Life in Melbourne: Progress on the House 2

Since we last saw our home about 7 weeks ago, there has been some progress made. We're still months away from completion, but it's all shaping up. We even got to pick kitchen colours! How terribly exciting yet mundane at the same time.

Living/Dining Area

Kitchen

Exterior

2009: A Big Year So Far

Only half the year has gone, and it has been extremely eventful. I can't remember a time when things were as crazy.

• My older sister got married in February
• I got married in June
• I got laid-off in July
• Got a new job in August
• Audrea and I bought a house
• And I just found out that my older sister is pregnant, and I'm gonna be an uncle soon

Everything is just happening all at once. It's pretty exciting, really.

Life in Melbourne: Skiing at Mt Buller

We went skiing for the very first times in our lives today, and we loved it. For Audrea, it was her first time seeing snow as well.

It was hard going at the start, as always when learning new things. But we both picked it up fairly promptly. We could move a distance without falling over, and we could do a simple stop and turn. Not bad for first-timers.

Of course, we didn't escape completely unharmed. I'm sure we'll be sore all over when we wake in the morning. And I've got blisters around my ankles where the ski boots dug too deep. But it well worth the battle scars.

Ken & Audrea's Wedding Photos

Photos from our wedding on 14 June 2009.

Busy weeks, an injured hand and The Ghostbusters

It's been a very hectic couple of weeks. There's a mountain of work to be done, and there's more coming on. The events calendar is pretty light for the next two weeks, but there's more to do about work systems and new projects. I'm in the midst of writing a proposal for a new project, as well as having to do an intensive cleanup of our contacts database. In addition, I've got my annual review coming up. I'm hoping that not only will I continue to have my job, I'll get a pay raise too.

I injured my hand recently, so that's a bummer. It's been hurting for over a month now. The doctor says that the tendons in my left wrist is probably inflammed, so rest and pain medication are the best things for it. It also means I have to reduce my playtime with videogames. Grasping the gamepad, and manuvering the thumbstick seems to be exacebating the problem.

I did have time to give Ghostbusters: The Videogame a good play through. And I've got to say that the game is living up to expectations in some respects, and disappointing in others. It's very much the Peter Venkman character in the movies. Eminently charming but ultimately lacking in some substance. The writing is very funny, making me laugh out loud on multiple occasions. And seeing the original cast reprise their roles elicits a strong feeling of nostalgia. And catching ghosts are quite a blast. The primary problems I have with it are that some parts of the game are terribly frustrating. Especially so when facing the swarms of tiny ghosts that overwhelm you. With the movement and controls feeling a little sluggish, facing those swarms gets really old really fast. The overall story of the game stretches the Gozer theme from the first movie a little too thinly as well. I'll get back to it soon, as I'm wanting to play with the multiplayer mode.

Mechwarrior 5? Hells yeah!

I've just got another reason to be excited. By all accounts, this will be a series re-boot. It'll bring the game back into the gritty, more simulation-like gameplay that characterised the earlier games in the series.

I wasn't a fan when the game took a turn for a more arcde-like style with Mechwarrior 4, and the Mech Assault games on the Xbox. So I'm really excited.

In the clip, you'll see the Warhammer, Jenner and Atlas (my most favorite mech). I'm not sure if the video is from actual gameplay though I doubt it very much.

Life in Melbourne: WWE Raw Live Tour

I am so excited. I managed to snag myself a ticket to the WWE Raw Live Tour here in Melbourne. It's happening next Tuesday, 7 July 09 and I just can't wait.

It's been so long since I've watched a pro-wrestling show. The last time I went to one was in 2007 with my cousins. And I think that was a disappointing show overall. The shows in Singapore are always a sideline, and not part of the canon.

I've got much higher hopes for this one. I think it one of those massive ones, where the storylines are actually impacted. And I'm expecting loads of fireworks, the massive screens, all sorts of placards, the works.

Life in Melbourne: Progress on the House 1

A couple of months back, I took a photo of the plot of land that would become our home. Construction has since begun, and we were extremely excited to see the progress that has been achieved.

Take a look!

Blood Bowl available on PC

Ooh... Blood Bowl for the PC has just been released, and I'm very tempted to go get it. It's available as a download, for the price of €42.89.

I've never played the old Blood Bowl tabletop game, but it is a premise that I think I'd enjoy very much: Fantasy characters (elves, orcs) playing a brutal form of American-styled football. It has always been well-received, and there's still remains a loyal following.

This new PC iteration seems to offer the same type of experience. In fact, it seems to offer two kinds of experiences: A turn-based system, more akin to the original boardgame, and a real-time mode which would appeal to more twitch players.

Either way, it's only a small download (3gb) and it seems to be worth my while. I'm thinking that I'll need to rustle up a few players and get a league going.

Blood Bowl is available here.

Easy Listening Videogame Music: Super Mario Land

Pixel Hunt Issue 8 - Read more of my work

Pixel Hunt Issue 8 is now out, with even more fantastic content by yours truly. Go and check it out, read the work done by myself and my fellow writers. There's plenty of reviews, op-eds, and a host of other feature stories all about videogames.

My articles:
Magic, Chocolate Ice-cream and Videogames (page 6)
Bridging the Gap: A Chat with Peter Barlow (pages 16-18)
Guitar Heros On Tour Decades Review (pages 32-34)

Made a Podcast

We stepped into a recording studio today to make our very first podcast. And it was terribly exciting. I've been wanting to do something like this for a while now, and I finally got a chance to.

My colleague and I chatted with a guest author who was doing his book tour for about 20 minutes, talking about his latest book, his approaches to writing and general outlook on everything else.

While it was work related, it is really exciting because it a whole new project that I've been trying to get going for a while now. Perhaps learning my craft here will be able to help me when I try to make a podcast of my own some time down the line.

UFC 2009: Undisputed Demo First Impressions

Last Friday, I downloaded the demo of the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship game: UFC 2009: Undisputed. And I was completely hooked for the entire weekend. There have been a number of games created from the UFC franchise, but I’ve never had any experience with them. So I can’t say if this is a better or worse depiction of the sport than previous games. But from what I’ve seen at various UFC competitions, UFC 2009 seems to be a good portrayal.

Likes:
Fighting System: The fighting system so far seems to be quite detailed, and suggests a good level of depth. There are a variety of punches, grapples, throws and submissions, and they all seem well developed. Even though the demo only features two fighters, I have been able to approach each fight differently, and employ different tactics to win.

Instant KO: There is always a possibility for a one-hit KO, and I like that very much. It means I’ve got to watch my opponent carefully, anticipate his movements and defend effectively. It also encourages me to go all in when the opportunity presents itself.

Dislikes:
Speed: The pacing in the demo has a methodical feel to it, which takes away some of the speed and ferocity you’d seen in a real UFC match. Perhaps this is only due to the fighting styles of the fighters in the demo.

Overall:
My initial impression is quite a positive one. I kept hitting the rematch button just so I can try out different fight strategies. Like I said earlier, there seems to be quite a lot of depth, but its been presented in a way that is engaging and isn’t hard to grasp.

Star Trek & Bioshock

Saw Star Trek last night, and I really quite enjoyed it. It established a good balancce between introducing the show to a new audience, paying homage to the old classics, being an action flick whilst still maintaining a sense of drama and camaraderie between the crew members. The special effects were good without being overwrought. So overall, in terms of narrative, pacing, casting & production values, it was really a good movie.

But I just don't get the overlapping timelines. It seems like that's a common theme in Star Trek storylines, with alternate realities and something about the space-time continuum. So Kirk and Spock know that they are going to be friends because Spock from the future came back and told them about that? And then that ties back into the original series when Shatner and Nimoy portrayed those characters back in the 70s? Gahh...

I also finished Bioshock. It's was a really enjoyable experience, though the ending left a little to be desired. The city of Rapture was absolutely captivating. The stylings, the music, the lived-in feel... The whole atmosphere was unforgettable. But two things troubled me... the premise of the story and the way the ending is decided.

1) So Fontaine, posing as Atlas, manipulates my character, a person he had originally brainwashed and sent to the surface world. And some 20 years later, my character is involved in an airplane accident, falls into the sea and lands directly onto the entrance into Rapture. I am then tasked by Atlas to elimiate Andrew Ryan who is a rival to Fontaine. I find Andrew Ryan, who despite knowing the keyphrase to exert control over me, allows himself to get killed, thereby relinquishing control over Rapture, a lost, burnt-out, abandoned city, populated only by mutants to Fontaine. Sounds a little ridiculous? I think so...

2) I got the bad ending. Because I harvested one of the Little Sisters. And I get the "evil person" ending for that. My problem with that is the absolute nature of the choice... you're either a saint or a devil. Any decision can only have one of two possible outcomes. It attempts to elicite a moral response, but morality in Bioshock deals only in absolutes, black and white, yes or no, right or wrong. And in doing so, loses much of the impact that the games presents: That there is no right or wong, but only the will to do.

Life in Melbourne: Triple By-Pass Breakfast

There's a place called Greasy Joe's down at St Kilda where you can get what they call a "Triple By-Pass" breakfast. That's 3 eggs, 3 sausages, 3 rashers of bacon, 3 hash browns, grilled onions, french fries and a porterhouse steak.

Get ready for the heart attacks, people.

What I've been playing

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Aside from work, I'm still working on those things I talked about a while back. But I did manage to get some gaming in.

Guitar Heroes: On Tour: Decades
I've been playing this heavily for the past week. I'm putting together a review for Pixel Hunt, so I've been hitting it pretty hard. You'll be able to see my opinions regarding it in a month or so.

Crysis: Warhead
I picked this up along with another game from the EB Games "2 for $50" sale. I've surprisingly been able to play this on my laptop, albeit with reduced graphical quality. Still, it's running fairly well. There haven't been any standout moments as yet, but the overall experience has been enjoyable. That I can approach it from multiple angles, given it's open world nature is a big plus in my book.

Company of Heroes
This was the other game I picked up as part of the EB Games sale. I can see why it has been so highly regarded since it's launch. Each unit seems to display a level of intelligence, plus there's a lot of tactical considerations for the player. I've only played a couple of missions so far, so I'm keen to see how it goes.

Left 4 Dead
Played a good co-op game last weekend, after being cussed out of a Versus game. I'm just not that good and I'm often a burden on my team-mates in Versus mode. Co-op is my best choice, and even then I'm only any good on Normal difficulty. Advanced mode just makes a fool out of me.

Civilization 4
There's so much meat on this bone, I'm not sure if I can take it all in. I've won one campaign but I'm sure I wasn't playing at an optimal level. I did get everyone to vote me as leader of the world though.

A Place to Call My Own

If things go as planned over the next 6-7 months, this empty plot of land will contain my new home. It'll be one of three proposed units, and facing the street.

Pixel Hunt Issue 7

The latest issue of Pixel Hunt has just been published. Go and check it out! I didn't contribute to this issue, but I still think it's definitely worth a good read. www.pixelhunt.com.au

Things to do

My... It's been a particularly busy month. Work has been crazy, and I've got a bunch of side projects I've gotta be working on.

Pixel Hunt
I'm writing an article on independent games development in Australia, and I've got to finish questionnaires for three interviewees. There's a few other leads I have to follow up on as well. I've also got to finish a game review and an op-ed for publication within the next 3 weeks.

Wedding
I've received responses from friends on their availability to attend our wedding, and we've got to arrange for invitation cards to be mailed out. There's still details to be worked out, such as seating plans, wedding gifts to Audrea's family, wedding cars and videography.

