Our Apartment Technology: Video Games

Alicia and I are fans of technology. We aren't rich, so we rarely get to indulge in the latest technology. But we try to make the best of what we've got. Let me give you a little tour of our set up in the Apartment.

Our Video Games

It took three years, but we've managed to acquire all the latest video game consoles. I purchased the Wii on the day it was released back in November 2006. Alicia and I saved up over the Summer of 2007 and purchased the Xbox 360 in October 2007 because we were too excited about Grand Theft Auto IV and Rock Band. We finally finished the collection in September 2009 using money given to us for the Wedding.

Here they are, on display using a Lerberg shelf (only $15 at Ikea!). I think it looks pretty darn good, if I don't say so myself.



Prior to the new TV (also a Wedding gift), we had to use a manual switch behind the TV to switch between games. But these fancy new digital televisions can auto-detect what signal it is receiving. I was very, very skeptical about buying an HD Tv. I just didn't see what the point was. DVD's were pretty enough for me, and I wasn't worried about size. But this auto detect feature is worth its weight in gold.

So all three systems are hooked up to the TV. To play one, just turn on the TV and turn on the gaming system. Simple as pi!

Grand Theft Auto Marathon wrapup

As you read previpusly, I played a little GTAIV last week. Mostly, I wanted an excuse to not work on math. It was great, yet tough on me.

The achievement require me to beat the game in 30 hours or less, I wanted to do it consecutively. While I failed to do it consequtively due to a lack of sleep and a game glitch, I did manage to beat the full game in only 23 hours non-cumulitive.

The best part of the experience was seeing the plot in one clean sweep. The first time I played through the game, I took my time with the many distractions the game offers (you can actually watch tv IN THE GAME! It's fake tv!). This time, I watched the plot nearly straight through. It tackles alot of violence vs. not, business vs. personal. Most impressive was the different endings. I had no idea how different they'd be.

The makers of GTAIV must love New York. The time and effort put into recreate the look and feel of the city is breathtaking.

Two complaints... One, the game glitched on me. Sure, it wasn't meant to be played for 20 hours straight, but it was frustrating that the music didn't all play. I had a ton of repeats. There was even a point that I had to restart the Xbox, as the game didn't give me any new missions. Two, I can't how two days of my life just dissapeared. Scary.

Overall, the marathon gave me the sense of freedom. I stepped out of routine, and it felt great. Time to study like not tomorrow.

PS: Pro Tip: Use the taxi to go everywhere. It won't cost much, and you'll save a lot of time and frustration.

GTAIV: 20 Hours

I've had the Online Stopwatch (http://www.online-stopwatch.com/) running since I started, just to officially have a timer going. It says 19 Hours, 35 minutes. Yay!

I fell asleep around 8:30 am this morning, then woke up at noon. Alicia and I took an hour break for some dinner and fresh air, and now I'm right back at it. My current Game progress is 38.37%, which sounds awful, but I think it is actually quite far. The story mode only accounts for approximately 50 to 60%, so by all accounts I'm more than half over.

When I stop playing, I leave it on the pause menu, thus the game doesn't consider pause menu part of the official game time. Currently, Playing time is 12 Hours 39 minutes. The record is somewhere around 17 hours. I doubt I'll be that fast, as I've watched all the movies, and failed missions at least a few times.

So far, the story has been in the back seat. You lose a lot of the story by not taking side missions. Mostly, the story has been "Meet this character, do this and that for him."

I'll keep you posted!

GTAIV: Hour Two

Well, 2am EST. I began at midnight, so it's been two hours. I can't believe how little I've played. 7.67% according to the statistics. That's 11 missions.

So far, most of the missions have been tutorials. Mostly, they're teaching me to drive and shoot, which is old hat for me. So there hasn't been anything amazing in terms of game play. Niko, the main character, has just started showing his depth. He's got a dark past and is full of regrets.

I've already killed 15 people, but I have yet to save or die. My hope is to play through the entire game without intentionally saving, or possibly even dying. The last time I played the game, I would usually reload the game before being arrested. Now, I think I'll just play. It'll be honest statistics.

The game has several points where I can decide what to do. I'm not sure what strategy to employ. You can certainly be violent, killing all the time. You can also be pacifist. I did a little of both the first time through. I think this time I'll make decisions based on my knowledge of the game. For example, I know I'll be ordered by my boss to kill someone. That boss will later betray me, so I might say "BAH!" and not follow the orders.

It's a beautiful game. The scope and beauty of the game are breathtaking. As a side note, the F bomb has been dropped at least twenty times by now. But it's like the Godfather... if I was around coke snorting gangsters and didn't swear, it would seem awkward.

I'm feeling fine. I've got 2 two-liter bottles of cola (well, one is orange soda), plus a box of donut holes. I'm making a night of it. Alicia fell asleep on the lovesac watching and Livia seems to be sleeping in hour long periods.

Rock Band versus Guitar Hero

Unless you've had your head under a rock for two years, you've no doubt heard of Rock Band or Guitar Hero. I've purchased Guitar Hero 1, 2, and 3, as well as Rock Band. Those who know me know I've been into music games since way back before College.

Since both Guitar Hero and Rock Band have a similar concept, it seems one of the biggest determining factors now-a-days is the music included in each game. Today I was reading an article in Ars Technica about the music licensing in the next two games (Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour). Here's my favorite part:

"Right now the holy grail of music licensing seems to be the Beatles, and it's hard to fathom the amounts of money that Activision and MTV Games would throw at Apple Corps for that music."

Indeed. I know I have salivated over that thought. It was about a year ago that I seriously started to listen to the Beatles.

What is strange is that the Beatles' music is not available online at the moment. It is curiously missing from iTunes catalog. The link in the middle of the quote above is to a separate article about the Beatles and licensing. It hints that a deal may be inked within a few weeks, but that was back in June.

I might have mentioned before that I don't like the Guitar Hero franchise anymore, and that I'm strictly with Rock Band now. If Activision (the makers of Guitar Hero) managed to make an exclusive deal with Apple Record (who controls the Beatles music), I would begrudgingly purchase Guitar Hero again.