You know that video that Halo 3 minitage I expected to have finished by Christmas? Well, that never happened. I quit playing Halo 3 for several weeks so the clips I expected to have to finish the minitage never happened. I finally finished the video for you guys to watch. I spent a lot more time on this video then the others and I worked on syncing which was really new to me. About 30 seconds of the video was done a little sloppily and you can probably tell which parts those were. I just wanted to get the video finished. :p
Today, after reading an article on one of forums I participate in, decided to download the Wii and GameCube emulator known as Dolphin. Now, before you decide to hang me for using somewhat sketchy software that is normally used to play games without buying them, let me explain myself. Simply, I just wanted to see how far the emulator has come since it was first released and see how well my new computer is able to run some current Wii games. I plan on purchasing a Wii by the end of 2010 and don’t want to ruin my experience with the console by playing a bunch of illegally downloaded games on an emulator.
After downloading Dolphin you have to setup some plug-ins which might be a little difficult for the average user but after tweaking some settings I was ready to try out a Wii game. Dolphin allows for all the Wii remote controls to be easily used via your keyboard. It even allows buttons for shaking in different directions. I decided to test out Dolphin on New Super Mario Bros. Wii which was recently released on November 15th, 2009. I set my resolution to 1280 by 720 and started up the game. The controls worked well because the game has such simple controls to begin with. Now, for some reason, the game seems to run at about 75% speed no matter what I changed the settings to. The frame rate was solid but I guess that is just how the emulator works. I might test it with another game at some other point.
Here is the video.
This program has improved drastically since I tried it out about a year ago and it is quite impressive that it even exists in the first place. Being able to up the resolution of Wii games makes the amazing artwork found in good Wii games even better. I wonder if we’ll see emulators for both the 360 and the PS3 down the road? I guess we’ll see in a couple years.
Two nights ago I started downloading Batman: AA off of Steam to test out my new computer rig and I was curious about the game. I had played the demo on the 360 but I didn’t think the game would be good enough for a purchase until the price dropped to about $30 next year. Well, I received a Christmas bonus from where I work and decided to splurge and purchase it. I started the download at about 1 in the morning and it didn’t finish till about 4:30 A.M.. My sleep schedules was already messed up so I decided to play for one hour and then get to sleep. I then finished the game the next night in one sitting with some brownies and milk.
All I have to say is that this game is amazing. I went in with moderate expectations and refused to accept all the reviews I had read saying how good Batman: AA was. It is the best single-play campaign that I have played this year. The story develops meticulously and had me captive at my keyboard until the credits. The graphics are very impressive but the faces are a little strange. One complaint I have against the game would be such the emphasis on using the detective vision mode that there are certain segments of the game that I have no clue what color scheme they used. It would be nice if there was some median between normal vision and detective vision.
Along the way you can solve riddles and find trophies left by the Riddler himself. I haven’t collected that many but I plan on returning to my completed game and collecting as many as I can for the achievement points… At least I’ll be unlocking more challenge stages as well. That is a pretty good incentive.
If you’re looking for a great single-player experience or are a Batman fan you should definitely pick it up for your PC or console.
Here is a video of me playing the first Predator Challenge Stage.
If you had a couple hours free Saturday night and love videogames you should have been watching the Video Game Awards on Spike TV. Within the first five minutes, a sequel to Arkham Asylum was announced. From the short teaser it seems that all the action will be taking outside of the asylum and in the city. Two Face is also expected to make an appearance based on the the image on the official website.
A trailer for Crackdown 2 was shown. I really couldn’t tell what was going on. It is going to take place in a new city filled with zombies? That is all I could take away from it.
To be honest, the main reason I was watching was to the see the first footage of Halo: Reach. While the video didn’t show any actual gameplay, I was still blown away by the in- game cutscene. The graphics are vastly improved and it feels grittier than any other Halo game released. Oh, and playing with other Spartans? Yeah, that’s awesome. If you haven’t seen the video yet… Check it out.
If you want to see more all the content released during the VGA’s, just head over to Game Trailers and watch them in HD.
I haven’t posted on here in a little while and thought I should at least update this lonely site with something. I had a very slow Thanksgiving this year. My grandparents came down to visit the family from Missouri and we hung out just like usual. We hung up Christmas lights while they were here so our house is officially decorated for the big holiday.
I recently got a iPhone 3GS and I have to say, it is far more impressive then I thought it would be. I went into the AT@T store just wanting to get a blackberry without a data plan and walked out with a iPhone with a data plan. They must pay their employees very well because all their smooth talking worked… Anyways, it really is a great phone. I have downloaded several apps but there are so many it is hard to figure out which ones are actually worth trying. I remember reading a list on threevue listing a number of iPhone apps. I’ll have to go search for it.
I’m currently working on Halo 3 another minitage. The difference between the others and this one though is the fact I am actually taking my time to make it interesting to watch. Editing, syncing etc.. It’ll be a lot better than my other ones and is about half way finished. I just need about another six clips and I’ll be set. Hopefully, I’ll be finished with it before Christmas.
I picked up Left 4 Dead 2 during the Black Friday madness for only $40. I also was able to get GTA IV for $10 at Wal Mart. My friend found it hidden behind several shelves and it was the last copy around. I haven’t been able to really get into L4D2. Every time I get into a game my teammates are ridiculously bad and then, when they die, they just quit out. I haven’t been able to finish one flippin campaign! I’ll give it a little more time and check out the new Scavenger mode and write an opinion of the game later.
