Halloween Fever Is Burning Up!

The Jack-O-Lanter! What's up with that guy anyway?

Tonight is Halloween, and I can't wait to put on my costume and go trick or treating, and then eat candy! Well, that's what I would've said about 8 years ago. But tonight, it's party time!

But that's not what I'm really excited for, as much as I'm excited for what's after the party! You guessed it, one of many Halloween gaming frenzies is being held, and I'll be dead if I miss it!

First off, we got many games to play including: Dead Space, Resident Evil, Bioshock, and much much more!

Tonight is really going to chill every bone in my body, hopefully! How about you?

Hybrid Announced by 5th Cell

Yes the countdown is complete, the game is revealed, and it seems promising!

Taken directly from the website!

If you haven't heard, 5th Cell posted a countdown on their website about a week ago, and the countdown completed today! And it revealed one hell of a promising game! The game is called Hybrid, and you can check out its interactive website here.

All we have now is that website and a trailer, which you can watch below:


Obviously, the Variants are the evil side of two teams, the Variants themselves, and the Paladins. The game is a 3rd person shooter, and it's probably an army vs. army game, sorta like Killzone, except probably not as good. Nevertheless, this game looks really great, and I can't wait to find out more about it.

Starcraft 2 Is Really Outstanding

I know, I know, why am I talking about Starcraft 2 now? It's been a while since it's been released. But I just couldn't resist the urge of writing something new about Starcraft 2 since I'm still extremely addicted to that game.

The breath-taking battles!

To tell you why playing a game for 3 months is incredible for me, you need to know a little about myself first. I usually buy a game, play it, finish it, get me a bunch of trophies/achievements (if not all of them) and then simply stop. And this takes me about 1 month.

But Starcraft is different. It has no achievements or trophies. You just have the game. But you can never stop playing. But it's a strategy game, you build an army and attack your opponent and that's it right? WRONG! It's not as simple as just building an army and attacking. It's a strategy game. You need to think of the ways to overcome your opponent's forces while increasing your income and keeping up with your units.

This guy right here, he ain't the boss. You are!

You do what you want.
You order your units.
You are the commander.

Just thinking of not playing that game gives me the creeps. I don't know if I ever will stop playing it. Until, of course, Starcraft 3 is released. So I got about 11 years to go, right?

Red Dead : Undead Nightmare ... This Will Take The Whole Night!

Run Marston, Run!

There has been a lot of buzz about Undead Nightmare and I have to admit I got a little excited, so I booted up my PS3, went to the PS store and purchased the DLC.

About 5 seconds later, after buying the game, I found out that the DLC is about 1700 Megabytes large! Now, I don't know about you guys, but to me this is massive! But I don't blame Rockstar. I mean, the game does have a whole new Single-player experience with new enemies and weapons. But with my crappy internet connection, this DLC will take almost one whole night to download ... at least.

Uncharted 3: World of Deceit (Could It Be True?)

Just recently there seems to be some leaked concept art for the unannounced Uncharted 3: World of Deceit. Here are some of the pictures:

These seem pretty believable, unless someone was so bored he decided to create some incredible pictures and claim they were for Uncharted 3, but I doubt that. Hopefully Naughty Dog will respond to these pictures, then we'll find out whether they're fake or not. For more pictures go to this site and tell me what you think.

Fallout MMO : What We Want

Yes it can! (Hopefully)

Ah Fallout, one of the greatest RPGs ever, don't you agree? But we always ask ourselves, what if fallout was a MMO? How awesome would that be?
Well, wait no more... actually just a little more since a Fallout MMO is in the makings and is planned to be released somewhere by the end of 2012.
But what can we expect from that game, and what do we want?

1. Well, first of all, enhance the graphics. We can't be playing a 2012 game with 2008 graphics, that would be annoying.
2. Also, give us many interaction features, with NPCs and with other online players. Imagine the possibilities if we have full interaction with one another. You could actually, for the first time, be pick-pocketed by a player and then get blown up from a live grenade he placed in your pants!
3. What we also would love is to create posses. Although this is no new innovation, it would definitely be fun to create a posse with your friends and go on a rampage!
4. Finally, give us more WEAPONS! I'm not saying Fallout doesn't already have many, many weapons. All I'm saying is that we can never have enough, can we?

