Year of the Undead

True Story: me and buddy of mine were in the movie theater waiting for Tron Legacy(nope, sorry...we did not dress up in combat armor or have any discs attached to our backs) he posed a question on me. What is the deal with video games having some sort of zombies in them? I thought about it and started wondering the same thing. What is it about the undead do we love that every popular game we like to play has some sort of zombie mode or have zombies in them? So I figured I would tweet about how 2010 would be the year of the zombie and lo and behold, IGN beats me to the punch and gives a nice video of some of the most popular games with zombies in them. Great minds think alike I guess.



It seems video games are creating hundreds of ways you can kill a zombie. In Chuck Greene's case, there's endless possibilities. I guess that's what appeals gamers with zombies. You can either pump a zombie full of lead or use a rake combined with a car battery to electrocute them senseless. It also can develop teamwork. Games like Left 4 Dead or Treyarch's Zombie Mode in Call of Duty make it worth your while to stay together as a team or die as an individual. Heck you dont even need guns or equipment to kill zombies it seems. Plants should be your weapon of choice. Not only do you have to worry about human zombies...there's also the zombie bears and zombie cougars. You can ask John Marston about how to take those things down. Maybe ride one of the 4 apocalyptic horses and scalp those zombies with your tomahawk. What else will they come up with?

IGN's take on the Year of the Zombie

It's not just in video games where zombies are thriving. Want to know what to do if a zombie outbreak occurs? Read Max Brooks Zombie Survival Guide. Theres also plenty of movies from Dawn of the Dead to 28 Days Later and my personal favorite Zombieland. AMC's new tv series The Walking Dead just finished up their 1st season. If you havent watched it yet, it's definitely recommended. It's not everyday a tv series about zombies shows up for long. It actually got me reading the comic book that inspired it. Any way you look at it, zombies will never die and they'll be around for a long time. Here's hoping we never get tired of planting a bullet in the head with one.

Check out the TV Series on AMC & the comic book as well

3D for you and me?

3D. Is it for you or me? 3D is taking off again in movie theaters, homes, and even the gaming scene. More content is becoming available each month, but is it worth the cost of the gear needed to get this effect? Is it even safe? Read on for my unbiased non sales thoughts on this.


I am lucky enough (for now) to work in the retail industry and get to see most newer technology before it drops in the stores. About 4 years ago or so, I seen my first 3DTV. Samsung was trying this thru PC emulation on their DLP tvs. Mitsubishi even made a laser TV in 3D that we seen in a huge 18 wheeler display truck, but it failed to release. Perhaps due to the price as it was around $6k. Fast forward to this year as most manufacturers have released 3D ready or enabled models that work from Blu-Ray players. Much better delivery this time as it has finally taken off and the pricing is much cheaper than in the past, but is it worth it now?

I say no. Each time I have seen a demo from different manufacturers sets, my head hurts about 10 minutes into things. This could be due to not using it over time, but it makes me wonder about the safety of things as I am not the only one that complains about this. This reminds me of the color wheel issues that many DLPs had when they first released as many had issues then as well. I also worry about children as who knows the damage it could be doing to them now or everyone in the years ahead. I have not seen any studies or looked into it much, but it is something to be aware of and you may want to demo a set before you buy due to this. The content has been limited as many movies will only have 3D effects here and there as you may be waiting several scenes to see an effect, then another wait to see something again. It takes a pretty big screen to get those nice effects as well. I would not use anything in 3D under 50 inches at this point.

Still, prices are going down, so you may be able to get a deal on something now, so here is why I would recommend one. Kids. Most of the content is for kids and families now, so it could be a benefit in this case if you can get over the safety part of it. Gaming. Games are on the way and now available and may be big in the future if developed correctly. Sunny Crockett. Yes, if you have to have that Ferrari, then 3D will be for you and you will not mind paying the fee to be the coolest on your block.

$$$. Speaking of fees, don't be fooled thinking you are set once you get that new 3DTV. There is more to it than the TV alone. You will need a 3D source or player. 3D approved HDMI cables, a new 3D receiver if you use one for video pass thru now, a 3D transmitter (many do not come with the TV), 3D glasses, and batteries as most will not last very long or some models do not come with rechargeable type batteries. Start adding those things up and you can see this will be a pretty big investment.

My advice, drive a Civic instead of that Ferrari. This is the first year for most 3D manufacturers, so things are buggy. Wait till next year or the year after and quality will be dramatically improved. Prices will also go down by then and more content will be available if this is indeed going to stick around. Look for a deal on a 120 HZ LCD or a plasma as you can strike it rich on deals for these models now.

We Run These Streets

If a remake is in the works, its over.

