James

By Pentadact


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Let Tom Francis tell you all what it's like, being male, middle-class and white.
 

 

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"Am I the only one who enjoys the mako combat? I found it nice to be in a pretty easy and fun situation after slogging through all the awesome, but tiring foot combat. I think I had..."

Weird Fish on 2008 In Games That Were Better Than Other Games
 

 

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The plot of the game is that the CIA want to overthrow the government of this island nation to destabilise the area and allow them to put their ruler of choice into power. Their modus operandi for this is to drop you, from a plane.
 

 

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A Life In Questions
A warts-and-all portrait of a woman's life based solely on her search history.
First Night, Second Life
A surreal break-in on my first night in the ultra-liberal virtual world.
 

 

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Bethesda Ruin America

 
 

I’ve taken over 700 shots of Fallout 3, but they’re almost all of people’s heads exploding. Those will come up in future Fallout Girl entries, but in the meantime I direct you to the more scenic work of freelancer and PC Gamer contributor Duncan Harris. In fact, one of the things he contributed to PC Gamer was a guide to gaming photography, a term which starts to make sense when you watch the slideshow of his Fallout shots fullscreen. A warning! There are mild visual spoilers for the main quest about forty shots in. If you haven’t got far enough in the main quest to imagine what they might be, stop when you reach this shot:

One of the main reasons I wasn’t hugely excited about Fallout 3 was that I thought bleak would end up just being boring. I’m happy to say I was wrong about that, its world feels rich and full and has moments of extraordinary beauty. But I do still think a wasteland doesn’t have to be so uniform. I would have loved to find forests of melted plastics, vast impact craters and thickets of whatever inverted vegetation regrows 200 years after armageddon.

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Chris Livingston: Man. I really need to upgrade because my game looks nothing like those pictures.

Niteowl: Have you considered that, perhaps, you're still playing Fallout 2?

Smurfy: Have you considered that, perhaps, you're not playing it at all and just sit completely still in your chair imagining what it might look like?

Killa-Ewok: It's good Mr.Livingston isn't dead.

ZomBuster: I didn't realize that 2nd pic is 112, it looks so less.. awesome for me :(

ZomBuster: Only thing that is missing make those screens incredible are shadows.

Tentaculat: I played through the entire main story arc without realizing who the voice of President Eden was. It wasn't until the credits rolled that I had one of those "ahhhhh" moments. For some reason it made me happier than I already was. Fantastic game.

Chijts: Great photos, and great job to Bethesda for making the place! I guess it would be even more haunting to someone who comes from D.C..

So if this is how it looks on a nice PC, how's it look on an xbox?

Jazmeister: I see a lot of F3 shots suggesting it's part of the new ShoulderCam movement. What does it all mean, Tom?

Nonomu198: My rig isn't dosen't even match the minimun system requirements.


I guess I could just make a collage out of the thousands of thousands of Fallout 3 pictures around the net and use my imagination.

spuzman00: Nonomu:
Great idea. I think I'm going to do the same thing for Left 4 Dead when it comes out.

Pentadact: Jaz, it's a first-person game, but there's a key to go third-person. Whereupon it does that stupid back-and-to-the-right thing. Back, and to the right. Back, and to the right. I got Dead Space recently, and it's back, and so far to the right that you simply can't see half of what's happening to you. The only time this camera angle would be a good idea is in a pirate game in which you play the parrot.

Jazmeister: Woah woah woah woah. Allow me to reformat your words so you can better look upon what flippancy wrought this day:

A pirate game.

In which you play the parrot.

...

If people could switch to third person in real life, you'd see them doing that corner-look thing a lot. Muggings would be altered forever. You could even have a face to face conversation with someone facing at right angles to eachother.

yns88: Wow, he's really right about the gaming photography bit -- those screens make the game look about twice as good as it actually does.

J-Man: Important question: What do I buy?
A: Fallout 3
B: Left 4 Dead
C: Mirror's Edge
D: Call of Duty: World at War

Pentadact: I'd pick A. I'm optimistic about C, but it's not going to be in the same league, and D doesn't look much fun from what I've seen over people's shoulders. B is great, but there are a few football fields between great and A.

DoctorDisaster: You know you can use the mouse wheel to adjust the third-person distance, right? I find it hard to believe that I noticed something Award-Winning Games Journalist Tom Francis missed.

In general, third-person is OK if you're outdoors and like to use VATS. Indoors the camera gets all up in your personal space and it's very awkward. Third-person if you're playing it as a shooter? There's a reason TPS is an Office Space reference and not a popular video game genre.

Also, I have to agree with the others here that my Fallout 3 doesn't look that good. One of many drawbacks of console preeminence is that graphics don't scale as well as they used to.

Except for the Source, of course (of course). L4D looks great!

J-Man: Really? Fallout is better than L4D? I've played the 2 demo levels at least 10 times.

StalinsGhost: I love some of these screens. The Poisoned Sponge posted a bit about them on the Reticule a few days ago: I was quite happy to sit through and watch them all in the slide show :D

J-Man: Important question: What do I buy?
A: Fallout 3
B: Left 4 Dead

Both of these. A) for the hugely atmospheric, largely brilliant RPG/FPS action. I've got a review here: http://thereticule.com/2008/11.....st-review/ :)

B) for being simply the best online FPS this year. Or so I think having played much demoage.

Garg: "whatever inverted vegetation regrows 200 years after armageddon."

Had to reply to this; there is some very odd vegetation in one area of the game, although it's quite out of the way and hard(ish) to find. But yes I would agree that the environments could have done with a bit more variety.

Pentadact: Heh, yep, I just last night found the place you're talking about. It's awesome. There's a lot more diversity in Fallout 3 than I gave it credit for, but I'd still like to see more of it breaking up the rocky wastes that form 90% of the landscape.

 
 

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    Previously, On James...

     
     

    2008 In Games That Were Better Than Other Games     GTA IV Shorts: Cut Off     PC Gamer Podcast: The Future’s Dim     Thoughts On The Team Fortress 2 Christmas Changes     Dear Sir     Extra Mirror’s Edge Levels Blocky, Unrealistic     Dead Space: The Right-Hand Side Of A Good Game     So My Vesper Became Your Chariot     Fallout Girl: The Road To Tenpenny Towers     Revenge Of The Psycho Graverobber     I’m Not Making The Plan Next Time     HERO CLOSET     The Gold Ribbon Goldberg Device     Fallout Girl: Anywhere But Megaton     Bethesda Ruin America     Fallout Girl     Left 4 De-     The American Public Announce That Tom Francis Is Right     Right To Live     Far Cry 2: What I Do Like     Far Cry 2: What I’d Like     Far Cry 2: Impersonation Of A Buddy     New PC Gamer Podcast: Eau De Toilette Radioactifs     Far Cry 2 Released, Forest Fires Up 8000%     !     Deadly Toads Of Death     World Of Goo Is Coming To Steam, Gentlepersons     Trust Me With Your Ears: Volume Three     Plan B Is Complete     The Fate Of The Nation And, More Importantly, My £5     Multiwinia Mathematics     A Stab At Meet The Spy     Clear Screen     Trust Me With Your Ears: Volume Two     Retro Team Fortress 2     Sounds Like The Spy Update Is Next     Status Report     Field Studies 6: The PC Gamer Sporecast     I No Longer Feel I Have To Be James Dean     Plan B Chapter One Is Complete     Field Studies 5: My Spore Review     I Read A Thirty-Eight Page Comic About Google’s Browser     Heroes Of Medicine     Red Versus White     Soviet Power     Plan B Is Live     Trust Me With Your Ears: Volume One     He Looks Truly Mortified     Lumber Yard Wallpapers     Heavy Update Thoughts So Far     Relic Announce That Tom Francis Is Right     Team Fortress 2 Goes To The Rockies     Steel Yourself     Vote Tom Francis In The Games Media Awards     Heavy Update: Sandwiches And Fresh Green Grass     Chris Livingston Stops Considering A TF2 Comic     Seriously, Buy Braid     Braid Is Out On Filthy Consoles     Film Catch-Up     Tweak Fortress     Field Studies 4: Vu To A Thorough Game Demonstration     The Middleman     What’s Happening In Kansas     Mirror’s Edge     Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog     Weltpolizei     The Prop Cigarettes You Smoke, They Show Who You Are     Cutting Verses Down To Size     The Sun Is Shining But We Stay Inside     Mrs D Mrs I Mrs F-F-I, Mrs C Mrs U-L-T     I Propose A Less Serious Vote     Valve Completely Out Of Weapon Ideas, Beg For Help     I Know The Commander Because He’s My Pal     Blizzard Announce That Tom Francis Is Right     Regarding Matt’s Location     Oh My God What The Fuck Barbecue     Cube In Memoriam     Pyro Flare Pistol Thingy Shown In Meet The Sniper     Field Studies 3: My Pretties     Field Studies 2: I Will Save You From The Wangs     Field Studies 1: Sporegasm     Muxed Feelings     You Don’t Have To Be An Engy To Work Here But You Do     Someone Already Made An Ubersaw     Team Fortress 2 Unlockable Ideas     A Riposte To Valve’s Defense Of PC Gaming     Randy Smith Has The Worst Game Design Ideas Ever     Sire, My Regard For You Is This Big     Crysis Suit Modes Revisited     Fractal Hasselhoff And Football Management     What A Shame     The City That Rarely Enters Sleep Mode     The Most Needlessly Complex Terror Plots In Film History     No-One Drove In New York, There Was Too Much Traffic     In One Thousand Two Hundred And Ten New York Minutes     That Band You Like Has A New Thing Coming Out     A Slice Of Fried Gold Rush     Achievement Unlocked: Typed Achievement_Unlock     Bracing Oneself     It’s A Democratic Gaming Landscape, Bitches     Non-Problems Of The Obscenely Over-Privileged     Wanking ‘Not Inappropriate’ To Government Commerce     Dispensing Justice     Getting Owned     This Just In: Frogs Aren’t Morons     Der Uberdoktor     Jon Stewart On Presidential Elitism     I Actually Can’t Stop The Music     Offlyin’     The Life And Inevitable Death Of Bloopi     PC Gamer Blog: Five Years Of Foolishness     Anne Diamond Reviews Games     Fail Dogs     Review: Soulstorm (Fire Indeed Hot)     There Will Be Country For Old Men In Real Life, Baby     The Far Cry 2 Team     PC Gamer Tells Greg Costikyan To Shut The Fuck Up     Valve Decided Against The Overhealer     Austin Translation     Preview: World of Goo     ‘Meet The Scout’ Imminent     PC Gamer Blog: Greatest Videogame Weapon of All Time     Bill Hicks: Another Dead Hero     Vortessence Hangover     Nick Montfort On Portal Vs The Passage     I Eat What I Slaughter     Jonathan Blow On Making Enough Money For Food     Audiosurfing The Shipping News     Team Fortress 2 Badlands Exploit Patched     Lost, Season Four, Spoilers, Obviously     Badlands     James 2.5 Explained     PC Gamer Podcast: March     Chris Livingston Considering A TF2 Comic     Come In     Actors Out Of Context     Murder Incorporated     Books That Make You Dumb     