That is basically it. I have some more stuff that I might share later. But, for now, I’m going to say goodbye. Peace.
If you didn’t know, Bungie.net has been offering video rendering of clips in your file share in Halo 3 if you have a Bungie Pro Subscription and have enough render minutes. I decided to try out the feature because you can render them in 720p which would look very nice for any videos that I wanted to make in the future. I renewed Bungie Pro and purchased 50 render minutes for $5. That sounds great doesn’t it? But there is a catch. If you are going to render your films in 360p it is a 1 render minute for any film 1 minute or under. For 720p it is 5 render minutes per minute. So, basically, you can record 10 clips for 5 bucks which isn’t really worth the price in my opinion. It would be more cost effective to purchase a HD capture card in the long run.
I used up most of the minutes with some average clips and put them in a video for your viewing pleasure. I’m going to be playing more social slayer for some easy montage clips. Make sure to watch in HD! Oh, also, the tribute is more of a joke about someone I extremely dislike. If you ever meet a girl named Brett Barrington… just do yourself a favor… turn around and walk quickly in the opposite direction. :p
So, I played through the L4D2 Demo on my PC yesterday. It was an interesting experience to say the least. I had already played the demo on my 360 with just three AI partners and it had been super easy. They would stick with me and provide support and I hardly ever got hurt for more than a few seconds. I had that mentality going into this demo and I died twice because of it… Next time, I’m letting everyone else go first.
Anyways, the gameplay is just the say as the L4D with added guns, abilities, melee weapons and special infected. The new guns are really neat. I really liked the AK-47 that I got to use playing through on the 360 but the M-16 was pretty close in comparison. The machete is great for taking out a large group of mobbing zombies. Especially, if your teammate has been boomed or something.
To be honest, I don’t really understand what the adrenaline shot does. I would inject myself with it but I didn’t notice anything. I think you run faster and can reload quicker?
I’ll be picking up L4D2 if I can get some of my friends to get it as well. It isn’t a game you want to play alone.
When I was about eight I had my first attempt at the 40-60 hour campaign of Final Fantasy VII. I made it all the way to the second disk but got lost and the disc got ruined. I remember the guy with the yellow hair being awesome and a guy with a gun for a hand and a friendly red wolf. There was a battle with a giant machine and you got to drive a motorcycle and slash people with your giant sword. A couple years ago I made a second attempt at the game on a Playstation emulator for the PC and got farther than I did when I was eight (obviously) but when I reformatted my computer I forgot to back up my save file. That was over eight hours of gameplay!
A few weeks ago I randomly decided to download FFVII from the PSN. I endured through the first eight hours that I had already played through twice and actually enjoyed it more than the other times. The story is really good and since I’ve gotten into new segments it has gotten even better. I’m thinking of grinding about ten levels that way the enemies around me will be rather easy to beat and I’ll have a ton of money. So far, I haven’t died yet which is weird considering how hard I thought the game used to be.
I’m hoping to finish the game by the end of the year by just playing a few hours a week or when I’m bored with everything else that I have to play.
Halo 3
I have been playing a lot of Halo 3. It is basically the only thing I play on my 360 lately. I’m hoping to improve enough so that I can compete with a team in the amateur bracket at a MLG tournament next year. I have a lot more work to do if I don’t want to get dominated in the first round.
I ordered a pair of FPS Freeks which add about a half-inch of length to your controller joysticks. This allows the sticks to be moved with less effort and has made my aiming a lot smoother. What I lack when playing online is consistency which I hope will be improved with these at least a little bit.
Other News…
I have playing a fair amount of Left 4 Dead on my PC which has been really cool. I am getting pretty pumped for the Left 4 Dead 2. I probably won’t be able to get it right away but after playing the demo I will definitely be picking it up before Christmas. I played the demo on my 360 first which was great experience… I got to try out a bunch of different weapons and experiment as much as I wanted with AI partners. Now, I played the demo on my PC with three other people which was almost a complete disaster. I was distracted and my team mates… oh my team mates. Anyways, I recorded the play through and will be uploading it along with more of my thoughts hopefully by tomorrow. I’m kind of embarrassed on how bad I did but whatever.
I made another short video with Halo 3 clips that I needed to get off my hard drive but didn’t have the heart to delete. It is only three minutes but there are a couple cool clips worth seeing… at least I think so.
Over the weekend, I was in Dallas at the latest MLG event. At the event, Bungie setup time periods where you could sign up and try out Firefight in Halo 3:ODST. My friend, Stephen and I, got to play at 2:30 on Saturday. Man, I was impressed. Before trying it out, I had assumed it would be something similar to the Horde mode that is found in Gears of War 2. And, while it is similar, it also has an entirely different feel. You start out by picking your character and level and then we hopped straight in for fifteen minutes of intense action. I don’t know what the name of the map was but it was set in an urban environment in New Mombasa (I’m guessing). The ODST visor change is set to the equipment button, you can easily switch back between the two. We faced a couple waves of Jackals and Grunts but were soon attacked by invisible Brutes and a Wraith causing mass panic between the four of us. Oh yeah, let us not forget the annoying Drone swarms…
Conserving ammo is a must. I died once on purpose just so I could get guns that actually had ammunition in them. The silenced, scoped SMG is feels great and the new pistols feels almost exactly like the original Halo:CE pistol. My favorite pistol of all time.
Afterwards, Stephen and I got a picture with Shiska from Bungie.
Posted by Joshua Pohl 
