My Glorious Thug Life in GTA San Andreas

Woke up quick at about noon, just thought that I had to be in Compton soon. I gotta get drunk before the day begins 'fore my mother starts bitchin' about my friends. About to go and damn near went blind, young niggas on the path throwin' up gang signs. Went in the house to get the clip with a mac-10 at the side a' my hip. I bailed outside and I pointed my weapon an' just as I thought the fools kept steppin'. Jumped in the fo', hit the juice on my ride. I got front and back, side to side.

Ah, the immortal words of Eric Lynn Wright, or better known as Eazy-E. There is no way for me to silently read the previous paragraph without reading it in Eazy-E's scratchy high pitched voice. It's so engrained into our heads for those that grew up during that time and heard those songs. Those songs sound so good right now, compared to many of the crap they play on the radio these days. I'm feeling pretty thuggish gangsta yo! If you're wondering what's going on, it's because I've been playing the videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

It's very surprising that I never played this game for more than 30 minutes before. I just never got around to playing it. As crazy as that sounds, it's surprising as I'm a pretty avid gamer. My brother had this game and I remember he would see me everyday and talk about this game non-stop. I think I was into other things at that time or considered myself a pc gamer back then since the game was Playstation 2 only, I probably never bother to spend a long time on it.

I picked up the game on Steam's daily sales for a few dollars, $3 something if I remember correctly. As old as this game is, it's still very enjoyable so far. I haven't gotten very far, as I've only played maybe an hour or so. I was fumbling with the gamepad mapping, as I've hooked the Xbox 360 controller to my pc, but eventually gave up and just used keyboard and mouse.

Seeing how Rockstar Games did an excellent job of recreating the feel and nuances of South Central LA, I felt like I was brought back in time and dropped off in that area. I've been to some of those rough areas back then, riding in my friend's car and having him give me pointers on what to do and not do. Sheesh, are you serious man? If some "ho" strawberry crackhead came up to us, I was suppose to stay quiet, not get her angry and just let him do the talking, and most importantly to not look scared. I was nervous and scared shitless most of the time as I was still a little teen back then. Ah, the fond memories, LOL.

So far, all I've done in the game is eat ghetto food and eat more food, which in the lower income areas in real life is just fried food and fast foods, and it's everywhere, on every corner and along the main streets. I'm been smacking the prostitutes and taking their money. Running up on suckas and punking them, and hopefully they got some paper (money) on them. Tagging up walls, and over writing my rival gang's graffiti, and spraying their eyes with my green spray paint. It's too comical really.

I've stopped at the point where we try to visit Big Bear and he's some dude's crack slave. It brings back memories of watching the movie "Boyz in the Hood", where the two main character as kids are walking and a crackhead runs up to them and ask "You got some blow? You got some rock? I'll suck your dick!" Then the crackhead gets capped on. I totally forgot how bad the crack problem was back then.

You hear the phrase: Art imitates life. Some people consider videogames as a form of art, and GTA San Andreas is a great example of that. To be able to take me back to that era is pretty amazing and must be commended, even if the overall tone and portrayal is negative. In the end, that's why it is a videogame and played virtually. Just imagine if this game is replayed by someone 100 years from now. What would they be thinking?

Assassin's Creed 2 Videogame on Sale $23.54

Videogames aren't just for kids anymore. Some of my friends still play videogames and they are in their 30's and 40's. So when Dad wants a little time to get away from the daily madness and immerse himself in some game time, what better way to play a fun game and not break the bank. Here's a pretty good game deal I ran across. It's Walmart's online price. I'm not personally a big fan of walking into a Walmart and have to deal with the crowds, so buying this online is great. I haven't seen the game this low before so it's an excellent deal and definitely a Deal Alert if you don't already have the game.

A quick excerpt from Walmart:

• Discover an intriguing & fascinating new epic story of power, revenge and conspiracy set in a pivotal moment of History: the Italian Renaissance.
• Features Include :
• The lineage continues…introducing Ezio, the new Assassin
• Experience the freedom and immersion of an all new open world and mission structure
• Master the art of the assassin with all new weapons and instruments created by Leonardo Da Vinci himself

I enjoy open world games where you aren't doing going to point A to do something, then move to point B and finish the task, then move to point C. Open world settings allow you to do non-linear tasks and goals, so it gives you a little more freedom to move and explore and tackle challenges on your own time. I am trying to relax afterall and that's the reason I'm playing, so an open world environment allows some virtual freedom.

Walmart.com Assassin's Creed 2 for the PS3

Walmart.com Assassin's Creed 2 for the Xbox 360

Xbox 360 - $50 price drop

With Microsoft releasing the new black “slim” Xbox 360, they confirmed with a post-conference announcement they are no longer manufacturing the original “fat” Xbox 360s. So in order to move out their stock, all older units have dropped by $50 to make room for the new sexy black and slim Xbox 360s that should be showing up at retailers shortly.

You can find the Arcade models without a hard drive for $149.99. The Elite models with the 120 gb hard drives have dropped to $249.99.

These price drops should be widely available at your local department stores as well as online e-tailers like Amazon and Newegg.

Kinect for the Xbox 360, Microsoft’s answer for motion control

No matter what you think of her silly pose, you’re going to look like a dork using the new Kinect motion control for the Xbox 360. It’s former codename was Project Natal. Microsoft summed it up best: You are the controller. So if you get over the fact that everyone will look as silly as you, expect to get up off the couch and start wiggling, shaking, balancing, twisting and flailing your arms to control your onscreen avatar or other game control functions. Driving? Yeah, you’ll put your arms in a driving position using an “air steering wheel” just like playing the air guitar. Need to get your character to jump to the next platform, you’re going to jump in real life also.

Just like the Nintendo Wii, it brought casual gamers and grandparents to videogaming. Something the Playstation and Xbox systems seemed to initially overlook. I can see the real benefit of Kinect being used for exercise programs. I think it’s much more advance than the Wii’s motion controller or the Playstation’s Move controller. Although preliminary hands-on testing from a select few journalist noted the need to have an uncluttered background and a certain amount of lighting. Hopefully these will be worked out when it’s finally released later in the year. Expected availability is in November 2010. Just in time for the holidays.

Xbox Kinect

Xbox 360 – smaller, shiny, quieter and now with built in WiFi

At E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, held in Los Angeles, Microsoft announced the new Xbox 360.  It’s essentially the same Xbox 360 they’ve been selling for the past 5 years, but has shrunk in size and comes in an oh-so-sexy glossy black shell.  The new unit is quieter thanks to one large fan spinning at a lower rpm, instead of two small fans spinning at a higher rpm.  The disc tray eject button is now a touch sensitive button similar to the Playstation 3.  This standard edition comes with 250 gb storage.  The biggest announcement, and much to the delight of many people, is the new Xbox 360 slim comes with built in WiFi.  You can now take your Xbox and move it around the house and quickly set up on another TV without the hassles of an ethernet cable.

Microsoft began shipping these to retailers today, and you might just be able to grab one at your local department or electronics store like Target, Best Buy and Walmart.  Just be prepared to fend off the little kids and teens camping out during their summer break!  $299.99 msrp.

xbox.com