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More Peggle Less BioShock and a working netbook!
by Shabbir on Thursday, 2nd September 2010 21:36 BST

Well, work has been fairly busy recently, and when I come home I'm usually too tired to do much. Now, you may say playing a video game is a perfect way to unwind, but I've just been way too lazy for that and end up web browsing and watching The Simpsons. Productive to say the least.

The only bit of real gaming remains to be on my iPhone during the commutes to work. And that game would be Peggle. I've finished the game itself but I'm working through the challenges, which as the name suggests are quite challenging indeed.

I have spent a bit of time however tweaking a netbook that I've had sitting around for some time. It's an Advent Milano, probably the least famous netbook around. Not sure why it's not marketed much, PC World had it as an exclusive netbook so it didn't get much coverage. Even if you try to Google it, it doesn't come up with many proper results with articles about the netbook.

I did find out however that the netbook is actually a remake of a Taiwanese model instead. I found this out quite painfully, when I formatted the laptop and was searching everywhere for drivers. I was testing a few different operating systems and seeing which ran the best on this netbook. Previously, I had Windows 7 installed on it. I quite like Windows 7, I think it’s one of Microsoft’s best operating systems ever and a much needed one after Vista. However, it did run a little slow and I think it was draining the battery life on this netbook.

I then tried out Ubuntu Netbook Edition. It’s quite a nice distribution of Linux, specifically built for netbooks. Installation takes a little longer than I would have liked, however there is a pretty cool feature for the OS to run off a CD or USB to test it out and see what it’s like. I did a proper install instead though to give it a real whirl. It’s pretty decent, and comes with quite a bit of preloaded software, however it didn’t recognise my Wireless device so I had to tweak around quite a bit to get that working. For those who haven’t used Linux, let’s just say installing stuff like drivers isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do!

Finally, I gave Windows XP a try. I never really used XP on this netbook before even though it came preinstalled with it. I straight away went to Windows 7 since I had a free version from university. Coming back to XP however was a great choice. It’s extremely stable with the updates, and runs really fast. On top of that, the battery life has been given a much needed boost and I don’t need to worry about installing drivers! Woohoo!

So for now, I’m using the netbook with Windows XP since it seems to run the best. It also gives me good compatibility with software, such as Microsoft Office (which is pretty needed for work purposes) and a few games here and there, such as Peggle World of Warcraft Edition! I do plan to do some programming on here and have installed IntelliJ Idea 9 Community Edition (basically the free one) as my IDE of choice. I used to always go for Netbeans, but my job really changed my choice on that!


Hectic Times, Trudging Along and Tech Support
by Shabbir on Monday, 23rd August 2010 22:27 BST

As you can imagine, it's been a fairly hectic time with full time work. It always digs into gameplay time, however that wasn't the main cause this past weekend. Instead, the family machine decided to burn out as a most inopportune time! It meant that most of the weekend was spent doing tech support at home, something that I don't really fancy doing. As a result, gameplay time was virtually zilch.
,br> Let me update on the computer though. It was rather odd, the wire at the back going into the power supply unit (PSU) must have become slightly loose, since we could smell something burning and the PC just turned off itself. We disconnected everything and opened up the PC to be greeted by a strong smell of burning plastic, or burning something. Whatever it was, it just didn't smell good and was most likely very bad for my lungs.

I'm pretty sure it's the PSU that's gone, since no power is going through to the computer, it doesn't even turn on. That's not a big deal to replace or get a new part, however this is one of those pre-built computers out of the shop. Wanting to fit in your own pieces is a nightmare since these computers are built in the factories, and as a result everything is so damn close to each other that it becomes a real hassle getting things out.

Luckily, we know someone that can help us, so hopefully we'll get the computer repaired pretty soon. Nonetheless, the weekend was spent trying all sorts of things, including picking up a temporary replacement computer from someone's house which turned out to be ridiculously old despite it's pretty standard Dell look. So old it has 256MB RAM, and the recovery discs was expecting Windows 98 to be installed on the machine... Wow.

In terms of games, I did get to play a bit of Bioshock 2 and GTA Vice City Stories. Bioshock 2 seems to be a bit harder than the first game, combat-wise. I don't seem to have any issues when fighting a Big Sister, however when fighting a swarm of splicers, they sure seem to be more hard hitting than in the first game. I'm still extremely early in the game, so I definitely look forward to playing it more slowly but surely. Slowly being the keyword.

