Well I haven't been blogging, I've been sick.  Of course I've still been working, which sucks, but I really have no choice on that.  Being incredibly busy at work, and being sick, have cut down on the blogs.  So I have great blog entry planned for this weekend (which should've been out on Wednesday) on how much money I've put into the 360 experience.  Trust me it will be interesting, and if anyone from MS catches wind they'll probably send me a thank you card for putting their kids through college.

Now Texas Hold 'Em, ahh it's so fun.  I actually won my first online game, I totally read the other guys and knew exactly what cards they had.  This one guy went all in when I had pocket Jacks, with one Jack on the flop, and I knew he was so done for.  The funny thing I've noticed in this game is that apparently the MS Certification team is good at finding glitches in games, however they can't count.  I wanted to get a pic, maybe I will after work, but if you look at the 4 of diamonds in the game, the card actually had 5 diamonds on it.  OOPS, no biggy, it's just weird how I noticed it and they didn't.  Hmm...I think a job offer is in order.  Oh well, catch y'all later.

Apparently there's an update on the arcade stick post I made yesterday (before any of the big name sites and blogs thank you very much).  Hmm, who to reference, I guess I'll go with Kotaku.  First off let's get this straight, the add has been pulled, and the more official info is that the stick will cost $50 and come bundled with some arcade games.  So this is meant to be used with arcade games, which basically negates all criticism of the design (ie tiny buttons).  The downside is that this is a MadCatz product, not everything they make is bad, but it's kind of hit or miss with them and controllers.  I'll wait to hear reviews before I jump on this product.  I hope it's good, that will really bring new life to arcade titles that I've just found to be unplayable with a d-pad or analog (yes Pac Man I'm talking about you)

Wow, so let me start off by just stating the point of this, Mad Catz is making and arcade stick. Big ups to Xbox365, and their member gamefanhola (gt-Macintosh2). I found a post about this on their forums, I kinda lurk over there, but I'm always glad I do. So back to it, the arcade stick is supposed to be released on 10/1/06, that's 1/10/06 for those in the UK and Europe, with a retail price of $69.99usd. This is so good to headr, because some games on Live Arcade (classics) just aren't the same with the 360 controller. I wonder...will it suck? I'm much more cynical than I come off to be.

Arcade Stick

So this is just a general hey community, don't be stupid kinda post.  First off I gotta mention Gamerscore Blog since that's what this post is mainly about.  Cesar is gone, so it's mainly John Porcaro posting on it now, kinda makes you wonder why he abandoned his personal blog, but that's another issue for another time and place.  Gamerscore Blog is yet another awesome blog from some folks at Xbox, it totally pwns the Xbox Team blog, since they actually update.  They're also very good when it comes to squashing rumors, so when you see some random rumor about something for the 360 it's a good idea to check them out about 3 hours later cuz they'll debunk that bs.  The most recent rumor they've shot down is the 360 will have games playable through the HD DVD drive, that's right, this will not happen.  They've also squashed the multiple rumors of price drops in the near future, so stop waiting to get a 360, just get one already and I'll kill you on UNO (probably not).  Either way I'm getting sick of rumors personally.  I used to have a good source for inside info, and he always told me some crazy rumors, which 90% of the time turned out to be true.  So basically, stop spreading stupid rumors, don't be stupid.

So if you read my blog with any regularity, then you know I'm a big supporter of Gamertag Radio.  It's my favorite podcast, which makes sense since it combines hip hop and gaming, as well as getting some kick ass interviews.  Well recently GTR held a drawing for Xbox Live Vision Cameras, yeah they got some before they're being released.  Well I was lucky enough to win one, so I'll have the camera before it hits the streets.  Of course I'm not sure when I'll get it, that depends when Godfree decides to send it.  I'm lazy about sending packages myself so I understand that stuff.  This is just cool, big ups to GTR.  Hmm..mabe I should remove the pic of Godfree in tight shiny pants.  So be sure to check out Gamertag Radio (yes, for the millionth time) or just sibscirbe on iTunes.  Godfree has said he's got some real big surprises in upcoming episodes.  Anyone up for a game of UNO?  I gotta come back and edit for another thanks.  After listening to GTR I'm pretty sure Aaron Greenberg was the one responsible for Godfree getting some to giveaway, so thanks to him.  It's really cool that he did this and didn't give them to the other podcasts he was on (like 4 in total I think).  Man, that guy must love podcasts as much as I do.

Gamertag Radio

 

 

No, I'm actually not going to complain about the moderators on Xbox.com forums.  They're not Nazi's, they don't get pleasure from having to sift through countless pointless posts and vulgar language.  Most of them are actually pretty cool.  This is more of a question to the readers of this blog, since I know some of you are Xbox.com regulars. Take me for instance, I've got some of the cool icons they give (forum founder, xbox ambassador, keeps posts on topic) and my CUL is 5, actually it's been a 5 for like 4-5 months which is strange, but I don't really care.  So sometimes people mistake for me a moderator.  I've gotten PM's from members on the forums asking me why they were banned, why their post was deleted, why I locked their thread, and can I make their post a sticky.  I've even gotten messages directly on the 360 from these people (vulgar).  So the question is, has this happened to anyone else?  It's just hilarious.  The only person I give a pass on this is the guy who saw my icons and thought I was a moderator.  Apparently he'd seen me on the Gamertagpics.com forums where I actually am a moderator, so he's not out of his mind completely.

Since Trixie was on Major's podcast this week talking about the GamerChix, I figure I will blog about my feelings on the subject. First of all, you should know I can't say anything bad cuz I think Dirty Diva would seriously kick my ass if I did. Ok, she wouldn't kick my ass, but she might fart of my head (yeah, she's not Dirty like sexually, she's gross) So let me get into it, it's not all positive.

Let me start by saying I support the idea of the GamerChix, at least overall I support the idea. It's great that they're trying to bring more girls into gaming and get rid of the stigma attached to being a gamer.  As a man, gaming has put stress on relationships, or at I'll bored a girl to death with my stories of my latest Xbox Live moment. I love that they want to get more invovled in playing online, not cuz I want more girls online, but because Xbox Live is awesome. If you play games, have an Xbox or Xbox 360, I would recommend you use Xbox Live whether you're a girl or guy. I think they should have their own forum, it's a great way to communicate within the community and get together to play. So in all seriousness, it's a good idea, promotes gaming, and helps girls feels ok about being gamers. So good luck with that. Great interview Trixie, you're hilarious, and I think you love Dirty Diva way more than me, she's my idol (haha) not someone I want to have a love child with.

Now let's get into the thick of it. I think segregating yourself out and making the distinction that you're somehow different isn't what you want to do in the first place. Sure, it's meant to be fun and get chicks more involved in gaming, and I know you all still play with guys, but there's an issue there. How far would/will the women's lib movement have gone if men weren't allowed to help? That's is an extreme comparison, but it's something to think about, or not.  In another way they do have the support of guys, it's up to us to educate the idiots that girls like to play games, and can actually be good at them.  I know I've had friends who joined me then left cuz they didn't want to play with a girl that was in my room, even though most of the time the girl's better than me.

If Major Nelson said he was starting a gaming group just for men, we got our own forums, our own forum icon, what would the reaction to that be? Probably not good. On the other hand, there's no justifiable need for such a thing, like Trixie said guys have Xbox Live. Let's be real guys, even if you're a nice normal person, you know how the girls get treated online. I've always played with girls, since a few weeks after being on Live, and the experience is always good. I constantly run into girls, especially on arcade games, and they're just fun to play with. They don't trash talk, at least not excessively, you just have a good conversation and tease each other. So much love to all my gamer girl friends and bloggers. Now here's one thing I have a problem with. The GamerChix have their own forum, which they should, but the Xbox Ambassadors were supposed to get their own forum too. Fast forward a few months from the start of that program, there's no forum, but the GamerChix forum goes up right away. That's kinda whack, like the GamerChix program is getting such a priority it's crazy. I feel like the ambassador program is just dead, and the sad thing is that since the last free silver period, I've gotten friend requests from 3 or more silver members. So I just think that's something that needs to be addressed.

