VideogameVagabond.com

Can a 45-year-old man maintain a marriage and a videogame habit? Let's find out!

Almost no interest in the PS Vita

The PlayStation Vita, successor to the PSP, is about to be released, but I have almost no interest in the system. Apathy only begins to describe my lack of concern.

Why?

Gaming was moved on. While iPhone/iPod Touch/Android games are simpler than the average PS Vita title, they’re also far more affordable. Many ad-supported games are free, while few games for those systems ever cost more than ten bucks, maximum. The average Vita titles go for $30 to $40, and most consumers don’t see those titles as three to four times better.

Heck, the average Android game I play to death costs $2.99 to $4.99. And while PS Vita games are sure to be nice, I like my gaming affordable. Vita games aren’t. It’s that simple.

So take your Guitar Hero portable ripoffs, with their guitar chords charts, and your racing games and even your Silent Hill and enjoy, if you can afford it.

Meanwhile, I’ll enjoy the simple pleasures of TeamLava games like Night Club Story on my Android… 100 percent free.

Two memorable RPGs coming or out now

There are two highly memorable RPGs either recently released or about to be.

The first is Final Fantasy XIII-2, which looks to be a great followup to Final Fantasy XIII. I’m a sucker for a decent SquareEnix RPG, so this one’s on my must-buy list, which is getting harder and harder for games to latch onto.

The second is the forthcoming Mass Effect 3, which promises to complete the trilogy started about four years ago. I’m looking forward to it big-time. The good news for PS3 fans is this installment is not an Xbox 360 exclusive. The bad news is, the other two were, and so there’s not much chance to draw in your character from the previous two games, if you buy ME3 on PS3 instead of Xbox 360.

Addendum to my review of NFL Pro 2012

When I reviewed the Andriod pro football game app, NFL Pro 2012, recently, I neglected to add in a concern in the game’s design. It’s a pet peeve, really.

The most annoying flaw in the game at this point is this: When time’s ticking down and you’re on offense, you are not allowed to tall a timeout to save precious seconds. Hate that oversight. Hopefully it’ll be fixed in next year’s version.

Also, the AI isn’t without its flaws.

One great way to win a close contest is to go for 2-point conversion. If you get it and the contest remains close, you’re guaranteed to win.

Why? Well, let’s put it this way. In a recent game, I was leading 29-21 because I’d done exactly that… gone for a 2-point conversion and made it.

On the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, my AI opponent connected on a deep pass.

Here comes overtime, I thought.

Nope. With no time left on the clock, and me leading 29-27, the game’s AI … kicked an extra point. I won, 29-28.

So, that needs fixing, too, or the programmers behind it may as well spend their time hawking manufactured homes for sale.

REVIEW: NFL 2012 (Android)

The game NFL 2012 for Android phones is the first NFL football game I’ve played on a smart phone that actually comes close to approximating a decent football game; it actually plays a little bit like Madden, the football king of console gaming.

The game is free… kinda. It’s free in that you don’t cough up a Morgan silver dollar at the checkout of the Android market to acquire it.

However, one could be tempted to purchase an awful lot in the game. Certain plays remain locked until you win enough “game gold,” which you acquire by beating your opponents. And it takes a lot of winning to open up some plays.

I suppose they have to make their money somewhere; you can purchase game gold to unlock these items more quickly, or earn ‘em out the old fashioned way.

Beyond the costs of the game, such as they are, the controls feel natural for the touchscreen. The graphics are close to PlayStation2-era Madden games, and that’s pretty good considering that before this game appeared on the scene, some Android football games were little more than Mattel electronic handhelds of the 1970s.

And best of all, the game remains challenging and can beat you, even after a lot of games logged on the system. That, in some ways, makes it a step above Madden.

Complaints? Sure. I’m playing the game on a T-Mobile G2 with Google. And on my phone, if you play more than one game in a row, the screen starts to lose touch-sensitivity during the passing game. It’s not fun to get sacked because the screen wouldn’t read your touches of Receiver 4, or miss a field goal due to the play clock expiring because the screen couldn’t read your kick-stroke. Usually it goes away if you put the phone to sleep and then come back to it right away.

Other than that, there are the usual minor complaints such as questionable foot placement on certain catches called good or as touchdowns. And the play clock stops at a certain point on every play; meaning in the middle or out of bounds, it doesn’t matter which way the play ends, there’s no running out the clock, at least not the Madden way where you drain game clock by waiting for the play clock to almost expire.

Ice Cream Sandwich for the G-2?

I love my Android phone. Honest, I do. I am in absolutely no hurry to get to my next upgrade period.

But as much as I love my T-Mobile G2 with Google by HTC, and the current version of the Android OS running on it, which happens to be Gingerbread 2.3, I will be massively disappointed if Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) never makes it to my phone.

First of all, Ice Cream Sandwich sounds fantastic. And cozy. Like a brand new Rheem heat pump or something. And HTC has included it on their “probably” list for OTA upgrades in early 2012.

But here’s why I’m worried.

Shortly after I bought my G2, HTC promised Gingerbread in “early 2012.” It didn’t get an OTA update until late summer. And by then, the G2, originally released in Fall 2010, will be older than 18 months since initial release, which would give HTC the perfect excuse not to upgrade the G2.

Considering how much they dragged their feet on the original upgrade from Froyo to Gingerbread, one would hope they’d be a bit more prompt on Ice Cream Sandwich.

But I’ll believe it when the OTA appears.

Videogame of the Year: PS3

I’ve been thinking long and hard about this, without the benefit of a Coca-Cola, a Dutchmaster, or anything else that’s bad for me. So my mind’s clear.

And while I didn’t buy many new videogames for the PS3 this year, it’s pretty easy, actually, for me to select a favorite: Elder Scrolls: Skyrim is the easy choice.

Sure, there were plenty of decent games out there this year on PS3. But none really grabbed my attention and made me say, “I gotta have it,” like Skyrim did.

Oh, sure, I enjoyed Dragon Age II. And I even appreciated the new White Knight Chronicles. But Skyrim set the bar for RPG experiences on a game console. Again. It’s that simple.

Motorola Razr rebirth: fail

I owned a Motorola Razr once upon a time, in its feature-phone incarnation. The sleek look was fun, but flimsy. Still, the coolness factor made up for its delicate nature.

This time around, the Razr is nowhere near as impressive. Although thinner and lighter than other smartphones boasting a 4.3-inch screen, it’s features are familiar to anyone who uses an Android Gingerbread smartphone, and its battery life is horrid.

So, my perspective is this: stick with something more solid, made by HTC.

Music games: my brief history

One of the biggest trends in videogames in the last five years or so is the ascendancy of music games. Whether it’s Karaoke Revolution: Glee Edition or Rock Band and Guitar Hero, music-related games have been hot for a while.

Some of them are even quite specialized; you don’t get just generic guitar controllers, but can — for a princely sum — get something name-brand and fancy like a Gibson SG. The trouble is, eventually, all these music games are pretty much alike, so the choice comes down to the game’s selection of songs.

That’s why I like the Music Wars series, currently from Wolverine Studios. The developer, Antuan Johnson, got his start with a feature-slim freeware version and took it commercial a couple years ago with Music Wars: Rebirth.

That’s why I’m excited to hear he’s in the open beta stage of his next massive update of this game. By focusing on simulating the music industry itself, the focus is less on whether a person can hit all the notes in order, and more on one’s evaluation of talent and such.

The updated game is said to have a ton of feature improvements to make it a deeper game experience than ever.

I, for one, can’t wait.

My Holiday Season 2011 Wishlist

I already own the best game of the season, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, for the Sony PS3. But if I could have three more games added to my shopping cart for free, which ones would I choose? And remember, I can’t choose something not videogame-related, like Dickies scrubs from Marcus uniforms. It’s gotta be games.

Well, let’s take a look:

First, I’d choose Disgaea 4, simply because I’ve loved the whole series and still do.

I’d then boot my other two choices into the first quarter of 2012, where the next really must-have games are waiting for me. One of them, of course, is Mass Effect 3. I want to complete that trilogy.

Then I’d probably insist on my next choice being Silent Hill: Downpour, even though Final Fantasy Vs. XIII would indeed be tempting.

Skyrim first impressions

The opening minutes of Elder Scrolls: Skyrim are impressive and enchanting as the game reintegrates dragons into their fantasy setting. But eventually the style settles down and, even though the graphics have taken a huge leap forward since the Shivering Isles expansion pack, the game becomes at least a bit more familiar.

Despite the science fiction dystopia represented by Fallout, The Elder Scrolls is clearly the franchise where Bethesda is clearly most at-home. The game screams developer affection for the product being presented.

When my wife and I first encountered Oblivion around the time we first got married, we ended up playing two copies of the game to death before we grew tired of it, and just my first couple hours with Skyrim tell me that my PS3 controllers are going to need some fresh duracell procell replacements by the time we grow weary of this latest installment.

Review: Ghost Radar Classic (Android)

The Android game Ghost Radar Classic is free most places these days. It pretends to be a ghost-hunting app that will record paranormal activity everywhere, as well as pick up on EVPs.

Unfortunately, this entertainment software doesn’t even try hard to be convincing; it shows activity everywhere and spits out computer-generated-voice words every few seconds.

Rather predictable and disappointing, don’t celebrate Halloween with this stinker of a game. An Arizona pool fence is far more interesting and convincing as a ghost detector.

Even at the price of free, Ghost Radar Classic is too expensive for what it’s worth… which is nothing.

Review: Virtual Horse Racing 3D for Android

I recently downloaded Virtual Horse Racing 3D, an Android-platform videogame, and while at first glance it appears to be the product of a lot of Help Desk Specialist Jobs veterans, the game actually is better than it seems at first.

The look of the game will call to mind the PSone and PS2 classic series, Gallop Racer, and the racing is roughly on par with that series. However, whereas Gallop Racer was interactive for the gamer, in this game all you can do is bet on outcomes and watch.

It’s actually not too hard to keep from losing your shirt on this game, because it enforces a strict limit on betting of $10 per horse, per line. So at most, you lose $30 per race.

The racing is fun, but with such a shocking lack of interactivity, gets told fast and doesn’t age well. Too bad.