My white DS Lite was kinda jacked (left shoulder button started acting flakey), and I decided rather than pay $75 to get it fixed, I'd just buy a new one. So I figured, why not mess around with the old one a little since it wont matter if I screw it up.

Enter a chrome case from some shady canadian aftermarket DS site. Took a bit if time, but I got it all put together, and oddly enough, somehow fixed my button issue in the process.... so now I dont even need to buy a new one! (tho I may still get that Zelda edition one just for kix.)

Anywhere, here's a pic!

So here's the sad panda situation.

I beat Portal and unlocked the advanced maps, then the following day I beat the first 4 advanced maps. Took a break, played some HL2/other games, went back to finish the last 2 maps a few days later. I noticed after I started on the 5th map that for some reason it had reset my achievements back to 0/6 completed.

I thought that was sorta weird, but I kept playing (probably a big mistake). Anyway, I beat the 5th and 6th maps, but the achievement score didnt register my total of 6 completed, and not only that, but now the achievements show 4/6 done (the first 4 I assume from before) and I cannot access advanced maps at ALL anymore.

I've tried loading my save at the end of the game and beating it again, but the advanced maps dont re-unlock! So basically i'm screwed on my Portal save forever

Hi friends!   Here's my HDTV setup, newly revamped and ready for action.  I've created a labeled pic so you can scope out the madness and see what each device connected is.

The X360 Elite, PS3, and DVD player are all hooked up via HDMI.  Wii/PS2 are via component, the regular X360 is via VGA, and the older consoles are all chained in through S-video/composite switchboxes.  

The HDTV is the new Samsung HL-T6189S 61" 1080p LED based system, which features HDMI 1.3 with 3x HDMI ports (one of which can be used as DVI->HDMI in), 2x Component, 2x Svid/composite, 1x VGA, 2x standard coax, a USB port, bluetooth support (for headphones/printers/etc), and other doodads that I cant think of at the moment.

It is how we say... good times? 

I meant to post this a few weeks ago when it happened, but forgot.  So here it is now in shorter form: 

A friend and I were playing MK2 on the PS3 online, but since it has no voice support, we ended up using our Xbox 360s to host a private chat while we played our PS3s.   The whole situation just had us both chuckling.   Best part was the 360 I was using for it wasnt even in the same room.  Praise wireless.

You'd think by now Sony would have some sort of native chat support that carries beyond the dashboard...  Oh well.

The day has finally come friends, the day the world has been waiting for. An online console verison of Mortal Kombat II, one of the greatest fighting games in the history of the world.

The game is now avail for $5 from the PS3's network store, and rings in at over 200MB. Sort of surprising considering UMK3 on the Xbox 360 was only 50MB, but hey, no limits means they can go hog wild, right? Sure. Except the menus are more ghetto than UMK3 on the 360, and the network setup has something to be desired... but I guess that's just the PS3 network in general.

Anyway, onto the game! Yes, it plays fantastic. Aside from a few glitches graphically like missing shadows, the game is nearly arcade perfect. Online play is excellent as well, nearly lag free even running over a wireless connection with questionable speed. I played against Jeff for about 30 matches tonight, and we only hit a small lag spike maybe 3 times, nothing that lasted more than a second or so each time... amazing for any game, let alone a fighting game. The handful of public games I joined ran smooth for the most part, tho one game was a little laggy, overall it seems to do the game justice.

Some additional features would have been nice, and I'm not exactly sure how the whole leaderboard points system works (I've won a good 90+% of my games and yet my score is just in the middle there somewhere), the core game is fantastic and that is what really matters. All in all I'm very pleased with this version, and here's hoping we'll see MK 1 sometime in the future!

Look me up on the PS3 Network (gamertag: Raidy) and lets duke it out!

A sad event happened this Friday.   My precious friend, the Sega CDX, fell prey to Marky Mark during Aaron's latest video feature.  I warned him that putting such dirty business into such a quality item could cause nothing but trouble, but little did i know it would actually cause DEATH.

