D-Pad Gaming

For those of you wondering where I went. I transferred over to www.d-padgaming.com A much more official place for all game needs.

Post 29 - Working hard

Sorry there haven't been many posts lately, I've just been working really hard on getting everything all sorted out. Work's been constant, Construction on the new project with Sarynthra is under way and situations around here seem to change by the day, but I promise that by mid-week I'll have a huge update for you guys. Sorry again.

Post 28 - Collaboration

COLLABORATION

LOCKE DOWNE & SARYNTHRA

It's been a long time coming but finally Sarynthra and I have partnered up to create a new gaming community site. At this moment I don't want to release too much info on the project because it's still under construction however, I do want you to know it's incredibly awesome and will be coming VERY soon. With this site we hope to partner up with Youtube in a way that gives the gaming community an amazing and comfortable place to chill and just simply interact with each other and us! So make sure to stay alert and know that the most incredible thing you've guys seen all year is coming VERY SOON!!!

Also just as a side note, I wanted to mention that it's not only Sarynthra and myself that are involved but a whole bunch of amazing and talented people who we couldn't have done this without, so make sure to be excited!!!

- Locke Downe

Post 27 - Youtube Spotlight

YOUTUBE SPOTLIGHT

XLOVENRAGEX




XLoveNRageX is one of my favorite youtubers. To be honest, he's one of the few I actually still watch. There's something humbling about his videos that just make you just wanna sit and watch more. I absolutely love his collections. The games he finds are amazing and the prices he normally gets them at are just as impressive! If you're a gaming fan and you're not subscribed to him, go out there right now and subscribe. He deserves every single sub he gets.

Another thing I wanted to mention while we're on the topic of youtube was that I wanted to remind everyone that the only reason any of us do these videos is because it's fun. When I go on youtube it's not to say, look I'm the best or the most original!, it's because it's fun and I love doing it. So if I want to say Dooblydoob rather than underbar, I will and If I want to have 100000000000 cuts I will. xLoveNRagex's videos don't have any fancy editing or anything like that, they're just one on one with a camera, and that's the way I like his videos. However, I prefer mine to be different.

So anyways, after rambling on there about nothing, I just want to say go check him out and make sure to subscribe to him, because his videos are great, he's great and he loves gaming, and that's all that's important!

Post 26 - Getting back on track

GETTING BACK ON TRACK

Alright so it's been a while since things have been on track, but it's about time I do what I can to get things moving. After my grandmother passed away a whole slue of events occurred and now I'm just trying to even everything out. If I keep my fingers crossed within the next week or so everything should be right back on track and moving along once again. I have my friends to thank for that. There's Mandy with her beating stick.


So here's an update on somethings I have planned and what not. From now on I'm going to try and post a new video on my Locke Downe channel every Monday and Thursday. That's going to be my goal and I'm going to see if I can stick with it. On that channel I plan to do professional style videos including:

- Original Skits
- Things I've bought recently
- Previews
- Impressions
- Reviews
- Collections
- Top Ten Lists
- Shout-outs
- Videos by Request
- Quickvids (this can range from collections to anything really)

...and mainly just stuff like that. However, if you're still interested in my own personal side of things and just random videos like Vlogs or other random stuff then you'll also want to subscribe to my LockeTalks channel. There you'll see all sorts of random stuff happen and I'll try to post it as often as I can, but I really can't give you an estimated date to say "videos will be out every weekend"... so I yeah, I don't know when you'll see them, they'll be a surprise.


Aside from that in life I'm still working on my goal to move out. However the details have changed a little bit. I want to have 1,500$ saved up, I want to get myself a new 42" HD TV, a TV stand, 2 Shelves and enough extra cash for first month's rent, activation fees, damage deposits and all that fine stuff. It's going to be one hell of a journey but our Goal Date is October 1st. So we'll see if we can do it. Luckily my next game purchase is Fallout: New Vegas so I should be good with saving money. Also, if you guys have any donations and stuff you'd like to send me let me know on my Youtube page by messaging me, or you can leave a comment in the link below and we'll arrange something.

As always guys, thanks for the support, and in the words of another great gamer (Sarynthra). "Keep on gaming."

- Locke Downe

Post 25 - Phoenix Update

PHOENIX UPDATE

I haven't really had the time to do one of this up. I was going to do one a week ago after the midnight premier of Iron Man 2. But at this point, I feel enough people have seen it to just have to say "It was great, go see it if you liked the first one"

So on top of that, things have been pretty good. I had a really rough week with very little sleep and I've been feeling a bit draggy. I'm on my second day off and still don't really feel like I've accomplished much for my time off, but it's all good.

Couple updates on pickups.

I decided to go ahead and pick up 3d Dot Game Heroes. Very few copies of this game seemed to have been shipped and with an excellent opening price of $44 I had to pick it up right when we received it. I'm going to be putting some time into it tonight and I'll come back with my findings.

