MW2 Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) free for XBox Live avatars this Easter Weekend! Pictured, NVGs modeled by my XBL avatar.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Cloud computing, is there anything it can't do?
Cloud computing is a tour de force of convenience, it has many critics but that's not going to stop its ever increasing influence on our day to day lives. Cloud gaming is already out there but come June 17 2010, a new service will take it to a new level.
OnLive Gaming Service is "cloud based gaming on demand' service. Games are processed on the OnLive's servers and streamed to a customers computer.
OnLive will be available to PC and Mac gamers with the help of a browser plug-in. If gamers want to play via TV, they can do so utilising the MicroConsole TV Adapter. Mobile phones will also receive the service in a yet to be announced date. Since a game will be saved on OnLive servers, the issue of being fixed to one platform doesn't even factor in. For example, player starts a game on a PC at home, goes away on holiday to a sunny paradise, paradise is soggy and boring. Solution? Plug in the MircoConsole in the hotels TV. Visiting the folks interstate? Need I say more?
OnLive Gaming Service is "cloud based gaming on demand' service. Games are processed on the OnLive's servers and streamed to a customers computer.
OnLive will be available to PC and Mac gamers with the help of a browser plug-in. If gamers want to play via TV, they can do so utilising the MicroConsole TV Adapter. Mobile phones will also receive the service in a yet to be announced date. Since a game will be saved on OnLive servers, the issue of being fixed to one platform doesn't even factor in. For example, player starts a game on a PC at home, goes away on holiday to a sunny paradise, paradise is soggy and boring. Solution? Plug in the MircoConsole in the hotels TV. Visiting the folks interstate? Need I say more?
With Steam arriving on the Mac this April, it could be a pothole for OnLive. Mac users, who broadly speaking aren't traditionally keyboard and mouse gamers, could become converts. Converts who will already have allegiance to Steam by the time OnLive is released. Or will Steam act as a catalyst for Mac gamers, paving the way for OnLive?
"The OnLive Game Service creates a new opportunity for consumers to play the latest games without spending hundreds of dollars on a hardware system to make it happen," said Mike McGarvey, COO of OnLive.
The pricing plan is $14.95 US per month, a service fee that covers game demos, gamer profile, and chat, it does not cover the cost of buying or renting games. The pricing model is not unlike Xbox Lives gold service, which can be purchased from low as $47.95 for 12 months. PS3 gamers thumb their noses at service fees, they are the ones who miss out on a superior multiplayer experience and customer service.
The live streaming game service has its far share of evangelists and critics, those who believe this will be the death of consoles as we know it and those who think that it will be a massive flop. The naysayers say that PC gamers will stick to their mecha, Steam. They Steam has too much going for it; the game library, the service and most importantly, the user base.
Although Steam does have a massive stable of games, OnLive will not be left with the nags. Juggernaut's like EA International, THQ, Warner Bros & Ubisoft are on board with their block buster titles with many more announced. Scores of additional developers and publishers are to be announced early June 2010, just in time to create some pre E3 hype. There are a few competitors cropping up around the advent of OnLive, I'm sure CEO Steve Perlman isn't sweating it too much, those cats don't have the backing of major publishers and developers like OnLive does.
Also, there are worries of latency issues, the server has never had more than a few hundred players on at once during demonstrations. The demos were during a showcasing at GDC and E3 in 2009 and performed without any major hiccups. Although, a few hundred is a massive step to 25,000 users, let alone a full roll out to the American public. Will the OnLive servers be able to keep up with the processing demand? Surely they will have to look at a staggered roll out.
The beta release date coincides with E3 2010, and will be available to the first 25,000 eligible registrants, of which will get 3 months of the subscription fee waived. There are a handful of beta servers dispersed across USA's west, east coasts and southern states. Each centre has a 1000 mile service radius, leaving two chunks of overlap and one bare patch mid north USA. It is suggested to be well within the 1,600 km radius to receive optimal service.
Initially it will only be released to American states, with a UK and greater European release to be looked at the over the consequent year. Perhaps they will rollout servers to Australia if all goes according to plan? Or maybe they will cut corners like Blizzard, with their cheekily named Oceanic servers.
I think OnLive will be chomping at the bit to get to Australia once the National Broadband Network is rolled out to metropolitan centres. With a target of 90% of Australian homes to have 100 Mbps download and the remaining 10% to receive 12Mbps, they'll be like bees to a honey pot. Even if the NBN falls below its goals, it is still beyond the recommended 4-5 Mbps for HDTV gaming. What better environment for them to show off their wares? The big issue though is cost per GB for broadband.