I remember back in the day when I first started playing video games me and my friends always had competitions with each other. Our weekly game of choice was either Street Fighter 2 or Killer Instinct on SNES at the time. It was a constant all nighter marathon that always involved lots of trash talking and lots of broken controllers. I know Ive spent more money on controllers than actual games for the Super Nintendo. It was these fighting games along with Mortal Kombat that got me into the competitive side of gaming. Staying up late, learning the combos and moves it became a science. My friends and I always thought we could not be beat as a group.

 It wasnt long until we started getting shooters and other multiplayer games. They included of course Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros for the N64. Oh yeah, there was another decent game you may have heard called Goldeneye. My first semester in college pretty much revolved around this game. The late night madness, the arguments over using Odd Job, and proximity mines...UGGGH!!!! Like the previous games we thought we were bad asses.

Best game ever.

The trend continued when computers started to become the norm. I remember the days when I lugged my 20 inch CRT Monitor and computer over to my friends house for LAN parties. We played all the shooters. Jedi Knight, Quake, Rainbow 6, Unreal Tournament. We somehow always came back to probably my favorite game of all time. Counter Strike dominated me and my friends time. It is the game that developed my shooter skills more than any game than Ive ever played. Probably the biggest reason why was it was the first game we played online. It was then I realized that even though I thought I was good, I was very mediocre compared to the rest of the world. I think me and my friends spent hours upon hours playing to get better. It was an obsession. Before and after class. Before and after work. If you ever see the MTV reality show True Life where they chronicled the video game addicts....lol that was us(not literally mind you) in a nutshell with this game. The only way for us to beat everyone in that game was to play and we played alot. More than I care to admit. Not only did it open a door for online gaming but also local lan tournaments which we competed, lol but never came close to winning. It was probably some of the most fun gaming Ive done.

 Nowadays, gaming online is the standard.  You can sign up for any tournaments on the web and play online from the comfort of your own home. There's also gaming leagues like MLG. Of course you have to be pretty good to compete and thus you need alot of play time. Competition is as fierce as it was back then but those times before it became as popular seemed more engaging. I think in my opinion that even though we can still game with friends online, it's not as personal when their sitting next to you and that's where the social interaction seems to be missing for me. I still find it cool though gathering a party and just blowing away the competition in Halo or Call of Duty. Its just dealing with the new excuses you constantly hear when they lose.

Gaming and Diapers Whaaat?

Perhaps I am behind the times but I heard something on the radio this morning that disturbed me. and a quick search confirms it is real try it for yourself http://www.amazon.com/Adult-Reusable-Cotton-Poly-Diaper/dp/B000BF5JFK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291292952&sr=8-1

Diapers for playing COD?  Are you kidding me?  Do people know there is a pause button, or a leave lobby button? I mean how long does it actually take to run to the restroom.  Heck I could probably do it between rounds if I had to rush! We even had an all nighter and somehow I got through without a diaper.  Evidentially for this to show up as frequently purchased together this would have to be be...ahh....whats the word....FREQUENT!  I guess I heard some of the stories of the crazed PC gamers and their World of Warcraft shenanigans but COD?  I never thought I would see that day.  Obviously these guys don't have girlfriends or wifes right? Yea, I can see my wife coming home seeing me sitting in the living room wearing flip flops and a diaper playing video games!  Lets just say I would be horse-laughed out of the house and rightfully so.

Who are these guys?  I think I know.  It's the ones that have already prestiged 3 times and its only day 3!  We have all seen them.  So proud of their what the hell symbol is that rank that they proudly parade around in the lobby's shouting "lets get this done guys!" right before the round starts. Then blasting everyone else for everything that went wrong when they lose with the classic "you guys suck!" statement before they leave the lobby. .

I am sorry if this is old news and evidentially it is because it is linked to COD MW4, and perhaps I have heard of it but my brain refused to register such nonsense, but when I heard it this morning they referred to Black Ops as the culprit and it woke me up! Well the frequently purchased with doesn't show up on Amazon with COD BO yet but sadly it may not be far behind.

Anyone ever done something like this, or know someone like this?  I would love to hear a first hand account of whats going on in your mind!

My Gamerscore Is Bigger than Yours

Well...not really. In fact I recently just got it over 25,000. Scouring the internet, there's various websites dedicated to getting the highest possible gamerscore there is. There's even a website dedicated to getting a million gamescore points. Think about that for a second. Almost all games have at least 1000 points and one guy is making it his life goal to get *ahem*(in my best Dr. Evil voice) 1 MILLION GAMERSCORE POINTS. I just can't fathom the idea of dedicating my gaming towards getting achievements for Hannah Montana or Beijing 2008. It just blows my mind that having a number attached to your gamertag is that important to some people.

 Granted, when the 360 first came out and seeing the various challenges that the games came with, did entice me to get all the achievements for that game. It added the replayability I was looking for to find every chest or collect every coin. One of my favorite games, Star Ocean 3 always had me playing it over and over to complete quests, explore the hidden dungeons, and obtain every single ending for all the characters. I also remember when Super Mario World first came out, there was a percentage completion to it and my friend and I would try without any guides or cheats to get that golden 100% next to our game. When we finally got the number, it was like mixture of joy and relief that it was over. It was well worth it in the end.

Achievements that I see now just doesnt have that same feel like it used to. Most of them do take some time to achieve but others are just odd. You can easily get gamerscore points just for pressing start (a la The Simpsons Game). I guess putting the game in your Xbox 360 without seeing the RROD is an achievement in itself. Some of the achievements involve playing multiplayer to get them. This is where I get annoyed with it. Getting those points can easily be achieved just by getting a friend to be the sacrificial lamb and boosting your score instead of playing for the win or enjoyment. It takes the fun out of it when you see 2 guys in the corner away from the action humping each other.Yes...that really happened.

I still like the whole achievement system dont get me wrong. I just dont put it at the forefront for me when I get a new game to obtain every single achievement for it.For me, it hit home when I decided not to play games on the most difficult level. I dont think I wouldve enjoyed Black OPS as much as I did if I started the game on veteran. It's something I wont lose sleep over if I dont finish a level under a certain time or find every single piece of intel. Hopefully, you wont either.

Game Collector or Player?

I have known people that cherish every game they buy and have a library to prove it.  It is impressive to look at the bookshelves of games and marvel at the electronic playground that is presented to you.  There is something cool about that, but it's not me. I am not one thats real big on nostalgia.  Sure I would love to have my original circa 1970's GI Joe Helicopter back or my other prize possession;  the Evil Knievel Sports Cycle Stunt set!  But I don't and it doesn't bother me. (well maybe just a little)

So I don't collect games, as I try to get some value for them before it's too late to get he next big game . I usually go the route of Gamestop and with my bonus card I get an additional percentage added to my trade in.  Yes I could make more selling them on ebay or craigslist but that takes time, and sometimes I hate to say I am an impulse buyer.  My latest impulse buy was Rapala's bass Pro Fishing with the awesome fishing rod peripheral.  I hear some guys on GuG forums taking about it and thought that would be cool to get with the guys and have a fishing tournament online!  Well I normally do my homework but this time I didn't and my review reflects it.

I always buy the latest sport games.  I will never keep playing Tiger Woods, NCAA or Madden 10 when 11 is already out. I can't help myself always thinking new has to be better right?  I have always purchased the latest shooters even though some of them are not better.  Modern Warfare 2 comes to mind.  So to keep my obsession in tact I trade most my games in to get something for them.

I guess thats why I am not huge on Arcade XBOX Live titles and especially not nostalgic titles (Like Tecmo Bowl) .  I have some and like a few but the graphics and game play of arcade games just seems to be old technology to me.

While it would be great to have that library.  To me they would be nothing more than a bookshelf to ogle over. Cause I doubt I would go back and play anything older than what's hot right now.  Now don't get me wrong,  if someone was nice enough to purchase me that Evil Knievel Stunt Sports Cycle I am sure I could find some plywood a couple of bricks and a ditch outside to try some jumps out on!

So tell me are you a game collector or a new game player?

Cows, Birds, & Campuses...Oh My!

Everyone has at least heard of it. Heck...I bet you've even tried to give it a spin. You've probably gotten the invite and once your family and friends have found out, you've opened up a pandora's box of alerts and invitations. All of a sudden your become addicted and plan your real life around your virtual playland. "Susy needs your help farming her crops" or " Joe needs you as part of their mafia."  Casual gaming has been the big boom as of late and it doesnt look like its stopping. You can play it on your computer. You can play it on your Iphone or Ipod. There are strategy books on how to boost your crops faster! No matter where you go or what you do, it's this kind of gaming that draws not only the 10 year old 4th grader but also the 70 year old grandmother.

Those freakin pigs stole our eggs!

 What do the developers do to draw this wide array of players to play their games? There's nothing really fancy in these games at all and maybe that's the whole point. It's simple, and very user friendly. A hardcore gamer like myself has tried these games before. It does get addicting and having easy access to it just makes it more harder for me to put it down. Take for example Angry Birds I was messing around with my Ipod and one of my coworkers saw the game and asked what it was. Now this guy is not a gamer and just felt anything complex was a hassle. Trying to explain that it is puzzle game trying to destroy the pigs whole stole the bird's eggs gave me funny looks like I was insane but he tried it and I ended up not seeing my ipod the whole day. Now this guy downloaded the app for his Iphone and has been hooked ever since. You can hear the frustration from across the office and you know its from the game. Sometimes the simplicity of it all just draws those people in and they just get hooked. You play a level or two and you hear the catchy chimes and sounds and you start to think to yourself, "Wow...Im really doing pretty good." You then see your friends scores and high they are and then you get to thinking you can beat that and play it over and over till you do reach top score and that's how they get you. Im looking at you Bejeweled!!!

 Not only does it have to be simple for someone casual to enjoy it but it also has to be easily accessible. Social websites like Facebook is easily a haven for family and friends to reconnect but also help each other whether its farming your cousin's crops or giving your old college roommate that nail for their frontier. Will it ever end? From the looks of my facebook page...I highly doubt it. Now does anyone want to help me with putting Gdogg U on the map?

My latest addiction

Call of Duty Weapons Damage/Recoil/Spread etc. Chart

I found this scouring the interwebs and a gentleman named Den Kirson at www.denkirson.com put together this elaborate weapons chart.  Pretty interesting stuff here for us COD Geeks!

Black Ops

Damage starts at one amount of damage, decreases over a certain range and continues at a lower damage.
The Red line indicates the basic damage. The Green line indicates damage range with a silencer (or the Python's Snub Nose).
Certain body parts multiply damage from attacks.
Note that the L96A1 has an extra damage modifier. The shoulders and biceps also take 1.5x damage.
All shotguns' minimum damage is 10.
-
A weapon's Hip Spread is determined by a minimum and maximum cone of fire in degrees from the center of the screen.
Shotguns from the hip are much less accurate than they used to be before. Aim down the sights with them to make them a bit more effective.
-
Recoil is an area within four points and the random chance of the weapon kicking in those directions.
The view kick is made of four forces. When two numbers are in opposing directions, they fight one another.
The kick focuses on the average between the two, so if a weapon kicks left 10 and right 60, the kick will always be to the right.
If a weapon kicks 60 both left and right, the sights have equal chance of jumping either way.
If both numbers are on one side of the arrows, then it'll always kick in that direction.

Working against the recoil is Center Speed (number in the bottom right of the Recoil box) which is an arbitrary number. Higher Center Speed means faster recovery.
-
A weapon's Fire Time is the time between each shot.
Divide 60 by the Fire Time and you get the Rounds Per Minute.
The L96A1 and Stakeout use RechamberTime, basically the same as FireTime, but there to prevent you from skipping the bolt/pump animation.
The burst fire weapons have a 0.2 second delay between bursts, cutting their damage down significantly.

Each weapon has a specific Reload Time for partial and Empty magazines.
For both of these reloads is the Add Time, the point where the Ammo Counter changes.
The Add Time indicates the point where you can cancel the reload animation and still have a reloaded weapon.
Some shotguns and the Python reload one round at a time. The first round takes longer than the following rounds.
The Python's Speed Loader time is also indicated in place of the Add Time (which is irrelevant for the Python).
-
Raise Time and Drop Time are the lengths it takes to put away one weapon and take out another.
Combine one gun's Drop with another's Raise to see how long it will take.
NOTE: Switching from one weapon to a Pistol will cause your weapon in hand to use Quick Drop, only 0.25 of a second.

Aim Down Sights takes a moment before the sighted accuracy takes effect after pressing the ADS button.

Depending on the weapon you're carrying, your character will have his running speed changed.
Like Call of Duty 1 and 2, it is no longer based on your primary; what is in your hand determines your speed.
Meaning if you switch to a pistol, you will run faster than whatever assault rifle or LMG you've got.

Whats Your flavor of Weapon/Perk Combo's

One of the draws to the COD series in recent iterations has been the ability to change your setups and to work to achieve different weapons.  Some weapons (even though their stats are better) may not necessarily add up to kills.  Certain weapons fit people better than others. Sometimes you get in a funk with a weapon for one reason or another and have to change it up.  I have always been an M16 guy and really it may be the best weapon in the game with its stopping power, accuracy and three round burst, but recently I was taking a beating and switched out to the Famas and started having success again.

In addition to weapons the Perks are what defines you as a player.  You like to sneak around? Then Ghost and Ninja may be your choice.  You like to run and gun, then Light Weight, Steady Aim, and Marathon may be your perks of choice.

Then you have killstreaks. They are the game changers. They can make an average round turn into a high K/D ratio quick depending on what you pick and can achieve. They make the difference between winning and losing many times.  All you have to do is earn the right ones.

Now keep in mind I am not the best player out here by no means. I have had my 25-5 days and I have had my 5-25 days.  Basically I hang around 1:1 K/D ratio.  I wish I was better and I normally get it higher but right now thats where I am. Many times it depends on who is on your team. Yesterday afternoon I played a few matches with Chiroasso and Gdogg3 on my team and I don' think I was less than 2:1 K/D ratio. Gdogg stayed at around 3:1 and Chiroasso actually had an 8:1 K/D ration one game! So it helps when you have players that are pulling there own.

Anyways here are the 3 main setups I use and why.  Notice I only go over three.  That is not because I don;t have 5 it is because I don;t use the other 2 classes.  The other 2 classes were Shotty and Sniper.  I suck at shotty and I don't feel like there are many maps where the Sniper is effective enough.

I will only go over the primary weapons attachments and perks. I will address the secondary weapons and equipment in a later blog.

Custom Class 1 named: Assault 

Famas

Weapon:  Currently Famas with silencer. Iron Sughts  I don't like people to know where I am firing from on the map!

Perks Slot 1: Hardline allows one less kills for kill streaks

Hardline

Perks Slot 2: Slight of Hand  I realized I used to get killed allot when reloading so this helps reload faster

Slight of hand

Perks Slot 3: Currently Ninja but switching to Hacker so that it will allow me  to see enemy explosives, equipment and Tactical Insertions

Hacker

Ninja

Custom Class 2 Named Special Ops

Scorpion

Weapon:  SMG Class:  Scorpion with extended Mag cause bullets fly out of this puppy fast.  Its not good for distance at all but I use this because I mainly use this on run and gun maps like Nuke Town and firing range where most of it will be close combat to me so I will run around and fire from the hip.

Perks Slot 1: Light Weight  Allows me to run faster for the run and gun

Light Weight

Perks Slot 2: Steady Aim Allows me to have an accuracy boost when shooting from the hip

Steady Aim

Perks Slot 3: Marathon Pro Allows me to run longer.

Marathon

Custom Class 3 Named Machine

RPK

Weapon:  LMG Class: RPK I find this weapon to be the most forgiving when aiming.  It has the highest accuracy rating of weapons in this class except for the last weapon that is listed as Classified ( know what it is and it should be the best of the class when I get it) I don;t use this class much but they are good if you are not doing well shooting and need the extra bullets without reloading.

Perk Slot 1: I still like Hardline here as I don;t see any perks in this slot that helps the machine gun class other than maybe Scavenger as you will go through some ammo here and recouping that may help

Hardline Pro

Perk Slot 2: Warlord.  Mainly because with the extra attachments you can really build a nice killing machine with a scope and round mag.  If you don't go hardline and barrel magazine with extra ammo here perhaps go sleight of hand as this weapon is slow to reload.

Warlord

Perk Slot 3: Hacker; Nothing screams at me on this perk level for this class so why not protect yourself from stepping on claymores.

Hacker

Ok, So thats my 3 favorite.  Whats yours? Discuss below or on the forum post related to this blog in the www.grownupgamers.com/forums

Black Ops Intel Information

Having Trouble finding Intel all the intel information for an achievement?  Well these videos found on 1Up.com's Game Videos will help you along your way to earn that achievement.

2010 Year of the Sim Sports Solo Gamer?

Was 2010 the best year for Sim sports gaming on the new generation of consoles? I say yes. With games like NCAA Football 11, MLB The Show 10, MLB2K11, NHL11, FIFA 11, and NBA2K11, this year has finally brought back the gameplay and upgrades many sports gamers have been crying for since the Next Generation consoles released several years ago.

With less and less time to play in leagues and such, I have found myself going back to offline gaming and sports games used to be a staple for me back in the day. Here are a few of my experiences with the new sports games from 2010 taken from an offline perspective.
NCAA Football 11: Im back! My favorite series of all time finally put it all together this year with great gameplay on the field, graphics, and sliders that finally work to give it that sim feel. The difference in this game from the 10 version and Madden is night and day. It seems the developers are finally making their own game now instead of pulling from Madden each year. They also seem to be listening to the feedback from the community more as well and that has made the biggest change in my opinion.



MLB The Show 10: Perhaps the best baseball game of all time and a sim gamers dream. Playing this game is like being at the park as the graphics are sweet, but the gameplay is rock solid all around and reminds me of the High Heat sim experience of the past. This is another game developed with the community feedback in mind and it shows. This also shows the power and possibilities the PS3 has to offer when it comes to in house sports games. If only this game could get the online part fixed, this would be game of the year every year.




MLB2K11: This may be the surprise of the year for me. The Show is better all around, but something about this game makes me want to play it more. The pitching interface is new and unique. The graphics are different as well and stand out more. If the fielding is improved along with the online play, this game could compete in the future with the show as it is certainly a more user friendly game to jump in and play.



NBA2K11: The greatest of all time is back and may have made the greatest video basketball game as well. When you first turn this game on and follow Jordan out of the tunnel to play against Magic and the Lakers, it brings back so many memories from the good ole days of basketball. This game screams realism from the tip off. This game may have the best player animations of any sports game today. Try a jumpshot with Jordan and Kobe and it will look dead on. With a few slider tweaks, you will see accurate statistics from the teams and players themselves. The atmosphere is one of the best ever with crowds that go nuts at the end of a game and music that plays to pump you up during tense situations. This is my game of the year when it comes to sports games period!


To sum, 2010 finally brought back some of the best gameplay and features we have not enjoyed since the older XBOX and PS2 days. The future is certainly bright if developers continue on this path and listen to the community feedback and continue the sim approach to game development.

Black Ops Impressions...Will you answer the Call again?

Actvision has been milking this franchise for as long as I can remember. Since the birth of the Xbox, Call of Duty 2 was the first of the launch titles that helped Microsoft maintain its place among the next-gen console wars at the time. COD reached its dominance when COD4 was released and it was a viable contender against Halo. It did take a step back in my opinion with Modern Warfare 2 but that hasn't deterred its hold on consumers as Black Ops released. Treyarch, I believe, helped bring the franchise back to a memorable single player campaign, a fun co-op zombie mode, and a  more balanced MP with the occasional annoyances that you would expect in any first person shooter.

Black Ops is what you would expect as a Call of Duty game. The mechanics and gameplay is pretty much the same so if you've played one before, you'll easily get the handle of the game very early. If this is your first time to this rodeo, I have to warn you there is no tutorial at the beginning like the previous games before. The campaign is set through the many eras of history from the Cold War to the Cuban missile crisis to Vietnam. There is a throwback level as well where you use some WW2 weapons and is probably one of my favorite levels. The campaign is told through flashbacks of your character, Alex Mason with some mix of other perspectives from other characters as well. It was hard at first to follow what was going with all the images flashing throughout the cut scenes but for the most part I could decipher in what was going on. For the most part, the campaign kept me engaged to finish it as soon as possible to see what happens to all the characters. It also is a good way to get used to the weapons that you will see in MP.

Co-op zombies makes a return. You start out with 1 zombie map that takes place in a movie theater. The same formula applies as you try to outlast endless waves of zombies and hell hounds out to tear you limb from limb. I definitely recommend 4 people who have a well developed plan in order to move from one room to another. The 2nd zombie map is a favorite of mine and you get to play a diverse cast from the picture on the left. The one-liners are hilarious as you battle zombies inside the Pentagon with 3 floors. which means you need alot of cash to be using the elevator going from floor to floor. The 3rd map is a top down shooter that plays like Smash TV. Its hard picking out your guy if 4 players are going at it but fun none the less.

Multiplayer is what most people will be playing so let me just say it is far much better than Modern Warfare 2. Party chat is back for all game modes which is great in my opinion. I felt like the community for Call of Duty is probably the worst Ive ever experienced so getting into a chat of friends in the game is great. The big issue I have though is when you have a party of 4 or 5 guys, it takes forever to get into a game to play. I don't know if its because  the game is trying to find another group of 5 to play against or what, but it is time consuming to wait 10 minutes to get into a match. Maybe its just me and my group but I think they should come up with a way to just get into a lobby whether theres a party of people or not. The other issue I have is the scope of things to unlock. This version has a currency system that when I first got into it, I felt overwhelmed. The customization is a nice touch and the theater mode is not bad but I felt it could be better. It doesnt seem to record all of my matches which seems odd and you can only upload clips that are 30 seconds long. Here is one that I did below.

If you want to get to know the maps, combat training is a great addition. You can explore the maps while shooting up bots. You can also level up and experiment with guns that you have unlocked. Whatever you unlock in combat training stays in combat training and doesn't transfer over to your public profile and vice versa. There is also wager matches which lets you gamble the points you have earned in matches and for the most part it is fun when players arent camping. All in all, the maps are good enough where snipers dont dominate them and camping is alot harder to get away with.

Black Ops will probably be spinning on my 360 for awhile and I definitely like seeing the developers listening to the community and help fix issues that were present in previous Call of Duty games. It looks as well too that they will support this game as long as it takes with various fixes and patches with the known issues that are being exploited. All in all I would rate this game an 8 out of 10 stars.

Rapala Pro Bass Fishing. Does it set the hook?

How Cool is this! Wireless too!

I remember the days living on Lake Wylie.  Spending my summers at the Marina digging fresh water clams out of the sand because I couldn't afford the worms, and reeling in the Bream (Sunfish) one after another.  But the most fun was trying out our luck to catch the king of the lake: the Largemouth Bass!

So I get excited when a fishing game comes along that looks awesome with a super cool peripheral like they have with Rapala Pro bass Fishing!  Just look at it, it's awesome and wireless!

