Well, I’ve got a nice, happy list for you that would make any dad proud and all you have to do is shell out a bit of cash to make your pop’s day.

Systems:

#1 Sony PS3 160 GB Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Pack

This system is my all-time favorite and comes with a kick-ass game. With 160 GB worth of space, Dad won’t run into space issues when he’s downloading games online and saving every five second. Though it’s pricey [$469.79 new/$371.55 used] it is a major workhorse of a system and will be useful for years to come.

#2 Xbox 360 Elite

If you’re going to get your dad a 360, get him this one. Not only will he get a very solid system, he’ll also get Halo 3 and Fable II-two games that are awesome unto themselves.

The console will set you back just shy of $400 [$399.99] and comes with free shipping.

#3 PSP Go

This is THE handheld gaming device to get Dear Ole Dad.

Granted, it doesn’t come out until October of this year but you can pre-order it and then give Dad a card with a note letting him know to check the mail in a few months.

The PSP Go boast both WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity as well as 16 GB of on-board flash memory. As if that wasn’t enough, Metal Gear Solids’s next installment: Peace Walker will be offered exclusively on the PSP Go.

The price point of $249.99 might scare some off but take heart! This little guy has so much to offer that Dad will be having SO much fun that your aching wallet will be a distant memory.

Accessories:

#1 PlayStation 3 Wireless Keypad

If Dad spends a lot of time playing Call of Duty:4 or tooling around PSN Home, then he needs this keypad.

Who really wants to to deal with taking all that time searching out letters and numbers when now you can just type like you would from your phone?

This handy little guy will set you back $43.99.

#2 Xbox 360 MC2 Racing Wheel

Most dads seem to like racing games and if he’s a hardcore racing fan then you have to get him this wheel.

• Features vibration feedback technology
• Double injected steering wheel with rubber coating is specially designed to provide optimal vibration feedback
• 10 High-performance action buttons provide superior control
• Retractable leg supports put you in the driver’s seat and keep you there
• Vertical vector design means when you throttle up, the pedals won’t take off

Games:

1. Prototype [$59.99]
2. Red Faction: Guerrilla [$56.99]
3. Fuel [$56.99]
4. Infamous [$49.99]
5. Call of Duty: 4 [$46.99]
6. Fallout 3 [$56.99]
7. Burnout: Paradise [$19.99]
8. NHL 09 [$56.99]
   
9. Grand Theft Auto IV [$49.99]
10. Madden NFL 10 [$58.99 pre-order for Aug '09 release]

When all else fails, get Dad a giftcard. ;)

All images|Amazon.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Gifts for Your Gaming Dad

It takes some great concepts of Oblivion and makes it more believable in the modern era.

One of the most anticipated add-ons to Fallout 3 is Broken Steel and one of the best features of the add-on is the raising of the levels cap of twenty to thirty. Though I haven’t gotten a chance to play this add-on yet, it looks like a definite addition to my list of must plays.

Post from: EveryJoe

Fallout 3:Broken Steel Review Video

Actually, I watched my boyfriend play the scary ass game while I randomly covered my eyes and generally acted like a scared little girl. In my defense, I was only 17 or so at the time so any “scared little girl” acting was pretty accurate.

There have been numerous other Silent Hill games released for numerous systems and Konami just announced a new game to be added to the “let’s scare the crap out of Amy” group.

Silent Hill:Shattered Memories is set to hit in the Fall of ‘09 and I’m telling you right now that I won’t be playing it. Nope. No more Silent Hill for me. I had my fill of it many years ago and value my nightmare free sleep too much to risk it.

Well, that and the fact that the game is being released on the Wii, PS2 and PSP. I don’t own any of those systems so I’m golden by default. And, don’t try and talk me into playing the game by telling me that Steve III is backwards compatible cause I’m not hearing it.

This is what the “fact sheet” has to say about the game and why try and explain it to you when the fact sheet does a good job of getting down to the brass tacks of it.

From the fact sheet:

• A re-imagining of the original Silent Hill that turns everything you thought you knew on its head.
• The game watches you and adapts to your actions to create a unique experience to each player and intensify their fears.
• Implementation of a cell phone as the user interface, which acts as a story telling device, map, puzzle helper, and camera that provides seamless flow with no interruption in gameplay.
• New nightmare sequences focus on escape and evasion rather than direct confrontation.
• Silent Hill: Shattered Memories will feature an all-new soundtrack by acclaimed series composer Akira Yamaoka.

