hey, its me the mighty Turbojugend!

Just thought I’ll let you know about a game I’ve been playing for the past couple of weeks called Second Life. Which…to put it in words us other hardcore gamers can understand, it’s a ” Sims Killer,” and its free! My volunteer coordinator told me about this game, and I decided to try it out. Although I was a bit skeptical at first, because my laptop couldn’t handle the extremely good graphics, but after logging in a few times, it began to get used to the huge file download each time I played. Other than the massive lag most of the time, (my fault for not putting more ram in laptop) it is still way better than The Sims. I say this because when you walk around, you can interact with thousands of people from around the world, via the instant messaging feature. And if you failed typing class in middle school, do not fear, teamspeak is there! Yup I said it, you can talk with a headset to your friends too I find this feature very interesting, because it’s kind of like skype, without the extra phone number, and its also free. Although Second Life is mostly a way to interact with diferent people, you can also build….Anything, as long as you know how to script. However, if you have no idea how to script or code, they have classes! I of course haven’t gotten that far, because the script teacher people were not online when i wanted to take a class, and because my computer was lagging so badly. It’s kind of bittersweet, because your class isn’t available at the moment, but you realize, there isn’t any computer players, there all real people on the other end of the wire. Another interesting thing I have to let you know about is that besides the cool features that second life has, like building, changing your appearance, interacting with people, there is one thing about second life that i enjoyed the most, Flying. yes, you can fly in this second life that you have. Take that Sims! but believe it or not, there is quite a few wonderful things to do in Second Life, and I recomend that you check it out, who knows, you might even see the ever famous Draken Umarov on there playing as well.

Army of Two

By Sandor Hugert

This game looks absolutely amazing.  The graphics look really nice, and the game play just seems really cool.  The whole game is about working together cooperatively with a friend throughout the whole campaign.  They have shown things like back-to-back shooting to cover each other, carrying your friend while he is wounded, and driving and shooting in all types of vehicles.  It’s also really cool that you can also play on this game online with a friend over XBOX Live.  The trailers have also shown that if you can’t work together properly with a friend then you won’t be able to beat the game.  Everything about the game seems pretty good, and hopefully it will live up to its expectations.

Release Date:  Delayed Till March 2008

Grand Theft Auto 4

By Sandor Hugert

Everyone is hoping for this game to be the next great Grand Theft Auto game.  From what I’ve seen, the game definitely has potential to be one of the best games of the year.  The graphics look amazing and actually realistic unlike other GTA games where the graphics looked like they came from a comic book.  I’ve read a lot about the game and it seems much more realistic as well considering that your character uses a cell phone to get in touch with his bosses for each mission, and then you have to find a computer in one of the libraries to find your destination or possibly send e-mails to your boss.  It has also gotten way more difficult to get rid of the cops when they’re right behind you which just makes the game better and more realistic once again.  I hope the Rockstar might add some online games to the whole package as well.  The only weird thing is that they chose New York City as the setting considering that it has been done in so many other games such as True Crime and all the Spider-Man games.  I suppose that if they just make the graphics really nice then it will be a much better looking New York City (the game calls it Liberty City just like in GTA 3).  I have pretty high expectations for this game so hopefully it will deliver.

Release Date:  Got Delayed Till Spring of 2008

Heavenly Sword

By Sandor Hugert

This game for Playstation 3 looks really cool.  It looks a lot like God of War, which is never a bad thing considering God of War 2 is probably my favorite game.  The graphics for this game look absolutely amazing.  The fighting seems really cool and it looks like you can perform many types of combos in the game.  I’m really glad that Sony finally decided to make this game for Playstation 3 not the PS2 unlike God of War 2.  I doubt that this game will have any type of online play, which is always a negative, but I doubt that these types of game can really even have any good online play.  I hope that this game turns out to be as good as God of War 2, or even better.  Make sure to download the demo to the game, which is released on July 26, 2007 on the Playstation Store for free on the Playstation 3. 

Release Date:  September 4, 2007

Halo 3

By Sandor Hugert

This is probably the most anticipated game of the year.  The XBOX 360 customers finally get the game that they have all been waiting for.  I have seen trailers for the game and it looks really good, but not that different from Halo 2.  I’m not actually a big fan of Halo, but I’ll probably still buy it as long as it has a cooperative online campaign mode.  It’s really just not that much fun to play a campaign alone in any game anymore, it’s way more enjoyable to play through the game with some of your friends.  I don’t think that the death match online game will be that great because it will just have some professional Halo players on there that will be impossible to kill just like in Gears of War.  It could still be fun at times though, I guess.  Hopefully, the story line will be pretty good since it’s the end of a trilogy.  I’m sure that Bungie will make a really good game considering how popular these Halo games are.  I can’t wait to see how good the game will be. 

Release Date:  September 25, 2007

For those of you who don’t know, I am an avid Runescape player. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you might want to go to www.runescape.com and check it out. But for those of you who have been blessed enough to have played this game, will find this blog entry very interesting.

 After many months of playing on the ” Free Server” I was longing for something a bit more challenging, So I asked my dad about becoming a Runescape Member. At first I was a bit skeptical because of the fact that it is five dollars a month, and I didn’t know what to expect if I happened to get the member service. But after careful research of asking my friends that had members accounts. I figured that I would give it a shot, and if it didn’t appeal to me in the next few days, I would quit being a R.S. member. Was I in for a surprise!

 After I was all set up for the R.S. member account, a plethora of new things came my way, one step at a time. I had found new things to craft ( crafting xp), and new things to fight ( more challenging, just like I wanted). Not to mention the Quests!!! I haven’t had this much fun since Fable for the Xbox came out! Everything about the Runescape Member accounts seemed to have a more rewarding feel in most aspects of the game. There are definitely more things to do, and believe it or not there are more skills you can learn. Yes I said it, Skills!!! how awesome is that! for example, you can forge your destiny in the Slaying skill, which is like a mixture of hunting and trapping. Or if doesn’t have your interest maybe the delicate art of Herblore is right down your alley. In the skill of Herblore, you can make a wide spectrum of potions and anti-venoms and such. Or if your still not amused then there are some other skills that might have you on the edge of your seats. Like Farming! and Construction! ( lol I know that’s not to exciting, but it’s in there.)

So the next time you’re looking for a bit of adventure, ( the only problem is that it’s raining outside) then why don’t you play a bit of R.S. and if you’re already a R.S. player, then why don’t you consider my opinion, and become a R.S. member. See you guys on the web.

The Playstation 3
By Sandor Hugert

Sony’s new console is not quite the most popular right now but it definitely has good potential to be the top console of the future. With its new Cell processor, which makes awesome graphics for the console, it is a clear winner. Right now, the price tag of $600 is way too much for most people that is the reason why it’s not selling as well as it should. Companies that make games for it are in trouble as well since it costs way too much money to make a Playstation 3 game, so it is a risk to put your game out only on one console. This is exactly why many companies are not making any more games exclusive to one console. They have a higher chance of making a profit if they release their game on all three consoles. In the future when Sony decides to have a price cut, more business will come in for this console. Especially with games coming out like Eight Days, Killzone 2, and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, it’s inevitable that Sony will rise to the top. Basically the console is really well done with its blue ray disc drive and its new graphics technology, but the main problem is just the price tag. Even the controller has a unique feature where it sort of acts like the Wii controller. If you happen to pick up a Playstation 3, then definitely pick up Resistance: Fall of Man, which is the best game out right now for the system.

Console Breakdown
By Drake Schlepphorst

In today’s world you would have to be shut out from the world to not know a little bit about videogames. But more recently (If you are a videogame addict like myself) you know that there are three main systems that you would consider buying; the Xbox 360, the Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii. But you’re the kind of person that wants to make sure that they are getting the right console. Well here is a breakdown of the three consoles and the pros and cons of buying each one.

Nintendo Wii.
Of the three consoles it is definitely something that can attract attention. For example, just look at the controller!! Yes that’s a controller, not a remote. It works by motion sensor. In other words, depending on how you move the controller, a character on a videogame will respond accordingly.

Graphics: Nintendo claims to have up to date technology that can keep up with the other major consoles of the generation.
Gameplay: I think the developers of Nintendo centered on playability itself when designing the Wii. With titles coming out like Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and Super Mario Galaxy, as well as Naruto Shippuden: Way of the Ninja who wouldn’t contemplate this machine.
Price: this fun little machine will not put a hole in your wallet. Of the three consoles it is the cheapest. But it will set you back about $250 though.

Pros: fun games coming out, cheapest of the three. Fun to play
Cons: not the best graphics out there
Xbox 360
Of the three consoles this has to be the most anticipated. If you have played the campaign mode of halo 1 and 2 all the way through, you probably remember a conversation betwixt a general and a Spartan
General: “Spartan 117 what are you doing on that spacecraft!”
Spartan 117: “ Sir, finishing this fight”
And after that you most likely found yourself staring at a bunch of credits. But having one of the most anticipated games of the year on the Xbox 360’s roster isn’t the reason why this is one of the great consoles.

Graphics: vastly superior to the Playstation 2 and probably equal to the Playstation 3.
Gameplay: being that the Xbox 360 came out before any of the next generation consoles it has a multitude of games already out for it from the previous year. And being backwards compatible (meaning you can play Xbox games you already have), it’s a console to consider buying. As well as having some of the most anticipated games coming out for it. Like Halo 3! And Fable 2! And some of the best selling games of the year. For example Gears of War