suicideninja.com

Thinking about just moving the site to Facebook

2012-01-04T16:19:00.000-07:00

To fit my lifestyle, I may just have to redirect the domain to the SuicideNinja.com fan page. It's easier for me to post things there, and I don't feel obligated to write huge reviews.

I loved to write the reviews but I'm just not playing as many games anymore. The days of shooting for achievements and playing 40+ hr games are just gone...I can't do it anymore.

3D Pirates

2011-11-09T22:04:00.001-07:00

I haven't seen a 3D flick in a while so I picked up Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Content aside, I am still annoyed that 3D flicks are coming with multiple and unnecessary discs. Digital copy is nice, but is a bonus I can live without. It is bluray; why do I need the DVD version? I want to pay a reasonable price for the movie in one format; not a high price for four bundled formats.

As for this particular flick, the story felt thrown together and the new characters were lacking resonance. However, there was a perceivable effort in taking advantage of 3D. Aside from swords failing at jutting out the screen, most of the effects stood out a bit above the standard.

Get rid of the glasses and I will be a bit more supportive, albeit not much.

Pirates 4 has a few good moments, but I recommend it as a rental. There isn't much here to justify multiple viewings, other than to show off the 3D effects.

-Written from my iPad

ALIENS: Colonial Marines Gameplay

2011-10-02T13:34:00.000-06:00

Just cleaning out my "to-read" list in Google Reader, and I original thought this was going to be gameplay from the DS ALIENS: Infestation.

I'm glad I was wrong! I want a piece of this game, ASAP. It looks to be my dream game for ALIENS adaptation, although AVP2 was CLOSE!

Theories on the re-death of 3D

2011-09-17T15:52:00.000-06:00

3D. What a great-sounding feature. One that, is actually in competition of an expectation of something consumers already have.

Imagination.

With the extra dimension in these films no one asked for, I always wait for the "surprise". Something is supposed to pop out and threaten my bubble.

Instead, we end up with cardboard cutouts inside of the electronic diarama known as our expensive HDTV's. Even the supersized projected version in the theater does no justice to a psuedo 3rd dimension.

But hey. Technology is fashionable these days. So let's forget about the lack of proficiency of this zombie of a feature. Instead, shift focus to the consumer and what they care about: Bang for the buck, and quality of content.

I'm going to punch that first item squarely in the nose, powered by the force of a condensed black matter ball of expletives. I'll start with the lack of standards on the home-version of the tech. Passive? Active? Different for every manufacturer?

Look manufacturers and content providers. If you wanted to get consumers to fall for this 3D push in the first place, starting with $200 sets of head-inducing, ridculously sized "blinking" glasses isn't the way to go. Turning consumers off further by making those over-priced glasses incompatible with different brands digs the grave deeper for your chances.

Sure, lack-of-standards sometimes works. Look at Blu-ray; no hardware standards there. HD-DVD had standards and lost, unfortunately. If they were still around, EVERY HD-DVD player would probably be able to get an upgrade to 3D. Not with Bluray; most people need to buy another $100+ 3D player right when regular players became reasonably priced.

And we haven't even talked Televisions yet. Confuse consumers further by having 3D LCD/Plasmas priced on par with 2D LED televisions. The sad truth is, the naive (and common) assumption is that price is quality, and current technology. But for what the technical differences are, this is gouging (and trying to recoup R&D, but that would happen anyway). You don't have any more feet to shoot guys.

Most importantly is content. HD is bad enough, charging double or triple just for a higher resolution and more "features" we didn't ask for. 3D then doubles or triples the HD price, which can't possibly be warranted when you are trying to force a technology. $40-60 for a 3D film is hardly the ninja sneak attack to get 3D into homes. You aren't selling Apple hardware; consumers notice care about the price tag when it comes to films.

Am I disgruntled? Yes. I tried; I bought the 57" 3D magic and four sets of headache-inducing blinky-flashy glasses. And of the near dozen 3D films I have, the Shrek movies were the only movies to make a difference with 3D to my eyes. I'm hoping for some more mature content that doesn't suck. Please.

And if my pissy rant isn't enough, this Slate article is a bit more diverse, and contains valid points as well.

Xbox 360 w/ Kinect Bundle for under $200 at Target

2011-08-30T09:40:00.000-06:00

My mom was excited this morning because she capitalized on this deal. She had been in the market for an Xbox.

My parents had dinner at my house last weekend and I introduced them to the Kinect. As expected, good ol' Mom had her eye on Dance Central, and some interest in the other hands free games.

She took the Walmart ad with the Xbox Kinect bundle @ $249.99 and price-matched it at Target. Target in turn, was offering a $60 Target gift card with the purchase of the bundle. The result is $189.99 if you had additional purchases to make at Target anyway. Or you could use the gift card to get a "free" game.

My sister rocks this One Hit MMA promo video

2011-08-28T21:57:00.000-06:00

This is a promo video for One Hit MMA, a great local gym that I occasionally train at. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised that the video didn't feature the other fighters there, as they do have plenty of talent. My guess is it has to do with her looks and exceptional form.

One Hit MMA
192 N. Fairfield Rd.
Suite #2
Layton, UT 84041

Although you would think otherwise, she's actually not lined up for any fights right now. She's smart enough not to depend on her hobby for income so I don't think we'll see her diving in full-on.

This video would be great for Everlast, or even Nike (if she had been adorned in their attire).

Less peripherals = mo' betta

2011-07-30T01:07:00.000-06:00

EA's honest response to the money pit of 3D has me thinking.

I was doing some housekeeping in my gaming room, and stumbled into a bunch of Wii remotes, remote gun shells, and the balance board. None of it really got any use, other than the Wii remotes in the few games I actually purchased for the system. Did any of it really do anything special?

Without a thought, my head turned to look at the Kinect. Other providing questionable stats on my balance and weight, the balance board didn't really do anything that could be done with a camera. Having to fumble with less peripherals made for a better experience. As for EA Active, using my own weights instead of the Wii remotes is certainly more effective.

Utilizing voice commands rather than trying to figure out where the remote was last placed is great as well.

So for 3D, Nintendo tried to help us out in a similar way. However, 3D doesn't really make anything easier. It doesn't make "more sense" either. If we can't interact directly with a 3D object, then what good is it?

I am surprise that Microsoft hasn't found a way to use 3D and Kinect together in a way that gives value to the extra dimension. Yet, if the 3D effect doesn't seem to pop out, what could they do? They have done some interesting things with head tracking, but we need implementation. Changing the 3D picture per your position has possibilities. If you could get up and look to the side or behind something, with the view changing as you inch closer, they might be a step in the right direction. Again, plenty of tech demos but no usage.

Affordability and more direct interaction. That is where we need to go from here with the tech. Or just drop it. I am fine either way.

What's up...

2011-07-11T23:50:00.001-06:00

Splotching my random thoughts in this blog is "fail" at best. What is this beast that devours my time? I'm cast away in a timeless sweatshop where time evaporates faster than it can rain.

One past proclamation still stands: Video games cannot be a focus at this point. When a grace a console with the E.T. touch, their breath is short-lived. Dabble, dabble, dabble...that's all I can do. For now, my gamer cred has been weakened by by my schedule, leaving me suseptable to mobile-game disease.

The wart's roots are still surface-level, however. Short bite-sized time chunks are what I got, and full-fledged games can't be consumed with the baby-spoon in my drawer.

I do put in a few hours a week with either Black Ops or Halo: Reach. That's what my friends play, but once they disconnect from the Matrix, I follow suit. With a swiftness, I hop over to Samsung Media Play on my TV, and commence getting sucked in to Subbed Anime.

After watching all the Bleach episode movies to date, I've moved on to Inuyasha. The latter fails to have me as "entrenched" so I don't mind missing a few scenes while I do other things. Concurrently, I'm working on the Dubbed Bleach episodes, in hope that my fiancee and step-son can enjoy them as well. The American voice actors sure kill the presence of the individual characters though....and why do most of the male characters sound the same?

Other than that, I'm still training three days a week. 9 - 11 hour work days added to that, and trying to figure out my future family (a story in itself).

I tend to bang out more quips on Twitter, should anyone wish to follow.

Tech I am currently playing with

2011-02-27T10:58:00.002-07:00

I am going to give posting via iPad another try here. Screen typing is still awkward, but it works well enough. Most likely i will break down and get one of those iPad cases with the Bluetooth keyboard if I decide to write more on this thing.

As for the iPad, i don't think i will be be upgrading to the next version. While a built in card reader and cameras should have been there to begin with, we all new Apple was saving features to make the next go-round appealing. While having a heap of apps, I am tired of proprietary systems, and Apple's unsaid motto of, "If it's broke buy the newer better fixed model."

I have been real impressed with Android as of late, and find the OS leaps and bounds more versatile than iOS. It comes at the cost of simplicity in some areas, but at least it isn't the shameful Blackberry OS (5.x, 6 doesn't work on my Storm 2). I enjoy being able to switch to list view on Android, and the latest phones have screens that dwarf the iPhone. Chime in about resolution all you want, but more real estate makes onscreen typing easier and allows for easier-to-read text.

Speaking of Blackberries, I am anticipating the new Playbook tablet intently. I would love the ability to dump AT&T for the iPad-only plan and get my Storm more useful as a tether to the Playbook. I would really like a smaller tablet for portability, and one-handed holding/operation. Reviews seem positive so far, so I can only cross my fingers and hope my company supports them. The iPad has shown me that tablets are the future, as most browsing and quick emailing can be done without a laptop. The lack of slowness and no waiting for bootup is amazing as well. I just hope Microsoft can incorporate those things in a tablet and still support full on software and not just "apps".

My latest aquisition is a 58" plasma 3D TV. I am not sure what all the complaints about image retention and wear are about. I have had all types of televisions and I must say the LCDs are my least favorite. To be fair, i have not had a LED TV yet, but the price isn't justified from what i have seen. My TV still manages to have a small profile but handles motion quite well without the rough edge look that LCD TVs still manage to do (but much improved over the last few years). The motion performance does not carry over to 3D, however. Pain in the eyes is what comes to mind, although the 2D to 3D conversion seems more comfortable than native support.

My take: 3D is not for the general consumer. It is fun, but there isn't much for content and I have yet to see anyone take advantage of the tech in a way that stands out. Guess I will have to give a few PS3 games a whirl,

In Progress: Metroid: Other M

2011-01-01T01:40:00.002-07:00

I see what critics a criticizing. The cutscenes in this game are way too long and do not help the story whatsoever. Metroid has been about playing first and story second. This game forgets that in it's entirety. I don't think the problem is so much how Samus is portrayed, it is that we are given way more detail than is necessary for this type of game. I would expect the female stereotype of emotions in the driver's seat if this was franchise was intended to be a chick-flick. Metroid fans just want to play!

However, I am enjoying the gameplay far more than the Wii controls of Prime 3. It seems like waggle makes the game take twice as much effort to get the same gameplay result as prior entries. To me that is a failure. I do not have this feeling when playing this new entry, although i will admit that turning the remote to aim is obnoxious. I think we could have done great without first-person.

