Fun & Games

Is It Time To Upgrade?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:31:18 +0000

I have a 2.4 Ghz P4, 1 gb pc2700 corsair xms ram, and a visiontek radeon x1550 256mb video card. I am trying to see how much gaming life is left in this machine. I am only getting 7-10 FPS on Lost Planet. Thoughts?

First Person Shooter Shuddering

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:28:57 +0000

I have a pretty bad shudder? when i play some frist person shooters. When playing modern warfare if i stand still and move the mouse there is no shudder but as soon as i walk to the left or right and move the mouse the whole game shudders to the left and right a bit. Its almost to the point where it bugs me and i cant play it. This problem is completely nonexistent in prey or doom 3, just in left 4 dead and modern warfare(these 4 are the only fps games i have. Also im getting good framerates, the problem happens with v sync on at 60 frames and with vsyn off at 100 frames. Does my cheapo 800 dpi mouse have anything to do with it.

Xbox360 Or Computer Upgrade

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:03:42 +0000

was just wondering for christmas for gaming if i will have a better result if i get an xbox360 or upgrade my computer's graphic card from geforce8800gt to ATI HD 5870 (for age of conan which i just got, and the graphics get really choppy in DX10 mode so i have to play in cruddy dx9) and i saw the game will come to 360 soon. I know 360 has less powerful card then the HD 5870 for pc, and cheaper, but it seems games run better on consoles even with lower hardware because they are designed for gaming. I also am going to get call of duty modern warfare 2, and others, but i just need your guys opinion, which is a better investment, will the ATI HD 5870 play games better and smoother then an xbox360? will it last as long?

thanks

Low Fps In Games

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:56:12 +0000

had windows 7 installed on my rig for a couple of weeks so decided it was time to load some games on there. I chucked on Oblivion, GRAW 2, Star Wars Empire at War and Rome Total war.

So here i am sitting here all smug ready to jam some games, and what do i get? Bad frame rates. im lucky if i get 30fps on oblivion with medium detail, im sure i should be getting around 50 on full, i get 15fps on very low settings, and the same with star wars, RTW gets 50 so thats fine.

If anyone could shed some lighton my problem i would be soooo happy. Heres my specs:
CPU: Intel Pentium E2180 Conroe
GPU: Asus EN8600gt (not the passively cooled model)
Ram: 2GB G-SKILL DDR2-800
Motherboard: Gigabyte EP35 DS3L
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit

An Experiment

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:26:44 +0000

Ok, this is an experiment. I am doing this on my PS 3. I just set up the wireless connection and thought I'd test drive it.

Report Bad Gaming Companies

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:24:55 +0000

Lets start out this session with the Game SAGA. This is an on line game that charges $3.00 for a virtual pack of 10 cards used as units in the game. There is also a charge to sign up for the game. There are six factions in the game with approx 20 cards for each faction. You may only use cards from one faction per kingdom (limit of 3 kingdoms per account) which does mean you can pay 3 dollars for a pack of cards and get nothing you can use.
The rules of the game can change as they have in the last 2 years) without notice. The last change was moving a territory from safe zone to wilderness so you may attack others. Stronghold must be built in safe zone and then moved to wilderness, BUT! when moving back to safe zone, Stronghold built in safe zone is destroyed, all troops in strong hold (level 10 troops that take approx 1 year to train to level 10) are dispersed, armor and weapons are removed and those troops must be retained from level 1 to level 10 again. This change was made on patch 1.4.8 without information in changes to notify players. Saga Dev's say not losing your troops was a glitch in the system that was corrected, if you choose to believe that. This former player has yet to find that anywhere in the rules. There was also a discontinuation of purchased for real money gold coins that were used for tournaments and trading that was discontinued without previous notice leaving players holding useless gold coin they had paid money for. after over 2 years the game has almost stabilized so the consistent crashes making the game unplayable have almost been taken care of. The graphics promised never were developed and are still of 2D quality making this a very expensive Runescape type of game. player fighting abilities are extremely limited with quest have 3-5 times the troops as the player is allowed to field and fight with. There are even quests that exceed the posted allowable number of troops the game side is supposed to field and use. Large armies are useless as you cannot ever use them in quests, (limitations by Dev's) you can only use then if you do a full combat with another player, and that id if the battle server is running properly that day.
Saga Dev's have used a unique but unreliable way of handling combat and quests. The game takes you to a combat server which it has to auto log onto, then back to the home server which again it has to log onto, any failure in an auto log will result in a complete loss of XP and treasures gained form the quests or battles with other players.

