Game Releases This Week(HalfPorTeamEp1Ep2 Edition)

After a week of Shake Up’s and Break Up’s the only thing us gamers can keep looking forward to is more games. “Halo 3“is still in daily rotation for tons of gamers but this might a change a bit this coming week. We see the release of “The Orange Box” which might be the best deal of the year.

“The Orange Box” includes Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2:Episode 1 and Episode 2, Team Fortress 2, and the intriguing Portal. You can literally get over One hundred hours of gameplay from these games and like I said it’s a sweet deal.

Other releases include Fifa Soccer 08, Looney Tunes ACME Arsenal, Sega Rally Revo, and ThrillVille.

For me “The Orange Box” is a must buy as “Halo 3″ and “The Orange Box” will hold me off till “Call of Duty 4“.

-Michael “Thrills Killa” Pacheco-

Are Carcassonne’s Expansion Packs Worth It?

I’ve heard a lot of people on various forums complaining about the apparent “high cost” of the Carcassonne expansion packs (Rivers II and King & Baron) on Xbox Live Arcade. For 300 MSP ($3.75 USD) each, players can add either 12 new tiles with the Rivers II pack (Rivers I comes with the game) or 7 new tiles with the recently released King & Baron pack. This is practically a steal when you consider the cost of the actual board game and its expansions.

For starters, the Carcassonne game retails for $19.95 compared to the 800 MSP ($10.00 USD) price on XBLA. That’s a savings of 50%. Next, each expansion pack at retail costs $11.95 compared to the 300 MSP price on XBLM. I would say that’s almost 70% off the retail price AND you get the added bonus of not having to clean up all those little pieces when you win (or lose). Of course, there is something to be said about “holding” the actual game in your hands as opposed to the digital version, but honestly, I’d take a heavily discounted virtual game over cleaning up a mess of potentially lost wooden pieces any day of the week. What do you think?

I guess you’re probably wondering, “Who cares? Why is Wurm going on this stupid tirade? Is he in Sierra’s pocket?” And those are all fair questions; however, my sole reason for bringing this up (and using it as my first official post) is a selfish one. I would simply like to see more people playing Carcassonne online. I have high hopes that I might convince more people to pick up this incredible game and allay the fears of those of you who are hesitant to buy the expansion packs. If I have done just that, I’ll see you online!

[Carcassonne]

-David “Whet Wurm” Wetty-

Mass Effect Character Spotlight 2

Vodpod videos no longer available. 

The team tasked with making these videos seem to be picking up the pace as the game’s release draws closer. The graphics still look amazing and you can check out the HD version in the link below.

[Via Gametrailers]
[HD Version]

-Matthew “Webnet” Moore-