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Posts tagged with "PC"

On My Favourite Games, Part 3

Sunday, July 15, 2007 10:03:15 PM

As I continue to build the list in hopes of reaching my top 100 games, I present my current top 42 games (yeah, an odd number for a list, but the best number nonetheless). The order doesn't matter so much, as each game is unique in its own way and has impacted me in their own ways, though, those higher up on the list I either liked more, or have more fond memories from/of. --The grouping has no significance, it just makes it easier to look at the list.--

Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past (SNES)
Civilization 2 (PC)
Rome Total War (PC)
Age of Empires 2 (PC)
Rise of Nations (PC)
Unreal Tournament 2004 (PC)

Medal of Honor Allied Assault (PC)
Winning Eleven 10/ Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (PC)
Advanced Wars: Dual Strike (DS)
Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
Halo: Combat Evolved (custom edition) (PC)
Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced (GBA)/ Final Fantasy Tactics (PS)

Yoshi's Island (SNES)
Super Mario 64 (N64)
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS)/ Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)/ Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS)
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PC)
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
Resident Evil 4 (PS2)

God of War (I & II) (PS2)
Super Mario Bros/Super Mario 2 Bros/Super Mario 3 Bros (NES)
Panzer General (PC)
Deus Ex (PC)
X-Com: UFO Defense (PC)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)

Chrono Cross (PS)
Guild Wars (PC)
Fire Emblem(series) (GBA)
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime (DS)
Final Fantasy VIII (PS)/Final Fantasy II (NES)/Final Fantasy VI (SNES)
Golden Sun/Golden Sun: The Lost Age (GBA)

Meteos (DS)
Tactics Ogre (SNES/PS)/Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis (GBA)
Descent: Freespace - The Great War (PC)
Riviera: The Promised Land/ Yggdra Union (GBA)
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (GBC)
Super Metroid (SNES)

Mario Tennis (GBC)
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64)
Samurai Showdown (SNES)
Windjammers (Neo-Geo)
Sensible Soccer (SNES)
Tennis (GB)

6 comments

On Chalk, Crayon and Seiklus

Thursday, June 28, 2007 4:42:51 PM

discussion, PC, DS

The PC is the great equalizer, not just in terms of news, media and the internet, but also in terms of games and what can be achieved. Developer's for major companies can come up with great ideas, there is no doubting that, but they are limited by a thing called the bottom line, if an idea will only appeal to a very small group of people (when the company wants to reach a large group of people) then the idea probably won't make it into the game. Because of that they cannot explore every possible gameplay design they have thought of, nor can they create and implement every graphical element or style they dream up. This is where the PC (though the consoles may soon be able to do this on a larger scale due to downloadable content) becomes a great avenue for those untapped ideas. While there are many games out there that are innovative, filled with fresh ideas that hopefully will reach a wide audience, the focus for now will be on three (well four, three in a title looks cleaner) for the moment: Chalk, Crayon, Blocksum and Seiklus.

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Chalk in Action

Chalk is a brilliant game with a simple premise that gives way to a very enjoyable time. Put simply, you control a character who floats through scrolling levels, you can draw using chalk anywhere on the screen (though you have a limit of time to how much chalk is in each line). Using this premise the game throws enemies and environmental object your way, you must use the chalk to make different combos (such as drawing a chalk line from an enemy's bullet to the enemy in order to hurt the enemy) while at the same time using the chalk to protect your character from harm (such as drawing a shield made of chalk to protect your character from oncoming bullets). These simple elements give way to much fun as the game adds twist to the basic premise (especially during boss fights) to keep you thinking about how to best use the chalk. When first playing this game, many would think of how good it would be on the Nintendo DS, direct control of the chalk due to the touchscreen would greatly enhance the players accuracy, plus it could be assume the developer could come up with a creative way to use the second screen. Maybe someday we will see a game like this on the Nintendo DS, as the system still has much to offer. This game is almost a childhood dream come to life, a chalkboard coming to life as you battle different enemies and solving puzzles; easily a game worth playing.

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An example of Crayon outside normal gameplay, took couple of minutes

Crayon has certain gameplay elements similar to Chalk, and is just as fun (probably more so depending on how you choose to play). In this game you aim to solve puzzles by getting a rolling ball to a star using your ability to draw objects on the screen (for the most part rectangular objects). At its most basic it is a puzzle game in which you are given certain parameters in which to get an object from point A to point B, but there is much more to the game than that, if only you have the mindset to explore and go beyond just solving puzzles. The game utilizes some degree of physics on every object you create, so if you draw a rectangle half off of a cliff, it will most likely tip and fall off. This physics engine comes into play is during regular gameplay, but once you beat the game (which would take a relatively short time) you can play around with this engine, trying to see how you either can solve the same puzzle but in a more elaborate (or simple) way. Also, though, you can play with the engine, try to create a balance and see how much weight you can continually put on each side to keep it balanced or even construct a simply building and see how much stuff you can put on it while keeping it upright (the example above implements both these idea in one structure). This is nothing extremely new, but the context, drawing with crayons, is simple and fun and can be enjoyed by most anyone.

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Over to soon?

