Metal Gear Creator Loves 360...Newsweek Hates It

In the latest round of console war battles, two "forces" took sides today. One matters more than than the other.

For 360
Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear creator

Aganst 360
Newsweek

SW:ROTS: The VideoGame

I also got a chance to play the videogame of ROTS this weekend at a freind's house. Heres a review:

Graphics
Utterly horrible. Really, it's pretty bad.

Controls
Nice, but tends to lead into button-mashing histaria.

Camera
No control. At all. And it sucks.

Gameplay
Would be awsome on a GMA or PSP, but on Xbox it just gets boring, fast. The movie clips are cool though, and it does feel like your in the movie. Plus, RPG-like leveling up makes the game a tad bit more deep. But it's still just knee level.

Multiplayer
It has a 2 Vs 2 Jedi dual that rocks...but again is plaged by the above (Controls, camera, etc). You can play as a lot of cool Jedi, like Old Obi-wan, Dooku, Vader and Grevious...but wheres Yoda and Palpy?

It also has a 2 player co-op that sucks. I personaly think they made it wayyy to hard even for two people...and the one person dies, game over rule still sucks.

Overall
This game is just not worth the $49.99. Maybe $19, but not full price. It may have been better before the movie was out, but now, just go see the movie. With pocorn, it'll probably cost the same, and be alot better.
About a 6/10

Madagascar Movie

I saw Madagascar this weekend, and I must say I was impressed. Sure, it still has to sink down to the "poo" joke level at times, but there are several parts of the movie that are much more sphisticated. It's no Pixar movie by any means...but it is in the same field as say Shrek. I really would recomend any parent to take any child to go see it....as it was deffinatly worth the 10 bucks in laughs. Not quite ROTS type...but still good.

In the field of ROTS, I'm planning to go see it for a third time this weekend, in digital. It's playing in Irvine, about 45 minutes fro m my house. I'll blog about how it looked. If anyone else has alreadly seen it, please e-mail me your thoughts.

This Blog's Almost a Year Old

Which reminds me...where are the applicants for the StarD Tourny? I really wanted it to take place for the 1 years benchmark...but so far NO ONE has e-mailed me ANYTHING. I've got some cool prizes lined up...and depending on how many people sign up the better they get. Right now I'm looking at either a PSP or an Xbox 360 for the winner. (Yes, you'll still have to wait till the November Launch date...I'm not that cool).

Email (Stardrummer@gmail.com) to sign up!

School is Almost Over!

I can't belive it's June alreadly. The year is only about 6 days from being over! Yeah! June 9 can't come fast enough.

Remember when I started blogging wayyyyyy back in August? My first couple posts were on the first week of school. Perhaps I should blog the last week in the same way. How's that for the closer.

After All This Time...NO, I'm Not Dead

OK, I'm officaly back. These last two weeks have been, frankly, pure hell in my life. So much to do, so little time.

But, anyway, now I'm back. And as long as my internet dosn't crap out on me again, I'll be here for a long, long time.

It's good to be back. Now, for a rapid amount of small posts... watch out! Take cover!

PS3 V. Xbox 360

The fight has started, and this time Xbox is the under-powered machine. It would be a rather interesting debate, except for these idots trying to change it via unfair means.

WTF is up with those stats MN put up over at his blog? I seriously question both sides data...and better yet, how does MS know Sony's data?

WTF is up with TeamXbox tryin to start something. First they try make waves with "Factor 5" going to PS3...a company you've probably never heard of unless you own a GameCube...beucase before they went over to the NGC because it is clearly the "better machine".

Then they post this PS5 crap.

Stop trying to make waves...let it be a fair fight, and let the better console regin. Just for the record, I predict the PS3 will. But I still LOVE Xbox.

Late Posts

My Internet broke down last week and I just got it fized today. Because I couldn't actully post them to the blog, I just wrote them down in Word first. They are actual...and the time is about the time I did write them...so, take a journey back in time, back to Wednesday and read on...

Reaction to ROTS

(Note: Contains Spoliers)

Best. Star Wars. Ever.

As you can guess, I loved ROTS. By far, it is the best SW movie ever. There was just so much action...every moment was good. Sure the acting sucks. Sure the lines are corny at best, sickening at worst, but man, the fight scenes are cool.

The Dooku scene rocks.

Mace Windo was awsome.

I love Yoda and the Wokkies.

Seeing Anakin kill "Younglings" was great.

Anakin getting his ass kicked was priceless.

And Yoda losing too.

Every fight seemed monumentus...and the saga now blends perfectly. Everything that should have happened, happened. And it happened right.

And for those tuck on the Qui-gon thing at the end, heres what it means. Remeber in V and VI Obi-wan talks to Luke right? How does he do that since he's dead? Qui-gon teaches him on Tatooine. It's the reason Obi-wan gave up fighting so easily in IV. The book makes this more clear, as Qui-gon talks to Yoda several times.

But where were these scenes?
-Mon Momtha? (action figure)
-Padma as an Egyptian (Poster)
-The Ackbar guys?
-Panaka scene w/ Palpy

Just a Few Seconds...

Just about 5 minutes till ROTS!! Can't wait!

And an usher is coming to take my laptop away. Stop! Let me hit publish first! I think I hav g

Waitin' In Line

I just settled in for my 7 hour wait to see SW:ROTS over in a small theather in Redlands. I can't belive how many people are out here. Redlands is a small town, not remotly close to being on a small map, and this theather only has 14 screens, and it's the only one in town, yet there are easily 600+ people in front of me.

As I write this, a few people are getting behind me and looking over my shoulder...

It is one hell of a sight...700 people , half with lightsabers and Vader masks jumping up and down, the other half with either an iPod or a laptop (I have both), and a few people with tents and TVs.

This movie better be good...

On a side note...no E3 Posting for today. :(

Fresh E3 News: Tuesday

Today at E3 a lotta info was released...heres a recap, console by console.

Nintendo Revolution

• Shown
• Will have WiFi support at launch
• No controller details...yet
• DL all Ninetendo games, ever
• Free online
• Very small
• GameCube games will work

Gameboy Micro

• Shown
• No real info on communication
• WiFi

Nintendo DS

• WiFi support: Free and this year
• Several games annouced
• Communicates somehow with the others

Playstation

• FF XII: Crisis Core details
• MGS: Substance info

Xbox 360

• DOA 4 Info
• UT 2007 officalt annouced
• Moutain Dew to give a free 360 away every ten minutes
• More Info Perfect Dark, NBA 2K6, and Gears of War
• Just Cause by Eidos annouced
• Joytech to make 3rd party stuff
• Llamasoft's Neon will (music/colors/dance thing) is on 360

Keynote Roundup

Tonights keynote was alittle underwhelming. Not a whole lot to talk about...most of the stuff is visual. Head over to www.xbox.com to see some the vid, or www.majornelson.com for the MP3.

But, heres what to expect:

• Some big Square News: FF XI is a 360 title
• Some news on backwards compatability: good games will be able to play "somehow"
• All games HD
• Lotta stuff on online connection
• Lotta partner stuff

What I'm wondering about is where is all the hard facts? I want specs!!!

