Tag Archives: voice chat

Meet the Turtle Beach PX21 Headset

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Posted by Rob on December 30, 2011 – 11:13 am
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When I first picked up the PS3 and was in need of a headset, I went with the Official PS3 Bluetooth (since for some bizarre reason Sony refuses to box even the lowest quality headset with consoles like Microsoft does) At the time it was bundled with some SOCOM game, and I immediately traded in the game once I had the Bluetooth in my possession. I’ve been using it for almost three years, and it got the job done. However, over the past year I have begun to find it uncomfortable in my ear. With Christmas over, I decided to use up some cash and treat myself (and my ears) to a new headset. Enter the Turtle Beach PX21 Headset!

Here are the things I like about it:

  • It’s versatile: It works with my PS3, 360 and PC (and a Mac if I was silly enough to blow my money on such an overpriced piece of junk)
  • It’s comfortable: The official PS3 Bluetooth was extremely uncomfortable when I had to jam the bud into my ear hole. The PX21 is a nice comfy set of headphones that fit nicely over my entire head and are made of a much softer material. And while the headset is wired, the wire is long enough (16 feet) where it’s not an issue at all. Read More »

Happy 5th Birthday, PS3!

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Posted by Rob on November 17, 2011 – 11:59 am
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On November 17, 2006, the PS3 was released here in the United States. I wanted one pretty badly back then but the price at the time was astronomical. I had went from the PS1 to the PS2, and I was intent on going for the PS3 once the price was right. And on November 8, 2008, the price was indeed right. I had $400 saved up and Wal-Mart had a promotion where if you bought the PS3 (which was $399.99 at the time) you got a $100 gift card. So I went to Wally World early that morning, waited on a line for over two hours, and eventually snagged my PS3. I’ve now had the PS3 for three years and I have to say I’ve really enjoyed it as a system. It introduced me to so many new features like online play, trophies, wireless controllers, affordable downloadable games and voice chat that I hadn’t experienced with the PS2 (no, I never played PC games).

Before the PS3, I only had a small handful of friends that I knew that played video games, and it was always a local co-op affair. With the PS3 I was able to play with people from anywhere and I made some new online friends. In my quest for finding co-op partners I happened across C0-Optimus which is a site dedicated to co-op games and meeting fellow co-op gamers. Now I never have a shortage of gaming buddies to hit up when I jump online for a co-op game.

Of course, the biggest part of the PS3 are the games. I will now regale you with tales of some of my favorite ones: Read More »

XBL Gold vs. PS+

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Posted by Rob on July 8, 2011 – 7:13 am
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I received an e-mail from Microsoft this morning notifying me that my XBL Gold account would be expiring next month, which makes sense since I got a 360 last August. However, now I had to pose myself a question…do I want to spend the $50 to renew my Gold account? Not only do I rarely play 360 games online, but at the same time I’m paying for a PS+ account. Thing is, my PS+ account will be coming due soon too. Seeing how I’m currently unemployed and times are hard, I don’t want to be spending money I don’t have on things I really don’t need right now. So I got to thinking about the perks of both, and whether they were worth the price of admission or not.

What I get with a XBL Gold Account:

  • The ability to play online. This is arguably the best perk to having a Gold account, simply because you cannot play online without it.
  • Superior online experience. The 360 does offer a better online experience than the PS3, from the awesome and comfortable headset that plugs in right to your controller to the ability to have cross-game chat. I do believe there are more 360 players than PS3 players as well, so it’s easier to find a game to play online with the 360
  • Exclusive content. Gold members do get access to exclusive betas and demos before the general public.

What I get with a PS+ Account:

  • Free games. On average, PS+ users get one free game PSN game a week. It’s not just lame shovelware games either; I’ve gotten some pretty great games like Magic the Gathering, Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage II and others.
  • Discounted games. This is the biggest advantage to PS+, as I can buy games over PSN for less money than it costs on XBLA. Often times, many games are discounted from 33-50% off, particularly in the first week of release. I’ve gotten a ton of games on the cheap from PS+, and it has paid for itself many times over.
  • Exclusive content. I received early access to betas for DC Universe, Uncharted 2, and Uncharted 3, as well as early access to demos and other PS-exclusive content. Read More »

When Co-Op Goes Bad: Hunted: Demon’s Forge

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Posted by Rob on June 7, 2011 – 3:01 pm
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On paper, Hunted: Demon’s Forge seems to be the perfect co-op game. There are two characters to choose from, a male human who is best suited for melee combat and a female elf who plays best from a distance with ranged weapons. These two characters have the ability to cast spells on each other to buff them up and can also toss potions to each other for health and reviving. There are also plenty of puzzles that you and your partner will need to work together on in order to advance through the game’s levels. This fantasy RPG actually plays more like Gears of War, from the third person view to the need to duck and cover to take out ranged opponents to the ability to crawl to your partner when you are down for a quicker revival. All of these facts lead to appears to be, in essence, the perfect two-player game.

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PSN Review: Dungeon Hunter: Alliance

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Posted by Rob on May 3, 2011 – 4:05 pm
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Anyone who truly knows that my favorite genre of game is not FPS or wrestling or even RPGs…it’s the good ol’ genre of hack-and-slash dungeon crawlers! Nothing is better than sitting down, choosing a class, and then spending fifty or more hours grinding that character by killing endless streams of monsters over and over again while searching for more xp and loot. The PS2 had quite a few excellent games in this genre, but the PS3 has been relatively lacking…the best being Sacred 2. Then along came Dungeon Hunter: Alliance; a PSN-exclusive that really scratched my itch for a genre that has been severely under-represented in this generation of home consoles.

There is a basic story in the game. You play as a dead king who is resurrected by a fairy, who needs your help to stop your wife (the queen) from resurrecting a dark fairy who will destroy the world. There are three classes to choose from; warrior, rogue, and mage. As with most dungeon crawlers, each class depends on different stats (ex- warrior uses strength, rogue uses dexterity) and combat skills to take on the forces of evil. There are twelve acts, each one made up of a couple of different dungeons/maps that offer their own enemy type. While the lack of class choice is a tad disappointing (I compare most hack-and-slash dungeon crawlers to Champions of Norrath: Return to Arms), it works just fine for a $9 PSN title (the PS+ price, of course.)

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PS3 Review: Dead Nation

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Posted by Rob on April 3, 2011 – 8:15 pm
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When it comes to zombie related games, my two favorites used to be the Left 4 Dead series, followed by Zombies Ate My Neighbors. However, I do believe there is a new contender in Dead Nation, the PS3-exclusive top-down, twin-stick zombie shooter. I had initially shied away from it based on it’s difficulty, but once it went on sale I jumped on it…and have been kicking myself for waiting so long to enjoy the game!

There are two characters to choose from in Dead Nation…a guy and a lady. The only difference between them is the color of their clothing and gun’s laser sight (to help you differentiate between the two when playing co-op). The general story is that zombies have taken over the world, and for some reason these two characters are immune from the zombie virus. The two characters then embark on a mission to help a scientist trace the cause of the virus outbreak while surviving increasing hordes of zombies.

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PS3 Finally Gets Trophy Cards…Called Portable ID’s

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Posted by Rob on August 19, 2009 – 8:08 pm
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Get your Portable ID!

So as you can see above me, this is the new PS3 “trophy card”, which is being referred to as a Portable ID. Its available directly through the official PS3 website, and is a great feature they finally got around to doing. I was using Playfire for awhile to show off my trophies, but the problem was that to stay accurate you had to manually update and add trophies you acquired. This was not cool because not only was it a pain in the ass to constantly go on there whenever you received a trophy before you forgot about it, but anybody could claim they got any trophy and be a deuche about it.

So it took me awhile to figure out how to pop it on forum site like co-optimus but with the help of some forum members I was able to pop it on. The problem was that the Portable ID only comes with a html code, which is fine for my blog, but doesnt cut the mustard on forum sites, so I needed help creating a new code.

Anywho, its done, and its about time. It took Sony waaay too long to figure this out. There were a couple of independent sites offering this service, and Microsoft has been giving 360ers Achievement Cards (not sure what the official name is) for awhile now. So with this, Sony takes one more step towards competing with Microsoft. The price cut was a good thing, and this is also. Its silly to not offer the same services that the 360 does, even if 360ers have to pay. I’ll glady pay an annual price for online support if its as good as Microsofts. The only thing missing now is the damn voice chat. Is it so much to ask to be able to have a voice chat room running in the background while you play a single player game?!

Lots of PS3 Goodness at Gamescom

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Posted by Rob on August 18, 2009 – 7:59 pm
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Today was Gamescom, which is some kind of video game thingy in Europe. Anywho, Sony used it to release some interesting information.

First and foremost is that not only is the PS3 getting a price cut, they are also introducing a slim model. This is cool because the current one is so freakin big and bulky. As far as the price goes, its about time. The PS3 default console will now be $299, a $100 price cut. This is essential, because for the longest time the PS3 was soooo much more expensive than the 360. Now the PS3 can compete more directly with the 360 as far as price goes.

They will also be revamping the XMB with a firmware patch which will be released on Sept. 1. Should make things like the friends list and trophies more user friendly and easier to view.

There was also some PSP news, which I didnt care as much about since I think the DS > PSP. However, one cool feature is that you can view comic books on the PSP now, which I think is pretty neat. I think that, to me, the PSP is kinda like a whole other console, in which you really have to put a lot of time into playing the games. As in, the games are pretty in-depth. The thing about the DS is that its casual, made for quick gaming on the go. I like the DS better than the PSP for this reason and others.

So there were some good reveals at Gamescom. Of course, they missed out on the most important: VOICE CHAT!!! To this day I still cannot believe that I cant be playing a single player game and chatting with someone else playing a different single player game. This is my biggest complaint with the PS3 to this day. I just want to be able to sit back and play inFamous one night while talking to Steve as he plays Ghostbusters. Is that so much to ask Sony? Is it???