I was lucky enough to get a copy of Burnout for the 360 last night after work. I had pre-ordered both Burnout and Oblivion from Mediaplay.com about a month ago and I got an email yesterday from them telling me since they are both pre-orders they were not going to ship me Burnout till Oblivion arrived, which is 11 days from now.

Frustrated with Mediaplay I went ahead and ran to Hollywood video after work to pick up a copy. They were completely out. I hit up Walmart next and they were also out, but with luck I ran into Game Stop and got the last copy just seconds before someone asked about the game at the register.

I logged in and played single player for a few hours and had a blast, the graphics are amazing on the game. The are pumped up quite a bit from the original version on the Xbox and PS2, which is especially noticable on a HD TV. Another thing that was enhanced quite a bit that I had not seen noted before were the sounds. They were much clearer and more representative of what things would actually sound like.

I decided to try online and played that for another 2 hours, netting 5 wins and 2 losses which put my rank at about 780 when I went to sleep. When I came back today to play I found my rank at 3840. BAH. Well After three wins and one loss I hit the magic number. My current World Rank is 666. Fear me opponents for I am doom. :)

Click the image to view a short video of the rank, heh.

It is unfortunate that I can not lock my rank at what it is, but that would defeat the whole purpose of ranking. Oh well, one more match and I loose my magic number. I suppose I could aim for 69 eh ? :)

I am sure some of you have seen this before but I found this quite amusing. Can you press the button and stop before you get to the end ? :)

More info on Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach. Just took some quick 20 seconds video clips of two things that I thought were pretty cool in the game.
The first is a spell effect that is caused by a Kobold Shaman. It is chaos sometimes. At one point there were six of these orbs of darkness all over at the bottom of a cliff and on the top of a ledge, people were falling like flies.

The second is of one of the traps in the game. Lots of different traps and I love it. There are nasty blades that cut people down, spikes, and then these contraptions. Thats not even talking about Acid, Fire, Force, and Lightning traps.

Just click on an image to download the video. Both are under 5MB and compressed using divx 6.1.1. Game settings are on the highest quality and the videos are pretty high quality as well.

Monday night I was lucky enough to get into a group of higher leveled players with one of my friends and we did a few of the higher instances in the game. We ran through Redwillow which was a breeze, though our highest level had bad luck and died 5 times. No one else was taken out though luckily. As soon as we completed Redwillow we headed to Stormcleave, which was quite fun. I actually went ahead and recorded a video of the final boss in Stormcleave, General Xanti’lar. The video covers distracting the boss, and then taking out all the elements behind the barriers, followed by quickly killing the General Himself. :)

Download Here
Download Mirror1

Click on the image if you want to download the video. The video is 56 meg and compressed with divx 6.1.1. It is about 11 minutes long and covers from the rest shrine before the boss all the way up to looting the treasure chest after he is killed. :)

As I posted originaly, still loving the game. Looking forward to taking on a dragon or beholder and posting about it.

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For those who did not know, Dungeons and Dragons Online is officially out. The servers are launched and people who have purchased that game are now playing it. Though only people who pre-orderd it. The headstart event ends March 5th. The servers came up Friday morning and filled up quickly. Quick enough for Turbine to put soft population caps to spread people out.

I am enjoying the game quite a bit. It is wonderful to play an online game that includes many elements from single player games. Here is a screenshot from one of the puzzles from early on in the game:

Almost hit level 3 while playing over the weekened and have a friend who is half way through level 5. Not sure how the end-game content is yet since I have not reached it but I am hoping it is good since currently level 10 is the cap and it does not appear that it is going to take too long to hit it. I will do an actual review on the game after I have played it a while longer and have a better idea of the content over all. So far it is looking good and the community in the game is fabulous. :)

For anyone awake right now and interested. Woot is having a Woot off.

This is my first and I have been waiting for one for a while. For those who miss out, too bad. The first item sold out in about 2 minutes.

The first item was a mystery 6.1 speaker set for 29.99.

First off, the main topic of this post was going to be on the new Nintendo DS. Yes, yes, all of you out there are going “But Cory, the Nintendo DS is not new, that is suuuuuch old news.” Not the one I am posting on. Nintedo has officially announced three colors for the new Nintendo DS Lite.

The DS Lite will be launching in Japan on March 2nd, and thanks to it being Region-free, unlike the PSP, PS2, Xbox, Xbox360, Gamecube, and all other consoles that means people locally can import it from somewhere like Lik-sang.com on the day it is released in japan and play all their NTSC games on a lighter DS with a brighter screen.

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In the past few days information has come out that finally lays to rest some of the wonders of countless future PS3 owners. For the past year Sony has remained very quiet on their online plans for the Playstation 3, either saying there were no plans for a centralized service or saying nothing at all, which left many fans worrying that the Playstation 3 was going to see the same online fate as the Playstaton 2. Little to no game support. This probably would not have hurt the Playstaton 3 sales as much as some people expect, but it would also have been a huge weak spot when compared to the current Xbox live service on the 360.

Thanks to the March issue of Playstation Magazine, if the information proves to be accurate, many fans can sigh in relief knowing that Sony has plans to not only create a competing service to Xbox live, but to create a service that will go above and beyond all that Xbox live does. “Matching the Xbox live 360 feature for feature and then some.”

I have decided to cover some of the possibilities of what the, “and then some” just might be. Since Sony has taken such a drastic change in how they are going to address their online roadmap, mabey they will have some other features just as drastic.

Possible Playstation Network exclusive features:

1. The Xbox Eliminator button. When Sony said they are going to do a “full-on assault” on Xbox live they meant it literally. With a single press of this button it will turn your PS3 or even your PSP into a Xbox network wrecking machine. You can dedicate your precious online bandwith to not only playing games against others but to help your PS3 actively search for Xbox network adapters, which it will proceed to take down with any methods possible. Your PSP, once it has initialliy linked with your PS3, will become a portable Xbox eradicator. Future updates to this might even include the ability to take out Nintendo DS networks, helping Sony kick Nintendo while it is down.
2. After watching the latest Austin Powers movie, and taking from the order a pizza idea from Everquest 2, all games will incorperate the order a Baby function. Sony believes that it has hugely underestimated the baby eating market and will not “make the same mistake twice”. This will be usable from the Sony Network service main UI in addition to built into all games. Playing the newest Elder Scrolls chapter and get hungry ? Run yourself to the nearest tavern and order yourself a baby, it will be delivered straight to your house, served as the user chooses. No need to even return to the main network service menu. Sony will not limit this just to a generic American item though and has stated that in China there will be three different varieties of cat at launch, and dogs will be added in the first major network update.
3. A completely new service, exclusive to the Playstation Three version of Grand Theft Auto 4: New Orleans, and made possible with the new connectivity from the Playstation Network. *Order a hooker. Go to your nearest hooker on the corner in the game and it will charge directly to your credit card. Within 30 minutes to an hour you will have one at your doorstep. This feature will be a major seller for all those gamers who just dont have the motivation to, as quoted on many gaming forums, “Go out, get a life, and meet a woman all you stupid, lame, moron, fucking retarded loosers.” If you are a lonely man, a housewife looking to spice things up for your husband, or a grandma looking to help your grandson have his first sexual experience, this feature is for you. It will expand the market to entierly new demographics. *The quality and looks of your hooker cannot be guarenteed. Rockstar takes no responcibility for the woman or man-woman that shows up.

I do not know about you, but I am looking forward to the endless possibilities. I look forward to future information, and shall present any groundbreaking news here. Babies, hacking, and hookers. How could Sony go wrong.

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I am loving the look of these products. It is so bothersome when you have to use multiple powerstrips because you have big bulky powerblocks covering up two, and somtimes even three, outlets. I have used filled up a seven slot power strip with just three devices many times. Thanks to products like the following two though there are other options. Its good to see some design innovation in the stagnant power-strip market. It is amazing there have not been a lot more products such as these around with computers and electronics being such a huge part of our daily lives.

This first one is called the Swivelsocket power supply. Each socket is completly adjustable, and has a dial to identify what is plugged into it. Can not seem to find a price for this one though.

This second one is the one I am more interested in.

It is known as the powersquid, and there are four different models avaliable. The highest model is the one I am displaying. Two of the sockets light up with LEDs and it offers over 3000 Joules of protection. It has an audible alarm as well if any problems occur. This highest model is $80, which is not too bad. Each step down takes 10$ off the price making the lowest end one just $49.99, which still offers 1000 Joules of protection. Pretty interesting concept and just though I would throw this info up here. These are not currently for sale yet, but they are on pre-order for sometime this year.

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Many may not have heard of phase change cooling before but it is one of the best way to keep a computer cool short of submerging it in liquid nitrogen. The way it works is a compressor sucks gaseous Freon from an evaporator. The pressure is increased until the Freon changes to liquid. A inline radiator will dispose of the heat generated from the compression as a capillary tube lowers the pressure while the liquid Freon travels back to the evaporator. The entire process of turing the liquid back into gas uses the heat from your processor, that you are trying to get rid of to begin with. All of this results in temperatures as low as -30c. You can keep temperatures as steady as -25 while doing 1Ghz+ overclocks.

The main problem with all of this is that due to the technology used and the limited number of vendors supplying solutions, for years it has been in the price range of 850-1200$. The systems that include it are also pretty hideous looking in my opinion, compared to normal case options now avaliable.

At CES this year the company OCZ made an announcement that should completly change the Phase Change market. They will be introducing to the market a phase changing system named Cyro-Z that can be used with almost any case. In addition it will retail at only 299$ and they want to try to bring it down to 200$ as soon as increased sales volume allows it. Luckily the system is not only resonably priced but stylish looking. Due to the lesser cost you will not be able to open the unit up and change the cooling fluid but that is a very small negative considering that with the stock offering you will be looking at temperatures of -25 and below. Here is looking to a good year for technology.

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R.I.P Working Designs. I say farewell today to one of the few companies in the gaming industry that was bringing unique and classic RPG games from Japan to America. *Prepare for a long post with a lot of screenshots.*

They were bringing things that would never have seen the light in the States. Without them I would never have lost 160 hours of my life into Lunar: Silver Star, and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete. I would not have been able to play Aludra or Growlanser. So thank you Working Designs for all the things you did manage to bring over, and not only bring over but enhance upon. Not only did they bring great RPG games to our shores but they went above and beyond the call releasing them with exceptional additional content that the Japanese releases did not have. They released the games in packaging with style and class seldom found in games anymore. For those who do not know what they brought to this market I include a list of their games in this farewell from oldest to newest on consoles ranging from the TurboGrafx-16 all the way up to the PS2.

1991 - Cadash
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1992 - Exile
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1992 - Lunar: Silver Star
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1993 - Vasteel
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1993 - Exile: Wicked Phenomenon
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1994 - Popful Mail (One of the first games with a real boss battle ever.)
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1994 - Vay
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1994 - Lunar: Eternal Blue
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1995 - Shining Wisdom
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1996 - Iron Storm
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1996 - Dragon Force
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1997 - Sega Ages
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1997 - Alundra
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1998 - Elemental Gearbolt
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1998 - Magic Knight Rayearth
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1999 - Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
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1999 - Silhouette Mirage
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2000 - RayCrisis: Series Termination (Screenshots from GameSpot)
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2000 - Vanguard Bandits(Screenshots from RPGGamer)
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2000 - Gungriffon Blaze
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2001 - Arc the Lad: The Collection
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2000 - Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete
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2001 - Silpheed: The Lost Planet
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2004 - Growlanser: Generations

It is very unfortunate that they have had to shut their doors, and I see this as a huge hit to the Japanese -> American market. Nearly every single one of the games they brought over was a treasure to many american RPG gamers from some of the very first consoles created. They stated that Sony would not allow them to bring all of the games they truly wanted to bring over as one of the reasons things ended how they did. One can only hope a company will pop-up and take over where they left off in the market bringing such games here, though with the way the market is, focusing on sequals and non-risky ventures, hopes are slim.

Christmas time + MMO with low security + Hacker = Fun times.

What happens when you release a MMORPG onto the market with a code base with very bad security? Below is an example of one of the many things that becomes possible. :)
Hilarity Ensues. :) Was a fun little blast I had when all of this occured about 2 weeks ago. This is from a game recently released called Rose Online. Instead of doing most things server side most things are done client side, so it allows hacks and things like this to happen.

I figured I would make my first post related to a game I spent a countless number of hours playing last year and the start of this year. This is a screenshot is of a warrior who can pretty much decimate any and all people who challenge him in the game of World of Warcraft. He is so known on our server(Kil’Jaeden) that he gets interrupted constantly no matter what he is doing with challenges from Horde. Rogues challenge him with ambushes, and promptly die, mages challenge him with sheep, and even more promptly die. Warlocks challenge him with fear, and end up running in fear themselves. Even shadow priests decked out in epic and PVP gear attempt to down him and get taken out. The success of 40 person raids into Molten Core hinge on him being there. A run with 7 failures can turn into success the second he arrives. I will not even go into battlegrounds with him present.

I just wish far more alliance warriors played like him. Would make a lot of things easier, but would make my job as a mage in PVP a lot harder if I had to actually fight people who knew how to play like he does. There are just so many little things that make a good warrior that people ca not comprehend. Do not want to be in range of someone, and need to get away quickly? Charge a rabbit in the opposite direction. Enemy fear or mind control you off a cliff? Intercept right back up it to their suprise.

I will go more into detail on the game, itself instead of just praise on a single warrior, later. Just figured I would start my first post about the very first thing I think of when I think of WoW(World of Warcraft), and that is typically Guts and one of his escapades.

Translation for non-WoW players: He 0wnez n00bs, mobs, and elite players alike.
Translation for non-techsavvy/gamer people: The chap above is quite a fellow, his skills are exceptional and put to shame most others whom he comes in contact with on a daiernal basis.
Translation for really old people: Why…. back when he was your age… he walked up the hill to boot camp both ways through the snow, sleet, and hail, and even when he was asleep he was dreaming about it. Besides, what are you doing on a computer?
Translation for women: So yeah, he became a salesman of Coach purses, and his deals were amazing. He undercut the prices of everyone else by 50% bringing you your coach products faster and cheaper than anyone.

Note: Most of my posts will be game related. Reviews, screenshots of things I think are cool in games I play, info on upcoming games and why I think they will be awesome, and occasionaly info on game mods. I will also dedicate some posts to utterly horrid games that should never have been developed let alone talked about or refered to.

My Gamertag: