THE CHAMP IS HERE!!!!!!!

yes yes its Skatejunkie. i have change my nick to something more manly....If you say so. This is inpart to me joining a clan called what else then, "ClanNinja: Slient Killerz". Soorry for not posting in a while, i was in the middle of test pre and test taking at school and didnt get around th the blog. I have to go now, and promise to post within the next 4 years. ;) REALLY! SORRY! j/k, as soon as i get my new psp ill post something....ooops, i have said to much....


SkateJunkie errrrrrr......IronNinja is outty

Late Winter Gaming Industry Round Up

And we’re back…

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The Sims 2 Hacks Disperse Like Plague
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The Sims 2, perhaps the most popular Simulation franchise, is now a target of uninvited and joy killing hacks. What is most shocking about these hacks, is that they ‘pull off a virus’ in order to disrupt your gaming experience. Basically, the hacks install themselves into your computer. Although the hacks are not really lethal to the game itself, it does take a chunk of the challenges and unpredictability of The Sims 2.

These are the most common hacks:

- Pregnant women always give birth to twins
- Always get abducted by aliens when looking into telescope
- Same-gender marriages and same-gender ‘love-making’ allowed.
- Men getting pregnant without Alien abduction.

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SEGA purchases Creative Assembly
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Creative Assembly, known most for their accomplishment in the ‘Total War’ series has just recently been purchased by SEGA. Following this, a new action-adventure game had been announced. This coming game is named “Spartan: Total Warrior.”

Judging the book by its cover, people have already been led to believe that the ‘Total War’ series is now over. SEGA reps have been denying this, however. In fact, they even sent a representative to the ‘Total War’ forums in order to see what they can do in order to help the community.

Either way, even if SEGA did not send a rep, the community is still doing well. Many modifications are being produced to change the Roman theme of “Rome: Total War” to a Hellenic or a Napoleonic theme.

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Shadow the Hedgehog
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In the recent ‘Walk of Game’ ceremony, Sonic Team had unveiled it’s next project based on something NOT Sonic. Yep, Shadow is getting his own game – not only that, but he’s packing heat for it too.

Trailers released about the upcoming game, due for release next fall, showed Shadow wielding and actually firing two guns. Like SEGA’s purchase of CA, many are beginning to believe a turn for the worst for Sonic Team. Either way, we can only find out at the game’s Fall release if the game is truly a folly of Sonic Team…

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Closing Words
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These recent events are beginning to make me think. Hardcore gamers who have been playing classics since NES are now having doubt toward what was their favorite franchise or franchises. However, all is not lost…

[Okay, so I lied about the closing words…]

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The Legend of Zelda Franchise returns to N-64 Days
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Cell shading died…

Yup, a new Zelda game had been announced, and clearly, from its trailers and screenshots, it has dropped its Windwaker ways.

It is due late this year or early 2006. Either way, many ‘Legend of Zelda’ fans who enjoyed the N-64 games will not at all be disappointed with the coming game.

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Closing Words (Real deal)
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Only the first three months into this New Year and the gaming industry has been going through a large roller coaster ride. Who knows what we have in store for the latter of the year?



Reference:

Realistic New Zelda! [Zeldaguide article:]
http://www.zeldaguide.com/zeldae32004.htm

Sega announces Spartan: Total Warrior [Gamespot article:]
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/03/08/news_6120019.html?part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6120019

Sega unveils Shadow the Hedgehog [Gamespot article:] http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/03/08/news_6120012.html

Sims 2 hacks spread like viruses [SecurityFocus article:]
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/10232

MPAA Strikes Back

According to CNET, the MPAA( Motion Picture Association of America) has filed a second slew of lawsuits against file-swappers websites containing illegal copies of copyrighted movies up that can be downloaded free of charge. This is the second time in 3 years. In November, the MPAA had attacked several popular file-swapping giants( such as SuprNova and Youceff Torrents) and scared the rest of the file-swapping community. The MPAA hasnt seleted a specific type of file-sharing but has picked on all the major, popular ones, such as Bittorrent, eDonkey, eMule, and DirectConnect networks. They have gone as far as setting up bogus servers and sites to catch potential offenders. Just recently, they have delveloped and released free software for parents to check there childrens computers for file-swapping programs and copyright movie/music files.
To Read The Full Story Please Click On The Link Below:
MPAA Files New Film-Swapping Suits

SkateJunkie

Holiday Video Game Round Up

Yes, one of the greatest gaming seasons is now coming to a close. Yeah, it went past pretty fast :P. Today's post will be about some of the many great games that came out this season.

