Right before the holidays I was contacted by a representative of Zareason (a seller of pre-installed Linux systems) to review playing World of Warcraft on the Everex gPC. The Everex gPC made a splash upon its release and sale on the Walmart website as a low end, consumer web enabled system. The gPC is designed for the average user to browse the web, send email and create word processing documents. While it includes OpenOffice, the main focus surrounds the suite of Google apps – Google Docs, Google Spreadsheet, Google Maps, etc. The gPC runs a version of Ubuntu with a customized version of Enlightenment 17 as the desktop environment.

The audience is definitely the casual web surfer but I was intrigued to see whether this “low end” system could actually run WoW and run it well. In addition to that I wanted to see what else the system could do.

Let me get something out of the way up front. Zareason did not ship me the default Everex gPC configuration. They added an extra 512mb or ram bringing it to an even 1gb and threw in an Nivida GForce 6200 card with 256mb RAM. The base price for the Everex gPC is $199.00 on the Zareason site. Adding the extra RAM and video card increases the price to $347.00.

I will detail the setup and impressions of the gPC and gOS in later posts.

Out of the box Zareason set up the Burning Crusade under Wine. Now I have heard of late there have been issues running the latest patch set of WoW under Cedega, Crossover Office or just plan Wine. I myself have experienced patching problems since late Spring of last year running under Crossover and Wine. Patches would fail to download making the WoW loader impossible to use. I had to manually download the patches and run them through WoW. A bit of a hack, but I was able to install them successfully that way. But still, the WoW loader was unusable and I had to run the WoW executable directly. I noticed that WoW was a bit choppy on my main system, a System76 Dual Core system; but still playable.

I experienced none of these problems on the Everex gPC. WoW ran flawlessly. I played at least 10 hours leveling a new Dwarven Hunter. There were no crashes and no dropouts. The graphics were smooth and the audio crisp. Now mind you this was at the default settings. So I bumped it up from 800×600 to 1024×768 at the highest graphic setting. I increased the level of textures and the environmental details range and the system still played admirably.

I was excited to see the first patching. Too bad it ran flawlessly! I had nothing to tweak or frustrate over.

There were a few minor snags but it was not the execution of WoW at fault. Ubuntu has a system update notification icon that appears as an orange sun in the panel. gOS, being a derivative of Ubuntu, retains this icon which will appear in the lower, right-hand corner and remain on top of everything; even the WoW screen. Thus, I had to make sure to update the system before playing or suffer the eyesore over top the bottom corner of the game screen.

The gOS got in my way another time when, after messing around with the shelf configurations (shelves are like panel in KDE or Gnome; or the task bar in Windows) I accidentally set the shelf to remain atop all windows. Needless to say, when I ran WoW the next time the main gOS shelf interfered wit the game window again. The fix was simple and the cause my fault.

I was amazed at how well the Everex system ran World of Warcraft. My next step will be to remove the extra memory and the video card and see if WoW continues to run acceptably. So keep paying attention to this blog for more to come!

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***UPDATE****

I was mistaken in a few things regarding my initial impressions of running WoW. First, the video settings for WoW were not at their defaults when I received the system. In fact, they were set below the defaults and many of the enhancements turned off. Overall this did not impact the playability of the game, but it did reduce the “eye candy” aspect. While I did not notice much of a difference bumping up some of the video settings; when I checked the frame rates there was s significant difference.

At their original level, the frame rates were not very impressive. They hovered around 27-30 fps. That’s not a lot compared to most modern systems, in fact that is more than half of what typical “gamer” rigs will display. Increasing the video settings halved the frame rate to about 15-17 fps. That is pretty low. I must give WoW credit though; I did not notice much of a problem playing WoW at 25 fps with the reduced video settings. The game played and I had fun. Is this enough for a typical gamer though? I am not sure. Those I speak with would scoff at these results. In the end, though, we must leave it up to the individual. I had a blast playing WoW on the Everex PC.

