

So STO launched about 2 weeks ago, I was going to write a review but I don't think it's really possible to fully review a game which is never meant to end, so instead of that, I'm going to give my suggestions to make the game better.

Ditch the Memory Alpha Crafting System
I hate to come off like I'm being mean for no reason, but whoever thought that Memory Alpha was a good idea needs a good kick up the arse. Cryptic have never been very good with crafting, Champions Online has suffered the same fate and City of Heroes/Villains is no better off either.

One thing that people have been begging for pretty much since Cryptic took over development was a full and interesting crafting system and while there is Tribble breeding for the Federation, what we really want is to craft consoles and weapons.

More Scripted Episodes
Right now I'm only a second grade Captain in-game and I've heard that content can get very thin towards the Admiral rank, my experiences as a Commander were pretty bad, I found myself with no missions other than the repeatable Cluster and Deep Space Encounter ones. While procedurally generated content is good for filling in gaps, it is in no way a replacement for scripted missions. Some of the "Episodes" have been amazing, it really did feel like being in an episode of Star Trek, while the procedural content is fairly boring. (Does anyone else notice that the Galaxy seems to be overrun by lava bleeding trees??)

Raid Groups and Missions!
I can only speak for myself, but I'm sure there are a lot of other people out there who hate the Crystalline Entity with a passion thanks to being grouped with morons who don't pay attention. Cryptic really need to implement raid grouping, so that Fleets can group together and take on Fleet Actions privately. So far, the only real benefit to joining a Fleet has been to use a Fleet Bank and have the use of a fleet channel. It seems that the new "Raidisodes" being released soon are still only 5-man instances which is very disappointing.

Speed Ground Combat up again!
During Beta, Ground Combat was fast and furious, until they decided to try and slow it down to keep with more traditional MMO pace. I personally prefer it faster, for a sci-fi MMO I think it needs to feel like everything is happening quickly, as it would in a real gun-fight, having to wait for a 1 second cooldown between shots just feels wrong.

Tweak Exchange
I'd like to see more options on the exchange. I think they need to add sub-sections to the weapons tab so that we can search for turrets, cannons, phasers, distrupters individually. As it stands now you need to know the name of an item to search for it. New players specifically aren't going to know whats going on (I know I didn't anyway)

Conclusion
I can't think of any MMO that hasn't suffered from problems during launch (Yes, even World of Warcraft!) so it would be unfair to say that STO isn't living up to my expectations. I plan on giving Cryptic another month or two before I make any final decisions on whether I'll renew my subscription, if they were to implement some of my suggestions above, I think it'd go a long way to making the game as popular as it deserves to be.

Mass Effect 2 Review

2010-02-03T16:38:00.002Z

I could literally sum this up in a sentence, actually in a word. Epic. Bioware are blessed to have such a great writing staff on hand because their last few games have been amazingly pieced together with great stories and Mass Effect 2 is no different.

I don't want to spoil the game for anyone so I'll try my best to keep them out.

The Good

Amazing Storyline

The story was mind blowing to me, it's so much darker than the first and basically begs for the sequel without leaving the player not satisfied.

Improved Game Mechanics

Bioware have been saying from the beginning that they went back and retooled everything based on player feedback from the first game and it's hard not to see their work. The aiming and guns feel a lot better and more responsive and accurate.

The conversation system has been completely upgraded now to include Paragon/Renegade actions as well as good guy/bad guy conversations. Some of them are really amazing. I think this is the closest they've come to morality and hopefully they can only improve on it for the next game.

More interesting characters

While Mass Effect 1 had a good crew, the crew of the 2nd are 10x better. They feel more real and I found myself actually wanting to hear what they all had to say instead of just trying to chat up the women (which I did too naturally :P)

Better side quests

I didn't do a lot of side quests in Mass Effect 1 because they weren't really all that interesting, I guess it's something that Bioware worked on too because they are a lot more impressive in this and some of them could have been a main story in itself.

The Bad
Unfortunately there are some bad parts to the game, most of which isn't really the fault of Bioware but more a platform issue. I can only speak for the Xbox 360 version which is what I played.

RPG elements are gone

I wonder if EA had anything to do with this. A lot of the RPG elements that made up the first game have either been removed or extremely toned down. Less abilities to level up, health system changed to rechargeable shield system and no visible stats for weapons and only minimal stats on armor.

Bring back the old UI!

Along with removing the RPG stuff, they've also changed the UI. I can only speak for myself but the I found it nearly impossible to keep track of my teams health. They were either getting hit or dead and I usually only noticed they were dead if they let out a scream. The mail system was a nightmare to go through, sometimes it would skip over buttons, or sometimes it'd be impossible to read the mail since the right stick was too sensitive to scroll through them.

Loading times

A lot of people were very frustrated by extremely long elevator rides from the first game so Bioware decided to take them out, now instead of looking at extremely long elevator rides, we just get extremely long animated wallpapers. At one point in the game I was having trouble and kept dying which would have been fine except that the game had to load for 40-60 seconds each time it happened which was a nightmare.

Framerate issues

Thankfully Bioware managed to get rid of the Unreal Engines mascot aka texture popping for this one but there was one major problem towards the end of the game. The framerate of the game goes to 15-17 frames a second at certain sections of the last boss. There was also a problem with the ending cutscene. It switches between pre-rendered and in-game scenes every few seconds which made the pre-rendered scenes stutter when they started.

The Verdict
There are very little problems with Mass Effect and the problems I listed really were only an Xbox problem (I never thought to install the game at the time so next playthrough I'll be doing that to test if those framerate issues are still there) but the game itself storywise and gameplay-wise make it a must have game. I simply can't wait for the third game which is hopefully not that far away. I just hope they take another stab at the UI and maybe add back some of the RPG elements.

Score: 9.5/10

What I've been up to

2010-01-29T00:12:00.003Z

As some of you might know, I'm currently stuck at home with tonsillitis. I've taken the time to overhaul a few things and make some plans to upgrade my home network.

As I mentioned in my last post I've finally figured out that damn problem with the mixed up " and @ keys which has made working on the Mac so much easier. I know it sounds like such a stupid thing but when you've spent 10 years with them that way, it's hard to break the habit!

I used to think Mac's were crap but I've come around to them now and I actually really like the OS but unfortunately there are some Windows only programs that I need to do my work. I was using Bootcamp for a while but it was such a nightmare having to reboot and switch between the both. I'm currently testing out VMware Fusion 3 which so far has been working wonders, I've used Virtual PC before so I knew the drill. The most important thing though is VMware supports 3D acceleration which I need for some of the applications I use for college work.

I installed Windows XP and got each of the programs working without any issues.

I'm currently planning out a home server for the house. I'd like to be able to stream content all over the house without having to leave my computer on, I'm currently leaning towards using Windows Home Server for the OS and using spare parts from old computers I've picked up over the years. From what I've read it will run well (as long as I don't plan on streaming HD content straight away) on the parts I've got. The major thing I need to invest in is storage space for backups and hosting my media.

Last but not least I've discovered two amazing things (one thanks to my cousin, the other thanks to Google) Groove Shark and Mozilla Prism.

Groove Shark is basically the YouTube equivalent for the internet radio industry. It runs much like Last.fm but instead of charging you to listen to the music, they let you listen for free but offer VIP services that gets rid of some annoying ads and offers you a bigger library. So far I haven't had any problems finding a song I like.

One thing I really hate is having to keep Firefox open for web applications so Prism is like a godsend to me. It lets you make a stand alone program out of web applications that can collapse to the taskbar. It means that if your browser crashes (as they do) the radio or game you are using isn't going to crash with it. I highly recommend checking it out.

So that's what I've been up to the last few days. Mass Effect 2 tomorrow and then STO next week. Those plus college is going to keep me very busy!

I love solving old problems!

2010-01-28T05:06:00.002Z

Something that has always annoyed me about using the macbook is that the " and @ signs were always mixed up. Apparently Apple doesn't know what an Irish keyboard layout is. I spent hours looking for a solution to it, apparently one guy made some kind of hotfix for it but I couldn't get it working. I've also seen guides on setting up custom keystrokes to fix it but nothing really worked.

Today my friends I've finally found the solution. For some reason I decided to start looking around for a fix again today and funnily enough it was one of the first pages I checked.

I had to download an additional keyboard layout (from Microsoft) which switched them around properly.

I've also installed VMware so I can get back to work with my Java and HTML work.

Apple iPad Impressions

2010-01-27T18:33:00.003Z

So it's finally been announced. We've known about it for month's but now the iPad is official and I've to be honest. It's a bit of a disappointment. First the Nexus 1, then the HP Tablet and now the iPad.

Software wise it met all my expectations. We knew it would run on some kind of hybrid iPhone OS and we weren't wrong. All those iPhone apps are still going to work without any issues, they're just going to look very small (apparently it will have a zoom function that will make the apps look bigger but will lose visual quality)

My biggest gripe is the physical design of it. That big black border around the screen makes it look horrible! I think 99% of the concepts different websites came up with had the screen extending to the absolute edge, similar to the iPhone and iPod touch. I guess the reason for that could be that they simply couldn't fit the hardware in to such a small place but that begs the question, why didn't they make the screen bigger then? It's supposed to be a 9.7" capacitive touch screen, an extra .3 inches could have made a huge difference aesthetically (to me at least)

I'm sure by the time the next iteration of it is released sometime next year they'll have redesigned it to be more streamlined as Apple do with all their products.

