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Today Billy Mays has passed away. The causes are still unknown but his wife was quoted as saying he didn’t feel good before he went to bed. He was also involved in a rough landing at the Tampa Bay airport on Saturday but they don’t think it’s related. Even though he was very much in the public light his family is asking that the details of things remain private.
With so many celebrities dying lately it only goes to show that the generation that brought us video games is starting to fade away. The OG’s (original gamers) are starting to die off. Hopefully bright new minds will take their place and impact the world just as others before them have done. We will miss you Billy Mays.
Champion Online open beta is set for mid-August. The release date is set somewhere in September so this makes sense. MMORPG.com reports that Colin Campbell spent some time with Cryptic studios and found out this piece of information. While not 100% for sure, we’ll see if the open beta for Champions Online comes in August or not.
You can read the full story here.
Michael Jackson died today and will be missed by many fans. What’s not as well known about the pop star is the role he has played in the video game industry. Michael Jackson made his appearance in the Sega Genesis title Moonwalker.
He also made a brief appearnace in the music game Space Channel 5. Jackson also collected many arcade games which were auctioned off here. 1up.com also reports that Michael Jackson had ties to the game company Sega:
“In the early ’90s, Jackson was close with Sega, appearing at several charity events with the publisher and making a visit to their Japan headquarters (some believe that he even inspired Sonic the Hedgehog’s character design).”
Michael was also working on a video game of himself but will never have the chance to finish it now. His impact on the world was great and he will be missed.
Playing a Medic in Team Fortress 2 gives you the opportunity to really appreciate the team aspect of the game. The Medic is the backbone of any team and everyone should learn the basics of playing one. Even though the Medic is a support class he’s not completely dependent upon his teammates to survive.
The TF2 Medic comes with a variety of weapons and items that help him to support his teammates and defend himself. Some of the Team Fortress 2 classes have been given weapon upgrades but not all. The Medic was the first class to be upgraded.
All classes have a primary, secondary and melee weapon. The Medic in Team Fortress 2 starts out with three basic weapons. The first three you start with are:
- Primary – Syringe gun
- Secondary – Medigun
- Melee – Bonesaw
You can upgrade these weapons by just playing the game or by doing achievements. Each milestone unlocks a new item for the class. If you don’t want to do that you can play the game and you will be given items randomly. The more you play the more items you will get but you’re not guaranteed to get Medic weapons. The only way to get just the Medic weapons is to do achievements to unlock them.
The TF2 Medic weapon unlocks are:
- Primary – Blutsauger
- Secondary – Kritzkrieg
- Melee – Ubersaw
Tactics for Playing Medic
Your primary job is to not get hit or draw fire. Most people think that healing teammates is more important but it comes second to your own safety. If you’re dead you can’t heal anyone.
Now that you know the basics you’ll need to know how to play the Medic as efficiently as possible. Depending on the weapons you choose will depend on your play style. For now let’s focus on the basic set of Medic weapons.
The Medigun will become your best friend. The Syringe gun and Bonesaw should only be used in a last ditch effort to get away. Don’t stop and try to fight someone with these because you will probably lose. These weapons should only be used if you’re trying to do an achievement that requires you to.
Keep a safe distance from the person you’re healing and don’t follow suicidal people to their death. Stay back and build up your Uber-charge and then charge in. Jump back and forth to avoid fire and Spies that want to backstab you. Most people don’t watch out for their Medic, so it’s your job to stay safe.
Once you get the weapon unlocks for the Medic you’ll have a much easier time staying alive. The Blutsauger is going to be your best friend, next to a good Heavy. When you start taking on fire or get singled out in a crowed pull out the Blutsauger and continue to fire at the target while you retreat.
The Blutsauger is lethal against Spies and Scouts. You’ll find that these two classes are going to be gunning for you constantly. If the person you’re healing doesn’t notice them you’ll have to deal with them yourself.
When you have the chance to use the Ubersaw on an unsuspecting target you’ll jump for joy. Each hit gives you a 25% charge on your Uber-charge or your Kritzkrieg. Be careful not to get carried away since you could easily die. The Ubersaw should be used while retreating and you can hit someone one or two times as you’re backing up.
The last choice you’ll have to make is which secondary weapon to use. The easiest way to do it is to use the Medigun when you’re playing offense and the Kritzkrieg when you’re playing defense. The Medigun will get you through sentries and help you push forward. The Kritzkrieg will keep the offense from achieving their goal.
There is so much more to playing a Medic in Team Fortress 2 but this basic information will give you a better understanding of what you’re up against. Take time to practice with each weapon and try different tactics. Even if you don’t play Medic a lot you’ll better understand how they can work with you to win.
Drunek_F00l of SourceOP has a program that will help you to farm for TF2 items. If you don’t want to deal with an idle server in team fortress 2 you can get this program. This program will allow you to farm team fortress 2 items without even having to log in the game.
Here are some of the statistics from the SourceOP idle program:
The video game Rising Eagle- Gaza is a challenge by Kevin Bermeister to the President of Iran. He claims that since the Iranian President vowed to wipe Israel off the map. The game itself puts Iranian troops against Israeli troops in a first-person shooter. Players can choose to be either Iranian soldiers or Israeli soldiers but there are no Palestinian fighters.
The game is an upgrade to two previous versions which were set in China and Paris. Bermeister believes that since Iran President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, challenged Israel he would challenge him with his game. Bermeister was quoted as saying, “People will get to know each other in a competitive battleground environment, get to text each other, speak to each other, connect with each other and figure out that they’re human beings and they can get along with each other.” Somehow I doubt that will happen but at least Bermeister’s an idealist.
The game was made by an Israeli company Invasion Interactive. As you can guess the game’s not exactly fair. The Israeli Defense Force is meant to stomp out any adversary. They are the future of fighting and have an obvious advantage over their foes. It’s not surprising that Yaron Dotan, one of the game’s Israel-based designers, was quoted as saying, “I want this to upset people. I hope it causes the biggest shitstorm in history.”
The game also depicts photos of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a monkey. Dotan acknowledged that this would piss people off (no kidding) but doesn’t really seem to care a whole lot. The game itself is not much of a surprise with all of the protests that have been happening lately. I’m sure there are many people who would find it quite humorous to see Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s face morphed into that of a chimp since he’s such a chump. If you’re interested it the game it’s free to play and can be found here.
The Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) made Valve change the cover art for L4D 2. They claimed that it was too graphic in nature. As seen above the original cover art for L4D 2 was the original hand missing the thumb, pinky and ring finger. The ESRB stated that the cover art was too graphic in nature and that Valve needed to redesign it.
So apparently it’s okay to have a chewed off thumb but not the thumb, pinky and ring finger. The ESRB states that the thumb is fine but the other two fingers make the photo too graphic. So Valve redesigned the new cover as seen below. So what’s the rule of thumb with this case? It’s okay to have one chewed off thumb and two folded fingers but it’s not okay to have three missing appendages.
The ESRB only commented on the fact that it’s within their guidelines to have the picture changed. If anyone is curious as to what those guidelines are you can find them here. So remember that it’s okay to have one missing finger when you make a photo for a video game but only if it’s the thumb. Even the official L4D blog reported on how silly the guidelines where. You can read the blog post “Rules of Thumb” on their official blog.
Marvin Fong/Plain Dealer
I’d like to start off by saying that this kid has more problems than just a video game addiction. That being said here’s the story:
IGN.com reported the title – “Halo 3 Teen Killer Didn’t Understand That People Don’t Respawn“
Daniel Petric, 17, claimed he didn’t understand that people don’t re-spawn in real life. He shot and killed his mother, and severely wounded his father back in 2007. The parents forbid him from playing Halo 3 and as a result they ended up dead. The judge at the trial was quoted as saying:
This Court’s opinion is that we don’t know enough about these video games…
It’s my firm belief that after a while the same physiological responses occur that occur in the ingestion of some drugs. And I believe that an addiction to these games can do the same thing…
The other dangerous thing about these games, in my opinion, is that when these changes occur, they occur in an environment that is delusional. Because you can shoot these aliens, and they’re there again the next day. You have to shoot them again. And I firmly believe that Daniel Petric had no idea, at the time he hatched this plot, that if he killed his parents, they would be dead forever.
Unfortunately gamers are under fire yet again. An unstable kid kills his parents and blames a video game. Games must be evil and we have to protect everyone from them now.
Columbine is another example of when games were blamed for the actions of mentally unstable individuals. Many other cases have had video games labeled as evil. The truth is that the games didn’t cause the problem the person(s) chose to do what they did.
Stereotyping gamers or video games has been happening for years now. The more these cases come up the more we’ll start to see the gaming world change. Should we blame all drug addicted teens problems on professional athletes that take steroids?
Frankly I think that kids don’t have much for role models today. Digital copies of themselves or heroes is far better than ones that think dog fighting is okay or ones that think tuna is really chicken.
The reality is that video games are what you make them. People that can’t separate fact from fiction should be receiving help. I think this case is nothing more than a sad, misguided youth who made a very stupid decision. Either way three people have lost their lives and gamers take another negative blow from the media.
Congratulations to the top three crossword puzzle gurus! For those that didn’t make it better luck next time. We had a great turn out for the puzzle contest and we’ll be doing more in the future. Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the event. For those that would like the answers here they are!
How good is your Team Fortress knowledge? We’re hosting a contest to see who can get the right answers. If you think you’ve got what it takes to complete this “Grid-based Cipher Code” then follow the link from the image and get cracking. If you are one of the first three people to complete the crossword correctly you’ll receive a FREE copy of either LiTi-4’s TF2 Weapon Unlock Guide or LiTi-4’s Team Fortress 2 Class Guide.
Contest Rules:
You must complete the entire crossword puzzle.
You may use whatever tools needed to complete the puzzle.
Entries must be in either be a picture (in .jpg format) or a text document (.txt or .doc)
This contest is for Twitter only and any answers given in the comments of this blog will not be accepted. You must send a Direct Message to liti4 on Twitter. You will be given the e-mail address to send your crossword to.
When you send your e-mail please include which book you would like to receive should you be chosen as a winner.
Winners will be sent an e-mail or a Direct Message on Twitter with a link to download their prize.
One entry per person please. Make sure that you have completely filled out the crossword before you send it. Incomplete crosswords will not be accepted.
Contest starts June 15, 2009 @ 11:00 AM Central Standard Time
Contest expires June 16, 2009 @ 11:00 AM Central Standard Time
Good luck to all contestants!
