srsly » stanley cup

gamefly is a joke

jared — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 01:08:57 +0000

i canceled my gamefly subscription because of the reasons outlined a couple days ago. they responded to my complaint by telling me that if i wanted to wait for “short wait” games to become available i should take out “available” games i might not want. which i put in my complaint letter as being a broken solution. so i guess that tells me a little about their customer service… when i went to cancel they told me i had 29 days left in my billing cycle. what that translates to is “we want you to wait some more for games we can’t send you in the hopes that next month you’ll forget again and we’ll get another 20 bucks out of you.” yes, i’m giving up a month’s subscription price because the service is that lame. it’s a good idea in principle, but they don’t have the inventory to back up demand.
i thought it might be a good idea but i did just buy a bunch of games for the wii and haven’t finished a couple for the 360. if i really want something, i’ll go buy it.

also, since i can’t seem to post without talking about bikes, i bought a road bike over the weekend.

it’s a 2006 Felt F65. Aluminum frame with carbon fiber wishbone seat stays and a carbon fiber fork. all ultegra components except the crank/bb which is a FSA Omega compact carbon crankset. i was originally going to get a 2007 F55 from my cousin, but their distributor was out until early May. it was a tossup between these two bikes but since they didn’t carry over the F65 to this year i went for the F55 since i could get a deal. but since they were out i called a LBS to see if they had any F65 left and sure enough they did. so instead of dura-ace and spending a lot more money, i got ultegra and saved a bunch.

one less grub

jared — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 16:44:42 +0000

after a day and a half of searching i finally obtained a copy of Gears of War.- oddly enough on the advice of a co-worker, i went to Fred Meyer after searching Target, Best Buy, and various game stops.- and to my surprise i was asked by a small, late-middle-aged lady if i needed help finding something.- and i suppose based on my age and asking about “a specific xbox 360 title” she led me to the counter where she produced a stack of no less than ten copies.- in a metro area this large the odds of getting a game this anticipated this close to launch day without a reservation are very bad.- but since this particular Fred Meyer is out in Lake City, i suppose i can understand why they were in no danger of running out.
the game itself lives up to the hype.- i don’t know that i’d go so far as to say it redefines anything.- it certainly has elements previously seen only in advanced tactical shooters nicely rolled into an action shooter.- i would go so far as to say that this entry into the shooter genre might very well blur the line between tactical and action.- to say “cover is king” would be a wild understatement.- there is no “run and gun” or “epic standoff.”- you get your butt behind something solid and wait to stick your head out or you just die.- the parts where you’re not ducking for cover are when you’re exploring after a battle or running to the next one where you will most likely be surprised and forced to scramble for cover.- it might sound like this gets tired after a while but it certainly does not.
the excitement of every firefight is compounded when you play with a buddy.- the game allows you to play through the entire campaign in co-op mode.- so now when you yell in surprise or triumph you won’t be shrieking at your tv alone.- you can have a friend on the other end of a mic shouting in the same fashion.- i don’t think i’ve been this excited to play a game with anyone for a long time.- there was one particular section where we were confronted with a rather large and aggressive creature that we had to lure outside so that we could shoot it with an orbiting satellite.- the predicament here was that we were deep inside what had already been referred to as a tomb with no discernible way out.- after dying a couple times and randomly scrambling about shouting in confusion we stumbled upon a large room with a sealed door.- a plan began to form.- i ran for this door and sure enough a game tooltip popped up and said it was breakable.- i shouted to my comrade to lure the beast to the other end of the room in line with this door.- this was no easy task.- after several missed attempts we got the thing to ram it’s head into the door and break it.- we then made daring runs through the door right under it’s nose.- we were presented with this scenario 3 times before we actually got outside.- here we had to get the creature to stand still long enough for me to target it with the satellite.- ben figured out that when it runs into things it gets stunned and proceeded to lure it into head-butting the various stone pieces that littered the courtyard.- once it was stunned i was able to paint it for the satellite and death rained from the heavens.- it was a very satisfying victory.

the game is filled with moments like this.- i am not disappointed i purchased it at all.- the best part is that after about 3-4 hours of playing we’re maybe halfway through.- then there’s insane mode, not to mention the adversarial multiplayer.- i haven’t had much luck with that, i keep getting disconnected.- but it might be server load; it is only 2 days after the game hit the street.

mayhem!

jared — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 11:50:02 +0000

i got Saint’s Row last night. the demo was only the tip of the iceberg. there is a heck of a lot to do in the game outside the main story; and it doesn’t feel tacked on. i spent more time last night playing the mini-quests and just running around doing other things and actually ended up progressing the game quite a bit. i didn’t get a chance to play the multiplayer, but i’m going to try and do that tonight.
i think the best part about the game is the voice cast. there are actually a number of people that you’d know lending their voices to characters. i think the best so far is Keith David. he voices Julius, the leader of your gang. “who the heck is Keith David?!” yeah, i know; you wont’ recognize the name, but you’ll definately recognize the voice. apparently Michael Clark Duncan and Mila Kunis are in there as well; i haven’t run into their characters yet.
really, this is what GTA should have been after 5 games. yes it’s a complete ripoff, but SR is a much better game. the missions are a bit more varied, it feels like you have more freedom walking around, and there’s definately a lot more to do. one thing that kinda bothers me is the rep system. i’m not sure how it works, but whenever you go into certain gang territory and you start killing rival gang members you fill a meter that’s kinda like cops, only for gang members. once you get to a certain point you can’t be in that territory without having a car drive up and someone try to kill you before walking a block. i guess it keeps you on your toes, but your only recourse is to kill them, and that just raises the meter higher. there’s a shop you can visit to get things covered up and the meters reset, but i’ve only found one, and if you’re across town it’s kind of hard to get to. oh well, nothing’s perfect. if you have a 360, i highly suggest it.

it’s so epic

jared — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 12:56:51 +0000

i got Shadow of the Colossus the other day. if you have a ps2 and you played ICO, you owe it to yourself to get this. it’s from the same people that made ICO so it has the same art and style. and the same non-story kind of thing.
but man is it epic. the whole premise seems to be that you’ve traveled to the ends of the earth with the dead body of this girl to entreat a being at said end of the earth to bring her soul back. said being then tells you that he can do it if you travel around the world, which is vast and rolling by the way, and kill 12 colossi, which are also really fucking huge.
so you ride across pretty landscapes on your horse to what amounts to 12 boss fights. nothing in between, just start at the place where you left the girl and talk to this supernatural being, ride to the colossus, and kill it. doesn’t sound like much, but killing the colossi isn’t just running up and stabbing it. each one is a puzzle. you have to figure out how to climb on it, yes climb on it these things are huge, and find it’s weak spot. once you find it’s weak spot you stab it ’till it’s dead. all the while you’re clinging for dear life while the thing tries to shake you off, or smash you somehow. coupled with some really great, and epic, music during the fight, it’s actually really satisfying. my only complaint is that it’s a bit too easy. getting to the bosses isn’t that hard. sometimes there’s a climbing or jumping puzzle on the way, but no other enemies to speak of. also, once you figure out how to climb around on the boss, it’s not that difficult to stay on it long enough to stab it.
all things considered it’s a really decent game. it’s really fun, if a bit short. but seeing it’s it’s 40 bucks that kinda makes up for it. even if the fights seem a bit easy, it’s still a very satisfying experience. and if nothing else, it’s worth it to get it just to look at the art. it really does look good, and i find myself just riding around on the horse looking at things or doing stupid stunts like riding full bore at a cliff while standing on the horse’s back waving a sword around then jumping off the horse at the edge of the cliff. and that’s just fun. i like games that are fun.