Gamespotting 050 - Recession gaming and Bargain Hunting

Lets face it, gaming is an expensive hobby. During the glory days of student loans and university living, every time a new game came out. I would go to the Manchester Arndale and hot-foot it to GAME with my reward card in hand and cash in the other.

But since leaving education and entering full time employment, Full Price Games and new releases are not finding a way into my monthly budget as much as they used too. Portal 2, Battlefield 3 and the Devil May Cry/Metal Gear Solid HD collections have been pre-ordered and not bought as planned. I feel like I have been left out of the loop for a while Video Game wise, even though I have been reading my preferred Video Game site, Destructoid and listening to podcasts whenever I can (on a side note, I recommend Podtoid, TheGameoverCast and Digital Gonzo to name a few).

Over the last few months though, I have had two saviours which have been satisfying my gaming needs. First is the all-mighty Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) for loads of games, Fez has been finally released for a measly 800 MSP and I was having an awesome time until I encountered a game killing bug which the developers ensured would be fixed in the next patch. Also I have been enjoying the weekly/monthly sales they have been having, the most recent includes the always epic and highly reccomended Beyond Good and Evil HD for a measly 400 points. (Footnote: Download this game, especially for this price. Don't buy the DLC for the crap game your currently playing and download this epic classic.)

But an unexpected place where I have been finding some great games for little cash is the second hand media stores like CEX and Cash Generator. I always pop into these stores because in the case of Cash Generator; you can always find a DVD you would like to watch for £1 and in the case of CEX, can find some classic and rare games without the need of going on Ebay. But recently, I have found some epic bargains in both the Stockport and Manchester branchs of Cash Generator.

Bargain Number 1: Batman: Arkham Asylum (X360) Price - £3.49


I was blown away when I saw this game for this price, immaculate box and the disk does not have a scratch on it. I originally played the first Batman game when it came out, but only put about an hour into it. I got stuck trying to sneak past Harley Quinn when she is holding Commissioner Gordon hostage. That and a combination of not finding a specific Ridder Trophy which put me off. How wrong I was, I have not put this game down since I have bought it and loving every second. Also was served by a Girl called Penny Lane in the store so this made the purchase more awesome.

Bargain Number 2 : Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (X360) Price - £1.49

This is an unbelievable purchase from the same branch of Cash Generator, in all fairness though. I do not like the Call of Duty games, I find them highly overrated and even though they have a high level of polish and production which can be seen. This type of game does not appeal to me. Also my only time playing Call of Duty online was an onslaught of abuse and uses of the word 'noob'so this put me off. I have not yet played the game but for this price, its on the "to-play" pile at the moment. It was this price though because the disk did have a lot of laser burn and scratches on it, but a £1 ride on a disk re-surfacer at my local branch of Grainger Games has sorted this out fine.

Bargain Number 3 : Fallout 3 - Game of the Year Edition (X360) Price - £7.49

This was a bargain and a half, the full Fallout 3 which must be a 40 hour game easy, with all the expansion packs included make this a bargain for the price. Especially as each individual expansion pack for this game are priced at 800 MSP a pop.

So for £12.50, I have acquired three awesome games, each providing at a minimum 20 hours of gameplay and all for a third of the price of a full retail game. In conclusion, if you find yourself with nothing to play and only a 10 pound note in your wallet, check where your local branches of Cash Generator and CEX are because you can grab yourselves some great deals and even better deals of you like a bit of retro gaming.

Get out their and find yourselves a bargain, you never know what your going to find on them shelves.

Gamespotting 049 - Off The Shelf and Gamespotting 2.0

10 LRB_RUNTIME_V2.0.....COMPLETE
20 RUN LRB_RUNTIME
30 SYSTEM REBOOT IN 3....2....1...

WELCOME TO GAMESPOTTING 2.0


Hello their, if your still their that is.....

Welcome to the new and improved Gamespotting Blog brought to you by me Luke Bale, a graduate of the University of Salford with a 2:1 degree in Computer and Video Game Design. I have not done this for a while so please accept my apologies as since leaving uni, life has not allowed me to sit down at a computer and write my thoughts of the day about video games and the various other things that are on my mind.

I have felt that since leaving uni, I have lost some creativity and my ability to write many blog posts within a week, not only towards my coursework but in general also. I did have a position at a blog called Eternal Gamerz in 2010 but sadly that was short-lived but allowed me to branch out into more detailed and self-opinionated work which was awesome. Which has brought me back to my original blog, Gamespotting. I need to get myself posting more stuff and now that I have a week off work, I thought it would bring a perfect oppertunity to blow the dust and cobwebs off the blog (which are of my own creation) and get my opinions out their once again.

So the plan from hence forth will be that I am going to post more than twice a week about video games, I already have some plans for posts lined up one of which will be composed this afternoon over a cup of tea and half pack of Jaffa Cakes so I hope you enjoy the plans I have lined up for the blog and hope you enjoy reading my posts.

See you all on the other side

Gamespotting 048 - Hello there and how have you been

Well; I know that in the last post on my blog that I said that I would keep stuff more regular on the blog; but after a change of job and sorting out a Maths Retake course; it has kind of gone on the back burner for a while, but I have been ready to talk about what I love once again and to make sure I cover everything; I have broken everything down and make sure I get everything off my chest.

Games I have Been Playing

Well; the annual summer Holiday in the games market has once again taken place which leaves me with nothing new to play; but does allow me to work through the list of games I have wanted to play for a long time. I don't know where to start as it is kinda big list.

The games which have taken most of my time up at the moment are; Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction which I have wanted to play for a long time managed to pick up for £4 off Ebay a few weeks ago which has been a great game so far and is full of laughs. In my opinion; it is an unappreciated title in the PS3 Library and also one of the most memorable games I have ever played which is Final Fantasy 6. It would take up about an entire post on my views on the game (Which will come very soon SPOLER)but in my opinion; it can be classed up there and even maybe overtake the title of Best Final Fantasy Game created and that is a very huge task in my opinion.

Also; in-between all this, I have managed to drag out my Dreamcast for its annual playing putting classics such as Jet Set Radio and Shenmue back into its drive. So even though I have taken a rest from the blog; Gaming has remained a big part of my daily life which is always a good thing.

One game which has dissapointed me since the last post was (I can't believe that I am going to say this) but; No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. I wanted to love this game as I have praised the original so much to almost Preacher status, but it was such a let-down. Don't get me wrong; it was a ride and a half, but everything I loved from the first game has been deleted and replaced with gameplay mechanics which don't work. The boss fights have completely changed and gone have the cool Boss Introductions which would build up the oncoming battle with this uber killing machines. But instead; it just throws you into the battle and tells you who you defeated after you have beaten them which just ruins it. It could have been so much more; but instead I find myself playing the original even more than before.


Films/ TV

A lot of DVDs and TV Shows have managed to come into my DVD collection over the last few weeks of all Genres and Classifications. I have remained faithful to my Twin Peaks Box-sets which I have watched a good few times as well as returning to an old friend which I have not seen in a good while. The genre in question is Anime and yes; I have gone on a bit of a buying spree with the Boxsets as of late. On my hitlist has been Martian Successor Nadesico; Mahoromatic and a few others just to name a few and I have forgot how good some anime can be.

It has been good to get back on my Blog and I know there will be a bit of deja Vu going on but I want to keep this up. I feel that since I have left uni and started to focus on my teaching career; I feel I am loosing touch with the acedemic side of the games industry which I do love to observe and comment; so be ready for some major updates and rants on major stuff (Gaming and Beyond)

Gamespotting 047 - I'm Back and raring to Go

Hello there; how are you. Oh my God, I have not seen you all in ages. Thats right, I am back on my Blog and raring to discuss some great stuff which has happened since the last update. I do apologise for the lack of content on my blog for quite some time, I have been very busy finishing my Degree course which is now completed and I am just starting to enjoy the time off. (It has been very weird to go from Always on the Go and Busy with something to Nothing within a Two Day period but I am slowly getting back into the Groove of it all now).

I have finished the biggest bane of my life which was RIFT after a very bumpy last week of development and now focusing on trying to start my teacher Training which might even mean going back to college for a year which will be a very weird experience after leaving already, but it will be fun. I have also had a few Interviews for some teaching assistant positions within a few schools in the local area which were unsuccessful, but it is all experience at the end of the day for when I do actually get one.

