Oh no, are we those guys?

Had another rousing evening of Team Fortress 2 last night, but wow did we steamroll some dudes. Just, destroyed them. We communicated, strategised, divided, conquered.
All at a blistering pace.

We took point after point, running rings around them with medic combos, scout rushes and tight defense. Round 1 was a blur.

In the second round they had worked out that they needed defense and stopped my initial scout attack. So I ducked in as a spy and saw something that made me think; 'Oh, you poor Buggers.'

They had set up a turret to guard a control point, FACING a wall. And it was upgraded! At this moment, I realised, I am playing against noobs.

So what did I do? I fucked them up. We fucked them up. Relentlessly.

After the game I had the thought "Did I just do the thing that made me hate online multiplayer?" Did those guys think "Ahh, this is too hard, all these guys are too good" and give up just as I did with the Halo 3s? Oh christ, I fucking hope not.

I feel like the nerd in a teen movie that turned cool, and then turned his back on all his nerd friends.

Oh god what have I become! I'm sorry nerd friends!

But seriously, face your fucking turret the right fucking way.


-Brother N-

Casual is such a dirty word.

What makes a 'casual' gaming so repulsive to 'hardcore' gamers? Is it just snobbery?
Why aren't they considered to be 'real' games? Have I used up my quotation mark quota for this post?

It's a pretty common occurrence for core gamers to curl their top lip at the mention of games like Peggle, Bookworm Adventures and more recently, the new core community whipping boy, Wii Fit . So why the disdain? What's the difference between what we call games and casual games?

Simplicity springs to mind. If a game is relatively basic in premise, does that make it casual? Let's look at a non-video game with that set of rules; Ping Pong is pretty simple and can definitely be played casually, but in it's simplicity can be found a deep complexity. There are strategies and intricate skills.

So does this apply to games as well? Can a casual game become hardcore if it is treated in a hardcore way?

With gaming's gradual integration into mainstream society, why are gamers jamming their nose in the air toward the newcomers? And they know it too.

I make no secret of my gaming enthusiasm and it came up recently with a um...regular person. We started talking about what kinds of things I played and after a little while, she coyly told me about Bloomin' Gardens a game that she had become quite obsessed with. But the way she approached it was not unlike a dog that had been kicked a lot, or someone cutting the red wire instead of the blue. There was a genuine fear that I was going to attack/berate her for liking this game.

I was all like "Ahh, have you ever seen Viva Pinata? I fucking love that shit."

I'm definitely not one to judge.

-Brother N-

How does that make you feel?

After I finished playing through Portal, I started to wonder why I liked it so much. I mean, aside from it's much regaled brilliance.

It's an innovative, satisfying and downright hilarious game. We all know it.

But why did I like it? Gran Turismo is an incredibly well received series that I couldn't give three fucks about.

What does Portal do? It makes me feel smart. When I succeed in Portal, it's because I figured it out. That's some invigorating shit. I think this is where this is where this 'satisfaction' that I see repeated in the reviews.

Is that what is necessary for a game to 'get' you? An emotional response? What compels you to continue playing a game?
Fun? But what makes it fun?

Hmmmmmm...This one needs some thought.

-Brother N-

PS Live is down here tonight...How can I try out my Sniper/Pyro strategy?. Fail.

Can i get an Übercharge?

Alternative title: How Team Fortress 2 taught me to love again.

Ever since is saw the first previews for Portal, I have been waiting patiently, chomping at bits and with all kinds of baited breath.

I expected it to be a retail product by itself, but finding it squooshed into the Orange Box made me excited to get back into Half Life 2, a franchise I loved when it first came out, but was burned by a combination of a 56k connection, Steam's amazingly regular updates and a whole tonne of Uni work due.

So that never got done, I never played through Half Life 2. Sad but true.

Team Fortress 2 seemed cool, but my adventures into the great unwashed online have left me baffled, frustrated and cursed at. So it was definitely at the back of the line.

Portal was the first thing I touched, mauled really. After swallowing it in one python-like sitting, I went back for another slice (HA! Of cake! Get it?!) in the form of the Advanced levels. It really is brilliant. But does the internet need another person gushing about it?

In between all the double flinging and physics I dabbled in Team Fortress 2. I really expected another Halo, only cool looking. Not in a gameplay sense, but in that i would be immediately squashed by assholes that would then call me a fucking noob followed by a thorough teabagging.

But that didn't happen. It was amazing. The system that Valve has created is so balanced and so varied that it's the most accessible online first person shooter in existence. There is a class for every player type.

It doesn't encourage teamwork, it flat out requires it.

I haven't had this much fun with a multiplayer FPS since Quake. Yes I am old.

I'll be there tonight

-Brother N-

PS. FYI, I am a Spy.

Introducing the Intro

First things first, I'm a video games enthusiast. Big fan. Second only to my love of games is my love of talking about video games. I got an opinion, thats for sure.

So here we are. Here's the intro.

I'm 26 year old male, with a full time job teaching multimedia. I hassle people for a living. I have a background in Fine Arts, specialising in stupid animation, which I occasionally show in public

For the first time in my life, I have a steady income. Coming from a life of a student, it's a weird transition from raiding a piggy bank (quite literally) when a big game came out, to being able to afford all the newness.

For the first time in my life, I'm preordering and knowing I'll pick it up day one.

But in doing so have I lost my edge as a discerning consumer? A game had to jump though hoops to get my vote when I had no money, but now I'll just ride the waves of hype, previews, hands-on impressions and demos to guide my buying whimsy. Having an EB Games open here doesn't hurt either....god bless that 7 day return policy. It has a real uncaged bird doesn't want to fly away type effect...

Is a disposable income becoming a requirement for the gamer? Last week, for my little group of Live friends, it was all about Low Gravity Hammer on Valhalla, this week its nothing but capturing control points/intelligence and cake. What the hell will it be next week?

Consume, or get left behind.

Or, just plant your head deep into the sand and just play WoW for the rest of your life.

-Brother N-