The rest seems fine so far. More to come!

My Sister's First Kickboxing Match

2010-12-28T15:37:00.002-07:00

Crystal Olson Versus Cecile Jaskowiak (I believe it's the fourth fight in?)

PS3: Lessons learned on hardware $?

2010-12-03T11:10:00.003-07:00

After reading this article, I realized that I have not used the card readers or the PS2 BC. I haven't even come close to using 60GB either.

Looking back, Sony would have been better off with a single model with no BC, no card reader, a 20GB HDD, and 4 USB ports. An IR sensor wouldn't have hurt either!

I think they would have gotten away with no BC. In the end, it wasn't included anyway, but they still sell PS2's. Microsoft stopped worrying about BC a long time ago, but they don't sell Xboxes anymore. Doesn't that technically put Sony ahead in terms of "access to the old"? Keep in mind they are also doing HD upgrades on some of the more popular games.

On a smaller issue, they really shouldn't have restricted games to Blu-ray discs. DVD9 is cheaper and would work for a lot of games. I imagine the read speed on the DVD portion of the drive is faster as well, but I could be wrong. If I'm right, it could have erased the bad press on "installations" in the beginning and possibly saved Developers from headache improving their initial opinions of the system.

The extra flair just hurt them financially in the beginning. It seemed like they spent too much trying to over-compete with the Xbox.

Thoughts on Kinect Naysaying

2010-11-06T09:51:00.003-06:00

There seems to be an unhealthy share of naysayers for the Kinect. My observation is that these gamers are subconsciously convinced that the controller is going to be forcefully pulled from their cold dead hands.

Unlike the Wii Remote and the Move, it isn’t likely that Kinect will be forcefully transplanted in existing games. Halo and Call of Duty aren’t going to toss the controller any time soon; those games are intended for low-lag button-responses. Those games continue to sell well, so publishers will hang on. Nowhere has it been implied the new-tech can’t be used in tandem with controllers. So why are controller-advocates so threatened?

Like the intent of the Wii and unlike the me-too of the Move, Kinect is trying to give us something different. It’s a supplement to an existing rig not a replacement.

“But it’s just more motion controls.”

Is voice recognition, full body control, hands-free menu navigation, and facial recognition comparable to the near-derogatory term “waggle control”? Careful, that rhetorical question is a spitter.

Because of the interesting new tech and a well-funded marketing department, Microsoft is poised to succeed. Obviously, they realized they needed something different to set themselves apart. Look at the excitement around the 3DS for an example. We should be glad that MS didn’t listen to the tantrum throwers like Sony keeps making the mistake of doing this generation. Any more “me too” products will be steps backwards at this point.

On a side-note Microsoft, how about figuring this out for your MP3 player and mobile OS?

Review: Playstation Move

2010-10-17T18:15:00.008-06:00

In a continually regrettable quest to seek enjoyment out the PS3, I decided to pick up the Move bundle along with an extra controller.

Out of the box, the weight and shape of the controller is excellent. Immediately, the Wii Remote feels like a heavy outdated club compared to the lightweight smooth-curved Move ~~Wand~~ motion controller. The wrist straps were already installed as well, which is a minor plus.

Gusto gets shot in the foot from there however.

Continue reading...Synchronization seemed easy enough; turn the PS3 on and plug it in with a USB cable (which isn't included with the controller). The camera is a plug-and-play item, leaving initial setup fairly painless. On to gaming.

The bundle comes with Sports Champions and a demo disc. Natural thoughts chant "It's just ~~Wii~~ PS3 Sports" (even though it has different sports altogether), so I started with the demo disc.

In typical PS3 blundering, EVERY DEMO REQUIRES AN INSTALL. In regular-consumer mode, I could only experience irritation. Spending $100+ on a new toy and it can't even be played directly out of the box. Waiting...waiting...waiting. The system also warns of each game requiring calibration, which didn't sit well with my impatience. Experience showed these calibrations were quick and easy, however.

Most of the demos work well, but I have to pick on Tiger Woods 11. Jam on that Move "Start" button all you want, the game will stare at you blankly and go into self-play demo mode after while. For whatever reason, the game must be started with a regular controller, and then the Move can be selected just before hitting the Tee box.

My first attempt was a direct failure, as the game continually asked me to point the Move at the screen and press a button (I believe it was "Select"). It refused to be satisfied so I had to give up. The next attempt worked however, after quitting the game and sitting through the intro of golf clips AGAIN.

Random control problems continued from there, but when it did work, it was about the same experience as Tiger Woods 10 on the Wii (with better graphics of course).

All the other demos and Sports Champions controlled quite well. Within a few minutes, it is evident that the Move's accuracy and stability with motions trumps the Wii's setup. Movement was as expected, although in Time Crisis I had trouble finding my tiny reticule. Swatting, painting, shooting arrows, moving blocks, and all the other activities in the demos felt solid.

As for the games, Echochrome II, Tumble, and Kung Fu Riders stuck out, and offered fun moments. Sports Champions is an entertaining game, but it doesn't seem as versatile as Wii Sports' variations of individual activities. Regardless, I'm partial to the Disc Golf and Gladiator events even though they won't be usurping my Call of Duty or Halo time any time soon.

The price is questionable at this point. It feels similar to a Wii Remote with Wii Play...some simple games packed in with a controller. Sure, the Playstation Eye is in there, but these basic cameras are pretty cheap nowadays so $40 seems overkill. A little HD and a slightly improved experience isn't worth double the price to me. Sorry, Sony.

For now, I haven't seen a compelling reason to go pick the Move up. It certainly has potential, but out-of-the-box it fails to be the instant success the Wii was. The improvement on motion controls is there, but not in a way to distinguish itself from it's competitor that has systems in more households at this time.

3 pros:
-More accurate than the Wii
-Controller(s) are lightweight
-Motion control on HD games!

3 cons:
-No compelling software
-Camera is low-res and grainy
-Price - Two move controllers ($100) needed to get the most out of some games

Resembles/Feels like: The Wii Remote Experience
Rent or Buy: Borrow it or try the kiosks (no buy)
Personal Appraisal: $50 for the bundle (PSEye, 1 Move Controller, Sports Champion)*
MSRP: $49.99 for one Move Controller, $99.99 bundled with game and camera
Other Opinions:**
Engadget
G4tv
joystiq

*Personal Appraisal at the time of the review
**Link to other sites' reviews

Everyone's iPad Envy

2010-10-12T20:29:00.002-06:00

"Humorous astonishment" is how I describe co-worker and passer-by envy at my not-so-new-to-me Apple toy.

"Which model is that?" "Do you like it?" "Tell me that work pays for that!"

All are comments that haven't left my memory yet. My answers respectively:

The cheapest one with 3G.

It's okay, but the lack of Flash support is extremely irritating.

Nope.

Everyone should make their own decisions, but I firmly believe these toys not to be worth the money. I like it, but the price is ridiciulous, and the lack of a camera is disappointing. Apple will probably get it right on the next go-round. AT&T probably won't provide a data plan that would make me more comfortable using Netflix as desired without using up my limited 2GB of data plan.

A review that I agree with: http://michaelhyatt.com/the-ipad-an-elegant-solution-in-search-of-a-problem.html

Up until last week, I did not have a data phone which was driving me nuts. With a company-provided phone, I didn't wish to carry two devices just to have one with data. It made sense, especially since I can cancel the data plan at my leisure with no contracts.

Now that I tote a Blackberry (droids and iphones are not offered), I am finding I don't use the iPad as much. For me, it was all about email and other types of short communication. The iPad is shining as an eBook reader for my ITIL study guide and still offers a more usable google reader, but I find myself sticking with the quickly accessible Cell phone.

How to infer this experience....guess I can't. Every user is different, and perception is never consistent between people. Mine is that Apple makes good UI's, but their lack of adaptability to mesh with the PC world is often a hinderance from a business user perspective.

As learned from the movie "Inception", ideas can get out of hand, especially when accompanied by great expectation.

Not much...

2010-07-04T11:32:00.004-06:00

Well, I've been gaming. But mostly on the iPod. I thought this weekend might give me a little bit of time to return to the old hobby, but I'm just finding other things to do around the house.

My girlfriend will be moving in soon and her 6 year old is obsessed with video games. With 2 Xbox 360s, an Xbox, and 2 Wii's coming with him...there will just be way too many consoles around these parts. Maybe then you'll see me playing again.

I recently purchased a Kickbox to add to my ION Drum Rocker and it was certainly worth it. The stock pedals for the music game drums don't ever seem to feel right. Even the Drum Rocker's own pedal fails at mimicking the correct feel. Since Sigler Music offered one at a much more realistic $40 as opposed to the original's $80 or so, I dove in.

Anyway, I've been signing up for various things lately, and I'm getting annoyed that my handle is being used so often. I guess it doesn't matter anyway, but it's likely these other people use the account even less than I would.

Dear Internet

2010-04-20T20:37:00.002-06:00

SuicideNinja does in fact, still exist. It's just so fast you can't see it!

As expected, gaming and time for it aren't things in my life right now. I have all the recent greats in my library (sans Heavy Rain and God of War...can't bypass the $30 or less PS3 game rule), yet I haven't really played any of them. By the time I get home, any remaining energy has escaped me.

The captain of this boat (that I am ON), is only moving toward my MMA hobby, foregoing any existence of other directions. I'm training Kickboxing and Karate twice a week, and then MMA sparring on a third day. I plan on throwing regular boxing in there once a week as well. Somehow I've got to get some Jujitsu in there, but we'll see.

The inevitable, "Are you going to fight?" question has been asked and will be repeated. I'm honestly not sure. While I've not actively trained the whole time, Martial Arts has been in my life for 22 years. I'm passionate about it, but it's not cool-kid enough to have me leave my job over.

Offhand, I would definitely love exchange blows in the ring, but I'm not so sure my lungs share my enthusiasm. It's one thing to spar for a couple minutes...quite another to double that battle. My asthma has been quite tamed compared to my youth 15 years ago, but the condition is still there whether I have attacks or not. Thank you, Advair! I'm hoping I can increase endurance and make it more of a possibility.

If I do ever hit the local octagons, maybe I'll just reference my tag for the nickname. Now that would GEEK.

Aliens vs Predator: Progress

2010-03-13T23:34:00.002-07:00

This is not a review, but a status update.

I'm playing through the Marine campaign right now. While most of the review sites complain about this campaign the most, I find it to be the most fun. After some thought, I've decided it's fun because it actually works the way it is supposed to.

Marines have guns and aren't agile. They aren't stealthy, they don't have camo, and can't see in the dark. They have the tools to do the job: shotgun "for close encounters", a sniper for distance shots, a pistol as a last resort, a standard machine gun with complimentary noob-tube, a flame-thrower, and a bad-ass auto-aiming smart gun. All those weapons do what they should, with a possible exception of the grenade launcher on the pulse rifle. Aliens will matrix jump over grenades all night long.

