Street Photography » Cross Roads, July 2023
photos by owen, published 2025-Feb-20, comment
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Video Games » Buying Xbox 360 games - Round 2
written by owen, published 2025-Feb-15, comment
I am not sure how I discovered TVGC but I was actively looking for a way in which I could buy a bundle of games in one package so they could be shipped together in one package - instead of individually - which amazon tends to do. Shipping all the games together at once should save on shipping costs. Either way it worked out, the website is easy to use and I got my second set of games all in one box.
The initial set of games were good but there were some gaps in the collection that I needed to fill. For example I wanted to get the Orange Box but it was a bit expensive so I settled for Portal 2 instead - no point in getting an expensive game that I might not play immediately. OrangeBox is one of those games that people talk about alot but I would mostly be getting it for Portal. Portal 2 seems to be a good compromise since it is only $13 vs $40 for the orange box.
In this second batch of games I spread myself around abit by picking up a few in which I had mild interest. Mirror's Edge, CODAW, Batman AC. Picked up Gears 3 and Crysis 3 to cover those bases. Burnout Paradise has been ported to everything so it must be good. I chose Tekken 6 over TTT2 since I had to have at least one fighting game in the collection. I got another triple pack game - wish there were more of these types of bundles. This is quite an eclectic mixture but I do play quite a variety of games. Now that the xbox360 is technically "retro", most games are "cheaper" than when they originally released while being easy enough to achieve.
Game list
Portal 2 - $12.99 USD
Dishonored - $4.99 USD
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - $15.99 USD
Tekken 6 - $17.99 USD
Burnout Paradise - $15.99 USD
Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes - $13.99 USD
Ultimate Action Triple Pack (JustCause2, TombRaider, Sleeping Dogs) - $16.99 USD
Mirror's Edge - $16.99 USD
Gears of War 3 - $13.99 USD
Crysis 3 - $12.99 USD
Batman Arkham City - $10.99 USD
Total = $153.89 USD
Shipping Costs = $31.25 USD
Conclusion
The only game missing from the list is Max Payne 3 which got misplaced while I was curating the shopping cart. I will have to buy it later. Since I spent most of the 7th gen of gaming on the Nintendo Wii, which means all these games are new territory. I think this completes the list of games that I want to play on the Xbox360. I think I have searched every "best of list" I could find on the internet. Anything else is either part of a series of games, too expensive or not interesting enough for me to acquire it now. I estimate the running total of my xbox purchases to about $650. Lots of games to play, never enough time but we will see what the future holds. I have previously written about my play strategy and will also write little blog reviews on them as I play each of them. The first game I played out of this batch was Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
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Video Games » Review - Dark Souls 2 - Xbox 360
written by owen, published 2025-Feb-14, comment
The game is brutal. The environments have the vibe of shadow of the colossi on the ps2. The game world feels abandoned and lonely with minimal music. This might be the first totally "new" experience I have since I got the Xbox 360 console. Forza, Hitman, FarCRy3 are all experiences that are better but not different from ones I have had on older systems. Plus all have difficulty modes that allow you to move through without many walls to stop your progress. But in DS2 the first few enemies can literally ruin your day. I think I died 30 times before I left the first area.
I got the DS2 along with DS1 to borrow from a co-worer. I played DS1 first but found the framerate and the jank to be too bad for my liking. So I skipped DS1 and went to DS2 which luckily had better performance. I am not a purist as you may notice from my small collection of xbox games.
Progression is slow. This is definitely a patient man's game. If you try to rush through you will die many, many times. Every door and corner is a potential death trap. You have to be careful at all times because in the early game every enemy can wreck you if given the slightest chance.
The game has many subtle systems but its not complicated or overwhelming. No easy option is available. You do what you can to survive or you just give up. The game does not care either way. The game itself will make it harder the more you die. Get good or go home.
Conclusion
At just 7 hours in I can safely say the game is great. Died 200 times. I might never finish it so I don't need to write alot about it. Dark Souls 2 is a real "gamer's game". 10/10 would recommend only for the most hardcore players who like to fail and get back up many times. If you think of games as a series of tests then it is a masters degree. You will not have a good time if you only play easy games.
Office Space » Machine Shop
written by owen, published 2025-Feb-12, comment
You should always have your camera with you. You never know when you will get to be somewhere unique. June 2023
