Malik
(10/8/12)
First off, the obvious;
the Seahawks beat the Panthers on the East Coast. This is pretty
rare to see happen...the East Coast thing. Seattle has been bad on
the road for the last 4 years, and bad on the East Coast even
longer. For them to pull out a win about as far from home as
possible (not counting the Florida teams) is just amazing. For the
'Hawks to keep Cam Newton in a land of absolute stagnation is more
than amazing. When you consider the Panthers actually help the
Falcons last weekend to the last few seconds of the game, then this
just boggles the mind.
I have to say it is good
to see Wilson finally be given the green light to throw a few long
passes. I mean if the offensive game is entirely based on short
screen passes and Lynch running, then the defense has an easy job in
just stacking the line. When you introduce a downfield threat, the
offensive game can finally open up. Of course, it doesn't matter
when you see Tate pickup about 60 yards on a long deep throw and
have it brought back in by Giacomini.
The stupid penalties
from the Seattle O-line have become more than a joke. These
penalties cost the Seahawks valuable opportunities to pull out a
win. If not for Giacomini, I think the Seahawks would have beaten
the Rams last week (close game that was hit by an especially
damaging late-hit/unsportsmans by Giacomini for 15 when momentum
finally was building for the 'Hawks). Of course, you have to find
some fun in this situation, and since I was watching with my
in-laws, I did find some fun. My least favorite offender is
Giacomini, while my father-in-law goes with Okung. So, on any good
play, we'd both be guessing how soon the flag would come out and
then I'd say it was Giacomini and he'd go with Okung. I think I won
in that game...a game that makes even the winner feel like a loser.
Anyway, the Seahawks
will need to enjoy their winning record while they can. Next week,
the Pats come to town, and this will be an ugly game. Unless the
Seattle defense (which is awesome) is better than they look (they
look awesome), Brady will just tear apart the team since the Seattle
offense cannot compete with many points on the board against the
Pats.
On a final note of a
different nature; tomorrow is XCom day. I'll finally have a new game
to play that should be a true time killer. I put Darksiders 2 on the
backburner since I am just not feeling the action/adventure genre
right now.
I did play and complete
To the Moon and loved it...but that's a slow paced movie of a game
(game is not what comes to mind first with To the Moon...more of a
movie or illustrated book) and was only 5 hours long. Still, if you
need a quick game hit before XCom, To the Moon is not a bad way to
go. $10 for 5 hours may sound short, but the content in this game is
beyond description. I don't dwell on plots after I finish a book or
movie, when I like the plot. I loved the plot to this game and am
still dwelling on it two days later for how well the details were
explained...and better yet, how well the details were explained
without making anything blatantly obvious. Either you get it and
enjoy the little things, or you miss it and you will not have the
game explain it to you.
Malik |
Malik
(10/9/12)
Two days of posts in a
row? Wow. I'm surprised in myself.
Beyond the obvious
(XCOM is here today), I have another new toy. I have been wanting a
tablet for a while. Not a big oversized tablet, but something more
in the 7" range. I just want, more than anything, something I could
use to browse the web in my house while away from my PC. If I'm in
the garden, I may want to look up information on when to harvest a
plant. If I'm in the kitchen, I may want a recipe. If I'm watching
football, I may want to check the scores and stats from around the
NFL (or NCAA if it's Saturday). I just want something to complement
my activities...but having the ability to play some games is not a
bad thing.
Well, after
reading many reviews, it looked like I had the option of a 7" tablet
from Amazon (Kindle Fire HD), B&N (Nook Tablet), or Google/Asus
(Nexus 7). All have had great reviews, but all have some problems.
The Kindle Fire HD
has a problem of being tied to the Amazon App store. When you've
been using an Android phone for almost a year (well, 9 months),
having to join a not quite compatible store environment sucks. Then
when you see how an Android app is free (with some ads...I'd rather
go the ad route on something like a Rovio game than pay the non-ad
price) but the Amazon App version is $2.99 (look up Bad Piggies for
example), I am not digging the price for having a limited selection
of apps.
The Nook Tablet
had the same general problem as the Kindle family, but with the Nook
App Store, which could bump up the price more (I could be wrong, but
my mother who has a Nook Tablet claims Bad Piggies is $3.19) and be
even more limited than the Amazon App Store. So, I'd rather have a
full Android tablet than something being controlled by a company
that wants money, not a company that wants money while giving the
illusion of free (Google Play is that way).
This left either
the Nexus 7, or the gamble of trying something like the 7" Galaxy
Tab lineup. Then, looking over the CPU specs, the Tegra 3 on the
Nexus helped push me towards Google. Finally, with the tablet being
Asus, I was sold since Asus is the only manufacturer of motherboards
I've used who didn't supply me with a motherboard that died before
the PC it was in became irrelevant. Although, I do have to say the
lack of expandable memory (no micro SD slot) makes me a bit
sad...until I just pick up a larger USB thumb drive and with one $3
app, I will have the same general thing as a 32GB micro SD, but in a
slightly less friendly of package (external versus internal).
All of that being
said, I was sad to order my Nexus last Thursday. Google had a nice
little promotion going of a $25 Google Play credit if the Nexus 7
was purchased before October 1st, 2012. I missed the deadline. After
getting my Nexus 7 yesterday, I attached my Google login and was set
to try out the tablet, when I got an email from Google. It was one
of those "welcome to the family" type emails...which also said to
have fun exploring the Google Play store with my free $25 credit.
So, with that bribe in hand, and with so far a really smooth time
playing with the Nexus 7, I have to say I love this tablet.
I do have two
things that I still need to try out on the tablet. I have a micro
USB to standard adapter, and want to try out my 360 controller on
some games from the Tegra Zone designed for controllers. I also need
my case/cover to show up since it will allow easier use while
cooking (prop up the tablet and use it as a cookbook).
I have to say,
despite the memory expansion limitation (needing an app, or rooting
the Nexus 7, and an external memory stick/card reader), I love
nearly everything on this tablet. The only two things I would really
like to have seen is for there to be a camera on the back (I'm more
like to want to take a quick picture than to Skype) and for the
thing to go horizontal when I rotate the tablet (it only goes
horizontal on apps designed to be horizontal, like Rovio or Kemco
apps...no horizontal browsing in Chrome).
Now that I had a
fun night with the Nexus 7, I think I'll not be touching it much for
a while. I will not do much, beyond getting this posted in a hurry,
and then it's off to XCOM until my obsession dies down, probably in
a few weeks.
Malik |
Malik
(10/12/12)
I've spent the last few
days playing XCOM. I think this may be one of the best single
examples I've seen of what I call "nostalgia gaming". By that, I
mean this is, without a doubt, a style of game that just doesn't
exist in the minds of many developers and publishers who don't go by
the name NIS or go by the concept of indie gaming. Let's face it,
besides the Civilization games, turn based strategy is not something
you find in the gaming market for the last dozen years with any idea
of commercial success and critical acclaim.
Saying that, XCOM
is amazing. It's also an interesting specimen of a game that does
not cater to new players and instead just thrives on giving you a
challenge every second. XCOM is nice enough to include a tutorial
that does a great job of helping to explain the basics, but once
that tutorial ends, the game stops any idea of hand-holding and
throws one challenge after another into your face. In fact, in a
weird way, XCOM reminds me of Demon Souls (probably Dark Souls as
well, but I never played it) in how a situation can get well out of
control in an instant if you stop focusing on the game or become
impatient. You are not playing a squad of insane super
soldiers...you are playing a squad of guys who are just as fragile
as you'd expect a real soldier to be. Which is to say that if the
first shot doesn't kill you, then the next one will probably finish
the job.
XCOM builds upon
that fragility quite nicely with including some emotional randomness
from your guys and even from the enemy. If one of your squad is shot
dead in front of a fresh rookie, you can expect that rookie to freak
out for a turn or two. When a squad member panics, that's when
things can just keep spiraling out of control. One soldier dead,
another panicked, and without any enemies in his sights, he shoots
the nearest viable target...being your veteran. Then, while you're
working hard to heal the troops with med packs, the enemies are
moving into position. Even if you make it out alive, with a fraction
of your initial 4-6 squad members, you then have to face reality
that those who survived may be laid out for the next one or two
missions as they recover after the mission.
Then you have the
large picture part of the game where you have to manage technology
upgrades, building out your base to maximize output of new weapons
and equipment (as well as satellites and interceptor aircraft to
take out UFOs), making sure your training school is the best it can
be for making a better squad of guys, and all the while you need to
keep panic from spreading around the globe or else countries may
pull out of the XCOM alliance (which then cuts your available
budget). Put all of that together, and you have a nuanced strategy
game that you cannot ever take lightly. You also have a budget to
work with that makes you have to look at some really hard decisions
that include questions of what to sacrifice or what nation to
sacrifice.
If this sounds
hectic and unforgiving, it is. If XCOM doesn't sound fun despite the
brutality it subjects you to, then you missed the entire point. XCOM
is one of the best strategy games I've ever played, and probably my
favorite game for 2012. However, you cannot go into the game
assuming it will be easy. I haven't tried the easy difficulty yet,
but normal (the second easiest of four difficulties) is pretty
damned hard. I mean I even had to restart the game last night after
I realized I was basically screwed. If some small things go wrong in
the early game, expect then to snowball out of control by the middle
of the game. There is simply no time you can shrug off a loss or a
problem. However, isn't this what strategy fans live for? The
thought that EVERYTHING matters. The means and the ends are of equal
importance.
Malik |
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