You Wanted Your Wii So Bad, Now Go Play With It.

Who know how they get stats like this but Nielsen has posted some interesting gaming related stats:

Video Game Console Usage April-November 2007
1. PS2 42.2%
2. Xbox 13.9%
3. Xbox360 11.8%
4. Gamecube 7.1%
5. Wii 5.5%
6. PlayStation3 2.5%
7. Other 17.1%

Now with the PS2 dominating (it helps when you've been around for 10+ years) overall it's no surprise that it would have almost 50% usage. But when you look at "next-gen" specifically the Xbox 360 is running away with the crown.

This chart goes to prove my point in this 'console war' even more. The Wii even with it's pent up demand and mass apeal, it little more than a gimmick when people get it home. It's fun for a few weeks or even a few months maybe, but as soon as the newness where's off you get tired of flailing your arms around playing Wii Tennis all by yourself...

The PS3 is a great system with no good games. The three best reviewed games for the PS3 (Rock Band, Oblivion, and CoD4) are also Xbox 360 games, and guess what? The 360 versions all came out earlier than there PS3 counter-parts, with more features, more online components, and even better reviews. Other than Uncharted and Ratchet & Clank, there are no PS3 exclusive that came out this holiday to help the PS3 through the Christmas season.

So it's no surprise to me that the 360 comes out a head in playtime these last few months. With the ability to rent (HD) movies, buy TV shows, buy classic and new Arcade games, stream video, pictures, and music from you computers to the 360, watch HD DVD's, and download free demos of over 90% of all the Xbox 360 games, it's no wonder that Xbox 360 has been keeping people attention.

Not to mention exclusive games like: Halo 3, Mass Effect, Gears of War, Forza Motorsport 2, and Bioshock, that you can't play anywhere else.

Gears Gets Update And Gametype, Annex.

Yesterday Gears got a much needed patch to fix of bunch of cheating and some various bug fixes. Along with the patch comes a new gametype called, "Annex". Annex is simply just "King of the Hill" but it's a first for Gears in that there is now respawns. Hit me up for some Annex play.

Whoo, Bring It On Sucker! (A Terry Tate Showcase)

This. My. Kind. Of. Shit. Hell yeah! I've not has this much FUN watching ending credits for a game since, well, ever.

Private Augustus Cole, the legend to be, has pole-vaulted above the chief as my favourite video game character. Which, in it's own right, is an impressive feat, if you're familiar with my halo fanboyishness.
When i first heard the 'Cole Train' screaming out his hilarious one liners from the bottom of the stairs in Gears of War, i instantly thought, "it's Terry Tate!", which i later found out to be a good call. For those of you not familiar with him, i'll embed a few episodes after the break, don't worry, they're not too long. I love the Terry Tate videos, and still show them to the 'uneducated' to this very day. So i was overjoyed to hear the familiar voice of Lester Speight, the voice and actor behind Terry Tate and the Cole Train. Throughout the game i laughed out loud, along with my buddy playing split screen co op with me, at mostly all the one liners Cole had. And then i get this treat (embedded after the break) after completing the game, wow, thanks epic, it made my evening, and the evening after, and i think even the one after that. I've read many comments, and i think this humour is possibly an acquired taste, but i freaking love it, enjoy!


Gears of War Ending Credits, The Cole Train Way...


Terry Tate, Office Linebacker


Terry Tate, OSPN

The Gears of War Review.

Buy.This.Game.
Period.

If you don't have a 360 well, buy one. Don't have Xbox Live? Buy it. Don't have an HDTV, you don't need one, this game looks amazing HD or not. The big question everyone keeps asking is, "Does Gears live up to the hype?" Well, I think I've answered that, yes Gears does. My store got Gears in on time (luckily) but, due to some confusion (On the retailers part) on when they were receiving the game and on top of that, shipping problems with major retailers some stores still don't have it. So due to my attaining a copy before some people, my Live account has been flooded with messages and voice chat requests. Most people asking how it is, but some jaded "friends" (Sorry UK!) have even sent me hate mail because they won't be getting Gears for "a while". Sorry, enough ranting...

This is the best looking game on any console to date, period. The graphics are amazing but that not why this game looks so good. The architecture and attention to detail in every, building, car, soldier, gun, water, lava, mine cart... yeah there's mine carts. But that's not all, the game sounds amazing too, Cliffy B. has been credited for spending tons of time wanting the guns to have just the right sound to them. The gun fire and explosions are crisp and not too over the top. (5.1 audio puts you right in the action) The controls couldn't be any tighter, and with really only 3 buttons that you need to use (Shoot, Reload, Cover) it couldn't get much simpler. Anyway, on to the review.

Single Player

The game starts off with our anti-hero's being freed from jail (for disobeying the Army to go save his father), to rejoin the fight against the Locust Horde in the 11th hour. Single player takes off with a bang and doesn't ever stop, every level, every scene is jam packed with suspense and action, a "Tactical shooter meets horror movie" as Cliffy puts it. The environments are varied and there is no repetition a la Halo (and most shooters to be fair) so you don't get that sense of didn't I do this already? You fight from the streets, houses, factories, back alleys, underground, and even on frigin' mine carts! Rain or shine, light or dark, this game has all the environments and it does them superb. The one grip I have with single player is the story, they never tell you anything. I learned more about the story from the manual that came with the game then I did playing it! Setting up for a sequel is one thing, but at this rate they better be making 10 games. But once you chew through the seemingly short single player, you're ready to move on to the meat of Gears:

Multiplayer

This is where you will "lose" countless hours of your life. The fast paced 4 vs 4 team multiplayer action is what Gears was made for. Gears proves that tons of options, configurations, and players aren't needed to make the most awesome multiplayer experience ever. There are only 3 game types in Gears:

1. Warzone - Basic team death match, no re-spawns, last man standing (and his team) win.
2. Assassination - Each team has a leader, and your object is to kill the other teams leader.
3. Execution - (From the manual) This game type is similar to Warzone, but instead of dying after you have been knocked down... (From me) ... You have to finish off your opponent with a classic "curb stomp" or the ol' chain saw!

Execution is by far my favorite game type, it inspires more teamwork and cooperation, not to mention sometimes a second chance. It also leads to my favorite quote from Gears lead man Cliffy B. :

"I was getting tagged by this guy, he had me down and was coming over to stomp me, and my buddy came in around the corner like, 'Here comes the cavalry' and knocked him down. My buddy intentionally didn't kill the guy, because he knew he was no longer a threat at that moment. He knew the more important thing was to resurrect me before I bled out.So he resurrected me, but not only that, he was a gentleman and allowed me to go over and stomp the guy who had knocked me down, as this kinda nice revenge. Right then, I literally was like, F*** you! as I stepped on his head. It felt so good."

As you can tell Cliffy's got a way with words... Now reviving your teammate for revenge, that's teamwork. Another huge bonus is you accually start with (arguably) the best weapon in the game, the Lancer (AKA Chainsaw Gun!). Unlike Halo, where you get a single SMG to start, in Gears off the bat you're ready to kick some ass. The only grip I do have with multiplayer is you can't go with your friends into ranked matches, bummer. MS says this is to prevent cheating, but I feel I would rather deal with some guys trying to boost so that I can play with my buddies. It's tough seeing 15 friends of mine all online playing Gears, but I can't join 'em cause they're in ranked games, and who can blame 'em? That's where all the competion is. It's OK to play the unranked games for a while, but it's plagued with people that don't care. So they quit early, or don't play right, and run around like dumbasses, you know the type. This is a must fix for Gears to stand the long haul like Halo 2. Level design in multiplayer is fantastic as well, this game shipped with 10 great maps with more promised through the marketplace, if you've got Xbox Live this game is a must have. Get ready to kick some ass and chain saw your buddies (in unranked...) Gears of War, it will blow your sock off. I'm off for some more.

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