BLUEGAMER

Hello . . .

2008-01-17T03:11:00.000-06:00

I won't be posting here anymore. My new, and very popular, site is at BlueGamer.net.

I'll keep this up because it's the first time I really messed with CSS, and I think I did a really good job.

-Adam

PGR4 demo details

2007-09-17T20:19:00.000-05:00

From Eurogamer :

The demo will consists of five vehicles (made up of cars and bikes), with a
demo-only Arcade mode chapter set in Macau. This will consist of new challenges
that have been custom-built for the demo.

New Stuff

2007-09-07T19:04:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to get more posts into this thing, but I'm a busy man. I asked my brother to help out with news, but he hasn't posted yet. He better soon.

This weekend I'll be working on Stuntman Ignition. I really like it, because it's about creation. Well, and it's almost a puzzle game. You'll just have to try it out for yourself. I'll hopefully be doing some more Company of Heroes this Sunday. We'll have a few of the guys come over and play some more custom maps. They are a lot of fun.

I think sometime soon, probably next week, I'm going to move away from blogger and create my own site using Word Press. So, you'll see some changes.

-Adam

God of War II

2007-08-18T22:56:00.000-05:00

I usually buy big titles, or just ones I'm excited for, the day they are available. For some reason though, I waited on God of War II. I finally bought it the other day and have been playing it the past week, and I'm really enjoying it. The only thing that really bothers me is the Dual-Shock controller. I think it's a piece of crap. I'm contorting my fingers in positions that are absolutely unnecessary if I used the 360 controller, or even the original XBox's Duke or Type S. I feel like I'm making 'the claw' similar to Carey Elwes' attempt in Liar Liar. I can get around it, but it's just annoying with the Dual-Shock.

Like what's been spinning around the 'nets, the first level plays like a 'last level' would. And even a little further in the game you run into the same type of immersion. But beyond that, I believe that aspect was hyped. This is still a great game though, with so many ways to fight, and new ways added on as you play. That's what keeps it fresh honestly, being able to try so many things to fight, that if you become good enough, you could probably beat the game with out getting hit(slight exaggeration).

And yes, I've decided to go for the Halo 3 Legendary Edition. Check it out for yourself:

-Adam

Quakecon 2007

2007-08-07T23:23:00.000-05:00

I went to Quakecon over the past weekend. Not much went on, and nothing amazing announced, but it was a good experience for me being the first video game conference I had ever been to. I wanted to do BYOC. Next year I'll prepare a head of time(register early) and get a group of friends to go. It was fun seeing all the different computers and set-ups people had.

I missed when John Carmack spoke, but I got to see the idTech5 conference the next day. Nothing too interesting here, but it looks like id is creating intuitive tools for artists to use when making their game. Making it easier to make games? Sounds good to me.

It was really cool seeing tech5 running on a Mac. I think Mac playing in gaming territory is good competition for Windows. Why? I see the OS makers tweaking their software to run games in unique ways. Maybe one OS is more memory efficient than the other?

Also I got my hands on the Stranglehold demo, which should be out soon on Xbox Live. I've really been wanting to play the game, and I will say I enjoyed it the whole time. I'm just afraid it may not be worth the $60. It reminds me of Dead to Rights - which is a great game - but I bet once I've completed the game, that'll be it. Also, the graphics were disappointing. Not a deciding factor for me, but I really expected a lot more out of it. Here's my buddy Jason doing a little hands-on time with it:

-Adam

Ha! ...Yeah...that's right...

2007-08-07T22:05:00.000-05:00

EA's Mike Verdu admitted it. The story of C&C3 sucked, and they did a bad job tie-ing it in with the previous entries. I got this from PlanetCNC:

We admit there are discrepancies and we acknowledge that we need to address those issues over time. However, all that being said, our community forums are not the best place to fix these fictional differences over the long haul. Ultimately we have to understand what we need to address and then we’ll tackle these topics in future installments of Tiberium game fiction, bringing the fiction into alignment over time.

We owe it to you to fess up to the inconsistencies. We regret that any exist and at this point promise to address them in the future.

So earlier in the year EA would tell us to shut up and that this is how it is. And now they're fessing up? Dammit, I just want to punch them!

-Adam

Boom Boom Rocket

2007-07-28T02:55:00.000-05:00

I got the Boom Boom Rocket Soundtrack and I'm loving every bit of it. The game is excellent. Out of everyone on my friends list, I'm number One. I should try to find out what that is world-wide...

...and that's all I have for you.

-Adam

C&C3 Will Be Revolutionized(Is This The Patch That Makes The Game Good?)

2007-07-26T18:54:00.001-05:00

Today, I decided to read a few articles over at PlanetCNC. I don't really do that too often, becuase to me, C&C is dead. I was excited by Tiberium Wars and hoped for the best - bad idea. It's sad when a patch that comes out two months after release, totally changes the gameplay just so it's playable. I'm not a hater. I'm a C&C fan, and C&C 3 is no C&C to me.

