Two Guys on Gaming, Tech, and the World
Pros: Dynamic choice and consequence system, multiple play-through options, interesting plot, great soundtrack and graphics, and high replay value.
Cons: Lackluster enemies, less than stellar stealth and combat mechanics, and an upgrade system that’s too easy to overpower.
Rating: 8.5/10 [Read more…]
Last week I reminded you to pre-order Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. At the time, Amazon was advertising several bonuses for gamers who pre-ordered — some credits for gaming music and a headset, a free avatar download code, and a wallpaper for your computer.
Compared to other pre-order bonuses, the MW3 launch appeared to be rather lackluster. Or so I thought until I checked my email this morning. There was a secret pre-order bonus for MW3 that Amazon didn’t announce, or at least didn’t make a big deal about it. [Read more…]
My wife and I just moved. In the process something must have happened to my Xbox 360 because when I went to turn it on today, the tray was stuck. Immediately there was fear and worry. Who wants a stuck Xbox 360 tray? Not me! How will I ever play games again? And what will I do when my pre-order from Amazon shows up and I have a stuck Xbox 360 tray?
I pushed the eject button… nothing.
I pushed it again… still nothing.
I pushed and held it… yet again, no tray movement.
Thankfully, I already had my internet hooked up, so I googled the issue and found this simple solution. [Read more…]
Amazon usually does a great job with promotions for video game pre-orders (meaning you get great deals for buying something you were going to get anyway). With less than a week until the release date of Modern Warfare 3
Last week, Amazon announced its very own tablet to the market: the Kindle Fire
Though it is arguably less powerful or functional than its main competitor — Apple’s iPad
Of course Amazon is doing everything it can to get its tablet into as many hands as possible. As a late-comer on the tablet scene, Amazon has some ground to cover if it hopes to gain some of the market share, and one part of this goal necessarily includes the price.
But selling units is just the beginning. Losing money on the device itself is not a winning business model if that’s all Amazon were trying to do. Certainly, this is not Amazon’s end goal.
I’m not privy to any insider information, but it seems apparent from the outside what Amazon is up to. Similar to the strategy of console video gaming businesses — such as Microsoft’s Xbox
For years console video game businesses have been selling their consoles — very expensive, high-tech pieces of equipment — at cost or cheaper and then making up their loss in the game sales (the price for a new release for Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 is currently $59.99). These business minimize the barrier to entry with drastically discounted hardware, creating a highly targeted group of customers who will buy the games for these consoles for years after.
Amazon is clever to realize the potential of this model in the tablet market. In its marketing copy, Amazon emphasizes the ease of accessing movies, TV shows, music, magazines, and books from the Kindle Fire — additional services that are all offered from Amazon. With an Android-powered OS, there are tons of apps available for the Kindle Fire, also available for purchase through Amazon. By ushering customers into “Amazon Land,” the Kindle Fire practically creates a captive audience for more Amazon products.
Moving beyond the basics of the console video game model, Amazon has the ability to increase the precision of its marketing with its proprietary web browser: Amazon Silk. For consumers, Amazon Silk is supposed to create a faster, more powerful web browsing experience; but for Amazon, users of the Silk browser stoke the marketing fire with the fuel of browsing data, which (despite any promises of anonymization) will surely be used by Amazon to refine their marketing strategies.
Though this model isn’t new, this is the first time that it’s been used in the tablet industry. And if it’s successful for Amazon Kindle Fire, I wonder how long it will be before others start to follow suit. Will we start seeing Apple tablets priced below cost? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Though the masterpiece of L.A. Noire
There had been rumors of a later release date, but the PC version is now available for pre-order on Amazon with a published release date of November 8, 2011, for North America, and November 11 for Europe.
At $49.99, the PC version is cheaper than its console counterparts, and it also contains more bonuses. In addition to the standard game, all the DLC that was released for the consoles will be included, as well as 3D support.
To stake a claim on your copy of L.A. Noire for PC click through any of the Amazon referral links in this post, and be sure to check out the L.A. Noire Case Guides for help getting five stars on every case.
This walkthrough for Duke Nukem Forever Chapter 7: “The Duke Dome” will show you how to complete the seventh chapter of Duke Nukem Forever and get your ego cap reward.
