ASTRO A30's launch today

http://www.planetxbox360.com/article_9978/Astro_A30_Gaming_Headset_Launches_Today_for_Xbox_360

DRAGON AGE : Awakening review

http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1864/Dragon-Age-Origins-Awakening/p1/

PRISON BREAK, 'conspiracy' trailer

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/22303/Prison-Break-The-Conspiracy-Trailer/

JUST CAUSE 2 will get 'lots' of DLC

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/16/expect-a-lot-of-just-cause-2-dlc/

DANTE'S INFERNO 'trials of st. lucia' dlc preview

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/16/dantes-inferno-the-trials-of-st-lucia-dlc-preview/

METRO 2033 review

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/16/metro-2033-video-game-review/

rumor: microsoft delaying GEARS 3 to April 2011 due to Halo and Natal releasing

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/16/rumor-gears-of-war-3-in-april-2011/

Rapture Personified

PAXEast is now just 10 days away and I could not be more stoked. For those of you who have been lost from society or locked in a panic room somewhere, you should know a few things. First, Boston has become a slightly (oh ever so slightly) drier version of Rapture (Take THAT 2K Marin) over the past several days. After more than 72 hours of continuous rain, the sun has finally begun to shine once more in Beantown. However, the return of the light did not arrive quickly enough to save us much gnashing of teeth as we do our best to literally keep our heads (and in my case my collection of classic arcade games) above water. Early Saturday morning I noticed that the floor in my basement was beginning to darken with moisture. By Sunday, standing water was collecting on one side (luckily the one without the arcade cabs). As I left for work on Monday, I had a dehumidifier and sump pump running to keep the water at bay and my collection dry. By luck of the draw and with a bit of ersatz praying to the rain gods to move on, my games were spared any actual soaking or water damage. Several of my fellow collectors in the area (and my office) were not so lucky. Upon arriving at work yesterday, I was met with 4" of standing water in one area of our store (not the video game/comic book establishment, but my "real" place of employment) and water rapidly rising in another. After a few hours at work, I returned home to make sure that my basement was still dry (and it was). Some of my local arcade collecting friends were not as lucky, including one who reported that he had 18 vintage pinball machines sitting in over 3' of standing water in his basement. As I stated earlier, the sun finally came out today and things are now beginning to dry out. We have a forecast for at least a week of more sun and warmer (60 degree) weather. So hopefully you won't need a snorkel to get around by the time you arrive here in Boston for PAXEast next week.

Let the Games Begin

With a little over one week until people begin to arrive for PAXEast, planning for this event has ramped up to critical stage and things are getting a bit chaotic. I am working with our partners over at SFX360 to pull together the final pieces for our Gamers Gone Wild Event, scheduled for Saturday March 27th at Lir from 7:00 pm - 1:00 AM. We have so many cool things planned for this event, I don't know where to start. As you probably know by now, Carlos Ferro will be joining as a special Guest VIP. Carlos, who did the voices for Dom Santiago (Gears of War I & II) and Leonardo DaVinci (Assasin's Creed II), will be on hand to play some Gears of War 2 with attendees, sign memorabilia and judge our Rock Band Contest. Both 2old2play and SFX-360 will be holding special contests in the coming week that will give a few lucky folks special VIP access to meet and hang out with Carlos, so stay tune for more details coming soon.

Playing Gears of War 2 not enough for you COGs out there? Well then, how about a chance to win a custom-designed, Dom Santiago-themed Project Total Domination Gears of War Xbox 360 Elite from GamerGrafix.com . Our good friends at GG have been working very hard to pull this incredible machine together in time for our party. Check out some of the work that Omega and Co have done so far.

You do not need to be present at the event to win this beauty and can enter the drawing online. Carlos Ferro will draw the winner via a live online feed at Gamers Gone Wild, so head over to Gamer Grafix for details on how you can enter, before it is too late.

So You Want More?

The Gears of War Goodness above not enough to make you come hang out with 2old2play and SFX-360? OK, fine. We have much more in store for those who do turn up for our little party. Harmonix has graceously provided us with several Rock Band Bundles for our tournament, which will be held on the 3rd floor of Lir on Saturday. This is your chance to get a group of your friends together and show the crowd your moves. Winners will receive tons of cool gaming swag from our sponsors and bragging rights for the rest of the night. Here are the details for the contest:

• Hit the stage in our 3-6-0 Rock Band Tournament: 3 Judges, 6 Rounds, 0 Talent!
• Starts @ 9pm, bands must register before 9pm to qualify.
• First Place wins a $50 GameStop gift card per band member, up to four (4) members!
• Every participant will receive a prize, so sign up and rock Gamers Gone Wild!

Still not enough for you? Well then, dress up as your favorite Gamer Geek Icon and enter our Gamers Gone Wild Costume Contest.

• Starts @ 12am, contestants must register before 12am to qualify.
• Best Mens & Womens costume to be decided, Best Overall wins a Rock Band 2 bundle!
• Every participant will receive a prize, so go all out and steal the spotlight!

And yet you want more you say? How about a chance to win a full-sized, fully functional Street Fighter II Arcade Cab signed by Justin Wong (current Street Fighter IV World Champ)? All you have to do is destroy the competition in head to head, one-on-one brutality during our Street Fighter II Tournament. I am working to fully restore the cab as I type and pictures will be posted this weekend. Justin and his fellow Empire Arcadia Crew will be hosting demos and pointing out tips leading up to the tournament (No, Justin will not be in the actual tournament. We are not THAT mean).

Empire Arcadia Members in attendance will include:

• Justin Wong: World Champion- Street Fighter IV
• TriForce: Guinness World Record for Tetris DS and 30 other World Records
• Sanford "Santhrax" Kelly: 2009 Marvel vs. Capcom 2 World Champion
• Andre "Jago" Lambert: Street Fighter 4 Pro Bison Player
• Ariel "FightingGM" Capellan: Tekken 6 Pro Lee Player
• Micheal "IFC Yipes" Mendoza: 2007 Marvel vs. Capcom 2 World Champion
• Kevin "DieMinion" Landon: Street Fighter 4 Pro Guile Player.

Party with and challenge these gamers while they show you how to win like a pro in: Tekken 6, Tetris Party, Street Fighter 4, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars. Do you have what it takes to defeat the Empire?

And if all this still were not enough to get you to come and hang out with us on a Saturday Night, check out what else we have lined up for you. Additional swag provided by all of our incredible sponsors, including officially licensed t-shirts, games, and tons more!

All the action will be STREAMING LIVE @ ufragtv.com, so join us March 27th at the Lir Irish Pub, 903 Boylston Street in Boston, Mass. at 8pm for the most unforgettable, unimaginable party for the gaming community during PAX East weekend!

NO cover, NO inhibitions, NO excuse not to be there!

Some body building and weighlifting buds didn't believe me when I said you get a good pump from the P90X workouts. This is right after Chest/Back/ABripperX and is the first workout of week 3. I think there are some new believers and I hope the ones that get bored trying to lean back up give it a try. It's a tough, yet great, training system.

Gets a custom faceplate by me.  PM me a screenshot with proof, idea for a plate, fav colors and name/address.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, GO!

I took a day off work to game this sweet thing. I have no doubts it will consume my every sense. I lust for the kills and desire its brutality. The big question: Will I be able to Platinum this game? Answer: I'm going to kill my way to the top, talking down any AI idiot obtuse enough to get in my way. Unlike Uncharted II, this will be a challenging game to Plat. A PS3 Platinum is not an easy thing to obtain. Its hard work, I'll have to make time that's required to get a Plat. My job has me working long hours, but I've accumulated a ton of vacation time. It's not often I immerse myself to the point of being lost for days, but this game will have that effect on me.

Off to pick up God of War!

I'm going to dance all the way to Gamestop...

Now, if you'll excuse me, "I am the God of War!". . .

Happy St Patricks Day tomorrow everyone.

Hopefully we'll have a dry day and I'll be able to celebrate by going to our parade (and maybe getting in a couple of games of Bad Company!).

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig!

    This time change has me a bit discombobulated. It doesn't help that the power's been jacking with us lately, tho we're certainly better off than the 500,000 people without power over in New Jersey and points South in the Tri-State area.
    Yesterday was the Ides of March, and it's famously the day in 44 B.C.E. when Julius Caesar ventured forth into the streets of Rome against the advice of his wife, Calpurnia, and a seer. Once at work in the Senate, he was stabbed by his closest friends, proving that good metal detectors make for good government. The back-stabbing that takes place in government is more figurative than literal nowadays, which saves a lot of mopping up afterward.
    Amazing, clever folks those ancient Romans. Tho, Caesar might have at least had a bodyguard or two with him. Just in case. The debatable big news this week, of course, is the pricing on the anticipated Modern Warfare 2 "Stimulus Package".  The Xbox Live Marketplace download will set you back $15 US. Kotaku and a few other sites appear to think the price is excessive, especially when compared to the $10 US price for the first World at War Map Pack back in March of '09. I'm like Meh. I thought they would bone us for $20 US! On to the links:

Featured MW2 YouTube Video

• GameSpy: Modern Warfare 2's Stimulus Pack Priced Up on Xbox Live. $15, US.
• CVG: Call of Duty 7: What OXM wants to see.
• MaximumPC op-ed: The Game Boy: The Case of Infinity Ward Vs. The People.
• Xbox Live Account Suspension forum: No, you won't get banned. But you're a cheating douche.

