TJ What's New? Toy Story 3

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TJ What's New? The Karate Kid (2010)

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TJ What's New? A-Team

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Nintendo Press Conference

Ubisoft Press Conference

EA Press Conference 2010

E3 2010 Microsoft Press Conference 2010

E3 2010: TJ's top 5 most anticipated games of E3

The following games aren't really in any kind of order. They are just a list of games or a game delivery systems that I feel will really make this year special. Games that are going to keep me up all night having to finish them before bed. Games that make my jaw drop every time I hear something new about them. So here we go!

1. Dead Space 2: the first game was something special and for me was an incredible experience. I tend to like the horror game genre but this game got just about everything right. So far all the footage I've seen for the second game has been everything I loved and more.

2. The Last Gaurdian: Shadow of the Colossus might be argubly the greatest game to ever hit the ps2 and I cannot wait to find about more about Team ICO's next project. The trailers have been great but I'm ready for some really news on this game now.

3. Star Wars The Old Republic: I love Star Wars "The Original Trilogy" and can't wait to see more about this MMO. I never really got into WoW because the content and story never really interested me much. This seems to be shaping up to be a hell of a game and might be the first MMO that really grabs onto me.

4. Project Natal now renamed "Kinect": I was blown away by last years announcement of Kinect. This year Microsoft is bringing out the big guns showing everything they've got up their sleeves to promote Kinect before it's fall release. We might learn the price point and can't wait to see what happens at the conferences.

5. Gears of War 3: Love the campaigns of the first two games. This one just seems to be more of the same awesome I've come to expect from the series. If they fix the multiplayer mess of the previous entries in the series and pump up the set pieces. This will be one hell of a game come this fall.

E3 2010: Let the games begin

Hey everybody. As you all know E3 2010 has descended upon us once again. We won't cover everything but we will post with a purpose. There will be some amazing announcement and some gigantic bombs. Check back here on a daily basis throughout E3 to see what Geeksquisite thinks of this years E3.

Tech Review: Plants vs. Zombies (iPhone App)

So after being busy for a whole year, I can finally start posting on here again. What better way then starting with a review of one of my favorite iPhone games? I had never heard of this game until one of my friends told me about it. The name basically gave the game away but I didn’t really expect it to be just like this.

So you just happen to live across the street from a grave yard and you don’t want the zombies to get to your house. Luckily you have the plants on your side to help defend your house from the zombies. First you start off with two plants a pea plant (shoots one at a time) and a sunflower. The pea plant shoots peas at the zombies and the sunflowers produce suns. Sun is very important, its what lets you plant the plants. There are many different environments; day, night, front yard, back yard, etc.

I would recommend getting this game, it is very fun. The only down side is when you get into higher levels and a million one zombies are attacking, (not sure how it is for the iPhone) but my iPod Touch starts to lag very horrible and its hard to get stuff planted. Also it will suck up your battery life in an instant. I also wish you could somehow play as the zombies but oh well.

Game Rating: 4/5

Buy it today!: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/plants-vs-zombies/id350642635?mt=8

Alan Wake gameplay is short, Bullsh*t

A week ago I took the liberty of purchasing Alan Wake over Red Dead Redemption, getting lots of annoying comments that I should have rented the game and bought Red Dead instead. The main complaints being that Alan Wake has a shorter, 5-7 hours of gameplay and no multiplayer. Fair enough warning, but I trusted my gut.

It's officially been a week, and except for today and Wednesday I have not gone a day without playing Alan Wake. I played it on Normal but went out of my way to grab manuscript pages and coffee thermos for certain achievements. I have put a total of eight and a half hours straight into the game, roughly ten hours likely as I am on the final chapter. The point i'm trying to make is that when it comes to video games, quantity over quality seems to be the leeway for most gamers nowadays. That isn't new to me but it's certainly been a big point in selling a game, having multiplayer that is.

Alan Wake at times was supposed to be designed as a sandbox game like Red Dead, but ended up being more focused on its story. The sad part is people who review the games beforehand rush through the games, obviously. The reviewers had to hurry and finish the game in order to review it, hoping to get the most attention as frontier testers of the game. Alan Wake is not the first game in the last year to be criticized as short, Ghostbusters, Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead also were commented on this aspect. yet the game was pulling 9.1/10 on IGN.

I have not played Red Dead Redemption and don't plan to, I am purposefully avoiding the game for a simple reason. Alan Wake made me realize why I don't usually like sandbox games, there is no importance or reward to what you do in sandbox games except for achievements if you get lucky in your random exploring. Alan Wake's manuscript collecting makes you search all the areas available to you, even as limited as the areas are. The game doesn't just have a great story, the manuscripts tell you what's ahead, what's happening in the aftermath of your actions and novelizes your experience.

That alone added about an hour of reading the manuscripts, and i'm curious as to how many reviewers just ran past the taken AND the manuscripts. It's very easy to do sometimes, but I had fun taking them all down and finding the goodies. Unlike most games, the goodies stand out in special ways Remedy must have put in to enrich the experience.

Regardless, if you are avoiding the choice of buying Alan Wake because of replayability or how short the story seemed to be. Get it. The episodic format cut scenes, the manuscripts, all add to the gameplay length and if you pass on these, then I don't know why you would ever want to play the game in the first place.

I'll be doing a video review after I finish the last chapter which i'm on, but for now I wanna tear down that complaint about it being too short. There is plenty of aspects to "lengthen" the levels if you care to hear, and with the story being the soul of this game; missing it IS making this game too expensive if you don't care. What's the point of buying a game if you don't get all the fun you can out of it?

TJ What's New? Get Him To the Greek

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TJ What's New? Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

NOW IN HD and Better Audio if you open the video in a new window!!!!

Hey guys still trying to figure out HD never used it before. Having trouble finding a way to get it to fit in the window since my Kodax Zi8 shoots widescreen.

Sonic related surprise

It's very obvious I am interested in seeing if Sonic 4 episode 1 could be any good, but mostly the sonic games and media has been awful in the last 3 or so years. Today I received a Sonic related surprise that didn't suck-



You'd think the games would be better than the Ice Cream promotion, but sadly that is not the case because the ice cream was delicious.

Geeksquisite Comics

Side Effect of Gaming

Ed discusses an aspect of his gaming life.

