Hi everyone! Been awhile since an update. I must admit, I got lost in Fallout: New Vegas. Again.
At any rate, the review for Doom, the last game that you guys voted for (well, one of you did and it won the tie-breaker) is completed.
Also, you will notice that you have to log in to Blogger to comment. No worries, if you don't have a Blogger account, they're free.
Back onto the reason for this update: The Doom review. It can be found here.
While my review may come across as biased (and it is, I hold Doom with the highest level of esteem because few games have ever raised the bar so high), my perspective is also different because I've made a few mods for the game as well, and I briefly mention that in the review.
If you've never played the game, you really should. It's cheap, there's a crapload of quality user-made stuff for it and the multiplayer, as simple as it is, is frickin' amazing.
And of course, the source mods make what is old new again.
The ones I recommend are EDGE and ZDoom, and they're very easy to set up. Pretty much, you dump it into the directory where your main game file is (a .wad, or WADfile) and then run the executable for the source mod.
The only source mod I would recommend you stay away from is Doom 95, aka WinDoom (it's the one that comes with Doom: Collector's Edition). Mouse support is broken and I've had some major stability issues.
On that note, have a good weekend, everyone. In case I don't add anything until later next month, happy Canada Day (July 1st) to my fellow Canucks and happy Independence Day (July 4th) to my neighbours to the south.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Announcement: Censorship
Hey guys,
I've seen a few people posting comments and having links to obscene material. From this point forth, this is not going to be tolerated.
If there are any links to pornography in any comments, whether it be the body or the username, it will be deleted.
I have no problem if your personal website is a business, but if it's not family-friendly (or at least within reason), it's not welcome.
That said, I will be actively censoring comments from this point forward.
I've seen a few people posting comments and having links to obscene material. From this point forth, this is not going to be tolerated.
If there are any links to pornography in any comments, whether it be the body or the username, it will be deleted.
I have no problem if your personal website is a business, but if it's not family-friendly (or at least within reason), it's not welcome.
That said, I will be actively censoring comments from this point forward.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Tech Tip: Batteries
Date: June 1st, 2011
Author: Nate
Let's talk about batteries. Why? Because all of the current consoles rely on controllers that use rechargable batteries. This is no surprise; they need a power source if there's no cord. Ultimately, game systems are money-pits if you want to get the most from them, but there are a few ways to save some cash in the long run.
The first is to not buy the rechargable battery packs. Yeah, I know, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony swear by them. However, what MS, Nintendo and Sony don't tell you is that a bad dashboard update can mess with the charging cycle, which can ultimately screw up the battery.
Further - and this came as a shock to me - my Nickel Metal Hydrate (NiMH) AA rechargables are lasting more than 50% longer than the Lithium Ion (LIon) batteries for my 360 remotes. I call shenanigans on that. Why? LIon is more stable and longer-lasting than NiMH. And yet I've never gotten the same performance. That means the batteries are low-quality, and you pay a heck of a lot for them.
Admittedly, there are different battery qualities, and I use high-quality NiMH batteries. But for 8 batteries and a charger, I paid a little less than the cost of 2 XBox 360 battery packs, so you get twice the bang for the buck.
The batteries that I recommend are The Source brand batteries and charger. Partly because that's what I use, and also because I generally found their batteries to be better overall – at least in high-demand devices. And, their rechargables have so far been the most reliable. Reliability of rechargable batteries has two-fold accountability – the first is the quality of the batteries. The second is the quality of the charger.
If the charger sucks, you're going to get fewer charges and you won't get the same life between charges as you would with a good one. And price does not dictate quality here. Crap batteries, same thing, so these are both very important factors.
Another thing to take into consideration is the rating of the battery, which is MAh, or Milli-Amp hours. The AA batteries I currently use are 2 pairs of 2000 and 2600 MAh rated batteries respectively, and the 2600's do get better life, but only by a day or so. Mind you, I'm usually 2 - 3 weeks between charges for each pair, so it's fairly moot. I maybe get 7 to 10 days with the 360 battery pack. I also play quite a bit, 2 to 4 hours a day, so both accounts reflect a lot of hours, but the time between recharges makes the difference.
Your best bet would be to get a charger that comes with two pairs of batteries. A good one is usually $30 - $40 CDN. Bear in mind that the 360 battery pack is $30 on its own, is good for 7 – 10 days – and there's only one of them.
To add more value to the whole idea, buying more batteries is fairly inexpensive, what with the better pairs coming in at only $20 for two pairs. Again, MS, Sony and Nintendo can't compete with that.
It all comes down to dollars and cents. Or is that sense?
But hey, you're the gamer, it's your call. Regardless of whether or not you get a battery pack or rechargeables, it's still cheaper than buying non-rechargeable alkaline batteries. But the rechargeable batteries are cheaper than a battery pack by over 60%, and the charger isn't attached to the system, which means it can't be affected by screwy updates.
And it goes without saying that you can use the batteries in more than just your controllers.
Author: Nate
Let's talk about batteries. Why? Because all of the current consoles rely on controllers that use rechargable batteries. This is no surprise; they need a power source if there's no cord. Ultimately, game systems are money-pits if you want to get the most from them, but there are a few ways to save some cash in the long run.
The first is to not buy the rechargable battery packs. Yeah, I know, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony swear by them. However, what MS, Nintendo and Sony don't tell you is that a bad dashboard update can mess with the charging cycle, which can ultimately screw up the battery.
Further - and this came as a shock to me - my Nickel Metal Hydrate (NiMH) AA rechargables are lasting more than 50% longer than the Lithium Ion (LIon) batteries for my 360 remotes. I call shenanigans on that. Why? LIon is more stable and longer-lasting than NiMH. And yet I've never gotten the same performance. That means the batteries are low-quality, and you pay a heck of a lot for them.
Admittedly, there are different battery qualities, and I use high-quality NiMH batteries. But for 8 batteries and a charger, I paid a little less than the cost of 2 XBox 360 battery packs, so you get twice the bang for the buck.
The batteries that I recommend are The Source brand batteries and charger. Partly because that's what I use, and also because I generally found their batteries to be better overall – at least in high-demand devices. And, their rechargables have so far been the most reliable. Reliability of rechargable batteries has two-fold accountability – the first is the quality of the batteries. The second is the quality of the charger.
If the charger sucks, you're going to get fewer charges and you won't get the same life between charges as you would with a good one. And price does not dictate quality here. Crap batteries, same thing, so these are both very important factors.
Another thing to take into consideration is the rating of the battery, which is MAh, or Milli-Amp hours. The AA batteries I currently use are 2 pairs of 2000 and 2600 MAh rated batteries respectively, and the 2600's do get better life, but only by a day or so. Mind you, I'm usually 2 - 3 weeks between charges for each pair, so it's fairly moot. I maybe get 7 to 10 days with the 360 battery pack. I also play quite a bit, 2 to 4 hours a day, so both accounts reflect a lot of hours, but the time between recharges makes the difference.
Your best bet would be to get a charger that comes with two pairs of batteries. A good one is usually $30 - $40 CDN. Bear in mind that the 360 battery pack is $30 on its own, is good for 7 – 10 days – and there's only one of them.
To add more value to the whole idea, buying more batteries is fairly inexpensive, what with the better pairs coming in at only $20 for two pairs. Again, MS, Sony and Nintendo can't compete with that.
It all comes down to dollars and cents. Or is that sense?
But hey, you're the gamer, it's your call. Regardless of whether or not you get a battery pack or rechargeables, it's still cheaper than buying non-rechargeable alkaline batteries. But the rechargeable batteries are cheaper than a battery pack by over 60%, and the charger isn't attached to the system, which means it can't be affected by screwy updates.
And it goes without saying that you can use the batteries in more than just your controllers.
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