Friday, October 29, 2010
Verizon Launches Tiered Data Price
As planned, Verizon Wireless has launched its new tiered pricing for 3G data plans today. Users can now recieve 150 MB of usage for $14.99, while the unlimited data plan is still available for $29.99 as usual. Head over to Verizon's website for full details on their data plans for both individuals and families.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Playstation Phone On The Way?
The folks at Engadget have posted some pictures of what appears to be a brilliant collaboration between Sony and Google. According to them, the phone will run Android 3.0, together with a unique marketplace allowing for purchase of game titles developed for the platform. While this device is unlikely to have quite the horsepower of the PSP2, it could still very well replace it for many users. I find it strange that Sony would bother developing a dedicated gaming phone and a PSP2, so perhaps we can expect to see a closer marriage between the two. If not, I would imagine Sony can expect to cannibalize the sales of the PSP2 given the convenience of a smaller device that contains more functionality. Check out the link above for more details on this upcoming device.
White iPhone 4 Delayed Even Further
Reuters reports that Apple has announced that the elusive white model of the iPhone 4 has been delayed yet again to Spring 2011. This comes after Apple has delayed this model twice already, so it is unclear if the anticipated release date can be taken seriously. I'd say that anyone still waiting around for the white model is probably best off just settling for the black one at this point. Spring is still a long way off, and at that point it won't be long before iPhone 5 is hitting shelves. Even better, if you've already been this patient, just wait for the next iteration of the iPhone and save yourself from jumping into a contract for now.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Fallout: New Vegas - Review
Alright, so as you may already know, New Vegas is rampant with bugs which is why my review comes so late in the first place. I decided that I wanted to wait in publishing my review until I was actually able to play through the most important parts of the game. Now that I've finally been able to, partly due to working my way around bugs, and partly due to Bethesda's quick response to said bugs, I can say this game is still worth checking out.
New Vegas will strongly remind you of Fallout 3 in terms of its gameplay. Given that the game uses the same engine as Fallout 3, it more or less looks and plays the same. However, the small tweaks that Obsidian has put into this iteration of Fallout make it a better game than its predecessor. For instance, players are now able to aim down the sights of their gun, making the first-person shooter aspect of Fallout feel much more fleshed out, despite still being behind the curve. In my experience, I didn't rely on VATS while playing New Vegas nearly as much as I did while playing Fallout 3. In case you're unfamiliar with VATS, it is Fallout's targeting assistance which allows you to freeze combat, and target individual body parts of enemies, in a quasi turn-based combat style. While VATS still works great this time around, I didn't feel that it had as large of an advantage over traditional aiming as it had before.
Another change players will notice quickly is that perks are granted every other level rather than every level. While I'm sure everyone will groan and complain that they feel less powerful than in Fallout 3, I personally enjoyed this change. It made choosing perks all the more important, and I was very careful in which perks I chose throughout my adventure. Considering New Vegas allows you to level to 30 off the bat, there are still plenty of opportunities to choose cool perks. Sadly, the perks have not changed much since the previous iteration, which is disappointing given that some of the perks in Fallout 3 were obviously not worth taking.
There are a few other interesting changes in New Vegas such as weapon mods, new crafting options, and the addition of a Survival skill, as well as the combination of the Small Guns and Big Guns skills into one skill labeled appropriately as Guns. These were all welcome changes in my opinion, especially the expanded crafting options. While the ability to build weapons in Fallout 3 was cool, there were only a handful of options for what players could make. This time around, you can make almost anything, ranging from healing medications and herbs, to recycling ammo and creating stimpaks. This gives the players a lot more freedom in style of play as you may choose to buy all your items, or scavenge for parts and build all your items.
Of course, one of the main parts of New Vegas that really shines is the story. The story is arguably better than the one from Fallout 3, and can go in about any direction you want it to. You can team up with any number of factions around the New Vegas area, or you can attempt to make a name for yourself on your own. The major players in the conflict surrounding New Vegas are all at odds to begin with, so you will find yourself making enemies as soon as you start making friends. For example, not long after I started helping the brutal, slave-driving company of Caesar's Legion, I was informed that the New California Republic would become hostile if I continued. These factions along with a couple others play the largest roles in the main story of New Vegas, but there are many other small factions scattered about the map, and the player can interact with each in any way they choose. You may find it advantageous to befriend a group, only to take what you need and betray them later. New Vegas allows these kinds of actions, and while playing I was amazed that Obsidian had programmed the game for so many different outcomes based on the player's choices.
The gambling aspect of New Vegas is of course appropriate given the game's setting, and is also a fun feature to bring to the table. While you can certainly go the entire game without a whole lot of gambling, you would be foolish to do so as it is such an easy income source. With a high Luck skill, making money playing Blackjack is a breeze, not to mention a fun way to cool off from the more action driven parts of New Vegas. In a realistic fashion, hotels will even begin to comp you with free booze, food, and lodging if you win enough, and boot you out if you win even more.
Now, I've spoken a lot about the things that made New Vegas a wonderful experience, but it wouldn't be fair if I didn't mention the things that make it a terrible experience. With the game being as large as it is, there are bound to be some bugs, but New Vegas sets a whole new level of buggy gameplay. Many of these bugs are cosmetic and won't break gameplay in any way, such as characters walking into walls, or enemy models appearing to be stuck in the ground. However, there are some ugly bugs that will rear their heads and in some cases, ruin the gameplay. One such frustrating bug that I experienced was an enemy faction that asked me to visit their headquarters, told me I would be protected, and appeared neutral on my faction reputation list. However, when I proceeded with this quest, the faction would randomly turn hostile and start attacking me. Eventually, I reverted to an old save and take a different path of dialogue which seemed to fix the problem, but was very frustrated to lose a couple hours of progress due to a bug. I also encountered an NPC later in the game that responded as if I had said "Goodbye" no matter what dialogue option I chose, preventing me from progressing in a quest involving said NPC. Thankfully, other than some minor cosmetic bugs, these two examples were really the only bugs that altered the game in a meaningful way. I would imagine after a few patches that situations like these won't happen anymore. Though frustrating, it's understandable that with many factions, and reputations between each faction, some weird interactions made it into the shipped product.
I also don't have a lot of nice things to say about the graphics quality in Fallout: New Vegas. While the art and style of the game is perfect for its post-nuclear apocalyptic setting, the actual quality of character models, and textures leaves something to be desired. When compared to the likes of other high profile games of this year, these visuals don't hold a candle to the competition. It seems lazy to me that Obsidian would use the same engine for New Vegas that was used to make Oblivion more than four years ago. Developers like Bungie have shown that a new engine can make a sequel look a hell of a lot better, and some improvements in this area would have helped the Fallout series a lot.
All that being said, New Vegas was still an incredibly fun experience. While I would simply quit playing most games if I encountered a bug such as the one described above, New Vegas is such a great game otherwise that I was driven to get around the bug and continue playing. When everything is going smoothly, New Vegas has an excellent pace, and perfect mix of action, gambling, questing, and character development. There is enough content here to keep you busy for months, and Bethesda has already promised DLC in the future. I wholeheartedly recommend this game to fans of Fallout 3, but for the more wary players, I'd say to wait for a couple patches (one has already been released, more are supposedly already on the way).
New Vegas will strongly remind you of Fallout 3 in terms of its gameplay. Given that the game uses the same engine as Fallout 3, it more or less looks and plays the same. However, the small tweaks that Obsidian has put into this iteration of Fallout make it a better game than its predecessor. For instance, players are now able to aim down the sights of their gun, making the first-person shooter aspect of Fallout feel much more fleshed out, despite still being behind the curve. In my experience, I didn't rely on VATS while playing New Vegas nearly as much as I did while playing Fallout 3. In case you're unfamiliar with VATS, it is Fallout's targeting assistance which allows you to freeze combat, and target individual body parts of enemies, in a quasi turn-based combat style. While VATS still works great this time around, I didn't feel that it had as large of an advantage over traditional aiming as it had before.
Another change players will notice quickly is that perks are granted every other level rather than every level. While I'm sure everyone will groan and complain that they feel less powerful than in Fallout 3, I personally enjoyed this change. It made choosing perks all the more important, and I was very careful in which perks I chose throughout my adventure. Considering New Vegas allows you to level to 30 off the bat, there are still plenty of opportunities to choose cool perks. Sadly, the perks have not changed much since the previous iteration, which is disappointing given that some of the perks in Fallout 3 were obviously not worth taking.
There are a few other interesting changes in New Vegas such as weapon mods, new crafting options, and the addition of a Survival skill, as well as the combination of the Small Guns and Big Guns skills into one skill labeled appropriately as Guns. These were all welcome changes in my opinion, especially the expanded crafting options. While the ability to build weapons in Fallout 3 was cool, there were only a handful of options for what players could make. This time around, you can make almost anything, ranging from healing medications and herbs, to recycling ammo and creating stimpaks. This gives the players a lot more freedom in style of play as you may choose to buy all your items, or scavenge for parts and build all your items.
Of course, one of the main parts of New Vegas that really shines is the story. The story is arguably better than the one from Fallout 3, and can go in about any direction you want it to. You can team up with any number of factions around the New Vegas area, or you can attempt to make a name for yourself on your own. The major players in the conflict surrounding New Vegas are all at odds to begin with, so you will find yourself making enemies as soon as you start making friends. For example, not long after I started helping the brutal, slave-driving company of Caesar's Legion, I was informed that the New California Republic would become hostile if I continued. These factions along with a couple others play the largest roles in the main story of New Vegas, but there are many other small factions scattered about the map, and the player can interact with each in any way they choose. You may find it advantageous to befriend a group, only to take what you need and betray them later. New Vegas allows these kinds of actions, and while playing I was amazed that Obsidian had programmed the game for so many different outcomes based on the player's choices.
The gambling aspect of New Vegas is of course appropriate given the game's setting, and is also a fun feature to bring to the table. While you can certainly go the entire game without a whole lot of gambling, you would be foolish to do so as it is such an easy income source. With a high Luck skill, making money playing Blackjack is a breeze, not to mention a fun way to cool off from the more action driven parts of New Vegas. In a realistic fashion, hotels will even begin to comp you with free booze, food, and lodging if you win enough, and boot you out if you win even more.
Now, I've spoken a lot about the things that made New Vegas a wonderful experience, but it wouldn't be fair if I didn't mention the things that make it a terrible experience. With the game being as large as it is, there are bound to be some bugs, but New Vegas sets a whole new level of buggy gameplay. Many of these bugs are cosmetic and won't break gameplay in any way, such as characters walking into walls, or enemy models appearing to be stuck in the ground. However, there are some ugly bugs that will rear their heads and in some cases, ruin the gameplay. One such frustrating bug that I experienced was an enemy faction that asked me to visit their headquarters, told me I would be protected, and appeared neutral on my faction reputation list. However, when I proceeded with this quest, the faction would randomly turn hostile and start attacking me. Eventually, I reverted to an old save and take a different path of dialogue which seemed to fix the problem, but was very frustrated to lose a couple hours of progress due to a bug. I also encountered an NPC later in the game that responded as if I had said "Goodbye" no matter what dialogue option I chose, preventing me from progressing in a quest involving said NPC. Thankfully, other than some minor cosmetic bugs, these two examples were really the only bugs that altered the game in a meaningful way. I would imagine after a few patches that situations like these won't happen anymore. Though frustrating, it's understandable that with many factions, and reputations between each faction, some weird interactions made it into the shipped product.
I also don't have a lot of nice things to say about the graphics quality in Fallout: New Vegas. While the art and style of the game is perfect for its post-nuclear apocalyptic setting, the actual quality of character models, and textures leaves something to be desired. When compared to the likes of other high profile games of this year, these visuals don't hold a candle to the competition. It seems lazy to me that Obsidian would use the same engine for New Vegas that was used to make Oblivion more than four years ago. Developers like Bungie have shown that a new engine can make a sequel look a hell of a lot better, and some improvements in this area would have helped the Fallout series a lot.
All that being said, New Vegas was still an incredibly fun experience. While I would simply quit playing most games if I encountered a bug such as the one described above, New Vegas is such a great game otherwise that I was driven to get around the bug and continue playing. When everything is going smoothly, New Vegas has an excellent pace, and perfect mix of action, gambling, questing, and character development. There is enough content here to keep you busy for months, and Bethesda has already promised DLC in the future. I wholeheartedly recommend this game to fans of Fallout 3, but for the more wary players, I'd say to wait for a couple patches (one has already been released, more are supposedly already on the way).
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Apple event brings Facetime to the Mac
Earlier this week, Apple finally made many fans wishes come true. Steve Jobs proudly announced that Facetime will be making its way to Mac computers, with a beta already available. This means that all the iPhone 4 and current generation iPod Touch customers can now video chat with anybody so long as he or she is using a Mac. Unfortunately, there is still no Facetime client ready for the PC, though I imagine that one is already in the works. While Apple may be in strict competition with Microsoft, they are fully aware how important the PC market is, as shown by the development of Windows version iTunes, Safari, and MobileMe.
Blizzcon 2010 Has Begun
Blizzard Entertainment has begun its annual conference know as Blizzcon earlier today. Sadly, this year looks it will be absent of any huge announcements. Given that details are already available on Cataclysm, Diablo 3 is likely a long way off still, and Starcraft 2 was just released, there really isn't too much for Blizzard to talk about. However, one of the most exciting things spoken about at Blizzcon so far, is Blizzard's plan for World of Warcraft dungeons. In today's presentation about Raids and Dungeons, Blizzard announced that they will be making vast improvements to old dungeons. One change I am looking forward to is that larger dungeons will be broken into wings, much like we are used to with dungeons from Wrath of the Lich King. This will make dungeons much more manageable, and something that everyone can do even on a tight schedule. Though some players may complain that Blizzard has been focused on making WoW easier, it would seem that their plans really just make WoW more accessible and less of a timesink. Blizzard also discussed plans to move dungeon related quests so that quest givers would be available right at the dungeon. This should spare players the frustration of finding which quest lines lead to dungeon related quests. Alongside the recently released dungeon finder tool, these changes should prove to aid players significantly in the leveling process, and in general dungeon crawling. Stay tuned for more Blizzcon related news.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Fallout: New Vegas - Review
Well the New Vegas review will sadly have to wait, as my game is bugged to the point where I can't proceed. If there's no fix in a couple days here, I'll be starting over from the beginning. (Which is really unfortunate as I'm 13 hours in).
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