I just played the demo for Halo Wars and I have to say I’m not too impressed. With my lust for games like Age of Empires (all of them), StarCraft, WarCraft (2 & 3), Command and Conquer (most), Company of Heroes, and others it’s hard to put Halo Wars up with them.
I’m not saying it’s a terrible game, but one that an RTS fan wouldn’t enjoy for long. For what Ensemble did was a real first. A RTS game designed and made strictly for a console. Halo Wars isn’t a port from a PC but an original Xbox 360 game. The controller does work for the most part, though it does lack micromanagement features that a mouse and keyboard would give.
Base building is unique and clever but leaves you wanting more. For instance, you just basically have one GIANT building and all you do is add-ons. It includes factories, barracks, and even base defenses. You don’t have much of a choice for placement, just where the main building is, so much of the strategy is taken out.
You only have two choices of race: Humans or Covenant, though the humans are the only race for the campaign. Both armies work well and are fairly balanced. The units have different unique attacks from a warthog’s ramming attack to to the full out attack from a tank. The army sizes are relatively small and it’s hard to manage a small group. Mostly you’ll be ordering full-on attacks because managing small strike forces or conducting war on different fronts is almost impossible.
All in all, it was a cool play through and it does look like Ensemble tells a great story making Halo fans pretty happy. As far as an RTS game, it was a solid attempt but I feel that the short comings of consoles in this area ultimately bring this game down a few pegs. It just can’t compare to games that have been out for years on the PC. New RTS players and fans of Halo will enjoy this ride, but as a more seasoned vet, I think I’ll sit this war out.
Jason Gaming
Just got my computer back from being repaired. It got a new display and keyboard and I have to say, I love it! Nothing new has been going on around here except for the fact that I almost kicked the cold/flu! We had some awesome times together but I think it’s finally time to say goodbye.
Oh, and my local gaming (tabletop) store has closed it’s doors. That news really bummed me out, especially since it was about a 3 min drive from my home. I’m looking into other options for my gaming needs, especially now that I’m getting into WarHammer 30k. There is another place not that far from here but the people who run that store are douche bags and will never get business from me again. For now, no more spots to play Magic 
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As far as SFIV, I haven’t been playing much but I did manage to beat my boss in a round. I was my usual Ken and he was Sagat. Apparently, his controller was busted and he couldn’t use low punches at all (he did wiff a lot of throws). I knew it had to be some mistake, but one day I will beat him.
Also a happy birthday to Victoria, welcome to being 25 
Jason Life, Street Fighter IV
So basically sat around today doing mostly nothing and napping. I’m still stick but at least my nasal congestion isn’t as bad as it was yesterday. The only productive thing I’ve done all day was get my ass kicked in SF4 by Algeni. He pretty much whooped me all around by every character I could think of. Yeah, I guess my coworker was right, I need to learn how to defend…
Jason Random
Found this on the intarwebs, found it funny.
Jason Random
Another update in my quest to actually be decent at Street Fighter and all fighting games.
I started tooling around with the challenges in challenge mode and started learning combos. The basic ones I knew already thanks to friends and coworkers but the more advanced ones will take some time for me to learn. The fight pad I have works well but I guess I’ll just have to get used to it and learn how to pull these moves off. I’ll devote a lot of time to that mode so I can get used to my gamepad and all.
Also played Jim online today and won most of the games. Though he was just picking people at random and I was sticking to Ken. If he would have played Ryu, he would have owned me.
Oh yeah, still sick and getting some pizza to help me feel better. Can’t have chicken soup, being Ash Wednesday and all.. :p
Jason Street Fighter IV
Due to a 101 degree fever since 4am last night I called out of work. While I was home going between hot and cold spouts I was playing SF4. I unlocked all the characters in one sitting (though I did pass out to take a nap in the middle while that ‘indestructible’ song was playing in an infinite loop).
So now I have nothing less but to just work on getting better.
Jason Random
Just unlocked Dan in SF4 and I love his lame fireball. I’ll try to get the rest tonight.
Jason Gaming
When I started writing the title of the post I remembered a quote from Back to the Future 2.
“Listen kid, we could either do this hard way or the easy way. *knock* (creepy voice: the eeasssyy way)”
Anyway, I saw this video and decided to share it with anyone who wanted to get all the characters in SF4 and not have to work hard to get it. Enjoy!
Jason Gaming
Just want to say thanks and happy birthday to Jim and TJ! We went out to NYC last night and for the first time in a long while, I had an awesome night. Even the colossal headache I had didn’t stop me from singing patriotic songs as we walked 20 city blocks to get awesome food.
Jason Life
I mentioned earlier that I could not find the fight pad for Street Fighter 4. On my lunch break I decided to walk the entire mall and see if anyone had it. Turns out that every clerk I talked to told me to give up my search. I didn’t want to, I needed that fight pad. I needed a six button controller!
After work I stopped by my local Best Buy and asked the person working in the games department if they had the fighting pad in stock. After checking the computer he said that the store I was in only had one left, and that it was probably stolen. I call a few other places while I was in the Best Buy and no other luck, I was about to leave.
Before I left I remember I had a friend that knew someone who worked at the Best Buy I was in. I asked him if that last pad was being held or if he knew any other places that would have it. The next thing he said was “I think I hid one there.” I was shocked and excited all at once. He had me walk to the Wii aisle and look behind some boxes. Sure enough, it was there!
So basically that had to be one of the best evenings I’ve had in a while. To top it off I won a scratch off lottery ticket for $30, which paid for pizza and beers for that evening. Score.
Jason Gaming, Life
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