Reorganising my Consoles

As previously mentioned, I am slimming down my console collection, but its not going to happen as quickly as I initially thought. Most of what I sell is sold on eBay, and I have a ton of material (mostly old CDs and Role-playing books) that need to be sold first, so I will be hanging onto my consoles for a little while longer.

Still the only TV I have left to play on is the old B&O in the loft. The other current gen consoles have been distributed or will be distributed around the house in various forms, mostly serving as a Youtube portal or Netflix device.

Hand Helds - I am selling the PS Vita as it doesnt really earn its keep, and I expect to get back what I paid for it. I will be keeping the Nintendo 3DS for now as it has an R4 card and access to unlimited games, all it needs is a new battery.

Retro Consoles - The Megadrive and Gamecube are going to be the first 2 consoles to go as I dont feel any love for the Megadrive, and what games I do want to play, I can managed perfectly well on the Raspberry Pi. The Gamecube was more of a novelty as my Nintendo Wii plays all the Gamecube games without a problem.

The next batch would be SNES because of a lack of access to games, and both the Dreamcast and Saturn for the same reasons. For now I will be holding onto the Nintendo 64 and Playstation as both of these are earning their keep as emulation isnt great yet for either machine.

Modern Consoles - here comes the tough choices. The Playstation 3 is in the lounge, and the Playstation 4 is in the master bedroom, which leaves me with the Wii U, 2 Nintendo Wiis and the Xbox One.

I have configured one Wii to run Wii ISOs and the other to run Gamecube ISOs meaning I can sell off any unwanted Gamecube games I have on ISO. The Wii U will most likely join the Playstation 3 or 4 and the Xbox One the same.

The final console choice is going to be where I put my Xbox 360, as I have too many Guitar Hero/Rock Band stuff to just sell off.

I will keep what I can in the loft and use the CRT TV, and maybe sometime down the road buy another LCD TV.

Xbox 360 Purchase and Dead Space 1 & 2

I finally got enough money together and bought an Xbox 360. I knew a few people who owned the console. I wasn't tempted to get a Playstation 3 as I didn't know anyone who did, and it wasn't exactly flooded with good exclusive games, plus I didn't have remarkable memories of the Playstation 2. The decision to get the Xbox 360 first was easy. It would take the unique game Journey on the Playstation 3 to convince me to buy one.

The Dead Space series of games both 1 and 2 are visually stunning and genuinely scary games. I completed the first game for a second time, but gave up on the second game on the final chapter right near the end as the game had too big of an ask to complete it. I watched a video of someone completing the last two chapters and it was ridiculous. You faced ever increasing number of enemies with no respite, and one persistent monster who you couldn't kill, only temporarily immobilise. I have the third installment which from the various reviews I’ve read isn't a game that should have the Dead Space tag on it. Its less survival horror and more science fiction action shooter. Its strange that while I didn't enjoy the Resident Evil style of games, I took to Dead Space instantly, had I not been lent the game, I doubt I would have tried it myself. The games are relentless and rarely give you time to relax or collect yourself. I enjoy the physics based puzzles that both the stasis module and the gravity module allow you to. I would have liked to have seen more of this puzzle solving.

One element that really got my heart racing in the second game was any scene in which velociraptor like creatures stalked you whilst hiding from the light. These were always tense long battles that were the closest thing to shitting yourself as you could get. I have the third game on Playstation 3 and have heard middling reviews about it. I will give it a good run out.

Sandboxing with Grand Theft Auto V and L.A. Noire

I have played Grand Theft Auto V on the Playstation 3 and have completed the main story. It took me on and off almost a month, but it was an enjoyable month as well. I loved the planning of the missions and the variety, and all three of the main characters had stories that I found worth exploring. I did feel that some of the opening magic was lost later in the game, and limiting the game to six heist missions is a shame, as I would have loved much more. There was still lots to do between the main missions, and some of the side quests are to collect cars and equipment to complete the main heist missions which were often more enjoyable and more varied than the main heist itself. I liked that you were given a choice of how you wished to accomplish the heist, quietly or noisily, front entrance or back door. Although I felt some of the choices you could make were irrelevant, i.e. who you brought along to assist you in the mission heists, as their contribution seemed pointless, but took varying amounts of the profits. I liked the way it told a bigger story by having you play three totally different characters, whereas in previous Grand Theft Auto games you only got to see the story from one viewpoint.

