Blog Every Day in September

A fair trade.

by ZombieSkittles on September 13, 2010

This entry is part 11 of 25 in the series Blog Every Day in September

Days without alcohol/soft drinks: 13
Sit-ups: 27
Push-ups: 8

- - -

Today I upgraded my Xbox 360 from my well over a year old 60 GB model to the 250 GB Xbox 360 S. The machine is much smaller, and a sleeker style of casing makes it look much nicer. The console itself is basically the same but with the addition of wireless and well, a lot more black.

The Xbox 360 S cost $499 by itself, but for some reason costs thirty dollars less when purchased with Mafia 2, making it $469. I decided to trade in my current Xbox 360 and several games to make it cheaper. I first called up EB Games and they offered me a whopping $40, so I kindly offered for them to go fuck themselves and hung up. I went to GAME instead, where after the usual testing and such, they gave me $150 for the console alone, and another $55 for the games, which is awesome and proves that it’s best to shop around.
With that price knocked off I only needed to pay $264 for the console.
However, it turned out that they were out of Xbox 360s. They did have a pre-owned version that had been owned for all of a week, before the customer (who was a well known regular, apparently) decided he didn’t like Xbox and swapped it for a PS3 (which he also apparently traded back in). That one wasn’t part of the Mafia II deal, but it’s price WITH Mafia 2 came in at $468, and the console is covered by GAME under warranty for 12 months. As such, I went with that.

In the end, knocking off the credit I got with my trade ins, the final price I had to pay was $263. If you consider the fact I got Mafia 2 with it, and deduct that from the price as well it turned out I only paid $151 to upgrade my console. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

Coincidently, this console has inbuilt wireless, which puts me that much closer to maybe getting Xbox Live.

{ 0 comments }

Mirror’s Edge

by ZombieSkittles on September 14, 2010

This entry is part 12 of 25 in the series Blog Every Day in September

Days without alcohol/soft drinks: 14
Sit-ups: 29
Push-ups: 18
Ran: 1.38km

- - -

After just two days I finished this game, which is probably why it was understandably twenty whole dollars. While it is cheap and short, it was definitely worth the time.

You play as main character Faith as you leap across buildings, climb up pipes, crawl through vents, and run along walls. I liken it to a first person Prince Of Persia style game, but set in modern times. The character uses techniques similar to those of parkour¹ to do all this, and the end result is fairly amazing. To get around, one must employ combos of moves, such as running up a wall, then throwing yourself off of it to reach a pipe you must then climb.
The game is fairly surreal, with a full (and unfulfilling plot), and amazing colour schemes. The city is a blissful white, with the insides of buildings often being a combination of white and just one other colour. While this would sound boring, it really sets the atmosphere, and works for the player in moving around.

Mirrors-Edge-scr1

What really works for the game and makes up for the lack of a decent ending² is definitely the fluidity of movement you receive. As you run, you gain momentum, and as long as your movements are smooth and you time everything correctly, it is maintained. This makes the game so much more fun, and trying to work out the quickest way through can be frustrating but fun at the same time.
Mirror’s Edge does feature combat, and in fact shooting. However, these come second to everything else (To the point there is an achievement for never shooting a gun), thankfully.

I definitely got a good experience out of the game, but couldn’t see myself playing it again. If you’ve got time to kill and a few bucks, this is a good way to fix both of those problems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour
This is my opinion. You might very well like the ending

{ 2 comments }

Dear Pay Phones of Gawler

by ZombieSkittles on September 15, 2010

This entry is part 13 of 25 in the series Blog Every Day in September

I hate you.

Sincerely, fuck you.

{ 0 comments }

Dear Engineer,

by ZombieSkittles on September 17, 2010

This entry is part 14 of 25 in the series Blog Every Day in September

This is a letter to you, and all Engineers. I have really had it with how bad some engineers can be, especially post-class update, when it comes to teamwork and just in general.

1) Turn your teleporters. Most experienced Engineers don’t have this problem, but when I take a teleporter I am often faced with a wall, simply because the player who put it there doesn’t know how to right click. Right clicking turns your teleporter around so it’s facing the way you want it to, and helps your team and yourself from becoming disoriented when we go through it.

2) Defend the base. Nowadays we’re seeing more and more engineers go offensive with the release of the Frontier Justice and the Gunslinger. However because of this we are presented with a drop in defence, meaning while that Engineer is happily gunning away on the front lines, a Scout has a much better chance of swooping in and stealing the intelligence, or ninja capping a point. If no-one else is defending, consider your team instead of your kill count.

3) Don’t use the Gunslinger for everything. I know the Gunslinger is really cool, and the mini-sentry is pretty handy at times, but it’s not the be all and end all for Engineer melee items. A mini-sentry is useless in a defensive situation. There are multiple times when a game is lost simply because the Engineer figured that a weak mini-sentry would serve as enough to defend the intelligence. While it is possible to defend with one, you’ll have to stay there to be effective.

