Anyways, of the something like 2 hours I have played of it, I can say that its BEAUTIFUL. And I'm on the PS3 with it. It looks fantastic. I'm just gonna say that even though there is some pop in(textures sometimes take whole 5 seconds to load up) thats probably just from it being on the PS3 and not a PC. Also, I am really seeing the benefit of Megatextures(as id calls them) because the rocks and worlds look worn and weathered by the elements, there is nearly no I REPEAT NO duplication in textures because basically there is one HUGE texture covering an ENTIRE terrain element. This is really cool, albeit taxing on my PS3 hard drive(Sucker took up 8Gbs of my already precious hard drive space). Also, this is the first game on a console I have noticed where the saving saves basically the gamestate, not just from a checkpoint. Basically, EXACTLY where you were when you saved, THATS where you are when you come back. Awesome. Also, the death sequence is really REALLY cool. I can't seem to find a screenshot of it, but basically you use the control sticks to move a abstracted paddle across your heart to bring yourself back to life. Really, REALLY COOL! Also, the out-of-ammo backup hands(I call them the Fists of Rage!) are really fun. If you are feeling suicidal, you can just run up to an enemy and just punch the bejeezus out of them and watch the blood splatter on the screen. Nice!
There are some flaws. The world doesn't feel as open(I've only played 2 hours, hopefully it gets better) as I would have liked. It seems to be mostly set in one little canyon. Also, the first few missions are set in the same area, so you go back through the same places a lot. Also, the vehicles have a LOT of traction for being in a sandy environment. In Jak 3(something i can compare this game to a lot) you can swerve, skid, jump, and tumble all you want. In Rage, you can't really skid around a lot(there is also no sound effect for it) and sometimes at what seems the tiniest drop you get jet-propelled from your vehicle screaming as you get destroyed by the approaching earth. Another, very minor detail, you can't interact with much. I walked up to a soda machine and wanted to dispense soda into the tray below, and I couldn't. That was a sad day for all mankind...
Anyway, RAGE for a different reason is the following: If you don't already know(AKA started reading my blog late) my "One New Thing" thing is Turntablism. This is the scratching of records blah blah blah. And, yes, I have been working on this for what has apparently been 2 months. But, alas, I am not satisfied with the results I'm getting. Granted, I don't really have much time to turntable, but still i should be seeing more improvement in my opinion. The reason why I don't share any recordings of my work so far(because I really have been making them) is that honestly I am ashamed of them. They don't sound good. I play mostly guitar, some piano, some harmonica, and some drums somewhat well, and I can't seem to scratch records to save my own life. Why? I'll blame my equipment. The ION Discover DJ System:
I don't like doing this, blaming the equipment and not the user for ANYTHING computer related, but in this case I have to. This image, by the way, although not taken by me is exactly my setup. Anyways, the turntables don't really act like turntables and trust me I know turntables. I have one in my room in Texas that I have a decent collection of records for. It has a diamond stylus and a really spectacular speaker system. When you put your finger down on a record thats spinning, it slows down then stops, allowing you to, depending on the pressure, slow down the song then stop it. Not on this set. If you so much as bump this crazy contraption with your palm while adjusting the knobs(it happens A LOT) you STOP THE SONG. COMPLETELY. THIS RUINS ANY CUEING YOU HAD SET UP. YOUR SONGS ARE NOW OUT OF SYNC. COMPLETELY. Then, when I was reading up online about DJing tips, one tip is to run your finger around the bumpy sides of the turntable to slow down your song to create interesting effects, SOMETHING I CAN'T DO WHEN EVERY TIME I TOUCH THE TABLE IT BASICALLY PAUSES THE SONG. This also enters into the scratching thing, because now I have to deal with the start of my scratch starting from a complete stop instead of from a moving turntable. This is bad. Anyways, I WANTED to share my amazing music with the world on a soundcloud account I made, but since this one song is the ONLY thing I feel mildly comfortable enough sharing... here it is. I made the backing track in GarageBand and the scratched "record" is a Futurama quote. Excuse the repetition, I'm practicing....
Futurama Funk by tEh iNsiDiOUs 1
So, being the awesome person I am, I thought "I'm not just gonna quit and never try this again". Instead, I'm going to go down to goodwill today(since it is 3:15AM when I'm writing this) and look at their turntables and records and see if any of them will be good for me. If so, then hey howdy hey my project is back online. Huzzah!
The above song is where I am, this below is where I someday want to be:
Lofty goals, I know. Especially without a decent set of tables....
Listening to: Samurai Champloo soundtrack, Kill Bill Soundtrack
Playing: RAGE, Tekken 2
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