For Christmas my parents got us the Lego Star Wars Complete Saga for the Wii. We excitedly popped the game in and I set to it. While it has a two player simultaneous mode, right now we only have one Wii controller. I know, the Wii is a party system so why, in the year+ I have had it have we not gotten another controller? Good question. Those party games are awesomely fun!

Anyway, the saga starts you off on Mois Eisley, the Cantina which acts as a hub to all the missions. That is also the place to go to save your game, switch characters and so on. You start off with Qui Gon Jin and Obi Wan. As you defeat or encounter more people along the way they become unlockable and mosey around the Cantina just waiting for you. As you beat levels it unlocks the free play mode for that level allowing you to repeat the mission with different guys to access different areas for more unlockables and secrets. All-in-all this game seems pretty vast and so far has been pretty fun. I spent a good 20 minutes destroying garbage cans and fighting storm troopers and hammer heads to collect Lego points.

Scattered throughout the game are various collections of lego bricks that you can assemble to form machinery, vehicles and other stuff. This is so cool! The wife and kids are really digging watching the game. I suspect they will want to play soon.

Now, it’s not all that rosey though. The controls take some getting used to and more often than not I find myself firing up the light saber and killing some innocent bystanders thus sparking a fire fight by accident. The Z button which lights the saber is also used to do other things and this can be annoying. Add to the fact that if you are near some one you can interact with using the Z button it makes it all the more difficult to fire the saber if that is what you want to do.

You can also light the saber by flicking the wii remote out to the side like in the movies. Now that is so cool. Plus, wielding the wii-mote like a saber is how you fight! That’s awesome!

I’m digging the game and will probably report more in the future.

Now on to some other news. Right before the holidays I was contacted by a company to review playing World Of Warcraft on and Everex gPC. I received the system the Friday before Christmas and did not get around to opening until the following weekend. As the holidays have kept me pretty busy, I have not devoted all the time I have wanted to for the testing and such.

Now, beyond reviewing the system for playing WoW and going to put it though the paces; and I won’t be alone. Already I have recruited Paige who has been using the system pretty regularly. The wife will join in soon and I suspect so will Avery. So keeping watching this Blog for more information, get ready for some LaGER episodes dedicated to the gPC and of course TLLTS.

2008 is shaping up to be a fun year so far!

So the daughter is over here playing Mario Galaxies and I figured I would finally put Phantom Hour Glass to rest. I’ve been at the end stage for a while I was just running around trying to get everything. So I said enough, let’s do this. I’m down in the final dungeon and heading towards the last baddie; I’m going up, up, up the stairs when I get to the top the screen goes black. I wait a bit but nothing happens. I wait a bit more and then to my horror I notice the power light is not on. I had not charged my ds in a while and I did not pay attention it was on red. Of all the times for this to happen! Oh the pain!

Now on to other matters, Mario Galaxies. Wow! This game is a dream! It’s so beautiful and amazing. Now there are many people who did not care for Mario Sunshine (I did, I have yet to meet a Mario game I do not like) so they bill this as the true successor to Mario 64. I will grant them that. This game is amazing and the Wii controls suite it perfectly. It takes a bit getting used to the weird gravity, but once you do it makes the challenges all the more fun. I’m really digging this game.

Let’s face it, any game that has Avery standing up on the couch cheering and giving hi-fives when cool things happen has to be a great game. I hear this is the highest rated game on the Wii so far, and I can see why. If you have a Wii, this is a must buy!

Many seasons ago I used to hang down at the 7-11 with my good friend Matt Kirsch back in my high school days. It was during those evenings that I first played Alien Syndrome. I spent many a quarter on that game but never finished it in the arcade. I managed to get my hands on it for one of the home systems (SNES?) and then on MAME. What a great game.

Well, Sega released an update to the game for the Wii, and I got my grubby little hands on it Friday. The wii version is an update, of course, continuing the story line for the original. You play the part of Lieutenant Aileen Harding who answers a distress call from SAT5. You infiltrate the ship and that is when you discover the Alien Syndrome is back in business.

Some of the concept remains the same. You’re blasting away aliens trying to rescue any survivors. The ships are a lot larger this time comprising of multiple levels and areas. The enemies are varied, over 100 different aliens to battle. Each with their own unique attacks, strengths and weaknesses.

The game bills itself as an RPG. You get to choose your speciality to start out with: Demolitions, Firebug, Seal, Tank or Sharpshooter. I choose Firebug. There are 5 different types of weapon types you can specialize in along with skills you can enhance. So far I have seen that you get 2 stat points and one skill point per level that you can spend.

Along the way you can collect different weapons, armor, health, energy and items. You have your trusty SCARAB, a robot that follows you complete with weapons. In addition to assisting you in combat the SCARAB can be equipped with two enhancements that can speed up the fire rate, restore your energy or restore your health; among some other things. The SCARAB can also manufacture equipment and weapons for you.

So far I am on the first level. It’s a fun game, but the controls take a bit getting used too. You move with the nunchuk but you aim your weapon with the controller. I never thought about this before, but a lot of the wii games require you to do two completely different actions with your hands. That breaks the norm of a lot of previous game controls.

If you are a fan of Alien Syndrome and have a Wii (or a psp) check this game out. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Oh, and while I was there I just could not resist picking up Resident Evil for Wii edition. Yeah, I beat this game on the Cube a couple of times and loved it. The Wii version has the extended levels from the PS3 and has received outstanding reviews for the controls. I look forward to trying this out soon. I’ll let ya know!

after she knocked me through a wall and onto the slaughterhouse floor. We broke out Mortal Kombat Deception today after a day at the beach. Bay side this time, but the waves were surprisingly choppy. The weather was not as warm as the past few days but good enough for some surf. The kids had a great time.

Anyway, we had been talking a bit about the old days and playing Killer Instinct and Clay Fighter on the Nintendo 64 for hours. She had wondered what fighting games were available on the virtual console so when we got home she encouraged me to look them up. Thus far, only Virtua Fighter and Street Fighter II (for super nes). I grabbed Street Fighter II and Kid Icarus (classic nintendo game). Well, SF II was not as big a hit as Mortal Kombat Deception for the Game Cube and we spent a good couple of hours knocking each other about. Oh and yes, Paige played too. We had a great time.

I’m way out of practice so I got my butt handed to me a few times. Erin found a character she is really good with – Kira. Her second I guess is Raiden. Paige was sticking with Barraka and I usually played random, although I am partial to Scorpion and Subzero.

At least my gamer thumb in still in shape. It’s only slightly sore. Erin has a little blister and Paige is too die hard already. I have to get back on my game though, the youngin’s are catching up and Erin remarked I only have a few good years left before they smoke me. I cannot let that happen just yet; but eventually I will have to pass the mantle.

In addition to MK, we also threw in some Godzilla. I love that game. If only they would make a Wii version with more monsters. Good stuff!

I see that Mortal Kombat is out for the Wii. I wonder how that is?

Well, here is hoping that Clay Fighters, Killer Instinct or Primal Rage comes out for the virtual Console. I doubt KI, though as that Rare and Microsoft now owns that great company.

Oh speaking of Primal Rage; I was completely surprised the wife did not remember that game. I could not recall whether it was out of the SNES or 64 and I could have sworn I played it in front of her. I spent a good couple of hours on Friday challenging her to fight in various places (parking lots, lobbies, the apartment) and roaring Rage. Turns out I was wrong and that Primal Rage came out for the SNES and that was before our time together. I had moved on to other games by then so I guess she did not see me play it.

Jackie Thompson is wrong, games don’t destroy youth, they bring families together.

Well, I started last night before bed and let it rip. I did not take my usual method of upgrading and instead used the software update feature. Needless to say when I woke up this morning the system was shut off. A quick boot indicated that X was not configured properly, or more to the point something went wonky during the upgrade. It appears to have been the apache 2 package.

Long story short, I upgraded that then had to manually upgrade some gtk2 requirement before I could finish the upgrade process.

When I returned home from work X was still not working. I had to grab the nvidia modules and the glx stuff then muck with my X configuration. Well, that was alright but still not correct. I noticed some backups of the configs so I became restoring some of those and a few minutes later I was at my proper resolution.

I noticed that for some reason the network manager was not working and it was not finding my wireless card. So, I hit synaptic and noticed that there were a bunch of packages still requiring upgrade. They were already downloaded so a few minutes of replacment, a reboot and fiesty is going full swing.

Good stuff, if only the upgrade was a bit less painful. Still, for me it was pretty easy, just sticking with it. I didn’t require any research or hitting the forums, so good for me. Ubuntu is snappy as ever and all my apps are working as expected; although I have not tried world of warcraft under crossover yet. I know, shudder the thought I have gone over 24 hours without playing!

I’ll tell you, playing WOW really sucks your life away. It’s so damn addicting. It draws you in so thoroughly. I sit at work and start thinking about WOW. Then a friend comes over and we start talking about WOW. Next thing you know, you get home and your playing WOW and everything else falls by the wayside. WOW is that good!

Alas, it has come to pass.  I have finally caved and given in to join my masses of friends in the wonderful world of warcraft.  Yes, I shell out my 20 bucks and pulled down a copy of crossover and set to the world that awaits me.  I created a druid on the drenden server and moved up to level 5 this evening.  I have to get some more experience behind me and move out to Ironforge to meet some work friends.

The only downside so far is that I have friends on other servers.  It’s tough!  Maybe I’ll make another character some time soon and join the josauge.  Or maybe he’ll join us!

I did not think I would be to into the whole banding thing but I must admit, it was pretty cool when an impromptu party came together to wipe out a room of spiders in the north cave.  Team work has its benefits.

WOW is really damn cool and too addicting.  The wife even wants to play.  I suspect we shall soon be fighting for the system76!  Oh, and playing on crossover under Linux has been flawless.  Hats off to those guys!

As I wrote the last post and this post my wonderful wife is sitting in the Lawn and Garden center of our Local 24/7 Walmart so I can get a Wii at midnight. We are number 25 out of 35. What a trooper she is! Who could ever ask for anything more!

Thanks wife! You’re the best!

Avery received some money for her birthday so we stopped off at the local Toys’r'Us so she could spend.  While there I stopped by the electronics section and took notice to some demo units of those multi-games in one joystick deal that hook right up to your television set.  They had one there, a coleco one I think with Commando, 1942 and some other game.  1942 caught my eye.  This was a favorite of mine back in the pre-adolescent days when arcades still had awesome quarter diversions.

We used to walk up to the local shopping center:  Laneco, a department store with a joint called Pizza Como right next store.  Pizza Como had some sweet games like Karate Champ, Satan’s Hollow, Crossbow, the ubiquitious Pineball Machine,  Pole Position and of course, 1942; although not at the same time.  I got hooked on 1942 and Karate Champ and beat both of those.  Karate Champ just cycled back to the fist level and all I recall of 1942 was it saying Congratulation then freezing.

1942 ate a lot of my quarters back then, but each quarter lasted longer and longer.  I’ve played 1942 on some of the consoles and then through the beauty of emulation; but nothing compares to playing the arcade game in the cabinet.

I figured I’d pop off a few games while the kids were shopping.  Imagine my surprise!  This wasn’t 1942!  It was 1943, the sequel that came out a few years later which introduced some new weapons, bombing and ships.  What a disappointmen there.  Don’t get me wrong, while 1943 was a decent game, I never thought it compared to the first.  You would think, though, that they should have done some fact checking before putting the game out there like that.

On another note, I inquired about Wii presales again.  The guy said they were not taking them anymore.  They expected 40 consoles in on the 18 and he suspected some would be left over.  He encouraged standing in line for one; but I doubt it.  I have a life and I don’t see myself stading outside any store 24 hours or more in advance for a game system.  I will get one eventually; that I will.