YNFVGB News Widget

I’ve added a widget to the sidebar for important news updates that aren’t lengthy enough for a full post. This way I can keep everyone updated on the latest headlines without having to post a full post. Enjoy!

GRAW 2 DLC NOW AVAILABLE!!

I was driving home from work when I received an email on my iPhone and to my surprise, the long-awaited GRAW 2 DLC is now available via Xbox Live for 800 Points. This DLC includes 5 new co-op missions, 9 new adversarial maps (7 from classic ghost recons and 2 brand new). The pack also includes 9 more achievements totaling 125 points. That’s not all, the “Free Weapons Pack” is also available for download. This includes 7 new weapons that can be used in the Single Player Quick Mission Mode.

My wife and I being huge fans of the GRAW franchise will start downloading this pack as soon as I finish this post. If you are a fan of the series I recommend downloading this pack.

Delays, Delays, Delays

Game Development as we can see is getting more and more unpredictable. With all the delays these days it makes me feel like developers aren’t capable of picking a release date and sticking with it. Every game is different though, some big titles are announced years before their release and some are announced only a few months before their release. This is the route that the developers behind Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 decided to take. I am thankful that this game stayed practically unannounced up until only 5 or so months before its release date. This keeps the crowd from getting excited only to hear the next month that “it’s not ready yet.” I understand that game developers thrive on the anticipation but I think it would be wise not to say an exact date for when a game is to be released until you know for a fact. For example you can pull a “TBA 2008″ or a “Q2 2008″ without getting in any trouble if you don’t finish when you thought you would. Here are a few examples of games that have been delayed recently:

Super Smash Bros. Brawl – Original Release Date: Dec 3rd, 2007 Actual Release Date: March 9th, 2008

Haze – Original Release Date: Summer ‘07 Actual Release Date: Fiscal Year 2008

Grand Theft Auto IV – Oct. 16th, 2007 Actual Release Date: April 29th, 2008

Metal Gear Solid 4 – Original Release Date: Holiday 2007 Actual Release Date: Q2 2008

Yes delays are good in some ways. I would take a delayed game that kicks butt over an on-time game that’s crap without a second thought but developers can avoid this pain that us gamers receive by being a little more cautious when stating the release date of their game. I also believe that delays are what is hurting the PS3’s life the most (LBP demo anyone?). Bottom line: Don’t say an exact date until you are 100% positive you will release the game on that date.

Some delay predictions (don’t hurt me if i’m wrong):

-Killzone 2 will not be released in April
-Mario Kart Wii will not be released in 2008
-Resistance 2 will not be released in 2008

I’m sure many more games will be delayed in 2008. 2007 has shown me that you can never trust a release date until the game is actually released.

PixelJunk Monsters & flOw

Just yesterday I finished Drake’s Fortune and wanted to fill in that gap with some new games so I picked up “flOw” and “PixelJunk Monsters” from the PSN. I bought them both with faith because I hadn’t heard much about either and what I did hear wasn’t really enough to judge whether I should buy them or not, but I did. I can say that I am very satisfied with both purchases as both bring very different things to the table. First off for anyone who doesn’t know flOw is a very simple “game” where you eat different things to make your “creature” grow. There is no tutorial, no directions, so you figure it out yourself. There isn’t even a pause screen, you can pause, but it just takes you to a place where your “creature” can rest. This is a great game to enjoy with your non-gamer girlfriend or even your mom as it does support up to 4-players. But enough about flOw…just click here for the flash version and try it out yourself. All I have to say is I am addicted. I can’t wait to see what flOwer is about.

As for PixelJunk Monsters, I didn’t know anything about the game before I bought it. I had seen some screenshots but didn’t know how the gameplay would turn out to be. Basically you control this little voodoo looking guy around the area. Just walk up to a tree and press X. This allows you to create one of many different sorts of towers to protect your babies. The towers shoot the bad guys which come in waves. There are a total of 10 waves in which you must survive. Once the bad guys die you get coins which you can spend on more towers. Every once in a while gems will pop out of the bad guys letting you use them towards upgrading your towers. I love it. It’s so fun and addicting. The music and art style are to me very appealing. I highly recommend this game for anyone who is the least bit interested in RTS style games. I am not however saying it is limited to people who like those kinds of games, it’s a strategy game for anyone. It also supports co-op and once my wife is back I will definitely be playing it with her. I am very happy that I purchased this game as it is one of the best on the PSN.

*Screenshots courtesy of IGN.com

Drake's Fortune

After only a week I finished Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Not because it was a short game, but because I didn’t want to waste my time playing anything else. Many people have said this before me but Drake’s Fortune is an amazing game. I just recently got my PS3 and I knew that there weren’t many games that I was willing to buy except Drake’s Fortune. I decided to pick it up spur of the moment and boy am I glad I did. I played straight through it this past week and I can honestly say now that I am a “true fan” of the series and can’t wait for the sequel. I really enjoyed the game because the whole time I felt like I was watching a movie. My uncle even came in and started to watch me play for a while. The music was definitely the strong point of the game. They aced it. I kept saying to myself that I hope that LOST: Via Domus is at least half as good as this because the scenery felt like it was straight out of show. I was actually intrigued by the story, it was easy for me to get into and I think that was because it felt so much like a movie. There are so many good things I can say about this game but I am sure you’ve all heard it by now. Bottom Line: This game is amazing and if you own a PS3 you should already own it, if not, your truly missing out on the PS3’s best game by far. I can see now why Kurt would vote it as his game of the year.

YNFVGB Buttons

I just wanted to mention that I’ve added a new item to the YNFVGB Shop. A nice 5-Pack of buttons with the official YNFVGB logo. Only $4.99!!

