I was holding out to play Mass Effect one for the longest time, until I finally picked it up via Steam a month or so ago. I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Classic Sci-Fi adventure game with artful combat system. Story line was short, but interesting. Yes, I did get to famous sex scene, and found it to be very tasteful, much more so than one may see on occasion on broadcast TV.
So, I am one of many now looking forward to upcoming release of Mass Effect 2. This recently released sneak peak of voices and stars behind Mass Effect 2 shows you how much of a movie-like production it has become. In my mind, the fact that you get to play main character inside this vast universe of stars (pun intended) is a grand bonus that soon will be a must for most people:
What started as a simple upgrade of my daughter’s video card, turned into afternoon of sheer terror. I don’t really know if it’s nVidia to blame, or some incompetence of EA developers, but result is tragic just the same.
Naturally, after I replaced the graphics card on her Windows XP system, I updated the driver to match the newer nVidia chipset. Then I decided to test out Sims 2, her favorite game, as a final confirmation that the upgrade went well.
Only, the game didn’t start at all!!! So I proceeded to try her second favorite game, Sims 3. Same result, doesn’t start! No error, no clues, nothing!!! I proceeded to run DxDiag utility (all you do is type it into your Run prompt), and it showed that “No Problems Detected”.
I spent hours, reinstalling the game, scouting online articles for ideas. Checking settings, resetting graphics options, touring the registry. Much fun….. ..NOT! As a father, don’t you hate it when you disappoint (and UPSET) your child!!! I was really upset!
What I eventually found on Sims support site (and not main EA support site, where I went first) was Unbelievable! Latest nVidia drivers, they say, CAUSES THE GAME NOT TO START! And the only solution right now is to uninstall new drivers and roll back to August version!
Well, I can confirm now that this resolves the issue. But, what is this incompetence?! Did nVidia mess up most basic compatibility tests and unleashed Faulty drivers onto the world! Or did EA developers simply not use DirectX APIs properly?
Game on, fellow Sims lovers, and here’s to hoping EA and nVidia will get together and resolve this unfortunate disaster, via an Update (both games support auto-patching!) before major Class Action Lawsuit materializes!
Weekend Fun – Gaming Style
Crysis, EA, Entertainment, Family, Halo, playground, Technology, Weekend Fun Comments Off"We are boring people to death" – I believe is the exact quote from non other than Electronic Arts CEO. He was referring to the endless sequels to established games, which bring little more than shinier graphics and few more features.
He has a point! Gaming companies need to get the ball rolling on more innovate gameplay! Still, as technology matures, there is always time to revisit the tried and true formula of Wolfenstein’s 3D first person shooter genre. Just few recent games come to mind that raise the bar across the board and really take this style to the next level. They bring us amazing improvements in graphic visuals, realistic sound, and most importantly very real physics. Two such games come to mind for this holiday season, and the most technologically advanced one is Crysis.
Just watch this short 30 second trailer. Make sure to watch it full screen to see high quality of real in-game visuals. Of course you will need DirectX 10 Windows Vista PC, with decent nVidia GeForce 8000 series graphics card. But, I hear it should run on lesser PCs also, just not with such shiny graphics.
Another holiday favorite this season is Halo 3 for XBox 360. This game has come of age, and is probably the most feature complete first-person shooter today.
Personally, I mostly avoid first person shooters.
After playing Wolfstein, many years ago, then later some Doom 2 — it’s really becomes more of the same. I am also not a fan of doing first person shooters using joystick. Really, this is exactly what the mouse was created for, to aim with and shoot, while running sideways or jumping, using the keyboard, of course.
Remember, both games are rated M for Mature! And I really think they aren’t kid or even teen material.
For your family, check out Playground, an up and coming fun title from EA. Looks like they are finally trying to avoid boring people to death, though, this one is just a fresh Wii style take on the classic Party games genre 
In my opinion Gaming with your Family is the new spending time with kids. This is what they are into today, and joining in their activities, and showing them "how it’s done" is something that Parents must strive for, to maintain that all important link with your kids and have their ongoing trust of being Authority on All things Life.
Recent Comments