Author: Protoformalpha

1up migration post VI: "Holding it tight"

October 21st, 2006 8:20 AM

“This is just to say that I’ve finally decided to invest in a recent handheld and that is the DS. Why? Because a lot of friends have a PSP so I can easily borrow one to play my games on, all I need is a mem stick. But I only know 2 other guys in my area with a DS and only one is really a friend of mine. Do the math. The other reason is ’cause I like the innovations in most DS games, and having a PS2 a lot of PSP games just remind me of their console counterparts. There is some nice stuff like LocoRoco and Daxter, but in my eyes, they are not legion. Well, it’s just a personal opinion and I’m sure not many will share it. I wanted to buy the coral pink DS Lite just to be sure that none else around here has the same color as mine, but I figured “Too gay, if I were that’d be fine but since I’m not, let’s not give out the wrong signals.” I bought it with Contact, I’m won over by the idea of playing myself, the gamer holding the DS, I’m sure a lot of you brainiacs thought about the idea too, but thank God someone at least had the courage to put it to the test. That being said… 
Au revoir les amis.”

 
To this day, I still think Nintendo has the best to offer in handhelds. the PSVita is nice and has some very good offerings, but it has yet to beat the DS and 3DS in terms of innovation and the great memories they created…TWEWY anyone? I’m looking forward to how Sony intends on turning things around (for me), but honestly, in that theater of the console war, they are and should just stick to the fans they have.

1up migration post V : "Connecting people"

Aug 1st, 2006

“I haven’t really been one to play online games, especially since I had a really slow connection where I live. So except for Dofus and some Cribbage, nothing else. But then I met Guild wars. I tried it and loved it, but I could not decide to get a steady game or keep hopping tryouts on friends’ accounts. Now with Factions out, this might be my chance to give it a long-term go. So if any of y’all pass by and see me in-game, holla’!”

I never got to purchasing this game. I was distracted at the time by my obsession with the Wii. So I kept holding a lot of things off for it…

1up migration post IV: "Endings: new beginnings"

July 27th, 2006 3:26PM

“I’ve actually completed the main storyline! It was a bit easier than I thought a little near the end. But then again, I got quite paranoid about how I played, it’s all in the details as they say. There is so much I still have to do. Instead of continuing I think I’ll start over and try to go over as much of the other content as I can, for starters, being a vampire…
I’ll keep y’all posted!”

 
Which I don’t think I ever did. I wrote about other stuff after that but I doubt  I ever went back to discussing “Oblivion”. Mostly because despite the fact that it was a great improvement, the feel I got discovering Morrowind was so much more magical. The way Final Fantasy 6 was the best in the series for me, although I know very well how good “7” was.

1up migration post III: " Elder Scrolls"

June 27th, 2006 8:46AM

“I finally got my copy of Oblivion about two weeks ago, but I had to wait ’till last week to get me an extra 512mb of RAM to play it with a bit more comfort. I thought Morrowind was great. But this is even better! Although I must admit that for me the feel is different. Because I knew Morrowind, I don’t think this game has on me the effect it should have. Morrowind was hard but I played it like 8hrs per day and finished it fast while still getting through a lot of side quests. But this feels harder. But it’s fine by me. I really love the Arena, it makes good practice and can be a breeze at the right level with the right skills. One prob in all this: the Minotaur!!! Maybe it’s me but, could they not have been made so fracking hard to deal with?!!! Well, I’m gonna keep at it as much as I can, I got exams and can’t get too deep in it. It’s not a bad reason to fail, is it? But it is my last year. I feel that given the time, I will feel as great as I did playing Morrowind, ’cause objectively Oblivion is a much better game than it was.”

Oblivion really was a great game, lots of fun….until it took an arrow to the knee!

1up migration post II: "Wii"

May 21st, 2006 12:04 PM

“You won’t believe the how much I can’t wait for it. I’ve always considered the people at Nintendo as the most innovative of the gaming market and they are still proving me right. Their Wii is a must-have for me especially since it’ll probably be cheaper than a PS3. The upcoming games look good on all consoles but there are exclusives like Zelda and Smash Bros that I always enjoy. I might get a PS3 or a 360 but the Wii is the very first thing on my shopping list for the end of the year, even if I have to import it.”

