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On this day, in 1997, Quake Mission Pack 1: Scourge of Armagon was released.
2009/02/28
AAA is one month old!
Well, the blog’s been running for a just over a month now! I’ve posted on average about two posts or articles a day, keeping in mind that search engines like it when you update often, and so do the pilgrims that drop by.I also can’t believe that it’s the end of February all ready!
We’ve had a few games come out this month, one of which stands out in my mind, being F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, which has received positive reviews. There were others like Shellshock 2: Blood Trails, which is average at best, and Penumbra Collection, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, Tom Clancy's EndWar and Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, which are all good.
On the sadder side of things, two games, The Sims 3 and The Godfather II, didn’t make the deadline, and have been shoved back a few months. No doubt this will let EA do the necessary polishing and get the hype machine cranked up and running for when they do hit the stores later this year.
2009/02/27
Swamps worse than S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s!
If you thought that the swamps from S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky were bad, then you haven’t seen this dam. It was shown on Carte Blanche recently, and I was absolutely disgusted when I looked at this mess, which is known as the pea soup pond. Needless to say, you can’t drink it, and what’s more, if you were to fall in this cesspool, you would reportedly get very sick and possibly die. This place has apparently been linked to colon cancer.
All of a sudden, little radiation-filled mud puddles don't seem so bad...
Games can hurt you back, you know…or don’t you?
All those times when you were dishing out the pain in games, and to think that over a prolonged period of time, they were getting even with you.
Reuters reported recently that gripping your controllers too tightly, pushing buttons, sweating while playing and not taking frequent breaks all contribute to this newly identified disorder, which doctors call “Playstation palmar hidradentitis”, a skin disorder marked by painful lumps or lesions on the palms.
There is also a similar risk with the Nintendo Wii, as it has been discovered that it can result in acute tendinitis. It has long been thought that PC users can develop carpal tunnel syndrome too.
So remember: take breaks, stretch, flex your hands and open them up for a bit, and get out every once in a while.
Now you know.
Reuters reported recently that gripping your controllers too tightly, pushing buttons, sweating while playing and not taking frequent breaks all contribute to this newly identified disorder, which doctors call “Playstation palmar hidradentitis”, a skin disorder marked by painful lumps or lesions on the palms.
There is also a similar risk with the Nintendo Wii, as it has been discovered that it can result in acute tendinitis. It has long been thought that PC users can develop carpal tunnel syndrome too.
So remember: take breaks, stretch, flex your hands and open them up for a bit, and get out every once in a while.
Now you know.
2009/02/26
The Atomic Oracle: Nacht Der Untoten 2
If you’ve read it, you’ll see that I made a prediction about a map pack being released for Nacht Der Untoten, a mini-game of sorts contained within Call of Duty: World at War.
Just when the whole Nacht Der Untoten thing seemed to be fading somewhat, Treyarch is going to release a map pack for the game on March 9 that will add three new multi-player maps, and a new map for the Nacht Der Untoten enthusiasts, called Zombie Asylum.
Apocalypse Then: 1916
On this day in 1991, Motörhead’s album, 1916, was released.It featured these songs:
The One To Sing The Blues
I'm So Bad (Baby I Don't Care)
No Voices In The Sky
Going To Brazil
Nightmare / The Dreamtime
Love Me Forever
Angel City
Make My Day
Ramones
Shut You Down
1916
Shut You Down has been voted as one of the best ten Motörhead songs ever, on The-Top-Tens.com.
Ramones is also a classic song liked by many fans.
Apocalypse Then- SiN: Wages of Sin
2009/02/25
Ash Wednesday
Does anyone remember?
Does anyone remember a point where when you were playing games as a young kid, you were completely hopeless? Perhaps you just got your first computer or perhaps you were just plain afraid, but I’m sure most of you must remember some embarrassing things that happened.
