Posts Tagged ‘Mac’

Okay, so I lost everything. That is, in short, that I crammed my life into a bag and then proceeded to leave it on a train. There are excuses I could make but in the end I am just an idiot.

£700 later (that is seven hundred pound Stirling, no more yen here) I had altered all my travel plans and replaced my passport. My Mac (the final key part on my life in bag bundle pack) remained lost… that is until yesterday. Receiving a letter from Southwest Trains I was informed they had my bag, and against all odds, everything remained present and correct, restoring my faith in humanity and the British public.

My Mac, safely at home.

So why is this post testing? Well now I am off to London for Darren’s birthday (for those who don’t know Darren is my co-host on the DoFuss show). Wanting to post about recent events I was going to put something together on the train, but gun-shy from the last week I wanted my Mac to stay safely at home.

Now with my bag on the rack above me (just where it was when I lost it) I am tapping this out on my newly installed WordPress Android app, passport firmly in my pocket. It may not work, and I am sure the grammar/spelling will be at best squiffy, but if I get this up at least I will have managed to make my excuses for my next February post (which is going to out line my plans for DoFuss through the rest of this month and March) being so horribly late.

Feeling luckier than I have for sometime, and tremendously grateful to an anonymous stranger, I will restart February today. Forgetting the last ten days and focusing on the parties and holidays a head. I’ll post more ‘game’ posts once I return to my Mac, but in the meantime I offer these two nuggets of my recently acquired gaming wisdom: 1, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is actually very good, but I had to play up to chapter IV (four hours or so) before it really began to kick off. And 2, Dead Space 2 is incredible and while I preferred the first title I know the sequel will be more popular with players at large.

That’s it. Buy and enjoy both those games, and make up your own mind as to how lucky, unlucky or straight up jammy I am. Check back later this month for more ‘real’ posts.

Torchlight appeals to so many of my idiosyncrasies that I am bemused as to why its spiritual predecessor Diablo never appealed to me. Both offer lush fantasy settings and the draw of improved equipment with every vanquished foe that fuels my obsessive tendencies. Maybe I have simply matured as a gamer, or perhaps it is Torchlight’s refinements to the point-and-click, loot hording, action RPG genre that have me enamored.

Every change Torchlight has made to Diablo has focused on making it more appealing to newcomers. Most obvious of these changes is the appearance. A brighter palette, while remaining moody, adds lightness as do the exaggerated characters in the 3D world.

A distinct style made up of bold colours compliments the games mood perfectly.

Alterations are not limited to visuals; tweaks to gameplay also take center stage. Foremost among these additions is the inclusion of a pet. These little critters not only provide space for items and additional powers (cue skeleton summoning dogs), but also deliver the greatest innovation over Diablo, personal shoppers. Loading up a pet with unwanted loot will see them disappearing back to the town of Torchwood to sell it. It’s a tiny change, but one that released me from the burden of excess items, while stilling reaping some of their benefits.

At $20 it is hard not to recommend Torchlight. Accessible, dip in and out gameplay offers a fun distraction. Though the game is quite short the attraction of harder difficulties and increasingly powerful items prove a constant draw, for me at least.

A labor of love for developer Bioware, Dragon Age: Origins offers classic D&D gameplay. With an emphasis on character interaction, the game makes interesting use of a simple morality system to form some unique party politics.

Games always task us with saving the world, which can make it hard to focus on the little things. We make assumptions that our party will unquestioningly follow us to their deaths however we behave. Not so in Dragon Age, because this is a game where party members have a choice, and the ability to leave.

I played the PC version, which (anecdotally) offers a better experience than the console ports.

It was my party that formed the heart of my experience with Dragon Age. RPGs always see me playing the good guy, helping the people I meet with problems and solving situations in the best way possible. But in Dragon Age decisions are often grey, and the wrong choice can lead to me alienating a party member who disagrees with my leadership.

Having acquired every character I was met with the task of balancing their interests. Not offending a templar may not seem difficult, but it becomes a challenge when others are urging you to use dark magic to expedite a quest.

At its basest level party management is just the binary morality system seen in many RPGs, but with each party member carrying their own values. It’s a simple mechanic that creates fascinating interactions and managed to draw me in far more than the epic mission I was tasked with ever could.

Darren is back just in time for a semi-festive show. We spend most of our time catching up on the last few months events and our respective holiday breaks but in the process we do touch on lots of games in-between our stories.

As I said last show do not expect Dans wonderfully detailed show notes every week, and this week serves only to reaffirm that declaration. I can tell you that you can expect us to talk about all the games we played recently, Red Dwarf, bad commercials, me pissing myself, me being taunted by hordes of nerds, the upcoming 2010 releases and our vacations. Unfortunately even with Darren back there is no Frakkers this show, but we do have some music and the return of Darrens Old Games.

Hopefully 2010 will mark a more regular schedule for The DoFuss Show as we stream line the formula, but we make no promises. Enjoy the show and keep an eye on the site this month for some gaming memories of the last ten years.

I am trying to get back in to oil painting, Darren insists on Twitpic updates so keep an eye on that if you care.

Craig Charles had far too much to do with it. [ 1:11:33 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download