TV Reality endings...

Well two of my favorite shows finished last week The Amazing Race, and Survivor. I was pleased with the outcome on TAR as I was rooting for the Linz family. It would have been okay if the Bransen's had won too, but since they all 4 have free gasoline for life how much will they save over the course of their lives? I will state frankly that if the Weaver's had won I would have boycotted the show! Not likely, but I'm sooo happy they came in 3rd. :) Plus we got teasers for the next season which starts up again in February!

Survivor on the other hand I was a little bit disappointed. I would have liked to seen Rafe win the million, but glad it did turned out that Danni won (she's from KC what's not to like) over Stephanie. I realize that the 'stunt casting' is to draw in viewers, and I do like Stephanie but you had your shot (and a worthless tribe the first go around) but move on.

Animal Crossing pt. 2, and Xbox 360 demos...

Well I finally got the hang of building a correctly proportioned snowman (it seems the trick is to make one snowball as big as possible, then the second one so it comes up to your characters chin). I have gotten two snowman furniture items so far the couch, and wardrobe. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what the third one is. I did screw up the other day putting the big snowball on top so he was upside down, and just a little peeved. :) I did win the fishing tournament Sunday with a 45.1" Sea Bass, and have a nice trophy now in my house to commemorate it.

The January issue of the Official Xbox Magazine is out and includes a hybrid XBox/360 disc, on the 360 side demos include King Kong, Kameo, and Full Auto. While I appreciate the approach the King Kong, and Kameo demos are readily available to play on the demo kiosk not to mention the Kameo demo is available through the XBox Live Marketplace. In the magazine there is a FFXI article that says the U.S. OXM will also have the FFXI Beta in an upcoming issue. There has been some new stuff added to the Marketplace (it's been a while since I checked) a Mission Impossible 3 trailer, Lost Continent 360 game trailer, and a FIFA playable demo.

KONG! and more Nintendo Animal wildness...

Well I used my day off to go see KING KONG today. The visual effects were awesome, a couple shots had that fake look, but overall it was stunning. On the other hand with a running time of ~3 1/2 hours I thought it ran a little long. Of course it didn't make a dent in the back log of movies I need to see. :(

I've had 4 new animals move into my town, bringing my total up to 8. I still haven't built a snowman right he's always not "proportioned" correctly. At first I though my town would be full of them because they were still there a day later, but they seem to melt away after 2~3 days. Redd was in town today, and he sold me a counterfeit painting, hopefully my insurance will pay for it.

I called Nintendo Sunday evening about my daughter's NDS, and they offered to fix it free even though it was out of warranty (Yay!). They sent out a pre-paid UPS label, and said it would take 5-7 days to be repaired.

Animal Crossing ramblings...

Well I've had some time to play around with AC:WW DS, and I can say it's pretty close to the Gamecube version. It has that same 'feel' which is a good thing, and they made some minor improvements here & there.

I had another animal move into my town, Snake (although she looks like a rabbit). Anyhoo friend info is below if you want to add me to your list, and don't forget to post yours.

Name=Edison
Town=Rockhill
Code=2405-7903-1237
Native Fruit=Peaches

Here is my current population...

My daughter also got a copy but unfortunately the wi-fi doesn't seem to be working on her DS so she can't do DS<>DS, or a Nintendo Wi-fi Connection. I checked Nintendo's web site and wouldn't you know the 1 year warranty ran out on 11/30/05 (this would be about right because it was my original launch unit). I'm still going to give them a call and see what they'll do about it, as I've heard really good things about their service/support.

Holy news bites Batman, and other ramblings...

Well it seems as if issue 4 of the UK magazine OXM360 is going to have a second cover DVD, that will include a full beta of Final Fantasy XI. No word on if the US version of OXM will include the same, or if the UK one will be region free and playable on a US 360?

According to this Japanese site there was a launch line in Japan for the Xbox 360. Reading through the babel fish translation the first guy in line got there 20 hours ahead of launch (7am 12/10/05) to snag himself a shiny new 360!

It seems as though all of the Tom Clancy Xbox games are now on the backwards compatibility list, this includes the Splinter Cell's, Ghost Recon's, and Rainbow Six games.

Well I finally picked up Animal Crossing : Wild World today for my NDS, and I have finished all the odd jobs for Nook. I've done a little fishing, and tried to raise some bells to pay off my house. My battery must have not had too much of a charge left as AC:WW warned me that it was low and I should save my game soon. I guess they didn't think I would notice the blinking lights, then the solid red one on the DS. :)
My town only has 3 animals right now, Egbert (Chicken), Butch (Dog), and Friga (Penguin). I thought in the GC version your town started with 4, but its been a while so that may be incorrect.

...

My grandma passed away last night at the age of 99. She had been in declining health for the last 3 months, but now I can take comfort that she's in a better place. I'll miss you.

Hazel Belle H.
Born: August 12, 1906
Died: December 5, 2005

360 launched again, and other tidbits.

Friday marked the European launch of the Xbox 360 which was marked with high eBay.co.uk prices, and more pre-orders than units available. Hmmm. Are we noticing a trend? bbc.co.uk has a launch article up which pretty much mirrors our own. It was reported that the European launch got 300,000 units I don't remember how this compared to ours, but that's not a lot of 360's. :( Next week Japan will see it's launch, but I wonder how many systems they'll get. Surely they know that it won't sell as well in Japan, but I predict pictures of units sitting on the shelf there.

The Mercury News blog reports that apparently some Best Buy's had overzealous managers that forced bundles on consumers during the US launch here.

I've been playing a little Mario Kart DS, and although I'm not too good in multiplayer its kinda fun. My friend code is 244873-130950 for those that want to add me to their list (post yours here in a reply so I can add you to mine). Oh, and if Miklotov happens to read this, Michelle wants your friend code if you ever get wireless hooked up. :)

Happy Turkey Day!

Just a note to say Happy Thanksgiving!

Best 360 commercial ever... Rare/HTF/Sold Out!

I was watching some of the Xbox 360 commercials the other day that Doogie had links too. I really didn't like the "jump rope" one (the only one I caught on TV), and although the "water balloon" was better it still didn't do the 360 justice. I had read a couple days ago about one that was shot, but wouldn't air because they decided it was inappropriate. I knew it was supposed to be shown at the Zero Hour launch event, and it has made its way onto the net. Check out this article for a link to the video (try the mirror link under Update #2 it worked for me).

If you've been checking eBay for 360 items you'll see that the systems are not the only thing in short supply. Hard drives were going for ~$300 this morning (although they seemed to have steadied out tonight ~$200). I realize they released the core system so they could say that the console launched at a $299.99 price point, but I think they would have been better off just producing the value pack. Judging from the some of the prices on eBay people would have been willing to pay more.

Oh yeah baby...

Well I got my hands on my very own Xbox 360 tonight. I have transferred my Live account over, and looked through some of the music and video that came on the HD. The dashboard blade system is pretty cool, doesn't matter what your into notification bubbles will "pop-up" on your screen letting you know a friend wants to chat, or has sent you a message. I haven't even gotten around to playing a game yet. :) I really need to go to bed so I can get up in the morning, 7am is going to be here really quick. On a side note there looked to be about 25-30 people in line at Best Buy when I left work about 1am, man I don't envy them it's going to be cold out there tonight.