You had the lights on when playing at night and you had the curtains open during the day, because you were afraid of the dark. Your room door was left open or you had your PC in the lounge where everyone else was because you couldn’t be on your own. The sound was turned down and the brightness levels were turned up. Every possible aid like an extra large crosshair and auto-aim were on, and you played with just the keyboard. You didn’t know how to strafe, you hadn’t mastered the mouse, and you played with both hands clustered around the arrow keys and numpad. You didn’t know where the quicksave and quickload buttons were, and you got your @ss handed to you by even the lower enemies and you were caught in every single trap. You were confounded by even the simplest puzzles and you got lost and trapped in a maze, going around in circles, unable to find the key, exit or whatever else was on the linear gameplay’s agenda.
When you look back now, you think about how you would laugh if you were to be sitting next to yourself.
Or perhaps you still do these things…maybe you’re an old man who just got his first computer. Sorry.
Does anyone remember a point where when you were playing games as a young kid, you were completely hopeless? Perhaps you just got your first computer or perhaps you were just plain afraid, but I’m sure most of you must remember some embarrassing things that happened.
You had the lights on when playing at night and you had the curtains open during the day, because you were afraid of the dark. Your room door was left open or you had your PC in the lounge where everyone else was because you couldn’t be on your own. The sound was turned down and the brightness levels were turned up. Every possible aid like an extra large crosshair and auto-aim were on, and you played with just the keyboard. You didn’t know how to strafe, you hadn’t mastered the mouse, and you played with both hands clustered around the arrow keys and numpad. You didn’t know where the quicksave and quickload buttons were, and you got your @ss handed to you by even the lower enemies and you were caught in every single trap. You were confounded by even the simplest puzzles and you got lost and trapped in a maze, going around in circles, unable to find the key, exit or whatever else was on the linear gameplay’s agenda.
When you look back now, you think about how you would laugh if you were to be sitting next to yourself.
Or perhaps you still do these things…maybe you’re an old man who just got his first computer. Sorry.
2009/02/24
PC Games Released Today: Shellshock 2 and EndWar
According to IGN.com, Shellshock 2: Blood Trails and Tom Clancy's EndWar have been released.
I'm not sure about EndWar, but judging by the trailer I've seen, I think I will definitely try and get my hands on Shellshock 2. I'm a big fan of war games, and this one is set in Vietnam, grounds that few devs tread on. It also has the horror element to it too, so it should be fun.
Shrove Tuesday
Video Games and Saying 'no'
I read an article recently by Michael Lafferty, who claimed that video-games are not 'toys'.
I agree that parents are very nonchalant in what they buy for their young kids to play, and that people tend to ignore the ratings on the side of the box.
I should know, because after all, my parents did. I was playing the most violent games at the tender age of nine or ten that shouldn’t really have been in my possession.
Now though, I’m at the age where limits and restrictions don’t apply much to me at all, not that I really cared much in the past anyway.
Simply put, ratings are there as a general guide, and according to Lafferty, are outdated and out of touch with reality as it is, and people have the choice of whether they read them or listen to the ones who talk about their child’s safety and what they are exposed to.
We all know that the stores themselves will most likely not turn a customer down for the purchase of a game, stating “You’re too young.”, or “How old is your child?”. They hardly even do this with alcohol and cigarettes for crying out loud.
They don’t want to put customers off, and they don’t want to get a reputation. On one hand, they’re saviours and heroes for protecting the children of the nation, and on the other, they’ve lost potential customers, they’re losing profits, and going out of business as people shop elsewhere. Are they really going to turn someone down when they’re waving their wallet around?
Picking up games in the stores is becoming a thing of the past as well, as you can download it your PC with Direct-2-Drive, or you can order it online and have it delivered. I honestly don’t know why stores with shelves full of games exist. I hardly ever see anyone in there buying them, on the occasion that I go in and browse a store for something. You think they’d just have a big warehouse and an online presence without all these retail chains.
The customer wants his product, the developers, publishers, retailers and whoever else, want their money. Who is really going to say no?
