A Gaming Diary
Archive for June, 2008
World of Warcraft (PC/Mac)
Jun 13th
Quick session today got me sent off to the Undercity to deliver a necklace.
Now I have the choice of going back and doing missions in Tranquillien or doing some quests in the Forsaken areas.
The Forsaken quests look a bit too easy – i.e. will get me no XP – but I’m struggling with the Blood Elf quests I’ve got left. Tricky.
Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (PSP)
Jun 13th
I lost a match! For the first time.
So I went back and tried again and it was on a much easier course and romped to victory. Odd.
World of Warcraft (PC/Mac)
Jun 12th
This lunchtime my rogue teamed up with someone for the first time. I got to a quest destination at the same time as a Warlock and, as we were both obviously doing the same thing, he invited me into a group. So we ran around together killing night elves, completed the quest and then I left the group because it was time to stop playing games and get back to work.
Quite nice, was that.
Civilization IV (PC)
Jun 12th
Installed this last night. Then installed the patch. Then went hunting round the Internet for the solution to the DirectX error that occurred once the patch was installed.
Finally got to play for an hour or so before bed. I chose a random civilization and ended up as the Malinese. Not an empire I know much about, but that’s no problem. I’m playing on the easiest difficulty and pretty much choosing tech and build orders at random, but generally going for culture above everything else. I’ve founded several religions, built many wonders and build the city of Spoiler just to cut the American empire in half. Unless they’ve got boats, they’re not going to be able to get between their cities. (I never agree to Open Border requests. Get off my land!)
Civilization IV Demo (Mac)
Jun 11th
Unexpectedly, the game runs fine on this Mac.
I wish I didn’t know that.
SingStar (PS3)
Jun 11th
Used up the final dregs of credit with the Playstation store to get some new songs. Then had fun singing them.
Oddly, I did really well for the first few songs, then was worse than ever for the last few. I hardly hit a note in Total Eclipse of the Heart and the playback had my wife and I in stitches. Do I really sound like that?
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Demo (360)
Jun 11th
Nice long demo. So long I didn’t bother finishing it. Seems all right, maybe even quite good, but I don’t think I want to pay 1600 points for it. Also, oddly, while it was genuinely funny in places, the dialogue I saw between Tycho and Gabe fell completely flat for me. I was expecting that to be the highlight.
Call of Duty 4 (360)
Jun 11th
Pew pew! Pew pew!
This seems to be fundamentally different from most first person shooters, where the aim is to kill everyone and move on. In Call of Duty 4 I do shoot people, sure, but it’s more about staying alive under heavy fire than clearing the areas of enemies. It’s a fundamentally different style of game, which is probably what makes it feel so fresh.
Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (PSP)
Jun 11th
Unlocked a new character – an incredibly annoying nine-year-old boy – and am now a Pro, apparently. Still lots of fun, still golf.
World of Warcraft (PC/Mac)
Jun 11th
My rogue is now level fourteen and has some fun powers. I especially like Garrote, which makes the “Kill X of Y” quests much quicker. Had a lot of trouble stealing some plans from a Dark Elf ship yesterday, but got there in the end.
