If Xzibit got a hold of my nightstand

I said I want to dock with my dock
so I can conga dock while I dock.  Clear?

My bedside table is a nightmare.  There is so much shit stuffed into three square feet and it's killing me ever so slightly.  It's all my necessities, the things needed for the high rollin' life I lead.

Glasses and phones, drink and then food;

Playstation and Xbones, and a Switch on a stool;

A drawer that's a bin, and a nosey canine to boot;

These are the things that some would call loot.

You're welcome for my bout of poetry.  The point though is that it's a heap of shit that takes up a bunch of real estate, and that's before you account for USB cords leading up and over everything.

The plan was to resolve this.  To find a way to get all the staple items arranged in a way that I may finally have my nightstand back, somewhere to throw my plates when I have finished dinner and am waiting for the episode of Richard Osman's House of Games to finish.

There's a lot of reasons to want a stand for my glasses and phone.  My glasses can be kept up and out of the way, avoiding spills and potential flattening or snapping.  The Solution?  Easter Island Noses.  Not only a good high place for your looking goggles, but also a snazzy way to look cool while you aren't wearing them.

My phone is longer term matter.

Having a direct USB connection bothers me.  Dozens of items in the past have been ruined from seating a charging device awkwardly and bending the connections.  Luckily we live in the future and through the SCIENTS of MAGIC you can get a Wireless Charging Device.  You place your phone down and centered on it's platform and Voila, your phone starts recharging.  Truly it's the gift that keeps on giving, since my phone hasn't met the floor for any other reason except my clumsiness.

Then there's my Game Stuff.

It's a comfy life being a gamer.  You seat up in bed or on your couch and reach over to the controller, hold down a button, hear a little chime, and sometimes your TV will turn on by itself because you have it set so.  Then play away to your hearts content.

Through all that you caress the controller.  Depressing buttons, stroking the triggers, fondling the sticks, caressing the device's form in the palms of your hands.

They live by your bidding.  Playstation has a built in battery, while Xbox needs AA Batteries due to a very long contract.  You get that rechargable battery though, because if nothing else you can charge it by cord.

The NYKO Solo Charging Blocks
AKA: The Conga Docks

Charging Docks are the future though.  With a little dongle, or a clever design, these devices can be placed on their own pedestals to await their next adventure, fully energised for you to pick up and play.

While these pedestals are a great investment, therein lies part of the problem.  Two competitive consoles, two worlds typically not welcome together.  While I personally went with two separate docks in the end there is a lot of regret in not picking up the NYKO Charging Blocks, also known by my own phrasing as the Conga Dock.  A wonderful union of design and consideration.

If only there was one for the Switch Lite.

This gadget is my favourite piece of kit.  With one reach and a button press, I can be playing Xcom 2 while the UFO series plays in the background.  Or Into The Breach while Voltron kicks ass.  Or Axiom Verge while listening to what makes Metroid so good.  Or Golf Story while... well I don't have a Golf Companion, but you get the point.

It's not without some age old problems found with the PSP back in the day [Link].  Pinky fingers are not a strong enough support to hold such a light device, and craning ones neck down farther so it may rest on ones abdomen only makes things worse.

The comfort grip was automatically the way to go.  I've used controllers for years and the ergonomics of them all is all so easy to fall into.  Having a grip on my Switch that tucks into the palms of my hands is incredibly satisfying after having all those pinky cramps creeping up towards the elbow.

The stand was a different matter.  At the moment the Switch rests on a tablet display stand, keeping it up and rested with a cheap charging dock that changes the angle needed for the charging cable, lifting it up and over and out of the way.  Personally, having something that plugs in and out is a wear and tear demanding losing the device sooner than later.

Thats the appeal in the controller docks.  They both have an electronic touch pad that, when rested on, charge the device without the worry of ruining their USB point.  The PS4 controller has a dongle they provide that hooks into the USB to provide that point, while the Xbox Controllers get a third party rechargable battery with a windowed casing solving two birds with one flung battery.

It's a feature I noticed on my PSP that was never utilised, and frankly should have been.  Given the knowledge and skill with electronics and a 3d Printer, a matching comfort grip and charging dock would be magnificent even as a simple display piece.  Same goes with my GBA SP, another device left to rot with a game of Pokemon Gold in it, the poor bugger.

The Wolf, the Hunter, and the Soldier

It's true!  Red Bull gives you wings!  And Cyberpowers!

I've heard nothing but good things about Wolfenstein: The New Order since it came out.  From great advertising to reviews with little criticisms on it.  But eventually the hype died out and that's usually the time I get my hands on such gems, because like every joke about Australia, I am a few years behind on "the times".

It was one of my Numerous Birthday presents and I was excited to crack it open, but I did what was sensible and said I would play all the other games that are on my Xbox 360 first so that I may one day put that away and focus on my PS4.

So I played a bunch of Terraria, half heartedly since I want to get it on Playstation now, and unwrapped the Nazi killing Bastard from his airtight plastic cage and entered him into the vague, featureless Brick that is apparently called a Playstation 4.

After the initial hazing normally involved with putting a game into your console these days I was finally thrown into the frying pan, or at least a big plane with a Pom and a bunch of other soldiers headed towards a new enemy: General Deathshead.

He's a creepy bastard.  My first encounter with Herr General had me staring at him through wire glass as he closed the walls in on me and my comrades.  I stared into his unflinching, smiling, scarred face as he watched everyone else panic, not even bothering to help them try and get out of this predicament.

I played on, shooting and slashing up Nazi's between avoiding Panzerhunds and pissing off Cyborgs.  It was a good time.  And the more I went on the more I got into the setting, reading news articles about the fall of Britain, the surrender of the United States, and the treatment of citizens and their 'impurities'.

Then, as I was exploring around the secret headquarters of the Resistance, I found a mattress tucked away in a high corner with a little interactive option saying "Nightmare!"

Lo and Behold, I was transported back to Wolfenstein 3D.  I was still Blazkowicz, pistol detailed as ever, but everything else was exactly as it was back in 1992.  It was fun and it made me think how much the game has changed since when ID software first made it.

And every time I think of ID Software, I think about two other games.  Doom and Quake, their two other flagship games.  I have Doom and Wolfenstein 3D on my Xbox 360 and spent so many hours collecting achievements and completing them as a whole.  Especially Doom since as soon as you finished the game you got the Doomguy outfit for your Xbox Avatar which I have accessorised and kept ever since.

"I STUBBED MY TOE ON THE COFFEE TABLE!"

With all the fun I've had with Classic Doom I cant wait for New Doom (TM) coming from Bethesda who, conveniently, had a hand in Wolfenstein: The New Order, something Im reminded of every time I load the game.  And every video I've watched of New Doom (TM) has been a fantastic and entertaining bloodbath of gunfire, action kills, and frantic running about.  Frankly only one step up from Classic Doom, because they didn't have action kills that involve pushing in Imp eyes until the skull explodes.

But Doom isn't my favourite.  And neither is Wolfenstein.  My favourite is Quake II, and I can't really tell you why.  It could be that I feel like a God running around dodging everything and exploring these long, dirty, rusted, grimy corridors shooting down strange Alien Cyborgs on their home planet.  I worked alone, finding comrades driven to madness from experimentation and torture; discovering strange works of art in grandiose cathedral fortresses; destroying strange machinations determined to do one thing: Kill You.

So I am going to really enjoy Wolfenstein: The New Order because not only is it a fun game, it is a deep game.  You find news articles about how the tide remained in the Nazi's favour and they continued the tidal wave across the world, and then fifteen years on they were settled everywhere with an Iron Grip.

And in knowing that I look forward to the possibility of a New Quake whether it continues the war against the Strogg, throwing you straight back into the midst of it, or just creating a whole new story with you forming an entire new front against this horrific enemy.

Inappropriate Kanye is Inappropriate

Dear Playstation

Seems Legit.

Guess who's back.
Back again.
B.C.'s Back.
Tell a Friend.

It's the age old romance, spanning generations of consoles and leading up to the E3 conference in June, the month of my birth, where I got a surprise present of Backwards Compati-fucking-bility.

That's right, bitches.  It's back on the Xbox One!

Well, mostly.

Apparently their method of "place disc A into tray B and allow download C to play disc A on console D" demands the rights from different publishers/developers before they can just go batshit letting everyone get all the games.  Which is a shame because I would like to immediately be able to fob off my Xbox 360 for the upgrade knowing full well that any of the Games For Gold I downloaded over the past year would be perfectly fine for play.

Sadly, I missed the opportunity to trade in my 360 for $150 credit and get an extremely cheap Xbone because of my insecurities.

That, and money.  Who has $200 sitting in their bank when they're saving for 5k tickets across some water?!

But fingers crossed the offer will come again when the list has expanded and I can know at least the Majority of my games will be freely playable.  That and that the console will get a bigger harddrive than a single Terabyte.

My history with Xbox has been short though.  I've only been around for a single generation, and while I've enjoyed the hell out of it I've got a longer history with Playstation.

That is what irks me.  While I like the fact that I have a Playstation 4, and that the games coming for it will be fucking phenomenal, I can't help but wish that I could have a throwback week when I load up a PSOne game that I wanted to revive.

Like Vagrant Story.  I've spent days playing through that, finding new things that I had overlooked before, or just did not know about.  Even just levelling up my Halberd (My favourite weapon in the game) was spent over the course of a day or two just whacking dummies until all stats were at 100.

I can only wonder what that game would look like if they remade it, boosted it up to the visual effects of todays games.

I guess we could use Final Fantasy VII Remake as a standard of excellence once it's finished up and shipped out.  I might actually finish that game after all.

I still have my problem though.  I have a console that is capable of so much more, but nobody will let it.

I may never get to play some downloadable games that I have had my eye on because of it.

All I ever wish is for a console to replace its predecessor, and be interactable with it's siblings.  Is that so much to ask?  To get a Playstation to play everything?  From PSOne to PSP?  Maybe to PSVita?

Please Sony Playstation.  Give me the all father.  Or All Son.  Fob off the PSTV, and just let me play my Games.

I fixed Destiny

There are many things i would like to see more of in Destiny 2. But I got to thinking today as I was playing the demo on my PS4 (Still debating on getting The Taken King) was how I would have liked things different.

And I don't just mean like minor differences, I mean a completely different game. Destiny: the Playstation/Xbox Editions. Have their similarities, like fighting on Earth and Chad (Commonly known as Moon) and Mars and Venus, Etc etc, but have completely different locations. The Cabal Landed on Venus in the Playstation version; the Hive have an entire fortress hidden on Mars for the Xbox Version; The Vex and Fallen have been fighting at another Space Station on one or the other. Either way, really mix up the different games.

Then there's the classes. You have 3 classes, so why not give them unique stories? A different set of missions you can play exclusively for them? And the only way you can have others play with you is if you're leading the Fireteam! You can have the same team three times, hopping between Fireteam leaders, and have differing experiences altogether. Or better yet, those who have all three classes can go around and play through whatever story missions on their own! That adds story to the game by threefold! Each character doing their own thing and all culminating into Strikes that anyone can attend!

And then double that again for the differing consoles!

I fixed Destiny. Thank you, I'll be here all week.

Dropping an F-Bomb on VG Social Networking

Not a Happy Camper

Everyone and their mother knows I've moved to Australia. And everyone I have met has been very amenable to that.

Like Xbox. When I called them up with my tale of romance, they said "Alright, we'll change the region of your account quicker than you can say "Bob is your mothers Brother."

Things were different in the Marketplace. There was Indie games that developers made games using your Xbox avatar, though they were a little cheap. I didn't have to worry about download codes I got in the US, because I could only use them now.  And when I get back home with Jenny, I can call Xbox again and say "Can you change it back please?"

This Xmas passed, I got a PlayStation 4.  I tore open the wrapping and shat myself as I marvelled at the box.  I had games I wanted, like GTAV, The Last of Us - Remastered, Little Big Planet 3, and The Evil Within.  I was ecstatic!

It wasn't until after hours of begging for permission that I was allowed to run downstairs into the basement lounge room to hook it up and play.  The first game I wanted to play though was GTA for one simple reason: First Person View.  And I was pleasantly entertained.  I still remark how phenomenal such a small thing can change your entire perspective of the game.

But there was one thing I had to do.  And that was load my Playstation Network account.

...

It wasn't until a couple of hours later, well after giving up and assuming that the PSN was flooded with new PS4 owners doing the same thing on their Xmas morn, that I was told it was Hacked.  Outrageous!  What kind of a mouth breathing fuck knuckle would ruin so many peoples day by hacking that?  The only thing you're promoting is playing offline, which I was going to do anyway!

The repercussions were there though and stuck around like a bad smell for the better part of the week. Xbox bounced back pretty well, but Playstation was down until the end of the weekend.  And I had to figure out my account.

I tried all the usual emails.  Gmail, Hotmail, even Bigpond!  I plugged in password after password to the point of blocking one account, possibly two.  But didn't I feel the horses arse when I found I wasn't even looking at the right email prefix in first place.

I was in though.  I had my entire account: Trophies, Profile Picture, purchase history.  They were all for me to grab and enjoy at my leisure.  And in my hand was the one game I was really excited to play: The Last of Us Remastered.

But it was in the form of a code.  It was a downloadable game, easily redeemable in the Playstation Store.  Just fit in the 12 digits, press X and say "Bob's your mo-"

"This code cannot be redeemed from your country."

"My fuggin wot?"

Oh, right.  I hadn't told them about how long ago I met jenny, how we began talking and continued to do so, and that I had moved across the planet to live with her finally.  That explains it.  Well, easily sorted!

I had the 1800 number in my phone, so I flipped the bugger open (yes, it's a flip phone. So Retro.) and buzzed them.  I was confident in how quickly this would resolve, considering my experience with Xbox.  Heck, I may just give the code to the customer service person and save me the trouble from plugging it into the PS4 again.

It took a half hour but I got through to an Indian Gentleman named Gary.  And he proceeded to tell me that the Region of my account cannot be changed and I must create another account if I want to Purchase or Redeem games from a US Playstation Store.

"I fuggin wot?"

You mean to say that my single account which I have built up over the past four years cannot expand on it's Library?  That I will have to get someone from Australia to purchase redeemable codes and subscriptions because my account cannot accept and American Credit Card?  That any game that I was eager to purchase for said Digital Library that is available on the US Store cannot be obtained?

I don't want another account.  I want my account.  I want to get The Last of Us Remastered on my PS4 using MY PERSONAL ACCOUNT.  That is apparently not the way of Playstation.  It was bad enough that I can't change my Gamer ID to remove the silly prefix I initially added so long ago, but now I have to do international trading to get something so simple as a Subscription.

Fuck you, Playstation Network.  I have to stick to buying Disc games until I can organise such a Ninja.  But I really want to redeem this code.  Can you do that, Muhamm-I mean, Gary?

"No, it cannot be redeemed on this account."

Well Fuck You again.  Now I have to make a new account.  If I download it with one, can the other play it?

"No."

FUCK YOU.  WHAT CAN I DO.

"You can use your new account with a wide variety of options, from purchasing Playstation products, to playing online with your friends."

FUCK YOU.

All i want for Xmas is a TRPG

The more I think about it, the more I want it. The desire for a fantastic TRPG on all platforms, Playstation (3, 4, Vita) and Xbox (360 and One), iPad and Android, even PC, all interconnected as an MMO.

That would be awesome under the setting of Tactics Ogre, my favourite TRPG video of all time, and Episode 7 of a series that started at Episode 5 with Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen.  So in saying that, would I like to play out episodes One through Four?  Hell to the fucking yes.  Release a chapter each year or two, and flesh out each story.  That's an option, if the others aren't just made as normal games.

I've thought of other games too.  Borderlands was one, by reincarnating Borderlands Legends into a TRPG, making the game into an opera of sorts and applying new and different classes and characters, maybe even some generics to throw around, then applying the key aspects like Guns and Elements, strange aliens, and the various combinations they can concoct.

What about Clash of Clans?  They have plenty of character but hardly any story.  You raid goblin villages without any repercussions!  Surely you'll have to fight the goblin king at some point.  And if there were more heroes, like an Archmage or a Sorceress, a branching storyline can be made!  Heck, a whole new faction would be great with a story of a rise to power.  And why not, you can do it in TRPG style!  That's my idea of fun!

While I can think about what I want though, there's the fact that there are TRPG's out there that I haven't played.  One of which is the very popular Banner Saga.  It's available on a variety of platforms, one of which is the Playstation 4, and I have that on my Video Game Wishlist, which continues to grow as time passes... but I can only wait until I can get another Xcom expansion to return.

I'm a bit late to the show, but I got there

It's so close to the truth.

I heard about Playstation TV a while ago and quickly brushed it off as a Sony Clone of Apple TV.  While I wasn't far from the truth, since it does provide services that Apple TV does, I did not realise that it could also play Playstation Portable and Vita games.  And that's gotten me interested in it.

I've been desiring for a long time to be able to play my PSP games on the TV, believing whole heartedly that the big name consoles should be able to provide that support.  It shouldn't be too difficult to provide an Inbuilt Emulator, right?  Just download it in a patch or something.  That'd do it.

Alas, my beliefs were pushed back by arguments of lacking hardware compatibility to match the system requirements.  Sure the console might be more powerful but it's like mapping the thoughts of a dog to a cats brain, to put it crudely.

So I sighed and dreamt of such a device that would do that.  There was a moment of optimism when I saw a patent for an external device that would do such a thing for the PS3, but that was just them covering their bases.

The last I even heard about any form of backward compatibility was the Playstation Now, where you hire games for an exorbitant amount of money, and you can simply stream the game from their servers onto your TV through your console.  While I can appreciate this, that's just too much money for what I want.

But this Playstation TV, a little device that has the similar area to a deck of cards, will give me what I want out of a console.  The ability to play my Playstation Portable games on the Big Screen.  I may have to re-download a couple of them, such as Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics, but it's exactly what I want.  It won't kill my neck playing them from looking down because I'll be staring straight on.  And the feel of an actual controller will be sublime.

Credit where credit is due, though, I won't be able to play certain PSVita games due to the lack of compatibility between the Game and the PS3/PS4 Dualshock Controllers.  But I'll have that completely under consideration when the time comes.

If only though I could play the PSTV through my PS4 when I get it, like the Xbone can do with it's HDMI Input and the Xbox 360.

Backwards Consideration

PlayStation probably have the highest consideration for their enormous catalogue of games over the last two generations. What they're doing is a streaming service called PlayStation Now.

Its going through Beta at the moment, and they're primarily focusing on PlayStation 3 games. I think that's fair since that will have the largest workload to it for streaming.  Once you have the biggest problem overcome, everything else is a cakewalk.

I watched the video above and I immediately have my problem with it.  Its an online hiring service.  Paying to play a game for a short period.

Its not an unfounded idea. Go down to the local V2 or Blockbuster, and you'll hire out a game for the week (if they offer that, its usually a few days) and for a pretty cheap price too, usually about a fiver.  Then for that period of time, you can play to your hearts content, possibly flogging the shit out of it if it's a big game like Grand Theft Auto.

But there's a physical disc involved. The store needs insurance that it'll come back.  And that sort of thing happens all the time.  Even I'm guilty of that, having been charged a large amount for a game I forgot to return.  So it's fair enough that it can get a bit pricey.

But judging from the prices on Playstation Now, they're expecting you to start reselling the game and making a profit from them!  I'm not the only one who thinks this, I've spied many other articles regarding this saying their largest problem is that the games are simply too expensive for such short time periods that you may as well buy the game itself.

Just to point out the obvious though, this isn't "Send this disc to your front door".  But you don't have to download it either.  It's streamed.  So you send the commands to a server and sends the image back to your console.  It's a fantastic concept.  It saves on having to worry about backwards compatibility hardware, because it's just done from a server room.

But...  it doesn't absolve my biggest worry.  I've purchased a handful of games from Playstation Network.  They're all designed to be played on the Playstation 3.  So what about those purchases?  Will I be able to download and play them?  Would I be able to stream them?

What about my old games?  Could I slot them in and have the system detect what game it is, then stream it from the servers?  Because that is the dream.  To get replace my consoles.  To have a reason to go into a Brick and Mortar Store to get a discount on a new console by handing my old console to them, to send back to Playstation so they can recycle the parts to make more current gen consoles or whatever you can do with them.

And yet, they'll never change.  I'll have museum pieces for years to come because of their inconsideration.  Bastards.

Cross Generation Gaming

And the lesson here is not to force the issue.
Especially Poo jokes.

We are in an age of technology where everything is thought ahead.  Gaming consoles have done exactly that with the current and last generations of consoles, namely with online communication.

I can happily sign into my Xbox 360 and start talking with my Xbox One friends, simply because it was thought ahead when the 360 was made.  The same goes with Playstation 3 and 4.

Because of that, I look forward to games that will play across Generations.

I've always liked the idea of Cross Platform gameplay, because I look at most consoles and see them as the same turd rolled in different glitter.  But because of that glitter they can't communicate, putting an immodium on the plan of cross platform gaming regardless of whether it's the same piece of corn in the captains log.

Cross Generation seems much more capable feature.  One turd might be smoother, but given what's essentially the same cob of corn, the glitter would make little to no difference.

But to stop myself from getting a haemorrhoid, because I'm straining the analogy, I want to get into what brought this up.

Destiny, an MMO-esque shooter coming out for current and last gen consoles.  It was said that they wanted to implement Cross Generation gameplay, but just recently announced that it wasn't going to happen.

The way it began was poor.  One of the reps said that the reason was, and I'm paraphrasing, "current generation consoles have the advantage when sniping, because they can see the target clearer than someone with a last generation console, due to resolution limits."

Essentially, a previous generation console can see two pixels, and the next gen can see four.  And that is entirely unfair.

I flew into a rage.  It was the most pathetic reason I had ever heard.  Two fucking pixels?  You PC Cultured Knob Jockeys.  You make a game and balance the entire system to give a player the same experience across four consoles, and you nullify half the fucking point by cancelling it over TWO FUCKING PIXELS?!

It was something from a culture of PC gamers who can't go a week without having to buy a new graphics card in case they fell behind on their Battlefield Ranks.

Then came another article.  An article that didn't sound so petty, though they still defended the Pixels.  But more significantly, there is actually a technological problem.  Lag times between consoles, and comparable hardware processing.

Yes, the excuses are still a little thin, but it's better than Two Fucking Pixels.  Either way, I do have to be picky with what consoles I get it for.  I'll be getting it for PS4, there's no doubt about that as my Australian friends will have it in that time.  Would it be worth it to buy it on Xbox 360?  If I convince my 'Murican friends to get it, then sure thing.  Even more so if I convince my Australia friends to get it too.

Then there are other games I would like to play Cross-Generation.  Like Skylanders: Trap Team.  If I get mum to bring over some select figures from the enormous collection I left there for the Niece and Nephew to play with when they visit Grandma, then I could be well prepared with Trap Team.  And playing with my Pseudo-Nephew Alex would be fantastic.  I could set aside a morning to let him tell me all of his new favourite skills and abilities while playing missions.

What about Mass Effect?  They're bringing a new series into the current Generation (and possibly remaking the first trilogy too) and there's always the possibility it'll have some sort of multiplayer.  Given that they might make versions for the last gen, there's a chance for Cross Gen again.

Turning the tables, Xbox 360 might get a chip into the next Gears of War series.  Both Scotts I know have Xbones, and if they both get it I'll get excluded if they want to be technologically superior to me.

There's game after game that I want to have a piece of, and two generations of consoles that I have to think about.  I don't want to have four consoles to play.  I hardly want two, but I can live with that.

Maybe next generation, possibly 10 years from now, everything will be more considerate.  Yes the consoles will be 10 years old, which is like comparing the culture of 1788 to now, but it's still something they should consider when the time comes.

Gaming Flops

They said I could be anything...

I was so tempted, so VERY tempted, when I was in JB-HIFI staring as the cheapie bin holding a $4 copy of Haze, one of Playstations Exclusive Gaming Flops.

I have a very silly reason for wanting to play it, and it's simply that I want to know how bad the game really was, not through reviews or word and mouth, but through actually playing it, and then speculate on how I would make a comeback sequel.

Would I put it forward to developers? No, I wouldn't know where to begin to put it in, let alone find a development team who would be willing enough to venture forth.  Then there's IP rights, and whatever, yadda yadda yadda (although that would be rather cheap considering how big a flop it was).

The story seemed interesting.  A soldier part of a Paramilitary Organisation is sent off to take on a Guerrilla Headquarters, surged on by a combat drug called 'Nectar', until he figures out what's going on and changes sides and tactics.

Straightforward.  It's like the first idea that popped into someone's head, with the noble ideal of overcoming evil organisations and it's inhumane practices.  But surely, there has to be more?

Apparently not really.  On top of the limited motives, there was apparently terrible environment design and ham fisted acting, judging from the demo I played moons ago.

That's pretty disappointing.  Especially since the environment is drawn like shit, judging from the Demo I played many moons ago.

So with a new console, the Playstation 4, it isn't entirely unfair to think of how one would resurrect an old exclusive flop.   So why not go back in time?  Go to the start of when this Haze drug was first made?  Expand on the conflict, the espionage, the conniving motives of military based corporations and politicians.  Because that's what it always comes down to, right?

Keep to the Guerilla theme.  Stealth-Action games are pretty popular.  Look at Deus Ex: Human Revolution.  It's a good game in its own right, and sounds quite similar to what I'm describing.  Lets drop the levelup RPG elements and just have the player find accessories to add to their character, whether it's a weapon they can accessorize, or a Nectar genetic modification they can administer to themselves for an added edge.

Then there's the story.  The main theme of Haze was the horrors of war, how leaders can be arrogant and ignorant only to further their own goals and there is no good guy.  Fair enough.  There is no good guy, so build on that.  Add more motivation to why you're not the bad guy in this sea of bad guys.  Mind, that'll be difficult.

But hey. Why not give it a crack?

Getting it right

So, now that the Xbox One has been revealed (No, not the mother ship) it's time for me to compare between this generation of leading consoles.

So what am I expecting? 

Frankly, just an improvement on the same guff, with a new skin and a few new gadgets and features to keep up to date. Call me what you will, but I don't like too much change.

Touch screens have become an every day thing. And I like that. You can get a touch screen on just about anything, from your phone, to your car, to your keyboard. So I expect some reasonable touch screen implements on the controller. Makes sense to me.

Then there's The Digital Distribution (Pretty sure someone I know hates when people say that). Yes, it's moving into that time of history when you may never have to leave your home for games again, and shelves of game cases and boxes and manuals are coming to an end. And I'll accept that. Though I hope that they come through for the customer and make games cheaper because of it.

And a lastly, Backwards Compatibility. The first person I think of is Scott, a boy who has had his Xbox 360 for a Bajillion years (may or may not be exaggerated), has amassed a Library of games that could potentially be covered by insurance, and not to mention a considerable investment into his Xbox Live Account. So, like myself back in the previous generation where PS3 couldn't play PS2 games, I would hope they don't go to waste on him. Or myself, for that matter. I have these too, you know.

These are my basic expectations. That is all I want. That's all I ever need. Whether its a simple evolution, or to satiate my Hoarding Instincts, these are my standard requests for these consoles.

So what am I getting? Let's begin with the controller. 

Wii U was first in the ring, eager to prove its mettle and show that it's a system that constantly evolving, a reputation that its stuck to for over a decade of consoles now, whether its having ergonomically designed controllers which threaten to cramp your fingers, or making you get off your bedsores and doing jumping jacks in front of your Tv, they continue to do something different.

This time with a large touch screen the size of a tablet, and all the buttons you need to play whatever game you're heart desires. It can be used as a Gm screen for certain games, or it can be used to just keep playing your games on your lonesome by streaming it to the tablet instead of the telly. Like having a handheld console. Or a tablet with buttons and sticks.

Score 1 for Nintendo.

Playstation were up next, ready to show off the muscle power they had for their new Controller and... It was a bit disappointing. They had the touch screen. But, as I was hoping it wouldn't be, it was the same shape controller but the centre bridge was given some touchy bits, and Bob's your Mums Brother, they were done.

Oh, sorry, they added a couple other buttons. Not game play buttons, but an Options Button (I assume is the new PSButton) and a Share button, a feature of your online Profile, which I'll get into later.

So half point, Playstation. I would give you less, but you came through with something.

Xbox, the last into the ring, the big contender, the console with the most-ole... Changed very little.  It looks nice. Sleek and curvy like a sexy lady. But... It looks a bit like a third party piece at the moment. That's probably just me, of course.

It does have a unique Rumble setup. Rather than just shaking madly in the palm of your hands, it actually has a regional thing. Like if you fire a rifle, you feel it in the trigger you use, rather than the entire thing. That's cute, I'll grant.

But where is the touch screen? It should come standard! What?

Zero points, Xbox. No, you can't cheat by making me say your name, Durango.

Okay, so what about this Online Distribution business?

This I cannot really answer. The price for online games will be something we look at long off in the future once they're released. I'm not optimistic at first, since I imagine Game discs won't go extinct any time soon, and each company have made it pretty clear they aren't fully integrating into Pure Online Distribution.

So what else is there to being Online with your console?

Well It's not just a distributor now, it's a Social Network. Like Facebook. Only for games. Originally, it was simple. You pick a name and profile pic, put in a couple of details if you want, and you look up your friends. When you're signed in, you know when your friends are online, how long they've been offline, and what games and notable event tokens they've got (aka Achivements, Trophies, etc).

Playstation and Xbox are working with that. That share button i mentioned before? Well you can upload your events to your profile. Whether you're running through an entire level, or just showing off how stylishly you picked up an achievement. That's fun.

Nintendo... I don't think they're doing anything like that. It's a games console, and it focuses on that. They have an online store and that's pretty much it. You can connect with friends online and stuff, but that's about it. Nothing really Social Network about it.

I can't really give any points, because they're not on my list of Expectations. But if I could, I would give it to Xbox and Playstation for putting in an effort.

However, I would take it away from Xbox again because of their new setup for games. There are no Used Games any more. If you buy an Xbox One game, you register it to your account, you install the game, and that's it. If your friends borrow the disc, they get a prompt asking them to purchase it. That is, if the game doesn't allow you to play a demo of it before asking. That'd be a nice way to handle it.

Xbox did say that there will be a trading option though. Your game is traded for another across accounts. Reasonable. Not too shabby an idea, but what's to stop Xbox from making you pay $5 to make the trade? I have borrowed a few games from Scott over the years. I would probably owe him close to $50 by now, based on that. We'll have to wait and see with that though.

Alright, last thing: Backwards Compatibility. What's the go with that?

In Case you didn't know, Backwards Compatibility is important to me. I've been burnt once before, with the Playstation 3. I'm still hurt. My Playstation 2 is still here, and I have the games hidden away in a box... But I don't want them there. My Playstation 2 should be gone, recycled to make something else. And my games should be out with all the others.

But they're not. They're in a box. With a collection of DVDs that I don't want getting lost with Mums. And my current games would have to join them if I decide to pick up either the PS4 or the Xbox One.

A couple of years ago, about four now I think, when I succumbed and actually got my PS3, one of the higher ups from Playstation said "There's no profit in backwards compatibility". Yep. Fair point. Mind you, there are still hundreds of games for the Playstation 2 that were still being purchased because of the PS2 they continued to distribute until the beginning of 2013.

Since then you can get a select collection of Playstation One and HD remastered Playstation 2 games. Games I already own, funny enough. Games I don't want to fork out more money for just so I can play them. But a half point to them for trying. Most of the HD remasters that I've played though haven't exactly been... Pleasant.

Apparently there is also the mention of Streaming PS3 games. You buy it again, of course, but rather than having to download it and install it, you just play it from a remote server across the globe. Too bad if you don't have a good bandwidth, hey.

Xbox have made a similar statement. "If you're backwards compatible, you're really backwards." Now that hurt. That's a right run up and kick in the fucking goolies. And I love my goolies. They're good to me. They had reason not to do it, coming down to operating system and such technical jargon, so there wasn't any need for a comment that you know would spark up reactions that would include two words. "Fuck" and "Off".

The other thing is the Online Profile aspect. There are plenty of games on there. And it's all going to be chucked down the drain. All those investments, all those purchases, all those games. Gone. You can't play them if you've replaced your console. Which is the point of buying the new console, you replace it because its a system that does the same thing as its predecessor, but better.

WiiU have at least had the decency to just say "No, it won't be supporting GameCube games." Nintendo: Gamings Evolutionary Experimenter. Gets a point for still supporting its predecessors games. Fully supporting them too. Just because there's a new controller doesn't mean that you can't hook up a WiiMote and threaten to shatter your tv screen. So a half point for being sportsmanlike when you've taken something away.

So where does that leave the three in standing?

WiiU: 1.5 points.

Playstation 2: 1.5 points.

Xbox One: 0 points.

So in the NHCC has declared that the Xbox is the biggest disappointment of this generation, whereas its competitors are considerably more preferable for long time faithful players. I'm appalled, but facing the future and dealing with the fact that companies don't actually have any consideration for faithful customers. If that changes in the future, I would be pleasantly surprised.

Next Gen Consoles

I sit here drinking a Roy Rogers from the limited edition Batman Cup that I got from the Dark Knight Disappoints, and I think about the next generation of Consoles. Because it pisses me off.

Now mostly it’s rumours going around. Only a few days from now will there be an announcement/presentation on the Playstation 4 and will eliminate any misconceptions for it, so that we know what the hell we’re getting out of it.

The biggest pain I still find is that reporters who are cogitating on the upcoming systems seem rather obligated to state immediately that there likely won’t be any backwards compatibility. That still pisses me off. I’ve said to myself again and again “Why is it not standard practice?”

“It’s not a selling point” has been stated before. Sure, that’s true. I wouldn’t base my purchase on whether my library of games from previous generations of consoles would be usable on a new console. It wouldn’t have been a thought at all.

But now it’s one thing I have to ask when I look at a new console. Because I have a collection of games for my PS3 and my Xbox360, all games that I have gone over again and again, that I would like to have not go to waste. But I would rather not continue to have more and more consoles connected to my TV because I have no reason to simply replace my old consoles.

That’s another thing I’m worried about with this DRM feature that’s been heavily rumoured and speculated. The DRM Restriction is like buying a game from Steam. Once you buy it, you own that copy of it for as long as that account exists. The Rumour is that Consoles will be going along a similar line. Once you’ve played a game on a particular account or console, you can’t trade in that game or loan it out. It is restricted to that account.

The reasoning behind it is that it will potentially eliminate the Used Game market, which is apparently making a significant impact on the developer market. How big an impact, I have no idea. I know through a friend that as a technical writer, he has a massive worry about it since there are many who require his books and a large portion of that market are simply finding the torrents and downloading them for free.

So I’ve got mixed feelings about it. While I would like to buy a game and then trade it in to get a discount on a new game (especially if I don’t like the game I’m trading in), it’s unfair to the developers because they’re not getting anything out of that game being resold. But then the brick and mortar shops are losing a rather large market because they are getting all profit from those games.

These two things tie in largely, and that worries me. I have games on my Playstation and Xbox accounts, all of which I can re-download if I have to replace my consoles.

So what about these future consoles?  Digital Distribution is becoming a household feature, so assuming using the same account, but if the console isn’t backwards compatible, what about those games in your Library from your PS3/360 days? Will there be any point in downloading those games again? Because without backwards compatibility, you have games on your account that you can download just to use up the space on your Console.

Or you could do what is expected of you and make room for a new console and keep your old console sitting there to collect dust?  Cos fuck that for a PC that can still download and play COMMANDER FUCKING KEEN.

Jumping up and down and screaming for Attention

It's been a while since I've talked seriously about Playstation.  Because in seriousness, they're a joke.

The Playstation Department have made some silly decisions in their long history.  And they continue to surprise me.  Because now they have the Playstation Super Slim.  And my first question was: Can it play my Playstation 2 Games.

The Answer: No.  So I lost interest until I realised that it was about the fifth Iteration of the Console, and that's disregarding the differences in Hard Drive.  And it made me wonder why.

Since the beginning, they have been taking away and taking away, giving little back to the device that started at a ridiculous four digit starting price and had everything for a gaming console and a Multimedia system.  Anyone who has an original release console has the model at it's prime, at the cost of it's tubbiness.

The only thing that any owner of the model needs to do is up the memory.  Which you can do by replacing it with a Laptop Hard Drive which will set you back about $100-150 on Ebay.

But now you can get yourself a PS3 Super Slim that doesn't play your old PS2 games, which are still in stock because its predecessor is still selling, and It doesn't allow you to plug in your camera memory cards, unless you get a USB device which will set you back about $20.

Consoles are meant to be designed for about 10 years worth of play.  There's criticism on that, as certain developers think that consoles designed like that are holding back creativity and implementing the full visual power of games.  That's a fair enough argument since computers are exponentially growing in power.  Heck, my computer is 3 years old and it may have trouble playing most high demand games these days, and for good reason: It's practically outdated.

Consoles don't change at all in those years of development.  They use the same technology developed when they were released.  And whether developers reach the full potential of the consoles capabilities, I don't know, but if they haven't it does beg the question of "Why not?"

But that's a different subject, though if I continue on I'll be beating a dead horse that has been dragged through mud and nettles and declined from the glue factory.

The fact is that console design should be straight forward.  Playstation did take a huge leap of faith with the PS3 by making it a multimedia device, not a gaming platform like Xbox did, who have been tacking on special features without a problem over the years while keeping everything else they could want on there.

Playstation won't follow old recipes, but are "happy to rectify that with this updated game if you pay another $15 a pop for these $80 titles you bought in the hay day".

I hope Xbox continue to improve on their old recipe, because it's doing them well and I would be more than happy to continue supporting them as such.

But with console design comes with sensible investment into development and research.  And frankly, there are better places to put money into than designing a smaller console.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Sega's Finest of the '90s

I was going through the Playstation Network the other night, just window shopping all the various games that I want, don't want, and simply can't afford, when I came across an odd entry: Wonder Boy In Monster Land.

Now I like Wonder Boy.  Especially the Monster Land versions, they are great fun.  I have played that game almost to it's death along with its sequel "The Dragons Trap".  I think I even got Mum to buy it on her Wii many moons ago just so I could play it again.

But when I saw it sitting in amongst the W-Z section of the PS3 Downloads, it hit me.  We still live in the 80's and 90's.

It's been over 2 decades since they released the Sega Master System.  Two Decades.  Video games have grown exponentially since then.  They no longer have cartridges or wired controllers with two buttons and a D-pad.  They aren't limited to 16 Colours and a resolution that's smaller than what my phone can produce.

Yet I can still pick up for $7.50 a game that I played as a child. (And didn't finish until I was in my 20's, on the same console no less)

Then I look at some of the other games I have.  They're fairly big games, like Crysis 2, Little Big Planet, Skylanders.  They're all fairly intricate games in their own rights, and are siginificantly prettier than a game like Wonder Boy.  Probably much better too, even though it doesn't have basic amenities that games have today, such as an Auto-save.  Mind you, the game could be completed in 20 minutes given a perfect run, so no need to worry about it.

It was then that I remembered a recend release, Penny Arcade Adventures: On the rain slice precipice of Darkness Episode 3.  This iteration of the game was released in an old 16-bit V-RPG format, a throwback to games like Final Fantasy, and a need to actually strategise when you enter a battle.

I was somewhat disappointed that the guys at Penny Arcade didn't make a competition with a prize of a remade Sega Mega Drive and a Cartridge with the game on it.  Maybe it's an idea for them in the future.  Like PAX Aus.  Though I suppose it doesn't stop others from porting it.

Anyone looking through digital distributors would find more and more games released in 16-bit formats.  And I can't help but look at it and think how ironic it is that even though we're at a point where a game can be as immense and intricate as your own city, yet there is still a place in the world for a world that could be drawn with Lego.

Does the world really need games like World of Warcraft when you could be playing a Final Fantasy MMO with a toon no more intricate than your desktop icons?

Well apparently not.  Introducing Minecraft.  While it incorporates the 3D sort of scale of a modern game environment, it has the graphical application of Pitfall.  Okay, I exagerrate a little, but it's only a little.  It's still not the most glamorous of games.  Yet it's still one of the most popular because of what you do in it.

What do you do?  Well you mine and you use various levels of cubes to create your very own personalised island of insanity in between mining for certain cubes and fending off monsters during the night.

While the game may sound as simple as the bitmap images for the cubes, it has brought forth many creative results.  So it's not all bad for those who are either determined, or have enough spare time to do these sorts of things.

So while there is a place in the world for high resolution and detailed scenery, it still makes you wonder how much worth blockbuster games will provide in the end.

Crossing the Platform Barrier

I like to play games with my friends. However, there's always a problem with conflicting preferences. One likes Console X, while another prefers Desktop A, and another only has Console Y available. It's a difficult conflict when we all want to play the same game together, such as Borderlands 2 where two of my three friends follow the same situation.

So what's stopping Developers from crossing the Platform Barrier? Is it a compatibility issue with the programming? Is it business conflicts between the actual Platform Developers? Or is a big delivery of Wussy Pants to their front door and issued to all employees?

Insofar there is one game that can actually cross platforms, Portal 2 with the help of Steam, and it crosses the PC over with the Playstation 3. This was convenient for me and Scotty who wanted to play the Cooperation Mode.

What Problems did we have?
Voice Communication is a fairly important thing, especially when trying to solve puzzles.  The game panders to that by providing a waypoint feature for everyone involved to look at, but it was certainly no Voice Com, which is why we spent quite a good half hour talking on the phone until we got a grasp of what we were trying to convey with our pointing at random panels and devices through the game.

That was about it.  The game ran smoothly, the game ran well, and we didn't have any problem picking up the game.

So why don't we see this more often?  I could think of other games that would do well playing across platforms.  Your carbon copy sports and shooter games could do well, like Madden and Battlefield.  Granted, the PC players will have an advantage over the Console players (What with the snap firing) but that's where Survival Modes come in, I suppose.

I've got a game called Bloodbowl.  Now I love it, it's great fun.  But could I play it with my friend who has it on his Xbox?  No.  Even though they are basically the same game.

The most innovative application of Cross-Platform gaming I've seen is Skylanders.  Because regardless of what console you've got, so long as you have the figures then you can always play it on a different console.  Whether it's on your PC, your Xbox, your DS or even your Toaster.  It will play.

Only time will tell whether Cross-Platform gaming will boom, but frankly if I can get onto my Playstation and start playing the same game with my friend playing the same game on their Xbox, then I would be happy as a pig in shit.

Ratchet and Clank HD Collection

WOO! I LOVE this game! I'm gonna have to trade in my old copies for the new one. (Assuming they have the HD Collection on Disc format and not only on the PSN) Same goes with the ICO/Shadows of the Colossus collection, which I still want to pick up.

Now I hope that it won't be a bit of a dud like Splinter Cell kinda was. My main problem with Splinter Cell was that although it was nice to have all the graphics updated, and the 3D included, they didn't amend the Videos and simply changed the image quality of the skins, and I think they did something with the shadows too. (I can't remember playing the first Splinter Cell well enough to compare)

While I still love the game, and I really do, I finished R&C 1 about 10 times so I could get the RYNO and all the Gold Guns. Actually, I think I just stuffed around after about the third or forth run through. It makes me want to play R&C All 4 One with Aaron and Scott.

Playstation HD Remastering

Playstation have been on a binge of Remastering games for the PS3, so that when played on a HDTV they don't look extremely pixellated. Which is fair enough. I know some people get irked if they happen to see an awkward pixel on their Helvetica

Personally it doesn't matter to me. I couldn't care if it's the same quality as a Gameboy* on a 60inch TV, if it's still a good game. It's why I still play certain PSOne games. It's also why I still own Gran Turismo 2. I love that game and I will get back to it when I can find time.

* - B&W, 160 × 144 Pixel Resolution

So even though I don't care about the resolution of a game, I still care about the games themselves. There are some games I just can't get access to, or if I can I don't want to grab it because it's for the wrong system.

Last year they released HD Remasters of selected games as compilation discs, which I find to convenient. I picked up the God of War compilation and got stuck on the Atlus Puzzle and haven't picked it up since, but I still had lots of fun getting through it. And I never had the games before, so it was fun to have a new game to play.

Same goes with other upcoming releases, such as the Splinter Cell Trilogy and the Team ICO set. I adore Splinter Cell. It's the coolest stealth game I've played, though I haven't touched Assassins Creed yet. And the Team Ico games, “ICO” and “Shadows of the Colossus”, while I own the latter of the two it would be nice to see it in better view. It's a very artistic game (though that's apparently up to debate) and I'm more than willing to trade in my PS2 copy for the PS3 version coupled with “ICO”.

I hope for other PS2 compilation games such as Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2, and maybe even the Final Fantasy Games (X, X-2 and XII), heck a remastering of Killzone 1 would be cool. But I don't hold any high hopes.

But just the other day, they announced they're re-releasing selected PSP games for HDTV. As in to have PSP games for the PS3. [Link]

This is cool, but not exactly what I always wished for. I thought about something similar at one stage, of converting the PSP games into PSP Minis, which the PS3 can play, and I would've been pretty happy with that. But this is a bit better because those people who just can't stand a large pixel can be happy.

All well. Made do with what you've got. Now to see what they plan on bringing out.

Hand Held, eh?

Project Cafe is the next console in the Nintendo range and mockups of it's controller seems pretty awesome, though ugly. But with the rising generation of Touch screens coming everywhere, making the world a little more intimate with technology, it makes me wonder whether putting a touch screen into a controller is a good idea.

I do approve of the idea. Game developers everywhere will have a Blast giving the players those additional features. Cursors you'd expect to move about using your thumbstick? Use the touchpad instead. Need to assign multiple buttons to get a mid game feature? Use the touchpad. Want to minimalise the players HUD? Use the touchpad! Want to include a minigame for Player 2 to complete while player 1 does something else? Use the touchpad! Want to change songs while in the middle of a game? Use the touchpad!

And there's more where that came from, and developers will take full advantage of the fact. Just ask Sega.

However, what about the consumer? When I buy a console I get a second controller then and there, in case I want to play 2 player or if one controller runs out of battery, or it breaks. I got another controller for my PS3 when I got it, and that put me out of pocket about $75. And that's with discount. While Touchscreens are getting cheaper, the price of a controller will be phenomenal.

I will admit I'm not the most careful person in the world with my controller. I throw it about, I get my greasy pizza fingers over it, etc etc etc. I put this Touchpad controller on a similar level as a PSP, which regrettably has a massive crack in the corner of the screen. So were I to get a controller such as the suspected Project Cafe's, I'd have to take care of it like I do my Game Discs (Which I actually get a little protective of if they're left to collect dust).

Then there's the Rechargeable batteries. Wii and Xbox 360 controllers don't come with this feature, whereas PS3 do. So if you need to buy yourself rechargeable batteries, then that'll increase my budget by like $25.

So I'd wager about $200, including discounts for bulk buying with a console, just to get a preferable controller setup. Seems a bit rich to me, but Nintendo try and do something different with every console. It's an endearing fact, and I do approve of the idea. I just hope the execution works out better than on paper.

Alternative Image?

Remastering the Remastered

If you're going to do something, you gotta do it right. So when Sony had announced that they were doing a series of High Definition Remasters of games, I jumped for joy, and again when I saw the list of planned games. I didn't mind that they were in collection discs, in fact it was awesome because some of the games on there I hadn't had the chance to play.

For example, there's the ICO and Shadows of the Colossus games. I own Shadows of the Colossus, and I love it. It's a fun game, where you climb over giant Golems to find various weakspots on them and stab them. It's entertaining and can get really hard, but there aren't a lot of Colossi to fight, I think there's 16 in all, and after that it's effectively the end of the game. There isn't much to deviate from after that, though a player can go through again where the Colossi are more difficult to climb over and kill.

So when I bought it, it wasn't worth the $110 that I paid for it, but I still liked it. Reaching the vulnerable points was always different because they came in various shapes and sizes, from a general Humanoid, to a small flying bat, to a water serpent, to a flying serpent (These colossi are made of stone and fur btw), to a sand serpent, to a goat, to a paraplegic... And then there's more, some more aggressive than others.

So when it comes out with Ico, a similar game where you guide a princess through a ruined temple (This is all I know about the game), I'm going to trade in my PS2 copy to get it at a lower price.

on top of that, it's one less game I have to worry about from my PSTwo library.

Another collection coming is the Splinter Cell Trilogy. I love Splinter Cell. They're just awesome. I haven't played them in a very long time and have never owned them. So to have all three in hand, and looking awesome at the same time, I'm getting a bit excited. The last Splinter Cell game I'd played was Conviction, where after so many years of working for a Secret Organisation, Sam Fisher is basically working for himself, and gets to do what he likes. The loses the majority of his gadgets and gets to go all badarse on everyone.

So much fun. And one less game to my PSTwo Library, since I own Chaos Theory (Splinter Cell 3).

One series of games I'd hoped they would remaster though would be the Ratchet and Clank Series. Not only because it takes a considerable chunk out of my Library (three cases to be exact) but because they would just be that little more awesome with a boost to the visuals. Ratchet and Clank "Tools of Destruction" and "Crack in Time" both look fantastic, so the first couple of games given a visual reboot would be simply stunning!

I would like to see all Four rebooted (R&C; Locked and Loaded; Up Your Arsenel; Gladiator), but I'm not sure if Gladiator will get put into the collection. But we'll see if they even consider the collection anyway.

I also wonder if they'll do a Final Fantasy HD reboot, for 10, 10-2 and 12. Doubt it, but hey, you never know. Same thing with Kingdom Hearts. A compilation disc of all the Kingdom Hearts games. That'd be nice.

It's that time.

Is it that time of the year again? Why yes, yes it is. It's time to play “lets pick on Playstation!”

I had a laugh the other day as I was going through Kotaku.com.au. They had an article about an old Playstation 3 Console that had a letter to the next purchaser of the second hand model. The note wrote how the console was a massive waste of time and that the current purchaser should by an Xbox360.

It's times like these that I larf to myself. The Playstation 3 isn't all bad though. It's more buck for your bang, that's true. But I am always finding uses for it. Like playing movies and tv shows from my laptop to it. A network setup and some shared media and BAM! We have TV on the PS3.

It's easy to do and there are few reasons it won't work. You can even download a free program to your computer that will allow you to play, what would be normally, unrecognised file formats.

You can even access the internet on the PS3 because it has its own Web Browser! You can check your favourite Youtube videos; check your facebook or twitter; Heck, if I plugged a mouse and keyboard in I could type up this blog from it.

My only problem? Well, the visual display format. You see, I have poor eyesight. I suffer from Myopia (Short Sight for those at home) and so from the distance of more than about half a metre from my face things get to be a bit blurry. But that's not the problem.

It's the TV. The TV I have access to is a CRT from about four or 5 year ago. I can't complain about it because 1: It's not my TV; 2: It's better than my TV; 3: I tossed out my TV because it was killing my eyes.

So having a nice crisp picture would be nice to have. So why not use my monitor?

To Summarise: “Nup”. I tried a few different methods. HDMI to DVI, being the first. It's supposed to work, but no. Then there wasHDMI to VGA. Apparently that was a Scam. Then I tried Composite to VGA. That was a scam too. I only lost about $15 out of it, so I have a strangling cord now and something to use as tentacles for something. Next attempt is going to be a Component to VGA. After some research, it should work. SHOULD.

Why am I going through this instead of simply getting the “PS3/Wii VGA” cord, like I did my Xbox with it's “360 VGA Cord”? Well I want to hook my PSP and PS2 as well. Mostly the PSP, because I have games on it I want to play but my neck doesn't like looking down at my lap for too long and I get headaches. I still have to upgrade my PSP, but that isn't too much of a hassle.

I also want to play my PS2 games as well, because I miss them so much. I want to play Ratchet and Clank again. I want to try and finish GT4 and FFXII. I want to play Sonic 3 and Knuckles again. And I can't do this with my PS3 because the ponces haven't done anything about it except this:



Click here for more info

Seriously. I'd love this. But FUCK knows when it'll come around. I still have my really old PS2 sitting next to my computer waiting to be used, to be enjoyed like the old days.

But time will tell whether Playstation will do it. I have hope, but it's about knee high to my nephew.