Five years ago if you had asked me what type of gamer I was I would have told you without a doubt that I was a PC gamer. Always have been and always will be. My first introduction to video games was through the Commodore 64. I still remember playing games like Space Taxi, Beach Head, GI Joe, and oddly enough Links. My house was also very early on in getting a home computer. It seems odd that computer which is commonplace in houses now was a rarity when I was growing up. But we had one, and my god did I game on it.
Sure, I had an NES and I had SNES and pretty much every other console that was released while I was growing up, but at heart I was a PC gamer. I grew up playing Wolfenstein, Doom, Doom 2, LucasArts games, and anything else I could get my hands on. From the age of fifteen to twenty-five I would say that even though I had almost every major console that came out, I gamed pretty much exclusively on a PC.
You just couldn't get the same experience on a console as you could on a PC. Back in the day I loved Team Fortress Classic. Loved probably isn't a strong enough word for it, I was obsessed with TFC. There were days where I would sit down and play for ten hours straight. Then I moved on to Counter-Strike, another amazing game that I played for God knows how many hours. On the console they had no rival. In 1997 Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64 was released, just a year later the PC got Half Life. Try comparing those those two. I'll admit that Goldeneye was a good console shooter, but it couldn't hold a candle to Half Life.
Then came a little game called Halo. An amazing game that was the best console FPS since Goldeneye had been released four years earlier. Everyone thought it was amazing... everyone but me. I had been playing first persons shooters since Wolfenstein, while there had been two great first person shooters on the console I had so many amazing ones to choose from on the PC. Wolfenstein, Doom, Doom 2, Duke Nukem, Quake, Quake 2, Unreal Tournament, Strife, Deus Ex, Half Life, tons of Half Life Mods... the list could go on and on. So when Halo came out I looked at it with different eyes than many other, I thought it was a good... for a console game. But really it was nothing new to me. Halo offered me nothing that hadn't already been done in another game, and in some cases done better. I just continued on with my PC games.
Then it happened. PC gaming changed for me. I kept having to upgrade my hardware to run the newest games... and yet it still wasn't enough. Technology in games seemed to be making such huge leaps and bounds that I couldn't financially keep up. I was having to buy new video cards, more RAM and eventually new computers. And then it seemed a lot of the games being released were nothing more then tech demos. Games that needed high end rigs to actually run and look even somewhat decent. So it was better video cards and more RAM and eventually new computers. Then another thing happened. All of the sudden the minimum and recommended requirements just didn't seem right. I played many games where I easily exceeded the minimum requirements to play the game and fell just short of the recommended requirements... and yet the game barely ran. So it was more RAM, better video cards, whatever you needed to get that game to run. One game in particular that I remember was the Bioshock demo. I really wanted to play that game, it looked amazing. I met all the requirements and yet... I couldn't get video. Oh the game was playing, I could hear the sound, but no video. Turns out the game didn't support my video card. Should I go out and buy a video card just to play one game? I decided against that. But next time I was over at my brother's house I decided to try it on his computer. So I got the demo and everything played great, except I didn't get sound. Apparently his sound card wasn't compatible with the game. So you did what you had to do, you went out and got more RAM and a new video card and...
I was through. I had had enough. I just couldn't keep spending money for upgrades to a computer that still may or may not run the game I wanted to play. I was sick and tired of playing the game (no pun intended). So I played games that I had played before that I knew would run and looked for alternatives. At about that time my brother was coming to the same conclusion.
A week before my brother went on vacation he bought an Xbox 360. I was going to be house sitting for him so this would give me a chance to test it out, see if this would work for me. The only problem was is the only games he had were the bundle that came with it, Kung Fu Panda and Lego Indiana Jones. I really wanted to try something else, a different genre of game.
I went to my local Gamestop to see what they had, at this point in time I really had no idea what I wanted to play. I didn't really want to buy a $50 game for a system I didn't own so I looked through the used games. That's when I saw Condemned: Criminal Origins. It looked interesting, it looked fun, but it was basically a first person shooter. I hadn't really had a great history with console first person shooters, but I decided to give it a chance anyway.
And in a silly kind of way, Condemned: Criminal Origins changed my life. No, I'm not talking in any sort of meaningful way, I'm talking that it was the game that somewhat converted me to console gaming. This was a great game. It was fun and it wasn't really like any other game I had ever played. I've played a ton of first person shooters throughout my lifetime but never have I played one that consisted almost entirely of melee weapons. It was something new, and it worked. And it felt so natural. Even though I had spent most my life using a keyboard and mouse to control my character there wasn't really a learning curve to switching over to a controller. I was hooked. I beat Condemned in about four days and thought it was awesome. So the next day I went out and bought Assassin's Creed. Bear in mind I had now bought two games for a system I didn't even own. I played Assassin's Creed for a day or so but I ran into a problem. My brother had a standard definition TV. I was having a hard time reading the text of the tutorials the game was giving me.
So that day I went out and bought an Xbox 360 and an HDTV for myself. I had switched to console gaming in a big way. I was hooked. I remember the first time I watched the Assassin's Creed opening movie in HD, I was blown away. It was amazing. The Xbox 360 in HD was absolutely stunning. It was great playing PC games on my 19" monitor, but it was nothing compared to an Xbox 360 on a 32" HDTV.
I've had my Xbox 360 for a little over a year now. I also added a PS3 to the collection as well. I'll also be the first to say that now, I consider myself a console gamer. Sure I'll play games on my PC from time to time, but not even close to as often as I play games on my Xbox 360.
It breaks down like this. I have an Xbox 360, it cost me $275. I never have to put in more RAM or a better video card. The next upgrade I'll have to buy for it is a entirely new system whenever they get around to releasing it. I don't have to worry that my Xbox 360 won't run a game that I put in the drive. I know that any game I put in that DVD drive is going to run on my system. All this for $275. It plays all of the newest games I want to play with no hassle, no need to upgrade, and without having to do things like run it at the lowest graphic settings. I can't say the same thing about my computer.
Are there things I miss about PC gaming? Very little. The only thing that comes to mind are mods. I miss mods on games. I recently saw someone playing Fallout 3 on PC with mods and wished that I could. Sure I had played and beaten Fallout 3 on Xbox 360, but some of these mods looked awesome... then I remembered what happened when I tried playing Fallout 3 on my PC. I bought the game because everything said I could run it, I met the requirements and everything. Except it ran like hell on my computer. Awful slowdown unless I ran it at the lowest possible graphic settings. Then I remembered playing with mods on Morrowind... and how often it would crash because of the mods conflicting with each other. Then I realized that I didn't miss mods all that much and didn't mind playing Fallout 3 on my Xbox 360.
So now I'm avdirty console peasant. And I regret nothing about my decision.
Recently my Dad wanted to get back into video games so I suggested Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. It ranks as easily one of my favorite games of all time and I knew his PC would run it. So I installed it for him and showed him how to play it. That's when I discovered something. After decades of being a PC gamer, the keyboard felt foreign to me, I wondered why I needed to stretch a finger to hit V to reload. On my Xbox controller all I had to do was hold down B. No muss, no fuss.
The conversion was complete.
To me this is the first generation of gaming where this is actually possible. Up until the Xbox 360/PS3 this just couldn't have happened. Before this consoles had very little to offer me that the PC couldn't also offer me as well as much more. Now I would say that there's very little that the PC can offer me that the Xbox 360/PS3 can't offer me, but do it cheaper, without the hassle, and without putting me in debt ever two or three years.
And I, for one, welcome our new gaming overlords.
Squid.
Friday, April 30, 2010
My Favorite Movies
Recently my cousin posted a list of his top 100 favorite movies. I found it kind of interesting because the literally night before I had tried to figure out my top 10 favorite movies, and had come up empty handed. I've always had a list of my top 3 favorite movies that has changed very little over the past few years, but pushing it past three has always been trouble for me.
First I'm going to go into my top three favorite movies.
Heat
Heat has stood at the top of my list for a very long time now. I find almost everything about this movie to be perfect. The pairing of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro is amazing, the supporting cast is phenomenal, and the story couldn't be better. If you have the chance, listen to Michael Mann's audio commentary on the special edition DVD or the Blu-Ray. It's a three hour movie and he does commentary on it by himself. It's difficult to be interesting for that long but he manages to do it. He explains the little details he did everywhere in this movie that in my opinion make it great. Plus the bank robbery scene is absolutely amazing.
The Godfather
Nothing I can say about this movie hasn't been said a thousand times before. It's constantly on top 10 lists by everyone from critics to normal folks like you and I. It's an amazing movie, and the ending baptism scene is probably one of the greatest scenes in movie history.
The Star Wars Trilogy
Yes, I know this is three movies. No, I don't care. I'm counting it as one giant movie. Any of the three movies on their own are amazing, but when you put all three movies together you have a masterpiece. Easily some of the best movies ever made.
And that's where that trail goes cold. Sure, I can think of probably 500 other movies that I very much enjoy, but I'm just not sure I can put those in a numerical order of how much I enjoyed them. Plus there's the fact that the list constantly fluctuates. I don't know how many times I haven't seen a movie in years that I'll re-watch and think "Wow, that was absolutely amazing!" Two movies that come to mind are Vanilla Sky and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Vanilla Sky
I've seen Vanilla Sky several times, but recently watched it again after not having seen it for a couple years. I forgot how much I enjoyed this movie. The music, the scenery, the actors, the plot... there's just so much about this movie I enjoy. I listed music first because I think this was the first movie where I really noticed how well the music was used, every little piece of music is used perfectly and seems to fit flawlessly with the scene. I know a lot of people didn't like this movie, but to me there was just so much that was great about it. Everything just seemed to click.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Probably one of if not my favorite westerns (it has to go head to head with Tombstone which is an amazing movie.) This is a movie that I wish more people had the chance to see. It had a rather small budget movie and a limited release, and it's a shame because it's a spectacular movie with phenomenal cinematography some amazing performances. Remember when Brad Pitt was just another pretty face and no male really wanted to pay attention to him, but every one of their wives and girlfriends did? Oh how times have changed, and this movie really showcases his acting ability. He is amazing as Jesse James, playing him as manic and crazy but also making him personable. And Casey Affleck gives what could be the best role of his lifetime in this movie. This is a role that he was born to play, he is spectacular as Robert Ford and in my opinion should have won the best supporting Oscar. The last half hour or so of the movie is acting at it's best, leading up to an absolutely amazing ending all while showing just how great an actor Casey Affleck is.
But here's the problem... where do I rank those movies? I think they're both amazing movies, but are they in my top ten? Maybe, I'm not really sure. Would I rather watch The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford over say Citizen Kane? Well that would certainly depend on the day and my mood. Do I think The Assassination of Jesse Jame by the Coward Robert Ford is a better movie than Citizen Kane? I'm not really sure. I enjoy them both greatly and for probably completely different reasons. So how do I rank one over the other?
And that's how my mind works every time I try to make a top 10 or a top 100 list. I'm just not exactly sure how to rank the movies that I enjoy. I enjoy so many different movies across so many different genres for so many different reasons it makes it hard for me to give a concrete "These are my favorite movies."
Movies are a huge part of my life. There's very little that I enjoy more then sitting down and watching a movie. It doesn't matter if it's a movie I've seen a hundred times or a movie I've never seen before in my life. I just enjoy the experience that movies bring to me.
So instead of a top 100 favorite movies, I've decided in the next little bit to write a "Top 3 movies with 97ish movies I greatly enjoy" list. Nothing but the top 3 will be in any particular order. Just movies that I've watched and enjoyed, as simple as that.
Squid.
First I'm going to go into my top three favorite movies.
Heat
Heat has stood at the top of my list for a very long time now. I find almost everything about this movie to be perfect. The pairing of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro is amazing, the supporting cast is phenomenal, and the story couldn't be better. If you have the chance, listen to Michael Mann's audio commentary on the special edition DVD or the Blu-Ray. It's a three hour movie and he does commentary on it by himself. It's difficult to be interesting for that long but he manages to do it. He explains the little details he did everywhere in this movie that in my opinion make it great. Plus the bank robbery scene is absolutely amazing.
The Godfather
Nothing I can say about this movie hasn't been said a thousand times before. It's constantly on top 10 lists by everyone from critics to normal folks like you and I. It's an amazing movie, and the ending baptism scene is probably one of the greatest scenes in movie history.
The Star Wars Trilogy
Yes, I know this is three movies. No, I don't care. I'm counting it as one giant movie. Any of the three movies on their own are amazing, but when you put all three movies together you have a masterpiece. Easily some of the best movies ever made.
And that's where that trail goes cold. Sure, I can think of probably 500 other movies that I very much enjoy, but I'm just not sure I can put those in a numerical order of how much I enjoyed them. Plus there's the fact that the list constantly fluctuates. I don't know how many times I haven't seen a movie in years that I'll re-watch and think "Wow, that was absolutely amazing!" Two movies that come to mind are Vanilla Sky and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Vanilla Sky
I've seen Vanilla Sky several times, but recently watched it again after not having seen it for a couple years. I forgot how much I enjoyed this movie. The music, the scenery, the actors, the plot... there's just so much about this movie I enjoy. I listed music first because I think this was the first movie where I really noticed how well the music was used, every little piece of music is used perfectly and seems to fit flawlessly with the scene. I know a lot of people didn't like this movie, but to me there was just so much that was great about it. Everything just seemed to click.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Probably one of if not my favorite westerns (it has to go head to head with Tombstone which is an amazing movie.) This is a movie that I wish more people had the chance to see. It had a rather small budget movie and a limited release, and it's a shame because it's a spectacular movie with phenomenal cinematography some amazing performances. Remember when Brad Pitt was just another pretty face and no male really wanted to pay attention to him, but every one of their wives and girlfriends did? Oh how times have changed, and this movie really showcases his acting ability. He is amazing as Jesse James, playing him as manic and crazy but also making him personable. And Casey Affleck gives what could be the best role of his lifetime in this movie. This is a role that he was born to play, he is spectacular as Robert Ford and in my opinion should have won the best supporting Oscar. The last half hour or so of the movie is acting at it's best, leading up to an absolutely amazing ending all while showing just how great an actor Casey Affleck is.
But here's the problem... where do I rank those movies? I think they're both amazing movies, but are they in my top ten? Maybe, I'm not really sure. Would I rather watch The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford over say Citizen Kane? Well that would certainly depend on the day and my mood. Do I think The Assassination of Jesse Jame by the Coward Robert Ford is a better movie than Citizen Kane? I'm not really sure. I enjoy them both greatly and for probably completely different reasons. So how do I rank one over the other?
And that's how my mind works every time I try to make a top 10 or a top 100 list. I'm just not exactly sure how to rank the movies that I enjoy. I enjoy so many different movies across so many different genres for so many different reasons it makes it hard for me to give a concrete "These are my favorite movies."
Movies are a huge part of my life. There's very little that I enjoy more then sitting down and watching a movie. It doesn't matter if it's a movie I've seen a hundred times or a movie I've never seen before in my life. I just enjoy the experience that movies bring to me.
So instead of a top 100 favorite movies, I've decided in the next little bit to write a "Top 3 movies with 97ish movies I greatly enjoy" list. Nothing but the top 3 will be in any particular order. Just movies that I've watched and enjoyed, as simple as that.
Squid.
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