Terahawks Corner

Well, it's been a quiet few months for Nintendo in our house - We picked up Professor Layton back in November and while it is a curious village, we're somewhere around puzzle 40-something and no further. Not because we've run out of hint coins (far from) - just haven't really felt like switching the DS back on since then. I did mention Chrono Trigger in a post a good few months back ( HERE ). That replaced Lunar Knights before completion though again I've lost interest in it long-term - still kicking my feet in ancient footprint tracking for those that know the game. The Wii has also been quiet though there have been a few flutterings of life - mostly Darkside Chronicles which mrs zombie killer received for Christmas and which we completed in short order. There's still Tofu to shoot and a fair number of S-ranks to unlock but the credits have rolled and the disc is back in box. It was replaced by Dead Space: Extraction which is not all that bad but doesn...

Funny how that synchronicity things works. Some time back, I'm left with half an hour to kill and wander into a Forbidden Planet - it was that or a coffee and I was waiting to go for coffee somewhere else so ... While browsing the book shelves, one title reaches out. More Digressions For those who don't recognise the reference this is a collection of columns from one Peter David (link to his blog to the right). Author didn't ring a bell but I'd recently read a couple of books of compiled columns and a quick flick through suggested I'd enjoy it. Bought it on the spur of the moment and it was as I read through it over the next few days that I began to recognise the author. For those big into Marvel, he did the stories for Hulk and Spider Man for a time, including the movie adaptations; DC readers may have come across his words in Young Justice , sci-fi buffs may have some of his Star Trek books on the shelf. How is this relevent to gaming? Well, Shadow Complex was ...

The monthly update - a month or so late ... Meh, I'm sure you all will forgive me I have been noticing recently the things around gaming on the consoles that would make things easier. If PS3 could enable much more background loading, that would be nice. If it could also provide a better breakdown of the contents of the hard drive, that would be another welcome addition for an update. While the Xbox 360 allows me to see exactly how much room is taken up by games, videos, demos, etc at once, the PS3 only allows for 'all the memory' or item by item, which is very dull. And I remember news stories back when Home was first introduced about being able to have your trophies onshow for friends to wander through and look at. How much longer will that take? I kinda like the idea of having a gallery of my trophies that I can walk through and examine in detail. Some point soon, Home team? Talking of Home, I am liking that companies are bringing out Second Life style mini areas for game...

So what's the latest this month. Well, as usual, I have far more games on the go than I ever get time to play. Lunar Knights on the DS is still ongoing - I believe that I'm coming to the end, though that isn't near completion. Probably a good thing though as Chrono Trigger hasn't been fired up since checking it worked a couple of months back. Valkyria Chronicles was the last game of choice on the PS3, one which I'm taking slowly but one that has really fired the strategy bug in me (oh god, another genre to want stuff from ...). Still haven't picked up any of the DLC though I probably should as the price increases have quietly started ( Age of Booty which I swear was released at £6.19 is now £7.99 - I'm really going to have to clear the decks before adding that one). And having worked our way through Lego Indiana Jones , I managed to track down a copy of Lego Star Wars: Complete Saga. This hasn't seemed as much fun, partly as I've still got the fi...

I mentioned that the triumvirate was complete in my last post. It seems I was a little hasty with that - After another bout of RROD and disc issues with a brand new Gears of War 2 , I finally bit the bullet and paid for a new Xbox 360 Arcade model. Why the arcade model? Well, we already had a 120GB HDD from an earlier ebay purchase. And in the UK there's a promotion that had a new Arcade model with 5 arcade games ( Uno, Luxor 2, PacMan, Boom Boom Rocket and Feeding Frenzy ) along with two wireless controllers, an internal 256 MB memory unit and two retail games ( Lego Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda ), all for the same price as the vanilla arcade model. I can quite honestly say that none of the games were worth purchasing the console for, even for the easy Gamer Points, though Lego Indiana Jones has been a nice distraction for me and mrs zombie killer while we wait for Resident Evil 5 to come down in price. Gears Of War 2 is potentially a game worth buying the console for but ...

