The Save Spot

Classic Gaming

 

 

 

There’s two things I love - video games and good deals.  That’s why I am very excited about a new site called GOG.com. 

GOG.com has taken it upon itself to update classic games (think 1990’s) to make them DRM free and Windows XP/Vista compatible.  Right now they have a limited selection of titles.  With most games costing $5.99.  Which frankly is a steal.  Or as they say, “for less than the cost of a lunch at some lousy diner you can own some of the greatest games of all time.”

Now I haven’t bought any games from this service.  I don’t know if their customer service is awful, or if something fishy is going on.  But I am encouraged by this.  I’ve long thought game companies should distribute old games for cheap prices. 

I also notice that they have a pretty limited selection of games.  But the games they do have are all worth playing.  Here’s hoping Gog.com is everything it’s supposed to be!

    

Nintendo DSi

 

 

 

For the last few weeks I’ve been trying to decide if I want to upgrade my DS.  (Currently I have an original DS.)  Which, of course, as you can see by the picture is a bit clunky.  But I’m not the type of person to upgrade when I have something that’s working perfectly fine.  Oh sure I can’t really see screens if I’m within 100 yards of a candle.  And it ways as much as a small car.

But otherwise it works perfectly!

Despite all this, I still couldn’t shake a desire to get a new DS.  Now with the DSi launch, maybe I’ll have enough justification to go out and purchase new hardware.  

So what does everyone else think?  Is the DSi worth it? 

   

  

         

Console Wars

 

 

 

Final Fantasy is my favorite gaming franchise.  To me its bigger than Civilization, Half Life, Dragon Quest, and yes, even Diablo.  It’s also the only video game franchise that I would buy a console just to play.  (Actually that’s what I did with the PS2). 

So when it was announced that Final Fantasy would appear on the Xbox I think that’s pretty bad news for Sony.  This move takes away the one thing that made me think about buying a PS3.  Now the last card Sony has to play is the Blu-Ray angle.  Unfortunately for them, I watch very few regular movies at home, so the chances of me wanting to watch HD movies is slim to none.  

Which means I’m only buying a console to play video games.   

Both Microsoft and Sony are in trouble right now (even with Microsoft’s recent price cut).  As much as I hate to admit it, the Wii is dominating both of them.  But I’m a PC gamer first and foremost.  Which means that I’m not really in the market to buy more than one console.   That means I have a tough decision.  I haven’t wanted to buy the 360 because of it’s manufacturing issues.  The PS3 is just really expensive.  And the Wii doesn’t have many games I’m interested in playing.

Apparently my inability to choose sides in this console war makes me Switzerland. 

That’s why Sony losing an exclusive Final Fantasy game is bad for them, but good for me.  I’ll probably end up with a 360.  I’ll take that price cut, the better game library, a more robust online experience and my Final Fantasy.  But that means I’ll probably lose out on the Wii “experience”. 

Who knew staying neutral was such a pain?

 

Chuck Norris: the video game

 

 

 

It’s Friday so sit back, relax, and enjoy this great video game. Because you have to admit, it’s about 8 different kinds of awesome.

  

The Save Spot Comic #3

 

The Save Spot Comic is published semi-occasionally and is widely perceived to be semi-humorous.

Flagship going under?

 

 

 

Well color me surprised.  The rumor on the internet says that Flagship went under this last week.  Which puts Hellgate: London in serious jeopardy.

Hellgate has had a very troubled history.  And the fact that they appeared to focus more on the pay model of the game than the actual development caused serious concerns.  So much so that I never bought the game, despite drooling over the fact that I might get my Diablo-esque fix.

As Bill Harris (Dubious Quality) said back in 2007, “Sometimes, you just get a good vibe about an upcoming game.  BioShock had a good vibe before it was released. Mass Effect has a good vibe.  Rock Band has a good vibe.

Then there’s Hellgate: London. Bad vibe.

What’s interesting about Hellgate is that the bad vibe doesn’t come from the game itself, necessarily, but it seems that the developers have spent more time thinking about the revenue models than the game”

Seems like he might have been on to something there.

This is one of my biggest “fears” of the MMO / online / downloadable content monster that’s been created. If the company goes under all your time and money is totally gone.  When you rely on a company’s servers to play the game, when those servers close that’s it.  No more game.

For me that risk isn’t worth it. I don’t want to waste my money (and more importantly my time) on something I can’t control.  There are better options out there.  And right now I’m very happy I didn’t buy Hellgate.

Smashing Time Wasters

 

 

 

I’ve been playing Hulk: Ultimate Destruction for my xbox the last week or so.  And I want to like the game.  I really do.  But there’s something that has been keeping me from truly enjoying it: repetitive missions.

I can’t stand to repeat things.

Especially in games.

I have a limited amount of time in my life to play video games.  Work, friends, projects, and writing take up a huge percentage of time I used to devote to gaming.  Because of that I have to be selective with my time.  And that means avoiding games where you have to play through the same level multiple times.

If I want a feeling of accomplishing nothing, I’ll go to work.  (Kidding.) 

But in a way that’s true.  Our “normal” lives are filled with repetition.  Feeding the dog, taking out the garbage, eating a sandwich for lunch every day.  Whatever your routine is, it’s repetitive.  And that serves an important function.

The problem is that it’s not fun.  Repetitiveness is designed to produce stability and predictability - not excitement and thrill.  So why are these elements added to our video games?

I don’t find chasing after the same fast truck 15 times all that enjoyable.  Sure it may make the game more difficult.  But is that really the goal?  Should games be hard or fun?  Why are they even in competition?

Well I think you no my answer to that one, so I won’t repeat myself.

    

The Save Spot Comic #2

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The Save Spot Comic is published semi-occasionally and is widely perceived to be semi-humorous.

Monster’s Den: Book of Dread

 

 

 

Four brave and adventurous souls set out to explore the depths of a dark and mysterious, blah, blah, blah. I will rarely say this, but in some cases the story in a game simply doesn’t matter. And Monster’s Den: The Book of Dread is one of those games.

The Book of Dread is the most compelling internet browser-based game I’ve ever played. I couldn’t stop. As of this moment I’ve played The Book of Dread 10x longer than I played Supreme Commander. If this game was around when I was in college I never would have finished a paper on time.

And the sad thing is, I’m not exaggerating.

The game does all of this without any shiny graphics, any cool sound effects, or stunning FMVs. What we’re left with is a tried and true game play.

  

  

The game consists of a series of dungeon floors. With each floor you clear, you gain one level. And with each level you kick more of evil’s ass. Simple. Efficient.

But don’t let the simplicity fool you.

There’s several things that make this game fun. The first is the simplicity of the design. In a world of highly complex games (which I love by the way), sometimes all you want to do is play for 15 minutes. This is the strength of games like Rock Band, or consoles like the Wii.

Within each battle lies some serious strategy. Especially at early levels. Since there is no way to reload a battle - when you die, you don’t get to restart. You’re forced to live with the consequences of your (poor) strategy. Each death carries with it a penalty of random equipment loss. That means that great armor you just bought, or that sweet sword could be gone with one careless round.

Painful, but not too steep.

This penalty actually affects you before you enter a battle. Rarely have I been so nervous going into a fight knowing that I could lose my favorite gear. As with all risk though, the thrill comes when you survive. Not only did you win, but you got to keep your favorite gear. What could be better?

  

  

Kill – Loot – Equip – Repeat. Anyone who’s played Diablo will be quickly at home with the inventory system. Part of the fun of these games is finding new equipment. And there’s plenty of gear to be found. Purple is elite, blue is rare, green is magic, and white apparently comes from Wal-Mart.

I can’t stress enough how much fun The Book of Dread is to play. And did I mention it’s free?

Do yourselves a favor, don’t walk, but jump on a T1 and click your way into battle. Your gaming addiction will thank you.

The Save Spot Comic #1

 

 The Save Spot Comic is published semi-occasionally and is widely perceived to be semi-humorous.