Happy belated Thanks Giving

I just got done with two days (three dinners) worth of Thanks Givings lol, not to mention I had a happy turkey birthday.

Anyways, I got Lost Odyssey for my birthday, and while I haven't got to play it much, I have realized it is quite the cool game. It's been a while since I played a JRPG, FF10 was the last one I played, but I didn't get to finish it, and FF7 would be the only one I've actually finished (about 7 years ago). But I like the twists they added to the combat system, as well as how the items work. Hopefully this game will deliver in story (I've heard nothing but good things though).

But the reason I didn't get to play LO as much in the past week, is I had gotten a copy of Fallout 3 from the library. What an absolutely amazing game. I wasn't a huge fan of the studios first smash hit on the 360, Oblivion, but I do enjoy this game. It keeps the aspects of Oblivion that I did enjoy (massive world, bunch of little extra quests), but it improved it vastly. Many more enemies, a very cool combat system, a much improved lock pick system (personally I hated the tumbler system), and I much prefer the environment that the game is set in. I'll have to get this one for Christmas or something.

Also, never play King Kong. I rented this one as well, I forced myself to finish just for the 1000 gamer score. Such a bad game...

Anyways, back to watching 50 first dates :)

Avatars are a go.

The NXE is a go. The entire new update is great, and I am loving the layout of all of the menus. Currently I only have 2 issues, 1 of which is when you go to the fiends list people who are in a party with your friend get named before your actual friend (which forces you to use the guide button often). Also you can't seem to make your game row the main row. So you're forced to look at the spotlight stream upon boot up. But these are minor issues, and I'm sure will be corrected with time (well maybe not the spotlight thing).

But the big thing is the Avatars. These little guys are pretty solid. While the NXE didn't come with a huge array of clothing or other options, they already have more designs planned to release soon, along with achievements unlocking outfits, and probably a huge selection of purchasable content for them. I tried to get as close as I could with my avatar, decided to go with the suit how ever for a day or so, but no I don't dress that well :(.

Anywho, NXE is a great update, and I am glad it wasn't a let down. I've even seen many of the nay sayers from when they saw it at the E3 conference say it's a great update, so I'm sure it's bound to impress.

NXE

With the New Xbox Experience (NXE) just around the corner, I figured I'd make a little post about some of the questions I still see people asking every day. The questions I will cover are some of the more simple things, that do make people question this update.

First is the gamer pics and themes. Many people were and still are upset about this update, feeling that the new layout, along with the addition of Avatars that they will no longer be able to use the gamer pics and themes that they paid for. This is simply not true, and as you can see from the screenshot above (taken from a video Major Nelson made himself), his avatar is one thing, and in the upper right hand corner is the gamer pic he is using as another. This clearly shows that you are free to use which ever, when ever you please. Themes on the other hand, will look different than before, so not all themes may look as cool as they did with the previous interface (personally I hated every theme I tried because of the adds and layout of the old interface), but you are free to use them as before.

Second is about using the old interface. Many people want the option to use the old interface with the new update. While this is not an option, you can how ever use the blades by pressing the guide button (for the non tech savvy people, this is the Xbox button on your controller). It's a miniaturized version of the blades. While this offers quick navigation for some not used to the new UI, I don't believe it supports all of the new features, nor access to the market place or Netflix.

People also are asking about the price and size of this update. The price is free as always, and the size is about 125 MB (give or take). This how ever is a concern for people with arcade models of the 360. If you do not have a memory card, or an HD by now, you will need one to experience the new update (how ever if you don't play online at all, this won't affect you at all).

For people who don't have internet connection and wish to use the update, as with all previous updates to the Xbox 360's UI, there will be a download you can burn to a CD, as well as other options.

Also, people still seem to be confused by the "rip and play" option being added to the 360. Installing your games does NOT mean you can install the game to 360's HD and return/sell/throw away/give to friend to play/ect. It simply means 2 things. Improved load times, as well as less wear and tear on the optical drive. You WILL have to have the disk for the game you are wanting to play in the system while playing. This is insure that you do in fact have the game, and are not trying to violate any copyright laws.