I also got my Dissertation back with the mark of B+ which for something which took me a year of playing Sonic Games (It was very Hard Work and I had to replay them several times to absorb all of the Information from them)and read some very detailed pieces of Text but it was all worth it in the end.

Finally, after all this work. I did something which I have not done for a while which was walk into the closest HMV and had a look round. So much stuff has been released while I have been trapped in all this work such as Twin Peaks - Season Two (Only Two and a Half Years Late but better than never I suppose), No More Heroes 2 - Desperate Struggle which I plan to write an artical about soon, Ponyo (The next Ghibli Film which looks amazing) and a few other bits and bobs which found their way into my shopping basket. So these will take up my time for the moment and keep my occupied while I start to relax and unwind for a few weeks.

I am planning to keep my Blog entrys regular over the next few months/years so that I don't leave a rather huge gap like I have done previously but I want to maintain this blog for the future Generations to come back too and see what the Hell I have been rambling about for all these years. So sit back and enjoy the up-coming ride as Gamespotting is back in Business.

Gamespotting 046 - An Eternal Update

The Easter Holidays are here finally and I can (for a few days at least) can have a break from everything and start to focus on the finishing line. I am focusing on finishing off my final project; concepting my two new projects for my portfolio (one being Eternal and A Second to be confirmed) and finally play some games which over the last few weeks is only becoming a luxury.

I have been purchasing games for the last few weeks but only managed to get a few of them; I managed to play a bit of the excellent Flower; Sun and Rain from the ever excellent Suda 51; The Orange Box to finally play Half Life 2 and its episodes and also Pokemon Soul Silver which comes out this Friday and everybody at uni is training up for over the Easter Break for a major on scale battle when we return.

I also have some books to read; but this cannot get in the way of the work which I must finis for when we go back; so if I get to play and read these items will be another story. So I will keep you updated when I have concepted Eternal some more (of which at the moment is in Alpha development) and hopefully it will go well.

If you would like to see some more posts of my gaming experiencing; I am writing for EternalGamerz.com at the moment and am uploading my articles daily so please visit the site and see what you think

Gamespotting 045 - Its Eternal what we go through

Today has been a very important day within my Game Creation career as I have had an idea for a game. I know it is a bit of a shock for a games designer to create a game but it is like nothing I have ever designed before.

The inspiration for my Idea has come from two places which I have listened to today; First is the Destructoid Podcast (This Weeks Episode) when they were talking about the difficulty of various Boss Characters in games they have played before and how they defeated them; all having different styles and secondly Brenda Brathwaite's lectures about her collection of games known as "The Mechanic is the Message" and how they all affect how the player thinks about some truly horrible Story Elements such as a Train Driver taking Jews to Auschwitz in Train.

All these elements has me thinking; does the type of Game Player affect how the player would play not only the games mentioned in these examples; but all in games in general and with this has come the Birth of Eternal.

At the moment; Eternal is an additional piece to go into my Portfolio; but it is also an experiment to see me try and answer this question of Player Interaction with the product. it might have been done before; but this will be my attempt at it and hopefully it will pay off and be a nice addition to my Portfolio.

I will add more content to the blog when I have fully concepted the Idea but I want it to be a tribute to the ideals of Serious Games and what they are trying to achieve within the Industry.

Gamespotting 044 - I don't know about other people; but I like playing in the Heavy Rain

Like many gamers over the last few weeks; I have bought, played and finished in Heavy Rain and I must say I have enjoyed every second of the game from its detailed storyline; likeable characters and its everything has a consequence style of Storytelling has all combined to make a truly enjoyable gameplay experience. But after I have finished the game; I looked at the reviews from my favourite game sites and much like Heavy Rain; they all had different experiences with the title and liked it some places while hating it in others.

Destructoid's editors loved the game but questioned it's storyline; especially the Twist in the ending scenes of the game; while others loved its simplistic gameplay which did not interrupt the game's main focus of the storyline.

But personally; I found very little faults with the game and it immersed me deeply within its storyline which has not happened to me personally as a gamer since I first played Code Veronica on my beloved Dreamcast. Of Course there are a few problems with the game such as the sometimes jerky controls and some texture clashing with the camera; but at the end of the day I loved this game and what is trying to achieve within the Industry.

