Game's Thoughts and Insights

New Blog Incoming!

2008-02-20T20:38:00.002-05:00

Yep, I've got myself a new blog over at wordpress.com

For all my readers out there, here's the link. Time to update your bookmarks.

I'm Back From My "Business" Trip

2008-02-17T00:59:00.002-05:00

For those of you that don't know, since Wednesday, I've unofficially signed off of teh internets in preparation for this trip.

Without doing a full write up here (It's late, I'm still slightly jet-lagged and drained) I'll give you a few of the biggest points. Once I've had a chance to relax (read: recover) from the trip, I'll begin my official travelogue and transcripts of the two interviews I had, which will most likely be posted at Talk Xbox.

The day started with some of the best pancakes I've ever had, and the 13 or so other attendees and I BS-ing with the EA reps. After breakfast we made the short walk to EA, and were given our visitor passes. Shortly, the EA rep came out and said he had a surprise for us. Long story short, minutes later, I was playing a near final build of Army of Two. Shortly after, I found myself in an impromptu interview (digital voice recorder in hand) with one of the game's designers. I was nervous as hell, but I think I did a good job.

Following our preview of Army of Two (I won't post full details here, but I will link you to them once I've finalized everything) we were given the grand tour of what has to be the most awesome office buildings I've ever seen. Again, can't divulge much, but I took lots of pictures.

Finally, we were taken to a room on the second floor, marked "vacant". Inside awaited no less than 15 Xbox 360's and HD monitors running Burnout Paradise. We were all treated to a seat, and invited to play by Craig Sullivan, Lead Designer of the game of the hour. I began playing, linking up with 5 others online and freeburning around the city, which was a load of fun. During this time, we were each given one on one interview time with Mr. Sullivan. Again, nervousness mounted, but thankfully, I prepared a few questions in advance just in case such an opportunity would arise. So, digital voice recorder in hand once again, I walked into the meeting room with the man, nervous as hell and the interview commenced. Again, I won't reveal much, but I have to say, I'm very happy with the results.

During the day, there was a single player contest in which we were all given a half hour to score over a million points on a single stunt run, a feat that hasn't been accomplished by many. Well, yours truly pulled it off, receiving one of only twenty T-Shirts given out thus far signifying the achievement and will possibly be immortalized on the Burnout page, being part of EA's official Millionaire's club.

When the day was over, we retired to the hotel for a brief moment of solace and rest before hitting the restaurant, where I acquired a slightly tipsy condition and many stories were told and toasts were made.

It was one hell of a day and one hell of a trip. Who knew a business trip could be this awesome?

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane...

2008-02-13T23:30:00.003-05:00

I’m finally ready to reveal just what the mysterious “Career changing event” I announced a few days ago is going to be. My travel itinerary is set and tomorrow, I’ll be heading out to California until Saturday to attend a Burnout Paradise Community Event, sponsored by EA, at their Redwood Shores studio on behalf of Talk Xbox. As you would likely expect, I’m extremely excited about this opportunity, as it is not only some random business trip. It’s the opportunity I’ve been dreaming about, one of the more glamorous perks of working in the gaming industry. I’m actually being flown out to California to play video games.

Over the past week or so, I’ve been running around, getting everything ready for my big trip. It’s amazing. Everything seemed to come together just as I needed it to. A few weeks ago, I finally got around to replacing the busted AC adapter for my laptop, which has been out of commission for months now. Unfortunately, I was delivered the incorrect model and took my time setting up the return. Once I found out about this trip, I sped things up a bit, but it was so close to the date of the trip that I was sure it wouldn’t arrive in time. Thankfully, HP unexpectedly opted for overnight shipping, meaning I had my cable within two days of sending it out. Wow. Now that’s what I call good (and convenient) customer service.

Another obstacle presented itself about a week or so ago when I misplaced my Driver’s License. One can only imagine how terrified I was, knowing I wouldn’t be allowed on the plane without it. As I pulled the car out of the garage, ready to set out to Best Buy to pick up the digital voice recorder I figured I’d need for the trip, I decided to look under the front seats for my missing license. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I found it there. “Yes!” I exclaimed in joy as I pulled it from under the seat and placed it snugly in my wallet where it belonged. With everything coming together so perfectly, the Cosmos must be on my side and someone or something up there wants me to go on this trip.

This is the first event I’ll be attending as both a member of the gaming press and as a gamer (unless you count the Nintendo Fusion Tour in 2006) and I’m making the most of it. This isn’t just an opportunity to play games in a new location…this is an opportunity to network with my peers and make connections. I may be relatively introverted in my daily life, but you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be shaking hands with practically everyone I see at the event.

As far as the specifics of the trip go…I’ll be departing from Metro Airport around 7:15 pm, and I’m expected to arrive around 9:30 PST. That leaves me just enough time to get to the hotel, check in, unpack and go to sleep in anticipation of the next day. Friday, I’ll be up bright and early to meet everyone in the hotel lobby where we’ll be taken to breakfast, introduced and then make the short walk to EA Redwood Shores. There, we’ll have a Q&A session with lead designer Craig Sullivan, followed by a couple hours of multiplayer gaming sessions, lunch, and an additional Q&A session followed closely by more gaming in the form of single player contests and a multiplayer tournament. Finally, we head out for dinner and drinks (man I wish I was 21) and finally retire to the hotel. Saturday, I head on back home around one, arriving home once again around eight or so.

It’s a bit of a shame I won’t be able to do a bit of sightseeing while I’m there and enjoy the hotel (which is quite nice if I do say so myself) but I’m certainly not about to complain. The trip alone, with the opportunities for networking and gaming that lies therein is more than enough for me. As I’ve already said, I’m enormously excited for this trip. I plan on recording a travelogue in addition to my detailed written account of the event so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Wish me luck guys, I’m excited, but I’m also a bit nervous. I’ve never had an opportunity like this before and of course, I want to do my best to make the most of it. Who knows? If everything goes well here, I might find myself on a plane to California again later this year, en route to E3 2008.

As a side note, I’m finishing up my review of Devil May Cry 4, which I’ll be submitting to my editors later tonight.

Super Bowl XLII

2008-02-04T09:22:00.000-05:00

Huh...I didn't see that one coming. I figured this was going to be the Patriots' year and they would go all the way to grab that coveted perfect season. Believe it or not, I was actually rooting for them to win. As much as they're hated for their many victories, they work hard for those wins, and apparently, the New York Giants were the only ones who could take them down. Nevertheless, I am proud of the Giants and now, Eli Manning joins his big brother Peyton in the Super Bowl hall of fame.

As for the game itself, I have to say, up until the fourth quarter, I was damn near falling asleep on it. Hell, the commercials weren't even that great. Unfortunately, I was forced to work on Sunday until seven o clock and didn't get out of there until somewhere around seven thirty so I missed the entire first quarter and much of the second and to make matters worse, I came home with a splitting headache to boot. Last year's Super Bowl, which began with an amazing kick return is my bar, and certainly among the most exciting games I've watched of the sport, so naturally, anything less is a big letdown. Things heated up appropriately in the fourth quarter as the Giants edged out the Patriots with a series of spectacular plays, coming back late in the fourth to score the final touchdown, which made the score 17 -14, which would remain that way until the end of the game.

I have more respect for the Giants now than I ever did before. I always pegged them as a great team, but I didn't know if they had what it took to win the Big Game. Well, it seems I was wrong. Congratulations on your victory Giants, you've certainly earned it.

Don't You Hate Writer's Block?

2008-02-02T02:10:00.000-05:00

On occasion when you sit down to write something, have you ever sat there for a few minutes waiting for words to pour out of your pen onto the page...words that never seem to come? Have you ever sat there racking your brain trying to think of something of something to write on your pre-selected topic...or just the topic itself and then decide to do something else because nothing seems to be coming to you? If you've answered yes to any of these questions then Congratulations! You've just been hit with Writer's Block!

Well maybe Congratulations aren't in order here...

As of late, I've been finding it tough to get my thoughts out there on paper (or on the computer screen, whatever the case may be) in any form. Writer's Block seems to have fallen out of the sky and landed on me like (to use an old cliché) a ton of bricks. Dear God, now I'm digging up cliché’s to further my point. Man I need some help here, and fast.

So, I've decided to sit here and force myself to write this blog post, even though I've been feeling guilty about delaying my 2007 Retrospective so much. I've been putting it off and putting it off, hoping the inspiration I need to finish it would suddenly hit me and I'd be able to put something out there I can be proud of. Unfortunately, no such inspiration has come along. What's worse is, I'm not just blocked from doing this, oh no. The Gods of Writing must be very unhappy with me, because I can't do much of anything as it pertains to writing. Twice this past week I really had to phone it in with two of my assignments for school, one being a review of Ben-Hur, which I just recently saw (yes, I know I'm uncultured) in the film class I'm taking this semester. Well, to put it mildly, Ben-Hur is one of the best films I've ever had the pleasure of viewing and I don't think the review I submitted was anywhere near as good as it could've been. While this is partially due to the fact that I procrastinate like crazy (why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?) but a large part of it is undoubtedly this damn Writer's Block.

Alright, gotta keep the ball rolling, since I've heard that forcing yourself to write is one of the best ways to rid yourself of the shackles that bind your hand. So...umm...what to talk about now...Oh yeah, I picked up a few new games recently.

Ninja Gaiden Black

Great game so far. I now see why people call this one of the most hardcore games ever made. The difficulty is like a wall for players like me who tend to mash buttons and hope for the best. While that may work in a game like Heavenly Sword, it'll earn you an early death in this game. It forces you to change your play style in a good way and once you adjust, the game becomes really fun.

Final Fantasy Chronicles

My main motivation for picking this title up was (obviously) Chrono Trigger. Now, I've never played this game prior to picking this compilation up but I've definitely heard all of the hype surrounding it ranging from folks saying it's a must play to the best Japanese RPG ever. After putting some time into it, I can see why it was hyped as much as it was. While I typically shy away from RPG's of the Japanese persuasion because I dislike random encounters and turn-based battle systems, the battle system in Chrono Trigger is far better than the average battle system and I definitely enjoy not running into a flock of enemies every two steps.

Dead or Alive Ultimate

Now I haven't played this one yet. I've been too busy with Ninja Gaiden and Chrono Trigger but I'm sure I'll give it some time this weekend.

I guess that's enough free writing for now. I don't think I've completely shaken this Writer's Block just yet, but I feel a great deal more comfortable with writing now. And since I've got a review of Burnout Paradise and possibly Rez HD coming up for Talk Xbox, I'm going to need to be as loose as possible to deliver the quality I expect of myself. Alright I’m done for now. If necessary, I’ll pick it up again tomorrow.

Time for some much deserved sleep…

Internet...Serious F***ing Business.

2008-01-24T00:58:00.000-05:00

Man, Xbox Live has to have one of the worst online communities I've ever seen.

Now, if you know me as well as you think you do, you should know that I'm pretty heavy into online gaming. Online games consume a great deal of my gaming time, since single player games seem to fly by all too quickly these days. Thus, you'll frequently find me online on Xbox Live playing Halo 3 or Forza 2 or Call of Duty 4 (my most recent fave) so; many of you may be wondering what prompted me to say such a thing. Well, it all began earlier this very evening.

As many Xbox 360 owners already know, some nasty performance problems befell Xbox Live over the holidays, attributed to a massive surge in new memberships. People complained. To compensate for these issues, Microsoft announced that they would be making the Xbox Live Arcade title Undertow (really great game, download it if you haven't already) a free download. Well, I've had the game for quite a while and was disappointed that its online community was sorely lacking, to the point where finding a match was like trying to find a sliver of glass in the middle of a blizzard. Next to impossible. Well, I loaded the game up today and I'm happy to say, the online community has exploded for this game, which I'm very happy to see. Having a choice of which (populated!) server to enter made was a sight I never thought I'd see...but I digress.

I hopped into a team deathmatch server and immediately got to fraggin. Now, because of some rather...unsavory folks I've run into on Xbox Live in the past, I tend to play with my microphone muted or just off entirely. I heard the muffled voices of numerous players coming though my speakers. The sound wasn't quite loud enough to hear what they were saying with any kind of clarity but it didn't matter because I paid it no mind, focusing my attention on the game itself. Suddenly, I heard the all too familiar -blip- as my Xbox 360 told me someone, (for the purpose of discussion, we'll just call him "Billy") had just sent me a voice message.

I raised an eyebrow. Hmm...sounds familiar. I called up the player list and here I saw Billy. The same bloke I'd just received a message from mere nanoseconds ago. Well, I found myself dead at the hands of some enemy soldier and, being able to pick where and when to respawn, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to go check the message. I fired up my wireless headset and clicked "play voice message" from the Xbox 360's Guide menu.

They always said curiosity killed the cat...

The message began to play and instantly, Billy proceeded to berate me, saying all manner of hateful things like "get a life" and many other nasty things I won’t bother to print here. Within a matter of seconds, my curious, inquisitive expression darkened significantly and by the end of the message, a frown was quite apparent. In that instant, I was ready to tear good old Billy a new one. But something happened. Just as I was ready to record an even more spiteful and malicious message to hurl back across the internet with a vengeance, I stopped. Instead, I merely sent him a text message saying: "Wow, you really told me." and blocked any further communications from him. I realized, as I filed a complaint on my new friend Billy, I was about to engage in a vocal quarrel with someone...over the internet.

It's amazing isn't it? The internet has evolved so much from the days when University Professors and Graduate students used it as a means to share data. Now, some unsavory folks use it as a means to share insults with a wide range of unsuspecting people. Ah...we've come so far haven't we?

I'm not writing this as some desperate plea to the many people out there like Billy to stop because I know that's never going to happen. I know how it is for Billy and his moronic friends, who are too cowardly to actually say these kinds of things in person and instead rely on the internet to vent their hatred toward society or...anyone who kills them in an online game. They scream these insults from the comfort of the couch in their mother's basement because they know that the odds are in their favor that they'll never run into the people they're insulting and thus, will never have to own up to their actions.

All I have to say to Billy and those who think like him...I hope the message I sent you provides you with the attention you seem to be desperately craving right now and if you were expecting to get a rise out of me, you'll be sorely disappointed because I don't take the internet as seriously as you apparently do.

Or maybe I do. This is the Internet after all...and it’s serious fucking business...

2007 Retrospective: Introduction

2008-01-19T12:33:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time coming, but here it is, the first installment in my series of 2007 Retrospective blogs. Last year, I did something similar, but I didn't feel I elaborated as much as I needed to so this year, I'm going to do things a bit differently. This is just the introduction, and more posts will follow in the coming days as I finalize my thoughts, culminating with my top ten games of the year.

_______________________________________

Throughout the years, as gaming has matured, longtime gamers have seen the transition from two dimensions to three, numerous new gaming platforms and most importantly, literally hundreds of great games. As the years pass, the years themselves become somewhat of a catalog for these games. When a new year begins to approach, people begin to nominate their personal “Games of the Year”, putting the best games of that particular year in the spotlight and for this reason, some years begin to stand out among the rest,

2007 was one of those standout years. Gamers were practically inundated with quality software, regardless of which platform they owned. From Super Mario Galaxy to The Orange Box and Call of Duty 4 to Halo 3, there was certainly no shortage of great games to be had this year, perhaps even more so than any other year before it.

I must take time here to thank the ones who made all of this possible, the ones who slaved away hours upon hours day after day until their game had that special something that brought everything together. Every year, as we commend these great games for how well crafted, beautifully executed and above all, highly entertaining they are, we seldom thank those people who made that magic happen. The myriad of excellent developers such as Infinity Ward and Bioware made all of this happen, for if they had not sown the seeds, there would have been nothing to harvest.

In his monthly letter to his many readers, Andy McNamara, Editor-in-Chief of GameInformer magazine prefaced the letter by saying, “It is weird when you think about it. The year that was 2007 could arguably be the best year for video game software to date.” Looking back on the previous year, reminiscing on all the fond memories I had in just that year alone; I can easily say he and I share the same opinion. With the Xbox 360 closing the book on its second year and the Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii closing out their first, it is indeed weird to think so many quality titles would be released in just one year.

If anyone walked up to you and said 2007 could quite possibly be one of gaming’s best, would you have believed them? Skepticism would have likely been my first response. While I expected such titles as Super Mario Galaxy and Halo 3 to deliver, many titles, such Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Crackdown took me by surprise. But of course, as has been said many times, the best surprises are the ones you don’t see coming.

Over the course of the next few days, I will take the time to break down many of the current platforms one by one, to pinpoint just what made 2007 such a great year for each platform.

Panzer Dragoon Orta Found In The Wild!

2008-01-10T18:07:00.000-05:00

During a trip to Somerset Mall today, after looking around aimlessly for a Border's bookstore and finding out it wasn't there once I finally found a directory, I decided on a whim to walk into FYE since it was close by. I looked around at their selection of movies and music for a short while, all the while slowly moving towards the video game section, as I naturally do in any store that sells them. I began browsing through their wares without the slightest intention to buy anything due to my discount at GameStop and EB Games (which was right around the corner) and their somewhat inflated prices when suddenly, something on the bottom shelf caught my eye. I dropped the game I was holding and immediately picked up the game that had so quickly ensnared my attention. I couldn't believe I had actually found not one but two brand new copies of Panzer Dragoon Orta.

Now, the game has been out of print for quite some time, thanks in no small part to somewhat lackluster sales. Because of this, finding a used copy of the game is a rare occurrence, much less a brand new one. The price may have been a bit steep compared to the average new Xbox game (30 bucks) but that didn't stop me from running to the register, whipping out my plastic so fast the cashier probably felt a nice gust of wind and buying it. Okay, I exaggerate, but still I was pretty excited. As of late, I've found I'm almost as fond of collecting games as I am actually playing them so naturally, knowing how rare this game is, I had to buy it.

Well, that’s it for now…back to my 2007 Retrospective.

GripShift Review

2008-01-04T17:54:00.000-05:00

Here's a small snippet of my review of GripShift, one of the more recent Xbox Live Arcade titles. A link to the full review is below.

"In an effort to branch out from traditional racing or puzzling, the latest from Sidhe Interactive combines both with GripShift. These two genres, which are typically kept far apart, seem like they could work quite well here. The game is best described as a cross between the winding, suspended tracks of Super Monkey Ball, with the battle centric racing of Mario Kart. Unfortunately, due to the focus being split between the two genres, GripShift never shines in any one area and has its fair share of flaws."

- Justin McBride, Talk Xbox

Full Review

Full Undertow Review

2007-12-16T12:02:00.000-05:00

My review of Undertow, one of the Xbox Live Arcade's best titles has been posted on Talk Xbox.

