rorschach’s journal

Early in the morning (read 0900) I wake up to the sound of someone drumming my door. Ah! It’s Gargoyl3 (erstwhile Gargoyle… kids!). “eh, ho gaya re”. Finally, the chap’s been up all night in the lab with both our laptops (while I’ve been pleasantly snoozing), and now we’ve finally got our hands on the much-awaited S.T.A.L.K.E.R – Shadow of Chernobyl.

The ISO (an MDF rather) is a mere 3.x gb betraying the actual disk requirement. The Setup first scans the hardware (and does that very efficiently too) and checks if the system meets the requirement (better than some games which do that AFTER the installation). Gargoyl3’s PC easily meets the requirements… now comes the first glitch… the game’s asking for 9gb (shock and awe revisited) of disk-space, but wait that’s not the reason why I said glitch, while the (full) installation seems to take only 5gb (eh?)… the developer’s seemed to have grossly over-estimated the disk-req!

Anyhow, we proceed to the game and believe me the menu (as well as the loading) screen really help build up the excitement. The starting cut-scene isn’t disappointing either (I actually expected some monsters… but alas!). The real disappointment comes later… the game much touted as a revolutionary fps, turns out to be an quest-based-rpg (yucks!). The same rigmarole of talking to people, maintaining an inventory and using a pda (I’m kinda tired of the pda routine now) gives this game a signature rpg feel. We’ve only played for some 10-15 mins so I can’t really comment on the action but whatever I saw was, quite frankly, blasé. The AI doesn’t seem overtly intelligent and the physics isn’t brilliant either. At one point we were standing in between two NPCs (and shooting at them) while they were merely content at taking pot-shots at our team-mates… mind you, they didn’t take even one shot at us, while we were busy “kicking their arse” (mind the quotes… the action, like I said, is quite tasteless.

The only good I could draw (from my brief look of the game) was the environmental details! It’s quite sad that developers, these days, are concentrating more on improving the aesthetic value of a game (and thus making them unplayable on systems like mine!) rather than on the in-game intelligence and actual playability. Only a few exceptions like Farcry, Half Life2 and FEAR are games which actually combine both intelligent gameplay with stupendous graphics. I don’t know about others but I’d rather play a bad looking Half Life than a good looking Spiderman.

The net result, S.T.A.L.K.E.R’s a good enough game for those who like both traditional fps’s and rpg’s, but don’t expect it to behave like another Half Life or FEAR… lets keep our fingers crossed that CrySis doesn’t disappoint (it’s a Ubisoft game… I don’t think it can).

BTW, we downloaded TMNT as well… kinda fun. It’s basically a Prince of Persia for kids (when I say kids, I do mean kids). Don’t expect it to behave intelligently (either). The graphics are neat and action cool. Play it with least expectations and you might actually like it. Cowabunga!

Arrivederci.

What with my recent lack of performance in mids and subsequent lack of interest in all things academic, I’ve renewed my long lost interested in what used to be my greatest passions… computer gaming. This post is all about the same. The following are the (upcoming or otherwise) coolest games ever seen (by moi).

(For the sake of convenience the games are grouped into gameplay genres)

Sandboxes/Quest based RPGs:

I have nothing to do with these games… I don’t like ‘em and I don’t play ‘em. This genre’s included ONLY for the sake of completeness.

Grand Theft Auto:

aha! gamer’s delight! I don’t really know why, but this game is one of the most famous games ever made. It offers the players a whole city to do whatever they want. The whole city’s their plaything.. (hence the name sandbox).

Elder Scrolls IV:

Yet another enigma… I liked this game for a while but again the concept of ‘quest’ing eludes me. Going from people to people; looking for Something (Anything) to do… really bogs me down. A great game nonetheless… with an immersive story line and interesting character modeling options.

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic:

Soon to be released… this game by my fav computer game producers (Ubisoft… trivia, btw, for all Rorschach fans), is basically similar to ES IV… but will offer greater control, a more deeply involved story and better ‘powers’, of course, at the price of lesser character classes. (Man! Do watch the trailer… the telekinesis power seems awesome to say the least) … btw @Apocalypse seems to suggest otherwise… according to him only the games’ trailer is worth a dekko!

RACING:

Yet another genre I have nothing to do with; not that I haven’t tried… but sadly I haven’t been able to master a car-racing game ever since I played NFS 3 for the first time (I was 12 then, I guess).

NFS:

No need for me to say anything… NFS series is known to any and every racing game enthusiast for its super collection of cars, soundtracks (and recently, storyline!) and tracks… all of which, mind you, can be upgraded at the nfs site… a must have (I don’t, by the by!).

Test Drive Unlimited:

Awesome! That about sums it all. No racing game was Ever this complete. A look at the game’s size (7 gb) will tell you what the game’s all about. It looks sleek (Hawaii looks absolutely awesome)… the car’s are gorgeous to look at and the character model’s are superbly done. The game offers the player a chance to buy not only cars (as in nfs) but also bikes (yup… this game also has bike racing) and houses! This game combines 3 genres (racing, sandboxes and mmorpgs) to redefine racing (the publishers call this game an mmor… massively multi-player online racing). A superb game… BUT (unfortunately there is a but) tis a system hog. You’ll need a beast of a system to run this beauty.

( I won’t be able to mention all genres.. I already wasted a lot of space on the above two… I’ll skip directly to the games/genres which I like and play)

Quintessential FPS:

Every gamer knows that when it comes to gaming nothing beats an FPS. Some of my all time fav’s are…

Unreal Tournament:

Play it to believe it. Nothing… nothing can come close to what this game can offer (nope, not even quake III). A superb collection of weapons, fundoo looking character classes (raunchy taunts) and unlimited frags… man I love this game.

Half Life:

Ask any avid gamer what’s the best game ever made and they’ll point out this beauty. Not only did this game redefine this genre the first time it released… its sequel did the same thing again. The game combines intelligent gameplay with an immersive storyline to create a masterpiece… a must have!

Quake:

There you go, had to mention it, didn’t I? btw unlike what the other gamers will have you believe, I personally liked the non-arena versions of the series with quake II being a gem and quake IV… well, good enough. If you have Doom III, you really don’t need quake IV… but try it if you must… tis a good modern FPS.

Farcry:

A beauty, an absolute beauty! Can’t believe anyone could have made such a gem (and believe it or not… they’ve come up with a sequel, of sorts, a game called Crysis… man! Can’t wait for that one). The game has superb graphics (just look at the game just for its aesthetic value) and combines a hyper-intelligent AI with a superb storyline to give the give gamers something they’ve never seen before… a game which thinks!

A must have!

Call of Duty:

A very good game! I liked it a lot Until I got bored with its repetitiveness! Like all war-based FPS_s this one too becomes a tad to repetitive when mission after mission you’re forced to do the same thing over-n-over again in similar looking environments against similar looking foes. Play it only if you’re a fan of the genre, ‘coz this is the best world war game (I’ve) ever seen.

(Geez… this post’s getting to big… I’ll close this post now and continue in the next one)

Horror FPS/RPG:

Now comes my favorite part. This is my (current) fav genre. These games combine eerie environments and cool sound effects to create a (spa-like) rejuvenating experience for the gamers (if you’re an avid gamer you’ll know what I’m taking about… nothing beats stress than having an adrenaline rush… for hours straight!)

Doom III:

Imagine taking an all-time classic… tearing it apart, giving it a new engine, adding some new weapons and enemies, leaving players with no ingame lights whatsoever… what do you get… an ingenious way of raking moolah! Not only was this game popular, they even churned out a movie (albeit, a sadly disappointing one) on this one. An fps never looked so good… a must have!

F.E.A.R:

First Encounter Assault Recon… this game is simply breathtaking! Never has any first-person felt this good, never has AI been this sharp, never did this game scare the shit out of me! Yup, despite the game’s promising scope… it isn’t really a “Very Scary Game”. It’s a very good game, mind you; it has a superb AI, great graphics, an interesting storyline but scary? Nah! The game doesn’t surprise you (unlike doom)… you’ll always know when to expect paranormal activities. In fact I played a mini-game with myself… I had to guess when the ‘ghosts’ would turn up, and guess what… I had a perfect score. Try it if you must.

Condemned – Criminal Origins:

I’ve really got to thank Gargoyle for this one. I’ve been thinking about what can make a game really scary… when this gem pops up. Now the basic flaw with all horror titles is that even though they end up surprising you with sudden enemy attacks, having a hyper-charged weapon at hand becomes a real help… Scared, press the frigging trigger! This is one game which dared to be different… and succeeded. Imagine playing Doom (or maybe F.E.A.R) with the restriction that you can choose only one weapon at a time! Now, to further the pain, restrict that weapon to be a melee weapon… interested? Then do play this game. A more salient feature this game offers (something no other game does) is realistic melee fighting. You can actually feel pain everytime some baddie hits you. Oh yes! Lest I forget, the baddies are awesomely created. One can actually feel their desire to hurt you. They come at you with a vengeance… every part of their being, visibly, wanting you to hurt… and hurt bad! From the time this game starts you’ll know you’re in for a hell of a ride. A must have!

Call of Cthulu:

Haven’t really played this one, but have heard a lot about the title. It’s similar to condemned in terms of gameplay (and lack of weapons). An interesting add-on is the fact that you’ll continuously have to keep a watch on the sanity of the character you control. Grisly images, and dead bodies tend to affect his sanity… an effect which adds tremendous value to the gameplay.

The Suffering:

This game’s my all-time fav horror title. It, in fact, is the first horror title I played and this game is responsible for my current infatuation with the genre. At the core, it’s a basic hack-n-slash action RPG with lackluster graphics, lots of gore and stupid looking enemies, But what makes this game so good is its simplicity. There’s nothing which beats the satisfaction got from slashing up a weird baddie… a must have!

Rorschach’s Pick:

Now comes the interesting part… I’ve left the best for the last and for a reason… the following games may not be real great when it comes to graphics, sound effects OR enemy AI, but have a real great storyline and That is what I, personally, like (nay, love) in games…

Max Payne Series:

Can’t imagine anyone could have made a game like this… the game not only has a very interesting storyline, it is also the first game credited with the now highly abused gameplay feature called bullet-time. Bullet-time allows the player to slow down time and avoid sticky situations… the logic behind the ability being Max Payne’s heightened reflexes (yeah, right!). The game has a great soundtrack, superb voice-overs, interesting characters, a good array of weapons and (like I’ve already said) an immersive storyline. A must have!

Prince of Persia Series:

My all-time favourite game… I remember the first time I played the console version (I was 6 years old then) I instantly fell in love with it. The console version’s new avatar wowed gamers with a great (guess what?) storyline, interesting gameplay combining basic hack-n-slash with environment puzzles, and, once again, a revolutionary new gameplay technique… the ability to control time (the ability this time attributed not to heightened reflexes, but to a magical dagger and amulet). The prince’s athletic and acrobatic prowess, his swordsmanship and his passion makes him one of the most interesting gaming characters ever designed. What adds to the wow effect of the game is how the prince can actually combine his athleticism and his swordsmanship; to produce moves never seen before… in Any game.

A must have!

There… that about completes the list… I’m still waiting for the release of TMNT, Bioshock and Spiderman 3: the movie.

Hope they’ll live up to the expectation.

Till then…

Arrivederci.