If you have anymore questions, feel free to post a comment and I will edit as soon as I can. Otherwise, enjoy the NXE on November 19th!

GEARS OF WAR!

Gears of War 2, finally arrived on saturday afternoon, and that day I proceeded to complete the game on casual in about 9 hours. And I must say..... WOW!!!!

First off the graphics are absolutely astonishing, and they broke away from the color pallet of the first game and brought in a much wider spectrum of color. Even the levels where you fight under ground are colorful in most cases. And the action is so heavy in this one. They altered there engine enough so you could be fighting more then 4 guys at once, and what a difference it does make. Not to mention the cut scenes are vastly better because the war sequences are more then a few guys (such as the moment they introduced RAMM in the first game).

The story is also delightfully entertaining, but has some sad moments here and there throughout (not that the story is all happy considering it is a war game). I don't wanna say to much for anyone who reads this blogs sake, but I will say that, yes you will have plot openings at the end of the game, and no they don't close up all the loose ends of the first game. But considering Epic stated around the time of launch of the first Gears of War that the game will be a trilogy, if you wanna find out what happens, you'll just have to wait!

The games play is also much improved from the first. The cover system seems more fluid and you get in and out of it much cleaner then in the first installment. Also they improved upon the roady run so you can do it for as long as you can find space to run into, and it's more agile to move while running as well, so you can turn around obstacles to get from point a to point b quickly. This also brings up stopping power. I love this addition to stopping power. Obviously the people at Epic were not happy with the roady run in, shotgun to the chest, roll out strategy that was so commonly used during the first installment. So to counter them adding unlimited time to roady run, they added this stopping power feature which makes it where if you are getting shot at, it does phase you and slow you down and in some cases even stop you dead in your tracks. This definitely cut down on the shot gun users from the first games multiplayer. They also made the shotgun less powerful to help a bit, but still a close up shot from it will put down your opponent.

In terms of multiplayer however, currently there is some issues with match making, where it takes usually over 20 minutes to find a match for most folk (some people say they always get a match, but I doubt it). This is a major issue, and I am sure the team at Epic are making huge efforts to get it resolved so I will not hold it against them (Epic should do a beta next time though!). The bots however are very smart, the AI in this game is almost astonishing, so you can use them for multiplayer matches with your friends, and sometimes even lose if you crank up their skills to insane, so even if you can't get a match going online, you can still practice by yourself, or indulge in Horde Mode!

Horde Mode is the new mode added in Gears of War 2 where you do just what the title says. Fight against a seemingly endless horde of wave after wave of Locusts. Currently the only way to play this mode on public matches is in normal difficulty, and I'll admit, it's no cake walk. The mode ends when your entire team dies before they finish a wave, or you finish all 50 waves. The waves include every enemy from the campaign outside of the giant monsters (Reavers, Burmaks, ect.) and no bosses, but that does leave Bloodmounts (a new really tough and fast enemy) Along with the Boomers which now carry everything from rocket launchers to chain guns. I honestly couldn't fathom being able to find 4 other players, or myself being good enough to fight against the wave 49-50 Bloodmounts on the insane difficulty. But I'm sure with time, it'll happen. Horde mode is a great success in my book, and I am glad they incorporated a non competitive mode to the game, which allows you to team up with up to 4 friends to fight against waves of challenging enemies.

In all besides a few minor glitches with the multiplayer which I trust will be patched, I'd definitely have to give Gears of War 2 a ten out of ten rating, and is a must buy for anyone who is into tactical shooters.

Bellow is two videos. The first is the trailer of the game, and the 2nd is a video diary from epic about the graphics. But always feel free to check out more at Gametrailers.com or at Gamespot.com

EFFIN Best Buy!

Well, right now I have time to post on my blog because...... Best Buy didn't get my copy of Gears of War 2 to me on launch day as promised. So now, I can't even watch Justin.tv because almost everyone is playing Gears of War 2, and I don't really wanna play anything else because I was all set and ready to spend a day shooting locusts. Well the day wasn't a complete loss I suppose, saw Madagascar 2 which was really funny, short, but funny. And I spent some time shooting away in Gears of War 1 (haven't beat it on hardcore yet since I made my new account). All I can say is, I do hope it arrives tomorrow. Nothing like having this urge to want to play something, that makes you want to do nothing else but sit on the couch and watch for the mail man. :\

Games games games.

Lately I've been over at Justin.tv watching game streams (something I normally do, but I took a break to explore fable 2). And they've been playing a ton of Fallout 3. I must admit, the game looks great, and watching others play it has definitely cleared up some fear I had for the games combat system. So this title I may be looking into getting around xmas of this year. But I've been looking at Dead Space as well due to the lack of fear from Silent Hill. But I may skip on that title just because I'm looking for an RPG. This November is the release of The Last Remnant, which is an RPG that is supposed to have a wonderful story, as well as great game play. It looks great I will admit, but I will have to wait and see how it turns out. So Lost odyssey is currently my title of choice if I had the option to play an RPG right now (other then getting a PS1 memory card to play my copy of FF7). From everything I've read, Lost Odyssey seems like a solid title, with many hours of game play; which is exactly what I am looking for. So many titles... So little money...

But despite all this confusion on what to get, November 7th can't come soon enough. Gears of War 2 will be releasing next friday, and I am extremely excited. With all of the improvements they've done to the game, on top of the expansive story they've promised, I just can't wait to be playing this game. I also just cannot wait to be giving Horde mode a spin. Something about up to 5 human players facing off against 50 waves of constantly harder and harder opponents sounds like great fun. I loved the first gears and I just cannot wait to get going on this one as well.

Fable 2

Been playing Fable 2 pretty much non stop for the past few days, exploring and defeating hordes of enemies, and I must say this game is great. While the story does end with a kind of "What in the world just happened...." feel, I do believe this was intentional to leave the game open for download content (which I know makes me happy).

Fable 2 takes place long after the events of Fable, and you find yourself in a world much different from before. The world is more populated, more savage, and with out heros. Your quest begins with your childhood just as the previous game did, and quickly moves to adulthood (no 2-3 hours spend growing up this time around). I would love to talk about the events of the game, but I really don't wanna ruin a single aspect of the game for anyone who is looking to buy this title, or has it and has yet to begin playing it. But I will say, it is interesting to see that the choices you make as a child actually change the world when you are an adult.

Now, as for how the game plays, I'll have to say the new design of game play is wonderful. The spell system which is now a 1 button spell system, is very well implemented, and works flawlessly. Through charging up your spells, you can have access to 5 spells, 5 ranks of 1 spell, or anything in between (such as rank 1, 3, and 5 shock, and rank 2 and 4 time control). The melee system is still rather the same, giving you the option to mash your X button through the entire game to hack and slash your way through enemies. And the ranged system seems more open in this game then I remember in the original Fable. Giving you the ability to just shoot your way through the game by mashing Y, or being able to blow off someone's head with a well aimed fire from a gun, cross bow, or rifle.

The experience system is still the same set up, where you gain general EXP, as well as EXP based on what kind of attacks you performed, although spending it is much improved. No more traveling back to some far away zone to get new spells or abilities! Built right into the menu system is the skill builder, which allows you to get new abilities and skills as you go.

I am kind of upset by the lack of really cool looking armor in this game how ever. Lion Head took the game down a new path by removing armor rating from equipment to convince people to play the game with different paths (you can go from the beginning to the end in just your under-garments or even a chicken suit). But they didn't give a ton of options. I believe there is about 15 full costumes and of course you can alter them by picking different parts for your own over all look, and you can also change the color of them with dyes, but I was still expecting more styles including cool looking plate or some sort of actual armor (hopeful in DLC with areas to play in... I'd probably pass on a clothing pack unless it was free).

Over all I'd say the title is great, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys an RPG.

Dry spot.