Check out this link Doogie sent me tonight. Really cool Christmas holiday music video.

Tonight's the night...

Well it's here T-minus 14 hours 21 minutes until the launch of the XBox 360! I am really excited even though I still have to figure out a way to pay the rest off (in that same time span). I may be digging around for trade-ins today, although more likely is trying to generate some birthday cash early. :) If you have a system pre-ordered I really hope you didn't get this phone call, or if your one of those brave people going out to wait in line Good Luck! Everyone is talking about Wal-Mart's, Best Buy, and Target I recommend some of the less traveled retailers like K-Mart, and Alco.

Because I had a request for it, here is the link for the Mario Kart DS decal maker. I thought I had posted it earlier, but evidently not.

Alone time with the 360...

Well I finally got some 'alone' time with an Xbox 360 demo unit, it finally showed up this afternoon at work. First off the 360 itself is hefty, it weighs more than I anticipated. It's hooked up to a Samsung 19" HD Widescreen LCD monitor and looks simply gorgeous! I really like the feel of the controller, although it seemed a little light, maybe the batteries in the wireless model will add some weight.

I finally played all the way through the Call of Duty 2 demo, and really enjoyed it. Firmly sticking to my plan that CoD2 will be my launch title. I did play around with the dashboard without the demo disc to look around at the different options. Most of the settings must have been set before Microsoft shipped the units out, as everything seemed to be set correctly. I looked around on the Hard Drive, but didn't find anything on it. It showed there was only 13GB available so the operating system must use about ~7GB like the original Xbox. It does not seem that the demo units have backwards compatibility installed because both Halo, and Halo 2 greeted me with "The disc is not from a compatible region, or the disc is dirty or damaged" error.

Here is an interesting mini-review from someone in Canada that won a system through their PEPSI promotion.

Xbox 360 backwards compatibility...

Well Microsoft has finally announced the backwards compatibility list for the 360. The list contains more than 200 games (a lot more than I expected), and they say more may be added before the 360's November 22nd launch.

According to the Q & A with Todd Holmdahl it also points out this very interesting fact.

One of the great things about gaming on Xbox 360 is the satisfaction of knowing that every game will be playable in high definition. We are now proud to reveal that this extends to the original Xbox games as well. Every original Xbox game will be upscaled to 720p and 1080i, and will take advantage of Xbox 360Â’s anti-aliasing capabilities, delivering a picture that is clearer and crisper than anything available on Xbox.

Nintendo WiFi, and flunking Drivers Ed.

Well the Nintendo WiFi site is now live at NintendoWiFi.com, and it shows the compatible games (Mario Kart DS, Tony Hawk American Sk8land, Animal Crossing : Wild World, and Metroid Prime Hunters). The site also includes a how to connect faq (Home, or HotSpot), a HotSpot locator, and a list of compatible home WiFi routers. Wichita shows one partner HotSpot the McDonald's I mentioned a while back at 2615 W 13th St. N, and 5 non-partner that may not be compatible. The 5 non-partner locations are the "Free Wi-Fi" spots in town Bean Scene, Java Villa Cafe, Vagabond, Watermark Books, and Wichita Mid-Contintent Airport. I must say I'm impressed with Nintendo's commitment to get wireless gaming into the hands of the masses, at least it doesn't look like the GameCube attempt.

Okay here's someone who is probably not passing Driver's Ed...

I spotted the wreck on Saturday morning, as messed up as the cars were I'm guessing someone ran a red light at the intersection.

Another Xbox 360 sighting... Finding one a challenge?

Well it seems Best Buy got their Xbox 360 demo unit in, and set it up yesterday (Sat) at some point. Well per my other post Wal-mart employees evidently don't know how to set up an HD tv, because the one at Best Buy looked soooo much better! I was still disappointed in the jaggies, but the text was all crisp and clear. I read on the net that evidently the demo code (Call of Duty 2 specifically) does not have anti-aliasing enabled so there is still a chance that the retail version could look even better.

I've been reading all over the net that a lot of retailers are only getting 10-50 units at launch, and most of the specialty retailers (Gamestop, EB, etc.) are only getting around 20 at launch. It looks like if you want a launch unit your going to be waiting in line at Wal-mart, Target, or the like unless you pre-ordered real early.

More Wal-Mart 360 luv, and Nintendo WiFi looms...

Well I finally got around to going back to Wal-Mart (Pawnee & Broadway) to check out the 360. A couple of the other local stores had the units hooked up, but both had the controllers disconnected so the machines were just running the video loops.

I figured that 8am would be a good time because all the little kiddies would be going to school, and sure enough there was no one around at all. I went through the blades or menu system first where you could choose Live, Games, Media, or System pages. Most of the items under Live, Media, and System were just advertisements for 360 accessories, with the exception of the Xbox Live Arcade title Hexic HD.

I played it for a bit and it's a pretty cool little puzzle game, it plays sort of like Zoo Tycoon/BeJeweled. The play field is already set with different colored hexagons and you choose a clump of 3 then you can rotate them from the center axis clockwise/counter clockwise with the object being to match up at least 3 hexagons of the same color. It comes pre-installed on all of the 360 hard drives so if you don't buy any games at launch at least you'll have something to play.

The games blade had all the demos/videos you've heard about, playable versions of Kameo, Call of Duty 2, and King Kong although the last one froze on the loading screen and took a reset to get out. I played Kameo for a bit, not a bad game (3D platformer) but not something I'll be getting at launch. The visuals were bright and colorful, and it's one of those games where you can morph into other characters each with their own abilities. I don't believe it's Rare's killer app though, as I got kinda bored after 10-15 minutes.

Then there were videos for Ghost Recon, PGR 3, Full Auto, and some others, which brings me to the bad. The video's I watched were all squished, I mean they looked like watching a 2.35:1 movie on a 4:3 tv with giant black bars on the top/bottom, and all of the text from the blades, or demo start up screens wasn't sharp. I'm more convinced that either the 360, or LCD didn't get set up correctly when they installed the system. I just can't believe that 720p looks that bad on the King Kong menu screen there were so many jaggies that it looked like the days back when I first started using a 3dfx card. I hope we get the demo units in soon at work so I'll know its set-up correctly, and you wont have to crane your neck at an 80 degree angle to see the screen.

So after much deliberation I have come to the conclusion that I think the only game I'm grabbing at launch will be Call of Duty 2 although I want to see Gun also. A note for you penny pinchers there is an ad in the new Official Xbox Magazine (December 05 issue) EB Games has a $10 voucher rebate on the purchase of Call of Duty, Gun, Quake 4, or Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. I've also heard a rumor that EB will be running a trade-in 2 get 1 free special on 360 software through December, but take that with a grain of salt.

On a totally unrelated note 4 color rebellion is stating that NintendoWiFi.com site is supposed to go live on November 7th. It will give us the basics on how the DS will work online, locations of wireless hotspots, and general online game information.

I said goodbye.

Well yesterday was my last day at the Theater, I went out with a bang putting together Doom, Stay, and North Country. So for a recap my full time job is gone, but my part-time job is now going to be my full time job. :) Of course this means I only have 1 job right now which hasn't been the case for at least 2 years so I'm wondering what to do with all my extra time. Miklotov called the other day, and he would like me to start playing FFXI again I guess he's up to level 63 or something.

