Wednesday, March 16, 2011

CR-48 Impressions

(Writer’s note:  These impressions are based on my experiences at the time of writing.  The device and its OS are in-progress.  The hardware is non-release, and there is no guarantee that the OS itself will ever see an actual public consumer release.)

Okay, so I wanted to have this up sooner, but while writing I ended up getting sidetracked by various things that I would prefer not to get into.  But ohwell, here it is.

So a few months back, Google opened up applications for one of their pilot programs.  This one was a little different because it wasn’t simply a “Hey, download our new program!”  Instead, it was a “Hey, we’re doing a test market of a netbook OS that may not ever make it to public use.  Sign up and you might get a free netbook running said OS!”  The pitch was made that they wanted these devices to go, primarily, to students and businessmen, with a few lucky public users being put into the mix.  Well, I’m not a student or a businessman, so that makes me one of the lucky public users.

And so here before me I have the Google Chrome OS netbook, codenamed the Cr-48.  Now, I’m not a professional technology user or reviewer, and only actually built one PC, and that was several years ago.  So yeah, I’m an amateur at best.  The specifics of device are well documented on other, better sites.  Instead, what I’m here to do is talk about my first one or two weeks with this device.

The Cr48 is intended for people that live on the internet.  While offline modes for certain applications are supposed to be forthcoming, right now an internet connection is needed for this thing to be something other than a paperweight.  But that’s okay, as my wifi router is less than 10 feet from the thing.  Now, I already have a netbook, an MSI Wind12 U-230 running Windows7, that I bought for sitting on the table for TV browsing and when travelling.  While I haven’t had any significant travel time, beyond the standard day-to-day where I wouldn’t even be able to use it anyways, it has effectively usurped it for TV browsing.

As a device for web browsing, this thing is basically running a version of the Chrome browser.  And that’s a good thing.  While not without its problems, Chrome has been my favorite browser since finding out about it almost 2 years ago.  Google has always made Chrome about open web standards and javascript rendering, and render javascript it does.  Alot of pages use javascript and Chrome renders it faster than most other things.  Web pages continue to pop up quickly, though not nearly as quickly as on a full power PC.  This is more noticeable on sites with alot of Flash.

The downside is still Flash.  While Google has removed native support, the Adobe Flash plug-ins still exist, but they’re not that good.  On my regular PC, Flash runs alot better, but Chrome’s biggest problem has always been that the Flash plug-in crashes, not regularly, but often enough to be annoying with the number of tabs I usually keep open.  Most of the websites I use that have videos typically use Flashplayer, though one of them does have an option for HTML5 video.  That’s a good thing, since HTML5 video is one of those open web standards that Google seems to be choosing to support natively.  So the HTML5 versions of the videos on that site run very well on the Cr48.  Well, I guess it helps that HTML5 videos are progressive instead of streaming.  One thing that I noticed about Flash is not only that it doesn’t run well, but that moving into and out of full screen on Flashplayer seems to completely crash the video playback and player controls.  Audio plays back as normal though.  And it doesn’t help that Flash has always been one of Chrome’s issues anyways.

This thing doesn’t, at current, support MS Silverlight, so Netflix streaming is out too.  But that’s what the XBox, PS3, Wii, desktop PC, and netbook PC are for, so oh well.  And if I do take a trip, I doubt that I’ll be thinking about using instant streaming anyways.

What I really like about this unit though, is the design.  Matte finish that has a simulated rubberized finish.  Its simple and unadorned, and looks rather stylish in its simplicity.  The screen is anti-glare, and while that lowers the brightness a little, it helps because I have one of my primary lights right behind my futon, and my netbook’s screen is that shiny, reflective kind seen on most laptops.  Regardless of anything, I really wish the case on the MSI netbook was like this one.  If I could, which I won’t (I’m not that kind of tech geek or anything), I’d rip the guts out of it and put them in the Cr48 case.  The touchpad and chiklet style keyboard are nice, if a little unresponsive at times, though that’s probably as much to do with software as the hardware.

