October 20th, 2008 - 10:04 am
» cows of all sorts
Yesterday I got Rock Band 2, and Jo came over, and we had a blast. Even after the downstairs neighbor came up to complain about the drumming. The downstairs people, they are not scoring points with me lately. (I was, for the record, very nice and offered to switch to guitar even though it was only 8 and we hadn’t been playing that long [erm, at least not since they'd been home -- we did start mid/late-afternoon and took a break to come to my office for internet connection to import the RB1 songs], and! offered to get some mats for under the drums to help the noise. She, though, practically walked away in the middle of me trying to discuss solutions. The pot-smokers are crazy if they think I’m going to stop drumming. Yeah, it’s loud, but I hear their videogames all the time. We live in a cheap, thin-walled apartment building — what do they expect?) I so want a house. Or a detached townhouse. Mmm lack of yard chores.
Saturday G and I took our horses team penning. And you know, I was going to sketch you out a little diagram to help explain it, but in the end it would mostly help explain why I gave up my dream of becoming an artist in middle school — this is why I have my words, people. The cows (calves, whatev) are at one end of the arena. Each of them has a number tied to its neck, in this case 1-8. The horses are in teams of four; when it’s your team’s turn you enter at the end of the arena opposite the cows. Down the middle of the arena is your “line” — a panel of fence stands perpendicular to the arena wall on both sides, leaving a big hole in the middle. It’s your job to get each cow through the hole to the other side of the arena in the correct order, making sure that the cows who aren’t supposed to go across yet don’t come across, and the cows you’ve already sent over the line don’t cross it again.
As the first person on the team crosses the line toward the cows, the announcer calls out a random number — say, 4. You have to cut the number 4 cow out and get it across the line, then the 5, etc, wrapping from 8 to 1, 2, and 3 to finish. The horses who aren’t cutting a cow stay on the line, blocking any cows who aren’t supposed to cross.
Everett did awesome. He was very interested in the cows (I brought him over to investigate before mounting), and he watched the first few teams intently, ears all pricked. When it was our turn I had him watch the first two — I don’t know the right lingo here, but the first two cows being sorted — and then followed Chip (G’s gelding) as he went for the third. Ev was a little hesitant to approach the herd at first (when he’s uncertain about anything he sucks back, gets slow), but once he really figured out he could move the cows he was all for it. By the next round he was chasing them all by himself. He’s such a fun horse. We still need a lot of fine-tuning on the steering and the go button, but he’s just a good guy to take anywhere.
I do have pictures, and video! But I haven’t had a chance to resize the pics or edit the video together yet, so — give it a week or two, I’d say.
Sarah said: October 30th, 2008 at 8:13 am
I heart Rock Band. We’ve had nights where it’s me and three or four boys and laughing, riotous mayhem. I play bass guitar for the most part, but I’ve been known to play drums and (very rarely) sing.
Also I didn’t even know you gamed! We should chat favorites. :)
rachel! said: November 5th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
I think everyone should be required to try singing in Rock Band at least once. It’s never as bad as people think it’s going to be, and I think it’s the easiest to do. I’ve pressed a handful of people to try it (I always go first — no way could they be worse!), and everyone is bashful at first and ends up having a blast.
You mean video games, right, not horse games? (They call barrel racing and pole weaving and etc etc ‘gaming,’ if I lost you with that question.) I just got the xbox for my birthday, and so far have become addicted to Feeding Frenzy and Rock Band. I have a handful of other games I’ve played a few times or not at all (and my coworker just gave me Oblivion, which I’ve heard is fabulous but haven’t had a chance to try yet).
Sarah said: November 6th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Agreed! My friend Mike ONLY sings, so we’re usually in good shape. :)
And yes, I did mean video games (although I barrel raced once in middle school at a friend’s farm and loved it). I’ve heard Oblivion is great as well, but I haven’t tried it yet. The one that got me hooked was Bioshock — absolutely LOVED that game. It’s incredibly pretty, set in an underwater Art Deco city called Rapture. You survive a plane crash at night in the middle of the ocean, paddle up to this gorgeous lighthouse, and take a bathysphere into the city. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but something is horribly wrong with the citizens in Rapture and you have to fight them to survive. There are the usual weapons to choose from — pistols, crossbows, a wrench. But you also get plasmids that allow you to electrocute, incinerate, freeze, send swarms of bees at your foes, etc. — all with a flip of your wrist. It’s darkly atmospheric and the voice actors are awesome and the graphics are seamless and rich. There’s so much more to the story than that, but again, don’t want to spoil. :) I truly can’t recommend this game enough. And if you go investigating to read more about it? Don’t let a blog or wikipedia ruin the plot for you. I promise you’ll love it.
rachel! said: November 6th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Ooo… You know, I have a coworker who really loves Bioshock. All I knew about it was that it had really awesome graphics and that it was a first-person shooter — which is what made me rule it out, since I suck at first-person shooters. Your description, though, makes me really want to pick it up. Perhaps I’ll have to put it on my Christmas list…
How are the controls? I always feel kind of claustrophobic playing first-person games; I get turned around so easily. Maybe I’ve just never given it long enough?