Wal-mart gets 360 love...

Went to Wal-mart last night for some ice cream (Peppermint is back in season!) and wondered by the electronics dept. I couldn't figure out why there was a whole group of people down the videogame aisle looking at the display case. Come to find they were all watching a kid play Call of Duty on a Xbox 360 display, that was sitting on a shelf just behind the glass. They are using what looks to be a 20" HD widescreen lcd for the monitor, so I'm assuming it was running in at least 720p. Call of Duty looked really good, but definitely had some clipping issues as the soldier on a balcony kept having the gun or parts of his body show through. I was relieved a bit when I seen the static image on the screen that stated "Call of Duty - Prerelease version" so maybe there is a chance they will polish it some more. The clerk behind the photo center adjacent to the aisle said that there were only two stores in Wichita that had the units set up so far (Pawnee & Broadway, and 21st & Maize I believe). I came home to find that evidently this is widespread and Kotaku has some pictures, and videos up, evidently there is also a demo of Kameo on the unit. I would have taken some pictures last night but my phone was at home charging.

Nintendo Wi-Fi, would you like fries with that shake?

Nintendo has announced a partnership with WayPort who provides Wi-fi service in McDonald's (select locations only), and fyi the only location in Wichita that currently has Wi-Fi is the Micky D's located in Sims Park (2615 W 13th St). IGN has the original announcement, and a follow up interview with some more information. This interview also includes the info that in the beginning the USB Wi-fi dongle will only be available via the Nintendo.com website.

IGN also has the first look at Metroid Prime Pinball rumble pack add-on. The Nintendo rep recently put this game in the DS demo unit at EB Games minus the rumble pack unfortunately. :(

And it begins... and XBox 360 gets touched...

Since the GameStop/EB Games merger is complete today saw the first round of downsizing. Gamasutra is reporting here that GameStop will be closing the West Chester HQ, and related Warehouses laying off over 700 workers. :(


Microsoft is throwing a XBox 360 "hands on" junket for journalist in San Francisco, and New York. There are some "first impressions" hitting the net here, and here. Sounds like Perfect Dark Zero may be worth picking up after all, although Call of Duty 2 seems to garner mixed feelings. The footage I had seen before looked really good but one of the impressions said the textures weren't great. On another front Kotaku is also reporting that there may be demo 360 units in stores by October 24th, which would be a month before the 11/22 release.

Gamestop cometh... Xbox 360 news and DS luv.

I was out driving around the 'hood, and seen that the building where GameStop was going in was up. Imagine my surprise when I went around the corner and the GameStop sign was already up! I especially like the "And Movies Too" part. I wonder if that's new or if some of the other more recent stores are like that?


edit: I was informed that is the same as the store in El Dorado (never been there so that explains my lack of knowledge). I guess the "And Movies Too" is based on a larger floor plan than the regular GameStop's.

There is a Microsoft Conference going on called X05 in Europe (Amsterdam to be specific) and some tidbits have emerged... There will be a playable Halo character in Dead or Alive 4, Peter Jackson (King Kong) will produce the Halo movie, and there may only be 3 first party titles available in the launch window (read probably before Christmas). Evidently we will only see Kameo, Perfect Dark Zero (both by Rare), and Project Gotham Racing 3 (from Bizarre Creations) released by Microsoft Games. There were some other new titles announced that you can read about at GameFaction in this article.

Two new games came out today for the Nintendo DS the latest Castlevania, and one I'm looking forward to Trauma Center - Under the Knife. :)

Nintendo is Colorific... Movies, and more.

Well if you didn't know Nintendo just released the GBA Micro (look at the archives for my feelings on the subject), and quietly released updated versions of the GBA SP also. These new versions are backlit (instead of frontlit like the older units) like the new Micro. Below is a shot from an article at IGN showing the differences between all the units (original GBA SP left, New backlit SP right, and Micro bottom).


Anyhow big N released the newer SP's in graphite, and pearl blue, and to my surprise today there is also a Spongebob yellow one. :P Seems Toys'R'Us got an exclusive version of the new SP. I tried to get my wife to spring for one saying that the 15th anniversary gift was supposed to be portable electronics, but she didn't buy that. :(

I heard today also that big N plans on releasing a Red/Silver version of the DS system packaged with Mario Kart DS this holiday season, but I forgot to see if he had any pictures of it.

I forgot to mention the other day that I watched two movies again. History of Violence (which is, yep you guessed it very violent), and Into the Blue. While I liked History it seemed to run a little short, and I would have liked a little more 'story'. Into the Blue surprised me. I figured it would be a cheesy action flick with nice scenery (Jessica Alba :P) which it was, but it had some great Bahamas scenery as well. The story wasn't bad, and there was some gore (shark bite) that I felt was pushing PG-13. Like last time they were both worth watching, but I felt that I enjoyed Blue more.

PSP HaX0r! More fall TV, and missing MMORPG...

Well it was bound to happen. About 4 days ago them pesky HaX0r's found a way to exploit the v2.0 PSP firmware. Yesterday someone released the files necessary to "downgrade" a v2.0 unit back to v1.5, re-opening access to the wealth of homebrew games/utilities that is available. It's important to note that the exploit only works on a v2.0 PSP, so if for some reason you updated to v1.51, or v1.52 (Why???) or had that originally you will have to update to v2.0 before you can "downgrade". :)

The fall TV season is in full swing with new shows, and new episodes for the returning shows. My poor DVR's are working overtime. I'm glad that the Cox DVR allows me to record 2 shows at the same time, there are certain time slots where I record 3 different channels. I've seen the new sci-fi LOST style clones (2 episodes of each as a matter of fact.) and so far I like Threshold the most, followed by Invasion. I really didn't care much for the pilot of Surface, but the second episode this week was much better, although not enough to knock off the other two. I got a kick out of My Name is Earl, even though my wife thought it was stupid. :) I'm also really enjoying How I Met Your Mother, and Supernatural (which I think I mentioned earlier).


It dawned on me the other day that I'm kinda missing FFXI. I've been seeing pictures of the Xbox 360 version, and found out there is a new expansion coming (announced at the Tokyo Game Show). Not to mention that there is supposed to be an update in October that is going to add even more new stuff. I don't think I would like playing on the 360, because I wasn't fond of the control scheme on the PS2. The PC controls are so much easier to use, and since I already own FFXI, and Chains of Promithia on the PC I would only have to buy the new expansion. Of course there is no word on what will be included with the Xbox 360 version of the game, and since it should support HD will the graphics be greatly improved?

More Nintendogs... and I saw The Man.

Well I knew that there was talk of another Nintendogs (the Holiday Edition), but today I found this on DS Advanced...


Nintendo of America has announced today that starting October 24th, they will release a special "Best Friends" edition of their popular title, Nintendogs.

This new version of the game will be bundled in with the two new colors of the Nintendo DS arriving on the same day.

On the 24th, Nintendo is set to release both Pearl Pink and a Teal color portable system. The special bundle is set to retail for a price of $149.99.

The "Best Friends" iteration of the series is set to offer starting puppies such as a Labrador retriever, a golden retriever, a German shepherd, a beagle, a Yorkshire terrier or a miniature dachshund.

Nintendo has also announced that the special promotional bundle will come packed with a Nintendogs themed screen cleaner as well as Nintendo DS skin based off the popular puppies.



I watched The Man today, and it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be from the trailer. Not the greatest "***dy comedy" I've ever seen although it had some pretty funny parts.

Nintendogs... The phenomenon.

Well I finally bought my daughter a copy of Nintendogs. She has played mine a couple times, but since there can only be one save per cartridge it doesn't lend itself easily to multiple players. I told her that we would try to find a pre-owned copy at some point and pick it up. She even traded some games in for credit about 2 weeks ago, but unfortunately they haven't had a used copy come in yet. I've also been waiting for one at work, but that copy never came in (they decided to keep it, or give it away).

While it's not impossible to find a new one most of the ones on the shelf are the Chihuahua & Friends version. I think if more people were informed that all the breads are available on each version (the different cartridges only limit your initial 6 bread choices) there probably wouldn't be any in stock. Anyway imagine my surprise today at SEARS of all places to have all 3 versions, it boggles the mind. This threw her into overdrive pouting because she couldn't get one. I made her a deal that we would go to Best Buy since it was advertised this week, and came with a free "training guide". I figured they would be out of both (games & guides) but they were not. So she is now the proud owner of a Chihuahua & Friends brown & white Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named "Max".

I was commenting the other day that Nintendo didn't have any system sellers coming out this holiday season (since they pushed Zelda back till next year). These dogs may have enough umph to carry through Christmas. I could have sold 3 of these Friday night at work had they been available, but unfortunately we've been sold out for a while. Two of the three still bought DS systems anyway, even though we didn't have the game. It seems to be one of those games that crosses gender, because for every 9-14 year old girl that comes in and ask for a copy, I'll have a boy the same age range ask also.

Okay for all of you that already have a copy I found this site where you can make your own Nintendogs map. It will recreate your in-game map, and show you where all of the "hidden" items can randomly be located on your walks. This is what my in-game map looks like, this is where Flash takes all of his walks. :)

Video games the weird, and ugly...

More from the Tokyo Game Show, the first is called Portable Resort where your stranded on a tropical island with little to do. Here is what IGN has to say about it...

The concept of Portable Resort, an "entertainment tool" for PSP, involves the player freely spending time on a beautiful tropical island. You'll be able to go anywhere on the island, with the in-game world experiencing progression through time and a full day/night cycle. The in-game world is synched up with the current time, so when it's dark out in the real world, the game world will reflect that. Perform all kinds of little fun tasks as you stroll around -- pick up a ukulele from the beach, and you can use your PSP as an instrument, with the analog thumb pad is used to strum, with the face buttons used to form chords. Although interaction is limited, the title is meant to be a part of your playing life often. A stand for your PSP is part of the release (sold separately), so you can keep the system next to your bed or on your table, with the game running non-stop. The game includes alarm functions, so you can use it as a replacement for your alarm clock.


Check out this video from Namco's Japanese site. My PSP can now be a portable ukulele what will they think of next?

But then we progress the new Metal Gear Ac!d 2 will come with a special viewer that attaches to your PSP, so that some parts of the game will display in 3-D. I can't wait to see someone walk into a wall using this contraption! :P No word yet if this will come to American gamers, but I believe chances are slim.

It's time for a Revolution... and feel-good movies.

Well another nugget from the Tokyo Game Show was the unveiling of the Nintendo Revolution controller. Gyro-scope movement, mouse like, and revolutionary maybe, weird definitely. :)




I got around to watching two movies today Just Like Heaven, and The Greatest Game Every Played. Just Like Heaven was a excellent romantic comedy, I really enjoyed it. Greatest Game Ever Played fit the Disney "feel-good sports mold" just like the previous pictures it notes in the trailer such as Remember the Titans, The Rookie, and Miracle. While it achieved it's goal (I felt good, and emotionally drained after it was all over) I would recommend Just Like Heaven over The Greatest Game, although they are both good movies and worth seeing. I beginning to think Disney has some guy on payroll just to go through old sports almanacs, and come up with heart warming stories of triumph.

Xbox 360 is coming... NFL, PSP, and Fall TV

Well they finally announced the launch date! Earlier this morning Microsoft held a press conference before the Tokyo Game Show opened, and stated the official launch date for the U.S. will be November 22nd (my birthday, hint, hint). It launches here first then the European launch follows on December 2nd, and the Japanese launch on December 10th. Now personally, I don't know who's bright idea it was to launch 2 days before Thanksgiving, and 3 days before Black Friday (the busiest retail day of the year). I guess Micro$oft is hoping that if people are going to spend their cash it might as well be on a 360. Although, I foresee a lot of disappointed people getting Xbox 360's only to have them sit under the tree for a month.

I'm still trying to win one from Mt. Dew's Every 10 minutes sweepstakes. I have drank more Pepsi products in the last 2 weeks than I care to remember. I don't think I'll get better odds to win a system than there so I'll keep playing. It would also be extremely cool to win as I hear they will ship out your "prize pack" at the end of October so you could have a 360 2-3 weeks before the rest of the U.S. (-9,000 Mt. Dew winners). Hmmm... I wonder what they would sell for on eBay 2 weeks early? :)

A little late but, how about them KC Chiefs? Just goes to show you that pre-season doesn't prove anything. I'm in about 3 different NFL pools, and let me tell you my 1st week picks sucked. :P Some of the games Sunday were so far off the odds it wasn't funny, I'll try and do better this week.

The white PSP went on sale today in Japan (no word of a US release), and some of the forums have pictures up. It looks pretty sweet, and I hear it "hides" fingerprints way better than the black one. It does come with version 2.0 of the operating system installed which wasn't much of a surprise.

As I mentioned last time the Fall TV season is revving up, I caught Bones, and Supernatural the other night. I enjoyed Supernatural a little more but will watch more episodes of Bones to decide. Bones will have a hard time if they have to dig up a new set of bones every week, I mean exactly how many skeletons can you dig up in year? Tonight CBS starts the new season of Survivor : Guatemala, and tomorrow is the 2 hour premiere of Threshold.

One step closer to Gamestopdum, Fall TV, and I cut the cord.

Well it seems that I'm one step closer to working for GameStop, Gamesindustry.biz is reporting that the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved the merger of GameStop & EB. Here is part of the story...


Investors will get the chance to vote on the merger at the annual stockholders meetings, scheduled for October 6. The boards of directors for both EB and GameStop have already advised investors to vote in favor of the merger.

If it's approved, the merger will be concluded soon after the meetings. Operating under the name of GameStop, the company will own more than 3200 stores in the US, with about USD 3.8 billion in annual revenue.

The Fall TV season is coming full steam. FOX seems to be getting an early jump with some series already started (see my Now Watching sidebar) like Prison Break. There seems to be a flood of "good looking" thriller/suspense/supernatural series this season. I thank LOST for opening the floodgate. I don't know if any of these will be as good, but the teasers running for shows like Threshold, Invasion, and Surface peaked my interest. I just got my Fall Preview TV Guide so I will look to see what else catches my eye. My DVR units will be working hard for the next month or so.


