Some of the Latest Games I've been Trying Out...

I've had a bit of free time, with work being over and school not starting up until the 31^st
, so I've been playing some games. I was amazed too, as my new collection has some oddities that I felt I had to discuss in this post. I'll have some screenshots as well, because you won't believe what I'm telling you without them.

First of all, did you know there is a Sonic game for the Super Nintendo? Back in the days of the Sega, I sure didn't! I had to give it a shot, and let me tell you, it was definitely not up to the usual quality of the Sonic games of the time. Like any Sonic game, you basically run as fast as you can from the left side of the level to the end of the level on the right side. Well this one is a bit different, there are traps and stuff to slow you down. You can also rescue other Nintendo characters like Mario! I had to take a screenshot of that! I would have never expected to see Sonic and Mario in the same game together! It just seems creepy. I haven't really played the game all that much since it hasn't been very appealing. (I was never really into Sonic games, they all seemed like the same 'ole repetitive stuff to me).

The other game I was surprised to see on a different game system is Snake Rattle'n'Roll. I have the original for the NES, and it's really quite a good game, even though it's very long if you don't know it's secrets. It turns out this game also made it to the Sega Megadrive. From playing it, I can tell you that the graphics are pretty good... better than the NES version in fact, but the music and sound effects just seem off from the NES version, and in a bad way. I've taken a screenshot of how the opening level differs between the two systems. I'd like to note that the NES version of the game came out in 1989, but the Megadrive version came out in 1993. Quite a time difference for so few improvements.

That's all I've been up to for the past couple days. I'm interested in trying out the Sonic game a bit more now, so I'll probably post about that again sometime soon. Adios!

BZFlag 2.0 Released!

The latest version of BZFlag has been released. If you don't know what that is, it's an open source network variant of the very old arcade game; Battlezone.

BZFlag is one of the most popular open source games available and comes with nearly every distribution of Linux. It weighs in at about 8 MB and is worth the download. There are many servers using the older version, 1.11, which haven't made the upgrade to 2.0 yet. Be the first on your block to download it now!

It's great! The graphics are finally being updated so if you have a newer video card you'll be able to see more than just boxes and squares on the map!

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas

I had the opportunity to try out Grand Theft Auto San Andreas on the PlayStation 2. I've actually played it for a couple hours now, just driving and flying around Los Santos, Las Venturas, and San Fierro. I've been blown up many times, but I've finally gotten the hang of the control scheme on the PlayStation 2.

I haven't done any of the missions as I've been amused just by driving along the interstates in a variety of different vehicles, like an RV or a nice, fast motorcycle. The game really has shown how far the engine and series has come from its early days and the the jump to 3D in GTA 3. The world is massive, if you've ever played GTA 3 or Vice City, this game easily dwarfs them both put together, and the best part is that the load times are almost unnoticeable... and I'm the type of person who notices those types of things, even if they're just for a second or two. You can also go in burger stands and get a bite to eat. Eating fatty foods enough will make you overweight, and then you can go to the gym and burn the pounds. As you play the game more your skills go up too. You start off as a lowly hoodie, but as you learn how to use your weapons and spend time driving on all the different types of vehicles, you can do more experienced things with them. For instance, if you use your assault rifle enough, you can go from only targetting and firing when you're standing still, to targetting and firing it while you're running... useful during a gang war.

I've been playing this and all I can say is that I can't wait until it's released for the computer. The controls will be much better, and of course the graphics will be of a higher resolution also. Some of the music in it isn't my type, and it definitely earns the Mature Audience rating for all of the killing and vulgar language... I certainly don't remember that much vulgar language in Vice City or GTA 3... It's definitely unnecessary to enjoy the game.

Even if you aren't the violent type, you could still have plenty of fun in San Andreas as a Vigilante cop, a fireman, a taxicab driver, an ambulance driver, or just a regular pedestrian taking in the sights. That's what I've been doing the most of, taking in the sights, carjacking a new ride (I took a lawn mower once) and generally being a nuisance to the city. This game is definitely one of the best to depict an online world. When it comes out for the computer, I'm definitely going to buy it!

Moving Articles to New Site

I decided to move all the articles to the site I'm working on with my friend. They'll all be up there soon. After that's all done I'll start writing more again. You'll be able to read them here or over at XGATech.com.

I'll have plenty to write about, like playing old games on my new laptop, enjoying games on the Super Nintendo and N64, and more!

Old Skool on the N64

My brother was recently playing Legend of the Mystical Ninja on the Nintendo 64, and I was just taking an in-depth look at the graphics used in that game.

They're primitive boxy shapes with textures painted on the side. There aren't any sophisticated enhancements to make it look realistic, but yet the game still has its wacky charms. I believe it's possible for a game to stand on its own without killer graphics. In this case, Mystical Ninja has its unique fighting with massive robots, and the four different characters with their unique skills in order to keep the game interesting.

It's funny that my brother still enjoys this game so much. He was playing it yesterday on the Nintendo 64, even with its incredibly dated graphics. It's important to remember that while graphics can make a good game great, they won't make a bad game good. Prettier graphics with Mystical Ninja would definitely spice the game up a little, but it would still be the good quality fun that it has been for years.