SUPERGHOST's Haunted House of XBOX

For the Record
Complete the Single Player campaign on any difficulty.

Gamerscore = 35   Acquired 14/11/2009

The most anticipated game of this decade, and perhaps all-time was a bit of a slow burn for me.  Now I knew the multiplayer component was going to be a home run and the bulk of my game time was to be spent there, but the campaign is where my accomplishment resides and I will elaborate why it took some time for me to drink the Infinity Ward Kool-Aid this time around.

My initial feeling on the campaign was that it was more the same.  If you played Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty 4, you would feel right at home in Modern Warfare 2, perhaps too at home.  For the better part of the first half of the game I really felt the IW campaign formula in full effect.  The feel of the shooting, the enemy AI, the level structure felt so been there, done that.  What turned me around was what is IW’s strengths, their set pieces and story telling.  As the story progressed, and expanded, and twisted, and became more outlandish, the more I started to get what they were doing.  Soon the repetitious gameplay of the campaign became secondary to wanting to find out what was going to happen next.

Now if you have completed the game you may have realized that the campaign length appears to be a little on the light side.  It took my self approximately five and a half hours to complete the campaign story.  Normally I might complain that it is too short a campaign for a video game.  This time I will argue that it was just about right, as I almost view this game as more a cinematic experience than a traditional video game, or perhaps a interactive cinematic experience.  Now I did play at the ‘Normal’ level, playing at harder levels would make for more of a challenge, but to be honest, I don’t play IW’s games for the challenge, I play for the experience.

At the end of the day, Modern Warfare 2 is a must play, or rather a must-experience for any  serious gamer, and even for those who just want to see what the fuss is about.  As for me I look forward to the next several months of multiplayer bliss.

Infinity Ward | Modern Warfare 2

-SG

  YouTube - Forza 3: Titanic Battle
  

After some research late last night I finally was able to get my movies created on Forza 3 to show up on YouTube.  I searched the forzamotorsport.net forums and there I was able to find my answer.  If you too are wanting your videos hosted on YouTube I suggest reviewing this LINK.

So welcome to my new YouTube channel entitled SUPERGHOST.TV!  Now I am not exactly sure what all will appear here, but what I do know for sure is that there will be plenty on Forza 3 videos as I continue to experiment with the movie maker included in this iteration of the franchise.  The video I posted above features a clip of my self dogging my friend Cru.  I had been fighting with him the entire race, that is until he was presured into a mistake on the last corner of the last lap.  I was able to slip past without incident and overtake him for good!  I dedicate this clip to Cru and his shoddy picture he had took from a PGR race years ago where he claims I rubbed him out.  All in good fun my friend!

So be sure to click the link above for SUPERGHOST.TV to keep up with all my new and exciting clips from the world of Forza 3.

My Forza

-SG

2009 Ford Focus RS

• Class: C
• Rating: 424
• Speed: 5.3
• Handling: 5.3
• Acceleration: 5.4
• Launch: 5.6
• Braking: 5.2
• Tuning: Auto Tune
• Design: By N Nagai

As far as compacts go, this 2009 Ford Focus RS is a lot of fun to drive.  I especially love the custom paint job I purchased from the in-game storefront.  Click N Nagai’s link up above to learn more about this Red Bull specialist.  I will be entering this car into the C Class World Championship as part of my career and I suspect I will have little problem capturing the gold!  Feel free to check my in-game Storefront to see what I have been up to!

Home Page | Forza Motorsport

-SG

• Manufacturer: Tediore
• Damage: 119
• Accuracy: 89.6
• Fire Rate: 1.9

Description: While the AX10-A Blast Law Sports only a 2-shot clip, which it exceptionally small for a Revolver, it does carry a x2 Chance to cause an Explosion.  Coupled with the 3.7x zoom it makes Head-shot ‘Crits’ quite lethal.  This Revolver also has +62% Reload Speed and +33% Fire Rate buffs and has a resale value of $2,034.  I have been using and enjoying this weapon as of late, but like all weapons in this game, it won’t be long before it is surpassed.