"Have you ever wondered what a full-scale war would be like...underwater? This scenario, in which people from various civilizations wage war in the depths of the ocean for control over its vast waters, has been realized in Undertow. This is the first game from Chair Entertainment, an independent developer and publisher. It comes as no surprise that this is one of the most original games on the Xbox Live Arcade, but it did surprise me that this title is so much fun to play."

- Justin McBride, Talk Xbox.com

Check out the full review at the link below and remember, you can catch all of my latest Xbox 360 game reviews at that site.

http://www.talkxbox.com/review1199.html

Rest In Peace, Journalistic Integrity…The Week After Retrospective

2007-12-10T18:15:00.000-05:00

After a long debate, I finally decided I should chime in on how I feel regarding the now infamous termination of Jeff Gerstmann. It’s been about a week now and I’ve cooled off significantly, but this issue is too big for me not to say anything about, especially given my ties to the gaming industry. I’ve grown up playing games; I’ve seen the evolution of gaming from the 16-bit era to the HD Era. In that time, I began to read gaming related publications and developed an enormous interest in the numerous facets of gaming journalism. So when this news crossed my desk, It immediately captured my interest.

When I began to hear the rumors, I blew it off, thinking it was just another rumor started by some anonymous whistleblower to get some attention. That's when the evidence began to mount. More websites began to report the rumor. More people began to speak up about it. With each passing second, its validity grew as the news spread like wildfire across the internet.

Funny thing about rumors. Most of them are true...

I began to think to myself, "No way". There's no way any company would fire someone (let alone their longest tenured editor) due to advertiser pressure. CNET has denied these claims but I don't know if I believe them. After all I've heard over the past few days, all the reports that have come out from anonymous GameSpot editors and all of the cryptic messages hidden in staff blogs (and former staff members)...I just don't trust them anymore.

I think I'm beginning to lose faith in the gaming industry as a whole...

As an up-and-coming journalist, this hit me particularly hard. My whole worldview is shaken for a multitude of reasons. GameSpot has been my primary source for reviews for the four years I’ve been coming to it. I may not have agreed with every call they’ve made, but I’ve always respected them. One of my highest goals in working in the gaming industry was one day working for this very site. Up until now that is. Since I no longer trust CNET, I wouldn’t want to work under their umbrella network and subject to the same managerial team that terminated Jeff Gerstmann for giving his honest opinion.

This experience has opened my eyes to a new side of the gaming industry, a side I never wanted to see. A side of the gaming industry that has been corrupted by capitalism. As a direct result of the industry growing from a niche market to one of the largest markets for entertainment, the potential for making money has increased, and each one of the multitude of publishers wants a slice.

As the industry grows, so does the role of the gaming journalist. More and more gaming related publications have appeared, especially with the advent of the internet. Millions of people read these gaming publications for the final word on quite a few games, to see if ‘X’ game is worth their hard-earned money.

New moral and ethical concerns begin to appear. Put yourself in the well-polished shoes and finely tailored business suit of a marketing executive, concerned about your bottom line, hoping that your newest property will take off and become a highly profitable franchise for your organization. The first thing you would think to do is advertise, after all, that is your job right? Well, what if you flooded one particular site with advertising money…you would expect a decent return on your investment…right? On that same site, you would hope that your game would receive a good review to further garner public opinion in your favor and get them to drop $60 on your game…right? See where I’m going with this?

Now CNET stated Monday that Jeff Gerstmann’s termination is not a result of advertiser pressure and a few GameSpot editors said on the HotSpot that the Kane and Lynch review was not the cause. But honestly, I don’t know if I completely believe that. Joystiq confirmed recently that there have been numerous changes to the original Kane and Lynch review. CNET representatives stand firm on the issue stating, “Neither CNET Networks nor GameSpot has ever allowed its advertising business to affect its editorial content” but can we truly believe that? CNET sure wants us to, since they published an article in which they answered many of the burning questions people wanted answers to. In this article, one of the questions was concerning the editing of Jeff’s Kane and Lynch review. Their official response? “Jeff's supervisors and select members of the edit team felt the review's negativity did not match its "fair" 6.0 rating.” This shows that CNET does indeed respond to advertiser pressure, since the review was modified to match the score, and not vice versa.

Now you can begin to see why I’m so shaken by this news. To see the credibility of my favorite gaming publication shattered so quickly was extremely disheartening. While the Kane and Lynch review may not have been the cause of Jeff Gerstmann’s firing, the court of public opinion has already ruled against CNET and unless we get official statements from either CNET or Gerstmann himself (which won’t happen, for legal reasons) that ruling will not change.

Perhaps I am blowing this out of proportion. Perhaps I don’t have all the facts. That’s an understandable position to argue, but with all of the evidence I’ve seen supporting my claims and a much smaller list refuting them, I don’t believe I’m on the wrong side. Shady practices such as these need to end. Unfortunately, such is the state of the gaming industry...an industry in which some publishers decide not to use their money to improve their games and warrant a good score, but to try to buy one from the gaming press. This is bigger than Jeff Gerstmann; this concerns every facet of gaming journalism and personally, I won’t stand for it.

Editorial Minute 2

2007-11-18T23:55:00.000-05:00

Here's the second edition of my Editorial Minute series and I certainly plan on making more. In addition, I've got a lot of video projects in the works, including a video review for my favorite game of all time, Perfect Dark so stay tuned!

So Many Projects...

2007-11-17T00:34:00.000-05:00

Well, It’s been a little while since I last blogged, and I figured, since I’m sitting here in front of my PC doing absolutely nothing that I’d write a quick update. So without further ado…

Editorial Minute Episode 2 is still being worked on. I know I posted that I already had the voice work done and all I had left to do was the video. Well, the reason it isn’t finished yet is because I’m lazy. That, and I’ve taken on a number of different projects as of late, things that have taken over most of my time and pushed the Editorial minute further and further down the list of things I need to finish. I imagine I’ll get to work on it tomorrow…that is if I don’t get distracted by yet another project.

One of the many projects I’m currently working on is a revival of an old project I pretty much abandoned months ago. Now, under a new name (“Project Era”) and a renewed focus and shift in direction, I think I’ll be able to see it through to the end. Before, the project got a little too ambitious for those of us working on it and it all spun out of control. Well, we realize now that what we need to focus on is getting the core finished first then worry about the periphery at a later date, once we’ve finished a substantial amount and clearly laid out what we intend to accomplish.

You might have noticed that throughout the entire preceding paragraph, I didn’t reveal what “Project Era” is. Of course, that was intentional. All things will be revealed in time.

Well, another thing that takes up a good portion of my time nowadays is my reviews for Talk Xbox. I’ve written quite a few in the short span of time I’ve been working there. My most recent review, published a few days ago was for Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground. Having played Skate (and reviewed that too) it was hard going back to the button based control scheme the Tony Hawk series is known for and due to the series’ lack of change and innovation (especially when compared to Skate) I didn’t really like it as much as I thought I would. It’s not a bad game, but I can’t see myself recommending it over Skate to anyone besides the most hardcore Tony Hawk fans.

Of course, I’ve been working on my writing creatively as well as technically. I find that if I write in one style for too long, it bleeds over into the next. While this is good for my reviews, I don’t want to grow too technical with my creative writing, and thus, I’ll be sitting down to write the second chapter of my “Story in a Blog” very soon.

As the Christmas season approaches, the usual deluge of games is upon us. This is the time of year when the majority of the year’s best games are released and because of that, I can usually find my wallet crying in a corner somewhere as it tries to cope with the fact that it will soon be empty. Well, I may be offering my wallet a little reprieve….at least until the end of the year. Despite the current and impending releases of Super Mario Galaxy (a game I’ve been waiting for since I finished Sunshine) and Mass Effect (a must have RPG) respectively, I told myself that I wouldn’t buy any of them until after Christmas. I have quite a few games to tide me over in the forms of The Orange Box, Bioshock, Halo 3, PGR 4 and many more so I certainly won’t be lacking in great games to play until Christmas when I should have the aforementioned huge releases and possibly Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune to play.

Between all the things I have going on right now, it’s odd that I found the time to write all of that stuff. Funny thing. I usually don’t believe in horoscopes, but I checked mine a few days ago and it said I would be open to taking on a number of new projects and today it had this to say…

“You may be more interested now in expressing your creativity any way you can…”

Wow. Seems to me that this is right on the money. Maybe there’s some truth to this Astrology stuff after all.

The Gaming Industry and the Adults Only Rating...

2007-11-05T16:16:00.001-05:00

The Adults Only rating, one of many within the ESRB’s videogame rating system, is one of gaming’s biggest taboos. No one wants to speak of it. It’s rarely seen, but its influence is heard far and wide. Many within the industry fear it, shying away from including content that would even remotely constitute such a rating. Nevertheless, despite this, many have spoken out against it, saying that it should be accepted if the industry is to move forward, and I agree for a number of reasons.

Let’s take for example, Manhunt 2, which has revived much of the debate around the AO rating. While I fully understand that Manhunt 2 is pretty much violent for the sake of being violent, shouldn't the developers be able to express themselves however they like? Would this not fall within their right to Freedom of expression? Things far worse than what is depicted in this game have been expressed in movies, pictures and other entertainment mediums and they're deemed socially acceptable.

So why should Take-Two, or any other developer for that matter, be forced to censor their artistic vision to satisfy the “politically correct” console manufacturers and retail outlets that refuse to carry anything with the AO rating? Isn’t it highly hypocritical of retail outlets to refuse to carry AO rated games, but at the same time, stock all manner of violent horror films?

Let’s pause for a moment and examine the differences between movies, and video games. There have been countless hyper-violent horror films in which people are depicted being brutally murdered, mutilated, and tortured, and yet, none of them have been bad enough to warrant the highest rating the MPAA can issue, NC-17. Instead, these films are rated R, as in “Under 17 not admitted without parent”. Now, this sounds highly familiar to the Mature rating handed out by the ESRB, doesn’t it? Well, not exactly, because it seems that there are a number of things that are acceptable in films that would earn an AO rating in games. Things such as full frontal nudity and sex scenes being prime examples. When such a scene was depicted in a game (the infamous “Hot Coffee” mod), it led to Grand Theft Auto San Andreas being slapped with an AO rating and subsequently pulled from store shelves until a newer version, sans sex scenes, was released. All of a sudden, the two ratings don't seem so similar do they?

I guess it can be argued that Manhunt 2 is worse, since it gives the player the power to commit these violent virtual murders and that level of interactivity is what makes it worse than a film, which puts you in the non-interactive role of the observer. But…isn’t that the point? As we approach the limits of graphical fidelity, the Uncanny Valley as it were, aren’t developers looking to create more immersive experiences? To draw you into the game’s world in the most realistic and believable fashion as possible? Some developers do this with captivating stories; some achieve this through other methods. Rockstar on the other hand simply chose to allow you to simulate virtual murders with stabbing motions of the Wii remote. Some say that’s crossing the line. Others say it’s immersive. You be the judge.

I don't see why this should be singled out for expressing its own brand of hyper-violence. As of late, video games have been far more scrutinized for their depictions of violence than any other medium to my knowledge and it doesn’t make sense to me. It seems the industry hasn’t grown up with its supporters. According to the ESA, the average gamer these days is 33 years old, but apparently, the masses continue to view games as nothing more than a child’s plaything and because of that, games are subject to more attacks than other mediums.

The bottom line is, the gaming industry needs to grow the fuck up. I say this because I care, not to cause controversy and not because I want to see the ratings system destroyed. I’ve grown up. I understand that violence exists and I’m mature enough to draw the line between fiction and reality. I don’t want or need someone to tell me what I can and cannot view of my own free will and this form of censorship and sense of political correctness that follows it is wrong. I am an adult as well as a gamer. I think it’s time I’m trusted to make my own decisions.

An Editorial Minute

2007-10-26T00:29:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I'm starting a new series of video blogs entitled, The_Game21x's Editorial Minute. This is a pretty rough cut but it demonstrates the point nicely. In each video, I give myself one minute (give or take) to rant openlyabout a previously chosen topic. Basically written reviews I was too lazy to write out. :P

Questions, comments and suggestions for future episodes are always welcomed. Who knows? Maybe I'll make this a weekly thing.

I’m Now the Proud Owner of a Playstation 3

2007-10-23T17:50:00.000-04:00

As of yesterday, I am now the proud owner of a 60 GB Playstation 3 computer entertainment system. I've been debating this purchase for quite some time now and I finally decided to take the plunge. GameStop was offering a free game with the purchase of a 60 GB PS3 and since I wanted one of those as opposed to the similarly priced 80 GB version due to its full backwards compatibility I figured now was the best time to get one.

Here's a picture of the free game I received. I had the choice of either this, Resistance, F1 Championship, Folklore and... another game or two I believe and Heavenly Sword was the obvious choice for me. I'm certainly very interested in Resistance, and that was easily a great second choice, but I can easily find Resistance cheaper than Heavenly Sword so i figured I might as well get the more expensive game free. besides, I've been interested in Heavenly Sword for some time now after playing a few minutes of the final game at one of the demo kiosks at work and once I get my HDTV I'm going to need a game such as this to really put it to good use.

Now, if you'll notice, I've only posted pictures of the unopened box so far and I haven't spammed those of you with PS3's friend requestsover the PSN. Well, that's because I haven't opened it yet and I don't plan to do so until this weekend. I have a lot of schoolwork and other projects to handle this week so I figure I don't need another distraction at the current time.

I'm sure someone out there is thinking, "Well, if you didn't want the distraction, why did you buy it in the first place?" That's easy enough to answer. The 60 GB PS3, which I genuinely believe is the best version of the PS3 out there due to its full backwards compatibility and price had been phased out a few months ago so I had to act fast if I wanted to get my hands on one. Now, when the 80 GB PS3's price was slashed to $500, I was skeptical about picking up the 60 GB version because of the obvious differences in hard drive size and especially the free game in the box. But that all changed when I heard there was a free game deal for the 60 GB version as well, so naturally, I figured now was the best time to buy it. I'm also hearing rumors that the 60 GB's price may receive a cut as well to clear them out of stores to make way for the upcoming 40 GB version so, if it happens within the next week or so, I can take it back, get the difference in price and buy it back once more.

I look forward to playing my PS3 this weekend or whenever I finally crack it open. I'll be posting all my PSN info whenever I get around to making my account and I'll probably post impressions of Heavenly Sword after I've played it for a couple of hours. In other news, I'm also working on a new kind of video blog, entitled "The_Game21x's Editorial Minute" where I'll be ranting about a previously chosen topic for about one minute so stay tuned for that.

-Game

Portal...

2007-10-20T12:08:00.000-04:00

This is, without a doubt, one of the best games I've played so far this year. The puzzles themselves were extremely funny and the writing and humor were both top notch. I can't even complain about its length. the 2 hours or so it lasted was enough. If it had been significantly longer, it might have dulled the experience a bit. Now, I may sound like I'm echoing the recent Zero Punctuation Review of the Orange Box and you'd be exactly right because I completely agree. I didn't expect it to be as occasionally hilarious as it is and I was quite pleasantly suprised. I say occasionally hilarious not as an insult, but as a compliment. Portal's brand of humor doesn't bludgeon you over the head repeatedly. It gives you just enough comedy at just the right places. All the fantastically challenging puzzles and razor sharp wit all culminate into a fantastic ending sequence and one of the best end credits songs you'll even hear in a game. Guaranteed to leave you in stitches.

Portal is almost worth picking up the Orange Box for all by itself. If you have an Xbox 360 or gaming PC right now, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of The Orange Box. It definitely takes the cake.

The_Game21x's Fourth Video Blog

2007-10-20T12:05:00.000-04:00

I've got a brand new video blog, which I filmed just yesterday. Inside I talk more about the Orange Box, Halo 3, my position over at Talk Xbox and some other new things going on in my life. Well, that'll do it for the explanations, I'll leave the rest for you guys to find out as you watch.

Story in a Blog: Chapter One

2007-10-13T12:42:00.000-04:00

Well, I've toyed with the idea of writing a story in my blog posts, each chapter being pure improvisation, with no set story development, characters, character development, etc. Well, I've finally gotten around to writing the first chapter in the series. Additional chapters will be published whenever I get around to writing them. For now, enjoy!

* * *

My eyes snapped open as the incessant sounds of a man banging on the door to my small apartment echoed throughout the place, rousing me from a state of meditation. It was 2 AM and since sleep eluded me yet again, I figured I’d just sit there on my bed with my eyes closed for a moment.

The noise continued. I sat there for a moment, eyes half-open, thinking to myself about the deep shit I’d gotten myself into.

I knew why the man was here. In a fit of desperation and quite possibly insanity, I borrowed a substantial amount of money from a loan shark a while ago and this guy, he was an enforcer. As what is likely the result of a few drinks too many, the exact reason why I borrowed this money was unclear.

“Open up in there!” the man said in a thick New York accent while continuing to hammer on the door.

My three strikes were up. This guy was here to collect on the debt. I hastily grabbed my 9mm handgun, a Beretta, threw on my leather jacket, grabbed my cell phone, and quickly made a dash for the window. I figured I could probably take the guy, but I’d rather not waste perfectly good bullets I’d probably need later. The noise at my door intensified, He’s ramming the door now. Wow, this guy means business.

The window quickly opens and I’m outside, trying my luck with the fire escape. As I make my way down, I begin to question the decision to buy the apartment on the twelfth floor instead of the fourth. My real estate agent said it was worth the extra 50 bucks a month just for the “spectacular view”. Yeah, well right now, I’d rather have that extra cash in my pocket and not have to worry about some guy putting his foot up my ass if I can’t make it down this Fire escape in time.

I’m only a floor down when I hear my door being broken down and my would-be assailant searching for me. I’m a few floors down before the enforcer begins to give chase. As I near the bottom, I suddenly remember that the ladder to the street was broken. Piece of crap fire escape. There are about 10 feet between me and the ground below. I take a chance and jump over the side on the lowest level. I tuck and roll as I hit the rain slicked ground and on my feet within a second or two. Not a moment too soon either as I hear a bullet hit the ground directly behind me.

“You ain’t gettin’ away kid!” The enforcer yells as he fires off two more shots.

Lucky for me, this guy can’t aim worth a damn. I ran around a corner, heading towards a parking garage. My car was parked there, I just had to make it there and I’d be fine.

I was so close too…

As I entered, a large black sedan pulled up in front of me, blocking my path.

“Dammit!” I thought, drawing my Beretta.

I tried to run back, but was met by a red SUV. I turned around to see that two thugs had already exited the black sedan, brandishing pistols of their own and pointing them directly at my chest and two more stepped out of the SUV behind me. I looked around, searching for a way out of this mess.

“End of the line, Alex.” The large guy on the left said.

I continued to survey the situation, Beretta gripped tightly in my right hand. I was good with a gun but I don’t have eyes in the back of my head. Baring some sort of miracle, I realize that I probably won’t be walking away from here alive.

* * *

Does Halo 3 Live Up To The Hype?

2007-10-02T17:45:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday, I finally “finished the fight” on Heroic difficulty. What a ride. Now that I’ve completed the game, there is one prevailing question to answer. Does it or does it not live up to the hype? Well, since I’ve been a longtime Halo fan since playing the original on the Xbox several years ago I’m naturally biased towards the “yes” side of the debate but in the following paragraphs, I will attempt to present arguments from both sides of the debate before coming to a conclusion.

Now it’s no secret that this one game has received an astronomical amount of hype preceding its release and for some time afterwards from the immense Halo fanbase, as well as Microsoft itself. For Halo fans, this is the conclusion of the Halo trilogy, one they have been eagerly anticipating for nearly three years. For Microsoft, this is their biggest game. The marketing blitz rolled out nonstop for months prior to release, throwing Halo 3 onto everything from toys, to weapon replicas, to soda.

It can be argued that Microsoft went too far with their Halo 3 marketing blitz and on that point, I agree. But of course, Microsoft has plenty of reasons for marketing Halo 3 such as they have. Microsoft wants this game to sell consoles; they want everyone to buy this game. So far, as evidenced to the 170 million dollars garnered in the first day on the market, it’s working for them. We will soon see how much Halo 3 has influenced Xbox 360 sales as a whole.

Halo 2’s cliffhanger of an ending and confusing storyline left many fans cold, including me. Throughout the single player campaign, many sections turned me off. Halo 2’s campaign was still better than the average shooter’s due to its tight gameplay and impressive enemy AI but I can’t say it was superior to the campaign found in Halo: Combat Evolved in any way. After “finishing the fight”, I can honestly say that Halo 3’s campaign is the best in the series. The story progression and pacing was just shy of perfection and the cutscenes were wonderfully presented which compelled you onward, just to unearth the next juicy plot point. The story begins and ends just as it should, on a very high note. No spoilers will be found here, but the ending, which wraps up the storyline quite nicely, is incredibly satisfying. Trust me, once you see it, you’ll understand.

Halo 2’s multiplayer was satisfying for many, but a bit lacking in terms of balance. Despite being quite entertaining overall, there were plenty of glitches, exploits and problems that disrupted gameplay and annoyed many, especially in the early days. Halo 3 on the other hand seems to be more balanced, entertaining and fun. Based on my personal experience, I honestly can’t say I would prefer the multiplayer modes of Halo 2, or even Halo: CE, which I hold in a very high regard, over Halo 3. It’s not a drastic departure from what you’ve seen in the past, but, much like many other aspects of the game, it’s highly refined.

In many ways, Halo 3 was more of an upgrade from Halo 2 than Halo 2 was to Halo: CE. Halo 2’s additions were more natural progression than anything. Dual wielding was a common theme in many FPSes so it’s fitting that Halo 2 add that feature, and since online play was so commonplace and Halo: CE was the only game Bungie produced that didn’t include online play in years, Halo 2 receiving a slew of online options (except, sadly, online co-op) was a given. Halo 3’s primary additions in the form of the Forge mode and saved films are far from a natural progression of the series.

One of the main problems with Halo 3, as with Halo 2 and to a lesser extent, Halo: CE before it is its lack of change. As stated before, Halo 3 isn’t groundbreaking in any one aspect, more like a refinement of things you’ve already seen in previous titles. The FPS genre is a crowded one, and it takes a great deal of innovation and quality to stand out. Halo 3 may be lacking in terms of innovation (although the Forge mode and saved films are a step in the right direction) it makes up for it by being one of the most polished and enjoyable FPSes you’ll find on any system.

Hype is a very funny thing. If a game meets or exceeds expectations, it’s praised for its quality and talked about for months because it was as good as people thought it would be. On the other hand, if the game falls short, even for the tiniest of reasons, it will then be torn apart by disappointed and disenfranchised gamers since their high hopes have been dashed. That’s the thing about hype, oftentimes; people set themselves up to be disappointed. Halo 3 got a lot of attention and a great deal of well-deserved praise but undoubtedly, there will be those who will be disappointed with it, simply because it did not meet the impossible to attain expectations they had of the game.

No game is perfect and Halo 3 is certainly no exception. Was Halo 3 worthy of the hype? Well, yes and no. It met all of the expectations I had for it and in many ways, exceeded them and I don’t think there’s anything Bungie could’ve done to make me any happier with it. Of course, I imagine there are some people who were disappointed, which brings me back to an earlier point, if you hype yourself through the roof, you’re bound to be disappointed. Generally, everyone who has played it has had their expectations met and in many ways exceeded. As I said before, it’s not drastically different from any other game in the Halo series, but it does so much right that you likely won’t care. Therefore, my answer to the question I posed earlier is a resounding “yes”. In my opinion, there is no better game on the Xbox 360 and is, possibly, the best game to come out this year and in that respect alone, it was worthy of the hype.

My First Review Has Been Posted At Talk Xbox!

2007-09-10T14:15:00.000-04:00

Here's the link to my review of Stuntman Ignition at Talk Xbox.This is my first review at the site so I went all out (which explains why the review was so long) I had a great time reviewing it though so it's all good. As for my next article, I'm considering reviewing Medal of Honor: Airborne and possibly a write up of the Call of Duty 4 Beta that I just started playing yesterday.

In other news, I'm still writing my Halo 2 Review. It's coming along nicely but I have no idea when I'll post it. I'm going to type up my review of Super Mario 64 later today so it might be up later tonight or tomorrow depending on how long it takes and how I feel after I finish my homework.

Well, that'll do it for now, I'll have more updates and info later.

I Am Officially a Freelance Gaming Journalist

2007-09-04T23:36:00.000-04:00

Yep, you read that right. I have recently (as in earlier today) joined the writing staff over at Talk Xbox. It all began a few days ago when I received a PM from an anonymous GameSpot user asking if I was interested in writing for Talk Xbox. Being the aspiring gaming journalist that I am, I pounced on this opportunity as quickly as I could. Things progressed from there and now, I'm a full fledged part of the team.

In the coming weeks and months, I will be dedicating a lot of my time to contributing to that website, be it scouring the net for news or playing a game for purposes of review. I'm taking this very seriously. It will be a true test for me and balancing school, writing, games and other projects I have going on will be tough, but this is the real world and I need to break out there. This isn't just getting my feet wet; it’s jumping in the whole damn pool.

Now, if you know me or have been tracking my recent blog posts, you know that I'm a huge Halo fan and knowing that, you also know that I can't wait for the release of Halo 3 later this month. I acquired the Halo 3 Edition Zune (figured I'd get the smallest purchase out of the way first) and have a copy of the Limited Edition (not Legendary) preordered at my local GameStop. To get back into regularly reviewing games and as a sort of final send off, I will be reviewing Halo 2. This review should be posted within the next week or so, provided that I don’t get bogged down with a ton of work.

In addition to my Halo 2 review I plan on finishing up my Super Mario 64 (Wii) review and posting it soon. I’ve had this pretty much written out in its entirety for some time now in my notebook; I’m not sure why I never typed it up and submitted it. I’ve also got plans on reviewing Bioshock after I’ve finished with my Halo 2 review. Looks like I’ll be plenty busy for the foreseeable future.

Make sure you stop by the site to check it out once in a while. I’ll probably update here once I’ve posted a new review or article but I don’t plan on using this blog as a free advertisement. Of course, I’d like to see the site grow but I would hope that people would visit it less because I’m pestering them to do so and more because they truly enjoy the articles and reviews we post there. I just hope I can earn my spot among their ranks and deliver the quality reviews both you and I expect.

A Bit of a Dilemma

2007-08-09T23:45:00.000-04:00

At the end of this week, I’ll have enough cash saved up to get my hands on one of two things I’ve wanted to buy as of late, a Playstation 3 or the Halo 3 Zune media player. Notice how I said one of the two back there. Now I have a dilemma. Which one do I choose? They’re both limited in supply and when they’re gone, they’re gone. In the following paragraphs, I’ll try to list the pros and cons of getting one versus the other.

The Halo 3 Edition Zune

The Halo 3 Edition Zune is high on my “things to get” list due to the fact that, since my iPod crapped out on me two years ago, I don’t have a proper media player for listening to my favorite music while I’m away from my PC. To satisfy my need for music on the go, I’ve been using my PSP, PDA and, worst case scenario, my busted iPod (it still works on occasion if I screw with it). These are all decent for playing music and get the job done in a pinch (especially the PSP) but they’re hardly ideal. The PSP does score extra points for being a jack of all trades sort of system and handles music playing far better than my PDA or spastic iPod ever did but I can’t see it competing with the Zune because, despite the fact that I have a 4 GB memory stick in there, it’s being occupied by certain…user made applications and files that utilize the PSP in ways Sony never intended. So it’s pretty much out in terms of being a primary music player.

It's not just the Zune itself that appeals to me either. The Halo 3 Edition is the only version of the Zune I’ve ever been interested in. Why? Well, I’m extremely excited for Halo 3 and, well, I want to get this so I have a “well rounded Halo 3 experience”. I’m not the obsessive Halo 3 fan who is going to run out and buy the Legendary edition of Halo 3 and two of the new Halo 3 Edition controllers, the Halo 3 wireless headset and the Halo 3 Edition Xbox 360 or anything of the sort, but I like to collect some of the things that correspond with games I’m excited about.
But there are some downsides to buying it now. The thing is $250, and that would take a huge chunk out of my funds, and it would be that much harder to save up for a PS3. The player itself has its share of downsides as well, due to its limited file support. To date, the Zune only supports WMV for video playback, MP3 and WMA for audio and JPEGs for viewing photos. This isn’t a problem for me since most of my music and pictures are in the required format anyway. The videos are the only thing I’d really have to worry about.

Overall, it looks like a really good purchase. Everyone I’ve talked to who’s bought one seems to like it and I’ve seen some pretty favorable reviews. It has its faults, but the same can be said for all media players, including the iPod. Before I make my decision, I still have to consider the PS3, which brings me to my next point...

The Playstation 3

I can’t forget about this one. If I make a move and buy the Zune without considering this first, I’m sure I’ll kick myself later on down the line. I’ve been considering buying one for quite some time now and because of the recent price cut, now is the best time to finally get my hands on one. There are several games coming down the pipe later this year and into the next that make me excited about the system and will validate my purchase and then some. I can’t bring myself to miss out on the likes of Metal Gear Solid 4, Heavenly Sword, Playstation Home and Gran Turismo 5. The PS3’s built in Blu Ray disc player is certainly enticing, as I’ll probably be making use of it in the future.

The problem is, there’s nothing I’m really excited for on the PS3 that’s available now. The only games I really want to get for the system are Resistance: Fall of Man, Motorstorm and Ninja Gaiden Sigma. All the other games I’m interested on the system right now are multiplatform that I’ll probably end up getting on the Xbox 360 anyways. There are a few downloadable games I’m interested in such as the Gran Turismo HD Concept demo, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, and a few of the downloadable Playstation 1 titles. They’re all good reasons to buy a PS3 but not enough to justify the $500 purchase right now. That’s a lot of money. I didn’t even factor in all the other things I’d need such as games and accessories. I could recoup some of it by selling my PS2 on eBay but I doubt that would do much more besides cover the taxes and perhaps a game.

But then again, I have to consider what I’m getting for my money. I’m getting a Blu Ray disc player, a high end gaming system, a media center, and a platform that will undoubtedly grow in functionality and usefulness as the years progress. For what you get in the system, $500 is really a steal. Now if only I could force my wallet to see it that way, I’d be alright.

Okay, I thought writing all that would help me decide one way or another but it hasn’t. I’m still stuck between the two. Perhaps as pay day approaches, my mind will become clear, and I’ll be able to finally choose which of the two to get first.

My Xbox 360 Is Finally Back From The Repair Center

2007-08-07T09:04:00.000-04:00

After about two weeks of being without it and going back to my older consoles to catch up on some classics that I missed out on, my Xbox 360 is finally back from the repair center. Sort of.

When the UPS truck pulled up outside this past Friday, I rushed downstairs like a kid waking up on Christmas morning to greet the delivery man and receive my package. In a white box, almost exactly like the one I shipped it in was my Xbox 360. I rushed to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and opened it up. Immediately after opening it, I looked at the console inside and said to myself, “This isn’t my 360”. The letter I received in the package confirmed this.

Instead of receiving my repaired Xbox 360, I have been sent a replacement unit. With the news of receiving a replacement, some worries began to develop. Does this mean I have another ticking time bomb on my hands? What of the reported upgrades the 360 has received recently, namely the second heat sink over the GPU? Does this mean my 360 doesn’t have this?

I’ve noticed that my Xbox 360 does have at least one of the new enhancements newer models have received. The disc drive is noticeably quieter and seems to load games a bit quicker. Video quality seems to be a bit improved as well. I noticed that the opening movie that plays before the title screen in Forza Motorsport 2 is a bit smoother, lacking the minor compression artifacts I noticed when playing the game on my old 360.

Despite my earlier worries, the system plays like a dream. Load times are a bit quicker, it runs quieter and of course, it plays some of my favorite games of the generation thus far. Earlier today, I checked out The Darkness and I’ve played an hour or two of it so far. I really like it so far. The Darkness powers really steal the show and are a blast to use (I’ve only really used the Creeping Darkness so far) and the gunplay is pretty good. It’s not up there with top tier shooters, but then again, I don’t think it was intended to be and as it is, it’s still very well crafted. I haven’t played the multiplayer (due to my lack of a real internet connection) but I’ve heard it’s nothing special, especially when compared to the single player mode.

That’s all I have to say for now because I’ve gotta get back to playing my Xbox 360. Forza 2 is calling me and I don’t like to keep it waiting too long. :D

Catching Up On Some Classics

2007-07-28T22:56:00.000-04:00

My Xbox 360 is off at the repair center, meaning my main platform for next gen gaming is gone for the time being.

So...what is a guy to do? The Wii is fun in short bursts playing RE 4, but I need something else. Something to add to the experience. For that, I turn to my previous generation consoles.

Considering my lack of a 360 at the time (thus no Forza 2 addiction), I've had time to catch up on a lot of last gen classics, particularly those for my good old Xbox. If you've been reading my blogs, you know that I have a job working at a local GameStop. This also means I get a discount. Since the Xbox 360 launched, original Xbox game prices have dropped significantly. This means you can find a bunch of great games by raiding the bargain bin.

Which is exactly what I’ve been doing.

At the store I’m working at, we have a bin set up in the front for all used Xbox games that have dropped to under ten dollars. It’s amazing what you can find in there if you look hard enough. Over the past couple weeks, I’ve found a bunch of great games, most of which were five dollars or less. Below is a list of the games I’ve purchased and their prices. Some of which may shock you as much as they did me.

Unreal Championship 2: $4.99 – This game is a blast to play even by yourself. The online servers are pretty vacant right now, so I’m looking for a couple of folks who have the game to play with on Xbox Live.

Sega GT 2002/Jet Set Radio Future Combo disc: $1.99 – This one was a shocker. Two great games (especially JSRF) for only two bucks? There was no way I was going to pass this one up.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: $4.99 I just got this yesterday and I gotta tell ya, I’m hooked. It’s a fun little beat em up that’s really addictive. I remember wanting to get this when it came out in 2002 but never got around to it. I’m glad I finally did.

Max Payne 2: $1.50 – Another shocker. This game was a complete blast to play through and had a great storyline that had me gripped from beginning to end. At a price this low, considering how much fun I’m having with it, I would’ve been a fool to pass this up.

Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge: $3.99 – I haven’t played this yet, since I’ve been playing Buffy so I can’t attest to its quality just yet. But hey, it scored an 8.9 here so I don’t think I’ll be disappointed.

And there you have it folks. Six great games for less than 15 bucks (when I factor in my discount) with an average score of an 8.6 between them. Now that’s quality gaming. If you’re a gamer on a budget or simply looking to pick up some games that you might have missed over the past few years, check the bargain bin. You’d be amazed at some of the gems you can find there.

Weekly Update: Gran Turismo 4, Pokemon Battle Revolution Impressions and OMG! Halo 3!

2007-07-03T00:51:00.000-04:00

To kick things off, I'm going to be a bit late with my Pokemon Pearl review. I just haven't had the time to really get my thoughts together. I'm going to try to finish some of it tonight and perhaps I'll have it posted tomorrow. For now, I'm hoping my Crackdown and Fuzion Frenzy 2 reviews are substantial. Between Pokemon Pearl, Forza Motorsport 2, Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, and Pokemon Battle Revolution, I've got a lot of reviews ahead of me.

So, onto those first impressions. I'll start with Gran Turismo 4. I bought it on Saturday of last week and I've been playing it off and on since then. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and at 11 bucks, I couldn't pass it up. Well, it's as good as I thought it would be. The car selection is excellent despite the fact that there's no Ferraris, Lamborghinis, etc. and the track selection is great. I haven't gotten deep into the career mode yet, as I'm still plowing through the B class License tests.

Vehicle handling is as good as I expected. Being weaned on the Forza series' dynamic driving line, it took me a while to get used to driving without it. Naturally, until I got used to driving without it, I did very poorly in races. Over time, I've gotten used to the game without it and I've improved significantly. I'll have more to say about it once I delve deeper into the game but so far, I like it.

On to Pokemon Battle Revolution. I'm having mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, it is fun to battle with the Pokemon I trained in Pokemon Pearl on the big screen and the online opposition is certainly promising (for the record, I haven't played it yet). On the other hand, aside from the battles, there's no minigames to play and no other modes. Seeing your Pokemon in 3D is cool but it's going to get old eventually and if you don't have a copy of Diamond or Pearl for the DS, you can kiss the DS connectivity options goodbye and in those respects, the game is a bit shallow.

But, if there's one thing the game does right besides the battles themselves and the online throwdowns, it's the graphics. For a Wii game, these graphics look pretty damn good. I'd place it up there with Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition visually. I wouldn't say it's better than RE4, but it's certainly one of the best looking games available for the Wii.

On to Halo 3. While I was picking up GT4 and checking out PBR from work I preordered my copy of the Halo 3 Limited Edition. I was considering going all the way and getting the Legendary Edition, but I don't really feel the need to. Perhaps I'll upgrade my reservation to the Legendary Edition nearing release, once the hype gets to me. I might be picking up the Halo 3 Zune later this week, provided I don't get it for my birthday later this week.

By the way, if you haven't seen the new Halo 3 screen shots at IGN, you really need to go check em out. They showcase the new, customizable, Spartan armor. Yes, you read that right. The Spartan armor in Halo 3's multiplayer component is now fully customizable. There are now three main types of armor to choose from. The basic MJOLNIR armor we all know and love and two new suits, dubbed EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) and CQB (Close Quarters Battle). There's also been hints that there are even more armor permutations that haven't revealed yet.

Graphically, this looks a bit better than what we've seen in the Pubic Beta that concluded earlier this month. It could just be me, as I'm likely blind from the slew of new info and screens about Halo 3, which is my personal most anticipated game of the year. While it's not close to the best the Xbox 360 can offer, it sports a clean look that I can't stay mad at for long. Keep in mind that footage of the single player campaign hasn't been shown yet and typically, single player campaigns tend to look better than their multiplayer counterparts, so we'll soon see if Halo 3 can hang with the likes of Gears of War.

My Perspective on Rap Music as an Art Form

2007-06-26T14:08:00.000-04:00

Earlier today, I got into a rather big argument about Rap music as an art form. Personally, I appreciate rap and enjoy it greatly. There are some aspects of the genre that I dislike, such as the myriad of songs made about dances, songs that feature the prolific use of the word "nigga" and songs that recycle the same generic themes (I have more money than you, I'm gonna shoot you, I'm going to f*** your girlfriend, etc.) over and over again. But as a whole I like it. I tend to like rap from underground artists and old school more than mainstream artists because a lot of mainstream artists use the repetitive themes I mentioned above exclusively and often have very poor lyrical ability.

With that said, I present to you the argument the other guy posted in response to an earlier claim:

"First off you entered this concersation out of context, would you like to explain to me why people study music, if it´s all opinion based, or maybe explain why rap in general is good? What is it exactly that makes it good? The singing? (or lack of) The beat down message (which is pretty much the only thing that is opinion in music), The intrumental? (yay pc samples ftw) what makes it good muscially?"

And here's what I responded with.

Music can illicit certain feelings from people. People study music and determine what feelings it elicits and dissects the track from there on. There are certainly other factors and variables in music study, but this is one of the main recurring themes. Rap music is no different. It can illicit feelings from someone as well as any other genre of music. The lyrics in combination with the music behind it can bring about significant emotional response.

Oftentimes, singing isn't present in rap, but then again, there doesn't always have to be. Although, there are some MC's who incorporate singing into their rhymes and do a very good job of it. A skilled lyricist can write and say their lines to the beat, timing their words precisely with the tempo to make things flow smoothly, to the point where there is no disconnect between the music and the lyrics.

You say the message is always the same and spout off generic themes that permeate mainstream rap. Well, I'll give you that one. Mainstream rap is often tied down by the same generic themes you mentioned. But, if you go beneath the surface to the underground, old school and true hip hop, you don't find these repetitive themes. What you find are real lyricists with real messages to say. It is here that you find deep messages, well thought out rhymes, and often well done storytelling. Rappers can tell a story or convey a message just as well as any rocker can. If you really listened to rap, you'd know this.

Again, you say rappers always sample other tracks. Well, some do, and most don't. The majority of tracks use entirely original beats. If you listen closely, they are just as deep and well formed as any other form of music. Hell, even some of the sampled tracks improve on the original, adapting them to a new style, and work wonders. The sound quality is great, but only if you really listen for it.

These are all valid reasons why Rap is good musically. As I stated before (in a post you conveniently ignored by the way) there is no such thing as good or bad music. It's all based on perception, that's why its opinion based. The feeling a certain song elicits from you is universal, but the song itself isn't. There are songs I flat out despise that others like. Does that mean that they're bad musically? No. That's just my perception. How is your opinion on rap music somehow better than mine on this issue? Bottom line is, it isn't. Rap isn't worse than any other genre of music, no matter how bad you think it is.

And there you have it folks, but I'm not done yet. I have some additional views I'd like to express.

A wise man once told me that there is no good or bad music and that it is only good or bad in the realm of human perception. No matter what anyone says about any genre of music, there is no genre that is better or worse than all the others. All of them can be appreciated in some way or another by different people.

People criticize rap for repeating the same generic themes over and over, well I could easily say the same thing about rock music. Commonly used themes in rock music are hatred towards society and crying over a lost love. Same themes, different lyrics. So this can' be used against rap. Almost all forms of music are repetitive in some form or another. It's what the artist does with that theme that makes each song special.

In closing, Rap music is just as good musically as any other form of music. As with all forms of music, there's plenty to appreciate about rap. I hope that those of you out there who read this come away from it enlightened, particularly if you've taken up a stance against rap music in the past.

So yesterday, I saw the car of my dreams...

2007-05-12T00:28:00.000-04:00

Before I get into this, I know I've missed a few Weekly Updates.

Anyways, yesterday I caught a glimpse of the car of my dreams, while drving down Woodward en route to GameWorks last night. I was sitting there in the seat while the cool night air blew in through the window. All of a sudden I heard the loud purring of an obviously turbocharged engine beside me. out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bright red car pull alongside us. Naturally, I turned to look and then I saw it. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped and I exclaimed to my friend driving, "That's a Supra!"

Immediately, I pulled out my phone and snapped the picture you see above. I recorded a video but the quality is really subpar and I couldn't get a good shot of it because that Supra's 2JZ engine revved up and left us in the dust.

It's really amazing what you can see when you're crusing down Woodward every now and then. I'm just amazed that I got a chance to see this car. It reinvigorated my love for the Supra and gave me a nice bit of inspiration.

PS: GameWorks was fun too.

Pokemon Pearl and DS Lite Acquired!

2007-04-22T16:36:00.000-04:00

I have lots of pictures of the newest additions to my collection and here they are for your viewing pleasure.

Pokemon Pearl. As you can tell from my previous blog post, I was pretty excited to pick this one up.

Here's a shot of the case open.

Here's a shot of the case, documentation (manuals, etc.) and the game itself.

My Brand new DS Lite. I traded in my old DS to get this puppy, and I'm glad I did. My old DS wasn't in the best shape and I had been meaning to pick up a new one for quite a while now.

Finally, here's a shot of the DS fresh out of the box and ready to be played.

Well there you have it. I'll have my first impressions of both the DS Lite and Pokemon Pearl posted sometime in the near future when I have time to sit down and really delve deep into the game and collect my thoughts. So far, the reviews I've seen have been generally positive. I'm just hoping everything I've come to expect from the game is realized when I play it.

Weekly Update: April 20, 2007

2007-04-20T15:52:00.000-04:00

I've been meaning to start weekly blog updates for a while now and now I've finally gotten around to it. So, without further adieu, let's get down to business.

I've been on a bit of a Pokemon bender recently counting down the days until the US launch of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. I've got my eye on a copy of Pokemon Pearl and I'll be picking it up alongside a brand new DS Lite this Sunday. in the meantime, I've picked up Pokemon Leaf Green again, getting my pokemon from that game all ready to be transferred to Pokemon Pearl when I get it. I've been training my pokemon well and I've assembled some pretty tough to beat teams. When I decide to head online for the first time, (a feature I've been pretty excited about) I'm going to be pretty tough to beat.

I know some of you are going to think, "You're 19 years old? Playing Pokemon? WTF?". Well, I play Pokemon because the games themselves are actualy really fun and addictive for some reason. Plus, there's the nostalgia factor. I think back to the time I first recieved my copy of Pokemon Blue and began playing through it. It was amazing. Back then, I was absolutely hooked on the show and everything even remotely related to Pokemon so the games were naturally right up my alley.

But, as great as Red and Blue were, the most fun I've ever had playing a Pokemon game has to have been when I played the Gold and Silver versions (yes, both of them). Those were in my opinion, the best pokemon games ever made. The incorporation of real time day and night cycles, daily events that would only occur on certain days of the week and more gave the game such an epic feel that has yet to be matched in any Pokemon games.

I have hope that Pokemon Diamond and Pearl will be just as good, if not better than the Gold and Silver Versions since the development team that worked on the Gold and Silver versions also developed Diamond and Pearl.

I've got some new reviews coming down the pipe soon for Crackdown, Super Mario 64 and probably another game if I get around to it. I've been sidetracked by a few projects of mine, including updating my gaming blog (GameTime News Network. Check it out.) writing some stories, and generally being very, very lazy. I'll have these reviews up soon, don't worry.

In addition, I'm working on a new video blog. I don't know what it's going to be about, just that I want to do another one.

And before I depart, I leave you with a video I stumbled upon recently. It's pretty freaking awesome and very well done.

My Broken Xbox 360 Has Been Fixed!

2007-04-09T20:52:00.000-04:00

Watch the video. There isnt much I can say that hasn't been discussed in the video.

It may seem like it's fake, but trust me, this is not a joke. It really works.

My First Video Blog

2007-03-30T22:47:00.000-04:00

Here's my first attempt at a Video Blog. I was sitting around one day, a bit bored and I just decided to start filming one. It took me a while to edit, but I'm satisfied with the results.

I hope you guys like it. Keep your eyes peeled for more in the future.

New Xbox 360 Annonced - An "Elite" Editorial

2007-03-29T13:44:00.000-04:00

As you all probably know by now, the Xbox 360 “Elite” has been officially confirmed by Microsoft. After all the rumors that had been swirling over the past few months dating back to early July with this Engadget rumor, it’s about time Microsoft was forthwith, confirming what everyone already expected to be true. Personally, I am not too happy about this. Between this and my Xbox 360 recently crapping out on me, Microsoft has really been screwing me over as of late.

One thing that annoys me in particular about the Xbox 360 Elite is that it comes with a lot of things that should have been included on the “Premium” version at launch. The HDMI port is almost a must nowadays, as so many televisions support HDMI and it’s currently the de facto high definition input/output standard. If you want the clearest possible picture for your high definition television, HDMI is the only way to go.

What’s more is The Elite 360 sports an upgrade Xbox 360 fans have wanted since day one. More hard drive space. Six times more to be exact. No longer stuck with a measly 16 gigabytes of space, gamers no longer have to worry about deleting unwanted files to make room for new things. I personally have this problem since I have an abundance of videos, expansion packs, demos and Final Fantasy XI files (which take up a whopping 6 gigabytes of space by themselves) on my Xbox 360’s hard drive and I constantly have to decide which stuff I want to get rid of to make room for new things.

But the hard drive is going to sell separately from the Elite console so all my worries should be put to rest right? Wrong. The 120 GB hard drive is set to retail for $180. This is outrageous. Nearly half the price of the premium console for a hard drive? I think this is ridiculous, especially considering I can get a 500 GB hard drive for my computer or a 160 GB hard drive that is compatible with the PS3, for significantly less money. Now I understand that Microsoft is using a proprietary design here, which is very different from a standard hard drive, but still, you’d think they could throw us a bone here.

Another thing that bugs me about the “Elite” is that it’s still lacking features that would’ve no doubt made the package as a whole seem more appealing. What are these features? Well, internal Wi-Fi would be nice. Paying an additional $100 just to be able to utilize my wireless connection (which is the only way I can connect to the internet) is ridiculous. More importantly though, the lack of an internal HD DVD drive is the killer. Without that, it doesn’t seem worth it when you consider that for just $20 more; you can get the PS3, with a 20 GB hard drive and an internal Blu Ray Disc player. I know Microsoft doesn’t want to take a chance on HD DVD just yet because “the format isn’t proven” but it would’ve certainly taken an edge from Sony and made the package as a whole so much more appealing.

Now I know I shouldn’t be too upset because I’m an early adopter, and we early adopters have a tendency to be screwed over in the long run. The problems with this are simple. Not only is Microsoft releasing a new model for the Xbox 360 less than 2 years after the original, but they’re charging you more for it. Now I know Nintendo and Sony have done this in the past (Nintendo with their handhelds, and Sony with the first two Playstations) but in those cases, $130 (and below) handhelds are a lot easier on the wallet to replace than a $400 console and Sony waited 4 years before releasing the Slim PS2 and 5 years before releasing the smaller PSone back in 2000. Not to mention these consoles were cheaper than pervious versions, not more expensive.

In the end it all comes down to what people have been saying all along. Microsoft rushed the Xbox 360. They rushed it out of the gate early so they could grab a sizeable lead over the competition. Now it just seems like this is the console they would’ve released from the beginning had they not been rushing everything. I think the Elite is a big mistake that could just hurting them in the long run because, when compared to the PS3, suddenly it doesn’t seem so expensive any more, especially considering what you get in the package. Oh well. I’m not buying the Elite. There aren’t enough reasons to justify spending even more for the console than I did before.

TMNT (2007) In Review

2007-03-26T10:13:00.000-04:00

Last Friday, a friend of mine called me and said he and a couple of other friends were going to see the new TMNT movie. I am a long time fan of the TMNT series, and I've seen all three movies prior to the release of this one. Naturally, I agreed to go, but I was concerned that since the movie garnered a PG rating, it would cater almost exclusively to a younger audience. Because of this, I also had a few reservations about seeing the film, especially since it was too late to go to my theatre (I work at a movie theatre now) and see the film for free. After seeing the film I thought I'd share my thoughts about the film in a review.

It doesn't suck. Seriously. It was actually pretty good.

Immediately, I must say, the switch from live action to CGI was a great decision. The turtles now have the freedom to do many of the actions that were previously confined to the cartoons and comics. The animation is one of the movie's high points. The great looking New York City serves as a great backdrop for the majority of the film. The turtles themselves look better than ever. No longer big and bulky looking, the turtles look more realistic (well as realistic as a mutant turtle can be), boasting a more animalistic appearance and of course, copious amounts of green. Cinematography is also pretty decent, but at times, the camera can be a bit spastic and dizzying as it seems to switch between different angles a bit too quickly, but thankfully not enough to get in the way of the film's slick visual style.

The plotline however is pretty disappointing. The story itself is highly unoriginal and highly predictable. The story begins 3000 years in the past, in which a tribe of warriors discovers a portal that they believe will grant them immortality. The leader of the tribe gains immortality upon opening the portal, at the expense of his fellow comrades who are turned to stone and 13 monsters are released into our world.

Fast forward to the present day, after the events of the third Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, the turtles have grown apart as a family. Leonardo has been in Central America for the past year training, Michelangelo has taken up a job as "Cowabunga Carl" performing at children's birthday parties, Donatello has taken a job as a 24 hour IT consultant and Raphael has become a masked vigilante, going by the name of "Night Watcher".

Max Winters, the immortal leader of the ancient tribe enlists the services of the Foot Clan, under the leadership of Karai, to aid him in finding the 13 monsters and send them back to where they came from. Immediately there is a problem. Where have these monsters been in the past 3000 years and why is it that they have all of a sudden become active in New York? This is just one of a few glaring plot holes that I just couldn't ignore.

As Leonardo returns to New York City, he and Raphael begin to engage in an emotional conflict, as Raphael is not willing to welcome his brother back into the family so easily after his departure. The conflict between them is certainly interesting to watch, and makes for a nice subplot as tensions between them grow, culminating into a fight 23 years in the making. The fight between Leonardo and Raphael is simply amazing. The two brothers giving each other everything they have, at the peak of their abilities. From both cinematic and technical perspectives, the battle is an amazing feat, as each animation plays out smoothly blending well from one scene to the next, and is by far the best among the film's several great looking fight scenes.

In a sharp contrast to the other films in the TMNT franchise, this one focuses less on humor, choosing instead to present a much darker look into the TMNT franchise. That's not to say there isn't a good bit of campy humor and comedic value in the flick, as Michelangelo, the series' longtime comic relief character has his share of genuinely funny moments that thankfully don't come off as too cheesy or aimed directly at children. Personally, I like this new style. The turtles are noticeably much more mature as characters than their previous film incarnations.

Overall, it was a pretty good film. Longtime fans of the franchise will leave plenty satisfied by the film (unless they were expecting a rich storyline) and will get the most out of it, as there are a few fanservice bits thrown in every now and then. The fight scenes are a visual triumph, and this film's sense of style is one that puts all previous TMNT films to shame. If you're looking for a fun filled action movie then look no further.

If I had to give it a score, I'd probably give it a 7.5.

That'll do it for my review of the film (which was a bit longer than I expected :P). It's just too bad the games weren't as good as the film, but then again, movie adaptations rarely are. In short, if you're a fan, you'll certainly enjoy this. If not, you'll probably still get a good amount of entertainment from it. I have to say, this is, by far, the best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie in the franchise.

My Xbox 360 Has Died...and I'm Pissed.

2007-03-06T11:11:00.000-05:00

Well as of yesterday, my Xbox 360 is officially dead. I turned it on yesterday afternoon with the intention of playing some Rainbow Six: Vegas and the “three red lights of death” flashed within its ring of light. Seeing this means your Xbox 360 has suffered a major hardware malfunction and thus will not work properly. Those red lights flashed on and off, taunting me, as if to say, “Ha, ha! You’re fucked now, sucker!” As you can ascertain from the title and my general tone, I’m pissed.

As soon as I saw the three red lights, well, after my heart sank, I immediately turned the system off and tried a number of home remedies to fix the problem. I unplugged it and set it aside. I disconnected the hard drive. I even took it to a relatively cold area of my home to let it cool off (even though it wasn’t hot). Nothing so far has worked and my frustrations continue to mount…

Since the Xbox 360’s launch in November of 2005, reports of malfunctioning and dying units have been running rampant in the news, websites and internet forums as gamers everywhere experienced the same thing that I did yesterday. For a long time now I have been defending Microsoft and their failure to diagnose and fix the problems plaguing Xbox 360 but now, I’m through with that. Microsoft can defend themselves.

I guess things like this take on a whole new meaning when they hit close to home…

Seriously, why can’t they get their act together and fix these problems? I know I got mine early, and early adopters usually get screwed, but these problems are still occurring today. Not to mention the fact that my Xbox, which was also purchased early on, is still working fine. So what the hell happened between generations Microsoft?

Another thing that irks me about the widespread Xbox 360 problems at launch and beyond is the fact that this isn’t happening to Sony and Nintendo. While Nintendo has been known for their well crafted consoles and quality of workmanship overall, Sony suffered massive problems with their Playstation 2 at launch and well on into the future. Many even expected similar problems to plague the PS3’s launch. Well, here we are, nearly five months after the launch of the Playstation 3 and I have yet to hear reports of faulty units breaking down on consumers. So it appears that after being the worst in terms of quality hardware last generation, Sony has learned from their mistakes and gotten their act together. It appears the only company left to clean up their act is you, Microsoft. So I guess the real question here is, what are you going to do about it?

It was inevitable I suppose, considering how many Xbox 360’s manufactured during that time period are slowly but surely crapping out. I bought the Xbox 360 that cold January morning thinking I would be one of the lucky few that wouldn’t have a problem with the console and that it would provide me with years of gaming bliss and satisfaction. Well I got one year of gaming bliss, does that count? When you consider that the item in question cost me $400, it doesn’t count for much. It also doesn't sit well with me that with all the reports of 360's dying, I secretly knew in the back of my mind that one day, my 360 would suffer the same fate. All this time I thought I was just being paranoid. Turns out my suspicions were correct.

Perhaps I’m making too much of this. My Xbox 360 was manufactured in 2005, meaning it carries a lifetime warranty and I can get it fixed for free. At least I can give credit to Microsoft for that one. I just wish they would take more time to diagnose the problems in either manufacturing or the hardware itself and take care of it, and I wish they were more like Nintendo when it comes to the quality of work they put into making their hardware. Well, the Xbox 360 has been my favorite of the three new consoles for some time now and I hate to see it go. If Microsoft turns out to be a bitch to work with, or if they end up sending me another Xbox 360 unit that doesn’t work then that may change to the Playstation 3 or Wii. One thing’s for sure though…I’ve certainly lost a lot of respect for the company as a whole and will not likely buy another of their products until all the kinks are worked out. The problem is, if I had waited that long this time, I still wouldn’t have one…

Oh well, time to call Microsoft up and have them send the “coffin”…

Okay, I'm Finally Back (Did you miss me?)

2007-02-21T11:30:00.000-05:00

Well, it’s been a while since my last blog post and I’ve finally decided to stop being lazy and write something.

The winter drought, one of the hardest times of the year to be a gamer, is upon us. This is the time right after the steady stream of great games has finally run dry after the holiday season, leaving gamers out in the cold, and wanting more. This time is especially difficult if you have just purchased one of the recently launched consoles (PS3 or Wii). After the launch hysteria wears off, you begin to realize that there’s very few really worthwhile games coming out in the next couple of months

I am personally feeling the chill of the winter drought since I purchased a Wii at launch. After you finish the Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, you begin to realize just how shallow the rest of the Wii’s launch lineup really was. I’m not saying the games were bad at all; it’s just that they don’t have much depth. Many games were just minigame collections designed to show off the Wii remote’s many motion based functions. January was met with WarioWare Smooth Moves, which was by far the best of the minigame collections, but it lacks staying power, and loses a bit of its novelty after a few hours and besides Sonic and the Secret Rings (which isn’t faring too well) February looks pretty bleak.

I’m not regretting my purchase (I’m sure things will heat up again soon) but I am thinking I should’ve waited a bit until a few more worthwhile games were released before buying it. But then again, I do have the Virtual Console to keep me entertained until the next big Wii game comes out.

The Playstation 3 is doing a bit better than the Wii after its rather weak launch lineup in which Resistance was the only game truly worth buying a PS3 for. January was bleak, but the excellent Virtua Fighter 5 has arrived to end the gaming drought for the PS3. In March, PS3 owners will see the release of the highly anticipated MotorStorm, which will likely be one of the first exclusive titles since Resistance really worth buying a PS3 for. Add to that some great multiplatform games (Rainbow Six Vegas, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and NBA Street Homecourt) and PS3 owners are just about finished with their gaming drought.

The Xbox 360 on the other hand has been keeping me very entertained during the winter drought. There have been some really great demos of Crackdown (which convinced me to purchase the final game) and NBA Street Homecourt released on the Xbox Live Marketplace to keep me entertained and I’ve still got the spillover from the holidays (Rainbow Six Vegas and Gears of War in particular) is keeping me very entertained. Lost Planet has kept many 360 gamers happy in January and Crackdown has arrived to save February.

On the subject of Crackdown, this game is great. It’s got an extremely fun single player campaign and the addition of drop in any time co op makes the whole experience so much better. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop as a super-powered agent never gets old even after doing it for hours in the demo, as well as crushing thugs with cars, sending them flying over balconies, blowing them sky high with a well placed grenade and blasting them up close with a shotgun. Oh, and did I mention there’s co op? Well, allow me to mention it again. Doing all of the above activities is twice as fun with a fellow supercop right alongside you. Oh yeah, and there’s the Halo 3 beta just sitting there, waiting to be played when it finally releases.

At the moment, the Xbox 360 is seeing the most of my play time, but that may change once I buy the Wii points needed to purchase Super Mario 64 and a classic controller (must…collect…stars…). But I rest assured that the Wii’s gaming drought will be over soon enough and I’ll have reason to strap my Wii remote onto my wrist and begin flailing my arms around like an idiot (I mean that in the best possible way…seriously) in the near future. And since I finally landed a decent job :D I might have the cash to drop on a PS3 sooner than I expected.

Final Blog Post of the Year

2006-12-28T00:02:00.000-05:00

Well, as mentioned in the title, this will be my last blog post of the year. During this time I'll be hanging out with the family, catching up on some old games, finishing up some projects I’m working on (articles, reviews, stories, etc.) For the duration of the break I’ll be on Xbox Live (probably playing Gears of War, my newfound gaming addiction :P) and AIM so if you wish to contact me, you have both of those options…oh and there’s email. As 2006 comes to a close, I think I use my final blog post of 2006 to reflect on the past year of gaming.

The Year 2006 in Retrospect (Abridged version)

The Xbox 360 has really hit its stride this year after its pretty rocky launch in 2005 spilling over into the first few months of 2006. March however saw the releases of several highly anticipated games for the Xbox 360, GRAW, Fight Night Round 3 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, all worthy of your gaming dollars even today. There was a bit of a lull after that point, as there were no really good titles until the summer. Early summer was met with Chromehounds, a vastly underrated and underappreciated game in my opinion. Late summer saw the releases of two much talked about and surprisingly good games, Dead Rising and Saints Row. These managed to tide 360 gamers over until the fall when some of the best quality Xbox 360 games released. November saw the releases of many great games such as Viva Piñata (which was another shocker) Rainbow Six Vegas and the most hyped game this year, Gears of War. It completely lived up to its massive amounts of hype and as such, has been named GameSpot’s 2006 Game of the Year. In the end, I think it’s safe to say the Xbox 360 has done an incredible amount in its first full year on the market, and I hope it continues to deliver.

The runaway hit Playstation 2 also had another exceptional year, and with the release of its big brother the PS3 looming on the horizon that was no easy feat. But the six year old PS2 showed everyone it still had some legs and stood strong once again with a killer lineup of exclusive games proving that you don’t have to upgrade to the next generation of consoles to have great gaming experiences. Throughout the year there were a ton of stellar releases including the much hyped Okami, Final Fantasy XII, Guitar Hero II, Singstar Rocks! (which I really want to play), and Bully.

The Playstation 3 on the other hand didn’t have such a year leading up to its release this past November 17th. E3 2006 was not too kind to the Playstation 3 (I’m pretty sure everyone remembers the “Giant Enemy Crab” and “Ridge Racer” debacles during the pre-show press conference) and for some time afterwards it had its fair share of bad press in the months that followed. Even after launch, it still had bad press coming from all angles, including Time Magazine and the New York Times. Still though, the launch of the Playstation 3 was pretty smooth, despite missing intended shipment marks (an estimated 200,000 consoles reached North America on launch day instead of the promised 400,000). There were very few of hardware malfunctions that plagued the Xbox 360’s launch (and quite frankly, even now) and despite missing their original shipment targets, they have kept up a steady stream of PS3’s coming to keep retailers relatively well stocked (I recently called a local Best Buy store and they told me they had some PS3’s in stock). The actual launch titles fared about as well as 360 titles did the previous year with a few highlights (Resistance: Fall of Man) and a few flops (Genji: Days of the Blade, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom). All in all, the PS3 was a bit on the disappointing side this year but, to its credit, almost all consoles have a shaky start (as did the PS2, and we all see what happened there) and its first full year on the market and some of its biggest blockbuster titles are coming up in 2007.

The Nintendo Wii on the other hand has seen its share of good press. At E3 2006, members of the gaming press got their chance to play the Nintendo Wii (some for the first time) and see how their new fangled motion sensing controller affected the way games would be played on the system. Since then, very little bad press has come Nintendo’s way, as those who had the chance to play it often left with great first impressions. Nintendo also decided to give gamers across the United States the chance to try the Wii out for themselves before it released at the Nintendo Fusion Tour this past fall. After my first time at the controls, I was very satisfied as were many others who had the chance to experience it. The launch went very smoothly, and although Nintendo didn’t meet their goals of shipping 1 million Wii consoles to North America on launch day, they still managed to get 600,000 units stateside. The launch titles were as expected, with one really huge game (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess) and a bunch of other great titles (Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, Rayman: Raving Rabbids) to round out the collection. Surprisingly, there was a pretty big flop in the form of Red Steel, but other than that, there wasn’t much to lose sleep over. 2007 looks to be a good year for the Wii with three big name titles (Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Brothers Brawl) on the way.

All that said, this was a very good year for gaming. I plan on expanding this short feature in the next week so look for it when it’s finished.

Well, that’ll do it for my last blog post of the year. I’ll be back next year in full force so be on the lookout! :D. I hope everyone here has a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year!

First impressions of the Wii

2006-11-25T12:33:00.000-05:00

On November 19, 2006, the Nintendo Wii console was officially made available to the public. I had my console preordered at my local GameStop, so I didn’t make a fuss about rushing out to pick mine up when the store opened. At around 2 PM that day, I made my way up to the store and finally picked up my Wii console. Excitement rushed through me as the clerk went into the back room and brought out the small white box containing the object at the root of much excitement and anticipation over the past few months.

The Wii remote itself is everything I remember from my experiences with it before. In hand, it’s one of the most comfortable controllers I’ve ever used. It’s got a good feel to it in terms of balance and weight, and it fits naturally in your hand. The nunchuck attachment is incredibly light (almost to the point of feeling a bit cheap) but is well designed, and is comfortable for long playing sessions. I also noticed the analog stick is a bit smaller than the one found on the Gamecube’s controller, but that’s neither here nor there. The only gripe I have regarding the Wii remote is the speaker. The sound quality just isn’t that good. The sounds are tinny and lack the clarity you’d find from most good quality headphones or speakers you’d find today.

The Wii console’s interface is well designed and is easy to work around. Flipping through the Wii “channels” is oddly reminiscent (in a good way) of flipping through channels on a television. Due to the similarities (at least in a physical sense) between the Wii remote and a traditional television remote, the channel interface was probably intentional. It’s simple, it’s easy, and very intuitive.

After playing my share of Wii Sports (the only game I have at the moment), I have to say that I am very pleased with how this game turned out. It’s pretty much every thing I expected and more. If you recall, I had a chance to play it last September at the Nintendo Fusion Tour event. After that small taste of Wii Sports, I was itching to play more. Wii boxing and Wii bowling are easily my two favorite modes, and boxing is great fun with a friend (but then again, all these games are great with a friend).

So far, the Wii has lived up to my expectations. I’ve had a ton of fun with it so far, and the only way I can go is up. I’ll be picking up some additional games soon and I’ll post my impressions on those as I get them. Has the novelty of actually swinging my arm (or flicking my wrist) to control my games worn off yet? No, not yet. In time, it probably will. It’s up to developers to come up with innovative and exciting ways to use the Wii remote’s motion sensing capabilities to keep the gameplay fresh and keep gamers and non gamers alike coming back for more. It’s certainly got me intrigued.

Umm...Yeah

2006-11-15T10:18:00.000-05:00

I feel like making another blog post, so here's what's on my mind at 10:19 AM as I sit in the Library to kill time between classes.

Gears of War has lived up to my expectations and in many ways, exceeded them. The game is just awesome on so many levels. The singleplayer game is great but what really takes the cake is the multiplayer. It's so satisfying and fun. Unlike Halo 2, where people just run at each other guns a blazing, Gears of War actually requires teamwork and effective use of cover. You can't just run off and do your own thing. If you do, you'll likely end up overwhelmed by the other team. I love it. It's not the deepest game ever, but its fun and rewarding. Nothing beats sneaking up on someone and taking a chainsaw to them or gibbing an opponent with the Gnasher Shotgun. I could go on and on, but I won't. It would take far too long. Trust me, if you have an Xbox 360, get this game. Odds are, you won't be disappointed.

The Playstation 3 and Wii will be launching soon and I will be in line on launch day for one of them. Can you guess which one? I'll give you a hint. It starts with a "W" and ends with a...well, I think I've made it easy enough. The PS3 is looking better and better the more I hear from it, but it's not five or six hundred dollar worthy yet. I'm waiting until it gets a few more games I'm interested in before I take that plunge. Resistance seems to be getting rave reviews though, and since I love FPS games, that'll likely be my first purchase when I do pick up a PS3.

The Wii on the other hand has me extremely excited. I can't wait to play some more of Wii Sports and Red Steel. Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz seems to be getting some good reviews as well so I might end up picking that up at launch too.

Okay, looks like it's just about time for me to be heading off. I'll be back later with more updates on Gears and the impending launches of the Wii and PS3.

Late Night Final Impressions of Gears of War

2006-11-07T01:23:00.000-05:00

Gears of War, the single most hyped and hotly anticipated game on the Xbox 360 to date. It’s been called a number of things, ranging from “The next Halo” to “The reason to buy an Xbox 360 this fall”. Who could blame people for generating such a buzz? Apparently, there is much to be praised, from the excellent graphics (probably the best you’ll see this year, on any platform), to the exciting tactically based “stop and pop” gameplay, Gears of War seems to have the total package. Well, I guess I’ll know soon enough, as I’ll be picking up my copy of the game around 3 PM Tuesday.

When Gears of War was first revealed, I was only mildly interested in it. It looked like it had potential, but didn’t look all that great to me. That quickly changed as the months passed, and more information regarding the gameplay, multiplayer and oh so sweet graphics emerged. While I’m no graphics whore, I don’t think I would feel quite the same if Gears didn’t look so damn good. But I digress…

(Click the image for a larger view)

As the months passed, drawing ever closer to the release date, my anticipation grew exponentially. The previews that have popped up in nearly every gaming related periodical or website I’ve seen. It’s pretty amazing. One preview in particular that got me the most excited was the 14 page spread (not counting the advertisements thrown in on just about every other page) in the November 2006 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly. It revealed a lot about the game that I had previously been unaware of (the curb stomp in particular) and clarified some things I had been confused about. It left me with a newfound interest in the game, one that has only grown since then.

Since reading that preview, I actively sought out any and all Gears of War information and media on the net, and found my fair share. I stumbled upon some videos of Gears of War multiplayer (which have subsequently been removed for some reason but were uploaded again by users) on GameTrailers.com. Videos Four and six are my current favorites of the 12 or so that were once up there. An almost ten minute video preview over at Gamevideos.com made by the 1up crew, also has my interest through the roof, particularly because they discuss just how fun the game is and how all their worries about the game becoming repetitive have been put to rest. One of the speakers said something that really got me going. “This is probably the most polished game Epic has ever put out.” Wow. That’s certainly saying something, considering the Unreal Tournament series that has received pretty much rave reviews across the board. There's also the "Mad World" TV spot that popped up on the Xbox Live Marketplace a few weeks ago which managed to whet my appetite for all things Gears of War, if only for a short while.

Well, that’s my two cents regarding this massively hyped game for the Xbox 360. If my preorder turns out to be good, I might have a video of my initial impressions up soon (possibly Thursday or Friday). Well, if I can manage to tear myself away from the game long enough to set up and shoot the video.

Editorial: Microtansactions, The Wave of The Future? Dear God I hope not...

2006-10-26T18:18:00.000-04:00

Developers have found a new way to eke a few more bucks out of you even after you’ve purchased a copy of their game. To expand the shelf life of their game, some developers release little packs of content, such as a few new multiplayer maps, weapons, or cars. These “microtransactions” as referred to within the industry are a growing trend, and I can’t say I’m pleased. Most content packs I’ve seen are pretty overpriced for what they offer.

I’m not going to condemn all developers who utilize the microtransaction system, because many developers don’t overcharge for very little content. While anyone who’s ever played The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion likely remembers the horse armor fiasco, Bethesda has made up for it by releasing the rest of their far more worthwhile content for a much cheaper and more reasonable price.

I wouldn’t say microtransactions are a really bad thing (even though I do not really support them) because the content they offer does cost money to produce, and I understand development costs are rising but I draw the line when developers begin abusing them. Recent examples of a developer (or in this case, a publisher) milking the system include EA’s Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 content. The only way to unlock the “Sunday Tiger” is to buy him off of the Xbox Live Marketplace, and, while you’re there, why don’t you pick up a cheat code or two. Yes, you read that right. EA is selling cheats.

Making the case for overpriced content is the Chapter 2 expansion for GRAW. For 1200 Microsoft points, you get eight “re-lit” maps, four new co op missions, a few new weapons and some other stuff, as outlined in the link I included above. You may be thinking, wow, that’s a lot of stuff and it is, but not for that price, especially since the new maps aren’t so new. They’re just “re-lit” meaning at different times of day. So wait, let me get this straight, I’m paying 15 bucks for five (WOW!) new weapons and a few reworked maps where all you’ve done is change the lighting? You have got to be kidding me. For die hard fans, this might be worth it, but then again, to those die hard fans, the developers could’ve charged more than just $15 and they would eat it up. A guy like me, who is only casually interested in the game, will say “nuts to that”.

For about two months now, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Xbox Live Arcade game Lumines Live. The full game retails for 1200 Microsoft points, or about $15. Actually, I don’t think I should’ve used the word “full” when referring to the game, because what you get for that price is not the “full” version of the game. For that price, you get the “base” game. Key features, such as the majority of the VS CPU mode and single player skins have to be purchased separately. The “Advance Challenge Pack” has to be purchased on Xbox Live for 600 Microsoft points. Very disappointing.

Therein lies a potentially huge problem. What if these microtransactions take off and developers decide to omit content from the final version of the game and sell it to you later for an additional five dollars or so? It seems EA is already doing that With the aforementioned "Sunday Tiger" content, but another developer seems to be abusing the system even more grossly. Polyphony Digital is doing the same thing in the upcoming Gran Turismo HD for the PS3. According to recent reports and rumors, in the final game, there will be only 30 cars and two tracks, none of which can be played online. To play the game online, you must buy additional cars and tracks separately.

So what’s next? I’ll tell you. If gamers support these microtransactions, developers will take bigger risks, to see what they can get away with. If they succeed again, what’s next? Paying for gas in a racing game? Paying for ammunition in a first person shooter? You may immediately think, “oh hell no!” but that’s capitalism at its finest folks. These little microtransactions now potentially pave the way for that, and little by little, this is becoming a reality.

So a few days ago, I got to play the Wii...

2006-10-02T21:32:00.000-04:00

The Nintendo Fusion Tour rolled into my neck of the woods yesterday, and a friend of mine and I decided to go. When we heard the Wii (a console we had already been very excited about) would be playable at the event, we knew we had to be there. Nintendo’s mantra as of late has been playing is believing, and after my first hand experience, I agree with them 100%.

In my few short hours at the event, I managed to get some play time on Wii Baseball, Wii Tennis and WarioWare Smooth Moves. I would’ve played Metroid Prime 3, but the line was incredibly long.

The Wiimote itself is definitely an amazing controller due to its motion sensing capabilities, but the first thing that became immediately apparent as the attendee handed me the controller, was the comfortable ergonomic design. The remote itself was smaller than it looked and felt natural in my hand. The B button sat perfectly above my index finger and the A button sat below my thumb. I instantly got a feel for it as soon as I began playing my first game, WarioWare.

WarioWare was the perfect first game to play, due to the many ways it uses the Wii controller features in quick succession. The many microgames I played all used the Wii controller in different ways. One game involved holding the Wii remote sideways like a handle bar and pumping up and down to pop a balloon, another had you putting the controller on your head and squatting, and the final challenge had you holding the controller like a steering wheel and guiding a car along a track to the goal. The game itself was fun and made great use of the Wii remote.

The next game I played, (after a rather long wait) was Wii Baseball, part of the Wii sports compilation that comes bundled with the Wii at launch. While waiting in line, we watched a few gamers ahead of my friend and I really got into it. We looked at each other, thinking we could never get that into it, especially in public. Well, once we got our hands on the controller and started swinging for the fences, we were just as immersed. Seriously, it’s just that fun. The two of us played simultaneously, one of us pitching while the other swung. It was incredibly fun, although it’s a lot harder than it looks. Your timing has to be excellent to score big.

The third game I played was Wii Tennis, which was just as multiplayer focused as Wii Baseball. It was awesome. I liked the fact that it splits the screen to give each player an optimal view of the action. It was a very nice touch, and one I would like to see implemented in future tennis games. The controls were spot on, and actually felt like we were in a real tennis match (okay it wasn’t that real, but it was close). While playing I remembered reading that you could actually spin the remote to add topspin or backspin to the ball, I decided to try it out for myself. It works. Another plus to the realism and immersion.

After playing these games, it’s clear that Nintendo is still the unchallenged king of the multiplayer game. Every Wii sports title I plated seemed like it was designed for multiple players, and they were all incredibly fun. I think my friend said it best when he said the Wii is the next generation of multiplayer gamplay. I agree with that on so many levels after my experiences. He and I developed a bit of a Wii Sports rivalry during our time at the controls. After he completely slaughtered me at Wii Baseball (9-0…) I took it to him in Wii Tennis, winning three straight games and the match, with a blowout round in there too. When the Wii launches, we’ll have our rematch at both. Stay tuned for updates on that.

In the end, the Wii turned out to be even better and more fun than I originally expected. I will definitely be picking one up on launch day. I don’t think I can wait any longer. The worries I had about the Wii controller (lag between movement and on screen action and the novelty of the motion sensing wearing off quickly) were put to rest now that I’ve experienced it for myself. The only thing that would’ve made the already great trip even better was if I brought my camera. Ah well. I know a few of you might remain skeptical, and I can’t blame you. It’s hard to put into words exactly how much gameplay has evolved on the Wii. All I can say is wait until you play it. Reading about it and actually playing it yourself is totally different. I truly believe the Wii is ushering in the next generation of gameplay, and I can’t wait to play it again. If the Fusion Tour is making a stop in your town in the near future, go there. You’ll be blown away.

Editorial: Developers slam Capcom in recent issue of Famitsu

2006-09-05T13:45:00.000-04:00

In the most recent issue of the popular Japanese publication, Famitsu, many Japanese developers such as Konami, Square Enix and Namco Bandai, slammed fellow Japanese developer, Capcom, due to a recent comment by Capcom in which they stated “Japanese developers are cold to developing on the Xbox 360”.

Takashe Nozue had this to say,
“Xbox 360 has limited potential and therefore only deserves limited development”

Tetsuya Takahashi (Namco-Bandai) also made similar comments, citing “poor Xbox sales as a reason to limit development on the console”.

I hate the fact that Japanese developers are so damn stubborn and resistant to give the Xbox 360 a try. That's why it's doing so poorly in Japan, because developers won't give it a shot. The Japanese culture as a whole has been resistant to try American products for years now, so this comes as no major surprise, but when one developer takes a chance on the console and makes a statement that is entirely true about the general mood of Japanese developers, they are berated for it.

I think this is complete Bullshit, and I will address both of these statements in order.

“Xbox 360 has limited potential and therefore only deserves limited development”

They're blaming the Xbox 360 for its "Limited potential" (in Japan). The Xbox 360, as all other consoles, has limitless potential. It all depends on whether or not the developers are willing to find and make use of that potential in their games. As a whole, Japanese developers have not been trying to pull that potential out of the Xbox 360. How can they honestly say the Xbox 360 has limited potential when they themselves have never even tried to exploit the Xbox 360 to its fullest?

“Poor Xbox sales are a reason to limit development on the console”.

Now they are blaming the 360 itself for its poor sales in Japan. How is a system expected to do well in a foreign market when the people in that very market refuse to give it a chance? If Japanese development support picks up, then sales will pick up. You can't have one without the other and it's a shame they are too stubborn to realize that. When the 360 sees some of the top quality development that they’d give to Sony and Nintendo consoles, buyers will reciprocate and purchase the Xbox 360 and those games.

Bottom line, Japanese developers, YOU are to blame for the 360's lack of appeal in Japan. If you don't support it, don't expect it to do well on its own and damnit, don't blame Capcom for taking a chance on it and succeeding. Capcom is absolutely right; they are cold to developing on the 360. They basically just admitted it in those statements they made. I applaud Capcom for calling them out, it's about time someone slapped those developers with a dose of reality.

Rumor: Lumines Live will charge players to advance in the game?

2006-08-24T23:45:00.000-04:00

Keep in mind that this is only a rumor, nothing has yet been confirmed.

According to gaming website Gaming Bits, upcoming Xbox Live Arcade game Lumines Live! will be charging gamers who advance far enough in the game.

From a review in OXM (rating Lumines Live 8.5):
"You'll be prompted to buy the Puzzle/Mission Pack (400 MS Points extra)" once you start "getting on a roll with Mission Mode".

Also, in the VS CPU mode, when you are "knee-deep" in the VS CPU mode, "you'll be blocked by signage declaring: 'You need the VS CPU Pack (300 Points)."

This is of course in addition to the 1200 Microsoft Points the full game costs. So wait, to get the full version of the game, I need to pay an additional 700 Microsoft points (around eight or nine dollars)? That's ridiculous. This is the first time I've ever seen a developer penalize a gamer for doing well in a game.

I haven't seen the official OXM review to confirm this for myself, so I'm going to reserve judgment on this until it's been confirmed one way or another.

Pretty in Pink

2006-08-22T09:54:00.000-04:00

Sony has recetly unveiled a new color for the PS2. Pink.

According to Sony, the recolor was designed to symbolize the growing and diverse demographic the Playstation 2 has developed since its European launch in November of 2000.

“PlayStation 2 is the accessible, affordable way to enjoy new social, communal and interactive entertainment experiences, through software titles like SingStar, Buzz and EyeToy”, said Dan Hill, PlayStation 2 European Brand Manager. “The Pink PlayStation 2 is funky, fresh, and fashionable, and will further broaden the console’s continuing popularity and relevance with a fun new twist”.

As of now, The new Playstation 2 has only been announced for European customers looking to add a bit more "diversity" to their enterainment centers. The limited edition PS2 will come packed with two pink DualShock 2 controllers, a pink 8MB Memory card and will retail for €159.99. In the UK it will come bundled with Singstar Pop for £129.99 The new PS2 bundles are expected to go on sale on November 6, 2006, shortly before the release of the highly anticipated Playstation 3.

The new Pink PlayStation 2 will make its debut European appearance on the Sony Computer Entertainment Stand at the games convention, Leipzig, August 23 - 27th.

More to come as this story develops.

Snakes On A Motherf***in Plane

2006-08-20T23:52:00.000-04:00

I saw it today. And it was awesome. Before I go into details, let me get one thing out there first. There are indeed Snakes on the Plane.

Okay, now that I’ve said that, I can begin to speak at length about how truly awesome this movie is. I have to admit, I went to see this mainly on the hype alone. Snakes on a Plane quickly became a cult favorite and an internet phenomenon long before its release.

The story begins in Hawaii. After local surfer Sean Jones witnessed the brutal murder of a Los Angeles prosecutor by a mobster named Eddie Kim, he is the target for assassination before he can get to LA and testify. He was attacked soon after in his home by two of Eddie Kim’s thugs, and was saved by Agent Neville Flynn. When it is discovered that he will be on a flight from Honolulu to LA (Pacific Air Flight 121), Eddie Kim arranges for the plane to be filled with venomous snakes. The leis, given to the passengers as they boarded the plane, were soaked in pheromones, which caused the normally calm snakes to become highly aggressive. Midway through the flight, the snakes were released, and were granted access to the cabin through a previously tampered with panel. As the passengers realize that the cabin is full of the poisonous snakes, panic ensues, as the snakes begin to attack.

The movie was great, as I said before. I was at least partially surprised that this was more of a thriller than a comedy after seeing the publicity (commercials and such) and the jump-out-of-your-seat moments were plentiful. I am usually not a fan of such movies, but I enjoyed this one.

The violence is pretty intense, as expected, and the after effects of some of the snake bites (swelling, foaming at the mouth, etc) look relatively graphic, but it wasn’t terrible, not nearly as bad as some of these horror/slasher flicks you see today.

A few of the funniest moments in the film weren’t exactly things people should be laughing at but still funny in a twisted sort of way. Actually, that’s a great way to summarize the comedy in the movie. Twisted humor.

When Sam Jackson uttered his famous line (seen in the video above), the whole theatre began to get excited.

Bottom line, it was a good film. Samuel L. Jackson was perfect for the role he was assigned to play. If you’re a fan of the thriller genre or you enjoy a bit of twisted humor, this is a good movie for you. It was funny, exciting and pretty much everything I expected from it and more.

The State of the Next Generation As I see It

2006-08-08T01:07:00.000-04:00

The next generation of console gaming is upon us and once again, three consoles are competing for a spot in your home entertainment center. The three contenders, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's Playstation 3 and Nintendo's Wii, have all just about shown their hand at E3 2006. The Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii are both ready for their next gen debut this fall after the Microsoft Xbox 360 enjoyed a one year head start over the competition, they are well on their way to having a 10 million unit lead over the competition before consumers are given a choice of which next gen console to buy. Here's my brief summary on all three.

The Playstation 3, hot on the heels of the runaway hit Playstation 2 is once again the favorite to win the console wars. After the first Playstation, which upset fan favorite (prior to the release of the Playstation) Nintendo's N64 and Sega's Saturn to win the console war of that generation, the Playstation brand has been a household name. Both previous Playstation consoles, have sold over 100 million units worldwide, with the first Playstation becoming the first console to ever do so and Sony is hoping they can repeat that success with the Playstation 3. The Playstation 3 appears to be the most powerful of the three consoles and it shows in games such as Metal Gear Solid 4 and Heavenly Sword, two of the most visually impressive games I've seen so far. Its controller has also been confirmed to feature six-way tilt sensing. This was demoed at E3 in a tech demo and a short Warhawk gameplay session. The PS3 has a lot of potential, and it's up to developers to realize that potential.

The Xbox 360 is currently the only next gen console you can purchase and it is sitting pretty, using its head start over the competition to gain a sizeable lead and a huge library of titles to choose from once the competition does launch, giving the person shopping for a next gen console this holiday season, a choice of titles to choose from. With titles in the works such as Gears of War, Mass Effect, Bioshock, Forza Motorsport 2 and Splinter Cell Double Agent, they will have a very impressive and diverse selection of games to round out their library well into 2007. The announcement of the "Live Anywhere" service, which promises to unify PC's, the Xbox 360 and even Cellular phones, allowing for cross platform gaming in certain titles is one of the strong points of the Xbox 360's showing. Forza 2 was used as an example. Gamers will be able to upload their cars to Xbox Live, customize them on their PC or cellular phones when on the go and then send them back to the Xbox 360 game was impressive and shows a lot of potential.

The Nintendo Wii prides itself on being different from the competition. Nintendo has stated that they aren't trying to compete directly with the PS3 or Xbox 360, and is trying to expand the market to include people who are only casual gamers and those who don't play videogames at all. In terms of raw horesepower and graphical potential, the Wii cannot compete with either the Xbox 360 or PS3. According to Nintendo, this is intentional. Their main focus is on delivering stellar gameplay experiences via its innovative motion sensing controller. Based on games such as Wii Sports, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Excite Truck, Project H.A.M.M.E.R, and Super Mario Galaxy, it seems that it will deliver on its promises.

So far, the Xbox 360 is my favorite of the three, followed closely by the Wii and then the PS3. I'll post more on the subject later if I decide to elaborate on these points.

Saints Row Demo Impressions

2006-07-28T19:48:00.000-04:00

Well, after hearing about the demo you receive when you pre-order Saints Row, I decided to go down to my local Gamestop (only about a block away) and reserve a copy. I'd been hearing good things about it from others so I figured I would probably be picking it up anyways.

This game has been touted as a "GTA killer". That's been thrown around a lot recently, and every game that earned that tile before release has failed to even be half as good as the game it was meant to top, one of the biggest examples was True Crime: Streets of LA.

Anyways, I got the demo and popped it in my 360. The first thing I noticed were the graphics, which weren't anything special. They certainly could've been much better, but then again, I didn't expect much after seeing the screenshots. I did observe some framerate issues as well. It was pretty bad in some spots, slowing down to a crawl. On the bright side, I've heard the demo was from this years E3 and was pretty much rushed to make it in time for the show and that the developers have already cleaned up the framerate issues.

The character creation system is very deep. You truly can create a character that looks at least similar to you if you try hard enough. Even with the limited demo options, there were at least thousands of different characters you could create. Very impressive.

Of course, the gameplay is all that matters and surprisingly enough, Saints Row Delivers. The game starts you off in the middle of the city, and your first mission is becoming a member of the 3rd Street Saints, which involves an initiation fight. The hand to hand fighting controls are a lot deeper than in many other third person action games. Impressive. Then you're tasked with driving one of your fellow gang members to a weapons store to pick up a weapon and take out a few rival gang members. The driving physics felt a little floaty but it wasn't terrible. It just took some getting used to. The same goes for the camera and aiming controls. The default controls felt overly sensitive and needed to be scaled back. After that I found it enjoyable. It was a lot easier to use in a hectic shootout than GTA's. After completing the mission, I drove down to the "Sloppy Seconds" clothing store to pick up some new clothes. Again, much more customization. I like that. Then it was on to another three missions, the first involving picking up ummm... "street walkers" (I'm not going to write exactly what was printed in the game) and delivering them to a brothel. The second involved taking over an abandoned liquor store for use as a hideout. After that, I teamed up with two other high ranking gang members to take out lieutenants of rival gangs who were meeting down by the docks. I've got to say I'm impressed with the mission variety I've seen so far.

All in all, I was highly impressed with this game. Could it live up to the hype and become a GTA killer? It certainly has potential. I will be keeping a close eye on this one until its release next month.

Tired as all hell...

2006-07-20T00:52:00.000-04:00

Geez. I haven't been getting much sleep recently. I've been to busy working on all these projects I've got going at once. It's exhausting, but every time I really want to go to sleep, i come up with some sort of killer idea I just need to write down. Then I just get rolling again writing or whatever. I've been doing a lot of writing recently. I'm working on two stories for two seperate games I plan on developing, a short story that really started as a joke that eventually became more than that, and a few short stories for the hell of it. I might post the short stories I'm writing on my Deviant Art page after I finish. I haven't decided.

I've been working on mixing some audio together on my PC too. It's time consuming as hell, getting everything mixed together and sounding right. This is also something I'm doing for the hell of it. I don't plan on really doing anything with it.

Game development is also a bitch. It's not programming, it's all the writing you have to do before you even get started. The storyline has to be perfect. If there's a plot hole anywhere, it can all break apart at the seams. Then comes the other stuff, such as level design, audio and everything else.

I think that's enough for now. I'll post more later.

A Quick Rant on Blu-Ray and HD-DVD

2006-07-17T23:59:00.000-04:00

Well with a new format war being waged, both competitors vying for a position in your home entertainment center, I thought I'd get my thoughts on the issue out there and voice my concerns

I think both formats are on the road to ruin very quickly. The fact is, they are ahead of their time, and not in a good way. I have several reasons for having this position and here they are.

First off, HDTV penetration is only about 20% in the US for sure, (I'm not sure what it is abroad, but as it stands, that percetage is far too low for either format to get a real foothold in the market. This percentage is expected to grow this year and next but I don't see a significant HDTV "boom" coming in the future. The really good quality HDTVs are still expensive, placing them outside the budgets of many consumers. Blu-ray and HD-DVD players aren't exactly impulse buys either. Currently, HD DVD players are going for $500 and Blu-ray players are coming in at a whopping $1000. I don't think the added quality is worth spending the money for the HDTV and an extra $500 or $1000 for an HD-DVD or Blu-ray player respectively. That purchase is going to hurt even more if the format you side with loses the format war. Meaning you're stuck with an expensive player that you can only use for the movies you already own, as no new releases will be coming down the pipe.

Another reason is that while they offer a few new features, such as upscaling DVD's to the higher 720p, 1080i or 1080p resolutions, Blu-ray and HD-DVD players seem to be more of an evolution than the revolution DVD's were. Even when they were first released to the market, DVD's completely obliterated VHS in terms of features and quality. The added convenience of being able to quickly skip to the exact moment you wanted to see, being able to repeat any scene as many times as you wished without having to rewind over and over, and having easy access to special features without having to fast forward through the entire movie, and all the other features made possible by DVD's made VHS useless for anything other than recording your favorite TV shows (and with DVR's becoming more and more common, that one reason for their existence is slowly disappearing). Blu-ray and HD-DVD on the other hand don't do much more than DVD's besides the obvious quality and space advantages, there's not much that makes me believe DVD's are obsolete.

Third, I think Sony is putting to much behind Blu-ray. Throwing a Blu-ray drive in each PS3 may be a mistake if the format goes south. There are advantages, such as the extra Space Blu-ray discs provide, but other than that, if Blu-ray fails, they have nothing. Last generation, the PS2 was marketable as a cheap DVD player. That helped get a lot of PS2's into homes. This gen, Sony is doing the same thing. The only problem with that is, last gen, people didn't have to buy a brand new TV to fully enjoy the benefits of DVD. This gen, you need an HDTV to get any real benefits of the Blu-ray movie playback. As I stated before, only a small portion of the market owns HDTV's. Blu-ray in the PS3 is a double edged sword. It could seriously help Sony in the electronics market or knock them out.