"The OnLive Game Service creates a new opportunity for consumers to play the latest games without spending hundreds of dollars on a hardware system to make it happen," said Mike McGarvey, COO of OnLive.
Will it do well in the light of erasing the necessity of console hardware? With Microsoft charging for $49.99 for a HDMI cable, $129.99 for 120 GB hard drive or memory unit and $99.99 Wireless Network Adapter, gamers may see it as a godsend. A middle finger to the "evil" corporations that make them bend over and pay through the ass.
The pricing plan is $14.95 US per month, a service fee that covers game demos, gamer profile, and chat, it does not cover the cost of buying or renting games. The pricing model is not unlike Xbox Lives gold service, which can be purchased from low as $47.95 for 12 months. PS3 gamers thumb their noses at service fees, they are the ones who miss out on a superior multiplayer experience and customer service.
$14.95 US per month is fairly expensive compared to other gaming options out there. Even with the proposed reward discounts for purchasing bulk months, it dosn't even factor in the cost of games, but it does waive the hardware expenditure.
There is also the OnLive Game Portal option, where gamers can waive the monthly service fees and the service perks that come with it. Game Portal will act as a tasting plate, to allow gamers to rent games and give the service a try. The rental pricing model will have customers paying for blocks of time to play a game or pay per play.
The pricing plan of renting and buying games will be released at a pre E3 event. How much would the games sell or rent for is something else entirely. If they were to follow in the footsteps of XBox Live games on demand, would they crank up the pricing of games on demand titles compared to the physical copies? Yes, the publishers who jumped into bed with OnLive wouldn't want to injure their relationships with the outlet giants, after all that's where the majority of their sales originate.
There is also the OnLive Game Portal option, where gamers can waive the monthly service fees and the service perks that come with it. Game Portal will act as a tasting plate, to allow gamers to rent games and give the service a try. The rental pricing model will have customers paying for blocks of time to play a game or pay per play.
Personally, I hope OnLive is a success enough to get it to the southern hemisphere. I would love to see the service realise it's potential in Australia. Not to mention possible revolution it could poise for MMORPG's.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Assassin's Bliss
Video game industry rockstar, Patrice Desilets, is back in the spotlight again and strutting his stuff with the hottest release on his arm, Assassin's Creed 2 (AC2). Announced on June 2, 2009, AC2 was the long awaited sequel of Assassin's Creed, released in Australia November 19, 2009 and November 21, 2007 respectively. Both triple A blockbusters were developed by Canadian studio, Ubisoft Montreal, and published by Ubisoft. The creative development helmed by the man himself, Creative Director Patrice Desilets and partner in divine crime, then Executive Producer Jade Raymond.
Having never played AC, I can not give much of a comparison between the games, although I do have the advantage of experiencing the game with fresh eyes and perspective. My first glimpse of AC2 was at a Ubisoft press event June 2009, on a projector in a crowded underground bar. Actual gameplay was demonstrated in real time by Desilets himself and I wasn't enthralled by what I witnessed. The textures and environments were up to the standard of games out at that time, another environment devoid of colour. The demo displayed time consuming, stealthy working around the edge of the building to kill a lonely guard which came across as mundane and didn't seem to appealing, especially if this going to be the main mechanic. However, the use of paying buxom courtiers to distract guards away from access points did perk my interest.
Several months after the release of AC2 I got my hands on a copy of the game and reluctantly put it in my 360, paying no heed to those who cried video game perfection..
The game opens with Desmond Miles escaping Abstergo Industries, with the help of Lucy Stillman, ex employee of Abstergo. The escape sequence is easy, a lot of following allies, Stillman, through the winding cubicles and corridors of Abstergo, whilst learning the eagle vision mechanic to avoid security guards. Pressing Y will activate Eagle vision, which highlight enemies in red, friendlies and safe points in blue and targets in gold.
Stillman leads Miles to a secret cell of Assassin's with their own Animus project, Animus 2.0 (iSnack 2.0 anyone?).Once safe at the Assassins hideout, Miles is plugged into the Animus 2.0, transversed to Florence, Italy, (late 1400's) into the body of Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Ezio is a young carefree nobleman, an unbeknown assassin, who's timeline and memories is needed to unlock the many conspiracies that entwine the story line.
