A Bit Distracted (Brutal Legend, The Dishwasher)

At this very moment I am in a bit of a predicament. It is not that serious but at the same time I feel bad about it. 


I am torn between giving you, the reader, a legitimate update, about Brutal Legend perhaps, or going off to play The Dishwasher (which I am currently awful at). So I think what I am going to do is give you a little taste of both.

The embargo on the game play demo of Brutal Legend was up on Friday morning and I as well as you kind folks all probably read a lot of nice things about this fun little game. Those articles mentioned in the past sentence tell me that everyone has come away from this "demo" happier than they even expected to be and that, in turn, makes me even more ecstatic that this game is coming sooner rather than later. I am expecting this game in the summer at the latest so that it does not get crushed by the holiday tirade.

As for The Dishwasher, I am enjoyed its stylized art. It has been compared to Alien Hominid HD I think because they are both representative of artistic indie games that shatter conceptions of what arcade games are supposed to be. The fact that the two have been compared makes me happy (and it should make the sole, lone, cowboy of a developer happy).

P.S. - I also recently passed my 1000th achievement! It was for completing a level on Veteran in COD4.

Short And Sweet

Jarvis has a new podcast up that I guested on.

So... check it out.

April Fool's Game Diary (Call of Duty 4 Game Diary/Review)

So by the time that you read this April Fools day will have came and went without any interesting jokes coming to pass. What is funny is that this entry was really meant to be posted yesterday but I fell asleep with only the rough draft in hand.

I am disaapointed because this industry usually comes up with the best ones (this year Google came up with CADIE). Googles last year was much better. For Gmail they gave you the ability to send email dated for the past (funny because at first I thought that it was true) so your paper, proposal, PowerPoint, etc would always be in on time. Think of the possibilities, one could never be late.

Anyway that's not what we are here to talk about. Or was it. If you had any good ones from this year, drop it in the comments. Okay bye.

Still here? Anyway, I have been playing and completing Call Of Duty 4 for the first time [I played pieces of the single player campaign long ago but I was mainly centered on playing the multiplayer aspect]. I know I know, hang me; Sacriledge or heresy, if you will. If you saw my last post you have an idea of what I am going to say regarding this game though. It gets a ten for the single player experience alone.

I have not felt as involved as I felt in a single player, first person shooter experience, since Halo: Combat Evolved. All I can ask for in the sequel has even better visuals and brings as much innovation to the level design as they did in this one.

Let's have a little makeshift review party right here:

Let us begin with the stunning visuals. The game was just that, stunning, though I do remember it looking even better (even a short time has it's toll).

The immersion I felt was so great because of the excellent sound and gameplay design. The gameplay felt so solid I really felt like I was in it. Which brings me to the sound which was so perfect. The combination of the perfect clicks of the guns and the helis overhead were great; firefights, when you are in the middle of them, it truly feels as though bullets, grenades, whathaveyou, is coming from all directions. In less words, the sound design was perfect.

As far as replayability goes I know I am going to give it a shot on Veteran (it has scared me since COD2) tomorrow and I look forward to getting involved with the multiplayer again and giving the arcade mode a run through.

I remember what originally left a bad taste in my mouth or why I think that I stopped playing the game. I had purchased the GOTY edition which was supposed to come with the Variety Map Pack. Instead my card that was supposed to have a code on it was blank. I went through a whole hub-bub-a-loo which involved contacting both GameStop and Activision several times to no avail. I was pissed at the time - you should have really seen those emails to Activision - but what can one do? I ended up finishing the game and loving it.

Has a game every put a bad taste in your mouth, so to speak, and left you not playing it, despite it being a good game? Leave those thoughts in the comments.

All Ghillied Up (Holy F' Wow)

The fact that you just read the title of this post and are reading this now will either have you interested or knowing exactly what I am about to say...

THIS IS THE GREATEST LEVEL OF ANY GAME THAT I HAVE EVER PLAYED!!!

Okay. Now that I have that out of my system I just needed to tell you why. I was so incredibly immersed and I could feel my heart beating in my ears. The part where you were under the Jeeps... when the army is walking through the field and you have to maneuver... O.M.F.G...

Okay. I think I am better again. No wonder folks were talking about this level when the game came out. The whole time I am thinking, "This is so cool... okay move this way to avoid this guy... do I really want to shoot this one... be patient Nate... this is sooo cool." After my thoughts sounded something like, "I think I'm ready to be done now, I want that achievement," and then after I got the achievement (Ghillies in the Mist) I was thinking, "that one should have been longer."

If this does not give you a good idea of this level and you have not already played it yourself I honestly cannot figure out what you are waiting for (what was I waiting for?!).

And the level after 'All Ghilled Up', well great level also, but I wanted to murder that level.

OnLive

I just got finished reading this article about all of the details that are being shared about the OnLive service. I really want this to work and if it does it will become my second choice for gaming entertainment. I say second because there is no way that I want to give up the community and achievements that I have accumulated through the Xbox platform. Xbox is my mistress and she always treats me right.

This, however, is my biggest interest, besides the obvious lack of hardware limitations, of the OnLive platform:

Sure, there is no question that the OnLive platform will have the lowest cost of entry for a new user. But, to be clear, OnLive also will certainly be catering to gamers who are less price sensitive, and are seeking the highest performance games, and also it will be opening up a universe of games to Mac users who, before OnLive, have had a very limited selection (MTV Multiplayer Blog).

If the price is right and I can play a few games here and there that I cannot play on my Xbox I will give it a shot. I will still remain skeptical until it is in my hands, amazing me. There are not of original ideas going around as far as gaming hardware goes these days and I think that everyone is quick to rain on this parade, myself included, but I am sure we can all remember a time when publishers were skeptical when Xbox LIVE was shopping their ideas around. Let us just keep an open mind for now and then if it does not work out as planned we can all chuckle to ourselves and say, "I told you so."

Something that I forgot to mention in my previous post is that if you like reading what I have to say then check out this podcast that I guested on. Pardon the fact that a mongoose salivated all over my microphone just five minutes proir to recording (there is a lot of static coming from my end that I cannot explain).

A Cavalcade of Updates (Mass Effect, Bad Company 2)

When I sat down to write this post I only had an inkling of an idea on what I wanted to write about but, now that I have crawled through a minimal amount of my feeds, I have a few things that I would like to cram into this post.

First off, we will go with the most interesting part of the past few days of mine. I decided to pick up and play Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare after my last post. I am at least halfway through according to the Mission Select screen and the game is more awesome than I remember. Every little thing is so detailed and I feel like I am in the thick of it at all times.  An interesting thing to note is that the headphones are a big help for finding helicopters that are circling around the building that you are in. The game is so obviously well-done and it really has me wondering what they are going to improve for the next one. You can officially count me excited.

Speaking on the subject of warfare the teaser trailer for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has made its way onto the internets via a GameTrailers WORLD EXCLUSIVE (exciting, no?). It really is quite the boring trailer but I am still excited for the game because the first one was a riot and the multiplayer was something different than I am used to. I had never really found interest in a Battlefield game before this one (Bad Company 1) and I feel than many people who primarily game on consoles felt the same way that I did (first Battlefield game exclusive on consoles = fun). The funniest, most interesting part of the trailer was a joke that I understood despite not actually playing the game that it referenced; "Specializing in warfare since 1942," was what the tag line at the end of the trailer read.

In terms of other news, Bioware did unveil thier level design videos for Mass Effect 2, but as you can see I am not giddy in excitement because they did not really show much of anything. Do not believe me? See for yourself.

The only other thing that I have to report is that I may be moving this blog over to WordPress soon because I feel that it is a site that offers more to an up and coming blog such as my own.

GDC (The One and Only Update... The Only One Necessary)

The most interesting thing to come out of GDC for me is the Modern Warfare 2 trailer. It doesn't excite me in any other way other than the fact that is coming out. Jarvis and I talked about it on his podcast which you will get to hear in a couple of days but basically I haven't completed the first one so I will have to get to that. Here is that trailer:



The only only other thing that I wanted to mention is the OnLive platform. Everyone (Joystiq, Jarvis, etc.) has high hopes for it but I am sure but without an insane amount of money it doesn't look like it will ever become profitable let alone get off of the ground. Maybe I am being shortsighted on this one but I like my physical console and I do not think that everyone is ready to give that up just yet. I will give it a shot but I think it might just be a fourth console and not the end all be all of gaming. It is gaming from the cloud like we have been talking about. Let us just see if we are there yet.

An honorable mention of GDC is Zelda: Spirit Tracks, which looks like it used all of the assets from Phantom Hourglass and added a choo-choo train.

Off the top of my head that is all I can think of. I think I have a hankering to play COD4: MW now... funny how that works.

Game Developer's Conference 2009

It kicks off today so you can look forward to my excited rants about all kinds of games and features of said games.

What I am looking forward to the most is the panel of the level design of Bioware's Mass Effect 2. I am excited to see what they are doing differently this time to hopefully make each level area a more dynamic experience.

I know that Joystiq and MTV Multiplayer will be there and I am looking forward to their hands-on opinions of Bioshock 2 and, if it is being showed, Overlord 2.

This is all I have until the news really breaks so be on the edge of your seat and I will try and bring you all the news I can in the coming days.

February NPD Data Opinions

There has not been a lot of news as of late that has caught my interest but I am sure that will all change when it comes down to GDC (Game Developer's Conference) in just a few short days. I know that I will have something to say about Mass Effect 2 because I know that it is going to be there but other than that we will just have to wait and see. Maybe we will see something from Bioshock 2 that will do something the quell all of our inhibitions about the prequel/sequel.

But none of this is what this post is actually about. It is about the February NPD Data that was posted by everyone under the sun yesterday. The Xbox sold 391K units while Nintendo sold bajillions (technical term) of Wii's and DS's. Street Fighter IV and Wii Fit rounded out the top three games sold and that is about all of the interesting information that is there. The rest is just standard stuff other than the fact that DS games that are at least a year old are somehow in the top ten for the second straight month.

What I am looking forward to seeing is the March NPD because I'll get to see how RE5, Halo Wars, and Chinatown Wars faired among Nintendo's glut of hardware and software (well the later is Nintendo software).

Game Diary March 18, 2009 and Excitement For Overlord II

Yesterday I recieved my first game from Goozex, Overlord, and I love it. It is a lot of fun so far and I will have more to say about it once I have completed it but now I can officially be excited for this:

Overlord II:

For Those Who Liked The Resident Evil 5 Review

Oh my Gods, two updates in a span of time less than 24 hours? This is new. And this new update regards news and not a review? Curiouser and curiouser. Could I perhaps be possessed by Nate? While this is not a definite answer to the query, it is a definite possible answer.

Regardless, I am going to relate some information that does not even have to do with a video game console I own. Christian Svensson over at Capcom recently wrote that several old games for the Playstation have been submitted by Capcom to the Playstation Network for possible downloading. This is incredibly cool because now people who never got to play Resident Evil in all it's original glory may now get the chance to do so, not to mention you'll get other games like Dino Crisis (another survival horror game) and Street Fighter. You can already get Resident Evil 3 if you are so inclined (and 2 if you live in Japan).

On top of this, I also felt that I could throw into the pot that if you are a Wii owner, you could also play the previous 4 installments. All you need to do is go down to your local GameStop and pick up Resident Evil 1-4 on the Game Cube and then throw it into your console! It'll play just as well, and all 4 games have been put on the Game Cube (the original re-made, 2 and 3 just ports). In my humble opinion, the re-make of Resident Evil is just as good as the original if not better due to the intense graphic overhaul, script edits, and added gameplay mechanics.

Just something to dwell on in case my Resident Evil 5 review moved you so much you decided you needed to finally check out the series after not doing so for over a decade.

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.

How Has The NXE Benefitted Your Marketplace Browsing?

It has been a while since I last brought up the NXE but it has faded into the background and it has become part of our everyday Xbox routine.

What I would like to concentrate on today is Marketplace browsing specifically.
Lately I have been thinking about how I have found it easier to locate and buy things when I am looking for them but otherwise I find that I go to the Marketplace less and less just to browse.

This is not because I am broke because trust me when I say that I love to taunt myself with what I cannot yet have. The reason for me is that there seems to be a mental block that prevents me from going that far "up" or "down" into the dashboard. I also watch Inside Xbox videos less whereas when there was an orange icon flashing (telling me that there was something new), that was enough for me to go and watch a few new videos. I do like, however, when new content, that is of sufficient importance, is posted, it is right there in the spotlight.

How has the NXE changed the way that you look at new content, Inside Xbox, friends online, etc.? I feel like right about now is the opportune moment to see how people feel about the NXE because it has had some time to settle.

Game Diary March 15, 2009

Late last night I stepped back onto the deck of the SS Normandy and it felt refreshing. It has been almost a year since I last saved the galaxy. This will be my fourth time through it and I am excited to be enlisted once again. I sincerely want all of the achievements for this game and I feel that the probability of that happening is more likely than not. I have wanted to jump back in since the Mass Effect 2 teaser and last night was the night.

Other than Mass Effect I have been playing Halo Wars still feeling equally neutered and equally powerful. I am surprised at myself because I have not yet completed the campaign but I do not feel compelled to rush it. I am savoring it and right now that is okay with me.

I wanted to play Halo 3 this week also but it never made into the drive. It should happen this week seeing how refreshing it was to play it recently.

Resident Evil 5 came out on Friday and while I want to play it, I am okay with not having the money for it right now. I want to spend my money on other things right now anyway. I want Peggle for Cindy (the wife) and I. I would also like to have the DLC for GTA IV. I would also like GTA: Chinatown Wars (DS) but that will also have to wait. Another thing that I do not need is the Premium Mass Effect Theme. I will get all of the above listed things before RE5 though.

P.S. - Kara should play Mass Effect for PC, its HUD and menu system looks fantastic and the game is f-tons of amazing.

Bioshock 2 (Sea of Dreams (Hopefully))

So now that new details are emerging on the subject of Bioshock 2 I am feeling inclined to say something on the topic.

The first thing is that like most people who played the original, I do not feel like the Bioshock name needed a sequel. It is fair that it is receiving one seeing as the original made a few dollars and any business person's standpoint would say that the sequel would bring in a few dollars itself.

Accepting the fact that there is a new Bioshock game coming out the question is do I think it will be good? A better question still is do I think that it could be good? I think that it could be great. I think that it could stand to be amazing though I still think it would be hard to get a plot twist as good as, "Would you kindly," in there. Bioshock was not as so much about the place as it was about the characters that defined that place. Your character was quite literally a puppet in this world and I know that the sequel needs that character definition. So do I think that 2K Marin is going to be able to continue this enriched experience? I do not. I do not think this because it is a different studio, though it is still a contributing factor, I think this because that character direction was a unified experience that was wholly encompassed in this one story arc. Ultimately I think that it will be difficult for 2K Marin to break themselves off a piece of this and be able to keep up the rich character development without it feeling a little washed out at the end.

As far as I have been made aware this game is supposed to be a prequel and I have a hard time seeing, as far as plot holes go, how a Big Sister evolved into a Big Daddy or vice versa, if in fact it ends up being a sequel not a prequel. The only way something like that would make any bit of sense to me is if part of Rapture broke off and became its own separate entity which we all know is not going to have happened.

The last thing is that the first games story was based around the world and the gameplay and this one is going to be other way around. Realistically that should make the game easier to make. Raptures assets are already created, ready and waiting, so Marin should have plenty of resources to make the story great. One can only hope.

In the end Bioshock 2 is not going to be Bioshock, it will be a game that has the Bioshock name on it though one will have to try and enjoy it on its own merits.

[Via Joystiq, Jarvis Slacks, Game Informer]

Halo Wars: The Story So Far

My experience with Halo Wars so far is a good one. It feels like it is part of the Halo Universe which to me is the best part about it. The fact that it is an RTS where one can amass a huge Halo style army is just a plus.

I have been splitting my online matches between the win and loss columns. The only problem I have with this is that I do not know what I am learning from the losses. In the matches that I do lose I attempt to adapt my strategy based on the losing parameters only to find that those are not helping either.

But when I win it is completely the opposite; it is always a blow-out. I need to figure out what is happening here.

Just now I have come to the revelation that I need to stop attacking as much as I do but that is not the only thing because sometimes I am attacked when I least expect it (and other times still I am only caught a little off guard).

NEW STRATEGY: Build units fast, chill at base, be ready at all times. Good... Good.

As an aside, Halo Wars has me playing more Halo 3. The Mythic Maps that came with the limited edition are fun and I boosted for achievements for the first time with a few people the other day. I think that I feel bad about it.

Back to Halo Wars - I have come to like the extraneous things about Halo Wars the most. For example the Halo Universe timeline welcome along with the service records Ala H3.

That is it for this stream of consciousness; this is all that has been on my mind for the past few days.

My Halo Wars Tournament Experience

I walked into GameStop on Saturday, having just being released from the clutches of work at nine to two. The tournament started at two so I was naturally feeling a little itchy. When I got to the store, having it two blocks from my job helps a lot, I began counting how many people were in the store. There were a lot but there was not 32 (the tournament cap).

I ambled about the store trying to figure out where they were going to have all of it set up (I had no idea how makeshift this whole thing was). I was feeling like there should have been more than one kiosk for an entire tournament but I would find out in no time at all how wrong I was.

I finally found the sign up sheet and when I tell you that I was the fourth person to sign it, what I am saying is that there were only four people there for the tournament.

Fast forward a few minutes - While I was meeting my opponents I was paying more attention to the GameStop employee turning their demo stations into a Halo Wars battlestation. I chuckled to myself.

I also chuckled when, what turned out to be my first opponent, said, "I think I should be a little nervous about going up against someone wearing a Penny Arcade shirt."

And so when it got right down to it I selected Commander Forge and my opponent selected Commander Cutter and then my first and last Deathmatch of that day was on. I started building quickly and efficiently but before I knew it I found myself overwhelmed by uber units that i had never seen before. It was over, despite my futile attempts, and I shook his hand.

I then watched him beat the person that I, myself, wanted to beat. It was not that he was fast as much as he was efficient and smart about everything he was doing. He saw a clearer line to the finish that I can only hope to develop. Naturally I wanted to learn a thing or two from him, so I got his GamerTag.

All in all it was a great experience and an even better learning experience. I could not have asked for a better opponent and I was not even nervous when I played... which is an accomplishment for me. He was an RTS player from the bottom of his heart. I did not think big enough, instead I only thought about people who would have played the demo instead of a lot of other RTS's.

I would like to have this experience again soon someday only next time I'll know the maps better and I'll be a more efficient opponent.

i was confident going into the tournament

Big Day Off, Big Plans (Random Diary)

Every day off I have I make these grandiose plans of what I will attempt to accomplish that day. Today is no different.

[Ed note: The caveat here is that all of these plans are usually superseded by real (meaning work around the house or going out to the store) errands.]

Usually I'll start off the day by reading hundreds of feeds that have piled up since my last day off and then hopefully with that information under my belt I'll construct one of my famous blog entries. Today I am trying something different in that I am going with the entry first and news later.

Then a bit later on in my day I plan to tackle some "big gaming situations" and by those I mean, something other than playing Gears of War 2 for hours at a time. Today for example, I am going to play the Halo Wars demo until my hands bleed so that I might prepare myself for the Gamestop Halo Wars Tournament. I have convinced myself of the notion that if I get to compete at all, I will win. Then after playing the Halo Wars demo, depending on the amount of time I have left myself, I will probably try and hop back into The Wasteland (Fallout 3) again today.

In reality I usually only complete about half of my plans and then I resort to playing Gears of War or something like it anyway.

I hope you have all enjoyed this little introspective look into my life; let me know in the comments if you care to read more like this.

Mass Effect 2 Teaser

I apologize for the YouTube quality of the video but you can go here or here to watch it in higher quality.

Okay so you've watched it.

"How do you feel?"

Great, I know. I think know I squealed a little when I saw this. I am not ashamed to admit it. I think I need to play Mass Effect again. Oh lordy, I need to catch my breath.

Naturally I think more about a post before I well, post it but this merits something different altogether. I knew it was coming but now I am stoked. Well hopefully the whole multiplatform thing does not mean that this is coming out later rather than sooner.

Maybe that DLC that I wanted is also coming sooner rather than later.

Okay I just remembered I need to breathe... and sleep. Goodnight all.

My 1st Podcast

Do not be mislead... I did not take the initiative and record this myself. I recorded with my blogging friend Jarvis Slacks. I honestly cannot be the judge of how it sounds because I think I sound like an entire toolbox all of the time. So yes please let you know what you think either through Twitter or through the comments.

How The Recession Plays Into Gaming Habits

Is the recession damaging your ability to play new games?

A lot of folks are losing their jobs these days due to layoffs and the like. Companies are hemorrhaging money and while I do not know any of these people personally, someone does.

These recent times have me thinking about how they affect how people are playing games (it might have me thinking about other topics of course but you are reading a game journalism blog who-sa-whats-it).

These are the few questions that I have been asking myself lately:
1. Is there more time for games because the unemployed are spending more time at home?
2. Are people playing less new titles because they can't afford them?
3. Are people trying to get more out of the games that they currently own because they can afford only so many?

These are all viable questions and they are probably all true, depending on the person and their situation.

I think that the unemployed folks that play are playing more because whatever time that they are not spending to look for a job they are spending in their games. It is quite a natural thing to look for a distraction from the hardships of being unemployed.

The second hypothesis I had was if one could no longer afford to buy new games. Instead we are buying more used games and trading in our games that we no longer have any use for. I think that this has always happened to an extent but I think that over the coming months it will become much more noticeable.

The last hypothesis related to playing games differently is how we are going to end up trying to get more out of our games. Will we try out and eek out every bit of GamerScore and game secrets?

I think this is how all of this is affecting me? It in not in any big way, instead I have other financial woes which may or may not have anything to do with the recession. I refuse to buy used titles and at this time I will not be able to afford to pick up Halo Wars or Resident Evil 5. I have considered selling off some of my property (not land or anything like that) in order to afford Halo Wars but then why wouldn't I do the same thing to pay off the rest of by debts. Instead I will be like option number 3, I will be attempting to master all of the games I own. I own enough.

In reality I think what is happening is that Gamestop is benefiting from this recession. I think that they are buying up more used titles and thus making a higher profit margin from the people are waiting to be able to play these games at a cheaper price. I guess another question would be is how long can GameStop can sustain this without people buying new games.

Here is a list of games I want to get back to:

Dead Rising
Obilivion
Orange Box
Fable 2

Recommend some things that I may have missed in the comments.

What about you? Is the recession affecting how you play your games and how many games you are playing? If so, drop a comment.

Of course the last option is that the recession has oneself playing no games. I'd like to meet that man.

Resident Evil 5 Demo Impressions

I figured that it was only fitting for a Resident Evil entry to be posted on Valentine's Day.

I have already told all of those who will listen that this is my first "real" (and I do say real because I once touched the first game some years ago for five minutes but it did not grab me) experience with any Resident Evil game.

I have enjoyed this experience. My reasons for getting into it are inconsequential but it goes something like, "This is the first Resident Evil game on the Xbox platform..."

After I had adjusted to the control system I was impressed with myself. I was opening my inventory, giving ammo, healing, reloading, running (but not gunning), and of course massacring the zombie-like foes. I was in love.

The game is beautiful to look at and fun to play (though I wonder if this was not my first, would I still feel the same?). This is a different gaming experience that 99.9% percent of games that I play. I now believe that the control system is THERE TO BUILD TENSION (though I wonder if I am being brainwashed).

In the past I would cite the broken control system as a reason for not playing the game, despite never touching it, and it is funny because if the controls were broken one would be lead to believe that CAPCOM would have been smart enough to fix them by now.

I normally do not think in terms of strategically reloading (I either do or I don't) but in RE you have to be strategic about it so as not to get chainsawed.

So go play it, stop reading, because it is a demo and it is free.

Mass Effect 2 Goes Multiplatform

Update: There is newer news that says that ME2 will come out on only PC and 360 to begin with. They are still not ruling out a PS3 version but there is also nothing to say that there will be. Check here for more deets.


Commander Shepard: FALL BACK! EVERYONE FALL BACK!

Liara: Shepard, there are too many Geth, what do we do?

Shepard: We call in reinforcements...

...and that is precisely what EA will have Bioware doing. All consoles will support Mass Effect 2 or vice versa. I suppose the Geth are really a bigger threat than we imagined... or maybe it is something else that treads into spoiler territory.


I have been thinking about this news item for almost a week now and I feel both excited, at the prospect of a new ME game, and shameful, for wanting it to remain on the 360 and PC alone.

I suppose a realistic hope would be improvements on all of the original's shortcomings. I hope they fix the texture pop in, the load times (specifically the elevators), and the handful of glitches that plagued the original. While nothing ruined the game for me (I played it through four times) it would be nice to have those shortcomings fixed.

Again I know that is ridiculous to get upset over platform exclusivity but I am and I know that I do not have a good reason for it. More people will get to experience the series but I do wonder if many PS3 owners will be picking this up or not. A better question still is how many who played the original on the 360 are going to go out and purchase this game for their PS3?

This brings me to the conclusion that the original might come to the PS3. I do not know how probable this is seeing as it was still a Microsoft Games Studio game. Microsoft may still have exclusive rights to the first one but for how long? Just keep this possibility in the back of your mind so as not to be surprised later.

In the meantime we can all fantasize about new "level design" (you know, instead of the same old rooms with different things in them) and adventures with Shepard and Company.

Now if only this Mass Effect 1 section on the Marketplace would update with some new DLC.

[Via Joystiq]

Halo Wars Demo Impressions

I was going to write this up when I woke up but having read Jarvis's own impressions of this demo I decided that I should get mine out there.

This will be the game that changes all of the preconceived notions of how an RTS is to be played on a console. This is what ENSEMBLE wants you to believe but the most important thing is - is it true?

I personally have had no interest in playing a console RTS before this but I can tell you that this feels right. One thing in particular that I noticed was that all item that are base related are all right there on the same pad. It just works.

Despite my lack of interest I also did not go into playing this demo with any skepticism. These are the creators of Age of Empires.

Like I said this game just feels right. Everything clicks and the controls are easy enough to use. The game/demo starts of with a stunning cut scene that just gets you pumped to play another Halo game. And then you are hovering twenty feet above one Warthog and you slowly begin to amass your army.

Be wary though because this is another one of those games that burns time.

Weekly Update, What Have I Been Playing, Random Complaining... Whatever

It has been a good week or so to be a gamer. I am not saying this to hurt the other week's feelings but I am sure it will be a good 10 days to be a gamer come March 3rd and 13th.

This is for the reason that the two games of which demos I have played will be launching: Halo Wars and Resident Evil 5.

Let us talk about the later first since in my last post I was unsure on whether I would be picking it up or not. I have decided, after playing through the demo again - both coop and not - that I will be picking it up. I could honestly care less about the story, which I know is strange for me, but I had a good experience playing it and I would be remiss if I did not want to continue that experience.

But before I say too much I have write ups for both of those demos for your viewing pleasure so now it is only a short amount before you may gaze upon those.

Now the real topic of this post:

You may accuse me of being a fanboy for the Xbox, or Xbot, whichever you prefer, but alas let me point out that I do want to purchase a PS3 but both the price and the game selection are not allowing for that. I have a wife and I have bills... I also am not made of money (despite many attempts by others to debunk this (I'd really rather not talk about it)).

There has been a lot of commotion surrounding Killzone 2. I am sure that it is the best shooter on PS3 to date but I am sure there are better shooters out there. I am just saying that I do not think that the MLG is going to abandon Halo 3 as their primary game in favor of Killzone 2. I believe that the graphics are the best any system has to offer and I am sure it could kill many a 360 but who really cares.

The only thing that people care about is their review score. I'll admit I have been upset by a less than 9.5 review score but not enough to well question the reviewers practices. In this review from CVG the reviewer lists the lack of co-op as a letdown or a negative mark against the game. Well as you might guess, folks have freaked out. I found this comment particularly astounding:

How can you give a game negative marks for not having co-op!!!!! You can only review that content that's there. It's like someone reviewing mario and then deducting points for it not having machine guns!!!

Me: "No it is not like that!?"

I'm sorry to say this but people have come to expect co-op from their shooters. Mario and machine guns have nothing to do with this pointless argument. This makes no sense to me at all. Somewhere in those comments someone said that COD4 did not have coop. Well woop dee doo, it still felt like an innovation from COD2 despite the fact that I didn't like COD4 to begin with. Aghhh I hate the sheer stupidity of some people.

We I have definitely worked myself up sufficiently, I think I am going to go calm down with a cup of coffee. Oh and just in case you PS3 fanboys did not get that... it was a joke.

A40 Audio System Unboxing

This is something that I have been waiting for, for a long time. It was painful to have to unbox it so slow in order to take pictures so I apologize if it is not comprehensive enough. Basically these things are awesome and after I have had enough use of them I will probably throw a review up. For now behold their glory:

Holy Crap

So here is another apology: "I'm sorry."

I have not been on my computer at all as Google Reader can attest to (800+ unread items and counting). I am currently in Massachusetts on a mini-vacation and so I am currently on Matt's computer (my crappy laptop battery makes it not worth bringing my own computer places). I have been at work every day and in my free time I have been playing Fallout 3 like a madman. I finally finished the main story but I will be returning to the game in order to tie up any loose ends that I left (Operation: Anchorage DLC, bobbleheads, etc. I have not been doing anything else of any merit so I guess that is all this post will center around.

Now: more about Fallout.

I'll have to start a new game in order to attempt what I want to do - get all 1000 gamerscore - but for right now I am satisfied with myself [Ed note: I know that there is more gamerscore now with the DLC but let us not argue semantics.]. Like I said, I do have to tie up the loose ends, so that I can feel like I actually had a full play through of the game. I am a completionist and if I were enough of one I would have 100 percent gamerscore in most or all of my games. Lucky for me, I am not that much of a loon. The last thing I have to say about this game is that it had the best story of any game I played last year.

But now seeing as I have completed it, I can allow myself to play other things. I know that I will be returning to Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2 and probably Fable 2 with a vengeance. For Left 4 Dead I'll be playing whenever I get the chance and for Gears of War (since patches are finally coming out) maybe I can finally have some fun playing this game online. I know I will be awful at first but it will be well worth the pain. But Fable 2 got the short end of the stick when it came to play time last year.

I played the first half of the game at my own pace but the second half was rushed because I was completing it so that I could play Fallout (and we all know how long that took me). I need to go back and finish what I didn't get to and perhaps after that I will start a whole new character. Fable 2 is great and I want to get everything that I can out of it.

Last on the docket is the fact that I played the Resident Evil 5 Demo last night. It was a good time mainly because it felt foreign to me. I have never played a RE game before - Sacrilege! - because they have never interested me before. Now the only reason that it interests me is because I have an interest in getting all Zombie related achievements. While I know that this seems to be a lofty goal it is idea that I am entertaining.

But I did play the demo with Matt yesterday and I enjoyed myself. Perhaps I will play the retail copy when it comes out.

Grand Theft Auto Previewsplosion (DS and 360)

On January 21st MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo was invited down to Rockstar New York to check out Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned. The former has interested me the most seeing as it is "something new" that takes advantage of many, if not all, of the DS' strong suits. The latter is the long anticipated (I guess it could be argued by some) Xbox 360 DLC for Grand Theft Auto IV.

Let me start of by saying that Chinatown Wars looks to be fantastic. From what I have seen of screenshots the graphics look amazing for a DS game and from what I have read the touch screen moments of the game are something that I am greatly anticipating. Let me make a small prediction here: This could very well be the best selling GTA of this generation (I mean seriously, think about how many DS units there are out there).

Here are some key points that I pulled from Totilo's preview (I'll quote the ones I found most interesting and naturally you can just click away on that link to see anything else that might tickle the cockles of your heart).

-900,000 lines of code were optimized for the touch interface alone.

-The missions are scored with medals (Gold, Silver, Bronze) and from your garage you can later go and replay them to get a higher rank.

-It is played from the top down (ala GTA 1&2) but has a full 24 hour cycle and licensed music (with no words)

-You will be playing stylus in hand because there are that many touch based moments.

These few bullet points are just the bare bones of it but again these are elements that I think matter most. I will say though that I am a bit skeptical about the medal system because if is anything like what Sonic games turned into (making it nigh impossible to get a gold medal) then I am going to be pushing holes through my screen with my stylus. Also I do not mind at all that this game is top down instead of third person POV though I am a little sad that we will have licensed MIDI's instead of full tracks (obviously I understand the limitations here and I am sure when I play it I will not mind at all). Lastly I am happy that it looks like I will be equally using the buttons and the stylus.

The last thing that I have to say about this game is that it looks like I will have to hurry and beat The World Ends With You so that I do not feel bad about picking this game up when it comes out.


Next up on the docket is The Lost and Damned which also looks promising. This is the 20 dollar piece of DLC - dropping February 17 - that if it didn't require the GTA IV disc might as well be a whole new game.

I say this because all of the previews that I have read all lead me to believe that this piece of DLC will be in the 10-20 hour range. I paid twenty for Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 1 so I will more than likely be paying twenty for this.

Now for the bullet points that I again took from Totilo's preview (that guy is so on top of his stuff huh?):

-Rockstar is calling this a full game that only uses the GTA IV disc to render the city.

-The downloadable episode adds some extra "grit" and "lighting". It all "adds more fidelity to character models".

-There will be new weapons and rewards for riding in formation with your gang.

-The handling of the bikes will be different for the DLC.

-Rockstar says that they are not "milking it".

I am honestly excited about all of these things. I think that this "full game" is just easier for them to make seeing as it renders the city from the disc. To me this looks like a Vice City or a San Andreas to me and though I know it is not as long it does feel like something new. I like that they are improving on an already well done city by adding extra layers of "grit" and "lighting". Perhaps the thing that I am most excited for is the improved handling of the bikes because this was the only thing that I was worried about when this episode was originally announced. And lastly Rockstar says that they are not milking this and I truly believe it. This is what they are good at. One could argue that the whole franchise is milked but they have the quality to go with the quantity.

They will also have my 20 bucks come February 17.

You have heard it before but DLC is truly the way of the future.

An Update From the Train

This will probably be my first and las update from my phone. I just wanted to give it a shot so I apologize in advance for any erroranious mistakes or lack of linkage. Let me know how this went in the comments.

Today was a great day in the Wasteland. I scoured the ends of the DC Wasteland for bottles of Nuka Cola Quantum and explored the wastes of Vault-Tec HQ. I can't tell you how excited I get when I come upon a bottle of Quantum but I can assure you the reaction is one of giddy delight.

I expected more from the Vault-Tec offices but there was still some fun stuff in there (I found a lot of lunchboxes). I have been working on filling my Nuka Cola vending machine and I finally found Dogmeat. The former is just for fun because I have become a Nuka Cola fanboy and the latter usually just points me in the direction of some enemies.

I have since sent him back to Vault 101 for fear of him dying and I only have 7 bottles of Quantum left to collect in the Nuka Cola Challenge. Every bottle after that shall be a Nuka grenade and I shall let one bottle sit on a shelf next to my bobblehead stand. I am all about the trophies from my various quests.

As you can see I love being part of this world. I know that I will be sad to leave when I beat it but alas everyone's day must come, even Fallout's Wasteland.

I know this entry was incredibly short but typing something of any length becomes quite the chore on the iPhone. I'll speak to you quite soon about other escapades in the Wasteland or in real life.

I Feel Like I Have Been Away From the Blog for a Week

For those of you who follow my Twitter (right bar) you know that I said that I would be updating my blog about the NPD numbers a few days ago. Sadly that did not come to fruition. It has also not been as long as I thought it was between updates but still it was too long. I can safely say that work has been getting in the way of my posts and gaming lately and yesterday I just needed to play some Left 4 Dead to unwind.

My job is evil, soul-less, and soul-sucking (if you can imagine such a thing) and I have felt so drained (today is no exception). I know that is no excuse really for not updating the one thing that I am happy to do other than play games, this blog. So this here is my formal apology for sucking: "I'm sorry."

I'll say something about the NPD numbers because I did originally, in some form, promise that post.

It is good to see the XBOX doing as well as it has been since the price drop in September. I think the combination of that, the NXE, and the family oriented games have made it a more viable option to the Wii market. Granted these options to not appeal to you and me, the core gamer, but the health of this market can only mean more of the XBOX brand in years to come. That is enough to make me happy and I am sure it puts a smile on your face also.

[Via Joystiq]

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.

Fallout 3

Today I will make my triumphant return to the wasteland and while that is good news it does leave me with something sad to say: "I will not be making a post proper today." This is all I can offer you. I'll see you on the other side.

Gaming from the Cloud

This is a two-fold entry of sorts seeing as it will be about two different topics. Why you ask? My answer to you is that these topics of conversation these days do no merit posts of their own.

The first topic of the day is the comments recently made by Aaron Greenburg on the size increase of your Xbox LIVE Friends list. He said, “It’s definitely something we’re looking at expanding and, as this social network grows, we’ve absolutely heard the pleas for that. It’s on the list. (Via Platform Nation)” While I personally do not need this increase I have heard it talked about for the past two or so years. I know that it was a common request when the updates to the console were released biannually and I think that if they could finally figure out a way to do party chat then they could figure out a way to bump up that friends list cap (which currently stands at one-hundred).

Now I personally do not care about this feature upgrade because I am constantly weeding out people whom I’ve added but never have played with beyond that one initial time (the time that you liked playing with that person enough so you added them but now they are never on at the same time anymore). There are definitely mainstays on my friends list but until I blow up in the blogosphere I am betting that I will not care about the size of my friends list. How about you? Do you need the friends list increase?


The second and more interesting topic on hand is this. From the floor of CES there are talks about gaming from the cloud. Let me first explain what this could mean. This could mean that one could play a game with the highest of specs from say an iPhone or a crappy PC. I have not fully wrapped my head around this but I think that this is long off. Please click the link above for a better description.

This topic has me thinking (through a completely rationale thought process) about a “one console” future and it is a little unnerving. We need the “big three” to keep competing so that we can have all of these innovations (Avatars, Mii's, Home, etc). I like being a 360 Fanboy and Fanboyism will be threatened if there are no specs required to run a game. Every system will be able to run that game. It will be MADNESS! Okay enough of that, I have worked myself into a tizzy. I am just thinking worst case scenario and I would be willing to bet that the big three will be around for years to come. Thoughts?


Again that is all the rambling I have for you so return back soon for more of my clever and witty diatribe.

Game Diary: Futile Attempts to Play EVERYTHING

Seeing as there has not been a glut of news to talk about I will talk about the glut of games that I still have to finish at least once. This “list” of games that I still have to play does not even include the games that I have consistently been playing which are Left 4 Dead and Gears of War 2.

I haven’t touched Gears’ multiplayer mainly because I just cannot get into a game. Horde has been enough to keep me playing. Left 4 Dead is keeping me from playing Fallout 3. I’ll cite a specific instance: The other day I had at least four hours to devote to get back into the Wasteland but I ended up playing versus mode in L4D with friends. It was the most fun I have had with the game so far and I personally think that is saying something for me.

I feel like I have about 40 hours left to go in Fallout but that is just a rough estimation. This is the biggest game that I need to complete and after that I might be “on track” for the new games coming out in 2009. I want to be able to go back to Fable 2 when the DLC comes out but I do not think I’ll have beaten Fallout. I am also interested in playing “The Lost and Damned” DLC because I honestly think I’ll enjoy the return to Liberty City.

I am on a ticking timeline until Halo Wars comes out which will undoubtedly take up a lot of my time and will because one of my go to multiplayer games of choice. I have until March 3rd to feel as if I have played all of the holiday games sufficiently.

The annoying part of this is that I haven’t touched three games that I would like to play to completion: Mirror’s Edge, Dead Space, and Prince of Persia. I feel like at least one of these games is going to be forgotten for a while and I will bet that it will be Dead Space. Perhaps I could borrow that game from my little brother next time I visit my parent’s house. I am sure that would include trading one of my games for a temporary period of time, an idea I am not too keen on.

Honestly I am hoping for a slow gaming summer so that I can catch up because I just do not see how it is feasible otherwise.

It might sound like I am complaining about all of the games that I have to play but that is not the case. I just wish the publishers would space their games out so a person could actually give their game a shot.

As a last note I have not even touched my DS since I have been playing games again. I think portable gaming does go through spurts.

Next: Perhaps a blog entry that is somewhat news related.

Games Anticipated for 2009

I remember this time last year thinking that there was no way that 2008 could be as good a year for gaming as 2007 had been. As we all know, I was sorely mistaken and 2008 was a grand year to be a gamer and I feel that 2009 is going to be just as good. I only have my eyes and ears on a few games but I have listed other games that I am also interested in playing.


My Personal Most Anticipated

Halo Wars – This game looks deliciously fun and if it succeeds at its main promise, (intuitive control system) I am sure it will be one of my top games of the year.

Mass Effect 2 – If this actually comes out in 2009 I would be surprised. I haven’t heard anything to say that it is coming out this year but I haven’t heard anything on the contrary. Saying that it is coming out this year is just going on the assumption that it is going on the two year development plan (Gears of War 2, etc.) that so many games seem to have adopted.

Brutal Legend – This is my top anticipation for 2009 because Psychonauts was my favorite game of the last generation. Tim Schafer is a genius and I believe that this will be my favorite game of 2009 just based on whom it is coming from.


Games on 1UP’s List That I Will Probably Play

I had trouble remembering all of the games that were mentioned to come out this year so I was browsing Digg and came up with 1UP’s list and these are the few that I am interested in.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars – This seems like it can be one of the most innovative games of 2009 (for its control system) and that is enough for me to play it. I am so very impressed with a lot of the games that come out for the DS.

Star Wars: The Old Republic – There are so many games that I am considering buying a new PC for and this is one of them. If this is any bit as good as the Knights of the Old Republic Games then I am sold. The fact that it is an MMO does nothing to dissuade me and knowing my addictive personality, once I start playing this game, I will not stop – unless it is awful.

Wolfenstein – I think I have to play this by proxy seeing as Wolfenstein 3D was the first game that I ever played where I started to play games seriously (as in more than just going over to my friends out to play his NES with him).

Diablo 3 – Do I need to even say anything? I realize that I probably do need to say something for all of those that read this who do not know who I am but seriously it is a Diablo game so yes, I do not really need to say anything more. I will say that this is another game that I am going to need a PC for.

Assassin’s Creed 2 – This was a game that I did not find on many ’09 lists but I would like to see where Ubisoft is taking this story.


Games I Might Consider Played Just to Say That I Am Open Minded

Prototype – I know nothing about this game and I probably will not until it comes out and I play it. The name is interesting enough and a friend has told me that he is interested. That is enough for me to be interested in it. How presumptuous is that?

Resident Evil 5 – I have no interest but I think I might rent this one just to say that I gave it a shot. Maybe I will love it. Maybe.


Others

Bioshock 2 – I want this game to be great but like everyone else, I have huge doubts.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game – Read Bioshock 2

Halo 3: ODST – It is another Halo game and I’m not excited.

APB (All Points Bulletin) – I have my doubts on whether this one will come out this year but it is the one out of this set (“Others”) that I am the most interested in. It is from Realtime Worlds, which as we all know made Crackdown. This is also an MMO and if it comes out this year alongside The Old Republic then my time is in trouble.


It looks to be a solid year and I am sure this is only half of the list of games that will be on my games played post come the year’s end. It will be good to see what comes out of all of the conventions this year and I must say as a final note that I am anticipating the year to come.

P.S. - I also wanted to add that I am glad that I am not the only one who is observing this barren blogging wasteland. The only information that came out of CES was the reaffirmation of XBOX LIVE Primetime, a Halo Wars demo/release date that we already knew, some community game the is supposed to be like LittleBigPlanet, etc. Thanks to Joystiq for all of the information but seriously these are not new stories.

Game of the Year 2008 (GOTY)

10. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – This was a fun enough game that it deserves to be in my top ten. It was the best action Star Wars game that I have ever played and the story could not have been better in my opinion.

9. Too Human – This could have been higher in my top ten if the story parts of the game weren’t so poorly constructed. By no means am I saying that the game itself had a poor story, seeing as I want to see where it goes, but there was so little of it and the cut scenes were almost painful to watch at times because they were so poorly animated and put together. Though it does not really factor in, I am sure anyone who played the game will never forget the death animation. All in all the game was fun to play and when you knew what you were doing you truly felt like a Norse God.

8. Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 – For this game to not be in my ten would be a crime because this is my go to game when I do not know what I want to play. I might see Fallout or Gears of War in my game tray but if I am not feeling up to it Geo Wars is always what is booted up. The six modes that this game has, offers a game play style for any mood you might possibly be in. This is truly one fantastic game.

7. Grand Theft Auto IV – This is one of the games this year that I sunk a lot of my time into. It had a great cohesive whole. If you were to break off pieces you could see the flaws but still as a whole the game accomplished a lot. I had good fun with this game and though everyone is basically saying that this should be in no top ten I obviously disagree. It is not the greatest game ever made but it still does what does the best and I had a lot of fun with it (though I still want Crackdown 2).

6. Braid – Oh the horror, Braid is not even in my top five. It was a fantastic experience but ultimately I did not want to go back to it even though I am sure I forgot how to solve half of the puzzles. When I was playing it I had the greatest time and I thought it was ingenious. I still do. It does not change the fact that I had more fun with those games that are in the top five. Sorry but at least I can say that I am looking forward to Jonathan Blow’s next game.

5. Castle Crashers – Honest Fact: I absolutely love this game but still not as much as the hype had me wanting to. It is honestly the best game aesthetically that I have laid eyes on all year and definitely the most humorous (sorry Penny Arcade). The ending was unbelievably fantastic and it was definitely long enough. What was missing I cannot say but I expected to never want to play any other arcade game… ever and that is not the case. I probably have too high of expectations but I am a Behemoth fanboy and I cannot wait to see some DLC for this game.