PS3 Official

Right from E3 05...Sony has pulled back the curtain on the PS3. Some of the perks:

• Most hardware rumors true
• Coming 2006 (nothing more released)
• GTA coming "soon"
• Will output 1080p
• Looks nice. Real. F'ing. Nice.

Keynote Notes

Just a reminder: The Xbox keynote starts at about 8 PM. I'll be blogging everything that sounds remotly interesting. Stay here for all the updates.

Xbox 360 Game List So Far

Ahhh! So many games, so little time. Here's my very unoffical list of 360 games.
Ones in italics are rumor stuff

Perfect Dark Zero
Test Drive
Saint's Row
NBA 2K6
NHL 2K6
College Hoops 2K6
Top Spin 2
Amped 3
Quake 4
Gears of Wars
Call of Duty 2
Tony Hawk: American Wasteland
Another Activison Title
Frame City Killer
Condemed: Criminal Orgins
Full Auto
Tom Clancy's GR 3
Halo 2.5
PGR 3

Fresh E3 News: Monday

Final Fantasy XI is coming to Xbox!

This is huge news, FF XI is going to be a very good thing for Xbox. Imagine th possibilites...

Better yet...talk about fresh, TeamXbox got thre story at 4:43, and I wrte this at 4:44. (Time may be shown below as latter due to publication to server time).

The Quiet

It's all quiet before the storm...as thousands head to LA for the biggest week in videogame history...E3 2005.

Major Nelson's alreadly there. He reported on some strange Nintendo locked-box he saw while in-flight to the Smog City. He captured ALL of the details over at his blog.

G4 is preparing for their huge civerage of the event (2 hours a day). Like it or not, it's the best place to get live video from the event.

IGN is teamed up with G4 this year. Expect most of their info to be the same.

TeamXbox continues to deliver the best round-up of current Xbox news, as well as 360 rumors. This just in, UT 2007 is headed full-circle.

Bungie continutes to kill it's diehard fans by delaying the Halo 2 Map Disc untill 7/5/2005

Anti-Booth Babes is gearing up for it's large-scale boycott of Booth Babes, saying they take too much attention away from the actual games they are ment to represent. Their method of protest? Giving away Granie underware.

Time magazine is getting in on the videogame action by having this week's cover story on the new Xbox 360.

And, finaly, Continual Randomnes continues to compile it all up for you in one nice little package. Seriously, stay here this week. I'll do the work for you.

I Won a Fish Tank

My DLand Pics

Anyone who wnats to can cheek out my ride pics from the new Buzz Lightyear ride at Disneyland. Went on it today and I have to say, it's alotta fun.

Code: BE27431508C6457D013BE5EDF94A2281
LINK

Halo/Xbox 360 Ad

Did you all catch the Xbox 360/Samsung Hi-Def Ads played during the MTV special? Notice the music playing in the background? It's Halo!

What are you trying to say MS? Halo+Xbox 360+Hi-def=Great Seller?

Remember back to Xmas 04...TeamXbox is pretty sure Xbox 360 will INCLUDE Halo 2.5. Should be interesting.

As far as the MTV thing goes...I like what I saw. Heres a recap for ya:

• The Net pics that were leaked were correct
• No camera, headset, DVD remote was shown
• Console startup showed
• Perfect Dark is a 360 game
• TC: GR3 is a 360 game
• All games in HD (duh)
• New site www.xbox360.com
• Controller shown (leak)
• Logo shown (leak)
• Aracde is built in

That's It

All rumors were true...Xbox 360 is just like the pcitures.

It's Starting

Here we go...expect an update soon!

Some Real Info

The June OXM has the scoop on the next batch of maps coming for Halo 2. Although I wouldn't trust a single word written in the magazine... it may be worth it just for some pics. The magazine also comes with a demo of Destroy All Humans!, a game I have been waiting for almost as long as the new maps.

In another Halo 2 note, WTF is up with the "lag outs"? You know, were you go to the blue screen, but then it looks like everyone else quit the game but you? But in reality, you are the only that quit and you come in 8th place? I've gotten 4, YES FOUR, of them in the last week since the reset. Is it just a random stroke of bad luck...or is something up?

You Heard It Here First!

In a brilliant investigation, I, StarDrummer, have unearthed the first details of the next batch of Halo 2 maps.

Well, sorta.

OK, not really.

But I did find Major Nelson's game page, which lists "mysterious" map titles like 1002. Theres no real info to be found...but it's still cool.

LINK

Blogger Downtime

Just got an e-mail saying Blogger, who runs this blog, will be offline tomorrow, 5/10/2005, at 4 PM PST for one hour to do some work on ther servers. I'm not sure if this means the blog will be up or down...but in any case, you have been warned.

What Color is YOUR Xbox 360?

A new OurColony.com image hints at the possibility of color-changing Xbox 360, kinda kile most cell phones do.

Again--is anyone really all that excited about this shit?

It should be interesting to see what Thursday brings about. Granted, we already know the name, logo, design, controller, DVD remote, headphones and camera, but even still there is a whole lot we don't know yet-like what it looks like in motion.

I don't have any special pass to see the thing early (in fact it's already taped), so I'll be watching it just the same as everyone else. I'll probably be doing a post every five minutes of so, so be sure to surf here during the commerical breaks for my commentary.

Never Trust MTV With Your Kids

MTV has yet again spilled the beans.

Today, pics of the new Xbox console were leaked onto the Internet. This time, the pics are more revieling and much more convincing. The pics also included the controller, which looks very similar to the orginal Xbox's Controller-S, save for a cool new raised Logo at the top of the controller.

Also, the first ever sight of a DVD controller was revieled, which includes a Windows logo right in the center. Interesting.

Another pic of a camera was also revieled. It still scares me to think about an Xbox Camera...

I can't belive MTV is leaking all of this stuff out. You'd think they would care about people watching the show too, you know.

First Annual Xbox Live STAR'D Tourny

Today I am pleased to annouced the FIRST ANNUAL STAR"D TOURNY for XBOX LIVE. Details below:

What:A Multi-Game Tourny played over Xbox Live
Who: Any Xbox Live memeber with the games listed below.
No, Really, WTF?:The Tourny will be multi-game, double-elimination and will consit of around 5 or so rounds. Games will include:

• Whacked!
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow (New Maps, purchuse req'd)
• MechAssult 1 and 2
• Unreal Championship
• Halo 2 (New Maps only, purchuse req'd)
• A "Random" Game

It will be an invidual based tourny--NO TEAM GAMES.

Amount of rounds played will be based on amount of players.

The final showdown will be played on a random game.

When: As soon as players sign up. I'll send e-mail notification one week piror...but I'm thinking of around late June to starts.

How: Send an e-mail to StarDrummer@gmail.com with your name, GamerTag, gameslist, and your CURRENT Halo 2 highest level. I will send you both a confirmation e-mail, and a F/R from StarD (You must accept so we can find each other). One week before the start of the tourny I will e-mail you with the ladder, which will include challenge dates and times. Failure to show up within 5 minutes of a challenge will result in YABKO (Your Ass Being Kicked Out).

Prize: TBD. Really going to depend on how many people show up for this thing.

MTV Lets Out a Cat

Just one day after shotting the MTV/Xbox 2 event, MTV has blown some of the buggest surprsies.

First, TeamXbox "found" the next Xbox logo from pics of the event. The logo keeps the "full circle" desgin element, but takes away the wierd text from the orginal Xbox logo, so no no more X80X.

Then, a description of the event has given the world the first, real confirmation that 2005 will indeed see the next Xbox, as the description reads something about see the games of Fall 2005 for Xbox 2.

Next time, maybe MS will go with VH1? Or how about BET?

AP English Test

So, on Monday I took the AP English 11 test. It wasn't too bad, pretty much just waht I expected it to be.

Anyway, one of the essays I had to write about involved the online comic house, the Onion. I still can't talk too much about the test...but I was pleasently surprsied to be working with a funny onion article (circa 1999), over a boring Purtian essay (circa 1660).

(College Board people: I published this way after the 48 hour period...my class has alreadl discussed the essays...please don't burn me alive!)

I'm a Level One!

It's great to start all over again!

The 2V2 playlistt is alot of fun. I'm going to put in some serius hours with a freind this weekenbd, after AP testing is done.

The other things are nice, but they really do change the game around, luckiy mostly for the best.

Again...Bungie rocks.

Heres hoping Valve will be just as freakin' cool with Half Life 2...

The End of a Statistical Era

Stats for Halo 2 will be deleted Tomorrow morning.

The Playlist update will also go out tomorrow morning.

---
IMO, I still think its stupid to reset the stats. I still think that most stats were not gained by cheating, and that they still represent the level of any person playing Halo 2 right now. But apparently Bungie thinks otherwise, so who the hell cares what I think.

As far as the Playlist, I love it. Removing the radar from 1V1 will be nice. 2V2 will also make for some tight games. I'm not a huge fan of the BR, but, I can definatly see how it's neccessary for maps like Coag. The new includsion of vechiles should be nice as well.

Taking the combo out was a great thing, althoguh I don't like how they did it. I still could have used the Plasma Riffle.

All in all, it should make the game more fun. These last few weeks, we really have recived a Halo 2.1 in alot of ways. I have yet to see ANY devloper support ANYTHING the way Bungie is supporting Halo2. You guys rock.

Major...I Smell Fish

Over at the "offical" Xbox forums...Major just got my attention.

Under the XBL forum...at about 2 PM he made a post about the Halo 2 stats being reset TOMORROW. The evidence is still there as other are talking about it.

However, at about 3:30, he locked up that first post, and reposted saying the stats will be reset "this week". The old post now reflects this change.

What happened MN? Jump the gun? Count your chickens before they hatched? (I'm J/K-ing...I actually think MN is the best thing to happen to XBL)

Wheres the Posts?

Sorry about the few posts oer the last week. And I am also sorry for the few posts there will be this week.

This week is AP Testing. Which means, well, I'm dead. Yesterday I took AP English...I can Officaly talk about it tomorrow (weird AP 48 hour rules). Friday I am tacking the AP USH test.

Ahhhh!

Cool Halo 2 Game Links

OK, so I've had a couple days to play with the new maps...I love them. By far better than ANY of the orginals. I still wish HEH was coming, but these are a nice subsitute.

To show off my suck-ness, heres some links to game viewers of all four new maps. Keep in mind these are my best (sad, I know)

Turk Team Slayer

Sanctuary CTF Classic

Containment CTF

Turf Custom Slayer

The New Maps Have Landed

Four new maps are now available for Halo 2. Here's my lineup of each:

Warlock
-My favorite of the four
-Small
-No Rocks, Snipes or Sword

Turk
-Earth-city
-Cool crashed Scarab
-Tight allies
-Nice for Territories

Containment
-Big
-Snowly
-Think Coagulation, with a trench between bases
-Alot of veicles

Sanctuary
-Like Delta Halo level
-Great for CTF
-Nice weapons

Xbox 360--Leaked?

Looks like someone managed to leak out a picture of Xbox Next on to the good old InterWeb. You can see it at TeamXbox. Here;s my rundown:

• No controller ports=wireless controlers. I like it.
• Memory card slots, possibly no HDD. I hate it.
• Weird button, not sure about
• Nice design, but really small.
• Big Button--Here's my prediction: its a camera.

Think about it: the rumor is that Xbox 2 will have one, and the TeamXbox comment ("other things") definatly makes me think theres a reason behind it's huge size.

Overall, I'm still at the Ehh... stage. I really havn't heard a SINGLE thing that makes me overly excited except for maybe the sheer graphical power.

I hate to say it, but PS3 is looking pretty nice right now...

Ya'll Can STFU Now

Who the hell started this Friend's List rumor? Better yet, why in the world are people buying into it?

I kid you not, to this moment I have gotten 45 messages from friends/clan mates saying something close to the following:

"Hey, don't delete this message becuase on Monday Bungie is going to clear the FL, and only people with messages will stay."

Seriously, stop it. There's no way or reason for Bungie to clear offf any freinds list.

This "Green Scare" is getting annyoing.

Bungie: WWWU Released

Bungie just did there WWWU...and, Frankie is starting to scare me alittle.

Apart from once again explaining the whole map cache thing and the whole concept of cheating, Bungie gave us some links to some Game Viewers for the four new maps.

The maps, once again, should go out on Monday, at around PM PST (Thats 12 in the East). It could take you longer than that, but, as we all know, it will get there eventually.

Bungie also commented on the Playlist update, which will include 2 Vs. 2, and a lot tweaks to others, including starting with BR in Coag, more Spectres, more variation (like Snipers, Rockets), the removal of the Radar in Head2Head, and some other stuff.

The PL will also incorportate the new maps into the mix...the two free ones everywhere, and the two $$ ones into a special, limited-edition playlist just for those two.

Bungie will reset the stats on the same day as the Playlist update.

SW: BattleFront 2 Annouced

LucasArts annouced today that BattleFront II is in development, with a tentitve release date of Fall 2005. The game will be on Xbox 1.

LucasArts commented that the game will include space combat, playable Jedis that can sense the force, new locations from Epiosde III, an actual storyline, more online players, and jack-able ships.

Lets hope that smoother online play is included in that list sometime soon...

Bungie Plays New Maps!

This week in the Weekly Hump Challenge, Bungie played R Vs. B, on the new maps. All four of them. The final report, at Bungie.net, gives a nice lowdown of the maps.

I can't wait for Monday

EB Games Tells Us More of the Future

This EB Games people sure do know alot about what videogames are coming. They also seem to reviel all their info quite often.

Today, an updated listin on EB Games has started the rumor that a Ninja Gaiden 2 (Called "Black") is in the works for Xbox Next.

That's nice. Ninja Gaiden was a cool game...but I never got past the first level boss. It has nice graphics, but I didn't like the control layout. A NG 2 is not all that big for me, but, hey, it's another laucnh title rumor.

The list now kinda includes:

-Halo 2.5-Rember that? (Think XMas)
-PGR3- From OurColony.Net
-Ninja Gaiden 2- From EB Games
-Madden 2006-Only a semi-rumor, from EA
-Banjo Kazzoie Threeie- From a URL purchuse by Rare.

