Project Powder is Just Okay

Project Powder is like a television sitcom. It has moments of fun but grows stale quickly and is soon forgotten. The problem is depth. It doesn’t have much. On the surface it is a surprisingly fun snowboard racing game. There are quite a few courses, enough players to find matches, and three different race types: race, battle, and coin. It plays a bit like SSX for the PS2, which isn’t a bad thing. Unfortunately, you control the game with the keyboard. No mouse, no controller. And the arrow keys are for movement. WASD is for tricks… Why? Did they intentional flip it so everyone could learn how to use their right hand for movement? It doesn’t make much sense to me… But that’s fine, I’ll just remap my keys… Oh, no I won’t. Not an option here.

In fact, options is where this game fails. There just isn’t much depth. Project Powder doesn’t seem ready for prime time. An MMO it is not. Sure, you learn tricks and your character is persistent. But, there is very little interaction with other players. The only time you see them is right before a race. Communication is almost nil. There is a guild system (known as “crews”), but for the life of me I could not find where it is located in the menu. I received a random crew invite but there is no way to learn anything about that crew. Who is in charge? How many members? There doesn’t appear to be any sort of ranking system for players or crews. I honestly don’t know what the point to joining a crew would be… Perhaps it will be an added feature?

Assassin’s Creed II – Buy now or wait for PC?

I quite enjoyed Assassin’s Creed. It was a fun little jaunt, replete with fluid combat and rooftop adventures. Even the repetitive and tedious side missions couldn’t detract from my overall satisfaction. And now Assassin’s Creed II has been released. On consoles… Great.

So, the question is: do I dust off my Xbox 360 and go buy Assassin’s Creed II or do I wait 3-4 months for the PC release?

• I think I’ll go rent it for my 360 and get a quick fix. Then, if it is as good as I hope it is, I will purchase it once it is available for my computer.

On another note, you may have forgotten the story from the first game. I sure did. Here is a link to a solid recap. Here is another link that explains everything you ever wanted to know about the ending.

Early Thoughts on Dragon Age: Origins (PC)

I should preface this article by saying that I am a huge BioWare fan and have enjoyed all of their role-playing games since Baldur’s Gate. I eagerly anticipate each new offering and have high expectations for their work.

DA:O has consumed the bulk of my free time since its release a couple of weeks ago. I’m a bit of an alt-whore and a perfectionist and tend to savor games instead of rushing through them. So, even though I have logged about 40 hours on this game, I still have yet to complete it. Instead, I have started multiple campaigns and explored almost all of the Origins (unique introductions for each character type that are much more involved than a simple tutorial). I have finished Ostagar and Lothering many times, as well as the Warden’s Keep DLC and The Circle of Magi. Overall, I’ve been impressed with this latest effort from BioWare. The polish of the game – graphics, voice acting, cutscenes, storytelling & dialogue – is noticeable. But rather than write about its many virtues – which can be read about in any review from your favorite video game site, I’m going to focus on a few controverial issues (in no particular order) with the game design: