Mass Effect (2007)

I originally bought this game so long ago it came on a disc in a paper box. But now I also have it on Steam due to the most recent holiday sale, so why bother going to the attic.

Steam only sells Mass Effect 1 and 2, not 3, which is annoying, but I can deal with that later.

*spoilers*

I'm going into this cold, except I know you can play as either female or male for the first two games, then later only as male, I think. I'll just go with the default male version for my first (we'll see) run through.

Installed. Settings, max out graphics. Choose the default character setup, John Shepard, default difficulty normal.

I am quickly overwhelmed by all the story, and all the game options. And yet, I am not bothered because I know it will make sense in time. Some games slowly lower you into the pool, some just toss you in the deep end. Most are in between, and this game is a more deep end. Which I'm OK with, if it pays off in the long run.

Is this for real - is there really no jump key? I feel like I'm back to the early 90s.

I am not OK with all these fixed length cut-scenes, as I can't find a way to skip if I reload.

Things are getting difficult quickly, I can't keep my squad mates alive after a few firefights, while we're trying to disarm some bombs. That's enough to absorb in one night, time to break.

2015.03.18

I'm not into this game yet, that'll probably take a few more hours. I'm still bewildered by all the story and game mechanics to absorb. It's almost as overwhelming as System Shock type games, but at least I'm used to those now, I can just drop in and out of one. This one has at least as many controls if not more, and they're in all different places.

There's something to be said for just hitting the ground running, but my squad mates are suffering from my ineptness. I have very mixed feelings about having computer controlled team mates in game, because while it is really neat to see how their AI works with me, its really frustrating to see how it doesn't, and I take their deaths somewhat personally. I fondly remember the allies in Half-Life 2, and would reload often to replay a scenario so I could bring them with me alive. Only to have them all wiped in some scripted scenario that was unavoidable. I wonder if that's whats going on in Mass Effect.

It seems safe to read the manual. A careful search proves that there is no jump button, but you don't need it. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how they handle this. I extract an image of the key bindings, this will be handy to keep up on my second screen while I play.

I often complain in games that while you may be playing a soldier or security officer, you are usually contrived to start with almost no equipment for game reasons, whereas in real life you should have much better access. At least in this game you start off with a nice set of starter equipment, no need to scrounge. Now I'm in the awkward position of playing a leader and not knowing how anything works, but I can get over that.

The main menu music is really starting to grow on me.

I play through that last scenario a few times, its getting easier but I'm still getting the X on my squad mates sometimes. I decide to let it go, and find they are following me around some time later, with few hit points. I guess they were only knocked down, and either revived themselves or each other. That makes life a little easier.

Between the manual, and the ever-growing in-game Codex, I've got some reading to do.

2015.03.20

The Citadel is overwhelming, which it should be considering all its story baggage. This game reminds me of Star Wars a lot, in that it is an easy to grasp space opera on the surface, but there's tons of back story if you want it. A great example of this is all the different corporate names of all the different brands of stuff in this game, something I rather enjoyed finding out in Star Wars. While you'll probably never hear the words Kuat Drive Yards mentioned in Star Wars, I love the universe all the more because its there.

The Citadel has a very classic science fiction feel to it, reminding me of Rendezvous with Rama and Eon.

2015.03.21

Done with the Citadel, and its time to move on. There are many obvious comparisons to Star Trek and Star Wars, but this universe is quickly developing its own unique personality, and I think I like it.

2015.03.25

Haven't been able to play in a little bit, looking forward to the new possibilities of being able visit worlds. Trying to keep a hand in by listening to the world-building voiceovers.

This game is taking on a lot of big transitions quickly, from crossing the galaxy to APC fighting to ground fighting. So far it seems to be working.

There's a scripted event, then we can fight. I keep losing my squad, and having to watch the cut scene over and over again, I can't skip it, then finally a crash. Time to break.

2015.03.27

The pattern re-asserts itself, I hit a wall, back off, come back, sail right through. By using cover and throwing grenades, the fight is over quickly. As suspected, we acquire the last member of the team, whose shadow could be clearly seen in the squad screen.

So that's what this big round room is for, team meeting. Its the exposition room.

I like wandering around and picking up little breadcrumbs of world building. Just walking from the meeting room to the bridge, I pick up several fun tidbits of how space combat works, and the importance of heat management in spacecraft operations.

The UI is chock full of spoilers. Not only did I get a good idea of who was going to be in my squad, I also have a good idea of what Shepard can become.

2015.03.29

I like how squads work. You pick two squad mates and you pool skills, so when you go to unlock or decrypt something, its like you are one character, and you don't have to take the time to tell an individual group member to do something, its as if you were doing it.

I'm now in what I assume is the real mechanics of the game. You go to a cluster, you explore the systems, you check every planet to gather survey knowledge or collectibles, occasionally you land and discover more collectibles or fight some pirates, perhaps a few minor plot tokens are expanded, then you head back to the Citadel to tie up any loose quest ends, then back out into the universe to hit another cluster. A few clusters are relevant to the main plot, but most are just there for you to build up your character and have fun. The game isn't keeping track of what worlds I'm done with, so I started a text file.

2015.04.03

I'm glad I went with the default character, it makes learning this world so much easier.

I like what I'm seeing so far, but I don't know if there's all that much replay value in it. But if I play a female Shepard, and a Renegade instead of a Paragon, and play as a biotic (wizard) instead of a fighter (soldier), it might just be different enough.

2015.04.04

You have a ship, you can go anywhere in the galaxy you want, and yet Earth is not on the map? I'm glad they finally addressed this. And there's even something for you to do there. 11 billion people on Earth, and they had to call you in on this little job? Maybe its more of a discretion issue than difficulty.

Progress bars spoil that I'm halfway through the game, when out of nowhere (after leveling) I'm asked to specialize my class. I like this mid-game specialization, feels very RPG, and it might increase replayability. I go with sniper.

