Don't Turn On Your 30GB Zune

Apparently tons of 30gb Zunes crashed last night. They reboot and freeze in the loading bar. Major Nelson has assured us the Zune team is working on it.

I can’t help but wonder how Microsoft hardware keeps screwing up so badly. Surely the can afford quality assurance?

PSA: MGS DLC for LBP Might SNAFU Your Saves

Incase you can’t translate the headline, the Metal Gear Solid downloadable pack for LittleBigPlanet has been causing all kinds of headaches for people. Sometimes the single player progress is lost. Other times? You could lose your home-grown levels. If I were a guy who sank a lot of time into making something, I’d be wary.

OMGOMGOMG Xbox Live On The Blackberry

I realize the appeal of this news may not extend beyond me, but I’m excited and you’re reading.

The service provides news/video/audio clips, community updates, and your gamertag status on the go. You can get it for the Curve, the Pearl and the series 88 Blackberries, the iPhone/iPod Touch, and of course Windows Mobile devices. You can nab it from Zumobi.com or if you’re on your device now (Why? My site looks terrible on mobile devices!) you can head over to xbox.zumobi.com and download it directly.

The UI leaves a little to be desired on my Curve, but I understand it looks/feels better on devices with touch screens. Enjoy it folks.

JT says God is Smiting Take-Two

This is an email conversation between Dennis McCauley (from Game Politics) and good ol’ Jack Thompson. Quoted in it’s entirety due to the massive amounts of awesome contained within.

From: Jack Thompson
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 6:44 AM
To: Dennis McCauley
Subject: Spin this, Strauss…
GOD STRIKES TAKE-TWO DOWN
Take-Two dropped $2.35 to $9.72 in extended trading after the announcement and fell as low as $9.60. The shares… have declined 35 percent this year. The results contrast with comments Zelnick made in an interview on Nov. 3, when he said sales of the company’s video games hadn’t been hurt by the recession…
————————-

From: Dennis McCauley
To: ‘Jack Thompson’
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 6:52 AM
Subject: RE: Spin this, Strauss…
So, if T2’s business reverse was God’s vengeance, does that mean that God struck you down too when you were disbarred?…
————————–

From: Jack Thompson
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 9:10 AM
To: Dennis McCauley
Subject: Re: Spin this, Strauss…
…If you had any understanding of the Bible and of God you would understand that persecution comes Christians’ way, and we are blessed by it.  There is no blessing for Zelnick, who is not a Christian, when he gets what he deserves…
—————————

From: Dennis McCauley
To: ‘Jack Thompson’
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2008 6:54 AM
Subject: in relation to your Take-Two shareholder revolt…
…Are you saying that problems for Christians are blessings, while problems for non-Christians are vengeance from the Almighty? Also, how do you know what Zelnick’s religion is?

—————————

From: Jack Thompson
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2008 7:11 AM
To: Dennis McCauley
Subject: Re: in relation to your Take-Two shareholder revolt…
Here’s another passage of Scripture that you don’t understand and never read:  “All things work to the good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.”  That group would include me and not Zelnick.  Zelnick is not a believer in the Gospel.  How do I know?  Because the man who got us together [secretly, in Manhattan in 2007] is a Christian, with a massive ministry in Hollywood and the rest of the entertainment industry.  It was because of the spiritual aspect of this struggle that he got the two of us together, and Zelnick failed the test. 

If you knew anything about the Gospel, you would understand further that Paul, whose writings are considered part of the canon, tells Christians, not unbelievers, that we are to “count it all joy” when trials and tribulations come our way. 

I have been persecuted for my faith, not because I did anything wrong, by those committed to evil.  Glad to clear it up for you.  And as it now stands, Mr. Zelnick’s problems at Take-Two are minuscule [sic] compared to the eternity of punishment that is coming his way unless he repents and accepts Christ as I did 32 years ago this month.  You might do well to read the Gospel of John yourself.  Come to think of it, I’ll write Strauss about all this and send you a copy…

I love Dennis’ first email, but I can’t help but notice his balls seem to have grown some since JT was disbarred.

Of course I stated this yesterday but the entire economy is in a slump that would account for most, if not all, of Take-Two’s woes.

Jack's Back!

It’s been a while since I’ve linked to Game Politics, so I’ll do it now. On the 26th Jack Thompson bought a bunch of stock in Take Two (hey, it’s cheap now, like everything else! Get a good deal while you can) with the intent of ousting their chairman, Strauss Zelnick.

Sure, they could have sold to EA for twenty-thirty bucks a share back when the world was hunky-dory, but he didn’t.

Now everyone’s stock is in the toilet. Jack Thompson hopes Take Two shareholders won’t notice the correlation between TTWO’s stock and the rest of the New York Stock Exchange. His plan? To lead a shareholder revolt. Since Activision (a much larger company) is trading at $8.86 as of Friday, I don’t think he has much of a case.

Peggle Nights

If you need an explanation for Peggle’s core gameplay, study the image. There are some modifiers to the core game. For example you get a choice between characters that can obtain special powers by hitting specific pegs. Some pegs give you bonus points, some you have to hit to clear the stage.

An experience like this is what I imagine casual gamers believe the entire medium should be. There’s no narrative, there’s no complex emotional impact, and there’s really no thought required. As such it’s difficult for me to take a critical approach to reviewing this game.

If you drop the $10 on this title you’ll get a very fun, quick experience. I found this game optimal for 30 minute sessions, which is enough to clear a few levels in the ‘story’ mode, or maybe a challenge. Of course the site’s timetable doesn’t allow for that, in order to clear this game in a week I had several three hour Pegglethons.

These endurance challenges were mostly fun, but I found myself swearing at the ball for bouncing the wrong way, or at the bonus points peg for spawning in the wrong location.

Skip it: If you want to walk away from your game with a sense of accomplishment or satisfaction this is not the title for you.

Get the free version: This is probably the ideal option. Peggle Extreme is free and will give you most of the experience you’d get in the full version. While the Unicorn isn’t the best character for points, it is one of the better options overall.

Buy it: Paying for Peggle Nights is like paying for crack cocaine. You’ll feel guilty, and dirty, but you’ll love it while you’re playing. Minutes after putting it down you’ll forget the feeling and want to go back. If that sounds like something you’d be into, by all means pay money for this game.

DLC on the cheap

The Steam Holiday sale is on now. Until January 2, every game on Steam is available at 10% to 75% off the regular price. Select publisher catalogs such as Ubisoft, THQ, and 2K Games are 25% off. Award-winning titles such as Bioshock and Portal are available for 75% off the regular price. For more information, please visit steamgames.com/holidaysale

I do so enjoy discounted games. Here are the butcher’s cuts, if you will:

1. Bioshock $4.99
2. Dawn of War Everything Pack $29.99
3. Indigo Prophecy $7.49
4. Gun $9.99 (a little overpriced, considering Bioshock is half that.)
5. i-Fluid $4.99
6. Valve Complete Pack $74.99
7. Doom II $.99
8. Half-Life Blue Shift $.99

What Does Sackboy Do?

Apparently Kotaku labs has a secret Adorable Department where they locate videos like this one and make it available to the gaming public. Your heart is made of stone if this one-year-old can’t make you smile.

No News Today or Tomorrow

Oddly enough this isn’t a direct result of Christmas, but it’s close. My day job will be sucking me in for 12 hours today, and I’m going to be spending about 12-14 hours in the car tomorrow. Sorry about that, and I hope you have a Merry December-holiday-of-choice.

Bruce Springsteen Coming to GHWT for Free, My Dad Rumored to be Excited

You’ll be able to download “Born to Run” and the new “My Lucky Day” January 27th and Febuary 4th of next year, at no cost. Bruce is doing the half-time show at the Super Bowl to promote his new album. I can’t shake the feeling that this is in some way related.

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