Hackers Ruin CoD: Black Ops Matches Also

I was excited to see that Call of Duty: Black Ops is having a free (multiplayer) weekend on Steam. That is, until I encountered one or more game hackers in a match. If you've never played a recent CoD game, one of the handy features is a "kill cam" showing who killed you, from where. After getting killed immediately upon spawning (multiple times), I watched the kill cam for as long as it displayed. The camera of the player in question was moving in an unnaturally jerking manner, racking up kills through multiple layers of walls. It was quite obvious that this wasn't the behavior of a normal player, and 'his' 77-0 kill/death ratio seemed a bit odd as well. Teammates agreed that it just wasn't fun anymore, and we all left the match.

This is why I don't mind paying $50-60/year for Xbox Live. It may be a walled garden, but Microsoft at least tries to keep an even playing field by punishing cheaters. Only time will tell if CoD: World at War settles down from an online Wild West, but between that and Black Ops on PC, I won't be taking for granted a fair (fire)fight any time soon.

Minecraft!!!

Yep, I finally did it; sprung for the full version of Minecraft. The first thing I did? Started on an underground lair in the side of a small cove. I'd heard about the Creeps, so I wanted someplace safe to hide at night. The only way to get to it is by swimming, so it's been perfectly safe so far. As a kid that grew up with Legos (and still has them), I'm in heaven. <3

RIP Parabellum

Yesterday I was looking for stuff to clean off of my computer, and realized I still had Parabellum installed, that scamp of a F2P shooter with some innovative concepts but poor execution. I decided to give it one last chance before sending it to the same fate as the Companion Cube, but what happened when I tried to start it up?

It couldn't check for updates. The helper program for that, GamersFirst LIVE!, no longer shows Parabellum in its list of F2P games to download, nor does the GamersFirst website list it. Guess it was just too advanced for its time. Or a lousy game.

Still Alive

Just a short update from my phone: I haven't forgotten about this blog, and the next F2P game I'm looking at trying is CrimeCraft. More to come...

Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword mods

I've appreciated a good mod ever since downloading Counter-Strike via dial-up back in 2000, but a steady paycheck lead to decreasing mod usage over the years. It was quite the pleasant surprise when I recently discovered that my favorite expansion for my favorite computer game, Civ IV: Beyond the Sword, shipped with a number of mods. Some notable ones were a winter-setting fantasy world, post-apocalyptic tactical scenario, and a Mesoamerican setting. Being a fan of Aztec history, I have a feeling that I'll be spending some quality time with the final mod, although possibly not until after Steam Con this weekend.