Where has the time gone

I don’t know where the time has gone, but it’s moving very fast, I’m getting older and fatter and there’s more and more games coming out that I haven’t had the time to talk about yet. 

Right now I’m patiently awaiting my preorder for Saint’s Row: The Third.  I hope it gets here in time for the vacation day I’m taking to play it.  I had to get some time away from work because it’s really stressing me the out and what better way to do it then by playing a game where you get to go on a virtual murdering spree.  Don’t worry, this game isn’t going to make me go on a real life murderous rampage or anything.  It’s just good wholesome gaming fun. 

I don’t care too much about the stories in these games.  I truly can’t remember very much about all of the other games.  I mostly like screwing around and doing the side jobs.  I’m also looking forward to doing some co-op with my buddies.  And I’ll definitely have to get the Cheapy D content when that comes out. 

If you didn’t know, there is a website called cheapassgamer.com.  They have listings of video game deals from all of the major retailers.  They also have a great community of fans and a funny podcast hosted by a guy from New York that now lives in Japan called Cheapy D.  Check out the podcast when you get a chance, you’ll love it.

Anyhow, that’s all of my gaming thoughts for now.  See you online.

Later yall.

The waiting is the hardest part

There are great games to play right now, but I keep thinking more and more about the ones that I can’t have yet.  But that’s part of what makes life fun; anticipating what’s around the corner.

Right now the biggest thing on my mind is WWE ‘12.  Their new Predator technology has added improved physics and the ability to break moves, where before after a move was started it would run its course before you could interact with the other wrestlers.  The Gamecube games were able to do this back in the day, but this is the first time they implemented this in a “Smackdown” game. 

You can also chain together names for your created wrestler so that they can come out to something that more closely resembles your real name, rather than “The Superstar” or something totally generic. 

Beyond those few things there hasn’t been too much else that really wowed me.  The thing I’m waiting to hear about are the unknowns.  I can’t wait to here how they’ve improved the online.  Can they evolve it beyond just having the standard matches online.  Can they pull off an online league or something like that.  Will they finally add the ability to put your face on your create a wrestler with they PSEye or Kinect?  What improvements have they made to the Universe mode?

The next this on my list of must haves is Saint’s Row: The Third.  This game is going to be tons of fun.  If you haven’t played any Saint’s Row games yet, they’re open world games like Grand Theft Auto, but at one point in time when Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas came out, Rockstar took the open world game towards a more serious direction and THQ took it in the complete opposite direction, with this balls out over the top franchise. 

What to expect?  Lots of cars crashing, guns shooting, over the top story lines, dildo bats and anything you can thing of that’s fun to do in an open world game.  That’s really all you need to know.

Last on my list of must haves for this upcoming season is Uncharted 3.  This is another game on its third iteration, so you should have some vauge idea what to expect by now.  I played the multiplayer beta and they have stepped it up quite a bit in that space.  I think this game could be a contender against Gears and other shooting games coming out this season.  Not only will the multiplayer be great, but I expect an awesome single player campaign as well.  So this one is going to be great for any PS3 fan and could make some XBox players think about jumping ship to the good system.

Well, that’s all of my thoughts for now. 

Haven't had much free time lately, but I wanted to check in with youtube and put a blog up since I said I would try to do them weekly. I discuss my new baby, some video game thoughts and other things in my life.

‪Stormy Day‬‏ - YouTube

‪Stormy Day‬‏ - YouTube

Analog Drift Episode 15–MP3 Version

Just some news and impressions this week.  Tune in and enjoy.

Episode 14 Video Edition Available Now!

Videos | L.A. Noire

Check out the new Video for L.A. Noire -

Videos | L.A. Noire

Analog Drift Episode 14–MP3 Version

Finally, a new episode of the analog drift.  This is just the audio version, the Youtube version is being edited and abridged for your viewing pleasure.

This week we have a special guest host, D-Wrecker who discusses current gaming topics and other stuff with me.  This is the greatest episode of the analog drift, so download and enjoy.  Please subscribe to us and rate us on itunes.

Sony VAIO S1 PlayStation Tablet | PlayStation LifeStyle

Sony VAIO S1 PlayStation Tablet | PlayStation LifeStyle

A Survivor is… Lara Croft. Awesome!

Yellow PlayStation Blues

Hey, what’s up.  I am finally taking a break from gaming.  Sadly, not by choice, but by mechanical failure.  I have been with my loving PS3 for only 2 and 1/2 years and it already crapped out on me.  I have the “Yellow Light of Death (YLOD)”. 

I took my beloved PS3 apart and cooked it with a heat gun as was suggested on the forums.  This trick actually worked, but a few weeks later I am back to where I was before. 

I believe I went wrong by having it in a cramped entertainment stand back when I first got it.  One time it got so hot that it melted a candle.  So after that I always tried to keep it out in the open and let it get enough airflow.  But it was either too little too later or it was just a bad egg from the get go. 

The sad thing is, Sony doesn’t have a great warranty plan on this stuff.  It would have cost me $175 to get it fixed.  After that I may still have problems with whatever machine I get back.  So rather than put up with it any further I decided to sell my junk PS3 or Ebay to someone who will want to take the time to hack away at it and I am going to get a PS3 slim.

I figure I’ll be much better off that way.  The slim has a slower processor and consumes less energy, so it will be less likely to burn out.  The slim also turns itself off if you let it get too hot. 

I did some research to see if there is anything else I can do to keep the cool.  They sell a device called the intercooler, which is a system of fans that hooks up to the back of the PS3 and is supposed to help with cooling.  But I kept seeing a lot of negative posts about how this device would actually restrict airflow instead of improve it.  I could find no significant proof either way so it seems better to pass on the intercooler. 

Another question, is it better to put your PS3 in a vertical or horizontal position?  I saw a lot of posts for and against both setups, but no proof either way.  So if anyone has proof of what the coolest position is, let me know.

But my plan is to put the PS3 on top of a rack, in the horizontal position in my entertainment stand.  It will be sitting up about 2.5” to 3” and have about 4” to 5” of headroom, with plenty of open space at the sides and back.  It’s also suggested that you vacuum out your vents frequently, so I will make sure I do this every couple of weeks. 

So anyhow, thanks for reading my post and please share your experiences with your system.

Analog Drift Blog – Episode 13

Move over Natal

I’m sorry Xbox fanboys, but Natal sucks.  It’s just a fancier EyeToy.  I’ve got my eyes set on the PlayStation Move. 

PS3 Games - E3 2010 - LittleBigPlanet

Analog Drift: Preview - L.A. Noire Screens Surface

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New screen shots of Rockstar’s up and coming 1940s mafia themed game have finally surfaced over at www.gameinformer.com. They didn’t offer too much more information than what you would usually expect. I would imagine Godfather II, but good, mixed with a little GTA. Sounds good, but I will have to see more.

By the way, what ever happened to Mafia II?

New God of War III Trailer

Last night www.gametrailers.com posted a new trailer for the upcoming, epic game, God of War III.  While it is kind of hard to tell what the hell is going on here, the game still looks pretty awesome.  It seems as if they have cranked up the detail since we saw this at E3.  I can’t wait for the upcoming March release.  Check out the video below.

Late to the Party – God of War

All of the kids these days are talking about this God of War III game.  Every time I read an article about a hack and slash game like Dante’s inferno they talk about how much it reminds them of God of War.  It’s as if God of War is some kind of bench mark for games with big dudes and big swords hitting stuff. 

I never really understood the draw until now.  I always thought of it as a game where you press square over and over and watch stuff die.  I recently borrowed the God of War Collection from a friend and my eyes were opened up.

God of War is more than just a dumb beat-‘em-up.  Hidden behind all of the blood and guts is an awesome set of fighting mechanics, boss fights, weapons and puzzles. 

The first game does look a little dated at in parts where they show an in-engine cut scene, or any time you have a close-up encounter.  But, when you’re fighting in the thick of it, those problems are pretty unnoticeable. 

The scale of some of the environments is very impressive.  I very much enjoyed the scenes where you would see Ares stomping soldiers in the background.  It made the game feel epic as only God of War can. 

The story is kind of thin, but they do everything possible to make Kratos seem like a bad ass.  Kratos is not just bad, he’s actually kind of a jerk off at times.  You will often see him carelessly slaying scared towns folk and there is even a part where you burn a caged soldier to death.  But still we love Kratos, for he is awesome.

So I come back from my adventure an a God of War fan and I am ready to tackle God of War II and soon after God of War III. 

Don’t squat with your spurs on.

This week Rockstar released the list of preorder bonuses for their upcoming western game, Red Dead Redemption.  I know I gripe about pre-order bonuses sometime, but there is some good virtual crap up for grabs.  Rockstar Warehouse is even offering a t-shirt!  As for me though, this cowboy will probably be picking up his pre-order at Amazon and pocketing the $10 gift certificate and golden guns.  Here is the full list of items available.

Gamestop
Red Dead Referendum
Vote for the exclusive in-game outfit (No winner has been announced yet, so get your vote in for your outfit of choice).

• The Savvy Merchant – Buys guns and ammunition from any gunsmith for half the cost.
• The Deadly Assassin – Regenerates “Dead Eye” targeting twice as fast.
• The Expert Hunter – Receives double the amount of skins and hides from hunting.

Amazon
The Golden Guns Pack – Golden guns for your character which award you twice as much fame for each kill.  The more fame you get, the more in-game side missions become available.  So there will be more opportunities to duel, more kidnapped townsfolk to rescue and you can bribe lawmen for less.
+$10 gift card on future purchases at Amazon

Best Buy
The War Horse – A horse for your character that is faster and takes less damage
Faster + increased damage resistance

Target
$5 gift card on future purchases at Target

Wal-Mart
$10 gift card on future purchases at Walmart.com

Rockstar Warehouse
Red Dead official game t-shirt

As You Command, Mighty Megatron…

It has been revealed that as a bonus for pre-ordering Transformers: War For Cybertron you will get Shockwave as a playable character in the multiplayer mode, “Escalation”.

Sure Shockwave does look pretty sweet.  Am I excited, yes.  Am I overjoyed… No.  I miss the days when you would get some type of tangible swag such as a keychain or t-shirt.  In this day in age we just have to settle for a piece of digital code that unlocks something already living on the game disc you just bought.  And sooner or later they’ll sell it for $1.99 on PSN and everyone will have it. 

But, if the game still looks good close to the release date, you bet I will be putting my money down.

The year was 1991. This was way before your 1ups and IGNs of the world. I had little knowledge of the gaming world outside of my own bedroom. I was deep into my 8-bit world and didn’t realize, until one day at a friend’s house where I learned of a whole world of 16-bit video games that lived on the video game system know as the SEGA Genesis.

We played Kid Kameleon and a little game known as Sonic The Hedgehog! My life was changed forever and I became a die hard SEGA fan. This fandom escalated into a full blown addiction which later lead me to Sonic The Hedgehog 2, 3 and Sonic & Knuckles.

I eventually strayed from the path when the Sony PlayStation came out but I came back to SEGA again in 1999 and purchased the SEGA Dreamcast. Sonic stole my heart once again when Sonic Adventure came out, but since then Sonic has definitely lost his way.

The most recent offerings from Sonic team have left much to be desired by Sonic fans. With lack luster titles such as Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog for the PS3 & 360 and Sonic Unleashed it’s a wonder Sonic fans like myself have not given up on their pointy blue mascot.

Things are about to change. It seems as though SEGA has heard our pleas and set out to create a continuation to the old school 2-D Sonic games. Today SEGA unveiled plans to release Sonic 4 on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network (PSN).

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 will take place after Sonic & Knuckles, but is "a brand-new adventure... what you are looking at is the beginning of a new story arc," says associate brand manager, Ken Balough to GameSpot:

"I think the best way to view it is as a first part in a much larger adventure. When Sega released Sonic 3, ultimately it was the part 1 of a story that saw its conclusion in Sonic & Knuckles.

In that same spirit, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is a bigger story, and this is that first chapter. I think it's also safe to say that by the end of the episode one, fans will be very excited to see what's in store for episode two!"

"We're going to deliver a Genesis-era Sonic game as if it were created today that goes to the core of what classic Sonic fans desire. All the Sonic favorites [are] here for sure!

Spin dash, power sneakers, etc. But you will also see the homing attack added, and in true Sonic fashion, you can compete with your friends for the fastest level times through leaderboards."

Source: http://www.ps3news.com/

Transformers: War For Cybertron Figures (Pics)

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Get an eye full of these awesome figures from the upcoming video game, Transformers: War For Cybertron.  I’m sorry Sarah, I am definately going to have to get at least one of these when the game comes out, to add to my collection.