What do you want to see in a Fallout MMO? Let us find out!

5th Cell Announcement Coming In About 1 Week

The Countdown

5th Cell, the people behind the great game Scribblenauts, have just posted a countdown on their website for a big game release. All we know about it is that it will be released on XBLA and will be a "completely new experience" for gamers.

Scribblenauts was already a great new experience on the DS, and now a game for Xbox is pretty exciting. What sort of game do you think 5th Cell is bringing us?

Kirby Delayed for Europe and Australia Until 2011

It's just too cute not to love

Yes, you heard it, our cute round little creature Kirby will be taking a while to reach our friends in Europe and Australia, although Kirby's Epic Yarn was already released earlier this month in the U.S. and Japan.

This is really disappointing news for Europeans since this game really seemed to be a great one. Well, I guess you guys have to wait till 2011 to lay your hands on this game. Or you could import a new Wii and Kirby's Epic Yarn from the U.S., but I don't think you should be that desperate... or should you?

New Wipeout Possibly Coming Our Way

Sony Liverpool's Studios are the geniuses behind one of the best futuristic racing franchises ever, Wipeout. And now they're hiring "an experienced and upbeat Senior Designer to work with a talented and experienced team on a high profile, futuristic racing franchise." 

Unless they are planning on creating a new high profile, futuristic racing franchise, it seems that Liverpool Studios are planning on either releasing a new Wipeout game or a new DLC is coming our way.

Twisted Metal Coming to PSOne Classics

According to ESRB, the ground-breaking, awe-inspiring, car-destructing PS1 game Twisted Metal is coming to PSOne Classics in the PS Store. It seems it will be released somewhere around the time the PS3's sequel of Twisted Metal, also titled Twisted Metal, is released.

This is one of the greatest PS1 classics in history, and to be honest it took SONY a while to release it. But it's here now, and if you've missed this on your PS1, you should definitely pick it up from the PS Store once it's released.

Anyone other than me planning on purchasing this game?

Minecraft: The Possibilities Are Endless

Recently I just bought one of the most talked about games right now, Minecraft. I didn't know anything about the game, I just created an account, signed in, and got thrown into a world made out of blocks. I had no information about the game except from a couple of online tutorials.

As I started collecting wood and experiencing the crafting feature of the game, I noticed that people could really create a whole lot more than what's obvious! I watched a couple of videos where some people created water slides and even roller coasters! And the game is still in Alpha so, who knows what's more to come!

Of course, I couldn't create any of those stuff yet, since I only just begun. But I think after a while, I will truly discover what this game is capable of. And to show you what I achieved in my first minutes of playing this game, check out the video below:

Gamer Hits 500K Gamerscore!

That's right, Xbox 360 gamer Stallion83 has reached 500,000 Gamerscore on his trek to be the first gamer to reach 1,000,000 Gamerscore!

Stallion83 already appeared in the Guinness Book of World Records to no surprise, and now, being halfway to 1 million Gamerscore, he's the most talked-about gamer again!

All I have to say is congratulations sir, you deserve it! And if you want to be updated about Stallion83's journey check out his website.

Gran Turismo 5 Delayed: Will We Ever Play It?

Playstation revealed the GT5 will be delayed ... again, and fans are outraged. Gran Turismo 5 is what's supposed to be the best racing simulator ever! But according to Kazunori Yamauchi, they are delaying it again to make sure gamers get the best possible experience out of the game.
The game was set to be released this November 2, but it's now delayed to be released somewhere around the holidays (we don't even have a specific date to be looking forward to)! I mean, one time's fine, twice ... acceptable, three times an outrage, and with even more than that? Well, I don't know how much more fans can handle!

And how much more does Kaz want to polish the game! We've seen gameplay, read news and info about the game being demoed at many game conventions, and it seemed to be an excellent game! Well, maybe when GT5 devs said the game was more suitable for a next-gen console, they meant it! Well, I certainly hope not. And I don't think you do too.

