Posts Categorized: Videogames

Videogames

Videogames | Good Old Games

By Aidan Moher December 5th, 2008

If you’re anything like me, and feel an undeiable sense of nostalgia for those countless hours poured into computer games back in your younger days, then Good Old Games just might be the best news you’ve heard all year.

Put together by the guys behind The Witcher (which is based on a series of novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski), Good Old Games was put together with the intentions of getting old, classic PC games out of the gutter and reworking them so that anyone can play them. For Cheap. On top of that, they hook you up with a lot of cool swag like Wallpapers, Artbooks, Soundtracks and Avatars all for free with the purchase of a game.

The games cost $5.99 or $9.99. Not a bad deal considering their catalogue includes Fallout, Fallout 2 (two of the greatest PC games of all time), Arx Fatalis and Freespace 2.

Here’s what they have to say about their project:

1. We’ve got games your 10-year-old won’t be better at.

GOG.com offers you critically acclaimed games from major publishers in every genre. Don’t let your kids mock the graphics; remind them that the classics never go out of style, unlike their totally wicked haircut.

2. So you’re cheap. It’s okay – we are, too.

For less than the cost of a lunch at some lousy diner you can own some of the greatest games of all time. No matter how big the file is and how successful the game was, you’ll leave the table satisfied that you got a great deal for your money. As an added bonus, our house specialities won’t make you sick.

3. You buy it, you keep it.

Don’t let your DRMs turn into nightmares (clever, no?). You won’t find any intrusive copy protection in our games; we hate draconian DRM schemes just as much as you do, so at GOG.com you don’t just buy the game, you actually own it. Once you download a game, you can install it on any PC and re-download it whenever you want, as many times as you need, and you can play it without an internet connection.

4. All games are Vista and XP compatible.

Thanks to our handsome programming team, the classics are now Windows Vista and Windows XP compatible. Now you can use your lightning-fast PC to unleash the full potential of those games you just couldn’t play properly on that busted old 386.

5. Extend the experience with tons of cool and exclusive add-ons.

Buying the game is just the beginning. With the purchase of any game at GOG.com you’ll also get some great additional materials for free, including game guides, walkthroughs, MP3 game soundtracks, wallpapers and more. No joke.

6. We’re bringing together classic games and a classy community.

Dive into the GOG.com community, share your love for the games and meet other gamers with the same passion for classic games as you. Rate and review every single game, discuss your favorite titles on message boards, get support for your games and help others. Who knows, maybe you’ll find that special someone.

7. It’s so easy, your gramma’s probably already playing.

GOG.com is so easy to use. We have an easy account setup, game installers as user friendly as can be and simple, fast and hassle-free downloads. Thanks to these features, you’ll need just a few clicks to get you on your way to playing some of the best PC games of all time.

Who are you guys?

Everyone at GOG.com is a gamer, just like you. We’ve combined our real-life love for classic games with the amazing virtual world of the intarnets to bring some of our favorite games to your PC, with nothing – except maybe our budget – holding us back from conquering the world through gaming.

Why do you sell old games? Are you stupid or something?

Well, it looks like you haven’t played the PC classics much. Maybe it’s some sentimental attachment or maybe the games back then were different? Maybe a little bit of both; regardless, the truth is that the all-time classics never go out of style and we know that. So don’t criticize; play the game like it’s 1995.

So get on over there and support the cause. If you run Windows XP or Vista, the games are sure to work on your computer, so you have no excuses. Fallout 2 for $5.99 is the deal of the year, if you ask me!

Videogames

Videogames | XBox Live Gamertag

By Aidan Moher November 27th, 2008

You’ve probably noticed that over the last few months a few Videogame related posts have crept their way on to A Dribble of Ink. This isn’t a mistake, but rather a reflection of a love for my other favourite hobby.

I thought it would be fun to put my Xbox Live Gamertag up here, so I could get some gaming time with some of the folk who read the blog.



Just drop me a Friend Request, let me know you read the blog and we’ll get some gaming going! In case you can’t see my gamer card, my Gamertag is Space Donkeys (original, eh?)

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Videogames

Review | Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

By Aidan Moher September 28th, 2008

When Final Fantasy VII was first released in 1996, it rocked the world of videogames by integrating CG cuts scenes and gameplay in a way that blew the minds of millions of little prepubescent kids. It lit the RPG on fire and set the bar for every future game of the genre.

Well acquainted with RPGs at the time, I was of an older generation of gamer, having weaned myself on classics such as Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI and Secret of Mana. Still, my little 13-year-old world was rocked just as hard as any other. I still remember the day of its release, rushing over to my friend’s house and watching as he played through the first two hours. I was enchanted and knew I had to have one. Somehow I was able to convince my father to buy me not only the game, but the system to play it on.
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Videogames

Videogames | Spore

By Aidan Moher September 9th, 2008

A long, bloody time in the making, Spore finally hit store shelves (of course it had to be 3 days before I leave the country…) and I couldn’t resist picking it up to finally get my hands on it, despite how crappy my PC might run the game. Still, I’ve put a bit of time into the game and have come away utterly charmed!

While the game is a shadow of what was promised years ago (more or less and ‘Everything’-simulator), what is there shines. Spore‘s success lives or dies on its creature creator and, though I’ve only hit the second stage of evolution for my creature (called a Kruppe!), I’m already astounded by the level of customization available and how it all works! The flexibility of the engine becomes rather mind boggling when one takes a look at the Sporepedia and peruses the creatures created by all the other players in the world, a number over 10 million strong.

Here’s a look at the creatures made by my brother and I:

If you want to follow along with my creations (well, mostly my brother’s while I’m gone), you can head on over to my profile in the Sporepedia and see everything that’s come out of my twisted mind!

If you’ve got Spore, be sure to leave my your name so I can add you in game and have your creatures populate my galaxy!

Videogames

An Aside | Final Fantasy XIII Coming to Xbox360

By Aidan Moher July 16th, 2008

E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), much maligned in the past few years, has been home to many of the major bombshell announcements to rock the videogame industry in the last several years, and you can add another one to the list.

At the end of an admittedly otherwise timid press conference, Microsoft brought out a fellow named Yoichi Wada, the current president of Japanese developer Square Enix to deliver a big ‘Fuck You’ to Sony. The announcement?

Final Fantasy XIII, one of Sony’s biggest weapons in the console war, is going multi-platform.

A screenshot of Square Enix's upcoming Final Fantasy XIII

Via 1UP:

“We’re ready to start developing FFXIII for 360,” said Square Enix’s Shinji Hashimoto. “First, we will complete the game for PS3 in Japan, then begin localization for America and Europe while developing the 360 version simultaneously. The PS3 and 360 versions will be released at the same time outside of Japan — although, due to language and other conditions, the game may not be released simultaneously across territories.”

The release information for Final Fantasy XIII

James Mielke, of 1UP, has a great interview with Yoshinori Kitase, the producer of Final Fantasy XIII, HERE.

As an Xbox360 owner still struggling to find reasons to buy a Playstation 3, I have one less reason to buy Sony’s console. This marks the first time since Final Fantasy VI that a mainline Final Fantasy game will release somewhere other than a Sony console (besides the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI), and is the first time that one will appear on multiple platforms at launch.