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Ninja Gaiden 2 Sarcastic Speed Review

Toshi — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:30:06 GMT

Basically I'm going to review this game while making fun of as many things about it as I can. The majority of this will cover the storyline so if you don't want to blow any surprises don't open the spoilers.

The game starts off with a super busty chick straight from DOA beach party who we're supposed to believe is an FBI agent. I'll get to that later, the important thing is that she will be your princess toad stool in this story. You will at points have to stop what you're doing to save her. So it starts with her being captured and you going on a killing spree to get here back. You wade through a sea of blood and limbs only to save her and find that your home town is under attack... again.

For those of you who played the first NG You'll recognize this village especially with the fire. It seems that while Ryu is the ninja god of butt kicking, other members of the dragon clan are about as useful as a fork when you're trying to eat soup. So you are the cavalry riding to the rescue... no their all dead. Well since you weren't able to save them your job is commit genocide so thorough it makes Darfur look peaceful.

After slaughtering your way though the level you'll square off with the leader of the other clan beat him up, then even though you were winning you lose, but don't worry you're dad (who didn't/couldn't) do anything to stop the village from being destroyed will save you. That's just insulting.

Next you fight your way through the four fiends each with their own section of the world. Volf is a Werewolf, which isn't funny, so I'm not even going to try and make a joke about it.

After slogging through a bunch more levels you'll have gotten to kill dragons, demons, fiends, 500 metric tons worth or ninjas, and even a squirrel or two (totally lying about the squirrel). Before getting to to the fiend Temple you have to re-kill all the fiends to get keys. Then at the end of it all is an old man who sprouts tentacles and has a giant third eye is his head. He looks like a crappy Rasputin merged with an octopus, but sadly he's more monster looking than his boss (in his first form). I still don't know what the head boss is supposed to resemble but it's neither fear inspiring, nor cool. It's like some kind of mushroom headed, toad creature.

So there's my Sarcastic Speed Review I hope you all got a laugh and if you didn't, whatever.:tongue:

IGN- what happened?

Toshi — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:51:16 GMT

I used to use IGN as my primary source of video game news, and it was the only site I went to for game reviews. Lately though it feels like they have lost their consistency, and at least with me, they've lost their credibility.

Lately I've noticed some of their reviews weren�t matching up with the scores they were giving games. At the end of most reviews they'd break down a game into different categories and then the score would be the average of that, but lately those numbers haven't seemed to matter. Then there are some games that seem (IMO) to be just wrong. For example my wife picked up the Wall-E game for the PS3. For a movie game it's not bad. It's a little basic in the game play, and the graphics aren't super sharp, but it was enjoyable and I helped her play though it (took turns on the levels). IGN said that it should be a 4.5 (for reference IGN gave Turning Point: Fall of Liberty a 5 and it sucked). I�ll admit the Wall-E game doesn't�t break any new ground, but it was fun, the controls were responsive and it was short enough for my wife to finish without losing interest. Sadly it�s not just this occurrence of nonsensical rating.

My next example of IGN losing their credibility with me is their game of the month list for June (http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/885/885287p1.html). Ninja Gaiden wasn�t even on the list. IGN gave the game an 8.7 and an editor�s choice award, but it didn�t even make the list? I could see that if there were a lot of great games released this month but are you seriously going to tell me that Top Spin 3, DBZ Burst, Bourne Conspiracy, C&C3 for console, and GH:Aerosmith are better candidates for game of the month? Oh and what about GRID? The demo for that game was pretty good and it got an 8.7 and editor's choice award as well. Those other games were better though right? I�m not buying it. Maybe it's because IGN gave the games between a 7.9 (DBZ)- 7.6 (GH:A) with several of the games not having received a score.

I usually don�t agree with Xplay�s reviews of games but I think they nailed Top Spin 3 as a glorified Pong. No matter how pretty you make the game you�re still going to stand on a uniform looking court and hit a ball back and forth. But no, you�re right IGN that�s waaaaay better than taking on a sea of ninjas and demons bent on destroying the world, or an adrenaline charged racer with cool crashes, and tons of different courses and styles of play. Those games would suck!

I'm half tempted to say we should boycott IGN until it gets it's act together and starts doing things like the website it was just 1 year ago. Seriously IGN, stop with the bass ackwardsness!

Bayonetta - Platinum Games Has Something Up His Sleeve

codinthepocket — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:57:41 GMT

For those of you unaware of whom or what Platinum Games are/is, they are a game developer formerly known as Seeds, who signed a big money deal with SEGA to multi-publish games made under Platinum Games Inc.

Platinum Games is owned by former Capcom developers Shinji Mikami, Hideki Kamiya and Atsushi Inaba, who were behind game franchises such as Devil May Cry, Resident Evil and Okami.

