Archive for Gaming
Track iPhone app price drops through RSS
February 8th, 2009 •
Tags: app store, deal, iPhone, price drop, price tracker
The next time you’re on the fence about whether or not to purchase an app and price is a factor, here is a simple way to watch for a price drop. App store games and applications seem to drop in price much more quickly than most other pieces of software so it’s often worth it to wait a couple of weeks. Apps often drop $5-$10 in practically no time!
I created this Yahoo Pipe which asks for the app name and generates an RSS feed that will update whenever the price of the app decreases. I myself could probably have saved $20-30 up to this point if I weren’t so impulsive!
Which apps should you start tracking? Of course, I have a few suggestions (in no particular order). For your convenience, I have already linked the titles to their respective price drop feeds. The feeds will appear empty unless a recent price drop has occurred.
- Baseball Superstars- Popular baseball game available on several mobile platforms
- Guitar Rock Tour- Rhythm game akin to Tap Tap Revenge
- SimCity- Deep city-building simulator
- Things- Slick task management app
- PushupFu- Makes doing pushups a game using your iPhone
- Touchgrind- Fingerboard simulation. Skateboard with your fingers
- Hero of Sparta- Has been compared to God of War
- Tweetie- Fantastic Twitter client
Best games of 2008 you’ve never played
February 7th, 2009 •
Tags: best, games, Gaming, overlooked
It seems odd to me that an article about the best games of the past year that didn’t receive much attention found a home at PC World especially since the list is not exclusive to PC games. The title of the article is mostly justified (although I hope none among you have not played the stellar XBLA title Castle Crashers). There are a number of games on the list I may have to seek out. I have experienced a few of them, and those are all excellent. If you’re a gamer, and you like to root for the underdog by playing under-appreciated and often quirky titles, this list was made for you.
The Best Games of 2008 You’ve Never Played (printable version to avoid entirely unneccessary pagination)
Video: Building an arcade cabinet
February 6th, 2009 • 2 comments
Tags: arcade, arcade cabinet, emulation, games, Gaming, MAME, MAME cabinet, video games
It’s nice to have friends in high places. Failing that, it’s nice to have friends who can build you a sweet arcade cabinet! Brandon Haynes is a Rubik’s Cube virtuoso. He’s also pretty good with power tools. In this episode of the raddevon video podcast, we discuss his experience building a MAME cabinet.
The plans Brandon used to construct the cabinet were obtained for free from ArcadeCab.com. The only modifications made were to accomodate for the HotRod joystick as the original plan assumes a homemade control panel.
The monitor was found through an ad on the Freecycle Network which allows users to post giveaway items to be claimed by other users. BYOAC (Build Your Own Arcade Controls) has a video section which explains the ins and outs of different types of monitors.
The cabinet is not currently done (We will revisit it when it’s complete.), but the build cost is going to be less than $300 for the materials, monitor, and hardware necessary. I’m lucky enough to have an old Dell Pentium 4 lying around I can use as the brains of the cabinet. I also have some computer speakers. Check out the price list for details on the prices and sources of our components.
For more information, questions, or advice on this project, contact Brandon via e-mail (rcubeman [at] comcast [dot] net).
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Coming up on raddevon video for February 20th, I have an interview with a musician who distributes music online using equipment and software you probably already have. Check back in two weeks at 8pm Eastern.
If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to the podcast using the links in the sidebar on the right. You might also want to subscribe to the blog!
City Rain: Awesome twist on city building
February 6th, 2009 •
Tags: city building, City Rain, falling blocks, Game, games, Indie Games, indie games, SimCity, Tetris
IndieGames.com spills the beans on City Rain—a cross between a city-building sim and a falling block game. It sounds to me like just the twist to bring new life into this sub-genre that has remained virtually unchanged since the release of the original SimCity. A Flash demo is available now, and the full game is set for release soon on Direct2Drive. I must say the music is wonderfully relaxing.
Titan Quest digital download only $3.99
February 6th, 2009 •
Tags: computer games, deals, Diablo, games, Gaming, pc games, Titan Quest
Many gamers had nearly forgotten about the Diablo series until the recent hype over the third installment in the series. However, in the heyday of the first two games, there were quite a few knock-offs and imitators. Of course, they had varying levels of success. One of the more successful series was Titan Quest. For today and this weekend, a non-Steam digital game download service has the game marked down from $15 to $4. I played the game myself when it was released, and it really is a lot of fun… if you’re willing to depart from the gothic setting of the Diablo franchise. Certainly well worth the pocket change.
Titan Quest only $3.99 on Impulse This Weekend (via Co-Optimus)
Macbook Pro XP/Vista audio stuttering fix
February 5th, 2009 • 12 comments
Tags: audio, audio problems, drivers, Macbook Pro, stuttering, unibody, Windows Vista, Windows XP, wireless, WLAN
My PC has seen less and less of my gaming activity in recent years. It makes me a little sad, but the current generation of consoles is delivering a more cohesive and simple gaming experience than the PC ever could. The PC still has it’s strong suits: games like RTSs and FPSs that demand the fast and accurate control only a mouse can deliver or the modding communities that have sprouted around hit PC games for quite some time now. These things are still unmatched by consoles. Development is much more accessible to basement programmers as well creating a diverse indie game ecosystem.
As such, you can imagine my frustration when I found that my XP-booting Macbook Pro’s audio was stuttering every 15-30 seconds while booted into Windows. When the stuttering occurs, the action in your game slows for a couple of seconds. It may not sound like much, but four times a minute is a little excessive. Rhythm games like Audiosurf become unplayable; all games become frustrating. I set out to find the root of the problem and squelch it for good.
Some extensive Google searching revealed I was not alone in my issue. Tons of others are having the same problems. I went through pages and pages of potential fixes and nothing worked until I ran across a link to an updated WLAN driver for the Broadcom N Wireless adapter (which I have mirrored for you on my server). I installed that, and I now have no stuttering! I can game in peace and harmony once again.
As a service to all of you, I will mirror the driver that I used in this fix. Here are the steps for the fix that worked on my late 2008 unibody Macbook Pro running Windows XP SP3:
- Download and decompress driver
- Right-click “My Computer” and click “Properties”
- Click the “Hardware” tab
- Click on “Device Manager”
- Expand the “Network Adapters” category in the pane on the right
- Right click the Broadcom and click “Update driver”
- Click “Install from a list or specified location” and click “Next”
- Select “Don’t search” and click “Next”
- Click “Have disk”
- Browse to the location of the files you extracted earlier
- Open the folder for your OS
- Click the “Open” button
Once you have completed the process, you should be gaming in bliss. Keep in mind that this will not work for Macbooks with a Wireless NIC other than a Broadcom N NIC and a specific one of those at that. I’m unsure of the model of the NIC, but I would guess all the current unibody Macbook Pros produced after October 2008 have the same wireless adapter. The driver will also work for Vista according to the user who provided the link. (I would credit him, but I can’t even remember where I found it!) I think the procedure is similar for Vista, but, if anyone would like to send me the steps, I will be glad to post it. Good luck!
D-Pad Hero rocks it old school
February 2nd, 2009 •
Tags: D-Pad Hero, games, Gaming, Guitar Hero, music, Music video game, NES, rhythm games, Rock Band, roms, Video game
Have you ever stepped back and taken a look at the entire rhythm game genre (that’s Guitar Hero, Rock Band, DDR, Parappa, etcetera) and thought to yourself, “In terms of graphics, there was nothing preventing these game from existing 20 years ago.” Sure, they wouldn’t have been as pretty, but how pretty do you need arrows, circles, and text flying across the screen for it to still be fun? You can now rest assured you are not alone. A pair of developers has seen the light and retrofitted Guitar Hero as an NES rom! It’s called D-Pad Hero, and it’s harder than if Mega Man 9 and Ninja Gaiden Black consummated and gave birth. Fire up your emulator of choice and download it now. Sweet Child o’ Mine never sounded so… 8-bit.
Weekend PC gaming deals 1/31/09
January 31st, 2009 •
Tags: deals, FPS, Max Payne, pc gaming, Rockstar, shooters, Unreal Tournament 3
Photo by TW Collins of flickr
This weekend has brought with it a couple of cool deals on PC games. The first is GoGamer.com‘s 48-hour Madness Sale that brings a buttload of first-person shooter deals. My pick is Unreal Tournament 3 for $9.90, but there are a number of other great titles like F.E.A.R., S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and P.A.I.N.K.I.L.L.E.R. Hmm. Maybe that last one isn’t an acronym after all…
The next deal comes to us via Steam. This weekend, the Rockstar library is 30%. If you haven’t tried GTA IV, this is your chance to get it for $35. It’s also a great opportunity to go back a few years and get both of the Max Payne games (which are fantastic) for $10.50.
Recession could bring about another “dark age” for gamers
January 30th, 2009 • 2 comments
Tags: Burnout Paradise, DLC, economy, Electronic Arts, movie games, recession, Rock Band, sequels
Electronic Arts was on fire last year with a number of unique and stellar titles. This was a pretty pleasant surprise for most gamers since recently EA has been known for churning out sequels, roster updates for sports titles, and licensed games. In fact, EA suffered from something of a backlash at the hands of hardcore gamers not too long ago; many of them were tired of being bombarded with “safe” releases from EA who was the largest game publisher at that time. It seems the publisher has now found its way, and, although they still release lots of drivel, there are some risk-taking gems that temper their lineup from time to time.
