tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-214674592011-09-05T05:44:54.456-06:00Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.comBlogger3541100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-44847985303885207192008-10-28T19:56:00.002-06:002008-10-28T20:35:24.557-06:00<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SQfDC0wqNwI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/_RfwYH08WGM/s1600-h/Death+Blossom.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262389142895605506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SQfDC0wqNwI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/_RfwYH08WGM/s400/Death+Blossom.jpg" border="0" /></a> Wuzz Upppp?!!? I can't believe I haven't updated this blog since July. I can't believe people still visit, I just checked and there's 60 people a day who come by. That's great! I also know that some of you were kind enough to move on over to my new site with me. Thanks! Ready to hear my excuse for being a bad As the Gaming World Turns blogger? I've been busy - very, very, very busy. I started working for GamePro at the start of the year and after taking over as editor of <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.gameproarcade.com">GamePro Arcade</a> (shameless plug), this poor sight has been neglected worse than one of Britney Spears kids.<br />.<br />So what exactly have I been doing that's keeping me so busy? How can a site dedicated to <em>Arcade</em> games be that taxing? You'd be surprised. Besides reviews, there have been plenty of interviews, contests (you really need to check this out, I give away stuff all the time), news on DLC and upcoming games and op-ed pieces when I find the time. Its a ton of work. I even have two college interns who help me out.<br />.<br />I do miss this blog though. I don't get to cover console games as often as I used to. Which brings me to a question - has anyone else been overwhelmed with all the great games that have come out lately? Between Fable 2, Dead Space and the recently released Fallout 3, there's just not enough time in the day. Its forced me to put some decent games (Saints Row 2, Force Unleashed, FIFA 09, LEGO Batman, among others) on the backburner. And some of the biggest titles (Call of Duty: World at War, Gears of War 2) haven't even come out yet? Gah! Looks like I need a 2 month vacation, just to play games.<br />.<br />If there's anything you want to share, have at it. Feel free to post a comment. I'm going to try and check back in more frequently. And if you don't feel like commenting, that's cool. I hope you can join me on GamePro Arcade. Stay in touch!<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-4484798530388520719?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-38073851896554538982008-07-26T20:33:00.002-06:002008-07-26T20:47:46.611-06:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SIvefB4CDNI/AAAAAAAAAjY/zYTR_XcEmOQ/s1600-h/1adam3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227516417154354386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SIvefB4CDNI/AAAAAAAAAjY/zYTR_XcEmOQ/s400/1adam3.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>The Sess takes on E3 -</strong> On the last day of E3 I hung out for awhile with my favorite interview subject, G4TV's Adam Sessler. The X-Play co-host was his usual chatty, humorous self. Half of my interview is below, for the rest head over to <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.gameproarcade.com">GamePro Arcade</a>.<br />.<br /><strong>TT: How is this year's E3 now that its back at the LACC?<br /></strong>. <br />AS: For us the benefits of coming to the convention center were huge. All the games are under one roof, where last year we were presented with huge problems because everyone was in hotels and getting everyone over to our stage (in the Barker Hanger) in a timely manner proved to be an impossibility and we didn’t get anywhere near the amount of demos we wanted to as a result of that. When you consider the traffic in Santa Monica during the summer period, then with E3 going on? This year was just nice. Every game that I would consider to be a major title that was in a playable form, on the whole, came to the stage and we showed it off. I just loved being able to broadcast to viewers a game as its being played. It’s the most effective way to get a sense of how you’ll be playing that game and what you’ll be experiencing in that game.<br />.<br /><strong>TT: So no E3 complaints?<br /></strong>.<br />AS: One of the things I noticed, in comparison to last year, is that I saw more of my colleagues. My biggest complaint about last year was that because things were so spread out you pretty much saw what was on your beat and didn’t get to see that much more. So getting that kind of overview of the industry as a whole, even if you’re not writing about something, it’s easier to get that big picture. From where I’m sitting, the industry is doing just fine.<br />.<br />But what we don’t have is that kind of fanboy excitement in the background. Even though those fanboys really weren’t supposed to be at those E3’s all those years ago, yes, they were there. Now you’re always getting the press’ take on things, and with all due respect to so many of my colleagues, I think there’s a fair amount of jaundice that’s out there and cynicism about things. The fanboys offered a kind of counterweight with their enthusiasm and there is something of value to see a more general consumer’s reaction to something. They’re the true audience of video games because they don’t make games for the press; they make games for the gamers out there.<br />.<br /><strong>TT: Was there anything from the Big 3 press conferences that caught your attention?</strong><br />.<br />AS: Yeah, Nintendo not having anything for their core audience. I know they’re trying to say that Animal Crossing is for their core audience and it’s a great game, don’t get me wrong and I think the games they showed were cool games but they showed a very limited catalog of titles. They had made statements that they were going to show something for the core gamer and that didn’t seem to manifest itself. Animal Crossing was great, when there were other games coming out. When it came out the first time it was the same year as Wind Waker and Sunshine, it can’t stand out on its own in one year as the one core game. I’m just mystified how Nintendo thought that what they were showing was going to go over well with a western audience and they actually seemed to be surprised by the reaction. Afterward there was some degree of scrambling as we heard successive citations by Miyamoto, and from Reggie and from Iwata that the Zelda and the Mario teams are working on something and then there was the admission that they were working on a Pikmin. It’s almost like they were scrambling to remind people. It’s almost like they completely forgot how vocal, and strong, and passionate those core Nintendo people are. If you pull back from the casual gamers, they won’t go screaming from the rooftops that they’re not getting enough of their games.<br />.<br /><strong>TT: How about Microsoft?</strong><br />.<br />AS: What really struck me was that they seem to be moving in a direction that might work out better for them. They came in as a hardcore console and now they are branching out. They actually have something of a Trojan horse; they put the console out into the home, primarily maybe for the one gamer in the family. And then there are all these new things coming out for it – with all the success of Xbox LIVE Arcade, with downloadable movies. It suddenly has all these other things that other family members can take advantage of. They seem to moving in a very practice way. A lot of people think they’re just aping what other consoles are doing, but as Morgan Webb likes to say, “Nintendo didn’t invent the avatar.” So on one level it may look like they’re copying but that’s not to say they shouldn’t go in a direction other people have succeeded in. Their trying to branch out and broaden their base, but its funny, when you go online and reach message boards and see that people really seemed irk by casual games and stuff like Rock Band because they feel games have to be this one thing. The thing is these games aren’t making Fallout 3 any less fun, that’s what’s so perplexing to me. Lips is fine for people who like Lips, Fallout 3 is fine for people who like Fallout 3. The two can co-exist very easily.<br />.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-3807385189655453898?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-38994080942108040842008-07-12T13:07:00.002-06:002008-07-12T13:15:58.039-06:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SHkBIH3DfUI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/CLItCCvioE0/s1600-h/1e3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222206481973345602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SHkBIH3DfUI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/CLItCCvioE0/s400/1e3.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong> ...over at GamePro Arcade -</strong> Hit this <a href="http://www.gameproarcade.com/article/93893/e3-2008-lets-get-it-on/">link</a> to enter a contest to win a free download code for the recently released Schizoid on XBLA. Its all part of the E3 coverage I'll be dishing out over at GamePro Arcade. All you have to do to win the Schizoid code is put up a post on what you're most looking forward to seeing/hearing about at E3 2008.<br />.<br />But you can win more free stuff! If you want to win a free 1600 Microsoft Point Card or a free 2000 Wii Point Card, all you have to do is write a comment on any of my E3 posts next week and you'll be entered into a drawing to win either card. Of course the more comments you write, the better your chances are of winning.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-3899408094210804084?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-29986809325997963922008-07-11T01:05:00.002-06:002008-07-11T01:38:43.760-06:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SHcGif7t3uI/AAAAAAAAAjI/8q1A40E1g-k/s1600-h/e32.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SHcGif7t3uI/AAAAAAAAAjI/8q1A40E1g-k/s400/e32.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221649482716667618" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">...over at gameproarcade.com - </span>My poor neglected blog won't be getting the love it did last year at E3. Nope, for all the E3 goodness you previously enjoyed, you'll have to go <a href="www.gameproarcade.com">GamePro Arcade</a>.<br />.<br />What should you look forward to? Interviews with Adam Sessler and Geoff Keighley, the latest news on upcoming games, plenty of pics, and best of all, a personal tour of what E3 2008 is really like. Think I'm full of it? Then check out <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2007/07/greetings-from-santa-monica.html">this</a>, <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2007/07/e3-mistake-no1-and-2.html">this</a>, <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2007/07/e3-report-afternoon-delight.html">this</a>, <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2007/07/e3-party-time.html">this </a>, <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2007/07/e3-cooking-with-gas.html">this, </a><a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2007/07/game-of-e3.html">this</a>, <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2007/07/e3-wrapping-things-up.html">this,</a> <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2007/07/morgan-webb-interview.html">this </a>, <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2007/07/adam-sessler-interview.html">this</a> and <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2007/07/best-and-worst-of-e3-07.html">this</a> from last year. You'll get the inside info, guaranteed, or your money back.<br />.<br />coloradojoemail@yahoo.com<br />.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-2998680932599796392?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-70995993364533869872008-07-06T10:52:00.002-06:002008-07-06T11:09:31.954-06:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SHD4kNKvaxI/AAAAAAAAAjA/Jcac6Gryymg/s1600-h/1maddenfavre09826_screen.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5219945269016095506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SHD4kNKvaxI/AAAAAAAAAjA/Jcac6Gryymg/s400/1maddenfavre09826_screen.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The Achievements for Madden this year are much different than in years past. For starters there's only 25 when there are typically twice that many. Almost all of the points are for single game accomplishments and some of them are somewhat confusing. Why are they making gamers play as the Jets, Dolphins, Titans and Falcons to earn points? With the league being a-holes about touchdown celebrations, why are we getting points for them? And what the heck is the endzone hotspot? Guess we'll find out next month.</div><div>.</div><div>1. 2 TD Kickoff Returns in a game: Return 2 Kickoffs for a TD in a game (non co-op) - 75 points<br />2. Shut out Rival in a Franchise: Shut out Rival in a Franchise game (non co-op) - 50 points<br />3. Kick a FG for over 50 yards: Kick a FG for over 50 yards in a Franchise game (non co-op) - 15 points<br />4. Complete a game without an INT: Complete a game without an interception, 5 min+ quarter length (non co-op) - 30 points<br />5. 6 Rush TDs with the Dolphins: 6 Rush TDs in a game with the Dolphins (non co-op) - 50 points<br />6. Catch 10 passes in a game: Catch 10 passes in a game with one receiver (non co-op) - 50 points<br />7. Complete game without fumbling: Complete a game without fumbling, 5 min+ quarter length (non co-op) - 25 points<br />8. 2 TD Punt Returns in a game: 2 TD Punt Returns in a game (non co-op) - 65 points<br />9. Intercept 6 passes in a game: Intercept 6 passes in a game (non co-op) - 50 points<br />10. Hold a Rival to under 300 yards: Hold a Rival to under 300 yards total offense in a game (non co-op) - 50 points<br />11. Score 60 points in a Rival game: Score 60 points in a Rival game (non co-op) - 30 points<br />12. Score 40 points in a Rival game: Score 40 points in a Rival game (non co-op) - 20 points<br />13. Record 12 sacks in a game: Record 12 sacks in a game (non co-op) - 50 points<br />14. 6 sacks with 1 player in a game: 6 sacks with 1 player in a game (non co-op) - 50 points<br />15. 80% completion for a game: 80% pass completion in a Franchise game, 5 min+ quarter length (non co-op) - 50 points<br />16. 7 Pass TDs with the Falcons: Throw 7 pass TDs in a game with the Falcons (non co-op) - 50 points<br />17. 550 Pass Yds with the Titans: 550 Pass Yds in a game with the Titans (non co-op) - 50 points<br />18. 300 Rush Yds with the Jets: 300 Rush Yds in a game with the Jets (non co-op) - 10 points<br />19. Hold a Rival to under 20 points: Hold a Rival team to under 20 points in a game (non co-op) - 10 points<br />20. Midway Monster: Create a legendary player from the past. - 50 points<br />21. Can You Believe These Seats?!: Celebrate a touchdown in a wall hotspot - 30 points<br />22. Steal Their Thunder: Steal an opposing player's touchdown celebration - 30 points<br />23. Slam Dunk All-Star: Dunk the ball over the goalpost (or at least attempt to) after a touchdown - 30 points<br />24. Shine In The Spotlight: Celebrate a touchdown in an endzone hotspot - 30 points<br />25. Secret Achievement: Secret achievement - 50 points</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div>.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-7099599336453386987?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-12577781293813850392008-07-02T14:07:00.002-06:002008-07-02T14:21:23.401-06:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SGvgGtU--1I/AAAAAAAAAi4/AMcOD3VrbP0/s1600-h/1Karate_Champ_NES.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218510999090297682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SGvgGtU--1I/AAAAAAAAAi4/AMcOD3VrbP0/s400/1Karate_Champ_NES.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Sorry, Karate Champ is still not available -</strong> I'm looking to give a game away and who better to give it away to than some of my oldest readers. Of course, this requires you to leave this poor neglected blog and head over to <a href="http://www.gameproarcade.com/">www.gameproarcade.com</a>. Today I posted an up to date version of my "Games You Wish You Could Download" piece <strong><a href="http://www.gameproarcade.com/article/91053/games-you-wish-you-could-download/">here</a></strong>.<br />.<br />If you want to win a free XBLA game, put up a short post on which game you wish you could download. I've recently also put up some interviews with two XBLA game developers and there are a bunch of reviews of downloadable games on all systems. Check it out.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-1257778129381385039?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-9849517560817940222008-06-27T00:06:00.002-06:002008-06-27T00:21:41.972-06:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SGSDfetAULI/AAAAAAAAAiw/r4u2kiCJqQQ/s1600-h/1office+space.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216438845242888370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SGSDfetAULI/AAAAAAAAAiw/r4u2kiCJqQQ/s400/1office+space.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>Podcasting sucks -</strong> Ugh! Once again technology bites me in the ass. Thursday night I finished a 3-part podcast with Achievement Junkie's Natalie Sousa. It was good, everything went well and we had a nice conversation on a wide variety of topics. I was pretty pleased. Then I loaded things up and only about half the recorded time ended up being downloaded. I have no damn idea what the problem is. Was it the mp3 recorder? Is it the webhost (podbean)? I have no clue but I'm pissed. What's the frickin' point of doing a podcast if it doesn't work?!?<br />.<br />In better news, on <a href="http://www.gameproarcade.com/">www.gameproarcade.com</a> I've been working on a new segment on called the Arcade Game Developer Questionnaire. Its where I ask questions of developers who create downloadable games. Earlier in the week I interviewed Denis Bourdain of Load Inc (Mad Tracks, Things on Wheels) and recently I put up a post with Scott March of SpiderMonk. Check'em out when you get a chance.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-984951756081794022?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-89616774090207435992008-06-25T15:54:00.002-06:002008-06-25T16:06:34.738-06:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SGK-7T0gzFI/AAAAAAAAAio/Bg2Lu8URQo4/s1600-h/1mattryan.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215941244590541906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SGK-7T0gzFI/AAAAAAAAAio/Bg2Lu8URQo4/s400/1mattryan.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>1. Create Stadium Sound - Create a custom Stadium Sound event. (20 points)<br />2. Break The Ice - Make a Field Goal when "Iced". (10 points)<br />3. QB Quiz Success - Successfully Complete a Quiz the QB Challenge. (10 points)<br />4. Sick 'Em Smokey - While playing as the Tennessee Volunteers, celebrate a touchdown by running to your mascot. (10 points)<br />5. Don't Mess With Texas - While playing as the Texas Longhorns, celebrate a touchdown by running to your mascot (10 points)<br />6. Got Gator Bait? - While playing as the Florida Gators, celebrate a touchdown by running to your mascot. (10 points)<br />7. Play a Mascot GamePlay a Mascot Game with any mascot teams. (15 points)<br />8. Let The Air Out - As the away team, get into the endzone in the first 30 seconds of the game. (15 points)<br />9. Triple Threat - Score a receiving, rushing, and passing touchdown with one player. (20 points)<br />10. Pick-Free - Do not throw any interceptions in a Play Now or Dynasty Mode game. (15 points)<br />11. Cue the Fat Lady - Win a Play Now or Dynasty Mode game by 21 points or more. (10 points)<br />12. Tippy Toe! Lemon Tree! - Score a touchdown with your receiver by performing a toe-drag animation. (30 points)<br />13. Get Creative - On a non-option play, score a TD with at least one lateral. (30 points)<br />14. That Just Happened! - Score a rushing touchdown with your punter in a Play Now or Dynasty Mode game. (25 points)<br />15. Go Deep for 50+ - Complete a pass for 50 or more yards in a Play Now or Dynasty Mode game. (20 points)<br />16. Breaker Breaker 4-9 - Break a run for 49 or more yards in a Play Now or Dynasty Mode game. (20 points)<br />17. Ice In Your Veins - Be the hero and win a game by taking the lead as time expires. (20 points)<br />18. HIT STUCK - Jar the ball loose with a User-Controlled Hit Stick tackle. (10 points)<br />19. Pick Two - Intercept 2 passes in a Play Now or Dynasty Mode game. (15 points)<br />20. Record Breaker - Interceptions - Break the game record for interceptions with one player (5) in a Play Now or Dynasty Mode game. (25 points)<br />21. Pick 6! - Take an interception back to the house in a Play Now or Dynasty Mode game. (20 points)<br />22. Scoop and Score! - Scoop a fumble on defense and take it to the house in a Play Now or Dynasty Mode game. (20 points)<br />23. Take Control In The Clutch - Sack the QB with a user-controlled defender on 3rd down to force a punt situation. (10 points)<br />24. On Lockdown - Hold the opposition to under 100 total yards in a Play Now or Dynasty Mode game. (20 points)<br />25. Up and Over - Take it up the middle in a goalline situation and dive into the endzone. (10 points)<br />26. Safety And Sound - Force a safety in Play Now or Dynasty Mode. (30 points)<br />27. Mmmmm.....Donut - Pitch a shutout by holding your opponent to zero points. Valid only in Play Now or Dynasty Mode. (30 points)<br />28. Is That Even Legal? - Return a missed field goal for a touchdown. Only valid in Play Now or Dynasty Mode. (20 points)<br />29. I'm Special! - Take a punt or kickoff back to the house for a touchdown. Valid only in Play Now or Dynasty Mode. (20 points)<br />30. A/V Club President - Upload a Video or Photo Highlight. (20 points)<br />31. Join the Ranks - Play a ranked game. (10 points)<br />32. Reach Out and Crush Someone - Join or Host an Online Dynasty. (30 points)<br />33. BCS Conference Invite - Get an invite to a BCS conference in single team Dynasty Mode.(25 points)<br />34. Conference Champs! - Play and win a conference championship game in single team Dynasty Mode or Campus Legend Mode. (10 points)<br />35. Heisman Memorial Trophy - Win the Heisman Memorial Trophy® in single team Dynasty Mode or Campus Legend Mode. (25 points)<br />36. Out On a High Note - Play and win a bowl game in single team Dynasty Mode or Campus Legend Mode. (10 points)<br />37. National Champions! - Play and win a BCS championship in single team Dynasty Mode or Campus Legend Mode. (30 points)<br />38. Oil Tycoon - Develop a new pipeline state in single team Dynasty Mode. (25 points)<br />39. Mr. February - Have the #1 ranked recruiting class in a season in single team Dynasty Mode. (30 points)<br />40. Win at H _ _ _ _ - Win the H.O.R.S.E mini-game. (20 points)<br />41. Special Teams Challenge Winner - Win the Special Teams Challenge Mini-Game. (20 points)<br />42. Russell High School Champ - Win the Russell High School Championship Game in any state. (40 points)<br />43. The Legend of Campus Legend - Earn More Than 1,000 Points in Campus Legend Mode. (100 points)<br />44. Place at the Table! - Become a Starter in Campus Legend Mode. (10 points)<br />45. High School Hero - Become a 5-star legend prospect. (20 points)<br />46. Pontiac G8 4th Quarter Comeback - Win a Play Now or Dynasty Mode game when down by 14 to start the 4th qtr. Min Difficulty: Varsity (30 points)<br />47. Old Spice Red Zone Perfection - Complete a Play Now or Dynasty Mode game with a Red Zone Efficiency rating of 100%. (15 points)<br />48. Old Spice Red Zone Shutout - Complete a Play Now or Dynasty Mode game without allowing a Touchdown from the Red Zone. (5 points)<br />49. Secret Achievement (5 points)</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-8961677409020743599?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-39115315366828112542008-06-23T11:06:00.003-06:002008-06-23T12:24:57.340-06:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SF_YTB0AWXI/AAAAAAAAAig/rW7Xn8rBjoY/s1600-h/1donkingpunch.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215124714933999986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SF_YTB0AWXI/AAAAAAAAAig/rW7Xn8rBjoY/s400/1donkingpunch.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Living up to the hype -</strong> I have to be honest, I wasn't sure quite what to expect when I cracked open Prizefighter. EA's Fight Night series seems to be handling the boxing genre quite well. But just like every other sports franchise, 2K isn't afraid to get in EA's face and throw some punches, an appropriate response considering 2K Sports first boxing title lands plenty of them. I'm not quite finished with the game yet, my work on <a href="http://www.gameproarcade.com/">GamePro Arcade</a> is keeping me pretty busy (What!?! You haven't been to <a href="http://www.gameproarcade.com/">GamePro Arcade</a> yet?!?! What are you waiting for?) but here are my first impressions on Prizefighter, a title I'm enjoying quite a bit so far.</div><div>.</div><div><strong>The Good</strong></div><div>Plot -The most pleasant surprise in Prizefighter so far has been its storyline. Its filled with live-actions clips that show your rise ("The Kid") rise to the top. Actors portray some of the people who help you on your way up but there are plenty of cameos by real boxing insiders. You'd think a storyline in a boxing title would be completely unnecessary but it really works.</div><div>.</div><div>Choices -Most people are well aware that many fighters end up leading lives of excess. Prizefighter gives you these same temptations. Do you skip training to - play in a celebrity poker tournament? Go to a magazine photo shoot? Head out on a quick vacation with your girlfriend? The more successful you get, the more people want to take up your time. If you do these things your media profile rises but your skills decrease.</div><div>.</div><div>Controls - Some people will struggle with the controls in Prizefighter, especially if you're used to the Fight Night series pick-up-and-play style, but with a little time they're not hard to master and add some realism. </div><div>.</div><div>Fight Strategy - There's a surprising amount of technicality involved in boxing and gamers get a feel for that in Prizefighter. Opponents come at you in different ways, so you can't always beat someone the same way. Make sure to listen to your trainers advice, its actually useful.</div><div>.</div><div>Random Stuff - I enjoyed the commentary by Jim Lampley and Emmanuel Stewart, which you don't get until you've made a bit of a name for yourself...The sepia tone classic fights are a nice touch, kind of like a boxing history lesson...the soundtrack (which includes "Eye of the Tiger") is pretty good</div><div>.</div><div><strong>The Not So Good</strong> </div><div>Unresponsive controls - Sometimes in fights, particularly when you're going up against a tougher opponent, there's a short delay between hitting the button and your character throwing the punch. It leaves you awfully vulnerable to counter punching and is pretty annoying.</div><div>.</div><div>The graphics - While the character models look fine and the damage they take is reflected over time, the graphics overall are pretty average. Some collision detection issues (punches going through parts of an opponent) are also disappointing.</div><div>.</div><div>Online play - I fought a couple of online matches and found the above problems to be even more noticeable. A lot of lag and clipping issues.</div><div>. </div><div>The controls - Yeah, yeah I know. I listed this as a positive but with 30+ controls, the learning curve is pretty high. If you don't have the patience, the controls will frustrate you.</div><div>.</div><div>So does Prizefighter have what it takes to knockout the Fight Night franchise? No, not yet. But it certainly is a step in the right direction. I can't really give a grade to a game I haven't yet finished but as of right now, Prizfighter is a solid B-.</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-3911531536682811254?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-11612016158793413482008-06-17T13:05:00.002-06:002008-06-17T13:33:32.793-06:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SFgLGpM6qbI/AAAAAAAAAiY/aDx5blBzve0/s1600-h/1gamepro.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212928777448499634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SFgLGpM6qbI/AAAAAAAAAiY/aDx5blBzve0/s400/1gamepro.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>I'm looking for a few good writers -</strong> Well, I can finally let the cat out its proverbial bag. I've been hinting for months about something I've been involved with but couldn't really discuss because it was ready yet, but it is now. GamePro's new arcade gaming website has just launched and I'm proud to say I'm heavily involved. <a href="http://www.gameproarcade.com/">GamePro Arcade</a> is a satellite site for GamePro.com that covers arcade and casual games, features op-ed pieces, top 5/10 lists and anything else that relates to casual/downloadable games. Its a great place to go for Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii, and mobile arcade gaming coverage.<br />.<br />Running this site is going to be a blast but a ton of work, here's where you come in. I'm searching for a few good writers. I'm on the lookout for 2-3 consistent, solid contributors to the site. If you're looking for some experience and a foot in the door to the gaming journalism industry, send me an email. The bad news is that I can't really pay you anything but a free game and maybe some gaming schwag here and there, my budget is pretty small. But again, its a great way to get some experience and some exposure.<br />.<br />Check out the site when you get a chance and if you're interested in working with me, my email address is below.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><br />.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-1161201615879341348?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-50529527803974425262008-06-12T15:52:00.002-06:002008-06-12T16:42:31.200-06:00<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SFGbAKhdw9I/AAAAAAAAAiQ/rto7zyfp3TE/s1600-h/nataliesousa_image%5B1%5D.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211116670971397074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SFGbAKhdw9I/AAAAAAAAAiQ/rto7zyfp3TE/s400/nataliesousa_image%5B1%5D.JPG" border="0" /></a>Everybody appreciates a good success story. A person who follows their dream and realizes it is an inspiration to everybody. In the gaming biz, one of the best examples of this is the husband and wife duo of Natalie Sousa and Nelson Rodriguez. The Achievement Junkie couple started out just like many other gamers (myself included), a member of the video game community with something to say. They started off with a podcast that gradually grew in popularity and now Nelson works for Microsoft and Natalie is the webmaster for <a href="http://www.talkingaboutgames.com/">talkingaboutgames</a>. Besides their podcast, you can also catch them on Pick Up &amp; Play, a weekly videocast on Xbox Live Marketplace.<br /><div>.</div><div>Recently I spoke with Natalie about her success and what its like to be behind the gaming curtain. As you would expect if you listen to her podcast, she was very easy to talk to and has a great sense of humor. I even managed to talk her into being a guest on the coloradojoe podcast in the near future so look for that soon (a Father's Day Gaming Gift Guide podcast will be available tomorrow). Here are a few of the things we discussed. </div><div>.</div><div><strong>You are the webmaster for the Talking About Games website. Its mentioned in your profile that you are a trained photographer. How did a photographer end up so involved in the gaming community?</strong> </div><div>.</div><div>There's no direct link to photography and video games. Both just happen to be things I enjoy. Photography is somewhat tech-y and gaming connects to my geeky side a bit. There's also a creative, imaginative side to both. I ended up in the gaming community simply through podcasting. I started podcasting about photography at first, then decided to jump into the podcast-gaming scene. </div><div>.</div><div><strong>When I first started listening to Achievement Junkie (two summers ago if memory serves) I was confused about your relationship with your partner Nelson Rodriguez. There were moments when I thought you were a couple and other times I thought otherwise. I now know that the two of you are married. How did you two meet and was your mutual love of gaming the impetus for you to get together? Please tell me you fell for each other while taking turns playing Ms. Pac Man in a Pizza Hut.</strong> </div><div>.</div><div>Haha! I wish I could say that! Nelson and I worked for the same company years back. He was located in their NJ office, and I worked from their headquarters office in Boston. They had a company wide meeting in Montreal one summer, and we fell in love with Montreal. We started a long distance, email/phone relationship a few months later. </div><div>.</div><div><strong>What is it like working with your spouse? Do you ever have differing views about games you should focus on and if so how do you handle that? Do you play co-op games together or are you interested in completely different titles?</strong></div><div>.</div><div>Working together is fun, but it can also be a bit stressful. Its easy to blend personal feelings with work and we have to try hard to separate the two. (I'm not saying I do that well, btw) The types of games we enjoy are pretty similar though I have a higher tolerance for cutesy little arcade games, like Eets Chowdown &amp; Boogie Bunnies. We love playing games together: Gears of War, Commanders: Attack of the Genos, Puzzle Quest, Poker Smash, etc. Co-op games are preferred (I wish every game had a co-op campaign), but versus will do. </div><div>.</div><div><strong>Tell me about the genesis of the Achievement Junkie podcast. What motivated you to start podcasting and why did you make it Xbox 360 specific? What is the process you and Nelson go through when you create a podcast?</strong></div><div>.</div><div>Our podcast developed a few months after Nelson started writing for a gaming blog. It happened to be Xbox 360 specific, simply because that was the only next-gen console that we owned (at that time). The show has changed a lot since our first episode, including a name change, going from weekly to daily episodes, then back to weekly and even a few vid-casts sprinkled in between. We wanted to create a gaming podcast where we were engaging with our audience, and not talking down to them or assuming they knew all of the insider-gaming terms. </div><div>.</div><div><strong>Achievement Junkie's popularity seems to have led to a lot of other opportunities for the both of you. Did Nelson end up at Microsoft as a result of his work at Achievement Junkie and was your involvement in Talking About Games before or after AJ?</strong></div><div>.</div><div>Achievement Junkie had everything to do with Nelson getting hired by Microsoft. Looking back, we can identify some of the turning points that had a big impact. The first was meeting Microsofts community team at a Lost Planet launch party (that we almost didn't attend). John Porcaro, Director of Online Communities at Microsoft, pulled out his Zune and Achievement Junkie was on his play list! It was awesome to find out that a major player in the gaming industry listened to our show! It was exciting and encouraged us to experiment with the podcast. A few weeks after launching a daily vid-cast, another turning point, Nelson got a call from Microsofts community team. The idea for Talking About Games developed shortly after Nelson started his role as a Community Manager for Gamerscore Blog. We realized that the time needed to maintain our original site was going to be difficult as a result, but we still had ideas for launching an even larger site; one that focused on a strong community presence while still bringing people reliable gaming news, reviews, and content. So we connected with our podcasting buddies: Jay Van Beveren (he's our Editor in Chief), Parris Lilly (he's our PR guy) and Jose Betancourt (he's our Community Manager). We pooled our creative and technical talents, and from that, TalkingAboutGames.com was born.</div><div>.</div><div><strong>How did you and Nelson get involved in the Pick Up and Play videos on Xbox Live?</strong></div><div>.</div><div>When we started doing our vid-cast, we did it every day for a few weeks, which was incredibly stressful, at times, but it was fun, too. We wanted to prove to ourselves that we could do it. In the back of our minds we thought 'wouldn't it be cool to put something like this on Xbox LIVE?' We always have crazy ideas like that. When Nelson joined the community team, the idea of us doing a video for them came up. This was at least a year ago. And they said 'now, we can't promise anything, and we don't want to get your hopes up... but, we'd love to explore the possibility down the road.' So, for the first few months of Nelson being at Microsoft it was put on the backburner. Then, Inside Xbox was launched, and they were looking for new content. We ended up spending MONTHS submitting proposals and shooting demos and re-shooting demos, until finally, we got included as one of the programs on there. We've been shaping it the whole time, and are still trying to improve it, but we're thrilled that we are now working on something we only vaguely wished about a year ago. </div><div>.</div><div><strong>As a former gaming community member who is now a gaming insider, what do you think the average gamers biggest misconception/s is/are about the gaming industry?</strong> </div><div>.</div><div>What I realized since sneaking behind the curtain of this industry, is that its easy to look at the gaming industry as a whole and assume that its an expert - it does it everything right, every step is calculated and it's a huge, well-oiled machine. When you get a little closer, you see that its just a bunch of individual people who are trying to create something exciting, or offer a different experience with a console or a game or an accessory. They all have to take chances, not always knowing how its going to turn out, and not always getting it right but hoping for the best every time.</div><div>.</div><div><strong>You've mentioned in podcasts that its sometimes tough being in the spotlight. What are the positives and negatives of being a public figure in an industry that can have such harsh critics?</strong></div><div>.</div><div>When we started the podcast we were excited to learn that we had 200 people listening to us. We now have thousands of viewers every week, which is amazing and fortunate and lucky AND intimidating. The challenge is that the internet is a safe, distant layer that makes it easy for people to say things that they wouldn't normally say to you if you were face to face. We've had to learn to grow a thicker skin when it comes to that stuff, and its something we have to work on all of the time. The positive stuff makes it all worth it - having an interaction with our audience, learning about games that they play with their friends and family, and having that connection keeps us motivated. </div><div>.</div><div><strong>What does the future hold (career wise) for Nelson and Natalie? Will you continue to do the Achievement Junkie podcast? Will Nelson try and team up with his crush Olivia Munn? Will you drop Nelson like a hot potato to work with pretty boy Geoff Keighley? The two of you have had incredible success, where do you go from here?</strong></div><div>.</div><div>Haha! Olivia Munn is the only gamer chick that Nelson has my OK to team up with. I haven't had a chance to meet with or work with Geoff Kieghley, but I'm sure Nelson would be ok with it. I want to be able to create an experience that people can relate to, that they are inspired by and learn from and have fun with. I want the audience to feel like they can connect with the shows that we produce and that they are part of it too! All of this feels a little dream-like... I want to share that with our audience and have them feel like they are along for the ride. </div><div>.</div><div><strong>And finally...what three games are taking up most of you time right now and what are your top 3 all time favorite titles?</strong></div><div>.</div><div>Top 3 favorite games of all time? I love them equally, but for different reasons: Gears of War - they say you'll never forget your first shooter. It opened up the shooter genre for me and gave me an incredible, movie-like experience. Pac-Man CE - totally addictive and fun! Its the only game on the 360 that I continue to play even though I unlocked every achievement. Super Mario Bros. - an all time favorite platformer. When I was growing up I was limited to 3 hours of video gaming during the school week (it was SOOO unfair!) and I'd spend it playing Super Mario Brothers every time. New Super Mario Bros on the DS is amazing. </div><div>.</div><div>At the moment, I'm spending time with Boogie Bunnies - I'm trying to unlock a silly achievement where I loose NO bunnies in a beach scene (its harder than you think!). Lumines Live, which I enjoy playing against Nelson. Sadly, he beats me 9 out of 10 times!! Those are terrible stats and I'm trying to change that, I've got a way to go. Another game I'm playing at the moment is embargoed. If you are willing to honor the embargo on it, I can tell you the game. I'm really loving it... its an awesome co-op experience. (<em>She told me but I'm not sharing, sorry. TT</em>)</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div>.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-5052952780397442526?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-6897785968086920272008-06-10T09:32:00.002-06:002008-06-10T10:07:53.333-06:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SE6et0wspBI/AAAAAAAAAiI/NNUGrX479Pw/s1600-h/1videogames.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210276329008440338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SE6et0wspBI/AAAAAAAAAiI/NNUGrX479Pw/s400/1videogames.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>Not enough gaming bad for your soul -</strong> <a href="http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/too-much-gaming-is-bad-for-your-eyes-say-optometrists/1217904">This </a>post on Yahoo! Games warns about the dangers your eyes face if you play games for too long. Maybe this is why I wear glasses. Who can I sue about that?<br />.<br /><em>According to the Minnesota Optometric Association, hardcore gamers are at heightened risk for Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS), a condition marked by a variety of symptoms including "eye irritation, dry eyes, headaches, pain in the eyes or surrounding facial muscles, squinting, excessive blinking, increased sensitivity to light and difficulty focusing." </em><br /><em>.<br />Alas, CVS is caused by strain from constant eye movements, often due to long hours in front of a monitor or television screen. By way of lengthy gaming sessions, gamers in particular are susceptible to developing problems, but non-gamers should also be wary of how long they watch. A survey by the American Optometric Association found that 82 percent of Americans frequently work at a computer and that 41 percent of its respondents have suffered from eyestrain. </em><br />.<br />Well, this isn't good news. When I'm not staring at my TV playing a game, I'm staring at it while watching the many programs my TiVo records for me while playing games. I also watch a lot of movies. Looks like I'll soon be going blind, no more Playboy channel for me. To be honest I'm absolutely shocked that staring at your TV for too long is bad for you. You mean that experts suggest that too much booze, food, smoking, work and even exercise could be bad for me? Contrary to the old adage, "too much of a good thing is a great thing", isn't that always the case (except for sex, you can never have too much of that)? What do doctors take us for, morons? Thank goodness I have guys with lots of letters after their name who can tell me what to do.<br />.<br /><strong>Looking for an arcade game? -</strong> If you're in the market for an Xbox Live Arcade or PSN game, take a look at some of my reviews of recent arcade releases on GamePro to see if you can find something worth your money. <br />- <a href="http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox360/games/reviews/190488.shtml">Aces of the Galaxy (Xbox 360)</a><br />- <a href="http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox360/games/reviews/190808.shtml">Warlords (Xbox 360)</a><br />- <a href="http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox360/games/reviews/190628.shtml">Roogoo (Xbox 360)</a><br />- <a href="http://www.gamepro.com/sony/ps3/games/reviews/190570.shtml">Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 (PSN)</a><br />- <a href="http://www.gamepro.com/sony/ps3/games/reviews/182228.shtml">Echochrome (PSN)</a><br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-689778596808692027?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-72783254417659053972008-06-07T20:20:00.002-06:002008-06-07T21:22:46.924-06:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SEtCG5fbwYI/AAAAAAAAAiA/qMeAXHFi0o4/s1600-h/1podcast.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209330080263422338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SEtCG5fbwYI/AAAAAAAAAiA/qMeAXHFi0o4/s400/1podcast.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>Sort Of -</strong> You might have noticed a new edition to the As the Gaming World Turns front page. On the right side, below my gamertag and GTA IV youtube videos are the first two new coloradojoe podcasts. I kind of buried it because its still a work in progress and to be honest, hitting the link to listen to it is a pain in the ass. I recommend subscribing to it through iTunes. If you type in <em>coloradojoe</em> in the iTunes Store power search you'll see it. Actually you'll see two, the one from last year and the new one. You'll want the one that's marked "explicit" (finally I can curse all I want!) and with the picture of me and my brother sitting on a lion at Trafalgar Square. On the iTunes menu it'll only list one episode but when you subcribe it'll download the two I've recently recorded. So what do you get in these two podcasts? Not a whole hell of lot to be honest. The first one is just a reintroduction and some ideas of what I have planned for the podcast, the second is mostly me cursing about podcasting. I've been off for a year so try and cut me some slack. <br />.<br />So after whining in a post about podcast problems how did it get resolved? My brother suggested doing 3-4 mini-podcasts to deal with our upload issue and it worked. This means that instead of downloading one 30 minute podcast, you'll have to download 3 or 4 but I do it with my Adam Corolla podcasts so its really no big deal. Its still early and my usual sidekick is out of the country for the next 2 weeks but I do plan on doing the podcasts regularly. Since they're going to be in short 5-10 minute bursts the format will probably be a little more streamlined but I still plan on talking about the same stuff I did before (and did I mention there'll be cursing?) - videogames will be the focus with music, TV, films, and sports filling out the rest. Interviews, always a personal favorite, will happen as often as possible and I plan on offering some giveaways (games, game guides, faceplates, etc.) through the podcasts as well. So if you're a frequent reader of the site, go to iTunes and subscribe. If you don't like it, I'll give you double your money back.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-7278325441765905397?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-31530380016150374642008-06-05T21:58:00.002-06:002008-06-05T22:32:22.399-06:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SEi2MMRVT_I/AAAAAAAAAh4/3k9bGB2xsRk/s1600-h/1bourne.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208613289622589426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SEi2MMRVT_I/AAAAAAAAAh4/3k9bGB2xsRk/s400/1bourne.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>I (Jason Bourne) am a badass -</strong> Like most Jason Bourne fights, I'm going to keep this short and sweet. The Bourne Conspiracy is a cool game and you should buy it. What? I'm supposed to elaborate?!? Didn't you read the title of this post? First impressions are usually brief. Still not good enough? Fine here are the highs and lows after the first four levels.<br />.<br />The Good<br />- The fighting mechanics are excellent. They're relatively simple yet effective and truly give the feeling that you are Jason Bourne. This game was made for 95-pound weaklings to feel good about themselves.<br />- The story, which is expanded upon greatly if you've only watched the movies, is well told. The flashbacks stay honest to the feel of the films. I read the first Bourne book a long time ago so I don't know if that's where the extra story comes from but it sure works. <br />- The overall game presentation is superb. The character models and backgrounds are all detailed and the weather effects are a nice touch. The in-game music adds plenty of tension.<br />.<br />The Not So Good<br />- The shooting mechanics are pretty lame. It reminds me a little of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Thankfully you spend more time fighting than shooting in the game. At least I have through the first four levels.<br />- There are some collision detection issues - an enemy's head going through a dumpster on a melee attack, getting stuck behind boxes while still running. Its not a major problem yet, but it gives the game an unpolished feel.<br />.<br />Its early but I'm really enjoying this game. I haven't tried any driving missions and the shooting mechanics should be better but as an unabashed Bourne fan I'm pretty pleased. At this point I'd give it a solid B+.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-3153038001615037464?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-72339285216529719752008-06-03T22:49:00.003-06:002008-06-03T23:26:31.476-06:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SEYfQcRVT-I/AAAAAAAAAhw/Yxs5sOQ1QEs/s1600-h/coldplay-notlost800.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207884386427817954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SEYfQcRVT-I/AAAAAAAAAhw/Yxs5sOQ1QEs/s400/coldplay-notlost800.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Eli will be overjoyed -</strong> I wasn't planning on putting up another post until Thursday, when I was going to give my Bourne Conspiracy first impressions, but then I read <a href="http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/05/coldplay.html">this</a>. According to a post on hollywoodinsider.com a few days ago, Coldplay will be in Guitar Hero III. You read that right, COLDPLAY. You might have seen the band sing their new song Viva La Vida at the MTV movie awards a couple of days ago (but more likely you didn't because winning an MTV movie award is the equivalent of winning a <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dundie">Dundie</a>...scratch that, I'd rather win a Dundie). The bands new album comes out in a few weeks and as part of their promotion the song Violet Hill will be available as a download on Guitar Hero III.<br />.<br />Personally I'm a huge Coldplay fan (and I've taken a ton of crap for it but that's cool...haters) but since I don't own GH III anymore I could care less about the news. But even if Coldplay was coming out on Rock Band I wouldn't be that excited. I'd certainly buy it but I'm not sure how their style of music fits into these kind of games. I'd rather have music from my all-time favorite band, The Beatles, but it'll be a cold day in Phoenix when that happens. Still, the release of Coldplay music on GHIII is an interesting experiment. If gamers are willing to buy Coldplay songs, will they be willing to buy other songs that don't quite fit the rockin' genre of Guitar Hero and Rock Band? What about hip hop? Rap? Country? Showtunes? What about Peter Griffin's man-crush Barry Manilow? Sales of Violet Hill could lead to some interesting results. In the meantime, enjoy jammin' to Coldplay Eli.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-7233928521652971975?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-34691224035724723712008-06-03T15:34:00.002-06:002008-06-03T16:18:18.686-06:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SEW52sRVT9I/AAAAAAAAAho/8nEfy1mf84M/s1600-h/DSC00186.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207772893371781074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SEW52sRVT9I/AAAAAAAAAho/8nEfy1mf84M/s400/DSC00186.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SEW5mcRVT8I/AAAAAAAAAhg/K_vyJnoDeMM/s1600-h/DSC00185.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207772614198906818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SEW5mcRVT8I/AAAAAAAAAhg/K_vyJnoDeMM/s400/DSC00185.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>Treadstone training not included -</strong> A slew of titles come out this week (Ninja Gaiden II, Grid, Lego Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda, The Incredible Hulk) but the one most worthy of your time is The Bourne Consipiracy, which you can pick up tomorrow. The very lengthy demo has been available for download for PS3 and 360 gamers for awhile so if you're even remotely considering picking up Bourne you should take a look at it. And if you're a fan of the Bourne movies and books, Conspiracy is a must own, even though Matt Damon wasn't kind enough to grace the game with his voice or likeness.</div><div>.</div><div>My review copy came by FedEx today and looked like something out of a Black Briar debriefing at CIA headquarters. The binder/attache case had the Bourne Conspiracy logo on the outside and when opened up sported a notepad, a 360 copy of the game and assets in the guise of a debriefing report. As press packages go its not on the same level as the mini-pinata that came with Viva Pinata, but its pretty cool. I haven't had a chance to put the game disc in but as a long time Bourne fan, I'm looking forward to it. </div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-3469122403572472371?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-92231014632111104182008-06-02T15:03:00.002-06:002008-06-02T16:04:45.916-06:00<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SERgdcRVT7I/AAAAAAAAAhY/qHGH5IYXDh0/s1600-h/1podcasting.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207393128068501426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SERgdcRVT7I/AAAAAAAAAhY/qHGH5IYXDh0/s400/1podcasting.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Where's the technical manual? -</strong> I thought I had it all figured out. After looking all over the internet for free podcast hosting I found what I was looking for, or so I thought. Its been almost a year since the last coloradojoe podcast ended due to technical difficulties (stupid Odeo). I've been working on trying to get the podcast up and running but after trying a number of different free sites (podbean, gabcast, my podcast recorder, odeo again) I ended up with nothing. My brother came down to visit this weekend and we recorded a short 30-minute podcast using the Mymp3 recorder, which works fine.<br />.<br />I felt pretty good about what we recorded. Phil and I discussed the Michael Hollick situation, GTA IV, Metal Gear Solid and threw in a little NBA Finals just for kicks. It was a lot of fun and I was looking forward to getting back into the routine of doing a weekly podcast. The problem was that none of the free hosts listed above would load it up. Its infuriating as hell. Maybe I don't have a good enough computer, maybe I'm not as technically savvy as I thought, I have no clue what's going wrong. I'm tempted to use a pay site and I'm willing to pay a small monthly amount, but I'm concerned I'm just going to end up having the same problems anyway. If anyone has any tips on how I can get the coloradojoe podcast up and running, let me know. Otherwise the podcast is as dead as Britney Spears career. <br /><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-9223101463211110418?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-35025768326905007112008-05-30T16:00:00.003-06:002008-05-30T17:13:23.103-06:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SEB5XMRVT6I/AAAAAAAAAhQ/yLGvlzfVwAg/s1600-h/1donking2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206294608578170786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 423px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 241px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="293" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SEB5XMRVT6I/AAAAAAAAAhQ/yLGvlzfVwAg/s400/1donking2.JPG" width="455" border="0" /></a> <strong>Don's gonna knock you out -</strong> A few press releases before the weekend. First up, a personal letter from Mr. Don King regarding his new boxing title followed by some free SimCity stuff.<br /><div>.</div><div><em>Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, </em></div><div><em>.<br />It is my extreme pleasure to personally introduce to you today the next great step in sports entertainment, the latest evolution in digital drama, the pinnacle of sports superbitude and the only game with fame to bear my name: Don King Presents: Prizefighter!Language lacks the power to express the sheer magnitude of magnificence emanating from this unparalleled sports entertainment experience, and what words cannot describe, only visuals can provide. To that end I am pleased to present you with a stellar collection of magnificent media designed especially to bring you into the awesome thrill and spectacle that is Don King Presents: Prizefighter. Prepare yourself for a graduate course in pugilistic perfection and epic gladiatorial combat as you immerse yourself in this seminal sports simulation.</em></div><div><em>.<br />Only Don King Presents: Prizefighter lets you experience the incredible highs and lows of a young fighter in poverty and shame rising up to the heights of fortune and fame, going from underdog to boss hog, from underrated to celebrated. I am a promoter of the people, for the people, by the people, and I am ecstatic to bring you my greatest cultural contribution. I've always said that my magic lies in my people ties, and nothing is going to stand in the way of the people getting to experience the pinnacle of sports video game entertainment. We are now bringing pugilistic pride to the people far and wide. To help spread this message to people around the world, we're introducing </em><a href="http://www.hypekingdom.com/" target="_blank"><em>www.hypekingdom.com</em></a><em>, the one-stop destination for entertainment salvation.<br />.<br />Don King Presents: Prizefighter will be available on June 10, 2008 for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and this fall for Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo and Nintendo DS™. For more information, please visit </em><a href="http://www.2ksports.com/prizefighter/" target="_blank"><em>www.2ksports.com/prizefighter/</em></a><em>.<br />.</em></div><div><em>- It's the best anything ever! Only in America!</em></div><div>.</div><div><strong>Did someone say free? -</strong> <em>A Demo Version of SimCity Societies With Updated Content and Features Will Be Available As A Free Download On June 12 At SimCity.com<br />.</em></div><div><em>WHO: SimCity Societies from The Sims Label, Electronic Arts</em></div><div><em>.</em></div><div><em>WHAT: That demo will show off much of the new fan requested content and features that have been added to the game over the last few months through five free game updates. Just some of the features and content added to Societies include:· New strategic modes: Basic, Hardcore and Nightmare, each one a more intense challenge to your city buildings skills.· Three new exotic disasters, including UFOs, a giant robot and a massive monster· New events and crises, including counter-cultural revolutions, general strikes, epidemics and more· Easy firefighting controls. Put out the flames faster!· Improved road placing controls· Almost countless UI additions, everything more charts and graphs to new auto-execute buttons for special abilities· City Policies, giving you the power to enact Universal Healthcare, Indoctrination, and other ways to affect, or control, your citizens lives· Six scenarios ranging from the relaxing the intense· Dozens of new buildings and special Sims· More than 100 other additions and improvementsThe free downloadable demo will include the tutorial, a challenging scenario and two major disasters.</em></div><div><em>.</em></div><div><em>WHEN: Look for it on June 12 at </em><a href="http://www.simcity.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><em>www.simcity.com</em></a><em>.</em></div><div><em>.</em></div><div><em>WHERE: The SimCity Societies free game updates are available right now at </em><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001jTc5HU0TunVmzVn2w34B18NTNiHgd-tNJ3WuZP1JVTtWXy0o670jcXSpN-S1oDBzkiSfC2saVachAtgFcVA64IThGaEXHtybPLhzkALJny0=" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><em>www.simcity.com</em></a><em>. When you download update 5, it will include all previous updates.NEXT: Upcoming for SimCity Societies after the demo launch is its first expansion, Destinations, and the massive compilation, The SimCity Box (which includes Societies, Destinations, SimCity 4, SimCity 4 Rush Hour, Snap City and Spore Creature Creator Trial Version), due out on June 23. Check </em><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001jTc5HU0TunVmzVn2w34B18NTNiHgd-tNJ3WuZP1JVTtWXy0o670jcXSpN-S1oDBzkiSfC2saVachAtgFcVA64IThGaEXHtybPLhzkALJny0=" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><em>www.simcity.com</em></a><em> for more info.</em></div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-3502576832690500711?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-36486471322391380782008-05-27T21:38:00.002-06:002008-05-27T22:52:43.889-06:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SDzUKsRVT5I/AAAAAAAAAhI/Z9STQ4DHO7g/s1600-h/1gordon_gecko.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205268549481090962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SDzUKsRVT5I/AAAAAAAAAhI/Z9STQ4DHO7g/s400/1gordon_gecko.jpg" border="0" /></a> After reading <a href="http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/gta-iv-star-only-made-100-000/1215423">this</a> article on Yahoo!, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/arts/television/21gta.html?_r=2&amp;sq=niko&amp;st=nyt&amp;scp=1&amp;pagewanted=print&amp;oref=slogin&amp;oref=slogin">this</a> one from nytimes.com and talking with my brother about Michael Hollick's financial woes, I'm left conflicted. Hollick, the voice of GTA IV protagonist Niko Bellic, is complaining because he only made $100K for his efforts. He spoke countless lines of dialogue and performed motion capture work for Niko yet he'll get no residuals, no checks after reaching a certain amount of sales...nada.<br />.<br />My initial reaction was that he was getting robbed. Actors, musicians, writers and other artists receive money for their work based on sales but because the Screen Actors Guild has nothing in its contract covering electronic media, actors in video games get paid a standard daily rate. While I'm certain big name actors like Samuel L Jackson and Ray Liotta got treated like royalty from Rockstar, the average actor is screwed. $100K for 15 months is nothing to sneeze at, but when your work grosses $600 million in two weeks and you were an integral part, that has to suck. It seems that Rockstar would at least throw him a bone and give the guy a little love, right? Once again the corporate "man" makes his money and runs.<br />.<br />But after I talked with my brother (who did some fine impressions of Niko, Master Chief and Solid Snake, but a weak Mario) I started to change my mind and thought about the following things.<br />- Hollick signed a contract so he knew what he was getting paid, nobody made him agree to it and $100K is good money for a no-name actor. In fact, this should help him get more work in the future.<br />- Rockstar was playing by the rules, its the Screen Actors Guild that should get with the program. They're hurting their own clients by not having electronic media accounted for in their contracts. <br />- If you pay Hollick, who did make a strong contribution, when does the compensation end? Do the scriptwriters get more money? The designers? At some point you have to accept that you just get paid for the work you agreed to do.<br />.<br />But the most important reason this is a non-issue is because Hollick is completely replaceable. Niko is certainly a compelling character but the game would have been just as good if <em>I</em> was the one performing his voice overs. The story, GTA's successful history, the setting, and the crazy things you can do in the game are what sells GTA IV - not the voice over work of Michael Hollick. The same could be said for pretty much any game with an iconic character. I can't really see anyone doing a better job than Charles Martinet (the voice of Mario) or David Hayter (Solid Snake) but if Gilbert Gottfried did the voice of Master Chief instead of Steve Downes would anybody really care? Well, yes you probably would. But when my brother does a dead on Master Chief, I realized how relative voice work in a game is. Just like those times when the importance of graphics are discussed about games (usually when new consoles come out), the truth is that when it comes right down to it, its the gameplay that makes a game memorable. That's always how its been and how it'll always be.<br />.<br />So what do you think? Is Hollick being underpaid or does he just need to get over it? Let me know your point of view.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-3648647132239138078?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-16781293561515690042008-05-23T21:50:00.002-06:002008-05-23T22:20:41.116-06:00<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SDeRnsRVT4I/AAAAAAAAAg0/16KtP-WUhuU/s1600-h/1penny.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203788005534683010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SDeRnsRVT4I/AAAAAAAAAg0/16KtP-WUhuU/s400/1penny.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong> Competition for Rock Band? -</strong> When Rock Band was released it made Guitar Hero as irrelevant as HD DVD players. In order to get back into the fray Activision had to do something and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Edition was not the answer. So what did Guitar Hero do? Become more like Rock Band, which is a good thing. Check out this recent Activision press release to see what they have in mind.<br />.<br /><em>ACTIVISION UNVEILS GUITAR HERO® WORLD TOUR – THE DEFINITIVE ROCK &amp; ROLL MUSIC VIDEOGAMING EXPERIENCE, New State of the Art Wireless Instruments, Innovative Music Studio Lets Players Compose, Record, Edit and Share Music, Biggest Selection of On-Disc Music with All Master Tracks, Robust New Eight-Player “ Battle of the Bands” Mode, First Game Ever in the Guitar Hero® Franchise to Allow In-Game Downloadable Content on Wii<br />.<br />Santa Monica, CA – May 22, 2008 – When the house lights go down this fall, a new generation of axe shredders, drummers and fearless frontmen will come together and rock with Activision, Inc.’s Guitar Hero® World Tour. The latest installment from the #1 best-selling video game franchise of 2007, Guitar Hero World Tour will transform music gaming by marrying Guitar Hero’s® exhilarating guitar gameplay, with a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless instruments with revolutionary new online and offline gameplay modes. The game will feature a slick newly redesigned guitar, a genuine electronic drum kit and a microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock and roll anthems, along with online Band Career and 8-player “Battle of the Bands.”<br />.<br />Delivering the largest on-disc set list in a music-rhythm game to-date, Guitar Hero World Tour is comprised entirely of master recordings from some of the greatest classic and modern rock bands of all-time including Van Halen, Linkin Park, The Eagles, Sublime and many more. Additionally, the game will offer significantly more localized downloadable music than ever before on all of the next-generation consoles. Budding rock stars will also be given creative license to fully customize everything from their characters’ appearance and instruments to their band’s logo and album covers.<br />.<br />In addition to a newly designed more responsive guitar controller and microphone, Guitar Hero World Tour will deliver the most realistic drum experience ever in a video game with an authentic electronic drum kit. Featuring three drum pads, two raised cymbals and a bass kick pedal, the drum controller combines larger and quieter, velocity-sensitive drum heads with soft rubber construction to deliver authentic bounce back and is easy to set up, move, break down and store.<br />.<br />Guitar Hero World Tour delivers more ways to play than ever before. Virtual musicians can live out their rock and roll fantasies by playing either a single instrument, or any combination of instruments, in addition to the full band experience. In addition to all of the online gameplay modes from Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock, Guitar Hero World Tour introduces Battle of the Bands mode which allows eight players to join online and challenge each other band-to-band to determine who is the best of the best. In the Band modes, up to four players can jam together, online or off, as they progress through the game, and in single-player Career Mode, players can jam on any of the instruments in branching venue progression enabling them to rock out in the order of their choice. The game’s innovative new Music Studio lets players express their musical creativity by giving them access to a full compliment of tools to create digital music from scratch, utilizing all of the instruments, and then play their compositions in the game. Music creators will also be able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunes™ where other gamers can download their unique compositions and play them.<br />.<br />Guitar Hero World Tour is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The Wii™ version is being developed by Vicarious Visions. The PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system version is being developed by Budcat. The game is not yet rated by the ESRB.</em><br />.<br /><strong>Wanna win a free XBLA game? -</strong> The very excellent Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness (pictured up top) was released Wednesday on XBLA. I highly recommend it but if you're not ready to drop $20 on a downloadable title, you have the opportunity to get it for free. Head to <a href="http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox360/games/reviews/187228.shtml">GamePro.com </a>to check out my review of the game and if you write a comment you are automatically entered in a drawing to win a redemption code. Good luck!<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-1678129356151569004?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-4762350341968128892008-05-20T22:23:00.002-06:002008-05-20T22:39:30.642-06:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SDOj1wMuJXI/AAAAAAAAAgs/2TwqNO9Ra4k/s1600-h/1groin.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202682138409706866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SDOj1wMuJXI/AAAAAAAAAgs/2TwqNO9Ra4k/s400/1groin.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>The Gamer Level Calculator 1.0 –</strong> Are you a hardcore gamer or are you a noob who should just pack your shit and move to France with the rest of the wimps? Maybe you’re somewhere in-between, like porn on Cinemax (not quite porn, not quite rated R). Its time to find out with the handy reference guide below. Add up all your points and check the scoring guide to see where you rank. You’re on the honor system here so don’t cheat.<br />.<br /><em>Consoles<br /></em>Own a current-gen videogame console (+1pt.)<br />Own two or more current-gen videogame consoles (+1.5pts)<br />Own a classic console (i.e. NES, Atari 2600, Dreamcast) (+.5pts)<br />Use a PC as your primary gaming console (-2pts)<br />.<br /><em>Gaming Geek Factor<br /></em>Have padded your stats in any Madden (+.5pts)<br />Padded your Gamerscore with a game bought or rented (+.25pts)<br />Padded your Gamerscore with games from Burger King (-.25pts)<br />Own any videogame related toys/action figures (+.5pts)<br />Competed in a videogame tournament at a store (+.5pts)<br />Attended 2 or more midnight releases (+.5pts)<br />Own 1 or more videogame themed t-shirt (+.5pts)<br />Called someone a noob online (+.5pts)<br />Cursed at a complete stranger online or just in general made an ass of yourself online (-3pts)<br />Wrote a comment on a gaming blog or gaming website (+.5pts)<br />If you are reading this (+1pt)<br />Beat Super Mario Bros. (NES), Zelda (NES), Metal Gear Solid (PS1), Halo (Xbox) and GTA III (PS2) (+1pt)<br />If you ever “accidentally” hit the reset button in the middle of a game because you were about to lose (-.25pts)<br />Played all of the original versions of following games (+2pts)<br />- Golden Eye<br />- Pa Rappa the Rappa<br />- Tomb Raider<br />- Crash Bandicoot<br />- Sonic<br />- Doom<br />- NBA Jam<br />- Resident Evil<br />- Combat<br />Played Mary Kate and Ashley: Magical Mystery Mall (-5pts)<br />.<br /><em>Dedication to the art form</em><br />Subscribe to a videogame magazine (+.25pts)<br />Subscribe to multiple videogame magazines (+.5pts)<br />Bought a TV specifically for gaming (+.5pts)<br />Own 1-4 games (+.25pts)<br />Own 5-10 games (+.5pts)<br />Own 11-20 games (+.75pts)<br />Own 21-99 games (+1pts)<br />Own 100 or more games (open your own game store already)<br />Play 0-1 hours of games a week (-2pts)<br />Play 2-5 hours of games a week (0pts)<br />Play 6-10 hours of games a week (+.25pts)<br />Play 11-15 hours of games a week (+.5pts)<br />Play 16-25 hours of games a week (+1pt)<br />Play 25 hours or more a week (you are a lonely guy)<br />.<br /><em>Gaming IQ<br /></em>Name 7 videogame publishers (+.5pts)<br />Name 5 videogame developers (+.5pts)<br />Name 3 videogame execs (+.5pts)<br />Name the creator of the Metal Gear franchise (+.25pts)<br />Name the creator of the Mario franchise (+.25pts)<br />Name the creator of the Final Fantasy franchise (+.25pts)<br />Understand and can explain the phrase “the cake is a lie” (+.25pts)<br />Know where you can find the Union Aerospace Corporation (+.5pts)<br />Name 12 consoles (+.5pts)<br />Name the games these 5 characters come from (+.5pts)<br />- Meryl Silverburgh<br />- Bastilla<br />- Andrew Ryan<br />- Cormano<br />- Lian Xing<br />Name at least 2 games Michael “Jester” Ironside did voiceover work for (+.25pts)<br />.<br /><strong>Scoring Table<br /></strong>.<br />0-1: The Anti-Gamer – You suck. Why are you even on this site? Go out right now and buy yourself a console and get with the program. I’m serious. Gaming is a bigger business than movies baby! Its time to join the party.<br />.<br />2-3: The Noob – You are one of two people. You are A) a guy who owns a console but never plays it (see: dude who bought a PS3 only as a Blu-ray player) or B) you just got into games. If you’re Guy A, dust off your console and put a disc in. I guarantee you’ll enjoy it. If you’re Guy B, you are a noob and will have to game your ass off to lose your noob status. Welcome to gaming, noob.<br />.<br />4-5: The Half-Ass Gamer – You play games but are very picky. You can go weeks without playing but when a game comes out that you really like you can play for 6 hours straight, every day for a week. You don’t care about community, you rarely play online or against friends, you only care about what you can get out of a title. Gaming to you is like exercise, its just a good way to blow off some steam. You like it, you enjoy it, but you don’t truly get into it.<br />.<br />6-7: Joe Gamer – You are the average gamer. Every gaming magazine and advertising campaign is aimed at you. You tend to play it safe with your titles, playing the “big” games that receive a lot of publicity or games you’ve played previous iterations of (Madden, Halo). You have a few tendencies that, if fed properly, could lead you to being a hardcore gamer but you always keep it under control because you’re already self-conscious about being a gamer because either your friends, your woman, or both give you a hard time about it.<br />.<br />8-9: The Hardcore – Gaming is an important part of your life and you make sure to find time for it almost every day. You know your stuff, almost like a gaming historian, but you never rub anybody’s face in it. You feel your mission is to spread gaming around and convert non-gamers into gamers. Gaming is almost an obsession for you, but you are smart enough to only occasionally let the lines between reality and gaming get blurred. You get a kick out of talking about games with anybody who’ll listen, which most of the time is some random guy at a gaming store.<br />.<br />10 and up: The Ubergamer – Your knowledge of gaming and its history is Geoff Keighleyesque. You are considered by family and friends to be a walking gaming encyclopedia, mostly because gaming is the only thing you ever talk about but also because you have no boundaries when it comes to showing your love of games. You’re the type of guy who’ll come dressed as a game character at a midnight release and you might even have a game related tattoo. You’ve forgotten more about gaming than most people remember. Joe Gamer and Hardcore gamers admire you, everyone else thinks you're nuts. <br />.<br /><br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-476235034196812889?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-58051393748733930142008-05-17T15:44:00.008-06:002008-05-18T00:21:08.487-06:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SC9RzAMuJWI/AAAAAAAAAgk/e9YZkO8SbXM/s1600-h/1casua.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201466031304746338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SC9RzAMuJWI/AAAAAAAAAgk/e9YZkO8SbXM/s400/1casua.jpg" border="0" /></a><em>For me, you are a gamer or non-gamer. I think most of you know that you can spend ten or twenty hours on an internet flash game and have not realised. The guy who plays these games regularly - he's a core gamer. Someone who is fifty-years old who only plays Brain Training, but plays it like a core gamer is a core gamer. I don't like this word casual so much. Because people consider that casual needs to be something easy. If you're good at any game you can play at a high difficulty level. Take Tetris. There is incredible gameplay, it's very simple, very easy to understand, but it's also very different. I think a game can be a light enough to enjoy and for all gamers to become a core gamer on it. There is no casual gaming. There is just a different way to play.</em><br />.<br /><em>- Nintendo Europe Senior Marketing Director Laurent Fischer (5/14/08)</em><br />.<br /><strong>The definition of irony -</strong> As my pappy used to say, "Life isn't black and white, its just different shades of gray. And no you can't borrow $20." I have no idea what he meant or why he was discussing color patterns when I was trying to bum money off of him but if I apply pappy's logic to the quote above it seems pretty clear to me that Mr. Fischer, despite being an executive for Nintendo, has no idea what he's talking about when it comes to gamers. Does Mr. Fischer mean to say that the company that makes the Wii, a console which prides itself on its wide appeal, truly believes that casual gaming doesn't exist?<br />.<br />I've read those stories in the newspaper about the Wii being used to entertain seniors who live in retirement communities. From Larry's perspective, these seniors and the guy who stays up until 3am playing team deathmatch in Halo 3 are one and the same. With a few exceptions (pregnancy, marriage, gender) saying you're either one thing or another is just plain stupid. So the statement of "you are a gamer or a non-gamer" coming from a Nintendo exec borders on the moronic.<br />.<br />Mr. Fischer, casual gaming is not Big Foot, it exists and is doing quite well. In fact, its one of gaming's most profitable and popular attractions because its easy to learn, inexpensive, usually short, and enjoyable on a basic level almost anyone can understand. Of course, you should already know this since your company has made some of the most popular casual games of all time. The problem with your statement is that you think only gamers play casual games. Wrong! Games come in different levels of complexity, so do gamers. To simplify a complicated topic for you, here's a basic table you can reference next time you open your pie-hole about casual games and gamers. This is not a complete list since under each level are a number of subcategories, but since you haven't been able to comprehend gamer needs so far, I thought I'd dumb this table down for you.<br />.<br /><strong>Gamer Levels</strong><br />Non-Gamer - These are people who don't play games, casual or otherwise. They look down upon gamers from on high and view gaming as a waste of time and money. These are the type of douchebags who spend way too much time tying sweaters around their neck and putting dimes in their penny loafers. You might talk them into trying a game, but then they'll just toss the controller back to you and say, "I don't get why you're so into this. This isn't art. You should be reading the classics or watching art house flicks with subtitles." Non-gamers have no soul.<br />.<br />Casual - This is a bit of a misnomer but since the phrase is already well known its time to give it a proper definition. A casual gamer isn't defined by the games that they play but by the amount of time that they spend gaming. My wife likes playing Tetris and Solitaire, strictly casual fare. But she'll also play GTA IV every now and then, but only for 10 minutes because she likes to run people over and smash into things. The GTA series is considered pretty hardcore, so does this make her a hardcore gamer? No, because she only plays about 30-45 minutes of games a week. I play "hardcore" games (Halo 3, Orange Box, etc.) but I also enjoy casual games (Echochrome, Battle Zone, etc.) just as much. Does this make me a casual gamer? Hell no, because I play about 20 hours of games a week. If gamer #1 played 20 hours of Paper Boy and Dig Dug a week while gamer #2 played two hours of Call of Duty 4 a week, who would you consider the casual gamer?<br />.<br />Hardcore - As with casual gamers there are varying degrees of hardcore gamers but at its most basic level, a hardcore gamer is someone who just loves games. Usually they have multiple consoles, an entertainment system designed specifically for games, catches up on the latest news online and through multiple magazine subscriptions, and probably posts comments on blogs or forums. A hardcore gamer views games as both entertainment and art form and will argue the point with anyone who thinks otherwise. They also own a few gaming t-shirts and aren't ashamed to be called fanboys. Hardcore gamers are funny, sexy, super intelligent people that are the life of any party.<br />.<br />Gamer or non-gamer? That kind of labeling doesn't make any sense. Want to know what kind of gamer you are? Find out in my next post.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-5805139374873393014?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-20780325243534660322008-05-13T21:41:00.002-06:002008-05-13T22:02:46.015-06:00<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SCpfpgMuJVI/AAAAAAAAAgc/yCkoI4i_7vg/s1600-h/1bourne.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200073886375224658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SCpfpgMuJVI/AAAAAAAAAgc/yCkoI4i_7vg/s400/1bourne.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong> Matt Damon not included -</strong> That's right, The Talented Mr. Ripley is not taking part in the making of the Bourne Conspiracy videogame. Sarah Silverman's big mouth must have done what no Blackbriar trained agent could ever do, beat him into submission. But if you're a Bourne fan this shouldn't stop you from being interested in this title that comes out in early June. The very lengthy demo is available right now on Xbox Live and PSN, I highly recommend it. While you have to wait 2 weeks for the full version, here are the known Achievements to sink your teeth into.<br />.<br />1. Treadstone Trainee - Completed all campaign missions on Trainee or higher (40 points)<br />2. Treadstone Agent - Completed all campaign missions on Agent or higher (60 points)<br />3. Treadstone Assassin - Completed all campaign missions on Assassin (100 points)<br />4. Brawler - Defeat 50 opponents in hand-to-hand without performing a takedown (15 points)<br />5. Pugilist - Defeat 100 opponents in hand-to-hand without performing a takedown (25 points)<br />6. Heavyweight - Defeat 200 opponents in hand-to-hand without performing a takedown (50 points)<br />7. Need Glasses - Finished a mission with an accuracy below 10% (5 points)<br />8. Good Shot Clustering - Finished a mission with an accuracy of at least 75% (10 points)<br />9. Eye on the Target - Finished a mission with an accuracy of at least 90% (15 points)<br />10. Deadeye - Finished 3 missions with an accuracy of at least 90% (25 points)<br />11. Collateral Damage - Destroy 10 explodables (10 points)<br />12. Massive Collateral Damage - Destroy 50 explodables (25 points)<br />13. Manual Shooter - Finished a mission without using a shooting takedown (5 points)<br />14. Fancy Shooter - Finish off 50 opponents using shooting takedowns (15 points)<br />15. Bullet Master - Finish off 200 opponents using shooting takedowns (50 points)<br />16. Hard Slog - Finish a mission without using any hand-to-hand takedowns (5 points)<br />17. Living Weapon - Finish off 50 opponents using hand-to-hand takedowns (25 points)<br />18. 30 Million Dollar Weapon - Finish off 200 opponents using hand-to-hand takedowns (50 points)<br />19. Student of Surroundings - Defeat 20 opponents with contextual takedowns (10 points)<br />20. Master of Environment - Defeat 100 opponents with contextual takedowns (30 points)<br />21. Lucky Shot! - Kill 25 enemies with headshots (10 points)<br />22. Laser Aim - Kill 150 enemies with headshots (50 points)<br />23. Homebody - Collected 5 Passports (5 points)<br />24. Frequent Flyer - Collected 30 Passports (15 points)<br />25. World Traveler - Collect all Passports (30 points)<br />26. Wrecking Machine - Take out multiple opponents with one takedown 30 times (25 points)<br />27. One-Man Gang - Take out multiple opponents with one takedown 3 times (5 points)<br />28. Adrenaline Junkie - Use three full bars of Adrenaline while driving through the streets of Paris (15 points)<br />29. Civic Menace - Rampage through Paris: Destroy the cafe, china shop, and 200 props (20 points)<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-2078032524353466032?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-37213715405351929582008-05-11T18:11:00.003-06:002008-05-11T20:01:30.819-06:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SCeNLwMuJUI/AAAAAAAAAgU/RoioTxmb4_8/s1600-h/1_gta_iv_art.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199279527878862146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SCeNLwMuJUI/AAAAAAAAAgU/RoioTxmb4_8/s400/1_gta_iv_art.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics -</strong> GTA IV tracks more numbers than an official MLB statistician. Keeping with that tradition, here are a few of my own stats after playing the game for almost 2 weeks.<br />.<br /><div>Odds your wife/girlfriend will get sick of your GTA IV addiction: 90% - If you ask my wife, this might be higher but I'm going to go conservative because I'd like to think I haven't ticked her off that much yet. Although I have heard the words, "I'm tired of the sound of guns shooting," a lot more than I did the last time I became obsessed with a game, but I'm over my Halo 3 crush now.</div><div>.</div><div>Number of times I've ignored the waypoints in order to get to a destination quicker: 35 - Liberty City is a large place so the new waypoint system (stolen from Saints Row) is great, but why in the world does it follow the rules of the road? Following the yellow or green line to a destination will often make me avoid one way streets. This is GTA right? Do you think I care if I drive down a one way street?</div><div>.</div><div>Times the line between the GTA world and reality have been blurred: 3 - You play enough Grand Theft Auto, especially for an extended period of time, and then quit to go out to run an errand and your brain starts getting confused. You see a taxi and think about getting a ride to a safehouse. You sit at stoplight and start thinking, "What the heck am I waiting for? I should just run this thing." You see ramp and think about jumping it. Sure signs that its time to unplug for awhile.</div><div>.</div><div>Number of times I've wished for a custom radio station: 27 - As good as the music in this game is, it seems to repeat quite a bit. So does the dialogue on many of the radio stations. I do like hearing about my exploits on the news reports and the commercials are a riot but I'm tired of listening to the same songs by Phil Collins and Kanye West. Give me a damn custom radio station!</div><div>.</div><div>Hours taken to master the splashy driving controls - Lets see, the game has been out 13 days. I've played GTA an average of 2 hours a day. So that puts me at about 26 hours. So the answer is around 20 hours. Although I'm not confident enough to do any of the single player races yet. </div><div>.</div><div>Number of times I've laughed out loud: 78 - Between the commercials, the in-game dialogue, the billboards, the names of the stores, and the random comments from NPC's just walking on the street, this could be the funniest game I've played since Blasto.</div><div>.</div><div>Signs that gaming is reaching mainstream audiences: 3 (at least) - GTA parodies have popped up on Conan O'Brien, Craig Ferguson and Saturday Night Live, and those are just the ones that I've seen myself. When even non-gamers are getting gaming jokes, you know its a pop culture phenomenon. Of course this is the exception not the rule when it comes to games. Don't count on seeing PixelJunk Monster parodies any time soon. </div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-3721371540535192958?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-60290068842633151352008-05-07T17:21:00.004-06:002008-05-07T17:48:18.353-06:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SCI56KNJ2jI/AAAAAAAAAgE/sCObiVqJMYU/s1600-h/1tyson_money.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197780591273695794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SCI56KNJ2jI/AAAAAAAAAgE/sCObiVqJMYU/s400/1tyson_money.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>Iron Mike is back -</strong> After watching a recent Mike Tyson interview on E:60, an ESPN news magazine type show, I got all nostalgic. At one point Iron Mike was the baddest man on the planet and now he's a complete mess. I actually felt bad for him, which is hard to do for a convicted rapist, ear muncher, father of multiple children from multiple women, and former millionaire who's pissed away every cent he's ever earned. Everybody deserves a second chance (or fifth or sixth) and it looks like EA is giving him one by signing up Mike to be the Fight Night Round 4 headliner. My advice for EA while developing this game? If you're the motion capture guy, don't make fun of Mike when he puts on the skin tight black suit with all the sensor balls. You might get killed. The press release sent out today is below.<br />.<br /><em>Electronic Arts announced today that EA SPORTS™Fight Night Round 4 is in development at EA Canada in Vancouver under the EA SPORTS brand. EA SPORTS Fight Night is back with the most realistic “in the ring” experience to date, featuring some of the greatest boxers in history fighting in their prime.<br />.<br />“The EA SPORTS Fight Night franchise has always been synonymous with quality and innovation that raised the bar for the sports videogame genre”, said Kevin Wilkinson, Executive Producer, EA SPORTS. “EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 3 was a platform defining game as the industry transitioned to next generation consoles. EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 will change how boxing games are played and measured in the future.”<br />.<br />Featuring a re-written gameplay engine, EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 will add a variety of fighting styles and boxer differentiation to authentically emulate the greatest fighters of all time. Pressure your opponent with the brawling inside style of young Mike Tyson, bobbing and weaving to set up powerful hooks and uppercuts. Capitalize on Muhammad Ali’s reach, hand speed and fleetness of foot to bewilder your opponent with lightning fast jabs and straights from the outside. For the first time in history, EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 gives you the opportunity to pit these legendary heavyweights against one another and name a true champ.<br />.<br />No fight will be the same with an all-new physics-based animation system that recreates the full spectrum of true-to-life punch impacts, giving boxers a devastating arsenal of punches, blocks and ring movement. The new physics system allows for missed punches, glancing punches, knockout blows and for the first time ever, rough and tumble inside fighting. Fatigue, adrenaline, footwork and timing all come into play as you hammer away at your opponents.<br />.<br />EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 will be available for the Xbox 360™ system and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and ships to retailers in 2009. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB or PEGI. </em><br /><em>.</em><br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-6029006884263315135?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-45801993042933845502008-05-06T17:49:00.002-06:002008-05-06T21:52:30.415-06:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SCDvGFCtJRI/AAAAAAAAAf8/URCknDrIZtw/s1600-h/1master.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197416857697330450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SCDvGFCtJRI/AAAAAAAAAf8/URCknDrIZtw/s400/1master.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Gaming schwag -</strong> So you just dropped an extra $10-$20 for the "special" edition of your favorite game and all you have to show for it is a Making Of DVD. What a rip! As publishers continue to squeeze extra clams from gamers pockets, its seems like they give us less of what we really want. Keychains? Demo's of other games? A free month of Xbox Live? Get real. Sure the Master Chief helmet that came with Halo 3 is cool and the GTA IV special edition kit offers some nice goodies, but sweet stuff like this is few and far between. Some gamers are so dedicated to their favorite franchises, publishers could stick a licensed logo on a nude, autographed picture of John Goodman and somebody would buy it. But if we're going to blow some extra money at least give us something good. Here are my recommendations for what should come in special edition games.<br />.<br />T-Shirts - What would say "special" more than a shirt that no one else but special edition buyers can wear? Rockstar embraced this idea but not on a large enough scale. If you pre-ordered GTAIV from their website you got a hilarious Burger Shot shirt. Now that's the kind of special offer gamers can get into. When I was in middle school I owned a MASH videogame (yes MASH, based on the 80's TV show, don't ask). If you earned a certain high score you could send in a picture and get a free MASH t-shirt. When I hit the benchmark, I took a pic of my TV with a polaroid camera, mailed it in and got my shirt in the mail a few weeks later. It was a shit brown, hideous shirt but I thought it was cool. Further proof I've been a gaming geek my whole life, thank you.<br />.<br />Action figures - It makes perfect sense to put an action figure in a special/limited edition package. They're small, cheap to mass produce and gamers love'em. The special edition of Assassin's Creed comes with a small Altair figure, cool. How about a Snake poseable with Metal Gear IV, or an Alyx Vance model with The Orange Box? Meow! Action figures make great desk decorations and conversation starters.<br />.<br />Exclusive downloadable content - This was seen most recently with Rainbow Six Vegas 2 when gamers earned a special downloadable weapon if you had a pre-order for the game at a certain game store, but this should be expanded for special edition buyers. Special weapons, vehicles, outfits, music, gamer pics/themes, and even in-game money could be given away. Imagine playing Burnout Paradise with a special car right off the bat or being able to access new multiplayer maps in Call of Duty 4 without having to pay for it.<br />.<br />Other random crap I'd like to see -Stickers to put on your car or steam trunk (you know, for when you go to Africa and other faraway places like that), plush toys (kids would love these and I personally love the Valve Companion Cube), toy cars (perfect for racing games) and patches would be cool. Patches? Yes patches, like the kind you sew onto a jacket, let me explain. When I was a kid I travelled a ton. My parents bought me a jacket and whenever we went to a different country we'd get a patch from it and sew it on. Other kids would ask me about it all the time and since I moved around a lot, it was a great way to meet people. Would I wear a jacket full of gaming patches as an adult? Mmm, let's see (sitting...think it over...wondering how embarrassed my wife would be walking the dog with me while wearing this jacket...thinking about my friends busting my chops about it), yeah I probably would. Yet more proof of my gaming geekdom.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-4580199304293384550?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-57563090934724968122008-05-04T20:31:00.003-06:002008-05-04T21:25:15.285-06:00<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SB5zr1CtJQI/AAAAAAAAAf0/t_fQdyugYDA/s1600-h/1gta.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196718216842126594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SB5zr1CtJQI/AAAAAAAAAf0/t_fQdyugYDA/s400/1gta.jpg" border="0" /></a>S<strong>ick of GTA IV coverage yet? - </strong>Yeah, me too. But I couldn't pass up the chance to dish out some cheats and an Achievement guide. I don't like to use cheats myself (not my bag, I don't like risking my progress and getting my saves corrupted) but if that's your thing, check out the list below.<br /><div>.</div><div>Cell Phone Passwords - At any time during the game, whip out Niko's phone and call these numbers. Cheats will affect missions and achievements.<br />482-555-0100: Restore health<br />362-555-0100: Restore armor<br />486-555-0100: Get a selection of weapons<br />486-555-0150: Get a different selection of weapons<br />267-555-0100: Remove wanted level<br />267-555-0150: Raise wanted level<br />468-555-0100: Change weather<br />359-555-0100: Spawn an Annihiliator<br />938-555-0100: Spawn a Jetmax<br />625-555-0100: Spawn an NRG-900<br />625-555-0150: Spawn a Sanchez<br />227-555-0100: Spawn an FIB Buffalo<br />227-555-0175: Spawn a Comet<br />227-555-0147: Spawn a Turismo<br />227-555-0142: Spawn a Cognoscenti<br />227-555-0168: Spawn a SuperGT<br />948-555-0100: Song information<br />.</div><div>Map Locations - Enter these password into the in game computers (head to any of the hilariously named tw@, their easy to find).<br />Password - www.whattheydonotwantyoutoknow.com<br />Effect - Weapon, health, armor, vehicle, pigeon, ramp/stunt, and entertainment locations</div><div>.</div><div>Achievement Guide - While I won't touch cheat codes, I have no problem with consulting a guide when I'm stuck. I recommend <a href="http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/grand-theft-auto-4/870893p1.html">Gamespy's</a>, its the best I've seen so far.</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-5756309093472496812?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-6526150761560394912008-04-30T21:27:00.003-06:002008-04-30T22:37:29.313-06:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SBk5GlCtJPI/AAAAAAAAAfs/9LzRR6RhGKg/s1600-h/DSC00164.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195246430334035186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SBk5GlCtJPI/AAAAAAAAAfs/9LzRR6RhGKg/s400/DSC00164.JPG" border="0" /></a><strong>GTA IV First Impressions -</strong> Got your bib on? Good, because its time to slurp GTA IV and my boy Nico. Judging by the title of this post you kind of get the general idea of what I think about the game. Considering this is my all-time favorite franchise, this should be no surprise. The reason a question mark ends the title is because after playing it for only 2 days, its waaay to soon to make any kind of judgement on its status on the all-time great game pantheon. But if you ask my wife its not too early to be addicted to it. After picking up the limited edition at midnight (pic of the contents is above, all except the faceplate which I plan on giving away, if you're interested email me) I haven't been able to stay away from this game. Playing something else would make me feel like I was cheating somehow, this is gaming crack. Right now I'd give the game a solid <strong>A</strong> (9.5), but not an A+. Below are some early first impressions.<br />.<br /><span style="color:#003300;">The Awesome</span><br />- The storyline: It started out kind of slow but now seems so much deeper than any GTA plot before it. Very addictive.<br />- Online play: For me Halo 3 sets the bar for online play but all of the different modes in GTA are just sick. You'll be able to do things online in this game that you never could before, amazing.<br />- The humor: Gamers expect this franchise to be funny, but this game set the bar even higher. Not only have I laughed out loud while listening to commercials on the radio while driving around Liberty City, but the dialogue between characters is a riot.<br />- The Shooting Mechanics: Have finally been fixed. My opinion on this might be a little skewed after playing with the goofy Metal Gear Online control scheme (oh, yeah...I totally forgot about the MGO beta) but all of the problems in this area seem to be fixed. The fighting controls are also solid.<br />- The City: Liberty City feels incredibly real. The combination of sights and sounds, from everything to the people, buildings, and the weather make Nico's adopted home feel very authentic.<br />- The Cellphone: A brilliant way to keep track of everything and a smooth way to get involved in multiplayer.<br />- Nico: He's funny, a badass and much more likeable than CJ who could be a bit of a whiner.<br />.<br /><span style="color:#990000;">The Not So Awesome</span><br />- The Driving Controls: I'm sure I'll figure this out soon but right now the controls are awfully splashy. Gamers used to be able to rely on the e-brake to make quick turns but right now every car handles like a '76 Chrysler Cordoba.<br />- The Soundtrack: I don't really have a problem with the in-game music, its okay. I'm just kind of ticked that I can't make a custom soundtrack from my 360 hard drive like I could with San Andreas. Why take out such a cool feature? Hopefully an update can fix this.<br />- Draw Distance Issues: Sometimes the city just doesn't fill in quite fast enough. It doesn't happen all the time but it does occur much to often. This isn't just annoying, it destroys the illusion of the game.<br />.<br />GTA IV is offering up a great experience so far. Sweet single-player and awesome multi-player in a fully immersible virtual world. Its hard to ask for much more than that.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-652615076156039491?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-25903260266541347812008-04-28T17:25:00.002-06:002008-04-28T18:16:25.664-06:00<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SBZdB1CtJOI/AAAAAAAAAfk/8A9wP3X6GOU/s1600-h/1gtaivcover.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194441506218124514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SBZdB1CtJOI/AAAAAAAAAfk/8A9wP3X6GOU/s400/1gtaivcover.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Well its about frickin' time - </strong>The long delay is over and its time for my all-time favorite videogame series to kick some next-gen ass. While sitting on my butt watching TV and counting down to midnight like a Times Square reveler on New Years Eve, I might as well post the Achievements for the 360 version of GTA. Look for more GTA posts in the next few days and if you have something you'd like to share about GTA, email it to me and if I get enough I'll make a post with them. If you happen to be picking up your copy at GameCrazy near Academy and Palmer Park tonight, say hi.<br />.<br />1. Off The Boat - Complete the first mission. (5 points)<br />2. One Hundred And Eighty - In a darts game score 180 with 3 darts. (10 points)<br />3. Pool Shark - Beat a friend at pool. (10 points)<br />4. King of QUB3D - Beat the High Score in QUB3D. (15 points)<br />5. Finish Him - Complete 10 melee counters in 4 minutes. (15 points)<br />6. Genetically Superior - Come first in 20 singleplayer street races. (25 points)<br />7. Wheelie Rider - Do a wheelie lasting at least 500 feet on a motorbike. (30 points)<br />8. Gobble Gobble - Score 3 strikes in a row, a turkey, in 10-pin bowling. (10 points)<br />9. Driving Mr. Bellic - Unlock the special ability of taxi. (10 points)<br />10. Rolled Over - Do 5 car rolls in a row from one crash. (30 points)<br />11. Walk Free - Lose a 4 star wanted rating by outrunning the cops. (50 points)<br />12. Courier Service - Complete all 10 package delivery jobs. (10 points)<br />13. Retail Therapy - Unlock the special ability of buying guns from a friend. (10 points)<br />14. Chain Reaction - You must blow up 10 vehicles in 10 seconds. (20 points)<br />15. One Man Army - Survive 5 minutes on 6 star wanted level. (40 points)<br />16. Lowest Point - Complete mission "Roman's Sorrow". (5 points)<br />17. Order Fulfilled - Complete all 10 Exotic Export orders. (10 points)<br />18. Manhunt - Complete the most wanted side missions from the police computer. (15 points)<br />19. Cleaned The Mean Streets - Capture 20 criminals through the police computer. (20 points)<br />20. Fed The Fish - Complete the mission "Uncle Vlad". (5 points)<br />21. It'll Cost Ya - Complete a taxi ride without skipping from one island to another. (5 points)<br />22. Sightseer - Fly on all helicopter tours of Liberty City. (5 points)<br />23. Warm Coffee - Successfully date a girl to be invited into her house. (5 points)<br />24. That's How We Roll! - Unlock the special ability of helicopter. (10 points)<br />25. Half Million - Reach a balance of $500,000. (55 points)<br />26. Impossible Trinity - Complete mission "Museum Piece". (10 points)<br />27. Full Exploration - Unlock all the islands. (20 points)<br />28. You Got The Message - Deliver all 30 cars ordered through text message. (20 points)<br />29. Dare Devil - Complete 100% of the unique stunt jumps. (30 points)<br />30. Assassin's Greed - Complete all 9 assassin missions. (20 points)<br />31. Endangered Species - Collect every hidden package in the game. (50 points)<br />32. Under The Radar - Fly underneath the main bridges in the game that cross water with a helicopter. (40 points)<br />33. Dial B For Bomb - Unlock the special ability of phoning for a bomb to be placed. (10 points)<br />34. Gracefully Taken - Complete mission "I'll Take Her". (10 points)<br />35. Liberty City (5) - After meeting all possible friends, the ones left alive all like you above 90%. (20 points)<br />36. No More Strangers - Meet all random characters. (5 points)<br />37. That Special Someone - Complete mission "That Special Someone". (10 points)<br />38. You Won! - Complete the final mission. (60 points)<br />39. Liberty City Minute - Complete the story missions in less than 30 hours. (30 points)<br />40. Key To The City - Achieve 100% in "Game progress" statistic. (100 points)<br />41. Teamplayer - Kill 5 players who are not in your team, in any ranked multiplayer team game. (10 points)<br />42. Cut Your Teeth - Earn a personal rank promotion in multiplayer. (5 points)<br />43. Join The Midnight Club - Win a ranked multiplayer race without damaging your vehicle too much and with damage enabled. (10 points)<br />44. Fly The Co-op - Beat our time in ranked versions of "Deal Breaker", "Hangman's NOOSE" and "Bomb da Base II". (15 points)<br />45. Taking It For The Team - Be on the winning team in all ranked multiplayer team games. (10 points)<br />46. Top Of The Food Chain - Kill 20 players with a pistol in a ranked multiplayer deathmatch. (10 points)<br />47. Top The Midnight Club - Come first in 20 different ranked standard multiplayer races. (20 points)<br />48. Wanted - Achieve the highest personal rank in multiplayer. (20 points)<br />49. Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic - Win all ranked multiplayer variations, all races and "Cops 'n Crooks", as both sides. (30 points)<br />50. Let Sleeping Rockstars Lie - Kill a Rockstar developer in a ranked multiplayer match. (10 points)<br />.<br /><strong>Metal Gear Online First Impressions -</strong> Despite being available on Friday I only managed to get a few playthroughs on Metal Gear Online over the last three days. Combine a hectic weekend schedule with the ridiculously long download time for the MGO update and you don't get much time with the game. Here's what I noticed.<br />.<br />- Only one map is available, not a bad one but its kind of lame there aren't any others to play<br />- The old "hide in a cardboard box" trick is still around, so is placing a magazine. Hiding in a box will actually work in multiplayer because fake boxes are all over but I don't know many people who'll fall for picking up a magazine<br />- In addition to boxes, gamers can now hide in metal barrels. Not only can you hide in barrels but you can roll around in them as well. I haven't tried rolling over anyone in one but I plan on trying<br />- Besides online multiplayer (Capture the Flag, Base Defense, Team and Solo Deathmatches) the beta offers some Solo and Novice training. This is a pretty handy feature so gamers can get used to Metal Gears unorthodox and occassionally dysfunctional control scheme<br />- There were tons of weapons but my favorite was the stun knife. Jab it in an opponent and it sends electricity through their body and the drop like a sack of potatoes<br />- As in almost every other MGS game, the in-game characters move awfully slow. Why couldn't Kojimasan have included a sprint button?<br />.<br />If memory serves Metal Gear Online will be a seperate title from MGS4. Does it look like its worth it so far? That's tough to say but at this point only a diehard Metal Gear fan (like myself) will probably enjoy it. If you're not an MGS fanboy and don't workship the ground Kojima walks on, the single player should be more than enough to keep you happy.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-2590326026654134781?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-44466469566476498782008-04-25T00:01:00.002-06:002008-04-25T01:04:42.989-06:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SBF0AVCtJNI/AAAAAAAAAfc/XPPbY6bQImY/s1600-h/1maddenfavre09826_screen.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193059394332206290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SBF0AVCtJNI/AAAAAAAAAfc/XPPbY6bQImY/s400/1maddenfavre09826_screen.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>The End of the Madden Curse? -</strong> With Brett Favre retired and chosen to be the new cover boy for Madden '09, I guess the Madden curse has officially ended. Unless Favre somehow breaks his leg at a driving range or slips on some spilled milk in the grocery isle. A Vicodin relapse wouldn't be bad either. Think of the headlines! Which reminds me, have I ever told you how much I hate Brett Favre?<br />. <br /><div>I absolutely can't stand Favre. First of all John Madden has had his tongue so far up Favre's ass for so long he can probably tell you what he eats for breakfast every morning. Back in Brett's heyday my brother and I were watching a Packers game on Thanksgiving and Madden said Favre's name about 1,343 times in 60 seconds. He was the most overhyped, overrated QB in the history of the NFL. Sure he has a bunch of records and yes his record of consecutive starts is impressive but no one has gotten more love for being a good (not great) quarterback than Brett Favre. Announcers love him and pre-game show hosts canonized him before he even retired, despite the fact that he's been an average passer for the past 10 years. </div><div>. </div><div>Despite my loathing of Favre, I'm all for Madden using Hall of Fame type former players for covers. First off, it would end this ever annoying Madden curse. Second of all, it would link Madden to players of the past. The NFL has an amazing history, why not get its best players involved and reward them for their past achievements. This is much better than putting someone yet to prove themselves over time (Vince Young, Daunte Culpepper) on the cover. </div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-4446646956647649878?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-55552214144613773332008-04-23T20:44:00.003-06:002008-04-23T22:00:36.182-06:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SA_0g1CtJMI/AAAAAAAAAfU/Fb49CnV9Vzs/s1600-h/1mattryan.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192637740212888770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SA_0g1CtJMI/AAAAAAAAAfU/Fb49CnV9Vzs/s400/1mattryan.JPG" border="0" /></a><strong>Press release Wednesday -</strong> Despite the deluge of press releases sent out today, I happened to notice that the As the Gaming World Turns recently hit the 50K visitor mark. Yay, another Achievement! (Get it?!? I'm an Achievement Point whore and getting this many visitors is an achievement? Never mind) This blog has been up a little over two years, so 50,000 visitors over that span isn't too shabby. Especially considering I have no advertising, live in a relatively small town and nobody knows who the hell I am. I still have big plans (working on something with Eli, maybe a real website this blog is attached to...getting the podcast running again, which I'm not sure how to do because Odeo has gone to crap, if you have any free site suggestions I'll listen...interviews with some gaming heavyweights I honestly think I can get...my perpetually delayed tour of SOE Denver...and I should have some good news on the GamePro front coming soon) so keep reading. If you're a frequent visitor, thanks for sticking around. If you're new, check out the archive, I hope you like what you see. Alright, on to the news of the day.<br />.<br /><strong>NCAA 09 uses multiple cover athletes -</strong> <em>Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that NCAA® Football 09, scheduled for release in North America on July 15, will feature wide open gameplay, college atmosphere and online enhancements. This year’s iteration of NCAA Football brings to life the fun and excitement of gameday Saturdays. In addition, former Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan will be the cover athlete for NCAA Football 09 on the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. This year, the packaging for each of the NCAA Football 09 console platforms will feature an exclusive cover athlete. College football has never before felt more wide open than in NCAA Football 09. Gamers will experience the excitement of making big plays on the field, as they will have the ability to directly control and influence the game through the all-new break away animation engine. With huge cut-back lanes, new tackling animations and wider blocking holes, NCAA Football 09 offers a host of offensive opportunities.<br />.<br />NCAA Football 09 also brings the atmosphere, pageantry and tradition of college football to life. Through the redesigned stadiums, which reflect even more detail of each school’s individual playing field, to the dynamic sidelines filled with school colors, cheerleaders and mascots, players will feel the excitement of college gameday. Players can gain Home Field Advantage as the intensity of the home crowd rises and rattles the composure of opposing teams. All 120 Football Bowl Subdivision schools are represented in the game and players can even customize the in-game atmosphere with their own personal music collection. Off the field, NCAA Football 09 features its most robust Dynasty Mode yet, inviting fans to create and manage a perennial powerhouse program from landing blue-chip recruits to winning championships on the field. For the first time ever, Dynasty goes online with up to 12 competitors to recruit head-to-head, customize schedules and play for up to 60 seasons.<br />.<br />Former college football standout Matt Ryan will join former Arkansas All-American Darren McFadden as a spokesman and cover athlete for NCAA Football 09. Ryan will be featured on the PLAYSTATION®3 cover and as a four-year player, he finished his career at Boston College as the school’s career leader in pass completions and was named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2007. In his senior season, he helped lead the Eagles to an 11-3 record and a victory over Michigan State in the Champs Sports Bowl. Ryan was awarded the 2008 Manning Award, which is given each year to the nation’s top senior quarterback. The remaining two exclusive cover athletes for the PlayStation®2 and the PSP® systems will be unveiled the beginning of May. Developed in Orlando , Fla. , by EA Tiburon, NCAA Football 09 will be available for the PlayStation 2 and PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment systems, the PSP system, the Wii™, the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system, and mobile. For more information about NCAA Football 09 please visit </em><a title="http://www.ncaafootball09.com/" href="http://www.ncaafootball09.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><em>www.ncaafootball09.com</em></a><em>. </em><br />.<br />*Tell me you wouldn't be ticked at being the PSP cover athlete. You know at the EA cover party no one will give you any love and the other 3 cover boys are busting on you. Who was the NCAA's best kicker last year? I bet he gets the PSP cover.<br />.<br /><strong>Ace Combat 6 DLC -</strong> <em>NAMCO BANDAI Games today revealed information and assets on the new downloadable content for Ace Combat® 6: Fires of Liberation™ that will be available for download from the Xbox LIVE® Marketplace on Thursday, April 24. Consisting of several original plane variations, the upcoming content allows players to further customize their play experience in both single player and online multiplayer action. The following plane variants will be available for download on Thursday, April 24:<br />.<br />F-16C Fighting Falcon – PJ Emblem (Free): One of the central characters of Ace Combat Zero, PJ fought to protect his loved ones and fulfill his sense of justice. This plane, decorated in his honor, utilizes light armor for greater maneuverability.<br />.<br />Typhoon – Rot (200 Microsoft Points): Designed to the specifications of one of the rival pilots of Ace Combat Zero, this aircraft goes for broke in battle with superior pursuit capabilities but minimal shielding.<br />.<br />Typhoon – Orange Wing (300 Microsoft Points): An aircraft modified for air shows and exhibitions, the Orange Wing is equipped with a maximum payload of smoke missiles.<br />.<br />Su-47 Berkut – Violet Wing (300 Microsoft Points): A counterpart of the Orange Wing in exhibitions, the Violet Wing also comes with a full payload of colored smoke missiles.<br />.<br />Rafale M – The Idolmaster Iori (400 Microsoft Points): Although this plane might strike you as bratty and undisciplined at first, it may just reward you with a perfect performance once under your control.<br />.<br />Razgriz Set 3 – Contains Tornado GR4, F-15E Strike Eagle, CFA-44 Nosferatu and F/A-18F SuperHornet (400 Microsoft Points): This set of four planes bears the emblem of the Razgriz squadron, the heroes of Ace Combat 5. Each plane is accentuated with advanced durability to ensure the survival of all squad members in even the most hostile missions.</em><br />.<br /><strong>Mr. Tumnus would be pleased -</strong> <em>Fans of The Chronicles of Narnia will get to experience two unique film scenes only one way – on their home consoles or Windows-based PC. Disney Interactive Studios announced today that two original scenes for Disney/Walden Media’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian video game were filmed exclusively for the product and appear separately from the film. The unique scenes link The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian stories with Dr. Cornelius (Vincent Grass) telling Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) the story of how Narnia fell to the Telmarines hundreds of years ago. The scenes were shot on the film set in Prague , Czech Republic , during principal shooting and feature dialogue revealing plot based on the events of the book, game and film. The creation of the live action content was directed by Andrew Adamson, the film’s director. The two original scenes are part of 18 live action moments in the game, which include 16 excerpts from the feature film. The England-based game production and development teams worked in cooperation with the London-based film crew and Andrew Adamson to assure the game’s overall accuracy to the film. Capturing two original scenes was only possible through the collaborative partnership between Disney Interactive Studios; and Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian video game will be available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the Wii™ home video game system, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and Windows-based PC. A separate Nintendo DS™ version will also be available.</em><br />.<br />*I hate the Narnia movie, absolutely hate it. My daughter and I are reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe together and all I can think about is the stupid movie - which my wife owns. That Edmund prick sold out his family for Turkish Delight?!?! Turkish frickin' delight?!? My mom's from Liverpool, I've had Turkish Delight and it sucks ass. Couldn't he have sold his family out for a lifetime supply of Maltesers or WineGums or Milkybars? What about some Guiness or season tickets to Anfield? Come on Edmund! Everybody has their price but at least make it higher than a frickin' box of Turkish Delight. And has there ever been a more annoying name than Mr. Tumnus? A dude who's half goat (from the waist down, how the hell does that work) named Mr. frickin' Tumnus. I want to know this weirdo's first name. My money's on Fred, or maybe Steve or Chuck. That's it, Chuck Tumnus. He's a faun accountant who screws people over on their tax returns. I hate that movie!<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-5555221414461377333?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-47890096718692335742008-04-21T18:55:00.006-06:002008-04-21T21:00:01.974-06:00<p align="center"><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SA0321CtJII/AAAAAAAAAe4/dSt_v5CSftU/s1600-h/DSC00154.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191867360518939778" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SA0321CtJII/AAAAAAAAAe4/dSt_v5CSftU/s400/DSC00154.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><div align="left"><strong>.</strong></div><div align="left"><strong>Random Crap on a Monday -</strong> Sometimes I get cool stuff sent to me, sometimes weird stuff and occassionally stuff that makes me go hmmm. Today I did just that when the new Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition came in the mail (pic is above). I didn't even know stuff like this existed. At first I thought it was pretty funny but after flipping through it, it reads more like a gaming history encyclopedia than a record book. If reading a book is a little too heavy for you, head to <a href="http://www.guinessworldrecords.com/gamers">www.guinessworldrecords.com/gamers</a> to find some interesting stuff...Looking forward to playing the Metal Gear Online beta? So was I. It was supposed to start today but according to <a href="http://www.konami.jp/mgo/us/index.html">this</a> Konami post, the beta is being pushed back to this Friday, maybe...If you haven't purchased arcade classic <a href="http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox360/games/reviews/178289.shtml">Battlezone</a> or party game <a href="http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox360/games/reviews/178329.shtml">Rocky and Bullwinkle </a>yet check out the reviews I wrote for GamePro. If you like jokes about teenage acne, these posts are for you.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-4789009671869233574?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-41154126016830839922008-04-19T17:31:00.002-06:002008-04-19T17:47:20.388-06:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SAqA75TA-II/AAAAAAAAAew/OmxLla3oYNg/s1600-h/1ironman.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191103286979131522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SAqA75TA-II/AAAAAAAAAew/OmxLla3oYNg/s400/1ironman.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>So when does Green Lantern get some love? -</strong> Below is the list of Achievements for Iron Man, set to come out in early May. While I'm anxiously awaiting the film when I saw the game at E3 last year I wasn't very impressed. Of course I also wrote that Assassin's Creed was the most disappointing game of the week in my E3 wrap-up and it turned out great, so there's hope for Tony Stark yet.<br />.<br />1. Sidekick: Complete all missions on Easy difficulty (or harder) - 75 points<br />2. Hero: Complete all missions on Normal difficulty (or harder) - 75 points<br />3. Super Hero: Complete all missions on Formidable difficulty - 75 points<br />4. Disarmed: Destroy stockpiled Stark weapons in the Escape mission - 25 points<br />5. City Protector: Destroy drones without civilian damage in the First Flight mission- 25 points<br />6. Decommissioner: Destroy all Prometheus missiles in the Maggia Compound mission - 25 points<br />7. In the Drink: Avoid civilian casualties in the Flying Fortress mission - 25 points<br />8. Tatyana, Interrupted: Protect the nuclear facility in the Arctic Battle mission - 25 points<br />9. Not a Scratch: Avoid harming the destroyer and its crew in the Lost Destroyer mission - 25 points<br />10. Power Saver: Avoid disrupting the city's power supply in the On Defense mission - 25 points<br />11. Shocking!: Protect outlying occupied buildings in the Save Pepper mission - 25 points<br />12. Proton Shut Out: Prevent cannon attacks on civilian targets in the Island Meltdown mission - 25 points<br />13. Escape Velocity: Sever the tether before the satellite overloads in the Space Tether mission -25 points<br />14. You're Fired!: Destroy power regulators in the Iron Monger mission - 25 points<br />15. Excelsior!: Complete Hero Objectives for all missions - 70 points<br />16. Ten Rings Obsoleted: Complete the One Man Army vs. Ten Rings challenge without an armor breach - 25 points<br />17. Maggia Obsoleted: Complete the One Man Army vs. Maggia challenge without an armor breach - 25 points<br />18. Mercs Obsoleted: Complete the One Man Army vs. Mercs challenge without an armor breach - 25 points<br />19. AIM Obsoleted: Complete the One Man Army vs. AIM challenge without an armor breach - 25 points<br />20. AIM-X Obsoleted: Complete the One Man Army vs. AIM-X challenge without an armor breach - 25 points<br />21. Air Superiority: Destroy all dropships before the Stark Gunship is stolen in the First Flight mission - 15 points<br />22. Road King: Destroy all convoy vehicles in less than 2 minutes in the Stark Weapons mission - 15 points<br />23. Launch Aborted: Destroy all Prometheus missiles within 10 minutes in the Maggia Compound mission - 15 points<br />24. Collateral Damage: Destroy a Prometheus missile by destroying a fuel truck in the Maggia Compound mission - 15 points<br />25. Personnel Vendetta: Defeat 20 soldiers in the Arctic Battle mission - 15 points<br />26. OverkillDefeat a soldier using the Unibeam - 15 points<br />27. Smack down: Defeat Titanium Man before his second recharge in the On Defense mission - 15 points<br />28. Impenetrable: Complete a mission (other than Escape or First Flight) without an armor breach - 15 points<br />29. An Object in Motion: Destroy any target using a ramming attack - 15 points<br />30. Grounded: Successfully grapple and throw a plane - 15 points<br />31. Your Own Medicine: Damage or destroy another enemy while grappling a SAM launcher - 15 points<br />32. Long Shot: Damage or destroy another enemy while grappling a howitzer - 15 points<br />33. Hulk Smash!: Successfully grapple an opponent in the Hulkbuster armor - 15 points<br />34. Ground Pound: Defeat an opponent using the ground pound in the Extremis armor - 15 points<br />35. Classic Confrontation: Defeat Titanium Man using the Classic armor - 15 points<br />36. Old School: Defeat Iron Monger using the Silver Centurion armor - 15 points<br />37. Pugilist: Complete any mission (other than Escape) without using weapons systems - 15 points<br />38. Eject!: Spare the US fighter pilots in the Stark Weapons mission - 25 points<br />39. Guardian: Protect warehouse workers in the Maggia Factories mission - 25 points<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-4115412601683083992?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-24985200432423080772008-04-15T20:21:00.005-06:002008-04-15T21:12:00.057-06:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SAVixZNfDlI/AAAAAAAAAeo/8KqL-m6W7V4/s1600-h/1buzz.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189662746334924370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SAVixZNfDlI/AAAAAAAAAeo/8KqL-m6W7V4/s400/1buzz.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Wanna win some prizes? -</strong> The Buzz series has been pretty successful for Sony, its also one of my personal favorites because its one of the few titles my wife will actually play with me. The fifth iteration of the game, Buzz! The Hollywood Quiz, was released last month. In order to promote the game Sony is sponsoring an online contest where gamers play mini-games to win prizes. Highest scores get the free schwag and you have until May 14 to pad your stats. If you're interested in checking it out, head <a href="http://www.rocketxl.com/buzzhollywoodquiz/bhWidget.swf?">HERE</a> where you can find out more info and play.</div><div>.</div><div><strong>Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat! -</strong> Here's a copy of the press release for the two games being released on XBLA this week, Rocky and Bullwinkle and Battlezone. I grew up laughing my ass off to Moose and Squirrel (it was Spongebob before Spongebob) so I'll be getting it for sure. Old school gamers may remember arcade classic Battlezone from all the zits it dispensed from its tank busting view finder. Its also another title from my long desired list of <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2007/08/games-you-wish-you-could-download.html">games I've wanted on XBLA</a>. Yet another must have. Nice job MS, I'll be looking for Sunset Riders any day now. </div><div>.</div><div><em>There’s a new addition to the family of party games available on Xbox 360! “Rocky and Bullwinkle” is available exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade, along with an enhanced version of the tank vs. tank action classic “Battlezone” this Wednesday, April 16, 2008. Based on the popular cartoon series of the 1960s, “Rocky and Bullwinkle” on Xbox LIVE Arcade is a fast and fun party experience packed with more than 100 micro games. Eight playable characters from Frostbite Falls are back in the living room, including Rocky, Bullwinkle, Boris, Natasha, Dudley Do-Right and many more. “Rocky and Bullwinkle” features five difficulty settings, as well as support for up to 12 players in local hot-seat mode. The game takes visual inspiration from the 1960s with a decidedly retro art style, but the fun is as modern as it gets. In fact, cool cats who want to get up and move will enjoy 25 micro games that work with the Xbox LIVE Vision Camera. By moving around and expressing gestures – like rowing a boat or throwing darts – players can control the action in the game! Developed by Zen Studios, “Rocky and Bullwinkle” will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB. For more details on “Rocky and Bullwinkle” please visit:</em><br /><a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/r/randbxboxlivearcade/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/r/randbxboxlivearcade/</a> <br /><a href="http://www.rockyandbullwinklegame.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.rockyandbullwinklegame.com</a><br />.<br /><em> “Battlezone” on Xbox LIVE Arcade adds exciting new multiplayer modes for up to two players both locally and over Xbox LIVE, including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag. Plus, players can use the Xbox LIVE Vision Cam to challenge opponents on the battle field. Combine these features with new special effects for weapon firing, impacts and explosions and this revamped version of “Battlezone” is a must-have classic that fans and newcomers will enjoy. To score points in “Battlezone,” players must shoot and destroy the enemy’s brigade including a standard enemy tank, supertank and a flying saucer. Created by Atari, an enhanced version and the original version of “Battlezone” will be available worldwide (with the exception of Korea and Japan) for 400 Microsoft Points and is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB. For more details on “Battlezone” please visit:</em><br /><a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/b/battlezonexboxlivearcade/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/b/battlezonexboxlivearcade/</a> </div><div>.</div><div><strong>And finally -</strong> New Halo 3 maps are available today, if you're wavering on picking it up, below is some detailed info on what you'll get for your $10.</div><div>.</div><div><em>After launching in Sept. 2007, millions of fans the world over still log onto Xbox LIVE every day to experience the award-winning action of “Halo 3” multiplayer. That experience expanded first in December with the release of the Heroic Map Pack, and today Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie release the next evolution with the Legendary Map Pack. Available for 800 Microsoft Points exclusively on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, this second major downloadable content offering includes three new multiplayer maps, as well as a bevy of new Forge options. Avalanche and Blackout revive two fan-favorite maps from previous “Halo” games, while Ghost Town welcomes desolate jungle combat to the experience. And now, using new options in the Forge, players can create more detailed challenges and map variants than ever, while also utilizing a variety of visual effects to create new, unique screenshots and saved films. Avalanche is a throwback all the way to “Halo: Combat Evolved.” This snowy battlefield was inspired by the original Sidewinder, but the massive, vehicle-oriented objective map adds a twist to its classic predecessor with all new interiors, dramatically reshaped exteriors and brand new vehicle variants. Admire the view from above, as Avalanche also marks the arrival of the Hornet to “Halo 3” multiplayer.<br /><br />In keeping with the theme of “fan-favorites,” Blackout will fill the void left by fans of “Halo 2’s” Lockout. Although fully re-visualized, this map adheres very faithfully to the tightly wound perfection of the original, but eschews Forerunner architecture in favor of industrial human design. Blackout is perfect for fans of small battleground Slayer matches. The Legendary Map Pack also packs a brand new punch, in addition to the two classics, with Ghost Town – a battle-scarred maze of narrow passages and dangerous ruins. Collapsed ceilings and shell-battered buildings provide both valuable cover and deadly traps, as catwalks and stairways take the fight from claustrophobic ground combat to dizzying rooftop battles. Ghost Town is a mid-sized map ideal for Team Slayer games and smaller, objective types. As an added bonus, for a limited time only, gamers who purchase the Legendary Map Pack will receive a four month subscription to "Bungie PRO" via Xbox LIVE. Bungie PRO greatly expands the Halo 3 experience by increasing the maximum number of file share storage slots from six to twenty-four while also increasing the total file storage size to 250MB. This will allow players to upload and share more films, maps, screenshots and game-types than ever before. After downloading the new maps, gamers can register on Xbox LIVE for the “Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack Play &amp; Win Sweepstakes” for their chance to win great prizes including a “Halo 3” Edition console, Halo ActionClix: Scarab Vehicle Pack, a complete set of “Halo 3” Series 1 Action Figures from McFarlane Toys, nearly one million MS Points and much more. </em></div><div><em>.</em></div><div><em>Visit </em><a href="http://www.xbox.com/legendaryplaywin" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><em>www.xbox.com/legendaryplaywin</em></a><em> for more details. The maps of the Legendary Map Pack are available in matchmaking today to those who have purchased the download. Additionally, fans that have yet to purchase the Heroic Map Pack, which released in December, can now download it for free on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.</em> </div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-2498520043242308077?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-22676623274768859542008-04-13T09:41:00.005-06:002008-04-13T11:29:42.323-06:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SAI49JNfDkI/AAAAAAAAAeg/dATp0g797lk/s1600-h/1supermario.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188772343779888706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SAI49JNfDkI/AAAAAAAAAeg/dATp0g797lk/s400/1supermario.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Lists are great conversation starters -</strong> <a href="http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200804/N08.0409.1525.25069.htm?Page=1">Here's </a>the link to a great piece on the Game Informer website entitled <em>The Gamer's "Do Before Death, Marriage or Kids" List</em>. The 150 item list is seperated into two different parts and even comes with a handy dandy PDF checklist. After printing out the list and looking it over I could only check off 79 items! Needless to say I was a little disappointed I didn't have a higher number but some of the things on the list are absolute musts (beating Psycho Mantis #77), some I'm not interested in (anything with Final Fantasy), others are impossible (#146 convert your significant other into a gamer) and some are just plain nuts (import some video game element into your wedding #61). Some of my favorites on the list that I've done myself? </div><div>.</div><div>#68 Falling asleep while playing a game</div><div>#42 Spend over $100 on a special edition game</div><div>#7 Save a hapless parent from making a tragic video gaming error at a store</div><div>#137 As an adult buy a game based toy</div><div>.</div><div>Lists like this are fun to discuss because you know that some items that should be on it are left off. I'd add attending a video game convention and working at a place that sells games just to get a discount to the list. And since this is a "must do" list there are certain games - Madden, Cyberball, Sunset Riders, Mass Effect - that should be getting some love. </div><div>.</div><div>So what do you think of this list? How many have you done? What do you think should be on it? Let me know. </div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-2267662327476885954?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-67654367847637747862008-04-11T19:23:00.002-06:002008-04-11T20:58:35.117-06:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SAAPMuKtbpI/AAAAAAAAAeY/VhQVOTAivwA/s1600-h/1snakeplaine.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188163481956609682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/SAAPMuKtbpI/AAAAAAAAAeY/VhQVOTAivwA/s400/1snakeplaine.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Snake flying the GameStop plane -</strong> Below is the recently released press release that details the Standard and Limited Edition versions of Metal Gear 4.<br />.<br /><em>El Segundo, Calif. April 10, 2008 - Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. announced today that the limited edition of the highly-anticipated release of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system will be available in North America on June 12 exclusively at GameStop, the world's largest video game and entertainment software retailer. Additionally, Konami has revealed pricing and the first images of the final packaging for both the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Standard Edition and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Limited Edition.</em><br />.<br /><em>ABOUT METAL GEAR SOLID 4: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS STANDARD EDITION - Marking the return of Hideo Kojima's legendary tactical espionage action series, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots features a cinematic experience and visual masterpiece that will redefine this landmark franchise as a revolutionary game for the PLAYSTATION®3 system. The game is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots includes Metal Gear Online "Starter Pack", which is the full and complete multiplayer component of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Standard Edition will be priced at $59.99 SRP.</em><br />.<br /><em>ABOUT METAL GEAR SOLID 4: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS LIMITED EDITION - Featuring collectible packaging with exclusive artwork by famed Kojima Productions illustrator Yoji Shinkawa, the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Limited Edition will contain everything that is included with the Standard Edition as well as an additional Blu-ray disc featuring two "making of" documentaries. The documentaries will include extensive interviews with Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima and the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Soundtrack CD. The Limited Edition will be available exclusively at GameStop.Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Limited Edition will be priced at $84.99 SRP.</em><br />.<br /><em>ABOUT METAL GEAR SOLID 4: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS PRE-SELL PROGRAM - A special pre-sale program of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will be offered at participating retailers. This pre-sell entitles customers that pre-order either edition, a copy of the Metal Gear Saga Vol. 2 DVD (while supplies last). Featuring extensive original video content the DVD primarily focuses on the interconnected history between all of the "Snakes": Big Boss (Naked Snake), Liquid Snake, Solidus Snake, and of course, Solid Snake. The DVD also contains a compendium of the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots trailers. Additionally, each DVD allocated during this pre-order period will contain a unique voucher code that will enable the consumer to download the Metal Gear Online Beta. The download of the Beta will be available from April 17th to May 5th and the gameplay will be available from April 21st to May 5th.</em><br />.<br />Now I don't mean to go off on a rant here but do you mean to tell me that the only way I can get the limited edition of MGS4 is to buy it at one particular place? Give me a frickin' break. I understand that GameStop is the biggest game seller by a huge margin but being forced to give Rich Uncle Pennybags my money when I would rather spend it at a place that <em>I</em> chose is a little frustrating. Gamers already have to make a ton of choices they'd all rather not make (about 100 different SKU's for each console, lingering console exclusives, etc. etc.) and now we have to fight our way through the mall, past the teens hovering around Auntie Anne's? What if we don't want to? I understand that every company is trying to make a buck, will try to get any edge to do it, and this has been going on in some small extent for awhile, but at least with most other exclusives gamers can usually get what they want where they want to buy it, all you have to do is pay for it. Now we're being told where to shop. I'm not cool with that. This is also not a good precedent to set, next thing you know we're only going to be able to buy certain games at specific stores. Oops, that's already happening. I'm just glad the MGS4 Limited Edition doesn't contain anything I really want.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-6765436784763774786?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-86933177335619525572008-04-09T20:32:00.002-06:002008-04-09T21:54:05.259-06:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R_18ceKtboI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/QVitzGOA8GU/s1600-h/1legostarwars.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187439174376844930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R_18ceKtboI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/QVitzGOA8GU/s400/1legostarwars.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>Que the cantina band -</strong> I've avoided Lego videogames like the plague. While I loved playing with Lego's as a little kid and I'm a Star Wars nut, I just couldn't see myself playing a game based on toys kids play with. Throw in the fact that Star Wars titles have about as great a history as Will Farrell movies and I was leery to try Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. But I've been bored lately. I finished the single player for Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (the multiplayer was okay, but not quite good enough to make me keep it) and I've been looking for something to play until Grand Theft Auto IV comes out. <div>.</div><div>Since the game was fairly inexpensive (it came out about 6 months ago so you can find it used or buy it new for $50) I figured I'd give it a try. I'm pleasantly surprised to say that its the best Star Wars game I've played since Obi Wan on the original Xbox. The gameplay, as you would expect, is fairly simple. But the game presentation, action, drop-in coop, and the chance to play through the entire Star Wars storyline makes for an addicting title. I'm only through the first three movies but I'm completely hooked, I never thought I'd say that about a Lego game. I consider myself a hardcore gamer and here I am having fun with a kids game. This just further proves the point that what makes a great title is the gameplay, no matter how state of the art it is. This is probably why Mario Bros., yet another game aimed for kids, still holds up.</div><div>.</div><div>Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is a blast but what ticks me off about this game is that I have to play as a Lego character. In some ways this is a trap. This is the game that should have been made long ago but not as a Lego title. Of the hundreds of Star Wars games created I've only liked a few - the original Star Wars arcade game (the 1983 Atari cabinet), the aforementioned Obi Wan, Jedi Power Battles (my son and I played coop with this one, good times), Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Knights of the Old Republic, Rogue Squadron, and the best ever Empire Strikes Back. That's it! Eight games, if you count this newest Lego Star Wars title, out of 100's have been good, not a great track record. </div><div>. </div><div>But hey, what do I care? As a Star Wars fan I'll take what I can get. I'm enjoying a game set in the Star Wars universe and at this point I could care less if its a Lego title or not. The lesson to be learned? Sometimes good games can be found in the least expected places.</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-8693317733561952557?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-39893440964196662832008-04-06T10:30:00.002-06:002008-04-06T11:06:06.508-06:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R_j6y5nuVII/AAAAAAAAAeI/t-7n4545Bto/s1600-h/1portal.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186170723284964482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R_j6y5nuVII/AAAAAAAAAeI/t-7n4545Bto/s400/1portal.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>Got a spare $10 in your wallet? -</strong> The best value in gaming, The Orange Box, came out late last year but if you didn't get into it now is a good time...at least for PC gamers. Starting this Wednesday the titles that make up The Orange Box are being sold individually. The best deal in the bunch is Portal, which you can pick up for a limited time for only $10 this week. Even though I already own the game on the Xbox 360, I'll probably nab it just to play on my laptop when I'm on the road. Its that good. There are certain titles every gamer should own and this is one of them.<br />.<br /><strong>Stephen King on gaming -</strong> I found a post about this on Kotaku today but it doesn't do Stevo's take justice. While he's not a gamer himself, Mr. King makes some salient points on the view politicians take when they get their panties in a snit about violent games. Click <a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20188502,00.html">here</a> for the full transcript of his article in Entertainment Weekly.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-3989344096419666283?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-68307363164570945582008-04-02T19:31:00.002-06:002008-04-02T21:10:52.391-06:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R_QzeZnuVGI/AAAAAAAAAd4/7rGtL2zI5gI/s1600-h/1addiction.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184825668376876130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 208px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 228px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="249" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R_QzeZnuVGI/AAAAAAAAAd4/7rGtL2zI5gI/s400/1addiction.jpg" width="226" border="0" /></a><strong>Look, I found a pic of Eli as a boy! -</strong> There are rules (written and unwritten) for everything. Go ahead and think about it. Is there anything you do throughout your day that doesn't have a rule attached to it? Unless you're super rich or a pro athlete, probably not. Now its time to lay down the rules for being an Achievement Junkie. Oh, sure, you can break the rules, but then you're nothing but a dirty little point whore, looked down upon by society and forced to wear a shirt labeling you as a fraud. Naturally this goes into effect after this post and <em>is not</em> retroactive because I've broken every single one of these rules at some point or another.<br />.<br />The following five rules were created to clarify the most honest ways to earn points. The biggest criteria is that you have to earn your score. Of course "earning" points is subjective but from my own experience as a recovering AP addict, I never felt bad about increasing my score by piling them up all by myself, without any help or by cheating. Achievement Points are one of the best things about owning a 360, but point whoring has diluted its value. While I'm certainly as guilty as every other point hoarder, I think its time to set things straight.<br />.<br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">The Achievement Point Manifesto</span> </strong></div><div>.</div><div>1. No Subs - Having someone play a game for you just to earn points is cheating, so is playing a game for someone else to earn points. This doesn't mean you can't help a friend get through a tough spot. There have been many times I've helped my son through games when he got stuck and my brother and I have swapped strategies numerous times. But having a friend play for you just to earn points is flat out wrong.</div><div>.</div><div>2. Rentals are okay, borrowing is not - You might think renting a game just for the points is cheating. I completely disagree because you're paying for it. Its like buying a game for a few days, and no one would consider it wrong to buy a game and trying to get as many points as you can from it. If you want to spend your time and your money ($7+) on a rental just for the points, go for it. But borrowing a game from a friend solely for the points, not to try it out and have fun with it, is cheating. Earning incidental points on a borrow is fine, but playing through the whole game and beating it? That's wrong. Just buy a copy for yourself you cheap bastard.</div><div>.</div><div>3. Games from a questionable source are questionable - As of right now this only refers to those discount titles from Burger King but you know that someday a company will do the exact same thing BK did. I'm really looking forward to a Subway sponsored videogame where Jared slaps junk food out of random NPC's hands and replaces it with a club sandwich. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy a title from a place like this but buying the whole set just to earn a cheap 600 points (looking around uncomfortably, waiting to be struck by lightning for being a hypocrite) is a bad idea. </div><div>.</div><div>4. Cheat codes are bad, mkay - Many games won't allow you to earn Achievements if you have cheat codes turned on but some will let you get away with it. If you can't beat a game without using a code, what kind of gamer are you? But if you use a code for the points, that's even worse. The only time cheat codes should be used is to doing something crazy in a game. The goofy codes for GTA games (who doesn't love seeing Elvis everywhere?) are a good example. </div><div>.</div><div>5. Don't play games you don't like just for the points - Of all the rules, this should be the easiest to follow and if you follow only one rule, this should be it. If you play games you don't like just for the points you will lose your passion for games, I guarantee it. Let me give you an example. Because of my job, I play 1-2 new games a week. Fortunately I don't have to finish all of them because there are plenty of duds and I don't review every game I get. Even though I'm an Achievement nut I refuse to finish a game if I don't like it. I played Vampire Rain, a game with some fairly easy points and didn't earn a single point from it because it sucked. Army of Two (20 points), Turok (10 points), Devil May Cry 4 (0 points), MLB 2K8 (30 points) are just a few of the games I've played in recent weeks that I just didn't like enough to keep playing. If I wanted to, I could have over 100K points but I just can't choke down a game I don't like. Neither should you.</div><div>.</div><div><strong>And finally, in an unrelated note -</strong> Congrats to Andrew Ramsey, a reader from Texas who won the Dark Sector giveaway. Andrew is the proud winner of a Dark Sector faceplate, comic book, poster, and a 1600 Point MS card. More giveaways are coming in the near future and look for the first As the Gaming World Turns happy hour soon. </div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-6830736316457094558?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-74749030564677990342008-03-30T10:43:00.003-06:002008-03-30T11:01:18.727-06:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R-_Da5nuVFI/AAAAAAAAAdw/XwI_waECgYE/s1600-h/1madden.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183576563038180434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R-_Da5nuVFI/AAAAAAAAAdw/XwI_waECgYE/s400/1madden.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><strong>Release date, bonuses confirmed -</strong> I'll let the (abbreviated) press release do the talking.</div><div>.</div><div><em>Electronic Arts announced that Madden NFL 09 will be available in retail stores in North America on August 12, including a special collector’s edition in celebration of the 20th anniversary of one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. The Madden NFL 09 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition will be the ultimate interactive NFL experience - featuring full versions of both Madden NFL 09 and the all-new NFL Head Coach 09, exclusive classic Madden NFL gameplay, and an extensive library of exclusive bonus video content.<br />.<br />“The Madden NFL franchise has a rich history, and we’re proud to be celebrating it with this definitive video game package,” says Peter Moore, president of EA SPORTS. “Featuring two deep and innovative new standalone games, as well as a host of exclusive bonus content, the Madden NFL 09 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition is the ultimate interactive offering for both long-time Madden NFL fans and anyone who enjoys football on Sundays. I can’t think of a better way to get your NFL fix than to enjoy everything that’s unique about both Madden NFL 09 and NFL Head Coach 09, and then connecting and sharing content from both.” <br />. <br />Madden NFL 09 will be available for the Xbox 360™ video game system from Microsoft, PlayStation®2 and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment systems, Wii™, Nintendo DS™, PSP™ handheld entertainment system and is rated RP by the ESRB. NFL Head Coach 09 is scheduled to ship only as a part of the Madden NFL 09 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition, which, at a suggested retail price of $89.99 for the complete package of Madden NFL 09 and NFL Head Coach 09 plus additional exclusive bonus content, will ship on the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION3. For more information about Madden NFL 09 and NFL Head Coach 09, please visit</em> <a href="http://www.madden09.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.madden09.com</a> </div><div><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R-_DUJnuVEI/AAAAAAAAAdo/NhIKyKBE0SQ/s1600-h/1nascar.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183576447074063426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R-_DUJnuVEI/AAAAAAAAAdo/NhIKyKBE0SQ/s400/1nascar.JPG" border="0" /></a><strong> Jeff Gordon is so dreamy</strong> - Cover art and more info on NASCAR 09</div><div>.</div><div><em>As announced on March 12th, Four-Time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jeff Gordon will grace the cover of the all new NASCAR 09, scheduled to ship on June 10th . Not only is Gordon featured on the cover of NASCAR 09, but the four-time champion will take you under his wing and guide you through some of the key aspects of the game. Working with you through an all-new interactive 3D menu interface, Gordon will guide you through the game’s major features and advise you throughout your career, just as he has done with real-life protégé Jimmie Johnson. Players will use Gordon’s advice as guidance in preparing to challenge the best drivers of NASCAR in an all-new career mode and in the Sprint Driver Challenges to earn reputation and become a NASCAR champion. With NASCAR 09, your reputation is on the line and your mentor Jeff Gordon is your guide.<br /></em>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-7474903056467799034?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-17454852823088314402008-03-27T12:15:00.002-06:002008-03-27T12:50:17.236-06:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R-vkc5nuVDI/AAAAAAAAAdg/5qMy7HHyfMk/s1600-h/1donking.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182486981374792754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R-vkc5nuVDI/AAAAAAAAAdg/5qMy7HHyfMk/s400/1donking.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Polls (with a +-3% degree of accuracy) never lie -</strong> It seems fitting that the pic for this post is of a game with 360 box art (Don King Presents: Prizefighters, set for a June release) considering the results of the latest As the Gaming World Turns poll. When asked to choose their favorite console, gamers overwhelming chose the Xbox 360. The turnout was significantly higher with this poll as 102 people voted (80 more than last time!) with 78% of gamers choosing the 360. The PS3 and Wii each earned 8% of votes and 3% were still nostalgic for the Atari Jaguar. It seems that despite some nagging issues (RRD, Xbox Live isn't free) that the Xbox 360's positives (great online service, excellent game library, Achievement Points, tons of downloadable content) far outweigh its negatives. </div><div>.</div><div>Will Microsoft be able to retain its console's popularity? That depends on the answers to the following questions: Can the Wii maintain its high sales rate or will the novelty finally wear off? How much ground will the PS3 make up with some long overdue console exclusives (most notably MGS4), the launch of Home and the emergence of Blu-ray, or can it even overtake the 360 and the Wii? Will this be the year Microsoft feels the loss of its exclusive developer agreements (Bioware, etc.) and can Rare step up to the plate? By the end of 2008 we should know the answer to these questions and have a clearer understanding of which console is going to dominate gaming for the next 5 years.</div><div>.</div><div><strong>Prizefighter giveaway, Don King wig not included -</strong> If you're interested in winning a free copy of Don King Presents: Prizefighter, read the following press release I received today. </div><div>.</div><div><em>Don King Productions and 2K Sports today announced they will team up for an exclusive giveaway of five copies of the most anticipated sports release this spring, Don King Presents: Prizefighter, during the launch of King’s very own digital network, </em><a href="http://www.donkingtv.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><em>www.DonKingTV.com</em></a><em>. A spectacular “Meet Me in St. Louis ” championship doubleheader will be presented, plus several special attractions free to boxing and sports fans worldwide on </em><a href="http://donkingtv.com/" target="_blank"><em>DonKingTV.com</em></a><em> tonight at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, live from the Scottrade Center .</em><br />.<br /><em>“This is another new and exciting adventure for us,” said Don King. “Like the Gateway to the West, we will be taking St. Louis and this trailblazing fight card worldwide via the internet. Fans will be able to see IBF 154-pount champion Cory Spinks take on Verno Phillips and undefeated 140-pounder Devon Alexander against Miguel Callist. We want as many people as possible to see just how great our technology is, so we’re making four exciting hours of action available free of charge.”<br /></em>.<br /><em>The five lucky winners to receive Don King Presents: Prizefighter will be chosen at random by a computer from viewers who log on to watch the live webcast fight between Cory Spinks and Verno Phillips, while the other ten runner-ups will receive a copy of Major League Baseball® 2K8. Don King Presents: Prizefighter delivers the deepest, most authentic and entertaining boxing experience available. The action within the ring accurately mimics the sport’s tactics and hard knocks by allowing players to create angles and openings using a full arsenal of true 3D, motion captured movement, and punch mechanics found only in the real world sport, until now.<br /></em>.<br /><em>The life of a boxer is about more than just a night at the fights; it’s about building a career and rising to stardom. 2K Sports has captured that in Don King Presents: Prizefighter – players must train, overcome adversity, get promoted, and avoid temptation to rise in notoriety, all while watching the story of their rise to champion unfold in a unique, live-action, sports documentary style that features real-life legends from the world of boxing. Don King Presents: Prizefighter, will be available June 10, 2008 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and this fall for the Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo and the Nintendo DS™. For more information, please visit:</em> <a href="http://www.2ksports.com/prizefighter" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.2ksports.com/prizefighter</a>.</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-1745485282308831440?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-77649671992507907122008-03-24T20:20:00.003-06:002008-03-24T23:23:25.727-06:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R-hhh5nuVCI/AAAAAAAAAdY/5y0Zw91TEVc/s1600-h/1dark-sector.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181498606320768034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R-hhh5nuVCI/AAAAAAAAAdY/5y0Zw91TEVc/s400/1dark-sector.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Freebie Day! -</strong> Its been awhile since I've given out any freebies but a package came in the mail today that reminded me that I need to be more generous. My FedEx guy brought a big box this morning and inside was a Dark Sector 360 copy for review (the game comes out tomorrow), plus a Dark Sector faceplate, comic book, and poster. I'll be keeping the game but since I already have a faceplate (Master Chief took that spot a few months ago) I'm looking to give it away along with the comic and the poster. To sweeten the pot I'm going to throw in a 1600 point MS card to buy whatever you want on Xbox Live Marketplace.<br />.<br />Of course to earn these prizes you're going to have to earn it. I'm looking for a paragraph (keep it short, 8-12 sentences) on what your favorite gaming console is and why. I know what you're thinking, this must be for Xbox 360 owners only because of the prizes. Wrong! Don't let the results of the current poll fool you, I'm an equal opportunity gamer. Even if you're a PS3, Wii or...(gulp) PC gamer, you should participate. If you don't have a 360 you probably know somebody who does, imagine how much more they'd like you if you gave them some gifts. The contest ends a week from today so get your entries in soon, send them to the email address at the bottom of this post. Best email gets the prize.<br />.<br /><strong>Here's a freebie you don't have to compete for -</strong> In case you've missed it, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 came out last week. Go get it, its an awesome game and I'm looking for someone to play co-op with. There have been some free stuff for it floating around online but if you haven't seen it, here are the codes for a free assault rifle and multiplayer map.<br />.<br />FREE GUN: At the main menu enter the follow button commands at the Main Menu of Rainbow Six Vegas 2: (Hold RB) Down, Down, Up, Up, X, B, X, B, Y, Up, Up, Y<br />.<br />FREE MAP: From main menu select "extras"Select "comcast gift"Enter "COMCAST FASTER"<br />.<br /><strong>And finally -</strong> Okay, I swear this is the last time (not really) but <a href="http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox360/games/reviews/171328.shtml">here's</a> another link to some downloadable game coverage I've done for GamePro. Yeah, yeah I'm sure you're all sick of it by now but I'm a writer, which means I have to pimp myself out every chance I get. Which reminds me, sometime this week I'll be on Tron Simpson's morning radio show on AM1530. Guess what I'll be doing? That's right, pimping myself out, talking about the children's book I wrote about a year ago and gaming stuff. I'm not sure which day I'll be on or what time but since I'm calling in, my guess is it'll be after 10 (I'm a late sleeper) either tomorrow or Wednesday.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-7764967199250790712?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-6353249844436413982008-03-21T18:22:00.004-06:002008-03-21T19:04:42.111-06:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R-RRZpnuVBI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/kjrfD7PSEHY/s1600-h/1rbsv.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180354972493960210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 463px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 308px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="269" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R-RRZpnuVBI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/kjrfD7PSEHY/s400/1rbsv.jpg" width="416" border="0" /></a> <strong>Viva Las Vegas! -</strong> I was tempted to put up a pic of uberbabe Ann-Margaret but then I saw this picture and I dumped Elvis' former squeeze. What's more important, a pic of chesty Ann-Margaret or a pic of a shootout at a Major League Gaming event? Did some gamer dressed like Neo finally lose it during a competition? Hopefully Rainbow Six Vegas 2 will answer this question. In the meantime, here are the Achievement Points for this great title.<br />.<br />1. That Wasn't So Hard - Complete a scene as Bishop's teammate, Knight, in co-op Story mode at any difficulty. (5 points)<br />2. Completed Pic des Pyrénées - Complete Pic des Pyrénées in Story Mode at any difficulty. (25 points)<br />3. Completed Old Vegas - Complete Old Vegas in Story Mode at any difficulty. (25 points)<br />4. Completed Recreational Center - Complete Recreational Center in Story Mode at any difficulty. (25 points)<br />5. Completed Convention Center - Complete Convention Center in Story Mode at any difficulty. (25 points)<br />6. Completed Theater - Complete Theater in Story Mode at any difficulty. (25 points)<br />7. Completed Nevada Desert - Complete Nevada Desert in Story Mode at any difficulty. (25 points)<br />8. Completed Estate - Complete Estate in Story Mode at any difficulty. (25 points)<br />9. Freedom Shall Prevail - Complete the Story Mode on Realistic difficulty. (75 points)<br />10. I Like the Sound it Makes - Kill 150 terrorists with a Shotgun. (25 points)<br />11. Weapon Collector - Unlock every weapon in the game. (30 points)<br />12. Rappel King - Kill 25 enemies while suspended from a rope. (20 points)<br />13. My Name is Sam - Neutralize 5 terrorists in a row by performing headshots using a Sound Suppressor. (25 points)<br />14. Gimme a High Five! - Complete 5 scenes as Bishop's teammate, Knight, in co-op Story mode at any difficulty. (10 points)<br />15. Here's for a Wicked Five! - Complete 10 scenes as Bishop's teammate, Knight, in co-op Story mode at any difficulty. (20 points)<br />16. Novice Hunter - Complete your first Terrorist Hunt mission at any difficulty. (5 points)<br />17. Veteran Hunter - Complete 5 Terrorist Hunt missions at any difficulty. (20 points)<br />18. Natural Leader - Lead your team to Victory 20 times in Team Leader with at least 6 players present. (15 points)<br />19. Extreme Hunter - Complete all Terrorist Hunt missions on Realistic difficulty. (50 points)<br />20. Bring it on! - Complete a Terrorist Hunt mission at the hardest difficulty. (10 points)<br />21. Pointman - Kill 50 enemies in multiplayer adversarial with at least 6 players present. (10 points)<br />22. Triggerman - Kill 150 enemies in multiplayer adversarial with at least 6 players present. (20 points)<br />23. Gun Shark - Kill 300 enemies in multiplayer adversarial with at least 6 players present. (25 points)<br />24. Eye of the Sniper - Kill 500 enemies in multiplayer adversarial with at least 6 players present. (30 points)<br />25. Don't Mess With Me - Kill 1000 enemies in multiplayer adversarial with at least 6 players present. (45 points)<br />26. Ace of Spades - Perform 5 consecutive kills without dying in an adversarial match without respawns (15 points)<br />27. The Ace Always Wins - Win your first ranked match online. (5 points)<br />28. Double or Nothin' - Win 2 ranked matches in a row. (10 points)<br />29. Three of a Kind - Win 3 consecutive ranked matches in a row. (15 points)<br />30. Royal Flush - Win 100 adversarial matches with at least 6 players present. (30 points)<br />31. The House Always Wins - Host and win 10 matches with at least 6 players present. (15 points)<br />32. My Hero! - Rescue both Hostages 10 times in Attack &amp; Defend with at least 6 players present. (10 points)<br />33. Kamikaze - Plant and detonate 10 bombs in Attack &amp; Defend with at least 6 players present. (10 points)<br />34. Demo Expert - Defuse 10 bombs in Attack &amp; Defend with at least 6 players present. (10 points)<br />35. Covert Ops Specialist - Extract the intel item 10 times with at least 6 players present (10 points)<br />36. Cluster Bomb - Kill 3 enemies at once using explosives with at least 6 players present (10 points)<br />37. Sidearm Frenzy - Kill 100 enemies using a Pistol with at least 6 players present. (25 points)<br />38. Come Closer - Kill 100 enemies using a shotgun with at least 6 players present (20 points)<br />39. Spray and Pray - Kill 100 enemies using a Sub-Machine Gun with at least 6 players present. (15 points)<br />40. Short Controlled Bursts - Kill 100 enemies using an Assault Rifle with at least 6 players present. (15 points)<br />41. One Shot, One Kill - Kill 100 enemies using a Sniper Rifle with at least 6 players present. (30 points)<br />42. Machine Gunner - Kill 100 enemies using a Light Machine Gun with at least 6 players present. (20 points)<br />43. Private First Class - Achieve the rank of Private First Class. (10 points)<br />44. Officer - Achieve the rank of Officer (30 points)<br />45. Elite - Achieve the rank of Elite (50 points)<br />46. Haute Couture - Create your own custom camouflage. (10 points)<br />47. True Identity - Use the Xbox Live Vision to create a character with your appearance. (20 points)<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-635324984443641398?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-63271352262075187522008-03-19T21:48:00.002-06:002008-03-19T22:47:33.972-06:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R-HexZnuVAI/AAAAAAAAAdI/3qZ1wXkbF3Q/s1600-h/1h3maps.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179665986725237762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R-HexZnuVAI/AAAAAAAAAdI/3qZ1wXkbF3Q/s400/1h3maps.jpg" border="0" /></a>Usually I get tons of press releases on Tuesday, not this week. Today my inbox was flooded with a boatload of information. Because I like to keep my readers informed (and I'm lazy) the press releases are listed below in italics.<br />.<br /><strong>Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack </strong><br /><em>More than 7.3 million copies of “Halo 3” have flown off store shelves, upwards of 500 million hours of frag-tacular online gameplay have been logged on Xbox LIVE and the Heroic Map Pack has been downloaded by 1 million plus gamers and counting. But it’s not over yet…Microsoft and Bungie today announced that April 15 will mark the release of the next wave of “Halo 3” downloadable content. Available exclusively on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 800 Microsoft Points, the Legendary Map Pack will introduce three new maps to the title’s award-winning multiplayer experience, Ghost Town, Avalanche, and one map yet to be revealed. And with the addition of some exciting Forge options, fans can explore new ways to create and share their custom “Halo 3” content. </em><br /><em>.</em><br /><em>Ghost Town is a battle-scarred maze of narrow passages and dangerous ruins outside the once-prosperous city of Voi. Collapsed ceilings and shell-battered buildings provide both valuable cover and deadly traps, as catwalks and stairways take the fight from claustrophobic ground combat to dizzying rooftop battles. Ghost Town is a mid-sized map ideal for Team Slayer games and smaller, objective types. The second map, Avalanche, is a tribute to Sidewinder, a “Halo: Combat Evolved” fan-favorite. This massive, vehicle-oriented objective map adds a twist to its classic predecessor with all new interiors, dramatically reshaped exteriors and brand new vehicle variants. Take a ride and admire the visual variety from the cockpit of the retuned Hornet. The third map to be included in the Legendary Pack has yet to be announced, but stay tuned to </em><a href="http://bungie.net/" target="_blank"><em>Bungie.net</em></a><em> for full details on another returning classic… fans of smaller Slayer maps, it’s time to get excited.</em><br />.<br />I'd be a little more excited if these maps were 400 points instead of 800 but that's what I said when the first Halo 3 maps came out. Speaking of which, the first pack was supposed to be free when this April pack is released. I still hope that's the case but this press release says nothing of that.<br />.<br /><strong>Sims 3 coming in 2009</strong><br /><em>Electronic Arts Inc. announced today the first details on one of interactive entertainment’s most anticipated games, The Sims 3. Featuring a brand new engine that has been in development for nearly three years, The Sims 3 allows you to immerse your unique Sims in an open living neighborhood right outside their door. The initial feature-set unveiled includes the new seamless, open neighborhood, new Create A Sim, new realistic personalities and new unlimited customization. The Sims 3 will launch globally in 2009. The Sims franchise has long been recognized for its appeal to a universal audience, both male and female, and at any age. Its broad appeal and loyal The Sims community has vaulted the franchise to an impressive 98 million games sold around the world and translated into 22 different languages. Celebrated for its creativity, humor, and community, The Sims franchise has become a global and cultural phenomenon since its inception in 2000. Now, The Sims 3 is being designed to be the next-generation flagship game from The Sims Label.<br /></em>.<br /><em>New Seamless, Open Neighborhood—Explore the Neighborhood Freely.<br />See the sights with your Sims! The new seamless neighborhood architecture allows your Sims to roam freely around the neighborhood and visit their loved one and friends—or foes. Discovering other Sims homes and families, traveling around to new locations like City Hall or the local park will create a whole new way of life for your Sims. Storytelling options will multiply as your Sims stroll downtown to meet new acquaintances, head across town for lunch, spy on their neighbors and bump into the boss when they least expect it</em>. <br />.<br /><em>New Create A Sim—Create Any Sim You Can Imagine.<br />In addition to the open, living neighborhood, the all-new Create-a-Sim interface will feature easy-to-use design tools that allow you to make truly detailed Sims that are more realistic than ever. Create-a-Sim gives you the incredible freedom to customize just about any Sim you can imagine. From thin to full-figured to muscular—everything in between and even the extreme! In addition to determining your Sims body shape and size, you will also be able to fine-tune every feature on their faces, customize their hair style and select their skin tone, all from a vast selection of options. With so many choices to choose from, it is fun to create more realistic characters that look like you, someone you want to look like, or even a famous personality. <br /></em>.<br /><em>New Realistic Personalities—Every Sim Is A Unique Person, With A Distinct Personality<br />With the innovative and proprietary Realistic Personality System in The Sims 3, you can attribute each character with five distinct personality traits, helping shape your Sims behavior and how they interact with others and their surroundings. This new system will empower you to create extremely complex and diverse in-game personalities. Will you create the nosy, inappropriate, kleptomaniac grandmother who loves to meddle in other people’s business? Or the commitment-phobic, hot-headed punk rocker whose rude nature and childish disposition keeps him from scoring a date? In The Sims 3, Sims will go beyond the basic set of day-to-day needs to be distinct individuals with multifaceted personalities, who can focus both on short-term opportunities and long-term goals. With a wide selection of personality traits to mix and match, more than 700 million combinations of Sims await. You never know who’ll meet in The Sims 3!<br /></em>.<br /><em>New Unlimited Customization—Everyone Can Customize Everything!<br />New and accessible creativity tools in The Sims 3 make it simple for anyone to customize anything, anywhere! From floors to flowers, fashions to sofas, wallpaper to window shades and more, The Sims 3 gives you all the flexibility and options you need to be the architect of your dream house or explore your interior design skills to outfit your ultimate home. Your Sims can make home an ultra-deluxe mansion, a cool bachelor pad, family’s dream home or charming cottage. The choice is yours in The Sims 3. For more information visit</em> <a href="http://www.thesims3.com/" target="_blank">www.TheSims3.com</a>.<br />.<br /><strong>ESA Foundation Offers Scholarships for Future Video Game Developers</strong><br /><em>With entertainment software holding its place as one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S. economy and becoming a new field of study at colleges and universities, the ESA Foundation has established a scholarship program to help train and educate the next generation of video game developers and designers. Computer and video game companies posted record revenues of $9.5 billion in 2007 and the industry grew by 17 percent from 2003-2006, four times the growth rate of the national economy. More than 200 colleges, universities and technical schools in the U.S., and 400 worldwide offer programs and courses in video game design.</em> <br /><br /><em>The ESA Foundation’s Scholarship Program makes available $45,000 in scholarships for women and minority applicants pursuing careers in video game development. Full-time undergraduate students can apply online for a $3,000 scholarship until May 15, 2008. The program assists women and minority students who plan to continue their education in fields supporting video game development, including graphic design, computer science, animation or programming, digital entertainment or software engineering. Scholarships are offered each year for full-time study at accredited four-year colleges and universities. The ESA Foundation plans to award 15 scholarships of $3,000 each to students for the 2008-09 academic year. Scholarship Management Services administers this program. For more information and to complete an application online please visit</em>: <a href="https://www.scholarshipamerica.org/esaf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.scholarshipamerica.org/esaf</a>.<br />.<br /><strong>Cast announced for Street Fighter Movie</strong><br /><em>Capcom, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, is proud to confirm the main cast for its live-action Street Fighter movie based on the hugely popular video game series.The story revolves around fan-favorite Chun-Li, who will be portrayed by actress Kristen Kreuk (of Smallville fame). Michael Clark Duncan, Neal McDonough, and Taboo of Black Eyed Peas are also on board to round out this all-star cast. The film will be made in conjunction with Hyde Park Films, and will be distributed by 20th Century Fox for a scheduled 2009 worldwide release.The Street Fighter movie is only one of many projects Capcom has planned to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Street Fighter. Summer 2008 will see the Japanese arcade release of the much-anticipated Street Fighter IV. Street Fighter was first released in 1987 to critical acclaim for its innovative features. This was followed up in 1991 with the smash hit Street Fighter II, which broke records by being available in 500 thousand arcade cabinets and selling over 25 million units on home systems. These records cemented Street Fighter’s reputation as one of the most popular fighting game series of all time and ensured that the fighting genre would become a staple of the gaming world.</em><br />.<br /><em>The cast so far includes:</em><br /><em>• Chun-Li: Kristin Kreuk. Plays the role of Lana Lang in the WB television series Smallville .</em><br /><em>• Balrog: Michael Clarke Duncan. The Island, Sin City, Daredevil, The Scorpion King</em><br /><em>• M. Bison: Neal McDonough. The Hitcher, The Guardian, Minority Report, Band of Brothers</em><br /><em>• Vega: Taboo. Member of popular R&amp;B music group Black Eyed Peas and recipient of three Grammy Awards.</em><br /><em>• Charlie Nash: Chris Klein. We Were Soldiers, American Pie</em><br />.<br />Haahahahahaha! Chris Klein?!?! Hahahahahahah!<br />.<br /><strong>And finally -</strong> Check <a href="http://www.gamepro.com/sony/ps3/games/reviews/169688.shtml">here </a>and <a href="http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox360/games/reviews/169568.shtml">here </a>for some downloadable games I reviewed for GamePro. I have some bigger stuff coming up with the site but I'll let you know more about that later...Next week I'm planning on heading up to Denver for my tour of the SOE Denver studio so hopefully that post will go up next week.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-6327135226207518752?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-16959880484786550292008-03-18T19:08:00.005-06:002008-03-18T19:47:31.670-06:00<u><span style="color:#0000ff;"></span></u><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R-BnlXwt3pI/AAAAAAAAAdA/pvWrjSOPiII/s1600-h/1Beatles_AbbeyroadB.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179253463207239314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R-BnlXwt3pI/AAAAAAAAAdA/pvWrjSOPiII/s400/1Beatles_AbbeyroadB.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><strong>Greatest. Rock band. Ever. -</strong> We all know that Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is coming this June, but could we be seeing a Beatles version of GH? According to <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-beatles18mar18,1,3551914.story">this </a>article from the LA Times today, its possible. </div><div>.</div><div><em>The latest sign of a video-game "Revolution"? You may soon be able to plug in and play guitar in "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Martin N. "Marty" Bandier, the top executive at the music publishing company that owns the John Lennon- Paul McCartney copyrights, said he liked the idea of a dedicated Beatles edition of Guitar Hero</em><em>,</em> <em>Activision Inc.'s hugely popular video-game franchise. Activision announced last month that Aerosmith would be the first act with a dedicated version of Guitar Hero. "It's something we have talked about and something I'd like to pursue," said Bandier, who last year took over as chairman and chief executive at Sony/ATV Music Publishing. The company has loosened its approach to the Beatles' music. Producers of " American Idol," for instance, had for years sought permission for contestants to perform Beatles hits on the show but were turned down again and again.That's changed: Tonight's episode is the second week of an "all-Beatles" format for the show, which Bandier calls "a wonderful way to get this legendary music in front of an audience of 30 million people in an exciting way."</em></div><div>.</div><div>Now we're talking! Personally I can't stand American Idol and could care less if a bunch of glorified karaoke singers didn't get to sing songs from the greatest band ever, but the chance to play Beatles tunes in a game like Guitar Hero would be awesome. And considering that Rock Band is a far superior game, it would actually give an older gamer like me (and possibly younger gamers with a sense of rock history) a reason to buy GH over Rock Band. If we see The Beatles in Guitar Hero, who knows where else we could see them in other games. Rock Band would make perfect sense to be sure but maybe licensed Beatles songs could be in other games as well. Maybe on a classic rock radio station in GTA perhaps? </div><div>.</div><div>The keepers of The Beatles catalog have been awfully quiet for a long time. So far the people in charge have done a great job of not selling the band out and being respectful of its amazing franchise. You don't find the band being whored out like the Rolling Stones or Elvis. Heck, they're not even on iTunes (although all of the band members solo work is) and you'll rarely hear a Beatles tune in a commercial or some other cheesy advertisement. But with the band not having released an album in over 30 years, maybe its time The Beatles did reach a wider audience. Having a Guitar Hero: Beatles edition would be a sweet way for gamers to experience the greatest rock band ever. </div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div></div><div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-1695988048478655029?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-76231137840131605422008-03-16T20:07:00.003-06:002008-03-17T00:20:29.786-06:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R93WWnwt3oI/AAAAAAAAAc4/UzwVl2tKcaw/s1600-h/1charlie.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178530830664720002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R93WWnwt3oI/AAAAAAAAAc4/UzwVl2tKcaw/s400/1charlie.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Better than a picture of Nick Cage from Leaving Las Vegas -</strong> Its time to come clean. I have an Achievement Point addiction. I've had it ever since the Xbox 360 came out. What the heck is it about the sights and sounds of earning an Achievement that make them so addicting? Its pretty simple, we're Americans, we like to be the best. We are an ultra-competitive country and want to be #1 in everything. We'll make a competition out of anything, even eating, so feeling good about having the high score in a game should come as no surprise. </div><div>.</div><div>Back in the day gamers used to spend their time in arcades, earning high scores and putting their three initials on a scoreboard that did the bragging for them. Or better yet, a true arcade hound would slap his quarter on the glass and take all comers until he loses. Nowadays, unless you live in Japan, the arcade is dead. There is no place where players go to show how good of a gamer they are or brag about their mad skills (although I do love kicking ass every summer in Bubble Hockey at the arcade on Lake Winnipesaukee). With the dominance of the home console, gamers lost that connection to other gamers and we were left competing with ourselves. Sure friends could come over and you could battle them one-on-one in different games but unless you had the exact same game and were playing it for the same amount of time there was no true way, especially in a single player game, to compare skills. Eventually gamers got used to this and forgot all about how great it felt to be the high scorer. Then Achievement Points showed up and that primal need to be the best reared its head once more.</div><div>.</div><div>But Achievements are a different animal than a high score and in many ways are much better. They're visible to so many more people so now you can brag to anyone you play against. Because points are assigned specifically for each game, a comparison of points between friends actually means something. When I compare my Halo 3 gamerscore to my brother's score I can rub it in his face that I have 35 more points than he does. Then we can settle who the better gamer is in an online match that we don't have to be in the same room or city or state to play. Even for people you don't compete against, once another gamer sees or knows your score it gives you a certain amount of cachet. Other players know you are a serious, die-hard gamer.</div><div>.<br /></div><div>Of course Achievement Points aren't without their critics. There are some people who think people who play just for points are worse than gamers who used to play just for a high score. Even worse, depending on the game, points are given out way too easily. I played Avatar a couple of weeks ago and earned 1000 points in less than 2 minutes. Not exactly a lot of skill involved there. </div><div>.</div><div>But just like in the glory days of the arcade, players are drawn to earning high points because its part of the fun of playing a game, its that innate desire to be the best. As long as you're not obsessive compulsive about it (I wouldn't recommend buying games from fast food restaurants, that's a sign you might be going a bit too far) there's nothing wrong with padding your score. There's a sense of accomplishment when earning one, its like being rewarded for playing. It also extends the life of a title as many gamers are certain to go out of their way to earn points or play through a game a second time or more. Isn't getting as much enjoyment you can out of a game what players really want?</div><div>.</div><div>When it comes right down to it, earning Achievement Points is just plain fun. They aren't for everyone but one of the best things about being a gamer is you have so many choices. No one can make you care about earning points, just like no one can make you play a certain type of game or play on a particular console. If you weren't one of those guys who was proud of having one of the highest scores on an arcade game Achievement Points probably won't mean much to you but if earning points is your bag, have fun with it. Its in your American DNA so don't fight it. And if you have a friend who is really into points but you're not? Keep an eye on them, just to be safe. </div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-7623113784013160542?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-65121610745781137112008-03-12T20:24:00.004-06:002008-03-12T23:25:09.228-06:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R9iQl3wt3mI/AAAAAAAAAco/vLwzlQmTJU0/s1600-h/1hansolo.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177046751960227426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R9iQl3wt3mI/AAAAAAAAAco/vLwzlQmTJU0/s400/1hansolo.jpg" border="0" /></a>Its been a long time since I've made a Top 5 list but while talking to my brother the other day about a non-game related top 10, ideas for games that would be great to see started floating through my head. We discusses much more than five concepts but while some ideas made perfect sense (Floyd Mayweather Boxing), others just didn't seem like they would be that interesting (The Office: The Game). We ended up with only about seven solid titles out of many ideas. We trimmed our list down to the best five. Here they are.<br />.<br /><strong>1. Star Wars: The Han Solo Chronicles -</strong> The Star Wars universe is a veritable potpourri of game franchise opportunities. A Star Wars game similar to Marvel Ultimate Alliance, where a wide range of characters from the Star Wars world could be playable characters, would be awesome. A game that follows the backstory of Emperor Palpatine would be just as fascinating as a Luke or Leia driven game. I could certainly get into a Simcityish title featuring Lando Calrissian (Colt 45 could be an in-game sponsor) and a Chewbacca game would be sweet and rife with opportunities for humor. My brother brought up a R2D2/C3PO game but I quickly shot it down.<br />.<br />While all of these games would be cool, no character has been more overdue for a videogame than Star Wars bad boy Han Solo. The Jedi's get all the love but Han is easily the most interesting character. There are a number of books that cover Han's life before and after the movie series but imagine a Lucas licensed game that takes young Solo from his home planet to rebellion badass. Win the Millenium Falcon from Lando in a game of sabacc, make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, find out the back story behind his relationship with Jabba the Hutt, evade bounty hunters like Bobba Fett, and woo Princess Leia. What Star Wars fan wouldn't play this?<br />.<br /><strong>2. Rock Band: iTunes Edition -</strong> Rock Band kicks ass and is easily the best rhythm game available. But one of the problems with both Guitar Hero and Rock Band are the limited amount of tracks. According to my wife, I've ruined a bunch of songs she used to like because I've played them so many times. I get pretty tired of singing or playing the same songs as well. Sure you can buy more downloadable tracks but even those are hit and miss. This problem can be easily solved by giving gamers access to their own iTunes library and letting us play any song we want through our consoles.<br />.<br />This might sound impossible but it would be pretty easy to do. AudioSurf, a PC game from Valve, uses your own music library to play a music game that's a blend of Wipeout and Guitar Hero. So how would a console connect to iTunes? Easy, it already does...sort of. The Xbox 360 and PS3 can already be connected to your PC through their wireless network adapters. All that would be needed to play your own music would be a program on the game disc that could take new songs and quickly format them for the game. Then you could finally play along to all your favorite Wang Chung songs.<br />.<br /><strong>3. ESPN's Monday Night Football -</strong> With EA renewing its deal with the NFL for another 5 years this is easily the one game on my list that is least likely to happen. But with the Madden franchise in a bit of standstill due to a lack of competition, someone needs to come out and shake things up. The best company to do that would be 2K, as long as it had a partnership with ESPN. Sega teamed up with ESPN for a series of pro football games that were great on content and presentation but wretched on gameplay. If 2K, who had some great ideas with All-Pro Football 2K8 and is easily the toughest competitor EA faces in the sports game market, could find some loophole to EA's NFL monopoly, maybe we'd find a pro football game that we could truly get excited about every year.<br />.<br /><strong>4. Survivor: The Game -</strong> Television shows are a great source of material for games but somehow Survivor, the best reality show ever, has remained untouched. While Survivor has been a boardgame and a fairly generic PC game, I see the world of Survivor as tailor made for MMO's. A Sims-type title where you have to build relationships in a single player universe might be fun but where Survivor really excels is in relationships between real people, a strength of MMO games.<br />.<br />Imagine joining the Survivor network and being randomly selected along with 16-20 other gamers to be placed on an online island. There'd be mini-games for rewards and immunities and all sorts of voice chat/text strategizing to see who would be voted off. There would be actions players could make to either earn peoples trust, play different factions against each other or just plain tick people off. An avatar would walk around each tribes virtual island and hunt for hidden immunity idols or food. Just like in the series, if you were always running around and not bonding with your other online tribemates you might isolate yourself. If you're too busy socializing and not contributing, you could be seen as dead weight and get cut loose. Games could vary in length depending on the amount of time a gamer would want to invest. One players game could last weeks, another a couple of hours. There are a ton of possibilities.<br />.<br /><strong>5. The Phillip Marlowe/Sam Spade series -</strong> I've always been a big fan of writers Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler and their detective characters Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe. The movies The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep which star one of my favorite actors, Humphrey Bogart, still stand up. Hard drinking, wise cracking and tough, these two originals could be made into fascinating protaganists for a videogame. Games based on these characters would be similar to Mafia or The Godfather in setting but instead of playing as a crook you'd play as a badass private eye. This might sound old school but some of the best ideas have been around a long time. Why not take some of these great novels that haven't been tapped yet and bring them into a game?<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-6512161074578113711?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-3431507422592560352008-03-08T20:14:00.003-07:002008-03-09T09:51:29.050-06:00<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R9NWZnwt3lI/AAAAAAAAAcg/pj41sVt0QKg/s1600-h/DSC00099.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175575394948865618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R9NWZnwt3lI/AAAAAAAAAcg/pj41sVt0QKg/s400/DSC00099.JPG" border="0" /></a> <strong>Do bears bare? Do bees be? -</strong> Saying I'm a huge nerd is like saying the sky is blue or water is wet, its a given. Not that you can tell by my normally manly appearance. Aside from wearing glasses I don't look like the average geek. I'm fairly athletic (I played three sports in high school) and I try to avoid wearing videogame shirts - except for my Fallout 3 shirt I got from E3 last year, that one is really comfortable. Basically on the outside I look like the average 30-something male, but just like every other man I have some nerd tendencies. Or as I like to call it, nerd itch. Every guy and I do mean every guy, has their dirty little inner nerd and occassionally that nerd must be scratched. Whether its stamps, coins, comic books, movies, train sets...every guy has something they like that they're probably not willing to share with the general public.<br />.<br />I'm a Star Wars, Star Trek, Sliders, Threshold, fantasy football, and videogame geek. I've been to a Star Trek convention (with my brother), the Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas, a Star Wars thingy (some big event in Denver when Episode I was coming out, again with my brother, we met the guy who plays C3PO!) and E3. And if I ever get a chance, I'd love to go to Comicon because I'm a huge comic book fan. As an adult, I've bought action figures, toys, played a videogame with plastic instruments with my son, purchased a special edition Halo 3 just so I could have the life sized Master Chief helmet and had my picture taken on the bridge of the Enterprise. I...am...a...huge...nerd. Wow, that was theraputic.<br />.<br />Naturally, with the exception of this post, I try to keep my inner nerd hidden. There's only so many toys the wife will put up with before she kicks me to the curb but sometimes I just can't help myself. Today I was in my local GameCrazy, trading in the craptacular game <em>Turning Point: Fall of What Could Have Been a Great Game</em> when I saw the two items pictured above. I'm supposed to pass on the new McFarlane Master Chief figure and a new Warthog? No, my inner nerd wouldn't allow it. I left the store without a new game but happy anyway.<br />.<br />So here's my challenge to you dear reader. Tell me about your inner nerd. Share that goofy thing you like that you're just a little embarrased about but enjoy so much you'd never give it up. You can stay anonymous if you'd like but if I can admit my guilty pleasure, so can you. We can start our own support group or something. And if you regulars (Eli, John, Frosty, Phil, etc.) don't put up a post, I'll know you're lying.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-343150742259256035?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-27309375615629703982008-03-06T22:27:00.006-07:002008-03-06T23:09:09.724-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R9DSZcM7UwI/AAAAAAAAAcY/S_IcYR-OwyM/s1600-h/1turningpoint.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174867306357674754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R9DSZcM7UwI/AAAAAAAAAcY/S_IcYR-OwyM/s400/1turningpoint.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Where's the beef? -</strong> This game sucks. Too harsh? I've been told recently that I can be a bit tough on how I grade games but I call them like I see them. For my own reasons (that I can't really get into) I'm a little bit bitter about being urged to give games higher grades than they really deserve. Who does this serve? Not the gaming company that makes an inferior product. Unless you're dealing with kids, telling people what they want to hear doesn't help anybody, especially a gaming company who can use constructive criticism so that they can improve their product. It also doesn't help the person I most serve as a gaming journalist, the consumer. Why blow smoke saying how good a game is and let someone buy a game then find out it stinks? It gives a writer no credibility and bad gaming experiences can sour a casual fan on the greatness of gaming. Sure, all reviews regardless of medium are subjective (I rarely agree with movie reviews) but the job of any review is to give the consumer as much information as possible to make a good decision. A dishonest review, or even worse, a review that's softened so as not to offend anyone, is a lie. Okay, I'm rambling because I'm annoyed about something else, let me get back to my original point.<br />.<br />My first impressions of Turning Point was that it was rental only. I'd stick with that assessment but after playing the multi-player, this games flaws are even more magnified. The online server is a joke as I'd wait endlessly to find a match. I spent so much time in the online lobby that I felt like I was at the DMV. Once I finally played a match it was laggy as hell, had no mapping system to see where you were or where you're going, no radar system to see other gamers, had few weapon options, and the recoil was so bad that shooting a gun felt like holding a fire hose. Having such an important part of a games offering suck so hard sadly reduces the enjoyability of its single-player option. I'd still recommend Turning Point to rent for all of the things I mentioned in my earlier post, but don't bother playing it online. It'll just piss you off.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-2730937561562970398?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-59370442267270125112008-03-04T16:19:00.003-07:002008-03-04T16:47:12.115-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R83ZCMM7UvI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/jXenmqksiXg/s1600-h/1gary.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174030178576978674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R83ZCMM7UvI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/jXenmqksiXg/s400/1gary.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>The ultimate dungeon master -</strong> Gary Gygax (second from the right in the pic above, next to Stephen Hawking), co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons passed away today after battling numerous illnesses the past few years. He was 69 years old.<br />.<br />While this won't mean much to many gaming fans, for gamers of a certain age (myself included) this is a sad loss. Dungeons &amp; Dragons were video games before video games. Back in my day we didn't have consoles or PC's! We had D&amp;D and we liked it! It was a game for the mind and heavily influenced much of what the industry has become today. This is what guys played, well nerdy guys anyway, before Halo or World of Warcraft or Super Mario. The universe Gygax invented helped spur the imagination of tons of people who would eventually move not just into the gaming industry but the movie and TV biz as well. When video games became popular, it gave creative people a chance to put the stories and actions that could previously only be represented on paper and through 20-sided dice into a visual medium. Gygax has had just as much of an influence on gaming as Shigeru Miyamoto, Nolan Bushnell, or Ken Kutaragi.<br />.<br />Once I saw the story of Gygax's passing on google today, I couldn't help but think of when I used to hang out with a bunch of middel school friends on weekends playing D&amp;D. We'd scarf down cheetos and grape soda as the dungeon master led us through some crazy adventures. We'd make fun of each other and have a great time and stay up until 3am. Those were great times. Thanks for the memories Gary, rest in peace.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-5937044226727012511?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-83020788332442657852008-03-02T19:41:00.005-07:002008-03-02T21:10:45.350-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R8tmEIvpTwI/AAAAAAAAAcI/6InnLgsDHIQ/s1600-h/1xboxvspc.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173340818217979650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R8tmEIvpTwI/AAAAAAAAAcI/6InnLgsDHIQ/s400/1xboxvspc.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>The tribe has spoken... -</strong> ... and the PC has been voted off the island. The As the Gaming World Turns poll on gaming system preference saw the console defeat the PC by a 68% to 13% margin. And I didn't even vote for either one! I voted for the last choice, you know, the booby one. They always distract me. </div><div>.</div><div>Only 22 people voted but the victory was clear. So why such an overwhelming victory for the console? Is it the consoles more reasonable price? Is it games you can actually trade in? Is it mouse and keyboard induced carpal tunnel causing a mass exodus? Or is this yet another sign that the PC as a gaming unit is going the way of the HD DVD player? Its premature to say the PC is dead but unless someone can convince me otherwise (any takers?), its certainly on life support. Sorry PC gamers, this is a console world, and you're just living it it. </div><div>.</div><div><strong>Turning Point Achievements -</strong> Before I dish out the Achievements for Turning Points: The Fall of Liberty, here are a few first impressions after spending time with it this weekend. Average graphics, occassional lag, and a lot of collision detection issues with Nazi's dying in a frozen pose like Lorne Greene in Battlestar Galactica. Despite all of those negatives I've really been enjoying the game. The premise is solid and the gameplay is fun. Right now, its a solid rental. If the multiplayer is good, and I'm not sure because I haven't tried it yet, it might be worth keeping for more than 2 weeks.</div><div>.</div><div>1. Reservation for One - Make your way down to Hotel Langteau on Normal or higher difficulty. (5 points)<br />2. Sharpshooter - Kill all the paratroopers as you make your way down the skyscraper on any difficulty. (10 points)<br />3. Defender - Help defend the barricade in New York on Normal or higher difficulty. (20 points)<br />4. Save Yourself - Escape from New York on any difficulty. (25 points)<br />5. Need a ride? - Meet up with the rescue team in Washington, D.C on Normal or higher difficulty. (20 points)<br />6. I Saved the General - Rescue General Donnelly from the D.C. courthouse on Normal or higher difficulty. (20 points)<br />7. Dolley Madison Award - Save the Constitution from being burned on Normal or higher difficulty. (20 points)<br />8. Impeached - Oust the false President from office on any difficulty. (30 points)<br />9. Going Nuclear - Rewire an Atom Bomb on Normal or higher difficulty. (30 points)<br />10. Oh, the Humanity! - Destroy all the assault blimps at the Tower Bridge on any difficulty. (30 points)<br />11. Stowaway - Sneak onto the Zeppelin on Normal or higher difficulty. (30 points)<br />12. Turning Point - Complete the campaign on any difficulty. (25 points)<br />13. Presidential Medal for Merit - Complete the campaign on Normal difficulty. (35 points)<br />14. Presidential Citizens Medal - Complete the campaign on Hard difficulty. (75 points)<br />15. Presidential Medal of FreedomComplete the campaign on Insane difficulty. (100 points)<br />16. Gravity is a Harsh Mistress - Toss a paratrooper onto the streets below New York on any difficulty. (5 points)<br />17. TV Repairs - Smash an enemy's head through a TV in the White House on any difficulty. (5 points)<br />18. Swirly Time! - Drown an enemy in a toilet in the Tower of London on any difficulty. (5 points)<br />19. Environmentalism - Complete 40 environmental or grapple kills on any difficulty. (15 points)<br />20. Clingy - Kill 15 enemies in a row by grappling them on any difficulty. (25 points)<br />21. Run! - Sprint for a total of 30 minutes throughout the campaign on any difficulty. (25 points)<br />22. Combat Experience - Kill 50 enemies in the campaign on any difficulty. (10 points)<br />23. Combat Veteran - Kill 250 enemies in the campaign on any difficulty. (25 points)<br />24. One Man Army - Kill 400 enemies in the campaign on any difficulty. (45 points)<br />25. Dead-eye - Complete any mission with an accuracy of 80% or higher on Normal or higher difficulty. (50 points)<br />26. Exploding Monkey - Kill at least four enemies with one explosion on any difficulty (20 points)<br />27. Master Sniper - Kill 10 enemies in a row with a headshot on any difficulty. (35 points)<br />28. First Time for Everything - Finish a multiplayer game. (5 points)<br />29. Next Time Take the Stairs - Fall to your death during a multiplayer game. (5 points)<br />30. Killer - Get 100 ranked match kills in any mode. (20 points)<br />31. Killer Instinct - Get 500 ranked match kills in any mode. (30 points)<br />32. Maybe I Should Go Outside… - Get 2500 ranked match kills in any mode. (40 points)<br />33. One in the Chamber - Kill a player in a ranked match with the last bullet in a pistol clip. (10 points)<br />34. Stayin' Alive - Finish a ranked match in Deathmatch mode without dying. (40 points)<br />35. MVP - Win an 8-player ranked or player match in Team Deathmatch mode with the highest score. (30 points)<br />36. Team Player - Win 20 ranked matches in Team Deathmatch mode. (25 points)<br />37. pwnt - Finish an 8-player ranked or player match in Deathmatch mode with the highest number of kills. (15 points)<br />38. Überdork- Win 5 ranked matches in Deathmatch mode. (25 points)<br />39. World Tour- Finish a multiplayer game on every map in every mode. (15 points)<br />. </div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-8302078833244265785?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-53371693818388277042008-02-29T00:29:00.002-07:002008-02-29T00:37:04.457-07:00<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R8e0hovpTvI/AAAAAAAAAcA/2jddDraN_9o/s1600-h/1metalgear.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172301187024244466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R8e0hovpTvI/AAAAAAAAAcA/2jddDraN_9o/s400/1metalgear.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Konami makes many of the Metal Gear rumors official with today's press release:</strong></div><div>.</div><div>Following opening remarks made during the General Session at the 2008 Destination PlayStation retailer event in Scottsdale AZ, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. confirmed several new initiatives related to Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, including a North American street date, online multiplayer, and pre-sell program. <br />.</div><div>Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the Earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination.<br />.</div><div><strong>Street Date<br /></strong>Opening remarks revealed that the final chapter in the saga of super spy Solid Snake is expected to arrive in stores in North America on Thursday June 12th, 2008. "Blockbuster events and premieres are a tradition of the summer," said Kazumi Kitaue, Konami Digital Entertainment Inc. Chairman and CEO. "We anticipate that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots fits that bill perfectly, and consumers will be waiting in line to get their copy of the game just like it's a hit Hollywood movie." </div><div>.<br /><strong>Metal Gear Online Starter Pack<br /></strong>It was also confirmed today that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will launch with the Metal Gear Online "Starter Pack" supporting online gameplay. In addition to the single player experience, gamers will also be able to take the action online with up to 16 players and battle it out using the latest weapons and stealth techniques. <br />.</div><div><strong>Pre-Sell Program<br /></strong>Beginning April 2008, consumers that pre-order Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will receive the Metal Gear Saga 2.0 DVD, containing a Prologue that recaps the Metal Gear franchise, a 20th Anniversary retrospective, character bios for Big Boss, Liquid Snake, Solidus Snake, and Solid Snake, plus a collection of international trailers of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. This pre-order package also contains an insert with a download code and special instructions for accessing the Metal Gear Online beta test when it goes live in late April. This special pre-order package will only be available while supplies last.<br />.</div><div>***PLEASE NOTE THE ATTACHED BOX ART IS NOT FINAL***</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-5337169381838827704?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-44992253952548904062008-02-26T16:38:00.004-07:002008-02-26T19:49:53.850-07:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R8SlZhVnsvI/AAAAAAAAAb4/8_LbboEm0tw/s1600-h/1snake.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171440129992536818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R8SlZhVnsvI/AAAAAAAAAb4/8_LbboEm0tw/s400/1snake.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>The hoodrat gets a makeover -</strong> All sorts of good news for PlayStation 3 owners today. Metal Gear Solid 4 officially has a release date, June 12. But wait, there's more! In April there's going to be a Metal Gear 4 online beta. Details for the beta aren't known yet but I do know MGS 4's online service is a seperate feature of the game, meaning gamers will have to buy a second disc. This sucks but not many fans of the franchise (its my second all-time favorite right after GTA) will pass up the chance to play online with Snake.<br />.<br />But wait, there's even more. The long awaited Dual Shock 3 will be released April 15th for $54.99. Now I can finally get rid of that crappy lightweight controller my unit came with. In even more news from Sony, a PS3/Metal Gear IV bundle will be available this year, probably right around the launch date for the game. Besides coming with Metal Gear, the package will include 80G console and one Dual Shock 3 controller. It'll sell for $499, pretty nice. If that's not enough, rumor has it that the PlayStation store is getting a major overhaul in April.<br />.<br />I guess the hoodrat actually read the letter I wrote her because this makeover sure is making me stand up and take notice...for the moment.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-4499225395254890406?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-86649367841147126952008-02-25T20:38:00.004-07:002008-02-25T22:45:28.604-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R8OJ8hVnstI/AAAAAAAAAbo/iPS5mfrXuW4/s1600-h/1kate.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171128469985669842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R8OJ8hVnstI/AAAAAAAAAbo/iPS5mfrXuW4/s400/1kate.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>What, you were expecting a shirtless pic of Sawyer? -</strong> There's been some interesting headlines lately. Phil Harrison leaving SCE after 15 years and EA doing its best Microsoft impression by trying to add Take-Two to its stable and possibly even Ubisoft. Yikes! I'm not quite ready to weigh in on this yet, not until things are a little more clear. Everybody started jumping to conclusions with the whole Microsoft/Yahoo thing so now is not the time to decide if this is a good or a bad thing for gamers. Although you sure can tell a lot about EA by their intentions.<br />.<br />While we wait for the smoke to clear, there are a couple of good looking games coming out this week. In Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, the timeline of history has been altered after Winston Churchill dies in a car accident that in reality he lived through. The Nazi's take Europe and everything goes to hell from there. I've played the demo and the concept plays well. For Lost fans like myself, Lost: Via Domus looks even more intriguing. Playing as a previously unseen character from the series could be awesome...or suck. Being the optimist and Lost fan that I am, I'm hoping its awesome. Here are the Achievement Points I could find for the game.<br />.<br />1. Crash survivor: Complete Episode 1 -25 points<br />2. Locate the cockpit: Complete Episode 2 - 25 points<br />3. Via Domus: Complete Episode 3 - 50 points<br />4. Into the hatch: Complete Episode 4 - 75 points<br />5. Behind the wall: Complete Episode 5 - 100 points<br />6. Through the Flame: Complete Episode 6 - 125 points<br />7. The way home: Finish the game - 200 points<br />8. 815: Discover all the memories in Flashback 1 - 20 points<br />9. Sweet memory: Discover all the memories in Flashback 2 - 20 points<br />10. Behind the glass: Discover all the memories in Flashback 3 - 20 points<br />11. Identity crisis: Discover all the memories in Flashback 4 - 30 points<br />12. Persephone: Discover all the memories in Flashback 5 - 30 points<br />13. Whatever it takes: Discover all the memories in Flashback 6 - 30 points<br />Achievements 14-30 were impossible to find.<br />.<br /><strong>And finally -</strong> Click <a href="http://www.gamepro.com/gamepro/domestic/games/features/164168.shtml"><strong><em>here</em></strong> </a>to read up on some of the casual games I've been reviewing for GamePro.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-8664936784114712695?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-43379942356729390442008-02-23T20:20:00.003-07:002008-02-23T21:13:53.859-07:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R8DishVnssI/AAAAAAAAAbg/JuWCMrx9UvY/s1600-h/1hddvd.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170381626712502978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R8DishVnssI/AAAAAAAAAbg/JuWCMrx9UvY/s400/1hddvd.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>So where's the Blu-ray add on? -</strong> Today Microsoft sent out the following press release:</div><div>.</div><div><em>As a result of recent decisions made by Toshiba, Hollywood studios, and retailers, Microsoft plans to withdraw from HD DVD. Xbox will no longer manufacture new HD DVD players for the Xbox 360, but we will continue to provide standard product and warranty support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD Players in the market. As we stated earlier, we do not believe this decision will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room, along with playback of the DVD movies they already own.</em></div><div>.</div><div>Short, snappy and to the point. I'm just glad I traded in my HD DVD player when it was still worth something. With everybody jumping off the HD DVD ship like the Titanic this announcement is no surprise, Microsoft was bound to pack it in. But what about all those people who believed in the format and bought movies for it? Hold onto it. You may now have a format more extinct than Jessica Simpson's career but at this point who cares? Instead of selling or trading it for 35 cents on the dollar, enjoy the HD DVD movies you own and keep it. Twenty years from now it'll be a collectors item and you can sell it on ebay. You can also use it as a DVD player to keep your 360 fresh and pretty soon you'll be able to get some sweet looking movies on the cheap. I highly recommend The Bourne Ultimatum, The Last Starfighter and Serenity. </div><div>.</div><div>What if you were smarter than me and all the other jokers who guessed wrong and waited it out? Don't stress, you won't need to go out and buy a PS3 or a stand alone Blu-ray player. I guarantee that sometime this year Microsoft makes an announcement that they'll be making an add-on Blu-ray player and eventually a Blu-ray 360. I <em><strong>guarantee </strong></em>it. There's no way Microsoft - who has invested so much energy, effort, time and most importantly money into its gaming platform - will let Sony keep such an obvious selling point exclusive to the PS3. They have the better gaming machine, why would they give up their advantage now all because they bet on the wrong horse? Nobody at Microsoft is sweating this, they've probably seen it coming for the last 2 years. They took a calculated risk and lost, no biggie because this is Microsoft we're talking about. Bill Gates lights his cigars with $100K bills. </div><div>.</div><div>Even if Microsoft has to pay Sony a cut of their sales, which they probably will, they'll do it. If they're willing to take a $1billion hit for its RRD issues, they'll pay royalties to Sony because its what their customers will demand and in the long run it'll be profitable for them. Whether your a fan of Microsoft or not, in one aspect they're just like every other successful corporation - they'll eventually give you want you want so they get what they want, your money. </div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-4337994235672939044?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-35880303858204889772008-02-21T18:56:00.006-07:002008-06-11T22:16:52.834-06:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R74r2hVnsrI/AAAAAAAAAbY/GRTqxrXZTR8/s1600-h/1ps3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169617637929890482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R74r2hVnsrI/AAAAAAAAAbY/GRTqxrXZTR8/s400/1ps3.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Open mouth, insert foot...the PS3 and I kiss and make up, sort of</strong><br />.<br />Hey Baby,<br /><br />How ya doin'? What's new? How was work today? What's that? You didn't really do much today except sit around while I was playing Spiderwick for a review on the 360? Sorry about that. I know I've been pretty busy since we got back together but I just wanted to check in with you. I know our <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2007/12/breaking-up-with-ps3-is-hard-to-do.html">reunion</a> has been kind of rocky.<br />.<br />I know what you're thinking. You think you should never have let me back into your life but the money I was waving at you was too tempting. You're thinking I just came back because I'm covering casual games for GamePro and I'm just using you for reviews. You're thinking that I'm an idiot for ever getting rid of you for a stupid HD-DVD player that is now as valuable as a Wang Chung Greatest Hits CD. You're thinking that right after I bought you like a mail order Russian bride that things were great because we were playing PixelJunk Monsters and Uncharted Drakes Fortune together but now all you do is watch me search in desperation for a good game on the PlayStation Network or sit in my ass groove and watch Blu-ray movies. You're still bitter and hurting and because of my inconsistent attention span so getting back together with me has been more awkward than the Coach Dale/Myra Fleener kiss in Hoosiers.<br />.<br />I feel your pain and I can admit when I made a mistake. I never should have traded you in, mostly because it cost me money buying two of you, but also because I didn't appreciate you. I underestimated your value as a gaming machine and as a next-gen DVD player. So far though, I mostly underestimated you as a next-gen DVD player. That being said, I do think your future as a game console is looking a lot brighter then when I let you go and I should have recognized that. No, your future isn't as bright as my beloved Xbox 360 but you have Gran Turismo going for you, you have Home coming out this spring and you have Metal Gear 4 coming out. Those are things that I can look forward to, they give me hope that we have a future.<br />.<br />What's that? You want us to be as tight as the 360 and I are?!? Whoa, whoa...lets not get carried away! Back off baby, you're pressing me! You got a ways to go before you can measure up to her. I won't be leaving my 360 any time soon. You'll need a better online service, you'll need a better downloadable game library (you can start off by getting me Pa Rappa the Rappa...and a ham and cheese sandwich), you need some console exclusives that can hold my attention longer than a week, and you'll need to develop something that's equal to Achievement Points, and that's just for starters. You'll also need something that makes you unique. Right now you have Blu-ray but you'll need more than that.<br />.<br />I'm sure that's painful to hear but we're back together, right? Sure I might be putting the 360 on a pedestal but right now you're a hoodrat I'm hanging with for fun and that'll have to be it until you bring your A game. And yes I've watched 40-Year-Old-Virgin about 100 times but so what!?! These are the ABC's of me baby, that's how I roll! Just enjoy the ride while it lasts because if you give me an attitude or I see any signs of weakness I'll kick you to the curb!<br />.<br />Hey! Stay calm! Everything's alright! I'm sorry to get harsh with you, that wasn't my intent. I just wanted to be honest with you and let you know where you stand. Things are starting to get straightened out now and you'll be getting more of my attention from here on out, so just relax. Wipe your tears now, go on, here's a tissue. Now go make me a ham and cheese sandwich.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-3588030385820488977?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-77060050193624401482008-02-19T18:18:00.003-07:002008-02-19T20:32:40.065-07:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R7uA7xVnsqI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/H2NuzAIHDX8/s1600-h/1portalcake.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168866761682432674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R7uA7xVnsqI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/H2NuzAIHDX8/s400/1portalcake.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>We won’t really be getting lanyards will we? –</strong> Its recently come to my attention that the As the Gaming World Turns blog just turned two years old, last month. Of course somebody else had to tell me because I don’t really remember these things but I’m pretty proud anyway. Two years isn't bad in this business and the way things have been going, I don’t see why I can’t last at least two, maybe even three more years until I get really tired of writing this blog for free.<br />.<br />After spending some time looking over the posts from the past two years I started getting nostalgic. As a writer, I like to consider myself my toughest critic. While reading through the posts some of them were already pretty dated while others still made me laugh. Some of the predictions were spot on, others were horribly off. Not only has the blog changed in 25 months but the gaming industry has as well, a lot of which was reflected in what was on the blog. Below are my ten favorite posts (click the title to go to the original post, misspellings and all) along with some comments.<br />.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Terry's Top Ten Favorite Posts from the Past Two Years in No Particular Order</span></strong><br />.<br />1. <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2006/02/top-5-games-you-should-keep-until-you.html">Top 5 Games You Should Keep Until You Croak</a> - I like this post because even after the release of the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 I wouldn't substitue one game from the original list. At least not until GTA IV comes out. Notice all the comments are spam. Ah the good old days when I didn't filter the comments.<br />.<br />2. <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2006/03/best-top-5-ever.html">Best. Top 5. Ever.</a> - This was the list of Top 5 Simpsons quotes I hoped to see in the next Simpsons game. Sadly I don't remember hearing any of them while getting a migraine through the last tiring Simpsons title.<br />.<br />3. <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2006/05/why-wii-will-fall-by-wayside.html">Why the Wii Will Fall by the Wayside </a>- Here's a good example where I made a calculated guess and ended up looking like an ass. Not the first time that happened and certainly not the last. I was so indignant I even had a guy curse at me on the comments. Yes! Now I know what Stephen A. Smith feels like! I completely underestimated the Wii at the time. Oops.<br />.<br />4. <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2006/06/interview-with-oxms-francesca-reyes.html">Interview with OXM's Fran Reyes </a>- This was my first of two interviews with Fran and the first of many with people who cover the industry. Besides being a pretty good read I knew I impressed her with my questions and the positive way the discussion went (anytime you can make somebody laugh a lot during an interview, you know they'll remember you). This ended up helping me in the future as I interviewed Fran again and would later meet up with her at E3. This interview was my foot in the door to freelancing for gaming mags so it carries a lot of importance for me...or maybe it was because I emailed Fran about 100 times and she wanted to shut me up. I love doing interviews by the way, not only are they easy to write but its a lot of fun talking to other people about games.<br />.<br />5. <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2006/08/top-5-most-memorable-video-game-music.html">Top 5 Most Memorable Video Game Music </a>- Another top 5 list I'm pretty pleased with but a horribly titled post. I must have been drunk when I wrote this one. After reading through it today I thought long and hard (that's what she said) about what I'd switch out and the only thing I could think of would be trading Vice City for Portal but I just couldn't do it based on one song (Still Alive).<br />.<br />6. <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2006/11/are-video-games-art.html">Are Video Games Art?</a> - This post is a little over a year old and sometime this year I want to write it again. I was prompted by Roger Ebert's dig on gaming at the time but in light of the stupidity of all the talking heads who blame gaming for everything but the rise in gas prices, this should be something that needs to be addressed every year because there are still a lot of morons out there who just don't get gaming.<br />.<br />7. <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2006/11/are-video-games-art.html">Grading the PS3</a> - My digs on the PS3 in December of 2006 remain the same as they do right now - no killer app (sorry, Uncharted is fun but not great), lame online service and a wimpy gaming linup. Things have been looking up for the PS3 lately though. Its online downloadable game library has gotten better (I love PixelJunk Monsters), Home should be up and running this spring, the lineup for this year looks great, and Blu-ray finally knocking out HD DVD is big. Still, its a system built on potential, not achievement.<br />.<br />8. <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2007/03/old-spiced.html">Old Spiced</a> - Another tale of my long held addiction of inflating my Gamerscore. Achievement Point binges are like rum and cokes binges, so good going down but you regret it in the morning. On this post I particularly like the line <em>"I don't plan to make a habit of buying games like "Pocket Bike Racer" just for the points</em>". What a load of crap! Just this weekend I rented Avatar so I could get over the 40K threshold. I have no shame.<br />.<br />9. <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2007/07/e3-cooking-with-gas.html">E3: Cooking with Gas </a>- When I feel shitty about where my game writing career is going, I go to this post and remind myself how lucky I've been so far. Pretty much everything I wanted to see and do at E3 I got to do in this one day. Got to play a ton of great new games, met Adam Sessler, Morgan Webb and drank beer with Peter Moore? It was an incredible day.<br />.<br />10. <a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2007/08/games-you-wish-you-could-download.html">Games You Wish You Could Download </a>- The king of this list, Cyberball, ended up being available soon after this post and was a dud because it lacked an online versus mode but the rest of these titles still needed to be made available yesterday (especially Sunset Riders and Pa Rappa the Rappa).<br />.<br /><a href="http://springsgamer.blogspot.com/2006/05/and-you-think-youre-hardcore-gamer.html">Honorable Mention </a>- I just couldn't leave this off the list.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-7706005019362440148?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-41154422757786105302008-02-15T22:15:00.009-07:002008-02-16T00:02:39.208-07:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R7ZxshVnsoI/AAAAAAAAAbA/8OTBw7A2nyQ/s1600-h/1unclesam.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167442632131457666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R7ZxshVnsoI/AAAAAAAAAbA/8OTBw7A2nyQ/s400/1unclesam.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Want a job in the video game industry? - </strong>BioWare announced today that its looking to expand and they're searching for new talent for their Edmonton and Austin offices. If you just so happen to be in San Francisco next week during GDC bring your resume, pocket protector and bow tie to booth 230 at the Moscone Center. If you're a little too busy, go to <a href="http://jobs.bioware.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://jobs.bioware.com/</a> and see what they have available. And if you do get a job because I gave you a heads up, I expect you to use my name as a character in the next Mass Effect.<br />.<br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167448610725933714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 403px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 236px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="231" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R7Z3IhVnspI/AAAAAAAAAbI/qejzLU_Ib9M/s400/Aerosmith_Screenshot.JPG" width="400" border="0" /><strong>Dream On -</strong> Today Activision announced it will be releasing <em>Guitar Hero: Aerosmith</em> sometime in June. Aerosmith is an okay band but somewhat of an odd choice. The last time they were popular was when they were making cameos in Wayne's World movies. And does anybody remember the last time the band was associated with a game? Revolution X sucked. Hopefully this version will be better, the humble Steven Tyler sure thinks it'll rock.<br />.<br /><em>Any band that can go from ‘Don’t Want to Miss A Thing’ to the ass-kicking ‘Sweet Emotion’ to the cheekiness of ‘Love in an Elevator,’ to the classic ballad ‘Dream On’ shows why Activision chose us to headline this game based on the diversity of the Aerosmith catalog. Not only is songwriting a bitch, but then it goes and has puppies.</em></p><p>.</p><p>I don't know if I'd compare a classic like Sweet Emotion to the love song from Armageddon but whatever you say Mr. Tyler. I personally prefer guitarist Joe Perry's comments.<br />.</p><p><em>“Having a game built around Aerosmith has been a huge honor and really a great experience for us,” says Joe Perry. “We’ve put a lot of ideas into the game so that fans can have fun interacting with our music, getting inside our body of work and learning about the band’s history. On a larger scale, it’s cool for us to be pioneers helping to rebuild the music industry through a format like video games. It’s great for rock since the record companies are struggling to make sense of how things are changing. Fans want to get and experience music in new formats--and there are going to be some of them who will play the game, then pick up the guitar for real and start bands. It’s what’s happening now, and it’s only going to build more momentum in the future. It’s a massive change for the music business.”</em></p><p>.</p><p>Very true. With the music industry in shambles, the gaming industry sure looks like an awfully cute partner. You know, like that chick in high school who doesn't know how hot she is and seems thrilled to date the backup quarterback until she realizes she could do better, than dumps his ass and ends up with some college guy. Yeah, that's video games right now. </p><p>.</p><p><strong>Further proof that PC's are inferior to consoles -</strong> Today Yahoo! Games posted a story about yet another life ruined by PC game addiction. Whether its paying subscription fees, buying expensive upgrades, not being able to trade games, or dying from sitting in front of a monitor too long - PC gaming has it all. Click <a href="http://us.i1.yimg.com/videogames.yahoo.com/feature/wedding-woes-the-dark-side-of-warcraft/1186366"><strong>here</strong></a> for the story of how a WoW addict lost his wife due to his inability to let go of his games and bang his wife everyone once in awhile. And yes I realize I just challenged all you PC gamers out there, but I could care less. The debate between the underappreciated console gamer and the elitist PC gamer has been long overdue. Bring it on. </p><p>.</p><p><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></p><p></p><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-4115442275778610530?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-29687768401505790042008-02-14T19:53:00.002-07:002008-02-14T20:19:40.271-07:00<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R7T-txVnsnI/AAAAAAAAAa4/qzqIu43Mpqo/s1600-h/1burnout.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167034734792389234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R7T-txVnsnI/AAAAAAAAAa4/qzqIu43Mpqo/s400/1burnout.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Earn the good kind of driving points -</strong> Here are the Achievement Points for the very fun, arcade style racer Burnout Paradise. <br />.<br />1. Lookin' Good - Repair your first wrecked car. (5 points)<br />2. Watt? - Set a Time Road Rule on Watt St. (10 points)<br />3. It's Showtime - Set a Showtime Road Rule East Crawford Drive. (10 points)<br />4. Great Start - Win a Race. (10 points)<br />5. Misdemeanor - Collect 5 Billboards. (10 points)<br />6. Off the Beaten Path - Collect 25 Smashes. (10 points)<br />7. Bottom of the Class - Get your D Class License. (20 points)<br />8. Perfect Rage - Get 10 Takedowns in Road Rage without Wrecking. (5 points)<br />9. Rising From the Ashes - Repair your car at critical damage in a Road Rage event. (10 points)<br />10. Spinnin' Around - Perform a 360 Flatspin in any car. (10 points)<br />11. Underachiever - Get your C Class License. (30 points)<br />12. Learning to Fly - Successfully land 5 SUPERJUMPS. (10 points)<br />13. Duckin' and Weavin' - Win a Marked man without being taken down. (10 points)<br />14. The Show Must Go On - Get a 10x multiplier in Showtime. (20 points)<br />15. Rampage! - Get a Takedown Rampage. (20 points)<br />16. Must Try Harder - Get your B Class License. (40 points)<br />17. Parallel Park - Power Park with a 100% rating. (20 points)<br />18. Daredevil - Landed a 2 barrel roll jump. (25 points)<br />19. Boosting Around the World - Get a x20 Boost Chain. (25 points)<br />20. Flying Colors - Get your A Class License. (50 points)<br />21. Millionaire's Club - Score over a 1,000,000 in Stunt Run. (25 points)<br />22. Supercharged - Win 25 Burning Routes. (20 points)<br />23. Car in a China Shop - Get 500 Takedowns (online and offline). (20 points)<br />24. Paradise Won - Win your Burnout Driving License. (60 points)<br />25. All Pimped Out - Win all Burning Routes. (10 points)<br />26. Explorer - Find all Events. (10 points)<br />27. Paid and Displayed - There are 3 in Harbor Town, 4 in Palm Bay Heights and 4 in Downtown Paradise. Enter all 11 Car Parks to unlock this achievement. Whether you leave the way you came in, or jump from the top is up to you! (20 points)<br />28. Bustin' Out - Collect all Billboards. (20 points)<br />29. Totally Smashed - Collect all Smashes. (20 points)<br />30. Flying High - Successfully landed all SUPERJUMPS. (20 points)<br />31. Speed King - Set a Time Road Rule on every road. (20 points)<br />32. Crashin' All Over The World - Set a Showtime Road Rule on every road. (20 points)<br />33. Shopaholic - Find all Drive Thrus and Car Parks. (10 points)<br />34. Elite - Win your Burnout Elite Licence. (70 points)<br />35. Criterion Elite - Get your Elite License, win every event, find all discoverables and beat every Road Rule. (20 points)<br />36. Online Racer - Complete an online Race. (10 points)<br />37. First Win - Win Your first 8 Player online Race. (10 points)<br />38. Online Champion - Win 10 online Races. (20 points)<br />39. Online and Kicking - Complete 20 online Events. (30 points)<br />40. Firestarter - Make 50 online Rivals. (20 points)<br />41. Just for Pics - Make Your First online Rival. (10 points)<br />42. Happy Snapper - Send 5 Camera Shots. (10 points)<br />43. Notorious - Send 50 Camera Shots. (20 points)<br />44. Hotshots - Get 50 Snapshots in your Lineup. (20 points)<br />45. Join the Party - Complete 1 online Challenge. (10 points)<br />46. Party Crasher - Complete 25 online Challenges. (15 points)<br />47. Party Animal - Complete 250 online Challenges. (25 points)<br />48. Block Party - Complete 2 whole sections of online Challenges excluding PDLC. (35 points)<br />49. Burnout Skills - In 8 Player online Freeburn lead 6 of the Today's Best Scores. (30 points)<br />50. Criterion Fever -Everyone at Criterion Games is infected with a virus. The virus is passed when those with it are taken down online, and from there it just spreads... You will unlock this achievement when you get infected. (20 points)<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-2968776840150579004?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-52263203805053986052008-02-12T20:32:00.002-07:002008-02-12T21:27:23.356-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R7Jk8xVnsmI/AAAAAAAAAaw/qH0d_enWrJY/s1600-h/1Original-Electric-Football-6071.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166302717746328162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R7Jk8xVnsmI/AAAAAAAAAaw/qH0d_enWrJY/s400/1Original-Electric-Football-6071.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Chokin' on a splinter -</strong> A deluge of emails today with some good news and some news that could only make Rich Uncle Pennybags happy. </div><div>.</div><div><em>EA</em> </div><div>- Mass Effect is coming to the PC in May. So much for it being a console exclusive for the Xbox 360. At least PC gamers (I guess this means you Eli since you're the only PC gamer I know) should be happy with this news, its a great title. But does this mean we could see some hot side boob action on the PS3 in the future? You never know.</div><div>- Today EA announced its release date for its long awaited title Spore. The game, created by well known game designer and The Simpson's Game cameo actor Will "The Sims" Wright, will be available September 7 for the PC, Mac and DS. Everything I've seen of this game looks amazing. </div><div>- The monopoly continues as EA has renewed its exclusive agreement with the NFL through the 2012 season (see I told you there was an Uncle Pennybags connection here). This means gamers will be listening to 96-year old John Madden for another 4 years! The announcement isn't really a surprise but I don't see how this is good news for gamers. Since 2K has been ousted from adding any kind of competition to the pro football market, the Madden series has gotten pretty stale. Sure its a huge seller and gamers can always count on it being a good game, but without anyone to push the Madden team the innovation has really been lacking. To be perfectly honest, I get pretty bored with the game about 2 months after I pick it up. Maybe its time I took out the old electric football set out from under my bed, dusted it off and played with it instead.</div><div>.</div><div><em>2K</em></div><div>- Tired of the 11-month long football season? So am I and thankfully 2K has some new and added content for Major League Baseball 2K8 coming out for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, and PSP on March 4th. Check them out below, straight from the horses mouth because I'm too lazy to paraphrase.</div><div>.</div><div><em>Total Pitch Control – A new, innovative pitching interface that allows players to emulate the realistic motion of pitching a live baseball. Execution of speed and precise accuracy involves matching specific gestures and release with the right analog stick, simulating the arm and wrist action involved in throwing that particular type of pitch.</em></div><div><em>Swing Stick 2.0 – Improved batting controls that offer players unparalleled ball-to-bat contact that will be determined by timing, direction, and pitch location for a greater variety of realistic hits including grounders, blooper singles, dribblers, gappers, long home runs, and more using the right analog stick.</em> </div><div><em>All-New Baserunning – Simplified controls that allow fans to easily select players with the left analog stick and guide them toward specified bases with ease. </em></div><div><em>Full Minor Leagues – Fans will be treated to 90 authentic minor league teams, along with 18 minor league stadiums in franchise and exhibition modes.</em></div><div><em>Two of the Best Commentators in the Business – 2K Sports proudly brings back to the broadcast booth the popular duo of Jon Miller and Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, delivering the most entertaining and deepest commentary available in any baseball franchise.</em></div><div>.</div><div><strong>And finally -</strong> I was pretty stoked about my SOE Denver studio tour, it was set for this week, but its been moved to next month. Damn! I guess this leaves me a little time to work on the As the Gaming World Turns First Annual Beerfest (ATGWTFAB for short). I know there were some ideas floating around but because of my short term memory problems I forgot what they were. So if you're interested in attending, throw out your ideas and lets get this baby planned out. </div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-5226320380505398605?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-56177400458132882062008-02-08T16:09:00.000-07:002008-02-08T16:25:00.107-07:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R6zhWmShTEI/AAAAAAAAAao/s7cKYOfM6mI/s1600-h/1xplay.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164750651038714946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R6zhWmShTEI/AAAAAAAAAao/s7cKYOfM6mI/s400/1xplay.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Sorry, Morgan Webb not included -</strong> Late last week I spoke with G4TV’s Adam Sessler. As usual when we talk I found him to be very funny, direct and blurting out big words that I didn’t understand. While he treaded lightly on some topics, he gave me his take on casual gaming, gave even more love to Cooper Lawrence and managed to use the phrase “Orwellian” in proper context – all in one interview.<br />.<br /><strong>TT: Last time we talked was at E3 and you were pretty excited about the holiday releases. Which games blew you away and which ones were you trading in the next day?</strong><br />.<br /><strong>AS:</strong> On the whole most of them did blow me away and actually I was more surprised by the ones that surprised me that I didn’t expect to. Obviously, for everyone, the most amazing was BioShock. I didn’t expect anything as unique and rich as the game actually turned out to be. I’ve come back to play it I don’t know how many times because there’s enough of a unique sensation that you start to miss it. I just want to get back into the game and get back to Rapture.<br />.<br />I think the biggest surprise for me was Assassin’s Creed, I never thought that the game wasn’t going to be good but I didn’t think it would be so unique. The combat system itself is deceptively simple but it builds up into something really visceral and satisfying, something that I haven’t used in that kind of melee combat in I don’t know how long.<br />.<br />I’m trying to think of stuff that really didn’t blow me away, I think the biggest one was Crysis. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the game but outside of the basic graphical wow factor it didn’t have any kind of innovation on the level some of the other shooters that we saw coming out at the later part of last year. It just didn’t hold my attention the same way.<br />.<br /><strong>TT: Casual gaming seems to be the next big thing, what about it makes it so attractive to developers and do you think hardcore gamers can embrace it or just consider casual gamers noobs?</strong><br />.<br /><strong>AS:</strong> There are some hardcore gamers who are going to get on a soap box with what I call the “Red Hot Chili Pepper” factor. You don’t want to share it for fear that it will dilute the quality. I don’t believe that whatsoever, even though I do think the Chili Peppers started to suck once everyone started liking them. I think casual games do have a place and a large part of their appeal is based on the fact that its not as much of an investment on your time. If you don’t have the kind of schedule or mental commitment to really put yourself into a game that you have to learn, get better at, and is going to last a long period of time, you can still get a lot of satisfaction by playing games like Calling All Cars or Geometry Wars. These types of games are immediately satisfying and isn’t something that you have to grow into, but still have a fairly addictive quality. I do think there are a large group of hardcore gamers who are more than happy to pick these up. They probably want ones that show a little more pop and creativity because just as with any other entertainment medium, for all of these good ones you’ll get games not as well thought out, or easy copies of existing games. When you look at the release of Rez HD, that’s definitely going to get people to look at an area on PSN or Xbox Live Arcade to look at other games because every gamer worth his salt knows you should be playing Rez.<br />.<br /><strong>TT: Despite being a multi-billion dollar industry, gaming gets about as much respect as Britney Spears' parenting. What does the industry have to do to be viewed with the same regard as the big three of movies, TV and film?</strong><br />.<br /><strong>AS:</strong> I think the game industry just has to wait around until all of the heads of the predominant newspapers and news channels die and young people take their place. After watching the Bioware/Mass Effect thing, and you probably caught some of my more thoughtful words on the subject, it was really just a hopeless thing. They are playing to an audience that is older and seems to live off of a sense of fear and anxiety on things they don’t understand and games fall into that perfectly. I’ve always used this analogy – in the early 1950’s Dr. Wertham wrote the book Seduction of the Innocent which made the exact same claims about comic books that they’re making about video games today. We look at that as an anachronistic piece of pop psychology on how silly we were back then. Fortunately it’s just a matter of time until you get people to really see gaming for what it is.<br />.<br /><strong>TT: The alleged ouster of longtime Gamespot writer Jeff Gerstmann for his negative review of Kane and Lynch has brought up the very serious topic of ethics in gaming journalism. What are the short and long term effects on every reviewer’s credibility?</strong><br />.<br /><strong>AS:</strong> It’s an interesting question because the entire situation kind of kept me up at night, it took me aback. I for one don’t believe that there are enough facts to really come to the conclusion that everyone sort of jumped to initially. I’ve been doing this for so long, I find accusations that someone is on the take to be very, very severe, even though its been said rather whimsically on the internet. I don’t believe there are people like that. It would have to be a very certain minded mercenary to take money, and most people come into this job doing it out of a sense of enthusiasm. I don’t really see that corrupting influence really coming down the pike. Granted people who have reviews run a business but they also run the risk of compromising all that the business built itself up to be by allowing that to happen. Call me an idealist but I don’t think this is widespread. When it does become a problem is on the internet, which sometimes gives a voice to those we never wanted to hear from. The way in which suppositions about guilt and the way in which everything is black or white is so prevalent in online discussions and many blogs, that a situation like that never gets the sober minded treatment that it probably should. It really can hurt careers, it can hurt reputations, it can hurt legitimate businesses. It’s one of those things that on X-Play I’d like to try and get in front of those conversations before they get so out of control by people who aren’t really in a position to be passing judgments.<br />.<br />I do think there is an error to CNET’s claim that they are not allowed to discuss these situations of internal procedures and their employees out of a respect for privacy. Many companies have that, and granted they had something of a public persona in Jeff Gerstmann, but if that is their policy it seems like they’re using that to hide behind what seems like such an odious crime – it’s just not fair. Legitimate reporting, legitimate investigation would have had to acknowledge that that was a fact and not just jump to conclusions.<br />.<br /><strong>TT: On a recent episode of X-Play you took Fox News word vomiter Cooper Lawrence to task for her sight unseen take on the sex scene from Mass Effect, something even Jack Thompson has been quoted as saying he had no problem with, and you used big words like "demagogue" and "simpleton". While I have no clue what those words mean, do you feel the frequent backlash gaming receives from people with no gaming experience makes it akin to rock and roll in the 50's or rap in the 80's?</strong><br /><br /><strong>AS:</strong> Completely. It’s a new language and all they know is that young people seem to be deriving something from it that they don’t understand it and it scares them. Any kind of influence that isn’t under the control or comprehension of the powers that be becomes demonized, it’s a way to retain their power. It may be an Orwellian, political, way of looking at it but its coming out of the same source – its unknown and its worrisome. That’s why 30 years from now I believe we’re all going to look back and have a good chuckle. Unfortunately because we have a 24-hour news cycle and it was a slow news day, Fox was looking for some filler and their philosophy is – “if it gets the old people worried, we’re going to put it on the air.” That kind of cynical treatment of video games is just obnoxious. They used to say rock music was going to make you have orgies and as much as I like to think that’s what it did, I have a feeling it didn’t. I know for a fact it didn’t do it for me.<br />.<br /><strong>TT: There have been some sizable studio mergers/acquisitions/hostile takeovers recently. Do you see this becoming a continuing trend and is this good or bad news for gamers?</strong><br />.<br /><strong>AS:</strong> I think it will be a trend, smaller studios are going to have a harder time competing and in order to survive they’re going to need to join forces with a larger organization. In terms of whether or not it’s a good thing, I don’t 100% know. I think for some smaller studios they’d get all the marketing muscle and the promotion and the funding that could really help turn their profits into what it should be. But at the same time, with these large mergers, sometimes it gives you a little bit of pause. Big companies are usually involved in franchises tied to comic books and movies, stuff that looks on paper as the easy sell, but really don’t end up being the best product.<br />.<br />With big mergers there are a lot of unique IP’s of great value that could really turn into the next Assassin’s Creed but maybe get lost in the shuffle because on paper it doesn’t have those marketable qualities.<br /><br /><strong>TT: This year E3 will again be journalists only. Is this the best thing for E3, or has it lost its luster because of other conventions (GDC, CES, etc.), the Christmas Eve-like excitement the fanboys brought and the sad disappearance of the booth babes?</strong><br /><br /><strong>AS:</strong> There’s two different Adam’s. There’s the Adam that’s there for the television production side, who loves crowds and all the flashing lights and nuttiness that makes for a beautiful backdrop. I think there’s going to be more of that this year than last because everybody will be under one roof. On the other side is another Adam, the journalist and reporter who really was absolutely fed up 2 years ago because it was so unmanageable. It wasn’t allowing me to do my job and at the same time game companies were hurt in the process. There was a point a couple of years ago when you had the PS3 launching and the Wii launching and you think, “look at all the millions of dollars spent on all these other things, it might have served them better to dump a couple of million back into their marketing budget to try and tell people about their products so they’d buy it, rather than just doing it so we as press wander into their booth”.<br />.<br /><strong>TT: What about the booth babes? You have to be disappointed by that. Last year I only saw one, at the Eidos booth for Conan.</strong><br />.<br /><strong>AS:</strong> You know I have a thing about booth babes and I got this from Cliff Bleszinski who said this to me years ago. When you travel to France and you go see the Eiffel Tower you make sure you take your picture next to it. Why? Because you want to document it since you are rarely next to the Eiffel Tower. So what does it mean when you have to wait in line to get yourself photographed next to a beautiful woman?<br />.<br /><strong>TT: Point taken. And for the record, I only took a picture OF the booth babe, I didn’t take it with her. Alright Adam, lets look into your G4TV crystal ball, and don't say you don't have one because I know they issue it to you. Do you ever see a day when gamers are buying a WiiStation 360? You know, a 1 console world?<br /></strong>.<br /><strong>AS:</strong> I don’t think its feasible. I’ll get on a soapbox on this one because I completely know where Dennis Dyak and Jaffe are coming from on this <em>(Silicon Knights boss Dennis Dyak and game designer David Jaffe have previously stated in separate interviews that they believe a one console world will happen)</em>. On one level if everyone had that base taken care of, all the money you’d spend on R+D just to build the base technology could be put into the creative manipulation of the game and into all of the fun parts that really affect the game play and not how it looks and how it balances. At the same time it would remove a level of competition that probably is far more responsible for some of the great games we see and what resulted in what was so cool at the end of 2007. Both have benefits but both have severe deficits as well.<br />.<br /><strong>TT: Last year was a redonkulously big year for the gaming biz but this is 2008. What will be the huge titles on each console this year and what are the sleepers?<br /></strong>.<br /><strong>AS:</strong> I think there’ll be more big games this year than last year, or at least it comes across to me that way because they’re not all happening in a one month period. I know the last time I did an interview with you I was just complaining about the November smash up. There are so many games that are going to be big. For the PlayStation 3, the buzz at the beginning of this year has been high for Turok. That game might make people sit up and take notice. On the 360 Ninja Gaiden 2 is probably going to be a big hit but I think we’re going to see something big we don’t even know about yet. The only one I wonder about is the Wii. They’ll have played Zelda, Mario and Smash Bros. but what are we going to get later in the year that’s going to blow people away.<br />.<br />For some sleepers, we just had Prototype on the show and I’m a huge, huge fan of that game. I think the concept behind it is really very cool. The other one, also from Sierra, is Brutal Legend. The kind of buzz Shafer <em>(Tim Shafer created Pscyhonauts and was a longtime LucasArts employee)</em> has swimming around this game is pretty stunning and when you know the creative guy behind it, you can’t wait to get your hands on it. There are so many others out there that when every time I start looking at the roster I start just drool. I’m looking forward to Too Human as well.<br />.<br /><strong>TT: The people want to know - What games are you playing right now?<br /></strong>.<br /><strong>AS:</strong> I just finished up playing Turok but can’t tell you what I thought because I haven’t reviewed it yet. I enjoy playing No More Heroes, I love that game. That game has more crazy ideas that actually work than any game I’ve seen in a long time. That’s about it right now. Of course because of my job, most days I don’t even play games, I just go home and stare at the wall because I need something that isn’t interactive.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-5617740045813288206?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-80237387352279553542008-02-06T17:12:00.000-07:002008-02-06T18:10:31.651-07:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R6pM-mShTDI/AAAAAAAAAag/vTYiZy-QVtg/s1600-h/1shigeru_steven_spielberg_4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5164024561047522354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R6pM-mShTDI/AAAAAAAAAag/vTYiZy-QVtg/s400/1shigeru_steven_spielberg_4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>...just don't make any jokes about all those E.T. catridges in a landfill somewhere in New Mexico when he's around -</strong> In a press release today, EA announced its partnership with Steven Spielberg to make the game Boom Blox for the Wii. The family friendly game, scheduled to be released in May of this year, offers single, co-op and multi-player action with hundreds of levels, 30 characters, goofy themes and a game editor. The description of the game was kind of innocuous, but all you really need to know is that chickens and monkeys are involved. Said Mr. Spielberg about the game:</div><div>.</div><div><em>“I am a gamer myself, and I really wanted to create a video game that I could play with my kids,” said Steven Spielberg. “BOOM BLOX features an enormous amount of fun challenges and cool scenarios for your kids to solve or for you to master together."</em></div><div>.</div><div>Since Steve-O is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, I guess I'll give him a pass on the E.T. fiasco and not hold it against him when I try out this new game.</div><div>.</div><div><strong>New Xbox Originals, still no frickin' Achievement Points for them -</strong> On Monday three new Xbox Originals will be available for download - Ninja Gaiden Black, Sid Meier's Pirates and Black (what's the color theme here?) - each for 1200 MS points. I love the Xbox Originals idea and there are about 2-3 games out for it that I would buy right now, but because they don't offer Achievements I'm not even remotely interested. I'm an Achievement whore to be sure (try and tell me you wouldn't play through the first Halo and enjoy earning points for it), but if you offer Arcade games with points why the hell not do it for Originals. It makes no sense and is certainly costing them money. It sure is keeping my wallet closed. Here's a brief breakdown of the new releases available February 11.</div><div>.</div><div><em>Ninja Gaiden Black</em> (M) Not available in Australia or New Zealand...suckers </div><div>- Play Story mode or Mission mode, including boss battles, time challenges, and more<br />- Hurricane Pack content: Encounter new enemies, big bad bosses, and new costumes from Hurricane Packs 1 and 2.<br />- Difficulty levels: Choose from five levels of difficulty for all kinds of gamers, from "Ninja Dog" to "Very Difficult Master Ninja."<br />- Bonus extras: Play the original arcade versions of Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Ryukenden.<br />.</div><div><em>Sid Meier’s Pirates!</em> (T) Not available in Korea, Japan, or Germany...sorry David Hasselhoff<br />- Engage in fierce naval battles: Fight single enemies or multiple ships.<br />- Build a fleet: Take the helm of 27 different ship types enhanced with assorted ammo, cannons, and other upgrades.