GUGGab

Socom 4: US Navy Seals Beta Review

2011-03-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

For the last few days I have been playing the private beta. This review is gonna be more of a FYI then a review since its rather hard to review something that is not in its final state.

There are two maps right now in roatation: Assault and Battery, and Port Authority. The maps are medium in size. Port Authority has a large Vessel in the middle of the map and is surrounded with shipping crate with a structure on its westerly side. Basically its split up in the middle fighting across the Vessel. the vessel itself is accessible to an extent of a few corridors and a middle inner docking type section. Assault and Battery is more of a runes type map also seperated my a middle platform with what looks to be AA Batterys in the middle mounted.(No you cant shoot em ). Assault and Battery has allot foilage and trees to go prone in, and tons of rocks to take cover by. The map in my opinion looks busy.

Their are a few modes in rotation and more types added every day, I am assuming this will also continue when the beta becomes open to PS+ and KZ3 Code users. So for today I have been playing Suppression and a mode called Uplink. Suppression comes in two forms right now and thats normal and classic socom settings. normal is your everday teamdeath match and classic is the same but with no respawns. Uplink how is a mode a bit like Retrieval and Return. The attackers have to download data from 3 different locations on the map. Once downloaded you must head back to your uplink data center and upload the data. What was confusing to me was once you downloaded the intel their was no markings on the mini map as to where the upload location was. I had to follow another soldier to find it, then i was killed uploading it. :(

The layout of the game has changed, there is a mini map and the camera view on your soldier is much closer to his back, so it kinda makes every thing around him view much closer but a slight disoriented feel to it. Their is an aim button which is L1, it is extremely convenient now, also if you ad a reflex or scope with a zoom you have to push l1 then R3 to enter that zoom, good thing about it is if you go outta aim and back into the zoom is still activate, hit R3 again to toggle it off.

They have also took away the feature of push to talk. Which i have some mixed feelings about. Who knows how many times in confrontation I coulda saved lives or been saved cause some arrogant childish mic abuse was going on. Trying to hold in my anger cause I couldnt mic up in the time of need. Well now that is all gone, talk at your will was implemented and my stress level has gone down a bit. But their is a down side to all new things and now you get that average guy with 8 kids standing around him which sounded to me like they were all playing who can make the loudest sounds into daddys mic ear. Luckily they have the trusty mute the single person feature, (hope he never had anything important to say)

The beta is well put together with somethings that need to be polished up, but hey when is a beta perfect. The gameplay seems a little faster then most socoms, but all in all its a good game and will have many good reviews to come.

If you havent gone out and bought the Playstation Move or would like a Second set for your friend or second tv, now is the time to get it. Socom 4 has an awesome Full Deployment pack where you get the playstation eye camera, move motion and navigation controllers, Sharpshooter gun, and the Socom 4 U.S. Navy Seals game for 149.99. saving you almost 70.00.

Reserve it at your local Game store. Release date: April 19 2011

So if you guys have a chance to play the beta, please let me know how you like it.

-Sykogreenpanda

(Temp) Fix your YLOD PS3 with a Hairdryer?

2011-03-03T05:29:00.000-08:00

This sounds crazy right? Well I was skeptical, but decided to try anyways since I already purchased a Slim model and Gamestop was only taking in models that boot up. I wanted to try and use the transfer utility located in the system settings to transfer my account, saves, data etc to the new unit. From what I understand this is about the only way to make this happen. Anyways here is the method and the high pitched video that walked me through it !

Step 1: Basically you place PS3 upside down in box with the rear of the PS3 facing you. (i used the new box from the slim model) I have also seen towels. Basically making an oven of sorts, insulating the system to keep heat in. (seems like the opposite thing to do huh?) Then with hair dryer on high I heated the PS3 for 15 minutes blowing into the rear vents. For a while I even set up the hair dryer to blow on its own so I wouldn't have to hold it for the entire 15 mins. Basically the PS3's case becomes hot to the touch.

Step 2 involves cooling the PS3 back down using a fan for 15 mins. I left the PS3 in the box and used a stand fan to blow on the PS3 to slowly cool down the system.

Step 3. involves hooking up the necessary cables and trying to turn on the unit. Cross your fingers and hope for the best.

My PS3 actually didn't turn on at first I still had the YLOD as they call it. But my PS3 wasn't fully cooled down as I could still feel a little heat when i plugged it back up. So I started pressing the power button over and over to no avail. I ate dinner and tried again and couldn;t beleive it as the light stayed green and the system stayed on!

I was rushing to get the data transfer setup to get all my data transfered over using a Lan cable. There was no need to hurry because just getting this setup where it would work was ridiculous. I cursed Sony about 100 times trying to get this transfer utility to work. I consider myself very tech savvy and this was ridiculous. Anyways after and hour and a half of messing with the Utility i was finally able to get it to start the transfer process. then that took about 1 hour and a half. But it was finally done. I haven;t had the time to see if my downloaded Killzone 3 map pack is there but hopefully it transfered over.

Here is the video from this genius (sounds like a 10 year old) that fixed my PS3! LOL This is a 3 part video and they are linked at the end of the video.

KZ3 from a Dogg's perspective.

2011-02-25T07:28:00.000-08:00

I figured Id give my opinion on this game from someone who is not familiar with the series and also for those that are on the fence of purchasing this. First off let me just say that this game is definitely a worthy purchase. I am a veteran when it comes to first person shooters so adapting from one style to another is not hard. There is a definite learning curve, especially if your using Playstation Move, but once you get the basics down and find your flow, it is a fun and addicting game. Second, I have no clue how the series got to where it is at so following the story from the start of the game I was confused but they do have a fairly long cutscene in the beginning with a small tutorial hidden in between.

What is amazing about this game is definitely the graphics. Amazing landscapes, seeing the snow blow through the wind, it was all jaw dropping nice. What was not so great was the audio dialogue not syncing up with the characters lip movements. It was like watching an old kung fu flick when the cutscenes were playing. I do know there was or is a patch due for a fix as well as some other fixes which I will get into shortly. The campaign though is not bad, it does seem short and even though I havent beaten it yet, I do get the sense that I am very close to the end. It does offer co-op campaign so playing with a friend would be a nice change of pace.

MP is where the game is at as with most first person shooters. Ive learned to hip fire more instead of aiming down the sights. It seems more beneficial and easier to gain points when your not stuck in a Call of Duty frame of mind. That was probably the hardest thing to remind myself. This game stands on its own merits as does the Battlefield series and Halo series. Obviously the biggest sticking points are the various server issues. Getting in games was a pain with numerous different errors popping up and getting stuck playing on the same map over and over. Guerilla Games does know the issues and is on top of it which is great. I guess there are pros and cons for the type of service that the Playstation Network offers. When I was in games, the matches flowed flawlessly. The screen may be busy with so much going on that you can easily get lost but it is not too hard to follow the gameflow. To me, it plays similarly to Team Fortress 2 with the various classes which I love TF2 so I do like the setup for KZ3. I think once the server issues are addressed and I am more familiar with the maps, this game will get alot of spin time. The game also offers bot play so if your not comfortable playing against others yet, bot matches allow you to test the classes with everything unlocked and getting familiar with the maps. This is a great way to learn the core mechanics of the game while also finding what classes your going to go with when you do decide to play against other gamers.

To summarize the game is definitely worth a look if your not sure. Like I said before, this game stands on its own merits and should not be compared to another other shooter out there. Now I dont have PS Move but Im sure my friend Kobra could give you the run down on how that works and how you might have huge advantage over those that just the Dual Shock controller. All in all, Im glad I made the decision to buy this game.

Killzone 3 Classes and Uses

2011-02-16T07:02:00.000-08:00

Killzone 3 open Beta has been out for about a week now and it has grown on me very fast. I went and preordered it right away and even ordered the sharpshooter peripheral for the move controller but that will be a covered in a future blog, The game includes classes of soldiers that are similar to games like the Battlefield Series. The classes in Killzone however are a little more specific than your regular Sniper, Medic, and Assault classes. Lets take a look a the Killzone 3 class structure, how they should be used, and what perks/weapons they handle.

Note: Abilities and classes chart information below gathered from Playstation informer Blog http://playstationinformer.wordpress.com/2010/10/24/killzone-3-multiplayer-classes/

ENGINEER- The Engineer should primarily be used in a support role. That not to say they can't lay the smack down cause that M224-1A LMG says otherwise, The engineers primary duties should be to repair weapon caches, mounted guns, and turrets. I feel you should stay behind the lines looking for damaged goods to help support your teammates. Look at your mini map often to look for a wrench icon to help you find repairs. Those that run off to the front lines will not be helping their squad in the manner the class should be used. I find the LMG more than able to handle most resistance and I like how the iron sights set up on the M224-LA. If the LMG isn't your thing the next weapon is the basic STA11 SMG that you find in many classes. The final weapon is the STA3 LMG which is a meat grinder. It's fairly heavy but throws out bullets at an alarming rate but doesn't allow you to aim down the sites. The Sentry turrets that you can deploy don't do much damage until you get to the third level, as at that level they throw out rockets. At least the first 2 levels of turrets can lend you a hand alerting you to enemies coming in through the area you have it pointed to, and can weaken enemies a bit. Occasionally I will get kills with them if the enemy is already damaged.

