Confessions of a hardware fetishist... (k3nshi)

Sick reading from a sick mind.

2004 in Gaming Terms (k3nshi) (k3nshi)

"It gets really good from the next level on,"

Except it didn't. 2004 for me was like one of those really crap levels of a game that appear when you are really hoping the game will start to get really good. The difficulty was set way too high, too early; Too many enemies; Too many bosses spitting walls of bullets and thriving within an unbalanced system. Broken playmatics, shoddy controls, cheating AI, dropped network connections - mid-game - this was 2004.

Needless to say, I lost power-ups early on and saw my shields get run down real fast. Energy levels close to depletion, the inevitable time for the wall behind me to fall away to reveal a room of fresh enemies. And of course, just when I thought I was making some headway.

Pause.

Continue or Quit? The promise of a better gaming experience to come - "It's got to be better than this?!" - meant it wasn't time to let the rampaging hordes win just yet.

Unpause.

Somewhere along the way, things started to slowly shift in my favour. New (improved) buddy AI took up the place of fallen comrades, providing support from enemy forces. This game's much easier when someone's got your back - co-op is the only way to play. In the end this monotonous soul sapping level proved to be the training ground to build a repertoire of new skills and tricks, along with the confidence and flair to use them. I started putting those tactics and stratagems into play towards the end, and the score started to slowly increment. The reward of getting to the end? Bonus levels providing a change of scenery and pace, and a new perspective on the game itself. I'm not sorry to see the back of this level, but I'm glad I finally learnt the things I did.

2005?

Game On.

2004:A mostly average year (the_debaser) (the_debaser)

My health has been unusually good this year. I think that's because I've been drinking more than ever. The poor bugs just don't stand a chance against the levels of alcohol in my bloodstream. I haven't had many problems with my joints, which once seized up due to an allergic reaction with some anti-biotics I once took. Man, that pain was unbearable, only beaten by the severe gastro enteritis that I once had when i was about 14. I also just looked in the mirror, and disappointingly enough, I'm not very ginger.

However, my fucking eyesight is getting worse month by month. I can just tell. One day I'll be wearing my contacts when driving, and I won't be able to see car number plates as good as when my prescription was last changed. Its a fucking pain in the arse.

If my eyes would just stabilise for a few years, I'd have the fuckers zapped and sorted out once and for all.

And yes, this blog is probably a bit introspective and personal, but I can't find any interesting internet stories about how amazing Apple are. Or something.

Rumors: One More Good Thing for Apple: "As most of you are probably aware Apple recently sued unnamed individuals and named a few websites for posting what, at the time, were unsubstantiated rumors. For the folks that missed the story the basic gist is as follows: Three sites incurred the wrath of Apple by posting information on a FireWire device that would work in conjunction with GarageBand..."

(Via AppleMatters.)

The Year in Macs, Part One: "An army of iPods, a redesigned iMac, and a Tiger looming on the horizon—2004 proved to be quite a year for Apple. MacCentral.com Editor Jim Dalrymple takes a look back at the last 12 months in a two-part review of Apple’s busy year. Today’s installment looks at significant hardware releases and updates. Part two will examine software news, Apple’s financial performance, and assorted legal wranglings involving the company."

(Via MacCentral.)

The Best Games You Haven't Played (k3nshi)

A non-games magazine weighs in on all the games you haven't played. Probably some choices in there that will cause some disagreement, but even I want to play their number one contender.

(via Wired)

Unleash the pwn4g3! (k3nshi)

Halo 2, Rumble Pit then. I just can't win. And yet, I can't stop playing it. So I want hints and tips and shit to make me good. Give me the POWAH!

Tsunami Aid (k3nshi)

Woke up to see the news of the death toll continuing to rise. Amazingly depressing stuff. Places accepting donations so they can help:

• Oxfam


• International Red Cross

Mario Kart meets WarCraft 3 (k3nshi)

"In a bizarre and unlikely abuse of the game's engine, the WarCraft III team at Blizzard has delivered an unusual new map for the game: Azeroth Grand Prix, which converts the medieval RTS title into a go-kart racer starring the game's characters. The play style and behind-the-kart viewpoint are reminiscent of Nintendo's Super Mario Kart series, as is the ginned-up logo given to the map. Those interested in trying it out for themselves (and who wouldn't be?) can download Azeroth Grand Prix at the WarCraft III bonus maps site."

(via GamaSutra news)

New Lock-Down CD To Ruin BMG CDs In 2005: "Anonymous Coward writes "SonyBMG is reported to be planning for some US releases in 2005 to contain a new CD lockdown scheme by British company first4internet which, unlike predecessors, is reportedly able to spoof macs, forcing users to accept heavily DRM'ed real or windows media files in a fixed (and shoddy) "online music store style" bitrate.

"The disc will present itself as a CD-ROM to PCs, a Mac CD-ROM to Mac computers, a VCD to DVD players, and a CDDA disc to audio CD players. This multifunctional disc format offers full playability and therefore greater flexibility without lowering protection levels."

The scheme will also go so far as to restrict the number copies of said tracks you are allowed to make.""

(Via MacSlash.)

RSS Feed (Wickedkitten)

Since someone (Read: Kenshi) hasn't put a link to the rss feed in the blog, for those that use rss readers:

http://hashedge.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Funky Worm from the album "GTA SA Bounce FM" by Ohio Players

Gamer buys $26,500 virtual land (k3nshi)

What a spaz!

GASM (k3nshi)

...is finally taking shape. Check it out here.

Windows iPod users switching to Mac (Wickedkitten)

Windows iPod users switching to Mac:
In response to an earlier column written about the iPod Halo Effect, The Wall Street Journal has published 27 letters from various iPod, Windows users, or Windows iPod users stating that the iPod or Windows problems is the reason they have switched to the Macintosh platform. One reader wrote, "After receiving an iPod as a gift, I was inspired to research other Apple products. In the last two months I've purchased an iMac G5 for my office and an eMac for home, both replacing...

Get on it Kenshi :P

boot up (k3nshi)

So then... a collective blog for a collective of deviants.

Let's see where this goes...