House-hunting
We've gotten our finances in place, and are seriously looking around for homes now. It's really quite taxing driving from property to property, examining the homes and talking with the real estate agents. We haven't really found one that we love that's within our price point just yet though, so that means more searching. And once we do find a place, we'll have to organise movers as well as shop for new furniture.

Battlefield Heroes: First Impressions

I finally got my activation key to the closed beta of Battlefield Heroes yesterday. Having waited for more than 2 months, I was extremely excited to get started. I just wanted to share some of my first impressions with you.

The Game
If you're familiar with the Battlefield series, you'll know what you're in for. Vehicles, huge maps and all sorts of mayhem. The Battlefield series is known for its wackiness, with players pulling off all sorts of stunts, and this is one of the key elements in this newest game. Played entirely through a web browser, the game has adopted a very stylized cartoon-inspired art style; I guess this is to reduce taxing on your computer or internet connection.

Setting Up
This game requires players to first install a plugin for the web browser at about 4gb, and an EA account. Beta-testers also need a authentification key, which I assume won't be necessary once it goes fully live. Players then get to create a number of characters for use in the game, which includes facial features, clothes, even types of emotes. Players also choose which team these characters would be playing for: 1) Royal Army (inspired by WWII poms and yanks) and Nationals (equivalent to Third Reich Germans). I'll explain why this team selection becomes a pertinent point. Players also select their character class at this point, so they can take up roles as a soldier (standard grunt), gunner (heavy weapons) or commando (sneaky stuff).

Playing the game
Unfortunately, I didn't really get to play a real game last night. I had created a Nationals character and jumped into a game, only to discover the other person inside was on the same team. So we spent a long time waiting for someone from the other team to join. Everyone else who came in subsequently also turned out to be Nationals. At one point, we had 4 Nationals waiting on some Royal Army players to join. There didn't seem to be an easy way to change teams, not unless you had already created a character for the other side.

So instead of having a proper game, we all decided the muck around instead. The highlight of the evening was when 3 of us piled into a jeep and chased a tank across some wheat fields whilst honking on the horn crazily. Crashing a plane while another sat on the wing, and driving off a cliff came a close second and third.

The Looks
I wanted to talk about the way the game looks last, because I felt the art style really supplements the gameplay. You're inspired to do the silly stuff. You feel as if you're in one of those old Warner Bros. cartoons with the Road Runner and the Coyote. Absurdity was always one of the mainstays of the Battlefield series. The art style leverages this, and makes what would otherwise have been ridiculous into a big goofball. And in a good way.

The Final Product
There's a lot more to explore in this game even in beta, especially with character customizations. Connection seems stable enough, and there weren't many visible glitches in the 40mins that I played. Overall it looks quite refined already, and it'll only become more polished once the game goes live.

Who says games aren't educational?

A periodic table of videogame characters? This would have been a huge assist when I was studying chemistry.

A Sneak Peek at Out Wedding Photos (Just one!)

Here's one of our photos that we took when we went back to Singapore in early Feb 2009. You'll have to wait for the rest.

Empire: Total War or Dawn of War II?

Hmm... It's a difficult choice that I have to make right now. I only have a limited amount of disposable cash to spend. And even then, I shouldn't be blowing all my money on games. And when there are multiple excellent games on the market simultaneously, it makes the game buying process that much harder.

Empire: Total War
Large scale tactical battles, rich historical backdrop with a robust strategic play, players take on the role of both king and general. And with the new added feature of naval battles, this game is bursting at it seams with good bits. A big, chunky meaty game, the kind that you can really sink your teeth into.

Dawn of War II
This game apparently creates a whole new way of real-time strategy game that thinking of it as a mere sequel would do it a great dis-service. The mundane task of building a functional economy is removed. Crafting a specialised squad of combatants, and wielding them as you would a surgical knife becomes the focus of the game. And that sounds terribly exciting.

So I've got a big meaty chunky pie on the one hand, and a palette cleansing aperitif on the other. Which one should it be?

I'm On A Boat, Motherf*****

In the absence of more interesting news, here's a music video. I'm on a boat, bitch!

I'm a Street Fighter; Ken Wins!

More articles published at Pixel Hunt

Issue 6 of Pixel Hunt was released a couple of days ago, and I've got more of my work published within. Please do go and check it out. It's a good magazine with plenty of fantastic material. Especially mine (no points for false modesty).

My works:

1. Empire Total War Q&A with The Creative Assembly, pages 17-18
2. My Top 5 Games of 2008, page 21
3. Overcoming Challenges: Combat and Progression in Videogames, pages 27-29 (I'm most proud of this one)

Just another day on the Werribee train

The 8.09am express train from Werribee to the City forgot to make a stop at one of its primary stations this morning. Instead, we drove straight on through.

Take your pick on which was the funniest:
1) The look on the faces of passengers waiting at the station as we sped past.
2) The 3 minutes we stopped after while the driver contemplated reversing the train back.
3) His embarrassed apology as he realised it would be far too difficult to go back. "Yea... That was my bad," he said.

Getting an arcade stick

I'm totally pumped for the Street Fighter IV launch, and I want to complete the experience by procuring an arcade stick. Having one is quintessential to the Street Fighter experience, and it's just not right I don't have one yet. It's just not right.

There's a pretty sweet new line of arcade sticks coming from Mad Catz. This baby here, for example, costs US$150:

But finding the damn thing has been frustrating. The shops I've contacted and visited either have no idea, or do not plan on bringing it at all. I've been to EB Games and all other retailers in the city, but I've been drawing blanks the whole way. It's disappointing to be sure. I'm hoping I'll be able to pick one up while I'm back in Singapore. Hopefully.

Diablo 3 is going to be so sweeeeet...

Oh snap! That new Unicorn class in Diablo 3 is going to be so killer!