The game starts you out letting you customize your angler, and in another area even customize your boat which is cool.  After that you really only have a few options to start fishing.  The modes are Tournament mode, Two players, and Free Fishing.  What's fishing without a little competition right? So lets jump into a tournament.

Tournament mode has three seasons: Rookie, Pro, and Legendary.  In each of the seasons you have three tiers with tier one having three events (walleye, crappie, and white bass for rookie).  In tier 2 there are 2 events and tier three 1 event.  Wrapping up the rookie season there is one final event after tier 3 if you are at least 5th in the standings.  Each event lasts around 15 minutes each, but does allow you to weight in early if you are strapped for time.  However that could lead you to losing the event of course.  All in all the rookie events were very easy and I feel like the game just gives away too much information in general. It really takes the trial and error out of fishing which is so important to the sport.  The game really gives you everything you need to succeed  including a fish-o-pedia which tells you which lures, lines, etc work to catch what fish.  Not to mention they even give you tips on where the fish are, such as where birds are flocking or under the hot air balloons (WTF?).  As if the fish finder on your boat isn't enough as it shows you where the fish are and even color codes the fish in blue that you are targeting for your tournament.  To make matters worse they even tell you the weight of the fish and the type you have on the hook while reeling in leaving out all the suspense of actually catching a fish!  I looked for an option to turn this off, but there is not one.

The free fishing mode allows you to just head out to the lake (7 lakes in all) and just cast away.  There are challenges in the lake highlighted in red that you can try your luck at that will unlock lures, reels, etc.

The two person mode allows you to enter the boat with a friend and both fish at the same time.  It's basically the free fishing mode with 2 people in the boat.  One player can use the 360 controller just fine.

Notice I haven't talked about online mode yet?  There is a reason.  The reason is because there isn't one!  I was really dumbfounded by this.  I could have sworn I read a preview somewhere that stated online tournaments with your friends. This was a big let down, and one that really takes the game down hard.  I mean some of the short comings would all be forgotten if we could have created a small tournament fishing with our friends at Grown Up Gamers.

With all the shortcomings I mentioned there is still something fun about sitting on the couch with a cool fishing rod peripheral catching a northern pike. However that's where the fun ends and the game sinks to the bottom of the lake.  This game can be fun with the family and friends over but don't expect much out of it in the single player or non-existent online play.

Overall I would give the game a minnow.  Well to give it a number value perhaps a 5 out of 10 and only because of the cool fishing rod!

Multi-Tasking Station. Is this Ridiculous?

The Muti-tasking station! 2 360's and a computer.  Plus the 32" doubles as a double monitor for the computer!

In on of my previous posts I eluded to one of the reasons I don't game socially as much anymore is because of my setup.  It all went back to the days of overindulging myself in online gaming, and leaving little time for others in the house. In my eyes its as bad as not being around. You are tuned out while gaming socially, you don't hear what others are saying, or you are in a completely different room altogether.  I needed to make a change and with that came some sacrifices.  I still like to spend spare time practicing Madden or finishing up the next best shooter. My wife likes to watch the sitcoms.  So instead of being totally in a different room came the multitasking station.   A space where I can play, put some headphones on (if I need to) pause, watch TV with the family, and work on the computer all at the same time.  It works for me because I have to stay multi-tasked, and this gives me the freedom to accomplish that.  It allows me to be in the room (right behind the main couch) to talk, watch TV and during shows I don't like or commercials I can un-pause and get right back to playing.

The only problem is I have created a monster!  When my son drug in the 40' TV from the back and sat it on the fireplace so he could play and be in the same room as us, it became a bit much.  90" of TV's beside each other???  Weird I know a 17 year old actually wanting to hang with his parents. (We are lucky I say). I let the TV sit there right along beside the 50" family viewing TV  for about a month before I said enough is enough the 40" has to go.  Plus it was getting about time to need to cut on the gas logs! So I reconfigured the multi-tasking station to accommodate with a 27" TV he can play on complete with wireless headphones as well.

The Main TV and the 40" was just to the right sitting the fireplace hearth!

The only drawback with this is the social aspect.  Not with the family, as this places me in the room and engages me with the family, but with my online friends. Its a bit hard to talk/chat when you are that close to someone trying to watch TV. So that is my biggest reason most of my social online gaming is done on the weekends now.   Love to hear about everyone else setups and why they are how they are.

XBOX Live Gold Family Pack is it for you?

Yesterday while turning on the 360 in anticipation of continuing my campaign on COD Black Ops.  I saw an advertisement for XBOX Live Gold Family pack. I had never heard of that before and was curious because in my household we have 2-360's and 2 gold accounts for me and my son.  I saw where they listing it for $99.00 per year so I was naturally curious since we have 2 accounts coming due in the next month, and they are going to cost me $120.00 this year because of the $10 increase.

