Enough of the gaming
I’ve decided I will limit the amount of talking I do about video games, technology and the like to once a week at most. It can get boring to read, and I get carried away when typing it!
This weekend my local community is having its annual Diwali celebrations, which will be fun. Yeah I know, it’s 2 weeks too late, but it doesn’t stop the naach-ing. I will type that up for Sunday’s blog.
Have a good one.
Paradise – coming soon to an Xbox 360 near you?
Hey peeps,
I was playing Super Mario Galaxy and I came across a level where you ride a sting ray and go surfing. The waves and the colours of the level made me think – wouldn’t it be awesome if there was a game where you lived on an island, just like this. Isle Delfino from Mario Sunshine came into my head. It’d be a blast.
I then began plotting an idea – what would the game have? What would you do on the island? Would you play as a character, or a God-like figure? And is it online? So thus ‘Paradise’ was born – a video game idea. Kinda like a mix between The Sims, Sim City, Lost and Mario Sunshine.
The story: you are aboard a luxury cruise liner, and you – among hundreds of others – are sailing along tropical oceans. The sun is shining. The refreshing breeze of the ocean current flows through your hair. But then all of a sudden, a storm forms above the cruise liner, and a green energy field forms. The cruise ship sails straight into it, and boom!
You wake up on a sandy beach. The heat cooking your forehead. And the sounds of people crying. You get up and look around. There are dozens of people, all on the beach like you. Nobody is hurt or injured, just lying down on the beach. You look out to the ocean – there is nothing. Not even the remains of the cruise ship. All you can see is the lush trees and jungle behind you, with its vibrant trees, streams and fruits.
You are in paradise. And away from the world.
Your mission in the game is to essentially live on the island, however you want. You can build huts and buildings, you can hunt for food, or you can explore the island revealing what the energy field was and where the rest of the passengers are. You can also learn more about all the survivors, and each could have their own subquests or whatever. The island is also home to some exotic-but-deadly enemies, so you have to help lead a resistance against them.
It’s the ultimate survivor game, a bit like The Sims Castaways meets Lost, but with an OTT exotic look similar to Mario Sunshine.
Anybody out there wanting to develop a game like this? Contact me! contact@thedesiblog.com!
WoW: Mr T pity the fool!
Blizzard Entertainment – the creators of World of Warcraft, the world’s No. 1 online video game with something like 8 million players – have unleashed their new adverts. And they’re pretty cool!
WoW is actually pretty fun. It’s quick to pick up and has so many missions and tasks, there’s always plenty to do (some online games are bland and boring, as they don’t feature many objectives). I played it during the summer, but then because of my work load, I stopped.
After I finish watching all my movies, TV shows and I complete my games, I’ll start up again. This time as a dwarf! They rule.
Buying a new PC
So today I bought a brand spanking new PC. A Dell Inspiron 531.
Dell’s got some major savings on at the moment, like free delivery and extra storage space, so I said “what the fish” and bought one. A powerful beast at under £700, which is a bargain for what it is.
I’m looking forward to playing my Orange Box on it pretty soon – Half Life 2 should run pretty smoothly.
Anyway, the whole experience of buying a new PC got me thinking – how the hell do they price hardware?
If I bought this same PC a year ago, it’d cost over £1500, but now it’s half that price. I know it’s all to do with new technology coming out all the time, devaluing existing stuff, but at this rate!?
Well, I’m going back to my flat at uni later this week to pick-up my Nintendo Wii. I wanna play Mario Galaxy on it, having completed The Simpsons Game two days ago. I’ll have a review or something up later this week.
The Simpsons Game
This game is fun! I’ve been playing it on the Xbox 360 for the last day or so, as I recover from my stag accident.
Basically, the story is this: the Simpsons realise they’re in a video game, so they begin using their powers. When aliens come to Earth to destroy it, the Simpsons decide they must use their powers to save Springfield. However, the aliens are a super-force, so they need to find The Creator (a genius who creates all the video games in the known universe) and get his help to reprogram the Simpsons universe.
Yeah, it’s pretty barmy. But it’s great. Each level is a parody of something, from Grand Theft Auto (known as Grand Theft Scratchy) or Medal of Honour (Medal of Homer). But they’ve actually put effort into the game – each level is fun, vibrant, colourful and funny. The jokes are like the show’s, very observational.
There is about 40 minutes of original, widescreen HD footage (something the main shows doesn’t use yet) and it looks amazing. All the voices are there, and it feels like a real Treehouse of Horror episode. And one thing I really like is that the characters are true to themselves – they take the piss out of each other, they argue and they curse, but they love each other and it oddly shows. In a video game.
I’m also shocked at how much swearing/violence/etc. there is in this game – it’s definitely a very mature game, some of it too strong for even the TV series. But it worth buying none the less! I’m about half way through, and there are shitloads of collectible items to find too, so I won’t be done soon.
Tonight I’m going to see Om Shanti Om, so I’ll have a review of that up tomorrow!
