Dead Space 2 Collector’s Edition Unboxing January 25, 2011

Dead Space 2 released today, and I picked up the PS3 version of the Collector’s Edition.  The PS3 versions of dead space has a full HD copy of Dead Space Extraction for the Playstation Move, which will not be included in any other console’s version.

But that’s not what you wanted to hear about.  You want to see how that replica Plasma Cutter works!

Dead Space 2 is out now for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

History of Duke Nukem Forever January 24, 2011

The trailer that Gearbox Software just released is certainly bringing about the end of one of the last major eras of gaming.  But many of you today don’t know this story, who Duke Nukem is, and why people have been waiting thirteen years for this game to come out.  So, in an exclusive video, Maniac narrates the 13 year development of Duke Nukem Forever from an outsider’s perspective.

Trailers and screenshots of the game over the years are included, as well as all the major news articles on Duke Nukem Forever’s development.

Duke Nukem Forever is coming May 3rd, 2011 to PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Kinect Cable Close-Up January 17, 2011

I wanted to give people online a good look at the unique cable design for the Xbox Kinect AUX port. It has shades of USB but it has an extra notch at the end to break compatibility. Wikipedia says this is so the unit doesn’t need an extra power cable, which is appreciated as my 8-plug home theater monster power strip is maxed out. Enjoy.

250GB Xbox 360 Kinect Special Edition Unboxing December 27, 2010

I’ve been promising it since the Move Unboxing, and now here it is.  The unboxing of the Kinect.  Now I’ve talked about the Kinect plenty already, but like many I’m just really curious how it works.  Well that and I wanted a new Xbox.

I crack open the Special Edition Xbox 360 Kinect Bundle.  This comes with a Kinect and a 250GB Xbox 360 Slim and retails for $400US.

Good things about it:

• Less Prone to Red Ring due to increased airflow in case design and heatsinks.
• Native HDMI, something my Xbox 360 does not have.
• More USB ports.  There are 2 in front and 3 in back, compared to 2 in front and 1 in back with my original.
• Kinect Port (dubbed AUX port)
• It’s got a nice surface finish.
• Integrated Optical Connection, don’t need to plug in the Xbox 360 cable to use Optical, espessially if you don’t need it.
• Integrated WiFi.

Bad things about the bundle:

• Kinect which came with it is ONLY compatible with Xbox 360 Slims.  No USB connection included.
• HD Data must be transferred, not compatible with old Hard Drives.
• No Faceplate support.
• Does not come with native Component or HDMI cable.  My original Xbox supported Component input out of box, as did diskreader117’s, and the old Elites (first-gen 120GB w/HDMI) came with HDMI cables.

I also noticed that after fully hooking the Xbox and Kinect up, the system would NOT work without first inserting Kinect Adventures into the Xbox on startup.  Likely this is some kind of theft deterrent.  A friend of mine told me he could get around this by simply disconnecting the Kinect before turning it on, and updating it through Xbox Live.  I have not tried this myself (I inserted the game on request and calibrated my Kinect) but I can imagine this would work.  Instead of booting the game, the Xbox manually updated itself to the newest firmware when I inserted the game disc, then ran the Kinect calibration tool.

Spike’s Video Game Awards Show Live Review December 12, 2010

Maniac watches the Spike TV Video Game Awards Show for 2010 and makes some comments while it’s airing live.

Disney’s Epic Mickey Collector’s Edition Unboxing November 30, 2010

Maniac cracks open the highly anticipated Wii exclusive game Epic Mickey and finds an injured Mickey Mouse. In a nice twist, the CE revolves around the all important physical content. It’s great to find a well priced CE these days that isn’t 90% DLC!

I’ve been really looking forward to this game release for about a year now.  I’m a big fan of Warren Spector, as he has the distinction of being one of the few developers who ten years ago earned the title of “God”, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a game developer.

Director’s Note: Mickey Mouse is recovering from his injuries in shipping and appears to be okay. He has taken up residence on my desk. I don’t think he would’ve been injured if he hadn’t been packed UPSIDE DOWN

How to Make Your Sony Receiver 3D Compliant November 16, 2010

For all my surround sound needs, I use a Sony STR-DH810 7.1 reciever.  My father uses it’s little brother, the STR-DH710.  However, the flaw with these units that was always in the back of my head (even when I bought them) was that these receivers would have to be replaced if I ever upgraded my HDTV to support 3D.  I don’t have that concern anymore.

Sony released a fix for their current line of receivers on their official support site.  But what puzzled me was how can you update one of these receivers?  There are no USB, Ethernet or WiFi connections on the units, pushing data into them (I believed) would be impossible.  I was surprised by the solution.

In a blast to the past the likes of even Steven “The Woz” Wozniak did not see coming, the receivers update themselves through a pre-programed set of sound tones which have to be burned to an audio CD and played through a very specific input.  Take a look for yourself what I had to do to get mine running.

Sound tones to create programs is not unheard of.  The early Apple II, since disk drives were so expensive, would use cassette tapes (the ones your car plays) you would have to play entirely to get your program to load.  If there was a jam or error, you’d have to play it through all over again.