In what seems like years, I finally got around into buying another PC game. This time it’s for me. Wohoo!

In the past week, I have been reading several raving reviews about BioShock and decided to check it out myself.

The game is set in the late 1950s and is about a rich guy called Andrew Ryan who built an underwater utopia. And like in all games, bad things happens and you find yourself in the middle of it. I think you get the picture.

Since only the PC version was available at the store I thought I might as well buy it as I really wanted to test this game on my brother’s shiny new laptop. It’s quite a steal; his laptop is. All thanks to my uncle. Bought a 1.6K laptop for only 1k.

Yes another laptop. I now have 3 laptops and 2 desktop computers at home. Just to make you envious I do well to gloat that I also have 3 printers, an Xbox, an Xbox 360, a Wii, a PS2, a DS lite, two grandmothers, two external harddisks and lots of hair on my head.

But as soon as I got home. The problems started to emerge. Somehow or rather the game could not run on my brother’s laptop. And after spending an hour in the forum, I still could not get it to work. PC games continue to be bogged down by hardware and driver conflict issues. And to make matters worse there is still Direct X 10 and Vista to take into account.

I decided to abandon my efforts and try the game on my now-dated-but-still-a-monster-Dell-laptop. And would you believe it, it worked like a charm. Okay not exactly. I did reduce the graphics settings so as not to cost my laptop to catch fire in the midst of a unworldly heated exchange.

I am not sure how far I am into the game but from what I have seen, the game looks gorgeous. The art direction is superb. The dialogues are very well written and when you hear what the characters say to each other, it’s just plain creepy. The audio effects excels by sending chills down your spine.

All this talk about not having realistic water effects in computer games can be thrown out of the window because BioShock has nailed it. The water effects in this game are a technical achievement. I don’t say it lightly because you need a monster of a machine to run this game on its high settings.

I wish I had a monster of a machine. Well there’s always the 360 version to look forward to.

The wait is almost over.

In approximately 3 days DOOM 3 will be unleashed upon us. This game brings back my early childhood memories. Times when games were simply games. Today these games no longer are games but what many people call mainstream entertainment.

We’re on the verge of the next generation of gaming. Once again, the monolithic id Software and their frightfully sophisticated graphical behemoth, DOOM III, will fire the first volley. For better or worse, this is a title that’s going to thunder across the collective consciousness of gamers across the globe and sell an awful lot of copies.

Just as the original DOOM heralded the dawn of the 3D shooter, so, too, will this release usher in a new paradigm of lighting and atmosphere and not to mention textures.

What id is proving with the DOOM III engine is that we’re likely within a decade or less of graphics so realistic that we’ll have games indistinguishable from a Hollywood effects blockbuster. Just like Neo, we’ll be able to ogle the woman in the red dress. While there are naysayers who complain about the graphics in DOOM III looking too “plastic,” there’s a certain amount of perspective one needs to keep in mind.

If that’s plastic, then it’s the most convincingly rendered, realistically lit plastic a game engine has ever pumped out. It’s difficult to imagine what the graphic cards of tomorrow will be capable of to make this look as dated as the original DOOM looks to us now.

Starting of an obsession
For me, my love of games really started when my father bought the Atari 2600 video game console in 1989. I still have the receipt for the set. It cost around $170 back then. It was a real pinch on my dad’s wallet. But nonetheless it was an important moment for me. It would be the start of an obsession.

Upon getting my first computer, I can’t quite remember its name or its actual specs. I only remember that it was a 386 pc. And for some useless information, I have even played around computers dating back to the IBM clone 86 machines.

Anyways when the pc arrived, the first game I played on it was Castle Wolfenstein from ID. It would be the first time I will have ever played a first person shooter. I fondly remember the days I would go to boss battles with full ammo and fire away until I was the last man standing with 1 percent health remaining. I had adrenaline rushes but more importantly it made me feel like a hero.

My love for Doom began when my brother first introduced me this game. He had said his friend Puvan introduced him to this game called Doom.

I was hooked the moment the main menu loaded up. It was the bloodiest and the most kick ass game of its era. It was the kind of the game you had to play to believe it. Although more than 10 years has passed since Doom was created, its presence on the pc gaming world hasn’t diminished.

Physiological Aspect
The physiological aspect of such games are great. Many say that games today promote violence more than anything. Many parents blame games as the main reason why their kids become more violent. But the question to them is where were they when their children needed them most. Growing up without spending time with your parents has severe consequences.