Bored, bored, bored. Nothing to do but play games I've had for a while and watch TV. Although I discovered the show "Dexter." It's a great show about a forensic scientist who works for a Miami police and is a mass murderer who kills people who murder innocent people. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for something to watch.

Anyways, Fable 2 comes out next week, so I'll have something new to play :D, and tonight is a new episode of "The Office" so I'll be busy :).

Silent Hill Homecoming Review

After successfully completing the game, on both difficulties, as well as unlocking all endings. I must say that the game is still fun. Although the chill factor of the game subsides after you have completed the game once, the control layout as well as how the game plays, still makes it a treat to go back to.

Silent Hill Homecoming puts you in control of a man by the name of Alex Shepherd. He ventures back to Shepherd Glen after having continuos bad dreams about his younger brother Joshua, only to find that all of the children, and most of the town folk, are missing or gone. Your adventure begins in Shepherds Glen, but you'll quickly find yourself traveling between Hell and back, along with the eventual trip to the town of Silent Hill.

The game does have it's flaws, along with its glitches, but the story is great, and the only one of the series I've managed to wrap up without sitting around thinking about what really happened at the end of the game. I can't really speak about the one major glitch I found, as writing about it only will lead to a massive plot spoiler, so I'll just say don't skip the cut scene with the drill till you're seated. As for flaws though, I feel that the improvements are what bring them about. Combat upgrades are a welcomed improvement to the game. Being able to dodge and maneuver is quite the upgrade from the previous titles, but it also removes the element of "I better run." In the previous games, in many cases you would find yourself staring at a monster that you just knew you had to run from, due to the lack of health or ammo. In this game, I'm sure you could beat it from beginning to end with just the dagger (although I would not recommend this to first time players). When they implemented this combat system, they didn't add in the jump out aspect of monsters. Most of them are out in the open for you to see when you enter a room. Very rarely are you just running along, when suddenly there is something jumping you from behind. They did try to create more difficulty by adding quicker attacking monsters, as well as putting them in packs. I could even say that the combat system actually made the game all to simple.

But this game does have its merits. It has a great story, that makes you go "wow!" The combat system is a plus, as it does make the game more easily playable. This title has great sound effects, voices, and music throughout. And the controls are flawless. I also liked the save point system the game has, which causes you to keep wondering on your first play through "what is on the other side of this door." The game also keeps its exploration focus, but it not as open as previous titles.

Over all I would give this game a thumbs up for a title to play. I would only recommend purchasing the title if you're a big Silent Hill fan, as I've had the game for now 4 days, and have completed the game five times to unlocked all of the endings. The title may not make you leap from your seat, or pause out of frustration, but it definitely is a great game, and I can not wait to see what will come next from the Silent Hill franchise.

Silent Hill Homecoming.

I beat it! I finally got a chance tonight to sit down and play this game for a while. I must say that the ending is quite good. Very interesting plot twists, along with some really cool bosses. Although I'll have to admit that Scarlet (the boss from my last post) was harder then the bosses I ended up fighting near the end. I unlocked 2 endings tonight through savings at the end of the game and then re-loading and making the last choice different each time. One of which was me being taken away by aliens, and the other was me being turned into a Pyramid Head lol. Only 3 more endings to unlock on top of a play through on the hardest setting :).

I'll give a much more proper review tomorrow or over the weekend.

More Silent Hill Homecoming.

Well I've been playing Silent Hill every chance I have, and I must say this game is great.  Keeps me on the edge of my seat.  I got to the 2nd boss today, which is one messed up idea for a boss (watch the video below to see).  She is actually pretty hard, I ended up using all of my health potions the first time I fought her.  I chose not to save that time, so I could re-do it today and save some potions for up ahead lol.  I'd still recommend this game to anyone who reads this, even if it's just a rental.

