The Budget Gamer Blog » Personal

On Hold For Now

diablobasher — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:35:37 +0000

Moving house at the moment, as well as sorting out numerous other things.

Will return… Sometime soon.

The Top 10 Games I Never Played – Part 2

diablobasher — Sat, 17 May 2008 20:01:15 +0000

In part one I talked about what a shame it is when a game has a great concept and artistic direction, but is so broken it’s unplayable, as well as touching upon my personal unexplained apathy in concern to games I genuinely would like to play. Now i’m going to continue vaguely in the same vein, but with smaller numbers as is seemingly mandatory in these countdown lists.

#5 – Alone in the Dark (The Original, PC)

After playing Alone in the Dark 2 – Jack is Back for the playstation many years ago as a child, I decided I LOVED this series. Unfortunately my endeavors to actually play the other two games in the series have fallen short of technical errors with XP/Vista much to my dismay. (We’re not counting The New Nightmare, because it was shit. I don’t care if you liked it, this isn’t your blog.) After multiple attempts to play Alone in the Dark 3, which I kept in case I could ever find a way to play it without error. I live in hope that the new Alone in the Dark coming next month for PC/Wii and 360 will be as good as it looks. It can’t be any worse than The New Nightmare, or the film, right? If not there is always Alan Wake.

#4 - Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground (PSP)

When I first read about this game after stumbling across it by mistake while searching for something else, it’s premise blew my mind. I knew I wanted this game more than almost anything else I could think of at the time. Guess what? Never released in Europe. Thanks whoever is responsible, thanks and fuck you at the same time. I see little reason other than corporate head shaking towards profit figures that the game could not be released here, especially as it was given a north American release in 2007.

However, by the time I found out it had been given an NA release and decided to import, the game had become one of those ‘rare’ games nobody can find. Although I do feel some comfort in the fact that it is genuinely hard to find, presumably due to the fact it was a limited print run, unlike other so called ‘rare’ games (Mega Man X anyone? Or perhaps any of the Final Fantasies.) I continue my search in hopes of finding a sealed copy for a reasonable price, but having never seen one on eBay in my own country, and having only seen a handful from the states, I may have to take what I can find. But on the upside, at least there is a small chance I may actually get to play this one, unlike some of the games on this list.

#3 - Namco X Capcom (Ps2)

Another game who’s premise blew my mind upon first finding out about it. Another sad tale of import woe. After the sheer wonder that was Marvel VS Capcom, seeing Namco and Capcom characters team up to save the universe in an RPG made me want this game. A lot. Especially when I found out about the unique combat system, and inclusion of my favorite Capcom character of all time, Guy. However, realistically, I could not justify spending out on an import PS2 for this one game. So it sits on my shelf unplayable through legal means, and given my aforementioned laziness, I wont be playing it anytime soon, legally or illegally. At least with the previous tale of import woe, should I find a copy, I can rest assured that region lockout is not a problem.

#2 – System Shock (PC)

Xerxes was great, sure. And System Shock 2 might have been every bit better than it’s previous incarnation according to what people have told me. But I don’t care about that, I want to experience the one that started it all. Yet again, such a classic falls victim to todays over protective operating systems, and despite finding more copies than I could shake a stick at in a pound shop (and wishing i’d bought and kept more than a few of them!) I could not get the game to play. Unfortunately, my copy is now nowhere to be found. Things get lost over time and unfortunately, my copy of System Shock was one of them, so I guess i’ll never experience it. At least System Shock 2 runs fine on todays computers (if you fancy paying through the nose for a copy)

#1 – Rock Band

Everyone who lives in America, or is more import savvy than me has been playing this game for almost 7 months. I however, am feverishly counting down the days until it’s European release. 11 days to go before I get to experience what looks to be one of the greatest rhythm games of all time, and possibly the worst European PR handling I’ve ever seen from a large multi-national corporation. Yes, in my personal opinion even worse than Sony’s handling of the Playstation 3 release. While Rock Band might be late, and stupidly expensive, at least it’s not crippled of it’s features. (I hope)

This is by far the game I am most looking forward to playing this year, and it’s a great shame that EA and Harmonix have their heads stuck so far up their arses they decided to treat their loyal European customers like shit. But what can you do? Well, here’s what I did, buy the game from Play.com and give a big fat middle finger to VAT tax, that puts the game at a more reasonable £140. At least then you can enjoy the game for what you had expected to pay, even if like me, you lose yet another notch of respect for EA, and will now be more skeptical about further Harmonix purchases. Seriously guys, if you wanted to give a nice big two fingers to Europe, it shouldn’t have taken 7 months to do so.

Well that’s it, those were the top 10 games I never got to play, and some, I never will. Others however I may one day be able to enjoy, while Rock Band remains set to arrive on my doorstep this coming friday, the others may take some more effort to play.

The World Ends With You – First Impression…

diablobasher — Wed, 14 May 2008 11:00:52 +0000

Well my world did at least. My copy of The World Ends With You arrived a couple hours ago, and I have to say after becoming somewhat bored with the slew of generic games lately (having not yet gotten around to trying Suda 51’s quirky masterpiece No More Heroes) I was very interested in a break from all that.

I think it’s safe to say that The World Ends With You is that break. It’s a very quirky and so far unique JRPG, about a somewhat arrogant and selfish jerk of a kid who wakes up, confused in the middle of Tokyo’s Shibuya district with a pin badge, and a countdown timer burned onto his palm. As you team up and form a ‘pact’ with another ‘player’ in what appears to be some demented game, almost like some sort of cross between Gantz and Battle Royale, you begin to uncover mysteries.

The combat in the game is definatelyh very unique, and it might take a while to wrapt your head around but it certainly works very well. You control Neku, your character on the bottom screen, moving around and using special pin badge powers with the stylus, while your partner occupies the top screen, and can either be controlled by the computer, or by using the d-pad (buttons if your a lefty) to execute combo moves. While the enemies appear simultaneously on both screens, meaning if you defeat an enemy, it is removed from both screens at once. An interesting take on stale “stylus slashing” or turn based RPG gameplay, one I certainly did not expect from Square Enix, and i’m certainly more than pleasently surprised.

This game looks set to become a quirky favorite, and has already received very high reviews from a number of sources. And what’s even better than that? That’s right, you digest food to give yourself stat boosts. In addition to partaking in an exercise in being ‘cool’, certain brand names of clothes/items your characters can use give you bonuses, but must be combined in a certain manner. Some brands of equipment cannot be used in conjunction with others, and so you can’t just throw on the best shirt, etc at the same time. You are forced to make sure your equipment has some sort of overall strategy.

I’m very excited about this game, especially given how it has changed my opinion on Square Enix’s ability to create new franchises these days. Anybody who hasn’t checked it out.

Top 10 Games I Never Played – Part 2 coming soon.

Points = Crack = Profit?

diablobasher — Sun, 11 May 2008 00:29:48 +0000

As much as I wanted to play Condemned 2, something niggled at me about spending £35 on what could potentially be another 7 chapter, 4-6 hour pipe-weilding hobo-fest. And while I quite enjoyed everything else in that spectrum, the short amount of time it lasts was not satisfactory for the price point.

While that would be a perfectly logical argument, my brain instead screamed as loud as it could that for £35, I could get 3 games from Play.com, making for more points than just Condemned 2. While objectively, points should never be a deciding factor in a purchase, once you’ve started, you just can’t stop.

Here’s where the sometimes (but not oft) beneficial advantage to points steps in, for those who are hopelessly addicted to them at least. They lead you to play games you would otherwise ignore which can teach you some things about yourself, and even lead you to new enjoyable experiences, and no, this doesnt mean you should play Vampire Rain, no matter how morbidly curious you are.

So for the same price as Condemned 2, I picked up Star Trek: Legacy, Tomb Raider: Anniversary and Call of Juarez, with enough dosh leftover for a poster, so now Nero resides on my wall, with his shiney devil arm pointed accusingly.

Ok, so while Condemned is no Bioshock or Portal, it’s fair to say it’s definately a good game, whereas these 3 are mediocre at best. But having said that, once they were given a chance all 3 offered enjoyable experiences that matched up well with their associated pricetags, and offered more than 5 times the longevity I am predicting for Condemned 2. Which made me happy with the purchase.

But when I actually though about what compelled me to buy those games, instead of the immidiete answer being budget price point balanced against quality, instead I found myself thinking “Points”. Points had influenced me to buy, and then play, and *gasp* enjoy 3 games I would never have otherwise given 2 flying farts about before.

I think it’s fair to say that for those of us hovering around dangerously hooked on points (We won’t go into my 50 hour GTA IV marathon.) they can legitimately cause a purchase reaction. In short.

Points are Crack Cocaine.

The Things We Do for Points…

diablobasher — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:28:11 +0000

Being an Achievement Whore is not something you would instantly associate with gaming on a tight budget. It’s two things i have to constantly juggle when spending/wasting my money.