As a player that has taken this game through Alpha testing, beta testing, and release (which was done way before the game was ready) I have formed the opinion that this game, Saga is not worth the time and money players must invest to play this game. Promises as to what the game was supposed to be were not adhered too. In the right hands and developers, this game may have been one that was comparable to the all time greats with huge profits for the owners. But Alas, as with many good ideas, Saga did not stay the coarse, made many many bad decisions, and drove away most of us that were looking for what promised to be the ultimate gaming experience. Saga has gone the way of Empire of Istaria now on its fourth owner and under the name of Istaria with all the bad decisions still in place. But that is another game to be discussed later.

Hope this helps save money for gamers that want good games and need help sorting through all the lame promises that are never delivered by the developers.

Running Halo2 For Vista On Xp

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:15:12 +0000

Hii, looks like i just messed up. I ordered HALO2 for VISTA while i'm running XP!!
IS there any way i can play this game on my XP system??
My computer specs..
OS: XP sp2
Processor: PentiumD 3.0GHz
RAM: 2GB DDR2
I already have a compatible graphics card.
So plz help..thanks

Two New Releases

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:26:23 +0000

We have had two fantastic releases on the 13th. The first is Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. This is a follow up to Uncharted : Drakes Fortune on the PS3. If you have played the first, it is recommended that you do to get an introduction to what I feel may become a Sony Franchise. Although I only have a couple of hours of game play, this appears to be as good if not better than the first installment, with a lot of new innovations. Nathan Drake, Elena Fisher, and Sully are back for yet a new adventure. In the first it was about the recovery of a treasure discovered by his long lost ancestor Sir Francis Drake. This time it is on a quest for a treasure of Ghengis Khan and discovered by Marco Polo, or at least documented by him. Uncharted is a Sony exclusive for the PS3 and the graphics are as good as they get.

Fallout 3 GOTY Edition is just that. It is Fallout 3 with a lot more ( 5 expansions) integrated into the original game. Not only will you be in the wastelands in and around D.C., but you will explore the Point Look out area in Maryland as well as Pittsburg PA. and Alaska. Yep, there is even an Alien spacecraft to escape from. There was one in the game Fallout 3, but it was crashed and the sole reason to look for it was to get the alien blaster, which was one mean weapon. There was already a ton of stuff to do and see in Fallout 3 ( I have played through it, bugs and all). Hopefully they included the patches and took care of the Bugs. This is available cross platform, Xbox 360, PS3, and PC and is an offering from Bethesda Softworks. The Graphics are top notch with a strong storyline. The radio may drive you to distraction and for that reason, I usually turn it off. This is another that can be enjoyed through the long winter months. I would recommend that you consider whether or not it should be played by the older teenage kids as the language is rather course, as well as the sexual ennuendo. My 15 year old nephew has played it off and on, but then, his Parents allowed him to watch "Saving Private Ryan" sometime back. I will probably give him my copy of Fallout 3.

Unify: A Multi-touch Block Game

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:20:06 +0000

Unify is a multi-touch block dropping game developed by Zach Gage. Insteadof a single piece falling from the top of the screen to the bottom, twopieces move in from the sides towards the middle, simultaneously. The goal of the game is to make combinations of 4 or more of the same color, so that they disappear. Once blocks disappear, all the blocks on top of them move in towards the center, giving you the opportunity for combos.

(Source: apps.stfj.net/unify)

Looks like it costs $1.99 on the iTunes store. I have never actually paid money for anything on iTunes: but this looks like a really neat game!

Game Box Emulators Vs. Windows Pc's

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:01:05 +0000

>>> Background: This is written with reference to a PCWorld magazine titled "A 17" PlayStation 3 Slim Laptop?" by Matt Peckham dated 10/1/2009. It describes a 17" Gateway laptop specifically designed to emulate a Sony Playstation 3 Gaming Console. Elsewhere, similar articles describe lawsuits by console manufacturers aimed at blocking production of such equipment because it/they may violate gaming hardware and software patents. Since the computer-based gaming market is a multi-billion dollar world-wide industry, this issue assumes new importance with the approaching Holiday Season and the current global financial crisis. Gaming offers a relatively low-cost entertainment solution when compared to expensive-item gift shopping.

>>> Comments: I have noted that a modern 17" Intel Core 2 Duo laptop w/ 4GBytes of SDRAM and a 320 to 350 GByte HDD, running Windows 7, Vista or XP, does in fact make a superb game console. There are web-sites (My favorite is GoG.com, Good Old Games.com) which offer huge bargains ($5.99 to $9.99 USD) in down-loaded game software of >>many genres<< and do not have >>any DRM or copyright issues<<, hardware or software, to worry about. Some of the old-favorite games from the mid-1990's have been rendered fully functional under Win 7-Vista-XP, using an adaption software program called DOSBox. Sure, an X-Box or a PSP 3 work great and have awesome graphics. But nothing matches the entertainment value of a 200-300 hour gaming session, immersed in an RPG world where the only distractions are the telephone, the doorbell or the need to walk the dog (or one's self. We all have to eat, go to work and pay bills.) An added bonus is a relief from weighty political and economic news on the cable TV. Also, I heard on the History Channel that the ancient Mayans, some midieval shamans and Nostradamus are predicting the end of the world on 12/21/2012. Should I believe them, the Book of Revelation, my Magic 8-Ball or simply "game on"? ?

Unreal Tournament Question

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:33:03 +0000

i just started playing my first multiplayer game on my computer, unreal tournament 2004. ive noticed gameplay is incredibly smooth in quick play and i usually get on average 150 fps. when i play multiplayer the framrate lockes at 85 and it apperars a little more choppy. its not bad at all but wish it was like playing the quick play. There is no v sync option i can see. i have been trying to choose servers with the least amount of ping

Meesed Up Game Sounds

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:37:11 +0000

i have onboard alc888 audio. playing music sounds awsome with my z5500 speakers but games are not nearly as good. prey sound sometimes gets distorted even with the bass in the middle. the volume in atv mx atv unleashed is all over the place. sometimes the music is loud sometimes you can barely hear it. sometime there is engine sound and sometimes no engine sound but other bikes can be heard. i just installed batman arkhan asylum demo and sound is good but batman and other 1 on 1 characters have abslotely no voice. i see his mouth moving but no words. the joker on his videos talks but thats it for the voice. Also when people call batman i cant hear anything. is my onboard sound old and tired or something. would buying a new sound card help. ive read the alc888 is good and i love it would buying a cheaper sound card potentially give me worse sound. or do all aftermarket ones sound better than onboard regardless of what onboard chip it is.

Resident Evil 5 For Pc

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:54:02 +0000

I used to be a big fan of the Resident Evil series, but haven't gotten around to playing Resident Evil 5. Has anyone here played it yet? Recommend it, or no?

Does My Computer Meet the Requirements to Play Fallout 3

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:24:41 +0000

I am having almost the same exact problem except with a Sony Vaio. I bought this as a college laptop but yeah, i would love to play some games on it.
I hold up to all of the specs except one that im not sure i qualify for.
Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 Processor (2.10GHz)
4GB RAM. speed: 5400rpm
320 GP Hard Drive, DVD Double Layer Drive
Windows Vista 64-bit
and this is the one im not sure about.
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500 MHD Graphics
is that a good enough graphic card to run this game? am i even mentioning the right stuff?
and if i dont have a good enough card, can you send me a link to buy one for, i repeat, a sony vaio VGN-CS320J series.
any help would be loved

It appears i was wrong about my card. i have a Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family Graphics Driver.
as you can tell im not too computer savvy. so i hope that clears up any missing info.

A Few Questions About Installing Games On A Separate Partition

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:10:47 +0000

I just built a new pc and have the windows 7 RC on it. I want to install my games to a separate partition so when October 22 comes around i can format my windows partition and install the retail Windows 7 OS. Will this work? I know i'll have to back up my game profiles and stuff, but im wondering if the games will run at all after reinstalling the OS.

So the plan is this:

C: Windows install
D: Games installs

Play for a while, format C:, reinstall windows. Start games from D: