NHL 09 - Hell Yes
Jul 28, 2008 Console Games, NHL, PC Games
NHL 09 might just be the first game I buy for my Xbox 360 (using it more for media stuff and demos so far). The EA Sports Hockey League component of the game, a sort of Diablo II-esque ladder system for teams of hockey players (basically an in-game version of yourself complete with name) that EA wants to become the next Madden Nation type event. Gamespot has a serious interview with David Littman, one of the games producers (and a former pro hockey player, although he only had 3 NHL games, 2 with the Sabres). Puck Daddy Greg Wyshynski has part 1 of a slightly more irreverent interview here. Yes, Wysh, I spelled your name out. No copy/paste, here.
Tags: buffalo, Console Games, games, Hockey, NHL, pc games, pc gaming, sabres, Xbox360
Old Game Tuesday - Stars!
Apr 29, 2008 PC Games
As I roll through these old games, you are going to notice that 4X games are well-represented. One of my personal favorites is Stars!, released wa-a-ay back in 1995. Jeff Johnson and Jeff McBride created the game for their own enjoyment, and decided to release it as Shareware. People still did that back then, you know. I came in a bit later, after Empire Interactive picked it up to sell in stores.
By the way, a bit on 4X: it means eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate. The details vary game to game, but in general in a 4X game you start with a base of operations (your home planet in Stars!, or your Settler unit in Civ), from which you expand your territory. You have to exploit the resources of the map, and exterminate your opponents. That’s one that varies now, as there are usually less than lethal win conditions.
Stars! has all the 4x standards. You begin with one planet and a couple of ships. Early turns are spent exploring the nearby systems and colonizing whatever ones are habitable by your (customizable) race. During this time your scientific research is progressing, and some basic improvements are being built. Soon enough, you will encounter your first opponent, ripe for destruction. As time goes by, your research ramps up and you start learning of new technologies, from weapons and shields to new terraforming abilities. If there is one downside to the game, it’s the sheer volume of stuff to manage. There are dozens of ship parts, for example, and a whole mess of hulls for custom-designing ships. It really hepls to try and keep a standard naming convention for ships, creative names are fun but not when you can’t remember the stats for each one. There’s a TON of micro-management in the game, which of course is not for everyone, but can get tedious. Thankfully, planetary management has some helpful shortcuts, including the ability to save preset build orders. You can set a default that any new colony starts to build as well.
There is a lot more I could say - this is one of those games that I always come back to, and it never gets old. It’s very hard to find, I’m not even sure if you can get CD keys for it any more, but if you like this style game and find a copy, try it!
Old Game Tuesday - M.U.L.E.
Apr 22, 2008 PC Games
M.U.L.E. holds the distinction of being the game I’ve probably played the longest. I was first exposed to it on my old Commodore 64, and though there are many classics from that era (which may be covered here in the future), this is the one that has kept my interest continually since then.
M.U.L.E. is a game of economic strategy. You begin as colonists on the planet Irata (it’s Atari backwards, you see). The goal is to build up the colony for a set period of time based on the difficulty level chosen, and individually, to build your wealth. Up to four players could participate, either human or computer, and there were multiple ’species’ to choose from with various bonuses or handicaps. Each pioneer picks plots of land (with an occasional auction of additional plots) and then takes turns working them. The M.U.L.E.s (Multiple Use Labor Elements) themselves are robotic assistants that are outfitted with equipment to harvest Food, Energy, Smithore (to make more M.U.L.E.s) and Crystite (in Tournament mode). After each player has their turn, their plots of land experience their growth cycle, assuming they have a M.U.L.E. on them that is outfitted properly. Oh, and there is a bit of game balance each turn. The player with the lowest score gets a boon (bonus money from an inheritance, etc.) and the player with the highest gets smacked down a bit (darn glak-elves).
