Star Wars news roundup

Demo for LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars just landed on XBox Live and since we are talking about LEGO Star Wars, take a look at this nifty ad campaign created by students of the Cuca Escola de Criativos.

Brought to you by Holy Cool, 15 cool stuff every Star Wars fan must have. Sadly, the cufflinks were a unique set and were already sold by the time I got to the Etsy page. [Update: I was able to buy another set from the same vendor]

Finally, Lucasfilm Animation is having its 3rd annual benefit art auction this week with some pretty cool items put on the auction block like the LEGO Ahsoka at the top of this post.

All your base are belong to us

10 years ago today, All your base are belong to us was posted at Newsground starting what would become one of the first classic Internet meme.

New Squadron Record

I'm going to give it my best shot but I don't think I can be that fast, which might explain why I get my ass served by 12 years old when I play FPS online.

Why can't I find a weighted companion cube?

So I've been playing Portal... Like a lot and all I want on my desk next to my monitor is a weighted companion cube. Is that too much to ask? Well apparently it is, because the only licensed product from valve is a crappy plush or there's also a pretty neat papercraft version but that's not what I want. I want the real deal.

Yes, I've searched Ebay. No dice (dice, cube.. get it?).

So if you're a Dremel God and you are reading this, will you make one for me? I'm willing to pay.

This is not going to work

I Love Gamefly. I'm a level 3 member, which means I've been with them for over a year and get 10% off purchases and 5 Gamefly dollars every 3 months.

It's on one hand a great video game rental service but I also love having the option of keeping the games I am renting at prices nothing short of amazing. Take a game like "Eternal Sonata" for the 360 for example: $54.99 used at Gamestop, $29.69 at Gamefly!

When I received an email from them on Tuesday inviting me to Beta test their new trade-in program, I had mixed feelings because although it seemed logical they would try to take market shares to Gamestop, I just couldn't see, considering their store or "keep it" prices, how they could offer a competitive trade-in value.

The interface on the site is pretty much what's to be expected of Gamefly. It's intuitive, easy to use and self explanatory.

You enter the UPC code of the game you want to trade-in, you get a price quote, you then confirm your cart and check out, print your mailing label and packing slip and finally pack and ship your game.

The system however massively fails on two points.

1. The trade-in value. My first attempt was with "Red Steel" for the Wii and I was offered an insulting $8.28. Just to make sure it wasn't the exception I did some price comparison with Gamestop on other titles.

Super Mario Galaxy: GF $25.30, GS $30.00
Mario Party 8: GF $18.40, GS $25.00
Call of Duty 4 and Assasin's Creed: Both GF $28.75, GS $30.00

I could go on and on, Gamestop offers a better trade-in value every single time.

2. Shipping and packaging costs. You're getting free shipping on your rental and purchases but trade-ins are on you, It might not seem like a big deal but for a game like "Red Steel" shipped regular mail, it brings down the trade-in value to $6.80 and "Mario Party 8" under $17.

So, although it seems like an interesting idea, I think it's broken and I don't see how Gamefly can fix it. Let me take that back, I know exactly how they can fix it: The only way they can resolve this, is by raising their store and "keep it" prices.

I'll be lighting a candle every day, hoping they don't.

Trade-in program details.
Trade-in program terms of use.

1000 points in 2 minutes

Some video game publishers still don't understand the concept of achievements on the 360 as brilliantly demonstrated by THQ with "Avatar The Last Airbender, The Burning Earth". The game might have been panned by most reviewers, it's a hit in rentals and to be totally honest it's in my Gamefly queue.

Curse you 2K!

How many times do I have to finish Bioshock? I already completed the game 4 times to get 49 achievements out of 50. Now 2K released a patch on XBox live fixing the widescreen issues. I didn't think it was much of a problem but looking at the screen grabs i's worth playing a couple of levels.


The patch comes also with a bunch of new features:

● Sonic Boom: Hurls creatures and objects back with a blast of force
● EVE saver: Enables Plasmids to use less
● EVE Vending Expert: Reduces prices in the vending machines
● Machine Buster: Increases the amount of damage players deal to cameras, bots and turrets

They've also added a 51st achievement for beating the game on hard without dying.

*sigh* Thank you 2K

I told you they'd do it!

This morning in my inbox:

Welcome to the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Multiplayer BETA!

Congratulations on being selected to participate in the public multiplayer BETA for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Your Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Multiplayer BETA Token is:

XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

To download the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Multiplayer BETA please follow the following steps:

1. Turn on your Xbox 360 entertainment console.
2. Go to the MARKETPLACE Blade.
3. Select Redeem Code from the available menu.
4. Enter the Token found above in the available field.
5. Select Download Now.

Upon completion of the download, you may choose to 'Play Now' to immediately start enjoying the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Multiplayer BETA, or for all future attempts, you can choose the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare BETA in the 'Demos and More' menu of your 'GAMES' blade on the Xbox 360 Dashboard.

Any and All feedback and questions should be directed to:
cod4beta@infinityward.com or visit the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Multiplayer BETA Forums at www.charlieoscardelta.com.

Note: The beta is 1GB in size so make sure you have the space for it!

Things To Keep In Mind:

Remember the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Multiplayer BETA has a Rank Cap. So you won’t be able to rank up past the rank cap noted in the Message of the Day box in the lobby. We’ll gradually be raising the Rank Cap throughout the duration of the beta to allow us to stagger our testing process.

If you have any further questions regarding the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Multiplayer BETA, please check out the FAQ located at: http://www.charlieoscardelta.com/beta.php

Enjoy,

Infinity Ward

Yipeee!

