For years now I have been telling anyone who would listen about my plans to build a website based on music videos. “It would be everything that MTV is NOT,” I’d say. It would not only let you to search for specific artists or songs, but it would also allow you to save playlists to share with your friends or the world.. In other words, it would take all the great qualities from Napster and iTunes, and apply them to videos instead of just music.

Well I never followed through with those plans, but I’m sure glad somebody did. Recently a new website called VEVO launched that does all of this and then some. VEVO is a collaboration between internet video colossus YouTube and entertainment giant Universal. VEVO takes all of YouTube’s music video content, cleans it up – gets rid of the duplicates, Rick Rolls, etc – and presents them in a clean, easy to navigate interface. They also add-in some exclusive, *legal* content from the likes of EMI, Sony Music and, of course, Universal. As if that weren’t enough, they promise HD quality streams will be on the menu later this year!

I played around on the site and was very impressed with the selection as well as quality of their content. I found all my favorite artists and everything looked good even blown up on my 46″ screen. Previous reviewers experienced glitchiness with the videos, and I too experienced an occasional buffering, but it could just as easily have been my crappy internet connection. In general, the videos all played with no problem. There is the requisite feature to “heart” a song, artist or even another user’s playlist, so the site can give you recommendations of similar songs. They’ve even got a cool feature that puts lyrics on-screen (powered by TuneWiki) so you can get your karaoke on.

So how much does all this cool stuff cost you ask? They must charge per video or maybe run off of subscriptions, right? WRONG! VEVO is entirely F-R-E-E! The service is completely ad-supported just like their corporate parents (if you don’t know who owns YouTube, you can probably Google it ).

This site is quite literally one that I have dreamed of. The fact that it looks this good right at launch tells me they (hopefully) will be here for a long time to come… and I will be right there with them!

Other reviews:

TechCrunch – YouTube Helps Vevo Overtake MySpace Music In The U.S.
PC Mag – Hands On: YouTube’s Vevo Music Video Site
LifeHacker – Vevo is Where Your Missing Music Videos Went To
BNET – Music Video Site Vevo Is Like Hulu But With a Better Business Model

“Black Ink” by IxDarkclouDxI on 04.29.2009

“camoed” by a cuban cat on 08.22.2008

“Battle stance” by nl beer on 10.04.2009

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Okay, so my history with Modern Warfare has a strange tangent in my gaming life. When Call of Duty 4 first came out I was like “Meh…” I mean, I loved what I was seeing - nukes and stuff - but I didn’t really care. I was still “Finishing the Fight.” Then on one relatively cloudy day, I was down at a Blockbuster browsing the game section. I was looking for something to take up a weekend of time, but be worth the money. I spotted a copy of Modern Warfare in the stands. I nabbed it and started playing the second I got home. Suffice it to say, I loved the experience! The characters, the locales and story all worked perfectly well, and the plot twist in the center regarding an unfortunate Sergeant tugged on a heartstring or too. The one qualm I had with it was its ending, but it was subject to interpretation which I liked.

Well, when it was announced, I rushed out and reserved a Prestige Edition copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. A fun fact to note here is that this copy is why I don’t have a Collector’s edition of Mass Effect 2; I felt like it was worth it regardless. I popped the disc in immediately and jumped into the world of Modern Warfare 2, five years after the first game. I loved how the campaign played. The combat seemed more intense, but still fun, and the scripted moments seemed to flow more. I loved how the Task Force missions were like an exciting spy movie, and the Rangers levels more like a streamlined war game. 

It was great fun up until I beat the game just six hours later that night. I glanced at my cell phone clock and back at the game, hoping for some additional content after the credits like the first game, but no. The party was over.

I decided the best way to fix my frustration was to try out the multiplayer. My time with the first game’s multiplayer lasted maybe four games full of swearing teens. I booted up and got right into a game – getting TAC-Nuked a few minutes later. But this was strange. Despite turning to nuclear ash moments after dropping in for the first time, I was actually having fun! I died a couple times in the next few games, but still got a bit of experience thanks to the “Death-streaks” which let me climb back from my defeats and making the game much more playable. I was actually enjoying a Call of Duty’s multiplayer!

Pros

Story time: I love video game campaigns that drive me to keep moving and keep trying, staying engaged and emotionally invested in the characters. I fell in love with Soap now that he had a voice. It seemed to me like he had grown up since Modern Warfare, like time had actually passed and he was now “of age” as I could say. The American soldiers in the Army Ranger missions were very likable as they were just soldiers. They weren’t badass super spies, just soldiers holding the line until someone (The Task Force 141.) could make an opening for the fight to either end or change directions.

