Wednesday, January 27, 2010

iPad

The much anticipated Apple "tablet" was announced today.  The iPad.  Basically a giant iPhone/iTouch.
 
I want one.
 
I'm a tech freak and I've been waiting for this thing.  $499 for the 16gb version, $599 for the 32gb and $699 for the 64gb.  Not bad.  Cheaper than I was anticipating.  If you want 3G support (service to be provided by AT&T on a NO contract basis), add another $130.  So I'm looking at $829 for the top of the line model.  I can live with that.
 
Now I have to ask myself if I should cave and get this upon release (in about 90 days for the 3G models, 60 days for wi-fi only) or do the "smart" thing and wait until next year when a better version is released with cool new features, better specs, and some of the initial kinks worked out.
 
What to do, what to do?!?!?!
 

Friday, January 8, 2010

Ridiculous 1st Quarter for 2010

Ah, the good old first quarter of a year.  A time when a gamer can recover from the onslaught of games released during the holiday season.  A time for the wallet to heal.  A time to maybe purchase some of the games you weren't able to pick last year, to fill in the void left by the complete lack of quality releases.
 
Well, not this f'ing year!
 
The release calendar for the first four months of this season is absolutely crazy.  Here are just the games that have my interest.  I'm adding an asterisk next to my absolute must-have, day one purchases.
 
1/26 - Mass Effect 2*
2/2 - Lost Planet 2
2/9 - Bioshock 2*
2/23 - Heavy Rain
2/23 - Splinter Cell: Conviction*
3/2 - Battlefield: Bad Company 2
3/9 - Final Fantasy XIII
3/16 - God of War III*
4/27 - Red Dead Redemption*
5/2 - Mafia II
 
I think that is more quality releases in one first quarter than the last four 1st quarters combined.  Wow.
 
A quick note.  Out of all titles listed, Heavy Rain is the only original IP.  All the others are sequels.  I think 75% of all the games I've purchased over the last few years have been sequels.  It is getting riskier and riskier for developers to come out with new original content.  People want the tried and true route.
 
I'm very intrigued by Heavy Rain, simply because it is trying something unique and different.  I don't think it is going to be mind blowing (nor a commercial success unfortunately), but it will be a nice change of pace.  I was very impressed early on, but I've been less impress with some of the latest movies I've seen.  The character dialogue and "acting" seems a little stiff.  As does the lip-syncing.  Hope it is all ironed out by release.
 
Well, time to start saving!
 

Just chiming in . . .

Being the incredibly lazy, inconsistent and procrastinating blogger that I am, here's my first post of 2010 (and first one in over a month!).  Happy New Year everybody!  :\
 
On the gaming front, I'm still churning away on MW2, trying to keep my kill/death ratio above 1.40.  The game is still a blast to play and I continue to be totally inconsistent in my performance.  Last night I went 24-2 in one match and followed it by going 8-14.  WTF?
 
I'm very happy with the recent patch that nerfed the 1887 Akimbo combo.  That particular set-up was practically ruining my experience, since it would be an automatic one-shot kill from practically any distance without the need to aim.  C'mon!!!
 
Right now I still have two pet peeves.  First, the freakin' Commando perk that lets you knife opponents from like 10 feet away.  It has the same effect as Halo's energy sword, where you basically lock on and fly towards an opponent, except that you don't need to hold your cursor over the opponent for a second to lunge, it is instant.  And annoying.  I'm not totally against the Commando Perk.  I just don't think that a knife should win in a gun fight if both opponents are facing each other and one guy is shooting with a freaking ballistics weapon!  If I get knifed in the back, that is fine.  Even with the 10 foot lunge.  If I get knifed in the front before I see the guy and can react, I can let it go.  But if I see the person running towards me and I begin to unload on him with my freakin' machine gun, then he should not be able to lunge at me and get the instant kill.  F you Infinity Ward!  You should take a lesson from Epic and the GoW2 chainsaw.  If you get shot while going in for the "melee" kill, then the bullets stop your forward momentum.  That's it.  That's all I want added to the Commando Perk.  Keep the 10 foot lunge.  But if I shoot you mid-lunge, then you better stop in your tracks!
 
Alright, now that I got that off my chest, my second pet peeve is the damn Riot Shield.  I hate this thing.  Damn you again Infinity Ward!  Is there a way to kill some fool who is crouched down and charging you with one of these things?  Sure, you can sticky them with grenade, if you have one.  Blinding them with a flashbang works, but that is a bad technique if they are right in front of you.  You're just a likely to blind yourself.  I end up futilely shooting at the guy while he bonks me over the head with his stupid shield!  Argh!!!  I hate you guys!
 
Ok, enough MW2.  I've actually been playing a lot of Madden 2010 recently, if you can believe it.  With the latest patches I've found a set of sliders that I've enjoyed.  I started a new Dolphins franchise and I am currently 2-1.  Game is still a ways off from being the total NFL experience, but it is serviceable this year with good sliders.  That's a start.
 
I've also played some 1 vs 100 and participated in the Live game this past Tuesday.  I'm a sucker for trivia so it is enjoyable, although all the commercials get annoying.
 
And that's about it on the gaming front.  Have plenty of games left to finish, which I might never get to.  Mass Effect 2 at the end of the month, although I'm not too excited at this point, although I know it is a day 1 purchase for me.
 
Oh, I should have my GotY 2009 post up . . . umm, sometime before the end of the year.
 
Hope to catch Avatar this weekend.  I've been reluctant to go since I can't stand crowded theaters and lines anymore.  Man I am getting old.  The movie has already made over a billion dollars word-wide.  Wow.  James Cameron is money in the bank.  Will this guy ever have a problem getting funding for a movie ever again in his life?  His movies basically print money for the studio.