Today's News

Here's some news for today, nothing special:

• EA releases a second shot of Maddan '06. Very well could be a shot from Xbox 2.
• Pysconaughts finally shippped today
• No Revelotuon at E3? Nintendo says it will not be displaying it's next-gen consoles this year.
• Ninetendo picks Broadcom for wireless technology for Revolution. What the hell is going on ocer in Japan?
• Sims 2 annouced for Consoles and Handhelds-Yippee! (moves quickly on)
• Bungie released some screens of new maps. Videos can be found everywhere else.
• Feeding Frezy goes out to Xbox Live Arcade...again, any one care?
• AleinWare to release SW-themes PCs for Epsiode III

ROTS Single On iTunes

That's right, the first song has been released on iTunes! It's called Battle of the Heros, and it's awsome. I would recomend any and all Star Wars fans to GET IT NOW!

Perhaps Today is The Biggest Day Ever

At least as far as videogames is concered. Here's a round up of some news from today:

• Of course, Halo 2 recieved an AU, and the maps are dated for 4/25
• GameStop buys EB Games. I think this sucks.
• Oddworld dies-OOddworld Inhabinit has officaly stopped making games, in order to "continue making good characters"
• Pritates of the Carribean 2 annouced
• "Ring of Light" rumor is born--what's the connection between Ejigh Wood and Xbox Next?

And We Have a Date

Pull out the controlers...the batch of maps for Halo 2 is coming April 25, 2005.

In less then a week, we all will have two new maps...Containment and Warlock, and those of us willing to pay $6.00 will also get Turk and Sanctuary.

Yes, I will be paying the extra six bucks for the two maps.

Yes, I am excited. Now, back to your regualy sechduled programing...

The AU: First Thoughts

So, I just got home and DL the auto-update for Halo 2. Here's my thoughts:

Nothing "Huge" Happened, so don't freak.
The weapons are actually better.
No Ranks were reset. They are still visable.
No changes were made to plalist (at least none were visable)
No new maps, sorry rumor boys!
The loisted cheats seem to be fixed. Sorta.

I still don't know how they fixed the whole stand-by cheat...but I also have yet to see it in action.

That said, there are only 12 possible days for the maps to come out.

Reaction to Halo 2 AU

Here's some funny tidbits from over at TeamXbox:

SUPERIOR
The dual wielding its fcking up the game thats why they think they should down grade some of the weapons. But what if you dont like to dual wield you might be screw if you dont have a battle rifle.

Apr. 17th, 2005 12:03 pm
Mmmtastey
haloalldayloGreat job Bungie, you made the damn pistols even crappier. Keep up the good work.You think so? Solo the pistols are crap but with a SMG, 3 shots your dead. Considering alone either weapon is ****, together they were too powerfull, at both close range and mid range. That had to change.

Apr. 17th, 2005 11:55 am
SUPERIOR
funnygfgfhgghdgh

Apr. 17th, 2005 11:48 am
kopar
Vadcol:For somebody who hates a game/developer so much and so doens't play said developer's game at all, you sure do get worked up about it. If you want to play Halo:CE, GO PLAY HALO:CE AND SHUT UP!!Hiring a lawyer because you don't like a game? You need a life/girlfriend/boyfriend/gerbil or something. I hated KOTOR and thought it sucked ass and could name 1000 things I woulda done different, so you know what I did?That's right, I scoured TXB for every thread talking about KOTOR and posted how bad the game was. I also hired a FREAKIN' LAWYER to sue somebody somewhere for something (can't be specific, it's still in litigation). That's right! i also kicked my cat 3 times (because I was so emotional about being forced to play this game I hated and everybody else loved).Or, I traded to game to my firend for some comics and read them then went to bed.

Apr. 17th, 2005 11:47 am
ConkersHelmet53
I'm sorry, but this game is the worst game ever made! I'd rather play with barbie dolls than this game. Conker is gonna be the best! umm....wait. actually i'd rather play this than with barbie dolls....but i still dislike this game alot!

Apr. 17th, 2005 11:23 am
BlindMaphisto
The do enjoy nerfing the pistols lol. I loved the Plasma/SMG combo but I can live without it. Especially for better melee and grenading.

Apr. 17th, 2005 11:22 am
smokysmokerson
i'm glad Bungie listened to the gamers... it says a lot to their committment... haven't seen too many ps2 online updates fixing the myriad of bugs and glitches with their games yet tho.... i guess this is why xbox live is better than the competition.. good work, guys...

Apr. 17th, 2005 11:00 am
haloalldaylo
Great job Bungie, you made the damn pistols even crappier. Keep up the good work.

Apr. 17th, 2005 9:58 am
Last Spartan
SUPERIORDont forget about the different levels of sheilds also. In Halo CE

Apr. 17th, 2005 9:39 am
SUPERIOR
Perhaps the only way to actually balance the game its to make most of the weapons stronger, but by doing that we will need more stronger shields that we will be able to fight against someone that might have better combo or a better weapon. All this unfair balance of the weapons have to do with the shields because in halo 1 we had shields and health bars so even if we lost are shields we still had are health bars to count on. Bungie give us stronger shields or bring back the health bars.

Apr. 17th, 2005 1:33 am
FIG
"SUPERIORFIG wont play halo2 but he will be playing the next madden.what? Thats just crazy talk from you FIG. Fck EA and their crappy games, let it be known i hate EA. I hate EA as much as that vacolis guy hates Bungie. But Bungie is a company that at least is trying to fix the problems, unlike lazy EA their are glitches in their games and bet you will find more bugs on madden than halo2. Keep up your good work Bungie."I never said I would play the next Madden man. I said I played the previous Madden at a friends house and thought ESPNs game destroyed it. That said I am not into deathmatching but I am sure fans of that game mode will NOT be disappointed. I hope Bungies next game, whether it be Halo 3 or not, has coop over LIVE. Thats the best mode ever created in my opinion. I love playing Doom 3 and Splinter Cell : Chaos Theory on cooperative mode over LIVE.

Apr. 16th, 2005 11:47 pm
Judge_Jerk
Things that actually need to be fixed are stupid glithes, sudden death, etc.*Make the shotty a real shotgun.*Reduce the traking range of the PP*Dual mags ARE too strong and too accurate*Make frags stronger*Have BR as starting weapon on the huge levels*Reduce the aim-assist on the sniperBah, Bungie is full of it. I love how they tell us what WE want. Screw you Bungie. What makes me sick is that Bungie has the most butt kissing, easily seduced fanboys I've ever seen, next to Nintendo fanboys.

Apr. 16th, 2005 9:50 pm
Pastor Ramdotti
Vadcol memo: 2241 hoursPt.2The Plasma Pistol and SMG are so weak. Bungie needs to tweak these retard ass weapons with Hitting Power. You shouldn't have to need Dual Welding for these weapons to have any effect. A single SMG and Plasma Pistol should kick ass in short to medium range distance.The shot gun is just down right pathetic compared Halo:CE shot gun. **** it, all their weapons just plain suck.................................................................I'm tried of writing about these idiots at Bungie. They have screwed up Halo 2 so bad it makes me want to cry. I'm pisst and mad as hell, I am so emotional right now.......I'm finding a lawyer on Monday morning. I'm tired of the bull****.

