Ack! I've been forgetting to upgrade this thing every once in a while, much like what I do with my actual blog. So, uh anyway, I got my new 360 last week, and so far no complications, although I didn't play it too much, because Issue 9 in City of Heroes/Villains dropped. Every Issue brings something to the game, this time, it's crafting. In a sense, you beat up the enemies, pick up the pieces (salvage) and the "recipe" to make whatever it is you want to make. It's pretty fun, although totally optional. It added a little bit of flavor to the game, as there are certain recipe sets that give you different bonuses, and such. And some are costume pieces (which are selling for  A LOT), but I would still enjoy playing the game regardless even if this new system wasn't implemented.

 

The Forza 2 demo hit the marketplace the other day. Oh.. my god.. I am drooling for this game to finally come out. Sadly the demo is very very limited.  You get about 24 cars, but only one track, and you can't change any control options. But the game mechanics and the visuals are just amazing.  Though before that comes out, I do want to pick up Dead Rising finally, it finally dropped about 20 bucks, to 34.99, I can trade that extra 20 gig HD that I have for 25 and end up only paying 10 bucks for it. I can live with that. I also want Guitar Hero II, I always end up playing the demo more than I actually should, I do have an extra 100 bucks that I am getting from helping my neighbor's employer's mother with some computer stuff. I gotta go back Monday to finish. So I MAY pick that up then, but I'm not too sure.

 

Anyway, that's all for now. Also, does anyone know how I can actually access gamespot behind those stupid filters? I can't access the site while I am at work, though its only two days, but still, I'd like to be able to read some of the boards while I am sitting there for 12 hours. =P 

Well my um.. replacement 360 is on its way. Let's see how long this one lasts =P. I will get it on the 2nd, but I have Jury Duty, and probably won't be home by the time it arrives, but I really don't feel like wasting my time going up to City Hall for this crap. They do not compensate you well for going, and I won't get chosen to be on the jury becasue I have ADHD (it's been documented, not one of those "Oh he has ADD" things), and they'll pass over me. I should like send them a letter stating so, so my name won't come up again.

 This Spring/Summer is going to be insane for games I want. At the end of May (5/29) we've got Forza 2. Which, if it plays/runs like the first one, should be awesome.  Dirt is going to be released about, two-three weeks after Forza, which is made by the guys who did the Colin Mcrae series, so it should be badass. Then we have Sega Rally, which will probably be a renter, it's based on the Daytona/Rally arcade versions, so it's probably going to look shiny, but have very little substance. Then in the coming months is Bioshock, Mercenaries 2, and finally Halo 3. I'm sure I am missing a couple, but I'll update those as I go along. 

 

Until next time, keep watching the Skis.  

my 360 is back on its way to Texas, to either get repaired or replaced, lets just hope, whatever it is, lasts longer than the 3 weeks it did =P

I was hoping to be one of the lucky few who have had no problems with thier 360s, but apparently that isn't the case. My 360 pretty much is on its way out, becasue it now keeps freezing on me. This is hte second tmie in less than a month that I have to send it back to get repaired/replaced whatever. I'm on the phone right now with the support to see if there is something more that they can do.

 

Edit : Well, I think the supervisor said they were sending me a card for some free XBL, I just.. can't believe this... I never had this much trouble with a console before.. maybe I should have waited to get one =\

 

Edit 4/18 : Odd, it seems I can play anything from XBL ok.. but when I try and play a game, that's when it seems to freak out and go splat. But eh, it's not supposed to do that, so I'll still send it back, maybe they'll just send me back one since I said it was giving me three red lights. 

Today is going to be a series of different video game accessories that probably should have had a bit more thought behind them, or probably just not thought of at all.

 

First up : Xbox Live Vision . For just the low price of 40 dollars, you can plaster your face all over the xbox live community, provided you actually have one of the few games that is actually supported by it. So, not only can you hear the jagoffs that plague XBL, you can now SEE them. Oh that's wonderful, I can now see the face of the prebubescant 12 year old screaming at me about how much I suck and I am a noob. Wonderful. And if that wasn't all, I can also be subjected to full frontal male nudity as some dude feels the need to pull down his pants and show the camera his wang. I've got Un.. OH MY GOD.. And of course, not everyone abuses it like that, but still, dropping 40 bucks on it seems a bit of a stretch for an accessory that probably won't get much support down the road. Oh, and I have actually been kicked from Uno games because I didn't have one, that's just retarded, because I don't think you can recive video if you don't have the camera. 

 

Up next we have The Power Glove . If you were too young to ever hear of it, or remember it. Be thankful. The Power Glove may be the worst accessory ever created. Only two games were developed to actually make use of it, but unfortantely, both of those games were pretty terrible in their own right, but the control was pretty horrid too. You were also supposed to be able to play most of the NES library, provided you had the manual so you could input the code, if you didn't have it, it just wouldn't work. And even if you had the book, the thing just wouldn't work. You'd have to move your hand up to jump in SMB, but it would jump like you tapped A. It never really caught on, and rightfully so, becuase it just really sucked. I had the unfortunate dissatisfaction of actually using this thing, and I want that 10 minutes of my life back. But here is a short video of the thing in action. The Suck Glove . Be warned as that video has explicit language, so if you are under 17, don't watch it. But now that I have said that, you'll watch it anyway =P

I figured I should do at least one of these kind of posts, intrdocuing myself.

 

I'm Joe, known throughout the internet as jello44 or jell044 (if the 'o' ) is taken. I'm 25, and I current;y reside in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I have been playing video games since the ripe ol age of two, starting with the Atari 2600. Currently I am enjoying my ps2/xbox/xbox360. I just started working at my new job, in the IS department of a local hospital (finally a job in my field =D), though its only every other Saturday and Sunday,but I have my foot in the door. Anyway, this blog is mainly going to be a gaming blog, things that interest me or what I may be interested in, in all things gaming and technology. My main blog where I usually blog about things going on is http://jell044.livejournal.com. I'll play any type of game: sports, platformer, puzzles, shooters, MMOs, etc. I tend to not side with one console manufacturer as they all have an equal amount of great games. I do plan on purchasing a ps3 down the road, mainly because of God of War 3 =P, but at this point, I lack the funds, and the games are lacking as well (mostly because it just launched a few months ago.), also I want a new TV, preferably a HDTV, but again my funds are lacking. And, for the fund part, I am probably gonna seek a part time job along with my current job, probably like Best Buy or Gamestop/EB, I'd rather try and get into somewhere that I can enjoy working (and get a discount (though not a great one =P)). OK I think that pretty much sums up everything, more than I could in that little box thing =P

So, as the house's drain pipe was getting replaced, due to it being clogged, I went down to a neighbor's house to wash my hands, because I was about to eat (I hate eating with dirty hands), we started talking because his 360 happened to break etc. Wanted to know what he had to do, because I had to send mine back (Though it may not have had a problem at all (I had it plugged into a surge protectior when I shouldn't have, I really don't know, but it works now..) Anyway, he let me borrow a couple games, Call of Duty 2 and Tiger Woods 07. And god damn is TW ever addicting, there are just so many different game modes you can play, create your own character and build up its stats, and there is a challenge mode where you play actual tour Pros, some made up characters, and finally you can play against Tiger himself. I must have played it for about 3-4 hours straight. The Controls take a little practice to getting used to because you use the left stick to swing (you pull back for the backswing, then go foward to hit the ball), but if you don't go up straight enough, you will wind up slicing your ball, missing your shot.  You earn money and awards with the character you make, and you'll be able to unlock certain pieces of equipment (balls, clubs, shirts, etc) all of which can improve your stats (lighter drivers will make your tee offs travel further). All-in-all, an enjoyable experience, I may pick it up someday, that is, if I don't end up getting bored with it before I give it back. =P

This really amuses me so =P

 

The one thing I hate about buying used games is they sometimes do not come with the case. I really don't like the games not coming with the original case because of collection purposes. I was looking for some games for the ps2 that I probably should have gotten a while ago, I just never got around to it, or I plain forgot. I wanted to pick up Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank (the first in each series). I kinda neglected my ps2 a tad (hell and my xbox bit too), because I have mainly been playing just one game (City of Heroes/Villains) for pretty much the past 3 years (jeeze has it really been that long?) So, anyway, it just irks me when they don't have the original cases, I really don't want those generic dvd cases that they attempt to give you, with someone's crappy handwriting in black Sharpie. Or not even having one of those at all, just a crappy cardboard CD holder. I know half of those games people traded in traded them in with the original casieng, what's the deal? Ah well..

I would try ebay for some games, but a lot of times people want to gouge you for shipping and handling, yeah, I am not going to buy a game where the Shipping and Handling actually costs MORE than the game itself!. And god only knows what type of condition they might even be in. (Though I did actually find Jak 1 for about 3 bucks, with 2.50 shipping and handling, which is about the same price as EB/GS, but it comes with case and manual =D) ETA : I won the auction for Jak, 3.25 for the game, 2.50 for the shipping, woot!

On a sidenote, I did find MGS : 3 for 10 bucks, with the case, so score on that one.

It's amazing what you can acutally find when you aren't actually looking for it. The other day I went to Best Buy, really to only pick up DoA 4 for the 360. I had $15 in Best Buy Certificates so that would have only cost me $15. However, while there I happened to see GRAW for 20 bucks. So I said, 'what the hell" and picked both up them up. I paid about $35 for the two of them. DoA 4 is fun to play, although the computer can be really cheap at times. GRAW however is one of the best games I have ever picked up for that amount of money. You get to use almost any kind of weapons, and you get to use Rocket Launchers! You get to control, tanks, helicopters, a squad of three guys, awesomeness!. Definately want to pick up GRAW 2 in the near future.