Tag: Gaming

Podcasts 2013

Angela0 Comments

I’m an avid listener of gaming podcasts. If you don’t know what a podcast is, it’s basically a free audio recording reminiscent of radio shows. Although, I’m sure there are some that aren’t free. I started listening to them in December of 2009, mainly because I spent a lot of time driving back and forth & listening to music got boring sometimes. Now, I mostly listen to them when I’m cleaning up or when I’m working out at the gym. Cleaning up & working out both bore me so the podcasts help me pass the time quickly. I get all my podcasts on iTunes (first link below), but if you’re interested in a different podcast client such as Zune Marketplace Xbox Music or you would like to listen online or download the episodes, please visit the podcast’s website (second link below). I have listed the podcasts I currently listen to regularly below.

343 Sparkast [343 Industries]
This podcast is about all things Halo 4 and the Halo universe, an Xbox exclusive video game series. Leading up to the release of Halo 4, there were numerous episodes about the game’s development & lots of sneak peeks at upcoming Halo-related content. I love this podcast because I love Halo, but there haven’t been any new episodes since before the release of Halo 4. I assume that’s because 343i is busy with lots of post-launch stuff.

Major Nelson Radio [Larry Hryb aka Xbox Live’s Major Nelson]
Major Nelson Radio is about all things Xbox-related. Although many other topics such as tech, gadgets, other gaming consoles, cell phones, movies, tv shows, and anything else related to geeks and/or nerds are discussed. I love Xbox & this podcast is a great way to stay up on what’s happening in the Xbox world. There’s also a weekly Name the Game contest with prizes & Xbox 101 that provides tips & tricks for getting the most out of your Xbox experience.

Official Xbox Magazine (KOXM Radio) [Official Xbox Magazine Staff]
Another Xbox-related podcast! This is a great podcast for commentary on Xbox news as well as providing information on what’s going on with the Official Xbox Magazine. If you subscribe to the magazine (which I do), then this is an awesome podcast that supplements the magazine very well.

Podcast Unlocked [IGN Staff]
I just recently started listening to this podcast (about 6 or 7 episodes in), but I love it. It’s fun & informative, and I’ve liked all of the guests that have been on especially the interview about The Walking Dead game. If you’re an Xbox gamer & get your gaming news from IGN, then I definitely recommend checking out this podcast.

Rooster Teeth Podcast [Rooster Teeth Staff]
This podcast was considered a gaming podcast, but it’s now officially in the comedy section on iTunes. Anything is open for discussion & it’s hilarious. If you’re a fan of Rooster Teeth then you probably already listen to it. If you’re a fan of life or you like being alive, then you should definitely listen to this podcast! *Note: Currently, this is a live video podcast on Mondays @ 7:30PM Central Time (for RT sponsors only), but the audio gets reposted as an iTunes audio podcast.

Until next time.

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Xbox Live Achievements on iPhone

Angela0 Comments

Xbox Live Achievements have been reserved for Xbox 360, Games for Windows Live and recently Windows Phone users. I’ve longed for a Windows Phone for the simple fact that I could get achievements while I’m away from my Xbox 360. However, I purchased an iPhone 3GS in October 2009, and I’ve had my iPhone 4S since 2011. I love my iDevices, and I’m totally invested in that ecosystem when it comes to my iPhone & my iPad (I’m still a PC user though).

Yesterday, Major Nelson tweeted that the Windows Phone game Wordament was now available on the App Store for iPhone for free. I was excited that Microsoft was releasing something on the App Store especially since it’s free, but not excited enough to go download it. Major Nelson’s next tweet stated that you could also get Achievements using Wordament on the iPhone. That’s when I HAD to download it. I must say that hearing the Achievement Unlocked sound on my iPhone is amazing. Even though the iOS version only allows for 50G while the Windows Phone version offers 200G, I’ll gladly take it (G meaning gamerscore). I also noticed that app also works on my iPad & counts toward achievement progress, but it’s a little harder to play on the larger screen.

I’m addicted to Achievements, and I try to get as many as possible on Xbox 360. I downloaded Wordament last night and I already have 45G. I just need the Achievement for completing 100 rounds. I must the say the game is addictive & fun, and the Achievements are relatively easy to get unless you’re just really bad with words & knowing how to spell them. The game is free so it’s supported by ads at the bottom, but they don’t detract from the experience at all. I’m looking forward to more games like this. I’ll even pay for Xbox Live games on iOS with Achievements provided they are quality games that are worth the money I spend.

Until next time.

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First Impression – Medal of Honor Warfighter

Angela0 Comments

First, a little background information. Medal of Honor Warfighter (2012) is the sequel to 2010’s Medal of Honor. I enjoyed the latter’s campaign. Although, the multiplayer was severely lacking in the 2010 game.

Medal of Honor Warfighter Limited Edition (2012) for Xbox 360 comes on two discs (one campaign, one multiplayer). The copy I pre-ordered from Amazon included access to the Battlefield 4 Beta coming in the fall of 2013. It also included the online multiplayer pass, the Zero Dark Thirty map pack and an early unlock of the U.S. Navy Seal Sniper for multiplayer. If you’ve played Battlefield 3, which I have because I love FPS games, then the Swedish SOG Spec Ops Operator is also unlocked in multiplayer.

I’ve been reading some of the reviews of this game from reputable sites, and I don’t understand why they’ve rated the game so poorly. No, it’s not the best shooter of all time, but it has its moments. I could go on about how I think some of those sites are biased towards shooters like Call of Duty or how they wouldn’t know a decent game if it shot them in the face, but I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’m just going to write about my first impression with this game.

Yes, I played the multiplayer beta that was released a few weeks earlier. I really enjoyed it. Although the game type from the beta was something that’s been done before, I felt like it had a new feel to it in the Medal of Honor universe. I’ll admit that I haven’t played the multiplayer of the released game because the first night I tried, I couldn’t connect to the EA servers. I assumed it was because lots of people were trying to play, and the servers were overwhelmed. Maybe EA just has sucky servers. Who knows? The internet would have you believe it was because EA is the worst company ever. Whatever.

However, I have been playing the campaign on the easiest difficulty, but only because I want a stress-free play through of the story and I don’t want to go after miscellaneous achievements on Tier 1 difficulty. I’m about 1/3 through the campaign and I really like it. To me, the missions are varied and unexpected. I haven’t felt like I’ve been playing the same old “modern-day shooter” the whole time. I think it’s mostly because of the locations, which I won’t spoil. Plus, it’s not bad to look at either, but in a console generation that’s 7 years old, that’s to be expected. The peek & lean feature is an added bonus to mix up the gameplay as well. When I’ve fully experienced the game, I may write more, but I think that’s it for now.

Until next time.

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