I am just posting this to see if the new youtube width is compatible with my theme.. Oh and enjoy the HD content!

Edit: This isn’t me.. I found it while searching for good HD sources.. this one goes along to explain it so I thought it was a good choice. I will be uploaded some hd stuff soon.

For those of you who want to take advantage of the youtube width embed code, here is what I used:

<embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/_cpd_lHjFDk&hl=en&fs=1&ap=%2526fmt%3D18″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”638″ height=”382″></embed>

Replace the _cpd_lHjFDk with your own video. You can also change the language from english to another with the hl= attribute. the fmt is for higher quality.

You have to love when a game becomes a dance floor. This was me playing the song with a mixer… I am so nerdy.

I recently had the privilege of picking up an Xbox 360 from a friend I met at a LAN party.
He offered me the system, 5 games, 2 drum sets, and guitar for only 250 dollars. This alone was a great deal, but I really don’t need a Xbox. You see I am a rare breed, I am a pc gamer. All of the great games end up on our platform anyway, so I just wait for them. Well I said to him, I didn’t need it but I would take it off his hands for 200 dollars. This was a great deal. The drum set, guitar and game alone are worth 158 dollars at the store right now. Needless to say I picked it up that night.
The funny thing was, all the games that were with it I had no interest in. They were all first person shooters and I love first person shooters. There is one difference however and that is input devices. I refuse to go back to a controller after I have been pampered with the use of a mouse and keyboard combo. A mouse is so much more precise compared to using my thumb. On that note I took all the games to a local trade in store known as “gamecrazy.” They gave me 60 dollars for the games. That’s almost 1/3 of the value I paid right there.. and I only turned in 3 of the 5 games. I took the credit however and picked up some casual skating games and Rising Dead which happened to be on my “I want to play list.” All in all I was happy with the system. I didn’t get its full use until last night. My step dad’s family was over and they were looking for entertainment. As I have stated before, we have replaced all of our tv’s for the most part with projectors. They wanted to see the rock band in action and I complied. Never would I have thought that it would have brought so much entertainment over so many generations.
 That night we spent together singing and drumming and picking at a fake guitar had to have been the most fun if not hilarious moments in gaming for me. No one could play the guitar correctly so I was volunteered to play the entire night picking away. My mother however picked up the drums pretty fast out of everyone. She could actually keep up and stayed in the 60% completed range. Singing was on a whole other level. My step dad actually got a 99% on the singing and told me the first song left him out of breath and tired….sounds like someone needs to exercise? Don’t get me wrong, when I tried the drums the first time on medium I was sweating too. The drums really feel like your accomplishing something which was pretty cool.
 So if you have a family that is into music, I really recommend you pick this up.. or at least a WII  and get rock band for it.. Since it really seems like a family console. The only complaint they really had was that there wasn’t any country songs or old songs they remember… downloadable content will soon change that.

I remember when computers were the only systems to have video games… I guess developers forget this. Essentially a console system is a pc. Especially the newest consoles.. they use INTEL processors, and ATI or Nvidia graphics cards… hard rives…ram…wireless networks… and tons of other things. To say a console is “better” than a pc or better or vise versa is ignorant.

Thats not my problem here.. its that great games are becoming “exclusives” to consoles or they will be released months to years after the console version. Yes, in order to sell your console to the more general audience you need to have exclusives, I get that. It just sucks when developers who started in the windows world, and excelled thanks to us, completely give us the cold shoulder. A list of these companies off hand?

Lionshead studios… releasing fable 2. I still play black and white (which never made it to a console) and its an amazing game.

Rockstar games… Grand theft auto started on the pc, and people are still playing it on the pc. VICE CITY and SAN ANDREAS had mods to make the game multiplayer long before Rockstar even wanted multiplayer in their game… funny huh?

Bungie… They promised us HALO then got bought out by Microsoft to “never be released” for the pc. Eventually they did..

Hell, if Microsoft was smart they would co-release their stuff and promote shitty vista (I use vista and love it for being shiny).

If Valve (steam) leaves us for consoles next year I will officially burn their building down. Yes Valve, its a threat, I love you that much.

I refuse to buy a console to play my favorite games. I so badly want to play them, but fuck it, I have a pc because it offers me superior resolutions, voice and other interaction, that only a console could wish for. I will wait for the games to make it to pc and if they dont, I wont play them. Mods always make up for the wait. Counter-strike anyone?

This is an older video but I havent seen it hovering around the internet in awhile. I thought I would bring it back. Gordon Freeman, a popular pc game icon joins the coast to coast radio show to talk about the gman.

Well, this was my 2nd mml ever. For those of you not as nerdy as myself, MML stands for Million Man Lan. What is a lan? Check my post: http://iamkraze.com/the-life-of-a-lanparty

Anyway. I packed two days ahead of time, making sure I brought everything I needed, and more importantly everything I didntneed. I ended up bringing a second computer, a projector we officially pet named the “pronjector” and 2 car subs with tweeters accompanied with a 350 watt amp.

