Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Quake 4 Online play is not so awesome

Quake 4's online play through Xboxlive works great and is a pretty fun time except for one minor little quirk that is aggravating to some of us. Jumping. People spend so much time jumping around like a bunch of hopping bunnies that the game is no longer any fun for those that want a first person shooter with some realism to it. The jumping is very fast, frantic, and short unlike Halo 2 where jumps are relatively slow and long. This is where Perfect Dark Zero really excels for folks that like first person shooters, there is no jumping, but you do tuck and roll in a realistic fashion and at a realistic speed in any of 4 directions.

I you want to spend your time jumping like a bunny and hunting bunny wabbits then Quake 4 online play is for you. If on the other hand you want more realism in the movement of a first person shooter then switch to Perfect Dark Zero.

Friday, February 10, 2006

Westinghouse 37" LCD HDTV Monitor LVM-37W1

I finally picked up a wide screen monitor for my entertainment center. The unit is made in China by a company that uses the Westinghouse name on the box. I found this unit to be the best all around unit for my needs. And one of the very few that will do 1080P.

The picture quality is EXCEPTIONAL, I could not be happier with the picture. This unit will accept 420P, 420I, 720P, 720I, 1080I and the important difference for me is that it will accept 1080P which helps me be prepared for the future. This was one of the few that had a resolution of 1920 X 1080, almost every other unit was X 768. Other units cost more for the lower resolution.

One warning about stores that sell this and other units. All the stores make the picture look perfect on the units they want to sell, which is usually the more expensive ones. Don't trust the picture you see at the store. Look for the features you want and the price you are willing to pay. I picked up this unit for $1499. At home this units picture looks as good or better then units selling for over $3000 at the store.

Display modes allow you to show standard TV in a square box with black bars on the side or a zoom feature puts the picture up to full screen mode. 420I looks good in the zoom unless there is a very dark background then the pixelation from the zoom appears. Switching to the standard TV view resolves this completely. The Xbox 360 games are so awesome looking as to be unbelievable. I hooked up the laptop for the first time and I am not sure how I will ever live with a normal monitor or laptop screen at home again. Having the real estate to use with the laptop and using the Bluetooth keyboard/mouse from the lazy boy chair is something I could definitely get used to :)

The number of inputs was important to me because I really hate to use a switch box to move between different video sources. I have the following components hooked up

Xbox 360 Component Video 1
Xbox Component Video 2
DishNetwork DVR AV (I am considering moving this to the S video port instead)
Laptop VGA port

This still leaves two DVI inputs for the future

Now my quest is to put a unit like this in every room of the house!

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Xbox 360 Condemned Game

In this game you are a federal agent that is accused of shooting two police officers. A stranger that was a friend of your dad helps you escape capture so that you can hunt down the real killer. There are minimal traditional weapons in this game such as hand gun and shot gun. The primary weapons are bashing weapons such as steam pipes, rebar, fire axe, sledge hammer, etc. You also have investigative tools such as black light and digital camera that you use to collect evidence. That evidence is sent through your cell phone to the lab who gives you results and help along the way. The graphics are smooth but very unimpressive and really this game is hardly as good as a standard Xbox 1 game.

This game is a little too dark for me. I am up to level 4 and I have spent the entire time having to use a flashlight and grope through the dark. This gets tedious and makes the game feel like graphics were an afterthought. I prefer games that are more balanced when it comes to using a flashlight. Yes it is cool and should be needed during some of the game but the flashlight should also not be needed during some of the game as well.

This game is definitely a rental before you buy.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

XBOX 360 - Quake 4 is AWESOME!

This game is by far the best overall game so far that I have played on the Xbox 360. The game play is smooth, graphics are excellent, and the online play rivals Halo 2.

There are a wide variety of reviews of this game with weapon details, in game pictures, etc. so I will keep my review short. The game play is just awesome for a first person shooter and if you enjoy the thrill of fighting evil you need this game for your 360.

Try this link for a good discussion and information on Quake 4
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/quake4/preview_6124476.html