Friday, February 29, 2008

Best Movie Sequels


A lot of the time sequels to movies can be major letdowns. Other times sequels can be better or as good as the originals. I'm not going to get started on bad sequels. I'll leave that for another blog entry. Here are some sequels that I think are notable.

The Road Warrior
Superman 2
Rocky 2
Rocky 4
Rocky Balboa
Rambo: First Blood Part 2
Rambo
Kill Bill Volume 2
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Spiderman 2
Christmas Vacation
Return Of The Jedi
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Die Hard 2
Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom
Clerks 2

I'm sure I'm missing a few, but there's always room for a Best Movie Sequels Part 2 blog entry. :)

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Arcades... My Second Home In The 80's


From about the age of 11-16 one of my favorite places to be was an arcade called Star World.
Me and a friend would bring 20 dollars a piece and get 40 dollars worth of tokens a piece. They always a deal where you'd get twice the tokens for the money. 4o dollars worth would last us quite a while. There were a few other arcades around, but Star World was the best. It was a really big arcade to boot. They always had all of the latest games.
The downside was that the place was usually packed beyond belief. You had to know the right times to go, so that you could get a lot of playing time in.

Playing games was obviously great fun, but there was also the social aspect of it. You could
hang out with people you knew and just have a great time talking about games and stuff that teens generally talk about. Hanging out at Star World was great fun, and some of the funnest times I can remember from the 80's.

I guess the only downside to great consoles is that you don't need arcades anymore. You can play
awesome games in the comfort of your own home sitting on your couch. Kids these days have no idea what the whole arcade experience was like in the 80's. That's a shame.

Here are the top 20 games that I played the most in the 80's in the arcade:

Dragons Lair
Punch-Out!
Spy Hunter (With the cockpit of course)
Food Fight
Tron
Dig Dug
Space Ace
Bump N' Jump
Ms Pac-Man
Kangaroo
Crazy Climber
Moon Patrol
Double Dragon
Pole Position
Paperboy
Root Beer Tapper (Yes, I know it was cheezy, but I was 11!)
Rampage
Jungle-Hunt
Joust
Zoo Keeper

I played a ton of games, but these were the ones I could remember the most. It seems like ages ago. Good times for sure.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Thanks To My Father...


My earliest video gaming memory goes all the way back to 1977. My Dad was into gadgets, cars and new houses. He had the money to buy all of these things, so my childhood was great. I was spoiled beyond belief. Just as an example I can remember my 5th birthday vividly. I came home home from kindergarden to see a pinball machine in the living room that wa all mine. I was so short that I needed a chair to stand on the play it. I racked up hundreds of hours on that table. I wish I still had it. Along with the pinball table we had Pong. When you're 5 years old Pong is cool. 
Somehow I remember playing the pinball machine more than Pong, but Pong was my first gaming experience. Four years later my gaming obsession would really begin.

In 1981 I would turn nine years old. I generally got what I wanted for my birthday. Yes, I realize that I sound like a spoiled brat, but I was a good kid back then. Anyway, I happened to see an Atari 2600 commercial on tv. The games they showed like Asteroids, Space Invaders and Pac-Man just looked incredible. I had to have it! I just had to have it! I of course asked my Dad if I could have an Atari for my b-day. He kinda messed with me about it talking about how expensive one was and all of that, but in hindsight what was he gonna say? It's not like he was gonna come right out and say sure I'll buy you one. There would be no fun in that. The day my b-day rolled around there were no gifts for me. Then my dad got home from work and off to the store we went. He really didn't say much on the ride to the store. My Dad rarely said much. When we got to the store I already knew I'd be getting an Atari. Needless to say I did get an Atari, and quite a few games to go with it. From that point on gaming was an obsession for me. All of this thanks to my Dad.

I ended up losing my Dad to cancer when I was just 11 years old. It was February 23rd 1984. He was only 32 years old. He was the best Dad a kid could ever possibly have. I just wish he was around to see how far gaming has come since the Atari 2600. I can remember playing games on the 2600 with him. We used to play COMBAT, OUTLAW, and ASTEROIDS.
Now I'd like to play some COD4 or Rainbow Six Vegas with him. I think he'd love those games as much as I do.