I started reading more into it and visited the XBOX live page on the web and here are a few of the FAQ's.

1. The Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack offers four 12-month Xbox LIVE Gold memberships for less than the price of two. Family Pack subscribers also receive exclusive benefits and family conveniences, including access to the new Family Center for family account and online settings management, Activity Monitoring reports on Xbox.com, the ability to purchase and gift Microsoft Points Allowances to your children, and family-friendly content and discounts.


2. We will give existing Xbox LIVE Gold members a prorated discount on the purchase of a Family Pack. For each month remaining on your current Xbox LIVE Gold subscription, we will reduce the purchase price of a Family Pack by $5. For example, if you have six months of your Gold subscription remaining, you qualify for a $30 discount and will only be charged $69.99 at the time of purchase. If you have 20 months or more of your current Xbox LIVE Gold subscription remaining, you can upgrade to an Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack for free. You will not receive a refund for any remaining subscription time in excess of 20 months. 


3. if a Family Pack member leaves home to go to college, they can simply recover their account on a different console and will still remain a part of the Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack, as long as they reside in the same country as the primary account holder.


4. MS Points added to the account can spread out over all of the individual accounts.

5. The primary account holder will have the ability to customize the parental controls and other settings of the Family Pack members’ accounts.


6. Purchased content such as games and movies are licensed both to the console it was purchased on, and the individual Gold member that purchased it. So if, for example, your child were to buy an Xbox LIVE Arcade game on your home console, anyone on your console can play it. Additionally, if they leave for college, they could recover their account on another Xbox 360 in their dorm room and be able to play the game when logged into their account from that Xbox 360.


7. While an Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack utilizes unified billing, the primary Family Pack member has the option to purchase Microsoft points and give them to other Family Pack members, who can use them to buy movies, shows, games and more on Xbox LIVE.


All in all it turns out to be a good deal for me. I really don't need 4 Gold accounts.  I only need two but buying them this way its still cheaper than purchasing them at the $59  a piece price tag.

I told you so!

I saw these today and it reminded me of a story I shared during  my review blog on Kinect, and a few twitter posts I made a week ago. The theme is you can hurt yourself or another with this game! Here are my tweets a week ago!

I told of the story with my 6' tall son who almost cut his head open jumping into the ceiling fan.

Anyways here are some videos of other Kinect fails!

Here are a few Ceiling Fan debacles!

Some hurt the ones around you escapades!

And my favorite! How to hurt yourself without the need of anyone or any object to get in your way. Just an example of non-athleticism!

Game like I used to...

I see the clues. They are subtle at times but I am not oblivious to them. They are there, I see them in my body, mind and soul. The trick is do I embrace them, accept them, shun them, ignore them or change them? What do I do? More importantly what the heck am I talking about.................?

I am talking about getting older. Yes the easy signs are there; more grey hair, the decreased metabolic rate (that one I hate the most), the aches and pains that seem to creep in easier but take longer to go away. I understand those come with he territory and they have been hard to accept, but there are others that I have noticed that have changed the way I used to do things.

Things like not really wanting to ride that roller coaster anymore thinking of what may happen, and don't even try and get me to climb up high anymore. When I go snowboarding (yes I still do that) I wear a helmet, when I ride my motorcycle I wear my helmet (even though SC is a non-mandatory wear state). I don't care to go to concerts much anymore, or large crowd events, mainly because of the crowds. All of these things I used to do and love. However somethings changed and it appears to have come with age. (Reading back at this list makes me feel like a wuss!)

How does this relate to gaming? Well things have changed there as well. I used to be very social I started my multiplayer console gaming on the Dreamcast playing 2K1 football and then SOCOM on the PS2 in 2002. Before the console I played some computer online games but my online experience really grew with those 2 games. I had people I would meet up with and play for hours on SOCOM even staying up to 2am on work nights. That blossomed once XBOX live came to existence on the black box. I got involved with game forums and played in sports gaming leagues, shooter leagues, etc. It was a blast. But my

social online gaming craving seems to have taken a backseat in the past 2 years. Don't get me wrong, I still love my gaming, I just don't seem to do it as much socially anymore. Some of it has to do with my gaming setup which I will explain in a future blog. But does allot of it may have to do with me being less social? I dunno, I just know I don't play online with friends as much as I used to. Is it age related? Perhaps, but I am excited to play with some of my GrownUpGamers on Call of Duty Black Ops. I just don't know how long that will last before I am just going online solo without getting involved with my online friends for a quick round or two!

(SOCOM 1 was the greatest Remember this map?)

So the question of the day are you becoming less of a social gamer the older you get? If so why?