New/Old Halo 2 Maps

Hang Em High is finally available for Halo 2, along with Derelict. The catch? The pack is $4 and you have to download it on Xbox Live. You also have to wait until April 17. Check out the announcement on Bungie.net

Didn't I predict this?

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0%2C1895%2C2109401%2C00.asp

New version of PSP Video 9

PSP was updated to 3.30 and now there is the ability to play larger video files on the PSP. Hence, better quality videos for your PSP. PSP Video 9 is the best free video converter program out there for PSP and I use it whenever I convert my DVDs to watch on my PSP. Check out the developers website. http://www.redkawa.com/blog/#0

Great Games for under $4

I have never been one to rush out and buy a video game the first week it is out. Frankly I have never been one to buy a game till it drops to about 50% of its original price. That is if it's a PC game. Xbox or Nintendo or Sony I'll just play on your system. So I got to thinking about how to get games for the cheapest possible (legally). I think I may have found it.

So Valve's Steam has been given a lot of flack in the past, but is currently on the good side of most gamers. If you don't know what Steam is I'll tell you. Its a content distribution system, and additionally a piracy deterrent. Say you want to buy Halflife. Well normally you would drive to the store buy the product, get taxed on it and return with a CD and a serial code. You install from the CD and enter the serial code and go. Well with Steam all you have to do is log on with your free account and purchase the game. Its is downloaded to your computer and you never have to worry about loosing that serial key or cd. Its always yours. If you buy a new computer just re-download it. If you are on someone else's computer you can download it there. The real jewel to this is the sheer amount of content it offers. I defy you to find a new copy of the original Counter-Strike. You're not going to find it anywhere, but on valve you can buy it for $10. If you don't mind old graphics its a great game and lots of people are still playing it online.

Now one of the offerings is a complete Valve package. For $80. Now thats alot of money for games that aren't very new, but its still a bargain if you don't have these games. This includes Halflife, HL2, Counter-strike and CS:S, Day of Defeat and DoD:S, HL2 Ep:1, HL2 Deathmatch, and some other junk. There are about 17 games there. Not all are worth playing, I'm looking at you Ricochet. By my estimate about 8-12 are really worth playing depending on your personal style.

But there is more.

I'm talking mods. Source was designed to be modded. And there are dozens of HL mods that are already established. Valve lists quite a few of these on Steam.

Here are a list of mod that you can play with this pack that are worth it:

Hidden:Source - Very scary not many people on at any one time. Beta 4 is very playable.
Source Forts - Clever mod of Deathmatch. Seems difficult for new players.
Natural Selection - Like playing Starcraft in FPS. Source version in production.
Digital Paintball -If you are a fan of paintball I guess. Source version in Alpha
Dystopia- Source mod. Bizarre and hard to get into. Think Tron meets Quake
Gary's Mod Version 9 - HL2 sandbox. Wanna see who will win against Zombies and Combine?
HL2 Capture the Flag - Interesting mod of Deathmatch. Includes new weapons and Parkour.
Minerva - Adam Foster didn't think Valve did a good job on map design and did his own. 2/3 parts done.
Pirates Knights Vikings II - HL2 mod. Will be testing this one out.
Plan of Attack - Tactical game the way Counter-Strike should have been.
Zombie Panic - Its like resident evil only the zombies are real people. Now you can kill the teammates that let you down.
The Trenches - Sort of DoD for WW1

This is just a quick overview of some of the mods for the above pack. Most of these games are worth playing and almost all are multiplayer. All are worth something. So theres about 20 games there that I mentioned. At $80 that comes out to about $4 a game. Not to mention the other mods that are out there. Many of these will play on an older computer. All will play on my laptop. So if I left off any HL or Source mods send them my way I'd like to try them.

Remember just say no to $60 games!

Trip to Mexico

I'm travelling to Manzanilla, Mexico tomorrow morning at 3am. I am leading a trip of 6 other people to Josh and Susan Sanchez' one year old church. It's a city of 125,000 and right on the Pacific Ocean, due West of Mexico City. Please pray for the trip and the people we will meet. Pray that the Word is shared and changes lives through the work of the Holy Spirit. Most of all, pray that we will be complete servants of Christ. That language barrier is always a little tough to get through, since it's Spanish...you know? I don't speak Spanish well, I know some words, but that's it, mostly.

The trip lasts from March 22 - April 2. I'm bringing my video camera and I think I'm buying a digital camera to take so there will be stuff to share.

I bought Marvel: Ultimate Alliance for PSP last night. Entertainment for the plane. I'll probably review that later. See ya in 11 days.

The Old Batman

I have to say. I liked the original Batman movie the best. You know the one with cheezy gags and Adam West in purple tights. Why? Just because it makes me happy. There is no psychological deep issues. It just simple stuff that makes me smile. Then came the next Batman movie. The one by Tim Burton. Still fun. More realistic and yet still fun.

Now I tell you this because something has been bugging me about the last Batman movie that came out. It was good as a movie, but I didn't enjoy it the same way I enjoyed other Batman movies. It was simply too realistic. Honestly it was a great story, but it didn't give me Batman happiness of the olden days.

Bottom line: Batman is just more enjoyable when its weird.

300 (The Movie)

I saw 300 Thursday night at a preview screening. There are four scenes that are totally unnecessary and I found myself scratching my head as to why they are in the movie. 3 of these comes from added material that is not included in the original graphic novel itself.

1) The oracle women wears a see-through white covering and you see everything when she is flailing around on her back.

2) King Leonidas and his wife are featured in a sex scene.

3) There is a scene in Xerxes tent where there are lots and lots of women, mostly naked, dancing and kissing each other and having sex and such.

4) King Leonidas' wife gets raped.

Due to these scenes alone, I would recommend renting this on DVD when this comes out if you really want to see it. You could, in fact, read the graphic novel and enjoy yourself without compromising your mind if you are male.

The blood and gore in this movie is no problem for me. The battles are gory, you see limbs chopped off, blood flies, and there is no mercy in battle. The movie basically adds plot by adding more characterization to King Leonidas by having you feel for his family, and there is also a subplot dealing with the politics in Sparta.

This movie is rated R not only for the violence, but for nudity, naked women. I enjoyed the film some, but it gets somewhat repetetive with more waves of men coming and them getting slaughtered. The scenes I mentioned first make me not recommend this film to be seen in the theatre. In fact, it's rated R, don't go see it. Quite simple, actually.

The Line Game

I found this fun flash game today over at AlbinoBlackSheep called The Line Game. You guide the red line through a maze or obstacle course of such. It reminds me of a mini-game in Super Monkey Ball for the Nintendo Wii. It loads quick, is fun, and challenging. It keeps your time score too and you can submit it to a leader board online. Stay in the Black!