The most exciting thing that comes to mind now for the iPad is the development of iPad applications which I'm guessing will have an extremely, if not identical process to that of the iPhone via the App Store. Being a bit of a programmer myself this is where I think the iPad could potentially shine just like it's little brother.

I think I'll definitely be waiting till next year to pick up the revised version after all the initial bugs and problems have been kicked.

Welcome to 2010

2010-01-07T20:41:00.004Z

Hey all. Happy New Year

I know I've been away for a while. As I've said a million times by now, college has had me busy and it hasn't changed so I haven't had the chance to update as much as I'd like to.

Modern Warfare 2 has started to get a bit old which I expected to happen, I've been playing the multiplayer for about 2 months now and it's been fun so I think its run the course.

Mass Effect 2 is coming out in a few weeks which I'm really looking forward to playing. "Santa" brought me a Sony eBook Reader for Christmas and the first book I got for it was the first Mass Effect Novel which is a prequel to the game and has been great so far. I plan on playing through the first Mass Effect again after finishing the book and then if I have time I'll pick up the second novel which is a sequel.

STO's beta is still in full force. Apparently the NDA has been lifted which means we can talk about it and I do plan on talking about the state of the game very soon. I've actually decided to take a break from testing because I don't want to ruin the game for myself at launch.

I ordered a new phone today called the HTC HD2 which should be here on Monday, I'll write up a first impressions on it when it comes.

So I hope everyone had a good Christmas and plan on having a great new year.

Christmas is nearly here!

2009-12-06T22:11:00.004Z

So Christmas is just around the corner, I wish I could use it as the excuse as to why I've been away but the honest truth is, I've been too busy. I've said this a few times in my last few blogs but it's the truth. I'm having a hard time juggling my time between games, college and having some sort of a social life.

STO is currently chin deep in beta which is moving along smoothly, open beta isn't too far off either. I really wish I could talk about it but as I've said before, the NDA is in effect and I don't want to get on the bad side of Cryptic because I really want to keep playing :P

2010 is looking to be a great year for games we've got Mass Effect 2 in January, Star Trek Online in February, Final Fantasy XIII and White Knight Chronicles in March as well as some that don't have a solid date.

I went to the open day of the college I'm hoping to switch to next year on Saturday and it was really cool. The building, the people and the general atmosphere of the place was awesome. After talking to a few of the people currently in the course as well as the lecturers it just looks like the place for me.

Christmas break is coming up soon which means I'll be able to chillax and get my gaming on. I plan on replaying Mass Effect and going through all the side quest content just in time for Mass Effect 2's release and maybe I'll even finish Dragon Age, you never know!

Cya all later and again I'm sorry for not writing too much lately!

Bit late to the party

2009-11-12T09:45:00.002Z

So Star Trek Online gets it's release date! I'm a bit annoyed that the EU has to wait 3 more days to play but I guess I'll survive.

February 5th!

I'm going to have a few projects to work on around that time so my playtime could be restricted until I get my midterm and then on to the summer holidays.

Modern Warfare 2 came out two nights ago and it's probably the reason why I haven't written this earlier. It's so damn addictive I can't stop playing it. Even when you ragequit, you find yourself back playing again within 5-10 minutes.

[SPOILERS]

It's been getting a lot of publicity because of it's violence, more specifically I think people are getting "upset" about the airport level. It is a bit on the nose and I'm sure there could be people who would take offense or be very upset by it but Infinity Ward gives you the opportunity to skip the level when you start the campaign and even warns you twice.

Basically you play as a terrorist. You get to shoot up an Airport of innocent people as an undercover CIA agent. You don't actually have to shoot anybody, you can just walk through the airport and let your terrorist friends do the dirty work so you can always say you didn't kill anyone.

Me on the other hand, I killed every last person and enjoyed it. It's a game and no I don't have any homicidal thoughts and no, I'm not a terrorist. The game has an 18's (mature) rating for a reason. Infinity Ward do cover their asses at the end of the level though and the bad guy actually shoots you dead for your "bad deeds"

[END OF SPOILERS]

The multiplayer is fantastic and is a lot more fleshed out than CoD4. Better balance, more perks, more levels and loads of maps to play on. It will definitely keep people playing for years.

On a more personal level, I've handed in a few assignments and done a programming test, things are going good.

Cya later!

Leaked Screenshots of Halo Reach

2009-11-05T23:08:00.009Z

It looks like Microsoft have a leak somewhere as 6 pictures of the next Halo game has been leaked.

Even though these pictures are a bit blurry, there are definitely some small details that stick out. Looks like some weapons are getting revamped, updated UI and even a bit of a graphical update by the looks of it.

Besides the teaser trailer Bungie released at E3 I believe, this is the first bit of information we've had since it was announced so big thanks to Tom Morello!