GTA IV is here and most of you who read this blog are most probably enjoying what could be the best rated game in history. I know a lot of mainstream press like to add that its violent and shows drug use blah blah blah (just to be provocative for the sake of it), but it is a great positive to see more than a few liken it to a great gangster/mafia film. From what I have read it surpasses them all... games or movies.

I haven't had the chance to play it yet but I did load up the original GTA from 1997 for the PC just for a quick laugh and you certainly can see the heritage that is prevalent in the later titles. I'm a big sucker for the history of gaming so if you have only played the 3D GTA's from III onwards I implore you to find a copy of the original and give it an hour. It's worth the giggle to experience some gaming history.

GTA IV is a game that is going to take a load of time to get through so I'll be taking my time to play it and enjoy it, just like a good scotch.

Good luck to tranceVib for his wedding on the weekend. I've had the pleasure of meeting his bride a few times and he's done exceptionally well for himself!!  Hope the wedding goes spectacularly well guys. Marriage... <shudder>

Speaking of weddings, I'm off to the Gold Coast tomorrow for Stu's buck's weekend which will include the trots, some golf and a few drinks. It should be a great deal of fun... as long as my golf swing is on song! I'd like to get close to my dad at least once in the next few years as beating a 90 year old at golf in a few decades times really isn't a victory to celebrate too much!

I need to play the new Mario Kart. Period.

I find it mildly amusing that the UEFA Champions League final will be contested by two English sides.... in bloody Moscow?!?! I hope for a Man Utd-Liverpool final just due to all the history between the two sides. If only there was a way to move the final to Wembley Stadium.... imagine the atmosphere!

Who wants more LAN's? Vote with your comments below. If a certain opportunity comes off in the next week or so it could be a reality. Everyone have their fingers crossed for me!!

I did load up Galactic Civilizations II the other day and if you like 4X games then you must play this. Deep, challenging and diverse.... pure gaming excellence.

Well as my fellow Sydneysiders can attest to, it has been wet and miserable in the Emerald City for what seems to be an eternity. However we must remember that we were in drought not that long ago and the rain is filling our dams and making Morris Iemma's insistence to spend billions on a desalination plant look pretty foolish in the short term. I do know one little quadruped who is very unhappy about the rain.... little Oscar is furious that his park walks are being curtailed by the downpour!! Although he has a raincoat both his mother and him are big wusses and won't go out there. Aren't you Katie

The rain has allowed me to enjoy an old favourite of mine and that is Sid Meier's SimGolf. I have always enjoyed golf games, all the way back to World Class Leader Board on the Apple IIe which I still have. One of my favourite features on WCLB was the ability to "design" your own course by taking holes from the four included courses and plot out a dream course to play. I did always dream of a game where you could actually design every aspect of the course and then play it. SimGolf was that game... however I missed it when it came along in 1996. I certainly did not miss Sid Meier's SimGolf in 2001 as it combined the genius of Sid Meier and Will Wright to create a business/strategy sim based on golf. Pure gaming goodness in my books. As you design and expnad your course, your Sim becomes a better golfer, allowing you to win exhibition games and tournaments which of course bring in the simoleons to expand and upgrade the course... and thus the addictive cycle begins.

The lack of posting here on pidgeo.com has been pretty much due to my re-addiction to Sid Meier's SimGolf. Should I post myself on "The List" again, or should Sid Meier get the blame? At least it fills the six days until the global phenomenon known as GTA IV arrives. For those who own both the PS3 and Xbox 360 I'd be interested to see which console you will be buying it for? Considering this audience is very pro-360 I pretty much know the answer to that, but I do wonder how the general gaming populace will be investing their cash. If Call of Duty 4 is any guide it's the 360 by a wiiiiiiiiide margin!! How long will it take to complete the main story I wonder but I certainly plan on finding out in good time.

Do we have any Star Trek fans out there? Oh lord I hope no-one of the fairer sex who is single is reading this post hehe. The reason I ask is that my introduction to Star Trek was Enterprise, a show that seemed to garner its fair share of criticism from Trekkies. I personally really enjoyed 97 of the 98 episodes (let us never speak of the finale again) so I wonder if Voyager, DS9, TNG and TOS are so much better? Maybe if I don't want to stay single I shouldn't bother finding out hehe.

When will Zune come to Australia I wonder? Just wondering out loud as I enjoy using mine as my bedroom entertainment device. Minds out of the gutter people!! Great screen, good software and it's not a boring old iPod. I do like the Creative Zen Vision W but I'm too cheap and too used to free stuff to pay for one!!

Anzac Day = Australia's greatest public holiday. I still want to attend a dawn service at Splendour Rock, the war memorial for bushwalkers about 25kms south of Katoomba in the Blue Mountains wilderness. I have been there a number of times in my hiking days (long ago!) and it is one of the most amazing places on the planet, and a fitting tribute to the fallen. I will get there one day... maybe I should aim for 2009?

Blake Lively is the most beautiful woman on television even though a) she has a bloke's name and b) Gossip Girl is a horrendous TV show! I dare you to try and watch an episode!

I wanted to give a shout out to a fellow (and MUCH more successful) blogger Samantha Brett who has a blog on SMH.com.au which is all about sex and relationships. Now I don't want to get all sensitive and such but I will say that such blogs are wonderfully informative and let's be honest... we males can use every bit of intelligence on the fairer sex as we can get!! Evil she-devils  Sam (who is utterly stunning btw) was nice enough to reply to my e-mail of praise for her excellent and award winning blog so I thought it only right do my tiny little bit to advertise hers. I somehow don't think the majority of her audience will have an interest in my nerdy ramblings hahaha.

Family Guy = awesome. A mate of mine who now works at the Microsoft Mothership once said that Family Guy was better than The Simpsons. MightyOat and I bagged him out but he may of had a point after all. So Nic - I apologise for the bagging from four years ago as you may have been right.

Where does Call of Duty 4 rank all time for online and LAN shooters? I am crap at it but I can watch Stu play it for hours... bet that stops after the wedding mate hehehe.

I caught up with tranceVib today for the first time in over a week as he is chaotically getting things organised for the upcoming wedding to his wonderful fiance. As usual we solved all the gaming world's problems, laughed at the rumour that MGS4 will be 576p (HAHAHA if it's true) and discussed plenty of crazy ideas that may come to light if a few things go well next week for me. Seriously if Project "Train Tourney" comes off it would be beyond awesome for those who got to the finals. I'll leave it at that.

Six more sleeps to GTA IV!! 

I was having a look at what I actually installed when I loaded up Civilization Chronicles and to my delight I found Civ 2: Test of Time, which is a range of modded Civ games based on the Civ 2 engine. My instant favourite was the Fantasy mod as one of my all time favourite turn-based strategy games is Master of Magic, a 4X classic as I've said a number of times on this blog. Combining fantasy with the greatest 4X engine in history equals a new time destroyer in my game collection!! Just what I need in the lead up to Civilization Revolutions which arrives June 6 for Xbox 360 and PS3. I'll be playing it on the Xbox 360... Xbox Live > PSN by a wide margin

Have you seen the Don King Presents Prizefighter trailer? This could be another launch in Winter to stay on top of as just the training modes look awesome. Right click HERE to download. For some stupid reason it won't play when I embed it so I'm being lazy.

IGN UK has got this absolutely right....

Mario Kart SNES > Mario Kart DS > Mario Kart GBA > Mario Kart Double Dash > Mario Kart 64

Sorry but Mario Kart 64 was not even close to the orginal goodness of the SNES classic. Double Dash was a massive disappointment too so its great to see that it looks like Mario Kart has got back to its exceptional roots. About time I say!!  I know there is that silly wheel thing for the WiiMote but I will be playing this with the Nunchuk as if I could I'd drive a car with a controller... scratch that... an Xbox 360 controller. Think Tomorrow Never Dies but substitute the phone for a wireless 360 controller. I was THIS close to buying a second hand BMW 750iL but got talked out of it due to the uber-expensive parts.... still a cool car anyway. For those wondering I went with a Monaro instead.