Powered Down For Redesign     New TF2 Maps And Medic Change In Two Months     Molecular Gastronomy Blog     Team Fortress 2 Update Reactions     Things Round Here Have Changed     My Goatee     Things I Forgot To Talk About Round-Up     GalCiv2: Still Genius     Analysing Team Fortress 2     Gamespot Finally Do The Logical Thing     Deus Fucking Ex Fucking 3     Crysis Week: The Endingening     Episode Two Death Maps     Masq     SO… MUCH… CAKE…     On Rock     Review: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare     I’m Not Allowed To Do This     I Played Through The Crysis Demo Holding A Surprised Korean Guy     The Greatest Spy In Team Fortress 2     FEAR: Perseus Mandate Is The Best Game Ever     Hellgate London Thoughts     Beautiful Piano Rendition Of The Portal Song     I Played Through Episode Two Holding A Goddamn Gnome     Pushing Daisies Continues To Be Incredible     Ten Minutes To Go     The Best Three Things On TV     Life Complete     This Just In: The Scout Is A Dick     Not Being A Spy     SO… MUCH… BLOOD…     Weirdly, You’ve Been Tanned - Suspicious For The Winter     Structurally Superfluous     Top of GameTab: Wikipedia Edits From Sony IP     Heroes Season Two     My Favourite Disaster     Quick BioShock Warning     Rock, Paper, Shotgun     British Airwaves     BioShock Review Review     Gollum Beat Box Like You Never Seen     The Machine Of Death Winners     System Failure     The Order of the Phoenix     The Completist: Tribes: Vengeance     Quickly     Boston and Bioshock     Cloak And Tagger     Gamespot Finally Do The Logical Thing     The Completist: Far Cry     This Month In Terrible, Part 2: London Olympics Logo     This Month In Terrible, Part 1: Anti-DRM T-Shirts     The Finale Post     Not The Finale Post     Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa-     Starcraft 2     Grrraaahahahahaa!     Mystery Trip     Access Denied     Invasion of the Body Snatchers     New-Album Deathmatch     Can I Just Say (3)     Back!     ‘Iv’     Desktop Tower Defense     Whoa     Noble Jedis     I Don’t Know About You Folks     Infinitely More Exciting Than Anything     Exploded     A Couple Of Things!     This Is Taking Ages     Best Interview Ever     Let Them Eat Facts     He’s Gone Too Far     Highlight Of 2006 (3/3)     Highlight Of 2006 (2/3): Snowboarding To Safety     Highlight Of 2006 (1/3): Previewing Oblivion     Yeah, Me Too     Somerfield     24     iPwn     2006     First Screenshots Of Introversion’s Next Game     Dexter: Series One     Woo     Dexter Again     Primer     Just ‘Cause     Spoiler Test     Heroes     Not Everything You Find On Flickr Makes A Lot Of Sense Right Away     Posts About Games Writing Suck So I’m Writing A Post About Posts About Games Writing     Supreme Commander     A Weak Russian Sunset     Event-Inspired Idea: Cellphone Breathalizer     I Am About To Play One Of These Games     Dexter     Bad News     24: Drink When…     Blood Money And Sex     Veronica Mars     Too Zune     Something I Didn’t Understand But Still Feels Right     James 1.0     Dangerous Animals Found Dangerous, Term Remains Mystery     Don’t Blog While Stupid     Should I Hit The Weak Spot For Massive Damage Now?     25th Hour     Porn Shoes     A Life In Questions     Paris Laptop Consciousness Drip     This Next Test Is Impossible     Found And Lost     Team Fortress 2, Episode Two And Portal     Not Lasting     Pandora’s Checkbox     Episode Three Conjecture     Episode Two Conjecture     Trivia: My Firefox Extensions     Half-Life 3: Episode 1     Can I Just Say     Top 100 Musings #1: Battlefield 2     Maths Cop 2: The Revengening     Waa?     Out Of Office Auto-Blog     Oblivion Review     I Took A Photograph Of You In The Herbacious Border     If Things Go Right     New Ritual     Favourites     World Of Lifecraft     Elsewhere     Some News, JC     This Is The Winter Of Our Disco Tent     Villainy Like It Oughta Be     FEAR     Battlefield 2 Stats     Brain Storm’s New Clothes     Fahrenheit     Sorry     Quote From What I’m Watching     NaNoWriMo - Hard FAQs     Mockba     SWAT 4: The Game     First Night, Second Life     Disappointing Results     Maths Cop!     NaNoWriMo     Google Oozes Connectivity     Lost Season 2     Serenity     Oh Screw It, I’ll Mention The Revolution     Flying     Introducing: Brain Storm     Concerned     This Month In Awesome     Rain     SWAT 4: The Movie     On Bringing It     State Of Things     Quest Ideas     Quest Que C’est?     WordPress Wizard     Reasons To Freeze To Death     Phew     Futurama     The West Wing     Firefly     Lost     The Great     The Fantastic     The Top Few     Mulholland Drive     Adaptation     Grosse Pointe Blank     Memento     LA Confidential     Diablo 2     Battlefield 2     Half-Life 2: Deathmatch     Deus Ex 2     N     Morrowind     Half-Life 2     Deus Ex     Charles Darwin     Friedrich Nietzsche     Ludwig Wittgenstein     Tom Francis