Philoking.com

I have had quite a mish mash of different home wide media solutions over the course of time and each one seems to get a little better. This time I think it’s about as seamless as it can get and I have to say I am very impressed. Two of my co-workers had been singing Media Center’s praises for quite some time, but I was still remembering how it was in XP and had never given it a honest try connected to our Xbox 360.

It wasn’t until I decided to try out this media center PC I had bought as an actual Media Center for the purpose of watching TV, that I started getting interested in what it can do. Now that it’s all set up, it’s quite impressive. I’ll give you the lay of the land, and then describe some of the features that have already got me loving it.

The Computer
The Computer it runs on is a non-stock HP Media Center PC m8227n. It has been upgraded to Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit edition as well as an additional 2GB of Ram for a total of 4GB. I have also added a nVidia GeForce 8800 GT with 512MB of Video Ram and connected a tiny 15" LCD to the right of the hulking 24" LCD. Why would I do that you ask? I actually use this computer too. So it’s nice to have media center running on the smaller display as an office TV and not remove the ability to actually use the PC. It works like a charm.

The Features
So there is an Xbox 360 upstairs, connected to our home network via WiFi G. It’s a recognized Media Center Extender for this PC and I had already used it in this capacity recently to play music during a poker party we had. Now I am able to also watch video stored on the Media Center PC as well as shows I have recorded.

Speaking of recorded shows….I have remote record enabled, so if I am at work, I can log into MSN TV, sign in, and remotely set up recordings and the PC will dutifully carry them out in the background. I can come home and watch them in my office or upstairs in the living room through the Xbox 360. Now that is convergence.

The guide that ships in media center shreds the Comcast guide you get with the cable box. Sure I am missing on-demand and some of the premium channels from upstairs, but as a convenient system that doesn’t occupy more space like another TV would, it’s fantastic.

I am still digging to learn what all it can do, so far I am impressed. I will get the guys at work to show me how to really make it shine and follow up with more details.

Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare has been a blast to play!  In fact, the one major downside of the game is how short the single player campaign is.   So I started over on veteran with the intention of getting the mile high club achievement rumored to be almost impossible. 

I am about halfway through this difficulty mode and it could be one of the most frustrating in my FPS gaming career.  I’ve died a 100 times to make one checkpoint and its figuratively and literally a long slow crawl from level to level.  The game has enough variety and required concentration to keep it interesting but sometimes its like sticking hot pencils in your eyes to make any progress.

So my question is…has ANYBODY reached the unlockable mile high mission at the end of Veteran game completion?  Will I find myself entirely disappointed after working so hard to get there?  At some point, I have to return the game to its owner ( thanks Leif! ) and I would love to get some feedback from those of you that have tried to make it.

Kiss Kiss,

 
Dawngrrl Gametart

In my quest for the next 360 game, I decided to check out a few of the demos available on Live before buying the 3 top February 5th releases; the Devil May Cry 4, Turok, and Spiderwick.  Though Spiderwick wasn’t available for download, it made the choice no less natural, because after a few minutes into Devil May Cry 4, the choice is made.    Worthy of note, I am a series virgin, so my immediate interest in the game has no story or character loyalty.   Incidentally, my choice is no reflection on Turok, it too captured my attention, and it certainly has a place on my dance card.    During our short jig, I instantly became engaged in play, although the controls were far from intuitive and the uber sensitive camera on the right analog will take some work to get used to, the dinos are way cool and I’ve no doubt Turok will be a fully enjoyable FPS that delivers some killer Jurassic action. 

There is a fine balance in the art of video production when your audience scales out to such a wide spectrum.  Every game type has many different tones, flavors, and styles that speak to a gamer just as much, if not more so, then its story or categorized genre.  This "game personality" attracts people as uniquely as whether your a leg or chest guy, or if you prefer "tomato" or "tomahto".  It simply becomes what turns you on most, in a game.    From the demo alone, DMC4 will attract many of us regardless of anatomical penchants or pronunciation preferences, because it walks that very fine line of blood flying action and intriguing adventurous strategy.   The flashy carnage somehow touches on a comic book "kapow", in a pristinely elegant way that removes even the slightest hint of corniness. 

Having no history with the predecessors main squeeze, Dante, I can easily say that Capcom delivers a fantastic new character with Nero (though I understand you’ll get plenty of Dante play later on in the game) who strikes a delicious balance of his own with spectacular flair yet sublimely virile making him remarkably sexy for us gamer grrls and a fitting character for you manly men to virtually become.

I can’t wait to play through and get the rest of the story!  I will post the full review sometime later this month, but in the meantime, I feel pretty sure Devil May Cry 4 is going to be a home run, so if you’re like me (waiting for your next 360 thrill), pick it up, play along with me, and let me know what you think! 

Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart

I haven’t blogged for a few days and honestly I was kind of at a loss as of what to post. I usually don’t go this long, but the biggest news in my life right now resolves around Microsoft and I am hesitant to blog too much until I have been formally educated on the ways of blogging as a Microsoft employee.

I thought this would be a great time to talk about what I have been doing in my spare time since the big news. Playstation 3 has been in heavy rotation in my household. Dawngrrl has been specifically using the Xbox 360 to get herself through Assassin’s Creed, and I have just finished Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune after a short distraction, and completion, of Guitar Hero III on PS3.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune for Playstation 3

I think I might be nearly at a loss for words on how to describe this game. Ok, that’s a flat out lie, I have plenty of words and all of them are synonyms for <expletive deleted> awesome! Of course, your first impression revolves around graphics. This Tomb Raider like game is something that really shows off what the PS3 can do. Unlike the Totally Rad Show’s review, I won’t say that the entire game is this beautiful, many parts are just very good, but when this game does take it to the edge, it throws you off and you are immersed. I remember one moment when I had just found a German U-Boat at the top of a waterfall in the middle of the jungle. I climbed my way around to the top, then I walked out to the bow and looked over the valley below. It nearly could have been a photograph. The scene was given incredible ambiance from the flare and color of a setting sun over the blanket of trees and I called for Dawngrrl to come look. It was beyond belief for game graphics. I was temporarily stunned.

The game play is somewhat awkward at first. It may take you a little time to get used to it. Once you get used to it, it’s really not that bad. Switching weapons is pretty easy and the mechanics are ok. Running while aiming a gun is almost impossible, so that can be frustrating, but other than that it’s ok. Hand to hand combat is pretty simple and rarely became a factor for me.

This game is stricken with one thing I don’t care for. Those Dragon Slayer like cut scenes where you have to pay attention and press the button they tell you to press right when it says so. The end fight is almost entirely this and was definitely a let down.

Over all, if you have a Playstation 3 I would say this is a must have game. I thoroughly enjoyed it and even with the small setbacks, is more than worth the time to play. The story is fantastic, the score is as good as anything you will get from Hollywood and the voice acting is better than 90% of games out there. Five Stars!

Guitar Hero III for Playstation 3

I had so many reservations with this game. Let me start by saying I am a guitar player. I had thought that as a guitar player, this game just wouldn’t be any fun. It wasn’t until Andy got me to try Guitar Hero on Playstation 2 that I changed my tune. I though it was pretty easy, and afterwards kind of dismissed it. When I got the MS gig, I decided to give myself a present, so while we were at Wal-Mart, I picked up Guitar Hero III for PS3. I would have gotten it for Xbox 360 but the copies there did not have wireless guitars and the PS3 ones did.

This game really is a blast. The graphics are good, but really a non factor, your eyes stay trained on the fret board and it’s a lot of fun to work through. The gigs are fun, the guitar battles are hard but really fun, and the sound is awesome. Th

is is the only game I have ever turned up!

I love how you have to really get into it to win. Especially in the guitar battles, rocking out is not only encouraged, it’s required to survive. Air guitarists rejoice with this one, it’s just too much fun.

I am sorely tempted to pick up Rock Band next!