Download a little Bad Company

Is your trigger finger ready? Downloading the conquest mode of Battlefield: Bad Company will be free, as in nada, zilch. How can anyone deny that? Read more

On summing up E3.

I started this week off with hope, because I wanted E3 to be successful. Yes, I had my doubts when they became elitist by cutting the public out, and I really wanted to throw out a few choice words, but then I realized that this was all a matter of opinion. So, I waited. We all held our breaths waiting for something stupendous to occur.

And yes, there were a few videos that were released, that got me a little bit excited. I must confess I almost swooned over Fallout 3, but then again, someone can just breath Fallout and I go mushy all over, so that was just cheating.

FarCry 2, I will nod my head and say, love the concept, sure wish there was more than just video of the developers playing the game for the media to back it. And I cannot forget Tom Clancy’s EndWar, I love what they are doing with it. UbiSoft, your breaking my heart here! I have a huge heart for UbiSoft, even if there are others that might not care for them, but they have some games that I just love.

EA showed some love in a game that will have people gagging with the psychological horror in Dead Space. The game appears to be creepy and scary and shows a very innovative form of game play. With no more messy pop up screens all over the place, and the health meters all visually right on the bodysuit. Pretty crazy and awesome.

So what gives? Why am I here to display so little love for E3 as a whole. We are a gaming community. Developers produce games for the consumer to play. The media spreads the words getting the consumer pumped up. E3 started out small, and that can be appreciated, everyone starts small. My question is, why go back to the proverbial “good ol’ boys” club? Restricting the game play may cause a slight degree of anticipation to gamers by not being allowed to be there, however, the heightened degree of anticipation that was ramped up by gamers being able to go and see the wares being produced, play and experience, then go home and brag, caused all that much more excitement in the gaming world. It kept people coming to the news reels and reading all the latest news, and in reciprocation, had gamers ready to buy far before the date of release. All of which benefited the game developers and production companies.

So who loses in this big mess that E3 created? Everyone. Who knows, and trust me I dare not speculate what they were thinking. The fact of the matter is, while it would be way cool checking out the games first hand, giving back to the community is what it is all about. If we don’t do that, why do we even make the games in the first place?

Getting the games out even to a small market of gamers to let them get a feel for the games, lets you really experience whether your market is going to love the game. Sure, the media in games journalism, if they are worth their salt, have got to be gamers as well, for surely to write love of the game you must love the game. However, there is something to be said for the unadulterated love of gaming and nothing else written on a gamers face. Whether girly geek or gamer stud, all the way down to the smallest child who plays their little heart out, gaming is about playing for no other reason than to enjoy the wares. And that, my friends, is what I love to write about, love of the game. E3 bigwigs, I am sorry, but you lost your love for the game, by denying those who thrive on it.

E3 Goodies and tasty treats

E3 gets many kudos for gather together the representatives in the geek community to bring us the latest news so that we might know what is going on behind the scenes. After all every good geek, and even some of the bad ones, want crave the inside scoop. We must know the dirt!

Sweet Bethesda employees, we must thank you for finally imparting a trailer that actually gives us more than just a few teaser details. The lovely graphics have me craving more. The nuclear sling shot was a unique touch, maybe a bit over load, but then again with the Brotherhood of Steel in the Pentagon and the Enclave in little black helicopters hunting you down, maybe not. Fallout 3 is my first love, can you tell? Oh, sorry, must wipe the drool from my chin. Now on to the other news.

Square Enix shows us some much deserved love by announcing Final Fantasy XIII for the XBox 360. Final Fantasy in any form gets high marks, it’s hard to fail in this series. Other games you will see featured on the 360 are Gears of War 2, Resident Evil 5, Fable II and Grand Theft Auto IV.

Microsoft announced that they are going to be making available 60 GB XBox 360’s in August for the same price as the current 20 GB version, 349.99 MSRP. The 20 GB XBox’s will drop in price to 299.99 MSRP, until they are gone.

The big rumor that has been confirmed is that Netflix and Microsoft have in fact joined insofar as if you have a Netflix account and an XBox 360 LIVE account you may download. Pretty cool if you have all the elements. Pretty sucky if you don’t.

I have to wonder, did Microsoft lay all their cards on the table at the beginning of the conference too early to be the big leader early? And do they have anything worthwhile to lead with throughout the rest of the conference? We will just have to see.

Dread Pirate Spork declares Plunder, not; Age of Booty, Aye!

For months Capcom has been giving us the loot on a casual, real-time multi-player strategy game billed as Plunder. This pirate-themed game has a lot of people geared up to roll with laughter as they chase each other or AI ships around the seas with the goal to set your enemies to walking the plank, as well as looting and capturing each town you encounter.

With the spoils of your successful encounters bringing wealth for your faction and therefore more gold into your pouch, you will be able to upgrade and make your ships even more unique. Players may play in single-player or multi-player mode. Map design has been inspired and led by Max Hoberman, designer of Halo 2 and 3.

So what possibly could be new with all this old news? Certainly, you think I am rehashing old data and that I have am get old and feeble-minded. Patience, young Padawan. Plunder itself was apparently was not a name befitting a game of such awesomeness as Capcom could create, so in preparation for E3 they have unveiled Plunder’s new name, Age of Booty. Arrr, me mateys.

Bungie Day goodies for all XBox 360 Live players

While Americans nation wide are happily celebrating Independence Day, Halo fans are gearing up for Bungie Day in three days. July 7, the developer of Halo treats all it’s loyal players to lovely rewards in thanks for their fixation with their favorite game.

Bungie is treating their adoring fans to a new free multiplayer map, gamer pics, dashboard theme, and a Legendary Map Pack price drop for only one day. If you miss the Bungie Day swag then you are out of luck. It is not like this is a new thing to those that are familiar with the world of Halo. The date of Bungie Day was chosen partially inspired due to the relevance that the number 7 has played each of Bungie’s games, for instance in the Halo series; 7 Halo rings, seven monitors, 7 is scratched onto the wall of the Pillar of Autumn, Master Chief is Spartan 117, etc.

Regardless of your opinion of the number seven, you will not want to forget to mark your calendars and prepare for your XBOX Live downloads. Tell your friends, there are only 24 hours to decide with of the seven new gamerpics that you want to sport and you don’t want to be arguing over who stole who’s new image. To quote Johnson, ““Send me out… with a bang…”” Happy Bungie Day!

Maverick, grab your axe, prepare to woo your Charlie!

It seems like it was only yesterday that I was a teenager becoming a puddle of mush to Goose’s serenade on that 80’s classic aeronautical love story.  With so many songs that evoke such a torrent of memories, Guitar Hero thought that adding something unequivocally as memorable as Top Gun Theme song to help remind you of your loved ones for this July Fourth.

This free download will be available to Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock users on XBox Live on July 3, 2008, ready for you to rock out and celebrate the 4th of July in style.  After all, Activision knows that no true geek would be caught dead being eaten alive by skeeters and chiggers while risking their precious pale skin to the sun’s vicious rays.

While you are out jamming out, don’t forget to reminisce classics by Aerosmith, Guns ‘N’ Roses, The Rolling Stones, Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine and Pearl Jam, and so many more.  So grab your beer, your RockBand axe, all your friends and get ready to rock the house.  And don’t forget the fireworks!

Not all Bad Company is worth avoiding

Preston Marlowe, an incorrigible soldier,  hits some harsh terrain as he deals with the consequences of his antics.  Hopefully Sarge, Sweetwater, Haggard and their penchant for trouble won’t get him killed before they find the treasure that they seek.  This group of bad boys has been sent to company B for their wayward actions, now they simply care less for the rules in the face of their quest for gold and wealth.

Battlefield: Bad Company is ready to explode onto shelves.  Packed and shipped, XBox 360 and Playstation 3 players will be able to join the gold hunt June 25, in the US, and June 27, in Europe.  EA Digital Illusions made the announcement today, causing a sigh of relief for this immensely anticipated release which has both a single player and multiplayer modes.

Gaming gets pretty intense online as individuals may choose between attacker or defender in the multiplayer mode.  Ideally you want to protect your crates which either store your gold or your tickets home.  Naturally, you want to tear your opponents crates to shreds.  Essentially, a giant, vicious game of tag, geek style.  What more can one ask for?  Well, if you are really good and play especially hard, which EA Digital Illusions CE assumes you will, they will make available the popular Conquest mode for free.

Assault me, not right now.

It’s just another day in the office for me when I hear that Zoids Assault has been delayed. Frankly, I think delays are good. Oh, don’t stand there with your mouth gaping wide. Though we may be of the geek persuasion, we still have our dignity.

When a developer announces delays, to me it means, they can and want to do it better. That they care enough to not release a crappy product to an unsuspecting world. Okay, realistically, by now the entire world should assume all games are terrible until proven otherwise. Buyer beware.

After checking out some of the screen captures of where they are and scanning my data bank for the current release date (late August 2008) I realized they were making the correct decision. Zoids is a classic game. (Shoot me, some people may not know.) Remaking it for the XBox 360 is not something you want me take lightly. Could you imagine having the responsibility of screwing up Zoids Assault on your shoulders? No way, not me, I will gladly wait as long as it takes for them to get it right!

Don’t Rock my Facebook, Rock my XBox 360!

Microsoft is getting on the Facebook bandwagon by giving users a mini-feed to create their own Rockband based off of XBox 360’s Rock Band Live Campaign. Install the application and you get to pick which position in the band you want to play bass, guitar, vocals, or drummer. Then pick three of your friends to be in your band, name the band and have your friends audition.

You can play mini games to compete and win higher scores and places in other peoples bands as well. There is very little point to the Facebook edition of My Rockband other than being a gimmick to hopefully sparking interest in the game. Living advertising at its finest.

If you are a Facebook user and happen to find My Rockband stunningly amazing, then you are probably one of those individuals that loves to punch buttons over and over again, ad naseum. To play My Rockband you have to tap the circles that pop up as fast as you can before they change colors. If your score beats the person you are challenging, you take their place in the band. End game. Unless you wish to challenge another band member, repeat, with slightly different music.

Having messed around with it for around thirty minutes I feel like my brain has lost mass quantities of brain cells. Seeing as Microsoft is not going to pay me for the last thirty minutes I wasted and since I would not go and plunk down the money to buy Rockband Live based on that Facebook experience alone, I decided to explore more.

Facebook has always been gimmicky in its abundance of applications. Each time I get one of those dreaded emails, ’so and so has sent you x application from Facebook, why don’t you join?’, as if just knowing the person is going to guilt me into signing up. It works most of the time until I realize that I am tired of it cluttering up my page. Most of the preteen/ teen/ young adult audience on Facebook, that uses it prolifically for social network inevitably will be the ones to gab over how awesome it is to be apart of “their very own band.”

Next it will become a status symbol to beat each other out of the bands, which as much as I don’t want to admit it, means that Microsoft hit the nail on the head marketing wise. Throngs of kids will be flooding the stores to buy Rockband, just to get the “real deal” so they brag to their friends on their Facebook about how they were first to purchase it all because they created their very own My Rockband.

Fortunately for those interested parties that wish to play the XBox 360 game, psuedo rock band with instruments that mimic the real deal fairly reasonably is more along the lines of what you will get. Just don’t dream too heavily of slamming the guitar too hard. It will break, and replacing those suckers is more than the average gamer’s salary can afford.

Have fleece? Will travel.

Embark on the ultimate quest of a life time to find the one and only thing that will revive your recently slain wife, a Golden Fleece.  The only question you should be asking is are you, Jason of the Argonauts, willing to incur the wrath of the gods to bring back your beloved?

As you get to live Jason’s life, making his choices, to anger the gods, to seek vengeance at all costs, or just some cost, it’s your choice.  This action RPG is designed to deeply immerse you in the game.  Most RPG’s tend to drag you along the edge and taunt you with their cumbersome battles, Codemasters, with Liquid Entertainment, were inspired to revolutionize the RPG experience and bring ancient Greece alive in your living room.

Available on the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3,  and PC, almost anyone will be able to go out and play immediately upon release. If you are one to fret over the fighting in RPG games, like I am,  you are sure to find playing the characters veritably unique with the new real-time combat system, scrapping the outdated menu based system in favor of a more accessible button-based option.

Don’t worry, you only have a few months of anticipation left.  If you don’t stare at the clock too much it will pass in no time at all.  While you are waiting, you could be pondering how far you are willing to travel to grab a Golden Fleece that you have to give up to resurrect a dead girl.