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7-13 | Detroit Airport | 6am

Dick Ward — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:20:20 +0000

Sitting in the airport in Detroit is a fairly funereal affair. No, funeral would imply activity, this is more like a wake. People who don’t know each other are gathered together, all dealing with the same difficult emotional baggage. Waking up early enough for a 6:30am flight is difficult enough, but going through security is a herculean task even for the most stalwart traveler. All single travelers are silent, with the only noise coming from a man adjusting his wheelchair. Then with a wave of energy and cheer enough to fill all other travelers with instant disdain comes a group, presumably from a school or church, all wearing the same happy shirts. I’ve decided that they’re a cult.
My flight from Detroit is short, as I debark in Memphis Tennessee. It’s only about two hours, but I know the time will pass much more quickly. Hopefully my time in the Memphis airport will be eventful. I begin to wonder if anyone else on this flight will be going where I’m going, or even know what it is. Videogames are like professional wrestling. While a fan would surely be insanely excited at the prospect of meeting Ricky ”TheDragon” Steamboat, no one outside the sport even knows who he is. The same can be said I’m sure of Shiguero Miyamoto. Developers aren’t stars, and to anyone outside the core audience, these aren’t videogames, they’re toys.
Still, I brim with the excitement of the trip. Off to get a muffin before the flight starts. I’d hate to be hungry the whole way there.

Backsplosion 3: Son of Backsplosion

Dick Ward — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:31:23 +0000

So, I'm not sure if it was basketball on Monday, kayaking on Sunday or just cracking my back in a weird way as a workmate theorizes, but my back kerploded again. Only a few days before E3 I'm in some pretty severe pain, but luckily, my job is nice and flexible(yeah, I don't get paid for writing yet... not enough to move to full time anyway). I did a lot of work from home which was nice, and managed to get in to work today. It's been a rough one! I should be fully recovered by the first press conference, which I imagine will be incredibly uncomfortable, seating wise. Don't it figure?

Dungeon Runners - A Freemmo - E3 Approaches

Dick Ward — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 05:42:39 +0000

Picked up Dungeon Runners on Tuesday, and I'm actually having a ton of fun with it. It's somewhere between Gauntlet and Diablo, but not quite up to the par of either. It really doesn't matter though, since it's fun, and cheap. I paid for a box copy to get some super cool member bonuses, which is nice. The Bling Gnome that picks up gold and autosells items is invaluable. The game's pretty funny too, which is a huge bonus. I'm only level 7 at the moment, but will relay more as I advance.

Hancock, not so great. The following review contains spoilarz.

E3 is fast approaching. Is 'fast approaching' a phrase that's used way too often? Maybe I just say it a lot...

Anyway, E3 is coming up quickly and I'm pretty jonesed. It'll be my first year attending, and my schedule is insanely busy. Starting Sunday night at the Kotaku party, and lasting until late Thursday, I'm busy all week. Friday and Saturday will be time to attempt to see friends that have moved out that way, but will likely be filled with a lot of writing and emailing. Amazingly, the next week it will be a relief to do something as simple as my full time job.

Get Smart, Commando 3, Next Gen My Ass!, and some talk on adventure games.

Dick Ward — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:27:49 +0000

Reviews are up for Get Smart as well as Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3. Good stuff!

I've posted a new column at Xbox Focus about the Xbox 360, and how it handles simple things like saved games. I've entitled it "Next Gen My Ass" and I think it gets the point across pretty well.

E3 is coming up and my schedule is filling nicely. Fallout 3 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed are my most anticipated games going into it, but who knows what surprises await!

I've also played through Dracula: Origin and done a review for Ace Gamez. It's neat and all, but really, if this is all the adventure genre has to offer , I'm okay with not seeing it again. Luckily, Sam & Max is around to prove that point and click adventure titles don't all have to be frustrating and outdated. I just wish others would pick up on it.

It's not the money. It's not like adventure games look bad, and I love the low system requirements, its' the one thing they're doing right. How hard is it, though, to put things where I can see them, support widescreen, make some decent puzzles, and for god sakes let me quicksave. If there's no autosave, I want to be able to F6 to save and F7 to load, none of this old school 'select a save slot' nonsense. If your game has the same save system as Daggerfall and it wasn't made in 1996, then we have a problem.

First piece of Hate Mail! It's an exciting day!

Dick Ward — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:31:04 +0000

Truly, I have arrived. I received the first piece of what will inevitably be a great deal of hate mail. Not that my views are particularly offensive or disparaging, of course. I assumed that when it came, it would come from the "Top 10 360 Games for Your Girlfriend" list, which garnered much unwarranted accusations of sexism. Seriously, people were upset because I recommended that a girl who had never played a game before in her life may want to start playing Rock Band on easy.

Alas, no, the hate mail seems to have spawned from a rather innocent preview of Fable II. In the preview I stated that the fate of the game really rests on Peter Molyneux and whether he can live up to his promises. This is a pretty typical sentiment, as Molyneux has consistently over promised on what his games can do, especially with the original Fable. So while I do feel that it's a bit tacky to trot this sort of thing out, being my first opportunity to do so, I feel I have the right to indulge, just this once.

From John
"screw you man fable 2 will be amazing. molyneaux has demonstrated everything he said. you are a cumm guzzling astronaut. just remember, forskin is not a chew toy."

I'm honestly not sure what to make of this, as I am both complimented, lied to, and given what appears to be a fairly helpful tip. I'll take it as it goes.

screw you man fable 2 will be amazing. - I fully expect that it will be, I was a big fan of the first and am looking forward to the sequel.

molyneaux has demonstrated everything he said - I would expect such a rabid defender of his to spell his name properly. Aside from this point, no, he certainly hasn't demonstrated everything he said will be in the game. He has offered glimpses and renditions as well as the usual Peter Molyneux stories.

you are a cumm guzzling astronaut - I don't believe that I have ever guzzled anything in my life, including "cumm". Also, I'm fairly certain that without the proper degrees, I'm unfit for the job of astronaut, but would love the opportunity.

just remember, forskin is not a chew toy - This could be read one of two ways. Either "For skin is not a chew toy", which sounds rather Shakespearean, or "Foreskin is not a chew toy" which is probably good advice but confounds me as to the neccessity of the advice.

So thank you John, for making me truly feel that I'm doing my job properly. Your email has been spell and grammar checked and sent back.

The Dark Side of Xbox Live - Oh, and some Lost Odyssey

Dick Ward — Thu, 29 May 2008 06:11:18 +0000

New article up that's getting a lot of buzz. It talks about what is essentially the dark side of xbox live and some of its effects. Check it out at Xbox Focus.

Had a lot to write and I finally got my cords and mixer which took a little while to set up. I'll get into all the gory details of my current gaming space soon, it's a pretty killer setup for what it is. I managed to find a little free time for gaming though. I'm about an hour in to Lost Odyssey and so far it's pretty cool. That's not a lot of time I know, but I've experienced two of the short story dream sequences that were either reviled or revered by critics and so far I'm impressed. The first story, about a dying little girl in an inn, was really quite touching!

Indiana Jones and the Perception of the Gamer. Oh, and Best. Image. Ever.

Dick Ward — Tue, 27 May 2008 02:29:47 +0000

My Idiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull review is up at Crucial Pop. It's harsh to be sure, but in writing it, all I remembered was the terrible terrible effects scenes and the hackney acting and directing. I'm sure there are redeemable things about Indy, but I thought it was essentially a kind of crappy version of The Mummy, and I thought The Mummy sucked so there ya go I guess.

I've also got a new column up on the outsider's perception of gamers at Xbox Focus. Check it out, say somethin' nice, will ya?

In between StarCraft, Company of Heroes, Rise of Legends and Supreme Commander, I'm a bit overwhelmed on the RTS department. Each game has things that they do very very well, and some things they don't do so well, so it's an interesting way to play. I really wish StarCraft let me zoom out, and I really wish Supreme Commander were a bit simpler.

In closing I'd like to link everyone to a non gaming blog for a moment. Bad Astronomy is a fantastic site which in addition to busting fake sciences like astrology (ie. Bad Astronomy), and to inform people about good science. This link is to a video of Phil Plait, founder of Bad Astronomy, gesticulating about an amazing picture that was recently captured of the Mars Phoenix Lander descending towards the planet. He explains the significance of this far better than I ever could. As he writes in his blog "Never, ever forget: we did this. This is what we can do."

Where the hell have you been!?

Dick Ward — Mon, 26 May 2008 05:28:57 +0000

Okay, I've been a bit lax with the blog as of late. I now have deadlines every day of the week on top of working a full time job, so there's not a lot of free time available. I'll keep the updates coming, since there's a lot of cool stuff I've been up to. I have much to talk about, including The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, some computer games from a few years ago that I'm only recently playing, and hopefully some Lost Odyssey, assuming my replacement power supply comes in time.

I'm writing, in addition to Gaming Ring and Crucial Pop, for a site called Xbox Focus, who are allowing me to do editorial pieces in my column "Ouside the White Box", which is a fantastic change up from previews and reviews and allows me to flex a bit. They're all Xbox related of course, but all gamers should be able to appreciate the articles.

I've also reviewed Penny Arcade Adventures for Gaming Ring which can be found here. Despite my criticism, I still think this game series could be something really special. Just, not yet.