Kythin's Rants

Earlier this week I wrote about Hack n Slash games and why I think they should be a genre. Recent games like Dynasty Warriors (what are they up to now, about 10? 20?), Diablo 2 and 99 Nights all fit easily into this ‘genre’. (more…)

Last week I excitedly posted about finding the OCZ ‘nia’ while browsing through PC Case Gear, and now that I’ve had a bit of a go with it I figure it’s time to post some more information about the thing.

Firstly, it’s worth it if you’re a gadget enthusiast. Regardless of any of the shortfalls I’m about to comment on, it is new technology and it is probably the best 1st-to-market consumer level devices I’ve had the chance to play with. It’s fun to mess around with but I wouldn’t buy it if you think it’s going to improve your response times in a competitive environment – it’s highly responsive, but it’s so easy to flinch or breath differently or something which then makes your character do something you don’t want it to. False positives, etc, gotta love them. (more…)

I was absolutely flawed that I’d missed the OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator hitting the shelves, and it’s so cheap at only AU$219 from PC Case Gear that it’s well within the grasp of most gadget enthusiasts. (more…)

As most of you would know, or at least know of, Blizzard have just recently released a new expansion for their massively popular MMO World of Warcraft. The new expansion introduces a lot of things like more content, more quests, but the thing that I was most looking forward to is the new hero class the Death Knight. (more…)

I recently finished the Chronicles of Riddik, Escape from Butcher Bay. I picked it up cheap at a Blockbuster near my house after hearing Penny go on about it being the best movie-game crossover she’d played. I do agree it’s good in terms of movie-game crossovers, but it doesn’t do what it sets out to do very well. (more…)

In a tute at uni recently we discussed game genres and the motivations of play that usually drive them, and player types that are usually found playing them. E.g. adventure games like the old Kings Quest series would be made for ‘Explorers’, or Counter Strike was made for ‘Killers’. (more…)