Metal Gear Solid has always been one of the most popular PSP games out there and the latest, Peace Walker, has taken it up a notch with some awesome Metal Gear Solid gameplay for the portable.  Definitely tops right now in the most anticipated of the great PSP games to hit the shelf.

If RPG is more your style, you'll love the latest Valkyria rendition with Valkyria Chronicles 2, which doesn't have the HD of the console version, but takes it to the next level with some awesome gameplay and great additions to the classes and multiplayer modes of the original.

For the horror/first person fan, there are a couple of awesome PSP games available.  The classic Resident Evil is now Portable with some great game play, good story continuance, and best of all: a quick-play Gun Survivor option for just getting out your zombie-slaughtering needs with a quickness.  One of the best PSP games available now.

Close behind, though, is Parasite Eve on its 3rd Birthday, whic his definitely another favorite in the PSP games roundup.  This evolution of the popular story-based RPG/shoot-em-up is more aimed for the 3rd-person-shooter lover than it is for the RPGer.  Still, an awesome game that is definitely one of the great PSP games.

Overall, whatever your favorite, there are some awesome titles in the lineup, contending for the best PSP games available right now.  PSP keeps its promise of being a console in your hand, for sure.

First off, the little Wecam Pro 9000 is sleek and versatile, mounting just about anywhere you can fit it: on the monitor/laptop case, flat on a shelf, or whatever.  It's classic black and chrome colors don't hurt either.

For features, this Logitech Webcam Pro comes with Vid video calling software, ultra-smooth auto-focus and an awesome Zeiss lens system for better optical quality.  It records in HD video, has Logitech's awesome RightLight2 Technology and has a great built-in mic for picking up great audio quality for most webcam tasks.

All that for less than $100 retail.  The Logitech Webcam Pro 9000 is definitely worth the price.  As for how well it works when using it?

Well, it's easy to set up.  The only thing to install on most systems is the Vid software, if you plan to use it.  Otherwise, the Webcam Pro 9000 is plug-and-play on nearly every Windows and most Mac systems.  It integrates quickly with both its own Vid software as well as popular video conferencing apps like Skype. Recording video is a snap too.

The camera itself is entirely hands-free and requires little tuning once set up.  It auto-focuses, the RightLight2 software balances contrast to match the lighting conditions, so you don't have a lot of dark or washout screens, and the 2 megapixel videos are crisp.

The Logitech Pro 9000 is a great peripheral and totally worth having.  Check it out!

(Community Team Note: We would like to take this opportunity to welcome Bruce Maclean as the new producer for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Bruce has a long history with Mythic Entertainment, having previously worked on Dark Age of Camelot in multiple capacities. Please join us in welcoming Bruce.

If you’re wondering about Jeff Skalski, not to fret as he is still here in the studio working hard on Warhammer.)

Hail!

Everyone here at Mythic would like to wish you a wonderful holiday season, filled with the things that make this time of year extra special - and by special we mean the taste of beer, the sounds of battle, and the sight of your enemies weeping on the forums!

That’s right, Keg End is upon us once again, and whether you are a grizzled veteran, a raw recruit, or someone who has been following the action from the sidelines, there has never been a better time to play WAR.  Before we head off to battle seeking our own personal keg-toting servant to help us ring in the New Year, take a seat and share some brew with this grizzled old veteran for a moment as we reflect on the year now behind us.

It truly is the Age of Reckoning and the past year has been filled with amazing Live Events, awesome new dungeons, scenarios, and new zones, with grim new foes and fantastic rewards to earn.  We have survived the Night of Murder and seen the arrival of the bitterest of rivals, the Slayer and the Choppa.  We have seen the portents and events surrounding the Rise of the Tomb Kings and the expedition to the Land of the Dead. We have witnessed the Demon Moon Rising, and partaken in the ancient and challenging Wild Hunt.

In the past year, the Realm versus Realm war has also seen significant action and change: Zone Domination, the Keep Upgrade Ordnance systems, RvR Quartermasters, two-ramp Keeps, City Invasion improvements, a Keep Rating System, the WAR Report, and the recent Realm Underdog System.  Countless other changes too numerous to cover have also elevated the RvR experience from good to incredible, not the least of which are significant performance and stability gains.

A toast for stability!

While lowering the bar to enable computers to run higher graphics settings, we also improved the game’s look with HDR and bloom.  Suffice it to say, the RvR battles of this winter season are more engaging, more visceral, and more fun than anything else out there. Raise a toast to the veterans here, they know what I mean!

Since we consider WAR to be the best-in-class RvR experience and we wanted to share it with everyone. Thus we’ve launched a Macintosh Version, brought WAR to our Russian friends, and unleashed the mighty WAAAGH! in Taiwan.  We also launched our Free Endless Trial, complete with a streaming client, so fresh meat, err, new players can play forever (for free!) and bolster the ranks of our armies.

Here’s a toast to the fresh meat!

Looking back at past accomplishments is all well and good, but we’re not resting on our bloodied laurels here in the land of WAR! Next year is going to be an exciting one, and I am looking forward to sharing more of our plans during the frigid days and long winter nights of January.  We’ll have exciting new Live Events, new weapons and cloaks earned by spilling the blood of your enemies in RvR, a new Scenario structure, economy and loot drop improvements, adjustments to the King and Warlord encounters to convert them to RvR-only battles, UI customization enhancements, Tier 4 RvR campaign improvements, daily quests and so much more -  and that’s just our near term plans for 2010.

Farther into the year we’ll see…oh but you’ve heard me ramble enough! It’s time for that drink, battle, and crying enemies!

Happy Holidays and we’ll see you on the battlefield!

Bruce Maclean, WAR Live Producer

From Best Buy, the new Dell Inspiron Laptop with an Intel Pentium Dual-core processor, 3 GB memory, 6 cell lithium-ion battery DVD+RW/CD –RW drive, 250 GB hard drive, 14” wide screen, built-in web cam, and the new Windows 7 Home Premium edition operating system. This unit is going for $449.99. To help personalize this laptop, it is available in three different colors of Pink, Jade Green, or Ice Blue.

For those that prefer a Gateway Computer there is the model NV5212u with a AMD Athlon X2 dual-Core processor with a 4GB memory, 320 GB hard drive with a DVD-RW/CD-RW drive 6 cell lithium-ion battery, built in web cam, a 15.6” wide screen, and the new Windows 7 Home Premium edition operating system. This piece is going for $399.99. There is only one color choice of Cherry Red with this model that is available at this time.

From Walmart comes a Christmas sale on laptop also. The list includes the low prices on eMachines 15.6” eME627-5279 laptop PC with AMD Athlon 64 processor which is 1.6GHZ. The memory is 2GB with a 160 GB hard drive, 15.6” LCD wide screen along with a Wi-Fi and card reader, a DVD-RW/CD drive with a 6 cell battery that can last up to 2.5 hours, and the new Windows 7 Home Premium edition operating system. This sells for $368.00.

These are just a few of the great Christmas Laptop Sales 2009 that are available today.

There are many people that go by a brand’s name and think it is quality. This is true in a lot of items, but when it comes to computers, almost all of the components are used by nearly every manufacturer.

There are two major manufacturers of processors, Pentium and AMD. Pentium is the larger and better known name but I have never known anyone with an AMD chip that had any problems.

When it comes to RAM or as some places call it memory, 2GB is generally fast enough to watch live streams and chat. The processor should be near 2 GHz and the storage size should be over 100GB. If the laptop is intended for a person will use their new computer as a library, there are units that can have as high as 500GB of memory, but 320 is usually sufficient.

The difference in buying a laptop for a person who will mostly use their computer for surfing and word-processing is ok with what was stated above. If the person is a gamer, then a dual core processor is preferred along with at least 4GB of ram. This way the graphics will function as the programmers designed them too and the overall experience will be enjoyed.

Best laptops to buy for Christmas 2009 will be determined by the end user and not the brand name.

Children’s cloths are marked down as much as 60% on selected items. Arizona bottoms and tops are also at 60% off their regular retail prices. At 50% off are the entire stock of accent rugs, area rugs, bath accessories, bath rugs, memory foam pillows, memory foam toppers and shower curtains there is so much to chose from.

Dockers Luxelon Polo sweaters and crew are marked 55% off and the entire stock of dresses are reduced by 50%. Men’s Levi 505, 514, 527, 550, 559 and 569 jeans are all on sale for $32.99.

This is not a store known for electronics, but there is a selection and they too are on sale like the Discovery Kids Digital Camera for $28.88 and the Sharper Image key chain for a mere $9.88.

The total list of jewelry that is on sale is too much to list but the ½ carat diamond 14k gold over sterling silver bracelet, earrings and necklace are only $79.99 each. The ½ carat diamond ring set in 10k gold is on sale for $149.99. The one carat diamond bridal ring is at $799.99 for one day only. 