Firstly, eagle eyed viewers will note the new Trophy card - design is by xxDune. I've finally been able to add a few more trophies to the collection recently - on games I've actually wanted rather than buying games just to add numbers to the trophy collection. The games themselves will surprise no-one - Dead Space is the disc currently keeping the PS3 warm at nights. It's amazing how much more enjoyable a game is when I can move while shooting ... something I suspect me and Resident Evil 5 are going to fall out over. As a note, if you'd tried the Dead Space demo and got bloodily wiped out, the game itself is a little more forgiving. Or at least, you've had a little more time to warm up and work out what's going on when you get to that bit. Prince of Persia is awaiting my return to it, which if the wife gets the next Resident Evil could be a while. We all know how she likes her zombies - and it was her like of survival horror that ended up with Alone In The ...

Anyone reading a post or two down will note that I have both a PS3 and Wii - why don't I just go the whole hog and purchase an Xbox360 to complete the triumvirate? While I do keep getting tempted by the elite model (and my best man keeps clamouring me) I do already have access to one. At work. I'm not giving away where I work (here, at least) but there are times where we are 'on call' - where we have to be immediately available but don't to have to be actually doing anything. While this used to mean that we spent the time reading, over the last couple of years, we've managed to snag a plasma screen and hook a digi-box to add TV. Then a gamecube was going spare so it was donated. It's possible we spent a little bit too much time on Mario Kart: Double Dash Then work bought an Xbox360. This was actually to provide entertainment for Joe Public during events involving audience but mostly hasn't been used. We graciously said that we'd provide an ongoing sy...

Following on from my mention of trophies in the last post, I've updated the blog to include a gamercard linked to my PS3 profile. Seeing as I haven't even loaded up UT2004 since Christmas, it's a little strange to keep the Xfire profile up. So that's gone and now I broadcast my (lack of) trophies to the world. Credit to the design goes to Deathvein. Though Sony mentioned way back when that trophies would be a part of Home, I had totally forgotted about the idea of trophies until the V2.4 upgrade for PS3 (And by the way, updating the system on PS3 is a little annoying - anyone want to tell me just why it can't be done in the background ... the download at least ... sigh) I don't know how many sites online are built to discuss trophies. When I set out hunting for more information, Google sent me to www.ps3trophies.co.uk . It's a fairly new community but there's a good vibe going so I'm keen to support them. The UK bias helps but it's fully inclusiv...

Yes, I know - it's been forever since I lasted posted. That big huge rant on backwards compatibility then nothing for nine months So, what's going on in my world of game? Well, on Christmas Day a shiny white Wii took up residence next to the TV. Initial response was pretty good - we managed to get both mine and my wife's parents up and playing on Wii Sports and Resident Evil Chronicles was enjoyable (hey, you knew we'd have bought that). The niggles have slowly crept up on us. The Virtual Console is good and the fact that you can use old Gamecube controllers on most games has saved me buying yet another controller - but the whole Wii points thing is a little unwieldy - particularly if you are trying to transfer Stars from old Nintendo accounts - It took me from december to early August to get all my Stars transferred (and I only had a few thousand). Nintendo have this rubbish idea that you can only purchase one Wii points card a day online and that they only have a ...

I've just been reading this months EDGE magazine. There's an article on the PS3 in there in which Ray McGuire, MD of SCEE, defends Sony's position on making the new PS3 model lose it's backwards compatibility. This was done to try reduce the costs involved in manufacturing the PS3 which costs Sony - the company loses money in selling PS3. Now I get reducing specs to reduce the cost (the other features missing from the new model include 2 less USB ports, 20Gb less hard drive, and the memory card reader) but I'm afraid that, for me at least, the backwards compatibility is non-negotiable. We all know that updating and improving consoles doesn't necessary mean that games are also improved. Games like Space Invaders, Defender, Tetris, Super Mario Bros, Secret of Mana, Sonic, Metroid, Zelda to name but a few are regarded as classics on the systems that they first appeared upon. That's not to say that new consoles don't bring improved gaming to existing IP (an...

As mentioned in my earlier post (ISP V2) we need to buy a new modem to replace the existing Voyager that wasn't playing nicely any more. We finally took the plunge with a Netgear wireless ADSL modem router (at least partly cos we were setting up a laptop for Mums use and had no way to check the onboard Wifi card was working) Our PC is connected into one of the four available wired ports and set-up took about 10 minutes - a few minutes more to add the encryption, switch off the SSID and only allow connections from the laptop MAC via W2PK. Since then, it's mostly performed pretty well. The computer says it has a 100Mbps connection, though that of course makes no different to our broadband rate and it's nice not to have to turn the desktop on to get a connection via the laptop. I have had the internet connection just die once or twice though - I don't know if Pipex are watching me after nearly going over the download limit in August (I had a broken leg - there wasn't m...

I still remain a firm fan of UT in all it's flavours but I did spend three hours on Halo 3 at the weekend: This was on the co-op campaign with a friend who has already completed once. In those three hours, we managed (with me first-timing Halo 3 - and only experience with the demo of the original Halo prior) to get someway into mission 6 (of 9). It looks gorgeous, sounds amazing, and surprising slow. Anyone jumping floats in the air for several seconds, and there's no dodging. Even the fast vehicles like Ghosts seem to take an age to come about. With two players, Halo 3 was good fun, despite all that. My partner in crime knew (mostly) what needed to be done and I am always able to flank opponents. He is a much better driver than I am but I am probably a better turret gunner. I do have some good memories now of that session (in no particular order): operating a mounted gun in a Warthog and using his zoomed in sniper view to watch my tracer fire and take down the sniper he was ai...

Just a link in this post to an article on Gamasutra that is for the positive of video games http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1443/how_killing_people_with_my_dad_.php

I did post some time ago with the WoW version of Avenue Q's The Internet is for Porn. As I have never played Wow or Guild Wars and I am aware that there may be a hint (just a hint) of rivalry between the two, I'm posting the Guild Wars version as well. Watch it here While I mention the WoW vs Guild War thing, have a like at this movie as well: Can't touch this Is it wrong to think the only difference is that Guild Wars only has human characters? [don nomex suit]

I posted over a year ago about having issues with our ISP - Pipex can't seem to transfer your account but have to close it and get you to open a new one. I get the technical details of making sure the line is set up for them to be able to access it but why does that require a new account? Anyhoo, the year was up and we had a bit of a look around to see if Pipex was going to continue to have our custom. The criteria was a little more relaxed this time - it didn't have to be an unlimited download service, just larger than what seems to be the normal 2Gb limit (I've been monitoring our usage and I get through just over 2 GB a month - it's always one too many games of UT2k4!). A download speed of anything from 2Mbps was acceptable (the more the better though). And it had to be cheaper than the current plan. We also need a new modem as the BT based one we have regularly seizes the computer on shutdown Our initial thought was for Orange which ticked all the boxes technically,...

Just one of several links on Youtube Created by Monty Oum - it's a masterpiece link of Metroid, Halo and the Matrix. A little rough round the edges, sure but very nice all the same. It's worth checking out the deviant art page for this peep also.

I've been pondering the value of handheld consoles recently - as you do. The DS lite is getting more appealing - primarily because of Brain Training and Hotel Dusk but I still can't find many reasons to purchase a PSP (besides I'd rather get the Wii and PS3 first!) However, I've also recently started replaying Final Fantasy VII and something that the handhelds would be great for would be as a context sensitive game guide. I'm sure many gamers either miss parts of a game as they don't realise it's there or fail to acheive the conditions needed to open that bit/weapon/character/bonus up, or when using guides have to balance playing the game with hunting through a text file or online guide keeping up with where they are. How much simpler would it be to have a guide open in your handheld that is linked to where you are in the game and changes accordingly - posting strategies for enemy encounters, flagging up hidden treasure and having files to hand to solve puz...

More and more details are being released about the forthcoming UT3 and this is one gamer who is looking forward to having to upgrade for the first time in a few years. (of course there are still the consoles to buy, and the peripherals, and the new versions of other franchises, and ...) No release date yet on UT3 (did they drop the UT2007 title cos they weren't certain they could release it in 2k7?) but more info can be found at GamesRadar the Tiny URL link A link for those who want the full URL

Below is a copy of an article from the Daily Telegraph (link here ) which details one man and his WoW addiction. Even my mum got it :) But that was before Sam Leith joined the monster-killing millions in the online game World of Warcraft So my gnome rogue, hoping to level up, is grinding his way through some leprous gnome exiles, picking the odd pocket for coppers, and vaguely searching for a dwarf, when he spots an intriguing doorway. So, here I am, at 3.30am on a working day, red-eyed from bashing up trolls. And, I might add with a twinge of shame, 33 years old He stealths, and starts waddling down the gently sloping stone corridor. A little way ahead, I can see where the passageway makes a right turn. Then this funny little mob shows up, then adds, and barely do I know I'm in combat before I'm toast. Didn't even get a Sinister Strike in. A fast-moving L30 night-elf hunter breezes past my corpse, then stops, and turns round. He notices the dead gnome is level 7. "Du...

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