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Hiatus

Bryan Wojciechowski — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 05:56:58 +0000

You may have noticed PG has gone on a bit of a hiatus. I’ve been busy finishing up my graduate studies, as has Sean. I also recently moved and will be getting married soon, so content for the site has been a relatively low priority. We will resume content at a relatively regular clip probably starting in or around June. Don’t delete us! We’ll be back, I promise. Better than before, even.

We’re Still Not Writing, but We’re Playing… Somehow.

PG Staff — Tue, 05 May 2009 05:30:23 +0000

Finals, ya’ll. Sean had a final and Bryan has papers, so, no time to write articles. They’ll be back later this week. Somehow Sean found time to play video games, though it’s mostly more of the same. Here’s what the guys have been playing.

Bryan
House of the Dead: Overkill (Wii) - Got it, played it for about two minutes, and then went back to work. Waiting to score some Nyko Perfect Shot controllers off of eBay before I sink some real time on it. Also, I have more important things to do, like…
Writing Papers - Writing papers on various aspects of the Resident Evil 5 racism fiasco, and maybe they won’t suck.
GameFly sent me King Kong after a week of not sending anything, so I look forward to getting 1000 points out of that this week. Also, Broken Steel this week, so I’ll be returning to the Wasteland! I will possibly fix the broken HTML on the right sidebar of the site as well.

Sean
Gears of War 2 (360) - Finished the storyline and sent it back to Gamefly. It definitely had a better story than the last game but some parts seemed really forced. Overall a really fun game, but not something I’d play through more than once. I didn’t even get into the multiplayer or Horde mode areas of the game, but I might once I can pick the game up on the cheap.
Left 4 Dead (360) – Finally getting my feet wet with this game. I’ve been pretty apprehensive to go anywhere near it but it seemed too fun to pass up especially with the new free DLC that Valve so graciously provided to players. I gave the single player campaign a spin just to familiarize myself with the levels before I get into multiplayer and really enjoyed it. Now I’m just looking for people to party up with and play!
LittleBigPlanet (PS3) - Getting really close to finishing the storyline. I’m looking forward to going back through the game to pick up items that I may have missed the first time through. I’m getting really involved and interested in the level creation as well.
Dark Sector (PS3) - Despite the terrible reviews I decided to pick this game up. I snagged it for $10 new at my local GameStop. Haven’t gotten too far yet, but it seems to be pretty fun…especially for a $10 game.

Hey all, what are you playing? Want to join us for some Left 4 Dead? Hit us up in the forum or in the comments!

What We’re Playing

PG Staff — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:46:54 +0000

Hey everyone, it’s a busy week on our end, with our semesters drawing to a close, but we’ve still managed to sneak in some time for games! Here’s a little bit of what we’ve been playing.

Sean
Peggle Nights (Mac) – A lot like the original, and EVERY OTHER version of Peggle, but still…Peggle is awesome.
World of Goo (Mac) - Way more than a bridge building sim. The story is way deeper than you’ll expect and the game play mechanics are outrageously fun. Not a ton of replay value but it’s still worth a look.
Gears of War 2 (X360) – A bit more polished than Gear of War 1 and noticeably more story driven. I’m only at the end of the first act but you definitely tell they’re trying to give it a much more human face than the last game. Still full of gore and cheesey one-liners, but that is to be expected.
Fallout 3 (X360) – Still exploring the Capitol Wasteland while pondering whether or not to take the DLC plunge. I’m finished the story and at this point I’m just fooling around and trying to get some achievements.
LittleBigPlanet (PS3) – Slowly but surely making my way through the main parts of this game. I’m hoping to start fooling around with the level creation tools too. So far the game has been super fun but occasionally VERY frustrating.

Bryan
Henry Hatsworth in The Puzzling Adventure (NDS) - This game is loads of fun until about halfway through, and then the difficulty spikes. I heard on the Idle Thumbs podcast that this was a result of not enough QA testing, but I still want to power through it and finish so I can play Chinatown Wars.
Left 4 Dead (X360) – Survival mode is wicked. That’s all I have to say.
Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection (X360) - I got this from GameFly because I was always a Nintendo kid, so my only experience with Sega was when I was at my friend’s house, and even then, not much. This is a great way to play some good games like Sonic or Streets of Rage, and to yell at terrible games like Alex Kidd or Decap Attack.
That’s it! The number of papers I have has been kicking my ass, but I’m doing some game related work, so maybe when the papers are finished, you’ll see something from me.

What are you all up to? Let us know in the comments, or better yet, in the forum!

Back in the Saddle

Bryan Wojciechowski — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:55:45 +0000

My new time sink.

So I’ve been out of the writer’s seat the past couple of weeks because I’ve been working on school stuff as well as this nifty site redesign. All was not lost however, and I played lots of games as well. I’m sure I would have gotten this all done sooner had I not been. Yet, that would defeat the whole purpose of the site, as the site’s motto is now “Gaming in spite of everything”, which includes working on said site. That’s a conundrum, but I’ll leave it be for now. With that, here’s what I’ve been playing since we last spoke.

What I’ve been playing is quite a hodgepodge. I slogged through a couple hours of Mass Effect, as I now have a deadline to finish the game at least once before the next one comes out. Damn, that game looks good. I also watched the Sci vs Fi video that was on the XBL Marketplace about Mass Effect, and that was dumb. Also, I’ve still got The Lost and Damned to go through, as I reached the half-way point in the missions and put it aside for a while to pick up Dead Rising again. With the announcement of a Dead Rising 2 as well as the release of Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, I really wanted to once again put myself in Frank West’s shoes and slay some zombies. Not like I wasn’t getting enough zombie slaying, as three of my friends picked up Left 4 Dead in the past month and we’ve been playing on a weekly basis. I had a real issue with the save system in Dead Rising the first time I played it, but now I’ve come to terms with it and I actually finished a playthrough this time.

Also, as the picture to the right will tell you, I picked up Peggle on XBLA today. I’m kinda irritated, since I just got Peggle: Dual Shot yesterday for the DS, thinking it would be a while until Peggle came out on XBLA since its release date was originally TBD. That didn’t stop me from dropping some MSP on it today, so now I can play it in beautiful HD at home, as well as wherever I want. News flash: Peggle is addicting. Speaking of the DS, I’m currently playing Retro Game Challenge since I heard a lot of talk about it on Listen Up and the Player One Podcast. Puzzle Quest: Galactrix for the DS has come and went, since I couldn’t stand the low-res graphics and the load times. I’m going to wait for a Steam sale on it to pick it up. Steam has great sales, and they can almost guarantee taking my money every other week or so. I also had to restart World of Goo because a PC error a couple weeks back forced me to wipe my HD, and I had not backed up since I installed WoG.

You may also notice I have a “Shelved” section on the side below my “Currently Playing” section. These are games that I recently purchased or recently started, but are not top priorities, and as such I will have to come back to them later. I fear this category will be more populous than the “Currently Playing” after a while.

I’ve got some ideas for new articles coming up, and I’ve got some more authors bringing in some content, so look for that soon!

It’s Too Late to Apologize

Bryan Wojciechowski — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 05:57:00 +0000

I know I haven’t written anything in about a week, and since there are so few subscribers it’s hard for one to say he does not care. However, it is my goal for the year to begin doing this on a more regular basis, and so I feel bad. On the other hand, another one of my goals for the year is to not fall too far behind in reading for class, and that’s pretty much common enemy number one of the blog post. So, before I jump into my texts for my exam tomorrow, I will just mention that I wrapped up Dead Space and got my feet wet with Fallout 3’s Operation: Anchorage pack, yet my gaming on the 360 is on hold since it sits in the basement and our basement bathroom is being redone, so there’s tile, equipment and sawdust everywhere. I’m also hacking away at bits and pieces of Chrono Trigger, as well as some World of Goo and Lexulous on Facebook before class and during breaks (and during class if I can sneak it in). Since it’s Wednesday, there was also LOST to worry about. So, bits and pieces of gaming here and there. I’m looking towards the end of semester projects I have to try and see where I can shoehorn gaming into a project. I am, however, pretty frequent with my Twitter updates, even if they’re not all game-related, so you can check that in the new sidebar module or following me. I’ll post something legit soon.

Some Type of Accomplishment

Bryan Wojciechowski — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 04:07:00 +0000

I was dumb enough to re-subscribe to Gamefly in the midst of the holiday rush. My Q was topped off with some big hits like Fable 2, Dead Space, Far Cry 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, and more. However, I ended up getting item number 12 on my list, Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Burning Earth. More commonly known as the easiest 1000 achievement points in a game. As exciting as it was to finally overtake a few people on my friends list, it was a hollow victory because I was really hoping for something worthwhile.

I’m still awaiting a coupon from Best Buy until I buy Fallout 3, so that should be happening soon. However, time does not really permit it as I have quite a bit due in the next few weeks. I’ve got papers and projects left and right, with all intentions to finish up my big paper on games and submit that one for publishing.

To pass the time, I’ve been playing a lot of Xbox Live Arcade games. I got 200/200G in Portal: Still Alive, which required me to play through the game yet again, which I didn’t mind since I love the story of that game so much. I also read the recent Gamasutra article on the game, which is very interesting.

I fully intend to make a well thought out blog post with a bit of substance once time permits.

Also, I’m looking to expand this blog and maybe add another writer or two. Another student into gaming would be ideal, and I know there’s plenty of those out there. I’ve got ideas for things to do around here. We’ll see how this pans out, won’t we?

A Sad State of Affairs

Bryan Wojciechowski — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 04:31:00 +0000

One of the drawbacks, actually, THE drawback to being a student and a gamer is that midterms fall the same time all the big holiday-shipping games start to hit. It’s bad when the only experience I got to have with gaming was a few battles in Final Fantasy IV or a couple of rounds of Lock’s Quest.
Luckily, the biggest of my assignments, the first half of my paper on studying narratives in videogames, was due this past Monday. To reward myself, I dropped some MSP on Wednesday and bought Portal: Still Alive. With the thoughts of my paper fresh in my head, I was thinking about the story behind Portal, and how much I enjoy it. It’s one of the few games I’ve finished multiple times, and although the length is one factor, the story is the real driving force. The simplistic brilliance of the story, and the way it unfolds as you progress, is totally worth the game’s price tag. I never purchased The Orange Box, only rented it for the sole purpose of Portal.
If I’m going to play through any game multiple times, I want it to have a story that can engage me just as much with each successive playthrough. I’ve played through Resident Evil 4 multiple times because I enjoy the story. Granted, I enjoyed the gameplay more, but the story was good enough so that I didn’t mind playing through multiple times. RE4 brings me to my current rental, Dead Space. That game is a whole new level of creepy. I’ll probably mention more as I get through it, since I’m still in the first chapter, but I’m already enjoying it and I’m sure I will enjoy the rest of it if the reviews are any indication.
So I’ve got that on my plate, with intentions of checking out Fable II soon. Next week the cascade begins with Fallout 3, Guitar Hero: World Tour, and C&C: Red Alert 3. If Legendary is ever released I’d really like to check that out. November brings Call of Duty: World at War, Mirror’s Edge, Left 4 Dead and the GTAIV episodes. Everything is moot however once November 25th rolls around, however, as I devote my time to Chrono Trigger on DS, and play through that for the 851st time.
I wanted this post to have a point, but it seems it never ended up that way. Maybe next time.

This Stack of Books is My Own Personal Mountain

Bryan Wojciechowski — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:17:00 +0000

So, apparently, not posting is not the way to get a blog rolling. As much as I had hoped it would be one of those “if you build it, they will come” sorts of things, it is not.

What you see in this lovely shot are the things that I have to deal with right now that have taken my time away from thinking about intelligent thoughts to post here. I could fill it with mindless drivel, but that does nothing to further my cause, and is more than likely to push people in the wrong direction (assuming one or two folks find their way over here).

However, in regards to the stack of texts you see here… There’s a lot of good things in that stack, and I’ve only gone through about an eighth of what I need to. First off, the textbook on IPC at the top of the stack, is a great overview of IPC theories. The chapters are very easy to read, they convey the general points well enough, and they make things concise. It’s a great starting point when writing on theories in IPC. The videogame book that has intrigued me the most is Steven E. Jones’ The Meaning of Video Games. It’s also the newest book of the stack, I think. However, he starts off discussing LOST and its relevance to video games, and ends on discussing Spore and the future of games, so that should give you an insight as to what it holds. I was looking forward to Ian Bogost’s Persuasive Games, but I fear I may not need as much of that text as I thought, so I may have to save reading that one for another time. All of these videogame texts are library books, though I’m hoping to add some of them to my personal collection soon enough.

At the top of the stack is my DS Lite, which was actually put there to hold down the cover of the IPC book since it furls up when untouched. The DS Lite is my only current escapism to gaming, since I rarely leave the desk these days (it seems). I’ve been playing Final Fantasy IV and I also started a new playthrough of New Super Mario Bros. just because that game is so damn enjoyable. When the DS needs to charge, I find myself heading back to Sanctuary and killing some time in Diablo 2 as I await Diablo 3. However, right now it’s time to pick up that DS and crawl in to bed.