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2old2type Ep 103: Turkey Time

Posted by DSmooth — 2009-11-20T07:48:06-05:00

Episode 103 of 2old2type Radio, the official podcast of 2old2play.com, has been posted and is ready to please. Read on for more information.

DSmooth and Codemonkey are back after the bye-week with a killer episode. They cover a ton of new multiplatform and exclusive releases, the hot gaming news stories of the week, and a bunch of listener feedback. They put the pedal to the metal to get this episode in around the 1-hour mark. Enjoy...

If you'd like to post comments on this episode, or questions for the next one, feel free to use this forum post.

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MW2 -- The PCP Review

Posted by Drost — 2009-11-19T00:27:59-05:00

There's this game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. You might've heard of it. If you haven't, well, the guys in PCP are here to get you up to speed. If we're interpreting this correctly, they kinda like it.

Modern Warfare 2...

Just saying the name gets me excited and my trigger finger twitching. Pathetic, I know. But it isn�t just me. Millions around the world are having the same reaction to that name and spent countless hours waiting for midnight on November 10th. But that is in the past. The game we all have been waiting for is here and the Pork Chop Platoon is ready to dish the dirt on the greatest entertainment launch in history. So does the game live up to the hype? Is it the best game ever made? Let�s take a look at all aspects of this title and get some reactions, both good and bad, from a group of gamers dedicated to the Call of Duty franchise.

The Look and Feel

Many in my clan agree that the game�s action and pacing set Modern Warfare 2 apart from most other first-person shooters on the market today. It is faster, louder and more intense than any other game we have played. Without question the graphics are truly "next-gen" and it is a pleasure to simply watch the scenery and listen to the background noise. This, of course, is a deadly mistake, since you will be shot full of holes within seconds � did I mention how fast this title is?

New gamer or old, you will be both thrilled and disoriented by the constant pace of the action that comes so thick and fast you really do feel that death could come at any second. It�s in this way that Modern Warfare 2, more than any other game I have played, both challenges the player�s reflexes and accuracy while at the same time engaging your primal need for survival. It fucking rocks! Here are some comments from the first few hours of game play as posted by members...

Triplewayne: �I think it is fucking amazing. Takes some getting used too, but overall amazing�

Bnobs: �Couldn"t be better. So fast, yet so awesome. This shit is not for the faint of heart. You've got to be quick and accurate.�

Canup: �The game is even more fun than cod 4. It seems they made an effort to stop camping, by making the game even faster.�

Single-player

Lets face it, most of us are playing the MP and not really looking at the SP, but that would be a mistake. IW has always strived to make a genuinely unique experience with its storytelling and majestic, often exotic set pieces. This game is no exception; however much of the dialogue is lost due to the background noise and action on screen. The pace is relentless and the sometimes brutally realistic visuals are dazzling. The title packs in some of the fiercest battles and most exhilarating chase sequences yet seen in a video game. That said, Modern Warfare 2's campaign is surprisingly short (can be completed in as little as four-and-a-half hours ), and the missions make better scenarios and moment-to-moment adrenaline rushes than they do a cohesive, well-told story.

The sequence that has drawn the most commentary is one in which you go undercover and join terrorists in shooting up a crowded Russian airport. It�s a deliberate attempt to match a truly discomforting moment halfway through the first Modern Warfare when a nuclear warhead detonates, killing your character. The terrorist airport atrocity fails on two counts, however. First, it prompts you with a disclaimer and an opt-out button before the chapter even begins (something that was not in MW and subsequently part of the reason it had such a gut wrenching feel to it ). Second, it is completely unnecessary, doing next to nothing to advance the story. I know, I know, it is meant to enhance your desire to put two in the head of Makarov, but I think that IW could have done it with a different scene that was less graphic and maybe a little bit more inline with advancing the story and character development.

Despite this, the SP is a tour de force that will propel you through a wide range of locations, engage you in virtually non-stop action and make you feel like you have just completed your first triathlon when finished. Obviously the ending was meant to leave the door open for a third installment, and in the way of a good Tom Clancy novel has an ending you may not have anticipated. No spoilers. You will need to play it.

And just like the Mile High scene from MW, once you complete the game, check out the Museum mode. If you are unsure what to do, see Hwhipp�s comments below.

cool hwhipp: �So has anybody that beat the game checked out museum mode? if u do make sure u grab some good guns outta the cases max up yer ammo .... then push the lil red bell.�

Multiplayer

This is where the game really kicks ass. If you ever buy a game for MP, this is it! IW has refined rather than revolutionized the Call of Duty 4 formula, but the key here is customization. You can create a personalized profile with your own emblem and call sign, unlock your own kill streaks and even unlock �pro� versions of perks if you want to push your character as far as possible. It�s polished, smooth and light-years ahead of almost every other FPS. Each map is beautifully rendered. The damage effects are seemingly endless and oh so satisfying! So let�s see what some piggies have to say about it.

Azure:�
�Well the long-awaited launch day has come and gone, 4.7 million copies sold on day one. Modern Warfare 2 has arrived. I belong to the premier COD clan on 2o2p so the first thing that I did after calming my trembling hands was to jump with both feet into multiplayer mode and hook up with the Pork Chop Platoon.

