Video Game Music: Smooth McGroove

A little while ago I came across a video of a guy who makes acapella arrangements of video game songs. He goes by the name of Smooth McGroove. He is amazing at what he does and I enjoy his music very much. I hope you enjoy his music as much as I do.

Subscribe to Smooth McGroove

Games of 2012

Well another year has come to an end. So lets talk about the games of 2012. I didn't really get a chance to play many new games this year due to the fact that my budget was tight and not too much came out that tripped my trigger this year. I am not going to do a top games countdown this year because I didn't play to many new games this year. Instead I'm just going to talk about the games that come out this year that I played and liked.

The first new game I bought this year was:

Mass Effect 3: This has to be my favorite release of the year I love this trilogy and this game didn't disappoint me. It has a great story and awesome battle system. The slogan of the game is "Take back Earth" and you must do that. The Reapers are attacking Earth and you must save earth but getting as much support as you can and building a great team like in previous games. If you have transferred a game save from Mass Effect 1 and imported into Mass Effect 2 and then imported that file into Mass Effect 3 you will have an awesome experience. Your choices in previous games will effect how people view you and some of the events. If you are a fan of RPG and/or Shooters this is a must buy. If you have the game on the Xbox 360 and you have a Kinect it truly is better when using the Kinect. You can call out commands to your party and they will do it. You can also switch to a weapon by calling its name. I also head if you say "boomstick" and you have a shotgun you will switch to you shotgun. The Kinect add a new element of game play letting you use your abilities with out worrying about pulling up a menu. For me the game is awesome with out the Kinect but using the Kinect add so much more to the game (It also adds so much more to the Xbox 360 over all). You should get a Kinect for this game its worth it I suggest starting with Mass Effect 1 so you can import your files into the sequels for me doing that give you the full experience of all the games. They recently released Mass Effect 1 for PS3 and the Trilogy in a 3 pack for PS3 and Xbox 360 (I'm not Sure about the Wii U but you can get ME3 on it).

The next game I got was:

Diablo III: I have been waiting for this game for a long time and It is amazing. I was so happy when this game came out. In fact I bought the collector's edition (Blog Post: Diablo III...Yeah its that good!). Fans of Diablo rejoiced when we heard the announcement for Diablo III. I was so pumped for this game unfortunately when i got home my video card in my laptop was unsupported. That bummed me out but lucky for me my wife had recently got a new laptop before launch and I was able to play the game on her laptop so all hope wasn't lost. This game is awesome with new characters and new enemies. I chose the Monk to play first I have also played a Demon Hunter. The game is so much fun and with very diverse characters, harder difficulties with a new one added Inferno difficulty and game updates the replay value is very high. It is another great game from Blizzard. There are some gripes but I can over look them because the game is genuinely fun. If you are a fan of Diablo and other hack and slash RPGs you need to get Diablo III its so much fun.

Other games I played this year were:

Halo 4: Another game in the Halo series and once again is delivers. A new enemy has awaken the Promethean. This game has awesome single player campaign and awesome Multiplayer. Just like any other Halo is awesome. If you are a fan of the series you must by this game. This is the first Halo games that Bungie had nothing to do with. 343 Industries did a great job with the game. They removed all purple from the game so anything that was purple is now blue which isn't a big deal. There isn't much more to say is a Halo game and its lots of fun. If you played the other games you will be able to jump right in

Borderlands 2: If you have played Borderlands and liked it Borderlands 2 is that times 10 its awesome. New character, more guns, a better story line and more twist. The first Borderlands was a great games and tons of fun. Borderlands 2 to me is an even better game. Borderlands 2 takes what is great about the first game and just builds on it and makes it better. The characters you choose from now are The Commando, The Gunzerker, The Siren, The Assassin and the Mechomancer (DLC - Add On). Each character is unique and added to the replay value. I have played with the Commando and he is tuns of fun. He is like Roland the Solder from the first game his special is a turret as well. Its different the Commando doesn't heal like the Solder does but I believe his turret does more damage (from what I've seen I believe this to be true). This game is awesome and with the DLC out and coming out its just adds to the fun.

