Sins of a Solar Empire

To be honest I was not too sure about this game when it was released. I read the reviews on IGN.com and other websites like that, and they gave it rave reviews. Those big gaming websites give good reviews all too often, so I wasn't sure what the game was really like. Anyway, I got the game last week and I'm happy to say that the reviewers got it right this time! Sins is a 4X RTS that is set in space. It's got fantastic depth and even though it lacks a single player mode, all the other modes more than make up for it. There's a lot of freedom in this game. You don't have to play big scenarios if you don't feel like it. There are plenty of small to medium sized maps that you can play and thoroughly enjoy. The layout of the game is very neat and does not feel overly cluttered with information. The game has a nostalgic feel to it. There are no elaborate cut scenes and the graphics are above average. The voice acting is cheesy but that's done intentionally. You don't need a super computer to run this game. It's all about making bad ass ships that you can use to conquer other planets! You can set your empires public policy and how you choose to develop each planet under your control. I found the black market aspect of the game very cool. You can buy and sell goods and that has an affect on the market. The online aspect of this game is also superbly designed. You can play Ironclad sessions which can last a long time. Or you can just log in and play online with random people or friends. The game runs smooth online. Overall Sins of a Solar Empire is an excellent game. A game that any RTS fan should definitely check out. Also, people new to the genre should play this game. It takes ten to fifteen minutes to get a grip on things but once you do it's a very easy game to play. Peace!

More Locusts Will Die....

Epic Games have announced the sequel to the mega popular Gears of War.Epic
will release the game this November, right before the holiday season on the Xbox 360. Surely this is big news for Microsoft and 360 owners. The previous holiday season saw some big name franchises returning and new one's being born. Anyway, I liked the single player mode on the first Gears of War. The multi-player was fun, but became very repititive for me. Hopefully they will expand on the multi player more and make it more like Call of Duty 4. Also, let's see some backstory on Marcus Fenix. The story line was mostly ignored in the first game. Probably done purposely because the game's aim was to "kick ass" first then talk later. When the first Gears was released it was a benchmark game for the 360 in terms of the graphics, the style of gameplay, and the multi-player. I don't know if it still will have that novelty aspect to it when the sequel is released. Rest assured Microsoft will hype this game up which will drive up sales. The guys at Epic are first class first person shooter creators. Unreal Tournament is one of my favorite games of all time and the frantic nature of their games are a lot of fun to play. Let's hope Epic will go for quality instead of worrying about the quantity. If the game is good people will buy, if not it will be chainsawed by the masses.

Mass Effect DLC Coming Soon

Bioware and Microsoft announced today that they will be releasing new downloadable content for Mass Effect. According to the IGN
article the new content will let us explore a new uncharted world and we get to meet the Batarians. Hopefully this "exploring" won't just involve you getting in your Mako and driving to an outpost shooting down some turrets and aliens along the way and then it's over. Mass Effect is woefully short on exploration depth. It involves you getting on your Mako and repeating the above mentioned task multiple times. There is no real depth to those side missions. Don't get me wrong, I love Mass Effect and I've already played it four times but compared to a standard rpg it's not very deep. It took me about 14 hours to finish the game the first time through. I didn't do most of the side missions but still that's way too short for a game that was marketed as an "Epic rpg", and the story which was good but is no way an epic. Knights of the Old Republic is a great example of an epic story. Anyway, I've completed most of the side missions on my second and third playthrough and it was extremely boring. The side missions don't really have any impact on your major story line and it feels rather pointless in the end. Back to point, I hope this new content will actually have a more traditional exploration that we are used to seeing in rpgs. That's the reason people play rpgs, so that we can explore, interact, discover, and make an impact within that game's universe. Also, as suspected the whores at Microsoft will be charging $5 for this new 90 minute content. So I'll wait and see actually what the content is like before I decide to send my $5 to Microsoft. Cheers!

Stargate Gamer Trailer

My favorite sci-fi franchise Stargate is becoming a video game! We heard about this a few years ago, but then we heard that the project was being scrapped. But now developer Cheyenne Mountain is working to make those dreams a reality for all those Stargate fans out there. It's a massively multiplayer role playing game (hopefully free like Guild Wars), so it should be fun to see how everything works out. Hopefully we'll get to encounter our favorite SG characters like Col.O'Neill, Teal'c, Sam, Daniel Jackson, and maybe even Walter Harriman whom you should know if you claim to be a hardcore SG fan. Anyway, I'm really excited about this game and hopefully it won't be a cheap or diluted product. The Stargate franchise and it's fans deserve a great game. I'll be following this story closely and will post any update when released.

IGN Stargate Worlds Interview

My Xbox 360 Broke...

My freaking Xbox broke earlier this week. So what happened you say? I turned on my console and wait for it to turn on but nothing happens. Instead I get a blinking red light on the "ring of lights" and I get an error message on my TV. It gave me a system error message in various languages and an error code (E74) and told me to contact Xbox support. At this point I thought one of the cables might not be connected so I check everything and reconnect everything properly. I turn it on again but the same thing happens and I'm worried at this point that something really serious has happened to my console. I keep trying but nothing happens so I decide to call Xbox support thinking that I should be able to send it in back for repairs under the new 3 year warranty plan. Unfortunately, for me I found out that I have to pay for repairs because the new warranty plan does not cover anything else but the 3 red lights problem. Angered by this I decided to hold off on spending $99 for repairs and wait a few days. I thought about this and how Microsoft is screwing it's customers left and right for horrible service. If there is any hardware problem with the console the warranty should cover it. There should be no exceptions. If you broke your console by dropping it or damaged something on it then it's understandable for them to charge for repairs. It's like buying a new car and then finding out you have a problem with it. You take it to the dealer and since your car is under warranty the dealer should fix the problem. But in Microsoft's case the new warranty plan does not cover anything else but the 3 red lights problem. So beware! If your console is out of warranty buy a new warranty service otherwise you're screwed. Now, I'm starting to develop a real disdain for Microsoft and their b.s. We shouldn't have to put up with this crap as consumers. I know of no other company that releases one problematic product after another, whether it be software or hardware, and force feed it to the public. And here's the kicker: We take it right up our you know what! I was very close to selling my console and buying a PS3 but I don't have the required funds so I have to repair my console and I'll probably have to send it in for repairs again in another four to five months. Sad...

Houston Gamers Sue Microsoft.

Houston Chronicle Link

Finally someone is doing something! I too experienced horrible Xbox Live service during the holiday season, specially after Christmas and before the new year. I personally know of people who also have had problems with the service as well. The thing that gets gamers angry is when a company like Microsoft denies or pretends the problem does not exist. Only when thousands upon thousands of customers are frustrated and angry they release some information. Now Microsoft is trying to appease gamers by offering them a full free Xbox Live Arcade game. Is this fair compensation for people who were looking for some quality gaming time during the holidays? I don't know, I suppose it depends on the individual gamer. But for me it's not enough. Not by a long shot. I hope Microsoft will improve their service and implement a better way to communicate with their customers. We the consumers demand the truth and if Microsoft had come out and admitted the truth maybe they wouldn't have had made so many people angry.

The Duke is Back???

Need I say more? This video was released a couple of weeks ago but it's still awesome to watch.