Well, that's all I have to say on the issue. Feel free to let me know how you feel.

Racist or not? I say "not"

2006-07-09T23:39:00.000-04:00

Recently, Sony has come under fire for a recent ad campaign which was considered by many to be blantantly racist.

This ad is part of an ad campaign coinciding with the release of the White PSP (Playstation Portable) in Europe a place where race has never been a really big issue Here in the US where slavery and racism is a big part of American history, many have taken offense.

Now Sony's recent ad campaigns in the US have been considered to be racially insensitive which you can view here here and here but this ad comes as a major shock to those in the US. Many supporters of racial equality in the US such as the NAACP have spoken out against the ads as seen here.

I honestly don't see what the big fuss is about. I don't really like Sony as a company but this isn't making me hate them any more than I already do. When I first saw the ad the first thing I thought was,

RACIST!!!

But then I really began to look at it and I soon realized that it wasn't meant to be that way. It was meant to show off the contrasting colors of white and black and that's what it did.

In the end, the two people in the ad are just that. Two people. Race is a non issue in this situation because it's only being used to show the contrast. If it had been two white people, one in a white suit and one in a black suit no one would say anything, it would just be an ad. Since it features a white woman and a black woman, the white woman being in a position of dominance, people immediately think there's a racial undertone.

That's not what it is. Pure and simple.

These two other pictures seen here and here have surfaced, the first showing the Black woman in the dominant position and the second portraying the two women locked in conflict.

After you look at the entire campaign, its clear that race is not a huge factor in either one. It clearly shows both women in a position of power over the other and the two at a stalemate. How can this ad campaign be racist?

That's my take on the issue.

P.S: Tim Buckley, creator of the Ctrl+Alt+Del webcomic series has taken a much more humorous approach to the issue with this comic

Superman Returns!

2006-06-30T21:34:00.000-04:00

I just got back from the movie theatre. I went to go see Superman Returns. I had heard some great things about this movie and I had reasonably high hopes myself so I finally decided to go see it today. After seeing it, one word pops into my mind.

"Wow". With a side of "You have to see it".

It was three hours of amazing. I don't know how else to put it. You have to see it. I knew from the beginning it was going to be good but geez...

Few movies can grab your attention and keep it there for nearly three hours. This movie did just that. The Airplane scene you see in the commercials... let's just say the commercials do it no justice. You have to see it in theatres. The actors were perfect. Brandon Routh was an excellent choice for the character, and played his two characters (the different personalites of Clark Kent and Superman) flawlessly. I don't know if they could've picked a better guy.

But before you run out to see it, let me warn you, this is not an action flick. Don't go there expecting non-stop action, because that's not what this movie is about. But, while few in number, the action scenes are incredibly well directed, with just the right amount of tension to keep your eyes glued to the screen.

In summary, go see it. It's an excellent film, and one that should not be missed for fans of Superman and the old movies starring Christopher Reeve. Director Bryan Singer and his team have succeeded in creating an excellent (I seem to be using that word a lot) spiritual successor to the classic films. I am amazed. As I said before, I knew it was going to be good, but it blew me away. it ranks up there with Batman Begins as one of my favorite movies of all time. Go see it. I can't say that enough.

I don't know what it is about DC comics but they seem to make great movies.

New Games!

2006-06-25T01:50:00.000-04:00

It's after 1 AM here. I'm bored. So I decided to make a quick blog post.

I picked up two new games today, Brain Age for the DS and Breakdown for the Xbox. After playing the demo on my Ds, I knew that I would eventually own a copy of my own. After playing it for real today, I have to say…

If you own a DS, this game should be in your collection. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

I'm addicted to it. Sure, the concept borders on homework, but somehow, this "game" (I use quotes because it's not really a game in the conventional sense) actually makes me want to do math problems. As soon as I discovered that my “Brain Age” was 32 (actually, at first it was 59 then I got it down to 37 and now 32), I immediately got to work doing some of the many training exercises. The Ideal Brain Age is 20 and that’s what I’m aiming for. I’ll have a review posted on this game soon.

When I walked into EB games, the bargain bin caught my eye. I was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. As I began sifting through the games, Breakdown caught my eye. In last months OXM, there was a list of the 20 most overlooked Xbox games. Breakdown was among the top three. As soon as I saw it and the price ($6.99) I had to have it. So I took it to the counter and bought it, along with my copy of Brain Age. The clerk asked me if I wanted to purchase the $1 warranty on my new copy of Breakdown. I didn’t hesitate to say yes. It was only a buck.

Boy, am I glad I got that warranty.

When I got home and popped the game into my Xbox, I hadn’t even looked at the surface of the disc. My Xbox gave me a message about how the disc was unreadable and was likely scratched or dirty.

Oh crap.

I took the game out of my Xbox and looked at it. It was scratched to hell. How did the person that traded it in manage to get EB games to even take it in this condition? I immediately started trying to clean the disc using a combination of water and my T-shirt. No luck. I began to frantically search for the receipt, which also had my warranty information on it. I couldn’t find it anywhere. I ran out to the car, frantic, hoping that I didn’t just waste seven dollars (eight with the warranty). There the receipt was, sitting on the seat. I breathed a sigh of relief and proceeded to take the game back to the store to get a working copy.

The game was cheerfully replaced and I went home happy, thanking my lucky stars that I bought the warranty.

The game itself is awesome. I don’t know why it didn’t sell better than it did. It’s sort of a First person shooter / fighting game that takes place entirely from the First Person perspective, even the cutscenes, which I have to say, are done incredibly well. I’m about an hour into the game now and I’m amazed. The controls are a bit strange, but aside from that, I don’t have any other complaints.

While I was in EB Games, I managed to get my hands on the new Nintendo DS Lite and play a little bit of New Super Mario Bros as well.

The DS Lite really is small, but despite its smaller size, the dual screens themselves don’t shrink in size (in fact, due to the DS Lite’s proportions, the screens actually seem bigger). The face buttons have a more satisfying feel to them. The original DS (often called the DS Heavy or the DS Phat) face buttons have a “clicky” feel to them, like on a cell phone keypad. They don’t have the satisfying “give” that the DS Lite has. The Ds Lite is certainly more attractive, and I will soon buy one for myself.

As for the game, I enjoyed New Super Mario Bros. It brings back memories of the old school side scrolling games and somehow manages to feel fresh at the same time. This will probably be my next game purchase.

Well, that's it for my (not so quick after all) blog post for today. I'll post more updates soon, including a list of the most criminally overlooked games last gen. That I didn't feel like posting at the moment.

Oh well...

2006-06-22T18:35:00.000-04:00

This is a little late but, The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in game six to win their fourth game in a row and their first NBA champoinship. Oh well. The Mavericks tried but in the end, the Heat was a little too much for them.

I guess there's always next year. GO PISTONS!

Time for another rant about HDTV's and stuff.

2006-06-19T23:54:00.000-04:00

Before I get into the topic at hand, I want to let you guys know that I have posted a few more reviews. I have a new primary reviews site, as Gamespot is a bit more user friendly and I seem to be getting more feed back. I also have a secondary blog there. It has some stuff that I didn't really feel would fit into the theme of this blog (even though it's about gaming). The link is still in the "links" section as it always was.

Oh and by the way, The Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks to win their third game in a row and put them one game away from winning the NBA Championships. Those games were so close. There was no way they should've lost. I'm hoping Dallas can win games Six and Seven and win the NBA championship (and of course, put an end to The Miami Heat's season).

Onto the topic, after seeing pics of Xbox 360 games on a High Definition TV in this message board, I can't wait any longer. This summer I will be picking up an HDTV for sure. Now it's only a matter of how early I can get the money.

Here are a few models I've been considering.

HDTV One

HDTV Two

HDTV Three

As you can see, I'm not really interested in a huge screen. I don't want or need anything bigger than 32 inches at the moment and these fit the bill perfectly.

I plan on taking my Xbox 360 into a Best buy or Circuit City store to test out the different HDTV types to see which one works for me.

Personally, I'm leaning towards an LCD TV for the time being. before now, I was thinking about getting a CRT TV, which is generally cheaper and in some cases, have the best picture quality of all the HDTV types (Plasma, DLP, etc.) They don't get much bigger than 36 inches, but that wouldn't be a problem at all. Only problem is, CRT's are huge. The ones over 30 inches can weigh in at over 200 pounds. There's a whole bunch of technical reasons to pick one over the other but it's far too complicated to get into right now.

Too bad they're so expensive. 1000+ dollars isn't chump change, especially to me, with the rising gas prices and such. Gotta make sure my money is well spent.

I'll post more updates later as I close in on the HDTV of my choice.

What happened?

2006-06-07T00:34:00.000-04:00

I want to start off my rant with some terrible news. The Pistons were eliminated last week by the Miami Heat in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Damn.

All I want to know is, what the hell happened? The Pistons had the best win/loss record of any team in the league last season, but they had a very terrible (in comparison) playoff performance. After eliminating the Bucks in round one, they seemed to fall apart. They had one blowout game against the Cavaliers, won again by a much smaller margin and then the next thing you know, we lost three in a row and faced elimination.

What the hell? We are talking about the Cleveland Cavaliers right? The Pistons should've swept them.

Anyways, we came back in game six and seven to win the series after two straight wins but we were still sliding downhill. After losing game one to the Heat, we won one and lost two in a row, won one, and were subsequently slaughtered in game six and eliminated.

Damn.

The Pistons had a 3-1 record against the Heat in the regular season, and all those games were away from the home court. What the hell happened? All I can say is that the Heat wanted it more. Perhaps the Pistons were tired. They sure looked that way. The Memorial Day game was ridiculous. The Pistons came back in the third quarter and took the lead, and slowly lost it as the game went on. I'm not sure of the exact score but I think we lost by nearly 20.

What. The. Hell.

Oh well, I guess there's always next year. Good luck to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. I'll be damned if I'm going to be rooting for the Heat.

In other news, I'm currently writing a few more reviews. I've actually been considering starting my own gaming website for news, reviews and other gaming related info but all that is a lot for just one person so I'm looking for writers. If you're interested please contact me. My email address is below:

mailto:TheGame21x@gmail.com

I'm going to place a permalink on the side of the page soon (past midnight right now, tired as hell) Now I have to find some cheap webhosting.

Okay, it's officially past 1 AM now. I think I'm going to wrap things up. I'll be back with another post soon.

Eastern Conference Finals

2006-05-21T20:28:00.000-04:00

I knew it was going to happen. The Detroit Pistons have defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Now, they are up against the Miami Heat. I have full faith in the Pistons and I know they can beat the Heat (no pun intended) and advance to the Finals.

Showstopper

2006-05-19T22:16:00.000-04:00

The Pistons put an end to the 3 game losing streak they had against the Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs and tied the series at 3-3. I wasn't able to watch the game myself (lack of cable or satellite TV) but I caught the play by play over the internet. I knew the Pistons could bring themselves back from the brink. They have now delivered a blow to the Cavalier's confidence and now, it's anybody's game.

Good luck to the Pistons in Game 7. If there's any team in the NBA that can come back and win this series, it's the Pistons. GO PISTONS!!!

Deeetroit Bas-ket ballllll!!!!

Nintendo's Pre E3 Press Conference

2006-05-18T00:07:00.001-04:00

I know I'm a bit late with this coverage but bear with me, I've been trying to see Nintendo's conference for quite a while but my internet connection has been down.

I am very impressed with Nintendo's Pre E3 conference. Nintendo has blown the doors off the Nintendo Wii and I have to say, Out of the three big conferences, Nintendo's was arguably the best.

First off, Nintendo has shown off a very slightly redesigned version of what has been dubbed the "Wii-mote" (an obvious reference to it's similarities to a television remote) pictured below

The remote features motion sensing capabilities that surpass anything seen in console gaming. The controller can be used many ways, as demonstrated during the conference, such as a tennis racket (twisting the remote affects the spin of the ball as you hit it), a gun (for FPS) a sword, and a bow and arrow.

Several games were demoed, showing off the controllers unique features. Table tennis, a collection of Japanese themed minigames including Paper shredding and key unlocking.

A fan favorite and previously delayed game, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, was revealed to be launching in both Gamecube and Wii compatible versions. This comes as a surprise to some fans and a relief to others, as it was rumored that the Gamecube version of the game was simply going to be cancelled and moved to the Wii. The Wii version will feature unique controls, taking advantage of the Wii controller.

A large number of games were announced, and more demos were shown of ones previously announced. The games shown include: Project H.A.M.M.E.R, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Mario Galaxy, Disaster, Rayman and Red Steel.

Several New DS games were shown as well. These games include: Yoshi's Island 2, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Final Fantasy III, Mario Hoops 3 on 3, and Star Fox DS.

Nintendo did leave out a few crucial details that I think should have been mentioned, such as the launch date and price. All they told us is that the Wii would launch in 2006. Well, we already knew that. You told us that last year. I don't expect the Wii to retail for more than $200 but there have been some rumors flying around that the Wii will retail for $250 but I think they are unfounded. Oh well, I guess we'll have to wait a little while longer for that information.

Personally, this conference has given me a lot to look forward to in the coming months with the launch of the Wii and the arrival of several potentially AAA titles for the DS. I can't wait to try the Wii controller out for myself and see how it works in my favorite games, shooters. I have little doubt that Nintendo will deliver with the Wii.

Microsoft's Pre E3 Press Conference

2006-05-09T15:51:00.000-04:00

Now that’s what I’m talking about. Microsoft has stolen the show with their Pre E3 conference. Sony’s lackluster conference pales in comparison to Microsoft’s. Here’s all the latest info…

First, The new Xbox Live Arcade games

Microsoft has recently announced a boat load of new arcade games that will soon be available to Xbox 360 gamers through the Xbox Live Marketplace. The full list of games confirmed is as follows:

Pac-Man, Contra, Galaga, Frogger, Sonic, Defender, Street Fighter II, Time Pilot, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Rally-X, Dig Dug, Ms. Pac-Man, PaperBoy, and Rootbeer Tapper.

Secondly, the next wave of new Xbox 360 games has been announced. There are a lot of big names in the line up such as Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway, Lost Planet, FEAR, Too Human, Enchanted Arms, Prey, 99 Nights, Gears of War, Mass Effect, Forza Motorsport 2, Fable 2 and two of the biggest gaming franchises on the planet, Grand Theft Auto 4 and Halo 3.

Speaking of GTA 4, This game was mistakenly announced as an Xbox 360 Exclusive but it turns out, Rockstar themselves confirmed that the game would release simultaneously on both PS3 and Xbox 360. This is still incredible news, Last generation, the Grand Theft Auto series was time-exclusive to the PS2, only appearing on the Xbox after Rockstar’s exclusivity deal with Sony ended. Now, the 360 owners will be able to play this game as soon as the PS3 owners.

Microsoft has signed an exclusivity deal with Rockstar to provide exclusive episodic content for the game. Meaning the 360 owners will have access to exclusive downloadable content to extend the life of the game after they have finished it.

Both versions of the game will be available on October 16, 2007.

Halo 3 was perhaps the biggest announcement of the conference. A brand new announcement trailer was shown and the crowd went wild. The trailer is available for download on either Bungie’s Web Site or through the Xbox Live Marketplace.

The HD-DVD add on for the Xbox 360 was also revealed and it is pictured below:

This device adds HD DVD playback functionality to the Xbox 360 and will be available this holiday season. HD DVD is currently in contention with Sony’s Blu-ray disc format, similar to the Betamax and VHS war that occurred a while ago. The last thing Microsoft wants is Sony gaining superiority in the High-Definition Media market.

I am very impressed by Microsoft’s Pre E3 press conference. After Sony’s Pre E3 Press Conference, which failed to show anything new or particularly exciting, Microsoft has officially stolen the show from Sony and struck a major blow to Sony’s upcoming PS3.

Pre E3 PS3 Conference Wrap Up

2006-05-08T22:44:00.000-04:00

Well, Sony's Pre E3 press conference has come and gone and the gaming community is in uproar. I will try to break everything down for you guys.

First, the Launch details.

Sony has officially announced a launch date for the PS3. It will go on sale on November 11, 2006 in Japan and on the 17th in the US. But, that wasn't the most surprising thing. Sony has also released a final price point for their Next gen console. In a move similar to Microsoft's last November with the Xbox 360's launch, Sony will offer 2 SKU's. One package will feature a 20 GB Hard Drive, and the other "premium" version will feature a 60 GB Hard Drive. The prices are as follows.

$499 for the 20 GB version and $599 for the Premium version.

My personal take on this?

This is not surprising at all. I knew that the PS3 would be $600 from the beginning. It remains to be seen how the gaming community is going to take this price. My thoughts are that only the most hardcore gamers and Sony fans are going to pick one up on launch day until the eventual price drop. I think a lot of gamers and parents of gamers are going to see that price and the words "Fuck that" are immediately going to pop into their minds.

Moving on...

The PS3's controller has been revealed. It looks a LOT like the Dual Shock controller from both the PS2 and PS1. After seeing the "boomerang" controller from last years E3, As seen below, I am very happy that they have scrapped that design.

Sony has also revealed that the PS3 controller will feature motion sensing technology. This technology was showcased in a brief demo that showed a 3D version of the PS3 controller moving in real time with the movements of the demonstrator. This comes as a major shock to much of the gaming community, as the Nintendo Wii's most marketed feature is its controller's revolutionary motion sensing technologies.

Sony has long been criticized for stealing ideas from other compainies, particularly Nintendo. The two SKU idea , taken from Microsoft and the motion sensing technology stolen from Nintendo.

Personally, this is very shocking. I was expecting Sony to really wow me into buying the PS3. I have never liked Sony products, including the Playstation family of products. All I've gotten from this conference is more reasons to sit out on the PS3. The Xbox 360 and Wii (which is my preferred combo) seem to offer the same things as the PS3 for a cheaper price.

Until Sony shows me some really original and mind blowing things, I will sit out on the PS3. I also think that Sony had shot themselves in the foot with this conference. We will all see what happens as the convention progresses and come November when the PS3 will be available to the public.

Rant for the day.

2006-05-06T23:22:00.000-04:00

Man, since the second semester of classes ended, I have been a LOT more relaxed. I've had a lot more time to do the things I've wanted to do recently. I finally got into Final Fantasy XI. Man that game is like crack. Square-Enix gives you one free taste (30 day free trial), knowing that you'll be back. I will definitely be continuing to play this one even after the trial period is over. It's a bit hard to get into for new players but that's the same with all the MMO's I've played. Luckily, I've got a few friends to help me out as I level up.

