…or is it? 

 
Shock Value
Completed "Shock Value"

Gamerscore = 30    Acquired 13/1/2010

With the onset of all the games coming out in the first half of 2010 as well as the onset of the Fallout game, New Vegas, due out this year, I made a commitment to myself to complete the downloadable content, Broken Steel, this weekend.  By completing Broken Steel I mean completing its main quest line as opposed to all its side quest therein.  So with Shock Value finished the other night, it is now a clear path to Who Dares Wins, the last of the core storyline achievements.

As I have stated before, I have over 150 hours of game-time in Fallout, but the majority of that was focused on the D.C. Wasteland and the DLC content.  I hardly spent any time in the downtown D.C. area, only when the main storyline demanded it.  I think this mostly due to the fact than when I started my adventure a year ago I found the outskirts of the D.C. downtown and its metro system to be a very dangerous place.  It took me forever even to seek out Rivet City because I thought the only way to get there was via the D.C. Metro.  Now that I am overpowered and have my side-kick Fawkes at my side, I can roll up on any area in the game with little problem.  So recently I have been dabbling in the city, and I realize now by avoiding the city I have neglected a huge part of the over-world.  I took some time to review my strategy guide last night and I couldn’t believe all that I had missed! 

It still blows me away all the artistry and story that has gone into this game.  But if I keep playing it forever I will never get through all the other great games that are coming down the pipe.  So my goal is to complete the Broken Steel DLC storyline then put Fallout 3 back on the shelf once again.  I think though I will dabble on occasion, perhaps closer to the release on New Vegas, just to clean up some of those achievements I still have hanging over my head.  It will be a tough day when I put away Fallout 3 away long term, but that day certainly is not today.

Fallout: Welcome to the Official Site

Source: SUPERGHOST's Haunted House of Xbox 
Twitter: @superghost

Father and Son FTW!

It certainly has been a little while since I blogged about my Haloz, but with my recent ODST revival and the Reach reveal, it has put me in the mind of Halo once again.  Here is the latest from my Halo world to you:

 
Killpocalypse!
Kill 9 opponents within 4 seconds of each other.

Time of Game: 01.06.2010 6:13 PM   Game Details: SUPERGHOST @ Bungie.net

Halo 3 ODST Revival: With the recent reveal at Spike’s VGAs 2009 (more on that later) I have had a renewed interest in getting my Halo chops up once again.  I have been having a two-pronged attack on this game.  The first is to earn my ‘Legendary’ achievement in the ODST campaign.  I only need to complete 3 levels to get the 100 point achievement, it is only a matter of gathering a posse to get my back, and as Halo goes these days in the face of Modern Warfare 2, it is more difficult than you may think.

The second part of my revival has been playing the Firefight mode split-screen with my son.  We will play 2-3 games a night on the Easy skill level as he is still learning the games controls.  Slowly he is getting better, but most importantly he has been having a lot of fun.  Halo games have been a testament to power of co-op games throughout the decade, and with the advent of the Firefight mode and the arrival of Reach this Fall, the Halo franchise continues to be ‘the’ franchise for multiplayer.  I am glad that I now have somebody in my house to share it with.

The Rise of Reach:  A few weeks ago we were treated to the Halo: Reach world premiere trailer at the aforementioned Spike Video Game Awards.  The first thought that ran through my mind (after ‘Wow!’, of course) was that to me was the realisation of the Killzone 2 trailer form E3 those many years ago.  Now I know that is jumping the gun a little bit, but this new Halo engine is damn impressive.  Now with not one, but at least five Spartan’s in the mix, who know what Bungie has in store for us as they evolve the Halo gameplay, co-op, and community features.  If this is Bungie’s last Halo game (I suspect that it is not…my opinion) I think they are going to make Reach a game for the ages.  ODST owners will be getting a taste this Spring when the multiplayer beta is released.  Watch the internets explode as the Reach beta nears.

Windows 7 Kills My Halo 2:  At least one of my previous HHR posts detailed the fact that I was earning Halo 2 achievements  from my Games For Windows version of Halo 2.  Unfortunately that dream may have died due to the fact that my installation of Windows 7 has rendered my game inoperative, and my lack of computer skills has me wondering how to incorporate the fix.  While I can still play the game on my classic Xbox as well as my 360, I do hate to leave those Halo 2 achievements on the shelf.  Perhaps someday I will get ambitious and devote the time and resources to get the game running again, but for now it is a casualty of the Windows 7 experience.

Waypoint and Legends:   Microsoft and 343 Studios have managed to keep me coming back to Halo Waypoint on a weekly basis on the strength of its ‘Top 5’ lists and its airing of chapters of the upcoming Halo Legends DVD/BlueRay/Download.  They have also updated the Halo Waypoint experience with aditional levels of experience and rewards, so if you have not checked in lately, you may want to see what is new at the Waypoint.

twitter: @superghost  
Source: SUPERGHOST's Haunted House of Xbox

“Ain’t no rest for the wicked!”

Destroyed the Destroyer
Killed the Vault Boss

Gamerscore = 50    Acquired 30/12/2009

 
Approximately 40+ hours and 37 or so levels later I was able to achieve Borderlands ultimate goal and reach the vault and reap its ultimate rewards.  As for the rewards, I think it is best to say that it is the journey, and not the destination, that will reward you the most.

When Borderlands arrived in October I was instantly hooked by the games shoot-and-loot RPG gameplay.  And while the story was threadbare, it did keep you moving, along you to explore location after location and challenge after challenge.  I was actually teleported back to my Phantasy Star Online days when it was just the thrill of the hunt and the loot that kept me going. 

November and December found my gaming life dominated by Modern Warfare 2, So Borderlands took a backseat for a time, but this holiday season saw me get back to this game with a vengeance, culminating with the game completion on the 30th.  My biggest regret is my miniscule amount of co-op gaming I did during my first play through, but it was for the best as I have a tendency to take my time in these types of games, so putting people through my pace is not always the most fun.  I hope to remedy the co-op situation in future playing of the game.

As the song goes, “there ain’t no rest for the wicked”, I have two downloadable game packs to explore and earn Gamerscore in as well as an entire other play through so I can earn some sweet loot and hit some of those achievements I missed the first time around.  One thing that is for sure, I will get all the Gamerscore out of this game, that is a promise, and I will have fun doing so! 
 
Twitter: @superghost

Game Website: Borderlands

-SG    

  
For the Record
Complete the Single Player campaign on any difficulty.

Gamerscore = 35   Acquired 14/11/2009

The most anticipated game of this decade, and perhaps all-time was a bit of a slow burn for me.  Now I knew the multiplayer component was going to be a home run and the bulk of my game time was to be spent there, but the campaign is where my accomplishment resides and I will elaborate why it took some time for me to drink the Infinity Ward Kool-Aid this time around.

My initial feeling on the campaign was that it was more the same.  If you played Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty 4, you would feel right at home in Modern Warfare 2, perhaps too at home.  For the better part of the first half of the game I really felt the IW campaign formula in full effect.  The feel of the shooting, the enemy AI, the level structure felt so been there, done that.  What turned me around was what is IW’s strengths, their set pieces and story telling.  As the story progressed, and expanded, and twisted, and became more outlandish, the more I started to get what they were doing.  Soon the repetitious gameplay of the campaign became secondary to wanting to find out what was going to happen next.

Now if you have completed the game you may have realized that the campaign length appears to be a little on the light side.  It took my self approximately five and a half hours to complete the campaign story.  Normally I might complain that it is too short a campaign for a video game.  This time I will argue that it was just about right, as I almost view this game as more a cinematic experience than a traditional video game, or perhaps a interactive cinematic experience.  Now I did play at the ‘Normal’ level, playing at harder levels would make for more of a challenge, but to be honest, I don’t play IW’s games for the challenge, I play for the experience.

At the end of the day, Modern Warfare 2 is a must play, or rather a must-experience for any  serious gamer, and even for those who just want to see what the fuss is about.  As for me I look forward to the next several months of multiplayer bliss.

Infinity Ward | Modern Warfare 2

SUPERGHOST's Haunted House of Xbox    

  YouTube - Forza 3: Titanic Battle
   

After some research late last night I finally was able to get my movies created on Forza 3 to show up on YouTube.  I searched the forzamotorsport.net forums and there I was able to find my answer.  If you too are wanting your videos hosted on YouTube I suggest reviewing this LINK.

So welcome to my new YouTube channel entitled SUPERGHOST.TV!  Now I am not exactly sure what all will appear here, but what I do know for sure is that there will be plenty on Forza 3 videos as I continue to experiment with the movie maker included in this iteration of the franchise.  The video I posted above features a clip of my self dogging my friend Cru.  I had been fighting with him the entire race, that is until he was presured into a mistake on the last corner of the last lap.  I was able to slip past without incident and overtake him for good!  I dedicate this clip to Cru and his shoddy picture he had took from a PGR race years ago where he claims I rubbed him out.  All in good fun my friend!

So be sure to click the link above for SUPERGHOST.TV to keep up with all my new and exciting clips from the world of Forza 3.

My Forza     
 
SUPERGHOST's Haunted House of Xbox

• Manufacturer: Tediore
• Damage: 119
• Accuracy: 89.6
• Fire Rate: 1.9

Description: While the AX10-A Blast Law Sports only a 2-shot clip, which it exceptionally small for a Revolver, it does carry a x2 Chance to cause an Explosion.  Coupled with the 3.7x zoom it makes Head-shot ‘Crits’ quite lethal.  This Revolver also has +62% Reload Speed and +33% Fire Rate buffs and has a resale value of $2,034.  I have been using and enjoying this weapon as of late, but like all weapons in this game, it won’t be long before it is surpassed.

Borderlands

SUPERGHOST's Haunted House of Xbox 

My last post indicated that it may be a while before I could pull together another blog post.  Well with my Saskatchewan Roughriders not performing so well today I am making a little bit of time to catch up with all the games that have crossed my path as of late:

 
Borderlands…Game of the Year:  Perhaps, to early to tell, but this game is amazing.  The more I play the more I realize that Borderlands is truly something special.  What has added to that as well is that I picked up the super-thick strategy guide which shows so much of the game’s depth.  This game will likely be a staple in my 360 collection for years to come.  Also the game’s theme song has burrowed deep into my head!

 
Forza Motorsport 3:  Speaking of Games of the Year, Forza 3 will play heavily in my game rotation for some time to come.  While I am pretty early into my career, the game has really shone for me in it’s online modes.  Firstly there was some racing and drifting in the Japanese mountains with my friends, then later I jumped into some matchmaking with random gamers and had a blast in some R1 cars, even winning a couple of races, finally I had some crazy ‘Cat and Mouse’ adventures with some more game friends.  What has also captured my imagination with this game is the Photo and Replay modes.  I have spent a significant amount of time just dabbling in those areas alone.  Turn 10 has really out done themselves this time.

 
Halo 3 ‘Action Sack’:  I wound up playing in this matchmaking group with my nephew and his friends the other day and actually found it to be quite fun.  Since ODST has been pushed to the wayside in the face of all the new great 360 titles it is good to keep my Halo chops up.  On a slight downside Halo note for myself, the Halo Waypoint portal is unavailable for me right now under the 360 Preview Program.  I really wanted to have a look-see at that waypoint.  One more Halo note, I now have the Halo Encyclopaedia!  The only hitch is that it is a Christmas present.  I can’t wait!

Fallout 3:  Again speaking of Games of the Year, I picked up the Fallout 3 Game of the Year strategy guide.  While I already have the Collector’s Edition guide, I wanted to have all the info surrounding the DLC.  So this guide has that plus improvements to the guide itself including an improved Bestiary and Weapons guide.  And because I picked it up at Wal-Mart I got it super cheap!

Torchlight:  A little PC talk never hurt anyone.  I downloaded via Steam this past week the ‘Diablo-esque’ Torchlight.  I finally got to play it this morning and found it to be, while not original, a whole lot of fun.  This game will be my pallet-cleansing game when I need a break from the 360.

I really could go on, but I will give you a break.  Go play all those great games, some of which I haven’t even got to speak of like the Force Unleashed re-release and the GTA IV expansion.  Another time for sure!     
 
SUPERGHOST's Haunted House of Xbox

With the arrival of Borderlands the ‘Great Game Flood of Fall 2009’ has kicked into high gear.  Yesterday I picked up my $40 copy of the game (thanks WalMart Canada for brining down the price) and proceeded to plug away for 4 hours after I got home from work!  I started two careers, one as a Soldier for my single-player, and one as a Hunter for my co-op experience.  I enjoyed my co-op session yesterday the most because I was able to go into the start of the game with a couple of hours of experience under my belt already.  On the other hand I prefer my Soldier to the Hunter class.

At the end of the day I see Borderlands taking up a lot of hours of play time, even in the face of games like Modern Warfare 2 and Forza Motorsport 3.  I am pretty early is so I am eager to see what other fruits this game has to offer.

Borderlands 
 
SUPERGHOST's Haunted House of XBOX    

 
Campaign Complete: Heroic
Completed the Campaign on Heroic difficulty.

Gamerscore = 100   Acquired 16/10/2009

Shortly after completing the game on Normal I decided to tackle ODST on Heroic solo.  I found that playing the game on Heroic was a more challenging and therefore, in my opinion, more enjoyable than my normal play through.  While I searched high and low for all the audio logs I still would up being four short of the 30 that could be found in total.  I will get them all one of these days!  Next stop will be the Legendary difficulty, but I will not be tackling that alone, I will be saving that for some co-op action.  A side note on the above, I actually finished the campaign on the 17th, but because I had already finished a couple of the levels on Legendary, it binged the achievement a little early.

 
 
Laser Blaster
Got 10 Spartan Laser kills on ONI Alpha Site.

Gamerscore = 5   Acquired 16/10/2009

Achievement Spotlight – 46,000+ Gamerscore: While completing the campaign I also was able to surpass the 46,000 Gamerscore plateau.  With all the games I have yet to play this season I believe I have an outside chance of cracking 50K before the end of the year!  We will see what happens.

Bungie.net : Halo 3 ODST

SUPERGHOST's Haunted House of Xbox