Hello all and welcome back. Firstly, I am sorry for not putting out Home Weekly over the weekend, but I've had a combination of the PS3 not connecting to my network and then having no internet all together (and the first problem is still ongoing). Regardless, I have been contemplating this for awhile and have now decided to follow through with the idea of removing the current YouTube channel and setting up a new one in it's place.
While there isn't anything wrong as such, there are a few minor things I would like to be able to change with can unfortunately only be done by creating a new channel. The first is that I entered by age wrong, so I couldn't display that without being frowned upon and the second is simply the channel username. "itsimplyrandomthings", which of course when broken down would read as "it simply randomthings" instead of "its simply randomthings". So, for those rather small reasons I have now created a new channel in it's place.
For the new username, I have dropped the "imply", making the new name "Itsrandomthings".
I unfortunately was not able to save the previous DiRT 3 videos before removing the old account (which was due to my stupidity) and I currently have no ideas on what I will next begin uploading or even when. In the meantime, I will still use it as a way of tracking any YouTubers I am interested in and follow and a way of you to see what I am following.
So, I guess that's all for this quick update. I have of course been randomthings and thank you very much for reading.
Monday, 15 August 2011
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Hackers runing older games - Bad experiences on Call of Duty 4 and World of War
Hello all and welcome once again to Analog Gaming. Now, as I mentioned yesterday, I do intend to cover this week's home content over the course of the weekend and I still plan on doing so tomorrow. But in the meantime, I want to mention something that has truly angered me today whilst playing online.
As I am sure some of you are indeed aware, I do have rather mixed opinions of the Call of Duty series, with varying thoughts on just about all aspects of the games, but while playing online today something struck and shocked me. The issue was that of the multiplayer portions of the games, more specifically for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: World at War. I had previously heard of the current state of the multiplayer of World at War a while ago from various YouTube channels and directors, but it wasn't until today when I actually played the game for myself that I truly began to understand the state of the situation.
Moving to the point I am trying to make, I am simply shocked what has happened to the competitive multiplayer in both games. They now appear to be nothing more that a congregation of hackers, with a number of players now using in game hacks to give themselves various advantages, such as increased weapon fire rates (e.g. a grenade launcher attachment firing at the rate of an M4), increased player movement speeds and even some players flying around the map and others being invincible.
Now, of course, this is not the case with every match I entered and not every player was using such hacks and mods, but it was a number great enough to disrupt the gameplay for myself and others. In my personal opinion it appears that since both games have now become old and only played by a handful of people, that the developers and companies that were previously tasked with up keeping a modest, fair and enjoyable service and experience have now moved on to monitor new games in the series.
I can understand that this should be their priority to an extent, but I honestly do not expect to enter a team deathmatch on Countdown to find that four of the six opposing players are firing grenade launchers like assault rifles, not dying after using all of my ammo from an M249 SAW and a M9 only to find they had taken no damage and have also been able to accumulate a total of 137 kills between them, which is far over the score and kill limit.
After playing that particular match and then two others which were with honest, fair players, I then moved on to World at War only to find the situation was similar, with insane weapon firing, speeding tanks and flying Russian soldiers.
I can understand that this is most likely not the case simply with the Call of Duty series and possibly many other series have fallen under similar circumstances, but I feel that firstly, the players who are using such hacks and mods are little more than a disgrace to the gaming community and that the companies in charge of running such games have failed to deliver their product fully to many customers. I am sure that the older Call of Duty games in particular still generate great amounts of profit and money for Activision and it's developers in terms of first-hand sales, so I was to today have bought a copy of either Modern Warfare or World at War and then gone online to be met with the monstrous mess that is the multiplayer... Well, I would be discussed and conned out of my money.
I can further go on to say that Modern Warfare 2 also met a similar fate earlier into it's life, with 'speed hacks' and 'boosting lobbies' having been around not long after the game's release. It makes me wonder as to what should be done about such problems and as to when a developer should no longer actively support and monitor their game's online status after it has been released. Is a year after release too short a time period? Should online maintenance be later be passed onto another company perhaps?
To use the same analogy as used by YouTube gaming director Gunns4hire, 'console gamers all drink from the same watering hole'. We all use the same servers and services, whereas PC gamers have more freedom as they can host private servers and can actively use mods within such servers. On consoles though, we cannot really do that and if someone or even a group of people were to break rules, or not play the way the game is intended to be played, well, it simply ruins the game for everyone else.
Overall, I am just wondering that can be done about this, or even if something should. I just feel that events like this can ruin a game for new players, potentially effect long term first-hand sales and spoil the enjoyment for returning players.
So, I do believe that I have said everything I wish to on the matter and have put across my thoughts. I guess it is now once again time for me to sign off by saying that I've been randomthings and thank you very much reading.
As I am sure some of you are indeed aware, I do have rather mixed opinions of the Call of Duty series, with varying thoughts on just about all aspects of the games, but while playing online today something struck and shocked me. The issue was that of the multiplayer portions of the games, more specifically for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: World at War. I had previously heard of the current state of the multiplayer of World at War a while ago from various YouTube channels and directors, but it wasn't until today when I actually played the game for myself that I truly began to understand the state of the situation.
Moving to the point I am trying to make, I am simply shocked what has happened to the competitive multiplayer in both games. They now appear to be nothing more that a congregation of hackers, with a number of players now using in game hacks to give themselves various advantages, such as increased weapon fire rates (e.g. a grenade launcher attachment firing at the rate of an M4), increased player movement speeds and even some players flying around the map and others being invincible.
Now, of course, this is not the case with every match I entered and not every player was using such hacks and mods, but it was a number great enough to disrupt the gameplay for myself and others. In my personal opinion it appears that since both games have now become old and only played by a handful of people, that the developers and companies that were previously tasked with up keeping a modest, fair and enjoyable service and experience have now moved on to monitor new games in the series.
I can understand that this should be their priority to an extent, but I honestly do not expect to enter a team deathmatch on Countdown to find that four of the six opposing players are firing grenade launchers like assault rifles, not dying after using all of my ammo from an M249 SAW and a M9 only to find they had taken no damage and have also been able to accumulate a total of 137 kills between them, which is far over the score and kill limit.
After playing that particular match and then two others which were with honest, fair players, I then moved on to World at War only to find the situation was similar, with insane weapon firing, speeding tanks and flying Russian soldiers.
I can understand that this is most likely not the case simply with the Call of Duty series and possibly many other series have fallen under similar circumstances, but I feel that firstly, the players who are using such hacks and mods are little more than a disgrace to the gaming community and that the companies in charge of running such games have failed to deliver their product fully to many customers. I am sure that the older Call of Duty games in particular still generate great amounts of profit and money for Activision and it's developers in terms of first-hand sales, so I was to today have bought a copy of either Modern Warfare or World at War and then gone online to be met with the monstrous mess that is the multiplayer... Well, I would be discussed and conned out of my money.
I can further go on to say that Modern Warfare 2 also met a similar fate earlier into it's life, with 'speed hacks' and 'boosting lobbies' having been around not long after the game's release. It makes me wonder as to what should be done about such problems and as to when a developer should no longer actively support and monitor their game's online status after it has been released. Is a year after release too short a time period? Should online maintenance be later be passed onto another company perhaps?
To use the same analogy as used by YouTube gaming director Gunns4hire, 'console gamers all drink from the same watering hole'. We all use the same servers and services, whereas PC gamers have more freedom as they can host private servers and can actively use mods within such servers. On consoles though, we cannot really do that and if someone or even a group of people were to break rules, or not play the way the game is intended to be played, well, it simply ruins the game for everyone else.
Overall, I am just wondering that can be done about this, or even if something should. I just feel that events like this can ruin a game for new players, potentially effect long term first-hand sales and spoil the enjoyment for returning players.
So, I do believe that I have said everything I wish to on the matter and have put across my thoughts. I guess it is now once again time for me to sign off by saying that I've been randomthings and thank you very much reading.
Friday, 12 August 2011
Back once again...
Hello to all and welcome back once again. I would like to apologise for not posting in the past month or so. There has been a few different reasons for that, with the main one being illness and the other being the fact that I am a self-confessed lazy bastard.
Anyway, moving on. During the past few weeks I have actually had the chance to play a few of the recently released XBLIGs, some of which I will cover this week. I've also been considering making a few changes to the posting schedule, including possibly posting every other day, which I hope would making things more manageable for myself as well as meaning I should be able to create more in depth and meaningful posting, being able to spend two days working on an article, instead of just one.
As well as all of this, I have indeed been playing a few retail releases although, none of them brand new. Firstly I have begun playing through Burnout Paradise on Xbox, having complete the game numerous times on the PlayStation 3. The second title I have been getting my teeth into is Crysis 2, which I can only comment on by saying it is simply a marvel and anybody who cannot see the point in, or justify the console version of the game is nothing more than insufferable idiot.
Lastly, I would like to give a few shout-outs to various people. Firstly, to Sean Doherty of Freelance Games, the creators of Starchon and now also of Trailer Park King, another XBLIG title. I hope that Trailer Park King is a huge success and I also look forward to giving my own opinion on the game.
Secondly, I would like to mention one of the latest up and coming YouTube channels I have come across. The channel, MrSpoonfool, is a mixture of both PC gameplay and recent gaming news. MrSpoonfool himself set up the channel only last week after deciding to move channels. Many of the video series featured on the newer channel having been continuing over from the older one.
And here of course is a few links relevant to everything:
Freelance Games
Trailer Park King - Xbox Marketplace Online
MrSpoonfool - Youtube
So, I guess that's all for today. I hope to be back at some point over the weekend to give a quick look at this week's Home updates and news. Then next week, I will likely be focusing in XBLIGs as I have a few I wish to look at. I've been randomthings and thank you very much for reading.
Anyway, moving on. During the past few weeks I have actually had the chance to play a few of the recently released XBLIGs, some of which I will cover this week. I've also been considering making a few changes to the posting schedule, including possibly posting every other day, which I hope would making things more manageable for myself as well as meaning I should be able to create more in depth and meaningful posting, being able to spend two days working on an article, instead of just one.
As well as all of this, I have indeed been playing a few retail releases although, none of them brand new. Firstly I have begun playing through Burnout Paradise on Xbox, having complete the game numerous times on the PlayStation 3. The second title I have been getting my teeth into is Crysis 2, which I can only comment on by saying it is simply a marvel and anybody who cannot see the point in, or justify the console version of the game is nothing more than insufferable idiot.
Lastly, I would like to give a few shout-outs to various people. Firstly, to Sean Doherty of Freelance Games, the creators of Starchon and now also of Trailer Park King, another XBLIG title. I hope that Trailer Park King is a huge success and I also look forward to giving my own opinion on the game.
Secondly, I would like to mention one of the latest up and coming YouTube channels I have come across. The channel, MrSpoonfool, is a mixture of both PC gameplay and recent gaming news. MrSpoonfool himself set up the channel only last week after deciding to move channels. Many of the video series featured on the newer channel having been continuing over from the older one.
And here of course is a few links relevant to everything:
Freelance Games
Trailer Park King - Xbox Marketplace Online
MrSpoonfool - Youtube
So, I guess that's all for today. I hope to be back at some point over the weekend to give a quick look at this week's Home updates and news. Then next week, I will likely be focusing in XBLIGs as I have a few I wish to look at. I've been randomthings and thank you very much for reading.
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
LBP 2 Level Review - Escape the Sewers!
Hello to all and welcome to another LBP 2 Level Review, where today I'm taking a look at a level that involves a great amount of swimming in dirty water. Lovely.
Escape the Sewers! has been created by Holguin86, who should be known by members of the LittleBigPlanet community as being part of lbpcenteral.com and littlebigplanetarium.com as well as being the curator of the LittleBigPlanet Wiki. Escape the Sewer is just one of his thirteen published levels, all of which I have played though and found them rather enjoyable, but this particular level caught my interest.
The level begins and is set rather simplicity, with no story being tied into the level, with the focus being placed upon the level itself.From the outset it is clear (with the level's title being a big hint too) that the aim is to escape the sewer. Oh, course, getting out isn't as straight forward as finding a manhole cover to exit from. The Sackperson is required to navigate their way through what appear to be a sub-terrain maze of pools of water, wet planets and pipes.
One of the elements I feel that the level can proudly boast about is the imaginative use of water, with one particular puzzle requiring the water from that area to be drained and then filled again in order to move the items need to help the player progress.
As well as this the level's appearance have been cleverly thought through, with the level having an overall green murky appearance which adds to the experience.The combination of these elements help to really bring the level together in the end for a final boss battle.
Overall I feel that the level is incredibly enjoyable and much in the same way as Obscurity. All of the different aspects of the level flow together well, with the water being an amazing element to me, with numerous 'water park' and 'Wipeout' styled levels having previously used water horribly and in uninteresting ways.
I also feel that Holguin should be congratulated on this level reaching over 91,000 plays, over 11,000 hears and 29,500 'yays'. I would also like to thank Holguin for his contributions to to the LBP community, being part of so many great community groups and project. I wish him good luck with his future adventures on LittleBigPlanet.
I would like to award Escape the Sewers! 9/10.
Also here is a few relevant links:
Escape the Sewer - lbp.me
Holguin86 - lbp.me
Holguin86 - LittleBigPlanetarium
So, now it is again time for me to say that I have been randomthings and thank you very much for reading.
Escape the Sewers! has been created by Holguin86, who should be known by members of the LittleBigPlanet community as being part of lbpcenteral.com and littlebigplanetarium.com as well as being the curator of the LittleBigPlanet Wiki. Escape the Sewer is just one of his thirteen published levels, all of which I have played though and found them rather enjoyable, but this particular level caught my interest.
The level begins and is set rather simplicity, with no story being tied into the level, with the focus being placed upon the level itself.From the outset it is clear (with the level's title being a big hint too) that the aim is to escape the sewer. Oh, course, getting out isn't as straight forward as finding a manhole cover to exit from. The Sackperson is required to navigate their way through what appear to be a sub-terrain maze of pools of water, wet planets and pipes.
As well as this the level's appearance have been cleverly thought through, with the level having an overall green murky appearance which adds to the experience.The combination of these elements help to really bring the level together in the end for a final boss battle.
Overall I feel that the level is incredibly enjoyable and much in the same way as Obscurity. All of the different aspects of the level flow together well, with the water being an amazing element to me, with numerous 'water park' and 'Wipeout' styled levels having previously used water horribly and in uninteresting ways.
I also feel that Holguin should be congratulated on this level reaching over 91,000 plays, over 11,000 hears and 29,500 'yays'. I would also like to thank Holguin for his contributions to to the LBP community, being part of so many great community groups and project. I wish him good luck with his future adventures on LittleBigPlanet.
I would like to award Escape the Sewers! 9/10.
Also here is a few relevant links:
Escape the Sewer - lbp.me
Holguin86 - lbp.me
Holguin86 - LittleBigPlanetarium
So, now it is again time for me to say that I have been randomthings and thank you very much for reading.
Digging for Victory - My Opinion of Total Miner: Forge
At first, this does appear to be a clone of a particular mining game which has a 'blocky' appearance, but after looking closer Total Miner seems to be rather unique.
Developed by Greenstone Games, Total Miner: Forge is a block building game that at first to many (myself included) does bare a great resemblance to another block building game, one that is on PC. Sharing the same basic gameplay style and elements, Total Miner also offers it's own features which include it's two modes.The first is the Creative, which is the standard mode designed for building and offering the most straight forward experience. The second mode is Dig Deep, in which players are required to start merely with 1,000 coins, two obsidian blocks and a wooden pick axe. Dig Deep is essentially a survival mode.
Dig Deep is the first unique feature that the game offers. The second is that considering Total Miner is a console game, it allows for a great deal of save files to be saved on the game's two gigabyte data storage. The game also includes a 'world share' feature whereby players can sent any of their save files to another player and let them actively explore that world and use the file.
A formal currency system is another interesting feature, with the use of coins in comparison to simply using various forms of gold and other metals. Tied into this is the use of 'shop blocks'. These blocks allow players to purchase all matter of useful items.
Moving onto my own opinion of the game and I honestly have enjoyed playing Forge so far and I like the overall feel of the game. Firstly, the game does look interesting and slightly different, whilst still retaining a block-like appearance. Secondly I like the gameplay style from the Dig Deep mode, with players needing to find blueprints for items before being able to create them, which gives the game a great deal of purpose and focus, whereas not all players may enjoy the way that Creative Mode is entirely open.
Another aspect that I find interesting and enjoyable is the multiplayer, which allows for up to four player split-screen on a single Xbox console. The official Total Miner website notes that other multiplayer aspects are planned for the future.
Overall I feel that Total Miner is a great buy and can appeal to people of all ages as well as new and returning fans of what seems to be a new genre: block building.
Total Miner: Forge is available from the Xbox Live Indie Games Marketplace for 240 Microsoft Points.Here are a few links relevant to the game:
So, I guess that it is once again time for me to sign off. So, I've been randomthings and thank you very much for reading. I hope to be back again very soon.
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