I picked up Blur on Xfire store - download was actually from GameTap so I guess they are connected. The system worked pretty well, basic download and install with activation. Will probably use them again if they have a good deal or something.

Anyway the game is pretty fun, think Wipeout or if you are really old school Wacky Wheels! Combat and racing, but the combat is done pretty well. Works fantastic with the 360 controller if you have one. You can read my full review here

I mentioned Splinter Cell Conviction in my previous blog and I had a disagreement with the choice to move to a more action centric bad-ass Sam Fisher. I pretty much gave up on the multiplayer - pure frustration. My opinion didn't change and I also reviewed that

I've stopped playing Bad Company 2 altogether. At this point I'm really struggling with the balance issues and long term enjoyment. The fixes that are coming int he patch are things that really should have been around weeks back. I had a good run with it, Rank 31 with all unlocks and many good matches, bring on BF3.

Alien Breed is a new game on Steam, it's a top down shooter similar to something like Shadowgrounds. It uses the unreal engine 3 so it actually looks pretty good at times. The game is only $15 and it has a demo if you want to check it out.

So far the game is ok, it's a lot slower than Shadowgrounds during these first few levels. The biggest problem with Alien Breed is probably the lack of imagination, it's pretty sterile and all the gameplay elements are basic. Even the story seems pretty cliched. Mostly you are walking around turning switches to open doors etc. It hurts me to say that it needs something gimmicky or at least a bit more personality.

E3 Expo 2010

Starts next week. I'm not sure how many new games will be announced this year at the show - over the past week we've already had quite a few that have been announced. Secretly I'm hoping for many PC games but my chances are slim. BF3 would be great, Hitman 5 would be awesome, maybe another Stalker? So many possibilities.

I would be pretty disappointed if Valve goes to E3 again and fails to even mention Episode 3 or something more from the Half-Life universe, October this year will mark the 3rd year since Episode 2 - a very long time between drinks.

HD Capture Card

I picked up AverMedia CaptureTV HD. It's basically a Digital and Analogue TV tuner, but I wanted to pick it up mainly to capture some videos and screenshots of games on my PS3. It captures a range of sources but I just use HDMI. Max capture is 1080i which doesn't look too good in motion due to the interlaced nature. 720p is pretty crisp though. Definitely one thing I miss on consoles is the ability to take screenshots or video as easy as on PC.

To start with I had a lot of problems with the software on this card. It's basic at best but the thing would crash as soon as it got a signal from my PS3. I had it for a week without success (I tried a lot of things) and eventually a new software update from AverMedia fixed it. Here are some pictures I've taken only recently with it. Uncharted 2, PSN menu, Wipeout HD and Heavy Rain (excuse the chopped head)

Some of you guys will already know that I'm currently a moderator. Techincally I'm on a trial so that doesn't mean I'll still be a mod this time next month. I was contacted by JodyR a little while back and decided to give it a shot. So far its interesting, there are a LOT of rules to remember and apply correctly and it's far from easy.

I'm not meant to moderate for friends, so don't ask me to :P

Here's hopng Australia does alright in the World Cup 2010, Germany first :)