4) Don’t build at the spawn. This is a big one for me. Even Engineers who used to be amazing are proving to be useless since the ability to move your buildings was implemented. In the time it takes to place it, upgrade it, then SLOWLY lug it to your destination (IF you make it to your destination; you’re defenceless while carrying a building), the enemy team could of capped the intelligence already or god knows what. It is far more effective to place a level one where it’s needed, then go back for metal to upgrade it. A level one sentry in the Intelligence room is better than none at all

5) Help other Engineers. Teamwork is the core of this game. Without some form of teamwork there is more of a chance of losing. All the time I see people build their own buildings then just stand two seconds away from someone else who is building their stuff up. It takes no effort to run over there and swing your wrench a few times, and the time saved and defence scored more than makes up for that precious metal you had (and weren’t using). If you see a sentry take damage and it’s not yours, hit it anyway! Anything you can do is good for the team.

{ 0 comments }

Ignis Solus

by ZombieSkittles on September 18, 2010

This entry is part 15 of 25 in the series Blog Every Day in September

Days without alcohol/soft drinks: 18
Sit-ups: 34 (20 yesterday)
Push-ups: 15

- - -

I’ll be putting up a simple review of my new phone in the next few days with what I think of it and such, but in the meantime you need to watch this video. It’s a Team Fortress 2 machinima but it is done SO well, it really deserves more attention.

{ 0 comments }

Samsung Galaxy S

by ZombieSkittles on September 19, 2010

This entry is part 16 of 25 in the series Blog Every Day in September

Days without alcohol/soft drinks: 19
Sit-ups: 22
Walked: 1.98km (not accurate; my new phone seems to have a little trouble with GPS. It’s more than likely to be slightly less than this.)

- - -

I’ve had this phone for three days now, which I believe is long enough to have a decent opinion of the device. I will unfortunately be unable to help myself and compare it to the iPhone a lot, as it was my smart phone of choice for the past two years. However, being that nearly everyone reading this will be familiar with that particular device, it’s a good starting point.

The Samsung Galaxy S actually looks a lot like an iPhone physically; similar shape, big home button on the bottom, all that jazz. It’s a bit bigger though, and takes more advantage of the space with a bigger screen. The phone itself is surprisingly lighter than the iPhone despite it’s size, which is quite pleasant.
Of course, battery life seems to be the same; it lasts about a full day before I need to charge it. Unlike the iPhone though, it has a removable battery, so down the track I should be able to buy a spare so when I’m out for a long period I can simply swap them and keep on going¹.

Android is every bit as good as I’d heard it was. Neat presentation, widgets on the home screens, applications running in the background, the list goes on. I could of course go into great detail about each feature on the phone, but there are plenty of other blogs and websites that have done that.
This isn’t to say that it’s perfect, as I have been having problems. Whether they’re Google’s fault or the fault of Optus is yet to be discovered, but I’ll be dedicating another post to that discussion.

Applications are something that I absolutely loved about the iPhone; older phones you were always stuck with what you were given, where as with smart phones you can download programs that do almost anything you want. I’ve found a few apps in the Android Market that I used on the iPhone (including Twitter and Foursquare), and have promptly installed them, only to find they’re designed differently and actually better than their Apple counterparts. This would probably be because of the additional buttons and screen space present on the phone itself.
I’m not sure if it’s because it’s new to me, but I definitely find the Android version of apps, including the Twitter app, better than the iPhone versions. I would include comparison photos of two apps side by side, but I still don’t know how to screenshot on the Galaxy S. Sorry about that.

Something I really should not be excited about.

The one thing I’m sure is interchangeable among all Android phones is how you can manage your contacts. Despite it being common among Androids, I still find it amazing. Where most phones usually let you save information to either the SIM card or the phone itself, phones that run android (since they’re a product of Google) let you save your contacts to you Gmail account. This is awesome because that means I could edit and save new people to my Gmail contacts and they will sync with my phone. If I lost my phone or got a new number, or upgraded to a better Android phone, I wouldn’t have to go through and add all my contacts one by one (Like I had to do going from iPhone to Galaxy S), I’d just have to log in to my Google account and BAM! There are all my numbers, just as I remember them.
This sort of synchronisation alone makes this phone all levels of awesome. I am such a nerd.

I know I haven’t covered everything you probably wanted to read, but

You can fix that. If this post bugged you because it was too vague, or didn’t mention something specific; tell me below and I’ll answer it to the best of my ability.

Like a Duracell Bunny?

{ 1 comment }

Brittany

by ZombieSkittles on September 20, 2010

This entry is part 17 of 25 in the series Blog Every Day in September

Before I say anything lame, I want you to know that

I love you.

I love cuddling you, hanging out with you, listening to you, being with you, messing around with you, kissing you, you. Oh man now I want to hit myself for how bad that sentence sounds, but that is how I feel.

Thank you for the past YEAR. You’ve made me so happy. I have no idea how else to say it. Every time I see you is a new experience for me. I have no idea how to write this without getting all cliché and terrible.

You’re a goober.

I found this photo of you when we first started hanging out together, and it made me smile thinking it’s really been this long. I think it’s great that after all this time we’re still having fun, and have so much in common. I am so glad we started talking again after so long, and that you’re always there when I need someone to talk to.

I really have nowhere to go in this without covering stuff you already know or I’ve already said, but I lobster you. That is all.

