Divine Brew : Get your beer learn on.

So yesterday I was at Ashburn Wine Shop with a few buddies for a beer tasting and it was awesome. The Ashburn Wine Shop does beer tastings every Thursday hosted by the master mind of Divine Brew, Brett A. Robison. He blogs about beer among other topics, has videos, and even short comics.

I'm posting this on my gaming site because I think that gaming and beer can complement each other if done right, haha. Many of my gaming buddies are strict Miller Lite/Bud Light drinkers... and that has to change. That doesn't mean you need to jump into a Guinness or an IPA... what it means is that there are other beers out there that have more flavor, more alcohol, and are reasonably priced you just need to learn about them.

If you are a fan of Miller Lite and Bud Light... try a Stiegl Pils. It is light, not hoppy at all, and I think it is a great way to show people that you can actually have a great taste in a pilsner. Before you label me a snob, which I am sure you have already done... just try it.

Also... if you feel adventurous but not willing to get up from your chair... check out Brett's website: Divine Brew



You can learn a lot with a beer in your hand... and some of you actually play better after a few beers, haha.

Drink responsibly and have fun killing :)

MW3 : Double XP Weekend Started (3/23)

That's correct... Double XP has started on all platforms as of 2am this morning. So get out your favorite class, put your phone on vibrate, stock up on hotpockets and beer, and prepare to prestige.

Remember that Collection 1 was released on 3/20, so there are just a bunch of people who have just purchased the new maps and are ready to be taught some lessons...

There is new prey on the battlefield... happy hunting :)

MW3 : Double XP Weekend Coming Up

Robert Bowling just tweeted :

"Turning on Double XP for everyone on Modern Warfare 3 this weekend! All platforms and playlists included. #MW3"

Yummy yummy yummy... this is going to be a great weekend.

Enjoy :)

MW3 : 3/16 Hotfix (Update 01)

On 3/16 I posted that there was a hotfix that buffed LMG's a little. The reality is that they increased the minimum damage they do... that's right... minimum.

Thanks to TmarTn, we have learned that ALL LMG's will kill someone in three shots or less no matter how far you are!! That's right, shooting up close or shooting from a galaxy far far away... you will kill your target in no more than three shots (that land, haha). The M60 will actually kill an opponent in two shots at close range versus every other LMG which would take three.

Talk about a buff. Allowing LMG's to kill an enemy so fast will make them very popular... but now we need to learn a little more about them. I personally never used a LMG unless I picked up from someone I just killed so let's talk a little about details.

Gun	Capacity	Rate of Fire	Reload Time	Recoil
L86	100	800rpm	3.76s	Small
MG36	100	769rpm	3.73s	Large
PKP	100	705rpm	8.06s	Large
MK46	100	859rpm	8.67s	Medium
M60	100	600rpm	9.30s	Super Sized

From the stats we learn that the L86 is the best balanced gun. It has the best recoil, 2nd fastest reload, and 2nd fastest rate of fire.

Other great tips from TmarTn:

Perks

- Extreme Conditioning : You run very slow with the LMG. Having extreme conditioning will help you get around easier.
- Marksman : If you plan on using the iron sites it is easier to see the enemy when aiming.
- Blind Eye Pro : You can take down air craft super quick with Blind Eye Pro.

Attachments

- Grip > Kick : Grip does better than Kick with LMG's. Also I guess some people try to use both... don't there is no additional benefit.
- Silencer : Most of the times silencers lower the damage of shots, but not in the case of LMG's. If you like running silencer... rock on, because it isn't going to take away from your shots.

All of this being said if you are a fan of LMG's... you have just been upgraded to a groupie. If you haven't tried a LMG... check it out... you may like it.

If anything else pops up, I will make sure to share. :)

Play on playas...

MW3 : 1st DLC Bundle "Collection 1" Trailer.

The first DLC Bundle that Activision is calling Collection 1 will drop on 3/20; and they released a trailer for it.



For those of you who don't have Elite Premium... be ready to purchase that package. It will cost 1200 Microsoft Points ($15). As usual, Playstation players will have it available to them one month later.

MW3 : 3/16 Hotfix

Robert Bowling Tweeted earlier today that Activision released a hotfix at 2am EST that gave a small damage buff to LMG's.

He also mentioned that they are still working on the matchmaking issues.

I'll update when I find out more.

Enjoy :)

MW3 : 3/13 Patch 1.10 Update : Matchmaking

I know that I said I would update everyone on what the 5MB patch was on 3/13 for MW3... but so far there really hasn't been any information posted to the public about it.

What we know:
- New Achievements related to the new content was included. Click Here
- Changes to game matchmaking.

