A Video Game for my Daughter

Both of my sons love to play video games and so it has been a bit of a challenge to find a game that my 17-year-old daughter would want to play. A little while ago there was a charity drive at work where we could donate $5 to a local cause and then receive three random, yet unopened video games. The titles were from a number of different studios and I found myself with some interesting games. One was a basketball sports game that I gave away to someone on a plane. Another was a popular arcade game that my boys decided to keep. The third game was one that I thought my daughter would like: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian from Disney Interactive Studios.

For some reason, my youngest son opened the packaging and gave it a shot. My daughter was so mad at him that she didn't ever bother to play the game. As I was home this Christmas break, I sat down with my daughter and played it with her. The game has been out since 2008 and includes a lot of different scenes from the movie. My daughter loves the Narnia movies and so that immediately held her interest to at least give the game a shot.

Prince Caspian is one of the few games I own that can be played in 1080i and the higher resolution allows for a lot of details in the game. There is an opening scene with a stain-glassed window that is really vivid. The game is also fun in that it can be played with one or two players on the same console. Ideally there should be two people playing at the same time, but one person works fine.

The game follows the movie where there are a number of characters working together for a common goal. You have to work with other creatures, such as giants, to accomplish your objectives. Sometimes you are trying to solve a puzzle while other times you are fighting with the bad guys. At one point in the game, we didn't know what we needed to do and were getting bored of killing the enemy. I wanted to get some help from the Internet and hit the "Start" button. That paused the game, but also gave a list of objectives. Once we understood what we were supposed to do, it became easy to complete the task.

My daughter and I played for about 3 hours and had a great time. It was a lot more entertaining than watching the movie (I preferred the other two Narnia movies). The game is rated T because of violence. It wasn't too graphic, but you do run around killing people. As it is from Disney, it is available for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, XBox 360, PC, Wii, and Nintendo DS. I would recommend it to any father wanting to spend some quality time with his children.

Need for Speed: The Run

I am supposed to be off on vacation but we had a disk go bad on one of our arrays and it required me to do a bit of maintenance for the office. The process of rebuilding the bad disk is about as exciting as watching dots get painted to the screen. Actually that is what was happening and so I took the chance to crack the cover of another EA game: Need for Speed: The Run. I had my laptop logged into the computer at work painting dots on one side, and my 32-inch HD TV showing the game on the other. Sometimes it is nice to be able to multitask.

Once again, EA uses the Frostbite 2 engine for this game. It is also used for Battlefield 3. My two sons love playing the Need for Speed games and so when I was down having lunch at EA at the beginning of December, I made sure to pick up a copy of the latest installment. I have to say that I have not been disappointed. You start the game duct-taped to the steering wheel of a Porsche 911 that is getting put in a car crusher. You have to escape and then are invited to drive in a race across the United States. You start in San Francisco and then try to get to New York. The only unbelievable part of the game is that you don't take Interstate 80 the whole way. Instead, you are relegated to back roads, which makes for a better video game.

I have never played another Need for Speed, but I have seen my sons play countless hours of the different versions. The Run has a lot of the same elements: you have to make certain time cutoffs, evade police, as well as pass a number of other racers over a given distance. You also have various cars to choose from. I naturally chose the BMW M3 to start as I am sort of a fan of BMWs in real life. However it was a bit tough when I kept crashing my car, especially since I really was rear-ended in my BMW yesterday. Luckily there was no damage to my car, but still, watching me destroy a virtual BMW almost brought tears to my eyes.

Need for Speed: The Run is rated T for language, mild suggestive themes, and violence. I didn't think it was nearly as violent as MotorStorm Apocalypse but there are a lot of car crashes. I also have not heard any foul language, but I am only a couple of hours into the game. I am playing in 720p resolution and the graphics look great. I wish I could play in 1080p, but the game doesn't support it. As it is from EA, you can get the game for PlayStation 3, XBox 360, PC, Wii, and Nintendo 3DS. I would recommend this title for anyone that likes driving games. Parents just don't base game play on whether or not you will let your kids ever get a driver's license.

A Skype Christmas

I thought I would take a break from video game reviews this evening and write about my Christmas. I used to love getting gifts on Christmas. Now that I am older, there are other things that make for a good holiday season. One thing that has been nice this year is having my older brother living so close to me in Utah. I spent the day at his new house visiting with him and his family.

Yesterday I enjoyed opening my gifts, but the best gift of all was being able to talk to my two oldest kids. My daughter is living near Cleveland, Ohio and my son is in Romania. With the help of Skype, we were all together as a family for the first time in seven months. We talked for over two hours and it was free. For a parent, it was the best Christmas gift ever.

Ratchet and Clank

After two days of violent video games, I decided it was time to play something a little more fun and geared towards everyone. After all, it is Christmas time and that generally means time with the family. I honestly can't remember how my son got started playing Ratchet and Clank games, but it started with the PS2. I believe my brother sent me one or two games and my youngest son loved them. I thought the titles were hilarious: Going Commando, Up Your Arsenal, and Size Matters. Then the PS3 came out and the titles weren't as funny, but the games still were.

Sometimes my scouts will show up at my office and have some spare time. I ask them if they want to play any video games and their eyes light up. When I ask them what they want to play, those same eyes gaze over with confusion. Ratchet & Clank is my first suggestion and all the boys give it a shot. It is easy to pick up and play for a short amount of time, but it is also full of different missions and can last a long time.

Tonight I pulled out my copy of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and played it with my 17-year-old daughter. She said it looked like fun as I went through the first several adventures. We couldn't play too long and this game was the perfect for the time that we had. I also have Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time as well as the new release of Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One. They are all very similar in humor as well as play. All 4 One adds the element of cooperation in that you and 3 of your friends can play at the same time on the same console as long as you have enough controllers. The other two titles have the advantage that they have been out for a while and can be purchased for around $30 new.

All 3 games are rated E 10+ because of alcohol reference, animated blood, crude humor, fantasy violence, and language. While that sounds like a lot, there really isn't much to worry about except the fantasy violence. The games are created by Insomniac games which is a Sony Computer Entertainment America studio. That means they are only available for the PlayStation 3 console. I would recommend the games for any family looking for a fun game they can play together.

MotorStorm Apocalypse

When I first got my PlayStation 3, there were several titles that I wanted to get. I kept seeing MotorStorm and wanted a copy. Since my brother worked for Sony at the time, I had him get me the game. I have to say that it was one of my favorites. The first MotorStorm takes place in southern Utah and is a very good representation of that part of the state. I have a buddy who is an avid four wheeler and was amazed at how realistic the game was. When the next version of MotorStorm came out, I was still having fun with the original and didn't feel the need to get it. Then I had someone offer to pick me up the third installment, MotorStorm Apocolypse, for $10. So I got it. Today I finally decided to put it in my PS3 and give it a shot.

MotorStorm Apocalypse was developed by Evolution Studios, LTD which belongs to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE). Sony Computer Entertainment is the same company that makes the PlayStation consoles and so the game is only available for the PlayStation 3. They also try to show off all of the cool features available for the platform. One such feature is 3D. Unfortunately I don't have a 3D TV yet and so I didn't get to play that mode. If you have one of the new PlayStation 3D displays, you can play in SimulView. This allows two people to play on the same TV without having to split the screen.

I tried to play MotorStorm Apocalypse a week ago but it required a system update and so I didn't bother as I was limited for time. I didn't think anyone had been playing the game, but I was wrong. My son had completed the entire first day races. I tried the first race on the second day and kept finishing last, so I went back to the menu and started at the beginning. While the original title was like extreme off-road racing, Apocalypse takes extreme to a whole new level. Dare I say, an unbelievable level. You get to race around a vacant city that is experiencing severe earthquakes. Buildings are falling down around you as the race must go on. You even get the chance to race across the rooftops of skyscrapers. One wrong move and you get to fly off into oblivion. Furthermore, if you don't hit your boost at the right time, you don't make certain jumps and crash into the side of a building.

I like MotorStorm Apocalypse but prefer the original MotorStorm. It is rated T for crude humor, drug reference, language, suggestive themes, and violence. I did one full lap with a motorcyclist clinging to my front bumper. I would recommend it for anyone that likes driving games, has a PS3, and is into over-the-top scenarios.

Battlefield 3

My brother used to work for Sony PlayStation which is officially Sony Computer Entertainment of America. One year for my birthday, he got me a PlayStation 2 and sent me a copy of SOCOM 2. It was a first person shooter (FPS) and was a lot of fun. One nice thing about SOCOM was that you could play against others online as long as you had a broadband Internet connection. I used to get online once a week with my brother and other family members only to get shot to death for hours. FPS games are my favorite and so when Battlefield 3 came out, I used one of my contacts at Electronic Arts, also known as EA, to get me a copy. A neighbor who was one of my former scouts wanted to play the game and so I gave him my unopened copy. Then a few weeks ago, I found myself having lunch at EA in California with a different friend and picked myself up another copy. EA has this great store on their Redwood City campus and as long as you have an employee with you, you can get copies of their products for a huge discount. If you don't know anyone that works at EA, I highly recommend finding one, simply to get some of their products.

Battlefield 3 was developed by Dice, one of EA's studios, and created using the Frostbite 2 engine. The guys at Dice spend an insane amount of effort making sure that their engine is incredibly real. I have to say they succeeded. You can do things like blow up a building and then walk through that area. While most other FPS games make you feel like you are in a maze, Battlefield 3 is not like that. Of course if you do find yourself leaving the mission area, you have a number of seconds to get back on course or risk failing your mission.

The game runs on the PlayStation 3, XBox 360, and PC. Naturally I have it for the PlayStation 3 and the matching HD TV to go with it. The graphics are incredible and so you are going to want something better than standard 480p resolution. Mine is cranked up to 720p which is the best the game can do. To be honest, I thought it was 1080p when I started playing and didn't realize it was on the lesser setting until I checked the TV.

I have yet to play online as I am just trying to get familiar with the game. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun and once again I will spend a lot of time dying.

Battlefield 3 is rated M for blood, intense violence, and strong language. It has really strong language and I wish I could turn that off. I am all for realism, but I wish I could turn on some sort of censoring so that when the players swear, you hear a beep or a substitute word. It is also a first person shooter and so killing people is part of the game. Sometimes at really close range. So far I am enjoying the game and would recommend it to anyone who likes FPS games and isn't offended by strong language.

Christmas Break

Today was my first day of Christmas vacation. I couldn't help myself from reading some e-mail and responding. Otherwise I had a great day of skiing and playing video games. I have a stack of games that I would like to try now that I have some time to spare. I would like to use my next few blog entries to highlight some of these games. However before I get too deep in the reviews I thought I would provide some disclosure.

First, I work for a video game company. Corporate policy prohibits me from exposing who I work for, but it is one of the larger players in the industry. Just be warned that I might be pushing my own company's products.

Second, I get a huge discount on most of my games. I have friends at a lot of different game companies who help me get games for between $10 and $20. However I do own all of the games I will be reviewing.

Finally, I play games on my PS3. I have a pretty beefy desktop computer, but I don't use it for games.  I bought my PS3 several years ago during Christmas when they first came out. I paid full price and so it was not a gift from my company nor a discounted product from one of my buddies in the industry. my personal belief is that is the best console on the market right now. You may disagree and are entitled to your own opinion, but this is mine.

Stay tuned for my reviews.

Uncharted

My youngest son had a ski race in Park City today and I worked as an official. That means it was a really long day spent out in the cold. We got home and had a very nice dinner. Then my wife and daughter wanted to go and see some outdoor Christmas displays. They knew we wouldn't be interested and left us to do our own thing. We decided to play Uncharted 3.

Recently we started playing the first game in the series. Then I got busy and so my son started the second game and was able to finish without me. We still have yet to complete the first game but since we have the third one, my son opted to start it. I guess you could say that my son is tired of watching me play and wanted to move on.

It is interesting to see the evolution of the game. The first one was alot of fun because it was like taking part in an action movie. The second game added more twists and also more features. The third continues but also adds such things as muli-player so both of us can play at the same time. Of the three games, my son prefers the second. However I think that will change as we get more into this game. Either that or my son just hates having to play with his dad as a partner.

Effective Troubleshooting

Yesterday and today I spent several hours hunting down a computer problem in a production system at work. I did a pretty good job of narrowing down the problem to a piece of software. I changed the configuration file, upgraded to a newer version, and tried a number of other solutions only to have the problem continue.

My coworker and I were able to get the system limping along so we could sleep on the problem. We both woke up this morning with a similar idea on how to locate the true cause of the issue. It turns out that the real culprit was a database table was larger than it should be. The system was designed for this table to have a few hundred rows. Instead it had over 5 million. There was a clean-up script that wasn't running.

The first half of solving this problem meant I had to manually clean out the table. Trying to use an automated system would have brought the database machine crashing down. Once that was done, we had to get the clean-up script rewritten. That took a good part of the day, but we got it working. The total problem solution took a few hours to come up with. I just wish we had done a better job troubleshooting last night.

Christmas Lights

Yesterday was the day my wife and I decided to put up the family Christmas tree. It normally takes us a good couple of hours to set up the custom artificial tree. We like to string the lights as we put the tree together. We got about half done when the lights stopped working. Naturally we stopped to troubleshoot the them. At around 10:00 pm we decided to just go to the store and get a couple new strands of lights.

Today my wife went to six different stores and they didn't have the lights we needed. Thinking that I had all of the answers. I went out and didn't do any better. As we left the last store, my wife told me she was done and didn't need a Christmas tree this year.

Later this evening my wife was able to calm down and came up with a store that might have strands of lights. Without telling me she snuck off to a store and found what we were looking for. She was happy and we were able to get the tree set up. Now we just need to hang the decorations. Before this evening, I thought computers were the most frustrating thing on the planet. Nope, it is Christmas lights.

2011 Christmas List

It is that time of year where some of you may be still looking for gifts for that computer nerd in your life. It would be easy to list a lot of expensive gifts, but not everyone has a huge budget and so I will concentrate on gifts around $20.

Gift Cards

1. iTunes gift card. Not only is it good for music, you can get apps with them.
2. PlayStation Network gift card. There are a number of games that come in under $20 and you can let your recipient pick his or her own game.
3. Xbox Live Points Card. Like the PSN card, you can use it to download games as well as watch movies and game add-ons.

Video Games

1. Ratchet & Clank (any of the them). These are always a good choice and now that SCEA has released some of them as "classics," you can find them between $20 and $30.
2. Uncharted 1 or 2. Sure, Uncharted 3 was just released, your recipient may want to play episodes 1 and 2 first.
3. Need for Speed. There are a number of different versions of these games available for a number of platforms and right around $20.

Computer Accessories

1. USB Key Drive. They even have ones that look like keys and you never know when you are going to need one. I keep one in my jacket and it came in handy for a friend two nights ago.
   
2. HDMI Cables. What better way to connect your PS3, BluRay Player, or Computer to that high-end TV or monitor. Nothing ruins Christmas like looking for an open store because you don't have a cable.
3. Solar Charger for your phone. It's green and it can charge your phone.
   

Sure it would be nice if everyone could afford one of those new 3D televisions, but there is no need to take the next 3 years to pay it off. A little online shopping can go a long way. Good luck and Merry Christmas.