Medal of Honor : 2010's Disappointment

There is a border separating hype and over-hype, and frankly I believe that medal of honor has exceedingly crossed that border.
From it's announcement to the numerous teasers and ads, Medal of Honor seemed to be the shooter that could finally earn the title of the "Call of Duty Killer", but as expected by many, it failed ... immensly.

What the Game Promised

When first announced, we found out that you control a soldier for the Tier 1 Operators, an army Tier where only a few hundred soldiers are qualified for. This sounded pretty cool, being a soldier of a super-strong army force.
We also had many imaginations in our minds when we were told about the levels and the variety of locations. From snowy levels to the streets of Afghanistan, we expected a great experience.

What Reality Would Bring

Believe it or not, Medal of Honor gave us only a spec of what was expected. Although the maps seemed pretty adequate, you wouldn't really notice that due to all the frustration you got not knowing where to go next and how to end your mission. The HUD always seemed to lead you to the wrong places and I don't know if that was intentional, serving as a lame way to increase game-play time, or just a major flaw in the game. Either way it was a really annoying aspect of the game.
Also, the game is filled with cliche events and quotes, contrary to the promise of really knowing what Tier 1 operatives go through everyday. From the big explosions, to the expected deaths of U.S. soldiers, there is barely any event that gives you the feeling of awe and interest.
Finally, and more importantly, that game doesn't feel like a modern game at all, given that enemy AI will just stick to one position, popping their heads in and out of cover. This is the real major flaw, and that's where you notice that Danger Close didn't even nail the gameplay.

The Verdict

This is possibly video gaming's disappointment of 2010. The true definition of over-hyping a game is shown in this game full of mistakes and flaws. Does it deserve all that hype? Not at all.
Do you think it does?

Gran Turismo 5's Potential

"Finishing races is important, but racing is more important." -Dale Earnhardt.

And that's what you notice first when you play GT.You are amazed by the physics of the game, the sounds of the cars, the environment around you, everything is always perfected. Will GT5 keep the reputation going? Let's find out shall we?

The Graphics King is Back

As everyone who has ever played a Gran Turismo game knows, this is a game that always has the latest and greatest graphics in gaming. As a matter of fact, GT5's graphics are so advanced, developers said it was better suited for a next-gen console!

Cars, Cars, and More Cars

Gran Turismo 5 has the largest collection of cars in any GT game, with more than 1000 cars! Almost any racing car you can think of is definitely found in that game, with incredible detail. Here's a comparison screenshot from US.Gran-Turismo.com to demonstrate my point:

Which is from real life?

Where To Race?

Gran Turismo 5 will feature over 70 different tracks, although not much is know about them. But with 70 different tracks and over 20 different scenery, expect a massive game with eye-popping tracks and locations!

So, Is It Worth All the Hype?

This a one game that looks amazing. Not only visually, but the physics of the game, the tracks, the options, everything just looks incredible. Is it worth the hype? It most definitely is.

Motion Gaming, 3D Gaming, What's Next?

If you haven't already heard, PS3 and Xbox are both introducing motion and 3d gaming to their consoles. But the question is, what does this leave for future consoles? Well I thought about that too, and came up with only one possible answer: Mind-controlled video games!

Why and When?

Why? Well, since there isn't anything left. Think of it this way: Right now you can play a 3-Dimensional racing game while steering your car simply by rotating your hands. Now, replace the arm rotation by nothing other than your thoughts. Sounds pretty awesome, right? But what comes after that? Well, the only thing that I can think of is actually being in the game, but that probably won't happen for a long time.
But when can we actually expect mind-controlled video games for our favorite consoles? Well, not anytime soon I suppose. With motion and 3D gaming scarcely being released, expect at least 5 to 7 years until mind-controlled gaming is revealed to the crowd.

Although this might seem like a great idea now, imagine life where only mind-controlled gaming exists. No more buttons, no more movement, just sitting there, staring at the TV, thinking. Sounds pretty dull doesn't it? Let's face it, nothing can really replace the legendary controller, and nothing ever will.

Achievements vs. Trophies

“"I'm glad I did it, partly because it was worth it, but mostly because I shall never have to do it again” -Mark Twain.
These are the thoughts of most people after earning a really hard trophy/achievement. They're glad they've earned it, but mostly that they won't have to earn it again. But if both the trophy and the achievement have similar goals and the same feats, what sets them apart from each other?

Interface

After earning a trophy or an achievement, you'll be greeted by a graphic and sound clip. Everyone knows there is nothing more satisfying than hearing that glorious sound and seeing the name of that very annoying and hard achievement/trophy that you just earned. But the main difference I noticed between both is that a trophy takes a while longer to show up than the achievement, which isn't such a major problem but could give you some suspense moments at times.

Rewards

The rewards you get are pretty silly, but also really similar. While achievements earn you clothing or items for your avatar, trophies can also earn you clothing and items for your Home character/apartment.
Also, when you complete an achievement, you earn points that just keep increasing. You can earn the same amount of points by either finishing half the achievements of 2 games, or all the achievements of 1. Whereas Trophies have a different story. There is something called a Platinum trophy, which you earn by completing all other trophies, that gives you a major increase in your level(similar to Achievement's points, just by level) so earning half the trophies of 2 games won't earn you the same increase as earning all trophies of one game.

Conclusion

All in all there is no winner, it depends on your taste. The trophies come a little late but give you a bit more competition with the platinum trophy, whereas achievements appear instantly but points aren't as competitive.

Analyzing Trophies and Achievements

On our guide to Earning More Trophies/Achievements we saw that the first step is analyzing the game's trophies or achievements to figure out whether to go for all of them or not. But how exactly do you do that? Let's find out shall we.

How Much Free Time Do You Have?

As you're scrambling through the trophies/achievements you'll want to concentrate on real time-consuming trophies, depending on how much time you have. If you have nothing else to do but play the game, you may skip this paragraph. If not, read on.
So, you don't have much free time, but still, you want to go for as much achievements as you can. But how do you decide which to go for? Well, it depends on the trophies. As you read through them, and read what's asked to earn them, you'll want to take note on time-consuming ones such as beat the game on hard difficulty settings, or obtain all endings (like in Heavy Rain). Ok so now what? Do you just skip those trophies and go on? Well, no.
First of all do some research. How long is the game? Do you have enough time to complete it twice or three times? How many endings does the game include? These are really important questions to answer since knowing how long the game actually is will let you decide if you have enough time or not.

(Almost) Impossible Trophies

If you have a lot of free time, doesn't mean you can go for all the trophies either. There are many trophies that are almost impossible to get. For example, in the game Killzone 2 on PS3, there is a trophy where you have to be in the top 1% of the week's online players. I'm not saying this is impossible, but you're going to have to need a lot of training and, dare I say, obsession to the game. Since you're going to have to play this game about 12 hours per day for a week, and be extremely good at it too, to obtain this trophy.

Do you have a way of deciding what trophies to go for? Comment and Subscribe.

Secrets of Earning Many Platinum Trophies/ Achievements

"The most essential factor is persistence - the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come." -James Whitcomb Riley.
What many people don't notice is that what's really needed to earn an achievement is persistence. Not long ago, I published a post on How I Platinumed Heavy Rain and if you read it you'll notice that what's really needed to earn the platinum was persistence. And although I'm not really the persistent type, I set a goal in my mind and wouldn't stop until I achieved it. But enough about me, how can you earn your achievement?

Well, all you need is 3 simple steps:

1. Analyze Trophies/Achievements: Take a look at the available trophies/achievements to decide whether it's possible to get them all or not.
2. Make a Roadmap: Decide how you will go for the platinum. What achievements to go for first and what's the best/fastest way to earn them all.
3. Persist: Definitely the most important part of the process. Never give up. You can do it and you know it.

Really studying the available trophies can really help with making a roadmap, and remember you should never give up on your goal.
What's your process of earning trophies/achievements?