In the last chapter, Duke escaped Vegas in Ruin through a sewer, which is where you find yourself at the beginning of this chapter; to get to the Duke Dome you must find your way through this sewer pipe. When you get to the end of the sewer pipe, continue through the path of rubble. Avoid the electrified puddle by jumping from the bank to the pallet in the middle of the puddle, and from the pallet to the other bank.
When you get to the end of the rubble path, your progress is blocked by a fire. On the left side of the fire is a corpse hanging from a piece of rebar. On the corpse’s back is a fire extinguisher. Shoot the fire extinguisher to put out the fire, then continue into the tunnel. At the end of the tunnel is a ladder. Climb up the ladder to continue to the Duke Dome.
When you get to the top of the ladder, you will see two construction workers standing on top of some crates talking about ridiculous things. They notice you and tell you to get on the crane to get out of the area that they are trapped in.
When the crane comes over, jump inside the box that it’s carrying. Notice that it has a resupply crate; you’re going to need that very soon. As the crane starts to take you away, an Assault Commander comes and kills the guys you first saw in this area. The crane then takes you over to a parking structure that is infested with aliens. Use whatever fire power you can find to kill them.
After each wave of aliens, the crane moves you a little bit further where you have to take on another wave. Remember to use the resupply ammo crate to keep well-stocked with ammo. Also be sure to use the metal sheet on the left side for cover when you need it. After a few of these waves, the aliens run a car out of the parking structure that collides with the box that you are being carried around in, and it will drop you to the ground below.
When you are on the ground, hope over any obstacles in your way, and find the gate with the glowing lock. Punch the lock off and go through the gate to the plaza in front of the Duke Dome. There are a handful of Pig Cops here that you have to take care of. Remember to hold on to your pistol if you are trying to unlock the Duke Nukem Forever Gunslinger Achievement.
When all the Pig Cops are dead, you need to figure out how to get out of the plaza. On the side opposite of the one you came in, there is a red, explosive barrel. If you haven’t shot it already, shoot the barrel to destroy some boxes that are holding up an open crate. When the crate is low enough for you to jump into, can climb through it to get to the next area.
After you jump out the other side of the crate, you see a construction trailer directly in front of you. The door to the trailer is locked, so you have to find another way in. Go around the back of the trailer and climb up the ladder to the roof. You can then go through any open skylights or punch one out and jump through it to get into the trailer.
In this room is a copy machine. Walk up to the copy machine and press “X” to open it and again to make a copy. This is your one and only ego cap reward at the Duke Dome for a whopping +1 ego point.
After stroking your ego, walk into the next room and on your left is a telephone. This is the next message in the Duke Nukem Forever Call Waiting Achievement.
There is glowing switch next to the door. Flip the switch and then an alien drop ship shows up. There are several weapons lying around inside the trailer, and it is a pretty easily defended location, so I recommend killing as many aliens as you can through the windows in the trailer, taking cover as needed. After you kill several waves of aliens, some berserking pig-cops show up and turn the trailer over. Escape through the skylights and kill any pig-cops you see.
When all the aliens are dead, find the gate in the chain-link fence. There is a spotlight shining on the switch to open it. Hit the switch, but the gate doesn’t open. Follow the on-screen instructions to force open the gate and proceed forward to trigger part two of the Duke Dome.
Walk into the crate directly in front of you. It will tip forward, allowing you to go out the doors on the other side. Follow the path around to an area with a lot of other crates. There is a flickering spotlight on a dark red crate directly in front of you as you approach.
The goal in this Duke Dome crate puzzle is to get that crate to tip forward so that you can jump on top of it and get to the scaffolding on the other side. To accomplish this feat, you have to load the crate full of barrels to weigh it down. There is a barrel visible on the crate to your left. Grab it, walk around to the back of the dark red crate, and throw it in to the far end. Then walk back around and shoot the the red barrel that’s visible in the crate behind the one you got the first barrel from. This will cause two more barrels to fall out the back side of this crate. Walk around to get these barrels and throw both of them into the dark red crate.
When you have all three barrels loaded in the crate, walk back around and climb up the ladder on the side of the crate you got the first barrel from. Then jump from that crate onto the top of the dark red crate and continue across to the scaffolding. Follow the scaffolding and jump down into the next area.
You see two aliens flying the twins to the Duke Dome, and they cry out, “Duke, save us!” On some more scaffolding close to where the twins are taken in, two other aliens who seem to be keeping guard notice you and start to attack. Kill them and continue around to the crane. Try to use the crane, and Duke says, “Hmm, needs juice.” You have to find a battery to power the crane.
Get out of the cockpit of the crane and climb on top of it. Walk to end of the crane boom and jump onto the scaffolding at the end. The top level collapses, dropping you onto a lower level. Jump down from there to the next level and from that small platform onto a lower one that has a room in it. You can find at least a pistol in that room. (If you are working on the Duke Nukem Forever Gunslinger Achievement, you should already have a pistol, and this will just be additional ammo for you.) Use your pistol to shoot the red barrels in the crate that is suspended in front of you. Then jump into this crate and continue to the other side.
When you get to the other side, find the ladder up to the next level. Then go up the planks and up the cinder blocks into the top level. You find the battery you need and an RPG launcher in a room on the top level. Pick up the battery and the RPG launcher. An alien ship shows up and destroys the room you were in, dropping you down a level. You must fight the alien ship with the RPG launcher. Use the EDF ammo resupply crate in the corner of this area to get more RPG’s as needed. When you damage the ship to a critical level, it will destroy the wall that is retaining you and fly off into the distance.
Go through the hole the alien ship created and turn left. Go through the gate to get back to the path to the crane. Take the path to the right and back around to the crane. The battery area of the crane is glowing, showing you where to put the battery you just collected. Follow the on-screen instructions to insert the battery, and then go back to the crane cockpit.
Your goal here is to make a hole in the side of the Duke Dome so that you can get it in. Grab the crane controls and swing the wrecking ball into the side of the Duke Dome. The scaffolding will collapse and some aliens will show up. You don’t have to worry about shooting the aliens. Just keep slamming the wrecking ball into the side of the Duke Dome, and the collision will take care of the aliens. Continue slamming the wrecking ball against the side of the building until it falls off. Then move the crane boom as far left and as far down as you can.
Exit the crane cockpit and climb on top of it and across the boom again. Jump down through the hole you just made. Kick open the door and go through it to end Duke Dome.
I hope you liked this walkthrough for Duke Nukem Forever Chapter 7: “Duke Dome.” Continue to the next walkthrough for Duke Nukem Forever Chapter 8: “The Hive” or go to the Duke Nukem Forever Walkthrough Table of Contents.
Did I forget anything? Are you having trouble with something? Leave a comment below.
Ubisoft has just released a new trailer for the upcoming fitness title, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012
Here are some details from the official Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 press release.
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 will take players into a stimulating world showcasing an array of visual effects and an environment that will transform just as their workouts evolve in the game. The upgraded extraction system scans the player’s full body during the training session so players are able to see themselves in the Your Shape universe and monitor every step of their progress.
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 introduces a variety of new activities that allow fitness gamers the opportunity to customize routines to fit their individual workout goals. Players can choose from a collection of fitness dance classes and targeted workouts including martial arts, boot camp, Zen sessions and fun mini-games including jump rope. In addition, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 also includes a brand new dynamic and interactive feature called Run the World. This activity virtually simulates interval running along the streets of a 3D rendition of your favorite city, such as New York and Paris.
The enhanced feedback system not only tracks what you are doing wrong, but now offers suggestions on how to adjust your moves to achieve the optimal workout. Using Ubisoft’s innovative Player Projection technology, Your Shape is one of the only games that can track floor movements, allowing the development team to expand on the list of available activities and incorporate push-up and sit-ups into the routines.
The online fitness portal, Your Shape Center, is a community where players can monitor their fitness and wellness goals, challenge their friends and see how they compare against players from around the world on the global leaderboards. Players will be able to motivate each other and praise friends’ accomplishments on Facebook, and engage with other users to share fitness challenges and stay inspired and engaged throughout the workout campaign.
While a official release date was not included in the press release, Amazon
The game is currently available for pre-order from Amazon
This walkthrough for Duke Nukem Forever Chapter 6: “Vegas in Ruin” will show you how to complete the sixth chapter of Duke Nukem Forever, find a helmet, and get your ego cap reward.
You start this chapter in front of the casino in The Lady Killer. Walk towards the street. Directly in front of you is an opened van. Grab the Ripper out of the van (you’re going to need it, but remember: if you are attempting to get the Duke Nukem Forever Gunslinger Achievement, you need to hold on to your pistol).
While you are at the van, Duke will say “Power armor is for pussies,” and you will see Master Chief’s armor in the back of the van. This counts as the first helmet you need to find for the Duke Nukem Forever Bucket Head Achievement.
Continue to the left from where you resupplied. Navigate around the stopped cars and busses. Some soldiers will accompany you, and as you get further along your path, you will come up on some soldiers fighting some aliens with a machine gun turret. Use the turret as you see fit and kill all the aliens that attack you.
Note: This chapter has a ton of street fighting. The good thing about this is that there are often lots of cars and explosive barrels lying around that you can use to kill aliens. If you kill 10 aliens with environmental explosions, you will unlock the Duke Nukem Forever Dead Useful Achievement for 15 gamer points.
When you have killed all the aliens at this area, follow the road to the right. Some more aliens will show up that you will have to deal with. At the end of the road you are on, there is a structure on the right with an EDF supply crate that you can smash for some extra equipment.
After all the aliens are dead, your companions will be standing by a break in the rubble on the side of the road. If the break is not there when you get there, a pipe bomb will be used to make a path. Follow your comrades through the path, up the stairs, and across the walkway. An alien ship will come destroy the walkway that you are on. Kill any aliens around and jump down to the road below you.
Back on the road, several aliens will spawn nearby. These enemies are particularly well-armed, so use your cover and strafing wisely to best them. It’s also a good idea to shoot the explosive barrel the pig cop is carrying before he throws it at you.
With those aliens dead, continue down the road some more. A drop ship will release some berserking pig cops at you. Shoot any explosive barrels on the ground to take out some, and use your ripper or pipe bombs to kill the others. Then go to the end of the road.
The road is blocked, so your only option is to jump down into the crater by going between the bus and semi-trailer that are blocking your path. To your left after you jump down you will find some soldiers and a lot of equipment. Of particular interest is an RPG and an ammo crate. You will need these to fight the boss that is about to show up and kill your comrades. Shortly after your descent into the crater, a drop ship will drop off some aliens. Kill them, and then the boss comes.
The boss comes and kills your comrades, leaving you facing him solo. Thanks to the geography of the crater and your RPG, this isn’t a very difficult task. Just keep strafing and hiding behind the pillar of rock in the middle of the crater, firing your RPG rounds at the boss whenever you get a chance. When you run out of RPG’s, sneak back to the ammo crate when the boss isn’t looking to re-supply.
When you have fully decreased the boss’s health, he will fall over and his health meter will flash red. Run over to the boss and follow the on-screen instructions to climb up his arm, rip off a horn, and stab it into his eye. While he is writing in pain, go up to his crotch and follow the on-screen instructions to humiliate him. This is your Vegas in Ruin ego cap reward: +3 ego points.
After you kill the boss, a sewer pipe cover will open, and a soldier will tell you to get to the Duke Dome. Just continue into the pipe to end the chapter.
I hope you liked this walkthrough for Duke Nukem Forever Chapter 6: “Vegas in Ruin.” Continue to the next walkthrough for Duke Nukem Forever Chapter 7: “The Duke Dome” or go to the Duke Nukem Forever Walkthrough Table of Contents.
Did I forget anything? Are you having trouble with something? Leave a comment below.
[UPDATE 7/12/11] Reefer Madness is out! Get your copy now and follow my Reefer Madness Case Guide to get all five achievements, all clues, all questions, and five stars.
In recent LA Noire News, the fourth DLC case “Reefer Madness” will be released soon. Coming on the heels of the other DLC cases (A Slip of the Tongue, The Naked City, and Nicholson Electroplating), Reefer Madness will be an addition to the cases on the Vice Desk.
Reports indicate Reefer Madness will have a release date of July 12, 2011, and available for download on Xbox 360 and PS3. If you purchased the LA Noire Rockstar Pass, you will be entitled to Reefer Madness at no extra charge. If not, gamers will have to cough up the standard 320 Microsoft Points ($4 USD).
Like the other DLC cases, Reefer Madness will include 5 achievements at 20 gamer points a piece, 100 gamer points total. These achievements include:
Guides for each of these achievements as well as a walkthrough case guide for Reefer Madness will be up right here on SLeeAndTopher.com shortly after the release date.
[UPDATE 7/12/11] The Reefer Madness Case Guide is now available.