Sarah said: November 6th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I think you’d thoroughly enjoy it. I love Art Deco architecture and Rapture is full of it, all neon lights and chrome and elaborate floor tiles. Really magnificent stuff. And the voice actors are incredible. Over the course of the game you find little audio diaries that cast light on Rapture’s downfall, and each one contributes to the richness of the game. 1950s-style ads crackle out over the loudspeakers, and you interact with some superbly well-acted (and imaginative) characters. And the splicers . . . well. Let’s just say you might not want to play the game at night.
As far as difficulty goes: It was the first game I played all the way through on the xbox, and while I had a bit of trouble with it at first, looking back on it now? It’s a great intro to first-person shooters. You might find it easier than Oblivion, honestly. I watched Hugh play Oblivion a little and (if I’m remembering correctly) there’s a lot of weapons/skills/inventory management to the game. I don’t particularly enjoy having to do management or level up in games. I’d much rather focus on the storyline. But that might just be me. Also the boys assure me you get used to and learn to love it after a while. :)
And, finally: The controls aren’t bad at all. You find weapons and plasmids along the way and they’re added to a little circle that pops up on your screen when you push a button. The game pauses when you do this and you simply select the weapon (or plasmid) that you want to use, then dive back into the action. It probably helped that I had some experienced gamers beside me to help along the way, but I think you’d pick it up quickly.
sansreves said: November 7th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Heh, it’s totally possible to get 100% humming through a Rockband song, because it doesn’t care about how well you sing, just the pitch. It’s not as fun to play on expert unless you’re in no-fail mode, because there’s no “give” and Rockband hates vibrato.
Bioshock is totally playable. And I say that having been freaked the frack out, playing it. You should pick it up. You have an XBox?
rachel! said: November 7th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
I do have an XBox (360)! I got it for my birthday. :D
And Bioshock is officially on top of my to-get list. My coworker has it and has offered to lend it to me, but he doesn’t like to lend his things out for vague, indefinite periods of time, and since I don’t get that much opportunity to play and have a handful of other games waiting to be finished (Blue Dragon, Harry Potter 4, Oblivion, and of course Rock Band), I think it’s better if I eventually get my own copy. (Run, sentence, run!) Sarah — I’m betting you’re right about the controls in Bioshock vs. Oblivion, because I’ve played just a little bit of Oblivion and I’m finding myself super-clumsy at the controls. There’s a way to switch to third person mode but your character moves all funny, and I think it’s because the game’s primarily meant to be first-person. I am determined to get over my anti-first-personness with Oblivion so I can go straight to loving Bioshock. (Though from what you both have said, I may have to wait and find a partner to play Bioshock with, if it’s going to scare the pants off of me. I was jumpy and shrieking just watching someone else play Fatal Frame.)
As for Rock Band: That’s one of the things I love about singing, actually — you can just make random noises. Which is great for me because I know so few of the songs on there, and even the songs I do know I usually don’t know the lyrics at all. Though I have noticed while listening to the radio that I’m SO much better at picking apart the instrument lines in songs, which is completely attributable to Rock Band, so maybe it will also make me a better lyrics-learner.
Sarah said: November 10th, 2008 at 9:04 am
You’ll get used to first-person, I promise! The two little joysticks were difficult for me at first, but now I can’t believe we ever played with only a gamepad. And as for it being scary . . . hm. It is and it isn’t? Compared to games like Silent Hill (omg, have you seen the new one??), it’s pretty tame. But then again, I also sort of dozed off watching someone play Fatal Frame 2 a few months ago, so you might not be asking the right person. ;-) I think it also depends on when (and where) you play it. I remember being home alone one night and playing Bioshock at 3 am and getting a little creeped out . . .
rachel! said: November 12th, 2008 at 8:34 am
I haven’t seen the new Silent Hill — and certainly won’t alone, because those are exactly the types of games that keep me up at night!