It sounds like a great addition to the ever so scary line-up and I hope that you have a blast playing it.

I’ll stick to my Fallout 3 since post-apocalyptic America is MUCH less scary than whatever Konami has in store for you.

Image|Konami

Post from: EveryJoe

Silent Hill:Shattered Memories Set for Fall

I have a 20GB PS3 and have had NO issues with him up to this point. I don’t download a lot of online content so the only thing that Steve’s hard drive had to deal with were saved games. Once a game is beaten and sold, I delete the files as not to take up space that could be used for something else.

The thing that set me off today was me playing Fallout 3 and my game freezing.

I was in the middle of sniping a raider camp and the next thing I know, my screen sticks. I left the stuck game while I ran errands and two hours later I came back to the same screen.

There had been the occasional sticking and stuttering but since I’m a member of the “save and save often” fan club, I generally just cuss and then reload the game.

I plan on checking the disc for scratches or smudges before I dig into Steve’s inards, but if the disc is clean [and I suspect that it is] be prepared for a couple of posts about how to switch out a PS3’s hard drive.

Fun times.

Image|kennymatic

Post from: EveryJoe

Steve III Might Be Getting a New Brain

If it’s a cut-and-dry RPG then I go into the purchase knowing that I’m probably not going to replay it and I just hope for a really long game. If it’s a FPS then there had better be some good on-line play going on.

Call of Duty:4 is a good cross between the two.

You have a great story when you play the game from start to finish AND you have a solid [and addictive] on-line component.

When I bought Fallout 3, I knew that it was made by the same people that made Oblivion.

I LOVED Oblivion and even though I’ve technically finished the game, I know that there are tons of things that I’ve missed. Also, with Oblivion, you have different “types’ of characters that you can play so the replay value goes up a bit.

With Fallout, I can’t imagine going through all that I’ve gone through again.

Sure, my base stats may change but my character will stay essentially the same and the story progresses about the same.

Also, a key difference between Oblivion and Fallout 3 is the “could this happen in real life” quotient.

Do I expect an Oblivion Gate to open up nextdoor?

No.

Could an atomic bomb be dropped in the near future and the US resemble Fallout’s “Wasteland”?

Well…yeah…maybe. And that’s a hell of a lot closer to home than the Oblivion Gates.

Maybe that’s why I can’t imagine playing Fallout 3 again. Heck, I haven’t even finished Fallout yet and I’m already commiserating the end.

I know what I look for when buying a game. What do you look for?

Image|Bethesda

Post from: EveryJoe

What Makes You Buy a Game?

Steve III is a 20GB PS3 that was purchased right after the PS3’s launch.

You definitely pay a premium when you buy cutting edge technology while it’s still “cutting edge” and we paid an arm and a leg for the thing. I don’t begrudge paying what we did since I wanted the PS3 NOW [well...then] but I think it’s funny that I can find a 120GB PS3 with a game for less than what I paid for my 2oGB system.

Alas, I digress.

The controller that came with Steve III was a run-of-the-mill Sixaxis controller. Nothin’ fancy, just a cute little charcoal colored controller.

This controller has seen better days.

After spending a couple of years being drooled on by two infants, being dropped numerous times from varying heights and once having a beer spilled on it, I’m surprised that the damn thing still worked.

But, worked it did and I have been playing Flower and Fallout 3 with no issues…until yesterday.

Usually the controller sits somewhere on the couch within easy reach for impromptu gaming sessions. For some reason, the controller had been moved to the top of our entertainment system [about six feet tall]. Tucker [the husband], intended to grab the controller so that he could play Call of Duty4 and instead, hit the controller’s edge and rocketed the poor thing to the floor…the acid stained concrete floor.

Now, we were the proud owners of a controller that kinda-sorta worked but only if you held your mouth in just the right position and didn’t expect the thing to be able to shoot anyone with any sort of accuracy.

How the hell was I supposed to snipe Super Mutants if the controller had a mind of its own?!

We begrudgingly sped made our way to Target and purchased a dual shock Sixaxis controller for the low-low price of $54.99 and though I haven’t used it yet, I doubt that I’ll be disappointed.

