Posts Tagged Jaken Bear
Jaken Bear’s Extra Life notebook.
Posted by Jaken Bear in Community on October 17th, 2009
Oct 17.2009. 1:36 am. Now that the funds have been raised, the next part is up to me. My punishment? Game for 24 hours. Ok, so maybe it’s not that bad after all. I have a HUGE lineup of half finished games, unplayed games, games I’ve played for a few minutes, games I’ve played for 80 hours, and games that I bought because they were in the bargain bin for ten dollars. They are all candidates to get me through the event. My plan is to be creative and flexible in my game choices too. While I would love to sit like Jabba the hutt on the couch for 24 hours, I’ll need to mix things up. For the next 24 hours I’m platform agnostic. I own them all so I plan to play them all. Maybe I’ll even break out Xbox LIVE smash HIT Totem Ball and flap my arms around like an idiot for an hour (as opposed to normally when I flap my arms around intelligently). Anything is possible. I’ve also lined up several friends either in person or online to keep things fresh. Stay tuned as I will be updating hourly right! For now I need to get some sleep. See you in 6 hours!
8:00 am - HOUR ZERO - Gooooooood Morning! My 24 hours of gaming has begun. Up at 8 a.m. on a Saturday. What is this mysterious time? People get up on a Saturday this early? What in the H??! I’m rethinking my 6 hours of sleep now but should be fine as I generally don’t sleep ever anyhow. Kicking off Extra life with some Brutal Legend. I’ll update in an hour!
9:00 am - HOUR ONE - A successful first hour. Played Brutal Legend the entire time. Its freaking awesome! I even earned 30 Gamerscore. Lauren is going to be handling Tim Horton duties once she decides to wake up. I think I might crank the sound just a bit because I’ll be needing my double double soon. I’m going to continue on with my Brutal Legend journey and see where I am at 10 a.m. So far so good.
10:00 am - HOUR TWO - The Journey into metal madness continues. Still hooked on the story of Brutal Legend. At this rate I might even finish the game. Nothing out of the ordinary so far though as gaming for a whole two hours in a row is something I have a little experience with. Coffee and bagels are on the way too and will serve as game fuel!
11:00 am - HOUR THREE - Three hours in and I’m deciding what to play next. I think I’m going to move onto Uncharted 2and finish off the single player. As you can see from the picture below I have a lot of choices. And I couldn’t even fit all of my games into one picture. I guess choice is a good thing, expecially when I have 21 hours left.
Nathan Drake climbs well. Even better than Donkey Kong.
Fresh off of a Steroid Scandal, Donkey Kong came back to win the gold medal.
3:00 pm - HOUR SEVEN - That was a success. All limbered up, I’m now ready to sit back and race some cars. Game of choice will be Forza Motorsport. The game is so good though I may never be able to stop playing it. As far as how I’m feeling? I’m thinking maybe I should spend every saturday like this. It would allow me to catch up on the plethora of games that remain in my apartment unplayed but I’m thinking it may be hard to find people to sponsor me each weekend. I’ll just play my heart out for the next 17 hours and see how it goes. Friends and Pizza are coming over later which is a good combination (provided freinds bring beer). I’ve also been keeping tabs of people’s progress on Twitter. Vrroom Vroom for now.
4:00 pm - HOUR EIGHT - One third of the way done! I’m still hooked on Forza. Looking for some cheap designs right now for my Vauxhall VX220. If I had more time I would paint a car for extra life. I guess painting counts but I’d rather be racing. Looking out my apartment window I can see the sun is heading back down into its resting place for the night. Rest. Thats one thing I WON’T be doing tonight. Nope, the game must go on. I think its time for my first Red Bull though. It gives me wings apparently.
Taxi is one of the best pinball games about Taxi's
Axel and Pixel. I couldn't tell you which one is the Hippy.
7:00 pm - HOUR ELEVEN - Not much to update this hour. Axel and Pixel, despite being Hippies, are keeping me entertained. I think I’ll play Brutal Legend for a half hour or so before Dave gets here and the multiplayer begins. Did I mention we’ll be playing Chu Chu Rocket on theSega Dreamcast!!! One of the best games ever made. Bing it if you don’t believe me. I also anticipate some form of music game and hopefully if all goes well — we get a noise complaint. Because no Gaming night is ever officially complete without a noise complaint. We can’t sleep people, we are gaming to save lives. Sorry.
8:00 pm - HOUR TWELVE - Dave is over and multiplayer has started. First up, I’m showing him the glory known as South Park Tower Defense! Oh, also, we are HALF WAY through the 24 hours. Beer is here to celebrate and pizza on the way.
9:00 pm - HOUR THIRTEEN - South Park Tower Defense!! We can’t stop playing. See dream team below. Cartman, Kenny, Pip, Craig.
Cartman, Kenny, Craig, and Pip defend South Park.
10:00 pm - HOUR FOURTEEN - More South Park. I’ll be updating more on the back half of the Marathon once my guests decide to leave or fall asleep. Also, its CHU CHU ROCKET time.
11:00 pm - HOUR FIFTEEN - I can now confirm that CHU CHU ROCKETis indeed one of the finest games ever made. From the amazing cat animations to the lifelike recreation of a mouse traversing a maze, this dreamcast classic really has it all. Ok, so maybe thats not all true but it sure is fun. Also gamed this hour was Ghost Squad, a “light shooter” game where you have to save a bearded guy named Steve McCoy, and rescue the president from Air Force one. Finally, solving puzzles in World of Goo. This game never gets old. Or tired. Or thirsty. Nope, it just keeps going and going….
12:00 am - HOUR SIXTEEN - More World of GOO!!! Stuck on one puzzle for the last hour. It could be my slowly dwindling mental capacity after gaming for 16 hours in a row.
This frog is really pissing me off. Could be lack of sleep.
1:00 am - HOUR SEVENTEEN - Doc Adams From Sarcastic Gamer just announced that we’ve raised in total $137,000 dollars so far. That number is going to rise too since contributions are still rolling in. I’m going to switch my Etra life blogging into night time mode now. Basically, I’ll post what I’m playing without a lot of stupid commentary. Writing stupid commentary takes energy you see, and I need to preserve it for the home stretch. +1 Red Bull. Sugar free.
2:00 am - HOUR EIGHTEEN - Uncharted 2!
3:00 am - HOUR NINETEEN - Yep, Uncharted 2. I think at this point I jus can’t move from the couch so now I’m determined to finish.
4:00 am - 8:00 am- THE FINAL PUSH - These last 4 hours were tough but I was able to focus and make it through. Overall it was a lot harder than I thought to be up for 24 hours straight and focus on gaming. Thanks again for everyone who supported me! I can’t wait until next year. Time for sleep now …. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Medal of Honor Airborne: Multiplayer Summit
Posted by Jaken Bear in Community on September 1st, 2007
Last month EA invited Xbox Addict along with a bunch of other journalists, podcasters, and community members to Fort Bragg, North Carolina to take a look at their upcoming 360 WW2 shooter, Medal of Honor : Airborne. While they could have taken the easy road and hosted the event at a posh air conditioned hotel, EA decided to go the extra mile and immerse us fully in the culture of the 82nd Airborne division. With temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, this was a community day like no other. Even while journeying to the base from my home in the great white north, there was a sense this would be an experience not soon forgotten. Not only did we get hands on time with the multiplayer, but there was also some time for some sessions with the excellent single player.
This preview was originally published on Xbox Addict and appears here as part of a partnership between XCL and XBA. Check out Xbox Addict for more great content.
Medal of Honor Airborne is really taking a risk releasing a World War 2 shooter in what has of late become a stagnant genre. A lot of gamers are craving a new war to fight. Fortunately, MOHA has taken this fact to heart, and the passion and innovation put into Airborne should help elevate it above the WW2 stigma. So what makes the game unique? Enter the Airborne, and the ability to drop into the battlefield rather than spawn at preset locations. The multiplayer is 12 players 6 vs. 6 Axis vs. Allied fare, only the Allied have the ability to drop out of the sky, where as the Axis have the ability to shoot their opponents as they drop onto the battlefield. You would think this would give the Allies a distinct advantage, but there is actually a nice balance between the two sides. Dropping into the battlefield as Allies, you are able to choose a strategic location (say perhaps a contested flag), and really dictate how the battle unfolds. However, as the Axis, you are able to shoot your opponent out of the sky as they drop in and often times you can get a jump on a paratrooper who botches a landing (it takes them a few seconds to recover) by looking for the freshly falling chute. It really does feel balanced overall, and you should be able to enjoy playing as both sides. At first airdrops seem like more fun, but once you snipe a few allies out of the sky you should change your tune.
We were able to check out 6 maps and as of now that is what will ship with the game. Six maps may not seem like much, but if you consider how many variables the designers needed to take into account when creating these environments, it’s actually not that bad. Since the allies can literally drop ANYWHERE into the map when they spawn, you end up as the axis always having to look up as well as watching your back. This really opens up the battlefield unlike a lot of shooters that have come before. Roof top to roof top battles are common (yes the axis can get up on the roofs too — they just have to climb), and don’t be surprised if you look up only to be fragged by the boot of an incoming paratrooper.
MOHA has implemented a fairly robust weapons upgrade system this time around. Basically, the more you play with certain weapons, the more you are unable to unlock. These include upgrades such as pistol grips, better accuracy, and grenades you can launch further. The character you use in ranked games will level up in a persistent way, so the more you play, the more powerful you get. This shouldn’t lead to too much imbalance though as you seem to be able to earn the upgrades fairly quickly. In unranked play, the host is able to choose what types of upgrades are allowed, and even give every player in the match upgraded weapons by default. There is the expected variety of weapons you would expect from a World War 2 shooter. Machine guns like the Garand and Thompson, sniper rifles, pistols, and my favorite during my visit: the anti-tank rocket. While there are no tanks to shoot your rockets at, let me just say that in human vs. rocket battles, rocket usually wins.
As for the controls, the gameplay feels really solid. There is definitely some weight to your character, and this becomes especially obvious when you botch a landing and end up face first one the ground with your hands in front of you. One unique thing I noticed is how you are able to use cover in a very organic way. Clicking in the left trigger pulls up your iron sights, and from there you are able to click in the left stick to pop or down. Additionally, while having the left stick clicked in you can lean to the left or right to peak around corners. You can even move while in this cover mode. This really allows you to use cover how you see fit, and helps you “stop and pop” your enemies while staying relatively safe. It definitely feels more realistic than having to strafe out of cover and expose your entire body.
MOHA ships with three multiplayer game modes. The first is named objective airborne. In this mode, three flags are placed on the battlefield. Typically, one flag is placed near the axis spawn, one is placed in a neutral location in the middle, and the third is placed at the opposite end and owned by the allies. The goal is to take control of all three flags. While the flags on either need only one soldier to stand in place and capture it, the middle flag requires at least two soldiers, so is usually a large area of contention. It seems like a fairly standard territories mode until you consider the following: the Allied squad drops into the world from the sky rather than respawn at set locations. This instantly changes the strategies both teams need to use to accomplish their objectives, and you are never truly safe from having someone land on your noggin. Alternatively though, you could also drop into a hornet’s nest of axis soldiers, and find yourself back in the drop plane fairly quickly. The other two modes are Team death match airborne mode, where flags are forgotten and its all about kill count. Lastly, you have the standard team deathmatch, which forgoes jumping out of a plane altogether. While the last two modes still proved to be fun, it was the airborne objective mode that I see having the most legs.
As part of the community day, we also had a chance to experience life at Fort Bragg as a lot of the airborne troops do. We were able to stay in military accommodations, experience the food at the mess hall (it was actually really good), and the highlight of the trip - jump from a 34 foot paratrooper training tower. We really were welcomed with open arms by the troops, and you would be hard pressed to meet a more genuine, respectful, and honorable group of people.
