Pac-Man+Fashion=???

Pac-Man has now been incorporated into fashion. Hit the link for more pictures.



Link, Via Dvice.com

Civilization IV: Colonization - My Thoughts

I have been a long time Colonization fan. When I heard that they were remaking the game I was very excited, this was something I had been waiting for for a long time. The original Colonization was one of those games that was fun but also had some big time annoyances that hindered the experience. This remake has fixed all of those.

So far there are only two things that have been removed that I miss from the original game. The first is the “go-to” command. The other is when you tell your ships to head to the new world from Europe, you can't pull it back if you accidentally send the ship.

My only other complaints with the game is that the music is not as good as it was in Civ 4, and you can't make a colonist work if he has half a turn and it does not tell you this. The first time it happened to me I thought it was a glitch in the game.

Now for what I like, of which there is a lot.

• Everything has been stream lined, you can load and unload cargo with 2 clicks of the mouse.

• The way you get Founding Fathers is awesome. If you do lots of trading it will be easier to get economic founding fathers. Same if you are doing lots of fighting you will have an easier time getting military minded founding fathers.

• The king has been made out to appear mean. The way he looks and the sound work together nicely

• When you give into the king and kiss his ring, it makes you feel weak for giving into him.

• The natives no longer randomly attack you. They also no longer attack every treasure wagon they see.

• No DRM besides needing the disk to play, not even an install code.

• The $29.99 price point is nice break.

Overall I think this is a very well done remake of the original game, if you were a fan of that this is a must buy game. If you have never played a Colonization game now would be a great time to try one out.

Civilization IV: Colonization Unboxing

I just picked up Civilization IV: Colonization and did an unboxing video. I will post my thoughts of the game once I have had some more time with it.

Watch Youtube, Hulu on your PS3 Or 360

One of the biggest problems with websites like Hulu.com are that the videos are stuck on your computer. That is no longer a problem with this little program called PlayOn. PlayOn is a small piece of software that you run a computer connected to the same network as your Ps3 or 360. Once it is installed it allows you to stream videos from Hulu, CBS, YouTube, or ESPN to your 360 or PS3. The only draw backs of this program is that it is still in beta, and that it's only free for 60 days after that it's $30.

Personally it only worked to stream videos from ESPN, but I'm sure if I worked on it a little I could get other sites to work. The video quality for ESPN is not very good but it's better then nothing. Installing it took no more then ten minutes. It's definitely something to keep an eye on to see what happens in the future.


[Found on TECKH]

Bungiegate

As I was watching Microsoft's E3 Press conference what I found to be the biggest surprise was not something that was announced, but rather something that was not talked about. That would be Bungie's next game. All signs pointed to an E3 announcement, they talked about it on their podcast, they teased it on Bungie day, then even went so far to to start a count down for it. But it never happened. Soon after it was revealed that Microsoft pulled it from their press conference because they wanted to "save time." For some reason I really doubt Microsoft would pull such a things for the sake of time. I think there is more then what we are hearing. One reason could be that once Microsoft had seen what Sony and Nintendo announced they realized that they were the winners of E3 this year. They could have then decided to delay the announcement for a time when they needed it to take back the limelight from Sony or Nintendo. Another reason for this is that Bungie was not ready, now I know that this is a stretch, but let's say for some reason or another Bungie thought they were ready and then found out they need more time. Do they really want to deal with the backlash of teasing for an announcement then backing out because or there inability to provide. Or would it be better for Microsoft, a company that is already hated by many to take the fall and save face for Bungie. Either way I still wonder why Bungie, who "loves" us, and is independent would not make the announcement any way. I'll save the rant on Bungie's "love" for another time.

Well It Finally Happened

My 360 has officially red ringed. First time with me as the owner, second time in the consoles life.

Free Microsoft Points

UPDATE: Sorry folks but they are all gone. Keep an eye out on my blog because I will post any time I find deals on Microsoft points or Xbox Live subscriptions.

Here is my first (and probably last) give away. Right now up for grabs I have 7 codes that are each worth 100 Microsoft Points. I know it's not much but maybe it will bump you up to that next level to get something you really want. To use one of the codes below visit http://points.microsoft.com, select "Redeem a Microsoft Points prepaid or promotion code"and then enter a code. You can only use one code per account. Once you have entered the code the points can be used on both Xbox Live and the Zune Marketplace. Please leave a comment to let me and others know when the codes have been taken.

MRKKV-7R3CW-XHB34-HQ76G-4WJJW
MTQ6J-CDR8D-44234-V94F6-KWD2J
MMG72-BXRHQ-B29H6-VQ8G6-77M8W
FB49F-RYT7W-F972F-FDBQH-R3JJW
TMVBK-6H8KY-MQD39-2PX72-GR7PJ
PBT6X-7YFB7-7JDFC-QY4WP-G68JW
G6BJB-WTQ8J-PMB3G-XQR7T-7PYCJ

Battlefield: Bad Company and Civ Rev

The demo's for Civilization Revolution and Battlefield: Bad Company went live yesterday. Me being the demo lover that I am, download them as soon as I could. First I gave Civ Rev a shot.

The Civilization series will always have a place in my heart because it was one of the first games I ever played and I have always found hours upon hours of enjoyment from all games in the franchise. Civ Rev is Civilization's first try at a console release. The controls worked pretty well as far as I could tell from my very short time playing it. For some reason though I feel as if it did not do a very good job of capturing that, "one more turn..." that I have always felt from the other games in the series. I don't know what it was but it was lacking something, maybe it was I didn't spend enough time with it. One of the things that was done well is the removing of workers. On the PC they work fine, but all that micromanagement could become more of a chore when done on a console. If your new to the series, this might be a good way to give it a try without being flooded with to many new concepts. If you have played the games before, stick with the PC.

As for Battlefield: Bad Company, it's not great, it's fun, but it's not GOTY. One of the big features of the game is the destructible environments. If you have ever wondered what it would be like to shoot down trees with a .50 cal, now is your chance. Other then that it's Battlefield with a few new weapons, good not great. I wouldn't spend $60 on it, but then again, I'm cheap.

The Sims 2 Free Content

A few weeks ago I picked up the Sims 2 from my local library. (Great place to get games by the way) After I had played it for a little while I decried to go online and look for more content. I was surprised by what I found. Most of the content for the Sims 2 is not free. While I was searching for free content I stumbled upon this site, paysites.mustbedestroyed.org and what I read there surprised me. When EA released the Sims 2 and it's content creator, in the license it says, "You may include materials created with the Tools & Materials on your personal noncommercial website for the noncommercial benefit of the fan community for EA's products." That means that any content released for the Sims 2 is free. EA of all the people, known for milking their games, and now someone else tries to do the same, EA says "No milk for you!" If you play the Sims 2 and want free content check out the booty which has tons of pay content for free. So if you do pay for Sims 2 content, STOP SUPPORTING THESE RATS!

Here is an official response from EA on this matter.

It's Spring Time

It's spring and you all know what that means... Xbox 360 dashboard update! I'm surprised that nothing had really been said about it yet but it should be out some time in the next few months. Here are a few things I hope they add.

I love listening to music on my 360 while playing games but the controls need some help. I think to fix this Microsoft needs to add better in game controls. It would be much easier if all I had to do to change song was hold down a few buttons. Like make it so if you hold all the triggers and bumpers then the joysticks take control of the music.

Another thing that would be a nice addition to the system would be a way to change which controller port you are connected too. It can get really annoying because I always have my GH2 guitar plugged in and it gets annoying have to sign out with it then sign in with the controller I'm using. I just want a screen I can go to and move around which controller is connected where.


The last thing that I think would be nice for the 360 is to allow me to download podcast to my 360. They already have a great collection on the Zune marketplace so why not allow me to save them to my 360. And if your going to do that why not just put the whole market place on the 360. It already uses them same "currency" and ID.

Well that's what I'm hoping for, any one else have any ideas?

Free Stuff For Rainbow Six Veges 2

According to TheHushedCasket.com If you want to unlock the Best Buy exclusive gun for Rainbow Six Veges, all you need to do is go to the main menu and then press and hold RB, then press Down, Down, Up, Up, X, B, X, B, Y, Up, Up, Y. I don't know if there is a way to get this to work on the PS3, if any knows how, leave a comment. Also if you want to unlock the Comcast map just pick extras from the main menu then go to "Comcast Gift" then enter "COMCAST FASTER" This should work on both 360 and PS3.

Meet NOM4D

The long awaited Call of Duty 4 patch has finally been released. Along with the bug fixes to the game, it also added a new controller layout, called "NOM4D." The reason for this new controller scheme, is that, it was requested by a MLG gamer named "NOM4D." The reason why NOM4D requested this is that he has Arthrogryposis, which limits the control he has over his hands and feet. So when he plays video games he must use his face. I think it's really cool that Infinity Ward did this just for one guy. If you want to read more about NOM4D go to this post on GamerGirl.com, also here is a short news story about him.

The Console Wars are Over!

Some one needs to let Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo know that the console wars are now over. None of the current gen systems can handle this new challenger, the Vii 2. Here is a review by youtube user ashens. You can see why Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are in so much trouble. Make sure you check out his channel for more reviews.

MacBook Air

A few days ago at MacWorld Steve jobs reveled the next Macbook which is the MacBook Air. It's main feature is it's size. Well it claims to be the smallest laptop in the world, it is not. It is the smallest on the market at this point in time. My question is who is this going to be marketed at?

It cost to much with a list price of $1,799 for the average consumer who just needs the internet and word processing.

With the lack of a CD drive it would be unusable for a gamer. (I know you could use a virtual drive but with non-upgradeable 80 GB Hard drive, good luck.)

The other person this could be marketed at would be the business man. The problems with that are the lack a CD drive. The fact that it is a Mac and could have compatibility issues, also it's lack of ways to connect devices to it. The Mac Book air offers up five ways to connect to it. You get Blue tooth and wireless-N, ONE USB port, one 3.5mm mini jack, and a Micro-DVI port, which from my research looks like a new port created just for this laptop. If you want to connect any thing to this new port you must have the right adapter, if not tough luck.

The only person I could see actually buying this thing would be the Mac Fanboys.