Avatar fun

XBox has given me a doll to dress! They don't call them 'dolls' or 'action figures,' they are called Avatars. They are representations of yourself for the public to view. Now mostly you try to make it look like yourself - but this is not a rule. (In fact, my PS3 Home Avatar is a female - it causes a lot of trouble). In the Nintendo world, they are called Mii's - but the XBox Avatar is much more. It's a money maker for Microsoft. You can buy clothes to wear or even toys that they play with. (I bought the pop corn and Little Daddy Doll - I bet Jedi QuiGonJim will buy the Light Saber.) Lets play a game. Below is an Avatar snap shot. Below each picture - in BLACK - is the name of the owner. You will need to select (or highlight) the text to see the name of the owner. Can you guess who owns each Avatar?

ElMico

Jerrr22 Anguissette (me!) The shirt is a BioShock Splicer

HxxTOTEMxxH (aka Nick)

Jedi QuiGonJim

If you click the name below the picture, it will go to Microsoft and get the latest Avatar (the owner could have changed it).

Did I miss someone? Put the link in the comment section below.

Halo3 on Tour

OK - first let me say that I have only finished the first stage of Halo 3. I've played various multi-player split screen games on Halo - I am basically a Halo newbee. But I am always up for a gamer party. GameStop is touring with a 'real' Halo Transport Truck to celebrate the launch of Halo 3 ODST. They will be near me in Ohio on the 13th of September (Sunday) - 12 to 6PM. I'll pick-up ElMico after church and go. In preparation, I will finish the Halo 3 campaign - as soon as I finish Prince of Persia on PS3 (great game).

MAG Beta: I'm in!

This is so cool. ElMico and I have been following this game since it was announced at E3 2008. MAG is a FPS by the SOCOM guys (Zipper) that allows 256 players in one map (Massive Action Game). This is a beta program, which means I get to test the game before it is finished and provide feedback to the developers. It is a rare honor and I am thankful to be a part of the Beta Team. The game is expected to ship the end of January 2010. I got the invite email yesterday. This morning I downloaded the 2 GB file (it finished while I was at work). I've already been on the Beta Tester only forums - a good community of testers. After tonight I will give you my impressions.

Watch List – The short form

ElMico asked me what I was buying next. Here is my list; sorry no pictures.

• Batman: Arkham Asylum – Aug 25 (PS3?) I liked the demo.
• Guitar Hero 5 – Sept 1 (PS3 – get with Van Halen) For Party mode.
• The Beatles: Rock Band - Sept 9 (PS3) I may rent this first.
• Wet - Sept 15 (PS3?) A girl with a gun and a sword.
• Halo 3: ODST – Sept 22 (Xbox) I need to finish Halo3.
• Alpha Protocol - Oct 5 (PS3?) FO3 but "espionage."
• Brutal Legend - Oct 12 (Xbox for Multi-player) Looks like fun!
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - Oct 12 (PS3) For the graphics and story.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Nov 10 (BOTH PS3 and Xbox) $120!
• Assassin's Creed II - Nov 17 (PS3) I need to finish AC 1st (it started repeating and got repetitive over and over again).
• The Saboteur - Dec (PS3?) Intriguing.

Only two will I buy the day it comes out: GH5 and CoDMW2. The rest I will watch for reviews and sales. Christmas time is coming – and so will the discounts.

Also, the ones labeled ‘PS3?’ don’t have multi-player – so no real reason to buy for Xbox, unless LensOfTruth judges otherwise.

What's on you list? Did I miss something?

The best way to lie

So what does this chart say to you? Here are my thoughts:

• Game Cube?
• Wii's sit unused. That is the way it is in my house. The XBox360 and PS3 share the same TV and battle for usage time. The Wii has it's own (yes, smaller) HD TV. But it is rarely used weekly.
• XBox360s are used more than PS3's (percentage wise). Why? Better games? More hardcore gamers?
• Look at the drop in May. Why is that? I decide it was because school was ending and more studying was going on. (Cramming) Since the drop was bigger on XBox360, I would assume it's users are younger. PS3 must have older (richer) gamers who have less free time.

Just some thoughts. If you want the source, check IndustryGamers and USA Today.

Can anything good come out of France?

I've wanted to go to a gaming convention. So I always think about going to E3 or PAX. I found another one - its not on the west coast - held in French speaking Canada. What caught my attention were the speakers:

• Yoichi Wada, Chairman-CEO, Square Enix Final Fantasy and Tomb Raider - could be interesting.
• Paul Holden, Lead Architect, Media Molecule LittleBigPlanet designer - I'm very interested.
• Jason Holtman, Valve I like Valve (Portal!) - and this guy is always causing trouble
• Heather Chaplin, Author I've heard her on NPR
• Chris Hecker, Maxis/EA A writer and contributer to Spore. He will speak on the oft debated "Are games art?"

I'm interested. I'm a little concerned that the default language of the web page is french. Here is the English link.

What do you think? Do you want to meet up in Montreal?

Ironically, I plan to be in California the week before.

What do you think? Meet up in Montreal.

Metcalfe’s Law or Why buy a Xbox360?

Have you heard of Metcalfe’s law? It states that the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system. In other words, the value of a network is dependent on the users who use it. Most of my friends own an Xbox 360 and play together on-line. I was able to talk to them about games (pub night is Monday), but not experience them together. I offered to give some of them $100 to purchase a PS3 – but in the end, I was the one to buy the other system. “One Xbox 360 please.” “Oh, you want true HD with HDMI output, then you need the Elite.” “I would also like a wireless connection to XBoxLive.” “Then you need this wireless attachment and XBoxLive subscription.” Xbox360............$400 Wireless Adapter...$100 1 Year XBoxLive....$ 50 Total..............$550

I bought my PS3 with ALL the above the less than $400. Now, which is the cheaper system? But I did get two good games. Halo 3 (my dad and brother-in-law play this) and Fable2 (my friends have finished this). For my birthday, I got COD:WaW.

I'll let you know if Metcalfe was right.

What happened to July?

After the wildly successful "What happened to June?" post, I thought I'd try it again for July. Again, this is off the main subject of blog, but it helps explain why I have been missing on-line. Every year I take a week-long motorcycle trip: 2009 was my 10th straight year. I've been to every state from Maine to Louisiana to Florida to Wyoming. This year was Colorado! Great motorcycle roads with great views. Those views became my undoing. That is what is left of my Gray Lady (BMW K1200LTi). Together we went off the road at ~6o MPH about 1.5 hours south fo Gunnison Colorado. Sadly, she was lost; I really miss her. Because of all my safety equipment, I was able to walk away with only bruised ribs. Shall we say 'severely' bruised ribs. It's been 3 weeks since the crash and I still have sharp pains when I breath; I can't cough or sneeze without passing out from the pain; and my ribs click and move. You would think I'd have more time for gaming, but sadly that has not been the case. It is difficult to sit upright in my chair - I get sore and stiff quickly. Enough complaining! I'm happy to still be here and happy to communicate to you through this silly blog.