Game

I’ve been playing Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus lately. R&C has always been one of my favorite game franchises. I was more than little disappointed with the last game though. It had some major bugs that almost rendered the game unplayable.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love my beloved lombax but this last game felt very rushed. Games always have bugs. I’ve yet to encounter a single game that didn’t have at least one bug in it. It is just a fact of life. That said, one that prevents the game from continuing is pretty big.

The Pup got to see my frustration first hand as I was yelling at the TV and very upset over such a stupid mistake. [1]Unfortunately, he didn’t appreciate my slightly misdirected angst when I snapped at one of his recommended workarounds. Fear not, I made amends.  And I was upset because it is one of my favorite games. I only bought the PS3 for R&C and GOW. Had those two games gone to Xbox, I’d never have picked up the PS3.

Anyway, I finished the game, even crippled as it was. It sort of rights itself in challenge mode but even then it’s still slightly not right. I plan on leaving feedback on the developer site. I know they’ll make another. I’d rather a game be delayed vs being full of bugs.

If you plan on playing it, here’s a tip. When you get past the bronze and silver challenges and come back to the gold medal challenges in the arena, don’t stop and save during any of the gold challenges. Play all the way thru to the next world, then stop and save. This seems to overcome the bug. Also, the last Gargathon Horn is hidden really well. Go to the left side of the world in the area where you fly around a lot. Make a left turn when you come thru the mountain tunnel and look for the broken railing on the mountain side, it’s in there with the Smuggler’s parrot!

Beyond the bug, this most recent version is more like the old school R&C vs some of the sillier more recent versions. If you’re a fan, you’ll like this one overall.

References

References
1 Unfortunately, he didn’t appreciate my slightly misdirected angst when I snapped at one of his recommended workarounds. Fear not, I made amends.

Game On

I am so looking forward to this game. The first one didn’t get much press but it was a very fun game. If you’re a nerdy consoledarkness gamer like me that enjoys a game that’s fun to play, this is a good one to have. In the first one, the story isn’t overly complex but it gives you a decent history as it unfolds. It had a few bugs in that it was too dark on some scenes and the monologues were boring as hell and couldn’t be skipped. But the game play was fun. If you’re like me and you enjoy FPS [1]first person shooter games w/more than just army nonsense, then this one is worth checking out. Well the first one was. I haven’t played part 2 yet but it’s been getting good reviews.

Like blogging, I come and go on gaming. Free time tends to be limited these days so just finding time to get lost in a game is challenging enough. lol I gauge a games worth on how many times I play thru it end to end. If I play it once and put it down, then it might have been ok but not phenomenal. If I’m willing to play thru it on increasing difficulty modes or just like replaying over and over, then it’s a keeper.

Anyway, I’ve always been a fan of scifi/horror/fantasy games. I know everyone else is big on war and sports games but I need more than speed or just different scenes to shoot opponents. I like a game with good visual layouts, music that fits the game play, and ease of use. The latter can be harder than you think. Every game developer seems to wanna ‘reinvent’ the game world which can often start with large expectations and small outcomes. You also have to have a feel for the game developer. Some companies turn out crap over and over until they find a hit. Some actually spend a lot of effort really focusing on how gamers play the game. The later often turn out to be big hits. I’m a huge fan of the Gears of War franchise. The third one seemed a little rushed but it was still good. The God of War games were awesome too. Both had great game fly, difficulty but not too difficult, and wonderful visual/audio scenes. I wish they’d come out with another Ratchet & Clank game. It was one of my all time favorite games. lol I played each one over and over and over.

Anyway, rather than wasting money I don’t have on buying all these, I use gamefly.com. It’s like Netflix for video games. I can play a game as long as I like and send it back when I’m done or I can buy it at a reduced rate. I used to buy 5-8 games a year and that shit adds up. Now I play twice that many and only buy the ones I really like.

For you nerds, I’ve got Infamous 2, Darkness II, and Portal 2 all up next in queue. My username/gamertag for Xbox 360 and PS3 is the same as my twitter handle.

References

References
1 first person shooter

Gay High Holy Day 3

I managed to recategorize the 2004 posts so far. Jesus H Christ Mary Joseph & David! I will never try to upgrade my blog w/o first doing a full backup again! Anyway….

So the last gay holiday of the season is this weekend, Folsom St. Fair. The city is already jam-packed full of guys.

Yours truly is going to be busier than a one-legged man at a butt-kicking contest. The roomies bf is in town late tonight. I have a friend coming from Mexico tomorrow who has never been. TFA also surprised me, he has a lay over Saturday as well. Lord, the weekend was already busy but damn!

Even more, I have to run around tomorrow doing prep work. Thank the stars I dropped the laundry off already. Plus, I have to drive down to the Union Hall and drop off paperwork. [1]Big drama at work this week, more on that later.

OH! I almost forgot, the Xbox comes back tomorrow! Hopefully, it will be in good working order.

Anyway, a good weekend to all. I have 4 days off so I’m exited.

