Friday, November 21, 2008
A Blogger's Lament... and Keflings
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Misc: When I started this blog, I knew that it would be pretty heavy on games content, but I figured I would also talk about books, fiction writing, current events, and random stuff like that. The funny thing is, as work has picked up, I find very little time for books, fiction writing, current events, and random stuff like that… on a long day like today, it's all about catching an hour with something fun before turning in for the night.
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Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm lucky to even have a job in this down economy, and I know it. I guess I'm just blathering because I sat down tonight to come up with a blog topic, and the only things that came to mind were work and what I just played… I'm not feeling like a very well-rounded character, I suppose.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm lucky to even have a job in this down economy, and I know it. I guess I'm just blathering because I sat down tonight to come up with a blog topic, and the only things that came to mind were work and what I just played… I'm not feeling like a very well-rounded character, I suppose.
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Definitely looking forward to the weekend… I'll have to fit all those other aspects of my life into the upcoming 48 hours.
Definitely looking forward to the weekend… I'll have to fit all those other aspects of my life into the upcoming 48 hours.
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… and since I'm here, anyway…
… and since I'm here, anyway…
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Games: I was just forcibly upgraded to the New Xbox Experience© last night, and I have to say that I'm not exactly impressed. It looks to me like nothing so much as a shameless ripoff of Apple and/or Vista, which was itself another ripoff of Apple. A few features have been moved around to new places (trying to find out where the option to change my Theme went drove me insane) and I can't say that I'm really in love with the new graphic-heavy setup. Personally, I thought the old Blades menu was great-- intuitive, simple, and completely efficient. This new system is a lot of flash, but I don't find it particularly improved in any way. It's just different, and difference for difference’s sake is dumb.
Games: I was just forcibly upgraded to the New Xbox Experience© last night, and I have to say that I'm not exactly impressed. It looks to me like nothing so much as a shameless ripoff of Apple and/or Vista, which was itself another ripoff of Apple. A few features have been moved around to new places (trying to find out where the option to change my Theme went drove me insane) and I can't say that I'm really in love with the new graphic-heavy setup. Personally, I thought the old Blades menu was great-- intuitive, simple, and completely efficient. This new system is a lot of flash, but I don't find it particularly improved in any way. It's just different, and difference for difference’s sake is dumb.
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(Oh, and did I mention the random console freezes and perceptibly slower performance? Neat-O... I wonder how those wizards at Microsoft managed to add this extra zing into my box without making me buy an add-on peripheral in the shape of a cement cinderblock.)
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The new over-hyped avatars are completely gimped, as well. The options are extremely limited, and no matter what you choose, you get an unappealing and slightly “special” looking character that appeals to… who, exactly? And what's up with not being able to change any of the colors on the clothing? I realize that some games are going to actually use these avatars, so from that perspective there probably isn't as much freedom to create, but still… putting my character together on the 360 was only slightly better than creating my Mii.
The new over-hyped avatars are completely gimped, as well. The options are extremely limited, and no matter what you choose, you get an unappealing and slightly “special” looking character that appeals to… who, exactly? And what's up with not being able to change any of the colors on the clothing? I realize that some games are going to actually use these avatars, so from that perspective there probably isn't as much freedom to create, but still… putting my character together on the 360 was only slightly better than creating my Mii.
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(And of course, there will be endless options for Avatars available for purchase through the Live Marketplace in another few weeks, I’m sure.)
(And of course, there will be endless options for Avatars available for purchase through the Live Marketplace in another few weeks, I’m sure.)
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…And speaking of these avatars, I just spent my hour of winding down with A Kingdom for Keflings, released this week on Live in conjunction with the NXE©. From NinjaBee (creators of Cloning Clyde and Band of Bugs, also on Live) this latest effort is a curious little thing. I suppose the biggest selling point is that you can use your own short-bus avatar as the main character in the game, but I nixed that in a hurry and went with one of the pre-fab models.
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Anyway, the gist of the game is that you play as a giant in a land of little people, and for some unexplained reason you decide to help them build a town and accompanying civilization out of the trees, rocks, and crystals that are laying around. It's almost like a RTS, except that there’s no combat or any other imposed setbacks to hinder progress. You simply pick up a person, direct them to whichever resource you need, pick them up again and tell them where to go with it, and then they take it from there. Before long, stockpiles of wooden planks and cut stone build up to be used for assembling any number of buildings and shops.
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Anyway, the gist of the game is that you play as a giant in a land of little people, and for some unexplained reason you decide to help them build a town and accompanying civilization out of the trees, rocks, and crystals that are laying around. It's almost like a RTS, except that there’s no combat or any other imposed setbacks to hinder progress. You simply pick up a person, direct them to whichever resource you need, pick them up again and tell them where to go with it, and then they take it from there. Before long, stockpiles of wooden planks and cut stone build up to be used for assembling any number of buildings and shops.
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It sounds a little dull, perhaps, but actually I found it to be quite soothing and relaxing… there’s no shortage of games with mindless zombies or freedom-hating terrorists itching to take me down, but non-puzzle games that remove the element of danger are pretty few and far between. Spending time with the title was pretty painless, and I found myself slipping into the “just one more…” mode before I knew it.
It sounds a little dull, perhaps, but actually I found it to be quite soothing and relaxing… there’s no shortage of games with mindless zombies or freedom-hating terrorists itching to take me down, but non-puzzle games that remove the element of danger are pretty few and far between. Spending time with the title was pretty painless, and I found myself slipping into the “just one more…” mode before I knew it.
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I'm not sure how long the novelty will last if this is as deep as it gets (which remains to be seen) but so far, I'm into it.
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