This past Sunday I picked up the Black Wii. I managed to sell my white one for $180 and they gave me extra for bringing it to them...I felt a little bad because they obviously didn't realise they dropped price..but oh well..

So I picked up a black one that comes with all the stuff the white ones did, and Wii Motion Plus and Wii sports resort...which in store, retail together for 59.99. so overall, good bargain, and I llovvvee the black one. I've played more wii this week than I have the entire time in owning one (slight exaggeration, but still)

And yesterday I picked up a new PSP. Nikki wanted one for when Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep releases, so I figured with the recent bundle price drop (149.99) I'd pick up the Rock Band edition and get my old one ready for her.

Surprisingly enough, Rock band is really fun on the PSP. It goes back to their Amplitude roots, which was one of the first games I'd ever played on the PS2. Sadly when I sold my first one I sent that off with it and I've never been able to find another copy. But I really found that this game incorporated everything that was so good about that game, and what's great about the rock band system and put it into one package with better music. So I'm impressed. It also came with a school of rock UMB and a 4gig memory stick. great bargain.

So that'll be it for me for a couple of weeks..Nikki's picking me up Red Dead Redemption and something else for our anniversary (that's why she's getting the PSP, with a couple add ons) and I'm really looking forward to that. If I end up picking anything else up it'll be actual rock band (prepping for the Green Day release) and Darksiders on the PS3.

-Hybrid Phoenix

(originally posted on Phoenix Ignition)

Post 24 - Marble Hornets

MARBLE HORNETS

Alright, so if you know me and know me well, you will know that I am most definitely into horror videos (provided they're done right). After getting sent a link by Talcon to Marble Hornet's page on youtube, I fell in love with their little series. Now many people constantly debate: Is it real? Is it fake? - well to be honest, I think it's a game. That's right. A game, and that's exactly why I'm featuring it here today.

J is name of guy who runs the channel. He posts Entries every so often and we watch them. Every little single detail. Now, with every clip J often gives up tiny bits of info or insight as to what happens in each. This is where I think the game aspect comes in. I think it's up to us to notice and pick out all the little clues given in these clips. As an example, for those of you who were following his twitter at the time, you'll notice around Entry #24, he submitted an image to Tweetpic of five random numbers. Well it was the community who told J the numbers were date. Which is why I believe it's a game. J wants us to paste the pieces together and create a new sort of interactive medium, where we as an online community truly believe we're helping someone get out of a horror-movie situation... Either that or it's all real and the world's fucked!

Either way, I just thought I'd mention that to you guys and I hope you all go out and check Marble Hornets. The Slenderman is definitely the creepiest thing about it all. If I end up finding anything I'll post it here in my next Marble Hornets post. So until next time.

- Locke Downe.

Post 23 - Just Quick

JUST QUICK

Hey, I just wanted to let you guys know that the blog is undergoing some minor construction and due to some of the recent events in my life I will have to delay further blog posts until Tuesday May 25th. Sorry for the inconvenience.

- Locke Downe

Post 21 - Skate 3 Impressions

SKATE 3 IMPRESSIONS (Mini-Review)

I hate to admit, but even though I loved the first skate game, I skipped over Skate 2. The walking controls were just awful and I felt like the series had not yet reached it's potential. However, with Skate 3 I think we're getting there. First off Skate's gameplay remains almost unchanged from the second entry. This time Darkslides have been added (which is something I was waiting for since the first game) and the walking around controls, while still far from perfect, are a lot better than in Skate 2.

The environment is quite likable. Everything looks extremely beautiful with occasional pop-ins and screen taring, but nothing so major that it pulls you out of the experience entirely. The only thing about the environment is that there's no weather changes and no cycle between night and day, which would have been an interesting addition. Aside from that the graphics are solid, but not revolutionary, and also the addition to create your own custom graphics IN-GAME rather than on the website would have been nice too.



Story. So far the game barely has one. You've created your own brand, and now you want board sales. Simple enough right? Well unfortunately this form of storytelling leaves you selecting through menus and attempting challenges through out the majority of the game to actually give you emotions and cut-scenes. To me, the idea of creating your team and brand is a GREAT idea, but the story should have been more like Tony Hawk Underground. To me, that game had one of the best skateboarding stories ever. I loved how you started out as nothing. Met locals, events happened, you showed off, got big, all that stuff! It was awesome! I mean you even had a rival and missions that didn't always focus around skateboarding. You felt like you were playing an actual character! Which is something we don't see anymore.



