Steel Battalion

I don't own a 360 or a Kinect to play the game, but I have seen other people play the game or seen other reviews. Steel Battalion is a mech fighting war game based off of World War II. The game combines the controller and the Kinect itself to play.

There are plenty of good things about the game. One thing is the great graphics and scenes. The graphics are amazing and makes the experience life-like. Another great thing is the characters. The Characters have there own personalities and makes it feel as though you are with an actual team instead of those non-talking players that do nothing. The team actual works with you to accomplish missions. The interesting thing is if any of your teammates dies, they are dead for good and you get a replacement. And the replacement has his own personalities. The combat itself is top notch. The fighting is so realistic almost like being in a machine. You see actual damage in your mech, like blood, cracked windows, and holes.

Here is the bad news. No matter what they threw in or how well they made it, you WILL find difficulty playing this game. I have tried the Kinect and I think it is a fun device to support the 360 and its controller. However, it shouldn't replace the controller. I don't know why they would make a game that uses an inaccurate motion sensing device, when the game is based on precised controls. I have seen people play this game and said it was near impossible to play. At times you will be fighting the Kinect. Your character will be doing jumbling arm motions and pressing every button except the one you want.

The game would be a success if they went back to the controller that contain 40 buttons and levers. That controller looked so interesting. The game could have gotten a great score if they made massive changes. There is no point in making a well detailed and great looking game when it is unplayable to 99% of the players. The hope for this game is a massive update and patches, but something tells me there won't be. We will have to see.

Modern Warfare 3 Classes

The classes in Modern Warfare 3 are very unique. There is huge variety of set ups you can do to customize and make useful for gameplay. I have noticed that the classes are the same as those from the previous Modern Warfare. Some of the guns have carried over and even some of the perks are the same. However, even with this repeat, I find the game still excellent.

When it comes to the right class set up, there are a few factors to keep in mind.

1. Be familiar with the guns, perks, and equipment. Test out all of them and decide for yourself which ones suit you the best.
2. Be familiar with the maps. Depending on which map you play in, you should customize classes that go well. In small maps, work on classes that focus on close combat. In large maps, focus on long range fire fights.
3. Think on the spot. Not everything is going to go as plan and that is why you should always carry a plan B.
4. Enemies. It is hard to determine what enemies will do, so you might have to do things that you wouldn't normally do. It's unpredictable to know where or what enemies might do.

With that kept in mind creating classes can sometimes be difficult. The best thing you can do is create a variety of classes that can work in different situations. Don't focus on one type of weapon. Also do not rely too much on your equipment. Since most of your equipment is only useful once every spawn, you are going to spend more time gunning. When it comes to your strike packages, pick streaks that you know you can get to. If you a not a great player, then don't focus on high streaks. It's better to get many low streaks than to risk dying from getting a high streak that may be easily destroyed.

I am not trying to discourge people into playing the game, but keep in mind of how you perform and what to expect. If you don't want to keep dying so much, then maybe it's time to change up a class.

Modern Warfare 3 class Q&A

PS3 vs 360

There are many of discussions over which system is better. This battle over the consoles has been going on for the last six years. So far, there hasn't been an official answer which is better, and I really don't think there will ever be one. I believe the PS3 shows to be a true system with a lot of potential. But, the 360 seems to continually dominate the competition with its games.

For people who want a PS3, then give yourself a pat on the back. I think A PS3 is a good choice. The system contains many features making it almost a personal computer and the t.v. the monitor. Here are some of my reasons the PS3 is better.

1. The first that comes to mind is graphics. Anyone can agree that the PS3 has better graphics. Comparing the games from both consoles, I see that though they look similar, the PS3 seems to look more smoother. For example, on Call of Duty, the PS3 seems to have a slightly better texture on characters.
2. Another reason is the fact that PS3 uses Blu-ray discs. The 360 still uses DVD discs, so some games will have to be put on multiple discs. Blu-rays can store a lot more data than DVDs. You won't have to worry about keeping to many discs together.
3. Another good reason is the web browsing. The PS3 can go on the Internet and explore sites like Google or Youtube. The 360 unfortunately doesn't have web browsing.
4. The money within the systems is better for the PS3. Microsoft points seem great at first, but in the long run, they make no sense. The points don't seem to convert at all when you are in different countries. Comparing points and dollars, there is not an even ratio. Having US dollars is easier to comprehend.
5. The system failure is not as high as the 360. The chance of you getting a YLOD is not as likely as getting RROD.
6. The best thing that the PS3 has is free online. The 360 has online that requires you to pay $50 a year. PS3 users can have free online. I admit that online on the PS3 is more laggy, but when it comes to free, who complains.

People who like a 360, then go for it. I am more familiar to PS3, but I admit there are some things that 360 does better than PS3. Here are my reasons.