Apr. 16th, 2005 9:40 pm
Pastor Ramdotti
Vadcol memo: 2229 hoursPt. 1Tweak weapons balance? Damn, these new Bungie employees are ****'in retarded. I going to speak my mind and if you don't like it....too damn bad. The main thing that needs to be tweaked is WEAPONS AMMO and Hitting Power. I'm carrying a Battle Rifle and I only have 72 rounds only and no additional rounds to be found. That is complete bull****. Halo:CE you had plently of ammo for your Assault Rifle, like 600 bullets.The Covenant Carbine only has less rounds than the Battle Rifle with a stupid 18 rounds in reserve. Stupid!!!!Now I'm hearing that Bungie is making the weak-ass Magnum less powerful. It is official these guys are on crack cocaine.Melee attacks should be deadly no matter how you hit your opponent. Why? Because you're a badass Spartan and not some weak-ass E-1 Private Marine, good lord Bungie is so STUPID!!!!!! Now you have to jump in the freakin air just to kill the enemy? Bullcrap. Somebody please sue Bungie for being stupid.

Apr. 16th, 2005 9:14 pm
BlindMaphisto
The needler has it's uses. It can kill a completly oversheilded person with only 8 needles.

Apr. 16th, 2005 9:06 pm
Judge_Jerk
I hope the fix the ***** BB that is the shotgun, PP/mag combo.

Apr. 16th, 2005 8:57 pm
SUPERIOR
IF you playing with experts not even the best combos will make you unstopable.

Apr. 16th, 2005 8:55 pm
SUPERIOR
oh yeah the game its unbalance but its still fun.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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!

Kiss Your Halo 2 Stats Goodbye

OK, so Bungie hasn't gone on record to offical say they are doing anything to the Halo 2 stats, but what thery havn't said definatly is just as important. In this week's WWWU, the following was asked:
I have heard MANY rumors about you guys resetting our levels on Halo 2 on Xbox live. Is that true? People are saying you guys are resetting the levels because of TOO MANY people using stand by... I hope it isn't true because a lot of people WORK for their levels and do not cheat to get them. Please, PLEASE... reply to this message on the weekly news update. We all want to know what is going on about this, we are scared stiff about it. Thanks Frankie.

And Bungie answered with:

We should have more news about levels, cheats and stuff next week, but you should know that your level is for matchmaking only. It is not a sign of prestige, but rather a way to match you with players of similar skill. If we changed your level to be "Spastic Donkey Sphincter" you'd still get matched against other "Spastic Donkey Sphincters." Even at the highest levels of play, the level number itself is far less relevant than the players sum total of achievements. So really, there's literally nothing to be scared about whether we reset stats or not.

There is no magical prize for being ranked in the number one spot, nor is there any cash to be earned for having a higher level – the reward is an enjoyable game. So people who abuse that system are idiots, with no understanding of what it is they're achieving (nothing). With all that said, we're seriously considering doing just that at some point after the cheats and other ranking problems are fixed.

Heres the most important part: "It is not a sign of prestige". This leads me to belive they are simply going to make the levels invisable. You'll still have the Level, but you will have no clue what the level is.

But Bungie also goes on to say: "We're seriously considering doing just that". Doing what? Restetting the stats? Bungie isn't clear at all on this.

I wouldn't be too pissed if they chose the first way, but I think the second is stupid. Sure alot of people have cheated, but not everyone, not even the majority. By resetting the stats, you blow the entire proportions that the community has set up, and we're forced to start all over again with what were 30's looking like 2's. It would be just like New Years. And it would suck.

So, in summary, I think Bungie is defiantly going to do something with the stats. Exactly what, no one can be entirly sure, but, from a combination of what I like personaly and the facts I see, I thinlk Bungie is going to make the stats invisable. In the end, it might actually make the game more fun.

No Joke, I Mean It

IGN likes to roll out those 9.9's. I know it's near the end and some feel like they need to score a perfect game (cough, OXM, cough), but these 9.9s are just popping our left and right. What I can't figure out is why Halo 2 didn't get one.

Jade Empire just got a 9.9 from IGN. No, the other scores aren't in yet...so it's just one publication, but still, a 9.9?

This comes from a game that flew under the rader for me. I bearly even now what the game is, let alone anything that makes it special. Needless to say, the review has peaked my interest. Enough, at least, to cheek out TeamXbox's score, which I assume will come some time this week. But man, a 9.9. Thats high.

BTW- You did READ the DATE right?

That was just supposed to be a funny joke. Hey, I figure if everyone else does one for April Fools, I should too.

Hahahaha. I know.

But in all seriousness, the other jokes sucked, IMO. TeamXbox did a Lugi in Halo 3. Not funny! IGN... WTF is up with Yaddle? And even Bungie skipped their usual Pimps At Sea joke and instead made a promise for more DLC. That really isn't funny. Don't joke about that Bungie. That's serious stuff right there.

The End of an Era

Today marks the last day I will blog. This is the last entry I shall ever post on this blog.

It has been a great ride, but I feel it is time now to step off. The blog just isn't going anywhere. I've already down everything I can think of. I think it's better to end now, at the top of my game, then to whiddle away.

I wish to thank everyone who has made my blog the success that it is. For that, I thank about two people.

Thanks for the memories.

chris

My B-Day Tomorrow

Feliz Cumplanos a mi!

SC:CT Best Game Ever?

Has the torch passed from Halo 2 to Splinter Cell? It seems like it.

The first sign was the OXM reveiw, giving it a 9.9...almost perfect, and much better then Halo 2's low 9.7 score.

Then Major Nelson did his "Splinter Cell: CT" Spectacular show and made us all drool.

And then, TeamXbox gave it a 9.8...lower than Halo 2.

So, which is better?


They are two entirly differant games...but in the end, are still games. SC:CT offers very specialized gameplay that is not for everyone. Whiule it is a good game, it lacks the "pick up and play" aspect of Halo 2/. It is not a game for everyone, and thus, it creates diverese opinions.

I like CT. It is a great game, just another tick on the list of the great UBI games.

Tivo Tests Ad Scam

Last weekend, Tivo started testing their new ad idea. Most customers, myself included, just record a show, wait till it finishes, and then fast foward through the commericals. But Tivo wants to change that.

Now, when customers fast foward through the commercials, a "pop up" ad will cover the screen, over the TV show going fast. If the customer pushes up on the remote, he/she is then taken to a screen with more information on the product.

Iyt dosn't seem that bad, but, I would rather not have pop ups on my TV. Also, Tivo is having problems getting the ads to only pop up during the commericals. If a pop up comes during my CSI, I'll be pissed.

AOTS Verdict

After watching the rest of AOTS, I have very mixed feelings. Heres my summary

POSITIVES
+ Same Cast
+Like the Couch idea
+The Feed is still there
+ Dark Deals and Gems are still there
+Still chat
+Nice set

NEGITIVES
-Bad title.
-Hate the bands
-It's on G4
-The opening is cheesy
-The constant graphic introducing each new sceene are stupid, boring and annoying
-Will we get any real tech news?
-Since when is a dino a tech news item?

Overall, it is no TSS. But, essentially, there is no real differance between the last TSS epsiode and this one, save for the set. I probably will still watch, dispite how much my heart tells me not to. And yes, I got a season pass.

Sin City: What a Movie

Last night I had the chance to get into a "early" screening of Sin City. It is, by far, the best movie I've seen this year.

What stands out most is the unique visual style. Most of the flim is in black and white, with splashes of color thrown in to add emphasis, like the red of fire or the blue in an eye. It really makes the flim look like the orginal graphic novels.

The cast, story, and music all are incrediable. This is a really good movie to see, but, hey, it is rated R and it is very violent. And bloody. So the 10- and 65+ croud may want to steer clear, but, it's perfect for everyone else. Hey, take the wanna-be tween too, let them puke or pass out!

Video Games Recalled

Two video game "recall" news caught my attention today.

• PS2 was recalled becuase of a pattent issue. I'm not sure if this makes PS2 illegal or what, but it dosn't sound good for Sony. E-mail me if you understand what this really means for the gamer, becuase I don't
• The Xbox recall of power cords was, as VGN calls it "a BS liability scam" VGN says the cords don't neccessary fix the problem, which was do too falty sawdering on the cord, resulting power surges and blow outs, but instead just limits the porblem down to your Xbox. Which, I geuss, is better than nothing for those LCD HD 80" rich Xbox bastards, but only just hurts the rest of us. Would it have been that hard to just fix the problem MS?

Did you watch AOTS Today?

Attack of the shw, the replace-er of TSS, premired today on G4. Did you watch?

I saw the first 15 minutes or so, untill I ran out of Tivo fast-foward power. I'll watch the rest tomorrow. It seems just how I thought it would: a clone of E! or Access Hollywood.

It is sad to bid TSS good-bye. It is even sadder to know that this is what is was replaced by. Maybe I should just move to Canada and watch Leo and Call for Help. And get free medical care. Sounds good to me. I could learn to say "eh" and "aboot".

Star Wars: Republic Commando Review

OK, so I just finished SW:RC and I thought I'd post a little "review" of the game. Older timers will note that I treid this before, but I just couldn't keep up with the new releases. I actually play the games, all the way through, before I publish a review. That takes time.

Singleplayer
The SP experiance was great. I think it's probably the best Star Wars action ever. You really feel like your part of a large-grand scale battle.

Heres an imporant note: RC is a differant kind of SW game. There is no crawl at the begining. There is actual bands playing the soundtrack. You never feel like your fighting the entire batte of Geonosis or something, but instead, that you are a part of a small team, working together to accomplish some task, that, while small, will help the Republic win the battle.

Towards the end, the game gets a little repitive, but the ending is top-notch.

Graphics
There is nothing spectacular here, but they don't hold the game back by any means.I really like the effects they used your helmet, with things like rain, smoke and blood getting stuck there and using a virtual wiper to clear it off.

Multiplayer
The game does ooffer some classic FPS games, like Deathmatch, Team DM, CTF and Assualt (Bring your falg into enemy's base), but it never feels like they really ment it. Sure, it's there, but there nothing special in it. The Live play lags and it's hard to get into a good game. The splitscreen is cool...but becuase there are no sit-out times after you die...it's rather hard to play CTF or Assualt, becuase the enemy just respawns right in front of the flag.

Overall
RC isn't a bad game, there just not a whole lot to justify a purchuse at it's current price of $49.99. I would either rent it over the weekend and just beat the SP, or wait a couple of months and get it when the price goes down. While it is a nice prelude to Epsiode III, only serious, hardcore SW will buy it for that. Others should consider the game as a solid FPS worthy of about $10.
Rent It

Halo 2.5 Not May be, Now Definatly, a Reality

As I said before, Halo 2.5 looks like it will be coming. Today, in a special WWW Update, all was reveiled. In my mind, heres what it means:

• A total of nine maps are being made for Halo 2.
• The first two will be free to XBL people, available in April.
• Two additional maps will come out on the same day, in April, but will cost 4.99
• Then, in June, a disc will be made available, that will include all nine maps, all XBL updates, and some special movie things.
• On that same day, the other five maps will be available to Download, for $11.99, over XBL
• At some point in late summer (think September) all Maps will be free to DL over Xbox Live.

Bungie also said they will deal with the pemium issue, in that not everyone will have the maps and that could potentialy destroy matchmaking, by creating a special playlist for the premium maps.

Another playlis- 2 Vs. 2, was also reveiled as in the making.

For pics, the offical press release, more legal stuff, and ome more issues, visit Bungie.com

In my mind... I think summer is a tad bit late, but April seems fine. This plan actually sounds reasonably smart to me.

Halo 2.5 May Be a Reality

All signs point to a Halo 2.5.

-Bungie has statewd week after week it wants non-Live members to get the maps
-EBgames has it on its listing
-Korea has it listed on www.xbox.com

So, it really looks like this Friday, that's what Bungie is going to announce. The question is: when the hell will it come out? Some are thinking a summer 2005 release...thats wayyyy to far off in my book. I'd like to see an early May at the earliest.

The other question is: will Xbox Live members get something special? I really hope it's not just the maps for free latter on in the year. Because most of us will have alreadly bought them.

So, maybe this is a good thing....but it definatly has the potential to really piss me off.

TSS No More

Here is a perfect example of what coroporate America can do.

Act I
TechTV is created. The world is good. The Screen Savers is at its heyday with both Leo and Pat.

Act II
Leo quits/is fired (still not really sure what happen) TSS gets worse and worse.

Act III
With TechTV at its end, G4 swoops in and buys it out. Looks good at first.

Act IV
Set moved to LA. Pat quites. Show is getting more mainstream. Looks bad.

Act V
By now, TSS and Access Hollywood are the same thing. We've got things like "Band Fridays" and "Sponsered by..." and it's now just G4, not G4techTV

Act VI
TSS is canceled. It's replaced by Attack of the Show!

I thought that G4 would mean a good thing for TechTV. I thought it would mean less reruns. But no. G4 just took the TechTV veiwer audiance, not the network. The only remaining show is now X-Play...and I bet that will go soon to.

What happened to the good shows, like Call for Help, Tech Live and that Martin Sargent show? Even the good G4 shows are gone now, like that Areana. They seem to be replaced by Judgement Day's from 2002 and reruns of "Icons".

I now officaly hate G4. I probably will still watch AOTS, but I canceled my TSS season pass, and did not renew it with AOTS. I just don't think I can handle 5 hours a week of reruned slashdot news a week.

I'm Still Not Dead

I know the posts have been few and far between the last two weeks. There are two, wait, three reasons for this.

Reason One: I had finals last week. Finals=No time at all, with a side of big headache.

Reason Two: I was hooked one Republic Commando.

Reason Three: No one really cares. Except me.

But, now, I',m free and will make up for it. I promise. I really do.

The Highest Score

OXM gave SC:CT a 9.9. Thats really, really, REALLY high. Halo 2 only got a 9.7, so by comparison, CT is about .2 better than Halo2. If you trust OXM, that is.

That does make Splinter Cell the highest rated series on the Xbox, receiving scores of 9.6, 9.5 and now 9.9, all respectivly.

I'll wait for the Big Three's to come in before I dub it better than Halo 2...but I've alreadly preordered it...so I do hope it's good.

GDC- The Mostly Bad Key

J gave a nice keynote speech today at GDC. MajorNelson was nice enough to put out the thing in a nice MP3 and .wav file format for us all to hear.

However, nothing "huge" was reveild. But some "bad" things were.

Games seem to be changing from "How do we do this new" to "how do I make the most money off of this". I know it's bussiness and they have to eat too, but I think they are starting to lose the creativity in favor of corpral settings.

Jay's highlight was the new XBL features. One of them bing renewed support for PDLC. Really, thats all there was. Hello, we alreadly have this. They just want to make it smaller, like only one car, or one tire. I geuss this is the reaction fro the XBL Arcade deal...what a reversal.

Other highlightes were more universal connections...it seems that all Xenon (Jay did use this term...so now, little annoying kids that feel the need to correct all the differant terms like Xbox 2, Xenon or Xbox 360....eat it) games will have a univeral dashboard to play custom music and access freinds. All this seems so, 2002-ish. That was cool back then...but now, gamers have more important things they want...like better online infustracture, more patches, and new ways to play online.

I was majorly disappointed with the speech. He speaks of the HD Era. Thats cool. I don't have an HDTV...but I geuss 1,000 of attendes do now.

I hope E3 goes better...something jsut seems old about Xenon...where was anything new? Maybe it's because,as a gamer, I care more about actual games than avatars and freind's lsit. Their cool...but it comes down to the quality of the actual games, not all the extras, when I stand at Circuit City. In a lot of ways...Xenon looks less "hardcore" and more "universal". If thats the case, it's a sad, sad day.

Before the Storm

The Xbox keynote is tomorrow. MN is over there, blogging away about everything over at his personal blog, www.majornelson.com .

Wha I expect to happen is a lot of hints, teasers, little screen shots, if you will, of the Xbox Next's power. I don't expect anything close to a full reveil, more like a cinematic teaser of whats sure to come at E3.

XNA, as it is a developer's tool, and this is GDC (Developers, remember), will take a big chunck of the future of Xbox and gaming in general. I have a feeling we are going to get a lot of "in general"s tomorrow.

Also, I think universal encorporation-like a media center-will take the primary focus of the entire conferance. The next-gen (Now thats Next Gen III) will do more than play games...at least I geuss thats what the population wants.

I probably won't blog the results...as I'm sure all the others will do a better, quicker job of that. I might give my reaction, f anything big happens.

I Hate This, Wk 2

This week really only deals with men. Spefically, the Men's Bathroom.

Why do guys not like to flush the damn things? It's so gross to walk into a sall-or worse, a urnel-and see the yellow stuff still in there. Why can't you take the extra, what, two seconds and flush the thing? No, instead you leave it there for me to deal with. It's enough to make me puke. But it's also so obvious...you walk out, I walk in. I KNOW it was you.One of these days I'm going to walk out and make you flush it with your mouth.

I know it's gross becuase there are the sick ones out there who gvet a kick by peeing on the handel...but just wash your hands. You shoudl anyway.

I hate all who can't flush the John.

Star Wars Tuesday on Wednesday

Yesterday...two big things happened in the wolrd of SW.

One, LucasArts finally came through and delivered the SW:BF DLC, entitled Jabba's Palace. The map is nice, big but not too big. It probably won't be enough to bring me back to the game now, but it is nice to see a developer who does what they say they will.

Two, the SW:ROTS trailer was officaly confirmed by Lucas. It will air first on FOX's The O.C on March 10, then on the website for the stupid idiots who pay for HyperSpace, then with the movie Robots the next day, and finally open to the public on March 14.

I geuss I will have to set my Tivo for the OC on 3/10. I'll just fast-foward through all the teenage wanna-be drama...

Eat that EA!

Even though EA ius now kinda part of UbiSoft, the French company is still fighting with the evil giant.

UBI, this years winner for worst developer for their work with SC:PT online play, has annouced their plans for a future golf game to feature world-champion (insert name I dont remeber here). This will compete with Tiger Woods and EA's golf game.

In the end, its still golf, an dits still boring no matter if the title is down the side or in a circle.
The big question is: will Tiger be in UBI's game?

Annoucing: This week in my FBBL

Baseball season is upon us. EA has released their crap, the brids are startinbg to throw their crap, and the pitchers are ready to throw theirs. With that, Fantasy BaseBall is coming.

I particpate in the CBS sportsline one with a bunch of freinds. I want to do a blog about what happens there.

Should I:

a) Post it here as another "weekly" thing (So far, we have weekend audio, what I hate this week, and someother shit)

b) Create a new Blog...which would give the millions who read this another source for my BS

Again, email me at stardrummer@gmail.com fr what you think. But I really know that noone here could crae less.

HaHa Fooled 'ya!

I didn't go anywher this weekend. So send me the hatemail! At least I would get some mail. God. No one reads this AT ALL!

Instead, I stayed home, played Halo2 for like 4 hours, my clan got banned becuase they are all dicks and kept quiting the games just becase we were losing, played with some modem hackers, left, sent feedback. Hopew I don't get banned becuase I did nothing wrong. I just simply played. While everyone else around me was cheating, I did not. I hope they can tell.

Next week is the GDC up in San Fransico...where the gays get their chance to play Halo2 without looking like real men. Major is heading up there to do a few "podcasts" from there, should be worth cheeking out.

TSS looks pretty normal this week...overal this week is going to be pretty dull...save maybe a Chem test for me (But I love or at least am good at chem so its actually fun, in a sick, but odd way. But, come on, taking a test you know you are acing is always fun, right? Now, a Trig test, thats a whole differant world) I am getting paid $140 on Monday so I'll probably pick up Snowblind and Street Fighter 2...both look interesting...maybe SW:RC but it got bad reveiws. Maybe I'll just rent that one. I think I still have my february coupon for Hollywood video...let me tell you about these things. I bought my PS2 from them (only place I could find it, literaly). It came with a years worth of coupons for anything at Hollywood. No other renting requird. Just plain free stuff. Anyway, you get one a month, and you can only use them in that month. It seems like I'm always forgewtting though to actually use the damn things. So, I get a free game in February, June, August and November...thats whats left over from last year. If I don't remeber it this time, they are trash. Which, in a way they alreadly are since my Hollywood never has anything but old crap in stock...I usually rent from Gamerfly or Blockbuster or netflix...yes, I have accoutants at all three...I also have a SuperSatr accoutnant...they really suck. I go there to get old PS1 and N64 games...they STILL rent them, but the cool thing is they still work. I hate how you rent a game, get home, and realize it won't work.

Anyway, thats this week, and this is officaly the longest post Ive ever written (for the trivia buffs out there...there was the 9/11 list but I didn't write that, I justr Ctrl C, CtrlV-ed it.)

As the Major says...goodnight, have fun, and play fair!

Weekend Audio Post?

I have a good location this week. Your going to like it. Cheek in around 9 PM on Sunday.

Anyone else can post audio for me as well, just cheek below for the previous post, or e-mail me with any questions.

I'd also like to do a quick, 5 minute inteveiw with someone. E-mail me to set it up. Winner will recive... ah, a free Gmail accoutant?

I Hate This, Wk 1

Fridays are too postivite. I will brin them down with a weekly (or sorta-weekly) series of I Hate This.

I hate gum. Its ugly, its disgusting, and it has no real purpose. You look disgusting when you sit there, chomping away like a cow. Then, people throw it on the gorund, place it under a table, smack it, streach it, blow it, or take it out and "play" with it.

It's just so gross. I even hate that smell gum gives off when people first stick in their mouths, and the little sliver balls people leave behind.

Is it not gross to walk aorund, stepping on old gum that was once in some weird, strange, disgusting mouth? Is it not the worst thing in the world to see tht red string on you foot going back for like a foot to a wad of gum?

I hate gum. And I hate people when they chew it. So, stop it alreadly!

A "Tree" of Info From BWWU

Yes, a tree. Frankie told us this week that yes, the DLC will have trees in them. Notice I said them. Why? I quote: "I like one for graphics, the other for gameplay." That means at least TWO maps are coming in the wave of DLC. One will look good, one will play good.

He also said a bunch of other crap. Oh, and the "red wins ties" thing is going to be "100% fixed".

This Week's (Or Today's) Top News

Lotta news came out today in almost every sector I'm interested in.

• New screenshots of Destroy All Humans! This game looks really fun. Found at teamxbox.com
• MechAssualt 2 now Unlimited: Two exclusive maps released to the public. Some reaction to this from the TX forums:

lnin0
LAME! You should change that headline - very misleading. It should have read "MechAssualt 2 LE content released as free DLC to the 1% of the public that managed not to get the LE disc."I didn't even know you could buy a non-LE version of this game as everyplace I looked when it came out only sold the LE. I go and get all excited thinking there are some new maps out there only to find out NO - there is nothing new out there.

• Apple releases four new iPods...well, variations of their old ones. Among them, a 30 GB iPod Photo for $350
• SW:ROTS Trailer to debut on March 11 with "Robots". Hypersapce members can get it a few days early on March 8. Can someone please put up a "mirror"?
• The Army Game "America's Army: Rise of a Solider" set for a summer 2005 release on Xbox and Ps2. Hope it's not too realistic.
• Intel will publish new Star Wars themed controls. No, I still won't buy a Thrid Party. Even if Vader tells me to.
• TeamXbox gives Republic Commando an 8.3/10. Not that great. Even BattleFront scored higher than that.
• Bungie's Weekly What's What update gae us another one-word DLC hint: aquaduct. They siad DLC was still "on its way", but it looks like a patch, which they describe as being "huge", will come out first. Maybe by my B-day (3/31) I'll get some new maps. Maybe.

So I Have No Friends

I geuss no one decided to do an Audio MobCast for me... :( Oh well. In their defense, I thinlk they were going off to Six Flags, and it has rained here since Thursday. They probablyjust didn't go (or so I tell myself). Or they didn't want to get their cell wet. Yeah, thats probably it, right?

Also, MajorNelson over at www.majornelson.com is running contests to win cool new Xbox Live Headsets. They look comfy enough, a lot better then the mass produced stuff we have now. I'm going to try to win one!

Free Gmail Today, Today's News

First to click on the link below gets a free gmail accotant:
http://gmail.google.com/gmail/d-2-xbox577@hotmail.com-8a2c098e61c68f4ef0165ec3e945cb71ff8e742e

Also a gave some freinds the blog number, so I think they will do he Weekly Update (#3)

Also Remeber VGN? Did you start listening to this great podcast? Well...this Tuesday I'll be on the Guest Extension program. Look for it to pop up on their site sometime this week (VGN LINK)

Post Audio For Me!

Heres the info so that anyone, anywher, can do a MobCast for me!

STEP ONE: Call 1-(661) 716-blog (May be long distance)
STEP TWO: Enter in Primary phone number: 9097906478
Enter in Passcode: 33333, then #

Record after the chimy sound!

Anothe "Play of the Telephone" Via Google's Translate

OK, last time this didn't go over this well. But, I am willing to give the great Google gods one more, just one, more chance to make us all see how great their tool really is. But it better work, or else everyone who has a paper with anything on it in black ink will make fun of the Google guys, calling them bad names, and making them think they are not good people. Let's hope on my brother's best toad that it works like the wind that it should.

Vez ACEPTABLE, último esto no pasó esto bien. Pero, estoy dispuesto a dar a los grandes dioses uno de Google más, apenas uno, más ocasión de hacer que todos vemos cómo es grande su herramienta realmente está. Pero ella mejor trabajo, o bien cada una que tiene un papel con cualquier cosa en él en tinta negra se reirá de los individuos de Google, llamándolos los malos nombres, y haciéndolos piensa que ella no es buena gente. Vamos esperar en el mejor sapo de mi hermano que trabaje como el viento que debe.

ACCEPTABLE time, last this did not pass this good. But, I am arranged to give great Gods one of Google more, as soon as one, more occasion to do than all we see how its tool is great really is. But she better work, or each one that a paper with any thing in him in black red has will laugh of the individuals of Google, calling them the bad names, and doing she thinks them that she is not good people. We go to hope in the best toad of my brother who works like the wind that must.

8 Years Worth of Email

An interesting study was released today...dealing with eight years worth of emails. Apparently, this uy saved each and every one, for eight years, and has released his findings.

What did he find? Well, spam of course has gone up. We all know that. But what's interesting is how he manages to break down a week's worth of emails into like 15 categories, lists estimated time spent reading, thinking and responding to each, and then anaylizes it.

This stuff is deep. Heres the LINK, you know you want it now.

(Found at slashdot)

Crappy Nothing from Las Fuentas

This Weekend's Audio (Housework)

OK, so its not perfect

After playing around with this Google translator thing... I realized its not perfect. But, you can play a pretty fun game of Telephone with it!

Heres the orginal:
This is a game of telephone. I will say the same thing, just translated into differant languages. I will start with English to Spanish, then Spainish to German, then German to French. I hope that it works, ad that it dosn't make me go to the bathroom and throgh it all up!

Then after translated:
This one is a play of the telephone. I say the same thing, at once that translated that languages differant. * I beginning with Spanish English zum, then German, then German Spainish the French. I hope that, the fact the advertisement functions with this one dosn' T which goes in the bathroom and throgh him very for in top!

Not perfect...nut hey, thats like five languages!

Todays Post.. En Espanol!

NOTE: I don't speak Spainish. This is using Google's Translate Tool :)

Así pues, pensé que intentaría algo differant hoy. Como usted puede decir probablemente, este podcast está entirly en Spainish. Ningún... no puedo hablarlo en todos. (seguro, su mi cuarta clase del período, pero, infierno, Im no que bueno poder escribir todo el esto, lol) no, no. Estoy utilizando Google traduzco la herramienta. Jugaba alrededor con ella antes y pensado le estaba bastante fresco. ¡Esto puede definatly ayudarme hacia fuera con la preparación de Spainish!

Where should I go this weekend?

Perhaps this could be the start of something... weekly audio posts from somewhere cool! I need suggestions though...where should I go? It's gotta be somewhere where my cell will work (Thats why no inside Disneyland rides were posted). And, of course, I've got to be able to talk.

The question is, where should I go?

50 INVITES!!! WOW!

Looks like, by purpose, accadent, or glitch...Gmail has given me 50 invites!

It all started last week, when a box appeard on the left hand side. The old way to send an invite was via a link at the top. Last week, a new box appeard at the bottom.

Now, it says I have 50 invites left.

Needless to say...if anyone (your dog included) wants an invite...don't hesitate to ask! I NEED people to take them!