For the record, I never got a PS3 or 360. Although I did buy a few favorite PS3 exclusives that I played on a friend’s console. I was considering getting a PS4, even pre-ordered one, but then I decided it was time to get a new gaming laptop because my current one was REALLY signs of age and I had a rather serious backlog on Steam. I loved my Wii, I don’t know so much about the WiiU because something feels missing. One interesting thing that a friend of mine pointed out during a discussion though is that of all consoles, Nintendo’s never let you down, no YLOD no RROD, you just plug and you play. Their hardware is the most stable out there, always…

1up migration post I : "Xmen"

Feb 11 2006, 4:44 PM

“I’ve played Xmen legends during the past two months. Eventually, I finished it. Last week I started on Xmen legends II. Today I’ve already gotten to the final act, did the game get easier from the first to the second opus? Or am I just playing far too much? Or both?
And here is a subject all on its own: med student, last year, how will I play once I start internship? Who will be crazy enough to take the chance and start a family with a madman of gaming such as I? And the questions could go on and on. Oh well, I’ll never change and mostly because I don’t want to. End of discussion. I do hope to have heirs to carry my love of games. Maktoub”

 
15 Posts left after this one, spread across many years since I was never too avid a “typer” (as opposed to writer [uses a pen or pencil]). I will see if I can post one each day if possible.

Migrating from 1up

For some reason, I cannot find a way to export my old 1up blog to a file. The site is still there but as some of you know, 1up is gone. SO, since I have found nothing on the internet about an easy way to do that, I will very simply undertake to copy and pasting the contents (but not the comments). I will also manually add on top of each pasted post the date it was originally created on 1up. Starting tomorrow, unless in the meantime someone can tell me of another more convenient way of migrating your posts from 1up.com …

To you that this concerns (yes, you….)

This here is slightly adapted (by me) from a fictional book by a fictional character (author) in a real book written by a real author:
“The Road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began;
Now far ahead the Road has gone
And you must follow if you can,
Pursuing it with eager feet
Until it meets some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet,
And whither then? I cannot say. “
Our paths have met and are now drifting a bit away. But the Road remains and as long as we follow it our paths will intertwine again maybe tighter than before. I just hope I see you often enough before you have to go really far away. I am very fond of you and remain forever your friend.
Love,
Al

… Now you don’t!

Now You See Me is a great magic movie in the likes of The Illusionist or The Magician. Things really are not what they seem and the interesting visual effects help deceive the audience as much as the public within the film. Though we think we have an edge the characters in the movie don’t, one can never be so wrong. We are always a step behind. It is only at the very end do we realize it. I won’t spoil it for anyone. Believe nothing, enjoy everything.
When you get to the final reveal, imagine our dearly departed friend Dokes from Dexter saying:
“SURPRISE motherfucker !!!! “

Lord of the Rings Online’s progressive download!!

Today, I jumped on the Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) bandwagon. I wanted to try it before, but the size of the download is really intimidating. Recently I signed up for a Coursera course about Online Games, the teachers seemed liked rather big fans of the game and I felt like I might get more out of the course if I played. There are two tracks in the course as you will see. I wish to be part of the crowd that plays, maybe all of us students can form kinship as I don’t have one yet.
I’m still in the introduction part of the game, and this is for me the one big interesting factor: the progressive downloading. After looking around in forums, once I was past my amazement when I stumbled upon the start screen after just a little while, I found that there are 3 stages to the download, and the first stage is only after roughly 250mb!! That is for the very short tutorial. And other stages are at other points (Introduction and full respectively). So basically, after the download reaches a certain stage you are allowed to play that portion while the rest of the game downloads! It’s pretty nice I think, instead of just sitting around waiting for the darn thing to finish you can jump right in and learn the ropes. I know it’s probably old news for a lot of people, but I was never much an MMO fan, mostly because the best time for ME to find adequate bandwidth is in the middle of the night.
For those who need proof, my screen right now: