Tuesday, December 23, 2008

The News and How Stupid They Look!

I was checking out Edge's top 10 gaming videos and I found this little treat. Seeing that Christmas comes and everyone sits down and plays their games, I thought this would be appropriate. WARNING, you WILL notice the following:
1. Stupidity of the news.
2. How the news treats Geoff and cuts him off at the end
3. It is really sad when the lady talks about "What happened to Atari, and pinball..."

Sunday, December 21, 2008

MGS on LBP looks really nice!

I'm really digging the VR missions they are showing. What do you think?

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

X-Men Origins

For the people who didn't go see The Day the World Stood Still, here's the X-men Origins movie trailer. I'm actually excited for it and I first wasn't. Two things that make it interesting.
1. Gambit is in it
2. GAMBIT IS IN THE FUCKING MOVIE
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD

Game Damage!

As I'm writing this, I'm loading up the Game Damage website which at the moment looks like it's being brought down by it's truckload of visitors. I'm dead serious, the website is loading so slow that I think I'm on 56k! It could possibly be my internet but by seeing on popular Yahtzee is with his Zero Punctuation reviews, I wouldn't doubt the site hit a 200k visitor mark already. What's that you say? You never saw a review by him? Get out of the cave and watch this:

Well, he's in a new show that will probably with a huge following. I'm just spreading the word because it's something fresh. You can tell that they're doing this from out of their pocket since the ending contest is for a bag of sweets (probably gummy bears?!?). Besides that, it had some interesting moments (i.e. the Duke Nukem Design Team) and some other boring parts (The MGS rip offs. Come on, it's been done and it just feels more annoying than good). It also seems wierd seeing Yahtzee on another game show because you kind of hear his old rants on this show. Besides that, I feel it's a well done video cast(is that what it's called these days?). Here's the video:

Sunday, December 14, 2008

What!?!!!?!!?

I just watched the Spike Video Game Awards and I thought it was pretty well made! It seemed like an event for the gamers (even if it was a little geared toward male gamers). The one thing I will debate was the "Game of the Year" award. Come on, seriously? Grand Theft Auto 4?!!?! I will give them that that game must have been a long painful process to create (the level of detail is quite amazing!) but still! I really thought Fallout 3, Little Big Planet, Metal Gear Solid 4 or Gears 2 would have taken it! I rooted for Dead Space to pick it up but I knew better for that. Well, whatever, congratulations to everyone who got an award! I also thought Will Wright's speech about how he got into gaming to be inspiring. It kind of reminds me of when I first started thinking about creating games.

oh ya, the Uncharted 2 trailer was really well done. Everytime I see Drake, he really feels down to earth. I can see myself in his shoes and saying his exact words and another game about him is FREAKING AWESOME! Here's the trailer!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Birthday

I just want to thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. Most people think it's just nothing to say Happy Birthday but to me, it does. It was really funny to see all the inside jokes I've had with people and to remember back to good old times. Some ones that pop in my head is Gina and The Outsiders. This sparks up moments in stupid middle school classes I had (with a certain info lit teacher). Good times! Speaking of good old times, in Pownce, people would post pictures of the avatars and ask people what changed. If you were apart of the close community, you would know. That said, I forgot and now I regret it because the site is closing down. Anyways, I grabbed a quick screen render so I can remember that my birthday marked a close date to Pownce's December 15th closing. R.I.P. Pownce.


I'm going to definitely play some old video game titles till parents arrive home in a few hours then see what's up. Play some of my old favorites (Half Life, Sonic, Power Stone, Counter-Strike, Left 4 Dead(okay, this one's new but it's amazing), Ratchet and Clank, and many more). Thanks again for the wishes!

Friday, November 28, 2008

zelda remake

This is one of the most inventful levels I have ever seen using Little Big Planet!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Hideo Kojima receives Lifetime Achievement Award from MTV

Hideo Kojima receives Lifetime Achievement Award from MTV



Hell to the yes! I remember playing the first Metal Gear and thinking it was the best game evarrr. Props to that man!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Resistance 2

Resistance 2 has some really interesting Co-Op. I've been playing it all day and it really does feel mmo-esk. You have characters who tank and other characters who are damage dealers and other characters who heal. You get where I'm going with this. Well back to playing, just wanted to give an update what I've been playing.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Left 4 Dead or should I say, Dawn of the Dead:tthe game

The title is basically what the game is. The game is a straight up multiplayer shooter that plays out like a zombie apocalypse movie (Warts and all. haha Zero P reference). The gameplay can be summed up like this:



If that doesn't interest you, then don't even bother with the game. It's basically the same thing over and over. The repition can be felt through the gameplay and also the weapons. You get 6 guns (Uzi, pump shotgun, Pistol, auto shotgun, M4 machine gun, auto sniper) and it feels as if Valve didn't have enough time to add more guns(it's been in development since 2004/05. Sometime between there). Sure, you can debate that the guns, it has, has a purpose. None of these guns don't have a purpose (some would argue the auto sniper) but always ending up with a shotgun or machine gun can get tiresome.

