The ending is awesome  ( main quest)

Got Rock Band 2 Finally

Someone needs to stop me lol

I got Gears 2 and Fallout 3 loving them both there awesome

Video Review - Watch or download here (HD available).

War is hell. Again.

Tanks are in one Russian level.

Not what you want to see.

Good thing that PBYs float.

The death cards are like Halo 3's skulls.

Closing Comments
It's easy to be jaded about World War II shooters, but Treyarch makes a convincing argument to stay excited with World at War. The game is packed with a deep amount of gameplay to appeal to every type of player, from those who want to experience a gritty single-player campaign to those who like to play with their friends to those who just like to play multiplayer. This is a solid, confident shooter with plenty to offer the casual and hardcore alike.

At the San Diego Comic-Con this week, the panel members of Gears of War 2 (design director Cliff Bleszinski, game scriptwriter Josh Ortega, and Gears novelist Karen Travis) released some new information regarding the CE/LE for the new highly anticipated Gears of War 2. They brought forward more information regarding what is actually going into these packages and what our hard earned money is buying.

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As the list stands they are including:

• Beneath the Surface: An Inside Look at Gears of War 2. A 48-page hardbound book including character profiles, exclusive concept art, and foreword by Design Director Cliff Bleszinski.
• Making-Of-Bonus DVD including exclusive video footage, design galleries with audio commentary by Epic Games, and promotional videos including the E3 2008 “Rendezvous” trailer.
• A Dominic and Maria keepsake photo.
• Steel DVD case.
• An exclusive Xbox LIVE code to unlock a gold-plated Lancer Assault Rifle for online multiplayer.

They have now announced something many people that play Gears (like myself) would drool over if they could be in the same room as one… and that is the famous Gears of War Lancer. We are not clear yet if it will have its own packaging like Halo 3 did with its Legendary Edition, as Microsoft have not yet announced a third edition (Standard, Limited and now Collectors).  What also hasn’t been announced yet is the size of it. Many of us are hoping it will be life size which many still doubt, but I can see it now all over the news “Suspect terrorists, terrorize local people with chainsaw like rifles…”

Pricing:

The package with the Lancer has been set for $130 US which was the same price that the Halo 3 Legendary package cost, so be prepared to fork up approximately AU$200 locally!

[ED] It is interesting to note, that what would normally be high asking prices for such things, we are now paying far less than we did just a few short years ago. Just look at the cost of the latest GTA:IV Collectors edition in value for money. Then compare it to the first major one like this, Halo 3’s Legendary Edition which was basically $AU200 +-

Collectors and Limited Edition Packages:

The Gears of War 2 CE/LE package is no different from others we see in games coming out now, which consist essentially of the same things. They all satisfy the fanboys that are paying out big time for these packages, but I think they can do more, adding things to these packages that are not so gimmicky. I mean, do we really need a Dominic and Maria photo just for keepsakes?

Don’t get me wrong they’re fabulous add-ons to these packages, but I think including more things that we might find more useful throughout the game experience such as an ultimate guide to the game would be fantastic. These manuals normally get made separately to the game and many people find them really helpful. If they bundled this in the CE and LE packages I think it would be a further incentive to buy them.

We are seeing more and more CE/LE hitting the shelves with today’s games. These packages don’t just appeal to the users and the players who buy and play these games, but to collectors in general who are willing to buy such items, even at a premium.

Of course like with everything, it’s all about money. The publishers make big bucks out of these by pleasing the fanboys who crave such things. Publishers only have a small window to fulfill a title’s desired income goal, and with these packages they are doubling their profit (in some cases) relative to much lower standard package returns, and so it’s clearly a great option for many publishes to push forward.

The publisher also gets a clear outline on how solid their sales will be on the date of release with many people pre-ordering their CE/LE and standard packages. Which are often only available now as pre-orders, making the sales almost guaranteed. All this bonus material (videos, concept art, etc) costs the publisher far less than standard game development but still a significant amount in many case. With some costs of promotion only reaching as high as $US10 million and upwards.

Some members of the gaming community could see it as a rip off, believing that it takes very little to throw a DVD, some art and some plastic toys together, but that’s far from the truth. Giving the false sence of actual cost when you consider it’s just some paper and DVD videos, that could be some tidy profit! BUt it’s not always the case.

As games come and go we’re sure to see more of these CE/LE packages coming out. I myself would be happy to pay the extra money for these packages, as they are often collector’s items and present an opportunity I simply cannot pass on with some games. And as these packages develop and start to become a normal thing for publishers, giving gamers a wide range of choice, we will see more innovations in what things are included in these packages.

I can only hope we will receive more useful things such as complete walkthroughs… And then all this will be gladly accepted into our gaming hearts as we build custom fabricated shelves just to store these precious items pack in their bulky metal cases!

How, exactly, does one worship technology?

Is it as simple as praying to a golden, robotic calf? Perhaps “god” is recognized as some kind of sentient artificial intelligence who demands subservience in exchange for feats and favors?

Or maybe, just maybe, the human race has already answered this question: technology is worshipped, simply and plainly, through obsession and attainment. We are a people dominated by technology, from our electrically-powered cities right down to our scientifically engineered anti-depressant medications. And every Sunday mass we miss to stay home and watch football on our HDTVs is further proof that now, more than ever, technology is the deity we hold most dear.

Now imagine all of that compulsion, all of that addiction we as an entire race share, and encapsulate it into one group of people. Imagine the obsession and fervor, the unending need for technological superiority, and the ultimate futility of such a goal.

Imagine, if you will, the Brotherhood of Steel.    

In Fallout 3, the Brotherhood of Steel is one of the most important and influential factions you’ll encounter. And while it’s true they are a military organization, the Brotherhood’s values and command structure are actually more representative of a medieval knightly order. Like the Templars of old, in their own eyes, the members of the Brotherhood of Steel are pure, they are just – they are truly human in a world filled with both physical and moral corruption.

But it is the worship of technology that truly defines and drives them. For a Brotherhood of Steel Paladin, Power Armor is his plate mail, a powered Super Sledge his warhammer. A non-combatant Scribe is more scientist than scholar, utilizing computers as a monk in the Middle Ages would a quill and ink.    

It’s not enough for the Brotherhood of Steel’s members to use whatever high-tech gadgetry they’ve acquired, though. The organization’s entire existence is predicated on the acquisition of technology. Whatever they’ve got is never enough. Their best equipment? It could be better. Even if this endless search for high-tech toys means keeping the good stuff out of the hands of others who could really benefit from it, well, that’s okay with the Brotherhood of Steel.

So it really didn’t come as a surprise to anyone within the Brotherhood of Steel when the order’s ruling council, based in Southern California, decided to send a contingent of soldiers all the way to the East Coast, with two important objectives:

1. To scour the ruins of Washington D.C., once the nation’s capital, and recover any and all advanced technology. After all, D.C. was the home of the Pentagon, the very headquarters of the United States Department of Defense. Who knows what secrets – or equipment – they left behind?
2. To investigate the reports of Super Mutant activity in the area. Could these creatures be somehow related to those that fled eastward after the Master’s destruction (as depicted at the end of Fallout 1). Or were these Super Mutants something else entirely?

And so a small but hardened contingent of Brotherhood of Steel soldiers, led by an idealistic Paladin named Owyn Lyons (and accompanied by his friend and technological advisor Scribe Rothchild, as well as his seven year-old daughter Sarah) set out from the Lost Hills Bunker in California, and began the long trek east to what was once Washington D.C. 

When the group finally arrived in the Capital Wasteland, it didn’t take long before they made some remarkable discoveries.

The Pentagon, as they had feared, was largely destroyed. But its sub-levels remained intact, and contained enough pre-war technology and weaponry to keep Lyons’ forces going indefinitely (once the defense robots were destroyed). But there was something else, as well… a technological marvel that, if restored, could help the Brotherhood rebuild a strength and reputation that had been declining steadily for years.

The discovery was significant enough to earn Paladin Lyons a battlefield promotion to Elder, and a new directive from his superiors – to establish a new, permanent Brotherhood base in the Capital Wasteland, and continue the search for any other advanced technology hidden in the capital’s ruins.

Lyons accepted his new post gladly, and founded the Citadel, built into and beneath the ruins of the Pentagon. It was a fortress the Brotherhood of Steel desperately needed, and one they rushed to fortify, thanks to their other great discovery – Super Mutants.

It didn’t take long for Lyons and the Brotherhood of Steel to find the Super Mutants, mostly because they didn’t have to: the Super Mutants found them. In the Capital Wasteland – particularly in the urban ruins of downtown D.C. – the Super Mutants simply couldn’t be avoided.
 
That’s why, for the people of the Capital Wasteland, the Brotherhood of Steel was the answer to their prayers. Scattered, hungry, and largely disorganized, they had lived with the constant threat of death or capture by the Super Mutants for as long as they could remember. Elder Lyons and his brave Knights and Paladins changed all that. For the first time, the Super Mutant tide was stemmed. The D.C. ruins were still Super Mutant controlled and uninhabitable, that was true, but the number of incursions against outlying settlements dropped significantly. Life was still harsh and unfair, but at least now the people of the Capital Wasteland had a fighting chance – and they had Elder Lyons and the Brotherhood to thank for that.

Fighting the Super Mutants, simply keeping them at bay, may have been enough for the area’s innocents, but for the Brotherhood, too many questions remained: how were these local Super Mutants created? Why were they capturing the people of the Capital Wasteland? Where were they taking them? Finding these answers would, ultimately, become Owyn Lyons' obsession.

The years passed, but not in a way anyone had foreseen. Indeed, the Brotherhood of Steel’s importance to the people of the Capital Wasteland was not something that Lyons ever expected. Nor was it something his superiors back in California cared at all about. Their newest Elder had a clearly defined mission – to acquire advanced technologies in and around the ruins of Washington D.C. Finding the source of the Super Mutant threat and destroying it was important too, of course. But that shouldn’t take too long… right? Surely the Brotherhood of Steel could handle a few Super Mutants? How hard could it be to locate and eliminate their source? Lyons’ prime objective was, first and foremost, the acquisition of technology. The Super Mutants were his second priority. Thus was the subject of every communication from the Brotherhood of Steel leadership in California.

But Elder Owyn Lyons had another priority, one he considered more important than his original directive or any orders received since – the protection of the innocent people of the Capital Wasteland. And so, Lyons sent word to his superiors that he would continue his search for technology when he was damned good and ready, and would not sacrifice the people who had come to rely on the bravery and strength of the Brotherhood of Steel. 

The Californian corridors of Lost Hills erupted in rumor and speculation. Had Owyn Lyons “gone native,” putting the needs of the people of D.C. above those of the Brotherhood itself? Or had a Brotherhood Elder finally exhibited the selfless behavior that should serve as a model for the entire order? Caught in the middle, the ruling Elders made the only decision they could – they would still recognize Elder Lyons as a leader of the Brotherhood of Steel, and the Citadel as their D.C. headquarters. But all support from the West Coast was thereby cut off. If Lyons wanted to pursue his own agenda on the East Coast, he would do it alone.

So that’s what the stalwart Elder did. The Capital Wasteland division of the Brotherhood of Steel, headquartered in the Citadel, became its own entity: still affiliated with the Brotherhood of Steel on the West Coast, and bound by its laws and customs, but otherwise completely independent.

Most of Elder Lyons’ soldiers supported his dedication to the people of the Capital Wasteland, and were proud of their leader’s commitment to honor and heroism. But there were those who voiced their opposition – loudly, and aggressively. They believed that by abandoning the Brotherhood of Steel’s primary mission of acquiring new technologies, Elder Lyons had abandoned the very values that defined the order itself.

One night, the dissenters departed from the Citadel, absconding with weapons, Power Armor, and other pieces of technology and equipment. This was, without question, Owyn Lyons’ darkest hour. He had become a man of compassion and understanding, and couldn’t help but sympathize with those who had left: he had abandoned the Brotherhood’s primary mission. He recognized that, and took full responsibility. Some of the Knights and Paladins who left had been his battle brothers for years. Together, they had shared victory and loss, pain and elation. But to those soldiers loyal to Elder Lyons, this dereliction of duty and theft of technology was an act of cowardice and treason. Lyons was left with little choice: he branded the dissenters “Outcasts,” traitors to the Brotherhood of Steel – it was a name they would ultimately wear like a badge of honor, proud of the distance it put between themselves and Lyons’ “soldier sycophants.”

Such is the state of the Brotherhood of Steel when you, the player, enter the picture, in the year 2277. The order is still dedicated to the protection of the people. Its members are tough, loyal, and bound by honor… and they’re also barely scraping by.

Elder Lyons’ daughter Sarah is now a grown woman, and one of the Brotherhood’s fiercest warriors; in fact, she’s the only member to have achieved the illustrious rank of Sentinel, and now commands her own elite squad, Lyons’ Pride.

The war with the Super Mutants – a conflict that has continued unceasingly for over twenty years – rages on, and the Brotherhood is feeling the strain of this extended conflict. Without reinforcements from the West Coast, Lyons has been forced to recruit locally, and the results have been less than stellar: most new conscripts are overeager, unskilled, or both, and as a result their survival rate is atrocious. So low, in fact, that that word has spread throughout the Capital Wasteland – join the Brotherhood of Steel, and you’ll be dead within the week.

The Outcasts have grown in power since their split from the Citadel, and have re-dedicated their lives to what they consider the Brotherhood of Steel’s only mission – the acquisition of new technologies.

It’s certainly not how Elder Owyn Lyons expected his life to turn out, not the way he imagined his command would be chronicled in the historical archives. Such is a career of a Brotherhood of Steel Elder.

Now, only one question remains – When the Brotherhood of Steel Scribes record the events to come, what will they say about you?

I have been playing Burnout Paradise a lot its amazing. I love everything about that game  one of the best racing games ever