VigilantInfidel

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OK— Electronic Arts (EA)  equated its E3 presentation to “Sundance” VS “The Oscars” which is hilarious since EA are the largest publisher of video games.

They said they didn’t need the flash and glitz. I assumed the games shown would be the flash and glitz. Not impressed.

Need for Speed, Meh! Medal of Honor looks like a real pretty clone of Call of Duty. Gun Club? WTF? I expected more but wasn’t too surprised and I don’t know why.

What do you think?

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Finishing Alan Wake is not unlike finishing the season of your favorite show, you feel rewarded for your weekly loyalty and are left pondering what the next season will hold.
Alan Wake weaves a tangled web. Wake is organized into 6 episodes presented very much like a weekly television show including a summary of previous events at the beginning of the next episode. The presentation is top notch. The voice acting generally is excellent with only a few weak moments.

There are quite a few memorable characters like the past their prime rock n rollers, The Anderson Brothers, Crazy,  but well prepared Cynthia Weaver, Plucky comic relief and your agent Barry Wheeler, and the hate-able Dr. Emil Hartmen. The chief character, however, is the intangible and compelling,
“Darkness”.

The game has some genuinely scary moments, while majority of the game builds apprehension. There are several vehicles that aid in story telling to that end, such as local radio shows, a Twilight Zone-esque TV show and manuscript pages that often set you up for the next scare. The “Taken” are locals that have been conscripted by “The Darkness” to attack you nearly wherever you go. They are chainsaw, shovel, ax wielding puppets that materialize in the dark to kick your ass.

In defense, you have a flashlight to “burn” off the darkness and then a pistol or rifle to finish them off. I love when I find flare guns and flash bangs as they make it fun to dispatch the puppets.

Alan Awake is a fun, nerve-wracking and rewarding game. I couldn’t wait to get to the next episode once I finished one. My wife and the kids enjoyed watching me play it too see how it would unfold.

From the well realized “Darkness” to the unwinding and interesting story “Alan Wake” impressed me. It’s unusual for a game to have a good story much less one that made me have second thoughts about playing it in the dark. If you enjoy a good yarn you’ll enjoy Alan Awake.

**** this is not a paid post **** However if you would like me to review a game, product or service for you or your business, please don’t hesitate to contact us. (click the contact us button at the bottom of this post)

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We will definitely be tuning into this … more information coming later!

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MTV Networks and Cirque du Soleil Partner with Microsoft for E3

Published May 13, 2010

MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, today announced a broad-ranging, first-of-its-kind programming partnership with Microsoft Corp. for Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010, the video game industry’s leading trade show. For the first time, only MTV Networks will take viewers inside the spectacular controller-free games and entertainment with The World Premiere of Project Natal for Xbox 360 experience, a spectacular live performance imagined by Cirque du Soleil, and live to the Xbox 360 Media Briefing for game announcements, world premieres and breaking news on the future of the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system.

“We look forward to making entertainment history again at E3 Expo 2010 and can’t think of a better partner than MTV Networks to exclusively share our news, experiences and Cirque du Soleil’s amazing creativity with an entirely new audience,” said Don Mattrick, senior vice president, Interactive Entertainment Business, Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft.

Project Natal is one of the most exciting new product
launches of the year, and MTV Networks is the perfect
partner to bring this one-of-a-kind event from Xbox
and Cirque du Soleil to its viewers and passionate
gamers all across the country.
– Rich Eigendorff, chief operating officer, MTV Networks

Cirque du Soleil and Project Natal

Heralded by TIME Magazine as one of the top inventions of 2009, Project Natal is set to forever change the way we interact with entertainment. In the world premiere experience, the creative visionaries at Cirque du Soleil created a stunning production that brings the idea of controller-free gaming and entertainment to life. Witness an original and exclusively created consumer spectacle that pushes the boundaries of live entertainment with cutting-edge technology, pulsating music, amazing puppetry, futuristic video projection, and unbelievable physical dexterity.

The World Premiere Project Natal for Xbox 360 experience, as imagined by Cirque du Soleil airs commercial-free on MTV, Tuesday, June 15 at 3:30 P.M. ET, and on Nick at Nite, mtvU, MTV Hits, and Logo, Tuesday, June 15, at 9 P.M. ET.

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So on Friday , the FCC started that they are going to start to regulate the internet. Today, President Obama states that too much information is a distraction. Could you imagine if “W” had said that? All kinds of people would be citing censorship and we definitely see flareups from the BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome ).

How is too much information a distraction President Obama? Having opposing voices and multiples sources of information is key to making a educated decision.  As President Reagan once said ” Information is the oxygen of the modern age. It seeps through the walls topped by barbed wire, it wafts across the electrified borders.”

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Video games have always been a part of my life in one way or another. I remember as a kid getting the new Atari or even Intellivision (boy that takes you back.. doesn’t it?). I always thought video games (either console or computer games ) were kids stuff.

After getting married– Vigilant Infidel (aka the husband) got the newest console system right about the same time our oldest daughter was born. I remember how much I hated that blasted thing. I didn’t see the advantage or the fun in playing a game for hours on end. There was lots to be done around the house or for the baby. I really started to resent the stupid thing and the manufacturers who made them.

As we added to our family and the kids  started to get older,  my resentment didn’t change much. It wasn’t until the Dreamcast arrived in our house that I started to change my mind.

I finally started to see it as more than just a “waste of time” and something that was actually pretty cool. When Vigilant Infidel purchased a game called ShenMue , I finally turned that corner. The graphics and visual imagery in that game was absolutely phenomenal and completely blew me away.  As a graphic artist and web designer, I could see the “value” in it now.

When we got the Xbox four years ago ,  I was hooked even more. I loved the whole system and how amazing the graphics were. However when we bought Halo , my transformation was complete. I loved everything about it. At first, it was just watching my husband play the game and was amazed at the detail of the art not to mention the story of Master Chief and Halo itself.

Pretty soon , our daughters K1 and R2 were really getting into the game too .. they loved it ! (watching and playing) When the husband bought them their very own PINK controllers I knew I was in trouble. As a social media consultant (my day job now), I started to see the real value in everything that the Xbox had to offer.

This was especially true once you could connect right to Facebook and Twitter.  It was really bringing a community together and something for our family to do together. It was not just for playing games but watching movies too. (Thanks Netflix)  Afterall if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em right??

Today I LOVE playing Halo (yes of course I’m a pink Spartan ), our Xbox (ready to get an new version ) the gaming industry and most of all the fun that our family has together .

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The blog has been in dormant phase since last year due to VIGILANTInfidel being in Afghanistan. We are gearing up to resurrect the blog here very soon  and even VIGILANTInfidel’s wife KajunAnjel is joining the team.  : )

She’s a conservative-believing, Video Game-playing, Hockey-loving chick that is not afraid to speak her mind. She will also be heading up all the Social Media for the site. (yes that would be Twitter and Facebook Fan Page coming soon )

Stay tuned lots coming up this summer …

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I love new gadgets. This love had me watching the annual E3 convention. This is the place where all of the video game publishers/manufacturers whore their wares and build hype. I pay particular attention to the XBOX 360 as this is my platform of choice.

Microsoft unveiled Project Natal. It is a sensor bar akin to the one used on the Wii. The big difference with Microsoft’s device is that it requires absolutely no controller to interact with the game/media. As the promo says “you are the controller” Microsoft accomplishes this by tracking the gamers body movement via what appear to be two camera imbedded in the device. Me telling you how damn immersive this potentially will be will not relay what the performed demo shows.

The demo blew me away and shows just how this will revolutionize video games again. No release date yet but just knowing this technology exists and is so accessible will really put video games into the main stream.

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Debate rages on regarding waterboarding. Is it torture or an “advanced interrogation technique”? Whatever you believe, you might find the following article illuminating.

It details SERE (survival evasion resistance and escape) training that pilots must endure. The training includes waterboarding. The article asserts that perhaps as many as 40,000  American service men have been waterboarded.

Read the comments for entertainment and thought provocation.

Waterboarding: A SERE-ing Experience for Tens of Thousands of US Military Personnel

by  Cdr. Frank ‘Spig’ Wead 

“Train like you Fight, Fight like you Train” is the motto of the world’s most elite pilots, the US Navy’s. Based on lessons learned from survivors of the brutal North Korean and North Vietnam torture of US military prisoners of war, the Department of Defense ordered all branches of the services to implement comprehensive Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (S.E.R.E.) training programs. Every member of Congress should be extremely well versed on the military S.E.R.E. programs since they have had direct oversight and funding of these programs for over 40 years. Viewing the most recent Congressional hearing, one must assume that they are ignorant of or intentionally misrepresent the very programs that they fund and support.

Read the whole thing.

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OK so John Stewart of The Daily Show recently called Harry Truman a war criminal. Why did he do this? Because we nuked Japan twice without warning he says. He later recanted this  criminalization of Truman no doubt to internal pressure. He made the accusation while arguing about waterboarding.

Over at PJTV Bill Whittle puts Stewart in his place. Now sure Stewart recanted his comments but I hardly believe he meant it. It’s so hard for liberals to justify the killing of “innocents” even with circumstances present during WWII.

Liberal guilt is a bitch. It justifies us being bombed on 9/11. It justifies the exposure and subsequent destruction of valuable military programs like waterboarding. 

Second guessing waterboarding in the present is reasonable to a degree. Second guessing a decision made 67 years ago is stupid. Anyone can use the INTERNET to research what happened in preparation, execution, and reaction to said bombings. If Stewart READ actual historical accounts he would have never even recorded a reversal of his statement.

This is the state of journalism in America. What’s more scary is that his audience cheered in agreement at his assessment of Truman. 

I’ll research this later but right now let me make an accusation.

John Stewart is a liberal tool.

Watch the video links. you’ll learn things about the bombing of Japan you didn’t know. Don’t be a tool like John, liberal or not.

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According to the New York Times the U.S. and it’s operatives used the technique 266 times. 

At the same time Fox News reports that amount to substantially less.

None of this matters. Why? This is training our elite operatives MUST go through to become elite. Look it up. If they can waterboard American citizens in the name of training then you can’t call it torture.

This is nothing but a political sideshow which ultimately does nothing but educate the enemy as to what we will, or rather would have done to save American lives. Think techniques to withstand the now exposed program will make their way into the next terrorist training manual?

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