What Have I Been Playing?

The Christmas/Holiday Season is upon us.

Shopping continues. Credit Cards racked. Blood pressure rises.

Still, there is glorious gaming to be done. Especially mobile gaming since, well, 90% of time I'm on the move. ;)

So here is what I've been occupied with.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for Android/iOS - I've been playing this on my Sony Tablet S with great joy. I never got into GTA until the PS3/PSP era. So, I missed out on the original PS2 trilogy of titles (I was a GameCube junky back then). The re-releases have allowed me to play some catch up. Vice City. Oh my! it starts with a C-64 boot screen. Holy crap! It starts with a C-64 boot screen! There's my childhood right there! Then a Mr. Mister song plays during the first cinematic cut scene. ** cue tears ** The music. Oh, my... Nostalgia is a powerful thing. The title looks and plays great alongside Rockstar Games billion dollar production values. It's $4.99 on your favourite mobile/tablet device right now. Do yourself a favour and get it now!

Madden NFL 13 for PS Vita - NFL playoffs are right around the corner and it looks like my Packer real life and video game franchise teams are going to make them. This title was a little rough out of the gates. Then update 1.1 arrived and then... Holy crap! You've never played a portable Madden like this before. Full gameplay! Full HD presentation! All the bells and whistles of the console experience. Yeah, I am loving every minute of it! :)

Persona 4: Golden for PS Vita - Wow! Wow! Wow! This series is treasured by the gaming community. I've never played any of these before until now. I'm not disappointed  Great storytelling. Awesome voice acting. Beautiful graphics. Plus, it plays pretty good too. ;) Another killer app for the Vita right here folks. I love the characters in this game, their just so rounded out. Just talking about this game, makes me wanna play some more right now. :)

LittleBigPlanet for PS Vita - Another Vita killer app. The game that keeps on giving. The campaign is the best a LBP title has delivered. Everything from touch to back track pad control is executed flawless  The online creative community is on fire! Everything from full RPGs to 8-bit action platforms are ready for you to download right now for FREE! Do yourself a favour and get a Vita and this game. :)

Retro City Rampage for PS Vita/PS3 - Lets' wrap things up with a modern nostalgic game that celebrates the entire realm of the gaming industry. This 8-bit GTA glows with video gaming and film references  it just puts a big ole' smile on your face! Featuring "Transfarring" between the Vita and PS3, which is essentially cloud saving between the two pieces of hardware. Playing on my PS3 at home, then I'm popping the save into the "cloud", finally copying it into my Vita to continue my progress on the go. This is awesome! The future of gaming, TODAY!

There ya go! That's the awesomeness that I've been playing!

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy Gaming!

Eton Microlink FR160 Review

Crank radios are fairly numerous and very popular. Perfect for on the go, great for trips or just for simply listening at home. Not only are these radios self-powered, but many of them also include the ability to throw in a couple of batteries for extended use.

Not with Eton Microlink FR160.

It is a 100% dedicated self-powered, crank radio. Trust me, you won't even miss the batteries. According to Eton, it only requires a 90 second crank for 30 to 40 minutes of usage on low audio playback. The results have been impressive. A very nice piece of tech indeed.

Reception is very good. Including AM/FM/Weather Band reception, excellent LED flashlight, solar/crank power charging and topping it off, a cell phone charger.

This baby is tiny, light, very comfortable and easy to use.

Highly recommended!

Enjoying Persona 4: Golden on PS Vita

Damn, this game is fun!

In an earlier post, I pointed out numerous fantastic reviews for this game. Like, you have to take my word for it. This game is good. Really good.

Not only is it a joy to play, but the narrative is excellent. I've never played a Persona game in my life, my wife on the other hand absolutely loves the series. Like her and for plenty of other gamers, this is their favourite game series. It's easy to understand why.

So I started watching a bit of the anime, Persona 4: The Animation and quickly turned it off. It's beat for beat the same narrative, with a few alterations. I'll wait until after I complete the game before watching a single episode.

However, I'm excited to watch it when I can.

Persona 4, One of The Best Games Ever, Is Out For Vita

The PlayStation Vita's library is not only getting bigger, but it is home to some of the best games ever made.

One of the best. One of the highest rated games of all time, is out now.

I've just started playing Persona 4 Golden, a series treasured by many gamers. This epic is out now. It might be worth alone picking up a PlayStation Vita for.

GAMERANKINGS.COM is currently rated at 95.50% with several of the reviews ratings:

1UP.COM: A

Gaming Age: A

Destructoid: 10 out of 10

PlayStation Lifestyle: 9.5 out of 10

IGN.COM: 9.3 out of 10

Wow! I'm in for a treat! :)

Canadian Black Friday Deals

It's only been with the last few "Black Friday's" in years, that Canadian retailers have finally taken the plunge and celebrated with our American neighbours with big ole' savings.

Here's a run down of some of the exclusives you'll experience at retailers:

Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified PS vita Bundle - $199.99 at Walmart /Best Buy / Future Shop / EB Games

1TB WD Portable Hard Drive - $69.99 - Best Buy

$50 iTunes card for $39 - Best Buy

24" Sony PlayStation 3D TV - $149.99 - Best Buy

Cheers!

PlayStation Mobile Dev Up & Running

Well isn't this exciting?!?!

Sony's PlayStation Mobile Developer Program is up and running.

What does this mean?

Awesome fun times ahead! You can head over to their registration page, download the SDK package, start working on some games and apps. Sweet! Finally then, you pay $99 bones and your stuff gets online for everybody to enjoy. I'm sure there is possibly a few extra steps in the process, but you get the picture.

So get ready for a bunch of new content from Sony's service from imaginative super coders like you and me.

PlayStation Blog 411 Link

Registration Page Link

Bioshock For Free!

Get your free copy of Bioshock for your Widows PC here: http://www.gamefly.com/Download-BioShock/150930/?adtrackingid=cmju029#.UJyBLml26Ew

Enjoy!

Assassin's Creed III: Liberation Soundtrack

Head here - http://world.idolweb.fr/ubisoft-music/winifred-phillips/assassins-creed-3-liberation-original-game-soundtrack/3700551741663.html

Listen and enjoy ACIII: Liberation's awesome soundtrack. It's the complete score with a link to iTunes if you want to purchase it. Don't worry, it's on Ubisoft's official site, so it's free and legal to do so. :)

iPod Touch 5th Generation Thoughts

This is the closest iPod Touch to really be considered, "the iphone without the contract".

This device is beautiful. Pricey but beautiful. Thin, light and colorful. The same 4-inch, iPhone 5 screen brightens up the device in all it retina delights. Hey that rhymed. 1-UP for me! ;) I have myself a 32-gig, blue edition. The extra screen size definitely shows off the A5 processor's abilities. Games and apps are rendered out very detailed.  iOS6 launches with the product, Apple's latest mobile operating system is slick and smooth.

The package also includes their new EarPods. These won't replace your premium Monster or Sony ear buds/headphones. However, they are definitely an improvement over the useless buds they used to include. Specific to the Touch line are the "Loops". Armbands which of course have to have an officially marketed name from Apple, that I'm sure is copyrighted by them. They are very handy for walking and taking photos. I'm sure Apple will make a killing on them, with all the unique colors to be sold.

Bottom line: This is a premium product at a premium price. If you want an iPhone without the contract and want to have access to that fantastic App Store, this is it. Sound quality is reportedly the same as the iPhone 5's. As a device to be used strictly for audio listening, it's great. There are better MP3 players out there, that have buttons, which are easier to navigate and include better sound output quality  However, as a pocket computer, this is the best. If you have a 4th generation Touch, you may want to skip it. If you got the cash, it's highly recommended. ;)

Adventures In Assassin's Creed III

"I speed through the American frontier, a vast wilderness flowing with life. Atop I make my way to the highest vista, to map my journey to Boston. I have to meet with Sam Adams, to light a spark, that will ignite a young nation." - Me as Connor, enjoying a great game

Hours into Assassin's Creed III, I am in joy and delight.

"This game is why I game."

Even within hours into the experience, the player continues to learn new abilities. The latest, was naval warfare on your own ship. This is the icing on the cake. This gameplay element alone is worth the price of admission.

I won't spoil any plot points here, except for the final line in this post. I will say, I love the gradual learning of the gameplay through character and plot. Look, you won't be wearing the iconic AC outfit until hours into the game. You have to earn it. When you do, it becomes an emotional reward between character and player. Oh, it felt so good to finally put it on. I not only had a smile on my face, but a lump in my throat. There will be those who will want to rush through the experience, but it doesn't cut it. Pacing is key and the reward is emotionally greater.

I love a game that structures itself in that fashion, a sync between player, character and gameplay. Very few franchises do it and do it very well. The only two that pop into my mind that are as successful as AC is Metal Gear and Zelda, classic franchises in their own right.

I love this game. You should really play it.

* Spoiler Alert * ACIII is epic. The frontier is vast. I have a tea party to crash and it's going to be a heck of a lot of fun! * Spoiler Alert *

Welcome!

I've written a fair bit about personal endeavours, technology, gaming, all that fun stuff. Today, I'm starting new, again. A new blog. A new title. Trying to centralize everything into my own little unique piece of the world.

So here we go!

Welcome aboard. I hope you enjoy your visit!

Kelley