2015.04.05

Take heed, System Shock based gaming systems, Mass Effect shows a better way to manage large numbers of RPG character variables. Whereas in Shock systems everything is just laid out in front of you, all clamoring for your attention all the time, Mass Effect shows you only what you need to see contextually. If you're a soldier class, you don't even see magic. If you're not actively looking at your weapon upgrades, you don't even see them. The tradeoff is you have to learn where everything is homed, and until I did I felt quite lost, because at least with Shock's method you do get to see everything. But now that I know what's where, its so much more streamlined. It doesn't matter that much, because by the end of the game you are mastering it either way, but Mass Effect has a more long lasting aesthetic appeal.

Snapshot of me and the crew making a pit stop, filling up on fuel and snacks, checking out the cheesy local tourist attractions, trying to avoid pushy kids hawking souvenirs.

I like how the world building keeps on dripping in, at a rate that one can easily absorb. The world keeps getting richer as you go along. Yet to be addressed and at this point I kind of hope they don't - the universal language that everyone is speaking. Of course it makes no sense that 26 years after first contact every human is speaking the same language every alien is speaking, and even worse its all the same language. I can imagine a game where they take the trouble to work it in, but half the game will then be about translations and diplomacy, which could be a very interesting game, but it wouldn't be a simple space opera kind of game.

I like how they did not let the thread of Matriarch Benezia's corruption die in that the Feros colony is acting squirrely since the Geth established a presence. At least that's what I hope the game is doing. It puts you in the awkward but interesting position of trying to help save this colony, meanwhile knowing that if they are becoming corrupted due to the Geth, you might end up having to fight them.

2015.04.06

So these colonists could be unzombified, but Liara's mom could not?

Looks like 999 is all the omnigel (gray goo?) you can carry, so might as well start burning some off on the mini game that you have to play every time you open something. Its not a bad little mini game, but I never thought skills I learned 30 years ago playing Frogger would still be relevant today.

With the 150 item limit, every now and then I have to break from the action and have a yard sale. I have to rummage through everything and see if I can make any little marginal upgrades, then toss out what's obsolete. I also have to do this for my two team mates. And I should be doing more of this back on the ship, to the rest of the extended team. I've been skipping that because I thought I could just use two characters exclusively, but there are some character specific missions coming up.

2015.04.07

The most addictive part of an RPG for me is the middle. I've finally got a grasp on how the world works and the plot, and now I'm in the long slow grinding process of building up my character with side quests so I can tackle the end of game problem. In Mass Effect, that means surveying many worlds, and spending a lot of time driving your APC over rough terrain, with the occasional firefight.

Any game that doesn't take place in a sealed structure has to deal with map edges, especially when you are outside. Some games are just in your face with how the world ends here at this arbitrary line, and there's an invisible force field you can not cross. Here there is a red border on the radar, and if you go past it your mothership helps you by grabbing you and dumping you back in the middle of the map. This is usually OK, but awkward when you find some minerals to survey in the red zone, which thankfully seems to be rare.

I really like how the world keeps on building, whether its talking to team mates or surveying worlds. As I understand the plot, there was a great civilization thousands of years ago that go wiped out by some great menace, and maybe another one before that. And in a routine survey I come across a planet millions of years old that bears the mark of some ancient conflict.

2015.04.08

The game strikes a good balance between follow the breadcrumb trail of the plot versus open sandbox. If anything it errs on the side of the open sandbox world, because I don't feel any pressure to save the galaxy at all. I can keep surveying worlds for valuable rocks and getting cats down from trees, while the menacing alien plot patiently waits for me to come calling.

I'm done with the collectibles. Unlike most games, you can keep on finding more collectibles and keep getting little xp and cash bonuses for them. Also unlike most games, there's no big prize at the end once you get them all. No cool weapon unlock, or even story adds, it just goes from orange to gray in the to do list. It didn't seems like much xp, but now I have 4 million credits. I keep coming across better weapons, so I never go shopping anymore, but I should visit the Citadel and get whatever grenade and medkit quantity upgrades they have.

2015.04.10

I like this poignant little hint that the Geth might not be machines of pure evil, that they may have feelings too. Not only that, but they might harbor more than just ill will for their creators. Is it possible to even have an evil enemy in stories any more? Does every bad guy have to be redeemed? From the Klingons to the Zerg, they weren't really bad, they were just misunderstood.

I've started to get bored as I wrap up all the side quests. Then I start on the next bit of plot and things get turned up to 10, and in some places 11. I love how the opponent keeps coming up with new surprises for us to discover, and yet they feel like a natural fit for the world. As you grow to fill the shoes he vacated, its becoming clear how open to abuse the position of Spectre is, and how he built up so much power in secret. The rachni came back from the the dead, as did the geth, so why not the krogan too. I really like to see how passionate the krogan member of the team is about saving his race from genocide, and what a line Shepard has to walk to get him to hold off.

While you are mulling over the philosophical and human rights implications of letting the genocide go on for the good of the universe, you get hit with something a little closer to home. This is exactly the kind of moment I love in a game, where they really put you in the position of doing what your character has to do, in this case, decide who lives and who dies. That's what your character has to do, and for a moment, that's you.

And then you also get to see your fellow commander have to give his troops a pep talk, as they face their likely doom. The fact that this other team is non-human could have been played a number of ways, but they played it straight, and I love it for that. After nearly falling asleep in what seems like endless hours of rock surveying, I've suddenly been dropped into a much more exciting movie, and I'm starring in it. I like the little bit of hope that is offered, that if you play the next part of the game right, you might save some lives.

2015.04.11

I've already said spoilers, now we're moving ahead to double-spoilers.

So the run and gun through the base was straight forward until you meet the power behind the throne, the dark glowing AI robot spaceship of exposition. He goes into Bond villain detail about everything except the reason why they allow sentient species to flourish and then kill them suddenly. Then another life or death decision needs to be made, a nuke is set off, there's a sex scene with a blue alien, you present your findings to the galactic council, you have to surrender your badge and gun as you are put on administrative leave, and then you steal your ship (and crew) back to go after the bad guy. I think that's about it.

