lost in games

We are going the handheld way this week with some notable releases on the DS including the likes of Scribblenauts and Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. The latter represents what Nintendo has been all about in recent years. Refining and releasing games based on existing franchises. The quality of these games usually overcomes any issues we have regarding originality. This is one of those times as scores a 9/10 at Eurogamer.

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This week sees the release of the first ever console which plays only downloadable games. The PSPGo is probably the last version of the PSP console from Sony. It will aim to capture some of the Iphone game market by encouraging developers to create mini games that will only be available from the PSP store. At Euros260 though it makes you wonder how many people will buy it. It’s more expensive than the 360 and only 40 Euros cheaper than the PS3 Slim.

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Reading: Stuart: A life backwards, by Alexander Masters. A biography of a homeless man in the UK. It’s too early to say anything of substance but it’s keeping my interest in the first few chapters.

Playing:  Panzer Tactics (DS). An excellent turn based WWII strategy game which will satisfy the more hardcore strategy gamer. It’s a clear case of a game receiving a lower rating than it should due to its narrow scope and audience. It keeps its targeted audience happy but not anyone else.

Watching: Battlestar Galactica: Season 3 . I am disappointed with this show. After watching the mini series i had my expectations set very high and has not lived up to them. The main issue i have with the show is that the decisions taken by the characters are not believable and often contradict previous ones they have taken. Humans do tend to be irrational and inconsistent but not to such an extent. Also it fails to take some interesting questions like “what defines humanity?” to the next level. It’s just keeps the show at a more soap opera standard.

I think the most interesting aspect of this show is that it truly reflects the era of the American history in which it was written and shown i.e. the war on terror and all that this implies.

Still planning to finish this but it’s more like going through the motions now than actual interest in the series.

By Mitch Krpata at Insult SwordFighting - Link

“Okay, I’m exaggerating, but when I thought I lost my Far Cry 2 saves I really was ready to throw the whole thing out the window. I put more effort into playing that game than getting my college degree.”

12 fantastic video/animations. Link

Splinter Cell: Double Agent on the 360. After a frustrating first hour now i am really into it. A lot more comfortable with the controls and moving Fischer around stealthily. Loving it.

It seems that careful selection of what game to play next (even if older - SC:DA is 3 years old) is a lot more rewarding  than trying to keep up with the release schedule.

Also of note is Clover on the XBL Community Games. Basically a side-scrolling adventure with a watercolour style of visuals. Interesting puzzles and enjoyable soundtrack. Played around 2-3 hours and i think there is a lot more meat in it.

1. Finally finished reading Predictably Irrational and i can recommend it to practically everyone. An excellent read for the summer holidays. For more details check my earlier post here.

2. Also read the final volume of the manga series Death Note. It was my first manga and it definitely provides a different angle in both art style and writing to the western comics/graphic novels. I found it to be a very intelligent series of battles of the minds. I do feel it could half explored the issue of “means justifies the end”more and also it sometimes dragged on so a couple of volumes were a bit unecessary.

A lot of times characters are just describing the logic behind their thinking which can make readers feel as if the book is treating them as stupid. Finally a lot of reasoning is made on assumptions but instead treated as fact.

In any case, i found it to be a great introduction into mangas and can recommend it to people who like celebral stimulating comics.

3.  All Star Superma (Vol. 1). I find Superman to possibly be the least interesting super hero of all due to his 2d character. To be honest i have only seen the movies and also read The Red Son (which i loved) but my understanding appears to be how most people view Superman.

In this series, things are less of a Superman saving the world nature scenes but more of an (self-) examination of his character.  I like it so i will continue the series. Plus the art is great too.

My first hour with the game was heaven. A game that requires you to examine the battlefield and set up defences within a limited time before you are attacked by the enemy.

Then the issues start.

1. The camera is fixed making it somewhat impossible to see behind walls or fight enemies which are behind walls.

2. Most importantly the touch system is not always responsive which can be unbelievably frustrating e.g. trying to fix a wall or attack an enemy only to realise that either your character is not responding to the tap or that you have actually tapped something else.

3. Lock, your character gets easily stuck behind walls, corners wasting precious time trying to get him where you need him to be.

I like the way the game plays (although somewhat repetitive so far) but it has some issues. Frustrating issues. Plus it’s quite lengthy from what i hear.

I am currently near the end of Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely. He is a behaviour economist and through empirical work presents the case that people’s actions in the market place are affected by irrational but predictable behaviour and therefore economic principles established by neoclassical economists need to be re-examined.

More importantly he attempts to help readers think about how this affects our daily lives.One of the many tests he performs regards the fallacy that prices are determined by the equal forces of supply and demand. In fact, prices are merely presented to us and are anchored in our brain affecting our decision making.

The test he performed was asking a group of students to write down the last two digits of their Social Security number. Then he presented the group with a variety of products and asked them to put the maximum price they were willing to pay for each one. Students who had Social Security numbers from 0-19 had the lowest average in their maximum prices they were willing to pay. On the other hand students whose numbers ended 80-99 had the highest.

He then goes further by claiming that since this irrational behaviour is systematic and therefore predictable can be used towards improving health care system, increasing savings rate, reducing fraud etc.

A very interesting, thought provoking and accessible book. Recommend it!

The New Yorker has a very thorough review of the book here. Link.