The player is then free to explore Florence, with the exception of doing a few missions first and learning the controls of the game. I spent the better part of an hour free running across the rooftops and the feeling evoked was one I haven't felt since playing Grand Theft Auto 3 for the first time, it felt liberating. Holding A and left trigger are the free run/ climb controls, free running into a cluster of NPC's causes Ezio to stumble drunkenly and causes snide reactions from the NPC's. Restricted areas are littered with guards on the rooftops; notoriety and the time of day will also influence the number of guards stationed above the streets. These downers can sometimes break the flow of a free run if you chose to stay and fight them although it's easy to run straight past them and out of their circle of alarm.
Horses are a readily available transport for traversing the Italian country side, it makes for a novel, enjoyable transport and great for evading bands of alarmed guards. The horse animation irks me somewhat, the movement and poise of the mount is like a a rat in a horse skin. There are fast travel stations available, so there is the option skipping the horses altogether which come in handy when horse riding becomes tiresome or haste is needed.
The open world environment has memory starts scattered around the map, which are continuation points for the main story line. Memory starts are grouped into sequences, the number of memory starts in a sequence will vary anywhere from 3 to 6. Each time a new sequence is started, the game will progress in the timeline a few years. This time progression changes everything from the architecture of the environments, to the fashion of the NPC's, as well as making available new items to buy from stalls.
There are a number of stalls the player can chose to purchase from, most of which are vital to the gameplay, these outlets include Art vendors, Blacksmiths, Doctors and Tailors to re-dye Ezio's clothing. The design of Ezio's costume is superb with masses of layers and drapery. However I didn't see much point in changing the colour, except for achievement points, since variation from drab brown to earth red isn't terribly exciting. It's good to have the choice of course, however slight.
Personally, the art vendor is my number one and I seek the stall out first thing at the start of a new sequence and in each new section of the map unlocked. As with the veracity of the environments, the art available is accurate to the Renaissance period, each time sequence unlocks new works to acquire. The blacksmith is just as good as the art vendor with armour repair options and new weaponry. Purchasing armor, art and weaponry adds to the value of Monteriggioni , an estate in the country side and acts as a base of operations for Ezio.
There are a number of weapon classes available, such as blades, daggers, broadswords , long weapons and smoke bombs. Each assassination mission encourages the player to use a different method of assassination, be it a change of approach and/or the weapons and/or utilising the NPC's for hire. I found I used the hidden dagger in assassination missions more than any other weapon due to its stealthiness and the daggers in "day to day" combat, they are quick and get the job done I didn't get the hang of knife throwing. I would always reveal my position by throwing the dagger clumsily and hitting the target in the forearm or leg.
Side missions are enjoyable and include Assassination, Courier, Race and Beat Up. There are a few collectibles to collect such as trivial treasure chests, feathers (100 in total), codex pages and Altair armour. Altair armour is collected by exploring assassin tombs, which involves a lot of climbing and acrobatic moves. These are my favourite levels of the game, as the visual markers only reveal the immediate path ahead, it is always a thrill to explore the secret tombs and see how far and high the catacombs extend once at the final goal. There are a lot of visual markers to help the player navigate the acrobatic levels, which are held in dizzying cathedral steeples to dank underground catacombs. In each subsequent Assassin tomb, the moves required get slightly harder and the number of guards increase. Stealth kills are an obvious option here but balls to the wall method works just as well if that gets too boring, as you are never overwhelmed by guards if the alarm is risen.
The story line is what I presume The Da Vinci Code would read like, (having never read it and never will), glutted conspiracies involving historical figures and sinister secret sects. It quips my interest from time to time and the layers of different time lines adds another level of complexity, although it could have done without the extra cream. The game also acts as an entertaining history lesson, offering blurbs of facts about buildings and non fictional figures that are interacted within the game. For example, Leonardo da Vinci is present in the game as Ezio's allies. The architecture and layout of Renaissance Italy is as true to fact as possible, which is an incredible feat by the art teams.
The audio is high quality, especially with surround headphones, ambient noises of the city and country really add a level of immersion. There are audio cues to elegantly alert the player to the presence of treasures feathers or other items of importance. Video game voice actor Jezebel, Nolan North is back with the team, and voices Miles/Ezio. North pulls off a somewhat cheesy Italian accent with some classic American gusto thrown in. The grunts that emanate from the character when landing a hard fall, sound like an effeminate fellow receiving a soft blow in a pillow fight.
My first preconceptions of AC2 were way off the mark, I fell in love within the first hour of putting the disc in, extremely happy that I got over my initial preconceptions to give it a chance. The game has kept me entertained for hours and there are umpteen more ahead. It has sucked me in so that I'm completing majority of the side missions without the feeling of wanting to burn through the main game in record time, I want to take my time. I only have one minor wish, that it had a co-op option, not multiplayer modes but co-operation with a buddy.
Since the release and success of AC2 Jade Raymond was promoted to President of Ubisoft Toronto in July 2009, and Desilets? It might be safe to say he is working on the next installment. Ubisoft recently held a competition on Facebook for fans to suggest what historical figure they would have in Assassin's Creed 3 (AC3) and why. I would like to see the game placed in either Feudal Japan, 15th century Iberian Penninsula or 16th Century Ottoman Empire. Or how about 16th century Mughal Empire, with Akbar the Great making an appearance?
I look forward to AC3 with anticipation, it will no doubt be another entertaining, well executed "stabbity stab stab" padded history lesson. Just let there be co-op, it can get lonely for an assassin.
Having never played AC, I can not give much of a comparison between the games, although I do have the advantage of experiencing the game with fresh eyes and perspective. My first glimpse of AC2 was at a Ubisoft press event June 2009, on a projector in a crowded underground bar. Actual gameplay was demonstrated in real time by Desilets himself and I wasn't enthralled by what I witnessed. The textures and environments were up to the standard of games out at that time, another environment devoid of colour. The demo displayed time consuming, stealthy working around the edge of the building to kill a lonely guard which came across as mundane and didn't seem to appealing, especially if this going to be the main mechanic. However, the use of paying buxom courtiers to distract guards away from access points did perk my interest.
Several months after the release of AC2 I got my hands on a copy of the game and reluctantly put it in my 360, paying no heed to those who cried video game perfection..
The game opens with Desmond Miles escaping Abstergo Industries, with the help of Lucy Stillman, ex employee of Abstergo. The escape sequence is easy, a lot of following allies, Stillman, through the winding cubicles and corridors of Abstergo, whilst learning the eagle vision mechanic to avoid security guards. Pressing Y will activate Eagle vision, which highlight enemies in red, friendlies and safe points in blue and targets in gold.
Stillman leads Miles to a secret cell of Assassin's with their own Animus project, Animus 2.0 (iSnack 2.0 anyone?).Once safe at the Assassins hideout, Miles is plugged into the Animus 2.0, transversed to Florence, Italy, (late 1400's) into the body of Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Ezio is a young carefree nobleman, an unbeknown assassin, who's timeline and memories is needed to unlock the many conspiracies that entwine the story line.
The player is then free to explore Florence, with the exception of doing a few missions first and learning the controls of the game. I spent the better part of an hour free running across the rooftops and the feeling evoked was one I haven't felt since playing Grand Theft Auto 3 for the first time, it felt liberating. Holding A and left trigger are the free run/ climb controls, free running into a cluster of NPC's causes Ezio to stumble drunkenly and causes snide reactions from the NPC's. Restricted areas are littered with guards on the rooftops; notoriety and the time of day will also influence the number of guards stationed above the streets. These downers can sometimes break the flow of a free run if you chose to stay and fight them although it's easy to run straight past them and out of their circle of alarm.
Horses are a readily available transport for traversing the Italian country side, it makes for a novel, enjoyable transport and great for evading bands of alarmed guards. The horse animation irks me somewhat, the movement and poise of the mount is like a a rat in a horse skin. There are fast travel stations available, so there is the option skipping the horses altogether which come in handy when horse riding becomes tiresome or haste is needed.
The open world environment has memory starts scattered around the map, which are continuation points for the main story line. Memory starts are grouped into sequences, the number of memory starts in a sequence will vary anywhere from 3 to 6. Each time a new sequence is started, the game will progress in the timeline a few years. This time progression changes everything from the architecture of the environments, to the fashion of the NPC's, as well as making available new items to buy from stalls.
There are a number of stalls the player can chose to purchase from, most of which are vital to the gameplay, these outlets include Art vendors, Blacksmiths, Doctors and Tailors to re-dye Ezio's clothing. The design of Ezio's costume is superb with masses of layers and drapery. However I didn't see much point in changing the colour, except for achievement points, since variation from drab brown to earth red isn't terribly exciting. It's good to have the choice of course, however slight.
Personally, the art vendor is my number one and I seek the stall out first thing at the start of a new sequence and in each new section of the map unlocked. As with the veracity of the environments, the art available is accurate to the Renaissance period, each time sequence unlocks new works to acquire. The blacksmith is just as good as the art vendor with armour repair options and new weaponry. Purchasing armor, art and weaponry adds to the value of Monteriggioni , an estate in the country side and acts as a base of operations for Ezio.
There are a number of weapon classes available, such as blades, daggers, broadswords , long weapons and smoke bombs. Each assassination mission encourages the player to use a different method of assassination, be it a change of approach and/or the weapons and/or utilising the NPC's for hire. I found I used the hidden dagger in assassination missions more than any other weapon due to its stealthiness and the daggers in "day to day" combat, they are quick and get the job done I didn't get the hang of knife throwing. I would always reveal my position by throwing the dagger clumsily and hitting the target in the forearm or leg.
Side missions are enjoyable and include Assassination, Courier, Race and Beat Up. There are a few collectibles to collect such as trivial treasure chests, feathers (100 in total), codex pages and Altair armour. Altair armour is collected by exploring assassin tombs, which involves a lot of climbing and acrobatic moves. These are my favourite levels of the game, as the visual markers only reveal the immediate path ahead, it is always a thrill to explore the secret tombs and see how far and high the catacombs extend once at the final goal. There are a lot of visual markers to help the player navigate the acrobatic levels, which are held in dizzying cathedral steeples to dank underground catacombs. In each subsequent Assassin tomb, the moves required get slightly harder and the number of guards increase. Stealth kills are an obvious option here but balls to the wall method works just as well if that gets too boring, as you are never overwhelmed by guards if the alarm is risen.
The story line is what I presume The Da Vinci Code would read like, (having never read it and never will), glutted conspiracies involving historical figures and sinister secret sects. It quips my interest from time to time and the layers of different time lines adds another level of complexity, although it could have done without the extra cream. The game also acts as an entertaining history lesson, offering blurbs of facts about buildings and non fictional figures that are interacted within the game. For example, Leonardo da Vinci is present in the game as Ezio's allies. The architecture and layout of Renaissance Italy is as true to fact as possible, which is an incredible feat by the art teams.
The audio is high quality, especially with surround headphones, ambient noises of the city and country really add a level of immersion. There are audio cues to elegantly alert the player to the presence of treasures feathers or other items of importance. Video game voice actor Jezebel, Nolan North is back with the team, and voices Miles/Ezio. North pulls off a somewhat cheesy Italian accent with some classic American gusto thrown in. The grunts that emanate from the character when landing a hard fall, sound like an effeminate fellow receiving a soft blow in a pillow fight.
My first preconceptions of AC2 were way off the mark, I fell in love within the first hour of putting the disc in, extremely happy that I got over my initial preconceptions to give it a chance. The game has kept me entertained for hours and there are umpteen more ahead. It has sucked me in so that I'm completing majority of the side missions without the feeling of wanting to burn through the main game in record time, I want to take my time. I only have one minor wish, that it had a co-op option, not multiplayer modes but co-operation with a buddy.
Since the release and success of AC2 Jade Raymond was promoted to President of Ubisoft Toronto in July 2009, and Desilets? It might be safe to say he is working on the next installment. Ubisoft recently held a competition on Facebook for fans to suggest what historical figure they would have in Assassin's Creed 3 (AC3) and why. I would like to see the game placed in either Feudal Japan, 15th century Iberian Penninsula or 16th Century Ottoman Empire. Or how about 16th century Mughal Empire, with Akbar the Great making an appearance?
I look forward to AC3 with anticipation, it will no doubt be another entertaining, well executed "stabbity stab stab" padded history lesson. Just let there be co-op, it can get lonely for an assassin.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Red Flatulence Guerrilla
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This is not a review, just a gripe and some thoughts.Destruction is gratifying and Red Faction Guerrilla has it up to your eyeballs. But talk about stuffy game structure Driving to a mission marker to start a mission then drive to the mission proper. Fail the mission, the drive has to be repeated. Game filler, it's boring.
If a mars civilian is run over or if a mission is failed or you die then you get penalised a few points off the morale bar. I'm cool with not deliberately running people over in this game its not like they ask for it like in other games like GTA or Saints Row. Trying to get out the garage is a bitch when one them walks in front of the vehicle.. come on now.. that's just teasing. However I'm not cool with a civ walking in front of a tank/mech in a sector liberation mission causing morale to fall from 100 to 93 then finding out that once a sector has been liberated moral can't be boosted back up.
Getting penalised for failing a mission or dying is not on my thumbs up list, having to drive back to a mission is punishment enough. The points demoted aren't significant n themselves, about 3 but they do accumulate and points gained from completing a mission can be reversed. Morale does count as there is an achievement, Power to the people, Raise the Morale of 3 sectors to 100% and the morale means more support from civ's..
The mechs rock, they cause so much devastation, as long as the target isn't moving to fast, and those annoying EDF (baddies) armored cars are eradicated in a clumsy swoop of a mechanised log. Who doesn't love rampaging in a mech? The bummer is you can't save vehicles, I tried by taking a dying mech back to base, saving game, then reloading but there was no spawn fresh mech waiting for me.
Also loading times suck, especially restarting a mission and viewing the map. It's not so bad on the Elite, the Pro loading times were up to 12 seconds just to view the map.
The weapons are a lot of fun I haven't bought them all yet like the grinder and rocket launcher because I just keep upgrading the nanorifle. Nanorifle is the favorite so far, it disintegrates everything and nothing stands a chance, plus the disintegration animation is fun to watch.
Other than the EDF and mars civs/rebels there are the marauders.I like their character design and weapons, very Tuskin Raiders hanging out at the Thunder Dome.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
World's most expensive escort
Slightly amusing and random bit of trivia that I thought would share with you.
No doubt you have seen the banners adds for Evony Online, they are plastered everywhere. The new face of their latest add campaign is, Natasha, the worlds most expensive escort. I don't know if Evony online has approval for Natasha's image from her employer, Dynasty Queens, or Natasha herself. Let me tell how I stumbled across this. I listen to a NationalRugbyLeague (NRL) podcast, FireUp on FBI. The hosts are very jovial about the going ons of NRL on and off the feild and take their banter to new imaginings. On particular podcast they were talking about how they looked into who is the worlds most expensive escort, long story why, which they found out to be Natasha from Dynasty Queens.
So today, when I was just doing my daily Lol cat visit, I recognised a dress that had caught my eye before. It took me few seconds to think from where I first saw that dress & then double checked Dynasty Queens site.
Somehow I don't think that any of the female in game models will live up to any ones expectations but it'll be a hell of a lot cheaper.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Highway to the beer zone
I went to the Australian Gaming Expo last Monday, which I've been to every year since 2003 (or was it 2004?) It gives a chance for people employed by gaming companies to go check out what the competition has on offer, then sneak off and drink with workmates or sneak home early.
For publicans and club honchos, its an opportunity to see new games/tech and wheel and deal.
It became apparent several years back that there wasn't much follow through with the pubs/clubbies and empty promises were being made. The lure of booth babes and show girls and the scattered beer lounges clouded their minds and did exactly the opposite flesh and booze intended.
They have kept at least one beer oasis going at the show in the recent years of the funtime cut back. It has been funny to witness the evolution of the anti probation, from handing out sample sizes of light beer to full serves of full strength beer.
This year I saw a total of three booth babes, of those three, two were at Azure stand and a Polaroid camera was at the ready for a memento with the babes. I wanted one but missed out. Hopeully, I'll post a photo soon.
WMS Gaming booth had easily the knock out of the show with their Top Gun system. The sound is incredible. Many cabinets have been long installed in American casinos, it'll be interesting to see how many are installed in Australia. I personally see TG being a hit with punters, for novelty reasons, it's staying power is a matter of maths.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Aural Pleasure
As we live in an apartment complex we don't crank the sound up as much as we would like when playing, especially late at night. They'll also come in handy when we are playing different games at the same time or when one of us falls asleep on the couch. So last week we pre ordered twoTurtle Beach 360 headphones, one wireless and one wired, only one wireless pair can be used per transmitter.
They come out August 28th. Can't wait to use them, won't get gangked by combine anymore.
Recently finished Z.A. Recht's Plague of the Dead, the first book in the Morning Star saga and started A.E. vanVogt's "Moonbeast". I've read vanVogts work before and he is a favourite of my Aunt. I grabbed the copy at Surry Hills markets, having never come across the title before. I had to read it before passing it on.
Having just finished the contrast between the authors is colossal. I know it's not a far comparison by any means, but where I was just skimming over paragraphs with, Moonbeast sporadically jumps into my head during the day. I can't wait to pick it up again.
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