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February 26 Going back to GTA Game DesignGoing back to GTA: San Andreas, let me touch upon the major coverage: Gameplay. The gameplay alone in GTA touches on almost all aspects of gaming genre. It may be classifed as an action adventure, but it can also be classified as: fighting, shooting, driving, flying, boating, sightseeing, billiards, dating, rhythm arcade, role-playing, sports... game
 Pretty much all the genres I say. There are types of game genres can be explicitly seen, like that of the shooting, fighting and driving aspects of the game where we have CJ, steal cars, engage with a shootout between rival gangs, or cops (but then I just turn off the wanted feature so the cops in the game won't suffer from me that much (and vice-versa). Driving well, yeah we can drive around every bit of land there is in San Andreas. But aside from just plain driving, we can also join some races, or even participate in a low-rider competition.
San Andreas isn't just about being on land. With GTA: Vice City preceeding it, several modes of transportation have also appeared. These are the boats and the aircraft. To those who've played boat racing or any water based game, the premise for playing with boats. Aircraft, to those who've flown flight simulators, we'll be expecting a much simpler one here. There are some secret aircraft that can do more than just fly...
 For fighting, well, a gun's more powerful than your regular punch, but there's sometimes duking it out is quite cool. In order to learn the arts of fighting, just drop on by the local Gym and train there. It has weights, a treadmill and a gym master where we show out our pokemon.... errr fight them man to man and after beating them, they teach us new tricks.
In the game, many convinience stores are littered throughout, and in these stores, we can find arcade machines where we can actually play more mini-games, in the arcade sort of way. In nightclubs, there's the rhythm dancing game ala Dance Dance Revolution included. Playing billiards, was one of my earlier discoveries while trying to break into Area 69 (a parody on Area 51). Basketball shoot-out at the courts near CJ's home is another one of those examples. I haven't tried it yet, But I don't know if doing bicycle stunts work in the skate parks in and around town. And there's the dating game, though while not as the same dating game some people I know of would think of, it still has its own quirks. A date in a liquor store, pizza place or restaurant?
Then there's the Role Playing game factor. CJ gets hungry, so he eats from the diner. But if he eats too much, he gets fat, literally. In order to keep in shape, he has to work out in the gym, or just run around the streets. CJ being a gang leader has his clothes to think about. He can wear from just his boxers, to a shiny new suit. In between those, he can wear basketball jerseys, military clothes... etc. and in different combinations to boot!
Next time, I'll be discussing about music and how it sets the game. Well then until next time! February 21 Virtual PC 2007 Full Version is now out!Like I've blogged before, Virtual PC 2007 was still in its beta stage, and just this week, Microsoft has announced its release. And it's the same as Virtual PC 2004, it's FREE!
Go to this site now and download your own OS emulator!
 (to play the classic games on Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP)*do note that OS themselves don't come free, you must own one. There's still life in those old OS copies
And if you want to read the White Paper on VPC2007, you may need to install .NetFramework 3.0 and XPS Essentials pack
February 19 The MSX? anyone?Little did we know, the XBox wasn't the first time Microsoft had a hand with console gaming. And to think that console gaming at that time, which was the 80's, wasn't much of a console yet, it remained pretty much like the PCs that were made, it's just that they're console machines that had an OS and had keyboards, and joypads. Why so it's a console? Well partly it's due to the manufacturers involved. Most of the Japanese AND European manufacturers were: Sony, Yamaha, Panasonic, Toshiba, Daewoo, and Philips; companies that are known for making TVs, components, media devices, and of course home gaming consoles (sic. PlayStation from Sony
, 3DO from Panasonic  , and the lesser known CD-i from Philips ), and others (Yamaha makes music instruments and motorbikes, Daewoo aside from appliances, makes cars and GUNS ). These companies did the hardware, while Microsoft provided the Operating System in partnership with them. This OS was called the Machine with Software eXchangeability-DOS. The applications are programmed with MSX-BASIC. This was the brainchild of one Kasuhiko Nishi a Microsoft executive, he also came up with the name for the system. The system ran on:
MSX 1
MSX 2
MSX 2+
MSX turbo R
Source: Wikipedia
Games:
Something that's quite intriguing was that some of the most popular (*cough*Metal*Cough*Gear*COUGH*) started on a Microsoft system (Hehehe, I'm making noise here for having a port of Guns of the Patriots for the PC and X360. Kojima-san show your roots!). Also another gmae was developed for MSX... (*Cough*Final*Cough*Fantasy) But not only that, Castlevania, known just as simply as Dracula in Japan were some of the popular titles. Others included the classics like Bomberman, Circus Charlie, Frogger, TwinBee, R-Type and Xevious. Plus the ease of programming in BASIC back then probably helped young game programmers in Japan jump start their careers in game programming. For full list of games, the MSX games list from Wikipedia has some articles about the games.
