Saturday, April 16, 2005

Saw A Shut-Out Last Night

I was at the Padre/Dodgers game last night, and Derek Lowe was amazing. The game was over in just a little over 2 hours...no runs allowed, and only four hits. Thats what I call a nice game.

I was going to do a MobCast from the game...but I forgot the number and it wasn't saved on mey cell phone.

I also got to see Ruban Studdard (2 yrs ago American Idol winner) sing the national anthem and the tribute to Robinson. It was a nice game.

Friday, April 15, 2005

MS Wants To Spend Developer's Money

Standard TVs are not going to cut it for any Xbox booths at this year's E3.

Apparently, MS has set up a stipulation that all developers must use 720p HD Ready TVs to display any Xbox 2 data.

720p looks nice, in case you've never seen it. And, with the stipulation that the TVs must be Ready, not just compatable. This mean clear, perfect picture that is in no way scaled down.

For MS, the HD Era has officialy begun. But, MS has bette not start telling ME I need a 720p TV to play Xbox Next.

We're Getting Fixed

On Monday, Bungie will release the AutoUpdate that will (hopefully) fix the game for the better.

The update, which was long in coming, and hyped more by Bungie than by anybody else, will change just about everything sbout the game, from the weapons to the flags.

Also, Bungie revieled they will be clearing the leaderboards.

I think thats stupid, crass and just plain idiotic, but, hey, I'm not on their pay roll. I belive that it is going to only make things worse, not better. Not at all. With rankings reset, we all go back to zero. That means for at least a week, you r be playing the same guys that were at the top of the leaderboards. And that's no fun. Not at all.

Now, for the first four maps...

Thursday, April 14, 2005

Looking in UBI's Crystal Ball

Or just their E3 lineup. This looks like a solid year for both UbiSoft and Xbox as they finish their relationship together, which probably, besides the MS-Bungie one, is the best in the world right now.

Here's the offical lineup, taken from www.teamxbox.com:
My Comments in Slant

AND 1 Streetball [PlayStation 2]: Experience the jaw-dropping moves of genuine streetball legends or establish your reputation by creating your own unique moves and signature style.
Can it take on EA? Dosn't EA own part of UBI?

Far Cry Instincts [Xbox]: The PC survival shooter and smash hit of 2004 re-imagined for console gamers.
Nothing to say here. This is a serious game of the year contender.

Heroes of Might & Magic V [PC]: The legendary heroic fantasy game returns, based on features and values of the original saga, but with a more mature fantasy universe and unrivaled innovation.

187 Ride or Die [Xbox, PlayStation 2]: Outrageous urban combat racing comes to life as you defend your turf.
Odd. But UBI likes Odd. Like Chessmaster.

Peter Jackson’s King Kong [Xbox, PlayStation 2, next-generation console]: Experience the must-have game based on Universal Pictures’ King Kong film from Academy Award winning director Peter Jackson.
Going to suck. Jackson was a one-time wonder with LOTR. But, Next Gen? Nice Indeed. Only more confirmation Xbox Next is coming soon.

Prince of Persia 3 [Xbox, PlayStation 2]: Blending the winning elements from the first two masterpieces to bring a unique and unexpected twist to the award-winning franchise.
News to me. I'm not in to the whole Ninja game, but the POP series has always been nice.

Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (working title) [Xbox]: Experience the most gripping and famous battles of World War II through the eyes of a squadron commander and ace fighter pilot.
Xbox-Only! Nice!

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 3 (working title) [next-generation console]: Next-generation console technology meets the soldier of the future to revolutionize the classic squad-based shooter.
Did they really have to annouce this? But, Next Gen is a nice hint!

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Lockdown [Xbox, PlayStation 2]: The critically acclaimed multiplayer experience returns with the all new Rivalry Mode and Persistent Elite Creation Mode.

America’s Army: Rise of a Soldier [Xbox, PlayStation 2]: The most authentic military game to date incorporating true-to-life character progression with an all-new Career mode (displayed at the U.S. Army Booth, #1608 in the South Hall).
The AA always seemed to me like propaganda. Weird stuff.

Bungie to Play New Maps!

This week's Humpday provided something a little unusual: a tidbit of info on the new Halo 2 maps. Heres the quote:

"Stay tuned next week for a super special edition of the Humpday Challenge. It will be played here in the studio, face-to-face with our opponents, on new maps!"

The maps are coming. I. Can't. Wait. Any. Longer.

People.Must.Think.Putting.Periods.After.Every.word.is.cool.and.
makes.me.seem.more.excited. becuase. see. all.the. punk.twelve.year.olds.in.the.forums.doing.this.wow.i.am.so.cool.now.

Upload YOUR Video

Heres a link so that you too can upload your very own video files to Google Video.

Be sure that they are CC Licensed or below.

https://upload.video.google.com/

Google Does Video

The guys that first changed web searching, then the web itself, are now aiming to change the world of video content.

Google Video, which opened in early Beta today, will allow people to upload video content, then allow others to search for it, watch clips, or buy the file.

Right now, Google is accepting "applications" for your video file to be included in the Beta, which will release at a YTBD date, probably late summer.

I think this will be really nice. The MPAA keeps complaining about illegal downloads...what it needs is what iTunes did for music, a nice way to look, try, and buy ligitmatly. I heard rumors that Sony was attempting something of the same...but since Sony distributes movies, it would never be the same as iTunes (think a Virgin Records owned version). But, if Google could do the samething, that would be cool.

To be clear, this current project is for Creative Commons only, no Major Motion Pictures allowed. Thats still a dream.

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

In Xbox 1 News Today...

DLC was reviled for almost every game except for Halo 2. Looks like GR 2 is getting a full new upgrade, which looks really nice (A typical UBI DLC, awsome). Also, looks like Snowblind is alreadly getting some DLC. I still have to buy that game...

It's getting sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo old now with no new DLC. Hurry up!

Xbox Next, This Year and For Less then $300

If the best investment firm out there is to be belived, Xbox Next will release this year and will cost about the same as Xbox 1.

This comes as, well, good news. It's clear the next generation is indeed upon us, and zI'd like to get started on it. And for as little money as possible.

But it is still all rumor untill E3. Remeber, noithing is final and occial until the big MS sings it out loud. Rumors are cool and fun to listen to, but, in the end, they are just rumors, and it's hard to get real excited about anything that could be total BS.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Possible PGR3 Pic?

TeamXbox reported today on a possible pic from PGR3. It looks nice. Real, real really nice. I mean like piss my pants nice.

Whether it's real, fake or total BS, I don't know nor care. It has managed to peak my interest in a profund way. I can now no longer wait the month or so untill E3.

Untill then, let's all hope that it's from in-game.

Sunday, April 10, 2005

New ARG

Seems like Microsoft likes the ARGs. And whats not to like about spending a few hundred dollars to do the same thing as a million dollar ad campagin?

The Coloney is a new ARG set up to promote the next Xbox. It should be interesting.

The password you need to get in rhymese with "hay" and is four-letters long. It starts with a P.

Half Life 2 Confirmed (Sorta) For Xbox 1

Looks likes OXM has reveiled that Valve is working on getting an Xbox version of the popular, game-of-the-year FPS over to the Xbox. And, not Xbox Next.

I, personally, don't trust much info that comes from OXM...but IGN apparently does, at least enough to post a story on their main page.

I would love to see it come over to Xbox. It's a great game. The only real problem with the news is that why would Valve choose Xbox 1 over Xbox 2? The game won't release untill at least late summer, and by then, Xbox Next will be around the corner.

I assume the reason is that they started working on it awhile ago. In that case, rock on! I can't wait!