NYCC 2010: Michael Jackson: The Experience *OLD POST CONTENT*

I wrote this not too long after going to NYCC 2010. The video at the bottom is one I recorded myself. 

Billie Jean. Beat It. Smooth Criminal. How many of us stood in front of our televisions and tried to dance alone to the music videos, imitating Michael’s every move (or at least trying to)? How many of us knew the steps by heart, and danced along when the songs played on the radio? Well, now there’s a game tailor-made just for us Michael fans. Michael Jackson: The Experience will be available on the Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, PSP and the DS. Let’s check out the newest game to celebrate the King of Pop’s legacy.

For the Wii, the game can be played by up to four people.  You can choose to be Michael himself, or one of his backup dancers. The dancing itself is supposed to be more of a challenge when you choose Michael, so players beware! The point of the game, of course, is to move exactly as Michael and his dancers move, and if you are an avid MJ fan, you’ll get in the groove with no hesitation at all.

In the DS version, you have tap the screen according to the beat, sometimes dragging the stylus along a path to complete the move, accompanied by what seems to be a cartoonish teenage version of Michael. You can see actual gameplay on the DS by clicking here.

The PS3 version will use the Move, and the 360 version will use the Kinect to allow a more immerse experience for players, and won’t be released until early 2011 to allow developers to better integrate the game using the new motion software.

As a HUGE Michael Jackson fan, I am looking forward to playing this game as soon as I can. I’m a huge fan of dancing games as well, and this is definitely something fun to do (in terms of dancing to actual routines performed by an artist), and even though it’s not a karaoke game, it won’t stop me from singing along while busting a move.

Child's Play? This is No Kids' Game *OLD POST CONTENT*

Another something I wrote awhile back, somewhere in early 2011 I believe. Title credit to Kuma!

The first day I downloaded the ‘Fat Princess’ demo, I was completely lost. The game had been out for over a year, and I never really bothered to give it a try. However, that particular day, I was too bored to be bothered with the few selection of games I have on disc, and scoured PSN for demos of games I could try. 


The music sounded so adorable on the menu screen! All happy and medieval, I figured it was a game rated E+10. It was bright, colorful, and the narrator sounded like one of the announcers from a Nickelodeon commercial.  That first time I played, I lost. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I was tired. My six year old son, though, wanted to have a try at it. I figured there was no harm in him playing it, even though I never noticed the ESRB rating for it was T (may contain more intense violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, blood, simulated gambling, and/or use of strong language). 

He played that demo almost every time he was allowed to play the PS3. He got the hang of it pretty fast and won almost every game he played. I was beginning to feel a little defeated. A six year old? Better at a game than ME? HMPH. He would capture the Princess multiple times, and save his teammates when they were in peril. Me? I couldn’t even get to the other side of Black Forest without getting whooped by the other team. 


It wasn’t until one day, while I was reading a book while he was giving his imprisoned Princess some cake, that I heard a squeaky voice say ‘NOOB!’ I looked up at the TV, and heard another voice say what sounded to me like a curse word. My eyes went wide for a second, and he looked at me. It was the first time EVER that he had played and heard anything other than background music. It was then when I thought, “What the heck is this game rated?!” but didn’t ask him to turn it off. Instead, I watched him play, listening for more mischievous, squeaky-sounding voices. I heard a “VICTORY IS MINE!” and that was it. It was after that incident that I decided I was going to get my game on and learn to play...AND figure out what that game was rated.


It took me awhile to get used to how the game worked, and sadly, my son had to help me. I heard no more squeaky voices, and wondered how the hell they were absent from the game the whole time until that one day. After I noticed the game was rated T, I wondered why. I didn’t see anything wrong with my son playing a game that looked like it was made for young kids in the first place, even though there was a little cartoonish violence. The blood looked cartoonish, not realistic. They were using medieval-looking weapons, and the main objective was to rescue the Princess while feeding the captive Princess so much cake that she would be too fat to be rescued fast enough.  

I guess you could say that I should have paid more attention to the game’s rating...but then again, maybe it’s just a parent’s personal judgement whether or not a game is suitable for their child to play. If my kid has seen me play games like Resistance: Fall of Man, World of Warcraft, Resident Evil and Call of Duty, then I see no reason why he can’t play a game that seems totally harmless, yet has a little bit of cartoon violence. As long as it doesn’t have explicit scenes, extreme obscenities, or any INAPPROPRIATE scenes (you know what scenes I’m talking about), then me, myself, am fine with him feeding that damn Princess cake until she is so fat, she kinda reminds me of Mario when he uses the P-Balloon.

The Nightlife of a GamerMom *OLD POST CONTENT*

I wrote this near the end of 2010. Sora was only 1 year old. Now he's 3 years old. Awwwww. Instead of him kicking me, now he watches me play and copies all of the things he sees. -_- I'm not sure which is worse.

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It’s about 11:00pm. Sora, my youngest child, refuses to sleep. I’m beyond frustrated and he looks at me and laughs. ARGH. Time to get his little rocking chair and turn on the PS3. As I look through my friends list, I see nearly everyone playing Modern Warfare 2, and I want in. As I place Sora in his chair and buckle him in, I start up my game. While the game loads, I place the heavy weight of the chair with Sora in it on my lap and get my headset ready. Little feet start smacking my face around as I join a party I’m invited to.


As we start the game, I don’t hear a peep from Sora since he’s too busy watching me play. It’s only when I get a little carried away on the headset that he reminds me that he’s still on my lap. On the screen, I see HEADSHOT! Just a half second later, I get kicked in the face. Literally. Next, my headset gets knocked off my ears by his toes and dangles just below my chin. I quickly grab the wire and blindly press for the mute button before Sora starts his wailing. As I’m continuing to hunt for the next objective, I begin a steady rocking on my lap for Sora to fall asleep to. Even though I hear people on my headset say “Where’d Shady go?”, I continue to play as if I were never using the headset to begin with.


Everything seems to be going good for both Sora and my team. He’s falling asleep and we’re winning. Suddenly, I’m kicked in the mouth again. As I’m capturing the objective, I feel the pain in my lip and my lower gums. I’m probably going to get a canker sore from that kick. I put it in the back of my mind as I continue rocking the chair, capturing and defending the objectives. FINALLY, the game is over, and Sora’s asleep. Mission accomplished on both ends.

Call of Duty: Black Ops, First Strike Map Pack Preview *OLD CONTENT POST*

I wrote this in either December 2010 or January 2011. Since I put the work into it, I might as well have it put up somewhere. Yeah it's old, but that's ok. I like putting my work for people to see it.

It’s that time of year, when you feel the giddiness and anticipation for new DLC on your favorite game. Okay, maybe not FAVORITE, but played-til-you-made-your-console-hot-to-the-touch game, and I’m talking about CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS.  Even though this game was shunned by many COD fans, the ones that actually enjoy this title are in for a real treat with these new upcoming maps. Bigger? YES. You might scream at your tv or yell at your teammates? OH, YES! Scary looking zombie space monkeys? OMG, I’M CLAPPING WITH EXCITEMENT. And yes, I actually did a happy dance when I saw the trailer for it, and I’m hyped to share it with you all!!! HERE WE GO!

Let’s begin with Kowloon, a map most of you Black Ops players will recognize from Campaign Mode, although it’s not the exact same layout. One giant pro for this map? THE ZIP LINES! One major con for this map? THE ZIP LINES! Think of the zip line as the person you THINK is your best friend, but is really your worst enemy in disguise. You can get to Point A to Point B in a jiffy, but you’re a moving target, and your guns are inaccessible. You’ll have no chance of defending yourself at all. Using the zip line will be like answering Jigsaw’s famous lines from SAW: ‘Live or die. Make your choice’.  The map itself looks pretty big, but it could be because of all the tin rooftops jutting out everywhere. If it’s as big as it seems, then we’ll all be getting lost in our quest to ‘complete the objective’ in our game of choice, kind of like most people did when Trailer Park was released in the MW2 Resurgence Map Pack last year.

Next on the list is Discovery, a research station with a void smack in the center of the map. One of the ways to get to the opposite side of the map is a very small, very fragile snow bridge, which can crumble to smithereens if a grenade explodes on it. If you’re in the process of running, you will fall, die, and probably curse the  day you bought the map pack. *evil grin* It also seems that this map is great for sniping, since it’s almost not worth it to use Sniper Rifles in the maps that are currently in rotation for multiplayer.

The biggest map so far would be Berlin Wall. Players will be fighting on either side, with a No Man’s Land in the center guarded by auto-turrets. This map will also be even better for sniping than Discovery being that there are tall buildings that give you a nice, clear view of the map layout. Now, I had to look up info on these turrets, because the First Strike Preview doesn’t specify whether or not the turrets can be controlled by players. Although I couldn’t find anything concrete on the issue, I did read some speculation by players. Some hoped for button controlled turrets similar to Radiation’s button controlled hatch. Others hoped they could be destroyed by certain means, such as an RPG, or if not, they would be fully protected from fire by using the Ghost Pro perk. I have to say, I like the Ghost Pro option better, but whichever the case may be, let’s just say people who play flag-based games will have lots of fun frustration trying to capture one if it’s set in No Man’s Land.

Now, for what seems like will be my *FAVORITE* map, Stadium! This is going to be for you shotgun using, SMG toting, kamikaze, run-and-gun type players, such as myself. *happy dance* It’s catered more towards people who like close-quarters combat, so I expect to see A LOT of melee kills, especially if you’re the type that auto-melees if someone just happens to run in front of you. I am hoping this is an expanded-type version of Nuketown, which is always fast-paced in any gameplay, which is exactly what this map is supposed to offer. It will be a great map for the Flak Jacket perk, so you all keep that in mind!


NOW, for the icing on the cupcake!


ASCENSION. *cue the Zombie music*

If you play Zombies as much as I have, then seeing a new, scarier map is going to make you squeal like a piggy! It looks darker, bigger, and more fast paced than Kino Der Toten or FIVE.  Instead of seeing one teleporting device like on Kino, or several that are on FIVE, we see lunar landers. They look like a sort of hovercraft that will take you from one place on the map to another while still being able to shoot at the zombies, which you can’t do when using teleporters. At the start of the Ascension preview, there is a turret in use. It’s unclear as to any turrets being player controlled or auto, but it looks like it will definitely come in handy. Along with the usual drone-like zombies that somehow obtain Marathon Pro in later levels and the Crawler zombies with the killer gas, we are introduced to a new enemy: the zombie space monkey. They seem to also have unlimited sprinting abilities, and the swarms look much more menacing than usual. I don’t think it will make me sleep better at night knowing the space monkeys have red eyes, the zombies have yellow eyes, and the crawlers have NO eyes. *cue the nightmares*


There are special achievements for Ascension on XBL (which I’m sure will also become Trophies on PS3), which are:


The Eagle has Landers (35G) – In Ascension, escape on all three lunar landers.


They are going THROUGH! (35G) – In Ascension, kill at least 5 zombies with 1 Gersch device.


Space Race (45G) – In Ascension, Pack-a-Punch a weapon before round 8.


Chimp on the Barbie (35G) – In Ascension, kill a space monkey with a fire trap.

The First Strike map pack makes its debut on Xbox Live February 1, 2011. No release date has been set for PS3 or PC users as of yet, but since there is usually a month or so wait, my guess is it will be out in March or April. I’ll make sure to keep you all posted, since I will be awaiting my turn to play these new maps on PS3. ’Til then, ‘use of deadly force is authorized’.

Black Ops Rezurrection Map Pack! Zombies FTW!

SO, if any of you are huge Zombies fans like I am, you were probably super excited for this map pack to come out...some of you (I know I have) have probably even had the thought if they would ever make an exclusive Zombies map pack. Yeah, it came out a month ago on 360, BUT I DON'T OWN A 360. I am downloading it right now on PS3, so lemme tell you what it comes with!

• Very cool Moon theme
• 20 tracks of Zombies music
• Moon map
• Nacht der Untoten, Verruckt, Shi No Numa & Der Riese maps

There are FOUR separate downloads in this map pack, which is why they are categorized above, that's the options you get to download separately. Now, for the MUSIC aspect of this add-on...I'm REALLY disappointed that Eminem's "Won't Back Down" [FIVE] and Avenged Sevenfold's "Not Ready to Die" [Call of the Dead] were NOT included in this track listing. I DON'T CARE about licenses and shit like that, if they were featured as a song in Zombies then IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE TRACK LISTING! *sigh* ANYWAY, moving on to the list [track length included]:

1. Damned 1'38"
2. Lullaby of a Dead Man 3'59"
3. Abra Macabre 3'06"
4. Slight Chance of Zombies 2'14"
5. The One 4'51"
6. Death on the Dance Floor 2'34"
7. Beauty of Annihilation 4'28"
8. Raining Teddy Bears 1'57"
9. Laughing Corpses 2'18"
10. Slasher 1'10"
11. Twilight 3'18"
12. Voice in Your Head 1'18"
13. Zombies Don't Surf 1'37"
14. 115 3'48"
15. Clockwork Squares 1'57"
16. Temple 1'46"
17. Undone 3'50"
18. Abracadavre 6'05"
19. Pareidolia 5'58"
20. Coming Home 3'18"

These will be *INSTALLED* via an icon in the Games column, and that will open an *INSTALLER* decked out w/ a zombie photo. It will be added to the Music column of the XMB once the installer is complete. I haven't heard them all yet, as it is 8AM and everyone here is asleep, so I will take a listen later in the day. ENJOY!

6 Things NOT to Do When Playing Call of the Dead [[Zombies, Black Ops]]

Ok, YES. I feel justified enough that there are some people out there who either A) Love being a jerkoff and shooting George (A. Romero) with their puny pistol as soon as the game starts, or B) Completely clueless and have no idea what to do. THIS LIST OF WHAT NOT TO DO IS FOR YOU!!! >_> Please enjoy. And if you don't enjoy, I really don't care. If you REALLY don't care either...why are you still reading? Exactly. *PWNED* ^_^

1. Do NOT shoot George with ANY weapons, and I mean ANY, except for the Scavenger or Ray Gun, normal or after it's been through the PAP. ALL OTHER GUNS ARE USELESS. YOU ARE WASTING AMMO AND MAKING MY SCREEN SHAKE, YOU DIMWIT. 
2. Do NOT go running clear across the map TO HIT THE RANDOM BOX right after you respawned. GO GET JUGGERNOG AND GRAB A GUN OFF THE WALL FOR NOW. You will end up alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the way OVER THERE -------> while everyone else is alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the way over there <--------------. Nobody except a noob with a death wish is going to revive you...or TRY to revive you. Don't be a douche, k?
3. Do NOT throw a grenade when George is near and the round is so far in that there are zombies EVERYWHERE. I will verbally annihilate you. End of story. 
4. Do NOT take the Scavenger and have it just to trade it for a damn Stakeout. Either USE IT the way it's meant to be used or DO NOT take it at all. 
5. Do NOT observe people trying to get the trophy/achievement pertaining to the characters stuck in the room and kill the last crawler, forcing everyone to abandon the mission. IT IS A LONG MISSION. EITHER YOU STAY AND DEAL WITH IT OR YOU LEAVE. Unless, you are host. Then, YOU MUST JUST DEAL WITH IT. 
6. Do NOT use the stair glitch for in front of the light tower and NOT help when someone needs to be revived. You'll look like a selfish bastard, and that player will remember not to help you out when it's your turn. Karma's a bitch, so be prepared for the consequences. 

That's all I can think of specifically for COTD, this rant has been building for awhile. My next one might just explain what not to do while playing Zombies in general. Til next time, people!

Shady Gets Pwned by PS3's 3.66 Update.

It all started the night of June 22, 2011. It was a Wednesday, a pretty neutral day if you ask me...and if you didn't too bad. I had just got my kids to bed when I turned on my PS3 to play some Call of the Dead (Zombie map on Black Ops, for those who don't know). I noticed I wasn't auto-logged in, so I went to sign in manually. Update available, 3.66? Sure, why not? What you'll read next is what exactly happened from starting that download to yesterday afternoon (6/23/11).

• I start the download of update 3.66 and go on Facebook to post on Gamerchick & play some Cafe World.
• Some % later, the download fails. I try a second time. Also a certain % later it fails. Of course, the saying is third time's the charm, right? PFFFFFT.
• The PS3 starts installing the fail of a download update 3.66 turned out to be. As soon as it reaches 30%, I receive error code 8002F165 (which, after consulting the PlayStation site's search of error codes, is found to be the error code associated with the PS3 "having an issue when trying to update the software" 8002F165 Error Information). The instructions on the tv tell me to hold down the power button until it beeps, unplug the AC power cord for a few minutes, plug it back in and try again. I lather, rinse & repeat about 15 times (no lie), to no avail. The error code mocks me. The bottom of the information screen containing the error message tells me to contact customer service and give them the error code. It's 2 minutes before 12am EST and their phone lines close at 8pm PST. True FML moment. 
• I notice the bottom of the list of error codes on the Playstation site that it says to reboot the system and to redownload and install the damned 3.66 update. Attempting to reboot PS3...power off. Again, attempting to reboot PS3...power off. WTF. I then notice under THAT useless piece of information that if I continue to have "issues with the system update" I would need to send my PS3 in for "service". WHAT?! NO. I refuse! 
• Powered off, I unplug the power cord and try to let it get about 10 minutes so I can try again. I go on Facebook some more, check my email, look at stupid, useless articles on Yahoo! news, and then plug the PS3 right back in to try again. ERROR 8002F165 yadayadayada. 
• I eject my Black Ops disc and put it in it's case, and try rebooting the system for the 100th time. Unable to do so, AGAIN, I take my console and violently shake it as if it harmed my kids. I develop a case of Gamer Rage, and decide before I slam the bitch and break it, I will just go to sleep. Right before I knock out, I alert my husband to the issue with the PS3. 
• Next morning, I wake up to see my hubby attempting to also reboot the PS3. Since he is the techie and I am not (just a WEE bit), I show him an article I found while trying to Google troubleshooting options for my loving error 8002F165: What saved my PS3 <3. He does the same exact thing mentioned in the LAST posting by "Andrewc78", because just like his dilemma, the XMB is not accessible due to the installing update screen that forced itself upon us like the plague. After awhile of trial and error and reformatting the HDD about 2-4 times, the update FINALLY worked (however, not by USB because it failed to recognize it as 3.66, instead recognizing it as 3.65). 
• As soon as the update finishes downloading via internet successfully without interruption, I began to get a little bit of anxiety while it installed the dreaded update. All I could think of was that dreaded 8002F165. If it happened ONE MORE TIME...JUST ONE MORE....
• *Cue the startup theme of the PS3* ^_^ *cue the happy dance* ^_^ *cue the victory smooch hubby gets for being totally awesome* ^_^

Actually, this is not the first time my PS3 was pwned by an update. About a year after we bought the original 60gb (this was probably around 2008, I don't exactly remember), there was an update that was so epic fail it pretty much targeted ONLY 60gb PS3's. If yours was a survivor, I hate you just a little. We had to reformat ours, not too long after Sony pulled the update and had a new one available not too long afterward. At least then I was able to transfer my saved data. This time, not so lucky. It's ok though, because apparently I saved a shitload of money by having an awesome hubby and not needing to send my PS3 in and paying over $100 for something so easily fixed. Not like they were gonna back up my game saves anyway, right? >_> Ok, I need to go redownload alllllllllllllll my games and DLC. It's gonna take awhile, I'm sure, so until something else spectacular happens, I will be just posting on the Gamerchick page. Have fun, gamers... AND BEWARE THE ERROR OF DESPAIR. O_O