The first thing you�ll notice about this title is that you�ve basically played it before. Or at least you think you have until you leave the lobby. While it�s obviously a sequel to COD4 as it retains the same basic framework, it�s definitely got its own look and play. The graphics are drop-dead freaking gorgeous, from the environments to the bandoliers. Infinity Ward has really out done themselves in the art department.

The next most obvious change is the speed of this title. In Modern Warfare 2 you are either moving or you�re on someone�s highlight reel. Having said that, the speed can be one of the most daunting differences from COD4, but have patience you will get used to it. Having already put in about 19 hours into multiplayer, I can confidently tell you that every other FPS you�ve played will seem like old people humping after MW2.

Titles and Kill streaks -- They are fun and more diverse than most ever anticipated. There are 22 pages of titles alone. And when you consider that IW has no intention of releasing exactly how they are earned, they add a monstrous amount of playtime to the title. I can�t tell you how many times I�ve been asked where I got that cool title or emblem. Speaking of kill streaks, being able to customize them is a master stroke from IW who has yet again used innovation to change the face of fps gaming.

However, even with all of the drooling ,there are some things not to like with this title...

With the removal of party chat in objective games, we are once again subject to Timmy and his verbal diarrhea. Also, there is no ability to back out of a lobby as a party, despite this feature being present in CoD World at War.
Set spawns. This is the worst-of-the-worst and the whole reason I shelved COD4 in the first place. It�s only been two days and players are already exploiting the choke points of maps to punish their opponents. I know some people love this style of play, but I feel that it takes little to no skill to stand behind an invisible line and camp. This is especially excruciating after Treyarch fixed the problem so beautifully with W@W.
Fail Packages. Care packages dropping into unreachable areas.
Rooftops. I know that vertical play is the new thing, but how many accessible roofs do we really need?
Lack of more customizable classes with prestige. I personally don�t know anyone who has yet, but I think if they were included IW would have mentioned it.

The biggest reason however to love this title, for me at least, is that it has my clan playing together again and will for quite some time. This game actually makes ground war entertaining enough to play it again by choice instead of feeling obligated to play it to fit more people into your rooms. With all of the titles, emblems, kill streaks and game-winning kill cams, there�s plenty to keep you coming back again and again. So Azure says, Tango Down!� �

Blimmer: �Well, MW2 has finally dropped and I thought I would share my thoughts on the multiplayer madness. I could basically sum it up in two words � it rocks. That would, however, not make for a very good review, so here is a rundown of what�s good (most of it) and what�s bad (a few bits).

The Good
The first thing to mention has gotta be the visuals. The maps are all stunning in their design and rendering. Fom snowy forest to desert cave complex, the attention to detail has, in my view, surpassed World at War. IW 1, Treyarch 0!! It also has to be said there is a good mix of close-up maps as well as sniper-type arenas, making each game a little bit different, causing you to think about perks and weapon choice a lot more than previous titles. Throw into the mix the massive amount of game types you can now play (now up to 14!), the added equipment and perks system (too many to count), and you have a recipe for a world-beating MP.

But it doesn�t stop there. The rank system has been improved and some nice little banner bars added, 22 pages of them if you unlock everything. The scoring system seems to be a lot better; there is an increase in points needed to rank up, but a lot more ways to obtain more points, such as using different perks and achieving different goals, which is something that will keep us coming back for more and more.

Another thing I have noticed is the speed. The games just seem to be much more full on and in-ya-face than Cod4 and W@W. It is a real adrenaline rush when the map loads up and you charge in. There seems to be less softly sneak and snipe and much more BANZAI!, which is a good thing. I could go on about the good points for ever and ever, but feel I must balance before I get too carried away.

The Bad
There isn�t any. Seriously though, there are a few little niggles I and my fellow gamers are already finding a little tedious (pay attention IW). The first has to be spawning. The game has been out less than a week and I have already experienced major spawn camping and spawning in front of enemies. Surely this is easy to fix? There is now a perk called tactical insertion that helps a little, but is not the answer. Sort it out IW.

The only other gripe I have Is the lobby system, which is one thing I really liked about WAW. It is so much easier keeping your party together in Treyarch's title. Why did IW not listen to the gamers? Yes, they have developed a groundbreaking new title that I will probably not be removing from my Elite for the foreseeable future, but they do not seem to have learned from some of their previous mistakes.

To sum up � it rocks. And it does so on so many levels. Now if I could just get another 12 hours in a day, my kids to all leave home and the wife to take up gaming, my life would be complete."

Spec-Ops

This new game type adds two-player co-op scenarios. You and a buddy can battle through a series of bite-sized challenges. Borrowing scenarios and locations from the single-player story, each mission has you and a partner completing tasks together. The AC130 and Heli-gunner games require you to communicate with your partner on the ground. The �wave� games where you must survive, ala Horde mode in GW2, are fun and allow you to roam the map as needed as long as you can stay alive.

I prefer Spec Ops to the SP campaign and wish they had made it a four-player co-op, as some of the missions really do need a squad-sized compliment rather than just two players. That aside, this is a truly fun and surprisingly rewarding game mode. As you play through, you acquire STARS that unlock other levels within Spec-Ops, so the harder the level and the faster you complete it, the more STARS you get and the more Ops you unlock.

