AlteredWeapon.com

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 wr...

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 did...

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...

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".

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 typ...

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...

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: Fu...

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.

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 bus...

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.

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...

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 reall...

MGS4 Delayed (Again) to Spring 2008 From 1up.com Arguably PS3's biggest game yet suffers another setback. By Steve Watts , 10/31/2007 Just in time for Halloween, Konami has decided to smash our proverbial pumpkins. And by pumpkins, I mean hopes for an early 2008 release date for Snake's latest outing. An announcement went out this morning that the hotly anticipated title Metal Gear Solid 4 would be delayed until the second quarter of 2008, following another delay announced at E3 2007 . This is a push back from winter, which would have had it dropping in the first quarter. The move doesn't come as much of a surprise, given that such a marquee title would usually release in the holiday season. Interestingly, the press release says the delay stems from attempts "to make further improvements to the quality of the game and provide even greater enjoyment for more customers worldwide." For all of the PS3 owners out there who bought the...

Men also avid players of casual video games: study from Reuters.com folow the link for the whole article. Mon Oct 29, 2007 2:04pm EDT SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Men are just as likely as women to play casual video games, but are less likely to admit it, according to an industry report that shatters a widely held industry belief that such games appeal mainly to women. But women are more likely to buy casual games -- a broad term referring to games that are easy to pick and play -- than men, who are more determined to find a free version or try to thwart anti-piracy protections on games. Those were some of the findings in the first yearly market report by the Casual Games Association, an industry group aimed at promoting a fast-growing segment that accounts for about 10 percent of the $30 billion global video game market. Congratulations, Reuters, you now know something that every guy in the world knew for years! I'm not going to say that I play or enjoy casual games....

EA confirms "routine" job losses. from gamesindustry.biz Matt Martin 09:52 (BST) 29/10/2007 Across development, publishing and corporate divisions Electronic Arts has confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that a number of staff across studios will be losing their jobs, but has stopped short of revealing the exact number of those affected. The jobs are across the board in development studios, publishing and the company's corporate divisions, with EA putting the reorganization down to the completion of its 2007 games line-up. "This is a small and somewhat routine event for this time of the year when many of our titles are finished and being shipped," said a spokesperson for the company. "It includes a small number of roles across studio, publishing and corporate divisions." I wonder what "small number" actually means. I also wonder if this is going to include people from Bioware/Pandemic Studios. Layoffs are something that isn't u...

So dates were announced for the greatest gaming community event ever! I know that it's only been a couple of months since PAX 2007 ended, but I'm super excited about this! The dates are August 29th, 30th and 31st, 2008. It's going to be held at the Seattle Convention Center again and it will be a blast! If you aren't familiar with Penny Arcade , please follow the link and check out their community and fantastic web comic.

So Microsoft is making a profit in their entertainment and devices division. Congratulations to Microsoft for making money! Of course that means that millions of gamers around the world are now poor. I know that's a messed up way to view it, but I like to tell the truth. I only own 15 Xbox 360 games and have bought Call of Duty 2 twice. I've done the math in my head and that amounts to approx $800 in games. That's not counting the money I've spent at Blockbuster on renting games and late charges on said games. You should also add Xbox Live Arcade titles to that also. And I'm not hard core like most of the gamers I know.

Great Trailer! Now I want this game more.

Army of Two will miss holiday From gamesindustry.biz: EA needs time to "get the first title right" EA's Army of Two, originally planned for a November release, has been delayed until early 2008. "Army of Two has potential to become a lasting EA franchise -- so getting the first title right is essential," Frank Gibeau, head of EA Games , said in a statement. The company said it needed time to "polish" the co-op shooter, which is being programmed for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter expected the game to earn approximately USD 54 million in revenue during EA's third quarter. "It's an important game for them if they hope to establish it as a franchise," Pachter told Reuters . I wonder if this is the reason EA wants a universal platform. I also wonder which system is giving them the most trouble. Part of me wants to say the Colecovision is holding this game up, but I could be wrong. Cou...

Imagine a world where you don't have to buy the next best system. A world where you don't have to plug your console into the TV you want to play with. A world where you carry your controller wherever you want to play games in your house. A world where the only gaming choice you have is which game do you want to download. Imagine. While surfing today I found an article at the BBC where Gerhard Florin, head of EA(Electronic Arts) international publishing, called for a universal console. Here's a snippet of the article (Follow the link for the whole article): EA wants 'open gaming platform' By Darren Waters Technology editor, BBC News website Rival gaming systems should make way for a single open platform, a senior executive at Electronic Arts has said. Gerhard Florin said incompatible consoles made life harder for developers and consumers. "We want an open, standard platform which is much easier than having five which are not compatible," said EA'...

I just want to say that Blockbuster is awesome when it coes to selling used games for far less than what they are worth. I bought Fear, Lost Planet and Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 for $15.00 each. All of these games are still over $30.00 here in the Alaska. I was waiting forever to buy Lost Planet from them and am really happy I stopped by Blockbuster to check. Talk about a gamers candy store! Now onto the quick review of Lost Planet. I'm so glad that I didn't buy this game for the story or cut scenes. If so, this game would lose points quickly, not that it's a bad story, it just isn't my cone of snow. I absolutly love the nonstop action! Shooting bugs is just plain fun in my book (Earth Defense Force). The aiming system is good for a 3rd person shooter and the graphics look great on an SD Television. I'm not that far into the game (maybe 3 hours or so) so my mind might change after playing the rest of the game. I doubt it. I really want to play an...

I rented Orange Box last night and jumped into Portal . I'll never say, "I'll just play for a half hour and go to bed." ever again. I played through 85% of the game until I realized that it was midnight. It's been a long time since a game has made me forget about time. Portal score: High enough to warrant buying the entire game.

Project Gotham Racing 4 (PGR4) is a racing game by Microsoft Games Studios and Bizzare Creations. From what I had been hearing this wasn't a bad game. I figured instead of dropping $60 on a game I hadn't been anticipating, I would rent it. And thank God I did! I'm not saying that PGR4 is a bad game, it's not. I'm just iterating that it's boring. I guess if I had been more excited, like I was for Forza 2 (pronounced "Fortza Too"), getting into this game would not have been a problem. But it was. I've had the game for 3 days and have played it twice. And I've only really enjoyed myself once. I'm not a big fan of losing my first race, or my second race, or my third race, or my...well, I think you get it by now. Normally with a slightly difficult game I really wouldn't have a problem, but it's a freakin' racing game! I'm slightly good at racing games, I don't lose races until it starts getting hard. I'm n...

For all of you that don't know (My audience of me and the occasional visitor who got on the wrong internet offramp,) Orange Box is a collection of games from gaming company Valve. They've created such fine games like Half Life 1 & 2, Team Fortress 1 & 2, Counterstrike and other fine games. You can view their games list here . The games that are included in Orange Box are: Portal Team Fortress 2 Half-Life 2 Half-Life 2: Episode Two Half-Life 2: Episode 1 If you want to know more, do the research. I'm a horrible educator. I should be more excited about this, that would make me a hardcore gamer. Being that I'm just "core" makes me a little sad. Not that I'm not contemplating buying Orange Box , I am heavily contemplating (and maybe electroplating and misinterpreplating) on buying this game. Do I need another First Person Shooter? No. I still have to beat Halo 3 and the rest of my collection of FPS' and other very exciting games. That is ...

I want to know how I ever forgot about Grape-Nuts. I was reminded of them today and think I need to go out and buy a box. As a matter of fact, you as a reader should go and enjoy a box yourself.

325 That's right, I bench pressed 325 lbs. yesterday! I never thought that I could, but I figured I would try. Nothing makes you feel more like a man, except maybe a larger "treasure chest", or an expensive car, or money, or self respect.

I've been thinking about different bloggers and forum posters who give a "call to arms" for gamers to unite together against the many evils of the universe. (I think that was a run-on sentence) It seems to me that isn't the best way to get results in the gaming world. Seriously, how many gamers do you know actually rise up against anything? With the promise of annonimity online and the distinct fact that we are not going outside to have our adventures, why would anyone expect this to work. Online petitions are only good if there is an actual name to the signer. Here's my idea. Before a person has a call to arms, why don't you start with a call to community. Befriend people and let them know who you really are. Put a face to your name. Become a figure, not just a character. When others follow suit, then call them to arms. Let me know how that turns out.

More than likely I'll quit before I get started. But just in case I don't: Howdee! I'm Neal, aka. Altered Weapon, and I'm here to rock...umm...no...more rolling than rocking. I'm here to roll, like dinner. Welcome to my world...