Brian's Blog

I've got the New Xbox Experience!!!

Brian Vaughn — 2008-11-18T01:11:11Z

I was just reading Major Nelson's twitter and saw that anyone who signed up for the preview of the new Xbox Experience (NXE) got the update sent to their Xbox today. Once you get the update it takes about two minutes to download and install. After it launches for the first time you watch some video that I'm sure the marketing team put togerher. Once that's done you start editing your avatar.

Editing your avatar is very cool. You can pick one of several presets then modify that one to be more like you. You get to modify their hair style, hair color, facial hair, eyes, nose, ears, skin tone, add wrinkles or dimples then choose a body type. I made mine tall and fat cause let's face it, I am.

Once you've modified the face and body you can choose from a fairly wide variety of clothing and accessory options. My wife made sure I had a ring on my finger. I found a nice pair of jeans and an Xbox t-shirt (there are other t-shirts). Total process didn't take long at all to create my avatar.

I'm still checking things out and hope to get some timetomorrow to play around with the game installs and Netflix integration. I'm really excited to get a chance to finally play around with the new user interface. It is really fast and has a lot going on.

Delta Squad's at Toys R Us

Brian Vaughn — 2008-11-15T21:28:09Z

Today was one of those days that comes every year. We drop the kids off and Grandma's house and we go toy shopping for the kids. Colin's birthday is in just two weeks so we'll do all the birthday shopping and Christmas shopping for the kids done in one day. This normally means hitting a couple toy stores and toy departments.

Since Colin is turning four he is moving to more grownup toys and we found ourselves in a different part of Toys R Us looking for stuff for him. This part of the store is were they keep their action figures toys and this is were I saw Delta Squad. Yep, the first one I saw was Baird in his individual case. He was mixed between Power Rangers and some other toys I wasn't familiar with. I then noticed the package with the entire squad. This package has all four surviving members of Delta squad from Gears of War plus some of their weapons like the Hammer of Dawn, Torque Bow, Long Shot and the Lancer.

After a little more search it seems there are several Gears action figures out there. Amazon has both a package with Marcus, Cole ans two of the Locusts. You can also buy several of the Locust variants as well. I have to admit part of me really thought these action figures were cool. I just think I'm a little bit to old to have items like this. It they were a bit smaller I'd put ti right next to my shotgun toting Master Chief in my cube.

Gears 2 Multiplayer impressions

Brian Vaughn — 2008-11-12T02:13:22Z

Multiplayer in Gears of War 2 has vastly improved over what was included in the first game. It is very clear that the folks at Epic have been playing some Halo 3 multiplayer. The first big change that you'll notice is that you can create public or private parties. If you choose public match making your part will will be evaluated and a team with similar skill set will be found. This process is extremely similar to the Halo 3 match making system.

When you choose to play a match making there are several different game variants to play. If you choose to play Player's Choice this will put you in a play list that lets the players choose between two maps and two game types. This is the area I've spent the most time lately because it lets you play multiple maps and game types. It is clearly an improvement on Halo 3's veto system allowing the players to choose their preferred map and game type between two options. Your never going to get stuck with a crappy game variant after vetoing the first option.

I tend to really like checking out my multiplayer stats. I'm not a stud online but I mostly hold my own so I like to see how I'm trending. Now after a match, while you're waiting to join your next match you can look at your stats just like in Halo 3. This is a nice feature that will allow you to see how you did in your previous match as well as see how you have fared in that game type over time. This is just a nice option to have while you wait to join your next match.

Another nice change is that you can now default your online appearance in Gears 2...just like in Halo 2 and 3. Now you can go into multiplayer options and pick your default human and Locust plus your default starting weapon. You can still change these options before each match.

Now playing games on Xbox Live is a lot of fun to do with friends. If you do wonder into public match making you still need to beware of the gamers your playing against. Gears does tend to attract a certain type of individual that loves to say stupid stuff. If you don't want to bother with these people you can play multiplayer games by yourself using bots. All the team multiplayer game types can be played with bots of various skill level. This is a nice training ground and it's a lot faster than waiting for match making to find you a game.

One of the new best parts of Gears 2 is Horde mode. This is a mode where you can team up with four of your friends to take on wave after wave of AI controlled Locusts. There are 50 waves and I have played through them all. After each round multiple of 10 the Locust are stronger, faster and deadlier. Towards the end the Locust send tons of enemies at you a log of the really big ones too. It is a fun mode to play with friends and forces you to work as a team.