The two previous titles have one issue that traditional developers might see, they are too short. This is less of a problem as it is a stigma, the video game industry has cultivated this thought that if a game is not a certain length (such as the 10 hour campaign length for a First Person Shooter) then the length of the game should be extended by either adding more levels or increasing the difficulty. This seems wrong on a fundamental level, are books lengthened on purpose because they are not perceived to be long enough? No usually. This may actually be hindering the industry as good ideas that are better played for a short period of time are destroyed or changed in order for the play time to be increased, but more on that in a later post, now on to the great puzzler Blocksum.

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Blocksum

Blocksum is a puzzler, somewhat in the same vein as tetris in that you want to stop the blocks from filling up the screen, but from there the comparison ends (mostly). The premise of the game is to clear the blocks (each block has a number such as 1, 2 or 5) that appear by adding blocks that touch each other together. The best way to explain the next part is an example, suppose there were four number 1 blocks, you connect one pair on number 1 blocks and then connect the other pair of number 1 blocks, this creates two number 2 blocks which are then cleared. If the same thing happened, but the blocks added up to three, you would need at least three number 3 blocks to clear the number 3 blocks. Once you are playing the game it is all very simple, but this game brings up a great issue, how to make educational games fun. It seems sometimes that many educational games figure out the education part first then tact on the game, usually bringing about subpar results. While the author of this game probably was not intending to make it for educational purposes, if applied right this game could be a great way to kids to learn their basic numbers and adding them in different ways (and looking a step further, if instead of adding each touching block it multiplied them, you could do even more). This game is fun and addictive and it could be seen (once played) how this could be very educational, hopefully in the future more developers will think of an interesting gameplay idea then add on the educational parts as they go (or like Blocksum (and to some extent games like Age of Empires) make them educational without knowing).

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Seiklus

Seiklus is a game like Knytt, or more accurately Knytt is a game like Seiklus. In the post previous to this the game Knytt is reviewed and many of the points such as the great atmosphere created in the game, are represented greatly here. This game is talked about here less for the innovation it brings and more for what the industry needs, a short (couple hours at most) game that is highly enjoyable and probably would not have been made better by adding onto its length. This game is everything a platformer should be: the level design is great; the character has weight and is easy to control; and the atmosphere is great, from the music to the look of each level. It would be a joy to see, instead of the next 2 million pixel per gun FPS, a game like this on the Xbox360, PS3 or Wii (or PC), use the increase power of those systems to create a gorgeous 2-D platformer that does not aim to be the next Halo, Gran Turismo or Metal Gear Solid. With the introduction of the different Marketplaces on each console, the game would not have to be a full retail release, just pay $5 and get a short but sweet experience that a longer game cannot replicate. When playing this game you start to wonder why every game that comes out, even 'simple' platformers, tend to have health bars, lives and some sort of gimmick to keep things complicated (and supposedly interesting). This game you have no real health bar, lives or gimmicky system, like Knytt this game is pure platforming, running and jumping and exploring a world ready to be taken in. While complicated systems and game mechanics are fine and enjoyable, sometimes it is fun once in awhile to be able to just react and take in the game world without having to worry about whether you have enough gold to buy the new sword in the next city.

Downloads for the Games:
Seiklus
Crayon
Chalk
Blocksum

3 comments

On Gaming Culture, part 4

Sunday, June 4, 2006 7:42:29 PM

discussion, games, PC

Why is it that recently, though this is open to debate, many people within and outside the industry are declaring it dead, void of innovation and having no clear path as the where to go next? Why is it that people complain about sequels, ports and games that just get the job done? Why is it when a Madden 20xx comes along people cry foul at the dominance of sequels and ports but at the same time these sequels and ports do so well. Why is it then that gamers themselves cry for innovative new genres and games yet the top selling games are usually not those innovative ones? It is within this framework of mind that I will try to paint a picture of what is right, and wrong, about the current state of the people commenting on the industry and the industry itself.

When people say that the industry is stagnant I really don't get what then mean, especially after the success of the DS and the great looking things coming from the Wii, plus all the great and generally fun looking games coming out across all platforms. It is possible then that these people, who sit on their silver pedestals and declare innovation dead, are really just not looking hard enough, and are expecting something where there is nothing. Why not perfect( or get as close to perfection as possible) the current genre's that have flourished for so long. It still seems that for every Tactics Ogre there is an Onimusha Tactics, for every Rise of Nations there is a Empire Earth( I like the game, but many key elements fall short). All the people say that the industry has no where to go, but how about we cover the base first. Really would a military start researching a new technology while its current technology is partially broken and doesn't always deliver reliable results? They might but they would rather( hopefully) cover there bases, pun intended, than seek out something new and risk losing them. The same thing with the gaming industry, I hope to see many of the current genre's refined to near perfection while at the same time see others forge new path, after more of the same, but better, isn't in any way bad.

Now of course people will ask, give us an example of such a genre tha could be perfected or near perfected, in the near future, the easiest place to look I think is the RPG. I'll use square-enix rather than Atlus or Nippon Ichi as an example, because they have a much larger catalogue( that I'm familiar with) to draw on. If you read reviews on many of the square-enix games out right now, mostly many of the less big name ones, you notice that many of there reviewers talk about how one element of the game excels extremely well, whether it be the battle system, the story, the look of the game/art style, the adventuring, the small innovations. Now consider if square-enix was to bring together all the best aspects of each game cohesively, imagine the possibilities. Now of course since it was so many people and directors that probably oversaw each of these games this would be hard to do, but if they even if got many of these parts right it would still make a fantastic game. Of course that all depends on whether they can bring these pieces together while still making a great and fun to play game.

Another place in the industry where there seems to be a lot of failure is combining two or more genres( besides the rather good combos of RTS/RPG). But what seems to happen more rarely is for a game to forget that it has two of more genre's flowing through its veins and instead of just letting them operate on there own, they try to mash them together. Why have a FPS were the RPG elements are forced upon you, why not have the game separated into different segments, with adventure parts being primarily RPG while the FPS parts can be made for just the 'random encounters' or other forms of combat. While this is sometimes done, many times the RPG element of the game is shoved down the throat of the player when they just feel like playing an FPS. It is hard to describe but it seems like some games are taking this up more, one game in the past that did this combination of genres well but without squishing them together is X-Com. Play that game and you will see what I mean.

On the other hand you can look at all the things that the gaming industry is doing right at the moment, and looking and the nice flow of good games I would say that we are far from stagnant. But while many games push to have better 3D visuals that might add another layer to the games, many times these new graphics effects are no more that eye candy, and they in no way contribute to adding the the experience other than added 'realism' What I really hope to see, Super Paper Mario can be seen as an example of this, is people to use this new graphical power for things other than HDR lighting, 1000 different filters per pixel and other things associated with 'next-gen' games. Wouldn't it be great if someone were to use this new power to create an adventure that doesn't have all the sheen and blinding light that seems to dominate most current games?

How about a game that can look as good as any of Hayao Miyazaki's motion pictures, imagine a world as colorful, vibrant and fun to explorer as the worlds that Miyazaki creates. I'm not saying that someone isn't already doing this, many people are trying but as development cost rise it will be a rare commodity to see, a game such as Kurayami looks like it might fall in this category. At the same time this gets to the heart of the problem with many people who comment on the industry, they talk about how the increase in graphics and the new coat of paint is bad, that it further degrades the quality of games, because they will now focus on the look rather than the substance, and I have to disagree with many people here, because in a sense it is almost a cliche by now to say that. People always think of the old days, how how if games were simpler they would be better, but many times this isn't the case and nostalgia plays fiddle with our brains. Why can't these people really be open-minded, instead of trying to sound open minded while really being close minded about the future of games, a future where innovation thrives and sequels wither and die. As is known, this will never happen, so why not instead focus on the games that deliver more of the same, games that refine what we already know and love, rather than ditch what we have in a headlong race toward 'innovation' which is truly only seen in the eye of the beholder, after all what I consider innovation, might not be innovation to you.

No comments

On Gaming Culutre, Part 3

Saturday, April 8, 2006 2:46:56 AM

culture, discussion, games, PC

Competition, it is the bases of many games, without it would there be a Halo2? A UT2004? But what about games that encourage things beyond competition, such as cooperation. Can there be another way to interact with a game besides either of these two factors coming into play? I can't answer this question because I'm born and raised( like most of the human population) with the notion that you are either in competition with someone or in cooperation with someone. We are also taught the safest route which is usually neutrality, but how can you make an interesting two-player game were each player is alway neutral to the other, neither being able to help the other. This too I cannot answer but I will say this, what if a game was made that was all about cooperation, were no human players are in competition with one another? Would this be possible and if so would it be interesting?

In short, I think it would, though this depends on your outlook in life. Imagine that everyone started with a plot, of let's say, farm land. Now the first thing that usually comes to mind is competition, all the farmers want to outproduce the other. But let us say for now that none of them are in competition but they are really all in cooperation with each other, all trying to reach a certain goal, whether that be in the output of materials or just how well they live. By now I'm sure some of you are getting socialist/communist vibes emitting from this article, but that is not all I'm trying to portray. Now since all these farmers are in cooperation with each other you might think, what's the point of playing if you can't beat another person, or you can't win?

And this is were I see a future problem with the gaming industry as it moves along. Unlike other mediums, such as movies or art, gaming is interactive, so if the person taking part in the experience is not having some kind of physical and mental stimuli then the game isn't all that good. While on the other hand this is not the case with art or movies, which you just watch. If in a game there is no competition, either by way of two-players/one-player versus the computer or player versus player, then the game usually won't last long. Why is that? How can it be that without beating someone a game can't be fun?

Now some might then point to the Sims, which is a great example of a game that has no real competition, besides the occasional other person going after your boy-girl-friend thing, but at the same time it is still a blast to play. The gaming industry should use this example, of a game that has no real competition but is still fun to play none the less. Now I'm not saying that the game produced from this idea has to be in the same genre as the Sims, but it should at least try to emulate that feeling you can get without having to defeat someone.

Another great example some might point out is tetris or the puzzle genre at large. A lot of these games have you competing, though in a slightly less obvious way. Most you are either competing time or competing with the computer and how fast it can make blocks fall on your board(even in teris this is true, though there is no computer opponent there is still the faster rate at which the blocks fall). Or even sometimes you are playing or trying to beat yourself.

In conclusion it would be great if a gaming company would stand-up and offer up a couple of games that don't have you beating someone or yourself. Wouldn't it be great if we could have a game were we didn't have to win, but we could still have fun nonetheless?