Borderlands

-SG

My last post indicated that it may be a while before I could pull together another blog post.  Well with my Saskatchewan Roughriders not performing so well today I am making a little bit of time to catch up with all the games that have crossed my path as of late:

Borderlands…Game of the Year:  Perhaps, to early to tell, but this game is amazing.  The more I play the more I realize that Borderlands is truly something special.  What has added to that as well is that I picked up the super-thick strategy guide which shows so much of the game’s depth.  This game will likely be a staple in my 360 collection for years to come.  Also the game’s theme song has burrowed deep into my head!

Forza Motorsport 3:  Speaking of Games of the Year, Forza 3 will play heavily in my game rotation for some time to come.  While I am pretty early into my career, the game has really shone for me in it’s online modes.  Firstly there was some racing and drifting in the Japanese mountains with my friends, then later I jumped into some matchmaking with random gamers and had a blast in some R1 cars, even winning a couple of races, finally I had some crazy ‘Cat and Mouse’ adventures with some more game friends.  What has also captured my imagination with this game is the Photo and Replay modes.  I have spent a significant amount of time just dabbling in those areas alone.  Turn 10 has really out done themselves this time.

Halo 3 ‘Action Sack’:  I wound up playing in this matchmaking group with my nephew and his friends the other day and actually found it to be quite fun.  Since ODST has been pushed to the wayside in the face of all the new great 360 titles it is good to keep my Halo chops up.  On a slight downside Halo note for myself, the Halo Waypoint portal is unavailable for me right now under the 360 Preview Program.  I really wanted to have a look-see at that waypoint.  One more Halo note, I now have the Halo Encyclopaedia!  The only hitch is that it is a Christmas present.  I can’t wait!

Fallout 3:  Again speaking of Games of the Year, I picked up the Fallout 3 Game of the Year strategy guide.  While I already have the Collector’s Edition guide, I wanted to have all the info surrounding the DLC.  So this guide has that plus improvements to the guide itself including an improved Bestiary and Weapons guide.  And because I picked it up at Wal-Mart I got it super cheap!

Torchlight:  A little PC talk never hurt anyone.  I downloaded via Steam this past week the ‘Diablo-esque’ Torchlight.  I finally got to play it this morning and found it to be, while not original, a whole lot of fun.  This game will be my pallet-cleansing game when I need a break from the 360.

I really could go on, but I will give you a break.  Go play all those great games, some of which I haven’t even got to speak of like the Force Unleashed re-release and the GTA IV expansion.  Another time for sure!

-SG

Halloween is here once again.  I just wanted to do quick blog update.  Due to the influx of great games and playing them as such, you may find this area a little bare the next several weeks.  I hope to return to some updates soon, but between Borderlands, Forza 3, Modern Warfare 2, and on and on, I will be getting my game on big time.  But that is what this space is all about, gaming, and right now I am living the dream!

-SG

With the arrival of Borderlands the ‘Great Game Flood of Fall 2009’ has kicked into high gear.  Yesterday I picked up my $40 copy of the game (thanks WalMart Canada for brining down the price) and proceeded to plug away for 4 hours after I got home from work!  I started two careers, one as a Soldier for my single-player, and one as a Hunter for my co-op experience.  I enjoyed my co-op session yesterday the most because I was able to go into the start of the game with a couple of hours of experience under my belt already.  On the other hand I prefer my Soldier to the Hunter class.

At the end of the day I see Borderlands taking up a lot of hours of play time, even in the face of games like Modern Warfare 2 and Forza Motorsport 3.  I am pretty early is so I am eager to see what other fruits this game has to offer.

Borderlands

-SG

Campaign Complete: Heroic
Completed the Campaign on Heroic difficulty.

Gamerscore = 100   Acquired 16/10/2009

Shortly after completing the game on Normal I decided to tackle ODST on Heroic solo.  I found that playing the game on Heroic was a more challenging and therefore, in my opinion, more enjoyable than my normal play through.  While I searched high and low for all the audio logs I still would up being four short of the 30 that could be found in total.  I will get them all one of these days!  Next stop will be the Legendary difficulty, but I will not be tackling that alone, I will be saving that for some co-op action.  A side note on the above, I actually finished the campaign on the 17th, but because I had already finished a couple of the levels on Legendary, it binged the achievement a little early.

Laser Blaster
Got 10 Spartan Laser kills on ONI Alpha Site.

Gamerscore = 5   Acquired 16/10/2009

Achievement Spotlight – 46,000+ Gamerscore: While completing the campaign I also was able to surpass the 46,000 Gamerscore plateau.  With all the games I have yet to play this season I believe I have an outside chance of cracking 50K before the end of the year!  We will see what happens.

Bungie.net : Halo 3 ODST

-SG

Though I have added the must-buys of Halo 3: ODST and NHL to my collection in the past several weeks it still feels like we have not really hit the busy gaming season that is Fall 2009.  Starting next week though that will change as a series of heavy-hitters will make there way into stores and eventually into my games room.  So lets have a quick run down of what the next few weeks will bring:

Borderlands – October 20th: The co-op ‘loot-n-shoot’ arrives and looks to offer a metric tonne of great gaming action.  I am a total sucker for loot, levels, and co-op.  Will there be a better game for me this year?

Forza Motorsport 3 – October 27th: The race is on with the arrival of the preimier racing franchise on the planet, Forza 3.  I dread to think about the hours I will sink into this game!

Tekken 6 – October 27th: Purchasing this game on the strength of its wireless fighting stick.  I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised by the game itself.  I will find out for myself soon enough.

Modern Warfare 2 – November 10th: The grand daddy game of 2009 (and perhaps 2010), Modern Warfare 2.  It may not be a stretch to say I will play this game more than all the others combined!

That is not all for the rest of the year, I have a few games riding the pine as well as a couple more must-haves to complete the season.  Stay tuned for more on the killer gaming season of ‘09.

-SG

The Zombie Action News Team was hard at work this past week playing and exploring the latest  in Zombie relating gaming.  Highlights include hard to get Left 4 Dead achievements, Zombie Apocalypse play time, and more on Resident Evil 5:

Crash-proof
Survive the Crash Course Campaign.

Gamerscore = 15 Acquired 29/9/2009

Crash Course in Achievements: So as I reported last time I picked up the Left 4 Dead expansion, Crash Course, and completed it straight away and unfortunately on my own as most of my friends have either rid themselves of the game or did not bother to buy.  Now I can’t blame them entirely as L4D2 is just around the corner, but on the same token L4D is here now and sporting some new content.  So since I picked up Crash Course I have played through it five times already.  Weighing in at about a 30 minute playthrough at normal skill level is is just quick and dirty fun!  Since Crash Course is a unique campaign it has afforded me an opportunity to secure some of those ‘Hard to get’ L4D achievements.  Here are a list of what I have earned thus far excluding the one already featured at the top of the story:

• Quick Power - Restart the generator within 30 seconds of it shutting off in the Crash Course campaign. – 30 GS
• Red Mist - Kill 1000 Infected with a mounted machine gun. – 20 GS
• Tank Stumble - Stun a Tank with an explosion in the Crash Course campaign. – 20 GS
• Cr0wnd - Kill a Witch with a single headshot. – 30 GS
• Witch Hunter - Kill a Witch without any Survivor taking damage from her. – 20 GS
• Do Not Disturb - Sneak past all Witches in a campaign without disturbing one. – 20 GS
• Stomach Upset - All Survivors complete a campaign without being vomited on. – 20 GS

Not bad for a couple of hours work.  I have been enjoying my solo L4D experience, but would welcome some company as well.  I think I am going to attempt to secure the The Littlest Genocide achievement (Kill 5,359 Infected in the Crash Course campaign) before I am through.

A Week To Live
Complete 7 days in any game mode without dying

Gamerscore = 25 Acquired 10/10/2009

The Zombie Apocalypse: I decided this past week to pick up this game.  I was slowed by some bad information provided by one of my friends (and if you are reading this than you know who you are).  Anyway in short the game is a zombie-themed twin-stick shooter that borrows heavily from L4D.  Now borrowing from L4D is certainly not a bad thing, perhaps just not the most imaginative thing.  While I enjoyed this game I did not find it to be the greatest twin-stick shooter available.  In fact I would recommend this game only to people who have to have every twin-stick shooter, or for those who are looking for a quick-fix zombie shooter on the Arcade.  In fact, for quick shooting, you are probably better served by Crash Course.  Regardless, I will put some more time into it, hoping to perhaps hook up with a friend and play online.

That is all from the ZAN team for this week.  Next time I hope to blow up the next great Zombie game, Left 4 Dead 2.  Until next time, keep one eye open for those nasty undead!

-SG