Gaming

I am a gamer. I tend to play the Xbox 360 more than any other gaming console. However, I do own a Wii and also a gaming laptop. I recently was given the Kinect as a Christmas gift. I also got the Kinect adventures game with it. I really like the Kinect. I like that it takes pictures at certain times during the game, it is a good laugh to see the pictures. I also like how well it responds to movement. The only bad part with the Kinect is that you need a lot of room to play it. My gaming laptop is the Alienware M11x. It is a great ultra-portable gaming laptop. Usually I play Garry's Mod on the Alienware. I was surprised at the performance of the laptop. It usually gets around 55 fps in a populated role playing server, on medium. I barely ever play the Wii. I have a fitness type game for it that is pretty good. What consoles do you own?

CES 2011

CES is a major show. It usually happens at the beginning of each year. At CES usually new technology is released. This year at CES there were a lot of tablets that were released. My favorite was the Motorola Xoom. The Xoom is on the Verizon Network. It is going to release in Q1 of 2011. There were also quite a few laptops released. My favorite was the Alienware M17x. I mean really who wouldn't want a 17 inch Gaming laptop that has custom lighting? There was also a few smart phones released. A majority of the smart phones released were 4G. My favorite was the Droid Bionic. I own the Droid X, and it is great, the Droid Bionic will be better because it is 4G. There was also a few prototypes released. The Razer Switchblade was one of those prototypes. The Switchblade is a gaming netbook. It features a touchscreen. It's keyboard also switches depending on the game you are playing. I believe the Switchblade is revolutionary, by offering these things. My favorite technology of CES 2011, was the Motorola Xoom. I will probably be purchasing this tablet when it releases.

Cell Phones and Carriers

I just recently got the Droid X on Verizon. I like the Droid X, it has a large screen and the camera is great. There are many apps to choose from. I also just recently got a case for it. I got the Trident Kraken. The case is great it is half soft case and then half hard case. It also has a screen protector. I got my case in yellow and black. I have been using Verizon for about 5 years. It is the best carrier I have used. I usually go to Pennsylvania over the summer on Vacation. I travel through many states to get there. I barely ever lose coverage on my way there. And its the bet provider in Pennsylvania. What phone do you have? What carrier do you use?

Garry's Mod Review

Garry’s Mod

Release Date: Nov. 29, 2006

Genre: Indie

System: PC

Price: $9.99 via Steam.
 

Gameplay: Garry’s Mod is a mod to the Half Life Series. It is a physics sandbox. You can create your own inventions. These inventions could be a car, an elevator, a ship, or another type of contraption. Garry’s Mod is a multiplayer only game. There are many different types of Mod’s in Garry’s Mod. For example, there could be Role Playing where you Role Play a certain character in the city. You could play as a cop, fireman, or paramedic. You will get paid based on what job. You can also be SWAT, but this is only when the city has a mayor. To become Mayor you have to be voted to the position by other players in the server. SWAT and Mayor are the highest paying jobs in Role Playing. People can make scenarios and take the Mayor and request money to set him free. However, in Role Playing the wait time to join a server can be a long time. It usually takes at least 30 mins to connect to a RP Server. So make sure you have something to do while waiting for it to load. You could also play in a Build Server where you build your contraption. In a Build Server there is a list of materials you can use by holding Q. Some materials are desks, chairs, thrusters, or balloons. In a Build server you have a Physics Gun which allows you to position your materials to your liking. And then you can weld your materials together. Build Server is one of the funnest gametypes to play in whether your friends are online or not. You can build your contraption with or without your friend. Another type of Mod in Garry’s Mod is GMOD Racing. GMOD Racing is very fun to play with your friends. It's very competitive. GMOD Racing is where you race a car against other people in the server. You can upgrade your car whether it’s adding thrusters or adding some “bling” wheels. There is a Zombie Mod in Garry’s Mod. In the Zombie Mod you start out as a citizen, but one person starts as a zombie. You try to live as long as you can without getting killed by a zombie. When you are killed by a zombie you will turn into one. Also, be sure to not minimize the game as it will probably crash. This is a major downside to the game.

Pro’s

Many types of games to choose from.
Graphics are good.
Great use of your imagination.
Many addons. (That you don’t pay for)

Con’s

Sometimes the load wait time is very long.
There are sometimes some random crashes. Usually when minimized.
 

Score: 9/10

My questions to you is have you played this game before? What is the best "contraption" you have made? What is your favorite server type?

Music

My favorite type of music would probably be Classic Rock. My favorite band is Aerosmith. My favorite Classic Rock song would be "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey. I also like the following bands KISS, Poison, Journey, Black Sabbath, The Who, Guns and Roses, among many others. I also listen to Country, Alternative, and Rap.
I like the songs "Derezzed" and "Fly like a G6". I also listen to some talk show hosts in the morning. My question to you is What is your favorite music genre? And What is your favorite song?

