Controversy

Ramsey Digital Designs the Best Videos!

I live in a blight-filled area of Michigan called Cottrellville Township. Over the last five years, Cottrellville Township has turned into an extremely ugly place to live in throughout quite a few areas. No matter where you live in Cottrellville Township, you don't need to look far to find blight. This is why I -- Michael Zoran -- have decided to run for Trustee and also Precinct Delegate in the upcoming Cottrellville Township election on August 7, 2012. (By the way, my political signs are going to cost over $750. If anyone would like to make a donation using PayPal, please look on the right side of your screen to do so.)

Morris of Ramsey Digital is a close friend of mine. As soon as Morris found out how I was doing things such as signing contracts with Comcast to bring township meetings into the homes of residents on public access TV channel 12 and also on YouTube channel michaelzoran, Morris decided to help me out.

This new video is dedicated to my Fight Against Blight. The high-quality video clearly shows the talent and skill Morris and his staff at Ramsey Digital possess. When people saw the impressive video, I started getting emails asking me how to contact Ramsey Digital.

Ramsey Digital can be contacted here: http://www.theaskeweffect.com/KRUZ8ER/

Ramsey Digital is also a great place to visit if you are a videogame fan and enjoy chatting online with other gamers in online forums.

You can contact Morris Ramsey at [email protected]

The prices are very reasonable for these videos. All you need to do is send Morris some pictures and/or videos. You also need to tell him what the theme of your video needs to be. Morris will take over from there, and for the low price of $50 to $200, Morris will have a Hollywood style video for you in just a few days.

Halo 4 and Halo Anniversary Edition Announced! - Visit My E3 Coverage

Microsoft sitting, watching Microsoft's press conference at E3, I heard some official announcements I expected to hear because of industry insider friends I have in the videogame industry. I also heard some announcements I didn't expect to hear -- and those announcements were really awesome! If you want to learn more about those announcements, come to my new Controversy blog devoted entirely to daily videogame news. Make you to subscribe to this new blog: www.controversy.typepad.com/videogamenews

I can tell you Microsoft did announce the awesome Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition many of us heard rumors about. And I'll also wet your appetite by telling you Halo 4 was announced! Some of my reliable industry insider friends told me this might happen. But even I was amazed when Microsoft said Halo 4 would be part of a "trilogy" of new games involving Spartan super-soldier John 117!

Videogame News - A New Blog Devoted to Daily News Coverage

Videogame News is a new blog I've created in order to focus on the daily coverage of the videogame industry.

Just click here or enter the following URL: http://controversy.typepad.com/videogamenews/

Make sure you become a TypePad Follower of this blog. Also, make sure you Subscribe to this blog and add it to your Favorites list. May the force be with you!

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection Package Coming to Xbox 360! - Remixed HD Graphics & 5.1 Sound

Breaking news from the World Wide Konami Press Conference, the Metal Gear Solid HD collection will be coming to the Xbox 360 in November of this year! The package will include High Definition versions of Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear Solid 3 and the formally PSP exclusive Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

Kojima Productions unveiled the news in a very funny skit-like video featuring the sketch comedy group Mega 64. I couldn’t be happier with this announcement. The original Metal Gear Solid and its sequel are some of my favorite of all time. I rarely play them anymore, since their sound is outdated and they possess outdated graphics. But with graphics updated to high-definition and sound remixed to true 5.1, it will be a pleasure playing through the games again – particularly since I will earn Achievement Points along the way.

Hideo Kojima confirmed that he is in the planning stages of the “Next Metal Gear Solid Experience”. Speaking about the graphics engine for his next game, Kojima revealed it is called “The Fox Engine”. This new graphics engine is multiplatform for future titles.

The demo of the Fox Engine looked very impressive. The demo exhibited realistic foliage and dirt paths, but Kojima stressed that the engine is not using final assets from his next game. The items displayed were merely technical demonstrations, not actual software.

History has proven the Xbox 360 versions of the vast majority of multiplatform software ends up with better graphics and better online play than their PS3 counterparts. Even games as simple as Splinter Cell have proven this point. Whether or not the Xbox 360 version will be "noticably" better or "significantly" better remains to be seen. But like channel G4 said, "Even if the versions of a PS3 and Xbox 360 game are identical, it always makes sense to buy the Xbox 360 version because there are more people to play online with and a larger percentage of people online have headsets to chat with while playing." 

Controversy will have full coverage from the Konami conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo!

Forza 4 Racing Uses Kinect Head-Tracking Features!

Forza Motorsport 4 will be the biggest and best racing game ever released when it is launched for Xbox 360 later this year. It isn't just the amazing graphics, huge selection of high-quality cars, or the incredibly large number of tracks available in Forza 4 that make it a special racing game. Forza Motorsport 4 will be the first game in this excellent franchise to be fully optimized for the Kinect motion-sensor accessory, which is now in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest-selling electronics item ever! This is what we've been looking forward to all along!

We've known from the beginning Forza Motorsport 4 would allow us to drive by using our hands as the racing wheel. Kinect uses its motion-sensing abilities to accurately and precisely determine where we wanted to drive based on which direction we move our hands! We were told that when this feature is used the game will handle acceleration and braking responsibilities for us. This is a very simple setup many casual gamers will enjoy, especially kids, females, and older gamers.