{ 1 comment }

If Dog Poos, You clean!

by ZombieSkittles on September 20, 2010

This entry is part 18 of 25 in the series Blog Every Day in September

Days without alcohol/soft drinks: 20
Sit-ups: 27
Push-ups: 14
Ran: 2.88km

2010-09-20 10.35.46

Went for a run today, and encountered this at the local primary school. Thought it was cute and merited a post. Sort of partially makes up for a day that I missed this month, right?

Today was my first proper run with my Samsung Galaxy S, so I got to try out Runkeeper and as such the GPS properly. The results were fairly good but not 100% accurate. According to the map it drew, I apparently decided to run through someone’s house at about 2.6km in. But still, it seems to do the job, though not as accurately as on my iPhone.

{ 0 comments }

Optus and Android

by ZombieSkittles on September 21, 2010

This entry is part 19 of 25 in the series Blog Every Day in September

Days without alcohol/soft drinks: 21
Ran: 2.25km (The GPS definitely needs a little fixing. I think I really only did 1.9-2.0km, but yeah.)

- - -

Update: It figures that the day that I finally get around to posting this, it suddenly starts working again. Whether or not Optus or Google actually fixed it or my phone just corrected itself I do not know. Either way, awesome.

The other day I talked however vaguely about my new phone, the Samsung Galaxy S. This is my first time dealing with Optus in well over five years, and my first time using an Android phone. While I love it, there has been an issue which as it turns out, is not just me.

The major issue is that applications downloaded from the Android Market, don’t download. When selected, the item sits on “Starting Download” forever, but never actually starts. Being a smart phone, applications are relied on to personalize and extend it’s uses. It’s what makes the phone amazing. So, being unable to get any is quite a drawback.

Apparently a majority of people who use a Samsung Galaxy S (and even a few other Android-powered phones), and are with Optus are having this problem too. Going to Optus, I was informed that it was because “The Android Market is down.” which makes sense, except for one thing.

The but.

Optus is blaming Google for the problem, saying that the Android Market (the place one downloads applications from) isn’t working. This may be true, except that when I use a wireless Internet connection I can download applications. This indicates more of an Optus problem than a Google problem. Perhaps Optus 3G is having trouble connecting to the market, but that makes it as much an Optus problem as a Google problem, and as such Optus should try to work it out and fix the problem, rather than blaming someone else.

I don’t even know who’s right, but being unable to just download applications whenever and wherever I want, seriously bothers me.

{ 0 comments }

Eat Lead: The Return Of Matt Hazard

by ZombieSkittles on September 22, 2010

This entry is part 20 of 25 in the series Blog Every Day in September

Days without alcohol/soft drinks: 22
Push-ups: 15
Walked: 1.79km

- - -

I picked this game up for ten whole dollars at JB-HIFI the other day, because why the fuck not? Who is Matt Hazard, you ask? This guy.

No that is not Bruce Willis.

The game features the protagonist, Matt Hazard, in his quest to forever destroy the fourth wall as we know it. The man knows he’s in a video game. In the Matt Hazard universe, game characters are like movie actors, hired for games and the like. Eat Lead is Matt’s “return to video game stardom” after some rather bad games soiled his career. Halfway through the first level, it becomes apparent someone is hacking the game to kill multiple actors, including Matt Hazard, forever. As such, with the help of a woman who goes by the name QA, he has to gun his way through various random scenarios to find out who’s behind it, and escape the game.

The game is a third person shooter which seeks to be a self-aware parody of gaming in general. It uses this as an excuse for terrible AI (enemies are predictable) and aiming, as well as bad clipping (I fought enemies who ran through shelves and benches). This made me feel like I was playing a game ten years ago, which given the plot and style isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Throughout the game, various jokes are made, referencing past games and taking the piss out of himself. One of my favourite moments so far is when he’s getting the objectives listed for the level. There were too many so he demands them summed up, so they turn into one line; “Kill everything that moves”. That perfectly summed up many a game.
Another is during the tutorial. The whole way through, Hazard bitches about having to go through stuff he already knows, “Like I never fired a gun before”. Hearing him complain and rant to you makes basic things like the tutorial more bearable, which is good if you already know the basics from playing any other shooting game ever. The dialogue from Hazard has to be the most interesting thing in the game, making the repetitive “enemies come into room, take them out” scenes a million times more fun.

When it comes to achievements, I have to both laugh and be annoyed. The game uses achievements to make more jokes. You unlock one for simply starting the game, the description being Matt Hazard thanking you for buying his game. You get another one for pausing the game too, and for finishing the tutorial. While I get they’re meant to be more jokes, it annoys me that they basically GIVE you all these things. Like I’ve said before, I enjoy actually achieving things.

I’m quite enjoying Eat Lead, and as such I have to wonder why it was so cheap. It features voice actors such as Neil Patrick Harris and Will Arnett, as well as plenty of viral marketing campaigns that I for some reason never saw. I wonder why I never even heard of the game until I stumbled across it by chance. Fate? Maybe. All I know is it’s an awesome game and I would recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat.

{ 2 comments }

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →