Evochron Mercenary Review

Evochron Mercenary is a pleasant surprise, but it isn't without it's faults.

Essentially the game is an offline or friends-only (up to 32 players) version of Eve - but it's not. Your missions and the majority of other ships that you will interact with are handled by NPC's. Player vs Player combat is allowed and you can even group up into "clans" and battle it out at will.

Space is endless. No "jump gates" required to get from one "room" to the next, you can simply fly there if so inclined. I've not ventured out beyond the starting system yet, but that's what others have stated.

The first thing you'll notice is the 15 minutes of tutorial audio "missions" you can optionally do before jumping into the game. I recommend them. Since both average piloting and combat is handled from a first-person cockpit view it's much more difficult to play than simply point and click Eve. There's almost as many controls to bind as there are keys and I find myself wanting to write a cheat sheet or program multiple sets of buttons on my gaming keyboard.

I say it's first-person and it really is best played that way but it does offer a third person view as well so you can see your own ship.

Ship customizing goes above and beyond anything seen in similar games. Not only can you pick the superframe, but you pick your wings, engines, cargo hold, etc. within the limits of what the superframe can hold. You can even go a step further and configure not only the position but the XYZ size of each of those components. Don't want engines in the traditional rear of your ship? Stick them out on one of the wingtips and stretch them out long for a sleek racing look. Want a fat belly on your ship? Expand the cargo hold diameter.

I chose a mining / cargo track for starters to get familiar with flying so my missions have been pretty minor. So far I've mined diamonds from asteroids, oxygen from a planet's atmosphere and water from lakes. In addition to spaceports you can also land on planetary bases or even just do flyby's and use your tractor beam to suck water off the planet's surface to transport and sell elsewhere. There's a complete commerce and merchant system similar to an MMO.

There's a free server to download (Winblows only, but I'm going to see if it will run in Wine) and they say with a higher end server and a good Internet connection you can have up to 32 players connected to the same server. There's also a resource editor tool if you want to replace textures or audio files with your own.

Things you do in single player carry over into multi-player and vice-versa, so developing your character and building an awesome ship in single player is useful for group combat as well. Got a mission that's too tough to do alone? You can join a server and ask for help!

On the down side, the learning curve is pretty darn steep. I ended up Googling a few things like how to find a waypoint on your map for a mission. Turns out your auto pilot automatically locks onto them, just activate it. The tutorial helps but is long and rather dry. I lost interest in it quickly. I also found it much too easy to die due to silly things. For instance, F1 opens the map. F3 opens your cargo hold inventory screen. F2 initiates jump drive. Don't hit F2 when mining an asteroid and trying to open your cargo hold - jumping through an asteroid really doesn't do well for the complexion, unless you like explosive orange. F6 sets your weapon fire mode, but F7 self destructs. I unbound self-destruct and bound jump to F7 after the third time I jumped headfirst into something accidentally.

The autopilot also doesn't seem to mind if there's something between you and the destination. Like a planet. You have to make sure you're clear of nearby obstacles before initiating autopilot. Tick off 2 more deaths due to that. Entering the atmosphere at more than 1000 meters per second is also a bad idea as you tend to pop like a fire cracker. Check off 2 more deaths.

The graphics are not bad, especially considering the game is about 300 MB. The nebula backdrops are gorgeous, but the cockpit framing aliases a bit for me.

All in all I found it well worth the money, even if I just play it single player mode. It scratches the "Eve Online" itch without all the crap that goes along with Eve. I still haven't connected to any servers, but I only played for a couple of hours.

I Know Some of You are Gun Aficionados

No, it's not a 3D render. It's a real double-barrel .45 cal pistol.

"In other words, it was about 4000 grains of payload sent downrange in about five seconds."

"Contagion" alpha gameplay trailer

Indie title by a team of Source modders (Zombie Panic: Source) gone pro.

ME3 Day One (Addendum)

+ I want to ass-punch every member of the Council. STFU noobs.

+ The Alliance "retrofitted" the Normandy. That means they added a few new rooms, and broke most of the light bulbs. It's dank.

+ Big surprise with EDI. I did not see that coming.

Battlefield 3 Flashlight Unlock

ME3 - Day One

I've decided to blog my experience with ME3 day-by-day. It's a long game, so a review -- coming only at the end -- would exclude too much "present sense impression" material. Conversely, a single "first impressions" post would prevent me from tracking changes in my thinking about the game over time. For whatever reason, I'm guessing that will be an important thing to do.

I will make no effort at either structure or chronology in these posts. Expect a series of lists.

So, Day One:

+ The intro is rather terse. The Reapers are finally here to bring the genocide, and Shep-messiah is let off the leash.

+ The first thing I notice: everybody has bigger boobs.

+ The tutorial mission is also brief, and apart from some rolling and jumping stuff, the blunt force trauma lesson is this: people are going to die.

+ Anderson is still the most likable guy in the galaxy.

+ Ashley, despite the boob job and the hairdo, is more masculine this time around. And she's still two mental leaps behind everybody else.

+ The FOV appears to be locked between 65 and 70 degrees. The result is claustrophbic and somewhat disorienting at times. There must be a way to change it.

+ New skill system: like. New inventory/upgrade system: do not like.

+ Combat is balls, as usual. I knew that was coming, so I'm playing the game on "tell me a story" difficulty. I've been standing out in the open for the most part, and my shields haven't gone down yet. I may have to rethink that choice.

+ I'm already regretting choosing the Infiltrator class. Combat is faster than it was in the previous games, and there's a lot more CQC. Should have been a Vanguard.

+ Voice acting is a mixed bag, but still stronger than most games. The pauses between lines, though small, are becoming more noticeable.

+ This game has some incredible vistas ... if you happen to see them. Restricted FOV fail.

+ As expected, the first encounter with the Illusive Man borders on parody. He's already well into the transition from enigmatic mastermind to obtuse megalomaniac.

+ All our hopes rest on an uber-machine. I can already see a "Contact" -like scenario developing.

+ The first romance dilemma comes early and abruptly, and ends up being rather wooden. Meh.

+ Garrus is still a more witty -- and more Turian -- version of Anderson. Good character.

+ Udina is much more of a bro this time around. Good move.

+ The pacing feels slow thus far. Millions of little Earthlings are being slaughtered as I stand around bullshitting with various minor players, but I feel no sense of urgency.

I have ME3...

...because I have to see how it ends.

I bought the game because I wanted closure, which should be enough of an endorsement for any fan of Mass Effect. But -- and this is a huge but -- there are so many ways Bioware could get it wrong. I've never bought a game that I expected to disappoint me before, but that $60 is gone now.

I have been at war with myself these last few months, because of the publisher, because of the DLC, and because I don't believe Bioware when they say that the multiplayer (nothing more than a honey pot for yet another microtransaction market) won't impact the singleplayer.

Will closure be enough? I'm about to find out.

Gamer Girl...

The "Steam Box" Rumor

I honestly don't know what to make of this:

Exclusive: Valve said to be working on 'Steam Box' gaming console with partners, could announce at GDC (by Joshua Topolsky at theverge.com)

Here's the gist:

Recently there's been chatter that Valve — the company behind the massively popular gaming service Steam — has been considering getting into the hardware business. Specifically, there have been rumors that the company has been toying with the idea of creating a proper set-top console which could potentially pose a threat to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Valve co-founder Gabe Newell even recently told Penny Arcade: "Well, if we have to sell hardware we will." 

At a glance that would simply be interesting fodder for a gaming forum debate, but we've uncovered information that suggests that not only has Valve been secretly working on gaming hardware for the living room, but that the company is actively pursuing a strategy which would place Steam at the center of an open gaming universe that mirrors what Google has done with Android. 

On the hardware:

Apparently meetings were held during CES to demo a hand-built version of the device to potential partners. We're told that the basic specs of the Steam Box include a Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GPU. The devices will be able to run any standard PC titles, and will also allow for rival gaming services (like EA's Origin) to be loaded up. 

Part of the goal of establishing a baseline for hardware, we're told, is that it will give developers a clear lifecycle for their products, with changes possibly coming every three to four years. Additionally, there won't be a required devkit, and there will be no licensing fees to create software for the platform.

What it might mean:

Gaming consoles -- and the forthcoming Apple TV product line -- are closed platforms. The GabeCube would be something else entirely: a PC-grade, upgradable hardware layout with a console form factor, designed for the living room. Only an internet connection and a (free) Steam account required to play PC games. A PC-grade OS (wouldn't Windows be required for DirectX?), with PC-grade media and internet functionality. Most importantly: a baseline hardware and driver standard for the development of PC games. 

What it doesn't mean:

That any of this is real. I am enormously skeptical that even Valve has the money to subsidize the production costs of such a system. And seriously, how the hell would you get OEM Windows on the thing?

Operation Explosion Canonz