Xbox has officially announced Project Natal for release by Holiday 2010. This means that I can save the money I would have eventually blown on a Wii and blow it on more Xbox junk. I am stoked. The last thing I want is to own anything entitled Wii ... the only thing worse, I suppose, is owning something called "pad".

Yeah, I said it. Bite me! There's no way I'm owning ANOTHER freakin' mobile device with a ridiculous name. I own a touch, and if it wasn't so cool I would never had gone near something so lame.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/projectnatal/

I Maed A Gam3 W1th Z0mbies!!!!1 is the reason I buy indie games on Xbox 360. Let's just look past the hilarious graphics and ridiculously funny lyrics to the theme song for a second, because despite the gimmickry it is still a really playable, enjoyable game. It has clear progression, multiple weapon ups, new monsters, (well, kinda monsters - say, what do you call those skeleton snake things, anyway?) and a classic arcade feel that is fun on it's own.

OK, back to the theme song. That thing is genius. I was a little suspect of the title. I thought, hmmm, ok, catchy. But then the theme song started ... and I realized that it was more than a title. It *was* the game experience. But there is really only so much I can say, so I've included the game description.

The Xbox 360 Arcade description is this: This video game product represents a culmination of years of intensive psychological research, bleeding edge engineering, and artistic collaboration by over two dozen internationally recognized art houses, using such technologies as the HYPERMAGIC 3.0 engine to power never-before-seen eye candy with the MEGACORE X parallelization processor for smooth-as-glass presentation.

And when you spend the dollar and buy the game, you'll understand why that description and I Maed A Gam3 W1th Z0mbies!!!!1 is awesome.

I now have a new Xbox 360. I'm still working on gathering parts to mod the old Xbox 360. After opening the box entirely, I learned that it had already been refitted with small heatsinks (negating the need for the penny trick) and the problem is most likely an ANA/HANA gone bad, and not a heating issue (no need for towels) so I will be buying other broken Xbox 360s to make a Frankenstein that actually works...more to come.

I downloaded the Magic: The Gathering (Xbox360)before the other 360 went rrod, and started playing it recently. I like it - great interface, and excellent gameplay. Really, really, really wish I could customize the decks. You don't have to be a Magic Geek to want some customization. Anyone who plays the game for more than a couple hours will start to brainstorm the "perfect" deck, only to learn that this kind of deck-building-mind-game is impossible. Lame! However, it's still a decent game that I keep playing.

Downloaded some new iTunes apps and only found one - geoDefense - worth mentioning. Since there are so many misleading iTunes apps lists out there, I'm going to compile my own. Coming Soon, I guess.

I'm only on my second Xbox 360, so I consider myself lucky. Yesterday, I returned to Oblivion Elder Scrolls for some geeked-out RPG action. Last time my console went red ring, I remember I was in an RPG mood, and popped Oblivion in the machine. As for regrets, I have a few...

I've read a couple people online reporting the same problem with Oblivion. Some swear that COD:MW2 is the cause of their chaos. I don't know what is actually happening, but the same thing has happened twice. Whatever the cause may be, I think I'm more angry with Oblivion this time and less angry with the damned E74 black screen o'death. One single red flashing light IS SO MUCH WORSE than TWO, THREE, or FOUR! No towel tricks, penny tricks, silly button cycles, or anything else will fix the thing ... AGAIN!

I'll reseat the heatsink, and arctic cool the thing, just to make sure. If it works, since it will be already open, I'll mod the crap out of it. Going to try the X-clamp probably, too. I'll post pictures!

But ... *sigh* ... it is busted. I hope I can keep the next one going for longer than a year. And this time, no Oblivion ... ever.

There has been much controversy over the reality of "simulation sickness." In summary, it's a form of motion sickness that is related to simulations including simulation gaming. The FPS genre has been the most significant source for simulation sickness, with extremely popular games such as Diablo and Halo reportedly causing queasiness in a number of people.

For a long time, especially in the gaming community, it was somewhat debated on whether it was happening or whether the player just needed an excuse for sucking hard.

Well, after my attempt at playing The Orange Box recently, and becoming so incredibly dizzy and nauseous that I had to stop only a few levels in, I can confirm that A.) I don't typicallysuck at games & I don't need an excuse when I do suck at gamesand, B.) I can't play Portal... ever, due to simulation sickness.

So, it's real. And really weird? After looking over the Internet,I found many claims to the exact same experience with little explanation. I play FPS games without the sick, so what's up with Half Life andPortal that the very memory makes me incredibly ill?

I admit it; I play World of Warcraft. It's not shocking - look at the sales, look at how the franchise is digging into everything from merchandise to other media entertainment. Many people play WoW. Maybe too many.

But I'm a Warlock, a bitter class that has been fixed a few times and nerfed hella lot due to class balancing issues. I'm no ordinary lock, I spec'd Destro. What balance, you ask, my fellow locks? I'll just PvE...

For PvE, I'm the Aggro whore. I cannot even *think* of an AOE, lest I pull the entire dungeon. Happy to say that patch 3.3.0 introduced a boost to Destructive Reach, reducing threat by 10%/20%, up from 5%/10%. I'm truly happy for this. I can cast my rotation of COE>Immo>CB>Incin>Conflag without pulling the target to aid in my death. Note: I'm still pulling targets in PUG dungeons. Can I still blame the tank, even with the new stat?

Seriously, I never blamed the tank. I'm not *that* warlock. I didn't blame the Priest either. Was I dying or tapping? Who knows! I know what to expect almost immediately after the Chaos Bolt hits. What I'm actually really pleased with is the Ruin boost to my imp, because I have almost exclusively ran with imp since I re-spec'd Destro from the previously-pwning-spec Afflic. I like him. I suggest giving the squishy fellow a try, Destro Locks.

The dungeon finder, and porting eyeball, makes travel easy and renders my strange purple door-portal half useless. As a silver lining, I find creative ways to use it now. It is becoming much like my Eye of Kilrogg. It needs a pop up tutorial, because I seriously don't feel like relearning the system. Walk me through it, I'm a lazy WoW addict and need to level.

Later on someone can also update me on those Macro and AddOn changes I read about at the bottom of the patch notes. Well, briefly read about.

As for all the changes to the leveling experience, I guess next time I reroll it will feel slightly different. Cool? Sure. But just when will Blizz give us that green fire and save us from looking like glorified Fire Mages?

P.S. I skipped PvP on purpose in this patch blog. Nerf Will of the Forsaken? Put it on the same timer as the trinket? Great - I was already dead before. Now ... /facepalm

Disillusioned and broke, I turned to Requiem (from Gravity Co.) to satisfy my MMORPG needs. I found it while researching current free games, and I wasn't expecting much.

I was speechless after it downloaded. The graphics are quite incredible. Requiem uses Havok, a physics engine that provides for amazing animation. Blizzard has announced its use of the engine in their "under development" games, and it has been used in a number of popular titles currently out there. Havok is important for this game, because it is responsible for the eye-candy death sequences that enhance Requiem. I'm talking full gore here, as blood splatters and body parts fly across the screen. This is in alignment with the horror premise of Requiem.

But don't be too excited about the latter. The "horror theme" that is used in its promotions is somewhat nonexistent, and I wish the storyline supported the theme a little better. In fact, without the intensity that Havok provides, the theme may be altogether missed. Some mentions of Nightmare monsters (monsters that appear in the late night, server time) and genetic restructuring give it a creep factor, but the rest feels more like fantasy than horror.

The gamplay is decent, sometimes a little too reliant on grind, but overall a solid game. If you're familiar with MMORPGs, the game mechanics will not be surprising. The learning curve for true noobs will be short, too. The interface is also extremely user friendly, and looks fantastic.

Worth giving it a try … hey, it's actually free!

(Note: Requiem is currently on it's most recent incarnation "Memento Mori" - the name for the last patch.)