Blog Resurrection

On the resurrection of my blog.  I have decided that I would like to attempt to write more often, so I think it would be beneficial if I had some sort of goal in mind.  Even though no one may ever read this blog, I am going to try to get at least one to two paragraphs published every other day. Starting today. No really, today. I mean it...

AAUA

Does anyone else have Apple App Update Addiction? I find myself
checking the App Store all the time in hopes of seeing that nice
little red number flag on its icon. Then I cackle with glee as I
faithfully flick through the descriptions of what has changed. It's
kind of like a mini Christmas...

Newest games

The latest three games for the Touch are all very good games.

Uniwar - Awesome! I can't seem to stop playing this game. I have run
the battery down several times already in an effort to "play just one
more round." I can't wait to try the online multi-player. This game
is basically turn based Starcraft. Seems well balanced so far.
Graphics are crisp and control is excellent. [Rating: A-]

Azkend - Fun tile based puzzle game with achievements and enough
diversity to keep my interest. [Rating: B]

FlightControl - Fun quick little game that I seem to be horrible at.
(But I keep playing?) Use your finger to control planes fight paths.
Land them without hitting other planes. Simple, right? Sure :)
[Rating: B-]

More to come...

Little Brother

I just finished reading "Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow. It was a
thoroughly enjoyable book which I found it difficult to put down.
Doctorow crafts a fully belivable modern Orwellian America with
realistic characters. I read the book for free on the iPod Touch using
Stanza and as soon as I finished, I ordered a hard cover from Amazon.
I plan on lending it to several of my friends. Rating: A+

--
Sent from my mobile device

More iPod Touch Games

Hidden Expedition Everest - A nice seek and find game. Not a lot of
strategy buy good to pass the time.

Wurdle - A fun variation of Boggle. It lets you play the same layout
for multi-player games. (one person after the other)

Word Jong - Majohng tiles removed to make words. Fun and can be quite
challenging. Chicktionary is still my favorite!

iDracula - A side scrolling shooter? Yes, and it is ok, the controls
frustrated me so I haven't played much of this one.

LightBike - 3D Tron. Fun for a bit. Lets you play 2 player on the
same screen or 4 player with WiFi.

Blocked - This is Traffic on the Palm, get the object to the exit by
moving the other objects out of the way. Simple and fun, good for
short bursts.

Primrose - Reminds me of life crossed with Merlin. A fun and very
challenging puzzle game.

Puzzle Quest (Chapters 1&2) - Saved this for last, because I have this
game on PSP and DS as well. I really like this game, it makes
Bejeweled type game play fun. The iPod version falls in between the
PSP and the DS as far as playability. For a few reasons the PSP works
better, due in most part to a larger screen and more accurate
controls. The control on the Touch is very good for the most part, I
just think the Analog stick on the PSP is quicker and better suited to
the game play. Personally, I think this game is better that Aurora
Feint.

More to come...

Blackberry

Ok, I'm digging my new Blackberry Curve. :) So far I am using it for email, Twittering, maps, web, contacts and calendars. Using Google to sync my schedule and address book has worked very well so far. It sort of lacks in the game department. Using it, in comparison to the Palm, is a toss up. I do absolutely love having a full keyboard and no reboots so far is an added bonus.
Sent while mobile -joe-

ITouch Games Review

This is a short commentary on using the iTouch as a portable game
system, it is not comprehensive. Keep in mind that I have only had the
system since Christmas :) This is based on what I have played, your
mileage may vary. One problem the Touch has, is that the battery life
is fairly short. I usually have to charge at least once a day. In
comparison, the PSP and DS would make it through much longer gaming
stretches. On the upside, many of the games for the Touch are more
casual and are meant to be played in small bursts rather than marathon
sessions. Also, for good or bad, the Touch has basically one control,
the touchscreen. Yes, I know it has an accelerometer, usually using
this in a game just annoys me and feels like a gimmick. Fortunately
the touchscreen is very responsive and works well for many games.