Also, emulators are endorsed by Kasuhiko Nishi, he infact has one: http://www.bazix.nl/msxa.html. Other emulators include blueMSX which is dubbed the best emulator. But for me, the best would be the Wii's legacy player. I wonder if the XBox will have something like this? Then again, I'm still saving up for both consoles... and a new TV (lol, my TV just died)
The MSX did brought about gaming in Japan, and therefore, had a hand in the birth of console gaming. Neat huh.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSX and http://faq.msxnet.org/ [This time around, I'm embedding videos
]
MSX Interface R-Type Metal Gear -final stage- February 17 Hot games to look out for in 2007!Well 2007 is the year of the next gen. PS3, Wii, and of course the XBox360, but most of all who could forget about the venerable PC?
Websites like Gamespot and Gamespy whipped up their own Most Wanted Games list for 2007... and it's indeed really going to be a fun one.
As for Gamespy they have this:
 It's kind of surprising that most of their wanted picks are on the PC and XBox360.
And as for Gamespot:
 Both offer somewhat same, somwhat varied picks, but it all comes down to one thing, they do know their games! February 15 Game Design Lessons from GTA: San Andreas A very nice example of how effective Game Design was implemented was through the highly controversial game, Grand Theft Auto, III: San Andreas in particular.
The game world is in a world of its own, there's an active 24 hour game clock that cycles day and night in and around a real time frame of around 10 minutes or so. The cities in itself are well made, with urban planning through building placement, parks, road way design, to the little bit of side-streets and alleyways with much detail as possible. Though some buildings cannot be entered, due to time/resource constraints.
I ran a cheat code (Yes, due to time constraints) to look around the entire game world. Honestly, I'm awed by how places transition from one daysprawling urban area and a deserted mountain (with the eerieness of believing that there's bigfoot in it... or is there?) that's quite to say, a world all of its own. Unfortunately I got shot down and died while flying through the desert, coz I apparently flew on restricted airspace (drat)
 Moving on to vehicles. Grand Theft Auto won't be Grand Theft Auto without its ensemble of vehicles to ride on. From bicycles to Jump jets, GTA has it. Cars, Bicycles, Motorcycles, Boats, Airplanes, and even a jetpack, you name it, the game's got it. Take the simple car for example. There are around more than 20+ car designs to choose from, even more when the car modification mode has been activated. The possibility's limitless. As for roads, there's kilometers of roadway placed in San Andreas. I usually get lost finding my way home from a very far off mission in the game hehehe
 Air space is a different matter too.As for weapons and clothing. Hundreds of clothing combinations can be worn on CJ. From wearing only boxers, to looking like fly with bling-bling (Suit and jewelry), CJ can get to wear any combination the player can think of. From a basketball getup, homie getup, business getup, army nut (preferred choice) getup, to even a bum's getup (again, just the boxer shorts)
. As for guns, CJ has: shovels, golf clubs, brass knuckles, baseball bats, chainsaws, err adult toys for melee, while the usual: .45, dual .45, Desert Eagle, Mac 10, dual Mac 10, Tec 9, Dual Tec 9, MP5, M4, AK, Sniper Rifle, Hunting Rifle, Police Shotgun, Military Shotgun, Sawn off Shotgun, Dual Sawn off Shotgun, Flame Thrower, Grenades, Satchel Charges, Molotov Cocktails, RPGs, Homing Missiles... phew, that's a lot of guns!And this article ain't over yet! Part 2 will be coming soon.
February 09 Hackenslash 'emOne local site that perhaps strikes my attention when it comes to games would be Hackenslash.
This subsidiary website from the online edition of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) sprung up as early as 2004, making it around 3 years running. It began with quiet beginnings, not much of big updates or features, just the bare essentials. Some of their earliest updates were that of Manny Pacquiao's appearance in Fight Night 2 as well as the rumor that Microsoft Philippines would be having its HED here in the country as one of its earlier news reports.
And to think gaming would only thrive on MMORPGs and other online games that were recently introduced. Hackenslash broke through and began covering video games other than online games, take PC gaming for example.
And soon thereafter, more news, a wider range of gaming coverage came to Hackenslash. And even up till this day, they're still doing it. Very admirable work guys! February 05 Games Management on Windows VistaLast weekend, I took part in the celebration of the launch of Windows Vista and 2007 Office. [Pictures by the way are on my personal blog]
As an MS Junior, first and foremost, our job was to demo Vista and Office around.
My section involved talking about the features of Windows Vista in general. Over the course of the launch days, there are people who've been asking about Windows Vista for gaming. Mainly from those who've been visitng the Family pavillion. From time to time, I drop by the area to entertain inquiries about the compatiility of games in Windows Vista.
With the release of Vista, Microsoft has somewhat revived its support for video games through the Games for Windows program, and this time around, Vista has a system where video games can now be accessed through one area. The Games Explorer reintroduces video games as an integral part of the system. [Then again, Windows is THE preferred gaming platform for desktop players out there
]Going back to the topic, in Games Explorer, not only can we access all our games (well for the up and coming Windows Vista games that is) through the folder (but then again, my XP gaming rig had a similar Games Folder where I manually stuffed in my game shortcuts. Having games strewn around the all programs view is messy) but we can see the game's parental advisories, where it plays a part in Parental Controls; theres also a set of game ratings giving us some idea how the game will fare based on our computer's hardware.
Well that's all for now. Now I'm still hunting down that Flight Simulator X Game here (Full Version), the Demo's not enough! Plus, if you notice there's no Vista pictures here, well, I'm using my gaming PC to post here. My sisters are using ALL our Vista PCs at home
 for school work. This link care of Live Search gives us some ideas on what the Games Explorer can do: http://search.msn.com.ph/images/results.aspx?q=Windows%20Vista%20Games%20Explorer&FORM=BIREAnd if you want the original definition of Games Explorer, well this site tells it all: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/gamesexplorer.mspx February 02 A Flying I Will GoI recently downloaded and installed a demo copy of Flight Simulator X by Microsoft Game Studios, and quite frankly, it's been years since I've piloted an airplane on a PC (the last time was during my old Intel 486 PC days ). I was surprised by how complex the controls have become. Not only were the basic control systems: flight stick, the throttle, and the rudders, add to it a very simple autopilot system. Those were the days.
But now with Flight Simulator X, it gave me a whole new experience (sorry, this writer skipped the previous version, since he couldn't find it in ANY store shelf in the Philippines, only now.) Every control has been given several different settings. No longer I had to press the number keys in sequence when I throttle up or down; I now actually have to control my throttle (else I run out of fuel!) The control surfaces are tight and exact depending on what aircraft I'm flying. The graphics are gorgeous. This is actually the first time I experienced flying in an environment that is very natural. Trees, houses, buildings, plants, etc can be seen from my plane, and add to that the water effects.
Flight plans can be made, taxing and taking off can be a bit easy, flying the aircraft while in the air IS easy, but landing hehehe, got to work on proper throttling down prior to landing. (Now where's the arrestor cable? Wait, wrong game. I should've been playing Naval Aviator games
)It may seem to sound all fun, but.... Though just a warning. Microsoft Flight Simulator X requires quite a powerful machine (then again it's 2007 and it's more or less likely the norm to be owning a Dual Core PC with 1GB of RAM with Radeon X1600s which all can be bought at around 20k total if we have a motherboard supporting Dual Core. Pentium D 805 hint, hint
) Here's a sample I found out of SoapBox (though I don't know how to record my flights yet hehehe) Video: "This Bird Strikes" A-320 for Microsoft Flight Simulator |
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