All attempts at revival failed, including trying to boot the wounded fella up with a delicious copy of Road Avenger or The Terminator.   Sadly, nothing succeeded.   Today is the day we mourn the CDX, the legend, the hero. 

Oh well, at least i still have a working LaserActive.

We await his arrival. 

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/sneakking/similar.html?mode=universe

I got the chance to play a few Wii titles this morning before the big crowds poured in, and i must stay i was impressed.  While the original concept of the control scheme seemed fairly cool, i was still a bit skeptical of how fun it would be.  After getting my hands on some of the titles though, my worries subsided quite a bit.

While i had an idea of which games i wanted to play in which order, the shorter lines and closer booths ended up guiding my path. 

First up was Red Steel, and my first interaction with the Wii controller.  While the game itself seemed a bit average, the control did make for an interesting experience.  The shooting wasnt that great, it was a little hard to aim using the wand, but the swordplay was pretty fun and intuitive - actually swinging the controller parts around definitely felt more interactive than your average button mash.

Next up was Excite Truck, which actually did live up to its name - it was exciting!   Actually of all the games i played, this one probably felt the most exhilarating as far as controller integration and just a general feel of innovation goes.  Using the controller tilt to both steer and level out your track for landings, plus the frantic high speed arcade style racing really gave the game an intensity that went beyond most racing games, and i really felt sucked into the gameplay.  How long that feeling will last when playing the game a lot over a period of time though, is still questionable.  But for what i played it was a blast, and i could really identify with what Nintendo is going for.

I then checked out Project HAMMER, which was pretty fun as well.  Using the controller to swing the hammer around to smash dudes worked really well, and the gameplay was pretty fun.  Plus, who doesnt like smashing stuff with a big 'ol hammer.

Finally i made my way to my #1 choice of game i wanted to try out, Super Mario Galaxy.   And wow, i'm pleased to say that not only is the game amazingly fun, but the control is done exactly how it should have been.  The Nunchuk controls Mario via the analog stick, like Mario64 style, and you have your jump/stomp etc buttons to use - the wand targeting device is used to wave over these little meteor things to collect (i forget the name of them at the moment), and if you wiggle it quickly in the transport stars, you warp to the next little miniplanet.

Graphically the game was impressive, keeping the Mario64 style to it but vamping it up a notch, plus the ability to run around the round planets in all directions - read: you will be upside down at some points, and as crazy as it sounds, it still plays great.  The only downside to this game was that i finished the demo too quickly, leaving me wanting more.  This is going to be the next 'killer app' from Nintendo, and i really hope it is a launch title.

Ironically the biggest disappointment for me gameplay wise was Zelda.  While it certainly did not have poor control, you could tell the game was not designed for the controller from the ground up, like other titles.  It could just as easily be played without it.  While aiming the bow with the wand is neat i guess, the game has a lot of functions that are needlessly slowed down due to the way the controller interface works - for example you need to basically 'mouseover' your icon for the special skills and hit a button to reassign them - it would be faster and easier to just hit a pause button and do it from that screen or something.  I dunno. Maybe i just wasnt used to the controller enough, but of all the games, Zelda's control was the only one i really felt like it was tacked on rather than fully integrated.  The game is still great though.

All in all, my biggest concern when the Wii details were announced was that the novel controller might result in some games that just have the extra aspects thrown into them as a novelty, making for a poor gameplay experience - (much like some games' poor use of the DS's touch screen) - rather than fully revolve and integrate around the control scheme.

I can say after playing most of these titles though, that it does not seem to be the case so far with the Wii.

All in all, i left with a true feeling of fresh gaming and innovation, not just an awe of graphical improvement, but a real change of gameplay experience.  I'm definitely looking forward to getting my hands on the Wii when it launches, and sitting down to play some of these games in their final state.