PRIMARY ABILITIES

Repair Tool
Repair damaged or destroyed ammunition dispensers, mounted guns and automated turrets.
Repair Tool+
Increases repair speed.
Repair Tool++
Hack enemy placed turrets, transferring ownership until the Engineer is killed or the turret is re-hacked. Stacks with previous abilities.

SECONDARY ABILITIES
Sentry Turret
Deploy a machine gun turret that will automatically target and fire at enemies in range.
Sentry Turret+
Turret’s firing rate is increased and can be deployed twice as fast as before.
Sentry Turret++
Deployed turrets can now track targets faster and are augmented with auto-fire rockets that fire every few seconds.

PRIMARY WEAPONS
M224-1A LMG
Friend to bunkered soldiers everywhere, the LMG’s iron sights and large clip size will make the enemy think twice before storming any position.
STA11 SMG
No other automatic weapon is better suited to close-range, in-your-face encounters than the StA11.
STA3 LMG
Accuracy is overrated. The StA3’s high rate of fire and large clip size will clear out a room in seconds. A formidable close-range weapon.

SECONDARY WEAPONS
STA18 Pistol
Standard issue semi-automatic pistol.
VC8 Shotgun Pistol
The best weapon for a close-quarters fight, nothing says ‘up close and personal’ like the VC8.
STA2 Battle Pistol
Increases grenade storage capacity and fires grenades farther than a soldier could ever throw.

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MARSKMAN- The Marksman is your basic long range soldier. Meant to hide in the shadows and keep enemies at bay worried about getting picked off in the open. With this class it is not necessary to hide in the shadows. Why? Because you are invisible! The cloak suit is amazing, rendering you invisible for a period of time. (see info below on primary abilities) I can't speak too much about this class other than it sucks to run up on one that slices your neck cause you had no idea they were in the room with you. I have tried the STA-14 Rifle and wasn't crazy about it but I may work on this class once I get my others built up more. I hear the last weapon the VC-32 is awesome and is a one shot kill anywhere on the body. So this should be a sniper's delight, especially when coupled with the secondary weapon of the machine pistol.

PRIMARY ABILITIES
Cloak Suit
Stay cloaked for a limited time. Firing any weapon will disable the cloak and moving around will reduce its effect.
Cloak Suit+
Stay cloaked indefinitely. Firing any weapon will disable the cloak and moving around will reduce its effect.
Cloak Suit++
Stay cloaked indefinitely while firing weapon. Damaging an enemy player or moving around will cause the cloak to ripple for a short time. Mortally wounding or killing an enemy will disable the cloak unless using a silenced weapon.

SECONDARY ABILITIES
Scramble
The Marksman and any allies within 15 meters will not show up on the enemy’s radar, even when firing weapons.
Scramble+
Marksman will not be revealed when an enemy Tactician uses their Recon ability. Stacks with previous ability.
Scramble++
Enemies within 15 metres of the Marksman will have their radars disabled. Stacks with previous ability.

PRIMARY WEAPONS
STA14 Rifle
A scoped semi-automatic rifle capable of felling most targets before they can get near you.
STA11 SMG
No other automatic weapon is better suited to close-range, in-your-face encounters than the StA11.
VC32 Sniper Rifle
With a long-range zoom (UP on D-Pad) and high accuracy, this rifle is capable of felling most foes in a single shot.

SECONDARY WEAPONS
STA18 Pistol
Standard issue semi-automatic pistol.
VC8 Shotgun Pistol
The best weapon for a close-quarters fight, nothing says ‘up close and personal’ like the VC8.
M66 Machine Pistol
Equipped with a reflex scope and a silencer, the machine pistol is an ideal weapon for close-range, surprise encounters.

========================================================================

TACTICIAN- The Tactician is probably not best used in Team Deathmatch type of games unless you need to cancel out all the Infiltrator classes because their primary ability is to capture spawn points faster than anyone else. This is very important and can be the difference in capturing then defending or getting killed while capturing! The secondary ability is a very interesting one as it allows you to spot enemy positions which come in handy when defending a position or pretty much anytime. You start out with a the basic iron sighted STA11 SMG and can move up to a LMG or Rifle. The main thing about this class is that it counters out the Infiltrator class and allows you to see those sneaky disguised bastards! The class also allows the ability to acquire a Missile launcher which comes in handy when you start to go against Battle Mech's on certain maps of the multiplayer.

PRIMARY ABILITIES
Tactics
Can capture Tactical Spawn Areas in the level which, once captured, allow all faction members to spawn there. Some Tactical Spawn Areas may unlock special level-specific objects, like jetpacks or mortar beacons.
Tactics+
Reduces the time it takes to capture a Tactical Spawn Area by half.
Tactics++
Capture and Hold mission areas can be captured at twice the normal speed. Stacks with previous abilities.

SECONDARY ABILITIES
Recon
Temporarily mark enemy positions on the mini-map by pressing left on the D-PAD. Any enemies within 30 metres of you will be revealed.
Recon+
Activate [RIGHT on the D-PAD] and throw a beacon to call in a flying Sentry Drone to attack enemies. If no enemies are present the drone will patrol the vicinity for threats.
Recon++
Upgrades the Tactician’s Sentry Drone, allowing it to track and fire faster.

PRIMARY WEAPONS
STA11 SMG
No other automatic weapon is better suited to close-range, in-your-face encounters than the StA11.
M224-1A LMG
Friend to bunkered soldiers everywhere, the LMG’s iron sights and large clip size will make the enemy think twice before storming any position.
STA14 Rifle
A scoped semi-automatic rifle capable of felling most targets before they can get near you.

SECONDARY WEAPONS
STA18 Pistol
Standard issue semi-automatic pistol.
M4 Revolver
One shot will severely cripple an enemy, or kill a wounded one.
VC9 Missile Launcher
Capable of destroying turrets and drones in a single shot, the VC9 missile launcher is the very definition of an anti-armor weapon.

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INFILTRATOR- May be the most hated class of the bunch. Their main goal is to make your life miserable. They accomplish that by toting a shotty that will put you down with one shot when close and personal. To get that close they have the ability to disguise themselves as being your team mate.. Depending on how much they have leveled up depends on how often and how long they can pull of this charade. Even their name tag comes up green which makes life difficult to say the least when battling them. These boogers are the reasons your own team mates send a few bullets your way at times when you come around a corner, as it is a way to check you out to see if you are who you say you are. This is a front line class and should be used a such, cause if you don't you will be wasting your abilities. If you are not feeling the shotty you can wait on acquiring the deadly STA52 assault rifle.

PRIMARY ABILITIES
Disguise
Infiltrators can disguise themselves as a member of the opposing faction.
Disguise+
In addition to being disguised, Infiltrators are undetectable by Engineer Turrets, Sentry Drones and Medi-Droids.
Disguise++
Perform melee attacks without breaking disguise. Stacks with previous abilities.

SECONDARY ABILITIES
Survivalist
Increase stamina by 50% and sprint faster than normal.
Survivalist+
Unlimited stamina.
Survivalist++
‘Use’ actions, such as placing and disarming explosives, are completed 50% faster.

PRIMARY WEAPONS
LS13 Shotgun
The LS13 is a powerful semi-automatic shotgun equipped with a reflex scope. Whatever this hits stays dead.
STA11 SMG
No other automatic weapon is better suited to close-range, in-your-face encounters than the StA11.
STA52 Assault Rifle
Standard Helghast issued assault rifle equipped with reflex scope. Sturdy, easy to use and ideal for just about any combat situation.

SECONDARY WEAPONS
STA18 Pistol
Standard issue semi-automatic pistol.
STA2 Battle Pistol
Increases grenade storage capacity and fires grenades farther than a soldier could ever throw.
VC9 Missile Launcher
Capable of destroying turrets and drones in a single shot, the VC9 missile launcher is the very definition of an anti-armor weapon.

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FIELD MEDIC- This may be one of the classes I end up sticking with the ability to rack up XP healing teammates. However sadly enough there are not many people waiting on the medics right now, as they spam that respawn button too quick. Perhaps when the game launches more people will rely on the Medic more. Based on their attributes they are definitely a support class and not one that runs out to the front lines. Along with the ability to revive players, they can eventually have a medi droid follow them around emitting health when needed and can revive you if at the end of the respawn timer if leveled up to the Triage++ level. Thats why you finish people off when they are down, as they may be a medic and get back up to kill you. They do have the abilty once purchased to carry one of the most popular assault rifles in the game the M82 assault rifle. This alone may make the medic a desirable class.

PRIMARY ABILITIES
Revive
Mortally wounded players are revived with full health and a clip of ammo.
Revive+
Mortally wounded players are revived with higher maximum health, 2 clips of ammo and 1 explosive.
Revive++
Mortally wounded players are revived with higher maximum health and maximum ammunition and grenades.

SECONDARY ABILITIES
Triage
An aura of health is emitted from the Field Medic, regenerating himself and nearby faction members.
Triage+
Deploys [Right on the D-PAD] a hovering Medi-Droid that will accompany the Field Medic until death.
Triage++
If still mortally wounded at the end of the respawn timer, the Field Medic will be given the option to respawn where he fell with full health and ammunition.