I'm OK with just about everything except why is the Council now reluctant to allow Shepard to take the Normandy out to check on possible bad guy activity? The risk is low (there's a whole fleet guarding the Citadel now, they can spare a tiny stealth frigate) and the consequences are high (everyone dies). Shepard has already proven the unlikely and the fantastic to the Council several times over, so they could just humor and him and say sure, go on your wild goose chase, then come back. If the Council just wants to shut down his crazy theory, then the best thing to do would be to just let Shepard go look, find nothing, embarrass himself, come home, and allow the Council to say we told you so. Putting him on hold while leaving him on the Citadel to stew is just asking for trouble.

Obviously, for the game to continue you need to get back out there and keep chasing the bad guy, and of course you need to leave the home base in your ship, but they didn't have to do it in this cliched way. The game has been doing so many things right for so long, that it feels very tired to suddenly force the Council to carry the idiot ball. I know I'm nitpicking and the only answer is to move on, but I have to also ask where are the recordings of Saren's and Sovereign's big revealing villain speeches. Playing those for the Council would have gone a long way in getting them to listen. Is the game somehow implying that this many centuries in the future there aren't full audio video recorders in everything, running all the time? Even if Shepard's suit recorder is off by default, that would be a great time for him to casually switch it to on and preserve the true villain's reveal for posterity.

Back to the story, and its getting good again, really good. Its nice to learn the whole backstory, and realize just how much trouble you and everyone is in. The whole exposition on Ilos, talking to the last surviving Prothean virtual intelligence, was riveting in ways that exposition usually isn't. And then a headlong and unexpected rush back to the Citadel. I love how something from the beginning of the game, a little throwaway statue, turns out to be a pivotal key in the endgame. The humor of the APC landing is very cute. I do remember thinking from the earliest hours of this game that the Citadel seemed a little too beautiful and peaceful, and that things would go horribly wrong here, but I can't be sure if its an honest premonition or I saw spoilerific screenshot some years ago.

Things move very quickly from here, a few more combats, one big combat, some cut scenes, and one more big life and death decision, and its over. I want the story to continue, I want to immediately load Mass Effect 2, but I know from past experience to just pause now, and let it sink in.

A few hours later, and I'm not thinking about Mass Effect at all, Mass Effect 2 is all I can think about. Where is the story going next, and what will happen to these characters? How can they make a game out of it if you are supposedly playing the same person, and you are already almost maxed out your character in the first game. I've seen other RPGs handle this in various ways, usually poorly, so I am greatly interested to see how the Mass Effect series handles this old problem of resetting a recurring character.

All this while I was thinking I would do another run through, and trying out a different kind of character, Renegade instead of Paragon, Female instead of Male, Mage instead of Fighter. Is it a waste of time? Will I learn anything new? What's left to enjoy or experience? Could I just watch a few YouTube videos and answer all these questions almost as well as bothering to play the whole game over again?

I click through the Mass Effect page in Steam, and find a "Guide for New Mass Effect Players" [ http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=123753085 ], that promises to go easy on the spoilers. I think its worth a risk, it might help me decide what to do next. It is interesting reading, without much spoilage, but it doesn't really answer the question of am I done here.

2015.04.14

I have been wondering for days why the ending of Mass Effect leaves me nonplussed. I was really into the game up through the full reveal of what happened to the Protheans and how they effected one last dying stab at the Reapers, and how it set into motion millenia ago everything that is happening today. And it was very cool to return to the Citadel and get to fighting in what used to be a safe haven. And then suddenly there's a long sequence of cut scenes and the end credits are rolling. I'm not in the ending of this game. Sure, you have to personally put down a Saren who's been plumped up Sark style by the Master Control Program Sovereign, but other than that you are watching a sequence of events play out. Of course Shepard put this sequence in motion, and it is a culmination of choices he has made, but I feel disconnected. Choosing to save the Council or not was an interesting touch, but it was such a no-brainer choice, like having to choose earlier to save the nuke or not, that it made for a completely non-controversial safe choice. If you have to choose between saving a few people or the whole galaxy, there really isn't much agonizing to do over your choice.

I reload, watch again, and it feels better this time but there is still that disconnect. I still feel a bit like I watched a movie of how the game ends, more than I made it happen. Maybe that is on purpose somewhat, as the big battle happens outside the window, while Shepard basically has to defeat Sark and dodge debris. Of course he set in motion the defeat of the big bad, but its not quite personal. The awkward animation and timing of the final cut scene doesn't help. Where's Shepard? Big dramatic pause, as if he didn't make it, then he strides out of the wreckage nursing a broken arm, and gives a strange smirk. Some ball was dropped here, but thankfully there is one more scene. This one also has a weird moment where Shepard just basically walks away from the conversation, but at least it is clear that he has earned the right. He just saved the galaxy, and everyone knows it, and he has a big voice in how things are going to happen next. It's a very interesting position for you character to be in, and all the more interesting how they are going to handle the next installment.

Now that I'm OK for spoilers on the first game, I can go through the in-game achievement list. Lots of interesting things to earn that I wasn't even aware of, but "Unlock Character Levels 51-60" stands out. There are more levels? And I play again using the same character? Same exact game, just more difficult to match my starting over at level 50? So many questions, I'm willing to risk a little spoilage and do some more searching, and find The Mass Effect Beginner's Guide, [ http://www.reddit.com/r/masseffect/wiki/index ] which promises to try and minimize spoilers.

The section on classes is interesting, I think I would like to try Infiltrator next if I play again. I have no regrets playing Soldier first time through, but I want to experience the tech skills a bit, and maybe later try biotics. From what I saw in the game, I wasn't that impressed by the magic system, and I think it would be difficult to play that way using teammates as fighters, but I might try it.

The thing I want to know the most is what transfers to Mass Effect 2, and what more can and should I do in Mass Effect (1) before moving on. It seems that the bottom line on that is only a few choices, a little bit of resources, and alignment transfer over, and not much else. The most important thing that transfers over is a sense of continuity, which I didn't consider but makes sense in story heavy RPG. In that light, I shouldn't start a new character, but keep playing the same character right through Mass Effect 2 and 3, and maybe come back to the beginning if I want to play through again.

2015.04.16

I'm about to start Mass Effect 2, and because of the timing it feels like I'm just loading up the next episode, not saying goodbye to a game, especially since I might actually play it again. I feel like I can't really review Mass Effect by itself as a standalone product, but for a while it was only that. It's a good game and worth playing, and leaves me wanting more, so its off to Mass Effect 2.

Bioshock review

Bioshock is a must play, and a good game, but I've mostly forgotten about in the week since I last played it.

It was too much of a console game, with its resurrection booths, hint button, and ease even on difficult setting. It was too much of a System Shock game, with its everything and the kitchen sink inclusion of so many different ways to do similar things. It was too much of a cultural and technological mash of retro futurism, which makes the Fallout series (and Portal 2) use of it seem restrained.

The Big Daddy and Little Sister are iconic and memorable, and I'll probably never forget them. I like the overall mood and atmosphere of the game, even if most individual components didn't bear much scrutiny. The voice acting was hit and miss but overall OK. The art work and graphics were mostly good. The characters and writing were not very believable, and the world was mostly unbelievable.

The ending seems tacked on, but I like the sentiment a lot. Part of my dissatisfaction might be due to not yet having played the next two games in this series. This is somewhat annoying in that I have to still avoid spoilers, and I can't even go read the tvtropes page yet.

I feel like I can't even properly review this game yet without having played the next two, but as a stand alone product, Bioshock is worth playing once, but I don't think I'll revisit it.

I don't understand why this game received so much praise, or such high scores. It is good, but there isn't really anything in here that hits you with originality or depth. And I do mean even for its day, as even in 2007 this game doesn't do much that hadn't already been covered by the System Shock and Half-Life series. Maybe it helped introduce a new generation to FPS with RPG elements, but that can't account for all the hype. I look forward to more answers as I play the sequels.

Bioshock (2007)

I've been avoiding Big Daddy (and creepy hypodermic girl) for years, trying not to get spoiled on what I hear is one of the best games ever, and something I must play. This game is one of the reasons I went all the way back to System Shock 1 and 2, because I kept hearing that they were at least spiritual predecessors.

I bought this game so long ago its got a bargain bin sticker on it, not to mention its actual physical media. I put the DVD in the drive. There's a small paper manual in here, I turn a few pages, some immediate spoilers about a city called Rapture and a quote from somebody name Andrew. I stop at a page of keyboard commands. Even that is a bit spoilery, telling what kind of weapons and actions there are.

I've delayed playing this game so long there are two sequels, and the series seems to be done. All three are available on Steam, so I can probably continue there, but for now I'm sticking with this DVD which has been waiting in the attic for a long time.

G:\setup.exe.
Custom
It will install to \Program Files (x86), so screenshots and saves will probably be in a shadow directory.
There's an nVidia logo; I'm OK with that.
Nothing much else to look at during the InstallShield session.
I feel confident that this game will run just fine with little to no graphics problems, and after dealing with 1990s software, I'm OK with that too.
Long install, I hope the DVD is not accessed ever again.
Some of the map names going by during the install are spoilery.
It's checking for a patch all by itself, downloaded and installed.

I need a serial number, its on the back of the manual. How much longer could I have delayed before there was no server out their to register with? There's still a lot to be said for old games (not that they don't have some weird copy protection, but at least they've all been cracked years ago).

Load main menu screen. Version is 1.0 - I thought this game already updated itself. Options -> Graphics. Resolution is 1024x768, crank it up to 1920x1200. I alt-tab out to take a screen shot; not only did it not work (alt-print screen), it got stuck  and windowed itself. Close and restart.

Nothing left to do now but New Game.

Lately when I play a game and blog about it, I've written pre, post, and game notes; I'll continue with that.

Age of Empires 2... now in HD?

While eating breakfast in front of YouTube, I'm watching some random AOE vids just to see what's out there, and I see "Age of Empires II HD". I'm thinking that's cool, some dedicated fans went back and upped the graphics of a beloved old game. I've seen that a few times now, like with System Shock - fans have created a whole slew of modules and add-ons, and even a loader to manage them. But AOE2 HD is no fan work, its an official release! And its coming out on Steam this week! And its only $20! What crazy timing. Life is funny that way, but usually the butt of the joke is you.

As cool as this new development is, its not what I'm doing right now. I'm saying goodbye to old games forever, and either tossing or selling the material components. I'm also trying to close out the older stuff before it becomes inaccessible forever, like the first System Shock game that I couldn't play and had to try to experience through playthroughs.

I was going to dive straight into Planescape: Torment, but I was concerned it might be too much of a mental shift in user interface, graphics, and even standards of what is a good game (a standard which moves slowly, but noticeably over this long a time interval). I'm trying to get back into the 1990s mindset, so I can experience it the way it was meant to be. Of course that can't truly work, but I think I can meet it part way. If anything, this newly updated AOE 2 reminds me of my mission to catch up.

I wonder if I should play some Fallout (original) first, since Planescape is also an RPG. I've always meant to replay it, and if not now, then when? But then that makes me think I should go back as far as Wasteland, but that might be pushing it too far back. Its tough enough to get back into 1990s games, let alone 1980s games.

---

I still don't feel quite up to Planescape, but I do feel like Age of Empires 2. I check the software archive, and it looks like I never imaged my discs. I check the retail boxes, but the discs are missing; I don't feel like digging around in the attic for them. But I do have one more box, Age of Empires 2 Gold Edition, and its heavy... and unopened! Not sure why I bought this, it must have been on sale, or maybe the "bonus maps" attracted me, but I never used it. So now I will be playing something both old and new.

Age of Empires 1, and the ROR expansion, installed and played fine (except for some minor color problems in how the sea looked), so I'm expecting no trouble running AOE 2. First, to create a disc image, so I don't have to play with the disc in the drive (which is just noisy and slow). I/O error, perhaps some old copy protection? Looks like it might be a software error with my ISO maker. A quick investigation doesn't yield an easy solution, so I'll just play from disc for a little while; at least I can make sure the discs are OK.

So, I install the two discs, and it feels like they just bundled the original and expansion in a new box. The two games don't seem to be integrated into any whole, the way the AOE 3 expansions built upon each other. Not that it probably matters much, I think AOE 2 was a much more standalone game, whereas in AOE 3 you manage each civilization over time (Home City, cards, etc.). Let's see what software versions we have, and if there are any patches. Oh that's lame, I have to re-insert disc 1 to play the original game, and I did a full install. I really need to image these discs.

