Most Likely to Succeed

    Well, I'm just one song away from the Most Likely to Succeed achievement in Guitar Hero 2, which you get when you get a 5 star rating on every song on medium difficulty. It's not Phsychobilly Freakout, but Carry Me Home.
    I post this, because I'm actually somewhat proud of how close I am to this one achievement, considering when I first played the game the day after it came out, I got boooed off the stage on my first attempt at Heart Shaped Box on easy difficulty.
    I don't much care for Phsychobilly Freakout, so I got that out of the way ahead of time, so I wouldn't start hating the game when it would have become the last song I need.
    I was pretty close to getting 5 stars on my last attempt of Carry Me Home, but my wrists just can't take any more for the day. I think my score was 114,000, and I think I only need 119,000, because someone on my friends list that has the achievement has that score, but I just don't know how much longer it's going to take me to squeeze out another 5,000 on that song. Before tonight, my best score was 63,000, so I made a big leap forward, and at least now when I play it, it doesn't sound like a game of Plinko on The Price Is Right.
    My second to last song to 5 star was Hangar 18. I don't know why, though. All through the game, I've been good at guessing what kind of rating I would get, but anytime I thought I was getting a 5 star on Hangar 18, I'd get 3 or 4, and anytime I thought I'd get a 3, I'd get a 4. When I finally did get the 5 star, I didn't just guess, I knew somehow, not guessed, just knew, and to my delight, I wasn't wrong. Now that I've 5 starred it, I feel I'm qualified to give pointers, so I'll provide this; That opening power chord part isn't as fast as it looks.  There's no need for alternate picking, just keep a steady strum throughout, and just watch for the changes. You should be able to make it out of there with at least 50,000. The alternate picking does come in later, toward the end of the song, on the blue fret, so watch for that.
    Funny thing about all of this is that I'm not a scorewhore, I swear. I didn't really start paying attention to achievements until I had beaten Crackdown, and got kind of bored with games, but the achievements gave me something more to do. Now, I find myself checking to see what achievements a new game has,  and, in the case of guitar hero, actually going out of my way to attain them.

Posted by jikado @ 2:43 am EDT | Permalink | 2 Comments

Well, that sucks.

    Monday, I called the 3 closest Circuit City locations nearest to me to see if they would still have any remaining copies of Guitar Hero 2 available for sale, after their website error allowed people to buy it online and pick it up in-store on Friday. The closest one admitted that they had been wiped out. The next one said that they had also been wiped out, but expected more to come in on Tuesday, since they had only received 2 to begin with. The third said they had a 'box full of them,' which didn't seem right.
    This morning, I checked online, and it said that indeed, the nearest one did have it in stock. So, I get the kid ready and arrive at Circuit City before the doors even open. As soon as they do, we jump out of the car, along with about 20 others to get inside and purchase the game. The manager greets us and tells us he only has one copy for sale. WTF? Later, I ask him to check to see if the other 2 locations have any, and he does, and tels me that they are also already sold out. I'm pretty much stuck buying this at Circuit City, because my wife had got me a gift card for there, and there's not going to be another time I shop there. Nothing against circuit city, I just usually prefer Best Buy, but CC had a good deal going with that free 1600 point card. So, reluctantly, I go to the counter to buy a copy off of tomorrow's shipment, get my receipt and leave.
    So, here I sit, without guitar, waiting, watching about half of my friends list playing it.
    I've got to think Circuit City is going to get in trouble for this, even internally, someone's going to get in trouble for that website error.

Posted by jikado @ 12:56 pm EDT | Permalink | 3 Comments

A gaming 'Lull'.

    I'm going through a gaming lull right now, it seems to happen every once in a while. When I first got my 360, I was so excited. There were tons of games I couldn't wait to buy, rent, or try. Since about Christmas, the time to games ratio was in favor of games. There was just so much to play, and so little time to play them. I was playing GoW, Cod3, VP, NHL 07, M:UA and was still able to anxiously await Crackdown and Guitar Hero 2.
    So, now I'm playing Crackdown occasionally, just in hopes of finding that last frickin' orb, really. Sometimes, it's still fun to help a friend clear out a few bosses. I'm going to keep Crackdown in hopes of some good DLC, but just today I sold GoW and CoD3. GoW was fun while it lasted. The story mode was fun, and co-op in the story mode was really fun. I just never go the hang of multi-player. I was going to finish it in hardcore mode, but that's pretty unplayable solo, as Dom always dies at the sight of an enemy bullet. CoD3 was fun, and unlike GoW, I got really good at the multi-player. It just got too repetitive. After playing Crackdown, it seems that all you really do in CoD3 is shoot the same guy over and over. Plus, for some reason, CoD3 was really buggy for me. A couple of nights ago I tried playing it again. I open the tray, put the game in, sit down and wait. The game gets to the main menu, then freezes my box. I get up, shut 'er down, wait a bit, and fire it back up. I went through this routine 3 times, each time getting another menu deeper, but it ended up being much more trouble than it was worth to play a few war games.   
    I'm still awaiting Guitar Hero 2, then, from there, Halo 3, but other than that, there's really nothing out there that's grabbing my attention. Oh, wait, Mercenaries 2. GTA4, I also forgot to include that.

Posted by jikado @ 11:11 am EDT | Permalink | 3 Comments

What is proper Xbox live etiquette?

    Is there some proper finishing school on how to decently behave on xbox live that people have yet to take? I'm not asking about the obvious timmy situation, for me, that has mostly been avoided by joining this site. Here are the most recent problems and concerns I have run across;
    I'm currently in 2old2play's GSN 2old2puck NHL 07 tournament. Things went pretty well until it came time to get the last  two of my regular season games in (I'll not use names here, because if the people in question are reading, they'll know who they are, and there's no need for libel). I contacted the owner of that team on several occasions, even going to the extent of setting up a lobby room, leaving him a message, waiting, watching his gamercard, leave another message, see him play another game against the computer, leave another message, wait, see him start yet a third NHL 07 game against the computer, then see him log off. Never once did he reply. I did this routine twice, then a third time I only waited for him to finish the game he was playing, after which he logged off. In addition to this, there were a few times where I could see from my pc that he was on, so I'd send a text message, courteously, of course, and not get a reply. So, he ended up missing a bunch of games, and missed the playoffs, without a word from him. He was the third member of the tournament to leave in such a manner, I believe.
    So, now the playoffs have started. I think a lot of us are excited to get this tournament done so that we start a second and do it up the right way.  To start a second, you must finish the first, though. My playoff round one opponent, whom I should say that I had no problems meeting up with in the regular season, is now starting to exhibit similar behavior, to a lesser degree. Twice now I've left a message, one voice and one text from the pc, only to see him log off about an hour later without a reply.
    What is the proper etiquette to use in this situation? Do I continue to bombard this person with desperate pleas to play our games in a tournament he signed up for? Do I wait for him to initiate the game on his terms? I know I sound like a character from one of those sex and the city type of shows, but I'd really hate to win my playoff games just on forfeit. I'd honestly settle for a quick little reply, even along the lines of, "sry not 2nite" (as much as I loathe text speak). All I get is nothing. Should I whine to the tournament organizer?
    That first incident might have been avoided by using a guideline I've now suggested for tournaments; Minimum number of posts for participants. Meaning you've got to be an active member of the site to participate in the tournament, or have a current member vouch for you. Last thing on this particular topic; if you're reading this, and fear I may be talking about you, you're probably right, but know that I'm not pissed or angry, just a little baffled at the lack of response.
    The other thing I've come across is joinable games. What is the proper or acceptable way to join someone on your friends list when their in a joinable game? Crackdown, I feel, is really touchy, because it requires the joinable person to stop what they're doing. What about Worms, GoW, or CoD3? Should I send a 'heads up' message that I'm going to join them, or asking them if I can join them? Cod3 is pretty easy, because if they're joinable, it's not ranked, and there's room for more. Gow almost as easy, but then there might only be room for one, and they're waiting for someone in particular. Worms is tough, because they're only joinable while setting up a player match game, and perhaps they're doing t to only include the maximum of 3 others.

Posted by jikado @ 11:54 pm EDT | Permalink | 2 Comments

Why is my son weird?

    Why is my son the 'weird' one?
    My wife and I have had a lot of rules for our son, since the day he was born. One of them is; no videogames until he learns to ride a bike without training wheels. Originally, this was to include even just watching us play, but that part has long since been broken, but we remain solid on the premise. He's 4 years old now, and I expect him to master the two-wheeled challenge this spring. He's accepted this rule, though, mostly because, I suspect, he knows no different. We've done a good job as parents to make clear that there would be no leeway with this rule, and he's been very patient with it.
     Why is it, though, that others are so puzzled when my son tells them that he doesn't play videogames?
    My son recently returned from a vacation with his grandmother in Arizona, where they had been visiting her friends. He came back with a ps2 game they had given him as a gift. We gave it back to her, and even she was a little baffled by the situation. She told my brother-in-law about it, and he offered to give my son his ps2 to play it. He also seemed baffled.
    Not long ago, my son was at a birthday party for one of his older cousins. His cousin had a gamecube, and all of the kids there were playing. The parent of the cousin noticed that my son had not yet a had a turn, so interjected into the fray that my son should get his turn. My son declined, stunning the audience of parents that let their kids play videogames.
    Why is my kid weird? Isn't this what we're supposed to be doing as parents? Different strokes for different folks, I guess. All I'm trying to do is make sure my son understands that videogames are not the only way to kill time and have fun. I want to be sure he understands that there is a lot of fun to be had doing things that are more active than pressing buttons.

Posted by jikado @ 10:09 am EDT | Permalink | 7 Comments