Reno 911! Clip (Like I promised in the podcast)

Bond 22 has a Title

Turning Point and The Club Demo Impressions

I took some time to sit down and play the demos for “Turning Point: Fall of Liberty” and “The Club.” I went into Turning Point with a little knowledge of the scenario. Basically it’s WWII in New York. That’s a very unique twist but it still felt to me like the same WWII games I am used to playing. I can’t say I spent enough time with the game though as the demo is super short. So honestly I can’t say if I like it or hate it. The demo didn’t really sway me either way. I’ve seen some cool screenshots for the game and wish that I could have maybe played a better level than the one that was offered. I predict this game will get review scores of around 6.5 or 7.0. Probably not worth picking up unless your a WWII junkie.

As for the “The Club” demo, it was a very unique experience for me. I’ve never played a game quite like it. For me this was something that felt fresh. You go through levels killing people and doing so gets you points, headshots are worth more, etc. It had a very “arcadey” feel to it. If you build up the points bar you can get higher combos and so on. It was actually kind of fun. Even though I think multiplayer could be a blast I will probably not be picking this title up either. I predict “The Club” will recieve reviews scores around 7.5.

* Screenshots courtesy of IGN.com

Can't Wait for 'Lost' to Return?

Q:Did Desmond do a time-travel in the episode “Flashes before your eyes”?
Or was it only a dream..vision?
A: “Desmond did really travel back in time”

The Golden Compass Review and Blu-ray on April 29!

UPDATE: New Line will announce on Monday the specs for the standard and Blu-ray release of the Golden Compass, a 2 disc set should be expected. Let’s hope we get that Director’s Cut we know has to exist and we don’t have to wait for an eventual double dip.

At this point it has been neglected to a small theater, and there were only 5 other people in attendance. (Everyone else was seeing National Treasure) Quick background: I’m not that big of a ‘Fantasy’ genre fan. Sure Lord of the Rings and Narnia are good, but it’s typically not my genre. Anyhow, the main reason I saw this film was because of the religious controversy. Unfortunately the broad term ‘Christian’ often marketed during a controversy makes us look crazy or hypocritical. (Dobson and gay Spongebob anyone?) The vocal response of the Catholic church was the center of it, but some of my coworkers had their children bring home flyers urging them not to take their children to the film or read the books. (I’ll try to scan it and post later) How lame is that? I never understood the idea of sheltering our children from ‘Harry Potter’ either, but that’s another blog altogether.
On to the movie: Fun film, very well done. Daniel Craig isn’t in it as much as one would hope, and Nichole Kidman makes a good villain. (Never could stand her) The girl they discovered for the film to play the main character does a fantastic job, she never becomes annoying like the Narnia kids. The supporting cast is so well rounded you wish they all had more screen time. The visual effects are great, not amazing, but great nonetheless. The polar bear battle is crazy insane with a conclusion that slapped me upside the head. The idea of everyone having ‘daemons’ that are our souls in animal form is really neat, and well executed. There are a few parts that were a little intense for a movie geared at a younger audience, but then again this is the generation who is growing up with G.T.A. too. Anyhow, the film ends in an incredible battle scene that gets you really hyped and excited. The ending is very open ended leaving you to think you’ll see the next chapter soon as we did w/ LOTR….but with the box office being what it has been we probably won’t see it from New Line, who had a rough year. Personally I think it’s unfortunate, for what it’s worth I would really like to see the trilogy completed. I can’t speak for the books, just bought them but didn’t start reading them. The film has no anti-God message or spin like we have been led to believe. There is a group of older gentlemen who are working hard to keep their power over the world, and continuing to make the masses think they are needed to tell them what to do and think. Personally I saw it with more of an anti-government slant, but those are my personal views coming into play. Anyhow, the ending of the book is very different, and far superior. If you check youtube you can find a ‘pre-vis’ of what the scene is like, and at least part of it was filmed because a few shots are in the trailer. Hopefully we get a ‘Director’s Cut’ on dvd that restores this rough emotional conclusion. Overall it’s a fun way to spend a few hours and visit another world. Think I might have to rewatch Narnia now…..Go check it out.

Official YNFVGB Logo

I really wanted to come up with a logo for YNFVGB and after thinking and sketching for a while I found a way to incorporate all of the letters into a nice compact logo. You will see the logo change often but the shape will always stay the same. This is now the official ynfvgb.com logo so spread it around! A poll is located in the sidebar to vote if you like it or not. Thanks!

Nothing Like a Romantic Night with Gears of War

Courtesy of the great Yuoma, this one is really along my lines seeing that I have a wife who actually plays video games with me…it doesn’t come without hard work though. Don’t give up guys!

what really grinds my gears by ~yuoma on deviantART

Across the Isle: Another look at Cloverfield- SPOILERS

Since seeing the teaser trailer before Transformers this past summer, I have been looking forward to the then untitled JJ Abrams (Alias, Lost, Mission Impossible 3, Felicity, Armageddon, Joy Ride) produced ‘Cloverfield.’ Unlike Pat, I had high expectations and they were all pretty much met, much like ‘The Mist’. I avoided as many spoilers and reviews as possible, wanting to get as much enjoyment out of it, not knowing anything about the monster, and not being critically tainted.

