The Writer's Strike and Me.

If you've been out of the universe for the past few months you may not know that Hollywood Writers are on strike. You may also have noticed that TV really sucks lately. I wrote an article over at MarriedGamer.com about the strike increasing DVD viewing and Video Game playing. What I didn't mention was what I thought about it. So here goes.

I started out thinking that it was unfair that writers didn't get a cut of the digital download sales on the things that they write about. Realistically, if you worked on it you should get paid for it (unless you are God, or a blog writer with a passion and a few loyal readers). I still think that, to a point. Unfortunately, I'm tired of nothing being on during the winter season. The only good thing that has come out of this is that the wife and I now watch TV together because of the lack of disagreements (rarrrrrrr!) on what we want to watch.

I also want to know why the writer's union can give the okay for their members to write for The Grammy Awards, yet not agree to write for America's favorite shows. How hard is it to write for a music awards show? "And presenting the award for greatest hard-core-country-metal newcomer singer/songwriter of the year is...(insert famous person here)." That seems hard.

What I really am trying to say is: I want to watch syndicated TV again. I want new episodes of shows, like LOST or even Grey's Anatomy (for the wife, of course.) I want to not live again! I want my warm soft couch to caress my backside while I slide into a near comatose state for a few hours. Please give me that back, Writer's Guild of America, please!

I Likes Me Some Super Mario Bros.

If you haven't been able to tell, I've been on hiatus for the last few weeks. For starters my wife, son and I decided to go and visit relatives in Washington (the state) for the Christmas season, and do a lot of shopping (and I mean a LOT!). And then I had a lot to do when I came back to work. And then I got lazy. And then I got my wife pregnant (which actually happened before we went on vacation).

Before we left I picked up Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Gameboy game) for my DS Lite. After so 17 years this game is still really fun to play, a fantastic find in the Fred Meyer bargain bin. I don't know how many times I have died in my pursuit to finish this game (or how many times I have thrown my DS in frustration). For all of you Super Mario Bros. fans out there: I know that you can use the warp whistle to beat the game quicker, I wanted to do it on my own merit (and I haven't figured out how to successfully use it).

Super Mario 3 is a timeless classic. Running and jumping on things never gets old, not to mention flying and swimming like a frog. SM3 is everything I remembered from the olden days, plus a little more. The beautiful coloring and graphics still hold up today. Turtles are still non-scary enemies, but flying ships with flame throwers scare the crap out of me. It is still fun to find treasures in the air or after sliding down a pipe. I also love the different worlds: Air world, Ice world, Desert world, Big world, Forest world, Normal world, Waterworld (Kevin Coster is the man!), and Fire World. (Have you ever noticed that the word "WORLD" doesn't seem like it's spelled correctly?)

I think the only thing that gets on my nerves (in this game), is that the little mosses and big bosses are always the same. Sure, some of them fly, but is that really a challenge? (some say "no") I guess, being the "fly" person that I am (more jive, really), I still love it. But it could have used more originality when it came to the bosses. I think I'll fire up my time machine and go talk to the developers about this. I might rethink that plan since I'm still in the process of inventing the time machine and haven't gotten all of the bugs worked out (I also want to apologize to my family for the missing animals).

In conclusion (why does everyone need closure?), I recommend that you go out and buy this game immediately! If you don't own a Nintendo DS or Gameboy Advance, I would recommend that you go out and buy one of those. If you are an executive for Nintendo and want to send advertising dollars to me for the glowing review of your products, please email me: alteredweapon@gmail.com

I hope everyone is having a Happy New Year and will continue to read (unless you have stopped) or become a new reader. Bless you all!

Slow gaming week, or just laziness?

I thought I would write something for all of my fan out there (thanks for reading, Dave).

This weeks been kind of a lull in gaming for me. I'm not sure why, but I lose interest every once in a while. Maybe it's the cold weather, wanting to spend more time with the family, or stress at work (or the mafia members sent over by certain game companies to make sure I don't say something stupid). Whatever it is, I've been taking a break from gaming. Not a complete break (Uncharted has been played a couple of times this week), but as close as a gamer can get.

I have been watching Planet Earth, a documentary from the Discovery Channel, on Blu-Ray, with my wife and son. I've been blown away by this hi definition documentary. The crystal clear camera shots combined with the locations make this a must watch for any Blu-Ray owner. It's got a boatload of nature and no human beings that are visible (except on the Yellow River in China). Breathtaking scenery and good writing make this a reason to get a Blu-Ray player. I am so impressed, I wish I could show everyone. Two words: WOW!!

Xbox Customer Support and my dead 360...

I was going to have a long explanation on how my 360's disk drive died, but I've decided to get to the point. It happened on Monday night while I was preparing to play Call of Duty 4. My first 360 died almost a year ago and I though I was a few weeks out of warranty on the refurbished unit that I had received. So I called Xbox customer support, fully expecting to argue with someone on the other line.

If anyone from Microsoft Customer Support is reading this, please get a different voice for your automated system. Automated Dave's voice is not soothing or helpful to people who are going through a video game crisis. Luckily, I got through the automated portion pretty quickly (after Auto Dave hung up on me once), and got to talk to a very nice lady named Keisha. I don't know if it's my phone voice or just luck, but I'm quite impressed with this lady's customer service skills. She didn't treat me like an idiot, was very easy to understand and didn't leave me on hold for a long time when looking up information. I am now waiting for the "coffin" to send my box into be repaired/replaced.

This doesn't mean that I'm not upset about having to send my 360 in for the 2nd time, I am. Playing on Friday nights with my friends is the stress reliever I need to get through the next week. I'm really going to miss the gaming. Keisha really helped with my anger and I hope she gets promoted or at least a hefty pay raise (I know it's her job, but she did it well and she should be thanked). This experience also allows me to invest some much needed time into my other console.

So I'm going to need some games to play on my PS3. The day after my box died I decided to cheer myself up by purchasing 2 PS3 games. I bought Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (which I loved when I rented it) and Warhawk (for my multiplayer needs). I played Warhawk a couple of times yesterday and really see the potential in this multiplayer only game. My first reaction to this game isn't favorable, but I'm willing to play more and get better at playing. I've also learned that I can play with friends on the same TV and online at the same time (which is great!) . It's a well thought out , multiplayer only, 3rd person shooter with vehicles and weapons galore. Hopefully I can play with some of the people on my friends list this weekend and get more proficient at it.

Hopefully I can become more Playstation friendly and be happy with the repair wait all at the same time. I'm still a big fan of the Xbox 360 and will try to think positive in this time of need. Again, Thank you to customer support expert Keisha and I hope you have a happy holiday season.

I need some advice...

Here's the deal: I have $60 to spend on a game, it's been there for a couple of weeks now. I've rented numerous games and have enjoyed quite a bit of them, but only one has jumped out at me (but none of them have killed me in my sleep either, that's a plus). That game is Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. I've had more fun playing this amazing single player adventure game than any other single player game during the last few months. I will own this game, eventually.

I also want to buy Warhawk for the PS3 and try out the awesomeness that it's supposed to be. And I get a Bluetooth headset, which is awesomeness in itself (and I'll get to insult people and pretend I'm talking on my cell phone). There is also Resistance: Fall of Man, which is, in theory, a good game also.

Maybe I should save my money and buy Rockband for the 360 (which is what most people will recommend), but I don't know. It'll be a lot of fun to rock out with friends and family, online and off. It is a possibility, yet expensive, yet fun, yet spendy, yet exciting, yet a lot of money. And then there is Scene It! Lights, Camera, Action for the 360 also. I love trivia games and really dug this at PAX. I don't have enough offline friends to play this on a regular basis, and that could be a problem.

So, what should I do? What should I buy? Should I eat a tube of toothpaste today? (probably not) Do farm animals secretly know how to talk when we're not around? (I say yes. Or was that a cartoon I saw?) I really don't know, and I need your help. Please comment with your suggestions. They'll be taken into considerations and a game will be bought in accordance with your advice (hopefully).

Thank You.

I just read my post counter for the first time in two weeks. I'm at 1200 hits, so far, and just want to say "Thank You" to everyone who has visited so far. It's important to me that you, the reader, enjoy the stuff I write. If you have any suggestions or see anything that is even slightly baseless and untrue, feel free to comment. I will publish all comments unless they are vulgar or racist. If there is something you would like to know about or read my opinion about, please email me alteredweapon@gmail.com
I've been really trying to publish something more than once a week. Works kind of busy and with gaming and family, I don't have a lot of time. I do promise to write once a week, though, and more as time goes on. If you are interested in writing an article, please email me. Again, "ThankYou".

Rental Review: MASS EFFECT

I've come to the conclusion that I don't wish to become someone else in a video game. Mass Effect from developer Bioware and published by Microsoft Game Studios, is a role playing game that has been anticipated since the 360 came into existence. I rented this two days ago and decided that I'm not a role player at all. That doesn't mean that I won't keep playing until the rental is up, and I'll probably buy it when the price comes down in a few months (unless Bioware wants to send me a copy, or a relative wants to purchase it at full price).

Graphically this game is pretty decent. The character face models bring out a certain humanity that most games don't have at the moment. The different locations are beautifully laid out and do a convincing job of creating the mood necessary to the story. The character speech isn't completely in sync with the mouth, and the eyes of most of the human characters creep me out a little. The alien species are typical sci-fi characters, but don't always follow a humanoid form (nice touch, even though Kirk probably wouldn't mate with them).

Gameplay is divided into a few different segments (possibly more, but since it's taken me a week to write this I have might have missed something).
1: 3rd Person Shooter. This part is fun and full of action, but a little hard to control. You can take cover and order your team to do various tactical moves. This generally ends up in them dying. 2: Quests. Doing things like helping to analyze an alien species to mediating an argument between two species. I personally don't consider this fun, but it could be with enough incentive (like money).
3: Walking around. I don't even like walking in real life, so I don't like it in virtual life.
4: Dialog wheel. Bioware has a way for the player to speak to others the way that they want. You just select your response and your character interacts
And last, but not least, 5: Cutscenes. Probably the best part of the game for me. I really enjoy watching the story in most games, especially if they are good. Mass Effect has a good story line for the soldier campaign, and I enjoyed all of the cutscenes immensely. I'm hoping to explore the other campaigns when I actually buy this game.

Mass Effect isn't the end-all and be-all of RPG-action games. If it were I would have bought 6 dozen copies and distributed them to everyone that I come in contact with. It is very well done for the genre and the Xbox 360 console. I have heard from people in the gaming community that there is a good amount of re-playability in this game.

Bottom line: Mass Effect should be bought instead of rented because there is not enough time on a rental to play this game in it's entirety.

Games I have been Playing.

The last few weeks have been pretty busy. With work, family and the plethora of games coming out, I have not had time to do much else. I'm not complaining, I have really been enjoying most of it, and the overtime helps me buy more games. I figured I would give my impressions of the games I have played lately.

First off is Halo 3 from Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios. Great game, and a lot of fun online. This game kept me busy for a long time. The only thing lacking in Halo 3 is the single player mission was a little lacking in new gameplay, but it is still pretty good.

Next up is Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat from Infinity Ward and published by Activision. So far this is my favorite game of the year. I'm not the type of person who will play a game for multiple hours on end. CoD4 breaks that personally trait into a million pieces. The single player campaign has a great story, fantastic graphics and free ice cream. (okay, i lied about the ice cream, but a list of three always sounds better.) The missions play like Call of Duty 2, but improved upon. I really like the leveling system, it rewards those who play well and complete challenges but doesn't punish those who are new. I'll be playing this game for months or years to come.

I bought Kane and Lynch: Dead Men for the 360 which is developed by IO Studios and published by Eidos (The makers of the Hitman series). This game plays like an action, bank heist movie. I really enjoy the story and although the game mechanics need slight tweaking, it still works well. The biggest problem that I have with this game is it lacks graphically and the multiplayer experience is non-existent for myself (I can never join a match!). Online co-op isn't an option either, but I don't think this is the type of game that would be loads of fun in that area. I'm really looking forward to playing this with a buddy and having a few good laughs.

I mentioned that I had rented Ratchet and Clank Future last week as the inaugural game for the PS3. That game is crack on a disk (alteredweapon.com does not condone smoking crack on a disk or any other apparatus) I was a little sad when I returned it, but will be asking for it for Christmas from the wife (I Love You). Published by Sony Computer Entertainment and developed by Insomniac Games, this game will not disappoint. I really enjoyed everything about this game and wish there were more hours in the day to enjoy it.

My PS3 came with Motorstorm, developed by Evolution Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. I've only played this game for about an hour, but really like racing in a multiple class, multiple path track. Good pack in game. I don't like the lack of split screen multi-player, that should have been in this game.

I rented Assassin's Creed for the PS3 this week, Developed by Eidos and published by Ubisoft. I'm not sure what I think. I really love the graphics and being able to climb buildings. The story is a bit confusing, but good. I guess I'm not a huge fan of riding a horse or walking for miles in a game traveling to my destination, that just bores me. I also have a problem with stealth killing not being a huge factor in a game where you are an assassin. Eidos should have asked for help from Ubisoft Montreal, developers of the Splinter Cell series, to get the stealth gameplay right.I will be getting this for Christmas also and will return it today and wait until then. I also might rent it for the 360 to make a comparison.

I've played a few demos, and just rented Mass Effect. Rock Band is on my list of wants, but price and lack of friends available to play with are holding me back. I've had so much fun with the games that I've played so far that I'm worried about next year. Hopefully neither console disappoints.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Welcome to the Sony-dome!

I bought a Playstation 3 this weekend, 80 gig limited edition. The thing looks pretty sweet! It seems that Sony was looking toward the future and betting on longevity for this installment of the Playstation console series. The reason I say that is because this console looks like a piece of furniture, both in size and sleekness, almost art like. The Xbox 360 looks fine, but not like a piece of the entertainment system.

I would compare it to real (PS3) and plastic (360) flowers. Sure the plastic ones look good, but up close you can tell it's just plastic and kind of cheap. The upside is that everyone can enjoy the plastic flowers all year long. Real flowers look nicer and garner appreciation for every time they are presented. The down side is that real flowers wilt and take one dedicated person to take care of them.

I guess what I'm saying is I love both my consoles equally. I enjoy the single player experiences I've gotten so far with the PS3 (Ratchet and Clank: Future is awesome!), and will always cherish the multiplayer game nights on Xbox Live (The only real way to play Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat). I think my biggest dilemma is: What system do I buy Assassin's Creed for?

Are people fleeing California?

I'm seeing quite a few of these commercials on TV lately, and am wondering if California is having trouble getting people to come visit. I don't think anyone ever says to themselves "I think I want to visit South Central Los Angeles next spring." and then books their flight and hotel.



Apparently, they are amping up their tourism advertising because of the recent fires. Not a bad move, if you ask me. Not that anybody does. These ads also sound like they need more people to move to California. Do they really need more people? Maybe they need more tax revenue. I think that is a bad move.