The Musings of a Gamer
I haven’t posted here for a week plus, so I thought I better put something up!. Aside from being rather busy and unmotivated to write, I have also been struggling to come up with a decent topic to dedicate a whole post to. So, in lieu of anything more substantial, here are some random thoughts about, you guessed it, VIDEO GAMES –
1. Meet the Hi-Saturn Navi, the stuff of dreams, or nightmares, dependant upon your take on karaoke sessions whilst driving. Released in December 1995, Hitachi’s top-of-the-range take on the Sega Saturn was flatter and thinner than the original model, as it was intended to be installed in a car. It features a karaoke system, TV antenna socket and an LCD monitor and GPS, which were quite the luxury at the time. Produced in extremely limited quantities, it cost ¥150,000 and one changed hands on EBAY a couple of years back for the best part of $2000.
Imagine, if you will, that it’s the mid nineties and you are cruising down the highway. You glance across your dashboard, and there in all its glory is the Hi-Saturn Navi. You’re not quite sure exactly where you are going, so you check your built-in GPS. Back on track and cruising through the suburbs, you decide that its time to impress the locals. You drop down the soft top, and bang out some karaoke tunes. You rest safe in the knowledge that nothing impresses the ladies quite like some J-Pop from 1996. To top the journey off, you slip in a copy of Nights or Sega Rally into your sleek box of wonders. It’s the prefect companion for any journey. As you can probably imagine, the one thing the Hi-Saturn isn’t particularly good at is preventing road accidents. Attempting to play Virtua Cop whilst behind the wheel is not recommended.
2. Ok, like seemingly everyone else who owns a PS3, I am currently playing and thoroughly enjoying Uncharted 2. Don’t worry, neither spoilers nor a review follows. What I will say though, is that I have had a smile plastered across my face from the moment I broke the seal, and in a change of recent gaming form, I have found myself playing for extended periods, completely losing track of time. Of late, I have only been playing games in short bursts, but I just cant pull myself away from Nathan Drake’s morally suspect adventures and impressive vertical, and horizontal, jump.
Uncharted 2 has fostered a sense of urgency that has only been brought about by two other titles during this current generation, those two being Uncharted and Metal Gear Solid 4. I’m power-walking from the station to my sofa after work, and I literally sprinted from my office to the local import shop on the day of release, after being informed that it had arrived hours before its US launch. It was on the shelf less than 10 minutes when I got my grubby hands on it.
3. So as to avoid buying a new game in the run-up to Uncharted 2 ( I almost gave in to NBA Live 10 and Ninja Gaiden Σ 2), I invested some time in a couple of titles that had been collecting dust on my shelf. FIFA ’09 provided the standard football fare and Battlefield Bad Company was one part frustration and another part satisfaction, just as I remembered it being during my previous attempt at playing it through. But it was Lost Planet that grasped the rare opportunity to shine. Emboldened by the Lost Planet 2 demo, I decided to give the original a go, which came boxed with my 360. I was really enjoying the shooting, adventuring and big game hunting, at least until my 360 informed me that it could no longer read the disc, and that I should familiarize myself with a damp cloth. The game is unplayable. I swear, my 360 doesn’t want me to like it. Prick.
4. Last one. Have you ever been Quincied? If you aren’t sure, then you definitely haven’t been. Quincying is one of the few ways you can entertain yourself in PS3 Home. Words can’t really do it justice, so check out this brief, safe for the work place clip for the low-down. Anyone who has seen female avatars being mobbed in Home will definitely appreciate this -
QUINCYING
1. Meet the Hi-Saturn Navi, the stuff of dreams, or nightmares, dependant upon your take on karaoke sessions whilst driving. Released in December 1995, Hitachi’s top-of-the-range take on the Sega Saturn was flatter and thinner than the original model, as it was intended to be installed in a car. It features a karaoke system, TV antenna socket and an LCD monitor and GPS, which were quite the luxury at the time. Produced in extremely limited quantities, it cost ¥150,000 and one changed hands on EBAY a couple of years back for the best part of $2000.
Imagine, if you will, that it’s the mid nineties and you are cruising down the highway. You glance across your dashboard, and there in all its glory is the Hi-Saturn Navi. You’re not quite sure exactly where you are going, so you check your built-in GPS. Back on track and cruising through the suburbs, you decide that its time to impress the locals. You drop down the soft top, and bang out some karaoke tunes. You rest safe in the knowledge that nothing impresses the ladies quite like some J-Pop from 1996. To top the journey off, you slip in a copy of Nights or Sega Rally into your sleek box of wonders. It’s the prefect companion for any journey. As you can probably imagine, the one thing the Hi-Saturn isn’t particularly good at is preventing road accidents. Attempting to play Virtua Cop whilst behind the wheel is not recommended.
2. Ok, like seemingly everyone else who owns a PS3, I am currently playing and thoroughly enjoying Uncharted 2. Don’t worry, neither spoilers nor a review follows. What I will say though, is that I have had a smile plastered across my face from the moment I broke the seal, and in a change of recent gaming form, I have found myself playing for extended periods, completely losing track of time. Of late, I have only been playing games in short bursts, but I just cant pull myself away from Nathan Drake’s morally suspect adventures and impressive vertical, and horizontal, jump.
Uncharted 2 has fostered a sense of urgency that has only been brought about by two other titles during this current generation, those two being Uncharted and Metal Gear Solid 4. I’m power-walking from the station to my sofa after work, and I literally sprinted from my office to the local import shop on the day of release, after being informed that it had arrived hours before its US launch. It was on the shelf less than 10 minutes when I got my grubby hands on it.
3. So as to avoid buying a new game in the run-up to Uncharted 2 ( I almost gave in to NBA Live 10 and Ninja Gaiden Σ 2), I invested some time in a couple of titles that had been collecting dust on my shelf. FIFA ’09 provided the standard football fare and Battlefield Bad Company was one part frustration and another part satisfaction, just as I remembered it being during my previous attempt at playing it through. But it was Lost Planet that grasped the rare opportunity to shine. Emboldened by the Lost Planet 2 demo, I decided to give the original a go, which came boxed with my 360. I was really enjoying the shooting, adventuring and big game hunting, at least until my 360 informed me that it could no longer read the disc, and that I should familiarize myself with a damp cloth. The game is unplayable. I swear, my 360 doesn’t want me to like it. Prick.
4. Last one. Have you ever been Quincied? If you aren’t sure, then you definitely haven’t been. Quincying is one of the few ways you can entertain yourself in PS3 Home. Words can’t really do it justice, so check out this brief, safe for the work place clip for the low-down. Anyone who has seen female avatars being mobbed in Home will definitely appreciate this -
QUINCYING
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