XBOX360 Psyk Clan

Quake Wars

2008-04-17T17:44:00.000-04:00

Follow the link for the kick butt video.

Halo 3 Heroic Map Pack now free on Xbox Live

2008-03-26T07:45:00.001-04:00

Download away if you don't already have it...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20080326/tc_cmp/206905602

Forza 2

2008-03-23T12:00:00.001-04:00

As part of the Play and Win weekend for Forza, I have played quite a few hours and what do I have to show for it? Zero 1st place finishes. 3 finishes total. Countless DNFs. Arrggghhhhh. That is ridiculous. Who would have thought I suck that bad at racing.

An RTS for a console....

2008-03-19T11:46:00.001-04:00

This might not suck. Although, voice command has always given me a bit of grief.

More on the Co-op gaming bill of rights

2008-03-19T11:23:00.002-04:00

As initially proposed by Tycho of Penny Arcade and then further thought upon by many industry insiders, there seems to be an initial draft of the Co-op Game Bill of Rights: 2008 Edition. Please feel free to take a gander at this. But in opinion, this actually takes it too far. From my view it should be a simple set of rights.

My game will not be diminished by playing co-op versus single player
I can quickly join and drop from a co-op session without impacting play
Co-op should not be a live only affair nor require live accounts for local or LAN events
Achievements should be granted in a co-op even if they occur out of order

That's it. I think anything on top of that is gravy for gamers. I am sure lots of developers and producers might complain that a game is hard enough to balance for a single player and to then balance it for a co-op session would be technically and monetarily not feasible, but to me, with a large set of difficulties and a good revive the dead aspect (for lesser players), you can create fun environments still in a co-op sense. Although, I think I would need to talk to some of my game developer friends to see what their take on balance is.

Feel free to discuss in the comments.

New Call of Duty 4 maps coming...

2008-03-16T13:32:00.002-04:00

A refresh from CoD2 Carentan will be coming to CoD4

Friday Night Gaming: Call of Duty 4 West Coast edition

2008-03-15T13:57:00.000-04:00

Last night I caught up with Alpha Cog and few other adventurous folks like Killerstew, Civilizator, and RGG. Played through a number of Hardcore Team Deathmatch rounds where we totally got our butts handed to us. Giftwrapped. Basically in the 10 or so matches I played in, we won 1. Hmmmmm, is this really the true skill algorithm at work. I don't know about anyone else, but losing that many times is not fun. Or maybe we suck so bad we fell off the algorithm?

That said, we gained a few ranks but for the most part suffered some fairly decisive defeats. But I brought with me a new xbox liver ktismael whom went to college with me. Just starting off and just getting his game collection going, it is always good to add another to mix.

Misc. Fun Links

2008-03-14T11:14:00.002-04:00

Pontiac Spy Hunter Commercial

Zero Punctuation Burnout Paradise City review

Pickle Popsicles

Mario Brothers Corset

We need Co-op Gaming Bill of Rights?

2008-03-13T18:59:00.000-04:00

Here is a pass by someone that I agree with.

Xbox Originals: Sid Meier's Pirates

2008-03-12T11:34:00.002-04:00

Thought I would do a little pimpage since I have spent more time playing this game than I have playing CoD4 of late. If you didn't get a chance to try Pirates when it came out for the Xbox in 2005, now is a great time to spend the $15 and download this game to your 360.

The premise is simple. You are a sailor and the son of an imprisoned family. You get fed up with your captain one day and help mutiny and they pick you as the new captain. So now it is up to you with how you will control the destiny of your ship and your life. Be a pirate or a trader. Ally yourself with the Spanish, French, English, or Dutch. Run missions for these factions or for the pirates. Get married to every governor's daughter you meet. Really it is wide open in the single player game and I found it to be intensely fun. The sea battles were the most compelling part of the game while the dancing sequence was just a pure hassle. But gaining a fleet of ships at your command is just rewarding as you play through.

As for the multiplayer aspect, I have yet to try it. I am still waiting to find someone to play against, but my current expectation is that it will be straight up deathmatch sea battles. I am not sure if it will be a lot of fun, but will be worth the try.

So if you are a fan of the pirate lifestyle, or just looking to kill some time sailing the Caribbeans, then this game is for you. 4 out of 5 stars.

Weekly Game Blog - March Week 1

2008-03-06T10:35:00.003-05:00

Getting Wife to Let You Play More
A constant issue that ruins every mans game night...that is right...the wife. She can be your enemy on Friday night when you run up to your controller as if it is your secret lover. She can see the passion in your eyes as you did the first time you guys made sweet love by the fire.

So the questions "how do you get to play games and still be happily married"? Over the last few years I've tried all kinds of things. First, I would just turn on the game system and not even acknowledge she was alive. That didn't go over well.

The answer is really simple. You have to start a few days prior to game night. You know you have to help around the house, rub her feet, rub her back, go get her some candy, listen to her complain about some friend that she has that is nuts and you still can't figure out why she talks to her still and of course all those other things that go with marriage.

So the answer: You have a dedicated game night, right? So you need a dedicated date night with your wife. You can't have that day after game night...so hopefully you can do something during the week. And last but not least. You know those things you hate when your wife asks you to do them? Well...just don't open your mouth and do them if it is within three days of game night or she will give you living hell.

If your wife is prego...then I can't help you much. You are pretty much her slave for 9 months. Maybe two date nights. Make sure you tell her...were going to this place.....that way she can tell you where she really wants to go. Don't go and just ask her....bad bad bad things happen when they are pregnant.

RockBand Haunting
I keep looking at RockBand in the store. It keeps calling me saying "you need to buy me"....

Of course then it is followed by my wallet saying "are you #@$@%#$ nuts...you shouldn't burn that much money on one freaking game".

I have a real drum set, real guitar and real mics in the basement. For some reason they get ignored but I bet I would end up playing rock band more.

Polling Clan
We should start getting info on who is going to buy the latest games. I'm going to setup a poll to see who is buying Vegas 2. I actually heard this will be the end of Rainbow Six, but perhaps that is a rumor.

Kids cramping your style?

2008-03-05T16:34:00.002-05:00

Gaming with an infant is way easier than gaming with a two year old. Typically my time to game is after the child goes to bed. But they keep staying up later and later as they need less sleep. This has dramatically impacted my game nights. Weekend gaming is also typically limited to games that are more kid friendly than CoD4 and the brain-splatter on the walls.

So basically this has left me out of the last few Friday night gaming sessions. The little one has stayed up and I have crashed early. Anyone got any hints that can get me back in the game?

Xbox Gamer Withdrawal

2008-02-28T22:20:00.004-05:00

Sadly, I'm only on my second week without an Xbox (Thanks red ring) and I feel like a heroin addict. I keep thinking the cold sweats, shaking and sleepless nights will go away.

Top ten reasons you know your a gamer addict:

1.) you keep logging into your xbox live account to see what everyone else is playing.
2.) You find yourself going to the local Best Buy and challenging the five year olds to Guitar Hero. (I will win one day)
3.) You close out the local Target playing and they ask you to leave
4.) You Debate buying an Xbox every 28 days and return them.

To be continued....

Frosty

Game of the Year?

2008-02-28T11:05:00.000-05:00

Microsoft Surface Game

Getting old...getting fat... DDR (for a good laugh)

2008-02-27T23:40:00.004-05:00

So what better way to promote the clan website than to make fun of myself. If anything will get people involved, it will be me acting like a dipshit with weekly videos. Of course I still plan to talk up the latest games and deals that I find.

Thought it would be fun to show some porn of me dancing to DDR. I saw my side profile and thought...man, I really need to work out. So I started playing DDR (Dance Dance Revolution).

We use to play this when I had game nights and I was pretty good...

Use to play for 3 hours straight...lucky to go for 3 minutes before having a stroke now.

Look at me in my sexy drawers and white shirt...you know you want me.

your friend....

Old and Fat JOT3

Burnout: Paradise

2008-02-27T20:23:00.002-05:00

Fun game... If you aren't sure about it, go rent it. The demo is VERY limited and doesn't give the game much of a chance to shine. The city is very big (Bucko gets lost all the time). I think the game would be a LOT of fun if more people had it and we could get some good challenges and races going on.

Battlefield: Bad Company

2008-02-27T14:00:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure about everyone else, but I'm actually getting tired of COD4. It is a good game and all, but I'm starting to feel like I only have one game and its getting old.

Battlefield Bad Company is now on my radar. I had a lot of fun driving in vehicles and flying stuff. This game should be pretty freakin cool.

What is the next game on your list? Vegas 2 will be out, but I'm not sure how different it will be.

Welcome Clan Folks

2008-02-27T13:41:00.002-05:00

Thought we could open up the blog we used a while ago. Anything really goes here......trash talk is acceptable.

It would be interesting to hear what folks think about upcoming games and also let us know when you find a bargain.

Finally got a 360

2006-07-29T18:38:00.000-04:00

I can join the ranks of the 21st century now.

My old XBox live account lapsed; I am now known by 'homeontheridge'.

All I have is BF 2: MC, and will be getting NCAA Football 07 later today. Hope to get back on everyone's friends list and see everyone online!

Psyk Clan

2006-07-10T22:26:00.000-04:00

I finally got Battlefield 2 to work for me on the Xbox 360. After owning the game for 2 months and not being able to play, I finally am online with it. I was able to play a couple games with Matches and he showed me how to blow up a few things and to ride in a helicopter. Fun game! I just wish more of you guys were out there playing.

I kicked SKAB's butt.

2006-02-25T21:28:00.000-05:00

Ok. At least I went head to head with him for a while and kept up. View the stats. See for yourself. I offer not explanation but instead soak in the wonderful tub of stats that was last night's frag fest.

Matches

XBox 720

2006-01-05T23:35:00.000-05:00

Game off.

Well half the crew is loving the 360. The other half decided it was not for them. At least right away. So maybe soon we all will be back together again losing to many a more skilled 8 year old.

Battlefield 2 for the original xbox is superb. The ranking system adds a level of addictiveness that is pretty damn cool. Although some of the game play (as opposed to PC version of the game) does not lend itself to some medals. In the PC version it is much easier to heal folks and to repair vehicles than on the xbox. It seems like people only last 3 second before they are shredded. Same with vehicles.

Game on.

WASSSUUUUUPP!

2005-07-10T22:46:00.000-04:00

Have found my XBox, have the power cord, have the video out cord, have all my games. Need the controllers and I'm all good. Except I've been through most of my moving boxes and no sign of them =(

Ok, been out of the loop for a few months... what games do I need to go pick up for Friday Night Game Night? And has anyone tried Forza Motorsport yet?

Unfortunately this Friday, the 15th, I will be on a plane coming back from Phoenix late at night. Back home at 11pm PDT. Probably will be able to catch Matches on at that hour, eh? =)

Friday night madness

2005-06-18T10:59:00.000-04:00

Well we are without our fearless leader, Alpha cog for a while, but he will come back with a thunder in about 6 weeks. We played a bit last night (or I should say I played a bit and everyone else played for a while). We didn't have many folks show up. Broken skab was kicking a lot of butt. I was stinking. On one of them I was doing so bad with 5 minutes left, I decided to see if I could get the lowest score. -15. :)

But my broadband sucked so I wasn't able to stay on to Burnout 3.

We need to get our groove thing on. So I was thinking that I really like the idea of the game type of humans and zombies. 5 minute game time. 1 zombie and x humans. If the zombie kills someone, then they have to switch to the zombie team. The human team wins if anyone survives after 5 minutes. If we could 12 people playing this, it would be awesome. Maybe next week.

Knoc, knock

2005-04-09T13:14:00.000-04:00

Anyone alive in here?

A couple topics:

1. who's picked up a PSP or is planning to do so? I must say, if they get the game titles they expect, this will replace my XBox as my favorite gaming device. Not for the playability, but for the portability. As I get older portability becomes more important than play quality. I'm very impressed with the game quality on the three titles I have (Untold Legends, Tiger Woods 2005, and Need for Speed Undground). Am dying to try out head to head.

2. What's everyone's plans with XBox 2 / XBox 360? My second XBox is starting to die on me, and having to go through a console every 18 months is not cool in my book (especially when I shilled out $300 on the first XBox). Doesn't make me too excited to jump into XBox 360. What's everyone else thinking?

Oddworld Stranger's Wrath

2005-03-03T21:44:00.000-05:00

I've been playing this game for a couple of weeks now, and it is great! Graphics are incredible (what other Xbox games should strive to live up to) and the missions are fun. Both first & third person with some incredible twists.

The only two downfalls to the game that I have found are:
1) It's only single player without X Live ability. However, I believe that it is only 1 player because they blew their wad on the graphics, which are amazing.

2) Once you capture the bad guys in first person, it reverts to third person, instead of bringing you back into first person mode.

Burnout 3 Saved My Life

2005-03-02T16:23:00.000-05:00

I was coming home from work and heading to pick up my daughter from school. I was at a major intersection and all of a sudden my brain started relating it to burnout 3 crash mode. I was watching all the cars to figure out their speed, size and ability to create the most damage. I looked to my right as the light turned red and a car seemed to be going fast. I decided to stop in the middle of the intersection as the car flew by. Now all of this was a matter of seconds, so I owe burnout 3 a thanks for improving my reaction time. There is no way I would have survived the impact.

-jot3

A couple new games...

2005-02-20T21:23:00.000-05:00

The local EB Games had a buy 2 get one free sale on used games. Picked up Star Wars Clone Wars and TOCA 2. Both are Live Enabled. No idea how good they are. Looking forward to trying TOCA 2. Of course when Forza comes out in May I will be living on that =)

Mech ass salt 2

2005-02-03T18:10:00.000-05:00

So you played. Do you like? We want to hear the dope on it.... I couldn't bring myself to buy it yet as still struggling through the amound of games that I have.... but may make an exception....

Cheap Ass Gamer

2005-01-30T15:06:00.000-05:00

JOTTT- I found a website for you (and Bucko too). CheapAssGamer (Yeah, I'm a cheap-ass also).

They have some nice discounts they discuss, like this one at EBGames

Also RBSix3 (first one) is only $10 here.

They also talk about the AWESOME deals on used games at GameFly like JOT3 touched upon.

Make sure though to read through the forums (you *must* register to read through them) to find the newest deals. I can try to post some of them if you guys are interested.

Mech2 reviews, ODDities and TeamTalk

2005-01-30T14:16:00.000-05:00

TechTV's review (3 out of 5 stars):
LoneWolf Review @ G4TechTV

DarkStation's review (8 out of 10 - user ratings):
DarkStation.com

TeamXbox review (9.1 out of 10):
TeamXbox

Quick synopsis; single player is about as much fun (or not) as the original. The game thrives on multi-player. I still can't find anywhere where it shows if you can get on XLive with a guest playing on your account also. Anyone have any experience? I've read alot about it and it looks like a pretty good game. I might end up going out and getting it. Let's hear some more about it here.

**Update: This week (1-30 to 2-5), Circuit City has it for $39.99**

I've also been reading alot about the new OddWorld. It is a first person shooter with an "Odd" twist. Your ammo is live and pretty funny. Reviews on it are outstanding (See snippets of some HERE) despite it only being a single-player game (no XLive either). One of the reviews states that the graphics in Oddworld are what every Xbox game should strive to achieve. Has anyone purchased or tried this game?

Next question... I was in EBGames on Friday and found something called TeamTalk that gives you three extra headsets and a new communicator (the plug-in thing on the controller) for your XLive account and allows all four players to be heard when playing online using a single XLive account & headset. It also states that it can be used "locally" to talk amongst players without everyone online hearing the conversation. While playing BlackArrow on Friday, I asked some of the guys if they'd ever heard of it, and they said someone had already purchase it... I'm wondering what the opinion of this device is? Also, how good is the "local" channel for communication?

MechAssault2

2005-01-28T08:49:00.000-05:00

We played the demo version of this game last weekend and it looks awesome. I picked up a copy yesterday and began reading the instruction manual.... I discovered a pretty cool game mode: Conquest. Our clan vs. another clan in a game of Universe domination. Of course, the universe is quite large and the game can't be played in just a few hours or one night. The game continues indefinitely or until one clan rules the universe (conquering one planet at a time). I haven't played it yet, but I think we can log in at any time and just play. We'll end up playing against the computer system mostly, and if the other clan has members online and playing, you may be able to battle against them too (?). Any way, it sounds very cool.

Pick up a copy (rent or buy) and let's play :-)

Alpha

MechAssualt 2 Tonight

2005-01-28T08:31:00.000-05:00

Hey all,

Ali and I have MechAssualt 2. Actually, I'm just renting. If possible, run out and rent it for tonight or buy it if you're rich.

...also, I bought battlefront even know we haven't played it much. I got the game for $25 at gamefly.com. They have some great deals. Halo 2 is only 27.99!!

JOT3

Red vs. Blue

2005-01-25T08:39:00.000-05:00

I noticed our team is almost big enough to split. I was thinking we could keep our clan, but split our group red vs. blue. I wanted to show up so bad with a blue flag at Ali's house when they kept killing our team!

No real reason for splitting except for the fun of having specific trash talk to a group vs. individual. Of course, Bucko will still trash talk everyone while getting drunk.

:)

Shouldn't you meet in a safe, public place?

2005-01-23T08:14:00.000-05:00

Well we had a partial meeting of the psyk clan Last night. Tried out the MechAssault 2 demo, Iron Phoenix,, then did some Party Crash, and then got down to testing some strategies in Halo 2. I am think some of the strategies that we tried will work.

Offensive Strategies:

Pair up. If you partner dies, then hold your position till they can come and rejoin. Some guides I have seen recommend going back, but I think this will be better.

Come in from multiple angles.

Vehicles are not all they are cracked up to be, except when it comes time to escape.

Split the armament between the two, so each person in the pair has a long rang and a short range. If one has the rocket launcher and a plasma rigle and the other has a sword and the smg, good.

A sniper team (one sniper, one shock trooper) is a good way to pick off exit guards

Defensive Strategies:

Cover all doors and exits. If that is your door, then you hold it with your life. If you are getting hit hard, let people know.

Always have a spotter that is not in the base checking for enemies

A policy for harrassment is a policy to die. At most, send one person out and roving killing. Much better used as a sniper position and spotter

If there is a vehicle at your base and you are not using it. Destroy it.

I think that is good enough for now. I think we should do a major clan match on Friday. Good deal.

Crash and Burn Baby

2005-01-22T09:40:00.000-05:00

Ok, what the heck happened? Did everyone use up their wife points to go to AlphaCog's place? Cause there was only a few of us there doing a little bit of driving action. All of you missed the crazy antics of Matches and Me dueling it out (and insulting each other) in a little Burnout 3. I would have to say the overall winner of the night was Jammer69, but without meticulous notes, no one really knows who the big weiner is. But I have to just rub it in all of your faces' about the 3 on 1 Road Rage, we you all bit the dust to my wrath.

My game list

2005-01-20T22:17:00.000-05:00

Not too elaborate:

Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow
Ghost Recon 2
Halo 2
NCAA March Madness 2005
NCAA Football 2005

New maps for Rainbow Six: Black Arrow

2005-01-20T22:02:00.000-05:00

Four new maps for $4.99 (just like the last time). Only these seem to be GOOD maps! Alcatraz, a warehouse (awesome close quarters), a pumping station (definitely a Ghost Recon 2 feel), and a "winter camp" one that sucks.

Burnout 3

2005-01-19T17:54:00.000-05:00

A couple of use did some Burnout 3 last night. What a blast mulitplayer. Many a folk in that had some great skills but how much a person had unlocked sometimes would play into that. Jammer pulled of some amazing wins and Matches had some spectacular crashes.

Another logo

2005-01-16T07:39:00.000-05:00

How can I not post another logo. Although I thought about having some sort of bullet theme, went with Matches bullseye style.

Also we had our normal Friday night romp. Had 8 of us online before a bunch of folks headed over to R6:BA. Lots of fun, only did about 6 or 8 rounds. Nothing exciting to report. I felt I had an exceptionally good night behind the shotgun. I want to reiterate my apologies to my CTF for becoming a drill sargeant during the match.

New Logo

2005-01-12T02:27:00.000-05:00

It's Official. As the ONLY logo it is therefor the OFFICAL logo until someone takes down the LOGONAUT!!

Am I the only one posting?

2005-01-10T20:12:00.000-05:00

Word.

Logo call

2005-01-03T17:33:00.000-05:00

Ok.

I have been staring at the Psyk clan page long enough to learn that we need a logo. Or some jazzing up. Shoot, I have seen 7 year old's web pages that look more menacing. Also if Jot3 is willing to lend his html skillz, we can make this thing look pretty sharp. So if you have logo, please send me an email with it attached. I will put it on the internet and we can vote on them. You can get my email if you are member of the site, by going to the settings and looking at members.

The Day before Christmas

2004-12-27T07:30:00.000-05:00

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring,
Not even an elite.

At least at my house which was painfully Halo 2 free. Not sure of how many others were out there playing. I hope that they had fun. Which brings us to the second night of holiday gaming fun. New Years Eve. I don't really think that there is anything so much as official going on, but I believe the majority of the clan will probably be out of action as they are all party type folks.

Well to all out there if I can't say it later,
Happy New Years.

Christmas Eve-n

2004-12-21T06:28:00.000-05:00

Quite a simple post. Who's playing? I will be there. Maybe enough to get a team skirmish in?

Friday, where have you gone?

2004-12-18T09:35:00.000-05:00

Well, another friday finished for the clan that wasn't. We didn't do any clan matches or team play. We just did some "intersquad" skirmishing. Did anything useful come out of it? I really don't think so. I think our squad is starting to understand each persons strengths and weaknesses. Hopefully we will be able to use that in future matches.

If anyone on the team feels that they have noticed something special from the previous matches, post it in the comments.

Just another frantic friday

2004-12-16T21:34:00.000-05:00

Suppose we don't have manic mondays. But Friday is just around the corner and time to take our skills or lack there of to the battlefield for some Halo 2 action. May we not suck too bad.

Friday night grind

2004-12-11T11:48:00.000-05:00

We didn't do any clan matches last night. We just spent some time playing some custom games and basically just having fun. I could lie and call it practice, but I won't. Sometimes it is just more important to have fun. We had one marathon run of 4 on 3 1 Flag CTF. I swear it lasted an hour and a half. It was brutal. We then had the 10 minute beer/wiz break.

I think I will go back to Alpha's last post, where we have a bunch of good individuals who can get the kill but we are going to really have to start practicing in pairs or other ones that get us in the reliance mode. For instance, there is one map where we need to hold our flag, and there is really 4 ways into the building. Is their a way to block 4 entrances, or can we do 3 and back up? More important, can our clan members sit and hold position to protect the Flag?

How about the attack? That is something we need to take the time to work on. We may want to create a practice game mode for attacking practice for both bomb and ctf. The practice mode would increase the time available so that the attackers can try different tactics. Maybe we should do that next week or maybe monday if enough folks are on.

Here is the link to the marathon match. Came in at 1:19:27.

Teamwork

2004-12-08T13:12:00.000-05:00

For team matches (clan based or otherwise) we really need better teamwork if we ever hope to get to the next level of game play. It's easy to start out together and stay together, but what do we do when you die and spawn back at some distant point?

Also, it may be worth trying to have a team leader. When we start a game, someone volunteer to be the team leader and lay out the strategy, issue orders, etc....

I've seen other teams play in a very coordinated manner in which some players take a defensive position, others take on an attack and extract role, etc.

Whaddya think?

Next official game night

2004-12-08T12:57:00.000-05:00

Friday is our next official game night starting un-promptly at 8:00 PM. See you all there.