MineMagnet: �What I want to draw attention to here, however, is Spec Ops mode. This is the awesomeness, with but one weakness. The weakness is that it's 2 player only. This would be badass with 4. I played through maybe half a dozen missions today with my little homie, PMA and we had an absolute blast. This is the redeeming value. Take an hour out of your spawn camping n00bt00b showers, grab a buddy and check this mode out.�

Final words

Rather than put my own comments in here, I will let my clan sum up this game.

Thanks for reading and see you on the battlefield!

Sooper: �For sure a game I'll be playing for a very long time.�

Whizz: �I love this game so hard! Still have no f'in idea where I'm going on the maps, but with my trusty tubed M4 I don't need no stinking directions.

Hunter: �Greatest game ever made IMO. Easily the greatest shooter ever made.�

Fireghost: �This one is hard to adjust to if you use a run and gun style. Just wayyyyy to many little alleys, nooks and crannies for bad guys to camp in. The game is also allot more dimensional than COD4. Almost every map has high spaces (rooftops, upstairs rooms).�

Prospector: �I was pleasantly surprised myself. I am definitely not gifted with twitch reaction times and given what I had heard I thought I might find MW2 too frantic for me to be able to do much. The first few MP games were WTF, die, WTF, die, repeat. But after a bit I started to get the feel for a couple of maps. I think I'm going to do about as well as I did in W@W.�

Volt2amp: �This game Rocks!!!�

Epik: �I am in love with this game. I think my favorite feature thus far is that your secondary weapon is a viable option. As a sniper I really love that my survivability has dramatically increased because now I get a veritable smg in a machine pistol, or a shotgun if i so desire.�

Tocleora: �It's definitely an enjoyable game and I'm confident I'll get my $60 out of it. No complaints so far.�

Paingod: �Just completed the campaign on Veteran. Wow what a ride! Such a good game so far. Now it's time to get on multiplayer and see what the rest of the game looks like.�

Wipsy: �I'm, kinda glad I didn't post my thoughts last night as I intended. Because at that stage I hated the game. I couldn't go positive, I couldn't get a kill in some games. Today however I rolled with a full 9 Piggies in a Ground War room and it was great. OK I still went negative in some of the games, but at least I was getting the odd kill which made it bearable. And watching the Piggy's rack up the kills on the Timmies made it all worth while.�

BigBlumunky: �my two cents are pretty much just like everyone else. Its a great game. Graphics are smooth, never chopped yet. the surplus of layouts will keep me interested forever (I wanna make love to the thumper). But the thing I love most are the levels. They are so detailed.�

MW2 -- The A.D.D. First-Impression Multiplayer Review

Posted by Drost — 2009-11-18T23:29:00-05:00

Just the first in our MW2 media extravaganza (if "extravaganza" can be used in reference to two or three articles at the most). K. Thx. Bai.

Upon starting up my first game, I immediately noticed the lushness and detail of color through out the map nooks and crannies. Where other games I have played have slimmed down objects and the way you interact with them in order to push performance, this game gives you an almost too-crowded landscape chock full of level detail. Call outs are difficult because where plants were the only way and significant objects to call out the plant shop in MW1, here there are myriads avenues of identification for every where you go. The color palette looks as if it is richer and broader in spectrum, but lacking the sharp definition of its predecessor's starker lines. All in all this is the next generation in what to expect in games more level detail and more color for your enjoyment.

The game play is as smooth as MW1. I had time to delve into the assault rifle classes and they impress. Well balanced, to the effect there is no uber weapon, and all are capable without much effort to kill close and afar. The secondary has been expanded to the nth degree. Machine pistols, shotguns, launchers, and pistols can be selected from which gives the sniper class a much needed respectable backup. All these (except launchers) are upgradable through attachments. The class customization in this game is ridiculous. I am a bit overwhelmed still and am taking it all in. For every perk there is a counter perk or attachment, and that spells very specific roles that can be tailored via class customization. Whether it be a hi-speed sprinter class with extra sprint for flag grabbing or a ghost with no footsteps, heat signature or muzzle flash.

The custom kill streaks are sweet. But, Halo and Gears players will wonder at how all these kpd's are possible, and here's why: In this game, managing equipment and kill streaks is just as important as personal performance and can net you a better kpd than trying to out-play other players. Where juggling copters has been fixed from MW1 (holding your copter from a previous death would count for future chopters kills) and losing kill streak bonuses by having another one take its place permanently, they are replaced in my opinion by blotting out the sky with harriers, copters and ac 130s. At one point I had two harriers (one care package) and a Pavelow at the same time all within 30 seconds of calling them in.

Does this hurt the game? No, not necessarily, These are free for you to get as well and are can help finish a lop-sided game. But savvy players will have a cold-blooded class with stingers to piss off the the guy calling the air in. The rewards are yet to be played out and discovered. You are able to unlock and identify yourself with titles and badges that are accumulated by a certain number of deeds or major events you accomplish. This is nice and should be a good way to set yourself apart from the crowd.

All in all, I love this game. But I am still reeling over the unlockable perks, weapon attachments, and rewrd titles. It's almost a bit much too take in. Almost.

2old2play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Tourney

Posted by doodirock — 2009-11-09T16:43:52-05:00

Pork Chop Platoon has generously agreed to host a kick off event for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Up for grabs is bragging rights and a chance at a pair of Triton Headphones.

