Rising Storm

I'll start with Rising Storm, the stand alone expansion for Red Orchestra 2, since it is the most recent beta I have been playing. I loved Red Orchestra 2, and eagerly pre-purchased Rising Storm for 12 bucks when I learned it would get me into the beta right away. Despite somewhat tepid first impressions, I have since become totally hooked on the game. It keeps the basic mechanics of RO2, but it feels totally different mostly due to the change in map design, difference in play style between the two sides and presence of the glorious Banzai Charge. This involves the Japanese screaming their heads off and sprinting at the enemy lines, which suppresses them making it hard for them to aim. The more people involved in a Banzai charge, the more dramatic the effect of the suppression. This results in some pretty epic moments of last minute ditch efforts to capture points.

     Creeping through the dense jungle on either side is super intense, especially since it can be really hard to determine if someone you see moving in a bush 100 yards away is a friend or a foe. After getting used to the new mechanics and learning the maps somewhat, I'm having the more fun in Rising Storm than I've had in any competitive online shooter since Bad Company 2. People really seem to using teamwork which can be really involving, especially since servers hold 64 players. At this point, the community is thriving and there are loads of populated servers, something that was often a problem with Red Orchestra 2. If you are tired of the lack of teamwork in BF3 or have an interested in a really authentic WW II game, you should absolutely check this game out.

I currently have 1 spare beta key for Rising Storm for one lucky winner, first person to ask for it in a comment gets it!

Company of Heroes 2

Continuing with the WW II theme, I had the chance to play the Company of Heroes 2 closed multiplayer beta for about 30 hours, and came away largely pleased. CoH 2 is the game I am most excited for since I know it will provide a lot of play time for me, and I can already tell from the Beta it will live up to this hope. While the balance between factions is currently a bit dubious, the gameplay is as good as ever, with matches becoming more and more intense as they progress. The weather effects on the winter maps really force you to think of new strategies to deal with the cold, and some of the tweaks to the base game work really well. The best change in my opinion is the way points are captured. Instead of having one squad go cap a point, forcing them to become ineffective in combat and not allowing another enemy squad to cap a point, there is now a ring around each point. You must clear the ring of enemy soldiers in order to start capturing a point, a mechanic which serves to further increase the frequency and intensity of the fighting.

I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the final release of CoH 2 when it comes out later in June.

Arma 3

I have always liked the idea of the Arma series, a large-scale military sandbox full of flexible missions and gameplay, but I have never been able to really get into the games. I spent loads of time on mods for Arma 2, namely Dayz and Wasteland, but only ever spent a few hours in the base game. I decided to pre-order Arma 3 since it was cheap and gave access to the Alpha, and I put about 15 hours into it. The clunkyness of Arma 2 has certainly been reduced, and I had some fun with the multiplayer, but I'm still uncertain about the game. The amount of content that shipped with the Alpha is pretty small compared to what the full game will have, so I am interested to see how the title progresses as it moves into the Beta phase down the road.

Trackmania 2: Stadium

I poured a ton of hours into Trackmania 2 Canyon, a game that set itself apart from others in the series with its epic drifting mechanics. Stadium is the second environment coming to Trackmania 2, and it is currently in open beta accessible through steam to anyone. To be honest, its exactly the same as Trackmania Nations Forever apart from some minor graphical improvements. The handling is the same and in multiplayer most of the tracks are the same since they are being ported directly from TMNF. Only difference is that TMNF was free and TM2 stadium will cost 10 bucks when it comes out. Not too impressed with this new environment, hopefully Valley proves more interesting. 

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Now this game is starting get fun as hell.

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The Wii emulated Gamecube games as if they were running on your old machine, no more, no less. The Wii U manages to emulate Wii in such a way that games that previously suffered from awful framerate issues, now run far smoother. The Last Story is a perfect example of this.

On the Wii U, I encounter fewer framerate dips and hitches running through Lazilus City. In battle, when framerates would sometimes become so low that I would be unable to fend off enemies adequately, the frames only take a small hit. All areas of the game seem to run better on this new hardware.

This may not be the case with every Wii game, but its a nice bonus for whenever it works. Without knowing the specifics behind how Wii mode works, I can only speculate as to why this is. Perhaps the superior disc drive makes loading areas faster or more RAM is made available in Wii U's Wii mode than what was in the original hardware(acting similar to an N64 expansion pack).

