Category: games

I got Call of Duty 2 for Christmas from my parents. I didn't get a chance to install it until I got home after New Year's. It was worth the wait.

Finally a great game that wasn't (at least to me) overhyped. I didn't hear much about it other than a commercial or two on TV, and it's release on the Xbox 360. I thought it looked nice on the Xbox demo in stores, but that's what demos are for, to look nice.
I was surprised to find the gameplay still very much like that of Call of Duty 1. They took some aspects of CoD 1 and United Offensive out, like sprinting and "cooking" grenades.
The weapon sounds are a bit different, for better or worse? I can't tell yet. The voiceovers are great, much more realistic sounding. Havoc says that the EAX support is much better than any game he's had. (I wouldn't know since I don't have a SB card)
The graphics are phenominal. Imagine that, a sequel that improves graphics and doesn't require a video card upgrade! (BF2, *cough*, *cough*)

The game is super impressive. I'm very pleased.
As with any sequel, there are a few minor differences that players might like to have back, like sprinting and cooking grenades, but the game overall is an excellent release without any glaring bugs or major flaws so far.

Oh yeah, and single player is just as fun as Call of Duty 1.

I recently grabbed the torrent of Quake 3 Arena for the Xbox, which was ported to the Xbox by a fellow named Carcharius. It's not an illegal copy of Quake3, since id Software released the Q3A source earlier this year.

The reason you won't find the Xbox version publicly available is, like all modded Xbox software, it was compiled using an illegally obtained version of the Xbox SDK for Visual Studio. To download the ISO's .torrent, you can grab it from your favorite torrent tracker. The ISO comes with all of the .pk3 files, but if you want to play online you'll need your own q3key.

To view the associated README, click here.

I grabbed the demo (thanks ltd for the link) and played the heck out of it. This game just blows away it's Vietnam predecessor. There are so many added features to the Battlefield engine that just keeps the game interesting; like the nice cockpit designs with functioning HUDs and tracking systems.

This game didn't turn out to be Desert Combat on steroids. You actually have to aim at your targets rather than just aim in their general direction with an rpg or stinger missle and score an easy kill. Also, not everything kills in you in one hit. There's a nice balance to the weapons and the vehicles that allow players to enjoy the game rather than curse the programmers that implemented BFG-like WMD's(i.e. the scud launcher in desert combat)

I'd say this game has great potential. All we can hope for is that they don't screw it up with patches that "balance" the game.

update: Let it be known that Battlefield 2 is infact the 3rd game in the Battlefield Line.

I received an old and busted Xbox from a friend for my birthday. It didn't work for him, he bought a new one, and gave me his old one (at my request of a cheap birthday present). I ordered an Xecuter 2.6 Modchip and received it this week.
I just finished installing the modchip, turned on reassembled the Xbox, powered on and no smoke!

After reflashing the BIOS, I can now boot from a CDRW which contains Slayer's Auto-Installer. From here, I can FTP into my Xbox to move files around and upload new files.

After FTPing into the Xbox, I saw the C drive completely empty. When I tried to copy over the EvolutionX Dashboard replacement, I got a write-permission error. I decided this was due to a bad HD. I replaced it with a 200Gb drive I had purchased last Fall (but never used). I popped in Slayers, and it couldn't have been any easier. I can now play mp3s from the network, stream Shoutcast, play DivX movies from the HD, play ROMs from other game platforms, copy games to the HD and play them without the disc. After the soldering part, the whole mod was very easy thanks to Slayer's AutoInstaller.

Grendel sez: Havoc, I'm almost done modding your Xbox. Anyone else? IM me.

Sometimes there are things in life that just make you feel better about yourself, even with your shingles and nasty case of spontaneous lactation. This is one of them.

Grendel sez: This has nothing to do with Mackie's post, but here's a neat Japanese game. The point is to create one explosion, and see how many balls will explode along with it. (avg score is 30)