Back from the cold (for a day!)

Hi SuperViv!

Here I am, trapped in a remote (and rainy!) part of Spain with no internet connection (I had to do a long walk to find a place to type this) and with no games at all. I had my laptop with me for a few days, but then I sent it away to see if I can get it fixed before I return to Germany on January.

But before I keep going, I'll reply to your posts. I know you are a staunch supporter of the Gothic games. So I bought them (twice, actually: in English and in Spanish), but I still haven't had the time to play them. I got them from one of your fellow German translators at the office, who was nice enough to give me a CD with the latest patch for Gothic 3.

Mass Effect is a great game, but it was tough on my crappy laptop, so I could only play for a few hours. I've seen some Alpha Protocol videos and it looks like they rip off that dialogue style and the action-RPG approach. Now the game has been delayed and I wonder if it was a good idea to pre-purchase it on Steam. But I still trust it to be good. I trust Obsidian, even if they took a lot of heat because their KOTOR II was released unfinished. They have a lot of history, and some really talented people worked on this game. That was a misstep, but their other games are very, very good.

But you know how this goes. You make a bad game, you are in trouble. And in these times, you make a really bad game, you are finished. You release an unplayable game like Lair, and you are whistlying your way to bankruptcy. You ship a really promising but obviously previous-gen game like Haze, you are done (Free Radical was absorbed by Crytek). You ship blander-than-bland dreck like Terminator: Salvation, you go under (that's too bad, because Grin had actually really talented people...). And now we have a new (deserving, I think) victim: Pandemic Studios. The creators of the awfully bland, unplayable (in a Just Cause way) Mercenaries 2 just released their final game, The Saboteur, which predictably is... not very good. At least it looks like it's just a mediocre GTA clone, not a complete mess like their previous game. And I love any game that has some naked chicks just for the sake of it, like The Godfather 2 or Conan, but I will wait until I can get it for 10€ or less.

And this leads to one of my own pet peeves... What's the matter with Rebellion? They keep pumping out very bad games, and they never stop. Yes, they had a hit with the first Aliens vs Predator, but after that, their FPS pedigree is dubious at best. Dredd vs Death was loathsome, and their recent Shellshock 2, which I would like to mention some day in one of my "pest patrol" articles along with other disasters like Damnation and Velvet Assassin, was one of the worst games released last year (only utter crap like LSL Box Office Bust was worse). Their latest "jewel" is Rogue Warrior, a should-be-released-as-budget title which is definitely bad. What is going on here? Why are they still releasing games?

I still can't believe SEGA cancelled the Obsidian-made Aliens RPG at the same time they announced a new, obviously quick'n'cheap Rebellion Aliens vs Predator title. A lot of nostalgic fans are drooling over the low-framerate teasers, but the fact is they look cheap and shoddy. For me, SEGA made the videogame equivalent to Fox shutting down a Ridley Scott or James Cameron Alien movie while greenlighting a new Paul W.S. Anderson AvP sequel.

Oh... I've spent too much time on this, and I couldn't say anything about my "survival gaming" practices. Maybe some other day! (Hopefully...)

See you soon,
- Danda

Kids, Uwe Boll and the Malaria Medicine

Hey Danda,

No, I wasn't aware that Al Lowe was the guy behind Leisure Suit Larry. I played several of those games before I was old enough to understand them, and in retrospect, I wonder how I managed to solve them way back when, as an innocent prepubescent girl! And I wonder how my English vocabulary sufficed. At any rate, it's good he's okay and that he called the doctor right away. I read that often times, people don't really notice they have a heart attack because sometimes just their arm hurts and they think, whatever it is, it's probably nothing serious.

To jump right to the next topic, I wonder why you wouldn't be able to play violent video games anymore as a father. You sound like one of those crazy German politicians that calls first person shooters "murder simulators" and claims they turn juveniles into maniacs. I guess when your child reaches an age where video games get to be interesting, you just have to make sure that he realizes that reality is different from video games and real violence is not okay. After all, I don't think it's the video games that causes people to go on killing sprees, I think it's their isolation and social problems. Either way, you can always just play any game at all when your kid is sound asleep (think headphones), and I don't see how that would make you a bad father.

Having said that, of course I also think that some movies and possibly games aren't appropriate for young kids, and I recall an episode of This American Life where someone talked about watching The Shining when he was six years old, and how that basically kept him from sleeping for two years. But yeah, send your kid to bed early, and the rest of the night is all yours. ;)

And speaking about movies, I really like Uwe Boll since we went to meet him, he was so nice and pleasant, and I don't think Bloodrayne is as bad as it's made out to be - it can't be, because it seems I must've lent my Bloodrayne DVD to someone and whoever has it never gave it back. Dungeon Siege also wasn't bad. But I admit, BloodRayne II was a complete piece of garbage, and even I can't find it in me to defend it, hehe.

I myself haven't gotten around to playing much lately, so I'm still stuck in GTA IV somewhere. My brother finished Far Cry 2 not too long ago, even though he thought it was frustrating that you always had to go back and forth between locations and enemies came back to places where you killed everyone earlier. A friend of mine said he stopped playing it when he couldn't find malaria medicine anymore. So I guess that game is not high on my list of games I want to play.

Well, keep playing while you still can, and if you ever feel being a father is so stressful that you can't find time for your Playstation 3 anymore, I'd be kind enough to take it and take care of it for you. ;)

Regards,
-- SuperViv

What?! Al Lowe's had a heart attack

Hi SuperViv,

A couple of months ago, I joined Al Lowe's mailing list. Have you ever heard of him? He was the guy who created those old Leisure Suit Larry games. Now he's kind of retired, so he just sends a couple of free jokes to people everyday. But today I got this mail, and it was no joke:

I apologize for today's jokes being so late, but I have a good excuse: Tuesday afternoon I had a heart attack--but now, 24 hours later, I'm doing fine. Fortunately, I called 911 immediately, the paramedics got to my house within 5 minutes, got me to the hospital quickly, and within an hour, I was in the operating room having a stent installed. As soon as it was in, I felt better. By last night I felt pretty good, all things considered. I expect to go home tomorrow. My doctor says it's because I didn't wait to get help. So, take some friendly advice: if something "feels wrong," don't hesitate. Call for help!

I'm relieved that he's fine. You know, he is a really influential figure in videogames, even if he doesn't make them anymore (partly because the dumb suits holding the rights for the Larry series don't want to hire him), and it would be sad to see him go. Also, my father died after a heart attack, and I'm getting fatter everyday, so I guess I'll have my own heart attack in ten or fifteen years. So never forget this: try to stay healty, and know your emergency numbers just in case!

Later,

- Danda