Life Kills: January 2008 Archives
Okay, so everyone's been bitching about this game, yet (for some reason) a lot of game websites and magazines have been raving about how awesome it is. I go to game stores and people do nothing but moan about it, and the user reviews on nearly every site is saturated with people who call it 'weak' and 'disappointing.' Well, I was consumed with curiosity as to how this game could get such a conflicting rap, so I bought it. And played it. And to those nay-sayers out there, to those people that hate on this game, I call Shenanigans.
This game is unreal.
Reviewers have had plenty to say about this game, no doubt. The free-roam segment has been removed. The tuning and the parts have been simplified. There's not enough tracks. Now you can crash, and if your car is damaged your performance is hindered. I mean, the list of complaints is damned-near endless.
I think EA finally realized that glamorizing street racing to a bunch of idiot kids is having a very real impact on motor vehicle mortality rates. Every jackass that plays the game wants to hop in daddy's car and start drifting around corners. Every poseur thinks he drives a highly-tuned 450hp monster than can do 210mph on the highway without losing control. And the worst: every one of these kids ('cuz they're just kids) thinks that they can careen off medians and walls without their car disintegrating.
Anyway, thankfully EA has tried to take out a lot of these aspects of the game (which are mostly uninteresting anyway.) Free-roam was neat for a little bit, but getting chased by cops at every corner and having to spend 20 minutes driving through the streets to get to an event just gets old. I found myself skipping to the events instead of free-roaming at all. Lameness. The NFS series has had progressively simplified car-modding, which makes sense since the average person out there has no idea about how to make a car faster, yet keep it under control.
As far as tracks go, NFS:ProStreet has limited numbers of locales, it's true, but there's a huge variety of tracks within those locales. And remember: it's a track racing game, not a street racing game. It's about the driving, not so much where you're driving. I also love the fact that cars crash now. There's actual consequence to just standing on the pedal and careening off everything, which is great, considering that disintegration is exactly what happens when you hit something at 100+ miles per hour. It just seems like the majority of people's complaints are based on 'why can't things just be completely unrealistic?'
Listen, I'm totally okay with video games being unrealistic. Heck, that's why they're video games. That's the big dividing line between games and simulations. The thing about it is that with all the advances in video game technology and graphics, well, that line is severely blurred. The U.S. Army is using video games (or is it simulations?) as a recruiting tool. Games are looking so realistic that when you're able to take 50 rounds of high-calibre ammunition in the chest in a video game, you might start believing that your buddy can too (only in real life). Yeah, the analogy is extreme, but that doesn't make it any less relevant.
But back to the game. Driveability is unparalleled. I haven't had this much fun driving since the early days of Gran Turismo. It's an amazing mix of simulation and game (there's that blur again) that really keeps things fun and adds a very believable sense of speed. Me, I just get bored of games like Gran Turismo and Forza - pure simulations bore me because there's very little 'dramatic effect'. But NFS:ProStreet does an amazing job of blending the two.
The graphics are very nice. Not stupendously nice, mind you, but extremely good. On an HDTV, they're pretty stunning, but there's occasional frame drops and stutters once in a blue moon. I'm surprised at that - I would've expected a production console game to have ironed out any performance issues. Still, it's rare when it does happen, so it doesn't really affect my overall opinion of the game.
The audio makes me want to die. I wish they would simply cut out the announcers. They're freakin' douchebags reminiscent of that guy from the Triple Crown, the guy that keeps saying "Triple Croooown!" over and over. These guys just keep saying the same crap over and over again, and over again, and over again, ad nauseaum. And they love your character's full name. They must say "Ryan Cooper" about 9.6 billion times. Trust me, you'll want to carve your own ears out after an hour. The rest of the audio is fine - surround sound helps a lot - and it's immersive.