Other than that, much love, good luck with the program, and if I run into any of GamerChix on live, I will do my best not to get my butt kicked. In my experience, a lot of the girls I've played are really good, and they pwn me. Yes, that does hurt my manly pride, but I deal with it.

Well if you read my last blog you'll know that I didn't preorder Dead Rising.  Yeah, these kids on all the forums I visit always say preordering is a waste of time, they never have problems getting games.  Well you must live in a city of 10 people, because not preordering Dead Rising was a huge mistake.  Yes, I did get the game when it came out, but allow me to fill you in one the quest that took place just to be able to kill zombies.  (btw, I really want to a review of this game, look for it sometime this weekend as I'd like to get a another hour or so of gameplay in first)

So I drove into work on Wednesday so I could head off to try and get the game, hell I even brought a change of clothes so I could be comfy in case I had to really search for the game.  I head off to my local EB Games which is very close to where I live, and sure enough they only have preorders in stock.  Thank God there's a Target in that shopping center, only they don't have any copies either.  So I decide to head off to what I refer to as the capital of suburban hell, Rockville Md.  For you big nerds, yes that's where Bethesda Game Studios is located.  In Rockville there's 2 malls, tons of stores, and total of 6 game stores.  My plan of attack, drive out to the northern most relevant store and work my way south,. so Best Buy here I come, and Best Buy here I go, you didn't have the game.  Off to Circuit City, and again no luck.  Now I'm thinking well Tower Records has games, and it's next in line, but no luck there either.  So far I've been to 5 stores, moving south I finally come upon the first game store, Gamestop.  Of course the nerdy employees aren't about to sell me someone's reserved copy (come on guys) but the girl who works there was nice and told me she knew another location had some earlier and she called them for me.  Shockingly they said that they had some in stock, so I head to what would've been my next location because they have the game ( I actually considered starting there but moving north to south made the most sense).  Well I get to the EB Games in the mall and uber cool guy with the Nintendo controller belt buckle tells me he doesn't have any, only pre-orders.  So I tell him I just had Gamestop call over and someone said they had some, so now he's gonna get me his manager. The manager finishes with his customer and I explain the situation, and that this is like the 6th or 7th store I've been to looking for this, but this guy seems cool.  We kinda start talking about the importance of pre-ordering which leads to just general game discussion.  So he tells me he's got one copy of the game, and it's reserved, I kinda talk to him and bitch about how much trouble it is to get this game.  So he tells me he'll sell me the game, if I preorder Madden from his store, yeah they do get some incentive for Madden preorders, I asked.  He even told me I could cancel the preorder, just do it and I'll get Dead Rising.  So of course I preorder Madden, and get my game.

So listen to me, if you really want a game, PREORDER IT!!!

Well I haven't blogged since the upgrade to Windows Live, I was just kinda confused for a minute there, give me a break, I'm blonde.  So what's the topic of the day?  Why Dead Rising of course.

Well Dead Rising was finally released today, and man am I excited.  For some reason I didn't preorder it, but I always hear people on forums saying they never preorder and don't have any problems getting games so I guess I'll be testing this theory.  If you haven't played the demo, hurry and download it.  Even with the lack of any mission or interaction with any other people in the game, it's still fun.  I played it like 8 times, and that's a lot for me and a demo.  Surprisingly there is already FREE DLC for this game on marketplace.  There's a download to unlock some more clothes, that's cool I guess.  This kind of opens up the issue that had been circulating in the gaming community.  Developers shipping games with DLC completed, or not including certain features just to make a little extra cash.  Yes, horse armor was dumb, but at least it seemed like stupid first attempt at extra content.  I'm really worried that dev's are going to come up with some cool idea and instead of putting it in a game, they'll decide to release it later to make money.  That kind of stuff really pisses me off, but only time will tell