Current Obsession: ilomilo on XBLA

Image courtesy of SouthEnd Interactive and Microsoft Game Studios

THE BASICS

• Released on XBLA: January 5, 2011
• 800 MS points (about $10 USD)
• ESRB: E (for everyone)
• Puzzle platform
• Single and multi-player capable - however, there can be only one active character playing at a time
• Collect stuff, get prizes
• EASTER EGGS (10 to be exact)

Do you like cute things? How about real cutesy music, do you like that too?? Do you also happen to like solving puzzles? If you answered 'yes' to any of those questions, then you will absolutely LOVE ilomilo!

ilomilo was developed by Sweden's SouthEnd Interactive, the same company that brought you Deathrow and XIII. The story is simple: two friends, ilo and milo, meet at this bizarro park every day to drink tea, hang out, and enjoy each other's company. At the end of the day, both ilo and milo go home to their respective homes and meet again the next day. However, this proves to be a challenge because every day the park somehow changes and it gets progressively harder for ilo and milo to meet up. The objective is to unite ilo and milo who start off at separate ends of each level of this strange park.



"This isn't where we agreed to meet for tea, is it?" Big ups to
blog.ilomilo.com for the image!



Current Obsession: Me as Ramona Flowers in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game

Damn the holidays! Damn it all! Shopping for Christmas presents and cosmetics (for me) has kept me from doing what I love most - writing (and gaming). So here I am once again, on my hands and knees asking every one of you in Denmark, Canadia, Japan, and Alaska if you could ever forgive me for this unintentional hiatus.

Also, do you like me? Circle yes or no.

Ahem. I digress. Before the holidays took ahold of my life, tsudoku and I started playing the awesome side-scroller Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game (now available on XBLA for a cheap, cheap price). Let me tell you, it ain't easy, but it sure as hell is FUN! My thumb calluses have returned and I wear these badges of honor with pride, which tells you that I've been playing non-stop AND that I was born during the age of button mashing.



That should be me second from the left. Image courtesy of SpawnKill.com



Xbox Live Gamer Looking to Surpass the 1/2 Million Gamerscore Mark

I just read this amazing article about Stallion83, an Xbox Live gamer whose mission is to reach 1 million points!! He's currently got a Gamerscore of 500,000 and is recognized by Guinness World Records for having the highest Xbox Live Gamerscore IN THE WORLD!

How does he do it?! Well, according to Stallion83, he says that consistency is key. Some days he'll play 8 full hours, and other days he'll just play 10 minutes. In the end however, he admits he'll play any game to death.

I'll be rooting for this guy to make his goal and will be following him via his blog 1 Million Gamerscore.

Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage - the XBL demo



Scene from Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage; image courtesy of
Amazon

 If it weren't for @JoystiqXbox for blasting the PSA about the forthcoming Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage demo on Xbox Live, I wouldn't have even known that this button-mashing game was going to be released just right before the holidays.

After waiting for the game to download for about 45 minutes (1.31 GB file AND I completely forgot that nothing will DL if you're watching Netflix - my bad) and about 45 minutes worth of gameplay on Legend mode (story mode based on the manga), I've reached the following conclusion:

I royally suck at this game.

LIMBO: My progress thus far

Watch out for that pit



I probably should've updated this about two weeks ago, but my progress in LIMBO is going pretty well. In fact, I've 98% of the game.

That's right, 98%.

What the heck does that mean, you ask? It means that according to the 'Cheevy Squad I haven't unlocked the final achievement to warrant a congratulatory clap handshake and a card that says, "Yay! You beat the game and as promised, here's some cake." Instead, I've been listening to the sound of crickets and once again, the cake was a complete and total LIE (there is no cake). Frickin' frakkin' frakker.

At this very moment...

...tsudoku is at home playing Medal of Honor with the rest of the Tactical Gaming team, Miller Squad.

We stood in (a very short) line last night for the midnight release of the game at our local GameStop and he's been playing it since we got home. I believe he came to bed around 2:30 a.m., woke up at 6:30 to feed the cats, and as I was walking out the door, he was sending a party invite to one of his friends, khazadhea.

By the way, he's only been playing non-stop because I threatened to walk out with the game and take it with me to work.



tsudoku at the end of the line & some guy, approximately 12:15 a.m.



Cold Games to Counteract this Blazing Heat

Autumn officially started September 23rd and it's now blazing hot here in Southern California. So to honor this ridiculous fall weather heat, I've put together a very short list of games we can play to make it feel like we're sitting in an ice box. Of course, since my list is incomplete, I will gladly take any suggestions for some games that'll go great with a frozen beverage.

Current XBLA Obsession: LIMBO by Playdead Studios

When I said I'd be right back, I didn't mean right away. =)

So here I am and let me start things off by telling you about my current obsession while I wait for the new A World for Keflings, Fable 3 and oh, yes, the KINECT (yes, I went to GameStop and reserved my VERY FIRST GAMING SYSTEM...actually, it's more of an add-on considering our current Xbox is still in working condition). This new obsession has a simple name and a simple premise; it's called LIMBO. The objective: to find out what happened to your sister (and to make it out alive).

...more after the jump

Latest Fascination

Whew! It's been awhile (not to mention it's been one hectic summer)! Even with my recent pitfalls with how much the economy sucks (thankfully, I'm still employed), I've found that one of the only ways to cheat time and boredom is to do what I do best: go back to school. YES! For two weeks now I have officially been considered a part-time student at Orange Coast College. I'm taking one online course, Business Writing, and am still playing with the idea of taking a rock climbing class that starts in October.

I've always liked going to school, yet, at the same time, school kinda sucks. Let's just say I never really hit the books as hard as I did the on-campus pub. :)

So, to congratulate myself on taking the next step to NOT going for my Master's degree, I have embarked on a new journey on the Xbox. One where the storyline allows me to choose whether my character shall be evil or pure. One where I am allowed to marry more than one villager and receive an achievement for it and even get fat while I'm at it by eating too many pies. That journey my friends, is Fable 2.

...more after the jump

Red Ring of Death 2

Are you kidding me?!

Sunday night after watching a couple episodes of Trash TV I decided yes, now's a good time to play some Sea Life Safari. So 'doku goes and turns on the Xbox and what happens? A system error screen in English and Japanese pops up, roughly stating, Oh, haha. Fail.

We haven't even had it for a year! This is the second 360 it's happened to!!

OMG someone help me save it now before I go out and buy a Wii, DS, or PS3. Those sea horses aren't going to take pictures of themselves.

Gamers - Early Voting Has Begun

PSA: Early voting has begun - tell your friends you'll be right back, pause your game, and head down to your local city hall, school, post office, or neighborhood polling place. If you're not yet registered to vote, you still have time, albeit not much. Go here, here, or here to register or to double check to see if you are in the first place.

Remember, Election Day is on November 4th. It may not be a good idea to write "Caboose" for your write-in candidate. We're looking at real world candidates to be our next President.


To learn more about the ad above, read more about it here.

9.16.08 My Wrath Unleashed, A Dialogue

me: What's that?

tsudoku: What?

me: That...(pointing to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed) Is that new? Did you just buy that??

tsudoku: [silence]

me: [silent stare of death] Where's the receipt?

tsudoku: In the trash

me: The trash right there? (pointing to the one by the door)

tsudoku: No...outside???

me: How much was it?

tsudoku: [silence]

me: How MUCH was IT????????

tsudoku: [silence] I love you baby...

me: If you tell me it was $50 I'm going to ream you

tsudoku: .....

me: Don't think that by not saying anything you'll be able to save yourself from getting reamed. How much was it?

tsudoku: [nervous chuckle]

Later on, about two days later..

me: SIXTY DOLLARS?!?!!? You spent SIXTY [bleep] dollars on this GAME?!!?!?!?

tsudoku: [silence]

me: THIS IS WHY I HAVEN'T SEEN A RING YET!!!! I TOTALLY GET IT NOW!!!!!!!!!

tsudoku: .....

me: Ugh! You just wait...when you're asleep, I'm taking that Xbox and EVERY one of your games and selling them!

tsudoku: Then how would you play Katamari?

me: ....

Gears of War 2

For you Gear-heads out there, Gears of War 2 made an appearance at a Microsoft press event held in San Francisco over the weekend. While the game's 2006 success and eminent sequel have been highly anticipated, some are thinking that perhaps the game is a wee bit...oh, violent. Some have even gone as far as question whether Microsoft has gone too far??

To give you a quick synopsis, the game takes place approximately six months after the end of the first Gears, and "humanity faces a new and more deadly threat from its Locust enemies." There's a deeper plot and more realistic visuals in the sequel, but what really raised some eyebrows was the gory reverse groin-split scene. What? Apparently, "Gears 2 adds a reverse attack that actually slices an enemy in half -- from the groin upwards." Yikes.

Without a doubt, regular gamers on Xbox 360 Live will appreciate the new effects and enhanced graphics, and Microsoft can already foresee the success of the game. Gears of War 2 is slated to be released in November and will probably be flying off the shelves by the time the holidays hit. Go here to read more about the game and press event.

Halo 3 Photo Album

A case of Red vs. Blue? In terms of romance, yep! But if you take a look at the right hand corner of the screenshot you'll notice that the score is Blue: 4, Red: 1. Blue was always the better half anyway. (Taken at the Forge on Valhalla, after I dropped a warthog on him moments before).

Control your destiny

I didn't get to mention this earlier, but while we're still on the Halo rant, check out what I got my boyfriend -

Halo 3 Xbox 360 limited edition controller - image courtesy of Amazon.com

Your eyes do not deceive you - it's a limited edition Halo 3 themed controller for the 360. It even comes with a Todd McFarlane figure of Master Chief. He hasn't taken it out of its package yet; he tells me that he's going to wait until he plays the game to break the seal, if you will. The controller comes in two designs, the other being that of one of the monsters from the game. If you're so inclined to grab one of these babies, they're available at your local Target Greatland.

The anguish involved on being a NPGF

As some of you technogeeks may already know, it's September, and you know what that means: Halo 3 is due to make its anticipated release on September 25. For people like me who are bound to a relationship dictated by how long a match is going to last on Lost Planet or Gears of War, that means there's 22 more days until geek mayhem ensues. As an NPGF who's happily committed (2.5 years today as a matter of fact), I've professed my love and even went so far as to offer to stand in line for the midnight release of Halo 3 at our local GameStop. If that isn't love, then I don't know what is!