When I have that kinda money, my xbox crashes down and there are more games of that caliber on the system, I will definitely retire Microsoft from my gaming systems and make the move. I guess sometime in 2010...
Edit: I just borrowed CoD4, Hitman Blood Money and Burnout Paradise from a friend of mine, I guess I'll start with those 
Thanks Shadow, I may check those out. I'll also get the Darkness. Bioshock I have on the PC, and I've already beat Gears in Coop and don't want to buy my own copy.
Ninja Gaiden II is supposed to be hard as shit which easily translates into frustratingly infuriating, which is as far a gaming experience as I want to be.
Is there anything relatively close to the pure awesomeness that was FFVII (in terms of story telling, depth of the experience, length of the game)?
Nice. Will be useful
Yeah I know, asking myself the same question, I just have a very hard time imagining photography technology was that elaborate back then. The first color photos were taken during the late 19th century, but the colors would have faded away and the precision of the optics was decades away from that kinda quality here.
At the same time I can't see these pictures having been recolored from black and white ones, and if that's the case that's one hell of a good job.
That's pretty neat, for a first iteration. I would definitely choose a large tablet in front of me with a keyboard and mouse over a gamepad, but that's pretty neat.
I tried Stalker as well. It continues to be, from what I remember, the number 1 on my "Where are all the colors gone" list of offenders. I really saw the beginning of that game as a prime example of a game that doesn't know whether it goes for realism or not. It's right in between and I guess that makes it fall even harder in the uncanny valley for me. That's one of the main things I like about my current game Prince of Persia, and other upcoming titles like Mirror's Edge or Bionic Commando. Give me that over any Stalker look alike. These games have embraced an artistic style and are sticking to it.
Reenactment ftw. Those are some very accurate shots though
Alright hear me out, cause I really have no idea what I should get playing next...
I bought my X360 in February, with Rock Band. Since then I have bought Forza 2, Mass Effect and GTAIV, and was offered Assassin's Creed, Naruto Rise of a Ninja and Lego Star Wars TCS.
I've finished all these games, and I'm now turning to Mapcore to help me decide what the next games will be. I'm a sucker for great narrative, story telling adventure/action/RPG games. I'm looking at old titles because the current line up hasn't been interesting at all afaic. So Bargain prices, more than 6 months old titles really. I won't pay 60 dollars for any games on the system right now, as none are worth it imho.
I continue to disagree that the games industry is hard to get into. That's just not my experience, nor has it been for many I've worked with. I got a test + interview after having done a single map for dods, without the interviewer having played it no less. 90 to 95% of every Ubisoft Campus class goes straight to Ubisoft after they're done studying. So many juniors have joined the industry around me within the two years I've been in myself that I just wonder whether staying after one project isn't harder than getting your foot in the door.
That's my experience of the European industry at least, where the huge powerhouses are few and far between. You're usually going to go in one studio for one project, be asked to stay unemployed after that's done until they call you back again 6 months later when they kick off the production of their next project. When you're lucky, as I've been, you get to work for Ubisoft or other major publishers, and if you're willing to play the mobility card, you can access a wide array of projects, though you're likely to end up in a European studio if you're a Euro, as there are no paperwork to do.
To me, complaining about the ease of entry in the industry sounds way too much like someone hasn't been taught what he really ought to:
- You never get anything for free, you need to work your ass off
- Any amount of education will never overtake the right amount of talent and passion
- If you're only as good as the next guy, no one will take you in.
One of the main beef I've had with every single games related school, and countless universities in France at least, is that you're fed knowledge that's supposed to make you able to work, but you never get to learn how to work. Hands deep in problems, tight deadlines to meet, you get to see if you're made for that path. I've lost track of the number of guys I've talked to who have absolutely never had any class on how to write resumes, apply for jobs, answer the phone professionally, prepare for interviews, and general negotiations.
That to me is the very backbone every single degree should train people in, because once you have these skills chances are you can land a job much easier regardless of the industry and your experience. Having been to a business school, I've had that training as they were deemed skills I would probably need in one of my future jobs. The reality is anyone could use those, and I've been lucky enough to get the upper hand during negotiations thanks to those. As a matter of fact I know I wouldn't be here in Montreal if I hadn't negotiated my way through many hurdles. My career in this industry would have taken a much different turn, and probably dead end.
Core2duo 2.6
2gb ram
250gb hd
GeForce 8800gts 640mb
22" wide monitor
Got that in April 07 though
Regarding the colors, yes it's mainly about the minimap, though I would also suggest using some specific colors for both lap and position. Right now because the red is the same as the kart in the screen, you could confuse it with the position of the guy immediately in front of you, the number of hits you've had on it, or any other thing you can think of pertaining to the situation.
It's a double edged sword as far as I'm concerned. The colors in the hud should be within the palette of your game, and at the same time be distinct enough that you don't misinterpret them at a glance for something they're not.
Regarding the minimap, I'd just try and have each white dots the actual colors of the opponent. In a case where the guy is sneaking up behind you and you can't see him, that could tell you lots. And in a team based multiplayer game (may come in the future, wth not) you'd be able to tell friend from foe.
The colors in the minimap could be stronger too. That pale green is a bit too close to the white anyway, that again at a glance you may not realize your own position within a cluster of karts.
These are random suggestions you may have already thought of, anyway here goes:
- rim lighting on the wheels makes karts seem gliding over the road (in this screenie at least), as was reported before.
- I don't know if this game will have multiple attacks stored behind the active one (or if we can even cycle through them to add some strategy too) but I don't see the current square shaped icon accommodating much of that. Perhaps a circular shape would work best in this case?
- While I like the colors used (both easily identifiable and pleasant to look at), there are currently some inconsistencies, and in terms of readability players may find it easier if the color of the go karts was reported on the minimap. Same thing for your current position, if say only one kart of the same color was allowed on the track at the same time.
- If you wanted to save space on the HUD, you could probably come up with a way to have lap and position in the same space. The leftover space could perhaps be used to list the current rankings in the race, and in the championship (again, the strategy element being that you can choose who to strike)
- Not sure whether having a milliseconds timer showing up all the time is preferable. May take up too much space VS what it brings to the actual race. I'm definitely in favor of having that show up once you cross the finish line (on each lap even) to show by what exact margin you beat your opponent.
I'm pretty sure they will, which based on the quality of their title should not be too much of a change.
I had all sorts of poor expectations on it given the long delays for it, and I was actually surprised those were only surpassed by the sheer disappointment of every single review I've read. Not looking forward to ever trying it.
At work, we have different boards where we post articles and reviews on all games published by Ubisoft. Haze is currently up on the one next to my desk, and I hope everyone who stops and reads those will remember what not to do in their next projects...
I can only imagine how much of a toll this commute can take on your life. God knows I'd never cope with that much time off my day. Sincerely sorry for that misfortune, however you can probably find that during the project you got a lot better at your job and may have developed other skills. Nothing ever goes to total waste I think. Like others said, if Sony aren't a bunch of jerks you can probably use some of your work in a portfolio.
meh, might get one. Need to see about my connections there to get a discount, that's just too expensive still.
Pretty balanced if you ask me
Your Type is
INFJ
Introverted Intuitive Feeling Judging
Strength of the preferences %
22 25 25 11
And I'm an idealist counselor, which I believe suits me pretty well
I'm so getting this when it gets released.
I had a good time pretending to be a German with Klein this afternoon, but bring on the French tomorrow and we'll start talking
Looks are nothing special from the very low res glimpse we could see right there, and they better have some very genre defining moments and weapons if they're going to stand the trials of critics and gamers. Anything else but a FPS genre killer, both SP and MP will be seen as dismissable if not a pure joke.
