For all of you out there who are fans of Bioshock, me included, Bioshock 2 is in the making. If you purchase the PS3 version and beat it on any difficulty, you will get a special trailer to the sequel Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams.
On a lighter note, Little Big Planet has been pushed back about a month for its release. This is a disappointment in my opinion, but I can wait.
Also, tomorrow a new Prison Break episode will be airing at 8pm pacific on Fox and i will post a review of each episode from here on out. I was never a fan of the show Heroes, but I found a blog with a pretty funny review of the new season. Go check it out here: http://scifidad.wordpress.com/
That’s all for now, but I will be back tomorrow with an in depth review of the new Prison Break.
Let me be clear: I don’t know much about video games. I’ve probably beaten around 5-10 games in my whole life, a total which includes Super Mario World and Sonic the Hedgehog, and I couldn’t tell you a thing about frame rate or level design. I’m a pretty middle of the road video game fan, one who can’t really be bothered to struggle through too many difficult areas before frustration (and eventual quitting) sets in. My favorite games tend to be sports series (Madden, Fifa, Tony Hawk) or some variation of the action/adventure/platform genre (Super Mario, God of War). I enjoy a good first person shooter too – I have struggled my way through all of the Halo trilogy and Call of Duty 4 – but they’re not my bread and butter.
Fear not, though, for my brother – Skeleton44 – more than makes up for my deficit of gaming knowledge. I’m here to bring the non-hardcore gamer perspective, and to add variety to your reading diet. Music is my specialty, hip hop specifically, and I’ll be primarily adding that to the mix, with an album review here and a news update there. So just as my bro ran down the year in video games, here is my take on hip hop in ’08.
The beginning of the year is a notoriously dry time for releases, so most of the good stuff has come in the last few months. Notable earlier albums include Akrobatik’s “Absolute Value,” with its stellar production lineup and solid wordplay, and Jean Grae and 9th Wonder’s “Jeanius,” which had some of the most lethal lyrics you’ve heard this millennium. Elzhi’s “The Preface” followed in a similar mold, with Black Milk holding down almost all the production and El’s blazing lyricism setting new standards for sharpness. Immortal Technique dropped knowledge as always on “The 3rd World,” with an assist from DJ Green Lantern, and J-Live continued his streak of impressive performances on “Then What Happened.” The Roots’ “Rising Down” was an instant favorite, its darker feel augmenting Black Thought’s apt social and political observations. Killer Mike (“I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II”), GZA (“Pro Tools”), Tech N9ne (“Killer”), and Ice Cube (“Raw Footage”) all released contenders as well. But my current leader in the running for album of the year is Nas’ “Untitled” (as if we all don’t know its real name). This was the highest quality release of the year so far, even with its rather muted musical accompaniment, as Nas’ eloquence on all the big issues of our day was unsurpassed. I find it hard to believe anything will top this one in the next two months, but I’ll withhold judgement until December.
Notably absent from this list are efforts by Lil Wayne and Game, whose albums were good enough but thoroughly unspectacular. So much for all the hype.
Until the next time I bless you all with my musical wisdom…
This blog is here to help you get all of your video game, music, movies, and many more kinds of news. There will be reviews on all of the brand new top releases such as Gears of War 2, Little Big Planet, and Dead Space. And at the end of the year we will bring you an overview of the whole year including top game, CD, and movie lists. There will also be coverage on all of the Major League Gaming (MLG) tournaments as well as late breaking news. Starting off, I will bring you a little recap of the video games that have come out this year and made a huge impact.
At the end of April, Grand Theft Auto 4 came out with a bang. It was given the score of 10/10 by many gaming sites and magazines. GTA 4 amazed fans with its all too familiar gripping gameplay and added a new and fresh multiplayer. The story, focused on the main character Niko Bellic, was quite superb and really made you feel for the character much more than you did in previous installments. It will be a definite candidate for game of the year.
And this leads to another candidate for game of the year, Metal Gear Solid 4. This game blew me out of the water with the best visuals in a game that I have ever seen. It definitely pushed the PS3 engine to its limits. Seeing how all of the other MGS games brought up so many questions, it was hard to believe that this game would wrap it all up. But let me tell you, it did this and much more. The game focused very heavily on cutscenes, but the story was so immersive it never really killed you. Being a fan of the series, I had the highest expectations and this game exceeded all of them. Solid Snake’s story finally came to a conclusion and did so with a bang.
With that said, we are leading up to the huge release of Gears of War 2. It will be coming out on November 7, and I will try to post the review as quickly as possible, giving you the full scoop and if it lives up to the hype. And in a couple of days, the Dead Space review will be posted, seeing if this is a new beginning to the survival horror franchise, or if it gets dismembered in the process.
Also, Major League Gaming’s National Championship will be taking place in Las Vegas from November 21-23. All of Halo 3′s top pro teams will be competing including Str8 Rippin, Instinct, Final Boss, and the rest of the top 8. The first place team will take home $100,000. You can visit mlgpro.com during the tournament for the live video.