Flipping through the manual - this game seems more sophisticated than AOE 3, in some ways. I don't remember that it had this much detail. I remember this main screen; and letting the background sounds of a medieval town loop for a while (I think AOE 2 Conquerors did it even better).. I create my profile, set my screen size to the max, 1280x1024. I'll start with the tutorial, why not try everything. Uh oh, graphics glitches worse than anything I saw in AOE 1. And finally I can check the About - this is version 2.0a.

Already I am remember why I loved AOE 2, its got all sorts of historical trappings. Now to check on that patch level. I don't have anything in the archive. OK, 2.0a was the last. Now about that graphics error. Set desktop background to black? Restart game, no. Open control panel, display, screen resolution - change nothing just leave it open. That works. I remember this worked for Diablo 2. I don't even want to know why. And finally, to stop the intro movies from playing, add NoStartup to the shortcut.

No, not quite done, need to find where the game is storing my screenshots. Oh, of course, they are in= "\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Age of Empires II". Strange, screenshots from the story boards are in 800x600, but in-game shots are at the 1280 level I selected; I guess the former are a fixed size. I'm already looking forward to seeing what this will look like in the HD version.

retro vs vintage

Is playing old games retro or vintage?

For a long time, it was just me being too poor to afford to keep up with the latest PC hardware, and the high price of new games. Wait a few years, and it becomes affordable. Now stay there, a year or two behind the curve, and now your gaming hobby is quite affordable.

By definition, my old hardware and software are vintage, i.e. old. Some of it is old enough to be antique, at least in tech reckoning. If I actively sought to play or make games in an older style, that would be retro. But I'm not consciously choosing old styles and techniques, just for the sake of being different. I'm choosing to spend time on it now because I've always wanted to, it just took a while to get to it.

But some old games I skipped on purpose, or didn't know about them at the time. Is that retro, for me to be interested in them? I don't think so, I consider it filling gaps in my history. This distinction is of minor importance to me, because I keep seeing references to 8-bit gaming being somehow cool, and it makes me nauseous, like anything to do with fashion. We used the tools we had at the time, to do what gaming we could. If I nostalgia for anything in the past, its because its attached to some element of lost and fading youth, not because of fetishism, and certainly not because things were better in the old days.

Anyway,  I wandered off on this tangent because I am trying to listen to the "1UP.com Retronauts" podcast. Good podcasts are hard to find, and even more so good gaming podcasts. I listened to a show about Double Dragon, which was one of my favorite arcade games. Sadly, most of the podcast was devoted to console ports, so this may not be the podcast for me. And now I see in the queue an episode about Day of the Tentacle - something vaguely familiar, that I will need to research before listening to.

So I read up on Lucasfilm Games (now called LucasArts) and its like discovering an old room in my house that I never knew was there. I completely missed out on Maniac Mansion, and its successor, Day of the Tentacle. I don't think I missed it, but more avoided it. I played almost everything Infocom ever made, and I think I was about done with text parser games. I remember as they began to decline they started experimenting with graphics, and I dismissed it as an act of desperation.

Games like The Secret of Monkey Island didn't help, as it made attaching graphics to adventure games seem even more stupid. Of course, more and better graphics in games was inevitable, but I didn't get the impression there was adequate attention to story and atmosphere, or at least gameplay. I think this is why my gaming went into such dormancy during the 90s. It was a time of transition, from the experimental days of the 70s and 80s, to the commodity nature of gaming now. A lot of accepted standards and conventions weren't quite set yet, and there were a lot of evolutionary dead ends. But I can see that I missed a lot of good stuff too.

By the way, I think cultural decades don't begin and end necessarily where the calender does. What I refer to as 90s gaming actually started in the late 80s, and ended in the late 90s, probably with Half-Life. Thinking about that some more... I think Wasteland (1988) was one of the last such games of the 80s. Fallout (1997) and Fallout 2 (1998) were good games, but they belong to the quirky UI and pre-3d graphics of the 90s. Fallout 3 (2008) is what a standard 2000s game looks like. Its too soon to think of what a standard 2010s game is going to look like.

I missed out on Loom (1990), which used music in the UI. I think I actually tried one of the Indiana Jones off a demo disc (from a gaming magazine?), but it made no good impression. I still don't know what Sam & Max is. And of course I missed Grim Fandango (1998). Like System Shock, its often near the top of the list of all-time best games, and like System Shock, I will probably not be able to play it. And that was pretty much the end of Lucasfilm Games, and adventure games, for me at least.

I see an explosion of to-do items from here. I should see if I can find and play Grim Fandango, or more realistically, find a video playthrough. I should see what other adventure games I missed and add them to my list (I already bought Syberia on Steam). There's a lot more to say about the various ages of gaming, and what we thought about gaming at the time. For now, though, I have read at least the Wiki entries, and can listen to that podcast.

{days later}

I listened to the podcast and it was more and less then I expected. They got the original creators of the game on, and it was an interesting fun time, but I didn't really learn much about the game. Sometimes you don't get what you expected, but you still get something good anyway.

System Shock 2: review

If System Shock was a handful of raw inedible peanuts, then System Shock 2 is a handful of delightful roasted peanuts. Which makes Deus Ex the transcendent peanut butter in this analogy.

I'm still stinging a bit from the ending, with its crass winks at the viewer, but it is fading quickly. It feels jarring because of the urgent and dire atmosphere, which is suddenly broken with silly Hollywood-style cliches. It's like being immersed in Lovecraft, and then suddenly Freddy and Jason stop by. And then you're back at the main menu, dumbfounded. For lack of anything better to do, I check the credits. An unexpected train wreck, which was fun for the crew, but its even more disturbing on another level. Curiously, the goofy ending and credits do little to distract from the majesty of the game.

I'm glad I don't have to just say this old classic was great for its time, as it is still a good game for today. While System Shock 2 doesn't look like it to belongs to the modern era, it actually marks the start of the modern era. Some day, some other game will start a new era of first-person role-playing games, but right now we're still living in System Shock's world.

