So...Xbox One eh?I can already hear Sarge saying, "What the? First I miss the first 359 versions, now they're going back to version one?"
It is kind of a funny name in my opinion, 720 would be better but that's not really important.
what's important is that MS left out a lot of details during this presentation...some VERY important details. But before I get to that, lets look at what they did have to offer:
Console Design Not impressed. But not going to bitch about it. what's important is what's inside, and what is inside is VERY impressive. Tech details aside, its a massive powerhouse for games and quite frankly a full home entertainment system.
Kinekt Anyone who played it on the 360 knows its potential but it still lagged in response and some features. The new Kinekt is much more advanced and even has better depth perception and more advanced human joints. I've had this issue with games like UFC where it didn't accurately detect my movements, but this one seems better. There are also more cool features such as instant switch and real multi tasking. Me like a lot, i give xbox HUGE props of kinekt integration.
Games The only thing I can say im interested in is Quantum Leap. Im not a huge Sports fan, and honestly all the CoD and Battelfield games just dont hold my interest. Granted the graphics are much more advanced, this is actually expected. Granted the AI is more advanced, hell it better be. But what really makes the difference is the playability and depth of the games. Though this is just my personal taste, i know there are a lot out there who love to play competitive sports and shooters, but I'm disappointed in lack of display of deeper games. Xbox said its going to do display more at E3, so I'll hold judgement on this for now.
Halo TV Series I need to change my pants. I'm not going ga-ga over Spielberg directing the series, but i'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
Presentation in a nut shell This presentation, unlike the PS4 presentation, is ENTERTAINMENT-centric. The PS4 pulled out all the stops in terms of showing what the games are going to look like and power and IPs and capabilities. That is all fine and dandy for people like me who are gamers at the core; but Xbox did, in my opinion, a smart move by focusing on Home Entertainment more than games in this presentation.
The PS4 touched the nerdy gamer in me. The Xbox summoned forth the Jocks, the intellects, the couch potatos, the movie goers, the home cinema nuts, and on and on with this presentation. So while I feel, as a gamer, that it was lacking in gaming, as a normal consumer im drooling over the features.
now for the bad Lets face it...this console is made IN America...FOR America. At the moment, the full features displayed are very US centric, especially with the TV and Movie features. based on some readings, Xbox right now is focused on its biggest consumer, America, and hasn't yet worked on these deliverables for their international audience. YES i am aware of licenses and copyright rights and regs and bla bla. I know i wont get what you guys have, but does that also include the Xbox stuff such as Halo? Man that would really piss me off if i can't watch even that.
The PS4, from birth, was international to begin with and focused on its international consumers. So it tries really hard to appeal to them and take into considerations the "what if someone at..." questions a lot. I give PS props on that for sure.
The BIG Questions There were some rumors before the release which xbox didn't address in this presentation. Forbes did a decent summary and spread about those concerns here.
Again, I feel shunned. There IS some type of internet connectivity required. Although not CONSISTENT, its still an issue for non first-world countries like mine which has horrid internet.
Sharing Games Also the issue of non-sharable saved games is a big stab. Here we tend to swap and trade games with each other to minimize insane costs and hell its just good old-fashion trade community like the olden days with the NES and Sega games. This time there is a cost involved (whether a small fee or a newly rumored FULL price is not yet clear), which really does suck for those who aren't exactly well-off in terms of cash. I believe the PS4 is going down the same line in that too though, but I haven't seen anything official yet from either camp. Lets hope they both reconsider.
Backward Compatibility The PS4 has the same issue. New processor architecture means previous games can't work on new console. I understand that, that's fine. Though the Xbox doesn't yet have a plan like the PS4 does in terms of Streaming previous games. so looks like you may want to hold on to that 360 for a while.
Final Thought Xbox One is...well its god damn amazing. Im crazy for gadgets and features and customizations coughcoughiphonesuckscoughcough. But lets face it, its not for me HERE. If i was back in the states, I'd be ALL over it. However, the internet connection issue, the sharing issue, and (to some extent) the backward playability issue kind of move me more towards the PS4 than the One right now. I know countries like mine wont make a real dent on the bottom line for Xbox, so I'm sure they're not losing any sleep over it. There's still lots of time from now until the end of the year for when its expected to be released, maybe some things will change in terms of policy by then but I dont see it happening.
Even if E3 busts out some AMAZING games other than sports and FPSs, i still wouldn't get. Not here, not even in Europe. If in the US, then yes.
Scotland...you'll be missedSo i've been in Aberdeen the past week on training and I have to say I really love Scotland. Its so cozy and cold and friendly and cold and green and cold and fun and cold and did i mention cold?
One thing i will miss for sure is the blazing internet speed! I honestly forgot what its like to fly through web pages and to truly enjoy @Scheree livestreaming drawings and chatting it up with friends like @Myshu too.
Alas, all good things come to an end. But better things are always always on the horizon.
Speaking of which, anyone hail from Zurich or Olten by any chance?
Now Im a bit of a history nut, and i like my share of Pirate stories, and, hell, new engines and graphics do get me hair a-standin' . But come on! This is a bit much.
I like Ubisoft. I like the AC games. But every time i play them, i get the feeling that i've spent 50+ hours on that game only to get 1 or so hours from the real main story (if that at all). I feel like Ubisoft is just jamming a whole lot of fillers into the franchise, and they have an infinite source of historical incidents to choose from just to milk AC for all it can ever give.
With that said, Am I going to get the next AC game? Shamefully, yes. but I do it with the expectation that THIS TIME...it will finally come to a conclusion.
it has to come to a conclusion, right? I mean, Come ON! There is NO WAY they'll be crazy enough to make SIXTH installment of AC :::nervous chuckle::: right?
Now Im a bit of a history nut, and i like my share of Pirate stories, and, hell, new engines and graphics do get me hair a-standin' . But come on! This is a bit much.
I like Ubisoft. I like the AC games. But every time i play them, i get the feeling that i've spent 50+ hours on that game only to get 1 or so hours from the real main story (if that at all). I feel like Ubisoft is just jamming a whole lot of fillers into the franchise, and they have an infinite source of historical incidents to choose from just to milk AC for all it can ever give.
With that said, Am I going to get the next AC game? Shamefully, yes. but I do it with the expectation that THIS TIME...it will finally come to a conclusion.
it has to come to a conclusion, right? I mean, Come ON! There is NO WAY they'll be crazy enough to make SIXTH installment of AC :::nervous chuckle::: right?
So...PS4So I just finished watching the recording of the PlayStation 4 unveiling (if you can actually call it that), and I have some mixed feelings on the topic.
First of all, if you intend on watching it and dont want spoilers, STOP RIGHT HERE! I'm gonna talk about a few things that might be a spoiler.
First thing's first, lets lay down the quick bio. I'm a proud PS3 & 360 owner. I play games on both consoles and see the positives/negatives on both ends. So a PS4 announcement was very exciting for me.
Next, the obvious: The console in itself was not revealed. This is basically Sony's announcement of the many games that will come out with when the PS4 launches, the acquisition of new IPs, some additional features, and some other things the PS4 will be coming out with.
As for the power: Its obviously going to be faster. 16x more memory than the current console. Currently PS3 has 512 MB or RAM (which sounds absurd to most of us tech geeks), so that makes the PS4 run on 8 gigs of RAM. What does this mean? basically more content, data, information running on the console at play time which translates to more complex graphics, environment, etc... I dont want to get too techy on this but yeah.
The second is the decision to switch processors. If you guys remember, the PS3 came out one year late after the 360 launch due to the powerful cell processor they have on the 3. problem is that this processor was really complex and hard to learn to program on. so developers had a hard time making games for it versus the relatively easier processor on the 360. The new processor will be closer in terms of architecture to the PC processor, so that means developers wont be too worried about spending too much time on learning and will be more willing to push out content on the PS4.
ok, tech stuff out of the way, now for the presentation.
For most of the US and EU and other audience, this wont be a problem, which is the more online intensive capabilities of the 4. it sucks for people like me who have poor internet connection in my location or for those out in the middle of nowhere with bad connections, but for a lot, it will be interesting the new online integration they are putting on the 4. One example is the instant share of your gameplay over social networks like FB and whatnot. Also lots of their games they are pushing for involve online gaming community during gameplay (not just matchmaking).
Another cool aspect is the streaming functionality. You can download a game and play with it without the need to wait for the whole download to finish (like play level 1 while levels 2 and onward are still downloading). This is pretty cool.
The one thing that will SUCK about this is that it means for those who dont want to play online or dont have online capabilities, that their gameplay will be very limited.
Another thing that i cringed on is that previous titles on the 3 and so on will only be playable via download or streaming. again, this stings for owners of the 3 for obvious reasons. I suspect its because of the CPU architecture conversion that you cant play previous versions on the 4; instead you have to wait for previous titles to be uploaded to their store which are compatible with the new CPU.
As for the games, well they certainly look pretty, that goes without saying. Some titles I'm having a hard time trying to tell the difference between what I see on the 4 and what's already available on the 3. Some titles that look exciting are Ubisoft's Watchdogs and Bungie's Destiny. This will be the first ever Bungie title for the PS console so it is pretty exciting. There are other titles out there like the new Infamous game and Square Enix's game using the new Luminous engine looked too shaky and too vague to know what's really going on. not much on live gameplay either.
Anyways, i dont want to go on forever about this. Im sure there are better writers out there, but i can't help but feel like im somewhat dissapointed. The new controller is great, yeah, and all that. The move is being used in other new ways apparently, and a kinect-like camera for the 4, but really its hard to say how the 4 will differentiate from the 3 in terms of looks and feels of the games. hopefully with this new CPU they can whip out more IPs and catch up to the already booming 360.
Speaking of 360, Microsoft is being very quiet and incognito during this entire event. I can't help but feel like they are sitting in the back of that conference with their hands folded across their chests and smiling. Its just a feeling, but i think Microsoft has a trump card up its sleeve. what it is, i dont know, but can't wait to see it.
so, what did you guys think about the conference? Good/bad? excited/dissapointed?
Revolution Dayyesterday was 17th of February and people in Libya celebrated the 2nd anniversary of Libya's freedom from the Ghaddafi regime.
so how did it go? Well, it was INSANE!
Benghazi
Tripoli
Seriously, there was no way you could go anywhere by car. Streets all over the cities were jam packed and walkers everywhere (no, not the dead kind of walkers) .
So how did the people spend their time celebrating? The only way we know how to: go out and dance and go nuts
All neighborhoods took donations from every house to have their own little party.
Some were quite simple, and some pretty exuberant.
Although no matter what, where, or when, this is the standard scene you would see everywhere
I have to say I'm very happy to see just how many people were out and from their heart were just simply ecstatic! There was no Zintani, Misraty, Benghazi, Trabelsi, etc... Just One Huge cohesive gathering of happiness and joy; especially when security concerns were all over the media.
I really hope Aesha, Mutassem, Mahammad, and the rest of the Ghaddafi bastards see this and see how things could have been for them if only they and their loony father gave a bit to the people instead of destroying them.
As for the current situation in the country...it definitely could be better. To be honest, anyone who tries to understand politics here would end up going insane, and right now I honestly have no mind for it. It definitely could be better, but seeing these scenes with my own eyes the past three days gives me hope for better things to come.
Conclusion: Patience is a virtue. People still want and hope for a better country, regardless of absence of a formal constitution or law and the corruption. Things could be much MUCH worse, but I'm glad it isn't. Hope you enjoy this short clip from Martyr Square in Tripoli I took from yesterday.
Thank you and Curse you RT!So i finally took the bait and signed up for the Audible service. First book of business? yup, Game of Thrones.
Mind you I've already read the book, but when i heard Roy Dotrice narrate it I just HAD to get it. it was too good.
Looking into getting the Halos too, but so far 3 out of the 4 narrators i listened to were bad. the fall of Halo Reach sounds promising and i'll tell you how that goes later on.
Mass Effect sounds promising good. Casting David Colacci was a very good call. He kinda sounds like Neil Ross (The game's codex narrator), which helped a bit for me.
So yeah, Thank you RT for this cool service and curse you for making me wallet thinner. LOL.
anyways, really excited about these books. Anyone out there wanna reccomend some good books other than the obvious?
Need help decidingSo i'm thinking about getting a new phone. my current phone is basically in its final moments. so i'm gonna need your guy's help.
its basically toss up between either an Android phone (I have two models in mind) or an iPhone.
I've used both phones before, I know their ins-and-outs, and i am adaptable to either of them. But now its just a toss up so i wanna put my decision in the hands of the wonderful people of the RT community.
so which will it be? iPhone or Android? cast your vote. would love the help. Feel free to backup your statement with whatever fact you have.
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