On to the games:

TapDefense (Free) - A decent Tower Defense Game.

Topple (Free) - It is a game kind of like Jenga with different shaped
blocks that you try to balance. Fun.

Labyrinth LT (Free) - Try to get a marble from one point to another
without falling in holes along the way. Control the marble by tilting
the Touch. I got bored pretty quickly with this one.

CrystalDef Lite (Free) - Tower Defense Game, I haven't played much but
it looks pretty good.

Frotz (Free) - Play text adventures like Zork where all interaction is
through typed commands. Comes with a selection of good games and I
found it fun. You can download more games from within the game.

FieldRunners - Tower Defense Game. Pretty Basic but a lot of fun.
Good graphics and sound. Good controls.

Reign - RPG/Strategy. I want to like this one, but every time I play
it, I get frustrated with the controls.

Enigmo - Weird Game, but fun. Reminds me of Rube Goldburg type
machines. You need to get dripping water into an flask by using
various tools.

Dr. Awesome - Remember Qix? Fun and cheap. Has some pretty nice
graphics but the game play gets a little repetitive. Basically you are
a surgeon closing off portions of the infection without getting hit by
the nastiness.

7Cites TD - A Very Fun Tower Defense Game. Adds a little variety to
tower defense with tower upgrades and experience points for new tower
abilities. Well thought out controls.

Tiki Towers - World of Goo Clone. Build structures to get your
monkeys to safety. Fun so far but WoG is better! :)

Aurora Feint II (Arena) - Puzzle Quest/Bejeweled type game.
Interesting game but a little hard to get into. Does not quite capture
the fun I experienced with Puzzle Quest.

Chicktionary $1.99 - Fun Word Game. Find different word in the 7
letters you are given. Lots of nice little touches like,
achievements, good graphics, and quick gameplay.

Drop7 $0.99 - Fun Bejeweled game with numbers. This game is so simple
but very hard to put down!!! Well worth the buck.

More to come as the days go by...

iTouch Apps

Random musings about the Apple iTouch:

iTouch apps I have so far: (* denotes free)

General
*eReader - Excellent eBook reader (the Touch is a great ebook reader)
*Stanza - Very good eBook Reader
*Twitterrific - Manage Twitter account, it was free. They have a
version without ads for pay.
*Flickster - Movie Showtimes (might get rid of this, I think it duplicates i.TV)
*Remote - Control iTunes on your PC (haven't tried it yet)
*Shazam - Record and identify songs (you might get more use out of
this since you have a built-in mic)
*Google Earth - nifty
*i.TV - TV/Movie Guide - does NetFlix, Tivo (ad supported, I like it so far)
*PhoneFlix - mange Netflix Queue (might be replaced by i.TV)
*Ping Lite - useful for network diagnostics
*Watchmen - Loads of info & trailers for the movie
*SaiSuke Free - Calendar replacement that syncs with Google (free
version does 7 days)
*1337pwn - XBox Live friend list (slow but kind of fun)
*IGN - Game reviews
*Wathchmen - Info and clips of the movie
SplashID - Password Database Program (syncs to a desktop version)
Wikipanion - Reformats and allows offline viewing of Wikipedia articles
Photogene - Crop and simple photo editing
Converter - Measurement conversion (nice and simple)
HanDbase - Database Program (syncs to a desktop version, supports CSV/PDB files)
Brushes - Basic drawing program (sometimes tough to adjust the sliders
but it is a nice and simple app)
Take A Note - Text/Draw/Record notes and lets you share them with a PC
(I used this to get my Palm Memos copied over)
Air Sharing - Lets you view a variety of files and use your Touch like
a Flash Drive
Score - Keep scores for up to six players in any type of game
iSSH - SSH client
Toodledo - Task Manager (web sync)