As for GTA Vice City Stories, it's been a good pick up and play game. The missions are quite fun, except one annoying mission where I have to get booze out of a burning warehouse, and one slight turn caused me to blow the place sky high. Besides that, it feels great to be able to roam around Vice City on the PSP - definitely a technical achievement.

That's all for now. On a last note, my train journeys are occupied with Peggle on the iPhone. If you own an iPhone or iPod Touch, get it. That's all!


BioShock 2 Early Impressions
by Shabbir on Sunday, 15th August 2010 12:55 BST

Just started playing BioShock 2 last night, that was next on my list after Mass Effect 2. I loved the first one to bits and couldn't get enough of it (except the finale, but no spoilers here). Picking up BioShock 2 really feels I'm back in the first game.

The art style is pretty much identical to the first, it has the same gorgeous graphics and effects. More than anything, I really am back on Rapture. There are some great moments early on in the game that give you a better insight and really give you a feel of the scope of Rapture, but I don't want to spoilt it for anyone out there. Let me just say, it's amazing!

For those who aren't familiar with BioShock, it's a first person shooter. Very quickly and somewhat vaguely, the plot revolves around the underwater city of Rapture, built as an elite society by Andrew Ryan. Something called plasmids are used to alter people's DNA, giving them different powers. However, the power ruins the society and turns the city into chaos. The citizens of Rapture got overloaded on the drug called Adam, which made them go all loco.

You really have to just pick up the game and play it yourself. The second game is based 10 years after the events of the first - however to me it feels like it's a day after since nothing is there to indicate it's been 10 years. I was expecting some more deterioration or something to show the 10 year gap, but nothing. Not that it's a bad thing, the first game was so beautiful in every way that I'm happy to have more of it.

This is somewhat timely to pick up and play BioShock, since Irrational Games (creators of the first BioShock game) just announced their next project: BioShock Infinite. Instead of an underwater city, the plot talks about a city in the sky. I'll post more details on that later however.


Wow... another long hiatus!
by Shabbir on Saturday, 14th August 2010 22:34 BST

It's been about two and a half months since I last updated, and for good reason too. Plenty has happened in that time, notably I have completed my studies and am working full time now. So I'm pretty much set into the full time routine and have settled in, already having been at work for a month.

Besides that, I didn't get a chance to really do much until recently. Now that I feel pretty settled into my work, I got a chance to complete Mass Effect 2 today (finally). I've got a bunch of games lined up, and also dusted off my PSP recently and have been utilising that. Mostly, I still turn back to my iPhone for most of my casual gaming dosages.

Firstly though, let me touch on Mass Effect 2 a bit. I pre-ordered the game what feels like a year ago now, and have had it since release thanks to a swift delivery. I did start playing it quite a while ago, and kept touching it here and there to make progress. However, I decided it was now or never and over the last month, I've sunk a good 30 hours into it and completed it, making sure I go and do all the side quests that I could and be as thorough as possible in all areas of the game.

My verdict? I loved it! It's a great follow up to the first game, which I also enjoyed immensely. The plot is continued very well and although somewhat predictable at times, there are also some surprises along the way. I got some DLC's as well, such as Kasumi's Memories which is a good bit of fun and the Firewalker missions, which weren't that great. The only DLC I have left to get is the Overlord one, however I'll save that for another day, as I feel that I've had my Mass Effect fix for the time being.

PSP-wise, I've been playing a bit of GTA Vice City Stories. I thought that would have me hooked, but it hasn't and I blame the controls. The lack of a second analog stick on the PSP is a real bummer and makes it feel a bit clumsy when playing an open world game like GTA. I did however pick up God of War: Chains of Olympus which has been nothing short of excellent. The graphics are great, the mix of gameplay and enemies you fight is balanced and it always feels new. Most of all, the frame rate is smooth all the way despite having such great graphics.

Lastly, the game I keep turning back to, is Peggle on my iPhone. I loved the game and played it a ton on my MacBook, so thought why not make the plunge and get it for the iPhone as well. It's been a great game to play to and from work, and also just to pick up randomly and have a little burst. I definitely recommend it to all iPhone and iPod Touch owners, it's just great fun!

That's all for now, however now that I've settled in well and feel less hassled (especially compared to the days of courseworks and deadlines), I'll try keep this updated a lot more often.