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23 Nov 05

I sometimes forget how tribal and primitive people get around console launches. Each generation starts with a zero installed base so each camp can claim superiority. If that's all it was, it wouldn't be too bad. It gets worse though. The sides insist on tearing each other down as well. Of course, that quickly gets personal. I was a little surprised to see some of that attitude creep into the more mainstream press. I was also surprised by this article from Fox News both because it recommended not buying a Xbox 360, but also that it exposed how many people hate Fox News.

I'll probably work on the site over the weekend but mostly to catch up on screenshots and any missed updates. I don't know if I'll have any more front page articles for you. I would like to say that I'm thankful for all the readers of this site. You guys and gals let me ramble on with few complaints. I'd especially like to thank everyone who has contributed to the site either through news updates, stories or even forum postings. I'm also thankful for my family. It's been a tough year, but the support and love has been amazing. I'm thankful for friends far and near. I'm also thankful for living in such a great time to be a gamer. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

This week's game is the next project from the team that gave us Perimeter. It's Maelstrom (official site) from KDV Games. Set in the near future on Earth, Maelstrom pits three factions against one another. The Human Remnants are lead by a former US Army General and have knowledge of the terrain and numbers. The Ascension is another human faction but with access to technology that seems beyond current technology. Finally, the Alien invaders are bioengineers that use creatures as weapons. KDV promises massive action, destructible environments and interesting missions. Look for Maelstrom next year.

Jason
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22 Nov 05

I don't have much for you today. Those with Xbox 360's are probably out of contact for a while. Those not interested probably don't want a discussion of the launch. The rest can probably find as much coverage as they want elsewhere. I would remind you to check out Dubious Quality. Bill's running through nine of the launch titles and posting his thoughts.

I think I'm going to change my review policy around here. I had been trying to only review games that I've completed the main story/campaign mode and thoroughly experimented with everything else. I'm going to stick with that for reviews that go in the Games section.

However, I'm going to do more mini reviews for the news section. Sometimes I'll post them here too. Over there I'm going to try to write up all the games I spend some significant time playing. This includes strategy and tactical games (of course), but also action games, console games and even arcade games if they strike my fancy. I'll try to be very clear about what I've experienced in the game. If I only got to chapter 3, I'll let you know. The fact is some games I don't want to play online so I'll do a single player review.

If you don't like the term, feel free to call them game impressions instead of reviews. I go through a fair number of games, but the number I reach full completion on is limited. That doesn't mean there's no value in my thoughts or impressions on the experience. If I can give you a taste of how the game plays, the strengths and weaknesses, there's value added right there. Obviously the scores are less valuable without the full play experience, so don't hang your hat on them.

The other thing is I want all the readers here to feel comfortable submitting full reviews as well as mini reviews/impressions. Perhaps we can build some momentum if I get more posted.

Finally, I'm sure some of you are going to be stuck at work tomorrow with little going on. So here are some links to some of the Black Friday sale sites: BFads.net, Gotta Deal, and BF2005. You might find a deal to get you to brave the crowds. Happy Hunting.

Jason
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21 Nov 05

It's the week of Thanksgiving. That means the biggest shopping day of the year is this Friday, aka Black Friday. We'll probably have only limited updates this week. There's little news going on besides the Xbox 360 launch. There's little doubt but that it will sell out quickly tomorrow.

Now on to what I promised you Friday, the Talk Strategy review of the Logitech G7 Cordless Gaming Mouse. In the interest of full disclosure, the mouse was provided for review by Logitech. On to the bullet point rundown:

Logitechฎ G7 Laser Cordless Mouse (images)

Price: MSRP $99.99

Key Features:
• Logitech Gaming-Grade laser for precision tracking
• Full-speed USB data transfer – 500 reports per second
• Resolution of up to 2000 dpi – includes on-the-fly sensitivity shifting
• 6.4 megapixels of image processing per second
• 2.4 GHz digital cordless technology
• Two rechargeable 15-gram lithium ion battery packs
• Built-in battery-level indicator so that gamers always know their power status
• Improved glide across surfaces with polytertrafluoroethylene mouse feet
• Outrigger foot for gamers who like to skate provides extra glide when the mouse is rocked to the left and makes contact with a surface

That sounds great, but what does it mean? First, a little history, I've had Logitech mice for a long time. I remember my original three button mouse. For a long time, I thought my Mouseman Wheel would never be topped. Heck, I even had one of those ifeel Mouseman that had force feedback. My current mouse was a MX1000 Laser Mouse. That's a good place to start for comparison.

The MX1000 is a general purpose mouse. It's big, solid with lots of buttons. It has a laser for better tracking across many surfaces. It's RF cordless and has a transmitter/dock that plugs into the wall to charge the mouse. It's a little heavy and the charge lasts for several days with a very quick recharge.

As soon as I picked up the G7, I knew it was a very different kind of mouse. It's lighter and a bit smaller. The thing you notice the most is the glide. The G7 has replaced the four small glide pads on the bottom of the MX1000 (where they're roughly placed at the compass points) with two large pads at the top and bottom with one medium pad on the side (I guess that's what they mean by outrigger). The G7 pads are made of polytetrafluoroethylene. I'm impressed with big words like that, but I'm more impressed with how quickly and smoothly the mouse glides over all the mousing surfaces I tried. Maybe others have different criteria, but for me, the feel and glide are paramount. The G7 is the best I've felt yet.

Let's go over the basics. It's got your standard left and right mouse buttons, a scroll wheel that's clickable and tilts for sideways scrolling. It's got two buttons below the wheel usually used for changing the sensitivity. It's got one sizable thumb button.

When Logitech says this is a gaming mouse, they're not kidding. The design makes sense for gaming. The wheel has a firm feel with each notch scrolled. You're not going to accidentally go up three when you want two. That's great for weapon selection. The wheel's also surprisingly easy to click. I don't know why, but I've rarely found that to be the case in other mice.

The buttons all give a good tactile response and a solid sound when clicked. The single thumb button ensures there's no erroneous clicks. Each button can easily be reprogrammed using the Setpoint software. Profiles can also be saved on a per game basis.

I suppose the secret weapon of the G7 is sensitivity shifting. If you go into the advance game settings of the Setpoint software, you can set up to five sensitivity settings for the mouse to use from 400 to 2000 dpi. You can even unlink the X and Y axis. Each setting has to fall between the one above and below. So no setting extreme horizontal and vertical movement settings groups at the same time. I didn't find the unlinking very useful, but I could see the use in a wide screen shooter. I did find the variable sensitivity to be quite useful. In a game like Star Wars: Battlefront 2, it was quite useful. For instance, space battles need very quick turning, ground battles need a little more fine control and, of course, sniping always benefits from extra precision. The only thing missing seemed to be custom sensitivity settings on a per game basis. That's a software issue and could easily be addressed. In fact, Logitech tells me they're looking into it based on gamer feedback.

I could describe how the 24 channels and 2.4 GHz wireless work, but the fact is I never had any problems with interference or lag. Except for the lack of a cord flapping around, I can't tell it's wireless. About the only wireless topic I feel the need to mention is that the small USB dongle is a big improvement over previous pucks.

Battery life didn't seem to be a problem either. The G7 comes with two batteries so one can always be charging. The charger works off USB power so it doesn't need another outlet. However, if you're already using a powered hub, you can set the charger to quick mode which cuts the charge time from 10 hours to 2. In fact, in my tests it charged in rather less than two hours. Battery swapping can easily be done during a short respawn time. You can count on many hours of uninterrupted gaming. The mouse has a one minute sleep time so you don't have to worry about wiggling the mouse every few seconds to keep it ready for action. There's a single readout on the back of the mouse that alternates between remaining battery power and the current sensitivity setting (by position).

Overall, the G7 is a very good mouse. When it comes to gaming, it's a great mouse. If the price tag doesn't scare you off, grab one for all your gaming needs you won't want to game with anything else.

5/5 Stars. Very Highly Recommended.

Jason
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18 Nov 05

I had planned to put up the Logitech G7 cordless gaming mouse review today, but I got sidetracked on the Microsoft XBox 360 launch strategy. So I'm going with that and will put up the review on Monday. Plus this will give me another weekend of gaming to stress test the mouse. If you absolutely have to make a buying decision this weekend on the G7, go ahead. It's a great mouse. Details Monday.

There's been a lot made of Microsoft's world wide launch strategy. Now that initial allocations are known, many people are crying foul. The numbers are just smaller than expected. I started this as a post on Gaming Trend's Forum, but then realized I was working it like a column so I figured I'd finish the job.

Microsoft has cut initial allocations. Some have screamed claiming a marketing cabal to increase hype. I admit I got a bit caught up in that. Fortunately, I was able to get more information. Now telling people with long standing preorders that they can't guarantee fulfillment is generally bad for public relations. So is Microsoft doing this launch all wrong?

From what I've read and what some market analysts have told me, Microsoft appears to be doing things differently, not wrong. Instead of big initial shipments, they plan to have a smaller, sustainable stream of shipments.

This gives them a few things. First from a supply management perspective, they can route more shipments to the areas with the greatest demand. That means less unsold units sitting on shelves somewhere. The can also route core units away from areas where they aren't selling to areas they are since its the more limited SKU. I should point out that I'm basically talking about fiddling with the percentages of each available shipment. If the number of units available gets too small, there's no smart way to manage around that.

Second, the steady stream keeps both the product and the demand highly visible. This lets sales people give customers hope of finding a unit before Christmas. That won't work for stores with unfulfilled preorders, but it might for a Walmart or Sears. This also lets web communities shout alerts to each other (e.g. Alert, they just got 10 360's at the TRU @ Westchase). I remember from the PS2 launch, several successful sites sprung up around the idea of keeping track of where units were available and sending email alerts to people when inventory showed up on the web.

As a side note, I had a friend who wasn't particularly interested in the PS2 at launch. He knew how hard they were to find. So when he saw one at a store, he snatched it up. Of course, he told himself he was going to sell it, but he broke down and opened it and played it. It worked out in the end. It served him well during his one year tour in Korea.

Finally, it gives Microsoft leverage and opportunities. Stores with high attach rates and accessory sales might well get units before others. Then as each shipment sells out, Microsoft can issue another press release and give us the updated sales totals.

Partially it's a good plan, partially it reflects how much better inventory management is now compared to five years ago, and partially, it shows how flexible shippers have become in that time span. I'm sure their competitors will take note of their successes and failures.

The problem with preorders during the summer (or really any time before the final shipment numbers are known) is that whatever numbers the store is working with come from estimates prior to the start of production. Of course that's risky. On the one hand, they prove to Microsoft that they have demand. On the other, Microsoft might not be able to fulfill that demand in the first shipment.

Obviously, they can't do dynamic shipment allocation until the first sales data comes in. They'll probably notify stores of their next shipments the night after launch or the following day. So on say Black Friday Walmart will know when their next shipment will come in. If they can tell their customers, their next shipment should be on shelves next Tuesday (or whenever), that's hope.

But, if you're in the shoes of Gamestop manager, all you know is that until Microsoft gives you the next allocation numbers, you only have one confirmed shipment. Sure, Microsoft might be planning weekly shipments, but until you get that confirmation that units are tagged for your chain and your store, it's only fair to tell customers that you don't have confirmed units coming in. Sure, everyone is disappointed, but you get to blame Microsoft. Then, whenever you get your allocation information, you get to make the "Hey, you're in luck" calls.

I'm sure the Microsoft press release touting the sell out of the initial shipment will also mention their commitment to regular shipments throughout the holiday season. So keep checking in with your favorite store. They'll probably also mention the total number of units they plan to ship this year and by the end of next year.

Keep in mind that Microsoft has commitments to all their retail partners. The initial shipment has to be spread a little extra thin since they don't want to rebuff any partner they need down the road. After that, they only notify partners as shipments come available.

And Microsoft does have those commitments world wide. The slightly staggered launch doesn't significantly help with that. Though I'd guess the greater than expected shortages are more due to manufacturing hiccups than shipment problems. For some reason (or many reasons), it always takes longer than expected to start up a production line and longer than expected to reach production rate goals. That's what looks to have happened. So Microsoft cut the numbers. Hopefully, now they're getting back on track with manufacturing levels.

I'm not saying their plan is perfect or even that it will work well. It's ambitious and could fail. However, if it works, it's bound to be better than what we usually see at console launches. If it doesn't, I don't think anyone is still too bitter about the PS2 launch. Eventually, supplies will catch up. Then all that's left is the gaming.

Of course, I might be biased. The games I'm really interested in have been delayed until well after Christmas. So I'm in no rush.

Oops, I almost forgot the game of the week. I had it picked out after the Live arcade announcement, but I've been running out of time. Anyway, it's Outpost Kaloki (official site) from Wahoo Studios. Basically, it's a space station management game. Similar to Startopia, there's a heavy emphasis on humor. You have to entertain aliens, solve challenges and keep your ratings high. It includes a story mode, stand alone scenarios and sandbox play. Both the demo and the game are available now.

Jason
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17 Nov 05

I've noticed that I don't enjoy strategy games as much when I'm tired. It's probably the mental effort combined with the delayed gratification. If I play an action game, I get adrenaline and in game rewards right away. Strategy games build, ebb and flow, and, as I like to say here, keep telling their own story in their own way. It makes the victory or loss more poignant, but I don't always have the patience, especially when I'm tired.

I've been reading more Xbox 360 reviews. I think Microsoft has to rethink this $60 price tag. I'm pretty convinced it will go away shortly, but until then it's still in play. The problem right now seems to be porting games. Obviously, Microsoft isn't going to add a backwards compatibility patch for a game in current generation release that also has a version released for the Xbox 360. That's an annoying thing about limited backwards compatibility in and of itself, but that's not the main point.

The point is if a publisher releases basically the same game on the Xbox and the 360 without significant upgrades, Microsoft should be pressuring them to release at the same price point. The last thing Microsoft needs is to be cannibalizing their own sales because of a price delta that doesn't mean anything added for the gamer.

Admittedly, the 360 launch is a bit short on titles that were developed exclusively for the 360. I have less trouble with publishers charging more for those. There are increased development costs with higher resolution models and textures. However, some of these ports are adding much beyond HD resolution and improved frame rates. If Microsoft really expects those new prices to fly, they need to crack down on that. Of course, perhaps Microsoft doesn't believe in the stability of the $60 price point any more than I do. They could just be ignoring the problem as it sorts itself out. The only problem with that could be if Sony takes a hard line on price points. Then again, Microsoft and Sony have gotten quite adept at responding to each other's moves.

CNN has two reviews up of the Xbox 360. One is from Chris Morris in his Game Over column. The other is from Fortune magazine. It's interesting that both are slightly negative, but are sure that the Xbox 360 is already a hit. For those too lazy to read the links, the negative comes from the launch line up. Both point out the hardware and features are top notch.

Finally, I received an email notifying me of the proposed settlement of a class action suit regarding the Playstation 2. The site seem legitimate (I'm sure someone will tell me if it's not). It doesn't appear I'm in the affected class, but if you've had disk read problems with your PS2, you might want to check it out more thoroughly.

Jason
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