They are in the process of making three games set to stand out of the crowd.

But the game that has caught my attention, which is being developed by this recently founded company, is Bayonetta.

Find out why I’m excited about this unknown title, after the jump.

Bayonetta is a 3D action game being directed by Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya, and although not much is actually known about this game as of yet, the game is set to revolve around a witch, who, ironically, is also called Bayonetta (never saw this one coming…).

But not only are you a witch, which would entail you having powers of some sort that enabled you to perform special spells and magic on your enemies, you are a shooter, equipped with guns in hand, and for some odd and as of yet unexplained reason, in feet, whose prey are angels.

You get to perform stylish capping, and yes, you can decapitate angels with your feet. Nice touch, right?

This game looks to be a cinematic experience, perhaps not on a Hideo Kojima level, no, but it may follow the Devil May Cry trend, with a fast-paced shooting system and dramatic cut-scenes and fights, hopefully with a nice added touch of aerial combat with flying angels (broomstick could well be included…).

And for all of those fans of action games without the censoring or lack of gore, fear not. This game is set to push the limits of blood and gore, and with magic, slick gameplay and a seemingly endless supply of enemies to kill as extra perks, it seems that this game may have everything that hardcore games love. And the main character is a heroine, which no doubt ticks the extra box on the list of things most wanted in a gory game. This game includes a Lara Croft-style, attractive yet sinister chick who seems to never tire from slaughtering a continuous horde of angels.

You will no doubt find that a Heavenly Sword touch will be added to the game, making the main character a slightly feminist girl, who is prone to ball-busting…

The flowing fight system is set to be stunning. With seamless transactions from one fight to another, with brilliant fighting gameplay logistics and “balletic grace” during the finishing moves to match, this game will set to rise from its dark cave and fly up into the public awareness with a flourish.

Lara Croft, be warned. There is a new woman in gaming, and she’s ready to shoot the crap out of anyone in her way.

Rock Band Review

Sir Vivo — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:52:13 GMT

After the success and great response among the gaming community from Guitar Hero, Rock Band is set out to steal its rocking thunder. In a short answer it succeeds. For the long answer read on.

Rock Band takes a one up on the Guitar Hero. With the added Drums and Mic features it really steps the game up to 11! The added instruments do make it a little more involved and the leaning curve a little longer, but the overall game is very similar to what we have already seen before. Games such as Karaoke Revolution, Drum Beat Mania, and Guitar Hero. With all this the game plays very well.

Gameplay is very easy to pick up. Choose from single player or multiplayer, then a quick play or a tour. Once you choose your mode then you are able to create your own rocker or use a preset model made from the hundreds of sets of clothing, jewelery, and other accessories. Once you have your rocker (I like to make members of Guns & Roses) you can now pick a song. The songs are can be sorted by difficulty, genre, decade, and alphabetically. The song list is pretty impressive. I;m more of a classic rocker, but I was pleasantly surprised to see some great songs. I'm not going to get into the songs but you can find a song list on wikipedia. Anyway you have your rocker, song, and now you need your instrument. The guitar doubles as a guitar and base. ( some songs you play backup guitar) The guitar plays identical to guitar hero and that is not a bad thing. The only difference is if you use the Rock Band Fender guitar the is a nice lever to change how your guitar sounds. Not a big feature but it is still a fun feature.

Although the gameplay is the same as Guitar Hero, the guitar itself feels a little soft. I like to have my buttons feel more of a click rather than a small press. The guitar is spot on just a comment on my part. The Microphone, what can I really say we all know what one is and this one package in with the bundle is actually good. This mic has enough weight and a long enough cord to really make you feel like a rockstar. I'm no the best singer but it is very fun. I have some trouble with songs at high pitch or song I don't know. The accuracy of the mic is good but not great. On the harder levels it gets really hard because it does get really picky at how you hold your pitch. For people like me where you can only sing songs on the lower end, be aware that this will be hard.

Now on to the one device that everyone wants to use. The drums! This is where Rock Band sets itself apart from every other music game out there. This drum is well made and can take a beating. The set out of the box seemed out of sync, but with a calibration it was working properly. This set can be fun if you get the beat right. On the east and medium levels the amount of notes is very limited. Once you go to hard (or expert if your good enough) this is where you feel like a real rock star! There is nothing like slamming the drums as the rest of the band is running around on stage pumping the crowd!

Playing in a band made up of actual players is fun. Having played with four people it was extremely fun. This game is easy enough for people like my wife to pick it up and have fun with it. I wouldn't think younger kids would be able to have the coordination to play this game so I would recommend 13+ for this game.

