EVENT

This is what I told Bungie: Tough call! I originally wanted to vote for Halo 3 due to the vast amount of multiplayer fun that it brings to the table. It is a source of socialization and competition that adds flavor to my life. In the end I had to vote for Halo CE. I realized that not only was it a profound title in the gaming industry (whether or not the sequels ever came about), that the game had the most profound story line of the three. The story still stands today whether or not the graphics are up to modern console standards. In addition, the multiplayer was not unlike the experience I now get from Halo 3. Halo CE also carried a remarkable addiction to its multiplayer game time. I believe this game did for console gaming what Jackson Polluck did for art... "Broke the Ice"

After many inquiries about my custom painted "MLG style" controller, I have decided to post this blog with a link to the picture. It is the same as my avatar, but you can see it in more detail. I used Duplicolor Vinyl Fabric Dye (red & blue) to paint it. I had to disassemble and clean the controller before painting it. I recommend you visit www.mycustomxbox.com for the best instructions on how this can be done. You can view my controller (on Flickr) here: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2438/3724989984_9ce3d908b1_o.jpg

MLG almost always seems to be growing and expanding the gaming world with new ideas. Their latest was trying out their Friday night broadcast on ESPN 360 (ESPN360.com) in an attempt to grow the MLG audience and bringing gaming to the U.S. Making the move seemed to do the opposite however, frustrating fans, and making a fully-available online broadcast only available to a limited internet audience. Where did the frustrations begin? While MLG did a good job of publicizing the new broadcast format, ESPN 360 makes no qualms about its limited ISP (Internet Service Provider) partnerships. If your ISP isn't on ESPN's list, you're out of luck. Many viewers simply couldn't watch the Friday night broadcasts because of where they live. Many areas of the U.S. do not offer an authorized ISP provider. How did fans and spectators react? Many twittered panicked questions to MLG and thousands of people scrambled for a low bandwidth webcam re-stream of the event hosted by a few loyal fans. Overall, disappointment filled the internet blogs, while excitement about the possibilities that ESPN could offer MLG seem to large to ignore. The real question: Was the ESPN360.com stream a WIN or LOSS for viewers?

Like a good chef, I have both favorite and exotic dishes (games) that I like to play. Sometimes you can wow your friends with a really obscure game title, but I really enjoy opening people up to the ones I really favor. For instance, I will be getting a friend of mine ( and COD4 veteran) BadAttitudeMan to play Halo 3 campaign and then multiplayer with me very soon. He finally got the game and will soon be open to its masterful online multiplayer. Don't you just love to see the faces shine when your favorite dish finally strikes the taste buds of the unsuspecting?

I usually play more Halo 3 than anything else. Lately, with one of my good friends picking up a '360 and COD4, I have been playing a lot more Call of Duty 4. The reticle and shot latency, as well as map movement, continue to perplex me some. I don't seem to be able to lock those down as much as I can in Halo. This has also landed me with a long learning period and made it difficult to turn my K/D spread from negative to positive. I'm getting close at .95, but... I seem to be at a plateau. Oh, well. It's fun.