Toby Newman

Play:

Want:

Bin:

Okay, there's your framework!

--
-Toby
Add the word afiduluminag to the subject to circumvent my email filters.

Toby Newman

On 2010-08-02, Toby Newman <google@asktoby.com> wrote:
> Play:

Eversion (PC)
I had been stuck on World 6/7 for a while but managed to crack it last
night. It turns out there was a checkpoint just after where I kept
dying, which was nice. Looking forward to seeing how this one ends.

Kane and Lynch 2 demo (XB)
Really impressed by this, actually. They've hit the look spot-on and
it really does a brilliant job of putting you into street gunfights as
seen in films like HEAT. Much better than the scene in GTAIV which
tried to do the same thing.

Transformers War for Cybertron demo (XB)
Played it for about 40 seconds. It felt like a mediocre 3rd-person
Unreal mod. Really not sure what it's supposed to be bringing to the
table.

Alone in the Dark (360)
It was £3. Couldn't resist. Had my money's worth already and I do like
the scale of the setpieces, even if the gameplay is trial and error.

Project IGI 2 (PC)
It was 25p. I definitely couldn't resist. I have it installed now but
haven't played it yet. I think I might get the 3D glasses unpacked for
this one.

> Want:

McGee's Alice 2
Monkey Island Crysis Edition

> Bin:

My internet. Paying for 20Mb. Get 4Mb in the mornings. Get 1Mb in the
evenings. Yesterday it dropped down to 20kb for about 12 hours! What
the hell??!


--
-Toby
Add the word afiduluminag to the subject to circumvent my email filters.

HarpingOn

On 02/08/2010 07:04, Toby Newman wrote:
> Play:
>

Radiant (Android)

Lovely little retro shooter with great controls. Graphics are retro
styled pixelart but with halos and glows and other satisfying visual
effects. Superb controls, once I figgured out what they were as the
documentation is... Sparse.

Retro Defense (Android)

Not as good as Geodefense on iOS. I think that Android devs shy from
using the 800x480 screen because not all devices have it so I get the
impression it could be much better. Having said that, it's holding my
attention and I want to do new levels, so it's good.

PAC Man CD (Android)

It's pack man CE in your hand

Emulators (Android)

NES, SNES, PSX, Amiga. Fantastic stuff. Needs better controller, see WANT.

Bioshock 2 (PS3)

This is getting a bit easier now that I'm gathering with the help of
mini turrets (if I can find them) and Swarm. Weapons are getting beefier
and my research is coming along.

Words + Carcassonne (iOS)

My carcassonne games are doing okay. I've fallen into a pit of despair
with Words. I used to score much more highly than I currently seem to be
able to do. I'm putting it down to bad tiles but it can't just be that.
Perhaps I'm just becoming illyteyrate.

> Want:
>

GT5 (PS3)

Come on already.

Bluetooth Gaming adapter (Android)

Lots of 'solutions' out there, none of which seem to work on my phone
(Samsung Galaxy S). I want to buy a BGP100, or a Zeemote or use my
Wiimote (ideal if possible) or PS3 controler (probably never going to
happen) but so far, lots of incompatible fragmentation. It's just like
Linux on the desktop - mostly working but with a bag full of hard to fix
inconsistencies and foibles.


> Bin:
>

Nothing that I can think of right now.

Kendrick Kerwin Chua

In article <slrni5cnv9.28f.google@asktoby.eternal-september.org>,
Toby Newman <google@asktoby.com> wrote:
>Play:

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PSP) - Made some serious progress in the
gathering hall quests. I had to consult a FAQ to figure out how to advance
in hunter rank, and I eventually completed the right missions to get to
rank *two*. Not that I'll ever play with other human beings who will be
able to appreciate the change in my character's presentation, but there
you go. The handy save counter tells me I've played 98 hours now, which
doesn't count the 16 I put into the game before my original memory stick
died.

>Want:

Pengo Remix (ARC) - Or whatever Sega is going to call it. Classic 8-bit
Pengo, but on a landscape screen to support eight simultaneous players.
XBLA and PSN ports are inevitable. This could be more fun than Bomberman.

>Bin:

Delay of game - One of the reasons I can't get going with the PSP version
of Pirates! is that there's a month of FMV that starts the game. The old
Commodore/Apple game used the opening as an excuse to teach you about the
swordplay and treasure mechanisms (and to employ a subtle method of copy
protection) whereas this new title makes mutiny a fully non-interactive
affair. A lot of games I've tried to start lately have lost me after
several minutes of setup with no actual play. See also Xenogears and
every other new DS RPG.

Expenditure:

Balance Forward - $1,553

>Okay, there's your framework!

-KKC, saving discussion of complicated pet care for another time and place.
--
--"I think I'm kind of like pennies. You | kendrick
have 'em in your pocket but you don't | @ io.com
remember they're there." - Bill Withers | http://www.io.com/~kkc

Gareth Halfacree

Toby Newman wrote:
> Play:

Red Dead Redemption (X360)
Managed to get a few hours in this weekend, unlocking Zrkvpb and
gathering some stuff. I'm really enjoying this, still, and according to
the in-game stats have put in around 22 hours for a mere 36% completion.
Nice.

