With my current system struggling with The Witcher 2, I have decided to upgrade my PC with the latest and greatest Bang for Buck Gaming and media orientated hardware.  Here is what I have selected and some reasons for doing so:

Intel Core i7 2600K $319.00

I was deciding on this or the 2500k, probably won't make that much difference to be honest but at least the 2600k will have some decent longevity.  The 2500k and 2600k are currently the gamers CPU due to being able to easily hit overclocks of 4.9ghz on Air cooling.

ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Motherboard $199

To go the Extreme 4 or Extreme 3, that is the question. Further inspection revealed the Gen 3 doesn't gave USB3 pins on the mobo so I grabbed the gen 4.  It costs an extra $50 in Australia though its worth it to have the front mountable USB faceplate.

CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ CPU Cooler $33.00

Appears to be the best AIR bang for buck overclocking option in order to achieve those 4.5 - 5ghz speeds with the i2600k.

Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB HD103SJ $69.00

Will be using my current hard drives with this as an added extra, may just use this for my Steam install. I was tempted to go SSD though other than windows starting up quicker I cant really see that much of a benefit. My current Steam games load in a timely manner – maybe in the future.  I have an existing Seagate Barracuda ST3320613AS which averages 120ms read for my OS install.

G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 $65.00

Most suggestions for a gaming config suggest buying the cheapest possible ram option at 1333mhz though I decided on the 1600mhz at $7 more, I could have also gone for lower latency for about $20 more but the performance advantages hardly seem worth it looking at available benchmarks.

Silverstone Strider Plus 750W ST75F-P $145.00

Gives me room for SLI in the future without overdoing it.

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit with SP1 OEM $105.00

A second copy will come in handy.

Silverstone Fortress FT02B with Window USB 3.0 $259.00

My Silverstone HTPC case was the deciding factor in purchasing a premium case design – yes it costs a premium but the build quality over the $100 over dollar cases is justification enough.  Hopefully unlike the last few dodgy cases I have, this will last me quite a few years of PC upgrading.

I am going to try see how my existing 9800gtx goes with this system in the meantime as I really want to hold out for one of the next gen video cards. If it is too much of a bottle neck I'll go and buy a 9950 at MSY or similar.

Future plans:

AMD Radeon 7000 series

Due out between now and the end of the year, Can I hold out that long with my ageing overclocked 98000gtx?

Samsung S27A950 $500

A 1080p 120hz 3D monitor, not sure about this though it is hugely popular - in fact it is sold out everywhere.  No nvidia 3D though it makes use of AMD's variant AMD HD3D.  Not too fussed about the 3D aspect though 120hz is definitely where it is at in regards to gaming.

As per usual, my current unused PC hardware will be integrated into my HTPC bringing it up to a gaming spec system. (once I remove the current overclocking profile)  Will post some unboxing pics when I get this delivered.

How good is this game looking?  Deus Ex is probably my all time favourite game on any platform and it appears to be getting getting the sequel/Prequel it truly deserves:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=73GqUqRetxY

There was always a certain complexity with Deus Ex which has been lacking in recent years,  No! I am not going to mention Invisible War or the farce that was Dragon Age 2 but with gaming mechanics in general,  Developers seem to think the mainstream audience wants every game to be a pick up and play mind numbing borefest and will go out of their way making sure every subsequent game gets increasingly more streamlined.

If I want games like these I'll just watch a Blu-Ray!  I want the satisfaction of an in depth game, I want to be frustrated and then be rewarded for being awesome, I don't want the entire arsenal of the US army in my backpack at my every whim, I would much prefer stabbing some guy in the back with his dinner fork in order to hack his security system than be presented with a massive RPG in order to blast my way through a map.

Maybe its just me...

Found this on Bethesda's official  Brink Forum and thought it was a worthwhile laugh.

Why Console gamers and pretend reviewers like Joystick and IGN don't get Brink!

Brink Console Walkthrough

I pre-ordered Portal 2 a month ago from the UK and it finally arrived last Friday.

Unfortunately due to PSN being brought to its knees by insecurity I am unable to use the supplied PC code and activate it.  I had really no intention of playing it on the PS3 other than to check out steam on it and maybe let my son play it with me.

I bet valve is none too happy about the issue because as of now:

• Steam is not working on the PS3.
• Possible Steam Account information leaked for those that activated before PSN went belly up.
• Valve previously praising the PS3 for being the definitive console version for 3 now having to eat their words.

Not much has been said (nothing really) about potential Steam account information being leaked but I guess now would be a good time to change your Steam password and to enable Steam Guard.

The Witcher 2 is the second instalment in the epic RPG saga about the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia.  Created by Polish developers CD Projekt, The Witcher 2 features a thoroughly engrossing, mature storyline defining new standards for thought-provoking, non-linear game narration.

These phenomenal looking Screenshots are from NeoGAF, The Official Witcher 2 website and gamekult.com

[mudslide:picasa,0,azzx01,5581885897263314833]

Nervousness, that is what I felt before playing the sequel demo to one of my favourite RPG's in years.  I should note, It also doesn't help that I am currently playing Divinity 2 – The Dragon Knight Saga.  Going from a difficult RPG heavy game to this is quite a stark contrast.  I played the Demo on both the PC and PS3 platforms.

There is a massive case of style and effect with this sequel, DA:O was a RPG with Oldschool and in-depth sensibilities set in a familiar medieval background filled with lively and likeable characters.  The demo thrust us upon an Alien landscape far removed from the original and it seems like a shallow imitation of itself.  It might be a good game in its own right but it isn't the same world DA:O created.

The first issue I have is just the feel of the game.

Style

Dragon Age 2: It's damn Purple.

The Style and grittiness of DA:O has been completely removed and replaced with nice clean edges, completely devoid of character.  Graphically the game looks pretty decent, though where are all the details?  Everything looks so plain and unrealistic.  The UI contributes to this offering almost a psuedo scifi console interface.   The game menus do not seem like part of the game at all.  Its obvious Dragon Age 2 has been optimised for TV viewing with PC centric gaming an afterthought.

The dialogue choices are just boringly implemented.  People still like to read Bioware!  The cutscenes were also missing some of character found in the first game, I ended up skipping a few of them.

The voice acting whilst good, also adds to the style differences. The Demo is primarily American voice acted with some forced European accents on display, I am not sure what the difference really is but characters seem devoid of emotion compared to the original.   Returning characters are a welcome bonus though.

Combat

The combat system is similar in how it plays out in DA:O without the tactical aspect you could enjoy in the bigger battles. The PC centric mouse control system is too slow to play realtime in an enjoyable fashion so I found myself fighting via the keyboard and spamming keys 1 -8.

Combat is faster with less noticeable meaningful differences between classes, from what I could tell from the demo,  animations seem less fluid and very cartoony.

The combat on the demo's normal difficulty is also laughably easy. Reminiscent of the console game Summoner.

In DA:O I could taunt a crowd of enemies with my tank, with their backs turned I could then flank and backstab with the rogue.   Now its just click the backstab icon. Awesome. (sarcasm)   Blindside is more the same flanking technique that was calculated in DA:O for all party members regardless of class, having only the rogue able to use this passive skill without critical chance of a backstab changes the gameplay a lot and removes a significant amount of gaming satisfaction.

There was no indication of pre-emptive massive combat in the demo as fights appeared more scripted – again most likely due to the streamlining Bioware was talking about.

I would be interested to see how a massive fight will play out with large mobs and Dragons. The previous game allowed you to move characters to tiered vantage points via use of the isometric view. Battlefields could be huge.  This just wouldn't work with the sequel.

Conclusion

Whilst DA2 is a decent console game, as a follow up the the PC version of Dragon Age Origins, it fails on all fronts.  I also understand it is only a demo, though it hasn't enticed me to ever buy the full game, especially on the PC platform.

Unfortunately this demo has almost killed the DA franchise for me, hurtful considering the praise I gave the first game.  I really tried desperately hard to enjoy the Dragon Age 2 Demo, especially after investing so much time in the original.  The problem is certain RPG elements I love have been stripped away and the Style of the Dragon Age universe has been ripped apart and replaced with the colour purple.

Bioware Marketing Director Interview:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh5X0hvYNIU

• DA:O had painstaking detail for no reason, We removed books and other details as no one paid attention to them.
• Densely populated play areas are distracting.
• Inspiration from Japanese films...
• We removed top down view because it ruined the fidelity of the game....
• We made every area look brown and purple so that the game has a consistent look and identity.

Oh Dear.

When I learned Phillip of PlanetPhillip fame was closing down Valve Community I just couldn't resist the opportunity of keeping the site alive.   If you are a fan of Valve and Steam in general, ValveCommunity was always an excellent source of websites and communities dedicated to the creators of Half Life, Portal and Left 4 Dead.

After a chat on PlanetPhillip in this post, I finally bring you the:

Valve Community Relaunch

Valve Community 2010

Finding a Gaming Server for your community or clan has always been a tedious affair but thankfully no longer.

Introducing GameServed.net

Game Served is a directory of Game Servers, voice servers and clan management.  Features include a constantly updated database of Game Server, Voice Server and Clan gaming providers, all searchable via locality, hosting type and game specific support.

With providers like these, community input is extremely important so Game Served includes a new Game Server Provider ratings system in which users can vote and comment on their experiences.   In order to stop false ratings, Game Served is also moderated in order to generate a fair representation of customer support and because of this, is more reflective of game server performance than other automated directories.

Coming soon will also be a chance to win a Game Server for two months from any provider you choose.

As an Owner of a Gaming Specced PC, A RROD 360 I fixed off Ebay, A PS3 Slim, A Wii and a DS Lite the thing that sticks out the most noticeably for me in the gaming realm is Steam and Valve's philosophy in general, and not just because of the Digital Delivery concept. A few points to make:

Steam is becoming platform indifferent.

We currently have Mac and PC clients and there is talk about an upcoming Linux client – there is your PC console in a small box. I have my lower specced Windows based HTPC running Steam and it works nicely as a TV gaming machine.

Valve has created games where piracy of said game is pointless – TF2 anyone?

Constant updates, community derived input and additions have created possibly the most successful single evolving game. TF2 as it stands is nothing like it was on release and pirating it is pointless.

Steam embraces the indie and modding community.

Probably the biggest reason why PC gaming will and never should die. Highlighting gaming brilliance and bridging the gap between the gamer and developer. Counterstrike Source was a mod after all and in the console realm this would never be possible.

Steam games are also cheaper than any console. (Bar Activision localisation)