No other movie has had this much viral marketing, to this degree of success since the ‘Blair Witch Project’. No one knew the title, what it was about- next to nothing. Did it live up to the hype? Yes, it lived up to the hype…for me at least. A cast of mostly unknowns makes the experience that much better, although I was kinda taken out by the girl pictured above as she was in ‘Mean Girls’ with Lohan. Were they the best actors? No, but they did a serviceable job and the effects/experience take the focus here. In hindsight, the romantic aspect of the story was cheesy, but allowed the story to fall in a more structured flow. The subway monsters scared the crap out of me…the military street attack is so intense you want to duck in your seat, and you feel helpless as the helicopter that you are in plummets to the ground spinning in circles. (and I say boo to the people who complain that the camera was indestructible and had an incredible battery- a giant monster is attacking NY, suspend your disbelief and leave your brain at the door)

This is very much a film that could easily be told on a broad scale, like the US Godzilla, but containing such a large scale event on such an intimate level adds a much more personal layer. I hadn’t expected the gimmick of it being a tape that was taped over, but it worked very nicely minus the awkward scene in the bedroom. There are some eerily familiar moments seeing NY in terror that parallel 9/11, very similar to the footage captured by the two french filmmakers, but I never felt it was ‘too soon.’ One of the people in the group I saw the film with actually had the same experience of going on a rooftop and witnessing the smoke and explosions of 9/11 firsthand and found the moment very emotional.

If you hate things not being explained, or open ended endings (or lack of endings) you probably won’t like this movie. As a movie dork I loved it and think it will play out just as well at home with a nice home theater….will probably make it more personal, like you’re watching someone else’s home video. The only part of the whole film that I honestly can say I disliked was when the camera operator meets his fate with the creature. Showing the monster up close ruined the allure of the monster for me, and was lame looking. It was better left in far shots and more mysterious. Do the two remaining characters die under the bridge? Does the creature win? Personally I hope so. Did you catch the object in the corner of the screen during the Coney Island finale? hmmm..

I can only hope we see a sequel that is another take of the same events…maybe from the military point of view, or a reporter covering something else…..maybe just bits and pieces collected from phones, cameras, etc that are found on the dead and compiled into a creature ‘mixtape’ of sorts. A solid piece of cinema and a unique movie going experience on a cold winter evening worth repeated viewings.

Heath Ledger Found Dead in NY Apt.

Shocker of the day, and quite sad. Heath Ledger was found dead earlier this afternoon in his New York apartment. Pending an investigation, early reports are of a drug overdose. Ledger leaves behind a daughter. Much like Brad Renfro last week, a youg talented actor leaves us way too early. This puts a damper and casts a sad shadow over the summer premier of The Dark Knight in which Heath played the Joker, now his final role. Please keep his family in your prayers.

YNFVGB Podcast Returns (for real this time!)

Hey guys, lately we’ve been having a lot of problems getting the podcast to download through iTunes. We finally figured out the problem (we mean it this time!) It was a problem with where we were hosting the podcast. We’ve since then changed file hosts and created a separate blog where we will host the podcasts. There is no need to go there but if you guys want to check it out its ynfvgbpodcast.blogspot.com. This will strictly be used to host the podcast. I’ve just received approval from iTunes and the podcast is now available through iTunes. Just click the link below and it will launch iTunes automatically and bring you to the YNFVGB Podcast page where you can subscribe to the podcast:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=271923461

I’ve also included a link in the “YNFVGB Podcasts” section of the sidebar. Just click it to subscribe to the podcast. We are currently working on our 3rd episode which should be released by the end of the week. The podcast will still be available in the sidebar for downloading manually. Please let us know if you have any problems whatsoever. Thanks for your patience during all of the podcast problems. We hope to become one of your favorite podcasts someday.

YNFVGB Podcast Episode #3

Episode #3 is fresh of the YNFVGB microphone as Kurt joins me to talk about Cloverfield, Drake’s Fortune, iTunes Rentals and anything else we could think of. We’ve added the official YNFVGB jingle to the podcast courtesy of Eric Sakmar. Check out more of Eric’s music at www.ericsakmar.com. Thanks and enjoy!!

YNFVGB Calendar

You may have noticed I just added a calendar in the sidebar of the blog down towards the bottom. This calendar will be updated frequently with the latest video game and movie released dates. I will also included events that I think you guys would like to know about like E3, GDC, and so on. I don’t swear by the dates but I will only post them if I feel they are 99% accurate. Make sure you check it out and feel free to email me with any other dates you feel are important. Thanks and enjoy!

Cloverfield

I went into the theater with neutral expectations. Of course I wanted the movie to be good and originally I was super-pumped for it after seeing the trailer. But I started to worry, mainly about the “monster”. Was it Godzilla? Would there be some weird twist? These questions started to make me doubt the movie and eventually I became neutral. I think neutral is the best way to go into a movie. The second the movie started I was instantly engaged. I enjoyed the fact that they took a good chunk of time to introduce the characters without getting too in-depth. This gets you ready for what is about to happen. It gets you attached to the characters enough to care for them during the trials ahead. As for the movie as a whole, it is very well executed. You just have to put aside your questions and comments about the realism and just take the movie for what it is. If you put those things aside you will really enjoy the movie. The writers and producers did a great job making this as realistic as possible, the camera cuts were almost perfect, even the monster was scary. This movie is very unique and truly one of my favorites. There are parts of this movie that really grab you and pull you in. It’s human nature to want to experience terror and this movie gives you the closest experience possible while keeping you safe in your chair. With LOST and now this movie, J.J. Abrams is really making a name for himself. Cloverfield is a must see if you haven’t already.