The main reason that I wasn’t standing in line to get one of the first PS3s was that I just couldn’t give up the Dual Shock functionality of the PS2 controller. Maybe that sounds stupid to some, but I feel that the “rumble” feature adds a a lot to the gaming experience and I couldn’t part with it.

Obviously, I reconciled that hang-up but I am VERY excited to give this new controller a whirl.

On a related, yet annoying side note, Tucker fixed our original controller. So now we have two controllers and he’s trying to get me to take the new one back.

Ain’t happening.

Image|Sony

Post from: EveryJoe

A Controller Can Only Take So Much

Image|Natalia Smirnova

I’ve never switched one on because I was scared that a Super Mutant was going to come out of the wood work and eat me. Some have speculated that a “special ending” is revealed if all of the ham radios are switched on. This idea has been debuncted numerous times.

You can’t destroy the things and you can only turn them off and on. What good are they?

The real purpose of the ham radios is to alert you to hard-to-find places that you probably never would have found on your own. The only problem is that most of the radios aren’t working and have to have their signal switched back on at a transmitter tower. Luckily for you, these things are easy to find since they are usually the tallest thing around. Flip the breaker and then check out your radio frequencies on your Pip Boy.

Listen for the Morse code and follow the signal around so that it’s loud and clear.

When I say these locations are hidden, I mean hidden. Look for drainage ditches, rock piles…you get the idea. Also, be on the lookout for “bad guys” since they’re bound to be around.

Random goodies and ammo are yours for the taking if you find the hidden locations.

Happy hunting.

Post from: EveryJoe

What’s Up with the Ham Radios in Fallout 3?

So, I finally managed to get my hands Bethesda’s new nuclear fallout game, Fallout 3 and all I can say is… what the hell? Okay… I actually have more than just “what the hell” to say. So, what’s my problem? The game… well, it’s strange. Especially for one being held as a RPG. The game is dark, sad, depressing, yet funny at the same time. How is this even possible?

First off, as many of you may recall, Bethesda is also the company who created one of the best RPGs EVER KNOWN TO MAN. And that game was Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. And does anyone else notice Bethesda naming conventions for their games is kind of depressing? Oblivion? Really? And Fallout? Both words sound like the world is going to end. Why can’t they have a game like Mr. Happy Goes to Happy Land?

Probably because no one would buy it.

In the game, you start out being born in a Vault that many people within civilization are now living in, because of nuclear war that was predicted to destroy the entire Earth. The problem with predictions is that sometimes they’re wrong. And the Earth doesn’t get destroyed. Instead, people in Fallout 3 are forced to live in underground shelters – at least until radiation on the top soil is down to a suitable level.

After being born in the Vault, your father asks you what sex you are. You get to say whether you’re male or female. I was kind of disappointed there wasn’t some type of hermaphrodite option, as your character and your family are living in a post apocalyptic world and I’m sure at SOME POINT during your mother’s pregnancy, she was exposed to radiation. But, alas. No hermaphrodite option. Just male or female. Boring.

So, I picked female. Then dad asked me, a new born baby, what my name was. How am I supposed to know? I just popped out of mom like 2 seconds ago and unless babies are born with the ability to talk in the future, all I know how to do is cry.

Then dad asked me what I was going to look like in the future! Now, that’s just absurd. But, I didn’t want to upset my dad, because has this photon looking thing on his arm and didn’t want to get shot, show I used his crazy hat I was going to look like in the future using a “Gene Projector”, which basically projects what you’ll look like when you’re older. Actually, this part of the game was pretty cool and original. The only problem I had with the “Gene Projector” was that it was so dang dark. Even with my TV brightness turned up on the brightest setting.

Because how could I go through a game with a hairstyle known as “mangy”? That hairstyle makes you look like someone was really mad at you and took an electric shaver to various parts of your head. And had no pattern in mind.

After your character creation is done, you get to grow up. Well, not all the way grown up. When you hit your first birthday, you get to escape from your playpen and raid your abode. Whilst running about in your home, you can interact with an assortment of toys and fun things that one year olds like to do. The most important thing you look at is your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. book. It looks like a little kid’s book, but is quite important for your future. Why? Because it shows you all the stats and what they mean. After “reading” the book, you get to assign various stats to your character, including Strength, Intelligence, Agility and Charisma. You know, all the stats you’d see in a normal RPG.

After you stat up your character, we fast forward another 9 years to your 10th birthday, where you get this thing called a Pip Boy, which basically tells you anything you want to know about your character. This is where you check out your items, see what the status of your leveling is at, repair weapons, administer first aid and check out where your next quest is at. The Pip Boy does everything and you constantly wear it all the time.

I bet it gets stinky after awhile.

Fast forward to 6 years later: you’re 16 and now it’s time to take a placement test. What this placement test does is figures out what skills your character should have based upon the test answers you’ve given. The skills you can have are:

• Barter – you can get special deals from vendors in the game if you can barter like a mofo.
• Big Guns – The higher big guns is, the more damage you can do with weapons like flame throwers, missile launchers, mini guns, and the Fat Man. BOOM
• Energy Weapons – The higher this skill is, the more damage you do with photons and precision lasers!
• Explosives – Gives you skills in arming and disarming explosives.
• Lockpick – I bet you can’t guess what this one does, can you? Yes! It gives you the ability to pick locks!
• Medicine – When you apply medicine to your character, you get more healing points out of medicine.
• Melee Weapons – You can knock the crap out of people with bats and stuff! YES!
• Repair – You can repair your weapons and armor more easily. The better the condition your stuff is in, the better you fight or absorb damage.
• Science – You can hack into computers with a high science rating.
• Small Guns – The higher this skill is, the more damage you do with hand guns. Very useful, because shooting people is always fun!
• Sneak – What’s so fun about sneak? Well, you can sneak around potentially lethal situations with the sneak skill. QUIET!
• Speech – You can sometimes talk your way out of death with this skill.
• Unarmed – You can beat people senseless with your fists of fury.

The problem with skills is that you only can pick 3 main skills. But what’s good about skills is that when your character levels, you can put more points into whatever skills may be lagging behind. Personally, on my first character I picked Melee Weapons, Repair and Medicine. Which is pretty much the reason why I’m going to start my character over. I hear the best way to go is Small Guns, Repair and Pick lock OR Science.

The entire skills and stat system is very similar to the one in Oblivion, so you may have an advantage to this game if you’re an Oblivion fan.

After your character is all configured and the like, now it’s time to get into the real game. During your 19th year of life, you find out that your father has escaped from the Vault, which is highly unusual and not cool. Not cool at all. In fact it is so uncool, th at the Overseer of the Vault kills one of your dads friends. The Overseer’s daughter, Amata, is an early friend in the game and wakes you from your slumber. When you awaken, your told your father has escaped and that you should go find him. Which is scary, because your character has never been out of the safety of the Vault. Getting out of the vault is difficult, however, because the Overseer and his guard goons are looking for you. Killing the guards is fun, but what ISN’T fun is killing Amata’s dad, the Overseer. Amata gets pissed at you and when your friends are mad at you, your just a big time jerk.

So, try not to kill the man if you can help it. I learned this lesson the hard way.

After breaking out of the Vault, the game gets even more enormous feeling. When I stumbled out of the safe confines of the Vault, you come upon a land that has been destroyed by nuclear war. The area you come out in is apparently the remnants of Washington, DC and it doesn’t look pretty. Shells of houses remain, with various oddities that you can find, such as empty bottles of whiskey and frag grenades! Both of which were found in mailboxes! That’s the type of postal system I could come to love!

I wasn’t sure what the hell I was supposed to do after I left the Vault. I wandered about for awhile and found a woman who was a big angry at me for coming into her house uninvited. Then I decided to follow my quest and came upon a Sheriff who decided immediately I was a threat and started shooting at me.

I was pretty overwhelmed when I first left the Vault. There seemed like there was too much to do and I didn’t really have a quest except to go find my father. And when I did try to find my father in the area my quest tracker told me to go, I get shot at by a bunch of people who killed me several times.

So, my plan is to start this game over and make sure that I save and SAVE OFTEN. Which is what I forgot to do in the first go-round. Hopefully the further I get into the game, the less overwhelming I’ll feel. I felt like there wasn’t anything to do but wander around until I got into trouble.

Has anyone else played this game? What do YOU think about it?

[Image courtesy of Bethesda.]

[Edit to say, I spelled Amata's name wrong. Damn this spelling!]

Post from: EveryJoe

Fallout 3 Review