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 September
11
With the recent events which took
place on September 11th, I wanted to veer off course with this
weeks rant. Last week I didn't write one as I didn't feel humor
was really appropriate at the time and with everyone glued to
the news I felt very few would read it. This week I wanted to
write a little about what happened, and what is happening from
my point of view, bare with me as this is likely to be a little
more somber than I usually write, not to mention it won't have
anything to do with computers. I'll be back next week with my
take on all the hype in the computer industry but for now I'll
leave you with this.
Booth
Babes
I know, I know, we all like to see
the skimpily clad women hired by game companies as we set out to
see what is new in the gaming world, the question is, is it
right? I guess that depends on how you define right. I
personally define right as the side of my body opposite the left
side. So there you have it. I guess whether it is right or not
in my opinion depends on what direction the booth babes are from
where you may be standing.
I
Hate Quake
If you’ve ever read any of my work,
you know I have a deep inner hatred of Quake, and Quake-like
games. "What?" you may ask, "how can you hate these types of
games and run a Shooter web site?" Well, "it’s easy," I would
say in reply, "Luckee and Frag-girlie run the Shooter web site,
I just write an occasional review and the weekly rant."
Game
Violence
...Lets
face it, violence is a part of life and society and has been
from the dawn of time. Does that make it right? Of course not.
Now lets look at all the blame placed on violent computer games
on the market. Do games like Quake 3, Doom, Unreal, or Duke
Nuk’em make kids go out and rampage through schools with guns in
hand? Of course not, after all in my experience Quake 3 is more
of a sedative.
Ad
Banners
...With the end of the old style ad
banners we have seen a who new breed of ad banners we will never
ever click on. From the 3/4 screen banner to the ever annoying
pop-up banners. I think we would all respond to these in the
same fashion. Bring on the nacho cheese! I nearly forgot the
ever popular banner that every time you close one six more
pop-up until you finally have to shut off your computer before
it runs out of memory. In the past we only had to worry about
these if we stumbled onto Big Earl’s House Of Porn.
Frighteningly enough I have started to see these appear on game
sites.
Expansion
Packs
...The
biggest flaw I have seen in the area of expansion packs is
content. Game designers realize that for some odd reason people
have actually purchased and liked their game. So what do they
do? They’ve already got your $50 from when you bought it. Well
in the spirit of capitalism they each grab one end of your
wallet and twist until they can’t possibly squeeze another penny
out of it. Now you’re probably saying to yourself, "Was that who
those two guys were who I caught in my house last night"? In
response all I can say is most likely.
Half-Life
Mods
...Half-Life seems to be a game
that has a lot of mods associated with it. We were recently
talking about this amongst ourselves and decided to run a poll
to see how our readers felt. So we posed the question: "With
all the mods that have been made for Half-Life, which do you
feel is the best?" Here are some short refresher descriptions of
each game we included in our poll.
FPS
Games at E3
...
During the third
week of May, E3 2001 becomes the epicenter of the interactive
entertainment universe. More than 62,000 retailers, developers,
investors, distributors and media representatives from across
the U.S. and over 100 other countries come together for a three
day interactive entertainment extravaganza. In short, E3 is the
one event that addresses all the business needs of the video and
computer game industry. That's why 81% of attendees rate E3 as
one of the most important shows they attend.
With all the
game showings at E3 this year, we asked our readers this
question in our latest poll: "In the midst of E3, what title are
you most anxiously awaiting?" Here are some short descriptions
of each game included in our poll.
Treatment
of Female Gamers
...I thought
that was pretty odd behavior during a game like Counter Strike
and decided I wasn’t going to chat at all with him, no matter
how many questions he pounded me with. The game went on for a
little while longer and the whole time I had to endure questions
from this player… where do I live, am I single, what color are
my eyes. I can only imagine what he might have asked if I had
given him any information at all. Some comments can be
flattering to your ego, but you have to know when enough is
enough and what crosses the line. Besides, cyber-love just
doesn’t seem like it would be my thing… I’m a hands-on kind of
girl.
Don't Box Me In!!
...Honestly, I
do not think it would be that hard to not ship it loose, or in a
plastic baggie like it was something the packaging company was
worried about getting out. Then again, maybe they know something
we do not, as I have seen more than a few games as of late which
should have come with a pooper-scooper to remove from my
system...
Carcas on is RTS DOA?
There has been
much talk as of late about Real Time Strategy games being dead.
People say that there is nothing noteworthy being done with the
genre and what you see now is largely death throes, the golden
age before the sun sets. Others, of course, disagree. Opinions
seem rampant on the subject and I know you are probably thinking
"I wonder what Carcas has to say about this." *shrugs* Okay,
maybe not, but I will tell you just the same.
The Death of Real
Time Strategy
...I
realize I am going to upset many of you and I am sure there are
thousands of people who will strongly disagree with the
statement that Real Time Strategy (RTS) is dead. In my career as
a gamer I have seen many games come and go. I see hundreds of
avenues with untapped potential that games can go which sadly
remain untapped....
Editorial: The
Reviewer
...No, generally
it is not a sign for you to trade your friends in for the good
kind, you know, the ones that lie around, don't complain much,
and do not resist you taking the weapon from their cold,
grave-like grip. Generally this is just from a difference of
opinion. Opinions, like other things, is something most of us
have and we are each entitled to...
Are We Having Fun
Yet?
...The sniper
knew up on the next level was where all the good weapons were,
hidden about another small complex of hallways. Without
hesitation, he ran up to the elevator and waited for the door to
open. The ride up seemed longer than usual and he reflexively
dove to the side once the door opened, but no shots rang out. He
was the first...
The Multiplayer
Trend
..."Now watch
some jerk happen by and run off with all that loot while I am
low on ammo." I thought. It was an odd thought, Fallout 2 was
only a single player game. The realization struck me within a
moment and somehow I felt a bit deflated. Somehow that snuffed
my fun...
Getting the Best
Game For Your Buck
I think one of
the few questions that has crossed our minds once or twice while
trying to decide what new game to buy is "Is this game going to
be good or will it suck"? Believe me I have bought more than a
few games that weren’t worth the gas money it cost me to go down
and pick it up....
Halloween the
Ultimate FPS
Now when I say Halloween would be a great first person shooter I
am not talking about Duke Nukem running around a residential
neighborhood blasting bag toting kiddies in plastic Poke`mon
masks (although that could be fun too). I am talking about
making a movie like Night of The Living Dead, John
Carpenter’s Vampires, and a dozen other good horror movies
into a first person shooter.
How to Host a LAN Party
One of the most exciting and rewarding aspect of most first
person shooter style games is the multiplayer option. Playing
with or against a friend or a group of friends can breath a
whole new life into a game that has otherwise gone stale in
single player or Internet mode....
Fragging Tips
Whilst the first thing you should work on is improving your
combat skills, getting around the level is important too. Why?
Oh yeah, that's right - so you can get the big guns. You won't
get many kills walking around in the same room....
LAN Setup Instructions
There comes a time in out gaming lives, that playing alone
becomes.. well, lonely. And some of us who are hard into playing
games across the internet often find communication difficult,
especially when cooperative and team play is a preference. It is
also an added bonus to be able to hear you victim's curses, and
have him hear your evil sadistic laughter as you plug him
repeatedly full of bullets......
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