Dragonball Kai to premiere this Tuesday

In the 1990's I got my first look at anime on Toonami, being blown away by the new style of animation I was looking at. The 90's were the absolute golden age for animated shows, so showing them up today might be easy but it wasn't always. One of those shows was Dragon Ball Z.

The Frieza saga was where I started, and I had a blast. The story, the enemies, all of it appealed to me and made me interested in anime. A dang shame Cartoon Network gave up on Toonami back then.

Anyway.

Dragon Ball Z was a good show, I loved it. Today i'm blowing up into a major Otaku, and man did they drag out the Super Saiyan transformations when comparing to the Japanese. So call me surprised when I learned of Dragonball Kai, I thought it was a fill in show within Dragon Ball Z. Yet it turns out, when everyone had their shot at dubbing Dragonball Z the animation files were thrown out.

Why this happened, I don't know. However they redrew all the animation for the show, and made a "refreshed series" that premiered in 2009. Now Funimation has redubbed the refreshed series, clocked in at 100 episodes with some fixes. The biggest being that the power ups aren't dragged out this time around, or so i've heard.

So this Tuesday May 25th Kai will premiere on...

Nicktoons Network

Odd place for it to premiere, what happened with Cartoon Network?

Regardless, I will provide a review for Kai episodes and hopefully FUNimation has learned from the "freedoms" it took with the original show.

The black Xbox cases

With the announcement of the special edition of Fable 3, i've begun to notice a trend with the special Xbox editions of games.

On one hand the black case shows you spent the extra money to get the special edition goodies rather than just the game. Alan Wake and Halo Reach are also retailing a black case with their special editions, possibly this is only available for Xbox Exclusive games. Only time will verify if that is true.

However, being that Microsoft is not one to manufacture for novelty, this black case offers a possible hint toward the future of Xbox. Since the special editions with this black case cost more, the special editions have been called into question as a test of how much people will pay for a game. Indeed when the next generation started, the game case design was changed and raised from $50 to $60 retail.

Going back to the fact that Microsoft doesn't manufacture for novelty, it's a possibility that the black case is what the next generation of games for the new Xbox console will look like.

Think about it, Nintendo only made a red case for the New Super Mario Brothers. No other game, Nintendo does make special cases to manufacture unique items, but that definitive Mario title has now called for the successor to the Wii. Microsoft on the other hand, if they don't release a slim xbox 360 this year, is making these black cases for a reason. All the different versions of the Xbox just have a different harddrive, redesigning the whole xbox would help the red ring of death issue. But Microsoft is content with a universal design for its line of gear, and won't change it (even if the controller's D-pad is disliked very much).

So when I saw the black case for Halo Reach, it surprised me Microsoft would make special cases for the game. However it is the last Halo title for Bungie, so Microsoft may have gone for significance in this move. Lets be honest, they aren't that far into their own products. When Alan Wake and now Fable 3 showed this case, it shows me Microsoft mainstreamed this black case. Why?

Perhaps the larger amount of Special Edition purchases, incentivized by this black case now represents the arrival of the next generation. The next xbox line will have these black cases, and since we had no problem paying over retail for the special editions, these black cased next gen xbox games (for whatever they call the next xbox) will be $70.

That's just my theory, to me it makes sense.

Tj What's New? Summer Movie Preview and Thoughts

A little late I know but I preview the entire list of summer movies with some very quick thoughts on each of them.

TJ What's New? Robin Hood

Hey guys I'm back to my reviewing ways. This time with Robin Hood check out the review below.

TJ What's New? Iron Man 2

Sorry for the lack of content lately but with lots of summer movies coming down the pipe and no more classes to worry about. Expect a lot of content to come during the summer ahead.

The Online Pass

It's no secret that EA along with many other publishers hate the money passing around for used game sales.

So EA has decided to start including a code with every new copy of its games called Online Pass, which would effectively make online multiplayer locked for every gamer until they enter the code. (article courtesy of Kotaku)

The used game market is flourishing, especially with a nostalgic interest towards classic consoles and the internet offering cheaper ways to get brand new games at lower prices. However there is also quite an annoying trend of sports games being exactly the same every year, and why pay full price when you could trade in last years game?

That is where gamers might become frustrated at EA, how often do sports gamers trade in their old copies of the game nowadays? Plenty. With this new strategy by EA, those trade in games become practically worthless. Replayability and popularity determine street value of a game, and for a series of games that is the same every year this online pass hurts used AND new games sales for EA.

Think about it, if online multiplayer is locked out without a code why buy a used copy of the game? EA will charge you $10 to allow online multiplayer on the used copies, so without it the game isn't going to sell as fast from the store. In a few years the game chains will give you less for sports games as well as many games since EA will probably push this onto all of their games in the future. So now theres a $10 dollar surcharge if you buy it at the store used, and its completely useless if someone is selling it online unless its still shrinkwrapped. Well the problem is that's a new copy not a used one, so that won't happen very much. It'll probably cost just as much with shipping as a new game from the store, unless the seller likes giving stuff away.

I'm not going to assume every game has to have multiplayer to be replayable, but after a couple of days sports games will certainly get boring. Xbox Live pretty much made going to your friends house unnecessary, and I don't think many will keep buying the game to resurge that interest in Lan parties. I would cheer on anyone who does though, but its inconvenient and it devalues games to lock out the replayability factor of most sports games. Will it pay off for EA? Sure it will because now less money is being made on the side, I can't really blame them for doing this either. Should gamers stand for this?

Not being a fan of sports games I say don't bother upgrading your copies of MLB and NFL ever year. Quite a few people do, and I wonder how much of a backlash this will present to EA, we'll see.

Halo Reach Editions announced

Well, I am a halo fan and Halo Reach is looking very good from what I can see.

Now to prepare myself, for buying. Lately, the amount of special editions of a single game come in threes. I should know, buying the Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 2. Oh what a glorious day that was, and man those night vision goggles are sick...

Whoa, i'm getting off topic.

So for Halo Reach they will offer three editions. The familiar green case game, the limited edition with extra paper and plastics and...OMG.

Well obviously the standard edition will have a booklet, maybe a free 48 hour card.

As for the Limited edition, from what Bungie's site shows...It has a cool looking ONI box, Dr Halsey's journal and some curious items underneath on the right. Is that plastic clear thing like; a keycard? Oh man thats ultimate nerd prop collection, and...am army patch..also cool as well as other papers the game now has a black box instead of green. That's a nice identifying mark to differentiate the copies of the game, perhaps the game itself will contain more inside? Plus an elite armor specialty code.

I'm definitely going for this one if I don't get...

The Legendary Edition.



Nuff said, plus a special spartan unlock. Some speculate it to be the flaming helmet, and I don't care. Honestly I don't have the room nor the reason to grab this. Yet I want to, maybe because getting the Prestige MW2 felt so good and is such a site whenever I enter my room. That box looks so close to in game crates, and it seems to have a really fancy packaging.

I didn't for Halo 3, and i'll probably stick with the Limited Edition. But I have time to think it over, the question really is what will you get?

Swing Vote Review

Ah the joys of Netflix, being dragged into the living room by family to watch some film I have never heard about. I have plenty of homework to do, but let me tell you I am so glad I sat down to watch Swing Vote.

Bud Johnson is a laid back worker in New Mexico with a daughter during a fictional alternative 2008 presidential election. In this movie, the election came down to one state, and one popular vote holds back the election from being decided. Seems like a crazy concept, but as someone who studied constitutional law; it IS possible for this to happen.

I have heard so much negative commentary about Kevin Costner as an actor, but I liked his performance very much in this movie. Being a single parent to his daughter portrayed him as a unmotivated alcoholic, he doesn't cook or even fulfill simple promises to his daughter. It is one thing to portray that role, it also lends itself to a quick hollywood change in attitude when the script calls for redemption. Things like that limit a film in its believability, although I don't worry about it so much. Thankfully director Joshua Stern didn't compromise the character study of Bud Johnson for the sake of plot, Costner deserves credit for that too.

Speaking of his daughter, Molly was played wonderfully by Madeline Carroll. Yeah, I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see her side in politics. Yes, she was of the mind to be a good citizen and apparently that's enough for the audience. The movie did send a good message about civic duty, connected with Molly Johnson's character. Molly's struggle in this movie is just so easy to sympathize with, with the moments of "silent thought" in the film really pushing the emotion in this film instead of being dumbed down into words.

The movie also does a good job of putting the mirror in front of the characters, making them question their roles in politics. Yes the movie addresses politics, but not a specific issue directly. Instead, its an overall judgement story of the characters as to being true to themselves with no compromise. That really won me over, and I got a little "choked up" as the movie progressed from a combination of sad reality and a REALLY WELL DELIVERED monolouge by Kevin Costner.

I recommend this movie, its such a good film to pull out when you feel moody. It just makes me want to raise the american flag and ironically go out and vote when you see the impact your vote really causes. This movie shows that, and I was reflecting on my own views during this movie.

So for that, the movie gets an 8 out of 10.

See it.

Geeksquisite #54: TJ bought an Ipad

TJ, Ed, Randy, and Jason talk about the new Ipad again now that Mr. TJ happens to own one. Was it a smart purchase or a regretful one? Listen and find out.

Also see TJ's day one youtube review of the Ipad TJ What's New? Ipad Review

Geeksquisite #54: TJ bought an Ipad

Modern Warfare: Frozen Crossing

This is really, really cool.

TJ What's New? Ipad

Hey guys I just bought an Ipad yesterday and have been really enjoying it. I've never owned a Iphone or a touch. So this is a review from the perspective of someone who is brand new to the app world. There will be more individual app reviews in the future but for now here is an overall review of the new 1st gen Ipad!

The Last Airbender TV Spot

A new TV spot got my attention, and I am certainly glad I watched this.



After seeing this I took note of a few things.

Still haven't seen much with Patel's Zuko character, but he really evokes the presence of Zuko. He really does, and Zuko's presence was emphasized in the show quite a bit.

From :32 to :39 we get to see one on one bending a little bit more, and while Aang vs Zuko is too short; Katara vs Zuko was really awe inspiring. Patel's execution is really something, and Nicola Peltz as Katara...

She's been like the only worry to me, in terms of embodying her character she seemed more like a supporting character than the care taking individual from the show. That scene with her fighting Zuko ("I won't let you take him") gives me more confidence in her. Once again she seems to have trouble delivering on lines, but that one scene leads me to believe that they just edit her into the trailer badly. I think they edit her lines for "promotional" effect for the movie.

at :40, we see them on Appa. That blew me away, the fact that they were flying on Appa. The detail on just his fur looked so, wow I don't have a word for it. How much is Appa going to be in this movie? I'm really curious. If i'm mistaken, do I also see Momo on the left of Katara? It's probably her arm, and this scene probably starts toward the episodes before Momo even comes in. Would Shayamalan even put Momo in the movie?

at :50, is that Aang? If that is, Ringer has a scratchy voice. Not saying anything bad by that, but I am used to the voice of Zach Tyler Eisen in the show.

July 2nd release eh? I don't know if they told us this in earlier trailers, but this is a decent place to release it.

I am even more excited for this movie, between more confidence in Nicola Peltz, the bigger role Appa seems to be playing, and the bending. This is a movie that now could be great or a beautiful yet tragic failure.

Shayamalan, you better be on your top game.

Movie Ticket prices going up

It wasn't more than a year ago that I was paying $5 for admission to a movie, heck i'll pay more for a nicer theatre and maybe for 3D in the case of a movie like Avatar.

The movie industry is making money, and they know it. Now Yahoo gave me the heads up that movie ticket prices will go up.

It's moves like this that assure me this world will never get out of a recession, because the movie industry is investing in this stupid 3D technology. I was pretty impressed by the 3D in Avatar, but no movie is going to do that much effort again. Oh i'm sure James Cameron will in his "teased" sequel, but there's a reason Avatar didn't win best picture. 3D isn't cinema value, it's a gimmick. Now that gimmick is becoming the standard of the movie industry, as is IMAX.

I've seen three movies in IMAX, and i'm done with that gimmick as well. There is honestly no value in my honest opinion for paying extra for a larger screen (IMAX) or to have stuff pop out at you (3D).

People like to watch movies at home, and the regular screens of a movie theatre are about ten times the size of the average 55 inch TV in a home. So answer me why an even bigger screen matters that much? It doesn't if people are content watching the movies at home.

