Xbox 360 controller for Windows

Frustrated by not being able to use my (admittedly ancient) Sidewinder joystick with Racedriver GRID, I've invested in an Xbox 360 controller for Windows. Now I am able to enjoy GRID to the full, and bloody good it is too (even if my driving isn't). Just about everything you need to play the game is on the controller, and works perfectly. It comes in wired and wireless versions (I chose wired) and includes vibration feedback. As with all Microsoft hardware, it is extremely well built - I've already managed to drop it on the floor with no ill effects whatsoever. And the great thing about the controller over a steering wheel (apart from the cheaper price) is that you can use it with other, non driving, games such as GTA IV and Bioshock. It can also, of course, be used with an Xbox 360. So no reason not to get one I'd say...

Right, GRID is such a beautiful game that I couldn't resist a screenshot of my (somewhat battered) car:

SimEarth: Somehow Cool

Now those were the days, when the game came in a nice big box, complete with a nice big manual, some nice big disks and a nice big woman (OK, I lied about the woman). Still, if the game was only one meg in size, I suppose they had to put something else in to justify the hefty price tag...

According to the receipt which is still in the box (I always put the receipt in the box in those days - how sad is that?), I purchased SimEarth from Software Circus, Oxford Street, London (always had to go to London to get PC games back then) for £40.95, on the 6th May 1991. By my reckoning that equates to about £70 in today's spondulics. And what did I get for my money? Well, as the picture above shows, two 3 and a half inch disks, four 5 and a quarter inch disks, a 220-page manual (ring-bound) and a 20-page 'System Information, Manual Addendum and Quick-Start Guide'. Money well spent, I'd say...

SimEarth was, of course, one of Gaming God Will Wright's early efforts. Not content with simulating a mere city, Wright went the whole hog and simulated an entire planet. Inspired by James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, the game let you "take charge of an entire planet from its birth until its death" and "guide life from its inception as single-celled microbes to a civilization that can reach for the stars". Basically, it was an extremely simplified simulation, in which you could 'control' the planet's geosphere, atmosphere, biosphere and civilization.

Now, it's a long time since I played it, and since my current PC doesn't have a 3 and a half inch drive (not to mention a 5 and a quarter inch drive), I haven't been able to check out how the game plays (OK, I know it is available as abandonware, but to be honest, I can't be arsed), so here are my vague memories: crap graphics (see above), a bit anal, not much of a game but still somehow cool.

HL2 EP 1: The Verdict

Well, Alyx and I did it. We escaped City 17. Or, to put it another way, I've completed Half-Life 2 Episode 1. It was more of the same, and there's no higher praise than that. At times it seemed a little more difficult than the original, and perhaps slightly less linear - occasionally, there seemed to be two ways to go, but I never had to backtrack, so either I chose the right way, or all roads lead to the station. My only criticism is that it was all too short, although this was partly emphasised by the length of the original. Now for Episode 2:

RATING:

HL2 EP1: Progress

Well, Alyx and I have made some progress, although it's not been easy. In fact, Episode 1 seems to me to be a lot more difficult than HL2. The car park level was tough, and after that it's a battle all the way. Now trying to escape the city. A couple of screens:

HL2: Episode One

I said that I would have a go at Half-Life 2 Episode One, and now I have. It carries on exactly where HL2 left off, with more of the same great gameplay. Alyx is now with me, and we're attempting to escape from the Citadel. I'll report back and let you know how we get on. Meanwhile, a screenie:

The End of the Affair

I may not be too old for gaming, but I seem to be too old for games. Sport just doesn't seem to do it for me these days. However, I heard that something called the British Open is taking place at the moment, and this got me remembering the golf games I used to play.

The first golf game I played was, I think, Leaderboard on my old Amstrad PCW. In glorious green and black and with a sqare ball, it seemed great at the time. I followed the Leaderboard franchise on to PC, where it looked a tad better:

... graphics were to improve, as the screenshots below show.

Of course, back in the halcyon PC golfing days of the nineties, Leaderboard was only one of a number of ways of enjoying a good walk spoiled on PC. My all-time favourite was probably Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge:

- I particularly remember amusing myself for hours on the course designer, although I don't recall ever actually finishing a course.

Things moved on when mouse swing (or whatever it was called) was introduced to golf games, giving a feel of swinging the club. Well, sort of. I don't recall the first game I got that had that (I've still got it somewhere - I'll dig it out), but it soon became a standard feature, although the great Links franchise stuck with keyboard control until Links 2003:

The last golf game that I flirted with was the 2004 incarnation of Tiger Woods PGA Tour:

- looked good, but my love affair with golf games was over, and I didn't play it much. Now, it seems that the PC's love affair with golf games is also over, with hardly any golf games available for the format - even the latest Tiger Woods is console-only.

Ageing Gamer Top Tip

OK, time to take stock. I've been writing this blog for over two months now and thought I would jot down a few brief comments upon my favourite game genres.

As an ageing gamer I obviously don't have the same amount of time to invest in gaming as a child gamer - family commitments and work bite deep into the time that I really should be spending gaming. As a result (and as any regular reader may have noticed), I'm always impatient to get to grips with a new game so that I can get on with the serious business of enjoying playing it. This particularly makes strategy games, once my favourite genre, problematic to play. Current strategy games are so complex that they can take an age to learn, a problem exacerbated by the modern practice of saving a few pennies by not including a full manual with the product. Why, reading the manual used to be the best bit!

Right, so what games have I enjoyed? Well, apart from Flight Simulator (which, it can be argued, is not a game) the FPSs have stood out, particularly Far Cry 2 and, of course, Half Life 2. There is nothing quite like being able to jump straight in and blast away whenever I have a free moment. OK, I may miss some of the nuances of these games, but who cares when you're enjoying yourself getting rid of the pent-up stresses of the day?

So, that's my top tip for any ageing gamer out there: get yourself a straightforward FPS and kick some ass. You can always pretend that that boss you're shooting is really your boss...

As for myself, I'm going to ignore my own advice, as the next game on my to-buy list is Hearts of Iron 3. I'm a glutton for punishment:

Civ IV Colonization

Been trying out another game that is available cheap: Civilization IV Colonization (or, more simply. Colonization II). As with Anno 1404 I've found it a bit frustrating. The manual is OK in that it does describe the basic game mechanics, but it doesn't tell you how to use those mechanics. As a result, my first game was a total disaster, even on the easiest level, but I'm doing a little better in my second game. Being forever told that you can't do something, or that something is wrong, without any explanation can be a bit frustrating. Part of the problem is that I'm used to the Civ games, but Colonization works quite differently. Anyway, I'm sure there is a good game in here, and it's clearly more focussed than the Civ games, so no more playing for weeks to complete a game. Here are a couple of screenshots from my second game:

Bioshock: call me a wuss

Well, I've been playing Bioshock. It is a beautifully crafted atmospheric game, but I started to come unstuck when I came across my first Big Daddy, which was insanely difficult to kill. After about twenty attempts (and twenty gory deaths) I got frustrated. Now, I usually play FPS's on normal level, but on this occasion I decided to turn it down to easy. Suddenly, I started making progress and the game became fun again. In fact, if anything it is now too easy, but who cares when you're enjoying yourself? Here's a screenshot of my first Big Daddy kill:

And here is something you don't see in many games these days:

... I'm being offered cigarettes. Wonderfully un-PC!

This is a brilliant game, and for ten quid (which is what I paid for it in Game) you just can't go wrong.

Bioshock

I recently picked up Bioshock cheap. I've watched the gameplay before, but not actually played it. Wow. The art-deco graphics are stunning. I guess this is another game that I'd better review. Meanwhile, a screenshot: