Mass Effect.....UGH!!!!

I've recently gotten back into Mass Effect 1, I never did actually finish it until recently....  btw, great game if you're on a budget!!!!

I realize this game is over 4 years old, but still, when you play a game for 30-40 minutes, there should be a point where the game triggers an auto-save so if you die, you don't go ALLLLLLL the way back to where you started.  Wow.  I don't know how many times I stopped playing Mass Effect because I just spent a ton of time kicking ass, taking names and saving planets, only to die because some fucking alien hit me with damned rocket and kills me, and boom, I respawn 40 or so minutes into the PAST.  Thats the kind of shit i remember happening while playing Metroid on my original Game Boy back in the early 90's.  There is a thing called CHECK POINTS!!!  They should be in EVERY GAME!!!

If you happen to pick up Mass Effect for the first time, just a little advice:  SAVE SAVE SAVE YOUR GAME every few minutes!!!  DON'T FORGET TO SAVE or you will die, and you will be pissed because you didn't save.

Some people would be quick to say "Well maybe they couldn't do check points!!"..  Bullshit.  If you can save your game at ANY point in time in the game, Check Points would have been an easy thing for them to do.

How the Xbox 360 Achievements Extend My Gaming Experience.

I'm what a lot of gamers out there call an "Achievement Whore".  I admit, I love hearing the sound of an achievement being unlocked.  That good 'ol 'kerplunk' sound.  Hell, just earlier this evening, I had my 6 year old son help me get all the "chievies" in Air Band for Kinect, some of the easiest 50 points I've gotten in a long time.  And I love checking out my gamerscore after each unlock.  Every time I break another thousand points is like a mini milestone to me.  But its not only about making that number go up.  I really feel like I'm getting more bang for my buck with these games, especially new releases that we are paying $60 a pop for, like the more recent Gears Of War 3.  After about 3 months of playing GOW3, I finally got the "That's Just Crazy" achievement, which is "Completed all campaign Acts on Insane Difficulty".  I was pretty damn happy, (especially since that earned me the MI: Ghost Protocol weapons skin, which we all have until Dec 24th to do).

So, besides some multiplayer verses matches, is that it for GOW3?  HELL NO!  I still have some work to do!  The next achievement in my sights?  "We Few, We Happy Few..." which is for completing all Campaign Acts in 4 player Co-Op, oh, and along the way, I'm going for "Remember The Fallen" and "Hoarder", and still quite a ways to go after that to get all 1000 points (more with the 2 DLC packs, and still more to come).  Some people might fight through a campaign on the normal or casual difficulty, play some verses matches (if the game has it) and that's it (unless down the road some DLC arrives), on to the next game, and that's fine.  Hopefully those people feel satisfied with just a 12 hour or so campaign.  I mean, not to get off topic too much, but I LOVE me a good campaign story.  The verses mode is indeed a lot of fun, but after a few matches of getting my ass kicked by a bunch of dudes who already reached the maximum level (100), I'm done.  In these past 3 months, I've definitely spent more time in the campaign than I have in verses multiplayer modes.  The fact that GOW3 has a 4 player Co-Op campaign makes it that much more fun.  So far, I've must have gone through the campaign 3 times, having a blast during every minute, and unlocking achievements along each way.  If the different achievements were not there, I probably wouldn't bother playing campaign chapters over and over again.  Like I said, even though I'm "Achievement Whoring", I'm STILL having a blast playing these missions multiple times.

Newer games aren't the only ones that I'm getting more for my money with because of achievements.  A lot of times, I go back to older games that I haven't played in months, sometimes a year or more!  Like Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.  As I'm sure you know, Modern Warfare 3 just came out last month.  COD 4 came out 4 years ago!  Well, back in early November, anticipating MW3 coming out, I went back to COD 4 and got those last few Veteran Campaign achievements that I needed, giving me 980/1000 gamerscore for that game.  The last time I unlocked an achievement in that game?  EXACTLY 3 years prior to my return to the game.  "Bird On The Ground" unlocked on 11/9/2008, and then "The Third Horseman" unlocked on 11/9/2011, and no, I did not plan that.

Of course, there are Achievement haters out there.  Of course.  There are people out there who hate puppies, so there are bound to be people who hate the whole Achievement system.  They say things like "They are annoying" or "distracting", or will go on how your gamerscore really means nothing, and will ask what you will do with it years from now, blah blah blah.  Who cares, right?  Well, to those people, all I say is "Just ignore them!!!".  Don't look at them!  When one unlocks, a tiny notification pops on the screen for a whole 5 seconds! Get over it!  Its an EXTRA feature that comes with every game!  Stop complaining over something that you say is "nothing!".  Nobody is forcing you to compare them with your friends or to check your gamerscore!!

Thank You toysrus.com......ASSHOLES!

So all of my friends have been in the new online battlefield Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for 1 week now, telling me how great the multiplayer is, constantly sending me invites to play, asking me where the hell I am.  It came out on Nov. 8th.  I pre-ordered the game about a month ago.  Do you know why us gamers pre-order games??  To make sure we get a copy of the game ASAP!!  1 week later is not ASAP!!!  Mailing out my game to me 2 DAYS after its released is UNACCEPTABLE.  Why did I bother pre-ordering it a month in advance???  Hell, if I pre-ordered it the day before it comes out, I STILL EXPECT IT TO BE SHIPPED OUT ON THE DAY OF RELEASE, DICKHEADS!!!

My copy did make its way to UPS in New Windsor, according to my tracking info.  So I called them up and said "Hey, instead of waiting till tomorrow for my package, can I just pick it up today?"  "No Sir, that's not possible with your package, its going to be delivered to you tomorrow via USPS."  Can someone please explain to me what that has to do with me picking it up right from the warehouse in New Windsor, NY like everyone else can???  I've done it before!

In closing, simply, don't pre-order your games from toysrus.com, the free standard shipping on pre-ordered games isn't worth it.  Amazon is the way to go, with $1 shipping GUARANTEED to be there on the DAY OF RELEASE.  Even if amazon.com or FedEx messes up, and you get your game 1 day late, (like what happened to me with my copy of GOW3), 2 days for $1 is better than 8 days for free.

Batman Arkham City DLC list

Batman Arkham City DLC list

As you can see, there are no plans on releasing any Downloadable Content (DLC) that actually add to the game. I don't care about an extra game mode where you beat up wave after wave of enemies, and I don't care about paying money just so I can change the way Batman looks.  Rocksteady, if you want MORE of my money, you are going to have to contribute MORE to the main part of the game, (that could be more main or side quests, or how about some online modes perhaps???) and not add on something extra to a part of the game that is already....extra.

Thats like getting invited to your cousin's cousin's daughter's wedding, and being expected to show up with a kick ass gift for someone you don't even know or like.  Ok, maybe not, but you get the idea.

Video Game Forums and the Assholes Who Troll Them.

As a frequent reader of the forums on xbox.com, I have to say that I really like having a place to go to talk or ask questions about a specific game, weather i need some help and i'm not wanting to watch someone else do it on youtube, or I have a question about some upcoming DLC, anything pertaining to a specific game on the 360, xbox.com probably has a forum for it.  

I use to post on there a lot more than I do now, but it seemed like every time I did, I would just get flamed, or have some idiot tell me how stupid I was, and if I didn't like this or that, than to not play the game at all, or have some other ignorant statement thrown at me simply for stating an opinion.  I'd say a good 4 or 5 years ago, those forums were filled with a few hundred cool people.  Now that the forums have caught on, just like all these online games, the forums are filled with immature assholes.  Some people post on there just for the sake of arguing, I believe they don't even realizing they are doing it.  Some people want to be right so badly that they will argue about anything on there.  If someone posts an opinion, you can bet on there being at least 5 people who put the guy down personally by throwing some kind of insults at him, instead of just agreeing or disagreeing.  If someone asks a question, about 80% of the time, someone will reply with a remark like "this question has been asked a bunch of times, use the search button next time".  To a degree, I almost agree with the answer, BUT, I just can't get myself to care enough to actually take the time to post that response.  Its amazing how many people have nothing better to do but to troll the forums on a DAILY basis, just to be a dick.  JUST TO BE A DICK!!

Xbox.com isn't the only game forums where this happens.  I've seen it on the Sony forums and just about every gaming forum I've been on.  Its people like that, and those who act like assholes in multiplayer, who make people like me join clans and only play online with certain individuals.  Thats why a lot of girls won't play online either, and why there is the Gamerchix clan.  I myself am a member or Gathering of Gamers, although I have not used the site in ages, because now, my friends list on Live is so big, there is always someone online I can play with.

Its a shame people have to ruin this site.  I know, I shouldn't let it bother me, and I don't to the extent that I still go on the forums and read, I just no longer post and contribute to any conversations because of all the assholes out there.

Batman Arkham City

This is a great game, but I would not have given it a perfect score.   I do agree with all the 9/10's out there, its a beautiful game, has a kick ass story and free roam mode that is a lot of fun, great voice acting and all that jazz, but there is something missing that is keeping this game from getting that perfect score.

I love all the extras they put in the game.   400+ Riddler Trophies are awesome, but if you don't want to find them all, you don't have to.  The Catwoman levels are great (as long as you bought a new copy of the game, which I think is fair).  The Challenge and Campaign maps are a nice touch too.  Having said all that, here are my gripes with this game...

First off, and very important to me, no Co-op gameplay.  How sweet would it have been to go through the story mode with the duo of Batman and Robin?  Drop in / Drop out co op play would have been great, I know it wouldn't be easy for Rocksteady to do, but it would have been possible, and it would have made the game epic.  At the very least, give us some co op in the Riddler Challenges.  A great game like this is that much better when I can enjoy it with a friend.  With all the great games that have come out this year, and some that are still yet to come within the next few months, I would have GLADLY waited another year for this game, just for some co op.  It probably wouldn't have taken them that long.

After all the reviews I've read, all the praise this game got, it seems I'm the only person out there who thinks those Challenge maps are boring, although I do understand the appeal.  I know a lot of people out there love to try and get that combat multiplier up as high as they can get it, and if you love doing that, then great.  But damn, I just can't get into those.  I'll do one map, try it 2-3 times, and that's it, I'm back in Free Roam finding more Riddler Trophies, (I've beaten the story mode and all the other side missions).  To me, having wave after wave of enemies is the same thing, no matter where its happening, whether it be on a rooftop, or in a room or wherever.  After a few minutes of that, I'm done.  

Now I'd like to talk about the DLC that has been announced.  More Challenge maps.  Ugh.  DLC pack 1, the Nightwing pack.  Awesome, we get to be Nightwing, what sucks is no Nightwing in Free Roam.  Challenge Maps only.  2 new Challenge maps come with this pack, which I could not care less about.  DLC pack 2, from what I've read, is more Catwoman Story mode missions.  For me, this is where its at.  I want more Story Missions.  I'd prefer Batman missions, but I'll take, and pay for more Catwoman missions.  DLC pack 3 is a Robin pack.  Again, awesome that we get to play as Robin, but lame that there is no playable Robin in Free Roam, and not interested in more Challenge maps.  I've read that these packs are going to be $7 each, I'm not so sure that pack 1 and 3 are going to be worth the money.  I really think Rocksteady should have taken some extra time and give what a lot of us want, and thats more Story missions and more playable Free Roam Characters.  I really hope they have some unannounced DLC planned for the future, instead of making us wait 2-3 years for the next game.

No matter what happens with the DLC, this is indeed a great game as is, a must buy, and is definitely worthy of a 9 out of 10, shy of that perfect score.  Even though I think the Challenge Maps are boring, they are something EXTRA to do in the game, and a lot of people love them.