However 3D doesn't add to a movie, the novelty rarely every holds onto the viewer for long. Now studios see 3D as a way to make more money, the majority of these movies are pop out 3D which is a simple 1 hour of labor to add the stereoscopic effect of 3D. Are we really going to wear glasses whenever we watch a movie, people are too lazy for that including me. Turning on the TV is a no brainer, but reaching for glasses? That just seems stupid to be necessary in your own home, and that also makes TVs too expensive.

Time and time again, even though I am tech crazy I will say this. Technology does not guarantee a good movie, and all this stuff they add to the movie going experience without giving consumers "viewing choices" on seeing a movie will keep movie goers away.

So if these depraved managers want to raise ticket prices, go ahead, because i'll never take a risk with movies again unless I absolutely want to see them. That was one element you have to love about movies, taking a risk and either liking or disliking a movie. That element is gone, and have made movie goers more definitive of their genre. The movies used to be escapism, now its an expensive escapism that you have to be particular about if you want to afford the overpriced popcorn.

I thought of something interesting, perhaps movies want to use 3D to curb piracy. I imagine a pirated 3D film looks awful, but price goes over preference in this economy.

To save the escapism of movie going,the movie industry and the studios, go back on these ticket prices you delusional minds in the industry. The Recession isn't over, and this will only hurt the movie industry which has remain untouched financially.

For me this means I am eating before I go to a movie, because at this point the snacks and drinks should be free with these prices.

First Impressions of the Rock Band Network

So, the Rock Band Network has been out for a while now, but I haven't really had a chance to mess around with it too much. However, I recently popped in that copy of Rock Band 2 and decided to take a look. I must say, it's quite impressive.

The RBN is located in the "Music Store" menu as a separate item, letting you easily sepearte the official Harmonix releases from the releases on the Rock Band Network. Once you get into the RBN store, it's sorted a little differently than the main store is. You have a few options here, "Top 10" which gives you the top 10 highest rated songs, "Harmonix Picks" which gives you a select number of songs Harmonix liked and hand-picked for that week, "Browse" which lets you simply sift through all of the songs, and "Random Song" if you'd like to be surprised.

If you choose Browse, there's gonna be a bunch of extra ways you can go through all the songs. by Artist, by Author (The user who charted the song), by Label, by Genre, by Language (yes, there are foreign-language songs on the network), by Title, or by Rating.

The sorting is obviously very deep, and will allow you to find any song on the network you are specifically looking for very quickly. It also seems to be built to handle thousands upon thousands of songs, which makes sense if the network becomes popular enough. At the time of this writing, there have been 168 songs released on the Network, which is quite impressive for only having been out one month.

One of the best parts of the Rock Band Network is the ability to download free Demo versions of songs. When I first heard about this, I was wondering exactly how it'd work, but it's actually quite smart. You download the demo-version, you're unable to use it in Tour Mode, Practice Mode, or Online. The only way you can play it is in Solo or Band quick-play. You can play it as many times as you like, however, you can only play through the first 30 seconds of the song, and it'll cut off and go to a "Demo Over" screen, complete with a "Buy Now" option.

This seems really effective in making people want to throw down their cash right away to finish the song. It also gives people a chance to see how well-charted the song is, and gives them a little bit more to listen to of the song than the initial preview-track at the Store-level.

Another great thing about the Rock Band Network is the support it's getting from artists. I've seen a few big-name artists on here such as Drowning Pool, Bang Camaro, Senses Fail, Third-Eye Blind, All That Remains, KMFDM, and probobly the biggest name so far, Steve Vai! I've also found out about a few unknown artists that I personally really enjoy such as DNA's Evolution with their track "The Heist" and The Hold Steady with their track "Sequestered in Memphis".

Overall, there's some great music in the Rock Band Network, and it seems like it'll keep expanding and growing larger. Maybe someday soon we'll see day-and-date Rock Band Network releases with Artist's releases on itunes or other music download services.

Cliffy B talks Gears 3, obviously.

Maybe its just me, but why do I get the feeling that Cliffy B still believes Gears of War 3 will be a surprise? I saw posters online while using google to look up ANYTHING on Gears 3, and that said November (17th) 2010. Photo shopped? maybe since I can't find them again.

Honestly though.

Gears:2006
(+2 years of development)
Gears 2:2008
(+2 years of development)
Gears 3:2010

We've waited long enough, and the way he talks makes it seem that Gears of War 3 COULD be out this year. Sure there is concern of Gears 3 and Halo Reach "affecting" each other, but i'm getting both games for sure regardless of when they come out. All those games of 2009 were pushed back because of Modern Warfare 2, and that's been a stupid move so far.

I didn't know Epic's tech was used for Natal, but I do remember Cliff saying Gears wouldn't use Natal. The "hybrid game" description in regards to the uses of Natal makes me wonder if he changed his tune with using Natal for Gears 3.

I am happy that he browses forums to find feedback and realizes how redundant and repetitive Gears of War 2 matchmaking is, I hope Gears 3 improves on that.

Gears of War 2 seems forgotten nowadays, and that's a shame. Horde mode was much more fun than say, Firefight, and the Co-op of Gears campaign was WAY better done than Halo 3. Halo 3 had you all fighting the same number of aliens, Gears split up the players and made a much more satisfying Co-Op experience. Spec Ops on Modern Warfare 2 is about the same, but Gears encouraged you to defend your teammate.

Gears of War 2 was such a major improvement over the first one, I seriously can't wait till we see the third.

Predators Trailer

I've been following this movie, which has confused people just by the title alone.

Produced by Robert Rodriquez, this movie is the newest Predator story since Predator 2 in the early 90's. However, Rodriguez clearly states how Predators will be a true sequel to the original.

Predator 2 was pretty awful, considering it was in the city as opposed to the jungle. Losing Schwarzenegger also hurt it, but hey the sequel was a money grab like any other.

The trailer is definitely trying to reach the Predator fans, but this time the team is random instead of being a squad. Good concept, especially with the interesting idea of being on the Predator's home world.

That eases my concern over the "new breed" of predators Rodriguez mentioned, the "new breed" really being the mean and unrefined predators that don't meet the standards of the "calmer" species we the fans are so used to.

This "new breed" better be more blood thirsty, or rely on instincts rather than tech. That would be really interesting.

Geeksquisite Episode 53: Playstation Move

TJ, Rob, Aaron, and Ed discuss the Playstation Move. Is it worth the money or just a gimmick on the edge of failing.

Geeksquisite Episode 53: Playstation Move

Podcast available via Itunes

What's This AdHoc Party Thing?

I recently just found out about this free download on the PSN that came out November of last year in the US. In Japan, it came out way back in 2008, however, that was just the beta version. I was a bit confused as to what it was at first, but let me say right away that this is probobly the coolest thing I have ever downloaded from PSN, and it was absolutely FREE!

Basically, the AdHoc Party lets you take your PSP, load up a game that supports "AdHoc Multiplayer" (Which is the local kind) and connect to your Internet-enabled PS3. The Adhoc Party Program (which you install on your PS3) then goes on to search for other people playing the same AdHoc Game, and lets you get into a party with them, turning that local multiplayer into completely global online multiplayer, complete with voice chat and everything.

It also allows for private lobbies with a password system, so you can simply invite your friends and don't have to worry about anybody else interrupting your game.

Honestly, the best way to use this program is with friends, or with popular PSP games. Cause it might be slightly hard to find somebody else randomly playing a game of "Lumberjack Challenge" in "WTF: Work Time Fun". In fact, I'd be surprised if anybody was. Find somebody who's playing "Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite" is a much more likely scenario.

Geeksquisite Episode 52: Mass Effect 2

TJ, Rob, Randy, and a little bit of Ed discuss Mass Effect 2 and it's massive impact on the gaming world.

Geeksquisite Episode 52: Mass Effect

Podcast available via Itunes

Sonic 4 Game Footage

Found it here

It looks pretty good even though it might not be the final product :O

Look at the detail in the background, pretty nice. I also see you can choose what act to play from a specific level, and I think I saw as many as 4 acts in one level. That's quite a bit, and the music has some nods to the previous games.

Geeksquisite Episode 51: Avatar: The Last Airbender Eps. 1-5

TJ and Ed discuss the first five episodes of The Last Airbender.

Geeksquisite Episode 51: Avatar: The Last Airbender Eps. 1-5

NES sells for $13,105

Many of you might wonder what makes this NES worth 10,000, well you can read the original article here or I can summarize what came with the NES:



Yes, this girl had a boxed copy of Stadium Events. A complete one, with instruction manual and everything, which according to sites only 10 full copies exist.

Jealous? Envious? I sure am.

Funny how the game is basically World Class Track Meet, but an earlier test version sold before the Power Pad came out.

X10: Halo Reach Vidoc

This is the first look we are getting at Halo Reach as a game, i'm liking it.

The "exploration" feel that they want to replicate from Halo: CE is a good move, with Halo 3 falling short in several areas the nostalgic take is a good move. I certainly enjoyed walking around the second level on Halo: CE, although I don't know if this enthusiasm to recreate the exploration feel will work. Halo was an alien world, with nothing you knew about. This is the planet Reach, where buildings make sense and are familiar to human design. If its exploration through a desolate side of Reach, which I bet it will be then maybe that strategy will work.

I also like their emphasis on the importance of the elites, they're so much more fun to fight than the brutes. Going back to the "Wort Wort Wort" babbling and alien language is a nostalgic step back, but this is sometime around Halo: CE so its continuity as well as something we wanted.

Customizable Spartans, I want more of that. I do, and I really also like the environments. The weapons look cool but can't say much until i've tried the beta.

Looking forward to the beta this May.

X10: Fable III didn't really piss me off

Peter Molyneux said before X10 rolled around that what he was showing about Fable III at X10 would get people "super pissed"

Kind of a bold statement to make about your game. If you're making a game that people are going to be pissed off about, then how could it possibly be good? I mean, it was obviously just a marketing ploy for people to check out what he was showing at the event, but instead of getting pissed off I found myself more interested in what he did end up showing.

The first thing he showed was a set of six new screenshots:


The game is set 10 years after Fable II, with you taking the reins as the son of Fable II's main character. Save data from Fable II could be imported to change the game slightly, but Molyneux went on to say it wouldn't be necessary, and the changes wouldn't be incredibly significant.

About halfway through the story, you will become the ruler of Albion, and this will play a much bigger role in your relationship with the town. Followers will become your new form of currency, and you will have to face many tough choices, which will leave you with either many or little followers.

There's also a new "Touch" system that people have been comparing to ICO, and I can definitely see the similarity. As you progressively become more comfortable with a character, you will be able to go from a handshake, to a hug, to a kiss, etc.

Another thing Molyneux talked about was the weapon morphing system. Over time, depending on your actions in-game, your weapon will change over time, becoming more accustomed to your character and it will change, just like your character has changed in the past two games.

All of that seems great, but I think we're missing the part that's supposed to make us super pissed off. Well, Fable III is NOT AN RPG! Apparently there will be no XP, no glowing orbs, no leveling up no health bar, no red edge-of-the-screen effect to show you're about to die, none of that! In fact, Molyneux has stated that there will be no HUD elements in the game. Honestly, I'm not really pissed off about it, and it's hard to imagine many people being super pissed by it. This is quite surprising, and definitely turns the game into something much different, and something much better in this writer's opinion.

Overall, I'm pretty excited by what Fable III has to offer, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops in the following months till the game's release in Q4 2010. Until then, I'll watch the new set of Lionhead Developer Diaries. You can find the first one Here, just be sure not to get too pissed off about anything while watching it.

X10: Dead Rising 2: Case Zero Announced

Earlier today at Microsoft's X10 event, Capcom announced a very interesting piece of news. A prequel to Dead Rising 2, donned with the subtitle "Case Zero", will be released before the release of the full game, as an exclusive download on Xbox LIVE.

This sounds like a relatively interesting prospect, but I'm left wondering how the game will play. Will it play like Dead Rising? Will you play as Frank West? Will it work as DLC for the game? If it's coming out pre-release, how will it access the second game's on-disc files? Will it be a downloadable add-on for Dead Rising 1? The truth is, we don't know too much about the game yet. The one thing they have said is that it will bridge the gap between the first game and the second.

That seems like quite a bit of story, and it makes me wonder exactly how long the game will be... I'm guessing since it's downloadable, it won't be incredibly long, but a nice solid length for a prequel. My prediction, 2 hours.

So far pricing and a release date have not been announced, but Capcom has announced the release date for the full-version of the game as well as going on to say that it will have a simultaneous release on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Be sure to look for Dead Rising 2 on store shelves this August 31, and get ready for some kickass zombie hacking and slashing, muthafuckers!

Oscar Nominated Short Logorama, IT's BRILLIANT!!!

Hey guys, Thank you to Kotaku for pointing me in the direction of this phenomenal short film thats been nominated for an Oscar. The premise is two cops going after Ronald Mcdonald and then all hell breaks loose. Enjoy and let me know what you think because I had so much fun watching this film and will be rooting for it at the Oscars. The only other animated short I've seen is the short in front of UP "Partly Cloudy" and while that film was moving i can't deny the joy I got from watching this short. Well done and good luck on Oscar night Logorama

What the movie in it's entirety here: Logorama

The Last Airbender Full Trailer

The full trailer finally surfaced, and my god it looks great.

Notes about the trailer

Character wise Rathbone as Sokka looks pretty good, Nicola Peltz as Katara seems a bit younger than the show. Katara did look a bit older than Aang and certainly sounded older, but here they are about even in terms of age and maturity. At one point you can hear Aang screaming, and with that I’m hoping they keep the innocent feel to Aang. Someone who hands him a big responsibility he has no choice but to hold, I was afraid Shayamalan would make it too stiff serious like some of his movies are. Nope, looks like he is listening to the creators. I know Brian Koneitsko and Michael Dimartino are Executive Producers, but they clearly are overseeing this movie more than other producers with Executive credit do.

When they designed Aangs tattoos I wasn’t sure how they’d go about it. I thought it would just look silly, the peeks at his airbender tattoo’s designs are pretty damn cool.

The visuals of the iceberg scene, the skulls littered around the air temples, and the temples themselves once again make me very excited. If the creators are doing one thing right as executive producers, its ensuring that Industrial Light and Magic as well as production values are staying true to the flavor of the show. Where things are different from the show such as the designs for Aang’s tattoos is where the clear differences the movie should have from the show. Big bold blue lines all over Aang would have just looked silly for a movie that REALLY is trying to be the first cool Nick movie. This is being produced by Frank Marshall’s company, and they know production values from all the Steven Spielberg movies they’ve handled.

I want to personally mention Dev Patel as Zuko, Slumdog Millionaire didn’t appeal to me as much as it does to others. However Patel was able to give a genuine appearance in terms of his character, delivery is one thing in an actor. The interesting thing about Dev Patel is that in terms of facial expression and the presence he exudes is so believable, and in the trailer I could believe he is the prince of the Fire Nation. He didn’t even say lines, and I totally see him as Zuko. Many complain about his scar being not as “overbearing” on his eye like in the show, I find that argument a bit silly. Once again animation is different from live action in key areas, and a scar on an eye in the style of the animated show would be pretty damn distracting. When Dev Patel is suiting up at 1:04, the movie reminded me of a scene in the show when he’s suiting up for episode 1. YAY more homaging.

The actor for Iroh, which was a great character in the show seems like another personal mention because this trailer is the first time we see him, the Fire Lord and so many others. I even distinctly heard Katara’s grandma at the end. The casting is just looking so good, but I was afraid they would miscast Iroh. Doesn’t look like it, I’m pumped.

Overall, the movie is looking so good. And while it isn’t quite anime, this is a clear lesson for the idiots who made Dragonball Evolution and adaptions in general that you need competent directors, you need to really understand the characters, and so many other things that seem to go right for this movie.

The bending, the casting, the story, the visuals, all look like the people involved in the show gave their two cents about the movie. Could this movie be M. Night Shayamalan’s greatest work? If it critically scores well , it is going to be a BIG BIG BIG talking point. I could probably see a special long podcast for this movie.

Wow, even Princess Uwe (spelling?) makes an appearance. How long is this movie? It's packed with soo much stuff from the show.

Geeksquisite Episode 50: IPAD

TJ, Rob, Ed, Aaron, and Randy talk about the IPAD and discuss if it's worth the price tag or not. Does this device show potential or is it dead on arrival?

Geeksquisite Episode 50: IPAD

The Book of Eli Review

This movie certainly got my attention, because I like Denzel Washington. The guy can play any role you give him, same can be said of Gary Oldman.

Book of Eli is an all around solid movie, in terms of production values they really went for the apocalyptic feel. The daily life of living in this post apocalyptic American is very intense for all of its inhabitants. If you aren't carrying the most bullets in this world the Hughes brothers created, you are in deep trouble. Now obviously in this world they created, money means nothing since necessities are all they want and in scarce supply. The movie had some ironic humor when it came to the world's bartering system, what we take for granted here earns you a simple canteen of water. The people of this post apocalyptic world are humbled right down to the simple concept of staying clean. Pretty cool way they showed that visually and when the characters interacted.

Lets talk about the acting, pretty damn good overall. Denzel Washington could have said 5 words or had long monologues and I would have understood his character. Simply Eli, or at least I think his name is Eli, is hopeful to find civilization. He runs into Carnegie played by Gary Oldman, and I half expected him to liberate Carnegie's town. He doesn't, and Carnegie plainly points out why later. The whole conflict between him and Eli is his King James bible, pointing to the words of god as an instrument of power. I am not very religious, but the power of the bible in a post apocalyptic world is about as vital as the water we drink, which also flocks people in this movie.

There are some pretty good supporting actors too, Mila Kunis has been raved about. So while I tried to ignore what everyone says, I could clearly see how good of a job Mila Kunis did. I do not know her by looks, but it was easy to see she stood out. She played her part very well to be sure, but I got quite a few laughs out of Frances de la Tour and Michael Gambon (who play Olympe and Dumbledore respectively in Harry Potter). As an old couple who still retain their house, they were a typical NRA gun toting couple intent on retaining the life they know. They had quite a few good lines, and the whole interaction with them is one of the most dynamic points of the film.

Overall the film has merits, but if anything annoyed me. It was the coincidental circumstance for Eli toward the end, keep an EYE OR TWO out for that when you see the movie and notice how the film wraps up. It surprised me, but it begs a few questions I might address in a video review later on. if there is anything else that comes to mind, I have to say the pacing for this movie is pretty solid as far as I am concerned. It made me grateful for the fact that I have everything I've wanted and that I overlook simple necessities I should be grateful for.

Out of 10, I give this movie an 8. Go see it.

TJ What's New? Pandorum

Is Pandorum an overlooked 2009 science fiction gem or just another piece of crap that should have premiered on the Syfy channel?

TJ What's New? Kissing Jessica Stein

Is this quarky indie lesbian rom com from 2001 good enough to be worth a watch? Find out below.

The Who to Have Super Bowl S-Mashup in the Rock Band Music Store

Well folks, it's Super Bowl Sunday, and while I normally don't follow sports, this story flows over well enough into video games that I felt it was relevant.

As we all should know, The Who is preforming live at the Super Bowl Halftime show this year. Harmonix is getting in on the deal by releasing a specially recorded version of the performance The Who plan to play, and they're releasing it directly after the Super Bowl!

They have announced on the official forums that it will be available for 160 MS Points on the Xbox 360, and $1.99 on the Wii... The PS3 version is said to be "coming soon" which I'm guessing is going to be the standard Thursday update for PSN.

This is rather surprising that they're releasing it on Sunday. Besides the 20 free DLC songs, which didn't really have a definitive release date, this is a first for Harmonix, and it'll be interesting to see if they do any more of this kind of thing in the future.

Xbox Live Discontinues Original Xbox support, Increased Friend Cap a Possiblity?

Marc Whitten, Xbox Live's General Manager has recently posted a blog over at the Xbox 360 Press website.

He has stated that on April 15th, 2010 Support for Original Xbox games, played through either off of a disc, or through the Xbox Originals service will no longer work on Xbox Live.

The main reason for this has not been stated specifically, but he goes on to say that they will continue to evolve the features of the service, and they need to make changes to the service that are incompatible with Original Xbox games.

I'm just taking a wild guess here and saying that the main change he's referring to is the 100 friend cap on games with a built-in friends list like Halo 2. If so, I would definitely not mind having a higher friends list cap, seeing as how the 100 friend limit has kind of become a burden on me a number of times.

He also mentions something about Natal support with Xbox Live, and I have to imagine that will be something big. I guess we'll just have to wait till more details get trickled out. Until then, you can check out the original article Here.

The Last Airbender TV Spot

I thought they were supposed to keep a lid on these TV spots? Lol.

Oh man, this movie looks good.

Sonic 4 Ep.1 Trailer

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

This summer, the first of many awesome sonic titles will arrived.

I am buying this day one on XBLA.

The Behemoth finally names it's third game!

Remember a while ago when The Behemoth released Alien Hominid? Then remember how they went on to release the critically acclaimed Xbox Live Arcade title Castle Crashers? Of course you remember! If you don't, you're a jerk. Anyway, a while after that, they announced they were working on a third game, simply known as "Game 3". many Speculated that this was the official name of the game, but Tom Fulp (Head of The Behemoth and founder of Newgrounds.com) stated that this was, in fact, not the official name and it would later be renamed to something more appropriate.

Yesterday, The Behemoth released a new trailer for the game on Youtube, which you can watch below:



That's right folks! We can now start calling this game of the third variety by it's official title:

BattleBlock Theater

The trailer itself doesn't really show much of anything new, beyond the title... however, the game still looks pretty interesting and I'm digging the Soviet Russian inspired soundtrack. What I'm digging even more is the Entirely Acapella track at the end there, good stuff guys, good stuff.

Be sure to keep an eye out for this one, as it's currently slated to be released somewhere early 2010.

TJ What's New? Away We Go

Is Away We Go a tantalizing look into the relationships of people or a uneven mess of hilarity and melodrama?

TJ What's New? The Lovely Bones

How lovely is The Lovely Bones Exactly? Watch and find out.

TJ What's New? The Hurt Locker

Is this one of the best movies of the year like everyone has been saying or does it fall on it's face? Watch and find out on today's TJ What's New?

TJ What's New?

This is a new video series I'll be doing and potentially other contributors if they like. It will be short messy and to the point. Watch the videos and i'm sure you'll get the jist. The first video is a short explanation of what I plan to do with the videos and the long awaited return of the podcast.

TJ What's New? Intro




TJ What's New? Angels and Demons

Leave your consoles home when flying

I've gotten into the habit of bringing handhelds or game consoles with me on a trip, short one day trips seeing as I value the idea of getting away from gaming on longer vacations. However, I can understand someone bringing their consoles with them, but you might wanna consider leaving any console you have home.

Seems that technology as "advanced" as the Xbox 360 is a flight risk, until they take it apart.

Apparently airport security takes apart things to find CPU sized explosives hiding in game consoles, and decided to rip out components of the noted Xbox 360. As much as that is drawing the line of paranoia, those security guards seem to make quicker work of the 360 than the Texas repair center does. (Okay, bad joke.)

So, as a warning to gamers out there. If you plan on flying and desire to take your gaming devices with you, do as Kotaku columnist Luke Plunkett says in this article. Carry on luggage only.

So you could fit a Nintendo Wii in your carry on, maybe your Xbox if you don't even have carry on luggage. I think that might raise a red flag to security though, and a "fat" PS3 certainly isn't going to fit in there.

Rock Band Network Goes into Open Beta

Rock Band Network has just went into open beta, meaning that we now get to see all of the songs that are being released, and if we had the proper tools, we'd be able to upload our own. Anybody with an XNA account, an Xbox Live Gold account, and a free account on the Rock Band Network website can now do peer reviewing and auditioning on newly submitted Rock Band Network songs. And if you have all that, a license to use reaper, and a free copy of Magma, you'll be able to upload your own songs for peer review!

That's right, in order to audition any songs, you'll need an XNA membership. Kind of disappointing to me, since i'd love to preview and rate some songs before I decide to download them or not, but (provided you're logged in to the site with your free account) at least we can still see all of the songs on the website (complete with audio previews) at this link here.

Currently, my favorite song on the network has to be "White Heat" by Cetan Clawson and the Soul Side, just based on the previews I listened to.

At the time of this writing, there's 38 songs approved in total with more on the way in the coming months. Currently, the songs have not been published to any sort of store, all of that's being saved for the full-launch of the network. I wouldn't be surprised if by the time that happens, we'd have over 200 songs already on the service! I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this one.

Arc vs Natal

The motion control wars was supposed to start this spring with the Sony motion controller getting a 6 month or more head start over Natal with Arc. Arc is a suggested decision on the name of Sony's motion controller if you didn't already know.

Well I was curious to see what people would say about Arc, but Brutal Gamer brought to my attention that this has changed.

“We have decided to release the Motion Controller in fall 2010 when we will be able to offer an exciting and varied line-up of software titles that will deliver the new entertainment experience to PS3 users." -Kaz Hirai

While I don't agree with Brutal Gamer's article that this kills any chance for Sony to outdo Natal, it is a loss of a good head start for them.

Speaking of Natal, Brutal Gamer also lets us know about a possible November 2010 release (early birthday present 4 me?). They also speculate on this article from MCV about the supposed price and shipping details.

so after sifting through all those articles, i've let it sink in. 50-80 dollars for Natal?! Holy crap, what a good price. Almost a dirt cheap price when you think about it, and if it's just a little better than it was at E3 those 5 million units will disappear FAST!

So now you will have to decide if you have both consoles which to buy first, and single console owners will have yet another piece of hardware for the fanboy flame wars.

Aliens vs Predator: Kill Moves Trailer

Gore Gore Gore!

If the multiplayer has the same level of carnage, I am literally going to be exhausted after playing this game. I'm still debating over getting this game, but jeez it looks fun.

Green Lantern: First Flight Review

Although this movie came out last year, First Flight had it's Cartoon Network premiere today. With the Green Lantern movie finally on its way into production, I wanted to get a general idea of Green Lantern as a super hero.

Well, Green Lantern First Flight is not a rich story per-say. It has Green Lantern material in it, but the dialogue suggests this movie was going for attitude instead of being deep. That's fine, I enjoyed it. I do recommend this movie because its good for fans of Green Lantern and people new to the Green Lantern story like myself. Having Christopher Meloni voice Hal Jordan was an interesting step, Meloni has a great diversity in acting.

As a whole the movie is decent, even earning a chuckle or two. If there is one thing I hoped for, it was seeing what the order of the Green Lantern does with it's rings. Hal Jordan earned a few chuckles out of me with what he created to fight a bug race at one point. In a way its simple-minded of Jordan and also insulting to bugs that can shoot your damn head off.

One scene in particular reminded me of the alien death scene in Alien: Resurrection when Jordan was making his way through the ship to Kanjar Ro. I hate that i'm thinking about that mediocre movie, but the similarity is quite noticeable.

If there was one scene that was powerful, it was seeing rings fall from the sky of dying Green Lanterns who had the misfortune of needing their powers to breathe. Such an impact that has on you, as helpless dying scenarios always seem to.

One of the Green Lanterns, Boodikka, seemed like the typical feminine character that sympathizes with the under-appreciated hero AKA Hal Jordan. Then, she suddenly has a good reason for doing that. It basically surprised the hell out of me and made her seem less one dimensional, although it came a bit too sudden it was welcomed by me.

If there was one thing I could nitpick about, it would be Hal Jordan's super form. Not going to elaborate but when you see it, it doesn't seem as imposing as it should and hardly any thought into the "transformation" process.

Oh well, that's a small disappointment. But I enjoyed Green Lantern: First Flight and give it a 3/5.

Ghostbusters 3 gets a director

We all heard that Ghostbusters 3 was happening, the writers of The Office were taking on the challenge of writing the script. Really now, the video game released this year had a story with funny dialogue. So why can't Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis write Ghostbusters 3?

Oh well, now we get the news of who is directing the third installment courtesy of Spill.com. Ivan Reitman!

Seems to be a good move considering he directed the other Ghostbuster movies, but Gametab's forums offer interesting points

Ivan Reitman's movies haven't really stood out

My Super Ex-Girlfriend
Evolution
Six Days Seven Nights
Father's Day
Junior

I haven't bothered to see any of these, and they don't sound that good. I do know that the supposed writers wrote Year One, which is BAD in addition to the uneasiness with Ivan Reitman.

I'm sure plenty of people will go out to see this movie, and I can hope they do a good job. It's been over 20 years since the last movie, a sequel isn't a bad idea.

Fallen Earth First Impressions

I recently had a chance to check out Fallen Earth, a relatively new MMO from developer Icarus Studios. By "relatively new" I mean it came out last year, September 2009.

The game is set in the post-apocalyptic year of 2154, and the gameplay feels a lot like Fallout 1 or 2. However, the tone is not so much 50's-style. Instead it's got more of a Road Warrior vibe to it. This isn't bad however, and it works to the game's advantage.

As far as gameplay goes, you've got some standard MMO features in there. The skillbar at the bottom of your screen, mapped to the number keys. An inventory, Stat building, etc. However, the thing that sets this game apart is it's intuitive use of shooter controls. Instead of clicking on an enemy and waiting for your skills to re-charge so you can attack again, you simply equip a weapon, or multiple weapons (which you can switch between by holding ctrl and using the number keys), and attack with the left-click for primary attacks, and right-click for secondary attacks. The game also sets itself apart by allowing you to zoom all the way in, and go into a first-person mode. This turns the game into more of an action game than an MMO.

As far as social aspects go, I didn't see many people once I got out of the tutorial. I might of not been in a big hub world, or maybe the game just isn't very active. However, I do like the emotes they give you.

The big problem with the game is it's polish. The game isn't polished whatsoever, the shooting feels really bad, with the camera changing when you start shooting and changing again when you stop. It feels very shaky, but it's definitely not intentional, and doesn't feel as smooth as other first-person or third-person shooters.

I guess it might be a little unfair to compare it to other shooters, but even compared to other MMOs, the game seems a bit too glitchy, I almost got stuck in one part where I had to sneak past some irradiated creatures, and by stuck I mean stuck in the wall. If they just took 6 months to put a nice layer of polish onto the game, I think it would have turned out much better, but as it is I'm not currently interested in playing anymore of it.

Razer's Xbox 360 Controller

Kotaku's Brian Crecente was drooling over Razer's new $50 Xbox Controller, a modified design with the start and back buttons being placed on the bottom. The D pad was also supposedly improved, I clicked the article thinking to myself there is no way I would b-



.....

W-Wow, I actually like this. It's wired, which seems like a step back but dang it reminds me of the original Xbox controller look. I might actually consider grabbing one of these when it comes out.