The Reboot

The Fox & Friends morning show aired a segment on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. To no one’s surprise, the topic of discussion was on the infamous “terrorist storyline,” which puts the player in the role of a terrorist. This particular portion of the game has caused quite a stir for obvious reasons. Worthy of a discussion on games being too violent? You be the judge.

Looks like Nintendo is following the footsteps of its rival Sony, as the big N announced the upcoming release of a new version of its handheld device, the DSi. The DSi XL is a bigger version of the DSi, sporting two 4-inch screens and a a stylus that looks like a ball-point pen. The mammoth handheld is priced at $221 and is expected to be released stateside in Q1 2010.

The Reboot: Four Reasons Why Madden 10 is a Must-Buy Game (Video Download).

Madden NFL is one of the most popular video game series of all time. However, many pigskin gamers, including myself, believe the Madden series has grown stale over recent years. Once again, the folks at EA Sports promised huge changes to the game this year and after playing the game religiously for over a month, I’ll be the first to admit that they succeeded with Madden 10. In this episode of The Reboot, I’ll give you four reasons why Madden 10 is a must-buy for any football gamer.

It’s official, Capcom announced the upcoming release of Super Street Fighter IV. The follow-up will include the full roster of 25 characters from Street Fighter IV while adding about eight new characters, including T. Hawk as well as all-new characters including a female fighter named Juri.

Super Street Fighter IV will also have new Ultra Combos and advancements to online gameplay. The game is expected to be released in Spring 2010 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

The Madden Curse is in full effect. Madden 10 cover athlete Troy Polamalu sprained his MCL during last night’s game against the Tennessee Titans. He’s expected to miss 3 to 6 weeks and his injury all but confirms the existence of the Curse. It’s only a matter of time before Arizona Cardinals’ wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald suffers a broken leg and joins the likes of Eddie George and Daunte Culpepper on the list of players who have fell victim to the curse of this man. If I were Fitzgerald, I’d lock myself in a room for the entire 2009-2010 NFL season.

Click here for a video of the injury.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Madden Curse, here’s an old video of its history.

Here’s a new ad for The Beatles: Rock Band - the game that everyone and their mama is hyped-up for.

Def Jam is entering the Rock Band/DJ Hero/Singstar Pop genre of video games with the upcoming release of Def Jam Rapstar. Developed by 4mm Games and Terminal Reality, the game features tracks from rap artists like T.I. and Young Jeezy and is similar to other sing-along games like Lips and Singstar Pop, with the only different being that gamers will be rapping instead of singing.

What separates Rapstar from its peers is that gamers will be rapping in front of an Xbox Live Vision Camera or Playstation Eye, as opposed to just rapping to the lyrics on the screen. After a song, performances can be viewed, edited and uploaded on Def Jam Rapstar’s official website for the world to see. Pretty cool feature for those who can rap, with the potential to be extremely embarrassing for those who can’t but will try by buying this game.

Some of Rapstar’s other key features include, Freestyle, Rap Battle and Co-Op Mode. The game is expected to hit store shelves this winter. New screens of the game can be seen below.

The rumor is now reality. Sony has confirmed the upcoming release of a new slimmed-down version of the Playstation 3 at GamesCom. The PS3 Slim is smaller and lighter than the original PS3, includes a 120 GB hard drive and is expected to be released on September 1 for $299. Here are the specs:

* Product name: PlayStation 3
* Product code: CECH-2000A (Charcoal Black)
* CPU: Cell Broadband Engine™
* GPU: RSX
* Audio output: LPCM 7.1ch, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD, AAC.
* Memory: 256MB XDR Main RAM, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM
* Hard disk: 120GB 2.5″ Serial ATA
* USB 2.0 ports: 2
* Networking: Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T), IEEE 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 (+EDR)
* Controller: Wireless Controller (Bluetooth) x 1
* AV outputs: HDMI x 1, AV MULTI OUT x 1, Digital out (optical) x 1
* Resolutions: 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i (for PAL 576p, 576i)
* BD / DVD / CD drive (read only): BD × 2 (BD-ROM), DVD × 8 (DVD-ROM), CD × 24 (CD-ROM)
* Power: AC 220 – 240, 50/60Hz
* Power consumption: Approx. 250W
* External dimensions (excluding maximum projecting part): Approx. 290 × 65 × 290 mm (width × height × length)
* Mass: Approx. 3.2kg
* Included in box: PlayStation 3 system × 1, Wireless Controller (DUALSHOCK 3) × 1, AC power cord × 1, AV cable × 1, USB cable × 1

The Reboot - Video Game Trading (Video Download)

A few weeks ago I traded in a few old video games that were collecting dust in my room. As usual, I went to a local Gamestop to sell my games (Madden 08 and NBA 2K8), hoping to get enough money back to buy a new game. Once again, my games were worthless to the popular video game retailer, as I received a measly $15 for both games. That’s right, I originally spent $120 for these two games and in the end, lost $105. My mind was trained to sell my old games back for the price of a large pizza, but from now on I’m taking another route: game trading websites.

In this episode of The Reboot, I decided to review a few of the most popular game trading websites in terms of effectiveness and value: Goozex, Game Trading Zone and Sayswap. All three sites have their pros and cons, but in my opinion they all offer more than you’ll ever get from your local Gamestop or Game Crazy.