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ANYWAY, my father has always been fond of saying that “nothing is certain except death and taxes.” (I usually counter with “and you saying that every time somebody mentions taxes.”) It’s not entirely true, though. I would like to amend the old truism and add a third universal factor. Sooner or later, if a conversation goes on long enough, somebody is going to say, “you know, that reminds me of that one episode of Star Trek…”
This is absolutely guaranteed. Just like the specters of death and taxes, the inevitable Star Trek scene comparison haunts our daily lives, popping up every so often to remind us that yes, just about everyone on this planet is familiar with the exploits of Captain Kirk and his successors.
The next time a Star Trek analogy pops up in your daily life, email me at zmaster@microsoft.com and tell me where it happened!
(And if you actually are a science fiction buff, you’ll definitely want to try our new Sci-Fi Movies Trivia game. I’m a little embarrassed to admit my score, since I thought I remembered more than I apparently do about some of my favorite movies. D’oh!)
Free games… good games…
…isn’t it wonderful when you don’t have to choose? Most of my game time over the past week has been cheerfully squandered on two new free web games: Ranch Rush and Pandara’s Boutique (yes, that’s Pandara with an “a”).
For those who played the download version of Ranch Rush (or, for that matter, Alice Greenfingers), the web-based Ranch Rush is very similar, and just as engrossing. You have three acres of land and a series of orders for assorted produce. To fill the orders, you’ll need to grow corn, tomatoes, and other crops, set up beehives, take care of cattle, and keep a malfunction-prone ketchup machine in good shape. Money raised from each sale will allow you to clear more land and buy new seeds and livestock.
As an aside, I have a running argument with one of my best friends over the word “fiddly”, at least where videogames are concerned. I think it’s a good thing, and he disagrees. I love being able to customize everything: in Ranch Rush, for example, you can pick up any item on your ranch – even the barn or a patch of topsoil with crops intact – and move it wherever you like. I get a real kick out of optimizing my landscape for the easiest possible maintenance and harvesting. He’d rather -play a game that arranges basic things for you so you can concentrate on the actual tasks. So I guess we can call this a “Fiddly Alert”. If you’re more like me, you’ll love the very fiddly Ranch Rush; if you’re more like him, not so much.
My other time-eater this week, Pandara’s Boutique, is yet another brain game by the folks who did Wild Word Garden. We’ve seen a lot of clever titles from them lately, and while I haven’t exactly aced them all, I’ve certainly enjoyed every one. (And yes, I am still struggling with Busy Bistro. My memory is appalling!)
Pandara’s Boutique is a spot-the-differences game with Asian flair: in each level, you’re challenged to pick out one or more items that meet a certain criteria. As always, it starts out slow, so that in the beginning you’ll have little trouble finding the odd item. But the longer you play, the more subtle the differences become, and the more different factors you’ll have to consider when you choose. After half an hour or so, if you’re not cross-eyed and squinting, I’d say you’re just not trying hard enough.
A ranching game and a shopping game… I’m not sure whether I should be wearing chaps and spurs or heels and a skirt this week.
Xbox.com marks the spot
As some of you know, I’m basically a gaming omnivore. At work, I play games mostly on PC; at home, I play a lot of console games… and if I happen to take a bus in between, there’s always my pink Nintendo DS or just a book of word search puzzles. Needless to say, I’m very fond of my Xbox 360: not only does it have the best hardcore games of the new consoles, but it also has an absolute ton of great casual games in the Live Arcade. (A Kingdom for Keflings, woo!)
For the novice Xbox player, though, tasks such as ordering games and even basic navigation will seem quite different from the familiar MSN Games model. So I thought I’d give a shout-out to my buddy Trixie, the well-informed and ever-glamorous hostess of Xbox.com’s new Xbox 101 video series. In each of these quick and easy online vids, she’ll serve up a dollop of insight for new Xbox owners; check the first one for info on changing your gamertag.
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| Tech Talk
As a bit of a followup to last time’s tech tip, I’d like to point you to the MSN Games Forum, and our new Announcements page. If we have any sort of site outage – planned or otherwise – you’ll find the latest info about it here. (Add it to your bookmarks for easy access!) We’ll also announce new web games, sweepstakes, and other important news on this page, so check back often if you want to get the most from our site.
I’ll see you next time!
Ask Moxie!
Do you have a question or comment? I’d love to hear from you. Just email me at zmaster@microsoft.com and I’ll do my best to answer in one of these Coffee Breaks! Oh, please make sure to include your MSN Games nickname, so I know who to list here if I quote you!
(And if you have technical questions or problems with a game, we’ll cheerfully answer those as well. Just submit them through the support section of this site!)
More Moxie!
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