I've been looking for a wireless router for a while now (around the time I got my PSP, hmmmm). The price point seemed to be about the same through all the stores, but unfortunately most of them required 2 freaking rebates to hit that ~$45 range. Now these were all "G" units, although I did occasionally find a deal on a "B" unit I just held out. Well Sunday I found that Target had hit the 50% clearance mark on the Motorola WR850G units. I just couldn't pass up a "G" unit for $25, and no rebates to deal with. Set-up was extremely easy (the only stumbling block was a reboot of the cable modem) and fast. I even updated the units firmware from the Motorola website, and I was good to go. I can now say I've surfed the web on my PSP in the living room which was pretty cool. :)

Swedish PSP lovin...

Okay when we get new hardware launches in the US why don't we get chicks with painted on shirts? I think they would go over big at Best Buy. :) They would probably dig those funky yellow PSP cases.

Man them Swedish people are crazy, I mean that in a good way. I gather it was some sort of a PSP launch party, unfortunately alta-vista doesn't offer Swedish translation. Anyway if you want to you can check it out here.

TV & Movies... and looting.

A week or so of feeling like crap, and I really hadn't gotten out much. Anyway the kids are back in school so it's early to rise, unfortunately that means getting up 5 hours before I have to be to work. Been putting my DVR through its paces, just to make sure its ready for the upcoming fall season. Cox finally got off thier arse and added KWCH to my HD line-up (yay!), and I hear that UPN might be up in HD sometime this year (soon?). Doesn't mean Cox will ad them to the line-up, but I believe there is more chance in seeing them before NBC on the DVR. Speaking of HD, I have found that I will watch (linger if you will) a channel in HD regardless of whats on. Bugs (yeah the creepy crawly kind)look really cool, as does anything with a lot of scenic shots (travel shows, and bridge construction). I have even watched some of the US Open which looks awsome on Universal HD (my current favorite HD channel) even though I don't really care anything about tennis.

I actually watched two new movies today! I think thats the first 1st run movies I've seen since Deuce Bigalow European Gigolo (see the feeling like crap part above). Okay I went into Underclassman with low expectations especially seeing as I've only seen the trailer a couple of times on tv. I'll admit I really enjoyed it. There I said it, flog me at will. It was funny, and there were a lot of recognizable people in it (Cheech Marin, Kelly Hu, and Roselyn Sanchez).

Then I went into Transporter 2 being a big fan of the orginal movie. Sorry to say I was a little dissapointed. :( The action was top notch, but it just felt (mainly the action scenes) like deja vu. Its a short movie running just around 88 minutes. This makes all the action bump together, and it never really slows down to you know... tell a story. I figured Luc Besson probably only produced the sequel not having much control, but he also shared in writting the script. If you liked the first one you will probably like this, but I think I would have been more entertained re-watching the first one. On a side note the credits indicated there was a French film unit, but I couldn't tell you what scenes were shot there it all looked like South Beach to me. (I'm guessing but I assume it was some of the interiors).

Last but not least here is how they shop at Wal-mart in Lousiana.

Okay if that wasn't enough check out this video from MSNBC, if you can't stop the cops who are supposed to stop the looters, who can you stop??

Even more PSP's infiltrate the world...

Well today (Sept. 1st) was the European launch of the PSP unit. They ship with v1.52 firmware installed, but include the v2.00 update on the demo UMD that comes with the package. There is a notice in the package that states "Important! Before using your PSP (PlayStation Potable) system for the first time, insert the Demo Disc included in this pack and switch on your PSP for the latest system for the latest system software update. It is only necessary to insert the disc once.", trying to intimidate you into upgrading? Currently there is no way to downgrade from firmware v2.00 back to the hacker friendly v1.50. Someone posted last week that they have found a way to downgrade from v1.51/v1.52, and that information is supposed to be released today.

If you want to check out some screenshots of the French Virgin Megastore launch click on the Jeux-france website.

A long time ago...

Wow, it's been a while since my last post. :( Kinda got caught up in other things, and there wasn't a lot going on.

The releases on the PSP had been very poor. I checked at work before the first of August and noted that we were getting 16 UMD movies, but only 2 games were scheduled for release during the month. You can say Sony had a tremendous launch effort, and within the 'launch-window' seen more games than the DS had out (maybe even up until this day). Alas they were hit with the same software shortage that plagued the DS, but Sony thought they could make up for it by selling movies. I personally have bought 3 UMD movies, and only then because they were cheap (used, on sale, etc..). I had intentions of watching them on the way to E3 back in May but that didn't happen. Since then I have found that with the base unit watching a movie isn't really an easy task, you have to have earphones or you can't get the unit loud enough in an environment with *any* extra noise. Some of this could be solved by using one of the many third party "docks" that have speakers built-in, but only in a office/room area, you could not use this on an airplane or in a car. I found this week on vacation that it is also uncomfortable to hold the PSP while watching a 2 hour movie in a car.

Speaking of vacation, I'm back and can easily say I really miss not having internet access during the week. I'm so used to surfing 5-6 days a week and keeping up on all the news that I felt left out this week, thank heaven for public libraries with internet access. At least I was able to get about an hour *fix* one afternoon.

Of course on the day I surfed I evidently didn't hit the big news of the week, that Micro$oft had announced pricing for the Xbox 360. I'm sure you've heard it by now but a "Core" system with a $299.99 price tag, and the "Value Pack" for $399.99. I see now that I'm back all the fallout from these announcements as some people are livid about this pricing scheme. Personally I feel it's pretty close to the $299/$360 prices that were floating around a month or so ago. After looking at the included items in the "Value pack" I don't really see as there is much to debate, if you want a Xbox 360 that's whats its going to cost you. The "Core" system seems to have been thrown out there just so they could say enter the next gen starting at $299! I will agree that some of the first party accessory pricing seems to be on the steep side ($50 for a wireless controller, or $40 for a memory card?). I guess that means I have about 3 months to come up with $350 (I already have a pre-order down).

The forum post I get a kick out of though are those that say they'll wait for the PS3 because the Xbox 360 is overpriced. Man if that $500 price tag that's floating around now comes true I can safely say I won't have one of those on launch day.

On the DS front you may or may not have heard there is a price drop coming. It's been verified by everyone except Nintendo (I think). The units will drop to $129.99 when Nintendogs is released this month, saving you $30 bucks, or you could look at it like your getting Nintendogs free. I don't know which one will have more impact although I think both will drive DS sales, something that hasn't happened lately. If you can find a Wal-mart that still has DS in stock with the bundled Super Mario 64, and the price drop that could be pretty sweet.

Last but not least I updated the side panel to reflect the last few movies I've seen. The last one being Deuce Bigalow European Gigolo. I had high hopes for this movie (as I loved the first one), but it wasn't too be. It had some funny parts, but mostly I got the feeling they were trying waaaayyy to hard to recapture the charm of the first one.

Movies, XM, and more...

Well I finally got around to seeing Star Wars : Episode III and it didn't dissapoint. I really liked all the little details to tie it into Episode IV, plus it had quite a bit of action which doesn't hurt. By no means the best of the series, but far better than Episodes I, and II.

I also watched War of the Worlds Tuesday night, and it wasn't bad either. The special effects were excellent, and it did not seem to drag along. I don't recall seeing the original version in full, but I recall bits and pieces of it. I know its playing in town Saturday night, and it might be on my to do list.

I finally got my free XM Roady 2 Radio (from a JCPenny promotion about 2 1/2 months ago). I've had it since Wednesday and so far it's awesome. I haven't spent long enough periods in the truck to try out all the stations, but have found a couple of favorites. I won't say it's the greatest thing since sliced bread although it could be close.

The DVR was the last piece of equipment I got that truely blew me away. Does not matter if you buy a Replay, TiVo, or whatever. That little box changed the way I watch TV period. I just commented yesterday to a friend who had joined the DVR ranks to say goodbye to his VCR, and he said he had already unhooked it. I don't see the XM radio in this light yet, but it's really growing on me. I haven't had the car stereo tuned in since I got it. There are just so many options, and truthfully I haven't listened to 85% of the channels yet. Now probably 10% of those I will *never* listen too, but you get the idea.

There has been more hacking on the PSP front. Last week they got homebrew (emulators) to run on v1.50 models (which is the default release here in the states, unless you upgraded wirelessly...). Now they have written a boot loader that allows Lumines to run off a memory stick. Right now there is no sound, but originally it required any UMD to be in the drive. They have already released an update which doesn't require a UMD so the sound can't be far off. It was enough of an insentive I got off my ass and bought a 512 MB stick. :)

Updates...

Well since it's summer, and most of my "What I'm watching" list was out of date. I've updated the side panel for a more current reflection.

The dead are alive, er.. yeah.

Well I watched Land of the Dead this morning, and I must say that is one excellent zombie flick. I would rank the Romero dead movies like this Dawn, Night, Land, followed by Day. Land just can't come before Night, but they could be really close, maybe a tie for second favorite (I'll have to watch Land again, and see if it holds up to repeat viewings). Of course this doesn't include any of the remakes, or similar premise movies like Return of the Living Dead series, 28 Days Later, Zombie, etc.

It had some good gore moments, although like Dawn of the Dead there were more than a couple laugh out loud times too. That might be why I enjoy most of the Return movies also, you get a great dose of horror, but they still manage to provide some comic relief. :P

Speaking of good gore I heard that High Tension (U.S. name of the french film Haute Tension) has some really gory bits. I just couldn't bring myself to watch the half dubbed/cut version that Lions Gate shoveled out, so I picked up the uncut french version (Switchblade Romance the U.K. name of the same french film?!) dvd. So I'm looking forward to watching it at some point.

Betas, demos, games, and movies...

Well I was accepted as a beta tester for GameTap. It's a broadband entertainment network, kinda reminds me of Phantom console that was supposed to come out but without the hardware. You use your PC to connect to an area of playable games, download content, and more. I guess they had a booth at E3 that somehow I missed, I do remember seeing people with GameTap shirts, but didn't see anything else.

Picked up Destroy All Humans! this weekend, finally got around to playing it yesterday and must say it's a lot of fun. You have missions to accomplish in each area, but then you can go back and roam around finding hidden objects, complete objective points, or just run around probing everything in sight. :) It's kinda like GTA, except set in the 1950's, with little grey men. The starting area is pretty big, but I guess by the time you get to the third area the map is huge. I can say this is one game where the demo sold me, I really enjoyed it, and the actual game is just as good.

Speaking of demos, I did finally download Battlefield 2 but have yet to install it and try it out. I also got in on the F.E.A.R. beta (which I guess is public now, so not really much of a feat) downloaded it over the weekend too. I need to clear off some room on my PC to try out all this stuff.

I also finally got around to playing the Darkwatch demo (XBOX) that was on the Official Xbox Magazine coverdisc a while back. It was a "expired" demo that got put on the disc, and finally found that you have to change your Xbox system date to play it (and unplug your LIVE connection if you have one!?). It's a Western themed FPS where you play a vampire looking to kill a few dead/demons. At points during the demo you can make a choice, either to do something evil or good which seems to have a impact on your special abilities, and it also features targetable areas so you can shoot off both arms, a head, etc.

I finally looking forward to some of the summer movie releases, this week Land of the Dead comes out, and next week is War of the Worlds, both of which look good. Now if I can come up with some time to watch them...

DS Blues... Handheld burnout?

Well the Electric Blue Nintendo DS finally came out yesterday, and I will admit it looks pretty cool. I was never a big fan of the silver DS (or any of Nintendo's Platinum releases), but looking around on the net this morning I run across another new color (see below). Unfortunately this is another Japan release (which brings them up to 9 variations? Original, Charcoal, Turquoise, White, Pink, 2 limited edition Pokemon, Pepsi contest Blue, and now Red. Now to be fair 3 of these are limited versions, but still where's the love for the US?

Of course I would almost be just as happy with some more game releases. There were a couple of good weeks there, but I've played the E3/Japanese demos more than any game I own in the past month. Which since I bring it up I will say I really enjoyed Meteos, Trauma Center, and the Submarine tech demo was neat. I still do not understand Elektroplankten its more of a music maker than a game, just not my thing.

My Daughter got a DS for her birthday and really likes pocket Urbz. She wants Wario Ware, and is looking forward to Animal Crossing, and Nintendogs. That's where I'm at too looking forward to games on the horizon. I just haven't had much urge to play anything handheld (DS, PSP) for a while. I have been playing a bit of Guild Wars on the PC (kind of like an updated version of Diablo II in a more MMORPG setting), and also went back and dusted off Half-Life 2. The next console game I'm really looking at is Destroy All Humans, I've played the heck out of the official Xbox Magazine demo, and can't wait for the release.

Almost forgot the Red DS :)

Life after E3, NDS demos...

Wow, missed the update last friday. Wasn't much to say I was "recouping" from E3 (like when you need a vacation from your vacation?). 8+ hours for 3 days straight, and it almost seems like a job. Got my mouse that I won at E3 hooked up (MX518) haven't put it through any FPS action yet, but it works great on everyday tasks. It's so nice to have browser forward/back buttons on the mouse again, I just need to get back in the habit of using them.

Well I found out last weekend that someone had "ripped" the Nintendo DS E3 demos and made them available. On top of that there is a program called WiFiMe that is a wireless multiboot application, meaning that with the proper wireless card you can send streams from your PC to the NDS. What this all boils down to is you turn on your DS and select DS Download Play it searches for the "beacon", and then using the WiFi you can download the demos to your unit. They stay in memory until you power off your unit, so you can put the DS in sleep mode and keep it alive. I read some post where people had slept thier DS's since E3, and still were playing the last thing they downloaded. I'll post some more today when I have a chance.

Ahh... home at last.

Well its over another 3 days of video game excess are history. About half way through Friday is when it hit me, I was at the point of overload. I didn't feel like waiting in line, or pushing through a crowd, but I stayed with it and finished out the day. I did get to the point though where I was trying to judge if my time spent in line was worth the "swag" in the end. Glad I didn't wait 2 1/2+ hours in the Zelda line as they were out of the shirts on the last day anyway. It seemed like a mix this year I think my swag level was about the same but was more spread out over the three days. I won a mouse (thanks Logitech!) and for the second year never won anything at the Nvidia booth. :(

I'm still pissed about how much better "Media" attendees get treated at the various booths. They can print/show all the hype you want to build up your product, but in the end it's the drones at the retail level that are going to be pushing people to your game. On another note if "Absolutely NO ONE under 18 will be admitted" was true then why are there UNDERAGE badge holders?? I saw alot more kids this year than last year.

Okay enough hate, where's the love?

I did like the way the Xbox 360 controller felt in my hand, it was very comfortable.

I enjoyed Virtua Tennis (PSP), Trauma Center (DS), Lost in Blue (DS), Top Spin (360), Ultimate Spiderman (Xbox), and Alan Wake (PC) wasn't playable but this game is gorgeous.

Things that I need more time with (meaning I wasn't overly thrilled with the game, or it just seemed like more of the same) Burnout Legends (PSP), Condemned (360), and Coded Arms (PSP).

The what were they thinking award goes to the GBA Micro... I guess if they find a niche market it will do okay (I'm thinking kids, or people with small hands.). The one I played with had an RPG in it and the text was so small. The screen is nice and sharp but man I couldn't imagine watching it for long periods of time.

E3...

Well it's Thursday, second day of E3. My feet hurt. :( Been in town since Tuesday, and L.A. is so wild. I've seen two bands play live Alaska! and AudioSlave, went the wrong way on the subway at least 3 times (but 1 wasn't my fault).

As for the show it's huge just like last year, swag seems to be at a minimum (sorry Jason) but I'm still looking. I've played some DS games Animal Crossing, and Nintendogs are going to rock. I haven't gotten the urge up yet to wait in the 2 hour Zelda line, although I've waited in line for 30 minutes for a shirt (You've got to have your priorities straight!). OMG the GBA micro is sooooo small I've taken some pictures, but probably won't post until I'm back.

Well off to do some actual playing this afternoon, more later.

MTV blows :P

Well the MTV Xbox 360 show sucked. I didn't have high hopes, but that was really bad. Out of a 30 minute show we got to see maybe 5 minutes of actual 360 game footage? Wow that was a good idea, I learned more about PIMP MY RIDE and the Killers than I did about the new Xbox.

Anyway I found this link to a wmv video that I guess originated from the OurColony teaser site. It's about 6 minutes long, and 100x better than that MTV crap.

More Xbox 360, the end of TV, and more...

Don't forget the Xbox 360 MTV special airs tonight at 8:30pm (CDT) tune in to see the next gen console. More info and pictures have found there way onto the web from the actual event last week so there probably won't be a lot of surprises, but I'll watch it anyway.

I found some pictures someone scanned in from a German magazine that are screens of Ghost Recon 3 for the Xbox 360. They look pretty nice! I'm not a GR fan, but I do like some of the other Tom Clancy games (Rainbow 6, Splinter Cell) and I'm sure those will have future installments on the 360 also.

It's a sad time in the TV season most all the shows season finale's are airing this week or have already. Veronica Mars is over for the season, and I must say I think it was my favorite show this year. LOST would probably get that distinction but there were too many times when there wouldn't be a new episode for 2-3 weeks at a time. I was thrilled with Amazing Race (Yay! Uchenna & Joyce). I'm glad Rob & Amber didn't win, but I did enjoy watching them race. And just in case anyone wants to keep score I rank C.S.I. in the following order C.S.I. (Las Vegas), C.S.I. New York, and finally C.S.I. Miami although Miami looks the best in HD. :)

I played a little Hot Shots Open Tee the other day, and really liked it. It will be my next PSP purchase. Tried out Smart Bomb, and while I enjoyed it more than Mercury it still won't replace Lumines at any point. E3 is fast approaching! Only 6 more days until the festivities. I will try to post daily if computer access is available.

Xbox 360 revealed!

Well it didn't take long, someone leaked a snapshot from the MTV special that was taped thursday night in LA. Notice the "Eyetoy" and redesigned(?) headset? Probably not the final boxed product (there are no logo markings on the unit itself (ie. DTS, Dolby Digital, etc...)).

Coming Soon & Now showing...

Not much this week to write about, but the countdowns are on.

Star Wars Episode III opens in 13 days... (While I'm looking forward to it, it's not as big of deal to me as some. At this point in time I don't even know when I'm going to see it.)

E3 exhibits open in 12 days... (Yeah! I'm so looking forward to this, probably because I'll be off work for 5 days! All the games will be cool too.)

Microsoft Unviels the Xbox 360 in 6 days on MTV (I guess the show was taped last night at the Avalon Club in Los Angeles. You can see some pics here, of the green carpet celebs that showed up. Looks like someone would have smuggled a picture or two of the console out, maybe they'll pop up later this weekend.)

On the Now Showing front, I watched House of Wax this morning, and its okay. To sum it up it start off really slow, Paris dies way too late, overall gore factor is good. It seems to be along the same lines as the other Dark Castle movies I've seen.

Next gen games, and EB Stop...

There has been a lot of next gen activity lately, starting with the supposed Xbox 360 picture leaks (see below), and now some next gen game screens. There have been a couple posted like Steel monkeys (Click on 2 Days to Vegas), and these from an upcoming PS3 game called Possession. If some of these are really close to what the next gen graphics are going to be, I'll spend more time looking at the scenery and forget I'm playing a game (kinda like the first time I booted up Half-Life 2).

On a different note 1up has put up an article about the merging of GameStop & EB, what it means to gamers.

PSP, and DS...

I finally got a hold of a used copy of Lumines today (YAY!), was really starting to think I may have to buy a new one. Doesn't seem to be a lot of them traded in anywhere, usually a sign of a really good game. :) With the Lumines purchase that pretty much covers my PSP want list (I have Untold Legends, and Wipeout already). Although Hot Shots Golf comes out soon, and will probably find its way on the must buy list.

I tried Pac-Pix (NDS) this week for a bit (just the first chapter), and enjoyed it. It's a fairly simple game as Pac has gathered all the ghost in a book, but unfortunately gets sucked in himself. You have to clear the pages (ie. levels) of the ghost to advance to the next. Each page has it's limits (number of Pac-men you can draw, and time) that you have to work within. You control Pac by drawing him on the screen (a set movement, think of it like graphitti on the palm) he moves whichever way he was facing when you drew him. You draw lines (walls) to make him change direction, and you can stop him momentarily by holding him with the stylus. I don't think I would pay full price for it, but it a pre-owned one shows up I may pick it up.

Mini Movies... PSP UMD's

Well the movies on UMD are actually surprising me, I know we've sold more than I thought we would, and more companies are supporting the format. Personally I feel they're to high especially when I already own most of the DVD's. I would like to see them sell through two versions of the DVD, one regular, and one bundled with the UMD for a bit more (~$10). This of course, would only work on new releases that aren't already available on DVD, but I think I would pick up one of these over paying $15+ for just the UMD release. Anyway here are the current release dates I compiled of upcoming UMD's:

5/03 National Treasure, Hero, Reign of Fire
5/17 Spider-Man 2 (Guess for those who missed the initial PSP launch?)
5/24 Are We There Yet?, Charlies Angels
5/31 Hollow Man, Boogeyman
6/07 Terminator 2, Saw, Van Wilder, Punisher, Open Water
6/14 Spider-Man (Animated Series), Daddy Day Care, Hitch
6/21 King Arthur, Hostage, Cursed, Tron
6/28 Grudge, Anacondas
7/19 Kill Bill v.2, Armageddon, Gone in 60 Seconds, From Dusk Till Dawn

The Lion's gate releases on 6/07 are all listed as 6/24 on Amazon.com, but that is a Friday so I don't know which date is correct. I also read that they plan on putting out 12 titles total so there are others coming from them.

