Random ramblings
Sam Hart
2009-12-15 00:25:19Insert obligatory apology about lack of updates here...
I have been rather busy, honestly. We have a patch done for Duologue that adds a saved game feature to it. This patch has been done for a couple of months now, but the XNA peer review process has issues. So, expect this patch soon-ish. You know, sometime in the next year or so depending on how many of these peer review cycles we need to go through :-)
I could rant about the problems with the XBLIG peer review process and XNA stuff in general, but I'm tired and entirely too busy to drum up enough outrage to write something on it.... How times have changed...
Instead, I'll just put some random ramblings about things that have been on my mind lately.
2010, the year of the PS3?
Every year since the PS3's release we've heard various tools in the industry (usually Sony shills) say "THIS YEAR IS THE YEAR OF THE PS3!"
Well, every year they've been wrong and the PS3 has generally been a pretty big disappointment. However, for 2010, things are starting to look good for Sony.
Why? Well, let's look at the state of the PS3 as we leave 2009...
First off, 2009 has been an incredibly solid year for the PS3. In fact, the PS3 has had more of my favorite exclusives this year than either of the other consoles. One PS3-exclusive game in particular would easily win my "Game of the Year" award for my SVGAs, provided I actually have time to make my SVGAs this year :-) That game is inFAMOUS, which is easily one of the most stunningly awesome games of this generation (the critics who gave it poor scores are idiots).
Secondly, the PS3 has had a massive price reduction which now puts it squarely in the range of what is reasonable to expect people to pay for a videogame console. Sure both the 360 and the Wii have seen similar price cuts this year, but they were already affordable. Add in the fact that the PS3 can do Bluray and that you can now do Netflix on it and the only real advantages the 360 has over it are LIVE and Achievements, the former still being a sore spot and the latter being a pretty flimsy advantage (and before anyone bitches, Trophies are a sad alternative to Achievements- there simply is no way to make a system-wide metagame out of them!).
Thirdly, the PS3 is heading into the new year with a lot of shine and luster, while both the 360 and the Wii are heading into 2010 with some bruises and blemishes. (I mean, name the last 360-exclusive that wasn't mediocre and wasn't made by Bungie. You can't, can you?)
So, yeah, if Sony doesn't fuck this up I predict 2010 to finally be the year of the PS3.
Dragon Age: Origins surprises me
Here's the deal, I'm a pretty big BioWare fan. I've loved all of their games: from Neverwinter Nights to Mass Effect.
However, I will readily admit that they've been trending towards the mainstream ever since KOTOR, that they've been dumbing-down their RPGs for the masses, and that Mass Effect was a paltry RPG compared to BioWare's previous opera. So I really wasn't expecting too much from DA:O. I mean, I knew it would be fun, that I'd enjoy it, and that I'd probably write somewhere about how much fun it was, but I wasn't expecting it to be very long or very deep. I was expecting more bubblegum pop RPG from the makers of Mass Effect.
Boy, am I glad I was wrong.
DA:O is a frighteningly rich and deep RPG with a tremendous amount of replay value. If you look at my most played 360 games you'll see the list is capped by FFXI and the two Bethesda masterpieces. But I'd wager that by this same time next year DA:O will have usurped Oblivion as my #2 most played RPG.
Better Off Ted- the awesome show that shouldn't have come back
Last year, my wife and I loved Better Off Ted. It was refreshing and original, and totally hilarious. However, it seemed to lack much staying power (like they shot their creative wad in the first season), and the show's writers seemed to have painted themselves into numerous corners. So, I wasn't too upset to hear that the show wasn't going to be picked back up for this season.
Then it was picked back up and renewed for this season.
Then, the first episode of this season was pretty lame.
So now I'm all irritable and hopeful that they either will somehow turn this show back around and make it cool again, or they'll just drop it so we can move on....
FFXI is getting tiresome
Yeah, so I've been playing FFXI since 2004 and it has been a good run. I can honestly say I've enjoyed my time playing the game.
However, now I'm kind of getting tired of it. I mean, yes, there's a lot left I wanted to do, and yes I'm still excited for some new end-game goodness in Walk of Echoes, but, fuck, they are taking FOREVER to finish up WoTG and give us our new end-game Atomos-area! Really, the Atomos stuff is all I'm interested in anymore and yet here we are two years after the expansion's release and there's still no end in sight!
So, blargle.... if something doesn't happen soon with regard to finishing up WoTG I may just friggin' quit the game and wait for FFXIV....
Fuck you, UK
And finally...
Why do you guys get all the cool TV?