Crime on the rise

Well, it looks as if everyone (those who play video games anyways) is out committing crimes. Running people down with cars, killing cops, running drugs, hijacking cars, etc. etc. And they are doing this from the comfort of their Lazy-Boys.

Yes Grand Theft Auto IV is here and its turning everyone who plays it into little deviants including me. I am not a "sandbox" type of game player. I prefer my First person shooters but as much hype as there was about this game, I figured I would give it a try. There were some things that interested me so I picked it up and tried it out.

I only have about two hours into the game so far and I will say that the story line is pretty good. The visuals are outstanding and the there is a ton of gameplay. The Single player should last about 30 hours alone and then there is the new multiplayer modes which will really extend the game.

At this point, I don't think this is the greatest game ever like many others think. Its "ok" at the moment. I will need more time to get used to the controls as they are a bit odd. I think the game has potential for me to enjoy, but only time will tell.

Anyways, I need to get back to Liberty City. I gotta go pick someone up in my car and drive them somewhere. I just wonder why the guy was worried if I was a cop or not. Hmmmm...

Can you say "Elite"

Yup, thats right. I have achieved the rank of Elite in Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Now some of you might be asking yourself exactly what am I talking about so let me explain.

Well you see, I have been playing a game on my Xbox 360 recently called Rainbow Six Vegas 2. In this new version, you gain experience points (XP) based on kills and level of hardness. I am pretty good so I play on the hardest level which is Realistic. Last night I finally gained enough XP to get the highest rank in the game which is Elite.

Now to the non-gamer this means nothing. To a gamer, this is a milestone of accomplishment. I never did get this rank in the original Rainbow Six Vegas game as it did take a LOT more time to gain. I am still only a Captain in that game. But it did feel good to finally make Elite in Rainbow Six.

So from now on, you will need to address me as SIR! Thanks for your cooperation.

Muhahahahahaha

Wings' GPS

You may have noticed that I added some links to the page. They are on the right side of the page under the title Wings' GPS. These are links to sites that I visit often or to things that I think deserve a mention. I may even through in a link to a product that I feel deserves it such as Tivo.

I honestly can't think of a better product on the market today than Tivo. I have even had non-Tivo branded DVR's and they all stink. Tivo is the way to go and I am glad I have mine.

If you belong to the generation that I do where you began your video gaming life as a child on the Atari 2600, Coleco, and Intelevision, then be sure to hit up the link for 2old2kwit. This is a group of guys that all have families, careers, lives, and a passion for virtual killing, racing, and sporting. They tend to be in their 30's and are a great group of guys to game with.

If you love reading blogs, be sure to check out Video Games and Robster Craws. And if you are a child of the 80's, then you will especially like that blog.

And last but not least, you must visit the best and most important link of all. That is the one to the greatest podcast I have ever seen or heard which is the Xbox Podcast. I am not saying that just because I am one of the hosts, well, OK maybe I am. But who cares, check out the show for yourself, say hi in the forums, and add the show to your iTunes, Zune, or RSS Downloader. You will be happy you did.

I will update the list as time goes on and I find new things of interest. Enjoy.

A few of my favorite things

I figured today I would just rattle off a few of my favorite things. They are not necessarily in order either, just lists of things I enjoy. So here we go.

Movies
1) Blackhawk Down
2) Star Wars
3) The Matrix Trilogy
4) Band of Brothers
5) Platoon

Bands
1) Gun's N Roses
2) Mesh STP who is now known as Modern Day Zero
3) Fuel
4) Tantric
5) Days of the New

Books or Authors
1) Wingman by Mack Maloney
2) Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
3) Dean Koontz
4) Dale Brown

Technology
1) Xbox 360
2) Personal Computer
3) HD from DirecTV
4) Harmony 880 Remote
5) Tivo

Xbox Live takes a dump again

You know, I really do like my Xbox 360 and I love Xbox Live, but why is it that this pay for service seems to take a dump more frequently the past six months. I mean I work with computers and understand how networks function, but something this big should have redundancy, failovers, backups, and enough backbone to handle all the traffic. It just seems like they can't handle it.

I am really surprised by the outage tonight considering they just had an 8 hour outage yesterday for planned maintenance. They said all went well, but here we are the next day with no Live service.

I really hope Microsoft can get these issues fixed before next week. I believe they will see another influx of gamers to the Live service with GTA IV hitting the streets next week. I can see it now, Tuesday will be a NO XBOX LIVE day. I hope I am wrong.

Current Xbox Live Status as of this very moment...

Status:

Users may experience difficulties when matchmaking and using client voice communication within Xbox LIVE. We are aware of the problem and working to resolve the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience.

Yeah, you could say we are experiencing difficulties. There is NO LIVE SERVICE AT ALL.

Oh well, I needed some sleep anyways. Goodnight.

Chicago White Sox in First Place

I know its early in the season, but I gotta say that I am pretty pleased so far with the play of the Chicago White Sox. I think everyone, with the exception of Mark Buehrle who seems to be off to a rough start is really showing signs of what this team can do. I hope Buehrle can pull it together and get back to his usual form. I am sure he will.

Like I said, its early and even Jim Thome is off to a slow start but seems to be picking it up. I am still annoyed that Juan Uribe is still on this team but I guess you have to have one guy you can't stand so it might as well be him I guess. Hopefully he will do better playing second base than he did at short stop.

I am soooo glad that Joe Crede is back as well. You simply can't replace someone of his skill. The man is a beast at third base and I feel very comfortable with him there. I expect to see some big things out of him this year and he is starting off strong as well. Way to go Joe. Glad to see you back. I hope you stay for a long time. Now if we could just get Aaron Rowand back I would be a very happy camper.

Will the White Sox make it back to the World Series this year? I don't know, but if they can stay healthy and improve in a few areas that are lacking right now, then I feel that this team may very well have the ability to get there.

But please, lose those stupid bleach blonde goatees guys because you look like idiots.

My Xbox Obsession

Well, as some of you know, I have an obsession with my Xbox 360. Not only do I play it almost every day, but I have become a host for a podcast centered on the Xbox world. You can check out the show by clicking the image below.


My Xbox also has its own blog. Here is one such entry.


You can read its blog by clicking the image below.


I have come to the conclusion that I love playing for Achievement Points. This is something new the Microsoft created for the Xbox 360 and for many people, including me, they have become almost an obsession themselves. I find myself playing bad games just for the points. Uggh, I must find a Gamers Anonymous somewhere.

Now Achievement Points can be good. What I love about them is that I find I will try various things in games such as useing different weapons, trying different stunts, or even trying to playing a football game and simply call the plays instead of controlling the QB. So Achievement Points have shown me more in games, and I have come to love some things that I never would have discovered if it was not for those couple of points. So I feel that I am getting more value for my money because of those wonderful, meaningless, points.

But as meaningless as they are, I am still hooked. Thank you Microsoft.