The Aliens are fast and strong enough to knock down steel doors. Why is it so hard for them to kill a human with melee? Why isn't pouncing from the ceiling an instant kill? Why is it so difficult to grab someone while hanging on the wall? The Aliens rarely do as intended, making them frustrating to play.

The Predators fair better, although I find the controls functionally wonky. I expect to feel like an near unstoppable ninja that can tear through anything. Instead, most of the time is spent feeling vulnerable and wondering why I can't make jumps to the desired location. At least the shoulder cannon does everything expected; turning humans into pink mist.

After moving past dipping my toes in the cold water of AVP, I'm finding reviewers a bit harsh on the game. I think their problem is that the game is functional, but it cannot hang in the big leagues with Modern Warfare, Battlefield, and Halo. With more effort into presentation, graphics, and playability I think it could have been an upper tier game, but the opportunity is officially missed.

In a 10 point rating system, I'd probably give it a 7.5. In my rating system, I'm thinking about $45 of value. This leaves me hoping that Colonial Marines will make up where this game lacked.

HD becoming a necessity for gaming?

2010-02-22T12:03:00.002-07:00

I was testing a Xbox I repaired this weekend with an Assassin's Creed II disc that SHOULD NOT have been in my hands. AC2 was accidentally left in a broken Xbox I purchased on ebay, so I'm sending it back to the seller. The Post Office has these neat little machines that print out shipping label stamps for you with the weight and all. Too bad it wasn't good enough and they returned the disc to me demanding another $0.58 postage on Saturday. Since it wouldn't go out until Monday, I actually decided to play the game.

I do my Xbox repairs in my kitchen. I don't really have a desk or workbench, so I end up using my counter and kitchen table. It's doubly convenient since I already have a wireless network bridge and a working Xbox in the kitchen. Last night however, I discovered that the SD LCD screen fails horribly at these new games. When it comes to visually searching paintings for clues in AC2's "Where's Waldo" type minigames, your eyes are going to bitch. Apparently, the slightly red orbs in all the paintings were apples. There's no way I could see that in standard def, especially on a 19" screen.

After having strained my eyes multiple times over the course of several hours, I had enough. The Xbox was performing fine, so I shut it down and migrated back to my bedroom with the 42" HD Plasma. So much better....I could actually see the details! Solving those puzzles took half the time.

With all the hubbub on Capcom putting miniscule text on Dead Rising and other games, I'd say it's probably time for gamers to get over it and just go HD. LCDs and Plasmas have dropped significantly in price, so there's less excuse not to bite. Besides, those heavy CRTs are a safety hazard, and I vote properly recycling them ASAP. Your eyes will love you for it.

As for Blu-ray...I'm still not sold. With the passive nature of movies, the HD is a perk, not a necessity. The occasional (and cheap) HD streams from Netflix are good enough for me.

My Status

2010-02-21T01:06:00.003-07:00

If anyone out there still pays attention to this site, I fully apologize. I'm sure it was expected that I would at least review Aliens vs Predator, but I am doubtful it is going to happen.

I do have AvP and I mildly enjoyed the Alien campaign, but the game disappoints me. Rebellion was the wrong choice for the game in my opinion. While the first AvP on the PC was decent, it felt clumsy and the continue system was aggravating. Overall, I found it less enticing than the sequel made by Monolith. 'Lith does dark and creepy quite well, and they paced the game quite well on all the campaigns. The reasoning for not bringing them back for the continuation of the frachise eludes me.

Sadly, I've spent more time fixing xboxes for acquaintances than actually playing games. All three of my 360's are running strong, but fixing broken 'boxes has become somewhat of a hobby for me. That doesn't mean I'm here to hand out advice...search the internet.

Half my weeknights are spent doing MMA and boxing, so I have very little energy for games when I get home. Honestly, I'm not too heartbroken about it either. CODMW2 has been a blast, but it only works for me since it's very pick-up-and-play. There's no time constraints or saving to worry about. I can quickly do 1-2 matches and call it a night. Maybe that's the kind of games I'm going to have to stick with until I have more free time.

Thanks to those who still value my opinion! If I get more opportunities to post here, I will.

Next Tattoo: Rinoa!

2009-11-15T18:08:00.004-07:00

Squall's life was very inward. Trust was a thing to avoid, because people will only fail you in the end if you rely on them. Keep to yourself, trap your thoughts and voice inside. This was his world.

I know that world, too.

Through chance, persistence, and living a metaphorical dance, Rinoa disrupted this world. Her drive was pure, her efforts floundering, but a genuine not everyone gets to fully experience. While Rinoa's wings were tainted of black, they still shone white, and hope kept her moving.

I know that effort.

Since I share these experiences, combat Sorceress Rinoa seems fitting to adorn my side. While these stories are fantastic, they still manage to teach us about ourselves. Sometimes we have to let of what we think keeps us safe, and reach out into the abyss to collect our wings.

The above picture is a mock-up of the intended art and positioning for the tattoo. It represents all these things to me, as to remind me when to step into the fray, and leave doubt behind.

Post 1k, Halo 3:ODST

2009-09-24T12:57:00.003-06:00

It's finally my 1000th post. I thought it would be a grand day, but I'm only finding less use for this site. Guess I meant it when I said the towel was thrown. But since I'm god an awful cold and I'm stuck home playing ODST for a few days, here's my review.

For a person who has tired of gaming lately, I'm surprised I ordered ODST. I'm still not sure why they didn't just stick with Recon as a subtitle, as I think it fits and sounds better overall. What is game about? Recon. Sure, it centers around the ODST's, but we never learn enough about them to commit the acronym's meaning to memory. Rookie does recon to find out where to go. Recon worked.

Continue reading...

ODST is an expansion, nothing more. They charged $60 and I guess this could be justified since all the Halo 3 maps are on there (which are normally a separate cost) and that extra disc is what people play the most in the XBL/Haloverse: Multiplayer. Halo 3 can be picked up for about $30 so the price works...if you don't already have Halo 3, but most of us do already.

As for the gameplay, it's Halo 3. With health. The "stamina" comes verse which is health a la COD2, etc...screen turns red to indicate a problem. Following that comes the life bar. Aside from that, there isn't dual wielding and there' a special visor. All the enemies and vehicles are there. The "new alien" doesn't really affect gameplay much so it's forgettable.

The game is short and the story is quite far from gripping. I find myself more interested in the audio log story I'm still trying to complete. Otherwise I would have finished in a few short hours and been done.

Is the game worth buying? If you are a big time Halo fan, definitely. But this could easily be a rental if you just want to check it out.

3 pros:
-Plays almost exactly like Halo 3
-Touches on a bit of side-story in the Halo saga
-Comes with Halo 3 stand-alone multiplayer disc and new maps, and new mode

3 cons:
-Price
-Brief
-Not very exciting; no watercooler moments; no MC badassery

Resembles/Feels like: Halo 3

Rent or Buy: Rent

Personal Appraisal:$29.99*
MSRP: $59.99
Other Opinions:**

*Personal Appraisal at the time of the review
**Link to other sites' reviews

9/10 @ IGN
9/10 @ Gamespot

Kotaku says:

If you want to judge ODST for its fun without worrying about its price and the contents of its case, then know that its campaign hits the peaks of Halo 3 less often due both to its relative brevity and its uneven, experimental hubworld. The campaign can mostly be a joy. Firefight with a group of players is a blast. The main hero may be a bore, but the fiction is at least as interesting as it was in prior Halo games. Bungie's done good this time. That's a victory, even if that's a departure from a series which has often seen Bungie do great.

I'm turned. I prefer digital distribution for films.

2009-08-20T10:27:00.002-06:00

Since I can't twitter from my location, I'll have to drop a line here. Unfortunately, that means I will have more to say. ;D

I realize that I've been using Netflix so much that I really don't care if I have most movie discs or not. Television series are the perfect example: I don't want to own them in most cases. Streaming them works out great, and Netflix performs quite well on the 360 with great quality on 7Mb. CSI comes in HD, but honestly, it doesn't matter to me either way.

If I had to make a choice, I'd rather have a huge library available on demand at any time then have a huge collection of discs that need to be replaced every decade for "the new thing".

Call me sold. Not quite there for video games, but any more I don't find myself going back to old games; there's just no time. So what good would having the disc be if I always had an internet connection?

Just got the new 360 dash preview loaded

2009-08-02T13:34:00.004-06:00

I have to hand it to Microsoft, they are doing a fantastic job evolving the 360's dashboard. While at heart the NXE seems slightly similar to the media bar on the PS3/PSP, the larger item displays make for a more pleasant experience. From here, MS is just refining the NXE and adding useful features.

Since I spend much of my time with Netflix now, it's exciting to be able to browse available movies without relying on the computer. That was about the only gripe I had about the 360's Netflix integration. I should mention that it doesn't allow browsing of everything, but rather just the favorite genres selected at netflix.com.

The next prominent feature is the user ratings. As much as I don't necessarily agree with game ratings, it will help those with limited time weed out the waste-of-times. We use these when shopping online (for me, amazon and newegg), so this is a natural evolution.

The last notable add-in is the games-on-demand. While a few years ago, I may have scoffed at this idea, but I'm so busy I'd rather just download a game than have to go to the store. I find myself rarely replaying games anyway, so not have a physical copy may be weird, but I could get used to it.

The rest of the additions are minor (but welcomed) improvements to the UI, avatars, and settings options.

So what is missing? With all the streaming going around, it's still surprising they can't just stream game videos rather than requiring a download. The option would be nice.

There's still no browser. But I wonder about people who cry foul on this. I'm doubtful the majority of 360 owners would use it. I absolutely HATE browsing on the PS3. It's not practical. I've got laptops and desktops to do that on, with multiple monitors.

I'm still anticipating facebook and lastfm updates in the future as well. For now, its good to see that the 360 is continually moving in the right direction.

Mobile Phones. I go Q, look at Palm Pre's

2009-06-10T12:32:00.004-06:00

3

I can't tweet from this location, so I'll blab here.

I tired quickly of my Samsung SCH-i760. Apparently, my negative experience with the T-Mobile MDA (aka HTC Wizard I believe) didn't teach me. The days of PDA'ing are over (at least for me).

Using a stylus just seems to slow me down, and these PDA phones were not made for non-stylus use. Without a long fingernail, it's far to easy to go to the wrong place. Beyond that, a stylus seems to warrant that menus should be more complicated and awkward with extra levels and checkboxes.

Other options seemed to be directed to either Blackberries or iPhones. Both of which are quite proprietary if you ask me. BB's require a special service and software, and seem way too text-based for my tastes...leaving a feeling of inelegance. iPhones seem to me to be for those who are more interested in flashy gadgetry than functionality and compatibility. I need something straight to the point that helps me organize my day and gets the job done.

My original Moto Q and the T-Mobile dash were the best mix for me so far. The old Q only had WM5, which just hasn't stayed with the times. Work forced me onto the feature-stripping jail of Verizon, so my almost-perfect-for-me Dash with WM6 wasn't going to happen.

I picked up a Moto Q9c with WM6.1 and I've been quite happy. WM6.1 adds the "sliding panel" option to the homescreen (picture above), which is a big jump in accessibility and functionality. The prior reliance on "start" has been reduced to a bare minimum it seems, as most of the common needs are covered at home screen. The new IM-style text message system is a big leap as well. With the redesigned keyboard, everything seems to fall into place.

The bad parts? No built in WiFi...a special SD card is needed. Locking the device takes more than one keypress. The device is a little bigger than the competition. It's compatibility with MyMobiler isn't perfect. I only hope it works well with my RedFly!

Looking forward:

The iPhone's touch-screen keyboard is a giant turn off to me. While the flicking between windows is cute and all, it really doesn't seem necessary. Palm, which I've never really been a fan of, seems to be doing something right with the PRE. Tactile keyboard hasn't been replaced yet, crackheads at Apple!

Neither seems to be with Verizon, so I'll probably get stuck with a shameful BB.

Sony tries to use FFXIV as PRO, MMORPG status CONS it

2009-06-02T17:26:00.004-06:00

Sony tried to show off its Ferarri at E3, only to reveal that it is a Toyota MR2 with body kit.

FFXIV is coming folks, but you RPG hopefuls will need to join the ranks of MMORPG'ers. What a way to suck the life out of a Final Fantasy title. Now I'm not saying no one will be interested in it, but the unsaid preference seems to be with a Massively single-player Role Playing Game.

I remember trying to demo FFXI...I couldn't even get logged on to the server. Errors ahoy, and Square is STILL sending emails even though I never played got a chance to get into the game. Based on word-of-friends and online reviews, I didn't miss much. But then again, MMO's aren't my thing.

Maybe they should have focused on their exclusivity of FFXIII Versus.

Guitar Hero Smash Hits Demo out....huck the PS2

2009-06-01T12:06:00.002-06:00

5

I want to get my GH1-songs rockin' on! My fatty PS2 has been lingering around along with some PS2 wireless guitars in the off-chance I wanted to play GH1. Smash Hits will rectify this problem, and for that, I'm glad like bags.

The download is just under the 500MB mark, so it may take a while to grab for those on third-world network connections and it may be an issue for those fighting for HDD space.

Step aside FF, acronym AVP is THREE letters

2009-05-31T10:17:00.002-06:00

Was I saying something about Final Fantasy? Scratch that.

Short gameplay video of new AVP here.

I have a sinking feeling that we'll be limited to playing Predators. I'm sorry, but that SUCKS.

Window shopping but still strolling

2009-05-31T09:51:00.002-06:00

With E3 banging on the front door it's difficult not to actually read a few of my RSS feeds. Bayonetta is grabbing my attention with its complete insanity that seems to surpass the bore of Devil May Cry. Haven't we all been hiding our "I love SEGA" bumper stickers for a little too long? It may be time to slap those on our rides if this new bulleted witch blows our mind.

Dead Rising definitely deserved a sequel. Desperately, I think we need to demand that there's no 14-hour-of-play-time achievements this time. Screw that. Other than that, it's time to Ginsu some zombies.

Ghostbusters is also on my watch list, but based on my last year of descending gaming activity, I probably won't buy it any time soon.

As an odd turn of events, I actually find myself more interested in watching movies lately. My past is laden with anti-movie t-shirts and crucifixion of television. However, since I'm training MMA and summertime requires yardwork...I'm finding myself too tired to dive into a video game.

Knowing myself best, my guess is it will take a fantastic game to turn me back. Regardless of the interesting titles coming, I have a feeling it's going to take FFXIII to really resuscitate my gaming.

Out of Order

2009-03-16T11:18:00.002-06:00

Weeks go by without so much as a punctuation mark here. My last few posts were half-hearted at best with my hands going through the motions and my brain retired.

My time's stranglehold with gaming is shaking hands with demise. Gaming will always be a "Stella" for me, the Amy that I chase, but diversity shouts for the call of duty. We will still date and be friends, dear gaming. BFF, yo.

Future writings (if any) will probably extend past gaming and into all forms of entertainment. Slaving myself to gaming has been self-limiting.

Soar like an eagle, sweaty blood-stained towel, for you have been thrown.

Trudging through Half-Life 2

2009-02-25T22:35:00.002-07:00

Half-Life 2 bleeds aged charm, making it easy to see why it was a popular game during it's time. Suffice to say, even with a to-current-gen-console limited polish, it's gameplay leaves a lot to be desired.

Granted, I haven't tried Ep1 or Ep2 yet, but I have my doubts I'll make it there. HL2 is still full of predictable annoyances, leaving it hard for someone who hasn't played it yet to enjoy it. There is little surprise on big fights to come due to level layouts and ammo locations. The levels drag on...just when it seems the end is in sight, it screams on in unnecessary excess. It makes me wonder why we expect 20 hours out of a game anymore. Patience has dissolved over time I think.

That said, I can appreciate the in-game story elements and the vehicle sections compared to other games of the era. There's about a dozen handfuls of weapons to go around. The mini-puzzles, such as the level with the priest, and head-crab surprises were done fairly well, although the latter certainly pales compared to AVP2.

A begrudged search on the internet reveals that HL2 drags on for 14-15 hours. At this rate, I'll be lucky to make it halfway through. An hours play climaxes by me losing interest. Enough is enough.

CNET: Xbox 360 vs PS3 video, 6 rounds

2009-02-22T15:33:00.003-07:00

The PS3 has more features and appealing form factor, while the 360 has more games and the smooth online experience. Who wins? Watch the video.

I have to disagree with the judges on the PS3's looks. While the 360 is very conservative, the PS3 is an ugly piece of kit. Some of us may remember when the box-style cars were replaced with excessive roundness (think bubble Taurus). At the turn of the century, designers combined the two opposing aesthetics to "bring sexy back". The PS3 is a perfect example of "design that tries to hard" just like those late 90's models. Too many nonfunctional curves that crash into themselves, making for an awkward aesthetic.

Anyway, I'm not surprised at the outcome of this match up.

NOS Gameplay: Aliens Vs Predator 2 (PC)

2009-02-22T13:54:00.004-07:00

Okay, the host is a dork, but most gamers are. The game has many jumpy moments, but I think he's over-reacting. The video certainly doesn't do the game justice however.

We can only hope that SEGA's forthcoming Aliens Vs Predator is up to par with AVP2 and surpasses it. For an 8 year old game, it's high quality, good lighting, has 3 different loaded campaigns, and the multi-player is absolute craziness. A marine runs from the Predator's laser-sites and comes around a corner to be pounced on from the ceiling by an ALIEN.

With today's games, AVP could make for co-op campaigns and Left 4 Dead style versus modes that would keep gamers occupied for a long time. In the AVP universe...DLC could be almost endless.

Yeah, I'm excited. Screw off. And I need one of these for a pet:

Is the Blu-ray bonus really a selling point?

2009-02-18T23:07:00.002-07:00

Initial reaction to this article is: "So?"

I've never been huge into renting movies, but Netflix has changed my ways. It's just too convenient to pass-up. Most of that content is certainly not HD, but I love it. The content that is in HD is nice, but I tend to forget I'm experiencing extra pixels after a few minutes.

While I did finally find an HDTV that shows a noticeable difference, I'm still note convinced I need it. I can switch between compressed streaming video, DVD, and Blu-ray without batting an eye or disturbance. I just don't see the difference being that important; the content is far more important to me than minor variations in picture qualities. Netflix won't be getting an extra dollar out of me so I can tout my Blu-ray-having-ness, that's for sure.

How important is the extra pixels? Gaming journalism seems to nitpick at whether something is really 720p or 1080p or on Blu-ray. If you are happy with the picture, does it really matter? I'm certainly not going to buy the PS3 version of RE5 just because the worthless bonus disc is BD. Give me some real incentive!

Microsoft and Sony indirectly helped each other on their CPU's

2009-02-16T08:06:00.004-07:00

There were IBM, Sony, and Toshiba engineers working on the initial PowerPC core. That was designed for the Cell. But when Microsoft came in and said, "We want something similar, but with all these extra enhancements," we convinced the Sony and Toshiba partners that we wanted to do this one, common core that had these new features and they agreed to that. -Dave Shippy

This quote comes from the fourth question of the interview. He later mentions that further modifications requested from Sony were added. IBM's goal was to use a common core, albeit within different CPU designs.

Naturally, he's approached with fanboy extraordinaire question, "Which [CPU] was the more effective or powerful?" Intelligently, he responds that both processors are "fairly equal".

The last question involves an MS vs Sony business approach comparison. Both companies shot for 2005, and IBM met their goal. MS's was very aggressive and had backup plants (one of which involved relying on software where hardware wouldn't suffice). Sony was conservative, which left to many delays.

For more info, pick up the latest Game Informer and/or get Dave Shippy's book, "The Race for a new Game Machine".

[Dave Shippy interview, page 38, Game Informer Issue 191]

SEGA to resuscitate AVP FPS?

2009-02-11T10:48:00.002-07:00

In early 2010, we'll finally have our "AVP3" it sounds like. If it's anything like AVP2 (PC), then I can forget about all other FPS games for a while. I couldn't be happier that ALIENS is going to get some games. Some faith will be required since there really hasn't been a stand out AVP title since AVP2.

“The innovative new AvP game presents an exciting opportunity for us,” says CEO of SEGA West, Naoya Tsurumi. “It represents a fantastic addition to our growing Aliens franchise and the reinvention of one of gaming’s most cherished iconic titles. By adjusting the release of our other Aliens titles to accommodate it, SEGA will ensure that every title lives up to the high expectations of Aliens and AvP fans.”

[via Yahoo]

Bayonetta: Action games return

2009-01-31T18:02:00.002-07:00

Bayonetta 'TGS 2008' trailer

This trailer is RAD. The gameplay looks to be amazing, but we really need to take it for a test drive. Beyond that, I'm really happy to see a SEGA logo preclude it. Remember when all the darker style games were on the Genesis? The SNES had bright colors behind the Saturday morning cartoon aura. The Genesis had games like Chakkan, Shinobi, Phantasy Star IV, and MK with blood.

It'd be great to see SEGA return to providing that type of thing (whether publishing or developing).

FFXIII Trailer - The RPG the "Next Gen" needs

2009-01-31T17:47:00.002-07:00

I've never actually seen this trailer before, but it's my understanding that this was the original. It's no matter...I'm excited for some RPG gaming for sure. Regardless of FFXII's praise, I just couldn't get into that. This anti-sequel seems to be the remedy for that problem. The last RPG to capture me was Lost Odyssey, even though I got sidetracked with moving and never finished it.

Now if I just would have waited to buy a PS3. LOL

Amazon.com has $52 Killzone 2 Pre-order

2009-01-31T17:17:00.004-07:00

No, your eyes are not malfunctioning. I'm passing along a deal on a PS3 game.

Yes, I think the first Killzone was garbage. It had good ideas with bad execution...much of that attributed to the fact that the PS2 wasn't equipped for what they tried to do with this game. I bet it would have been a much better venture on the original Xbox, but oh well.

HOWEVER, I'm willing to give Killzone 2 a chance. Hell, Kotaku was impressed. The reviews seem positive. Then again, I completed disagreed with the metacritic scores of Resistance: Fall of man. But I also wanted to like Killzone, and I couldn't say the same for Resistance.

We shall see!

[via PS3fanboy.com]

Arkham Asylum Trailer - More Batman is good

2009-01-31T17:09:00.002-07:00

From the preview in Game Informer a while back, to this new trailer, this game looks and sounds like a good addition to everyone's list. The graphics looks great, and the cut-scenes shown above show that we may just get the Batman game we've always wanted.

Prior to "The Dark Knight" movie, I've never been a huge Batman fan. But after that display, more is certainly better.

SEGA Ultimate Collection: $30 for 40+ games

2009-01-23T00:59:00.003-07:00

Holy crap...this is a no-brainer buy. All the Phantasy Stars, Sonics, Shinobis, Golden Axes, Streets of Rages for sixty cents per. See the full list here (with unlockables).

A lingering question though: Will this cannibalize their XBLA versions, and will the achievements differ?

This will also be available for the PS3.

In response to Hirai vs Greenberg

2009-01-22T20:36:00.003-07:00

This is a response to the notion that Microsoft and Sony's pissing contest is ridiculous because Nintendo is blasting both in hardware sales:

I don't think we want Sony and Microsoft to spearhead the casual market and try to compete with Nintendo. As gamers who like non-casual games, that would threaten our hobby if the other two companies cloned Nintendo.

Anyway, my PS3 has greater longevity than the 360...in that it sits the longest without being turned on. Kaz has to defend his business' product, and so does Greenberg. However, we're still waiting for Sony to put their money where their mouth is, rather than in the toilet.

Revisiting Riddick in new game

2009-01-22T20:16:00.002-07:00

Chronicles of Riddick was a pretty good game on the original Xbox. My problem was...by the time I bought it, I already had a 360, and the downgrade in experience had little allure. In fact, I still want to go back and play it, but the game market is so flooded with good titles it's hard to find time to take a step back.

However, it looks like the new Assault on Dark Athena game will INCLUDE a touched-up version of the original title. This is great news; it'll give me an excuse to finish playing through it AND play a will-probably-be-awesome new game. As a preemptive strike, I'm claiming must-have now.

Xbox 360 with bad DVD Drive key is still useful

2009-01-21T15:12:00.003-07:00

I was dutifully pissed when I found out my Xbox 360 RRoD "fixer" (courtesy of ebay) had a bricked DVD drive and the original key was lost forever.

To explain: the previous owner tried to mod the DVD drive firmware and messed up. This hosed the DVD Drive and possibly the one piece of data that would allow me to swap for a different drive. Basically, every 360 motherboard is "married" to it's original DVD drive via special encryption keys. Without a proper key match, the console will no longer play Xbox 360 disc games. Even though I managed to pull the key off the bricked drive, it was not a match, so it's no good.

At least, that's what I thought.

Even though it will not play 360 games, I can still watch DVD movies with it. It still works with Netflix. For games I can download XBLA games to a storage device and play them. Lastly, the pseudo media center functions of streaming music and videos still work. It went straight to the kitchen, ending up being a good investment of about $80 ($50 for broken 360/power supply and $30 for a new DVD drive). I must say it's much better than the PS2 that used to be in there ;).

PS3 triggers, and 360 Netflix

2009-01-13T00:13:00.003-07:00

First of all, if you hate the ridiculously slippery PS3 Quadripletuple Shock triggers as much as I do, then visit Amazon and get a set of these. While they are aesthetically clumsy, they fix Sony's design flaw on the stock triggers. They snap right on, and are an instant improvement.

As for Netflix on the 360, the concept is fantastic so far: select a bunch of movies and watch them online with the 360. Discs not needed. Unfortunately, the entirety of their "flix" aren't available for this service. It seems to concentrate on some classics along with semi-recent films within the last few years, but not necessarily this year or yesteryear. But in any case, there's enough stuff on there for me to seriously consider staying on.

My test run is on Spidey 3 right now, and it's performing without hiccups.

BTW: Happy New Year, Girls beating you at Halo

2009-01-02T14:53:00.003-07:00

Welcome to 2009. Hopefully it will be a good gaming year; for me 2008 was a bit on the short side for me because of money and time shortages. It seems to me that 2010 will bring much more to look forward to, but being wrong in this case is fine by me. The PS3 should host some fantastic showings by then, although it's debatable on whether anyone will care.

--

Vicious SqueakyNinja paid me a visit last night and we Halo'd until 2 am. Her account has long been silverized and unused, so if you've seen my tag online, it's probably her kicking your ass. We had a many solid rounds of being obnoxious with TheKyleNinja and pushing the term "appropriate" well beyond it's means.

Good times!

Halo 3: Slight Elite advantage?

2009-01-01T13:04:00.002-07:00

Around 3:40, this unofficial mythbusters video shows Elites really do have "the Matrix". DemolitionNinja would be happy.

Full set of these videos are here.

Frustrated with P(o)S Home

2008-12-31T15:43:00.002-07:00

Before I get into that, I thought it was cool that the cheap 42" Samsung Plasma I bought supports stereoscopic 3D. Now I just need a game or movie that supports it. LOL

Anyway, ever since the first time I logged into PS Home, I haven't been able to get back in. It keeps telling me I have a "bad download", and I can't get it to launch. I've formatted my hard drive twice and redownloaded home but it still pukes like a drunk jackass.

After almost 2 years with the PS3, it is still frustrating. I'm trying to get something besides Blu-ray out of it, but waiting 20 minutes to download/install updates for everything I try to do with it is getting old. I even have the damned thing in my room, and I just don't have the time to deal with it.

One interesting note was that I sat a little closer to my new TV during a Blu-ray flick and it starting looking grainy. Strange....it's supposed to be the other way around. Whatever.

And Blu-ray becomes "clear"

2008-12-24T01:25:00.003-07:00

So out of all of the Televisions below, which one do you think finally got me to do a double-take on a Blu-ray flick?

26" Westinghouse LCD 1080i @ $600

57" Mitsubishi DLP 1080p @ $1750

46" Sony Bravia LCD 1080p @ $3000+

42" Sharp Aquos LCD 720p @ $1200

42" Samsung Plasma 720p @ <$900

Note that the prices were at the time of purchase, not necessarily the current price.

Well, here I am with my new 42" Samsung Plasma. The picture is quite impressive, even on the UMD I was playing out of my slim PSP earlier. What is getting me right now, is that I only bought this TV because it comboed with a 360 Pro at Best Buy for only $900 and 2 years no interest. I didn't buy it for an upgrade to my game room, but rather just a lower-cost upgrade to my bedroom.

Although I think all of the above TV's are of great quality, I've been really impressed with Samsung's display processors the last couple of years. When I get the 52" for downstairs, I'm definitely going for Samsung.

So I should be sold on Blu-ray now? Nope, but now I can appreciate the picture.

Blu-ray gets symbiotic with DVD

2008-12-23T10:07:00.003-07:00

As usual, I was complaining about Blu-ray again not long ago. One of my gripes was bashed in the face, as BD/DVD hybrid discs are finally....there! Not here, but there...being Japan. Our grubby paws probably won't have to envy overseas for long, as this is a better idea than providing "free digital copies" that don't work properly because of iron-fisted DRM.

The unsettling feeling that we will be forced into Blu-ray still continues inside me, punching at organs. My question is, when will I see a Blu-ray movie that will make the movie experience notably different? As a reminder, I have a 1080p 57" television with a fantastic picture, so it's not the TV (and I've tried PS3 Blu-ray on other TVs). So in my mind, if they are going to force me into wasting money on Blu-ray down-the-road, then they might as well lube up our rears with these hybrid discs.

Playstation Home fails to impress

2008-12-22T12:38:00.003-07:00

In typical Playstation 3 anti-playing, I've not had a good experience with Home so far. As usual, the download was slow so I let it run and did other things. A couple days later when I realized I had left the PS3 on, I found that I needed yet another update to use Home. More waiting, less playing. This seems to be PS3 mantra at this point. Can they really not make updates go as smoothly and quickly as they do on Xbox Live? It's been an irritation since the PS3 stepped into the scene.

Anyway, after that was done, I finally jumped into the character creator. There were plenty of options for distorting what should be a human into something personal. Alas, many of the options took 20 seconds or more to load, leaving a bunch of option boxes with only question marks. This doesn't bode well for the impatient that are just trying to mock up a representation of themselves quickly.

After giving up on further customization, I proceeded. My character was thrust into a beach side apartment filled with some couches, chairs and tables. And you can *gasp*, sit on them. Experimentation with the menus revealed some awkward dancing and gestures that provided several minutes of amusement. Once that wore off, I tried to go out the front door.

The Main Plaza was another 20MB download. Sony must be under the assumption that users won't have an interest in leaving their virtual cave? It didn't make much sense to require the main area of Home be a separate download. The wait for the Home download is already long (on a 7Mb down), so why not just lump it together?

I've tried downloading the Main Plaza twice. The first time, there was never an indication it finished when background downloading. The second time, the PS3 froze half-way into the download; I couldn't even pull up the XMB. I had to do a hard shutdown. That was enough for me.

Blu-ray gets voted in as one of the worst techs of the year

2008-12-18T16:26:00.003-07:00

Looks like Blu-ray isn't impressing Yahoo! Tech at all. The usual arguments are here (direct or referenced) that it's slow, expensive, and not much of an improvement to the average consumer.

The comments on "Is Blu-ray the new Laserdisc?" shows both sides of the fence well. The videophiles are throwing tantrums that everyone is essentially a blind idiot if they can't discern the extra pixel count and "better" sound (read, "everyone should open their wallet-holes"). The average joes are saying that upscaled DVD is comparable and the cost isn't justified. And so on, and so forth.

When a commenter inferred that only an average consumer would think upscaled DVD is comparable, I laughed a bit. I hardly consider myself an average consumer, taking the challenge of playing the movies side-by-side and on different televisions to try and be amazed by Blu-ray. I keep taking Hollywood Video up on their Free Blu-ray Rental coupons, but we still switch between DVD and Blu-ray with no complaints of quality.

My stance: Does Blu-ray look better? Yes. Does it impact the experience enough to demand an upgrade? Hell no. How much time it takes for me to forget I'm watching Blu-ray? 2-5 minutes. DVD didn't have a picture problem to begin with. I think that's why Blu-ray is in trouble. They try to sell special features on BD, but most people couldn't care less about special features.

In the end, I believe that they will have to come up with either a more convenient media or a new way to experience movies (3D, holographic, etc.). On that note, I have yet to see anyone mention how the media form factor hasn't changed yet (CD sized media). Every prior major media shift has included a size and form change. With the full-circle wow-factor missing from it's technology, it's difficult to say there's a long future for Blu-ray unless the studios force it upon us.

Attack of the teens?

2008-12-18T10:58:00.005-07:00

It looks like someone decided to vandalize my mailbox by bending the pole all the way to the ground. It was easy enough to bend it back to vertical, but it looks like the culprit had stolen my review copy of the new Destory All Humans game and left me with the packaging carcass in my driveway.

The irony is that I moved to a city with half the crime per population and that's when this happens (never had a problem in Ogden). Ogden, UT has about 6.5 crimes per 100 people, where Roy has 2.8 crimes per 100 people. For perspective, New York, NY has about 3 crimes per 100 people, and Los Angeles, CA has about 4.8 crimes per 100 people. *shakes head in disdain*

Quick reference to the holy information grounds known as the internet shows it is a Federal crime to vandalize a mailbox, with fines that can be up to $250,000. The link also gives some tips on what to do in a such an event.

There are worse things, but it certainly is annoying. Hopefully I will be able to obtain a new review copy.

Avatar New Formal Clothe

2008-12-17T02:10:00.001-07:00

There are new avatar clothing available for the price of zilch. Yup you heard it right, still free and counting. Hopefully this free spree doesn't run out any time soon. There are new clothing for the male and female avatars under the customizable section.

Quote (Major Nelson)

For the gentlemen we have
Blue Tuxedo (save that one for prom season)
Black Tuxedo
Shirt with Cummerbund
Black Trilby
Bowler Hat

For the ladies we have:
Elegant Ball Gown
Little Black Dress
Formal Trouser Suit
Elegant Watch
Red 60's Shades
Strappy High Heels
Platform Shoes

Raving Rabbids proves Wii's purpose

2008-12-13T01:45:00.002-07:00

The Wii's purpose: To turn the world into a room full of jackasses.

Review: Roadie Pro Upgrade

2008-12-10T23:55:00.003-07:00

Well, probably about anyone who wanted to upgrade to the ION Drum Rocker has a master plan to evolve into a drummer. Of sorts, at least. This also means a watchful eye must be dedicated to equipment used to convert the ION a regular electronic drumkit.

ION recommends the Alesis DM5, which is a full-featured, and pricey drum module. What isn't highlighted by the Rocker manufacturer is that a kick pedal, kick trigger, and another cymbal trigger are also needed to make the conversion. With the DM5 already at $300+, that's already making the investment seem sketchy. A kick trigger is around $100, another cymbal trigger with mount is $50, and kick pedals can range from $50 - $300+, it'd be better just to buy a separate kit!

Sigler Music has a cheaper alternative with their Roadie Pro Upgrade. I've mentioned it before, but now I have the upgrade kit in-hand and ready to review.

Continue reading...

Out of the box, the parts were good-to-go. The kick pedal was a perfect tension for accuracy. The kick pad housing is sturdy and stays in place. The hi-hat pad is much sturdier than it looks in the picture. The only complaint I had about the now-open-box special is that the packing was poor; mostly just parts drown in packing peanuts. Nothing seemed damaged, but more care in the packaging would have reduced some uneasiness.

The picture instructions do the job, but the text instructions could have been better. All of the parts in the kit install easily, and use the same mounting hardware as came with the ION. It should be a no-brainer for the most part.

After playing with the kit for a few hours, I have two complaints. The first minor complaint is it seems the drum brain is overly sensitive with the hi-hat controller. It will double and triple the clasp sound with a single engagement. The second complaint is more important; the kick trigger is LOUD. It can be heard over headphones, and can even drown out the kick-sound when externally amplified. If keeping it quiet around the domicile is the plan, than this kick pad will certainly fail the task. Thwapping noises will ring throughout the halls and drive someone nuts. But maybe after jamming with the original Rock Band kit, co-inhabitants will already be numb to obnoxious clicking and banging.

Overall, this upgrade kit gets the job done. It looks great and performs it's functions as intended. The third differently-shaped cymbal doesn't look out of place and actually works with Rock Band, which is an added bonus in itself. The brain isn't going to impress seasoned drummers, but it should do the trick for budding "drummists". The kick trigger pad needs to be quieter; maybe some extra padding and/or a different beater would help. Other than that, aspiring drummers will have the perfect kit-completer on their game-controller-turned-drumset.

3 pros:
-Converts the ION Drum Rocker into a complete stand alone drumkit
-Low price for this set of items and gives a 3rd cymbal for Rock Band use
-Excellent for starting drummers that don't know what they need

3 cons:
-Still need a kickbox to make the kick trigger work with Rock Band
-Brain is is over-sensitive to the high-hat pedal
-Kick trigger pad is rather loud and obnoxious out of the box

Personal Appraisal: $199.99*
MSRP: $199.99
Other Opinions:**

8/10 rockband.com forum user

*Personal Appraisal at the time of the review
**Reviews for this kit aren't readily available at this time

Blu-ray and multiple discs for movies....why?

2008-12-10T23:04:00.002-07:00

So while Internet journalists continue to take the worn out stance that Blu-ray is necessary to reduce disc numbers, I'm looking at my newly purchased Dark Knight disc that has 3 discs in it. WTF.

Two of those 3 discs are Blu-ray. Isn't the whole damn point of Blu-ray to prevent this kind of thing? Shouldn't all of this content fit on their one "massively storage spaced" disc? It just doesn't make any sense. With Kill Bill vol 1 and 2, I understand they are trying to rape our wallets just because they can by making them two unnecessary separate purchases. But the Dark Knight is ONE movie.

So why is it okay for movie studios to pump out unnecessary multiple discs, but not for video games to pump out necessary multiple discs? Sure, the media is different, as-is the method of entertainment. But it seems to me that Blu-ray is NOT being used to its purpose here. Obviously they either want to gorge on price or they think that multiple discs shows more value to the consumer.

Yes, I appreciate the "free digital copy" that comes on the DVD in the set. But even that could have been on a separate layer of the Blu-ray disc so a DVD drive could read it. That's another tech possibility they've wasted even though HD-DVD is unfortunately out-of-the-way.

Consumers get pwned no matter the stance the take.

I guess DVD does win in that I still hear people constantly call BD "Blu-ray DVD", which has got to bother a few execs somewhere.

Counterstrike + Bordom = Woah....

2008-12-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

Lips mic support going to RB2

2008-12-05T20:03:00.005-07:00

The long awaited update for Harmonix's Rock Band 2 to support the LIPS microphone is finally heading to a 360 near you. MTV multiplayer announced this feature to ensure consumers could rock out without having the trouble of a little wire to ruin their fun. Smart move guys, smart move indeed.

Bargain Bin Review: F.E.A.R. Files

2008-12-02T01:47:00.005-07:00

There's something about turning on "Matrix Mode" that injects a certain cool-factor to any action game. First Person shooters are no exception, and slowmo never seems to get old.

F.E.A.R mixed many of my favorite elements: horror, interesting story, and action-packed game-play. It was only natural to want more out of the game. My only regret is that F.E.A.R. was dated by the time it hit the consoles, and interest in the game had certainly waned at that point. This is unfortunate, as the multiplayer is reminiscent of Counter Strike intensity.

F.E.A.R. Files doesn't bring anything new to the formula, but it does extend the game out more for those who were yearning. Any fan of the original title should find no problem in enjoying this stand-alone expansion collection. The gunplay is still action packed (thank you, Slowmo), and they managed to make both games seem a bit less repetitive.

3 pros:
-Slowmo makes for much entertainment
-Less repetitive than FEAR
-Still has the infamous FEAR gameplay

3 cons:
-Graphics are dated, a lot of the same textures are used
-Other than cheap scare-tactics, it doesn't instill much FEAR
-Story isn't really present

Resembles/Feels like: F.E.A.R. and a little bit of Counter Strike

Rent or Buy: Rent

Personal Appraisal:$19.99*
MSRP:$29.99
Other Opinions:**

6.7/10.0 @ IGN
7.9/10.0 @ teamxbox.com
C+ @ 1up.com

*Personal Appraisal at the time of the review
**Link to other sites' reviews

MK vs DC: Joker is still the man

2008-11-28T13:03:00.001-07:00

I don't even think this necessitates a comment...LOL

MK vs DC: in-fight minigames are intriguing

2008-11-28T12:19:00.002-07:00

This video is the first in the storyline for the superheroes. Unlike the original chain I saw, this video actually covers some of the minigames that go on during actual gameplay. Of particular interest is when the Flash fights Kano and when he fights Batman afterwards. My brash attitude toward the non-fatalities has been thwarted; I'll be lookin' for a good deal on the game.

Yoshi gets pwned

2008-11-28T11:31:00.004-07:00

I found an interesting piece of gaming art on inprnt.com. It looks like Mario pissed off the mob and they are serving him a warning. Take a gander at the full photo, and if you like the artist consider purchasing a print! Check out the artist's other designs at evanimal.com.

This is the same site I purchased prints of Jason Chan's art from. He's the guy that drew the original fanart that I used for my tattoo.

Rock Band Wii: Ick.

2008-11-27T23:41:00.006-07:00

Since Rock Band for the Wii has lowered to a sweet $99.99, I decided it was time to buy it for my Mom and Dad. They seemed to enjoy it on the 360 during my temporary stay with them earlier in the year. But the original pricing was quite prohibitive. Problem solved!

Upon playing a few songs, I notice the kickdrum pedal seemed sturdier. The guitar was wireless (with a dongle), and the USB hub didn't require external power. These were the good points, but it stops there.

The Wii version pales compared to the 360 version like 480i to 1080p. Not only are the graphics atrocious, but even when calibrated, the jewels seem off and don't explode at the right time for successful hits or notes. It's very distracting when the animation is late. My entire family said it felt wrong overall.

Conclusion: The Wii version should be reserved for those who don't have the other consoles. In my parent's case, it gets the job done, albeit in an ugly and awkward way.

Resident Evil 5 demo to come Dec. 5th (Japan)

2008-11-26T21:28:00.004-07:00

According to IGN, Capcom's Resident Evil 5 demo should be hitting the marketplace on Dec. 5th for Japan only. Since this game is rather big, it is expected to come out in other regions shortly after release in Japan.

This demo will have 2 playable stages from past game shows demos, and it will be co-op offline and online. Let us hope it isn't to long till it's released in the US for are zombie killing spree is wearing out in Left 4 Dead.

End of today's flurry: NXE HDD install chart

2008-11-26T20:30:00.007-07:00

Bingegamer.net has a useful chart of games that show improvement when loaded on the HDD. Unfortunately, it looks like this will more appeal to those who whine about the disc noise rather than improve load-times. It could lengthen the life of your DVD drive as well. The DVD drives aren't too bad to swap if you've got the right stuff, but doing so voids the RRoD warranty.