PRIMARY WEAPONS
STA11 SMG
No other automatic weapon is better suited to close-range, in-your-face encounters than the StA11.
LS13 Shotgun
The LS13 is a powerful semi-automatic shotgun equipped with a reflex scope. Whatever this hits stays dead.
M82 Assault Rifle
Standard issue to all ISA combatants, the assault rifle is well-suited to most combat situations. Equipped with a reflex scope, this weapon is deadly in the hands of an experienced soldier.

SECONDARY WEAPONS
STA18 Pistol
Standard issue semi-automatic pistol.
M4 Revolver
One shot will severely cripple an enemy, or kill a wounded one.
M66 Machine Pistol
Equipped with a reflex scope and a silencer, the machine pistol is an ideal weapon for close-range, surprise encounters.

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Other items to upgrade:

All primary and secondary abilities can be upgraded to ‘+’ and ‘++’ versions, which may provide different abilities entirely, mapped to a separate button, example; Recon (LEFT on D-Pad), Recon+/++ (RIGHT on D-Pad) or an upgraded version which stacks with previous abilities.

The ‘Career Selection’ screen has the following options:
CAREER (Class, example: Engineer, Field Medic, etc)
PRIMARY (Primary weapon)
SECONDARY (Secondary Weapon)
EXPLOSIVES (Explosive equipment type, example: Frags or Mines)
SKILL (Passive abilities, example: Extra Health, Extra Ammo)

All classes also have separate, passive abilities (skills) made available through the use of unlock points. They are the following:
Armor
Begin with armour that absorbs damage that would normally reduce your health.
Extra Health
Increases maximum health.
Extra Ammo
Weapons start with more ammunition.
Extra Primary Weapon
Substitutes a secondary weapon with a previously unlocked primary weapon.

There are also two types of explosives available to the player, which are:
M194 Frag Grenade
Equip and use Fragmentation Grenades.
Proximity Mine
Equip and use Proximity Mines.

Logitech F540 360/PS3 Wireless Headset Review

2011-01-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

For Christmas I received the Logitech 540 Wireless Stereo headset. I decided to give it the once over before posting any review on it. Since Christmas I have put the headset to good use and feel I have the knowledge available to deliver the final GUG verdict.

The unit comes packaged with a power supply for the base unit, a base transmission unit, some standard RCA (Red, White) pass through cords, a standard dual male 2.5 mm cord to attach your xbox 360 controller to the headset and a charging mini usb cord that hooks to the base unit for charging and doubles as a PS3 connection to your PS3 controller.

The set up is basic set up base station with power supply, I used the RCA cords on the output jacks of my TV and hooked them to the base station. There are other ways to do this but this works best for my use so no matter what item is hooked to my TV I can use the Wireless headset. The back of the base station has multiple hookups if you wish to hook directly from your audio source to the base station as well. There is a input switcher on the headset to switch audio inputs if you hook it up this way. Finally, charge up the headset, put them on, and put them to use! You will get about 10 hours of use on a single charge which based on my testing is about right.

The 2.4 ghz frequency and range of the headset is amazing as it easily reaches throughout my house through walls and rooms with no distortion. However, the biggest feature in my opinion is the ability to hear voices through the headset over audio volume with ease. I have used some Turtle Beach products in the past and this was my main complaint. I could never hear the voice chat very well, and this system handles this flawlessly.

The headset is adjustable and seals well over the ears. The ear cups could be a bit softer but I have not had my head hurt yet after using them. They really seal out the ambient sounds of the room around you. So much it has gotten me in trouble for not listening at times! hehe.

They advertise that the F540 has a noise canceling mic however I can say I have had friends tell me what show is playing on my other TV, and they are right! I have found if I turn down the voice audio this helps. I guess I could always just ask my wife to turn down the TV huh?

My favorite feature however is the ability to move the mic up and down as it automatically mutes when you place it in the upright position! There is a mute button as well on the headset, and i am not sure why as this works quickly and easily. By far my favorite feature of this headset, and it even has a LED that lights up red to show you it's muted!

Keep in mind this device is not surround sound capable only stereo sound but that sound is crystal clear for a wireless headset, and overall I give this device a 8.5 out of 10.

Let me know if you have any questions about this headset and i will try my best to answer them.

Breach.. The XBOX Live Arcade game I have been waiting for?

2011-01-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

We all know I love a good first person shooter (FPS). And even better is a cheap FPS that plays well. Breach is a game I stumbled on reading about Battlefield 2. It caught my eye after viewing a few movies, and really has me excited. What's even more exciting is the $15 price tag and it being readily available as a download on XBOX Live Arcade. It is a multiplayer only game and that is the reason I believe it doesn't command the larger price tag. but thats fine with me as thats where most of my time is spent on FPS's

Now it doesn't look like your typical arcade type title. It really looks like a mix between Red Faction, Battlefield 2, COD, and Rainbow Six series. It has the destructible, and degradable environments similar to that available in Red Faction, and Battlefield 2, and seems to be more even more advanced than the previous titles. It has real life spy type gadgets and upgradeable perks, similar to the COD series. Then similar to the Rainbow Six series comes the active cover system that turns you into third person point of view when taking cover and firing.

The degradable environment simply looks awesome allowing all types of ways to change the map and influence game play. Need to create a gun placement? Take out a few bricks or stones from a wall and make your own. Need to drop that sniper? Just shoot out the wooden ledge he is perched on. There is a guy above you on the second floor shoot a grenade through that ceiling and drop that sucker!

The game comes out next week and looks to be one of my first Arcade purchases of the year. Please watch the videos and leave your comments in the Blog post on GUG related to this posting. Would love to here your thoughts as well.

Plenty more videos on their site! Check out the Spy Gadgets video. One of my favorite. http://breachgame.com/

Kobra's Wish List! Games of 2011

2011-01-05T16:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, gdogg3 had his say and its pretty darn good but he has a few of those MMO / RPG type of games on his list, and they just don't do it for me. So for a different take on what I am looking forward to, sit back and enjoy the ride!

My list is really in no certain order its just the stuff i am getting excited about.

Little Big planet 2 (PS3) It is as fun to create as it is to play. It is actually out now and seems to be getting great reviews. From what I have read they have revamped the creating tools and with the community creating awesome levels to try and master the game really never ends. the only sad part is the story mode is usually pretty short.

Crysis 2- (360, PS3) never played it on the PC but always wanted to. just never wanted to spend the money to upgrade my computer to play it. now it's coming out on the 360 and I really can't wait. Its set in New York city after an alien invasion and looks to be a solid shooter.

Uncharted 2 (PS3) One of my all time series. Naughty Dog always does a super job at creating this game with awesome cinematics. This time around Drake is heading out to the Arabian desert to search for a lost city, and I can't wait to help him find it!

Gears of War 3 (360) One of my favorite 3rd person shooters. I loved the story of the last game and look forward to the 4 player co-op this go around!

Ghost Recon Future Soldier (multi platform) Been waiting on this sim shooter for a while now. I always think back to the farm level in the original game and remember the awesome multi player matches i had with GR2! New weapons prototypes, vehicles, and tools!

SSX Deadly Descents (360, PS3) SSX isn't the most sim snowboarder out there but it is the most fun bar none! I would love to see this have some racing multiplayer modes. that would make this title awesome!

Tiger Woods 12 (multi platforms) once they mentioned Augusta National in this years game they had me. I have been dying to play Augusta National in a golf console game for years. To me tiger Woods has been one game EA has been getting better and better at. Lets hope for Kinect support if not I may get this for PS3 as I know it will have move support.

Avatar Kinect (Xbox Live Gold Service) Although not a game looks to be a really neat service for chatting etc among friends. When I first heard about about it I wasn't thrilled but after watching the video I changed my mind. I can see some neat GUG Shows in the works with the network news type stage scenes! I am thinking of allot of neat possibilities for GUG here!

NFL 2K12 Wishful thinking I know!

Games Im Looking At for 2011

2011-01-03T18:59:00.000-08:00

2011is finally here and with that a whole new year to make things better for ourselves and for our families. It also means a brand new start for video game companies to pump up their products and this year is as good as any other that I can recently remember. Now I know everyone is expecting great things from well known franchises like Gears of War and Mass Effect and Little Big Planet. These 5 games are the ones that I personally am looking for and am hoping to see big things. Lets take a look at the list.

Our favorite super heroes and villians are back in an epic battle to determine the fate of 2 worlds. Seriously...part of the title of the game is Fate of Two Worlds. It might sound silly but the game looks to be anything but...All our favorite characters from Capcom games and Marvel comics are back with a few new ones sprinkled in. Visually it looks awesome, taking a page from Street Fighter IV and obviously the gameplay is where its gonna the interesting part. Of course the online portion of this game will be active on day 1 and will continue until the next installment comes out. Supposedly the full roster of characters will be around 40 with DLC to include even more characters.

I know we have games like Grand Theft Auto and Max Payne that set the standard for Rockstar Games. They may have upped the ante with this title. If these guys can make the Old West look good in Red Dead Redemption, it'll be crazy to see what they come up with for L.A. Noire. A Crime Thriller thats set in the 1940s Los Angeles that not only looks great but may have a story that rivals Red Dead Redemption.

An MMO thats not named World of Warcraft. I know I know...we've seen this before. An MMO in the Star Wars universe has been already tried and it just didnt live up to the hype. Well...hopefully this one is different and since Bioware is behind the reigns on this one, I do have hope that this will rival WoW. Gameplay wise, it's supposed to be up to par and looks to be solid from the previews that I have read so there is promise to this game to last for a long time.

O.k....who thought a simple game where the only tool you use is a gun that lays out portals would be fun. Not only was it fun but it was addicting. How can they follow this up for sequel? How about adding a 2nd player into the mix. With the crazy dialogue from GLaDOS and the insane puzzles that Valve can come up with, this game should provide endless hours of laughter, frustration and insane competitiveness among friends to top each other's scores.

Bethesda is really good with RPGs so this game will probably do well. Oblivion was huge and this will probably be bigger. I think it will be interesting to see how the gameplay will be improved as well as rpg elements that this game will demand.

So thats my list of games that I am looking forward to for this upcoming year. What are some of your games that you want to see do well?

Year of the Undead

2010-12-23T17:47:00.000-08:00

True Story: me and buddy of mine were in the movie theater waiting for Tron Legacy(nope, sorry...we did not dress up in combat armor or have any discs attached to our backs) he posed a question on me. What is the deal with video games having some sort of zombies in them? I thought about it and started wondering the same thing. What is it about the undead do we love that every popular game we like to play has some sort of zombie mode or have zombies in them? So I figured I would tweet about how 2010 would be the year of the zombie and lo and behold, IGN beats me to the punch and gives a nice video of some of the most popular games with zombies in them. Great minds think alike I guess.

It seems video games are creating hundreds of ways you can kill a zombie. In Chuck Greene's case, there's endless possibilities. I guess that's what appeals gamers with zombies. You can either pump a zombie full of lead or use a rake combined with a car battery to electrocute them senseless. It also can develop teamwork. Games like Left 4 Dead or Treyarch's Zombie Mode in Call of Duty make it worth your while to stay together as a team or die as an individual. Heck you dont even need guns or equipment to kill zombies it seems. Plants should be your weapon of choice. Not only do you have to worry about human zombies...there's also the zombie bears and zombie cougars. You can ask John Marston about how to take those things down. Maybe ride one of the 4 apocalyptic horses and scalp those zombies with your tomahawk. What else will they come up with?

IGN's take on the Year of the Zombie

It's not just in video games where zombies are thriving. Want to know what to do if a zombie outbreak occurs? Read Max Brooks Zombie Survival Guide. Theres also plenty of movies from Dawn of the Dead to 28 Days Later and my personal favorite Zombieland. AMC's new tv series The Walking Dead just finished up their 1st season. If you havent watched it yet, it's definitely recommended. It's not everyday a tv series about zombies shows up for long. It actually got me reading the comic book that inspired it. Any way you look at it, zombies will never die and they'll be around for a long time. Here's hoping we never get tired of planting a bullet in the head with one.

Check out the TV Series on AMC & the comic book as well

3D for you and me?

2010-12-12T12:27:00.000-08:00

3D. Is it for you or me? 3D is taking off again in movie theaters, homes, and even the gaming scene. More content is becoming available each month, but is it worth the cost of the gear needed to get this effect? Is it even safe? Read on for my unbiased non sales thoughts on this.

I am lucky enough (for now) to work in the retail industry and get to see most newer technology before it drops in the stores. About 4 years ago or so, I seen my first 3DTV. Samsung was trying this thru PC emulation on their DLP tvs. Mitsubishi even made a laser TV in 3D that we seen in a huge 18 wheeler display truck, but it failed to release. Perhaps due to the price as it was around $6k. Fast forward to this year as most manufacturers have released 3D ready or enabled models that work from Blu-Ray players. Much better delivery this time as it has finally taken off and the pricing is much cheaper than in the past, but is it worth it now?

I say no. Each time I have seen a demo from different manufacturers sets, my head hurts about 10 minutes into things. This could be due to not using it over time, but it makes me wonder about the safety of things as I am not the only one that complains about this. This reminds me of the color wheel issues that many DLPs had when they first released as many had issues then as well. I also worry about children as who knows the damage it could be doing to them now or everyone in the years ahead. I have not seen any studies or looked into it much, but it is something to be aware of and you may want to demo a set before you buy due to this. The content has been limited as many movies will only have 3D effects here and there as you may be waiting several scenes to see an effect, then another wait to see something again. It takes a pretty big screen to get those nice effects as well. I would not use anything in 3D under 50 inches at this point.

Still, prices are going down, so you may be able to get a deal on something now, so here is why I would recommend one. Kids. Most of the content is for kids and families now, so it could be a benefit in this case if you can get over the safety part of it. Gaming. Games are on the way and now available and may be big in the future if developed correctly. Sunny Crockett. Yes, if you have to have that Ferrari, then 3D will be for you and you will not mind paying the fee to be the coolest on your block.

$$$. Speaking of fees, don't be fooled thinking you are set once you get that new 3DTV. There is more to it than the TV alone. You will need a 3D source or player. 3D approved HDMI cables, a new 3D receiver if you use one for video pass thru now, a 3D transmitter (many do not come with the TV), 3D glasses, and batteries as most will not last very long or some models do not come with rechargeable type batteries. Start adding those things up and you can see this will be a pretty big investment.

My advice, drive a Civic instead of that Ferrari. This is the first year for most 3D manufacturers, so things are buggy. Wait till next year or the year after and quality will be dramatically improved. Prices will also go down by then and more content will be available if this is indeed going to stick around. Look for a deal on a 120 HZ LCD or a plasma as you can strike it rich on deals for these models now.

We Run These Streets

2010-12-10T18:08:00.000-08:00

If a remake is in the works, its over.

I remember back in the day when I first started playing video games me and my friends always had competitions with each other. Our weekly game of choice was either Street Fighter 2 or Killer Instinct on SNES at the time. It was a constant all nighter marathon that always involved lots of trash talking and lots of broken controllers. I know Ive spent more money on controllers than actual games for the Super Nintendo. It was these fighting games along with Mortal Kombat that got me into the competitive side of gaming. Staying up late, learning the combos and moves it became a science. My friends and I always thought we could not be beat as a group.

It wasnt long until we started getting shooters and other multiplayer games. They included of course Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros for the N64. Oh yeah, there was another decent game you may have heard called Goldeneye. My first semester in college pretty much revolved around this game. The late night madness, the arguments over using Odd Job, and proximity mines...UGGGH!!!! Like the previous games we thought we were bad asses.

Best game ever.

The trend continued when computers started to become the norm. I remember the days when I lugged my 20 inch CRT Monitor and computer over to my friends house for LAN parties. We played all the shooters. Jedi Knight, Quake, Rainbow 6, Unreal Tournament. We somehow always came back to probably my favorite game of all time. Counter Strike dominated me and my friends time. It is the game that developed my shooter skills more than any game than Ive ever played. Probably the biggest reason why was it was the first game we played online. It was then I realized that even though I thought I was good, I was very mediocre compared to the rest of the world. I think me and my friends spent hours upon hours playing to get better. It was an obsession. Before and after class. Before and after work. If you ever see the MTV reality show True Life where they chronicled the video game addicts....lol that was us(not literally mind you) in a nutshell with this game. The only way for us to beat everyone in that game was to play and we played alot. More than I care to admit. Not only did it open a door for online gaming but also local lan tournaments which we competed, lol but never came close to winning. It was probably some of the most fun gaming Ive done.

Nowadays, gaming online is the standard. You can sign up for any tournaments on the web and play online from the comfort of your own home. There's also gaming leagues like MLG. Of course you have to be pretty good to compete and thus you need alot of play time. Competition is as fierce as it was back then but those times before it became as popular seemed more engaging. I think in my opinion that even though we can still game with friends online, it's not as personal when their sitting next to you and that's where the social interaction seems to be missing for me. I still find it cool though gathering a party and just blowing away the competition in Halo or Call of Duty. Its just dealing with the new excuses you constantly hear when they lose.

Gaming and Diapers Whaaat?

2010-12-02T05:19:00.000-08:00

Perhaps I am behind the times but I heard something on the radio this morning that disturbed me. and a quick search confirms it is real try it for yourself http://www.amazon.com/Adult-Reusable-Cotton-Poly-Diaper/dp/B000BF5JFK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291292952&sr=8-1

Diapers for playing COD? Are you kidding me? Do people know there is a pause button, or a leave lobby button? I mean how long does it actually take to run to the restroom. Heck I could probably do it between rounds if I had to rush! We even had an all nighter and somehow I got through without a diaper. Evidentially for this to show up as frequently purchased together this would have to be be...ahh....whats the word....FREQUENT! I guess I heard some of the stories of the crazed PC gamers and their World of Warcraft shenanigans but COD? I never thought I would see that day. Obviously these guys don't have girlfriends or wifes right? Yea, I can see my wife coming home seeing me sitting in the living room wearing flip flops and a diaper playing video games! Lets just say I would be horse-laughed out of the house and rightfully so.

Who are these guys? I think I know. It's the ones that have already prestiged 3 times and its only day 3! We have all seen them. So proud of their what the hell symbol is that rank that they proudly parade around in the lobby's shouting "lets get this done guys!" right before the round starts. Then blasting everyone else for everything that went wrong when they lose with the classic "you guys suck!" statement before they leave the lobby. .

I am sorry if this is old news and evidentially it is because it is linked to COD MW4, and perhaps I have heard of it but my brain refused to register such nonsense, but when I heard it this morning they referred to Black Ops as the culprit and it woke me up! Well the frequently purchased with doesn't show up on Amazon with COD BO yet but sadly it may not be far behind.

Anyone ever done something like this, or know someone like this? I would love to hear a first hand account of whats going on in your mind!

My Gamerscore Is Bigger than Yours

2010-11-23T19:56:00.000-08:00

Well...not really. In fact I recently just got it over 25,000. Scouring the internet, there's various websites dedicated to getting the highest possible gamerscore there is. There's even a website dedicated to getting a million gamescore points. Think about that for a second. Almost all games have at least 1000 points and one guy is making it his life goal to get *ahem*(in my best Dr. Evil voice) 1 MILLION GAMERSCORE POINTS. I just can't fathom the idea of dedicating my gaming towards getting achievements for Hannah Montana or Beijing 2008. It just blows my mind that having a number attached to your gamertag is that important to some people.

Granted, when the 360 first came out and seeing the various challenges that the games came with, did entice me to get all the achievements for that game. It added the replayability I was looking for to find every chest or collect every coin. One of my favorite games, Star Ocean 3 always had me playing it over and over to complete quests, explore the hidden dungeons, and obtain every single ending for all the characters. I also remember when Super Mario World first came out, there was a percentage completion to it and my friend and I would try without any guides or cheats to get that golden 100% next to our game. When we finally got the number, it was like mixture of joy and relief that it was over. It was well worth it in the end.

Achievements that I see now just doesnt have that same feel like it used to. Most of them do take some time to achieve but others are just odd. You can easily get gamerscore points just for pressing start (a la The Simpsons Game). I guess putting the game in your Xbox 360 without seeing the RROD is an achievement in itself. Some of the achievements involve playing multiplayer to get them. This is where I get annoyed with it. Getting those points can easily be achieved just by getting a friend to be the sacrificial lamb and boosting your score instead of playing for the win or enjoyment. It takes the fun out of it when you see 2 guys in the corner away from the action humping each other.Yes...that really happened.

I still like the whole achievement system dont get me wrong. I just dont put it at the forefront for me when I get a new game to obtain every single achievement for it.For me, it hit home when I decided not to play games on the most difficult level. I dont think I wouldve enjoyed Black OPS as much as I did if I started the game on veteran. It's something I wont lose sleep over if I dont finish a level under a certain time or find every single piece of intel. Hopefully, you wont either.

Game Collector or Player?

2010-11-21T08:25:00.000-08:00

I have known people that cherish every game they buy and have a library to prove it. It is impressive to look at the bookshelves of games and marvel at the electronic playground that is presented to you. There is something cool about that, but it's not me. I am not one thats real big on nostalgia. Sure I would love to have my original circa 1970's GI Joe Helicopter back or my other prize possession; the Evil Knievel Sports Cycle Stunt set! But I don't and it doesn't bother me. (well maybe just a little)

So I don't collect games, as I try to get some value for them before it's too late to get he next big game . I usually go the route of Gamestop and with my bonus card I get an additional percentage added to my trade in. Yes I could make more selling them on ebay or craigslist but that takes time, and sometimes I hate to say I am an impulse buyer. My latest impulse buy was Rapala's bass Pro Fishing with the awesome fishing rod peripheral. I hear some guys on GuG forums taking about it and thought that would be cool to get with the guys and have a fishing tournament online! Well I normally do my homework but this time I didn't and my review reflects it.

I always buy the latest sport games. I will never keep playing Tiger Woods, NCAA or Madden 10 when 11 is already out. I can't help myself always thinking new has to be better right? I have always purchased the latest shooters even though some of them are not better. Modern Warfare 2 comes to mind. So to keep my obsession in tact I trade most my games in to get something for them.

I guess thats why I am not huge on Arcade XBOX Live titles and especially not nostalgic titles (Like Tecmo Bowl) . I have some and like a few but the graphics and game play of arcade games just seems to be old technology to me.

While it would be great to have that library. To me they would be nothing more than a bookshelf to ogle over. Cause I doubt I would go back and play anything older than what's hot right now. Now don't get me wrong, if someone was nice enough to purchase me that Evil Knievel Stunt Sports Cycle I am sure I could find some plywood a couple of bricks and a ditch outside to try some jumps out on!

So tell me are you a game collector or a new game player?

Cows, Birds, & Campuses...Oh My!

2010-11-19T18:06:00.000-08:00

Everyone has at least heard of it. Heck...I bet you've even tried to give it a spin. You've probably gotten the invite and once your family and friends have found out, you've opened up a pandora's box of alerts and invitations. All of a sudden your become addicted and plan your real life around your virtual playland. "Susy needs your help farming her crops" or " Joe needs you as part of their mafia." Casual gaming has been the big boom as of late and it doesnt look like its stopping. You can play it on your computer. You can play it on your Iphone or Ipod. There are strategy books on how to boost your crops faster! No matter where you go or what you do, it's this kind of gaming that draws not only the 10 year old 4th grader but also the 70 year old grandmother.

Those freakin pigs stole our eggs!

What do the developers do to draw this wide array of players to play their games? There's nothing really fancy in these games at all and maybe that's the whole point. It's simple, and very user friendly. A hardcore gamer like myself has tried these games before. It does get addicting and having easy access to it just makes it more harder for me to put it down. Take for example Angry Birds I was messing around with my Ipod and one of my coworkers saw the game and asked what it was. Now this guy is not a gamer and just felt anything complex was a hassle. Trying to explain that it is puzzle game trying to destroy the pigs whole stole the bird's eggs gave me funny looks like I was insane but he tried it and I ended up not seeing my ipod the whole day. Now this guy downloaded the app for his Iphone and has been hooked ever since. You can hear the frustration from across the office and you know its from the game. Sometimes the simplicity of it all just draws those people in and they just get hooked. You play a level or two and you hear the catchy chimes and sounds and you start to think to yourself, "Wow...Im really doing pretty good." You then see your friends scores and high they are and then you get to thinking you can beat that and play it over and over till you do reach top score and that's how they get you. Im looking at you Bejeweled!!!

Not only does it have to be simple for someone casual to enjoy it but it also has to be easily accessible. Social websites like Facebook is easily a haven for family and friends to reconnect but also help each other whether its farming your cousin's crops or giving your old college roommate that nail for their frontier. Will it ever end? From the looks of my facebook page...I highly doubt it. Now does anyone want to help me with putting Gdogg U on the map?

My latest addiction

Call of Duty Weapons Damage/Recoil/Spread etc. Chart

2010-11-17T08:04:00.000-08:00

I found this scouring the interwebs and a gentleman named Den Kirson at www.denkirson.com put together this elaborate weapons chart. Pretty interesting stuff here for us COD Geeks!

Black Ops

Damage starts at one amount of damage, decreases over a certain range and continues at a lower damage.
The Red line indicates the basic damage. The Green line indicates damage range with a silencer (or the Python's Snub Nose).
Certain body parts multiply damage from attacks.
Note that the L96A1 has an extra damage modifier. The shoulders and biceps also take 1.5x damage.
All shotguns' minimum damage is 10.
-
A weapon's Hip Spread is determined by a minimum and maximum cone of fire in degrees from the center of the screen.
Shotguns from the hip are much less accurate than they used to be before. Aim down the sights with them to make them a bit more effective.
-
Recoil is an area within four points and the random chance of the weapon kicking in those directions.
The view kick is made of four forces. When two numbers are in opposing directions, they fight one another.
The kick focuses on the average between the two, so if a weapon kicks left 10 and right 60, the kick will always be to the right.
If a weapon kicks 60 both left and right, the sights have equal chance of jumping either way.
If both numbers are on one side of the arrows, then it'll always kick in that direction.

Working against the recoil is Center Speed (number in the bottom right of the Recoil box) which is an arbitrary number. Higher Center Speed means faster recovery.
-
A weapon's Fire Time is the time between each shot.
Divide 60 by the Fire Time and you get the Rounds Per Minute.
The L96A1 and Stakeout use RechamberTime, basically the same as FireTime, but there to prevent you from skipping the bolt/pump animation.
The burst fire weapons have a 0.2 second delay between bursts, cutting their damage down significantly.

Each weapon has a specific Reload Time for partial and Empty magazines.
For both of these reloads is the Add Time, the point where the Ammo Counter changes.
The Add Time indicates the point where you can cancel the reload animation and still have a reloaded weapon.
Some shotguns and the Python reload one round at a time. The first round takes longer than the following rounds.
The Python's Speed Loader time is also indicated in place of the Add Time (which is irrelevant for the Python).
-
Raise Time and Drop Time are the lengths it takes to put away one weapon and take out another.
Combine one gun's Drop with another's Raise to see how long it will take.
NOTE: Switching from one weapon to a Pistol will cause your weapon in hand to use Quick Drop, only 0.25 of a second.

Aim Down Sights takes a moment before the sighted accuracy takes effect after pressing the ADS button.

Depending on the weapon you're carrying, your character will have his running speed changed.
Like Call of Duty 1 and 2, it is no longer based on your primary; what is in your hand determines your speed.
Meaning if you switch to a pistol, you will run faster than whatever assault rifle or LMG you've got.

Whats Your flavor of Weapon/Perk Combo's

2010-11-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

One of the draws to the COD series in recent iterations has been the ability to change your setups and to work to achieve different weapons. Some weapons (even though their stats are better) may not necessarily add up to kills. Certain weapons fit people better than others. Sometimes you get in a funk with a weapon for one reason or another and have to change it up. I have always been an M16 guy and really it may be the best weapon in the game with its stopping power, accuracy and three round burst, but recently I was taking a beating and switched out to the Famas and started having success again.

In addition to weapons the Perks are what defines you as a player. You like to sneak around? Then Ghost and Ninja may be your choice. You like to run and gun, then Light Weight, Steady Aim, and Marathon may be your perks of choice.

Then you have killstreaks. They are the game changers. They can make an average round turn into a high K/D ratio quick depending on what you pick and can achieve. They make the difference between winning and losing many times. All you have to do is earn the right ones.

Now keep in mind I am not the best player out here by no means. I have had my 25-5 days and I have had my 5-25 days. Basically I hang around 1:1 K/D ratio. I wish I was better and I normally get it higher but right now thats where I am. Many times it depends on who is on your team. Yesterday afternoon I played a few matches with Chiroasso and Gdogg3 on my team and I don' think I was less than 2:1 K/D ratio. Gdogg stayed at around 3:1 and Chiroasso actually had an 8:1 K/D ration one game! So it helps when you have players that are pulling there own.

Anyways here are the 3 main setups I use and why. Notice I only go over three. That is not because I don;t have 5 it is because I don;t use the other 2 classes. The other 2 classes were Shotty and Sniper. I suck at shotty and I don't feel like there are many maps where the Sniper is effective enough.

I will only go over the primary weapons attachments and perks. I will address the secondary weapons and equipment in a later blog.

Custom Class 1 named: Assault

Famas

Weapon: Currently Famas with silencer. Iron Sughts I don't like people to know where I am firing from on the map!

Perks Slot 1: Hardline allows one less kills for kill streaks

Hardline
Perks Slot 2: Slight of Hand I realized I used to get killed allot when reloading so this helps reload faster

Slight of hand

Perks Slot 3: Currently Ninja but switching to Hacker so that it will allow me to see enemy explosives, equipment and Tactical Insertions

Hacker

Ninja

Custom Class 2 Named Special Ops

Scorpion

Weapon: SMG Class: Scorpion with extended Mag cause bullets fly out of this puppy fast. Its not good for distance at all but I use this because I mainly use this on run and gun maps like Nuke Town and firing range where most of it will be close combat to me so I will run around and fire from the hip.

Perks Slot 1: Light Weight Allows me to run faster for the run and gun

Light Weight

Perks Slot 2: Steady Aim Allows me to have an accuracy boost when shooting from the hip

Steady Aim

Perks Slot 3: Marathon Pro Allows me to run longer.

Marathon

Custom Class 3 Named Machine

RPK

Weapon: LMG Class: RPK I find this weapon to be the most forgiving when aiming. It has the highest accuracy rating of weapons in this class except for the last weapon that is listed as Classified ( know what it is and it should be the best of the class when I get it) I don;t use this class much but they are good if you are not doing well shooting and need the extra bullets without reloading.

Perk Slot 1: I still like Hardline here as I don;t see any perks in this slot that helps the machine gun class other than maybe Scavenger as you will go through some ammo here and recouping that may help

Hardline Pro

Perk Slot 2: Warlord. Mainly because with the extra attachments you can really build a nice killing machine with a scope and round mag. If you don't go hardline and barrel magazine with extra ammo here perhaps go sleight of hand as this weapon is slow to reload.

Warlord

Perk Slot 3: Hacker; Nothing screams at me on this perk level for this class so why not protect yourself from stepping on claymores.

Hacker

Ok, So thats my 3 favorite. Whats yours? Discuss below or on the forum post related to this blog in the www.grownupgamers.com/forums

Black Ops Intel Information

2010-11-16T05:15:00.000-08:00

Having Trouble finding Intel all the intel information for an achievement? Well these videos found on 1Up.com's Game Videos will help you along your way to earn that achievement.

2010 Year of the Sim Sports Solo Gamer?

2010-11-14T11:24:00.000-08:00

Was 2010 the best year for Sim sports gaming on the new generation of consoles? I say yes. With games like NCAA Football 11, MLB The Show 10, MLB2K11, NHL11, FIFA 11, and NBA2K11, this year has finally brought back the gameplay and upgrades many sports gamers have been crying for since the Next Generation consoles released several years ago.

With less and less time to play in leagues and such, I have found myself going back to offline gaming and sports games used to be a staple for me back in the day. Here are a few of my experiences with the new sports games from 2010 taken from an offline perspective.
NCAA Football 11: Im back! My favorite series of all time finally put it all together this year with great gameplay on the field, graphics, and sliders that finally work to give it that sim feel. The difference in this game from the 10 version and Madden is night and day. It seems the developers are finally making their own game now instead of pulling from Madden each year. They also seem to be listening to the feedback from the community more as well and that has made the biggest change in my opinion.

MLB The Show 10: Perhaps the best baseball game of all time and a sim gamers dream. Playing this game is like being at the park as the graphics are sweet, but the gameplay is rock solid all around and reminds me of the High Heat sim experience of the past. This is another game developed with the community feedback in mind and it shows. This also shows the power and possibilities the PS3 has to offer when it comes to in house sports games. If only this game could get the online part fixed, this would be game of the year every year.

MLB2K11: This may be the surprise of the year for me. The Show is better all around, but something about this game makes me want to play it more. The pitching interface is new and unique. The graphics are different as well and stand out more. If the fielding is improved along with the online play, this game could compete in the future with the show as it is certainly a more user friendly game to jump in and play.

NBA2K11: The greatest of all time is back and may have made the greatest video basketball game as well. When you first turn this game on and follow Jordan out of the tunnel to play against Magic and the Lakers, it brings back so many memories from the good ole days of basketball. This game screams realism from the tip off. This game may have the best player animations of any sports game today. Try a jumpshot with Jordan and Kobe and it will look dead on. With a few slider tweaks, you will see accurate statistics from the teams and players themselves. The atmosphere is one of the best ever with crowds that go nuts at the end of a game and music that plays to pump you up during tense situations. This is my game of the year when it comes to sports games period!

To sum, 2010 finally brought back some of the best gameplay and features we have not enjoyed since the older XBOX and PS2 days. The future is certainly bright if developers continue on this path and listen to the community feedback and continue the sim approach to game development.

Black Ops Impressions...Will you answer the Call again?

2010-11-13T13:03:00.000-08:00

Actvision has been milking this franchise for as long as I can remember. Since the birth of the Xbox, Call of Duty 2 was the first of the launch titles that helped Microsoft maintain its place among the next-gen console wars at the time. COD reached its dominance when COD4 was released and it was a viable contender against Halo. It did take a step back in my opinion with Modern Warfare 2 but that hasn't deterred its hold on consumers as Black Ops released. Treyarch, I believe, helped bring the franchise back to a memorable single player campaign, a fun co-op zombie mode, and a more balanced MP with the occasional annoyances that you would expect in any first person shooter.

Black Ops is what you would expect as a Call of Duty game. The mechanics and gameplay is pretty much the same so if you've played one before, you'll easily get the handle of the game very early. If this is your first time to this rodeo, I have to warn you there is no tutorial at the beginning like the previous games before. The campaign is set through the many eras of history from the Cold War to the Cuban missile crisis to Vietnam. There is a throwback level as well where you use some WW2 weapons and is probably one of my favorite levels. The campaign is told through flashbacks of your character, Alex Mason with some mix of other perspectives from other characters as well. It was hard at first to follow what was going with all the images flashing throughout the cut scenes but for the most part I could decipher in what was going on. For the most part, the campaign kept me engaged to finish it as soon as possible to see what happens to all the characters. It also is a good way to get used to the weapons that you will see in MP.

Co-op zombies makes a return. You start out with 1 zombie map that takes place in a movie theater. The same formula applies as you try to outlast endless waves of zombies and hell hounds out to tear you limb from limb. I definitely recommend 4 people who have a well developed plan in order to move from one room to another. The 2nd zombie map is a favorite of mine and you get to play a diverse cast from the picture on the left. The one-liners are hilarious as you battle zombies inside the Pentagon with 3 floors. which means you need alot of cash to be using the elevator going from floor to floor. The 3rd map is a top down shooter that plays like Smash TV. Its hard picking out your guy if 4 players are going at it but fun none the less.