Diablo 3 too colourful
Diablo 3 developers strike back
Diablo 3 screenshots: Unicorns, rainbows and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man

My Secret Santa Gift: Warriors of God

I've taken part in BoardgameGeek's Secret Santa program for a few years now, and it's always a great deal of fun. I surprise someone with an awesome gift and I receive one in return. This year was no exception though I had to be extra patient. My Secret Santa gift just arrived two days ago having traveled many miles from the far north.

And inside was Warriors of God.

Warriors of God focuses primarily on the Hundred Years' War from 1337 - 1453. The game is beautifully produced with excellent components. The rulebook read very easily, and suggests that while the rules are simple, there is a great deal of depth in the game play. I'm looking forward to getting this on the table soon.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

I love Street Fighter. I am a huge fan. I love the game, the mythos, the characters. But I'm not very good at the game.

I played the single-player campaign, and several online multi-player matches last night. I still have a long way to go before I am even close to competition level. I lose way more than I win against other players. Even my track record against the computer is horrendous.

Ken is my primary character, because I like that we share a name; we share little else in common though. And through the brief play session yesterday, I've noticed many gaps in my game.

Jumping Around

I have difficulty closing distance with the opponent, and unable to use ground movement effectively. As such I resort to jumping in and out far more than I need to. This has led to predictable movement for my opponent who can counter easily with a upward attack.

Blocking
Blocking has always been a weakness of mine, especially when it comes in a combination of high and low attacks. I'll need to learn to read the opponent's movement better

Reliance on the Same Moves
I'm always using the Hurricane Kick, because it's easy to pull off, closes distance with the opponent and fairly damaging if it connects. But this plays into my weakness of predictability again.

Dragon Punch
And because the Dragon Punch is harder to pull off, I don't use it as often or as effectively. This is a great counter move against jumping attacks and can be extremely damaging if used as such.

Medium Punch and Kicks
Medium attacks are excellent tools in a Street Fighter's arsenal. It balances damage, range and recovery time excellently. It is also a good start to begin combos with. I rely too much on the heavy attacks, which leaves me open to counter attacks.

Xbox Live Points are Region Specific

At least, they are if they were bought through a retail store. Imagine my surprise when I picked up a Xbox Live Points card from EB Games yesterday and wasn't able to redeem the points through my Xbox Live account.

Apparently Xbox Live accounts are region-locked, and my account was set-up when I still lived in Singapore. Which means I can only access the Singaporean Xbox Live Marketplace, and points bought through a retail store here are not valid. Points bought here are only usable on the Australian marketplace using an Australian Live account.

This is annoying on two fronts. Firstly, I now have a Points card at home which I cannot redeem. I can't return it to the store because I've already opened the package and scratched off to reveal the redemption code. Which probably means I also won't be able to sell it off second-hand, at least not at a comparable value at which I bought it.

Secondly, if I do want to use the points, I could set up an Australian Live account and gamertag. This would give me access to the Australian marketplace, but this would mean I'd have to start everything from scratch again. My gamer points, in-game achievements... even my Xbox Live Gold membership, which is tied to my original account.

The absolute worst thing is that I can't really blame anyone but me. I should have clarified with the store clerk before I bought the redemption card. I should have read the small print on the back of the package. I should have consulted the FAQ on the Xbox website.

Sins of a Solar Empire

Building a space empire sure is a tough task. One must concurrently maintain an efficient economy, develop industries and living standards, build a awe-inspiring space fleet whilst fending off enemies and pirates. The resources on each planet system are barely sufficient and offers only a small amount of developmental space. So venturing forward and the need for expansion quickly becomes a prerogative. Scouting for fertile colonies is often a challenge because the enemy will also be seeking the same interests. But conflict often occurs in this struggle for new colonies and new and more powerful fleets of spaceships are needed to fend them off. This brings the conundrum back full circle as new technologies cannot be developed without first expanding. This is the mainstay of any 4x game (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit & eXterminate), and Sins of a Solar Empire packages it together very nicely, offering an accessible entry into the genre.

What I did like about the game is its accessibility. The developmental cap on your home planet quickly points you in the direction you need to go; to expand and develop colonies to support an ever-growing economic and military machine. Exploration, colonising and developing has been simplified/abstracted to enable the player to manage to multi-frontal expansion. Building new planetary and orbital structures, and new military units is also a simple process as each item will highlight which resources and technologies are needed. And researching upgrades and new technology is also a simplified/abstracted process. Combat has also been simplified, as it only occurs on a 2D plane; one assumes that maneuvering and tactics have already been taken into account in the game engine.

As many of the game's mechanics have been abstracted, it offers a high level of automation. Automatic placement of new structures can be turned on. Planetary defenses operate by themselves. Military units engage enemy fleets automatically as well, based on parameters set by the player. Individual units join the most suitable fleets and use their special abilities on the optimal targets without prompting.

There were a couple of things that I did find frustrating. Firstly, the research and logistical requirements for units can be very convoluted. For example, building a Hoshiko Robotics Cruiser requires research in the Hoshiko Prototype, which in turn requires research in Superior Repair Bots, which requires research in the Repair Platform, which requires a Military Lab to be built first. And the ship is only a mid-level unit, and does not include any other general upgrades such as hull reinforcements (which can again be further upgraded).

Secondly, the pirate element in the game is extremely annoying. Pirates will attack periodically, which begin as small annoyances but quickly become credible threats. Repelling them either requires a commitment of troops or offering escalating bounties on enemies. Either way, it's a drain on precious resources.

What I haven't seen is the ability to win the game peacefully through diplomatic or cultural means. It seems that the game has a predilection towards military victory, and I can't yet tell if any other means of victory is possible. There are structures in the game that increases cultural imprints, but I'm not sure exactly what this does. It will become apparent as I explore the game further.