4. Fable 2 – Fable 2 fixed all of Fable’s problems and I could probably leave it right there and that would be enough but alas I do have more to say. This game is clever, witty, and has one of the best campaigns in games all year. I love spending time in Albion but not as much as I love spending time in the Wasteland. Oops.

3. Gears of War 2 – This game is not at number three because of its campaign. It is in this spot because after all is said and done this is the game that will probably have the most longevity for me (that and my number one game). It has multiplayer that will undoubtedly be fixed and therefore be played by many for years to come. Millions purchased it so there will always be someone to play with. Oh yeah and horde is f’in delicious.

2. Fallout 3 – I know I have not completed this game but I also know that when I play it, I feel like I am part of this world. I love this game and that is all there needs to be said about that.

1. Left 4 Dead – This game is at number one because it has provided my friends and myself with an experience never had before. I freak out when I play this game and so does everyone around me. My wife plays this game with me. My wife does not play any game with me. There is not enough that I can say about this game other than the fact that I want more. I am not even worried about not having someone to play with in the future because I know I always have a team of four ready to play.


Honorable Mentions

Battlefield: Bad Company

N+

Penny Arcade Adventures

Professor Layton and the Curious Village


Games Not Finished/Touched Upon

Mirrors Edge

Dead Space

The World Ends With You –
I know I did not say anything about the other games that were not on my top ten but I do not feel that I had enough time with this game in order to properly judge it. I am sure it would have been in my top ten if I had finished it in time.

Prince of Persia

Games Played This Past Year (2008)

These are the games that I played this year regardless of whether they came out this year or not. I am still not convinced that the list is long enough but I put more time into gaming this year than I ever have before. I do not think that this is because I am “more” into gaming than I was last year instead I think it results from the fact that more games came out this year than any other (at least that I wanted to play).

I am going to fully admit to cribbing Stephen Totilo’s style for this entry because I like the way he set up this kind of entry. I’ll list all of the games that I have put my hands on this year and italicize the completed ones.

Games played in 2008:

Battlefield: Bad Company
I completed the story of this game, which I found enjoyable and funny. The multiplayer was good fun but I never gave it the time it deserved.

Mass Effect
Though I know it is a game from 2007 I only completed it at the beginning of this year. Not only did I complete it, I think I played through it a full four times. It may be the only full-length title I have ever done that with (that is including the original Halo (which coincidentally was one of the only games that I had for the original Xbox (I think I have mentioned this before))).

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Another game from 2007 but the difference between this one and Mass Effect is that I did not complete the single player and I did not play the multiplayer enough. I’ll go back to it but I think that it will be a strictly gamescore venture. I am a little sad that I couldn’t be more into this title.

Grand Theft Auto IV
I did not love this game as some others loved it and I did not hate it as some others did. I liked this game for what it was. I believe that I liked this game so much when I played through it because I am a New Yorker and I felt like I was living this fantasy lifestyle in my own backyard. I think this game always deserved more points if you were a New Yorker. I enjoyed the story but by the end I just wanted the whole thing to be over. Since then it has lost some of its luster but it is still the only GTA game I have ever played to completion. And yes, I will probably be one of those who return to Liberty City for the DLC. I think it is worth it to return and drive around some more in my backyard.

Lego Indiana Jones
This was a game that was bought as a gift for my wife and I as a wedding present. We didn’t make it through mostly because we do not get a lot of time to game together.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance
This game was a gift for my birthday from my fellow blogger. He and I need to play through this since he lost all of his save data. I would like to complete this game but I always get distracted.

Viva Pinata
I’ll highlight this game as completed though one can never really complete it. The reason is that I had purchased this game a while ago and another game distracted me. Earlier this year, in early August, I decided that I needed to play through it to the best of my ability… and I did. I was greatly enjoyable and though I do not think I will go back to it, it has prompted me to be interested in VP: TIP (the sequel). I’ll probably play that when there is another dry spell of no games.

Fable 2
I finished this game albeit a few side quests that I will go back to. I want to play through for the other endings and I am sure I will when I find the time.

Too Human
This really was not a bad game. It had a few problems but nothing that won’t be remedied in an inevitable sequel. I learned something new (in terms of new attacks) about how to play this game until the moment I stopped playing it. The more one played this game the more one understood it and the more it became better and better.

Fallout 3
I have not yet completed this game but it is one of the greatest games I have ever played.

Gears of War 2
I can say that I have completed the story mode, though I am working through it on insane with two other people, but that is about all I can say. I haven’t properly played Horde mode and I haven’t properly played multiplayer.

Left 4 Dead
The only reason I can call this completed is because I played through all four campaigns but I will never “complete” this game because I do not ever want to stop playing it. No game has ever done for me what this game does for me… but more on that later… like next post later.

The World Ends With You
Once again… I have not yet completed this amazing game. It has taught me something else about games – you can always learn something new – how to use two screens at once to create an amazing experience.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village
This game was great fun and occupied a lot of my time. It probably would have been better if I hadn’t spoiled the ending for myself.

Castle Crashers
This was the best beat-em-up that I have played since TMNT. It is incredible and has my vote for the best art of the year. Again, more on this one later.

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2
One cannot complete this game but one can have their soul tormented by pink blocks and blue diamonds. This sequel also caused me to have resurgence in interest in the original. I became better at the game and beat all of my friend’s high scores in the original. Now if only I could do the same in all of the modes of the sequel.

Braid
This was one of the greatest game play mechanics of this year and also one of the greatest game stories. It was also one of the most confusing game stories ever. More later.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
I greatly enjoyed this game but for more on that see my review. I want to play through it again (mostly for gamerscore reasons).

N+
I wish I were skilled enough to be able to beat this game. It is a possibility that it will happen one day.

Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 1
Funny, witty, and amazing! Now I must find the time to play the second piece of it.

Scene It! BOS
Good times with friends but no end in sight.

Games I missed:

Ninja Gaiden 2
I played most of the original so that I could play this one but I have still yet to complete it so until then the sequel remains on hold.

Burnout Paradise
I know that at this point I am just waiting for the Ultimate Box version but I am exited to play it. This one was just a time issue. When it came out I was caught up in the world of Mass Effect and nothing was going to stop me from playing.

Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 2
See above.

Prince of Persia
This is another one that you know I have expressed interest in.

Dead Space
I want to play this but I feel like I am not going to like it as much as I want to. Don’t ask I really can’t explain.

Mirror’s Edge
And on the opposite end of the Dead Space spectrum I feel like I will love this game. I played the demo and now I just need to complete some other games and I will come back to play this.

All in all this was a good year for gaming and my next post will be my game of the year post in which you will see just what I thought of all of the games that I have played.