Stay tuned for information on this upcoming title from Epic and Game Developer People Can Fly

Halo 3 and Command and Conquer

Dude, with the Halo 3 slash Command and Conquer concoction that's out, I'm lost with what the heck is going on with Halo 3.  I mean, here's the thing, the Halo franchise is HUGE, and rightfully so, but, I believe it's in danger of being diluted.  Although not yet, just sayin the red flags are on the horizon, so far so good.  For those of you that moved on to other shooters, you know that when you try to get back into Halo for a bit, you can't help but have the feeling that you're swimming in a fish bowl, seriously.  Anyway, I thought the whole Red Alert thing using Halocharacters was a cool idea, I've never played it, but a good idea non the less.  So what's up with Halo 3 Recon.

I'll try to sum it up real quickly.

It takes the gap between Halo 2 and Halo 3 and fills it in, but sense it's an independant effort from Bungie, new things can be expected.  I expect to see a more personal story tracked sequence.  Basically, they're gonna take the helmet off a few ODST's (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper), and show some of the supporting cast behind the effort.  Think of Halo 3 crossed with Mass Affect, minus the choose your own adventure BS, and the awesome Halo 3 mechanics and physics.  Mechanics being how the players interact with imput you provide with your controller, and physics being how they interact with the other items on the screen.  I don't know if this is industry techy lingo, but it makes sense to me, so I use it. Either way, wether you agree that Halo should be careful of dilutiion or if you think they should start crossing over and putting the Halo brand on everything (i.e. Halo Tetris, Lego Halo, etc...), that's up to you.  From what I've seen and read so far, I think Halo 3 Recon will be a solid release and will please the vast majority of it hungry fan base.  Some of which are so infused with Halo that they refuse to buy any other games for thier Xbox, nuff said about the power of Halo.  Oh, one more thing, for all you Halo peeps that are yearning for the highly coveted, near impossible to get Recon Armor, you're chance is upon you!  Work on your Vidmaster Challenge achievements to get a jump on your homies.

Till next time, stop wiping your hands off on your pants.

Console Wars

You've got two major players in the console wars (not counting Nintendo of course, we're not going to talk about that right now, totally different issue), on one hand you have Sony, a huge manufacturer of electronics equipment, on the other is Microsoft, not generally viewed as a manufacturer of hardware.  The difference between these two powerhouses can be reflected as the differences between the people that buy their consoles.  It's rare these days to know someone that has both a Playstation 3 and an Xbox 360, unless they are some kind of spoiled rich kid that gets whatever they want or they'll go crying to their mommy (dude's 25 and living in the guest house for free, hah).  Generally, I've noticed that there are differences in the Playstation people and Xbox people. 

Brand loyalty

Most people that I know that have a Playstation have it for one reason, brand loyalty.  When the Playstation one came out, it left such a good impression, that these guys didn't want to try anything else.  Dude, at some point you gotta leave your highschool sweetheart behind and go to college. Here's an anology, when the Playstation hit the market, it was to competitors like Kimbo Slice is to some random schmoe on the street.  However, while the Playstation was busy beating the crap out of everyone, the Xbox snuck up from behind with a baseball bat and took a Barry Bonds rip,,, it could be,, back back back back back,,, gone! 

Online gaming changes the landscape

Microsoft's online community with a little help from a franchise some of us know (eeehhheemmm,,,, Halo), pretty much outclassed the competition, and in my humble opinion, still does handily.  What was Sony's answer?  Well, you gotta admit, the Plastation 3 is an impressive looking piece of hardware and,, whoaaaaaaaa, it's got a blue ray player,,pbbbbbbbbbbbbbhhhhhhhhhh,,,whatever dude.  That's what they decided on to set them apart?  Jacking up the price and forcing gamers to pay for a blue ray player?  Anyway, not trying to bag on something before I've tried it, so recently I went to a friends house to play the much anticipated Metal Gear Solid on his PS3. 

Some off the cuff remarks on the PS3, but it's definately becoming a respectable online platform

It was like playing the original Metal Gear Solid on my PSone, but with better graphics.  To put it simply, the game play sucked a$$ by todays standards, and the controller still hasn't changed, what's up with that?  So, to be fair to everyone and not dis to bad on PS3, they are getting better, and it definately has a very bright future.  I look forward to it, and hopefully they'll be an aftermarket controller (if there is one let me know) that is shaped like an Xbox 360 one and not like a wooden back massager.  Who knows, someday, I'll be the guy that's got both systems at my house, subscribing to both online services.