I doubt any Wii game looks better running on the Wii U. If youre looking for better visuals, you're probably better off trying the Dolphin emulator, which will require a considerable amount of computing power. Most people didnt exactly buy a Wii for its visual fidelity, so a smoother gameplay experience should be good enough.

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""

Ofcourse you would know of moderation.. wouldn't you? There is a growing alliance among those with certain.. privileges.. that would surprise you.

Remember..

All your blog are belong us

""

He's trying to ban me by down-thumbing my blogs. WTF!

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Want a chance to stop this? Send me a PM

BY THE WAY DON'T POST ANY COMMENT ON THIS BLOG, PM PM PM MESSAGES PLEASE

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Oblivion is such a good game, being a sneaky, Nordic Arch-Mage is great! I love going into Oblivion gates in sneak mode and kill Daedra ninja style. It's even funnier sniping them and have them trying to find me when I'm right under their nose too.

Now I'm a cat-burglar with the Thieves guild. One of the quest was stealing the Arch-mage's staff and plant it into another mage's room. Ummm... no problem seeing that I'm Arch-mage long before I joined the Thieves Guild and that the two people were dead anyway.

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6. Black Dynamite

Black Dyanmite is a shining example of a spoof film done right. Anyone who's ever seen a Blaxploitation film automatically will understand this film. From Dolemite to Blackbelt Jones, no film is safe and this film is just utterly hilarious. The writing is sharp, the campiness is intact, and the laughs just never end. I can't remember seeing a film this funny actually.

Bullhorn & Black Dynamite = Two of the funniest characters this year.

It's just a total good time and I think of all the movies of this year, I had the most fun watching it with a group of friends. Black Dynamite didn't do well business wise but to anyone who's seen it, the film is a cultural success in that it lampooned a genre which for the most part, is relatively lighthearted to begin with.I encourage anyone who enjoys good comedy to see this film.

5. Inglourious Basterds

I can't say I had high hopes for Basterds. The movie was rife with delays and in it's early stages, the casting and concept of the film seemed awful, cliche, and done. Fortunately though, Tarantino lived up to the decade of hype by giving us what perhaps amounts to his best film since Pulp Fiction some sixteen years ago. Basterds is a sharp film rife with intelligent dialogue, humor, brutality, and entertainment. It is is a pulp World War 2 film which is by no means meant to be serious. It is a great time and there are few films this year that are as entertaining and as unapologetic as Basterds. The performances were all spart on with Christoph Waltz being the clear showstealer as the cold and somewhat likeable Hans Landa. All in all, you'd be hard pressed to find a better action movie from this year and Basterds represents the best of the summer blockbusters (if it can be called that) of 2009.

4. Sin Nombre

Sin Nombre is a hybrid; part gangster narrative, part love story, and part migratory tale. It tells the story of Sayra, a poor Honduran girl who embarks on a journey to illegally emigrate to America with her father and uncle. Some films have tried this before, but few have shown such a horrifying and detailed representation of it. This truly is the trip from hell and it is made no easier with the introduction of Casper, a conflicted member of the brutal and terrifying MS-13 gang. As their journeys intertwine with one another, the film just keeps going and keeps gaining momentum as time goes on. By the end, it is a wholly fulfilling experience and it represents one of the finest debuts of 2009 up with the ranks of films like Moon. Paulina Gaitan, the girl who plays Sayra, delivers one of the best performances of the year and the entire supporting cast is able to play their parts extremely well. Sin Nombre is one of my favorite films of the year for many reasons, but above all, it rises to number four for the very fact that it tells a story which is important to tell. People can be against illegal immigration, but when you see what some of these people have to go through, you can only feel all but sympathetic to their disposition in society.

3. Up In The Air

Jason Reitman has proven himself to be one of the most consistent and most talented directors in the business today. Up In The Air continues his streak of quality as he crafts a story of realization and quasi-romance. Ryan Bingham, played by the always excellent George Clooney, has a life of flying around the country continuously and firing people. His addiction to never settling ultimately shatters when he finds his company is grounding all workers due to the poor economy. He suddenly finds himself confused but all looks up when he meets two women, Alex Goran and Natalie Keener. Pound for pound, this movie is pure quality. With sharp writing, a manifestation of our own poor economy, and great performances from all actors, this film should resonate with anyone who sees it. The beautiful Anna Kendrick actually represents one of the best actors in the film as though almost all her scenes include George Clooney, she is able to act on an equal level with him, impressive for someone who is only 23 some odd years old. Up In The Air is a film for anyone and I encourage you to all see it.

2. Up!

Up is charming, funny, sentimental, and beautiful. With some of the finest animators in the world, Pixar has been a powerhouse churning out critical and box office smashes every year on a consistent basis. Up represents the best of these, the best film Pixar has done and one of the best animation films of the last decade. The film has a beautiful way of appealing to both kids and adults alike with Carl's sentimatal moments concerning his wife and dreams of adventure to Russel's longing to be accepted by somebody. There is a ton of stuff here to appeal to adults and to kids, it's a lot of fun. Up! was one of my favorites of the year because it was hilarious and I loved watching it. I can't see why anyone would want to see it, you'd be a fool to pass it off as just another kid's movie.

1. The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker really came out of left field to me. I did not hype it nor know about it until around December when the Oscar buzz came about. To be fair too, it was also on the bottom of my list of Oscar contenders to see. It should have been on top. The Hurt Locker is a masterfully told tale riddled with suspense. It is perhaps the most haunting war film in recent memory and the hardest hitting despite its absence of gore and extreme action sequences. In fact, one notorious sniper sequence is surpsingly very lite on violence yet it stands as one of the greatest battles within any war film made. The film is riddled with excellent characterization and Jermey Renner delivers a wonderful performance. His character is perhaps one of the most interesting of last year and his actions and the disdain he receives from those around him lifts the movie up in both it's suspense and it's poignancy. The Hurt Locker is the best picture of last year, there is no going around that. It is a must see.

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2) Resident Evil 5

3) Prototype

4) Batman Arkham Asylum

5) Call Of Duty 6 - Modern Warfare 2

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Dazzle plat - sd play, sd rec, cheap as, needs wires

blitzbox Air - sd play, sd rec, no wires across room

Blitzbox HD - component cable (green, red, blue) - hd play, hd rec,

Hauppauge - hd play, hd rec, box, component cables,

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That's my first entry and I don't want it to be too long. Maybe I'll try to write more tomorrow or later.

Now I've got some interesting* stuff to do so see you later, folks.

j.c.

* which means watching some of my beloved X-files episodes. And playing The Witcher. That's fun!

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I loved cinema. But not anymore. Some years ago finding a good movie (attractive in form but really good in story and idea) was not a big problem. You could watch US A category productions and pearls were there. I don't have such feeling anymore - majority of today's productions are like candid apples, looking good but tasting awful. Gorgeous form, extraordinary FX and weak weak inside stories, cliches and emptiness. There are exempts, but they just confirm my thesis as they are rare exempts.

I love games. Will I love them once in future? Will story & playability die in confrontation with musics/graphics/physics? I hope not.

I wonder also what new era of development will come. I hope it will be the era of AI. You may remember that 20 years ago producers (of hardware and games) fought the fight for sound, to move from simple sound scale toward midis, wavs, adding simultaneous sounds, virtualisation, 3d-positioning. So it sounds real.

Then the times of graphics came. 2d, 3d, these & those accelerators, n-pipelines, gigas of memory, bumps, shaders... And its looks almost real (especially if you cross link 4 video accelerators that will be issued in March this year).

Here comes the realistics physics, with engines, external cards..... feeling almost real, we can even smash the car to the ground by just jumping on it from 200 meters height.

Oh Lord, give us the era of Artificial Intelligence, if necessary I will buy 2 PCI-E cards with 2 Gb memory each and 3 on-card-processors and pay monthly license. But I want artificial intelligence driven enemy to become intelligent. Smart, realistic, unpredictable, being able to replace bot with almost human or "human" enemy.

So I hope for those two: the era of AI, and no game sunset on horizon.

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I also just brought New Super Mario Bros. and Metroid Prime: Hunters yesterday and I think they are awesome games!. If I had to pick a favourite though, it would have to be New Super Mario Bros.

So please, share you comments and tell me what you think!

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