Halo 3 Musings

Played multiplayer for about two hours last night. I'll get to Team Fortress 2 and Bioshock next.

Halo 3 -- I can't comment on the campaign. We're waiting until this weekend so that we can all play it together for the first time in four player co-op. It's a noble endeavor I'm not sure I'll be patient enough to do.

Multiplayer though...it's exactly what I'd expect. Bungie took the proven Halo 3 multiplayer formula and refined it some more. Online connection was great, matchmaking is still a good idea and the addition of ranks, customizable armor and achievements make it a bit more addictive and appealing.

I really like that they reverted to the rifle emphasis that the first Halo had, but also appreciate that dual wielding is still a viable option. I like the idea of equipment, but don't really know how to even deploy it yet. Maybe a read through the manual will help. There are some new maps that look fantastic and are very open, and I still really like the art style of the game. It's simple and slick.

I guess my favorite part about it is that teams that fight together win. We were flanking, calling out targets to each other (using the handy callsign thing above your teammates' heads) and just playing as a group. It was a lot of fun.

(posted by grant at 9/26/2007)   (0) comments

That's Two

Today marks my second anniversary at EA. It's also approximately my second year in California, second year out of college and a few other notables. I must say things are going pretty well. Great girl, awesome job (that's still filed under dream job), fantastic apartment...with great parking (<-- So rare!) and overall a happy, varied life.

/pat on the back

(posted by grant at 9/26/2007)   (0) comments

Some Links and Forewarning

I finished Bioshock last night. I'm thinking about it in my head and I'll have some thoughts on it later. I also played quite a bit of Team Fortress 2 this weekend. That has been on my head a great deal. I shall expound.

Until then, read this article about Penny Arcade in Wired. Brilliant stuff. Those guys are incredible and what they have accomplished is nothing short of amazing.

Also in Wired is this awesome feature about how Bungie tested and refined Halo 3. Great reading, especially if you make games. I'd love to work with these guys. One of the best parts of my job is putting a game in front of players, watching them play, then figuring out how to make it better. You can learn so much if you just pay attention.

(posted by grant at 9/24/2007)   (0) comments

Nice Demos Guys

I don't have a PS3, so I haven't been able to try out all the "great games" coming to the platform this holiday season. I did get to play the Heavenly Sword demo at Best Buy last night. I know the demo was extremely short and probably not representative of the final game (or maybe it completely is), but holy crap it wasn't very fun. I mashed the hell out of buttons. Mashed until my fingers actually hurt -- no overstatement there. I also found the harder enemies incredibly frustrating. They blocked everything. When I got past the part on top of the pillar it was me vs. 15 guys with helmets. And all of them blocked everything. What a crappy way to show off your game. Even worse, what a boring way to make a game.

I also tried out the Quake Wars demo. I find that the game locks up whenever I try to apply filters to the server sort. Great job, there. I got too frustrated to even load a game. Stuff like that shouldn't happen. I'll go back and try it later if Bioshock somehow, strangely, fails to keep me entirely enthralled.

(posted by grant at 9/15/2007)   (0) comments

Epic

Microsoft has created an incredibly awesome Halo 3 website. It's a museum exhibit, complete with hundreds of covenant and human miniatures to commemorate the Battle of New Mombasa. You can do a virtual tour, complete with soldier accounts, videos, profiles on enemy units, weaponry details and stories about the battle.

The overall presentation, complete with the haunting music and the overall sense that war is hell is just incredible. I know it's just Halo and that the story isn't that unique. Whatever. The game is epic and this website just makes me want to play the game I've already pre-ordered that much more. If the single player campaign is half as epic as I want it to be, it could be incredible. Especially with four other friends online.

(posted by grant at 9/15/2007)   (0) comments

Ooh, Moore Please

I must say it's a tad weird seeing Peter Moore at the office gym. This is the guy who was the face of the Xbox forever. Peter Moore equaled Xbox. Now he's at EA Sports. I really dig the 360, so it seems to be a big win for EA getting the guy. Hopefully he can do good things. Still weird seeing him around, almost like Cliffy B on the treadmill or John Carmack shaking the Red Bull vending machine.

O Game is an incredibly addicitive, really cool space strategy game. It's entirely free and is played entirely through a web browser. Knowing how to do things isn't very clear -- introducing new players isn't handled very well. And at times the combat can be a bit overwhelming against guys with 3000 battleships. Overall, it's a great way to spend 5 minutes here and there during the work day.

Bioshock is on the mind, as is Medal of Honor: Airborne and Halo 3. I have just a few weeks to play through so many games. I really need a weekend where I'm not doing anything. I'm going to have to take PTO just to play games.

(posted by grant at 9/13/2007)   (0) comments

Much to Discuss

Quick game update, then on to my journey to Texas.

My 360 returned, or at least the "new" 360 Microsoft sent me returned. Works perfectly, especially with the fantastic Bioshock. Visually, from a technology and art direction standpoint it's really great. It scares the crap out of me and keeps me on the edge (though less so as I get more powerful and familiar with the game). It's also just really slick. No inventory management, you cannot research guys that have nothing (unlike Oblivion). It's just a well-crafted game. I'd like to write a full review when I finish. Hopefully this week.

I just returned from Texas. I did the following manly things in the past few days:
1.) Fired a gun
2.) At two meals comprised entirely of meat
3.) Killed animals
4.) Saw a snake (then ran from it...even with a gun in my hand)
5.) Took a crap in a pasture

The trip was pretty fun, though there was a bit I didn't care for. I still can't stand the Texas heat. Every time I visit the south between April and October, I realize I can never live there again. The cool climate of NorCal has spoiled me.

I also find that I encounter some of the worst people -- there are some different, but very cool people in Texas. Yet I see the worst. Still amazes me that even after two years, when people find that I live in San Francisco their first response is "Huh. There's a lot of gay people there." Yeah...and? I wonder if people actually think there's a 24/7 orgy going on here?

People also ask how I can stand it living away from Texas. They get this look of dread on their face, I assume because they're contemplating their own existence outside the borders of the state. I think the thought fills them with dread, much like the notion of Sauron scared Frodo.

We had a great trip to San Diego last weekend. Excellent food, nice warm weather, the beach and the zoo! It was really nice and I've got some cool pictures (to be posted later). I'll let the pictures of the zoo speak for themselves -- the animals were really great. Also, perhaps inspired by the food, we finally wrote our first yummers post. Check it out if you care.

(posted by grant at 9/09/2007)   (0) comments