Anyway, PlanetCNC had an article on something they stumbled across when browsing the official C&C3 website. "C&C3 Will Be Revolutionized"? How? Did they hire a different crew to patch the game? Or, as PCNC guesses, is this just a website re-design? Ack. I feel betrayed. C&C is now dead, and EA's trying to revive it with some 'announcement'. It better be good. I don't even play C&C3 anymore. I waited for patch 1.05. And that only disappointed.

-Adam

Flashlights and Bomberman

2007-07-22T16:11:00.000-05:00

To start off, I purchased Bomberman from the XBLA. It's awesome. I've always enjoyed Bomberman, but it's now so satisfying to be able to play with live opponents anytime you want. I remember playing it on the Super Nintendo, which I still have an unopened copy of. But most of my Bomberman memories really came from the Gameboy Bomberman. Anyway, Bomberman is great.

I got through Condemned over the weekend, and I gotta say that is a great game. I wish I had played it much earlier. It definitley makes the 360 launch lineup look so much better in retrospect. But there's one issue that bothers me. The flashlight. You can keep it on pointing straight while swinging your sledge-hammer like a suicidal kitty-killer. But see, I'm a fan of Doom 3. I enjoyed the aspect of the flashlight being a separate weapon from the rest of your arsenal. You used your flashlight to navigate dark areas, and once you encounter an enemy you pull out your fire-arm, dependent on the muzzle-flash to see. I like that. But almost every other gamer complained about it being lame, which is why the duct-tape mod was created. Panzies. Is the game easier for you now? Yeah, maybe the rifles could have had flashlight attachments, but c'mon. Remember playing through Sonic 2 and not being able to save? Yeah, games used to be challenging.

So anyway, in Condemned, your eternally battery-powered flashlight was apparently attached to your chest. I was still able to play through without that part getting to me, but it made me wonder if it was made like that because of the Doom 3 complaints. Think of how much creepier Condemned could have been? Fighting without a flashlight attached to your chest? Awesome. But whatever, the devs had to cater to panzies.

-Adam

500th Game

2007-07-12T03:08:00.001-05:00

Well, according to my IGN list anyway. I've sold and traded a few, and I have some duplicates...there might even be a title or two I didn't catalog. But Condemned is my 500th game as shown on my IGN game collection, right behind Headhunter on PS2 and Headhunter Redemption on XBox. I always meant to import Headhunter on my Dreamcast back in the day. It was a game a head of its time, but I never got around to it. The Dreamcast game I am proud of importing is Rez. Excellent, fun game.

But back to Condemned...what a great game. I saw a screen shot for the second and I figured I should go get the first since it's so cheap, and I always planned on playing through it. It's freaky, that's for sure. But what's interesting is how similar the themes are between that and F.E.A.R. The only difference is F.E.A.R. is more of a shooter, and Condemned is more of a brawler.

I try my best not to sell or trade in my games. But sometimes I come across a game that I really don't want, but could get some money for. Or, I'll have a game that someone else is willing to do a good trade for. I'll continue to build my collection, and if my career path continues to go the direction I want it, then acquiring that 1000th shouldn't be too hard.

I also put together a little Gamer Combine Myspace link:

-Adam

Goings Ons

2007-07-08T19:52:00.000-05:00

I decided to move away from the blogger.com format and go with a wordpress/hosting combination. I feel it would be better for me in that I will learn a lot more about coding and all that hosting/DNS/MySQL whatever crap. I honestly don't know what most of that means, just how to munipulate them. That should happen in the next few weeks...I'm just working way too much for now. Also this site doesn't look so hot in IE, but looks stunning in any other browser. So if you haven't already, go a head and set some other browser as your default.

There are a few games out there that I need to get. Not that they're hard to find or anything, but I just need to play through them and add to my collectoion.

God Hand
Air Force Delta Strike
Shadow of the Collossus
KoF 2006
Raiden III
Bangai-O
Border Down
SF3: Third Strike
Outtrigger
Trizeal

That's just a few off the top of my head...I know I want to get as many 2D fighters and SHMUPS as possible, especially on the Dreamcast.

I do hope Sony decides to drop the price on the PS3. It needs it. With one delay after another, the gaming library is looking a little bleak, and a larger install base would definitley remedy that. I would even consider picking one up for the Blu-ray capabilities...but then again, I'll need a newer HDTV.

I hope we hear soemthing new and/or exciting coming out of E3. For now it's just a battle bewteen consoles. A battle of who can get a deal on the biggest sequel.

-Adam

Gamerbucket

2007-07-05T03:02:00.000-05:00

Something new has been added to Gamer Combine this morning. And that is a total Photobucket rip-off. Honestly, the engine is there for future implementation within the site, but for now Gamer Combine can be used primarily for uploading and hosting pictures just like Photobucket. Example:

Yeah. That was some badass all-female beach party in Italy. Wish I was there. Anyway, as you can see, the photo is also a link back to the site, which gives you more options on how to use the photo. Remember, this is not the main point of Gamer Combine, but the progress we have made with the galleries.

-Adam

Transformers

2007-07-01T21:27:00.000-05:00

I usually don't go for the video game/movie tie-in, but the idea of being a transforming robot fighting other transforming robots in a city couldn't keep me away. So, I put $60 down on a game I knew would be mediocre. And that's what it is. But I can't get past the simple fun. Transforming and destruction. This is one of those titles you keep in your collection just to itch that scratch. The game is simple. You have an objective; either destroy this, or destroy that. Then, as a transformer you either drive or fly there, or you run around as a giant robot. It's satisfying fun.

But on the other hand, I wish more time would be put into titles like this. The graphics in Transformers are pretty damn good. But the single-player campaign is rather bland, consisting of just blowing up stuff. To be honest though, I wouldn't know how to make a good transformers game. To me it would have to be similar to Power Stone or the recent Godzilla games. A huge arena in a city or similar, where four or more transformers battle each other. But given the transforming ability, it could be a unique twist for a fighter.

I won't review the game because it's pretty much what we've come to expect. I'm going to try and knock out a few reviews here and there, but these will mainly be for titles that I think differently about than most people. I really don't like game reviewers. They use a terrible system and don't give enough information. You will never see me review a Final Fantasy game. I would rate it low because of my preference, so why take the time? I'll probably do a C&C3 review. Going from not expecting much, to looking to be pretty good, how did it finally fare?

I've tweaked my page some and I feel slightly satisfied from the results. I think there's a little more I can do, but for now I'll do these changes as I go.

-Adam

Under Construction

2007-06-29T02:10:00.001-05:00

I decided to change the site up a little. I got tired of the vertical scrolling. I decided instead to add a menu to the right-hand side, as well as my contact information. Also, you are correct, the search function on the right is just there for show. It's not working. So, for the next few days the site might be a little wonky. Yes, I'm talking to all three of you.

-Adam

PSFAIL

2007-06-28T00:42:00.000-05:00

I was messing around with the PS3 a little today. I played a few demos, checked out some movies, then decided to play a game. But I couldn't. Due to the 720p glitch, the PS3 is not compatible with my HDTV. What a bunch of crap. I do plan on getting a new set sometime in the future. I'd like to go a head and do 1080p, maybe a little larger as well, but I want the picture and color quality of a CRT. So, until then, I guess I don't really care about the PS3. There's going to have to be some major app to really get my attention. Warhawk, maybe?

Have I mentioned how much I love XBLA? There's just so much you can do there. I played a little of the Prince of Persia remake. I really liked what I played. It took me back. I'll most likely just purchase the whole thing. And aside from the Arcade, I checked out a few demos. I found Overlord to be quite fun, but I don't see myself paying $60 for it. Actually, that brings me to a new point.

Shadowrun. I enjoyed the demo. But will I pay $60 for it? No way. And it's cheaper on the PC. But that requires me to buy Vista. So, not only am I paying $100+ for Vista, but also $50 a year on Live to play a $50 multiplayer only game. I'm not really into that.

-Adam

Bluegamer Icon

2007-06-27T02:14:00.001-05:00

I figured out how to add a 'favorites' icon for the site. I hope it's not considered stealing, but this is a custom icon I made in Halo 2. I like the icon a lot because of the symmetry, the falcon/eagle/aves, and it's a design that I never saw when playing Halo 2. Now, the bird was used a lot, but not the diamond shape behind it.

There's a good read on 1up.com. Yeah, I know that sounds silly, but it's a good read because it's from Evil Avatar's Kefkataran. He's a good guy. We have gotten into it over the moon landing(I'm the minority), but we represent a sort of gamesmanship over the world wide web that would identify the hardcore gamers. He also runs the Evil Avatar Radio Show. But back to the point.

The article on 1up.com discusses a poor individual who has had eleven 360's replaced for him - because they broke. Now, we all know those failure numbers are large, but someone having to suffer like this is sick. I'd say more here, but you can read the article yourself.

Brother's In Arms on the DS is fantastic. A third-person WWII shooter with a cover system. On a hand-held. It works great, really. All you have to do is walk up to a wall and it will automatically cover for you. Use the stylus as your 'aim' analog stick, and aim for the enemy. Press the left trigger to fire, and your soldier leaps out from behind cover and fires. Amazing feat for a handheld.

