Shaw DCX3510-M PVR is pretty awful

My dad decided to buy the Shaw DCX3510-M PVR around Christmas 2012... I was a bit hesitant, to say the least... I just had a bad vibe about it from internet buzz I'd read online. But the features on paper sounded great.

Let's face it, the Shaw DCX3510-M is a broken device that should not be bought by anyone. The hardware itself is probably sound, it is made by Motorola, and users in the U.S. on other cable services don't have much problem. But the REAL PROBLEM is that Shaw is trying to program their own firmware onto it and are failing badly. Shaw is NOT a software company.

The reason they are trying to program their own firmware on it is so they can micro-manage the box from wherever their head office is... Calgary I assume. Remember the controversy over the Xbox One having to be connected to the internet? Shaw, through these boxes, is showing the worst-case-scenario that people were afraid of with the Xbox One. The Shaw DCX3510-M often messes up with "Offline Mode" where it stops being able to sense an online connection to head office and the TV guide and recording options become either not possible to severely limited. Just because the internet connection between the box and head office flutters or whatever. It happens a lot. This kind of micro-management, big-brother nightmare is pretty much what would have happened with the Xbox One had public outcry not forced them to change their mind. Unfortunately, not enough people seem to use the DCX3510-M to pressure Shaw to improve their service and dump the processes which stop their paying customers--like me-- from getting decent service.

The Shaw DCX3510-M often loses recorded programs. They will disappear from the list of recorded shows at random.

The Shaw DCX3510-M records shows but randomly messes them up, playing back only a black screen and the time stamp stuck. This often happens during the "Offline/Online Mode" messages.

The Shaw DCX3510-M randomly Locks Program due to Rating.. which means it won't play a show because it thinks there's a parental lock on it-- even though the show is rated G, and the box was NEVER programmed with a parental lock.

The Shaw DCX3510-M is a severely crippled device that provides sub-standard tv service. What's terrible is that it probably shouldn't be this bad at all, except their stubborn adherence to trying to write software/firmare for the hardware, and being so bloody awful at it.

Binary Domain

I bought Binary Domain (PS3) a few weeks ago, and also just bought Borderlands 2... which is ok, I don't know how I feel about it, is it worth the $20.00 price to me? I dunno... but Binary Domain for $10.00 at Walmart-- even though it is very linear and by-the-numbers campaign, for what it is-- it's fairly fun.

Binary Domain is a third person shooter, where basically the enemies are all robots. But when you shoot them, they do cool things; shoot off their head and they will blind fire often hitting their team-mates, shoot off their limbs and they will switch shooting hands or crawl after you, Terminator-style. The game feels very Japanese, and while the story doesn't make a whole lot of sense, it is a very cool vibe that does ask some deep questions, like the nature of artificial life. For $10.00 it's a solid game.

What is very annoying are the quick-time elements.... *sigh*... I am seriously thinking of giving up on videogames altogether because of this awful quick-time context trendy bullshit in games. As per usual, it almost ruins the game, thankfully they are short little bits.

And the online is non-existent. There is multiplayer, 2 modes, versus and survival (which is called Invasion) and I have rarely ever found anyone online to join my match.



later
don

In the box

I've been thinking about consoles vs PC and mobile gaming, and add-on peripherals.

I recently bought a PS3/PC racing wheel for a steal ($10.00 clearance from The Source)

I borrowed Test Drive Unlimited 2 from the library... It's an Ok game, but not optimized for racing wheels. There are parts of the game which switch to on-foot first person view (!)  that can only be controlled using a Dualshock 3... Or at least it is VERY DIFFICULT to control using the wheel.

Anyway, the point is I am wondering how many console  racing games are TRULY made for racing wheels?  The answer is probably few to none. Why? Because what game company wants to make a game that needs a controller that is not included "in the box"? That the consumer needs to not only buy the game but also another controller to properly play it?

If a game does that it is automatically limiting its own market. Not every PS3 gamer will buy a PS3 game, but then if the game requires a certain kind of add-on, like Move, not only will not every PS3 gamer buy that game, but not every Move owner may buy it. It makes a smaller pool of customers.

That is definitely why stuff like the Wii Balance Board failed. But what about the Wii itself? Motion controls are" in the box" for every Wii.

But because ONLY the Wii had those controls, companies wouldn't develop for it. That's why I am a bit worried about Xbox One's kinnect "in the box". Yes, that is a smart move so every Xbox One has Kinnect, but I think because both or all consoles don't have a "Kinnect"  type of controller included, that third parties will still shy away from developing for it. Most companies want to be able to quickly port their game to both Xbox and Playstation.

"In the box" is really important, but what is more important is "in every box". Unfortunately, only the dual analogue stick controller is central to every console now, so that is the control that will be used for most games. Makes it almost impossible for anyone to innovate.

There is a notable exception to this idea: the Guitar Hero/Rockband series of games. Clearly the initial popularity of those games flies in the face of this idea, people bought the controllers in droves and for awhile these were some of the best selling games. But that fad has passed, and it is now back to normal, where companies don't want to take any chances.

It is such a shame, because we are at the point now where there are tons of gaming choices, Android/Apple phones/tablets, consoles, handhelds with both physical and touch interfaces, and of course the ever versatile PC. We can use bluetooth to wirelessly attach a controller to a phone or tablet... but there will be almost NO great games that take advantage of these options because bluetooth controllers are not "in every box" of phones/tablets.


later
don

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

I bought Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon a couple weeks ago when it was on sale at Future Shop for $29.99.

It's a slow-paced puzzle adventure with incredibly poor, clunky controls. But the graphics and production values are fairly good.

What kills this game is when you need to suck up the ghosts, the controls are not good, but the worst is that when you activate the vacuum or flashlight, you can only point it in one direction. If you want to move your beam you need to turn it off and change the way you're facing and turn it on again... It's not very responsive because Luigi is way more sluggish than the ghosts he has to defeat. So it makes combat a real chore... in fact the controls are quite awful and wreck what could have been a better game.

The pacing is slow, because it's like a point and click... only you don't have a mouse control so you have to walk up to everything and suck/shine your blacklight on it, or press X. It makes for some pretty tedious gameplay when it should be fun.

Originally this game was going to be called Luigi's Mansion 2, and it references the first Gamecube game quite a bit. As soon as you're dropped into the story it expects you've played the Gamecube game... WTF?? That might have been ok if they made the GC game available on Wii/Wii U as a download, but most people can't find it or if they only have a Wii U or Wii Mini, can't even play Gamecube games.

Unfortunately like the Mario games, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon looks good, but I don't know if it is actually much fun to play.

The sluggish controls ruin this game. Nintendo and developer Next Level Games, you should be ashamed for putting out such a sub-standard product.


Later
Don

Console conundrums

So I've placed pre-orders for both Xbox One and PS4... but I don't know if  I will actually purchase either of them at this point, really.

Xbox One has many issues, most notable being the need to be connected to the Internet at least once every 24 hours. But  I have other concerns that I haven't seen addressed anywhere. It ships with a 500 GB hard drive, yet all disc games must be installed to the system. Say a game averages 30-40 GB and considering that 500 GB is not *really* how much user available space there is, let's say 400 GB is around what's available... then we can only have about 10 games installed on our Xbox Ones? I heard we can add our own external hard drive to the console (presumably USB connected)  but I wonder how well an external hard drive would run the games off it? No hiccups? There are often problems with external storage with the Wii U for example.

Not to mention that Xbox One seems to be marketed as an all-around media device, so aside from games, the 500 GB hard drive will be filled up with videos and other media which will crowd out the space for games.

I can understand why it would be good to have a game stored to the hard drive, but I wish it was more a choice rather than all games must be stored on it.

Then there's the PS4. It's a box that plays games. Well, I have a bunch of boxes that do that, but the most notable example is my PS3. What does the PS4 *really* offer that the PS3 doesn't? A little better graphics, and a few differences in interface (touch pad, move light on the controller) but what *REALLY* sets it apart from the PS3? Why pay $400.00 + tax for it now?

In both cases, I have to look at the launch games, is there anything that blows me away, to the point that I Must buy one or both of these systems to play that game? Only one game was teased at E3 2013 that fits that description: Star Wars Battlefront. Yes, I have been waiting years for a new Battlefront game. But it was only a teaser, development has only just begun on it. Who knows when it will be released? A year? 2 years from now? I can say that for that game I *WOULD* buy a console just to play it.

But since it is not coming anytime soon, maybe I should just wait?


Later
Don

E3 2013 - Xbox One & PS4

So E3 2013 is now in full swing and Sony & Microsoft have revealed a lot more about the next-gen consoles. What gets buried are the "small" details that actually RUIN this generation of consoles.

Xbox One - MSRP $499.99, release date November 2013
PS4 - MSRP $399.99, release date "holiday 2013"

Of course the big Xbox One controversy is its demand to be always online and its odious used/borrowed-game policies... simply terrible. I have been borrowing games from the library for some time now, mostly Wii but now that I have a PS3, I have been borrowing some of those too... most recently Tomb Raider (which I ended up buying when I found it for $30.00) So I guess Xbox One games won't be able to be loaned out from the library.... really sucks,

But the worst part of Xbox One is the supposed TV integration, like it's supposed to hook up to our cable box. But the MAIN reason I'd want it to even do that is if it recorded TV from it, storing it on its hard drive so I can watch later, maybe while doing other things in Xbox, using that split screen interface they seem so proud of. But you KNOW there will be ***NO*** PVR component to Xbox One, right? So what's the point? Check on fantasy football stats? Oh yay. How STUPID and POINTLESS.

Now onto the PS4. Yes, it is coming in at $100.00 less than Xbox One. And they were smart enough to pounce on the DRM tactic used by Microsoft, proclaiming that the PS4 will play used games.

But then they SCREWED IT UP by quietly declaring that PS Plus membership will be REQUIRED to play multiplayer games.

WOW. That totally guts the good will that was built up by their anti-DRM announcement.

So basically, both services will charge a monthly fee for online use. Does it really matter that the PS4 costs $100.00 less? They both plan to take $60.00-$100.00 a year out of our wallets.... every bloody year.

So if I were to buy a next-gen console, I need to pay $400.00-$500.00 upfront for the console, then $200.00 for 2 years online service.. 2 years of ownership will cost me at least $600.00.

I know the internet peanut gallery will be crowing that because of the lower console MSRP, Sony wins this year's E3. But in reality, we all lose.

And it's hilarious that both these consoles look pretty much EXACTLY THE SAME. Just flip the Xbox One on its side.... sheesh. It's like Sony & Microsoft are trolling us.


later
don

Tomb Raider - broken QTE

I've been curious about the recent Tomb Raider release, and lucked out when I saw a copy of the PS3 version at my local library. I thanked my lucky stars and snatched that bad boy (or bad girl?) right  up real quick, scampering on back home to my game playing cave (A.K.A. my living room)

It's very cinematic. I haven't played many Tomb Raider games,  I only have Tomb Raider Anniversary (PSP), which I never really played much of. So I'm more or less new to the franchise, and this is a good introduction.
My main gripe so far, and it's a serious, perhaps game breaking problem - - the QTEs (quick time events). Specifically, the one where you have to waggle the left analog stick left and right really, REALLY fast.

This is a huge problem in the game, as it uses this L analog waggle QTE a *LOT*. I don't know how it is for Xbox 360 but on PS3, it is NIGH IMPOSSIBLE to waggle it fast enough using my left thumb. Not even my whole left hand. No, I have to place the middle of palm of my ENTIRE RIGHT HAND onto the L stick and SHAKE it back and forth like an insane person just to do the QTE. And then switch back fast enough when there are QTE button presses. It is so ridiculous.

Did *NO ONE* at Crystal Dynamics PLAY this game on a PS3??? Seriously. This is an EGREGIOUS, game breaking problem that never should have made it to the finished game.

I've tried using the right analog stick. No good. I've tried pinching the left stick between my thumbs and fingers to be able to shake it enough, again no good. It seems to have to be literally LEFT and RIGHT stick movement. Left and right really, really fast. I'm afraid if I have to do these stupid QTEs too much I'll break my Dualshock 3.

UPDATE: I found that rotating the left analog stick in a counter-clockwise circle can sometimes work.

This left analog stick problem RUINS Tomb Raider. It almost completely destroys what is otherwise a cinematic, smooth adventure game. And shame on all the high reviews who don't mention this enormous issue.

And Quick Time Events in general-- now there's a STUPID, overused game mechanic of the last 2 years or so. It is being used so cheaply and in almost every console game today... this unimaginative game mechanic needs to die die die already. How completely lazy are game designers that they have to copy gameplay from God of War? Actually, this goes back to Dragon's Lair. And NO ONE ever uses that game as an example of fun gameplay.

Dear game developers: ENOUGH WITH THE QUICK TIME EVENTS ALREADY. It is beyond over-used. Knock it off, and actually try to think up some new, ORIGINAL gameplay ideas. Or even if they aren't necessarily new, gameplay mechanics that are FUN. No one thinks QTEs are fun. So stop overusing them.



later
don