Actually Fun Multiplayer: Yes, those swearing-homophobic-spamming-account selling- camping-teabagging-n00b tubing-kids are still there. And yes, not all playlists let you escape them in Party Chat. But the smooth and  fun game play I was now experiencing, compared to the first Modern Warfare and World at War, was very enjoyable and keeps me playing it consistently, even now.  Kill streaks are loads of fun to get now, being more varied than before, and fully customizable loadouts are even more fun. Nothing says win like winning the game with a siege of Stealth Bombers.

Stand by Me: The Special Operation missions were surprisingly fun. Despite being scripted bits of glory from the campaign, or somewhat familiar content, the missions mixed the chaotic fun of multiplayer with the fun moments of the story. Doing this with a friend ws very sweet with the only sour bit being that there can only be one friend with you at a time. Doing these missions as a duo really encouraged team work, whereas four players might have been more inclined to slack off.

Villains: Vladimir Makarov is a textbook villain to the very letter. But there was something about him after the first and last few missions that made me think of him not as a villain, but instead as a casual observer to the Hell he created. He single handedly instigated World War III and seemed to be content with just that. He wasn’t secretly guiding you. He wasn’t your father or even really seen again after “No Russian”. He didn’t want to conquer the world. To quote a wise man, “Some men just want to see the world burn”, and Makarov did just that. Furthermore, the game had one other looming shadow. I won’t say a damn thing, but when this character does what he does, you’ll be saying “What the frak!?” But then after he describes why he was doing what he was doing, and you actually realize what exactly he was doing, you must admit, it was a clever way to get revenge.

Foreshadowing: Yes, it seems inevitable that there will be a Modern Warfare 3, but players who pay attention for the whole game can see plenty of opportunities for the future of this series.

Cons

Shock Value: When I first heard about the infamous Airport level scene, I defended it saying it justified the story of the game and had a purpose. I played it and felt the same way. Then on a bit of a “Let’s Play” attitude, I went through the game to analyze it for this review and have determined that it only serves for shock. Oh sure, the part where you fight the Russian Anti-terrorist guys is fun, but that could have been the whole level, taking place after a cinematic cut scene that explained what just happened. Furthermore, if you skip the level, which you can do, there is no cut scene summarizing why the hell we’re now fighting Russians. This level makes perfect sense in concept, but really just seems like a sticker for FOX News to plaster for a few weeks so more people will buy the game.

Story Time (Cynical Edition): What the hell happened to whopping “Oh SHIT!” from COD 4 when players saw that Nuke go off? I mean, the “O.S” factor has certainly been ramped up, but there is never anything as slap in the face awesome as that moment. There are some plot twists but nothing that really feels like it makes the game change emotionally, at least for me. Things get tense and start to come together at first, but you soon realize that the intensity was just the climax rearing its ugly head. Furthermore, some parts make no sense what so ever. I’m pretty sure a country, angry as it is, would investigate a terrorist attack before going to war right away. We got this thing called the U.N for a reason. Also, this is Russia we’re talking about, who slaughtered millions to bring about a social change a good number of years ago. I think Russian leaders wouldn’t go to war over some pissed off civvies (I interject here to say I’m an American and may not understand, but still, it seems unlikely.).

Prison Changes a Man: This is a spoiler alert zone so tread lightly, but I have to say this. A certain character was once a hero. This hero practically saved the world one day. For some reason, the people he saved locked him away. When you eventually meet this person, they act somewhat as you’d expect, but occasionally act like insane and ranting morons who watched too many action-flicks. One particularly crazy decision they can make to seem logical at first, but if you look back at moments from earlier in the game, you just think “What the hell?” Suffice it to say, seeing this person was a disappointment after so much build up and I shed a single tear as did many of my fellow fans.

“Mind telling me what you’re doing on that [Helicopter]?”: The game feels as if it is building on what will be a very exciting four to six more hours of awesome, only for it to turn out to be maybe two or three. The game ends with a cliffhanger that basically slaps fans right across the face, and is nearly ten times as infuriating as the first games. About four levels or so from the end, one soldier turns to another and remarks “So when are we going to Moscow”? Another replies, and then a third saying “When the time is right”. Evidently the “right” time to continue with World War III is sometime in the next two years, but not now. The games developers seemed to focus on the multiplayer, and did not add as much as they could have to the story. It’s disappointing.

