Author: Adam

Everything you wanted to know about PlayTV but were afraid to ask

Everything you wanted to know about PlayTV but were afraid to ask– A very comprehensive Q&A about PlayTV.  Well worth a read as these guys pull no punches with the questions!  I’ll be picking up PlayTV when it comes down in price, and when I get round to fitting a bigger hard drive in my PS3.

Ensemble Studios closure: my thoughts

All the headings you see below are scattered thoughts and opinions of mine.  They don’t necessarily follow on from each other.

In the beginning
Well, where to start?  I guess I’ll mention first that Ensemble Studios has to be one of my favourite developers due to their sterling work on the Age of Empires series.  I grew up playing Age of Empires, and I have fond memories of playing historical campaigns and battling friends over a LAN.  Yes, Ensemble Studios has a special place in my heart.

The good times
Things were never better than when Ensemble Studios were making Age of Empires.  The pinaccle of the series must be either Age of Empires II or Age of Empires III.  My personal preference has to be Age of Empires II.  That’s the game where I spent many hours over LAN- battling my friends, and the game runs on practically any PC!  I won’t go into great detail about the history of Age of Empires, or all its wonderful features but suffice to say, it remains great till this day.

An ever-closer union
Ensemble Studios got the Age of Empires II expansion pack out of the door as an independent developer- The Conquerors.  By the time of their next game, Age of Mythology; they were Microsoft-owned.  Now, I’m not saying that this has been a bad thing, but if you’re independant, you have more leeway to do what you want.  Some great examples of independant studios having a close relationship with publishers and major players are Media Molecule and Insomniac Games.  Undoubtedly, once you become the property of a larger corporation, their objective become your objectives.

Halo Wars speculation
Halo Wars has been in development for quite some time now, and as of writing this article, it’s still in development.  Apparently:

all non-essential staff have been laid off and remaining staff have been given incentives to remain until the completion of the project

My guess is that something has gone wrong.  It would be easy to guess that development has probably gone way over time and over budget, yet there could have been some other factor.  This is my thinking, because Microsoft isn’t exactly strapped for cash.  And even if that were remotely true, why kill Ensemble Studios?  They were able to grant Bungie its independance.  Maybe we’ll find out the truth at some point…

Age of Kings II
That’s right, you heard me.  Out of the ashes of Ensemble Studios, if it is possible I’d like Age of Kings II.  To me, the medievil period remains the best slice of history served up by Ensemble Studios.  Age of Kings was released almost 10 years ago, so how amazing would a new game be?  Of course, you’d get updated graphics and physics like Age of Empires III, but there’d also be the opportunity to breath new life into the game, by tweaking the gameplay to pefection.  This is assuming they’d have any rights to the franchise, which as a new studio, looks unlikely.

The End
Well those are my thoughts, opinions, and hopes.  I haven’t intended to provide any answers.  Anything I have mentioned is purely speculative and should be treated as such.  Signed, a confused and uspet fan.

Warhawk Diaries: First Assignment

“Because every soldier keeps a diary, right?  Right?!”

Sure, Warhawk has been on the market for about 12 months, but its online community is thriving.  The servers are full of veteran players, but the addition of trophies and the brand new expansion packs have kept the game fresh and interesting.  I’m a new Warhawk player and these scribblings are my experiences of being a rookie (I play on the green servers) in the unfriendly skies.  So grab a coffee, and read on, why don’t you?

You may (or may not, actually, if you’re a new reader) recall that I wrote some mixed thoughts called ‘Getting toasted in Warhawk‘.  To gain some perspective, that was written within hours of my first proper go on Warhawk, and I was truly rubbish!  But now, things have changed baby.  Things have changed!

Tanks a lot
Playing my first few games, I quickly realised that I was not going to go anywhere fast in a Warhawk.  My solution?  Ground vehicles.  I scanned the area around me, and quickly laid eyes on a tank.  Perfect!  Out I trundled in my luxurious 60 Ton (at a guess?!) personal safety vehicle, right into the middle of the warzone!  I must have blasted about three Warhawks out of the sky within a minute.  The power- it felt good.  Real good.  But… they all kind of ganged up on me and turned my tank into an elaborate metal coffin for me.

Man the turrets!
A good map for me has been the Ruined Capitol (correct me if I’ve got the name wrong).  Rather than get caught up in the huge bloodbath in the centre of the map, I opted to protect our home base.  I wasn’t hoping for peace and quiet though, as I knew an enemy player would fancy their chances at capturing our base.  I didn’t have to wait long.  From the top of our tower, I had a great vantage point in my rocket turret and could spot an enemy jet from quite a distance.

Sure, I took down my fair share of enemy aircraft, but they had a surprise in store.  Unbeknown to me, an enemy aircraft had flown in low and had not crashed as I had assumed.  We’d been boarded.  After admittedly being killed by the intruders a couple of times, I eventually managed to gain the upper hand and defeat them.  After doing this, I received a couple of trophies: ‘anti-camper’ and ‘revenge’.  Not too bad for one night’s work.

Till next time
I hope you’ve enjoyed this account of a new Warhawk player fighting the good fight, but that’s all for now.  Tune in next time to read my triumphs and mishaps in the various game modes, and find out which mode is my favourite!

Ensemble Studios to Close its Doors Once Halo Wars is Completed

Ensemble Studios to Close its Doors Once Halo Wars is Completed– This is shocking news, and very disappointing (to me, at least).  Even though a new studio will be formed, the name ‘Ensemble Studios‘ will be fondly remembered by PC gamers and continue to be much respected for years to come.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on PlayStation Platforms Next Week

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on PlayStation Platforms Next Week– I’ve played on a demo of The Force Unleashed, and I had a right blast (pardon the pun).  Not quite sure if it justifies £40 though.  I’m simply torn, as the plot looks quite juicy.

Official Bluetooth Headset for the PLAYSTATION 3

Official Bluetooth Headset for the PLAYSTATION 3– I’ll be picking one of these beauties up at some point.  I’ll be using it for Warhawk and it’ll be interesting to get some online chat going (with the PLAYSTATION Eye as well).  Bring on the goodness!