Well, my Xbox 360 has officially died on me.  Just yesterday, as I was attempting the training missions of my brand new Shadowrun game, it froze on me.  Then, to make a long story short, the red rings of death were upon me.  Sadly, my warranty was well past its time, and I have to spend 130+ bucks just to fix it.  As much as I really don't want to spend that type of cash, I really don't have a choice.  Seeing as how the summer is on its way, and I am going to have so much free time on my hands, I can not go months without my best gaming system.  Knowing that I won't have my 360 for a little while was really depressing, especially when I look at my PS3 and realize that there really isn't anything on it that comes close to my experience with the 360 right now.  If only Heavenly Sword and Lair were out right now.  Heck, even Ninja Gaiden Sigma would have filled the gap right now.  Oh well, I'll figure something out.  The good thing is that my friend has one as well, and i'll at least be able to go play these games over there when I need to.  I would hate to let the remaining time for Halo 3 beta go to waste.

Its been a good long while since I've played any version of Halo.  I had actually given Halo 2 a rest for a while, and moved on to more next gen games, but I had always planned on going back to brush up on my skills in order to get ready for Halo 3's impending release.  Well, that idea was scratched.  Before I knew it, The beta for Halo 3 was upon me, and I still hadn't touched Halo 2 since November of 06!  I wasn't sure how I would do when I first logged in, but the time had come and it was now or never.

Besides Crackdown being a great game on its own, having access to the Halo 3 beta was just icing on the cake.  I was very excited to finally download the game go right into some action. It seems that I was a little too excited, as I forgot to personalize my control options.  Being an inverted stick player, it felt very disorenting on my first game.  Needless to say, that first game didn't go to well.  After getting my options set up the way I wanted, things started to feel a little more natural. 

One thing that I can say with confidence is that even though it could be your first time playing Halo 3, you'll feel right at home after a few rounds of play. The controls are almost completely identical to the previous game, only with a few subtle changes.  The changes that are there don't take away from the game at all, but actually refine the way it is played.  Using the bumpers on the controler to pick up/reload for different hands works well, and makes sense.  Using the x button to deploy equipment brings about new strategies that are a welcome change (the bubble shield and trip mine are great).  These small changes can take a small bit of time to get used to, but you won't find yourself at a huge disadvantage as you learn.  It had been months since I had played Halo 2, but once I got going in the beta, it felt like I had never left.

The weapons are a lot more balanced now.  Its true what a lot of the previews have been saying.  No matter what weapon you have, you never really feel like you're at a disadvantage.  You just have to be smart in how you use the weapon/s you have on hand.  My favorites from before are back, like the Rockets and the Battle Rifle, and feel just as good or in some cases better than before.  My new personal favorite has to be dual wielding spikers.  Holding two of these bad bows in your hands will completely destroy your competition in seconds from medium to close range, especially if you catch them by surprise.  The spartan laser is a little tricky to get used to at first, but it is definitely devastating once you get the hang of it.  Although all of the weapons from the final release are not on hand, it will be interesting to see if everything else will be as balanced as the ones that are currently available.

A lot of people are split on the graphics thing.  Besides the fact that this is a BETA, its not hard to tell that the final graphics for the multiplayer won't be too much better than they are now.  But the game still looks good as it is.  The characters and environments sport more detail than before.  The water looks amazing, and certain special effects look mighty fine to me.  However, when it really comes down to it, the important thing is how the game plays.  And as of right now, all signs point to a very fast paced, solid experience.  I mean, if you have time to pay attention to how games graphics don't match up to Gears of War while dogding incoming bullets and grendade spikes, then you are either extremely good at the game or not really playing at all. 

All in all, this has been a great experience, and I can't wait to get back to it.  Its a shame that this beta session ends so soon.  But thankfully, the full game comes out in September, so the wait won't be too long.  In the meantime, if you know of a buddy that has a copy of Crackdown, as him to bring it over or something.  It seems that as long as you have the disc in your system, you can download it without problems.  However, the disc has to be in to play.  Anyway, happy gaming everyone.  So what do you all think about the beta?

Hi friends, I have returned!  Although I'm sure a lot you didn't really know that I was gone, here's a little heads up on what I've been up to lately.

 First and foremost, as of April 7th, I am a officially a married man! So, I've been away for a bit because of that, doing the whole honeymoon thing and all that.  The wedding was great, and I am very happy with the woman I am fortunate to call my wife.  But, now that all the excitement of the wedding ceremony and honeymoon is over, its back to the real world and back to the every day business of life.  Of course, that would include gaming though, of course.

Just a few more days until I can watch Spidey 3.  Man, I'm really getting hyped up for this movie.  Besides Spiderman being my favorite character (followed closely by Mr. Bad Ass himself, Batman), I thought the first two movies were really well done and followed the comic legend as closely and faithfully as possible.  One of my favorite scenes from the 2nd movie was when Spidey was battling Octavius on the train.  I remember being in awe during that whole segment, and I definitely believe that this 3rd installment will have such moments as well.  This summer is definitely a good summer for comic book fans.  I mean, you have this movie, and then Transformers and Rise of the Silver Surfer all coming out over the next few months.  They all seem pretty exciting, but the one thing I'm worried about is the whole possibilty of the FF movie featuring Galactus as a storm cloud.  I mean, seriously, a cloud?  That would straight kill though whole movie.  But who knows, maybe it won't be so bad.  Maybe.....

Finally got back into Gears of War after a bit of a hiatus.  Thought I'd give the new Annex mode a try, and boy was it ever satisfying.  To me, this is the best mode that they could have added for online.  Just being able to respawn and jump back into the action again makes it all worthwhile.  I don't usually play games online much, but when I do I'll probably stick mostly to this mode from now on.  If anyone is looking for an extra teammate in this game or any game, look me up on live.  Dubya9 is the tag.

Anyway, I guess that's all for now.  Hope you all have a wonderful week, and keep on gaming!

Anyone that keeps up with my blogs, or knows me personally, knows that I'm a pretty big fan of comics and super heroes.  And being such a fan, it really pains me to see a series like Justice League Unlimited come to an end.  I remember watching it on Cartoon Network back when it was still on the air.  The show was in its second season and then all of a sudden..........nothing.  Weeks went by and no sign of the DC heroes anywhere.  Next thing I know, advertisements of the series finale are about and excitement turns in sadness. I watched the final two episodes, loved them, and was pissed that there would be no more.  How could quite possibly the best super hero show of all time come to an end? 

Sad as I am to see it go, after months of waiting, I'm happy that the finally released this final season on DVD.  I've actually enjoyed watching it all over again and was able to see some episodes that I actually missed the first time around.  I definitely reccomend that anyone thats a fan of comics pick up this set, along with some others listed below:

Batman Beyond: Seasons 1-3 -  Pretty good show that ended pretty abruptly.  The true ending to this series can be found on Season 1 of Justice League unlimited.

Justice League: Seasons 1-2 - 7 of DCs most famous heroes in entertaining 2 part adventures.  Season 2 includes the Starcrossed movie in episodic form.

Justice League Unlimited: Seasons 1-2 - The League is bigger with more heroes added to the mix.  Season 1 focuses on the conflict between the League and Cadmus and Season 2 focuses on the Legion of Doom.  The finale of Season 2 is a must see.

Ultimate Avengers 1 & 2:  These are animated movies that feature a version of the Avengers from Marvel's Ultimate line.  They are pretty good.  The fight between the Avengers and the Hulk in the first movie was great.

The Invincible Iron Man:  Show a version of how Tony Stark became Iron Man.  Uses a lot of CG.

There are plenty of others, Including the complete Batman The Animated Series sets (4 total). If you haven't seen any of these, definitely give them a rent, or better yet, go out and buy!  If you would like to see some good reviews on these sets, be sure to check out IGN's DVD page. 

Well, here we go again.  Once again, Sony has yet another once exclusive game slipping through the cracks onto the competition.  Well, actually two, if you count Ace Combat (although it was never announced for PS3, it has always been a series that was on Sony platforms).  Believe what you may about the Devil May Cry series, but its hard to argue against the fact that is one of the most well-known and well-loved action adventure games on the planet.  The first game was a breath of fresh air.  The second one was a poor excuse for a sequel, but the 3rd one was a true return to form that should have happened in the second game.  When you talk about action game heroes, Dante, the main character of DMC, ranks right up there with the likes of Kratos, Snake, and Ryu.  So its no wonder why this is such a big deal for the Microsoft camp that the next installment in the series will be coming to the 360. 

Its been really interesting seeing the developments that have occurred across net message boards about this.  There have been a lot of "I told you so's" from 360 fans as well as some 360 fans who at one time bashed the game now instead are all of a sudden pushing the game as "the end of Sony."  On the other end of the system wars, some Sony supporters are turning their backs on the series.  "It was never that good anyway, its not a real loss to Sony."  Maybe overall, it isn't a huge loss to Sony.  However, if you look at the overall message that this sends, it could have bigger implications than some may realize.

Capcom has been on a roll lately.  Both Lost Planet and Dead Rising have sold very well on the Microsoft 360 console.  And although the Devil May Cry series has been a staple in the Sony library of games, it doesn't take rocket science to see why it was a good business decision to move this game to a console with an as of now larger installed base as well as a demographic that seems to really like their games.  Is it hard to believe that a proven franchise like Devil May Cry for the 360 will not sell as well or better than the other two games?  I'd say its a good bet that it will.  And with a side by side release with the PS3 version, you can almost guarantee better sells on the Microsoft side.

Despite what 360 fanboys may think, Devil May Cry going multiplatform does not mean the end of Sony.  It will take a lot more than that.  However, this current trend of slipping exclusives is not making anything better.  And day by day, it seems more likely that about 95% of third party releases will be multiplatform before this gen is over. 

How is this bad for Sony?  Well, let's take into account that if you look at the past 2 generations, Sony's massive sales come off of the success of big 3rd party support.  This support was massive, and is what drove the Sony brands of consoles to the top of the heep.  Microsoft nor Nintendo had anywhere close to the type of support that Sony had, and Microsoft on started to gain a tiny bit of steam towards the end of the last generation.  Because of this, Sony's success was secure.  Now however, Sony doesn't have the stranglehold on developer support that they used to.  Little by little, Microsoft is evening the field, and games that once would be only on a Sony console, or have timed exclusivity, are slipping away. 

Let's look at the games.  Assasins creed:  once labled Sony exclusive, now seeing simultaneous release on the 360 and PS3.  Virtua Fighter 5:  seeing a delayed release on the 360.  Devil May Cry 4:  PS3, 360 simultaneous release.  Ace Combat 6:  Currently 360 only.  Grand Theft Auto IV: PS3, 360 simultaneous release.  Unreal Tournament 3:  PS3, 360 simultanous release, once thought PS3 exclusive.  I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

In the meantime, while Sony is loosing exclusives, Microsoft isn't really loosing anything.  Of course you could argue that PS3 is getting Oblivion, Saints Row, and Enchanted Arms from Microsoft, who actually believed that these games weren't going to go multiplatform? Also, when Oblivion was first in development, it was already listed as coming to both consoles. 

The more things go multiplatform, the more Sony should be worried.  When it comes to games, the cheaper system will win in the end if there aren't any real separating factors.  Why spend 600 + bucks to play Madden 08, one of the top selling games amongst casual gamers, when you spend 300-400 to play the same game? No level-headed gamer would.  Exclusives are becomeing harder to come by, and the more the year rolls on, the more both sides are starting to equal out.  For every Motorstorm, God or War, Resistance, and Gran Turismo on PS3, you'll get a Halo, Forza, Gears of War, and Mass Effect (if it lives up to the hype). 

If this is showing us anything, its that No 3rd party game is safe from the juggernaut that is multiplatform.  And the more this becomes a reality, the more this gen favors Microsoft, especially if multiplatform games continue to see delays on the PS3 as they have been recently.  Don't think Metal Gear and Final Fantasy are coming to the 360?  Well, as of right now, no one can say for sure whether that will be fact or fiction.  But with the recent trend, only the blindest of the blind fanboys say with confidence that these games are safe.

I'm extremely excited that the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade game is hitting Xbox Live this week.  The game brings back some fond memories.  I remember dropping loads of quarters into that game wherever I saw it.  When Live Arcade was first anounced, this was one of the games that were at the top of my wishlist.  It looks like my wishes have come true.  Being able to play this with up to 4 players over live will bring back that old arcade magic and perhaps other companies will see that this style of game can actually find new life in the new generation.  Now, just give me the Simpsons, Moonwalker, and some of those Capcom vs. games and I'll be good to go.

God of War is out and I'm getting my copy.  I loved the first one, and judging by reviews, I'll love this one as well.  Thank goodness there are more boss fights this time around.  I'm just happy I'll have another good game to play on my PS3, even if it is a PS2 game.  For a while there, my PS3 was starting to turn into a blu-ray player, and I rarely watch movies on it.  Eventually there will be some more games to come, but until then God of War 2 will do just fine.

By now, everyone probably knows that Captain America is dead.  Its pretty much been all over the place.  Hopefully it won't be this way for long.  I can't see the Marvel Universe not having a Captain America.  Maybe Winter Soldier will try to take over the shield, or perhaps the Punisher.  Man, that would be weird. Either way, I feel that Steve Rogers should always be Cap, and hopefully they will find some way (some reasonable way) to bring him back.

I thought I'd give my take on a few comics I've read recently.  I may do this more often, just in case some are interested.  Only three this time, as they were the only three I could get my hands on/cared about at the moment.