My only complaint is the in-game advertising. I'm amazed at how pervasive it is. Heck, even the 'repair markers' are sponsored by Progressive Insurance. The first update you download is an Energizer Battery update that puts Energizer ads all over the game. It's a little ridiculous, by any standards. It doesn't affect gameplay, but it sure does irritate (I don't get enough spam in my inbox - I need it in every aspect of my existence.)
Whatever. This is (in my opinion) the best racer you can get on the PS3. On the Xbox360, keep PG4 in mind, but it's a close thing. GT5 is coming soon, and that will just end up being another simulator (like Forza): gorgeous to look at, but pretty freakin' boring to play. NFS:ProStreet will appeal to the majority of real street enthusiasts, drivers who know the difference between a game and the real thing.
That being said, I'm gonna tack on the ad for NFS:ProStreet. It's just too awesome not to watch...
I saw a rockabilly band during my time in Texas (I wasn't in jail, but it certainly felt like I was doing time), at a tiny little bar on 6th street. They were flanked by Satan's Cheerleaders (great group o' girls), and rockin' pretty hard. At the time I admit that I wasn't as receptive to rockabilly as I am now, but I've always dug it, about the same as I've always dug ska and ska-core. But I digress.
So the singer of this rockabilly band, a band whose name I can't remember but will never forget, started singing a song (as singers are wont to do). This song started with a whole series of facts; the preemptive statement "It's only funny 'cuz it's true..." and then stating some unbelievable, incredible, usually kind of sad, fact.
It's only funny 'cuz it's true... Texas has a higher incidence of trailer homes than the rest of the United States combined.
As amazing as that might seem, and as unbelievable, it's still feasible. I don't know if it's true, but it could be. And that's really the important thing here. It could be.
It's only funny 'cuz it's true... The average American has the education of a 10 year old anywhere else in the world.
Now that's a little extreme. I'm sure there's 10 year olds in some third-world country out there that are less educated than the average American.
Anyway, the band followed up with 5 or 6 of these facts before breaking into some serious music. It was educational and entertaining. In some cases, even a little sad.
The thing about a video like that, however, is that it shows the worst, and gives the perception that everyone interviewed was that bad. They never show people getting the questions right - and I just can't believe for one second that nobody got a correct answer. Granted, the 'wrong answers' are amazingly ignorant, but I wouldn't consider myself uninformed or ignorant, and there were questions I could answer off the top of my head. Like, seriously, what does the Prime Minister of Australia (John Howard) actually look like?
To be honest, I didn't even know who the heck the Prime Minister of Australia was either. I had to Wikipedia it. Make a convincing enough scenario, however, and I'm sure I would've fallen for it too.
I blame the information age. We're bombarded on all sides with so much information from so many sources that we segregate the data we want to absorb. It's not that current events should take a backseat to other forms of information, but I do spend significantly more time on Wired than watching CNN on TV. That's not to say that I spend a lot of time on Wired - I just don't spend a lot of time watching television. I don't know... I stay reasonably current, but I think it's unfair to judge all Americans based on a video of a select group's ignorance. It's like watching a Michael Moore flick and thinking it's all gospel truth - while he laughs all the way to the bank.
Oh, that's a whole other can of worms, I'd better leave it alone. Heh, I think I just defended Americans. There's a first, lol.
So the singer of this rockabilly band, a band whose name I can't remember but will never forget, started singing a song (as singers are wont to do). This song started with a whole series of facts; the preemptive statement "It's only funny 'cuz it's true..." and then stating some unbelievable, incredible, usually kind of sad, fact.
It's only funny 'cuz it's true... Texas has a higher incidence of trailer homes than the rest of the United States combined.
As amazing as that might seem, and as unbelievable, it's still feasible. I don't know if it's true, but it could be. And that's really the important thing here. It could be.
It's only funny 'cuz it's true... The average American has the education of a 10 year old anywhere else in the world.
Now that's a little extreme. I'm sure there's 10 year olds in some third-world country out there that are less educated than the average American.
Anyway, the band followed up with 5 or 6 of these facts before breaking into some serious music. It was educational and entertaining. In some cases, even a little sad.
The thing about a video like that, however, is that it shows the worst, and gives the perception that everyone interviewed was that bad. They never show people getting the questions right - and I just can't believe for one second that nobody got a correct answer. Granted, the 'wrong answers' are amazingly ignorant, but I wouldn't consider myself uninformed or ignorant, and there were questions I could answer off the top of my head. Like, seriously, what does the Prime Minister of Australia (John Howard) actually look like?
To be honest, I didn't even know who the heck the Prime Minister of Australia was either. I had to Wikipedia it. Make a convincing enough scenario, however, and I'm sure I would've fallen for it too.
I blame the information age. We're bombarded on all sides with so much information from so many sources that we segregate the data we want to absorb. It's not that current events should take a backseat to other forms of information, but I do spend significantly more time on Wired than watching CNN on TV. That's not to say that I spend a lot of time on Wired - I just don't spend a lot of time watching television. I don't know... I stay reasonably current, but I think it's unfair to judge all Americans based on a video of a select group's ignorance. It's like watching a Michael Moore flick and thinking it's all gospel truth - while he laughs all the way to the bank.
Oh, that's a whole other can of worms, I'd better leave it alone. Heh, I think I just defended Americans. There's a first, lol.
Boy, I'm just overflowing with excitement these days, aren't I? Well, for what it's worth, I have a whole set of NYR (that's New Years Resolutions for the uninitiated... or underinitiated as the case may be...) Ready? Begin.
But that's all physical. On the mental side (and God knows I'm mental)...
And that's just the start. I need to find a way to really organize the goals/projects/plans I've got. Maybe I'll write some software to handle it... hah, another project. It never ends.
- Gotta lose weight. Yeah, I suppose it's a health issue but I'm not stupendously overweight. This is more related to two things: looking good and climbing harder. Oh, and looking good while climbing harder. That's pretty important too. Ew, shallow. Whatever.
- Gotta get stronger. This is obviously related to the above. In fact, I think I'll combine the two...
- Gotta increase my strength-to-weight ratio. The fabled factor of "the better athlete" really is, in my experience, the holy grail of performance. And the key to this, of course, is core strength. So: core strength + positive strength/weight ratio = awesome athletic performance. The nice thing about awesome athletic performance is that if you're in the kind of shape to put forth this kind of performance, then you're lookin' pretty darned healthy as well.
- Gotta climb harder. This is all about practice, I know. Just need to hit the wall with hxc dedication, or at least just regularly, and it will come. In my current completely out-of-shape state I'm climbing okay, and so I don't think it'll take any major changes to improve performance.
But that's all physical. On the mental side (and God knows I'm mental)...
- Gotta get a handle on RoR. Ruby on Rails has been poking at the back of my head for nigh on a year now, and I just can't seem to dedicate the time, energy, or effort to finally wrap my head around it and get it to production-level skill. I could futz and fumble my way through it, given a proper project, and I'd have no shortage of GID (Get It Done) code rolling around while I learned what the heck to do, but that's not pro-level. And by pro, I don't mean professional, I mean production. Hard-as-nails, bulletproof, bombproof, bugproof code. Oof.
- Gotta solidify all the plans and ideas. I've got no shortage of excellent plans, ideas, projects, toy apps, and who knows what else. Rather than roll around like a blind helmet-wearing monkey trying to piece it all together at the same time, maybe a little organization would help. Maybe. And maybe I can filter out all the Bad Ideas.
- Gotta start some art. Computers and digital design is all great, but I miss the good ol' days of the pencil lead. I miss slappin' some paint on a canvas. So it'll be good to get back to that.
And that's just the start. I need to find a way to really organize the goals/projects/plans I've got. Maybe I'll write some software to handle it... hah, another project. It never ends.