1. The cost of the 360 is less than the PS3. You can get a 120GB PS3 for $250. While I have seen a 120GB 360 for only $200.
2. The 360 has more supplies than the PS3. The PS3 only has the bare minimum. It has the component cables, the power cable, and the controller. The 360 has component cables as well as the HD cables. Also they have a headset.
3. The appearance is great. As the PS3 models went up, the appearance looks more old and doesn't look too great. The 360 seems to be better in this department. The system went from a big ugly gray look to a slim shinny black finish.
4. The gadgets and apps are better on the 360. The system has similar apps like the PS3, but some apps are only available to the 360. Also the gadgets that go along with the 360 seem to do a better job than a PS3. The Kinetic seems to change the way 360 plays.
5. Of course the games. 360 has better exclusives that drew in more popularity than PS3 games. The best game for the 360 is now and forever be "Halo".

With these reasons, there are some good possibilities why one would get a PS3 or 360. You may ask which system should you get, and my answer is, get the one that suits you the best. Weigh the pros and cons with the systems and decide which kind of gamer you are. If you like to experience good quality with many features, go for the PS3. If you are a hardcore gamer that likes accessories to support its games, go with the 360.

Game Capture HD

If you always wanted to do some gameplay recording, but always find it hard to do, then the answer is right here. Last December, AVerMedia has released a new and easier way of recording gameplay. This device is called "Game Capture HD".

The device may not seem like much at first, but it really does the job. The small device captures live video of what you see on the television and allows you to store it and transfer the data easily. The device can record live video feed as well as take screen shots from your game. The system either uses a USB flash drive or an internal hard drive to save data. It is recommended to stick with USB since they are usually inexpensive. I have an 8GB flash that only cost about $15 and it is able to hold up to at least an hour of video.

The set up is simple. There is even an instruction manual to help you set it up, step by step. The device can be used for all the leading generation consoles right now. It works on the 360, PS3, and Wii. The settings to configure the device is a snap. You can customize the quality, the power usage, and even upgrade the device when needed. The best part is that there is no need for some overpriced software to use it. Or no need to have a laptop nearby to record, which that is a blessing.

Another unique thing is that the device also comes with a remote. The remote has all the functions on it and only needs 2 triple A batteries. The remote is so useful, so that there is no need to be right next to the device when you are done recording.

Also there is a playback feature. You can actually go back and replay the last clip. Even navigating through the other clips is simple. You can also delete clips you don't want while you are in the content manager.

And of course, this device has great quality. It records in HD. It can go as high as 1080i. The amazing thing, is that even at that quality, it doesn't take much time to transfer data.

After you do all the recordings, you can copy all the data from the storage to your computer and work from that point on. The only negative I see is that the format is in AVI. If you don't have a video editing software that supports that format, then you might have to convert it. Or in my case, stick with the Windows Live Movie Maker. That place does a great job with videos with AVI.

Overall, this device shows to have true potential. There are some decent recording devices out there, but usually they are too expensive to afford or they are just way too complicated. "Game Capture HD" seems to be a better choice, and for only $150 this device is worth every penny.

Modern Warfare 3 Opinion

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is so far the latest FPS shooter, and I must say it is great. I 'm not saying that it is the greatest COD in the franchise, but there is a lot of uniqueness with in this game.

The game carries the same mechanics as Modern Warfare 2, and it is great. I love the story; it gives a epic end to the series and has some awesome and sad moments mixed in. I love the new weapons. Some are old and some are recreations from the previous games. The story is so compelling that it makes you get in depth with the characters and almost makes it feels as if you are a part of the story. I even enjoy the graphics and the detail they took for this game.

The only downside I could see with the story, was the fact that you switch to many playable characters that there doesn't seem to be a real connection to some of the characters. And surprisingly there was no epilogue mission like there has been it the past games, making it feel as though the gme gets cut off.

The Spec Ops mode is back and is better than ever. I love how they made it easier to team up with other people through the server. I like the variety of missions and how teamwork was sometimes essential. I also enjoy the survival mode. That was a real unique edition to the game. Getting through endless waves is fun.

The downside is that there are not that many missions as in the last game. When it comes to the survival mode, it is fun for a while, but gets stale pretty fast. It feels like playing the game again. If there could have been enemies, weapons, or maps specifically made for the mode, then it would have impressed me more. Also I don't really like the fact that you have to level up to get better stuff. and when you are playing via split screen, the partner is stuck at level 1.

The multiplayer is the heart of this game. I like the same physics and mechanics in the game. I love joining the games and dominating. I also enjoy the new modes that they have. I think it is neat to include the split screen in the mix. I love the new class set up and the feature of the Strike Packages and point systems.

However, I found the game to be more of an updated version of Modern Warfare 2. The classes and perks seemed to have been similar. I know that Infinity Ward was trying to go for a balanced approach for this game, which it works half of the time. And makes the game less fun for the other half. Having a revenge spawn system seemed great, but in the long run, it gets annoying. Having enemies spawnning near you makes it hard to rack up killstreaks. Also having maps almost equal in terrain gets boring. I wish they could have mixed it up and make maps like in MW2.

All in all, the game delivers a great form of entertainment. I think if they could have added in more of the players opinions for the game, it could have been better. I just think that since a new COD comes out every year, it is hard to get to attatch to the game, because the next game is always around the corner. Modern Warfare 3 is a great game for the meantime until Black Ops 2 hits stores this year. Let's just hope that this new COD will be better than ever.