I'm also very glad that I no longer have to avoid conversations and spoilers about System Shock. I should have played this years ago.

System Shock 2: setup

Years in the procrastination, here we go.

First step is to image the disc. I don't think I've mentioned yet why.

Using PowerISO, try to create ISO, get crc errors. I'll try making a DAA. Nope, CRC error again.

OK, let's try Daemon Tools. Immediately hit an unrecoverable block. Copy protection, or bad disc?

I can just try and install straight from the CD, see what happens.

g:\setup.exe

This product doesn't not support Windows 2000? continue? Yes.

Wants to install to C:\Sshock2, don't argue with 16-bit installers.

select Full install.

While I sit here staring at the install percentage number increasing, I'm thinking there must be any number of places I can download this game, legit or not. I didn't see it on Steam, which would have been great, and probably helped with compatibility issues. There's a probably a ways to go before I can actually start playing.

select Program Folders, .\Games\System Shock 2, ok.

Register? I don't think so.

Setup is complete.

OK, I'm still in Windows, at the desktop, and there's a window open; version number is 2.3. Let's see if we're current. The readme says it has multiplayer, which I think was the bulk of the last patch. This also means I must have the re-issue edition of the game box. A brief glance at Wikipedia (avoiding spoilers) shows that to be the last version. Let's hit Play.

Disc is verified... and... System Shock 2 has stopped working.

Up pops the Program Compatibility Assistant, offering to Reinstall using recommended settings. OK, I'll humor this.

Back to the same window (but much faster this time), hit play again... and same error after disc verification.

I find the SS2 Technical FAQ [ http://www.systemshock.org/index.php/topic,106.0.html ]. These people seem hardcore about SS2; I trust them. I need the SS2Tool; I install it. I see something called "ZylonBane's Newbie Guide to System Shock 2", supposedly spoiler free. OK, that seems handy.

I use the start menu shortcut, and I'm in! I can move around the setup options just fine, I start a new game on Normal difficulty, and just like that I'm in a 3D environment, and I can move around using the mouse and keyboard. Shouldn't there be an intro movie of some kind? Even System Shock had one, and there's a folder of them in the SS2's install.

Anyway, I'm in a tram, and there's a disembodied voice speaking to me - just like the start of Half-Life (1998). OK... I'm surprised to see that Half-Life came out a year before System Shock 2 (1999). Back to the game. Moving around the starting area, this doesn't seem like Half-Life, but more like Deus Ex (2000).

The keyboard mapping is off for me. I don't need A and D to turn left and right, that's what the mouse is for. I restore strafe left and strafe right to their rightful places. I also don't want S to be crouch, and now C is freed up to be crouch. I like how crouch is a toggle, and you don't have to keep it held down.

Its nice to see NPCs, even as robotic as they are. One screen shot method, Control+F9, produces unreadable PCX files. Just hit the Print Screen button, and you get decent BMPs.

I'm still annoyed at the failure of the cut scenes to work. I should resolve that before going much further. While searching, I find there is support for EAX audio (my sound hardware is Creative SB X-Fi), and that I can have it by adding a DLL. Not sure if I want it, game sounds fine. Oh, it enables better sound effects, ambience, etc. I want that. With Windows 7 I can't just use the DLLs, I need something called Creative ALchemy. Checking their site, System Shock is not on the game list. Maybe I'll try researching that later.

Back to the videos. Looks like maybe the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack [ http://codecguide.com ] can help. Comes with some crapware, uncheck. Where's my codecs? Retry with just Basic install (to get ffdshow). More crapware to dodge. At least now its installing Ultimate Codecs. Next time just find a ffdshow installer. Who knows what's on my system now. I should probably re-install Windows.

Let's see if any of this was worth it. Restarting SS2.

System Shock : finish playthrough

{spoilers}

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 47 - Breaking through I.C.E. Defenses

Watched it again, kind of forgot what's going on. The player jettisoned the groves that were incubating a virus to zombify mankind. Then he took out some transmission nodes to prevent Shodan from uploading itself to Earth.

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 48 - One Man Rescue Team

720p is working again.

These repulsorlift puzzles feel a lot like Portal.

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 49 - Secret Areas

Oh yeah, destroying the reactor, that's what we're doing.

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 50 - Citadel Station Reactor Overload

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 51 - The last Escape

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 52 - Think Different

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 53 - Security?

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 54 - Masterminds

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 55 - Charged!

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 56 - The Fall of Edward Diego

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 57 - Force Door One

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 58 - Force Door Two

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 59 - Force Door Three

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Final Part 60 - System Shock

Somewhat anti-climactic, but how else could it end.

System Shock - A last letter from the Hacker

The epilogue is in paper format? Was this included in the box?

Oh, its from the "the official System Shock I.C.E. Breaker Hintbook".

Overall the playthrough was a positive experience. I think I've gotten as much of the System Shock experience as I could without the frustration of having to relearn long discarded technologies and skills. I can see why this game has so much lore around it; it innovated much of what was to follow in FPS storytelling.

I used to wish somehow this game could be ported forward to current graphics and UI, so I could play it, but I see now that wouldn't work. Even if you re-did the voice work and music, the gameplay itself is still obsolete. Despite the many inventions, gaming hasn't been sitting still for 15 years; there have been many advances in storytelling, some of the best of which were clearly inspired from System Shock.

I'm looking forward to System Shock 2. I hope I can play it, instead of having to playthrough again, but I will experience it either way.

System Shock : more playthrough

{spoilers}

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 16 - Laser Security Offline
So tedious. Why am I doing this again?

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 17 - Stay here you insect

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 18 - Laser Destruction

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 19 - The Maintenance Deck

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 20 - Invisible

(later)

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 21 - Skulls

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 22 - Hacker vs Robot
The kitchen sink effect keeps getting worse; more UI (compass), more enemies (mutant animals). I don't think there was ever a more ambitious game.

(days later)

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 23 - Anti Gravity

The technologies keep piling up: now anti-gravity, in addition to shields, laser/phaser type hand weapons, orbit-to-surface beam weapons, artifical intelligence, wetware (human-computer interface like Neuromancer), and not to forget full body regeneration, if not outright reincarnation (who drags your carcass to the regen station anyway?). Then there's the tech that the AI develops, like brainwashing and mutating humans, keeping them alive, and enslaving them.

The intro says the year is 2072; the intro also clearly has flying cars on a Bladerunner looking planet. This world has better tech than Star Trek and Babylon 5, just a few decades from now. Even accounting for some acceleration in tech, this is still a fucking mess. I'm only a third of the way through the game, who knows what's around the next corner.

The story could be fixed. They could have written it so that the creation of the AI itself is what causes the rest of the high-tech advances, in some singularity type runaway evolution. This could also be used to explain the craziness of the AI, instead of the thin 'AI's become genocidal when you take the safeties off' story. And at the end, blowing up the station could push the reset button, so that all the super-advanced new tech goes away with Shodan, and the protagonist makes off with a few trinkets, at best, and you can go into your sequel with a mostly clean slate.

Back to video... universal antidote, OK, that fits into all this tech.

But microwave ovens? What, there's no replicator?

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 24 - Try and Error

There seems to be no penalty for dying in this game.

Booster? So you can run faster than normally possible? Now this game has augs, like Deus Ex 3. What, no nano?

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 25 - She doesn't give up

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 26 - Access Denied?

Music sounds a lot like Deus Ex.

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 27 - Armed Rioters

Now the music sounds like Hexen.

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 28 - I.C.E. Defenses

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 29 - Deck 6 Alpha Groove

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 30 - Deck 6 Delta Groove

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 31 - I quit

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 32 - Shopping Mall

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 33 - Open Office

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 34 - Seven Eleven

These levels and wall skins take me back to Doom 2 days.

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 35 - Edward Diego's Secret

Oh now what - teleportation? Instant reincarnation while somehow being able to keep all your inventory wasn't enough magic? They need to work FTL travel (and holodecks) in to the game to achieve maximum kitchen sink mode.

Edward Diego has been cyborged like the rest, OK, but looks curiously like a small cyber-demon from Doom.

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 36 - Biohazard Area

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 37 - Process Failed

I'm on a tear now; I just want to get through this.

I was watching in 720 but it loads too slowly, so I'm down to 480. It's acceptable.

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 38 - Maintenance Clear Up

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 39 - Jettison her damn virus

Shodan sounds a little like Max Headroom and a lot like what will become the standard crazy AI voice of the 2000s.

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 40 - Antenna Mission begins

Finish one Fed-Ex sequence, start another.

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 41 - Wire Puzzle

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 42 - Dont step on the mines

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 43 - Antenna the 3rd

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 44 - Schulers Plan

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 45 - Engineering becomes my grave

Rebecca Lansing's voice actor sounds like a mix of California and Mary Poppins.

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 46 - Exploring the Flight Deck

Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 47 - Breaking through I.C.E. Defenses

back to System Shock playthrough

Joey's System Shock Commentary_ Part 14 - Down to Reactor

Resurrection Booths - really? We can reload from save, there's no need to ruin the story.

Joey's System Shock Commentary_ Part 15 - Lost inside her Corridors

System Shock : watching the playthrough

"Joey's System Shock Commentary_ Part 04 - D`arcys Keycard"

However much I dislike the UI in the cyberspace part of the game, at least its something different than cliche of hunt for this floor's keycard.

Wait, the goal is to stop Shodan from pointing a laser at Earth, but aren't we orbiting Saturn? Maybe I missed something.

Shodan's zombie troops look like Borg; the Sparq weapon looks like a Star Trek TNG 'dustbuster' phaser.

"Joey's System Shock Commentary_ Part 05 - They are all Dead"

This game seems ridiculously ahead of its time, but also ridiculously overloaded with attempts to try everything.

I wish they were a little less ambitious with the technology, and worked a little harder on a clean UI (and finding voice talent).

"Joey's System Shock Commentary_ Part 06 - Lost Hope"

"Joey's System Shock Commentary_ Part 07 - Out of Order"

Shodan's voice message seems out of character; not enough wacky AI, a little too much boastful James Bond villain.

"Joey's System Shock Commentary_ Part 08 - Ready to die?"

All this advanced gameplay, and they still kept the exploding barrels.

Cliche elevator muzak while you are in dire straits? Truly, this game predates everything in gaming for the next 15 years.

"Joey's System Shock Commentary_ Part 09 - Dead people everywhere"

"Joey's System Shock Commentary_ Part 10 - EMP Shock"

"Joey's System Shock Commentary_ Part 11 - Dreams of a Artificial Intelligence"

SHODAN-05.NOV.72

Weird and wonderful cut scene with more James Bond villain thinking out loud from Shodan. There, for just a second, a monster that looks like the big daddy from Bioshock!? This feels like archaeology or something.

Wait, is that a System Shock 2 logo? I hope the playthrough maker isn't fucking around.

That cut scene ends feeling like a concept art slideshow, with random fanfic dropped in.

OK, checking the video on Youtube, commentary reveals the playthrough maker was indeed taking some artistic license, and dropped in the video. I hate lies and revisionist history, and now I can't trust this playthrough as a historical document anymore. Fucking great.

"Joey's System Shock Commentary_ Part 12 - Cyberspace Disco"

"Joey's System Shock Commentary_ Part 13 - Dead for the first time"

System Shock, another attempt to reconnect.

I watched a few videos, then drifted away. Guess I got bored. After all, its just watching videos, not really gaming.

Months passed.

My video card burnt out - no more 3d games for a while. What a good reminder to get back to basics. There was a point to all this. Play, or at least experience as much as possible, System Shock, then play the sequel, then finally Bioshock.

It looks like I had last decided on using this playthrough; might as well start over:

"Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 1 - Incident on Citadel Station"

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-5sPhZOJtk]

From here on, there be SPOILERS.

Thoughts while watching:

The opening music (all of six seconds) is just amazing at establishing the tone and environment. It sounds like something soaring towards you from a great distance, it sounds something materializing into existence, it sounds like coming awake from a dream, its sounds like you're about to realize something, and this is all just the first four seconds. Then there are a few short but ominous base tones and a few high notes - whatever was coming, its here now, and its cold and its inscrutable, and things are going to different now, and probably not for the better.