Assassin's Creed - Est. 40% faster
Bioshock - Est. 30% faster
Burnout Revenge - Est. 40-50% faster
Fallout 3 - Est. 50% faster
Lost Odyssey - Est. 50% faster
Mass Effect - Smoother gameplay
Ninja Gaiden - Est. 60% faster
Orange Box - Est. 40% faster
Virtua Fighter 5 - Est. 50% faster

Fatality to my insides: MK vs DC

2008-11-26T20:02:00.003-07:00

I was actually wanting to buy this game until I watched these fatalities. To top off the lame-brew: Superheros are only capabale of a "Heroic Brutality"? I haven't been this disappointed since MK3's groan-inducing fatalies (although Smoke blowing up the Earth was more amusing than it was worth ;).

I know they were shooting for a Teen rating, but it's hard to call this an MK game with these pathethic shows of finish moves. If anything, the story is semi-amusing to watch on both sides of the fence.

It still may be worth a shot, as a few people say the gameplay is "Excellent". I wouldn't be surprised, since I've honestly enjoyed the 3D MK's more than expected, especially since I never really adapted out of 2D in that genre ;).

I'm really disappointed that MK: Shaolin Monks wasn't more popular. If any MK game has taken the series in a different and blazingly-fun direction, it was that game. Pick it up for Xbox or PS2 (unfortunately, not BC on 360) and bring a friend.

Wii games are twice as likely to underperform

2008-11-26T19:43:00.002-07:00

A recent study has shown that Wii games are certainly more bargin-binable than their competitors. %15.1 of Wii titles are reduced in price by their publishers after a short time on sale, compared to the respectie %7.5 on 360 and %9.09 on the PS3.

The blame-factor seems to be timing. Unlike the HD consoles, targeted Wii titles are often released in parallel time frames with competing titles.

I receive this more as: There is more garbage released on the Wii than the other consoles. Development isn't as in-depth resulting in an over-abundance of the same-old. This leaves our casual-and-green gaming consumers basing decisions off box-art and game descriptions on the back.

Good news: ALIENS: Colonial Marines will still be

2008-11-26T19:36:00.002-07:00

Gearbox had recently passed out the pink slips to some involved with A:CM, so speculation arose about the game's demise. Screw you, speculation, nobody likes you.

It's good to hear the game is on track. We've been due for a real ALIENS title for quite some time now. While the RTS dabbling was commendable, we really haven't seen anything good with acid-for-blood "serpents" since AVP2 on the PC.

Avatar secret hair colors?

2008-11-22T23:34:00.006-07:00

A couple days ago a fellow "Nixier" got a suprise, when he noticed he had an added page of hair colors when he moved around the avatar's head. All you have to do is widdle around the right thumbstick till you see the upper left hair selection icon rotate. As it rotates you click on it and bam! You're locked in for some easter sunday colors.So enjoy your wacky hair styles with a bit of zest.

NXE, Updates, and RRoD

2008-11-21T23:39:00.002-07:00

I was disappointed to hear the friend I'm visiting has an RRoD console after installing the NXE. Well, he mustn't be alone. His Core system has an HDMI port, so I was a bit surprised...weren't those supposed to be the "good ones"?

Both my RRoD experiences were with big updates. Shortly after the Fall update of 2006, my launch console and a room mate's 6-month-old console both showed us the red-eye. Mind you that was before *all* 360's had the 3-year RRoD warranty, so mine was covered and his was not (until they changed it and he got it fixed). Both replacement boxes have worked fine since, but it left me leary.

Well, there's also that RRoD I console bought on Ebay that I almost fixed (don't have the DVD drive key, making it strictly a media center after soldering work). But that was a user-induced RRoD caused by inexperienced DIY mod-attempts.

This is unacceptable. No 360 after those first few waves should have this problem. It's pretty bad when end-users have to come up with seemingly-effective but warranty-voiding fixes.

This just reminds me of PS2 DRE yet again. How many revisions is this going to take? I certainly hope not 13 like with the PS2. Microsoft is already half-way there.

Note: Disposable Income Not Available

2008-11-19T16:02:00.004-07:00

Some time in life, all of us get hit like a truck with our finances. This happened to me years ago, but it taught me the warning signs of when to stay out of the street and stay home.

My concerns are arising about the economy and the upcoming year. While I will get some awesome tax benefits from having purchased a house this year, other expenses have stepped into the spotlight. Some are difficult to plan for at this juncture, but still need to be considered. To name a few: high dental expenses (implants), old credit card debt, Christmas gifts, and the need for a new vehicle. Basically, that's life for everyone, but it does cut into our leisure.

While the details are personal, I can say it's making it difficult to justify any further game purchases for the remainder of the year and beyond. Naturally, the timing could have been adjusted 6 months or so. I had planned on trying Resistance 2, Last Remnant, Too Human, Prince of Persia, Halo Wars, FEAR 2, RE5, Killzone 2, and some others that will be here within the next 6 months.

Looks like I better get comfortable with the concept of renting.

What I've played on my Vacation

2008-11-14T20:46:00.003-07:00

Amusement comes with vacation I guess? Well, my friends' kids kind of keep us from doing much during the week. I've been 24hr sick, one of their kids had a birthday party, and my buddy had to work 2 days this week. We're looking at getting some Transformer icon tats over the weekend for fun and checking out a fight. I'm sure my sister will be scoping that fight in-person, so maybe we'll see you on the tele, Crys.

Due to limited options, it's been a multiplatform gaming week for me thus far. Everything but the PS3...but everyone should know that is OK with me (LOL). I've caught up on Lego Star Wars II (1 achievement left), finally finished Phoenix Wright: Justice for All (DS), and completed Gears of War 2. If I'm lucky, I'll finally beat damned Sephiroth in Nibelheim in Crisis Core if I get motivated. My weak Zack can't take the beating on the second part of the fight I guess. It's irritating for a single-button mash game, I assure you.

I finally get to check out a Destroy All Humans game and share with you my experience. I've heard positive responses in the past about the game, so I can't wait.

Destroy All Humans! The Path of Furon

2008-11-13T09:53:00.008-07:00

Path of the Furon is the next title in the Destroy All Humans! series. Players will take control of Crypto right where Big Willy Unleashed leaves off. The setting is the funked-out 1970's when mysterious new enemy attacks Earth. Crypto is swept up in a conspiracy that unravels his groovy new way of life and threatens the very survival of the Furon race. Players will take Crypto on a journey of Enlightenment and Destruction as he gains new powers from an alien Kung Fu Master in order to take on his most difficult enemy yet; his own kind. More information can be found at http://www.CryptoEnhance.com.

To kick off the release, CryptoEnhance.com is giving away a 32” HD TV and $50 Gamestop giftcards. Enter the giveaway contest here. The site has plenty of media on the game as well, including trailers, interviewers, wallpapers, etc. Be sure to check it out!

In addition to that, an exclusive Destroy All Humans! Bobblehead figure can be picked up at local Gamestops by providing a proof-of-purchase for your copy of the game. If ordering online, the figure will be shipped with the game.

Destroy All Humans! The Path of Furon will be available for the PS3, Xbox 360, and wireless platforms starting in December.

Quick note on Rock Band vs Guitar Hero drums

2008-11-10T09:18:00.004-07:00

I saw the Guitar Hero: World Tour drumset for the first time in Walmart the other day, and it really made me appreciate that I bought the ION drums.

The cymbals were made of a flimsy rubber*, which will probably make them last longer. It still managed to look cheap however, but in reality the Rock Band kit does, too. Over-all, the kit didn't seem as sturdy either, but I'd have to sit down and play to get a true feel. The layout is definitely an improvement over the Rock Band layout, but I can't say it would have been worth the purchase to switch kits.

I imagine the Rock Band 2 kit with the Madcatz cymbal add-ons would be the best bet for those not willing to drop cash on the ION kit.

*Update 11/19/2008: I made it sound like the cymbals are only made of rubber. They do have a solid core, but look flimsy when you hit them.

Wii is a glorified board-game, attach-rate is fine

2008-11-10T08:25:00.004-07:00

I think on one hand the Wii has become the most expensive board game on Earth - it's the kind of thing that families will play at Christmas, and probably won't play again throughout the remainder of the year.

I expect Nintendo fanboys will vomit opinion out of every orifice about this quote, but my experience isn't really supporting a retort on it. I've come across more people being excited that they purchased a Wii than what they've actually played on the Wii.

My mother for example, randomly purchased a Wii 6 months ago, but has only played it a couple of times. Those times weren't even with my sister and me; they were with her side of the family during get-togethers. When I inquire to her friends about the Wii's they've purchased, they have more to say about what they did to get one than what they've played on it.

I've lived in my new house for 6 months and I haven't played the Wii even one time. the power cord has remained unplugged. I still have RE:UC, MP3, and a couple of other games to delve into, but the draw isn't there.

Events like those support the myth that the Wii's attach-rate sucks. Well, it doesn't. They fare better than the PS3 apparently!

At this point, I think the definition of a Wii gamer isn't congruent with our standard "gamer" perception. I think "casual gamer" is inappropriate even. I think many of those new to gaming consoles with their Wii's are more "entertainment seekers" than gamers at all. When I think casual gamers, I think those who frequent the stock Windows OS games, or Yahoo games, or the like. They game, but not with in-depth games. Wii owners seem to look more for a quick fix on occasion.

Regardless of gamer opinions, Nintendo is making their money. They are doing something right for themselves as a business. Are they doing something right for the industry? Not intentionally, that's for sure. We'll just have to see where they go from here.

ION customer support over-zealous????

2008-11-01T12:21:00.003-06:00

In my ION Drum Rocker Review, I mentioned my kit was missing an Allen Wrench and the USB pigtail was faulty. I had messaged customer service through their website to get the problems resolved. They responded with a form used to request replacement parts.

They never sent me any kind of confirmation, so I've been wondering on the status. On Halloween, I received an unexpected package from an unfamiliar address from Customer Service. Upon cutting through the packing tape, I was greated with a white box labeled "360 module". It was the whole brain unit with the mounting bracket...

I thought "Allen Wrench Tool" and "USB Pigtail Attachment" would be pretty obvious. And a mere $5 worth of parts. But hey, if they want to send me a backup brain with that pigtail, there's no complaints here. In a final humorous twist, the Allen Wrench Tool was not included, but I have no quarrel; I'll use my own at this point.

AnimeBonzai '08, cosplay-tastic

2008-10-29T21:41:00.005-06:00

I hit up an Anime convention in SLC with an in-the-hobby friend of mine. There were plenty of gaming characters there, mostly from Final Fantasy. Sonic, Mario, and Resident Evil also made appearances. See more pics after the jump.

Continue reading...

NXE EMAILS!

2008-10-29T12:11:00.003-06:00

Reminder, today is when your F5 key would die! As you will be pressin' the living life out of it to finally find out if you were chosen for the preview program. Major Nelson noted that most likely the emails we be sent "later out the day". So if you happen to get this invitation,prepare for bunch of messages from your friends.

Update:Major Nelson just said the emails would most likely be sent later on tonight.

