November is here once again. That means another Call of Duty game is released and another Remembrance Day is close by. Yeah, it’s a great time to release a game with Xmas only being 5-6 weeks away. But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Call of Duty comes out so close to Remembrance Day every year.
To everyone out there who thinks that a career with the armed forces would be a piece of cake because they just got 13 kills and 4 deaths in their last round on Call of Duty, remember this: In real life, there are no respawns. You don’t get to come back – you get buried. You can’t adjust the setting of the war from “realistic” to “easy”. And you most certainly do not get to blame your getting shot on “lag issues”.
On November 11, remember to wear a poppy and take a minute of silence for those who fell to provide us the freedom to live the lives that we do. When they answered the call of duty, the gave a lot more than the $60 that the game cost.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
How short is too short?
So, I'm finished Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. What a short game. I have a few challenges to do, but the game itself is finished. I could replay on a harder level or go back and chase some achievements - either or both of which I still might do. But for a single playthrough, IT IS SHORT!!! There's no multi-player or co-op play to extend the experience. I'm feeling a tad disappointed. And ripped off. Not just once, but twice. I bought a copy for myself and the boy. Fortunately, I traded in against them so I didn't feel the direct hit to the pocketbook for two copies... But still.
Games with short campaigns should have a multi-player component to it, like Halo: Reach, or Medal of Honor. Games without multi-player should have wicked campaigns. Mass Effect is a prime example. Or Fallout. Gears of War is the best of both worlds - a challenging campaign with both co-op and multi-player gameplay to really extend the experience. I miss the old Star Wars games - Knights of the Old Republic, the Jedi Knight series - Those games had real substance to them. We should get some free DLC just to make up for the tiny campaign. That will never happen, though. Lucas doesn't give anything away for free. A full price game needs a full price effort put into it.
If you're not a die hard Star Wars fan that must own a copy of it, then rent it. Or wait for it to drop in price. Or wait for it to be rebundled with all of the inevitable DLC which might make it worth the full price. Any way, it's not a $60 game. And with the large selection of new games out this holiday season, it's not like we're short of choices.
Games with short campaigns should have a multi-player component to it, like Halo: Reach, or Medal of Honor. Games without multi-player should have wicked campaigns. Mass Effect is a prime example. Or Fallout. Gears of War is the best of both worlds - a challenging campaign with both co-op and multi-player gameplay to really extend the experience. I miss the old Star Wars games - Knights of the Old Republic, the Jedi Knight series - Those games had real substance to them. We should get some free DLC just to make up for the tiny campaign. That will never happen, though. Lucas doesn't give anything away for free. A full price game needs a full price effort put into it.
If you're not a die hard Star Wars fan that must own a copy of it, then rent it. Or wait for it to drop in price. Or wait for it to be rebundled with all of the inevitable DLC which might make it worth the full price. Any way, it's not a $60 game. And with the large selection of new games out this holiday season, it's not like we're short of choices.
Friday, October 22, 2010
The Art of the Deal
It is the onset of the holiday season, when we are bombarded with a proliferation of great gaming goodness. Fallout, Call of Duty, Assassins Creed, The Force Unleashed,... How can we keep up?
Well, we can make choices. Which ones do we want right now? Which ones can we wait for a price drop on? Do I have to give up my Starbucks for Fable? What do we want to see under the tree at Xmas? Decisions, decisions. But what if we don't want to wait? What happens if the spoiled 8-year old in us comes out and wants it all right now? This is where we try to stretch that dollar a little further. It takes a little work, but it can be worth it. I'm talking about the art of the trade-in deal.
Now if we want to get rid of those games collecting dust on the shelf, that's one thing. It's low hanging fruit - easy to pick, not a lot of work. I'm talking about chasing the juicy fruit at the top of the tree. For that, we have to be more creative. I'm talking about the undervalued games with good trade-in values that are floating around out there, just waiting to be exploited.
One example of this occurred earlier this year when Alien vs. Predator came out. EB Games (Gamestop Canada) offered a 50% additional trade-in on games toward the pre-order of AvP. At this particular time they were offering $40 for Marvel: Ultimate Alliance II. On the pre-order, that value increased to $60. Since AvP sold for $60, it was virtually a direct swap. With a little hunting I managed to find a used copy of Marvel II for $36 all in, netting me a cool $30 in savings (including taxes). This was not the first time I saved a few bucks by exploiting trade-in values and it most certainly has not been my last. I have literally saved hundreds of dollars on games by exploiting higher than average trade-in values by purchasing underpriced games. If they're going to give it to us, then darn it, we should take it!!
For some it might not be worth the effort. Sometimes I wonder if I enjoy the challenge of doing it more than I need the financial savings. But it helps, regardless of why I do it. Do you have any stories of trade-in savings? Are you a bargain hunter? How do you make your gaming dollar go further? Let's hear from all you cheapskate gamers out there! Maybe we can all help each other.
Well, we can make choices. Which ones do we want right now? Which ones can we wait for a price drop on? Do I have to give up my Starbucks for Fable? What do we want to see under the tree at Xmas? Decisions, decisions. But what if we don't want to wait? What happens if the spoiled 8-year old in us comes out and wants it all right now? This is where we try to stretch that dollar a little further. It takes a little work, but it can be worth it. I'm talking about the art of the trade-in deal.
Now if we want to get rid of those games collecting dust on the shelf, that's one thing. It's low hanging fruit - easy to pick, not a lot of work. I'm talking about chasing the juicy fruit at the top of the tree. For that, we have to be more creative. I'm talking about the undervalued games with good trade-in values that are floating around out there, just waiting to be exploited.
One example of this occurred earlier this year when Alien vs. Predator came out. EB Games (Gamestop Canada) offered a 50% additional trade-in on games toward the pre-order of AvP. At this particular time they were offering $40 for Marvel: Ultimate Alliance II. On the pre-order, that value increased to $60. Since AvP sold for $60, it was virtually a direct swap. With a little hunting I managed to find a used copy of Marvel II for $36 all in, netting me a cool $30 in savings (including taxes). This was not the first time I saved a few bucks by exploiting trade-in values and it most certainly has not been my last. I have literally saved hundreds of dollars on games by exploiting higher than average trade-in values by purchasing underpriced games. If they're going to give it to us, then darn it, we should take it!!
For some it might not be worth the effort. Sometimes I wonder if I enjoy the challenge of doing it more than I need the financial savings. But it helps, regardless of why I do it. Do you have any stories of trade-in savings? Are you a bargain hunter? How do you make your gaming dollar go further? Let's hear from all you cheapskate gamers out there! Maybe we can all help each other.
I'm out of the closet.
My dirty little secret has been revealed. Rhonda knows about my blog.
It wasn't a secret perse, but she didn't know about it. Now she does. She was surprised.
That is all.
It wasn't a secret perse, but she didn't know about it. Now she does. She was surprised.
That is all.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Putting the "Friend" back in your "Friends List"
I'm not always a good friend. I try to be, but then life takes over and I find I lose touch with people, both online and offline. Sometimes I find myself in conversations with friends who are talking about things I didn't know about. I had no idea El Sand Dog had his appendix removed. I've lost track of QJB's operations. I seem to forget the names of kids and spouses of people on my friends list, which is a result of not talking to them for a while. I'm sure that there's plenty more that I can't list here simply because I don't know about it.
Even here locally, I've lost track of friends that I've known since grade school. I'm starting to feel guilty about it. Now, I'm not a Facebook guy, I'm a face-to-face guy. I prefer to talk to someone or email someone directly than read a post on a website as to how they're doing. I'm also a private person by nature and my life is not the business of the general public. Not to mention I'd have to wrestle Rhonda for the PC. I'm sure she'd just as soon call the police and have me arrested for domestic abuse rather than give up "her" computer.
Time is my enemy. Always has been. There's never enough of it for me to do the things that I would like to do. And for some reason, I've had really low energy lately too, which doesn't help. I think I need a multi-vitamin with a Red Bull chaser. And for the first time ever, I'm considering a Facebook account just to consolidate my friends (or the vast majority thereof) and make a concerted effort to know what's going on in their lives on a regular basis. I'm a little anti-facebook because the whole "stalkbook" thing. It earned that nickname for a reason, so I'm still a little uncertain.
In the meantime, I'm going to try and make a better effort to keep in touch with my friends. It's time that the "friend" on your "friends list" makes an appearance again.
Even here locally, I've lost track of friends that I've known since grade school. I'm starting to feel guilty about it. Now, I'm not a Facebook guy, I'm a face-to-face guy. I prefer to talk to someone or email someone directly than read a post on a website as to how they're doing. I'm also a private person by nature and my life is not the business of the general public. Not to mention I'd have to wrestle Rhonda for the PC. I'm sure she'd just as soon call the police and have me arrested for domestic abuse rather than give up "her" computer.
Time is my enemy. Always has been. There's never enough of it for me to do the things that I would like to do. And for some reason, I've had really low energy lately too, which doesn't help. I think I need a multi-vitamin with a Red Bull chaser. And for the first time ever, I'm considering a Facebook account just to consolidate my friends (or the vast majority thereof) and make a concerted effort to know what's going on in their lives on a regular basis. I'm a little anti-facebook because the whole "stalkbook" thing. It earned that nickname for a reason, so I'm still a little uncertain.
In the meantime, I'm going to try and make a better effort to keep in touch with my friends. It's time that the "friend" on your "friends list" makes an appearance again.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The "Community Console"
"She's the community bicycle, baby. Everybody's had a ride." - Austin Powers
A couple of blogs ago, Pengwenn and I were discussing spare consoles and she had mentioned that she might send one to Ghengis as a temporary measure to get him back online until he had the opportunity to get one for himself. I was thinking about kicking in financially for that so that she wouldn't have to bear the whole cost of it. I knew that I had a spare console or two lying around as do some of our other friends. With the high mortality rate of the Xbox 360 and the increasingly long waits to get repaired units back, keeping a spare one these days just makes sense. But it made me start thinking about another idea: The community console.
The concept is simple: Whoever needs it would get it and then they would send it on to the next person when they need it. Beamer and I have been trading games for about 1 1/2 years now, and that has gone well. In our case, it has saved us each some money and it had given us the chance to play games that we might not have otherwise tried if we had to pay big bucks for them. We would be simply extending this idea to the console itself.
Like any new idea, there are plenty issues that would have to be worked out. Who wants to be involved? Who pays for the initial one? If we all chip in, how does the money get collected? Who looks after it? What happens if it breaks down? Do the shipping costs make it prohibitive? The answer to all of these questions is the same: I don't know. We'd have to work it out. But it was just an idea and I thought I'd throw it out there. It works for games. Einstein once said that "If at first an idea does not seem totally absurd, it will never work". How absurd is this? You be the judge.
A couple of blogs ago, Pengwenn and I were discussing spare consoles and she had mentioned that she might send one to Ghengis as a temporary measure to get him back online until he had the opportunity to get one for himself. I was thinking about kicking in financially for that so that she wouldn't have to bear the whole cost of it. I knew that I had a spare console or two lying around as do some of our other friends. With the high mortality rate of the Xbox 360 and the increasingly long waits to get repaired units back, keeping a spare one these days just makes sense. But it made me start thinking about another idea: The community console.
The concept is simple: Whoever needs it would get it and then they would send it on to the next person when they need it. Beamer and I have been trading games for about 1 1/2 years now, and that has gone well. In our case, it has saved us each some money and it had given us the chance to play games that we might not have otherwise tried if we had to pay big bucks for them. We would be simply extending this idea to the console itself.
Like any new idea, there are plenty issues that would have to be worked out. Who wants to be involved? Who pays for the initial one? If we all chip in, how does the money get collected? Who looks after it? What happens if it breaks down? Do the shipping costs make it prohibitive? The answer to all of these questions is the same: I don't know. We'd have to work it out. But it was just an idea and I thought I'd throw it out there. It works for games. Einstein once said that "If at first an idea does not seem totally absurd, it will never work". How absurd is this? You be the judge.
