Halo 3 Beta May 16th: Confirmed

So unless you have been living under a rock for a year, everyone should be aware that there is going to be a massive Halo 3 beta for the multiplayer side of the game. That date has finally been confirmed for May 16th.  Bungie has also released a video that shows a lot of stuff that has been added to the game, stuff previously not seen by the public eye. I won’t spoil it for you; you’ll just have to watch the video for yourself. Personally, I can’t wait for May 16th to come. The beta is scheduled to last until June 6th.

 

Xbox Live Down for Maintenance, Users Go Insane

I can’t believe the insanity that a maintenance gone too long has caused. People are literally going nuts without there Xbox Live fix. If you didn’t know Live is, or was by the time you read this, down for schedule maintenance. While visiting a forum I go to regularly, I noticed that most of the stories on the front page of the 360 forum are Xbox Live related. Everything from I love or hate Major Nelson (who has nothing to do with the keeping Live running) to we should sue Microsoft. If you really need that 30 cent back that was lost from the 60 bucks you spend a year on your subscription to Live then I’ll setup a PayPal account for you.

People are even speculating  different reasons for this “maintenance”,  saying that it is a cover to get the Halo 3 beta up and running…which would be awesome. But seriously who cares. I think around 10 tonight Major Nelson is going to let loose the secret that he works for Sony and he is the one who shut down Live. I mean seriously people, get a grip of your emotions. It’ll be up when it’s up. Then we can all go back to listen to that whinny 10 year old about how we are hogging the shotgun in Halo 2. Or even better, yelling at his mom to get him some chocolate milk.

 

Achievement Points and Gamerscores are Awesome!

Achievement points: some people hate them, some people find them pointless, and people like me love them. I use to be that guy who played a game once, beat it, and proceed to turn it into GameStop for store credit. Ever since I’ve purchased my Xbox 360 back in December of 2005, I have not once turned in any title for the console and I don’t plan on doing so.

 

It finally happened…..

 

[UPDATE: As of December 12th, 2006, my 360 has been sent back to Microsoft for “repair”. Let’s see how long it takes to get back in my hands.]

I received my pre-ordered Xbox 360 December 7th, 2005 and I haven’t had problem with it at all. I use to brag about how I got a launch system and that it hasn’t given me one problem yet. Sadly karma punched me in the chest December 6th, 2006 because I got the deadly RING OF DEATH on my console last night. Well it was more like 1/4th the Ring of Death, but it was death for the box nonetheless.

 

Halo 3 Commercial Spot

Yes ladies and gentlemen, last night on Monday Night Football the first commercial for Halo 3 aired. I didn’t get to see it on tv but I knew it would be on YouTube and of course I was correct. It’s only a minute long but it’s awesome. I never been pumped for a game so far in advance in a long time. This is why I bought a Xbox 360. Granted I’ve gotten some awesome games thus far but it all leads up to this game….Halo 3. Enjoy the commercial. Click more to proceed to that which is awesome.

 

Exciting reviews and thoughts to come in the very near future!

Hi all! The past month has been an exciting month in the game world and in the world of Lawn Of The Month. We have a few surprises in store for the site and we have some pretty sweet reviews including games like Gears of War, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Wii Sports, and we will have an in-depth look at the Wii as a system and quite possibly a revolution. I will also post about my over night stay to get my Wii. Stay tuned to developing insanity.

 

My Quick Review of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent

I said that I was going to do a video review but I’m lazy, with limited time so I decided to go the more traditional approach. Let me start off by saying that I’m not the biggest fan of games where I have to sneak around everywhere and I know a lot of people are with me when it comes to this. I have also played one installment of this series and it was decent at best. I love the MGS series and I don’t care if I watch more movies then I play during the game.

With that being said, SC:DA is awesome! I’ve only played through the training courses and all the way to the 4th level so far, but I already know that I will be playing this game at least one more. (and for me, that’s saying a lot.) Already I have been faced with a difficult decision in the game which shapes the type of ending you will received and for my first play through I will be doing everything bad as possible. Innocent victim? I have to shoot them? Consider it done. I will give you a quick insight of why I love this game so much covering controls, story, and visuals/gameplay.

Controls:

The controls took me a while to get use to but after about 30 minutes to an hour in training they became really second nature to me. Sneaking around the everywhere isn’t so bad and it all becomes natural after you get the hang of it. If you have never played a Splinter Cell game before, don’t worry, you’ll pick up the controls in no time.

Story:

In my opinion, the story is awesome so far. Basically, you have to gain trust between the good guys and the bad guys. The game will face you with decisions sometimes that will piss off the good guys, thus gaining trust with the bad ones and vice versa. This twist to the game not only drives the different endings you can achieve but also changes the way you play the game. I can’t wait to see all of the moral decisions that Ubisoft has come up with to make the player thing hard before acting. This part of the game alone excites me because it means extra replay with extra endings which is a big plus in my book. And yes, I said excites me.

Visuals/Gameplay

If you haven’t seen a video or screenshots of the game, do yourself a favor and do so. This game looks amazing to simply put it. For me to be excited about a game it must meet three simple criteria: 1. It must be fun, simple as that. 2. The controls must make sense for the game. 3. It must look good at best. This game plays good out of the water! I can’t wait to get a HD-TV this fall to see SC:DA in all it’s glory.

I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this game and I can’t wait to start it up and get into it some more. I’m also looking forward to the multiplayer experience it offers. If you haven’t planned on paying any attention to this game, I urge everyone to at least rent it and see what you think. Like it our not, Tom Clancy games are awesome for next gen.