Black Friday

Do you get up early the day after Thanksgiving, brush away the food crumbs, and join the moms at the malls? I have in the past: "its 9AM and my shopping is done!" But lately the deals have not been there and its become too popular. But the bloggers at PS3FanBoy have given me a reason to set my alarm: Get ready for Black Friday deals.

I'm planning a visit to target to get COD:WaW ($49) and Dead Space ($30). Notice these two gifts are for ME? Strange how things have changed.

Then I'll run home and PLAY!

First/Third Person Shooters - the long version

As of today, Call of Duty 4 is the standard by which all on-line multiplayer shooters are compared – it is the GOLD standard. I am at level 1 again: I just entered my second prestige mode. Each game is unique and the play is fast. After a few rounds you develop rivalries with players – and sometimes you make friends: ACE, Fey, FuriousOwl, PowerfulNinja, Skaterguy, SpiderPiggy, VarHug, BevHills (not actual PSN names, but close). I’ve had this game since I owned my PS3 – and I still play it ~6 hours a week. I got a beta key for Resistance 2 from the wonderful people at PlayStation Underground. My impressions of the beta (played 4 times, 2 hours each) are ‘ho-hum.’ It’s good – hey, it’s Insomniac, but it doesn’t have the fun and excitement as COD4. It feels just like the RFoM multiplayer. 60 players at once is awesome! How do they do that without lag? And getting your name in the top 10 is a rush (6th was my best). But the experience feels flat. The colors are brighter than RFoM – more like Ratchet and Clank – I think I like the old depressing colors that go better with a 1950’s setting about the ‘Fall of Man.’ (Am I being too picky?) The new weapons are nice; I started to favor the Marksman; the buzz-saw is fun. I don’t understand the berserker business – but I’m sure I will learn. The cooperative mode was different – but with a short one level beta, it is too soon to judge the ‘fun’ level. I think Insomniac made the Chimera too strong; it takes many, many hits from multiple players to take done one baddie. And only one person gets the ‘kill:’ the last shot. I know they made it this way so a large team (8) simply doesn’t run through the level, but it feels awkward. My advice: find a medic and stick by him (or her). San Francisco was the best map (10 players max); Orick was a forest scene that allowed games up to 60 players. I am hopeful that this impression will change. I played the COD4 single player game all the way through before going on-line. If I play R2 through – learn the weapons and the controls – maybe then I will ‘get it.’ I did buy R2 last week - it's still in the shrink wrap on the shelf: too much to play. Now let’s talk SOCOM: Confrontation. Oh, it has such potential! This very beautiful game with large maps initially gives you a feeling of awe. But the game-play is very slow. It takes time to find your enemy; it takes time to switch weapons; it takes a long time for the game to load. I know it is a tactical shooter, but remember, I am comparing it to COD4. I have hope that they will patch the server software and make some things faster. I play this game in the mornings because the servers are less full. I have tried to hook up with friends: it’s difficult in-game. Best to plan out which server and create a game. I am waiting for 1.30 patch to dig deeper into game. I received yet another beta key for KillZone 2. I've actually played this a lot; helping the guys at Guerrila Games out. This is a great shooter - it feels real (expect for the pain of death). The beta is only for the on-line multi-player portion, like R2. Nice boards - I like how dark they are, yet I see everything. The level-up system is great - I even lost 3 points after a poor performance. But here is the bad news for publisher: I'm saturated. This game is not on my wishlist because I am full of shooters. I have no history with KillZone like I have with Resistance and Call of Duty. So, unless the campaign gets awesome reviews, once the beta is over, KZ2 will not be on my PS3. The son-of-COD4 was released Tuesday: Call of Duty: World at War. I'm not ready for it! I've heard good things and seen some levels on YouTube. I'll buy this at Target the on Black Friday; then it will sit in the shrink wrap until the two weeks around Christmas. So many people to shoot - by so little time.