Admittedly though, it won’t help your fingers get used to pressing on the strings… that’s something you’ll have to face later on and they do tend to make your fingers hurt for a while because the strings are pressing into your fingers. I haven’t played with an actual guitar long enough to be able to get protection from the strings as of yet, although the guitar isn’t my instrument of choice at present; that honour belongs to my keyboard (the piano type), which I’ve decided to learn first as it’s a little easier to get into. I’ve actually paid for the learning pack for Synthesia to help me in this goal. It’s much like Guitar Hero, Rock Band and the like, but it uses a keyboard or MIDI synthesiser instead. Admittedly, I’ve not touched it for a while now, but my Rock Band jam session has both rekindled the interest and also made me want to get Rock Band as well! I’m looking at getting the Band Hero Super Bundle, which is 100 quid in HMV at the moment, seeing as it has all the instruments I need to get me started, although the drums are a concern; would they be compatible with Rock Band? I know the guitar is compatible, and the mic should be as well, but I’m not sure about the drums. As for why I’m worried about this, I really don’t want to get another set of drums just so I can play all the games! One thing I noticed though that one of my friends would be happy with is the fact that the Band Hero drumkit has 3 drums, with 2 cymbals, I think they are those anyway. It still has the pedal, but that said, I don’t think it would be used as much in Rock Band, so his foot won’t hurt so much!

I will need to get another guitar though to complete the band though. I have been thinking long and hard about getting Final Fantasy 13, which has been out for a while and yes, C&C4 is out now as well but I’ll wait till my birthday to buy that. That’s another game I’m unsuure of, but I need to get it as it’s like a grand finale. Oddly enough, I stopped playing the multiplayer beta some time ago though that was more due to my move as opposed to not wanting to play it. Another thing I need to take back up is ST Online, which again I’ve not played in a while. The issue being though that it’s on my desktop and I need to fit a wireless card to it, given that the ethernet cable is too short, doh! Another game I recently have started to replay is Morrowind which I’ve been tweaking by installing the plugins. While I haven’t properly gotten into it just yet, I certainly think the plugins make it a better game. This is one thing that PCs excel at, that is having a lot of free mods and the like; consoles can’t compare in this case. Except for Unreal Tournament III, I can’t think of any other game that supports extension of its functionality through mods, at least on a console. I’ll delve into that shortly, seeing as I really need to get back to FF13. Anyway, on the topic of FF13, I’m not sure if I should buy it to be honest, as I’ve been reading reviews which state that it’s pretty dull for the first 15-25 hours, and I’ve had a fellow gamer tell me it’s crap. The issue is that I’m not sure if I should spend money on it, or just get the standard edition after it’s come down in price… it would certainly mean I could get Band Hero oin one go, and I do think it’s a worthwhile purchase, at least for the guitar and mic. DJ Hero llooks really tempting as well, on the basis to complete the set, or do something different though I’d most likely spend another 50 to get another guitar. I know this means more space taken up, but I think it’s worth it, especially for the range of options being available to play instrument-wise.

Moving back to PC gaming though, I’ve been thinking about getting Fallout 3 and Oblivion on PC, albeit later on when they’re cheaper. While I have them on PS3, I acknowledge that the PC versions are superior for the fact that they can look better as time goes on when you upgrade your PC, but mainly it’s because of the moddability (is that a word?) of the game, and thus the fact the game has much more longevity compared to its console counterparts. That said however, there’s less farting about with the console versions as while you still have to install them, there’s most likely less to install and there is a minimal amount of setting up that’s needed, such as driver issues or needing more space. I was talking about this in Game a couple of weeks ago, and came to the conclusion that for extended game life, PC is usually the way to go, but for being able to quickly get into the action, a console is better. And for the record, I have a PS3 and Wii though I want a 360 sometime, mostly as a development system however. I held back on getting a 360 because I didn’t want another MS system, although it seems likely that I’ll have to shell out extra money after I get it to get a few things, such as a wireless N adaptor and maybe another hard drive. Either way though, I’m gonna be getting the Elite. I do want to get both the PS3 and 360 versions of a game eventually though, so I can compare. It’s a good excuse for a YouTube video if I saw one!

But yeah, I’ll end this now, though I will say that it takes ages for me to get home… and I’m also wondering if it’s a good thing that I spotted so many police cars on my way home, round the general area I live in…

Unfortunately, I can’t take screenshots of C&C4, though I can of STO, and expect some in my Flickr gallery soon.  And just to talk a little bit more about C&C4, I’m honestly not sure if I like it, but it’ll be released next month, so we’ll have to see what happens then.  There’s noconventional bases in it and it sems rather remensicent of Dawn of War without the building options… actually, those of you who remember the game Z, it’s more like that.  Other than that, I’m having to wait for stuff regarding my new house and I’m hoping to record a DiggerCast pilot episode either tomorrow or next week.  I also plan on going to see Assemblage 23, which are pretty damn good.  I recently managed to properly listen to all their music and I do quite like them, so I’ll be seeing them next week.  I’ll post some more here later, although I think my LJ needs to be updated some more, seeing as it’s swamped with Tweets.  Realistically though, unless something significant happens between now and my next post on here, it’s likely that the aforementioned next post will be a better opinion on STO, which should really be put onto a games blog, but at present I have none so here will have to do.  I really need to give Guild Wars some attention too; although in a way I’m glad there’s no monthly fees as like I said in the past, it doesn’t feel like a chore in that I have to play it.  It also means I can save money.  Either way though, I’m going to start balancing it out.  Heh, I might even consider playing WoW again, just to use the trial time I have.

And if anyone has wondered what I’ve actually played, I can tell you I’ve played these:

• EverQuest
• Subspace/Continuum
• Guild Wars
• World of Warcraft
• Lord of The Rings Online
• Star Trek Online

I might have also played these games, or at the very least I have them or have them downloaded or bought/aquired a copy:

• Dungeons & Dragons Online
• Ultima Online
• Dark Age of Camelot

Well, it’s safe to say that I’ve played a fair few games.  Not surprising given I have been gaming since at least 1989.  And by this point I’d like to think I’ve a pretty respectable opinion when it comes to games.  Well, at the very least I can work out how to play most games within half an hour.  I’m old enough to  remember playing Doom, Wolf3D, Quake and their successors as well as also The Catacomb Abyss.  Games were certainly more original back then anyway, and when I mean “back then”, I mean before 2000.  I need to properly go “retro” at some point, although it feels a little odd to me calling anything before 2000 retro, but there you go.  I do actually have plans to write an entry about the games industry and how it’s progressed, although I think I need to do research on that first.  I should be able to do it now, given I have read enough about the history of games and consoles.  Look out for that at some point in time.  I also want to develop my own game at some point too, which I’m looking at getting a team together for, but more on that later.

Well, I can’t think of anything else to say really, but I might look at talking about STO in more detail at the very least.  I certainly want to play some Guild Wars again before I do though.  Expect some screenshots at the very least.