To me games are a mean of escaping reality. When someone plays a game, they get transported to another level of consciousness, where they feel they are a part of the story. Their willingness to connect to game and the way games are designed today, allow anyone to be the central character of an epic story storyline.

Another reason is, by the time you become an adult, most of us will either learn to accept our fates or have given up on our dreams because we feel we cannot achieve them. They reason being, we get dishearten and often rejected by others. So we occasionally need to escape reality and satisfy our primal urge of being someone important. And games are to many people, a window to escape reality.

Games companies are cashing in
Most of us will play to win. May it be sports or any other matter; we are hardwired to beat our opponents to give us a sense of achievement. We see it all time, in Olympics or even in our own homes. People love competing against each other.

That is why we are seeing more and more games with online capabilities. And many game companies have become aware of our urge to be part of any major movie franchises. Just look at the recent matrix game sales.

The number of people who bought this game want to feel part of the matrix universe. It’s a sad thing, but its something game companies are cashing in on. Even the lord of the rings saw its game merchandise swore though the roof. Who would give up the chance to be Aragon or Gandalf.

Geeks, nerds and everyone in between
I have known and met many geeks and nerds, these are people who have become so obsessed over their games, that games have become a major pivotal part of their lives. These people tend to isolate themselves from other people and often lack people skills. They are quick to dismiss you and your playing preferences.

Well if they can’t change themselves why do we bother changing them to suit our own likings. We just need to accept their differences and share the world with them. After all these are people who can be exploited. Though I am personally against it, I have seen many of these people being exploited in various fields. It’s the truth, if you cannot stand up for yourself, you will be exploited by any opportunist.

On a final note, I only hope that DOOM III lives up to its massive hype.

Relating relatives!

Today morning I started to write a small wish list. It was nothing more than a list of games that I wanted to play. But to my surprise upon visiting Latiff’s blog I saw his wish list. Although the lists are different in nature the concept of two people thinking alike is strange.

What made it stranger was when Michelle during our brief MSN chat session yesterday asked why Latiff and I asked her the same question at the same time. Incidentally all three of us were having individual conversations with one another.

I used to think these coincidences as flaws in our understanding of our own nature. We deem ourselves different only to find ourselves more alike. I used to have a theory about this, I call it relating relatives. But upon reading the holographic universe, I have gotten a deeper understanding on this matter.

Anyways I am not going to bore you any longer. So here’s the wish list I made this morning.

1) Halo 2 (Xbox)
2) Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith lords (Xbox)
3) Star Wars : Republic Commando (Xbox)
4) Need For Speed Underground 2 (PS2)
5) Dead or alive ultimate (Xbox)
6) Fable (Xbox)
7) Doom 3 (PC)
Half Life 2 (PC)
9) Otogi 2 (Xbox)
10) Prince of Persia 2 (PS2)
11) Jade Empire (Xbox)
12) Viewtiful Joe (PS2)
13) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2)
14) Gran Turismo 4 (PS2)
15) Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2)
16) WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW (PS2)
17) Devil May Cry 3 (PS2)
18) Evil Genius (PC)
19) The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth (PC)
20) Metroid Prime 2 (Gamecube) although I do not own a cube.

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence.

I sat down and played Castlevania: Lament of Innocence on my brother’s Playstation 2. Although the game has been out for quite some time now, I never got the chance to quietly sit down and play this game to my heart’s content. So being presented with this rare opportunity, I had to make the most of it.

Castlevania has always been one of my favourite game franchises. Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is the first 3D Castlevania game on the Playstation 2. It is an impressive translation given that Castlevania has its origins deeply rooted in 2D side scroller genre.

Although the game has its outstanding merits, the dialogue is a bit on the quirky side. Nevertheless the game is extremely satisfying. For those of you who are good enough to finish this game, you will find an interesting twist towards the end. I am not going to spoil the experience for you. But it’s worth the effort.

Well for those of you who are clueless about Castlevania, it is a game based on a vampire none other than the infamous, Dracula. Throughout the series, a single family has been tracking and killing Dracula every time he is resurrected. That family is the Belmonts.

But the recent Gameboy Advance versions have seen heroes not related to the Belmont Family. But if you are not a serious fan of the series, these changes are more cosmetic than anything. After all it’s all about whipping the holy shit out of Dracula and his demonic minions.

The true hallmark of this game is neither the story nor even its hauntingly beautiful orchestra score but in its awesome level design and boss battles.

To conclude, if you own a Playstation 2 and love killing demons, you simply can’t go wrong with Castlevania: Lament of Innocence.