Monday, August 9, 2010
The "New" Xbox 360: A Review
I had promised a review of the new Xbox 360 when I had it up and running for a couple of weeks, so here it is:
Microsoft claims it is "whisper quiet". That claim is true. You can barely hear it run. The only issue I have is when I play Alan Wake. For some reason, that disc makes a ton of noise when it spins. It's the only one like that.
Data transfer sucks. This is my biggest pet peeve with it. I had previously changed my data over from a 20GB hard drive to a 120GB hard drive and it was easy. The new hard drive came with a data transfer cable that I had kept. I tried to use it but it didn't work because the new hard drive is internal. My 512MB memory card didin't work because they got rid of the ports for it on the new one. I had to buy a flash drive to use to transfer save data. Some of the DLC I just downloaded again. It's a pain in the gluteus maximus, to be sure. If there is an easier way to do it, I don't know about it. If nothing else it forces you to go through your hard drive and clean house of unplayed game data, demos, and videos. I also hear the hard drive is proprietary so you can't just go out and buy a bigger drive and install it yourself. They do cover all their bases, don't they?
The engineers at Microsoft finally figured out that heat rises. The exhaust fan pushes heat out the top (when laid horizontally). Supposedly it runs cooler, but it feels like it runs really hot.
It gets dirty very easy. You can see every spec of dust on it. And the power/disc eject touch buttons are incredibly sensitive. I've accidently ejected discs because I brushed up against it.
The wireless N connection feels just as fast as or faster than my previously wired connection. I had a couple of minor hiccups with connections being dropped (L4D2 on Sunday night) but I know that was on my end and I have to adjust some computer settings. There is a direct correlation between dropping wirelss connections on both my PS3 and my 360 to when my computer decides to go into low energy mode.
Other than that it's still an Xbox 360. All the old controllers and games still work. It's not a game changer by any stretch of the imagination. It just provides the people with what they've been asking for - a more reliable console (time will tell on that one) with a few more features to it. My conclusion: If you've been thinking about upgrading you might find a better way to spend your money - unless your current console is knocking on heaven's door.
Microsoft claims it is "whisper quiet". That claim is true. You can barely hear it run. The only issue I have is when I play Alan Wake. For some reason, that disc makes a ton of noise when it spins. It's the only one like that.
Data transfer sucks. This is my biggest pet peeve with it. I had previously changed my data over from a 20GB hard drive to a 120GB hard drive and it was easy. The new hard drive came with a data transfer cable that I had kept. I tried to use it but it didn't work because the new hard drive is internal. My 512MB memory card didin't work because they got rid of the ports for it on the new one. I had to buy a flash drive to use to transfer save data. Some of the DLC I just downloaded again. It's a pain in the gluteus maximus, to be sure. If there is an easier way to do it, I don't know about it. If nothing else it forces you to go through your hard drive and clean house of unplayed game data, demos, and videos. I also hear the hard drive is proprietary so you can't just go out and buy a bigger drive and install it yourself. They do cover all their bases, don't they?
The engineers at Microsoft finally figured out that heat rises. The exhaust fan pushes heat out the top (when laid horizontally). Supposedly it runs cooler, but it feels like it runs really hot.
It gets dirty very easy. You can see every spec of dust on it. And the power/disc eject touch buttons are incredibly sensitive. I've accidently ejected discs because I brushed up against it.
The wireless N connection feels just as fast as or faster than my previously wired connection. I had a couple of minor hiccups with connections being dropped (L4D2 on Sunday night) but I know that was on my end and I have to adjust some computer settings. There is a direct correlation between dropping wirelss connections on both my PS3 and my 360 to when my computer decides to go into low energy mode.
Other than that it's still an Xbox 360. All the old controllers and games still work. It's not a game changer by any stretch of the imagination. It just provides the people with what they've been asking for - a more reliable console (time will tell on that one) with a few more features to it. My conclusion: If you've been thinking about upgrading you might find a better way to spend your money - unless your current console is knocking on heaven's door.
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