May 2008 - Gamer Chip

Gamer Chip

follow this blog

61 followers

320 daily readers

rank of 44

Minecraft 1.1 is Finally Out!!

E-mail Subscription

Receive an e-mail notification of new posts on this site:

Gamer Chip - May 2008

Age of Conan - How Ebay Saved my Life

May 30th 2008 02:44

This books title says it all

It was close. Tantalisingly, physically close. I sat at home holding one of the weeks holy relics of gaming, a crisp new Limited Edition copy of Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Two universes flashed before my eyes. The first, a life where I had real friends, job, a social life and my girlfriend Anna. The one where I exercised (all be it on a Wii – I’m still a gamer) and laughed and liked sunlight and puppies, liked puppies that liked sunlight.

Then the other cut in. The life where I played an MMO.
In that moment I decided. I couldn’t do it, not even for Conan, my childhood hero. I realised the pain Gollum had gone through on his torturous journey with the Ring. And without the help of any elderly wizards, I made the decision.

Age of Conan has been touted for the past few years as the next big thing in MMORPG’s. With a dynamic, real time combat system that features multiple hit and defence locations shown in glorious next generation graphics, this title has swept awards and gained press space like few others in its genre. The promise of a deeper adult orientated role playing experience and more interaction to offset the ‘click and sit’ method of World of Warcraft has drawn in many, going so far as to raise the question, “is this the WOW killer we’ve been waiting for?”. We all know that’s not going to happen, but for people to have even asked gives you an idea of the games huge hype.

Since its release, reviewers have been raving. Metacritic users have given it over 80% as of today, and we are still waiting for the big sites to get to a high enough level give a meaningful score. Early life signs are strong.
Forums are exploding. With all the promise of an adult world they still seem to be brimming with fifteen year old booger-flicking boys. The rest are ambitious Guild Masters to be, fighting a bigger battle than the game will ever offer them, the Recruit Newcomers Quest. Ultimately, this is what MMO’s are all about. Forget the great graphics, ignore the combat system, disregard the scantily clad (if clad at all) curvy Cimmerian priestesses… What was I saying? Oh yeah, forget all of that, because you will still be inhabiting this new world with these people.

And so, considering all of this, I slowly logged into my Ebay account… and clicked… sell.

Ah, Anna, my darling. You will never know the sacrifice, but perhaps it’s best that way.

Vote

Comments (3)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Colin Stevens - Category: PC

Email this Post to a Friend

Vista - Gaming Made Easy?

May 29th 2008 06:38

Coming to all good games near you

It’s time the industry got its act together and made hardware more than a bunch of meaningless numbers… By creating one meaningless number to help us figure out what games will run on our PC.

Why are we not all throwing out our PCs, ditching them in a mix of despair and exaltation as we let go of the need for constant upgrading, the expensive new video cards and processors (now with extra cores!) every time a new title hits the shelves? Is it part of the pleasure of PC gaming when you finally construct the perfect balance of speed, power, temperature and compatibility? The unbridled joy of having Half Life 2 burst forth at 80 unflinching frames per second in a resolution that makes you weep silently at the beauty of the virtual world, only then to find that Supreme Commander becomes a stop animation film?

Let’s face it; no one really likes the process of having to create a gaming rig. Specs constantly change and it’s easy to get burnt. Consider the people who jumped in at the launch of the NVIDIA GeForce 8800, only to find that it will not be backward compatible with the new and improved Direct X 10.1. $800 plus dollars later and they get to boast that they are the proud owners of one of the fastest pieces of hardware to become obsolete in the history of computing. The real problem here is that there is no consistency between hardware and software – the hardware setup that works well with one game will not perform with another. Fortunately, there are steps being taken to rectify the situation.

Microsoft has begun the task of simplifying the way in which we rate the performance of our PC though the introduction of the Windows system performance rating application. With Vista they have attempted to make PC use more accessible to the masses, and this new application moves to summarise the whole of your hardware components into a single number, which can then be used by software publishers to show what will run properly on your PC. This system is still in its infancy and has teething problems like any other, but if it can get to the stage where you can be sure that your shiny new version of Unreal Tournament will work well on your setup, then it deserves our support.

Conan has it, it must be good...

If you are one of the several people who have moved over to Vista, you can find the system performance rating of your PC by typing “performance information and tools” into the search bar.

Your PC’s performance is divided into five categories, or subscores: Processor, memory, graphics, gaming graphics and primary hard disk. The higher the subscore, the more intensive workload your hardware can handle. Current mid to high range hardware weighs in at around 4-5, with the highest possible score being 5.9 and the lowest 1. We are told though that as new hardware is released the maximum scores will increase. This initially seems to make sense but feels like it will become clumsy in the long run. Although compared with the alternative of having the distinctly depressing feeling of watching your base score reduce like the price of an expired sausage at the supermarket, I don’t mind the idea.

These subscores are summarised by the all important ‘Windows Experience Index’. This number is the one that Microsoft are banking on being the future of the ‘minimum system requirements’ section on the bottom of your games packaging. The flaw in this at the moment is that the number is worked out by using the lowest score across the five categories, meaning that if your PC does not perform well in the graphics category, your entire system is regarded as performing at that level. Why should your cranked up gaming rig be made fun of by Vista loving machines because it doesn’t handle Vista Aero well, which has no bearing on how installed games and applications will run? Conspiracy theorist have already emerged claiming this scoring system may lead to collusion between software developers and hardware manufacturers, who might fight to have their hardware rated better than their competitors. Only time will tell as to how this is resolved.

Interestingly, there is already a link built in to the performance rating application that would take you to the Microsoft marketplace and show you software that will run on a system with your base score…If anybody actually used the score. It seems that not even Microsoft have adopted the system with their own software, much less Ubisoft or EA. All you get at the moment is the fairly anonymous Microsoft marketplace. The second piece to complete the puzzle may end up being in the form of a system scanning utility currently running on the Games for Windows website. With a quick install this is meant to scan your system and tell you if specific titles are suitable for you. You see, although I say running I mean that the utility wasn’t able to recognise some of the hardware on my new HP dual core laptop, causing it to curl up in a ball and play dead. Infants! When this is finally running properly I feel it will be a major step towards working out our future upgrade paths, and give invaluable assistance when choosing titles to purchase. It would seem a very difficult task to register every possible video card, CPU, and sound card, but with most components coming from the major players these days most people should eventually find it an indispensable tool.

With all the promise in the world, the current version of the Windows system performance application does little to help us with our hardware woes, mirroring the feeling that people have of Vista in general. This is a product before its time; eventually though it seems destined to become a permanent piece of the gaming landscape once the ‘beta’ period is over. With the major publishers and retailers already investing heavily into the Games for Windows branding, it won’t be long before we start comparing the numbers from our computers to those on the boxes of the latest titles.

102

Vote

Comments (3)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Colin Stevens - Category: PC

Email this Post to a Friend

Wii Fit - Or, how to love 6:30am

May 28th 2008 06:49

You will look this dorky using it

Warning - Using the Wii Fit in the company of others is potentially more embarassing than being found watching Aerobics Oz Style alone and with the lights off.

The Wii Fit represents a lot of things to many people. An opportunity for an improved lifestyle through exercise, or a new way in which to be mocked by fellow 30-somethings. I fall into the latter category.
In my quest to bring the real story of gaming to the world, I have taken it upon myself to test drive my body and the recently released Wii Fit. The review here will focus mainly on the Wii in the interest of the readers.

Leotards not included

A fiendishly simple device, this oversized and stylised set of scales can measure minute shifts in weight from side to side and back and forwards. I felt fairly confident climbing onboard for the first time as it is quite hefty and feels as though my moderate weight would not cause any small, high pitched screams of "help me!".
The set up is incredibly simple, so if you are blessed with an ample waistline and the gift of ignorance you will be well catered for. With the Wii and the Fit synched the familiar Wii screens will guide you through a few tests to determine your Wii Fit age.
I have to warn you that this is slightly disturbing. Imaging having a device designed for children tell you that you are overweight, then proceed to create an on-screen representation of you that has the silhouette of the comic book guy from the Simpsons. I'm still scarred, wondering if seeing myself like that is like hearing yourself on the phone - never in any way how you imagined.
After being told that you are physically five years older than you are ( I think I was let off lightly) you can receive salvation by exercise. Initially it is pretty disappointing. There are very few exercises unlocked and only a small number of reps for each. Thankfully things open up in a short time, and I found that now I am a couple of weeks in there are ample things to do, perfectly suiting the minimal amount of enthusiasm I have. Even the much publicised issue of being unable to set a program consisting of multiple excercises ceases to be an factor as you become proficent with the controls.
If you are less than serious about the whole thing the balance games are great fun, even if I have found myself running for cover on hearing someone about to enter the room. The first time playing the hula hoop game almost lead to a dislocated pelvis. This may have had more to do with me than any design fault though. The only part that made me cringe was the jogging. You have to step on the spot for a few minutes, simulating the experience of running. Outside. In the fresh air. Except there isn't any. Outside. Or fresh air. You decide.
It also tries to help if you wish to track your progress, but to be honest there is little use in it, seeing as the current system of BMI (body mass index) means that an 80kg man would need to drop over 10kg to get to the 'ideal weight'. I actually check a government website to see if this was accurate, and strangely it was. My advise, unless you want to look like one of the Veronicas, is to ignore it.

All in all the Wii Fit is an amazing device. With support in future games already announced and a new, more intensive exercise program promised by EA in the near future, the Wii Fit board looks to be a good investment.
As to the important question: Will couch potatoes and sunlight fearing geeks get fit? Not with this alone. But it is a great way to get started and an ideal way to start a day. Just make sure no-one is home while you do.

Vote

Comments (1)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Colin Stevens - Category: No Category

Email this Post to a Friend

Welcome to Gamer Informer!

May 28th 2008 00:39

Tired of those gaming sites that bring you sold-out reviews, the best that the industries money can buy?

Upgrade to the quad core of blogs, GamerChip.

Fresh throughout the week your eyes will feast upon the freshest view on the latest and greatest in games and industry news.

Vote

Comments (2)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Colin Stevens - Category: Other

Email this Post to a Friend

January 2012

1 Posts

December 2011

2 Posts

November 2011

2 Posts