Day One Hundred: Days Of Videogames

Gosh, is that the time already. By jove, I've made it. One hundred days of games. No mean feat, I tell you. I took on this project on a whim, thinking I'd muddle along on the few ideas I had and make up the rest. That was the general idea, and one that led to far too many days up until the crack of dawn wondering what the hell I should be writing about. It's even made me late for work twice - and that's surprising considering I don't start until midday. I said I wanted to use this blog to improve myself somehow, and let me tell you, my procrastinations skills have shot right up. Every cloud, etc.

So, by my own standards, a few filler days, a few days I really liked and everything in between. I at least hope I got a good mixture of topics in there and didn't go on about how expensive games are and how I want to play Xenosaga (they are and I still haven't). Even if I have been stuck for ideas on occasion, there are a few things I never got round to, like my intended praise for PC Gamer, why I like Tim Rogers (and Action Button), an inarticulate article on how old PC graphical styles like SVGA never seem to get fondly remembered, and that bitter, definitive expose on the wholesale corruption behind the scenes of the games industry, but never mind, eh?
 

What, then, can I take from these hundred days? Well, way back at the beginning, Sony had just turned their fortunes around after a period of ridicule. Home and Little Big Planet had just been announced earning them their first steps on the road back to respect. One hundred days later and a stable online service and console have seen them e doing alright, but nowhere near as spectacularly as predicted. As I've said many time over the course of this blog, it's the price that's stopping them. As are the games - it's been a barren hundred days, and I'm willing to bet a hundred and more before I get one.

Their main competitor (although Sony don't seem to admit so), Nintendo, just keep getting bigger and bigger. By contrast, the only thing staying the same is the lack of high-profile Wii releases. They're in the same boat as the PS3 when it comes to new stuff, only the Wii's got a ready and waiting market hungry to snap decent titles up. Enough with the remakes and ports already, though.

As for the DS, well, 'nuff said. If you haven't experienced the joys of importing handheld games cheaply and easily from the far East, I recommend you do so now. The DS has shown, and keeps on showing that it's bursting with brilliance. Any drought on any other system is well-quenched by this little wonder. Er, that sounds a little press release. I don't know what came over me. Must be the giddy fumes of the final lap.

Rumours have also reached us of a redesign for the PSP. The PSP's not being doing much of anything these past hundred days, prepared to sit quietly in the huge shadow of Nintendo. Although, that's probably doing it an injustice since we've had Portable Ops, Crush, Ratchet and Clank. So it's not all bad. Compared to the DS, however, it's scraps from the table. Get better soon, Sony.

Now, Microsoft. I wrote about my 360's red ring error a while back, and the way it scratched my copy of F.E.A.R. It hasn't done anything since, but I'm still counting the days until it does. It seems resentment's continuing to grow towards the amount of faulty machines out there. Will Microsoft issue an apology or an official recall? Stranger things have happened. I did finally manage to fix F.E.A.R. with a WH Smith scratch repair kit and am currently making my way through on Extreme difficulty in order to net some Achievements. Ah, yes, they are addictive aren't they. Nice to see that Live Arcade's still delivering the goods every now and again. Can't wait to play Prince of Persia, and I'll be putting some time aside after I finish this blog to go through Symphony of the Night and Gears of War. So, 360: healthy on the surface, troubled underneath. Fair enough.

And finally, the PC. We're almost at the tipping point where my years old PC will just laugh wheezily at any new game thrown at it. It's been good so far, as long as I'm willing to cut the detail somewhat. But Crysis looks to be the one everybody thinks will change all that. If anything it should help justify a DX10 card and a Vista upgrade in the wake of buying a brand new rig because it doesn't seem that the much-maligned Shadowrun and Halo 2 Vista have been doing that for the latter. Regardless, I think Bioshock will be the game that gets me to finally upgrade, although I said that about Oblivion and I still haven't played it. Oh, PC, why do you stay just out of reach?

Well, I could go on, but I won't. Thank you to anyone who had a browse of this blog these past few months. It probably means a lot more to me than it does you. Thanks to Al Kennedy for putting the idea in my head. And thanks to my girlfriend who I'll have to make up to after all this time spent neglecting her to do this. Sorry! If anyone fancies taking up the torch and blogging about one hundred days of movies or music or whatever, feel free. As for me, I've got a good idea for another specialist blog (one that won't keep me awake all night, hopefully), but that's for another time, and there'll also be a belated update of Seventy-Three Percent sometime soon. Until then, blessed sleep.