But I'm starting to question what was said because of a new video Microsoft recently released. Microsoft has now revealed the motion-sensing abilities of Kinect will be used to track all of your head movements in order to add an even greater sense of realism to Forza Motorsport 4! This feature looks absolutely amazing in the video, and you can also see how stunning the graphics are in the game! Can you believe the graphics in Forza Motorsport 4 are even better than the current racing champion – Forza Motorsport 3!

But one thing in particular leaves a bit of controversy. In this video, you clearly see the brake pedal and gas pedal being used. These pedals are part of an accessory Microsoft discontinued several years ago -- a product that is now considered the greatest racing wheel ever released because it offered excellent force feedback. As an industry insider, this makes me wonder if I may see Microsoft start selling their force feedback steering wheel and brake/gas pedal accessory again. Or, will Microsoft sell only the brake pad and gas pad accessory this time, since Kinect will essentially be providing the wheel.

Please share your thoughts on this subject. Microsoft says they will be revealing other secrets about Forza 4 at E3. I know Gamestop and several other retailers give you a special group of great cars if you preorder the game right now. But, it wouldn't surprise me to see Microsoft release Forza Motorsport 4 in arcades. Here is a video for you to look at proving all this:

Kinect Adds Simplicity to Games - Females and Kids LOVE it!

I used to wonder how certain games could possibly be played with Kinect rather than a controller. But now that I've seen the way several games are played, I can confidently tell you Kinect is going to make games far more popular with females, kids, and even older people, just like the Wii did. There is one reason for this: Simplicity.

Games become so much easier and better to play with Kinect. When you play Forza Motorsport 4 with Kinect, your only responsibility is using your hands as the steering wheel...and that's it. The game does the braking and acceleration for you. This type of simplicity is exactly what females and kids desire, because it brings back an arcade style of fun!

Hardcore gamers will probably want to stick with the complex motions of control pads and force-feedback race wheels. But most people really will love the added simplicity Kinect brings to the table. With Kinect, you won't need to spend hours mastering the complex techniques of every game. In Forza 4, you won't need to learn exact moments when you should brake, accelerate, and when you should start slowing down. Just use your hands to drive in a fun way and you will do just that -- have fun!

The same concept applies to games like Ghost Recon and Gears of War. When using Kinect, you won't be responsible for handling complex responsibilities such as running and dodging. You will control those parts of the game if you choose to use a control pad, but while using Kinect the game will do a lot of that stuff for you. When playing with Kinect, you will just need to do basic things like fire, reload, and switch weapons. This form of simplicity makes complex games fun for inexperienced gamers!

Kinect is currently in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest-selling electronic item in history. I have no doubt the success of Kinect will continue in 2011. Kinect turns very deep games such as Forza Motorsport 4 and Ghost Recon into simple games anyone can start having fun with at any time, just like at an arcade.

...

Forza Motorsport 3 vs Gran Turismo 5

Forza Motorsport is the racing franchise that defines the Xbox gaming platforms. Forza Motorsport is a game franchise that has been growing in a positive way over the last decade. Many reviews called Forza Motorsport 2 the greatest racing simulator ever made. Many people have been looking forward to Forza Motorsport 3 because it uses a brand new graphics engine with ten times as many polygons being displayed!

Similarly, Gran Turismo is a franchise that defines the Playstation gaming platforms. But over the last decade we’ve seen Gran Turismo games have been moving in a negative direction. Gran Turismo 4 was the lowest rated game in the series, and Gran Turismo 5 was constantly delayed – literally in development for over six years. Sony even released a game called Gran Turismo 5 Prologue in order to keep fans satisfied until the final game arrived.

Now we are going to see if Gran Turismo 5 was worth the wait. We are also going to see how Gran Turismo 5 compares to Forza Motorsport 3 on the Xbox 360. Key areas such as graphics, game play, online performance, and features will be examined. Here goes:

Graphics

Forza Motorsport 3 has significantly better graphics than Gran Turismo 5 in virtually every measurable way. The frame rate always remains at a perfectly smooth 60 frames per second in Forza Motorsport 3. Gran Turismo 5 often experiences problems associated with drops in frame rate. Replays in Forza Motorsport 3 also remain smooth at 60 frames per second while the replays in Gran Turismo 5 are only 30 frames per second.

The native resolution of Forza Motorsport 3 is 1280x720p. Sony originally claimed Gran Turismo 5 was going to have a native resolution of 1920x1080p. Unfortunately, the hardware of the PS3 was modified with one of the two Cell CPU processors being removed prior to launch. As a result, it was no surprise to see the PS3 lacked the power to live up to that promise.

The actual native resolution used by Gran Turismo 5 is 960x1080p. This is important because several websites, including websites offering head-to-head comparisons and technical analysis, have given false specifications of Gran Turismo 5. Resolutions such as 1280x1080p and 1024x1080p have circulated on the Internet. But these technical specifications are incorrect and do not apply to Gran Turismo 5.

In reality, it is the very unusual resolution of 960x1080p which ended up being used in Gran Turismo 5. 960x1080p means the horizontal resolution was cut in half compared to the original development plan. This is probably one of the reasons why Gran Turismo 5 was delayed so many times.

The reason why the frame rate remains smooth at 60 frames per second in Forza Motorsport 3 but drops to 30 frames per second during replays in Gran Tursimo 5 is because of the weaker GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) of the Playstation 3. The Xbox 360 GPU is capable of displaying up to 500,000,000 polygons per second, while the PS3 GPU is capable of displaying only 275,000,000 polygons per second. This is the reason why a game such as All-Pro Football runs at 60 frames per second on Xbox 360 but only 30 frames per second on PS3.

Replays require extra detail, which meant Gran Turismo 5 on the PS3 probably had no chance of maintaining anything close to a steady frame rate of 60 frames per second. Although disappointing, it was probably a smart decision for the developers at Polyphony to make the decision to have replays run at only 30 frames per second in Gran Turismo 5. The replays in Forza Motorsport 3 definitely look better than the replays in Gran Turimso 5.

The cars in Forza Motorsport 3 are built with between 300,000 polygons to 500,000 polygons per car. The cars in Gran Turismo 5 are built with 100,000 polygons per car to 500,000 polygons per car. The majority of cars in Gran Turismo 5 are built with fewer polygons; however, the “premium” cars are built with up to 500,000 polygons per car.

In Gran Turismo 5, the number of cars on screen has a big impact the game. There is an affect on the number of polygons allowed to appear on screen at the same time. You never see more than five cars on screen at a time in Gran Turismo 5, and when premium cars are seen it is even less. This also affects artificial intelligence (A.I.) in Gran Turismo 5, since one of the SPE sub-processors dedicated to A.I. in the PS3 architecture is virtually useless when intense graphics are being displayed. The artificial intelligence in Forza Motorsport 3 remains excellent at all times, regardless of the number of cars being displayed at any time.

In terms of the tracks and backgrounds, Forza Motorsport 3 has significantly better graphics than Gran Turismo 5. The texture quality, lighting, shading, and lens flare in Forza Motorsport 3 outperforms Gran Turismo 5 in every area. Simply put, if you play both games you will have no doubt Forza Motorsport 3 has better graphics.

Sound

The sound in both Forza Motorsport 3 and Gran Turismo 5 is excellent. I own a flagship Onkyo A/V receiver and high-end speakers from JBL. The surround sound adds realism to both games. No matter what point of view you choose to use in the game, the sound is excellent and will make you happy.

Game Play

Both games are fun to play; however, there is no doubt the winner is Forza Motorsport 3. Both games have been available for a while and the professionally published reviews in magazines and newspapers clearly show Forza Motorsport 3 is rated higher than Gran Turismo 5. Ultimately, game play is the reason why both game series have been popular over the last decade.

Forza Motorsport 3 is available as a Platinum Hit, which features a staggering 136 tracks to play on! There are also over 400 cars available right out of the box. The really cool feature in Forza 3 is that you can customize cars, signs, and logos, essentially giving you an infinite supply of cars to play with. What’s even better is the way you can create cars, and then auction them on Xbox Live!

Gran Turismo 5 has an impressive 71 tracks to play on with over 1,000 cars available to use. The overwhelming majority of these cars are just “standard” low-polygon designs that most gamers won’t enjoy using. The majority of cars in Gran Turismo 5 simply look like “upscaled versions” of the cars in Gran Turismo 4 which appeared on the PS2. Considering Gran Tursimo 5 spent over six years in development, it really is a big disappointment that such a huge number of cars lack polygon detail.

Both Forza Motorsport 3 and Gran Turismo 5 feature cars that can be damaged, although this feature is not immediately available in Gran Turismo 5. This is a cool feature that adds a lot of fun to game play. When you play online with other gamers, you always know it’s going to put a smile on your face when you see someone else crash or push a competitor into another car.

The damaged vehicles in Forza Motorsport 3 have a significant impact on game play and artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, damaged cars in Gran Turismo 5 are not influenced in any way by damage. This poor artificial intelligence in Gran Turismo 5 has led to a term called “Zombie A.I.” to be associated with the game.

One of the coolest new features I’ve ever seen in a racing game is the way Forza Motorsport 3 adds a form of “time reversal” button. By pressing the “back” button, you can go back in time as long as you hold the button. This means inexperienced gamers can instantly pick up the controller and start playing in a way that immediately brings enjoyment. The instant you see a friend mishandle a car on a turn, just tell your friend to hold the back button so they can give it another try. This is an excellent game play feature!

Winner: Forza Motorsport 3

Forza Motorsport 3 has a relatively easy time beating Gran Turismo 5 as a racing game. At this point in time, Forza Motorsport 3 is generally considered the greatest racing game ever created. There is no doubt the Forza Motorsport game series has continued to move in the right direction. I’m really looking forward to Forza Motorsport 4, which will launch later this year and offer compatibility with Kinect.

Gran Turismo 5 is quite a big letdown that did not live up to six years worth of hype. This is probably the reason why Gran Turismo 5 is the lowest-rated game ever released in the Gran Turismo series. In terms of graphics it was quite disappointing to see such a poor effort by the developers who were given so much time to program the game. Gran Turismo 5 is still a fun game to play, though, just not as fun as Forza Motorsport 3.

In fact, I would say Gran Turismo 5 is not even the best racing game on the Playstation 3. I can think of Need for Speed games that have a better balance of graphics, artificial intelligence, and gameplay. But if you own both consoles, I would recommend the Xbox 360 versions of those games because of better graphics, more people to play with online, and a larger number of people that own microphones to chat with while playing.

Champion: Forza Motorsport 3 is definitely the best racing game ever made. No other racing game offers so many tracks, high-polygon cars, features, and excellent artificial intelligence. If you enjoy racing games, I strongly suggest Forza Motorsport 3: Ultimate Platinum Hit because it can be purchased for a very low price. Amazon is an excellent place to purchase the game because you get free shipping and you may not need to pay taxes, depending on where you live.

Why is Capcom Making Unusual Sales Forecasts?

Recently, Capcom publicly stated how disappointed they were with the way Sony’s PS3 console was experiencing such awful problems with online hacking of the PSN. Capcom claimed to be losing a lot of money because of sales that potentially could have been made during that time period. Most videogame analysts thought Capcom was speaking out in a very unusual way, since we didn’t hear other third-party game developers making bold public statements like that.

Today I learned some of the interesting sales estimates Capcom has made for 2011. These sales estimates are very controversial considering the Xbox 360 has outsold the PS3 worldwide. First, I want to remind you that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has sold over 53 million consoles worldwide, while Sony recently announced the PS3 has sold 50 million consoles worldwide.  However, as I have confirmed on Controversy, Sony deserves the reputation they now have for publicly announcing inaccurate sales figures.

Capcom’s PS3 sales forecast shows an estimate of 8 million software units sold from the release of 16 different software titles. Capcom’s Xbox 360 sales forecast shows an estimate of 4.7 million software units sold from the release of 14 different software titles.

Even though the Xbox 360 has outsold the PS3, Capcom believes the PS3 will produce nearly double the software sales of the Xbox 360! This sales forecast doesn’t seem to make sense when you consider the Xbox 360 versions of software usually outsell the PS3 versions. For example, Crysis 2 is a recent high-profile multiplatform release resistant to statistical outliers. When sales figures of Crysis 2 started coming in, we saw the Xbox 360 version had outsold the PS3 version by a ratio of 1.7:1.

What are your thoughts about Capcom’s sales forecasts? There is no doubt the majority of third-party companies see greater revenue on Xbox Live than they do the PSN. Sega recently released Sega Rally HD Online exclusively for Xbox Live Arcade. With that in mind, why would Capcom make such outrageous sales forecasts favoring the PS3 by nearly a 2:1 margin?

Sega Rally HD Online is Released Exclusively for Xbox Live Arcade

Sega Rally is now available on the Xbox Live Arcade marketplace. Sega has released this high-definition online version of Sega Rally exclusively for the Xbox 360. This excellent racing game includes all of the modes you could ask for – Time Trial, Championship Events, Offline Multiplayer, and even a six-player online racing mode! Sega Rally also includes powerful 5.1 surround sound and a variety of cool cars such as the Ford Focus RS, Lancia Delta Integrale, and the Bowler Nemesis. Sega Rally Online Arcade costs 800 Points and is fully compatible with all controllers and racing wheels available for Xbox 360.

Soul Calibur 5 Coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 - And Possibly the Wii 2?

Namco has officially announced that Soul Calibur 5 will be released for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 in 2012. The game takes place 17 years after Soul Calibur 4. Namco – a company that recently returned to profitability – has said that more information about Soul Calibur 5 will be revealed at this years Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Up to this point, the best version of Soul Calibur ever released is the Xbox 360 version of Soul Calibur 4. The Xbox 360 version runs at a resolution of 1365x960p, which is 40% higher than the resolution of 1280x720p used in the PS3 version. This is because the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) of the Xbox 360 is so much more powerful than the PS3 GPU. The Xbox 360 GPU can display up to 500,000,000 polygons per second, compared to only 275,000,000 polygons per second for the PS3 GPU.

My controversial question has to do with the release date of Soul Calibur 5 and if it will be released for the Wii 2. If the Soul Calibur 5 game is scheduled to be released in 2012, will it also be released for the Wii 2 – which is supposedly going to be released in 2012? The Wii 2 version may be able to run at a resolution of 1920x1080p, since its GPU is slightly more powerful than the Xbox 360 GPU.

This also seems to suggest that Soul Calibur will not be available on a next-generation console such as the third Xbox or the PS4 for quite a while. You would tend to think that the soonest Soul Calibur 6 would be available is for the third Xbox at least two years after the release of Soul Calibur 5. But in all probability, we would not see a next-generation Soul Calibur game until three years after the release of Soul Calibur 5. This means the earliest we would see Soul Calibur 6 on a next-gen console would be 2014, but probably 2015.

Share your thoughts on Soul Calibur 5 and the Wii 2. Do you think Soul Calibur 5 will also be released for the Wii 2? How about Soul Calibur 6 and the clues it offers regarding when next-generation consoles will be here?

Microsoft Acquires Skype for $8.5 Billion! - How Will This Help Xbox 360?

Microsoft has acquired Skype for $8.5 billion, outbidding both Google and Facebook. Reports say that Google and Facebook were bidding between $3 billion to $4 billion. This shows that Microsoft was definitely willing to pay a premium price in order to keep those competitors at bay. Some financial investors have questioned why Microsoft would be willing to pay $8.5 billion for a company that was recently valued at less than $3 billion. This is where the element of controversy starts to reveal itself.

I believe Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype is a perfect match for technology currently used in areas of software and communication. Skype has done an excellent job making sure that products such as TV sets, PSP portable game devices, PCs, and cell phones can use their technology for Internet calls and video conferencing. Windows Live Messenger and Outlook are perfect technological matches for Skype. The same can be said for the Xbox 360 game console and the Xbox Live online gaming service.

Of all the products available in the world, Microsoft’s Kinect may be the one that matches with Skype best of all. The Kinect motion-control accessory for the Xbox 360 has sold over 10 million units in a record time period – appearing in the Guinness Book of World Records for its amazing sales success. This means there are over 10 million Microsoft video cameras staring people in the face. This is the perfect environment for Skype to exist.

Microsoft may have overpaid for Skype, according to financial analysts on Wall Street, but the acquisition of Skype has helped Microsoft achieve all of its goals. Microsoft would have needed to bid at least $4.5 billion for Skype in order to acquire them. This means that for an additional $4 billion, which isn’t much to cash-rich Microsoft, they get to stop Google and Facebook from dominating this industry. Thanks to this acquisition, Microsoft now has significantly greater access to all of Skype’s 145 million subscribers in an industry that is growing across a world that is trying to lower communication costs, particularly in the area of business.

Two weeks from now we know that Xbox Live will be briefly shutting down for an update. We know that when Xbox Live receives this upgrade it will be fully compatible with PayPal in order to increase security and prevent hackers from having access to bank information. This is especially worth noting since Sony and their PSN has experienced such awful online hacking over the last month. But it’s worth noting that Skype already uses PayPal. Perhaps the reason why Xbox Live is going to gain this form of access is because we will see compatibility with Skype sooner rather than later!

Gears of War 3 beta - Update - Week 3

Previously, I wrote a very detailed five-page article about my impressions of the Gears of War 3 beta. You can read that article by clicking here.

Now I’m going to give a further update on the Gears of War 3 beta. It appears several things have changed and/or been modified by Epic in some way. Based on my observations, I will explain everything in detail one subject at a time.

* Independent Online Servers: One of the things Epic promised from the beginning was independent servers online. Gears of War 3 is scheduled to be the first Xbox 360 game to offer this feature. During the first week the Gears of War 3 beta was available to everyone who preordered the game from Gamestop, I saw for myself that independent servers have the ability to work fine in a way that puts everyone on equal ground. Everybody is playing fairly in an environment where there is no form of host advantage. When independent servers are being used by Epic, I rate Gears of War 3 a 10 out of 10.

Unfortunately, news reports surfaced a couple weeks ago that the independent servers had gone down. From that point on, Gears of War 3 has used the same form of server setup used by other games. This is very disappointing and very frustrating because of host-server advantages. Games just aren’t as fun as they used to be with the Gears of War 3 beta, simply because all of the gamers are no longer competing on equal ground.

The best example of what I’m referring to can be described very easily by telling you about something I personally experienced. My teammates and I had filled an enemy with enough bullets to put that enemy down. But the enemy was behind an area where the bullets of my teammates could no longer reach the enemy. This meant the kill was going to be mind, since I was the only person on the team that had the ability to hit the fallen foe.

While this fallen enemy was crawling around on the floor, I had my Gnasher Shotgun armed. I used the Left Trigger to target the enemy and I used the Right Trigger to shoot the gun. I expected the enemy to die from that one shot at close range. I was surprised when the enemy did not die, so I targeted the enemy again and shot again. Once again, the enemy did not die! I repeated this process two more times, and yet the enemy would NOT die!

By the time I had hit the fallen enemy four times, he was able to tap the A-button enough times to stand up again. When the enemy got up, he just turned around and killed me with one close-range shot of his own Gnasher Shotgun. Can you say, “Not Fair?” This was the most unfair situation I have ever been involved with in any Gears of War game, and I instantly started telling people that if the final version of Gears of War 3 was going to be like that, I would be sticking with Call of Duty games. Unfair host advantages like that are why I stopped playing multiplayer in Gears of War 2.

The bottom line is that Epic needs to make sure Gears of War 3 uses independent servers. The host-advantage has too much of a negative affect on Gears of War game play. Please, Epic, make sure Gears of War 3 keeps your promise of independent servers.

* Glitches: Since the end of the first week, I have only encountered one glitch. This glitch was on May 8, 2011. Two friends and I simultaneously joined a match in progress. My two friends joined and I was watching them without any problem. But I was never able to join. I’m not even sure if my character joined at all. If my character did join, he was just standing there doing nothing. The only thing I could see was the Ghost Camera viewpoint. Epic, this needs to be fixed. The map it occurred on was The Trenches.

This was similar, but worse, than a glitch I experienced during the first week. During that week, I was in the Thrashball stadium. I was able to join the game and I could see the point of view of my character. But my character was stuck in the same spot. The only reason the match ended was because my teammate killed me with a grenade. Epic needs to fix this type of glitch.

* Grenades: In my last article, I promised that I would talk about grenades in my next article. I have kept my promise, and my analysis can be very simple. I think Epic got the grenades just right. The smoke grenades don’t do any damage; however they play a very important role in strategy. You can also use smoke grenades in the Capture the Leader mode, since a smoke grenade will cause the captured leader to be set free.

Frag grenades are just as powerful as ever. You can use them to kill multiple enemies at a time by throwing them or by tagging them to a wall or an enemy. The cool thing in Gears of War 3 is that if you are tagged by an enemy you can actually try and take that enemy out so that at least both of you die. This means if you tag an enemy with a grenade, you need to get away fast.

Ink grenades emit a very powerful gas of poisonous smoke. This can kill multiple people, including your own teammates. In fact, you can even potentially kill yourself with the ink grenade. The use of the Ink grenade is excellent and I think Epic has it right. It seems like the strength of the Ink grenade has been slightly lowered from the first week of the beta up to this point. This is probably a good thing because the ink grenade is supposed to cause people to evacuate, not necessarily die.

Incendiary grenades are a very powerful form of flame grenade. I feel very confident that these grenades have lost a lot of power from the first week compared to right now. During the first week of the beta, I lost count of the number of times I saw people dying from the incendiary grenade explosions that caused people to burn to death. Now, you need to stay in the lava flame for quite a while before you are in danger of dying; I never see people die from this anymore. Epic might want to make it so the strength is slightly increased, or possibly so the lava stays in the same spot for a long time. This would add a strategy element that makes it so you take away part of a map, since lava is there for a while.

* Gorgon Pistol: During the first week, it seemed like the Gorgon needed to be a lot more powerful. The reason for this is because the Gorgon needed to be a lot more powerful! It seems like Epic may have added some power to the Gorgon since the first week. Now it is actually possible to put an enemy down with the Gorgon, if you put an entire clip of ammo into him. But it is very common to have kills stolen from you while firing the Gorgon. You need to use a whole clip just to put an enemy down, regardless of range. By the time you reload your Gorgon pistol, someone else has already killed the enemy.

In my opinion there is absolutely no reason to waste time picking up a Gorgon pistol in Gears of War 3. Epic needs to increase the power of this pistol and make sure it has more ammunition in each clip. The simple fact is, if there is no reason to pick up a weapon, why bother picking it up? With that in mind, you need to ask the question if the Gorgon pistol really belongs in the game. It is a very cool weapon with a lot of potential, but it simply needs more ammo and more power.

* Boltok Pistol: During the first week I thought it was awful the way the Boltok was so week. I once got two headshots and a third shot to the chest on an enemy and the enemy did not die! Epic appears to have increased the power of the Boltok, but not enough. This week I fired a perfect headshot on an enemy, and it still did not kill the enemy. Although, I was once killed with a single shot to the head. This makes me wonder if the reason why that headshot did not kill the enemy is because of the host-server advantage.

My advice to Epic would be to make it so the Boltok is more powerful. It doesn’t shoot very fast, and it takes relatively long to reload. With that in mind, it is alright if the Boltok pistol is a powerful weapon, especially at close range. C’mon Epic, make it so this pistol is powerful the way it should be! If the Boltok pistol were more powerful, more people would pick up the weapon and be motivated to use shields.

* Boomshot: This weapon works exactly as it is supposed to. If you get hit with it, you die! It normally comes with only two or three rounds, so make sure you use it carefully. Epic should keep things exactly as they are with the Boomshot.

* Torque Bow: This weapon is a powerful weapon that takes a bit of practice firing. Anyone familiar with this weapon already will be fine with Gears of War 3. It takes a second or two to aim, and then if you hit the enemy they are blasted with a powerful shot. I think Epic has things just right with this weapon.

* Longshot Sniper: This weapon functions exactly as it did in previous Gears of Wars games. If you use the scope and get a headshot the enemy always dies. If you hit them in the chest it usually requires two shots to get a kill. If you miss the head, you feel guilty and accept responsibility. The Longshot sniper weapon makes it so headshots become particularly important, and it allows the graphics to look fantastic. You can literally see the teeth of the enemy with that scope! Epic should keep things exactly as they are with the Longshot sniper rifle.

* Oneshot Sniper: This new weapon has an incredibly long range – far longer than the Longshot. The other big difference is the power of the weapon. The Oneshot usually has only three rounds of ammo, but they are powerful! The Oneshot sends out a beam of light, similar to the Torque Bow so that an aware enemy knows they are being targeted. But if you can shoot someone with the Oneshot, they will be killed in one shot! In my opinion, Epic should keep things exactly as they are with the Oneshot.

* Digger Launcher: This new weapon adds a lot of new strategy to the game. The Digger Launcher usually has about three rounds of ammunition when you pick it up. But each of these three rounds is capable of killing multiple opponents with one shot – similar to a grenade. In fact, the aiming of this weapon is virtually identical to a grenade, even though you hold it as a gun.

When you shoot the Digger Launcher weapon, it sends out a big tunnel being ripped through the ground. If you are near that explosive tunnel being sent in your direction, you will die if you don’t get out of the way. You can see it coming, so you need to hop to the side in order to get away. I believe Epic has done a great job with the Digger Launcher and should keep everything as it is.

* Flame Scorcher: This weapon desperately needs more power! Of all the weapons in Gears of War 3, the one that is the least useful is this flame thrower weapon. Regardless of where this flame thrower is available for people to pick up, I never see people take the time to pick it up. I presume the reason I don’t see other people pick this weapon up is the same reason I don’t pick it up – it is absolutely worthless as a weapon!

Epic needs to make some huge changes with this particular weapon and the flames it throws. When you shoot someone with flames for three seconds while they are running at you through the flames, and then they kill you with one close-range Sawed-Off Shotgun blast, it means the game loses one full point in my book! In other words, Gears of War 3 goes from a 10 to a 9 in my book, simply because of that one huge problem! Epic, I am telling you on behalf of gamers everywhere: Make the Flame Scorcher weapon more powerful!

* Hammerburst: Last time I wrote a detailed report about how the Hammerburst rifle needs more power. I still want to make it 100% clear that the Hammerburst rifle needs more power. It is very common for people to unload an entire clip of Hammerburst ammo at enemies, and yet the enemy will not even fall! Epic, this needs to be changed for obvious reasons.

The simple fact of life in videogames is that if you shoot someone to the point where you need to reload a weapon, you expect that enemy to die! For goodness sake, if you unload an entire clip in an enemy, you at least expect the enemy to fall down! But when you unload an entire clip in an enemy while he is running directly at you, only to get blown into pieces with a single shot from his shotgun, it means gamers are motivated to play a different game. Epic, make it so the Hammerburst and Flame Scorcher weapons are more powerful!

* Conclusion: Overall, I believe Gears of War 3 has the potential to be the best game released in 2011. However, there are still some fundamental flaws that prevent this from happening. Several weapons such as the Hammerburst and Flame Scorcher desperately need more power. If the Flame Scorcher isn’t given that power, Epic should remove it from the game to avoid embarrassing themselves. Why bother picking up a weapon if it has no use or puts you at an obvious disadvantage.

I really hope Epic takes the time to read this four-page article, along with my previous five-page article. I really did take an incredible amount of time to try and help Epic. I hope my blog Followers enjoyed reading this. Please feel free to share your thoughts on my blog.

Also, if you have suggestions for Epic regarding the Gears of War 3 beta, visit this website in order to let them know what you’d like to see in the final version of Gears of War 3 or what problems you have found in the beta version: http://forums.epicgames.com/forumdisplay.php?f=400

Finally, I'd like to mention a couple really cool things Epic did with the beta of Gears of War 3. On the weekend of Easter, the characters had heads with bunnies! And last weekend the characters had oversized heads with very high-pitched voices similar to what a person sounds like if they breath helium! This was very funny!

Take a look for yourself here:

Xbox 360 Games - E3 2011 - Gears of War 3

 

...

Guardian Heroes Coming Exclusively to Xbox Live Arcade!

One of the best games ever released by Sega for the Saturn game console in the 1990's was a game called Guardian Heroes. On May 5, 2011 Sega announced Guardian Heroes would be released exclusively for Xbox Live Arcade this fall. Sega says Guardian Heroes will feature enhanced high-definition graphics and online co-op when it is released for Xbox Live Arcade!

Guardian Heroes is a multiplayer 2D side-scrolling game. Enemies fill the screen, battle after battle, similar to a Golden Axe type of game. However, Guardian Heroes has moves far more complex -- with motion controls similar to Street Fighter and Virtua Fighter. The RPG elements of the game are excellent, particularly the way experience points are earned throughout the game. The plot in Guardian Heroes is very detailed and it helps you get to know the characters very well.

In addition to the side-scrolling co-op mode, there is also a battle mode where up to six players can participate simultaneously. Characters that you met throughout the story mode of the game are available to play as in this battle mode. One of my favorite parts of the battle mode is that absolutely nothing is left out.

For example, in the story mode there is a character named Randy that has a tiny pet rabbit named Nando. In the story mode, Nando is actually a part of several of Randy's moves and makes very funny karate-style noises and movements. In the battle mode, you can actually play as Nando!

Guardian Heroes is considered one of the best games ever released for the Sega Saturn by game critics and fans. Everything from the 2D graphics to the music with catchy tunes is praised by gamers. I really hope Sega releases Guardian Heroes sooner rather than later, and at an affordable price -- preferably 800 points or less. By the way, I've got dibs on Nando!

The Third Xbox - Developers Now Have Development Kits! - When Will It Launch?

Electronic Arts has told reliable sources in the videogame industry something very interesting. Apparently EA is now in possession of alpha development kids for the third Xbox console from Microsoft. This development kit is apparently in some form of PC casing structure, similar to the alpha development kit released for the original Xbox. Job postings from Microsoft confirm a next-generation console is being designed; however, these job postings seem to indicate the console is quite a ways away.

This next-generation console from Microsoft will definitely be released, but we do not know exactly when this console will be released or what its name will be. Some rumors have suggested the third Xbox will be released as early as 2012 in order to compete with Nintendo’s next console, currently called the Wii 2. While other rumors have suggested that Microsoft’s next console may not see a release until 2015.

Here are my thoughts where I focus on facts in order to generate a fact-based theory.

1. We know for a fact that the Nintendo Wii 2 will be released in 2012.

2. We know for a fact that the Wii 2 will be a direct competitor of the Xbox 360 and the PS3. The hardware specifications of the Wii 2 are nearly identical to the Xbox 360 and PS3. For example, the Wii 2 has 512MB of RAM just like Xbox 360 and PS3. We also know the GPU of the Wii 2 is from ATI and nearly identical to the Xbox 360 GPU from ATI. We also know the CPU of the Wii 2 is tri-core, just like the Xbox 360 CPU.

