The Ninjaverse Blog

The new and improved Ninjaverse Games is now LIVE!

2010-04-19T20:49:00.001-04:00

The new site officially launched today! Head over to www.ninjaversegames.com and check it out! Join the forums, check out the articles and have a good time!

Like a Phoenix, it's coming back...

2010-04-08T10:19:00.001-04:00

Two years ago I had a website. I loved my site but I was the one doing everything; layout, reviews, news, everything. I couldn't keep up with everything and the site folded after six months.

Like a phoenix it's going to rise again. I have four people working with me this time and now the site is going to be what I envisioned originally. We are going to have news and reviews for games, movies and whatever else our geeky hearts desire.

So Ninjaverse Games will be re-opening it's virtual doors on 4/19. BYOB and let your geek flag fly high!

Homesick

2010-03-30T22:23:00.004-04:00

I'm home and yet I'm very homesick. I have never felt this feeling so badly before. I've finally found a place where I belong and where no one judges me for what I love to do.

I belong at PAX.

This past weekend was the first ever PAX East and I made it a point to go there. I could never make it to PAX Prime in Seattle and I had no idea what I was missing. PAX is almost a magical place, filled with games, geeks, nerds and more. It's where I truly belong.

Wil Wheaton gave the keynote and he opened with two simple words, "Welcome Home". By the end of his speech I understood what he meant. PAX is a home for gamers of all types; Video Games, Tabletop, D&D, Magic and more. It's all represented with the love that our hobby deserves. I brought my wife, a non gamer, and even she understood that this is a very special place. I was happier than I've been in a long time.

Wil also said in his speech that he hopes that maybe somewhere in the audience that someone would be inspired to do great things, that PAX would leave an impression on them. Well it did inspire me: I'm restarting my website, Ninjaverse Gaming. I refuse to become a slave to retail anymore. The first thing I heard when I got back into New Jersey on the drive home nearly made me have a nervous breakdown in the rest stop. I stopped at the rest stop for a bathroom break and to grab some Starbucks. The guy in front of me ordered a coffee and a hot chocolate. He looked at the clerk behind the counter and actually uttered this sentence:

"Is the hot chocolate hot?"

Really...

REALLY?!?!

The poor clerk behind the counter just looked at him, handed him his drink holder and walked away, it's all he could do. I lost my mind the second I walked out of the doors. That's the type of stupidity I deal with on a daily basis. I need to get the frak out of retail. I NEED to do something with my life that I love.

So I'm restarting the site. I'm looking for writers to help me out this time, I can't do it all on my own. I want people to share this and make it something truly special. I want us all to be a family and wait until we can go "home" again.

There will be more info in the coming weeks. If anyone is interested email me at halfazedninja@gmail.com.

And there's only about 360 days until we can go "home" to PAX East 2011

Big happenings this week!

2010-03-21T09:49:00.002-04:00

Just a little quickie post for two reasons.

1. I'm trying out AndroBlogger on my new eris

2. PAX East is this week. I'll be there blogging and tweeting as much as i can.

I'll be tweeting the whole time and probably do a wrap up post each day. And, oh yes, there will be pics and video.

If anyone reading this is going to PAX East shoot me an email a halfazedninja@gmail.com and maybe we'll meet up. Let's see how i feel after the Pokecrawl. Gotta drink them all!

The Top 10 Worst Superhero Games

2010-01-15T19:02:00.003-05:00

I'm going to try to do something on Fridays a little different. In honor of David Letterman's Top 10 lists, Friday's are going to be "Fun List Fridays", or something else not quite so corny.

Superheroes and video games should be like chocolate and peanut butter (or peanut butter, jelly and Doritos, yummy), right? Overpowered beings saving the world and defeating the “evil menace” sounds like the basis of every game ever made from Super Mario Bros to Splinter Cell. A lot of times superhero games work, like LEGO Batman and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. But then there are those times that no matter how much you polish a turd, it’s just not going to turn into a diamond.

These are ten of the worst offenders that had good concepts that either got just the fundamentals wrong or should be buried in the landfill next to E.T.

And here we go!

Number 10:
Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge
System: SNES, Genesis

The concept: Arcade, the X-Men villain with the giant bow tie, has built another one of his Murderworld Death Traps to capture our heroes. The heroes (Spider-Man, Wolverine, Gambit, Cyclops and Storm) are each in a different section of the trap and must use their unique skills to fight their way out.

What went wrong: There’s a reason why this game is at the bottom of the list. It’s not a very bad game, per se, it’s just excruciatingly hard. When this came out in the early 90’s I was all hopped up to play it. I was both a huge Spider-Man and X-Men fan (or geek, whatever) and seeing them in one game was like a double shot of awesomesauce.

While the game was good, the level designs were re-goddamn-diculous. Why the hell were Storm’s levels all underwater? And why couldn’t Wolverine cut every damn thing in half? But the main question is why is Arcade the main bad guy? Even as a kid I knew he was lame. Even when he showed in up Marvel: Ultimate Alliance he was STILL lame! How he’s survived so long is the real mystery.

Number 9:
Batman: Dark Tomorrow
System: Gamecube, Xbox

The concept: While ending a gang war between Black Mask and Scarface, Batman has to travel to Arkham Asylum (which has been taken over yet again) to save a kidnapped Commissioner Gordon from The Joker and other classic villains. After discovering the kidnapping was just a distraction Batman then has to stop a world domination plot by Ra’s Al Ghul.

What went wrong: Well the story and cinematics were fantastic, but that was about it. The game looked great, until you started moving and there were some serious jaggies around the edges of everything and the textures were a little muddy at times. But that was minor compared to the controls.

You might was well have called him The Drunk Knight the way he would wander around a level. And God forbid you had to leap from rooftop to rooftop; that’s just an invitation for suicide. And the ending was just kind of “This is it?” with no real type of closure. It’s one of the better Batman games on the list, but that’s like being basically the best at curling. No one cares about curling.

Number 8:
The Crow: City of Angels
System: Sega Saturn, Playstation 1, PC

The concept: A game adaption of a movie sequel that should have never happened. Here’s what it says on the box (from Wikipedia):
They killed you. But you came back. An avenging angel from beyond the grave. A vigilante reborn to bring justice to the damned. Take your unearthly powers and wreak vengeance on Judah, L.A.'s drug king, Kali, the nin-jitsu death-bitch, Curve, Spider Monkey and an army of lowlife thugs... Because life after death is HELL.

What went wrong: It should have read “Because playing this game is HELL”. I was really looking forward to this game due to my love of the first movie and the comic book. I actually purchased this piece o’ crap. Acclaim, masters of the mediocore, put it out so I really should have known better.
From beginning to end this a repetitive mess for cookie-cutter enemies and crappy graphics. The story more or less followes the movie, even if the movie was ok at best. It does get points for including the phrase “nin-jitsu death-bitch” on the box though.

Number 7:
Superman Returns
System: Xbox, Xbox 360, Playstation 2

The concept: A game adaption of a movie that should have been great. Play as Superman in an open world Metropolis and battle villains from the movie and more like Metallo, Mongul and more!

What went wrong: The real tragedy is this game got delayed in order to fix some issues and was released to coincide with the DVD release. It should have stayed in the cooker a little longer. Fundamentally the game was good. You could fly around Metropolis, go almost as high as you wanted and land on the bad guys (that was my favorite move). You could also play as Bizarro for certain mini-games

The villains were all pretty much brain dead and due to it being a multi-system port the graphics on the 360 version weren’t all that hot. On the PS2 all of the building were a mass of blurry textures when you got close enough to them. You can see where the game could have been great, but it fell victim to the rush of releasing with a movie.

Number 6:
Catwoman
System: Xbox, Playstation 2, Gamecube, PC

The concept: A game about a movie starring Catwoman. But not the Catwoman we all know as Selina Kyle but a woman named Patience Phillip. Kids will love it!

What went wrong: Do I seriously have to answer this? Ugh. EA shat out this game to cash in on the movie. They got the likeness of Halle Berry down and that’s about it. It’s a crappy 3rd person adventure game for a movie that has nothing to do with Catwoman, the comic book character.

The best part of the game is throwing her off of a roof.

Number 5:
Batman Forever
System: SNES, Sega Genesis

The concept: A game based on the summer blockbuster Batman Forever. Had an Acclaim label on in, so guess what happens…

What went wrong: Three versions of Batman Forever came out for home systems. There was the Playstation and Sega Saturn versions which were the arcade beat-em-up versions, the Genesis version and the SNES version. The 16-bit version looked identical to each other but they were two vastly different play experiences. The graphics were “digitized” like every cutting edge 16-bit title in the 90’s

The controls on the SNES version were flat-out crap. I’m reprinting them here from the wiki:
• Up to jump
• Select to shoot a grappling hook
• Select+Up to shoot the grappling hook up for Batman or Robin to travel one floor up (Select must be pressed slightly before Up, though)
• Right or Left twice, then Y to somersault forward
• R+Down to jump down one floor (R must be pressed slightly before Down, though)
A lot of using the select button there, isn’t there? Plus, am I seeing a loading screen in a CARTRIDGE BASED GAME?

Number 4:
Aquaman
System: Xbox, Gamecube

The concept: You know who’s never had his own game? Aquaman! Let’s make one! He’s cool now with his hook hand!

What went wrong: There’s a reason he didn’t have a game. He’s Aquaman! His power is he talks to fish. How do you translate that into gameplay?

Well, he can call to fish to whap whoever he’s fighting. Great power…too bad I can’t tell him to go drown himself.

You basically swim around looking for clusters of undersea bad guys, beat em up and look for the next cluster. Oh, Black Manta’s in it too.

Now go back to Justice League Heroes where I don’t have to pick you.

Number 3:
Fantastic Four
System: Playstation 1

The concept: Take Marvel’s First Family and go battle their greatest enemies! Up to four people can play at one time to help out! Again, it had Acclaim on the box.

What went wrong: Let’s count: Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, The Thing, The Human Torch and She-Hulk. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ok, so Probe and Acclaim (when will I learn) can’t count, that’s the first thing. Mini-games that featured Dragon Man, the Hulk and Iceman (?) That show up after yout defeat a boss without losing a life show up to punish you more. It’s almost like the game doesn’t want you to play it.

The best part of the game is the loading screens that let you play a racing game. Too bad the main game interrupts it.

Number 2:
The Uncanny X-Men
System: SNES

The concept: Take control of six of the X-Men (Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Iceman) in a fight against their arch-nemesis Magneto and more!

What went wrong: The top down graphics were horrible, even for 1989. There were always two X-Men on screen but the only real way you could tell them apart was their color and chances are you were the only one who was actually doing anything. In levels that you had to chase down a boss if you chose the wrong direction you had to fight you way back to the biginning of the stage and choose the right path.

But the real kicker is the last level. You can’t get to it. Why? It’s only accessible by using a code. What braniac thought that one up?

Number 1:
Superman 64
System: Nintendo 64

The concept: Lex Luthor has trapped Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane in a Virtual Metropolis. Help Superman fight through the Kryptonite Fog (?) and rescue them before time runs out and stop Lex once an for all!

What went wrong: I remember the day my friend brought this over for me to play it. He’s a diehard Superman fan and he had said it was a good game. That’s the day I found out he’s a liar.

Kryptonite Fog? Seriously? Shouldn’t Superman, oh I don’t know, be DEAD if he was flying through that? Little particles of Kryptonie in your lungs, that’s probably like getting asbestos in there. That’s some bad shit. And what’s with the rings? Is this Lex Luthor’s Metropolis Circus?

And why is it any goon can pistol whip Superman and he falls like a little bitch? Oh, must be the Kryptonite Fog. Makes perfect sense. Here’s the gameplay for you:

Fly through rings, land on roof to beat bad guys, repeat.

Oh and there’s a time limit on flying through the rings as well. You know, to increase the fun. There really is no redeeming qualities for this game and if you’ve played it you probably want to forget about it anyway. If you see it somewhere don’t be tempted to get it, it will kill a piece of your soul. It truly is the work of the Devil, or a fan that was still upset about Superman Red/Superman Blue.

I see you quiver, with antici...

2010-01-13T15:05:00.001-05:00

Waiting for a call back from a resume you sent out sucks. I've never wanted a job more than the one I just applied for. It could be the start of a dream career for me, one that I could see me doing for a long time.

But enough about my impatience, there has been a ton of stuff going on this week so far, and it's only Wednesday! That's why I'm not doing the game preview I talked about Monday.

-So Spider-Man 4 is officially dead. Sam Raimi left and the whole movie just started crumbling from there. So what will our web slinging hero do?

Go back to high school.

Spidey is getting a reboot in 2012 that will plant the web slinger back to high school in a move that screams Ultimate Spider-Man. We can only hope that the writing and pacing match the Ultimate books.

Also, please don't do the origin story. The entire universe knows how Spidey came to be.

-Conan O'Brian is the man. He stood up to NBC about moving Leno's failed show to 11:35 which would bump everyone by about a 1/2 hour. Conan said no and now we have to see what happens.

He also apologized for his hair.

-Netflix is coming to the Wii. Meh

-Army of Two. The 40th Day came out yesterday. My first experience playing with S3 Prototype was fun and lag free. My second time playibg? Not so much.

Holy Lagfest Batman. The game was pretty much unplayable last night. I don't know if it was the EA Servers fault or what but holy crap was it awful. We pretty much gave up on it and are going to give it a shot again tonight. It pretty much drove me to Borderlands.

One last thing! Go visit www.toplessrobot.com. It's an awesome sight were I find a lot of my geeky news needs (I send tips in there too). It's also funny as hell. Except for Fan Fiction Fridays, that will kill some of your soul.

See you on friday!

P.S - ...pation
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

New Horizons, or something like that...

2010-01-11T13:50:00.001-05:00

So I've taken the first step in what will hopefully be a new career. It's going to involve uprooting my family and moving out of state but in the long run I'm sure it will be worth it. The first step is making sure I have the job...

The more I play with my PS3, the more I like it. Granted, in my opinion, I don't think it better than my Xbox 360. Xbox Live blows away PSN in terms of functionality, cross game chat being the glaring omission that Sony just doesn't really seem to care about. I think of the PSN as a "work in progress". Live wasn't the behemoth that it is now when it started, PSN just has to catch up.

S3 Prototype and I played the demo for Army of Two: The 40th Day. We beat the first one (difficulty spikes and all) and while we enjoyed it, there did seem to be something missing; the "soul" of the game. Salem and Rios were basically mowing down everyone with little or no remorse.

The new game features many moral choices and some of the are not clearly defines. There are moments that are scripted, like near the beginning when you have to choose whether to obey an order and kill your contact or let him live (the psycho in me killed him which lead to Shanghi being blown up. Coincedence?) There are other moments that I didn't realize would effect anything (like when Prototype subdued the guards and I went behind him and shot them in the head. I may have some anger issues). Plus I can buy diamond tipped grenades. Sparkling death will be raining down, this I promise.

There are way too many good-to-awesome games coming out this year. Wednesday's post will deal with them. Until then, keep on keepin on!

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MGS 4 cares about you

2009-12-09T13:41:00.000-05:00

Well, being that I now own a PS3 as well as a 360, I've been exploring the gameas I've wanted to play but couldn't. High on that list was Metal Gear Solid 4.

I "played" for about an hour last night before I went to bed. I say "played" because between the 10 minute install time and the numerous, lengthy cutscenes I think I saw about 10 minutes of actual gameplay. Granted, those 10 minutes of gameplay were good, but I'm hoping I'll dig deeper in it tonight.

Also, what the hell is up with the [Health Warnings] during the install of the game? Aren't they mostly common sense. And I love the one about not smoking while Snake lights one up, fantastic.

Before I watched MGS4 last night, I hopped on the 360 for a little Modern Warfare 2. Unfortunatley, due to the now very well know "Javelin Glitch", it was more a night in frustration than anything else. It was basically a night of suicide bombers vs Snipers. Not my style of play but we made the best of it.

I haven't made a mention of it but the Bayonetta demo came out and it is very fun. From what I understand the PS3 and 360 demos are a little diffrerent (I got the 360 one) so let me know what you guys have found different.

One more thing: the Dante's Inferno demo comes out tomorrow on PS3 (the 360 is a week later I believe). Download is and see if it's worth all the hoopla it's generated.

Peace and Chicken Grease

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A low budget "Amazing Race"

2009-12-06T17:38:00.001-05:00

Last night I planned to play either some Modern Warfare 2 or Left 4 Dead 2 on the 360 last night. I had a long day at work and wanted to blast something (plus I just got my Stinger Launcher in MW2) but that didn't happen. Why?

Playstation Home.

I wrote yesterday about the fact that home had promise but I couldn't really see the point of it. I understand it's purpose as it's own social networking hub but, to me, it seems that there is something missing.

That changed a little last night due to the Uncharted 2 "space". Since I got my PS3 last week, I've been looking for the seventh mask piece that is one of the mini games available there with no luck. Last night I met some people that were also missing 1 piece and we set off on a scavenger hunt, going as far as to go to different spaces to recruit some "treasure hunters".

It was insanity; we had a crew of about 20 people looking for this damn mask piece. I finally came upon it randomly in a spot that I checked at least 50 times over the course of the week. But it was fun finding some people with a common cause and banding together to accomplish it.

That, in my opinion, is what Home needs to survive: Group "quests". A scavanger hunt across different Home spaces would be fun, especially if there were "clues" to be found. It could work on multiple levels: cross game advertising, brand awareness and just a general buzz. It would be like an MMO "lite", more cerebral than anything. And it would make home more enticing other than just going there and being a virtual lurker.

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Sleeping with the Enemy

2009-12-05T19:18:00.001-05:00

We're no longer a one console house. I held out as long as I could but I gave in to my temptation.

I bought a PS3.

Why did I get one? The first reason is that it's a better Blu-Ray player then what I had. I had a cheap Memorex one that I got on clearance for $68.00. I scooped up the player, The Dark Knight and an HDMI cable for around $100. A good deal to be sure but this was one of those times that I really did get what I paid for. Movies took FOREVER to load up and play and in the case of TDK sometimes I would actually have to reboot the entire player to get it to play. Unacceptable, but I dealt with it.

In the PS3 TDK takes about 30 seconds to load and it's awesome. And I actually picked up an new TV (1080p FTW) and it looks incredible.

The second reason is that there are games that I want to play that I just can't get on a 360. The Uncharted series, God of War, Little Big Planet; I want to play them and I can ONLY play them on a PS3. I just beat the first Uncharted and it was fantastic. God of War I've never played but I've always wanted to (I got rid of my PS2 long ago) and Little Big Planet is freaking incredible. Hopefully the wife is getting me Uncharted 2 and God of War collection for Christmas. I played the GoW III demo (thanks to my buddy S3 Prototype) and holy crapsticks is it amazing.

Now the PS3 isn't all puppies and rainbows. There are things I don't like about it, especially after being a part of Xbox Live for six years.

First and foremost, why is there no cross game chat? Xbox Live has had that since day one on the original beast of an Xbox. There really is no excuse not to have it in the system. From what I hear they are going to "patch it in" but, really, why wasn't this able to do it out of the box.

Secondly, Trophies don't automatically update, you have to manually go into the Trophy collection and update them (also related to trophies, why can't I actually view them with ease instead of having to navigate the XMB?). Achievement points are there instantly and offer an easier overall setup. I'm still figuring out the "trophy levels" so I'm not completley sure how I feel about them.

The third point isn't really a like or a dislike, more of an inquiry. Playstation Home. I keep being drawn to it and I don't quite understand why. I kinda just walk around aimlessly and try to start conversations with people. I can see some promise in there, but it has a way to go.

The short version is I'm not leaving my Xbox behind anytime soon. I bought my PS3 for very specific reasons, although there may be a game or two that I pick up for it other than a Sony exclusive game (Tekken 6 springs to mind, it just didn't "feel" right on the 360). If it's a multiplayer game that's available on both systems, you bet your ass I'm getting it for the 360. The online network is far superior to PSN, another case of you get what you pay for. I'm Halfazedninja on the PSN also, look me up.

See you online!

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Dusting off the cobwebs

2009-11-14T17:21:00.001-05:00

Heya Ninja-ites! I'm still alive, rest assured. There will be more updates coming soon, but keep an eye on my twitter, it will keep you us to date.

Also, Modern Warfare 2 is awesome. That is all.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

It has begun...

2009-09-08T16:17:00.001-04:00

I have started listing some of my stuff on ebay finally (http://bit.ly/3KUg4u). I finally got my ass moving yesterday and started digging through the enormous amount of crap I have gathered over the years. I really didn't realize how much I've gathered, there is some truly interesting stuff I have.

The link above (hopefully it works, it might be the mobile version since I'm on my Curve) should be for the American McGee Alice figure. It should show some of the other stuff I have up there and I still have at least three more boxes of stuff to sift through and that's just action figures and toys, I haven't even started on comic books and other items.

There will be a lot more going up in the next week or so, let's see what other treasured I can dig up...

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Everything Must Go!

2009-09-06T13:56:00.001-04:00

Well, I'm finally listing a bunch of my old stuff on ebay in the next couple of days. I really didn't realize how many old toys and assorted stuff I actually had stored away. As an exampe, here's some stuff I found in a preliminary scan:

- A ton of Jakks WWE (F) figured
- Castle Greyskull and Snake Mountain with some of the original parts
- Dante and Randall Inaction figured (signed by Dante himself)
- a mountain of He-Man figures
- an Atari 2600
- an ass-ton of comics

There is so much more stuff that I have that it's probably going to take me a couple of days to get it all up there.

As much as I don't want to part with a lot of my old stuff, what good is it doing me? Hopefully a lot of it will sell, I could use a couple extra bucks. I'll post again once everything's listed by I'm sure I'll be bitching via Twitter about all of the crap I've amassed over the years.

Also, when did motorcycles make their way into WoW and why wasn't I told?

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Freaking World of Warcraft...AGAIN

2009-08-27T17:40:00.001-04:00

Dammit.

Damn Blizzard for showing off the trailer for the new WoW expansion. It looks to freaking good for me to NOT start playing again. I was clean for almost 6 months this time. I need my fix again.

What is it about WoW that keeps me coming back? I've been playing on and off since launch and I STILL don't have a maxed out character. In MMO's I tend to have a bad case of Altiholism so I'm usually unable to focus on just one character. My longest running character is a human Rogue named Chaze who I "retired" and made into a Death Knight named Chazetize.

But, again, I'm thinking of starting fresh with a new character/class and maybe even alignment. I've been primarily Alliance for most of my WoW life but I've dabbled with the Horde side a bit. Decisions, decisions.

Also, Batman: Arkham Asylum lives up to the hype. All of it. It's awesome. If you haven't bought it yet, do it. There really is no excuse not to.

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Men in Capes

2009-08-11T16:36:00.001-04:00

I'm realizing that this is a very good time to be a fan of Superhero video games.

I've been in the closed beta for Champions Online for a while now (open beta starting soon!) And it's great. Without any NDA breakage, it's everything City of Heroes/Villains wanted to be but just couldn't. You're powers actually have a feeling of weight behind them and the customization almost hits retarded levels. My brother made a character called Rebound Girl that is a screaming pink mess. She's pretty baller.

The Batman: Arkham Asylum demo came out. Holy balls is that pretty awesome.

I'm going to have to finish this conversation later, gotta get back to work.

Later peeps and tweeps!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

New Horizons

2009-08-03T21:37:00.001-04:00

Well I'm in a new store now. Same company but a much busier location. Good thing too, shit was getting a little tight around my house.

Apparently the Batman: Arkham Asylum demo is hitting this week. I hope it's different from the PS3 demo that's been out for a while. This looks like it may be time for Bats to conquer the video game world, finally.

As nice as this new store is, I miss my old crew. For the first time since I've been with this company, I felt like I was more than just an employee. They are like family to me and I miss them. Part of my hopes this move is only temporary but, right now, I need to make some more cash so this is where I need to be. I miss my Charlie's Angels though.

/end emo

On to more important things: MvC2 tonight or Left 4 Dead. Decisions, decisions.

Oh, by the way, Infinite Undiscovery SUCKS. That is all.

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Crossroads

2009-07-04T12:13:00.001-04:00

Well, I've finally hit that point in my life where I have to make a change. I'm tired of wasting me life in a retail environment helping the same jerk customers and not making any money. I'm not going to be here that much longer.

Why you may ask?

I'm going back to school to be a teacher. Apparently I have 58.5 credits and in New Jersey you need 60 to be a sub. I'm going to start there and get my Bachelor's in Education. I want to do something worthwhile in my life, not be a register jockey till I die. At least as a teacher I can make an impact on the world.

In other news, I've jumped back into Fallout 3. Since the summer isn't bringing that many new, high-profile games (besdies Batman) I can dedicate a lot of time to Fallout. Sucks that Dogmeat died though, now I need the Puppy Perk.

Well have a happy 4th of July for all those that aren't working today. I'll be joining you all next summer.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Brutal Legend keeps getting more awesome

2009-06-15T19:52:00.001-04:00

Tim Curry is going to be in Brutal Legend (http://bit.ly/HXhTp). Seriously, this game can't get more awesome.

In other news that is not related to Brutal Legend, a game that I have been geeking out over for almost two years is finally coming to XBLA on Wednesday: Magic the Gathering.

Yeah, I'm a geek. Shut up. If you're reading this blog you probobly are too.

Anyway, it's going to have four player online multiplayer, co-op and 250 cards to collect. Weeeee!

And Ghostbusters is coming out tomorrow. This is a good week to be a gamer.

Also, Prototype is fuckin' sweet. Yes, I cursed and I'm not sorry about it. The game is that damn good. A lot of people are comparing it to Infamous. I don't have a PS3 (yet, soon though) so I can't vouch for that. But even if Infamous never came out, Prototype would still be awesome.

One more thing, I'm playing Burnout Revenge again. Yes, Revenge, not Paradise. Revenge is awesome and I can only hope that they abandon the open world format next time around. If you feel like getting your ass kicked look me up on Live.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

BEHOLD! WHIPLASH!!!

2009-06-09T19:34:00.001-04:00

Jon Favreau (via his Twitter Has just revealed the first pic of Mickey Rourke as Whiplash from Iron Man 2. Check it!

I'm glad I got my own Twitter account lol

Post E3 Thoughts

2009-06-07T11:29:00.001-04:00

Well here we are. It's after E3 and we have a vision of what the future of gaming will hold. So who has the best grasp of it? Each of the companies really brought out the big guns (although Nintendo's guns were the smallest of them other than the cannon that is Metroid) but who "won" E3?

Let's start with last and move to first. Nintendo, I'm sorry to say, really didn't bring much to the show. They showed off Wii Motion Plus and Wii Sports Resort. Wait, didn't they show them last year? Yup. They showed off New Super Mario Bros Wii which is a version of the DS title that, even though it looks cool, is essentially the same game with some new items.

Then the was the announcement of Super Mario Galaxy 2. Great but I know a lot of people that just didn't care about the first one, myself included. And then there was the point where I was just about to write off Nintendo:

The Wii Vitality Sensor. WTF is that? Do I really need to keep track of my heart rate when I'm playing a game? What's the use of that, seriously Nintendo. At this point I was done. Then came the Real big announcement:

Metroid: Other M by the now Itagaki-less Team Ninja. Well played Nintendo, but it's a too little too late I think.

Final thoughts for Nintendo: unless they bring something HUGE next year I think they should focus solely on the DS. They have that market cornered and the DS is their license to print money. They should either do that or go the Sega route and just turn into a game developer.

In second place we have Sony. Sony came in with a bunch of new games that look really good and a motion controller that is nice, but in my opinion pales to what Microsoft showed (more on that in a bit). Let's start with the games.

Uncharted 2 looks friggin sick. Amazing visuals and the action looks crazy. I never played the first one, due to the fact that I down own a PS3 (yet) but I will be getting both of them.

Modnation Racers looks like the Little Big Planet of racing games and it looks hella fun. The customization is infinite and it looks like it may revitalize the kart racing genre.

God of War III doesn't need to be spoken about. It looks awesome and it doesn't come out til 2010. That is all.

The PSP Go was announced and it's priced at $250. That seems a little pricey, especially in today's world, but the most interesting thing about it is the lack of a UMD drive. The whole system is going with the whole "download only" scenario, but what does that mean for current PSP owners? What about the money spent on UMD's? Is there going to be a way to burn the game to the Go? And being that is is download only, what does that mean for retailers?

Final verdict on Sony: They're making me get a PS3 this summer, so they're doing something right. There's still. Long way to go to win my heart though.

And now we have Microsoft, the winner. They brought the fire and didn't stop surprising the auduence. From surprise game announcements to the Skynet camera (I mean Project Natal), they brought the future of gaming now. Let's look through some highlights:

The first surprise was that there actually is going to be a Crackdown 2. The first one came out of nowhere and was an open world gem. C2 looks like it will improve on that formula.

Left 4 Dead 2 was a fantastic surprise. Fighting zombie in Louisiana in the daylight was cool, but I lost my mind when the chainsaw was shown. Between that and the frying pan (Dead Rising style) I'm a happy boy. I'm going to have to buy two copies though, on for the 360 and one for the PC.

Halo: ODST is going to come with a beta for a new Halo game, Halo: Reach. What is Halo: Reach? Not a clue, but ODST will sell a bajillion colpies just because it comes with the beta.

And now, Project Natal. Every time anyone ever thought of Virtual Reality, everyone though VR helmets and what not.

Not anymore. Holy crap.

Project Natal isn't Xbox Live Vision 2.0. It's XBLV 3000. There is no controller required; you are the controller. The painting and the Breakout type demos they showed were awesome, and full body control of your Avatar is a much appreciated feature, but that wasn't the most impressive thing. That would be awarded to a little boy.

Milo, the creepy brother of the girl from The Ring. Ah, I'm just kidding (sort of).

Peter Molenuex (I know I spelled it wrong) created a, for lack of a better term, person that lives in your TV. He reacts to your voice, you react to his and it's truly amazing. Check it out here (http://bit.ly/GCkPh), I can't embed because I'm on my Blackberry.

I don't know if I should be excited or scared. I can imagine what this will do for RPG's but it is a little omnipresent. I don't want my 360 waking me up to play with it. That's how the machines take control.

On the non-gaming side, last.fm is being integrated into the Dashboard this fall (along with a coupleof others as I'll talk about below). And Netflix has finally heard our cries; you will now be able to update your instant queue right from the 360. Walking be damned!

Final verdict on Microsoft: They are doing all the right things. They have a vision of the future and it's going to be one hell of a ride.

Also, on a side note, as you can see on the left I'm now on twitter. This came from the announcement that the oh so pretty Felicia Day made at the Microsoft press conference that bot Facebook and Twitter are being integrated into the Xbox this fall.

That's all folks, looks like it's going to be an interesting year!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

R.I.P Bill

2009-06-04T10:56:00.003-04:00

David Carradine was apparently just found dead in a hotel in Thailand. The cause of death is an apparent suicide by hanging. He will be missed...

Some pre-E3 goodness, and a questionable one too...

2009-06-01T10:32:00.002-04:00

Here's some quickie E3 videos to start off the week. I'm going to get the absurd one out of the way first: Lego Rock Band:

Speechless. But I'll get it...dammit

Hey remember Splinter Cell: Conviction? Apparently it's going to be revealed in a big way and here's a little 10 second clip:

SC
by Gamekyo

Also, Microsoft apparently moved their conference up 5 minutes to make room for "a big surprise announcemnt". Anyone have any idea what that is?

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

2009-05-31T22:42:00.001-04:00

IT'S E3 TIME!!! I love this week, I look forward to it every year.

The Microsoft press conference statrts at 1pm tomorrow on G4 and I have the day off. I'll be posting my thoughts about it afterwords so check in tomorrow!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

BEHOLD! THE ZUNE X!

2009-05-19T10:42:00.002-04:00

We all knew it was coming eventually, an Xbox Portable. Well, with E3 right around the corner, the leaks have started and it looks like the Zune is getting an upgrade. Team Xbox has the story here, so what do you think? More importantly, will you buy it?

The Game Room

2009-05-15T21:03:00.001-04:00

First thing: The have the old Area 51 game and that VR helmet game.

They also have San Francisco Rush 2049 and The Simpsons Pinball. There is some straight old school stuff in there and I dig it.

Magic Kingdom was fun. It had an interesting start, with Harlee throwing up pretty much in front of the gates, but she got better and it turned out to be a pretty good day. The Monsters Inc. show was fun, I was picked to play the part of Mike Wiesoski which the kids got a kick out of.

The revamped Pirates ride was awesome. They really did a good job with it, I was just expecting them to plug Jack Sparrow in there. The whole ride is different, it's really worth checking out.

We're hanging at the hotel tomorrow so if anything interesting happens I'll post it.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

What a long, boring drive that was!

2009-05-11T16:21:00.001-04:00

After over a twenty hour drive (there was a few unscheduled breaks) we've finally arrived in Orlando. I-95 has to be the most boring road I've ever driven on. Maybe it was because I was driving overnight but damn.

As far as the hotel goes, it's pretty cool. Our room overlooks the three pools and it's attached to the game room (they must have known I was coming lol). I haven't had a chance to see what's in there, I'll do that later.

We're off to Downtown Disney right now to grab some dinner from the Rainforest Cafe. I'll write more after I check out the game room.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Hitting the Road

2009-05-10T18:45:00.001-04:00

The Ninjaverse is going mobile! We're on the road to Florida for a vacation so stay tuned for pics, videos and more!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

And the winner of the worst kept secret is...

2009-04-28T10:08:00.002-04:00

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 'Mahvel Baybee' clip

IT'S MAHVEL BAYBEEE!!! Marvel vs Capcom 2 was officially announced yesterday as having a "Summer 2009" release date. That better mean June because if I have to wait until August to play this I'm gonna be pissed.

Last night was season finale night for Chuck and Heroes. Out of the two of them, I really enjoyed the Chuck season finale more. Heroes was more of a "Wow, really?". It was good, and the preview for Volume Five wet the appetite enough, but I actually jumped off of my couch at the Chuck finale. I can't wait til next season.

So, like I said yesterday, G.I. Joe: Resolute was incredible. Bullets were shot, people we killed and Snake Eyes is awesome. If the represent Snake Eyes half as well in the actual movie, we're in for a treat. Hopefully there will be a DVD release (or Blu-Ray for us that own one) soo. My guess would be August to coincide with the actual movie.

Later

And knowing is half the awesomeness

2009-04-27T09:46:00.002-04:00

Holy Crapsticks! G.I. Joe: Resolute was freaking awesome! That's all for now, just had to get that out there. I'll post a longer review later while I'm at work. Really, what else is there to do there?

I Wanna Take You For a Ride (do do, do de do)

2009-04-21T19:36:00.003-04:00

So much news! Some awesome, some great and some abso-freakin-lutley insane. Let's start with the awesome first:

MARVEL VS CAPCOM 2 IS COMING!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ok, check the counter here. Six days for an announcement? A giant "2" in the background? and wtf does tu4ar stand for?

Take
U
4
A
Ride

Still no clue?

I have one more thing to say about that:

S3 Prototype and Meatyunleashed, your asses are mine!

Now for the great news: Brutal Legend finally has a release date! After languishing in limbo and being rescued by EA, Tim Schafer's next great game will be released on October 13th. In case you need a little refresher on the game, here's the trailer:

Tim Schafer kinda joked about EA renaming October "Rocktober". This leads to the insane. I'm going to post a screenshot and let that do the talking:

Lego. Rock. Band.

Go ahead, let that sink in. I'll wait...

Do, do, do, de do

Ok, you back? Yeah, it's happening. Apparently this is the spawn of parent objecting about some lyrics in the other Rock Band titles, which I get, but Legos? They've released five songs from the track list, three are awesome, two not so much:

* "Song 2" -- Blur (WOOOOHOOOO)
* "Kung Fu Fighting" -- Carl Douglas (NICE)
* "The Final Countdown" -- Europe (IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN)
* "Boys and Girls" -- Good Charlotte (WTF IS THIS?)
* "So What" -- Pink (I'M NOT SINGING THAT)

There are two questions I have about this.

1. Are the gems that fall going to be Lego Bricks? If that's the case then that's awesome.
2. Will "We Built This City" be in the game? C'Mon, it kinda has to doesn't it?

That's all for now, I'm going to watch "The Wrestler" I heard it's awesome. Later

Sigh, another day in paradise

2009-04-20T17:58:00.000-04:00

Sitting here, bored at work makes my mind wander. It doesn't go anywhere specific, just a general walkabout. There are so many other things I could be doing than wasting my time here dealing with different crap day after day.

This is the kind of night that requires me to blow things up when I get home. I swear if I didn't play games I'd be a menace, flipping over cars and what not. So what to play? I started playing CoD: World at War, but I'm so done with World War II. I loved CoD: Modern Warfare and I'll be first in line for Modern Warfare 2.

I'm getting into GTA IV again, probably due to playing Chinatown Wars. After playing both games I really see the Drug Dealing mini game is going to be a huge part of the next console GTA, mark my words.

I really have nothing else contructive to add right now so I'm off. Tune in tomorrow!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The (Digital) Fab Four

2009-04-20T09:25:00.004-04:00

Admittedly, I've never been a huge Beatles fan. I can appreciate their music and their influence in music can not be denied. However, I am really looking forward to Rock Band: The Beatles.

First of all, that is a friggin classy cover. I like that it's not a "photo shoot" shot and it's more of a candid image. And I love the black and white look. And it may not be much, but Sir Paul McCartney actually showed off some footage of the game at a recent show at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival. Check it:

Gotta love the shaky cam footage, am I right? Now it doesn't show the track layout or highway at all, just the character models. I like that they look more realistic, especially since this is supposed to showcase the history of the band, as well as some unreleased stuff. And there is a rumor going around about using multiple mics to harmonize with the lead singer.

How awesome is that!

Guitar Hero and Rock Band have really opened up a lot people to all kinds of music they really wouldn't listen to. I have a feeling the Beatles are about to be unleashed on a whole new generation, and that's a good thing indeed.

Oh yeah, Guitar Hero: Van Halen is all but confirmed too.

It's a good time for music games, let's just not let the well run dry so we're stuck with this.

Hiya Mister B!

2009-04-18T14:43:00.002-04:00

Gametrailers has posted a new video for Batman: Arkham Asylum and it features The Joker's main squeeze Harley Quinn. She's had a bit of a makeover (apparently by the Soulcaliber team). I'm posting this from my Curve so let's's see if the pic shows up, if not I'll post it tonight.

Ha! It worked! Anyway, I'm not objecting to her new look (and one of my daughters, the appropiatley named Harlee Quinn, loves her new outfit which scares me a little) but do hope that you can unlock the "classic" costumes. You know what I love though?

Her original voice actress, the one and only Arleen Sorkin, is reprising her role as the manic maiden.

Between Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamil as The Joker and Ms. Sorkin this has the possibility to be an awesome game. It's about damn time too, Batman hasn't had a good game since, um...let's's just say he's due for one.

Between my last post and this one, I've gotten a new PC. Needless to say I've been diving into PC gaming as of late (yes boys and girls, there are PC games besides World of Warcraft) and as much as I loved Left 4 Dead on the 360, it's a whole different beast on the PC. The one mod I've been looking for isn't finished yet, which is the Dawn of the Dead mod. From the screenshots I've seen it looks like it'll be awesomesauce.

In case you haven't picked it up yet you should make it a point to pick up GTA: Chinatown Wars for the DS. It's a throwback of sorts to the old school, top down GTA's from the PS1 era but with a 3D engine and touch screen mini-games. It's not watered down either; the entire GTA IV map (other than Alderney) is present and accounted for and it's quite a feat for the little system. The gunplay is a little wonky but it's easy to get used to.

Well, I should probably get back to work since we're oh-so-busy. Tune in tomorrow!

Pain

2009-03-11T17:13:00.001-04:00

I hate the gym.

Seriously, my arms feel like rubber, my neck and back hurt and I almost threw up in the parking lot.

Who the hell thinks this is fun.

Besides putting myself through torture for no good reason, I've been busy with other things. First of all, Watchmen was awesome. I made sure to read the graphic novel before I saw the movie and they got as damn close as they could. That being said, I do have some quibbles with the movie. There are some spoilery type stuff coming up so skip ahead if you want to bypass it.

**SPOILERS START**

1. The "break-up" between Jon and Laurie happens a little differenty than in the book and ties into the cancer storyline. In the movie it just looks like a standard break up and it has nothing to do with them getting kicked out of Rockerfeller Research Center.

2. The Dan/Laurie relationship, in the movie, happens very quickly. It actually looks like it happens within 1 night. In the book Dan is actually a little conflicted and keeps his attraction to her a little under wraps. They could have done a little more with it. She kinda just looks cheap the way it comes across in the movie.

3. No complaints with Rorschach other than that they should have tried to put more stuff with him and the psychiatrist.

4. WAY too much big blue penis. I went to a noon showing and there were two old ladies behind me. As strange as that was, they were a little enthalled by the glowing blue rod. Very disturbing.

5. My main complaint with the movie: there was no newstand vendor. In my opinion he was the linchpin of the story, he was the everyman. The one scene that he was in, he blew up. I'm really hoping that when the DVD comes out they add some more scenes with him, and Joey the lesbian cab driver.

6. Not a complaint: Malin Ackerman and Carla Gugino are hot.

So go see it. It's awesome and it doesn't feel like an almost 3 hour movie.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

A weekend away

2009-02-04T19:46:00.001-05:00

So the wife and I are going to Philadelphia this weekend for some time away without the kids. So where are we headed Saturday?

Dave and Busters.

I love D & B. It's like the adult version of Chuck E Cheese: video games, pretty good food and beer. I require two things and I feel they are simple requests that the good folks there should be able to accomodate:

Guiniess and Street Fighter IV

Also factored into our little getaway is having an authentic Philly cheesesteak. I've been to Philly all of twice (the city never really did anything for me, I'm more of a New York guy) and I've never had and actual Philly cheesesteak. So who's are the best? If anyone out there has any tips feel free to leave them in the comments.

Besides my upcoming excursion I've been really getting into Fallout 3 recently. I figured I'll go through my first run as the typical hero and for my second run through be a mean nasty bitch. I saved Megaton the first time around, they're not going to be so lucky the next time.

I'll be posting some pics from the upcoming Philly trip to my facebook this weekend, stay tuned.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

I love you, Man

2009-01-23T08:44:00.003-05:00

Here's the red-band trailer for the next must see comedy "I Love You, Man". Make sure there are no kiddies around because there's some language:

Reign of the Batmen?

2009-01-19T20:18:00.003-05:00

WTF? So I think I know who they are. From Left to Right: Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, (foreground) Jason Todd and...THE JOKER!

How did I come to those conclusions? Well, Tim uses a staff and is a little shorter than the rest so that would explain why Batman is using a staff. Dick would want to honor the memory of Bruce by staying true to his roots, hence the "classic" look, JT's the rebel that doesn't care about Batman's Moral Code so he's packing pistols...

So why the Joker then?

At first you would think Two Face due to the "half and half" costume. But the mystery man is covering his face. Plus wouldn't it be the ultimate joke for the Joker to impersonate the person he hates the most? Plus he's probably bothered that he didn't get to finish the job himself.

Plus is the Bruce in the corner with Damien, his son from Talia?

And how did Batwoman and Harley Quinn get in the Batcave?

And why is the J on the Joker card backward?

/facepalm

I may actually check it out, if only to see Bruce return as Bats...

Creepiness is incoming!

2009-01-15T07:48:00.003-05:00

So that business thing I went to the other night was, um, interesting. I've never seen so many creepy guys hitting on pretty girls before.

Speaking of creepsters, the Resident Evil 5 demo will be available only for the Xbox 360 starting on January 26th. Kinda funny that the series that started on the Playstation now has an exclusive demo on their arch-rivals system, no?

I have another event today but this is a company sponsored event which should cut down on the amount of weirdos (other than the normal company weirdos) that are around. We're going out after and I never really go out so this should be fun.

Before I leave I just have a question: What the hell is up with the Avatar clothes? I'm tired of playing dress up with my avatar, I want some costumes. How awesome would it be to have our guy show up in a COG outfit or dressed in some Fable II type clothes? A lot of the outfit choices right now are a little femme, I've been sticking to the hoodies and baseball cap.

But, secretly, my guys wants to dress like a ninja...

Sooo tired

2009-01-12T21:11:00.000-05:00

This has been the longest day. I may even be too tired to play a game (!). I'll probably play anyway though, that's called dedication (or addiction. Whatever).

Work gave me a Samsung Omnia to play with. It's pretty cool but seems a little clunky after using my Curve for so long. I have to show it off to some business types tomorrow so I'll be able to give it a better "field test" tomorrow.

Well I'm about to get out of here for the night. See you online!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Guess who gets the last laugh?

2009-01-11T21:39:00.001-05:00

Why so serious Heath? YOU JUST WON THE GOLDEN GLOBE!!!

Now where's the Oscar?

So it works apparently

2009-01-11T16:33:00.001-05:00

See how productive I am at work.
#
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Testing something out

2009-01-11T16:02:00.000-05:00

Hey guys. Just checking out the email to blog feature. If this works it'll make blogging from my curve a lot quicker for me :)
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

It's Sunday Morning People!

2009-01-11T11:48:00.001-05:00

What on earth drives people come to a store bright and early to ask the most retarded questions? I just had someone literally come in to ask why there was "little guy" on the bottom of her phone. She had a voicemail. "Oh I've had a phone for years and that's never happened. I want a new phone"

/facepalm

Anyway, I can't wait to get out of here today. I had a crappy morning and I want to go home and kill some stuff. I can't decide if I want to play some Gears or Left 4 Dead (I don't have my Halo yet, hopefully tomorrow)

World of Warcraft has sucked me in again and the Death Knight class is freaking awesome. I've officially "retired" my original character, Chaze, and replaced her with Chazetize. I've re-found my love for WoW again.

Well I should get some work done, for now. Later.

FORUMS!!

2009-01-10T22:37:00.001-05:00

The new forums are up. Clicky the Linky to the left

New Title, Same Great Taste

2009-01-10T21:38:00.002-05:00

Well boys and girls the old H.A.G blog is dead as well as the Ninjaverse Gaming site. The site proved too much for me to handle on my own with writing almost all of the reviews, previews and news myself. I didn't have the time to properly maintain it and between work and my family life it was really too much.

So the blog is back! It's much easier to post my rants here on the go from my Blackberry or my PC than to have to handle all of the hassle that comes from upkeeping a normal site. Did ya miss me? :)

By the way, I'll be back on the Halo kick early next week. Hit me up if you want to game. You know where to find me.

One more thing, and I'm really late in posting it. Fan made Thundercats Movie trailer for the MF'n win!

Crisis = Giant Reset Button

2008-09-26T14:06:00.001-04:00

So I've started reading comics again. I've always been more of a Marvel guy but Batman's always been my number 1 guy (followed closely by Spider-Man). There's a storyline going on right now that will probably change the future for Batman (don't they always say that?) but to catch up on the DCU up til now I picked up Infinite Crisis.

It was a good read, if maybe a little confusing. One of my daughters (Harlee Quinn, and yes she knows who she's named after) was looking over my shoulder while I was reading and was asking questions any kid would.

"Daddy, why are there 4 Flashes beating up Superman?"

"Daddy, why are there 3 Supermans fighting each other?"

So being the good dad that I am I started explaining to her about the multiverse and that each one has their own version of heroes that we knew. Her head was spinning and she just walked away.

One a side note, she wants to start reading comics. Well both of my daughters do, but Harlee keeps bugging me about it more. Do they still publish the Teen Titans and Batman comics based on the cartoons?

I understand the need for a multiverse from a creativity standpoint to give the writers a way to write great stories without disrupting the normal continuity. I get that. But why can't writers keep the normal continuity straight? Unless it's an "event that will change everything blah, blah, blah" like Batman R.I.P why stir the pot?

Going back to R.I.P., do you really think Bruce isn't going to be Batman again? My wife picked up the novelization of the Death and Return of Superman and I just started reading it. In the beginning of the book the author states that they always knew Superman would come back, they weren't stupid. They just had to play along.

So Bruce will eventually be Batman again, he has to be.

So who thinks Nightwing will be filling in for the meantime?

Can't wait til Friday

2008-09-02T14:17:00.000-04:00

Friday is taking its sweet-ass time getting here so I can start my vacation. I'm burnt out from this place.

I'm taking the family to Knoebles amusement park this weekend so it should be a fun time. The park's been on Food Network a couple of times and it looks pretty clean, and the menu looks delicious lol.

Have you guys checked out the new site yet? It's really coming along thanks to our forum admin sedativechunk. Within the next couple of weeks all of the pages will be integrated with the forums so everything is even more accessable.

If you haven't been there yet, what's taking you so long? Join the forums too, there may be a contest coming in the next month or so only for members of the fourm :)

Hopefully no news happens while I'm away but if it does I'll post it here or in the forums. I'm sure that won't please the wife but until I get a staff to work on the site oh well :)

Delays and more

2008-08-20T10:07:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I've come to the realization that I really need some more people to write with me over at the site. I wanted to have the Soulcaliber IV CaS guide up yesterday but it will be up later this evening. It's 21 different characters I've made, some famous faces and some originals. All I have to say about it is you don't mess with The Ross. You just don't do it...

I haven't gotten my copy of Too Human to review yet, but apparently it's not worth the wait. That's a shame because the game had HUGE potential.

The Force Unleashed demo hits tomorrow so I will put up some demo impressions then. There will be a Galaga Legions review up tonight.

So if anyone wants to lend a hand with content either join the forums or drop me a line at halfazedninja@ninjaversegaming.com.

Later

That's a little depressing...

2008-08-16T12:45:00.000-04:00

I went to go get something to eat while I was at the beach and wondered into one of the old arcades I used to go to. All that's in there is some ticket machines, Crusin' USA and mo-cap boxing.

Booooo

By the beach. BOYYYE!

2008-08-16T11:13:00.000-04:00

After working six days a week for the last few weeks I'm taking a day to go to the beach. The site is up and running well and there will probably be no new this weekend but, if there is, it will be up on the site (shameless plug: www.ninjaversegaming.com).

BTW, SedativeChunk is working on a new look to the forums to make it meld better with the site. Look for it this week.

A Little Housekeeping...

2008-08-13T18:20:00.000-04:00

I've been cleaning things up a bit here and over at NVG. If you look over to the left you will see two new links. The first link leads to NVG and the second link leads to the new forum.

Now, a moment of silence for the old HAG forum.

...

I want to thank everone who is helping me out with suggestions and content and I hope to see more of you soon.

By the way, the login page on the homepage isn't working yet so if you are looking to join first click the Forum link on the homepage and join from there.

Later

IT'S ALIVE!!!

2008-08-12T10:41:00.002-04:00

Well after quite a bit of work, Ninjaverse Gaming has gone live!

It's in it's basic stages right now, but that's where you guys can help! No, I don't want money.

If anyone reading this wants to contribute content (movie and game reviews, articles, videos) drop me a line at any of these addresses:

halfazedninja@gmail.com
halfazedninja@ninjaversegaming.com

or you can grab S3 Prototype:

s3prototype@ninjaversegaming.com

We have cookies lol.

What is Gamerang and other developments

2008-08-08T17:27:00.003-04:00

You may have noticed the Ad over to the left

<-------right about there

That's for Gamerang. It's a rental service for games (much like that other one) but the turnaround time is much quicker. Check it out by clicking that banner

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for a special offer.

Prototype and I are are also working on not just a redesign here but a whole new site. Should be coming in the next week or so so stay tuned!

Just a quickie...

2008-08-06T16:08:00.002-04:00

If you have an Xbox 360 and have access to Live, go download Braid. It's a fantastic surprise. I wasn't going to pick it up but I figured I'd try the trial. After checking out the trial I bought it.

It's a throwback to the old 2D side scrollers but, at the same time, something totally new. Check it out.

Work Sucks

2008-08-05T11:53:00.002-04:00

Ugh, another day, another dollar. At least I'm off tomorrow.

Soulcaliber IV is taking up a lot of my time. I'm really addicted to the Create a Soul Mode. I've made a ton of characters so far with more to come.

If anyone reading this plays City of Heroes, I'm on the Virtue server. Look for Mr Primetime or add my global, @Halfassedninja.

The Primetime Players (My CoH Supergroup) is recruiting. Click the forum link to the left and post in the Primetime Players forum for info.

Later!

And, yes, I would do this to my wife

2008-07-23T11:46:00.001-04:00

Watch this and enjoy, a husbands revenge:

EDIT
I had the video up but all I got was audio. Click the link and enjoy!

Don't you EVER touch a Black Man's Radio Boy!

2008-07-22T21:24:00.003-04:00

The best Star Wars Dub EVER!!!

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Back at Work

2008-07-22T12:55:00.000-04:00

Well vacation is over so it's back to work time for me. Booo. At least I have another vacation in September.

I'm back on the MMO scene but, surprisingly, it's not WoW but City of Heroes/Villians. Why? Well in preparations for Champions Online. I want to work up Mr. Primetime to what I want him to be in CO.

That's all for now. Don't forget Comic-Con is this weekend so there will be more Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe (and hopefully some Champions Online) news. Later!

Wanna know how I got these scars?

2008-07-18T19:14:00.003-04:00

The Dark Knight. What can be said about it that hasn't been said in countless other reviews already?

The movie is incredible. Visually it's stunning, even more so than the original. When Batman takes to the skies (which he does a couple of times) and you see the city he has sworn to protect, it takes your breath away.

And even though he is the main character, Batman actually plays second fiddle to the supporting cast. Aaron Eckhardt as Harvey Dent/Two Face is fantastic. He is confident, not afraid to get the job done and because of that, we emotionally feel it when he, quite frankly, goes through hell. The first shot of Harvey as Two Face will get a reaction out of you. Tommy Lee Jones has NOTHING on this makeup job. I have no idea how that got that to work and it's amazing.

Ah, Heath. At least what was one of your final performances, you go out with a bang! The Joker in The Dark Knight is unlike ANYTHING seen before. I thought Joker was dark in The Killing Joke, but now he looks like a kids clown. You can't help but crack a smile or laugh at the mayhem that he's causing. Brilliant.

There is a rumor that if the Joker were to return for the third film that Daniel Day Lewis would play him. Nothing against him, but these are HUGE shoes to fill...

Bottom Line: Go see it. Now.

Heroes Returns

2008-07-18T10:42:00.001-04:00

Here's the commercial for season 3 of Heroes. Enjoy!

I'll be posting a review of the Dark Knight later.

I'm so relaxed...

2008-07-17T20:23:00.001-04:00

What a good week for me to take a vacation. Beautiful weather, beaches, and it,s E3 week. So far the coverage has been good, but I am dissapointed that Microsoft has only put out 2 demos. The last couple of years we had a TON of demos. Ah well.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe looks like chocolate and peanut butter, in other words, fantastic. It looks better than the gametrailers showing a couple of weeks ago, and it looked good then.

That's it for now. I'm off to go see The Dark Knight in a little bit. Hopefully most of you are too. I'll be posting a review tomorrow.

Oh, by the way, the Watchmen trailer is up at apple.com. Check it out.

Mobile Blogging FTW

2008-07-15T12:06:00.000-04:00

Well boys and girls, after a long wait, I finally got my Blackberry Curve. So with that I can start blogging a lot more activley.

Well it's E3 time again and I'm currently watching the Nintendo press conference. I'll have some thoughts on that laterm but what a night last night!

I gotta say, Microsoft brought the fury. Final Fantasy XIII? No one saw that coming. I'm pretty sury Sony crapped their pants at that point, along with everyone else in the audience.

Fallout 3 looks incredible and Fable looks like a lot of fun.
By the way, the new dashboard looks very slick and some of the innovations going on there are way ahead of it's time. The Netflix rumor was finally confirmed and the movie sharing aspect is really cool. The avatars look like older versions of Miis but whatever.
I'll be back in a bit to talk about some more of the puches thrown between Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Stay tuned!

Not as constipated...

2008-07-10T17:13:00.002-04:00

Here's the first trailer for Max Payne starring Mark Whalberg. Enjoy!

BOOM! HEADSHOT!

2008-07-09T12:32:00.006-04:00

I love Unreal. Always have. There's just something that elevated over Quake. Everything was just tuned to perfection and nothing has changed with Unreal Tournament 3. It's 10 pounds of awesome in a 5 pound awesome bag.

I don't know how many of you all are following Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe but I have with almost an unhealthy obsession. Midway keeps releasing concept art and renders for the announced characters so I'd like to share some of them with you:

Scorpion:

Superman:

Sub-Zero:

Batman:

The Flash:

Sonya Blade:

All I'm going to say is for a supposedly "T" rated game, Sonya looks a little, ahem, alert...

I also have a render of Catwoman but I don't think it was officially released. I'm gonna post it but it may not be up for long. Grab a look while you can:

*UPDATE* They officially released the Catwoman Render today. Enjoy!

Nice, eh? Keep tabs on this game. I think it's going to be awesome! Shang Tsung was also announced but there is no render for him yet.

Two more characters are due to be revealed at E3 next week followed by 4 more at Comic-Con the following week. Woohoo!

Later All!

Happy 4th!

2008-07-04T14:13:00.001-04:00

Well I'm at work, playing with ping.fm. it's actually pretty cool. I'll post a regular update later with more interesting junk

Something new

2008-07-03T07:44:00.001-04:00

I know I haven't posted in a while because RL got in the way. I'll be back soon.

Life is pain princess....

2008-05-19T09:57:00.003-04:00

Heya guys. I'm still around but I've been busy with work and life in general. I just got moved to a new location which will allow me some more free time so I can get on to more important things than work: blogging and my book. Stay tuned for a major update...

(Not So) Hidden Maps and Beta News

2008-03-20T12:07:00.002-04:00

First map news. Rainbow Six Vegas 2 came out yesterday and a lot of the people I played with last night couldn't get into my room at first because I was playing on a map they didn't have. Not the Comcast Map (which, btw, the code is "Comcast Faster") but Streets, a map that has been around since the start of R6. To get it go to the Extras menu of the main game and go to "Exclusive Content". Just link you Gamertag and there's you new map.

More map news: Halo 3 maps will be coming along on April 15th but on April 3rd the new Call of Duty 4 maps are coming out! (HOORAY! or HOORAH depending on your preference). All I have to say is stay out of the barn, it's mine.

Oh, you want to know about a beta? The Battlefield: Bad Company beta starts on March 25th but you can get your beta key TODAY! It's sponsored by Fileplanet and is available by clicking here. Go get it know because they are giving out a limited number. I got my key and I'm downloading it as we speak. Go get it!

New forum, and where the hell have I been?

2008-03-17T08:51:00.002-04:00

Hey guys. If you are in the WoW Guild "Dusk Til Dawn" then we have a new forum set up. Just register here and start posting! And If your not in the guild there are other forums for you to enjoy as well!

Yeah so I'm playing WoW again and really enjoying myself more than I did originally. I've also been playing "Army of Two" on the 360 and "Super Smash Bros Brawl" on the Wii. Between that, being sick and working that's where I've been.

I'll be posting more later this week with some fun videos and more. Later!

SHUT UP FOOL!

2008-02-16T11:38:00.000-05:00

I want a Night Elf Mohawk! lol

Being sick sucks...

2008-02-09T13:31:00.000-05:00

I apparently have some type of super flu. I went to the doctor today and I'm out of work till Tuesday. Sucks because I'm losing out on money, but I'll live.

I haven't been on Live lately because my voice is pretty scary and my throat has been hurting. So I've been playing a lot of my PSP. It really is a great little system and I can't help but buy games for it. I now own more PSP games than I do 360 games. Crazy...

Well I'm off to play more. And cough. And generally feel crappy. be back later.

I'm always late to the party...

2008-02-05T09:09:00.000-05:00

Thirty Dollars. What type of things can you buy for thirty bucks?

How about a PSP?

This guy I work with wasn't using his and decided to sell it to me for thirty bucks. I bought it and it works great! I came with ATV Offroad Fury and I bought Final Fantasy Tactics, Metal Gear Portable Ops +, GTA: Liberty City Stories and Metal Gear Ac!d (which it a long story which involved me ordering it AGAIN through Gamefly. English box + English instructions + Japanese Game = No good for me)

So I know you can play PSX games on it and there is one game I'm looking for: Wild 9. I have no idea how to got about getting it to run, let alone finding it. Any help would be appreciated.

I really am surprised that this thing didn't destroy the DS. I love this thing, although the DS is fun in different ways.

Just a Reminder

2008-01-26T10:50:00.001-05:00

I do have a forum set up, but it's a little vacant right now. Stop by and say hi!

Cooper Lawrence: Now with 100% less research!

2008-01-24T17:57:00.000-05:00

First, watch this video:

Did Fox News just pull her name out of a hat just to find someone to be for their side? What the hell happened to "fair and balanced" journalism? Props to Geoff for trying to enlighten these two bitches (that was actually the nicest word I can think of at the moment) but they just weren't having it. Even the "panel" had no idea what they were talking about. An "AO" rating. Are you freaking serious? God forbid that bitch fines a copy of Grand Theft Auto, her vagina might fall off.

EA is apparently sick of the ill informed media as well. Kotaku reports that EA sent a letter to Fox News Channel to "correct the record" so we'll see where that goes. They were polite but they called them out:

"They have had zero experience with Mass Effect and are largely ignorant about videogames, the people who play them, and the ESRB system that governs their ratings and sales."

Props to EA for calling them out on this. Shouldn't a panel include people from both sides of the argument?

All this from some douchbag's ill-informed article.

Oh, and here's Cooper Lawrence's myspace, homepage an link to her book on amazon. Have fun kids!

RECOLOR TIME!!

2008-01-16T21:04:00.000-05:00

I recolored the site, what do you guys think?

I am utterly confused

2008-01-16T20:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, dear readers, I need someone to clear this up for me: What game is this asshat Kevin McCullough talking about? He says he's talking about Mass Effect, but either I didn't get that far into the game or he's got the porn version. And I quote:

"It's called "Mass Effect" and it allows its players - universally male no doubt - to engage in the most realistic sex acts ever conceived. One can custom design the shape, form, bodies, race, hair style, breast size of the images they wish to "engage" and then watch in crystal clear, LCD, 54 inch screen, HD clarity as the video game "persons" hump in every form, format, multiple, gender-oriented possibility they can think of.
"

Is Mass Effect the first game that let's you customize a character? No...

Is Mass Effect the first game to have High Def graphics? No...

Is Mass Effect the first game to feature "Humping"? No...

Wait, More quotes:

"Now if I have trouble with my son taking his James Bond 007 games a little too emotionally, imagine the powerful effect that hormones add to the mix when the player's own character is copulating like jack rabbits with super-models, actresses, and anyone else they can spend the patience to create, name, and "put into play."
"

If I'm not mistaken there's an actual story to the game that's pretty damn good from what I can tell. Apparently I played the wrong game and missed all the sex.

I'm pretty sure this guys opinion game from one gameplay video showing the dreaded "sex act" and that this douche doesn't even know how to turn a 360 on.

This next one really got me though. Grab your asprin, this one's a doozy:

"Yet here's a question that deserves to be asked, and in all likelihood will not be: "How much moral judgement should the President push into legislative issues that are likely to severely damage our children's innocence, function, and capability?"

I hear the nay-sayers claiming I'm being the wild and crazed Bible thumper I've always been - but its a worthwhile question isn't it?

If a pre-teen, teen, young adult, or adult male plays such a game in which the women DO submit without choice, are made to appear as Barbie streetwalkers, and perform whatever act can be imagined, what's to stop that same male from assuming that the women in his "other world" shouldn't be forced to do the same.

We now know because of the lengthy track record of serial killer after another that addictive use of pornography was prevalent in case after case - long before the switch got flipped and what their masturbatory imaginations have given into became what they were forcing real live human beings to do.

And because of the digital chip age in which we live - "Mass Effect" can be customized to sodomize whatever, whoever, however, the game player wishes.

With it's "over the net" capabilities virtual orgasmic rape is just the push of a button away.
"

WHAT???? Apparently Mass Effect is just one big rape party that teens all across the world are invited to! Oh, and it may turn you into a serial killer too!

Does he know that you can make the main character a man OR a woman and that you can play this game without even seeing a sex scene? God of War showed actual bare breasts and Mass Effect has some PG-13 action at best. And what "over the net" capabilities, Dashboard Themes? Hold on, I'm turned on now let me tell ya!

You know who this guy is? He's the guy who never touched a boob until after high school and, the first time he did, got hot soup in his lap (Use your imagination on that one kids).

This is what pisses me off about politicians and idiotic journalism, they have no idea that the hell they are talking about when it comes to anything even close to what the "common man" finds entertaining. Movies get held up because of scenes, Games get scrutinized, music and books get banned. Glad we live in a country that values Freedom of Speech. But you know what the most ironic thing is?

Most of these people have secrets so dirty that would make Amy Fisher's sex tape catch fire.

I'm not going to get all political here because, frankly, they all suck. But, on a different note, I found something else today that confused me...

The trailer for craptastic director Uwe Boll's "Postal" actually looks somewhat entertaining. Check it out here and let me know what you think.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go sodomize some aliens...

And Believe Me I Am Still Alive...

2008-01-15T09:16:00.000-05:00

I'm still around, work hass finally died down enough for me to start posting again. Long hours/Holiday hours really suck.

So what's been going on? Wow I haven't posted since before Thanksgiving?

I have to get back to work but I'll be back in a bit.

And preorder Burnout Paradise. Now.

Once again, I'ts Video day

2007-11-16T08:53:00.000-05:00

Work's been hell this week but I made it back for Fun Video Friday! I'd like to kick it off this week with the announcement that everyone has been waiting for:

Now this isn't the Zootfly one that was rumored a few months ago but a brand new game. This month Game Informer is going to have a huge story on it, I'll let you know when I get it in the mail.

Call of Duty 4 came out and it's been taking up a lot of my time latley. I'm playing on Veteran but it's multiplayer that's been keeping me coming back. After you beat the standard game, however, "Arcade Mode" becomes unlocked. What is Arcade Mode? Check it:

That's it for the vidoes for now, but I'd like to wish a happy belater birthday to Xbox Live. 5 years, and who thought we'd want to hear who we were talking to?

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

2007-11-10T17:39:00.000-05:00

I love when Tim Burton and Johnny Depp work together. It's going to be a bloody Christmas

It's Video Day!!

2007-11-09T10:38:00.000-05:00

While looking through youtube today I decided to come up with Fun Video Friday. These may be gaming videos, movie trailers and whatever the hell else I find. Let's get rolling.

We've all played Guitar Hero 2 and we all hate Jordan. Well the new hotness for GH 3 is Through the Fire and The Flames and it's is completly possible to fail this song on expert at 0%. Well not this guy, check it out:

Insanity. My eyes would have fallen out.

Here's "Welcome to the Jungle" for Rock Band. But it's not on the track list. It's probably going to be some DLC:

An amazing 8 year old playing Dead! on GH2 on expert:

Ok, now for some non-game related videos. Sometimes American movie stars do commercials overseas. These are usually never meant to be seen over here. God Bless the Internet.

Hulk Hogan schilling for Hitachi:

Nicholas Cage doing a couple of em:

Even the Governator has done em:

And, as a parting gift, some bouncing boobs for your weekend:

Have a Good Weekend!

It's almost like Spinal Tap

2007-11-08T12:45:00.000-05:00

Taken from the Rock Band forums. Enjoy!

Can't wait till November 20th!

I'm Still Standing, After All This Time...

2007-11-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

No it's not a reference to the short lived Viva Laughlin (if you never had a chance to see it consider yourself lucky), it's just alluding to the fact that I'm still here. I'm on vacation from work so I decided to throw up a a quick post.

Call of Duty 4 came out on Tuesday (my Gamestop got it on Monday so woohoo) and only one word can describe it, Godly. The game is fantastic. The only complaint I have about it is that the Party system could use a little work. It seems like if the party leader goes back to the party lobby there's a 50% chance that his party isn't coming with him, unless I'm doing something wrong. Maybe there will be an autoupdate down the road.

Guitar Hero III also came out and my hand is slowly recovering from One and The Battle with Lou. Sure the game starts off simple (I was 5 starring everything on Medium up until tier 6 or 7) and then my hand started having a siezure from some of the later songs. I love the game, but I feel like it's turned into the opening act for a bigger show...

The Simpsons Game is also surprisingly fun, and I'm not even a huge fan of the show. The camera has some issues and there are a couple of times when the controls weren't spot on but the writing is incredible. Any game that throws in a Boss Battle against Wil Wright in the EA factory is ok in my book.

That's all for now kiddies! Smackdown vs Raw is next week so pick it up!

I'm so smart...

2007-10-27T08:53:00.001-04:00

I had a feeling that they would release the full track list for Rock Band this weekend since GH III was coming out. Here it is: Enjoy, courtesy of qj.net:

1960s
Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter"

1970s
Aerosmith "Train Kept a Rollin'"*
The Who "Won't Get Fooled Again"
Boston "Foreplay/Long Time"
Mountain "Mississippi Queen" (cover)
The Police "Next to You"
David Bowie "Suffragette City"
Black Sabbath "Paranoid" (cover)
Blue Oyster Cult "Don't Fear the Reaper"
The Ramones "Blitzkrieg Bop"
Deep Purple "Highway Star"
KISS "Detroit Rock City"
Molly Hatchet "Flirtin' With Disaster"
The Outlaws "Green Grass & High Tides" (cover)
Sweet "Ballroom Blitz" (cover)

1980s
Rush "Tom Sawyer"*
Bon Jovi "Wanted Dead or Alive"
The Clash "Should I Stay or Should I Go"
Faith No More "Epic"
Pixies "Wave of Mutilation"
R.E.M. "Orange Crush"
Iron Maiden "Run to the Hills" (cover)

1990s
Foo Fighters "Learn to Fly"
Metallica "Enter Sandman"
Nirvana "In Bloom"
Stone Temple Pilots "Vasoline"
Weezer "Say It Ain't So"
Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock"
Radiohead "Creep"
Beastie Boys "Sabotage"
Hole "Celebrity Skin"
Garbage "I Think I'm Paranoid"
Soundgarden "Black Hole Sun"

2000s
The Hives "Main Offender"
Queens of the Stone Age "Go With the Flow"
The Strokes "Reptilia"
Jet "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
OK Go "Here It Goes Again"
Nine Inch Nails "The Hand That Feeds"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Maps"
Red Hot Chili Peppers "Dani California"
Coheed & Cambria "Welcome Home"
Fallout Boy "Dead on Arrival"
The Killers "When You Were Young"
New Pornographers "Electric Version"
Unlockable Tracks

Bang Camaro "Pleasure (Pleasure)"
*Twelve more yet to be revealed

I WANNA ROCK!

2007-10-26T11:10:00.000-04:00

Seriously, I think I'm more excited for Rock Band than I was for Halo 3. Yeah I love my Guitar Hero and I'll be buying GH III (but on Halloween, not the release date...dammit) but that's just a tune up for the "real" show.

I would like all of you guys to check out the following video and pay attention at the 1:03 mark:

That lip synching is AMAZING! Yes, the synching is improved on in GH III over GH II but the singer in GH III now looks like he can swallow a soup can whole. I really hope you can sub Bret Michaels in for your singer when you unlock him, the monkey scares me.

Oh, and just for quick reference, according to the bastion of modern knowledge that is wikipedia here are all of the announced songs. anything with an "M" after it designates it as a "Master Track" and this doesn't incude an Bonus songs that have yet to be announced:

"Are You Gonna Be My Girl" – Jet "M"
"Black Hole Sun" - Soundgarden "M"
"Blitzkrieg Bop" – Ramones "M"
"Brainpower" – Freezepop "M"
"Celebrity Skin" – Hole "M"
"Cherub Rock" – Smashing Pumpkins "M"
"Creep" – Radiohead "M"
"Dani California" - Red Hot Chili Peppers "M"
"Detroit Rock City" - Kiss "M"
"(Don't Fear) The Reaper" – Blue Öyster Cult "M"
"The Electric Version" – The New Pornographers "M"
"Enter Sandman" – Metallica "M"
"Epic" – Faith No More "M"
"Flirtin' With Disaster" – Molly Hatchet "M"
*"Foreplay/Long Time" – Boston "M"
"Gimme Shelter" – Rolling Stones "M"
"Go with the Flow" – Queens of the Stone Age "M"
"Green Grass and High Tides" – The Outlaws
"The Hand That Feeds" – Nine Inch Nails "M"
"Here It Goes Again" – OK Go "M"
"Highway Star" – Deep Purple "M"
"I Think I'm Paranoid" – Garbage "M"
"In Bloom" – Nirvana "M"
"Learn to Fly" – Foo Fighters "M"
"Main Offender" – The Hives "M"
"Maps" – Yeah Yeah Yeahs "M"
"Mississippi Queen" – Mountain
"Orange Crush" – R.E.M. "M"
"Paranoid" – Black Sabbath
"Pleasure (Pleasure)" – Bang Camaro "M"
"Reptilia" – The Strokes "M"
"Sabotage" – Beastie Boys "M"
"Say It Ain't So" – Weezer "M"
"Should I Stay or Should I Go" – The Clash "M"
"Suffragette City" – David Bowie "M"
"Tom Sawyer" – Rush
"Vasoline" – Stone Temple Pilots "M"
"Wanted Dead or Alive" – Bon Jovi "M"
"Wave of Mutilation" – Pixies "M"
"Welcome Home" – Coheed and Cambria "M"
"Won't Get Fooled Again" – The Who "M"

And for all of the achievement hunters out there, here are the achievements.

I have a feeling the rest of the songs will be announced within the next week due to GH III coming out (On a Sunday?). And that's not to mention the DLC that will be available. Lots of music for all to enjoy!

For more info, go to the official Rock Band site!

Just a reminder...

2007-10-21T12:40:00.000-04:00

That I do have a forum set up, although it is pretty bare right now. Stop by and say hi here.

Just Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate...

2007-10-20T09:50:00.001-04:00

This is a great contest that just started on 10/15. Amazon and Microsoft are teaming up to deliver 93 custom Xbox 360's (Three a day for the duration of the contest. So what's so custom about them?

Tim Sale, the guy has done all of the artwork for Heroes, has doodled all over them.

In all seriousness he provided his art from Heroes to decorate these new 360's and HD-DVD drives. Want more? How about the HD-DVD version of Heroes season 1.

What are you waiting for? Click here and good luck!

This is going to be the best game ever!

2007-10-17T22:00:00.000-04:00

Psychonauts was an underappreciated gem so hopefully this game gets some more play. If it is anywhere near as good as Psychnauts we're all in for quite a treat...

And it stars Jack Black.

Wow!

2007-10-13T23:26:00.000-04:00

For the first time ever I actually hit the front page of digg. As a thanks to everyone for getting me up there I have a present for all of you!

The Cake is a Lie

2007-10-13T09:50:00.000-04:00

By way of the achieve360points forum poster DrGamez I bring to you the Portal ending song. Enjoy. Just right-click and Save

And the Cake is delicious...

Seriously, it's really good...

Objects in the Portal may be larger than they appear

2007-10-10T17:34:00.000-04:00

Out of all the games available in The Orange Box, Portal had me the least excited. Yeah it seemed interesting, but not really my cup of tea.

I was wrong.

I played Portal first just because I figured it wouldn't hold my attention for that long. An hour later my mind was changed. It's really hard to properly explain the feeling you get after solving a room. That feeling coupled with a very snide computer announcer (I've actually laughed out loud a couple of times) make for a very enjoyable game.

Team Fortress 2 is a totally different animal. Truth be told, I've been more excited for TF2 than Halo 3. The original TF introduced the class-based structure that is prevelant in FPS's today. Team Fortress Classic is also what took me so damn long to beat the original Half-Life, and that may be the same story with TF2.

I had to leave for work so I didn't actually get a chance to play Half-Life 2 or the expansions. I've never play it on the PC or original Xbox either so it's going to be a fresh experience or me.

Oh and out of 99 achievements, I've earned one. Go me...

And on a side note, that free Toyota Yaris game is crap. At least the Burger King games were entertaining.

Coming up for air

2007-10-09T17:46:00.000-04:00

Wow it's been like two weeks since I've posted. Damn you Halo! :)

Well boys and girls the fall game season is upon us. Halo 3 was the kickoff but, this week, come another strong player: The (big) Orange Box. Five full games for $60, without a doubt the best deal gaming has to offer. Personally I'm more excited for Team Fortress 2 than the other four games and I can't wait till tomorrow so I can rock (or burn) some faces off.

I just rented PGR 4 the other day from Gamefly. I've always enjoyed the series but it always seemed like it was missing something. The addition of Motorcycles has delivered the hook to keep me interested. That, coupled the the best achievement ever (1.21 Jiggawatts!!), have earned it a "Keep It" from Gamefly.

The Demos have been flowing like water from the Marketplace lately. A quick rundown:

PGR 4: Don't bother with the demo, just buy the game.

F.E.A.R. Extraction Point: Demo was released today. More stuff to give you nightmares

The Simpsons Game: I've always enjoyed the show but I've never been a superfan. The game, however, is really fun. It may actually be worth the purchase.

Conan: It seems a lot like God of War, which is a very good thing. The graphics are great and the game is just as brutal as you would expect. Too bad it's not coming out till next year.

Crash of the Titans: Every console needs an old school platformer and this looks like it will deliver.

Clive Barker's Jericho: Mark my words, this is going to be the sleeper hit of the fall. Very atmospheric and a lot of twists on the traditional FPS formula.

In other demo news the WWE Smackdown vs Raw 08 demo drops on Monday. Even though the WWE programming may get stale from time to time, the games usually always deliver. I can't wait to get my hands on this one.

I meant to post about this last week but time got away from me: I had a chance to play Guitar Hero III at the Digital Life show in NYC last weekend. The game plays as tight as you would expect from a GH game and the graphics have a little more of a realistic edge to them, but not too realistic. I destroyed some thirteen year old at Evenflow by about 2,000 points, so I felt pretty good about myself. I believe the version I played is the same demo that's coming with Tony Hawk's Proving Ground so keep an eye out for that.

But this post isn't all about the games! The new fall lineup kicked off a couple of weeks ago. I've had a chance to check out some of the shows (I have the first couple of weeks of Bionic Woman, Chuck and Reaper sitting in my DVR) but the show I'm really enjoying is the Big Bang Theory. Hailey Cuoco has turned into quite the Hottie and the geeks next door are hilarious. Check it out if you have a chance, it's at 8:30 pm est on Mondays.

And what else is Monday's? That's right boys and girls, Heroes. So far I'm digging the new season and it's already taken a few very interesting turns. As far as the new cast goes, they really haven't show us much other than Maya "The Penance Stare" chick and her twin brother Alejandro "The Angel Stare" dude. The mysterious redhead who was with Sylar (**SPOILER ALERT** It was Candace the shapeshifter from last season in a new persona named Michelle) in the commercials is dead at the hands of Sylar who is apparantly powerless, at least for now. But when he does get his powers back, now that he has Candice's power, this are going to get really interesting.

Now for some observations and predictions:

Who else figured that Candace/Michelle was a fatty? It was either that or a guy.

Since Peter's tatoo turned in the Helix symbol and he almost killed that guy does that mean he's developed a split personality like Nikki?

Picture 8/8: That looks lke a bad day for Mr. Bennett. And I didn't like the look that Claire gave him in the end. Is West (who seems like he has a dark side, see next blurb) going to shoot him? More importantly, would Claire stop him? (As a side note, I really like Bennett. They better not have him die like that).

I think West is the one offing the last generation of Heroes, or is at least working with whoever is. West would have been able to throw Sulu off the building and fly away and it seems obvious that he would be the one to kill Mr. Bennett (I don't like calling him Noah). The only question is who beat the hell out of Mama Petrelli in the Police Station.

So many more questions but I'll save them for another post. Six more days till we (hopefully) get some answers!

A Midget Is Slowly Killing Me

2007-09-21T13:59:00.000-04:00

Do you know how you can tell when you're done working at a job that requires you to wear a tie? When you constantly feel like there a midget on your shoulders choking you with with his little midget hands.

Everyday I wake up wishing I wasn't doing what I'm currently doing. I'm tired of driving 45 minutes (sometimes an hour) to sit a listen to people bitch all day. I'm tired of the same conversations with every customer. I'm tired of some of my co-workers lame ass jokes day in and day out. Seriously, the horse is dead, stop beating on it. I'm tired of working for a company that dangles prospects in front of you only to snatch them away a month later.

And most importantly, I'm tired of working for somebody else.

I'm 30 years old and I'm tired to answering to people my age and, a lot of times, younger. Sure the current job I have may be, for some, a career but I'm slowly starting to realize it's not a career for me. Unfortunatly I can't just quit and find something else to do like I used to, having a wife and kids put an end to that lifestyle a long time ago.

I feel like something's missing here, or maybe something's missing in me. It may sound immature but I want to have fun doing whatever I'm doing. A lot of times, especially when working for a large company, anything that you say can be a potential lawsuit ready to bleed you dry. Luckily, for the most part, the people I work with aren't the stuffy type and there are a lot of non HR or PC comments made.

But that's not really fun for me, never has been.

Other than working for the same company I really have nothing in common with most of the people I work with. Sure they're a good group of the people, but my conversations with them can be pretty limited at times. I don't hang out with them outside of work, mostly due to the fact that I'm married and can't really get out all that often.

I think I'm going to stop venting now. I am working on something pretty big that hopefully I can have up and running by next summer, but that isn't soon enough for me.

Oh,by the way, there was supposed to be some new Guitar Hero II songs up in the marketplace but they haven't hit yet.

And I need some more Haloclix.

The Master Strategist Is Back!

2007-09-18T18:05:00.000-04:00

In what seems like an eternity ago, I used to be a huge fan of Magic: The Gathering. I started playing back in tenth grade and through the rest of my high school years.

After high school my interest fell off a bit due to the fact that I really had no one to play with. My friends weren't really into it (I was always a little off the beaten path as far as they were concerned) and I could only beat on my brother for so long before it was no longer a challenge (Sengir Vampire FTW). Eventually I sold all of my cards and moved to Jersey.

After I moved here I fell into a group that played Magic and started up again. After the shop we used to play at closed up we all lost contact and again I sold all of my cards.

I never picked up Magic again but I did fall into another money sink.

Heroclix.

Mage Knight never really did anything for me but Heroclix had me hooked almost instantly. I had never played a tabletop strategy game before this but I was really into a computer game called Freedom Force at the time. To me HC was basically a tabletop version of FF so I was instantly hooked. I owned every figure (including most of the Limited Editions), won a ton of tournaments and had a lot of fun doing it.

My wife and I had just had our twins so my time was better spent at home. I sold all of my clix on eBay (I actually made a good amount of money from them) and figured I was done with the tabletop games othen than Chutes and Ladders and Memory.

The those bastards at Wizkids found a way to bring me back...

Haloclix

Halo Actionclix (as they are properly called) take the fun and fragging of the behemoth that is Halo and brings it to your kitchen table. The action is fast paced, the figures are nicely detailed and the rules are pretty straight forward.

I've only been able to find the booster packs around here (which come with a map, rules, tokens, 4 figures and the tiniest dice I've ever seen) but apparently the Warthog and Hunter packs (with a Fuel Rod Cannon!) came out today. I've pulled two Ultra-Rares (some brute and Sgt Johnson), two different Master Chiefs (you can apparenty weapon swap between like figures) and a lot of red and blue guys (I'm praying for LE editions of the Red vs Blue guys). I've been sucked back in. Dammit...

Now I have to convince my wife that I should spend $250 dollars on a Scarab Tank.

Guitar Hero III Track List Revealed?

2007-09-17T08:18:00.001-04:00

If this is the actual List or the game we'll all be very happy: from qj.net:

Tier 1:

Foghat - Slow Ride
Poison - Talk Dirty to Me
Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Social Distortion - Story of My Life
Encore: Kiss - Rock and Roll All Nite
Co-op Encore: Beastie Boys - Sabotage
Tier 2:

Mountain - Mississippi Queen
Alice Cooper - School's Out
Cream - Sunshine of Your Life
Heart - Barracuda
Boss: Tom Morello - Guitar Battle
Encore: Rage Against the Machine - Bulls on Parade
Co-op Encore: The Strokes - Reptilia
Tier 3:

The Killers - When You Were Young
AFI - Miss Murder
The Who - The Seeker
Priestess - Lay Down
Encore: Rolling Stones - Paint It Black
Co-op Encore: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Suck My Kiss
Tier 4:

Black Sabbath - Paranoid
The Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK
Sonic Youth - Kool Thing
Weezer - My Name Is Jonas
Encore: Pearl Jam - Evenflow
Co-op Encore: Blue Oyster Cult - Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll
Tier 5:

The Dead Kennedy's - Holiday in Cambodia
Scorpions - Rock You Like a Hurricane
Aerosmith - Same Old Song and Dance
ZZ Top - La Grange
Boss: Slash - Guitar Battle
Encore: Guns N Roses - Welcome to the Jungle
Co-op Encore: Bloc Party - Hellicopter
Tier 6:

Santana - Black Magic Woman
Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock
White Zombie - Black Sunshine
Tenacious D - The Metal
Encore: Stevie Ray Vaughn - Pride and Joy
Co-op Encore: Matchbook Romance - Monsters
Tier 7:

Slipknot - Before I Forget
Disturbed - Stricken
Queens of the Stone Age - 3's and 7's
Muse - Knights of Cydonia
Encore: Living Colour - Cult of Personality
Tier 8:

Slayer - Raining Blood
Eric Johnson - Cliffs of Dover
Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast
Metallica - One
Boss: Lou - Guitar Battle
Encore: The Devil Went Down to Georgia
Bonus Tracks:

An Endless Sporadic - Impulse
Backyard Babies - Minus Celsius
Bret Michaels Band - Go That Far
Die Toten Hosen - Hier Kommit Alex
Dragonforce - Through the Fire and the Flames
Fall of Troy - FCP Remix
Gallows - In the Belly of a Shark
The Hellacopters - I'm in the Band
Heroes del Silencio - Avalancha
In Flames - Take This Life
Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby
Killswitch Engage - My Curse
LA Slum Lords - Down N Dirty
Lacuna Coil - Closer
Lions - Metal Heavy Lady
NAAST - Mauvis Garcon
Prototype - The Way It Ends
Revolverhead - Generation Rock
Rise Against - Prayer of the Refugee
Scouts of St. Sebastian - In Love
Senses Fail - Can't Be Saved
The Sleeping - Don't Hold Back
The Stone Roses - She Bangs the Drums
Superbus - Radio Song

The Halo Effect

2007-09-08T11:25:00.000-04:00

This drought of new games for the 360 is amazing. Stranglehold is really the only major release this month besides the beast that is Halo 3. A smart move marketing wise but what about us gamers?

The shine has come off of Bioshock now that I've beaten it and now that will be going towards my copy of Halo. I stil have my Madden but I just haven't been in the mood to play it latley. I have yet to pick up Metroid for the Wii but things are much rosier on that side of the fence either. I just picked up a PS2 on the cheap and I've been playing a lot of Soul Caliber 3 (I can't wait till SC4 for the 360. Ivy for the win).

Works been kinda plodding along on the book. I've been a little pre-occupied with trying to figure out how to get some start up money to open a store. My credit isn't so hot so getting a business loan will probably be a little difficult. I'm just tired of working for someone else and I've wanted to open a game store for a looong time. The closet ones to my area are about a 1/2 hour away and the Wal-Mart by my house hires the most clueless people in town.

So does anyone have any pointers? I'm open to suggestons on how to raise the money. I may be able to get a partner but I'd like to be able to do it myself.

I hate correcting myself...

2007-09-05T11:45:00.001-04:00

Ok, a couple of mistakes from yesterday:

Fatal Fury released for 400 points, not 800.

The Flatout Demo is single player only...boo.....

I need to get out of this place...

2007-09-04T11:17:00.000-04:00

I hate my job right now. My boss is a midget with a powertrip (seriously, my wife is 4ft 11in and he makes her look like a giant) and I really think I'm tired of doing what I'm currently doing. The location I'm in is't the busiest so at least I know I can work on my book some more, but I feel like a rat in a cage. I have to get out of here.

Sorry for rambling like that, I just had to vent for a minute. So what's new?

- Fatal Fury 3 comes out on XBLA tomorrow for 800 points.

- CoD beta is freaking incredible.

- I just bought a PS2 and a bunch of game. God of War is great but Tekken and Soul Caliber are a lot harder than I remember.

- I'll be going to the Opie and Anthony Travelling Virus in Camden, NJ (It's the Philly show) on 9/15. I will be putting some pictures up from the show (which I'm sure won't be work safe for the most part).

- Only a few more days until season two of Heroes followed by the release of Halo 3. Plan your sick days accordingly.

- The Flatout demo is due to be released this week on XBL. It's Multiplayer!!

That's all for now. Later

Well worth the wait

2007-08-24T12:00:00.000-04:00

Well I picked up Bioshock yesterday during my lunch break, grabbing the last copy at the local Target. It sat in my car during the last couple of hours of work and after I got home I couldn't play it until after the wife and kids settled in. I finally got started around 9:30pm. I didn't stop playing until about 2am.

First of all, this must be said: Stop bitching about the issue with the aspect ratio. I'm playing on a 32in widescreen and you know what? The game is freaking beautiful. For all of the snobby jerkasses that are saying that they won't play it until it's fixed, we don't need you anyway. So just shut up stupid and enjoy the ride.

I started up and flew through the parts that were in the demo (although there were a couple of changed in the item placement between the final and demo versions of the game). After ther part where the demo ends I left my "safe zone" and had no idea what to expect.

The pacing of the game is fantastic, there's never a dull moment. Even the most common enemy is a challenge and, at times, it can be overwhelming but who doesn't love a challenging shooter that needs some thought in how to kill your enemies.

Now, with this game, you can't talk about enemies needing thought without bringing up the Big Daddys. They won't attack you unless they are provoked or you try to harm the Little Sisters, a gruesome little girl with a very large needle that hold they key to you progressing through the game.

I've beaten four Big Daddys so far (and saved the girls, not harvest. That'll be the next run through) and each one requires more or less the same strategy: run backwards and keep jamming on the first aid button. On average it takes like 5 to 10 minutes to take one down but it's always a great fight.

Pick up the game. It's almost a shoe in for game of the year.

And Two Worlds actually did come out this week. Surprise, surprise.

Waiting

2007-08-23T12:21:00.000-04:00

I don't want to be here today. I was supposed to have off but I'm covering for someone that covered for me on Saturday. But you know what's making me want to leave even more?

I'm picking up Bioshock after work.

Originally I wasn't that into the game. When I heard there was no multiplayer I figured I was done with it. As a rule i generally don't buy single player shooters because i tend to get bored by them. But after playing the demo I was hooked.

5 pm can't come fast enough...

ROCK!!!

2007-08-21T20:44:00.001-04:00

The achievements for Guitar Hero III have been unvieled. There are a a couple of doozy's (play through with a standard controller? Yikes) so this should be a fun time.