Next up is the auction…and here’s where it gets nasty. Each player gets a chance to buy and sell the various commodities, either to other players or the store. The store runs out at times, though, forcing you to rely on the other players for what you need to survive. Not enough energy, some of your plots go fallow. No food, and you have very little time to work your plots. If the colony has no smithore, no more M.U.L.E.s, or the cost of them go up. There is a fine line, you want to be the winner, but if the colony collapses, you all lose. You can try and hoard all the energy and force your opponents to pay through the nose - they even provided a way to collude with another player as a feature - but an ill-timed global event (pirates stealing all the smithore!) could be disastrous.
The game was developed by Dan (later Dani) Bunten, who also made several other favorites of mine, Seven Cities of Gold and Command HQ. She pioneered several features that are commonplace in games now, including multiplayer and modem/network gaming. M.U.L.E. is widely available via emulation, with the original Atari 800 version being the most popular. I’ll link it up tonight if I get a chance. Now I’m off to hunt the mountain wampus…
edit: Here’s the link, just go to the download page and pick your version of Windows. Has everything you need. You can even play over the network or internet with a bit of work.
Tags: bunten, games, gaming, m.u.l.e., ogt, pc games, pc gaming, wampus
iPhone SDK Doesn’t Suck
Mar 6, 2008 Gadgets, Media, PC Games
Gizmodo has a roundup of their iPhone SDK coverage here, but the thing that jumped out at me (being a huge fan of Will Wright) is that the iPhone will have the full-blown version of Spore available for it. Other highlights include VOIP via WiFi and an AIM client, still no Flash though. iPod Touch users have to pay again, too.
Tags: aim, apple, games, gaming, gizmodo, iphone, mac, spore, will wright
Shadowrun And Battletech Return Home
Dec 10, 2007 Console Games, PC Games
FASA, WizKids and 42 Entertainment founder Jordan Weisman has announced, via the website of his newest venture-backed startup Smith & Tinker, that he has licensed the ‘electronic entertainment’ rights to his MechWarrior, Shadowrun and Crimson Skies properties back from Microsoft.
Little is known as to Weisman’s plans as of yet, just that his recent job postings lean toward Web 2.0 and online game expertise. MechWarrior MMO? YES PLEASE!!
Tags: battletech, Console Games, Console Games, console gaming, crimson skies, fasa, games, gaming, mechwarrior, PC, pc games, pc gaming, shadowrun, smith & tinker
Final Fantasy Turns 20
Dec 10, 2007 Console Games
One of my favorite game series, Final Fantasy, just turned 20. 1up has several features on it this week, but I’m pressed for time so hit up this /. article for all the links.
Tags: Console Games, Console Games, console gaming, enix, final fantasy, games, gaming, square, square enix
As If Marching Bands Weren’t Geeky Enough
Nov 14, 2007 Console Games, NCAA Football, PC Games, Wacky
The Cal Marching Band recently performed an opus to video games as their halftime show. Gizmodo has the video here. Complete with a Pokemon fight between the mascots.
Tags: cal, Console Games, games, PC
Bionic Commando!?!
Oct 20, 2007 Console Games
I MUST HAVE! Bionic Commando on the NES was the first game I ever bought and paid for with my own money, as well as the first one my friends and I finished in it’s entirety. The bionic arm made the gameplay very unique for the time. For the Xbox360 so far, I’d LOVE to see how they could pull this off with the Wii, though.
Tags: bionic commando, Console Games, games, Xbox360
The Orange Box: HL2++
Oct 17, 2007 PC Games
HL: The Orange Box, coolest game bundle ever? It just might be, if the buzz is to be believed. I know the folks in my circle who have already played it are sold, especially with Portal. TF2 looks like a blast as well. I need this.
Tags: Console Games, games, Half Life, PC
Jack Thompson is a colossal tool
Apr 20, 2007 Console Games, PC Games
Jack Thompson blames Bill Gates for the shootings at Virginia Tech. The nutjob shows his ignorance as he attributes Counterstrike to His Gatesness, despite the fact the only MS involvement is the fact that they make the OS it runs on. He mentions Halo along with CS as ‘killing simulators’. It should be noted that no games were found in the search of Cho’s dormroom.
Here’s an article at Ars that gives you a little background, if this is your first time hearing about Thompson.
Tags: Console Games, games, PC, rant
