So apparently, Portal fan Alex Zemke is creating an animated movie based off of the video game titled TheCompanion. Yes, this is a fan-based project, but this guy isn't just some fan messing around with an idea. He is a big-time CG artist who has worked on other projects like G-Force (talking, CIA hamsters), The Smurfs, SOCOM 4 and Uncharted 2 and 3. The above picture is just one of the test renders from the project. Below, are some more.
Recently becoming a huge fan of Portal myself, this excites me. Seeing as there are no video clips yet, it is hard to say when the movie will be completed, but probably not soon enough. With the debut of Diablo III, Silent Hill Downpour, the new Alan Wake and the mysterious disappearance of Torchlight II, at least I've got something else to tack on to my radar.
So recently, I got an emulator for the Playstation 1 on my computer and have been playing some games I grew up playing, and raging, over. These include Croc, Soul Reaver, Crash Bandicoot Warped, Crash Team Racing, and Silent Hill. Now, well over 10 years later, I can say some are what I expected and others are worse off than I thought.
Let's start with Croc. Oh my god, I want to shoot myself.
That is all I have to say for that POS game. When I was younger, the opening scene where the King Monster takes all of the little fuzzies and scoops them up is depressing enough, for who would want to hurt little fuzzy...things. But at the end of the cut scene, the king is all alone in a cage down in the depths of the castle, and he looks around sadly. And this scene, for some reason, got to me. It made me SAD, and I wanted to beat this game so damn bad to save those fuzzy things - er - gobbos. Here's what I mean.
Now when I watch it, I don't feel so sad anymore. Because I'm so damn mad at this damn game. Let me explain. When I played on the actual Playstation, movement was difficult, but not impossible. When you press down on the D-pad or analog, our buddy Croc here doesn't just turn around and run toward you. Instead, he backs up, quite slowly, too. Since the analog on my Xbox controller (plugged into the computer) is pretty touchy, it's almost impossible to go in a straight line. Going through doors, he always jolts to the left or right and into the wall. Fighting bosses is even worse because it usually consists of running in circles, and instead he's running into the wall straight at me. It's SO bad! Don't even get me started on floating platforms. I rage quit every time.
Crash Bandicoot is as awesome as I remember, though. I can remember almost every single level, where all the hiding spots are, how to beat all the bosses, etc. So MANY hours spent playing this game.
Some of the levels are harder than I remember, like the second racing level. The first one was a breeze, Hog Ride, and the second one took me forever to get through.
Crash Team Racing, another awesome, unforgettable PS1 game from my childhood. Although, as I have experienced plenty of other games in my lifetime aside from CTR, I've come to realize it's outgrown its glory days. Now we have things like Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing, like CTR but trippier maps and more variation in course structure. But CTR will always have a place in my heart.
I didn't realize how bad Silent Hill 1 was until I played it again. The movement is awful! Kind of like Croc, to the point where I just don't want to try anymore. After playing Silent Hills with smoother control of the character, it's hard to go back to the way things were in Silent Hill 1. It was at least scary, though.
For those who do not know what the game Soul Reaver was, here's an introduction.
Yes, you can set monsters of the Underworld on fire, impale them, and even throw them into the "acidic" water. It's quite enjoyable and my dad and I spent countless hours playing this game. Basically, Raziel gets torched to hell, is reborn in the underworld as a "Soul Reaver" and must defeat Kain; his primary mission. It's pretty fun, though after playing it after all these years, I realize it's a little dry. Not enough action. A lot of running around. Still a decent PS1 game, though. I must, of course, show you the opening scene. I always loved watching it. Look for my next post sometime after move-in day this week.
So I played the Diablo 3 Beta this past weekend as it was the "free" weekend for everyone to test it out. I don't think I was able to get on for a few hours because as soon as the servers opened, it crashed. I was pissed as usual, wanting to try out this game that everyone anticipated. I am new to Diablo, never played the earlier ones, surprisingly. But, I did play the hell out of Torchlight (still awaiting the second one to show its face sometime soon here...), and I loved Torchlight. I could sit there and play that game for hours.
So after finally getting into the Beta, I wasn't at all surprised to see striking similarities to Torchlight, as I had been told it was quite similar. Matter of fact, it was so similar that I adapted right away. Anyways, a lot of people complained this weekend that Diablo 3 was too easy.
Let me remind you, it was just the beta and Blizzard was probably waiting nervously to hear everyone's reaction, so changes could still be made. And it was only the first three acts, hardly enough to get a good grasp on the game's true difficulty. Yes, it was ridiculously easy finding health, even easier than Torchlight. A health bottle spawns from almost every monster killed, and most times I found I didn't have to use the Healing Wells. I had about 80 bottles of health potion by the second act; okay I get it, it seemed a little easy. But that's not going to stop me from purchasing it later not only to beat it on my own, but to play online with others and beat it again. Games like that can easily become addicting, because it's nice to not have to think so hard about a video game, like those pesky puzzles in Silent Hill. I kept wanting to better my weapon, better my armor, better better BETTER! Because there's always a better weapon, a better potion, or a better piece of armor, and that drives me to keep going.
My overall thoughts on the free Beta weekend are generally positive, and I look forward to purchasing the game when I'm not a piss-poor college student, tossing away the last of my money on Steam weekend sales.