The only other time a sandbox game had employed this switching viewpoint as a story narrative was the final chapter in Rockstar’s L.A. Noire (a brilliant sandbox police procedure Grand Theft Auto-alike with an original interrogation mechanic), where towards the final chapter of the game you no longer played the hero police detective, but instead his private detective opposite. Its a classic movie and novel technique, but after having invested a lot into your character, it felt bad he was taken away from you and you were given a lesser character to finish the game with. Whilst the sandbox elements were not as extensive as any Grand Theft Auto game, it did have collectibles in the form of seeing sights in the city, lots of little side missions where you rescued passers by and performing many driving feats of speed, jumps and driving all the cars. The difference between this game and others was that the city wasn't fictional, but instead based on the 1950s Los Angeles, complete with post-war feel and city design. A lot of the story was set to this background, including new housing estates being built, people working in jobs that were involved with the mafia and low level crime.

I didn't like the way Grand Theft Auto V ended with each of the main characters murdering the nemesis of one of the other main characters. It felt empty and made me wonder why they didn't do this many weeks earlier as it would have saved a ton of problems. Still the game has some memorable moments and visually and aurally amazing, with the dialogue being the strongest element of the game. Still the game kept me occupied almost every night for over a month, and I’ve not really explored the multiplayer content at all, and very unlikely to either.

Playstation 3 - Late to the Game - First Thoughts

I came late to the Playstation 3 arena, but decided the console was mature enough and there were enough unique games on the Playstation 3 to warrant buying a one. The main reason was to enjoy the games released by Insomniac Games and Naughty Dog whom made some great games like Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter on the previous two Playstations and I really missed their humour. I had also been made aware of three games by That Game Company that were Playstation 3 exclusives. The first had already been released as a flash game that was an ambient experience plus a detailed and involved game to boot. This was revamped and released for the Playstation 3. Their next game was also an ambient experience called Flower in which you used the six-axis controller to fly a flower across lush grasslands to cause flowers to pop open. But it was their third game that really inspired me to buy a Playstation 3, Journey. One distinct feature of That Game Company was August Wintory’s sounds, and Journey really allowed him to expand and explore this music fully.

I got the 500gb model, as I knew most Playstation 3 games installed part of the game on the hard drive, and my experience with the Xbox was that my 60gb hard drive space seemed to disappear fast. One downside of buying older games is that you can't play them straight out of the box. You need to install them (Grand Theft Auto V had a record twenty minute install) and then wait for updates. The Blu Ray player on the Playstation 3 is slower than the DVD drive on the Xbox 360, but the Blu Ray disc has a higher capacity. By allowing you to install as much of the game to the hard drive as possible it does speed up loading times. I was surprised that Sony released a 20gb model which is seriously underpowered and I have a friend who did buy it and is constantly managing the storage data. Interestingly the Playstation 4 has a 500gb hard drive, and is swappable and the Xbox One is now 500gb too. Both manufacturers have realised that they can't fool their customers any longer with high priced small hard drives any more.

The existing Playstation 3 is not backward compatible with the previous versions of the Playstation, which is a shame as this way Sony have cashed in on retro and High Definition (HD) remakes of older games, essentially selling you the game twice. And with the release of the Playstation 4 they have begun making HD remakes of Playstation 3 games too, such as The Last of Us. The Playstation 3 initially lived in the loft, but the portable television I played it on was so small you couldn't read the text designed for an HDMI LED flat 40” screen, and it wasn't long before I smuggled it into the lounge and it became home to SingStar for my second daughter who has a fairly decent singing voice. Getting her to sing Def Leppard and Toto songs is a winner in my book.

2nd Lounge - Man Cave Progress

My Xbox360 is the first console set up in the loft.
At the same time I filtered out all the games Ive played and dont intend to return to (but intend to keep just in case) and I was surprised to see almost half my collect get put in a box. Also about a third of my games are Guitar Hero and Rock Band so that doesnt really count.

Tonight I intend to complete the move with the Wii heading to the loft as well.

Carpet gone, boxes being cleared and more eBay stuff being queued up. Its getting very empty upstairs, but exciting too.

I also got my Raspberry Pi rainbow case and apart from one small crack (which you cant see when assembled) it looks terrific.

I found my TV lead for the Playstation 3 and that will suffice for now until I get a decent HD TV for the loft. On the basis that I still have a lot of games to play on the old consoles and lack of a decent TV, I have decided to buy the Wii U first as it has its own inbuilt screen. And its cheaper and has more games Im interested in that the other 2 new consoles.

PewDiePie Sucks

I have the audio soundtrack to this game, Shadow of the Colossus and knew it was a game I missed on the PS2, and have finally found a copy of the HD Remake with ICO for the PS3.

In anticipation I really wanted to see the first boss battle to get a feel for the game, and the first video on YouTube that came up was this clown.

I had heard of him before and dont understand how people can watch Lets Play Videos (play the game yourself), but apparently people watch his videos for his commentary.

His input to the game was banal and inane and full of childish humour that wouldn't have survived in the school playground when I was 15.

Swearing isn't comedy.
Playing a game badly isn't comedy.
Giving out hints and tips that don't relate to the game, isn't comedy.

I genuinely don't understand his popularity as his commentary adds nothing to the game he is playing. And while it is said it is his reaction to the games thats funny, I find it sad that comedy and humour cant be shared face to face rather than over the internet.

If You Live in the Past, You'll Live Like a King

Bought Dead Space 3 and Rayman Origins for the Playstation 3. Hardly games you'd say where in the same genre.

I was leant the first Dead Space game for the Xbox360 and whilst I dislike horror survival games, especially Resident Evil, I was hooked by this game that genuinely scares from start to finish. I have the sequel also for the Xbox but havent yet finished it. I know DS3 got average reviews, and was criticised mostly for focusing less on claustraphobia elements and more on action, but I intend this summer to complete all 3 games back to back.

Rayman Origins is just one of those games thats great for the kids. For those of you who care to know, I have 3 daughters to whom Im introducing all kinds of games to, but especially cooperative team games like Kirby, Mario and Rayman. The previous 3 games are for the Wii, but after having played Little Big Planet 1 and 2, Id like to upgrade their game playing to a bigger hardcore console.

Uncharted 2 - PS3

My adventure with this game continues.

The music continues to be an inspiring mix of cinema and US TV cop show quality.

The graphics and engine work better and smoother. There is a lot more blurring when focusing on targets.

The game is a continuation of the original, i.e. the gameplay types work seemlessly. Gunfights, Puzzle Solving and the Exploration.

The dialogue is generally strong, but the mcguffin to get you into the story/plot is a little bizarre. I hope the game as it goes will reveal the background history between the main characters.

Again, I can see how The Last of Us followed this game perfectly, as the hide and seek and stealth elements along with the gunplay are identical. I did start playing the 3rd installment of Uncharted, but glad I abandoned it in favour of the first 2 games first.

PS3 Singstar

So its my 8year old daughter's birthday this weekend and she does show some interest in music and singing, so at my wife's request I bought her Singstar for the PS3. Its certainly better and more supported that the pathetic XBox360 version called LIPS.

It has virtually the same mechanics, but works seemlessly and has the added bonus of allowing you to play content from other Singstar games, both on the PS3 and PS2, Brilliant. Plus you do have the ability to download the music too which appears to be updated on a regular basis.

Downsides....I wish the PS3 could play CD+G files, had childrens nursery rhymes and even some Russian music too.

Uncharted 1 Finished, welcome Uncharted 2

It was said to me many years ago when I first owned a SNES console, and I began buying second hand games (those were they days of cardboard boxes meaning that they regularly were fragile and fell apart without TLC), that "if you live in the past, you can live like a King." Meaning buying the latest console and games was expensive. Better buy a machine in its twilight years (PS3 purchased 2013) and pick up every game worthwhile and average for such a steal. E.g. 2 good games for £ 20, or 5 for £ 20. I recently picked up the entire Uncharted series for PS3 for £ 20 and have completed the first game and about to commence the 2nd in the series. Because I know they went on to develop The Last of Us (and have played a little bit of it already about 10 hours worth) I did notice a lot of similarities in the hide and seek style of gameplay.

Ever since the days of the original Playstation, I've been a fan of both Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games and playing Uncharted felt as good as it gets.

I noticed the graphical enhancement of the 2nd game over the 1st already.