The intro video is surprisingly good, a decade and a half later, and unsurprisingly dated. In the future there will be flying cars, of course, and the whole planet will look like Bladerunner. We will have space stations far out into the solar system. Cutting edge hackers will have 3d holo cube screens, but still use green-screen text to breach systems (OK, this part actually makes sense). It all wraps up beautifully as you realize who your narrator is. Even avoiding spoilers, its hard to get this far in gaming and on the net and not know who your enemy is, the AI Shodan. What a great little video; probably one of the best game intros I've ever seen.

Our playthrough player begins to set up his game, and his voice-over indicates that he will be playing through in character - uh oh, not a good sign. But as long as he is thorough and gets the game across, I can put up with it.

The in game voice acting is OK for its time but not really acceptable by current standards. It's hardly a showstopper, though. Heck, Deus Ex had some real bombs, but it couldn't drag a good game down.

OK, the player is at least taking time to show the text messages, so far so good. And its high enough res that I can pause and read them.

More awful in game voice acting, ouch. At least Shodan's voice is respectable (but being an insane AI gives you more leeway). When you're voice acting a desperate security guard who knows they're probably leaving their final voice message to whoever finds it, you shouldn't sound like you're ordering pizza.

It is remarkable that this game (1994) is only a year older than Doom (1993), but it has so many more bells and whistles on it. Even Doom 2 (1994) wasn't nearly as complex. However, from this distant perspective, I'm guessing the Doom games gave a better overall experience, at least as far as UI, if not gameplay. I can still somewhat remember how different the weapons felt in Doom 2, as if they each had their own personality; from what little I played of SS everything feels like it is being handled through thick gloves, and so everything feels the same.

Also, System Shock seems to have as many UI controls as an airplane, and you haven't been to pilot school yet. I can see how this eventually evolved into the similarly clunky UI of Deus Ex (2000). But that's OK, it had evolved by then, and I got used to it. It also helped a lot that Deus Ex has a tutorial to ease you in, and even the first few levels introduce you into gameplay. Hopefully I will find System Shock 2 (1999) to be playable; I don't want to have to watch a playthrough of that too.

"Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 2 - Found the crew"

The player is talking over the in game voice messages.

Interesting little puzzle game as you re-wire a stuck door.

Wow, you can switch on lights, and climb ladders. I remember in Doom where even a one inch high obstruction meant you had to find a way around.

Player says he will swap out some of the original music for remixes. I'd rather all things be left as original as possible; I can still nostalgia over midi soundtracks.

"Joey's System Shock Commentary: Part 3 - Cyberspace Violation"

A visualization of cyberspace, as imagined from the days when we perceived some need to see it visualized. Besides being quaint, it was the final straw as to why I could no longer play this game myself, and went for the playthrough. It plays like you're a brick floating through a Vaseline filled maze of ductwork, attempting to catch some glowing and/or blinking objects, while avoiding some other glowing and/or blinking objects. I'm all for climbing up a learning curve for a rewarding experience, but this is too much.

System Shock : first impression

Some observations as I watch the playthrough - Warning, Extreme Spoilers!

I think I'm about 10% in, and so far the puzzles seem to be of the 'find the blue keycard' variety. The brief foray into cyberspace to unlock the next door is a welcome break from key collection - I hope its used more.

The sense of loneliness and fear from waking up on a space station containing only evil mutant zombies is nicely done. Various logs left by survivors add atmosphere unless they are voice logs, in which case the voice work is so bad you get knocked right out of the experience. Considering the era, this is mostly forgivable; the value of good voicework just wasn't commonly appreciated until the late 1990s / early 2000s.

There's a ton of objects lying around that sound cool, but that don't seem to be used much in the game. It probably doesn't help that the display menus are so cumbersome, items are hard to use in a fight.

I totally recognize aspects of Shodan's voice in the voices of the AIs in Deus Ex and especially Portal. And I'm not just talking about the cliche of sound stuttering that indicates AI insanity, but the slow steady malice and warped perspective that reminds me of HAL in 2001. It's old stuff in a combination that still hasn't gotten stale after all this time.

The mini-puzzles are neat. A lot of little elements in this game feel fresh, like it was invented in this game, and it probably was.

The cyborgs look too much like Star Trek TNG Borg; it takes you out of the game.

The muzak in the elevator is just the perfect ending to the first level.

System Shock : the old friend I never knew.

I missed System Shock somehow, and I'm not proud of it. This is supposed to be one the best sci-fi first-person-shooter games ever, and the ancestor of Half-Life, Deus Ex, Bioshock, Portal, etc. There's no excuse not to play it as soon as possible.

I've tried correcting this a few times now, but its too late for me. I've been using the long standardized FPS user interface of WASD keyboard controls and mouselook for so long, I can't go back (and you can't customize your way around the problem). I'm not offended by old graphics at all, but its so far out of context now that I can't get past hunt-the-pixel type exercises anymore. The spirit is strong, but my hands and eyes are weak.

Luckily, there is a mature scene of people who make playthrough videos and archive them on Youtube. This is a great boon to retrogamers who want to recall gaming memories that are hard to retrieve. And by extrapolation, after having played so many games over so many years, it feels pretty close to having played it yourself. There is no need to try to emulate old environments on the modern computer, which often can't be reproduced. Of course you lose the immersion of playing it yourself, but if you just want a quick stroll down memory lane, its fast and easy.

After all, you really can't go back again anyway. An old game, taken out of the context of what gaming was like at the time it came out, rarely provides the same experience today. Only a few special games transcend the technology of their time. Sadly I suspect System Shock might be one of these games, but I can not go back that far. I'm grateful someone else can, and took the time to share it. Hopefully it will be enough.

I'm starting with "Joey's System Shock Commentary". Hopefully it will be good enough, because once I spoil the ending, there's no do-over. After all this time, I've avoided any detailed spoilers, but I can't help but guess what happens when you pit a lone hacker against a psychotic AI. Let's watch...