The Tourney will be a Free-For All and held on Friday November 13th at 10PM EST. The plan is to have four rooms, and the top players from each room advance to two second tier rooms. The winners from those rooms will converge in a final battle, where the victor takes home the spoils. Each round will be about 10 minutes, and if I know anything about PCP, expect fun gametypes, a few laughs, and a kick ass MW2 experience. All skills levels are welcome!

Sounds fun but I'm not into Tournaments

Not interested in the tournament, but you still want to play? The plan is that once the winners advance to the next room, the host can invite people in and the remaining players can have fun a la community playdate. So bring some friends along or meet some new one!

So what Free stuff do I win?

Ah yes, the free stuff. Winners of the FFA will be added into the SCC (Senior Citizen Card) members giveaway pool. In order to thank the people of the site for all their support with V3 and 2o2p, we will be randomly selecting members of the SCC to receive a pair of Triton Headphones and other Triton goodies. The winners of this tournament will also have their names thrown into the pool.

Sound interesting? We think so too. So if you are new to the Modern War series or a veteran we hope to see all of you Friday November 13th at 10PM EST. What better way to kick off Modern War 2 then a community tournament and playdate. See you all there!

If you are interested in the tournament or playdate: please in the forum thread here or contact a tournament manager. Specify your clan or group and you will be notified as to your room assignments.

Any questions? Contact an event manager. Either J-Cat, PowerMacAttack or MrSleestak

2old2type Ep 102: Feeling Minnesota

Posted by DSmooth — 2009-11-06T07:23:38-05:00

2old2type Radio Episode 102, the official podcast of 2old2play.com, has been posted and is ready for your listening pleasure. Read on for more information.

DSmooth and Codemonkey got together this week despite hellish traffic that put the podcast off to a 2-hour lates start. The boys cover a huge number of new multiplatform releases, the hot gaming news stories of the week, and a bunch of listener feedback. Overall, an awesome episode...

If you'd like to post comments on this episode, or questions for the next one, feel free to use this forum post.

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PR: The Resources

Posted by Drost — 2009-11-05T16:39:27-05:00

The Plastic Rockers are back with knowledge for the dumb masses. This time, it's every link you could ever want to enhance your plastic rocking experience.

As you might imagine we get asked tons of questions here at Plastic Rockers. Our wealth of knowledge and passion for all things plastic and rocking can overwhelm our inboxes. We're constantly being written to, called and stopped on the streets to find out where to get the best drum silencer or how to track one's scores. All right, all right... I may be overstating that just a bit, but we really do get asked these questions from time to time and we figured we'd do an article that lists the best sites we've found to help get your pretend band performing at top form and with the best gear.

Now, we're not going to waste your time by mentioning sites like RockBand.com or GuitarHero.com. I mean that would just be obvious and unnecessary. You've come here looking for those cool sites that you'd hoped existed but never knew where to find. Linking to forums on Guitar Hero's site or Harmonix is one of those things that would just make you go duh! and probably cause you to click away. Well, our advertisers hate when people click away from us, so we promise we won't mention obvious sites like RockBand.com or GuitarHero.com in this article.

2old2play.com: If you'd like to have your question answered by a semi-mature, half-intelligent beings similar to yourself, 2old2play.com is a pretty good place to start.� Other forum sites can be an adventure in flame wars and name calling but the guys and gals on the Guitar Hero / Rock Band forum at 2old2play are very helpful and usually aren't even douches about it.� A quick search through this board will generally yield an answer for whatever perplexes you, but if not, ask away.� Someone's always checking the boards and the accumulated knowledge of some of the site's hardest core rock gamers can be tapped.� There, we've plugged his site, now maybe Doodi will love us or at the very least grant SCC access.

Drum Mods & Drum Gear Forum's Guide & FAQ: This page on the Rock Band Modifications and Gear Tuning site has been indispensable to me. There is a wealth of information there -- everything from finding out what aftermarket drum heads will work with your Ion Drum Rocker to building your own E drum kit. The site is great for modding out any equipment you can get for a rhythm based game but we've used the drum guide often and have it bookmarked for quick reference.�

RockBandKickBox.com: While we're on the topic of drums, check out this site if you have an Ion Drum Rocker kit. This site sells the KickBox device you'll need in order to run a double bass pedal with your Ion Kit and a standard Kick Trigger drum pad. They also have cool devices that allow you to turn your existing Ion drum into a real E drum kit. If you are so cool that you already have a nice E drum, you can get a conversion box to use it with your Xbox and play along with the Rock Band game on your existing kit.

RockBandParts.com: This site has an amazing selection of parts to upgrade anything you can play with Rock Band or Guitar Hero. They are a one-stop shop for everything from drum silencers and aftermarket pedals to parts for your strum bar and adapters that will let you convert a standard mic into a USB mic. We haven't purchased anything directly from these guys so we won't vouch for them in that regard. But, we have read good things about them on third party sites and if nothing else they have a great place to see some of the customization options available to you.

Rock Band 2: The Complete Song Book: Ryan McKanna and Jennifer Putzier have put together a nicely formatted book of every song available in Rock Band.� They use a Karaoke style presentation and the look is clean and easy to read.� It's available as a .pdf file so you can use it online or print it off to take with you to your next RB party.� I can tell you first hand this is really handy to have.� They update the list fairly frequently though you may not see it changed every week.� The only draw back is that they list EVERYTHING, so narrowing down your particular songs can be a pain.� Which is were this guy comes in...

Rock Band Book by SheepStampede: An ambitious fellow over on the forums at RockBand.com has built upon the idea of the songbook Ryan and Jennifer created and "open sourced" it. In other words, he's created a similar-styled book and uploaded the Excel and Access files needed so that you can customize your own songbook any way you'd like it. Of course for dumbasses like me who can't use Access, it's only marginally cool, but for the rest of you this is really awesome.�

MyRockBandSongs.com: This is one of our personal favorites. At myrockbandsongs.com you can create a list of every song you have for Rock Band and print out booklets based on what you own and sorted how you'd like. Not only that, but you can become "friends" with others on the site and compare your songs to theirs and find new friends by doing a search for others with similar song lists. Rob also just added a more robust print option for members who donate to the site and a new Facebook Connect option so you can further expand your Rock Band connections.

Keldon.net: With the release of the latest Rock Band patch, this site may seem less necessary. However, we find the reporting data to be much more robust than just the star tracking available in Rock Band. This site will tell you how many stars you've earned on any song you've played, if you've improved on a song since you last played it, and where you are ranked for every song you play. It also works if you're playing on a 360, PS3 and/or Wii system. You can compare your scores with other Gamertags and find other players based on your DLC matches. There's even a list of the current most popular DLC available. All the lists are highly sortable and being able to see your scores and your best songs in one easy to use site is awesome.

Compatibility Chart: This is probably the most important link of any listed so far. Take this link, memorize it and ink it into your chest like a prison tat. Without a doubt, this link provides the answer to the most often asked and most annoying question we get. It's not that it's an invalid question or anything, it's just one of those basic things that any 3-year-old with access to Google could find out in less than a minute. Yet the question comes up over and over. So, the next time someone asks you if their GHIII guitar will work with the new Beatles: Rock Band, write down the web address, laminate it, and then take a four-penny nail and pin it to their forehead.

That's it for now. As more games are released and new plastic instruments come to marketplace I'm sure we'll see more creative people tweaking our "instruments" and finding new ways for rock gamers to get together. As they do, be sure we'll do our best to keep you up to date.� If you have a special spot on the web that has been useful for you and we missed it, post up! We love checking out new plastic rock sites. Particularly if it involves naked midgets playing Guitar Hero drums. NoGame can't get enough of those sites.

Review: Borderlands

Posted by Drost — 2009-11-05T16:19:49-05:00

Shoot, loot, shoot, loot, loot, and more loot. If you like to do the former and love to find the latter, then Borderlands is the game for you.

On the planet of Pandora, a vault said to contain powerful alien technology is waiting to be found, and so your group of four mercenaries comes to the planet in the hopes of discovering this legendary treasure.

Borderlands styles itself as a science fiction first-person shooter with RPG (role playing game) elements. A lot like Mass Effect? Hell no! Mass Effect moves at a snail's pace compared to Borderlands. Closer to a mix of gameplay elements from Fallout 3 and the graphics of Crackdown.

When you first start the game, you get to choose from four characters: The Soldier, Roland, The Siren (think stealth role), Lilith; The Hunter (sniper),Mordecai; and Brick (beserker). Each character has its strengths and weaknesses. Each character also has a special "active ability." Roland deploys a turret, Lilith can phasewalk, Mordecai can release a special pet "bloodwing" that deals damage to enemies, and Brick... well, let's just say that Brick utterly destroys... everything.

On top of that, each character has a skill tree from which three different branches can have points assigned to them which affects various aspects of that character's gameplay.

Once you've chosen your character, you meet a robot named CL4P-TP; AKA - Claptrap. This is your guide during your initiation stage on Pandora. Once you leave the town called FyreStone, you'll encounter Claptraps at various locations. ("Look at me I'm dancing, I'm dancing!").

Once you gain the trust of the locals (various missions) you start expanding the locations available to you to explore and complete different missions. And once you start, you easily get hooked hunting for loot. The harder the mission, the better the loot that is dropped or found in special chests. Loot can range from weapons to ammo, modifiers to grenades.

But enough about the storyline. I'll be honest. It's weak. What makes this game fun, is the four-player co-op.

Players can jump in and out of friend's games. With each additional player, the foes of Pandora grow stronger. However, the strength of the opponents on Pandora depends on the level of the game's host. i.e. If the game host is a level 20, then the game opponents will be around level 20. Players joining the game will fight against that level of opponents. So, if you are a level 30, and join a level 20 game, you'll be destroying opponents with one shot, but getting very little experience. Conversely, if a level 20 joins a level 30 game, they will find it almost impossible to contribute any firepower to the group and will likely die... a lot. (But the experience you earn will be huge).

Money and experience are distributed evenly between all the players. But guns and ammo are usually a first come, first serve deal. Watch out for the loot whores.

What about the guns? 17.5 million. Say that again. 17.5 million. That's how many unique weapon combinations are possible within Borderlands. Pistols? Check. Shotguns? Check. Machine guns? Check. Rocket launchers? Check. Add in such elemental variations such as fire, acid, lightning, and explosions, and you've got the mix for some serious running and gunning.

An entire review could be written about the weapons by themselves. Each one has an accuracy rating, rire rate, and damage dealt. Include in that the elemental variations which can deal damage in multiples from x1 to x4.

