The Walking Dead: Episode 1 FREE on Xbox Live

For those who haven't played this awesome game, you've been missing out on one of the best games of 2012.  Luckily, Telltale Games is offering Episode 1, "Playing Dead," of The Walking Dead for free!  This is only for a limited time so in case you're dense, stop reading and go download it right away!

[Update] Just noticed that Episodes 2-5 are now only 250 MS points ($2.50) which means you can get the entire game for $10!  THANK YOU TELLTALE!

Girl blows up boyfriend's Xbox! That b*tch cray!

So a lovely lady decided that her boyfriend spends too much time with his Xbox 360, instead of her decided to send his Xbox in to Kaboom. For those who aren't aware, Kaboom is a webshow that specializes in blowing shit up for fun. Now I'm all for blowing shit up, but when it comes to my Xbox that is off limits. Fellas/Ladies, if you have a girl who complains about you gaming...beware she may end up blowing your shit up!


 


Happy Holidays and be safe!

We made it through the Apocalypse! REJOICE

According to the Mayans, the world was supposed to end on December 21st. In preparation of the apocalypse, I studied all of the end of the world scenarios just to be prepared for any and everything. Here are some of my findings.

So my first finding is that if it's an alien attack, then we need to think outside of the box because conventional weaponry probably wouldn't work.  Oh and I'm sure we'll need one hell of an inspirational speech right before the final battle to get us all hyped up.

Ok, so aliens aren't a threat this time around.  Fantastic, now we're dealing with the undead as zombies are running amuck across the globe.  I think we all know by now that destroying the brain is the key to stopping the zombies, but how long can you last alone?

And if worse comes to worse, here's to hoping there is a cure for zombie-ism...because you know love makes us all human

The most realistic study would be preparing for war.  Now as I've learned all you need is a few elite friends in the Armed Services to train you and you're now ready to take down whatever threat we might face.

Now if you don't feel the need to join a crack team, you could always do it alone...Hot Shot.

Now of course, I'm writing this on the 22nd, so obviously the Mayans were wrong but it won't be long before someone else claims to know when the end of the world is coming.  So hopefully, one of these examples will help you prepare!

Xbox Smartglass is awesomeness in your hands!

I’ve been waiting for the Xbox SmartGlass app to release since hearing about it during E3 and once I joined the beta test for new Xbox Dashboard update in August, I started salivating at the possibilities SmartGlass could provide.  Occasionally, I would check the Google App Store for SmartGlass even though I knew it hadn’t been released, so imagine my surprise when my wife popped in Dance Central 3 and it reminded us that we could interact with the game via SmartGlass. I don’t think I’ve ever downloaded an app quicker, all the while hearing my wife call me a “nerd” repeatedly.  At this current phase SmartGlass and its application are still in its infancy, but the potential is there.  During last weeks Video Game Awards, I was able to use SmartGlass to vote on the different scenarios that would be aired next.  So far SmartGlass isn’t a game changer, but like I said the potential is there.  Just imagine playing Skyrim or Far Cry 3 and being able plot out your next destination without pausing or even managing your inventory while at work.  I haven’t gotten a chance to play around with SmartGlass when it comes to Microsoft Music or Microsoft Video, but this weekend I go ahead and rent The Dark Knight Rises to see what exclusives SmartGlass will offer.  Overall, SmartGlass is off to a promising start and goes to show how the Xbox is ever evolving into a full blown entertainment system.

 

This is not a paid endorsement…but it can be!

Sequels that far surpass the original!

Now I’m not against sequels at all when they’re used as vehicles to propel a property and when past issues are fixed. So here are some best sequels (of this generation) that have either matched or exceeded its original.  Included in this list are only games in which I've played the original title.  So no, I didn't forget to add Portal 2!  But be sure to chime in on the comments section.

Assassin’s Creed 2

I did not like Assassin’s Creed!  There I said it…I thought the original was incredibly slow paced and the mission structure was a redundant mess.  I couldn’t even force myself to complete the game, I actually YouTubed the ending (and yes YouTube is a verb).  So going into AC2, I was a little cautious but that was thrown out the window pretty quickly with the introduction of Ezio Auditore da Firenze.  Ezio was a far more relateable character than Altair and there was some real variety in the mission structure made this a far superior game than the original.  Luckily, the story was engrossing enough in the original to keep me interested in this franchise or I may have missed out big time.  And by the looks of things AC3 will raise the bar again for this franchise.

Splinter Cell: Conviction

Splinter Cell was never really a game I looked forward to playing; however, once I got a chance to see Conviction in action I was sold on the legitimacy of Sam Fisher and the new direction the game was taking.  From the outset, you could see that Sam was not in a good mood and his new set of moves showcased his deadly temperament   Ubisoft made sure to keep some of the stealth pieces intact and rewarding players with Mark and Execute points that would allow Sam to "mark" enemies (or destructive objects) and "execute" them with precise efficiency.  With Splinter Cell: Blacklist set for April 1st, 2013 release date, I'm extremely excited to play out the adventures of Sam Fisher.



Mass Effect 3

ME3, as you already know is one of my favorite games of all of all time, but greatness can't be denied.  The Mass Effect trilogy features a fully customizable Commander Sheppard in which your actions and decisions from the previous games carry over to the next.  So not only do you get to see all of your actions fully realized through an epic sage, you get to see the upgrades of the newest game.  ME3 finally masters the perfect balance between shooter and RPG.  If you haven't given Mass Effect a shot, don't miss out on one of the best game series of our generation.

Gears of War 3

Gears of War has been a figurehead for Xbox 360 (along with Halo) since it's inception and after getting your first kill with your chainsaw infused rifle (better known as a Lancer) you'll know why. The battles within the Gears universe is intense and visceral, but the story was always lacking in the previous entries.  Not the case in GoW3, I don't want to get spoiler-y but there is a moment that may have you a little shocked.  Split screen and online co-op ups the ante as teamwork is integral to survival.  Throw in the always creative online multiplayer and you've a must play game.

Batman: Arkham City

Batman is hands down one of the coolest characters to grace any form of media and fortunately Rocksteady put together on hell of sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum. Arkham Asylum was a fantastic game and is a must play, but surprisingly Arkham City is leaps and bounds better.  Like most sandbox games you can expect side missions, however in Batman the "side" missions actually feel like their apart of the main story.  With a story that could rival any Batman comic and one could even argue that Christopher Nolan could just coop the story and make a fourth movie, you can see why this sequel is vastly greater than it's predecessor.


Agree/disagree?  Think I missed out on any awesome sequels/threequels, sound off in the comments section.

Spike Video Game Awards Recap

 

 

 

In case you missed out on last night's VGA's, I'm here to give the rundown on the big winners and the even bigger world premieres.  To start off Samuel L. Jackson was back to host and easily the best part was seeing Sam inserted into this year's most popular games. Seeing Sir Sam (isn't it about time we knight him as the coolest muthaf**ka alive) in Dishonored going all Pulp Fiction on the butler was the highlight of my night.

 

 

 

 

So here the big winners from the VGA's from December 7th with occasional commentary:

 

 •Game of the Year: The Walking Dead

          Very surprised The Walking Dead won considering the nominees, but I think it's incredibly awesome that a DLC was able to secure a victory over giants such as Mass Effect 3, Assassin's Creed 3, and Dishonrored.

 •Studio of the Year: Telltale Games

 •Best Xbox 360 Game: Halo 4

 •Best PS3 Game: Journey

 •Best Wii/Wii U Game: New Super Mario Bros. U

 •Best PC Game: XCOM: Enemy Unknown

 •Best Shooter: Borderlands 2

          Another surprise for Borderlands 2 to come out on top when you consider Halo 4 and CoD: Black Ops 2 were probably considered the favorites.

 •Best Action/Adventure: Dishonored

          With one of the deepest set of nominees, Sleeping Dogs, Assassin's Creed 3, and Darksiders 2, it's great to see a new lP getting the nod to show that not all great games are sequels (at least not yet).

 •Best RPG: Mass Effect 3

          DUH!

 •Best Multiplayer: Borderlands 2

 •Best Individual Sports Game: SSX

 •Best Team Sports Game: NBA 2K13

 •Best Driving Game: Need for Speed Most Wanted

 •Best Song in a Game: "Cities" by Beck, from Sound Shapes

 •Best Original Score: Journey

 •Best Graphics: Halo 4

 •Best Independent Game: Journey

 •Best Fighting Game: Persona 4 Arena

 •Best Handheld/Mobile Game: Sound Shapes

 •Best Performance by a Human Male: Dameon Clarke in Borderlands 2 as "Handsome Jack"

 •Best Performance by a Human Female: Melissa Hutchison in The Walking Dead as"Clementine"

 •Best Adapted Game: The Walking Dead

 •Best DLC: The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim - Dawnguard

 •Best Downloadable Game: The Walking Dead

 •Best Social Game: You Don't Know Jack

 •Game of the Decade: Half-Life 2

 •Character of the Year: Claptrap from Borderlands 2

           Not often do I find myself rooting for a bad guy, but I was rooting for Raul Menendez (from CoD: Black Ops 2) to pull this one out.  Claptrap is a great choice as well! Whether playing Borderlands 1 or 2 you're for a great time with frequent LOL moments.

 •Most Anticipated Game: Grand Theft Auto 5

 

The VGA's also gave us a bevy of world premiers:

 

Tomb Raider

 

 

South Park: The Stick of Truth

 

 

BioShock Infinite

 

 

Gears of War: Judgement

 

 

Dark Souls II

 

 

The Last of Us (performance from VGA's)

 

 

Phantom Pain (Metal Gear 5?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

 

Spike TV Video Game Awards streaming live on Xbox Live

I'm not the biggest fan of award shows, but I've always tried to tune in to VGA's for two reasons...New game reveals/previews and Samuel L. Jackson!  For those of you without cable, like me, you’re going to be able to watch the VGA’s live through Xbox Live for the very first time.  So tune in this Friday at 9pm EST and prepare for the awesomeness that is Samuel L. and the VGA’s!

Just for fun I've included some of my favorite Samuel L. Jackson related moments:

Who doesn't love Sam as Jules in Pulp Fiction?

I took my wife to see The Incredibles back when we were at Purdue University before we even had kids!

Check out the Video Game Awards newest commercial featuring baby Sam...and if you don't like this then you don't know sh*t!

[EDIT] I completely forgot about the Dave Chappelle skit...here you go!

On this day, December 4th!

December 4^th is the 338^th day of the year, but more importantly it is the 106^th anniversary of my fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.  Here are a few other noteworthy events of Dec 4^th:

·         Sean “Jay-Z” Carter was born in 1969

·         Tyra Banks was born in 1973

·         Thomas Hobbes died in 1679 at the age of 91

·         The first edition of the Los Angeles Times is published in 1881

·         The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida, United States in 1954.

·         An adult giant squid is caught on video for the first time by Tsunemi Kubodera near the Ogasawara Islands, 1,000 km (620 mi) south of Tokyo in 2006

·         The first ever Spike Video Game Awards were aired in 2003

·         Far Cry 3 releases today

·         Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in 1906.

Montreal Gazette sports writer following NHL season through NHL '13

For any sports fan, and more specifically video game sports fans, we’re used to big games being simulated to see the outcome.  ESPN has been simulating each week in the NFL using NFL Madden to predict the winner (and for you gamblers, predict the lines). As of recently, the Super Bowl game has been getting the deluxe treatment with game highlights and commentary a la a SportsCenter segment. During last year's NBA and NFL lockout, many were concerned (more like terrified) that Madden and 2K were going to be the only options for professional sports. Luckily, we didn't have to worry about that (the NBA did cancel 20+ games, but we still got an exciting season still), but NHL fans are currently living this nightmare (for the second time in 7 years).   

The running joke last year on ESPN’s Daily Dime was that the bloggers would have to cover games via NBA 2K12. In no way shape or form is a lockout a good sign for anyone, but the Montreal Gazette isn’t taking this lost season lying down.  While the NHL season is on lockout, they’ve tasked their Montreal Canadiens beat writer to cover the team based on NHL 13.  So cheers to you Pat Hickey (and the Gazette) for not settling and here's to hopeing an entire season isn't lost to Gary Bettman...again!

Black Friday Deals: Don't miss out on these amazing deals!

Black Friday, a holiday within a holiday!  This is the day when families sometimes spend an inordinate amount of money of items at discounted rates.  I've only done the “true” Black Friday event once with my wife; one to say that I've done it and the other reason was to see if and what video game deals I could capitalize on! Fortunately for you, I've tried to compile a list of some of the better Black Friday video game deals so you, too can capitalize on the great deals:

Best Buy: System deal. XBOX 360 250GB hardrive/Skyrim/Forza 4/headset/1 Month HULU Trial $199.99 (PS3 250GB/Uncharted Dual Pack/ inFamous Collection $199.99)

Other notable deals:

§  360 Wireless controller $34.99

§  Turtle Beach Earforce headsets for 360 and PS3 $34.99

§  Dead Island GOTY $7.99

§  UFC 3 $14.99

§  Dance Central 3 $24.99

§  Kinect Sports Ultimate Collection $24.99

§  Just Dance 4 $24.99

§  Assassins Creed III $34.99

§  Madden 13 $34.99

§  Forza Horizon $34.99

§  Borderlands 2 $34.99

§  FIFA 13 $34.99

§  Diablo 3 $34.99

Gamestop: System deal: Xbox 360 250GB + Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 + Forza 4 + Skyrim $249.99 (PlayStation 3 250GB System with Uncharted & Infamous Collections $199.97)

Other notable deals: 

§  Turtle Beach X12 Headset $39.99

§  Turtle Beach P11 Headset $39.99

§  Buy 2 Get 1 Free on all Pre-owned accessories and games

§  Assassin Creed III $49.99

§  Batman Arkham City GOTY $19.99

§  Dishonored $29.99

§  Max Payne 3 $19.99

§  Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition $19.99

§  Ghost Recon Future Solider $24.99

§  Elder Scrolls Skyrim $29.99

§  Borderlands 2 $39.99

§  FIFA 13 $39.99

§  Madden 13 $39.99

§  NHL 13 $39.99

§  NCAA Football 13 $39.99

§  Sleeping Dogs $29.99

§  Call of Duty MW3 $34.99

§  Call of Duty Black Ops $24.99

§  Dead Space 2 $14.99

§  Crysis 2 $14.99

Kmart: XBOX 360 4GB/ Kinect/Kinect Disneyland Adventures $199.99

Other notable deals:

§  Max Payne 3 $8.99

§  LA Noire $8.99

§   

Target: System deal: XBOX 360/ Kinect/Kinect Adventures/Kinect Disneyland $199.99 (PS3/ Uncharted Dual Pack/ inFamous Collection $199.99)

Other notable deals:

§  Dualshock, Wii Motion Plus or 360 Wireless Controller $39

§  $20 Gift Card with Purchase of Halo 4, Assassins Creed 3, or Forza Horizon

§  1600 Microsoft Points Card $10.00

§  Max Payne 3 $25.00

§  Lego Batman 2 $25.00

§  Madden 13 $35.00

§  Medal of Honor: Warfighter $35.00

§  Need for Speed: Most Wanted $35.00

§  Borderlands 2 $35.00 

§  Epic Mickey 2 $35.00

Toys R Us: System deal: XBOX 360 4GB w/Kinect/Air Flo 360 controller/50% Off 3 Months XBL Gold 

Other notable deals:

§  Xbox 360 4GB console with $50 gift card for $179.99 USD

§  PS3 inFamous 250GB Bundle + PS3 Air Flo Controller

§  Radium PS3 Wireless Controller $20.99

§  XBOX 360 Wireless Controller $29.99

§  PS3 Dual Shock $32.99

§  360 Afterglow Controller $17.99

§  Various games for DS, Wii, 360, and PS3 Buy 1 get 1 for $1

Walmart: System deals: XBox 360 4GB/Skylanders Spyro's Adventure Starter Pack/ EXCLUSIVE Figurine

Other notable deals:

§  360 Wireless Controller $39.96

§  360 Wireless Headset $25

§  PS3 DS3 Controller 39.96

§  Skylanders Interactive Character $9.96

§  Skylanders Starter Pack $38.96

§  Wii Console $89

§  Wii uDraw $10

§  Assassin's Creed 3 $38.96

§  Darksiders $10.00

§  Dead Island $10.00

§  Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition $10.00

§  LA Noire Complete $10.00

§  Batman: Arkham City $10.00

§  Dance Central 3 $15.00

§  God of War Saga $15.00

§  Grand Theft Auto IV Complete $15.00

§  Killzone 3 $15.00

§  Lego Batman 2 $15.00

§  Max Payne 3 $15.00

§  Ratchet and Clank HD Collection $15.00

§  Red Dead Redemption GOTY $15.00

§  Spec ops The Line  $15.00

§  Uncharted 3 $15.00

§  Battlefield 3 Premium Edition (Xbox 360) $25.00

§  Borderlands 2 $25.00

§  Epic Mickey 2 $25.00

§  Ghost Recon Future Soldier (PS3, Xbox 360) $25.00

§  Just Dance 4 $25.00

§  Kinect Star Wars $25.00

§  Madden 13 $25.00

§  Medal of Honor Warfighter $25.00

§  NBA 2K13 $25.00

§  Dishonored (360) $25.00

§  Skyrim (360) $25.00

§  XCOM Enemy Unknown (PS3, Xbox 360) $25.00

§  Need For Speed Most Wanted $25.00

§  Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (PS3, Xbox 360) $25.00

§  Twisted Metal (PS3) $25.00

§  WWE 13 (PS3, Xbox 360) $25.00

Enjoy it guys and be safe out there!