The van is still going strong!!

Oscar visited today and he still rules. Don't you love ex-girlfirends who need help with their IT dramas?!? Just stirring Katie She is still a Burnout Revenge guru!!

Thanks to Stu and my sis I now have the 'flu. If it gets worse I will have to bail on DarkLAN this weekend...

Stu and I have been playing a bit of Tiger Woods 08 of late. As my character is maxed out I am really enjoying crunching drives well over 300m... just like real life Actually the only thing accurately portrayed on my character is my large jaw.

If you like wrestling make sure you subscribe to JR's Bar-B-Q Blog. It's my favourite blog on the internet as JR tells it straight with honesty and no BS, without the arrogance often found out on the 'net. Next time I'm in the US I think I will make the trip to Oklahoma just to try his world renowned Ribs!! I constantly try to lift my game to match his excellent standards so keep the feedback coming. All (sensible) comments are welcome.

One thing I hear all the time is whinging and moaning about the length of games to complete, specifically their campaign mode. Now doing some simple maths, if you compare it to buying a DVD @ $20 which gives you at best 3 hours of entertainment plus extras barely anyone watches, you'd expect a gaming to deliver 15 hours of play time. Should games be given additional credit as they are interactive? To me, it's about quality. I'll take Gears of War on Insane, Call of Duty 4 on Veteran or Halo 3 on Legendary over pretty much any DVD I own and those who say these games are too short... stop playing them on Easy

On the whole value for money thing, I thought I'd put together my Top 10 Xbox 360 games in terms of value for money... if I'd actually paid for any of them hehe. I've estimate the amount of game time spent on them between Stu and I as well as our thoughts about how good the game actually was to come up with the rankings. Now I'm looking for your contributions and I have three XBLA games to give away to the best three Top 10 I get in the comments section. I'll edit this to put what games they are later on (can't remember right now)

Pidgeo and Stu's Top 10 Best Value games for Xbox 360

Honourable Mention: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, Crackdown, GRAW, GRAW2, Smackdown vs RAW 2007 and 2008 

10. Fight Night 3 (20hrs)

The campaign was short, and the bouts between mates even shorter as I'm not very good ("I AM GOOD"... Happy Gilmore rules) but due to the nature of boxing this is to be expected. Probably the first game that really showed what next-gen was all about... as Perfect Dark Zero sure as hell didn't!! Fight Night still gets a play on nights with adult beverages being consumed!! 

9. Gears of War (25hrs)

Yes the campaign was short but on Insane it was just awesome and we both are waiting for more later this year with the second installment. There is next gen and there is Gears of War. The PS3 wishes it could do something as nice as Gears (yes I know there is a game using the same engine but its not close to GoW) Good multiplayer added to the mayhem... but let's be honest Stu and I aren't that great at it!! Watching the elite play at WCG was a sight to behold. 

7. Puzzle Quest (ummm...)

Let's combine an RPG with a Tetris style puzzler.... a great way to ruin my productivity for three months!!

6. Call of Duty 2 (50hrs)

Superb. Just superb.

So many games try to do WWII but none are even close to COD2 on Veteran. Pure hardcore gaming at its finest. Stu and I still shudder at the Normandy landing scene. 

5. FIFA 07 (200hrs)

FIFA 06 was an abomination on 360, World Cup 06 was good but FIFA 07 got the most time of the three. It showed glimpses of greatness but due to the sheer amount of playtime it has to be on this list.

4. Halo 3 (100hrs)

It's the end of an era with more of the excellent multiplayer that made it a household name... who would have thought a certain Infinity Ward game would overshadow it on Live?!?! Still, we got some excellent value out of the Spartan helmet 

3. Oblivion (550hrs)

We keep asking ourselves.... when is the next Elder Scrolls game coming?? This is the epitome of what a WRPG should be which means some hate it, but those who enjoy what RPG's are all about loved this and lost similar amounts of time to it as we did.

2. Call of Duty 4 (750hrs)

Admittedly Stu accounts for about 700 of those and not because I dislike it at all. I've played through the campaign a number of times and think the multiplayer is glorious... Stu just plays it ALL the time!! Plus unless I'm playing with him, Barnzey and/or Atomic HellCat its not as much fun... because I suck!!  

1. FIFA 08 (Too bloody many)

Do I really need to explain this one? We're now 33-28 my way and most of those are 40 minute games. On top of that we've both played numerous managerial seasons.... bring on '09!! One quick question... what happened to the long shot control that was suppose to arrive in '08? Maybe I should be thankful considering Stu has Steven Gerrard.... for those who need a lesson of his greatness watch this clip.

Well there you have it. Get those lists in and I will announce winners on Friday.

We came, we saw, we got belted off the court!

I can say with utter conviction that the NSW Swifts are taking their new found (semi) professional athlete status very seriously as they played as one very well drilled, extremely fit unit. Either that or most of us blokes were just so grossly unfit as a team that they seemed fitter than usual. I know in my case I was disgusted with my lack of fitness as I knew I wasn't as fit as I used to be, but this was ridiculous!! If I am to state that gamers aren't just people who sit in their dungeon like rooms ignoring the outside world and shying away from physical activity then I should actually practice what I preach. Instead of talking about hitting the Concept2 rower I actually need to do it, and do it now! I actually was embarrassed by my inability to keep up with the action like I once could, and I don't think there is a better motivator than personal embarrassment!

On a much more positive note, I am so glad to see netball finally come of age and become a professional sport. In my mind there aren't a group of athletes more deserving of it than the girls who spent years with full time jobs training as hard as any professional athlete with little to no reinbursement for their travel and sacrifice. I will be watching the ANZ Championship with keen interest on Fox Sports and hope to see the NSW Swifts take do very well.

While I was cleaning the tech cave I stumbled across the disks for possibly my favourite RTS of all time. No not Starcaft, Warcraft II or Command & Conquer but the 2003 Game of the Year, Rise of Nations. Even though this game is near and dear to me due to it being the first game I got to demonstrate the gmaeplay more than backs up my claim as being one of the very best RTS titles in history. It combined Civ like scientific and civic advances with excellent nation balnce with each nation being very unique in its bonuses and weaknesses. That and any game made by Brian Reynolds is usually a masterpiece (Catan and Civilization II being two clear ones). I've just finished re-installing it so I think my afternoon is now written off with a couple of games of RoN. If anyone out there who frequents my blog would like a game please let me know.

This week of course marked the end of one of the most remarkable careers in sports or entertainment as "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair had his last match a WrestleMania XXIV followed by his farewell address on RAW. WWE.com has the coverage of the farewell address which I challenge anyone to find as an emotional a sporting farewell as his, outside of Lou Gehrig's in 1939 (definitely worth the read).

As this is my blog I am going to post my own thoughts that are in my Top 10 section here as I could not sum up his career better than I already did, plus it contains my own brush with Ric which I still remember like it was yesterday.

Let's put it this way people. Ric Flair is now 59 and still wrestles with the best of them. Since most of the visitors to pidgeo.com are Aussie or Kiwi they'll get this.... Ric Flair's wrestling right now is like a batsman averaging 30 in Test Matches at almost 60 years of age!! That's right, it's unheard of in any sport for someone at 59 to still be at the elite level. Ric Flair however is still doing that. In his prime, his matches with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Ricky Morton, Magnum TA, Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, Sting and the '92 Royal Rumble are the wrestling equivalent of a 300 run innings... and he did it seven days a week for about 10 years. That's not hyperbole, that is fact. I have followed many sports in my 27 years of existance but after years of research, study and viewing, in my humble opinion Ric Flair is the greatest athlete in history. I know the mainstream will anoint people like Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis, Don Bradman, Tiger Woods, George Best, Pele, Joe Montana, Martina Navratilova, Margaret Court and the like as the best but to me, Ric Flair is still and always will be "the MAN"

In 2006 I went to the Sydney WWE tour event with my girlfriend at the time and her best friend. Thanks to THQ we had awesome seats and were only a handful of rows back from ringside. Now in a vastly male dominated event like wrestling I was certainly going to stand out in the crowd with these two beautiful ladies on each arm!!

(Katie my ex is on the left, fellow Winmalee High alum Jen is on the right)

It was awesome! The security guard even called me to ringside to ask what in the blue hell (thank you The Rock) was the story with the computer nerd with the two stunners on each arm! It got better though as any wrestling fan can tell you that Ric Flair is the ladies man from waaaaaaaaay back. He said it best in his autobiography.... "I had more fun than most people would in five lifetimes!!".

When Ric Flair came to the ring to partner Shawn Michaels as an honorary member of DX, he was strutting and WOOOO'ing his way down to the ring as only he can. Once he got to the ring he turned towards my section of seating so I got Katie and Jen to stand on the seats with me, pointed at each of them then revealed the Ric Flair shirt under the suit jacket and WOOOOOOOO'ed as loud as I could! He looked at both ladies with utter approval and pointed back..... "no, you're the man!" I WOOO'ed back saying "I'm living the Ric Flair life baby and you're still the man!!" Best. Moment. Ever.

Of course he'd never read my blog but I'll say it anyway - Thank you Ric for every match, moment and WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

After some classic mentions and laughter around "The List" I've decided to add one to the blog! Not a revenge list like Homer but a list to recognise those who have suggested games or peripherals that I have played or used even though common sense would suggest I stay clear. Saga and Dark you better believe you're in there! Check it out HERE

I had yet another long chat with my good mate tranceVib tonight about games we need to get around to play so as suggested in the last post I knocked up a Top 10 list of games/series I need to get around to playing! So here it is and I would love to see your own lists, suggestions and feedback.

Pidgeo’s Top 10 Games/Series I need to eventually play!!

10. Terranigma (SNES)

TranceVib – you’ve made “The List”. His infectious passion for JRPG’s, especially old school ones has led me to purchasing what is renowned for being one of the very best for $66 off eBay. He tells me it is a bargain... it better be <shakes fist>! Considering the only JRPG I own for the SNES is Mystic Quest Legend and Trance doesn’t own it says where it ranks in the list! I enjoy it though... because I’m a JRPG n00b

9. Fire Pro Wrestling (multiple)

I have played a LOT of wrestling games, from SvR 2008 on the 360 to WWF SuperStars on the GameBoy. Funny story/tangent – the other day when my mate SWOOOOGON dropped off his entertainment unit for the tech cave, we found a random N64 cartridge in the back of his ute. It happened to be WWF No Mercy (the greatest western wrestling game ever) that I thought I’d lost three years ago! It must have been caught behind one of the drawers! I was very happy

However, many a super-hardcore wrestling fan says that the Fire Pro Wrestling series are the ultimate, and since I’ve never played one I need to eventually obtain one of the more popular games in the series and give it a try

8. Ultima Collection (Windows)

I like to think that I’m a bit of an RPG nut but in all honesty I’d have to call myself an RPG-lite nut. One of a number of good reasons in this very list is that I never played any of the Ultima series. Thankfully there are a number of open-source remakes that I can try as attempting to hunt down a copy of Ultima Collection might be a little tough.

7. Chrono Trigger (Super Famicon)

Take note of what I wrote about Terranigma, add that it is even rarer to find than Terranigma and even more critically acclaimed and you get the picture. I know there is a version for PS1 but really it’s not the same... I’m sure Trance will agree

6. Diablo I (Windows)

Diablo II is still in my top 5 games of all-time. MightyOat and I replayed it during our lunch times about six times in the four years we worked together. Why then I must ask myself is why I did not and still haven’t played Diablo I?? When it first came out I did not have a PC but considering how many I’ve had since I still shake my head at the fact I never got around to it. Maybe I won’t enjoy it after playing so much Diablo II...

5.  Level 60 and beyond in World of Warcraft (Windows)

“World of Warcraft starts at level 60”. Sooooo many of my mates have told me this, and it does sound like a great deal of fun. However for some reason the hook that did snag all of these mates into spending eons on what clearly is a great game didn’t really get me. I’m only up to level 41 and haven’t played in almost a year even though I still pay my monthly subscription. Who wants to level me up?

4. Final Fantasy VII (PS1)

Another six-star JRPG I never got around to playing. Considering I was a N64 and GoldenEye zealot at the time when this was launched I suppose I have a semi-valid excuse. Both are critically acclaimed masterpieces of their genre but I had a N64 and hence played 007... and Ocarina of Time. Still after watching my mate cast the most outrageous spell in a game I’ve ever seen bar “The Spell of Mastery” in Master of Magic (You won the game. Period), that being Knights of the Round I’ve always wanted to play through it and attempt to beat the Ruby Weapon that my good mate kept battling against!

3. Neverwinter Nights (Windows)

My love for AD&D PC games has been well documented but there are two on this that I missed out on when they were released. I now own NWN and two expansions but they’re another example of great games in the queue that I haven’t got to. Considering how innovative, customisable and acclaimed NWN is, I would have to say it is my second biggest disappointment in gaming that I have not played it yet.

2. Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360)

TranceVib’s outstanding review and numerous IM chats before, during and after Lost Odyssey’s release have already convinced me that I must play it and ASAP. However as I explained in an earlier post on the blog, a good RPG is a deep commitment in time and concentration. Right now my brain isn’t quite ready for it. Like Mass Effect however, once I get to it I’m sure it will consume me until its (rumoured) spectacular finale.

1. Baldur’s Gate I and II (Windows)

I think MightyOat is still disgusted at the fact I haven’t played this but crap on about how good and fun the Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance pair on the Xbox were. His words were “Wigon you have no idea... the original Baldur’s Gate has the best story ever in a RPG, period!” which is not light praise coming from him. Beginning BioWare’s now famous system of rewarding character’s moral choices, the opening quote from the first game by Nietzsche says it all.

He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster... when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you...

I can't stop playing these bloody Tower Defence games. One side of my family had a reunion at my parent's house in the Blue Mountains and I managed to spend half of it playing Onslaught!! Now I try my best to deliver a message that gaming nerds like myself aren't anti-social cretins but TD games really don't help with destroying that stereotype at all!!

Sagacious Tien commented on my last post that I should try out Desktop Tower Defence and stupidly I did. Saga you just made "The List"

It doesn't have the crazy graphics and loads of combos that Onslaught has, but it combines a good range of weapons and upgrades with the strategy of maze building. Another superb TD game which you can find HERE

The guys at MyGen have launched an awesome new tool that allows you to design your own gamercard for use on Facebook, MySpace, blogs, websites and the like. I have NO artistic ability whatsoever so I'm going to borrow one but there are hundreds of awesome ones to choose from. Head to http://gcdesigner.mygen.com.au to have a look for yourself! What an awesome tool!!!

Well that wasn't the best game of football I've ever seen but with an awesome crowd, loads of drama and a close result made for a great spectacle in the A-League Grand Final. I don't think we've heard the last of the last minute dramas either as while writing this, Fox Sports News has just reported that Mariners 'keeper Danny Vukovic has been charged with Violent Conduct - Striking an Official which carries a maximum penalty of a life ban. Plenty of drama to follow in the days ahead I think.

6th June 2008 is a day to mark down on your calendar right now if you're a strategy gamer, as 2K Games have announced that Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution will be launched in Australia and New Zealand that day. I know many people who are absolutely salivating over this game (myself included) so lets start the countdown with some multiplayer Civ II in the near future! You can get all four Civ PC games in the Civilization Chronicles box set at your local retailer, which is a must buy for anyone who enjoys strategy gaming.

I spent some more time getting the MAME Cave ready by building the PC and getting the table required. All I need it to pick up the CRT monitors during the week and we'll be ready to go. Look forward to the pics and video later in the week

16-4 in a game of football is a disgusting scoreline. It's even worse when it's against your brother-in-law and he's playing as Liverpool. On Saturday night my best mate SWOOOOGON came down to mine and Stu's place for some co-op gaming, BBBQ and drinking (we're 27, 27 and 29 so completely legal!!). After I got WOMPED and I mean WOMPED at Fight Night Round 3 the other two had some classic brawls that Stu somehow won 2 games to 1 which I still can't believe. I'm sure SWOOOOGON will be training hard for the rematch!!

Afterwards, Stu and I loaded up FIFA 08 to have our championship battle and just like Arsenal later that morning when they lost 4-0 to Man United in the FA Cup, I should not have turned up. It was one of those games where everything was off... timing on runs and tackles, shots and passes... everything!! It was the biggest scoreline and margin of victory in the history of the championship and very embarrasing indeed. Last night before watching WWE No Way Out on PPV we had a game and after going down 3-0 very early and thinking "here we go again", I got back some form and won 7-4.

At least my team didn't lose to BARNSLEY in the FA Cup Stu!!! Let's all start a Barnsley chant!! It was a weekend on amazing results in football as no-one could have predicted the 4-0 Man U/Arsenal result, Barnsley shouldn't really have beaten Liverpool, and what a crazy game the Newcastle Jets vs Queensland Roar was?!?! Three soft as penalties, lots of niggle and a blinder of a goal from Tarek Elrich made for one heart stopping ending. I'm glad the Jets won and will certainly watch the Grand Final.

The other main reason SWOOOOGON came down was to drop off his old entertainment unit for my tech cave. I've started Operation Overhaul for it so that I can have all my new and old school gaming set up for maximum enjoyment and ease of setup. This the plan and it's actually not too far from completion. I just need to acquire most of the MAME Cave parts and set up that part... plus clean out the piles of junk in there right now.

1.  Entertainment Unit
   1. 46in Samsung M8 LCD for the display
   2. Samsung DVD and Surround Sound unit for sound
   3. Xbox 360 Elite and HD-DVD drive
   4. Old School Consoles I actually use
      1. N64
      2. SNES
      3. NES
      4. MegaDrive II
      5. Saturn
      6. Dreamcast
      7. Master System II
   5. RCA Switch box to change source for old school
   6. Foxtel Digital STB
      
2. Bench
   1. Open 624 ADSL2+ modem with 4 port router
   2. Linksys ABG wireless router
   3. Hot Dog Machine
   4. Toasted Sandwich maker
   5. Bar Fridge underneath
   6. Charging hub for all portable devices
      
3. PC Hub
   1. The Beast
   2. Samsung 226BW LCD
   3. MS Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000 for use on main TV
   4. MS Reclusa Keyboard
   5. MS SideWinder mouse
   6. Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition
      
4. MAME Cave
   1. 2 x 19in Dell CRT
   2. MAME PC with VGA splitter
   3. Xbox 360 Racing Wheel with PC adaptor
   4. TankStick controller (click here for details)
   5. 2 x USB Light Guns

So that is the plan! I can't wait to have the MAME Cave done with the TankStick and light guns all working so we can have some late night NBA Jam or Operation Wolf action!

Gears of War on Windows has been quite enjoyable so far, especially the amazing DX10 graphics and the additional achievements . I am a self-confessed FPS on PC n00b but I'm going along OK on Casual haha. I will definitely be up for some co-op over Live with the winners of the comp who are.....

TigerAUS because of his sledge on me @ DarkLAN was priceless... how's your Live account going anyway... MWHAHAHA
hergs13 for changing the binding of his mates controllers and....
TerrySpanks for his three simple things that are much better with company than solo.

Well done guys and to everyone who entered. I was really pleased to hear that local MP is alive and well, plus I think the message is loud and clear.... "organise some more LAN's and gaming events in the future Pidgeo".

Anyway, it's lunch time which means food, drink and more FreeCol.... damn you DarkArmada!!

Thanks for those who have commented so far on the last post where I asked if local co-op and versus gaming sill occurs, and so far it is unaminous - it's definitely alive and well! I'm glad because I know in my house it certainly is, with the FIFA 08 Championship taking place almost every day. I've finally updated the page on here with the latest scores and it's really close now. I'm still ahead on win/loss but Stu with his "fairer" play and a few massive wins has managed to sneak ahead on Lounge Points.

For those who haven't read the post below yet - please do as the three best comments will win a copy of Gears of War for Windows which I'll decide in the next few days. I finally loaded G4W onto my beastie at home to see how it looked and OMFG!

(2 x 8800GTX) + DX10 + Max Video Settings @ 1680 x 1050 = Winner

I was fairly certain it would run like a dream but until I saw it in person I wasn't 100% sure. There are a few very minor loading stutters  between checkpoints but during combat I got a consistent and smooth framerate, and once I got used to the controls everything was good in the world.... except for the Locusts hehe. Also, it was the first shooter I'd used the SideWinder on and I am very happy with how it performed. I've always been a fan of MS mice as are 90% of the PC players at World Cyber Games but I just wanted a little extra weight in them and the SideWinder delivers that with its heavy 30g butt

Keep those comments flying in and just a note to DarkArmada - I dislike you A LOT for introducing me to FreeCol as I'm extremely sleepy this morning...

Online gaming in all its forms has taken off astronomically over the last few years. I remember back to the days of playing Warcraft 1 by direct dialing my mate's modem (9600 BAUD!!) and thinking it was amazing, but I never imagined things like Xbox Live coming along. If I had I'd be much richer than I am now!!!

Back in those days, competitive and co-op gaming for the vast majority consisted of inviting mates over and playing together on the one TV and console or playing games like Stunts or Civ 2 and just swapping seats for each players turn. Ah the memories!!

What I am wondering is how many people still play local co-op or competitive games? Is it just easier now to play over Live than organise the mates to come around for a bash? Do you prefer the deeper competition that you get online compred to your neighbour, brother/sister or in my case gigantic headed brother-in-law? Or has Live and other online gaming just added to the experience without taking away from those local multiplayer experiences? Also, what games do you play local MP? Sports, driving, hack n' slash...

I have three copies of Gears of War on Games for Windows to give away to the three comments I like the best on the topic above. Don't forget that I need to authorise the comments before they appear so please be patient and resist the urge to double post hehe

Now to some other random thoughts and news

• I downloaded FreeCol that DarkArmada suggested and I love it! I didn't play nearly as much Colonization as the Civ games so this is almost a completely new gaming experience. What is really great though is seeing the original Home City that was enhanced so well as a feature of Age of Empires 3. No real surprise there as Bruce Shelley worked on both games I believe. DarkArmada once I have a few games under my belt we'll have to organise an online game.
  
• Speaking of open-source remakes of classic games, if any of you were fans of Chris Sawyer's masterpiece Transport Tycoon Deluxe, head to http://www.openttd.org/ to download the clone that fixes many of the bugs and adds a huge amount of customization to it. I set it up over the Xmas/NY break and had a blast! You should see the new airports you can build
  
• SimFarm rules! Did anyone else play or remember this little gem? Same with SimTower and its little known but superior sequel Yoot's Tower... classic gaming!!
  
• I thought my desktop had some grunt, but I now have a new target to try and build starting with the Intel D5400XS motherboard. It supports 2 x Intel QX9650 CPUs, 8Gb RAM, 4 x NVIDIA 8800 Ultras.... <drool>
  
• Catan AI on Hard cheats! I literally had 30 minutes where I could not build a single thing due to the AI ganging up on me and using the robber almost every go! I was 8-2-2-2 up but lost 10-8  I have beaten them a few times though hehe
  
• I finally finished Rainbow Six:Vegas campaign! If you don't own it already it's an absolute steal at RRP$49!! What an awesome game it still is and I am salivating at the thought of R6:V2 and killing the traitor!
  
• I'm picking Newcastle to win their way into the A-League grand final 2-0. If they do win, I will be avoiding the F3 on grand final day like the plague!!
  
• I still need to update the FIFA 08 page but it's now 26-22 my way with only four goal diffrence. Maybe Stu could take over from Rafa Benitez @ Liverpool haha
  
• Pidgeo is a dateless wonder for Valentine's Day hahaha.

I always look forward to reading your comments and thoughts so keep them coming in!!