When I originally switched to my Mac I just took over some one else’s account, installed Boot Camp etc. When I installed Windows I did so with another copy that was already installed, so I was never able to activate it. One month later and I decided to not only re-install Windows, but to install OS10 from scratch as well. In this past month I have merged my contacts into Address Book and created calendars in iCal.

That is where .Mac came into play. I created a trial account, downloaded Backup 3 and started getting into it. I read a number of articles that ripped Backup 3 to shreds, but also learned that most of the issues being ripped have been resolved so I went for it, backing up my documents and personal settings like Address Book, iCal and my Cyber Duck bookmarks.

After the very long but easy install of OS10, I set up my .Mac account in the os and downloaded my calendars and contacts. Low and behold it works! Very easy.

I am currently restoring my backups from DVD and its all going very smoothly.

IGN has an excellent interview with Epic game designer Cliffy B where they talk about new content, game design and story.

On adding more players to multiplayer.

Honestly, we have received some notes on that, but honestly, when you have a medium to small player count, you have a better chance of getting to take out the guy that you’re fighting on a regular basis. There is a sense of an intimate relationship that happens there. I think that in some instance, bigger is better. But not all the time. And getting to know the guys you’re killing on the server is a good thing in my book.

Gears is still the #1 game on XBox Live so they must have done something right. Right? More game modes just fragment the community of people playing, and adds to the development time.

On the use of the “A” button to do most every action.

I think we did a 90% perfect job on that one. There is that 10% of the time that the button doesn’t do what you want it to do. It’s one of those things where anticipating what players want, at any given time with a contact sensitive button like that, is an art form in itself. We consolidate everything on A because it’s prime real estate on your Xbox 360 controller. I’ve played so many other shooters where the controls feel so clunky. The bottom line is the A button in Gears was designed for the impatient gamer to have something to do…it’s kind of taking that Mario element of him running across the landscape when he goes “woo-hoo-hooo-hoooooh!” like he would always do and allow you to find cover in the gamespace in Gears. So honestly, there were a couple instances where we could have ironed that out better, but A was definitely a success.

This is their greatest achievement if you ask me. The “A” button brings so much focus to the game and breaks the gameplay down to exactly what it was meant to be, duck, cover and flank. There is no jumping over shit, no falling off ledges, just simple, challenging gameplay.

On the minimal story.

With regard to the story leaving a lot of questions unanswered, I think that’s a very valid point. That’s something that could be potentially set up for future products in regards to sequels or ancillary materials. But honestly, we did not want to have 10-minute cut-scenes. We did not want to sit there and force the player to endure some sort of expedition of lengthy wanna-be Spielberg stuff. We wanted the player to feel like he could be entertained in the first few minutes, break to the chase, and enjoy an action movie with some secondary themes in the background. That was our primary goal.

I think it’s perfectly OK. I think it’s the same as the movie Children of Men; the game is about getting from point A to point B. No one asks about the movie’s story. Just like in that movie, the story is about the moment to moment feeling, it’s a set-up for what’s going to happen in alleged future products.

You know what your goal is, you know why the goal is there and you get to know and care about the other characters. Thats way more than can be said about most games with so called “stories.”

Saints Row kind of came and went without a whole lot of love. It got pretty good reviews, but was always put down for being a clone of Grand Theft Auto and never taken seriously. I just picked it up this weekend and I have to say it is holding my interest far longer than any GTA game ever has. It has great control, story, voice acting, graphics and is just plain fun. I find myself smiling from ear to ear while driving around the city and shooting rival gangs. Last night I was by myself, under a blanket, with the dog on my lap running demolition derbys for cash. I was laughing out loud. It must have looked and sounded ridiculous, but thats how much fun I was having.

Since finding my Xbox 360 I have been playing a lot of games. Never before (since the RTCW incident) have I been so into gaming, I blame achievements and gamerscore for that. But is the system truely next gen? I am going to review some of the games that I have been playing and compare them to the current gen games.

Project Gotham Racing

Let me preface this review by saying that I have never before been so into a racing game, other than Mario Kart that is. Since buying Project Gotham Racing 2 to hold me over until I bought a 360 I have been truely hooked. That said the jump between the two versions, outside of graphic presentation, is not that big.

What’s next gen about it?

• Graphics and presentation
• In dash view renders each car’s interior for a really immersive experience
• Even better Live! integration
• Gotham TV
• Achievements

What’s not so next gen?

• No force feedback steering wheel
• Load times are terrible and really take away from the entire experience. You even have to wait for the menu to load after finishing a race.
• No significance to leveling up. I would like to see a training mode that is required for online play, something where you qualify for each level of racing by learning how to drive properly.
• Create a course tracks are hard to race, the turns are marked with faded back markers that are difficult to see. Why are these courses not uploadable and ratable on Live?

Besides the graphics there is nothing in the game that they couldn’t or haven’t already done on the Xbox.

PGR3 is a really great game and I can not wait to see what they can do with the next version when they have more time to develop it for the 360 hardware.

Download the 2005-2006 Panthers Basketball iCal file to use with Apple’s iCal or Mozilla’s Sunbird. If there are any issues with the dates or times please let me know and I will adjust the calendar.

Hospital: Google print hurts kids!

I am still amazed that a lot of people actually think that Google Print exists to pirate books, when in fact book sales should jump because of it. Even more amazing is that the hopital’s spokesperson hasn’t even seen Google Print yet, but still feels the need to speak out against it.

Another good article about Google Print “Google is right, and the publishers have no argument. What’s their argument that this harms the value of their books? They don’t have one. Google helps you find books, and if you want to read it, you have to buy the book. How can that hurt them?”

Wooden PC Cases

Saw these on Engadget, I think they look pretty cool, but are probably pretty expensive, nor am I sure how well they would deal with heat.

Quake 4 QuickTime VR

These QTVR movies show off the game’s environments nicely. I just started playing Q4 and I am pretty surprised it hasn’t had more exciting press. It is a really fun game, a lot like Halo where you have mission objectives and a squad to work with. But here the objectives are clear, and you know what to do next. I wish they would release a demo so others could see how fun it really is.

Found at Boing Boing Read a review of Quake 4

October 29th

614 Hampton Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15221

Directions

rsvp to halloween@eightdotthree.net, 412.600.7697 or leave a comment.

8PM—2AM, $4

ZOOTY’S (second floor) 4104 Penn Avenue, Lawrenceville (corner of Penn & Main)

Music provided by DJ Shirtless Fatdude, Food and quality beer provided by Incredibly Thin (Full bar downstairs)