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Video Games
Video games, mainly those intended for the Xbox 360 gaming console.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Fighting Tips (in the Favela)
Dec 11th
Favela: Head to the LZ to the South of the market
LISTEN TO THE ENEMY
During this mission, as in many of COD: MW2 missions it pays to listen to the enemy. First off, listen to your enemy. Even with a moderately priced ($15-$30) set of stereo headsets you can get a pretty good idea of where your enemy is – above you, below you, behind you, or to either side – you get the idea. Also listen to WHAT they say, even though you may not know the language. Many of the IMPORTANT words are similar in English. Here are some, though the spelling may be off…
covertura = cover
grenata = grenade
MOVEMENT
This area of the favela has a LOT of chickens jumping around in their cages that will make it harder to determine what to shoot. The first time in I killed as many chickens as people – partly because I started shooting them in an effort to get rid of their “ambient movement” so I’d be able to recognize threats, the gun-toting Brazialians.
Watch for shadows to give away your enemy, especially shadows from above. Shadows can be an important tip-off, but before you go attacking a shadow make sure you know its an enemy and not one of your own – friendly fire isn’t friendly!
MOVEMENT ROUTES & ENEMY INTELLIGENCE
The favela has lots of different paths to move through if you look. I tend to look straight down the middle and sometimes miss flanking routes, side alleys, paths around stands and paths through stands and buildings. Keep an eye open for alternate paths, especially in areas where enemy resistance is strong.
Be sure that you remember the people of the favela knows its paths well and take advantage of the fact that most places have 2 areas and rooms of approach, if not more. Its difficult ot get your back safely up against a wall there.
In this particular area there are 4 pieces of enemy intelligence. There is a lot of “visual noise” in the favela because its a city area – things laying around like clothing, boxes, pots, pans, cans, bottles, cages, baskets, LP gas tanks etc. Keep an eye out for enemy intelligence (open laptops).
COD4: Modern Warfare 2 – Doorway/Opening glitch
Dec 11th
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a great game (more later) but having completed it once, and playing through it again tonight I have to complain about “sticky places”. If you’ve logged enough time on the game then you’ve surely gotten stuck running through a doorway or other opening where you should be able to move, but instead get stuck.
Assassin’s Creed 2 has a similar glitch in which Ezio will suddenly look down as if on top of something when, in fact, he’s standing in a doorway or other surface. In COD: MW2 the issue is openings (doors, wall openings, and the like) and it can be a little frustrating when you are running full tilt and get “stuck” – boom, dead.
Great game, and admittedly this is a minor glitch that is not “everywhere” and its not “every” doorway, either.
1 Good Reason to buy Halo 3 ODST
Nov 7th
Hunters that you can actually kill from the front. They were unassailable from the front in previous Halo installments, but now can be killed from the front as it should be (IMO).
Previous Halo: Shoot a Hunter with a missile launcher, you just made him mad!
Halo 3 ODST: Shoot a Hunter with a missile launcher, you just made him dead!
Grenades can also kill from the front, but don’t bother with ODST grenades (can’t control) or flame grenades (just aggravate them). Not necessarily a 1 hit kill, but you don’t have to have a Hunter chasing you around all day until you run out of ammo and finally get killed because melee attacks certainly arent’ the way to go!
I do seem to recall that you could kill a Hunter from the front with a sniper rifle if you shot in the small openeing that would be their “neck” (between head & shoulders), but this doesn’t seem to be the case now.
Side note: Assassin’s Creed 2 is coming!
Comments/observations anyone?
Prototype for Xbox 360 – Alex Mercer is Alive!
Jul 26th
Prototype for the Xbox 360 has 2 cool stories behind it. First is the acquisition of the game by Activision, and the interesting story of the game’s details as they unfold.
Prototype for the Xbox 360 has some pretty cool features I haven’t found in any other post-game credits. First is that there is actually some audio worth listening to as the credits begin rolling, sort of like when a movie is over and you get those unexpected bits after the movie in the credits. Second is that time was actually spent making the credits interesting with visuals, and third, perhaps the most exciting, there is a prompt on the screen to press A to skip or end the credits. So you don’t have to walk away while the credits roll by … Thanks Activision.
MORE
Clear the path for Alyse – Wanted: Weapons of Fate
Jun 15th
In the “When the Water Broke” sequence you have to clear a path for Alyse. This frustrated me so here I am posting the way to get past it. You need to realize three things thing…
- The mounted gun you are standing behind has a shield
- When you shoot, you move out from the protection of the shield
- When use precise aim (LT), you move out from the protection of the shield
Shoot, get behind the shield and repeat.Part way through you’ll see Alyse move to the center of the area below. I read somewhere that your opponents will shoot your shield away if you are too slow. Keep the pace going, and only stay behind the shield long enough to heal.
Fire/kill – duck behind shield/heal – fire/kill – duck behind shield/heal
Keep doing that until all of the bad guys are gone.
Gears of War 2 Aiming Basics
Jun 1st
Are you looking to improve your aiming in Gears of War 2? Find out how to leave your opponents in the dust with as little effort as possible? Here are some Gears of War 2 Aiming Basics to get you started.
GET TO KNOW THE GOW2 CONTROLS
Face it, if you don’t know the controls you will not aim as good as possible in GOW2 (or any game, really). I break down the controllers into 3 areas…
1.Use a decent controller - choose a good controller that “feels good”. If the controller is awkward or moves too quickly or too slowly for you then you won’t get as much as possible from your aim. Case in point I own an original Xbox 360 Wireless controller and a Game Stop Xbox 360 wired controller. I love Game Stop for used games and affordable used accessories for my 360, but that controller (the least expensive I could find) just doesn’t “feel” good for me. Its too quirky, too quick. I *could* get used to it, but I’ve already trained myself on my Xbox 360 wireless controller and it has a natural feel for me.
2. Practice with your controller -Speaking of training myself on my Xbox 360 controller, you’ll want to spend hours getting used to the “feel” if your controller during gameplay. You want reload, take cover, evade, mantle, and reload to become second nature so that you are pressing the buttons without thinking. Expect to put over 10 hours into this if you are just starting the game, and much longer if you are also new to the Xbox 360.
3. Know the buttons on your controller – As stated in “Practice with your controller” you need to know the buttons on your controller… and not just shoot and move left and right.
- Left Trigger – Aim
This gives you a zoomed view of the battlefield and your opponents. The degree of zoom depends upon the weapon. When throwing a grenade use the Left Trigger to see where its going to go when you throw it. - Right Trigger – Fire/Throw
Fire your weapon or throw your grenade - Right Bumper – Reload
Reload your weapon, read Gears of War 2 Reloading for more info - Left Thumbstick – Move
Move your character with the let thumbstick/joystick - Right Thumbstick – Look (click to zoom)
Change your view and look around. Use in combination with the Left Thumbstick (Move) to get where you are going. Click the Right Thumbstick to zoom your weapon, if available (depends on weapon) - X – Use/Interact
Context-specific actions pop up on-screen showing when you can pick up ammo, kick in doors, etc… - B – Melee/Tag
Melee your opponent with your weapon (hit them with your weapon). A few weapons don’t have a melee attack, and a couple have special melee attacks. The Lancer Assault rifle’s “melee” is the chainsaw which is not as easy to pull off as it was in the original Gears of War. It seems everyone knows what that noise is now when your chainsaw engine revvs, and they don’t like it! The other melee attack is a “tag” with a grenade. In almost all cases if you can tag your opponent with a grenade you can write them off as expired. - A – Take Cover/Evade/Mantle
Okay, first off to pull of evade you need to be away from any surface that you will “take cover” to. As you are walking you can just hit A and your character will do a dive roll. Use Left thumbstick along with A to control the direction of your evade move. Take cover will almost always happen when you press A if you are near a surface and not already in cover. Mantle is context-specific and requires that you are in cover already and you move your Left Thumbstick till the context-specific action you want is displayed (Mantle or jump over, Swat Turn from cover-to-cover, or Cover Slip away from your cover into a walk).
ADDITIONAL GEARS 2 AIMING TIPS
Tip: Gears of War 2 Aiming
ADDITIONAL GEARS 2 TIPS & LINKS
Tip: Intestinal Fortitude – Goal: Avoid Suffocating
Tip: Intestinal Fortituide – Goal: Avoid Jets & Acid Pools
Tip: Get Marcus and Dom Past Cranes
Info: Gears of War 2 Better Than The Original [plus Youtube Vid]
Info: Xbox Sales Tied to Gears Of War Again [plus Youtube Vid]
Info: Gears of War 2 Takes Aim at Used Game Sales
Link: Gears 2 Xbox Mini Site
Link: Official Gears of War 2 Site
Assassin’s Creed 2 – no confirmed release date yet
Apr 19th
At this point according to Joystiq.com Assassin’s Creed 2 is slated for release at the end of 2009. Below are some Youtube videos and the Official Assassin’s Creed 2 website as well, which currently shows a video trailer.
Assassin’s Creed 2 story trailer
Assassin’s Creed 2
EndWar Tips and Hints
Apr 3rd
Tom Clancys: EndWar UbiDays 07 Trailer
Man I love the Internet – sometimes you hit a treasure trove of useful info… here’s such a cache of tips & hints for Tom Clancy’s EndWar straight from the developers… My edits and changes are in [brackets] below.
Developer’s Top 10 Tips
Study The Battlefield
Open battlefield without much cover favors heavy armor. Urban battlefields favor infantry.Stay Out of the Enemy’s Line of Sight
The enemy only knows your unit’s locations if they are within line of sight or securing an uplink. Stay hidden and stay alive.Know Your Prey
Each unit type is strong against some enemies and week against others. Choose your fights wisely and retreat from fights you can’t win.Combined Arms Tactics
Use the combat chain to create hard-to-kill groups; for example, give your artillery anti-air defense with transport.Special Paper Beats Scissors
Don’t waste [powerful] secondary attacks on prey you will defeat [easily, instead] use them to turn the combat chain around against predators.Take Cover
Get your infantry in cover or garrison them in buildings to receive both defense and attack bonuses.Keep Moving
Units standing still in the enemy’s line of sight are sitting targets for artillery or off-map support.
Phone A Friend
Uplinks are a valuable resource. The more uplinks you [use to upgrade one support] the more powerful it will be.Reserves in Depth
You don’t have to call reinforcements [as] soon as you have enough command points. Wait until you know [what the enemy forces are then] call multiple reinforcements in a wave.
Live to Fight Another Day
Order your units to evacuate when they are close to being killed. Surviving units maintain their rank and will be ready to fight in your next battle.
Other General Tips
Don’t Be Predictable
Vary your strategy from mission to mission so the enemy can’t discover patterns in your strategy.Know Your Role
In multiplayer it can be a good idea to specialize in a particular unit type or battlefield role; for example, focus on securing uplinks.Killing Fields
Use a combination of minefields and garrisoned engineers to defend choke points.Riflemen as Forward Spotters
Concealed riflemen can be used as forward spotters, allowing artillery to fire their secondary weapon anywhere on the battlefield.Hold Your Ground
Engineers can deploy sentry drones to guard uplinks you have captured. This will slow the enemy down and help you hold the uplinks.Command and Control
The command vehicle can deploy UAVs and drones to any location on the battlefield.Synchronize
Hold fire with your artillery until your other units have engaged the enemy to provide fire support.Group Your Units
Use groups to organize and access your units faster. Groups also move together across the battlefield.Area Denial
Use Force Attack with your artillery to bombard a location even if there is no hostile unit there. This can deny access or damage nearby structures.Hostile Uplinks
You can destroy uplinks to disable your enemy’s upgrades and off-map supports.Crash With Care
If you are going to crash an enemy uplink, disable the one with the most dangerous upgrade.Eye In The Sky
Deploy your off-map support from within the battle headquarters to target locations that are out of sight.Dismount Your Infantry
Remove your infantry from the transport units if the vehicles are taking considerable damange. Infantry inside a destroyed transport are killed.Recon The Map
Use the UAV to spot enemy troops in advance.Artillery And UAV Attacks
Artillery can fire farther than they can see. Used with the UAVs or concealed riflemen they can hit targets across the battlefield.Use the Cover Bonuses
Infantry are much harder to kill while taking cover or garrisoning buildings.One-Two Punch
Electronic warfare reduces hostile vehicle’s shields and immobilizes the vehicles. This sets them up perfectly for an air strike or WMD.Fortify Your Position
Use your engineers to deploy drone guards on secured uplinks to stop enemy conquerors from recapturing an uplink.High Ground
Garrison tall buildings and use [zoom to recon] the terrain or spot distant hostile units.Save Time While Securing
Use transports to get your infantry to uplinks faster.Use Drones
Use the drone guard ability on your units to gain an advantage on the battlefield.Change Your Front Line
Change your landing zone according to the battlefield situation or desired strategy.Ambush Your Enemy
Attack your enemy without revealing your position using the snipe ability or the target designator of artillery.Secure Uplinks Faster
Use riflemen to secure distant uplinks; they move and secure faster.- from the Official Tom Clancy’s EndWar Developer Strategy Guie & Tips page