Games:
*TapDefense - Tower Defense Game
*Topple - Game like Jenga
*Labyrinth Lite - Marble Moving Game
*CrystalDef Lite - Tower Defense Game
*Frotz - Text adventures like Zork
*Labryinth LE - Marble rolling
FieldRunners - Tower Defense Game
Reign - RPG/Strategy
Enigmo - Weird Game, but fun
Dr. Awesome - Remember Qix? Fun and cheap.
7Cites TD - Very Fun Tower Defense Game
Tiki Towers - World of Goo Clone?
Aurora Feint II (Arena) - Puzzle Quest/Bejeweled type game

Diversions:
*Lightsaber - Motion active lightsaber
*Flashlight - White Screen
*Backgrounds - Good background downloader (ad supported)
*PktSounds - A variety of sounds (sounds are soft when playing through
the speaker)
iFart - Gotta have fart sounds
MachDice - Die roller

I Want to look closer at these things:

Apps:
Pocket Informant - calendar replacement & google sync
Orb?
VNC?/Remote Desktop
MazeFinger (free)
Spore Origins
Pandora Radio
Fring - (trying today!)
Line Rider iRide
Manifesto (free?)
omz:software Newsstand
LateNiteSoft Sketches
FileMagnet
Tap Tap Revenge (free)

Accessories:
AirCurve - (Interesting speaker enhancement gizmo?)
Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 $125-220 (Headphones)

More to come as I continue to explore this great little device!

iTouch First Impressions

Since my wonderful wife got me an iTouch for Christmas I am going
through the process of replacing my Palm TX as my main device. So far
the Touch has really impressed me.

Things I miss:
Datebk5 - I have yet to be able to get my Calender in some form on the
Touch. I wish it would support Google Calendars!!!
PDA Cookbook - I haven't found a compelling replacement yet.
DragonEdit - Editing my web site offline and then uploading it later
when I am connected is probably a no-go on the Touch.
Connection to my Bluetooth GPS (I haven't looked to see if there are
Wireless GPS units yet)

Things I don't miss:
*Palm Resets*
Hacks to make the OS work the way it should!

Things that are much better on the Touch:
Web Browsing
Speed & Simplicity
Watching Videos and playing music
YouTube
eReading - This rivals the Zodiac for reading eBooks!

Things they could improve:
Battery Life

More on this as I continue my transition.

Warcraft III - Back to a classic

Azure Tower Defense rocks!  That Warcraft 3 mode is tons of fun with four players.  We played about 6 time over the past weekend and on the last try made it to level 39!  I will have to check to see if there are any other maps similar to that one.

I think that finishing it (level 40) will be very tough.  39 was insane!

My Love/Hate Relationship with Call of Duty 4

There is no denying that Call of Duty 4 is a great game.  Why then does it frustrate me to the point of yelling out loud?  CoD4 get soo much right, nice maps, quick pacing, good incentive to level up, fair selection of weapon variety, etc.  Where then, does it falter?
1) Too many time are you shooting someone over and over, only to have them turn around for the one shot kill.  It sure seems like certain people are faster than others...  connection speed?  I have a decent connection and have not noticed this as much in other games like Halo 3 or Gears of War.
2) Team balancing.  Is there any?
3) Live-Morons.  You know the type, out to annoy and ruin other people enjoyment with the game.  This is not specific to this game though.  I know you can "flag" players so you shouldn't get them in the future, but often it is easier to switch parties rather than track down which player it is and then go through the flagging process. 
4) The dreaded "Host Ended Game" message....
5) $10 for 4 new maps???
Ah well, maybe they will get it right in CoD5....   :)

World of Goo

On a whim, we picked up the Wii Ware downloadable game World Of Goo.  What a great find!  I have played it more than several of the "store bought" games in shrink wrap.  For 1-4 players, WoG is a puzzle game at its heart with cute graphics and an odd story thrown in for good measure.  I hope Nintendo will release some expansion levels for this one.

