Things change

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In that past, I have stated on numberous occasions how the PS3 and the Xbox 360 were both great systems. I still believe this to a degree as well. In terms of games, and exclusive titles, both systems are great in their own right, both systems are powerful and capable of producing some kick ass graphics. Both systems are power house consoles.

All of the above is true, however in terms of which system is better overall, my opinion has changed significantly. I now believe the PS3 overall to be better than the xbox 360. The reason for my change of opinion? Well, to be honest the 360 is unstable. I have owned 2 xbox 360s and both have suffered the notorious Red ring of Dead or as commonly referred to RROD.

Sure, systems break down, that’s to be expected, but the xbox 360 tends to break down it seems like, shortly after the warranty expires. It’s ridiculous! Does the PS3 have technical issues like this? Sure, but it doesn’t happen anywhere near as often as it does with the 360.  The idea that a system could break down as often as the 360 does is insane!

Will I dump my x360 in a garbage chute somewhere and stick solely to the PS3? Doubtful. I do have the 360 on an extended warranty through Square Trade, and will send it in there for repairs, but when it comes to getting new games, I will be sticking to the PS3 releases and am as of tonight cancelling my Xbox live account, and instead upgrading to Playstation Plus.

Basically? The 360 has gone from being the system of choice for me, to just being there. Sort of an after thought, or on the occasion that a nifty exclusive title comes out.

DCUO release pushed back

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As many of you know, I have been eagerly looking forward to the upcoming release of DC Universe Online, a Super-hero MMORPG from Sony Online Entertainment, that was scheduled to be released early next month. In fact, I went and subscribed to Champions Online to hold me over until that release date.

However, today my hopes, dreams and wishes were shattered! How so you ask? Well, SOE announced that the release date should be pushed back. I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that releasing the game closer to Christmas would be the better choice anyway, that it would increase their sales, and in the long run benefit the gamers, since more people will have the game as christmas presents, and normally I would agree with you, but it’s not pushed back as a christmas release.

You see, the game has been pushed way back! The release date now, is March 31st, 2011! For those keeping track, that’s a long pushback, and a long wait. Long pushbacks make Shaide really unhappy. On the bright side, I suppose I still have Champions Online to keep me company for all those months that I now have to wait. Hopefully, the game will keep me interested until the end of march.

I suppose what worries me most, is when games start getting pushed back, they have a tendency to keep getting pushed back for years on end! Let’s not forget the Alan Wake and Splinter Cell: Conviction fiascos! I am really hoping however that this time the game will be released in March. Only time will tell however. Only time will tell.

Related Articles

• DC Universe Online Pushed To 2011 (multiplayerblog.mtv.com)
• DC Universe Online Delayed Into 2011, PS3 Collector’s Edition Announced (g4tv.com)
• “Sony Delays ‘DC Universe Online’” and related posts (forevergeek.com)

APB closed already?!

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So, I was sitting here, trying to decide on an MMO to try that I haven’t yet tried. After careful consideration I decided to give the game called APB a shot. I looked around at my favorite online stores, and couldn’t find it anywhere! I knew something was up, because it’s not like I could be misspelling the name.

After digging around, I decide to try to find the games website, assuming that maybe the game for some reason is only available for purchase through their store. To my amazement, their website was also gone! Curiouser and curiouser I thought.

After even more hunting around the internet, I discovered that APB had closed it’s doors! That’s right, the game had shut down. Now, the fact that it shut down isn’t the odd part. I mean, MMOs do have a habit of shutting down, especially the way the economy is these days. What is surprising however is how quickly the game closed down! After only being open for 3 months, they decided to call it quits.

You read that right! Three Months! APB now as far as I know, has the distinction of being the shortest lived MMO in gaming history, so congratulations on that!

I guess I will just have to stick to GTA IV in free roam mode.

The wait for DCUO

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Have you ever really looked forward to the release of a highly anticipated movie or game? I know that I certainly have! When I am looking forward to a game or movie, I tend to watch other movies, or play other games that are similar to the one I am waiting on.

For instance, When I was waiting on Mafia II, I went and replayed The Godfather: The Game. When I was waiting on the last Indiana jones movie, which was a major disappointment by the way, I watched the previous Indiana jones movies, as well as several of the clones, including Romancing the Stone, Allan Quartermain flicks and even that lame one with Chuck Norris and Louis Gosset Jr. called “Fire Walker“.

Now, I am doing it all over again! I am waiting in anticipation for the release of DC Universe Online, and in doing so I decided to get another Super Hero MMORPG to hold me over. However, there wasn’t a whole lot of Choices. In fact, there were 2 choices really. I could get and subscribe to City of Heroes, or I could get and subscribe to Champions Online.

It was a hard choice at first, I mean on one hand City of Heroes has a ton more content! I mean, you could be playing for years and never experience all that the game has to offer. Champions Online however has much better graphics and sound! See? Not an easy choice! Well, not an easy choice for most people.

I do admit, I was leaning in favor toward Champions Online. The better graphics and sound was more important to me than the content. Only because I hadn’t planned on playing it but for a few months! Remember, it was just to hold me over til the release of DCUO. I didn’t need a game with a plethora of content. I didn’t need a game that will keep me occupied for years to come.

However, what really pulled me over to champions Online was the fact that it was compatible with the Xbox 360 gamepad for the PC. I don’t mean that it supported it, but you had to calibrate and configure it. No! I mean it is fully supported and integrated right into the game! If you have your 360 controller plugged in, and start the game up, it’s ready! Just pick up the gamepad and begin playing! Even the onscreen commands tell you what buttons to push on your gamepad! For instance when you start the game up, and you are on the character selection screen, it tells you to press the green A button on your gamepad to begin playing.

I am a huge fan of gamepads, because I have been using them since I was 6. Using a gamepad to me, is about as natural as using my fingers. Is it any wonder that I went with the one that had full gamepad support?

After playing Champions Online for a few days though, I came to realise that this game truly does kick ass! It is an incredibly enjoyable game, and while I might have only planned to be playing it up until the release of DCUO, I have decided that I will most likely keep it as well as DCUO and play them both, assuming DCUO is even half as enjoyable as Champions.

The Wii might not be so bad!

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I have never hid the fact that I am not a huge fan of the Nintendo Wii. In fact, I believe I have even clearly stated that I hated it. That it wasn’t for me. That was all true! However, things have taken a slight turn now. Don’t get me wrong, I am still not a big fan of the Wii, in fact they only have 2 decent exclusive titles. Those titles are as Follows.

Animal Crossing: City Folk – A good game, however there isn’t much difference between this version and the version found on the Nintendo DS called Animal Crossing: Wild World. There’s a few changes but not much. In fact, it’s so similar, that they allow you to transfer your Wild world character over into your City Folk game. Basically, City Folk is like an expansion pack for wild world, and not even a good one.

A boy and his Blob  – This is a remake of the original NES game, so if you were a fan of the original, like I was, then you will no doubt have to play this remake. The graphics are beautiful, the game play is fun. It’s an enjoyable experience for the whole family.

That’s it! Those are the two exclusive Wii titles that are even slightly of interest. Sure, they have other good games! I never said they didn’t, but the fact is those other good games can be played on better consoles with better game controls. Have I mentioned in this post how much I hate motion controllers? Because I really do!

Anyway, despite my dislike for the Wii, I decided today to rummage through the Wii shop, and see what all they had in there, and to my surprise there was some pretty good stuff! The first thing that tickled my fancy was Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, which apparently is a sequel to the Super Famicom / SNES game Final Fantasy IV, which for the record is in my opinion the BEST Final Fantasy game ever created!

After my mind boggled at that game, I decided to dig around some more, this time in the Virtual Console section of the Wii shop. I found myself shitshocked at what I found! Many of the best games ever created from past consoles, all right there on one system! I mean, they were old game titles, Most were well over 15 years old! However they were still incredible games, and they were right there! These were games that I used to play instead of doing homework! Games that I would play hooky for! Games like Super Metroid, Paper Mario, Mario RPG, California Games, the entire Phantasy Star Series and that’s just to name a few!

The one that really caught my eye though? Y’s Book I & II. You see, the original Y’s Game. Y’s book I was the first RPG I ever played! It got me interested in not just Role Playing, but gaming it’s self.  I played the original on a game system called the Sega Master System, and I remember staying up all night until I passed out from sheer exhaustion. Sure, before that game I played other games, but I had never played a game that long without losing interest. Considering I suffered from ADD, that was amazing. Needless to say the game became my all time favorite game.

Fun fact: Not only did Y’s get me interested in Gaming, but it also got both my cousins interested in gaming and even my aunt and mom. Yea, it was that much of a kick ass game!

