The lights are on
It's been a while since I've posted something that was pretty bloggy (Is that a word? OpenOffice doesn't think so). This short story contest has kept me busy, busy, busy.
But whatever. I'm making that up today by discussing one of the biggest things that's happened to me lately: I got a new laptop.
What's the big deal? For one thing, this laptop is f*cking awesome. I got a brand new HP Envy 14, complete with glowing keys and Beats by Dre audio. The audio quality is pretty awesome. Everything about this computer is awesome, actually (glowing keyboard!). The most important thing, though, is that this laptop is actually powerful enough to handle modern computer games.
For all of my childhood, I suffered. My parents bought us an ancient IBM PC running Windows 95. It sucked. Eventually, we finally upgraded to an all new... Gateway running XP. That also sucked. As you see, at no point in my childhood did I have a single computer capable of running actual PC games.
This new laptop totally changes all that. For the first time ever, I can actually play real PC games. I haven't installed many yet, but I did download Minecraft. I used to play that on my old Gateway, but it was soooo sloooooowwwww. Now Minecraft loads instantly, even with the graphics on their highest settings. Now the game never lags, except in multiplayer. Stupid slow internet.
Minecraft is a lot more fun now that it really works. For those who somehow don't know about it, Minecraft is an indie PC title that drops you in a wilderness and forces you to survive. The cool part is that the game is highly customizable. You can really run wild with your imagination and build amazing stuff. It's the closest thing to a set of virtual Legos I've seen, and I loved playing with Legos as a kid. Hence my addiction to Minecraft.
To add to the fun, I got a mod for Minecraft that lets you spawn unlimited amounts of any item. I immediately started experimenting with TNT and blew up my house. Twice. Turns out TNT is highly unstable and very powerful. Who knew?
That's me standing atop the first major hill of the roller coaster I built. It's a little hard to see, but the track goes through two tunnels, two jumps (something you could never do with a real roller coaster), an underwater tunnel, and through a tree. It's cool.
What's even more cool (other than Vanilla Ice and rocket-surfing) is that none of that stuff in Minecraft would have ever been possible before. This whole PC gaming thing is a wide-open world of possibilities. I've barely tapped the surface of cool PC exclusives. It's a brave new world, and it's just begging to be explored. Granted, I'm not sure what to play, but there's plenty to choose from. Just not World of Warcraft. I'm deathly afraid to play that. I was pretty addicted to Runescape back in the day, and a WoW addiction would be ten times that.
Just back away slowly, Blizzard, and nobody gets hurt.
Speaking of addictive, I did pick up Civilization V for PC. Remember's GI's glowing review that praised every aspect of it? They were totally right. It's super fun and incredibly addictive. Just pulling myself away for long enough to write this blog post was a strain. I've got to get back to conquering the world...
Either way, this laptop is seriously awesome. What about you guys? Have you ever broken out a PC to play some serious games? Or can your computer only handle Flash titles?
I got a gaming capably PC about 2 years ago. I have to say I have that I have used it only for exclusive for the most part. I would be interested in PC multiplayer games, but none of my friends play on the PC. I have had the pleasure of enjoying the CIv games, Starcraft (oh yes=p--), and Clive Barker’s Undying, as well as a ton load of other fantastic titles. I would say that I still prefer my good old hunk of plastic consoles.
One more note. I had to quit Minecraft as soon as I started playing it. I knew I would become obsessed with making some sort of cave fortress, probably one to worship Cthulhu.
That's so wierd: I have the exact same computer situation. When I was a kid, I had a PC running Windows 95, followed by a computer running xp, both of which sucked. Just a couple months ago I got my first gaming computer and I still only have a few games for it (a couple free MMOs and Bad Company 2).
My new build was put together about 8 months ago now I think (geez, time flies)... I absolutely love the build though.
I'm all about desktop gaming though... just can't wrap my head around the gaming laptop concept (more capability means more - power means A LOT more heat and A LOT less battery life - something about this doesn't make sense)... but of course many people don't have the luxury of getting to hang at home after work or school.
my toshiba will barely run Portal....so I'll stick with consoles
Well, my laptop isn't strictly speaking for gaming. I got it for other purposes. The games are just a nice benefit.
I also just got a PC and am in love with it, have been playing Dragon Age Origins, loved it on consoles loved it more on pc. GTA4, Crysis, civ5, portal 2, empire total war , wow and minecraft. By the way I could use some steam friends, add me if you want ID is Specter520
Darn you, Apozem. I envy your computer and all it's highfaulitiness. I must ask, was it expensive?
The last game I played for PC was "The Neverhood," a quirky claymation point-and-click adventure.
But there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Chip's Challenge, one of the most grueling games for Windows 93. At less than 1 gig of memory, it had over 100 levels full of chip-collecting madness.
My main problem with computer video games these days is that they largely create games specifically for FUTURE HARDWARE which means the cost of keeping up with the gaming requirements can be expensive and frustrating.
And many older games require complicated patches to run on newer hardware (my husband likes playing Vampire: the Masquerade, and in order to get it to run on Windows 7, he had to find a patch that had luckily been created so he could run the game). Whereas when you pop a game into your console, it usually works if there's nothing wrong with the disk/cartridge.
I don't know. I suppose that the nice thing about console/handheld is the fact that games are made for them, as opposed to PC's largely getting games made with futuristic, outperforming computers that surpass the one you have in mind.
That is one sweet looking computer.
I sympathize with Oni. One of the reasons consoles have such prominence is that they're a hell of a lot simpler. Just insert the disk and play. No graphics cards, no reinstallations, nothing like that. There is something to be said for the ease of use that consoles provide.
PC gaming puts more in your hands and under your control than console gaming. Console gamers say that it's complicated, but it really isn't. If a game doesn't work on Windows 7, check online for a fix. There's compatibility modes and patches and loads of good stuff.
For free, you can right now get Trackmania Nations, The Suffering, F.E.A.R. Combat, SOLDAT, D&D Online, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, Full Spectrum Warrior, and the early Command and Conquer games. And that's just what I can think of off the top of my head.
Right now, I am playing Freelancer, F.E.A.R., Roller Coaster Tycoon 2, Supreme Commander, Recettear: An Item Shop Tale, Torchlight, Killing Floor, Frozen Synapse, Serious Sam HD, Magicka, World in Conflict, D&D Online (free to play MMO), Crysis, and Total War: Shogun 2.
Be sure to get Steam and check their library of games. They have over 1000 games available for under $10, nearly 400 of which are under $5. There is a new sale twice per week, a huge community, and most of the greatest games available today. Also, loads of indie games show up on there for the publicity.
Welcome to PC gaming. Dig a little deeper and you'll see why we swear by our computers.