The first day was a blast. Thankfully I was riding with someone (defeat) and his car got way better gas milage than mine ever would. He showed up at my house early that morning and with very little sleep under each of our belts we proceeded to pack like true tetris afficianotoes. It was raining at this time and to combat this we put up a large wall-less tent andput the car under it. We feared that the smallest bit of water could ruin our entire weekend.

Once packed we headed onto the open road. Leaving the tent as somone elses problem. We opened up my cellphone and punched in the directions to our destination. Being the nerds that we were, we refrenced the voice in the phone to the voice in the tank, from red vs blue. Sheila. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecjgqJwaHtI)

After 4 hours of driving we decided it was time for a bit of dinner. We told the gpsto findus the nearest Dairy Queen. It did just that, only all of them were behind us. After many separatesearches we finally found one only 3 miles off the highway in which we could stop at. The person waiting on us had to have been the saddest individual I have ever seen. She looked like she needed a hug. After defeats meal of chicken strips, gravy, toast, and fries (BEST BASKET EVAR) we headed back on the road.

We finally arrived and defeat andI tried to find the actual entrance to the complex. Ofcouse the actual directions were wrong andthe building we were in were completely different from the directions given. After wondering aroundwe finally found were to unload. Defeat had the bright idea to bring each item up individually. This wasnt going to fly with me. Instantly I told him lets go check out the event andI will find us a trolley to put all of our stuff on. Sure enough the event registration had 3 just sitting and I asked to borrow one. He stuck his hand out.. and my first thought was “he wants me to pay him?” so I verbally asked “how much?” He said nothing so I tried another approach, “high five?” At this point he simply said, “take one….” I laughed at the awkwardness, still happy I got a trolly out of it. We loaded all of our gear and headed in. I knew it would happen, as we trollied in our bags, the guy at the desk did nothing but stare at the massive speakers I had on it, I laughed a bit, and told him “they are my headphones.”

Unpacking and putting everything together was a snap. Soon I was set up with a IRC window on one side of the screen and a server browser on the other. It was time to game. A few hours of gaming went by when I got a call from Barby. Apparently they haven’t even left yet… epic failures. I even had to give them new instructions via text message because they packed their instructions in the trunk on the very bottom.

Eventually they got there, I got my retarded walk then hug… she was rather happy to see me, which is weird since last time she was next to me, her friends were fags and left early. I got to meet an4, aka Brandon. He was a cool little emo asian. I only messed with him a bit .

The newcomer, Steve, one of barbies actual friends was very cool. I am glad to have met him. I really thought the kid was smart and interesting. Go Barby for having cool friends.

We helped Barby and her friends pack on a trolly (notice the trolley skills) and then they soon got into the room to unload all of their stuff. To my suprise they told me they didnt know how to do it… hopefully this was a joke. An4 started joking with me, kid was pretty damn funny if I say so myself. Eventually we got everything working… well whatever you want to call it. Steve had motherboard/ram issues, and barbies computer sounded like a moped at idle.

Soon we got Steve’s computer working magically (bad bios settings that magically wouldn’t fix) and barbies was a different issue all together. She let me hear the roaring of her graphics card… I instantly told her to let me see it.

I took it outside the event (where light still was available) andnoticed that a screw was missing from the fan housing… shit. Our initial thought was to find a screw in something electronic I had… none of them were the right size… oh well right? Well she delt with the sound for the night.

Eventually they retired for the night at their hotel… I however slept on the floor at the event like a true hardcore gamer.

The next day, after they went back to the hotel forever, they came back to find it was ten times louder. We decided to go to walmart and to eat and I was allowed a shower at their hotel YAY.

After eating we went to the hotel, I showered and shaved. I cut myself and made barbie freak out by getting my face wet to make it look like I was bleeding all over.. good times. When I was finally done, I got a complement… I think. She told me that it smelt very “manly” in the bathroom… go axe?

We then proceeded to walmart.. there I bought 2 gallons of gatoraid, 2 cases of alchohol, and she bought an assortment of screws that may fit the device and some engine oil.

On the way out they had music in the midway and we decided to do a little jig. An elderly lady saw me and I instantly asked her….well told her.. she had to dance on the way in. She laughed and didn’t dance.. I guess she thought I wasnt serious.. I then again told her she better be dancing or she is to blame for me hating Kentucky.. she simply pointed at me with her back to me.. im not sure what that means but im guessing it means “hey watch it”

The last day was pretty calm, I spent most of my time on the FTP que. I got brandon at one point to go get my xbox 360 controllers out of my bag so we could all get some mario party into the mix. Turns out he was going through some random Chic’s bag thinking it was mine. Ofcourse later that night I felt bad, and they randomly left again *winks* and I took the time to appologize to the chic. After I did, I realized she had soul calibure on her xbox.. I had a mini orgasm at that moment. She said I could play, so I ofcourse did after a bit of hesitation. After awhile ofcourse I had people in line trying to play me… I rock at that game and it was no contest. Good times.

