Tag: tournament

Gaming

Blog 479: Ultimate Unreal Binge 4: Unreal Tournament 2004

Rao Dao Zao

I like the Unreal universe, and all of the Unreal games (yes, even the oft-lambasted UT3). I’ve reviewed some of the Unreal games multiple times, and some none at all — but since I haven’t played any one of them all the way through for a little while now, I thought it would be a nice exercise to play all of them all the way through. Back to back.

  • Unreal and Return to Na Pali
  • Unreal Tournament
  • Unreal II: the Awakening
  • Unreal Tournament 2004
  • Unreal Tournament 3

Continue reading “Blog 479: Ultimate Unreal Binge 4: Unreal Tournament 2004” →

Gaming

Blog 477: Ultimate Unreal Binge Interlude

Rao Dao Zao

I like the Unreal universe, and all of the Unreal games (yes, even the oft-lambasted UT3). I’ve reviewed some of the Unreal games multiple times, and some none at all — but since I haven’t played any one of them all the way through for a little while now, I thought it would be a nice exercise to play all of them all the way through. Back to back.

  • Unreal, Return to Na Pali
  • Unreal Tournament
  • Operation: Na Pali
  • Unreal II: the Awakening
  • Unreal Tournament 2004
  • Unreal Tournament 3

What do you mean, Operation: Na Pali is a mod and not an Unreal game. Have you ever played it?

Continue reading “Blog 477: Ultimate Unreal Binge Interlude” →

Gaming

Blog 476: Ultimate Unreal Binge 2: Unreal Tournament

Rao Dao Zao

I like the Unreal universe, and all of the Unreal games (yes, even the oft-lambasted UT3). I’ve reviewed some of the Unreal games multiple times, and some none at all — but since I haven’t played any one of them all the way through for a little while now, I thought it would be a nice exercise to play all of them all the way through. Back to back.

  • Unreal and Return to Na Pali
  • Unreal Tournament
  • Unreal II: the Awakening
  • Unreal Tournament 2004
  • Unreal Tournament 3

Continue reading “Blog 476: Ultimate Unreal Binge 2: Unreal Tournament” →

Gaming

Blog 448: The Club

Rao Dao Zao

It’s not often that life gives you free games.

Digital download games, sure, but… Well, if it’s free… Okay, I’ve turned down free things before — let’s add the caveat and you’re actually interested in the item on offer…

PC World launched a new digital download service t’other day. Because one of my colleagues is a master of scamming free stuff, he alerted me to the fact that the first 10,000 people to register accounts got four free games. Four free games?

Yeah. Four free games, at least two of which I actually had some interest in playing! Sounds like a deal. Digital download only, but hell, they’re free (not counting the money we’ll have to fork over for breaching our monthly data allowance, mind you).

First up: The Club

Continue reading “Blog 448: The Club” →

Gaming

Blog 377: Through the Borderlands

Rao Dao Zao

I got Borderlands with crimbo money. I bumped into Jack in Waterstone’s, then we picked up the last two copies from the Game in the Buchannan Galleries. For ten pounds apiece less than the Game on Sauchiehall Street, for some reason.

I have to say, it is a thoroughly enjoyable game. It is a breath of fresh air in a world of serious business. It’s so lovable.

I was initially skeptical because of its comedic nature, though. I read a preview that said it was hilarious fun, but only really if you’re playing cooperatively — and that’s quite a serious downer for me, a dedicated loner. Then I discovered it was all very stylised, with huge comic-book black borders around things, and I somewhat switched off (because I do tend to be into the whole serious business jig). Kilbirnie decided to get it, so I waited on his opinion (because we all know how well he can be trusted, right?). He said it was good. People on the internet said it was good. Since at least a few people I knew had it for the PC, that meant that I had good backup for cooperative play as a last resort.

Assuming one of us could get it port forwarded.

Continue reading “Blog 377: Through the Borderlands” →

Gaming

Blog 374: Three Wise Tournaments

Rao Dao Zao

Theoretically, this is a festive blog — because it was many crimbos ago that I found the delightful Unreal Tournament waiting for me under the tree.

This is funny because that was way back when my parents were all “can’t let that Robbie have those violent shooter games, he’ll grow up to be a very nasty man” — and then they got me one of the bastions of computerised brutality. Also fun to note that I’m a lot less angry now than I ever was, after years of fragging bots. Coincidence?

Spurred on by my returning mouse control skills, I’ve been playing all three installments’ singleplayer campaigns. This is a little unusual; I’d usually spend large spurts on a single title (both on the campaign and randomised Deathmatches) rather than quick-fire slamming through them all.

This puts me in a very good position to objectively compare and contrast all three titles… Continue reading “Blog 374: Three Wise Tournaments” →

Music

Blog 373: Card Readers & Mix-Tapes

Rao Dao Zao

My hi-fi has an sD card reader in it.

I never cared about this when I bought it; I was more concerned about it having the ability to switch itself on in the morning, and the ability to switch on at the same volume I last disabled it with (my last hi-fi had neither of these abilities; I had to race to the volume control to damp it down from a horrifying 14 before the digital radio managed to tune in every time I switched it on).

So I didn’t care much for the fact of a card reader’s existence; the rest of the hi-fi satisfied my criteria. But recently, I have found its presence… Rather liberating.

Continue reading “Blog 373: Card Readers & Mix-Tapes” →