The positives about the game is that the replayability is very high (especially if you have the PC version). Everytime you play throughout a level, it will always be different. It will have different zombie spawns, different weapon spawns and different pacing. This is all done through the game A.I. director. To sum it all up, it is basically if a guy watched you play the game and added zombies for the hell of it just to screw with you. It only leads me to wonder how Valve is going to use the A.I. director for future games (i.e. Left 4 Dead 2/ Half Life Episode 3).
PC gamers will be in joy because like any other Valve game, expect a ton of mods/modes added in. The Verses mode seems like it was unfinished to the main part that it is unfinished. You can only play the first 2 "movies".

Levels, I almost forgot. You might want to think about getting the game for the Xbox 360. Valve says it will support the game more on the console rather than PC but only time will tell. The game ships with co-op for 4 levels. It will take anytime from an hour to two hours+ depending on the difficulty. The level names are posted below in the posters that the game shows you during mid-levels.


Few games these days can truly give me "immersion". Game developers are always talking about it but few come close to giving you that "feeling". It's amazing, it's repetitive, it's trying to be a movie. If your a zombie movie lover, your only reading this to confirm to others that the game is awesome. If your in between on getting it, just ask yourself this question. Who would I take to survive a zombie apocalypse and would they actually be a good choice? Because you can finally test it out with this game!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Happy birthday Half Life

Happy birthday Half Life! It's been 10 years since you've entered my heart as favorite fps of all time. Looking back how the series started, I can only wonder what is to come with Half Life Episode 3!

How it all began....

Monday, November 17, 2008

Heidi Klum Commercial Spreads!

The Heidi Klum guitar commercial is spreading. It first hit the tv airwaves (which wasn't the director cut). Then the director's cut hit the internet tubes! Then it came back to the television in the news program. What kind of bugs me about this is that they used the directors cut (a la the one that isn't shown on television) to create a motion of disguest. Well it turns out that the female analyst say that it's tame compared to other beer commercials. Check it out below!



[Source = NintendoRaw / FileFront ]

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Sequel crazy

The game industry is on a new trend of what I call "sequel crazy". Just look at the two top games that game out in the beginning of November. Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2. Well okay, they were original new IP's from the start of the next gen consoles so that's okay. On the other hand, you see, Resident Evil 5, Metal Gear Solid 4, Unreal Tournament 3, and many others. Has the industry been playing the safe bet too much with the next generation of consoles? (I'm not talking about the Wii because it's apparently it's not competing against it's bigger brothers, Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360.)


Have we, the gamers, been accepting the new titles with open hearts on and on only to see original ideas banished. Take a look at last generations Ico which wasn't a great seller but considered an amazing game. I'm only talking about this because I was in a discussion with a friend about the next, next generation of video games (the Sony PS4 and Xbox 720). It will be interesting to see what happens then? Will there be a Metal Gear Solid 5 out then? A Halo 5? It will be interesting to see because those games are top sellers. Games like Mirror's Edge and Little Big Planet are examples of how originality can be a fresh experience. But the industry is out to make money so will the trend of originality continue to die (but likely to pop up in Nintendo's market)? I think only time will tell.

On the note of sequels, here's footage comparing the original Gears of War maps to the Gears of War 2 maps. Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The Gaming Community and the Devs

Quick chat about the gaming community and developers can talk in forums. I recently won a recent Crysis Wars Post of the Week which was no doubt awesome. I basically stated my opinion on how to make the game more balanced and fun. For more check out this link. It leads me to hope that gameplay balance issues will be sorted out. Winning isn't what really makes me happy, it's that they considered my suggestions. Think of it like this, you make a wonderful pie. You tasted it yourself and it's amazing(to you at least). You give it to a friend, they immediately say that the pie has a horrible after taste. Thus ripping out the love you had for the pie/ that friend(haha). Developers have this exact same reaction. The day their game ships and they see the reviews/meta score is basically how they can rate themselves (in terms of quality). Seeing developers taking the time to see how it can be changed shows how good the company is (i.e. Crytek).


On that exact note, here is footage of something I really wanted to see. The Insomniac Community Day! Hopefully one day, I'll get to tour those offices! Anyways, enjoy!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Guitar Hero Ads Rock with Heidi Klum

I was on 1up.com and I found this comparison of Guitar Hero World Tour commercials. They stated that it was a bit silly for a bunch of guys in underwear rocking out in a commercial. But with Heidi Klum, it was less silly. I don't know if this was the perfect commercial to hit their audience. I see what they were trying to do with the male's in underwear commercial but I don't know it was executed that well. I see both commercials on the air so maybe they're doing a combination to please both the male/female audience? The commercial also shows how you look when you actually play which could be looked at as a negative. I feel that they should have started off as if the actors were at a rock concert (show them at an actually rock concert) then move back to the underwear look. I also posted the Rock Band 2 commercial for comparison. What do you guys think?

Original Commercial


Heidi Klum take


Rock Band 2 Commercial



[ Source = 1up.com ]

The Future?