It’s all very well politicians and others harping on about it, but in the end, it’s money that makes the world go round, not morals.
http://www.gamezone.com/news/02_19_09_05_22PM.htm
2009/02/23
My Amazon aStore is open for business!
I’ve recently been busy designing and stocking my Amazon aStore with plenty of interesting stuff for everyone to have a look at.Anything to do with multimedia, like movies, music, books, games and technology is here, and you can preview the products and purchase to your heart’s content.
So have a look, as I’ve indexed all the classic games with all their available merchandise into their own sections.
You can view the aStore here by following the link, or there is a link in the top right-hand corner, under Latest on Amazon.com.
http://astore.amazon.com/apocalypso-20
Games I want: Mortal Kombat for PC
We pro- PC people haven’t had a good Mortal Kombat game since MK 4 came out. Even still, the best Mortal Kombat game I ever got to play on PC is undoubtedly Mortal Kombat Trilogy.
If they want more sales, why don’t they make even a semi-decent port for the PC? I wouldn’t mind playing a Mortal Kombat game again after all this time, but something newer..
If they want more sales, why don’t they make even a semi-decent port for the PC? I wouldn’t mind playing a Mortal Kombat game again after all this time, but something newer..
Someone even started a petition to get the developers to make one of the next games available on PC. I would even settle for Mortal Kombat Armageddon, mainly because it had the most characters to choose from in any Mortal Kombat game.
http://www.petitiononline.com/mkforpc/petition.html
http://www.petitiononline.com/mkapcpsp/petition.html
Mortal Kombat: What in the world happened to you?
What happened to Mortal Kombat? The latest title in the series, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe just reeks of a cash- in.
Gone are the edgy days of our favourite beat-‘em-up as it now sinks even further into this commercial pit. When a game starts featuring all these new characters and teaming up with comic characters too, like from the DC stable, I just get the feeling that the developers have kind of lost their imagination and are just putting them in to create more sales and to appeal to mainstream audiences.
And not to mention, even with all the new features and pretty graphics, it just feels kind of tame. I mean, this is the series that got the ESRB up and running, and gave them something to shout about (and they haven’t stopped since).
Mortal Kombat is a household name in its own right, and its characters are well-known as it is.
Ed Boon has apparently shown interest in seeing a Mortal Kombat vs. Street Fighter as well, so it looks as though this trend is set to continue.
Next it will be Mortal Kombat vs. Dead or Alive, Mortal Kombat vs. Soul Caliber, Mortal Kombat vs. Rumble Roses, Mortal Kombat vs. (insert other fighting game here).
Gone are the edgy days of our favourite beat-‘em-up as it now sinks even further into this commercial pit. When a game starts featuring all these new characters and teaming up with comic characters too, like from the DC stable, I just get the feeling that the developers have kind of lost their imagination and are just putting them in to create more sales and to appeal to mainstream audiences.
And not to mention, even with all the new features and pretty graphics, it just feels kind of tame. I mean, this is the series that got the ESRB up and running, and gave them something to shout about (and they haven’t stopped since).
Mortal Kombat is a household name in its own right, and its characters are well-known as it is.
Ed Boon has apparently shown interest in seeing a Mortal Kombat vs. Street Fighter as well, so it looks as though this trend is set to continue.
Next it will be Mortal Kombat vs. Dead or Alive, Mortal Kombat vs. Soul Caliber, Mortal Kombat vs. Rumble Roses, Mortal Kombat vs. (insert other fighting game here).
The Collected Writings of James Newton
Yesterday, the February issue of the carnival of video game bloggers, otherwise known as The Collected Writings of James Newton, was published online. I submitted my article on School Shootings recently, and other than that, you’ll most likely come across some interesting articles and sites mentioned on there.
http://www.blogcarnival.com
2009/02/22
Ed Boon's Birthday
On This Day: Project Snowblind
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