References

References
1 Big drama at work this week, more on that later.

Geek Unbound II

So desire got the best of me yesterday and I ended up buying the new PS3. It was on sale so only paid a tad more than I paid for the Xbox 360. I have to say so far I’m not overly impressed. Don’t get me wrong, it is a nice console. But, to hear Sony talk, it blows the Xbox away. Not so. The graphics are about on par w/the Xbox 360.

I’ve always been a PS fan so I’m happy I managed to squeeze out the coin for a new one. It does play all my old games. [1]So far. I noticed a very odd glitch in that the some of the unused buttons actually repeat the primary button functions. I have the demo of FEAR on Xbox and I bought the full version for PS3. The xbox version looks much better. It may be because FEAR came out too soon to be radically re-written for the new PS3 architecture.

The big reason I made the purchase was for my favorite game, Ratchet & Clank. Adam clued me in a new version only for PS3 is coming out in October. R&C is my all time favorite video console game and I just couldn’t forgo being able to play it. I still play all of the last 4 versions often.

Microsoft gets big points for their online services. The XBL (Xbox Live) is incredibly intuitive and user friendly. Setup was simple and fast. The PS3, not so much. The menus are overly obscure and broken down too far. Some are even redundant. I also had a big problem registering my console so I could buy stuff online. Even though my billing address for my CC is my PO Box, it kept polling for my physical address. I had to call my bank, add it, and then retry it. Very annoying. MS charges for their online services but at $40 bucks a year, not a big deal. PS3 online is free however, another failure on the part of Sony. For such a nice console the online site is lackluster to say the least. The icons and logos are reminiscent of the old sega consoles. A huge disappointment. You can tell they really rushed it. I hope they get their act together and spruce it up.

The PS3 did have a variety of new ports this time for storage. Compact flash, SD/Mini SD, and Sony’s proprietary memory stick. [2]which never caught on w/anyone but Sony Sadly, no port for memory cards from the PS2. So you can’t port your saved games to the PS3. Another very annoying feature. [3]I found out from Adam, they do make an adapter. He is loaning me his. Such a sweetie. I have yet to watch any HD DVD’s on the PS3. I hear it is spectacular so I’ll have to get back to you on that one.

Over all, I think the consoles are pretty even on graphics rendering. However, Microsoft is the clear winner in mind. Maybe Billy is finally taking a page out of the Steve Jobs book and making his staff focus as much on aesthetics as function.


References

References
1 So far. I noticed a very odd glitch in that the some of the unused buttons actually repeat the primary button functions.
2 which never caught on w/anyone but Sony
3 I found out from Adam, they do make an adapter. He is loaning me his. Such a sweetie.

The Morning After

So last night with TFA was very nice. It was good to see him again. After almost 3 weeks, I was jones’en to see his handsome face. [1]Yeah, I was excited to see other parts but I won’t be going there He tends to be a very private person so I think knowing that I blog scares him a little. hehehe. I’ve assured him it is all very general and often has more to do with me. Wouldn’t you agree?

I will say it is very nice to find someone who’s energy matches my own! OY! Such a strong connection. I’m liking where this is headed so far.


References

References
1 Yeah, I was excited to see other parts but I won’t be going there

Fly By

So the flight attendant [1]Here on out referred to as TFA has a layover tonight in SF! I’m so excited I’m falling all over myself today. LOL It has been 3 weeks since I’ve seen him. I’m definitely looking forward to it.

You can figure out the rest on your own.


References

References
1 Here on out referred to as TFA

Gym & Tramps

Let see, how should I start this one. Nothing comes to mind so I guess I’ll dive right in. For those of you who know me, you know I’m a total horndog so this is no surprise to you. For those who don’t, well brace yourself, this is a bit of an adult rant today. *smile*

So I’m cruising this guy at the gym. He is just scrumptious from my point of view. . . 5’6″ italian mix of some sort. Tight lean frame and yeah THAT was nice too. *G* He always acts like he’s interested so I thought today was the day. I’m done w/my workout, (triceps – day from hell) and I’m showering up when he walks by gives me an up/down look as if to say “hello – drop to your knees”. I’m like wahooo! So then he slips into the steam room to hang out. I follow of course. And it goes like this for about 30mins. From shower to steam room and back again. Getting a bit annoyed, I corner him and ask him if he wants to come over since I’m only a block away. His response “is it safe over there?” …uh, well I’m a block away, how bad can it get? I didn’t really know what to say so I said, “yes, I’m just a block away”. So now he is all skiddish and stand offish giving off totally mixed signals. Of course, this ruins the spontaneity of it for me.

I just don’t get fags sometimes. Why go thru all the effort of showing someone you are into them and then back out? And the fucker was obviously interested cause he got a stiffy several times. Oh well, its not like I’m starving for it. Christ, this is SF after all. You can get laid checking the mail.

Well, thats my rant for now. I’m home “in the mood” after being disappointed by Mr. Hottie. I wonder if I can order in…