While I do have my gripes, I believe I can overcome them as I become more familiar with the game. Knowledge of the research tree is a key to mastering the game, and it's knowledge that I haven't yet acquired. The other problem I have just requires careful management of time and resources. Overall, I like the game very much. It offers a lot of depth in a very accessible manner. Coupled together with an intriguing storyline and an easy to use interface, Sins of a Solar Empire easily gets a recommendation from me.

Published: Board & Videogames

I wrote a couple of posts some months back on board & videogames (Part 1 & 2), and the relationship between the digital and analog formats. I've been working on that piece since then to have it featured in issue 5 of Pixel Hunt, a local (aussie) videogames e-zine.

I'm pretty excited about it, and I'm really happy the way it turned out. I never written for anyone other than myself here so please do go check it out. My feature is on pages 11 to 14.

Singapore as the indie-game hub?

The Media Development Authority of Singapore announced today that they'll be offering grants to games developers in Singapore to make games for the Xbox Live Community Games initiative. They'll be offering up to S$50,000.00 to each successful applicant, which is extremely enticing.

What's surprising is that not too long ago, Singapore was on the fore-front of banning games, with titles like Mass Effect, Saints Row and The Darkness feeling the brunt of it.

I'm sure this will help to promote more small developers in Singapore, and I think it'll also spur higher quality as I'm assuming that application for these grants will be quite competitive.

Personally, I've been looking into learning how to make simple Flash games, from sites like Kongregate. It'll be a while before I think I'll be able to compete with other games out there. But I've got a few ideas that I think will translate very well to the digital format.

Channel NewsAsia: MDA offers grants to develop games for Xbox Live

Chinese Sandwiches

A colleague and I were chatting yesterday about the food that's available on campus. She casually mentions how surprising that at the sandwich bar, those excellent sandwiches were made by Chinese people.

I'm sure she meant nothing by it, but it made me think, "What? So Chinese people should be doing stir-fry instead?"

Left behind for dead; You'd be better off

If Left 4 Dead is any indication, I have a very low probability of survival in the face of a zombie apocalypse. You know those guys that are killed in the most horrible way at the start of any zombie movie to illustrate the severity of the situation? Yea, that'd be me.

And for good riddance too; You'd probably wouldn't want me in your team anyway. Things I'd do wrong include:

• Shooting you in the back.
• Shooting you in the front.
• Attracting zombie hordes
• Requiring you to save me every other minute from being overwhelmed by the zombie hordes.

Also, I might accidentally light you on fire with a poorly thrown molotov cocktail; I have a bad track record with throwing explosive devices.

In other gamey news, I've concurrently playing Mirror's Edge. It's been exhilarating and frustrating at the same time.

Those damn bananas aren't working!

MARIO KART (REMI GAILLARD)
by nqtv

A Deadly Space...

...So deadly that my Xbox 360 nearly gave up the ghost. Again. With three flashing red lights. A quick reboot resolved the problem, but I'm now filled with trepidation that it may croak at any time.

The game that caused my console to shy away in fear is Dead Space. And having played about 3/4 through, I can't blame the poor thing. Playing the game was terrifying enough. Having to ingest and process it must have elicited some form of defensive response.

Terrifying as it may be, I am completely enjoying the game. And I'm glad to say that I'm near the end, which is great. I don't often complete the games I own because I do get bored with them fairly quickly. But Dead Space has really hit a sweet spot for me, with regards to compelling gameplay and game length. I think it'll probably clock in about 10-12 hours in total, and that's great. It means that I'm done in about a week if I play a little everyday.

The game has had it's scary moments, but the thing it does the best is building an atmosphere, a high tension environment, a mood.

The story has been really intriguing up til now. While one might argue that it is generic sci-fi fare, it has been wonderfully presented. I just hope that the ending holds up and keeps the momentum going. I guess I'll find out once I play till the end.

The Chanel Cake

When does culinary skill become art? When you make cakes like these. This was an entry into the cake competition at the Royal Melbourne Show a month back. Can the thing even be eaten?

Fallout 3 Mid-Mortem

I've been devoting a lot of time to Fallout 3 over the past two weekends, but it has been a little tough getting into the game. As a huge fan of the original Fallout, I guess I was fully expecting this game to shoulder the reputation of its predecessors. I guess that harboring such expectations is entirely unfair. This excellent game stands on its own, and carries the series in an entirely different direction. Admittedly, it may be hard for someone like me to reconcile the new game with the ones that came before, but I can see a game that has been lovingly crafted, and it deserves our full attention.

One thing the game really nails is how utterly bleak and desolate the Fallout world is, and how immersive it is. It is not a pleasant place to be in, much less explore. And yet I feel attracted to it all, driven to return to it constantly, and to witness how much more horrible the world can get. The pockets of surviving humans, the run-down tin-shacks, the horrendous living standards and the disgusting food really helps to paint a picture of hopelessness. And juxtaposed to all this despair are people who are so willing to hang on to any shred of hope. There is a real, living world that has been created here.

This has made my gameplay experience especially compelling. Between the despair, and the people, there is a continuing burning need to push forward. And within that space, I have grown to identify and emphatise with my character, and to play the game as she would have lived.

That immersiveness was nerely broken when I murdered two NPCs just so that I can steal a gun off them. But my instant rationalisation that this action was taken by me, the human gamer, speaks volumes of my emotional investment into my character. I felt strongly that she needed to be absolved of any guilt, because the action was taken by an external third-party who had tried to game the system.

The things that I didn't like about the game were mostly technical. Managing the inventory can be troublesome sometimes, especially when buying/selling with in-game characters. There aren't many facial variations between NPCs, so many characters look the same. The voice-acting is a mixed bag (a character named Butcher from Reiley's Rangers has a oddly deep booming voice for someone so diminutive in size). Game-wise, many things have not been useful regularly as mechanics are geared towards combat; But combat remains uncomfortably straddled between an FPS and a turn-based strategy.