One last note: At the time of this review the game has been out for about 6 months now. Rock Band developers have kept their promise of releasing a song per week. Some of the songs to me are a must get, but most are songs I have never heard of. In that note I have bought about 10 songs and this keeps the game fresh.

Graphics:8/10 (pretty colors, and looks crisp)
Sound:10/10 with everything thats going on always sounds good, except when I sing)
Gameplay: 9/10 (Easy to get into and play for hours. Fun party game)
Lasting Appeal: 9/10 (with all the songs to download this will be played for a long time.)
Controls 8/10 (May need a calibration for some TV's)
Innovation: 7/10 ( adding the mic and Drums makes it better than guitar hero and is very fresh)

Rewards of a Reformat

paulmess7 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:40:47 GMT

My dinky little ZT group computer has been growing ill over the past months. At the time of purchase, this thing was a beast. No, not a gaming PC, an everyday e-mail, internet, media PC. Not even two years old, it's amazing how much things have changed. When I got it, 1gig of ram and a Pentium D processor was rather advanced. Now, I get messages saying I have system 32 errors, and error reports saying my bios are not compatible with my motherboard... These messages are full of crap though, and I think are caused as a result of a virus. Also, only a month after my one year warranty was up, my on-board sound card went bad. Meaning, the only fix was a PCI card that I happened to have laying around, but I just lost the good quality of mine, and no more headphone jack in the front of the case. Anyway, not wanting to ramble on about other minor problems, the other day I picked up a 750gig Maxtor external hard drive from Costco for only $150. After backing up 13gigs of music, as well as some other junk, I erased my system partition, and reinstalled XP home edition (I know, it sucks) to install drivers that required me to reboot my computer 7 times (no joke) and find that my sound card was working again! Aside from that, it's great having your files on an external, and keeping your computer clean. If anyone is having trouble, and has the software, I highly recommend reformatting. It has done me magic, and saved me buying a new computer, when mine is fast enough, and just needed to be cleaned up.

What Sony needs to release in a PSP firmware update...

GideonB — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:03:44 GMT

Seriusly is there a point in updating for a search bar to V4.00? Not really. So I think we need these things in the next firmware update;
Playstation Store from the PSP
Open Flash Files without a browser
Create a Dual-Firmware System (that wont happen but we wish it will) and a bunch more of crap we need. What do you guys want in the next PSP update?

Metal Gear Solid 4 Single Player Review

FakePlasticTree — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:58:25 GMT

Snake's old, and his back hurts. But is that enough to stop him from foiling his enemies plans in epic fashion?

I will try to keep this review as spoiler free as possible. But if you haven't beat the game read with caution.

Gameplay:
The game opens with our hero making his way through the streets of a middle eastern warzone. Right off the bat you will see how this game differentiates itself from the rest of the series. For the first time in a Metal Gear Solid game, you are given the option of choosing your own play style. In traditional Metal Gear fashion, all the tools and gadgets are there that allow you to sneak around and avoid detection, including Snake's new suit, with Octocamo technology. Octocamo is new to the series. It's a welcome addition, and can be crucial to keeping yourself out of sight. Essentially Octocamo changes the look of your suit to match your surroundings, making you almost invisible to enemy soldiers. On top of that, you can hold triangle to "play dead", so even if you were spotted there's a good chance the enemy will assume you're just another dead body on the battlefield and walk right by, leaving you to take them down in silence.

Even if you don't like stealth games, Metal gear Solid 4 can still be a game you'll enjoy. This is where Metal Gear Solid 4 shines. Not because the shooting is particularly well done, but because for the first time in a very storied franchise, you are able to "run and gun" should you choose to do so. In a previous Metal Gear game this would be nigh impossible, as once you trigger an alarm you were swarmed with enemies and you just didn't have the firepower to fight back. That's all changed now. There's a multitude of weapons you can have at your disposal, some offensive, some defensive. Snake may be much older, but he's better suited to protect himself than he ever was in the past. This brings up the matter of who is fighting whom. Right at the start of the game you're thrown into a warzone disguised as a rebel, with a similar wardrobe to a certain recent stealth game involving assassinations. Now, you can choose one of three options. If you choose to fight for either the PMC's or the rebels, the opposing faction will not take kindly to it, and will set out to hunt you down. Alternatively, you can simply sneak your way through the streets, avoiding contact from either party.

Another addition to the series is a man named Drebin, an arms dealer you meet early on in the story. As mentioned earlier, there are many weapons at your disposal, and pretty much all of them can be purchased from Drebin and his mobile gun shop. Drebin's shop can be accessed at any point in the game smply by pressing the start button. This can be seen as a good thing or a bad thing, as you don't need to worry about conserving ammo because more ammo is always just a button press away. While it makes the shooting elements more accessible, it can take away a bit of the challenge of picking and choosing your shots for fear of emptying your clip.

