#tetris is a game changer sometimes

[unicornery]

How It All Began

TL;DR I was a weird, lonely, radio-obsessed teen and heard Roundabout on a ‘70s request show I listened to regularly.

30 Days of Yes: Day 23 — The first song you heard. 

Of course there’s a possibility that I encountered the Billboard number one hit “Owner of a Lonely Heart” sometime between 1984 and 1997, but for official purposes, the first Yes song I heard, and the song that made me a fan, was “Roundabout.”

At the time, the Des Moines radio station Star 102.5 had a popular program called “Seventies Saturday Night.” It was a DJ-hosted show that played pop, funk, disco, rock, and more from 7-11pm, and took listener requests from all over central Iowa.

I started listening to the show when I was in sixth grade. I had been to a birthday party at the Legion for a classmate where the parents invited the whole class (always a big fan of those), and they had a DJ who threw in “YMCA” among the pop hits of the day. I happened to be radio channel surfing one Saturday and got excited to stumble upon “YMCA” again.

Through junior high and high school, I listened to Seventies Saturday Night whenever I could. If I was out with my family, we’d listen to it in the car, but most of the time I listened to it in the living room on the family’s big Sony stereo. The one with the 5-disc CD changer, dual tape decks, and a digital tuner. I had friends at school but I wasn’t always included in social activities on the weekends (see my joy at the everyone’s-invited type of party), so I really did spend a lot of time at home on the farm listening to the radio.

One Saturday night in my sophomore year of high school, I was in my usual spot on the couch listening to my show. Possibly playing Tetris, the one game I had for my green Game Boy. With no DJ intro, I heard the initial swelling crescendos contrasted with gently picked guitar intro, followed by the whole band kicking in. The different sections of the song, the keyboards, the prominent bass (did I mention we had a subwoofer), and the dramatic “in and around the lake” section held my interest throughout its 8-minute-plus runtime. Transfixed may be too dramatic a word, but it was about that. By the time they got to the outro, with the chanted vocals and guitar riff to tie it all together, I was all in. The DJ came back on to say that the last song was by “Yes.” In that moment, my life changed forever.

In the non-Saturday-night parts of the week, I still listened to some top 40 radio, and Oldies 93.3 with mom, but starting to drift to classic rock stations more and more.  When I listened to those stations, I kept an ear out for “Roundabout,” and came to learn another Yes song, “I’ve Seen All Good People.” The Fort Dodge station even played “Long Distance Runaround” into “The Fish” sometimes (Triple Shot Thursday, baby).

I got my first Yes CD, the Classic Yes compilation, on March 1, 1997. I wish I had written down the date of hearing “Roundabout” for the first time, but at least I kept for posterity the sales receipt from the Musicland where I bought that album. I don’t know what convinced me to get that over the other compilation that was available at the time, perhaps nothing more than Roger Dean’s painting being more appealing than the collage/assemblage on the Highlights cover.

#30DaysOfYes #Yes Band #Yes

[rentahomeinmalaysia]

Top 5 best selling computer games

Discovering what the most lucrative games are can be a surprise!

Five amazing categories will be used to see them. Good times, let's look at them now. Here are the best selling games in the five biggest game genres ...

1. Sports. An all-encompassing genre here. Will it be Grand Slam Tennis? A track and field one maybe? It's not going to swim. It's none other than Wii Sports. Unbelievable that such a new game has taken all the prizes.

2. Shooting category. There are not too many to choose from here. It must be an original. A space bar basher. World War? In fact, it could not be further away from it. It's the classic Halo 3.

3. You will find lots of great sales in the role-playing genre. DragonQuest.? A life changer like the amazing Starcraft 2? Almost. Red and blue Pokemon are it.

4. What do we have now, it's the puzzle genre. Drafts are an outsider. As if there would be someone else. There can only be one. Fantastic. Tetris. True perfection.

5. OK let's go to a classic genre. Remember to get ready, fight, perfect. So many options here now. A niche game like Soul Edge perhaps. Virtual fighter everyone knows, but no one loves it. No, it's Smash Bros. Brawl. Could have been better.

SC2 Ranking

Interesting how it is not always the best games that sell best. Mobile gaming is getting bigger by the day and the battle for money is underway.

Not the last row I was expecting. Shocking. The big N still roasts the big sales. It will definitely happen in the short term. The big online boys will be ranked sometime pretty soon. Definitely a learning point. No matter how good Starcraft 2 and it's comrades, you can not beat the classics.

Selling computers on eBay is a great way to make extra money. There are many ways to make money selling used or new computers on eBay. This article examines what you need to know before you get started.

Whatever product you decide to sell on eBay, you need to know the demand for the product. Just because you think people will buy a particular computer does not mean they will. If you really want to sell computers, find out which computers people are searching for on eBay. The way I do this is to use eBay Pulse. This page on the eBay site shows you the top ten searches in each category. So before you decide which computers to sell on eBay, first find the ones that are in demand. ขายคอมพิวเตอร์

Once you know what products are in demand, find a good computer shipper. You can search the internet for senders, but I have in my 10 years of experience selling eBay found that this is a huge waste of time. I found that the best way to find dropshippers is to belong to eBay seller communities. These communities are made up of people who want to sell products on eBay just like you. When I want to find a new sender for a product, I ask the community for their advice. This way I know that others have already used the service and are happy with it. Trust me; you do not want to use a drop shipper that does not do a good job.

[theirrationalzone]

Yakking ‘bout Games: Resident Evil 4

Yakking ‘bout Games is a series where I talk about games that I’m currently playing or have just finished. It can be new or old, console or PC, good or bad, it really doesn’t matter. If it’s a game worth talking about, you’ll see it covered here.

Where do I even start with this one? Resident Evil 4 is one of those games that doesn’t really need an introduction. It’s a legend of the industry. A game that somehow managed to transcend its own genre to reinvent another. I could start with how it was supposed to be a more traditional entry in the series. I could discuss about it being part of the Capcom Five, a series of titles intended to be exclusive to the Nintendo GameCube which ended in complete disaster. I think it would be easier to just dive in, wouldn’t you agree?

Fair enough, Leon. We’re getting into it now.

After the Spencer Mansion (RE1) and Raccoon City (RE2 & RE3) incidents, the evil pharmaceutical organisation known as Umbrella are finished. All is right with the world. It doesn’t last long however as Ashley Graham (the US President’s daughter) is kidnapped and only one man is up to the job: former rookie cop turned badass secret agent, Leon S. Kennedy. Leon is sent to rural Spain to locate and secure Ashley, but it isn’t long before things go pear-shaped and Leon ends up being infected with a mysterious parasite.

To be fair, when have rescue missions ever gone smoothly in movies and video games?

I wouldn’t say the story in RE4 is the most complex or well delivered, but the dialogue and characters certainly hold it up. I’m convinced that the writers just sat around watching Commando when coming up with the dialogue for this. Some of Leon’s lines feel right at home in that style of movie and I love them. A personal favourite of mine would have to be his exclaimation of “No thanks, bro!” when first encountering one of the villains. The characters are also a delight. I adored Luis Sera, a very charming womaniser, Ada Wong, a femme fetale type returning from Resident Evil 2 and Lord Saddler, the grandiose leader of the evil cult that kidnapped Ashley. Of course I can’t forget The Merchant as well.

You’re imagining his voice right now, aren’t you? Me too.

To say that RE4 is just a survival horror game is overlooking what this game managed to achieve with its gameplay. It still keeps with its survival horror roots in that inventory and resource management is a key element. You don’t have a huge amount of inventory space at the start (though this can be upgraded) so you can only hold a certain amount of weapons, ammo and healing items. Meaning that you have be a bit smart with whatever you have. You can even play a little inventory Tetris to fit items in. You still solve puzzles and still have to hunt for key items in order to progress but what truly made this game stand out from the crowd was its take on third-person shooting.