No comments

On Macs and PCs

Thursday, March 9, 2006 10:38:03 PM

Macs, PC, discussion

No this is not another rant about which is better, like the PSP and DS they both have their strenghts and weaknesses, this is about some people who really make the connection as to why some people defend the Mac or the PC to death.

"Jeff goes on to point to an article from Ed Stroglio that tried to explain it: "For PCers, a computer is a tool, an animated screwdriver. You don't have an "experience" with a screwdriver. It either works well or it doesn't. If it does, you like it; if it doesn't, you don't. You don't admire its aesthetic features, or find one a reflection of your good taste, or a symbol that proves you're an {fill in the blanks: admirable, special, creative, artistic} person. For Macsters, it's just the opposite. The object is an extension of themselves just as much as their clothing or interior decoration, it's a part of them in a way a PC never is for a PCer."-from http://www.furrygoat.com/2005/01/pleasure_and_th.html#comment-14851262

This comment goes two ways, for one the comment "For PCers, a computer is a tool, an animated screwdriver." is false, it shows that the author wants to prove a point with no ground, he generalizes. But if you read on you continue to see his logic and it slowly makes sense what he says, even if he is still generalizing. This is one of the cases that even though the logic is right, it still seems to get the reader against you. Now once you read the article it goes from a Mac loving to a somewhat Mac bashing. This is a very intresting read, get the full article here.

To remedy the author someone commenting on him says a great comment, "While I certainly don't agree that Windows is 'dumb, arrogant and disposable', I primarily view them (as Ed mentions) more as 'tools'. Contrast that to the entirely different experience firing up Windows Media Center (even though it's basically Windows XP): it's exciting and much more captivating than when I start my day to day tasks staring at the start bar on Windows XP or 2003. Starting up Media Center feels like I'm about to experience something cool and I'm in complete control of it."- from http://www.furrygoat.com/2005/01/pleasure_and_th.html#comment-14851262

No comments

Spore, the power of the human mind.

Friday, March 3, 2006 10:26:06 PM

discussion, PC

Most of you have probably heard of this game, its called Spore, by Will Wright, one of gaming's luminaries along side Hideo, Firaxis and Miyamoto.
If you go here and see a 35 minutes video of him demostrating the game, a rare treat at what promises to be a great game. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8372603330420559198&q=Spore

This game of course raises the issue of how many more ideas are left in gaming, there is only so much you can do before it becomes stale and repetative. Well if this game is any indication then we have a long time to go before the well runs dry.
Also take a look at this game http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/adventure/okami/index.html?q=okami
This game really showcases what games can do and what they still have left to do. Yes, this games shows that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

But if you think about it the human mind's imagination is were the limit of games can go, and as long as humans continue to progress, to change, evolve and discover then the human imagination will be just as boundless, let's hope that it can be translated into games and not always go to waste on the next iteration of madden or dynasty warriors.

That's my two cents, tell me what you think.

1 comment

The Gimpy Penguin

Friday, March 3, 2006 4:50:59 AM

games, Google, PC, Macs ...

Some of the meaning and feeling of me and my friends blog was lost in the translation(had to do it manually because we hosted off of blogger and .tk so opera couldn't upload) but i hope you guys get the humor and like it. Please comment on what you think.

Friday, January 06, 2006
Okay. Finally got my 360 from the hellish store of Software Etc... It is AMAZING!!! Michael thinks that I only care about graphics, but that's not the only thing. I have PGR 3 and Perfect Dark Zero. Their game play is incredible. The A.I. on the box is well intelligent. It learns what I do in both games. With PGR 3, if I play a platinum game over and over again, it learns from its mistakes and doesn't make them again. In PDZ, the enemies are smart and creative. The graphics are also perfect. They are a step up from the original box and look real... well as real as they can get. You can see sweet, or a bug flying in your face. Overall, Xbox 360 is most likely the best money I have spent in a long time. Eat that Sony, you shit heads...

Trevo :~: 9:51 PM

Sunday, November 20, 2005
I HATE SOFTWARE ETC...!!! THEY ARE THE WORST PEOPLE TO BUY ANYTHING FROM. I RESERVED MY 360 IN AUGUST, AND I WON'T GET IT FOR 1-3 WEEKS AFTER THE RELEASE. THEY CLAIM THAT THEY BEGAN RESERVATIONS IN MAY, BUT I CALLED THEM IN BOTH JUNE AND JULY ASKING ABOUT RESERVATIONS. THEY SAID THAT THEY HADN'T BEGUN TO TAKE RESERVATIONS. BULLSHIT, THOSE FUCKING LIARS. I WANT TO KILL THEM ALL!!!!!!!

To lighter news, 360's graphics are extremely nice. Also, game play is incredible. Because of the almost 10g's of computing power, it moves like a Bugatti, a fast Bugatti, they don't make slow Bugatti's. I have also looked at PS3's stats... there is a lot of stuff, but when you put it all together, it is too much. Sony, who don't wear pants, want to try and market this not only to gamers, but to houses, in an attempt to rule the DVD player market as well. Blu-Ray would be nice, if they can get it to work by the release date. Overall, sony is going to produce their most expensive product yet...actually I take that back, asking 20,000 dollars for a plasma T.V is a bit pricey.

BURN IN HELL SOFTWARE ETC!!!

