If Project Gotham Racing and Mario Kart were to get it on, their love child would surely be Blur. Quite frankly, Blur is for the most part, non-stop action. Run at the front of the pack and constantly find yourself under fire from the competition. Trail at the back of the pack and still have the ability to affect the outcome of the race via various “power-ups.” Either way you should never find yourself bored with this game.

“Power-ups” play an integral part to almost every race, whether you utilize them offensively or defensively. Accordingly, here’s what one each does.

Shameless plug: Like the power-up images? Buy some sweet Blur shirts designed by Jaleeb Curu here!

So now that you know what each power-up does, where do you get to use them? Blur offers 30 tracks and as expected has both Single Player and Multiplayer modes. What does each mode bring to the dance you ask? Well, let me tell you.

The heart of the Single Player mode can be found in the Career progression. You begin in the Proving Grounds, which as expected, allows you to get a feel for the game. There are eight other levels to work your way through. Each level is comprised of seven challenges to complete which take on three different varieties…race, destruction and checkpoint. Race is a 20 car free for all in which you need to place in the top three to advance. Destruction is a point based challenge that requires you to use a specific power up to inflict damage upon your opponents. Checkpoint is a race against time run through gates. Once you reach certain goals for the level, you unlock a final one on one boss battle. Take out the boss and claim their car as your own.As an added feature, Blur includes social networking options. Link your account to Twitter or Facebook and share your progress with the world, as well as photos from Single Player. Use the official website BlurTheGame.com to track stats including victories, fans and power-up accuracy. In addition, any time you complete a challenge in Single Player, you then have the option of issuing a challenge to others on your friends list to beat the bar you’ve set.

Fear the Shunt!

Of course, as part of an online gaming community, what most of us find truly important is a game’s Multiplayer mode. With Blur, you won’t be disappointed! The most basic mode is simply mayhem based racing, with either 2-10 or 4-20 players. At the end of each race, you are awarded fans based on both your finish position as well as moves you executed throughout the race. Fans are the in-game currency in Blur (think Kudos from PGR). As you secure more fans, you level up. To help with leveling up, there are also daily challenges (unlocked at Level 12) to complete for bonus fans. As you level up, you unlock more than 50 licensed cars and several more Multiplayer modes, including Team Racing and Motor Mash. In Team Racing, up to 20 players and split into 2 teams to battle it out. Each player is awarded points based on their finish and the teams’ points are totaled to determine the ultimate winner of the race. Motor Mash is essentially a destruction derby, and can be played alone or on a team. Reach Level 50 and become a Legend (think Prestige from Modern Warfare), which unlocks a total of 10 legendary levels.

Multiplayer also offers the ability to build custom modes. Bizarre Creations has said they will monitor the game’s servers directly and will be able to keep an eye on what games people are playing and the most popular custom modes the community has created. If a custom mode proves popular enough, Bizarre plans to incorporate it into the game via an update and make it available to everyone.

Another area where Blur really shines is the party/lobby system. This is hands down the best system - second only to Halo. Start your own room and invite up to 7 of your friends to join. Move in and out of any ranked matchmaking (including a voting system for the next race) or private game, keeping your own room intact throughout!

Based on the fun and mayhem we’ve had with this one since release, I’m guessing it should see a long life within the community. Do yourself a favor and at least take the Multiplayer Demo for a spin. I expect you’ll find yourself quickly hooked!

It’s fairly well known that I’m no fan of Sony’s gaming console but I truly feel sorry for everyone who will be affected by these cuts. These are tough times for everyone and it seems to grow worse each day. My sister actually works at one of the plants getting the axe…..

WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — Sony will shut down its flat-screen television plant in East Huntingdon and Hempfield as part of a company-wide downsizing that will cut 8,000 jobs.

Employees at Sony Technology Center-Pittsburgh were notified that they would be losing their jobs at a meeting on Tuesday afternoon.”They said they’re phasing out some areas of the building sooner than others,” technician Tim Myers said.

The plant has gone through several years of change and different attempts to survive since it opened in 1992.”I went through when CRT closed, then I was moved to the LCD section, and now I’m going through it all again,” Myers said.Just four months ago, the plant reported high demand for Sony’s LCD models in August. Tuesday’s news was an unexpected blow.”I’m surprised, disappointed, but the handwriting’s on the wall for a lot of American workers,” said Frank Schollaert, of New Stanton.The plant employs 790 people in what used to be a Volkswagen production facility. It is Sony’s only northeastern plant in the United States.Gov. Ed Rendell said the state will offer retraining and job placement services to local Sony employees who are losing their jobs.”I’ve turned down jobs because I wanted to hang it out here,” Myers said. “This place has been good to me, but got to move on.”

Source: ThePittsburghChannel.com

Most of us can remember it like it happened just yesterday. We remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news that the United States of America was under attack by terrorists. We also remember the horrible feeling that we experienced when watching the television coverage of the carnage that had been delivered to our doorstep by Al-Qaeda. Two thousand, nine hundred and seventy three lives were taken that day during the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and Flight 93 in Shanksville, P.A.. The devastation sent shock waves throughout the United States and across the globe. Unfortunately for the terrorists, the act that they thought would bring us to our knees ended up making us stand taller, stronger, and more united than ever.

