The Staff Terrorizes Countryside

So, in our endless battle against the vile Forces of Sanity, We, the Staff (TM) decided to use the time of year (All Hallow's Eve) to spread some good ol' fashioned Staff-style terror through the land. And a good job of it we did. We all dressed ourselves up in our terror-inspiring battle armour and proceeded to wreak havoc. Here is just one of the results of our handiwork:


Sanity is for the Weak!

-The Staff

Firefly - The Complete Series DVD

I noticed that Firefly, the television series that this year's best film, Serenity, is a continuation of, was roughly ten bucks cheaper than normal (for $46.99), so I decided to pick up a copy.

The set is the complete series, all 14 episodes including 3 that never aired. This is actually the first TV series I ever picked up on DVD, which is saying a lot, seeing as how I don't like most of what's on TV these days.

If you liked Serenity and want to see where it all begin, this is the place to go.

You can order it at Best Buy here.

Doom 3 (Xbox) On Sale at Best Buy

Doom 3 (Xbox) is now on sale for only $29.99 at Best Buy. Not sure if this is a limited time thing or not, but the game is definitely worth it. You can pick one up in-store, or online here.

I Want this T-Shirt

I saw over at Valve Software's store a great t-Shirt. It's a limited edition Half-Life 2 Deathmatch shirt with the DM logo on the front, and the Half-Life 2 lambda logo on the back.

I don't care for Half-Life 2's multiplayer, or really for Half-Life 2 itself at this point, but I love that DM logo.

Sadly, Valve won't ship to non-US addresses, so I'm out of luck. Perhaps I can leech the logo and find a place around here that will custom do it. That way I won't need to walk around with the Half-Life 2 logo on my back.

The shirt would be great for work. Pester me enough, and there's a clear cut visual aid of what I'd do to ya: Huck a toilet at your head.

Bungie's "Fight the Flood" T-Shirt Drive Results

Bungie raised $175, 280.15 (US) for the American Red Cross to help with the Hurricane Katrina disaster down south.

If any of you bought a t-Shirt, thank you for supporting the cause, and you can read Bungie's article about the results here.

Potential Xbox 360 Launch Titles

Saw over at Console ActionTrip a list of potential Xbox 360 launch titles. If this turns out to be true, the only title I care about is Call of Duty 2, but not enough to want to go buy an Xbox 360 for it alone. I'm surprised Quake 4 isn't on the list.

Generally, I have a feeling it will be best to wait until the next wave of titles in late spring early summer of '06. With any luck Halo 3 will be coming out around then.

Quake 4 (PC) Reviewed at ActionTrip

ActionTrip has reviewed Quake 4 (PC) here, and they give it 81 out of 100.

Winning PayDay Numbers for Oct. 27

20-45-51-62

I think this lottery's broken, as I haven't one big yet. Stupid everything.

4 New Call of Duty 2: Big Red One Screenshots

4 new screenshots for Call of Duty 2: Big Red One have been released, and you can find them here.

I've seen conflicting release dates for the game, ranging from Nov. 1st to 15th, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Half-Life 2 Xbox a Platinum Hits Title?

According to the official Xbox Half-Life 2 page, Half-Life 2 will be a Platinum Hits title. That means the game will retail for only $29.99.

I'm not sure if this is true or not, but it is on the official site and the game is also being released one week prior to the Xbox 360, meaning it'll be competeing with many next-gen shooters on the console market. Thus, a lower selling price isn't that surprising.

If so, I'll probably buy the title right off instead of renting first, as that's very cheap for expected play length.

Official Xbox Web Site Re-launched

Today, Microsoft has relaunched their official Xbox web site in preparation for the upcoming launch of the Xbox 360.

To check out the new design and new info, head here.

It should also be noted that the horribly designed Xbox 360 website of old is no more (namely xbox360.com), and now directs to the general Xbox site. In english, that means real answers about the product instead of a bunch of silly flash pics that simply look amusing.

Half-Life 2 (Xbox) Gone Gold

Speak of the devil. Half-Life 2 (Xbox) has officially gone gold and will begin shipping on Tues. Nov. 15th to stores everywhere.

The Xbox version of Half-Life 2 will be Single Player only, no Xbox Live Support, and will be a direct port of the PC's Campaign and not a modified version level design-wise as Doom 3 (Xbox) was. Apparently, while it will overall look worse than a top-of-the-line PC (obviously), the lighting quality will be better. Not sure quite why.

The one amazing thing I'm happy about with the Xbox version will be the lack of Steam, Valve Software's junk distribution service. The one thing I'm unhappy about is the lack of any kind of special collector's edition that would have included Half-Life for the Xbox. I really would have liked to have played the original Half-Life on my Xbox, and the system is certainly capable of handling a late '98 shooter.

Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil (Xbox) Complete on Veteran

I completed Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil (Xbox) on Veteran (Hard) last night. Overall short, like most expansion packs are. Not terribly difficult either, however the level design is great, a lot of fun.

I'll ultimately go through it on Nightmare, though without the healing abilities of the Soul Cube, I'm almost afraid to... unless they've changed how Nightmare works. Perhaps I'll start it and find out, or perhaps I'll wait a while.

I've been meaning to go through the Halo series again, as I haven't seriously touched their campaigns since last February. I'm also working my way through The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age for the third and final time. I'm basically past the half-way mark.

Star Wars: Battlefront II is due out a week today, and in 3 weeks (Nov. 15th) Half-Life 2 (Xbox) and Call of Duty 2: Big Red One. All of these are renters first, but I figure I'll end up buying the one I like the most, unless they all suck.

I've also been meaning to give Fable: The Lost Chapters a try.

The Staff is MIA

We, the Staff (TM) regret to inform the readership that Staff Leader Alpha Nine-Seven, the very hive of Our trademark wit, is missing in action. We received the following broken communique from SL-A97 approximately 48 hours ago:

"...epea...Mayday, all Staff, May*&$^... overwhelme**(&hostile forces... unknown if possible to make rendez*%&#!@(--- regroup at all costs!---Defen&%he blog! Assist Fearless $&^!der! Arbite$*#udgeme$* must survive! Message repea^&%@-----"

Let us all pause and lend out our thoughts to the Mighty Staff Leader Alpha Nine-Seven.

-The Incomplete Staff

Half-Life 2 (Xbox) Hands-on at IGN

IGN Xbox has put up a new preview of Half-Life 2, including new screenshots and videos. The game will be a direct Single Player port of the PC version, and will be released tentatively on Tues. Nov. 15th.

Half-Life 2 (PC) was regarded as one of the best FPSes of all time, and received rave reviews all around. I've never played the retail game, only the demo, and I do remain skeptical of it.

While I certainly credit Valve Software for creating a game that can play very well and look good on my 3.5 year old system, something id Software and even Gearbox couldn't do (with Halo: Combat Evolved), I must say I wasn't overly impressed with the PC demo.

I found the levels visually pleasing, and Ravenholm had a very good atmosphere the first play-through, however I found the level design very limiting in terms of player choice and freedom, and felt the designers "forced" me along too many paths (including weapon use). This made the demo's second playthrough absolutely boring.

I was also disappointed that the arsenal seemed to be very much the same as the original Half-Life, save the Gravity Gun, and that despite the fact that Half-Life 2 is a title big on boasting about it's realism, you still unrealistically carry around a dozen weapons, something other modern shooters like the Halo and Call of Duty franchises have long since done away with.

The PC version also shipped with Steam, Valve's "Content Distribution" System that violates Half-Life 2's own EULA and forces an off-line game to constantly connect to the net. I simply could not support this and thus refused to buy the title.

Though I've never played the PC retail version, our Staff picked it up on its release nearly a year ago. If he reads this I'd very much like for him to make a post regarding his thoughts on the PC version of Half-Life 2.

For the Xbox version, I intend to rent it first, and to try to go into it with an open mind. It'll be interesting to see if it can measure up to Doom 3 and/or Halo 2.

The Tea Party have Broken Up

Some very, very sad news. After 15 years, it seems that The Tea Party have broken up.

What's also disturbing is the bands official forums, which had a lot of links and such about the break-up that I wanted to post, seem to be down. I don't know if this is a permanent thing or simply a standard site's-down deal.

Regardless, The Tea Party are one of the few bands over the last decade that have generally stuck to their thing and continually evolved their music. They have talent and skill, and a great deal of effort has been put into their works.

The support they've also given to such organizations as the White Ribbon Campaign was also very inspiring.

I'd like to wish all the members of The Tea Party the best in their individual endeavors, you will be missed.

Mass Effect to be Revealed in OXM

The Official Xbox Magazine is going to have the inside scoop on BioWare's upcoming Xbox 360 Action/RPG, Mass Effect.

If you're into print mags (and you know I'm not), look for it on news stands soon.

Personally I'll just wait for a great online publication to "get the scoop."

Winning Numbers for PayDay Oct. 20

The PayDay winning numbers for Oct. 20 are 07-38-39-59.

Morning Post

I want everyone to go to Google and type in the word "failure." Take a look at the number one link, it's hilarious.

Anyway, didn't end up seeing Doom last night. I've seen some very mixed early reviews, and I want to get a more concrete idea of whether the movie blows or not before I waste money on it.

Might try for next weekend.

Quake 4 (PC) Review at GameSpot

GameSpot has reviewed the PC version of Quake 4, giving it an 8.0 out of 10. Essentially they really like the single player, but don't like the multiplayer; a growing trend and rather of a reversal for id Software titles (not that I'm complaining since I mainly play single player for FPSes).

You can check out the review here.