L.A. NOIRE

Just checking out new trailers at www.gametrailers.com and came across one even a non gamer would appreciate. The game I speak of is called L.A. NOIRE..  

Now L.A. NOIRE isn't your typical Rockstar game. L.A. NOIRE takes place during the 1940's following the film noir style were you, the player, takes on the role of a LAPD homicide detective Cole Phelps. Hunting down twisted serial killers and classy but dangerous gangsters will be just a few of the many cases you will undertake. Sticking to Rockstars style L.A. NOIRE will have the open world systems we all love. This will allow the player to set the pace in how he/she solve the cases. Do I even need to ask if you want play this game? This is defiantly one of those games you just cant pass up.

Coming to PS3 and Xbox May 17th for North America and May 20th in Europe so pre-order your copy today!

Want to find out more information?  Follow the buzz and head on over to L.A. NOIREs official website http://www.rockstargames.com/lanoire/ for all the latest news, videos, and screenshots.

DCUO Character Customization

Seeing as reviewing games looks to be a passion of mine I have decided to venture into the world of video review. Dun dun duuun. So please bare with me on this one. It is my first time speaking on a review but most certainly wont be the last. I had a lot of fun doing and could of had too many blooper reels but we can save those for next time around. Anyway please comment and critic I love to know how to better myself. Thanks for your time.

The Strike continues to Counter

A while ago I left a to be continued to a off the top of my head counter strike story and heres how it concludes.


The market is quiet.. too quiet. The sound of sniper fire zips past one of the CT's heads and only misses by a few meters. "Find some cover!" yells the Officer just as another shot is fired. This time it hits its mark square in the chest. The CT instantly collapses to the ground as his fellow CT's open fire on abandoned building across the markets. In seconds the building it turned into swiss cheese and the CT's move in to sweep the building for any remaining Terrorists. They found the gun of the sniper left in the corner of the upstairs room but no sniper or blood.  They proceeded to back door and headed over towards the river where a shipment of gun fire had broken out.  Four terrorist had Bravo squad pinned down and if Alpha squad didn't move in soon things would turn in to a major **it storm. 


"Popping smoke" said one of the Alpha squad members.  The smoke filled the empty street and drew the attention of the terrorist still firing upon Bravo squad. The smoke wasn't meant for a vision screen to move down the street but to make their way in to the building directly across from the dock. They made sure to keep quiet as they creped up the stairs to the second floor. The rustling of a terrorist on the second floor could be heard and the leader of Alpha squad prepped his knife. In one swoop and slice to the terrorist neck it was over. The rest of Alpha squad placed them selves at the windows ready to take out the remaining terrorists. "Fire on my command" said Alphas leader. "GIVE UM HELL!!!" the leader said. Both Alpha and Bravo squads opened fire on the remaining terrorist eliminating every threat in sight.  


A chopper was in route to pick up reaming squad members and bring them to their next mission. Ancient Aztec ruins in South America teaming with plots of destroying history as we know it. 


Thank for reading. Have a nice weekend.

Free Rift VIP Beta Key

Some of you may know of a new MMO due to hit stores here soon called Rift. Many of you might not know of the game but to boost hype for the game the people at Trion have sent out VIP codes to all who had subscribed to their newsletter. I being one of those people have found myself with a key good for 24 more uses. This is first come first serve deal. All you have to do is head over to http://www.riftgame.com/en/ create an account and get ready for the next beta coming January 25th.  


The key code you need to be accepted into the beta is:


YKCZ-2ZFN-GWNC-RLYG-NFEN


Now like I said, there is only 24 uses left on that key and once they are gone.. they're gone. So get your account setup and get that key put in now!


Have a good one.

Crytek's got Seoul

I headed over to www.gametrailers.com to take a look at what I believe has the potential to be one of the leading FPS games. The game I speak of is called Warface and is currently in it's pre-alpha stage. At the moment Warface is to be a China exclusive but I assume with the games great success (lol) it will defiantly make its way to America. The reason why I think the game has potential to be one of the leaders is its ability to take advantage of the newest "over the top" graphics engine known as the Cry Engine 3! Just an example; the famous game Crysis was created with the Cry Engine which set the bar for video game graphics and brought many high end rigs to there knees. The Cry Engine 3 will take gaming to a whole new level yet again. Here is a quote by Warface's Managing Director, Yohan Kim, at Crytek in Seoul which pretty much sums it all up.

“Crytek’s proven pedigree with its multi-award winning AAA FPS games combined with our own cutting-edge technology CryENGINE® 3 and our dedicated team of experts makes us confident Warface will revolutionize the genre and become the next generation in online FPS.” 

Here are the only two photos of Warface that can be found on the web. Take in mind the game is still in pre-alpha, this means the game will still have to go through the following stages. Pre-Alpha > Alpha > Beta > Open/Closed Beta > Release.

Pretty amazing if you ask me!

If you would like to take a look at first trailer in High Definition click this link!


Thanks for reading have a good night.

Counter the Strike!

Over the past month or so I've been drawn back into Counter Strike 1.6!! Yes 1.6 not the overly no talent Counter Strike: Source. Over the past two weeks I've played at least 60 hours of Counter Strike, insane right but the game and the people are what brought me back. Now I'm not saying CS 1.6's graphics beat Source, I would have to be blind to even begin to think that. What I am saying is you can not pass up the community and the game play!


So it all started when I was urged to join back up with a friend who I call Karahboo. Since that fateful day I have found friendship in at least six other people. Some who I knew and some who have found a liking in my gaming style and attitude. I would highly recommend you pick the game up for this holiday break. I promise you wont be able to put it down once you find a great server with great people. So now for a little story about CS 1.6.  

Dust began to settle in the Arab town of Qatar. A terrorist cell was mobilizing to destroy two key location with in the city. One a supply depot located in the north east of town the other a loading dock in the far north near the outskirts.  The counter terrorist organization known as... The Counter Terrorist Organization, had caught word of the deeds about to take place and where inserted right in to the action. 


The sun peaked in the sky as mid day approached though the CTO had already begun their sweep of the town to locate and eradicate the terrorist cell. A fire fight breaks out in the tunnel slums of Qatar and the lives of three terrorist and one CTO are lost. The CTO continues pressing the tunnel when they find themselves in a trap. The tunnel doors behind them close and they are funneled into the opening in front of them. Unsure of what awaits the prep their flash bangs and smoke grenades.  "One.. Two.. Three.." they lob the flash bangs to left/right and the smoke right down the middle. "Clear left! Clear right!" They break off into two small groups one heads left towards the river the others go right towards the markets... to be continued.


Yes to be continued! It will only make the story that much more compelling to break it up into parts and make millions like Harry Potter! (I hate Harry Potter with a passion)


If you would like to join myself in the gaming world add my email: vandornj(at)gmail.com to your Steam friends list. Always willing to meet new gamers and test their skills. Thanks for reading, have great Taco Tuesday! 


Don't know what Steam is?? Steam is basically Best Buy's PC game section on your computer. Goto www.store.steampowered.com and click the download link. Its a great way to find both indie games and triple A titles.

Interview with a Vampire.. not really

So it has been a while since my last post. The workload of school projects and just regular homework had finally caught up to me. Seeing as its the last week and like most college student there are a lucky few who have classes but no work to turn in! I am one of those few and because of that I felt updates where in order!

So you might have noticed I had an interview with Mr. Michael Morhaime the President and CEO of Blizzard Entertainment. It was 3:45 on Nov 19th and I had everything setup on my computer with not one but two recorders just in case one failed I would have a back up. The TV was muted and the cat was in the bathroom. As the 4:00PM mark came around my cell phone began to rattle around on my desk as if it was doing a happy dance. My heart began to race as I reached for it though I let it ring a few times just to give the feeling of, hey I'm a busy person too okay! However thing quickly turned south when I heard the sound of a woman's voice informing me Mr. Morhaime is ill and wont be able to conduct the interview. /sadface.... Nether the less I said "Oh its not a problem, things like this happen and you really cant control it." Although in my head it was more like ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!?? We had this interview setup a month in advance and you wait till the last minutes to say, Oh I'm sorry.. better luck next time. 

Although I wasn't able to conduct the interview in the fashion I intended I was able to get him or his assistant to fill out an emailed list of questions and here they are.,, 

Me: 

Starting with your background, what made you want to start your own business and what were your first steps?

Mr. Morhaime: 

I studied Electrical Engineering at UCLA. I was always interesting in learning how stuff worked. A good friend at UCLA convinced me to quit my job at Western Digital and go into business with him creating a new video game company. He told me things like: (“) << this is where a part of the email went poof. I assume it was one of those life lesson quotes that make you become the most powerful person in the world and I didn't get it!

Me:

What is a typical day like being the CEO of Blizzard Entertainment.

Mr. Morhaime:

I spend most of the day in e-mail and meetings, though the topics constantly change.

Right now we are preparing for the launch of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, we are putting together our annual operating plan for 2011 (which involves lots of meetings with each function to go over our priorities for the year, and projected spending), and we just rolled out some new ways to pay for StarCraft II in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Russia (which means we need to monitor the player response, and make sure everything is working as expected).

Me:

How is the economy affecting the game industry as a whole and if so how has it directly affected Blizzard Entertainment.

Mr. Morhaime:

People are much more selective about what they will spend money on. The top games continue to do very well (Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops just set a record for the biggest entertainment launch ever ($650M in five days), and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty which launched in July is the fastest selling strategy game of all time). However, it is a very difficult market for games that are of lower quality. There are a lot of free to play options out there.

That said, Blizzard’s games have continued to sell well. World of Warcraft remains the #1 massively multiplayer online role playing game in the world (for the past six years), and StarCraft II is the best selling PC game of the year so far.

Me: 

What is the most important thing for someone planning to enter the game industry to know?

Mr. Morhaime:

Focus on the things that you are most passionate about, and get good at them. I suggest experimenting with your own simple games on your own. Learn how to make games for the web, facebook, or the iPhone. These will help you in your career, and may help you get a job.

Me: 

What part of your job do you find most satisfying, most challenging and why?

Mr. Morhaime: 

Its always very rewarding to launch a new game and watch the reaction from our players. I also enjoy analyzing data to understand what our players are doing and figure out ways that we can improve their experience.

Me:

If you ever left your job, what would be the most likely reason to drive you away?

Mr. Morhaime:

Trying to keep millions of people happy and entertained can also be very stressful.

Me:

What is the next step in your career?

Mr. Morhaime:

I would like to see Blizzard take its franchises to the silver screen. We are currently working with Legendary Pictures and Sam Raimi to create a movie based on Warcraft. I don’t think there has been a successful video game franchise turned into a movie that lives up to the franchises potential. Hopefully we can be the first, and prove that it can be done.