Booking Hotels and Airline Tickets

The first thing I did was book and confirm our flights and hotels. I bought tickets from Expedia once again since they were the most convenient for me, but I found competitive rates at both Priceline and Travelocity. In my experience with booking, its best that you have all the information you need available (credit cards, passports, etc..) before getting started. It just makes things much easier this way. The prices changed so quickly that I probably could have gotten a better deal if I had been prepared a bit more.

My original plan had been to book a decent three star hotel somewhere in the Shinjuku area, but even with all the discounts Expedia offered us, we would have easily paid $120.00 USD per night for something decent. Fortunately, the couple traveling with us are in the active military so they were able to sponsor my wife and I at The New Sanno located in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Therates are amazing, and if you are in the active military or have a friend who can sponsor you, its definitely worth a look. Its located less than ten minutes from the Hiroo Subway Line and they provide all the amenities you would need for a very comfortable stay. (money exchange, bank, BX, gym, etc…)

We did run into some problems however and it was primarily because we waited so long to book. We discovered that during the July 4th weekend its extremely hard to get rooms at the Sanno, so we’ll actually be staying at Azabu Court Apartments, which is about a ten minute walk from Sanno for a couple nights and return once the weekend is over. My advice : book very early.

Transportation and Costs

The next thing I wanted to learn a bit more about was getting from place to place in Japan. I knew that renting a car was not an option at all so I tried to learn as much about Japans public transportation as I could. The first option I looked at was a taxi. I quickly crossed that out after discovering they are about as expensive as riding the taxi’s here at home. $250.00 USD to get from the airport to hotel? Forget about it!

Apparently, the best way to get around Tokyo is by train or subway. I experienced Washington DC’s Metro System last year so I was familiar with how everything worked. The fact that everything is in Japanese may pose a bit of a challenge, but because everything is color coordinated and numbered, I’m pretty sure we’ll figure things out in a day or two. If your really concerned about getting around, I suggest you visit this site here. I took down a few notes and we already know which trains/subway stations to get on and off of for the first couple days. I’m sure if I had more time, I would probably have mapped out more of the trip. You may also want to look at this well done video about how to actually use the Metro if you have never used the subway station before.

Finally, be sure to purchase either a Pasmo or Suica smart card to use on your daily travels. It basically is a chargeable card that can be swiped at all major bus and train stations to make travel alot smoother and faster. It definitely beats buying a ticket at every stop. I plan to get a couple $50.00 USD cards upon arriving at Narita Airport, and simply recharging them as needed. I believe you can also refund any remaining balances when its your time to leave Japan by returning the card to a ticket sales office.

Our Itinerary (10 Days)

This was actually the toughest part of the vacation planning for me. There is just so much to see in Tokyo and I doubt we’ll cover even a fourth of everything in the ten days we’ll be visiting. I’ll post the basics here for everyone to guide themselves with, and start my reviews on each day as soon as I return.

Day 1

Enjoy the Hotel.
Walk around the area.
Possible Evening Trip to Roppongi Hills

Day 2

Tokyo Disneyland or Disney Sea(Chiba)

Day 3

Shinjuku & Shibuya, Japan Sword Museum, Isetan
Top of the Metropolitan Gov’t Office (South Tower) (Shinjuku),
Hachiko Statue, Shinjuku Station for Lunch , Stroll Shibuya in the Evening
(Check out the LOVE HOTELS!)

Day 4

Wake up Late. Gym/Pool
Shinjuku in the evening or Tokyo Dome

Day 5

Ueno Park (Tokyo National Museum and Zoo)
Edo-Tokyo Museum

Day 6

The Tsukiji Market (5:00), Imperial Palace Gardens,
Asakusa (Asakusa Shrine and Sensoji Temple)
Ginza, Sony Building Kabuki-za Theater (1 Act)

Day 7

Wake up Late.
Harajuku – Yoyogi Park and Meiji Jingu Shrine
Akibahara at Night

Day 8

Odaiba Pallette Town and Venus Fort shopping center,
Miraikan Museum Ride the Daikanransha (FERRIS WHEEL) Joypolis by Sega

Day 9

Kamakura (We need to leave early!)(5:00)
Inquire about Enoshima Kamakura Free Pass
Kamakura , Great Buddha of Kamakura ,Kotokuin Temple ,Tsurugaoka Shrine

Day 10

Not sure what we can do. Check out at Noon. Get Limo Bus to Narita. Check in Baggage. Hang out! What a VACATION! Where are we going next? SAYONARA! UNTIL NEXT TIME!!!!

Additional Information

I found a ton of useful sites to help me with the trip. I’ll list some of the most useful ones here.

Japan-Guide
Japanese Lifestyle
Japan Travel Info
Japan Zone
Virtual Tourist Tokyo
Wiki Travel Tokyo

• Vacation Plans this Summer
• Travel: Boracay, Philippines
• Travel : Pikes Place (Seattle)
• Travel : The Phantom of the Opera (Las Vegas)
• Travel : The Butchart Gardens (Canada)

THEATERS

New releases this week are: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,  My Sister’s Keeper, and Cheri.  My Sister’s Keeper stars Cameron Diaz as a mother whose  daughter, Kate, is battling leukemia. She then has another child, Anna, via in vitro fertilizatioin, who is designed to be a perfect genetic match for Kate.  When Kate’s kidneys begin to fail, Anna seeks medical emancipation from her parents who are demanding that she donate a kidney to her dying sister. While at first glance this may seem to be your standard tear jerking chick flick, the film seems very well written and acted.  Although I normally shy away from depressing fare like this, I must admit that this film has a very interesting story and seems well worth checking out.

Cheri is a romantic drama set in 1920s Paris that follows the love affair between a young man and an older, more experienced woman played by Michelle Pfeifer. While I don’t know too much more about the film, it obviously seems to share a lot of similarities with the award winning ‘The Reader’.  However, from a technical standpoint, even as she ages,Pfeifer ranks considerably higher on the MILF scale than Kate Winslet.

Finally, we have Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I don’t really want to say too much about this film as both Trench and myself have reviews which should be up in the very near future. Is it better than the first film? Not really in my opinion. Is it worth checking out at the movies? Yes. I doubt anyone will consider this a masterpiece or even an excellent film, but it is literally the most bang for your admission buck.

DVD

New DVDs this week are: The Pink Panther 2, Confessions of a Shopaholic, and Inkheart.  Pink Panther 2 has Steve Martin reprising his role as Inspector Clouseau.  Kids may find the humor in this film amusing, but most of the jokes and gags have been done before.  While the first film had the benefit of Beyonce to at least keep it afloat visually, this film has the benefit of….um….sorry I’ll have to get back to you on that.

Confessions of a Shopaholic stars scene stealing Isla Fisher as a shopaholic who learns to find comfort in more than just material things. While the film isn’t exactly the most original idea, Fisher is usually pretty entertaining.  I may have a review up for this soon as my spider sense is indicating that I will most likely be forced to watch this in the very near future.  This brings us to the Brendan Fraser children’s flick, Inkheart. The story is similar to The Neverending Story in that there is a magical book whose characters and world come to life.  Admittedly, I don’t know too much about this film but my kids were watching it a few weeks ago and they really enjoyed it.

GAMING

This week brings us the release of one of my personally most anticipated games in a while, EA’s Fight Night Round 4. I’m sure you’ve seen the constant barrage of commercials featuring a virtual matchup between Heavyweight legend Muhammed Ali and Iron Mike Tyson. Fortunately, the game features the pre- tattoed face, ear biting version of Tyson when he was the terror of the heavyweight division. The game also features a great roster of fighters, including: Tommy Hearns, Lennox Lewis, Manny Pacquiao, and Roy Jones Jr. just to name a few.  I can’t wait for this game as I’ve already sunk way too much time into the demo, which only allowed you to choose between Manny Pacquiao or Ricky Hatton.