Completed Gears of War 2

Brian Vaughn — 2008-11-11T12:46:49Z

There are some games that you look forward to playing that just don't always deliver. Your expectations are so large that even though the game is very good it just doesn't deliver that unforgettable joy. Thankfully Gears of War 2 is not that game. Gears over delivers in terms of story, scale of battle and new environments. There are parts of Gears that are absolutely amazing to play which you will definitely want to do more than once.

After playing the first Gears game all I wanted to do was find out more about the story. I enjoyed the game play and was impressed by the beauty of the game but felt the story left too much unanswered. In Gears 2 you get more story and will learn more about the motivation of the Locust. This time around you get to see a lot more of the of the world and you learn a little more about the people. Gears 2 places several collectibles items around the game levels that let you learn more about the people, the Locust and puts some doubt in your mind about what the Locust actually are.

The game play in gears 2 is a lot of the same from the first game. You will be fighting with Dom for almost the entire game and only leave Dom when Delta squad splits up. This time around the game is much longer than the first and adds a lot more vehicle combat. This time around you get to ride some of the Locust vehicles as well which is ends in a really awesome moment where you ride a Brumack through the middle of the Locust's Hallow.

By far this is the best game I've played this year. It is full of enjoyable game play and challenging situations. There is some emotional aspects to the story this time that concludes one of the story lines. I played the game on Hard Core difficult and found it to be fairly manageable. There was really only one place that I got stuck which was towards the end of Act 1. Really the game is very easy and there are enough difficulties that anyone can pickup Gears 2 and play.

In Act 4 in Gears of War 2

Brian Vaughn — 2008-11-09T20:33:00Z

Ok, after some less than stellar moments in the first act, the game has really picked up. As the fight goes underground Gears picks up the pace as you move from one stellar moment to the next. This time around there is a real feeling that you are part of a large scale war as you fighting along with several other Gears squads in the beginning of the game. As you progress through the story it goes back to Delta squad or Marcus and Dom. It's clear that Gears 2 has gotten a visual upgrade and I do think the game runs at a higher frame rate as well. There are still are some texture pop-in issues but they aren't as bad as the first game.

As I've mentioned before the story in Gears of War 2 is vastly improved. There are a few questions answered but even more seem to pop up. Gears barrows a page from BioShock by placing collectible items scattered around the game world. These items add to the story and are well worth hunting down as they will help engross the player in the game world.

I also popped into some match making this weekend to see how it plays. I played some wingman, submission and execution. Wingman is a 2 vs 2 vs 2 vs 2 vs 2 game that takes some serious teamwork. This is actually a really fun mode to play since the matches go fairly fast. Submission is capture the flag Gear's style. Instead of a flag to capture there is this drunk "stranded" guy you need to down then pickup to take to your base. This is one of the crazier modes to play and is a ton more fun than any of the other modes. Another fun mode is Horde, where you and four of your friends face wave after wave of Locust. This time around the match making is vastly improved as well by using a system more like Halo 3 to find balanced matches. Overall the multiplayer is a huge step up and I expect it will regain the crown as the 360's most popular multiplayer game.

First Hours of Gears of War 2

Brian Vaughn — 2008-11-07T12:49:22Z

There are some advantages to going to a midnight launch. Most of the time it's just getting to play the game for a couple hours that night. With Gears of War 2 they were handing out cards with codes for a free Gears of War 2 theme for the new Xbox experience. They also had a code to download a gold lancer for playing online. The turnout for the game wasn't as large as Halo 3 but was easily over a hundred people at my suburban location.

First thing I did when I got home was enter the codes and download all the stuff I got in at the launch. When i started playing I went straight into the campaign mode. The game starts out with more story than the first and does a good job of catching up anyone who didn;t play the first one. The first mission was classic gears fun killing grubs and being totally bad ass. From there it goes to what I'd refer to a Call of Duty 4 level. There is a whole lot going on with a ton of baddies to kill. This is when you'll fight your first Brumack and it's kind of a pain in the but on Hardcore.

