ArsGeek

Spore patch released – DRM unchanged

22. September 2008

EA released the first Spore patch today (PC only, Mac users will have to check back). You can grab it here. Here's what it does (details in the full post), and the official site.

Mind Rot: A Video Game Addict or an Obsessive Personality?

14. September 2008

13 Comments

In this recent article at Bohemian.com, Gabriel Fransisco describes a lifestyle lost to an overwhelming obsession with video games. But is this attempt at a heart-wrenching anecdote evidence of the addictive nature of video games, or is it evidence of a man with an obsessive personality who has the uncanny ability (or curse) of overwhelming focus on his personal goals? My own positive relationship with video games provides a stark contrast with Gabriel's self-destructive obsession.

How EA and Spore are causing piracy, the DasmX86Dll issues, removing SecuRom and some great DRM free alternatives

9. September 2008

29 Comments

How EA and Spore are causing piracy, the DasmX86Dll issues, removing SecuRom and some great DRM free alternatives

Speaking of SecuRom - I'm not quite sure why software companies continue to insist that DRM of this type (or any type) is worth it. I wonder how much money EA stuck into this? The game was available on the torrents before it's official launch and yet here's EA and far to many other companies shoveling money down the DRM hole. And it's doubly a problem because of their refusal to see this as an issue. If the game sells well, EA says "See! DRM isn't that big a deal, people don't care and we're still selling games." If the game's sales are hurt by DRM they fall back on "Pirates are killing our bottom line!" Seriously? Games will get pirated, sure. But you're much more likely to sell copies if they're not crippled in the first place by software that does nothing to stop the pirates and everything to annoy legitimate users.

My Spore creations – let me show you them

8. September 2008

4 Comments

My Spore creations – let me show you them

Yes, everyone and their brother's sisters's uncle are playing, reviewing and yawping about the DRM (which does suck) in Spore. I've been busy making things though. You can check them out to the right ----> down there somewhere or look in this post for a flash widget which sometimes crashes my browser in Ubuntu (sigh).

Now you have to pay to help debug modern games – Call Of Duty: World At War I’m lookin’ at you!

4. September 2008

6 Comments

Now you have to pay to help debug modern games – Call Of Duty: World At War I’m lookin’ at you!

This is a disturbing trend I've been noticing, most recently with Call of Duty: World At War. You have to now put up money for a game you may not want, just to help the game developers debug their beta release.

Ahhh Spore. I sank more time into you tonight.

3. September 2008

2 Comments

Ahhh Spore. I sank more time into you tonight.

I'm learning a bit. 9/7/08 will be a fun night for me! Here's a quick video of a flying mouth thingy.

Spore.com is down in preperation for the launch on September 7

3. September 2008

1 Comment

Spore.com is down in preperation for the launch on September 7

Looks like a whole lot of updating going on at EA's spore.com! They're currently down, most likely adding the promised updates to the site for the Spore launch, coming this Sunday.

Hooked on Spore – creature creator

2. September 2008

0 Comments

For purely research purposes, I downloaded and installed the Spore Creature creator today. What a hoot! I'm plunging into this game and very much enjoying myself. I spent some time getting familiar with everything tonight and designed a few additions to the Sporepedia. Feel free to check them out here.

Spore – finally a game to get excited about

2. September 2008

7 Comments

With the launch of Spore coming soon, I'm finally starting to get excited about a video game again! It's been a while since there's been a video game release that truly sparked a lot of interest in my gaming life. There's been the occasional left field surprise like Sins of a Solar Empire which I've enjoyed playing very much but most of the recent big gaming releases have been more of the same. Prettier sure, graphically some have been amazing - but it's still first person shooter or real time strategy. Will Spore be different?

Bionic Commando: Rearmed is Heavy on Nostalgia, Light on Gameplay

29. August 2008

3 Comments

Bionic Commando: Rearmed is Heavy on Nostalgia, Light on Gameplay

In 1987, Capcom unveiled a new franchise - Bionic Commando. Bionic Commando started as a standalone arcade game, in which the the main character was a soldier equipped with a bionic arm used for swinging, grabbing, and ass-kicking. In 1988, a sequel was made for the original Nintendo Entertainment System. Two weeks ago, Capcom released a remake of the 1988 NES classic on the Playstation Network, XBox Live Arcade, and PC gaming systems.

Tired of standing in line for first day video game releases? Amazon to the rescue

26. August 2008

2 Comments

Tired of standing in line for first day video game releases? Amazon to the rescue

Amazon.com announced today a program to ship games for arrival on their release date. You can now sneer at those folks who waiting in line at GameStop for almost 20 minutes to receive the latest gaming industry created rogue rip-off or YAFPS (Yet Another First Person Shooter - thanks Cavtroop) while you slave away at work and watch UPS repeatedly try to deliver a game to your empty home via their tracking site. It's only good on a couple of games right now, but expect more publishers to jump on board soon.

PS3 Uber deals at Amazon?

25. August 2008

4 Comments

If you're looking to score a PS3, some PS3 games, perhipherals or even a PS3 shaped oven mitt, you may want to hold off a bit. Amazon is threatening with their Gold Box storm of deals - the PS3 will be hitting the Gold Box on August 27th at 12:01AM PST.

Fantastic Contraption: Release Your Inner Engineer

23. August 2008

4 Comments

Fantastic Contraption: Release Your Inner Engineer

In the world of time-wasting, flash games may be the ruling elite. Simple games like Motherload and Portal: The Flash Version have gotten me through countless long days at work. And now that I've discovered Fantastic Contraption, I just might never work again.

Elves, orcs, a muddy playing field and a spiked ball. Just another day in football.

21. August 2008

6 Comments

Elves, orcs, a muddy playing field and a spiked ball. Just another day in football.

I was a huge fan of the tabletop game by GDW when I was in college. We had a whole tourny going with a ladder leading to playoffs and weekly team reports. We even created an in house buy system so winning teams earned money towards better players and more skills.

Frotz for the iPhone and iPod Touch!

18. August 2008

4 Comments

It wasn't too long ago that I noticed a nerdcore rapper tackling the subject of text based adventure games. Now it seems that the popular software (popular amongst us text based adventure game enthusiasts that is) Frotz has been ported to an Apple App!

Archive | Video Games RSS feed for this section

Spore patch released – DRM unchanged

Mind Rot: A Video Game Addict or an Obsessive Personality?

How EA and Spore are causing piracy, the DasmX86Dll issues, removing SecuRom and some great DRM free alternatives

My Spore creations – let me show you them

Now you have to pay to help debug modern games – Call Of Duty: World At War I’m lookin’ at you!

Ahhh Spore. I sank more time into you tonight.

Spore.com is down in preperation for the launch on September 7

Hooked on Spore – creature creator

Spore – finally a game to get excited about

Bionic Commando: Rearmed is Heavy on Nostalgia, Light on Gameplay

Tired of standing in line for first day video game releases? Amazon to the rescue

PS3 Uber deals at Amazon?

Fantastic Contraption: Release Your Inner Engineer

Elves, orcs, a muddy playing field and a spiked ball. Just another day in football.

Frotz for the iPhone and iPod Touch!

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