And then there are the weapon levels. It goes something like this. White > Green > Blue > Purple > Orange. Orange weapons are the "legendary" weapons. They deal extrodinary amounts of damage and also include an extra modifier expressed by red text. There are also three tiers of orange weapons.

Borderlands is a fun, sometimes challenging game, that is best played while in co-op mode. The level cap on your character is 50, and you will not reach that level on your first play through. Thankfully, on the 2nd play through, the opponents are leveled with you, and starting out again seems to be more of a challenge.

I'd rate Borderlands at an 8.7 out of 10. The positives are a great co-op experience, nice graphics, lots of guns, lots of loot and many hours to get your character to level 50. The negatives are the weak storyline, and even weaker ending.

But fear not, DLC is on the horizon (ZOMBIES!) and it's sure to have the same co-op experience and gameplay.

Caesar's 3D Model of the M6D Pistol from Halo: CE

Posted by doodirock — 2009-11-04T13:51:17-05:00

Our very own Caesar mocks up and models the M6D Pistol from Halo: CE in all its detail. The results are an almost graspable Halo weapon. Check out this sweet render.

About 3 weeks ago I started working on a futuristic bullet in CAD for the Halo 3 team I'm on called; Vulgarity from 2old2play.com. Ive been a Sr Designer for automotive & aerospace going on 10 years and I've been into graphic design for about 8 yrs, so I felt this project would just be something simple and fun to mix and meld my skills from my real job to my fun graphic design side. Once I started the bullet i figured i needed a case to house the futuristic bullets in. It didn't take very long before I started to add more and more detail. After about a week i had completed the futuristic bullet and case concept, and i thought it came out great, but was still missing something. So I got the bright idea that i needed a gun to tie it all together. My first thought was a 357 COP Derringer, but while it looked cool, it wasn't futuristic enough.

Eventually, I turned my attention to the Halo CE Pistol. I figured a model like this would fit better with an already Halo theme. As O began my work, i had tons of images for reference and thought this should be easy, but soon realized how wrong i was. I had no dimensions just images, so everything I modeled I had to do visually by looking at, and then trying to scale by guessing. I wanted to add a little flair to the gun in certain spots as i was modeling as well.

The gun itself was fun to do, but very time consuming. The program I use to render my 3D CAD is called Hypershot, and in order to apply colors and materials to things, they each need to be a separate part. So I basically had to build every single piece in a giant assembly in order to be able to apply the materials and colors correctly. This ended up taking a lot of time on the gun.

I had to model the trigger, the rubber grip, the gun stock, the magazine, the screws, lights, laser site, the slide on top that's connected to the laser site, and the bullet ejection cover plate. In the end it was a lot to do and in order to put detail into every little piece.

My final task this week was finishing up the gun stock, the main part of the gun. In my early renders my edges were very hard and Mrs Doublefire suggested i put a break edge to smooth it out (basically radii or fillet's). This actually worked to my benefit as i wanted to blend the front handle of the gun into the nose anyway, but would need it to be blended. The blending task took about 2 days, just a very time consuming task trying to get them to look right at the intersection.

So 3 weeks later I have finally finished my little project. What started out a simple futuristic bullet project turned into the massive renders you see below. The 3D CAD software I used to create my models is: Pro-E Wildfire 3 while the 3D Rendering Software is called: Hypershot.

Unrendered CAD Screen Shots

Final Renders

So You Think You Can Q and A?

Posted by Drost — 2009-11-02T17:24:21-05:00

Wherein the mostly absent lackass poet laureate of 2o2p finally gets around to answering your questions, though not before he writes a thesis on language and the common forum troll.

Why I write for 2o2p

Anyone that took Honors English in high school is familiar with the concept that voluntary constraints of style and form can have a liberating effect on the creative process. While free verse and prose have their attraction there is nothing as liberating as accepting the Shakespearean sonnet as a template and torturing the language into a thought and metaphor that transcends the limits of the rhyming couplet.

Hell, even the window-lickers in my high school got to try their hand at haiku�

Prom night came and went
I was promised some bare tit
Shit on cockteases

Note how the kirej (or �cutting word�) �cockteases� is placed as the last on of the third metrical phrase. It defines and shapes the purpose of the poem.

Pure magic.

When the Legislative Assembly of 1791 came together in Paris they unwittingly mirrored this literary truism. The form, the actual arrangement of progressives and liberals to the left of the chamber and the conservatives and nationalists to the right, defined the shape of the debate between them. In the middle the masses (the proletariat (1) if you will) created from whole cloth the dialectical (2) space for the debate to settle. For the compromise that lent order to the chaos, for the coming together of ideas and dreams. From constraint and chaos came the shape of a mighty republic that French have been fucking up ever since.

Language creates ideas and gives birth to new language and expression which creates ideas ad infinitum.

There are those that decry the internet as the slayer of literacy. That say that 1337 speak and txt msg will rob us of the magical legacy of the Bard and kill language. To them I say forget not that language is as ever our servant and master. While it binds us, it also lifts us above the beasts of the field. It provides us with a doorway to the souls of our fellows and while we may wrack, twist and reshape it, as long as men think and dream it will leap ahead of us lighting the way to a horizon undreamt of.

Not chicks though... they just want to talk till your ears bleed.

So here we are on the dawn of a new literary horizon. While the internet is young, it safe to say that it is past its BBS infancy and chat-room toddlerhood. Growing from them is a new consciousness and gestalt.(3) The online community is lifting itself from the crucible (4) of creation and is shaping the way men think and speak and write. In its brash new adolescence it has developed a new tool to carve us a space in the wilderness of the mind for ideas to come together -- a new watering hole where the hunter and prey play out their eternal battle of survival.

The �forum thread.�

It�s true that it has its faults. That it can become mired in tiresome repetition and endless lol cats. However its brash call-and-response rhythm evokes comparison to the Negro work songs of old and raises images of the sea chanty ringing out on storm-tossed decks. Whoever girds their loins and toes the line of the (just say for instance �Off-Topic�) forum must not just consider their own thoughts and feelings, not just the impending judgment of the ubiquitous grammar-nazi but also the inevitable and lightning-swift response of cultures so far removed from their own. At the pace of a speeding electron we are forced to make decisions that will cement forever our position in the newest community of men -- the online community. Take for instance the following exchange�

Dastard wrote�

�and while I�m not trying to bash those with firmly held beliefs, I honestly think that most Democrats are Democrats of convenience. That rather than answer the tough questions that mean the difference between whose sides gets the most bullets pumped into their young men they are hiding behind a na�ve and dangerous fa�ade of relativism and feel-goodery.

Dahji responds�

Eat a dick.

In a word, a world.

Note the elegance and clarity of the thesis. Note the subtle deprecation (5) of the antithesis. And watch now as from them both is born a synthesis of wonder. A world of questions and possibility born from the form of call and response. Should Dastard eat a dick? Of course it�s obvious that Dahji loves the dick, but does that mean Dastard should not eat the dick? Whose dick are we talking about here anyway? Weren�t there mods here a minute ago?

I can stay away for a while, but always the siren call of an instant audience draws me back. I can put my words out there and they will be loved and hated, laughed at or laughed with. I can find those I have things in common with and those who are worlds away. No matter how I ignore it while I am gone, it lives and breathes its own life.

I owe big apologies to people I befriended and abandoned, hopefully they�ll see that while I am a fair weather friend, most of the time the skies are clear in Bubbaland. It�s fun to write for 2old2play but it�s more fun to write with 2old2play. If you are reading this then you are one of the few that knows we have a front page and you might even be aware that it doesn�t just appear out of nowhere. Drost and J-Cat and Caesar and lbsutke and No Game and Begonia and Waterborne and an assload of volunteers I�m too lame to mention do the heavy lifiting. They need help. They need editors and writers and artists who can spare a few hours a week and help them do what they love. Make this place a more fun and interesting place for us all to laugh and fight and play games. If you want to be the one that casts the deciding vote to kick me out of the P&W again then PM doodi and tell him to get off his lazy, gold-bricking ass and let you into the Magic Kingdom.

We get cake in the P&W.

I swear.

Now onto the questions�

Snuphy (who is seriously starting to creep me out) asks:

If I piss excellence, does something special happen when I dribble excellence on the tops of my shoes?

If I could piss excellence, would it smell like pee?

If someone passes gas while pissing excellence, does it smell excellent, or does it just smell like ass?

In order to piss excellence, what sort of suppository does one need to stuff? Is it larger or smaller than a bread box?

Hypothetically speaking, if I found a woman half my age who liked to �catch� or �wear� excellence, would it be wrong of me to provide her this sort of enjoyment? Or, also hypothetically speaking, if such a rare and highly prized woman could not be located, or in the event I couldn�t muster actual excellence, would it be inappropriate to instead �apply� my version of excellence to my wife as she sleeps?

While afflicted with morning wood, is it easier to piss excellence than it is to piss standard issue fluids?

If I could piss excellence, would my wife once again notice my now frequently neglected morning wood?

Would being able to piss excellence make me faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound?

All right, we get it. Derek�s a dork, but he�s our dork and we love him anyway.

The Esteemed Dead Dr. asks: How big can Dsmooth's head get before his tiny chicken neck can no longer support it and he has to sleep with it in a wooden cradle, like the elephant man?

See Above. And keep your chins up big guy. We�re all having a good thought for you and yours. Never let the bastards get you down.

TDrag (who apparently spends about as much time on the site as I do these days) asks: What do you do for a living? (besides volunteer your time to the site in exchange for doodi's friendship)

When I was originally tapped to try a Q&A for the site the answer to this question was �not a whole hell of a lot.� Nowadays though the answer is- �serve in thralldom to a ginormous hospital system at the whim of any of the 23, 447 employees ahead of me in the chain of command.�

My main responsibility is helping people quit smoking. My secondary responsibilities include coordinating policy and procedure for taking the acute care facilities smoke-free campus wide, managing the State and Federal grants that my position depends on, performing outreach and community advocacy work on behalf of the State entities that pay my salary and knowing at all times where the 23,447 people ahead of me in the chain of command are at all times.

The time crunch of a major project coming to a head at the same time I acclimate to the new job is a major part of why this column has not been what the site deserves. That doesn�t mean it can�t be done better. In fact, I�m nominating Snuphy (He's as worthless as you in turning in articles. -- Ed.) to take the reins moving forward and if you want to harass the shit out of him to take over (or at least come up with shit for the front page that is as funny as what he writes in the forums) then post it up in the comments below. In the mean time, you can still send questions in here and complain about me here.

I�ll get to the questions when I damn well feel like it.

(1) Proletariat: the class of wage earners, esp. those who earn their living by manual labor or who are dependent for support on daily or casual employment; the working class.

(2) Dialectical: of or characteristic of a dialect; dialectal.

(3) Gestalt: : a structure, configuration, or pattern of physical, biological, or psychological phenomena so integrated as to constitute a functional unit with properties not derivable by summation of its parts.

(4) Crucible: a container of metal or refractory material employed for heating substances to high temperatures.

(5) Deprication: to express earnest disapproval of.

Frags Away comes from Awesome Town to Xbox Live!

Posted by Drost — 2009-10-30T12:42:29-05:00

The first (of what's sure to be many) 2o2p Frags Away FFA tournament played out earlier this month. Many entered. Only one became a champion.

Two months after the Frags Away FFA hit Awesome Town (aka, the Chicago Lan), I decided we could do an Xbox Live version to allow those members who couldn�t make the trip to Chicago to partake in some Halo 3 goodness. This first Frags Away Xbox Live FFA was a tribute to the famous Halo 2 map, Midship, reborn as Heretic in Halo 3.�

In Halo 2, this was the FFA map. The remake then became a no-brainer for the battleground of our first Frags Away Xbox Live FFA.

I limited the enlistment to 32 people; any member of 2old2play at any rank was allowed to sign up. The top prize was a choice of 3200 Microsoft points or a $40 Best Buy Gift Card (way to go above and beyond, caes. -- ed.). We almost reached the 32-player limit on the first day the sign-up was posted. It took only a few more days to max out and get the party started.

Once all the players were signed up, I went through every name on the list and did my best to spread the skill levels out across the rooms by player rank and by my knowledge of the players� skill sets to make the matches as equitable as possible.

Listed below are the rooms broken down by the players that signed up (RL: Designating Room Leader):

Room 1
RL: Caesar
Kevtek17
killthrash
ripend Turmoil
Bioslayer
Ghost92
Eksessiv
Soulvoid

Room 2
RL: Fire
Risen
trizev
Boulder
Soup Nazzi
Kid Mach
Kontrolled
Legendcalledjim

Room 3
RL: Knifeman
Biorod
I6Hitman
Ladiesluvme
Gridiron Grace
Lala Calamari
Twisted Caboose
Ekattan

Room 4
RL: Killa Gorilla
Neksone
Normal Guy
Emminett
Sparhawk
CBASS
Tman
Nogame22

There were a couple changes from the way we ran the tournament in Chicago. For one, I changed the round time limit to 10 minutes in order to shorten up the games, make them more intense, and to keep us somewhat on schedule. I didn't want it to take all night. Also, It was a double elimination tournament. In Chicago, you made the cut or you didn't, but then again there were more maps in Chicago.

Everything went down on October 5. I signed on early to ensure everyone got in their rooms and had the proper settings and whatnot. One thing that threw us for a loop was the amount of no-shows: we had seven in all across the Winner Bracket Round 1, which put a kink in things for the first two rounds. But real life happens, so we forged on!

All the games had really tight scores. For example, in Knifeman�s Winner Bracket Round 1 room, Phreaks and Gridiron tied for fourth at the end of the game: not only in kills, but in deaths as well, forcing us to go to assists to determine who would advance. By a small margin, Gridiron progressed to Winner Bracket Round 2. Almost all the brackets played out in similar fashion. It made for exciting times.

For the Full Brackets please click the link below:
http://www.gamer-grafix.com/2old2play/FragsAway09/ffa09results.htm

The finals played out exactly how I hoped they would: an extremely close-fought battle between eight of the site�s toughest members. The game was intense, to say the least, as each player jockeyed for position to move up the board. The end result was a spectacular finish with one kill separating placements from second to seventh. Neksone walked away victorious in the end. He lead most the game and managed to keep his lead all the way to the finish.

Congratulations to Neksone for winning the first 2old2play Frags Away FFA Xbox Live Tournament!

For the final game stats, see link below:
http://www.bungie.net/Stats/GameStatsHalo3.aspx?gameid=1390527529&player=Neks0ne

I have plans for another Frags Away FFA tournament, including more maps like Citadel, and some others. I6_Hitman is most likely going to help me run that one, so stay tuned for more info.

Thanks again to all who signed up and played!

2old2play News Feed

2old2type Ep 103: Turkey Time

(773) 527-2961 podcast@2old2play.com

MW2 -- The PCP Review

Modern Warfare 2...

The Look and Feel

Single-player

Multiplayer

Spec-Ops

Final words

MW2 -- The A.D.D. First-Impression Multiplayer Review

2old2play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Tourney

Sounds fun but I'm not into Tournaments

So what Free stuff do I win?

2old2type Ep 102: Feeling Minnesota

(773) 527-2961 podcast@2old2play.com

PR: The Resources

Review: Borderlands

Caesar's 3D Model of the M6D Pistol from Halo: CE

Unrendered CAD Screen Shots

Final Renders

So You Think You Can Q and A?

Frags Away comes from Awesome Town to Xbox Live!

(773) 527-2961
podcast@2old2play.com

(773) 527-2961
podcast@2old2play.com