CoD Links, MW2 Vids, Jessica Chobot

     I'm playing MW2 a lot less than I was. We don't have a full crew any more. A lot of the guys Matt64, Reibo and I used to play with have moved on to other games or are just playing a lot less. I'm too slow for FFA, so I pretty much play HC TDM one night a week with my bro and a Matt. I play a little Spec Ops (I'm currently trying to beat a couple of the Alpha missions on two stars, but I'm stuck on Evasion and Suspension) because I find it fun, but it sucks playing that alone most times due to the intrinsically cheating nature of CoD games. I hate that frackin' strawberry jam all over my FOV and how bullets slamming into me from all directions immobilize me for more bullets to slam into me. Some of the missions, especially those with waves of enemies, could certainly have accomodated more than 2 players, despite the BS from Infinity Ward. I think they cut it off at 2 for the sake of expedience, not because it magically makes Spec Ops a better gaming experience.

     Playing MW2 multiplayer  with a full crew rocks. I've heard that 2O2P guys pack lobbies and go on to dismay the Timmies. Under those conditions, if you have guys using their mics and cooperating, MW2 is surely awesome, despite its problems. Going into a lobby with only a couple of pals is not as good. You've got teamkillers; players on the friends list of players on the enemy team who sandbag or shoot your claymores or C4; "friendly" players who shoot you if you "steal" a kill, or if you're "camping", and on and on. When you're doing well in the game, it's awesome, but sometimes you can't escape the feeling of being ripped off, like with the connection issues. FFA isn't my bag, but my bro Reibochief is great at it. Even he can only play a couple of games, tho, before his blood pressure redlines over the douchebags playing... I'm marking time to see if MoH or CoD: Black Ops can come to the rescue.

     MW2 the multiplayer game is a great game - but with great flaws. I think a lot of those flaws need to be addressed by the developer, but Infinity Ward has not done a very good job of doing so. This is not surprising considering the number of issues which went unaddressed in CoD4. Some issues, like the abuse of Tactical Insertion by boosters, they have specifically stated will NOT be addressed. The recent bailing of 12+ key employees makes it even less likely that anything but the most damaging glitches will be fixed.

• Rundlc: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 kit upgrade in North America only available on Xbox Live if you buy Dr. Pepper. Uh, no thanks.
• GameTrailers: Splinter Cell: Conviction Uplay Rewards.
• USAToday: Dead Rising 2 hands on.
• Dead Rising 2 co-op: TeamXbox; GameSpy; G4TV; GiantBomb.
• GameSpot: Dead Rising 2 co-op and weapons update.

• Joystiq: Pair of Lost Planet 2 multiplayer maps to be GameStop pre-order bonus.
• Edge Online: MS And News Corp Discussing XBL TV Channel.

• Kotaku: Blizzard Bans 320,000 Cheaters From Warcraft, Diablo.
• MLG Meets: Jared Gerritzen of Zombie Studios, developers of Blacklight: Tango Down.
• BASHandSlash audio: Bash 146: Client is king. Discussion of the trend of favoring client/player over modder/mapper.
• IGN: Daily Fix for 20 April 2010 with the luscious Jessica Chobot. (YouTube version below.)

IGN Daily Fix for 20 April 2010

Does Jessica Chobot look cute in glasses?

Yes, she still does!

• FoxNews: Man Loses Finger in iPad Theft.  Also, 'White Castle' Actor Kal Penn Robbed at Gunpoint in Washington D.C., Report Says.
• TechDirt thru Slashdot: The Escapist Website Mass-Bans Users Who Mention AdBlock.
• Slashdot: EFF Assails YouTube For Removing "Downfall" Parodies. No more Hitler gets banned on Xbox Live. The original parody, which had clocked up over 4 million views, was pulled due to copyrights complaints from the producers of the film "Downfall". Douchebags.
• IGN: Might we see a Batman 3D movie?