Hulu Plus coming to Xbox (2011) and PS3 very soon; Available on iPhone/iPad Now

The news was broke today that Hulu will be releasing their service to both Sony and Microsoft systems, with the emphasis on Sony receiving the service first. With the amount of video watched from various users on both systems through the Netflix and Sony video feeds, this will be a great addition to both platforms.

The feature will be available for $10 a month with ads to users. With the inception of the Hulu platform, the service will reach to areas of programming that Netflix cannot yet touch upon, being mostly the newest of network shows. With various programs affiliated with NBC, ABC, and FOX showcasing on the service, this product will be a thrilling help to those who want the newest and most interesting of programs, broadcasted in 720p.

It will be great to see the various reasons reflected as to why Sony is receiving the service first, and if after the inception of the $10 a month charge added to your already charged Live Accounts, and eventual Sony chargeable accounts, if we see more services charging an additional fee to use their services through the systems. Either way, this product will be one I will be very tempted to use this service when it does hit the Microsoft Xbox system in early 2011.

Whose Side Are You On? A Left 4 Dead 2 Preview

Left 4 Dead 2 could have possibily been one of the biggest announcements at E3 this year. With the original still a few months away from being a year old, no one was really expecting it, especially given Valve's long history of making us constantly wait. It was quite a surprise. Whether or not it was a pleasant surprise, is left up to the gamer.

It seems as though the gaming world is a bit torn on the issue of Left 4 Dead 2. Players are upset at the prospect of having to dish out an additional $60 ($50 for PC gamers) for what they perceive could easily be achieved in DLC. Players are also upset at the prospect of Left 4 Dead being well, left for dead due to the addition of the sequel. On the other hand, it’s a sequel to Left 4 Dead and it’s unheard of for Valve to release new content this soon. Plus, Valve has a long standing history of releasing excellent games, so can anyone truly be let down? The real question is, will the sequel pack a big enough punch to get players excited and justify the hefty price? Personally, I say yes.

A week or so ago I received the August issue of PC Gamer Magazine. Right smack dab on the cover was Left 4 Dead 2. I got very little new information about the game from small blogs across the web post E3, but the PC Gamer review gave me the entire spectrum and I must say that I am very much excited. I’m honestly a little bit late to the game in regards to L4D. I bought the game on release day for my PC, but never really played due to my lack of friends who are fellow PC gamers. It was until I recently purchase an Xbox 360, that I discovered the true glory of the game.

After reading the PC Gamer article, it seems that the developers of the Left 4 Dead series sat down and actually listened to the complaints about the game given by the players. One of these complaints is predictability. While L4D’s AI eliminates predictability and strategy better then any game made previous, there are still some predictable aspects. Strategies such as crouching in the corners are common among L4D players. The Tank in L4D2 will eliminate this strategy by being able to hit multiple survivors if they are hiding in a corner. One of the best features of L4D is the AI and the fact that every single time you play, you get a different experience. That isn’t common among a lot of games today and that definitely drew players in. They are also updated the types of infected in the game. They are adding a new Charger that seems almost like a combination of all the infected in L4D. There will be variations of infected from the previous game; however, this time they will have mutations that work to your disadvantage. No longer will the witch be easily avoidable as she huddles on the floor sobbing. This time she’s going to wander and it’s most likely that she will wander directly into you. So have fun getting that achievement for not disturbing the witch in L4D2.

One of the bigger changes that has been known about since E3 is the additional of melee weapons. There will be an addition of a frying pan, an axe, a chainsaw and some others. This was added in an effort to prevent friendly fire in closer quarters. I’m quite confident in saying the chainsaw will most likely become everyone’s new best friends. The only downside to the addition of these melee weapons is that you will not be able to hold a melee weapon as well as a gun at the same time. That means, you can use the chainsaw for a bit, but you’re going to have to drop it if you want to use that shotgun. There will also be additions to the types of throwables you get and the types of guns available. Special ammo clips such as incendiary rounds will be provided. You’ll be capable of dual welding different types of handguns instead of the set standard that was provided in L4D.

Another large addition to L4D2 will be a storyline. With L4D you were dropped into the game without much knowledge of the characters or what is really going on, minus the cinematic in the very beginning of the game. L4D2 will begin with the characters meeting outside a mall (hello Mr. Romano!). There will be more interaction with the characters and more storyline. You’ll learn more about what is going on, the help that is being provided (or not provided) and you’ll also get more interaction with the world around you such as FEMA, the military, etc. Not only is the storyline new, but the setting will be different. This time the carnage takes places in the south with most of the maps taking place during the day. It’s expected for zombies to be wandering the streets and woods at night, but it gives a completely different feel when you’re encountering zombies while the sun breaches the horizon. The campaigns will also be larger then what we saw in Left 4 Dead. Valve has stated that these will be the biggest maps they have ever made distance-wise.

One of the things I am most looking forward to is what has been termed “enhanced dismemberment.” This time around when you riddle a zombie with bullets, it will actually show. You’ll be able to shoot off limbs and tear bodies apart. Instead of trying to guess how much HP the Tank has left, it will come quite obvious as his body is slowly torn apart by your bullets (or your chainsaw!). I’m imagining the fun that will be had when I can shoot off the legs of a zombie and watch it try and slowly drag itself to me. I mean, they’re zombies right? They’re best served with pieces of their body hanging from their side.

So all in all, where do I stand on the L4D2 debate? I’m excited and I will definitely be picking it up on release day. I trust Valve as a gaming company to create a magnificent product. They have never let me down before and I don’t expect them to ever do so in the future. However, Valve, I do have one request. Before you spring a L4D3 on us, could you please oh please release Half Life 2: Episode 3?

Gaming Diary May 30, 2009 - No Longer PC Exclusive

Since my "big" purchase of a brand new (well, not BRAND new, but new to me) Xbox 360 I have been completely immersed in the 360 gaming world. I've downloaded tons of game demos trying to get my hands, eyes and ears on as many games as possible. Some of the first games I picked up were Mass Effect, Madden '08 (for the girlfriend, not a big fan of sports games), Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Braid, Peggle and Left 4 Dead. I've played at least a little bit of all of them, with the exception of Madden.

Upon the urging of Nate, I tried out Mass Effect for a little bit. I didn't get all that far before I died. I'm still trying to adjust to the world of buttons and joysticks. The PC mouse and WASD combo is so easy compared to a console controller, but I'm getting used to it. I actually am starting to prefer it for some games. Anyway, I started up Mass Effect, but didn't get all that far. Same situation with Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. I like both games, but I'll definitely need to invest more time before I make a final decision on them. I have been investing a lot of time in Peggle, which I actually initially wasn't a big fan of. I checked out the Peggle demo on my PC and played it a few times on flight paths to WoW and it never did really grabbed me, but now playing it on the 360 is different. I'm totally drawn into it and have made it relatively far (well, at least for me) in a short period of time.

One game I haven't played much, but am loving is Braid. It's not even the gameplay yet that I love (as I really haven't gotten that far), it's the visuals and the music. The music reminds me a lot of Firefly. I would honestly just open up the game just to listen to the music. I'm not really sure what it is about it, but I just think it's beautiful. The game so far has been enjoyable, although it's probably going to wreck my brain a good amount. I tend to fail pretty hard at puzzle-type games and often resort to the good ol' internet to help me along. I'm going to try as best as I can to figure things out on my own, but we'll see how it goes.

The highlight of my 360 gaming experience thus far has to be Left 4 Dead. I got some campaign and survival gaming in last night with friends and absolutely loved it. The best part was, I even got my girlfriend (who tends to avoid gaming in general other then sports games) into the action. So much so that she said she wanted to play again today!

It was definitely worth the money to get the 360. It's providing a significantly more enjoyable multiplayer gaming then my PC ever did. It's difficult to find friends that PC game these days. I suppose we are sort of a dying breed of sorts, with the exception of PC exclusive games like World of Warcraft. Most gamers have become more involved in the console gaming community then the PC. It was awesome to be able to sit down and play with my friends, friends I don't typically get a chance to see all but a few times a year. Honestly, I think if Left 4 Dead was the only game I owned on the 360 it would still be worth the investment for the enjoyment I got out of it.

Now, I praise and praise and praise my new 360 gaming experience, HOWEVER, I still am at heart a PC gamer. I feel like the 360 will hold most of my casual gaming. Stuff that I'm not sitting down for hours for. Stuff I can just jump in and jump out of. I don't see my 360 ever being my "hardcore" gaming device. I still love my PC and still intend to use that as my main gaming "console." World of Warcraft will always have my heart and with Blizzard coming out with Starcraft II and Diablo III in the future I will definitely be investing a lot of time into my PC. I think the 360 will be my casual gaming and multiplayer gaming console while my PC will remain as my intense gaming and single player system. I currently own COD4 and COD5 for my PC with no intention of buying it for the 360. I'm not big into multiplayer on either of the games, but do love the single player aspects.

Other then 360 gaming throughout the last week I have been investing a bit of time into WoW. I got a few hours of WoW action in this morning. I'm currently level 61 working my way up to 62. Leveling is somewhat of a slow process for me since I really only play on the weekends. Today I ventured into Outland (a level 60-70 zone for the non-WoWing individuals) for the second time. My first time traveling to Outland was with the first character I ever made; Walker, a Tauren warrior. I didn't spend too much time in Outland then and honestly, it bored me a little, but I'm finding this time around to be more enjoyable. Blizzard has definitely made leveling significantly easier then the first time around. I anticipate at this pace I'll be making level 80 by sometime at the end of the summer. That's slow, I realize, but I just can't invest hours upon hours into the game like I could in college when I had significantly more free time. I'll probably just end up leveling a new character once I reach 80 anyway and then I'll just start the whole process all over again.

Oh, and I wrote all of this entry outside enjoying the beautiful weather with my laptop and headphones on. Oh to be a geek!

PC Gaming Diary #4 - No PC Gaming This Weekend!

Ahhhh, three day weekends are so glorious. This weekend I took a bit of a break from the PC gaming world since I had friends in town (one of which was Nate). Instead, lots of time was spent playing Mario Kart on the Wii and Left 4 Dead on the 360. My roommate owns a Wii (which she never plays) and my friend Whitney was nice enough to bring her copy of Mario Kart as well as two extra controllers for the weekend and Nate was nice enough to bring his Xbox and Left 4 Dead with him. Lots and lots and lots of time was put into Mario Kart, mostly Nate and Martin playing solo and unlocking various levels we could play in multiplayer. After the weekend, I concluded that it might be fun to buy Mario Kart for my roommate's Wii even though if she moves, I won't have the console anymore. But it was really enjoyable and definitely a game worth having for any Wii owners if they have people over. I really do enjoy the Wii and the games that come with it. The only downside is that most of the time they are really only enjoyable games if you have a decent number of people over, which I don't typically have. I think if I ever came across $250+ and wanted to waste it on something, it would be a Wii, but I don't really know if it's worth saving up for or spending money I could spend on something else knowing I wouldn't be playing it all that often.

We also got in a few rounds of Left 4 Dead. I actually own the game for PC, but have never ventured into multiplayer on the PC because I have this inherent fear of playing against/with people I don't know. I recognize (and witnessed this weekend) that a lot of online gamers are epic douchebags, so I try and avoid that at all costs. It's hard being a PC gamer these days because we are somewhat of an endangered species...well, maybe not quite that extent, but most mainstream gamers prefer consoles and you're hard pressed to find too many people to multiplayer game with on the PC and unfortunately I know none (except for people that play WoW) so the biggest draw to a console for me is the multiplayer aspect and being able to play games with friends (especially since so many of mine do not live very close). So, with that being said...I am making the jump to becoming a console gamer. Okay, maybe I'm not entirely making the jump considering my PC will always be my gaming "console" of choice, but I will be purchasing a Xbox 360 today at lunch. I was lucky enough to find a month old pro system on Craig's List for $160 and I swooped that deal up. Hopefully the deal doesn't go sour and I get scammed in the process as it will most likely sway from making a 360 purchase on CL ever again. So hopefully in the future you will see more then just "PC Gaming" entries from me.

One last note, I have been planning a couple entries for the Bioshock 2 multiplayer as well as Borderlands, but I haven't gotten around to it. I'm going to make it a priority this week to post those entries as I feel as both of them are not getting enough attention as they deserve.

Monday MUpdate: Uncaged Edition

In case the title is not indication enough, my game for this week is the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie tie-in game. On May 1st, the game came out and a demo for it popped up on XBOX Live!, just in time for the release of the movie. I, being the comic book reading nerd that I am, downloaded it as soon as I could and sat down to play it with little to no expectations. We've had Wolverine games before (such as X2: Wolverine's Revenge), and they have never been much of anything to write home about. Right off the bat, however, Wolverine sets out to prove that it is nothing like the games of the past.

The game opens with an absolutely brutal cutscene in which Hughverine fights off several attackers with absolutely no detail spared. An initial fear of mine is that Wolverine's naturally blood lust would be toned down so that a younger demographic could find the game accessible, but as soon as Wolverine had a whole blown through him and I watched the wound heal, full view of his organs and all, I got excited. As the actual gameplay started, it thankfully turned out that it wasn't just the cutscene that had all the cool brutal features of being the best at what he does. You can pick people up and impale them on a stick or pipe jutting out of the wall. You can pounce on someone and punch their face in to a bloody pulp. You can do to these people stuff you've only dreamed of seeing in a Marvel MAX series. It's a great feeling.

So to say that I recommend the Wolverine game to Wolverine and gamer fans alike is to put it lightly. This is not the deep and moving storyline you've been craving. This is the bad ass kill 'em all game you've been looking for that isn't called God Of War. It's loads of fun and definitely worth at the very least a rental so you can run around slicing and dicing. At it's very basics, it's just a fun and gorey action game.

Aside from the Wolverine game, I'd recommend the Wolverine movie itself, and you can read my review for that in another blog I write for, Multiversity Comics. I've also been plugging away at Chrono Trigger still, but to a much lesser extent now that I have Wolverine. I do have a lot more free time now that most TV shows are over for this season, though, so I guess when I'm not filling that free time with TV show catch ups and movies, I can play more. I'd really like to give Final Fantasy IV a shot, and I just heard news about a steampunk DS game called Nostalgia that's coming out. There's also a game called Borderlands that Kara told me about, it looks to be the next post-apocalyptic/Final Fantasy epic. It'll never replace the Fallout series in my heart, but I am definitely looking forward to this game, especially with all the new screenshots that they have debuted.

That's it from my front.

Resident Evil 5

It has been quite some time since I have taken a moment out of my ever so busy schedule in order to write a proper review of a video game. Part of this is due to the fact that I've been gaming a LOT less as of late. I've sold a bunch of games and I still haven't beaten the first DLC for Fallout 3. This is bad for me, I know, but with March and the release of two highly anticipated titles on my books, my XBOX 360 has once again received love for something other than a glorified DVD player/TV streamer. The first game that came out, Halo Wars, Nate and I are playing through together over XBOX Live. Resident Evil 5, however, I got and played all on my lonesome.

I'd like to add a forward notice that I've played all of the main games in this series, and by that I mean I've played Resident Evil 1, 2, 3, and 4. I've never played Code Veronica, 0, or any of the other side games. I am still well versed in all the important plot elements in those games, so it's not like I have ever had trouble following the story. Besides, with 4 we saw the beginning of a brand new story and gameplay style.

Ok, so let's do a quick retrospective here. In the original game, a group of STARS members arrive at a mansion investigating the disappearance of the previous team. What they find is a house full of zombies and an extensive laboratory underneath. You can play as Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine, and each of their stories reveal little things about the mansion and it's owner, the Umbrella Company. In the next game, you take control of Claire Redfield, who had come to visit her older brother, or Leon Kennedy, a brand new STARS agent who had just arrived in Raccoon City, only to find it had been taken over by zombies due to an outbreak of the T-Virus. In the next game, you once again take control of Jill Valentine, who has made her way into Raccoon City and is now trying to deal with the same problems Leon and Claire dealt with. At the end, Raccoon City is bombed by the US Government to stop the outbreak, Umbrella is brought to trial for crimes against humanity, and disbanded. In 4, we once again find ourselves playing as Leon, who is now a special agent for the government trying to rescue the president's daughter, and we find ourselves face to face with a new bio-terrorism threat: the Las Plagas virus. In the end, you destroy the virus (or so you think!) and save the president's daughter. All is well... for now.

Resident Evil 5 once again puts us in the very capable shoes of Chris Redfield. Now a member of the BSAA, he is sent to Africa to meet up with other BSAA agents and investigate a threat of bio-terrorism. Before the events of the game, Chris just had to deal with the death of his partner, Jill Valentine, at the hands of the infamous Albert Wesker. Chris is a bit apprehensive to get a new partner in Sheva, Alomar, but she will prove invaluable during the events of the game.

Resident Evil 5 is perhaps the first real direct sequel to any of the games. The games were always linked due to Umbrella and Raccoon City, but you could pick up any of the main games in the series and just play as if it were any kind of zombie outbreak game. Resident Evil 5 is the first game that is not new gamer accessible due to the incredibly intertwined story. The overall linking plot elements of the 5 games are actually fleshed out much more in this game, which is nice, but right off the bat, I found it a little upsetting that the plot was so directly tied into the previous games because I feel it could hurt positive reception to the game for those who were unable to play the previous games. The load screens do come with an explanation of the timeline of Umbrella and the evolution of the T-Virus, but I still feel this created a bit of a problem. Resident Evil 4 certainly did have it's throwbacks to the previous games which wouldn't make full sense without playing all of them, such as the importance of the character Ada Wong, but to anyone who didn't recognize her, they probably assumed she was just some kind of super spy. Her stealing the Las Plagas at the end of 4 plays deeply into the events of this game, though. Furthermore, Chris has flashbacks to Albert Wesker and the death of Jill who, if you didn't know her from 1 or 3, must seem confusing (not to mention they dye her hair for some odd reason). I think it important to mention, however, that Resident Evil 5 acts as the official end to all the stories created since Resident Evil, so whenever the next game comes out (and you can bet it will), there will be a brand new, new user-friendly storyline and character set.

Let's move on to things I liked about the game. First off, the visuals are amazing. I remember reading a long time ago that Resident Evil 5 would work heavy with lighting, and by that I mean that when you're outside and it's bright, the screen will be very bright, and when you're somewhere dark, it'll be very dark. This idea was apparently scrapped, but elements of it are still there. The difference between light and dark areas are pretty incredible, and there is never an instance of too much bloom. I also really like the story to it. I like how any questions that existed before this game are now tied off and finally laid to rest. More importantly, I'm glad to see the story end. When the gameplay changed, it was only natural for the story to end. We still have elements to continue off of (remnants of Umbrella, the new company Tricell, and the BSAA) but it's not just the re-hashing and continuation of the same old plot with the same villains over and over. Also, as much as I was apprehensive as to having a companion through out the entire game, Sheva really is a God send. I can't imagine playing some of the game without her. I'm reminded of a level in Resident Evil 4 which I fondly call "The Room" which was probably the hardest part of the game since you were swarmed with cultists, and I wished someone would help me out. In 5, Sheva is that helper! It's also really great to play the game with someone else because, while the AI is incredibly intelligent, a real person works much more efficiently as a team. The people behind the game Army Of Two should really sit back and take a look at how well Resident Evil 5 works before releasing the sequel because the co-op elements of Resident Evil 5 pretty much takes Army Of Two out behind the school and beats it mercilessly.

However, as much as I enjoyed this game, it is easily the worst game of the main Resident Evil series. The first 3 were truly survival horror games. In the original, you wandered one singular mansion for the entirety of the game, unlocking new things that you'd had to walk past at the beginning as you go. The puzzles were challenging, and the bosses even more so. With 4, we stopped having a survival horror game and were given a linear action game, with a beginning, middle, and end that we achieved at the game's pace instead of our own. There are barely any puzzles in 5, and the puzzles that are there are really not that challenging. Move a couple mirrors, man a turret, do some cutscene based fights. When I played 4, all of the new things seemed truly revolutionary and exciting for the series. The one fight scene made entirely of cutscene based actions and it was such a breathtaking scene to watch. In 5, there are similar ones that are stunning visually, but they seemed less exciting. There also aren't really new evolutions in the villain base in this game. There are new monsters, sure, but they're all variations off the Las Plagas from 4, and the boss fights aren't as challenging. Finally, I think it is important to mention how much shorter this game is compared to the other ones. I might be exaggerating a bit, but I do believe I spent much more time trying to beat 4 than I did this one, let alone all the previous games and their puzzles. Resident Evil 5 is truly an ACTION horror game instead of a SURVIVAL horror game, and while it can certainly stand on it's own, it doesn't fully live up to it's predecessors.

I don't mean any of that to deter anyone from playing. I plan to play through the game again myself on a harder difficulty setting to do some of the things I didn't do the first time. It's really very fun. Some of the boss monsters are pretty horrifying to look at, and there were definitely moments where I said, "Oh my God, really? Really??" And did I mention that this game is truly an achievement for co-operative gameplay? Because if I didn't properly express that, allow me to do so again in this sentence. I am very glad to have shoveled out the money for the limited edition. So if you're looking for a solid action game in today's market, look no further than Resident Evil 5. I give it a solid 8 out 10 on the Matt-meter.

There are more games I would like to play in the upcoming future... Afro Samurai, Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (noticing a theme?), and more. I am trying to find more time to play games so I will probably be up to putting some more reviews in the future as that is mostly what I add to this blog. Keep an eye out for that as I am most certainly an expert, and the only real opinion you need is mine.

Blogging 4 Dead

I would post more, but honestly, I have no time. But here's the thing about that: I do theoretically have time. I just fill it up. I'm either catching up on TV shows (like Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica) or playing Left 4 Dead all night. And I must say, every night, almost all night, me and a group of kids ply Left 4 Dead together. This sadly does not include Nate because Nate has an actual life and has been mostly playing Fallout 3 these days, but never the less, from hours as early as 8 PM to as late as 4 AM, you'll find me gaming in Left 4 Dead. Of course, this means I sleep until about noon every day and then I'm grouchy for a little while upon waking up, but still... totally worth it (and I don't care how much I have to "grow up" right now with a job and responsibilities, nothing will ever make me give up my late night gaming sessions).

Now, while I will never ever stray from the thought that Fallout 3 was the best game of last year (much to Nathan's own chagrin), I will say that the predictions I made when I put it in my number 2 spot are entirely accurate. I play this game so much that it has since become to first and only game to be installed on my hard drive. I never saw the point of installing a game until now, but now I fully understand the validation. You have no idea how annoying it is to be playing this game for several hours, have a glorious dominating victory in a game, and then your game freezes when going back to the menu. I can sometimes hear the disc spinning in the XBOX, and it was at that point that I realized maybe I'm playing it enough to justify an install.

This game provides such a unique experience. I must say, after playing with the same group of guys last night, I really have no interest in playing with all random people now. It's so much better only playing with the same guys. We are by no means a "clan" (although, in one absolutely hilarious night, we did face a clan member of xUWNx, which I will talk more about later), but rather a group of guys who all know each other and like to play with and against each other. It provides much more amusement having over 7 friends who are all available for gaming. Never have I ever felt such a sense of camaraderie in any game. Now, I will admit, there is a point in every game where I do make a gun for the safe house and leave my team mates to die if necessary, but that's a last second/split second judgment call. One of the guys I play with usually always goes back to save people, and I've seen him get annihilated before due to this. It's the zombie apocalypse, man - I want to survive. That, and at least I get us a good amount of points every round (someone described my gaming as "clutch." I'd say that this is rather accurate). However, as long as we are traveling, I will turn around and do my best to save everyone I can. This is really only because I'm playing with my friends to begin with. If I was playing with random people, I can assure you that I would not care and would only save them if it was convenient for me. I might just say something like, "Learn to play the game!" and run off. But not to my gaming friends! Oh no. I will run the distance, shotguns a-blazing, just to separate them from a nasty smoker or hunter. It's also made me a constant reviewer of XBOX gamers. There are certain things you can do in the game as the infected that are based around glitches and make the gameplay very cheap and unfair. Every time a team does this against my team (unless we know the people), I go and give every player negative reviews and make them avoided players). So good job, Valve. You've made me into a team player (somewhat). Now give us new levels to play Versus on, and I'll be happy.

The final thing I'd like to say about Left 4 Dead is that it brings a great amount of sheer hilarity. I'll offer up two examples. The first is that one night, me and 3 of my friends were in a lobby. This kid joins named xUWNx FOUL, and we all instinctively laugh at him. He, of course, attacks me, and begins spouting of anti-Semitic slurs (if you don't know already, my gamertag is Jewnado, as in a tornado of Jewish hatred). He begins to rant and rave about how much better he is at the game than me and us, so I begin the game. Needless to say, we absolutely dominate, to the point where, in the finale, the other team just gives up and kills each other. Back in the lobby, Mr. FOUL gets a barrage of insults, such as, "Why don't you take your game back to GameStop and trade it in for a Wii and Party Babyz?" Of course he gets apologetic and begins saying, "Well, maybe if I had a better team..." No. You're just a horrible horrible player, and now you're on ignore. The second example is similar. My friends and I played against a team that ultimately gave up in the end, and killed each other. Everyone left but one player and his guest, and we laughed at him similarly in the lobby after the game. The thing was he didn't have a microphone at first, so after a few minutes of insults, he finally put one in and revealed himself to be a 13/14 year old boy. It was about 4:00 AM at this point, so we began saying things like, "Hey, did you remember to do your reading for English class? The Great Gatsby isn't going to read itself!" He finally said, and I quote, "Listen, gay guys, why don't you stop sucking each others dicks and start the game?" This is hilarious on two levels. The first level is "gay guys" - he didn't use any of the millions of slurs, he said gay and guys together in his sentence, and I just lost it. The second level is that he was such a bad player his team mates shot him and quit the game, and he wanted to play us again ... with no new team mates. No one had joined the lobby. It was 4:00 AM! So, instead of playing the game, I leaned over to my bookshelf, grabbed my copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald's great American classic, and said, "Ok, are you ready?" When he replied, "Yes," I then began to read The Great Gatsby outloud to him and all my friends in the room. I made it through six pages of the novel before he quit. SIX PAGES. After he quit, we invited him back in the room, at which point I read another whole page before he just turned off the XBOX and the rest of us, laughing, went to bed. There is much debate as to why the kid stayed in the room as long as he did. Some speculate that he really did need to read the book for class, but I like to think that I just have a great speaking voice (which I do). And as much as I love Fallout 3, the one thing it will never have is an opportunity for me to read The Great Gatsby to an angry child.

So good job, Valve. I fully commend you on another job well done. You consistently make online games with endless replayability, and at that you absolutely stand out among the other game publishers. Here's to awaiting the patch that finally gives us new levels to play. Now, it's about noon, meaning it's still day, meaning I have to get out and do all those things that I do in the day time that allow me to be up all night killing the infected, so I bid you a fond adieu until my next entry.

Matt's Top Ten Of 2008

In all honesty, I thought this was pretty hard to do. I went on to Wikipedia and looked at the list of all games released in 2008 and realized how much I had actually played. I really played a lot of games this year. Furthermore, I was really disappointed by a lot of games this year. Army Of Two should have been much more fun than it was, for example, and don't get me started on Alone In The Dark. After I had gone through the giant list of games into the list of games I thought would stand a chance, I was left with a pretty disappointing list. Honestly, and this might sound odd, but I don't think some of the games on my list deserve to be on my list. The reason for this is that I feel that, while I enjoyed these games, that the games that make a Top Ten list should be much more epic in scale than some of the games I picked. However, when it comes down to it, these really are just the most fun I've had in video games through out the year. So without further ado, I bring you my Top Ten of 2008.

10. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots

Let me start by saying: I did not beat this game. I have no way to. I don't own a PS3. But I did play it for a short time, and I have watched it being played. A guy I worked with bought it, and we went to his house down the street from where we worked and played for an hour on our lunch break. Now, while I do not know the end of the game, I do know two things about this game. The first is that it is beyond epic. BEYOND epic. The second thing I know is that the scale of this game is so extraordinarily huge that the fact it is not popping up on more top ten lists makes me sad. So I decided it would be my number 10 as a reminder that yes, this game happened, and it's hour and a half long ending owned you. It's not for everyone, that's for sure, but it is a game that is important to remember as it completely aims to blur the line between gameplay experience and cinematic experience. Some might hate that, but I think it's important.

9. Fable II
8. Penny Arcade Adventures Episodes 1 and 2
7. Too Human
6. Mirror's Edge
5. Castle Crashers
4. Dead Space

All of these games are arguable as to whether or not they deserve list status. Two of these games (technically three) are just XBOX Live Arcade games. But I think they all stand the test. I am not a huge fan of Fable II but it was fun. And all of the other games are repeat play through games for me. Dead Space was amazingly fun, as well as Mirror's Edge and Too Human, and I think a lot of people looked over these games. Too Human had it's share of flaws, sure, but that game was amazingly fun and worth multiple play throughs. Plus, both it and Mirror's Edge are just the first of their trilogies, so the bugs in both those games can be worked out for sequels. I have faith.

3. Braid

This game is phenomenal. If you didn't play it, I feel bad for you. It's a bit of a high concept thing, but my God was it a brain challenger. I like puzzle games for the most part, and this one had me feeling bad about how I couldn't do some of the puzzles. I had my girlfriend, who is good with puzzles, sit down and make an attempt at it, and she just faltered. That made me feel all that much better about having completed it. When you beat Braid, you join a special club of braggers. You get to sit there and watch other people play it and say, "Oh, it's not that hard. Look, the answer is right there." Braid is 100% phenomenal.

2. Left 4 Dead

The game known as Left 4 Dead is the game you will probably catch me playing the most in the new year. Talk about being open for multiple play throughs! That's all this game is! You keep playing it with newer and newer people, and each time the gameplay is different. I don't know what else you could want from a game. Not to mention the fact that if you put the game on it's hardest setting you're going to have the most insanely fun zombie experience ever.

1. Fallout 3

If you didn't see this coming, you're an idiot.

And that's just about it. I'd also like to nominated Imagine: Party Babyz for creepiest game of the year. Seriously. Party babys?

Time Magazine's Top Ten Games Of 2008

Recently, Time Magazine released their "Top Ten Of 2008" lists. Naturally, a magazine of Time's stature is sure to release lists of quality films and gadgets and games. Well, I decided to look at their lists of video games, and ... well, let's break it down bit by bit, starting from 10 and going down to 1:

10) Spore
For what I feel is a completely non-understandable reason, people adore Spore. I played this game a little bit when it first came out on a roommate's computer... and so did he. So did everyone. In fact, the main thing I noticed about Spore was that, while it seemed innovative, it got really old really fast. People spent $50 on this game, played it for a week or two, and I haven't heard about it since. No one I know is playing it anymore, and I know a lot of people who spent money on it. This game is by far not worthy of even the last spot on a Top 10 list. To me, a game needs to last or leave a standing impression to be a Top 10er. However, this game is designed for repeat plays and no one is repeatedly playing it.

9) Field Runners
...what? An iPhone game? Really, Time Magazine? Out of all the games released this year, you felt that an iPhone game is worthy of a Top 10 list? What next, a Flash game?

8) Hunted Forever
...wow. Good going, Time. You put an iPhone game and a Flash game on your list. I almost have no real words for this. The only thing I can really think to say is that I completely agree that both of these games are better than Spore. But if you were going to put a game designed out of Flash, couldn't you have put something good on here like Castle Crashers? CC didn't make the list at all, and it is way more deserving than Hunted Forever. I'd like to put a bunch of REAL gamers in a room together, then ask them to raise their hands if they've heard of/played Field Runners and/or Hunted Forever. You know how many people would raise their hands, Time Magazine? Absolutely none of them.

7) Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Ok, now while I do not agree that this game is a Top 10er, I can at least maybe see where Time is coming from. This game is a LOT of fun. I rented it, played through it, and had a great time. I would play through it again. It's got good graphics, good gameplay, a good story. Compared to what George Lucas is forcing (no pun intended) us to endure with his beloved Star Wars series, this is a breath of fresh air (I know someone out there actually enjoyed The Clone Wars, but I did not appreciate it one bit). I especially like the two climatic battle options. In fact, all of the boss battles are quite wonderfully cinematic. SW:TFU takes a page from games like God Of War and allows you to beat the crap out of your opponent, then go through a series of button combos in order to really demolish them in a pre-rendered destructothon. It's great. So maybe I would put this game near the end of my list... but probably not. Either way, at least this is a real game.

6) Dead Space
Dead Space is awesome. Does anyone else remember buying Resident Evil 4 when that first came out, then waiting up until Midnight and playing it with all the lights off in their room? No? That was just me? Well I did the same thing for Dead Space because it is essentially Resident Evil 4 in space, and it was awesome. I love Dead Space and I don't think enough people played it. The only thing that wasn't good about Dead Space was the final boss fight. The whole game is atmospheric and creepy and there are plenty of jump moments (if you play it properly at night with the lights out), but after all of that, you get to the end, fight the boss, and you're just wondering, "...wait, that's really it?" Luckily, I think the game is long enough and filled with enough possibilities that the rest of the game is fun enough to make up for a lacking final boss. I would highly recommend this game, and probably put it near the end of my personal Top 10 list.

5) Gears Of War 2
I have never been a fan of the Gears Of War series (can I call it that?). I played through the first game twice, and I had fun with it, but that was mostly because of who I was playing with. Playing it on my own... I just don't get the same out of it. I haven't even bothered to really try out the multiplayer option, only once or twice. That being said, I have not even played Gears Of War 2. I plan to, but I have not yet. I do not think I reserve the right to comment on it having not played it, so I won't. But, based on Nate's comments on the game, I can see why someone would put it on the list, and no matter whether or not I like the series or not, it's still a more legit choice than Field Runners and Hunted Forever.

4) Rock Band 2
This, in my humble opinion, is another goof up on Time Magazine's part. Rock Band 2? Really? What was so great an innovative about this game? It's Rock Band with new songs and screens. They added a few other nice little things in there, such as that option where you can't fail out of a song (in case you're playing with your father who just doesn't get the concept of pushing buttons after having played an actual guitar for several years), but this is no way a Top 10er, and this in no way should be so near the top. I like playing "Float On" just as much as the next guy, and I've seen the video with the Rock Band 2 Fog Machine, but come on. There are so many better games than this. It would appear that Time Magazine just looked at what games came out towards the end of the year, looked at what got good reviews, and made a list based on that. Oy. Stick to talking about "things that matter" and leave stuff like this for people like Nate and I who actually play video games.

3) LittleBigPlanet
I do not have a PS3. I have not played LittleBigPlanet. I do not have the right to make a comment. That being said, I feel this game would get old just like Spore got old. I could be wrong though.

2) Braid
This is an absolutely legitimate claim. While it's not a claim I would necessarily make, at least I can sit here and say, "Hmm... yeah. Yeah, that's a good decision." Braid was smart, fun, difficult, and all in a very simple design/premise. The settings were wonderful to look at. Rewinding time NEVER got old. I put this game on for people and said, "Solve the puzzle," and then laughed as they struggled just like I did. Beating this game made me feel pretty good inside. Braid was definitely a welcome breath of fresh air in the Arcade market. I do not like most of the Arcade games (I only own 4 (well, technically 5, but who cares about Fable II Pub Games?)), but this is one I bought without even trying based on what I had heard. It was by far one of the best games I played this year, and there is no doubt in my mind that Braidshould be on everyone's Top 10 list this year.

So now we have 10 through 2, so what could possibly be number 1? After going through that incredible list of (mostly) failure created by Time Magazine, what could possibly be the number 1 game of the year according to those (clearly) non-gamers? What is better than a game for your iPhone? The answer, my friends, is:

1) Grand Theft Auto IV
COME ON. This is the best game of the year? Hardly. The best game to come out this year was Fallout 3 without a doubt. Nothing was better. Nothing. Furthermore, GTAIV does not deserve to be on anyone's Top 10 list. This game was NOT that good. Sure, it was fun for the first week or so, but it's so damn repetitive. It got old just about as fast as Spore did! If you didn't beat it in the first week or so, good luck getting the energy to. That being said, I never made it through. I couldn't. I just can't handle it. There was no variety at all. One can be said that this argument could be made for a lot of games. For example, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is the same on every game through out every level just with a new background. However, THAT does not get old. It's fun to run around with a lightsaber and hack stuff up. Running around with a gun, stealing cars and shooting hookers on the other hand... this is now the FIFTH time we've been given this game. Aside from giving it an amazing graphical over haul, a new city, and new characters, couldn't they do anything else? No. They couldn't. Because there is nothing more to the Grand Theft Auto series. There never will be. And this, ultimately, will be the downfall of this section of Rockstar. Or maybe not. People are dumb.

So there you have it. Time Magazine's Top Ten Of 2008 that didn't include Fallout 3. I apologize for wasting your time, but I felt commentary was somewhat necessary. I hope that whenever Nate and I release our Top Ten lists, it will blow your mind. Or, at the very least, be better than this list. Actually, I have no doubt it will be better than this list. You know why? Because this list included a Flash game and an iPhone game and did not include Fallout 3.

Game Review: Fallout 3

I have had a very busy day in which I spent most of my time in a car traveling from place to place. The purpose of all of this was to collect various items from various places in order to complete various quests. On one hand, my father needed me to get a 12 pack of beer, so I had to travel to the liquor store to buy it. On another hand, I had to go to the comic book store because Wednesday is new comic book day. On yet another hand, I had to go to a store to buy a gift for someone. And on yet ANOTHER hand, I had to hunt down some medicine for my mother. Eventually, all of these items will connect in my home to create a vast amount of rewards. This is real life.

And then there is Fallout 3.

I will start out by saying that there is no way that before playing this game, I wasn't biased. For starters, Bethesda is a great gaming company. For seconds, I am in love with almost anything post-apocalypse related. It intrigues me in so many different levels. I will see any movie and read any story if I am told it is based in a post-apocalyptic environment. That's literally all it takes. Add to the equation the fact that I loved Fallout 2 when I was younger (even if I could never beat it) and you have created a sure-fire win in my book.

The plot of Fallout 3 is simple: you live in one of the many vaults created by Vault-Tec as a result of a nuclear war. You're happy enough with your life down there until one day, your father (voiced by Liam Neeson) leaves the vault for an unknown reason. You follow him out into the Capitol Wasteland and are faced with limitless possibility. If you want to play the story, you can follow after your father, but you don't have to. You can merely travel around the world, picking up quests and odd jobs. People will ask for all sorts of things, such as spare parts or help saving their town from Super Mutants. The choice is yours, and what a wonderful set of choices it is.

This, in my humble opinion, is where Fallout 3 shines beyond shining. The world they have created is so beautiful and wondrous (in a morbid way). The second I stepped out of the Vault I was floored about how everything looked. There are mutated animals roaming around, people hunting you or just attacking you for the fun of it, wandering robots that were never turned off, and little floating bots broadcasting the glorious word of the Enclave and President Eden (amazingly voiced by Malcolm Macdowell). I remember the first thing that I did was go into a broken down school and fight off some Raiders with my sub-par equipment. I am still a little confused as to how I got out of there alive, but I was stunned. They took the game experience to a whole new level for me. I know some people call this game Oblivion 2.0, and I suppose that is partially true, but I think that Fallout 3 runs much better than Oblivion did. It's smooth and a little less chaotic, and it still manages to keep the basics of character creation from Fallout 2 which made that game such an individual experience to play.

One might think that an open ended game experience like that might be a little daunting, and that is very true. There are many locations in the game that one can visit, all with their own little stories which may or may not have anything to do with the main story of the game. There are numerous vaults, only three of which you ever actually need to enter. Quests are not a given and, outside of the story, not only do you have to find them by searching the Wasteland, you aren't guaranteed to win them. If you fail, that's it (unless you reload). Not only that, but even if you complete a mission the right way, it can still go wrong! I'll give you an example (possible spoiler ahead, but not really): there is a quest known as the Nuka-Cola Challenge. In this quest, you have to go get 30 bottles of Nuka-Cola for some broad out in the Wasteland with a fetish for the company. Living next door to her is some guy who wants to nail her, and he thinks that if you give him the Nuka-Cola, he'll finally be able to do so. I decided to give all my bottles to him (because I talked his price up with my speech), and once he had 30, he told me to come watch him put the moves on her. At this point, I completed the quest. Hoorah. I go outside of his house only to find that, in between his two second walk to the girl's house, he had encountered a giant scorpion, and I watched it kill him. (end spoiler) It's little things like that that make me happy. Granted, all quests have many ways to be solved, and I took some unorthodox methods in completely some of them, but that is by far and large my favorite outcome of any quest ever, and I think it says exactly what type of game Fallout 3 is.

So now you know what I love about it: everything. I truly adore the way the game runs, and I truly adore the experience I got out of it. I spent 53 and a half hours playing it and doing every little thing before I beat it, and the only reason I could afford to spend that much time on a game is because I do not have a job. After getting the game, I thought to myself how truly thankful I am that I am currently unemployed because it afforded me the time to really dive into this. Fallout 3 truly deserves the love and devotion you might put into a serious relationship, and if you are just getting into a serious relationship then stay away from Fallout 3. And I know exactly what people have as far as problems go in the game. Some people think it's too much of a leap from the style of game play in Fallout 2 that it's just not as fun. To this I wave my hand and say, "Pish posh. If anything, it is more fun!" I went back and replayed Fallout 2 in anticipation for the release of Fallout 3, and I found that while the basic elements of the game stood the test of time, the overall experience did not. I'm not penalizing it for graphics, but you have a 3D world that's 2D, and some things in the game are incredibly unclear. There were definite parts when I just was not sure what to do and had to ask the internet and my roommate (who had the game and had started before and was also consulting the internet for advice) on what to do. I legitimately think that Bethesda took the game and just made it all around better. Some people are also complaining about graphical glitches and freezes, but I only ever experienced one graphical glitch and I chalk that up to the fact that I play this game for 8 hour sits at a time. The XBOX is going to get hot and maybe get a little wonky after that.

So all in all, I think that if you don't play Fallout 3, and you are a fan of legit video gaming, then you are truly missing out. There is so much more I could say about this game, but if I did that then I'd probably be here 53 and a half hours explaining everything. This game comes with the highest stamp of approval I could ever give, and it has taken the spot for "All Time Favorite Game." I am going to be starting my second play through soon, and I'm going to be playing it in an all new way with a character who is truly the polar opposite of my last game, so I'm excited. But seriously - Fallout 3 is the only game you need this holiday season. There are other fun games out there, and I will review some, but all you really need is this.

The next review will probably be Mirror's Edge, so keep an eye out for that.

Game Review: Penny Arcade Episode 2

I have a mild form of ADD, in that I don't actually have ADD but I will occasionally let my mind slip focus anyway. I know that I said the first thing I'd really write was an epic review of Fallout 3, but then I went ahead and beat Penny Arcade Episode 2 and decided that, since it was fresh in mind I should sit down and write my thoughts on that. So fresh are my thoughts on it that it is like plucking a ripe apple from the most fruitful tree, meaning that I just beat it and the credits are currently playing as I type this review.

However, I did read this morning that there will be Fallout 3 DLC, and that is incredibly exciting. 3 new quests, and only one taking place in the same continuity as the game. This is especially cool because, while I love the demolished DC ruins, I was thinking about how exciting it would be to see other cities in the new world Bethesda created for Fallout, and the other two will take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Anchorage, Alaska respectively. While there is no word on how much it will cost, you can rest assured that I will pay no matter the price and, unlike with the DLC in Mass Effect, I promise that I will actually beat it!

So. On The Rain-Slick Precipice Of Darkness Episode 2. How did thee fare in the harsh reviewing system that is my nefarious and devious mind? I tend to charge games rather harshly, personally. While everyone was praising Gears of War and Far Cry, I was merely sitting on the sidelines and saying, "What's the big deal?" Grand Theft Auto IV remains unfinished because I quickly got tired of the game play style. I haven't even given Call Of Duty 4 a shot. However, a game like PAE2 earns my love and devotion while it seems to go unnoticed by most. I remember when the first installment came out and everyone seemed to love it. Unfortunately for the guys over at PA, they released their game at the worst possible time (against weeks filled with hot anticipated titles) and I fear that now this game has gone unnoticed. But not by I!

I played the original twice, once as a starkly mustachioed gentleman named Finnegan, and a second time to get all the achievements as an overweight and funny haired African American gentleman aptly named SirSwish. PAE2 allows you to import your previous character into the new game and it is with SirSwish that I decided to continue the tale. I feel this is the correct move because, as marvelous as Finnegan was, without a special attack called "Finnegan's Wake" I felt he was a wasted joke. SirSwish also had the max level and max Overkill bonuses allowed for in the previous game, so it was probably smart to start with him. PAE2 picks up almost exactly where the first left off, with SirSwish rebuilding his previously destroyed home. A cut scene shows what Gabe and Tycho have been up to, and they soon come for SirSwish, ruining his new home and recruiting him to once again help them solve a series of mysteries in order to stop a dark evil. Simple premise, complicated results. There is by far much more plot in this game, as well as resolution to most of the things brought up in PAE1. The two hands go in hand very well.

I'd like to start by talking about what I did not like. The first complaint I have is, "Wasn't this game supposed to be longer?" I beat the first game in a single sitting while my friend looked on. This game I took my time with, and I still beat it in less than 24 hours. This is upsetting to me. Granted, I will be playing it a second time (since, by beating it, I have unlocked Insane Mode, and playing through it normally makes it clear that the curious mind is going to have to play Insane Mode), but that doesn't excuse the amount of time it took me to beat it. I will take into the account that at the moment, I do not have a job, so I have all the time in the world to play the game, but that is also not an excuse for the game to be so short. The only excuse I will buy is that it is an XBOX Live Arcade game, but even then I would have liked a longer playing experience.

The next complaint I have is, "Why couldn't they fix the screen for those of us who don't have HDTVs?" This is a complaint I have for a lot of XBOX games (Dead Rising, anyone?), but I would really love to be able to read and see everything easily. There is a mild solution to this issue in the game with "Zoom Screen" option, in which I can pull the game's comic book panel towards me. This is not a proper fix it, though, because now portions of the game are cut off. Us poor and jobless folk would appreciate a more legitimate solution to this, please.

My third complaint is, "Why didn't they change the game play at all from the first game?" The only thing really different from the first game was the final boss (which I would also call fairly lack luster compared to the epic battle against Mimethulu at the end of the first game), but other than it's the same basic formula. You have basic attacks, special attacks, and items. The special attacks are new but not all that much better. The weapons are a little different, but still meh on the customization process. The items are new as well, but giving me a new type of grenade/bomb does not tide me over from wanting something more. With all of Tycho's talk about the dark arts, why can't we have some magic? I love shooting things and punching things, but can we have more than one weapon with the option for an upgrade for a character? One of the best things about RPGs is the ability to customize your player to suit your needs. We have the option of 3 new costumes in this game that give different perks, but that just doesn't cut it. I want Tycho to throw a fire ball at someone, and I want Gabe to have the option of using brass knuckles or perhaps the Right Hand of Doom (maybe even a cardboard tube?).

My final complaint is, "Why are the achievements so boring?" It really is not difficult to get 200 gamerscore on this game. Only one achievement actually takes time to get (which, of course, I did not get). The rest you can get by just playing the story or by looking at the achievement list. I liked how the first game had that horrific achievement "Silent, But Deadly" achievement, where you had to figure out an appropriate plan to beat the boss so you didn't use healing items. That mixed with "Immortal" (where you couldn't die) made for an interesting gaming experience. There is nothing like that in PAE2. I don't feel like I achieved much, even though I unlocked everything in the game possible. This is my smallest gripe with the game, of course, but still... come on, guys.

Now onto the things I like. I love the story: I mentioned this earlier, but it flows so well from the first game. There are also plenty of subplots to keep me intrigued and happy. There are 10 possible quests in the game, and having done them all, I can say that each one provides a great deal of pleasure to complete. This game thrives on it's ability to be story driven and it easily accomplishes that. I love the animation and graphics of the game: It's not too complicated and it's not to simple. It literally is perfect for the game. I love the character designs: I kind of want to shave my beard into mutton chops now because of Gabe, and that's not something I've wanted to do since I watched the X-Men movie and saw how awesome Hugh Jackman looked. I love the writing in the game: There are so many moments in the game where I burst out laughing. The Insane Asylum was definitely the highlight in exploring and reading every little thing (one crazy inmate believed himself to be the Prince of a town called Bel-Air) as well as finding little jokes that referenced lesser known subjects (did you know Eggplant Lincoln reached power level 10,000?). The dialogue between characters is hilarious, and this is where Tycho truly shines. He is a master wordsmith, I will give him that. He should get a writer's achievement or something to that extent.

So would I recommend PAE2? You're most definitely right I would. This is not the best game of the year nor is it a contender for that game, but if you played and liked the first one, then this is a worthy follow up. Even if you didn't play the first one, I'd say it's worth a play through (but why would you do that to yourself?). As I said earlier, I look forward to playing it a second time. Insane Mode looks promising, although it will be for another day. This is definitely not a game to forget about, though. The Penny Arcade series, when put all together, will make for quite a game. While I hope to see some more improvements in the next installment and more customization options, I understand I probably will not get it as that is not really the point of the game. I view my gripes as very minimal, although they appear to take up the bulk of the review. However, I really would stress that these do not deter from the game experience. Lame achievements? Big whoop. It is important to note a game's flaws in order to better appreciate what it excels at however, unless the game is perfect, which few games are.

On that note, it is time for me to kick back and watch another film on Netflix Instant Watch. Thank God for that.

Hello, faithful readers

Those who faithfully follow the writings contained in this digital tome will notice that, under contributors, two monikers appear. Up until now, you have the faithful writings of Nathanial. He has recently asked that I start contributing to his creation, and contribute I shall. However, I felt that before writing something of cohesive value, a brief paragraph introducing myself was in order. So greetings and salutations. My name is Matthew, and I will also be writing for you.

The popular topic of the moment is the NXE. I, for one, am not sure how I feel about this change so far. This is perhaps because like others, I do not believe I've taken full advantage of the abilities that it provides. Why, just today, I finally buckled down and purchased a Premium Theme (the Halo Wars theme, as I eagerly anticipate the arrival of this RTS experience). However, I have not deleted all of my 0 Achievement Score games, I have not participated in a party, and I have not installed any of my games to my hard drive. At most, I have created an avatar and allowed him to belch and spin his head around for a bit and, of course, taken full advantage of the Netflix addition. All this goes to show that I am not using this to the full potential even remotely.

However, I think that the NXE is a great thing. I love my avatar and I love looking at my friend's avatars. I currently have two costumes for him, one that looks like me and one that, according to Nate, looks nothing like anything I would ever wear (perhaps it was the monocle). I am really excited to put my avatar into games, and even gave it a shot in Kingdom For Keflings (which I did not care for). It's weird, but for some reason I just like looking at the menus now too. I'll scroll through all the menus looking at nothing in particular. It is possible that in this case I am merely like a cat being fascinated at the shiny prize in front of my eyes, but the NXE is incredibly visually appealing. There will always be lazy people like me who accept the changes put forth and just smile and nod at the little things, but it is important to note that Microsoft has even managed to capture my attention. I could have lived without the update, sure, but now that it's here, I definitely turn my XBOX on more often.

The other big thing for me is Netflix. Since getting Netflix on my XBOX, I have watched 10 movies and the entire fourth season of The Office. I have complaints about the quality of the video, but honestly, I feel that if you can push past the first five minutes of a film, your eyes will begin to adjust appropriately and it will no longer be an issue. The only movie I had difficulty watching was Paris, Je T'aime because the subtitles were a bit hard to read. At times it was because the subtitles were in white and against a bright background, but at other times it was simply because of the quality of the video. I wish this was something that would be corrected because I missed full lines of dialogue, but I doubt this will be fixed, and I am now apprehensive to watch foreign films because of this. However, I do have a normal Netflix account, so I could always just get a DVD if it bothered me that much. If I can offer some recommendations, however, I would say that it would be in everyone's best interest to take a look at the films Confessions Of A Superhero, Gone Baby Gone, The Wind That Shakes The Barley, and Being There. I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to watch these movies and many more, so kudos to Microsoft and Netflix on a great idea for a partnership.

The only major complaint I have as of the moment is that, for whatever reason, I can no longer play Fable II easily. It constantly freezes and crashes. I am not sure if this is due to the NXE or not (as I can not see how the issue could correlate), but it is slightly aggravating as I have not yet beaten the game and would like to see one of the endings.

That just about wraps up my limited thoughts on the NXE. I feel that when I write, I will mostly contribute reviews of games. With that thought in mind, Penny Arcade Episode 2 calls to me to play it. I will, however, return at a later date to write my thoughts on Fallout 3, which I spent a total of 53 and a half hours playing and absolutely adoring. If I could date a video game, that game would be Fallout 3, and I will explain why soon.

I Hope And Pray for the Xbox Brand

Every day I have my silent wishes for the Xbox brand. I hope that all of their decisions are the right ones and I cringe with every piece of bad PR. As I may or may not have said before, my Xbox is part of who I am and the games that I play. Over these past three years (more if you want to count the original Xbox) I have become Xbox's cheerleader, salesperson, and all around Xbox know how guy.

I make it my business to know the ins and outs of my console, for my benefit and for any others with questions.

The question of the NXE (pronounced 'nix-IE') being the right choice is one that comes to mind. I personally feel, along with many others, that the NXE was right choice. As the point has been driven home to its very death, the NXE has something to offer both of its audiences. The guide is built for the mainstay hardcore crowd, touting such features and zero gamerscore deletion and quick launch, and the cover-flow inspired dashboard is built for the up-and-coming casual crowd (avatars, pretty to look at, etc). The reason I feel that this is the right choice is because it really does not leave anyone alienated (unless you find yourself to be one of the irate, nit picky folk that just need to complain to hear yourselves complain). Everyone on my friends list has, shamefully or not, created an avatar (with the exception of one of my friends who was also the victim of a red ringing- without a back-up plan (as I had)- which always sucks). The only question 'left 2 see' is weather or not it will catch onto the casual crowd or not? Do you think that the Wii has already captured it completely with no intention of letting go or do you think that the Xbox can convert a few?

These things are honestly what I think/worry about and though I know I am not alone I do not want to believe that I am the only one rooting for the infinite life of the Xbox 360. So if by some chance you are reading this and are on the fence about buying an Xbox you have my full fledged support and I promise you that you will not regret your purchase.