It would be one of the first and only times my children had ever seen their father cry. I was sitting in my office on a normal, busy, summer day when my wife called to tell me that a plane had struck the WTC. Being under the impression that it was a small commuter plane that had possibly malfunctioned in some way, I replied with a simple “I hope there weren’t many people hurt”, or something of that nature. Not until the news reports started to flow in on CNN.com did I understand the scope of what was happening. I remember feeling a mixture of sorrow, anger, and disbelief while reading the steady flow of breaking news.

When I got home from work that evening and watched the coverage on TV, the emotions were uncontrollable. Like the rest of the United States, I sat in front of my television with my wife and children watching the news coverage for hours upon hours with tears running down my cheeks. It was a day I hope to never duplicate.

The outflow of patriotism in the next several weeks was incredible. Almost every store in the U.S. was completely sold out of American flags within two days following the attacks. Everywhere you looked you would see red, white and blue shirts, hats, bandannas, stickers, posters, etc. Businesses whose windows were normally bare were now plastered with patriotic posters and flags. The unity was so unbelievably strong that you could feel it everywhere you went. (more…)

Okay, let’s get this straight here and now, so I don’t have to repeat myself. Itagaki-san did not make this game for you, he made it for me. I like it… and that’s all that matters.

Still, I find it hard to keep my thoughts to myself on such a rare gem of a gaming challenge, so I humbly offer a review you won’t read anywhere else, rest assured. Most of the reviews I’ve read seem to lead the reader to believe that NG2 isn’t really all that great. Unimpressive cinematics, obscure plot, impossible-to-control camera, more of the same in terms of gameplay, et cetera et cetera ecetera. I’d like to debunk these myths as incisively as possible, as I’m not a pansy-ass milktoast American game reviewer who’ll just play a game for a week and talk like he knows what’s up. Well, I am American. I’ve been playing this game for two months now, and I’ve had the Mission Mode content for the past week, so I hope to offer a more informed outlook on a game that really demands that kind of time from you. (more…)

I just bought the new X4 wireless headset from turtle beach a few days ago and have been running it through it’s paces. I have used it in Gears, COD4, Battlefield:BC, Rock Band, Guitar Hero 3, etc as well as several movies. and can say that although it has a steep price tag at 200 bucks, it’s well worth every penny.
This headset offers rich and clear sound which often leaves you glancing over your shoulder at some sound you heard behind you. The 5.1 is extremely accurate and is just as good as my exisiting pioneer 5.1 dolby digital set. I can pinpoint where sound is coming from pretty easily, and having that kind of audio in a comfortorable on-ear package really can’t be beat in my opinion. (more…)

Many consumers own HD televisions of varied brands, styles, and technologies. Of these, your average buyer will look at the multitude of specifications and numbers associated with the HDTV under scrutiny, without any real understanding of what these numbers and figures mean in practical terms. This guide will set out briefly explain what these terms and figures mean and what you should look for as a potential buyer of a new HDTV.

Standard versus High-Def

If you’ve never owned an HDTV, you might wonder what the big deal is. Why pay for a new TV just to watch the same television you’ve always watched? Until you have an HDTV in your home, you can’t experience the difference. Seeing a display at Best Buy doesn’t cut it! An HDTV opens the door for many forms of entertainment. Digital programming is offered by cable and satellite providers. The Blue-Ray movie format is stunning and in many ways is superior to an authentic movie-going experience. If you enjoy video games, HDTVs are capable of displaying the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, or even your personal computer. With technology improving and evolving from month to month, if you don’t own an HDTV you may find yourself behind the curve. If you make the purchase, you can still do everything you’ve done with your old television set, but HDTV offers much more.

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Many of you more Achievement-motivated folk dont have Dead Rising in your lists… I admit, the achievements are pretty time consuming, but take heart! Theres over 300 pts worth of stuff you can do and it takes just over an hour, many within the first 15-20 mins… and leaving your 360 on overnight. You’ll need a rubber band or string for some of these. These are close to order of completion.

By the way - zombie killing is fun. While you’re working through these, hopefully you’ll be inclined to play through the game! (more…)

If you’ve ever played a Gran Turismo game you’ll know the basis of any of the games. Over the years not much has changed in the style of gameplay, it’s still and hopefully always will be one of the best simulation racing experiences to date. The only real changes to any of the games are cars, tracks, music and of course vehicle mods. (more…)

The Driving Force GT comes packaged with a force feedback steering wheel, as well as gas and brake pedals and standard wall plug in power supply. It’s designed to work mainly with the PS3 but is also backwards compatible with the PS2 as well as your PC. Controls on the Driving Force GT include a 24-position adjustment dial (for on the fly traction control, brake bias, etc settings), a plus and minus rocker, four standard PS buttons, D-Pad, sequential shifter, and four shoulder buttons and if the shifter isn’t to your liking it also has shifting paddles behind the wheel. (more…)

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