GAME CASA .NET

So IGN put out another one of their lists. This time it was the top 25 XBox 360 games. They seem to redo this list every year and new games push out some of the older games and sometimes games go up or down in place when looked at in a new context or with some added DLC. I’ve been known for having a deep rooted psychotic hatred for many of IGN’s lists. What I’ll do here is recap the 2010 version of IGN’s list and see what it does to me.

#25. Super Street Fighter IV – The Street Fighter games have been holding strong and can do no wrong. I was not disappointed.

#24. Left for Dead 2 – Zombies and Vampires have been engaging in a pop culture war for the past two years or so. When it comes to video games, zombies have the market owned.

#23. Splinter Cell: Conviction

#22. Batman: Arkham Asylum – With all the awards this game won, this title should be much higher on the list

#21. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Four million twelve year olds excited to say the word “Fuck” can’t be wrong

#20. Gears of War
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Trying to reason out the $10 hike when looking at the big picture — Sean Murphy

Xbox Live is now 7 years old and while some may have heard of some pricing changescoming its important to realize just how much the service has grown in the last 9 years. When Xbox Live launches people said it would either make or break the console. The Xbox itself was doing well in sales thanks to Halo but didn’t have much else going for it at the time. Gamers were already using tunneling services to trick the system into doing LAN parties across the world so there was a market for online gaming. Many people felt that it wasn’t going to work however, especially with an annual fee. The Dreamcast which launched 3 years before the service and its online service was mainly for Phantasy Star Online. Xbox Live also required a broadband internet connection which was not nearly as widespread as it is today. Today we know Xbox Live is a huge part of the Xbox 360 but it wasn’t always like that.

When Live launched in 2002 it enforced some basic standards like support for voice chat, anyone who purchased Live got a microphone to use for chatting online so everyone had the ability to communicate. Later in 2003 Live was updated so you could have access to your friends from the Xbox itself and not through the games online menus. You were also able to check who was on through your PC a service Microsoft called LiveWeb. 2003 also was the year DLC came into play with updates to games like Mech Assault that started as free but later content would require a small fee.

In 2004 project Tsunami was released which allowed gamers to send voice messages in friend request. This was also the year the Live hit 1 million users. Having obviously shown that this was a big party of the future of video games Electronic Arts finally caved in and started supporting Xbox Live in the fall. Not surprising considering how they are currently handling online multiplayer for their games. Just before 2004 came to an end Xbox Live Arcade was launched with classic arcade titles like Dig Dug, and Pole Position were released for download. While add ons for games were starting to become the norm purchasing an entire game, even if it was a “classic” title was new for gamers and the start of much bigger things. No one new what Xbox Live Arcade would turn into years later but it had a lot of potential.

2005 and 2006 were 2 of the biggest years for Live as Halo 2′s release helped bring its user base to a staggering 2 million doubling its numbers in just a year. Microsoft also announced the future of Xbox and Xbox Live with the Xbox 360. Where Live came after the Xbox’s release it was ready one day one for the 360 and the functionality was built directly into the UI from day one.  Xbox Live arcade ended up becoming the mecca for indie developers who wanted to get on consoles with out a massive budget. Microsoft also announced Xbox Live silver which would allow a base level of features for all Xbox 360 owners. Knowing that live would be the backbone for the 360 Microsoft was sure to make your account easy to transfer over, sadly you lost the ability to use your original Xbox but you gained achievements and gamer points and with the backwards compatibility people were able to play titles like Halo 2 until only recently when the original servers were finally shut down. DLC for the 360 was a bit of a  joke in 2006 when titles like oblivion release meaningless content like horse armor for $2.50 but when two exclusive downloadable episodes for GTA4 were announced everyone knew that worthwhile products were going to be available for DLC.

Xbox Live had grown to over 7 Million users in 2007 a number that was helped with the juggernaut that was Halo 3 since Halo 2 was still very much the game of choice for Xbox Live at the time. Microsoft started to look a little beyond the “core” gamer when they released the Xbox Arcade model which was aimed at people who wanted an Xbox and would likely pick up a few of the smaller arcade titles which would fit on its 256 meg storage. Far smaller the the 20 gigabytes the 360 launched with. It wasn’t until 2008 that Xbox Live really started to have appeal beyond that of just Halo and other popular titles. This newer model also came with a price drop to help combat the Nintendo Wii which was easily outselling the 360. With packed in titles like Uno which supported online play Microsoft was making their stance clear on wanting to be just as family friendly as a game of wii sports.

The Xbox NXE (new experience) was released in 2008 a streamlined UI that made navigation much easier then the multitudes of blades the original dashboard had. With this new update gamers were blessed with  support for Netflix, while Microsoft had offered DVD play back and even offered an failed HD DVD add on this was finally the non gamer killer app for the system. Now anyone with a gold membership and a Netflix subscription could stream movies on their TV with out having to hook up their PC or purchase an additional set top box. Avatars were also new MS’s answer to the Nintendo Wii’s player created Mii’s these were a 3D representation of your gamer tag and visible to anyone on your friends list. Sadly some lessons are quickly forgotten and Microsoft starts charging for avatar clothes and items though some are available for free with games. The summer of 2008 was also the first “Summer of Arcade” which released several high profile downloadable games to help make the summer drought of gaming much more bearable.

Last year with Xbox brought more social aspects to Live with Facebook and twitter, Last.Fm was also brought on for music streaming a great compliment to anyone’s Netflix account for tunes on demand. In the summer of 2009 Live started to feature games that were currently available only on disc for download as their games on demand service. Microsoft also attempted to have their own online game show 1 vs. 100 which  would offer prizes to gamers who won. Sadly this feature was  discontinued 8 months later but with over 17 million users Xbox has shown no sign of slowing down.

Which brings us to 2010, so far this year has been pretty boring compared to all the updates that have been released. There was an update for supporting USB thumb drives which allowed people far more storage with out having to pay the insane prices for an Xbox hard drive. There are a few changes coming up though like price hikes we mentioned coming fall, however 2 other features that were announced this year for fall release are ESPN and Hulu streaming services. ESPN’s service will offer trivia questions and stats and highlights for 3500 live sporting events! Hulu will be offering all of the functionality of their Hulu+ service as well. Murphy writes, ”Now as someone who beta tested the original Xbox Live I can look back to its humble beginnings as see what it has become. While I will gladly buy a $50 dollar one year card to keep my gaming at a lower price right now, I honestly can’t argue with the functionality and features the service has provided me over the last 7 years and I feel the additional ten dollars is pretty reasonable.  I know that many may feel otherwise but this started as a gateway to play games online, now its used for so much more and I use it for more entertainment features then my satellite provider.  The title of this article asks if this price hike is fair, with Xbox live I can use my 360 to play games, listen to music, watch trailers, download demo’s and smaller titles and soon I will be able to watch games for almost any sport and catch shows that I missed that are too new for Netflix all for about 5 bucks a month.  Xbox Live has transformed from giving console gamers a big part of what made PC gaming great, to giving us more then anyone could imagine we could access through just one box 7 years ago. Microsoft has consistently invested time and money to make it the most robust service available for what will soon be the price of your standard game. If Microsoft can continue to innovate and grow Xbox Live in the same way over the next decade I couldn’t care less if they doubled the price by the time the next console comes out.”

It’s about this time every year when my family tells me not to buy anything because that’s when they start shopping for the holiday season. They review my amazon wish list for any goofy thing I might have my heart set on and keep an eye on all the sales for when they might go pick it up and stash it away for December 25th. I’m always very appreciative, as I was last year when I found Batman: Arkham Asylum, Assassin’s Creed 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 under the tree, as well as some gift cards to spend on additional gaming fun. Now each year we encounter the same dilemma. Which games do I keep off Santa’s list so I can go out and get it myself when it comes out? Which new games can’t I wait for? Which new games will I spend my own money on and which ones will I just have mom get for me? Am I the only one who faces this? There are many different groups this holiday season in which my gaming desires fall into. Here’s a rundown.

Metroid: Other M: I’m a pretty big fan of the Metroid games. However I have hard time really getting into them hardcore. It took me a long time to beat Metroid Prime, I never finished Metroid Prime 2 and I never even opened Metroid Prime 3. I’m sure I would really enjoy Metroid Prime 3 and what really draws me to Other M is the storyline and supposed origin story of Samus Aran. This game looks as if it splits between various first person and side scrolling modes. Games on the Wii are sometimes hard to deal with and I’ve gotten hooked on my Xbox360 due to my enjoyment of communicating with others online, which I don’t get on the Wii. Hopefully if this game shows up I can give it the attention it deserves.
Verdict: Wait for Santa’s Sack!

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions: The Spider-Man games have pretty sad ever since the 2004 adaptation of Spider-Man 2. Activision hasn’t always delivered quality games for Spidey. Ultimate Spider-Man was probably the one that stood out as higher than the others. Shattered Dimensions looks to try something new, having Spider-Man adventure across four different incarnations of his universe. It should prove to be interesting, especially with four different well known Spider-Man voices taking over the role. Beenox knows what has made some of the Spider-Man games successful in the past. There will be several alternate costumes, including Manga Spiderman and the Iron Spider suits. You will also hear the sounds of Stan Lee as the narrator of this game. Given the strikeouts the Spider-Man franchise has showed in recent years, I am more hesitant to give this game an impulse buy, but good fan reaction could sway me otherwise. Given that it comes out in a few weeks, I might want to hold off a month or two
Verdict: Save my money…for now
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Streaking vs getting Facial-Time

The Dell Streak tablet/smartphone is now on pre-sale, going up against Apple’s iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone devices in one go. The Streak, however, sends mixed messages regarding its size, price, and viability as a replacement to any of your Apple devices. How does it measure up? The Streak arrives in the USA after several delays (it was available two months ago in Europe), and will cost $300 with a two-year AT&T contract or $550 without. It has a 5-inch touchscreen, works as a phone as well, and comes with Google’s Android 1.6 mobile operating system. But can it dethrone the iPhone? Probably not.
Most high-end smartphones now come at $200 with a two-year contract. You got your e iPhone 4, the Motorola Droid X and upcoming Droid 2, or the BlackBerry Torch. The Streak, which is also a smartphone, costs $300, its 5-inch screen is only 0.7-inch larger that of the Droid X, and the resolution is lower than iPhone 4′s 3.5-inch Retina display. Rut-roh Shaggy. As a tablet, the Streak doesn’t fare any better either. It’s $50 more expensive than the cheapest iPad, when bought unlocked as a tablet. Price difference aside, the streak’s screen is only half as large as the iPad’s. What the Streak has over the iPad is the 5-megapixel camera on the back, and a front-facing VGA camera. Is that enough to unbalance the scales? Again, no. The streak is $100 more costly than an iPod Touch. So you’d be paying extra for the dual cameras and 3G access of the streak. But the next Touch will likely have dual cameras anyway, so just bite your tongue and wait.
The Streak will come with Google Android OS 1.6, which has already been out for a year. The current version of Android is 2.2, and it already started to trickle down to several smartphones using the OS. Dell said it will offer an over-the-air upgrade to Android 2.2 “later this year,” but gave no specific date. You’d think Nintendo was in charge with that line. The Dell Streak’s screen size is huge compared smartphone (it’s the Zack Morris phone of smartphones), and it is too small in comparison to other tablets on the market. So there can’t really be any happy medium between the two.
Keep in mind that Dell already has a reputation for putting out stuff that doesn’t last too long and requires more effort than inseminating a wolverine to fix. However, Dell does seem to have good relationships with it’s business and corporate customers. So don’t be surprised if you see a lot of suits trolling around town with the Streak. Plus it isn’t hard to find those out there who just hate Apple no matter what they put out and think their products are only for douchebags. The only thing this might be good for is making Apple up their game a little bit on the next go round.

A Tale of Hard Work and Karma Obsoletegamer.com

Contrary to how much of a dick I portray myself to be, I am not a heartless monster. Normally when I decide to help someone it is usually to get them to shut up and stop nagging. There are a few occasions in a given year where I actually truly help people for the hell of it. Some of those instances are rather memorable because of the outcome and how good I felt inside from helping someone in need.

Of these far and few times, I remember the night I was asked to create a computer overnight for a little girl who just came from Cuba. She was the daughter of the cleaning crew at my mother’s office, a family struggling to get by during this tough economy. Their daughter had begun school and some way or another she was qualified to be given a computer so that she may do her homework and studies since a lot of textbooks and assignments are now done via software. Of course, when someone is given something for free it is normally a bag of dicks and is made from some E-Machine abomination in the late 90′s. It was only a matter of time before it exploded into a nuclear mess.

The specifics weren’t given but the computer died. I can only assume they spilled Materva on it since that is what I believe little Cuban children sustain themselves on. It could also have been a faulty power supply. I don’t know. I like labeling people. Her school wouldn’t supply her with another computer and her parents couldn’t cover the repairs or the cost of a new one. With most of her work being done on the machine she couldn’t get anything done and was marooned in situation a lot of families nowadays must be experiencing.

Her parents told my mother their sad tale and she decided to tell them I could build them a computer for free. She knew I had junk parts all over the place. It wasn’t a secret that I hoard shinies in the computer chassis in my room. I was involuntarily volunteered to create a new but stable atrocity from the discarded parts in my possession. Normally, I wouldn’t have minded doing this but I was given a single night deadline for some reason. You don’t ask my mother for an extension because she assumes you can find compatible components and install everything in the blink of an eye. She was under the theory that this would only take me a mere two hours to complete. She was so far from wrong.
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I have this debate every year: do I pick up Madden and get frustrated, or do I not pick it up and lament not having sweet, sweet football at my finger tips. This year, I’ll show IGN’s review (which will be notably worse than the game actually is) and let you, the Casanians, decide. Watch the review, comment and vote below.

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Thought I’d share this with you guys.  What are your opinions?  I think it looks fucking sweet and would be great for developers and consumers (both only having to deal with one platform), but I’m skeptical that it will run correctly.  You can check it out here: http://www.onlive.com

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Back in my early days of gaming up to the modern age, Acclaim Entertainment put out a good number of games that pretty much slathered my sausage. Acclaim was founded in 1987 and produced a number of licensed games based on comics, TV shows, and movies. They were also responsible for the ports of many of Midway’s arcade games in the early-to-mid 1990s, including the Mortal Kombat series. Some might say this led to their eventual downfall as rabid fans of franchises such as Batman or Dave Mirra BMX were angered at the poor quality of game that was released. In the 90′s, Acclaim did some weird shit. During the company’s decline towards bankruptcy, Steve Perry, (former MD of Eddie Stobart Ltd & now IT guru – right hand man of Bill Gates) made several infamous business and marketing decisions. One example was a promise to British gamers that a 500 pound prize would be awarded to up to five winners who would name their baby “Turok”, to promote the release of Turok Evolution. Just think, these days you can find a dozen idiots who will name their baby Megatron if their facebook group gets a million fans. No payoff there. In the 2000′s they suffered multiple lawsuits. The Olsen Twins sued over unpaid royalties and Dave Mirra laid an egg over being associated with BMX XXX after boobs were put in it. Apparently Mirra did not want to be associated with women’s breasts. (note: GameCasa and it’s members are enthusiastic supporters of women’s breasts and will accept any and all opportunity to be associated with them). The final straw came from investors after claiming that management published misleading financial reports. You do not mess with investor’s money. Period. But before Acclaim was eventually bought out and the name sold and had other business phrases applied to it, there were some memorable games released. Let’s take a trip back:

The Simpsons Games

Back in the early 90′s, the Simpsons were everything. Every piece of merchandise sold with a Simpson on it sold like the golden fleece. The first of these games to release was Bart vs. The Space Mutants in 1991 for the NES. In this game, Bart has to thwart an alien plot to take over Springfield. Any game that is the first of it’s kind for a particular brand will be one that everybody has to get, and this was no exception. I got. My neighbors got it. My enemies got it. But it was hard as hell and it was one of those games with no passwords so you had to play through all five levels to beat the game. Sometimes it was just enough to play the first level so you can have Bart prank call Moe. This game was followed up the same year by Bart vs the World. Acclaim would go on to release several more Simpsons games, my favorite being Virtual Bart for the Sega Genesis. In this game, Bart went into a virtual reality exhibit (when Virtual Reality was the “it” thing) and Bart became all sorts of different things like a dinosaur, a baby, and something resembling Mad Max.
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Game Casa .Net user profiles have been completely overhauled.  Now you can let other users know what online platform(s) you play and see which ones they play!!!  Here’s how you do it:

1. Sign in to your Game Casa .Net profile
2. Click your profile link (your name next to your avatar pic, top right of the site)
3. Click the Profile tab (underneath your avatar pic)
4. Click Edit Profile (underneath the Profile tab)
5. Scroll down to the categories below Bio and before Most Played Game and check off any platform(s) you use

You can also add your Online ID’s, allowing friends to easily connect with you across platform(s)!

Want to see if other Casanian’s are on the same platform(s) as you?  Now it’s easy!  Check it out:

1. Make sure to follow steps 1-5 above
2. Go back to your profile and click the newly tagged field (should say XXX XXX Enabled)
3. Browse through the list of users who play on that platform!

You now have a central database for all of your Online ID’s and a way to find other games with similar tastes.  It’s like an E-Harmony for nerds ;)

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Here’s what you do:

1. Sign in to your Game Casa .Net profile
2. Click your profile link (your name next to your avatar pic, top right of the site)
3. Click the Profile tab (underneath your avatar pic)
4. Click Edit Profile (underneath the Profile tab)
5. Scroll down and fill out the Battle.Net / Real ID field, or any other fields you want

Now your Game Casa .Net friends can easily find your online ID’s and connect with you across platform!  Easy, huh?