When the first Wii was shown, I immediately thought, "Hey, it has controls that basically replicate the mouse and keyboard." After using it, I thought, it was a good first start (I played a couple FPS's with it) but I wonder what will come down the road. Down the road and not the first example after the Wii's motion sensor, comes this motion detection for the computer. Now, it states the mouse and keyboard are dead... What's wrong with that? Because I don't know if I would throw my beautiful Logitech keyboard and mouse for my own hands. Only time will tell if this will be as hyped as the video states but I am excited for it!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Fallout 3 Evolution

I've been playing Fallout 3 like sleep is a chore. I thought this is a good time to check out the previous Fallouts (I was kind of young so I didn't get the opportunity to play em).

This video sure helped!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Resistance 2 arrives today!

This game comes out today...

which is made by these guys

and this game comes out Friday...

which is made by this guy..

which means everyone I know will be losing sleep. haha

I'll do a video blog sometime within the next two weeks. Other than that, I've been playing recently Fallout 3. It starts off kinda slow but once you pick up a decent rifle and armor, the game picks up. It's really good and it is for anyone looking for that apocalyptic story or for someone who liked Oblivion. The game isn't perfect, there's bugs every now and then (at least for the pc) but it can be overlooked from the game's landscape/gameplay. Also, if you thought it was a FPS, your wrong. If you thought it was an RPG, it's not. It takes them together and creates a hybrid. This is one hybrid that everyone should at least try.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Resistance 1 vs. Resistance 2

With the game just a week away, I'd like to go over this video comparing the two. The game engine has definitely got an overhaul in the second iteration. What does that mean for the player, it means you'll believe the world your playing in more. PS3fanboy asks it's viewers if the game is "too colorful". I'm one in favor for that it's not "too" colorful. It is just enough to make it not look like a cartoonish version of Reistance. Comparing it to games such as Team Fortress 2, it doesn't come close to the art style. Team Fortress 2's art style helps represent the game in the fun quirky matter it is. Everything in the game goes well together. That said, I'm glad they didn't go exactly with that look. Resistance 2 is suppose to be a dark and gloomy time for America. Giving it a cartoon look would clash with that idea. Maybe I'm just crazy, what is your input? Here's the video comparing Resistance 1 and 2.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Gaming Gone Mainstream!


Ya, that's right, it's a Guitar Hero ad with KFC! I wonder what Mr. Sanders would say if you went back in time and told him about Guitar Hero. He would think you were insane!

Gaming sure has traveled into the mainstream audience. Whether it be in the Nintendo's Wii or Guitar Hero, video games has leaped from social outcast to social non-outcast? Haha, well you understand what I mean. Look at the movies, Max Payne is a movie! This was rumored back when the first one came out(I have the OPM magazine that talks about it becoming a movie!). It really is amazing to see it become a true form of art. But like all forms of art, it's up to future developers to keep it alive! I hope that I become one designer that keeps the idea and expands on it.


Side note: I just watched this video about company start ups and failures with Kevin rose. It's really intriguing to know how the popular website Digg started up.
Enjoy!

Why to start a new startup in a bad economywww.kevinrose.com

Monday, October 27, 2008

Dark City is freakin cool!

I've been doing some 3ds Max modeling for school and decided to take a break and watch the movie Dark City. I've had it lying around and I thought the trailer made it seem epic so why not. I watched the movie with low expectations and it blew away those expectations. Okay, the acting is not the best, the action wasn't as satisfying as the Matrix and the film's look (it was made in 1998) can make skip this gem. Without giving away too much, the movie is about a main character who looses his memory and is accused of murder. That character is John Murdock and the movie is his fight to find the truth about the city. Here's a trailer to set you up with the look / feel of the movie.



If you see this movie at your local Walmart, do your self a favor and give it a go. It will be one movie you won't regret owning!

[Pros: The concept is executed perfectly! The movie's quotes/lines can be remembered well due to the harmony with the story's plot. The city and its inhabitants are lifelike and believable (sometimes a bit creepy). One of the best Sci Fi movies in the end of the 20th century. ]
[Cons: Acting doesn't get to anywhere near bad but some might think parts that are meant to be dramatic are funny. The action can be rather dull at times. ]

Remember to "sleep now".


Along with this, I've been dying to play me some Resistance 2. I saw the Co-Op beta gameplay and it looks really fun! The more I see of it, the more I can see where they got their influences from. One game that the Insomniac crew got ideas from is definitely the Battlefield franchise. The whole co-op campaign can show you that they got the idea straight from that.

The teamplay is great but I wonder how this game will play with only 2 players or even 3. Full 8 player co-op looks a tad bit easier but what about the people that just want to play with a buddy. It'll be interesting to see how the balance works out. In Battlefield 2, a lot people used the medic or certain class compared to the other unused classes. I really hope that this doesn't happen with this game but only time will tell!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Resistance 2 Ad!

