Being a fan of the books written by Robert E. Howard, i had to try this game out. I even got into the beta version, playing it some weeks before release and i thought it was a really nice game. I tried a few different characters, leveling them up to level 10 before moving on. They would all be deleted anyway, so i didn’t bother investing more time going beyond level 10.

Now that the game is out, i must admit I’m kind of disappointed. In Tortage, the first town you visit, every quest is given to you in spoken dialogs. There are a lot of cinematics and storyline missions, which i found interesting. Rewards almost come in non-stop as you receive new skills, points to distribute, feats to organize, everything sounds perfect right?

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It was “so close and yet so far” for Sony with the new 2.40 patch. I was very happy to hear that 2.40 will add trophies (achievements) and an in-game menu system. So excited, in fact, that I was almost ready to switch and buy PS3 versions for all my cross-platform games instead of 360 version as I’m currently doing. That is, until I heard that the XMB will not be giving users the ability to jump into games their friends are playing in or invite friends to games you’re playing. That was, by far, the feature I was looking forward to most! It’s as if the designers who work on the PS3 aren’t gamers but mediaphiles instead.

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As some of you may already know, Osama had some problems running Steam under Windows Vista.  He was frustrated and gave up on fixing it. I went over to his house a couple of nights ago and decided to take a look at this Steam problem. I use XP myself and haven’t experienced any problems with Steam before. After doing research on Google, a little experimenting and gulping down some tasty macaroons his wife made, I am happy to say I was able to solve his Steam problem. =)

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There’s something really confusing about how some companies decide what games to make. Every true Street Fighter fan out there was hoping for Street Fighter 4 to be a gorgeous 2D fighter with controls similar to Street Fighter 3. What does Capcom do? They make a 3D Street Fighter 2 remake with scaled-back controls and crappy new characters and they try their best to convince us it’ll be as good as a 2D fighter. Why not oblige us in the first place? Why not call it Street Fighter EX 4 instead? No one would complain, everyone expects mediocrity from the EX fighters.Why must they drag our formerly beloved franchise through the mud?

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People often ask me what it is that a Game Designer does. I tried to explain it but in some people’s minds there are only artists and programmers. If you’re one of those people that just don’t understand what game design is, you need to see this video. It’ll explain just exactly what I do on a day to day basis!

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If you haven’t already done so, pick up the new SPORE Creature Creature now! My wife and I did yesterday and we’ve been having fun making cute cuddly creatures since! Not impressed you say? You don’t know what the big deal is all about? Well you’ve come to the right place! Read on and you’ll see why this Creature Creator is unlike and character creator you’ve ever seen in a game before!

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Unreal Engine, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, — I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! — and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

- Juthan via Kotaku

Its MGS4 week, for many fans (yours truly included) we have been waiting with great anticipation what could be the greatest game in the series that created the stealth genre. Yet with metacritics already reviewing it at 95% with 10 early reviews, people have been going around now complaining about the mandatory installs that may take up to 15 minutes in games like Devil May Cry 4, GT5P and now MGS4. Its become such an issue in fact, that Konami went as far as as listing the mandatory install as forbidden to be spoken about in the press’ reviews. In all fairness to Konami, they have taken back that ridiuculous restriction, but what I want to know is why on earth is this an issue?!!?

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When first I heard that Yoda and Darth Vader were going to be in Soul Calibur IV, I was more peeved that I was going to have to decide which version to get since Yoda was to be on the 360 version, and Vader on the PS3. Although the choice was easy (Vader > Yoda), I was still peeved that I wouldn’t get both. That’s how I felt when Soul Calibur 2 came out and I had to play with Link when Spawn was the character I really wanted (forget Heihachi, he was useless anyway).

I loved Link and, although I agree he didn’t fully fit-in because his bomb move and other similar moves, I still had fun playing with him. And Spawn has had many incarnations, one of which was Medieval Spawn. Having those two in the Soul Calibur world was a bit of a stretch, but not NEARLY as big of one as having Star Wars characters.

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With the announcements that the PS3 versions of Alone in the Dark and Red Alert both being delayed (or possibly canceled), I can’t help but wonder if this is going to be a sign of things to come. Are we often going to be given an early X-Box 360 version of a game and then a PS3 version around the horizon? Or are both versions going to take the GTA IV route and be delayed simultaneously while devs try to figure out how to code for the PS3 version?

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