Untold Legends & Xbox sneak peek?

I picked up a copy of Untold Legends the other day for PSP, and I must say I really like it. If you ever played Diablo this game is for you. So far I'm up to level 13, and seem to gain about 1 level per "quest". The only difference is in Diablo (and other RPG's like FFXI) there are newbie zones where lower level players go, Untold Legends seems to tailor the monsters in whatever area you are in to your level, so your always gaining experience.

On another note, this shot was released and it is supposed to be the Xbox 360 design. I guess we will know for sure in a little over 3 weeks.

PSP goodness...

Well it's been in my hands for 5 days now, and I like it. :) Of course, I'm talking about the PSP unit.

Well I think my initial views on the games was correct, there just isn't that much out there I'm dying to play. I still haven't picked up Untold Legends, trying to find a pre-played one (saving money for E3), and haven't really had a chance to look for one yet. I did try out both Lumines, and Mercury. While I enjoyed Lumines (enough to warrent a purchase at some point), Mercury left me feeling down. I wanted to like it as it shares similarities to Monkey Ball, and even Marble Madness. In the end it felt like there was too much other stuff to worry about, almost like they over complicated it. I just didn't enjoy playing it. I already own Wipeout Pure (bought because of the web browsing) and have been playing it, and found that it's quite fun (and great looking) in it's own rite. Although I'll be the first to admit I *enjoy* racing games, I do ultimately suck at them, so they usually aren't high on my wish list.

It didn't take long for the last episode of South Park to make it too the handheld (I lost the link where I found it but search for episode 904 "Kenny gets a PSP", and you'll probably find it.). I watched it last night, and thought it was really funny, I wonder what the release date for "Heaven vs. Hell" is?

I found this site makes a great PSP starting point.

Temptation wins!

Well I give up, after playing with the PSP last weekend, I broke down and bought one. It just happens that I came across a sweet deal on a pre-owned unit that I couldn't pass up. Got pretty much everything that was in the value pack with the exception of the wrist strap, the manual, and the SONY soft case. I got a different case, extra earphones, and a UMD case so I figure it was ok.

I'm probably in the market for a new case as the Intec one I got is a only so-so. I like it better than the SONY soft case because it does have some storage room, but want to look at the logitech case that's coming out.

On the plus side there were no dead pixels! yay! Course that's pretty easy to check on a pre-owned unit. Also, I've already come to the conclusion that the 32MB stick is waaay to small. :(

Here are some sites I found for PSP formatted video downloads...
Misc. Trailers & Videos
South Park Episodes
Misc. Trailers & Videos
Older Star Wars spoof - Troops
Sony's Trailers & Videos

White PSP

Oops, I forgot to mention I found a picture of the Gran Turismo PSP unit. I remember hearing there was going to be a GT Pack which would include a White PSP, and the Gran Turismo game. Don't know if it is or isn't Japan only, probably will get a clue by the time E3 rolls around (just a little over a month!).

This week's adventures... PSP love and WiFi

Well, Friday slipped passed and I didn't write a blurb. But, got some "hands on" time with a PSP, and man do I want one. Although, it isn't the games that are pushing it over, it's the Wipeout Pure web browsing hack (google it). The PSP has built in 802.11b wifi capabilities out of the box, and as you may or may not know there are a lot of wireless access points (WAP) out there especially if your in a city of some size. Now most of these are secured/encrypted, but some are not. :)

I picked up Wipeout early this week (yet I don't own a PSP?!) and was really excited thinking about portable internet. The PSP will scan for WAP's when setting up a new infrastructure connection, and show you there name, encryption, and signal strength of the ones found. What your looking for is ones where whomever controls the WAP forgot (?) to set the security features. I thought I would see if any of my neighbors were "leaking" wireless signals, but unfortunately they were not. If/when I get a PSP I will have to buy a wireless router for the house. Since I still had the PSP this afternoon I decided to check around work, but it's a business area so all of the WAP's I found were encrypted although some had interesting names (Exit Wi-Fi = Wal-Mart?) . For example in the parking lot I picked up 5-8 WAP's depending on where I was standing. Another interesting place to check is an apartment complex, I drove through one, and found 20+ easily with I'd say only 1/2 with encryption turned on.

OK now for my PSA, if you hook up a wireless router take the time to change the name, and turn encryption on! Do you want anyone to come along and use your internet bandwidth, or gain access to your network? Okay some people don't do this, and you would be surprised how many units are still named default. Anyway enough of that. To make this extremely long story short(er) I surfed the web through one of the PSP portals, and damn it was cool! It's not without some problems (big pictures won't load, most pages aren't designed for the screen size, and the PSP's text entry method is kinda tedious.) but overall its really neat.

Another week...

Well it's been a week since the last post, Friday's seem to be a good day to update. I watched Upside of Anger this morning and enjoyed it. Drama with a light layer of comedy, there were a couple of really good laugh out loud moments.

PSP thoughts, DS magazine

Okay first off the PSP hit the market yesterday. I didn't get one personally because of the price, value pak stuff that I didn't want or need, and the fact that only one game stood out as something I would play (Untold Legends). After looking at them yesterday for a bit, I will say they are really sexy handhelds. I have watched Lumines being played and it looks cool (I'm a puzzle game junkie), as does the fore mentioned Untold Legends. I just can't bring myself to pay $250 for a handheld gaming system, considering I didn't get an Xbox till they were $200, and a PS2 until they were $150.

I guess maybe it boils down to I'm not a big early adopter in the console arena, the original PlayStation, Nintendo Gamecube, and the DS are the only units I've ever bought at launch. I'll probably pick up a PSP when one of the following conditions is met, I find a used one for ~$200, Sony drops the value pak and sells the unit by itself, or some awsome game is announced that I just have to play. Out of those I'm guessing the first will be met sooner than the other two, I don't look for a unit only solution until Christmas time.

On another note I found a site (Dualscene.co.uk) where the guy puts out a DS magazine (in .pdf format). He just put up issue #2, and I've read through it and enjoyed it. He reviews about 7 games, including imports so take a look.

Video game musings

I picked up Yoshi's Touch & Go today for the DS, and I'm really enjoying it a lot. It is one of those games that you can just pick up and play for a couple minutes, or get engrossed in, and keep trying to beat that last score.

I've also been getting really pumped for this year's E3 Expo. I went last year for the first time, and was overwhelmed by it all. I did gain some valuable experience last year, so this year should be a breeze. I spent too much time wandering around, and didn't actually get as much hands-on play time as I would have liked. I'm thinking that this year there will be some big news (especially in the hardware area) like Xbox 2, the GBA successor, Nintendo Revolution, and hopefully lots of playable upcoming DS games (Animal Crossing!).

Welcome, to my little piece of the web.