Now there has been very little hints given to us on the web or on Twitter but the biggest change that has affected us has been the changes they made to matchmaking.

What Activision has done is changed their match finding to primarily search local players versus going further out. What this means is that players who live in less populated areas will have a harder time finding games than players who have more players near them.

Since we don't have much to go on, we don't know why they made this change. I can only assume this was one idea of how to correct lag compensation. As most of you know lag compensation has been a focus of Activision and hasn't done a great job making the game "fair". Perhaps the idea to force players to play with other local players will decrease the number of mismatched internet connections there for making the lag "gap" less. I'm just speculating...

What this has done is really affected players in less populated areas. This also affects clans who have players in less populated areas as well. I play with a bunch of Canadians (shout out to MYHM!!) and I have found that it is taking longer to find games. Now I am not sure if it is because I am the only American player so I mess up the match searches or if one of our other players lives on a mountain, haha. Either way a ton of people on the interwebs have been b!tching about it.

Fourzerotwo, on Twitter, has been telling everyone that Activision is trying to correct the matchmaking issues. The bad news is that it is rumored the fix will have to come in the form of an actual patch and not a playlist update.

For those of you who aren't aware:
- Patches : Larger changes that require the approval from Microsoft before release and takes longer to get rolled out.
- Playlist Updates/Hotfixes : Smaller changes that Activision can just roll out with approval.

If this fix does come in a patch, then who knows how fast they will help us.

Until then... try not to piss too many players off... because they are local and you will most likely play them again... and again... and again...

Play on playas...

MW3 : 3rd DLC released for XBox

The third DLC dropped yesterday for XBox users and I have to say that I really like the new map (Black Box).



Black Box is a large map with a lot of locations for all styles of playing. Where is there a good sniping spot? Just lay down. There are a ton of sniping locations... but watch your back you men-from-a-distance... there are a lot of ways to get around on this map with cover enough for us assault classes to get you, haha.

Overall I am very pleased so far. I can't wait to see how many people purchase the first DLC Bundle on March 20th. We have one week to polish up our skills on Black Box so we can enjoy the newbie fodder.

You will also notice that in addition to the new maps that there was a 5MB download on the XBox yesterday. I am going to find out more about it, but from what I do know they have released additional achievements.

Shotgun Diplomacy (15)
Complete the Special Ops mission “Negotiator” on any difficulty.

Not on My Watch (35)
Rescue all the hostages in the Special Ops mission “Negotiator.”

Skilled Negotiator (25)
Complete the Special Ops mission “Negotiator” on Veteran difficulty.

Slippery Slope (15)
Complete the “Black Ice” Special Ops mission on any difficulty.

A Baker’s Dozen (35)
Run over and kill 13 enemies with the snowmobile in the “Black Ice” Special Ops mission.

Ice in Your Veins (35)
Complete the “Black Ice” Special Ops mission on Veteran difficulty.

If you have seen my log in screen on MW3, you will notice that it says 0% 0% 920% (so far). Meaning I don't play single player or missions on MW3. Though it does give others a way to experience the game in a different light... CoD will always just be about the multiplayer to me.

I will post more about the 5MB when I learn more... until then, enjoy the new map :)

MW3 : #1 in US for the month of Feb 2012

I know a bunch of you sometimes question how much time you spend with your ACR and Akimbo FMG9's versus dinner with the Mrs or family... but if it makes you feel any better, MW3 has been #1 in gaming sales since release in November. So at least you are not alone in your ventures as a skilled killer, haha.

For the fourth consecutive month MW3 has beating other popular game titles. What I am shocked to see is Battlefield 3 so low on the chart.

US February software sales chart

1) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
2) Final Fantasy XIII-2
3) UFC Undisputed 3
4) Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning
5) Just Dance 3
6) Soul Calibur V
7) Mario Kart 7
8) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
9) Twisted Metal
10) Battlefield 3

What else is surprising is how this game can be #1 in sales for four consecutive months and there still isn't a lot of Elite Premium members. Tomorrow the third DLC drops and next week all the non-Elite Premium members will have a chance to pick up the new maps. I am hoping that there will be a surge in players so we will have some new blood to shed.

Enjoy and play on...

Valve rumored to be designing a gaming console : Steam Box

So the interwebs have been blowing up with rumors about Valve designing a new gaming console to compete with the Playstation, Xbox, and uh... I guess Wii. ***For the rest of this post, let's pretend that Nintendo isn't involved in this clash of the titans because they are more focused on younger games than adult games***

That's right Valve, a gaming software beast, is daring to take on equally intimidating Microsoft and Sony as "King of the Consoles". Most of you already know what benefits the Playstation and XBox brings you, but you won't believe the approach Valve is taking to gain your gaming interest.

Let's start simple...

The popular belief is that the Steam Box will be spec'd out to have an Intel Core i7 Sandy Bridge processor, 8GB of RAM, and a NVidia graphics card. In addition, Steam Box is projected to be prepared for the soon to be released higher resolutions that Apple and other developers will be introducing in the near future (2048 by 1536 pixels). Yummy...

Another great concept (whether implemented correctly or not) is the ability to change your controller hardware to fit your preferences. So far I have read about interchangeable thumbsticks but who's to say they will stop there. It would be great to have different gel grips to fit different players comfort preferences... but that's just me wishing :)

Here is a pic of the possible Steam Box controller:





As I am sure some of you are already developing a caution of the quality of hardware Valve will be releasing, check this out. Valve recognizes that what they do best is software and will need to partner up with a hardware company to help compete. What I have learned from Woodysgamertag YouTube channel is that Valve will be presenting a number of hardware giants (Dell, HP, etc) with a list of specs and have them propose their cost.

That is actually a good approach... stick with what you are good at... and find someone else who is good at the other stuff.

This is what has been passed around as a concept design.



Picking up any interest yet? Let's get into some more gritty information.

One thing that Valve does really well has been the developing and managing of Steam (online gaming store, licensing management, and media distribution). It is no shock that their Steam Box will be heavily integrated to their current Steam... which would be AWESOME!! How much will be integrated? We won't know for a while.

Here are some perks of digital downloads
- You don't have to keep track of licensing.
- If your system breaks, you can log into another system and download the game there.
- No physical media... no mess.

Drawbacks of digital downloads
- No used games market; which gaming companies are excited about. Think about it... if there is no more physical media, you won't be able to loan your buddy a copy of Hello Kitty Island Adventure or buy a used copy of Lego Hanna Montana.

Valve Steam Box is also going to be building a bridge from console gaming to pc gaming. How? The Steam Box is said to be able to not only play the console games released by developers but also be compatible with current and future PC games!! What that will mean is that you will use one box to play your Halo/Call of Duty and also your Minecraft/World of Warcraft. If done well, I can definitely see people spending more money on a console if it can do everything they want to do on a PC.

Since there has been no official release and all of this information is based on rumors there are a lot of gaps in this system. Will it provide a Blu Ray player? Will it have WiFi (most likely)? Cost range? Operating System (Windows? Linux?)?

Anyways... you can't form a full opinion unless you know all the facts. So until then, we can all dream of what we would want in a new gaming system. Take the bests of all the current systems and bring them together.

I'll keep you all posted on any news that pop up in the future.

Keep on gaming...

MW3 : 3rd DLC Trailer

So Activision has released a trailer for the next DLC.




Just a quick reminder... this DLC drops for XBox Premium Elite members on March 13th.

I'm so glad that video game companies make promos like this... love them.

Enjoy...

MW3 : DLC Schedule

If you are wondering what will be release and when... well this should ease some of that wondering...

The DLC Schedule

January: Piazza (Map), Liberation (Map)
Fabruary: Overwatch (Map)
March: Black Box(Map), Black Ice(Mission), Negotiator(Mission)
April: Two Maps
May: One Map, One Mission, One Classified
June: One Map, One Mission, One Classified
July: Two Maps
August: One Map, One Mission, One Classified
September: One Map, One Mission

As you can see there are three categories of possible content; Map, Mission, and Classified. Maps and Missions are self explanatory... but what is "Classified"? Well it used to be called "Mods" but I guess that have added items that have made it so "Mods" wouldn't be accurate. One possibility is the addition of weapons. It has been rumored that new weapons may be added... which would make sense why "Classified" would be a better term than "Mods". We'll find out.

If you are a PS3 or PC player... just push out all the DLC out by one month.

For those of you who are really attentive... yes the amount of content has been increase. It was originally announced that 20 pieces of content would be released but it is now 22.

Enjoy :)

MW3 : Release Date for 3rd DLC (XBox)

Sorry for the delayed posts, but I have been really busy IRL.

It has been announced that the third DLC will be release on March 13th for XBox Elite Premium Members. This DLC will include two missions and one map. The two missions will be called Negotiator and Black Ice. The single map will be called Black Box.

Here is a screen shot of Black Box



On March 20th (one week later), XBox non-Elite Premium members will be able to purchase all three DLC's in a bundle. I am not sure yet how much that will cost but it will include Piazza, Liberation, Overwatch, Blackbox, Black Ice, and Negotiator.

Right now there aren't a lot of Elite members playing so I am hoping a large enough crowd ends up picking up the bundled DLC so we can have more people to play against, haha.

More to come... Play On...