The Adventures of Qazwix on Screen

Batman – Arkham Asylum

Qazwix — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 01:31:46 +0000

I forgot how much I loved this game in 2009 until I played it again on the pc. I remember it was my personal 2009 Game of the Year. Even if your not a Batman fan, the games environments, combat and story are sure to capture any gamer’s interest. There is so much detail in this game. Arkham provides a killer environment to the Batman story. But as good as the Asylum is, the characters are really what makes this game shine. The little quips Joker says to his henchmen as you take them our are hilarious! It also has some of the best voice acting of any video game I’ve played. The whole cast from the Batman tv show is present in the game, and it really makes a great game. The single player will probally take you a good 15 hours, making Arkham Asylum worth every penny. I can’t wait for Arkham City in a few weeks! Oh yeah, and here’s a quick video of one of my favorite parts in the game – the Big Party

Tattoos from PAX

Qazwix — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 21:17:27 +0000

I made it to PAX! It’s a geeks Christmas in August. This is the place to be to play all the games you’ve been hearing about all year long. Here’s a quick photo of TechRebel getting his forehead tattooed in under an hour on the show floor. Hey, he’s no longer a PAX virgin

Red Dead Redemption

Qazwix — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 04:56:33 +0000

Wow. This game was epic.

It really took me quite a while to finish the game, but boy was it worth it. I think it’s safe to say it had the best video game ending I’ve ever played. It felt so good to “finish” the game.

But to be honest, there were many things that annoyed me and ultimately kept me from finishing the game a long time ago. Rockstar games traditional annoy me with it’s wonky controls and sometimes crummy graphics. But Red Dead grew on me. After a while, I really became invested in the story or John Marstin and began to overlook the parts that weren’t so good. After a while I just began to enjoy it for what it was. And I’m glad.

There are so many right things with this game. It’s an innovative game on many, many levels. Not only did it have perfect timing when releasing the game, it’s provided a genre that has yet to see it’s maximum potential. I sincerely hope Rockstar continues to innovate with the Red Dead name as I think there is so much more to explore in this world of the Wild West.

The Stanley Parable – Mod

Qazwix — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 01:59:03 +0000

I’m not usually into mods, but I try a few from time to time. But I was pleasantly surprised with this one for Half-Life 2 – it’s called The Stanley Parable. It only took a few minutes to play. And as soon as I finished, I started over again – it’s that clever. I kinda reminded me of portal, or at least the feeling I got when playing it for the first time. I don’t want to say much more as part of the fun is playing the game for the first time. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Download over at ModDB.com

Ok, ok, do you really want to know more? Check out the trailer below:

The Stanley Parable Trailer – Mod DB

Hunters – iPhone

Qazwix — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 02:58:46 +0000

I’ve never been a big fan of turn based strategy games. I’ve tried a few, most recently on the psp: Jane of Arc, Valhalla Knights and even a little bit of Civ 5. It’s just not my type of game. But Hunters on iOS is different. Perhaps it’s the smaller, more bite-sized chucks of fun that make the turn by turn more enjoyable. Maybe that’s why it’s the perfect game for a mobile platform.

This game is brilliant on so many levels. Not only am I impressed and entertained with the game itself, but I’m also impressed with the way the game is presented.

THE GAME: Hunters is a turn based strategy game. It’s perfect for the iPhone. At almost any point in the game, (without worry of messing up the game or missing something important) I can pause and react to the environment around me. This is primarily due to the nature of the genre, but regardless, it rids me of loosing games because the baby’s crying or something similar. The touch controls are perfect for this game as it’s really easy to have the units do exactly what I want. The units themselves make this game standout too. Each unit is fully customizable, even down to the units name. Head over to the Armory and upgrade weapons and armor between missions with the currency you get from completing missions. Don’t feel like grinding to get the latest and greatest equipment? Fear not, you can pay for more credits if you feel so inclined. Upgrading your units really make you feel more attached to them. Each unit can be outfit with different weapons; flamethrowers, smg’s, assault rifles and shotguns. Once in a mission, there are different objectives like escorting someone to the safe zone or clearing the map of all enemys. The map is a standard grid with obstacles and cover points, with each unit being able to move a certain number of squares for each turn. But be careful, moving into another square takes away any action turns. An average number of action points is about four depending on the unit. So you could move four squares, or use your weapon for four actions.

It seems like a simple game, but there is a lot of polish from the developers. Sometimes when a simple concept is well executed, the fun follows. And that’s totally the case here. The graphics look awesome on the iPhone 4. All-in-all, it a really fun and addictive game.

THE PRICE. These guys do something pretty clever. The game if free for the first few levels. No restrictions. Just play the game and get hooked. If you want your units to level beyond the first few levels, you can pay to upgrade the game. Brilliant! So really, there is no excuse the not try this game. Download and enjoy.

The Good: Fun, addictive, up-gradable units, excellent graphics.
The Bad: Wish for multiplayer. Occasional lag for animations.
The Ugly: Nothing, just try it out!

I LOVE playing Heavy!

Qazwix — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 00:50:55 +0000

Here’s a quick video from the new Team Fortress 2′s replay feature. It’s actually pretty cool all things considered. Once you just played a killer and awesome sequence in the game, press F9 to save the video just like you would a screen shot. The clip will save the last 60 seconds of gameplay. After you finish your game, just go to the replay section in the menu’s to view your clip. Then you can edit both ends of your video to show just the coolest parts. It even has an option to export to video. It’s fully featured in my opinion. Thanks Valve!

Steam Reviews

Qazwix — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 22:50:59 +0000

Just a few quick tid-bits about some of my favorite and not so favorite games on Steam. See the full list here.

I’ve been having fun in New Vegas

Qazwix — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 16:14:35 +0000

I probably don’t play Fallout New Vegas like most other gamer’s. Although I do like the overall story, I really enjoy visiting this world from time to time and doing quests like the video below. Maybe one day I’ll finish the main story, but really, I’m in no hurry. I found this quick video to be pretty fun to play. Fallout has tons of these cool missions within the game. The sniper one with Boone and the Dinosaur was pretty cool too. In fact I was a little evil on that one. All I have to say is Grandma got what was coming to her!!!

BRINK – Thoughts

Qazwix — Wed, 11 May 2011 03:03:52 +0000

Well, it isn’t a bad game, but it’s not a great one either. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy playing and it seems pretty fun – for now. My fear is this it has so many cool features, but it doesn’t excel at anything in particular and that could be its downfall. It has the usual bugs and glitches of a newly launched game but they can largely be ignored with a group of friends. I really enjoy how I can play the entire game with my friends. The co-op games are very enjoyable. The challenge modes offer tighter action and shorter games, which provides some good contrast from the larger co-op games. It feels strangely weird to not have any team death match or free for all modes. I’m not really complaining about them being lacking, but still, we gamers have been conditioned to expect them. I think the biggest complaint I have with BRINK is the lack of anything compelling. Most of the time, I just don’t feel like completing the team goals. There isn’t enough incentives to make me want to keep playing and moving forward. And that can be a pretty big problem when the game depends on the teamwork to keep moving forward.

Brink does, however, have great customization. The character customization is comparable to any MMO’s, as well as the weapons (think Crysis) and perks. This is where the game really shines.

Here’s a co-op video from start to finish. You’ll see you can change your weapons and goals during the game.

Bioshock 2 final fight and good ending

Qazwix — Sun, 01 May 2011 19:41:32 +0000

I really love this game. Even more so the second time around. Enjoy