Acronyms and Exams

It's all systems go right now for me. I've got my exams coming up across the first two weeks of June so I'm working about eight hours a day to try and cram an entire academic years worth of Biology into my tiny brain. So that's fun. How I live for those five minute breaks between hours.

In those five minute breaks, as well as my lunch breaks, I've been trying to fit as much gaming is as I can. I've missed my TF2 practice whilst I've been at home, and it feels good to be back. The Replay update IS a lot of fun, and I've captured and edited some fun replays. Unfortunately, I'm the only one whose ever going to be able to enjoy them since the game seems to crash every time I attempt to save a take as a movie. But trust me, they are all brilliant.

I'm always getting better and my class builds are far better now. I grabbed the intelligence a few times as the Scout, as well as bludgeoning a hapless Medic to death on the way. I still like playing the Medic, but it is literally the most annoying part of the game when a person I have been healing for their WHOLE LIFE, and they are STILL crying out for a medic. I'M HEALING YOU. THIS IS THE MAXIMUM ABOUT OF HEALING YOU I CAN BE. STOP ASKING.

The Big Ten; My Favourite Games of All Time

It's a ritual every games writer must go through at some point; the traditional run down of his or her top ten favourite games.

After scribbling down a shortlist and then using an advanced method of moving bits of paper about on my desk, I decided on an order. I'm still not a hundred percent sure about the order of the bottom five, but the games that matter are all there. So let's begin;

10; Wario Land 3, GBC, 2000
Probably the least known game on the list, but one that has always stuck with me, WL3 is a 2D platformer in a similar vein to the other Wario games. The game features a linear upgrade system where Wario's powers develop over the course of the game. This allowed for an element of the game which probably is the main reason for it sticking in my top ten; after gaining new abilities, you would go back to older levels and unlock new routes through them, resulting in new levels unlocking. A night and day cycle that altered the enemies and layout of certain levels was a clever feature, as well as some fantastically ridiculous boss fights and an ingenious power up system that beautifully exploited Wario's invincibility. Wario Land 3 showed me that small cartridge games didn't have to be small in vision.

No Fooling. This is an Update

Seriously. There's no joke to be found here, just posting an update. I figure I can still keep this blog active if I do at least one post a month.

So the Minecraft post I've been working on is somewhat dead in the water. I know exactly what I want to say and I have some great images to go with it but unfortunately I don't have the motivation to get the damn thing written. So for the time being I'm sticking on hold. Minecraft isn't going anywhere. In fact I booted up the single player again the other day to try and find a wolf, but after running around for a while carrying a bone, I didn't find any.

Echo Bazaar has been making up most of my gaming in the past few weeks. I've really been enjoying the developing narrative and have been trying to role-play the character as much as possible. The new profile page (and you can find mine here) really encourages the development of a journal, and I've been trying to create a really character to portray. I recently built up my Casing quality so that I could rob from the Bazaar itself, which would have been incredibly risky if I'd have failed. Chronicling the plans I was laying down in the Journal really made the whole experience feel more visceral and  also exists as a nice record of my activities.

I've been catching up on my TF2 recently. I bought one of the hats for Japan, as it seemed like the right thing to do. It's a great thing when the gaming community can rack up three hundred thousand dollars over about six days. I think charity and games really go well together. Giving players virtual items in exchange for donations is really the way forward. People are far more inclined to donate when they get something out of it, and virtual items don't actually cost anything to produce, so everybody wins.
TF2 game-wise, I've been getting slightly better! Sure, I still die a lot, but I've been staying alive for longer. As a sniper, I've actually surprised myself by getting a few headshots. As an engineer, I've got far better at placement of sentry guns, and feel far more useful now that I actually build teleports. As a medic, I'm getting far better, although there is nothing as depressing as when you are paired with a Heavy and he turns into giblets in front of your eyes, despite being fully over healed.

Way back in late January, I pre-ordered a 3DS with the full intention of cancelling it a few weeks before launch. Unfortunately, I totally forgot to do that, and so whilst I was still deciding what to do about it, I got an email saying that my order had been dispatched, so that decision was very nicely removed from my hands, along with two hundred pounds from my bank account. The 3DS actually arrived a day early, but for some reason still unbeknownst to me, it was delivered to my home address, as opposed to my student digs. Overall, I'm not that upset about the entire thing. There's nothing on the handheld I'm particularly clamouring for, and until either Link's Awakening or Ocarina of Time come out, I think I can manage without.

Finally, Tom of Newb Review fame very kindly posted me a copy of Left 4 Dead 2 that he picked up cheap from EA Headquarters recently, which I am incredibly appreciative of. Expect a post about that soon.

But not next time. Oh no, next post is my one hundredth blog post, and I'm celebrating by creating my definitive Top 10 Games of All Time. It's gonna be a big one.

See y'all next time.

Dr Medic or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Multiplayer Gaming

If you are a follower of me on Twitter, you'll have probably noticed something of a theme in my recent tweets; Team Fortress 2. I've recently started playing. Probably an unhealthy amount.

I'm not normally a huge multiplayer fan, in that up until very recently, my Xbox Live account remained staunchly Silver. This changed when I started playing Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. I had read many a review stating that the multiplayer was "pretty good". This didn't really ever affect me, multiplayer was always something for "other people" to play, gaming snob that I am.

After completing the majority of the single player of AC:B, I decided to use a free trial of Gold I had thanks to a flier that came with Fable 2. I was nervous as I went into my first game. My hands were shaking as the Abstergo logo shifted about, connect me to a server. I selected the Harlequin. And I started playing.

Everything about AC:B multiplayer appeals to me. It's not a test of lightening fast agility or well developed twitch skills, but rather a battle of wits. Who can be the best assassin? Who can blend into a crowd, disappear in the blink of an eye, vanish using the environment? The upgrade system attached to the multiplayer adds a level of customisation that keeps the gameplay varied but balanced.

AC:B is my kind of mutliplayer. Players who try the run straight at their target are swiftly put in their place as they target the wrong model or get dispatched by a hidden opponent. Skilled players will walk alongside you, lull you into a sense of security then pounce as you target your folly. The untraditional multiplayer is a place where I can not only enjoy myself, but actually shine.

Team Fortress 2 on the other hand is much more traditional online mutliplayer. If you haven't heard of it, you've clearly been under a rock for the past four years, or perhaps just really dislike the FPS genre. Here's a thing; Team Fortress 2 was released in 2007. In all that time, all the content updates have been entirely free. In fact, until recently, all of the in-game items could be obtained just by playing the game.

It's tough for me to decide on my opinion of TF2. I can't decide whther it's the best multiplayer game ever, or just the best game ever. Valve have covered everything. The classes are balanced. The maps are not only balanced, but also constantly increasing. Yesterday, I had a sniper duel across a crowded canyon. A few days ago, I created a teleporter way point for my team and kept them healed whilst we were pinned down in a tunnel. The number of stories that game produces is phenomenal.

If you'd like to play a game with me, you can send me a message on Steam. I'm lavalampbamboo, and I'm probably playing as The Medic or The Engineer.

Back In The Nick of Time

Yes. I'm back, just in time to do at least one post in January. And there is no way you can prove I'm writing this in February.

So I'm back, as promised, and although I don't have any stimulating content just yet, I do have something just as exciting.

Say hello to Mycroft;

Yes, I named my new computer Mycroft, deal with it.

Of course the real computer is out of shot, sitting under my desk. It's a Dell Inspiron 580, with a 3.2Ghz i3 processor and 4GB of RAM. It's also black.

As you might be able to make out in the picture, I've been downloading a lot of my unplayed Steam library. Torchlight I've admittedly played before, but it's nice to be able to run the thing without it running at 1 FPS. Tales of Monkey Island works far better than it ever did on the Toaster (Requiescat in pace, Toaster).

I also spent some time downloading TF2, and when I say spent some time, I mean about four hours. The bandwidth in the flat is all over the place. It runs okay, and whilst the graphics aren't perfect, it's still a better experience than playing it on the XBox.

As we speak I am downloading S.T.A.L.K.E.R Call Of Pripyat which I'm quite looking forward to, ever since I read an article detailing the Emission events. I'm not sure how well I'll be able to run it but I'm hopeful. I'm sure it will be able to cope.

So there we are. A new year and a new computer. Also a new phone but that's not really relevant at this juncture. Stay tuned for compelling updates. Next time; the future of the Assassin's Creed franchise.

There Is Nothing for Me To Talk About...

...so this is a non-blog post.

What am I meant to say? That I'm still really excited for Mass Effect 2, and I have preordered it? That I really want my Xbox? That I want a new laptop so I can play Team Fortress 2 which I bought but haven't played yet?

Until something exciting happens to me (don't hold your breath) just stick at the Newb Review. There should be a podcast featuring me going up at some point, and I've got a couple of reviews there as well.

Till then... Yeah, I got nout.

...and when IS this free weekend?

So, I've done it. I've changed the name of the blog. Welcome to the grand (re)opening of The Starting Village. I think it works, and I googled it prior. There is no website called the Starting Village so I'm set, thankfully. I decided on it because the starting village is always where you take your first tentative steps of gameplay, which I think mirrors my situation quite well. So there we are =)

In a completely unrelated story, it was the TF2 free weekend... this weekend, and I thought it would be fun to download it.

Biiiig mistake.

It took so long to download the damn thing for a start. When I started, it had 3.3 days left on it. When it finally finished downloading, it had 3.1 days left. Not that it matter because I never got to even see the damn thing in action. After waiting about ten minutes looking at a simply delightful picture of a spy, medic and heavy, I got to the menu screen. I knew it wouldn't work when the screen froze for a few seconds when I clicked on the characters option. It then took another 10 minutes to fail to connect to a server.

Overall, it didn't go well. The closest I got to gameplay was starting my own server and staring at some nice blue and red crates. I thought I'd be able to just run around on my own shooting walls. Alas, Valve had foiled my scheme. So that concludes my view of Team Fotress 2; it won't work on my laptop.

I'm busy all this week, but I'll pop in for a mid-week chat about things. Stay awesome.