Gaming

After months of researching and planning for my new computer build, and after the excitement of beginning the building process and software setup last month, and, just today, having finally acquired a sleek new Dell monitor and Gigabyte graphics card I’m ready to game like a baus. Therefore, it only makes sense to turn my back to the computer and reach for my PS3 controller to satisfy an itch I’ve had to begin a new Deus Ex: Human Revolution game. And this time there shall be no distance kills – no firearms at all – for I shall eliminate every immediate threat with a brutal Adam Jensen takedown. I think this mechanic is way awesome and never became boring or repetitive. Each cut scene is a brutal exhibition of nondiscrimination; Adam Jensen is no respecter of persons.  My decision may or may not have been influenced by the following video.

The shoulder tap approach is my favorite…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJc1lt50gQs

Dude, we could post individual and group ‘Let’s Play’s. Do some serious vlogging, reviews, rants, raves, tutorials. Music videos… Let’s do it!

And by ‘Let’s do it!’ I really mean for you set it up, research capture software, cameras – do all that footwork – and then tell me how to do it. kthxbye

December creeped up on me and before I even realized it, the first Tuesday of the month had passed and I hadn’t poste the monthly releases. And BOY what a doozy December is. Decembers in general are weak for video game releases, but this year is particularly anemic.

Week of December 4th
Far Cry 3

Week of December 11th
The Walking Dead

Week of December 4th
Marvel Avengers: Battle For Earth

Week of December 11th
007 Legends

No new Nintendo Wii releases.

No new Nintendo 3DS releases.

No new Nintendo DS releases.

Week of December 4th
Far Cry 3
Sniper Elite V2

Week of December 11th
Haunted

Week of December 4th
Far Cry 3

Week of December 11th
The Walking Dead

Week of December 25th
WRC FIA World Rally Championship

Week of December 18th
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed

No new Sony PSP releases.

What are you picking up?

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)

So I have been in Atlanta all week on business, working 12+ hour days and eating like a king for five straight days (oh, and a ride in the corporate jet). But long days like that on the road leave little time for my hands to touch gaming keyboards, so I’m looking forward to seeing my beautiful wife and kids again, and once they’re all comfortably tucked away in bed, getting a little “me time” with Borderlands 2 and Mr. Torgues Campaign of Carnage.

What will you be playing this weekend?

So I just picked up a Lumia 920 and I am pleasantly pleased with this fine work of art.

I post this because I am going to be looking forward to playing some Windows Phone games on it. If you hear of any you would like a review of shoot me a message or comment here.

It is with excitement, relief, and a slight sense of pride that this post has been composed and posted from my new computer. What was originally a collection of pieces parts in their own respective packaging is now a functional - albeit neutered (…temporarily. I shall explain.) – rig that makes me giggle just to look at. I am very grateful for the generosity of my parents for shouldering the greater burden of cost. I had originally thought Indy’s Bullet wouldn’t be built until well after the 2013 tax season. So it came as a delightful surprise when last week at Thanksgiving Pops pulled me aside saying, ‘Let’s go shopping tomorrow’. Indeed! Wandering around MicroCenter with Papa Bear and a shopping cart for close to two hours on Black Friday 2012 will forever be a fond memory. Awesome. Now, on to some pictures.

In the end, the main objective of the trip to MicroCenter was to purchase the necessary parts to get up and running. A graphics card can wait. Another hard drive can be added. RAM can easily be swapped. My dad kept me grounded in the decision-making process. Pictured here is not a barebones rig, though.  Despite the absence of a GPU, the i5 and P8Z77 are a slammin combo. It’s been close to a week now and I am continually amazed at how well this rig can pull its own weight. I may not even bother buying a separate graphics card after all. The previous sentence is a lie.

Installing the CPU was the most nerve-wrecking part. There’s a whole lotta pins that have to fit exactly into a whole lotta slots. I’ve got jittery fingers to begin with, and knowing this made me all the more nervous. One minor slip – one bent pin – and   I would have wept for a week. Seeing as how we’re now a week later and I can listen to a Paul Simon CD through headphones while a demo of Crusader Kings II downloads and updating USB 3.0 drivers all simultaneously testifies that I did not screw anything up. Awesome sauce.

Yojimboz and xJonesicusx were there, too. They did stuff.

 

So, funny n00b story: We learned that 2-pin molex no likey 4-pin molex the hard way. The faceplate of the MSI case HAD (note the tense usage) a separate USB charger slot. Fried that sucker like we was havin’ it for supper. We were getting all headlong and just started connecting stuff to the PSU – This 2-pin case connector just didn’t seem to want to go into the 4-pin of the PSU – maybe if we push harder… On first bootup the abundance of smoke looked pretty groovy being lit by the case’s deep blue LEDs. We tried to patch up the lead and try a different connector but yielded the same smoldering result. So now there’s an orange USB slot on the faceplate looking all eager and useful. This ultimately could have just been a problem of plug compatibly between case and PSU. We searched fervently for a provided adapter but to no avail.

Despite the folly of n00bishness, the end product didn’t turn out too shabby. I removed all four of the tool-less 3.25″ drive bays to help air flow as well as providing extra space for unused PSU cables. I intend to pick up an aftermarket CPU cooler in the future. My only concern at this point is whether or not the GPU will have sufficient length clearance – there’s a whole lot going on in that tight little area…

Here’s a closeup shot of the concerned area. I kept the SSD in one of the bays, attached some Velcro on the back of the bay, and stuck it to the bottom of the 5.25″ bay area. This way I’m only using one SATA power cable for both the optical drive and SSD. I gotta tell ya: SSD’s are great! All that initial driver updating was a breeze when the windows boot screen doesn’t even have a chance to finish its animation before the desktop loads. Golly. And my new Hearts of Iron III campaign loads in a fraction of the time compared to what I’m used to. Good times.

Man, November and its releases really snuck up on me this month. Never mind that it’s by far the busiest month of releases, that the Wii U is launching and that this is one of the stronger line-ups in a while. It was just “BAM!” and I realized it was already November 5th. So let’s get to the releases:

Week of November 6th
Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection
Saints Row The Third The Full Package
NASCAR The Game: Inside Line
Mass Effect Trilogy – And here we start off strong, with a package that is easily worth twice what they are charging for it. This is the perfect gift for that member of your gamer family that has yet to experience the awesomeness that is the Mass Effect Universe (you know who I’m talking about). Don’t ask, just get it.
Halo 4 – I have picked up every game in the Halo Series at launch (except Wars) and while I will be picking this game up soon, I may actually hold off a little before I pick up Halo 4. I’m still enjoying Borderlands 2 to switch games at the moment. But Halo 4 will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.

Week of November 13th
Tropico 4 Gold Edition
F1 Race Stars
Call of Duty: Black Ops II – I’d have to go back and look, but has a Call of Duty launched this close to a Halo game? I guess it’s been quite a while since Halo 3, but it is going to be interesting to see how the launches match up against each other.
History: Legends of War Patton – If my dad played video games, he would definitely dig these History Channel games.
The Hip Hop Dance Experience – Looking at this track listing, I’m not really sure if this is exactly a “Hip Hop” experience.
LEGO Lord of the Rings – A holiday release wouldn’t be complete without a LEGO release.
Midway Arcade Origins – How many times does Midway think we’re going to buy this? /Buys it
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed Bonus Edition
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two – Coming soon: DLC characters of Luke Skywalker and Jar Jar Binks.

Week of November 20th
Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse
Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game
Hitman: Absolution
Power Rangers Samurai

Week of November 13th
Nintendo Wii U Console – Black Deluxe Set – Tempting. So very, very tempting.
Assassin’s Creed III
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Mass Effect 3 – The mind boggles at how good Mass Effect 3 will be with that secondary screen on the Wii U controller.
Game Party Champions – I see we’re getting a head start with the shovelware.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II (With Amazon Instant Video Credit)
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
Darksiders II
New Super Mario Bros. U – Sigh…
Transformers Prime: The Game
Wipeout 3
Just Dance 4
ESPN Sports Connection
Rabbids Land
Madden NFL 13
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge
ZombiU
Tank! Tank! Tank! – Sounds like an advertisement for one of those super sales at the local Convention Center: “FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY!”
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 – Need I say more?
Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper
Nintendo Land
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed Bonus Edition
Arkham City: Armored Edition

Week of November 6th
Pro Evolution Soccer 2013
NASCAR The Game: Inside Line

Week of November 13th
The Hip Hop Dance Experience
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
LEGO Lord of the Rings

Week of November 20th
Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game

Week of November 6th
Harvest Moon: A New Beginning – Harvest Moon you say? Why yes, yes I would like to link my old Harvest Moon review!
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Rayman Origins

Week of November 13th
Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion
Rabbids Rumble
Scribblenauts Unlimited

Week of November 20th
Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why’d you steal our garbage – Yeah, Ice King? What’s your deal?!
Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game

Week of November 20th
Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why’d you Steal our Garbage ?!
Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game

Week of November 6th
Mass Effect Trilogy

Week of November 13th
Tropico 4 Gold Edition
Dark Arcana: The Carnival
LEGO Lord of the Rings
History: Legends of War Patton
Angry Bird Star Wars
Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Week of November 20th
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Hitman: Absolution
Assassins Creed III
Twisted Lands: Origin

Week of November 6th
LittleBigPlanet Karting
Saints Row The Third The Full Package
Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection
NASCAR The Game: Inside Line

Week of November 13th
Assassin’s Creed: Ezio Trilogy
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Midway Arcade Origins
LEGO Lord of the Rings
F1 Race Stars
History: Legends of War Patton
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed Bonus Edition
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

Week of November 20th
Resistance: Saga Collection
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game
Hitman: Absolution
Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse

Week of November 27th
Under Defeat
Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault

Week of November 13th
Call of Duty: Black Ops – Declassified

Week of November 20th
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
Persona 4 Golden

Week of November 6th
Ragnarok: Tactics
Pro Evolution Soccer 2013

What are you picking up?

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)