Silent Hill :D

So I was looking at my game closet for something to play, figured I'd give Halo 3 a spin (rarely ever play it, and have yet to get more then the first online chevo for the game).  So I pop it in, and updated the game.  When I went to play some ranked matches I realized I would have to purchase the map pack to play in any ranked format.  So upset by this, I decided I really need a new game to play.  I started to browse Gamestop's website to see the prices on various titles, obviously stopping at Silent Hill and Fable 2, when it dawned on me that I could trade in some games that I will probably never play again.  So I grabbed my Halo 3, Rainbow Six Vegas, Saints Row, and Crackdown and headed to my local gamestop on the way to school.  Got 53 bucks for my games, due to them having an offer for every 2 current gen games you trade in they give you 10 extra bucks.  So happy with this, I picked up Silent Hill for 10 bucks :D.

I've only beat the first boss so far.  I'm kinda upset because I was exploring the town, and noticed I missed a building but on the way back I accidently solved some puzzle that progressed me to a new point in the game (which I think means I wont be able to get 2 of the achievements on this play through).  I'm loving the controls for this game, as well as the story so far.  It's also made me jump a few times, and once because my phone rang as I was wandering down a silent corridor in this old hotel that seemed like it would collapse on me at any minute lol.  I'm gonna end up playing this game threw a few times I can tell already, not only because I have to for all 5 endings, but because the game is just solid.  1000/1000 title here I come :)

Tons of movies, and what game?

I had a great weekend.  Friday I went and saw Flash of Genius, and How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.  Both were great, but as someone who is an engineer/architect in mind and heart, I personally enjoyed Flash of Genius more.  Flash of Genius is a real story based on the person who invented the intermittent windshield wiper (which is the wiper used on modern day vehicles).  Ford originally was going to purchase the system from Robert Kearns, but backed out last minute.  Later the wiper shows up on a Ford Mustang which cause Kearns to sue Ford, and also caused him to lose his mind for a period of time.  Great movie, A+ in my mind.  

Saturday I went and saw Religious.  Religious is a documentary by Bill Mayher which is about the major Religions and his views.  Now I won't discuss how I feel about movie, but I will say that people should see this film.  It shows how stupid some people really are, and it also has a very valid point.  Not to mention it will make you laugh quite often.

Sunday was just a day to rest, and work on my english paper, so I don't have much to say about that day.  But all weekend I have been debating on which 360 game to get.  I can either chose to get Silent Hill Homecoming, or I can get Fable 2 when it launches.  Right now I can't decide which one to get.  Fable 2 comes out on the 21st which means I have to wait, but it also means I only have 2 weeks before Gears of War 2 comes out.  If I get Silent Hill, I'll be able to play it now, and have more time to enjoy the game before Gears of War comes out.  I'm leaning more towards Silent Hill as the achievements for the game involve beating the game 5 times to get the 5 different endings.  Not to mention it has been some time since I have last played a Silent Hill game because I traded them all in as well as my PS2 when I got my 360.  No matter which game I do pick, I'll end up with the other come Christmas, so it is really which game do I want to play first? :(

Yay me!

Finally got to 10,000 gamer score.  Got it done in under a year, but man I thought it would never come lol.  I don't really do a ton for gamer score, but some stuff I don't mind doing so I guess that's why it's taken me so long.

School has been pretty boring, found out on monday I did a paper pretty much all wrong, so I have to do some major edits before the final draft is due next monday.  Just got done taking a math test, wasn't to bad.  But I forgot how to set up the equations to see how much money goes into 2 accounts to get a total earned from interest given from one when you're only given the rates, total in both accounts and total earned after one year from both accounts.  But I don't think that problem will hurt me to badly.

As for movies, I went and saw Eagle Eye, which is an A+ in my book.  Nights in Rodanthe which I would give a C+ maybe a B-, the movie was going great, then the end just ruined the entire film... And I also saw Choke.  Now Choke was a rather cool movie, but really really out there.  It's about a sex addict who is going to classes to try and give it up, his mother is in a mental hospital, and he has this habit of choking on his own meals on purpose to get affection from people.  So he will literally go into a restaurant, get something to eat and shove a huge chunk of it down his throat and choke on it and find someone he feels will give him a hug, and care for him like a small child for at least a few minutes while he catches his breath.  Such a weird film, but I would give it a B.

3 weeks from now my Dad, step mother, Sister, Brother in law, and 4 out of there 5 kids will be leaving for the bahamas to our time share.  Woot woot for a week alone.  Not that I won't be going to school, and hanging out with my mother the entire week though.

Ghost Town.

Today I saw the movie Ghost Town.  I went into this movie not expecting much, but came out with quite a bit.  Not only did this movie make me laugh through out the entire film, but it also leaves you with a message.  

This movie is the story of a dentist named Bertram Pincus who can not stand to be around others.  From what you gather through out the movie, it appears as though this guy just can't stand people and wants to be left alone.  You later find that it's caused by other reasons, but I'll leave that out for you to find by yourself.  But anyways, from the preview and early in the movie you find out that he dies due to complications with anesthesia and is revived, after he is revived how ever, he can see ghosts.  One ghost in particular who is named Frank wants Pincus to get his widowed wife, Gwen, to leave the guy he is currently dating because he feels that he is not right for her, and that this is why he is still stuck on this planet.  Well Pincus accepts on the grounds that Frank promises that if he convinces Gwen to leave this guy, Frank will tell all of the other ghosts to leave him be.  After this point the movie has it's ups and downs in mood, but situations always end up working there ways out, and leaving you with a smile on your face and warmth in your heart.

I would highly recommend this movie to any one who is interested in normal day to day comedy (stuff that you could see yourself running across while out on the streets).  And for anyone who is just looking for something enjoyable to watch with someone special be it family or friends.

Outside of the movie, I did take my art 115 test this evening (art History).  And I feel I did very well on it.  The questions weren't all to hard, and most of it was vocabulary, naming pictures from a list of names, or identifying principles of construction.  There were some written parts, but they were really rather basic.  So all in all, a good day.

Saints Row and other things.

Well I finally got around to finishing Saints Row again, forgot how cool the game was.  Had to do another play through because back in november of last year I had to switch my gamer tag for a new one.  Kinda weird that Microsoft can't change your sign up e-mail so MSN will work with a new e-mail huh?  But other then that, I not much has been going on with the 360.

Today class was a total drag.  Got to CAD 30 minutes late, but I finished all my assignments anyway so I wasn't worried about it.  And in my math class my teacher kept making little mistakes here and there, was kind of funny.  He is a rather cool guy to be honest.  He has Dr degrees in math and science so he is mad smart.  But a bunch of people hate him because he has an accent.  You know instead of talking to a school counselor they go ahead and just bad mouth him every time he is out of the class as if he is really that hard to under stand.  I only fail to under stand when he says a number such as 20, or 40.  But when he does use these numbers, he often says "two zero" after saying it to help make it clear.  Other then that I think he speaks just fine.  They also don't like his style of teaching...  I don't know how else you can really teach math though...  He gives an example problem, then he will come up with a problem for the class to solve; asks around the class to get the answers everyone else gets, then he'll solve it in front of us and shows us the correct answer, then very clearly states, "Any questions?"  What else do these people need?  Someone moving the pencil or pen for them?  Oh well, there loss I suppose.  They're presented with someone with a vast amount of intelligence and instead of being happy about it, and taking every little bit of data they can out of this guy, they just look for a flaw and cry about it.

Anyways, gonna crash.  Probably gonna catch a movie tomorrow before class, then it's off to art 115 for a test wohoo!

Welcome

Welcome to my blog!  The content that will be posted here will be related to my life, and seeing how my life contains at least some 360 every day as well as some movies every week, they will most likely be included as well. 

My name is Alan, I'm 20 years of age born Nov. 21, 1987.  I currently attend a community college called School Craft in Michigan and I am studying for a transfer program to eventually move into a higher level school to begin work on my architecture degree.

My hobbies are movies and video games.  I see almost every movie to hit the theaters when it comes out, and I try to read up on as many games as I can (unless I am completely uninterested).