All in all, this an interesting choice for an OS.  It has some potential for people that just want to go online, but at the same time is up against some steep opposition.  Tablets are, and have become a big thing rather quickly.  If Google is smart, I think they should try selling this OS as an alternative to the basic webtop, quickboot OSes that some motherboard manufacturers build into them.  Or, they should try to merge it with Android in the future, and try to make a MacBook Air sized notebook that can flip into a tablet and make a dual-booting system.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Dead Space 2 Review

This reviewer is not the biggest fan of horror, let alone the survival-horror videogame genre.  So it is rather strange that Alien is one of the few films of this type that this reviewer likes, and the original Dead Space managed to hit all of the same notes that made the film so haunting and memorable.  And now, just a short time ago, EA and Visceral Games released the first official sequel, and only made things better.

Dead Space 2 begins 3 years after the events that took place on the USG Ishimura during Dead Space.  The protagonist, Isaac Clarke wakes up in a mental institution on The Sprawl, a massive space station located in the mined out remains of Saturn’s moon Titan, with no recollection of the intervening years.  Things are not as they seem, of course, as just as he is about to be rescued by some supposed friends, a new necromorph outbreak is beginning on the station.  The story follows as Isaac tries in vain to escape the station and in the process uncovers more of the continuing machinations and conflict between the Earth Government and the Unitology Church over the alien Marker.

Now, the original Dead Space was already impressive on a visual and audio level.  It had some of the most impressive visuals for the year it was released, and is still one of the best implementations of 5.1 positional/directional audio in any game, even now.  The style was that of an homage to Riddley Scott’s Alien, with the claustrophobic, techno-industrial interiors with low, sometimes no, lighting, and lots of sound to keep the player jumping, even when there are no enemies around.  Gameplay was very much about using weapons to dismember your opponents and survive to escape the ship.  Its only real problems were that the overall objectives were rather samey throughout, and that most of the enemies spawned from rather obvious monster closets.

So if Dead Space is Alien, then Dead Space 2 would definitely be James Cameron’s Aliens.  By all accounts bigger, louder, and often just as harrowing and tense as the first.  Dead Space 2 takes the same basic formula and improves on it without breaking anything in the process.

The first and most obvious improvements are on the graphical fidelity.  In the original Dead Space, no character was ever shown close-up in frame, even main character Isaac.  Lighting helped obscure creatures on the rare occasions when they managed to get into full frame.  So even though the models were all impressive, the player could never be quite that sure about the appearances of the few human characters.  This time, there is no question, as the first things the player sees are Isaac close-up from the side, followed shortly by another character (from a related title) being turned into a necromorph, also close-up in frame, which is meant to be both shocking and disturbing.

But simple polygons and texture maps are not everything.  What really provides the kind of visual atmosphere the game requires is the lighting.  One place where many modern generation games have furthered is dynamic lighting: multiple lightsources, usually moving, capable of casting shadows of varying degrees across multiple surfaces.  Some games do it well, but Dead Space 2 does it phenomenally.  Every area, no matter how intricate or simple, contains large numbers of lights of varying colors and intensity.  Many areas are dark, with a small number in spots designed to let the player see just enough to know something is there, and not much else.

What sets the Sprawl further apart is the sets themselves.  While the Ishimura did include some some sections in the crew quarters, most of the areas were utilitarian industrial corridors and complexes.  Though they did have some special touches, they could become rather samey as they went on.  While the Sprawl does have its own industrial sections, there is a greater variety areas.  The developers pull no punches by putting Isaac in civilian areas straight away after the opening section.  Areas that look old, lived in, and fragile compared to the Ishimura.  Areas that include family apartments, shopping areas, a rather unsettling trip through a children’s school and a Unitology Church (that looks largely untouched by most of the chaos).

But all the graphics in the world would not mean anything without sound and music to go along with it.  Again, like the original, Dead Space 2 has probably the best 5.1 directional audio mixing of anything this reviewer has ever played.  Necromorphs howl and roar in the background, always making the player feel uneasy, though the beginnings of the more bombastic cues that signal actual attacks can be a little obvious at times.

When there are no enemies around, every sound is there to accentuate the quiet.  The fact that this is a place where there should be alot of noise from all the people that live there, and yet those people are no longer there.  Instead in its place are the advertisements, the hum of ventilation and electricity, and even on occasion a children’s toy.  It is all intended to make the player feel uneasy with all the sounds that should be there, but are not.

The voice acting top notch as well.  All of the characters are well written, with very few wallbanger moments.  The big change from Dead Space here is that Isaac is no longer a silent protagonist.  Alot of the story is about Isaac trying to deal with the events on the Ishimura, as well as the guilt over the death of his girlfriend, who was only there do to his insistence.  He is given a significant amount of character development.  While his voice-acting is occasionally a bit flat, but it is obvious that he is trying, and the writers thankfully avoid giving him any witty one-liners.  Everything is played completely straight.

When paired with the graphics, everything just comes together with the atmosphere and style.  That hallway is just a little darker, the flashlight does not illuminate far enough.  Was that a necromorph skittering across that doorway, or is that howling close or far away?  You know you saw something there, behind the crates, almost cackling as it peeks out, before another screams and rushes from the opposite direction you never expected.

The controls are largely the same from Dead Space, and those are themselves a modern generation refinement of the Resident Evil 4 control scheme.  Players have full control of  movement and camera.  Regardless of movement or not, pressing the key to aim the weapon immediately faces the player in the direction of the camera, with only a loss in movement speed, instead of being rooted in place.  Players can switch weapons, pull up the inventory quickly, though inventory management is lessened here than previous.  The 3d map has been removed in favor of the objective marker also showing paths to the nearest shops and save stations.  All of the game’s HUD elements exist within the world somewhere, instead of on the player’s screen, from health to ammo.  Even the inventory and communications are represented as holograms that appear within the game world instead of simply on the screen.

The Kinesis ability is still a glorified Gravity Gun, but its ability to throw weapon-like objects is emphasised early on, as most players do not seem to have thought of it in the original game.  An early section even requires the player to survive a small attack with nothing but Kinesis and  some rod-like objects.  The Stasis ability, at first, seems to be only semi-useful, but becomes more useful as the game goes on, as it now splashes to hit multiple objects instead of just what it actually hits.  As well, Stasis now automatically regenerates, the timer can be upgraded, but the initial timer is rather long.

One rather noticeable, though welcome change, is that the game actually plays faster.  Its not terribly noticeable at first.  Here, Isaac simply moves faster in every way.  Walking and running no longer feel plodding, and the difference in setting gives his movement a different weighteness.  The melee attacks are even faster, and that is definitely helpful.  The basic melee swing is faster, and no longer has the tendency to clip into and be blocked by scenery.  The curbstomp happens faster and now moves Isaac forward instead of standing in place, as proper distance to use it is not always easy to judge, and it can be chained together quickly.

More weapons have been added to the mix as well.  While the trusty Plasma Cutter is still the go-to weapon in a pinch, the returning weapons are more useful.  The new weapons also have a more real weapon feel, as opposed to the improvised tools-as-weapons approach of the original.  Also, the Flamethrower is no longer useless before upgrading.

If there is anything that can be said about Dead Space 2, it is that it is one of those few sequels that improves on original without doing anything worse than the original.  It is an incredible audio and visual presentation in equal respects.  Dead Space 2 is a phenomenal addition to this relatively new franchise, as well as to the collection of any gamer that likes Resident Evil 4 style survival-horror/action games.

Score: 10/10

Pros:  Incredible visual design.
Great sound effects, music, and acting.
Well written story.

