Video game season...recommendations?

[SkaBob]

All your forza players should friend me on xbl... My tag's Ska Bob (not sure if there's a space or not...). I play MW2 as well, but I really need more people to race against!

Also, tons of cars to gift to people I like

[some call me...tim?]

I got a Live subscription and will be getting a HDD soon. Also gotta get a router now--are there any routers that are better than others for 360 use? I plan on streaming Netflix too with it, if that makes any difference.

SkaBob - I might be getting Forza 3 sometime soon...I have an extra copy of Assassin's Creed 2 I need to trade in and Forza 3 looks like one that'd be worth it. I'm kind of having a tough time deciding between that and DiRT 2 though. Have you played that one at all?

[SkaBob]

I played a demo of Dirt 2...it was...OK? It's hard to make a bad rally game, really. Lots of interesting game modes and such, but there's only so much you can do when there's no real concern for GRIP in the game...I'd say, if you're more of a racing sim fan get Forza, if you're more of an arcade racer fan get Dirt... Not that Dirt is super arcadey... It's definitely got it's arcade racer moments, but Forza (like Gran Turismo) is a bit punishing if you don't drive like a real race car driver, and that can be frustrating if that's not what you're looking for.

[Jeronimo]

I don't know why but I was scared shitless playing the original Uncharted last night. Just finally getting around to playing through this gem and man that chapter where you are in the dark trying to start the generator had my palms sweating. I think I blinked like twice the whole time I played that chapter. I don't usually get scared when playing games, cause they're just games, but Uncharted does an AMAZING job of immersing the player in the story.

Going to try to finish this one tonight, and move on to Uncharted 2.

My single gripe is that I feel like the game really overplays the gun fights, there was a little too much of that. It was obvious when one was about to happen, mainly cause they happen every 1-2 minutes...

[Frank Delicious]

Forza (like Gran Turismo) is a bit punishing if you don't drive like a real race car driver, and that can be frustrating if that's not what you're looking for.

I couldn't really get into Forza because of this. I like my racing games to be a little on the unrealistic side so I can have fun just driving around but that is just me. My co-worker is loving Forza 3 right now.

[some call me...tim?]

I played a demo of Dirt 2...it was...OK? It's hard to make a bad rally game, really. Lots of interesting game modes and such, but there's only so much you can do when there's no real concern for GRIP in the game...I'd say, if you're more of a racing sim fan get Forza, if you're more of an arcade racer fan get Dirt... Not that Dirt is super arcadey... It's definitely got it's arcade racer moments, but Forza (like Gran Turismo) is a bit punishing if you don't drive like a real race car driver, and that can be frustrating if that's not what you're looking for.

Mmm, damn, that's good info, but still a tough call. I like arcadey and realistic racing games. I liked Forza 1, and what I've played of #2 I've liked. I haven't gotten hardcore enough to take off traction control or switch to manual yet though. I did play one of the Colin McRae games once I think, and that was too realistic for me, too tough to be fun. Hmm...decisions, decisions.

[SkaBob]

I couldn't really get into Forza because of this. I like my racing games to be a little on the unrealistic side so I can have fun just driving around but that is just me. My co-worker is loving Forza 3 right now.

Give some of the R1 class cars a try, you might find them more to your liking. Better have fast reflexes though, those things are WICKED quick!

Mmm, damn, that's good info, but still a tough call. I like arcadey and realistic racing games. I liked Forza 1, and what I've played of #2 I've liked. I haven't gotten hardcore enough to take off traction control or switch to manual yet though. I did play one of the Colin McRae games once I think, and that was too realistic for me, too tough to be fun. Hmm...decisions, decisions.

If you liked Forza 1 and 2, Forza 3 is more of the same in terms of driving physics (a bit more refined, I'd say), but WAY more polished. TONS more tracks, more upgrade options (including drivetrain swaps...you'd be surprised what you make all wheel drive in that game!), and SOOOO many more fast cars! Almost all of the cheapo rinkydink cars are gone, and there're so many new exotics and interesting models to take their places.

I think Dirt is the progression of the Colin McRae series (if memory serves me correctly). It plays similarly to those, or Rallisport (which I really liked), but there's a bit of the unrealistic "Let's do this because it'd be cool, even if it'd destroy the normal cars" stuff thrown in that while fun, didn't really appeal to my inner gearhead...

[SkaBob]

While we're on the subject and Steam's holiday sale is still going, I should mention Eufloria.

It's an "ambient" RTS with a simple play style yet deceptively complex strategy to winning.

Very pretty, very fun, and very cheap. I got it for $10 via Steam's sale, and it's worth at least $30 in my opinion (and in my opinion, despite being an FPS nut, I'm not buying L4D2 until it's $25 or less, so there's my standards laid out for you).

[jnecessary]

i got world of goo on steam for a couple bucks and it is pretty fun for a quick puzzle game when you have 10 minutes to spare.

[SkaBob]

Man...I was just playing MW2 with a buddy of mine... I'd forgotten how much fun the One Man Army perk can be!

One life run at them with an SMG, the next the riot shield, the next pelt them with rockets from across the map... aaah chaos!

[BLURR]

Hey Tim...if you need a router, check out the D-Link Xtreme N Wireless-N Gigabit Gaming Router with 4-Port Switch. It is very handy to have even if you aren't a gamer. It allows you to prioritize your connection to different devices. So if you want to make your 360 use the most of your internet connection while somebody is on the computer, you can set it up so yo have 80% of your connection and the computer uses only 20%.

[some call me...tim?]

Hey Tim...if you need a router, check out the D-Link Xtreme N Wireless-N Gigabit Gaming Router with 4-Port Switch. It is very handy to have even if you aren't a gamer. It allows you to prioritize your connection to different devices. So if you want to make your 360 use the most of your internet connection while somebody is on the computer, you can set it up so yo have 80% of your connection and the computer uses only 20%.

Phew, that does look like it'd do the job handily, but man, if I were to get it from Best Buy, it'd cost nearly as much as my console! (I only shop at Best Buy as a last resort, but still....) I was hoping for something like a $20 solution. I live alone so I don't think I have to worry about too much bandwidth between devices too much. I'm thinking of getting this router which is still a bit more than I was hoping to spend, but looks like it should do all I need, and relatively hassle free.

[Frank Delicious]

Hey Tim...if you need a router, check out the D-Link Xtreme N Wireless-N Gigabit Gaming Router with 4-Port Switch. It is very handy to have even if you aren't a gamer. It allows you to prioritize your connection to different devices. So if you want to make your 360 use the most of your internet connection while somebody is on the computer, you can set it up so yo have 80% of your connection and the computer uses only 20%.

Phew, that does look like it'd do the job handily, but man, if I were to get it from Best Buy, it'd cost nearly as much as my console! (I only shop at Best Buy as a last resort, but still....) I was hoping for something like a $20 solution. I live alone so I don't think I have to worry about too much bandwidth between devices too much. I'm thinking of getting this router which is still a bit more than I was hoping to spend, but looks like it should do all I need, and relatively hassle free.

A software forum I go to always recommends this:

If you currently do not own a router that can be flashed, which one should you go for? Well typically the goon recommended router is the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54. We recommend this router because it's supported by virtually all firmwares and has great range using the built in antenna. This router is also relatively cheap at ~$55 dollars and can be found online or at Best Buy/Circuit City.

Also ironically the thread I pulled that quote from opens with this paragraph:

"But Calculon, my $180 D-Link EXTREME N router with a gigabit switch is rock solid even when torrenting 100 Linux Isos at once." Alright, but you spent a large amount of money on a router that many people do have stability problems with, using a un-finalized spec and that has a gigabit switch that can not actually be used at gigabit speeds. If it works fine for you then great, but this thread is meant for people who do not want to spend large amounts of money on a consumer router, and do want to use third-party firmwares.

and if you are interested in flashing your router and getting it up and running at awesome speeds:

DD-WRT
Pros: Supports many, many devices, has a completly original interface, a shitload of customization options, and is updated regularly.
Cons: Depending on the device can present some weird stability issues.
Notes: DD-WRT has a micro version that can be installed on late model Linksys WRT54G devices with gimped memory.

Tomato
Pros: Easy to use, completly original, intuitive interface, many customization options, great QOS, and helpful real time graphs.
Cons: Does not support the multitude of devices like DD-WRT, and does not have as many options.
Notes: This firmware does not yet support the Buffalo WHR-G125.

OpenWRT
Pros: Extremely customizable, very stable, supports a plethora of devices.
Cons: Not for the faint of heart; OpenWRT by default is just a command driven firmware with a limited web interface. Install X-WRT for a better web interface.
Notes: This firmware may be better suited for someone with command line experience and who needs a more customized environment.

[some call me...tim?]

Hmm, thanks for the info Frank. Any idea how that stacks up to the Linksys I linked to earlier? It seems like Linksys is the Toyota of the router world, and that one is actually about $5 less than the Buffalo right now. I do like to fiddle around with stuff, but I'm not a big overclocker or anything, so don't know how much time I'd actually spend on tweaking all the settings. But if the Buffalo is that much better, well, $5 won't break the bank.

[SkaBob]

LOL Why doesn't it surprise me that Frank frequents the SA forums...

Get the Buffalo. Linksys is OK, and has the backing (read- is owned by) Cisco, but the Buffalo one is a better product.

Also, the Tomato firmware is tits. Really nice tits. And this coming from a sysadmin.