Resident Evil 4 finally managed to crack the problem that so many third-person shooters and action games could not figure out. It managed to fix the camera perspective by having the camera always overlooking the main character’s shoulder even when aiming. This was a literal game changer. It finally allowed for more precision and less frustration which wasn’t possible before. It feels great. Firing a gun in this game is a treat. All the weapons feel fantastic to use (especially the shotguns) and as mentioned previously, the over-the-shoulder perspective allows for more precise aiming so you can shoot enemies in certain body parts which plays a huge role as certain enemies and bosses can only be defeated this way. Instead of a reticule, you get a laser sight on all guns which adds a little difficulty to the aiming.

The melee combat also gets an upgrade. It was pretty simplistic in the previous entries as it was supposed to be more of a fall back option if you used up all of your ammo. You still get a knife in this game which can be drawn to give enemies a quick slash which is useful if they’re downed, but you can also perform melee moves after staggering an enemy with a well-placed shot. These are pretty fun to pull off and can be instrumental in saving your life. The combat just feels fantastic and this game introduces so many different ways to deal with certain situations. Guns can even be upgraded in order to be even more effective with them dealing better firepower and higher ammo capacity.

There are problems with the gameplay for sure. It’s not too long before you encounter Ashley and have her tag along with you for a decent chunk of the game. Now generally Ashley isn’t too problematic to have around. You can tell her to follow you, hold position and even have her hide in certain spots and generally she follows these orders to the letter. The problem lies with her AI just deciding to do some daft things from time to time. I had numerous instances where she would stop following me while we were escaping from some enemies and would just cower allowing the enemy to grab and take her away. Thus the ever grating “LEON!!!” screech begins (no offense to her voice actress.) I feel that Silent Hill 4 did the whole escort thing better. Eileen Galvin wouldn’t do anything crazy (unless you gave her a weapon.)

She’s not best pleased with me after that last paragraph. I don’t blame her.

Then we have the Quick Time Events. Now generally I don’t have a problem with QTEs being in games. It’s a regular thing in games now, I can live with it. The ones in RE4 at times can feel a little cheap. Especially the ones that just pop up out of nowhere during a cutscene when you least expect it. Not cool, Capcom. Not cool.

I bet Indiana Jones didn’t have to worry about pressing square to run away...

Another issue I have is that some of the boss fights in this game do a pretty poor job of telling the player if their attacks are having any effect. It feels like you have to dump half your resources before they even flinch. This is a problem I’ve had with most of the games in this series and it still happens in the recent ones. It’s just not as bad. For the record, I’m not saying that the boss fights are near impossible, I’m just saying that I wish that certain bosses gave better indication that they’re being hurt by my attacks.

Resident Evil 4′s presentation is still excellent to this day. Obviously the graphics are showing their age (even more so when blown up to HD), but the enviroments are still striking and carry a great sense of atmosphere. I especially loved the look of the castle sections of the game. It definitely gave me a bit of a Devil May Cry vibe. (Makes sense. The two series are very much linked.)

Definitely gets the “S” for Stylish.

The cutscenes look good and are pretty well directed. The voice acting is really good considering when this came out. Plus I couldn’t fault the music and sound design if I tried. It’s always been an area where this series has excelled at.

The game has a very good length to it. I finished it in about 10-11 hours. There is reason to go back again since you unlock some weapons and costumes just for finishing the game. There is also the Separate Ways and Assignment Ada chapters (available on every platform except the OG GameCube version) which focus on Ada Wong and they add a good few more hours to the play time. Plus you have the highly replayable arcade-style Mercenaries mode which tasks you with killing as many enemies as you can within a time limit to earn the highest score possible.

Resident Evil 4 is just sublime. The combat still packs a punch even to this day. It feels amazing and it allows you to approach different situations in a variety of ways. The game also just manages to stay true to the traditional fixed camera angle survival horror entries that came before by sticking to the same core values that made those games so tense and engaging. It may have some elements that haven’t aged fantastically, but it still plays well and provides a great experience for any budding survival horror fan. It’s a shame that because of this game, the series went off the rails for a while as some of the next entries just focused on the action. (For the record, I liked Resi 5 a lot.)

Interestingly enough, Resident Evil 4 doesn’t really get any of the stigma that comes with that fact. It’s still beloved and important. Play it yourself sometime and you’ll understand why.

#residentevil #ps4 #yakkingboutgames

[thomasroach]

Tetris Effect Review

Most millennials are no doubt acquainted with the pea-soup green version of Tetris that graced Game Boy handhelds way back when. However, Enhance and The Tetris Company, Inc. are bringing this block-busting classic to a new generation with Tetris Effect. The objective may still be the same, but can it stand out in this day and age?

Tetris Effect Review

Tetris has gotten countless releases since its debut in 1989, and the basic rules still apply here. Different-shaped blocks (called Tetrominoes) endlessly drop from the sky, and it is up to players to make Lines to clear them from play. Survive as long as you can, build up a high score, and try not to succumb to the titular Tetris Effect when you close your eyes for bed.

A few quality of life tweaks have been added to keep things going smoothly. Players can swap out the most recent block with the Hold Queue, the speed of play can be adjusted with both Soft and Hard Drops, and a T-Spin allows players to move blocks around just right.Diehard Tetris fans have no doubt seen this additions before, but their inclusion here works wonders when diving into high level play.

Tetris Effect has one new wrinkle though with the introduction of its Zone Meter. After filling it up, all blocks come to a still, allowing players to carefully plan out their movements. As the clock slowly runs out, players can then move all of their completed lines to the bottom of the playfield for added movements. This is certainly a helpful mechanic, but it is not as much of a game changer as one would expect. Nevertheless, if it’s not broke, there’s no point in fixing it.

Of course, the biggest draw to Tetris Effect is its visual presentation. Those looking to get a firsthand look can dive right into the Journey Mode, a campaign mode for the title that lets players “explore from the outer reaches of the galaxy to the depths of your soul.” While the actual mode fails to reach these profound heights, clearing a set amount of lines and experiencing different skins does keep things fresh. The objective is the same throughout, with only the speed changing between certain areas.

So the million dollar question is: How is its presentation? There’s no denying that this is an audiovisual wonder – the dynamic nature of each environment means your actions control its world. Watching a desert turn into a moon landscape or listening to the rushed chants of an evening luau makes for a stellar experience, and the music and sound effects pair well with the action. There are some sour notes though – stock sound effects, cheesy lyrics, and some bland backgrounds do take away from the overall package. Nevertheless, there are mostly wins among its lot.

Just be warned that these graphics can sometimes make it difficult to play. We were able to make it through most of the game just fine, but the final stage of Journey Mode in particular overdid it with the pizazz, hiding the gameplay behind flashy mermaids and other special effects. Some sort of filter, or even moderation, would have gone a long way.

Though the Journey Mode is a bit on the short side, players will be plenty busy with its Effect Mode. After choosing an Avatar and saying where they are located, players will be able to jump into Marathon, Ultra, Sprint, Master, Chill Marathon, Quick Play, All Clear, Combo, Target, Countdown, and a number of Playlists. There is a distinct lack of multiplayer options, but those flying solo will enjoy going through this suite of modes.

Tetris Effect is an absolute beauty, but the gameplay powering this audiovisual phenomenon is still the same old Tetris. Players won’t be starved for options, but those hoping for something game-changing like Tetris 99 or Tetris: The Grand Master will feel somewhat empty.

This review of Tetris Effect was done on the PC. A download for the game was provided.

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