One More Week

   November 8 can't come soon enough.  I am really looking forward to this game.  This multiplayer trailer really makes it exciting and gets you amped up for the game.

Little Big Planet 2 Platinum Trophy

    After a few month trying to get 25 online wins on community versus levels I finally achieved the goal.  This trophy looking back posed more trouble than acing the story mode levels due to random players never wanting to stick around to play more than a few levels at a time.  If LBP had a matchmaking system more in line to popular shooters finding other players would be much easier.  Currently it is hit or miss finding random players, though this game is more suited to playing with people you know from your friend's list.
 
    My third platinum trophy has been reached and it couldn't be a more fun game.  I wonder what my fourth will be?  I don't know yet but I think it might be while.

Little Big Planet 2 Platinum Trophy

My last trophy needed for the platinum

Conan Show Typos 3 and 4 (2 in one week)

    I spotted two DirecTV/TBS typos in the onscreen guide this week for Conan.  The first on Monday they misspelled guest Kaley Cuoco as "Kaley Cuocol."












The next one just two days later is simply a misspelling of performs as "perfroms."  I always find it mildly humorous when I see typos like these on the onscreen guide.  Click on one of the labels below this post to find other related posts on this.

Battlefield 3 (beta) Follow-Up Review

   As I was first playing this demo I liked it because it was different and fun, however the more I played it the more I found I didn't really like the game as much.  The game has a slower pace but it feels like it wants to be faster than it is when it shouldn't be.  Unlike MAG where reviving teammates is almost a core aspect of the game, Battlefield 3 doesn't really emphasize this as much as it could or should.  The biggest disappointment with this game (and game series) is the small squad size, only four, this means I can only connect and talk to four friends or teammates.  Sure I can be in the game or team as all my friends but this limits the fun.  By comparison MAG has a squad size of eight and Call of Duty has a team size of at least six and in the lobby one can hear and talk to everyone else. 
    I have made a decision on what game to buy on release day and that is Modern Warfare 3.  The more I watch youtube videos of MW3 the more fun it looks.  I just hope it is as much fun to me as Black Ops has been, Black Ops has been and still is my favorite Call of Duty yet.  I have preordered the hardened edition (which include one year elite membership as well as some other add-ins) on Amazon which has no sales tax and $0.99 release-day delivery so I should have release day without leaving home.  Besides, I tried Best Buy and Gamestop and they were both sold out or hardened edition preorders, but this Amazon option turns out to be better after all. 

Battlefield 3 (Beta) Review

   Just like MAG the new public beta for Battlefield 3 give me the feeling of attacking or defending.  I get a real sense of "kill confirmed" fragging enemy players playing this game.  The one map available doesn't feature vehicles to drive which would've been nice.  It is however very varied with the bright park in the first section and dark-lit subway tunnels in the next. Defending is naturally easier but attacking gives an accomplishment feel because you know it's tougher.  For a public beta (or demo as I see it) it is running very smoothly, I have seen no player lag or skipping which is what I was expecting with so much interest in this game.  It is a fun game and could be a very good change of pace from Black Ops. 

The Win is Most Important

   From my youtube video's description:  I planted the bomb and called my napalm strike over it. The enemy can clearly see me die by flames yet still ventures out into flames to lose.

Trophy Level 10 Achieved

   I was playing combat training in Black Ops and I reached rank ten giving me a trophy for this. I was at trophy level 9 - 99% and this trophy took me to trophy level 10 - 0%.
   I still haven't got the LBP 2 platinum yet I only need one more online trophy. Now I am curious how much percentage a platinum gives at this level.

Starhawk Officially Announced

   The long awaited sequel to Warhawk finally revealed on the internet today named Starhawk.  No release date given but it safe to assume sometime in 2012. 

Blake Griffin Actor?

   Conan's guest is NBA rookie of the year and now actor Blake Griffin.  Apparently the person writing the info card for this show doesn't know who he is.

Playstation Network was "Hacked"

   Sony did make it official Friday by posting in their blog of the "external intrusion" as Sony put it.  This could not have come at a worse time with Socom 4 just releasing this week and thousands of people wanting to play online including myself.  This downtime of the PSN though has given me a good opportunity to play through the offline campaign which is very pleasantly fun. 
   Source: Playstation Blog 

Almost Platinum...

   I finally got one of my LBP 2 levels played by 50 players and without doing any boosting or "play for play" behavior, I earned this on pure "advertising" on LBP forums and discussion.  This makes my trophies mean more to me.  Quite surprisingly I actually have two levels at the 50 plays mark now.  I discussed my level's lack of attention in this posting if you're interested.
   So, just three trophies between me and my third platinum trophy.

SOCOM 4 Beta

    After a few days of trying to get a code from the socom.com forums giveaways I was finally successful on Friday.  Quite surprisingly I was "instant" reply number 15 of 50 for the day's giveaway. 
    I played a few games after the 1.5 GB downloading and it is very fun.  The game play is very similar feeling to MAG, at least that is what the game modes feeling gives off.  I haven't yet played the "classic" round based play but the respawn play feels very polished.  After one night's playing I can happily say it is a fun game experience and I can only imagine even more fun with a single player campaign and more than 2 online maps.

Sackboy's Prehistoric Moves

Sackboy's Prehistoric Moves title hover-over image.  Great colors combined with an adventurous inviting quality.
Click on the image for a larger view.

SOCOM 4, only one month away!

    With the first wave of beta invites going out a couple days ago out come the youtube videos showing off this game further, and this game looks to be stellar.  Sadly I did not get an invite so I'll have to wait until April 5th when it goes public for a week before launch.  Majority will stick to the "classic" game play Socom is known for, and for good reason, it is unique and rewarding.  Much like MAG you can play respawn as well, although it will probably be unranked like previous Socom games before it making the "classic" modes the core.
    I have been watching numerous videos and the game play mechanics look to be quite similar to MAG, after all this game is made by the same developer.  The biggest difference being this is third-person perspective where MAG is a first-person game.  The environment in this beta level looks close to MAG's graphics, similar colors mixed with familiar looking vegetation.  Pacing looks perfect, appears a tad quicker than MAG and not as fast as twitch shooters like Call of Duty.
    The video below is a good example of the similarities between MAG and Socom 4.  It's a cut montage style, fun nevertheless.

Aces In Spades

    As I was approaching the ninth level I was getting nervous as I didn't want to slip up on the ninth again and break the streak.  I managed to get through the level unscathed but that left one more and I was out of easier levels to ace.  Rather than play one of the later jumping type levels I decided to go with the boss from the Di Vinci (first) world as it is still tricky but slow in progression.  Did I ever go through it slow taking my time watching the timing very carefully for each stage of the boss.

    Looking back now this wasn't as tough as I thought, just simply annoying because I messed up twice on the ninth.  All that remains now is to get one of my levels played fifty unique times.  I very much enjoy trying to make fun levels for others to play, I just don't get much exposure to my levels.  My levels are located here and here, if you have LBP 2 queue them up for the next time you play.

Trophy Visit - Super Stardust HD

     In the first of what will be an on-going series here I am going to revisit some of my trophies I have acquired through the years.  Up first is "Multiplier Hero" from Super Stardust HD, the first game to add-on trophy support when trophies were revealed in 2008.  This particular trophy though I didn't get until almost two years later from my initial dive back into this game for these early trophies.  This one is particularly tough to get as it requires a long sequence of not crashing and restarting your multiplier chain.  About 30 minutes of progressively more difficult gaming to achieve.

    The evening I achieved this trophy I didn't intend to go for this but rather kill some time before bed.  I noticed I was doing well holding my shield for some time nearing an 8x multiplier.  When I got to 9x I was getting nervous, I lost my shield so any stray asteroid would wreck this potential new gold trophy.  I couldn't believe how long it actually took to get to 10x when it happened but as soon as the trophy popped up on screen I crashed from the distraction of looking to upper-right.

 
    This goes along with how I collect trophies and is to not seek out trophies but rather obtain as I play.  Knowing what trophies are out there for the games I play is nearly always in the back of my head as I play, but I will rarely pinpoint out a specific trophy.

Little Big Planet 2 Story Aced

   I've read numerous postings on various LBP messages boards of people proclaiming the first game is far tougher than the sequel to ace. I wholeheartedly disagree and must insist the sequel is tougher than the original to ace. The Cosmos series of levels in particular are very difficult. "Where in the world is Avalon centrifuge?" and "Full Metal Rabbit" are two stand outs as frustratingly tough to ace for a couple reasons. They both have two parts making them long levels and bombs that require precise timing or they explode on you.

   I've completed the tougher of two trophies in my view. "Ace in Spades" which requires ten levels to be aced in a row, I know I won't choose to play the Cosmos levels as one of those ten.

Black Ops, getting tomahawked.

My first encounter of getting tomahawked at the start of a game.  I have seen in videos of others playing that they like to throw their tomahawk at the start in the hopes to get that "lucky" first, long distance shot right out of the initial spawn.  I went back into theater mode and recorded myself getting it from multiple angles. Also, this video was edited using my PS3 video editor tools.

Little Big Planet 2 is simply phenomenal.

   I've played Little Big Planet 2 for about five hours since I got it yesterday and it keeps getting better the more I play.  I have barely scratched the story and it is pure fun.  First starting this game creates a smile on my face like no other game can.  This game has "game of the year" written all over it in my opinion.