Watch out 2007, Here comes 2008

In my opinion 2007 is worthy enough to go down as one of the biggest years in gaming history. We had so many killer releases including Call Of Duty 4, Halo 3, BioShock, and Portal just to name a few. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the best time to be a hardcore gamer, but was 2007 that golden gamer year? I thought so, up until I took the time to write down all of the 2008 releases that caught my eye, and I was blown away…

I have compiled a list of 2008 titles that I am looking forward to in order of the systems I would buy them on (bold = definite buys):

Xbox 360

- Far Cry 2
- Rainbow Six: Vegas 2
- Army of Two
- Fable 2
- Fallout 3
- GTA IV
- Splinter Cell: Conviction
- Bully: Scholarship Edition
- Saboteur
- EndWar
- Halo Wars
- Resident Evil 5
- Alan Wake
- Left 4 Dead
- Banjo Kazooie 3
- Lego Indian Jones
- Castle Crashers
- LOST: Via Domus

Playstation 3

- Metal Gear Solid 4
- Borderlands
- Killzone 2
- Resistance 2
- SOCOM: Confrontation
- Haze
- LittleBigPlanet
- Grand Turismo 5
- Playstation HOME
- Hot Shots Golf 5

Wii

- Okami
- Red Steel 2
- We Love Golf
- Wii Music
- Wii Fit
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Mario Kart Wii
- Animal Crossing

PSP

- Patapon
- Pursuit Force

DS

- Assassins Creed
- Life Coach
- Professor Layton

Things are looking good for 2008 but will it turn out to be the year that will go down in gamer history or just another close call? I guess we’ll find out soon!

Best Chat App for iPhone Period – JiveTalk

Now that 1.1.3 is upon us I feel compelled to write about one of my favorite web based applications and probably one of my favorite overall applications for the iPhone. Now I’ve tried many chat applications for iPhone, some native, some web-based but none of them really impressed. Most of them were lame and some I couldn’t even tell if the people who were on my buddy list were available or on mobile devices. I was really surprised that the native apps kept coming up short too. But there was one chat application that time and time again I kept going back to and the one that I think is the best, hands-down. That chat application would be JiveTalk. JiveTalk is great because it does what it should do, basically everything that your normal desktop based chat applications do. It also supports all the different kinds of accounts including AIM, GoogleTalk, ICQ, Jabber, MySpace, MSN, Windows Live, and Yahoo and lets you sign into them all at the same time. So you could be talking to people on AIM and ICQ at the same time. The detail and layout of the app is perfect, you can see whether your friends are on mobile devices, available, or offline and the chat windows have nice little bubbles surrounding the text. You can even change the color of your layout if you want. All-in-All I think this is the best chat application out there for iPhone, if not the best application period (for iPhone). If you haven’t tried it make sure you stop over to http://iphone.beejive.com and check it out. If you’ve updated to 1.1.3 then you will notice when you make a WebClip of JiveTalk it automatically creates a nice icon for your homescreen. It’s the little details that make this app a must-have.

*Images taken from BeeJive.com (since I no longer have ScreenShot)

One Point One Point Three

I finally decided to throw my third-party apps down the drain and update to 1.1.3. I thought it through and decided that the WebClips were reason enough. I pictured a YNFVGB WebClip right on my front home screen. I also wanted to update my iPhone so that it would be ready for the “Apple-sanctioned” third-party apps. I just get a sense that the iPhone is safer this way. My first impressions of 1.1.3 are good. I don’t have any regrets yet. The one thing that I do miss is having 5 icons on the bottom of my screen instead of 4. To me it just looks better that way. The WebClips are good stuff and I think that I will probably have all 9 screens filled within the next few months. I hope people can come up with some really great web apps in the time being. Also I am curious to see how Apple deals with their third-party apps and whether they will be strict about what apps will be made available. The Google Map features are nice too. All in all I will definitely miss the third-party apps but I am satisfied with what I have now. Who knows maybe 1.1.3 will be jailbroken sooner than we think.

YNFVGB Podcast Details

Hey guys, sorry for all of the confusion. We have been having very inconsistent problems with the podcast. I know I kept telling you that I fixed it but I was always mislead because it would work for a day and then the next day it wouldn’t. Well, I promise you this time I have finally figured out the problem, but there is no solution as of yet. The problem was on MediaFire’s end (where I host my audio files) and they are working on a solution as I write this. For anyone interested: The problem was that after a day or so the podcast links (the actual .mp3 links) would redirect you to MediaFire’s site instead of bringing up a download box. In turn iTunes can’t use this redirect and needs the actual download box. There is no explanation for this as the links themselves do not change whatsoever. I like MediaFire too much to change hosts that is why I am being patient with them. Hopefully this issue will be resolved and we can finally bring you consistent podcasts for eternity. Hold tight and I will keep you guys updated.

p.s. we are proud to announce that one of our posts has been featured on the well known reuters.com check it out!

Split

I’m in a bit of a struggle here deciding whether to update my iPhone or not. I like to think I am a rebel and I was all for not updating till the SDK. Thought the more I look at the apps I have installed on my iPhone the more I am convinced that I don’t need them. I really like the WebClips and that would probably be the only reason I would update. I think it’s a great idea and most of the web apps out there could replace the 3rd party apps that I have now. I have a feeling I would probably use all 9 available screens to hold all my WebClips. But there are two things holding me back from updating:

Themes – As I wrote in an earlier post, I really hate the plain look of the iPhone and enjoy all the themes I currently have. I am a sucker for making my iPhone look sharp.

ScreenShot – I was looking through my apps and marking the ones I never use and it was basically of all them except ScreenShot, it helps me so much when I want to post about anything iPhone related. I don’t think I can live without it.

Future Apps – I would hate to update and then have some ground breaking app be release the next day. I couldn’t live with myself.