Yesterday, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Washington Wizards to win the best of seven series. That means they are up against The Pistons in round 2. Oh well, I hope the Cav's had a good run in the playoffs, because it's all but over for them now.

Since Class ended, I have also had a lot more time to devote to the development of the RPG I am working on with some friends. It is entitled Project UNIX at the moment. More details about the project and other projects I have in the works are at the GameTime Productions Website

Well, that’s all I have to say for now. I’ll be back later with more news.

Next??

2006-05-03T21:10:00.000-04:00

The Pistons have just put out the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 to win the best of seven series. Who's next to have their post-season ended by the Pistons?

Nintendo Wii?

2006-04-27T15:50:00.000-04:00

Nintendo's highly anticipated next generation console has finally gotten an official name.

"Wii."

The first thought that flew into my mind was

"What the Fuck?"

The earlier codename (Revolution) sounds so much better than "Wii". From the looks of it, I'm not the only one in the gaming community that thinks this either. I don't understand Nintendo's reason for changing the name even after their explanation which you can find Here.

The name isn't going to deter me from getting one but it will be strange to walk into my local Gamestop and say "I'd like a Wii please." Or "I'll take a Wii."

Well, I guess Nintendo thinks it'll catch on but I don't. I'm already fixed on the Revolution name which, as I've stated before, is a much more catchy and "next-gen" sounding name.

I'll post more updates as I hear more about it.

Fight Night Round 3 Review

2006-04-24T17:09:00.000-04:00

After numerous delays, my review of Fight Night Round 3 is finally up. Check the "My Reviews" link on the side of the page if you want to read it.

Game Updates

2006-04-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

Recently I recieved The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion (X360) as a gift and I've been playing it for quite a while. This game is simply massive. I've been playing for hours and I've barely scratched the surface. It's that huge. The graphics have to be seen in motion to be believed. It's amazing. ALthough off in the distance, the textures are completely washed out and it looks like an N64 game. It's not really a bad thing when you consider how good the game looks close up but it would've been nice to see this addressed. As for the combat, it's a little off and gets finicky in a heated battle. with no lock on command, there's going to be a lot of times where you'll just be flailing your sword at thin air. This can be quite frustrating in an intense battle situation.

All in all, it's a great game and I'll have more information (and possibly a full review) as I get some more play time in.

I also picked up Final Fantasy XI. For those who don't know what that is, It's a Massively Multiplayer Online RPG (MMORPG) My friend has been an active player of this game since it released on the PC three years ago. I have wanted to play it but before I got DSL, couldn't. The beta version has been available on the Xbox 360 since mid January and I played a little bit to see what it was like (and it was free. Always a good thing.) and I liked it. So I went out and bought the retail version when the beta ended.

Well, after dealing with PlayOnline (Sony's online service), I've almost been driven to take the damn game back. First off, when the beta concluded, beta players were allowed to carry their beta characters to the retail version of the game. I signed up to be carried over. When i did the entire registration process on the retail version, it said I needed my PlayOnline ID. I couldn't remember it. I went to the site and tried to find a way to retrieve it. No luck.

All that work in the beta, gone.

To be fair, that was my fault, but there should be some way of retrieving your ID if you can't remember it. I knew everything else but that. Then there was this whole thing about needing a credit or debit card to play (requires a monthly fee) and my debit card was declined. It's not like I can walk up to someone on the street and say "can I borrow your credit card?" So until I find some other card, I can't even play it. Even for the 30 day free trial. That's bull****.

I'll have more news to come later, right now, I have to finish up some homework, (just a 6 page paper and a take home exam, no biggie) and then I'll try to get FFXI working again (by that i mean scream at it and yell curse words until i get too frustrated and play something else).

Swamped.

2006-04-14T21:05:00.000-04:00

Recently I have been totally overloaded with work. My reviews are going to be late. Let's get that out of the way now. I've been hit with 3 papers, a take home exam, and a lot more work. I've been trying to write (reviews, short stories) but it's becoming harder and harder to do as of late. Gaming is on hold until all of this stuff is done as well. Yeah, it sucks but it's just another distraction that I don't need right now.

I've just recently joined a friend in developing an RPG with a program called RPG Maker XP. At the moment we're in the planning stages, getting a concrete storyline down, characters, and all the other stuff we need. Due to all the work I've got I only have a little bit of time each day (if any at all) to dedicate to development. This is a very complex program and it's gonna take us a long (I mean really long) time to really learn what we can do with it. I'll post updates as they come in, and possibly a downloadable demo.

Well, that's it for now. I'll post more later after I've made a dent in this stack of work I've got.

The lateness

2006-04-03T10:24:00.000-04:00

Well, I was supposed to have my Fight Night Round 3 review up a couple days ago but it's taking a bit longer than I expected. I wanted to put in a little more review time before I settled on a final score.

The same thing applies for GRAW. I already have a score in mind but I'm gonna put in a little more time playing the multiplayer and finish off the singleplayer campaign before I finish the review.

Both reviews will be up sometime this week for sure. Keep checking back.

Finally!!

2006-04-03T09:51:00.000-04:00

This is the teaser trailer for the Simpsons Movie coming in July 2007

Just a couple of random thoughts...

2006-03-28T21:43:00.000-05:00

Still working hard to get my reviews of both Fight Night Round 3 and GRAW done. Well, I guess I can't really call it work since I enjoy doing this. My Fight Night review should be posted on my reviews site later tonight or if not tonight, mid afternoon tomorrow.

I just wanted to bring this to every one's attention. If you like pizza, then you should get one from the Gregg's pizza on Livernois near McNichols. It's honestly some of the best pizza I've had.

For all you RPG fans, Kingdom Hearts 2 has arrived in stores and from what I hear, it's pretty good. My friend DeWayne has been very excited about this game in the past few...months leading up to its release. I tried IMing him today and he's not responding at all. He told me that the day he got it he was going to drop off the face of the Earth (meaning no contact whatsoever), so I'm assuming he's playing it as I write this.

Well, that's all I can think of right now, keep checking my reviews page for the Fight Night review if you're interested.

GRAW First Impressions

2006-03-25T23:29:00.000-05:00

I just recently picked up GRAW (Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter) for the Xbox 360. I'd heard claims about it being "awesome", a "killer app" and a "must buy" for the 360. I was a bit skeptical about it personally.

I don't feel that way anymore.

Simply put, If you have an Xbox 360, you should strongly consider picking up this game. If you have an Xbox 360 and an Xbox Live account, run to the store right now and get this game. Seriously. It's that good.

The Single player campaign is awesome. There's hardly any downtime throughout the course of the entire game. The only slow points are the between mission cutscenes prepping the next mission. From time to time, you'll get to man the chopper's minigun and be tasked with clearing out the landing zone. These sequences are fun. It's a bit disturbing how fun it was chopping up the enemy troops but then I remind myself that it's just a game and hell, they started it.

I did notice a few A.I. hiccups while I was playing, especially concerning your own teammates. These guys are supposed to be the best of the best. Too bad they don't know how to use their training all that well. They run around outside of cover and when one of them goes down they won't heal their teammates when ordered. There's more but I really don't have the time to get more in depth.

The multiplayer is a completely different story, and I don't mean that in a bad way. It alone is the reason to buy this game, the single player campaign, in all its greatness, pales in comparison. There are so many ways to customize games to your liking. From your character's appearance to what type of weapons you can choose when you respawn. You can go up against 15 others in either adversarial or co-operative modes. The co-op missions pit you and up to 15 others against the aggressive and rather intelligent computer A.I. My favorite mode so far is co-op territories which tasks you and your teammates with defending a base from wave after wave of enemy troops. The matches I played were easily some of the most fun I've had playing an online shooter.

That's all I have to say about it now. I should have a full review up a little later after I spend some more time with it.

TeH High Sp33D!!!

2006-03-14T18:35:00.000-05:00

Okay sorry about the L337 Speak (internet language), but I just got DSL. I can't properly express in words how excited I am. This comic I found on Ctrl Alt Del (Web comic site, check the link on the links section) does an excellent job.
Right now, we're in the process of getting everything up and running. The DSL will soon be activated and after that, I'm going to set up the Wireless network. I'm really excited about getting online with my 360 and playing some games. I'm most excited about playing Perfect Dark Zero, Halo 2, Fight Night Round 3 and Project Gotham Racing 3. My gamertag is The Game21xx just in case some of you wanna play a few games later.

Speaking Out Against Videogame Regulation

2006-03-14T17:09:00.000-05:00

Recently this website (http://www.videogamevoters.org/) has been brought to my attention. I've signed up and I believe that all gamers should sign up to help prevent Congress from regulating the sales of violent videogames.

I don't think Congress should have the right to tell us what we can and can't play. This way, the gamers have a collective voice to let Congress know what we think about it.

If you're a gamer, consider signing up and speaking out against the politicians in Congress. Make your opinion known.

Fight Night Round 3

2006-03-01T10:21:00.000-05:00

This game has taken over my life (okay it's not that bad but I'm really addicted to it). Before I picked up the retail game, I had downloaded the demo to my Xbox 360 and I couldn't stop playing it. It was that fun. Now that the game is out and I have it, the demo has been discarded like an old piece of trash. The game has not left my 360's disc tray since I bought it on Saturday. I am that addicted to it. As soon as i fired it up for the first time, the very first fight I played was perhaps the biggest rivalry in all of boxing. Ali versus Frazier. The first time I fought against Frazier as Ali I tried to overpower him. This was definitely the wrong approach to take and resulted in me getting knocked out at the beginning of the second round. The second time I learned from my mistakes and started fighting like "The Greatest". I moved around sticking him with quick combos and the occasional power punch and moving away before he could strike back. The fight ended much more favorably for me, a second round knockout. I'll be writing a review of this game soon.

Speaking of reviews, I write reviews of some of the games I've played on IGN.com. You can read these reviews at: http://users.ign.com/reviews/JXbox21?objType=1

Obtuse Meanings

2006-02-17T08:56:00.000-05:00

I was online a little while ago and I came across a couple of very interesting photographs. After I'd looked at them for a little while, a deeper meaning became apparent in each photo and I wanted to share my thoughts on that.

My first picture
To some this picture just looks like a huge pile of videocassettes. To me it symbolizes the rapidly advancing technologies today. Today, VCR's are being replaced by DVD players and videocassettes replaced by DVD's. The VCR's recording function was all the rage when it was first introduced, but today it is becoming outdated and obsolete in a world in which DVR's are becoming much more common.

My second picture,

This picture is of a little girl with a cigarrette in her mouth and a beer can in her hand. This to me symbolizes how people are getting into drugs and alcohol at a much younger age. In today's society, more and more teenagers are getting into drugs, many more than in previous years.

Superbowl XL

2006-02-06T19:48:00.000-05:00

This year's Superbowl has come and gone. How was it? I think it was great. Of course, it wasn't without its faults but was still a great game. The festivities held leading up to the Big Game (Mowtown winter blast, numerous concerts, etc.) were pulled off excellently. Okay enough about the pre-game festivities, how was the actual game? Other than a couple of very controversial calls, it was good. What calls am I talking about? Anyone who watched the game knows what I mean. FIRST: A controversial play involving supposed offensive "pass interference" by WR Darrell Jackson. In the end zone, Jackson looked like he pushed off his defender to change direction and make the catch. He did indeed stick his arm out and graze the defender but he didn't make enough contact to warrant the call. The defender complained about it to the referees and in comes the flag. I think he was just upset that he was scored on so easily. SECOND: A Ben Roethlisberger TD giving Pittsburgh a 7-3 lead. This touchdown never happened. Simple as that. Roethlisberger pulled a daring and clearly ineffectual move by trying to run the ball in himself on a third and goal play. He made it around and seeing no other way in, he dove. In the air, he crossed the line. Too bad it doesn't count in the air. On his way down he was hit by a Seahawks defender and pushed back some inches. He hit the ground. The ball was down, just inches away from the goal line. A second or two later, he pulled the ball out from under him and put it on the goal line, looking at the referee the entire time. The referee ruled it as a touchdown. The Seahawks coach called BS on the ruling and challenged the play. The play was reviewed. In the replays it was clear that he did NOT score that touchdown. Obviously the referees saw it differently. The ruling on the field stands. Seahawks fans around the world hang their heads in disgust. There are many more controversial plays that I don't feel like talking about right now but these are perhaps the biggest. Otherwise, it was a pretty good game. I think it was set up though. Jerome Bettis is back in his hometown, there has been talk about his possible retirement and he's playing in the Superbowl trying to win his first Championship. What a perfect way to end your career. I can't think of a more perfect way to end it. Maybe the referees were sitting together thinking, he's had such a great career, why don't we let him win this one and retire? Do I think the Steelers could've won without the referee's help? Yep, but that doesn't stop me from thinking this game was set up.

HDTV

2006-01-27T09:09:00.000-05:00

My current obsession right now is with an HDTV. I want one so badly right now. Watching the Superbowl (which is being held in my Hometown!) on a big High-Def screen would be great. With the release of the Xbox 360, the HD Gaming revolution is here. The Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 both use HD resolutions to enhance the graphics. You don't need an HDTV but the picture quality is greatly improved when you use it. HDTV's are great and I want one in my room. Only one problem. I lack the High-Def money (college is a bitch).

Entertainment. A Reflection of Popular Culture.

2006-01-27T08:50:00.000-05:00

There have been several assumptions made in regards to entertainment as a whole. One of these assumptions is that it is a reflection of culture. This is entirely true. Forms of entertainment that may be popular in one culture are not as popular in another culture. In our culture, it is popular to For instance, in America, the sport of soccer is not nearly as popular as it is in say, Spain or certain regions of South America. Even the tastes in videogames differ from culture to culture. In another for instance, In Japan, First Person Shooters (my favorite videogame genre by the way) aren't very popular and here in the US they are some of the most popular videogames on the market.
I assume that entertainment is a reflection of popular culture because only those things that are popular to us sell well and keep us coming back. Soccer was never a really popular sport to Americans and thus, no one is tuning in to watch the big Soccer game on Sunday instead of Football. Football is popular in our culture and that's why it continues to thrive and merchandise related to it such as the Madden Football games fly off the shelves year after year.

The Future

2006-01-26T23:49:00.000-05:00

When I think about the future I wonder what I’ll be doing. I have my own dreams and plans for the future but, before now, I never really thought about the future. I imagine in five years I will have graduated from college and will have a job working at a newspaper as a result of my degree in the field of journalism. In ten, I hope to be an accomplished writer, with at least one of my novels appearing on the New York Times Bestseller list. After this happens I guess I can devote myself to writing novels full time and writing a freelance column in a magazine or newspaper. Even now, I have a number of ideas for potential projects that I could write someday if I have the time so this reality is the best for me.

The Fast and the I'm Furious that i can't afford these cars!

2006-01-18T09:44:00.000-05:00

I am really into cars. Ever since seeing the Fast and the Furious movie, I have been into the whole "tuner car culture". While at the moment I lack the funds to buy and tune the car(s) of my dreams, I know that someday I will. So below is a list of my 10 favorite cars. By the way, these are in no particular order. Well, except the Supra. That is my favorite car of all time.

1. 1998 Toyota Supra Twin-Turbo
2. 1997 McLaren F1 GT
3. 2006 Corvette Z06
4. 1998 Nissan Skyline R34 GTR
5. 1999 Lamborghini Diablo GT
6. 2006 Dodge Viper Coupe
7. 2003 Enzo Ferrari
8. Chrysler ME Four-Twelve Concept (Theoretically capable of 265 mph!)
9. 2005 Lamborghini Murcielago
10. Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren

2006-01-13T20:21:00.000-05:00

This is a pic I took at my open house.

2006-01-13T20:18:00.000-05:00

This is a pic I took right after taking the first one.

Xbox 360 vs PS3

2006-01-13T08:47:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody, as I stated before in a previous post, I am a huge fan of videogaming and the console wars are heating up again for the "next-gen". Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months, you already know that Microsoft has already released its next-gen console known as the Xbox 360. If you know this then you probably know how hard it was to find this past holiday season. I wasn't lucky enough to find one before Christmas but my luck changed on New year's day when I finally got one of my own. The games I've played look incredible running on the system and they should considering the technology under the hood.
The Xbox360 is running a triple core CPU, each core running at 3.2 Ghz. This is significantly faster and more powerful than even some of the fastest gaming PC's on the market today as the fastest CPU available for PC's is a Dual-Core setup. Microsoft partnered with ATI to create the systems GPU or Graphics Processing Unit. This chip operates at 500 Mhz and is even more powerful than ATI's most powerful chip the Radeon X1800 XT.

To the right is Sony's upcoming contender in the console wars, the Playstation 3. Sony seems to think that the key to winning the console wars is power and the PS3 is no slouch in that department. Sony has even gone on record saying that their console is twice as powerful as the Xbox 360. These claims are supported by the fact that the PS3 has a seven(!) core CPU with each core running at 3.2 Ghz dubbed the "cell" by Sony. It is also powered by a 550 Mhz GPU, created by Nvidia and dubbes the RSX. The two of them claim that the chip is more powerful than Nvidia's current powerhouse, the 78oo GTX.

I will leave it up to you to decide which one is better, but personally, I give the edge to Microsoft in this console war. At the moment, the PS3 is scheduled for a Spring 2006 debut, but I don't believe this date will be met. At the moment, besides Metal Gear Solid 4, none of the PS3's big "games" have been shown running in real time on the PS3's hardware. They have all been shown as "visual target" demos.
The Xbox 360 is in my opinion the better system and I strongly believe that it has the best chance of winning the console wars. The games I've played have all been great, and have some of the best graphics I've ever seen on a console (just look up the game Project Gotham Racing 3 and take a look at some screen shots). Another advantage is Microsoft's unified online service called Xbox Live. This gives gamers a universal nickname friends list and more features than you'd find in Sony's online services.
I'll be back to add more on this later on so stay tuned.

First Entry

2006-01-11T08:44:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody, as you may have guessed, this is the first entry into my new blog. First I'd thought I'd tell you a couple things about me. My real name is Justin McBride. I am eighteen years old and currently attending Wayne State University. This blog was actually created because of a school assignment. I plan on using this mainly for school and I will be updating at least three times a week.
One of my major interests that will be communicated through this blog is my interest in Videogames. I am a huge fan of videogames and just about everything related to videogames. While you won't see me dressing up as a characther from a videogame for halloween, (or...ever) I still consider myself a hardcore gamer.
Another of my various interests is writing. Writing has always come sort of naturally for me since the first grade when I had to write a short story for an assignment. After that, I began my long running "career" with writing. I may post a couple of my short stories from time to time if I feel like it.
Well, that's it for now, stay tuned later this week as I will be posting more of my thoughts about... whatever I want to talk about.