Saints Row 2

Saints Row was released in 2006. Since then it has burst out of the shadows as just another Grand Theft Auto throw off to become one of the few games to make it through to a second edition. That’s right they have just announced the production of Saint Row 2. This will hopefully bring some much needed competition for Grand Theft Auto who is only weeks away from the release of their latest game.

The story is supposed to start where the previous game left off. It will continue the story, although it would be nice if we could keep our previously customized characters, I doubt it will happen. If you are interested in the brief announcement video then you should check it our on IGN.com. The trailer shows no footage and is just some of the characters talking. Not the greatest of introductions, but it’s got me waiting. If you haven’t purchased the original Saints Row, I suggest buying it on amazon, and if you’ve bought it, I suggest finally beating the game.

I found no evidence of a release date.

Grand Theft Auto IV and Free Microsoft Points

    What could be better than getting free microsoft points and a copy of a potential game of the year nominee Grand Theft Auto IV? Head on over to your local Game store and reserve your copy of Grand Theft Auto IV
and you will receive 500 free microsoft points coutouesy of Rockstar Games.

As an added bonus, with the game and the free microsoft points  you will receive four exclusive gamer pictures. While these may not be something for you, there are those of you out there that will enjoy both the rarity of these and enjoy representing GTA: IV.

Short Vacation

I’m going on a week long vacation. I won’t be able to write any new content while I’m away, but I may set a few posts to publish automatically while I’m gone. It’s times like these that I wish I had at least one other gamer who would be willing to write articles for this blog as well.

Oh well. I have an auto-spam detector for spam comments, and I’ll just hope my blog will run itself for the next week. Interested in joining the blogging team just post a comment using a valid email address and I’ll get back to you shortly.

Halo 3 Blackout

Bungie has just announced the map Blackout. Blackout is a remake of everyones favorite Halo 2 map, Lockout. They made everything about this map the same. They even included “jumps” if you actually take the time to read the interviews they include with the pictures.

The creators at Bungie have finally done something right. Halo 3 has been a complete bust for maps so what do they do, the create Blackout. Way to go. Blackout is great for team slayer, free for all, and king of the hill. Although the map doesn’t have the same color experience as the one in Halo 2 it has the same layout.

April 15th, you will see Blackout being released with Ghost town and Avalanche. Obviously Blackout was the last to be announced because they needed to end it strong. They couldn’t top this map. As I’ve said before, Avalanche is the most likely to be the new “Isolation” or “Snowbound” where the gameplay is determined by who controls a certain weapon, and that gets vetoed 50% of the time.

Blackout will single-handedly make this pack sell. Honestly, I would have considered passing on this map pack had this map not been remade. The only differences we’ll see are a few easier super jumps, a couple jumps removed, and the advantages gained with the items. They put one power drain, one bubble shield, and one gravity lift.

Rock Band Set to Release for Wii

Harmonix has just announced that Rock Band will be released for the Wii on June 22nd. It will contain 63 songs, plus five bonus songs. These will most likely include the 58 songs from the Xbox 360, PS2, and PS3 versions, along with some of the songs you can purchase on Xbox Live.
A Special Edition bundle will be sold with a wireless guitar, drum kit, and microphone for $169.99. Stand alone instruments and software will also be available at release which will allow buyers to purchase them as needed. It appears as though the Wii Guitar Hero guitars will not work with Rock Band, what a rip off. They steal the game idea and won’t even make it compatible with their guitars.

The downside to the Wii version is the loss of the online multi-player and downloadable content. While Wii has stepped into the online market with Brawl they aren’t going to offer it with Rock Band. This isn’t going to sell more Wii’s. They need to step it up. Lure some of the big names to Wii’s online play and it will explode.

“Xbox Live is Too Dirty For Kids”

Last night I was browsing the Xbox.com forums when I was looking for threads to post on I came across a rather unique thread. It describes this whole scenario where a teenager made an adult feel uncomfortable and they were warning parents to put parental settings on games like Call of Duty 4, Halo 3, and Gears of War. I thought this was rather comical. Here is the reasoning.

Ok well first of all when I’m on the Xbox I’m like every other teenage gamer from the ages of 15-21. I talk smack, talk a little dirty, and of course, make fun of the little kids. All that aside I’m not one to make fun of somebodies religion, race, gender, or anything like that. I’m saying this so you don’t think I’m defending the people that do this.

The parent was suggesting that they turn on a whole bunch of security settings when they let their kids play these games. Now here is what I’m thinking. Call of Duty 4, rated “M” for mature, Halo 3, rated “M” for mature, and Gears of War, rated “M” for mature. This is your problem. The games not safe for your kids in the first place. I’ve played all of these games, and I know through many many hours of experience that these games can get pretty bad. I’m not talking so much about the game play, even though it’s too much for them, but the talk of the players.

So you think it’s our fault that your child may be getting harassed in these games and that Microsoft isn’t doing enough to control this? That is total crap. These games were made for us, and Xbox Live will continue to cater towards their audience.

Another thing, you may be overreacting. If your boy is in 5th grade, it’s not like he hasn’t heard and used almost every single word they will hear on Xbox Live. Whether or not they speak like that around you is irrelevant.

Xbox Live wasn’t made for eight year olds, that’s why they have games like Mario, the Wii, and PSP’s. Xbox Live will forever be made for an audience made up of primarily teenagers. If you choose to let your child play on Xbox Live you will continue to expose them to adult language and actions.

Halo 3: Heroic Maps Free

    The Halo 3 Heroic Map Pack will be free to download on March 25th. Bungie is allowing the free download due to the upcoming legendary map pack. The free heroic maps will be required to play Ranked Big Team, Social Big Team, Team slayer, and Rocket Race.

To those of you the haven’t gotten a chance to play these maps you may wish to download some videos of them on bungie so you can get a feel of what they are like before they go live for you. This will help you learn where the weapons are I imagine. I’m not so sure what else it will do, as I’ve already purchased the maps and have no need to download the videos.

If you fail to download the maps then you will not have access to any of the above playlists. They will remain in the DLC Games until the Legendary Map Pack is released. So congrats, you have successfully waited it out saving yourself 800 microsoft points or $10.

Make Your Gaming Knowledge Useful

    You’ve put hundreds if not thousands of hours into different games. Whether it is the halo trilogy or World of Warcraft, you may have an opportunity waiting for you to make some money. This isn’t to say you writing about it has to be profitable, as it could be purely for fun and the notoriety that comes with people reading what you have to say. It makes your presence in the gaming community even bigger.

It can be as easy or complex as you would like it. Here is an example of a 13 year old boy who now makes $x,xxx+ a month from the knowledge he gained by blogging about video games. The income stream comes mainly from the site that links you to, but that isn’t to say you couldn’t make four digits blogging about your video game love.

If me sending you to that page makes you interested in starting your own blog I’d like to hear about it. Leave a comment with a link to your blog so I can head on over to check it out. If you don’t have the time, or don’t care to monetize it, you are more than welcome to become a guest poster here. You can blog under any name you like, post on any topic, and get a presence in the gaming field. The blog averages 150-200 uniques a day, what a better way to get known?

How to Tell If You’re a Noob At Halo

    How would one know if they are considered a noob at halo? There are hundreds of different definitions of what a noob is, and how one should consider whether or not one is a noob. This is generally what I go by, and is as accurate as you can get.

As you are probably aware there are some ranks you don’t have to become. Major grade 3, Colonel grade 2, and any of the other ranks where you are being held back because your highest game rank isn’t up to par with what you need to move up. Most common example is brigadier. To become a brigadier you must have 500 exp and a level 45 in any game mode. If you pass the 500 exp it will not let you move up without the level 45. If you hit 600 exp before you hit level 45 you become a colonel grade 2.

Hitting an unnecessary  rank is what I consider to be a noob. Granted that of course you don’t only play one game mode. You get experience for social, which could cause a large inflation because you are getting experience and not able to move up. Your goal should be to move up as fast as possible. If you aren’t playing ranked, then there is a little exception; however you are still meriting the noob title.

Then of course there is basically the standard everybody under lets say 20. If you cannot hit a level 20 in any ranked game mode, you are a noob. Once you get some skill you can easily move your ranks in every game above this mark in practically 20 games. If you can’t reach this, you’re a noob.

What is your opinion on what makes a noob?

Halo 3: Avalanche

    Bungie has just recently presented pictures of what the second of the three maps in the Legendary Map Pack will look like. The map looks decent for objective games. Mostly big team battle. Honestly, this maps looks like one of those maps nobody wants to play. I mean seriously this is like rats nest. Rats nest of the Heroic Map Pack is terrible. The map is so big it only suits big team battle.

Why is this map being dissed by me? I hate maps where I cannot control the game. Any map that is very large is hard for a single person to dominate. Some may argue that this is a good thing. It’s not, it makes it so that you have to walk from your spawn to who knows where all the way across the map. All the way you are walking you will encounter people with BR’s, vehicles, snipers, and lasers. You can get picked off so easily. Also just the fact that every spawn you must come from all the way across the map. It is very comparable to griffball. While this is nowhere near a similar comparison because it was a tiny area, think about it. Your team is attacking and you get killed. You get spawned all the way across the map, they are most likely dead before you can get to them.

Anyways this is not for me to decide. Check out the pictures yourself and comment about your thoughts of this new map. Here is the Bungie review and pictures of it.