I have a PS3 in my possession. I should be hooking it up tomorrow morning to get a feel of what I haven't spent $600. I know I need one. After all, owning every console could be a part of my 'future career' here on the crazy internets. Or so I'd like it to be.

-Adam

Quake Wars Tweaks

2007-06-25T01:56:00.000-05:00

A poster on the Evil Avatar forums posted a tiny tweak guide that actually makes Quake Wars play at an enjoyable level. Basically, it turns of a 30fps lock, which I find to be unnecessary for the Beta. It is probably on to keep everyone's game running at a similar level, possibly to create less technical problems for people trying to enjoy playing on lower-end systems. The odd thing about that is this is a Beta. Usually people that play a Beta have pretty decent rigs, or know how to adjust settings for it to play well. I used the following instructions:

First off, go to My Documents/Enemy Territory Quake Wars Beta/base. This is where we'll be doing our work.

You have to have "Hide File Extensions for known file types" unchecked in Control Panel --> Folder Options --> View on Windows XP.

Create a new text document and name it "autoexec.cfg"

Now you have a blank CFG file.

Note: The cfg tweaks I'm giving you here are basic, and are targeted towards systems with 1-2 GB of RAM, a 256MB videocard that's decent, and having a max of 60 FPS. If you've got an 8800 series, you can change it to 90 FPS or so for even smoother gameplay.

Copy the following into it...
Code:

r_useSMP 1
image_useCache 1
image_cacheMegs 256
image_cacheMinK 3072
cm_backFaceCull 1
r_usePortals 1
r_orderIndexes 1
r_useOptimizedShadows 1
r_useShadowCulling 1
r_useLightCulling 3
r_ignoreGLErrors 1
r_useIndexBuffers 0
r_useStateCaching 1
r_useVertexBuffers 1
r_useCachedDynamicModels 1
r_useTwoSidedStencil 1
r_useTurboShadow 1
r_useShadowVertexProgram 1
r_useShadowProjectedCull 1
r_useTripleTextureARB 1
r_useConstantMaterials 1
g_projectileLights 1
image_preload 1
com_showfps 1
com_unlock_timingmethod 1
com_unlockFPS 1
com_unlock_maxfps 60

Save and you're done! This also enables an FPS counter in the corner, if you don't like it erase the "com_showfps 1" line.

Using the above, I also changed the maxfps to 90 given my Sli setup. I enjoyed the match I played. Aiming was much more enjoyable and I actually leveled-up. It still has its issues, though, but this is much more promising.

-Adam

Resident Evil And Quake Wars

2007-06-24T20:45:00.000-05:00

I now have a Wii. I never really planned on getting one before Mario Galaxy or Smash Bros., but my half-brother is leaving for Korea and offered me his Wii plus extras for $150. I had to bite. But honestly I haven't played much, which is the reason why I wouldn't buy one anytime soon - there's nothing to play on it. I guess you can say the VC library is robust enough to warrant a purchase, but I'm a hardcore gamer. I already own the VC titles in their original form(not every single one, but you know what I mean...).

Moving on, a friend of mine let me borrow Resident Evil 4 for the Wii. I played through it on the GameCube, so I wasn't really in a hurry for a re release. Well, last night after a night at the clubs, I came home with an urge to give RE4 a shot. Loading up I noticed the aliasing was atrocious. It might have also been like that on the GameCube...but that was a while ago. Then the first action sequence arrived, and holding down the 'B' button, Leon's gun aims and a green reticule appears. Using the wimote like a gun, I point and shoot at the villagers...and it was fun. I continued through the beginning just a bit and realized these Wii controls do justice. I decided I'll be selling off my copy of Paper Mario, and using the money for RE4. It's only $30. That's pretty damn good.

I also got into the Quake Wars Beta, via FilePlanet. so far...not too impressed. Just aiming and shooting felt very clunky. And it's not a performance issue - the game looks decent; not trying to show off amazing graphics in exchange for smooth play on loaded servers. After a few play-throughs, I got an itchin' for Battlefield 2142...which I promptly inserted into my DVD-drive and began playing.

We'll see what the future holds for QW...it has a lot of potential and being a Beta might explain the lack of...anything.

-Adam

Welcome To The Syndicate - Gamer Combine

2007-06-23T14:52:00.000-05:00

Well I'm working on something new that I would like to share with everyone. It's called Gamer Combine. It's like Myspace and facebook, but exclusively for gamers. I'm working with a buddy of mine, Jason, who pretty much confirms the existence of God through coding. He sits down in front of his Mac laptop and types away in CSS, creating my vision. You can check it out here - Gamer Combine - but so far, there's not much to it other than the forums. Pretty soon, like Myspace and Facebook, you'll be creating a profile about yourself, but not about your social life. It will be all about your gaming life. You'll display all of your gamer ID's, achievements, pics of your avatars and gaming setups, as well as putting together tournaments and competitions. There's a lot in-store for Gamer Combine, I just can't wait to get there.

-Adam

The Post About C&C3

2007-04-15T18:09:00.000-05:00

I'm a huge C&C fan. Even compared to Blizzard's games, I've always thought the C&C franchise was usperior. One question about Blizzard's RTSs always ran though my mind: Why a unit cap?

But anyway, C&C3 hit. That was probably the most anticipated game for me in a long while. I've played the crap out of it. EA could have done better though...to be honest it is better than I thought, but it's still lacking. A lot of Tiberian Sun is missing. The game was primarily made by C&C fans which would be good as a mod community, but not as a primary dev. So, instead of a C&C evolution we get another C&C game. And like I said, that's fine. But it could have been better.

There are many issues that need to be adressed, and haven't yet. I'll list them here:

-With the Tiberium Infusion, Nod infantry is immune to the affect of Tiberium. Yet, I still get a warning that my units are under attacking when they're standing in the Tiberium.

-Online Ranking. Updates oddly, or not at all. Too many dissconnectors that get away with it. This is usually done by repeatedly hitting the F12(screenshot) key. It's sickening, and I've been affected by it. Not cool.

-Planning mode. works awesome until a point. Orders given to an aircraft have no way of reproducing the same orders from their airfeild unless you set all new waypoints, which looks messy and is time consuming. Possibly overlooked, possibly intentional...but better not be the latter.

-This might be me, but I think it's universally understood. There are some useless units, like infantry. Anything can really counter infantry, so there's really no point to build them unless you just want to garrison buildings. And even then it's pretty simple to flush them out. I wish there was a medic. You could micro to keep it alive while it keeps your men alive to fight. Creates more veteraned untis.

-If you build a structure in a units path, it will stop - just like an ant. Very annoying, especially if you didn't realize this happened. Very costly time-wise.

-In a 2v2 game, if you get destroyed but your team mate wins the game, it still counts as a loss for you. Does that make sense? It is possible that the losing player affected the game to the point that gave his/her team mate the chance to pull a win.

-When you have a group of Shadow Team land in an enemy base, sometimes only a few will land. Because of this, you may not have enough of them that second to destroy a building, or the AA will end up killing the ones that didn't land. Very frustrating.

-The text of the chat system in multiplayer is horrid. Small and invisible depending on the color.

If I think of more I'll add it on. It sucks. Even Generals had some problems that EA didn't bother fixing. But why? I don't think they hate us. Was it a problem that none of their programers could even deal with? Are some problems too costly? It makes no sense really.

There's supposed to be a C&C3 podcast tomorrow. They also mentioned a huge balance change that would make tank spamming obsolete. I'm interested in what they have to say.

I'll be out for now.

-Adam

Catching Up

2007-01-15T22:36:00.000-06:00

Okay, so to start off, I've been back in forth with my 360 and PC. Dark Crusade on PC is just amazing. I love CoH, but Dark Crusade is just that much better. This is the direction in which RTS's are going(although, in reality CoH brings along more new RTS features than DC).

The 360 has been full of R6:V, Assault Heroes, and a few other titles. Vegas is just damn sweet. I love the ranked multiplayer implementation of upgrades. Battlefield started this idea, and it seems to be continuing. Another game I got recently is Call of Duty 3, which has the same type of multiplayer.

I was at Best Buy today and saw a ton of PS3's. It's just not as hot as it should be. What would make it hotter? Maybe some games. It has Resistance which might be a good game, but when consoles are launched, they should include system sellers. Why did the PS3 not have any system sellers? Was Sony banking on Blu-Ray? I don't know, but all I know is they don't care.

I tried out the 360 HD-DVD player and wasn't too impressed. Either I need a 1080p set, or I just need a real player using HDMI. Standard DVD's don't upconvert. So, that's pretty dissapointing.

-Adam

This Is How I Feel

2006-12-02T14:46:00.000-06:00

I finally got my 360 back from Microsoft. This thing is silent, which is good. Well, not totally silent but a lot quieter. Anyway, I borrowed Gears of War from my little brother. I finally got the chance to play it. But honestly, I was underwhelmed. Shooting felt odd. It never really felt like you were hitting your enemy. And there wasn't much to it. Just advance and flank. I'm dissapointed really, because from wathcing my brothers play, and doing the little bit of playing I did before hand, it seemed wonderful. Now, it's not a bad game. But I won't be buying it for $60. But I'll eventually get it. The online multiplayer was even boring. I can see co-op being fun, which could be what the dev team was focused on.

At the same time I bought Rainbow Six: Vegas. It's a great fucking game. The singleplayer story is just awesome, but then the online component just blew me away. I'm still not into the whole lobby thing though. Halo 2 did it right. I want to just select quickmatch and be in a game rather quickly. Except in this and Gears, you have a few rooms to select from, join, and then wait for others to join. But I like that you gain experience, equip your own character, and even use your own mug via the Xbox Live Vision Camera.

Having my 360 back has kept me away from Battlefield 2142 unfortunately. I really like that game. More options for leveling up your character is a must, as it keeps me playing the game. There are still a few bugs that need to be worked out, but given time EA should get to it. Damn you EA.

That's it for now.

-Adam

Supreme Commander

2006-11-15T01:49:00.000-06:00

Boy, did today suck. First of all I wake up to the fact that I don't have to go to work. That is one good thing. But the internet was down, and I had to contact Time Warner at a certain number...which didn't work. In the meantime I figure I'd wait for my 360. It never showed up. So no internet and no 360. I went crazy. I even started writing a James Bond script. Later in the evening I was on the phone with Time Warner for about THREE HOURS, finally getting my internet up. Hopefully my 360 comes in tomorrow, I really want to play Gears of War.

I tried the Supreme Commander Beta. Interesting game. I love RTS's and am always waiting for something new. Company of Heroes set the fucking standard. SC is unique. During the one match I played, I didn't understand a damn thing I was doing. I need a single-player demo. And that's my conclusion.

Tomorrow I might be picking up a new processor. Dual-core. Make my baby rock even more. Well, that's it for now. Bungie is announcing something Halo 3 related at two a.m. We'll see what that's all about soon enough.

-Adam

Worst Time For This

2006-11-10T00:59:00.000-06:00

Gears of War came out Tuesday, and damn, I wanted to play it so bad. Yes. Wanted. You know what happened? My 360 died. Three red lights on the ring of life. Now, it was an older console. And by old, I mean manufactured before January of this year. Not too long back Microsoft said they would repair/replace any broken 360's that were manufactured before January. Then, a few weeks later or so, they released the Fall Update. After the update I was reading on the internet that it bricked a few consoles. Luckily, mine was fine. After a few days it kept freezing up in BF2, showing random graphical errors and such. Now, this didn't persist for too long. But then, one morning after a few good rounds of BF2, my system crashed. I tried turning it back on and got the three red lights. Luckily I called Microsoft about it, and they hooked me up with a repair.

But how could they write code, as a mandatory update, that would brick a console? Reading about the update, I learned it required over 4 million lines of code. Well hell, you could mess up anywhere in there. But you shouldn't. I think this was done on purpose. Mainly meant to destroy modded 360's. Or, to destroy the older consoles, because only the new ones are compatible with the HD-DVD drive. Yes, conspiracies. But, fuck, I really don't care that much.

The point is, I can't fucking play GoW or CoD3. That really blows. Hopefully I'll get it back sometime next week. Two days shipping there, two days shipping back. It sucks. But at least I have my PC.

So anyway, GoW has been getting some very, very positive reviews and comments all over the internets. My site of frequent, Evil Avatar, is one hell of a site to judge a game by. The community is very well spoken for a group of gamers. And it's unanimous. They love GoW.

The following little tidbit was found over there at EvAv. Apparently, Alain Tascan, general manager for Electronic Arts Montreal, disagrees with GoW. He's trying to say that it's way too overrated.

"What is Gears of War? I mean Gears of War brings nothing in terms of innovation to the shooter... Like, zero."

Ok. This coming from a Manger at EA? EA, as we all know, puts out crap. If Warren Spector said this? Sure. Will Wright? Yeah. But a douche from EA? Please. They fucked the Bond franchise up so bad, that now Activision has it. Fucking Madden on PSP can't even play right because they couldn't code a game. So really, this man has no room to talk. I could go on and on about EA's mishaps, but that's just a broken record.

While GoW is almost another standard shooter, it takes that 'standard shooter' and adds so much more to it that needed to be done. They made a great arcadey shooter with immense tactical elements. On top of an incredible engine. It is extremely different. If you ask someone what it plays like, saying 'Quake' isn't good enough. Saying 'GRAW' isn't good enough. Saying Quake and GRAW got together one night, dropped a bunch of pills and finished a bottle of everclear, then took a limo ride home where nothing of the night is remembered, except for a positive pregnancy exam the next morning, leading to the birth of GoW...then you did a good job of explaining the game.

EA just don't get it.

Well, I'm glad I finally made a post. That EA bullshit just pissed me off enough to write about it. I wish I'd get my ass to post more, but between work, playing video games, and my girlfriend...my life is pretty much covered.

-Adam

Where are the gamers?

2006-09-22T12:06:00.000-05:00

So, people will skip out on the XBox consoles and the games they offer, just because of a grudge they have on the company? After the recent announcment of Ninga Gaiden Sigma for PS3, all the trolls come pooring out of the woodwork in excitment, finally able to play Ninja Gaiden But wait...why didn't they play it when it was originally released? Some people have this hatred for MS, that doesn't really make sense. Its like those punk rockers. They want Linux so they can do what they want. You know what...I'm not gonna get into that rant, so I'll get back to what I really want to say.

You are not a true gamer if you didn't own an XBox.

You don't consider yourself a true gamer? That's fun, but I'm not going to listen to anything you have to say, so if I'm an ass, get over it.

Ninja Gaided revived true gaming. It was lost during the Playstation era. the PS became mainstream, offering quick pick-up-and play titles, slowly diminishing the hardcore. When was the last SHMUP released in the states? Yeah. So we got these so called 'hardcore-gamers' who don't even own an Xbox, and frown upon Ninja Giaden. Now that it's being released on the PS3, these so called 'hardcore gamers' are now cheering and joy, given the chance that they can finally play a last gen game on a $600 console. Dumbasses.

Second point. Someone at Evil Avatar proclaimed NG as being Overrated! What the fuck? I know everyones got their own opinions, but it's a fact that NG wasn't overrated...it got very good reviews and a lot of people agreed with those reviews, except for the one or two that thought it was too hard. Yeah too hard...so they don't like it. No joke. Since the Playstation generation started, gaming has been in the panzy era. Games are easy, gamers complain when a game is too short(easily beaten), yet complain when a game is too hard. Fuck, I don't know. Maybe gaming is way too mainstream nowadays. No, not maybe...it IS too mainstream.

So, for me, it's hard to visit a gaming community where you don't hear this kind of crap. No matter where you go, you will find Anti-xbox activists. Until MS does something to further diminish the gaming scene, cheers to them, and boo to Sony.

-Adam

Achievements, PDZ, Travel, and PS3

2006-08-28T19:49:00.000-05:00

I'm loving the Achievement aspect of the 360. I will play games just to get them!!! It's sad, but it's also fun as hell. It goes toward your gamer score, and well, I want a huge gamer score. I got to a point in NFS:MW where I can't beat anyone, and I don't have any money for upgrades. I bought an A6 and got to the third Blacklist rival. But I'm stuck. I'd love to finish this game before Test Drive...I can't see myself working through more than one racer at a time.

The Demo for Just Cause is just brilliant. I bet this game would've slipped under the radar if it wasn't for its Marketplace availability. I'll be picking it up for sure...and I hope the achievement count is un-godly....hehehe...

I got Perfect Dark Zero the other day from a friend. I like the graphics, I like the gameplay, but the level design is off. I get lost so many times playing any particular map. Goldeneye and Perfect Dark were fucking awesome. But what happened to PDZ? This could have been so good. I haven't played online much though, and from the looks of it, it could be very fun. I spent countless hours on the original though. The single-player was great! I was hoping for the same from this one...

This Friday I leave for Brazil for 10 days. I can't effin' wait, BUT that means a week without my 360! That's going to be tough. All the achievements I could be getting...

The PS3. Still nothing good coming out of it. Even fucking Penny-Arcade dogged on the price model. But I'm in agreeance with them. I'm not paying $600 on launch with a release list like that. Yeah, a few good games... but for $600 up front, that's not getting me much use out of it for a long time. The Blu-Ray theory has yet to be proven.

Current 360 games I'm trying to aquire:
Burnout Revenge (could be getting this one soon...)
Battlefield: Modern Combat
N3 (priced too high)
Ghost Recon: Advance Warfighter

- Adam

Dead Rising

2006-08-15T19:39:00.000-05:00

It's finally out. The reason I bought a 360. Dead Rising is pure zombie killing fun. Along with that, though, is a deep, challenging single-player adventure. An adventure I haven't experienced since Ninja Gaiden. While the main idea around Dead Rising is to fight zombies and survive in the mall, the game also invloves saving people, leveling up, a deep story line with slight story-line branching, and so many weapons to slaughter the dead. It's deep, man. The , while hard initially, becomes a trohpy piece for a skilled master. Just like Ninja Gaiden, you'll squeel, run, and hide...almost overcome by the difficulty sheer challenges. But after leveling up and figuring out routine boss patterns, it's an adventure to gloat about.

One problem, which is not a problem for me, is that the text is unreadable on HDTV's. Text, as in, mission objectives that get you through the game. My brother is 13. He was able to save up allowance and trade in his games for Dead Rising, but he can't dot hat for an HDTV. So, I feel sorry for him when he asks me what he needs to do next....because there's no way for him to know.

Straight form Joystiq via Evil Avatar:

"Dear Everyone, I have heard your concerns and passed them to every source within Capcom possible. I feel your pain as I, myself, have a large SDTV and am having trouble reading the mission objectives, item names, etc.I'd like you all to know we have heard your concerns and take them seriously. I have been seeing campaigns on other forums to send hundreds of emails to our support email. Unfortunately this doesn't expedite or increase the importance of the concern in any way, but it does take time and resources from other fans' equally deserving concerns. All concerns are always important to us and we do what we can.We also would like you to know that we appreciate your feedback as the game was just released and it's feedback from our fans and gamers that make our games great. We appreciate your continued support of Capcom products!"

Hmmmm...doesn't sound like they plan on fixing the issue. But I hope they do.

-Adam

It took way too long, but I finally got a 360

2006-08-07T23:49:00.000-05:00

I finally got a 360. Why did I wait? Honestly, not many good games. But with Dead Rising around the corner, I had to go get one right away, and luckily that moment happened to appear.

My friend had a deal: Premium Console, Oblivion: CE, CoD2, Fight Night, second gamepad, wireless adapter, two play-and-charge kits, one quick charge kit, and a faceplate. Price? $500. I swooped that bitch up, ran home, and instantly downloaded Dead Rising.

CoD2 is pretty boring. I found someone on GameTZ to trade with, for Need for Speed: Most Wanted. That demo was damn fun and I love a pretty racer. I found Oblivion to be pretty stale, so I plan on trading that aswell. The game is huge, with so much to do, but all that needed to ruin it for me was the DAMN A.I. The first time my own buddy jumped infront of me while I was attacking, causing him injury, then the slaying of me, was enough to get me to press the 'X' and then the Y button to return to the dashboard. Maybe they should have made the game world smaller, and made the artificial intelligence, oh I dunno......intelligent?!?! Fight Night is just a great game with a few buds...and the graphics are effin' mind-blowing. I borrowed GRAW from a friend and have been enjoying the heck out of it, especially online.

So, this wednesday I'll be picking up Dead Rising and devoting my life to it.

I'm waiting for the Leipzig Game Convention. Not that I'm going, but I want more C&C3 info. I want to believe that EA can do us some good. The recent shots and podcasts have been setting my hopes high. They're doing things I didn't expect them to do.

End of summer...so things are slow. Not much to really rant about, but oh, it's coming.

-Adam

P.S. Tell me what you think about this smaller font. I like it better. But you might not.

First Review

2006-06-28T01:12:00.000-05:00

A lucky few of you get to be a part of history. My first review. Isn't that awesome? Well I bought Sonic Rush today for the DS, and I posted my thoughts in a very biblical form.

I also bought an Intec case for the DS Lite. I got very anal with the older DS case and PSP sleeve I had. I wanted an effing safe to keep this thing from getting contaminated. I liked this one. You can fit a few games in there and possibly the charger...I didn't check.

Circuit City is having a big sale for the 4th of July weekend. I'm hoping to get a copy of Metroid Pinball for $9. The sale has kind of started already, and my brother got the last copy of that game. Word is they pulled the games off the shelf...I hope it's true...

-Adam

Save Me

2006-06-25T18:45:00.000-05:00

Okay, here's a round-up of all my thoughts on the current/next gen consoles.

XBox360: Could use more games, but it's showing off some cool stuff. Live! is just amazing, and the Live Arcade turned into much more than I thought. Microsoft is doing good, picking up where Sega left off their legacy.

Wii: Cheap and good gameplay. That's what we need to get to and Nintendo is doing it. It's good that they aren't focusing too heavily on graphics and are trying to get good gameplay out the door. Finally jumping on the online bandwagon, they are offering updates while you sleep and downloadable old-school games.

PS3: Opposite of Nintendo. Exspensive console with NOTHING. Might be good for JapRPG fans, but that's only if you're willing to fork over all that cash. $600 is just too much. And you're paying for a Blu-Ray DVD player that's hardly worth it. The mainstream are just about finished furnishing their homes with HDTV's, but now Sony wants them to buy new HDTV's with 1080p? I'm sorry, but sell your console for $300 with everything mentioned but the Blu-Ray capabilities, and you got yourself a decent deal. And create a library of games. Sony's sure people will buy on the brand name alone.

I got into a discussion on save points in games. Someone complained of a certain title not having enough save points. IMO, that's pretty weak. Games are way too easy and a lot of that has to do with save points. Remember the original Mario and Sonic? You couldn't save your game if you wanted to go eat. Having few save points allows for a much more intense gameplay experience. The more save options you have, the less likely you'll take a section of that game seriously, throwing the feel and atmosphere right out the window. But gaming has become more mainstream, so I have to suffer for it.

The DS Lite has been taking up a lot of my time. The New Super Mario Brothers is fantastic, not to mention Mario Kart online. Hopefully I'll be back soon with a review or two...of something.

-Adam

Something New

2006-06-20T16:16:00.000-05:00

Ok. So it's been years. I'm a hardcore gamer, and I've always tried getting a good gaming blog up and running. This will be the end all, be all gaming blogs with my blunt and honest opinions on various topics.

-Adam