I'll be posting a lot more about my experience as I go on. I'm currently near the end of Act 1 and I may still be there until i figure out how to kill that Brumack. The game looks incredible with a lot more detail and it runs a lot smoother than the original gears. I have not tried much online but I will tonight.

Prepare for Gear of War 2

Brian Vaughn — 2008-11-06T01:04:05Z

So I'm sure everyone knows Gears is launching at midnight this Thursday night. If you are needs some trailer love to get you in the mood for Gear 2 be sure to check out the 23 videos available on Xbox Live. There is a whole series of behind the scenes documentary discussing every aspect of the game. There are a few multiplayer and game play trailers as well. Check the "Last Day" trailer for your emo fix.

I'm extremely excited for the multiplayer in the game. There are a few more casual friendly game modes now were you can add bots to balance out your party or to play against. There is also a new Horde mode were you just take on wave after wave of enemies with your friends. This time around it's clear that multiplayer wasn't just tacked on at launch.

Problems with Fable

Brian Vaughn — 2008-11-06T01:03:12Z

Sometimes it's just hard to recapture the spirit of a game in it's sequel. Fable 2 does a great job of improving upon the first game by creating a much larger, open world. The story does a good job of prodding the player along without forcing the player down one path like the original. It is clear the combat was slightly tweaked and the use of the d-pad is now much more limited. Still with all these improvements it's clear not everything in Fable 2 is an improvement.

I have to say my favorite aspect of Fable was leveling up my character and opening up new loot to acquire. I gathered all the bright armor I could and always looked forward to being able to upgrade to the next best sword. Unfortunately in Fable 2 all the good items are available to you almost immediately. If you are willing to earn money you can buy the best weapons and outfits early on in the game. Sadly there really isn't very many good outfits to begin with.

While Fable 2 had a good story, the combat is what I really enjoyed. I would travel from city to city to fight all the hobs and balverines. In Fable 2 it seems that both the hobs and balverines have taken a back seat to bandits. I used to enjoy fighting the trolls to get my combat multiplier up but now the couple of trolls you fight are tedious fights. By making trolls nothing more than shooting a few weak points the battles are just exercises in circle strafing. By far the biggest disappointment in the game as to be the Arena's replacement. This tedious battle, which you can't lose, does nothing more than force you to kill a few more enemies before you can progress the story.

Fortunately there is enough good in Fable 2 to still be one of the best games released this fall. It is amazing to see how your choices really affect the the world around you. A town may flourish or flounder based on your choices. Some times it's very clear this will occur but on occasion you won't even notice unless you play the game multiple times and see how a benign choice ruins a town. Fable 2 delivers on most of the promises of the first Fable except there is no dragon to fight.

Following the path of Light in Fable 2

Brian Vaughn — 2008-11-01T08:17:54Z

Often games try to make your decisions in a game have meaning. Most of the time the choices for good or evil aren't difficult to make: free the slaves or help round up more slaves or help the looters rob the farmer or protect the farmer from the robbers. Most of the time these decision have no consequence to them, just some morality meter is adjusted. The first Fable did try to deliver a game where your decision really did matter. Still Fable fell short of this goal and so far Fable 2 has built on Fable's short coming to deliver an enjoyable game that just might leave you regretting your choice.

On my first play though I chose to follow the good path making the selfless choices. Since I played good I didn't feel the effect of my decisions. On several occasions I was put in a position that I knew which was the choice but I chose not what I would do but what I wanted my character to do. That was never the case in the original Fable or other games that press the moral questions.

I have already decided to play through Fable a second time playing the evil route. I've chosen to play as a woman this time and I'm curious how I will change as I choose the down right evil choices. Still I know I will have to play through a third time. On that play through I will make the choices I would make myself and see how good or evil I end up.

Fallout 3 in stores now...

Brian Vaughn — 2008-10-28T12:48:33Z

... but I don't care. Sure I've been looking forward to the new action RPG from the makers of Oblivion. Sure the game is getting good review scores and will probably be incredibly awesome. I'm just not ready to move on from Fable 2 just yet. Fable 2 is just the right amount of game for me right now. I am just not willing to devote the amount of time I'm sure Fallout 3 needs. I sent over 100 hours playing Oblivion and I expect to play Fallout 3 at least half of that.

