Balancing work and play

I just got home after a 10 hour day at work which is becoming the norm as of late and I’m knackered. I grabbed something to eat and put WipEouT HD to download after having to wait all day to get it done. I reckon it will be finished in about an hour or so but I have to get some sleep because I have to go back up to the office tonight.

Lately I’ve had little to no time to get in much gaming during the week which is becoming a little bit of a bother. I’m usually too tired or just don’t have enough time to do anything by the time I get home. It’s coming down to making the choice between sacrificing sleep for an hour or two of gaming. My weekends aren’t exactly relaxed either because I usually have to run errands which take me away from home.

So what choices are really left for me?  Well I don’t know but right now not having my own vehicle is a major factor because I have to wait on others to get me home most evenings. This is something I will be looking into this weekend for sure. Until then I guess missing a little sleep never hurt anyone.

Age old discussion: PC vs console gaming

There are numerous discussions on this topic and I believe there is no right or wrong answer. The decision lies with the individual and their needs.

I was thinking about this recently as I was getting ready to build a gaming PC in the coming months (mainly in time for Diablo 3 & Starcraft 2). I myself own a PS3 and Wii and am content with them both as they both offer me different experiences. That in itself could spark another discussion on which console is better.

Now in terms of whether the better platform for gaming is PC or consoles, as I mentioned it depends on the individual. I’ve been gaming since I was at least 5 years old and grew up on consoles. I eventually explored PC gaming and instantly took to it as I had a fondness for strategy games. This isn’t to say I abandoned consoles as I would still regularly get together with my friends on the weekends and fire up my consoles. 

For me console gaming has always been about getting together with friends and having a good time all sitting together on one TV. This also brings up the issue of cost as not everyone needs to have a console and/or games to be able to share in the experience. Another factor I like is that everyone on a console is on the same playing field in terms of hardware. This also means that a console will become outdated compared to PCs as technology accelerates so quickly these days. Another very important point is that of compatibility. When you buy a game for your console you know it’s going to work without any tweaking or fuss. 

PC gaming while it can be a social event with its large communities and LAN parties, for me at least it tends to be a more personal experience. It’s me glued to my screen playing against faceless opponents most of the time and I have no problem with that. Then there is the issue of game genres for example: RTS games lend themselves better to PCs rather than consoles. Some games just suit certain hardware more than others and that’s a fact no matter what some may claim. I mentioned the issue of cost; in my experience PC gaming has always been more expensive as I demand a powerful rig. The initial cost of a good machine and then periodical upgrades can leave a serious dent in the wallet. Games however are cheaper than their console counterparts which works out nicely if your the kind of person who buys a lot of games a year. On top of that PCs can be used for many other things than gaming, so that is a huge consideration when deciding.

I could go on and on discussing the differences between the two gaming platform but my argument is this, go for which you will enjoy the most. Some people don’t have the option to go both routes so it will be one or the other. Gaming is about having fun at the end of the day and there is no point choosing a platform simply because someone else says it is superior.

COD4 for PS3

I finally picked up COD4 this weekend for PS3 and I don’t know why I waited so long, this is an amazing game. I’ve come to the game a little late but better late than never.

I played the PC version when it first came out and thought it was definitely a game I had to get. I was fighting between the decision of getting it for PC or PS3 but since I currently don’t have a PC it was a no brainer.

I decided to be brave and attempt the singleplayer on veteran difficulty and I’m paying for it now. While I like the difficulty for being much more realistic, my only gripe with the singleplayer are the scenarios with infinite spawning enemies. The final part of the sniper mission for instance while waiting for a pickup the enemies never seem to stop coming no matter how many you kill. I assume this is a method to make the game more challenging but it gets so frustrating after you’ve died the 20th time. Perhaps I’m being picky, but I would have much preferred a set number of enemies and maybe limited ammo instead for example. 

Aside from that the game is excellent with its multiplayer being nothing short of intense and addictive. Coming to the game so late had put me at a little disadvantage however as many of the players are already seasoned soldiers. I just consider this another challenge though and doesn’t dampen the experience whatsoever (especially after playing on veteran).

Call of Duty 4 is one of those games you must have if you’re a gamer whether it be on PC on PS3/360, go get it.

Big Rig – Introduction

I decided that I would put together a new gaming rig to celebrate my new job since I currently don’t own a PC.

I will be buying the components over the next few months and will document each stage until the final build is complete. I have been scoping out the parts already and have a pretty good idea what I’ll get and from where.

The first most important part I will be looking at first is the case. Any good system must have a solid foundation and I don’t plan to make any short cuts in this department as space and cooling are of the utmost importance.

Stay tuned for further updates.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

I read the review over on ign today and was a little disappointed although in the back of my mind I was expecting it after playing the demo. The game scored a 7.3/10.0 overall which for all the hyping prior to release, is a bit of a shocker. I guess this fella was a victim of the hype train.

I’m not the type of gamer who goes solely by a review score but if this game was as good as LucasArts was claiming, then I believe it would have scored higher than it did. At the same time all is not bad news as the devs got a chance to play around with DMM and the Euphoria engines which should come in to their own in the next gen consoles.

I am between minds whether I will buy it yet because lets face it I am a Star Wars fan but at the same time I don’t tolerate over-hyped, sub par games. I may rent it or wait for the price to drop and get it on the cheap. Either way I will play it eventually.