R.I.P. Jack Phelps

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Games That Get Hyped


Ever buy a game based on tons of great reviews? Ever read a ton of great reviews for a game,
and then go out and buy the game and wonder why so many people think it's great while you really don't? There is a PSP game called PATAPON that inspired me to write this blog entry. Well before I even played the demo I had been reading nothing but praise for this game. I played the demo expecting a really good game. Instead I got a demo that was really repetitive and well kinda boring.
It's basically a memory rhythm
game. You have to hit the same botton combination over and over again. 
There are different button combinations that you have to remember to get your little dudes on the screen to march and 
kill. That's pretty much it. I just don't understand what all the rage is about. Am I missing something? Apparently the game lasts for quite a while too. Greg Miller, one of the hosts on
Podcast Beyond said he had played for 17 plus hours. I like Greg Miller a lot, but I don't get his hyping of Patapon. I realize their are different tastes in games, but holy shit this game is getting some seriously good reviews. Right now at gamerankings.com Patapon has an 87.5%. Maybe it's the 20 dollar price tag? I really have no idea.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Resident Evil Trilogy On Blu-Ray


I picked this up about a week ago. I finally got around to watching the first film
in the trilogy last night. Quite impressive. When it was first released I really didn't think
much of it. I didn't even think I'd remember much about it because if I remember right I wasn't
paying much attention to it the first time around. It just didn't seem to hold my interest. After watching it last night it definitely held my interest. I think my tastes may have changed a bit since then. Not that 2002 was a long time ago, but for some reason I was way more into it this time than I was last time.

I decided to watch it in the dark with my headphones on. My gaming set up with my HD TV is in the basement. I think that helped set the mood. I even jumped a few times. The first time I jumped I actually giggled about it. I'm not the scary movie jumping type. Generally nothing gets me to jump. The combination of being in the dark and having headphones on may have contributed to why I was jumpy. 

Thus far I've gotta give thumbs up to the PS3 as a blu-ray player. I've watched three different blu-ray movies now and all of them have looked really nice. Resident Evil was a great experience on blu-ray. It looked beautiful and the sound was great as well. I'll be watching the second RE soon. I'd also like to mention that it upscales regular dvds nicely as well.

My overall score for the first RE on blu-ray is a solid 8/10

Sunday, February 24, 2008

PSP Game Crazy


I decided to go to Game Stop and pick up a few PSP games today. I have two, so of course I need more. Makes perfect sense to me. I've been taking the PSP to work. I play when I have down time. I needed some games that I can play in small chunks. Daxter and Manhunt 2 are the only games I have for the PSP and those weren't working out. I've also found that the PSP is great when you actually want to be around people, but also play some games as well. I can't play and play attention to what my significant other is saying.

Here is what I picked up today:

Super Collapse 3: Perfect puzzle game that I can play in short amounts of time

Twisted Metal: Head On: Great car shooting fun

SSX On Tour: Great snow boarding game. I also have a couple SSX games on the PS2 that I love to death.

Socom U.S. Navy Seals Fireteam Bravo: A shoooter! WOOT!

I also picked up the DAWN OF THE DEAD remake for 7 bucks on UMD.

The manager dude that I always talk to at Game Stop also hooked me up with the following demos: PataponPursuit Force Extreme Justice and Socom Tactical Strike.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Random Thoughts & Peeves


I listen to a bunch of podcasts that are gaming related. One word that is pronounced wrong
all of the time is "Supposedly". For some reason people are pronouncing it like this "supposeBly". There is no "b" in "supposedly". Sorry, but little things like this irritate me.

Another thing that I've noticed with some podcasts lately is that when hosts talk for a long
amount of time they get this dry mouth smacking thing going on that just sounds disgusting. Take a drink already!

While I'm bitching about things I don't like about some podcasts I might as well add another podcast peeve of mine. Stop derailing your podcast to talk about other things that have absolutely nothing to do with gaming topics. If I'm listening to a gaming podcast I want to hear about gaming not tv shows or various other garbage. I think it would perfectly acceptable if you have a section of your show where you talk about other things which I'm all for, but don't go off topic when you should be talking games.

Game developers it's time for me to bitch about you now. Is it really necessary to release a sub-par FPS? If you can't make a shooter that's on par with COD4, Halo 3, Rainbow Six Vegas, or GRAW2 then why bother? Don't make us FPS fans waste our time and money on your weak attempts to simply cash in on a popular gaming genre. I'm tired of it, and I know FPS fans are tired of it as well. 
Black Site Area 51 anyone?

Console Fanboys: Stop being console fanboys! It's old. It's tired. It's lame. Get over it already.
The PS3 has pro and cons. The Xbox 360 has pro and cons. The Wii...well the Wii is the Wii.

Anyone else glad the high definition dvd war is finally over? I know I am. Blu-ray wins and I couldn't be happier. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't hoping blu-ray would win. I didn't care. I just wanted one of the formats to win out. I can honestly say that I did predict a year ago that blu-ray would win. Yep, I was right...for once.