I did get called twice, once Sunday night and again Monday night, to be reminded about the midnight launch of Fallout 3. Maybe there was some cool stuff but I'm talking the night off from waiting for a game. In just one week the one true game to rule them all comes out: Gears of War 2. I will be in line for that and I will not pickup Fallout 3 until I have finished playing Gears 2.

Fable 2 Impressions

Brian Vaughn — 2008-10-27T00:39:52Z

First off, Fable 2 is incredible and should be picked up by anyone who owns an Xbox 360. I have always felt that the Fable games were Microsoft's version of Legend of Zelda games without the overwhelming commitment. Since the main story can be completed in about 15 hours, it's no where near the 40-60 it takes to complete a Zelda game. What makes Fable and Fable 2 great is the game is made for replay and has tons of side quests to fill out the experience for those that want more than a 15 hours experience. So far I'm about 3/4 through the game I think and I'm about 13 hours in. I've ignored the main quest as much as I could and spent time on the other things you can do in the game like explore caves and take a job as a blacksmith.

The main game feature mostly remembered from Fable was that you had the option to play as good or evil. Often your choices didn't have much recourse in the world. Maybe people wouldn't like you or stated you shouldn't of done something but it had no effect on the world. You might have grown some horns or maybe had some butterflies fly around your head but that was all. In Fable 2 you have some more significant changes based on your decisions. Some of your earliest decision can determine if cities will thrive or fail.

There are some quests that are just plain evil and some are just plain good. It's clear that by choosing one or the other that you will be doing good or evil. That is why no only is there a good vs evil meter but there is a corruption vs purity meter as well. Maybe you are rich and you buy of shops or homes and you increase the prices for goods and rent? This will make you more corrupt while lowering the prices will make you more pure. Since you can marry and have kids in Fable 2 you can also set their allowance and decide how nice their home is. Maybe you live high on the hog while you make your family live off scraps? These are options some players can choose to make.

From a pure game play comparison to the original it is clear that Fable 2's world is much larger with more areas to explore. The combat system is almost identical to the first game with melee mapped to the X button, range mapped to Y and magic mapped to the B button. Unlike the original you can not map items to your d-pad which I think is a mistake. If you want to use an item you must pause the game to go to the menu system.

The significant changes in game play is you can play a a woman, have a child and you have a dog as your companion. Since the original Fable allowed you to have homo-sexual relationships it's not to surprising you can have a woman hero. You can play as a woman, meet a man, marry and have him raise your kids. I have also heard that female-female relationships can lead to pregnancy as well. Your child will run to see you when you come to town and praise you as long as you treat him/her well. This relationship is a very interesting one to explore and so far I've been very find to this family (I have another wife in different town....pro trip: you don't want them to ever meet).

The one lasting relationship in the game is to your dog. He will be with you thick or thin. You can praise your dog or punish him as well. Your appearance, social acceptance and behavior will reflect upon him. If you are evil, your dog will be just as evil. In battle he will fight with you and if he gets hurt you can choose to heal him or let him limp and whine as he tries to keep up.

I think Fable 2 is an incredible game that will push the boundaries on what we expect from games of this genera. Fable 2 will pull at the heart strings and use your relationships in the game to care about the non-playable characters. The game's actual story may be a bit of rehash for seasoned gamers but the choices you make and the feels the game evokes make it a instant classic.

Portal:Still Alive comes to Xbox Live

Brian Vaughn — 2008-10-23T10:29:16Z

Today's Xbox Live Arcade title is the critically acclaimed Portal. Now in the past I have questioned whether this game was so mind bending as the gaming media have asserted. Well now you have the option to download a free demo and give it a try on your Xbox 360. The game comes with the story mode sold on Orange Box but comes with 14 challenge levels picked from the community.

Source:
xbox360fanboy.com

First Hour of Fable 2

Brian Vaughn — 2008-10-22T11:49:24Z

After getting home from the midnight launch of Fable 2 I delved right into the game. So far I have been very impressed with how beautiful the game looks and how the game just feels like Fable. I loved the first Fable and played through the game as a good guy and a bad guy. So far the game feels just like the original but with slight changes.

In the first game you had a mini-HUD that showed you exactly where you needed to go. This time around that's not the case since the HUD is gone entirely but you will be lead around by your dog and a gold pixie dust trail showing you were to go. So far I have not veered off the main quests path too much so I'm not sure how it will handle free exploration.

The introduction of the dog is by far the best new feature. I named mine Maxwell and by praising him and playing with him he has managed to help me find a lot of gold. Just like the first Fable you are given a spade to help you dig up treasure. Your dog can sniff out buried treasure or find hidden treasure chests in caves or in towns. In short the dog totally rocks and is your loyal companion.

I'm not very far in but the game is looking great. I do not think this game will sway people that disliked the first Fable but it will be a hit among those that loved the first game. I think Fable 2 will get more of a break over the length of the content than the original did since other RPGs like Mass Effect have not broken the 20 hour barrier. This game is not made for the hard core RPG fans but it's made for the casual video game fans. The combat is fairly easy and the story is short enough you won't spend months playing the game.

Fable 2's Midnight Launch Tonight

Brian Vaughn — 2008-10-20T10:46:44Z

I had not heard anything about a midnight launch for Fable 2 until my local GameStop gave me a ring telling me about the launch. I'm assuming my store will be open since I got the call but will stop by there after work to make sure. The message also stated that I get an extra 20% on all trade-ins used to purchase Fable 2. I'm trading in my copy of Madden '09 and I'm trading in my original Xbox. I just have it sitting in my storage and it's just taking up space. I know they used to be giving $80 as a trade-in value but I'm not sure if that's store credit or if it has to be put towards a another system.

I've held onto the system for no real reason. I put my original Xbox in a box along with 95% of the games I had for it once I got my 360. If I can get some decent money for the system I'll trade it in. I've actually got my eye on the new red Xbox 360 controller. It's $64 and comes with the play and charge kit. I currently do have several Xbox 360 controllers so I think I'll try and sell those. From what I hear you get only a $10 trade-in credit for used wireless Xbox 360 controllers. I may try posting an ad at work or maybe Craig's list and see if I can sell them for $20. You want a relatively unused 360 controller, send me an email.

Xbox 360 outsells PS3 in Japan for 5 straight weeks

Brian Vaughn — 2008-10-17T00:02:56Z

Here's a little trivia for you: The original Xbox never sold out it's original 500,000 shipment to Japan. In fact you can go into stores now and find an original Xbox. So with the Xbox 360 not too many people had a lot of faith the 360 could compete, let alone outsell one of the the established Japanese console makers. Well this generation Microsoft has partnered with Japanese game developers to create exclusive Japanese style RPGs for their console. After Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey failed to capture much attention in Japan it seemed like Japan would be another failure for Microsoft.

Thanks in part to a struggling PS3 in all markets and a healthy install base for the 360 in Europe and North America, Japanese developers decided to make more exclusive RPGs for the Xbox 360. Now with Tales of Vesparia, Last Remnant and Infinite Undiscovery all hitting the Xbox 360 this Fall it seems the 360 has surpassed the PS3 for total sales in September and has outsold the PS3 the last five weeks.

This generation the Japanese consumers have not embraced either of the HD consoles. It is shocking to see the PS3 sell so few consoles considering the PS2 sold on average 3 to 4 times as much as the PS3. The DS and PSP sell significantly better in Japan ans the Wii is on pace to surpass the sales records of the PS2. The sales of the Xbox 360 have increased as their price has dropped to ¥29,800 ($277). I'm curious if the price point has been a larger issue in Japan than originally thought. If Microsoft can continue to beat the PS3 in Japan this would be an incredible turn of events.

Week                Xbox 360     PS3
Sept 29-Oct 5        7,763      5,734
Sept 22-28            8,271      7,232
Sept 15-21          11,291      8,275
Sept 8-14            13,777      8,156
Sept 1-7              28,188      8,053
Totals                 69,290     37,450

Source:
kotaku.com

Wiping off the Dust

Brian Vaughn — 2008-10-17T15:36:50Z

So I haven't been blogging as much as I usually do. Part of that has been that I'm in a bit of a gaming lull while I wait for Fable 2, Fallout 3 and gears of War 2 to hit stores. Part of that has also been I've been crazy busy at work trying to manage three projects at once. Thankfully it seems I have one put to bed and I'm close to wrapping up another.

One thing I have learned on these multi-team project that cross multiple technologies is they suck to debug and it's always the other guys fault. There are definite performance improvements to loading data using PL/SQL and SQL Loader but I really question putting any business logic in those tools. They are horrible to debug which means it's hard to prove it's not the problem. On my next project we are looking to use the Spring Batch project to help us load some files. I've already prototyped a solution using Spring's Quartz implementation that will kick off a new thread for each file we receive. If this performs well it will be the foundation for taking more batch processing off of our legacy systems.

I've still found plenty of time to game it up but have not had much to write about. Now that I've sucked every achievement I can get out of Too Human I have moved on. I enjoyed Too Human but unless there is some new download content I'm probably done with the game. I have played a little Halo 3 online playing on the Legendary maps. Halo 3 now has a new skill ranking system for every online play type. Seems a bit stupid to me but whatever.

I've been playing PGA Tour '09 lately but I mailed it back today. I can only play so much of that game before it's just so boring. I'm playing the "balanced" difficultly which means I shoot rounds in the low 60s and drive the ball on average of 360 yards. My 8 iron goes 200 yards. Playing golf like that on a course like Pebble or Dural is obscene. I'm almost always hitting a pitch shot with a wedge on my approach shots and full swings with wedges on the Par 5s for second shot. I won a major last night even after I hit three shots OB in one round. I think I ended up shooting a 68 that round. Basically what I'm getting at is the game to way to simple/arcade style for me to enjoy. I much rather they scale back the abilities of your golfer and make the courses length more of a challenge.

If you haven't noticed I stopped playing Metal Gear Solid 4. After finishing the first two acts I really didn't feel compelled to pick up the game again. I kept the game in my PS3 for a good two weeks before I sent it back. I hear there will be another version of the game coming out so maybe I'll wait for that one. My PS3 is really just for playing movies and right now it's not even doing that much.

September has always been good for Microsoft

Brian Vaughn — 2008-10-16T23:30:29Z

So the NPDs are out with Nintendo leading the pack selling 687,000 Wiis, followed by Microsoft selling 347,200 Xbox 360s and Sony selling 232,400 PS3s. Every console saw a bump in sales in September with Microsoft seeing the most significant raise by selling 78% more consoles than last month. Obviously the much needed price cut has helped bolster the sales of the Xbox 360 moving it significantly past the PS3.

Of course Nintendo is very pleased selling almost twice as many Wiis than 360s and selling almost 3 times PS3s. Wii Fit was the leading Nintendo software on the list selling 518,000 units, Mario Kart was 4th on the list selling 353,000 and Wii Play sold an additional 243,000 units. There was one 3rd party Wii game on the top ten this month. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed sold 223,000 finishing in 9th place and last among the big 3 consoles version of the game.

Now for three months in a row the Xbox 360 has had the top game of the month. This month The Force Unleashed takes the top spot selling 610,00 copies. Microsoft also had Rock Band 2 (363K), Mercenaries 2 (297K), and Madden '09 (224K) in the top ten this month. The price cut helped move an additional 150,000 consoles in September which keeps Microsoft's trend of good Septembers.

I really do look forward to Sony's NPD spin. Normally Sony comes out with some crazy percentage that makes it look like the PS3 is doing better than it actually is. This month they stated an "increase of over 94% year-over-year" which really isn't that hard when you only sell 119,000 consoles in September of 2007. They also talked about having the "broadest and deepest software line-up this holiday" then proceeded to name off 5 games. I guess their five games are more broad and deep than Fable 2, Gears of War 2, Halo Wars, Left 4 Dead, Banjo Kazooie and The Last Remant. I'll bet my 360 that those Xbox 360 console exclusives will do better than LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: Confrontation, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, NBA '09 and Resistance 2.

Now Sony has stated that they will not be cutting the price of the PS3 this year. I'm really shocked that they have stuck by their guns and have the most expensive console with the 80GB model selling at $399. The fact Sony has only one PS3 game on the top 10 list would maybe show Sony that they might be losing this generation. When consumers go looking for a console his holiday season whcih one are they going to choose? The $299 console with tons of games or the $399 one that plays over priced BluRays? They won't find a Wii unless they start stalking their local Target.

Wii: 687K
DS: 536.8K
Xbox 360: 347.2K
PSP: 238.1K
PS3: 232.4K
PS2: 173.5K

1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Xbox 360 – 610K
2. Wii Fit w/ Balance Board - Wii – 518K
3. Rock Band 2 - Xbox 360 – 363K
4. Mario Kart w/ wheel - Wii – 353K
5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - PS3 – 325K
6. Mercenaries 2: World in Flames - Xbox 360 – 297K
7. Wii Play w/ remote - Wii – 243K
8. Madden NFL 09 - Xbox 360 – 224K
9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Wii – 223K
10. Madden NFL 09 - PS2 – 158K

source:
joystiq.com

Golf'en my Ball in Tiger Woods '09

Brian Vaughn — 2008-10-13T23:04:54Z

Well after getting past those early issues with Tiger Woods PGA Tour '09 it's been smooth sailing ever since. I am really impressed with the swing mechanics and the amount of control you have over the swing. I've got all my distances dialed in and have been able to level up my skills quickly.

The core game is still the same with a PGA Tour career mode and a Tiger Challenge mode. The Tiger Challenge has changes over the years and now you have to earn points completing challenges to unlock the singles matches against the pros. These challenges tend to be easy and scale up as you progress. Since some may be more challenging that other you don't have to complete all of them but need to unlock enough points to challenge the pro.

One new item is the Gamernet Challenges. These are online challenges are performed by other players around the world and have an assigned value. If you choose to accept and beat the challenge the points go to your gamernet score. There are four types of challenges: Freestyle, Drive, 9 Holes and 18 Holes.

The Freestyle Channel contains challenges of your shot making ability. Most are about holing a shot or hitting a drive and stopping it in a specific area. The long drive challenges are typical bomb the ball but make it land at X and stay in the fairway. The 9 and 18 hole challenges are about getting a low score, birdie streaks and birdie counts. On one challenge I completed had me shoot at least 12 under at Riviera with a 6 hole birdie streak. While playing the PGA Tour career mode you will see instant gamernet challenges appear for long drive and closest to the pin.

Overall I'm very impressed with this year's game. It looks to have a lot of content capable of keeping the player busy for a long time. There are 16 courses available with the game and it seems others will be available as downloadable content. Most of the courses are PGA Tour stops and/or host major championships. It does not seem there are any "fantasy" courses in this version so every shot you take is on a real course. This game is a natural fit for anyone you know that enjoys golf and plays games.

TGS: Halo 3 Recon is coming Fall 2009

Brian Vaughn — 2008-10-11T08:21:58Z

So it seems that the big Bungie game announcement that got passed up at E3 was Halo 3: Recon. There is not much really known about this game yet except it's a standalone game, is a retelling of the combat on Earth when the covenant find Earth and your not playing a Spartan. It seems that you are playing as one of the Orbital Defense Shock Troops that is dropped on Earth at the time of the invasion. The word on the street is this will not be a run and gun style game but instead will emphasis an almost stealth action game.

It seems this game will only have a two year development cycle so expect to see a lot of the same environments from Halo 3. This game will have 4 player co-op, campaign scoring and forge. This game will also have it's own multiplayer. This will be the second Halo based game released in 2009. It will be preceded by Halo Wars which will come out in early 2009. If you are interested in either game I recommend checking out the game videos they have on the Marketplace. I'm beginning to get excited about Halo Wars because it looks like it's got a good story. Hopefully we'll hear more about Halo 3: Recon in the upcoming months.

Tiger Woods '09: Flawed but beautiful

Brian Vaughn — 2008-10-10T10:54:56Z

So I recently got new latest tiger Woods game mailed to me from Game Fly. I've been playing PGA Tour from EA well before Tiger was ever associated with the franchise. For the most part the game has always been a fun, easy game that almost anyone can pick up and play. Over the years the controls have gotten better and the courses have looked remarkably better as well. Unfortunately, like other EA games, this one has it flaws and some I can not let slide.

For the most part the game does an exceptional job allowing to create your golfer. This year you can not only buy new clubs but modify them to your liking. I'm tempted to setup a set of irons with a fade preference and see how they play. Unfortunately I may not have a chance because the game keeps hanging up my 360 after I complete a round. So far I've lost two rounds at Pebble Beach because the game froze after finishing the 18th hole.

I can not express how annoying it is to play a 30 minute game and watch it all go to waste because the game froze and the round was not saved after I finished the 18th hole. It really is a shame because I really do like Tiger Woods '09 and feel there are some cool stuff in there. Just seems to me that this game is still not ready for prime time.