Face Value
by rainynight65 on Sep.01, 2010, under Gaming, Thoughts
Every year in September, gamers across South Africa get ready for rAge, the country’s biggest Gaming Expo and BYOC LAN. Every year, the tickets go on sale on the 1st of August, and every year they sell out within days. And again, every year you get people buying tickets in excess of what they need, for one sole purpose: to create a quick artificial shortage and then resell their excess at inflated prices.
Closing the price gap
by rainynight65 on Jul.21, 2010, under Gaming, Thoughts
There has always been a difference in prices between games for the current consoles and for the PC. While the general margin for both has gone up in the last few years, the gap has remained surprisingly stable. Until recently, that is. (continue reading…)
Whatever is wrong with Bad Company 2…
by rainynight65 on Jul.10, 2010, under Gaming, Thoughts
… has yet to ruin my fun.
The Battlefield series always followed a large-scale, strategic approach to its game play. Big maps, large teams and the option to play a slow-paced, methodical game were there since the series’ inception, and that’s what’s won it a lot of followers on the PC. In the last five years I myself have poured hundreds of hours into both Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 2142, as have a lot of my friends and clan mates. Now I am by no means a competitive player or über-skilled, but I have always enjoyed a more or less relaxed game with friends.
Arbitrary Scores
by rainynight65 on Jul.09, 2010, under Gaming, Thoughts
I’ve been following a few discussions and podcasts lately, some of which dealt with the point (or lack of point) of scoring game reviews, in fact, any reviews. Now that’s a discussion that has been going around since the beginning of review scores. The debate however has gained new momentum with the advent of Metacritic, a site which aggregates review scores from different sites to present a kind of average which many people use to orientate themselves and, in the end, make a purchase decision.
From here to Infinity (Ward)
by rainynight65 on Nov.08, 2009, under Gaming, Thoughts
My last rant, already quite a while back, was about Blizzard and their approach to Starcraft 2. If anyone had thought it would end there, they were dead wrong. Infinity Ward/Activision are turning their upcoming blockbuster-to-be Modern Warfare 2 into a massive slap in the face of the PC gaming community. (continue reading…)
What is Blizzard up to?
by rainynight65 on Jul.08, 2009, under Gaming
Starcraft 2 should right now be one of the most eagerly awaited new games. In true Blizzard fashion there is a lot of anticipation, but also a lot of hype. And amidst the hype, the countless previews and hands-on reports, there are a few news that tend to instill a bit of worry. For example the one that Starcraft 2 would ship in three installments – one for each Single Player campaign. Which is just going with the general tendency of releasing short games, as it is doubtful that any campaign will span more than ten hours of playtime – but it seems like a bit of a rip-off even to people who usually tend not to care that much. And ten years ago even Blizzard would not have gotten away with it.
A (not so) quick movie roundup…
by rainynight65 on Jun.20, 2009, under Movies
… is perhaps not the best way to restart this blog after almost 3 months. But it’s the best way I can think of right now 
So let’s skip past the formalities and go straight ahead. I’ve watched four movies on the big screen in one week, I might as well write something about them. (continue reading…)
Can we change?
by rainynight65 on Mar.25, 2009, under Movies, Thoughts
There are numerous theories about aliens and what they would do if they had to encounter our planet. Some say that they are among us, living unrecognized and not revealing themselves because humanity is too immature. Others think that they came and ran away crying over the obvious lack of civilization and progress in mankind. (Personally I am quite partial to that one). Scott Derrickson’s ‘The Day the Earth stood still’, a remake of the 1951 original, propagates another thought. They will come here, save what needs to be saved, and destroy the rest because it has gone out of control and run out of chances. (continue reading…)
Warm thoughts and icecold fingers
by rainynight65 on Mar.10, 2009, under Movies, Thoughts
Every now and then you come across something that takes you by surprise. Browse through the shelves at your favourite music/book/DVD store and find something you never thought of getting before, and in a flash of spontaneity (or a momentary lapse of sanity, whichever may apply) you get whatever caught your eye. It happens to me regularly, and the latest instance was with ‘Lost in Translation’, a movie that has been out for a couple of years but which I had never even considered before.
Sofia Coppola, daughter of the great Francis Ford, showed a remarkable ineptitude for acting in the third and final part of her father’s ‘Godfather’ trilogy. To her redemption, she has a remarkable aptitude for writing and directing, and a great hand for strong images and motifs. (continue reading…)
Grissomless
by rainynight65 on Feb.21, 2009, under Entertainment, Movies
CSI Las Vegas, the original and (as far as I am concerned) only true CSI series, has gone into its 9th season a short while ago. And some rather unexpected events that happened during and at the end of Season 8, have led to the exit of three of the most prominent characters. Sara was the first to go after her ordeal as a target of the miniature killer. Then Warrick got killed because he was getting close to uncovering a connection between the PD and organized crime – too close for comfort. Now Grissom has taken the exit as well.
In a few interviews, William Petersen, actor as well as executive producer, has revealed that he was tired, that he needed a change from nine years of playing one and the same character. It is fathomable, especially for an artist, to not be able to do the same thing over and over for years. And let’s face it, Grissom’s character, while interesting and defining for the series, was rather rigid and allowed for very little development over the years. (continue reading…)
-
Hi! Welcome to Right as rainy!
Thanks for dropping by! Feel free to join the discussion by leaving comments, and stay updated by subscribing to the RSS feed. See ya around!
