Has anyone out there ever heard of a game called Aspect Warrior?
When I was in High School I was keen on Warhammer 40,000. Like many teenage geek guys, this was a big deal with this compelling sci-fi setting and some truly great miniatures. Of course, the Warhammer 40,000 of today is a completely different beast than that of 2nd edition (1993-1997) and the stupidly high cost of miniatures is enough to drive anyone away but I have kept an interest of developments within the universe that is the 41st millennium.
Anyway, it was during this time that I once saw an article in a gaming magazine talking about a game called Aspect Warrior. I may not have had a good enough look at the article in question but I did see the title and screenshot of what appeared to be an Eldar Swooping Hawk rendered in 16-bit graphics.
So what happened to this game? I know that the Games Workshop have produced several computer games based on their own games so it seems strange that this game would disappear completely from view. For the longest time I had the view that this game was a fan-creation that the Games Workshop, whom are notorious for hanging onto their trademarks with an iron grip, stomped out of existence.
But in researching this post, I have found the answer: There was indeed a game called Aspect Warriors and it was based on a license granted by the Games Workshop. It was developed by EA, it was made for the Sega Megadrive and was intended to be an action game where the player controls three of the Aspect Warriors that the Eldar are known for. However, for some reason or another, the game was cancelled.
What could've been eh?
Source: Sega Retro
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
Lyned Up
Not much to say today except that I've been playing a lot of Lyne lately.
Whilst Steam may have done an incredible amount of work in giving the PC gaming market a shot in the arm (to a point where it has outpaced the console market) there does lie a problem. A problem in the form of little quality control. Why, there are so many games available on Steam that it does become difficult sorting through the rubbish to find something substantial.
So how does my selection of Steam games work? Well I rely solely on word-of-mouth: If I hear about game that is interesting, I will certainly check it out. However occasionally, I will make an otherwise 'blind' purchase in that I will buy a game purely on knowing little about beforehand.
Lyne was such a purchase: I had a 75% discount voucher so I decided to use it. And what I got was indeed a surprise. For the unfamiliar, Lyne is game where the player has to link up shapes together. Now, such a description may make for game that would be better suited on a portable device like an Ipad instead of a desktop computer. But, as is often the case in gaming the simplest ideas are often the best - as such, I have found myself getting a lot more out of Lyne than I have out of any more recent game you care to name. If it sounds absurd, then I suggest you try downloading Lyne and seeing it for yourself.
Plus Lyne was made by Australians so I encourage you to support Australian game developers!
Whilst Steam may have done an incredible amount of work in giving the PC gaming market a shot in the arm (to a point where it has outpaced the console market) there does lie a problem. A problem in the form of little quality control. Why, there are so many games available on Steam that it does become difficult sorting through the rubbish to find something substantial.
So how does my selection of Steam games work? Well I rely solely on word-of-mouth: If I hear about game that is interesting, I will certainly check it out. However occasionally, I will make an otherwise 'blind' purchase in that I will buy a game purely on knowing little about beforehand.
Lyne was such a purchase: I had a 75% discount voucher so I decided to use it. And what I got was indeed a surprise. For the unfamiliar, Lyne is game where the player has to link up shapes together. Now, such a description may make for game that would be better suited on a portable device like an Ipad instead of a desktop computer. But, as is often the case in gaming the simplest ideas are often the best - as such, I have found myself getting a lot more out of Lyne than I have out of any more recent game you care to name. If it sounds absurd, then I suggest you try downloading Lyne and seeing it for yourself.
Plus Lyne was made by Australians so I encourage you to support Australian game developers!
Friday, April 25, 2014
Foul Sand
Not much to say today except that, according to my Raptr account, I have surpassed 1000 gaming achievements.
Granted I suspect most of them are through having multiple characters in World of Warcraft but any milestone is worth some recognition.
Granted I suspect most of them are through having multiple characters in World of Warcraft but any milestone is worth some recognition.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Sega Gestalt
Something I saw on youtube which I found mind-blowing.
Now this guy has some skill:
Now this guy has some skill:
Original video located here. Accessed 23rd April 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
Steam Inaction
Here's a theory I came across: As Steam has so many games that are readily available and for real cheap, the Steam user would actually spend more time collecting games than actually playing them.
Put simply: The Steam user will always have 36% of the games in their library unplayed.
So how does my Steam library look next to this theory? Well, at time of writing, I have 40 games. Half of which are unplayed. While that is far from the proposed 36% it does raise the question of why some games are unplayed. Well takes a look at some the games I have in my Steam library and try find an explanation or two as to why they've gone untouched:
Analogue: a Hate Story
I was curious about this game largely to it's reputation in having a strong narrative. However after I made the purchase, I found out it was a game made by a lesbian for the LBGT community - which kinda made me situated outside the intended audience. Oh well...
Counter-Strike (with Condition Zero)
Purchased purely on the grounds that this seems to be one of those games that every PC owner has to have. At least I take comfort in knowing I got it on sale...
Enclave
Purchased largely out of me having the discount coupon.
Half Life (with Blue Shift and Opposing Force)
Purchased purely on the grounds that this seems to be one of those games that every PC owner has to have.
Hamilton's Great Adventure
Again, purchased largely out of me having the discount coupon (hey can you say no to a 90% discount?!).
Larva Mortus
Again, purchased largely out of me having the discount coupon
Left 4 Dead 2
In a case of being in the right place at the right time, I have those purely out of being offered as a freebie one time
Papers Please
Heard it was awesome but have yet to get around to playing it...
Psychonauts
Again, purchased largely out of me having the discount coupon
Quake (with Ground Zero and The Reckoning)
Again, purchased purely on the grounds that this seems to be one of those games that every PC owner has to have. Mind you, i did play this a lot back in the day most likely I'll have a tough time taking it seriously now....
Sid Meier's Civilisation 4
Because when you buy the PC verison, for some reaosn you get the Mac version as well for some reason
Sid Meier's Civilisation 5
Unplayed largely due to it's reputation for being forever doomed to remain in it's predecessors' shadow
Looking back at what I've written, it seems a pattern has emerged: A large number of the games mentioned above have been purchased out of obligation. So is this is where gaming is headed? A sense of obligation? Where owning big library is more important than making use of it's contents? Where by making sure you use one product (however so) to a point where all else is of little consequence (World of Warcraft anyone?)?
Put simply: The Steam user will always have 36% of the games in their library unplayed.
So how does my Steam library look next to this theory? Well, at time of writing, I have 40 games. Half of which are unplayed. While that is far from the proposed 36% it does raise the question of why some games are unplayed. Well takes a look at some the games I have in my Steam library and try find an explanation or two as to why they've gone untouched:
Analogue: a Hate Story
I was curious about this game largely to it's reputation in having a strong narrative. However after I made the purchase, I found out it was a game made by a lesbian for the LBGT community - which kinda made me situated outside the intended audience. Oh well...
Counter-Strike (with Condition Zero)
Purchased purely on the grounds that this seems to be one of those games that every PC owner has to have. At least I take comfort in knowing I got it on sale...
Enclave
Purchased largely out of me having the discount coupon.
Half Life (with Blue Shift and Opposing Force)
Purchased purely on the grounds that this seems to be one of those games that every PC owner has to have.
Hamilton's Great Adventure
Again, purchased largely out of me having the discount coupon (hey can you say no to a 90% discount?!).
Larva Mortus
Again, purchased largely out of me having the discount coupon
Left 4 Dead 2
In a case of being in the right place at the right time, I have those purely out of being offered as a freebie one time
Papers Please
Heard it was awesome but have yet to get around to playing it...
Psychonauts
Again, purchased largely out of me having the discount coupon
Quake (with Ground Zero and The Reckoning)
Again, purchased purely on the grounds that this seems to be one of those games that every PC owner has to have. Mind you, i did play this a lot back in the day most likely I'll have a tough time taking it seriously now....
Sid Meier's Civilisation 4
Because when you buy the PC verison, for some reaosn you get the Mac version as well for some reason
Sid Meier's Civilisation 5
Unplayed largely due to it's reputation for being forever doomed to remain in it's predecessors' shadow
Looking back at what I've written, it seems a pattern has emerged: A large number of the games mentioned above have been purchased out of obligation. So is this is where gaming is headed? A sense of obligation? Where owning big library is more important than making use of it's contents? Where by making sure you use one product (however so) to a point where all else is of little consequence (World of Warcraft anyone?)?
Friday, April 18, 2014
The Final Frontier
Recently I've been having a go at Star Trek Online.
So far it's proving to be a compelling game. It does what I want a Star Trek game to do with traversing through the galaxy, building up a crew and going through missions presented in an episodic format. The latter deserves special notice: I like how the game remains true to it's TV roots with each expansion being a new 'season' and each mission having it's own title card. It's a clever approach and certainly goes a long way to give Star Trek Online a sense of it's own identity.
Also of note is that this is my first time doing a FTP MMORPGer (damn abbreviations!). It certainly makes a change when I was playing a WoW in that by not having a subscription I don't have a sense of commitment to the game. Which in turn assists in me actually enjoying game.
Still, some exchange of money is required and it is here that I have an issue with - certain things are proving costly. I don't mind paying for Borg crew members or for a Federation Klingon PC but I do object to paying so much for a particular crew member. According to the Earth dock, you need 240 purple things (whatever they're called) to purchase a new crew member. And for 114 of these purple things you spending an excess of over $100! That is indeed a bit much.
Still this is only but the beginning and it would be interesting to see how things go from here....
So far it's proving to be a compelling game. It does what I want a Star Trek game to do with traversing through the galaxy, building up a crew and going through missions presented in an episodic format. The latter deserves special notice: I like how the game remains true to it's TV roots with each expansion being a new 'season' and each mission having it's own title card. It's a clever approach and certainly goes a long way to give Star Trek Online a sense of it's own identity.
Also of note is that this is my first time doing a FTP MMORPGer (damn abbreviations!). It certainly makes a change when I was playing a WoW in that by not having a subscription I don't have a sense of commitment to the game. Which in turn assists in me actually enjoying game.
Still, some exchange of money is required and it is here that I have an issue with - certain things are proving costly. I don't mind paying for Borg crew members or for a Federation Klingon PC but I do object to paying so much for a particular crew member. According to the Earth dock, you need 240 purple things (whatever they're called) to purchase a new crew member. And for 114 of these purple things you spending an excess of over $100! That is indeed a bit much.
Still this is only but the beginning and it would be interesting to see how things go from here....
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
The Day the World of Warcraft Went Away
Last week I made mention that I'd ceased playing World of Warcraft. A mention that is indeed worth of some elaboration.
Yes it is true: I decided to give World of Warcraft the flick. It's a decision I made by myself and myself alone. It had zero to do with outside forces - I merely decided that I had had enough and I didn't want to play WoW any more. I've heard stories of people giving up WoW due to problems it created to their health and social life - stories that make my departure anti-climatic by comparison. But that is not the case here.
Really there wasn't a lot else I could think of doing. Across several characters, I'd seen a lot of locations, fought many bad guys, busied myself with multiple professions, ventured into dungeons and so much more. But with multiple characters, it's hard to see anything new without treading over the ground that's already been gone over before. That being said, did having multiple characters hinder my experience in World of Warcraft? Yes and No. Yes it did make things repetitive and dull but, at the same time, it was interesting to try different things and see the game from a different perspective.
According to my Raptr account I have notched up over 560 hours of World of Warcraft - easily the most of any game I've played. There was indeed times when World of Warcraft was all I played - and thus the secret of Blizzard's success becomes clear: Make sure that the people who bought your game play it and it alone (and now that I think of it, me making multiple characters could've well been me justifying the $15 a month subscription fee). That may not have been their intent but if it was, it's an ingenious plan and one that has paid off in spades.
Therefore it is telling that when I've previously stopped playing WoW for something else, I've found myself having a lot of fun playing something else and the satisfaction of beating it.
So, does the experience that was World of Warcraft effect my playing of Elder Scrolls Online? Certainly. So far with ESO, I've found myself confining my play times to two a week and I've confined myself to the one character. This may change in the future but not when I have other games that require my attention.
For now, World of Warcraft still exists on my hard drive. I can tell you from experience that it is an absolute bitch trying to wait for all the updates to be downloaded - but should i find myself short of hard drive space, it will be the first to go.
I suppose I may return to World of Warcraft in the future but I suspect not for a long while. Until then, Rithendal, Beldrath, Kyuzo, Naesandra and Grimcrag will all be sleeping a long sleep - until that day when i shall call upon them again.....
Yes it is true: I decided to give World of Warcraft the flick. It's a decision I made by myself and myself alone. It had zero to do with outside forces - I merely decided that I had had enough and I didn't want to play WoW any more. I've heard stories of people giving up WoW due to problems it created to their health and social life - stories that make my departure anti-climatic by comparison. But that is not the case here.
Really there wasn't a lot else I could think of doing. Across several characters, I'd seen a lot of locations, fought many bad guys, busied myself with multiple professions, ventured into dungeons and so much more. But with multiple characters, it's hard to see anything new without treading over the ground that's already been gone over before. That being said, did having multiple characters hinder my experience in World of Warcraft? Yes and No. Yes it did make things repetitive and dull but, at the same time, it was interesting to try different things and see the game from a different perspective.
According to my Raptr account I have notched up over 560 hours of World of Warcraft - easily the most of any game I've played. There was indeed times when World of Warcraft was all I played - and thus the secret of Blizzard's success becomes clear: Make sure that the people who bought your game play it and it alone (and now that I think of it, me making multiple characters could've well been me justifying the $15 a month subscription fee). That may not have been their intent but if it was, it's an ingenious plan and one that has paid off in spades.
Therefore it is telling that when I've previously stopped playing WoW for something else, I've found myself having a lot of fun playing something else and the satisfaction of beating it.
So, does the experience that was World of Warcraft effect my playing of Elder Scrolls Online? Certainly. So far with ESO, I've found myself confining my play times to two a week and I've confined myself to the one character. This may change in the future but not when I have other games that require my attention.
For now, World of Warcraft still exists on my hard drive. I can tell you from experience that it is an absolute bitch trying to wait for all the updates to be downloaded - but should i find myself short of hard drive space, it will be the first to go.
I suppose I may return to World of Warcraft in the future but I suspect not for a long while. Until then, Rithendal, Beldrath, Kyuzo, Naesandra and Grimcrag will all be sleeping a long sleep - until that day when i shall call upon them again.....
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