I saw this today and I think this Resistance 2 advertisement is pure genius! I don't know if the mainstream public knows enough about this title and I hope it doesn't get buried underneath all these upcoming triple A titles. Good luck Insomniac guys!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Max Payne or Max Fail?

Before I go into detail with my review of Max Payne, I'd like to say a few words about Dead Space! If you haven't tried it yet, do so now! Actually try it at night with surround sound and by yourself. If you don't get surprised at all then, you aren't human! Here's a senario (spoiler alert-sorta, skip to the next paragraph) that I witnessed while playing the game. An enemy came threw a broken vent in the side and attacked me. I shot it a couple times until it went back in the vents it came threw. I said, "Alright, maybe it's a scripted event that I wasn't suppose to kill it". Wrong was I! As I was walking away, the enemy came back threw and attacked me from behind! I ended up finishing him but it's moments like these that really make the game interesting and scary.



The game's enemy design are awesome because the "hyped" body dismemberment mechanic is amazing. You shoot a enemy in the leg, they fall down and drag their body towards you! I also think you should definitely check out the animated comic before playing the game. It tells you about how everything went to hell and then some.


[ Movie Review of Max Payne ]
Trailer:


Why is it that video game movies never turn out as good as you'd expect? Also, why did the director choose not to create a movie for the gaming audience instead of mixing the two? This is the main downfall for the movie and which I hated it for it. Here are some of the thoughts that went through my head while watching it:

" Where is the Max Payne that always takes painkillers? Why are the other side characters always talking? Mark Wahlberg is badass and looks like Max Payne. WTF, why is Ludacris a cop? Why did it take so long to get the killing? I want more killing! I should probably refill my soda (pop to the people that call soda, pop). I want more slow motion sequences! The main enemy got taken out from one shot, wtf? "

If you played the game, you'll be saying the same things. The movie suffers from trying to hard to get the causal audience and the gaming audience to like the movie. It ends up into a movie that they both won't like and is another video game movie gone bad. Seeing the trailer, I thought this was going to be a mix between the movie "Shoot'em Up" with the Max Payne story line. Man, was I wrong! If you were expecting a action packed movie, you aren't going to find it here. Another thing that bugged me was all these side characters talking. I try and think back what made Max Payne the game, Max Payne the game. I remembered the beginning comics that made the intro cut scene to every level. It had Max Payne talking to himself about the situation. Here's a video to help remind you if you forgot.

Beginning cut scene to Max Payne:


This isn't used at all in the movie and it is a shame. Instead, you hear from boring characters that you forget within seconds. That said, you don't fall into the world of Max Payne, you fall into a generic city. I don't know about you but I remember the game having tons of drug addicts, strippers, and crooked cops chasing him. The movie doesn't even have enough of these to satisfy that!

It's not all bad though. Mark Wahlberg's performance is like in every other movie, amazing. He really sets himself to look and act like Max Payne. The effects of the movie can be just amazing at times. The city's weather is always changing from snowy and night to sunny and bright. It seemed to me that they were trying to make it seem like Max Payne never knew what time of the day it was. It is moments like that that are really cool. The sad part of it all is that these positives don't save the movie from the disappointment it is.

___________________________________________________________________________________
C-
Pros: Mark Wahlberg is Max Payne, cool effects from weather to gun shots
Cons: Everything else. It tries to hard to be mix the mainstream audience with the gaming audience and just fails at it.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Rebate or not to rebate, there is no question.


I have a theory. "Rebates" or what I liked to call invisible money is all fake. I consider it to be like an energy drink that states that if you drink more than two, you might die? While some of us that aren't use to intense caffeine intake would die, the rest (also most of the world) would be fine. It's a placebo to make us feel better about what ever we're buying and I for one can't stand it.

Gas prices going down!


You saw it here first (no you probably didn't!). I find it ironic that people use to complain and bitch about gas prices sky rocketing up but I don't see any of them talking about how the prices went down. Maybe it'll go back to $3.10 tomorrow, next week, or in the next minute but hey, it's lower and that makes me happy!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Quarantine Review!

[ Review time for the movie Quarantine! ]

Here's a quick trailer of the movie.



For those who want a quick idea of what the movie is, it's basically mix of Cloverfield and 28 Weeks Later. The storyline without giving out too many spoilers is about a group of people stuck in an apartment building. Things go bananas and now they're fighting for their life.
Now for the good! It's phenomenal if you liked either of the movies previously named. The sound and tension of the movie really lets you sink yourself into the atmosphere. This movie has some cool effects done with the body of the undead, dead people. There are some moments in the movie that have that "pop in" effect for a scare. Those were pretty good and anyone easily scared will jump! Let me describe it to you. I saw that trailer and the parts that I knew were coming still had me feeling the tension and suspense on what was yet to come! Now any movie that does that is worth seeing! I also loved how the movie throws out "foreshadowing". It does it slightly that normal viewers will see and put it in back of the mind. That is until the moment you connect the pieces together and jump!
Now for the bad. Like any other movie, it really makes some of the characters feel real and grounded. On the other side of this is the stupidity that you usually get from side/supporting characters. You will be annoyed why character [A] forgot that character [b] and [c] were fucking infected. Along with that, if you weren't a fan of what I like to call "spin the camera and jerk it enough so that the viewer feels sick" camera shots from Cloverfield, you won't like certain parts of this movie. What the movie is trying (I think at least) to do is to make the viewer move their head as if they were in the movie. Sometimes it's basically becomes one giant clusterfuck of a mess.
Besides these top annoyances, you will love this movie! It does what it is trying to do very well (atmosphere and tension) with some side annoyances. If you saw the trailer and was even a tad bit curious, it's a movie for you!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Gears of Wars 2 looks to pretty good