Skylanders Giants: This game is so much fun. I was able to get this game during a Black Friday sale and I wish I played a Skylanders game sooner. I haven't played the first one but I'm sure is great based on what I've played of Skylanders Giants. Beware this game is a money pit because you will want to buy more and more Skylanders. Lucky me I found sales at JCPenney during Christmas so I save a ton of money. I also won lots of gift certificates during JCPenney's Christmas button contest. So I barely spent any money on most of my Skylanders. If you get this game 1 giant and 2 normal Skylanders. you will need at least 1 of every element and there are 8 Elements. Water, Earth, Fire, Air, Tech, Magic, Life and Undead. All you really need is 1 of every element but you can buy as many as you want. The Skylanders have built-in memory so you can play them on your friends games and they keep their levels, gold, and skills. You also get a code with your Skylanders when you buy them. You take the code and put them online and you can play with other people with the online Skylanders game. So you get two games for the price of one. This game is very fun and addictive.

Street Fighter X Mega Man: A great free game. This was made by independent programmers with contributions from Capcom. It is an 8-bit Mega Man game with the Street Fighters as bosses. Each level also has the music of all the Street Fighter bosses in 8-bit Mega Man form. If you are a fan of Mega Man and Street Fighter you must get this game. Its free you have no excuse (Download Street Fighter X Mega Man).

Pokemon Black 2 and White 2: Another fun Pokemon game. This is the first special edition that is actually different game. Pokemon Yellow was the same as Red and Blue except you starting Pokemon was Pikachu and you fought Jessie and James from Team Rocket. Not to say the special edition games are bad they are very good and add extra goodies and if you collect games like me you usually get all the Pokemon game (I don't have them all yet but hope to have them soon). These games take place 2 years after the events in the previous games. You get a new story line, new hero/heroin, new gym leaders and more. A great Pokemon game for all the Pokemon fans.

The Walking Dead: This game is awesome if you are a fan of The Walking Dead you must get this game. This game follows a different story line and its very good. You get to see the struggles of another diverse group of survivors. You take control of Lee who for some reason is in a the back of a cop car. You end up getting out of the car and encountering Walkers. You come to a house where you find a little girl and you start traveling together. That is all I'm going to say about this story because I don't want any spoilers in this post. The game style is an adventure type game maybe like a point-and-click adventure. I compare it to Myst but its more like the new p&c game Back To The Future. This game is separated into five episode and at $5 each its totally worth it. Sometimes you can find deals I got all five episodes on Xbox 360 for $10. Its also available of PS3 and Steam (and Steam will run deals on the game too).

Happy Wars: Happy Wars is a fun free game on the Xbox Live Arcade. Its a very good online game of fun war and fun destruction.

Kinect Party: Another fun free game on the XBLA. If you have a Kinect download it and you can get some  quick achievements.

Xbox Live Turn 10 This Year!

Happy Birthday Xbox Live!

Its hard to believe that is has been 10 years since Xbox Live started. Since its started online console play has   skyrocketed up and more and more people sign up everyday. I remember I couldn't sign up for Xbox live when it was first available because at the time I lived in an area without high speed internet. Once I went away to college I was able to sign up. I remember the first time I logged on I played Halo 2 for hours when I should have been doing my Homework (I did get my homework done but its was much later when I did). I also remember play Dead or Alive 2 also and realizing how bad I was compared to the other players. The Xbox live starter set came with a headset which came with an adapter to hook into your controller to use the headset making it easier to talk to other players. Xbox Live was and in my opinion was and is still the best online console gaming experience. Today Xbox Live has evolved into so much more then just online gaming who knew it could get better. I will continue to game on Xbox Live among many other things. 

Want to win a free year of Xbox Live Gold click here to win one today. This contest is today only so enter ASAP!

E3 2012

E3 has already past a few weeks ago and I've finally pulled myself away from Diablo III long enough to write this post (Diablo III Rules!!!!). I didn't really get to watch much of E3 this year but what I saw I liked. I an excited about Halo 4 and the Xbox Smart Glass looks cool. I also really like the Wii U and I will probably purchase one. I haven't been too focused on getting new games I have actually only bought 2 games this year so far that are brand new Mass Effect 3 and Diablo III. I've been more focused on old school games lately and you will see some more posts focused on old school games. It is still my goal to go to E3 at least once in my life and I will hopefully have more time to pay closer attention to E3 next year.

