Monthly Archive for March, 2004

Lucifer, you need a life

Published
by
Blackmane
on 30/3/2004
in Gaming
. 1 Comment

I hate the army. This place really, really sucks. I mean… Come on…. I don’t even get to bring in that uber nice PSOne mini that comes with its own screen! What’s a gamer to DO in this bloody place?

Read your guide books? A little pointless unless you’re playing a game which requires it *coughFFX2guidebookcough* to make sure you’re not screwed over BY YOUR OWN FREAKIN GUIDE BOOK….

I feel the urge to get around to playing online again. I mean.. I miss the adrenaline rush of talking to real life people in meaningful conversation as we hack away at the brutal orc and the thief is shouting “HEAL ME YOU BLOODY FOOLS!” while the cleric’s trying to do just that.

Ahh… role playing. *Sighs* I miss it.

Popularity: 5% [?]

My grandfather can whoop your grandfather at Q2DM1*

Published
by
Lucifer Morningstar
on 29/3/2004
in Gaming
. 1 Comment

(* For the uninitiated, Q2DM1 was one of the most popular Quake 2 Deathmatch maps, featuring nice wide open space for some Railgun love)

As i approach my 27th birthday, I inevitably start to wonder, how old is too old before gaming becomes nothing more than a faded memory in the annals of my life? Whenever I let slip that I really, really enjoy gaming, I often get less-than-complimentary glances from other people. It’s as if they’re all thinking “So old and still playing computer games? Get a life!”

However, what these people don’t understand, is that the target demographic for most games out there, is no longer the preschool and kiddy group, but the adult group. Several examples come to mind immediately. When I first played Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father, I felt that the story was way too “adult” in nature for the younger crowd to understand it. If anything, Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within only served to reinforce that notion.

Even in MMORPGs, the age divide becomes painfully apparent why trying to group with other players. You can always recognise the student because he’ll be the one running around naked in the East Commons shouting “LAMMYS/SSOY/PH4T L3WT5 FOR SALE SEND TELLZ PLZ”, while it’s not as easy to spot the nice mature gamer who bothers to actually talk while grouping and knows his stuff well. This has not changed in my MMORPG experience, from UO, to EQ, to SWG, and to FFXI.

I guess from an outsider’s point of view, gaming is probably viewed as a frivolous pasttime, something that can be and should be foregone in favour of more “exciting” things, like clubbing, or wakeboarding, or whatever it is that you “cool dudes” and “cool dudettes” do these days. But gaming opens up a whole new world of imagination that was previously only available in novels, and nobody ever slammed anyone for reading too much. Where else can you trek to the farthest reachests of Syberia, or travel in parallel worlds with April, or drive around in a stolen car running people down willy nilly? Where else can you command an army of orcs, or win 5 consecutive Champions League titles with Manchester United, or beat Michael Schumacher at his own game?

Gaming gives us a chance to be someone else who leads an infinitely more exciting life than that of a 9-5 worker drone. Gaming transcends reality, and offers an experience like none other. And most of all, gaming, in its very essence, is pure, unadulterated, harmless fun (Please ignore any stupid references to Columbine). Because when that computer is switched off, the real world is still the real world, and life still goes on.

I don’t think I’ll ever give up gaming. Not a chance. I want to be gaming with my kids. I want to be gaming with my grandkids. I want to be gaming till I die. And most of all, I want my grandkids to be able to brag that their grandad was once a pretty kickass Quake 2 player.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Because Asking One by One Would Take a Long Time.

Published
by
KIRBYSIM
on 29/3/2004
in Gaming
. 1 Comment

People say that a good night’s sleep fixes everything. It’s not true. I still felt distraught when I woke up this morning. I needed to go out, and what better way than to visit the local arcade?

Tampines was quite the arcade gamer paradise, back in its heyday. There were 3 arcards, all located within each other’s vicinity. However, just as the beautiful snow must eventually melt, Today there are two, and many great machines were gone. Sure, the most popular ones were still around, and new games like Time Crisis 3 and OutRun2 continued to stream in, but now I have to travel halfway across the sunny island to play Keyboardmania 3rd Mix, or Pop’n Music 5.

Anyway, the first thing that caught my eye on my way into the Century Square branch of the Star Factory was a small advert about a ‘Super Street Fighter’ tournament. Initially I hadn’t gave the tournament much thought, since I knew that at the very instance I was reading the detail-deprived sign the tournament must be proceeding just nicely in their Suntec City branch. I had previously saw the sign stating the tournament was on 28th March. Then I noticed that the date given was now 1st May.

