Sleepy Gamer

It’s no big secret that Will Wright’s next endeavor would be an incredibly ambitious project.  The game, which has won countless trade show awards over the past several years, was aptly called “Sim Everything” for a reason.

Creature Creator.. A Game In Itself

While you don’t immediately start off creating your creature, it’s an activity you’ll find yourself coming back to again and again, throughout your playthrough.  The software tool is easy enough to use for most novice players.  Adding body parts is as simple as clicking and dragging body parts to wherever your twisted mind wants them.  Each added part has several sliders to adjust orientation, size, and length, while the main body can be molded like clay to become longer or shorter, fatter or skinnier.  The only restrictions come in form of forced symmetry by the editor.  Regardless, the sheer amount of user-generated creatures that have already been made is a testament to the power, ease, and usability of the tool.  It should be noted that a free, standalone version of the Spore Creature Creator is available for anyone to try.  You won’t be able to test out your creation in-game, but you can tinker with the tool and get a small taste of what the creative aspect of Spore is all about.

5 Games In 1

Spore is divided into five evolutionary stages (Cell, Creature, Tribal, Civilization, and Space), based on mostly distinct gameplay types.  You advance through the game either by spending a predetermined amount of time in the current stage or by filling up an experience bar at the bottom of the screen, although each stage has its own way of awarding experience points (XP).

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Bungie countdown brings a cryptic trailer and possibly more Halo 3 content.. There is no doubt that this is the trailer Microsoft pulled from their E3 press conference, to make way for an even bigger announcement.  Looks like Bungie is teasing a new Halo 3 campaign expansion of some sort.  However, I’d love to see more updates like the recent title update to multiplayer though.

Early Mirror’s Edge tech demo is amazing.. The proof of concept that DICE brought to show EA is definitely an incredible showpiece for the first-person, platforming game.

It’s not even out yet and Little Big Planet is already remaking the classics.. First Mario, and now Tetris gets the LBP treatment, according to this video.  I’m glad these are being made, but hopefully the community downloads page won’t be overloaded with old sidescrolling remakes.

In addition to Halo Wars, Ensemble was also working on a now-canceled Halo MMO.. Throw this in with the prototyped Halo DS game as something you won’t likely see any time soon.

Wanna calibrate Rock Band’s audio/video setup the old fashioned way? This video shows how manually, without using the in-game tool or the fancy new instrument sensors.

Be careful of Sony’s restrictive PS3 video DRM.. Seems like you can copy purchased or rented movies off the PS3 store just fine.  But should you happen to delete a movie to make room on your hard drive, just be prepared to call up tech support for a one-time re-download.  At least with Spore’s DRM, EA is always happy to give you an activation reset.

WoW + Bejeweled = Farewell to any hope of sleep or rest.. Yeah, that’s right.  You can now play Bejeweled while waiting to group in World of Warcraft.  Good luck ever leaving your PC desk.

Play Fallout 1 for free, right freaking now.. GameTap is offering up the free download, so what are you waiting for?  Prepare for Fallout 3.

Ever popped in a DVD lately? I bet you’ve already seen those annoying Blu-ray commercials. Blu-ray, the ultimate hi-def blah blah blah. We’re constantly reminded that Blu-ray is so much better than DVD. But is it really?

First off, what is Blu-ray? Blu-ray is a proprietary media format produced by a little company named Sony. These are the same folks who introduced us to the failed UMD, mini-discs, and even Beta tapes. This format is called Blu-ray since these discs are literally made using a blue laser. DVDs on the other hand, are produced with a red laser. Because blue has a much shorter wave length than red, a blue laser can burn more data onto a disc. Imagine writing with a fine-tipped pen vs. writing with a highlighter marker.

From the naked eye, there isn’t much distinction between Blu-ray and DVD discs. But what makes Blu-ray so special is that it can hold about 6x more data than DVD. Dual-layer Blu-ray discs can hold up to 50 GB while a dual-layer DVD can only hold up to 8.5 GB. With DVDs, movie studios need to compress and reduce the video quality so that it can fit onto the disc. Watch a DVD movie on an HD display and you will notice quite a bit of pixilation and artifacts that degrade the picture quality. Blu-ray movies are clear as day since the video looks extremely vibrant and crisp. That’s because it also provides 6x the resolution of a standard DVD movie. The higher the resolution, the better the picture will look.
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Apparently, everyone on the Internet hates Spore’s DRM.. First the anti-DRM fanatics bombed the Amazon review average.  Then they made Spore creatures.  EA responded with some changes, but more were needed.

Updated Fallout 3 site totally worth your time.. Bethesda officially launched the site with a bevy of ’50s era propaganda videos, subtly followed by relevant interactive content for each one.  Each button is a different video, so try them all out.  What does your “G.O.A.T.” psychological profile say about you?

Rock out with your friends, but don’t forget the code.. Just like any good party game (cough.. Super Smash Bros Brawl), you’re required to spend tons of hours unlocking things before the fun can begin.  Unless you use this temporary unlock code: Red, Yellow, Blue, Red, Red, Blue, Blue, Red, Yellow, Blue.  Have fun with these codes as well!

What’s better than yearly Guitar Hero games?  Try triple that amount.. Does that mean Activision big wigs also get triple the gold toilets.

Peggle Nights is out. Play it! Popcap should really be regulated by the FDA, because Peggle Nights is just as addictive as the first game.

Farewell to Jeff Green, former CGW/GFW editor-in-chief.. And farewell to the GFW Radio podcast, one of my weekly mainstays and always an enjoyable listen.

Oh and the next expansion to a little game called WoW is coming Nov 13th.. If you have any loved ones who play WoW, make the most of your time with them now.

Based on Michael J’s request, I’ve decided to write this 101 on video cables. You’re probably thinking, wtf, why do I want to read about cables? Well, let’s all blame Mr. Michael J for that. =) Hopefully this will help clear up some of your long dying questions about cables.

Composite
Composite cables are denoted by the yellow, white, and red connectors, also known as RCA cables. Practically every device that plugs into your TV are compatible with them. The yellow connector outputs video while the white and red carries audio. These cables often come bundled with your DVD player or game console and they very affordable. However, these are the worst cables that you can buy. You can’t really notice the low quality visuals from SD televisions, but the quality is much diminished when viewed from HD displays. With composite cables, your television can only view 480i resolution.

S-Video
S-Video is the next step up from the crappy composite cables. In addition to the yellow, white, and red cables, there’s a fourth pin connector that provides substantial video enhancement. This fourth connector allows higher video bandwidth and carries 2 separate signals for color and luminance. This provides greater video quality when compared to the composite cables. You should see a noticeable increased in sharpness when using S-Video. Although S-Video is a step up from composite, you’re still only limited to 480i resolution. A lot of the older DVD players support S-Video, but this cable is definitely being phased out. Only buy this cable if you do not have a HD display.
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Nintendo redefined what was traditionally thought to be the video game console life cycle with the Wii. They focused on getting a fun and affordable system into people’s houses, with the concept of “play, not graphics” being the primary driving force. In doing so, they were able to jump forward into the console life cycle at the point in which mass market acceptance becomes high and barriers to entry are low. Everyone became an early adopter of the Wii; hardcore gamers, families, young professionals, middle aged couples, and everyone in between.

One side effect of this swift change has been the reduction in quantity of game releases aimed squarely at the hardcore gamer. While Nintendo initially did an excellent job releasing their stable of beloved franchises (Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros, Mart Kart), since then we’ve seen a considerable decline in the amount of notable core game releases from Nintendo. E3 was a prime example of this, as Nintendo failed to deliver the excitement and promise of new games to get the hardcore excited. They did, however, acknowledge that these titles were being worked on. Recently, there was an article in Edge magazine about how Nintendo would have these core titles ready in approximately 2 to 3 years. But if the Wii software cycle started off toward the middle of what we’ve come to know of the conventional product cycle, does this mean we should expect these games on the next Nintendo console instead?

The rumors and speculation about an major upcoming Wii redesign are actually very plausible. Nintendo could still draw upon the incredibly popular Wii branding, perhaps naming the next console “Nintendo Wii Plus” or “Wii HD”, to keep the strong mainstream mind share alive. And just like the jump from Gamecube to Wii wasn’t a monumental jump forward in graphics, this redesign could continue this tradition, using multicore technology and the Bluray format, at a point when such hardware is much cheaper. It could easily include hardware-based backwards compatibility with all the existing Wii software and maybe even support the current controllers and peripherals as well.

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