EBP 100 Hotline

Hey, SoS members. Give this a click to connect yourself to the EBP 100 Hotline. Record your message along with your name to get your snippet into the 100th episode of the Exploding Barrel Podcast.

Test of Word 2007 Blogging

Time to try some Word 2007 blogging, and hopefully with pictures too!

Wii!

Well, it is post Thanksgiving and I'm getting into the groove of my Wii. I've spent just about a solid week with the system and I have to say it is quite excellent.

Personally, I love Zelda. People worried about getting tired either haven't actually played the Wii or are so horribly out of shape so as to defy description. I've gone on four hour sessions and experienced nothing but fun. Of course I expected to enjoy the core game. It's Zelda. However, the controls are wonderful. The Wiimote and Nunchuck simply melted into my hands and became second nature very quickly. So for us gamers out there, Wii is a winner.

Being a holiday, I had the oppurtunity to try the system out on friends and family who are most certainly not gamers. From my mother to my girlfriend, everyone who has wieled the Wiimote has had a ball. Everyone picks up on the controls almost immediately and has a great time. My girlfriend actually wants a Wii for Christmas, which is saying something.

I'll now be juggling the bulk of my time with Zelda, Final Fantasy XII, Guild Wars, co-op Gears with my brother, and Wii Sports when visitors drop by. I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. Now I gotta see a Zora about a water bomb.

Why Sega is in Trouble with Phantasy Star Universe

Many of us were delighted (myself included) to learn of the upcoming week long open beta of Sega's Phantasy Star Universe for Xbox 360. I for one can't wait to try the game out. However, along with this announcement came the reveal of the GUARDIAN license. A $10 a month fee to play the game.

Here's the thing. The original PSO for DC was free to play online. With version 2, a $15 for three month pricing scheme came about with the promise of server side storage, updates, and new content. We got the storage, but updates and quests were far and few between. PSO was one of the most hacked games out there and Sega did little to fight against it. I am not condemning the game for charging on top of my Xbox Live Gold membership. Final Fantasy XI does it, and Microsoft flat out told us all other MMORPGs would too (the benefit being you only need Silver to play these games online).

I normally wouldn't have issue with the pricing structure for PSU if it weren't for a little game called Guild Wars. With Guild Wars, you get basically everything Sega is promising; constant updates, patches, server side storage, etc. Both games also operate similarly in that the only time you see large groups of people are in towns broken down into lobbies. When you and your party venture off, a seperate instance of the game world is created for you party, yet you remain connected to the larger world via in game messaging. Guild Wars does all this with no monthly fee.

I understand that Guild Wars makes most of its money on episodic releases in the form of new chapters in the Guild Wars universe. However, Sega also did virtually the same with PSO (Phantasy Star Online, Phantasy Star Online ver.2, Phantasy Star Online Epsidoe I and II, and Phantasy Star Online Episode III). And between those releases, there was hardly the level of new content present in the Guild Wars expansions. Just a few more dungeons, not entire new worlds (excepting Episode III which was a card game of sorts that I never had the oppurtunity to play).

The question we have to ask is, if Guild Wars can do all it does for free, what is Sega charging us for? Previous PSO games proved not much, and now we're paying more for this one. I'll certainly try out the beta and I'd get the game at least for the single player, but as it stands, Sega has a lot to prove to me is they want my $10 a month.

MSU Marching Band Does Game Music!

I'm sorry, this is just too cool. Please watch. My senior year of high school marching band we closed with Phantom of the Opera. No comparrison.

 

Link to YouTube - Famous Maroon Band "Video Game Show" 8/31/06

No Scramble, New Uno Deck

Major Nelson has the scoop on the latest XBL Arcade release, a Project Gotham 3 theme deck for Uno. This deck comes in lue of the promised title, Scramble, an arcade classic form Konami. Scramble was delayed to correct some last minute issues, so to keep Arcade Wednesdays alive this deack was released. It is available now for 100 MS points. Not a bad deal when you consider some picture packs can cost as much as 200 MS points.

Speaking of Uno, some friends and I played the real thing at our Labor Day BBQ yesterday. It was the first time I played since buying the game for 360. It's remarkable just how well the 360 manages to capture the fun of actually playing Uno. 

Link to Xbox Live's Major Nelson : Arcade: Uno PGR3 Deck

PS3 Delayed in Europe

Well, we all saw this coming. Our friends in Europe once again get the shaft as Sony announces that the Playstation 3 has been delayed from the previous November 17 2006 date to some time in March 2007. It seems the the reported blue laser diode shortages are to blame. A lot of folks predicted this and seems they were right. Could this mean there won't even be the promised 2 million units at launch or 4 million by year's end? Time will tell. So much for the worldwide launch. 

Link to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe - Virtual Press Office

Guitar Hero 2 (Hopefully Partial) Songlist

 The October issue of EGM has a new songlist for the much anticipate Guitar Hero 2. The list doesn't seem to be complete (still shooting for some Iron Maiden "Aces High"), but here's what we have so far.

Nirvana; "Heart-Shaped Box"
Primus (original recording); "John the Fisherman"
Stone Temple Pilots; "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart
Anthrax; "Madhouse
Motley Crue; "Shout at the Devil"
The Police; "Message in a Bottle"
The Pretenders; Tattooed Love Boys
Spinal Tap; "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
Heart; "Crazy on You"
Allman Brothers Band; "Jessica"
Lynyrd Skynrd; "Freebird"
Avenged Sevenfold; "Beast and the Harlot"
Dick Dale; "Misirlou"
Lamb of God; "Laid to Rest"
Alice in Chains; "Them Bones"
Reverend Horton Heat; "Psychobilly Freakout"
Black Sabbath; "War Pigs"
KISS; "Strutter"
Butthole Surfers; "Who Was in My Room Last Night?"
Van Halen; "You Really Got Me"
Guns N' Roses; "Sweet Child O'Mine
The Rolling Stones; "Can You Hear Me Knocking?"
Rush; "YYZ"

Well I'm excited. Spinal Tap? And the Freebird solo? I'm so there!

Link to Guitar Hero 2 Songlist Revealed news from 1UP.com

Assassin's Creed 360 Bound (Duh)

The worst kept secret in gaming is out. 1up's Luke Smith reveals that the October issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly has the official word from Ubisoft that Assassin's Creed, the darling of E3 from the team behind Prince of Persion, is coming to Xbox 360. This news comes days after the news that the game will also hit PC. Of course, one has to wonder why it took so long, and why now of all times to announce the game on multiple platforms right before Tokyo Game Show and X06. If there was a deal with Sony to keep quite, it would have made more sense to wait after these shows so Sony could show the game as exclusive just a bit longer.

Link to Assassin's Creed Coming to Xbox 360 news from 1UP.com

Xbox Live Marketplace is a Busy Place

You guys like Live. Part boast, part pat on the back, and part justification for a $50 a year service, Major Nelson sends word that over 50 million Xbox Live Marketplace Downloads have been served. The release of the temporarily free Texas Hold 'em as well as the release of Madden caused a huge surge in Live usage. Check out Major's blog for some other impressive Live statistics.

Link to Xbox Live's Major Nelson : Over 50-Million Marketplace downloads served

PS3 Production Underway (Finally)

GameGossip brings the news that PS3 production has finally begun as of yesterday. So technically they got them out the door before the end of August, though not by much. Hopefully they won't face production problems and get the promised 2 million units for launch ready.

Link to :: GameGossip.com :: You Read It Here First

Madden 07 Sells like Delicious Hotcakes

According to Next Generation, Madden 07 has set a sales record for the now 17 year old game series. Of course, it helps when this is the only football game on shelves and available for more systems than ever before, but whatever. Now I need to continue my Steelers franchise. One for the... other hand!

Link to Next Generation - Madden 07 Sacks Retail Records