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Thoughts on Red Faction (a few days late): really punishing game. Much easier on PC than it was on console (I doubt I could finish it on the PS2). The final puzzle was a nasty surprise.

I like the idea of the story - a miner on mars getting involved in an uprising against their employer - but I felt it slipping away from me very quickly. The back half of the game in particular I barely remember.

The combat was OK (very easy to die to some of the later enemies), the stealth sections were goofy but interesting, vehicles could be slow to control but were tanky enough to not be annoying. Didn't find any movement tech.

I'd have to play it a few more times to form a real opinion I think. Still, I'm glad I finished it, it was worth the couple of bucks I paid for sure.

I'm streaming Red Faction (2001 FPS game) again this afternoon over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen.

Will try to finish it today. I think I'm near the end so this could be a short broadcast.

I'm starting a playthrough of Red Faction (2001 FPS game) over on https://twitch.tv/andreaen. Live in a few minutes.

I made it through about half of Red Faction on the Playstation 2 around a decade ago, have been meaning to finish it since. This time I'll be playing the GOG version on PC (using the Dash Faction mod).

happy Laughing Man Incident day

Completed Painkiller (video game, 2004) tonight. It was... OK. Very edgy (of course).

Movement and combat were really fun, environments were beautiful but mostly linear, story was goofy and forgettable. Music was good (though it took me a while to like it). Boss gimmicks could have been explained better.

Seems like a game that might be more fun in short bursts. (Or maybe multiplayer, CPL 2005 style).

Playing (& maybe finishing) the old FPS game Painkiller again tonight over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen.

I'm continuing the FPS game Painkiller (2004) tonight over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen. Starting with episode 3 level 1 "Train Station".

I'm starting a playthrough of Painkiller (the 2004 FPS game made by People Can Fly) in a few minutes over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen.

I've completed about half of this game before & have been meaning to finish it for years.

First step: figure out how the monsters work, second step: teach the monsters to pick up and use items on the map. (Step two might be asking too much.)

I've spent the last few days working through & partially rewriting the Quake 1 monster code. It's not super complicated stuff but I've never studied anything like it before so it's all new to me.

Streaming #quake1 for a bit today over at https://twitch.tv/andreaen .

I've refactored / re-written a lot of the QuakeC game code recently so I'm going to test that by running through the standard id1 maps (and maybe some of Than's Deathmatch Dimension).

Everybody wake up there's a new power_of_heavy_metal #quake3 Defrag video

Watched Brother (2000, dir. Takeshi Kitano) today. First watch (& my first Kitano too). A gangster (played by Kitano) is exiled to America and starts his own crime family in L.A. .

A whole bunch of recognizable actors in this - Omar Epps of course, also James Shigeta, Tetsuya Watari, and Pat Morita (for a single shot). Score by Joe Hisaishi! A lot of abrupt, fast violence. Everybody's doomed from the beginning. Really enjoyed the ending.

I remember seeing this on the shelf at my local video store when it was new. Happy to have finally picked it up & taken it home (so to speak).

Ooh. there's a new free release from Skee Mask:

Track 2 is tasty. 8 seems good too.

I guess this is my version of an end-of-year media wrap-up. I often forget to log things so my lists are spotty / incomplete. Still a fun exercise though.

I didn't read many books this year but I did watch a few movies and a little TV:

https://djcev.com/memory/Log/MoviesAndTV2023/

I try to keep lists like this for books, movies/TV, and music purchases, even if I don't have anything interesting to say. (Stale takes, bad opinions, etc.).