More than meets the eye...

I cannot wait for this movie to come out. Optimus Prime looks amazing as you can see. The directors promised they stayed true to the characters. Plus, Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime and Ironhide in the cartoon is doing Optimus in the movie. It is going to be awesome.

Release date:
07/04/07

War...

I had heard about it. People were saying that it was going to be amazing. People sometimes are wrong; and I didn’t feel like listening. Then one day, I went into work, and I saw it being played by a child.

I walked up to the display and asked, “What are you playing?”

“Gears of War,” the child replied.

There it was, in all of its high-definition glory, Gears of War. It was the most amazing game I had ever seen. The graphics were amazing, the controls superb, the AI tactful. It was then I realized that I had to have the 360. This was the future.

While a review shouldn’t be started with such bias, I think it important to know my reaction when I first saw Gears of War.

Gears of War is a 3rd-person action shooter. While it had been done before, this game reinvented the idea of taking cover and popping out to shoot. The first time this was seen was in the N64 action game WinBack which was about 40% good and 60% bad. Gears gives this ability a faster pace, and allows you to move in cover. When a firefight breaks out, you feel as though you are in the middle of combat and that you have to be smart and keep your head down. It is a lot of fun and very strategic.

The single-player is awesome gives you a lot of great challenges. There are 3 difficulty settings to beat the game on one of which is called Insane. It is.

The story isn’t extremely strong but it is very present and decent enough to get into and keep you entertained. The characters in the story are all well-done and each has his own personality. The voice-acting is awesome and really brings the characters to life.

The problem in single-player is the length of the game. It took me about 3 days or about 10 hours of play to beat this game. It was fun all the way through, just a little short. I immediately felt that I needed a sequel, which the ending sort-of alluded to.

The multi-player is a lot of fun. Whether chainsawing your buddy in half or blindfiring a shotgun over cover, multi-player gives a lot of replay value to this game. There about 3 different play modes all of which are a lot of fun. The maps are diverse and can give you a new experience every time.

Gears of War is definitely going into my book as an innovator and a master-piece. It truly is the first next-generation game of our time. Pick it up, you won’t regret it.

Apple...

I have been selling Apple computers for about 6 months now and have been officially using them since my first iBook G4 four to five years ago. Amazing machines and they have truly come a long way.

I have just accepted a new position with a new company selling Apples that is willing to give me the ability to train to service them or do corporate sales for Apple computers.

That being said, I used to hate them with an undying passion. At first, mostly because I didn't understand them. Also, however, because I knew a few die-hard Apple fans that gave me that cult-ish feeling, I decided that I would stick with my Windows machines and deal with my problems. It is too bad that I didn't know then what I know now. For one, I would have invested in Apple stock. More importantly, I would have always had a working machine that was more appliance than computer.

The Apple Inc. has changed a lot since the days of the "cult". They are now truly one of the best products out there and, in my opinion, have the best support. I think their success, however, stems from the fact that they don't just make software or hardware. They make both to work together perfectly and say there aren't any holes or issues in the system. When my parents are going to get a new computer, I am going to make them get an Apple.


I have used all three main operating systems: OS X, Windows, and Linux. In my opinion, the OS X from Apple is the strongest. While not quite as wide-spread through-out the market, OS X is the most user-friendly, the most stable, and the most supported OS made.


Linux is awesome. But, you have to be willing to spend the time. The newer distributions of the system are pretty easy to install and use but there are always little hick-ups that need to be taken care of and you have to go find the solution on the web. It is more of a time issue though since there is a lot of support and information on the web about Linux. All-in-all, I think Linux is pretty amazing and I am planning on removing Windows as the main system on my old Dell and using Linux as the main. I want to then use Windows on a separate partition for games. That's really the only reason I have ever kept a Windows machine around.


Windows is a joke. Now more than ever. Microsoft could have had the whole market with Vista. Instead, since they couldn't really finish the system as they wanted to, they got an operating system that is just some new features layered on top of XP. On top of that, many XP programs just do not work on Vista. It is about 40% do not work at this point. Even their own Office 2003 will not work correctly on Vista. Like I said, Microsoft could have had it all.

I am not to sure what is on horizon for Apple. There are so many rumors flying about, it is hard to tell the real from the fake. I usually just wait and see. All I know is that there is definitely going to be some exciting things this year with OS 10.5 Leopard coming out. Can't wait to see what changes and what happens.

Review...

It has been awhile. I thought that instead of trying to explain what has been happening lately and making excuses, I would just pick up where I left off.

A couple of months ago I sold nearly every system and game I had for an Xbox 360. I had sworn to myself that I would never own an Xbox or Microsoft Game Studio product due to my "beliefs". The next-generation game systems were on their way and I had to make my decision about who I would throw in with. Instead of being my old self and have to own all 3 systems, I decided I would own 1 and that would be it.

I chose the 360.

This is why:
1. Games
2. Multi-player
3. The competition

The first reason I will get into as I review games that I love for this system over the next couple of days.

The second reason being that many of my friends have one and that they all play these games together on Xbox Live. Also, Xbox Live, while having to be paid for, is quite cool.

The third reason it a complicated one. I have always been a Nintendo fanboy. They have stuck with me for a long time. I have yet to be disappointed by them and that stands to this day. The Wii is an amazing system. That being said, it is mainly a group and social system in my opinion. Seeing as there wouldn't be many people coming over to play the system on a regular basis, it wouldn't be worth the time or the money.

Then, there is Sony. Oh Sony. You could have had it all. While being the cheapest Blue-ray player on the planet, and despite having 9 processing cores, I have yet to have the PlayStation 3 truly "wow" me. Both the Wii and the 360 have. Sorry Sony, while you had gaven me many days of fun, those days are now over.

So, the 360.

I had been feeling its pull for awhile. Then, the deal was sealed one day when I came into work and saw an immensely detailed and amazing game called "Gears of War". I played it, and while I sucked pretty bad, it was amazing. Suddenly, the joy of video-games was invigorated. Then, a month later, Rainbow Six: Vegas. Sealed. Game, set, and match. Period.

G7...

Well, my parents gave me a birthday present a little early this year, the Logitech G7 mouse. This is a wireless gaming mouse and it is amazing. It comes with two rechargable lithium-ion batteries that are hot-swappable in the charger and the mouse.

On the mouse, there are a number of buttons for many funtions including the sensitivity buttons. These two circular "+" and "-" buttons allow you to change the mouse from 2000dpi all the way down to 400dpi quickly. The idea is to hit the button to 2000dpi while playing and then drop the dpi down for sniping or intricate work in a game. I was skeptical of this feature and saw it as a draw-back to the mouse. When I got it home, however, I found myself using it and since have a found that I change sensitivities a lot more often than I thought I would.

Lastly, on the top of the mouse, on the left side, there is a display for how much battery the mouse has left and the sensitivity to which it is set. It always cycles through both displays by fading in and out.

While seeming like far too much at first, this mouse is worth every discounted penny I payed for it. I love it and I know it will last me a long time. I look forward to all the great games in the future and can't wait to play the next generation FPS with it.

Gobble...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday Em!!!

I thank the lord everyday for having you in my life. Thank you for proving to me that I can be more and believing in me. I love you always and may my heart be enough to repay your love.

Work...

So, here I am at work. This is probably the only good web-site that has not been blocked by their system yet. I'm bored. There is no one to sell to. I get to stand here and think about all the things I could be doing or should be doing (finding a better job). There are some massive deals going on here for the holiday season and I am not going to be able to touch them with a ten-foot-pole.

What else...? Still playing Dawn of War. Still having a blast. I have some things to share about that game at a later date. Insanity shall ensue.

Nothing else to report I s'pose. Hopefully I can make a little money today. Lord knows I need it. ;)

And counting...

Twelve days until Wii and Zelda: Twilight Princess are released.

Look...

And thusly begins a new look. :)