Good Timing Gamestop

Yesterday I received an email from Gamestop promoting their new sale. Boy did I laugh when I saw what it was. Due to the reason events with Sony's PSN, it would seem Gamestop is trying to empty out stock. This means you could get a PS3 for as little as $200. Wether or not you need one is up to you, I myself was always looking into a Blueray player. Most likely I will pass this one up, but it is something to think about. Plus, when PSN does come back up, anyone who uses this promotion should really not give any information to PSN no matter how safe Sony claims it is. Another possibility is that Sony knows their sales will drop due to the recent incident, thus they may have instructed sellers to put a sale on to keep the sale of their consoles going. What ever it may be is unknown, however if you need a PS3 now is your chance to get one at a low price.

~Dave

Portal 2

Chell as seen in Portal 2

The sequel to Valve's single player 2007 hit, Portal, is now here. Portal 2 is here and it lives up to the hype around its release. The game takes place 10 years after the original. You still play Chell, the main character, and this time you are challenged with harder more mind boggling levels. The game tends to focus on the backstory of Aperture Science, while revealing some other startling information. I won't go farther then that, as I don't want to spoil anything for you guys.

The game mechanics are the same for the most part. The newest addition to the game would be the new "Gels". Gels give you either enhanced speed or enhanced jumping height. There is one more gel, but I will let that one go as it may be a potential spoiler.

The great thing about the game is that the facility almost seems alive as you play through the game. Walls are moving and being fixed constantly. In addition, junk is being disposed of constantly. One thing I found to be a nice addition was how music seemed to correspond with your actions in the game. The faster Chell moved, the faster the music got, and the more intense it became. As for Co-op, I can't speak about it yet as I haven't gotten to play that part of the game. Hopefully I will be able to play co-op mode. From what I have played though, this game is definitely worth the buy.

~Dave

Anonymous takes on Sony

The infamous group Anonymous is at it again. This time taking down Sony's playstation network servers. This comes in response to the legal battle Sony has been having with Geohot, the young man behind the PS3 jailbreak. It is not clear whether Geohot organized this or not, but it is clear Anonymous has some beef with Sony. Anonymous claims the following gives them the right to attack Sony:

“You have abused the judicial system in an attempt to censor information on how your products work. You have victimized your own customers merely for possessing and sharing information, and continue to target every person who seeks this information. In doing so, you have violated the privacy of thousands.”

As of now all of Sony's sites are working, however PSN is going through spastic outages. Sony, not wanting to say they have no control over it, has deemed the outages "maintenance issues". Nice try Sony.

~Dave

Unfairly Rated

With every new game released comes a new rating from various rating sites. However, when a new game is released more multiple platforms, multiple ratings are given. Yet, these ratings are usually all based on the same principles. Then, after giving the rating, they compare it to the other consoles. For example, Fallout New Vegas was given an 8.5 for Xbox 360, but a 9 on PC. Why? Because the PC handled the graphics better and let the game run smoothly. I don't find this fair at all; it is obvious an Xbox 360 cannot stand up to a PC. And yet, the reviewing sites always make a comparison between PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. To compare these things is like comparing Apples, Oranges, and Plumbs. They are all different. In my opinion, each game should be rated on what the console can handle and compare it to one of the best made games for that console. Yes, the PC is most likely the best when it comes to performance, and the PS3 probably has the best graphics, but they are not the same well oiled machine; thus, they should each be rated on what they CAN do and not what they CAN'T do. If you always look at the negatives of a game, you don't see the greatness that may be within it.

~Dave

Three Major Games This Week

Start this week off with three of the hottest titles. On Tuesday the games Rock Band 3, Fable III, and Star Wars the Force Unleashed II will be released. These are some of the holidays most wanted games. Rock Band 3 will be the first music game ever that actually teaches you how to play an instrument. Only down side to that is you must purchase an instrument controller fitted special for the game.  I myself would like to learn guitar, so in the future I hope to buy the guitar that doubles as a controller and a real guitar. Then there is Fable III, the sequel to Fable II. In the game, you play a brother/sister of a tyrant king, and you must lead a revolution against him. Finally, there is Star Wars the Force Unleashed II. This game, being the sequel to Star Wars the Force Unleashed, is an over the top jedi game. You are gifted with huge amounts of the force, allowing you to take out more then just a storm trooper. You play as Starkiller, Darth Vaders secret apprentice, who has found out he is a clone. He is being held captive by Vader until he is needed again, but he escapes. The story is his adventure through the galaxy to find out more about himself. All three of these games are very exciting, and I can't wait to get them. Are you going to get any of these games? Leave a comment below stating which ones.

~Dave

Game Purchase: Fallout New Vegas

Today marks the release of the new game, Fallout New Vegas. PS3, Xbox 360, and PC owners get ready to enter the post apocalyptic world of Fallout. This time, the story is set in Vegas. The gameplay remains the same as previous fallout games. I personally have never tried my hand at the Fallout series, but thought I would give this one a try since my friend convinced me to. In addition to release, it has been announced that DLC is already in the works and will be released later on. Although my schedule is quite busy, I plan on making sometime, if possible, to play this game. For those of you who have the game already, what do you think of it?

~Dave

P.S Tomorrow's update will be sent out around 8PM since it will be on the Back to the Mac conference.