> Want:

Halo: Reach Happy Meal Edition (X360)
The last expensive treat I'm allowing myself since quitting the day job,
and only then because it's already pre-ordered.

> Bin:

The tax man. How is it fair that in the first year of self employment
you need to find 150% of your initial tax bill?

--
Gareth Halfacree
http://gareth.halfacree.co.uk

DBSnappa

On 02/08/2010 07:04, Toby Newman wrote:
> Play:
>
For the first time in a few weeks I actually sat down and played a game
on the 360. That game was Just Cause 2. It's a significant improvement
over the first game in many respects but there are still niggles, none
of which are game ruining. The first game basically felt like a massive
sandbox with little or no game attached to it, but IIRC there were
several games out at or around this period which felt more like tech
demos — Assassin's Creed springs to mind. The thing is, I played Just
Cause *a lot* considering the gameplay was so repetitive, but I didn't
finish it as it got too difficult and there are a finite number of times
I'm prepared to retry missions. The new version has kept the fantastic
gameworld, added a metric fuckton of differing mechanics and generally
increased the amount of carnage you can perpetrate. It's a lot of fun,
and it's a time swallower. It's still difficult but I think it's more to
do with the HUD/UI or whatever you call it, not being particularly good
at telling you how much damage you're taking, so it's best to measure
the gung-ho carnage with some caution as it's still very easy to die
3/4s of a way through a mission which you then have to start again. I
suppose this is the only flaw that niggles as it feels like a conceptual
flaw that on the one hand you can mete out such massive destruction yet
you're still vulnerable and it feels a bit out of character with the
game. Having said all that, I still like it a lot and have a lot of
admiration for the massive and very solid world they've created.

GWRE2 (360) For about 20 mins. Still great fun.

> Want:

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Halo Reach
Gears of War 3
a new iMac

>
> Bin:
>
My daughter going away to school in a few weeks. I'm going to miss her.

Gareth Halfacree

HarpingOn wrote:
> Bluetooth Gaming adapter (Android)
> Lots of 'solutions' out there, none of which seem to work on my phone
> (Samsung Galaxy S). I want to buy a BGP100, or a Zeemote or use my
> Wiimote (ideal if possible) [...]

Your wish is my command:
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.ccpc....WiiUseAndroid

--
Gareth Halfacree
http://gareth.halfacree.co.uk

The Rev

On 02/08/2010 07:04, Toby Newman wrote:
> Play:

Fastar (iPhone) - Lovely little action RPG boiled down to essentials. Every
time it feels like it's getting stale I leap into another of the game modes.
Could do with more short modes, but other than that it's excellent.

World Series of Poker Hold'em Legend (iPhone) - It's a Texas Hold'em game.
Seems really rather good, has good reviews - and was free! Hooray!

Dungeon Core (iPhone) - Broke the 4,000-point barrier and unlocked the 700
coins achievement, so now have more options in the shop. Brilliant game.

Cat Physics (iPhone) - Probably binned. I went through all the levels in a
little over an hour. Hugely entertaining, free, but I doubt I'll bother to
go back and three-star everything.

Worms (iPhone) - Controls are very uncomfortable, but it's not quite
unplayable. Close though.

> Want:

Land Air Sea Warfare (iPhone) - A proper, real RTS on the iPhone. Bugs I
read about only seem to apply to jailbreakers and pirates, so I might take
the plunge. But do I want something so intensive on my phone.

> Bin:

The Jim & Frank Mysteries (iPhone) - Some puzzle with ticket prices and
finding the missing number in a sequence that I just can't be bothered with.
Maybe...

HarpingOn

On 02/08/2010 09:48, Gareth Halfacree wrote:
> HarpingOn wrote:
>> Bluetooth Gaming adapter (Android)
>> Lots of 'solutions' out there, none of which seem to work on my phone
>> (Samsung Galaxy S). I want to buy a BGP100, or a Zeemote or use my
>> Wiimote (ideal if possible) [...]
>
> Your wish is my command:
> http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.ccpc....WiiUseAndroid
>

Yeah I know. I've looked into all of this. Doesn't work on Samsung
Galaxy S. None of them appear to. Or on any HTC.

So with Galaxy S and HTC Desire and Nexus One being allegedly the top of
the Android tree right now, these sort of apps don't work on two of those.

The devs say 'Blame HTC' and 'Blame Samsung' and refuse to otherwise do
anything about it.

I think the chances of HTC changing Sense and Samsung changing TouchWiz
to un-break whatever they broke when they mangled the base Android
system are slim to none :-(

Gareth Halfacree

HarpingOn wrote:
> Yeah I know. I've looked into all of this. Doesn't work on Samsung
> Galaxy S. None of them appear to. Or on any HTC.

Ah.

> So with Galaxy S and HTC Desire and Nexus One being allegedly the top of
> the Android tree right now, these sort of apps don't work on two of those.

I wonder why?

--
Gareth Halfacree
http://gareth.halfacree.co.uk