I was feeling a bit under the weather, and for once it was raining all weekend so I was stuck inside. When this occurs, a rather grumpy monster forms inside my brain that craves new media. Be it movie, anime, or game, I must consume something. I happened to have some Microsoft points gifted to me (as I tend to hoard all gift cards and points for explosive spending binges like this) so this seemed like a good time to spend them. After seeing an ad for Crysis on the Xbox 360′s feature link for instant download, I decided to take the plunge and see if it could amuse me for a while. There are no words for what I’ve been missing since 2007.
Most of you have prolly seen this hotness already. If so, please just shake your head at my slowness and move on. For the rest of you — check it, you’re gonna want to see this if you dig first-person shooter games with a story — you know, at all.
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The votes are in: FemShep will be a kick-ass ginger. This week at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), BioWare unveiled the final image of the female Commander Shepard for the cover of the upcoming Mass Effect 3 (to be released in March 2012). In two heavily debated rounds of voting, fans on Facebook voted for facial structure and hair color on various versions of “FemShep” (or as Chuck and I call her, “Shep” — the other Shep is “ManShep”). Here’s the voting breakdown, according to MSNBC:
Blonde FemShep: 5,434 votes
Brunette FemShep: 5,573 votes
Black-haired FemShep: 12,834 votes
Red-haired FemShep: 19,571 votes
Interestingly, before voting Round 2, blonde FemShep was way ahead in the polls, much to the chagrin of Kim Richards at PCGamer.com. However, some speculated it was the hairstyle that pleased the crowds rather than the color. So FemShep kept the hairstyle, and in the end it was the cut that won out — except this time a redhead – and with quadruple the votes of the blonde.
The acclaimed actor Jennifer Hale, who voices the female Shepard in ME1 and ME2 (as well as, incidentally, lady protagonist Samus Aran in the Metroid Prime game series) spoke at PAX after the announcement:
“I want to say a huge thank you to everybody out there who plays FemShep who spoke up and said ‘we want to see FemShep,’” Hale told the cheering audience as the results were announced. “You have no idea what that means to me.”
Indeed. It’s about time we see a female Shepard get some props. Even if only 18% of ME players chose to go peen-less, how many more might have gone with a few role models paving the way?
It surprises us not at all now to see in-game product placement — like, for example, hopping in a specially-designed street vehicle to outrun enemies in a military FPS. But Jeep’s turning that upside down, offering an in-game vehicle IRL. It’s called the Call of Duty: Black Ops Edition 2011 Jeep Wrangler, and besides offering a seriously cool way to show off your love for the game, it also looks like a pretty sweet ride. Or, as Jalopnik calls it, “the ultimate accessory for some Call of Duty cosplay.”
Waiting for the Xbox 360 Halo Limited Edition Bundle to be delivered is driving me crazy. Fortunately, Microsoft set up things so I can keep myself busy online at xbox.com while I wait. Last time I described how I choose my Gamertag when I set up my Xbox Live Family Gold Pack (see my post Grabbing a Great Gamertag). While cruising the xbox.com website after I purchased the Gold Family Pack and set up my Gamertag I noticed I could also set up my Avatar. I’m no artist or graphic designer, but it turns out Microsoft made creating my avatar as easy as pie!
Xbox Live Accounts Require "Gamertag" Identification Usernames
With the Xbox 360 Halo Reach Limited Edition Bundle on its way (see my previous GWC Blog post “Got Game? An Xbox 360 Voyage Begins“), I was faced with a dilemma. It was now time to establish my Xbox Live account. Shooter Jr and I had already decided that we would go halvsies on a Family Gold Live account. It is a few bucks cheaper after all and we end up with a total of four possible accounts instead of just two. This could prove useful if Shootette, Little Shootette or Mrs. Shooter wanted to play with us. Shooter Jr already had his Live account established but I’ve never had an Xbox Live account so I needed to create one. Now I came face to face with the decision that had been haunting me for months: creating an Xbox Live Gamertag.
The XBox 360 Halo Reach Limited Edition
Wishes can come true. Remember back in podcast 229 when the GWC Crüe asked us to call in with what we would do with $300? I called in and said I would get an Xbox 360 because Shooter Jr was on his all the time and wouldn’t let me play. I remember Sean smacking me down pretty hard in podcast 230 when they played my call because I wasn’t doing it right with Xbox live accounts (Gee, thanks for the parental back-up there buddy). Do you also remember in my blog post “Passing On The Family Geek Card” when I mentioned I was woefully behind the times with modern console gaming? Well, about six months later and with a Cromload of hard work and savings behind me, I was able to scrape together enough cash to start my Xbox journey. For someone who last “gamed” on an Atari 2600 this is not as easy as it sounds. But in the end, I know it will be worth it.
Disney's 2010 Tron Legacy Film (Picture courtesy of Disney's Tron Legacy Website)
Sean posted a great blog post about the ten things he learned from Tron 1982. I know I’m late to the party, but after just seeing Tron tonight, here are ten things I learned from seeing Tron Legacy
Normally action games aren’t really my style but in this case Bayonetta has more style in general than you can shake a really sexy stick at. In this world, Heaven and Hell had the out and out battle of the ages throwing hell into the loser’s bracket – which put the world out of balance. Fresh from a nap under a lake for 500 years Bayonetta, the last true Umber Witch, intends to fix that. How do you put the world back in balance you ask? Why by killing angels of course – this is the awesome! Continue reading »
I realize that I’ve already posted about Dragon Age Origins recently but there is something of great note I discovered a few days ago – there is a playable dog character. That’s right, take a gander at my new pup Bronx.
He’s a playable, levelable character just like any of the others. I named him after Bronx from the show Gargoyles. It’s kinda fitting since they are both about the same shape and look fierce but are really sweet pups. He’s mostly tan colored but this is right after the battle in which he joined the group so he’s still got blood on him – he is a war dog after all.
Only Fable II came this close to character perfection but was just a hair off the mark. I vowed to uncover every war dog quest and level him to the utmost without delay. My strategy for playing just became much easier, no more storyline just for progressions sake. My strategy now will be, “How does this help Bronx?”
I can now forgive BioWare for letting you switch paths in Mass Effect 2 – I have a new puppy!
Dragon Age Origins [BioWare]
Part of the Xmas loot this year was Dragon Age Origins for XBox 360. Both my brother and I got a copy and spent the day after playing it up. After spending about 8 hours with the title I can say without fear of contradiction that Bioware is becoming my favorite developer. Oh, and did I mention the chick in the above image is voiced by Claudia Black? Yeah, hotness.
Two years ago this month a game arrived in an overly saturated market that changed the gaming landscape forever — and my perception of first person shooter games. That game was Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare from Infinity Ward. It was the third game of the series and a quantum leap up from Call of Duty 2. Modern Warfare combined a great story, great graphics, and an addictive RPG-like structure with multi-player gaming. More importantly, it changed the way I felt about the feel of firing a weapon in a video game.
Anyone geeky enough to have spent a few nights board-gaming with friends will recognize Settlers of Catan’s catch phrase above. But did you realize you can now play your favorite hexagonal empire building game on the iPhone?
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