Trevo :~: 11:11 AM

Thursday, November 17, 2005
Is this site really dead Trevor, maybe it will go in phases, lots of updates then a dry spell, but whatever. Yes the xbox360 will come out in 5 days, go here for all the xbox360 reviews and news. The s*** goes down in 5 days, are you ready?

Calvin :~: 3:04 PM

Wednesday, November 16, 2005
It seems that this "website" has been neglected. So much for Michael and dedication. Sorry pal. Well, 360 in 6 days. Should be good. Microsoft has had to step up production of more 360's because they have already had to fill the demand for over 3 million orders. Eat that Sony. Eat your pants. By the time that PS3 does finally come out of Sony, Xbox 360 will have had the time to spread the word. People who own 360's will tell PS3 people, "Why wait for something when you can have it now, get 360." I would say that Microsoft will make a profit from this. If everyone reserved the standard edt. then...
3,000,000 x 300= 900,000,000 dollars
but if everyone got the Core system, then...
3,000,000 x 400= 1,200,000,000 dollars
So averaging the sales of the two versions...
3,000,000 x 350= 1,050,000,000 dollars
Plus, the regular system can't save games, so to get a hard drive is another 100 bucks or the memory card which is 40 bucks, so conservativly, if everyone who got the standard system bought just a card...
3,000,000(assuming everyone has a standard system) x 40= 120,000,000 dollars
So Microsoft should take in at least a billion five just from the first wave of consumers. Also,'tis the holiday season, more parents in the market, humm?
The system itself won't be that incredible graphics wise, but game play will go unmatched until Xbox 720! Ready for 2010.

Trevo :~: 8:39 PM

Friday, November 04, 2005
First of all you might want to work on the whole .tk extention not working anymore. But I thought people would get a kick out of this:

Just a little information about the PS3

Alex :~: 9:07 PM

Wednesday, November 02, 2005
A blog for no reason but to keep the .tk status from going insane.

XBOX 360 IN 18 DAYS!!!!!

Trevo :~: 7:38 PM

Sunday, October 23, 2005
A major research institution has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest chemical element yet known to science. The new element has been tentatively named Governmentium. Governmentium has 1 neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 224 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of governmentium causes one reaction to take over 4 days to complete when it would normally take less than a second. Also characterized by the fact that the morons become excited by budgets causing them to spin at great speed in random directions while actually producing no energy.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 3 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each re-organization will cause some morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron-promotion leads some scientists to speculate that governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as Critical Morass.

Intresting, courtesy of http://www.wickedsunshine.com

Calvin :~: 7:17 PM

You know you love it. Save it or zoom up so you can read and see all the details that they put in for the credits.

Calvin :~: 6:47 PM

Sunday, October 16, 2005
First to answer trevors question of why Calvin, because he is one of the single greatest characters of all times, as in Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. Also i don't dislike the Xbox360, i just don't like the way Microsoft is going about doing the bussiness end of it, such as having the 'Core' system and the Premium system. I might buy one, probably not just because i don't have the money and the PS3 is the PS3, so i might look into that. The revolution i cannot have an opinion on since i have no clue how it plays, the Xbox360 and the PS3 both have the same basic idea, but the controller does look intriguing if a little apple like. Well enough with my rambling I hope you all have an exciting and eventful week, like these guys.

Calvin :~: 9:54 PM

Well I decided to post a new blog post thing. Telling anyone here that if you email me an idea for
a HTML code tutorial at my email then I will put it up here tomorow. Just remember I can't
publish blogs with JavaScript in them.

Alex :~: 4:23 PM

Thursday, October 13, 2005
Also B, why Calvin?

Trevo :~: 10:10 PM

Calvin, I thought that we saw eye-to-eye. I guess not. A sad day for the world of man.

It is the next best thing to happen to this world, unless Aston Martin releases the DB11. But this...

this is just a disk drive that has a cool blue light coming from it. And the controller, however "revolutionary" it might be, is also pointless. Kids DO NOT play games to jump around their TV's, they play them to sit there and play, not run around with their head chopped of. The plain and simple truth. Also, I'm I know why 360 doesn't have built-in Wi-Fi... Since it runs off an extension XP Media Center, it might be prone to viruses, because it is just that cool.

Trevo :~: 9:44 PM

Well i guess then that the Ipod nano is already out of style, ha and it hasn't been out that long, soon we will have a Ipod nano, no wait it plays videos and its priced even higher. Well anyway Socom 3 came out, big day for PS2 fans i guess, the last bastion against the oncomming onslaught of the Xbox360 games and what not, if you want to know more go here for the most badly designed flash site every. Get ready for the HD Era(tm) of gamming as Microsoft calls it, because as we know everyone has a HD tv or two now. Well thats all for now, over the weekend i hope to have a more involed post.

Calvin :~: 8:51 PM

Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Also...Also, Apple has released something even newer, the iPod. No, now you can watch movies on it, on the 2.5 inch screen. Meanwhile, Creative has had the Zen Vision and the Media Center out forever that have a much bigger screen, and run off of XP. So, which is better...hum? Well, the 30-gig iPod cost $299. It can hold 7,500 songs. Creative has quite a few 20-gig mp3 players that hold 10,000 songs, so where is all that memory going? The Zen Vision costs $399. It has a 3.7 inch screen, upgradable memory with the compact flash reader built in. So in the future, when there are 20-gig cards, you have 50-gigs without buying something new. It has a built in IR port for wireless control. You can hook the dock up to entertainment center and run movies you might on the Vision through you T.V. It has a mic, can hold 15,000 songs, that's twice the memory of the iPod and it is cooler.

Trevo :~: 6:52 PM

Also, the Zen Mircophoto is on sale at Best Buy. It is the 8-gig that costs $250, so the other info before was shit, so go get off your computer and buy one... or 117. Why not?
iPods Now Suck Even More!!! Viva la Creative!!!

Trevo :~: 6:46 PM

Perfect...

Trevo :~: 6:40 PM

Monday, October 10, 2005
Going to make a quick post. Black and White 2 is getting average rating, Lionheart gets what it deserves the first game was crap and yet it was praised like no other, guess the hype worked. Anyway the earthquake in Pakistan/India is very sad, 20,000+ may be dead! Well hope you all have a good day. Oh and Trevor, i love the Aston Martin DB9, its beutiful.

Calvin :~: 7:43 PM

Saturday, October 08, 2005
Who doesn't like fine cars? Audi, Bentley, Jaguar,Maserati, Maybach, Rolls-Royce. If you have never heard of at least 4 of those cars, then please go to the sites
Audi
Bentley
Jaguar
Maserati
Maybach
Rolls-Royce

But the greatest car in the world has to be without a doubt the Aston Martin DB9, God of the Cars. It is in a word, Perfect.
Aston Martin or go directly to the Aston Martin DB9

Notice how BMW, Porsche, Mercedes- Benz and Ferrari aren't among the greatest. Ferrari is a nice car company, but they have become to known!

Trevo :~: 4:08 PM

Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Calvin, let us just hope that the Peter Jackson thing is just a rumor like they say. Halo does not need horses in it unless they are genetically modified horses with body armor and can shoot guns and wield energy swords. Also, from Alex's mom, our school is going to put up shades in the plaza. Yeah, just what we need, another way to waste money i.e.- the lights that they installed on the houses. Also, our school is rumored to have over 200 cameras, so be careful what you do in your locker !!!

Trevo :~: 8:46 PM

It came from ebay biatch

Uncle Bobâ€™s Glass Eye

Life-size robot mannequin cowboy

Razor-blade in an unopened bottle of Pepsi

TeenFlirt17

Dawsonâ€™s Creek Laundry Basket

Custom Turtle-created abstract art

Please Save Ernieâ€™s Leg

Flatuloconomizer with built-in cell phone charger

Michael :~: 7:51 PM

Lol, maybe we need to find another cool html thing, just to spice up the page a bit, maybe we need some flash inspiration. Maybe we need some flash cartoons to spiced it up a little. Anyway, if you haven't already heard Peter Jackson is going to direct the Halo movie, you can read a full article Here
An exciting message awaits!

Calvin :~: 7:46 PM

Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Trevor,
Why is Tux down there going from side to side? Are you a linux user now?!??!

Alex :~: 8:36 PM

Also I congratulate Michael on admitting that the Zen Microphoto is the best mp3 player ever and that iPods do suck and that he is going to throw his mini off the B-buildings stairs asap.

iPods SUCK!!!

WOW

COOL

AMAZING

THANK YOU ALEX

_

Trevo :~: 8:19 PM

Go to your nearest Apple store and on the big 32 inch monitor, access the internet. Go to anti-apple.com and make sure that you can see the following very clear...

Thank you Alex for the inspiration and this blog is from Alex from me...

Trevo :~: 8:08 PM

Monday, October 03, 2005
Zen indoctrinization, love it. Got a new member, this site is picking up again. Now if you all haven't already seen the new gamespot here it is,

|Gamespot|

Lol, taking a cue from Alex's post, need to liven my post up a bit, lol. What do you think fo the new gamespot? Oh and look for the NBA 2k6 screens, they're awsome.

Calvin :~: 10:18 PM

I'm blogging from my palm!!!

Trevo :~: 9:53 PM

The HTML Code Tutorial of the Week

Well hello there and welcome to the first edition of "The HTML Code Tutorial of the Week" today we are going to begin with a very simple code set up which produces something that everyone will find cool! It is called the Marquee and is one of the simplest codes to learn.

The marquee code is as folows "Marquee Your Text Here /Marquee" with <> around marquee and /marquee. All you have to do is plug the total of 4 <> in and choose what you want your marquee to say!
This is a marquee!

For more advanced users you can try these codes "Marquee behavior="alternate" Your text here /Marquee" again with <> around each end. This will produce something like this:
The Alternate Marquee

If you have anymore questions about the Marquee tool just send me an email here and keep on coding.

Alex :~: 7:24 PM

Sunday, October 02, 2005
Another thing about Apple is that they are thieves of names. Creative has had a mp3 player called the Nano for some time now. It is actually uber small like the name Nano implies and it also comes in 10 colors too.

Trevo :~: 5:42 PM

If you have questions about mp3 files and mp3 players click here

Trevo :~: 5:17 PM

Saturday, October 01, 2005
Just some facts for the Creative Zen Microphoto. The 5-gig version will cost $299 and the 6-gig version will cost $349. But they are worth it.

For more info about the Zen Microphoto click here

Trevo :~: 11:19 AM

Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Hey guys....Im back. I have been super busy but now I plan to post as much as i can. I promise.
There is an awsome web site I think you should all visit. That is if you haven't already. Its called Pure Volume. It has become one of my favorate websites. Both signed bands and unsigned bands alike can post thier music on the site. The service is free...but if you want more brandwith and more webspace, there is a small monthly fee. The site is awsome. I've discovered some great un-signed artists and even some new up and coming signed artists. Almost every popular alternitive band can be found on the site....so if you are looking for a good place to get a stream of your favorate song, Pure Volume is the place to go. This is a great service for those of you who want to get your music out there. Many bands have got record deals becase they become so popular on this site. Check into it. It's cool.

Pure Volume

-peace out

Michael :~: 8:13 PM

Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Love you picture Trevor. Now onto cool site i found, even if i don't know what they are about, here are a couple:
FutureFarm
WorldWideDesigners2007-This one is an especially cool one
Philip Koether Architects-Intresting
CD Box-Odd, yet compelling
Cbcradio-Maybe not as interactive as the last 4 but still has a nice design to it.

That is all for now, I hope to be bring you all more intresting websites soon.

Calvin :~: 8:59 PM

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Trevo :~: 5:27 PM

Saturday, September 17, 2005
Thanks Trevor for the info, sounds like a pretty sweet computer to me. On the not about the CREATIVE and ipod mini, the CREATIVE is clearly better, the Apple ipod series is overhyped and overrated to the point that it makes me sick. There are alot of other mp3(and other media files) players out there and the ipod is not the best one. For one they make you pay $249 for what, 4 gigs of space(i'm going on the nano here) when some like Zen offer a better deal and I think also look cooler.

But onto gaming news. As you probably all heard nintendo has revealed its revolution controller, which you can find about here.

Calvin :~: 9:53 PM

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Wow Trevor. Can you please save that post of yours for the forums? Thanks.

Anywayz....

So the iPod nano was unveiled today. I must say, it is quite sexy. I have to say I am a little disappointed though. I mean. 200 dollars for a 2 gig mp3 player is simply outrageous. What kind of ticks me off is that Apple knows that they are the leader in Mp3 playback hardware. So basically they charge whatever they want. I can buy a 20 gig external hard drive for 45 bucks on new egg!! Another thing that ticks me off is that they take out their 6 gig models and replace them with 2 gig!! That makes no sense to me.

The ipod cell phone didnâ€™t really impress me. mp3 playback on phones isn't anything new. And a phone with quicktime codecs doesnâ€™t really tute my horn either. I am sure they are going to change an arm and a leg for it too. And people will buy it.

itunes 5 is out. And this is something I wonâ€™t bash. itunes software continues to deliver. I like the new look and the fact that you can put your playlists in folders now.

Well I think im about done ranting for today...cya!

Michael :~: 8:42 PM

This is to Michael. I am at the Apple website, looking for any specs on your iPod (notice how it is spelled) and here is what I have found.
1) They don't even sell your Mini anymore, they now have the Nano, the new Apple piece of junk that you could lose if it were in your pocket.
2) Straight from the site, under the 20 gig iPod, here are the specs (real shocker)
Specifications
Color Display
5.9 ounces
2.4 x 4.1 x .63 inches

Here is my Creative Zen Micro's specs...
Technical Specifications

Size WxHxD: 2" x 3.3" x 0.7"

Weight: 3.8 oz with removable battery

Storage Capacity:1

4GB (2,000 songs2)
5GB (2,500 songs2)
6GB (3,000 songs2)

Battery Life:3 Up to 12 hours of continuous playtime with removable lithium ion rechargeable battery

Interface: USB 2.0 (backward compatible with USB 1.1)

Playback Format: MPEG Audio Layer 3 (MP3), Windows MediaÃ‚Â™ Audio (WMA) and WAV

Signal-to-Noise Ratio: up to 98dB

Display: 160 x 104 pixel resolution, blue EL backlit LCD

Features:

FM radio, FM recorder and voice recorder

Contacts, calendar and tasks

Repeat, resume, and random play

Sleep and wake timers

Customizable main menu

Functions as an external hard drive

8 EQ settings (Acoustic, classical, disco, jazz, new age, pop, rock and vocal)

Now, I don't see any specs like this on Apple's site. To have your Mini record anything, you have to buy an attachment. You Mini can only use Apple's anal music format. Your Mini cost more than my Micro and mine holds more. Yours doesn't have a radio, radio recorder, alarm clock, doesn't come in 10 colors, and isn't completely touch pad. Also, what really bothers me about iPods is the wheel. What the hell is the point for going around in circles to do everything!!! Why not just a nice, straight line, like on mine! Also, I can change my battery without having to take it somewhere and pay 100 bucks to have it replaced. Finally, the signal to noise ratio is the highest of any mp3 player on the market to this day. That is how they sold their entire campaign for this mp3 player.
That was fun.
Thank You Michael.

To Calvin
The only thing I know about my comp is that it has 1.5 Terabytes and a gig and a half of RAM. Whatever else is in there is unknown to me because, I will admit, I don't know that much about computers, just how to type and fix minor things... as well as how to buy things from them. Soon, Michael will invite my friend Alex to this site and you two can talk because he knows one million times more things about technology thatn I will ever.