The Mighty Avengers #1:  I found this to be a fun book.  With all of the Initiative stuff happening now, we are about to have a whirlwind of super team books floating around.  So far, I like this version of the many Avenger teams that will be coming out.  This team consists of Ms. Marvel, Wasp, Wonder Man, Sentry, Black Widow, Ares, and Iron Man himself.  I find it interesting that although Tony is actually in charge of all super humans, he lets Ms. Marvel lead the team that he is aligned with.  Anyway, I think this was a good starting point, with some good art. With the crazy emergence of Mole Man, and Iron Man changing into some hot female Ultron robot (don't ask), this storyline is at least wacky enough to spur interest to see what happens next.  Grade: B

Civil War: The Initiative #1:  Not a whole lot to say about this book.  Its basically an introduction to some of the new teams like the new Omega Flight (with two characters I was excited about seeing), Thunderbolts (hurry up and bring back Eddie Brock), and the Avengers.  There are also a few cheap rip off pages of previews for other comics that may or may be out now for good measure.  There was also some interesting info here during a conversation between Ms. Marvel and Spider Woman.  Not a bad book, but not really necessary either.  Buy if you're bored.  Grade: C-

Captain America #25: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!..................................................................

This is probably the most important book you'll read this week.  So I'd say that if you care anything about the happenings in the Marvel Universe right now, then this is the book that you need to kick start your reading.  If I am to believe this, then America's greatest hero is dead.  That's right, I said dead.  In what was one of the most shocking turn of events I've ever seen, Marvel has killed off one of its top heroes.  Or have they?  I'm not buying it.  I believe this will turn into some kind of swerve down the road, but for right now, Cap is no more.  However, after the little chit chat that Marvel and Spiderwoman had in Initiative, things may not be what they seem. I'm not sure where Marvel is going with this, but I'll be sticking around for #26.  There was a lot of flashback moments that show some of Cap's early history, plus Winter Soldier coming to Cap's aid and kicking some butt.  Well done.  Grade: A

Well, that's all I have this time around.  Anyone with any coments? Agree or disagree?  What are your thoughts on this week's releases?

Well, I've finally done it.  I've completely redone my page.  I was starting to get bored with it for a little while there, and though it would be good to add more life to the page.

The blog name and image gave me the most trouble, as I didn't know what to do here.  For now, I'll just leave it as it is.  The name will stay the same, but maybe sometime in the future I'll update the pic again.

The banner and icon have been sitting around for a while, so I'm glad I finally got those up as well.  Anyway, now that that's out of the way, time to get back to work on some of my pages on other sites.  Until next time....

1.  So many games, so little time.  Besides Crackdown, I've been playing NBA Street Homecourt.  It is definitely a fun pick up and play game.  This series has always felt like a true evolution to the NBA Jam series, and continues to improve.  Too bad EAs other basketball games couldn't be as good.  Also, after a long layoff from Oblivion, I decided to Gamefly it and get back into it again. I'm still deciding whether or not I want to keep the 360 version, or just go ahead and get the PS3 on here in a few weeks.  That decision would probably be easier if the 360 version dropped in price already. 

2. I've been having a blast with Crackdown.  The game goes just as I expected.  I really enjoyed the demo, and I knew that the final game was just going to be more of the fun that I was already having before.  I can't see myself playing this one for a while, even well after the downloadable stuff and Halo 3 beta are done. 

As well as this game should have sold (should at least be 1 mil), I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a sequel.  If they can just add a storyline, a create an agent feature, Some super villians/bosses, then it could probably be one of the greatest games of all time.  Right now, as it is, Microsoft is building a pretty good stable of 1st party franchises that may soon rival Sony and maybe one day even Nintendo.

3.  Finally got through Civil War #7.  What a ride.  SPOILERS AHEAD.  After reading this issue, the conclusion was pretty logical.  Even though Cap's team was winning, he realized that they were causing more trouble than good, and just turned himself in.  Captain America being under arest by his own country? Crazy.  Should be interesting to see what happens next with the 50 State Initiative.  And boy, has Tony Stark's stock risen.  Now he's in charge of Shield.  I thought that someone was supposed to die in the issue, at least that's the impression I got from previews of post-civil war comics.  I suppose that they were referring to Goliath from back in issue four.  Anyways, it was in interesting read.  Too bad I wasn't able to keep up with all of the side stories to this.  I'll probably just pick those up when they start to put stuff in trade form.

4.  I'm thinking of starting a weekly blog, but I'm looking for a catchy title for it.  Any thoughts?