Journey of a thousand massacres.

Hey All!

As you may or may not know, Monster Hunter 3 comes out soon enough, which brings me to think about the only Monster Hunter game I've ever played, and is currently emblazoned in gold for its sheer brilliance.

I got the first Monster Hunter as a child, and was immediately infatuated with it. At that point, it was mostly because the swords were twice the size of my head, but then it began to click. For those that haven't played, or know nothing about it, the original Monster Hunter for the PS2 had you play a new 'hunter' in a civilization threatened by huge, dinosaur like creatures. Everything from Raptors to Wyverns (Dragons with no front legs, instead just having wings) and a lot in between. Your job was to go out and ensure the survival of your village by completing quests. Things from procuring cooked meats and precious livers, to slaying the Yian Kut Ku (Think a large, angry, pink, armored, fire breathing chicken). After your victory over any of these 'monsters', you could run over and harvest their corpses for bones and meat, and scales, and hides, and fangs, and what not, which you would then take BACK to your village (with the Quest's requisites) and craft various armors out of.

Part of the beauty of the game was just that: You could look at every piece of armor, and every weapon, and think 'Yeah, that looks like I formed that out of that thing's hip bone'. The weapons were great, being split into two categories: Blademaster and Gunner (each had their respective armors). Blademaster weapons were Swords n' Shields, Great Swords, Lances, and Hammers. Gunners used Bowguns, which were effectively a gunpowder enhanced crossbow. They were in two varieties, Light or Heavy, and could use a variety of different ammunitions you'd create or buy.

You would start with a basic weapon, then upgrade it with the gruesome spoils of each hunt until you wound up with the Wyvern crushing tool of death you orgasmed about since the beginning of the game, which leads me to my next point: The grind element. Part of the inherent beauty of the game was the delibrancy and planning ahead. You can't enter the world without a quest, so you pick the one that will yield the roster of items needed for the 'Skullcrusher' (what I'm currently working towards) and hunt them out. It made it all worthwhile when you see the spoils: a massive spiked mace with amazing attack power and a freakishly beserker-like feel to it. The same with armor. Everything in the game is an apt reward for patience and skill.

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Now, between then and now, there have been multiple Monster Hunter games I didn't even bother trying. The original had an online mode I never got working, so I can't base my knowledge off of that. However, the new Monster Hunter 3 for the wii brings some significant changes from the original. Mostly in terms of being online, but:

Switchaxes: Crazy Great Sword / Axe crossbreeds that look like they don't have the ability to block, but most likely don't have a bad side to hit with. One's just better for smacking than the other.

Hunting Horns: Not sure if these are in this one, or one of the predecessors. My understanding is: a relatively weak melee weapon that can be played to boost your allies. Rocking.

Medium Bowguns: A cosmic mix of Heavy and Light? Didn't see that coming.

Bowgun parts: Apparently, you can craft barrels, chassis, and stocks for your bowgun to create another crazy cosmic mixture.

Underwater fighting: Am I the only one that has nightmares about this? The beasts in this game are intimidating enough, but to be UNDERWATER? Terrified. I'm staying right behind Lucas when it comes to this one, he can find all the sharks.

In all honesty though, this strikes me as a bit of a pain in the ass. I'd imagine that there will most likely be an oxygen bar, and some form of item that will allow you to breathe, but still. It requires coordination to dodge the leathery tail of the Gypceros on land, fighting a monster in all dimensions seems like it's going to be the epitome of inconvenience.

New monsters: Fun.

New weapon types: Funner.

New armor: Only 0.001% less fun than the weapons

Streamlined online play: I don't have a base of reference for this one.

As this draws to a close, I want to point out that the main figurehead of the game as seen on the website ( http://www.capcom.com/monster/ ) is a loud, angry, and critical scotsman with a flowing mane and a wicked beard. In the character customization of the other games, you get a face, your hair, the color, and a voice to choose from. If I don't get the long, flowing lockes and a beard (not prevalant in previous games), and a scottish accent voice, there will be blood. Lots of it.

Look forward to April 20th, and I'll catch you online. You'll know me by the incessant giggling, and the screenname Kragtast.

Happy Hunting!

-Waffle Monster

Moeten leren het nederlands...

Well, this is a two parter: in typical Mekapaedia style, we'll have a Linux Blurb. But also, a blurb on playing those old GB/GBC/GBA games on your computer.

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Part one: Linux.

Firstly: Yeppie! I gots my X.org and Xfce4 working!

What is that you ask?

Well, X.org is a free implementation of the X11 standard. It is a server program that manages the basic drawing of 2D elements on Linux. It's a "server" because the programs that create the windows and graphics (Firefox, GNOME, etc...) are a client, and can be on a different physical computer from the one with the X.org server.

Xfce4? A window manager, a program (or rather a set of programs) that has a taskbar, windows, file manager, etc.

Basically: NO MORE COMMAND LINE! Woot.

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Part 2: Gameboy on PC.

Quite simple, really.

Visual boy.

Visual boy is an emulator for Windows that will use a ROM file to allow you to play these games on you computer. Download here: http://www.emulator-zone.com/doc.php/gba/vboyadvance.html

To play a game you will have to download a ROM. These are pretty easy to find, google "(GAME NAME HERE) rom" and download whatever one strikes your fancy. After you download it, one up Visual Boy, go "File, open" and choose your ROM file. Done.



-Mekapaedia.

Mekapedia's Return!

Sorry for the long wait, I've been focusing rather muchly on a pet project of mine: My Laptop (Her name is Aislynn)

Well, the premise was rather simplistic: I wanted 6 operating systems. Yes, six. Windows XP, Windows 7 Beta, Hackintosh OSx86 (Macintosh for PCs), Windows 98 Second Edition, Linux Mint and Arch Linux. Oh, and maybe Puppy Linux and Geexbox. But those could be installed without partitioning, so that twas an afterthought.

Now, as some foreknowledge, I must explain Filesystems and Partitioning, otherwise this story will make as much sense.

Now, a filesystem is a way of distributing and retrieving data on a hard drive. Since a hard drive is a disk (similar to a CD) you must order the files in some way, ideally one that make accessing faster.

A partition is a set amount of a hard disk that one filesystem can use. You do this because Operating Systems (OSs) cannot co-exist on one filesystem. (Frugal installs are a little more complicated...)

So, know you know a little, onto the story...

Well. It was about... eh... a week or two ago. Exam break was ending. I had 39 OS install disks and my Windows 7 Beta key.

It was time to rock.

At first, I install my OSs at random with no real order (leaving OS X and 98 out at this point) until I realized how it worked: Install XP first. Install 7 next. 7 will detect XP and make the system dual bootable. Now, install Arch Linux. This makes it so you can only boot Arch Linux, but it probably upsets Windows less... and now onto the finale! Install Linux Mint, it detects all, and it all works! Well... in theory (more on this later).

Now, onto my first headache... Windows 98. Now, many of you might be thinking “Why the heck would you want to install that? It's like... 11 years old!”.

Well, you would be right sir/ma'am, it is indeed old. But that was exactly why I wanted it. See, I like my legacy games. Need for Speed 3 and 4 anyone? Porsche Unleashed? I loved those games. I wanted them again. Well, if you know a fair bit about computers, stop your hysterical laughter, if you don't, listen up.

NEVER. TRY. 98. ON. ANYTHING. REMOTELY. NEW.

(even a virtual machine doesn't work well...)

Why not? Well, let's start from the top...

I had partitioned my hard drive such that 98 had it's own small FAT32 partition, and was think that the 98 install would be all like “Ooooo, a free partition! I dig that!”.

No. No. No. No. No. No. No...

It thought it was all a big nasty partition that needed to be re-partitioned. I was like “OH GOD NO” and no install ensued.

So, I tried again.

I made one partition. One FAT32 partition. It used all my disk space (I was going to shrink the partition later).

It installed.

So I was like “yay!”.

I went to boot it, all excited...

“Disk I/O error. Remove and replace disk to continue”

WTF?

Restart.

“Disk I/O error. Remove and replace disk to continue”

ARRRRGGGGG WTF!?!?!?!?!?

Suffice it to say 98 was scratched from the project.

Onto the second of my woes: Hackintosh.

Now, of all the OSs I was installing, this one excited me the most. To be honest, I've wanted a Mac for the longest time. I ADORE the interface. I do not adore the ridiculous prices. So, I have no Mac.

If you want Hackintosh, you have quite the choice. I had earlier found a distro (version, I suppose) called “Kalyway”. It was a modified version of OS X 10.5.2 (10 being all of the OS X's, as the X signifies 10, 5 being the major version changes, like... 95 to 98-esk. 2 being the minor version changes, like XP SP2 to XP SP3.).

So, I tried to boot it. Firstly, I had to try the different kernels (manages the system hardware, really the basis for the OS.) and eventually found that “speedstepkernel” went the farthest. For 2 days, yes 2, I thought it was freezing on startup. No, no. I was just an inpatient little git... eventually it would boot from the DVD into the installer.

The first time I saw it I knew I wanted it.

Needed it.

Why?

IT WAS SO DAMN PRETTY.

SOOOO PRETTTYYY.

WANT.

So, I tried to install it. I had already made an HFS+ partition for it with Gparted, so I though everthing would go smoothly,

No.

The problem was that it didn't see my hard drive.

At all.

No even like “I dun understand filesystem”. NO. NO.

It couldn't see the fricking hard drive. Like it wasn't even plugged in.

Well, I could deal with this. I had a plan.

I plugged in my iPod. It was a classic, so computers recognized it as basically a giant USB stick.

So, I booted the DVD and went to the Disk Utility, Huzzah! It could see it. So I formatted it (didn't make the iPod not work, interestingly, the iPod OS is on a separate ROM chip.) and installed OS X onto it. After a few tries, it installed correctly, so I went to stage two: copying.

It took a long, long time, but to make a long story mildly shorter, it got it on it's happy HFS+ partition, and tried to make it boot via chainbooting (each OS has it's own bootloader, chainloading is using another bootloader to load a bootloader.).

Chainbooting failed. Again and again. Tboot, chain0, grub, irrelevant.

So I tried the logical alternative.

I made the HFS+ partition bootable.

Didn't work either.

I also tried other version

iDeneb didn't see my hard drive either, and I also tried copying it from my iPod.

iPC had a kernel panic (the computer equivalent of waking up in the morning and hitting your head on a large bar of metal, knocking you out.) every time I tried to start it. And this was the one supposedly the one that worked with everything.

Suffice it to say I was frustrated. But it wasn't really iPC's fault... I successfully now have my sister's Acer Aspire One running a Windows/OS X dualboot.

Damn HP and their proprietary hardware!

And know onto the most recent and final: Windows.

Yup.

I told you earlier about all that detection stuff, right? Well, XP was detected alright, but it wouldn't start.

I had it running before I installed 7.

I was annoyed.

I need XP.

So I looked though the boot drive (methinks because I installed XP and the XP partition was the boot one, 7 installed it's bootloader there and screwed things up.) and found some DOS stuff.

Well, DOS hasn't been central to Windows since ME. It's simply has a command line interpreter, the kernel is from OS/2...

...so I delorted it.

...and Windows 7 wouldn't boot.

Windows 7 had been flaky before, but I mean, I've been doing this for like 2 weeks.

I'm done here.

Linux Mint was also being weird on startup.

You know what always worked?

Arch Linux.

So that's what I'm using. Currently, I'm trying to make it install on a Reiser4 partition (Reiser4 is damn fast. DAMN FAST.)

So there you go.

Go Arch Linux!

Now, I realize this IS a gaming blog, so I will write a short thing on what I starting playing while the computers were talking copious amounts of time to do things...

Halo 3.

Unfortunately, Waffle Monster and Mr. Vagabond have been having a spat over the said FPS, so I say this: I am not an FPS gamer, and I never will be.

So what I say here should have no effect on your flamewar.

So, onward: I started the campaign. I got my Xbox on boxing day (it came with Halo 3) and was afraid to start the campaign: I am not very good at console FPSs.

Well, I taught myself the controls and tried it out. And surprisingly, enjoyed myself. Of course, it WAS on easy, but hell, it was fun.

Did I die? A fair bit, yes. Did it pass the time well though? Exellently.

Do I give a damn that it's not the best FPS? No.

Do I give a damn that the story's mildly overused? No.

Was it fun? Indeed.

And the music... the music is brilliant. I downloaded the soundtrack (all 3 games...) after I played it.

I learned three things in the campaign:

MELEE

GRAVITY HAMMER

JEROY JENKINS

Yup.

Get the Grav hammer. If not, fire and melee. And always, always be Leroy Jenkinsing it out there. Even in a tank.

Recommend? Si.

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Now playing: Paul McCartney - 15 - Rinse The Raindrops
via FoxyTunes

The Videogame Vagabond Presents: Podcast on a Stick.

Here it is,our first podcast!

Its ruff and barely lisnable but hey,its a start. Next week we hope to have the whole crew in for a much better podcast.


I really hope this works.



Edit:it didnt >:/ yay more work for me...

Edit:Edit: I will mess with it later and make this proses a little smoother and get this out to more people,but i am much to lazy to do that right now.


Thee Linkage: http://files.filefront.com/podcastgood1wav/;13250482;/fileinfo.html

Music: Life is Hard - John Mellencamp, Do you Dig Destruction? - Turbonegro

War be Dawning!

Dawn of War 2 is coming. 

I remember playing the first one, it was amazing. Compared to Warcraft 3 (god bless it) and it's major fights, this is an orgasm. I had a Dreadnought literally pick up an orc, whack it on the ground a couple times, then throw it a couple miles away. It was amazing. The second one is only going to make this better. The scenery from Screenshots looks stunning, as well as the mechanic they're implementing for cover. With the graphics amped up, this means that I can REALLY see my Space Marines tear through the battle field in *heavy voice* HD.

The game is following along with the original one with base building mechanics, which is fast and easy. Rather than build like hell, I can immediately pump out a unit, and a heavy weapons workshop for the Heavy Bolters and flame-throwers I so desire. Meaning, right off the bat, I'm capturing a control post and getting ready to unleash my molten slag fury. New races as well as an expanded 1 player, and an especially great multiplayer are making this shape up to be one of the better RTS titles for 2009.

In closing, 

BRB. I need to build another Dreadnought!

Were have i seen this before?

Ok,ok I know its late to get to the 'HALO SUX' party but I have a strong dislike for halo.
This post is a flamewar, because I am pissed off.

Now i will be the first to say that the first halo was great, it was fun had good controls for a console and was a truly great shooter. Even the plot wasnt horrible. But the best thing it did was reel in thousands of new gamers and thats always a good thing in my book.

And then there was the Halo 2.

And were do i begin. I mean they some how found a way to turn a great game in to a generic and dare I say 'run of the mill' and what it made up for in story (did i really just write that about a halo game?) it lost in the god damn 'mario and zelda' formula that well is a good way to make money is ultimently bad for the games industry. I you keep making the same game evey few years there is no room to grow,no room for innovation.Alot of this blame lyes on Nintendo. Case point: Mario and Zelda. well mario is trying new things these days Zelda seems hell bent on not doing a damn thing diffrent,and the sad thing is people dont seem to care much,they are content to live out there meager existencenes buying the same game every few years and then go on fourms ot defend it when people point this out. Well I think Nintendo is far to busy counting its money to care so lets get back to halo.

Then there was Halo 3. I played it for 10 minutes and said to my self "not this again..." and turned off the console.

Ultimently what i am getting at is that developers need to take more chances,sure there are risks involved but hey theres bound to be some thing new and innovative that will make you millions, I mean look at Doom and Command and Conquer. Untill then I guess i will be getting back to playing my Peggle:Nights.....

-The Vagabond

EPIC FAIL!

I love Halo 3, this is not a flamewar. I find it very satisfying to splaser my brother out of the banshee after 3 minutes of being teased. BUT, I think there's a bit that could've been done to make it all the more "epic".

1) Deaths:

Deaths seem to be mostly "Argh I'm a ragdoll!". After playing Gears of War I'd REALLY love to see a move where y'know, something FUN happens. I mean, I would LOVE to have a move where I pull a guy onto my sword from behind (SWORD, not male genitals). Or, maybe, the ability to boot someone off the edge. If I'm going to die, I want it to look damn entertaining, such as being able to leap on a fellow player from above, slap him on the chest with a grenade, then propel off. Think of any of the death scenes from Dead Space to Resident Evil, you might as well go out in style.

2) Music:

I realize that multiplayer Halo is meant to be realistic, but really a little bit of music in the background wouldn't hurt the atmosphere. Music in movies, always helps. 

3) The horror aspect

Yes, there were some scary parts in Halo 3. I would love to see more. I remember the first halo, in the flood level (can't remember), I remember the tight quarters and the worse radars. It gave you a claustrophobic feeling. What I'd really like for Coop, would feed off of Left 4 Dead, as in you go off and you get mauled by your reanimated brethren. Lovely.

I'm a little tired of the lackluster way I kill / be killed. 

-Waffle Monster