Category: Computer

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Was Grim Fandango Remastered?

grim-fandango

Thanks to a recent Humble Bundle, I was about to get Grim Fandango Remastered for $3, which was a steal, but just how Remastered is the game over the original?  Honestly it doesn’t seem like they put a lot of work in to this new port.  It has some higher res textures, a new lighting engine, it is able to run on modern computers, and that is about it.  Luckily the game is still awesome, so it is still worth the price of admission.

If you have never played Grim Fandango before, you take the role of Manny Calavera a Grim Reaper/Travel Agent in charge of getting people to their proper places in the underworld.  Though things are not what they seem and someone is rigging the game, so you will have to help Manny figure out what is going on.  Mostly by sticking random stuff in random places.

With recent adventure game remasters like the Monkey Island games there have been major graphical improvements.  That is not the case with Grim Fandango.  While everything has been given a spit and polish it mostly looks like how I remember it from its original release in 1998.  The big exception is the new lighting engine: Shadows are cast realistically, and light sources have a more natural look.  Also thanks to the PS3/PS4 port, the game now works well with a game pad.  Though since I didn’t try it with a game pad in 1998 maybe it already did.

Honestly the biggest additions to Grim Fandango are just the fact it works on modern computers without any finagling and the developer commentary.  Listening to Tim and crew talk about creating one of the greatest adventure games of all time is a lot of fun and very interesting.  They should just release a documentary about that.  I would watch it, that is for sure.

I have been kind of hard on Grim Fandango Remastered, but that really shouldn’t deter you.  It is still a wonderful game, and possibly the best classic style adventure game ever created, so now that you can get it cheap and it will work on your computer or PlayStation you should totally buy it.  Though just don’t expect anything be crazy different.

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So Long Lionhead Studios! You Will Be Missed!

Lionhead

I can’t believe I am writing this, but Microsoft is shutting Lionhead Studios down, and development on Fable Legends has been canceled!  Fable Legends has had a troubled development, but I have had not any indication that they were going to just shut it down this far along.  From what I understand they were still releasing regular builds for their closed beta.

Regardless of the reason for this closure, I will be very sad.  I know some people were let down by the Fable games, they couldn’t quite live up to Peter Molyneux’s extreme hype, but I loved them.  They were light and easy to play RPGs.  You didn’t have to get bogged down in crafting or endless dialog trees, you just got to go out and adventure.

Maybe if Lionhead had focused on Fable 4 and not some odd 4v1 free to play hybrid things could have worked out, but now we will never know.  I will miss the Fable games, and I will miss Lionhead Studios.

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It Is Friday So It Is Time To Give Away Some Free Code!

star-wars-knights

Thanks to the current Star Wars HumbleBundle going on, I have an extra copy of ‘Knights of the Old Republic‘ and ‘Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords’ on Steam.  Sure you could pay, as of now, just a little over $8 to guarantee yourself a copy of each, but where is the fun in that?  You can randomly win one of them for nothing!  Well nothing except a follow and a retweet.  Just go on Twitter and follow me (@Shmee_Is_Me) and re-tweet this tweet:

I will randomly pick a winner for each game at 6PM Pacific Standard Time and then message them!  Fun right! RIGHT!  If you have any questions feel free to ask them.  Happy #FreeCodeFriday everyone!

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Is Sony Going To Be The Savior Of VR?

HTC-Vive

Preorders for Valve and HTC’s Vive came out yesterday, and the news for proponents of VR was not good: The Vive with controllers and sensors will set you back $799.  Plus you will need a $300 video card.  I have a mid-range gaming machine, so for giggles I ran the Steam VR Test Tool, and it said I could run the Vive, but all my settings would have to be on low.  However, at least Vive comes with the motion controllers, those will be extra with Facebook’s Oculus Rift.  For now it just comes with an Xbox One controller.  Though the Rift will ‘only’ set you back $599, but with the Rift not only will you need that $300 video card, but three dedicated USB3 ports, so I would have to buy an extra card making my total around $950 (still not including their controllers which I am sure will not be cheap).

I am sorry, but if a consumer needs to spend around $1000 to properly use your product, it is DOA.  Especially considering I am a least starting with a decent gaming desktop, so for most people the price of entry may be as high as $2000.  That is bonkers.  People rightly mocked Microsoft for launching the Xbox One for $500, so double to quadruple that price is almost insane.

VR as I see it has one hope left,  Sony’s Project Morpheus.

Project-Morpheus

Why Morpheus you may ask?  Because a lot of people already own the PS4, so they will not need to beef up their machine.  The initial hardware cost is built in.  If Sony can launch Morpheus under $500 they may have a hit on their hands.  $500 is still a lot, but it is well within the price range of first adopters, and it is a price that the average consumer can save up for.  Not to mention the best part, I am sure it will be much easier to setup and configure than either Rift or Vive.

I am not sure VR is something I want, but I know I that I don’t want it for $1000 or more.  If Sony can launch Morpheus at a reasonable price it might be something to consider.  Especially considering the initial hardware cost is whatever deal you can find on a PS4, and there are some good ones out there.  Plus I am sure Sony will have a Morpheus bundle that shaves a few bucks of the base price of the console.  If VR has any shot at mainstream appeal Morpheus might be its only hope.

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People Are Upset By Quantum Break Giving Away Free Stuff?

Quantum-Break-Logo

I was going to write a little post about how awesome Quantum Break’s Xbox One pre-order bonus of a free download for the PC version was, but instead I am going to write a little post about how crazy people are.

First a little background info: Yesterday Microsoft announced that anyone who pre-orders Quantum Break for the Xbox One would also get the Windows 10 version for free.  Not to mention backwards compatible versions of the Alan Wake games.  This pre-order bonus is a great idea.  It shows off the power of Microsoft’s new unified Windows 10 store and Xbox Cloud saves since you can sync your game saves between the two platforms.  Microsoft I am sure thought this would be a great announcement and that everyone would be happy.  They were wrong.

Xbox One loyalists got all upset that an exclusive game would ship for the PC on the same day and date as the Xbox One version, and that it would include Xbox features (the aforementioned could saves).  Somehow Microsoft releasing a game for both of its platforms made the Xbox One less valuable.  The Xbox One zealots felt like Microsoft was stabbing the Xbox One platform in the back.

This if course is crazy.  Microsoft should have been doing this from the start.  As soon as Windows 10 and the unified store launched cross-buy between the Xbox One and the PC should have been possible.  You know how great it would be to be able to play your games in more places, and keep your same friends lists and saves?!  And it is very close to being a reality.  Sure for Quantum Break this is only a pre-order deal, but it should be an all the time deal.  That way you can sell it to publishers like this, “You sell you game on the Windows 10 store you not only gain access to the millions of Windows 10 PC users, but to millions of Xbox One users as well and vice versa!”  It doesn’t weaken the Xbox One platform, it strengthens it.

Quantum Break was going to be on my birthday list this year, but now it looks like I may have to pre-order it so I can get both copies of the game.  For all of you that are somehow hurt by this great deal, look at the big picture.  This is a great thing for PC gamers and Xbox One gamers, and something that can bring more games to the platform and not less.  I hope cross buy is a trend that continues!