Can’t wait until the game launches? Well head onto the Xbox Live Marketplace right now and download the single player demo. With this 972 meg download you can experience for yourself the first four objectives of Operation Husky. You will be thrown right from the plane and into the fury of an axis fortified stronghold. And for even more Medal of Honor : Airborne fun be sure to keep your eye on Airborne’s LIVE Launch on September 7th - 9th! More info can be found by following this link.
Xbox Addict Review - Forza Motorsport 2
Posted by Jaken Bear in Reviews on June 1st, 2007
Car lovers rejoice! The ultimate car passion simulator has been unleashed onto your Xbox 360. Take a love of cars that lies deep inside us all, mash it up with a need to collect and customize those cars to your heart’s content, and throw in one of the most advanced and realistic driving engines ever conceived, and you get a small sampling of what Forza Motorsport 2 offers. Following up on the heels of critically acclaimed 2005 hit Forza Motorsport 1 for the original Xbox, this true next gen sequel really delivers on the promise from Turn 10 studios to harvest what they like to call “car passion”. It goes above and beyond by offering a little something for everyone, and by making itself accessible to the masses while at the same time challenging the hardcore.
This review was originally published on Xbox Addict and appears here as part of a partnership between XCL and XBA. Check out Xbox Addict for more great content.
The star of the show in Forza Motorsport 2 is the cars. There are over 300 rides from almost 50 manufacturers to choose from and each one feels unique in its own way. While you won’t have access to every single one of them when you first start, a big part of the fun is earning and unlocking the cars as you progress through the game. A big part of what makes each of them unique is the innovative Performance Index (PI) system. Basically cars are divided into several classes based on their performance characteristics. You go from the lowly D class cars, up to C, B, and A. Above A class, is the S class cars, followed by 4 race classes (R4, R3, R2, R1), and then mighty U class (these are hard to keep on the track). These letters have a 3 digit number associated with them and that goes up to 999. For instance, take a D346 class car, tweak it a bit, add a turbo charger and some racing slicks, and it gets reclassified to a B521. Upgrading your cars is all about finding the right balance, and those looking to add raw power to cars that can’t handle it will see the results as they end up in the side wall. It is totally possible to take a D class Lancia Delta, mod the crap out of it , and have it get up into the S class amongst Ferraris’ and porches. This is all well and good, but it may not always be the best approach. A Lancia Delta after all, is basically a tin can on wheels. While it can get a similar PI value with lots of tweaking, it is probably going to find a better home in the B or A class. The good thing is that unlike most driving games, you can really take those starter cars from early on in your career, and not want to throw them to the curb once you unlock some of the more traditional big boy race cars. Tin cans, when paid the right attention, can race amongst the high end metal beasts.
Once you have all the upgrades you wish on a car, there’s additional depth you can achieve via tuning. Tuning includes such options as adjusting the front and rear downforce, tire pressure, camber, and whole bunch of other high tech car wizardry that mechanics dream of at night. Again, as with the rest of the game, Forza 2 wants to teach you about cars and doesn’t presume you are an expert. Each tuning option available is clearly explained as you make the tweaks, and a handy benchmark tools shows you results at a glance. Real gear heads will want to take the car out on the track to really see the benefits. From within these tuning runs, you can even make on the fly adjustments with a few button presses. This is almost a mini game in itself. Finally, you can save out your different tuning configurations, as certain tracks will benefit from vastly different setups. None of this is necessary if you just want to race, but the level of depth it provides is a welcome addition to the game.
Once out on the track (there are 12 environments with 47 ribbon configurations), the excellent Forza driving physics engine takes over. Turn 10 was not kidding when they talk about being physics obsessed, as the game makes 360 calculations and measurements per second. One only has to pop open then handy in game telemetry screen (race data) to see all of the variables at work. The coolest thing about the telemetry screen is that you can pull it up at any time: live during your race, on your replays, and even while watching friends live games while waiting in the lobby. If you want to dig deep and pay attention to all of the details they are there for you to do so. If you just want to race and not worry about the details, you will still be amazed by the amazing feeling you get from each and every car you take to the road. The best aspect of driving the cars though, is how accessible the game makes it for beginners all the way up to driving pros. Even if you are not the best racer in the world, you are given a variety of assists and driving aids to help you along and to teach you the game. Making a return is the ever popular driver line, which is a dynamic line that turns red, yellow, or green depending on your speed and lays out the optimal driving line. You can also choose such things as Stability Control, antilock braking, and traction control to help you around the track. Having all of this help at your side really is a welcome addition and should help those intimidated by “sim racers” get into the game in ways they never thought possible. Online though, your mean pro race driver friends have the option of forcing certain assists on or off, so pay attention to the host if you rely on certain assists in order to survive races.
For those fans that enjoy spending time smashing into walls, the damage modeling on the cars will not disappoint. If you take a turn too fast, slide off the track and smash into a cement wall, a sickening thud of crunching metal along with a part of your car falling off will usually result. And depending on if you have damage set to cosmetic, realistic, or simulation, it may spell the end of the race as well. Again, the option is yours how you want to handle damage, but at the simulation level you really have to watch how you race. Highly damaged cars will veer off to the left or right, and smoke pouring from your engine will confirm the reason why you can’t get the car into 5th gear anymore.
The real meat of the single player game can be found in career mode. You start off by choosing one of three regions (Asia, North America, or Europe), and are given enough cash to buy one starter car. From here you race in a series of “proving ground” races on various ribbon configurations of the fictional test track. Win a few races, earn some cash, and you can add a car or two to your garage, or spend the money on upgrades for your existing ride. What drives your career forward is the concept of Driver level. Each race you win earns you credits. As you continue to earn credits by winning, you level up your driver. You can also earn reward cars by as you level up, as well as by winning race series. A lot of times, you can take reward cars, and that unlocks various other races you are eligible for. There is a constant sense of reward as you advance through your career. Variety is another big factor here too. Races series are divided into events usually comprising of a series of races on various tracks. Examples of the type of events you will race are specific engine class battles, various class showdowns and championships, non aspirated engines only, manufacturer specific series, historical showdowns, Regional championships, and even grueling 30+ lap endurance races. Needless to say, career mode will keep drivers busy for a long time, especially those who want to reach level 50 and collect all of the cars. If that wasn’t enough, the car stable you build up in career can be taken online to challenge friends, and you can then race online to further line your pockets with career dough. The concept of reward is present throughout career mode too, and as you climb the ranks, you unlock new discounts on parts and cars from certain manufacturers. You are even rewarded for loyalty to using a favorite car, and just like your driver levels up, cars can level up too.
A lot of time will be spent rubbing fenders with the AI drivers. The brilliant part about them is that they really do know the tracks, and you really do feel like you are racing against a smart and savvy opponent, rather than a dummy that only follows a set racing line. (ahem , PGR3). One would expect nothing less though of a neural network learning system developed by Microsoft’s advanced AI research team in Cambridge, England. Let’s just hope Turn 10 locked down the learning capabilities, because the last thing we need is sentient Forza 2 AI’s taking over the planet.
As for graphics, the level of detail Turn 10 has delivered to each and every car model is insane. Each car has been meticulously recreated down to the brake light and brake pad. The detail is that deep and impressive. As you lap around the tracks, dynamic dust accumulates on your car. Parts that have been knocked off of cars in all too common “turn 1 crashes†remain littered on the track. Light and dynamic reflections shimmer and shine off the cars. Bringing this all together, the game runs at a rock solid 60 frames per second and never stutters. While the graphics may not look 100% photorealistic, this is as close as it gets. Minor graphical quibbles aside, only picky racers should find themselves complaining for too long because one you hit the track, you are immersed in driving heaven. Sound wise, there is a real variety of detail between each and every one of the cars you’ll take out on the pavement. You can tell a clear difference when you upgrade the engine or drop in a turbo charger. Crashing has never sounded so good, as crunching metal on metal collisions result in some sickening sounds. And unlike Forza 1, the in game’s in menu music is actually decent (good bye crazy guitar riffs).
If all of the above were not enough, Forza 2 pushes innovation over the edge and brings to the table a host of community options that will keep this game alive for years to come. One of the gripes in Forza 1 was that while you could design and make some amazing cars, it was hard to share them with friends in the community. Sure you could take cell phone pics and post them onto forums, but Turn 10 has solved all of this with the inclusion of photomode. In fact, photomode in itself could almost be its own game. You can take pictures of your cars at any time, including in a nice showroom like user interface, or on the track. Pause the game mid race, position you camera, and snap away. You can even take photos from saved replays of online races. The results can then be saved to your hard drive or memory unit, and even better, they can be uploaded to Forzamotorsport.net. From there you can log in with your passport Id and grab the latest 5 shots you’ve uploaded to do with as you please. Finally, you will be able to show your works of art off to the masses.
As for paintjobs, there is almost no limit as to what can be accomplished. The Livery Editor has been fully blown out for the sequel, and there are thousands upon thousands of layers you can use to paint the car of your dreams. There are gamers who will probably spend a majority of time creating unique works of art and selling then on the new Online Auction house. Selling and buying cars online has never been so fun, and addictive.
Online play is here of course, and up to 8 players can race over Xbox live or system link. Even if you don’t have a full room, a cool option this time around is that you can fill the rest of the slots up with AI racers. The host of the room has a plethora of options and can restrict things such as car class, driving line, and even force certain views. This should prevent that typical online jerk from coming into your D class room with his souped up S class Honda and ruining all of your fun. Turn 10 will also be hosting weekly online automated tournaments you can qualify for and race against the best in the world.
For the achievement fans, there are a few low hanging fruits to pick off (like reach driver level 1), but a lot of them will be gained by progressing through the lengthy career mode. Many of them can be gained by collecting all the cars in a certain region, and other are focused on reaching certain driver level milestones.
So has turn 10 succeeded in delivering the ultimate racing sim? Between the gigantic career mode, the deep 360 Hz physics, hundreds of insanely detailed cars, the beautiful livery editor, the auction house, online tournaments, and an integrated online community site, it’s hard not to say they have. Casual fans and hard core gear heads alike will find something to love about Forza Motorsport 2. See you at the finish line and remember to always brake in a straight line when you can.
Awesome Viva Pinata Commercial
Posted by Jaken Bear in XCL Humour on December 11th, 2006
There has been lots of hype this year about Halo 3 and some game called Gears of something rather, but the possible sleeper hit of the year amongst civilized gamers could be a small title about Magical Pinatas. Need Proof? Check out this commercial.
Wireless Racing Wheel Review : Time to go fast
Posted by Jaken Bear in Reviews on November 16th, 2006
Ever since it was announced, I have been drooling over the thought of Microsoft’s recently released and much talked about wireless racing wheel. Earlier this week I had a chance to put it through its paces both on and off the track. How does it perform? How does it feel? Will it make you drive faster? Read on to find out.
The Hardware
The first thing you notice about this marvel of technology is how well it is constructed. The wheel feels like it belongs on a high end sports car rather than on my low end lap. Nice simulated leather grips, and dome brushed steel add to the effect. The thing screams sexy. The nicely molded front white cover looks like a sleek bullet train on your lap. You can tell the designers of this thing put heart and soul into making a wheel built up to standards to satisfy race fans everywhere.
The wheel fits nicely onto your lap via an integrated lap mount. At first I wasn’t too sure how well this would work but surprisingly it doesn’t slip and you are able to drive around without any real problems. Of course the ideal way to play would be to use the included table mount, and mount the wheel onto something really solid.
The paddle shifters (mapped to Right and left Bumper) are a nice touch on either side of the wheel, and are very easy to reach should you need them. Just be sure to keep your hands on the wheel when you don’t need them, otherwise you may find yourself hitting them by accident.
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The guide button is nicely positioned in the middle of the wheel, with the Dpad to the left, and your standard face buttons to the right. It’s very easy to navigate menus, send messages, and generally do all of the things you are used to doing via the guide. A headset jack is integrated onto the wheel if you aren’t lucky enough to have snagged a wireless headset yet, and the headset wire never really gets in your way.
In order to get Force feedback to work, the wheel needs to be plugged into an AC outlet via the provided adapter. You would think this would detract from the whole “wireless” racing thing, but just plug it in somewhere behind you and your pet donkey can still walk between you and the TV without tripping on anything. The difference between using force feedback vs. plain old rumble is very noticeable though. A good thing is that you can use your existing rechargeable battery pack if you want or pop two AA batteries into the provided battery housing.
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The pedal base is nice and heavy as well. Both the gas and brake pedals have a unique texture and shape to them that only adds further to the professional look. The key feature of the pedal base is the hole cut out for your ankles to rest on the ground and hold the base in place. This works fairly well as you work your way around the track. The only problem is that if you want to drive with one foot for both the gas and brake this may prove difficult. You basically need the right foot for the gas and the left foot for the brake. No worries though, as this is how I’m told the pros race.
The Games : On track action
So the wheel looks and feels great, but how does it actually work when you get out on the track. I managed to test it with the newly supported force feedback version of PGR 3 (included in a nice paper case or soon to be available as a download for current pgr3 versions) as well as tested it with some “unsupported†games such as Test Drive unlimited and Need for Speed Most wanted.
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First, PGR3. The force feedback works great. Let’s get that out of the way right off the bat. The moment my car was on the starting grid, the wheel tightened up, and I knew I’d be in for a new racing experience. Hitting the gas, my car lurched forward. Two hands on the wheel and I felt like I was driving. Even the slightest turn left or right requires some force as it is designed to simulate actually steering a car. Go over a set of rumble strips and the wheel bumps back and forth a bit as you would expect. Oversteer into a corner and you need to compensate by lurching the wheels in the opposite direction. It all feels very intuitive, and the nice 270 degree range of motion only serves to further enhance this. Now, many people are thinking they’ll be able to instantly race better with a wheel then with a controller. The bad news is that most likely this assumption is false. There is a definite learning curve involved here, especially if you learned how to play PGR3 with the standard 360 controller. Getting the hang of taking those perfect corners the way you used to will require some practice. The cool thing is, that practicing with the wheel is actually fun. After a few laps I was able to pull of some sweet maneuvers I didn’t think even I was capable of. Mind you I wasn’t winning platinum’s, but I was starting to go faster than before. The better set up you are though as far as seating comfort, wheel position, and pedal position the better you should be able to do. Basically, make sure the environment is right for racing and go to town.
Other games
I also popped in XCL favorite Test Drive unlimited. TDU supports a wheel option via the menu, not specifically Force feedback. You are able to adjust the steering sensitivity and linearity though, and by tweaking these setting, I was able to get a sort of simulated force feedback that made driving around the island quite fun. The level of response you get from the wheel won’t be like that you get out of a game like PGR3 designed for the wheel, but nonetheless, the response felt a little tighter than as if I were just using the rumble feature alone. I didn’t find myself spinning out a bit more but that could have been due to the crappy Camaro I tested with as opposed to the wheel. But there is cause to rejoice. Scoping out the xbox.com racing wheel page, TDU is listed as supporting Force feedback soon via a patch. Once that releases, the driving situation in Oahu should improve significantly.
I also tried Need for Speed most wanted. Apparently the wheel has full support for the recently released Need for Speed Carbon (at least that’s what the sticker on the box implies), but I wanted to go back to an old school favorite and see how it worked. I would say the results were mixed. This could be due to the odd handling engine already present in NFSMW, but using the wheel felt a little loose and sloppy. It could be the drift mechanics at play here, and with some tuning of the car I was able to get a fun, yet not sim like at all, experience out of the wheel.
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Overall, PGR3 was the best experience with the wheel, and obviously the upcoming stunner Forza 2 will take the experience to the next level.
So is the wheel worth the money? I would say right now if you can’t stop thinking about it go out and get it. Playing through PGR3 should be an entirely new experience plus you will be ready once the 800 pound gorilla aka Forza 2 hits shelves next year. Results with other unsupported games are mixed right now (for instance, I have no idea how it would feel playing Burnout with the wheel) but its fun to experiment.
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Race fans rejoice though, the wheel you’ve always been dreaming of is finally here.
-Jaken Bear
Chronicles of Riddick : Jaken Bear’s Escape
Posted by Jaken Bear in XCL Humour on September 15th, 2006
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
I awake from my slumber and find myself in cuffs strapped down and staring into the face of my arch enemy, that dick head “Johns”. What kind of stupid name is “Johns ” any how? I guess I should introduce myself first though. My name is Riddick and I supposedly the baddest badass in the universe. Now you have to remember, this is before I became Vin Diesel, so I’m really not a pussy. Just because I starred in such flicks such as the Fast and the Furious, and XXX does not make me any less of a man. Really! Anyhow, somehow dickhead has managed to capture me and is taking me into the deadliest prison in the galaxy, also know as Butcher Bay. As I sit there strapped into my prisoners chair, I have a brief conversation with Johns whereby I ensure to him that “yes, I really do think he is a dick”. He re-iterates the feeling, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t like me either. The pilot comes on over the intercom and informs Johns we will be arriving at Butcher Bay within the hour.
As the ship docks, I really do think we are on the most desolate place on the planet. A sandstorm rages in the background as Johns unceremoniously prods me along out of the ship to meet the prison master. Johns is getting cocky and tells me I’m going to rot in here for eternity and that he is going to gladly collect on that healthy bounty that has been put on my head. I inform him that as soon as the chance arrives, I am going to kill him. And not just any kill, I’m going to stealth kill him and snap his neck. How bad ass is that. Anyhow, one of the other prisoners I got to know on the flight ( I decided to name him Dave) starts acting suspicious, as if he is looking for a way to escape before the guards come and take him away. Johns turns his back to me to tell Dave he better not act up or else its game over. Well Dickhead, I think, you have just turned your back to me. Since I am supposedly in a stealth/action adventure at the moment , and the only weapons I have to use are my little old hands, perhaps I should sneak up behind you and see what my options are….oooh..look at this, press X to snap Johns neck. I ponder this for a second. Will I get blood on me? Will it mess up my hair. What if Dave sees, do I have to snap his neck too? After a few seconds and the answers in hand (No, I don’t have any hair, yes), I sneak behind Johns and crack his neck. SNAP.
AWSOME, Johns has just dropped his gun!! I reach down to pick up the weapon and BBBBBBZBZBBZBZBZBZBZBBZ!!!! What the hell, it just gave me a shock. Now the game is telling me his weapon is DNA encoded? What in the freak is DNA? Great plan so far Riddick. You just killed your dick head arch enemy to get his gun and now you can’t even use it. To make matters worse, some hidden turrets I never saw before have started shooting at me from the prison walls! Thankfully in all of the Chaos Dave was smart enough to find an escape hatch down into the lower levels of the landing dock. Although hatches that I don’t know where they lead to generally aren’t used for escape, I disregard this fact and hop in. Unfortunately, it looks like while poor Dave was un battening the hatch a turret ended up shooting him and he fell to the bottom of the pit. After searching him for weapons and smokes (I am going into a prison after all) I carry on.
I come out of the hatch into what looks like some sort of boiler room. Well, there is steam. And there are some boiler like things. I guess this is where the Janitors hang out. SWEET. Janitors in games like this generally aren’t too tough, so the fact I have no weapons and have to rely only on Fisty McFisticuffs right now, means kicking Janitors asses should be a breeze. Low and behold, I look down into the room and see a guy fixing something. Fixing?!?! Oh great, a mechanic. I know all about greasy mechanics. They are as tough as two janitors put together. No matter, I see my only option right now is to climb down the ladder and challenge him to a fist fight. Sure enough, as soon as the guy sees me he starts swearing at me and tells me he is going to kick my ass. “ok, pal, lets get it on!”.
It takes about 4 punches to drop the guy. I guess mechanics aren’t so tough after all. Maybe he was just a Janitor who just got hired and was on a career path change or something like that. After a few seconds of remorse I look down to see what looks like some sort of Blue key. Hmmm, I wonder what this is for? Could it be that door across the room with the blue lock?? Nahh, wouldn’t that be too obvious? Well, I guess I am kind of still in a tutorial type situation. I also pick up something called a vent tool that Mike the mechanic dropped. I’m not sure what use it will be. Maybe I can bash people with it. Must be useful I think to my bald self.
A dark hall awaits me when I open up the blue keyed door. Now the damn game is telling me to click my left stick to go into “stealth mode”. Hey that sounds cool!! I click my left stick and I crouch down. The screen goes into a blue-ish hue. Apparently I am in stealth mode now. I sure don’t feel stealthier than before. I mean, I’m not invisible or anything. I am crouching so I guess maybe they could have called it “crouch mode”. Of course people may confuse that with “crotch mode” and then confuse it further with my movie “xxx” which licked crotch. “Stealth mode” is it then.
I walk…no wait..I slink down the dark hallway in “stealth mode”. I hear someone whistling a tune in the distance. Show tunes?? Another mechanic? Oh no! What if its a big scary guy with a machine gun or something?!?! I start to crap my pants but then remember two things. 1) I am Riddick, the baldest badass on the planet, and 2) I am in stealth mode so must be invisible. As the mystery figure rounds the corner into the light, sure enough it turns out it is indeed a mechanic. This mechanic has a gun however. I decide to name him Marty. Marty the mechanic. I wait for Marty to pass by the T junction of the hallway, and he walks by without seeing me. Time to die Marty!! I sneak up behind him, and decide to use a silent and slow stealth kill. After pressing the X button for about 15 times (how is that stealthy), Marty’s neck finally breaks. Oh great, what if they discover this body I could be caught. Thankfully , a hint comes up on the screen, telling me I can hide the body. I grab Marty’s limp corpse by the leg and drag back to the dark hallway. There, no one will find him here!! I mean, its not like they ever turn the lights on in the mechanics hallway is it? I feel a tinge of guilt for leaving poor Marty’s body laying here to rot, but decide it would be best to move on.
Moving on, I come upon what looks like a dead end. All that is in front of me are some crates that look blatantly climbable and a railing. Using my video game senses I come to the conclusion that the only way out of here is up the crates and then to shimmy along the railing. Man, it must have sucked for Marty and Mike to have had to do this to get to and from work each day. Maybe it is better that I killed them after all. I see what looks like a vent at the end of the railing. I slide on hand over hand. As I am about halfway to the vent, I see another mechanic come around below me…I guess he was napping or something. Since I am 30 feet above him he doesn’t see me, and decides to keep walking. He ends up (I guess his name must be Matt) directly below me. I think about jumping down on his head to take him out but then…no..actually, I jump on his head. With Matt Dead, I grab his body and go hide it with Marty. Well, at least he’ll have company right now. Maybe they can play dead guy cards, or take in some dead guy movies later (perhaps the fast and the furious…deadguys like that right?). Back up the crates, across the railing and then I am a this huge vent.
Crap. It won’t open. Suddenly, I remember that Wrench like tool I acquired from the first monkey I off’ed. Turns out in fact that my handy face basher is actually a “vent Tool”. Well, that explains why “LOOT TNEV” was written in big bold letters. Using the vent tool, I crack open the vent and decide the only logical thing to do is to climb in. Man this vent is roomy. They sure don’t make vents like this back home. As I reach the end I see a grate blocking my way. Boot, down goes the grate. Thankfully the mechanic below doesn’t see me. This guy looks a little tougher though…and he has a shotgun!!!! A shotgun?!?! How the hell and I supposed to beat up a guy with a shotgun? Perhaps I can convince him to be my friend BEFORE he shoots my face off but chances are since everyone here so far has been a dick, that this dude with the shotgun is most likely leader of the “dicks”. I mean, it makes sense. HE sends Matt, Mike, and Marty into the vent, across the rail, and down some crates to fix shit, while he just sits in his office drinking coffee and fondling a shotgun. I’d probably do the same thing. Well guess what Leader Dick, Matt, Marty, and Mike are dead.
Having no fear I walk right up to leader dick and ask him for his gun. Not complying the surprised leader Dick takes his gun and tries to melee attack. As he does this something in my head tells me “push the right trigger”….Doing that, I end up grabbing the gun, swinging the gun towards L.D. and shooting him in the face!!! AWSOME!!! I think back and wished that the other three guys had shotguns too because that was 1) too easy, and 2) a whole lot of fun. I go to pump an extra round into the guy just to make sure. click click. What the hell?? The gun is empty. Oh just great.
I get over the fact I now have a shotgun with no shells and move on towards an elevator. Hey, this must lead somewhere important I think. I press the button and the elevator whirs to life. Finally I am going home. Wait a minute. I am on a desolate isolated planet right now that is supposed to be the deadliest place on earth, and here I am thinking an elevator is going to be my key to freedom. Not only would that be too easy, it would also end up being the lamest game in history. As I reach the top I see conveniently enough some shadows to hide in. I notice what looks like a prison guard off in the distance. Finally some non pussy mechanics I think. Hiding in the shadows as Guard boy walks by proves to be an effective strategy. With his back to me, I walk behind him and bash him with my ammo-less shotgun. Not only does Guard boy drop to his knees, he also drops a crap load of shotty ammo.
I head across the room, climb down a ladder, and get to a locked door. Locked door…meet Mr. Shotgun. Blam. The lock opens. I am now inside a scary dark room. Something tells me to push the white button, and doing so turns on a flashlight!! kick ass. I walk around a corner and come upon yet another guard. He notices me right away. Hey wait I think, how did he notice me. Then I realize perhaps it was the giant beam of light from my flash light that gave me away. Not really pondering it much more, I blast the guy to hell and carry on. I walk around one more corner and see some guards mulling around what looks to be an explosive barrel. HMmmmmm, I think I’ve been in this situation before. hapless enemies, standing around the big red barrel with a picture of fire on it…..but where???!! Oh that’s right, every other action video game ever made. Now I remember. Following protocol, I blast the barrel and watch the guards fly through the air as it explodes. I turn right and come across a really really bright light. That must be the light at the end of the tunnel people are always talking about!!!! I’m going to be free soon..I just know it!! I walk into the light…this is it. The moment I’ve been waiting for. I can finally escape this place.
As the light surrounds me, I wake up. I am sitting in a prisoners chair strapped to it by three heavy bolts. I am on a ship heading to Butchers Bay. Johns is sitting there staring at me , and good old Dave is across the way mumbling and crying as usual. What in the F@CK!?!?! Was this a all a dream? Or was it just some sick tutorial mode the developers put in the game to make me think I escaped only to yank all hope away from me at the last minute. The pilot informs Johns we are arriving at Butchers Bay. Pissed off, I get ready to escape all over again.
Tutorial mode over. Next chapter, I actually get to begin to escape from this Hell hole.
Chronicles of Riddick : Jaken Bear’s Escape - Volume 2
“Pimp my ride, Dog”
So after getting over the fact that “it was all a dream”, I find myself being prodded out onto the landing dock with a gun at my back. Hey, I’ve been here, I think to my self. The only problem now is…no crying Dave to open the tunnel, and I have some sort of collar around my neck. Oh well, the “tutorial” level must have been trying to tell me something…but Johns won’t turn his back on me as we await the Warden. So I do what any good player would do…I punch Johns in the face.. Bad I idea..he opens fire on me sending blood everywhere…I go to leap off the platform to escape. Bad idea. My head explodes. I guess the collar was explosive.
Reload game. Ok, this time I’m going to play nice and see what happens. After all, I don’t want my head to explode again.
As we wait, I tell Johns that the Warden is not going to be too happy to see him. I finally take a moment to see where I am actually going. Man, this place looks like a craphole. I can see the main gate off in the distance…the walkway is surrounded by barbed wire and blood. Suddenly, three men come out from the main gate. The guy in the middle I assume is the warden….he looks like some Dolf Lungdren wanna be and is wearing some Green and gold robe thing. Very manly. Another of the men is wearing red and black amour and has cornrolls….Holy crap!! is that who I think it is??!?! No…it couldn’t be!! Yes! it is. Its the man himself…X-IBIT!!! Holy crap…please please please…I hope I get to be on Pimp my Ride. That would be awesome. I can’t believe this was all a ruse to get me to appear on “Pimp My Ride”..those jokers. Anyhow, X looks badass but I try not to look directly at him so he doesn’t know how exited I am to be meeting the greatest rapper ever in the history of rap.
Back to reality now, that Johns dick is trying to negotiate my bounty + 50%. Cinnamon roll head (aka, the Warden) just laughs at him. When Johns says he can take me to any other slam in the galaxy (no, please don’t. I want to pimp my ride), the warden tells him not to push his luck. Once a deal is worked out, I give Johns one final “I’ll be back”, and then the march to the prison begins.
Well this is weird…I can move my head around…but not my body. Its like I’m being herded into the prison but can only look around. Nice touch game!! Anyhow, Cinnamon roll head and the other guy left, and now its just X-hibit leading me into the prison. He is yelling at me, and telling me how things work around the prison. Apparently this guy thinks he is the king shit, and nothing happens on the block without him knowing about it. He does give me some handy tips on what “not to do”..like eat the brown pudding, or kill other inmates. I still am waiting for the punch line. C’mon X, where’s that fancy Blue minivan we are going to deck out with 4 PS2’s and a 53 Inch plasma?!?! What’s going on here anyhow? He is even calling himself Abbott…this is nuts..
I am led through a few more large steel doors, and then we finally arrive at the cells. I guess this will be home for the next little while. Of course, since I am on an escape mission, I figure not for too long. I am led into my cell, and then de-loused…ewww..what the hell was that stuff..and how could I have louses on me. Smells like baby powder to me. My cell is a pretty standard crap hole. Two beds and a toilet filled with vomit……nice touch guys. I guess its time to explore now since my cell door is wide open.
I head out into the hallways and talk to the first guy I see. He says his name is Barber. I decide to just call him Assface. Assface tells me some guy named Mattson has been talking about me and that he is in the courtyard right now. Well that’s weird, I think..I wonder if he saw The fast and the Furious and recognized me on the way in. Or could it be that I really am the baldest badass in the galaxy. Either way I think , I need to find this Mattson dick and find out why he’s talking about me. I reach the courtyard and look for Mattlock or whatever his name is. Finally, I see a guy over in the corner wave me over. Hmm, this must be Mattlock. When I talk to him, he tells me he has hidden a “shiv” for me in my cell, and that I should go get it. Oh really. Do you think I’m that stupid? Sounds kind of like a trap to me. Add to the fact I don’t really even know what a “shiv” is and my Action movie senses are tingling. Against my better judgment I head back to my cell to look for this mysterious Shiv object. I also tell Mattlock that if he is dicking me around, that I’ll be back.
As I approach my cell, all looks normal. Hmm, maybe old Mattlock is really trying to help me out. But as I enter the cell, I hear a slamming noise behind me. I turn around to see two of the inmates standing behind me. “we’re going to mess you up Riddick” I can hear them yelling as they charge at me. Before fighting these two dicks, I make a mental note to punch Mattlock in the stomach next time I see him. So now I’m in a two on one battle…odds stacked against me…could this be the end!??! Well no, because you see, its 1 Rid-Dick vs. 2 Pussies. That’s right. These two guys are lame and have vagina’s for arms…. And we all know what happens when you 2 P’s and 1 D get together…someone doesn’t get F@cked!.. and that someone will be me. I get into Fisty Fisticuff mode and go to town. These two A-holes go down faster than anything I’ve ever seen. Well, that was easy. I pick up the two bodies and sling them over the toilet….that’ll teach them!! My next goal is to go and find Mattlock, and give him 3 seconds to explain himself or die.
When I get to Mattlock, he clearly knows he is F@cked. He tries to tell me some guy named Rusty made him do it. Ok, now this is getting ridiculous. First I have to deal with Mattlock dicking me around, and now here we have the Bailiff Rusty from the People’s court trying to set me up and have me killed. What’s next in this game? Is judge Wapner going to try to make me his bitch? I shudder at the thought! Anyhow, Mattlock tells me to go back to my cell and that this time he really will bring me a Shiv. Hmm, I’ve heard this before. I tell Mattlock that this time if its a set up, I really will carve him up and wear him around the prison as a fiesta hat. This seems to do the trick.
So back in my cell now, and in comes Mattlock. He has a knife like object in hand. So I guess this is what a “shiv” is…badass….I should be able to do some damage with this thing!! Mattlock hands me the Shiv. I think long and hard about killing him for his backstabbing ways but before I can act on the though we are interrupted. In walks Rusty. Rusty is trying to act really bad ass. He sure doesn’t look like a bad ass though..looks more like a toque wearing freak to me… He informs me that this is his turf, and nothing goes on without him knowing about it. I kindly inform him that he is in my cell, and that he needs to get the hell out. This pisses bailiff rusty off and he charges at me. I reverse his attack and put him in a choke hold, then put the shiv to his neck. Riddick, 1. Rusty, 0. As I am reveling in my glory though,. god damn X-hibit walks in, He points his gun right at my face, and I have no choice to let Toque head go. X-hibit with the steal…and that’s the game folks. Then X goes on to tell me its not a good idea to mess with the natural order of things around Butchers bay. In other words, X-hibit is the head of the Bitches, Rusty is second bitch in command, and the rest of the inmates are sort of tertiary bitches…. On the way out, Rusty grabs Mattlock by the arm and breaks it…..X-hibit just smiles. So that’s how its going to be now huh? Rusty and X-hibit leave, and stupid Mattlock is still writhing in pain on the ground in front of me. I have a good mind to kick him when he’s down but there’s no kick button. That sucks. And X-hibit took my Shiv too!! Before I even got to jam it into Rusty’s brain. Booo to that.
I head back out of my cell, and good old Assface from earlier has even more information for me. He now informs me that rusty wants me dead, and his waiting for me over on his turf in the other cell block. Well, that’s a surprise. I though me and Rusty were going to be friends now. Assface tell me too that if I face rust I better find a weapon. Handily enough, he says I can talk to some dick name Waman. Hahaha…what an odd name…sounds like “woman”. I bet he was “most teased” back in grade school. Anyhow, I find Waman in his cell lounging on his luxury cott. There is also some guy in there working out for some reason. I punch that guy in the face hoping to get him to run away, but instead it just pisses him off. Roid rage I think…Anyhow, I dispatch with that guy, and proceed to talk to Wamamn. He didn’t even notice I just killed a dude right in front of him. I guess life really is hard here in Butcher bay. Waman goes on to tell me about some guy named Molina who has been dicking around a lot of the prisoners. Apparently if I can kill Molina , Waman can hook me up with a Shiv. Sounds easy enough. Not sure why I have all of the sudden become a contract killer in a supposed stealth action game, but I’ll do anything for a good shiv right now.
So I head over to Molina’s cell. At first I try to act all casual…no, nothing to see here…nothing at all. I almost feel kind of guilty and consider not offing Molina. But then he tells me to F- off. Oh, its on now punk. I drop him pretty fast and that’s that. No one tells me to F- off. Heading back to see waman, he informs me I did a good job taking out that dick Molina. What the hell, news sure travels fast here in Butcher Bay. I didn’t even have a chance to wipe the Molina juice from my palms, and here everyone in the cell block already knows. Very odd. Waman gives me the shiv he promised me, and I congratulate myself on a job well done. I feel kind of violent though. I mean I’ve been here all of 2 hours and I’ve already killed 4 people just by punching them to death. And the most punches it took was about 4. I really am a badass I guess. Now with a Shiv in hand, Butcher Bay better look the F@ck out.
Next up on the menu is a Rusty Hunt. So be sure to tune in next time to hear all about that.
Jaken Bear’s Pilot TV show
Posted by admin in XCL Humour on May 21st, 2006
Hunting the Elusive Sloth Bear…This is a clip from a pilot episode of Jaken Bear the Bounty Hunter : Sloth Bear Adventures. Enjoy and have a great long weekend.