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.

Could this spell disaster for Take 2? (Um...no)

From gamesindustry.biz

Take 2 refuses to pinpoint GTA IV release

Matt Martin 11:36 (BST) 07/11/2007

Missing the upcoming Christmas season wasn't crucial, says Zelnick

Strauss Zelnick, chairman of Take 2, has refused to narrow down a release period for Grand Theft Auto IV, saying the publisher won't commit until it's "utterly convinced" the game is ready.

Most recently the publisher has said the title will be released in Q1 of 2008 – between February 1 and April 30 – following a delay that saw the game moved from its initial release of October 2007.

"It's a fair question given that we weren't able to stick to our firm date the last time. We're going to give a firm date when we are utterly convinced that we have it and that isn't right now," said Zelnick during a BMO Capital Markets conference yesterday.

"We know it's highly anticipated. Right now our view is to put out a high quality title and we're not in the business of disappointing investors."

Zelnick said that any concerns that the initial delay had caused it to miss the Christmas sales period have been alleviated, as GTA IV is a "must-have" title, able to take advantage of a bigger installed base of consoles in the New Year.

(follow the link for the rest of the article) LINK


I think the question is: Will Take 2/Rockstar sell more games during a packed Holiday season or during the spring when few great games are released? Of couse they're going to go with the time of year with less competition. It also gives them more time for hype and advertising through controversy. I'm pretty sure that Jack Thompson has his own problems right now and can't focus a whole lot on suing Take 2 over the content of Grand Theft Auto 4. Good move by this game company. Of course I wish that other companies would take a note and release their big titles during a shopping lull instead of this time of year. Bad move for my wallet.

Quicker Update

Now everyone can comment to the posts. I didn't know that you had to register to comment and if that was true, I am sorry.

Technical stuff.

I'm trying to make this all look and feel a little better. The only problem that I have is:

I have no idea what I'm doing!


Also, if you have any suggestions or would like to see something please comment. I think it can be anonymous, if you would like it to be. I'm open to suggestions for everything, including layout, format, content, anything. I enjoy this, but would like to make it look and feel better. Thank you for reading so far, I really appreciate it.

More Later...

Non-Gaming Observation (no picture today)

I just saw a Subway commercial tonight that made me think. It's the one with Jared and Reggie Bush. The commercial compares the two men's lifestyles. One scene shows Jared cleaning out a big plastic pool and then it cuts to Reggie lounging by the pool of his multi-million dollar house. The rest of the commercial shows the two in other situation where Jared is poor, and Reggie is (obviously) rich.

This brings some thoughts about Jared to mind. First off: How bad is this dude with money? I can't imagine that the worlds only ex/semi-fat guy, who made a career out of eating sandwiches (take that Atkins!), could possibly be anywhere near the middle-middle class spectrum. If a person really thinks about it, Jared should be rolling in the dough. I don't mean bathing naked in burnt money, but pretty well off.

On the same note: Why isn't Reggie Bush bathing in burnt money? Does he really need to supplement his income by being the super fit guy to Jared's really odd, slightly overweight ambiguity? Is the subway commercials a court ordered thing? I was under the impression that he was a superstar. And in being a superstar, he could be doing shoe commercials and other events that didn't require him to hang out with and ex-obese guy that made money selling bootleg porn in college. Maybe Reggie is really into bootleg copies of dirty movies. That must be it.