Yes it's been a while but between all the work, gaming goodness and triathlon traning I've been a little distracted. However, nothing like San Diego ComicCon to put a geek's head back in the right place. And the two big announcements for me were the debut of Mavel Ultimate Alliance 2 (here's the rocking trailer) and the new downloadable Marvel character skins for "Little Big Planet". I know the LBP might not be a big deal to most but I think its one of the FEW games worth turning on the George Foreman Grill (aka PS3) for. SO above and beyond the fact that you get TONS of hours of gameplay and then replay values out of LBP, you can now skinn out your sack people with all your favorite Marvel characters. You mean I can build my new avengers or Fantastic Four Sack team? I'm in! AND if the characters have any "comic book actions" while you navigate through the levels and solve puzzles I might just lose my mind.
HOLY SH*T! Shooting has started for "Iron Man 2" and here's the 1st official photo. Now those of you familiar with the comic book should recognize the setting because this is the "hub" where Tony Stark controls and monitors all the Iron Man armors.
Although the film won't release until May 7th 2010, you can look for updates at Marvel , not just for Iron Man but all the Marvel movie properties, or you can hop on Twitter and follow Jon Favreau as he gives updates about what's going on and work with the actors from the shooting locations.
Let me preface this by saying I'm talking about console games. I rarely if ever game on my PC anymore so this rant is directed at my console brethren.
Okay, I know most people love 'em some multiplayer and I'm happy to admit that I on occasion find it enjoyable (especially when I can play with other adults instead of a room full of 13 years olds cussing and talking trash) but when I head to my local store to plunck down $59.99 on a game I expect to get an in-depth single-player campaign that'll keep my attention. Too often it seems the focus is on the multiplayer. Really, how much hype was there about the single player content of Halo 3 or Gears of War 2? Worse than that is the Xbox 360 achievements and soon to be PS3 Trophies associated with the games. I mean some are flat ridiculous! Gears of War's "Kill 10,000 people in Versus Ranked Matches" anyone? Really? I mean really? Who in the sweet mother of God even has the time to accomplish this? Not to mention how repetitive multiplayer gets. How much Capture the Flag or Deathmatch can you play before it gets boring?! Although I must give Gears of War 2 credit for giving me the option of playing "multiplayer" with bots.
I understand it ties into revenue streams. Downloadable content in the form of new multi-player maps is easy to do and a quick way to continue generating money on a game title. However, some games are just plain great and don't NEED multiplayer; God of War, Devil May Cry, Assassin's Creed, Marvel Ultimate Alliance just to name a few great stand alone-no multiplayer games.
But, remember the good old PC gaming days (before there was multiplayer) when the games we loved to play had expansion packs to buy or download every few months? What happened to that? Why has that practically disappeared? There are a few games that are experimenting with single player DLC. "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" and "Mass Effect" have offered single player DLC and the content was pretty darn good. Maybe its catching on since its been announced that we'll see single player DLC for Fable II and Fallout 3.
Developers please give us single player DLC. Come on, is it just me?
Okay, so its the beginning of a new year and we've all decided to be better members of the planet. Right...right?
Well, you might not have decided to recycle your own waste or anything but a simple change in the bulbs you use in your house can make a TON of difference. Believe it or not, only about 10 percent of the power consumed is given off as light in traditional incandescent bulbs, the the other 90 percent is wasted, normally given off as heat. How did we not learn this in Science class?! On the other hand, a compact fluorescent light(CFL), uses power to excite the electrons in gas (mercury vapor) and can be up to six times more efficient. Even with that kind of good science behind it few are making the switch. Why? Partly because of the harsh glare. Well fret no more, the lighting industry is getting hip to our issues and is making a variety of bulbs with different coating in order to "tune" the color of light emitted and give us "soft, medium and hard" lighting just like with incandescents. The way to tell CFL lights about is to read the package and see the degrees in Kelvin listed, That number will let you find the perfect CFL for desired effect. Use the guide below (totally swiped from Wired Magazine) the next time you're buying lights at the hardware super store.
Living Room/Dining Room You want warmer CFLs where you're entertaining guests. The yellow and red tints cast in the 2,700 to 3,000 K range make skin tones and clothing look softer and more inviting. Cooler, bluish bulbs will cause guests to look harsh and plastic, overpowering even the thickest beer goggles.
Study/Workshop Go with cooler Kelvins for task lighting: The iris contracts in response to a bluish-green tint, making it easier to focus on stuff close up. Stick to the low end of cool (3,500 K) if you do a lot of reading; go high (4,100 K) for detail work like building model airplanes or painting the armor on your Warhammer miniatures.
Bedroom Though a cooler bulb will help your bedtime reading, you might want to sacrifice Melville for Jackie Collins and go for something warm — around 2,700 K. You know, for business time. A few CFLs are available in dimmer and 3-step varieties, so you can cue up the Barry White and turn the lights down.
Bathroom A CFL isn't the best option in the WC: Its lifespan, normally about 10 times that of an incandescent, is cut short when it's turned on and off frequently. So keep an extra incandescent around — or brush your teeth in the dark.
Backyard Tiki torches are great for BBQ ambiance but foul the air with particulates. Go CFL and make up for some of the energy it took to produce that burger. You'll want warmth (so your food looks good) and brightness, so stick to the upper end of the warm range (3,000 K) to have your steak and see it, too.
And boom goes the dynamite! With CFLs you can get great lighting, save money AND be more green.
Kratos is coming...and he's bringing hell with him!
Ah, one of the best game properties of the last few years is making its debut on PS3. Our favorite Greek Kratos is getting his first installment of God of War on a next gen console. Yes, his twisted blade wielding-ness is coming to PS3 for the third game in the trilogy. The trailer, cinematics and gamepley, looks simply amazing. Hell, David Jaffe couldn't stop raving about the game and he's no longer even associated with the title. Thanks the Gods that I FINALLY have a reason to own a PS3 for something other than a Blu-Ray DVD player!!! Enjoy.
Playstation's Merging and the new Xbox Live Experience.
Okay, for starters I'm really trying to figure out this new Playstation ID merging thing. I don't understand how this is so cool right now?! How in the world is it supposed to be cooler than my Xbox Live GamerCard?
Oh and speaking of Xflop Live and it's New User Experience...the jury is SO still out. It's like the Wii's Mii comunity but with tons of more windows. I thought the whole purpose of the original "Blade" menus and their success was due to their simplicity. Yeah, simple is not the word to use in the layers upon layers of windows/blocks in the "new" Xbox Live interface. Am I missing something?
(Personal disclaimer: While I love EndWar and all that the game is, I would be remiss by not mentioning that I worked on it. That's right, look in the credits and you'll see yours truly as the Military Authenticity Advisor. Part of the reason I wanted to work on the game is in part due to the fact I knew it was gonna be great and I'd like to think I helped a little in making the finished product so good .had a little hand in that. However, I must exercise due diligence and come clean with the fact that I work on it when writing a review. I can't even tell you how stoked I was when my copies of the game, see below, arrived. Man, thank goodness I got that out of the way now back to blogging.) Okay, so there are lots of games that try to put you in the role of a military Commander. None however have ever made it this easy! With Tom Clancy's EndWar the way you command your troops and move around the battlefield is by donning a headset and issuing voice commands just like real soldiers. The ease of which you command your forces guarantees that RTS games have made the leap from PC to their new console homes! Add in the stunning visuals, diverse environments and cinematic-like presentation and its like you're right in the thick of battle. The game leaps you to a near future in which the world is fought over by three distinct factions. The story and factions are notional and based in a World War III-like future. The United States, Russia, and a European Union have each become superpowers. The US plans to send a military capability to space in order to lead the arms race. But terrorists swoop in and destroy the station before lift-off. This becomes the events that sets off global war. You pick up your desired faction and fight a number of battles around the globe based on their view. To keep you in the mind of global warfare you'll get updates from your commander and the media as to how the fight is going.
Although the game play and capability is similar across the factions the look (down to the finest deetail) of vehicles/aircraft, personnel and voices differ. Infantry comprises riflemen and engineers, tanks and artillery are your armored advantage; the sky is ruled by gunships and transports move troops around and give you an anti-air threat. The vantage point from each units camera is amazing! You'll see rounds zinging by, artillery impacts, burning hulks and even aircraft blown out of the sky. Issuing commands to those units couldn't be simpler. You hold the trigger button and speak a preset command into the microphone. You can attack, bring reinforcements and switch camera views by voice alone and that unique control mechanism is the biggest draw of the game letting you closely follow and command your units into the fight. Allowing you concentrate on the battle and not on the buttons (that is SO a tagline).
The campaign takes you through a series of battles that help you save the world and there's online capability that lets you fight other budding Pattons or Rommels online. The game is slick, easy to control and most importantly FUN to play. No wonder it was named "Strategy Game of the Year" at E3!!! Run out and get your copy today. Now I've got to get back to controlling my armies, Dutch out.