The one thing that I really didn't like about the game is the lack of memorable characters. The points I made above were more reflective of the relationship that I had built with my own character. Having played about 10 hours, I still haven't been able to form a similar link with any of the in-game NPCs. Perhaps this may change as I delve deeper in the core quest, but the side quests haven't produced any memorable moments for me as yet.

A Very Gamey Weekend

It's been a very gamey weekend, which is excellent. I've got so many things to play on my plate right now, it's absolutely glorious. I played a couple of boardgames on Friday evening (Manoeuvre & Roma), played Fallout 3 for most of Saturday and Sunday. I received Dead Space and Fable 2 in the mail, and tried the Mirror's Edge demo which was brilliant. I also picked up Wii Fit on Friday, which has quickly become the bane of my gaming life; Yoga, aerobics, and calisthenics? You've gotta be flippin' mad!

Impressions of these games to follow.

My New Laptop

This here is the laptop that I got myself yesterday. I managed to get a pretty sweet deal from JB Hi-Fi: A substantial discount, plus a portable HDD thrown in as a freebie. So overall I'm very happy with my purchase.

HP Pavilion DV5-1007TX
Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 (2.53 Ghz)
4Gb DDR2 800Mhz RAM
320Gb 5400RPM SATA HDD
Nvidia 9600M GT 512Mb VRAM
DVDRW Combo Drive
Bluetooth/WiFi/Ethernet
15.4" Display

Giant Salami Warehouse

On my way to work every morning, I pass this by:

Being a brand of cold cuts, I'm guessing that those warehouses must be packed to the brim with hams and bacons and sliced turkey breast. I also like to think that maybe they store novelty meat items like a giant salami in there.

And ignore the fact that my drawing looks like two huge dongs.

The Invasion is Imminent

This space invader was spotted lurking a short distance away from the University, obviously scouting the area as a potential target. I believe that there are more of these insidious invaders located around the city, and I will endeavour to seek them out. It is of paramount importance to ascertain what the intentions of these creatures from space are.

Invasion is a series of street art displays by an anonymous artist, with mosaic pieces inspired by the old Space Invaders videogame. First appearing in Paris in 1998, these invaders have been spotted in other cities including Los Angeles, New York City, London, Geneva, Vienna, Tokyo, Bangkok and even Mombasa. And the invasion is still continuing even as we speak.

Macross: Ace Frontier

I'm a big fan of Macross. Or at least, I'm a big fan of the Macross concept, but the execution always left me cold.

Watching episodes of the original show now only serves as a reminder to how outdated and old the show was. The animation, characters and stories that captured my imagination as a child has lost much of its shine.

The videogames were mostly mediocre as well, and I feel they have never truly captured the feel of Macross.

But there's no denying that Macross still holds a special spot for me, and this game could be the one. It looks bleeding awesome.

You've got the Touch!!

You've got the POWER!

Red Ring of Death

Need anything more be said?

Hugging my Xbox360

So my Xbox360 wrote something decent about me over at 360voice.com:

"Ken Lee FH's Xbox - Sep 27 2008
I thought maybe the power was out yesterday... imagine my surprise when Ken Lee FH hit the switches! Gamerscore stands at 4,330. That is a profit of 275 points over last time! He rallied BC:Rearmed finishing 1 achievement, Mercenaries 2 adding an amazing 12 achievements, Castle Crashers, and then he almost hugged me, but I was like back off dude."

I vehemently deny any and all allegations that I was felt compelled to have any physical relations with my 360.

So maybe it was my Xbox360...

... that's a little wonky. I've had to re-evaluate my situation with Mercs 2, as it seems that it may be a hardware problem after all. I was playing Call of Duty 4 last night and the same problem occurred again: The game froze on me, leaving a still image on the TV with no sound, and my Xbox360 still running.

It's going to be a challenge for me to diagnose the problem. Potentially it could be the incompatibility of NTSC/PAL combo, or it could just be a console problem. But I've watched DVDs, played Bionic Commando and Bioshock without any hiccups before so there isn't a set precedent. And I can't test that because I don't have 1) a PAL Xbox360 to test with my TV, or 2) another NTSC Xbox360 to compare it to.

One possible (but seemingly unlikely) solution maybe that I remove my Wii that's been sitting on top of the Xbox360 for the past week or so. But right now, I'm almost willing to try anything.

Mercenaries 2: Shoulda, woulda, coulda

If I could have used one word to describe Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, it would have been fun. It should have been balls-to-the-wall fun. Everything about it should have been, would have been, could have been fantastic. But I may never know because the game continually crashes on me.

A friend brought me a copy of the game from Singapore which I needed for my Singapore-bought Xbox360; I brought it along with me when I relocated here. It was in turn hooked up to a brand new TV which I bought here. So I had a NTSC-J game inside a NTSC-J machine hooked up to a PAL TV. Everything worked beautifully with a bunch of my other games, including the ones I got off Xbox Live.

Mercs 2 started off brillantly: Lots of room to explore, lots of explosions, lots of cars and tanks and airstrikes and bombs and people running wild, with guns blazing and shouting and screaming and indignant pointing. So you know, FUN. I was having a ball of a time when the game froze on me, right around one quarter into the game. So I turned off my machine, give it a reboot and started the game up again. And about 5-10mins into the game, it hangs again. So reboot, start-up, and it hangs again. And again and again and again and again. I cannot get the game to run any much further than 5-10mins after each time I reboot.

I deleted my initial save game, started from scratch again and the same thing happens. Right around the same point, the game freezes and refuses to run. And each reboot ends in the same result.

I've updated the game, deleted possible corrupted save files, left the machine to cool before I run it again. I don't think it's a hardware problem, neither is it a problem with the NTSC-J game/console with PAL TV combo. I've called EA tech support but that's not much help at all. The problem persists and I don't know how else to resolve it. And it's frustrating as hell.

Mercs 2 shoulda, woulda, coulda been great. But at this rate, I wouldn't really know.

Albury, NSW

I drove up to Albury, NSW to attend BorderCon 2008 over the weekend. It was a leisurely, pleasant 3½-hour drive, mostly because I was in the backseat. We arrived there Friday evening, stayed in a quaint motel and immediately got right into gaming.

It was less of a convention and more of a game group meeting, but it was still loads of fun. I met many nice people and played a bunch of new games, which is always the aim of attending any convention.

Albury seemed like a nice town, and it was bigger than I thought it would be. I wasn't expecting a rural backwater, but I sure wasn't expecting clean, wide, well-paved roads with plenty of street lighting. The city centre was also bigger than I thought it would be. Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised.

Games played:
Battlestations x2
Cash & Gun
Container
Crokinole x2
Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper
Tikal
Tomb
Zopp x2

My Xbox blogs

Apparently my Xbox360 has a mind of its own. Or at least, it always had one and now has finally found a voice. And it's been writing blog posts about me, most of which have been snarky remarks about how I don't play it often enough.

"Ken Lee FH's Xbox - Sep 17 2008
Ken Lee FH was nowhere to be seen yesterday... maybe he needs some new games or something... get some motivation up in this place..."

I played some Bioshock last night, so hopefully it'll have something a little more pleasant to say in a couple of days.

Getting Lost?

I take the train to work everyday, and sometimes there are interesting conversations that you can't help picking up. Maybe it's people talking about their failed relationships, or a funny story about a drunk mate of their's.

This lady, sitting two seats to my left, was chatting to friends about some country she visited (I didn't catch that part). And she casually mentioned how she could never get her bearings because over there, the sun rises in the west. And she couldn't drive on the roads, because although they were marked heading 'north' and 'south', she didn't know which 'north' and 'south' they were referring to.

Lady, you absolutely blew my mind. Wherever you were visiting, you must have been high the entire time.

Seeing it in new light

We just moved into a new place, and spent most of the weekend packing, moving and setting up. And we also got a new TV, which I promptly hooked my Xbox360 into. I'm getting some mixed results, and I'm not sure if I did everything correctly, or if I'm missing something.

Bionic Commando: Rearmed looks really good on it (I've been playing that alot recently). But the improvement on GTA IV wasn't great. I'm not sure if it's because 1) now that it's in HD, I notice the flaws more easily, or 2) I haven't hooked everything up just right to fully take advantage of the TV.

There's a bit of 'ghosting' and motion blur when I pan the game camera quickly, and much of the background has taken on a slightly diffused look, with ambient bloom lighting all around. Is this the price of clarity? Am I now seeing the game in all its true technical detail? If so, someone please pull the wool over my eyes once again.

New laptop? Maybe soon? Hopefully?

I've been thinking about getting a new computer for a while, and I've still torn between getting a desktop or a laptop. The benefits of getting a laptop is that I can use it in bed, and I am entitled to salary sacrificing (some odd procedure that allows me to pay lower tax or something?). I'll probably not be getting a mac... OSX is pissing the shit out of me. I use it at work, and I suspect it hates me as much as I hate it.

So I've got my eye on a couple laptops. And I'll qualify that by saying I really want to do some massive gaming on the machine. There's a slew of PC games I'm keen on, and I want a small monster to play it on. So my current choices are raw power versus even more raw power. A tough choice, really.

ASUS G50V
Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 (2.53 Ghz)
4Gb DDR2 800Mhz RAM
500Gb 5400RPM SATA HDD
Nvidia 9700M GT 512Mb VRAM
DVDRW Combo Drive
Bluetooth/WiFi/Ethernet
15.4" Display
Approx. AU$2499.00


Dell XPS M1530
Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 (2.5Ghz)
4Gb DDR2 667Mhz RAM
500Gb 5400RPM SATA HDD
Nvidia 8600M GT 256Gb VRAM
DVDRW Combo Drive
WiFi/Ethernet
15.4" Display
Approx. AU$2199.00

The Saga of Seven Suns

It's been a long while since I picked up a real book, so it was on a whim that I decided to buy Book one of Kevin J Anderson's series, "The Saga of Seven Suns". But once I got started, I couldn't put it down, and in a short span of 2 months, I've finished all seven books in the series. I've enjoyed his previous Star Wars novels, and I've heard praise for his work on the Dune series, so the decision to jump into a fictional world of his own creation was not hard to make. If you are a sci-fi fan, and love big, sprawling space operas, this is one to pick up.

The story, told from the perspectives of multiple characters, really helps to layer and weave a complex storyline together. While seemingly unfocused in the beginning, the story slowly becomes ever more coherent, and flows smoothly from one character switch to another. By jumping from character to character, Anderson allows us to see events through different eyes, as well as enticingly reveal new information that continually keeps you hooked in. Through this form of story-telling, Anderson draws a fascinating backdrop, filled with truly unique alien races, and political intrigue.

As with any space opera, the focus is always on the characters, and Anderson paints his with believable motivations and actions. And all the space battles and tech and politicking only serves to enhance the characters' personalities, revealing their strengths and weaknesses.

I really enjoyed the series, and I would highly recommend it. Book 1 may start off slowly, but it builds up to an resounding crescendo, and by the end of the series you will be throughly satisfied.

Finally completed GTA IV

After many gruelling hours and days, I've finally managed to complete Grand Theft Auto IV. And believe me, I tried my very best to do so. The final mission alone took me more than 2 hours, constantly replaying over and over after each failure. I think I may have replayed that particular mission almost 14-15 times. But despite several frustrating aspects of the game, I'm quite pleased by it overall. I've taken some time to digest the game experience, and there are some things I feel compelled to comment on.

Story-telling was one major aspect of the game, and it had been promoted as a cornerstone of the GTA IV experience from the very start. In this respect, I feel that the story has been very well-told, has excellent pace, and contains a level of depth that one would not have suspected. Arguments have been made previously that GTA IV is no Godfather, and I wouldn't argue otherwise. But as a piece of creative work, it is internally consistent, contains well-developed characters with believable stories and motives which are continually reinforced by their actions.

Some aspects of the dialogue could have been better crafted however. When characters are overly verbose, and share endless exposition without much prompting, it comes across as cheesy, and over-rehearsed. It was far more effective when the dialogue was kept simple, and it was more believable and natural.
Visually, the game is extremely captivating and immersive, and it really conveys the feel of a big city. You only need to drive along the Algonquin Bridge at sunset to understand what I mean; it really does take the breath away.

The main flaw is that for a game that espouses freedom in a sandbox environment, it was extremely restrictive. And this is due to two main reasons: 1) As the player, I do not have a sense of agency, and 2) the things that I am allowed to do are inconsequential and frivalous. There are so many things to exploe or do, and it makes the things that cannot be done even more obvious; And the thing that cannot be done is have an impact on the narrative.

My character can explore the city, take on additional missions (such as assasinations and street races), improve relations with friends, even go on dates. But aside from providing small benefits in game, these actions means nothing to the narrative, and more often than not, it is a annoying distraction.

And I know that the game's designers had a specific story they wanted to tell, which I happily accepted for most part. But there was an instance which nearly broke the game experience for me. Near the end of the game, my character was told to choose between killing the man who had betrayed him and his friends on numerous occasions, or to work for him with promises of money and power, which my character desperately needed. I sat there, with the controller in my hand, for a good 10-15 mins because I couldn't decide. Do I do the deal with the devil so that I may support my family financially, or do I take revenge and live a wretched life hiding from new enemies? Justice or life? The game offered me a tough choice, and I had a tough time making it. But the problem was that the end game after this moment was already set up in a very specific manner, and the choice I made had no impact on it at all. It was a false choice, and my personal moral dilemma accounted for nothing.There are a few other annoying things about in the game. The chase missions aren't fun, and can be quite frustrating. Reactions by in-game characters aren't consistent: My dates, for example, will comment on the clothes I wear and the car I drive, but won't react when I car-jack someone in front of them, or park a helicopter on their street to pick them up. Make me wonder if it were possible to pick up hookers in a helicopter now. The police is still annoying as hell, as all coppers are. And trying on clothes is a chore.

I still enjoyed the game immensely, but the lack of agency remains a flaw for me. The designers have tried to push the narrative boundaries of the videogame medium, and to tell a big story in a big city. For most part, I belive that they have suceeded. While maybe not as nuanced and subtle as The Godfather, GTA IV is a stepping stone in using the videogames medium as a showcase for story-telling. The challenge remains between showcasing a pre-defined narrative, and the amount of agency a player has to affect that narrative.

I played Street Fighter IV!!

Imagine my surprise when I found out that there was a Street Fighter IV arcade in machine, just a stone's throw away from work? O.M.G.W.T.F.B.B.Q (in every sense of the word). Needless to say, it was imperative that I make a pilgrimage to the shrine of all fighting videogames, to sit up upon its steps, to drink in its wisdom and to learn the ways of the World Warrior.

Hyperbole aside, I really was extremely excited to get my hands on the game. I've always had a soft spot for Street Fighter, even though I was never any good at it. I've read each character's backstory, watched the anime and even the movie as well. So I dropped by Galactic Circus this evening after work, filled with anticipation.

And boy, did I get a pay off. First off, seeing the game in motion was an absolute treat; the graphics looked sharp, the art direction paid homage to the original game (which, as we all know, really was Street Fighter II), with a layer of crispness that heretofore was unmatched. The sound effects were a pleasure to listen to. Everything about it was great. And it played great too. The controls were responsive, and the moves weren't prohibitively hard to pull off; in fact, one would argue that the controls were a little more forgiving this time round.

I played about 5 games (which cost $2 each!) with a few other guys gathered there. They were a good friendly bunch, and we conversed a bit in-between matches. Everyone was quite gentlemanly about taking and giving turns, which was cool. Funny thing was that there was a guy there who read about the game through the same article as I did today. I guess I really shouldn't be that surprised; I'm not the only one to read Kotaku.

Now my hands are itching for more still, and I can't wait to get back there and try another game or two.

Field Commander: Rommel

I recently acquired a copy of Field Commander: Rommel, a solitaire WWII wargame, and I've been dying to get it on the table. In the game, the player controls the Axis, while the Allies make moves based on a pre-determined set of rules.

As luck would have it, my wife had to attend a company function tonight, which left me with plenty of time to explore this intriguging game. I just completed the Ghost Division campaign, which marked the events of the invasion of France. The game took about 2 hours, and I can safely state I am not the commander that Rommel was; I didn't even come close to the victory requirements.

The initial turns started slow, and my forces were not able to break through the Allies at Dinant. This caused a bottleneck, and a crucial delay that contributed to my failure. It took me a full two turns before I was able to subdue the Allied forces there. After the break through, I was able to bring my forces to bear on the Allies in Brussels and Cambrai, before proceeding onto Arras. This secured 2 victory objectives, but precious time had already been wasted. Additionally, I did not realise that there was one last victory checkpoint located at Cherbourg, which I had no hope of reaching at this point.
I was only able to barely hold onto Cambrai and Arras, whilst the Allies commenced their counterattack. I was completely hammered, and held on only by the skin of my teeth.

I really enjoyed the game, and I look forward to playing again (and hopefully winning too!). The moves made for the Allies posed quite a challenge, a lot more than I would have thought. But I'm quite sure that given enough tries, I'll be able to prevail eventually. There are two more campaigns in the game after I conquer this one.