An Andy's Eye View

Definition: Bittersweet

2011-05-10T00:23:00.000-07:00

Today was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult days of my life. I resigned from my position as Editor, World of Warcraft Official Magazine/ Associate Editor, @GAMER Magazine. Moreso, I resigned from my position at Future US, a company that I've been with since the age of 17, and more or less, the past five years.

Why? Well, several factors. Sure, I was working full-time between two magazines and yes, that was extraordinarily difficult -- but I've never quit something because it was hard (truthfully, I found it to be really fun, and really challenging). Simply put, I've been given an opportunity to work more closely with game studios that I grew up playing (among others), such as Monolith Productions (Shogo: Mobile Armor Division) and Surreal Software (Drakan: Order of the Flame), and I can bring the passion and editorial talent I've refined over the past year+ to a place that's got a damn dedicated community team, WB Games. And, as a huge bonus, I'll be heading home to Washington state. Back home to see the Mariners, Seahawks, and to sit inside while it rains outside all day. (You know, because that's prime video game weather.)

I'll always have such a deep spot in my heart for Future US and San Francisco. I owe all of my professional beginnings to the people there. If it wasn't for folks like Greg Vederman, Chuck Osborn, Kristen Salvatore, Dan Stapleton and Logan Decker, I wouldn't be even marginally close to resembling the person I am today.

But for now, it's time to go home and keep doing what I love. How great is it that I can still do that? Frankly, I feel blessed. I can't wait to start at WB Games, and I can't wait to see what I can do there as a member of a tremendously talented community team.

Black Ops was a good movie, nothing more

2010-11-28T14:49:00.001-08:00

Don’t worry, that headline isn’t loaded. I’m not here to refer to Call of Duty: Black Ops as a Michael Bay movie or unfairly compare it to one of the many bad films of yesteryear. In fact, Black Ops has a decent plot, great graphics, the characters are easy to grasp, and it’s a lot fun to watch. All these ingredients make for a good movie viewing experience. However, since this is a video game, shouldn’t it have been a bit more than that?

For the entirety of Black Ops' single-player campaign I couldn't help but feel like I was watching. Sure, I'd aim down the iron signs and I'd take down whatever opponent decided to step in front of my gun on that particular day, but a vast majority of the cinematic moments were taken completely out of my hands. I wasn't playing the game, I simply ushered in the cutscenes. Considering I started up a video game, I felt extremely cheated by the experience.

Now, I'm not about to sit here and hate on Call of Duty as a franchise. I don't plan on standing on my soapbox and bitching about a game because it's what's popular. In fact, Call of Duty has provided me with some of the best single-player experiences I've ever had. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is perhaps one of the most explosive, exciting single-player campaigns I've ever played for two simple reasons: it lets you fail in fair ways and the player is in control.

When you fail in Modern Warfare it’s because you’re immersed in the world. If you walk out into an enemy patrol and die, it’s because the game allows you to. You’re made a character in the game, rather than an observer. You follow the story instead of a script. I’d much rather be given the opportunity to fail because I didn’t run out of a sinking barge fast enough, instead of being put inside an invisible box and allowed to play whack-a-mole.

Holding someone’s hand and carefully telling them a story isn’t what a video game should be, it’s a movie – and video games have the distinct opportunity to be better than movies. We let movies take us for joy rides all the time, and we do it gladly. But when I'm holding a controller or have my hands on a mouse and keyboard, why not let me do the steering? If I'm going to fail a mission by not concealing myself well enough while a Russian patrol helicopter flies above, don't just put up an invisible wall, give me an opportunity to lose. I want to experience the game; I don't want to play a shooting gallery.

[Note: I'm speaking specifically about Black Ops' single-player campaign. I want to make it perfectly clear that I think the multiplayer is among the best I've ever played.]

My thoughts on your thoughts

2010-06-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

Twitter is a lot of things. It's a great way to see and hear from celebrities, get insights from those you find interesting, and a semi-decent place for discussion. It is also, however, an endless source of annoyance.

Since I first signed up for Twitter shortly after its launch I've noticed some disturbing trends. Trends that really made me detest reading other's tweets, to the point where I'll even break the golden rule of unfollowing those that I know personally. It's difficult, but sometimes it must be done.

While I recognize that this post is about a year too late, I still feel it necessary to let the unwashed masses of Twitter know what they're doing wrong. Or, if you want a step by step guide on how to make me hate your tweets, think of this as an instruction manual.

Address "Twitter."

There are a lot of people out there that have questions. And sure, it's always easy to deliberate something on your own -- but this is the age of the Internet, right? Instead of taking an extra second or three to decide how you want to wear your hair tonight, or which of two games you'll ultimately take home from the store, ask "Twitter"! By doing so, you're simply asking your followers a question of your choice, and at the same time letting them know that they don't mean shit to you.

Also note that by doing this, you'll look completely self-absorbed. Your call.

Refer to anyone who might be reading your messages as the "internets."

Elitists. They're everywhere, and if they're on the internet it means that they can become one without actually accomplishing anything. Chances are good that if you've done well in any videogame and don't possess a sense of humility you've taken part in talking down to other people while spewing out broken English.

For those that have chosen this path, there's a simple way to address anyone that could be reading your message, and that's to refer to them as the "internets" (e.g. "Suck it, internets"). It doesn't matter if you're on a forum, Twitter, or frantically typing out a string of insults in WoW's trade chat, this works for any situation.

Got the cojones to say it vocally while on a podcast or TV? Then you've truly crossed the bridge from "kind of douchey" to "really douchey." gratz lulz

Post a link, and nothing more.

As someone that's been in the working world since the ripe age of 16, I know that time is valuable. So, should I tweet a link (whether it be a picture, a video, or a webpage), I like to include some kind of description, if even only just a punctual or funny quote from the page.

But, what if you're so cool that you don't need to do that? Well, first of all, congratulations on the level of awesomeness you've attained! Second of all, congratulations on being painfully arrogant. Personally, I like to try and give my followers something funny and interesting to follow, but by doing this you're tweeting the equivalent of "Here, take this. Or don't, I don't care. I'm just here to look awesome."

TwitPic your drink (Food is okay though. Seriously.)

This isn't really that big of a deal, but it still grows annoying. For most it's a chance to show others that they're just having a tasty beer (and good on them). But for others it's a chance to display just how fancy and cultured they are. Generally I'll let this one go for first, or even second time offenders (I can't say for sure, but if I had to bet I'd say that I've done this). But after a while it becomes obnoxious.

What's that? You're drinking an Italian soda and you're letting us know for the fifth time? Wow, you seem like the kind of person that wants others to clamor to them.

Retweet more than you tweet.

If you've got a 2:1 ratio (or greater) of Retweets:Tweets, I stopped caring about everything you send out to the world a long time ago. If I followed you, it was to follow what you're up to and your thoughts. If I wanted to hear from those other people, then I'd follow them.

This isn't to say retweeting is completely inappropriate, however. I do it, but it's all about moderation. Make sure that you save your retweets for news or information with some gravity, not Mashable's ninth story of the day that you think has a particularly buzzy headline.

Hashtag overkill.

Hashtags (text with # in front of it) are used for categorizing tweets so others interested in a particular subject can keep up with it, even if they're not following the person that tweeted it. But, like all good things, you can have too much of it. If you're typing out a tweet, and more than 60% of the words in it are hashtagged, delete it. It's not worth reading anymore.

For example, if you tweet "#BP oil spill #kills #seals #bpcares #oilspill #gulfcoast #badstuff #ff" -- what are you thinking? Break the finger that presses #, and try again when you've learned your lesson.

ABC: Always Be Complaining.

I've got problems, and you've got problems. And yeah, it's fine to air frustrations from time to time. But when your Twitter feed turns into a stream of consciousness diary for the upset part of your brain, you need to stop.

Now, if you are tweeting this much bad juju, I completely understand that there's the possibility that you're riding out a rough patch. You could be going through one of these -- but I don't know that. If all you ever tweet about are your bad times, I'm either unfollowing you, or rolling my eyes whenever you spew out unfiltered, passive aggressive bullshit to the Internet.

Same rule applies to Facebook updates.

I've got no doubt that I've broken at least a few of my own rules in the past, and I accept that. Twitter is still a service that's maturing, and so are its users. But there are certainly days where I get tired of the self-absorbed, indescribably douchey denizens that log in day after day.

Take a step forward if your multiplayer works... not so fast, Bad Company 2

2010-04-01T20:32:00.001-07:00

Bad Company 2 is one of the most fun multiplayer games I've played in a long time. It's extremely engaging, the sound is phenomenal, and it's easy to spend an entire night on.

Sadly, occasions like this are becoming difficult to come by. The server browser and the "Play Now" features both seem to be broken, and I can't enjoy two consecutive servers without running into numerous roadblocks.

