Kinected

Another holiday season is upon us, although we've managed to avoid the white stuff so far. It was another great Thanksgiving... man those four-day weekends are nice. And although their employees may not enjoy it, the nation's largest retailers began rolling out their sales on Turkey Day.


Cassie and I decided to gift ourselves a little early this year and pick up the year-old Xbox Kinect device. While I was wary for a long time about it just being Microsoft's lame attempt at grabbing some of the Wii's action, recent word on the street had been that developers were starting to really take advantage of the hands-free voice-activated opportunities the Kinect provides. Videos are popping up all over for non-gaming uses [although I don't see myself training for surgery anytime soon].


The Kinect was being discounted nearly everywhere for around $99, and we saw that Target was even throwing in a free Wipeout 2 game as well. Who doesn't like Big Balls? However, after we got back from Thanksgiving dinner in Hampshire it was only 8:30. Target only opened at midnight... but we saw that Walmart opened at 10. Game on.


Due to a lethal stampede several years ago, Walmart no longer shuts its doors prior to opening for Black Friday. So when we rolled into the store around 9:30 the main aisles were bustling. Walmart decided to hold off on the larger electronic sales [TVs, game systems, computers] until midnight, so people were gravitating towards the bigger 10pm deals [video games and Blurays for under $20] in bins near the grocery.

We got in a relatively short line near the glass cabinets in electronics, and just people-watched as 10 crept nearer. Around 9:50 people began tearing into the plastic-wrapped endcaps despite Walmart employees being all over the place. The sound of crumpling plastic spread like wildfire, and soon folks were grabbing the liberated cheap-bedsheets by the handful. Classy. Finally the 10pm sales started [only one kid got punched at the previously-mentioned video game/movie bins] and our line began to creep forward, one customer at a time.


We got up front, told the guy what we wanted, and walked away with our Kinect and Wipeout 2 [to be pricematched]! Huzzah! While waiting to check out up front, a lady one line over saw our Kinect, and asked if we would be interested in an extra Dance Central 2 she had grabbed in the rush... heck yes! Cassie wins! When we got up front, we were told that they couldn't pricematch the Target deal until midnight [when Target opened]... so yes we spent an extra hour in Walmart on Thanksgiving. Exciting times, let me tell you.

Kinect v2.0

The Kinect is pretty cool. We do have to move my futon to maximize the playspace, but it's worth it. The "Kinect ID" memorizes your face at different distances/angles to automatically log you in to games [so you can just step-in/step-out]. The sensor also uses infrared light, so it certainly feels as if you're being eyed by a Cylon sometimes.


Cassie is slicing Fruit like a Ninja currently, so I think you could say she enjoys it. There are ways to video chat via Kinect, as well as post in-game action photos, like yours-truly dominating on Kinect Adventures. Good stuff- can't wait to see where the games go from here!

Look ma...

Rock Banding

Scott Stantis, Chicago Tribune

If you're not a resident of Illinois, give thanks this election season. In a state that's trying [and succeeding] to catch up to California in terms of debt and budget crises, we've been left with candidates that all have their hair caught up somehow in the political machines that run the Land of Lincoln. And with all of the hundreds of cheap political ads airing during commercial breaks currently [unfortunately no Illinoisians have kicked children in the face], it could not be a better time to have the newest installment of Harmonix's Rock Band franchise arrive.


In addition to an impressive setlist [25 or 6 to 4, Freebird, Bohemian Rhapsody... yes please!], Rock Band 3 also includes a few new features. As in The Beatles: Rock Band, there can now be up to 3 people singing in harmony [Good Vibrations] at once. A new peripheral was introduced as well: the keyboard. So now any song with a piano part has a home, too. So including the original guitar/bass/drums combo, at any given time you can have 7 people rocking out. We may need a bigger television.


And for those that want to learn the guitar, if you can find a $150 RB3 Fender Mustang or Squier Stratocaster that's not out of stock, Rock Band 3 will teach you how to play all of the songs on the disc. I don't think I'm quite there yet... I'll rest on my plastic-button laurels for now.


Last week in a final goodbye to Rock Band 2, a few Rockers gathered at my place to tackle the Endless Setlist II. It took almost 6.5 hours to play through the 84 songs on the disc, but in the end victory was ours. I'm itching to schedule a day for Endless Setlist III... but first I need to find a good deal on that keyboard. C'mon Black Friday!

Endless Setlist II complete!

Reach for It

Ah yes, September. The start of football, school, cooling days, and, once every few years, the debut of the latest Halo game. I don't think it will surprise many readers to hear that I'm a big video game fan. Although I probably hide it well except for occasional photos of Rock Banding that make it past the censors. I've had an Xbox 360 since I began full-time working; so after playing Halo 2 only on friends' consoles, I've managed to play Halo 3, ODST, and Reach from their release date.


Games themselves have really come a long way in telling stories. I'd say many of today's games are on par with some of the stuff Hollywood puts out [ok, not the really good stuff, but there is a lot of crap]. Many movies are half-computer generated anyway. And Halo has always been known for its outstanding music score as much as the gameplay itself. And if a game is really good, its cost-to-entertainment value is really a steal.


A couple of friends of mine and I have met up practically every Tuesday evening online for our 'Halo Tuesday'. While it allows us to team up and shoot aliens/people, it also lets us catch up on other things, not unlike a teleconference. If only real teleconferences were so fun. Besides, there are worse ways to keep in touch. Of course: the more, the merrier; if you see us on [here's a link to my 'gamertag'], join the fight.