Cons:  Can potentially get repetitious.
Spawn points for enemies still rather obvious.

Weird:  There’s a reason I refer to Resident Evil 4, and not Resident Evil 5
Not demonic babies, but rather “exploding” babies.  Literally.
You made me go to a Unitology Church and back the Ishimura.  Visceral, you guys are fucking bastards. :P
This is really my kind of horror game, so it was very effective for me.
Seriously though, this is the first true GotY contendor of the year.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Picks of the Year: 2010: Movies


(author's note: My picks of the year are taking longer than anticipated to write, so this post is only my movies of the year, videogames and miscellaneous things are coming later.)

Well, here we are with 2010 over, and 2011 just beginning.  2011 has yet to tease many things of interest beyond the upcoming Marvel movies, but 2010 was definitely a bumper year.  There were alot of things worth seeing, playing, reading, and listening too.  I myself saw, played, read, and listened to many things, though not everything.  Like everyone, I have my own personal tastes.  Sometimes they coincide with other people’s, sometimes not.  And if they don’t, then I’ll tell you that that doesn’t matter.  This is my work, not theirs.

So now that that’s out of the way, here are my picks of 2010.  There WILL BE some obvious omissions, and I will note ahead of time that those omissions are because I haven’t seen, played, read, or listened to it.  In fact, nothing I listened to will make this list because I didn’t listen to much new music, and even if I did, I simply don’t have the vocabulary to speak about it.  These are my personal favorites for 2010, and nothing more.

Movies:

Despicable Me:  Straight up, this is sort of tied with How To Train Your Dragon as my favorite animated film of the year.  Yes yes, Pixar had a tour de force with Toy Story 3, and yes it was an incredibly well made film.  BUT, it did not make me want to go back into the theater and watch it a second time, or even buy it on DVD when it came out.  Despicable Me and HTTYD did that for me.  The story of a supervillain who learns that there’s more to life than supervillainy, while at the same time not using it as an excuse to turn him into a hero.  At the end, he’s still a supervillain, just one with a bit of a soft spot.  The characters are all well written, and well acted, and was an incredible suprise to me.  Oh, and the Minions are awesome. XD

How To Train Your Dragon:  Like Despicable Me, a genuine suprise this year, especially considering that it bucks the trend that Dreamworks Animation has continued to do since Shrek 2, IE, crappy writing.  My thoughts have always been exactly that.  That Dreamworks can match Pixar on a technical level, but are seriously in need of better writers.  Based off a book that I am probably doing to have to read now, its the story a young, weak Viking that learns to talk to dragons, something no other Viking has done.  Everything about it is, like Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda, well written and realized beyond almost all of their other films.My only real issue was the dragons were a little too cartoony for my tastes.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World:  Where was this comic and why hadn’t I heard of it before?  This is pure, right up my alley, geekery, and I loved every minute.  With a little time, and extra cash, I’ll read the comic its based on too.  The movie, as well as the books, play with the imagined battles any kid who ever played 8 and 16-bit videogames ever dreamed of.  A guy who has to fight off his new GF’s exes while learning to be less of a douche, who’d have thought?

Kick-Ass:  Geeky kid wants to become a hero, gets his ass beat for it, so he tries harder the next time around.  But even then, he still sucks, and gets in over his head.  Like Scott Pilgrim, this is very much about the nerd fantasy come true, though in a different way.  Rather than being a crazy way of dealing with personal inadequacies in mind-bending ways, this one is more about someone with no power trying to take control in a physical sense, and finding out things are much harder than he thought.  As for Hit-Girl, she’s the most unrealistic thing in the movie, but she adds alot of fun to the proceedings.  A little girl like that doing parkour and gun-kata?  Seriously fun, and just as crazy.

Honorable Mentions (IE, stuff I want to mention but can’t come up with anything to say about):
The Social Network
Inception
Iron Man 2
Splice
Shutter Island
Toy Story 3