One irksome thing with Nintendo that this game brought to light is the inability for my Wii to get completely out to the Internet.  Apparently I can get Web stuff and Machine updates but it is no go on game play for Mario Kart and some of the Network features of WoG.  I just recently changed my firewall from IPCop to Smoothwall to solve similar problems with XBox Live!  Nintendo apparently wants me to reduce my protection even more, sigh.  So if anyone has had any luck getting their Wii *fully* connected to the Internet using a free hardware based firewall (pfSense, maybe?) please let me know...

PSP RPG Strategy

A quick comparison of a few strategy RPG games for the PSP.

Jeanne d'Arc:
Clean and simple with crisp beautiful graphics. Low learning curve.
Available as a download.

Disgaea Afternoon of Darkness:
Humorous, medium difficulty with good depth of play. Decent graphics.
Medium learning curve.

Final Fantasy Tactics War of the Lion:
Mediocre graphics. Huge depth of gameplay. Daunting to learn.
___
-joe-

PSP vs DS revisited

If Sony can keep putting more content on their store, they will even out
their 'portability' comparison to the DS. I love being able to carry a
handful of games with me, right on the memory stick inside the PSP.
Allowing me to put the games on up to 5 units makes it attractive to even
replace good games I own on UMD. Now I just need a few 16gb memory sticks!
___
-joe-

Disgaea

What a great game! Disgaea for the PSP is a great deal of portable
fun. It is basically a turn based strategy RPG in the tradition of
Final Fantasy Tactics and Jeanne D'Arc. It combines humor, good game
play and interesting item management into a game that is hard to put
down. Now if I can just talk one of my friends into getting it, then
I can try the multi-player. :)

PSP vs DS Durability Revisited

Ok, I got to thinking the other day about portable game system
durability. My PSP and DS have been dropped approximately 5 or 6
times each. PSP Repairs TWO (screen replacement, power switch
replacement) DS Repairs ZERO. Just another thing to think about when
getting a game system for a younger child. I am pretty cautious with
my electronics, the PSP was in the supplied neoprene case when I
dropped it, breaking the screen. (It hit on the exposed edge and not
from more than 1-2 feet) On the other hand I have a friend with young
kids who got DS Lites about 5 months ago. One of them has a cracked
hinge and does not snap into place anymore, but the DS still
functions. Both of my PSP mishaps rendered the system unusable...
Overall the closed case system is more durable in my opinion.

Blog

So much for getting in the habit of writing more frequently. :) Still playing Call Of Duty 4 on the 360, finally made it to Commander. Such a good game even with the minor irritants. I hope the next patch makes it easier to get into public games with friends! My 360 seems to be a bit grumpy as of late, I suspect a failing DVD drive.....

-joe-

Thoughts on the "perfect" mobile companion

I wish I had a boatload of cash, then I could create my own perfect
PDA instead of waiting for Palm to do it. We were so close, we almost
had Nirvana but they went by the wayside. I am referring of course to
the Tapwave Zodiac which still has a fond place in my heart. It just
did so many things *right* and unfortunately lacked a few things I
wanted. For example:

1. It was the perfect ebook reader, I could comfortably hold the unit
in my hand, turning the pages with my thumb which rested right on the
left shoulder button. Nothing else comes close in my opinion, not
even the Kindle.

2. It had the Palm interface, with none of the NVFS crap that we now
have to put up with. So what if memory is erased when losing all
power, you had two sd cards to backup to! The wheel interface blended
in perfectly with Palm's Zen.

3. It had a separate processor for graphics, nice sounding speakers
with good audio, speedy processor and two sd slots.

4. When I wanted to play games, the form factor was actually more
comfortable than my PS or DS.

5. I had the Zodiac 2 with 128 megs internal memory, just the right
amount for usability.

The reasons I had for moving to the TX?

1. Extremely poor choice of HotSync connectors, syncing had become a
chore trying to get the connection to stick. Fix: Make it a mini-usb!

2. No built-in WiFi! This seems picky but it really expands the
usefulness of the device. Fix: Add Wifi (exactly like the Palm TX)
with the Enterprise stuff standard.

3. Flaky Digitizer. Ok, so the TX suffers from this too, who knew?
Fix: Give me a GLASS digitizer that works accurately with Graffiti!
Please?!?!?

One feature that the PSP did get right over the TX/Zod is the
*removable* battery, hey what a novel idea! If the Zod would have had
a removable battery, I might have kept it, just for reading.

If I ever get rich, who knows, maybe you will get a chance to buy your
very own Zodiac 3...

* CPU: Motorola i.MX1 ARM9 processor (200 MHz)
* Memory: 128 MB. 10 MB Dedicated to the System Dynamic RAM
* Graphic Accelerator: ATI Imageon W4200 2D graphics accelerator
(with 8 MB dedicated SDRAM)
* Display: 3.8 inch transflective 480 x 320 (half VGA), 16-bit
color backlit display (65,536 colors)
* Sound: Yamaha sound and stereo speakers, 3.5 mm earphone plug
* External Connectors: 2 expansion slots (both are MMC / SD
capable, one is also SDIO capable)
Mini-USB Connector, 3.5 mm headphone jack, mic
* Wireless: Infrared, Bluetooth, WifFi Enterprise
* Battery: Removable Lithium Rechargable
* Size & Weight: 5.6" x 3.1" x 0.55" (142x79x14 mm), 6.3 ounces (180 g)
* Colors: Charcoal Gray
* Casing: Synthetic rubber, anodized aluminum, plastic
* Palm OS 5.4T
* Built-In Applications - WiFi, Spoke Launcher, Background Music
Player, MP3 Alarm, BT Stereo Support,
Docs2Go, Datebk 6, Contacts, Resco Suite, CardReader, CardText,
eReader Pro, GoogleMaps, HotSync,
ListPro, IM, NotePad, MemoPad, PalmPDF, PalmPrint, UnitConverter
Pro, SnapperMail, TCPMP, NetFront

Hey, it's my dream, remember? :)

PSP vs DS Part 2 - Games

When it comes to games the two platforms are very different and will
probably appeal to different audiences.

PSP Pros:
Very good graphics are possible
Analog Thumbstick
UMD holds a lot of data/video
Good Multi-player via WiFi
Quite a few highly rated games
Download-able games from the PlayStation Store direct to memory stick
Game Save to Memory Stick Pro Duo - Can be backed up to PC
Great "suspend" mode

DS Pros:
Good use of Multi-Player from one or multiple cartridges (game sharing) via WiFi
Cartridge format is durable and very portable
Loads of games out there - plenty for younger players
Fairly good load times
A fair amount of highly rated games
Touch interface is very useful and fun in some games
Great "suspend" mode
Two screens are usually used well and add to the game play
Built-in PictoChat programs is neat

PSP Cons:
Not many titles use game sharing and those that do, don't do it as
well as the DS
WiFi play could be better
So-so Load times - seems to vary per game
No second analog stick
Usually you get a little noise from the UMD during game play

DS Cons:
All saving is to Game Cartridge - usually limits the saves and does
not allow for backup
Friend Code for WiFi play is time clunky
Touch interface is used in some games just because they could, even
though it deters from the game
So-so graphics
Loads of crappy games (there are good ones out there, but a lot of junk as well)
Blowing into the mic for game play, novel the first time maybe, but
usually annoying

Quick comparison, Puzzle Quest:
Even though I own PQ on both systems, it is nowhere near as enjoyable
on the DS. The quality of graphics and the speed of play just is not
quite the same as the PSP version. This is not to say that the DS
can't have good looking games, if fact some games look very good on
the DS. Puzzle Quest is NOT one of those games! :)

Look for my next post to wrap things up. -TTFN-

Call of Duty 4

What a great game! The only problem I have is when trying to get a party of more than two people into the same game. It is loads of fun and very addictive. Captain and clawing up through the ranks...