E3 2011 Summary

This E3 was great this year. The Big 3 showed some cool things this year. I’m going to start with the one who stole the show Nintendo: They announced their new system and it’s called the WiiU. Nintendo has never been good at naming their systems but it still looks awesome. The controller has a screen on it so you can watch TV and play games by using the screen on the controller. It also backwards compatible with Wii games but I’m not sure if it will be for the GameCube but I hope it is. I am also very excited about Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The additions to the 3DS look awesome as well. Microsoft’s press conference was ok I am totally pumped for Modern Warfare 3 I love that series. I am also pumped for Gears of War 3. I’m also excited to learn that they are making a Halo: Anniversary Edition with Xbox Live multiplayer. I love the original Halo it is one of my most favorite games and the best Halo games in the series. The biggest surprise was the announcement for a new Halo trilogy starting with Halo 4 and being a fan of the Halo series I am very happy they are making more Halo games. This is a big deal Halo 4 will be the first Halo game without any influence from Bungie. I only can hope the integrity of the series stays intact. Microsoft is also expanded the with the Kinect library. The coolest thing I saw it that you will be able to use the connect along with the controller while playing Mass Effect 3 which is a game I can’t wait to get a hold of. I’m not sure if I will have a Kinect when Mass Effect 3 comes out (I would really like to have a Kinect thought) but I will be getting the game never the less. If I do get a Kinect after I have beaten Mass Effect 3 I will probably go back and play it again because Mass Effect 1 & 2 have such a high replay value I’m pretty sure that Mass Effect 3 will also have a very high replay value. Sony had some good things. I don’t own a PS3 yet so I won’t say too much. Uncharted 3 is coming out and that is one series I would really love to play and I would like to play Infamous as well. It was nice that Sony apologized to all the people who used the Playstation Network about the outage. But the thing I’m really excited about is Sony’s new handheld coming out the Playstation Vita. It looks awesome and it definitely an upgrade to the next generation. I have to say Sony is doing a good job with their handhelds they are the only company that has been able to compete with Nintendo’s handhelds and still be selling their own handhelds. Nintendo at one point owned the handheld market but with the PSP and the PS Vita Nintendo doesn’t own it anymore. Nintendo still has the upper hand and may dominate at times but Sony knows how to make a good handhelds. Again this was a great E3 so many good games are coming out and I can’t wait until I can try them. The only thing I didn’t like was during the Ubisoft press conference there was a guy known as Mr. Caffeine he was so annoying I may skip Ubisoft’s press conference if he returns next year. Other than that it was awesome and I hope to attend E3 in the near future.

E3 2011

It’s that time of the year again it’s time for E3. I will be watching on G4TV (G4TV.com) all the coverage this week. So far I have heard Nintendo will be announcing a new system, Microsoft might be announcing Halo 4, and there will be a more footage from Gears of War 3. I am pumped as usual to see what the future of gaming will hold and I can’t wait. E3 starts today and like I said I will be watching it on G4TV (G4TV.com) because I’m unable to attend E3. To the lucky people who got to go to E3 this year I envy you. One year I will attend E3 that is my goal. I am going to keep you posted on what I see and hear. I hope everyone enjoys E3 this year.

Gears of War 3 Multiplayer Beta Feedback

 

It has been over two weeks since the Gears of War 3 beta ended. I wanted to write a blog earlier but I’ve been kind of busy and I apologize. The beta was awesome and it has pumped me up for Gears of War 3 more than ever. This is the best Gears multiplayer that I have ever played. I love the campaign in Gears of War more than anything but every time a new Gears came out they have made everything in the game better. Epic Games know how to make great games. The beta again was awesome. The modes I played the most were Team Deathmatch and King of the Hill. Team Deathmatch was great and lots of fun. Each team had a set number of lives and once they ran out the team that has remaining lives won the round. Kind of the Hill was lots of fun you had to clam an area of a map or steal an area the opposing team has. I am so ready for Gears of War 3 and it was so much fun to play the beta. Gears of War 3 Comes out this year on September 20 and I’m counting the down the days. To see some of the Check out the video below to see some of the game play from the beta.

Games I've found and games I'm still looking for

This Labor Day weekend was a great weekend in games for me. Between going to Ed McKay and the Hillsville gun show over the weekend I made out well. Here are the games I was able to pick up that were on my list:

Donkey Kong 3 (NES)
Double Dragon III (NES)
Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest (SNES)
Donkey Kong 64 (N64)
Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (N64)
Donkey Kong Land (GB/GBC)
Donkey Kong Land 2 (GB/GBC)
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (GBA)
Metroid Fusion (GBA)
Bushido Blade 2 (PS1 Black Label)
Mega Man X5 (PS1 Black Label)
Mega Man X6 (PS1 Black Label)
Mega Man X7 (PS2 Black Label)
Panzer Dragoon Orta (Xbox)
Shenmue II (Xbox)

Here are a few games I got the weren't on my list:

Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off Road (NES)
Marble Madness (NES)
Smash TV (NES)
Yoshi’s Story (N64)
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos (PS1 Greatest Hits)
Croc 2 (PS1 Black Label)
David Beckham Soccer (PS1 Black Label)
Tenchu Stealth Assassins (PS1 Black Label)

Overall I picked up 23 Games. 15 of these games were on my list.

I have updated my list as well as added a couple of other games to the list that I’m looking for.

NES

Dragon Warrior II
Dragon Warrior IV
Dig Dug II
Mega Man
Mega Man 5
Mega Man 6
Ninja Gaiden 3: The Ancient Ship of Doom
Pac-Mania
Tetris (Tengen)

SNES
Castlevania: Dracula X (Got the Japanese version)
E.V.O.: The Search for Eden
Earthbound
Kirby's Dreamland 3
Kirby's Super Star
Mega Man 7 (Got the Japanese version)
Mega Man X2
Mega Man X3 (Got the Japanese version)
Secret of Mana
Turtles IV: Turtles in Time

N64
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Clayfighter 63 1/3
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards  
Mario Party 2
Mario Party 3

Game Boy/Game Boy Color
Castlevania: The Adventure
Castlevania: The Adventure II: Belmont’s Revenge
Castlevania Legends
Donkey Kong Land 3
Final Fantasy Adventure
Kirby’s Dream Land 2
Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (Received a free digital copy for pre-ordering The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds)
Super Mario Land 2

Game Boy Advance
Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure (Got a free digital copy on 3DS)
Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Metroid Zero Mission

Sega Genesis
Mortal Kombat II
Power Base Converter (Plays Sega Master Systems games on the Sega Genesis)
Samurai Showdown
Sega 32x (With all the hook-ups)

Game Gear
Sonic Blast
 
Dreamcast
Shenmue
Power Stone
Power Stone 2

Playstation
Bushido Blade
Castlevania Chronicles
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Ehrgeiz
Fighting Force
Intelligence Cube
Legend of Dragoon
Legend of Mana
Legend of Legaia
Lunar Silver Star Story Complete
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete
SaGa Frontier 2
Vagrant Story
Xenogears

Playstation 2
ICO
Mega Man X8
Romancing SaGa
Unlimited SaGa

GameCube
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Picked it up for the Wii)
Mario Kart Double Dash
Phantasy Star Episode 1 & 2
Super Mario Sunshine

Xbox
Ninja Gaiden Black

I had some good luck finding games and getting them at great prices. I hope to keep getting games and great prices. I will continue to update you as I get more games on my list.

Games I'm looking for

I started making a list of games I’m looking for the other day and it’s a pretty long list. My luck the Hillsville Gun Show is this weekend and sometimes you find some people selling all types of games. Here is a list of games I’m look for. Not all the games are listed but the games I want the most are listed below.

NES
Donkey Kong 3
Dragon Warrior II
Double Dragon III
Dragon Warrior IV
Dig Dug II
Mega Man
Mega Man 5
Mega Man 6
Ninja Gaiden 3: The Ancient Ship of Doom
Tetris (Tengen)

SNES
Castlevania: Dracula X (Got the Japanese version)
E.V.O.: The Search for Eden
Earthbound
Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest
Mega Man 7 (Got the Japanese version)
Mega Man X2
Mega Man X3 (Got the Japanese version)
Secret of Mana
Turtles IV: Turtles in Time

Sega Genesis
Mortal Kombat II
Power Base Converter (Plays Sega Master Systems games on the Sega Genesis)
Samurai Showdown
Sega 32x (With all the hook-ups)

Game Boy/Game Boy Color
Castlevania: The Adventure
Castlevania: The Adventure II: Belmont’s Revenge
Castlevania Legends
Donkey Kong Land
Donkey Kong Land 2
Donkey Kong Land 3
Final Fantasy Adventure
Kirby’s Dream Land 2
Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (Received a free digital copy for pre-ordering The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds)
Super Mario Land 2

Game Boy Advance
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure (Got a free digital copy on 3DS)
Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Metroid Fusion
Metroid Zero Mission

Game Gear
Sonic Blast

N64
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Clayfighter 63 1/3
Donkey Kong 64
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Mario Party 2
Mario Party 3

Dreamcast
Shenmue

Playstation
Bushido Blade
Bushido Blade 2
Castlevania Chronicles
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Chrono Cross
Ehrgeiz
Fighting Force
Intelligence Cube
Legend of Dragoon
Legend of Mana
Legend of Legaia
Lunar Silver Star Story Complete
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete
Mega Man X5
Mega Man X6
SaGa Frontier 2
Xenogears

Playstation 2
Mega Man X7
Mega Man X8
Romancing SaGa
Unlimited SaGa

GameCube
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Picked it up for Wii)
Mario Kart Double Dash
Phantasy Star Episode 1 & 2
Super Mario Sunshine

Xbox
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Shenmue II

There are a lot more games I would like to get, but these games are the games I want the most. Wish me luck on my hunt for all these games.

E3 '10 - The Wrap Up

E3 has been over for about a week and I’ve finally had time to absorb all that I saw.

There were a lot of game and gadgets I saw (via G4tv and G4tv.com) that got me very excited. I can’t talk about everything I saw so I will talk about what I really liked.

Microsoft

Microsoft has made some partner ships with Activision and ESPN. That mean with Activision any add-ons for their games come out first for Microsoft. With ESPN you will be able to watch all sports on ESPN on your Xbox 360 and it’s free for Xbox Live gold members. This was a great move on Microsoft’s part I think this will be a great thing for them. With Games of course Halo Reach and Gears of War 3 caught my eye but I have already talked about these games. Call of Duty: Black Ops looks awesome but the best game I saw for the Xbox 360 was Metal Gear Solid: Rising. This game looks so awesome you are a ninja and it strays from the traditional game play of the MGS series, but the game play looks awesome with a game engine that lets you cut anything into pieces. This includes cutting people into pieces and cutting random things like tables and fruits. Also the Microsoft Kinect looks awesome with the ability to recognize you and log you in just by waving at it. My problem with this gadget is that the price is going to be $150 which is way too much, but there is a chance they may change the price and hopefully make it cheaper. The Kinect looks cool but a price tag of $150 is way too much for this. They have also released the Xbox 360 Slim which looks awesome as well hopefully solving the Red Ring of Death once and for all.

Nintendo

Nintendo had announced The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. This is a Zelda game design just for the Wii and it will use the Wii Motion Plus which will give the sword a more realistic feel along with Link’s other weapons. They also announced a new Goldeneye 007 game for the Wii. Fans have been waiting for this game for a long time and it looks amazing. I’m not a big fan of FPS games on the Wii, but this one should be different and maybe they will use the Wii Motion Plus as well. They also announced some other great game like a new NBA Jam game with controls exclusive for the Wii (a new NBA Jam for the the 360 and PS3 as well). Nintendo has also announced the Mario Sports Mix, Wii Party, Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Epic Mickey. They also announced the Nintendo 3DS which looks really cool and they have announced Kid Icarus Uprising and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. The game I’m most excited about for the Wii is Donkey Kong County Returns. It’s going to be like the old school Donkey Kong Country and it will have game play like the New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Sony

I don’t own a Playstation 3 but the Playstation Move look very cool. I saw 2 games that look really cool Infamous 2 is one of those games. I would get the first one if I buy a PS3. The next game is the new Twisted Metal and this game look awesome I still play Twisted Metal 2 on the PS1 and this new Twisted Metal is making me want to buy a PS3.

That covers the Big 3 now on to the software developing companies. Bioware is coming one with the Star Wars: The Old Republic. This game look amazing but I’m still not sure if it will pull me away from World of Warcraft only time will tell. EA games is coming out with a new Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. This game looks so freakin’ awesome. You can play are the racer or the cops. The online system they have in place for this game is awesome. You will have people on your list you are running from and people who you are chasing. You will also have a most wanted and when they log on to play and you can initiate the change. I’m not a big racing game fan but I and really thinking about getting this game when it comes out. Konomi is coming out with a 2 new Castlevania games. The fist is Castlevania: Lord of Shadows which will be for Xbox 360 and PS3. I’m a huge Castlevania fan and I am really looking forward to a brand new Castlevania and it’s not the only one that’s coming. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair which looks to be a 2D style Symphony of the Night style of Castlevania for the Xbox Live Arcade and maybe for the Playstation Network I can’t wait to try these games out. Capcom is coming out with a highly anticipated sequal Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. I’m again stoke because Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is probably one of the best fighting games out there and there are going to have tons of new characters and it will most likely be set up like Street Fighter 4/Super Street Fighter 4 and they are great games as well so Marvel vs. Capcom 3 should deliver another great experience. Last but not least Ubisoft has obtained the license to make Michael Jackson games and I’m hoping there re-release Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker the game on XBLA, PSN, and Wii Virtural Console. There were so many games I saw this year while watching coverage of E3 and all I know is there is a bright future for the gaming world there is something for everyone and all the companies are doing what they can to go over the top.

E3 '10

E3 '10 is this week and I think it going to be a big year. The game I'm the most excited about Star Wars: The Old Republic. I am very excited about the game because I love KOTOR. I wish they would have made a 3rd game to complete the game for us because the 2nd game left us hanging big time with the horrible endings it had. Bioware can't be held responsible for that because Obsidian made the sequel to KOTOR. They didn't do a bad job with the game but they got lazy with the ending. The question on my mind is will The Old Republic take the crown of top MMORPG from World of Warcraft and more importantly with it take me away from WoW? Only time will answer this question for us. I am very excited to see what everyone at E3 has to offer. I'll be doing my research and watching E3 Live on G4TV (G4TV.com). I'll have more to say when E3 is complete.

Halo Reach Multiplayer Beta the Final Verdict

Now that the Halo Reach Multiplayer Beta has ended I thought it would be a good time to do my review of the Reach Beta. Overall is was a great experience. My favorite armor ability was the jet pack. It was so awesome to be able to fly around and shoot people. The armor abilities were an awesome addition it changed up the game. I enjoyed the Invasion game type it was a very good and challenging game type. It was Spartans Vs Elites and the Spartans had to defend the base while the Elites tried to get in and destroy components of the base and escape with a generator. One of my favorites game types was Headhunter it was lots of fun to try to get kills and collect the skull(s) that get dropped by your opponent. You then have to take the skulls you collect and take them to the drop off point to score. There was also the arena which is for the more hardcore Halo players. In this game type you have season and after each season you are given a rank that shows how you match up with other players. There really isn't too much to say given that its a Beta. The Reach Beta feels like Halo should my only complaint was the control scheme but if you are like me a would like controls that feel like Halo 3 you can select the Recon control layout. There are bugs to be worked out but its a Beta and that's how its suppose to be. Based on the beta alone I plan to preorder this game soon. I hope that they have an awesome single player campaign to go with awesome multiplayer. Everyone who played this game remember to leave feedback about the Beta at bungie.net.

Halo Reach is set to release on September 14, 2010

Halo Reach Multiplayer Beta at a Glance

Yesterday May 3, 2010 the Halo Reach Multiplayer Beta was released for download. If you own the Halo 3: ODST campaign game disc you can gain access to the Reach Beta. The Reach Beta is the main reason most people bought Halo 3: ODST. In my opinion Halo 3: ODST is a good game and I still enjoy playing it. But enough about ODST lets talk about the Reach Beta. This post is not going to go in depth to much I'm just going to talk about a couple things. I do plan to talk more in depth in a future post but for now we will scratch the surface. At a glance its a lot of fun and the fact that its a real beta is awesome. You are able to go to bungie.net and leave feedback and the developers are going to look at the feedback and fix what needs to be fixed. What I like is the new abilities especially the jet pack and cloaking and some of the new gun are really nice. I'm a big fan of the pistol because it reminds me of the pistol from the first Halo. The Credit system is nice as well. So far I'm excited about the release of Halo Reach and so far the Reach Beta has made me even more excited. That's my view of the the Reach Beta at a glance in the meantime I'm going to continue playing the Reach Beta and come back with a more in depth review in the future.

Halo Reach is set to release on September 14, 2010

Gears of War: The End is Near

Gears of War was one of the first games on the Xbox 360 and it was the game that first attracted me to the Xbox 360.


It starts off with Marcus Fenix getting picked up for his prison cell by his comrade and friend Dominic Santiago. Dom give Fenix a gun and says lets good and from that point on the action never stops especially when you first get the Lancer which is a machine gun with a chainsaw and when you first use the chainsaw you fall in love with that gun. The games plot is and alien race called the Locust has burrowed into the Earth's crust and is coming up out of the ground and has been trying to cause the human race to become an extinct race. You are Marcus Fenix and you and Delta Squad must stop this. You also have some other memorable characters like Augustus Cole a.k.a the Cole Train which is and awesome character and he bring some comic relief to the game. Then there's Baird a character who never shuts up and you just want to shoot him. Lucky for us he isn't as annoying in the 2nd game but he is still annoying. The co-op in this game is awesome and requires lots of team work no communication means you aren't going to win. The game is intense, but you are equipped for the challenge. I talked about the Lancer already but there is another beauty in this game called the Hammer of Dawn. The Hammer of Dawn targets enemies and then called on a satellite from space and it sends down a beam to Earth that incinerates anyone and anything in its path. Epic Games really made this game very unique.

Then Gears of War 2 came out improving on everything to make this game a better game.

This game takes off and this time you are going into the Locust tunnels and Marcus Fenix is back with Dom and the rest of Delta Squad. One this they improved was that even in single player you can be revived by your computer controlled partner. The downside is now the enemy can revive their fallen comrades as well, but I just love to pick them off with the Long Shot (the Sniper Rifle). They also improved the multi-player in Gears of War 2. If you have played these games you know they are awesome. If you haven't played this games you need to play this game.

With the announcement of Gears of War 3 the anticipation is building up. Cliffy B. official announced on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon that Gears of War 3 will be released on April 5, 2011.

Gears of War 3 will be the final game to complete this trilogy. What's next for Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad we will find out when the game is released a year from now and I for one can't wait.

2nd Red Ring of Death Resolved

February 22, 2010 I received my 2nd Red Ring of Death on my 2nd Xbox 360 and I shipped it for repair February 23, 2010. A few days after I shipped the console I received a notice that they received the console. Then a few days later I received another notice saying the repair was complete and they sent my console back to me. Today March 5, 2010 I received my replacement Xbox 360. They said it could take 2 -3 weeks to get your Xbox 360 back from the day you shipped it. It has been about a week and a half and I have received my Xbox 360. I also received a 1 month Xbox Live Gold card for free. It took half the time to get my console and I got a free month of Xbox Live. I have to say Microsoft is getting good at this making sure gamers that are without their Xbox 360 aren't without it for very long. Hopefully this will be the last time this happens to me and hopefully they resolve these issues once and for all.

2nd Red Ring of Death

In July 2007 I received the Red Ring of Death. The first thing I used was the towel trick and that worked great but it wasn't a permanent solution to the problem so in August 2007 I decided to call Xbox Support (1-800-4MY-XBOX). Xbox Support was very good with their customer service and a few days later they sent me a box, I put my Xbox 360 into the box, Dropped it off at the UPS store. 3 weeks later I received another Xbox 360 with a free 1 month subscription card to Xbox Live which I gave to my brother-in-law Stewart. I hooked up my Xbox 360 up and started playing my games and I was very happy. As time went by I had been reading magazines talking about the Red Ring of Death still being an issue. I always had it the back of my head that it could happen again, but I just kept playing hoping that I wouldn't see the dreaded Red Ring of Death. Unfortunately it happened again February 22, 2010 my 2nd Xbox 360 received the Red Ring of Death. I didn't waste time I called Xbox Support again good customer service as usual. They set up my repair and this time they emailed me a UPS shipping label so I didn't have to wait a few days for a box I was able to boxed up my Xbox 360 today and dropped it off at Staples. In 2 - 3 weeks I should receive my Xbox 360. It is kind of annoying that this has happened, but at least they are still giving extended warranties and fixing Xbox 360. Now some people just gave up on Xbox 360 the first time they got the Red Ring of Death. They either went with a PS3 or a Wii. Now I have a Wii as well along with many other older systems I don't have a PS3, but both of these systems have had issues as well Xbox 360 just has them with way more systems. I have heard the PS3 has the yellow light of death, and the Wii had the black screen of death which I have had. When I had the issues with the Wii I lost my save games, but I still had the licenses for WiiWare and Virtual Console games and could download them again. I love the fact that I can detach the Xbox 360 hard drive because I didn't lose my save files. Like I said I'm kind of annoyed with the Red Ring of Death, but I will not turn my back on my Xbox 360 like my friend said great software and bad hardware. Hopefully this will be the last time this happens, but if it does I will repeat the same steps for repair that I just did for this Xbox 360. Please don't give up faith in the Xbox 360.