All in all the gameplay is fun, and it certainly feels fresh in a series that I feel has not done too much to advance it's mechanics through the past three games. It's not perfect though. Controls can be wonky sometimes, and there is a bit of repetitiveness through the early parts of the game.

Graphics & Sound:
I have to say, going in to this game I was not expecting anything mind blowing as var as the visuals. I'm happy to report every fear I had was crushed by the end of the first act. Not only does the game look beautiful, the cinematography is incredibly well done, it's like watching a movie. I have never seen another game pull off cutscenes as well as Metal Gear Solid 4 does. I'd even go as far as to say this is the most realistic looking game I've ever seen. To top it all off it's rare you'll see even a hitch in the framerate.

Kojima's sound team certainly didn't want to be outdone by the graphics team, and it shows. The sound is extremely well done. Everything from the sound of bullets whizzing by, to Snake inching along the ground at a snail's pace, to the voice actors hired to make the story come alive, no expense was spared when the sound crew set out to do their jobs.

Top notch sound and incredible graphics make this game a sight (and sound) to behold, especially on a nice big HDTV with a decent sound setup.

Story:
If you're looking for a game with an epic story, look no further. Sure, it can be far fetched at times, but what would a Metal Gear story be without a bit of weirdness? Be warned, if you set out to play this game, you need to have some free time. This is not a game you will pick up and play for five minutes. Yes, there are a lot of cutscenes, and yes, some of them can be pretty lengthy, but they are all skippable if you aren't interested. I wouldn't recommend skipping anything, as Metal Gear Solid 4 has an extremely deep story, and it can be very easy to get lost in it if you're not paying attention. I know some people will frown upon having to watch a 45 minute cutscene, but being an RPG fan, I'm used to big long stories. I was fully prepared to take the ride, and I loved all 26 hours of it. The story is fantastic, and great actors make it that much more believable, as "out there" as it may be.

Conclusion:
If you had asked me at the beginning of this year what I thought my favorite game of 2008 would be, I probably would have told you Grand Theft Auto 4. I was more hyped for that game than any other game I can remember. Having played and beaten both titles, Metal Gear Solid 4 blew away my expectations in nearly every single aspect. Not only is it the best game I've played this year, it's now in the top echelon of my all time favorite games. This game evokes so many different emotions. Some parts puzzled me, some parts made me laugh, some made me sad, this game takes you on an emotional roller coaster. Normally I will not play through games more than once, but Metal Gear Solid 4 is a game I will come back to again and again. There's so many different ways to play each of the five acts, you could play the game again and get a completely different experience, and personally, that's what makes a game epic. In my opinion this is the best game the Playstation 3 has to offer, and is a wonderful title to showcase what Sony's console is capable off. The pros far outweigh the cons, making Metal Gear Solid 4 a must own for any PS3 owner.

Overall Score: 9.8/10

"Your friend has been injured."

Youlikeyams — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:11:20 GMT

Picture the scene: Liberty City, 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Brucie and I roll up outside the bar in downtown Algonquin in our Landstalker and proceed to get smashed off our faces.

4 o'clock, and we emerge utterly sh*tfaced from the bar, ready to drive home. Naturally, our drunken driving antics attract the attention of John Q. Law, who's soon on our tail with sirens blazing and gunshots ringing out from the passenger window. A few drunken smashes and a few unlucky gunshots later, the Landstalker's on fire.

Ever the honourable friend, I bail out of the car and presume that the similarly-inebriated Brucie will follow suit. An explosion later and I'm told "my friend has been injured". Assuming he'd hurt himself bailing out of the car, I had a little search around on the nearby roadways.

Couldn't find him. Then, I had a look inside the car.

You see that darkened hulk leaning forward in the front seat? That is the "injured" Brucie. Charred beyond recognition, burnt beyond presumable recovery.

One hour later, my phone rings. It's a merry, alpha-as-ever Brucie, asking for a lift home from the hospital.

Well, he is genetically different after all.

Big news for me

Toshi — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:08:10 GMT

What life changing even just happened to me? Here's a hint it's not video game related. Find out more after the break.

I know this isn't gamer news but I'm excited and I thought I'd share it with all of you. My wife and I just found out we're having a kid. Before the flurry of condolences start coming we were trying so this is a good thing. We're trying to get out of the military in about 3 more years, and wanted to have one while I was in so the military would pay for it, so to all you US SG members, thanks in advance for paying for our medical expenses (those of you that pay taxes).

On the downside I don't think I'll be getting as many video games and I doubt I'll get as much uninterrupted time with them, but hey I've got 9 more months of being selfish.

It's kind of crazy all the stuff that's happened int he last month and a half. I got promoted, found out that in September of this year we're moving to Omaha NE, won an award that nobody from my office ever wins (best worker out of 250-350 people), my wife and I got PSPs, and we got a PS3 and now we're getting a kid. Oh and I finally managed to convince her that we shouldn't reenlist in the military, and should instead move back to the North West (We're originally from Oregon). I feel nervous about saying this but things are finally starting to go my way again!

Sony: How you ruined my week. Part 1 of 2

Peace Bunny — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:33:54 GMT

I spent the past week visiting my Dad over in the South of Wales. After a teary-eyed goodbye with my 360, I picked up my beloved PSP and headed out for another long (and delayed) train journey. For some reason unknown to myself, my Dad has two PS3�s, one downstairs and one in his bedroom, and so I had a huge sense of Sony fuelled excitement.

I have used the PS3 on numerous occasions in the past, but never spent much time on it, or put too much thought into how it compares with my 360, so this week really felt like a good time to put it to the test. So, I left Peace Bunny Warren with high respects for Sony, expecting an awesome gaming experience over the next seven days.

An hour into my train trip, and my feelings on Sony went from tranquil and calm satisfaction to a raging fury of cola and travel snacks. Mid-way through a mission on �Vice City Stories�, my analogue stick decided to abandon ship. It all happened so fast. One minute I was shooting a policeman, and the next my thumbstick was on the floor, snapped and broken. My PSP, battle-scarred and wounded, played on regardless.

After 30 minutes of uncomfortable portable gaming, it seemed my memory card had taken the loss of the analogue stick rather personally, and stopped working. The little light on the right was flashing, and the PSP kept telling me it couldn�t find a memory card; I had been gaming in vain.

I felt this was fairly unlucky. I have had my PSP since its release in the UK, and never had a problem. However, I was concerned that now I had experienced two quick fire faults, a third was sure to come. Bad things come in threes, after all. Surely enough, a few moments later, the screen blacked out, and the small (and clearly ill) machine decided to restart itself. What caused this problem is still a mystery to me, but the end result was clear. I put the PSP in my suitcase, and looked out of the window. Should have brought a book.

Can games be emotional?

8bitBass — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:33:53 GMT

EGM did an article on this a couple of years ago.

Since then, the gaming industry has grown and even Hollywood is starting to pay attention.

Games to me have always been fun and even thrilling, but I am wondering when they will cross over the threshold of human emotional investment. I have been playing games for over 26 years, so I am startting to look for more in them then just "blow everything up"-though I still love to do that.

What I mean by that is when we watch a movie and we are angry at the bad guy, or hoping for the child, girl etc to be rescued. There are general feelings of anxiety, dread, fear and or sadness over the characters of the movies. These are the type of emotions that I have yet to see common in games.

Some newer games too me have come close:

1) I have to admit that I had a "lump in my throat: moment while watching a cut scene in Lost Oddessy for the XBOX 360.

2) Final Fantasy VII- Sephiroth does a really evil thing that shocked gamers and fans.

3) Bioshock-was a mix of horror, fear and anger...a step in the right direction.

Do any of you have emotional moments in video games that you are manly enough to share?

DO you disagree? Should games be kept away from evoking these kinds of feelings?

Please try to keep spoilers to a minimum.

I thought I was asleep last night.... turns out I was just thinking in bed.

TR0Y J — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:03:38 GMT

Have you ever had that feeling like you were sleeping, and playing a game you really enjoyed (probably after you have just put in some kind of matron session, WoW I'm looking at you), and it turned out you were just continuing your gaming session in your head at 4am from the comfort of you bed?

While this happens to me quite a lot, last night was no different, I continued playing GH3 while "sleeping". Then something weird happened, the guitar track dropped to the right (where the bass scroll happens in Rock Band) and the rest of the screen became Burnout, for a different 2 player experience. For once Burnout had some decent tunes playing while racing, thanks but no thanks for Avril Lavigne.

It's now almost 10am here and the dream is slowly fading, as dreams often do, however I am still left with a burning desire for a new range of genre splicing games. Imaging you and a friend couch side, one rocking out the other racing along, each benefiting from the others performance. Perfect chorus on the guitar & your mate gains some more nitro, or the flip side, your mate smashes on that tight hairpin & suddenly the notes streaming down on the right side get all muddled up.

I don't know about you, but to me that sounds like something from a magnificent gaming dream which might just be good enough to steal from the sandman.

Overeaction

caruso1268 — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:17:31 GMT

I think thats the main problem with this site. People see a bold post and decide to criticize it. Other people decide to criticize the criticizer for bieng so mean, but become dicks themselves. Altogether, the WHOLE DAMN THREAD becomes a friggin spam war. If people would just chill out and have a nice tea or beer while they surfed the site, everything would be much more kosher here.

It took me a while to figure that out. I've done my share of stupid posts on the site and ive created a reputation for myself. But, when new members come in, I'll pass on the knowledge. Thanx for reading all this crap, and I hope my next blog upsets you less. :thumbsup:

Cloverfield video game announced!

satiricalgamer — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:12:36 GMT

EA Games has announced that they are working on developing a video games based upon the recent monster movie "Cloverfield". Our reporter Chazz Neixmer is unfortunatly ill, so we sent our newest reporter Haylie Benzly out to interview EA spokesperson Brian Grifford. Grifford had this to say:

BG- Well, Cloverfield was such a great film, so we thought: "Hell, why not make a video game of this. Seems like a cool idea, what with the monster attacking the city and the parasites falling off it and creating havoc." So we began developing this game. Hopefully we'll be able to include a multiplayer game mode so players can play with there friends. Also, keeping with the idea of the movie, we're going to include the shakey camera movements and obstructed view. No more questions please.

We at Satirical Gamer have been informed that we will recieve an advance copy within a few weeks, to review and criticise.

-Satirical Gamer News

My iPod is cursed.

satiricalgamer — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:55:14 GMT

No, i'm not ranting about the freezing issues (although I would like to say that ever since I threatened to buy a new iPod, it's stopped freezing.). I've got another complaint about this particular iPod. The headphones. No matter what I do, I can't keep them from breaking. I had the white ones that come with the iPod for about 4 months, then the left earphone broke. Like, literally, the cap fell off it. So i bought a new set. Those lasted about the same time, then the left earphone once again stopped working. Most recently I've been using my mom's iPod's earphones, and those ones lasted up until yesterday. Here's how these ones broke. First, the wire that you plug into the iPod came out of it's case, so I taped it up. Then, it began sounding fuzzy. THEN THE F-ING LEFT EARPHONE BROKE! There is no way that 3 sets of headphones broke in the exact same way 3 times in a row. It's cursed, I tell you! Steve Jobs, you are a cruel, cruel god.:sad::sad::sad:

My (somewhat) serious speech about not liking the PS3, after episode 47 rant

Kingofall32 — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:21:30 GMT

First blog : D

So in case you couldn't tell already, I am not a big Sony fan. My only thoughts ever to buying their system was the PS2 when I was addicted to GH2. My friends and I are all on the same boat, not liking Sony. My friends all love their 360's. I was a Nintendo man, recently "converted" to Microsoft/360 for many reasons. But back to the story of Sony.

In all fairness to Sony lovers (yuck) I haven't owned a PS3, or any Sony system, so this is going to end up being a bit bias and inaccurate.

Game-wise, Sony has had to rely on two or three major titles, like Metal Gear Solid and Kingdom Hearts to sell their system. Other than that, all they have is Multi-platform games that you could just get for any other system, games that are maybe 5/10 stars that only a handful of people like, or just those games that are pure crap.

Deserving a whole new paragraph, though, are the Final Fantasy games. Sure, they have had amazing games. (XII was good) but when does Square Enix realize too much of a good thing is bad? Who really wants their kids or grandkids asking if they can buy Final Fantasy XLVII (thats 47.) Come on, really.

And then you have the problems with the system itself. I, for one, do not care at all for Blu-Ray. At all. That's an opinion, but do most people don't want to pay more for a movie that is high-def? I know many that don't. True, thats all opinionated, but isn't most stuff in this world?

Then you have these download and install times that we all have heard about on recent podcasts. From what I understand, the online play sucks, you have no way of talking, and in response to all these great ideas that microsoft dreams up they implant the dumbest things. It costs a fortune, whereas I could buy a wii and three games (SSBB, Mario Kart Wii and Twilight Princess) for the price of a PS3 bundle.

Maybe I'm all wrong, maybe I'm misinformed. But either way I don't plan on buying a PS3. This here is just one person's blog, although I can speak for many. If you sat through this horrible rant, congrats. Any comments on feedback, corrections, ideas or criticism are always accepted. Thanks, SG network.

I'm out.

The All Seeing Eye

kiltman67 — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:56:46 GMT

After a couple of months of intending to write a blog post, I've finally found something I want to talk about and in keeping with this timely approach I�ll be discussing a two month old game, Grand Theft Auto IV. I�m speaking now as one of the few gamers left who hasn�t completed the game. Unfortunately it was released during exams, then when I did get my hands on it I OD�d on the multiplayer and got burned out. Plans to play again were thwarted by that other big game in its fourth incarnation but with that done and dusted I�ve returned to Liberty City to complete the story before it could be spoiled for me by Kotaku. Playing GTA4 again after the experience of Metal Gear Solid 4 has highlighted one big flaw in the gameplay: Liberty City�s Finest and their omniscience.

