So yeah, banner + some Lost Planet 2.

Every time I start drawing, I remind myself that I’m pretty easily frustrated by the process. It’s akin to being new at Starcraft 2, watching GSL and then wondering why you can’t do what they’re doing and not lose. Yeah, that’s me. Actually, no, it’s more like my tablet and me. I’m inexplicably awful with this intuos3. I see people make sweet-ass curvy lines and I just make jagged nightmares. Don’t worry, it’s not the driver issue that made stuff even worse. It’s well beyond me at the moment and I’m pretty awful at that MMO known as Google.

Whatever, there’s the justification for my banner. Enjoy it not going away on one scroll. Yeah, it’s that way on purpose. Helps convey the irritation I feel towards being paperless. On to LP2.

LP2 for PC has an awful IGN review. It’s a copy-pasta job. No joke. It’s not a 60% game unless you are absolutely committed to soling the game on hard, where it becomes largely unbeatable due to the inexplicably stupid partner AI. Back in the day, sure, this issue would cripple the game, but we’re in the age where you probably have a decent internet connection and a couple friends. The game climbs from a 60 to 80 with a friend, then 90 to 95 with two or three respectively. Big friggen’ bosses, requisite teamwork, a really-really solid engine and plenty of silly stuff to engage in. So the default controls suck. Remap them, damnit. Crank up mouse sensitivity in-game to get rid of the deadzones. Rebind crouch and run to non-alphabetical keys. Suddenly, no real control issues.

The only real reason to not stay away from the purchase is due to this weird GFWL and Steam bug where Steam bought copies cannot interact with retail copies for some stupid reason. It cuts down the pool of potential players rather drastically and I find the divide to be irritating as hell. If this doesn’t get fixed, then yeah, game’s gonna’ have some pretty awful arena in the long run.

But Sin, this isn’t a MMO. Yeah, no, it isn’t, but it’s a pretty good semi-persistent online game. There’s progress for upgrades and a sense of development that follows you throughout your long trek through fifty feet of snow and space Mexico. My friends and I have been absolutely raping our sleep schedules to get playtime in. All of it has been well worth the loss of sleep.

 

 

 

AmiWest 2010

I think I just had an event where everything I’ve done as a gamer has coalesced into a single, mind-melting moment. The Amiga Games competition hosted by Amigadave at AmiWest 2010. Don’t bother looking it up.

Remember a Kid in King Arthur’s Court from the days of early 90’s childcare? Yeah, I was the kid and I had a cd-player. I was that little bastard and it felt great.

Long story short, I won a game competition. Not a big one, five-people-big, but it was so one-sided that even my dad could acknowledge that it was like taking candy from a baby.

There were four games in the competition with an eMac as the grand prize. (It’s a vintage, but it actually works in the modern setting.) The heat was on for me, the kid who said that he would win this the day before the competition began. My reputation as a gamer was on the line. Not just for myself, but my dad actually expected me to win. My dad who, reasonably so, disliked how much I gamed throughout my youth. That and I kinda’ wanted that computer. Not so much that I would kill for it, but bodily harm was not out of the question. Everything was coming together for a fun thrill ride.

Check them out after the jump.

 

Keyboard Porn.

Something interesting just happened recently. Someone was savvy enough to spot which keyboard that the best Starcraft 2 player in the world, Fruit Dealer, was using during the GSL. (You can argue otherwise, but you’re friggen’ crazy.)

I was going to pass over it until I realized that it was a mechanical keyboard, which I previously considered a relic of days gone by. Turns out that mechanical keyboards are still very much alive. To the detriment of my sleep schedule, I find myself rabidly indulging in mechanical keyboard information. Putting it all together, the following links were great for entry explanation.

http://www.overclock.net/computer-peripherals/491752-mechanical-keyboard-guide.html

http://www2.razerzone.com/blackwidow – What are Mechanical Keyboards.

Ugh, so tired, yet so tempted!