COD4 public beta update

I guess there was no need to panic yesterday afternoon after all. I calmly went back to the registration page this morning and after completing the process got the following message:

"Your name will now be entered into a random drawing for Tokens into the Xbox 360 Multiplayer Beta. At 7pm PDT tomorrow, Tuesday August 28th, we will be drawing names for entry into the Beta. Within 72 hours of this Drawing, we will contact you via email with news on whether or not you were admitted. Even if your name is not chosen in the random drawing, there will be more ways to get into the Beta, and we will continue to update you on the details as soon as they’re finalized!

If you are selected in the Drawing, please be patient and wait until you receive your token. We will be sending out Token Codes in batches to ensure the Xbox Live servers are ramped up at a safe pace.

If you use an email client such as Yahoo, G-mail, or Hotmail, please be sure to check your junk mail folder for news on whether or not you've been selected. Also, please add Cod4beta@infinityward.comto your address book. This will ensure that you don’t miss out on any of the action.

Check back into Charlie Oscar Delta for Updates, and don’t forget: this is a Beta! You can send us your feedback at betafeedback@infinityward.com as well as post your thoughts on the Charlie Oscar Delta Boards. We’ll be reading your Feedback, so please let us know what you think!"

I could swear it said the beta was on a first come first serve basis yesterday, anyway I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Update: I'm not totally crazy. From the Beta page:

"Due to overwhelming interest in the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Multiplayer Beta, we will no longer be accepting entry into the program on a first come, first serve basis. To ensure everyone has a fair shot at getting in, the Beta Registration System will reopen shortly, and will remain open for 24 hours. We will collect names until 7pm PDT tomorrow, Tuesday August 28th, after which we will randomly select names for entry into the Beta."

The agony of defeat

I tried to sign-up today for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Public Beta, aka COD4 without much success. Before downloading the game from XBox Live you had to get a token code from the site starting at 3:00 PM EST today. I knew there was troubles ahead when the site started to slow down dramatically at 2:30. Since 2:55 that's all I've been getting:


In other words: It's down. Which left me wondering, who gets through on this kind of things and why? Oh well...

Update: After being down for over an hour, Activision finally decided to forward the registration page to the maintenance page. Bleh!

3 1/2 hours

Is the amount of sleep I had last night. I was playing Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on the 360 and I've lost track of time. I am now at work feeling guilty and lousy. The end of the day cannot come soon enough.

Still... I nailed the rank of Protector in the Fighter's Guild. :)

I suck.

What more updates?

I can't remember the last time we got an update for the Wii and now it's two in one week. This one seems to be addressing issues with the web browser I'm not using. There was also a warning message if you had a modded console not to accept the update, that's a little nicer than Microsoft.

Updates and downloads are great but occasionally I miss the time when I was just turning my console on and play. I'm getting old.

Two updates in one day. What are the odds?

This morning when I woke up my Wii was glowing blue (Your mind IS in the gutter) and I was surprised to see there was an upate available. What does it do? According to Nintendo:

Wii Menu

The weather forecast will now be displayed on the Forecast Channel icon in the Wii Menu.

Headline news will now be displayed on the News Channel icon in the Wii Menu.

The current time will now be displayed in the Wii Menu.

The area around the Wii Message Board button will now flash when a message arrives.

Wii Message Board

You're now able to rearrange the order of your Wii Friends in the address book.

You're now able to go into the Wii Friends registration screen by pressing the A Button on a blank spot in the address book.

Envelope message icons will now appear on the calendar only on the dates when a message is received.

Your message sending history will now be displayed in Today's Accomplishments.

You can now scroll the message text by pressing the B button on the message screen.

Wii Shop Channel

The search function on Virtual Console has been enhanced.

And as I turn on my 360 tonight BAM! An update is available. What does it do? If we are to believe Major Nelson:

"this minor release will [...] prepare your Xbox 360 for the wireless guitars that are being released in a few months."

A freakin' Guitar Hero update... Damn! Oh well...

"STARDUST" Explorer - 30 points

"STARDUST" Explorer:
Found all of the target marks in Mission 11.

And that's it for "Lost Planet". I'm shipping back the game tomorrow morning. The online part just wasn't entertaining enough or at least very uneven, I liked the game overall though. I expect gamefly to ship Resident Evil 4 for the Wii and either Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Forza Motorsport 2 or even possibly Dirt for the 360. I'm actually looking forward to play any of these games. I'll play some more Gears of War in the meantime, it's been a while...

"BLIZZARD" Explorer - 20 points

"BLIZZARD" Explorer:
Found all of the target marks in Mission 10.

"RAINBOW" Explorer - 20 points

"RAINBOW" Explorer:
Found all of the target marks in Mission 9.

Whatever happens I'm returning "Lost Planet" this week.

Lost Planet just won't go away.

"MIRAGE" Explorer: 10 points.
Found all of the target marks in Mission 3.



"AURORA" Explorer: 15 points.
Found all of the target marks in Mission 5.



"THUNDER" Explorer: 15 points.
Found all of the target marks in Mission 6.



"TORNADO" Explorer: 15 points.
Found all of the target marks in Mission 7.

All on the same day. I guess I'll keep playing for a while just for the Gamer's points.

Mission 11 Cleared

Successfully completed Mission 11.

Not exactly sure what I'm doing at this point. I mean technically I have finished Lost Planet and I squeezed over 300 points from it but I have the feeling I could get another 50 fairly easily before sending it back to Gamefly. I'll sleep over it.

HOW THE F**K COULD THIS OF HAPPENED!?

My first laugh of the day. And Downfall is a masterpiece.

Mission 10 Cleared

Successfully completed Mission 10.
20 points...