That’s the week in entertainment and that’s a wrap.

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Michael Jackson suffered a cardiac arrest (heart attack) earlier this afternoon at his home in Holmby Hills (L.A.) When paramedics arrived they found no pulse and were unable to revive him. He was taken to a local hospital but the medical staff were unable to resuscitate the king of pop

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Let me start by saying that I loved the first Transformers movie. In all honesty, if I were to make a list of pros and cons about the movie, I think the list would be pretty even. But if you look at the weight of each item, the positive far outweighs the negative. Optimus Prime producing a sword from his hand and decapitating Bonecrusher under the freeway definitely makes up for John Turturro in his Sector 7 underwear getting peed on by Bumblebee.  Likewise, Jazz’s annoying ebonics and breakdancing are more than made up for by seeing his body ripped in half by Megatron’s bare hands while perched atop a skyscraper. The list goes on and on, but the bottom line is that every annoyance in the first film is easily washed away by the sheer badassery of other elements of the film.

Unfortunately, after watching T:ROF, the negative outweighs the positive. It reminded me of a fighter who is being paid to throw a fight. They do just enough to look like they’re trying to win, while the whole time they are setting themselves up to lose.  One of the gripes from the first film was that there weren’t enough robot battles and that the ones that were featured were almost too clunky and awkward to clearly determine who was who.  Director Michael Bay really does a great job of not only throwing in more incredible action scenes, but also in cleaning them up so that they are easier to follow. The action scenes are just awesome and Bay has really upped the brutality level in all of the fights. Watching the Transformers battle it out is what audiences pay to see, and in that respect the flick more than delivers.

Sadly, almost everything between these battles is excruciatingly painful to watch. I can accept the Transformers movie having minimal character development and plot holes big enough to drive Optimus Prime through. However, what kills me is the fact that Bay felt the need to include humor that seemed like it was written by the writers of ‘Meet the Spartans’ and ‘Disaster Movie.’ Robots farting, robot balls dangling, Old Robot with a cane, and a robot leg humping a human are all featured in this film. Are these the elements this incredible franchise is reduced to? Apparently so.

As far as characters, Bay introduces so many meaningless additional characters while at the same time ruining existing characters. There is a Decepticon who can transform into a hot college coed. Her transformation amounts to nothing more than a metallic looking ‘Species’ rip off and her inclusion in the movie is highly unnecessary.  Then there are Sam’s new sidekicks and protectors who have earned the nickname ‘Car Car Binks’ from various other reviews due to their irritating nature and the stereotype they personify. These twins speak in full ebonics, have gold teeth, and are dumb as a box of rocks. While I wasn’t anywhere near as irritated by them as a lot of other people (I actually found them kind of funny in a ‘I can’t beileve I’m laughing at something this stupid’ kind of way) I did feel that their inclusion was also very unnecessary.

Then there are the existing characters. In this film, the almighty Megatron is reduced to, for lack of a better term, a little bitch. In the first film, he was an unstoppable monster who nearly killed Optimus Prime. Here, he is reduced to the role of subservient errand boy. Then there is Soundwave, who is nothing more than a glorified talking sattelite in space. Don’t even get me started on Bay’s treatment of Devastator or Jetfire. One thing is clear, the threat of the Decepticons is considerably less menacing than in the first film.

There are numerous other problems that I had with the film, but these are the more major ones that I can think of right now. Is it a good movie? yes, but by no means is it great. There are quite a few elements that make it worth watching. The previously mentioned action scenes are top notch. While the physicality of the Transformers seems to have lost a bit of freshness from the first movie, it is still a blast to watch them throw down on screen.  Sam’s interaction with his parents is still pretty damn funny. Surprisingly, John Turturro is less annoying in this film and is actually one of the funnier, more entertaining characters. Believe it or not, Megan Fox actually got a bit hotter in this film also.