Alright so here come the improvements and all the cool little details about Skate 3. Skate 3's newest and coolest feature comes in the form of team based challenges that you can both attempt with your own customizable A.I team mates or with your friends online! Now, I haven't had a chance to play online yet so I just played with my A.I team, and will tell you. Nothing pisses me off more than when trying to attempt a Jam competition to see who can wrack up the most points, and all four A.I boarders are crashing into you left and right just as you're about to finish that Melon flip. However, saying that. It's not always your A.I team mates that hit you. It's normally the other team. My team mates are actually quite competent. I was surprised. Another cool feature that I absolutely loved, is the ability to call up your A.I team mates, or pro skaters, or locals and just go out skating with them. Up to now I rode down Observatory road and the Super-Mega-Death-Park with my team, and nothing has ever felt more freeing. It was an amazing experience that I can only imagine gets better when you play online. Also, another really cool feature was being able to play as Issac from Dead Space in Free Play mode.

As far the sound goes, the way your board shreds against rails and rolls across concrete sound PERFECT! The soundtrack is also very different. Featuring rap, punk, metal and all sorts of other stuff from many known artists.

Overall Skate 3 is the best one in series. If you liked Skate 1 or Skate 2, definitely pick it up, but be warned, it doesn't stray far from that path of the previous titles. If skateboarding is your life, don't think twice. BUY NOW! As for everyone else, give it a rent to see if it's different enough from the first two to justify the price tag. I own Skate 1, and the second Skate 3 drops below 49.99 I'm buying it!

Graphics: 8.5 out of 10
Sound: 9.0 out of 10
Gameplay: 8.5 out of 10
Story: 7.0 out of 10

Overall: 8.2 out of 10

Should I pick it up?
Yes, however you might want to wait for a slight price drop.

How much should I pay?
49.99 - Try and get it used if you can. It won't be valuable one day.

Post 20 - What's been going on

WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON

Alright, so first off let me apologize for the lack of posts more recently. As always life has been busy, with that said a lot has happened over the last few days. As I mentioned in a much earlier post, I've been trying to save up enough money to feel safe once I move out. My over-all goal is to have about 2000.00$ saved up, plus additional money for damage deposit, a large screen TV and so on. I'm proud to announce that thanks to my vacation paycheck, I am currently half-way there! Which is enough to put a smile on my face.



Secondly, I've managed to get over my cold that I had recently and in doing so I've managed to snag a little extra time to play some games lately. I've played Grand Theft Auto IV, Skate 3, God of War 3 and Zelda: A link to the past. It's been a lot of fun, with the majority of my time being taken by Skate 3. I'm also really excited for this month's release of Red Dead Redemption! It's going to be an awesome game and I can't wait to play it.


I've also managed to add a couple new things to my collection this week, which I will be showing you in a new video really soon, so I don't want to give away any spoilers so you'll just have to wait on that, but while we're talking about Youtube there's something I wanted to mention. About three days ago I spent almost 6 hours making a slideshow (just to do something different and try out some new editing techniques) and once I posted it I dropped almost 10 subs. What the hell's up with that!? Guess some people are so impatient that when something other than a collection video pops-up they bolt it! Oh well. In other news, the vlogs on LockeTalks were a success. People seem to enjoy them quite a bit so I'll be continuing with that really soon.

Aside from that everything's going steady but at the same time life's been feeling really bland lately. Like nothing's really worth the effort and the reward just isn't as good as it originally was. I don't know if I'm the only one feeling this way as of now, but we'll see. Guess life just likes to make you feel down every now and then.

- Locke Downe

Post 19 - Four Chord Song

FOUR CHORD SONG



So Hybrid Phoenix found this video while surfing the web a couple days ago. It's actually a shame that this is true. For a lot of music fans out there, this is a sad sad day. lol j/k. It's actually a really cool video that shows: Music with originality is a GREAT thing. Also, make sure to check out the Marble hornets videos Featured as this week's video. I'm sure Hybrid Phoenix would agree on that one! lol.

Also another thing I wanted to mention was that LockeTalks has totally changed and I just uploaded a new vlog last night, so please make sure to go check that out, and tell your friends about it too! Thank you.

- Locke Downe

(This video was found by Hybrid Phoenix on Youtube.)

Post - LockeTalks is changing

LOCKETALKS IS CHANGING

Alright, so for those of you who are subscribed to LockeTalks this is no surprise, but I decided that I wanted to change that channel around. The way I was going now, nothing was ever getting done on it because editing and stuff for that channel took almost just as long as my normal channel so I decided it was time for a change. Now LockeTalks will simply be daily Vlogs. So in other words, just me talking to a camera. So if you think you're the kind of person that would enjoy day to day things in my life than subscribe, but either way it's changing.

Another thing is, even though I'm working with Videoslave to create short-skits and stuff for our new upcoming channel, I also want to take some time to truly upgrade my channel. First things first. I need a name for my show, and I know you're probably all thinking "What show?" Well everything that goes on my L0CKED0WNE channel is technically considered part of "The Show". That's right, L0CKED0WNE is a show, but considering Locke Downe is my username I'd like to think of a much better name for the show. Considering LockeTalks is my Vlog channel it can be a lot less formal than what I want to make L0CKED0WNE. Now saying all this I don't want any of you to think "OMG! He's changing his normal channel! NOOOO!!!!" Cause I'm not. I just need a name. That's it! What do I call it? You know what I mean? Like how Yathzee has Zero Punctuation, or how Johnny Millennium has "Happy Console Gamer". That's what I want for my channel. A name for the show. So if any of you can help me out I'd greatly appreciate it.

In other news, I'm starting to get over this stupid cold, but it's taking forever! I was off for almost 5 days and every single fuckin day I was sick! I hate life I tell ya. I fuckin hate it. Oh well, what you gonna do? Anyways guys. Until next time.

- Locke Downe

Sick...

SICK...

I know it's not much of a post, but I figured I'd let you guys know why I haven't posted so much recently. Like the title says... I'm a little sick. It's more of a head cold than anything (Thanks Braveworld) but none the less it's irritating. Anyways, at this point I'm at 96.63% finished Grand Theft Auto IV. I'm just wondering if you have to date all of the girlfriends to be able to get to 100%. Does anyone know? Well anyways, aside from that I haven't been up to too much. Working on stories, videos and oh yeah, I got a really crappy haircut! Aside from that not too much has been up. Leave me a comment and let me know what you've been up to lately.

Post 16 - This week

THIS WEEK

This week has been hell. I'm just about to finish a 9-day stretch at work. I'm so tired right now and this new hair-cut I got is really pissing me off! I find I look like Hitler's long lost brother. :( ...but on the bright side, I can finally start wearing hats! Yeah, before my hair cut would never allow me to but now I can. So there you have it. For the most part that's everything that's made up my week so far. I apologize for not posting anything new yesterday and having only this short post today. Tomorrow Josh and I will be getting all 50 Seagulls in GTA: Lost and the Damned. So we might be able to make a video for that, but I make no promises. So anyways guys. Here's to a good upcoming weekend for all.

Post 15 - Youtube problems

YOUTUBE PROBLEMS

Hey guys, sorry but this just another short post. I've been having some issues uploading videos to youtube in the past few days and so has Braveworld and a couple other of my friends. We're hoping that whatever's going on will be dealt with soon, but either way I'm going to try and get up my four part Questions and Answers video today! I'm going to try re-saving it as my old format rather than the new formats I've been using and see if that works.

Aside from that everything's going as usual. Work's been a living nightmare lately but that's just because the schedule never gets done right. Like I said, you pay me more and stress isn't really an issue. Aside from that I hope to hang out with Josh later this week and maybe we'll put together a "Day in the Life" video or something like that. We'll see how we feel that day! He better not bail or I'll cut his balls off. I also hope to hang out with Mandy (Hybrid Phoenix) sometime real soon too so we can get that review done. We also have a bunch of original shorts for Videoslave that we need to get done soon too. I guess we're just waiting for magical new and better equipment to show up. Well, we'll see. Anyways, till next time guys.

Post 14 - Top Ten Fav Video Game Characters

TOP TEN FAVORITE VIDEO GAME CHARACTERS

I find it really hard to pinpoint favorites. I have such a hard time picking favorite games and characters because there's so much I know I haven't gotten a chance to play, and characters that I need to experience..but let's start things off anyways.

I don't think they'll be in any real order.

1) Batman (Arkham Asylum)
I know, I know, he's not REALLY a video game character, but I had way too much fun kicking ass as the dark night in this game. The second one is on my most anticipated list and I just couldn't leave him off the list, so deal with it!

2)Nathan Drake (Uncharted series)
I loveeee playing uncharted for many reasons, gameplay is solid, story is great, overall fun game, but the big one, the awesomeness that is Nathan Drake. He's easilly one of the funniest and most entertaining characters I've ever played, especially when he just says what you're thinking, hilarious, entertaining, perfect.

3)Kratos (God of War)
While he may seem over rated to some people Kratos is just an all around fantastic character. While the game is at heart, a hack & slash, the developing team puts a lot of work into the story which really makes it go the extra mile as a game. And playing Kratos is just, so fun, power of the gods, and detrimental fighting skills, makes playing him a bloody good time. haha, get it? Bloody? Shut up I'm funny...

4) Link (Legend of Zelda)
The wonderful protagonist who never speaks, Zelda's been providing me mass amounts of gaming pleasure since I was a kid. There's not much else to say beyond that. He's just awesome.

5) Megaman (Megaman)
I've loved Megaman from a young age, but I must admit, my favorite version of megaman is from the first 3 megaman Battle Network games. They were some of the first games I got on my Gameboy Advance and I remember wasting full days playing the game and listening to Goldfinger.

6) Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney)
When I first saw the Phoenix Wright games, I was a little skeptical, I had no idea that a game about being an Attorney could be so damn fun. Well, they are damn fun and Phoenix is a damn fun character (it helps that he has my name too)

7) Secret Apprentice (Star Wars Force Unleashed)
Now, I've always been a big Star Wars fan, and any of the games that involved Lightsabers were my favorite. Now since the other games allow you to create your own character, and pick your destiny, you can't really use them as character examples, that's where Force Unleashed comes in. I adored this game and assuming the role of dark apprentice was fantastic. As a moral rule I typically always stick to the right side of the law when games allow you to choose between good and evil. This game really gives you the full spectrum, and it's amazing. I've got this game on both PSP and PS3 and they're so different that it keeps the experience totally fresh.

8) Solid Snake (Metal Gear Series)
Now, I've JUST started getting into the Metal Gear series (I know, shame on me) and while I find them challenging, they're also extremely fun and extremely innovative. In turn, Solid Snake is just a great and hilarious character to play, while remaining completely bad ass. I've added him to this list because he's so fresh in my mind as a bad ass and I'm really looking forward to getting deeper into the story.

9) Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII)
How could I not? Cloud isn't even a character I would consider amazing, but he is one of the first people I thought of when Corey asked me this question. Whether it be because I know Cloud is HIS favorite character or what, I had to find a place for him on this list. I needed at least one FF character on this list, and Cloud made the cut, followed closely by a few others.

10) Dante (Devil May Cry)
What can I say? Dante is a bad ass, and playing him makes ME feel like a bad ass. His character over all is just a really cool guy with witty remarks and a quick gun. This is a character with personality and he knows it.

Well, That's it then guys, I know it's not the best but I'm horrible at lists. if there's anything you want to question me on, characters you'd like to comment on let me know!

For now, I have a real life sonic in my house that I need to go play with! Till next time!

- Hybrid Phoenix

(Originally Posted on Phoenix Ignition. Written by: Amanda Coneen)
------------------------------

Post 14 - Which game should I get in May?

WHICH GAME SHOULD I GET IN MAY?

Alright guys so pretty simple post here. Which game do you think I should get this month, if any? You see, I kind of narrowed down three I'm very interested in and considering I can't really spend that much right now, I can only afford one. So I want your guy's opinion!

First off we have Red Dead Redemption which is created by the same team as GTA IV. Now I haven't played a wild west game in decades and this could be a really awesome change of pace! I also heard it's open world and I love that! So I'm really liking this!

Secondly is 3D Dot game heroes. Very retro and a lot like Zelda. I know it'll be rare soon and I want a copy before it goes extinct, but I don't know. Maybe I could be holding off on this for now.

And last but not least is Skate 3! I love the first one, Loved the demo, it's a lot better than Skate 2. I haven't played a good skateboarding game in a long time so this would also be a change! Multiplayer on this looks almost as good as Red Dead Redemption though.

So there you have it! You heard how I feel (briefly) so now you tell me which one I should get! If you have any other suggestions please let me know in the comment section below! Thank you.

 Which Game Should I Get?

• 
  
  Red Dead Redemption


• 
  
  3d Dot Game Heroes


• 
  
  Skate 3


• 
  
  Don't get a game this month

view results
Free vote poll

Post 13 - Challenging Myself

CHALLENGING MYSELF

Well it seems like almost every two or three months I always start challenging myself again. More recently I told myself I was going to Platinum Grand Theft Auto IV and well, I'm REALLY close. Just as of lately, I told myself that I wanted to get into shape, and when I say get into shape I mean like Cloud's sort of build from Advent Children kind of shape! Being a gamer, the out doors is something I normally only see when I'm hanging out with friends or going to work or get something, but as of now I'm going to have to start jogging, lifting weights, doing sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups all that wonderful stuff. The goal is, if in two months I can manage to accomplish that I'll be getting myself an Ipod Touch.



Now I've never really been the kind of guy who needed an MP3 player with me to be happy, but the Ipod touch is starting to look like too much to resist. So I'm really hoping some of my friends will jump on board and help me out with this challenge because I really need it!

Aside from that when it comes to challenging myself, I want to learn a variety of new songs and techniques on the guitar, Hybrid Phoenix if you're listening - please help me out! I could really use your expertise! I just started learning Bo Burnham's "A Love Ballad" to make use of the Capo I just got but still I'm not progressing as quickly as I would like too.

In the end, everything else seems to be going alright. I still got a lot of loose ends to tie off but we'll see how that unfolds soon. As for you guys, tell me how you've all been and if there's anything you challenge yourselves with! It's always cool to hear about other people's life challenges! Can't wait to hear from you guys! Locke Out.

- Locke Downe

Post 12 - Two Quick Things

TWO QUICK THINGS

Alright, so first off I'm REALLY excited about Fallout: New Vegas. I must admit, when it was first announced I was skeptical but now I can't WAIT!!! It just looks so amazing! There's all sorts of websites on Google that actually have screens of the game now so make sure to go check them out and if anything new gets released let me know!

Secondly, I just found out how to get out of the demo area in Skate 3! So go check it out! It's in the featured video this week, so big props to achievement hunter for that! Until next time guys, keep on gaming! There will also be a new video this weekend. Sorry for the wait.

- Locke Downe

Post 11 - Fallout New Vegas News

FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS NEWS



Alright, so like all of you already know, I'm a friggin' HUGE Fallout 3 fan. To me Fallout 3 is the equivalent if not even better than Oblivion, and for me, that's saying a lot! Normally a game of Bethesda's quality ends up taking years if not a decade to design and complete. However thanks to the amazing developers over at Obsideon we won't have to wait ten years to get our next taste of Fallout. Due to release this fall is Fallout: New Vegas.

Now ever since this game started development a lot's remained secret. However, I managed to find out a little bit about this title that might interest you. So please allow me to tell you.

STORY

Apparently Fallout: New Vegas takes place two or three years after Fallout 3 but has no connection to it what so ever. It actually ties in with Fallout 1 and 2 more than Fallout 3. The story follows you, a courier who was traveling the Mojave dessert and left for dead in some un-marked grave hole. You're soon dug out by Victor ( A Robot TV ) and rescued by Doctor Mitchell who helps you through out at least the starting of the game. Now this much I know, as for the rest, it's a mystery.

GAMEPLAY

Gameplay will be the same as Fallout 3 with some slight differences. Karma will return only to be paired with a new alignment gauge known as reputation (from Fallout 2). How the reputation works, I'm not sure. V.A.T.S will return same as the last time around but with added moves for Melee items, such as "FORE!!!" for a golf club. For the most dedicated players HARDCORE mode will offer a variety of new challenges to face while playing. Such as: Ammo will have weight to it. You will be required to drink water in order to stay hydrated. Stimpacks heal over time rather than right away and a couple more slight differences. Over-all the game seems promising and I truly can't wait.

Aside from that I managed to find some previously un-released screens and concept art to share with you guys! I hope you enjoy it, and really hope that this fall you all will be picking up Fallout: New Vegas.

SCREENS






TEASER TRAILER



So that's all on Fallout: New Vegas for now. Let me know what you think in the comment section below. Thank you all for reading and have a good day!

Check out THE VAULT for all your Fallout news!

- Locke Downe

Post 10 - Top Ten Favorite Things About Gaming

Top Ten Favorite Things About Gaming

Alright, well I couldn't really think of too much to blog on today, so I figured I would share with you my top ten favorite things about gaming. Hope you enjoy, and all of these are PERSONAL! I didn't like take a poll or something. So enjoy.



10. The Music

Music is a big part of almost everyone's lives, and while I may not be a music connoisseur I definitely enjoy it! Especially in games. Video games have brought us some of the best original music I've ever seen (Final Fantasy, Metal Gear and Mystical Ninja for example) as well as many popular new titles from all sorts of different recording artists we may have never heard of before (like Crush 40 from Sonic, or The Black Mages from Final Fantasy). I know music is definitely not the most important part of a game, but trust me I definitely appreciate it's contribution and without gaming wouldn't be the same! Music... You deserve sex!

9. The Action

Now call it stereotypical or whatever, but trust me! Without the action, games would be bland!... and that's not for every game. Games like Animal Crossing and Tetris are still fun, but the games that do have action like God of War and Modern Warfare wouldn't be the same without it! I remember the action scenes in Advent Children Complete (I know it's a movie, but it's a movie BASED OFF A GAME!) totally blew me away! It forever stained my memory with amazement and for that I'm thankful!

8. The Lifestyle

A lot of people wouldn't call a gamer's lifestyle glamorous but it depends on how you look at it and how far you go! I'm talking about the kind of lifestyle where you have a large collection of games, a beautiful girlfriend (rare, but in some cases it does happen... sorry...), you come home at night to enjoy a nice cold glass of your favorite beverage and play your favorite games with your friends for hours on end! I love the gamer lifestyle and it's something I don't think people really appreciate much anymore. The Gamer life is the greatest life!

7. The Visuals

Every game I've seen through out the coarse of game history has always tried to out do the others in graphics. Along the way we've seen eye stunning realism, 3-D technology, cartoonish art style and I wide variety of expressive titles. Some even being a game completely about the art itself! The visuals play a huge part in the gaming industry and being an artist myself I have to say, without the visuals. Games would simply be text on a screen! So appreciate it!!!

6. The Games

What would this list be without the games!? Well the games are of coarse the core part, but what I like most about them is their diversity and the ability to collect them! There's so many different games out there, and being a collector, I want them all! Sure it may sound greedy but to be honest that's probably the most fun part for me. Sure, it's always great to suit up into a good game and make yourself believe you're living this alternate life where no one can truly harm you, but in reality it's being able to hold them and enjoy them that really counts.