I wanted to say that Gears of War 2 looks promising. The active human capture the flag seems cool but I don't know how well it is during gameplay. That said, everything else looks amazing. The map Avalanche has a actually avalanche that can comes in random and kills enemies. The whole co-op last stand mode is a under used mode in most shooters. One great game that used that same kind of mode was Unreal Tournament 2004. Well anyways, I thought I'd share this ESPN exclusive video. Enjoy!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

No love for Resistance 2!

Gametrailers' podcast,Bonus Round had no love for Resistance 2. I'm not a fanboy by any sorts (saying that probably means I'm in fanboy denial) but come on. Everyone really dismissed how big Resistance 2 will be. Look at Haze for the PS3. It has "same look as the Halo 3 cept yellow" and wasn't able to catch the mainstream audience. It only sold about 67,000 (in the first month of May according to http://www.gamedaily.com) and wasn't that amazing of a game. Don't get me wrong, Gears of War 2 is gonna be a seller but to really say that Resistance 2 isn't going to pull in a ton of audience is dumb. I posted up a post in the forums and you can see below the video. Just my 2 cents.


After watching it, I posted this..

"I disagree with those three that Resistance 2 doesn't look like it can be recognized through the other shooters. Casual gamers don't look at Half Life's Gorden Free and go, oh man, he's a badass. They would if someone told them about the game. Same thing goes with Resistance 2, once someone is told of the concept behind it, it becomes recognized. Saying that Gears' Marcus and Halo 3's Master Chief are more known is because hey, there's already a bigger install base on the 360. Of course more people will know of these characters because there's more people w/ 360's talking about it and telling people about the idea behind the game. And as for which game do you think gamers are gonna get, I think both. If they're really a hardcore gamer, they already have both systems and plan on getting both."

Friday, October 3, 2008

Why is there only 24 hours in a day?

I know many friends that got this achievement. Anger and broken controllers followed shortly after!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Running in real life = running in WoW?



With all the buzz that happened with Wii fit, I wonder if this could easily get as much hype if it became a retailed item. Look at it like this, on Direct TV, there is a Blizzcon special HD coverage that is coming up. Along with the special is an exclusive in game item that is for the people who purchased the Direct TV coverage. On Ebay, the prices for such item became over the hundred dollar mark. Now remember, this is only for a "in game" item.

Here is a picture of the item.


Here is the price people are willing to pay just for the item (no including the coverage you get with Direct TV).

Okay, so you get where I'm going with this. If a in game like this can be sold for an overpriced amount (look at image above & NOTE: the Direct TV coverage only costs 40 dollars if you already have Direct TV), Blizzard could appeal to those who would want a work out during the game if they released a product like the one shown above.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Why the hate?

Edited*

[ Watch this! ]

So looking on Kotaku, I read something that caught me by surprise. Not because he's the director, not because the way he brushed it off so quickly in the video but why haven't I heard a damn thing about it before. No rumors came up, David Jaffe didn't hint to anything and, the news hasn't hit the Playstation blog. Anyways, he's directed the Rush Hour movies (not as bad as Kotaku states) and X-men 3 The Last Stand. I won't protect him from Rush Hour 3 because it was a rehashed version of 1/2 but the rest of his movies were pretty good. Here's the thing too, it's a video game movie. It'll make just as much or just under the amount it would make if say *insert big name director here* directed it. That said, I assume the game companies know this and are taking the advantage of this. I'm not saying the new movie is going to be horrible (i.e. Bloodrayne series), nor am I saying it is going to be a triple A movie. It will hopefully make it's way in the middle with the Resident Evil series or even the Silent Hill movie are at!
Congrats Brett Ratner! Good luck, don't screw up!


Video games are already looked at to be the reason why anyone does anything wrong anymore (i.e. GTA debates on it's themes of violence and crime), I don't think crappy video game movies don't need to be added to the video game hate list!

[ More info here! ]

Halo sword for realz?

The internet is the spawn of everything crazy to cats with guns. I was searching a picture for one of my projects and I saw this.

It's life like, it's a real Halo sword!

I don't know what the ending price was but if anyone knows, please leave a comment! I'm really interested how much that thing actually sold for. The Geekologic blog stated it was selling at $255 dollars with 2 days left on the bidding. If your in shock the price for the real life sword was so cheap, let me tell you that Ebay has this nasty habit of raising by 50% in the last hour. Well I'm off to bed, goodnight!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Far Cry 2 Map Making - very cool!



I just saw this on Game Trailers and I'd thought I'd share! When I was first watched it, I was really liking the idea that you can attack the areas with different tactics. That is until (from watching the video a couple times) I saw that the rooftops aren't accessible. Now imagine with me, close your eyes. You enter one of these specific areas, you sneak behind one of their main buildings and take out the perimeter guards. You move onto boxes and move upward towards the rooftop of a building where the enemy is having a meeting. Once they're done, they walk outside to see their guards taken out. They sprint to their fallen and while this is happening, you silently take them out from top of the rooftops. Now, that's freedom. With the Far Cry 2 footage, they state strategic fighting but I have yet to see someone use it well through the videos. Especially when sneaking around these outposts, I've seen players play it out more of a typical shooter. Now, that's nothing to be ashamed off but with the rooftop idea, it would allow for more space to move around like a ninja. I really hope they have something like that in the final build!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Mirror's Edge actaully looks "better" when it was first concieved

Here is a proof of concept video for the game "Mirror's Edge". I personally think this game looks action packed during these cut scenes than the ones they show the public now. Also, note that the main character always holds the gun but in the updated version, she now has to pick up guns to use them. Interesting how the ideas evolved/changed. Check it out.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Video Blog 2! Austin GDC, Heroes and Crysis Warhead



- Heroes -
Rating:A+
Pros:Awesome action. Gave what hardcore fans of the series a start of a season that they wanted
Cons:If you beginning on watching the series, you will be confused like no other. A lot of things happening can be a little overwhelming.

- Crysis Warhead -
Rating:9/10 = A-
Pros:Action Packed. So many moments that you will remember! Team Deathmatch Multiplayer is awesome!
Cons:Very short (4-5 hours) single player story. Power Struggle seems a little empty with only 32 people in it.

Oh, for those who aren't giving Crysis Warhead a try, check out this game play footage!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Shower away baby!

Sink Showering Monkey


hahahahaaa, I love how when when an animal does anything that a human would do = amusing and hilarious! It's in the human DNA! Tomorrow I'll upload a video blog and it'll highlight tonight's heroes t.v. show!

see ya tomorrow internetz!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

BACK from the Austin GDC

I'll upload a video blog for everything that happened at the Austin GDC. It was overall fun and Austin is a great place to host something like that. I'm going to move away from talking about the Austin GDC until I do my video upload.

Next on my agenda is to talk about this CA intro for the game Resistance 2 (PS3).
Here's a trailer for it that I recently just saw.



I'm a big fan of the innovation of the guns of the Insomniac team but this trailer really proves they've learned from their previous games. The whole cutscene had me only imagining what was going to happen. I'm glad they gave Nathan Hale a voice because it really brings his character out of the general army type characters. I also loved how they used the amount of tracer bullets to show utter chaotic and specific. I am glad that they learned from their mistakes from the previous game and applying it to the new version unlike somethings in life (Steve Jobs, give the iphone users the power to copy and paste!)

Oh, I feel like I'm just rambling but I picked up Crysis Warhead today. I heard good things about it and at only $30.00, how can you go wrong. Loving it now, hopefully it'll finish with a bang!

I'll talk to you guys more soon!

-Mikee

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The oath of a meatatarian

I was at Wendys and under my food, I found this. I find it amazing because I'm a big fan of the baconator. I even made a website for it a while back (www.freewebs.com/baconation).

Friday, September 5, 2008

Hello all!

Hey, I haven't really posted on here in a while (I'll do a video blog soon) but I've been enjoying my break now from school. Got a semester done and I am relaxing with people still in my hometown that didn't leave for far away colleges. The time before my Austin GDC trip is counting down and I will probably do a yahoo live chat when I'm down there so come chat with me! I think it'll be fun coming to it and learning everything about the game industry as in industry. The up's and down's of being a game design and so fourth. Anyways, I'm off to go to my old highschool to pick up a year book that I never got (things are expensive!). Later guys!

Monday, September 1, 2008

Oh David Jaffe

I was looking up stuff for the upcoming game The Rise of the Argonauts and I found this on youtube. I think it's hilarious because he's doing God of War 3 right now and I love his personality. He speaks his opinion and his mind. Check this out!

Energy, does it flow in you?

I just did a t-shirt design for the 6 Hour Power T-Shirt design contest. It was fun and overall I liked how the shirt turned out!

I think the "does it flow in you" could have been done better but I couldn't find a text that I liked/worked the whole feeling of the t-shirt. The t-shirt was suppose to reflect the word "energy" and tie it into the drink Verry Berry. Help me out and vote for it! Click here to vote for it. Thanks.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Difference in PS3 Bundles?

If you were wondering what PS3 Bundle you should of got, the extinct 60 Gig was probably the best. It had it all, Ethernet port, 4 usb ports, and ps2 backwards capability.

DEATH RACE

I watched Death Race last night and it was awesome! Anyone that came in, wanting more than a car combat movie, was going to be very disappointed. Story = bad (should have been titled "loosely based on the old cult classic). Characters = alright (some you'll remember after the movie, some of them you will ask if they actually in the movie.) Fun Factor = Amazing if you love car combat and anything like Twisted Metal (psone/ps2 game).

What I'm trying to say is, the movie rocked for me and anyone that remotely wanted to see it, should see it. It's got over the top action (sometimes very unrealistic, i.e. tanker with a tank turret racing @ 100mph) that everyone should see!

rank: B+

Cons: It loosely follows the old movie.
Pros: It loosely follows the old movie.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Little Big Planet

I rarely see good trailers for upcoming games but every Little Big Planet truely catches me into the Little Big Planet hype. It's cute, it's laughable, it'll make smile and feel like a little kid, it's Little Big Planet....

Saturday, August 23, 2008

You can't always win

So yesterday, I got my tickets and everything for the Austin GDC. Right after (probably 5 minutes), I check my email and look what I find.....


I am extremely pissed because not only it Kevin and Alex from Diggnation going to be there but the Mythbusters are going there. Tickets to fly out the California are ridiculous right now but I'm more pissed that I got a two days notice :(. Anyways, you can't always win and I have Austin GDC to look forward too! I sent back the email so I hope someone out there got the lucky tickets!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Office Space

My buddy who got a new alienware wanted to destroy other computers so we agreed on doing it "office space" style. Don't understand what I mean? You will in this video! Enjoy!


feels good to destroy from Mike Shields on Vimeo.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Memories

I saw this trailer.

This game reminded me a mix of a couple different games. Does anyone remember Rogue Ops? It had a chick dodging lasers just like in video. The beginning reminded me of MGS4 (the whole Humvee drive sequence). And the last part reminded me of the new Project Origins mech sequence. What I'm trying to get at is why? Don't they companies look at their games anymore? The ending scene showed two people that feel like they were put into that situation just for the hell of it. I think back to the days where companies just spit out games to see if anyone would buy it but in today's prices, creating a game costs money! So why the hell would you not put more effort in the game/trailer. Ehh, maybe I'm being too bitter but I have a point. It's like all the games are regurgitations of previous games (I basically mean, nothing new, NOTHING NEW. Same shooting, Same Mech combat, Same EVERYTHING). Thank gawd the game isn't out or I'd probally be ripping on it more. Anyways, I just wanted to rant a bit since I haven't posted in a while.

Anyways, I checked up online and the PC version of Grid is like 13 gigs. Damn taking up my precious HDD space, that and Supreme Commander take up 20 gigs. I don't think I'll pick up Grid though because of that reason.

I'll do a quick post of what I've been up too and some funny videos. Oh yea, I wanted to post up a video of my buddies' new Alienware Laptop. I know I know, expensive expensive but look at that baby glow!
Enjoy!

My buddy Leslie's new alienware laptop from Mike Shields on Vimeo.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

I hate people like this

You may know of Quentin Tarantino for Death Proof or the Kill Bill 1 and 2, well in this video, the interviewer yells at him for making violent movies that little kids are going to copy and kill others. This lady seems so ignorant and she does sound like Kyle's Mom from South Park. I don't think Quentin Tarantino acted very professional but hey, sometimes you can't get through to some people. He does make some interesting points in today's industry. Violence can date back all the way back to Hamlet. Anyone remember that story? Tragic Hero? (spoiler alert if you didn't know the story! lol) Everyone basically dies? Yes! Well, I'd rather not rant but violence has seen back then and is seen today. I remember a couple years ago when the video game industry always got yelled at for creating violent content. Games like Manhunt and Grand Theft Auto 3 come to mind but it always comes back to that debate. If video games are a source of "art", why are we limiting some games. I'll leave on that note so enjoy the video, I thought it was amusing.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Time Travel

I recently upgraded to 3 gigs of ram due to all multiple programs I run. I thought this video showing the ultimate gaming computer from 1998 was appropriate to post. It really shows how much technology has evolved and basically shows what the future is capable of. Enjoy.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Clever and Fun videos

Once in while, you tend to just find videos that intrigue you and make you smile. Besides watching anything of Little Big Planet (which mostly anything from there will make me smile i.e. this picture ) but I recently saw this video on ps3 fanboy. I thought it was hilarious and clever and everyone should see it. It's Metal Gear Thumb Wars and yes, it does look as awesome as it sounds.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Carmack yells at consoles for being the SUCK.

This video has a lot of debates to it. The matter of fact is that, first party developers will tap into a system's potential unlike third party developers. Studios like Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games get their games to work wonderful because they dedicate to one system. They do unlike what Carmack says help other developers or so I remember watching a video comfirming they do. I thought Insomniac games gave away their Resistance 1 coding and engine to other developers. But, hearing it and having it happen are two different matters. Well, I think Carmack's message is the switch from PC to console has been always complicated with a lot of failures. I don't fully agree w/ Carmack, nor do i fully disagree but he does point out some interesting topics of discussion. Enjoy Carmack's rip on today's consoles including the Wii!
[ source - VGChartz/1up.com/gamevideos.com ]

P.S. I couldn't get the video to embed so just click this link to head straight to the source.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Awesome video!

Waking up to this video this morning. It's very cool and creative!

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

The Art of Fear

After watching this video, it makes me mad to see horrible scary movies nowadays. If video game designers are trending on a 15 hour game and making it feel fresh, movie directors can keep fear coming at the audience for 2 hours. I think it would be interesting to see a interactive movie brought to the theaters. Like a movie theater that allows the audience to choose the outcome of the movie. The theater would also need physical props or people in customs to grab a few scares. If done well, the audience would come back for the other ending which they didn't choose before. It would be a Cloverfield effect in which, it could only happen once before it looses its charm. Anyways, forget my rant, watch this video about how to create a sense of fear in a video game. Enjoyski!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Design and Overall look

I look at this house and I love the overall look and design. Here are some pictures from the website (more pictures @ the website below).








I love the house's indoors look. It contains a sort of complexion with the use of windows. The windows are placed in spots in which the sun will come in during sunrise then over the house and pass into the shades of the other side. Along with that is the numerous different types of windows placed around the house which look amazing. I love the way the house is presented on the hill it's on. The houses I have seen on a hill like that doesn't allot the shape of the hill to reflect onto the house. What I mean is this and the house is shaped normally. The house doesn't angle outward to the beach like the house shown at the top! The only problem I see with a house way above is that window cleaning would be a bitch to clean. hahha but with a sight shown in the bedroom, who cares.


[ source = http://www.dezeen.com/2008/06/29/casa-11-mujeres-by-mathias-klotz/ - A link found from pownce.com/soapsuds ]

Monday, July 21, 2008

Little Big Planet

Little Big Planet is one of those games in which just makes the player smile uncontrollably. Even when I watched this trailer, I sat there with a smile on my face. I also love that Media Molecule is actaully taking the time to develop trailers that makes the viewer want to play the game. Here's the trailer in which I'm talking about. Enjoy!

Red Faction

I saw this Red Faction gameplay footage and it blew my mind! I played the first and second Red Factions and I love them both. I like the first one because it allowed the player to blow up more walls and also had a different feel to the game. The second one was still fun but didn't have the same "magic" the first one did. Memories of these games appear when I saw this trailer, enjoy!


I've been watching this game but I didn't see all(this video + other gameplay movies) of the E3 footage till today. All I can saw is WOW. Wow in the ammount of destructibility the game allows the user to do. Wow in the third person view (I miss FPS view). Wow in the vechicles (awesome looking). Lastly, wow, this would be awesome in multiplayer (think of a building crashing down on you and your enemy while you guys are shooting rocket at each other, awesome, YES!).

Sunday, July 20, 2008

First impressions: Far Cry 2!

Let's talk about this company. Last game they did was Crysis aka the destructor of computers. Coming from that, comes Far Cry 2. Looking at this, I am in love with the game's mechanics. The whole idea of the wounding your target to gain more kills is awesome(and also reminds me of shooter! Marky mark, your awesome). If you have no idea what I'm talking about, watch this video.

Friday, July 18, 2008

My Reaction to E3/ New Phone / Dunanananna BATMAN!

Hey everyone! I'm just dropping in a reaction to E3 I had over the past couple days. I must say, thanks G4 TV for providing not just trailers and the conferences. Thank you for providing the viewers demo play (even it was short as hell)! But, hey here's a video I posted up on youtube a couple days ago. I will put up more thoughts later on the week.


Oh ya, I picked myself up a LG Chocolate phone. I was debating between some other LG music phone and some random black berry. But when I heard about Black Berry Thunder(), I didn't want to fall victim to "OH man, why did I pick up this Black Berry when a new one just came out a year after". From what I've played around with it, the LG Chocolate is fun! Here's a picture w/ me using it!


I also saw the new Batman last night (midnight showing). BEST super hero movie of all time, hands down. The joker's character is something that will get you to the actual edge of your seats (I hate when people say this about dull boring movies but I actually was at the edge of my seat). The movie rewards your patience with climax in and out and then slaps you in the face with more danger. It is going to suck because Heath Ledger is dead (R.I.P.) which makes me wonder if anyone could out do a performance like that. When you read about how people on set thought he was going insane, you see it in the movie. Well, why are you reading this blog post. GO OUT AND WATCH IT NOW.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Old Video I did

I went on my myspace (yea, I still have one!) and I found a old video I did for my Junior year of Highschool. I still love this video b/c after all the hard work I put in (hehehe), I didn't get any credit! Ya, turns out we couldn't have more than 2 people per group. oh well!
New Berlin video part one

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Hello world.

Hi anyone!
I use to do a weekly review of game news and I think this blog will show a more of my personal view about video games. Be sure to look out for "Mike's Rants" and other fun writings I do. I'll be sure to post a reaction to the E3 conferences soon. Till then, see ya guys!