So while the movie didn’t quite live up to the hype and promise of the original, it is still very entertaining despite all of its flaws. I’ll be watching it again since i have to take my son to go see it. Who knows, maybe my opinion of the film will change after another look.  As it stands in my mind right now, it’s a good and entertaining flick that is definitely worth watching at least once.

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Year One stars Michael Cera and Jack Black as two hunter/gatherers who are exiled from their tribe and wind up going off to discover the world.  The film has some solid laughs, but by the end of the movie it unravels into plain silliness with a lot of the humor losing steam by the final act. It is a pretty entertaining movie, but it has difficulty keeping its premise amusing for the duration of the film. From the start of the movie, the cavemanish setting is funny, with the two leads exchanging one liners and jokes. Despite the fact that there is NO historical accuracy to this movie whatsoever, the humor and setting held up resonably well at first. By the time the ending rolls around, neither Black’s nor Cera’s humor is strong enough to keep the movie afloat.

Year One is not a bad flick by any means. It is an entertaining comedy that will definitely have people busting up. The problem is that there isn’t really enough material to keep the laughs consistent up until the film’s conclusion. By the end of the movie everything kind of devolves into a silly farce.  There are people who will find the movie amusing from start to finish, however with the caliber of comedies these days, the film leaves the audience wishing for a bit more than what they are left with. Unless you are a huge fan of Jack Black or Michael Cera, I would recommend waiting for video.  There are better movies out at theaters that are well worth the price of admission.

• Terminator Salvation (Theaters)
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THEATERS

New in theaters this week are: The Proposal, Year One, Food Inc., Dead Snow, and Whatever Works.   The Proposal is a romantic comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock. Bullock plays Reynold’s boss, who is revealed to be living and working in the U.S. on an expired Visa.  In order to remain in the country, she bribes Reynolds with a promotion if he marries her so she can gain citizenship.  Of course sometime by the end of the flick, they actually fall in love with each other. This is a pretty familiar premise, but Reynolds is usually pretty hilarious, even when appearing in recycled romantic comedy plots like this.

Food Inc. is a Michael Moore style documentary about the food industry. Everything from the inhumane treatment of farm animals to the countless number of pesticides used in fruits and vegetables is covered. Personally, I’m of the “eat first ask questions later” mindset, but this film is provocative and informative enough that it has the power to change people’s buying and eating habits, which in some cases can be a very good thing.  Whatever Works is the latest film from Woody Allen which stars Larry David as….wait for it….a cynical old man who complains about everything. That’s about all I know about this film and honestly, it is all I need to know. Reviews indicate that this film will appeal to hardcore Woody Allen fans and not much else.

Dead Snow is a Norwegian horror comedy about a group of people who go spring breaking to a cabin in the mountains. Little do they know that the cabin was originally occupied by Nazis back in WWII, who had hidden a cache of treasure up in the mountains. When the group discovers a chest full of gold, Nazi zombies show up to reclaim their prize. The movie sounds incredibly cheesy and gory, much in the vain of Zombie Strippers. Movies like this are somewhat of a guilty pleasure, not to mention the fact that this movie just reminds me of Call of Duty:WAW. While it may not be the most substantial film out, this one looks to provide some entertaining laughs for fans of the B-movie horror genre. 

Which brings us to my pick for this week, Year One.  This movie stars Michael Cera and Jack Black as a pair of hunter-gatherers who are banished from their tribe and wind up venturing off in search of a new world. The trailers for this film look hilarious. While I like Jack Black, a lot of his humor is hit or miss.  I am a fan of Michael Cera and he has some of the funniest deadpan sarcasm on screen today.  The premise is fairly original and the movie features a ton of cameos from other funny actors. While it’s not necessarily an epic film, it looks to have enough laughs to keep you well entertained for the price of admission.

DVD

This week’s  DVD releases are : Friday the 13th and Madea Goes to Jail. Friday the 13th is pretty self explanatory. It is the reimagining of the classic slasher franchise which follows Jason and his victims at Camp Crystal Lake.  The film is decent and Jason fans should definitely appreciate the modernization of the series. Lets just hope it doesn’t spawn another 13 sequels.  Madea Goes to Jail is the latest Tyler Perry film about the life and misadventures of Grandma Madea and her family.  As you may have guessed, in this film she goes to jail. Tyler Perry’s films range from being amazing to being excruciating to watch at times. This one falls somewhere in between. While the plot is so far fetched with holes galore, Madea is still good for a few laughs and solid one liners.

GAMING

This week is pretty slow in the gaming world. There is one release though that is worth mentioning, which is Ghostbusters the video game. Ghostbuster fans are sure to be all over this one. The story is written as the next installment in the Ghostbusters movie series, with a plot line that continues from the 2nd film.  Perhaps the best part of it all is that it features voice acting from the original cast, including Bill Murray, Dan Akyroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson all reprising their roles as the fab foursome.  Seeing as how this is the closest we will get to a true GB sequel, I may wind up picking it up. The PS3 version includes  a blu-ray of the first movie, which is definitely a good bonus.

Overall a pretty mellow week, but it is a good chance on catching up on some of the other media you may have missed from previous weeks or go check out some of the new stuff. Thats the week in entertainment and that’s a wrap.

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GRAPHICS 7/10

The graphics themselves are not very impressive at all. Many of the buildings have bland textures and others take a couple seconds to even show up onscreen. Graphics this bland are usually inexcusable in this gaming day and age, however, Prototype doesn’t really seem too hurt by this. While the graphics are bland, it is completely understandable due to the amount of chaos going on onscreen at any given time. Hundreds of infected, military, and monsters all run around causing havok at the same time. It is a bit disorienting to have so many characters on screen just running a muck.  The amount of action at any given moment is actually very impressive. With so much action, there is little time to really stop and nit pick the graphics.

STORY 8/10

The story is decent. There is nothing Oscar caliber about the writing, yet it is good enough to get the job done. What really works is the universe they have created for this game, which suits the main character and the surroundings perfectly.  There are a few plot twists in the game, but overall nothing spectacular.  The story is basically there to just give you a reason to run around ripping up the city, which is perfectly fine for this game.

GAMEPLAY 9/10

This is where Prototype really shines. The graphics are a bit ho hum and the story is decent, but all these elements do is set up the premise for you to run around causing mass destruction and chaos. Throughout the course of the game you acquire different powers and abilities. It is as if someone made a list of some of the coolest comic powers and found a way for a single character to utilize all of these powers. Alex can morph his body so that there are three razor sharp claws protruding from each hand (ala Wolverine) or he can increase his muscle mass to include huge fists to smash anything and everything (Hulk), or he can absorb people’s memories and knowledge and assume their appearance. These are just a few of the powers at your disposal in Prototype.  Nothing is cooler than leaping off a skyscraper to drop the people’s elbow on a tank below only to morph into your claw form and start slicing bodies in half.

Alex is not a super hero by any means, rather he is super powered. There are no morality choices in this game. It is simply destroy and kill on your way to the truth….and that’s it. It is just as much fun to run around destroying  and killing the crap out of everything as it is to follow the story missions. There is no shortage of new powers and abiliies. In fact by the game’s end you’ll most likely find that you have powers and moves that you haven’t even tried out yet.

The controls themselves are not exactly perfect and there are a few mapping issues as far as what buttons are assigned to what actions. Alex is not always as responsive as he needs to be when facing unrelenting armies of enemies where every movement and split second counts. However, there is no denying the fun in all of your gruesomely effective abilities.  Another major issue is the difficulty of the game, which ranges from ridiculously easy at times to unbearably cheap.  Sometimes you just spawn and the entire world is attacking you without giving you a chance to get to cover.  Not to mention the game doesn’t have the regenerating health that is often standard in video games nowadays. Instead you have to consume energy or people to repleneish your heatlh, which can prove to be quite difficult in the heat of battle.  Although it can seem really cheap at times, there is nothing you can’t handle without a good strategy and some quick reflexes.

REPLAYABILITY 7/10

The game does not have a multiplayer mode, therefore once you are done with the campaign there isn’t too much more the game offers, unless you are a completionist freak. The game starts with Easy mode and Normal mode. Hard mode is unlocked after completing one of the first two. There are numerous secret orbs and collectibles to be found around the city, however the search for these is often frustrating and I found myself only collecting things if they were accessible and in plain sight. I had no desire to go out exploring for more. There were rumors about a co-op mode being added to this game, which I think would be pretty awesome to rip ish up with a friend, however right now the game has nothing like that. Hopefully they will add this with a patch or something in the near future.

OVERALL 8/10

This is an awesome game. Could the graphics use more polish? definitely. Perhaps throw in a better story? of course. Is it still a blast to play? Hell yes. The beauty of this game is that you can pick up a controller and just go about decimating anything in your way. Friends, foes, neutrals, they can all be ripped apart just as easily. There is some relief in just being able to kill and destroy with reckless abandon. Most games have you kill enemies while avoiding harming the innocent bystanders. This game doesn’t care. Anyone and anything are fair game.  If you can see it, you can kill it.

I know the scores on this review are a bit low, but that is looking at each individual component. As a whole, the game works extremely well. There is a bit of repetition in some of the missions, but that is pretty common for sandbox games like this and it is nowhere near as repetitive as other sandbox games. I should have added another category for fun factor, which Prototype would get a 10/10. While it may seem a bit mindless, there is something exhilarating about running around causing mayhem with no regard for anything. Even better is being able to switch between different destructive powers on the fly in order to chosse the most destructive method for a given situation.

I know alot of people are comparing this game to inFAMOUS on the PS3. While both games feature a free roaming city environment with super charged main characters, the similarities end there. Infamous is a great game, although a bit PG. While not as pretty, Prototype is just no holds barred carnage. Sometimes the streets will be covered in red from all the blood being spilled on screen, which is just crazy to witness. Overall, Prototype is an awesome game that will definitely keep you occupied for as long as the campaign lasts. Its too bad it doesn’t have much more to offer beyond that.

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Recruitment

The most important aspect of Mafia Wars is definitely the recruitment of your initial 501 mafia members. The reason is simple : The bigger your mafia, the more weapons and vehicles you can bring into a fight. Initially, I simply invited friends on my list to join my Mafia, however this limited me to around thirty members or so since many of my friends were not interested in playing.

This was when I decided to “Add Members” outside my friends circle. In order for you to recruit Mafia members, they must be part of your friends listing. There are problems associated with this since you may lose some “privacy” if your worried about personal photos and such, so be sure to either set up another profile for MAFIA WARS only, or remove any sensitive information you might have on your profile you rather not have “strangers” see. You may also delete “friends” after you have successfully added them to your Mafia, but they won’t be able to help you out on bonus jobs or swap items with you to use.

Okay, now with the actual adding of Mafia members. The fastest way to do this is to become a of fan of Mafia Wars using this link. Once you are a fan, simply click the discussion boards and there are several threads with titles such as “ADD ME and I’LL ADD YOU”. Now look carefully at the latest posts of each thread and find the threads with the most recent updates. Click “Last page”, and you’ll bring up the thread with the most recent posts. I normally add members (click their names) who posted in the last ten minutes or so since they are the most likely to respond right away. Limit yourself to about twenty or so invites daily however. Facebook will suspend your account if you abuse the “Add Friend” feature. It actually took me about a month to recruit my initial 501 members, but it was worth the wait because it made it easier to properly equip all my new members with the best equipment available as I went along.

There are also other methods of recruitment, but I found the the actual mafia fan board to be the most consistent and effective. Recently, my friends and I have started a crew to build relationships with other mafia war players and you can visit our fan page here for details. Once you become a fan and add our crew tag to your mafia name, you’ll be able to join our exclusive group where we swap items and weapons as well as help with hits on other mafias who are giving lower ranking members problems.

Bonus: Recruitment of High Level Mafia Members

I’ve found that in most cases the MAFIA WAR discussion boards have members who range from level 1 to 400. Its definitely a great idea to recruit these members into your mafia, but you want your top SIX mafia members to provide you with the best bonuses available. It took me a bit of time but I’ve been able to assemble a TOP MAFIA group with members over level 1000. This is what I did. Each member you fight uses their mafia name, but not their actual facebook name, so when you search for those mafia groups, you wont be able to find them. However, they also use an avatar to represent them. If you put your mouse over the avatar it gives you their real names! I simply typed their real names in the search, looked for their matching avatar, requested their friendship, and asked for a mafia invite. Many of them are so highly ranked they actually ignore your requests, but there are some who will add you. When you do get a request to go through, be sure to click the TOP MAFIA link on your MAFIA WAR homepage and add them as one of your six top members. They provide nice bonuses for attack and defense, as well random chances at extra cash and experience points when you get into fights. Hopefully this will work for you. It helped me move up much quicker.

Doing Jobs and Point Distribution

Besides recruitment, the ability to “Do Jobs” is probably the most important. This basically requires a stat called ENERGY to be increased each time you level up (five points per level). What worked for me was using three points per level on my ENERGY stat for the first one hundred levels completed while using just one point for attack and one point for defense. After reaching level one hundred, it really depends on what you plan to do with your character to decide on your distribution. I’m much more of a fight first type of character so I prefer to put alot of points on attack, but those who rather level up as quickly as they can, may want to put more points on energy or defense.

Just remember that the attack and defense stats are important, but they only become really useful when you reach the 501 mafia limit. Prior to reaching the MAFIA limit, its actually more valuable if you concentrate on recruitment and leveling up rather than worrying about the attack and defense stats. Why is this? Its pretty simple. A mafia of three hundred is more powerful than a mafia of fifty. Even if your both the same level, the bigger mafia has a greater chance of winning a fight simply because of greater numbers. So in short, when beginning with Mafia Wars, focus on energy points and recruitment and max out at 501 members as quickly as possible.

*Health and Stamina Points*. To be honest with everyone, I hardly pay attention to these points at all. I rely on the collection of items to provide bonuses for these statistics and focus all my points on Energy, Attack, and Defense. For those who are new to Mafia Wars, Health is obviously your life meter while stamina is the number of times you can fight, rob, or place a hit on someone at any given time. Your stamina increases by a point every five minutes so I find that to be enough for me to attack others when I need to. As for the health meter, if you have the proper equipment and high defensive points, then you take usually take less damage. Critical Hits are a problem however, but I wont get into that at this time.

Earning Money and protecting your Assets

I had a very unique way of earning money when I first started with Mafia Wars. Initially, I attempted to use most of my funds buying up properties because they provided me with an hourly income. However, higher level members would “rob” me and totally destroy my properties making me broke and unable to fix them. So I came up with a pretty simple strategy. There is a property called “Mafia Mike’s” which provide you about $12,000 hourly and cannot be robbed by rival mafias. You can buy a Mafia Mike’s each time you recruit two mafia members. So what I did was recruit Mafia members while buying only Mafia Mike properties. This negated the ability to rob me, and rivals were forced to attack me or let me be. When I finally reached 501 members, I was earning a little over a million dollars and hour and it was enough to equip my mafia with the weapons they needed to protect my properties. It was at this time when I started to buy other properties such as Mega Casinos and Hotels. So far, this strategy has worked very well for me.

After each 24 hour period, I placed whatever earnings I made directly into the bank. The bank charges a 10% laundering fee to deposit your funds, but once in the bank the cash is 100% protected from being stolen from your rivals. Eventually, you’ll be able to buy some of the more expensive items and properties with the money saved.

Fighting

Its inevitable. Everyone want to be the top dog on the street and rival mafias will eventually want to pick a fight with you, take your money, or snuff you out. You’ll also want to flex your muscles, so others will know who the toughest guy on the block is, so prepare your mafia for battle! In my opinion, this is the best aspect of the game. The only tip I can give you is to be prepared for attacks from Day 1. If others see your mafia is small and your ranked a bit lower than them, they’ll probably want to test you out. Just be sure that all your mafia is equipped with the best weapons and armor you can provide them, and try to get each of them a vehicle. The higher the levels you attain, the better weapons, armor, and vehicles will become available. Keep your equipment updated at all times and be sure each member has something to use! Weapons are also used for some jobs so its good that you start building your inventory early.

There is also a simple rule when you get snuffed. If you dont have enough strength to beat a rival mafia or are low on stamina points, DONT HEAL yourself right away. Yes, you heard me, healing your mafia isn’t always the best option. After being killed, your basically “blacklisted” and must gain over twenty points before you can be attacked again. This gives you time to build your stamina and mount a counter attack or pay for a hit if the rival mafia is to powerful for you to beat one on one. Never give the rivals the satisfaction of snuffing you out over and over again within the same hour because you stupid enough to heal yourself right away while making your mafia vulnerable for attack again.

I’d also recommend that your defense always be a little higher than your attack points. I started concentrating on this after level 100. Currently my defense is about twenty points higher than my offense and I’m able to repel a greater number of attacks than before. I’ve been snuffed out from time to time by much higher levels by being put on a hitlist, but I actually am able to repel some of their attacks and earn experience because of critical damage I’m able to inflict due to my top mafia members. Unless the rival mafia is willing to wait long to snuff you out again, your generally safe from other all out attack.

Well, I hope you find at least some of this information useful as you begin to build your mafia to “WORLD DOMINATION” status. Feel free to add me (facebook.com/trench671) to your friends list and just include a note with the words {SYR} MAFIA WARS so I’ll know where you came from and the reason for your request! Thanks!

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Kobe Bryant has finally earned a fourth ring (and first Finals MVP) without being in the shadow of Shaquille O’Neal and Phil Jackson now stands alone with ten NBA finals wins, one ahead of Bostons legendary Red Auerbach.

Many skeptics think this season is one and done for L.A., but Buss has always believed in paying the big bucks for winners even if it means paying the Luxury Tax. Kobe has already expressed that he has no intentions of leaving the Lakers, and I expect Ariza, Odom, and Shannon Brown to be back in uniform next season to defend and possibly win back to back titles. The competition has always been great, but Kobe and the Lakers live for it! Long live the LAKERS!

Shaq to Kobe via Twitter: At least he’s man enough to admit it! haha

Congratualtions kobe, u deserve it. You played great . Enjoy it my man enjoy it. And I know what yur sayin rt now “Shaq how my ass taste “

TWITTER

Final Lebron and Kobe Puppet commercials.

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The Hangover follows four friends and their visit to Las Vegas for one last night of partying before one of them takes that step of marriage.  With the bachelor party over and no memory of the night before, they all wake up to find their room is a mess, a tiger is in their bathroom, one of them lost a tooth and most important the groom is missing.  What follows is the groomsmen adventure in finding the groom all the while recollecting what happened the previous night.

Let me start by saying, The Hangover is so far the funniest movie of the year.  While Judd Apatow & Co. have certainly been dominating the comedy scene lately, The Hangover should rank up there with them.  While this generation has been lucky to see the rise of fame for stars like Will Ferrel, Seth Rogen, Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn you can be sure to add Zach Galafianakis to that bunch as he’s created his take on being the funny guy and established his brand of humor.  His off the wall comments and jokes may sitr some WTF’s from the crowd, but that’s what’ll separate him from the rest of the pack.  The supporting cast is excellent with the exception of a familiar Asian who’s role went a tad bit overboard.  Regardless, The Hangover is worth the price of admission.  With all the action heavy summer blockbusters in full swing, you owe it to yourself to laugh your ass off.

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