There are three notable problems crippling Bad Company 2's multiplayer, and they are as follows:

1.) The server browser.

See this screen? This motherfucker right here? If you opt to choose your own server you're going to be looking at him for a while. But no, I'm not just going to spew rage and offer no solutions, because I know for a fact that good server browsers are out there.

Steam's, which dates all the way back to Counter-Strike 1.6 in its earliest form, will not only give you servers as it updates but it will also sort them according to ping during the update process, as well as filter out those that are full, empty, passworded and not protected by anti-cheat software. Heck, it'll even remember your filters!

Battlefield's, on the other hand, has been bad for as long as I can remember. It will pull every single bit of server data that it can from every possible corner of the world, and then spit out an excessive list of games to choose from. Why would you need to spend five minutes loading a screen that you'll be looking at for no more than 30 seconds?

2.) Play Now.

This feature was phenomenal in beta! I'd start up my game, and with two clicks I would be in a match. But now that the game is live there seems to be an endless amount of problems associated with it.

For example, I really enjoy the new Rush game mode. It's fast paced, it keeps both teams on their feet, and there's always close quarters combat mixed with large scale vehicle skirmishes that keep the battles exciting. However, there's no excitement if I get automatically placed into a server that's full. Not just once mind you, but I've been placed into a full server four times in a row, and then on the fifth attempt it placed me in a server with a password.

Why is a tool that's meant to place me into a server to play right away, without any reservations, putting me into servers that are either full or passworded? Fuck you, that's why.

Perhaps if the tool ruled out servers with 31/32 players (in the off-hand chance that last spot should fill with one of the many players that are crushing EA's servers), and instead only looked at non-passworded servers with, I don't know, two slots open? These are ideas I'm just coming up with off the top of my head, so they're clearly not the cream of the crop. But, I'm sure if I had more time and, you know, got paid to do this, I could come up with something more concrete.

Even still, why can't I choose more detailed criteria when I tell it to find a server for me? What if I don't want to play hardcore? What if I want to choose from a list of maps I find desirable instead of just one? Finding a server to play on, if you don't have one of preference, would become so much easier. If a server should suddenly die without warning, jumping into another game you're going to enjoy would become seamless!

3.) Teamstacking.

Seriously? Teamstacking? I'm amazed that this is still a problem! When I play Team Fortress 2 (and don't tell me to "go play Team Fotress 2, then") I don't see problems with teamstacking. Sure, there are games where a team will have an advantage over the other due to the skill of the players, but as far as players per team, there's a 1:1 ratio. Is this really that difficult to pull off?

Why can't Bad Company 2's servers do that? Sure, it's fun to encourage players to bring their friends in and play on the same team, but what's the issue with shooting at eachother every once in a while? Sack up, and respect the balance of the server!

I've ranted a lot here tonight. All of it was done completely out of anger, but I assure you it has been building for a while. I love Bad Company 2, it really is a genuinely fun game. EA has promised us time and time again that they've fixed the multiplayer. But, despite these promises, I haven't seen anything that resembles a playable multiplayer game! Of the time that I've spent trying to actually enjoy some matches on my own time, 30% of it results in success, and the other 70% of it is spent quitting and playing another game.

Please, EA. For the love of all that is good and holy, spend some real time, take notes from good examples (HINT: STEAM) and apply them. You've got an extremely popular game, let us actually play it.

Off to San Francisco!

2010-02-22T18:08:00.000-08:00

I hate moving. Big time.

First off, there's the fact that I just moved into a house with some friends no more than four months ago! So, with that in mind, I've now got the rest of a 12-month lease to pay off. Secondly, there's the act of packing. Plain and simple -- it sucks. Packing up my PC, TV, clothes, toiletries, and everything else needed to live a normal life is monotonous at best.

But, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. This one? It's known as World of Warcraft: The Magazine. I'll soon be joining their team as an Editor, and at long last I'll be back on the creative side of the fence. Moreover, I'll be sharing a building with illustrious gaming news outlets like PC Gamer, Maximum PC, Mac|Life, GamesRadar.com, Nintendo Power and the Official Xbox Magazine. How awesome is that?

I can't wait to open this new chapter in my life. I've been wanting to call myself an Editor since 2006, when I was an Editorial Intern for PC Gamer. Back then I found myself with an opportunity to work on Nintendo Power's staff, but sadly fell short of my goal. Admittedly I needed more experience, and I'm glad that I was given the time to get it. Now I'm finally able to live my dream, and I couldn't be happier.

I'm noticing that this blog post is much shorter than I'd like it to be, but what with working, packing, and tying up loose ends -- I find myself extremely busy. With any luck, I'll have a chance to post something of substance in the next few weeks.

Until then, au revoir!

Audio.

2010-02-14T02:11:00.000-08:00

For so long I've taken it for granted. A gun shot here, a frostbolt cast there -- all in all I'd never thought much about the impact great sound could have on a game. That was, until I got a chance to crank up the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Beta.

I first entered the game and noticed that there was obscene lag (but, I directed my eyes to the upper-right hand corner of my screen and was swiftly reminded that it was still in its beta stage). After a few map rotations, I realized that during the course of my play I'd began reacting to what was happening on screen. If a rocket was going to whizz past me, I'd not only run my character away from the impending doom, but I'd duck my head, like most folks do when playing a flight simulator.

But why was I doing this? The game was jittery as all hell! Simply put -- the sound. The constant fanfare of the battlefield and the deafening explosion of an RPG landing only feet away from your person are unbelievably realistic. Now, I don't expect you to run out and get Bad Company 2 right now. It's a game, it costs money -- but, what I can provide, is some evidence of my claims. Do yourself a favor, and watch this video:

I'd like to rest my case with that, but honestly, to get the whole picture you need to play the game for yourself. If you've got a good pair of headphones, throw them on! But even with some second rate speakers, this game will provide a feast for your cochlea.

From here on, I'll be changing my perspective on audio. Ears, you're no longer being taken for granted -- prepare for a proper work out.

Returning to my raiding roots

2010-02-05T13:53:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend re-awoke a beast deep inside me. That beast? The one that loves to raid in World of Warcraft.

My last foray into WoW's raiding world was when Ulduar was first released in patch 3.1 -- and during that time I was raiding until my eyes bled. But, after a short vacation from raiding which allowed me to focus more on work and school, I decided to put raiding down indefinitely and focus on more important things.

That was, until recently. On Christmas my girlfriend got me a three month subscription to WoW -- a gift that I saw as harmless! I checked out the new dungeon system, reveled in the winter quests and healed my way all the way up to a 4813 gear score.

Recently though, I had the chance to raid again. My old guild, Grim, was kind enough to let me back in, and they were short a healer one night. That night they called on me to flesh out their raid group and throw chain heals the likes of which they've never seen! I of course, obliged.

The first boss encounter I was a part of was Rotface in the Icecrown Citadel. Having not raid healed since the Sunwell Plateau in patch 2.4 , I was concerned about how I might do. Sure, I'd done a fair amount of Heroic 5-man dungeons -- but Healing Stream Totem can literally solo heal some of those! Rotface posed a new challenge to me, and that was to not depoison anyone. Unbeknownest to me, if I were to cleanse someone of a troublesome poison, an oozeling is spawned at their location. This was information I'd found out after the boss had died.

I consider myself a very proactive healer. During the course of the fight I saw my Grid addon light up with poison after poison. I had assumed that the Druids were being lazy and I began cleansing every person possible. After a short time the room was flooded with adds, all of which I'd caused (luckily, Fan of Knives still seems to be a supremely overpowered ability, and they were disposed of immediately). Still, an admittedly hard way to learn a lesson.

I didn't learn much from Rotface, truthfully. I healed up everyone that needed to and I bloodlusted with the Guild Master called for it. I hope that I get more opportunities to raid in the future, but until then -- let's hope that I'm smart enough to read up on strategies!

11 Things I Learned From DiRT 2

2009-12-16T13:01:00.000-08:00

Good racing games are few and far between. It hasn't been since Gran Tursimo 2 that I've huddled myself in front of my gaming platform of choice attempting to shave milliseconds off of my lap time. But, with the recent introduction of DiRT 2, I've found myself taking hours out of each night attempting to dominate the competition.

While it has got plenty of realistic appeal in the form of delicate tweaks you can make to your car's suspension, tire pressure and other things I know nothing about, the real beauty of the game shines when you turn that all off. And, more importantly, it turns into something of a learning experience. So please, allow me to drop some knowledge that I've gained solely from DiRT 2.

1.) It doesn't matter what your car's high speed is if it doesn't have the acceleration to get there.

2.) "Driveability" is something to genuinely consider when purchasing a new vehicle.

3.) Travis Pastrana is likely one of the most supportive people in the world.

4.) If you win the X Games, it's entirely likely that you'll win every other race, thanks to the supremely overpowered cars the organizers give to the winners.

5.) Ken Block owes Tanner Foust money.

6.) Pontiac's cars are as atrociously designed as their logo.

7.) Dave Mirra doesn't care if you crash into his car, but he's pretty sure "that shouldn't have happened."

8.) I easily mix up Ken Block and Ryan Block (I've only had a break dancing dream about one of them, but I can assuredly beat both of them in a race).

9.) Slamming into ruins at 120mph doesn't matter if they're Croatian.

10.) China and Utah are good for two things, rally races and conformity.

11.) World renowned pros are extremely gracious losers (and, coincidentally, I'm an amazing driver).

So, with this information now in the public -- Subaru, I'm looking for a sponsor. Get at me.

Of Modern Warfare 2:

2009-11-12T01:12:00.000-08:00

(SPOILER ALERT!)

Torn doesn't begin to explain how I feel right now.

I just completed one of the most exciting single-player campaigns that a video game has ever offered me. Admittedly it was a little short, but that's neither here nor there. Each and every moment was insanely engaging, and while there were some that didn't make sense (why would the Russians launch an attack on the suburbs of Delaware? There isn't another target with higher value? Really?), I was on the edge of my seat far more. But, morally I'm not feeling so great.

Allow me to explain.

Modern Warfare 2 has a lot to offer in the single-player department. Sure, the multi-player side of the game is a consolized abomination to PC gamers like myself, but the story line that you experience on the offline version of the game is fantastic. But, there are two glaring examples of ham-handedness that stick out.

Firstly, there's the Russian airport mission. For those unfamiliar with it, you get planted in the higher ranks of a high powered terrorist organization. In order to prove your worth as a right-hand man you go with the leader, Makarov, and kill a slew of unarmed civilians. It doesn't matter if they're running for cover or carrying another to safety, they get killed. Now, yes, this does show you just how grim the situation is. Marakov is a bad dude, and what you're doing is a necessary evil... or so you're led to believe.

There has to be a better way, Infinity Ward. You guys have shown your ability to write and bring to life compelling story lines in the past, and you've done so brilliantly. Most notably, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (an easy one, but an example that most are familiar with). Right from the get go, you play from the point of view of a man that's doomed to be executed in front of the world. The moment -- utterly disturbing, but it was a well played necessary plot element. It painted a picture, and the man executed was the President of the Middle Eastern country. Sure, it was brutal, but given the story it added up. However, when you get a group of heavily armed men to walk into an airport terminal and have them gun down everything that moves, you've gotten lazy.

Secondly, the display of betrayal of Ghost and Roach. Yes, what Shepard did was brutal, but why did they have to show the burning of the bodies? It felt like a moment where Infinity Ward took the plot twist just a bit too seriously. As if shooting them wasn't enough, Shepard had to get the last flick of the cigar, and make the bodies go up in flames. Bodies, that as far as I could tell, still had some life left in them.

Now, I don't want this to come out as me looking to hate on Infinity Ward. I've got nothing against the studio, or anything against any of the people that work there. My issue lies squarely with this game, Modern Warfare 2 (as I said before, the single-player experience is undoubtedly one of the best I've ever played). But, it'd be nice if they showed some compassion. There are kids that will be playing this game.

Sure, there's the pop-up at the beginning that makes you actively choose if you want to see disturbing moments. And yes, I did click that I wanted to play them. But this is at best a cop-out. Just like the syllabus that a teacher hands you at the beginning of their class, it's an "I told you so" statement meant to cover their asses, not yours.

Busy Times

2009-08-24T02:31:00.000-07:00

Lately, my life has gotten increasingly busy.

I've had many affairs to attend to, including (but not limited to):

• Work

• Moving out of my parent's house once and for all

• Preparing for school

• Saving money

• Wishful thinking

Now, while I'd love to go over all of these things and completely pour my heart out -- I just can't do that. It's not that I don't think you're worthy of the information, I just don't like to be one of those.

So instead, I'll tell you a little bit about what's been going on for me lately. You know, the other stuff!

First things first, PDX LAN. I know, it was last month (July 17-20), but I wouldn't feel like a good LAN party attendee if I didn't sing my praises! Overall, it was hands down one of the best weekends I've had in a while. Being able to go and hang out with friends, play games and eat food with zero nutrition for an entire weekend was top notch.

Secondly, I've turned 21. That's right ladies and gents, I can officially buy liquor here in the United States. Suffice to say I had my celebratory night, and I won't be drinking for weeks.

Thirdly, I'm moving out. It's truthfully not something I want to do, but given some circumstances here at my parents' house that's beyond my control, I've decided to blaze my own trail and move in with friends. Hopefully everything goes well, and we can get the price down on our current choice.

And, while I know it isn't my style to write something this sporadic, I figured I'd eat up a bit of the Internet's traffic.

Until next time (which will hopefully be sooner).

Reformatting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

2009-06-21T23:02:00.000-07:00

Ah the dreaded reformat.

For PC users reformatting can often be a means of starting with a clean slate upon the release of a new operating system. But, for others, the reason for it can be less expected: a system failure of some sort. Sadly, today I find myself in the second category, all thanks to error 0xc00000e9.

Now, while I'm not entirely sure about the nature of this error, I was able to gather that it's some sort of disk error after many pages of search results (given to me by Google mind you, not the needlessly commercialized Bing). But, what I do know about it, is that it's unfixable by the Windows Vista repair feature, thanks to some hands-on experience. While I was hoping that reformatting wouldn't be the answer (I hate reformatting), it turned out to be that way.

Damn it Vista, I was just starting to take a shine to you, too. Sure, I may be predisposed to hate you, but my hands on time has really given you a new light! I was admittedly pretty smitten by the poorly supported (but cool nonetheless), Games tab that you had, allowing users to compare their computer's score to what's suggested by the developer. And sure, Aero may not be as aesthetically pleasing as OS X, it's still got its charm. But you know what? This error is some crap. You did it to me when I was looking at Twitter and listening to music on Lala. What's up with that? Was that too demanding for you?

At any rate though, reformatting wasn't an easy decision. After all, I just bought and downloaded Prototype off of Steam, I have all my World of Warcraft addons set up exactly to my liking, and I've made some serious progress in Grand Theft Auto IV. But, sadly, the ultimate result was that I had to wipe it. All of it.

Now, here I am, on nearly hour eight of my reformat (it's 1.5TB HDD, and while this seems far too long for a format, I was told via BIOS that SMART was reading my hard drive as bad, so I'm willing to give it plenty of time before I shell out tons of cash for a new one), waiting to get cracking on recustomizing my PC. Most notably, the maticulisouly setup RivaTuner fan profile that I put in place, ensuring that my video card would no longer reach temperatures of 85°C and higher (bad news there!).

But, it hasn't been all bad. Sure, not having my PC wasn't ideal, but it did give me a chance to get reacquainted with my Mac. Granted, I did spend most of today doing Father's Day activities (I trust you wished your father a happy one), but in my off time I've been thoroughly enjoying the fruits of Blizzard Entertainment's labor. I've always loved the fact that they produce software for both Mac and PC, because a Titanium PowerBook G4 was my first computer, and is still in my possession. I remember an insanely long Diablo II gaming session on it the first day that I got it, and that memory was rekindled today with a nearly seven hour Warcraft III session with my friends.

But, ultimately my Mac is a work machine. While I do have a sweet tooth for PC gaming, I do my best to work on a Mac when I can. Sure, my G5 may not be the fastest machine in my house, but this baby is reliable. After all, every single time that I've formatted my PC, my Mac has always been there to welcome me back with loving arms. "Don't worry Andy," it whispers in my ear, "you're safe now."

And I trust it. It's never done me wrong, damn it.

(Admittedly though, I miss Team Fortress II and Prototype dearly. I hope this damn format hurries up!)

Now, after reading through this once I realize that I may be acting a bit out of turn. Sure, my hard drive is a Seagate Barracuda, but it's not giving the telltale sign of its demise, also known as the click of death. But, I'm willing to chuck this up to anomaly. These things happen, it's just the life that I chose when I decided to be a PC gamer. But, everyone has their boiling point. Reformatting sucks, but sometimes there's just no way around it.

(A note about the picture as well: I realize that I'm formatting into XP. Silly, right? Wrong! I've got an upgrade version of Vista. So, I'm lucky enough to sit through this each time I need to reformat. A mistake I won't make twice though, I'll undoubtably be buying a full version of 7 once it arrives.)

On a fun side note, be sure to check out my latest article at Smashing Magazine: How to Make OS X's Exposé Work For You: 5 Productivity Tips. I spent a good amount of time on this article, so please, enjoy! And, if you've got time, watch Auto-Tune the News #5. It's funny, and admittedly very catchy.

I Just Can't Be The Bad Guy

2009-06-20T01:18:00.000-07:00

(Heads up again, spoilers ahead!)

Today's video games are amazing things. As a player, you're given a gigantic, (usually) well thought out infrastructure for you to play in, and you can do amazing things within them.

Many games now give you the opportunity to forge your way as a good or a bad guy. Sure, both paths are meant to be equally accessible, but I just can't draw myself to be evil. And, in my gaming career this started as early as Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. In the late stages of the game, you're given the opportunity to choose the dark or light side of the force (I, unsurprisingly, chose the selfless path of the Jedi).

In Grand Theft Auto IV you have plenty of opportunities to kill people that have wronged you or your friends. Early in the game you're told to hunt down a man that's supposedly stealing from your cousin, Roman. After a short car chase, you corner the bad guy on top of a construction site, where he falls off a ledge and is left hanging for dear life. It is here where I was given the opportunity to let him fall to his death, or pick up back up, dust him off and send him on his way. I did the unthinkable: I offed him.

Not long after, you're engaged in missions where you have to help out a friend of a friend, who's fresh out of the joint and still adjusting to the outside world. His girlfriend has apparently been unfaithful, and it's up to you to work things out (the only way you know how). After tracking her down and killing her then boyfriend, you're left standing in front of her. You can either let her live, hoping that she'll learn her lesson, or grant her a dirt nap.

Here I was, standing at a moral dilemma. Sure, this is a video game complete with a loading screen and save function -- but what does it say about me if I kill her? Am I really that cold hearted? I like to think I'm compassionate.

After a short self-mediated, self-engaged debate, I let her off the hook. I just couldn't do it! As hard as I try, and as evil as I attempt to be in video games I just have to be the hero. Sure, Niko Bellic may not be a shining example of chivalry, but I'd like to be.

As bad as I can get in video games, I just can't take the bad route. Sure, being an evil son of a bitch looks like a good time, but I end up feeling genuinely disheartened. If I'm able to work, and mold the virtual world around me, I want it to be a place where those that inhabit it can be free to do as they wish -- because of me.

Now, next on the list is Mass Effect. Let's hope that I can continue to keep my morality in check (for the good of the galaxy).

Dark Sector, You Confuse the Hell Out of Me

2009-06-16T03:23:00.000-07:00

Dark Sector is a game that came out on March 23 for those of us on the PC. And, while it has been around for some time, it wasn't until recently that I got a chance to play it. And, after no more than a few hours, a love/hate relationship was born.

To those of you that haven't played the game, but plan on doing so, stop reading. I'm going to be throwing out some spoilers.

*Ahem* So, with that out of the way, let's continue on this journey, shall we?

The story is pretty standard: you're a military badass sent deep undercover to complete a job that never existed: a high value assassination. Of course, things go wrong and you find yourself on the ass end of an ass kicking, and you're all but left for dead.

In the midst of all this happening, there's an outbreak of a vicious virus that turns anything it comes into contact with into a zombie with metallic skin, that just so happens to be resistant to bullets. So, like any self respecting military badass with little to lose, you manage to get infected, but not too infected (infected enough that you're classifiable as a super-weapon all on your lonesome, though).

Now, while that all makes sense (within the context of the game), there's one gigantic, substantial, huge (and any other words in your thesaurus next to the world "big"), issue that stood out to me. The enemies? The zombies that are made out of metal and have managed to take over most of the futuristic Soviet-bloc that controls the world? They're extremely veunerable to fire and ice. Two things that I happen to know we have a lot of.

Sure, the game is filled with a lot of pure, run and gun goodness -- so don't let this clerical issue deter you from picking up the game if you haven't. It's fun, it genuinely is!

But, as someone that tends to think things through, this really got me squeezing my mind grapes. You'd think that if you've got a rash of Russian romping zombies that have had little issue infesting (what I assume is) most of Eastern Europe, you'd think that someone would have tried throwing a lighter at them by now. Or heck, perhaps someone will spill a slightly chilled drink on one (rude, but it'd get the job done).

At any rate, you'd hope that in a game filled with paper zombies you'd at least get your hands on a flame thrower at some point. Sheesh.

To the Left 4 Dead 2 Haters:

2009-06-11T13:27:00.000-07:00

Recently I've noticed a lot of guff about Valve's decision to release Left 4 Dead 2, instead of improving on the original title.

The main point arguing against L4D 2 is that Valve did little to show that they had faith in the game once they'd released it. There was no additional content, there wasn't much support for the players, and with the release of L4D 2, L4D players will be hung out to dry.

Recently my semi-colleague Nathan Grayson wrote an article on Maximum PC's website, explaining very simply that Valve was doing none of these things (you can read it here). After listing some quotes from Gabe Newell, that very openly describe that there won't be any love lost for the players of L4D, and in fact, Valve is doing everything they can to continue to support the game, Grayson writes:

"Valve gives everyone everything they ask for. As usual. Seriously, how can you whine and gripe at that? It’s like screaming at a fireman for not salvaging your favorite family picture after he saved your mom, dad, cat, dog, potted plant, and sister who you didn’t like all that much and would’ve rather had the picture. Cut Valve some slack people. God forbid you have to actually pay for content every once in a while."

It wasn't long before the hose of hate was aimed at poor Nathan, for standing up for the software giant. Commenters were soon leaving messages that generally carried the tone of "how dare you call us out, we're the ones who are supposed to be getting under your skin!" One such comment read:

"Is anyone else getting as sick of the 'so you actually have to pay for a new game lol!' bullshit as I am? It has nothing to do with money. It has to do with Left 4 Dead being released incomplete, then a month after the content that should have been there at launch is released they say 'Oh, BTW...we're bring out a whole new game!' No matter what gets added to 1 between now and 2's release, it will always be what 1 should have been.
And why will no one so much as respond to the hundreds (thousands?) of people who can't even play the damn game without blue screening? I'd be pissed too if I had bought the game and couldn't even play it while they're announcing the new one less than 7 months after the first one came out. None of it makes any sense."

So let me get this straight. You're upset that people are using an extremely valid argument against your case, that L4D was incomplete, and Valve doesn't have complete control over the random number generator that are PC configurations? Then please, allow me to address these.

First off, it is a money issue. I know for a fact that gamers as a whole aren't rich, I'm one of them. While I was interning at PC Gamer Magazine I took my job extremely seriously when I was reviewing a game, because I was potentially helping someone spend money. Before I was at PCG I often read said magazine to help me make informed buying decisions with my extremely limited gaming budget. So, I understand that people are upset about a second game so soon, but don't write it off as if that's not an issue. After all, it's semi-understandable. Valve has games that stick around for ages (Counter-Strike 1.6, I'm looking at you), so players that invest in it get plenty of bang for their buck. But Nathan is right, this is new content, gamers want new content but they don't want to pay for it. Well I'll tell you what, go look at what the mod community has to offer, there's an endless supply of free content just waiting to be tapped.

Secondly, how was Left 4 Dead incomplete? Alright, so it didn't have Survival at launch -- but I don't remember that being part of the deal. When I got my hands on Left 4 Dead I saw single player, co-op and versus game modes, and while I recognized that there wasn't survival mode, I didn't call the game incomplete simply because it didn't fit my needlessly precise criteria. The fact of the matter is that the game was extremely complete, there were three very re-playable game modes that gave me many hours of gaming goodness (thank you AI director).

And lastly, people's computers are going to bluescreen in any game. ANY game! It doesn't matter if its minesweeper for goodness sake, it's going to happen. PCs come in all shapes, sizes, and operating systems, and Valve does their very best to make their games as compatible across all of them. Sure, there might be something in their game that doesn't agree with video card driver X on motherboard Y when they're all tied together by BIOS Z, but they've got very limited man hours. Accept the fact that the issue may be on the gamer's end, but through not fault of their own. You're more likely to find hay in a needlestack before you find two PCs with duplicate software (all the way down to the driver level) and hardware.

But, while I could go on and on here for days (not really), I feel that Dan Amrich has already handled it extremely well. His post is a bit incendiary, but not for the sake of being quotable. In fact, I'm sure you'll find that he's right. So please, give his post a read, you won't regret the time spent doing so.

The L4D2 boycott at Lepus Lepidus

Hell, It's About Time

2009-06-11T04:55:00.000-07:00

For months now, I've been wanting to do this. I've wanted to have a blog where I can write whatever my little heart desires.

Now, I know what you're thinking; "Andy, don't you have Rogue's Eye View to do that?" And, the answer is yes. But, while I could write on that site with personal information that you don't care about, I've decided to start a new one, so as to not alienate the small audience that still goes there for information.

So, with that in mind, welcome. I'll spend my time here writing about whatever it is that's on my mind, but hopefully still of interest to all six you. I'll do my best to keep it as current as I can, but as you know life has a way of getting busy, so there's no guarantee of that.

But, at any rate, I must be getting to bed. It's 5AM and I haven't had a chance to sleep yet.