A lot of games for the aspiring achievement whore can not only be cheap to pick up, but reasonably good too, or at least playable. Games like NBA 2k6, NHL 2k6 and King Kong fall under this catagory. Ok, so they aren’t Devil May Cry 4 or Bioshock, but they are at least playable and, some might even say fun.

But some of the things achievement whores have to go through, I wouldnt wish on my worst enemy. For example, recently I have been gifted with an Australian copy of Cabela’s Alaskan Adventures. Thankfully, the game was never released in Europe, just NA and AUS. And I can see why, it’s a menace to society.

Just how far will you go for 1000 points? Kill over half a million zombies? No problem. Play Bullet Witch for 15 hours? Easy. Spend actual money on Avatar? Ok, getting a little rediculous now. But playing through Cabela’s Alaskan Adventure? I would rather pay full price for Vampire Rain and then be forced to sit through it’s 1000 points. At least Vampire Rain has Vampires, and so i’ve heard, Rain.

While Alaskan Adventure is not the worst game you can play, neither technicly nor in its gameplay, but it is so rediculously mind numbingly boring that you really will not only find it a chore to play, but be actively thinking of ways your Xbox 360 could spontaneously fault so that you can find an excuse to stop playing. You’ll find yourself creeping clumsily through the bushes as the aweful controls completely negate any stealthy approach to your prey, while in the back of your mind you are secretly wishing the 360 will spread wings and simply fly out the precariously open window of it’s own accord.

You can’t even occupy yourself by staring at the pretty graphics to sate your boredom like you would in Oblivion, because they are hideous. They look worse than the early 2k sports games, worse still than Vampire Rain or Dynasty Warriors 5. Heck, even Hitman: Blood Money is leaps ahead of Alaskan Adventures graphically.

This is a warning to all you other achievement whores out there, save yourself and go spend £39.99 on Avatar or Vampire Rain before you bother with any of the Cabela games. If you STILL think you want to sit through them for the points, watch The Deer Hunter, and imagine yourself in De Niro’s shoes, this game will ruin your life.

The Worst Purchase I’ve Ever Made…

diablobasher — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:54:36 +0000

I should hope Brucie and the Boys are ashamed of this ‘theme’

The fraction of a second for which I lost my judgement when I saw the words “Iron Maiden – Powerslave Theme” was enough for XboxLIVE to swallow up my 150 points, or my £1.28p.

“Shit” I thought for a moment as the realisation of what I had just done hit me like a ton of bricks hitting a combine soldier in one of the early Half-Life 2 trailers. I have always held the opinion that themes other than those that come free, are a complete waste of money for anyone dumb enough to purchase them. And you know what? I was right.

As the initial shock of “OMG Maiden!!” wore off, and I actually applied the theme, I was shockingly reminded of how much I am going to miss that £1.28p. 3 pics of Ed, and the Powerslave album cover art for the backing pics, layed out with no thought to functionality at all, making the text somewhat hard to read (although not quite as bad as what i’ve seen from various Capcom themes people have showed me) and in the case of 2 of the pictures, the scaling is not right and so they appear too big, or small for the screen.

But the biggest shock was the complete lack of thought that went into the dashboard trim and guide background. The guide trim is completely default, grey, and doesn’t invoke anything even remotely Maiden in imagary. I would’ve expected a basic black and blue at least. And for the guide background they simply plastered a generic “Iron Maiden” band logo sticker over the default background. But they tiled it!!! How tacky is that?!? It covers all the text on the guide, making it completely non functional. Even replacing that with a custom one leaves only a moderately acceptable theme that couldn’t have taken more than 5 minutes to scramble together.

I am ashamed of myself for having wasted the money.

So let me reiterate, now firm in the beleif that I am right, having experienced it first hand. Themes are a complete waste of your money.

So, here I am.

diablobasher — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:04:45 +0000

On WordPress. I have to admit, WordPress seems like some very powerful software, and it’s definately got ease of use in it’s favor, which is good given the amount of customisability options.

My funds currently don’t allow for a custom domain name, or custom css styles, so for now this generic template blog is the home for BudgetGamer articles, still a working name, although some of the other names i came up with were nowhere near as informative, even if some of them were cooler.

Breadline Gaming was one and while, to me at least, it sounded pretty neat, it conjures images of poverty that just aren’t associated with people who can actually afford videogames. So BudgetGamer is the way for now.

I’m still thinking about how the reviews are going to work, but something will be sorted out pretty soon. I want to take the focus away from points and scores, and concentrate on whether or not the game is good value for money, so I may keep to a 5 star system, and seperate value rating system. Or forget scores alltogether. We’ll see how that turns out.