I was playing it earlier on and was doing the mission inside the tunnel (avoiding spoilers for those even further behind than myself). Late on in the mission I drove back through the tunnel with no stars and there was one solitary cop standing in the middle of the road shooting at me. By accident I hit him with the truck I was driving and immediately I had stars. The logic of this doesn�t make any sense; somehow zombie cop must have contacted his buddies.
Now compare this with MGS4. Here if Snake encounters a solitary soldier he can be noticed and an alert will be triggered, but if you can knock him out or kill him before he can contact his base then the alert ends immediately. Back in Liberty City, I can kill a solitary cop with a headshot and suddenly I�m in a chase. This isn�t the only example of the cops� seemingly psychic abilities: You can stand on the roof of a building with an RPG or sniper rifle, start picking people off and when the stars begin appearing the cops know exactly where you are.

There are certain flaws in wanted system I can understand and live with; for example the fact that no matter how well you manage to hide and send the cops off in the wrong direction, if you�re still in the circle then they�re still looking for you; but to me this seems pretty fundamental and perhaps not the hardest thing to implement. Hopefully it�s something that�ll change in GTA5.

Immersion In One Game

L0N3 S0LD13R — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:47:48 GMT

I used to be extremely into Halo 3. More specifically, custom games. I got to know some great people, but Halo was the only game I was playing. I tried to play CoD4, but couldn't quite get into it. R6V2 didn't quite do it for me.

I am on this site in an effort to break away from my single game playing habits, and become an informed gamer.

Lone.

No voice chat... a good thing?

Reddog — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:53:31 GMT

One of my biggest problems with the Wii (and most likely one of any multiplayer gamer) is the lack of voice chat. Which leads the console into an incredibly large problem, GAMING IS SOCIAL NOW. Most of the time I hate the fact that I can't chew on someone for spamming on an online fighting game, or warn a team member that someone is about to kill him from behind.

However, could this lack of socialism be good? After all, there is no spamming of some immature brat screaming into his mic, or any racisits screaming white power across the server. Could Nintendo have realized this, and purposefully left voice chat out? Or(most likely) just blatently skipped over it?

The Playstation 3 hit the curb hard on voice chat as well, after all how hard is it to supply a crappy little microphone that at least looks semi-functional that people use. And the Wii has two USB ports in the back of the system, of which one is usually used while the other is blank, and with the Wii being that hotest selling console so far, how come this amazing idea of being able to talk to people hasen't drove tham to put a USB mic in the box? After all, even some DS games have voice chat compatibility, which is good and bad in some games due to the quality of the mic. The Xbox 360, and the PC clearly has superior multiplayer capabilities, why is Nintendo still dominating the video game market? And as pointed out by the most recent red show (episode 47) why is the Xbox 360 selling so little, while the PS2 is still selling millions? It just doesn't make sence.

Xbox 360 vs Wii

Bloodlut — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:27:56 GMT

I did this for my english cwk a while back....
Thought some of you guys might like it...

Xbox 360 Superior to Wii
This speech would be performed at a gaming 2008 seminar and would then be available for download off the Internet; this speech would be performed by a Microsoft representative.
The Xbox 360 is Microsoft�s second gaming console.
Its Xbox Live service allows all players to compete online and download content such as arcade games, game demos, game trailers, TV shows, and even movies.
And thus, already I have mentioned the most crucial and dominating feature of the Xbox 360, Xbox Live, this has crushed any and every hope of Nintendo�s Wii becoming a more dominant console.

On average each game has roughly 8 or so hours of gameplay, if you add Xbox live online multiplayer to this then the gameplay increases by huge amounts, making a game last months and possibly more before you even begin to tire from it. Xbox live offers constant play, complete with updates, expansions and patches. You have your very own friends list, that you can add any gamer you meet to, so you can almost instantly jump into whatever match they are playing and team up to take down the billions of other gamers playing. The Xbox is also paired up with MSN, so you can message your contacts whilst playing, all of these services make its fee of �40 a year more than worth it, and that works out at just �3.30 a month.