However, before I begin, I would like to point out something very...disappointing. For this whole season, I did not find many interesting RPGs being released, whether it be for internet play or solo. It's been all silent on the RPG genre for a while, but hopefully the early-mid '05 release of FFXII will change all of that, and I'm sure many of us have our hopes up, especially after, what some of us agree as, the disappointment which FFXI was. Although it was pretty good, it wasn't the best. Then again it was a first for FF, stepping in to the MMORPG world, so we can't expect a one-hit wonder.

Anyway, back to this season. I'm sure many of you are rushing through this post so you can get back to your gaming, so I'll try to be short and sweet.

First I shall start with the best of the genres, and next, I will narrow it down to the best of the systems.

Action Department:
Game: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Console: PS2 (Also coming soon to PC + X-box)
Review: Grand Theft Auto was hands down the best of the best. A larger enviornment, the ability to respond to pedestrians, the ability to ride everything, from planes to boats, from motorcycles to bikes, and of course, it couldn’t be called Grand Theft AUTO without cars. NOT only that, but there are hundreds of things to do on your spare time. You can enter arcades and actually play classic arcade games, gun stores to train your accuracy, casinos where you can actually gamble, bars where you can play pool, swimming pools you can actually swim in, and clubs you can really dance on. If I would describe this game in a one word quote, it would be from the movie, Braveheart. “Frrreeeeedddddooooommmmm!!!”

Racing Department:
Game: Need For Speed: Underground 2
Console: Multi
Review: Meh, NFS:U2 has literally NO CONTEST in the racing department AT ALL, so I won’t have to waste my time reviewing it. Everyone with common sense would get NFS:U2 if they wanted a racing game, we all know that.

Shooter:
Game: Halo 2
Console: X-box
Review: Sorry, Metroid Prime 2, and Doom 3, but Halo 2 has kicked the dust on your face. There was a LARGE influx of shooters this season, very good ones, but Halo 2 still stands out as the best. Halo 2 will be crowned as the best holiday shooter as it’s predecessor was.

Flight Simulation:
Game: Ace Combat 5
Console: PS2
Review: Are you sure this isn’t Squarenix? I swear man, Ace Combat 5’s storyline blew me away, it was quite unpredictable. When it comes to storyline, Ace Combat 5 is the Final Fantasy of it’s type :p. Replayability is quite interesting too, that is, if you like planes. If not I suggest rental. If you are a hardcore fan of avionics, I suggest you get the bundle pack WITH the flight stick, which is about $120.00, I believe. Of course, $5.00 would be well spent for rental of this game.

General Simulation:
Game: The Sims 2
Console: PC
Review: The Halo 2 of it’s class, plain and simple. With OVERWHELMING changes in graphics and gameplay, TS2 is one giant leap for the simulation world. It also presents the new type of sitcom, the machinima. Shooting movies using the video games engine and making tweaks and adding your beautiful voices by using even a normal video editor could make a great piece, something rivaling that of movies on the old days :P

Real Time Strategy:
Game: Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth
Console: PC
Review: “WTF?! What happened to command and -”
They [EA] killed it -_-
You won’t be seeing Command and Conquer for a looong time, guys, especially after most Westwood workers now work for EA. Actually, most of those who worked on the C&C Series worked on LOTR: B4ME, and even though it’s an EA RTS, we still can’t bash it to death. As for Warcraft, it’s met it’s match :P. LOTR: B4ME, coming out tomorrow I believe, looks quite interesting. Not even reviewing it much so far, I still believe that LOTR: B4ME will make a great RTS.

I reviewed 3 months of gaming into 1 single post, damn I’m good. Happy shopping this holiday season, gamers.

‘Fin

Holiday Round Up-Televisions

Today in Holiday Round Up, we talk about great TV's to buy for special someones for the Holiday Season. So enjoy:

• The first TV we are going to talk about is a direct-view HDTV from Sony called, "Sony XBR Widescreen HDTV/KD-34XBR960." It is a 34 in beauty. Sony is a big name in Hi-end TV's and Hi-Fi and this Telly is one of there greats. It has the highest resolution out of any direct-view TV. All you need to feel HDTV bliss is your local cable or satellite HD package. Watch sports and movies like never beofre, it will feel like you are there and this Sony imatates it the best. It is packaged nicely and features a great color decoder and is very organized. The only downside is that, THIS THING IS BIG,HUGE,AND BULKY! But aside from that this tube-tv delivers satifaction.

• Another Sony to add to the list. Our next TV is the Sony XBR KDF-60XBR950, a 60 in rear projection HDTV MONSTER! It is a solid video perfromer with a awesome 2:3 pull down. The desgin is striking and eye catching. Plus it is pretty slim but its is wide so have fun looking for tv stand big enough to hold is lovely engerneering masterpiece. Once again, all that is needed is a fine stream of HDTV channels from your local provider. This will awe any football fan in your family. The downisde is that it is pretty expensive and sometimes may cause the reds in the TV to be brighter than usual. But all and all this thing is a performer and any diehard football or dvd freak needs this in they're livng room.

• What kind of TV list is it without a PLASMA! Our Plasma choice is the Panasonic TH-42PD25U/P EDTV. See dark blacks, bright whites, and lushious colors in this 42 in heart stopper. It has excellent video processing. And also can't forget the 2:3 pull down. This thing is slim, thin, and sexy. It will make any TV lovers heart drop. The Plasma comes with tons of bells and whistles. Its stashes numerous inputs from front, to back, to top, to bottom. Plus it includes a HDMI slot. A CableCard and HDTV tuner are built into the TV! Great thing is that it can double as a Computer Moniter! So no more squinted eyes while reading documents and surfing the net on your phueny 17 in CRT( Thats me alright). The downside is that is has a inaccurate color decoder. Any plasma freak or plasma wannabe should be sure to pick this Panasonic up.

• Our Last Pick is a fancy 32 in Flat-Panel LCD from Sharp. Its called the Sharp AQUOS Widescreen LCD LC-32GD4U Television. Sharp is the leader in Flat-Panel LCD's and this AQUOS is no exception. It features top-notch image quality. The LCD has a surprising in-depth black levels for a LCD. Has awesome smooth video processing and is HDTV compaitable. It has excellent connectivity and is not figity. This sharp features extensive video controls, built-in CableCard and HDTV tuner and can connect to a PC from computing reasons. The downside is that it is rather expensive, and features a weak grayscale. This LCD from Sharp is a excellent featured filled addition to anyone's multimedia collection.

So thats it for today. Stay tuned for more Holiday Round Up Posts coming your way.

SkateJunkie Siging OFF

Holiday Round Up

Yes yes its that time again. THE HOLIDAYS ARE HERE! No matter what you are everybody is celebrating something. Just recently we celebrated Thanksgiving. Even though black Friday has gone bye, there's still time to shop. In this post I will give you hits and wants, whether its music, movies,games,computers,digital cameras, etc. So get your pen and paper and pay close attention.Note that this is a huge post so everyday one category will be dealt with. Today is:

Computers

• Well the first computer is the hot new sexy slim iMac G5 from Apple. This thing is hot, smooth, and fast. It includes a 1.8 GHz G5 processor, 17 in Flat Screen LCD, 256 MB of Ram, a awesome 64 MB NVIDIA GeForce FX5200 Ultra graphics Card, Mac OS X Panther, 80 GB hard drive, and a slot-load SuperDrive. The best part is there is no bulky box that keeps all the technical stuff like PC's, the processor,speakers,graphics card, and everything else is all built into the monitor. So its one thin, light weight piece of power and fun.
• Keeping with the Mac theme, great laptop follows. With the its brand new generation,previous g4 is any computer savy's dream! This thing is a smoken piece of beauty. Its great for anyone who wants to edit family videos or fix up vacation pictures from this past summer. It comes in 3 flavors, 12 inch, 15 inch, or the big kahuna, 17 INCH! Today we are going to talk about the 1.33 GHz, SuperDrive, 12 inch version. Its small, thin, and easy to carry around. It features a DVD burner in the superdrive, so burning pics or videos is a snap. It has 256 MB of RAM, 60 GB hard drive, 64 MB NVIDIA Go5200 graphics card, MAC OS X Panther, DVI out, Firewire 400, Built-in AirPort Extreme and BlueTooth. This computer comes with a list full of features and is bundled with great software to keep you going all Christmas Long.
• Ok for you PC Gaming Fanatics, can't afford to get a Alienware or build a gaming rig of your own? Well then you can get a flagship gaming system from either Compaq or Dell. First one I will talk about is The Compaq GX5010T. This will blow away any game on the market. Half Life 2, Far Cry, Doom 3, you name it it will handle it. It boasts a Intel P4 3.8 GHz HT-Technology Extreme Edtion processor. It has Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2 intergated OS. Plus a gigabit Ethernet controller to prevent any lag on games. The graphics are mind blowing, with its 16x PCI Express 256 MB NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra video card! Sound is out of the question with its crystal clear surround sound quality Sound Blaster Audigy ZS 2 Platinum sound card and Altec Lansing 5.1 speakers. The Compaq has 2 GB of RAM, 148 GB RAID 0 WD Raptor 10,000 RPM HDD or a 500 GB RAID 0 HDD, a 16x Dual-Layer Dvd-R/RW Burner and 48x HP CD-Writer drives. With that said, lets continue to the Dell Model Dimension XPS Generation 4. The XPS also includes the P4 3.8 GHz HT-Technology Extreme Edition processor, Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2 intergrated OS, and a sexy hardcore look. It has a Arctic Silver case, with excellent cooling(5 total fans cooling 3 different things), a back-lit badge that features 7 colors that can be easily change from the BIOS. This thing isn't just looks, it includes 256 MB PCI Express 16x NVIDIA GeForce 6800 ultra video card that will kill any games. Sound is exceptional with Sound Blast Audigy ZS 2 sound card and Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1 Speaker System. It includes 512 MB of RAM which upgradable to 4GB! Choose from either a 400 GB SATA internal or a 800 GB internal RAID storage HDD. Includes a 16x DVD-ROM and a 16x DVD+R/RW+CD-RW combo drive. The choose is yours, both of these computers are awesome and will satisfy any game freak.
  
• Ok finally, NoteBook/LapTop PC's. For our Laptop choice, we pick the sweet IBM ThinkPad R51. IBM has the best laptops around and te R51 is no exception. If you want a great All-Purpose NoteBook with the best Bang-For-The-Buck, then this is it. The ThinkPad R51 cmes in three types, Economy, Value, and Performance. For our choice we picked the Value version. And please Value is not what you think i is. The R41 hs a new moblie Intel Pentium M 1.50 processor and Microsoft Windows Xp Pro with SP2 intergrated. Plus it has plenty of memory for a the casual user, 256 MB of RAM and a 30 GB HDD. Plus it has a great wireless connectivity with Intel's Pro /Wireless 2200BG. The laptop comes secure with IBM's Buisness Quality Embedded Security Subsystem 2.0. Bored on a 12-Hour Flight To Tokyo? Throw on a DVD into the CD-RW/DVD-ROM included. It has a 14.1 display and is fairly light, only 5.6 pounds.

Here comes the end to this post. I hope this post helps you make a selection for a special someone. A new category will be chosen tommorrow.

SkateJunkie Is Going, Going, Going, He is Gone!

Machinima Mania

Machinimas, or shows created using a video game's engines and edited by usual video - editing programs, have been becoming increasingly popular. One of the best known machinima manias is Rooster Teeth Productions, creators of RedvsBlue and Strangerhood. (RedvsBlue used Halo 1's engine and Strangerhood uses The Sims 2's engine) Being downloaded at a rate of a terabyte per minute, machinimas are quickly becoming the new ‘TV sitcom’, and the best part is, no worrying about missing your favorite show! ;)

In fact, I’m working on my own TS2 machinima. Still playing around with camera angles and story ideas so, the opportunity doesn’t look so shiny. I am getting used to it though, so I might get that project kicked off by early 2005. :P

For those you who have games with a moviemaking engine such as The Sims 2, it is not so hard to make your own machinima. With programs already included with normal computers, such as Windows Movie Maker, you can get started with making your own machinima TODAY! There are three essentials to completing the job, though. They are determination, motivation, and patience. You’ll especially need patience if you’re that kind of director who wants voice acting to match the movement of the character’s mouth. It takes a lot of patience to get an excellent machinima going, the workers Rooster Teeth themselves have said it takes 60+ hours to finish an episode. To those aspiring machinima-makers, good luck! I myself now will work on my own machinima on TS2, heheheh.

Duke, over and out