Surrounded by the Force

I would like to take this opportunity to inform all those people that think Glasgow is dangerous that they are wrong. Sure, Glasgow may be the stabbing capital of Europe and have loads of crack addicts, but it also has something that other cities lack...Jedi. 

Yes, that's right, I am constantly protected by Jedi. Overall 8 individuals in the Strathclyde security services admitted to following the faith of the Jedi. In fact they were the only agency in Britain to openly admit this information. This puts me at considerable ease as the combination of their unmatched combat abilities and formidable interrogation techniques make them the ultimate warrior. Oh, they can also use the force to push things and stuff. And lightning, they can make lightning with their hands. Etc. Etc.

While I believe the officer below may be an American Jedi I'm sure the Scottish ones are just as fearsome.

This picture isn't really related to my post but I felt the need to include it. 

Procrastination tools

This is a post for those that love procrastination. The following are a couple of internet goodies that will be hugely helpful in facilitating the aforementioned process. One offers media entertainment while the other offers videogame joy.

Lets start with the media one. Well lets forget this one for now as it seems to be experiencing technical problems (hopefully temporary). Technical problems have been fixed and the site can be found here. With loads of TV shows etc. this site is pretty good for catching up on the latest heroes episodes (which have gotten a lot better) or anything else really.

The online game one is a site that hosts some of the best flash games I've ever played. It can be found here. I recommend Final Ninja Zero and Commando 2. 

Now a little comic strip to make this post somewhat worthwhile. 

Damn... damn...

Some alarming news has made its way onto the Internet. Apparently Shadow of the Colossus is being made into a movie. This is a piece of saddening news for me. Not only because I believe this wondrous game does not lend itself to the medium of film, but also due to the fact that Hollywood is getting the same bunch of incompetent people to manage this project that seem to manage all those bungled game-to-movie attempts. 

I am not going to talk about the particulars of this future bungle, or who will be responsible for the desecration of one of the most artistic games ever made, rather I am going to devote this post to the majesty that is Shadow of the Colossus.

Shadow of the Colossus was made by the creators of ICO, a wondrous game in its own right, and tells the tale of a boy and his princess. Part of the inherent beauty in the game is its simplicity. The plot is subtle and compelling, the graphics are nothing short of breathtaking, and the gameplay is phenomenally fun.

While the boy and his princess plot may seem trite and cliche, I can assure you that this game presents it in a manner that is completely engrossing. The entrance cutscene outlines the final steps of a journey; a boy bringing a seemingly unconscious girl to a temple in the hopes of restoring her health. In this temple he is told that the only way to restore her is to destroy the 16 monsters roaming the lands. 

In a bid to save the girl he loves the boy sets out upon his horse to complete this task. Every time he defeats a monster he is returned to the temple to see the creature's effigy collapse. That is almost the full extent of the story until the end. The unobtrusive yet present approach to storytelling constantly reminds you of why you are playing the game while remaining understated and elegant in its design. There is more to the story that is discovered towards the end however I have no wish to spoil it.

The graphics are gorgeous and the journeying to fight the various creatures is never dull as the natural beauty of your surroundings puts you into a meditative state before battle. Your horse is your constant companion and is present at all times. This mechanic is ingenious as the combination of the horses constant presence and nobody else to share your journey with ensures that an unbreakable bond between the player and the horse is formed. Throughout all of this a symphonic music score plays quietly in the background, rousing up only in times of battle.

The gameplay is fantastic as there are only the titanic creatures that you battle. At the outset of every leg of your journey you wonder what creature you will next encounter and chances are that you will be surprised at its majesty and power every time. This is because the creatures you confront are gigantic representations of oddly formed animals with a Mayan aesthetic, each one different from the last. The game requires you to physically climb these behemoths to be able to target the only point where they may be injured. 

It is impossible to fully describe the intricacies of what occurs further without ruining the game to some extent and so that is all I am going to say regarding the game. I do however strongly urge anybody with a PS2 and a desire to play games that elicit real wonder to give it a chance. 

The Future of Gaming?

There has been some potentially big news for the gaming industry. A service called OnLive was recently revealed and its premise is mind-numbingly cool. The service claims to be able to stream any videogame to your TV or computer, regardless of its GPU or any other internal hardware, with no lag. 

When I say any game, I mean any game in existence. (EDIT) Apparently it might be limited to any PC game. But with all the ports of games going on these days, the list is still pretty extensive. (END EDIT) First the CPU info. Issues like the processing power required to play the game, the software compatibility and other various issues will no longer be a problem. Whether it's a mac or windows, a desktop or a laptop these are factors of the past. For streaming games to your TV all your require is a small box, a bit like a tiny console, and a controller as shown below. 

The technology is all very complicated and quite cool. The basic manner in which OnLive delivers this service is by running your games on local hardware and sending you the information over the internet into your visual output. This means that no data analysis is being done by any of your local hardware thus the lack of any required specifications for computers. 

The concept is fantastic and I had no idea that we were anywhere close to this kind of technology which brings me to the final point. You need a pretty fast internet for this service to be operable. The developers are saying that a bandwidth of around 5 megabytes will be sufficient. Critics say that even with the 5 megabyte guideline it will be impossible to accomplish what OnLive sets out to do, and it is likely that they may very well be right. But if they are not the implications for the gaming industry are pretty insane.

Even if isn't done tomorrow it looks like this may be the future of the industry. Personally I'm pretty glad to cut out the middle-man and hand my money to the people responsible for the game I'm playing. Also, the concept is just so science fiction that I can't help but like it.