5. The Togetherness

Multiplayer has almost always been included in games, but that's not really what I'm talking about (to an extent). I'm talking about the times when you're just getting to school in the morning and you spend your breakfast time ranting about how you collected all the stars in Super Mario to your best friend, or when you decide to pull an all nighter with a friend to beat Kingdom Hearts once and for all, or even just to chill and take turns playing Skate. It's these moments that are truly important, but not just that! Even Youtube! Gaming is what brought most of us together! It's common ground, something we can all appreciate and that's just one the things I love about gaming. If anything, this should be higher on the list cause I feel like it's really important!

4. The Stories

Some of the stories I've experienced in games were just unbelievable. I honestly just can't say enough. Some have made me cry, feel angry, left me wanting to know more and just utterly confused me. Stories are truly valuable. If you're a story freak here's a list of games YOU NEED to check out:

- Metal Gear Solid Series
- Final Fantasy Series
- Kingdom Hearts Series
- Silent Hill Shattered Memories
- The Darkness
- Fallout 3
- Oblivion
- Assassin's Creed Series
- Indigo Prophecy
- Heavy Rain
- Bioshock series

and no doubt many many more.


3. The Characters

Cloud, Squall, Snake, Raiden, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Mario, Link, Sephiroth, Tifa, Niko, Sonic, Shadow, Spyro, Crash, Nathan Drake, oh my God! All the amazing character's we've seen over the years. I love character developing stories and I have to say these guys make a lot of games worth it. Would Final Fantasy VII be the same with Cait Sith as the main character and Tom Morello as the villain? Of coarse not! So the characters are a VERY important part and when designing my own stories or games I just absolutely love creating characters! Rock on guys!

2. The Memories

Who here can say they don't appreciate all the wonderful memories? I remember getting all the pigeons in Grand Theft Auto IV with Josh, and the time Jeremy and I stayed up all night to beat Zelda: Majora's Mask just so he could see the story! I remember the first time I played Resistance: Fall of Man online and the first time we won a clan battle! I remember getting Mario 64, Mario Kart 64 and my N64 from Zellers after saving up my allowance for over six months. I remember a lot, and truly every moment is important to me. I honestly can't wait to have more.

1. The Feeling

The feeling of being a gamer, can't be described. It has to be experienced. Those of you out there who consider yourself to be hardcore gamers know what I mean. It's the feeling of power, courage, wisdom, accomplishment, insight and everything else. The feeling of truly being in control of everything around you.. When you play games you jump into a different life. A life that's not your own. You can be an astronaut, a soldier, a mage, a warrior, a basketball player, anything! You can truly become whatever you want, and that feeling when you do, just can't be described. It's kind of life a compilation of everything on this list all mashed into one. That's the only way I can describe it, and it has to be my over-all favorite thing about gaming.

- Locke Downe

Post 9 - Looking for Questions

LOOKING FOR QUESTIONS

Alright, this one here is a pretty simple post. I need questions. Any questions you guys might have for me. Anything! I want you to post it in the comment section below or message me them on Youtube or Facebook. I want to try and gather up as many questions as I can to answer them for you in a future video.

Now you can ask questions about me, people in Videoslave, or about anything random at all and we'll pick the best ones (The one's we all like the most and answer them for you guys. Just try to make sure we know who your question is for. Like put "This one is for Locke..." or something like that at the start. Alright? So sorry, no pictures for this post, just text. I know boring right? Well anyways, message me as soon as you can! Thanks

- Locke Downe

Post 8 - Update Video (April 2010)

UPDATE VIDEO (APRIL 2010)





Alright guys, so after not posting for two weeks I managed to at least get one video out. It's not much, mainly just a small update. After watching it though, I felt like there's a lot I left out. A couple other things I've been up to include: Playing God of War 3, Drawing again (Yes!), Playing a CRAP LOAD of guitar, watching a lot of movies and trying to spend time with friends.

As mentioned in the video, yes I'm still looking for a place to move out, but that's still not for a while. I need a bit more money put away first. Boy, am I nervous, but hey! Freedom's worth it right? Anyways, On the gaming spectrum I just managed to finish watching the PSN exclusive reality show "The Tester". I'm not one for reality TV, but to be honest, it wasn't bad. My second favorite person won! So that's good right. Also, if any of you were interested in the Pigeon DP from GTA here it is!

Also, did you guys like having Boco in the video? Please let me know in the comment section below.... unintentional rhyme right there... Alright guys. Until next time thank you for reading and keep on gaming!

- Locke Downe

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Post 7 - Ballad of Gay Tony (PS3) Impressions

BALLAD OF GAY TONY (PS3) IMPRESSIONS

(The Lost and the Damned Impressions coming soon)

Locke Downe:

Grand Theft Auto is one of my all time favorite franchises. It's funny, it's fast-paced, it's difficult at times and easy to jump into and just have fun, but most of all, it's liberating. GTA is always one of those games that just makes you feel free and with what Grand Theft Auto IV managed to do, The Ballad of Gay Tony takes further. More cars, more activities, more characters, more content over-all! It's still GTA IV but with so much more, which to me makes this a steal at $19.99 (CDN).

My favorite thing about it up to this point is not only the new guns and vehicles, but definitely the fact that they brought back the parachute! I was a huge fan of it in San Andreas and it's good to see it return now. As for the game itself though, it's definitely more colorful than GTA IV, but I have noticed it to be rather glitchy. Like, more pop-ins, slower frame-rate and some of that stuff, but it was never enough to ruin the experience.

Sebastian Kain:

My over-all opinion of Grand Theft Auto 4: The Ballad of Gay Tony is that it is a very entertaining DLC. So far I haven’t noticed any problems with it what so ever. It allows the player to enjoy a plethora of activities from club management to sky diving. It also offers a wide variety of vehicles and weapons for the player to use at his or her disposal. The only thing I didn’t like was that the disc copy includes an updated, and in my opinion, much better and enjoyable soundtrack. Finally, this is Kain saying hope you have as much fun playing it as I ‘am. So check out this awesome trailer for it as well!!!



Girl Gamer Arrow:

The graphics were amazing, cool new cars added, hilarious yet offensive tv shows lol, hours of fun by free falling with the parashoots, difficult yet fun and cool fight scenes, and the multiplayer is still unmatched! I just wish I could get a chance to experience it more! Grr.. I'll be getting a PS3 soon

- Locke Downe, Sebastian Kain, Girl Gamer Arrow


Should I Pick Up This DLC?
Yes you should, but if you get a chance, buy the disk version! It's worth the radio station!

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Post 6 - Marvel VS. Capcom 3

MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 3

After many years of waiting, fighting fans of the classing Marvel VS. Capcom franchise can rejoice at the announcement of a third title in the franchise. Up to know only six characters have been announced included Ryu (Capcom), The Hulk (Marvel), Ironman (Marvel), and new to the roster Chris Redfield from Resident Evil 5. Just to name a few.

I myself have never really been a hard-core fan of the fighting franchise, however I really do want to download Marvel VS. Capcom 2 off of the PSN, and while I hope to do so soon, for now I can show you guys the new teaser for Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Hope you guys enjoy, and please let us know who your favorite Marvel VS. Capcom character is!

MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 3 TEASER TRAILER



Thank you all for reading this early morning post and please make sure to comment in the comment section below. Hope you're all having a wonderful day and make sure to check back soon!

- Locke Downe

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Post 5 - Sherlock Holmes (2009) Review

SHERLOCK HOLMES REVIEW (2009)




Movies now at days always have high expectations. If look back in the past year or so we'll see some phenomenal additions to the over-all movie library that will soon go down in legend amongst the best of them. Star Trek, X-men Origins: Wolverine and Avatar just to name a few, but the main question here is: Will Sherlock Holmes be one of these movies? Let's indulge.

First off the movie stars Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes), Jude Law (Watson), Rachel McAdams (Irene Adler) and Mark Strong (Lord Blackwood). All of which do an amazing job at portraying their characters with some minor flaws in authenticity, in the least everyone's performance is believable. The way the characters interact with each other is what really keeps the movie going. Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. were an absolute perfect match and played off each other magnificently. As far as acting goes, the accents were quite good, the dialogue was very top notch and everything felt, at least, believable.

The story was very well crafted, but unfortunately aside from the dry humor, it wasn't enough to stand out amongst most other detective movies out there. It's just one of those forgettable stories you sit down to watch for an hour and realize the only reason you watched it was for the comedy and action, which Sherlock Holmes does quite well. Now, some of the humor may be a little difficult to understand in this day and age but that just goes to show how amazing the attention to detail was. The script was written fantastically, but unfortunately the story kind of cut short. However, it was entertaining none the less.


Graphically this movie has a style that feels unique. Almost as if it's got it's own filter over the film. CG wasn't used to an extreme, however in a lot of scene where CG is used you can often tell it's there. Aside from that, the plot pieces fell together nicely.

For me, the main capture of the movie was the fight sequences where Sherlock Holmes would evaluate and calculate a fight sequence before it would happen (in slow motion) and then it would rewind and we'd see the whole fight take place in a barrage of hits and blows. This here was awesome but unfortunately not done enough. There was probably ten or fifteen fights in the movie and only about three used this. I wish every fight would of had this in it! It was like it's own version of V.A.T.S from Bethesda's Fallout 3!


In conclusion, the movie was more than enjoyable and added some cool techniques, both with action and camera angles. Will it set the bar for movies in the future? Probably not, but still none the less enjoyable. My recommendation is to rent it first and if you truly adore it, pick it up. Aside from that, wait until it's ten dollars and grab then, cause at that point, it'll be totally worth it.

OVERALL

Story - 7.0 out of 10
Characters - 8.5 out of 10
Graphics - 8.5 out of 10
Sound - 9.0 out of 10

How Much Should I Pay To Own This? - $14.99

Overall - 8.2 out of 10

Thank you everyone for reading. I hope you enjoyed this review, and please expect many more in the near future.

- Locke Downe

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