Oh, awesome: EA's Origin serivce includes spyware of sorts upon install

Pictured: Origin spying on one of its
unsuspecting users.

Companies collecting personal information of its users isn't a radically new concept. Everyone basically does it, even if they don't admit it. But at least they aren't installing what amounts to spyware onto your computer without your knowledge.

In what has to be the most abhorrent move since GameStop decided it was cool to open sealed games, discard certain contents, and re-seal them to sell as "new," EA's End User License Agreement for their Steam wanna-be Origin states that, by agreeing to it, you're giving EA permission to track all sorts of personal and computer information. Among the list of tracked items are: personal information, computer information, application usage, software and software usage, and peripheral hardware usage. The rationale for this invasion? "Marketing purposes," and the usual "to improve our products and services" spiel.

The Web has, predictably, been thrown into a state of mass vitriol spewing hysteria as it's known to do in light of debacles like this. To be fair, though, Steam, as the Giant Bomb story points out, does the same thing upon installing their own client. The difference, however, is that Steam, unlike Origin, allows you to opt-out of the data tracking. It's completely voluntary.. For Origin, no such option exists. If you want to use the service, and you will undoubtedly be forced to if you want to play online-enabled EA titles (say, Battlefield 3), regardless of whether you buy it digitally or physically, you have to accept the bogus agreement and let them go about their nosy business.

I'm puzzled by what makes EA think they can do this. Stealing -- oh, I'm sorry -- "voluntarily" collecting data on the hard drive level is just despicable. Hopefully they'll realize the error of their ways rectify this egregious course of action.

Portal 2 Review

Portal 2 is one of the best games you'll ever play, guaranteed.

I'm not usually one to start off reviews with such hyperbole, but in the case of Portal 2 it's necessary. Because the above isn't simple hyperbole; it's fact.

Portal 2 is a game made of nothing but the utmost excellence. Not a single element falls short. Everything delivers only the absolute best. The writing, witty and humorous, giving the characters infectious personalities; the gameplay, constantly challenging your mental faculties with cleverly crafted puzzles; the story, lengthy and full of intrigue. The sheer amount of care put into crafting this game is immense. That level of love and care is what makes Portal 2 the truly astounding game it is, and, without a doubt, one of the most enthralling gaming experiences ever created.

de Blob developer Blue Tongue has been shuttered

The image currently shown on Blue Toungue's Web site. Just tragic.

Dreadful news today. Blue Tongue, developer of the absolutely splendid de Blob games, was shut down. Some talented folks there. Really loved their work on de Blob. Truly a shame that they won't be able to continue their fine work anymore. My heart goes out to all whom were affected by the layoffs at THQ. Hope you all land on your feet.

Feel like starting up de Blob again now. Seems only right, to honor their work and all. Terrible news to end the day with. So sad.

Resistance 3 is pretty okay

Couldn't find any pictures from the
multiplayer, so here's a guy punching
one of the aliens from the game.

The beta (or multiplayer demo) for Resistance 3 is underway. Right now only those who either bought Socom 4 or snagged a beta key (myself having done the latter) can get in. PlayStation Plus subscribers can gain access later this month. So far it's been good, if unstable. (Expected for a "beta," I know, but bear with me.)

I'm gonna keep this short because I haven't had much time to mess around with the beta yet. This is solely because of the constant freezing issues I've been encountering that always occur right before a match ends. I mean, I know this is a "beta" and all, but when your game is a month away from release, you'd think your "beta" would be in better shape.

Anyways. As per usual for these demos, content is limited. A couple of maps and modes (those modes being Team Deathmatch and Chain Reaction -- a variant on the ol' King of the Hill game type that sees players racing to capture control points) make up the available content. The maps are small and tight, accommodating the 16-player (or is 18-player?) cap nicely. Battles erupt constantly and are always fierce, the small size of the maps giving little in the way of solace from the action. It's really great, because you don't spent nearly as much time running around looking for combat. The radar can be credited for that, marking enemies as big red dots on the map. Still befuddled why games don't incorporate radars into multiplayer anymore. It would really help cut back on the dullness sometimes present in these environments.

Haven't had a chance to experiment with the weaponry, but in usual Insomniac fashion, they're plenty crazy. The gun I used was on the tamer side, being a standard assault rifle with a grenade launcher attachment. Simple, but very effective. The one most players were wielding, however, was a shotgun whose rounds cause their target to burst into flames upon impact; also equipped with a grenade like attachment. Awesome, yes -- but also a bit on the... unbalanced side. I say that because, if that one match where literally everyone on the opposing team using that gun was any indication, that thing is all kinds of cheap. Just about every shot sets you aflame, unable to anything but resign to your fiery fate. Clever use, sure -- but also downright infuriating when your on the receiving end. They really need to balance that out some. Nothing sucks more than a one-hit-kill weapon that's easily attainable in a multiplayer setting.

Here, another picture from the single-player campaign for your amusement.

One other low-point: the movement speed. Far too slow. Feels like the character is slogging through some thick mound of mud or something, or taking a casual afternoon stroll through the battlefield instead of moving hastily, like anyone in such conditions would. The dash speed isn't much better, basically amounting to a light jog rather than an actual dash. Maybe I'm just being nitpicky, but it just feels wrong for this sort of game.

Kill-streaks are also here, which I'm still not a fan of. They haven't been too egregious yet, though -- the shield and cloak, the two starting kill-streak awards, haven't been too big of a game-changer, nor have I seen them in action often. So that's something.

Still, I like what I've played. Not sure if it's something I'd pick up (doubt it, honestly; there ain't much incentive for me to buy shooters anymore when I can play multiplayer this way, but that's an article for another time), but it's certainly been entertaining so far. If any of you happen to get in, hit me up. Maybe we can play a match or two.

And on that note, I'm off to play more. May come back and write more later once I'm further in.

UPDATE: Okay, since originally writing this earlier today (yes, I write my blog posts in a word processor), I've run into odd connectivity issues. I assume it was just the servers going under a touch of maintenance, but it's definitely made playing a lot harder. I foresee another patch on the horizon.