This Site: Inactive

This site is currently inactive. I keep it around for portfolio purposes at this time. Feel free to check the archives for some oldies but goodies!

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The Good and the Corrupted ...Files

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel on the Xbox 360. Yeah, it's had a rocky start. This role-playing game lines up beside Diablo 2 and Darkstone in gameplay. You have many quests, 6 character choices, good or evil campaigns, and a great co-op play.

Unfortunately, the promised carrier imp for pre-ordering has yet to appear. They had technical difficulties with the download content systems - you can read the spiel on CDV's website. I'm sure they will fix it in a patch.

Was the game rushed? Well, there is definitely a dark side in the first week. Twice, my husband has had a Corrupt Save File. He goes to log into the game. Gets a message his save file is corrupt. He loses all his game and has to delete his save file (40kb vs. my 108kb working save file).

I found others on the Xbox forum. This is a common problem and appears to be happening only in multiplayer. The Xbox forum's post on Bugs, Glitches, and... has people discussing this problem.

Many people are speculating on when and why the game gets corrupted. I'm sure they will fix the corrupt save file in a patch. It's a big problem that will keep people from playing the game. And you want to play the game. Because the offline co-op kicks ass. You play on the same screen -no split mess. You can't zoom in and out, but you can move the camera. I was very happy to see this genre have a nice offline co-op.

The Good

Nothing says fun like glowing armor. The item textures are gorgeous, even at low levels. The quests are easy to follow with a clear map. Different colored arrows direct you to class, side, and main quests. You get a mount early. You can do a little fighting on your mount. The abilities/spell tree allows for a wide array of specialization. I haven't encountered much lag, yet.
It's pretty. It's fun. It's...well....a great game when it works.

The Plan

Today, my hubby plans to pick up a memory stick. We are going to try and put a copy of my good save game in it, so I can play without fear. I'm really not willing to play and lose my characters. I've seen it happen to my husband twice. I've completed the totally awesome Blind Guardian band quest, went to the concert, and cheered over the good loot. If I can't make a copy of my good file, I'll just play alone till it's fixed. It's one thing to lose your low level characters, but quite another to lose a game after hours and hours of play.

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Gamer Tunes: Girl Gamer

I need some tunes to lighten up my finals week. Warning! This post may offend. Well, I love this Bryan Simon guy. He has some really funny songs on Youtube. A guy with a guitar and a damn good sense of humor. This song "Girl Gamer on My Friend's List" is a personal favorite.

As I listened to the song again, I realized the line "she even teabags" may confuse a few. Here's my loose definition:

Teabag: noun - Testicals, balls, nads, nuts, juevos, family jewels, etc...
Teabag: verb - To shove your character's teabags in another character's face, usually after knock-out or death.

It's usually used when you kill someone and rub it in their face. Pretty literal enforcement, I think. But, if you're wondering what the hell this looks like on a game. Never fear!

This rap music video "Straight Outta Blood Gultch" from Pure Pwnage has some great gameplay video of it. Enjoy.

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Gayest Game: Enchanted Arms

As I mentioned in the Great Cheap Game: Culdcept post, I often look for cheap, old games I never tried. Like movies, so many games exist, I often miss some good ones.

I wish I had missed this bad one. I had seen Enchanted Arms for Xbox 360 and the PS3 quite cheap at my local Gamestop. It appeared a "classic" RPG (role-playing game) style. Hastings had it for rent. It looked good....until I played it.

Why So Bad?

First, it has horrible, weird dialogue. The acting sounds like one guy changing his voice. Second, the script babbles on with lame conversation.

Thirdly, it is SO gay. Not to offend my gay and lesbian friends. Not to revert to 13 yr. old dialogue. But, OMG gay....totally gay....Liberace gay. One character is actually gay, and has this weird flaming presence. It's rather offending and stereotypical. His spells look rediculous...as he plays his little saxophone and sings "Aaaagghh." Watch the movie below to give you some impression of this character.

Of all genres, I expect RPGs to have a story with well-developed characters. I may skip past some dialogue, but in general I watch, read, and get involved. I rented the worst game ever. I hope the writers and developers now work for Chuck E. Cheese.

Anything Good?

Well, I just couldn't play it for more than a few battles. But, I did get a damn good laugh out of it. Seriously, I had tears running down my face. Was it supposed to be this funny? Sort-of the same laugh I have with a really bad "B movie." Those movies we watched on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 look like Oscar material next to this game.

Your Worst Game?

We all have different tastes. That's what makes life very fun. I've disliked games for lag, gameplay, and difficulty. What is the worst game you ever played? Why was it SO bad?

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Great Cheap Game: Culdcept

Renting games to check them out works great. However, you can find many used games for cheap. Most rental places, Hastings, and Gamestop sell used games. You can find great games this way without dropping $60. I've found many for $10.

Sometimes, I find a gem. A cheap game with great replay ability. Culdcept Saga definitely fits this build. It's somewhat a cross between the Magic the Gathering card game and Monopoly. The single player teaches the game really well. The game has hours of replay with different decks to build and cards to collect.

You have a deck. This deck includes creatures, spells, and items (like swords and armor). In the versus mode, you may play with or against friends (online or offline) as well as characters from the storyline. You may play in allied teams.

Each Turn

The game determines player order randomly. You start with 5 cards.

1. You draw a card from your deck.
   
2. You may cast a spell.
3. You roll the dice to travel around the board.
4. You land on a square and may cast a creature card.

Creatures

If you land on an empty square, you may cast a creature card. If the square has an enemy creature, you may invade it. All creatures have strength (ST) and life called Hit Points (HP). Many also have special abilities.

Most creatures also have elements associated with them. Creatures may be associated with Wind: yellow, Fire: red, Water: blue, and Earth: green. Some creatures are colorless.



ex. The red Chimera creature has 30 strength (ST) and 50 Hit Points (HP). It Attacks First and gains 10 ST every time the user makes a lap.

Spells

You can also damage creatures, steal gold, draw cards, and do many other things with spell cards.
These cards can also add effects to you, your enemy, or creatures. The effect may be positive - like adding ST points. Or negative - like reducing HP points.


ex. The spell Brave Song adds 20 strength to all your creatures for four rounds.

Items

You can use these when you attack with creatures, or are being attacked. They include things that give ST like swords. Some items add to HP like armor. Other items have special abilities and may reflect damage, steal items, or neutralize damage.



ex. This sword item gives the Seismodon creature extra strength in battle.

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