“Please ask counter staff for details” I quote the sign. With a decent amount of interest now, I asked the nearer of the two guys behind the counter. His education standard was impressive:
Continue reading ‘Because Asking One by One Would Take a Long Time.’

Popularity: 5% [?]

You’re not alone Shey

Published
by
Blackmane
on 27/3/2004
in Gaming
. 0 Comments

Hey Shey, you’re not alone. I haven’t finished my copy of the Longest Journey either (heck.. I haven’t even gotten into the next WORLD yet…) and gaming has taken a serious back seat due to several work commitments.

*shrugs* The life of the Singaporean I suppose. Or anyone. You gotta sacrifice something for something else, and it’s what you’re willing to sacrifice. Now I’m what I’d call a hard core gamer… I play almost every genre in the book… but *shrugs* There comes a time….

I’ll be posting random thoughts and musings as and when I get around to it, so feel free to fling a few my way (And no, no tentacles NPC) anytime.

For starters, if anyone thinks Liv Tyler was hot in LOTR, they haven’t seen this very, very sweet little thing who was cosplaying as her in last year’s end of year event. She’s all of 16 but *shakes head* Yowza!

Ah but keep thine horny minds in check lads (and ladies, for those whose bent is that way….) for she’s a pure lass and we’d not want to do nothing to hurt one as wonderfully pure as her now do we?

*grabs the guys and pulls them back* DO WE?!?!

Popularity: 5% [?]

I’m a non-gamer

Published
by
Sheylara
on 24/3/2004
in Gaming
. 1 Comment

The hardest thing in the world for a gamer to admit: I haven’t played games for months! Ack. *runs and hides*

Seriously. Been busy the past few months and consciously avoiding games. I have an EQ subscription collecting dust on my credit card bill. And I have 4 boxes of The Sims games waiting for me to install and play. :D (Some kind soul donated them to me and I can’t wait to play them cos I’ve only ever played the original The Sims and none of the expansions.

And I have yet to finish The Longest Journey (very old PC adventure game). It’s certainly a long journey to finish that one.

And there’s my friend who keeps trying to pass me new games to play and me politely declining. Doh. What kind of gamer am I, huh?

Gimme MORE TIME!!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Ragnarok Online

Published
by
ashke
on 22/3/2004
in Gaming
. 0 Comments

Well, here’s my first post about gaming.

I started playing RO on Sunday. This morning, I finally became an Archer. What got me started on this game is my brother (he’s been playing for some time). I’ve only put off trying it out because I’d probably get addicted to it at just the wrong time (ie. pre-March Common Tests period).

The graphics are quite good and it is definitely very kawaii (a definite plus point in my books). My brother describes it as a ‘Runescape but cuter’ which I really agreed (I played Runescape for awhile but it was kind of boring and a bother to play X_X).

Anyway, besides being cute, there’s a lot you can do… learn skills, trade, get a pet, upgrade your profession, save the world from demons =P… Your basic MMORPG, I suppose… just very cute (ok, gotta stop going on about the kawaii-ness)…

So far, being a new player (although I did become an archer today XD), the game’s been pretty good so far… haven’t encountered any idiotic newbie-killers and the one guy who wanted to trade with me gave me a decent price for stuff (I think, I mean, compared to the shops, you know? I think he may have been desperate for some of it)… So, it’s a decent game ^_^…

Well, got to get back to the game now… shall say more as I go along. Cheers!

Popularity: 6% [?]

I’m Worthy Now!!

Published
by
NPC #16
on 21/3/2004
in Gaming
. 0 Comments

I am proud to announce that after playing Toy Box EX on my mini pop’n controller during a 2 hour attempt to avoid work, I experienced a sharp pain in my forearm that is now somewhere between ‘Throb’ and ‘Ache’.

In other words, I have received my first Playstation 2-related injury. I proudly add the word ‘THE’ to my paper crown which reads ‘Queen of Nerds’ in yellow crayon.

To sum up, one sprained foream, roughly 30 hours of Pop’n 9 and one mother screaming at me to get off the frickin TV later, I have unlocked more than 90% of Pop’n Music 9. Add ‘life’ to my wishlist for Santa this year.

Cut to slime out, yo.

Popularity: 5% [?]