The Wii is Nintendo�s fifth gaming console.
The main distinguishing feature of this console is its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and can detect acceleration and orientation in three dimensions, amazing. And how fantastic you feel when you sit down wanting to relax after a hard day and you have to spend all night waving around some little piece of plastic. As this more �active� shall we say, approach to gaming is can be often fun for a few minutes, but it quickly becomes tiresome and repetitive.
In fact the Wii�s two main high selling games are basically just a small range of various mini games, with the same few tasks dressed up in various different ingenious ways.
These ingenious games will take you about an hour to completely finish. Then they will be slung away in a cupboard somewhere and be forgotten about. When compared with the Xbox and its Xbox live time the Wii and its games are laughable.
Okay, so the �Wii�, interesting name right? Well Nintendo was previously going to name their console the �Revolution� which is a pretty cool name, but sadly they went with the Wii. Nintendo chose this name for a few reasons; the best known reasons are �Wii sounds like 'we', which emphasizes that the console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just �Wii.� This choice created a long list of puerile jokes, based on the name, but I�m sure Nintendo could have come up with a better statement to justify the name, such as: �Don't like our Wii? Well p*ss off!� And on the plus side the Wii�s slogan can defiantly be better than the Xbox�s �Jump in� slogan, how about something like: "Immerse yourself in Wii. With Wii, urine the game." geddit? You�re in the game. So yes, Wii. Nintendo�s beautifully named console.

Now, the Xbox has three different main packages for sale. The Xbox 360 Arcade which is the replacement for the "Xbox 360 Core". It includes a wireless controller, 256 MB memory unit, composite AV cable, and 5 Xbox Live Arcade titles, you can then purchase whatever accessories you desire.
Next there is the Xbox 360 Premium which includes all the features of the Xbox 360 Arcade and includes a wire for hooking up to HD TVs. The Xbox 360 Premium also includes a detachable 20 GB Hard Disc Drive to store downloaded content, provide compatibility with original Xbox games, and store game data. The Premium is shipped with the new "Falcon" motherboard. This motherboard makes the 360 quieter and cooler than the older systems
And finally there is the ultimate package, the Xbox elite � this comes with a beautiful black finish, with all the accessories that the premium package comes with and it also comes with a 120GB hard drive that will keep you playing and downloading to your hearts contents.
The Wii comes with one package � and in the UK, Europe and America it comes with a free game which includes four amazing minigames, tennis, bowling, boxing, baseball and even golf.
The Xboxes most successful game is the entire Halo series; this is by far the most popular gaming franchise ever. Halo is soon to be made into a movie, there are many pieces of merchandise and there is a very large fan base.

The Wii�s most successful game is Wii sports, yes, and the game that comes free with the console. It has absolutely no prospects of being changed into a movie, there is no merchandise and there is absolutely no fan base at all.
Now, the Xbox 360 is a much more powerful console, so why didn�t Nintendo go for more power with its console? Well according to an interview with Nintendo's game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, they decided to focus on a new form of player interaction. "The consensus was that power isn't everything for a console. Too many powerful consoles can't coexist. It's like having only ferocious dinosaurs. They might fight and hasten their own extinction." So basically, the Wii was never ment to be a better console, Nintendo just intended it to be something different.
Speaking of Nintendo and different, I�m afraid I have to mention the company�s main game Heroes, there is the popular Mario, who is an overweight plumber with a mushroom fetish, and there is Link from the Zelda games, who is young elf child with pre teen hormonal problems. They were original characters, perhaps in 1981 when Mario was first created. Mario has appeared in more than 200 games; surely Nintendo must be running out of games? Or are we soon to see titles such as �Mario does the weekly shopping�. Perhaps it is time for Nintendo to retire these old gaming legends and bring in some new meat? Don�t be silly, Nintendo will keep going and going with these characters until they become old fashioned, outmatched and just plain dull.....oh wait, its already happened.
Okay, now I can�t be completely one sided, and I�m sure most of you already know this, but The Xbox 360 can be subject to a few technical problems. Since the console's release in 2005, the Xbox 360 has gained a bad reputation for failing, and yes, it�s true, the Xbox 360, like every other piece of technology on this planet has its problems. The most common and renowned problem, that has been lovingly nicknamed �the red ring of death� has indeed caused many gamers to grown in misery the moment they see it. When the Xbox 360 has an internal hardware failure, three of the four lights and the front of the Xbox flash red, this basically means that your console has had it. But do not despair as Microsoft provides a three year warranty against this soul crushing problem, someone will come to your door and pick up your console and return it to you in less than 28 days. Since these problems surfaced, many design modifications have been made to the console to vastly improve reliability. All consoles manufactured after June 2007 have a second GPU heat sink to reduce overheating. So rest assured that the Xbox has fixed its problems and even if something goes wrong Microsoft promises to have it fixed ASAP.

I am in no way trying to influence your decision on which console to buy. All I am telling you is how much more superior Microsoft�s Xbox 360 is compared to Nintendo�s Wii a disappointing attempt at a console. A hope I have helped you decide which of these consoles to purchase.
Will you be playing online against billions of other gamers on a vastly superior console? Or will you be going for a Wii in the corner? You decide.