Happy Mother’s Day!
Tagged RandomI hope everyone got their presents… I’m about to head out to get mine. What are you all getting your mom? (I’m giving mine a gift certificate for a manicure/pedicure)
*I’m typing this as I am looking at an empty bank account…
Thoughts on GTA4 - Is This the Real Deal?
Tagged Games, GeneralGTA4 is all story. Several months ago I recall complaining about the lack of emphasis put on story in games. I still believe this is true, but after playing games like Gears of War and Halo 3, I find myself going back go other games like Earth Defense Force 2017.
Here’s some representative gameplay:
After completing about 50% of the game, I believe GTA4 is overrated. I don’t know how it got so many perfect scores. The game is nearly flawless, yet it seems stripped down. It is a fun game, but so much was taken out from the other games. There are no stats to level up, no purchasable properties, and hookers don’t even fully recover your health! Anyways, it is hard to argue with a game that has broken so many records… $500 million in its first week? Take THAT, EA!
If I had to give it a rating out of 10, I would give it a 9.3. The online gameplay is everything it should have been in San Andreas, the relationship micromanaging is annoying, and I can’t buy property - outside of that, the game is close to perfect.
Weekend Break - Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
Tagged 360 Gems, Xbox 360 Underground, Consumer Tips
Okay, so this game is old… several years old. However, after playing hours of this game over the past few days (having downloaded it on my 360), I must say it was worth every point spent. It’s not that the game adds much that is new, but there is some pleasure in shooting saw blades at robots to dismantle their arms. The game is just plain fun. Weapon-changing is smooth, the guns are fun, the characters are hilarious, and the game definitely has replay value. My only complaint is the lack of online play *shakes fist*.
Anyways, definitely pick this game up if you get the chance.
I’m Back!
Tagged GeneralIt’s that time again and I am finally back on this site. Unfortunately, I don’t have any readers right now, but I plan on changing that. Here’s to another solid week… no… month… no… year… decade?
Who is Ready for Halo 4?
Tagged Halo 4Bungie is very reluctant to release details for Halo 4. XboxDude.com is the first to bite at their heels. Did it do anything? No. In fact, Bungie has probably blocked my email address… and three others.
So I don’t even know if there will be a Halo 4… but history shows that Microsoft loves money, so I would put MY money on it. History also shows that once a popular franchise is “finished,” there will be a prequel. So I’ll go ahead and take a stab at what could be Halo 4: Before MasterChief.
New Vehicles
Toyota Camry
New Plot Twists
A dog dies
New Chief
Fry Chief becomes MasterChief after traveling forward in time from a freak pizza delivery accident.
Okay, so none of this is official… but I am anticipating the return of Futurama Halo after the third installment.
Legendary Halo 3 Release
Tagged Halo 3It’s the game that outsold Lair, Heavenly Sword, and Metroid Prime 3 combined even before its release.
It’s the game that created and defined the original Xbox.
It’s the game that people can’t stop picking on.
You guessed it - it is Halo 3. Then again, if you were guessing what this was about at any point past the title, you are an idiot.
Here’s a quick remix of the video found on the Halo 3 site (which, by the way, is the best flash I have ever seen). It includes the music from the Gears of War video into the Halo 3 Believe video:
Nicely done, no?
IGN Plays It Cool About Halo 3
Tagged GeneralE3 is over (to be equally obvious, so is World War I) and I’ve gotten off my ass to make another post. This one is about IGN. I love IGN - sometimes their articles can get a bit sparse around E3-time, but it is forgivable. I used to even pay for their membership. They had an article about how the old pay accounts really got them off the ground and I think it was worth every cent of mine! I digress.
So I was reading IGN recently and I saw this article: Most Anticipated Xbox 360 Games of 2007. The results of this were decided by writers and editors… and pretty much anyone else they could find. Here’s my beef with their list - Halo 3 got hated on. Don’t get me wrong, I am not the biggest fan of Halo, but it really gets no love. It is one of those games that people love to hate. I don’t know if it’s because it’s so cliche to love it or what. However, Halo 3 should have made someone’s #1 because the story finally ends. I mean, c’mon… ROCK BAND makes #1 on Hil’s list? MTV games, Hil-dog… MTV Freakin’ GAMES! That’s all I have to say about THAT! *checks on its preorder*
All I’m saying is there is not enough homage being paid to what MADE AND MAKES the Xbox what it is. It is the characterization of your console (namely the Halo 3 version) and, no matter how much you like or dislike it, will always be in your game library… why? Because if you don’t like it, one of your friends will. Note: This game also makes it easy to tell if an acquaintance has any friends. So I am wondering why no one has this as #1 for most anticipated game! There is one #2, but that’s it. Halo is the Mario of Xbox… love it or leave it! Recognize, IGN… Recognize.
Xbox 360’s Critical E3 Analysis
Tagged E3 2007All of the best and all of the worst is shown during E3… but mostly the worst. It is as though everything rides on this one event, as it has been assumed in the past by gamers with an ego. Between the bickering of gamers and a major downsize, we got nothing out of it this year - this one is for the media… finally. Don’t get me wrong, I used to think E3 was great. I’m an Xbox 360 fanboy who also enjoys the other consoles (as much as I enjoy seeing them look bad… I do enjoy games). Let’s not talk about the other consoles right now, though. I would rather talk about the Xbox 360 since that is what this is all about.
The Xbox 360 show was mediocre. I didn’t fall asleep like I did during Sony’s and Nintendo’s, but it was mediocre to the point that I wanted to change the channel. Maybe I am online too much, but nothing was a surprise. You probably shared the same feeling - I guess if you are actually reading this, you are probably more “in touch” with everything. I have another problem with E3 - There hasn’t been a good preview or game released in the past month and a half. Thanks, E3!
So E3 downsized, the presentation hype was downsized, and we still get the same, great long-lasting taste of a stale May/June/July! Was it worth it? No. It was worth it for Sony because now they can actually consider themselves in the next-gen race… like they could have done months ago without E3.
Watching the live conference of Microsoft was painful. I mean, they told us everything we needed to know, but the sources that filmed it must have been fresh out of Underwater Basket Weaving School for the Blind. What? You didn’t watch what I was watching? I will call out two sources of particularly poor film-making skills during the Microsoft E3 Awesome Show Spectacular Conference (name drop alert! :siren:):
Gamertag Radio: I can’t stand these guys. Never hold a camera or a microphone ever again. You all yell into the mic, you say “we’re live” every other sentence, and you constantly talk about people you know in real life that we could care less about. This criticism doesn’t cover the camera work during Microsoft’s presentation. They used an Xbox Live Vision Camera and a laptop. An Xbox Live Vision Camera (a bit redundant, isn’t it…) - but that wasn’t the funniest part. Just before the beginning of the conference, they said “if this suddenly cuts out, it means we ran out of batteries.” I guess the pre-show gaming party with the intense Viva Pinata footage really dealt some damage on that battery of yours. Constantly yelling next to the microphone was an added bonus on top of the wonderful 0.5 megapixel quality.
G4TV.com and G4TV: There is a reason G4 ranked the 56th channel out of 64 on basic cable. The lack of skill shown by the cameramen was annoying and pathetic. The only way the camera work could get worse is if they cut in the middle of the Halo 3 trailer for commercials - oh, wait… they did. I guess they could have figured out their mistake and cut back in shortly afterwards. No, instead they clearly say “you enjoying this? (quietly adding) Oh crap! The trailer is still going, what are you doing?!” Not a direct quote, but it went something like that. They discovered there was a problem and cut to commercials in the middle of the trailer! Thanks for that. The only other complaint I have for G4 and G4TV.com is the constant panning. The viewers don’t want to see trailers from a distance. Enough said.
To add the slightest bit of utility to this post, let’s talk about some cool stuff we did see. Well, no, screw it - just go to IGN.
Forum Watch Time!
Yes, it is that time of the month! Gamers get their period and idiots bicker all over the boards about “which console won.”
My first stop is to the forum on which I frequently post: Teamxbox.com
Poll Results:
Microsoft - 86
Nintendo - 4
Sony - 92
None, they were all disappointing - 76
Where is the logic of asking a bunch of fanboys “who won?” on an Xbox 360 forum? Where is the logic of asking “who won?” in the first place? We all lost. Your console has collected dust since March… high five.
Okay, this is boring, I am ending it here.
Forum Watch With GamersRepublic
Tagged Forum WatchI am now presenting Forum Watch! Each forum watch will basically be coverage of a forum. Today I am covering a thread from GamersRepublic.net:
Microsoft at E3 2007 Rumors, Looks Promising, But Take them With a Grain of Salt
Thread started by core238:
- Microsoft start first at 6.30pm GMT+0:00. (Fact)
- New Crimson Skies game to be announced.
- Bungie working on new title/series not related to anything in the Halo/Marathon Universe.
- Epic Games to show some gorm of Gears of War 2 Trailer.
- Microsoft have bought the Star Wars Battlefront 3 rights. Trailer/Demo to be shown.
- Rare to show off Banjo Kazooie 3 (Banjo-Theerie).
- Rare to announce 2 new games.
- Rare to announce Kameo 2.
- Lionhead Studios show more of Fable 2.
- Microsoft to fund a new game based on Jason Bourne. It’ll be based on the books and not the film with Matt Damon.
- Team Ninja to show off Ninja Gaiden 2. Labeled 360 Exclusive.
- Apparently there’s news of a MGS Game for the 360. May or may not be the 4th Installment.
- Dead Rising 2 to be shown. May not be ready.
From an E3 Floor Manager supposedly.
Sounds reasonable enough. I don’t think there will be a Dead Rising 2, and to gain the rights to Star Wars Battlefront 2? Sounds a bit far-fetched. Gears of War 2 trailer is also unlikely, but possible. I think we will have to wait for X07 before we see any Gears of War 2. Kameo 2 is also unlikely - wasn’t much of a success. If anything, we would see a Perfect Dark Zero… Two (despite IT not being a good game either)?
My personal predictions to add to this list are:
-Downloadable content for Gears of War (possibly the PC content?)
-Spore on the Xbox 360 and PS3
-Conker 360 (as in Conker: Bad Fur Day or Live and Reloaded)
-Midtown Madness 4 announcement
-Major XNA announcement
Tip To Consumers: Buy Smart
Tagged Consumer TipsDid you hear the great news? Kush Games’ MLB 2K7 has new downloadable content! Oh wait, it’s in-game content… and they are charging another $10 for it. As though it hasn’t been said before, this nickel-diming trend has got to stop. EA has created this monster of greed and blah blah blah blah blah. But wait - oh hey! There’s a solution! I’m not about to be a dick and say “Stop whining and just don’t download it,” but instead stop companies and just don’t buy it! This is not a boycott. This is called being a smart consumer. Wait to buy your games and stop acting like you didn’t see this coming! Consumers already pay enough for the game ($60… for a 2K Sports game???).
So again, let me restate this: Do not buy the game until there is clear evidence of fair pricing because it will save you money and trouble.