Years later a system popped up called the TurboGrafx-16, which people were going gaga over. mainly because it had some game called Bonk’s Adventure and everyone thought it was the bomb diggity. The game didn’t appeal to me, in fact none of the games appealed to me, and so I had no interest in the gaming console. That was until they released Y’s Book I & II, the original combined with a sequel. Being such a huge fan of the original, I had no choice! I had to buy the TG16! So I did, I of course also got the CD player, and Y’s I&II, and I have to admit I was thrilled! I felt it was the best purchase ever made, and once again I found myself unable to set the control down, I found myself passing out from sheer exhaustion.

Now, they are available on the Wii, for only 800 Wii Points, which is the equivalent of less than 10 bucks! Needless to say I bought quite a few Wii points, and bought quite a few games and relived my past in ways I never thought I would again, and the games are every bit as good today as they were then.

So, now I don’t mind the Wii. It’s not a great system in my opinion, but it’s also not too shabby either. It has it’s pluses.

I used to think I took games too seriously!

Once upon a time, I used to think I took video games too seriously. That’s what I thought until I read the following article about this french gamer I mean!

Counter-Strike player Julien Barreaux stabbed a victim, identified only as Mikhael, in real life “to see his rival wiped out for killing off his character”.

For seven months, the 20-year old plotted his revenge and finally tracked his online killer, who lived only a “few miles” from Barreaux. After Mikhael opened the door, Barreaux plunged a kitchen knife into Mikhael’s chest less than an inch away from his heart. Despite him making a quick escape, police arrested him within the hour.

Barreaux has been sentenced to (only) two years in jail for Grievous Bodily Harm and will be undergoing psychiatric tests and anger management classes. Judge Alexiane Potel called him a “menace to society” and stated, “I am frankly terrified of the disproportionate reaction you could have if someone looked at you the wrong way in the street.” Whatever it is, Potel, I suggest you stay from sharp objects for the next seven months.

Waiting on Mafia II

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I preordered Mafia II quite awhile ago, and have been eagerly looking forward to it. I must confess however, that I did not like the original Mafia game, in fact I despised it. However, that being said, I also despised Red Dead Revolver but I believe the sequel Red Dead Redemption is one of the best games to come out to date. So, I am hoping that the game is leaps and bounds better than the original, and after playing the Demo and viewing the commercials, it would seem like it is a lot better than the other one. Either way, I guess I will find out tomorrow.

Anyway, since I preordered the game from Amazon I have been extremely anxious! In fact, I have been so anxious that I decided to play an older 360 mobster inspired game. The game was called “The Godfather: The Game”, and as I am sure you can guess, it was based on the movie “The Godfather”.

When I originally got the godfather game, I wasn’t impressed. In fact, I despised the game and felt it was one of my worst video game purchases. However, when I played it again recently my whole view changed. I found myself enjoying the game. In fact, I found myself loving the game. I enjoyed it so much that I found it hard to put down, and just tonight finished it. What started out as a simple way to pass away some time until the release of an anticipated game, became an extremely enjoyable gaming experience.

I remember that there was a sequel based on the godfather game. I remember that I didn’t enjoy that either, and was glad I only rented it. However, after enjoying the original I have decided that, maybe after I finish Mafia II I might go out give “The Godfather: The game 2” another chance.

Related Articles

• Does Mafia II get “made” or swim with the fishes? (news.cnet.com)

Battlefield 1943: Xbox Live Arcade

There’s a game for the xbox 360 called battlefield 1943. It’s an online war shooter, and is available in the Xbox marketplace in their arcade section. Now, to begin with I want to say this game is a bit expensive compard to other arcade titles. However the graphics are great, the fun factor is superb and it’s exciting! Great way to kill a few mins or a few hours! Taking all that into consideration, it would be totally worth the cost.

Don’t go spending your MS Points yet though, because there’s a downside, and it’s a big one! It’s the lag! It’s insane! In fact, the lag makes the game nearly unplayable. When the game first came out, the lag was fine! So, naturally I bought it. The lag was fine for a few weeks too, I enjoyed the game, was happy with my purchase. Then the lag hit! It started about 4 months ago, and it’s a common problem, look it up online.

The lag is so bad in fact, that it makes the game almost useless! It’s practically unplayable and the purchase of the game was a waste of money. Honestly, I feel Microsoft should remove it from the marketplace until whoever is hosting the servers gets their act together and gets the lag taken care of.

Bottom line, stay FAR away from this game. Its a great game, ruined by poor servers.

Nintendo USED to be great!

Nintendo recently Released a new Shiny black Wii console. This new console also comes with something called Resort, which is ANOTHER sports package. I do kinda miss the days when Nintendo used to include mario titles with their consoles.

Anyway, I did sit down and play on this new console. Before this I had never played with a Wii, but used to be a HUGE Nintendo fan-boy. So, I was looking forward to it.

I got the system hooked up, the hookup and set-up process did take a while, but this was through no fault of the game console. After finally getting it all set up, I popped in a game and started playing.

I played for approximately 2 hours.

Here’s the bottom line. The game console sucks! I mean, I am not going to sugar coat it. It stinks. At least in my opinion. Granted, I am aware that everyone has their own tastes and preferences, but come on! The game systems horrible!

Where to begin? First, I am getting SO sick and tired of Nintendo trying to make creative controls and interfaces. People don’t REALLY need a dual screen, or a stylus for their portable game systems, and they SURE as hell don’t need to be waving their arms around like a madman when trying to play on a home console. Just give me action buttons and a directional stick/pad or two and I am happy. It’s something EVERYONE is familiar with. Does Nintendo do this though? No! They try to become creative and artsy and again, in my opinion it makes the game consoles suck.

Now, moving on to the graphics. What the hell?! This is a now-gen console? There are games on the PS2 and original Xbox that looks better than the graphics being poured out of the Wii! I’m not saying all games on the Wii look bad. Not at all, there’s a few titles out that make you go “Ah! Now this is Now-gen!” but in most cases? That’s not going to happen. In most cases, the graphics are horrible.

What else could possibly suck about this system? Well, to begin with, all it does is play Games. I know, it’s a game system! That’s kinda what it’s supposed to do, but come on! This is the age of next-gen game consoles! Consoles don’t just play games! They do everything! 360 plays DVDs, has an easy to use twitter and Facebook interface. PS3 plays Blu-Ray, and probably has similar twitter and Facebook applications.. The Wii doesn’t do ANYTHING aside from playing games.

Well, it DOES have a little Opera Internet browser you can download, thus allowing you to surf the web from the comfort of your own TV, but that’s not all that spiffy. The PS3 does that too! Plus the PS3 allows you to watch Blu-Ray, and play games with good graphics.

Ok, there are SOME upsides to the Wii. It’s not ALL bad. The Wii will allow you to watch Netflix View instantly movies on your TV. Which is a handy feature, but the thing is in order to use this feature, you need to have Netflix send you a “Netflix disc” which stick in your Wii and presto! You can watch their view instantly movies through your Wii.

Keep in mind though, the PS3 and the 360 both allow you to watch Netflix View instantly movies as well, plus those consoles don’t require you to wait on a disc to be mailed to you before you start using the service.

All in all, I truly believe the Wii is a failure. The cost is the same as a 360, and for a hundred more bucks, you can get a PS3. Both consoles completely overshadow the Wii. Both in features and performance. I would SERIOUSLY suggest you look at other game systems before you run out and get a Wii. Yes, the controls are novel and unique. However, Unique doesn’t always mean good. It just means nobody else has done it before, and to be honest, there might be a good reason why nobody has done it before!

My how the mighty have fallen. Nintendo used to be great! I’m not sure what happened.

The return of Fisher

Been playing Splinter Cell: Conviction the last few days whenever I get the chance, which unfortunately hasn’t been often, seeing as how I lead a very busy life and all! However the bit I have played of this game is incredible! It’s fun, it’s Exciting, It’s Sam Fisher! I mean, how can you go wrong?!

I could sing the praises of this game for hours and not run out of good things to say about it, but I should try and focus on both pros as well as Cons. So, let me try coming up with some complaints.

Ok, the game DOES take some getting used to, especially if you are a hardcore fan of the Splinter Cell game series. Sam Fisher no longer can wedge himself between walls and attack from above. You also are not able to drag bodies into the shadows to avoid detection. In fact, while the game does require a certain amount of sneaking around, the stealth component doesn’t seem to be as strong in this chapter of the splinter cell saga as it was in previous episodes. In fact, at least one episode is pure run and gun. That particular level, stealth is completely out the window.

The game also features a co-op set of levels, which is a totally different set of missions than the Sam Fisher storyline. However, I have yet to play the Co-op story, because to be honest, I suck at co-op! I’m not very helpful, and I tend to get all uncomfortable. I am so much better at shooting other players than helping them!

That being said, over all the game is fantastic! definitely something you should check out. Was it worth the long wait? Well, I think years of being pushed back was a bit ridiculous, but the game I think in the end was worth the wait. Especially those graphics! They are incredible, and if you are as much a graphic whore as I am, then you need to get the game just for the graphics alone!