Green Men Heckle Leafs Players

Leafs suck!

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam

Be happy, for BC2 Vietnam is nearly upon us! Set for a December 21st release, BC2 Vietnam is looking awesome. It is going to feature 5 maps (4 maps straight away, with one to be unlocked later), and weapons from the late 60's. That means no more gadgets like tracer darts, and motion sensors. But, as you'll see from the videos below, it will feature flame throwers, and flame thrower tanks! Pffwoar!





Only 10 more sleeps!

Impressions: Gran Turismo 5

Personally, I am pretty disappointed with GT5. This will sound silly, but I feel that GT5 was rushed (even after 6 LONG years between GT's). 1000-odd cars, but majority are throwaways, as most are simply model updates of the same car. I don't want to drive 1 Toyota Yaris/Vitz, let alone 10-15 of them! The lack of 'premium' cars is annoying (approx 100 out of 1000), which means that only 10% of the cars have the cockpit view and cosmetic damage.

GT5 is a beautiful game. The tracks are amazingly detailed, and if you're driving a premium car in it's cockpit view, the interiors are amazing too. The cars drive great too. They have alot of 'weight' to them, and every different car has it's own feel. The car physics are the best I have ever came across in a game. Driving around the Nurburgring in a 1954 300SL Mercedes is great fun.

Polyphony have really dropped the ball on this one. GT5 should have been that 10/10 experience that everyone has been waiting for, but have believed their own hype, and have simply re-released GT4, but with prettier graphics. Forza 3 on the xbox 360 is a much more immersive experience, with alot more car customisation, a bigger variety of cars, cockpit view on all cars, and full car damage.

GT5 had the potential to be something truly great, but stuck with the formula it used 6 years ago. GT is no longer the greatest car simulation out there. 8.5/10 for me.

Happy Birthday Canuckistan. Here, Have A Mars Bar & A Can Of Coke

I am ever the neglectful parent. Yesterday was little Canuckistans first birthday, and I forgot. I didn't even remember last night, and couldn't do a quick dash to the service station to buy him a present (Mars bar & a can of Coke?). Nope, I'm much worse than that... I found out it was his birthday by accident.

I was wondering how long it has been since I last posted (11th of October, for you playing at home), and then had that feeling in my head that I had forgotten something (I've been getting that alot lately, ask KC, Bear & Wound!). Yep, I had forgotten, which is bad. Really bad. I might have to buy Canuckistan a bike for christmas.

Over the last year, I have had a great time blogging, and have (mostly) received positive feedback for my writing. It's been very entertaining, and rewarding to know that alot of you have enjoyed it as much as I have.

It all began with Canuckistan are go!, and I am just as clueless with my writing still. As promised in that first post, I mostly wrote about gaming, and hockey. Gaming is my main hobby, which is why things like Impressions, Battlefield, and Forza appear so often.

Sharing my Taste Sensations has been alot of fun too, and I assume everyone now drinks Crown Royal, and eats Filet O Fishfingers. I might have to go and have a celebratory Double Cheeseburger today, and you should too...

Impressions: WRC

WRC is the official game of the 2010 WRC (World Rally Championship) season, and I think it is a great game. I have been a fan of rally racing games since the good old days of Colin McRae Rally, and I'm pleased that WRC is a pure rally game. WRC is not like the Dirt series, where you race buggies & trucks with the occasional rally race, WRC is all rally: All of the time (they should've put THAT on the box!).

There are 6 stages from each of the 13 rallys, from all over the world. You'll be racing in many different terrain types like snow (Sweden), tarmac (Germany), and dust/gravel (Mexico). This game is very challenging, but it is very rewarding when you get it right. Unfortunately, Australia no longer has a rally on the WRC calendar, but we have almost-Australia, in New Zealand. :P

There is online multiplayer (which I haven't tried), and a robust career mode. In "The road to the WRC", you start off in the lower rally classes, and slowly move up through the rally classes, until you finally enter the WRC. There are 50-odd events to race through, so there is plenty of game there.



As the Colin McRae Rally series evolved into the Dirt series, it went away from the pure rally experience. WRC shits all over Dirt, because it is like the Colin McRae Rally series. I recommend this game to fans of rally games. This is the game we have been waiting years for.

Hockey is back!

Today is the first day of this years hockey season. I love hockey. It's such a fast & skillful game. I wish hockey was bigger in this country. It's so much better than AFL or NRL.

It looks to be an interesting season, with many questions. Can the Blackhawks repeat as champions? Will the Canucks finally live up to expectations? Will the Leafs continue to stink? I hope so.

The Canucks' first game is on sunday against the Los Angeles Kings, and I'm hoping they get off to a winning start. There are 2 live games on foxtel today, and I'm currently watching the Penguins and Flyers battle it out in beautiful High Definition (HD BABY!).

Go Canucks Go!

Game Radar: Medal of Honor (Part 2)

Here are another couple more videos showing off the gameplay elements for Medal of Honor. The 'Objective Raid' mode reminds me alot of Counter Strike, which can only be a good thing. The more I see of this game, the more I look forward to it. The single player looks gritty, and more 'realistic' (meaning less run-and-gun gameplay), and the multiplayer being made by DICE (makers of the Battlefield series) has me very interested, indeed.

Medal of Honor is due to be released in the next 2 weeks. Get excited, people!

Photos, Photos, Photos!

Here are some photos which I took last month when a friend of Canuckistan, Wound was down in Melbourne. The graffiti shots were taken in Hosier and Union lanes in the city centre. The last shot, of the snow dragon, was taken up at the Dinner Plain ski resort.

NOTE: I couldn't be arsed to play around with photoshop, so you'll have to make do with shots that have poor exposure, and have colours out of balance. So nerrrrr.

Viva La Robolution!

Yesterday, the latest expansion DLC was released for Canuckistan favourite, Borderlands. "Claptrap's New Robot Revolution" has you putting stop to an uprising of freedom fighting Claptraps, who are sick of being abused.

Claptraps are very entertaining & funny characters at the best of times, but killing the freedom fighting Claptraps is even more enjoyable!



Grab this DLC for 800 moon dollars from the xbox live marketplace. More Borderlands can only be a good thing.

Night of the Living Trekkies

Night of the Living Trekkies is a book about a bunch of Trek fans at a convention, which is overran by a zombie outbreak. I don't often get excited about zombie related things, but my interest is definately grabbed by it being tied in with Star Trek.

I really need to get this book. The title is awesome as it is, but check out the trailer which was made to promote it. If this book ever gets made into a full-length feature, it would be THE GREATEST FILM OF ALL TIME!



I might have to make a trip to Borders tomorrow :)

ZOMBIEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!1!1!!!!1

Game Radar: Medal of Honor

On my games radar is the upcoming title Medal of Honor (damn american spelling - it's honour!). This game is a first person shooter set in Afghanistan, and along with a robust single player campaign, the multiplayer looks to to have alot of potential.

The multiplayer modes have been produced by EA DICE, who made my favourite game Battlefield Bad Company 2. That alone should be enough to get you excited, but DICE look to have added a few things which sweeten the deal. Essentially, MoH looks to be the love child of the Call of Duty & Battlefield game series'.

Check out these videos, showing off both multiplayer & single player gameplay...







I can't wait to try this game out. Release date is due to be around the 14th of October.

Forza 3 Tune Release: Volvo S60

Up for grabs on my Forza 3 storefront is a C class tune for the Volvo S60. This Volvo is a great allrounder, and has plenty of grip, with it's AWD system. I also think this is a rather sexy car: Buy this car, and the Forza babes will never leave you alone.

After purchasing the S60 and applying the tune, your Forza wallet will be about $90,000 lighter. I currently have one of these cars up for auction too, with a starting price of $75,000.

Impressions: Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game

Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game is an XBLA and PSN title which was released last month. The story is based on the Scott Pilgrim vs The World movie and graphic novel series, which sees the main character (Scott) fall in love with Ramona, and have to battle her evil exes to win her heart. Fairly standard stuff really, I battle evil exes all of the time.

This game is amazingly retro. Not just in it's 8-bit presentation and awesome chiptune soundtrack, but the gameplay itself is rather retro too. Side-scrolling beat em' ups went the way of the NES and Master System, and this game would be right at home on those two classic consoles.

The gameplay is fun, but it's the presentation and attention to detail which makes this game so great. The detail in the pixels is amazing (the graphics were produced from famous pixel artist Paul Robertson), and the chiptune soundtrack is fun, and fits the game perfectly (game soundtrack was produced by chiptune heroes ANAMANAGUCHI). This game soundtrack is even available for purchase on iTunes (I have the soundtrack on my iPhone). Scott Pilgrim gets better when you're playing with friends (especially as the difficulty is BRUTAL when going solo), but unfortunately there is no online co-op. I guess the developers wanted a true retro experience? No online co-op would be the only negative, to an otherwise perfect game.

Here is a trailer, which shows off the retro goodness...



I am in Lesbian with this game. Jump on your Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 and try out the demo.

Howdy Stranger

Hey all, I'm back in the world of internet (slow internet is still internet, it just isn't as good). Work has been very busy of late, but hopefully will have time soon for a full recap. I went to the snow too, so stories will be written also.

Go and pick up Scott Pilgrim vs the World: The Game on XBLA and PSN, it's a great game. Impressions to be arrive shortly.

Until next time...

5000 hits? *HUZZAH!*

Holy Shit! With me not having internets, and being home sick this week, I missed the 5000th hit? Wow guys, I never expected Canuckistan to go this well - Thanks!

Apart from being sick this week, I haven't done much of anything, other than gaming & watching Foxtel. I finished Deathspank this week, and collected all 200 gamerscore for this game. Here are some long overdue Impressions of this awesome game...

IMPRESSIONS: DEATHSPANK

Deathspank is awesome. Try the demo on PSN or 360, and buy the game. It is awesome.


REMINDER: The Premier League is starting this weekend. If you want to join the fantasy league, and haven't yet set up your team, you better get your stuff together by tomorrow night. CANUCKISTAN FC FTW!

Stories From The Offline (Day 8)

Hello Internet, today's SFTO is brought to you by the Letter Q. STFO is all about me complaining about not having TEH INTERWEBZ at home. You know, the woe-is-me-type stuff...

This week, I had a decision to make. One which could've ended the sans internet drought (or at least got that ball rolling). Some extra money came my way last week, and I could've finally paid the TELSTRA TAX, and arranged to have the internet connected, but I chose to get the Foxtel hooked up instead. This was a display of me putting my family first, as they all watch foxtel, and I'm pretty much to only one who uses the internet. While I do enjoy my cable television (HD BABY!), a part of me is thinking that I've been foolish. I should have been selfish in this case. Now, it looks like the Telstra Tax will be paid the following fortnight, meaning that there will be an extra 2 weeks of SFTO (see what I do for you people?).

So, apart from wheeling & dealing with the Foxtel lady (and showing some leg), what else have I been doing? I've been watching a fair amount of TV, to ensure an even balance between gaming, and non-gaming. I've got half way through watching Season 3 of Eureka, after watching Season 1 of Warehouse 13. Season 5 of Stargate: Atlantis was also rented, and am enjoying that too. Lots of quality sci-fi there =)

When not watching various science-fiction shows, I have been gaming. Apart from continuing with Deathspank (I really need to write some Impressions for this game!), I have been playing alot of Forza 3 this week.

Gaming should be about fun. About those moments which make you smile, and forget about the outside world. For me, there are a few games which I can always boot up to remind me why I love gaming so much. Dig Dug, Bubble Bobble, and the Battlefield games are always there for some great moments, but I think I have found another game to add for some awesome gaming moments... Forza 3.

I am a car guy, and Forza (with the volume turned up) can really press the right buttons for me. There are many amazing tracks, and cars, but no combination moves me more than driving on the Nurburgring, in my 1954 Mercedes 300SL. I can't really explain it, but I can't help but to have a smile on my face when driving that car on that track. Truly special moments, and experiences like this, do not come along very often, but I know I can always fire up Forza 3 when I need an emotional lift. If you've still got Forza 3, download my tune, and give it a go. It might not be the magical experience that I've made it out to be, but I know it'll be fun =)

So yeah, with Foxtel getting hooked up tomorrow, with all of the channels, and the HD ones too (YEAH BOIIIIII!), maybe I wont miss internet so much? Time will tell...


Happy internetting people.

Stories From The Offline (Day 4)

DAY FOUR:

Ok, I am starting to miss having the world wide web in my home. Apart from the obvious, in missing Xbox Live and the general browsing of stuff, it's the little things that are starting to annoy me...

If I'm unsure how much money I have (or DON'T have), I have to drive to an ATM - stuff that! I'm also missing my daily doses of podcast, and if I have the desire to watch a movie I don't have the DVD for, I cannot simply download it. I probably should goto Video Ezy and PAY for a movie - is that what 'normal' people do? That seems like a real backwards step though.

But before I have to go and fork over some hard earned, I'm going to utilise the extensive video library on my laptop. Prior to the move last weekend, I downloaded Parker Lewis Can't Lose. I loved that show when I was in school! I wonder if it is still the ultimate in coolness? I'm sure it is =)


SYNCHRONISE SWATCHES!

Last night, I got the desire to watch some Warehouse 13 (I recommend you *ahem* legally acquire Warehouse 13 - quality sci-fi), but didn't want to watch it on the tiny laptop screen. So, instead of going without, or watching it on the laptop, I unboxed my router and set up a small offline network. Now I can stream movies from my laptop to the xbox & watch them on my big screen.

Gaming wise, I've still been plugging away at Limbo, Crackdown 2 & Deathspank: 3 great games. I have the urge to play some Forza 3, so I might do that tonight? I really want to play some Bad Company 2, but noooooo, I don't have the internet at home.

Peace out, homies.


EDIT - I really should do a writeup of TV shows you should all be watching - with some mini reviews maybe? We'll see. One day, I'm sure.

Stories From The Offline

If you don’t already know, I am currently ‘off the grid’ at home. The reason for this is the Canuckistan HQ being moved to a new house over this past weekend. Usually internet connection takes a couple of weeks to get done, but due to financial constraints (and fucking Telstra), I probably wont have internet at home for about a month. As this house is brand new, there has never been a phone line activated. Before I can connect with iiNet, I have to pay an upfront $299 ‘connection’ fee to Telstra. I don’t have $299, so internet has to wait. Telstra are scumbags. If I were connecting with them, I doubt that this fee would be required upfront – it would be billed. Telstra are losing customers at a great rate, and this ‘Telstra tax’ is another way to still fuck us over. Thanks for nothing, Telstra.

The new house is great, and has a lot more space than the old one (I’ll get around to posting a photo of Canuckistan HQ soon). The one thing I don’t like is the shower head. In the old place, we never replaced the shower head with a watersaver one: It wasted a lot of water, but it was soooo great. Showering in the new place feels like 4 knives stabbing you in the back. Let’s just say that the days of the 10 minute shower are over, heh heh.

So, it probably wont be another month or so until I get the interwebs connected, so there will be only single-player gaming going on. That probably means the PS3 & Wii could get some game time, but probably not LOL. Limbo, Deathspank & Crackdown 2 will be played on the 360, Ratchet & Clank on the PS3, and I have a lot of Mario games on the Wii too. There are many other games which I haven’t played much on the 360, so there are a lot of gaming options.

As the days, and weeks of being offline drag on, I do plan on blogging here to let you know how I’m coping. The STORIES FROM THE OFFLINE series should be quite therapeutic for myself, and hopefully will be a good laugh for you all too.


STORIES FROM THE OFFLINE (DAY ONE)

It’s only been 1 day offline so far, and I’ve been crazy tired from moving house, so I haven’t yet missed anything. I have been enjoying Deathspank (which is primarily a single player game) a lot, and dabbled with Limbo for about 30 minutes until my brain hurt. Hopefully over the next few days, I'll find the motivation to write some Impressions for Limbo & Deathspank... We'll see how that idea goes.

Bad Company 2 Mythbusters?

I found these two videos on the Battlefield website. There are some interesting myths in there. Enjoy...

Canuckistan FC Is Ready!

Now that the Football World Cup is over, the real football can begin. Thats right, the next Fantasy football season for the English Premier League (EPL) will be starting soon.

Last year, T-Rexington Athletic did me very proud (and had the best uniform in world sports), but it is time to move on. I am very pleased to announce that Canuckistan has it's own entrant this season, creatively named, CANUCKISTAN FC...


We are also doing our bit for breast cancer awareness this year, in our sporting pink uni's. =)

I love fantasy football, not for the winning, but for the friendly rivalry you have when you're in a league with your mates. I wish to invite you all to join in the festivities this year, by signing up your own team. KC from this community has already signed up his team, Townsville Chiefs.

To join up, you'll first need to head over to fantasy.premierleague.com to register your team. Once you have done that, you can join our league by using this league code: 28647-10698. The first round of action begins on the 14th of August, so you have plenty of time to register your teams.

I hope you can all join. Please let me know if you're having troubles with your teams.

Impressions: Onslaught mode for Battlefield Bad Company 2

The Onslaught DLC for Battlefield Bad Company 2 (BC2) has been out for a couple of weeks, and I have had a few sessions with my buddies since its release.

Onslaught mode is a co-op mode for upto 4 players, with the players working together to capture checkpoints, fighting against AI opponents. One of the things about the Battlefield games which sets it apart from its rivals is the teamwork (especially when playing in a squad), and Onslaught really stays true to that concept. Working as a team is vital, as the AI opponents can sometimes get overwhelming (especially when playing solo), and each of the 4 kits (assault, engineer, medic, and recon) can play a strong role in achieving a victory. Currently, there are only 4 maps, but they each offer different challenges, and each match is timed, with an emphasis on beating your best completion time.

DICE have done a great job in enhancing the already high level of teamwork in BC2, and making a very strong variation to the standard multiplayer modes. Sometimes playing BC2 online can be douche-heavy (like most online shooters), so playing Onslaught with your buddies can be the perfect alternative. I do hope that more maps are released in time, as there are many more of the standard multiplayer map settings to choose from.

Onslaught mode for BC2 can be purchased in-game for 800 space bucks (on 360 – about $10 on PSN?), and I highly recommend it.

Mr. Perfect

I was supposed to have written this post about a week ago, but got lazy. That shouldn't come as a big surprise, but yeah... I was supposed to have written this post about a week ago. Last week, I fully completed the single player for Red Dead Redemption. Thats right, 100%.

I don't fully complete many games, let alone any games as big as RDR, so I was very chuffed when I finally finished it. Unlocking a 100 point achievement certainly made all of the time and effort worthwhile. To get to 100%, there are many obscure things you need to do/find. Here is a brief list of things which need to be covered...

Story Missions
Rare Weapons
Outfits
Houses
Jobs
Hideouts
Challenges
Bounties
Strangers
Mini-Games
Map Locations

Now that I am done with the single player, RDR is almost on the trade pile. Like any game on the cusp of being traded, I am now looking to milk as much gamerscore as I can from it. I'm looking to finish the co-op missions, before trading it in.

It does take a while (it took me four and a half days), but completing any game 100% feels great.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that RDR was a really enjoyable game. Rockstar did an excellent job of creating a realistic and highly detailed world, with excellent characters. If you're not interested in going for 100%, I highly recommend you complete the main story missions. Red Dead Redemption is an excellent game.

100th Post! Slowly Going The Way Of The Buffalo?

Did anyone else feel guilty when killing the last buffalo in Red Dead Redemption? As far as achievements go, killing all of the buffalo in the game for 5 gamerscore was pretty grim.

Most games have achievements for killing ‘x’ amount of enemies, but usually these enemies will respawn, or eliminating them is a key part of the storyline. The buffalo in RDR are not going to respawn. After you have killed them all, they are extinct. There were a few achievements in RDR which were rather dark. One has you killing one of every animal in the game, another has you killing & skinning 18 bears, but the most dark achievement would have to be ‘Dastardly’. This one has you tying up a woman, placing her on the train tracks and watching her get ran over by a train. I’m not going to spoil anything, but there are some rather gruesome parts in this game towards the end of the story too.

I am not complaining though, as I think Rockstar have done very well to make me feel any kind of emotion while playing this game. After mowing down heaps of innocent civilians in the ‘No Russian’ level of COD6, I felt nothing: It was a fun level, but I didn’t think twice about doing it (what does that say about me?). Kudos must go to Rockstar for creating a main character which I like, (and am interested in his story) and for adding things like the buffalo achievement, and Dastardly… Anything that references Rocky & Bullwinkle is instant WIN in my book.

Maybe I’m alone in feeling something for the extinct RDR buffalo, but I think it’s a great thing to be this emotionally invested in a game for a change.

An Exciting Week?

This past week has been rather interesting...

Our fine country (not Canuckistan, the other one) got a new Prime Minister, which left mixed feelings for me. While I don't think that Ms. Gillard is a downgrade on Kevin '07, she is my local member for parliament (Werribee Represent, YO!), I'm just not a big fan on the way she got into office. Anyone could see that she was always going to knife Rudd, she was just waiting for the right opportunity. I know we're supposed to vote for the party, and not the leader, but I can't help feel cheated with my vote - nobody voted for Gillard. That being said, I still think she'll do a decent enough job, and will have no worries being the first elected female Prime Minister of Australia.

To get us all into the political groove, Canuckistan has opened the floodgates to the greatest debate of all time: Which Prime Minister candidate would you most like to see in a Speedo? Have your say - Polls close in 2 weeks.

The greatest case of mis-management in history happened this week, with my internet being capped until next Thursday. Apparently 50 gig during peak, and 70 gig during offpeak times wasn't enough for me. Why is this? I'd like to blame not myself, but Optus for their stupid policies. Twenty of the fifty gig used during peak times was not downloads, but fucking uploads! Being with iiNet for the past year, I forgot about Optus' backwards upload policy. I'll have to remember to not leave uTorrent running after downloading - Thats going to kill my up/down ratio!


Since I'm restricted to offline gaming, I've rediscovered my love for the humble Nintendo Wii. It was such an awesome idea on their part to sell classic games on their download platform. I have many classics from the NES, SNES and N64 catalogues. Today's wii-fest kicked off with some Mario Brothers, Super Mario World, and ended with a 3 hour session with Super Mario RPG. That's already alot of Mario, and without even counting Mario Kart, Super Mario 64, and the 2 best retail games on the wii: Super Mario Galaxy, and Paper Mario.

Thats alot of Mario, but I think I'm up to the challenge.

EDIT 1: I forgot to mention the Football World Cup *slaps head*. After a horror opening match against Germany (where the Aussies didn't even try to win), The Australian national team played two great games this week to restore our faith. We got a 1-1 draw with Ghana, a match Australia should've won (despite having Harry Kewell sent off), and then beat Serbia 2-1 to end our tournament on a high.

I am very proud of the Socceroos, and it is a shame that one very bad game overshadowed two very good results.

EDIT 2: FourmoresleepsuntilIgetmyinternetuncapped!

Four Games, Twenty Two Dollars!

Apologies for the noisy-arse photo, but the poor quality of the photo perfectly reflects my purchases last weekend. In the spirit of "having a laugh", I headed to the local GAME store, and checked out their sale.

After searching for hidden gems, and only slightly going over my $20 budget, I left the store slightly embarrassed (Dead or Alive computer boobies will do that), but pleased with the purchases.

I have yet to try them out (Big Bang Theory, and Mad Men dvd's will do that), but will post impressions of my experiences with these games. Will they be twenty two dollars of fun? I hope so, as they have next to zero trade-in value.

Check out Game for yourself, and pick up some *ahem* quality titles. Set yourself a $20 budget, and see if you can better my attempt.

Fun With Red Dead Redemption

During this past week, I have been playing alot of Red Dead Redemption (RDR) online with buddies. Much like Grand Theft Auto 4, the fun for me in this game is just doing random things & making my own fun. In RDR, there are a few multiplayer modes, like deathmatch for example, but I tend to steer clear of those. I am a big fan of the "free roam" mode.

Free roam opens up the whole world map, and throws in upto 16 players. You are free to do what you want, and go where you want. You can roam the countryside on your own, or join up in a posse of your friends. Experience points can be earned by doing things such as killing other players (people not in your posse), or by completing challenges such as hunting wildlife, picking flowers, or by clearing out gang hideouts. Completing the gang hideouts is fun, and is the quickest way to level up. As you level up, you will gain things such as extra weapons, faster horses, and other characters to select.

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, I love making my own fun. I loved it in Grand Theft Auto, doing such things as running other players over in a helicopter, and RDR certainly has it's many possibilities. One night, my friends and I are trying to kill bears with knives, another night we're doing drive-by shootings in a stagecoach, and in our last session we were killing hundreds of lawmen with the cannons mounted on the castle in Mexico (with a bit of cannoning each other for laughs too).

There is much fun to be had in the RDR free roam modes, and feel free to send off an invite next time you're on. Red Dead Redemption is my favourite flower-picking simulator of all time... Give it a go.

The Stanley Cup Winners Are...

The Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks, with some of the best jerseys in sports, have win the Stanley Cup 48 years after their last win. They beat the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth game to win the best of 7 series 4-2.

I have mixed feelings about the win by the Blackhawks... I am glad that they have won, as the franchise has so much history (they were one of the original 6 teams in the NHL), and that they play a very entertaining brand of hockey, but the Blackhawks are the team which eliminated the Canucks... TWO years in a row! They're supposed to be the enemy.

Here is a funny Blackhawks tribute song from the Retar Crew for you all to enjoy. It is horribly catchy, and is full of hockey references...



Congratulations to the Blackhawks, hopefully the Canucks can finally win the cup next year. In Canuckistan there are two seasons: 1) Hockey season, and 2) Waiting for Hockey season.

Go Canucks Go!

I Think I Now Need An iPad!

Holy shit! DO WANT!



Portable SNES? Yeah, I'd bring that to work... Am not sure how much work would get done though. While I love the idea of the iPad, I have a laptop. It's very hard for me to justify that purchase.

ModNation Racers

Last week I got the retail version of ModNation Racers. If you have previously read my ModNation Racers Beta Impressions, there isn't really alot more I can add (if you haven't read those Impressions, go read them now. I'll wait for you).

All I can say is, apart from the long loading times, there aren't alot of negatives for this title. If you like Mario Kart-ish racing games, and character customisation, then this is the title for you. Alot of the fun is looking online to find Characters, Karts and tracks created by other users. Some of the content out there is truly creative, much more than my effort Scottio (pictured above). I did make a Homer Simpson from scratch, and it only took me about 15 minutes to complete.

If you have a PS3, I highly recommend you give ModNation Racers a try. It is the perfect mix of Mario Kart, and Little Big Planet.

EDIT: Oh... and if you are playing ModNation Racers, go and download my creations =)

Gamerscore Success!

Ooooh yeah, check out that 44,444 gamerscore! Today I got the final 50 gamerscore to achieve this cool number. I had to bring out an old game and specifically target 2x 10 point achievements.

Looking forward to getting 77,777 one day. Booyah!

Red Dead Redemption: Flying People

Red Dead Redemption is an awesome game, a game which I have been playing alot since getting it last week. Part of the reason why I have been neglecting the blog (sorry).

I have heard about the game being quite glitchy, and have heard about a few of them. Personally, I have only come across some very minor things (which you'll probably find on most sandbox games). Here is a video of the 'Flying People' glitch...



I'll be writing up some impressions for it soon. Patience, my canuckistani's. Remember, good things come to those who wait.

Happy Birthday Pac-Man!

Today is the 30th Anniversary of the arcade release of Canuckistan favourite Pac-Man. This classic game as first released on 22nd May, 1980 in Japan, and would probably be the most influential video game ever (Space Invaders also comes to mind). Many versions/spinoffs of Pac-Man have been released over the years, on nearly every video game system around.

Although I have never been very good at Pac-Man, it has always had a special place in my heart. Personally, I think it's very important for gamers to know and understand the history of gaming.

My favourite Pac-Man titles are Ms. Pac-Man, the original Pac-Man, and the amazing Pac-Man Championship edition being the best (in my opinion). All three of these versions are available on the Xbox 360 Marketplace.

Gaming is a massive part of my life, and Pac-Man is a big reason for that. I have symbolised this, with a tattoo...


Even after 30 years, Pac-Man is still relevant today. Head over to google.com to see their playable tribute to the yellow guy.

Baywatch Meets Battlefield Bad Company 2

Fantasy Football (EPL)

As some of you would know, I am a fan of Football (Soccer). I know I haven't posted about it until now, but yes, I like football. I follow Arsenal in the English Premier League (EPL) and Melbourne Victory in the A-League. The World Cup is coming up next month in South Africa, and I anticipate many sleepless nights (I should probably apply for annual leave) during the tournament, as the time difference is a killer for us Aussies.

Another aspect of Football which I love is Fantasy Football. For the past few years, I have been playing Fantasy Football in a league with friends. It has been a great way for a bit of friendly competition, and to follow the games in general.

A big part of the fun for me is picking the team name, and kit colours. This last year my team was named T-Rexington Athletic, and we sported some of the most spiffy kits around...


The 2009-10 season has just finished, and I had another solid year (I think I've came 3rd for the past 3 years). During the season, there is alot of friendly banter, as some managers do well (ie: lucky), and others struggle. T-Rex was struggling for most of the season (was as low as tenth), but had a very good 2nd half to gain many positions on the table.


With the 2010-11 season starting in a few months, I'd love to expand the participants in the next league. If you like football, or just like a bit of fun, I'd love for you to join us next year. As we get closer to August, and the league has been setup, I'll post some more details.

It's alot of fun, and I hope you can join. Let me know if you're interested.

Cheerleader

Last week I had the pleasure of seeing a friend's band, named Cheerleader. This night was the launch of their new EP, named New Animal, and it was a great night.

Cheerleader are a four-piece band which offer up alot of energy on-stage, a great indie-rock sound, and a unique vocal style. They play a very tight, and well rehearsed set which shows maturity of a band well beyond their years. I brought along two friends who, like me, don't usually listen to this style of music, and we all went home thinking Cheerleader have a sound which can take them places. My friends were very surprised to learn that this was only the second show which Cheerleader have done.

The New Animal EP has five songs which are very well written and all sound very different to each other. Not many bands can offer up so much variety to early in the life of their band.

Check out cheerleaderband.com to listen to a couple of their tracks, and look up some show details. They also have a facebook page HERE. Goto one of their shows, and buy an EP. I know firsthand how much time and effort they have put in, and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Impressions: Dirt 2

It sucks. It really does. Despite the rally cars on the boxart, there isn't alot of rallying in this game. There is alot of Rally cross, offroad trucks and simular X-TREME styles of racing, but it isn't the rally game that I wanted.

This game is nothing like the good old Colin McRae Rally games, which focussed on the World Rally Championship: Point-to-point rallying. Dirt 2 tries to take everything to the X-TREME, to americanise the sport, even though americans generally don't give a shit about rally's. Dirt 2 has taken 90% out of what I used to love about those games. I don't care about former Moto-cross stars and X-games bullshit, I just want rally.

Not to completely shit on this game, when there IS rally, it is alot of fun. The graphics are nice and slick, with fun handling and atmosphere. If you're into this X-TREME form of off-roading, this is the game for you. I couldn't last more than two hours of playing Dirt 2.

Dirt 2 is about as X-TREME as shoving a can of Mountain Dew up your arse. Wait, that would be pretty X-TREME... Playing Dirt 2 is probably as painful as shoving a can of Mountain Dew up your arse.

Yet Another Update...

Howdy all. Another week, another update. Fuck, I've really got to get back in the swing of things. What have I been doing? Still settling in & slowly getting used to not living alone. Things were much more quiet, and better when I was living alone. But, I need to do this, and things are slowly improving in a financial sense.

Since I'm too lazy to do it, I'll tell you... I was going to do another "Impressions" post, but this time as "Impressions: Moving Back With Parents", but yeah... too lazy. 'Tis a shame, as it probably would have been rather amusing.

I started a new job (still within the bank) today, so thats going ok. A change of scenery was what I needed, and it is what I've got. 3 months of me being able to just put my head down, and work. No silly questions, nobody to be responsible for, just me. It is just a 3 month stint, but couldn't come at a better time.

I haven't been gaming too much, well nothing too serious, as I'm still trying to get used to earlier starts - needing to get up at 6am really kills the prospect of gaming past midnight, like the old days. I've just been playing some more Splinter Cell (Finished it. Loved it.), with the occasional game of Battlefield & Just Cause 2.

The Canucks have started this years playoffs well, with a 4-2 series win against Los Angeles. Their next series is against the Chicago Blackhawks (who eliminated the Canucks last year), and the Canucks got off to an amazing start, with a 5-1 victory in Chicago. GO CANUCKS GO!

Hopefully I'll get into a good routine, and start writing more frequently...

Ummmm... Update

Holy shit, I haven't posted anything for a week? Wow, talk about being slack! What have I been up to? Slowly getting ready for the move back to my parents house (which is happening this weekend), being stressed about money (which doesn't go away), and being all *bleh* about work (not much I can do about that). I'm hoping shit will be better in a few weeks.

So yeah, have been occupied with all this other stuff, and haven't enjoyed gaming as much as usual. Splinter Cell: Conviction has been awesome though, I highly recommend you try that out (currently only out on Xbox 360). Sam Fisher is very much a badass.

Another thing which has kept me busy this week is playoff hockey. Being a Canucks fan, I can never be too comfortable, as they always find a way to lose when they shouldn't. It has been a very up and down series with the Los Angeles Kings, but the Canucks had an awesome road win to tie the series at 2-2. The game played today was an amazing game, but I can never be too confident.

Being playoff time, everyone has to step up their games, and the Green Men have really brought their A-game...



GO CANUCKS GO!

Upcoming Halo Movie?

This is one of the best April Fools pranks of all time - very well played.

Video - Swedish Twins!

To celebrate the efforts of Henrik and Daniel Sedin's awesome season for the Vancouver Canucks, I have a special treat for you.

The Sedin twins had a breakout season, and were the top two scorers on the Canucks with Daniel getting 85 points (29 goals, and 56 assists) and Henrik getting a league best 112 points (29 goals, and 83 assists). With two of the most consistent scorers in the league, the Canucks could have a good run in the playoffs this year.

Given that the Sedin twins are from Sweden, I present to you... SWEDISH TWINS!



The playoff are starting this thursday (friday aussie time), and I cannot wait. GO CANUCKS GO!

Borderlands Fun

Tonight, the old Borderlands crew was reunited with KC, Bear, Wound and myself resuming the game with our 'multiplayer' characters. I had forgotten how much more fun this game is when playing co-op.

Wound's character was a much lower level than ours, and things got extremely funny when Wound decided to whore an achievement. Wound had to challenge our of our guys to a fight, and win to get some gamerscore, and was having a bit of difficulty. His level 12 guy couldn't beat KC's level 25, and it took him a few attempts, as time would run out before KC was finally killed.

Tonight was a great session, and I look forward to finishing Borderlands and the 3 DLC packs with the crew.

Impressions: Blur (Multiplayer Demo)

Last night I tried out the multiplayer demo for upcoming racing game, Blur. I didn't know what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised with this game. Basically, it is Mario Kart, with 'realistic' cars and graphics.

On the demo, there are a few tracks available, and two racing modes to try out. One mode can support upto 10 racers, and the other can support upto 20. I'm not sure why they bothered to offer up the 10 player one, but there must be a difference that I didn't notice.

The racing is alot of fun, and can get pretty chaotic with so many other racers. You can also earn experience, and unlock other cars & upgrade existing ones. Below is a short trailer for Blur, which shows off some of the weapons which can be used during the races...



Blur should be released for PS3 and Xbox 360 in a month or two, and I will be picking this one up. The FREE multiplayer demo is available to download on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Check it out. I think this game will be alot more fun when played with friends.

COD Commentary Video

Cr1TiKaL (or however it's spelt), the master of Bad Company 2 videos, has now started posting videos of his COD6 exploits.

After his first video, where he scored an awesome 1 kill/20 deaths, he fights back well in the below video, and gets 5/14 LOL.



Apart from his hilarious commentary, the star of this video is his Uzi/Thermal Scope weapon combination.

Check out the rest of his videos HERE.

Impressions: Game Room (FREE Achievements)

Game Room for the Xbox 360, is a free games on demand system which lets you try out and purchase classic games. The game is set in a virtual arcade, which you can deck out with game cabinets, and other trinkets for decorations. There is also a 'Showcase arcade' which lets you try out the available games, with a free 10 minute demo. You can also visit the arcades of people on your friends list, and spend tokens to play their machines, and set each other high score challenges.

Currently, the games cupboard is a bit bare, with only 30 games available. These games come from the Atari 2600, Intellivision, and 1980's arcade catalogues. In a recent interview with Game Room representative on the Major Nelson podcast, there will be 7 new titles added to Game Room each week (starting late April). The interview also mentions that Microsoft have the rights to thousands of titles, and hints to newer arcade and console titles being available in the future (Dreamcast? Saturn? Neo Geo?).

Games cost 240 Space Dollars (about $4?), and I currently own Asteroids Deluxe, Centipede, Jungler, and Shao-Lin's Road. $4 may seem a bit pricey for a lousy game (and alot on offer right now IS lousy), but would be more than worth the money for one of your favourite games. I am eagerly awaiting the River Raid and Pitfall releases.



I believe that Game Room has alot of potential, and I recommend you try it out. Game Room, and it's game packs are free. If you don't like it, it hasn't cost any of your hard earned.

Another reason to try out Game Room, is that it gives out FREE gamerscore. 6 achievements, and 60 gamerscore can be yours, even without purchasing anything...

THE VISITOR - Visit a friend's arcade - 5 gamerscore
SHOW ME! - Visited the Showcase Arcade - 5 gamerscore
MY FIRST THEME - Placed a Theme in your arcade - 5 gamerscore
MY FIRST DECORATION - Placed 1 Decoration in your arcade - 5 gamerscore
PROPTASTIC - Placed 5 arcade Decorations in your arcade - 20 gamerscore
ROOM FILLER - Filled a Room in your Arcade - 20 gamerscore

I know you score-whores will be all over Game Room now!

Hockey Coach Loses His Cool

This clip is great for a laugh. After disagreeing with a referee's call during a American Hockey League game, Abbotsford Heat coach Jim Playfair gets emotional.



Do you think Jim got his message across? Have a look at the player just behind the coach on the right, he cannot stop laughing!

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

I read today that Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is coming to XBLA. It looks amazing! The gameplay looks pretty similar to PixelJunk Shooter, but the art style is very exciting indeed.



Screen shots, and more information for this game can be found at www.insanelytwisted.com. A release date has not yet been confirmed.

Do want.

Impressions: P.B. Winterbottom

I haven't written about anything other than Battlefield for a while, and have been meaning to write about this game, so here we go... P.B. Winterbottom, or Winterbottom for short, or The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom for long, is a quirky puzzle game which was recently released on XBLA.

Mr. Winterbottom is a rather shady character who has a big liking for pie. So much so, that the only purpose of this game is to collect pies. Before you stop reading this, the way you collect the pies is rather unique: You can create clones of yourself and use them to reach areas of the level you normally cannot, and use them interact with objects, like switches. This gameplay mechanic really makes you think outside of the box. The puzzles in Winterbottom can be rather challenging, but it is very rewarding when you finally find a solution to that puzzle which was troubling you.

I'm not normally the biggest fan of puzzle games, but I really like this game. Much like Portal and Braid before it, Winterbottom is an experience. It's unique gameplay is perfectly complimented with the macabre Victorian art styling, and the music sounds like it is straight out of a silent movie.

Here is the trailer which shows off the awesome art style, and some of the ways you can interact with your clones.



Winterbottom is available on XBLA for 800 space bucks ($10?). There is also a demo which can be downloaded for free. I recommend you give Winterbottom a go, and please let me know how you liked this game.

BC2 And You: Canuckistan Thanks You!

Over the past week, I have been giving Battlefield Bad Company 2 a royal thrashing. This is not only due to the game being so much fun, and offering many choices in how you can approach it, but by having my friends around to enjoy the game with.

Team work is massive in this game, and friends obviously help in that matter, but that isn't the main reason why I prefer to game with friends. You can share your experiences. Share the joy of doing something amazing (like your first Anti-Tank kill), and equally, share the frustrations that can arise in multiplayer gaming (like spawn rapists). Gaming is supposed to be fun, and I use it to unwind from the stresses of work. Having a laugh with my friends is very important.

I'd like to personally thank a few of my buddies, who have the patience to ride the rollercoaster that is my emotional state when gaming (and putting up with the many profanities spewing from my mouth)... Wound, Bear, Random, Necris, Pinbot, Beefie, Roadie, Zefron, Thumbs, and an extra special mention to KC, who drove halfway across the country to game with us last night!

I'm looking forward to many more sessions with you all, especially over the next week, now that I'm on annual leave.

... More sessions like last night would be great too! We kicked much arse.

Awesome Bad Company 2 Videos!

I found a link to this youtuber on the oldskoolgamers forum who posts many crazy vids from Battlefield Bad Company 2. This guy, named Cr1TiKaL has a wide variety of videos, and some of my favourites include tutorials on Smoke grenades, Anti Tank mines, and fun with C4.

Here is one to whet the appetite... REPAIR TOOL!



If you are looking for more creative and fun ways to get kills and points in BC2, head over to his youtube channel HERE.

First Look: Pacman Battle Royale

Holy shit! This looks awesome! 4 player Pacman versus mode, which looks alot like Canuckistan favourite, Pacman Championship Edition.

Hopefully it will eventually find it's way to XBLA...



Since majority of the arcades have closed in Melbourne, a XBLA release would be the only way I'd get to play it.

Dice Owns Infinity Ward Again

Not only have EA Dice made Battlefield Bad Company 2 much more enjoyable than Call of Duty 6, Dice also sink the boot into Infinity Ward at every opportunity.

Last week, Dice were rubbing in the fact that they're offering free maps, compared to $15 for five COD 6 maps (and 2 of those being existing COD 4 maps). This week, Dice have taken the piss out of this "Public Service Announcemnt", seen below...



And here is the much better version from Dice, with alot more wit and sarcasm...



Team FRAGS > Team FAGS.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 Multiplayer Tips

Bad Company 2 kicks alot of arse. Yesterday, I finished the single player campaign, and was very impressed. While I would rate the single player maybe an 8 out of 10, I rate the multi player a 9 or 10. I love it. The first Bad Company was great, but BC2 is an improvement in every way. I cannot recommend it highly enough for fans of shooters. There is so much variety in this game. So many ways to rack up points, and to achieve the objectives.

I will say first up, that I'm far from being a great player, or a winner, or my gamertag does not contain the letter x (singular or in multiples of 3), but I do have a few tips for players. Not all of these tips were born from my brain (I got the list of 10 from Sarcasticgamer.com), but I am posting that list, and adding a few of my own...

10. In any gametype, stay close to the medic. Not only will they keep you on the battlefield, but they’ll get mad points for resuscitating you as well.

9. If your heliocopter gets blasted out of the sky, you can still jump out before it crashes into the ground and survive by pressing A (360) or X (PS3) to deploy your parachute while in the air.

8. In Rush and Conquest hitting the select button to designate a target location gives added xp to the attackers or defenders of that point. There are also bonuses and Achievements attached to taking a selected target.

7. In Rush, you don’t have to blow up the M-Com, you can also destroy the structure it is in. Sometimes its easier to blow up the whole building.

6. Play any class you want, because as you level up, you’ll get a pool of guns that you can use with any class. Want a shotgun and a ghille suit? You can do that!

5. Turn your aiming sensitivity up about two notches. The default sensitivity is way too slow.

4. When you see an enemy, press the select button. Not only will it put a big orange arrow pointing out the target, but your squad will see it as well. Great for counter sniping and you get 20 points for a spotting bonus if a squadmate kills that guy.

3. Stick with your squad. Keeping each other alive is priority. Revive them, spawn on them, spot for them. Do these three things to max your score and bet the best squad bonus every round.

2. Do not leave an area with a vehicle without picking up other teammates. All vehicles benefit from additional passengers and you don’t want to be “that guy.”

1. All ammo types fire on an arc. Tank shots, missles, bullets will gradually lose speed and hit the ground at some point. You fight a lot at distance, so compensate for that when shooting from distance.

Now for the Canuckistan pro-tips:

- An engineer can repair a helicopter from the inside. Just make sure you are not in the driver or gunner seats. Be a passenger. Do the right thing.

- Place tracer darts on enemy vehicles. Not only will it let your team know where this vehicle is, you get 30 points for a successful dart hit. Rocket launchers (apart from basic rpg) will home in on a traced vehicle. Every kit can use the dart gun as the secondary weapon.

- Have diverse squads. Each class has it's pros & cons. Each class has it's own ways of directly supporting other people: Engineer has the repair drill, Medic has health packs & defib paddles, Assault can distribute ammo boxes, and the Recon class can use the Motion Sensor. There are many points to be had by assisting your team mates. Stick together.

- Medics: Throw as many health packs around as you can. This will increase your chances of healing your team mates. Even without knowing it. Also, stick with your team, to maximise heal/revive points.

- Engineers: It's better for your team that you don't drive the vehicle, as when you jump out to repair, it leaves the passengers vulnerable. Be a passenger/gunner. Do the right thing.

- If you can, steal enemy vehicles instead of destroying them. The vehicle cannot respawn, if it has not been destroyed.

- If you cannot drive/fly... Don't!

- Shooting team mates with a tracer dart is only funny the first time.

These tips should go a long way to making you all winners. Hopefully I will see you on the Battlefield soon. Hit me up with a game invite on xbox live.