This Avatar... Ehem NXE Craze

Since the NXE (New Xbox Experience for those who do not already know) has launched, shipped, whatever you want to call it, I am feeling like I did when the 360 first shipped. I am checking everyone's avatars and scrutinizing them as I had been checking folks gamerscore when the 360 first launched. It feels like having a new console and it feels like being a new 360 gamer again.

A lot of things are the same but for the most part everything is new and moved around (which leads to a lot of playing and discovering). I enjoy hunting out all of the new features as I had already long since ferreted out all of the old features of the umm... Old Xbox Experience (OXE if you will). I have already deleted all of my zero gamerscore games and I made sure to fully pimp out that avatar (I have a purple hoodie).

The avatars, to myself and my friends, do not just feel like a kid thing. It has already become a wonder to see how close we can represent ourselves against our real life counterparts selves.

Though I haven't set up my Netflix account seeing as I do not yet have my own Xbox back I have found my favorite feature. In the end this feature will not make or break anyone's decision but that does not really matter seeing as it makes me happy. I love the new premium themes and not just because they are formatted to fit the NXE but because of the way that they theme my friends list (the kiddie one, not the one in the guide).

I really cannot say a bad thing about the NXE and the only features that I think that I want (the I can think of) in the future are:

- When I select a download from the web-based Marketplace, I want it to turn on my Xbox in low power mode and download my items (though I am not sure if this is possible).

- I want the option to drag my party with me into another game so I can skip the step of actually getting into the game and then sending out a party invite

These are really minor but I still would like to see the download thing happening.

And lastly here is the funniest thing that I have seen with Avatars so far and I wanted to thank Major Nelson for pointing it out to me.

The Holiday Season

A good friend of mine probably had the better idea this holiday season; he played one or two games that he gave his full attention to while I have or will be trying to play five or six. The only game that I am not accepting less than the best from myself in is Fallout 3. I have to do every thing possible because it will be the title I go to last to play again (not because of the quality but because of the length and my related lack of time).

No other title makes you feel like you have to do so much in such a grand world (except for maybe Oblivion), but then again, in Oblivion, do you really feel like you are shaping the world around you? Naturally, Fallout 3 being the game that makes one feel like they are experiencing the most original concept would make it ultimate game of the year material. Possibly for some, but for myself, it is all about the raw fun, the laughs, and just the good times.

For me the game that brings the most fun is feeling like a tie. Between the dirty, dirty Horde mode (GOW2) and the overall re playable nature of Left 4 Dead I am left with a hard decision. I cannot tell you which one I'll play longer either. Only time is going to be able to tell on this one. But if there is one thing I can say about L4D that I cannot yet say about GOW, is that my wife is going to be playing L4D with myself and my good friends (that might be your decision there).

But it is not yet time for this decision because I haven't played Dead Space or Mirror's Edge yet. Hopefully I'll have squeezed them in there somehow by the end of this year otherwise I'll spend all of next year playing catch up once again (the likeliest of scenarios).

How about you? What are you playing/not playing? What are you playing now and what are you saving for later?

My 360 was Left 4 Dead

Post Retro dated for 11.13.2008

For the past two nights I have been enjoying/worshiping the Left 4 Dead demo. My friends and I started out on the normal difficulty level and quickly proceeded up to expert. Now keep in mind we are by no means experts. We found that on any other difficulty level that we were massacring the zombie apocalypse instead of the game actually feeling like an apocalypse. This is no discredit to the game because it is always fun (we just found solace in trying as hard as we could to not be butchered). I really cannot say enough good things about the great feelings that I came away from this demo with. I even got my wife to play with me and her greatest fear are zombies. The only thing I can recommend is to:

1. Bring friends (marketing does not lie here)
2. Do not play with your "good" friends from Halo who like to run amok and get themselves unmercifully torn to pieces by undead chunks who would like nothing more than to turn you into a bunch of undead chunks

Play. Massacre. Shoot Em' in the....[writer dragged away by zombie]

Today The Matrix invaded Fallout 3.

I had just lied to Dr. Zimmer about the Replicated Man (bleep-bloop) and left Rivet City to kill a few Talon assassins. I was in the middle of a fire fight with two of three Talons (the other one was questionably crouched by the wall) when as I was hit by a few assault rifle bullets. My screen became infected with, honestly what looked like, binary code. I could still relatively see where I was going but I had this putrid green color all over my screen. I thought, "Well my character must be infected with something," and so I went to the doctor (I only trust the one in Megaton). I asked him to cure me of all ailments and he cautiously did so. Finding that this did not work I thought, "Well maybe a good night's rest will do me some good." It did not, I was still sick with green and feeling worse than ever.

I decided to remove myself from the game and go back to the dashboard and when everything looked fine there I proceeded to boot Fallout 3 again. Same problem. All the menus were there and free from the binary green abomination but as soon as anything graphical was taking place I was Neo looking down that green hallway for the first time. I had honestly convinced myself that I had become so advanced that I could only see games in binary (I feel like I play that much). That was until I actually rebooted the Xbox and I was left with eleven different languages telling me that my Xbox had a system error.

Fun times.

Gears of War 2

Having finished the campaign of the ever popular Gears of War 2, I let myself look at a couple of the reviews for the game.

The OXM review of GOW2 enraged me. The reviewer criticizes the story for basically being there, saying that it (and the boss fights) felt "hokey." At no point, well obviously, in my own opinion, did the story feel "hokey." I know that most of the boss fights felt like they were on vehicles and that they felt just downright difficult for no reason but last time I checked my dictionary that was not the definition of hokey. Not to mention the sloppily put spoiler warning in the middle of the review which was basically just that (an emboldening of the two words right before the description of the end boss battle). The review looked and felt last minute among this holidays stockpile of games. It was as if the reviewer said to himself, "Well it doesn't matter what I write in this review, everyone and their mother is going to buy this game anyway." In the end the review was downright lazy and it just did not look at the game on any of its merits (other than his glowing two paragraphs about the multiplayer that could have been written just based on the promises that it made before the game even shipped).

If you want a clear concise review of Gears, here it is:

Gears of War 2 accomplishes everything it set out to do. The whole game is bigger and more badass. Everything feels EPIC in scale and it is so much to the point that at some points you feel useless against this Locust Horde. The only real complaint that I had was that (and I played through first on Hardcore) on certain parts if I did not get just the right amount of bullets into an enemy I would fail that part of the mission (and have to do it over and over). The greatest accomplishment of the game is its story. Again the story is loose but this time it brings in the emotional side of the war. The last thing that I have to say about the game is that it shows that even through all of the "Hoo-rahs" that these soldiers still feel something about the world that they live in. And multiplayer... yeah that's good too (as if no one expected that).

It Merits A Post All of Its Own

And so my frustration ends as I beat the game. As an added bonus, in the credits, I found out that Iggy Pop does the DJ's voice on the the Liberty City Rock station. It was well worth it and though I am disappointed that two people I know personally beat it before me, the ending was just amazing.

Grand Theft Auto IV Ending (no spoilers)

Here is a rant if you ever heard one:
To start this off let's set the mood. I am enraged. I cannot beat the end part of Grand Theft Auto IV. I am having so many problems with it that it is not even funny. I am so close yet so far away. I have never had this problem with any game and though I keep on doing it over and over again and I know exactly what I am supposed to do and how I am supposed to execute it, I am still stuck right there (about an inch away from the end). I just finished trying about eight or nine times and as soon as I am done here I am going to try again. I had a vacation in which I was supposed to beat this game but I haven't yet. I return to work tonight. Who knows, if you are reading this I might have beat it. You might be able to hear me jump for joy depending on where you are in the world. F***. Don't ask where I am because like I said, I don't really need any help because I know, in theory, exactly what I am supposed to do. There are no hints or forums that have helped me which is probably why I am even more upset. Thanks for listening. I am going to go try and beat this part that is becoming the bane of my existence. F***, sometimes it just feels good to let that out. I know I only try to write coherent entries so I apologize for this one.

Mass Effect

I am currently finishing up with my second play through of Mass Effect. I have been enjoying it more than my first. Experiencing the story after the fact always allows a new perspective. I am also on a harder difficulty level as well as completing a far greater number of missions (like all of them). I fight all the "vehicle battles" on foot to gain more experience and my character currently lies at a whopping level 58 as a result. I am beginning to doubt that I will reach level 60 on this play through but with any luck the final two plot missions and the remainder of the side quests that need completing will fill in those two levels.

I have been thinking about how my character will fit into the second iteration and how promised mechanics will work. For example, when you begin a new game in Mass Effect on your second play through, you have to option to use your previous character (his/her, level/equipment, etcetera) with a "clean slate" and your Paragon and Renegade status cleared. I am wondering if in Mass Effect 2 your character will just carry the basic statistics like the current situation or that every decision that you have made in the first entry of the trilogy will really have the promised effect on the second and third game. So far this game has come through on everything that it has promised me so I am willing to believe that I will not be let down.

The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai

I have been playing an XNA Community demo for The Dishwasher for the past few days. It has a truly inspired design similar to Tim Burton/Roman Dirge/Edward Gorey. The way the game is designed excites and inspires me every time I play it. I am just playing the same levels over and over again yet I do not feel bored. This game makes me want to perfect the way I play. I have played it three days in row so far and I plan to play it the remaining 12 days that it is available to be played. Its fast paced game play and overall tight feel make it feel incredibly rewarding when you pull off a finishing move or just a spectacularly bloody kill.

Just looking through the locked menus one can see that when the game is finalized there will be a plethora of content available to be enjoyed. Having worked in food service, this game makes it feel that much better to be destroying those that anger you.

Lastly this game inspires me to create something of my own. Congrats James Silva, I cannot wait for this game to ship.

New Blog Struggles

Yes, this is only my second "real" update, though I did promise a set schedule. Time has not been friendly to me lately and I have been working like a dog (though not on the blog). For the time being at least, until I get a handle on it, you can assume this blog will be updated once weekly. I am also still debating whether I will start doing individual posts on specific “larger ticket” items. I suppose I should not worry about my lack of updating at the moment though for I do not think I have many readers. Well on with the news.

In news that will break little hearts, but may break those of the hardcore, DevelopMag, has reported that there will be no Crackdown sequel despite the games success. The developer said that Microsoft took too long to say anything about a sequel, if they said anything at all. The developer is now working on a new project. Personally I would have been happy with a sequel to Crackdown because I enjoyed the game a great deal. Unfortunately I have not been able to play the game since the new content and achievements have come out but on a free day that I am not playing one of the many games that I need to catch up on, I may just play.

On Labor Day, here in the US, the Hidden Fronts Map Pack finally went free (everywhere of course). It really was a good marketing strategy for them to wait this long because basically all Gears of War gets now is one last punch before Halo 3 ships and KO’s the aforementioned GOW.

In Rapture there may be new Plasmids coming though, if I do not get teleportation, I doubt if I will really care or if it will make much of an impact (not that any BioShock news does not create waves). In other BioShock news the title update that got me exited when I booted up the game the other day does not much other than improve the stability of saved games. I am on my second run through of the game where I toned it down from hard (just to have fun and feel powerful) and have taken to harvesting Little Sisters this time through. I have died few times and I am greatly enjoying myself once again. I am enjoying looking at the plot from a new angle the most though.

The imminence of the perfect storm that is Halo 3 is beginning to reach its climax. Halo 3 is going to be available to play this Thursday night on IMAX as reported by the Microsoft GamerScoreBlog. Check Pontiac (as they are the sponsor) for more details). As soon as I found this out I signed myself up. I plan on showing up at least two hours early for that. In previously rumored news that was confirmed to be true, Master Chief a.k.a. Spartan 117 a.k.a. John was "unveiled," in a large event that took place on Monday, at Madame Tussauds in Las Vegas. It was said that it would probably tour the various locations so if, and when, it comes to New York, and you can count on the picture.

Another event I should be attended is the Rock Band tour. It comes to New York at the beginning of November and I will be there rocking out on guitar (the only thing I feel confident enough to try). I am stoked to start my own online band (no real band for me) or be a part of one. I need to at least master Guitar Hero II on Hard Mode first.

Speaking of the impossible (I’m not that good at GH2) a Shivering Isles standalone disc is being released alongside the GOTY edition. I still have not played Shivering Isles. Oblivion is quickly one of those many games that I have been struggling to finish.

It is not always sunny on the Xbox 360 however. It has recently been reported by Bloomberg.com that there is STILL no good news for the 360 in Japan. Dismal sales continue to plague the console in the Far East. The boys over at the X3F podcast wonder if the 360 will take a page out of the original Xbox’s playbook and just stop making games for the Japanese market. I find myself worried and wondering about the same thing.

Lastly, many people I know who own the Wii console are finding that their “gimmick” is wearing out and Nintendo is worried about “gamers” becoming complacent (via Joystiq). LAIR continues to be plagued by bad press while Sony fights the good, though failing, fight for its lost triple-A title. They went so far as to send a reviewers guide out many major sites (via IGN). I think now what Sony needs to worry about is their delay to Stranglehold and The Orange Box. A collector’s edition of Stranglehold does not do you much good if you cannot play it when your proverbial rivals can.

It was an interesting few days since my last update and as the holiday season approaches it will only get more weird and a lot more crazy.

Midnight Update Meets "Deadline"

My wallet suffers from this addiction I have. I have no money and all of it that I do have is invested in GameStop's stock. I am a Gamer. I just "recovered" some of my money from actually receiving BioShock but now all of my loose change is being pooled into my Legendary edition of Halo 3. I'd also like to pick up a new 360 with that pretty "useless" HDMI port. Can I have it painted green and gold like Halo 3? Not to mention that I need that chat pad and the HDMI audio adapter that does not come with the "poor-man's" 360. Over five-hundred hundred dollars in a few short weeks. I work for Starbucks not Microsoft. I'll be selling my old 360 so that will pay for half of it hopefully.

This holiday season is a bank breaker, more than just Halo 2, and I have an already broken bank account. Mass Effect, one of the games to own this holiday, now has a release date of November 20th and Bioware has always impressed me. When Jade Empire came out I was all about it though I never properly finished the game. Mass Effect might have to wait for me but I should be playing it sometime in the top half of next year. Another game I might eventually pick up again will be Small Arms but it might have to take a trip to my phone (one of the two I own). Team Xbox reported that it will be hitting various cell phone carriers this fall. Also on Team Xbox the new Simpsons game parodying Medal of Honor was posted. I fully enjoyed the trailer and I feel like the game will be everything that a good Simpsons game should be. When my bank account recovers I'll be pre-ordering next years blockbusters.

A sure fire blockbuster of next year will be Halo Wars whose high definition, ten minute, game trailer is on XBLM. I recall that when this was announced at last years E3 I was stoked but, though it could be the pre-Halo 3 lull (could it hardly be called a lull), I do not feel as excited as I feel I should be. Let this be known now, in Halo's heyday, I was the biggest fanboy I knew. Now, after Gears of War, I was not sure where I stood with the whole series (Halo). Then I played the beta. 'Nuff said. Still, I am not sure I want to play the proverbial "God" in the Halo Universe. Blockbuster? It is possible but it will be a tough call for me.

As the present is concerned I feel that Blue Dragon will erased from blockbuster status by Bioshock. Will I be right, only time will tell. Will TimeShift be erased by Halo 3? Maybe the news of a demo will alleviate that, though not for myself. I find myself playing less demos and instead following the hype machine and discovering sleeper hits that have since past their heyday. Speaking of "heyday", I am exited for Viva Pinata to come to DS. The only other game I am exited about, for DS, is Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

In gaming politics Jack Thompson is causing quite the ruckus about Manhunt 2 having its rating changed from AO to M. He proceeded to send several immature emails back and forth with the community manager of Manhunt. I got a laugh out of it.

That is all I have for you today. Until next time, keep gaming.

My BioShock Experience

I began my trek through the world of Rapture last Tuesday morning. After picking up my limited edition the first thing GameStop opened, I rode the subway home taking pictures of the best limited edition I have laid eyes on (see previous post). When I finally crossed the threshold of my apartment I played for about 5-6 hours. I was decimated by Big Daddies galore and still kept coming back for more. I was part of Rapture and I needed to know all of its secrets. And Oh... what secrets were in store for me...

I continued to play during the week on and off, but still getting as much as I could in.

It came down to yesterday when I sat myself down determined to beat the game (day off). I made it to a point where I was sure I was at the end, but alas, I was not even close... I was at least 5 hours from the games climactic finish. I played for seven hours and had to stop. I later played for another half hour (much to my girlfriend's dismay).

But today was the day that the ending was in my grasp. It was cheesy but awesome and all in all this was one of the best games I have ever played. I really mean that when I say it, because although I consider myself a hardcore gamer, I can say, with all honesty, I do not know what I'll feel like playing tomorrow. I will definitely be giving it another run through but I need to give my brain a rest.

Lastly, if I had to give the game a review I would give it a 9.6. The loss of .4 comes from the ease of the respawn and the slightly cheesy ending.

big daddy comes home.

big daddy wants out of his packaging.







riding shotgun next to the subway window.



up close and personal.



even big daddies are made in china.


would you like some drill with that ouch?


lastly mr. bubbles says goodnight, because i promise you, it hurts.

check out bioshock, in stores now.

my raging obsession.

i have an obsession with commercialism. this something that few know about me or at least i only perceive it as the few. my latest obsession is with the ongoing simpsons movie campaign that is everywhere. today i had burger king and felt even better about it than i normally do because the simpsons were plastered everywhere. this was much like my visit to a 7-eleven that was modeled like a quik-e-mart.

the current, or future, campaign that i am going to be obsessed with is the mass halo 3 coverage that will be everywhere. it will be in my 7-eleven, my burger king, mountain dew, etc. i have even considered purchasing a halo 3 xbox 360. i am exited and tantalized at every prospect. i want to pick up the halo 3 zune.

now the big thing here i am pointing out is i am a media whore and those ads that everyone ignores. those apply to me. i love em, well most of the time. most people get sick of it and say what is the point. people know about the simpsons and halo, why do i need it shoved in my face. i say because it is directed at people like me who will gobble it all up and buy it all. i love it through and through and i welcome more of it. bring it on baby.

i am in for an enjoyable weekend of closing both days at work. i do not think i will be gaming much this weekend but that is alright i suppose... only time can tell i guess. i have been working hardcore on gears of war and not much else. i have been neglecting most of my other games though i really do want to play some others but i am determined to have most gears achievements before bioshock and halo 3 come out. the others i really want to play are prey (easy achievements and i never finished the story line). crackdown (new achievements). the darkness (i got discouraged when i went to the hard difficulty level and couldn't make it past the first level, and i am also waiting for the multiplayer fix). i am about as behind in gaming as i am in reading. i am reading currently, 'ladies and gentleman the bronx is burning.' and on my list to read is daywatch, harry potter, jonen vasquez graphic novels, the lovely bones, twilight watch, etc.

this has been an eventful year for me other than for music. music has come out this year but i don't feel overwhelmed by it as i did last year.

Halo 3 Media Onslaught

Halo 3 in your car, on your music device, in your soda, your Slurpee, and at your local Burger King. Master Chief burger anyone? Seriously is this getting ridiculous or what? Still though, it won't stop me from getting my mitts all over everything.

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superbad review?

when the minds of judd apatow and seth rogen come together you can only ever expect to leave the theater with cramps in your sides. while the laughs were not as numerous as in knocked up they were louder. it was comparable to when i saw the simpsons movie... the laughs were so loud, at times you could not even hear the dialogue. the movie was clever, witty, cute, but most of the time it was downright raunchy. it was a good time and i would recommend that when it hits theaters that everyone see it. i'll probably see it a second time.

maybe i'll review the everytime i die album next... who knows i don't know if i will pass judgement on it just yet. but i do like it... alot.

alien hominid hd

this is a great little game on xbox live arcade and it can be very hard. those things aside, most will still want to play the game because of it's stylishness and beautiful hand drawn everything.

so i bring this game up even though i have had it forever because they recently patched it to fix the last 'glitched achievement'. the achievement that was messed up was the one where you had to collect all the hats in the game. i am down to the last three. two i know how to get and the last one i am not even sure because i do not know which one it is that i am missing. i have attempted to browse the forums and old walkthroughs for the game but i have had no luck. i'll update everyone when i have it which should be no later than tomorrow. hopefully.

this past weekend...

this weekend was something i was looking forward to for the past few weeks. it lived up to my expectations and exceeded them.

friday cindy and i woke up to catch the chinatown bus to maryland. it sucked at first because when we got on the bus it wasn't running so there was no ac. it soon cooled down after we got going but i was parched the entire trip because of a lack of water or anything else to drink. when we arrived it was incredibly hott. yes, that hot. we found whit and rick and headed to 7-eleven to get something to drink and then headed to whit's. kara got home and we all hung out going to the supermarket and best buy. that night we saw the simpson's movie and it was really amazing.

yesterday was great... i ate far too much and then drank far too much. i ate chipotle and some intense nachos. then it took me three beers to actually get buzzed (food soaks up alcohol). i got the new every time i die leak which is amazing... i am listening to it now. i made really good drunk friends with kara's girlfriend last night... drunk dancing doesn't really work. i also talked to matt and i do not really know what he even thought of that.

alright i am going to enjoy my last few hours in maryland... peace.

sh*t happens.

i've started my training to become a shift supervisor and so far it has just been a bunch of reading of general things that i mostly knew. i was really bored today because of it even though i was only there for four hours. but that is really all there is to say about that.

so for the past week or so i have been on a real gears of war kick and it has been really insane. i have picked up some achievements in the game, some new and some old which is always fun. i am only expecting the new ones and i have also picked up two old which was a nice present. and that is it for that.

now for the icing on the cake. even though i do not live with family anymore i still get to hear about all the loveliness that goes on there. the newest, amazing, bit of information is that my brother has been arrested. arrested no less for beating the living shit out of someone. This reflects so well on me. Honestly, I just do not understand what I did right because for all intents and purposes my siblings and I are the ones who reflect to most poorly on my grandparents. I am so thrilled about this, but I am still happy that I am enjoying my life.

I have a beautiful girl who I plan on spending my life with. I have an amazing best friend. I have a new gay lover (lol, you know who you are). I have an arguably healthy hobby and I have a job that I love (it will let me go places, and it will make me the money I need to do what I need right now).

I love you all and I will speak with y'all later.

Xbox 360 Elite sales jump 2400% after warranty announcement

I thought that this was absolutely nuts, go 360!!!

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