Eventually her boyfriend came over, and started talking to me. Turns out this was all developer kit stuff the main stream wont see for awhile. He then gave me some swag worth quite a bit of money. Thanks destructoid guy! I really need to email him.

He eventually showed me he knew fatality… wohoo? and he showed me a movie I will never forget. Machine Girl. Its not out yet, but its a Japanese movie dubbed in english… totally amazing.

Shortly later, when I realized barbay and brandon werent coming back, I fell asleep. Final night. The next morning we all finished our gaming up and file sharing. Then the lights turned on and it was time to pack up…. another great trip tho.

I made this waaaaay too long… need to stop.

I am all packed… lets go through the checklist:

1. Computer
2. Monitor
3. Keyboard
4. Mouse
5. Mousepad
6. Headphones
7. Server
8. Empty Case for Barbay
9. Clothes…shit I forgot socks…. see!
10. Hardrives (2)
11. Amp
12. Speakers
13. Projector
14. 50 Ft. VGA Cable
15. 3 RCA Connectors + Phono Adapters
16. Keyboard 2
17. Wireless mouse (server)
18. Random Cables including cat5
19. Router (just incase)
20. Xbox wireless controllers + Wireless PC Adapter
21. GPS Device
22. 80MM Camera + Firewire
23. Coaster

I hope I didnt forget anything! 

                                                        WHEW!

Whenever I mention the word “Lan” to my normal friends I almost always hear the word right back in question form. Well ladies and mostly gentlemen, I present to you, the Lan Party.

The Lan Party: A gathering of computer gamers for one main reason: to play in close proximity.

Video games are almost always viewed as this kid:

The kid sitting in his room with his console playing by himself. Well for computer gamers, this is partially true.. we are sitting by ourselves but most of the time we are playing online with others. A lan party is perfect to meeting those who you regularly play with online and gives you the ability to talk smack to them in person instead of over voice chat.

Back in the day, console gamers, in order to play multi-player had to actually go over to that persons house and play. Computer gamers have never had this luxury however. Ever since I can remember we have always had multiplayer over the phone lines or some form of long distance communication. A lan gives us the best of both worlds: Proximity and the greatness of computer gaming.

I am not going to say computer gaming is better than its console brothers (it is) but computer titles have always lacked the ability to sit with others and just play. The lan party however fills this need.

So your interest now? What do you need to set one up?

Heres a list of common things needed to host one:

• People.Without this factor, your lan will most certainly fail.
• Power.Make sure you have enough power to handle the ammount of people you will have.
• Place.A location big enough to house equipment and people. I recommend 8 foot tables and 3 to a table for maximum comfort.
• Networking Equipment. You will need a switch/router/network hub to get everyone connected.

If your hosting, a cool idea that is always nice to have is a projector and sound equipment. Late at night when people start getting tired and not wanting to game as much you can throw on some movies and let everyone just kick back and enjoy it.

Notice the projection on the wall of the counter-strike match going on?

What as a individual do you need?

• Your computer, working.You don’t know how many times we have had someone bring their computer to only find it doesn’t work or there are problems with it.
• Networking Cable (Cat5). This stuff lets you plug your computer into the network so you can play on a LAN (local area network)
• Power Strip. Don’t forget this one.. people always do. You usually will only get one plug on the outlet and your monitor and pc almost always take two.
• Headphones. Don’t be that dick who thinks bringing your speakers is cool. We don’t want to hear your music or game-play.

Setting up:

The person setting up the lan will need to organize tables for maximum comfort. Place a heavy duty extension chord for every table, put a power-strip on that and have three computers use each of them. Three is safe and your fuse shouldn’t blow.

Place the network equipment at the ends of each table, and have a main hub next to you and plug the game servers directly to the main and have everyone else be on the others.

Bring people who know what they are doing. We had a nice guy by the name of Leo. He always brought at least 15 computers all for people who didn’t have computers to play on. This brings in a whole new group of people to the lan atmosphere!

 Thanks leo!

                      Leo’s arsenal of computers installing video-games!

Once you have your first lan, you can continue to grow larger and larger

Lan parties always hold good memories for me. Make sure to document them. One popular thing I like to do at my lans is to have a webcam that takes and saves a picture every few minutes. This always gave me hilarious results:

                                         Even though gaming is supposed to be the primary focus of a lan, it rarely is. Don’t be surprised if you end up doing something will make you laugh for years to come.

Credit to http://landemonium.net for some of the pictures above.

It all started when me and snail went to another server due to the fact that our server was playing a overplayed map.

We went in and about 10 minutes later everyone else from the clan started showing up. At this point we were all in vent and decided to have a little fun in this server.

We all agreed to meet at a certain spot on the map and thats where the fun happened.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsdM46BNSrc]

Sometimes helping somone who is a lower level then you in an MMO is nice. I have never seen somone so excited as this person: