Let's get one thing straight, I hate Call Of Duty, partly because I don't wish to belong to the group of gamers that are the ADD-filled-ridilan-popping-moth-foaming-retarded-children who start spazzing out if they don't kill something every 30 seconds, but mainly because of the series' everlasting repetitiveness. I played COD2, and while it was fun for about the first 30 seconds, I grew tired of killing Nazis and started wishing I had an M4, or a Tavor. That's why I turned to Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon. Both fun and all, but can get extremely boring in single player, fast. What about multiplayer? Well Rainbow Six has a great system, only the customization options are limited to gun with no scope and laser sight, or gun with scope. I've seen someone equip an M4 with both a flashlight and a laser sight. R6 is fun and all, but again, boring. Halo 3 came out, and while it was fun for the first twenty hours, I stopped caring once I got my achievement for becoming an officer. I had heard about COD4, but because I was so unimpressed with the other games, so I didn't bother reserving it. Well stupid me.


Single-Player

Yesterday my friend convinced me to get COD4, saying it was really fun. So, needing something to help lessen the wait-pain that is Mass Effect, I decided why the hell not. As luck would have it, there were 3 copies left. I came home to find my internet broken so I played single player for 4 hours. I was first introduced to the training course and immediately thought, "Oh no, not again." After that, I was thrown into the fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping, action-filled frag-fest that is COD4's single player. My first impression was that it was something out of a movie, or I was in the movie. It seemed to me like it was a cross between Black Hawk Down, Over-There, xXx, MI-5, and Bond. I actually like it, nay, love it. My favorite level by far is the ***SPOILERS*** AC-130 level. The game puts you in the seat of a fire control officer of an AC-130 Specter. IT WAS AMAZING!!!!111one!!!eleven So the Specter is becoming obsolete and is being replaced with the AC-130U, which is probably ten times better, but either way, there is something about raining explosive death down upon enemies with an airplane mounted howitzer that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And they made it as real as possible too. With infrared imaging and even the crew chatting like airmen do. This is not something I have seen often in gaming, and usually it sucks, but COD4 pulled it off perfectly. I still can't get over how cool that level is. What is new in this COD 4 though is the feature of penetration. No, no that kind of penetration you pervert, bullet penetration. It is [u]amazing![/u] This is probably the first game where you can actually kill someone through a wall. This adds a whole new level of win to the COD series. The other thing, is the addition of equipment. I don't remember exactly if this has been done before in COD(or maybe I'm thinking of BF2), but the equipment is really something. I really like the night vision+infrared laser sight. That is a great feature. Although I really wanted to take my silencer on and off like in R6, I was distracted by the claymores.

OK so now that I have established I like COD4, now for the bad news. The COD series has various imperfections I have noticed. One being every damn game feels the same. COD4 only has better weapons and prettier sights. Another being your allies are still stupid as fuck, less stupid, but still stupid enough. Enemies still have the "stand in one spot and shoot" mentality, and will keep going to the very same spot that their comrades have just recently died in. Every COD has some type door breaching mechanic frequented often, COD4 keeps this feature and it is still only done by NPCs. They could have spiced it up a little, and let the player do it, but no. Another frequent sighting is that your allies can use cover, not just crouch behind a pile of bricks, but press up against a wall and peek type cover. While you the player must settle for crouching. COD 4 does not change this. That was one of the things that needed to be changed. Also seen in every COD is the blood splatter effect that you see every-time you shoot an enemy. Basically, its a "cartoonish" splatter effect and doesn't really look all that real, or convincing. Sniping feels the same, gunplay feels the same, and objectives are the same, protect X for Y amount of time while shit happens. Even the way the story is told is the same: through the eyes of various soldiers who never speak a word, or show their face, yet they are given names and familiarity with other allies. Also, your allies still look like retarded monkeys trying to peel a banana when they reload. These are just my pet peeves, but I think the funness balances it all out.

Multiplayer

There have been lots of innovations in multiplayer like Ace Combat 6. Lately the latest fad is ranking systems. Halo 3 has one and albeit it is a little retarded, it works. But you know what, COD4 has a new take on the ranking system. It actually gives you in game points for kills and streaks, which add up, in real time, to a total EXP bar at the bottom. And when it is filled up, you rank up! Halo 3's ranking system is now retarded. In Halo 3, none knows what denotes EXP, or points. The only thing that is known is you have to win constantly to get more points so you can rank up. While it is a good philosophy, I don't really like it. Yes, I said it. I don't like H3's ranking system. COD4's is how it should be. You rank up regardless of winning. As long as you can get some kills, you are on your way to the next rank. Thats how it should be. I only played a few online games last night when Commicast finally decided to give me internets, but I played enough to unlock new classes and the customization class. That is great. Giving your soldier attributes that actually help in the heat of battle is a great idea. Now snipers can choose if they want a steadier aim, or better penetration(not a penile reference). You can choose better health or longer sprint. I can only say that when I get back online, there will be some interesting combinations.


Final Thoughts

New features like penetration and equipment help to change things up a bit. Still feels like every other COD game though. I suppose thats not a bad thing. Wow, a COD game that doesn't suck as much as it's ancestors. Amazing. Definitely a buy. If you can find it.

Since MGS4 isn't coming out until Q2 of 2008, I thinks it's okay to start speculation. I'll start. Remember the mystery of Raiden's white blood? Well, believe it or not this is becoming a reality. It's called "Oxycyte", and it's made up of things called perfluorocarbons(PFC), which carries up to 50 time more oxygen than blood. The PFCs don't carry clotting agents or other nutrients that red cells do, but they can get oxygen to places blood can't, like clogged arteries. It's probably not what Raiden has, but it can give insight as to what the future holds.

Also, a robotics company has made a prototype walking wheel chair. I'm super cereal. Now all we need to do is make it bigger and mount a giant gun on top.

So I got in to work this morning, barely ready to Monday. I pull up some sites that I watch when I get bored, and what do I find? This and this. I knew the internet could make people do crazy things but I never thought that Second Life could be the subject of so many law issues. To review, Second Life is a shitty virtual world that tries and fails at giving people a way to express themselves any way they want to. Furries can become furries, fat people can become thin, and pedos can rape children. But you have to have a cable modem or better. I don't know enough about internet law to comment on legal issues related to the internet, but I can say this: Who the hell cares? So someone stole your idea for your virtual secks toy for you virtual self to use in virtual world (populated by emos, goths, furries, fat people, pedos, and others with various types of social problems) is a cause for a lawsuit? All over some imaginary sex toy? That is not even tangible? I guess I see it the same way as WoW: Why pay for it when there are better things out there? And just so you know, I could never get into WoW. Or any other MMORPG. They just fail to hold my interest for some reason. Maybe I'm crazy, or maybe I just don't feel like key-framing anything today, either way, you just read through a big wall of text.

I haven't seen anyone post about Ace Combat 6. So here it is. Yes, I picked up the game. With the flight stick. Anyone here a fan of the Ace Combat series? I wasn't until I played AC4, I remember beating the shit out of it, unlocking every plane, buying the super-plane, and playing with my brother. Alas the time of the split screen multiplayer mode is now gone, and the age of HD Online multiplayer is here. And it brought it's friend, 360Achievements, and the companion cube is here to, sitting quietly in the corner, wanting to be loved, but the 360Achivements won't have that, as it wants to be the only thing in my life. Shit, sorry, was I rambling?
Anyways, the Ace Combat series has been one of the most addicting, and certainly one of the most fun.




Story

AC6 follows the story of two countries, Emmeria and Estovakia. One day, around the time children go on field trips and your best friend comes over to bang your wife while you are at work, Estovakia decides to invade Gracemaria, a city in Emmeria. I won't go into too much detail about the story but I will say this: It was very well done. Usually, in games that need to be translated, some things come out strangely, like dialog. Some of the dialog could have been changed but it still works. I especially like how the story follows several different characters at the same time and ties the all together in the end, something I have only seen done once. There are almost no flaws in the story, they even explain where, how, and what the phrase "Go dance with the angels" means, even if it is a little corny. The only problem I have is that the phrase has been used to the point of overkill, and is even used to tell an interrogator off. Although I don't know what it could mean as an insult. I'm on the fence with how they keep the player's character out of everything. In every game you play a very important role in the story, and go on to become a hero, yet nothing is known about the player's characters other than their call-sign and designation. Like Mobius one from AC4. In AC6 you are know as "Talisman", get paired up with "Shamrock" and become "Garuda Team". There also has been some type of story driven emphasis on your wing man. In Belkan War you are "Cipher", and your wingman is "Pixie", who goes on to betray you and becomes a huge pain in the ass when he acquires a plane with a fucking laser on it. You might recall AC5 where the player's character is actually seen. This is the only time the player's character is not a complete mystery yet a nationally know hero. In AC6, Shamrock is not only a great pilot who actually goes out of his way to help the player, but is also a whiny 44-year-old emo bitch(I really like Shamrock). Hope I didn't give too much away there.

Gameplay

Ace Combat 6 plays good, if you have a controller, and great if you have the stick. Like me. Which you don't. The sticks add a new level of fun, and game-play. The controllers are built to use the default layout, with all the buttons in the right places. The default control scheme sets the planes cannon to the A button. Therefore the stick's trigger is the A button. The controls feel natural, just like the real thing. Not only does it have a yoke, but it has a throttle too. The throttle is easy to use and fits the contour of my hand. Forward is faster and back is slower. There is a new feature too. It's called the High G Turn. Basically it allows your aircraft to turn on a dime. THe flight throttle comes in handy for this. To do the High G Turn you have to hold down the Left(brake) and Right(afterburner)Triggers. The throttle is in a sense, always pushing one or the other. Thats where the special button comes in to play. The button acts as the Left Bumper, and enables a High G Turn when ever pressed. This can come in handy in numerous situations. The throttle also has a specially built rocker button. Right is Yaw right, and left is yaw left. The bumpers do this on the controller. And it is in the perfect spot for easy access. I apologize in advance for my crappy pictures, my camera was running out of batteries and took them quickly.

The missions are now as fun as ever and allies actually do stuff. They do bombing runs and shoot down fighters. The allies on the ground, like tanks, help out and attack enemy ground forces too. The openness of the levels give the feeling like you could go on forever; flying from one end of the map to the other could take several minutes depending on the plane your flying.

OH! Almost forgot! There is a new part of game play regarding missions, basically, you have objectives to complete, and there is a quota, unlike other games though, this one requires X amount of objectives to be completed. Then the mission usually updates, and there is a final part to it. But basically, anywhere, anytime there can be a new updated objective, an ally calling for help, or a target that needs to be taken out. Also, it has 2 online co-op missions that can support up to 8 people. It's really fun doing an otherwise impossible objective with a friend to cover your back, I just they release more levels.


Final Thoughts

Over all, I was impressed with AC6, and became addicted to it as soon as I picked up my box. The replay-ability in this game will keep me busy for a while. At least until Mass Effect comes out. I give this game a 9.5 out of 10, 4 stars out of 5 and so on. Now if you'll excuse me, I just unlocked the OMG SPOILERS.
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tl;dr
Ace Combat 6 is awesome. I played until my contacts dried up in my eyes, and I could see the HUD every time I closed my eyes. Get it.

I can't. Here's the story: About a month ago, my friend and mentor(I'll call him H), H, came over to my house because he needed my help editing some footage. H used to have a PowerPC Quad Core G5, but he sold it, and now he can't finish several projects he has going. I have a PowerPC G5 Dual core 2.0GHz. A good, powerful machine, but I only have 1.5GB of RAM. So H came over to edit his stuff. It was filmed in HD 1080p(I think, could have been 720p) at 60fps. While my machine handled it well, it wasn't fast enough. So I decided to order some RAM. So I went to the MacMall online store and ordered 1GB. It came from a manufacturer called EDGE Tech. When it got here about two weeks ago, I tried installing it, only to find it didn't fit. The notch on the RAM didn't line up with the notch in the slot(see pics). So that week, I threw a fit and got them to eat the return fees. Then I found out I ordered RAM for a 1.8GB model. Tech Support said it should be compatible with mine, but it wasn't. So I ordered another 1.5GB directly from EDGE. It arrived today, and guess what? It didn't fit. I know for a fact I ordered it for a 2.0GHz model, and still it doesn't fit. WTF?!?! I could order it from Apple, but 1GB costs $300. And thats bullshit. I cant return it until the week, but until then, I don't suppose any one knows where to get RAM for Macs? Moral of the story is: Don't buy from EDGE.
And for some of you mac noobs, I've included a set of pictures showing how easy it is to access the RAM assembly.


Step 1: Pull latch out.


Step 2: Remove outer cover


Step 3: Remove plastic inset


Step 4: Remove fan column thing


Step 5: Access RAM assembly


Step 6: Find out RAM doesn't fit, fail at life


Step 7: Return RAM on Monday
Step 8: ???
Step 9: Profit!!!

I'm late with this post I know, but....I know alot of people are excited about Okami for the Wii, but jesus, enough is enough.