The game DAXTER came with my PSP Slim. Man is that game pissing me off. Remember a few blog posts ago when I bitched about certain gaming elements? Well this game contains the time limit and pain in the ass control elements in one level. Of course I'll probably suffer through this level untill I beat it.

Now some comments and thoughts about games I'm playing right now....

NHL 08: Easily the best EA NHL game yet. I've played every EA NHL game there is. This one is tops.

Resistance: Fall Of Man: So mediocre it isn't funny. It's also kinda hard. I've played a ton of shooters. Afterall it is my favorite genra, and I own the "Shooter Console" where I'm used to playing top notch shooters. Resistance is NOT a top notch shooter. It's average at best.

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools Of Destruction : This is a really fun platformer. I honestly haven't played a platformer that is this fun in a long time. I'm enjoying it.

Devil May Cry 4: It's not bad in small chunks. I play a level and then move on to another game. It's all about combos and button mashing. Really nice looking game. It doesn't hold my attention for long periods of time. I'm fine with that though.

Burnout Paradise: Great game! I bought this on day one and I'm still playing it. Road Rage mode is a blast and my favorite part of the game.

Manhunt 2: I loved Manhunt on the PS2. I picked this up for the PSP and it's more of the same which is fine by me.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Video Game & Robster Craws Podcast?


I'm still ironing out a format and some other ideas, but it looks like EVENTUALLY there
will be a podcast. I just have some issues to work out, but it should happen. I'm not going to give a time frame, but I'm thinking it could happen some time in the spring. I'll post more details when I know more. 

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore


Remember how awesome teen movies were back in the 80's? I sure do.
They are still among my favorite movies ever. Most of them had crazy teen sex,
drug use, alcohol use, and plenty of laughs. A few movies after the 80's have tried this
formula, but in my eyes have failed miserably. I'm sorry, but there will just never be
another FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, which I consider to be the pinacle of teen movies.

I came up with a list of my top 20 favorite 80's teen movies. It was a totally easy list to put
together too. Again I'm not ranking these in order except for the first two movies. I'm
sure anyone who grew up in the 80's will agree with at least half of my list.

1) Fast Times At Ridgemont High
2) Revenge Of The Nerds (WTF Are Robster Craws?)
3) Risky Business
4) Valley Girl
5) Better Off Dead
6) The Breakfast Club
7) Can't Buy Me Love
8) Just One Of The Guys
9) Private School
10) The Last American Virgin
11) River's Edge
12) Stand By Me
13) War Games
14) Sixteen Candles
15) Pump Up The Volume
16) The Karate Kid
17) Ferris Bueller's Day Off
18) Young Guns
19) Real Genius
20) Weird Science

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Certain Types Of Video Game Elements I Hate


As much as I love playing video games there are certain types of game play that I 
absolutely hate. I have a feeling I'll get some people to agree with me on at least a few
of these things.

1) Under no circumstances do I enjoy a game where I have a set amount of time to
accomplish a task. It's just too much pressure. I don't deal well with pressure. It's
bad enough that I have to save a hostage in a FPS while enemies are furiously trying
to kill me. I don't need this plus a time limit.

2) Do not make me protect someone. I hate escort missions. I totally hate them.
I do not want to have to protect a stupid AI character in a game. I hated the escort mission in
Bioshock towards the end and I hated it GRAW as well. If there absolutely has to be an escort mission I at least want that character to wield a gun and be decent with it.

3) If I'm playing a shooter I damn well better be able to shoot my gun with a button. Don't make me use an analog stick. It's assinine. I refuse to play any type of shooter that makes me use the stick to fire my gun.

4) I also have zero patience for games that have puzzles that are so hard to figure out that I need to get online to look at a stradegy guide. Tomb Raider games I'm looking directly at you.
Some of the puzzle solving in these games are just ridiculously hard. I've actually gotten headaches over playing Tomb Raider.

5) I also can't deal with an unresponsive game. If I push the button that makes my character jump or shoot or whatever that character better damn well respond to my button commands. Tomb Raider I am once again looking directly at you.

There are probably a few more I could come up with, but these are the ones that
really piss me off. All in all I love video games, but I could do without the crap that I just listed.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Gaming Habits


As far as gaming goes I tend to have a short attention span. A game has to be really damn good for
me to play it for hours on end. This probably goes without saying. I have a feeling most gamers would agree. That's a no brainer. I do find that no matter how great a game is I find myself wanting to fly right through it so I can get to the next game. If a game is good, but not great I find myself starting other games. For example, right now I'm playing NHL 08, Burnout Paradise, and Devil May Cry 4 on the 360. I was playing Blue Dragon, but got tired of it after 40+ hours. There are a ton of other games I haven't finished that I really need to, but again I have a short attention span. Oh, did I mention that I'm also playing Daxter on the PSP, and plan on starting Resistence Fall Of Man on the PS3?

I like to have a lot of games on hand, and I do. I spend a lot and I mean a lot of money on new release games.
Last year I bought 40+ games for the 360. Most of those were new or I bought them used
shortly after release, so they cost me 55 bucks minus the 10% off I get at Gamestop. I like variety. I need variety. I get tired of a game and need something else to play. I like having options. If you're reading this you're probably thinking I'm also insane and spend too much money on games. You're right. I really need to rent more games.

Another habit of mine is to keep games that I know I'll never play again after I beat them. I rarely ever trade games back in. I did just recently trade in Mass Effect, Assassins Creed, Uncharted Drakes Fortune, and Black Site Area 51. I finished them all and wanted to have some trade money for the PSP I just bought. Otherwise they would still be sitting with all of my other games. I guess from now on when I beat a game I should trade it in because I know I'll never play it again unless it has online multi-player which is something else I don't do enough of, but I'll save that for another blog post.

The bottom line is that I have some really bad gaming habits that I need to fix. I spend way too much on games, and I don't finish every game I buy before I buy another one.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Uncharted: Drakes Fortune Review


When I bought my PS3 I bought three games for it. One of those games was Uncharted: Drakes Fortune. I had heard so many good things about it that I just had to play it. It just so happens that it is one of the best games I've ever played. I had read online that it was like Tomb Raider while others were saying no it wasn't. My opinion is that it is definitely not like Tomb Raider. 
Sure you a character who who doubt searches 
caverns and tombs for treasure, but that is where the comparison ends because this game destroys every Tomb Raider game I've ever played.

From the very beginning of Uncharted you feel like you're a character in an adventure movie. The cut scenes are awesome. The voice acting was great. The voice actors made the characters really come to life. I never felt like I was just listening to people add generic voices to the characters. The main character Nathan Drake will make you chuckle more than once with some of his comments. 
On top of all of this the story was really good too. After every level I just felt like I had 
keep playing to find out what would happen next. 
I've played too many games where I just don't care about the characters or the story.
This happens while playing a lot of shooters. Not the case here with Uncharted.

The gameplay was tight. Nothing new really, except a few instances where you have to use the six axxis controls to throw grenades, balance on a log, or throw some bad guys off of you by shaking the controller. I actually enjoyed this after getting the hang of it. It wasn't something that felt tacked on, and it wasn't overused. Uncharted didn't reinvent the wheel when it comes to controls, but I don't want that anyway. I want a small learning curve and that's what I got. You won't fall to your death from a cliff a million times like in the Tomb Raider games. The controls are quite forgiving when you make jumps. The gun play aiming system is nothing you haven't seen before either. Again that's a good thing. When Nathan is starting to lose too much life your screen will go from color to grey. You don't have a life bar. Many shooters are doing this these days. 
It's basically like seeing red in COD4.

I also enjoyed the scenery in Uncharted. They did a great job with the graphics. I have seen better graphics, but not much better. 
The realtime graphics are great and the water looked incredibly real. 
Once in a while the frame rate would slow down, but it was nothing that was distracting.

I liked the in-game "Achievements".  When you got so many kills or headshots you unlock in-game bonuses. An obvious attempt at having achievements like the Xbox 360, but having the achievements as ingame unlockables which I have no problem with. I thought it was cool.

If you're a fan of shooters you will most likely enjoy this game. It's not strictly a shooter, but you do spend a whole lot of time in shootouts with bad guys. I actually like shooters where you have to take cover and shoot the bad guys, and that's exactly what this game delivers. It's one part shooter and one part action adventure with some easy puzzles to figure out along the way to progress through the story. You also have treasure to find throughout every level which is also an added bonus.

With all of that being said I really cannot recommend buying this game. It's incredibly short. I ended up beating Uncharted in under 10 hours. It's a definite must rent though if you own a PS3. I traded my copy in to Gamestop already.

Final Score = 9.5/10

Saturday, February 16, 2008

PS3 Outsells Xbox 360 For First Time


A while ago I made the prediction that eventually the PS3 would start outselling the 360. It has happened earlier than I thought it would. It's only one month, but it's a start for Sony. What are the reasons behind this? Maybe Xbox 360 owners are fed up with the dreaded "Three Red Lights". Maybe 360 owners also want a PS3. Maybe a lot of people waited for a price drop on the Sony and went out and bought the 40 GB sku for $399.00. Maybe people found out that HD DVD is dead and that Blu-Ray has won the war. I actually think that could be the real reason. 
I expect even more sales of the PS3 this month. Sony didn't exactly destroy Microsoft in January, but they did beat them by 39,000 consoles last month according to the NPD numbers.

The downside for Sony is that they only had one game in the top ten as far as NPD sales figures go. That game is COD4. Microsoft only had 4 titles in the top ten. Nintendo had three Wii games and two for the DS. Nintendo continues to kick ass. 
Who would have predicted that Nintendo would be outselling both Microsoft and Sony?
I sure wouldn't have.

THE NPD GROUP's JANUARY 2008 US GAME INDUSTRY SALES

Category / Total / Change
Video Games: $1.18 billion -6%
Video Games Hardware: $378 million -25%
Video Games Software: $550 million +11%
Video Game Accessories: $191 million -4%
Total Sales Per Week: $295 million +18%

Hardware Sales (in units sold)
Wii: 274,000
PlayStation 3: 269,000
Nintendo DS: 251,000
PlayStation Portable: 230,000
Xbox 360: 230,000

Game Software (in units sold)
1) Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat (360, Activision) - 331,000
2) Wii Play with Wii Remote (Wii, Nintendo) - 298,000
3) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii, Activision) - 240,000
4) Rock Band (Xbox 360, MTV Games) - 184,000
5) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360, Activision) - 183,000
6) Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo) - 172,000
7) Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360, EA) - 144,000
8) Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat (PS3, Activision) - 140,000
9) Mario Party DS (DS, Nintendo) - 139,000
10) Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS, Sega) - 133,000

Friday, February 15, 2008

13 Games I Can't Wait For


In no real particular order:

GTA4 (360)
Condemned 2 : Bloodshot (360)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (360)
Unreal Tournament 3 (It's out on PS3 already, but I gotta have those achievement points)
Too Human (360)
Ninja Gaiden II (360)
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (Hey, don't knock it!) (360)
Legendary: The Box (360)
Tiberium (360)
Haze (PS3)
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)
LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Badasses In Hollywood A Thing Of The Past?


Remember the good old days when we had badasses like Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, and Charles Bronson making testosterone fueled movies in Hollywood? I sure as hell do. Those were the days when men were men. Who the hell do we have these days to take the part of these badasses from the 70's and 80's?
I can really only come up with one name, and it took me a long ass time to come up with one name.
That name is Jason Statham. If you've ever seen the movie CRANK then you know who I'm talking about. Now, don't get me wrong here this guy isn't in the same league as Sly or Dirty Harry. He's really the only badass I could name. He's in that same mold. Time will tell what becomes of Jason Statham.

Long before the new RAMBO movie was released I felt that genuine tough guy action movies were sorely missing from theatres. A lot of critics bashed RAMBO. Critics are foolish twats. What do they know? They sure as hell don't know a great blood & guts movie when they see one. Two of the best movies I've seen in the span of just over a year are ROCKY BALBOA and RAMBO. 
I'm tired of seeing all of these limp wristed movies being pushed out and rehashed by Hollywood. 
Damn it, I want more tough guy movies. I want movies with real men doing insane things.
I want men who blow shit up and say cool catch phrases. I want to see guys like Clint Easwood blow the bad guys away and then silently walk away with a scowl on their face. What the hell happened to these movies? I know there's still an audience for movies like this, but who the hell are they going to get to play the role? I'm sorry, but Jackie Chan just doesn't cut it. Are the true badasses dead and gone?

Sly Stallone deserves a round of applause. The guy is almost 62 years old and tough as nails. He knows what America wants. America wants a movie with violence and bloodshed just like the good old days. God bless you, Sly! You still rule all these years later. To all of the critics who ragged this movie I say go watch a chick flick and then go lay down and take a nap you little Nancy boys. The rest of us men will go watch all of the Rocky movies and laugh at your wimpy asses.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

It's never enough


I always feel like I never ever have enough gadgets to play around with. I'm not big on handhelds, but all of a sudden a PSP sure does sound tempting. 
It can do some cool things. You can use Skype! I never use my cell phone anymore.I actually gave it to my daughter. This could come in handy when I actually need to call someone. You can even play some PS3 games on PSP. It has some useless, but still cool features. You can actually see what's going on in your house on the PSP if you have the PS EYE. Useless, but still cool. It obviously has wi-fi which is great. It's also good for playing
music and videos as well as storing some photos.

A couple of years ago we bought my daughter a DS. I played around with it, but was never really impressed. To me it's more of a kid's handheld. The PSP seems like it's geared more for real gamers. I've been reading quite a bit of game reviews, and it seems like there are a lot of great games for the PSP as well.

I'm leaning towards purchasing a PSP, so I might have one as early as this weekend.
Man, it's good to have so many choices these days.
Being a gamer in this day and age simply rules.

Forced To Simplify


For some strange reason my other layout was really making the text look totally jacked up.
This is about as simple a layout as you can get, but at least the text doesn't get all jammed up and lost. I may be tinkering with things for a bit, but I'll get it right eventually. The polls will be at the bottom of the page, and you'll find links and stuff about me at the bottom as well. Nobody really cares about those things anyway. At least I never do when I visit a blog. It's all about the blog posts anyway. Anyway, that's what's up.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Podcast Spotlight


I listen to several video game related podcasts.
At first I was only listening to Xbox 360 related podcasts.
Obviously I only owned a 360 (as far as next gen consoles go anyway)
so I wanted to keep up with everything that related to the 360.
Now I find myself listening to podcasts that talk about all of
the current consoles. One of the very first podcasts I started
listening to was the Xbox Podcast.

The thing that I liked right away about the Xbox Podcast was
the fact that the three hosts, Mark AKA Wingman709, Kyle AKA Moroniccow, 
and Brun AKA BJSwick33 were all just regular gaming guys like me.
They don't talk like a bunch of annoying jerks like I have heard
on a couple of podcasts. These are just regular personable guys who
love playing Xbox 360 games.

They generally have a weekly podcast which is persistently good.
They actually take feedback from the community.
You can tell that they actually care about their listeners. They even 
play games with the community on Xbox Live weely. They have named
this gaming night "Beat Up The Hosts". I personally have not played a single game
with them on these nights, but that's usually because I get out of work a bit later
on the nights that they are playing. They also answer a lot of listener
mail towards the end of the show.

After listening to almost all of the Xbox Podcast shows I also love how they
have a few ongoing jokes. Basically what happens is when one host can't make
the show the other two hosts will talk some smack about the other host and
even talk about how the host who is gone has said that he promised
to buy the listeners a game or other assorted prizes. It's all in
good fun of course.

The show continues to get better week after week.
I'm still a big fan of the podcast. Basically my week would seem weird
if I didn't have an Xbox Podcast show to listen to.
If you haven't heard the show do yourself a favor and check them out.

Xbox Podcast

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Console Fanboys = Losers


I have no idea why people choose to defend the Xbox 360 or the PS3 as if they owned Microsoft or Sony. Fanboys will defend their console like a person would defend their mother. Go to any gaming message board and you'll see a bunch of idiot fanboys bad mouthing the PS3 or the 360.
The flame wars get heated. Mothers are brought into it. Death threats are talked about.
It's just a console, you morons.

The most common things said by 360 fanboys are "THE PS3 DOESN'T EVEN HAVE ANY GAMES"! This is false. 
The PS3 has plenty of games, and even has some exclusives. 
Obviously the 360 has more games. DUH!
The 360 has a 1 year head start on Sony. It makes sense that the 360 has more games.

The most common thing a PS3 fanboy says about
the 360 is "THE 360 IS A JUNK CONSOLE THAT BREAKS
DOWN VIA THE RED RING"! The thing is that is true. Well, at least 35% true.
The 360 has a 35% failure rate.
Chalk one up for the PS3 fanboys, I guess. In my opinion the 360 console really is junk. 
It's been proven. 
It's costing Microsoft a BILLION dollars to fix all 
of these defective consoles.
That's a billion with a b in case you thought you read
one million. That's unacceptable. 
Did you know that the acceptable failure rate for any appliance is 5%?
360 owners are getting pissed about having to send in their 360's. 
I could let this go if you sent it in and never had another problem,
but people get their 360's back only to have it red ring AGAIN...and even AGAIN!
I had to send mine after almost a year of owning it because of a bad dvd drive.
I have the ring of death to look forward to....maybe.
I was so addicted to my 360 that I went out and bought another one just so I wouldn't be
without mine while it was shipped to Texas.

I know it sounds as if I'm ragging on the 360. Well, I guess I am.
I have the right after sinking a ton of money into the 360.
I have bought well over 40 games for this system.
I'm also going on my second Xbox Live Gold membership now.
If it wasn't for how many great games the 360 has I would never even bother with this console. 

I've only had my PS3 for a couple days now. I'm sure I will find drawbacks. No console I have ever owned has been without it's flaws. Don't even get me started on blowing into NES cartridges. Thus far though the PS3 has been impressive. It's whipsper quiet and plays Blu-Ray discs that just look beautiful. The PS3 exclusive games are getting great reviews as well. Uncharted: Drakes Fortune is just incredibly fun.

Pluses for the 360 = Great games and great online service even if you have to pay for it.

Pluses for the PS3 = Consoles that don't break down. Blu-ray!

Minuses for the 360 = Terrible failure rate. Online isn't free.

Minuses for the PS3 = Needs more games. Online may be free, but needs a lot of work.

Only time will tell which console wins this war. I have my own predictions. I can easily see the 360 limping behind with all of it's red rings problems while the PS3 motors ahead with Blu-Ray movies and great games. Keep in mind that I am not a fanboy for either console. I just call it like I see it. I still say the PS3 will have the last laugh which will force Microsoft to release the Xbox 720. Let's just hope Microsoft learned their lesson the first time around. No more red rings, PLEASE!

Saturday, February 9, 2008

The Dark Side


After playing nothing but Xbox 360 games for a year I turned to the dark side and bought a PS3 today. THE HORROR! I'm not one to be caught up in the whole console war fanboy crap.
The bottom line is that I'm a gamer. When I hear about PS3 exclusive games being really good I want to play those games. If a game is awesome I don't care what console I play it on. All consoles have their pros and cons. I'll still be spending the bulk of my gaming on the 360. When the same game comes out on both consoles I'll be buying the 360 version for the achievement points. The major plus for the PS3 is Blu-Ray dvds. At this point in time Blu-Ray has pretty much won the war.

Gaming rules, and I want the best of both worlds. I don't see myself picking up a Wii very soon, but one day I probably will.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Game Demos


Downloadable game demos are a blessing and a curse. I find that a lot of the time I just can't stand playing a demo off of Xbox Live. They give you a small taste of a game that is soon to be released. In some cases the game is out before the demo. A bad demo can put a bad taste in your mouth. 
Sometimes the demo ends up being nothing like the game. Demos can save you money. If you play the demo and don't like it you probably won't buy the game. The problem with this is that sometimes a demo can be very misleading. The demo for FORZA 2 was crap. I ended up buying the game anyway because I own the racing wheel. It ended up being a fun game that I'm glad I bought. The demo for BURNOUT PARADISE was very limited. You just couldn't do all that much. I ended up buying that game as well, and I'm glad I did because it is serious fun. In a lot of cases demos just aren't anything like the game. I just played the TUROK demo, and let me tell you that based on what I played I will NOT buy this game. It was total suckage to the maximum.

With all of that being said it sure would have been nice back in the day to have demos, so that
we wouldn't have gotten burned on games. At least now you can get some sort of idea what to expect from games after playing the demo.

BTW Probably the best demo I've ever played was the Bioshock demo. Great demo. Great game.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Video Games Are Not Just For Kids Anymore


When will people learn that video games are not just for children anymore? Normal people who are clueless about video games have no idea that the most common age range of people who play games is 18-35.
It's generally people who are 40 or older who see video games as a waste of time. I'm not saying everyone over 40, but for the most part it is older folks who see video games as mindless things that only children play.

It's these same out of touch people who want to blame the actions of our youth on video games. I've been and there and done that. When I was a kid it was the PMRC blaming that evil heavy metal music on the terrible behavior of teens. A teen commits suicide. It must have been that AC/DC "Highway To Hell album the parents found on their kid's record player. 
Things haven't changed much since those days, and it's pathetic.
When will parents realize that video games, music, movies, or whatever the hell else they want to blame isn't the reason why kids do the things they do? I'm guessing it's just easier to blame a video game over their own bad parenting skills.

These days it's not that easy for kids to buy M rated games. Are some stores selling these games to minors? I'm sure they are. There are fines that stores have to pay if they sell M rated games to minors. I've also seen news stories about employess getting fired for selling such games. I'd be willing to bet a stack of cash that most of these games are being bought by the parents for their children though. This just goes back to parents being clueless about video games. ESRB ratings are on the box the game came in for a reason. I'm all for the ratings. Most kids under 11 probably can't handle an M rated game. 
This helps parents understand just what their kids will be playing if they purchase the game. With the way most american families are these days parents are so busy that they don't make the time to see just what the hell their kids are up to. The ESRB rates games to help parents out. 
Now if I was a kid I'm sure my opinion would be different. 
BTW we won't even get into what games I let my daughter play.
Though I also believe that some kids are far more mature than others.


I'm basically just tired of hearing about how bad games are, and how much of a waste of time they are. Adults and kids could be doing much worse things with their time.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

2007 = Best Year For Gamers


With 2007 over and done with I guess it's time to make a top 10 list for best Xbox 360 games for last year. Me and a friend were just talking about all of the consoles we have owned since childhood. I edged him out by one console. I've owned 11 consoles in my 35 years on this planet. I've owned more games by far for the 360. I've never bought more games for one console. I've also never bought this many games in a year. I bought well over 40 games this year for the 360. Of course it helps that I'm now an adult who can afford to buy games. This is exactly why I keep saying that gaming is a hobby for adults. Kids can't afford to buy games, and most parents won't shell out the cash to buy tons of games for their kids. Anyway, I'm rambling now, so i'll get on with my list...

These are the games that I personally had the most fun playing. I do have a clear cut number one game. Generally when I make a top ten list they aren't in order of greatness. I just throw 10 things on the list in random order. It's nearly impossible for me to put things in order of greatness, but I can usually give you a clear cut number one. If you continue to read this blog get used to seeing various top 10 lists on all kinds of different subject matter.

Assassins Creed
Mass Effect
NHL 08
Call Of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
Halo 3
Timeshift
Crackdown
Forza 2
Blue Dragon
The Orange Box

Monday, February 4, 2008

Clash Of The Titans In 2010?


A very long time ago before cell phones the intranet and dvds I saw a cool ass movie that you may have seen called Clash Of The Titans. It was during the summer of a super hot 1981. Me and Mom would go see movies to get out of our hot as hell house. For some reason we didn't have central air conditioning then. Anyway I remember being blown away by this film. Hey, when you're 9 years old a movie like this one leaves a lasting impression. The scene with Medusa was just incredible. A crazy bitch with snakes on her head looks you in the eyes and you turn to stone! WOW! I'm also pretty sure that was the very first decapitation I had ever witnessed before. Oh sure I remember other things about the movie, but the scene with Medusa was the climax for me. Forget about the goofy little robotic owl flying around. I couldn't care less about that. I only cared about the violence and bloodshed.

Now on to what this blog post is about. It seems that a remake of Clash Of The Titans is due to be released in movie theatres in 2010. I really don't know how to feel about this one. On one hand it could be really cool. On the other hand I've seen what Hollywood can do to old classics when they try to remake them. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a glass half empty kind of guy. Then again scratch that. I'm a glass is totally empty and smashed to pieces kind of guy. I'm expecting a major piece of shit from this remake. I have no idea what the budget will be for this remake, but no matter what I know it won't match up to the old school techniques that the original had. It's obvious that Hollywood has run out of ideas. Why else would they continue to remake old movies from my youth and earlier that I love? One thing that may save this remake is if a cast of unknown actors is used.

I'm definitely curious to see what this film will end up looking like, but I'm very sceptical about just how good it will be. Clash Of The Titans 2010

What do you mean you don't understand?


If you're thinking to yourself WHAT THE FUCK ARE ROBSTER CRAWS then you probably didn't grow up in the 80's OR you haven't seen one of the greatest movies ever made. Basically if you "get it" then you "get it". If not Google it.

The reason I decided to use blogger.com for a blog was becaues Myspace just seems so hip and trendy. I'm far from hip and trendy. Though maybe having a blog is considered hip and trendy. At any rate this suits my needs better than myspace.

My main goal here is to post my thoughts about video games and any other pop culture crap that I feel like typing out. Basically straying from the whole personal life bullshit that I post on myspace.

BTW I can't take credit for the title of my blog page. It's totally something a friend came up with wehn I told him to come up with a name for a podcast I intended on doing. His idea was 360's & Robster Craws. I laughed my ass off. The podcast idea is now on the back burner for a few different reasons.

My plan is to TRY like hell to blog about something every day. The plan is to blog about video games, tv shows, movies, music, food, and any other topic I feel deserves to be blogged about. I'll do my best to entertain the 2 or 3 people that actually end up reading this crap.

Just what the fuck are robster craws anyway?
Games I'm Playing:

Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360)







About Me

My photo
Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States
I'm 38. I'm addicted to Xbox 360 gaming and Dallas Stars hockey. I make a decent living at a boring job where I run two autoclaves and do various other tasks. My escape from this boring as hell life is video games, hockey, and music. I generally listen to Metal music, but I also love 80's tunes as well as 70's tunes. I have an unusual love for the band Overkill. They do it for me for some reason. Blitz is GOD!

Total Pageviews