Remember in the game “Fallout” the quest to go to Vault 15? You get there and it’s completely abandoned and in disrepair with rockslides and all that? Well, they made a game that is pretty much entirely the joys of that part of the game. “Sword of the Stars: The Pit”. (A little 10 dollar game from Steam but you might be able to get it on sale for 9.) You get dropped into the top level of what might as well be a vault and… go. I usually play it until I get to the fifth level and then something comes up and I have to quit and then, when I sit down to play again, I want to play from the top level instead of continuing and start all over again. But it seriously reminds me of Fallout. I’m also still digging through Bioshock Infinite.
So… what are you playing?
i’m eagerly awaiting your take on bioshock infinite.
i’ve heard good things about the pit but ten bucks for a roguelike when you can download doomRL for free (with tiles now!) is a bit rich for my blud.
I admit that the there were quite a few moments in the first, oh, hour or so that seemed like they were going out of their way to irritate me. (No Religion, No Politics, No Social Commentary, pretty much in that order.)
We’re in the cemetery, paying our respects right now. The storyline is much less irritating than I thought it would become.
Dear Mass Effect 3,
THAT is how you end a story.
Yours,
Jaybird
Okay, it’s tomorrow and now I’m saying “wait, what?”
I liked the game, I liked that its reach exceeded its grasp, and I like that I’m still thinking about it.
We’re probably going to have to have a discussion about this on the front page, though.
I went to bed last night at 1, after the poker game, and got up today at quarter to seven to hike Jack over to baseball, work the little league snack cart, and then come home to house painting, which I finished about an hour and a half ago. Then shower, Thai food, and now I’m on the couch.
I might not be able to get up.
I got a copy of Rocksmith, which is Guitar Hero with a real guitar. It is also designed to teach actual guitar techniques, not to simply be a rhythm game. I got it as a means to help improve my finger dexterity on the fretboard, and I have been happy with it so far. I need to figure out an inexpensive way to set my PS3 up with external speakers, though. Running audio through the TV results in some latency issues.
I am also playing through Bioshock 1 on easy, because I suck at shooters, but I want to experience this one.
Would Rocksmith work well for novices do you think?
Also, I think my receiver has settings to tweak if I am getting audio latency, check your TV’s manual & menus to see if it has anything similar, if it’s a newer TV it might. Otherwise, doesn’t the PS3 still have RCA red/white audio jacks on the back that you can use to carry the audio to your stereo?
Keep in mind all of these opinions are based on a single weekend of playing with this.
I still consider myself a novice, though I have been learning for roughly a year. The advantage is that it is set up like a game, and you progress through it. The result is Skinner Box mechanics to keep you going. The difficulty scales as you go, and unlike guitar hero, there is no failure. You score points as you play correctly. If you are playing well enough, the phrase difficulty increases, giving more notes. If you are fumbling, it shifts back to an easier difficulty. At the end of the song you earn points which unlock more difficult songs and techniques.
It gradually introduces like techniques like bends, hammer-ons and pull-offs, and it provides a brief explanation. The software has a tuner, and you run through a tuning check whenever you start a song or a lesson.
I would not suggest it as the sole way to learn guitar. I think a good video (if not an actual instructor) would be beneficial. It does not go into heavy detail when introducing techniques, so it would be easy to do things incorrectly without realizing it and develop bad habits. It does not show how to properly hold the guitar with the fretting hand or explain how to properly place fingers when fretting (using the tips instead of pads). I think it works best as a practice aid. It has real songs with plenty of DLC available. I have played through a Rolling Stones song, RHCP cover of “Higher Ground,” Nirvana’s “In Bloom,” and several songs that I had never heard before.
For the latency issues, I do not have a separate stereo system for my TV. I think my best bet will be some sort of setup with PC speakers.
Since I forgot to mention it above, you have to have an electric guitar.
It also works with bass guitar.
Playing it through on easy is definitely the way to go, then. The point of the game is not the joy of well-timed one-two punches (though there is that joy there to be found) but in the wonderful monologues you will hear as the city falls down around you.