<br />- Integrated melee: Parry and slash your dueling opponents into submission with lightning quick moves onboard ships, in seedy taverns, and even in the Governor's mansion.<br />- Take your crew ashore: Dig up buried treasure or plunder enemy ports in strategic land battles. Sneak in and out of towns, escape from prisons, and avoid guards, or surprise them and knock them out<br />- A pirate's life: Increase your riches and win the heart of the Governor's daughter to earn gifts and valuable information.<br />- Multiplayer combat: Grab a controller and jump into four-player ship battles in Versus mode.<br />- Make your own story: Challenge and pursue the most infamous pirates in history, including Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, and Henry Morgan. If you prevail, they’ll teach unique skills to you<br />- Online bonuses: download sail emblems, flags, and other content.</div><div>.<br /><em>BLACK</em> (M) Not available in Korea or Japan...sorry Mr. Roboto<br />- Lots of guns: An explosive arsenal of weaponry is at your disposal.<br />- Every bullet counts: Everything in the environment is affected by gunfire.<br />- Death is an opportunity: Every enemy dies like a stuntman. </div><div>.</div><div><strong>Paradise found -</strong> I usually don't get into racing games but I've really been enjoying <em>Burnout Paradise</em>. One of the things that drives me nuts about racers is the high learning curve, Paradise has a very low one with cars that are easy to control and a heck of a lot of fun to crash. Its the anti-Gran Turismo. Even online play is fast and easy with a quick press on the d-pad. If you're even remotely into racing games, I highly recommend this arcade-style racer.</div><div>.</div><div><strong>Coming Friday -</strong> My interview with Adam Sessler. </div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-8023738735227955354?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-51976143951449149682008-02-04T17:12:00.000-07:002008-02-04T17:25:45.988-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R6eqLGShTCI/AAAAAAAAAaY/VYahU3pBMU8/s1600-h/call-of-duty-4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163282605447138338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R6eqLGShTCI/AAAAAAAAAaY/VYahU3pBMU8/s400/call-of-duty-4.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong> ...are on the way -</strong> I love getting cryptic messages like the one I received from Activision today that had the title of this post in the subject heading. The email didn't say when these maps for COD4 would be coming out, how many there would be or how much they cost, just that they were coming soon. Of course soon is a relative term. If you ask my brother what soon is, it means two weeks, if you ask me it means 5 minutes. Still don't believe me? Fine, here's a copy of the email I received today below.<br />.<br /><em>Santa Monica, CA – February 4, 2008 – Fresh intel from Activision headquarters (Nasdaq: ATVI) reports that new global conflicts are planned in the form of downloadable multiplayer maps for the award-winning Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare™. In development for both Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the upcoming downloadable content will thrust gamers into a hot zone of added combat across a variety of intense multiplayer locales.<br /><br />“We’ve demonstrated our commitment to delivering the best multiplayer experience in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and that continues with our plans for new downloadable content,” explains Infinity Ward’s Community Manager, Robert Bowling. “We’re excited about the new maps, and the added gameplay variety, and we can’t wait to wrap things up and get online with everyone.”</em><br />.<br />See, I told you. And you guys think I just make this shit up. Since I'm pretty chummy with the people at Activision (they're the ones who gave me an invite to E3) I'll try to get more info and hopefully even a redeemable code to give away since I'm not playing the game anymore. Stay tuned.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-5197614395144914968?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-4391984429320823222008-02-02T16:44:00.000-07:002008-02-02T17:03:52.285-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R6UAgmShTBI/AAAAAAAAAaM/ydrSfm_xxWI/s1600-h/1Chessmaster.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162533107884182546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R6UAgmShTBI/AAAAAAAAAaM/ydrSfm_xxWI/s400/1Chessmaster.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Finally, some great XBLA games -</strong> While its great that new games come out for Xbox Live Arcade every week, excellent releases have been pretty rare lately. Thankfully, this past Wednesday gamers were given not one, but two must have games - Chessmaster Live and Rez HD, both selling for 800MS points ($10). I'm only an average chess player, but I love to play. If you're even remotely into chess, I highly recommend it. If not, Rez HD is a blast to play and shouldn't be missed. Below are the Achievements for both games.</div><div>.</div><div><strong>Rez HD</strong></div><div>1. The Earth - Clear play mode area1 (20 points)<br />2. The Mars - Clear play mode area2 (20 points)<br />3. The Venus - Clear play mode area3 (20 points)<br />4. The Uranus - Clear play mode area4 (20 points)<br />5. Eden - Clear play mode area5 (20 points)<br />6. The Forgotten - Get a local ranking of 1st in lost area (15 points)<br />7. Laser Assassin - Shot down over 95% in areas1-5 (15 points)<br />8. The Rezident - Achieve 100% shot down and support item in areas1-5, or play for over 10 hours (15 points)<br />9. Trance Hacker - Clear direct assault (trance) 15 points<br />10. Firewall Buster - Get a local ranking of 1st in boss rush (15 points)<br />11. Power Breaker - Clear score attack over 30 times (10 points)<br />12. Ultimate Cracker- Get a local ranking of 1st in all 5 areas in score attack (15 points) </div><div>.</div><div><strong>Chessmaster Live</strong></div><div>1. Annihilator - Capture all your opponent's pieces in Classic Chess (Single Player) 10 points<br />2. Apprentice - Win 1 game (Single Player) 5 points<br />3. Blitzkrieger - Win 1 game (Single Player) in less than 5 minutes (personal time) 20 points<br />4. Champ - Defeat a chess personality with an ELO rating of 1000 or more (25 points)<br />5. Chess Regular - Play 20 online games (10 points)<br />6. Glorious - Achieve an online rating of 1200 in any type of chess (15 points)<br />7. Grand Strategist - Complete 30 puzzles. (20 points)<br />8. Jack of all Trades - Win 1 online game in all chess variants (15 points)<br />9. Master - Win 20 games (Single Player) 25 points<br />10. Pro Player - Win 10 ranked online games (25 points)<br />11. Rising Star - Win online against a higher ranked player (15 points)<br />12. Veteran - Play 100 games (Single Player) 15 points</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-439198442932082322?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-3762121466518147252008-01-31T20:04:00.000-07:002008-01-31T21:15:59.558-07:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R6KMhGShTAI/AAAAAAAAAaE/044VWahIIYs/s1600-h/1hudson_hawk.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161842623171873794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R6KMhGShTAI/AAAAAAAAAaE/044VWahIIYs/s400/1hudson_hawk.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Hudson Hawk would know what to do -</strong> I'm sitting here watching one of the most underrated movies ever, Hudson Hawk (yes, I'm serious), taking a break from a ridiculously exhausting week. On Monday I came back from a 3-day skiing weekend, on Tuesday I wrote a piece for GamePro and finally arranged for a February tour of the SOE Denver office (Eli, you've got to go with). On Wednesday I interviewed Adam Sessler (great guy and as soon as I transcribe the interview, it'll be posted here first). Oh yeah, I also bought a PS3...for the second time (long story, tell you all about it later). That's right, its tough being me. But this week I also lost an OXM writing assignment because my stupid debug wouldn't work properly. Damn!<br />.<br />So what's the purpose of this post? So I can bitch and moan is part of it, but also so I can tell you about the great stuff I have coming up for the blog - The Sessler interview, pics and a story from the SOE tour, the long sordid tale of the PS3 and I kissing and making up, and of course, the first ever As the Gaming World Turns Beerfest. Despite being a slow time for new releases, its shaping up to be a solid spring.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><br /><br />.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-376212146651814725?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-47948695421109781082008-01-29T20:43:00.000-07:002008-01-29T21:21:15.377-07:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R5_yi2ShS_I/AAAAAAAAAZ8/oPQr4i7v-C8/s1600-h/1rez.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161110378492546034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R5_yi2ShS_I/AAAAAAAAAZ8/oPQr4i7v-C8/s400/1rez.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Rollin' in the dough -</strong> When I received the email from Microsoft Monday morning that Rez HD and Chessmaster Live were going to be available to download on Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday, I was stoked. Until I saw the price. If I want both games, which I do, I'm going to have to drop 1600 Microsoft Points...$20?!? $20?!? That's 4 movie tickets at the cheap theater. That's 10 downloads of The Office from iTunes. That's an eighth of a tank of gas! To quote my inner Jerry Seinfeld, what's the deal with these $10 games on XBLA?<br />.<br />I get the idea that we live in a free market society and items only get sold for what people are willing to pay, but when will MS realize that they'd actually make more money selling more games for $5 than fewer games for $10. Not only would more games get sold, but $5 games and frequent free offerings (given out of good will, not guilt) would do nothing but help the image of a company that's sometimes viewed as a little cold.<br />.<br />But its not just Microsoft that's sticking it to us. Between microtransactions and the $10 bump in next-gen games (which doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon) gamers wallets are getting consistently emptied. Since we're being so generous with our money, gaming companies should show some gratitude and show us some love. Free gamer pics, classic arcade titles, multiplayer map packs, t-shirts...what would it hurt?<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-4794869542110978108?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-89240725603921119142008-01-24T17:42:00.000-07:002008-01-27T20:23:22.869-07:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R5kwn2ShS9I/AAAAAAAAAZs/OfHmOIMwj6I/s1600-h/1sperry.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159208309275839442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R5kwn2ShS9I/AAAAAAAAAZs/OfHmOIMwj6I/s400/1sperry.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>Girl can't help it -</strong> Okay, that's not a girl. That's former Journey frontman Steve Perry, the lead singer of the real Journey. Not that crappy version of the band that goes around stealing people's money with some guy who sounds an awful lot like Steve Perry. Or maybe its a picture of my sister-in-law, they have the exact same haircut and look quite similar.<br />.<br />Steve-O's photo is gracing the blog because Journey, along with Boston and Foreigner, are part of the Classic Rock Track Pack that's available to download for Guitar Hero III starting today. The songs included are Boston's "Peace of Mind," Foreigners "Juke Box Hero" and Journey's "Any Way You Want It." Normally I'd be pretty stoked about this download as I'm a fan of all three bands (my son and I saw Foreigner with Styx and Def Lepard at a concert last summer) but because the tracks are on GHIII and not the far superior Rock Band, I'll pass.<br />.<br /><strong>Are you sure you don't mean March? -</strong> In late December I wrote a post on the possibility of a March release date for Grand Theft Auto IV. I based this conclusion on hours of research and hundreds on interviews with Rockstar employees. Or maybe I just based that hypothesis on a GTA IV reservation card I saw at Target that had the date 3/2008 on it, I don't remember. Either way, my data was incorrect. Just to make my blog look inaccurate (not that hard to do) and to torture me, Rockstar head Sam Houser officially pushed the release date back to April 29th. Damn! I'd like to personally thank <a href="http://kotaku.com/348603/rockstar-blames-ps3-in-part-for-gta-iv-delays">Sony </a>for making me wait longer than I should for the next installment of my all-time favorite series.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><br />.<br /><strong>Updated 1/27/08 -</strong> Jordache vs. Calvin Klein, you decide. If you're confused, check the comments.<br />.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160362336923503586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R51KNGShS-I/AAAAAAAAAZ0/qrCbiFX2LD0/s400/brookeshields.jpg" border="0" /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-8924072560392111914?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-76161538766617583502008-01-22T19:16:00.000-07:002008-01-22T19:33:16.850-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R5ajnWShS8I/AAAAAAAAAZk/3zlXupmBorE/s1600-h/1xbox_marketplace.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5158490319592967106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R5ajnWShS8I/AAAAAAAAAZk/3zlXupmBorE/s400/1xbox_marketplace.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Call India toll free! -</strong> While checking out <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Kotaku</span> today I noticed this <a href="http://kotaku.com/347612/how-to-get-800-free-msoft-points">post</a> about the recent Undertow freebie download. If you've already paid for the game, you have a half way decent chance of calling Microsoft (1-800-4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">MYXBOX</span>) and asking if you can get the 800 points instead. As with any call center number you dial, your success rate is directly proportional to the kind of person who answers and how well they speak English. </div><div>.</div><div>But what about angry gamers who didn't buy Undertow and would rather have the points instead? I guess if you're willing to try and sweet talk someone from a foreign country who's probably paid 25 cents an hour and could easily pretend not to understand a word you're saying and will "accidentally" hang up on you when you start getting <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">feisty</span>, its worth the $10 you'd get for the effort. And if that's the case, you're probably like that kid in Better Off Dead who relentlessly <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">harasses</span> John <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Cusack</span> about the $2 he owed him for his newspaper deliveries. Just step away from the phone and take the free download. </div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-7616153876661758350?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-25455263567151575262008-01-21T22:40:00.000-07:002008-01-21T23:40:18.982-07:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R5WB_vzaFPI/AAAAAAAAAZc/xY3aQ0-5ntM/s1600-h/1undertow.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5158171880386598130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R5WB_vzaFPI/AAAAAAAAAZc/xY3aQ0-5ntM/s400/1undertow.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>How about some MS points instead? -</strong> This morning I received an email from MS letting it be known that Undertow will be available for free this Wednesday (Jan 23). The free download is available starting midnight MST and ending at 10pm MST this Sunday (Jan 27). Naturally the email didn't say a word about this being a courtesy download for the problems gamers have had with Xbox Live, but you know it is. While I'm all for a free game and all, how about a little choice for my trouble, or even better, free points to let me get what I want? What about all those people who have already downloaded Undertow? Sure I don't know any of them but if I was one, I'd be ticked.<br />.<br /><strong>Speaking of XBLA -</strong> Microsoft also announced awards for Xbox Live Arcade games. Here's the pertinent info from the email I received because I'm too lazy to paraphrase.<br />.<br /><em>As a way to recognize the teams of talented developers who have together created over 112 games for Xbox LIVE Arcade, Microsoft will announce awards for the top XBLA games of 2007 later this year, with several award categories decided by the community. Fans of Xbox LIVE Arcade are invited to cast their votes for the first-ever Xbox LIVE Arcade Awards – 2007 by voting at </em><a href="http://www.xbox.com/xblaawards" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><em>http://www.xbox.com/xblaawards</em></a><em>. Voting begins Tuesday, January 22 at 2:00 a.m. PST (10:00 GMT) and runs through Wednesday, January 30 at 11:59 p.m. PST (07:59 GMT).<br />.<br />The finalists in each award category were selected by a panel of consumer and video game industry journalists, and the winners will be determined by popular vote. Microsoft will announce the winners of the inaugural Xbox LIVE Arcade Awards – 2007 at the Game Developer Conference in February.<br />.<br />Below is the list of award categories that will be open for public voting:<br />- Best Overall Arcade Game <br />- Best Classic Game <br />- Best Original Game <br />- Best Family Friendly Game <br />- Best Competitive Multiplayer Game<br />- Best Cooperative Multiplayer Game <br />Other award categories include the following:<br />- Best selling game<br />- Most played game<br />- Highest rated game<br />- Staff choice</em><br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-2545526356715157526?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-29134207010552114172008-01-17T17:27:00.000-07:002008-01-17T18:14:31.649-07:00<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R4_zcfzaFOI/AAAAAAAAAZU/fxG28JfpeGo/s1600-h/01-17-08_1703%5B1%5D.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156607769261511906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R4_zcfzaFOI/AAAAAAAAAZU/fxG28JfpeGo/s400/01-17-08_1703%5B1%5D.JPG" border="0" /></a><strong> But am I Nuke LaLoosh or Crash Davis? -</strong> For the past two weeks I've been staring at my mailbox like Ralphie Parker waiting for his decoder ring. Why? Because my first piece in a nationally published gaming magazine was coming out this month. So when I opened my mailbox today to find my long awaited copy of Official Xbox Magazine (this month's issue is pictured above) I almost tripped over myself getting inside the house to open it up. Sure my contribution is only slightly over 100 words but I'm in it. Combine this with the recent emails I received from editors at GamePro wanting me to do some freelance work for them and I'm happy as hell.<br />.<br />To celebrate I'm giving away a copy of <em>Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law</em> (you can choose from PS2, Wii or PSP formats) to the first person who sends me an email with the page number where my little Tiger Woods '08 DC blurb sits.<br />.<br /><strong>Beerfest -</strong> All this talk of a beerfest in the comments section recently has been making me awfully thirsty. I'm out of town next weekend and the Super Bowl is after that but I think the following weekend should be the first As the Gaming World Turns Beertacular. I'm not sure where this will be held or what exactly will take place so if you have any suggestions, let 'em rip.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-2913420701055211417?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-79193210735133516112008-01-15T16:44:00.000-07:002008-01-15T17:07:05.188-07:00<div align="left"><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R41FqPzaFMI/AAAAAAAAAZE/_FOwmRQ9MiY/s1600-h/1nfltour.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155853740508058818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R41FqPzaFMI/AAAAAAAAAZE/_FOwmRQ9MiY/s400/1nfltour.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Rack up the points -</strong> Below are a list of the Achievements for NFL Tour and MX vs ATV Untamed (that title just rolls of the tongue doesn't it). Why did I post the points for these games? Because some of us need our points fix okay!?! So just back off!!! </div><div align="left">.</div><div align="left">NFL Tour</div><div align="left">1. Homecourt - Win a game of Smash &amp; Dash (1-player, Standard rules, Veteran or harder) 50 points<br />2. Boogie - Win Smash &amp; Dash with over 50% possession (1-player, Standard rules, Veteran or harder) 100 points<br />3. Army of Two - Win a game of Redzone Rush (1-player, Standard rules, Veteran or harder) 50 points<br />4. Icon - Score on every possession in Redzone Rush (1-player, Standard rules, Veteran or harder) 100 points<br />5. Airborne - Wall Hurdle to score a TD (Exhibition, 1-player, Standard rules, Veteran or harder) 25 points<br />6. Slippery - Hit 3 reversals, same player, same play (Exhibition, 1-player, Standard rules, Veteran or harder) 50 points<br />7. Need for Speed - Get a 40+ yd TD, no turbo or wall hurdles (Exhibition, 1-player, Standard rules, Veteran or harder) 50 points<br />8. Paradise - Get a TD on a play longer than 30 seconds (Exhibition, 1-player, Standard rules, Veteran or harder) 50 points<br />9. Playground - Score 56 points (Exhibition, 1-player, Standard rules, Veteran or harder) 50 points<br />10. Skate Through - Shutout a team on All Star or Legend (Exhibition, 1-player, Standard rules) 100 points<br />11. Tour Superstar - Complete Tour Mode 150 points<br />12. Coast to Coast - Hurdle off both walls for a TD (Exhibition, 1-player, Standard rules, Veteran or harder) 100 points<br />13. Secret achievement - (Sorry, can't find it anywhere) 100 points<br />14. Really? - Same play four times in a row? (Exhibition, 1-player, Standard rules, Veteran or harder) 25 points<br />.</div><div align="left">MX vs ATV Untamed</div><div align="left">1. MX MINI - Win the "Fast 50s Minimoto Series" in X-Cross Tournament. 10 points<br />2. MX LITE -Win the "MotoXXX Freestyle Series" in X-Cross Tournament driving an MX LITE. 10 points<br />3. MX - Win the "Kicker Supercross Series" in X-Cross Tournament driving an MX. 10 points<br />4. ATV - Win the "FMF National Series" in X-Cross Tournament driving an ATV. 10 points<br />5. MONSTER TRUCK - Win the "M2R Opencross Series" in X-Cross Tournament. 10 points<br />6. TROPHY TRUCK - Win the "DWT Opencross Series" in X-Cross Tournament. 10 points<br />7. SAND RAIL - Win the "UNI Opencross Series" in X-Cross Tournament. 10 points<br />8. OFFROAD BUGGY - Win the "PEP Opencross Series" in X-Cross Tournament. 10 points<br />9. ORV SPORT - Win the "Oakley Opencross Series" in X-Cross Tournament. 10 points<br />10. OFFROAD GOLF CART - Obtain an Offroad Golf Cart as a reward in the Event Series or X-Cross Tournament. 10 points<br />11. Sprocket Collection 1 - Collect all Free Ride Sprockets in Clearwater. 10 points<br />12. Sprocket Collection 2 - Collect all Free Ride Sprockets in Crawley Creek. 10 points<br />13. Sprocket Collection 3 - Collect all Free Ride Sprockets in Del Sol. 10 points<br />14. Sprocket Collection 4 - Collect all Free Ride Sprockets in Copper Valley. 10 points<br />15. Sprocket Collection 5 - Collect all Free Ride Sprockets in Greenfield. 10 points<br />16. Sprocket Collection 6 - Collect all Free Ride Sprockets in Kittery Point. 10 points<br />17. Sprocket Collection 7 - Collect all Free Ride Sprockets in Lakewood. 10 points<br />18. Sprocket Collection 8 - Collect all Free Ride Sprockets in Pine Lakes. 10 points<br />19. Sprocket Collection 9 - Collect all Free Ride Sprockets in Split Oak. 10 points<br />20. Sprocket Collection 10 - Collect all Free Ride Sprockets in Sutherlin Valley. 10 points<br />21. Longest Jump - Successfully land a Longest Jump record of 300 ft. 10 points<br />22. Wheelie King - Successfully perform a 500 point wheelie. 5 points<br />23. Stoppie King- Successfully perform a 250 point stoppie. 5 points<br />24. Stunt Man - Successfully perform a 5x stunt combination. 10 points<br />25. Golden Boy - Win a Gold Medal in each Event Series. 50 points<br />26. Iron-man Champion - Win the X-Cross Tournament Pentathlon Trophy. 100 points<br />27. Globetrotter - Compete in all available Game locations. 25 points<br />28. Hall of Famer - Set 5 new records. 50 points<br />29. Speedworld - Achieve one of the top 5 Best Lap Record for each race course. 200 points<br />30. Shop-a-holic - Unlock or purchase all items in MX vs. ATV: Untamed. 100 points<br />31. Wreck-less - Complete one Freestyle event without wrecking. 25 points<br />32. Connected - Win 5 races on-line. 10 points<br />33. Winner's Choice - Obtain the Winner's Choice option 3 times in a row while playing on-line. 25 points<br />34. Explorer - Enter an on-line Free Ride location with at least one other player. 5 points<br />35. Clean Freak - Clean your vehicle of mud and dirt by riding through water. 0 points<br />36. Kudos - Watch the credits till the end. 0 points<br />37. Daredevil - Successfully perform a 8x stunt combination. 25 points<br />38. Fearless - Successfully perform a 10x stunt combination. 50 points<br />39. Hole Shot- Win a total of 10 Hole Shot awards during any Exhibition Supercross Event. 50 points<br />40. ATV "Triple Threat" - Win a Gold Medal with the ATV in a National, Supercross and Freestyle event series. 25 points<br />41. MX "Triple Threat" - Win a Gold Medal with the MX in a National, Supercross and Freestyle event series. 25 points<br />42. Hat Trick - Score three personal goals in a row within the same period in Hockey. 5 points</div><div align="left"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-7919321073513351611?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-43786873419019688882008-01-11T20:32:00.000-07:002008-01-11T21:34:18.023-07:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R4g1CfzaFLI/AAAAAAAAAY8/UE4JY-7WGCc/s1600-h/1oldspice.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154428090538661042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R4g1CfzaFLI/AAAAAAAAAY8/UE4JY-7WGCc/s400/1oldspice.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>What's the challenge, listening to their music? -</strong> Thankfully this post has nothing to do with the Spice Girls but before I get going, take a look at Posh on the far left here. That boob job borders on the hysterical. I guess Becks likes to play with soccer balls in the bedroom as well as on the pitch. Thank you! I'll be here all week! Try the veal, its great.<br />.<br />The Old Spice Challenge I'm referring to is the Xbox 360 Achievement Point mongering one. You may remember the Microsoft sponsored challenge about a year ago. Rewards like t-shirts, free XBLA downloads, and gamer pics were given out if you earned a certain amount of Achievement Points in a certain amount of time. If you recall from my posts about it last year, the challenge fueled my already obsessive drive to earn points, leaving me a sleepless wreck and getting me as close as I'll ever get to being <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Tyrone+Biggums">Tyrone Biggums</a>. Good news, the Old Spice Challenge has returned, but in a different form.<br />.<br />Microsoft is sitting this one out (Old Spice is teaming up with 360voice.com, which I absolutely love and highly recommend to any 360 owner) but prizes are still around and better yet, the competition is all user defined. Its all in gamers hands. There are 20 different prize packages in different tiers, based on the length of the competition and number of teams involved. Below is a list of the rewards.<br />.<br /><strong>Tier 1 ·</strong> Requirements: 7 day challenge, 5 gamers minimum · $20 Amazon gift card · 1,600 Xbox Live Microsoft Points · $20 Best Buy gift card<br /><strong>Tier 2 ·</strong> Requirements: 14 day challenge, 10 gamers minimum · $50 Best Buy gift card · 4,000 Xbox Live Microsoft Points · Xbox Live Gold Membership (1 year)<br /><strong>Tier 3 ·</strong> Requirements: 30 day challenge, 15 gamers minimum · $100 Best Buy gift card · 8,000 Xbox Live Microsoft Points · 6 month GameFly subscription<br /><strong>Tier 4 ·</strong> Requirements: 30 day challenge, 20 gamers minimum · Year long GameFly subscription · Xbox 360 HD DVD Player<br />.<br />If you're a big point hog head to <a href="http://www.oldspiceexperiencechallenge.com/">www.oldspiceexperiencechallenge.com</a> to create a challenge or join one. This is a good opportunity to prove how much of a stud you are to your friends and rub their faces in it. I'd be willing to take on any readers in a challenge but lets be honest, I'd destroy you all and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings (read: I don't want to turn into <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVhHJDqNktg&amp;feature=related">Tyrone Biggums </a>again, my wife just might divorce me this time).<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-4378687341901968888?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-64698795271625048602008-01-09T17:08:00.000-07:002008-01-09T17:52:12.244-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R4ViMfzaFKI/AAAAAAAAAY0/tXatjRWVRCo/s1600-h/1hulkcover.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153633315430470818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R4ViMfzaFKI/AAAAAAAAAY0/tXatjRWVRCo/s400/1hulkcover.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Lame Hulk or Badass Hulk? -</strong> As a comic nerd and Marvel fan I was bummed by the last Hulk flick, which was a complete bust. Eric Bana was a boring Bruce Banner, Nick Nolte was over the top to the point of distraction and Jennifer Connelly officially reached "Didn't she used to be hot?" status. The only way anyone thinks this movie is any good is if you've watched it over and over on cable the past couple of years and talked yourself into thinking it was an okay film, kind of like what my brother and I did with Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. I do have high hopes for the new Hulk film, this time starring Ed Norton and Liv Tyler.</div><div>.</div><div>The Hulk games that accompanied the last film were a bit of a disappointment as well so SEGA, taking over for VU and Radical, has a good chance of making an enjoyable title this time around (based on its history gamers are sure to have low expectations). Above is the promotional box artwork for the multi-platform release due out sometime close to the same time as the movie, which is tentatively scheduled for mid-June this year. I know its sexy and a visual feast, the very definition of eye candy, but don't let all of that color and detail distract you from what's really important. Just hope the new movie and game treat The Hulk with the respect he deserves.</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-6469879527162504860?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-35131653393893109462008-01-08T13:57:00.000-07:002008-01-08T22:59:14.724-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R4P5E_zaFJI/AAAAAAAAAYs/pwOD2W5sR5Y/s1600-h/ParamountAViacomCo_Logo_Clr_Cropped.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153236262883824786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R4P5E_zaFJI/AAAAAAAAAYs/pwOD2W5sR5Y/s400/ParamountAViacomCo_Logo_Clr_Cropped.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>Aw, come on! -</strong> The hits keep coming for the HD DVD as rumors of Paramount flipping over to Blu-ray open up the strong possibility that the final nail is in its coffin. Check out this post that was on Yahoo! earlier today.<br />.<br /><em>How many "death blows" will it take for Blu-ray to finally win the format war against HD DVD? I've been hearing that phrase (and writing about it) since July 2007. Well here comes another one. Following in the footsteps of Warner Brothers' abandonment of the HD DVD format, reports are surfacing that Paramount is headed to Blu-ray as well. This is huge news not just because it would leave just one major studio (Universal, plus the mini-major DreamWorks) producing HD DVD content. It would mark the first time in the high-def war that a studio has abandoned one exclusive format and switched to another. Warner was producing both HD DVD and Blu-ray discs and merely dropped the HD DVD ones. Paramount will have to switch entirely to Blu-ray, which it has not been producing up to now. According to the Financial Times, Paramount has a clause in its contract with the HD DVD camp allowing it to switch to Blu-ray in the event that Warner was to do so. And exercising that clause is what's about to happen. It's also theorized that DreamWorks will follow Paramount, since the studios are closely tied together. Nothing's been announced yet, but this should be wrapped up in fairly short order. Stay tuned.<br /></em>.<br />The lesson, as always, follow your own advice. I wrote a few months ago that it was too early to pick sides, and that's exactly what I did. At least I should soon be able to start a nice collection of HD DVD's because you know those bad boys will drop in value like rocks pretty soon. Then I'll horde them and in 10 years sell them on ebay for a ton of money. At least, that's what I hope.<br />.<br /><strong>But wait, there's more (added 10:48pm) -</strong> First caught this on Kotaku, but click <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0851332620080108">here</a> to see the original Reuters story about Microsoft considering Blu-ray support. Yes, that's right, even Bill Gates will turn his back on the HD DVD player if there's no money in it. In a way this makes perfect sense, MS has been passionately denying an HD DVD 360 and now we know why they wanted it as an add on in the first place. "Hey, if that whole HD DVD thing doesn't work out, we'll just come out with a Blu-ray add on instead." Way to cover your bases Microsoft. If MS does end up going with a Blu-ray add on, they damn well better give those of us shmucks who bought an HD DVD a great deal on it. I think a straight up trade would be fair.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-3513165339389310946?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-24278286140166450762008-01-06T21:26:00.000-07:002008-01-06T23:01:22.473-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R4GqLfzaFII/AAAAAAAAAYk/U07Cestl8aE/s1600-h/1Portal_Screen05.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152586563180958850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R4GqLfzaFII/AAAAAAAAAYk/U07Cestl8aE/s400/1Portal_Screen05.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>What, no pie? -</strong> I'll admit it, I haven't given the Orange Box as much attention as it deserves but now that I've beaten Assassin's Creed its going to get plenty of play on my 360. I started out by messing around with Portal and its a blast, not only is it hilarious but it requires some brains, quite a change of pace from your average game. If you're having some trouble (which you probably will around level 13 or so), here are some cheat codes to help you out.<br />.<br />Down, B, A, B, Y, Down, B, A, B, Y - Create box<br />Up, Y(2), X(2), A(2), B(2), Up - Fire energy ball<br />Up, Y(2), B(2), A(2), X(2), Up - Fire rocket projectile<br />Up, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Y(2) - Portalgun ID 0<br />Up, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, X(2) - Portalgun ID 1<br />Up, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, A(2) - Portalgun ID 2<br />Up, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, B(2) - Portalgun ID 3<br />Y, A, B, A, B, Y(2), A, Left, Right - Portal placement anywhere:<br />X, B, LB, RB, Left, Right, LB, RB, LT, RT - Upgrade Portalgun<br />LB, Up, RB, Up, LB, LB, Up, RB, RB, Up - Enables invincibility<br />.<br /><strong>Good news/bad news -</strong> Microsoft has had an up and down week. The good? Bill Gates jams with Slash at CES, Windows Vista has sold 100 million licenses, and 10 million subscribers are now on Xbox Live. The bad? Its HD DVD concept might just be toast. That's right, last month I bought a frickin' Betamax player, at least that's the way it looks now that Warner Bros. and sister company New Line have decided to go Blu-ray exclusive as of May of this year. The ironic thing is MGM, Disney, ABC are all coming to XBL with tons of downloadable content (which they're sure to make a bunch of money on) but none of them will support HD DVD's. If I was MS, why not force the hands of these companies or offer downloadable content on Xbox Live as an incentive to go with HD. Maybe it wouldn't have been enough to bring a major studio over but why not try? Unless MS comes out with a Blu-ray add on like its HD DVD add on, this whole HD DVD experiment has been a complete waste of money. Not just for Microsoft but for consumers as well. Obviously the new DVD format war wasn't going to last, these kinds of things never do, but I expected Bill Gates to put up more of a fight.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-2427828614016645076?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-11008825965596460432008-01-03T23:38:00.000-07:002008-01-04T00:08:34.295-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R33UjfzaFHI/AAAAAAAAAYc/l6-W80yFJZQ/s1600-h/xbox_live_logo_lo_res.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151507255079343218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R33UjfzaFHI/AAAAAAAAAYc/l6-W80yFJZQ/s400/xbox_live_logo_lo_res.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>Happy New Year? -</strong> I just got back into town from a trip to Boston so I haven't had any of the issues with Xbox Live I've been hearing about (and while I'm a game geek I don't take my 360 with me on vacation), not that I had any issues the week before either. However, I guess quite a few gamers have and Microsoft has decided to take all the complaints seriously and do something to compensate people for the lack of service. While I'd rather be writing about my drunken New Year's, my first fantasy football championship or the Celtics/Rockets game I went to last night, an email I received from MS takes precedence. Below is the email sent out by Xbox Live GM Marc Whitten an hour ago. <br /><div>.</div><div><em>Dear Xbox LIVE Members: <br />.<br />During this past holiday season you helped us break a number of Xbox LIVE records. This included our largest sign-up of new members to Xbox LIVE in our 5 year history and just yesterday you broke the record for the single biggest day of concurrent members ever on the service. <br />.<br />As a result of this massive increase in usage we know that some of you experienced intermittent Xbox LIVE issues over the holiday break. While the service was not completely offline at any given time, we are disappointed in our performance. I would like to take this moment to thank you each and every one of you for your patience and understanding as our team has worked around the clock to return the service to a stable state. <br />.<br />At the same time we would like to offer a token of our appreciation to all of you in celebration of record success for the service. And as a thank you for your loyalty during this holiday period, we will be offering all of our Xbox LIVE members around the world access to a full Xbox LIVE Arcade game that will be available to download free of charge. In the coming weeks we will be sharing the specific details of this offer with you. Thank you again for helping make Xbox LIVE everything that it is today! <br />.<br />Sincerely,<br />Marc Whitten<br />General Manager, Xbox LIVE</em></div><div><em>.</em></div><div>A freedownload of an XBLA game is nice, especially since this wasn't an issue for me but personally I'd prefer some MS points, 800 would do the trick, to buy whatever I want. I'd hate to end up with something lame like Shrek-N-Roll or even worse, a game I already downloaded. Have any of You had a problem with the service? Is so, what was it and what do you think would be fair compensation? Let me know.</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-1100882596559646043?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-56410457997271580882007-12-27T13:11:00.000-07:002007-12-27T13:46:45.068-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R3QHHvzaFGI/AAAAAAAAAYU/4-FwlDXlkX4/s1600-h/12-27-07_1200%5B1%5D.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148748103663883362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R3QHHvzaFGI/AAAAAAAAAYU/4-FwlDXlkX4/s400/12-27-07_1200%5B1%5D.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Just in time for my birthday -</strong> I wasn't planning on posting anything until after the new year but after I saw this reservation card in Target today I couldn't help myself. Me and the boy were walking around enjoying our post-Christmas time off. While he was picking up an iTunes gift card, I naturally wandered over to the game section. I saw this reservation card in the 360 and PS3 sections (ooh, it also comes with a free console wrap with purchase!). The date was a little surprising, everything I've heard up to this point was leading to an April release. I am now even more excited about this upcoming March which besides containing my birthday, spring break and the fun of gambling in the NCAA tournament will now include a 24-hour GTA IV marathon. </div><div>.</div><div><strong>Other Random Crap -</strong> If you haven't tried out a wireless headset yet because you weren't really into paying out $100 or more for it, I have some good news. Yesterday I picked up a fine pair at Radio Shack that was on sale for $30. They're the store brand, currently $10 off and work great. I can't believe I went this long without a set. I can now hear every single background noise that I've been missing because I couldn't always blast the volume. I guess the sound of explosions and rifle fire at 3am wakes people up and makes them grumpy bears. But now I can turn the volume up to 11! Of course in 10 years I'll be as deaf as Pete Townsend but at least my wife is happy...I recently reacquired Crackdown. If anyone is interested in playing some co-op let me know, I still haven't earned the co-op Achievements yet.</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-5641045799727158088?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-61001240812078642822007-12-24T14:51:00.000-07:002007-12-24T16:07:43.812-07:00<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R3AqAPzaFFI/AAAAAAAAAYA/oKFrbfTMG70/s1600-h/1xplay.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147660557814994002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R3AqAPzaFFI/AAAAAAAAAYA/oKFrbfTMG70/s400/1xplay.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Doesn't get much better than this -</strong> Before I take a little time off for the holidays, I had to take a look back at the amazing year that was 2007. Personally, I'm not really the type to take time to reflect on everything I've done, its a little hokey, but after taking some time to think about it, I realized this year has been an incredible one. In 2007 I snagged some big interviews as OXM's Fran Reyes, PSM's Chris Slate, ESRB President Patricia Vance, and X-Play's Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb appeared on the blog. In the summer I attended my first E3 as a gaming journalist and set a personal record for most posts in a month and most times I've yelled at a digital camera. In October I got to go on a Zero-G flight and Game 4 of the World Series (those are more personal than game related but I just wanted to brag). And to top it all off, last month I got my first assignment for a national gaming magazine. To quote the great thespian Keanu Reeves...whoa!</div><div>.</div><div>So what's up for 2008? I have no freakin' clue. I had no idea that 2007 would be so great, but I do have some goals for next year. 1. Get consistent freelance work from OXM and use that to get even more work in the industry. 2. Head out to LA for another E3 tour of duty in July and give even better coverage than before. 3. Start up the Coloradojoe podcast with my brother and Eli again, it was a lot of fun to do and I miss doing it. I think I can actually get some industry people to come on this time. 4. Do more interviews, which I really enjoy. Some people I'd like to talk with, that I sincerely think I'd have a shot at, are 2K's Ken Levine, EGM's Dan Hsu, Kotaku's Brian Crecente, and Geoff Keighley. Since I got my start as a writer in sports, I'd also love to get some interviews with pro athletes talking videogames. 5. Visit Sony Online Entertainment in Denver and take a tour of their offices. I've been meaning to do this since E3 when one of the PR reps invited me to come take a look. I plan on taking him up on his offer. 6. Building some kind of community on the blog. I have no real notion on how to start this but I've always wanted this blog to be more interactive than it is, I just don't know how to go about doing it. LAN parties? Clan parties? Monthly beerfests? If you have any ideas, let me know. 7. Add more content on different subjects. Again, something else I don't know how to do but having a section on this blog about other topics (fantasy football, music, sports, pop culture) would be nice. Or maybe Eli and I will finally get around to starting our own website, an idea we've been tossing around for months. 8. More contests. XBLA downloads, games, gift cards...I can see giving stuff like that away. 9. Play GTA IV for 24 hours straight. I'm very devoted to my all time favorite franchise. </div><div>.</div><div>I hope all of you have a happy and safe holiday and thanks for reading the ramblings of a small town game writer. The almost 30,000 hits this nonadvertised site received this year is the fuel that keeps me working hard and trying to improve. </div><div>.</div><div>See you in 2008!</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-6100124081207864282?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-60591215702405915462007-12-19T21:22:00.000-07:002007-12-19T22:17:25.762-07:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R2nuDPzaFEI/AAAAAAAAAX4/ZDjLravwW2M/s1600-h/1crackdown_carlift.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145905788796671042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R2nuDPzaFEI/AAAAAAAAAX4/ZDjLravwW2M/s400/1crackdown_carlift.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>Yeah, that's right, another 80's song for the title of a post. Just be greatful there's not a Simple Minds pic above -</strong> I was very tempted to do a Best Of or some kind of Year In Review but after the horrendous VGA's and the no-I-didn't-even-know-it-was-on G4TV end of the year awards I figured there wasn't any point. Why beat a very dead horse? Instead I wanted to slurp some games that came out this earlier this year but due to the late release of some gaming heavy weights, have pretty much been ignored. The good thing about the titles I'm about to list is that you can now get them on the cheap, so if you're still shopping for a gamer or want to recommend an inexpensive title someone can pick up for you, these little gems will do the job.<br />.<br /><strong>Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC, PSP) March -</strong> I'm a huge fan of the GRAW series. I love the game play, really enjoy the control I have of the squad, and the game presentation is top notch. The multiplayer was a blast too. GRAW 2 also came out pretty quick after its very successful predecessor, always nice.<br />.<br /><strong>The Darkness (Xbox 360, PS3) June -</strong> This game is just flat out weird and I mean that in the best way possible. Kooky storyline, weird superpowers, gun play, Nazi's...this game had it all in one bizarre package. Its great game that was completely overlooked.<br />.<br /><strong>Call of Juarez (Xbox 360, PC) June -</strong> I love videogames set in the old west. This started with the Konami arcade classic Sunset Riders which I used to play with a bunch of frat brothers in college. Today the western market remains pretty much untapped so when a game like Call of Juarez comes along I'm pretty stoked. An interesting two-character storyline, nice graphics, corny-to-the-point-of-funny dialogue and some sweet shooting mechanics make this title worth your time.<br />.<br /><strong>Crackdown (Xbox 360) February -</strong> Crackdown sold big, mostly because it was the last chance people had to participate in the Halo 3 beta (doesn't that seem like 2 years ago?), but beneath the H3 beta sticker on the cover was a great game on its own. Playing a cop with super powers in a corrupt city was like playing GTA on steroids. I played this title a ton the first half of the year. In fact, according to my Xbox 360's blog on <a href="http://www.360voice.com/">www.360voice.com</a>, its my second most played game this year, right after Halo 3. Mmm...I traded this game in months ago. I'm feeling a little nostalgic, I think I need to call Fritz at GameCrazy and see if he has any used copies.<br />. <br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-6059121570240591546?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-65752315107633454992007-12-17T20:10:00.000-07:002007-12-17T20:59:24.640-07:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R2c6LvzaFDI/AAAAAAAAAXw/SlDCdh4cPU4/s1600-h/1europe.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145145072779138098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R2c6LvzaFDI/AAAAAAAAAXw/SlDCdh4cPU4/s400/1europe.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Now you have that crappy song by Europe in your head, ha! -</strong> I'm sure you're all enjoying this picture of 80's one hit wonder Europe. Long live the man-perm! The reason I bring up their classic is because you only have 7 more shopping days until Christmas. That's right, all of you slackers out there better get in gear. Since you more than likely have a gamer in your family, I've written up a holiday gaming guide covering all the major systems for you to reference as you shop. If this looks oddly familiar, don't be alarmed, I actually wrote this a few weeks ago and it ran in the Indy the first week of December. Since then I've had a chance to spend more time with the games I recommended and a few others I hadn't played retail versions of yet. What you see below is word for word what was in the paper but I threw in some additional comments in italics.</div><div>.</div><div><strong>Game On! -</strong> There has never been a better time to be a videogame enthusiast. Right now, gaming fans are enjoying the industry’s Renaissance, Industrial Revolution and Blue Period all at once. Not only are the games better than ever, but gaming is a big business rivaling music, TV and movies as its $1.1 billion sales in software and hardware in October alone will attest. Chances are you’re either a gamer or know someone who is - and why wouldn’t you be? From kids just learning to read to blue haired, little old ladies and everyone in between, there is literally something for everybody. </div><div>.<br />The holiday season is when companies flood the market with their best titles and this year the choices are better then ever. But how do you decide which games are worth your hard earned dollar this Christmas? That’s easy, check out the handy dandy gift guide below for the must haves for every noteworthy platform. Games are categorized by system, age level and ESRB ratings for your convenience.<br />.<br />Xbox 360<br />Mass Effect (M) - If you have a television, you probably couldn’t help but notice that a little game called Halo 3 came out in September. It was sold everywhere (even at 7-Eleven’s!) and had almost as much hype surrounding it as The Bee Movie. Halo 3 is certainly a must have, but don’t ignore Mass Effect, the incredible role playing game that’s an Xbox 360 exclusive. Gamers create their own human character and explore the universe as a soldier commanding the crew of the SSV Normandy. An engrossing plot, beautiful graphics, deep game play, an open-ended environment, and the chance to make critical choices that affect the story arc make Mass Effect a sci-fi, choose-your-own-adventure classic. You need this game, you want this game, and your life will be shallow and meaningless without it. <br />. <br />For Kids: Viva Piñata: Party Animals (E) – This is a great game for kids to play together, with a wide variety of mini-games and races.<br />For Family: Rock Band (T) – If you ever wanted to start your own version of the Partridge Family with plastic musical instruments, this is your chance. The full edition comes with a drum kit, guitar and a mic.<br />For Adults: Halo 3 (M) – There’s plenty of other quality candidates on the 360 for adults (Bioshock, Call of Duty 4, The Orange Box, Assassin’s Creed) but if you own a 360, you absolutely have to have Halo 3. Kind of like how everyone in America was issued Frampton Comes Alive in the 1970’s.</div><div><em>- If I had to write this over again, I'd have to seriously consider replacing Mass Effect with Assassin's Creed or Halo 3. The game is just soooo big, its almost overwhelming. If I finish this game before GTA IV is released I'll be amazed. That and I picked a horrible class type. Stay away from Vanguard's, they suck. I also wish I could've given more love to Rock Band but space restraints prevented me from slurping it too hard. And finally, I wasn't terribly impressed by my early peek at SceneIt but I've been pleasantly surprised by the final version. Its alot of fun.</em><br />.<br />Nintendo Wii<br />Super Mario Galaxy (E) – One of the most recognizable and beloved characters in videogame history is Mario, the plumber with the embarrassingly clichéd Italian accent. Even a beauty pageant contest would recognize him. Mario has carried Nintendo for ages and does it again this year with Super Mario Galaxy. Mario is in a 3-D space universe, chasing Bowser down in order to save his dear Princess Peach. Stunning environments, cool new power ups, and a fun two player co-op, join the always guaranteed to be addictive game play.<br />.<br />For Kids: Mario Party 8 (E) – Nobody does games for kids like Nintendo and this party game (with Mario of course) can be enjoyed by up to four people.<br />For Family: Smarty Pants (E) – A fun trivia game with 20,000 questions the whole family can take part in.<br />For Adults: Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (M) – The great survival horror franchise has a different look on the cute, little Wii but its just as creepy. </div><div><em>- I'm pretty satisfied with what I have here. Super Mario Galaxy is fantastic.<br /></em>.<br />PlayStation 3<br />Uncharted Drake’s Fortune (T) – The PS3 has taken even more of a public beating than Britney Spears and both deserve it. It has few console exclusives (of the games below only Ratchet and Clank is PS3 only), its online service pales in comparison to the Xbox 360’s despite being free, and just like Britney it isn’t kid friendly. Despite all of that, the PS3 just needs a few games to call its own and its back in business. Uncharted Drake’s Fortune is a step in the right direction. This stunning title where gamers control Nathan Drake, a descendant of Sir Francis Drake, plays like an up to date version of Tomb Raider minus the busty brunette.<br />.<br />For Kids: Ratchet and Clank Tools of Destruction (E 10+) – This humorous game is the fifth in the franchise and is still going strong.<br />For Family: The Simpsons Game (T) – Funniest. Game. Ever. <br />For Adults: Assassin’s Creed (M) – A refreshingly different take on a common gaming theme – killing people. </div><div><em>- The PS3 was tough, there's just not many must-have exclusives and the family/kid selection for it are abysmal. I again would have to consider replacing Uncharted with Assassin's Creed but, just like with the 360, was trying to stay console exclusive. Out of the big three, the PS3 easily has the weakest lineup and I really wanted to rag on it in the article I wrote but didn't have the space.<br /></em>.<br />Other Systems<br />Still haven’t chosen a side in the console war? No problem, there are still some sweet options for you too. If you’re a PC, PS2, DS or PSP owner the industry still cares about you. Everybody else? You’re screwed.<br />.<br />PC: Crysis (M) – There are plenty of great options for PC gamers (Tabula Rasa, World in Conflict) but this alien invasion game set in 2020 is the best.<br />PlayStation 2: Guitar Hero 3 (T) – If you don’t have a next-gen console don’t worry, you can still play this great game on the PS2.<br />Nintendo DS: The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass (E) – Grab your tights and play the first Zelda game on the DS.<br />PlayStation Portable: Manhunt 2 (M) – If you’re looking for a handheld game where you can kick guys in the groin (and who isn’t) this controversial title is for you.<br /><em>- Eli gave me some direction with the PC section, thanks bro. I would have loved to have recommended more DS games (Mario Party, Contra 4, CoD4) but...you know the drill by now.</em> </div><div>.</div><div><strong>More crap -</strong> Sensible World of Soccer (800MS points) and Tempest (400MS points) come out on XBLA this Wednesday..."Comedian" Patton Oswalt seems to agree with my take on the VGA's, and he was a presenter. Check out his <a href="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&amp;friendID=67077201&amp;blogID=336802633">myspace</a> page...If you were checking out the latest OXM for my short Tiger DC piece don't bother, its in the issue that comes out next month.</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-6575231510763345499?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-89733866332118710872007-12-13T19:19:00.000-07:002007-12-13T20:09:39.805-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R2HrlfzaFCI/AAAAAAAAAXo/0IefPk_0y0g/s1600-h/1fritz.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143651278858621986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R2HrlfzaFCI/AAAAAAAAAXo/0IefPk_0y0g/s400/1fritz.JPG" border="0" /></a>Customer service blows nowadays. Nobody who works retail gives a crap about the customer anymore, they just watch the clock and want you out of their hair as soon as possible, making you feel like you're intruding on their time when they're supposed to be doing their job. Worse yet, it doesn't seem to matter what kind of place you go to, nobody really seems to know anything about the product they're selling. Cars, applicances, electronics, restaurants...you name it, the people who sell can only spout out what they've been told or read in a brochure.<br /><div>.</div><div>So when you finally find a place with great customer service and an intelligent staff, you remember it. Or at least I do and become a client forever. I've had the same mechanic for years, always go to the same guy if I have problems with my computer, go to the same music shop for new equipment and repairs, and naturally, go only two places when I want a videogame. Lucky for you I'm willing to share the two best places in town to get games, but if you don't live in Colorado Springs you're on your own.</div><div>.</div><div><strong>My Favorite Store for New Games: GameCrazy (Academy and Palmer Park) -</strong> Best Buy, Circuit City, Target and Wal-Mart have nothing on this store when it comes to new games. The staff is knowledgeable and my man Fritz especially (pictured up top) knows his stuff. Antony is a great guy too. Whenvever I need to buy a game that for some reason didn't get mailed to me (stupid Ubisoft and Eidos!) I come here. If there's a midnight release for a game that I just can't wait for, I come here. If I'm looking for a great place to get some real value for a trade-in, I come here. If I just want to shoot the breeze with some other guys who are just as into games as I am, I come here. In fact, everytime I come into this GameCrazy I'm usually there for at least 30 minutes just hanging out and talking games with the staff or other gamers who are just looking around. You can't find that at a chain store. This is the place I go to for new games, I can't remember the last time I bought a new game from anywhere else. </div><div>.</div><div><strong>My Favorite Store for Classic Games: Video Game Exchange (Platte and Union) -</strong> You've probably driven by this store and thought nothing of it, until you notice the 3ft ceramic Mario standing outside. I love walking in this store, its like stepping back in time. You name the classic console and its in this store - N64, Atari 2600, Sega Genesis, Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Sega Dreamcast, PS1's...you name it, you can find it and games for it here. This summer when I was feeling nostalgic for my high school days I came in and bought an NES along with Mike Tyson's Punchout and Super Mario (I'm going to be grabbing Zelda sometime soon). I was so happy with my purchase that I came in later and bought a SNES to relive my college glory years when I dominated my frat in NHL '94 and Madden '94. I also picked up one of the greatest games of all-time, Empire Strikes Back. Its a great store, and even though I don't go into it very often, its easily the best place in town to get your retro game on. </div><div>.</div><div>So there you have it, the best stores in town for any type of game you're looking for. Don't bother going anywhere else.</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-8973386633211871087?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-5327148653262519002007-12-11T21:25:00.000-07:002007-12-11T23:27:14.623-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R19ivdJwmxI/AAAAAAAAAXg/sk7mw6dpFwY/s1600-h/1sam.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142937866899331858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R19ivdJwmxI/AAAAAAAAAXg/sk7mw6dpFwY/s400/1sam.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>And I hope they burn in hell! -</strong> The Video Game Awards were on Sunday night. Did you watch? Didn't think so and I know why. I know I'm ruining any chance of ever appearing on the Spike TV Video Game Awards but I could care less, its a crap show. So I guess I'm officially saying goodbye to my dream of presenting an award onstage while wasted with a cast member of Jackass.<br />.<br />The show does nothing but perpetuate the myth that all gamers are teenage virgins with no social skills, which I found strange because gamings biggest demographic are men in the 25-40 year old age group. So what exactly do the Video Game Awards bring to the table? A show loaded with celebs who probably have no clue how to turn a console on (except for those 2 guys from Chuck) but are on the show just for the sake of making the fanboys in the front row scream and make a futile attempt to draw ratings? Check. A ton of women in little to no clothes to once again reinforce the lamest joke in the gaming book that gamers are nerds who can't get laid? Check. A stream of lame gaming jokes that only a non-gamer might find even slightly amusing (have you heard about the Red Ring of Death)? Check. Award categories of a questionable nature (say hello to the Most Addictive Game Fueled by Dew winner!)? Check. What a joke!<br />.<br />Now don't get me wrong, I'm for anything that helps to bring gaming some well deserved attention. Its certainly lacking in the respect department when compared to movies, music and TV despite being just as big a business and in many ways, way more entertaining. I hate to sound like Rodney Dangerfield, but gaming just doesn't get enough respect. Most people who aren't familiar with the industry still treat gaming like toys and overlook its importance. I'm also very much for the video game industry having its own award show, and because of that I have to give Spike TV some props for having the stones to take it on. My problem is how they go about it...with no respect for the industry. It seems like whoever puts together this show isn't a gamer, but just slams a bunch of things together that they think gamers would enjoy seeing. <br />.<br />Gamers are funny people with a great sense of humor and the ability to be self-deprecating, so that has to be a part of any kind of program catered around gaming. But when it reaches down to the lowest common denominator for a joke or as a pathetic attempt to bring in an audience, it goes away from what the heart of what gaming is - pure fun. If we want to present ourselves as a viable form of entertainment and not as a novelty, we have to let the best sides of gaming come to the forefront, not the worst. The creative geniuses who make and develop games (while shy as hell) should be the ones at the forefront getting the attention and being lauded upon. Not Tila Tequila. Steven Speilberg, Martin Scorcese, James Cameron, George Lucas, Joss Whedon, and JJ Abrams are just a few of the people behind some of the greatest TV shows and films, gamings versions of those guys should be heralded as well.<br />.<br />Until we start treating our own industry with the respect it deserves, no one else will either.<br />.<br /><strong>Other random stuff on a snowy Tuesday -</strong> Three new maps (Foundry, Rats Nest, Standoff) hit Xbox Live today for download on Halo 3. They sell for a hefty 800 MS points, but if you're not a diehard you might decide to wait until Spring you can download them for free...Yesterday 2K announced that spring will see the release of Don King Presents: Prizefighter on the Wii, DS and 360. King's gift for self promotion was evident in the press release.<br />.<br /><em>"In all my years working in professional boxing, I have never seen anything come as close to recreating the thrill, the intensity, the courage and the spectacle of the sport," said legendary boxing promoter Don King. "Don King Presents: Prizefighter is more than a game -- it is a glimpse at what life is like in and out of the ring for these incredible athletes."</em><br />.<br />Here's hoping the game offers some Lucious Sweet type moments where you can bribe punching bags to take falls and bribe judges.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-532714865326251900?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-5493299381719857032007-12-07T15:08:00.000-07:002007-12-07T15:45:40.896-07:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R1nEfNJwmwI/AAAAAAAAAXY/iQxhvpG-uIo/s1600-h/assassins+creed.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141356490005715714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R1nEfNJwmwI/AAAAAAAAAXY/iQxhvpG-uIo/s400/assassins+creed.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The past couple of weeks I've been in gaming heaven with the three headed monster of Rock Band, Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed taking up almost all of my time. Sure I played a little NCAA 2K8 (for the points) and some Tiger Woods '08 (for a downloadable content review for OXM) but nothing has been more fun then rotating the big three through my 360.<br />.<br />The great thing about this unusual menage a trios is they all offer something completely different. If I feel like being social, Rock Band is there. If I feel like playing a sci-fi choose your own adventure with some hot human-on-alien action, Mass Effect is ready. And when I'm having a stressful day and I want to stab someone in their virtual groin, Assassin's Creed is where I go. When I get tired of one, I move on to another and with no big releases on the horizon I'm glad I have more than one game to keep me busy.<br />.<br />To be perfectly honest, I have to admit that of the three I'm enjoying Assassin's Creed the most and I'm surprised. When I saw it at E3 it was a big disappointment. The story didn't sound interesting and the game play felt unfinished, but now I can't get enough of it. The twist on the storyline was completely unexpected, the controls are unique to the genre and require skill but its done in such a way that it feels like a natural build up, and the game is absolutely stunning. Best of all, Creed is just a different type of game, you can't compare it to anything else out there. The 360 is littered with endless shooters and sports titles and this game doesn't fit either, not in its game play or its one of a kind setting. Sadly with Halo 3, CoD4, Mass Effect and Rock Band getting so much love, Assassin's Creed will fly under the radar just like the equally good BioShock. Don't let that happen, this game deserves your time.<br />.<br />So what are you playing right now? Let me know.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-549329938171985703?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-18831359470728914122007-12-04T20:37:00.000-07:002007-12-04T21:27:57.860-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R1YdJdDxx_I/AAAAAAAAAXQ/nRMzbD3NJzc/s1600-h/1xbox.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140328072946501618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R1YdJdDxx_I/AAAAAAAAAXQ/nRMzbD3NJzc/s400/1xbox.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>At least that's what the subject line of the email said -</strong> Some PR rep sent me the press release below. It goes without saying that this rep has a gift for hyperbole, but I guess she did her job and got my attention.</div><div>.</div><div><strong>The Most Important TV Event in the History of Video Games to Air Exclusively on DIRECTV’s Channel 101 - </strong>Top Teams from Around the World Compete in the Championship Gaming Series World Final for the Coveted Dew Trophy and $1,000,000 Prize Purse. DIRECTV, the nation’s leading satellite television service provider, is making sports history once again with the exclusive live broadcast of the inaugural Championship Gaming Series (CGS) World Final. The competition will take place December 6-14 at the Sony Studios in Los Angeles where more than 100 of the world’s top professional gamers will compete for the league’s first-ever World Champion title and a share of the $1,000,000 prize purse. All the action will be captured live and in HD on DIRECTV’s original entertainment channel, The 101, starting December 6 at 10pm ET.</div><div>.</div><div>The CGS World Final will be the first-ever international gaming event to present all the action live, as it happens, allowing fans at home to experience the match-ups like any other sport. The groundbreaking coverage will commence with the start of CGS World Final on December 6 and broadcast three hours of single elimination competitions each night leading up to the championship game on December 14. </div><div>.<br />The playoffs will feature the top CGS teams from around the world as they compete in PC and console based games. Valve’s Counter-Strike: Source and EA’s FIFA 2007 are the official PC games for CGS while Tecmo’s Dead or Alive 4 (DOA4) and Project Gotham Racing 3 (PGR3) from Microsoft Game Studios will be played on Xbox 360. Each round of the World Final is single elimination and the last team standing will receive the coveted Dew Trophy as well as $500,000 in prize money. </div><div>.</div><div>CGS World Final event schedule is as follows:<br />December 6: CGS World Final press conference December 6: First round day 1 December 7: First round day 2 December 10: Quarterfinals day 1 December 11: Quarterfinals day 2 December 13: Semifinals &amp; Itagaki Challenge December 14: Final<br />.</div><div><strong>Xbox Live Update -</strong> If you turned on your 360 today you were greeted with the fall update. Rejoice in the new family timer, Microsoft's attempt to appeal to those ridiculous family watchdog groups who spend more time worried about games they never play while they let their kids watch Saw III. Other new features? A few orginal Xbox games are available for download, as are free themes and picture packs for them (no puchase necessary), some organizational changes and the new friends list features....and that's about it. Nothing really groundbreaking. I do like the options now available on friends lists. I was talking to my brother this afternoon while he was at work and asked him who the people were on his friends list to see if I wanted to send an invite to any of his buddies I know. Gamers can now also make adjustments to their bio where they can add their name, where they live and a short quote. Again, not really anything earth shattering but at least MS takes the time to continuously fine tune its already great online service. </div><div>.</div><div><strong>Well its about damn time -</strong> Finally some Bioshock DC! Considering how competitive the gaming market is, Bioshock finally adding some downloadable content almost 4 months after its release is a shame. Its such a great game, it needed this plasmid shot in the arm 2 months ago. At least its free for both PC and 360 gamers. Below is a list of the new content, also included is a new widescreen feature option.</div><div>.</div><div>Four Plasmids and Gene Tonics:<br />- Sonic Boom: Hurls creatures and objects back with a blast of force<br />- EVE saver: Enables Plasmids to use less EVE<br />- Vending Expert: Reduces prices in the vending machines<br />- Machine Buster: Increases the amount of damage players deal to cameras, bots and turrets<br />.<br />Achievements (exclusive to Xbox 360):<br />Gain 100 points for “Brass Balls,” by beating BioShock on the “hard” difficulty setting without dying</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-1883135947072891412?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-82334119943792745152007-12-02T20:31:00.000-07:002007-12-02T22:21:29.358-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R1N4yNDxx-I/AAAAAAAAAXI/j32KwpemmgY/s1600-R/ps3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139584403654166498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R1N4yNDxx-I/AAAAAAAAAXI/ku-MhyYWECk/s400/ps3.jpg" border="0" /></a>Dear PS3, <div>.</div><div>Hey, how ya doing? Its been awhile since we've talked hasn't it? Yeah, things have been a little off since we got together a year ago and that's why I'm writing this letter. I should have written this months ago but like the old saying goes, breaking up is hard to do. That's right PS3, I'm sorry to say it but I'm just not that into you. </div><div>.</div><div>Its not that I didn't try. When we first met it was so exciting. You were so beautiful and curvy. You even smelled nice. You came with some baggage (that crappy Talladega Nights movie) but I quickly got over it and we started to have some fun together. Sadly, the fun didn't last. There just wasn't that much to you and I quickly lost interest. I kept looking for something for us to have in common but lets face it, there wasn't much I couldn't get from you that I couldn't get from someone else that was better or much cheaper. I know that's a horrible thing to hear but I just want to be honest. I was looking for something unique and special and you're not it. You just don't stand out and I can't wait until your online service or Solid Snake finally show up to save us because that probably won't be enough. Look, I'm sure there are others who will find you attractive but I have to move on. In fact, I already have.</div><div>.</div><div>Before I started seeing you I was spending alot of time with the Xbox 360 and there are no signs of that stopping. Sixy (that's my pet name for her, isn't it cute?) and I have had our share of problems (there was this one instance with these red rings that I thought would be the end of us) but we've worked things out and its been great. Then last year, around the time I met you, I met yet another console called Wii. She's a cute little thing and has kind of become a little sister to the 360. As you can see PS3, I have a nice little family here. A console for me and a console for the kids and wife, there just isn't a place for you. I know I've had a long history with you and your family so don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for all you've done for me. But the fact of the matter is relationships are a two way street. I'm willing to give you my time and money but if you have nothing to offer in return why keep you around? So I'm letting you go and saying goodbye. I know the holiday season is a tough time for this kind of news but I need your trade in value for some new games and an HD-DVD player. I know what you're thinking, "you're dumping me for an HD-DVD player?!? Aren't you the guy who wrote about not choosing sides yet?!?". You're right, I might end up with this generations Betamax but I've already switched it on more times this week than I've switched you on in the past 6 months. And don't forget it was 1/3 of your price and I got some games too, so there.</div><div>.</div><div>I wish you well PS3, give me a call when you turn 4. Maybe then we'll have something in common again. </div><div>.</div><div>Best wishes,</div><div>Terry</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-8233411994379274515?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-40747371071780609772007-11-28T18:08:00.001-07:002007-11-28T18:17:09.293-07:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R04RDuGlbvI/AAAAAAAAAXA/eSeZBJENBo0/s1600-h/1gtaivcover.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138062980489244402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R04RDuGlbvI/AAAAAAAAAXA/eSeZBJENBo0/s400/1gtaivcover.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>Frickin' Sweet -</strong> The official cover art for GTA IV was unveiled on Rockstar's website today and I'm (in a Deter voice) happy as a little girl. Motorcycles, helicopters, tootsie pops, sniper rifles, car chases, cell phone conversations? Sign me up! I'm most excited about the gondala ride. I wonder how much it costs.<br />.<br />Rockstar will be dropping a third trailer for GTA IV on December 4th and I can't wait. If all the love I've been giving the Halo series makes you cringe, just wait until you see the tongue bath I give GTA IV when it comes out. The Grand Theft Auto franchise is my personal all-time fav.<br />.<br /><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-4074737107178060977?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-39388970353893080252007-11-26T21:22:00.000-07:002007-12-01T16:08:22.016-07:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R0ubp-GlbuI/AAAAAAAAAW4/ZZe97oJjUrQ/s1600-h/foo_fighters.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137370945293741794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R0ubp-GlbuI/AAAAAAAAAW4/ZZe97oJjUrQ/s400/foo_fighters.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Rock Me Amadeus -</strong> I love the new game Rock Band so much I started my own Rock Band band. This is a picture of us above, I'm second from the right. Don't let the pic on this blog fool you, I look much different with a beard and without my glasses. I've been told my group looks a little like some band called the Foo Fighters but its completely coincidental. My band is called Death Blossom and I rock the mic. Not because I can actually sing but because I can't play the guitar nearly as well as my son and when it comes to the drums I'm about as coordinated as an elephant on ice skates. So far my band has only been playing in Boston but we recently got a van so I'm hoping we can branch out. </div><div>.</div><div>Rock Band is an amazing game. Sure I occassionally feel like a dufus banging on plastic musical instruments and playing in my own virtual Partridge Family band but I could care less. I'm having way too much fun playing with my son (and with others online) to feel embarrassed by what I look like. And that's what makes this game so much better than the Guitar Hero series, which is saying a lot. There's just so much more to do because there are more instruments, and the co-op mode is way more enjoyable. Rock Band is not only for die-hard rhythm game rockers, its also a great party game. If I can talk my wife and daughter into it, anybody will try it. Its just one of those games that has a high curiosity factor and draws people in. But my favorite thing about the game is the music. Guitar Hero offers some great tunes but they're all covers, almost all of the songs in Rock Band are originals. Throw in all of the downloads available (including the aforementioned Foo Fighters) and gamers can have quite a nice variety of songs to jam to.</div><div>.</div><div>If you've been leery of jumping into the rhythm game genre, I can't really say I blame you because I never got into it myself until now. But if you decide to give Rock Band a shot I doubt you'll be disappointed.</div><div>.</div><div><strong>Random Crap on a 'Heroes' Monday -</strong> Classic space shooter Asteroids and Asteroids Deluxe are available as a joint download this Wednesday for 400 MS points...the Xbox Dashboard update on December 4 will allow you to look up the friends of your friends ala Facebook and MySpace. I actually tried this when Xbox Live was first available so I'm kind of glad this is finally going to happen. Still, even though you can control the access to your friends list its a little Big Brotherish in a way...And finally...I forgot where I saw <a href="http://starwars.yahoo.com/videos/f53002efca66ef2d159d85d3ec27bab8">THIS</a> today but as a Star Wars geek I thought it was kinda funny.</div><div>.</div><div><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-3938897035389308025?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-37309924908898268242007-11-25T17:26:00.000-07:002007-11-25T17:48:52.636-07:00<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R0oTIeGlbtI/AAAAAAAAAWw/MYUvDEHY9QQ/s1600-h/1masseffect.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136939361210035922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R0oTIeGlbtI/AAAAAAAAAWw/MYUvDEHY9QQ/s400/1masseffect.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong>My December dance card is full -</strong> With the newly released Rock Band, Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed taking up all of my gaming time, Call of Duty 4 is offically out of the rotation. I just don't have time for it. The only reason Halo 3 will get any love is if I want to shoot people online, otherwise its going to be collecting dust as well. Can you blame me? These three games are awesome. Assassin's Creed lives up to its initial promise, Mass Effect is the crack of video games and Rock Band blows Guitar Hero III off the stage. Best of all, none of these games is a first person shooter. I've already posted the points for Rock Band and Assassin's Creed so here are the Achievement Points for crack-like Mass Effect.<br />.<br />1. Medal of Honor - Complete 1 Mass Effect Playthrough on any setting. 100 points<br />2. Medal of Heroism - Complete Feros. 25 points<br />3. Distinguished Service Medal - Complete Eden Prime. 25 points<br />4. Council Legion of Merit - Complete Virmire. 25 points<br />5. Honorarium of Corporate Service - Complete Noveria. 25 points<br />6. Long Service Medal - Complete 2 Mass Effect Playthroughs on any setting. 25 points<br />7. Distinguished Combat Medal - Complete 1 Mass Effect playthrough on the Hardcore difficulty setting. Do not change the setting.. 25 points<br />8. Medal of Valor - Complete 1 Mass Effect playthrough on the Insanity difficulty setting. Do not change the setting..50 points<br />9. Pistol Expert - Register 150 Pistol Kills. 10 points<br />10. Shotgun Expert - Register 150 Shotgun Kills. 15 points<br />11. Assault Rifle Expert - Register 150 Assault Rifle Kills. 15 points<br />12. Sniper Expert - Register 150 Sniper Rifle Kills. 15 points<br />13. Lift Mastery - Use biotic Lift 75 times. 15 points<br />14. Throw Mastery - Use biotic Throw 75 times. 15 points<br />15. Warp Mastery - Use biotic Warp 75 times. 15 points<br />16. Singularity Mastery - Use biotic Singularity 75 times. 15 points<br />17. Barrier Mastery - Use biotic Barrier 75 times. 15 points<br />18. Stasis Mastery - Use biotic Stasis 75 times. 15 points<br />19. Damping Specialist - Use Damping Field 75 times. 15 points<br />20. AI Hacking SpecialistUse AI Hacking 75 times. 15 points<br />21. Overload Specialist - Use Shield Overload 75 times. 15 points<br />22. Sabotage Specialist - Use Sabotage 75 times. 15 points<br />23. First Aid Specialist - Use medi-gel 150 times. 15 points<br />24. Neural Shock Specialist - Use Neural Shock 75 times. 15 points<br />25. Scholar - Find all primary Alien: Council Races, Extinct Races and Non-Council Races codex entries. 25 points<br />26. Completionist - Complete the majority of the game. 25 points<br />27. Tactician - Complete playthrough with shield damage greater than health damage. 25 points<br />28. Medal of Exploration - Land on an uncharted world. 50 points<br />29. RichExceed 1,000,000 Credits . 25 points<br />30. Dog of War - Register 150 organic enemy kills. 25 points<br />31. Geth Hunter - Register 250 synthetic enemy kills. 25 points<br />32. Soldier Ally - Complete the majority of the game with the Alliance soldier squad member. 20 points<br />33. Sentinel Ally - Complete the majority of the game with the Alliance sentinel squad member. 20 points<br />34. Krogan Ally - Complete the majority of the game with the krogan squad member. 20 points<br />35. Turian Ally - Complete the majority of the game with the turian squad member. 20 points<br />36. Quarian Ally - Complete the majority of the game with the quarian squad member. 20 points<br />37. Asari AllyComplete the majority of the game with the asari squad member. 20 points<br />38. Power Gamer - Reach 50th level with one character. 20 points<br />39. Extreme Power Gamer - Reach 60th level with one character. 50 points<br />40. Renegade - Accumulate 75% of total Renegade points. 15 points<br />41. Paragon - Accumulate 75% of total Paragon points. 15 points<br />42. Paramour - Complete any romance subplot. 10 points<br />43. Spectre Inductee - Become a Spectre. 15 points<br />44. Charismatic - Use Charm or Intimidate to resolve an impossible situation. 10 points<br />45. Search and Rescue - Locate Dr. T'soni in the Artemis Tau cluster. 10 points<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-3730992490889826824?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-78774378826168791662007-11-20T17:11:00.000-07:002007-11-20T17:54:43.505-07:00<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R0N4S-GlbsI/AAAAAAAAAWo/o3hw1iwXksY/s1600-h/Thanksgiving.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135080267436093122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_fh9NCLlDncg/R0N4S-GlbsI/AAAAAAAAAWo/o3hw1iwXksY/s400/Thanksgiving.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>A Quick Post Before I Take a Thanksgiving Hiatus -</strong> As a gamer, how can you not be thankful for the bounty we've received this fall. Best. Gaming. Year. Ever. Bioshock, Uncharted Drake's Fortune, Super Mario Galaxy, Crysis, Tabula Rasa, World in Conflict, Madden, Guitar Hero III, Call of Duty 4, Rock Band, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed (fastest selling new IP in 5 years) and Halo 3 are just a few of the great titles that have all come out in the past few months to give gamers an embarrassing array of choices.<br />.<br />If that's not enough for you, I have even more good news. Today IGN broke <a href="http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/836/836746p1.html">the news</a> today that Ubisoft Montreal is working on Rainbow Six Vegas 2, set to be released in March 2008. Sweet! But wait there's more! Halo 3 fans will get to download three new multiplayer maps on December 11 as part of the Heroic Map Pack for 800 Microsoft Points. If that's a little rich for you, save your money and wait until Spring when its free because thats when the next map pack will be released. Oh yeah, and in an interview posted on <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=175892">this site</a>, Crytek boss Cevat Yerli confirmed PC standout Crysis will be a trilogy. Cool! Its a great time to be a gamer.<br />.<br /><p><strong>Quick Thoughts on Kane and Lynch: Dead Men -</strong> I wrapped up Kane and Lynch yesterday and I trade it in with mixed feelings. The game was thoroughly enjoyable and I had some fun with it (only 6 days but who's counting) but it left me a little disappointed. After getting used to the slightly off game controls, it was easy to get into the bad guy role of Kane. He's not a lovable villian, in fact he's a giant douche, but sometimes its fun to be an ass and Eidos did a great job of making a self-centered jerk fun to play with. The unique multi-player, the wide variety of environments, sidekick Lynch's lack of anything resembling mental stability and the chance to do some crazy missions straight out of the movies was great. However, the wonky controls (taking cover happended randomly, no way to switch camera perspective, horrible weapon targeting) and the Forest Gump IQ of the AI made the game feel too loose and way too easy. Kane and Lynch is certainly worthy of your time and I'd normally recommend a game this fun as a decent buy, but with so many other better choices out there its not worth it. This game screams Rent Me!</p><p>.</p><p><a href="mailto:coloradojoemail@yahoo.com">coloradojoemail@yahoo.com</a></p><p><br /> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/21467459-7877437882616879166?l=springsgamer.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Terry Terroneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02108088353361666596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21467459.post-35111360608325468692007-11-17T12:03:00.000-07:002007-11-17T13:28: