Woo boy, been awhile.

So as you can see I haven't really been posting any on my blog lately. It's a shame, because I do enjoy it, but I've been rather busy as of late, and the moment I get some extra free time I suddenly start to develop a small Fallout: New Vegas addiction, haha. Which in itself is odd, because I really wasn't that big a fan of Fallout 3 (which I own and haven't finished). We'll see how long my infatuation with the game lasts.

Before that I was playing a whole lot of Guild Wars in anticipation of Guild Wars 2. They recently released the reward calculator so people can see what sort of stuff they'll get in GW2 for their achievements in GW1. I had a measly 8/50 because most of my GW playing days were back when the original was the only game, but now I'm up to 21/50, which isn't bad considering you only get items up to 30/50.

Oh, if you guys are wondering how I'm playing New Vegas, I've stolen borrowed my brother's 360. Being the oldest has its perks, kekeke.

Hey Microsoft:

My 360 finally RROD'd.

Actually, it didn't. A RROD is when 3 out of 4 of the lights on the front of the 360 are flashing red. I only have 1 flashing red light. I have the E 73 error. This error shares many common traits with the RROD, as it happens rather randomly and prevents the 360 from working at all. It can also be temporarily remedied by such dangerous fixes as 'the blanket trick' and 'the tooth-pick trick.'

There is, however, one key difference: error 73 is not covered by the extended 3-year warranty that Microsoft gave to everyone after so many RRODs occurred.

Yep. So that's a good $100 down the drain in a time when I really can't afford it if I want it fixed. Did I mention I just renewed my gold membership, too?

Halloween '10: The Prediction

Welllll, it's that time of the year again. Halloween. I don't mind Halloween much as a holiday, there are definitely worse (I'm looking at you, Valentine's). But I never seem to find much to do around that day, and can never bring myself to getting a good costume (usually I just dawn some guerrilla mask or something).

However, this year is different... or so I thought. I have a girlfriend this time around, and therefore someone to actually hang out with and possibly get in trouble with, haha. But alas, she works on Halloween... so, so much for that.

Maybe I'll just play that new game Costume Quest all night? ...That'd be kinda sad.

The Social Network - First Impressions

So, I just saw The Social Network last night. Interesting movie. It was rather well made, and I wasn't displeased. But overall, I didn't like it nearly as much as a lot of critics seem to have. 97% on RottenTomatoes? I expected the movie to blow my freakin' mind. :P But then, I don't think I have that good of taste in movies, honestly. Part of me thinks I'm just not that big a fan of cinema in general. Oh well. Not a bad movie, nonetheless.

Recommendation: Minecraft (Game)

For those of you who haven't been in on the big 'indie darling' craze that is Minecraft, allow me to point you in the right direction. Right now you can play it free in your browser, so it's a great time to give it a try. While I myself have yet to play the game (I will soon enough), so many rabid fans can't be wrong; the word "crack" is often used to describe it.

And hey, it's only like 9 bucks.

Firefight Cheating: WTF Bungie?

Just a gripe about Halo: Reach here, but apparently you can very easily cheat in Firefight. My brother went ahead and got just about all of the achievements with his friend who showed him how. I won't say specifics, though it's no secret and isn't against the rules since it is using in-game mechanics (which makes it that much more absurd). It boggles my mind that Bungie would let that go on. The achievements are one thing, but apparently you can get quite a few of credits as well, which obviously effects the other game modes.

PATCH PLZ

Freddie Wong (freddiew) = Awesomesauce

If you haven't seen this guy's videos already, check him out. They're usually just variants of people getting shot by Freddie with nice special effects, but it's more entertaining than any action movie I've seen lately.

http://www.youtube.com/user/freddiew

Music That Is Awesome (According To Me)

So in the process of testing my new headset's audio capabilities I've had the privilege of playing my music loud for once. Very loud. JOY. And hey, while we're on the subject, the Z2's are so much better sounding than TRITTON's shitty AX 180 it's not even funny.

Anyway, music is one of the single most subjective art forms, so it goes without saying that one person's "DUDE, EARGASMS" is another person's "I'd rather listen to the sound of my genitalia being shredded in a blender." But I digress--onward!

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Flogging Molly

Blame my Irish heritage.

The Decemberists

Gotta support the locals.
...And with that, you can find out where I live.

Foo Fighters

Just to prove I listen to more than folk music.

Turtle Beach Ear Force Z2 - First Impressions

I have to say, this seems like a pretty high quality piece of technology. The durability seems higher than some other others I've used, and the comfort is definitely much higher (although the 'over the ear' design does make my head get kinda hot, haha). The sound quality is better than the $80 TRITTON headset I bought (the AX 180), and considering these are $50 on Amazon and Newegg, I'd say that's a pretty nice perk.

The only problem is, there is no separate volume dial for the game sound and voice sound. Instead, they're just controlled by one general dial. Now, that isn't so bad when the game lets you turn down the volume in the options, but in the case of Halo: Reach which doesn't have that ability, it's pretty damn hard to hear people.

I have yet to figure out how to make it so that the voice sound goes to the headset while the game sound goes to my surround sound, but that would fix the issue. That is what that blasted AX 180 headset did, and yet I don't think its possible with the Z2, sadly. So I might just sell it off to my brother, who needs a headset for more than just voices, as he has no sound system.

Still, all in all, I recommend this headset. It gets my seal of approval.

Halo: Reach - First Impressions

So, Halo: Reach finally came in the mail a couple days ago. I've been playing nothing but the multiplayer as I'm waiting for my brother to get his copy of the game so we can co-op it up in Firefight and the Campaign, but I'm still quite enjoying myself. There are clearly many people who have been playing Halo since the beginning, and I've gotten my ass stomped every now and then as evidence of that. But all in all, I think I'm lucky to have this as my first real Halo experience, as it seems to be the most polished and all around content-heavy of all the games. I am content.

Though it's a bumpy transition between Modern Warfare/Battlefield and Reach. I still keep trying to melee with R3, hurr.

And as a side note, if anyone knows of a weapon locations guide/video, do share. I'm starting to memorize the locations, but a little help would be appreciated. ;P

Recommendation: Demon's Souls (Game)

I love this game. I love it so much that from the day that I bought it I racked up 60 hours of game time in only 6 days. Yep, 10 hours a day. The combat is weighted and visceral, the atmosphere is dark, and the entire experience is as unforgiving as a 'current gen' title comes. If you own a PS3, and aren't a total pansy, you owe it to yourself to check this game out.

Monday Night Lagfest

So, bearing in mind that MNC probably just lost a huge amount of its playerbase thanks to Halo: Reach, I figured I'd throw one more MNC-related blog post out there before its dead. Now, don't get me wrong, I love MNC and have spent a huge amount of time playing it, but man, there are some things in that game that really grind my gears. And I shall now commence bitching about said things--with bulletpoints!

• Lag - As you could tell from the title, I've been dealing with some rather significant latency issues as of late. I'm talking Modern Warfare 2 kind of crappy server lag, and believe me, that's bad.
  
  
• Gunners - Oh-ho, you knew this one was coming. I mean, Gunners aren't unstoppable or anything, I actually quite like making them my target as an Assault since they're so easy to it. But really, let's be honest, all you need is that minigun and your Passive and you're capable of destroying practically everything. Care to tell me what the Gunner's counter is? ...Yeah, think hard on it.
  
  
• Cheaters - From flying to the top of the arena and shooting down at people, to speed-glitching as an Assassin, I'm pretty freakin' tired of this crap.
  
  
• Overtime, And Juice In General - I think we can all agree on this one: juice is too easy to come by, and overtime is a terrible idea. It's like, "Oh hey, you've been trading blows pretty evenly for awhile now, so let's just flip a f***ing coin to decide the winner."
  

i mad

Halo: Reach + Headset = Yay!

OK so, I don't actually have Halo: Reach yet. Infact, it'll probably be a week or two before I get it (damn you Walmart shipping). But I did indeed decide to buy it. Might not seem like a big deal for most, as everyone and their dog is a fan of Halo, but truthfully, this will be my first real Halo experience. I've played the first and the second games, but only after they were way outdated, and never online. Reach will be my introduction to the competitive online play of Halo.

Though I really was unsure as to whether it was worth $60 or not. But the pre-order perk on the Walmart website (as well as Amazon) is a $20 credit, which I can trade someone for actual cash. That plus the pre-order bonus item which I will sell on Ebay for what I estimate to be maybe $10-$15, and I've managed to nab myself a brand new game for about $30, which is exactly what I did with Red Dead Redemption. Yay for being a cheap bastard! 8]

Oh yeah, and I also went ahead and got that headset I was talking about. I'll let you guys know what I think about it. Hopefully Turtle Beach is a little more trustworthy than those TRITTON sonsabitches.

Kinect: It Only Does Nothing

Those of you who keep up with gaming news should know what I'm talking about here, but doesn't it seem like the Kinect is getting more and more hopeless as we learn more about it? I just read recently that there won't be any games that utilize the nifty 'item scanning' feature, at least not anytime soon. Then there's the fact that only a handful of countries' dialects will be recognized by the speech recognition (English, Spanish, and Japanese). Oh yeah, and did I mention that it's quite possible it won't work for people who are sitting down? Yeah... that'll go over real well.

All of this topped onto the fact that most gamers were pretty critical of the device to begin with. It'd be one thing if there were some truly good games coming along with it, but so far all we've seen are Wii Sports knockoffs.

I'm calling it now: it'll be reduced to $50 within the first 5 months.

The Cable Dilema

So after calling numerous stores I have found out that practically the only place to get Turtle Beach's "Talkback Cable" is on the Turtle Beach website. Figuring out that it was simply a 2.5mm Male to 2.5mm Male audio cable, I figured if I called around about that I would surely find what I'm looking for. That was a no-go.

I'm actually quite surprised. Here I thought there was a cable for everything! But apparently you need an adapter, which brings the price above what I'd have to pay if I just bought it from Turtle Beach.


TLDR: If anyone knows of a place to buy a 2.5mm Male to 2.5mm Male audio cable for less than $15 shipped, do let me know!

Possible New Headset: Turtle Beach Ear Force Z2

Whew. That was a mouthful.

So I think I may of found the headset I am looking for. The Ear Force Z2 by Turtle Beach seems to have everything I need: compatability with both the PC and 360; the lack of a static sound during silence (which is something nearly every Turtle Beach headset has, sadly); a price tag of $50 on Newegg. Yep, can't go wrong!

... But just incase, I'll be buying the extended 1-year warranty, too. :P

The only thing that bothers me is that in order to get it to work with the 360 I'll have to buy an optional cable from Turtle Beach's website. It might only be $5, but the shipping is $10... damn them. Looks like I'll be calling up some Best Buys and seeing if I can get it in-store.

Hotel Debacle - The Finale

Just figured I'd update you all and let you know that it's been taken care of. I might of been overworrying, but hey, people are always out to get ya nowadays! I certainly won't be using this hotel again, though. That's for sure. And I now have a little more faith in credit card companies... but that isn't saying much, haha.

Hotel Debacle II

And so it continues. The hotel clerk apparently has been telling some rather talltales that somehow implicate us in spending all of that money. I'm going to see if I can call my credit card company and have my GF call her bank, but I doubt much will come of it. The plan was originally to get somewhere to crash for free, but alas, we ended up being force into this crap.

Oh well. It's not as bad as what she has to go through: on top of dealing with her bank she's also dealing with getting her car repaired. Next time, we go by bus, and raise our standards for hotel choices, Lol.

Hotel Debacle

So, being that my GF and I couldn't make it to PAX, we decided to head up to a closer expo that just happened to be taking place around this time as well. And it seemed the day was utterly rigged; numerous issues cropped up, the least of which was the car overheating. I swear, if automobiles didn't look so purty' I'd outright hate them for their unreliability.

Anyway, the reason the car troubles were "the least of" the issues we had, is because the hotel we stayed at is, in short, trying to rob us. I won't say the name of the hotel right now, but essentially they charged us immensely for things we did not order and did not agree to pay for from the getgo. We might still be able to correct the issue, but they seem pretty intent on screwing us over. Worst of all it was my credit card we ended up using (of course). Next time, we're springing for a nice 4-star hotel. :P

TRITTON Headsets: Don't Buy Them

No, seriously. Don't. I bought a pair of their AX-180's, which cost me altogether about $80. Not a cheap-ass pair of headphones, no sir. And it was exactly what I was looking for: a decent headset under the price of $100 that would play on my PC, PS3, and 360. I was happy.

Sadly, the happiness was cut short when the damn thing broke apart about 5 months afterwards. A flaw in the design of the headset makes it so that as it is used it slowly cracks the plastic just above the earmuffs. I repaired it numerous times and it got worse each time it broke. Finally, with two earmuffs dangling about (quiet you), and the mic-hole pushed in (...OK, now I'm just asking for it), I gave up.

TRITTON customer service ignored me. Literally. I didn't even get any customer service copypasta bullshit, I was just ignored. THIEVERY.


TLDR: Anyone got any recommendations for a headset that works on at least the 360 and PC, and isn't known to break just as the warranty's up?

Car, Or The Lack Of

I'm an oddity in this day and age: a 21-year-old who refuses to drive. It's a major inconvenience sometimes, sure, but with how many people actually do drive I can usually get a ride pretty easily if I truly need it. Still, there are times when I wish I had my own set of wheels. But all in all, I'm pretty happy not to have to fork over cash for car payments, car insurance, and general repairs. My ultimate goal is to move relatively close to a city, get a nice job there, and just walk, bike, and if need be, bus to work everyday. One day, it shall happen!

But if I were ever to get one, I'd want a 70's muscle car.

Aw yeah.

Recommendation: Indie Games

Those of you with an online Xbox 360 will have undoubtedly checked out the "Indie Game" section already. Cheap they may be in price, but even cheaper they certainly are in quality. But believe it or not, there's a few gems floating in that sea of crap, and I'm here to shine some light upon them.

Soulcaster is an oldschool-styled, 16-bit dungeon crawler where you play a summoner who, well, summons stuff. Units, to be exact. You can upgrade said units, and where you deploy them adds a level of strategy to the game. Think tower defense/dungeon crawler hybrid. Very intense, and a decent challenge. 240 Microsoft Points

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Protect Me Knight, another oldschool throwback, is similar in its strategic elements but with a much stronger emphasis on the actual characters. This game has full 4-player local co-op, with 4 different characters for people to play and upgrade. Highly fun and addictive if you have people to play with. 240 Microsoft Points

Recommendation: Scott Pilgrim (Graphic Novel/Movie)

Yeah, I know what you cynics are thinking: "Not this hipster crap again!" But seriously, Scott Pilgrim is actually quite awesome. I hear a lot of dismissing of it because it's gotten quite popular and has the label of "hipster" firmly attached to it. Honestly, I'm not sure what makes it "hipster," or what makes anything "hipster." Is it because Scott is in a band? Or because that bastard Michael Cera plays him in the movie? Neither are good examples, methinks.

Now, if you're not into that whole 'slice of life' genre, that's understandable. But if you're not too jaded to check it out, I'd highly recommend the graphic novels, and then the movie. The novels are funny, unique, and chalk full of video game references. The movie has far less substance, but has some pretty badass fight scenes, and makes a good companion-piece to the novels.

Oh PAX, You Elusive Beast, You

I just so happen to live close enough to PAX that I feel bad for not going to it, but far enough that it would cost a fair bit of money to go to it. Every year I say "OK, I'm totally going this time," and every year I just disappoint myself! If I knew someone from Seattle who would let me crash at their place it would at least be feasible, but alas I do not. Me and my girlfriend were this close to being able to go this year, but in order to do that we'd have to share a room with this guy who is basically in love with her, and subsequently hates my guts... yeahno, that's not gunna happen.

Better luck next year.

Recommendation: Monday Night Combat (Game)

Monday Night Combat on XBLA is, quite frankly, awesome. Sure, it could use some tweaking, some re-balancing in various areas (Support's Airstrike is a little absurdly good [I should know, Support is what I play]), but all in all it's a very solid game, with great, fluid gameplay, and an appealing aesthetic. Some might note that said aesthetic is "Team Fortress-like," but you would be mistaken if you were to call this a TF2-clone. It plays very differently from TF2, at the very least gameplay-wise... and that's all that matters in the end: gameplay, which is MNC's strong point.

Super Mario Beatbox

Nothing I do will ever be this awesome.

I mean this in a totally non-creepy way.

 This makes me want to have Asian babies.

... It came out creepy anyway, didn't it?

Quotes

"Fighting for peace is like f***ing for virginity."
- ???

"He who slings mud generally loses ground."
- Adlai E. Stevenson

"A society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both, and deserve neither."
- Thomas Jefferson

"There is no greater mistake than the hasty conclusion that opinions are worthless because they are badly argued."
- Thomas H. Huxley

"If it turns out that there is a God, I don't think that he's evil. But the worst that you can say about him is that basically he's an underachiever."
- Woody Allen

"The very existence of flamethrowers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, 'You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.'"
- George Carlin

"Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious."
- Oscar Wilde

The First of "Many" (Read: The First of Few)

Greetings. Call me Toadkiller Dog, or Toadkiller, or whatever suits your fancy. I'm not too sure what it is I'm going to be putting in here, but random thoughts, imagery, rants, and recommendations are the most likely of substances. Feel free to comment.