3DTV Gaming

Well, I finally got around to getting a 3D TV. More of an experiment, because the ideal TV still doesn't exist. I'll talk about the games I tried and how good the 3D is in today's blog post.

Before I get into all the games, I'll talk a bit about what my ideal 3D TV is and how this one stacks up to that vision. My ideal 3D TV is a passive glasses TV, with high contrast ratios, and doesn't lose my Full HD. All passive TVs have every other row reserved for each other eye. So, a 1080p image is really 540p for each eye. So, you lose the full HD quality. I want a 3D TV that does passive where the resolution isn't lost. Now, the TV I got is Vizio E3D320VX. It's pretty good and I only paid $400 for it. So, is it worth it?

I've had my bit of experience with 3D games back in the early 2000's. I had 3D glasses for my computer of which I played Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike, Half-Life, and Unreal Tournament in 3D. It was awesome then, and I can't wait for the graphics now.

The first thing I put in was a game I was already playing, Jak and Daxter. I forced my TV into 3D mode, and that didn't make the game 3D. I was starting to get confused. I didn't see any settings for 3D, but I know the game supports it. Well, I went back to the XMB and changed my video output settings to automatic. Well, surprise surprise, I saw 720p (3D) and 1080p (3D) now listed. I loaded up Jak and Daxter again, and boom it had 3D settings now, but everything was still 2D. The reason for this? The 3D depth was set to 0. I changed it to 100, and it was awesome.

Jak and Daxter looked good in 3D, but wasn't as amazing as I thought it would have been. Maybe because it was added in afterwards, or the simplicity of the charters. I dunno. But the game ran smoothly, and gave a little sense of depth. I didn't really help much with jumping between platforms, but it is good.

The next game I put in, was Pain. Pain is amazing in 3D! I was surprised. I was expecting the same detail as Jax and Daxter, but this was far better. The depth perception was wonderful. You could see and believe your character missed a target. But there are only a few modes that you can play in 3D, which was very disappointing.

Then I looked through my XMB and saw Super Stardust HD. Started that up, and the title screen alone was beautiful! The 3D doesn't add much to gameplay as the entire game is pretty much 2D, but the depth of the asteroids, and the roundness of the planet is just plain pretty. And when you die, because you will die in the game, the exposion has bits and pieces flying out of the screen. Even when you destroy asterooids, the bits come out at you. You can see asteroids over the horizon come up. This is the best use of 3D, yet.

And then I remembered I have WipEout HD. I only pulled off one quick race while I was on the phone, so I can't say much to this one, but the game is just beautiful in 3D. I'm craving more!

Below is a list of the games and the quality of the 3D.

Jak and Daxter Collection: 3/5
Some depth exists, but I wish it was done better. Jak II does a bit better, but it's still generally the same. Rarely will you see things pop out.

Pain: 4/5 
Not many modes in 3D, but the ones that are look great!

Super Stardust HD: 5/5 
By far the best experience I've had with 3D games!

Tune in for more games to come! Like WipEout HD, ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, and Uncharted 3.

Gotta Love Deposits

So, some time last year I didn't have enough money to pay bills, so our power was shut off. Because of that, I had to put a deposit of apparently $405.72 (3 months worth) in order to restore the power. Well, since it was a deposit and I forgot all about it, I was obviously surprise when Unitil sent me a check for that exact amount! Happy Halloween!!

Finally, A New-to-Me Car

Since my adventures in finding a car, I ended up going with the VW Golf. Turns out it doesn't have a CD changer in the back, but it does have an amp. Anyway, thought I'd give everyone a heads up. There's a new car in town.

Car Shopping Results

I just got back from car browsing in Plaistow, and I think I may have found something I like. I tried out a bunch of cars, mostly the hatchbacks. I'm looking for a cheap, manual hatchback. I do think I found what I want.

2003 Ford Focus ZX3 SVT ($8k)
I tried this one a few weeks ago when LJ's car first broke down. I didn't try it again, but I did like the look of the car. It was pretty loud as it has a custom exhaust, and there was a minor issue with the seat belt. It wouldn't retract easily. I'd have to replace the stereo, but that's okay since I already have one. Overall, I liked it.

2000 Toyota Celica ($6k)
Then I got to try this baby out today. I do like Celicas, but this one had over 109k miles on it. It was a 6 speed and drove nicely. Dude, the doors open up (like physically up), like the Back to the Future car. It drove nice, but the engine is a bit loud. It runs at like 3000 rpm. I'm not sure about the miles and the age.

2000 Volkswagen Golf ($6k)
This I think is the one I want to get. It's got something like 57k miles on it, gets like 31mpg highway, and it's loaded! Heated seats, mp3/aac/cd changer, usb for music, full spare tire, moon roof, etc.! The thing was smooth and quiet. I think I'm sold, but I'm gonna think about it some more before I make any decisions.

Out with the Old Car and in with the New?

Well, 2009 is now done with. Let's see if 2010 will be any better. So, far... it doesn't appear to have changed. LJ's car's strut snapped in two. Sure that technically happened in 2009, but none-the-less, it's something we're dealing with this year. Funny thing is that the day before it all happened, I was telling LJ that I wanted to actually buy a new car with better gas mileage.

I'm starting off the year by looking at getting a new car! I'm actually pretty stoked about it. It's been over 5 years since I initially got my Maxima. It's time for a change. I'll be keeping the Maxima and be hopefully picking a Ford Focus ZX3. It'll get me better gas mileage and be more compact. I don't really need much anyway.

The cool thing is that LJ can keep my Maxima if she chooses. But it turns out that she'll be keeping her Helga after all. Her dad's Passat is unfixable, which means all parts can be pulled from that thing. Only labor is being paid for. It's a pretty damn good deal! Think about it. All those little nuances will be fixed. The doors will open, the windows will close, the e-brake won't stick, the strut will be fixed, etc. Maybe even the transmission can be fixed? Hopefully it's not too expensive.

Last night I took the Focus out for a spin. It's roomy, but there's a lot of minor things about it that annoy me. For instance, there's no tachometer, and it's a manual! What the dilly? It took me a good minute to figure out how to put the damn thing into reverse, too. It's nothing I've ever seen before. It won't go straight into reverse, and it doesn't let me push it down like a VW. Instead, I have to lift some switch to let me do it. It's a safety thing, but it was weird. The exhaust is freakin' loud, too. I know it has a performance exhaust, but come on. I need this to pass inspection. Overall, I liked it. But since LJ's fixing up her car, I really don't see why I need to get a new one anymore. Maybe I'll wait for my dream car: Volkswagen Jetta TDI

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! If you don't celebrate Christmas, then happy holidays! Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! I can't wait to see everyone's face this morning when they open up their presents! Hopefully I get what I want (there's really only one thing I want).

Server Gets an Update

If you're not a geek, I'd recommend not reading any further, because I'll be geeking it out. I have an old computer with two CPU slots. Right now there's a 733Mhz Pentium III in there. I just got another one, so I'll be updating that NOW. So, if you plan on checking out my server, don't bother. It's gone.