No other game for a long time has me truly worried about what will happen next within the game; no other game has had me clutching my SIXAXIS to try and complete the relevant cut scene in the right times; but also no other game has had me going to the top of my monitor and listening carefully for an audio clue to where to go next within the game's storyline and for that; I thank it for providing me with some great gaming time.

But it has provided me with a problem; now that I have played Heavy Rain, I am very intrigued to go back to Quantic Dream's previous title Fahrenheit and see if the gameplay from Heavy Rain stemmed from their previous work and I can go for the ride all over again. I hope it is not raining anywhey.

Gamespotting 043 - Happy Birthday Gamespotting (2010 - The Year of the Indie Title)

Hello all.

Well near enough this time last year; I started this thing which I call my Blog and even though the contributions to it have swung between regular and irregular, but I want to be the first to say Happy Birthday Gamespotting.

Now observing my gaming habits as well as the affairs within the Industry over the last 12 Months; it is weird how much my gaming taste has changed over the last 12 months with the first posts of the blog talking about the drought of titles within the Industry and me going back to older titles such as Beyond Good and Evil and Code Veronica to quench my Gaming Thirst and at this point of the year; I am overcome with the amount of quality titles which have found their way into my Disk Drives. Games like the absolutely amazing Mass Effect 2 and the not yet finished but is already amazing Heavy Rain, I am absolutely spoiled for choice.

SINGLE GAMING PREDICTION FOR 2010

If I could predict one thing for the upcoming year is that 2010 will be the year of the Indie Title; with a large amount of Indie titles breaking through to the other side of the Gaming Spectrum and receiving a lot of publicity and praise for their uniqueness; mark my words; Independent Games will be on the rise.

The following Indie Titles are ones which I think will do well this year; both on the consoles and on the PC.

Super Meat Boy!
Limbo
Scorgasm
VVVVVV (Six Vs I think it is spelt)

Well; I have enjoyed this year of gaming and as I sit here with my Party Streamer and Bottle of Magners; I say one again Happy Birthday and heres to another great year in gaming

Gamespotting 042 - There is MORE Evidence and Introversion's Anthology

Well; as I have been running my blog for about a year, I have been looking through my older posts and seeing what my opinion of games were last year and I came across a post about a game called Evidence: The Last Ritual.

Now just for the record and I have said this before, I loved Evidence: The Last Ritual and compared to the stuff which came out last year; it was one of the better games which I have played and I love to play it again (if I could find the disks for it). But on the way back from uni one afternoon; I came across a bargain bin of PC games with the usual suspects which you would find in it (stuff like Barbie's Horse Adventures) but to my surprise, I came across a game which was called In Memoriam. Now after a few minutes, it jogged my memory to being the prequel title of Evidence: The Last Ritual and it was only £1.99. WHAT A BARGAIN.

I put in my drive and I played the title for a few hours over the course of this weekend before doing some more coursework and I have to say; I wish I played this game first. It is still the same sort of gameplay and its more of the same compared to The Last Ritual, but it was such a better experience and even though it is an older title, it blew me away more than anything else this year (with the exception of Mass Effect 2 of course) and I am glad I took that way home this week as I might have never come across the title.

Also talking about older PC games; I have been looking at the Introversion Software site recently looking at their progress of their new title, but accidentally I came across their online store which lead me to finding the Introversion Anthology. A Box Set of their entire games collection for the small price of £30 quid. Not only do you get classic titles such as Darwinia; DEFCON and my personal favourite, Uplink but you get all the games within a special Introversion Tin which is embossed with a Darwinian which makes it all the more special. Now I have had a special place in my gaming heart for them as they make such quality titles; it is worth the wait for the new titles and I think that buying these titles will keep them going to create even more titles which I will play over and over again.

So like this time last year; I have been looking at older titles instead of buying the new and in my opinion; it is well worth it.

Gamespotting 041 - Mass Effect 2 effecting my Xbox (Once Again)

Now during my extreamly busy schedule at the moment, I have had some time to play a game which I have been eagerly awaiting for a long time, this title being Mass Effect 2. Now as I have said a few times on the blog; I loved the first game; it being the only game in a long time which I have played multiple times over (I think the last was CODE: Veronica) and I have enjoyed every playthrough even though I know the storyline like the back of my hand.

So on the 29th January; I took a trip down to Game in Manchester and bought the special edition of the game to go alongside my Mass Effect 1 Special Edition. Once in my Xbox 360's Drive; the game has not left the console (apart from the disk swap) and I have found myself engrossed in the universe once again much like the Previous game did and I have enjoyed every second of it. It took me 26 hours to finish the storyline of the game but doing all of the side quests has taken me up to 40 Hours which for £49.99 is a great bargain considering the amount of gameplay you get.

I also imported my character from Mass Effect 1 into this game which did affect the storyline of the game as the decisions which I made on the first game like Keeping Wrex Alive, Letting the Rachnai go and Destroying the Citadel Council to destroy the reaper ship, Soverign all coming back in this title to affect the storyline although in smaller ways than once thought. But to see Wrex as leader of the Krogan, The Rachnai queen channelling herself through an Asari to talk to Sheperd on Illium and meeting the parents of people who died on the attack on the Citadel all affected me and the way I played this game. But my thoughts now is that if this was how the choices from the first game affected the second, imagine how they would affect the Third and Final in this already Epic Trilogy.

Everything in this game has been altered and changed for the better and in my opinion; even though I have played the first game to death, I would have this game over the first as it seems so more refined compared to the last one. But even though I love this game more than the first; I do have a problem. I have finished the main storyline and I do want to play this game again. Not because I didn't enjoy this game (far from it), but as I am eager for the next one so much. I want to remember the game how I have played it on this playthrough and not go back and find something which I didn't pick up on on another. Also my crew/ship survived the final mission and I have the DLC to look forward to; so I don't think I will restart this game soon. I might go back to the first title and create a new Shepherd once again and play through them both back to back to see how it differs with a new character. But for now my Sheperd File can sit down with his Girlfriend Tali and have a rest after beating all these collectors; with The Reapers waiting in the wings.

Gamespotting 040 - Stephen Fry ARG and Link meets Gene Hunt

Well; it is nearly here and I am looking forward to it; the next semester of my university course and as it is the last; I am going to ensure that everything goes OK and I have a blast, but in the meantime. I have been playing some games and also listening to some free audiobooks that I got from Audiable.com (Free Book upon registration).

One of these was The Dongle of Donald Trefusis by Stephen Fry which is a continuing Radio series by the great Mr Fry which revolves around acquiring a mysterious USB Drive from his late Cambridge Professor which when mounting the device on his Macbook finds a large amount of files which starts a mysterious Treasure Hunt; but upon listening to the second episode starts the listener to launch up their respected Web Browser and start following both weblinks and twitter feeds alike to find clues to the next part of the story. Upon listening to this; I hopped onto my laptop and found myself embroiled into this Alternative Reality Game which at the moment has got me researching pieces of fine art in order to find a clue to the next part of the story.

Now not being an expert of Alternative Reality Games; but being aware of them and such examples as Perplex City and I Love Bees; it rearly surprised me when sitting in my gaming chair that I was following in the same steps as Mr Fry as he looks into the mystery of this Dongle and going into the third part of the series, I am looking forward to where it will take me next.

Link Meets Gene Hunt at Khoolint Island

Apart from listening to these Audiobooks and Podcasts; I have found a long lost friend of mine which has been with me for a long time; my Game Boy. Still in its tatty goodness and with its dislodged B Button still needing that small poke in order to work; it brought so many memories back to me with the likes of Kirby's Dream Land, Metroid 2: Return of Samus, Super Mario Land 1 and 2 and most important; Pokemon Blue edition which I have completed several times over and probably know like the back of my hand.

But already in the drive of My Game Boy was the classic title and one of my favourite game boy games which was Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening now being the first Zelda Game I ever played and I still think is better than most Zelda Games so it does hold a dear place in my heart. But the save file was still working so I decided to give this gem another blast. Link was in the middle of animal village just after the 3rd Dungeon and going into the 4th and 5th; I still had to aquire my Hookshot but I decided to blast through the game and now I am on the second to last part of the game and it has still not lost its charm; but one thing did spring to mind.

When the game is booted up; the player is shown a video clip which shows Link coming back from overseas and in the middle of a lighting storm; his ship gets struck by Lightning and then the player is took to a shore side of an island where an unconscious Link is being awaken by a mysterious women. Upon playing the game even further; you find that the entire island is a Dream created by Link's concious mind when he is knocked out unconscious by a bolt of lighting and when he awakes; the island and all its inhabitants will dissapear forever. But this instantly brought to mind of one of my favourite TV series; Life on Mars which follows a similar storyline to that of Link's awakening which bring me to the conclusion; was this game the true inspiration of Life On Mars and Ashes to Ashes. Only Link or Gene Hunt could tell us the answer.

I have to once again apologise for the absence of entrys on my Blog; but as you can see it has been hectic within my life at the moment and I have not rearly had a moment; but as it is the 1 Year Anniversary of my Blog I will ensure that I will get something special to write about for that entry.

Gamespotting 039 - Down Time

Well; Me as well as many other people have now finished for the xmas holidays and I think everybody deserves a bit of rest and relaxation over the next few weeks. With the rush of the next week aside for the moment; this weekend will prove to be a godsend for many people.

Well; I am sitting here at my desk which has been covered in paperwork and books for the last few weeks and I have shifted all the crap for a few hours of downtime catching up with a few things. The main thing on my list was to look for a few more Xmas presents for a few members of my family and Amazon was my first stop. I had a fourth look at the kindle while I was there (admiring it secretly) and picked up a few bargains along the way.

Second stop was on my blogs; which I updated after a month absence with some more rantings and then downloaded some podcasts (Answer Me This; One Life Left and Phill and Phil's Perfect 10 to name a few) to keep me occupied.

One thing that has scared me over the last few hours was that this was officially my last christmas at Salford; even though I have not noticed it over the last few months but it is scary that this time next year; I will be a year older and doing my day to day tasks within another place apart from Salford which I am going to miss so much when I have left there.

To tell people the truth; I am unsure what I want to do next yet; I have had a few things and ideas floating around in my mind (Teaching being the main thing) but the decision is still unsure and I will have to think about it very quickly.

Well I am looking forward to this christmas very much and have a lot to keep myself occupied with (mainly my Dissertation and Essay to name a few) but I also have some time with my PS3 with my name on it and also re-playing no more heroes ready for next years sequel which is top of my games list (as well as Bioshock 2 and Mass Effect 2); so now I am going to play some good games instead of playing nothing.

Well; I am going to be now but I wish everybody a merry Xmas and hope people have a new year (when the hangovers have finished)

Gamespotting 038 - Objection in the Courtroom and Spreading the Rage

Now if you have been a member of my course for the last few weeks; very little Game playing has been happening with all the work he have had to do over the last few weeks; but I have held some form of Gameplaying with my Nintendo DS and playing my favourite DS Games; the Phoenix Wright series.

Now its not everybody's cup of Tea as its more of a graphic novel than a game; but it is one of the best gaming experiences that I have ever had with a series of games (More than Resident Evil games and CODE: Veronica and I love that game) as it provides a level of humour and great storytelling which I have not seen in games for a long time. I think I am sick of good looking games which provide no storyline at all as can be seen with most games from this generation; but these games provide the flipside to this generation while constantly keeping my attention with the never ending twists and turns of the storyline.

There is another title within the series released next year and I am looking forward to this title a lot more than anything else next year (with the exception of Bioshock 2 and Mass Effect 2 which go without exception)

Also Within this blog post I wanted to spread the word further of one of my favourite podcasts; One Life Left whos' resident gaming Poet Craig "The Rage" Macellend has released his own book on Blurb which I have ordered and I am looking forward to a lot (calling it an early christmas present to myself); so I hope people go onto the One Life Left website and look at the book to see some great poetry.

Gamespotting 037 - Wearing the Fedora while people are installing Windows 7

Hey People

It has been a long time coming but here it is; a new post on the blog. I have been so busy with all my third year work at the moment that the blog has been the last thing on my mind so I thought I would take a few minutes out from the workload and get some new material on the blog.

Now one thing that I have been occupying myself with at the moment (apart from games of course) is learning about Linux. Now I have heard of Linux before and what it is; but never put it into practice and used it as an Operating System. But while reading LifeHacker (my Second Favourite Website)I have been reading about the new versions of Linux and especially Fedora Linux.

Now one of the best things about Linux is that if you want to try out the new OS before installing it; you can create a Live CD which allows you to stream a lite version of the Fedora OS straight of the disk without installing it first and give it a try; and after trying it I thought it was excellent.

The amount of time and work that has gone into this project is amazing and even though that this is the longest running version of Linux; the other Linux Distributions are not a patch on this. I have also found a secondary use for this disk as I fixed my Sister's computer and used it to repair her Hard Drive, so it came in handy for two different reasons.

Ultimately; I do think that Linux is the future of computing and the release of a free OS which will become the universal standard will be on the cards on future Tech and by looking at stuff like Linux I think that the future is nearly here and its defiantly wearing a Fedora.

Gamespotting 036 - Retro All The Way This Chrimbo

Over the summer and the few weeks into this semester; I have discovered a few things about my gaming taste and it might not come as much of a surprise but I am a fully Retro gamer and nothing else.

I have been finding myself playing nothing but Retro titles over the last few months and have got another pile to play after them. Many people would say there is nothing wrong with this; but as a video games student. Shouldn't I be playing more modern titles that have just been released instead of playing around in the past?

It has crossed my mind a few times over the last month while playing Sonic and Pokemon for my dissertation; but I think it is because there is nothing that I want to play at the moment but more importantly; I feel there is nothing going to be released within the next few months that I would be in desperation to play.

I am not bothered much about the likes of COD: Modern Warfare 2 or many other big titles over the christmas period but instead have opted for more retro titles; including Panzer Dragoon Saga which I am at a Bidding War in at this moment in time but should be mine in a few days; but also playing Shenmue 2 on the way it should be played; The Dreamcast.

So hopefully there will be something that will come along that will bring be back into the next generation; but for this moment in time I am sticking in the last.

Gamespotting 035 - Such a great website that I have to share

I am one person who likes a good little website which would help them with their work on a daily basis and I think I have found the best one today which everybody should know about.

The website is called Aviary.com and is basically a series of free web applications that you can use anywhere and are of a good quality to be compared to free open source programs and in my opinion even some licence software.

There are six programs altogether, which can deal with most common design tasks with the exception of office tasks and are most importantly free to use. They are only in Beta at the moment; but I think you will look past that with the quality of the programs.

The Link is:-

http://aviary.com/home

I hope the readers of the blog will like this and use it as much as I have.

Gamespotting 034 - Living the Dream 10 Years Straight

I have waited to post on the blog until today for one important reason; its the 09.09.09. Now I am not excited about all the Beatles stuff that has came out today (Got the last one I need today; such a good Album)or all the films that are coming out today for some reason; but for one gaming milestone, the 10 year anniversary of the Dream cast.

Now I know that everybody is covering this at the moment; but I want to talk about this amazing console that I still have set up today to play on anytime I want to. I have been playing games for 17 years; seen some great titles and some extreamly bad ones but when I look back; there was only one console that I have always played on constantly and that is the Dreamcast. I just love the console; everything about it ranging from the Games (Shenmue, Jet Grind Radio, Crazy Taxi, Sonic Adventure), The Peripherals (Fishing Rod) and the ability to go online and play gamers all over the world; which did shape the way we would play games in the future.

In my opinion; it is the console that can't be faulted. I know that it got out-manoeuvred by the Playstation 2 when it was released; but I still don't know why the Dreamcast was taken out so quickly. Around the time, I thought the Dreamcast was so much better than the Black Box that Sony was releasing and the games could not be matched; but the popularity of Sega's Swansong slowly declined and third party support dwindled which spelt the death of the console.

But I will always have a place in my heart for this console as I still think its the best console ever made and has not been matched since; I know that consoles since then have offered so much more for the player and makes the Dreamcast look like a ZX Spectrum; but none of them have the charm that the Dreamcast does; but what it mainly is about the Dreamcast is that SEGA made a console for the fans of their games and the company itself; which is rare and personally I cannot see Microsoft or Nintendo doing the same sort of thing in the current market.

So I want to thank Sega for making such a great console; for the fans and I will always have mine set up ready to play any undiscovered gems that I have not heard of before (Skies of Arcadia on the way from Ebay), so to celebrate I am going to have a game of Lucky Hit and have a fight with Boris "The Bear".

Gamespotting 032 - Third for Now.....But Wait and See

Sony have taken one of the most radical changes over the last 10 years while they have been part of the games industry. They came from nowhere with the Playstation 1 and gained world wide success with the console and gained even more with its Sister console the Playstation 2 which has cemented itself as one of the most successful consoles in Video Games History.

But many people within the games industry have noted and also the popularity of its competition; Sony's current consoles the Playstation 3 and the PSP; even though they are both the most powerful in their respected fields are both last at the moment. But in my opinion; Sony have been waiting in the shadows as they watch what the competition have been doing; watching their success stories and huge disappointments and in the end; they are going to pull out something big.

I have never underestimated Sony during this generation but I know of a few people that have with the noted failure of some of their games and not instant popularity of its on-line service home and also the blu ray drive; but with their new upcoming titles and both revamps of their consoles (Which feature most importantly the price drop); they might finally get to climb the ladder and get some of their fanboys back. I know that they will never win this gen because of the insanely popular console that is sitting in front of millions of TVs around the world; but I hope they pull it together as I think they are not out yet.

Gamespotting 031 - Back from the Holidays

Hello Gamespotting readers; if there are any left; I am back on the blog and normal service is going to be resumed. I am sorry that there has not been as much as I wanted on the blog; but I have had so much going on at the moment that it has been at the back of my mind.

I have been up to loads over the summer; been sorting out some stuff for my third year of university mainly my third year project and also my dissertation which as the blogs have been on halt for a few weeks; but is going to be heavily updated from today. I have also been playing a lot of games; mainly Fallout 3 and a few sonic games. I have also rediscovered my PSP and have been replaying a lot of the titles that I have had stashed in my library somewhere; but even though I have completed Gitaroo Man Lives three times; I have lost the skills and can't play the game anymore which is highly frustrating.

But I have been doing a lot of personal projects as well; finally finished Stephen King's The Dark Tower series which I have got to say are fantastic, lost nearly three stone in weight (probable because of not eating all the yummy machine food in the centenary building) and finally improving my skills as a Video Games Student; e-books and the PDF are the best things ever.

But there are so many things that I want and need to do; but the time for third year is coming fast so I am going into overdrive from now on. So I hope everybody is having a good time this summer also and will see you back on here soon for some gaming rant of some kind (Maybe the PS3 slim or something like that???)

Gamespotting 030 - Andrew Ryan or John Galt????

The main thing that I have been doing over the summer (apart from going down to the pub for a few too many drinks and playing games) is reading. I love to read and I have had a lot of reading material to do over the summer.

At the moment; I am reading Friends Like These by Danny Wallace which is a great book about revisiting your past, but also for my Dissertation but not an official reference piece that is is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Now this book is huge; it has as many pages as the bible and twice the amount of words (Thanks Wikipedia)and I am enjoying it at the moment, but while reading it; it does bring me back to my Xbox for one reason, Bioshock.

Now; Bioshock is obviously inspired by this book. The utopian image of the future that Ayn Rand puts forward are clearly seen within the game; but also this draws more attention to the games main "Antagonist" Andrew Ryan. Now within Atlas Shrugged; the antagonist put forward to the reader at the beginning of the book is John Galt. This mysterious figure that can be heard everywhere; but not seen until half way through the book, when the pages get into triple figures and towards the end of the book is finally shown to be the hero of the book helping the world into a better future.

Now when comparing to Bioshock; Andrew Ryan is portrayed within the same image. He is considered the bad guy sending splicers, security droids and big daddys but in my opinion; he is the same character as John Galt. In his opinion when building Rapture he wanted to escape the crippling power of authority and rules from the rest of the world and where is the only place where they cant reach you; under the sea god knows how many levels under sea level. But he is portrayed as the bad guy in the same way as the book and the only thing he is trying to do is escape and be free.

I love it when I can compare a game to another form of media on such a deep level like this and Atlas Shrugged; but I think that when Bioshock two comes out; Andrew Ryan will be avenged and the purpose of Rapture will finally come true rather than becoming a huge battlefield for your plasma powered hand and the splicers