I don’t think that anyone will be able to jailbreak 1.1.3 anytime soon so I don’t even consider that an option, but anything can happen at this point. My fingers are crossed. Are you updating? Voice your opinion in the comments section or in the forums at ynfvgb.forumer.com

Sony- Bribery? No suprise there

This article is so good (and I’m format neutral) I had to repost it from DarkHorizons.com
“The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has published a startling story today that claims that not only did money change hands in regards to the Warner/Blu-ray deal, but that 20th Century Fox was also paid off to stay with Blu.

According to the report, Warner actually wanted to go HD DVD but would only do it if another studio were brought in and gave HD-DVD backers time to come up with that arrangement. Once done they would have had four of the major six studios behind it, leading it to likely win the format at.

That other studio was Fox, the least reliable and prodigious of Blu-ray’s exclusive backers who has frequently delayed their title releases. What ones the studio has put out have been mostly catalog releases that have had several problems.

Fox was apparently lined up, and told the HD DVD camp it was going to switch to HD DVD, but nixed the deal at the last possible minute as Fox apparently received a reported $US120 million payout from Sony to stay Blu-ray.

Warner then switched and apparently received between $US400 and $500 million for its defection. WHV home video reps have denied claims of a payout, but right up til their defection last week they repeatedly denied any plans to change either – rendering their credibility dubious at this point.

The Blu-ray move by Warners continues to have impact on the high-definition field with dual format adult studo Digital Playground revealing that they plan to stop releasing porn on HD DVD probably by the end of 2008.”

MacWorld 2008 – Steve Jobs' Keynote Summary

Steve Jobs’ keynote speech is still going as I write this but I thought it was time to bring you a nice summary of all the important topics mentioned:

1. Time Capsule – Wireless computer back-up
- 500 GB ($299)
- 1TB ($499)

2. iPhone update 1.1.3 – If you’ve read anything prior to this then none of this will be a surprise, it’s nothing we didn’t know already. Available today. (My advice: don’t download unless you want to sacrifice your 3rd party apps and themes)
- Location in Google Maps
- Webclips – Add visual links to your home screen
- Organize your home screen (with up to 9 screens)
- Update for iPod Touch to include Mail, Maps, Weather, Stocks, and Notes ($20, ouch!)

3. iTunes Movies Rentals – Rent in SD or HD
- SD movies $2.99
- New Releases (SD) $3.99
- HD movies $3.99
- New Releases (HD) $4.99
- Digital copies to be available with some hard copies of DVDs and Blu-Rays

4. Apple TV “Take 2″
- Does basically everything you want
- No need for computer anymore, do everything from ATV

5. MacBook Air
- Super thin macbook that can even fit into a manilla envelope.
- No CD-DVD Drive (lame)
- Multi-Touch track pad similar to iPhone
- $1799 available in 2 weeks

*Photos courtesy of Gizmodo

Brawl

The other day while I was listening to a podcast a question popped up in my mind. At first, I thought “No, that can’t be true” but then after pondering on the question a while longer I started to believe it could very well be true. That question would be “Is Nintendo giving the fans everything they could ask for with Super Smash Bros. Brawl just to get the hardcore gamers off of their backs?” To me it seems that most developers will hold some cool features from their title just so they can put it in the sequel. I understand that Brawl is the 3rd iteration of the Smash Bros. franchise but it just seems like they are pouring every last feature we could possibly ask for into this one. Are they just giving us what we want so they can focus on casual games for a while? I hope that’s not the case but it still makes you wonder. Now that the Wii plays pretty much anything these days it’s the few triple A titles that we get every once in a while that keeps the hardcore gamers from not giving up on the Wii. I think it’s pretty obvious here that we won’t see another Smash Bros for a long time. Maybe there is hope for a DS version.

YNFVGB Podcast Episode #2

The 2nd Episode from ynfvgb.com is available now. The quality of the podcast is improving but there are times when it may be hard to hear what Kurt is saying because it blanks out. We hope you enjoy it and please feel free to let us know what you think. In this podcast we talk about Maroon 5 the B Sides Collection, the Frontlines:Fuel of War demo, and The Hobbit. Enjoy!

YNFVGB Podcast Episode #1

The is the first episode of the official YNFVGB Podcast. I am very proud even though there are a few minor problems. Some problems I noticed include: Kurt might be hard to hear, the quality on his end wasn’t that great either because of the type of microphone he had to use. Next, I didn’t realize it till after we were done recording but the mic was too close to my mouth so it may sound weird at times. Other than that I am very proud of the podcast, I hope you guys enjoy it and please give us feedback here at the site. Leave a comment and let us know what you think. We are new to the whole podcast recording so I can promise you that things will only get better from here on out. We had a lot of fun with this podcast so we will definitely continue with it and there will be more available for download in the future. Check out www.ynfvgb.com for more info!

Louie Mantia

There is one person out there who has set the standard for iPhone theme creation. This one person has raised the bar for what theme creators want to achieve. In my opinion nobody really even comes close. The person I am talking about is Louie Mantia. Creator of themes such as Renaissance, Buuf, and Agua, Louie Mantia is ahead of his time. His skill has even got him a few emails from Apple. I had a chance to talk with Louie and ask him a few questions myself:

CrownOfThornz: Tell me a little about yourself…

Louie Mantia: Well I’m a 19 (soon to be 20) year old student attending Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. I like Pirates, Star Wars, Tim Burton, Nintendo, and Bawls Guarana. Those are pretty much my most favorite things. I’m an Apple nerd, I follow as much as I can.

COT: So what compelled you to get into graphic design?

LM: When I was a younger teenager, and on a PC, I had a thing for customizing my computer. I remember downloading icons and themes for my computer, and I just kind of wanted to get in on that. When I first got a hold of Photoshop, I learned as much as I could. I Drenched myself in tutorials. Downloaded actions, color pallets, filters, brushes, anything I could. In high school I started developing a knack for designing things. I designed the desktop picture that’s on all the computers at the high school, over 1000 of them. It was cool, and, admittedly, an ego boost. I started taking art classes, and my math books were full of drawings. I still have most of them lying around somewhere. I did well enough in math that I could just sit and draw. Good thing I’m good in math, it helps now that I’m in design.

COT: What all is involved with graphic design?

LM: There’s so much you can do with graphic design, I’m pretty limited I think. I do little branding and mainly icons for computers. I used to do website design in the past, but it’s too tedious for me to do.

 

COT: Tell me your thoughts on the the iPhone

LM: The iPhone is a revolutionary device, I don’t care what anyone says. Well, in case I do, they say “it has email, and it’s a phone, and the Internet, so what?” but the interface pulls it together. The biggest problem I had with phones I had in the past were the interface. It just doesn’t work. Steve Jobs once said that “Design isn’t just how it looks, it’s how it works.” Making sure you have a beautiful and intuitive interface like the iPhone is what makes it perfect.

COT: Do you think they should integrate customizable themes into the iPhone in the next update?

LM: Well, as much as I’d like to see it happen, I know it won’t happen from them. It’ll happen from a third-party app, which is perfectly fine. SummerBoard does a great job at this right now, and who knows, maybe in the future we’ll see MobileCandyBar.

CT: Are you siked for the SDK?

LM: I’m very excited. I most likely won’t be doing any coding myself, but I’m really excited knowing that many other developers will. I hope it’s as open as can be. I’d love to see really nice chat apps and games.

COT: Will you update even if it means you can’t create themes for it anymore?

LM: I’m debating. Leaning toward updating. The new features like adding native rearranging the home screen icons and adding new ones for websites looks pretty neat. But we’ll see what happens.

COT: How are you inspired when it comes to making a new theme for summerboard?

LM: Well lately I’ve been inspired and working with David Lanham in creating themes based on his suites of icons for Mac OS X. David Lanham is an artist who works for the Iconfactory. He’s incredibly talented and has a great imagination.Renaissance started when I was browsing around some icons and loved the wax seal on Dave Brasgalla’s Word of Warcraft icons. I thought that maybe I could find an old metaphor for all the icons on the iPhone. It turned out to be harder than I thought. Making icons for things that didnt exist for hundreds of years was a difficult task.

COT: I can honestly say that your “holiday” theme was pretty lame...

LM: Yea, I rushed it. I basically re-colored icons based on Starbuck’s winter campaign.

COT: On the other hand Buuf is probably my favorite theme created by you.

LM: Buuf is a great style. Inspired by Paul Davey’s Buuf icons. Incredibly genius drawings. I really don’t know how he finds the time to make that many and so well painted. There’s just so much… but I guess when an icon set takes you years to make, that’s the result. There are just so many colors to choose from in his icons, and that’s what I find most inspiring. He has a wonderful pallet.

COT: What theme are you working on now?

LM: I’ll leave you with one hint. Some say it’s too easy. Some don’t get it at all. “All is Full of Love”

COT: Looks like I’ll have to google that one.

There you have it, a nice little hint for Louie’s next theme. To see more of Louie’s work check out his site at www.louiemantia.com and make sure to show your support my downloading his latest themes from Installer.

 

Hold LB to flip…wait, what? How did you do that?

The other night I decided to play some Halo 3. I played a few rounds of big team battle and then decided to go in Sandtrap alone. The reason I wanted to go alone was to accomplish my biggest feat ever. I feat I am sure not many have accomplished. I went into Sandtrap with one goal and one goal only…to flip the Elephant. A while back I had almost done it during a team deathmatch in Sandtrap so I wanted to come back and see if I could do it without all the chaos around me. Just me and the Elephant. I was in the room by myself for about an hour. I had found the perfect spot. I just had to find the perfect angle. You also have to use your sense of physics and a little bit of luck too. Finally after many tries I managed to flip the elephant bottom up. I was very proud of myself so I took a lot of screenshots and even a video clip of it. I also managed to drive a warthog onto the thing afterwards. A very funny prompt came up in the corner of my screen when I was got close to the flipped Elephant too. Check it out. Click the screens for a larger version. For the rest of the screens check out my Halo 3 service record.

*Note: I did not do this in forge, I am not sure if it’s even possible.

It isn't over yet…

Universal has followed Paramount/DreamWorks in announcing that it will continue to release high-definition video disks in HD DVD (Last week Warner Bros.’ went Blu-ray only, and many including myself thought that would end the war) “Contrary to unsubstantiated rumors from unnamed sources, Universal’s current plan is to continue to support the HD DVD format,” IMDB

My Mad Love for Conan Continues…O'Brien That Is

This is what Conan O’Brien did during the writer’s strike.

Mobile Starbucks

Someone please make this a reality…not because we need it, but because it looks so freaking cool. The concept could never work, but lets say somehow they made it possible. Your walking along (not driving because that would just be wrong) and you decide you want a coffee, or maybe someone is in the car with you and you know you will be coming up to a Starbucks in about 10 or 20 minutes. You place your order with the phone, pay for it by credit card, and then stop by and pick it up. That way Starbucks gets your money whether you pick it up or not. I think it would be smart move on their end. Concept created by designer Phi Lu.

Official YNFVGB Store Now Open!

Hey everyone, I am proud to announce the Official YNFVGB Store is now open for business. We currently are offering 4 items for purchase. Please show your support for the site by picking up the latest YNFVGB swag. Items will change pretty frequently so please check back often for new items. These items will help you look stylish and spread the word about YNFVGB at the same time. You can get to the store by clicking the picture below or by clicking the link in the sidebar. Make sure to stop by!!

Writers Get Back to Work!

Not only are we going to only have 8 episodes of Lost, but my comedy favorite ‘Scrubs’ (ending this season) may suffer a worse fate. From Dr. Dorian: “If the strike goes on too much longer there is a good chance the final episodes of Scrubs will never be written or shot and the series finale will remain in the mind of our show’s creator, Bill Lawrence…“
That’s some crap. I don’t care if we don’t get a Transformers sequel for 2 years, the Justice League movie never happens, or if there are no Golden Globes or Emmys’ this year, but you mess with Scrubs, it’s on!

Mass Effection?

I can’t say I fully understand this comic because I haven’t played the game yet, but for all Mass Effect junkies out there, this one’s for you! Brought to us by faithful reader, Yuoma.

Mass Efflirt by ~yuoma on deviantART

One Good Reason

I was reading an article at Just Another iPhone Blog which was sparked because of all the talk about iPhone update 1.1.3. Basically they were saying that out of all the things on everyone’s iPhone wishlist nobody has noted that they want customizable iPhone themes. Sorry but all the new 3rd party apps can get boring at times. To me there is only one thing that time and time keeps us with the same iPhone version…the themes. I believe that wholeheartedly. I am at a point right now in which I am sort of bored with all the 3rd party apps. Nothing has really sparked my interest in the past month. I download all these apps only to find that I only really use a select few, so I end up uninstalling them. Don’t get me wrong I love the 3rd party apps, the good ones have just been scarce lately. I would probably consider updating my phone to 1.1.3 because all the supposed features seem pretty solid and this would get it ready for the SDK, but I can’t stand that boring black background and lame icons. It just won’t do. I love all my themes that I change at least once a month and without these the phone is just plain and boring. When the new version of Installer was released I was confused and accidentally updated to 1.1.1, afterwards I tried to convince myself that I didn’t need a jailbroken phone, but then I saw the lame theme on my iPhone and that was what brought me back and compelled me to go ahead and jailbreak my phone (the hard way, two days before jailbreakme.com was released) So until Apple releases some kind of theme or customization application which lets the community create themes I will not be jumping on the bandwagon until we start seeing some good apps released because of the developers kit. My current iPhone layout is pictured below, now tell me you want that black screen instead just so you can enjoy the copy and paste feature. I think I’ll pass.

Assassins Creed Fan Art

Here is some Assassins Creed fan art courtesy of one of our readers, Yuoma. Check it out, it’s great stuff.

Assassin’s Creed2:The Sequel by ~yuoma on deviantART

Official YNFVGB Forum

Hey everyone, the new YNFVGB Forum is now live at ynfvgb.forumer.com. Please sign up and post as much as you feel. The forum is basically for anything we talk about here on the site and anything you guys can think of. I have categories for many different topics including: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, iPhone, Movies, Deals, and more. Please check it out, introduce yourself, and let us know what you think. If you have additional category suggestions just tell me and I will consider adding them. There is also a link to the forum located in the “YNFVGB Links” section of the sidebar. Enjoy!!

New Details on the LOST video game

I am a big time LOST junkie and when they announced there was going to be a LOST video game coming to consoles I was immediately siked. Even if it sucks I will still love and cherish it. If you’ve picked up Season 3 make sure you check out the 4 minute concept-art preview which sheds light on new details about the game. The game is slated for release a month after the Season 4 premiere. For anyone who has been living under a rock until now…check out the trailer.

Castle Crashers

It’s 2008 now and because of that I remembered about an Xbox Live Arcade game that I have been impatiently waiting for. A game that I think will be the greatest XBLA game of all time. The game I am talking about is Castle Crashers which is set to release during the first half of the year. In case you haven’t heard about Castle Crashers or maybe you just need a refresher I have posted the debut trailer below. Check it out.

Make sure you stop by www.castlecrashers.com for more screen shots and a crisp widescreen version of the debut trailer.

Winksite

Hey guys, I forgot to mention that you can also check us out at winksite.com/ynfvgb/mobile on your mobile phone. Make sure to sign the guest book and participate in the forums. I like both mobile sites because each one offers different things. So check out YNFVGB at either winksite.com/ynfvgb/mobile or ynfvgb.mofuse.mobi and let us know which one you like better.

YNFVGB.com and YNFVGB Mobile

In case you haven’t noticed we registered the domain name “www.ynfvgb.com” to make it easier for you to get to the site if you don’t already have it bookmarked. You can however still get to the site with the old address (yournewfavoritevideogameblog.blogspot.com) but I think most people will prefer typing ynfvgb.com. Make sure you spread the word!!And there is more…we now have a mobile version of the blog. You can visit it here or you can just type your phone number in the box located in the side bar and a link to the blog will be sent to you automatically. If your curious the address is ynfvgb.mofuse.mobi
Please check it out and let us know what you think. It’s nothing amazing, just a mobilized version of Your New Favorite Video Game Blog. Enjoy!!

Final Thoughts on Call of Duty 4 for DS

My wife was taking the DS to Poland so I made it a priority to finish Call of Duty 4 for DS before she left. I worked at it every night until I finally finished it. Despite all of the bad things I am about to say about it, I actually enjoyed it. I had been longing to play a first person shooter on the DS for a while now and I finally got my fill. First of all the controls definitly take a while to get used to. You have to double-tap to zoom in and double-tap to zoom out. This was sorta of frustrating in heated battles. Also if you weren’t zoomed in it took about a full clip to take an enemy out so you almost always had to scope up to conserve ammo. Ammo was never a problem though, if you picked up an enemies gun, which was just as good as your own, then you would have a pretty unlimited supply throughout the game. One thing that frustrated me throughout the whole game was not being able to see who as shooting me. There were many times when I would be getting shot and have no idea where the punk was. I would run over to cover only to be shot some more from some unknown source. Because of the game’s overall darkness it was hard to see enemies and the games graphics didn’t really help that at all. I also couldn’t really tell if the enemies got harder as I progressed so I am almost positive the games difficulty was only elevated by the increase of enemies in a certain place. The chopper levels were pretty fun although the night vision chopper level was strung out way too long. The game never really gets difficult or frustrating except during the last segment. Maybe I was doing something wrong but it took me about 20 tries to complete the last part. I was getting very frustrated and almost gave up. If you have played COD4 on 360 or PS3 the last segment in the DS version is the same. You are on a bridge and have to defend it until help arrives. The friendly with you is stupid and only shoots the guys that are a low threat and won’t help with the ones that are shooting you right in the face. All-in-all the game was fun and fresh. My only big complaint is the lack of online multiplayer, that would have brought be back to the game again and again.

First Impressions – Super Stardust HD

I know it’s been a while since the game was released but this is my first official purchase on the PS3. I knew that I wanted to pick this game up even before I bought the PS3. The game I am talking about is Super Stardust HD. First of all the game looks brilliant hence the “HD” in the name. I would say it’s safe to compare this game to Geometry Wars. I like GW but I find it too difficult too early. I play GW for about 1 minute and then I am dead. With this game you can play for longer periods of time and really work at it. I am very impressed with the gameplay and I am happy that I decided to pluck down $9.99 for the game. I found myself being sucked into the game and unaware of my surroundings. I also like the music, it’s catchy and gets you pumped at the same time. As you may have seen from the screen shots throughout the internet this game looks hectic. It surely is, but it isn’t frustrating either. At least not as far as I have been. Bottom line this game is great. I highly suggest picking it up if you haven’t already.

New Year…New Console

I finally decided to buy a Playstation 3. Not for any particular reason on the PS3’s part more because I didn’t know when I would have another chance to buy one. With the wife being in Poland I had some extra cash laying around so I picked one up. I held off setting it up until New Years Day because I had the whole day off and could spend a good amount of time rearranging the whole set up of my Xbox 360, Wii, surround sound, HD-DVD player, cable box, and now PS3. My first impressions of the PS3 were good. It’s nice that both the 360 and PS3 bring something different as far as the set-ups go. Right now there is only about 2 or 3 games that I want for the PS3 and I can honestly say that if a game comes out on both 360 and PS3 I would go for the 360 version simply for the achievement points. I am not however an achievement junkie. Achievement points are not important as far as how many you have it’s more or less that I feel like I am playing for a reason. I think it was very smart on Microsoft’s part to incorporate achievements into games. It brings the replay value up and also gets me to play parts of a game that I wouldn’t normally bother with. So for that reason PS3 will be strictly for PS3 exclusives, arcade games, and blu-ray movies. I am also impressed with the Remote Play for PSP. I hadn’t read or heard much about it prior to getting the PS3 but I set it up and tried it out myself and it’s pretty crazy. Basically you have a scaled down slightly blurry version of your PS3 right on your PSP. Which means you can play “Remote Play Compatible” games on your PSP anywhere in the house. I haven’t messed with it enough to know if you can use it far from the PS3 (like in the car) or if you can put the PSP on standby and continue later. The only game I have for PS3 so far is MotorStorm and that isn’t compatible with Remote Play. All-in-all I am satisfied with the PS3. I am fine with knowing that I only bought it for the exclusives, with all the crap games coming out for the Wii I am pretty used to it. I am almost positive I will use it a lot more than the Wii. Now that I have a PS3 you can look forward to reading posts from me on the subject in the future.

Pirates of the Carribean at Worlds End for Xbox360

I made the mistake of playing this game after finishing Uncharted on PS3.

The good: Cinematics and voice work capture the movies perfectly. The mannerisms and movement of the characters are spot on. Visually the world is beautiful, very well done. You really feel part of the Pirates world. Unfortunately these pros aren’t enough to make this game worth your time.

The bad: The controls are weak, there is 1 button to swordfight, 1 to punch, etc. Basic button mashing. Boss fights are a little more interesting, but feel incredibly slow….swing…punch…swing. Half of the game recreates the 2nd film and the rest is devoted to the close of the trilogy. There is little excitement to the game, a very by the numbers movie licensed game that doesn’t do anything new or offer a sense of urgency or purpose. Other than the visuals there is no reason for you to keep this game in your library. Rental at best.

HD-DVD & Blu-ray B1G1 @ AMAZON

HDDVD Limited Selection, Blu-ray Selection, some great titles, but watch out for the ones with questionable transfers and bonus features cut from the SD release.

New Look

Happy New Year from YNFVGB!! As you may have noticed we’ve made a few changes to the site’s layout. We hope you like the new layout. I thought the older layout looked sharp but it was too crunched. This layout is expanded more and I am happy with the way it turned out. We will pick back up with the regular posting tomorrow January 2nd so make sure you come back then. Thanks for helping us kick off the site in 2007 and we hope to continue to grow and expand exponentially throughout 2008.