3. We know for a fact that the Wii 2 will not be competing directly with the third Xbox and PS4 (if there is a PS4, since Sony has literally lost billions of dollars on PS3).

4. We know for a fact that NPD sales show Xbox 360 was the #1 selling console in 2010. We also know for a fact that NPD sales show Xbox 360 has been the #1 selling console every month of 2011.

5. We know for a fact that Kinect is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being such a high-selling item. Over ten million units of Kinect have been sold in a record time period.

6. We know for a fact that Xbox 360 continues to see annual sales growth. We also know that the Wii and PS3 have seen annual sales decline in 2011.

Based on these six fact-based elements, I can form a fact-based theory that says Microsoft has no motive to put an early end to the life of Xbox 360.

Now let's look at my hypothesis based on estimations of what Microsoft has done in the past. While I do not have facts to support this hypothesis, I do believe my experience in the game industry has merit to support my thoughts.

A. We know that games like Halo and Gears of War tend to be released every other year. But we also know that Gears of War 3 took three years to be developed because Microsoft and Epic wanted to develop everything correctly. This is the same type of precision and accuracy that Microsoft and Epic would want to apply when a new console is released. This is particularly true with a game like Gears of War that is known for setting new standards in graphics technology.

B. This means that if Gears of War were a launch game for the third Xbox, the soonest it would happen would be 2013—two years from 2011. But it seems like Epic and Microsoft would want to spend extra time developing graphics engines and making use of superior hardware. I think a new Gears of War game (probably a prequel named Gears of War: The Pendulum Wars) would be released in 2014. In my opinion, if Gears of War is the launch game for the next Xbox, the soonest the console would be available is 2014.

C. If Microsoft wanted to launch the third Xbox in 2013, I believe the launch game they would need to do it with is Halo. I say this because Halo: Reach was released in 2010. The developers would have the three years of development they probably would need to release a new Halo game on new hardware. Plus, Halo is a killer-app game that would guarantee all of the consoles sell out!

Based on these three thoughts, I can guarantee that the third Xbox will be released by the end of 2014. But I believe 2013 may be too soon. The third Xbox will not be meant to compete with the Wii 2. The third Xbox will be meant to compete with high-end PC technology and the PS4 (if there is a PS4). In all probability the PS3 will not be able to generate an overall profit by 2014 or 2015. PS3 will have cost Sony literally billions of dollars, which is why rumors have circulated for quite a while saying that the PS3 will be Sony's last videogame console.

...

Xbox 360 Sales Ranked #1 in 2011

Throughout 2011 and 2010 the Xbox 360 has been the industry leader of the videogame market. Every month of 2011, and the majority of 2010, has seen the Xbox 360 dominate the English-speaking parts of the world – even setting sales records that now appear in the Guinness Book of World Records! All throughout 2010 we saw the Xbox 360 continue to rise in popularity.

This demand for Xbox 360 products continues to accelerate each month according to sales provided by NPD and other sales groups throughout the world. For the month of March, 2011, the Xbox 360 sold an incredibly impressive 433,000 units. This new sales information was recently released, but it was not reported by several websites due to the fact that the Gears of War 3 beta is getting all of the attention from the videogame world right now. The Gears of War 3 beta is available to everyone for free, if you place a preorder at Gamestop.

Microsoft recently announced that from January to March 2011, the Xbox 360 sold an additional 2.7 million units of Xbox 360 hardware. This is over one-million more units than Microsoft sold during the previous quarter! This puts the number of Xbox 360 units sold at over 53 million units around the world. Microsoft can be proud to say that the Xbox 360 took the Xbox brand in the right direction this hardware generation. There is no doubt that Microsoft leaves this generation better off with a much larger percentage of the market than when they started – all thanks to great games and great online services.

This fiscal quarter, Microsoft saw revenue of $16.43 billion. This was an increase of 13% over the previous fiscal quarter from 2010. Microsoft’s fiscal third-quarter profits were $5.23 billion – which results in a profitable earning of $0.61 per share. In a recent statement, Microsoft’s Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein said “We delivered strong financial results despite a mixed PC environment, which demonstrates the strength and breadth of our business. Consumers are purchasing Office 2010, Xbox, and Kinect at tremendous rates, and businesses of all sizes are purchasing Microsoft platforms and applications.”

With all the excellent first-party and third-party games being released for Xbox 360 in 2011, it looks like 2011 will be the best year ever for Xbox 360. The same can be said about Xbox Live Arcade games and the hundreds of exclusive Indie games we will see online. Kinect will also be seeing the release of games that people have been looking forward to ever since Kinect was first shown.

For example, Star Wars is a game I’ve been looking forward to ever since I first saw that game on display at a trade show. Gamers will use their Kinect to simulate a Jedi duel with a light saber, which is very exciting! And then gamers will get to use the motions of their hands to simulate using the force to throw an entire group of androids against the wall!

With all of this in mind, it appears sales of Kinect and Xbox 360 are going to remain very strong throughout 2011.

Update 5/12/2011: The NPD sales results for April were just released for the month of April. Once again, the Xbox 360 is the top-selling console. The Xbox 360 sold a very impressive 297,000 units. This means that for 10 of the last 11 months, the Xbox 360 has been the top-selling console according to NPD sales figures.