http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq4Y7ztznKc&feature=player_embedded

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Cinematic Trailer.

Pretty fucking epic.

PS:  Bob how the fuck do I embed a youtube video on these damn forums?

Happy 25th birthday, Nintendo Entertainment System!

I have fond memories of the NES.  My sister got an NES for Christmas when I was four years old, so I grew up with the "classics" like Super Mario Bros., Bayou Billy, and Paper Boy.  I ended up buying that NES from her many years later for $5.00, and still have it to this day.  Just thinking about it makes me want to break out Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge or Super Mario Bros. 3.


-b0b
(...good times!)

X wrote on Oct 18^th, 2010 at 5:52pm:


I also had (and still have!) Knight Rider, and I have the exact same memory you do.  It was the coolest idea for a game, but it was ridiculously, frustratingly, controller-breakingly hard.  Bayou Billy was the same way.  I don't think I've ever felt such a sense of accomplishment merely from reaching the second level in all the years since!


-b0b
(...w00t!)

Three more hours, ladies!

I pre-ordered my copy last week and pre-loaded the game over the weekend.  I'm tempted to call in sick dead tomorrow so I can start playing at midnight, but I'm pretty sure that's against the rules.

Oh well, I might be able to get in an hour or two tomorrow night!


-b0b
(...can't wait until Saturday for some all-day-long gaming goodness!)

I got to play a full hour tonight, and I came away satisfied thus far.  It's fairly obvious right off the bat that Fallout: New Vegas didn't move too far away from its roots in Fallout 3.  The overall graphic design and a lot of individual elements like sound effects, weapons, NPCs, bad guys, and inventory items are direct carryovers.  That's a bit disappointing, but I'm still enjoying myself so far.

Hopefully I'll get to climb back into the saddle tomorrow night for more Fallout fun!


-b0b
(...is up way past his bed time.)

The review I read (on Ars Technica) stated the game was fairly buggy, and this is definitely par for the course with Obsidian.  Their games are often incredibly bug-ridden, with Neverwinter Nights 2 and Knights of the Old Republic 2 standing out as glaring examples.  It doesn't help when you pair a developer known for buggy games with an engine that has an equally bad reputation for stability issues.

In my limited play time last night, I only ran into one issue in which an enemy fell partially through the map.  His head was above ground level, but the rest of his body was obscured.  He was unable to move and I couldn't loot his corpse after the coup de grace.

Meredith is playing the XBox 360 version (same as the Ars Technica reviewer) and said she experienced a game freeze that forced her to jump out to the dashboard and restart the game.  It's nice to see that consoles are experiencing the same problems PCs usually get stuck with!


-b0b
(...will comment in greater detail after playing a bit more.)

Steam has a fair number of competitors in the digital distribution market, but none of them come close to Steam in terms of market share, library, or services.  I've got a couple of titles on Impulse, all of which are Impulse-exclusives that were developed by Impulse's owner, Stardock.  The only thing Impulse really has going for it is that applications can be purchased in addition to games.  That's a nice feature, but I can see why Valve doesn't want to branch out of games and game-related products.

Other vendors like Good Old Games have a niche, and it seems to work for them.  As the name implies, Good Old Games specializes in selling older titles, most of which have been updated to improve functionality with newer operating systems.  I'd like to see Valve increase its selection of older titles and do more to ensure compatibility with modern platforms.  I've got a couple of Steam titles that won't run on the Bobulator because of incompatibilities with Windows 7, 64-bit operating systems in general, or certain hardware specs (more than 2GB of RAM, for instance).  Some of these, like Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines are excellent titles and would undoubtedly turn a profit if the license-holder would spend a few bucks to have these titles patched.  This would often require implementing a minor workaround that could be done by a junior developer in a matter of minutes.

There are a ton of old titles I'd gladly throw down $5 to $10 for.  Neverwinter Nights, the Descent titles, Tyrian, and the Jazz Jackrabbit series all come to mind.


-b0b
(...finishes his rant.)