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8400+ points first try. Am I terrible at this or good? One was within about 200 miles.

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Second try at GeoGuessr ... 9999 points. I'm getting better. Taccy, this could be addictive. It's like playing map detective.

Has anybody seen the new Xbox reveal? I, personally, am seriously disappointed in Microsoft. Their focus has turned away from gaming and more onto just being your all-in-one entertainment system. It bugs me big time.

agreed. like i said,

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Agreed. Microsoft is only parroting what Sony promised with the PS2 and PS3, and neither of those became all-in-one entertainment systems. I give credit to both companies for daring to think ahead and imagine what their respective technologies can evolve into, but gamers just aren't there yet.

I do think Microsoft has a little more dog in the fight with its fantastic online experience and partnerships (Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, HBO, ESPN, etc.), and now the Kinect. But to gamers, it sounds a bit like Microsoft's primary focus isn't games. It's got to be a fantastic game console first.

I'm also not happy with the decision to impose fees for being able to play used games—in essence, the cost of a new game—but I think it shouldn't be unsurprising that Microsoft has done this. The cost to produce games has become so bloated, and development time has grown so much, that studios are already deep in the red when a new game is released. Compound that with the cost of pushing these new graphics technologies and it's no wonder games are priced at $60.00 and above.

In that sense, the used game market has really beaten up the publishers. Not quite as much as they might like you to believe, as these games still bring insane returns, but it's pretty wild when a high-profile game releases at $60.00 but can be found on the "Used" shelf a month later at nearly half-off, if you catch a sale. It has forced publishers to drop the retail prices sooner just to try and cash in on some of that discount action.

Is their new strategy the answer, though? I don't think so. It's effectively going to put Gamestop and Gamefly out of business (and stop video game rentals via Redbox), which will draw a lot of ire from the casual gaming crowd. Hardcore gamers will still likely buy their favorite titles at full price, but I predict most gamers will actually wait until games drop dramatically in price (similar to DVDs) before they pull the trigger. I hope that doesn't cause irreparable harm to the industry as a whole, but it's very possible.

I think I'm just going to wait until E3 when the exclusive titles are announced - the only thing I'm really interested in. Either way, unless something amazing happens at E3, I can't see myself buying either console on launch just because I see no reason to spend a large portion of money for minor improvements on what the current generation of consoles has to offer.

Been playing a little Sim City. It's fairly addictive and good fun but once your city is essentially finished there isn't much to do.

I think games like this are meant for anyone with a tiny bit of OCD... because then you never quite say your city is finished. There is always tweaking to do (which is half the fun). And some folks might want to do what the guy in the funny commercials does and see just how insanely BAD they can set up a city and then watch the fur fly.

I know, for instance, one thing my kids (and apparently too many other people) loved about the Sims was to build a house, put people inside, and then take away all the doors and the bathrooms. And then just watch. LOL

I'm getting quite good at guessing the continent without even moving the camera but generally I just follow the road until I come to a sign. Cars are also a good clue ... if you're sad like me.

Well, Windows 8 is mental. I don't hate it because it's essentially Windows 7 but that start screen and lack of start button is just ... mental. After struggling for about half an hour I bought Start 8 and all is now well - It adds a start button (as configurable as Windows 7's official one) and gives the option to boot straight into Desktop.

Seems that Microsoft are going to be introducing a big update next month which adds a start button. I'm sure they'd always intended to.

Game-compatibility: Fine for new stuff but patchy for older ones which worked fine on W7. Apparently W8 doesn't like DirectDraw, and this is annoying. Arcanum lags like Crysis on a Netbook unless I delete the DDraw.dll completely and run the game in a window. Fallout 1 & 2 run ok until you install the widescreen patch, which causes some random lines to appear on the screen - I'm hoping the res patcher will get updated as the community is still somewhat active but I'm less hopeful with Arcanum. Planescape Torment seems to run fine.

What I'll probably end up doing is installing my old XP disc in VirtualBox and running the really troublesome games from there but, as of now, it feels like Vista all over again.

Xbox? Not exactly whelmed. If I ever end up taking the console plunge again it looks like PS4 all the way.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

That was actually the only thing I liked doing in The Sims.

I know, right? Unless you use a cheat code to give yourself a ton of money, you have to get up and go to work like a normal person. Honestly, I don't even do that in REAL LIFE. Why would I want to do it in a game? LOL

I actually use The Sims more for creating houses and buildings and characters that I write about in my novels. That way I can remember where everything/every room is and what every character looks like as I'm writing.

Clever.

SimCity is a bit of a guilty pleasure - The new one is so easy that you can do some rudimentary planning, go and mow the lawn then sit down again to find your city chugging along nicely without your help. I just like watching my creations evolve, I suppose.

Maybe that's why I like RPGs - The journey is frequently better than the destination.

Cheap classic game watch - Green Man Gaming (great site) has got all 3 Thief games for under a tenner. Steam installs and you'll need to download a couple of fan patches to get the first couple running on modern systems but well worth it.

"With the new [Kinect], I had the demo earlier, and it seems like it's tracking an awful lot. While I'm playing a game, you're tracking my heart rate, my attention. Am I looking at the screen? Am I distracted? Am I smiling?" - Interview with Microsoft Rep


Let me be the first to say:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Are you ****ing kidding me right now????

Track my heart rate and facial expressions....



Today Eurasia...Tomorrow...East Asia....

Yeah, so that pretty much does it for me and the next gen stuff. No way will I ever let one of those pieces of garbage in my home. No way.

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Yeah, it sounds much the same nonsense that Valve are talking about for the Steambox - Sweat level? So my gameplay experience will change if I'm in a hot room?

At least it won't have a pseudo AI tracking your every move. I feel like Joker in Mass Effect...

The PS4 seems primarily games-focussed with stuff like Netflix bolted on. The Xbox One (how daft a name is that?) seems to want to throw the proverbial kitchen sink at you from the moment you switch it on.

Lisa started playing Neverwinter...so I rolled a character to play with her...

What day is it, again?

It's pretty much Baldur's Gate Online.

An MMO set on the Sword Coast sounds interesting (NWN is one of my favourite games) and I hovered once or twice about downloading the Beta. Might check it out now it's had a thumbs up.

Another MMO I'm semi-interested in is FF 14 A Realm Reborn (Because We F***ed Up The First One Royally), but only if they give a 30 day trial to the poor suckers (ie: me) who shelled out originally.

New Humble Bundle out - https://www.humblebundle.com/

Dear Esther for next to nothing, in other words. The only other game I've played is Thomas Was Alone, which is pretty decent.

Very worrying. I buy all my games pre-owned so it'll be the PS4 when I finally upgrade, unless Sony are planning a similar tactic which looks likely. We can also kiss goodbye to shops like CEX in the UK if this happens. That said it could become a massive deal breaker on next gen hardware if someone (ah hem VALVE) decides to put something out without these cynical charges.

That said I'm currently having a blast on my used copy of Red Dead Redemption which has got to be the most fun I've had since Fallout 3. I take it all back about Rockstar Games; they really nailed this one.

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100 Favourites From The Future: REWIRED

Wouldn't surprise me if Sony pulls the same move, in fact I've heard it rumoured. They're basically turning console games into PC games (if they had a serial tying the game to one user) and the second hand value for them (unless it's a rare old disc) is non-existent. It's one stop down the track from the online pass.

Red Dead Redemption is my favourite game on any platform this generation and it pains me it's not on PC - Not from any snobbish standpoint either. If the upcoming Xbox and PS4 aren't backwards compatible (I'll believe this cloud stuff when I see it) then the likes of RDR will be slowly dying as PS3s and 360s get eventually dumped.

With a bit of work I can play huge amounts of games from the last 25+ years on my PC. In fact, yesterday I spent 16 whole pounds on a new XP Home disc and serial which will either sit in a virtual machine or get installed to a partition in my old PC. That'll sort out the older games which don't like W8.

It sort of is now w/o the blue ray. I despise microsoft but as long as it performs well when gaming....



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"His judgment cometh and that right soon"