Mini-Updates

By: Reach For The Sky

Nothing to write a whole post about this week, so here's some little updates to gnaw on.

Some good news for mac users, Steam is working on a platform for digital distribution of games for the mac. For those that don't know, Steam is a digital distribution client for a variety of PC games. While I don't use a mac, I'm excited about this because I love all forms of universal-platform development. Not only are mac versions of games going to be available for many Steam titles, users running windows will be able to download any available mac versions of the games they own for free. Saved games can also be transferred across platforms, which is awesome. The first game valve is releasing on both platforms at the same time is going to be Portal 2. Hey that reminds me...

Portal 2! I loved the first game, and if you haven't played it, I would advise getting the free demo on steam, and then driving nails into your head for missing out on this masterpiece. Shame on you. I am, however, naturally weary of sequels. Am I going to seriously contemplate whether or not to buy this game? Yes. Am I going to ignore that decision and buy it anyway? Double yes. I think at this point I can trust Valve with sequels. Although adding co-op to Portal seems a bit like adding zombies to Harvest Moon. Hey that reminds me...

Right now the popular iphone app at school is zombie farm. It's pretty fun actually. You grow crops to get money. You spend money to grow zombies. Then you send your zombie army to go ruin someone else's zombie army. It fills a perfect niche, giving guys an excuse to play a farming simulator without seeming like pansies. It's pay system is quite unique, allowing players to pay for higher level equipment with real money rather than spend the time earning it. The game itself is free, and all necessary items can be earned through the game, but can be accessed earlier than normal with in-game purchases. The paying crowd get their fix, the average player can still get what they need with a little extra effort. It's not like combining gardening with zombies hasn't proven itself a winning formula.

Unrelated note: You think you've seen everything, then you see a women telemark skiing in a bikini. Spring break is wild.