Monthly Archives: August 2007

Aug 27 2007
Games

BioShock

BioShock is the best anti objectivist essay I have ever played through.

Ultimately, that’s not a good one sentence review.

Let me try again.

“BioShock is one of the few games in my collection that has compelled me to its completion.”

In fact, I’m playing through it again, and that should tell you something else.  I’m doing it for two reasons.  One, to watch the plot develop again, knowing what I know now about the game’s protagonist and the twist that occurs roughly two thirds into the game.  Two, I’d like to see how the 360 version stacks up to the PC experience I had on my first run through.

There are hints even in the game’s opening cinematic (itself remarkable because it happens entirely in the first person point of view) that I have discovered on the second playthrough.  This second playthrough is a different affair, with the comfy chair, big screen, wireless controller and 5.1 surround.

The control is taking me a little while to get adjusted to, there’s a bit of autoaim, hacking is quite different from the PC to the 360 version, but overall the flow of the game is the same.  I’m trying a different “route” this time, just to see how it plays through, but that’s only in terms of plasmid (power) development.  I’m still rescuing the gatherers, which is the “good” choice.

I just can’t bring myself to go the other route.

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Aug 24 2007
Uncategorized

360 Watch '07: The Conclusion

Well, I got my 360 back from Microsoft yesterday. Well, to be more accurate, a 360. Instead of repairing my old one they just sent me a new unit. And it certainly looks new. Has a manufacturing date of August 2007, and all of the protective plastic is still on the console.

They even gave me a month of xbox live for free.  Although I would have preferred points since I’m already a member of xbox live.  I guess it’s the thought that counts.

I’ll give it a try this weekend and see if it’ll crash out or fail on any of the games that I experienced problems with. So I expect to get some Dead Rising, Lost Planet, and Overlord time in. I just hope that I remember how to play those three games.

Total time out looks like it was ten days after I got the cardboard coffin from Microsoft.

Aug 14 2007
Technology

360 Watch '07

My device has been received at the service center.  Now I can stalk the status of the repair at service.xbox.com.

Will I receive it before the BioShock release next Tuesday?  Who knows?

Aug 13 2007
Games

Untimely

Now that my 360 is in a box on its way to the Microsoft repair depot in Texas, of course there are games I would love to be able to play. Case in point, BioShock. I think it has everything I’m looking for in a video game.

Giant Robot Man Monster Thing? Check.

Creepy Undead Red Eyed Lolita That Wants To Kill Me? Check.

Psychic Powers Being Used to Throw Explosives? Check.

Hacking Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Turrets? Check.

Wall Crawling Ninja? Check.

Ayn Rand Inspired Underwater Dystopia? Check.

Bobby Darin? Check.

Yeah, I think that’s pretty much all of the bases covered.

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Aug 05 2007
Uncategorized

I think this may be my killer app

This strip basically sums up one of the main reasons I would purchase a PlayStation3, and one of the reasons why I remain on the fence.

I bought the 360 for the social element. Now that mine’s in the shop—well not technically, I guess the box to send it to the shop is on its way here, so it’s sitting here being a big, broken piece of plastic and metal in my entertainment center—not that I burn with a dislike for Target’s warranty policy not unlike that of my preference to avoid Lapsang Souchoung tea—(this is a lot of em dashes) I look upon this strip and think, “You know, you’ve had that PlayStation 2 since 2000, with nary a disc error.”

As I sit here, I consider the wisdom of extolling the virtues of a piece of hardware that has not failed yet, but as you are here reading it, I suppose that I have made that decision already, and the die is cast.  On the other hand,  I went through about three PlayStations.  One of them I had to play with the unit upside down, so that discs would read.

Eye of Judgment is certainly an apt title.  I would most certainly by judged by others if  I bought a PlayStation 3 to play a collectible card game.

On the other hand, I played Magic: The Gathering so I’m already used to being judged.