What I have seen, though, is Braid. Which is totally not scary but I just got back from Cali and spent part of the weekend playing it at Bryce’s. The whole time I kept thinking about how much you (Sarah) will LOVE this game. It’s an XBox Arcade download only, and you should totally get it (if you haven’t already). And you shouldn’t read anything about it before you do! It’s so fun to discover what the game’s all about, and you never get that back if you’ve already read it somewhere. It’s just a really beautiful, interesting game.
Sarah said: November 12th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Ohyeah, no. No, don’t try Silent Hill alone. :)
And oooo, interesting! I don’t have the internet at the apartment, but Hugh’s been taking the xbox to our friend Todd’s house to download upgrades there, so that’s definitely an option. And speaking of downloads, Castle Crashers is a really good one. I’m also told Psychonauts is awesome, but I haven’t played it yet. Plus I’m going to recommend:
- Fable 2: Just released a month or so ago. Medieval, very pretty, and you get a dog for a pet! You can also decide whether to be good or evil in this game based on decisions you make. I’m only about two hours into it, but I really like it so far!
- Half Life 2: Puzzle-y sci-fi game. I’m sort of disappointed I didn’t play Half Life first because the ending was way over my head, but overall I really enjoyed it.
- Kameo: Cutesy fantasy game. You play a spunky little fairy who can transform into a variety of other creatures (dragon, rock monster, evil flower, etc.). I was playing this before Gustav hit and then sort of forgot about it. But it’s fun!
- Fallout 3: Apocolyptic game set in D.C. in 2277 (I think). This was made by the folks who did Oblivion, so think Oblivion in a nuclear wasteland. I’m reeeally enjoying this one. And based on what I’ve read and the folks I’ve talked to? It’ll probably be named Game of the Year by lots of gaming websites and magazines. People have been waiting on this game for years.
rachel! said: November 12th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Don’t go read this review, but I found two screencaps of Braid that help show what a unique, beautiful visual style the game has:
http://www.themarriedgamers.net/MarriedGamersReviewBraid_C96E/braid_title_new.jpg
http://www.themarriedgamers.net/MarriedGamersReviewBraid_C96E/emag_braid_052308_3_aa8e0.jpg
In the game you play Tim, who is on a quest to find the Princess. So worth hauling the xbox somewhere to download!
I’ve nearly bought The Orange Box a couple times — has both Half Life games, Portal, and two others. I was most interested in Portal, though, and Bryce and I beat that this past weekend. It was *awesome*. You should try that too if you haven’t before!
I’ve been eyeing Fable 2 every time I’m in GameStop, and my coworker bought Fallout 3 so I got to peek through the strategy guide — it looks incredible. You sold me on Kameo at ‘spunky little fairy’ — though, is the combat turn-based or real time? I bought Blue Dragon when I first got my xbox on a GameStop employee’s recommendation, and I’m not so in love with the turn-based combat.
So many games, so little time! Though Bryce is visiting right after Christmas and we’re going to play Bioshock then. :D I’m excited.
Sarah said: November 12th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I’ve been meaning to play Portal forever. I’ve heard nothing but good things. Todd is supposed to be lending me The Orange Box soon, so I’ll keep you posted. :) And I’m going to get Hugh to download Braid. The links above aren’t working for me, but it could just be my work computer blocking them out.
Fable 2 is really fun. You do little quests and buy things and get magic and fight monsters and whatnot. There’s some inventory management, but I’m getting used to that with Fallout 3 and don’t hate it as much as I did. And both Fable and Kameo have real-time fighting. I hate hate hate turn-based combat. It’s incredibly boring to me. But again — to each his own. I think you’d like both of them. Fable’s graphics and storyline are richer, but that’s only because it’s really new. Regardless, they’re both silly and light — you can play them alone and not jump at your own shadow when you’re done.
And eeep, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Bioshock. I really love that game.
Sarah said: November 12th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Wait, wait — is Braid the game with the [...]? I did a Google image search and that looks like the demo I saw Todd play.
rachel! said: November 13th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Braid is! And I’m editing that out of your comment because I can’t figure out how to make the font white (so you have to highlight to see it), and it is SO fun to figure that out. At least it was for me — it was a total Ah-ha! moment, and I felt all triumphant. It’s just so fun to play. It’s not a funny game at all but on some levels I couldn’t stop laughing.
Sarah said: November 13th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t realize that was the secret part! I watched a demo and the boys began their explanation of the game with that description. Anyway, it looked awesome. :)