Our Blog Moving Soon!

Attention Readers!

That's right, the blog has become so large and popular (so I'm in denial, aren't we all) that we are soon to move it to an official website domain. This process will be lengthy, but progressive. With the new site we can promise forums, links, and multiple page directories (to find what your looking for quickly and effectivley).
I plan to keep the same traditional look and design, but if anyone, has ANY suggestions, please post them as reply to this post.

Thanks to the readers,
Administrators,
Davlin & Ender

The Sims 2 - Machinima

Machinima is the use of computer game animation to create movies. With that said, this was a current news post on Gamespot that might've been hard to notice. (below is a quote of http://www.gamespot.com)

"It seems that having the title "publisher of the best-selling PC game franchise of all time" isn’t enough for Electronic Arts. When it comes to The Sims, building the brand never stops.
With that brand-building spirit in mind, the series received some added weight behind it today."

"This morning, EA announced it was partnering with Rooster Teeth Productions to create movies based on The Sims 2 game. These movies will employ the use of the onboard tools that are available to all owners of the game."

"Setting an example for The Sims 2 gamers who are interested in creating machinima (wherein games are used to create digital videos), EA has teamed with Rooster Teeth to create a series of machinima that will be posted on a dedicated Web site, http://www.strangerhood.com/.
The first movie from Rooster Teeth went live on the site this morning."

Check out the videos at: http://www.strangerhood.com and Red vs. Blue Halo Machinima at:http://www.redvsblue.com

-Davlin

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines with Bonus

Shipping 10/26, this will be the perfect holloween present to yourself. This rgp, vampire-vs-vampire game is what the gaming community is missing. Even though the first one may have sucked, I'm always open for second tries. This one will use the same 3d-engine that Half-Life 2 will apparently, so it looks very nice.

Gamestop says, "As a recently sired vampire, you must first follow the rule of the Prince, the de facto leader of the vampire clans. But as your story unfolds, you soon realize you have more choices than first appeared. Who will earn your allegiance? Who will you betray? Who will you eliminate? What path will you take in the World of Darkness" just to give you some story background.

And now while supplies last, Gamestop is giving away a bonus gift (free t-shirt abovve) with the pre-order of the game. So pre-order now if your hoping to get a shirt, they may already be gone.

See the full item/story and some sreenshots here: http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=B645317A

-Davlin

Roller Coaster Tycoon - 11/02

Completely updated and redesigned to take the series to all-new heights. Featuring incredible 3D graphics and the exclusive new Coaster Cam™, you can now see your park from any angle and ride the coasters you build. From street level to blimp, see your park pulse with fun and excitement like never before.

More Rides and Attractions: Create pyrotechnic wonders with the new Fireworks MixMaster Build your dream park with unlimited funds in "Sandbox" mode Add music to rides and fireworks

Experience incredible new 3D graphics:
Ride the Rides with the Coaster Cam
Build rides easier with the enhanced user interface
Light up the night with the new park lighting system
View your park from any angle with complete camera control
See breathtaking park vistas including realistic sunsets, moonlight, weather patterns and more...

A huge array of diverse guests — everyone is unique:
Create your own family members and friends and add them to your park
Respond to the individual likes and dislikes of kids, teens and adults
See fully animated individuals (including facial expressions!) exhibit intelligent behavior, both individually and as a crowd. shows from your own mp3 library
Includes many “New-to-RollerCoaster Tycoon” rides and attractions
Design your park with 5 fun themes: Generic, Spooky, Western, Adventure and Sci-fi!

Operating System: Windows® 98/Me/2000/XP (Windows® XP recommended).

Processor: Pentium® III 733 MHz or compatible (Pentium® 4 1.2 GHz or compatible recommended).

Memory: 128 MB RAM; 256 MB for XP (256 MB; 384 MB for XP recommended).

Hard Disk Space: 600 MB freeCD-ROM Drive: 4X CD-ROM or faster (8X or faster recommended).

Video: Any ATI Radeon™ or GeForce™ 2 with 32MB or higher; or other video card with 32MB and hardware T&L (ATI Radeon™ 64 MB SDR or GeForce™ 2 Pro or other video card with 64 MB or more memory and hardware T&L recommended)*Sound: Windows® 98/Me/2000/XP-compatible 16-bit sound card*DirectX®: DirectX® version 9 (included) or higher.

See more and the demo at: http://www.atari.com/rollercoastertycoon/us

Also Important Notice! - Gamestop is offering with their pre-order and limited gift password card for access and downloading special roller coasters that will work with the demo before the game is out....not much, but something.

-Davlin

Quake IV Announced - Preview

My god...they are gonna do it. Quake 4 is no longer myth, it's no longer gossip, and our computers will probably no longer be enough for current gaming as we know it. Just announced as a World Exclusive, PC GAMER gets the scoop. Their current issue is loaded with a cover story that will make you creme in your pants, twice. The game will use the Doom 3 Engine (time for another $1,200 down the hole on a new system) and takes shooter-war-gaming to the highest level. Knowing what Quake 3 did to the gaming community; I predict many, many gamers will lose their jobs, take less showers, and upgrade their cable/dsl speeds. Time for that gold package, and better get that new system built soon...

Check out the full story in the November issue (it's not even Octboer yet, what the f**k).

Or the websites: http://www.pcgamer.com and http://gamespot.com

-Davlin

PSP - Dual Screen's Competitor

On a personal note, this thing is already doomed. With that said, I might as well mention this piece of shit in the works by Sony. Really there are only three things about it Dual Screen can't smash (as far as I know).
1. MP3 Support.
2. Support for Sony's own "special" music files, Sony's proprietary ATRAC.
3. Being a piece of shit.

One thing to be said, who the f**k cares about the PSP? Well, no one. Except Sony, which never really has made a breakthrough yet when you think about it. PS2 isn't even all that great. Sure, it might have some great game titles, but people only play them on PS2 because it isn't available on Xbox or Nintendo GameCube. Would you prefer to play Halo on PS2? No, that's just stupid. So to get back on the subject, if your a hardcore Sony fan (raise your hands...no one...hello...) then you might wanna check this out. Otherwise, when you hear "PSP" or see commercials about it....leave the room.

And don't ask me what the hell that is on the screen in the picture, Japan has always been obsessed with pussy.....cats.

-Davlin

World Police: Team America 10/15

Matt Stone and Trey Parker have yet again brought us what looks to be one of their best productions yet. World Police: Team America is a movie of terrisom, love, and puppets. Through their original design and use of puppets, this film looks not only hilarious, but also raises the bar in humor itself. Never before has this been done and yet they seemed to have pulled it off flawlessly. This much anticipated film will not only be one of the most controversial films of the year, but much, much funnier than Michael Moore's biased documentaries. While Matt and Trey take neither side of the war on terrisom, they still love to make fun of it all together....and that kicks ass. With guest star appearances, and unbelievably awesome voice-acting, this film (I hope) is going to blow us away wanting more from the genious minds behind South Park.

See more at: http://movies.yahoo.com

-Davlin

New PS2 Re-Design

While inheriting the basic functions and design philosophy of the current PlayStation 2, the internal design architecture of the new PlayStation 2 has been completely overhauled, resulting in a slimmer and more lightweight form. The new Playstation 2 sets new standards in the fusion of design and functionality. Pricing at $149.99 for a holiday debut. Check out more details at: http://www.gamestop.com

-Davlin

New details on Nintendo DS Launch!

Good News folks, we will all be playing the Nintendo Dual Screen by Christmas....HOORAYY!
The Nintendo DS will launch in the US on November 21 and in Japan on December 3, marking the first time that Nintendo has ever launched new hardware outside of Japan (apparently, I predicted this correctly...damn I'm good). Now, for the details...

First off, Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt, featuring four-player wireless play, will come bundled with every system...HIP HIP HOORAYY!
Nintendo was tight-lipped on the subject this morning, stating only that a total of 120 games, from both Nintendo and third parties, are currently in development.
Also, as stated in the press release last night, PictoChat, the DS' own drawing-and-text-based chat utility, will be embedded in the DS hardware so all DS users will be able to chat wirelessly with each other--right out of the box.
The DS will be backed by the largest launch budget that Nintendo has ever put behind one of its platforms, console or handheld--$40 million.

The price in the US will be $149.99....ouch.

Nintendo revealed a few more miscellaneous details: The system will launch only in the silver/black color shown in currently available pictures, although more colors will probably be added later; battery life is 6-10 hours depending on the application; and Game Boy/Game Boy Color games will not be compatible with the DS, although all Game Boy Advance games will work with the system in single-player mode.

Nintendo DS Specifications

Display
Top Screen: 3 inch color TFT with backlight256x192 pixel resolution, .24mm dot pitch260,000 color display
Bottom Screen: 3 inch color TFT with backlight256x192 pixel resolution, .24mm dot pitch260,000 color displayTransparent analog resistive touch panel

Main Controls
Directional pad, A/B/X/Y buttons, L/R buttons, Start/Select buttons Touch panel Internal microphone (voice recognition possible with software)

Input/Output
DS cartridge slotGBA cartridge slotStereo headphone jack Microphone jack

Wireless capabilities
IEEE802.11 and Nintendo propriety protocol 2 formatRadiowave distance: 10 - 30 meters depending on environmentMultiplayer game possible with one cartridgeVoice chatting with the internal microphone while playing over Internet is possible

Check out the full details here: http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/09/21/news_6107998.html

This will be one awesome ass system to have in your pocket...and GameStop is now taking pre-orders for this system! Check out their stores, or there website: http://www.gamestop.com and if your local, check out: http://www.tradengames.com

-Davlin

Nintegatari

Wouldn't it be awesome if Nintendo, Sega, and Atari collaborated on the next big game system?
I mean let's face it, Xbox and PS2 may be the top selling systems, but they don't know jack about how to do a console right. You can take screenshots of almost any PS2/Xbox game and they look like they could very well be screenshots from a computer game. A console is supposed to have a feel to it. You should be able to look at a screen shot and know exactly what system it is. A console is supposed to have character, a personality, not a pentium 3. Along with character, a console should have characters. Someone says nintendo, you immediately think of Mario and a dozen other Nintendo staples. What do you think of when someone says Xbox? Halo. Thats it.
Now we all know that Nintendo, Sega, and Atari are all the weak players right now, but what if they combined their forces. Take Atari's solid game design and a huge library of classics; Sega's intuitive hardware design, off-the-wall gameplay, and of course our little blue friend Sonic, Nintendo's repuation, party games, and a dozen characters recognizable world wide. This would be a system like no other. We can only pray....(to George Carlin of course)

-Ender

Zelda Wind Waker Rules!

Davlin is obviously trying to make me look like a slacker. Luckily I have a shitload of free time today. Ok, I know Windwaker is a year old, but I'm just now getting around to playing it, and if you haven't yet, you should too.
"But Ender, I don't have a gamecube :(" Go buy one, they're $99 new or about $60 used. It's worth getting, which I will explain in a later post.
In windwaker you guide link in a journey to rescue his little sister. The gameplay is reminiscent of Ocarina of time, but with some new elements. The story is simple, but entertaining enough to keep you interested. What stands out most is Windwakers cel shaded rendering. The above image looks like a "back of the box" illustration, but the game acutally looks like that. It feels like your watching an animated movie, only you get to control whats going on.
Some people might not like this style, but I found it addictively pleasing. The game itself starts off a little slowly but soon pics up. There are plenty of little challenges and side stories which you can choose to explore or save for later. Windwaker will keep my interest for a while, at least until I get four swords to compare it to.
See more related to this game at the Official Website: http://www.zelda.com/gcn/index.jsp

-Ender

Nintendo's Dual Screen

As far as I know, there is yet to be a release date for the dual screen. But I bet anything this will be a holiday release debut. Look towards Christmas and start sending those letters to Santa early. The Nintendo DS offers the equivalent graphic power of a hyped up N64. Games to be released include titles such as the famous Super Mario 64x4 and Metroid: Hunters titles. The graphics for this tiny handheld look amazing. Check out some screenshots here: http://www.gamespot.com/ds/action.html
I will try to keep everyone up to date on the release date of this much anticipated product.

-Davlin