• GameTrailers: Tier 1 trailer.
• TechDay.NZ: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 review.
• Kotaku: Two Surprise PlayStation Move Maneuvers.
• Destructoid: GDC: Zipper Interactive does Move control right; SOCOM 4 hands on.
• Kotaku: 2K Sports finishes MLB 2010 patch.
• PushSquare: God of War III Playstation 3 review.
• GamesRadar: Aliens vs Predator: PlayStation Home intergalactic dance-off.
• Joystiq: GDC: Sims creator Will Wright predicts social games will grow to 25 percent of market.
• Destructoid op-ed: Video game fans need to shut up about everything.
• Joystiq: Best of Big Download, March 8-14.

• Gizmodo: Inside the Apple-Google war: It's personal.
• Tom's Hardware: Apple Employee Framed "Law and Order" Star Richard Belzer.
• Richard Belzer does not play well with others.
• R.I.P. Peter Graves: LA Times: Peter Graves found dead at his home.

So Gamer-Grafix member Omega is getting close to finishing our Brand New Xbox 360 Elite customed in a gears of war theme for Pax East. Below are some updated Pictures. If you cant make it to Pax East, you can purchase tickets online to enter the raffle for $2.00 a piece. The final Case reveal will be this sunday. If you would like to see all the pictures so far and buy tickets go here. Dont miss out on this one of a kind Brand New Custom 360 that will be signed by Carlos Ferra aka Dom!

Stand Teaser

I ate 3 Tagalongs last night. 50% more. But still a win.

Pics of the fish:

This is "Sexual Chocolate" the Powder Blue Tang

This is "Crabzilla" a giant Hermit Crab.

This is "Viking Fish" a Purple Tang.

Tonight I shall bake Leprechaun Pie for Dean's work potluck. And then I will pwn noobs in MML. Sort of.

This is what I worked on yesterday. I knew there were media crews watching us but I hoped to avoid the cameras. I wasn't so lucky,

http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20100316/NEWS01/3160312/Body-exhumed

HUMBOLDT - The family of a man shot by a Humboldt police officer last year joined hands and prayed before authorities began exhuming his body Monday morning.

Paul Carrier, a Humboldt officer suspended without pay, is charged with reckless homicide in the Feb. 22, 2009, shooting death of Glenn Jr.

The exhumation comes less than a week after Carrier's trial was scheduled to start, a trial that has now been delayed until Sept. 8.

District Attorney General Garry Brown has said his office filed a sealed motion that caused the trial to be postponed, but has declined to provide additional information. Brown did not return a phone message Monday.

Family members said they were told Glenn Jr.'s body will be sent to Nashville for a second autopsy, and that the District Attorney's Office is looking at new evidence in the case.

Roy Glenn Sr. said the family met with Brown recently and voiced concerns about the investigation and the initial autopsy. The family believes that Carrier should be charged with more than reckless homicide.

"We asked him a lot of questions that he couldn't answer and showed him pictures he couldn't explain," Glenn Sr. said. "We hope that this investigation will be better than the last one."

The first autopsy did not provide a detailed toxicology report about medication in Glenn Jr.'s body or explain an injury on his face, Glenn Sr. said.

John Mehr, special agent in charge with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in Jackson, said Monday that he could not confirm where the body has been sent or why it was exhumed.

Agents with the TBI blocked the area around the gravesite as other agents and mortuary workers began the lengthy process of exhuming the body. Family members stood vigil, hugging each other, talking and occasionally wiping away tears.

After they exhumed the body, officials had to drain water from the casket because it and the vault were faulty, family members said.

Police have said Glenn Jr. was a passenger in a car and that he jumped out and ran when officers stopped the car. Carrier chased him to Mitchell Street, where the shooting occurred.

Members of the Glenn family and the driver of the car have said Glenn Jr. had already gotten out of the car and was walking toward a house to use the bathroom when officers pulled up. They say he was unarmed and was running from Carrier when he was shot in the back.

"We just want the truth," Glenn Sr. said. "We are praying this will work, because we can't do anything else. We are asking for everyone's prayers."

Alanda Glenn, Roy Glenn Jr.'s wife, said it was difficult to go through the exhumation process, but she is hopeful that more of their questions will be answered.

"I was reliving it all over again - the last year and what we've been through," she said. "It doesn't seem real. But if the family hadn't taken action and pushed this, I don't think this (the exhumation) would have happened."