Man are there a lot of things for me to look forward to in the following months. To cite a few, in mid July we get to see a preview of Episode 3 (you should know what I'm talking about there) and in mid September the new Trivium AND the new Metallica albums both come out. Plus, the next Mass Effect book is due this summer. So things are looking good...

Come visit our fansite at Squidoo here at <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/FuryoftheStorm" target="_blank">FURY OF THE STORM HOMEPAGE!</a>

I'm not really a connisuer of videos and have never been much of an authority on what's good out there, but recently I ran up against a link in the Planet Half Life forums and decided to check it out. What I found was probably the funniest 60 second explanation of the Half Life storyline that I've ever seen in my life. It's downright hilarious, and whoever made it should have themselves a nice helping of Kudos because it's been a long time since I've been that unable to keep myself from cracking up. Anyways, follow this link to check it out: http://www.kontraband.com/show/show.asp?ID=8972&Top20=1&rtn=index-top20&nl=2

Well, Having just recently beat Half Life 2 Episode 2, Portal, and Extensively been playing Team Fortress 2, I must comment on these fine products!
To begin with this pseudoreview, I should start by stating my profound bewilderment at how Valve plans to 1up themselves with Episode 3. I don't even think it's possible, they crammed so much gaming goodness into this tiny, tiny box that I can't even begin to imagine what might be in store for the games accompanying Episode 3... a sequal to Portal? Counter Strike 2? (that actually has been hinted at) Perhaps Valves best bet would be to expand on what they already have by releasing an extensive update for each of their older titles, DOD:S, CS:S, and maybe even HL2M. It will be exciting, that's for sure.
But now to more present matters, the Orange Box! Episode 2, upon completion, is easily recognized as the perfect embodiment of what Valve, I, and probably most of you out there wanted from the package; a few solid hours of high quality, dramatic entertainment that progresses in degrees of fun, creativity, and plot. All three of these come in high doses.
The story line has been extended tremendously, much more so than Episode 1 was able to, and many questions have been answered, still more, however, have been asked. The creativity is quite evident in the plethora of unique puzzles, combat modifications, and extraneous environments seen throughout the game. In the realm of expanded gameplay and fun, this has got to be one of the best first person shooters, or just action games of all time. Individual character personalization, enemy variety, AI, puzzle/predicaments, and graphics have all been improved upon exponentially, showing extreme amounts of progression in each, amounting to a grand showcase for what the Source engine (in it's aging years) is capable of. I've got to be honest and state that I am proud of Valve, they really brought together some great stuff here. And that's not even mentioning Portal, which, while a simple puzzle game in itself, managed to...

It seems rather odd to me that PC Gamer Magazine has already REVIEWED the Orange Box when Games for Windows didn't even comment on the beta in their latest issue. Makes me wonder what's going on and just how dilluted that review was was it most certainly took place in a secluded office tucked away somewhere deep inside Valve's headquarters in Seattle, where they had a super computer hooked up that would give absolutely no issues, even when jacked up to 2560x1600 with 16xAF and 4xFSAA, not to mention DIRECTX10.
Regardless, we shall soon see just how accurate this premature reviewing has been, and which magazine is more "on the spot".

FYI
This message is to any of you who play pc games online, which should be all of you, right?
Steam can now be used as an alternative to Xfire, or more preferably, a compliment. No matter what game you want to play, you can enable the in-game Steam Community feature and communicate with friends and groups simply by opening steam and telling it, from the drop down options menus at the top of the steam interface, to "Add Non Steam Games to Games List". There, Viola. Now, all you have to do to see your community page and check up on your stats and your friends activities is press whatever keys strike your fancy if you changed them from default like me, and there you go.

Upon recently reading a preview of a very intriguing game called "Dead Space" I felt inclined to tell all you who might see this when you chat with this annoying slinky character that he has a really strong feeling that this game is going to be HUGE when it finally comes out. Since most good games take about 2 years at least to develope, my guess is that it gets released sometime in 2009, but that's just my guess, take it at whatever value you want to. Seriously though, just go to whatever website you get your news from and look up Dead Space and that site doesn't have info on it, well then just use that wonderful thing called GOOGLE and find an article on it, see for yourself what it's all about and if you think it's going to be interesting too. I'll tell you this, so that you know whether you even care about the damn game or not, seeing as how I haven't really told you ANYTHING about it yet: it is a cross between Resident Evil and Silent Hill in gameplay, will remind you of Halo in certain looks, similar to Bioshock in the mechanics, is a complex combination of science fiction and horror, and is inspired by, among others, "The Thing" (movie), "Event Horizon" (movie), "Alien" (movie), and Half Life 2 (game... DUH!!!).
Just check it out and if you feel like it, zap me an IM and tell me what you think.

Well, now that the Team Fortress 2 beta is out it feels like the Orange Box is just around the corner, we can finally appreciate the work Valve has been doing while we've been fragging in CS and experimenting with Bioshock, trying out Gears of War, enjoying Call of Duty as it goes on, wondering at the ridiculousness of Games for Windows and Microsoft's pathetic attempt at gaming on PC, studying the continuing evolution of World of Warcraft, and finding out just how much Medal of Honor really sucks.
TO be concise, the beta feels exactly as it should, like an more newb friendly version of the old Team Fortress but this time with more cartoony graphics (which in no way harm the quality or experience of the game, in fact they hilarify it more often than not) and a very comprehensive stats tracking system and some proprietary achievements thrown in for the hell of it. It's a good deal that A LOT of people got in on according to how quickly the Orange Box preorder jumped in sales. The videos for the game were well worth the time they took to produce, and they were good because they were unique and kept your attention longer as a result of the way that the humor in them was infused. FOr those of you not in the beta, the game looks next to exactly like these pictures, but it doesn't really feel cartoony at all. In fact, it feels like a very source based game, not to mention a mature one, what with the gibbing and all. Anyhoo, the classes do sort of feel limited to someone who's been playing games like CSS and DODS for quite a long while now, but the great thing is that once you adjust and get comfortable with the playing style of whatever class you've chosen, it becomes a much simpler matter of mastering that class, doing exactly what your class was created to do, becoming as helpful to your team with the medic, spy, and engineer classes, etc., as possible, and learning to use the maps as well as communication to manuever your opponents into a corner.
All in all, it's a welcome return of an old friend, but look,...

Are achievement points ruining games? When you play an XBOX 360 or games for windows live game, do you find youself playing differently so as to get the highest amount of points possible so that you have a higher score than your friends?
One way or another, I think that achievements really have changed the way we play games, although it may not be as dramatic as that. Though I don't currently own a 360 or any gfwlive games, I do know about achievements and how they can be addictive and fun, but I don't believe that they are necessarily ruining games for us. Sure, at the beginning and when you have a similar score to people on your friends list, you can get into some competition, but other than that, I find achievements simply become reminders of progression as you move along in a game, and notes of perfection as you iron out the last secrets of the world of "insert fantasy land here".
In the end, they seem to be more of a way of knowing who your friends are, what they play, and how much they play. It has the potential for competition but is, other than that, simply just a number for bragging rights, strictly for fun. Particularly intriguing to me is the adding of achievement points with the release of new downloadable content. This element right here lends itself incredibly to replay value as well as the ability of the producer to keep the game in the hands of the gamer, instead of in the bargain bin at the local Gamestop. The only thing I fear from achievements is the ones that end up with people playing serious multiplayer games, yet continuously doing the same unhelpful, mundane task in order to boost their score 10 points. That, in my opinion, verges on ridiculousness and ends in a worse gaming experience for everyone. So as a note to Microsoft, give developers a guide line to avoid spam achievements, instead simply rewarding them for using whatever, or doing whatever at a particularly crucial time and helping the team. Open avenues for the devolpers is a good thing, however, and Microsoft...

If anyone reading this is interested, I am almost done with the first version of a Squidoo "Lens" covering in depth strategies and detailed guides for Counter Strike: Source.
Visit it if you want to, or just want to check out things like links that I'm gonna be putting in there. I'll have links to some of the best sites for downloading maps, mods, and skins. It's not up yet though, so as soon as it is, check back here and I'll have a link.