Finally, Xbox 360, which I have reserved, is only going to cost me 200 bucks because I'm paying for half. Michael can sing about PS3 till his lungs cave in, but the truth is that Microsoft has made the jump FIRST into the High-Def gaming world, and that is something that will destroy the overall sales of PS3. And, the reason why Microsoft didn't make any profit for two years is because they WERE novices in the gaming industry. To tell you the truth, I wanted to get PS2, but my brother showed me enough facts that compared the two, that he changed my mind. I can wait till Microsoft and Bungie releases Halo 3 the same day that Sony releases PS3. I think that I'll record that day in voice and listen to it on my better than iPod, CREATIVE.

Trevo :~: 8:31 PM

Tuesday, September 06, 2005
I like to say I am liking the revival of Gimpy Penguin and hope that we can get new mebers on board. About this whole argument on the xbox and the xbox360 I really think that both Micheal and Trevor are being baised toward their two favorite systems. Xbox does have some good games such as Fable, Jade Empire,
Crimson Skies, Prince of Persia, GTA(series), and I could go on. But Trevor how rich can you be to pre-order a xbox360, unless you are getting a core system you are going to be like paying upwards of $650, i mean the controllers themselves cost $50 a piece. But the PS3 will probably be equally priced so you can't use that against the xbox360. This should be a intresting next-gen for videogames, but gba still rules all! Anyway I will probably post some tech stuff if anyone is intresting or some gaming news, plus Trevor could you post or send me the specs for your PC, till next time.

Calvin :~: 9:55 PM

Well I guess this would be my first real post since i started the site and I would like to start by saying that I disagree with Trevor completely. Ipods really DO have supiror sound qualaty, trust me I hate saying that about somthing as trendy as ipods...but it has been tested...they are better. I had to buy one for myself.

TODAY IN TECH

*sigh* According to theinquirer.net, the blu ray drive on the PS3 is going to cost sony 100 bucks a pop. This is quite pricy considering the HD-DVDs on the 360 and revolution cost about 50 bucks. This worries me. I mean they said that the new nVidia card on this baby is of $600 value. I hope this isn't xbox all over again. Microsoft made no profit on the xbox for 2 years ya know!
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=25901

Here is somthing i think all of you should read : http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=3186

This really pisses me off....I think i might boycot Pay Pal now.

EBAY!!!!

Halloween horror props

The beard of a Scotsman

Autographed Scarface script

Spiderman suit

Michael :~: 7:05 PM

Monday, September 05, 2005
Contrary to what Michael says, I really don't care about computers
that much. The only reason why I have a some outrageous computer is
because my father enjoys buying things for me. On the other hand, I do
like other things about my computer. Having the infinite amount for
space allows for limitless downloads for anything and about anything.
I do have this rocking sound system for Logitech called the Logitech
Z-5500 Digital, and they are amazing for listening to anything. I also
like my Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard and Mouse for Microsoft. The only
other thing I like about my computer is the Sony 20.1 inch StylePro Series LCD Display.
Now, I think that Michael is a good friend, but he is also a bit of a
Nazi. He stole my DVD for almost 8 weeks and then tells me that he
couldn't make a copy of it for me. He also will never understand that
all the Playstations that have been created in the world will never
equal Xbox. Now I'm sure that that makes some of you want to post
comments (for who ever in the name of god read this), which is why I
have clicked the little circle on the bottom allowing my to block all
comment posting. So ha. I am proud to own a Xbox and have already
reserved my Xbox 360 which I am proud to own.

If you like computers check out the following:
Voodoo PC
Widow PC
You could go to Alienware , but
they are too known.

OR

If you like speakers that cost more than cars, check out the following:
Paradigm
Bowers And Wilkins
Bang And Olufsen
and Bose
YOU WILL NOT SEE PRICES AT PARADIGM, BOWERS AND WILKINS OR BANG AND
OLUFSEN BECAUSE THEY ALL COST TOO MUCH, BUT THEY ARE ALL WORTH IT
(Bose is okay for the Quiet Comfort Headphones that I have, but that
is really it)(Bang and Olufson have speakers called the Beo Lab 5
which cost 17,000 each and have more technology in them than Bill
Gates)

ALSO, IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THEM, JUST SEND AN EMAIL TO
Me

Also...iPODs are evil, buy a creative from Creative

Trevo :~: 7:47 PM

Sunday, August 28, 2005
Hello everyone. Welcome to the Gimpy Penguin. A couple months ago I tried to start up this blog but I sort of lost interest. Now I'm back. And now that I am in school I have gained a new sense of motivation. I am going get a domain name, a forum and some member profiles.

The Gimpy Penguin is a blog. No...Not some angsty my space or xanga. Blogging was much different before My Space came along. A blog was just a website. If you were to look up "Blog" on an internet dictionary 2 years ago, it would tell you that a blog is "a website for people with an unhealthy interest in computers". But blogging has changed. It's become a main outlet to teenage drama. It's stupid. This is a real blog. It will not contain gossip....nor teenage angst. It will contain Tech News, Movie, Book, Music and Video Game reviews. Basically. This is a blog for me and my tech savvy pals.

My friend B is also going to be posting on this blog, and if anyone else is interested in posting, feel free to ask. I would love too get more people on the Gimpy Penguin crew.

Our new domain name is www.gimpypenguin.tk. And our forum should be up very soon. My first real post will be in the next couple days. So stay posted. I think this blog will be a lot of fun.

Michael :~: 9:20 AM

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