Free with any purchase from the selection of JC Penney Black Friday Deals, there is a Disney Snowglobe added to your shopping bag.

There is a misconception that this is only a place for film developed and a prescription filled. Walgreens has developed over the years into the modern version of the old dime stores from years ago. There is a little of everything there. With 6,479 stores covering 49 states, odds are there is one near you.

Besides drugs, these stores offer food items, health and beauty products along with electronic equipment. As part of the black Friday sale there is a Maylong 4.3” FD-420 GPS navigation for Dummies on sale for $79.99. If a TV is on the shopping list, then the Thursday sale item is the Venturer 15” LCD Digital TV for $99.99 and on Friday the Digital Prism 7” Portable LCD TV for $79.99.

For the children there are numerous toys and games that are always available and instead of fighting the crowds at the bigger retail stores for those seasonal items, Walgreens has a fine selection. On Friday there are selected items on sale at no cost. These include 100 light set with clear or multi color for the price of $0.00 along with a 4 foot inflatable penguin or snowman. These are part of the B1G1 promotion. 

Walgreens Black Friday Sales is more than just a place for the one item you forget at the big retail stores, plus there is never a long line at checkout.

The sale items that will be offered online are supposed to be the same as what is being offered in the stores but may vary from location to location. Check with the availability of the product you want to purchase before you select it.

Presently online there are selected items that are marked at below black Friday prices. A few examples are the Motorola H710 Noise cancelling Bluetooth headsets for $39.99 and the Dell 10.1” netbook with Intel Atom Processor, 1GB of memory and 160 GB harddive for just $379.99.

The Pre-Black Friday 4-day Sale at best Buy stated November 22 and will run thru Wednesday the 26th of November. Many of the items will still be at this reduced price on Friday but some will have to be raised. The opportunity is now to find the best items at the lowest price while supplies last at the pre Best Buy Black Friday Sales going on now.

Some of the doorbuster items are the VTech learning Computer for $14.99 and the SanDisk 8 GB SDHC memory Card for $19.99. The selection of digital cameras include the Fujifilm FinePix Red 12MP for $69.99, the iCarty Mini for $12.49, the Pink or Blue Digital Video Camcorder for $29.99 and the Vivitar 8.1 MP for $39.99. Other electronic items that have the doorbuster savings on them are the iHome iPod Docking Station at $39.99 and the Singing Machine Karaoke System for only $49.99. The MP3 players include Nextar 2 GB MP3 for $17.49 and the SanDisk 8 GB Sansa Fuze for $49.99. The Hailer 22 inch LCD TV is priced at $199.99.

To help power all of the new toys and gadgets that will be under the Christmas Tree and in the stocking is savings on the Toys R Us battery 20 pack for a mere $4.99.

The DVD selection is huge with special prices starting at $3.99 and going up to $14.99 for the Hanna Montana the Movie on Blu-Ray.  This includes all Sonly DVD’s for $9.99 and Blues Clues World Traveler for $4.99.

Selected toys are being priced with the great doorbuster savings so the consumer can stretch their hard earned money. This selection includes the Animal Planet buckets at $4.99, the Aquadoodle wall and Zip Bin Mats for just $9.99 each, The Barbie 3 Musketeer Doll at $7.49 and the Casio 61 Key Full size keyboard for a mere $68.77.

The list goes on to include many more toys and video games. With the Toys R Us Black Friday Deals 2009, there is something for every kid this Christmas on sale.

If for some reason you miss the black Friday sales or you just have more shopping to do, try Macy’s Cyber Monday sale. This is when there will be huge savings offered thru their online store. It will be offering the same deals that are at the department store, but no crowds or lines.

Presently Macy’s is offering discount coupons online but they expire before black Friday. The black Friday coupons will be posted on November 23, 2009 with anticipated great savings.

Some of the savings includes 20% off on all clearance designer and Bridge handbags. There are dress shirts of various brands at 75% off. Karen Scott knit sweaters for misses and petites are at a reduced price of $14.99. John Ashford cotton flannel sports shirt are for only $9.99.

Other great items on sale are the Ralph Lauren Logo Pillow for $6.99 and the Pierre Cardin Savory 4 piece luggage set for $79.99. From the kitchen and housewares department there is 40% off on all blenders including CusinArt, KitchenAid and Breville.

Martha Stewart and Holiday Lane collections of ornaments and decorations are drastically reduced in price by 50% along with Lenox china Crystal and Silver Holiday ornaments.

These savings and more are the Black Friday deals on not only Macys Black Friday Deals 2009 but also Cyber Monday sale.