Now, we face a worldwide economic recession. There are arguments from both sides as to whether or not the video games industry will be affected. Most can agree that the industry has not been affected profoundly as other sectors of the economy have. There is no doubt that things are at least tightening up—developers are closing up shop, laying off workers, and halting projects. Companies across the spectrum are playing it safe and cutting back. Will this recession take us back to the all-too-recent days of sequels, updated rosters, and movie adaptations?
I, for one, don’t want to go back to those days. If they do return, I can assure publishers and developers that I won’t be purchasing many of their titles. Movie games are notoriously bad (in most cases). Sequels are easy money. Roster updates should never be anything but downloadable content at this point since all current consoles are capable of this.
The hardware makers have all been saying that this console generation will start a ten-year cycle—twice the length of the cycle that has been in place virtually since the days of the NES. It is a smart move on their part. The platforms are all very mature and can withstand a longer cycle this time around. Our consoles are delivering a gaming experience that is very complete (with the possible exception of Wii online play). Why replace the platform when it is perfectly capable of delivering the experience users crave? This is also a sound strategy considering the current economic climate. Software developers could learn a lot from this approach.
Quake 3 Rally is a racing game built on top of an FPS
If developers can stop thinking of their games as single encapsulated experiences, games themselves can also become platforms. We don’t need a new game engine every time a developer wants to tell a new story. We don’t need a $60 boxed title to update a years worth of roster shakeups. We don’t even necessarily need a new engine to deliver a new game type (proven by the modding communities that have blossomed around popular PC games). Most of all, we certainly don’t need an endless stream of easy-money titles from now until the economy is back on its feet. This strategy of games as platforms has already been put into practice by a few smart developers.
Harmonix has released two excellent music titles in Rock Band and Rock Band 2. Yes, the sequel was just released this past year, but Harmonix has already stated they will not be releasing a new edition in 2009. However, the Rock Band music library is updated weekly with new tracks that can be purchased and downloaded over Xbox Live. I venture a guess I have spent more money downloading new tracks than I have on the game itself. This is monumental considering the game with instruments was somewhere in the neighborhood of $180. I’m sure the development time spent on adapting a song to the Rock Band platform is minimal in comparison the time invested in developing a new sequel to the game. I speak for myself and many others like me in saying I do not feel a burning need for additional features to justify a new sequel to the game this year or even next for that matter. I am perfectly satisfied purchasing new songs.
The much-anticipated Burnout Paradise Legendary Cars DLC includes this gem
Burnout Paradise is pretty much the perfect arcade racing game in my estimation. I am not a fan of racing games in general and definitely not a “car guy.” This makes it all the more amazing that I have poured hours upon hours into this game and still enjoy it immensely in spite of it having been released last year and my notoriously short attention span. Criterion, the game’s developer, has already come through with some free downloadable content even going so far as to add motorcycles to the game! Their plans for the upcoming year include some really exciting DLC that expands the game in ways that have traditionally only been done through new boxed releases.
All current-gen consoles are capable of receiving downloadable updates to games. They all have a marketplace setup to take payments for said downloads. In this time of economic strife, rather than devoting valuable time and energy to adding inane features and minor graphical updates, or worse still to adapting the hottest new family film, why not flesh out some of the fantastic platforms that are already out there in gamers’ homes. This model is cheaper for developers, cheaper and more convenient for gamers, and may just be the stimulus package the industry needs to keep it strong in this climate of counting pennies and cutting corners. Expanding existing games may be the best way to avoid the new gaming “dark age.”
LOTR: Online Free Trial
January 30th, 2009 •
Tags: games, Lord of the Rings, Lord of the Rings Online, LOTR, Massively multiplayer online game, MMORPG, online games, Role-playing game, Roleplaying, RPGs, Warhammer
Turbine, developer of Lord of the Rings: Online, has opened up a 10-day free trial for their popular MMORPG. I have made it a habit to at least try many of the MMO‘s (RPG or not) that have been released pretty much since the beginning of graphical MMOs. I have found that most of them failed me for one reason or another. I thoroughly enjoyed WoW and Warhammer, but I have yet to try this one. My only barrier has been initial cost; I am really tired of forking over $50 for a game I really can’t play because I don’t enjoy it enough to justify the subscription fee. Thanks to Turbine for the opportunity to kick the tires on this one for free!