Bars come down on the comments

2008-10-28T00:44:00.004-06:00

Looks like I have to go back to comment moderation. There are plenty of forums that have room for waste-of-space comments so this site doesn't need to add to the pile. If you have something to contribute, by all means comment.

Free MBU DLC Oct. 29th

2008-10-27T15:59:00.006-06:00

Can I haz Dee Ehl Sii for Marble Blast Ultra? Yes we can. This Wednesday there will be a free DLC for MBU due to Major Nelson's blog. Added three new achievements as well. Bout time we see some action for this sweet game that most people have forgotten about.

Fallout's story

2008-10-27T00:18:00.004-06:00

You ever wonder why you've never heard of Fallout 1 or Fallout 2 and curious about what the hell is going on? Lucky for you Gametrailers has a (very intelligently) video to inform you what's been going on with this nuclear explosion type game. Click to watch video

Call of Duty:WAW Zombie mode

2008-10-25T12:12:00.005-06:00

Treyarch is introducing a zombie co-op mode(skip to end for zombies) into the game. This mode can be played with up to 4 players with waves of zombies. This game mode also features its own economy which means you can move obstacles, buy weapons (flamethrower included), and build barricades.

According to guys at Treyarch if you make it past the 23rd wave you beat the masters at their own game. So get em shottys out and sniper scopes and get some BOOM HEADSHOTS?!

[Thanks p00ndawg]
Source

Try the "NXE" early

2008-10-24T22:57:00.003-06:00

Would you like to be one of the people who receives the "New Xbox Experience" earlier than when it's suppose to be released? Well, Microsoft is offering a few thousands people who want in on the early action.

All you gotta do is go here to Microsoft Connect,register using your Windows Live Id,then go here to sign in here and fill out a simple survey. Then just hope your one of few the lucky thousands. Just by filling out the survey doesn't make you automatically in.

Should you get this update you will not receive all the "NXE" features. Just features like Avatars, Live Parties, and Netflix.

Call Of Duty: WAW BETA Give-a-way!

2008-10-24T12:52:00.008-06:00

Are you always thinking to your self. "Man,that guy probably sucks at COD:WAW. Why does he have the BETA? I can be ownin' heads!" Well, have some good news for you folks.We're giving away the COD:WAW beta. All you have to do is comment why you want the beta in your hands and your (real) email. Then wait less than 2 days and you should have a BETA code to enter sent to the email you provided.

UPDATE: Thank You for all of those who participated.

DLC Rock Band 2 Tuesday 28th

2008-10-23T21:45:00.006-06:00

This coming week we got a classic thunder of DLC coming out. All the songs are 160 each ($2.00).With one of my favorite 80s band, The Psychedelic Furs. =) So get your totally gnarly ass to rockin'!

SIOUXIE & THE BANSHEES

"Hong Kong Gardens"
"Kiss Them For Me"
"Killing Jar"

BLINK-182

"Dammit"

SILVERSUN PICKUPS

"Melatonin"
"Well Thought Out Twinkles"

PSYCHEDELIC FURS

"Pretty In Pink"

Source

Gears of War 2 "The Last Day" trailer

2008-10-23T19:26:00.011-06:00

There's a new GOW2 trailer out called "The Last Day". It reminds us of a time when GOW1 was coming out and Epic released a trailer called "Mad World". Ah the days of getting pumped up by a trailer for a game are back.

Proud Owner of Midway [MWY] stock

2008-10-23T15:59:00.005-06:00

As many already know, the stock market is *sings* "sending out an SOS". Midway, one of my favorite publishers, is unfortunately a grain in the market sand. Their stock is at an all time low at under a buck. Impatient investors are probably jumping ship in a lot of stock.

I'm wishing my IRA had more funds so I could mob up on all kinds of stock! Alas, that isn't the case. However, I figure it'd be a fun chance to sweep some MWY into my portfolio. I can only hope that Mortal Kombat vs DC helps them recover! And whatever happened to NBA Jam? I miss that game, man.

Rock Band 2 Delivers!

2008-10-22T10:33:00.009-06:00

According to IGN Rock Band 2 will be releasing the DLC 20 pack song on Nov. 4th. This list of songs comes with a bunch of songs no one has ever heard of (Except for Underoath).

All you have to do is register and provide the redemption code on the back of the RB2 booklet. That's the only way,if you got yours from GameStop like most of us, some don't come with a booklet,so go steal your friends.

Source

XBLA "Portal: Still Alive" 10/22

2008-10-21T23:53:00.010-06:00

The arcade version of Portal heads to XBLA for 1200 Microsoft points. This is the same game you would get with The Orange Box only with additional levels and a few extras. GladouS,here we come for more.
Watch trailer.

Source

Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO revealed

2008-10-21T15:25:00.011-06:00

Today there was a LucasArts and BioWare press conference, apparently IGN and Gamespot made a word to much of this announcement way earlier than suppose to. So get together kids and parents for a Star Wars MMO coming to a PC near you (for now).

Source

Interviewables!

2008-10-20T23:45:00.033-06:00

Our weekly interview bring us a full-time college student who can't say no to ownin some face. This week we got:

Age: 19

Location: Las Vegas, NV

How did you come up with your gamertag?
Mr MoMo: *laughs* To be honest, I really don't remember. I was just trying to come up with a silly sounding name. I like it, though. I can never get tired of being called "Mr. Homo" after scraping some fools.

In What ways has Xbox Live changed your life? If not type n/a.
Mr MoMo: It's made me realize that there are many types of people out there. It gets hard figuring out names to call each individual after I own them.

If you would like to get interviewed, comment why you want to.

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What's your favorite Xbox Live enabled game?
Mr MoMo: Call of Duty 4, of course. The online community is horrible, but my mic isn't plugged in half the time.

What's your favorite Xbox 360 offline game?
Mr MoMo: Mass Effect for sure. That game is just too pro, yo.

What music do you enjoy?
Mr MoMo: Anything, really. I'm open to all sorts of music and don't particulary favor any genre. Whatever gets me pumped while owning face.

What's your favorite movie?
Mr MoMo: Why, the greatest science-fiction film of all time, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Stars Wars ain't got nothin', dawg.

What's your favorite TV Show?
Mr MoMo: Can't say I have one. Don't watch too much television. That crap is for noobs.

Is there a past time on LIVE that you enojyed? If Yes,explain.
Mr MoMo: When Halo 2 came out. Those were my golden Live days. Gettin' together with my good friends, partying up, and standbying the hell out of people.

Is there a past time on LIVE that you did not enjoy?
Mr MoMo: Yeah. When Bungie fixed standbying in Halo 2.

How many friends are on your friend's list?
Mr MoMo: Around 40, but I only play with about five of them. *laughs*

What's your favorite website?
Mr MoMo: It has to be ytmnd.com. I can always go there for a good laugh.

How long have you had Xbox Live services?
Mr MoMo: Only for a few years. I wasn't one of the early adopters, but I caught on around the time Crimson Skies came bundled with Live.

Are you exciited about the New Xbox Experience?
Mr MoMo: Those new avatars look hella fruity, but the new features look really promising. Can't wait to finally private chat with more than one person.

If you could play with a famous person on LIVE who would it be?
Mr MoMo: Oh, I'd love to play against Soulja Boy. After hearing him call out all the Live gamers, I just want to find him in a game and hunt 'em down.

Are you employed?
Mr MoMo: Not at the moment. I'm just a full-time college student tryin' to make it.

Do you own a PS3?
Mr MoMo: Hell to the no. All the good PS3 games are coming to or are on the 360, so there's no real reason to own one. I hope the early buyers enjoy their $600 paperweight.

If you could change anything from the Xbox 360 would would it be?
Mr MoMo: I'd love it if they let me use a different background for each blade on the dashboard, like the legit themes.

How often are you logged into LIVE?
Mr MoMo: At the moment, I hop on for a bit every few days. I'm just waitin' on that Gears 2 to get released. I think I'll be on a lot more often then.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Mr MoMo: Rockin' peeps in Halo 4 and Call of Duty 7: Future Warfare.

Do you have anything to say to our readers of this interview?
Mr MoMo: Good luck and have fun, yo. It's just a game!

Rumor: E3 Open to public?

2008-10-20T21:01:00.009-06:00

So there's loads of talk on the webz about E3 being open to the public at the Los Angeles Convention Center. June 2-4 will open the doors of media craze, then June 5-6 will be an event for the public. This is only a rumor,not confirmed yet. Plus those guys from the ESA haven't made any official statement.

Source

Scene It? Box Office Smash demo on XBLM

2008-10-20T08:50:00.007-06:00

The Scene it? demo is now up on the marketplace. A game that tests your knowledge of movies answering trivia and puzzle games. As this game is integrated with the "NXE" gameplay value with the new avatars (picture above) is considered, "phenomenal".

The New Guy: SourNotHardcore

2008-10-18T12:56:00.002-06:00

To my surprise, I've managed to gain another blogger. SourNotHardcore is the new kid on the block (no, not one those kind), and he is definitely motivated. I certainly welcome the help since life has thrown a monkey wrench in my blogging consistency. Damned monkies.

Er, anyway, thanks to him we should be seeing a lot more posts around these parts within a couple weeks. Welcome to the super-cool-elite ninja club, SNH!

Why I can't take PS seriously: Singstar Country

2008-10-18T12:49:00.003-06:00

All I can imagine is a bunch of cowboy-hat-and-boots clad Karaoke wonders yelping about dogs and trucks into a cheap Sony microphone. Why I'm still on the mailing list for Sony products is beyond me. I think I have that hope in "potential" they've been yapping about for the past 3 years.

It is a dark day indeed. Country-lovers, rejoice. Just make sure to close your windows and spare the rest of us. ;)

SoulCalibur IV DLC is strong with you

2008-10-18T09:43:00.006-06:00

Due to high number of demands from the fans, Namco Bandai is set to release a Yoda and Darth Vader DLC on October 23rd. The DLC will cost 400 Microsoft Points ($5). Five dollars for a character? Might seem alot just for a character but hey you can create intense battles that were impossible to imagine.

Source

n+ DLC Pack 3 Free on XBLM

2008-10-18T03:44:00.009-06:00

This free pack comes with 150 new single-player levels, 50 new race levels and 50 new co-op levels. Along with a few new characters you can choose from. kidz lets get some more blood action.

Edited 10/20/2008 by SuicdeNinja: Fixed HTML code

NIRVANA Rock Band:DLC Tuesday, October 21st

2008-10-18T01:53:00.006-06:00

Nirvana heading to marketplace next Tuesday for Rock Band. The DLC includes 7 master recordings for 800 Microsoft Points or individually for 160 Microsoft Points. The DLC includes:

Breed
Lounge Act
On a Plain
Polly
Something in the Way
Stay Away
Territorial Pissings

Source

New Xbox Experience Nov.19th

2008-10-17T23:19:00.009-06:00

So it's about time the dashboard update "New Xbox Experience" is coming up Nov. 19th. You'll see lots of improvements. Let's not say that the Avatars remind us of the Mii nor the dashboard reminding us as if were on a PS3. No no, this is unique.