Multiplayer is what most people will be playing so let me just say it is far much better than Modern Warfare 2. Party chat is back for all game modes which is great in my opinion. I felt like the community for Call of Duty is probably the worst Ive ever experienced so getting into a chat of friends in the game is great. The big issue I have though is when you have a party of 4 or 5 guys, it takes forever to get into a game to play. I don't know if its because the game is trying to find another group of 5 to play against or what, but it is time consuming to wait 10 minutes to get into a match. Maybe its just me and my group but I think they should come up with a way to just get into a lobby whether theres a party of people or not. The other issue I have is the scope of things to unlock. This version has a currency system that when I first got into it, I felt overwhelmed. The customization is a nice touch and the theater mode is not bad but I felt it could be better. It doesnt seem to record all of my matches which seems odd and you can only upload clips that are 30 seconds long. Here is one that I did below.

If you want to get to know the maps, combat training is a great addition. You can explore the maps while shooting up bots. You can also level up and experiment with guns that you have unlocked. Whatever you unlock in combat training stays in combat training and doesn't transfer over to your public profile and vice versa. There is also wager matches which lets you gamble the points you have earned in matches and for the most part it is fun when players arent camping. All in all, the maps are good enough where snipers dont dominate them and camping is alot harder to get away with.

Black Ops will probably be spinning on my 360 for awhile and I definitely like seeing the developers listening to the community and help fix issues that were present in previous Call of Duty games. It looks as well too that they will support this game as long as it takes with various fixes and patches with the known issues that are being exploited. All in all I would rate this game an 8 out of 10 stars.

Rapala Pro Bass Fishing. Does it set the hook?

2010-11-13T07:02:00.000-08:00

How Cool is this! Wireless too!

I remember the days living on Lake Wylie. Spending my summers at the Marina digging fresh water clams out of the sand because I couldn't afford the worms, and reeling in the Bream (Sunfish) one after another. But the most fun was trying out our luck to catch the king of the lake: the Largemouth Bass!

So I get excited when a fishing game comes along that looks awesome with a super cool peripheral like they have with Rapala Pro bass Fishing! Just look at it, it's awesome and wireless!

The game starts you out letting you customize your angler, and in another area even customize your boat which is cool. After that you really only have a few options to start fishing. The modes are Tournament mode, Two players, and Free Fishing. What's fishing without a little competition right? So lets jump into a tournament.

Tournament mode has three seasons: Rookie, Pro, and Legendary. In each of the seasons you have three tiers with tier one having three events (walleye, crappie, and white bass for rookie). In tier 2 there are 2 events and tier three 1 event. Wrapping up the rookie season there is one final event after tier 3 if you are at least 5th in the standings. Each event lasts around 15 minutes each, but does allow you to weight in early if you are strapped for time. However that could lead you to losing the event of course. All in all the rookie events were very easy and I feel like the game just gives away too much information in general. It really takes the trial and error out of fishing which is so important to the sport. The game really gives you everything you need to succeed including a fish-o-pedia which tells you which lures, lines, etc work to catch what fish. Not to mention they even give you tips on where the fish are, such as where birds are flocking or under the hot air balloons (WTF?). As if the fish finder on your boat isn't enough as it shows you where the fish are and even color codes the fish in blue that you are targeting for your tournament. To make matters worse they even tell you the weight of the fish and the type you have on the hook while reeling in leaving out all the suspense of actually catching a fish! I looked for an option to turn this off, but there is not one.

The free fishing mode allows you to just head out to the lake (7 lakes in all) and just cast away. There are challenges in the lake highlighted in red that you can try your luck at that will unlock lures, reels, etc.

The two person mode allows you to enter the boat with a friend and both fish at the same time. It's basically the free fishing mode with 2 people in the boat. One player can use the 360 controller just fine.

Notice I haven't talked about online mode yet? There is a reason. The reason is because there isn't one! I was really dumbfounded by this. I could have sworn I read a preview somewhere that stated online tournaments with your friends. This was a big let down, and one that really takes the game down hard. I mean some of the short comings would all be forgotten if we could have created a small tournament fishing with our friends at Grown Up Gamers.

With all the shortcomings I mentioned there is still something fun about sitting on the couch with a cool fishing rod peripheral catching a northern pike. However that's where the fun ends and the game sinks to the bottom of the lake. This game can be fun with the family and friends over but don't expect much out of it in the single player or non-existent online play.

Overall I would give the game a minnow. Well to give it a number value perhaps a 5 out of 10 and only because of the cool fishing rod!

Multi-Tasking Station. Is this Ridiculous?

2010-11-12T05:43:00.000-08:00

The Muti-tasking station! 2 360's and a computer. Plus the 32" doubles as a double monitor for the computer!

In on of my previous posts I eluded to one of the reasons I don't game socially as much anymore is because of my setup. It all went back to the days of overindulging myself in online gaming, and leaving little time for others in the house. In my eyes its as bad as not being around. You are tuned out while gaming socially, you don't hear what others are saying, or you are in a completely different room altogether. I needed to make a change and with that came some sacrifices. I still like to spend spare time practicing Madden or finishing up the next best shooter. My wife likes to watch the sitcoms. So instead of being totally in a different room came the multitasking station. A space where I can play, put some headphones on (if I need to) pause, watch TV with the family, and work on the computer all at the same time. It works for me because I have to stay multi-tasked, and this gives me the freedom to accomplish that. It allows me to be in the room (right behind the main couch) to talk, watch TV and during shows I don't like or commercials I can un-pause and get right back to playing.

The only problem is I have created a monster! When my son drug in the 40' TV from the back and sat it on the fireplace so he could play and be in the same room as us, it became a bit much. 90" of TV's beside each other??? Weird I know a 17 year old actually wanting to hang with his parents. (We are lucky I say). I let the TV sit there right along beside the 50" family viewing TV for about a month before I said enough is enough the 40" has to go. Plus it was getting about time to need to cut on the gas logs! So I reconfigured the multi-tasking station to accommodate with a 27" TV he can play on complete with wireless headphones as well.

The Main TV and the 40" was just to the right sitting the fireplace hearth!

The only drawback with this is the social aspect. Not with the family, as this places me in the room and engages me with the family, but with my online friends. Its a bit hard to talk/chat when you are that close to someone trying to watch TV. So that is my biggest reason most of my social online gaming is done on the weekends now. Love to hear about everyone else setups and why they are how they are.

XBOX Live Gold Family Pack is it for you?

2010-11-11T20:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday while turning on the 360 in anticipation of continuing my campaign on COD Black Ops. I saw an advertisement for XBOX Live Gold Family pack. I had never heard of that before and was curious because in my household we have 2-360's and 2 gold accounts for me and my son. I saw where they listing it for $99.00 per year so I was naturally curious since we have 2 accounts coming due in the next month, and they are going to cost me $120.00 this year because of the $10 increase.

I started reading more into it and visited the XBOX live page on the web and here are a few of the FAQ's.

1. The Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack offers four 12-month Xbox LIVE Gold memberships for less than the price of two. Family Pack subscribers also receive exclusive benefits and family conveniences, including access to the new Family Center for family account and online settings management, Activity Monitoring reports on Xbox.com, the ability to purchase and gift Microsoft Points Allowances to your children, and family-friendly content and discounts.

2. We will give existing Xbox LIVE Gold members a prorated discount on the purchase of a Family Pack. For each month remaining on your current Xbox LIVE Gold subscription, we will reduce the purchase price of a Family Pack by $5. For example, if you have six months of your Gold subscription remaining, you qualify for a $30 discount and will only be charged $69.99 at the time of purchase. If you have 20 months or more of your current Xbox LIVE Gold subscription remaining, you can upgrade to an Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack for free. You will not receive a refund for any remaining subscription time in excess of 20 months.

3. if a Family Pack member leaves home to go to college, they can simply recover their account on a different console and will still remain a part of the Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack, as long as they reside in the same country as the primary account holder.

4. MS Points added to the account can spread out over all of the individual accounts.

5. The primary account holder will have the ability to customize the parental controls and other settings of the Family Pack members’ accounts.

6. Purchased content such as games and movies are licensed both to the console it was purchased on, and the individual Gold member that purchased it. So if, for example, your child were to buy an Xbox LIVE Arcade game on your home console, anyone on your console can play it. Additionally, if they leave for college, they could recover their account on another Xbox 360 in their dorm room and be able to play the game when logged into their account from that Xbox 360.

7. While an Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack utilizes unified billing, the primary Family Pack member has the option to purchase Microsoft points and give them to other Family Pack members, who can use them to buy movies, shows, games and more on Xbox LIVE.

All in all it turns out to be a good deal for me. I really don't need 4 Gold accounts. I only need two but buying them this way its still cheaper than purchasing them at the $59 a piece price tag.

I told you so!

2010-11-10T06:02:00.001-08:00

I saw these today and it reminded me of a story I shared during my review blog on Kinect, and a few twitter posts I made a week ago. The theme is you can hurt yourself or another with this game! Here are my tweets a week ago!

I told of the story with my 6' tall son who almost cut his head open jumping into the ceiling fan.

Anyways here are some videos of other Kinect fails!

Here are a few Ceiling Fan debacles!

Some hurt the ones around you escapades!

And my favorite! How to hurt yourself without the need of anyone or any object to get in your way. Just an example of non-athleticism!

Game like I used to...

2010-11-09T04:48:00.000-08:00

I see the clues. They are subtle at times but I am not oblivious to them. They are there, I see them in my body, mind and soul. The trick is do I embrace them, accept them, shun them, ignore them or change them? What do I do? More importantly what the heck am I talking about.................?

I am talking about getting older. Yes the easy signs are there; more grey hair, the decreased metabolic rate (that one I hate the most), the aches and pains that seem to creep in easier but take longer to go away. I understand those come with he territory and they have been hard to accept, but there are others that I have noticed that have changed the way I used to do things.

Things like not really wanting to ride that roller coaster anymore thinking of what may happen, and don't even try and get me to climb up high anymore. When I go snowboarding (yes I still do that) I wear a helmet, when I ride my motorcycle I wear my helmet (even though SC is a non-mandatory wear state). I don't care to go to concerts much anymore, or large crowd events, mainly because of the crowds. All of these things I used to do and love. However somethings changed and it appears to have come with age. (Reading back at this list makes me feel like a wuss!)

How does this relate to gaming? Well things have changed there as well. I used to be very social I started my multiplayer console gaming on the Dreamcast playing 2K1 football and then SOCOM on the PS2 in 2002. Before the console I played some computer online games but my online experience really grew with those 2 games. I had people I would meet up with and play for hours on SOCOM even staying up to 2am on work nights. That blossomed once XBOX live came to existence on the black box. I got involved with game forums and played in sports gaming leagues, shooter leagues, etc. It was a blast. But my

social online gaming craving seems to have taken a backseat in the past 2 years. Don't get me wrong, I still love my gaming, I just don't seem to do it as much socially anymore. Some of it has to do with my gaming setup which I will explain in a future blog. But does allot of it may have to do with me being less social? I dunno, I just know I don't play online with friends as much as I used to. Is it age related? Perhaps, but I am excited to play with some of my GrownUpGamers on Call of Duty Black Ops. I just don't know how long that will last before I am just going online solo without getting involved with my online friends for a quick round or two!

(SOCOM 1 was the greatest Remember this map?)

So the question of the day are you becoming less of a social gamer the older you get? If so why?

Kinect Impressions after day 2

2010-11-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

I already had a few preconceived notions about what to expect out of Kinect that I wrote about in my previous blog. Most of what I wrote still stands true even after getting the Kinect. However, there is something different about the Kinect as it stands beside the Wii, and Move. Its got that wow factor that the other just don't have. The voice commands ( although not as robust as I would like them), the facial recognition (works pretty good if you have enough light) and the swipe gestures all make the Kinect a pretty cool peripheral. Its drawbacks are the room it takes and the initial set up which I am not going to go into detail about. I will say watch out for low hanging ceiling fans in your play area. OUCH!

I would rather get into a few games that I have played so far. I have picked up Dance Central, Kinect Sports, and of course the add in game Kinect Adventures. Of the three my top to bottom list would go in that order as well.

Dance central is awesome. Listen I am not a professional, nor have I been on Dancing with the Stars, but after a few days of playing Dance Central I am sure ABC will be calling any day now. Whats amazing is the game actually teaches you current new dance moves. Its nothing like the old fashioned step on a pad Dance Revolution game that looked nothing like dancing. This is the real deal. It's really cool how the Kinect picks up on slight imperfections in your dance moves to grade you very accurately. Some of the moves I don't think I will ever get but its still a blast to try. this by far has been my favorite game so far. Heck, where else are you going to learn to do a Side Jerk, UFO, Hotwire, or Robocop? Huh tell me!

Kinect sports is pretty much a take off of Wii sports, and PS3 Move's Sports Champions combined. I have them all and it gives me a reference to grade them against each other. Wii was the first and and it was new and exciting at the time but really had its pitfalls with the lack of one to one motion (that came later with an add on) Move is true one to one and feels natural but after playing Kinect with no controller I tend to favor it on may of these sports games. There are a few sports that each system game better than the others but overall I feel the Kinect does well in most of the games. I would give the edge to Wii in bowling, because the spin and control is a bit wacky on Kinect. I would give the edge to the Move on the volleyball game, it works really well on the Kinect but I think I can do a few more things in the Move game. Table tennis I give the edge to Kinect. I had a much better experience hitting the ping pong ball with the Kinect non-controls than I did with the move controller. My Son loves the soccer and track and field events and they are not in the other 2 systems to compare.

Kinect adventures I have spent the least time with but I feel it caters to a younger audience. Lots of mini games and perhaps I will get to that title soon. But from what I have played the games were either a bit boring or uninspiring.

One thing I will say is that where or not you are intending to you will get a workout with the Kinect. Way more movement using your whole body that you ever will playing the Wii, or PS3 Move. I know I could lose a few so I guess every extra bit of exercise helps right?

In closing I am enjoying the system. For how long I dunno. The games will have to keep pace and learn to play to the Kinect's abilities. Dance Central is one that is a new concept and did a very good job of playing to the Kinect's strengths. So excuse me while I go learn to learn to "Lean and Rock" to some Soulja Boy!

Update: pastapadre's blog just posted a review as well that seems to be inline with mine. Check it out for more info on 2 other games. XBOX Kinect Impressions by Pastapadre

Can you sense the motion?

2010-11-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

I have read way too many Kinect game reviews today and many of them are in the 50-75 range. Seems typical since every console out now has motion sensor type games. It's really nothing new. Yes the camera looks cool but is it really that different? When thinking back to the Wii launch, the reviews Wii received were all pretty good and it was groundbreaking at the time. Now motion sensor technology has gotten better, more precise; however, the way you play doesn't really change. The Wii was new, exciting, different. That wore off pretty quick when I realized I actually enjoy sitting down to play games. I mean if I need to get up it's probably cause my bladder is full or I need a drink. If i want to do exercise I go to the gym. If I want to game I do it sitting down relaxing.

But there is a time and place for these stand up and sling your arm games. Its with the family, and friends. You know the holidays, the afternoon cookouts, the birthday get togethers. That's when these types of games are golden. They are normally easy to pick up and play, they have some competitive aspects to them and all ages normally are welcome. I think thats what sold the Wii so well. Not for the technology, but something people can do/play together. The technology no matter how new it is will get old eventually, however playing something with family and friends doesn't.

Heck I should know I am the owner of 2 XBOX 360's (Kinect is now at the house), a Will with Wii motion plus, and a PS3 with move. All of them have their good and bad points, and all of them serve a purpose at one time or another. But all of them still get used when family and friends are over. Its not uncommon for me and my wife and son to break them out and play something to pass the time on a Sunday afternoon. I even have a sneaking suspicion I may even be dancing this afternoon/evening now that my wife just texted me this picture of the inside of her car.

Medal of Honor....Did it live up to expectations?

2010-11-03T18:52:00.000-07:00

EA pulled out all the stops to sell this game. They created controversy in regards to playing as the Taliban in multi-player. (somehow I think all along they knew that wasn't going to fly) They spaced out their pre-release videos, crafted pre-order bonuses, and had ads on every major gaming site. It worked as they sold 2 million copies in the first 2 weeks and have even commented that it will continue on to be a sequel. Did it take over the Call of Duty franchise? Absolutely not! But I do think they made a small dent to let them know they are here to play and that always works out great for us gamers. Competition never hurts!

Many ask is it a good game? thats always a hard question to answer because no 2 people see things the same way. Meta critic reviews has it as decent at a 74 score overall. I would probably give it a bit more, as I actually had fun playing the single player campaign and thought the ending was quite moving for a video game. Perhaps that's my military background in me though. I did actually see a tweet where someone said they got emotional at the ending. I wouldn't quite go that far though.

Where I think the game really shines is in it's multi-player modes. After the first few days of getting slaughtered I wondered if it was the game or me needing to adjust. Well It was me because I stuck with it and all the sudden it started clicking for me. I have actually been able to snipe on this game (something i could never do on COD). Was so excited when I had a 25-5 game sniping mostly. However for people just starting into multi-player sniping can be very discouraging. There will be some spawn sniping and not knowing your maps will get you killed very quick!. But once you play for a few hours you will know what you can and can not do. The weapons play is smooth and a bit more realistic than the COD franchise in my opinion. The one thing that always drove me crazy was those able to run and jump around carrying should mounted RPG's in COD!! That is impossible in real life! Its enjoyable wining the most Wanted ribbon while playing in game multiplayer as if feels like you have made the entire other team furious at you! I do enjoy winning the medals and awards each game but I do find it lacking as the upgrades to the weapons seem to take longer and longer, and many of them don't help at all. (that laser sight is worthless!) . I suppose it keeps things a bit more even for everyone that way but I can see myself getting bored soon.

I am sure I will enjoy it right up until COD Black ops comes out. Then I am sure I will wish to myself that COD had MOH's weapons play and COD's perks! Now that would be an awesome game.