Everyday Gamers

The Weekly Byte

by · April 8, 2010

The Weekly Byte for the Week of April 5th, 2010

It’s time to kick off a new segment here at EDG, something I have proudly dubbed “The Weekly Byte”.  It’s a piece I have been thinking about for quite some time, and will finally be able to run with.  This is my section to update you weekly with new releases, news bytes and great gear.  Fear not true believers, I’ll be throwing some console tidbits your way too, so there’s tasty morsels here for everyone!  I had some technical difficulties this week, this should have posted on Tuesday, but from here on in, look for new Bytes on each Monday or Tuesday of the week.  Keep checking back and enjoy folks!

This Week’s Releases –

  • Borderland’s DLC Pack – Featuring Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot and The Zombie Island Of Dr. Ned. Retailing for $19.99
  • The much anticipated first paid DLC for Mass Effect 2, titled Kasumi’s Stolen Memory was released Tuesday, and is available for $7.00.
  • Splinter Cell Convictions – Oh, wait, no, that was only on consoles.  Well, that’s ok, I’m not sure PC Gamers are chomping at the bit to get their hands on the new Ubisoft shackled DRM.  For those unaware, all new Ubisoft games–Assssin’s Creed II, RUSE  and Silent Hunter V–will now require you to be logged in to your Ubisoft account to play the game.  That’s right, even if you are playing Single-Player campaigns you will be kicked out to the pause screen, should your connection lag for a moment.  Don’t expect this writer to plunk down his hard earned cash to support this hare-brained scheme, I’ll wait until it’s patched out.  Those of you still interested, SC : Convictions hits on the PC on April 27th.
Here’s this week’s Bytes :
  • Depressed about the release list this week, or lack thereof?  Head over to http://tigerwoodsonline.ea.com for some free Tiger Woods Golf.  It’s a new, free to play browser based game with many in depth features to create your golfer and pit him or her against the best in the PGA.  Will it be the next evolution of annual sports franchises?  Only time will tell, but while you await the verdict this should keep you busy when your boss isn’t watching!
  • There are only 20 hours left now, in the counter set up for Crysis 2 here.  Apparently we can expect some big reveals when it hits zero, rumors are for a gameplay video or trailer, keep checking back for updates!
  • Coming from the WonderCon in San Francisco, famed characters from Disney’s Tron, Lora and Alan Bradley took the stage to announce a 15 level online version of “Space Paranoids”, the arcade title featured in Tron.  Both characters were whisked offstage by an Encom security team amidst a dramatic “Flynn Lives” campaign that was capped off by a lone, mysterious figure parachuting from a helicopter and landing backstage.  Sounds like a set up for more news at E3 doesn’t it?  I’ll keep my lightcycle warmed up until then!
  • Old School gamers – are you tired of waiting for Good Old Games to wade through the tedious programming and licensing to pick up your favorite titles to be played on your XP, Vista and Win 7 machines?  The wait is over, go check out D-Fend Reloaded – the newly updated front end for DOS-Box that is boasting great compatibility with your favorite PC title of yesteryear, but also a much simpler interface than it’s DOSBox predecessor, reducing the barrier for entry for those who want to just pick up and play their old titles. Look for more information on this later, when I get some time to run D-Fend Reloaded through the paces with some of my favorite classics.
  • If you haven’t already heard, head on over to youtube, and type in the phrase “Law Abiding Engineer”.  TrueOneMoreUser has taken high quality Team Fortress 2 models and substituted them for the main characters in the “Law Abiding Citizen” trailer, and it looks amazing.  It’s a funny and technically awesome watch, especially at the low low price of free!
  • Don’t forget that Xbox 360 USB memory functionality is available, as of this Tuesday the 6th.  Grab that update and clean up that hard drive!  Hopefully getting rid of some of those dust bunnies will help avoid the red rings, no?
Geared Up

Last, but not least, is a little segment I cal “Geared Up”.  Whenever I find interesting new game gear, accessories, case mods or other user created game-themed trinkets, I will post them here, to cap off that week’s “Weekly Byte”.  I’d like it to show up each week, but that depends solely on what I find.  Here’s your chance to be featured in an article – send your submissions to chris@everydaygamers.com with “Geared Up” in the subject heading, and you just might find yourself in “Geared Up” next week!

This week’s “Geared Up” artifact belongs to the creative mind of Ben Fellowes, who has recreated the Normandy SR-2 from Mass Effect 2 in LEGO form.  It’s amazingly detailed, and features a working Docking Bay with Transport Shuttle.  The full gallery of pics can be found here, and the homepage with all of Mr. Fellowes’ masterpieces is here.  I tip my hat to you Mr. Fellowes, you have geeks everywhere awestruck and jealous!

Well, that’s all for now, thanks for joining me, and I’ll see you next week!

You may also like...