Counter Strike Source Review

Counter Strike Source Review

 

Release Date: November 1, 2004.

Genre: Action

Developer: Valve

Publisher: Valve

Price: $19.99 via Steam

Metascore: 88/100
 

Gameplay:Counter Strike Source is a multiplayer only game. It can be played online with friends or offline against bots. There are many different server types. You can play in a competitive server. I would not suggest playing in one until you get used to the game. In a competitive server you play on a team and you play against another team. The competitive servers are usually set up like Search and Destroy. There are many types of weapon choices from Assault Rifles to Sniper Rifles. The load times in Competitive Servers are usually low. You can also play Gungame, which is a very fun game, where as you get kills with weapons you move up weapons. Some of the weapons include the knife, the usp, the m4, and the L96A1. You can also play in a Jailbreak server. These servers usually take the longest to load, because there can be many addons in a Jailbreak server. In a Jailbreak server, one team is the prisoners and one team is the prison guards. The prisoners have to try to take out all the prison guards. The prison guards have to give orders and they cannot do anything to the prisoners unless they disobey the orders. There is also a Surf Server. The Surf Server’s can also take a long time to load up as there can be a few addons. In a Surf Server, there is a giant ramp that takes you to one place. In that one place there is usually weapons. You have to try to take out the other team. You can also upgrade skills in the Surf Server by using credits earned for taking out enemies. For example, long jump, health, and regeneration. Surf is probably the most fun out of all the gametypes. Jailbreak is also fun if there is a lot of people online playing it. It can also be fun to play with friends. You can be the prison guard and boss around your friends.

Graphics:
The graphics aren’t that amazing. But for a game that was released in 2004 the graphics are ok. Some of the textures seem very rough. The player models and skins still look great however. The player models and skins have good detail. The props in the game look realistic. For example, the bed in the jail cell and the cell doors. However, the shadows look good. And the water looks realistic. However, the fire in the game does not look too good. It looks really animated and not realistic.

Sound:
The sound is good. The weapons sound realistic. The bots also sound realistic when talking to each other. There are many sound effects also. For example, when the jail cell door is opened in Jailbreak it sounds very realistic. You can hear enemy footsteps. Also, the sound of the footstep changes based on what type of ground you are walking on. For example, when walking on metal it makes a deeper footstep sound then walking on grass. When walking on water you can hear the water below you.
 

 Pros

The realistic sounds.
Many different “gametypes” to play.
A game that will be fun to play for a long time.
Gameplay is fun.
You can get many addons. For example, skins for your players.
 

Cons
The graphics aren’t that great.
Load times can be awhile depending on what server you are joining.
Can be boring if playing with no one else.

Score 9.5/10

Have you played Counter Strike Source? If so what are your thoughts on the game?

Alienware M11x Review

Alienware M11x Laptop Review

Specs: Processor i7-640UM

Memory: 4GB

Hard Drive: 320 GB

Build Quality

I was skeptical about the build quality of this laptop. I have heard about issues regarding the hinge. When I received the laptop the hinge was the first thing I checked. I don’t have any issues with the hinge on my M11x. I received the M11x in Soft Touch Black. This gives the lid of the laptop a silicone like feeling. The M11x is very thick for only having an 11 inch screen size. The weight is also a lot for an 11 inch laptop.

The Lighting

On the Alienware Laptops there is something called AlienFX. This is where you can choose what color you would like your laptop to light up as. There are 5 different places where the laptop lights up and you can assign a different color for each of them. The different places are the Alienware logo on the screen, the keyboard, the front grills, the Alienhead located above the keyboard, and the top left area above the keyboard where it shows the caps lock. There are many different colors to choose from. And you can choose it to go from one color to another color and it will show all the shades going by.

Gaming

This laptop has an Nvidia Geforce GT 335m and it paired by Optimus with an Intel Graphics Card. Optimus automatically picks what graphics card to use based on the process. I haven’t had any problems with Optimus. Although, I have heard of people whitelisting a game so it will choose the Nvidia card automatically. I am really surprised how well this laptop performs in gaming. It gets an average of                                        100 fps using the Video Stress Test in Counter Strike Source. And it usually gets around 75 fps on medium settings playing on Garry’s Mod rp_evocityv2d.

Battery Life

The battery life on this M11x usually is around 6 hours while browsing the web. And about 3 hours while gaming as it is using the Nvidia Graphics Card while gaming. It doesn’t take long to charge it to the full amount either. Usually about 2 hours to charge it up.

Pro’s

The Battery Life.

The AlienFX.

Con’s

The thickness.

The Weight.

Rating: 9.5/10