Bang for your Buck: I paid about one-hundred and fifty dollars for my Prestige Edition. I kinda regret it. Let’s see: sixty dollar game, check; thirty-something dollar night-vision goggles, check; art book that reveals next to nothing about the development process, let alone feature interesting concept art, well I’d pay maybe five bucks for that. The game all together felt worth it at first, but now that I look at my shelf and collector’s copy of the game on my stack of games, I wish I’d gotten Mass Effect 2 instead. The game is worth the money, no denying it, and the collectors stuff is well worth it for a memento, but it is far from the glory that was Fallout 3’s Collector edition.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a good game.  In comparison to the first, it falls short. Infinity Ward is the father, Modern Warfare 2 is the prodigal son, and the fans are the other kids in school. The father is relatively proud, the son has some doubts but is doing well enough, but the other kids will judge it for some very justifiable reasons. It may be as simple as me being a nit-picky fan, but again, it’s a perfectly well-made game and should be on everyone’s shelf if it isn’t already. It’s just underwhelming when placed under a magnifying glass.

Modern Warfare 2 is available on Playstation 3, Xbox360, and PC.

AMMIH Score: 5 (Five is best)

SMS (Sicky’s Motion Sickness) Rating: 4/5 (Lower is Better)

Ok. I have to admit, I was only moderately impressed when I saw the image of this Bioshock Big Daddy Wood Carving. It wasn’t until after I watched the video that I became HIGHLY impressed. Not only did this guy carve a life size wooden replica of Bioshock’s Big Daddy, but he did it with a freakin’ chainsaw. Now how’s that for awesome?

We’re so impressed we’ve decided to give out some Little Sister Figurines to the first 10 people that reply to this post. Make sure you include some form of contact information If you’d actually like to receive your prize.

via [TehAwesome.net]

This week’s Tech Tuesday is all about Google. Think the title is exaggerating a bit? Not so fast! We all know about Google’s mainstream applications like Gmail, Google Talk and Google Docs, and I recently wrote about the new Google Buzz, but you may not know about Google’s less advertised initiatives. Google has seeds planted in many large, well-established industries like internet service and public utilities. Are they setting themselves up to take over your world? You be the judge!

Google Voice

Currently, if someone wants to reach you, there is a slew of numbers they’d have to try: your work phone, your home phone, your cell, etc. Google Voice, formerly known as GrandCentral, simplifies things by giving you a single number you can set up to relay calls to any (or all) of the others – truely one number to rule them all. Not content to just be a simple call forwarding service, Google Voice also offers a host of other features not offered by most telcos: call screening so you can decide which calls you want to answer, voicemail transcripts sent via SMS or email, number blocking for those pesky stalkers and collection agencies, and the list goes on.

That said, Google is not a telecom company and you still need a working phone line in order to use the Google Voice service. Or do you? Google recently acquired Gizmo5 which offers calling service to traditional phone lines for very low prices as long as you have an internet connection. Additionally, Gizmo5 can tie in to Skype, the perennial favorite Voice-Over-IP communication service, offering a very nice all-around package. The only catch is that Gizmo5 is currently closed to new users, but when they re-launch they will definitely be a force to contend with (you can sign up for Gizmo5 notifications here).

Google Voice is currently in Beta testing. You can request an invite here, or leave a constructive comment below and I may send you an invite if I’m feeling generous.

Google as your ISP

Google has a new experimental project this year to test ultra high-speed fiberoptic broadband networks of up to 1Gbps in select neighborhoods. No, that was not a typo, we’re talking 1 GIGAbit per second here folks! Finally cable companies may have some legitimate competition! You can submit a request to have your city or neighborhood be one of the test markets by applying here (through March 26).

Google as your… electric company?!

Sound far-fetched? Consider this: Last Thursday Google received approval from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to buy and sell energy on a wholesale basis. A spokesperson for Google said this will give Google “more flexibility in procuring power for Google’s own operations.” This approval also allows Google to approach producers of renewable energy directly. Makes sense as their data centers must be huge consumers of energy, and Google has said in the past that it is committed to being “carbon neutral.”

Now consider this: Bloom Energy is a renewable energy company headed by CEO and co-founder K.R. Sridhar. They recently appeared on CBS’s 60 Minutes to unveil their product, dubbed “Bloom Energy Servers” or more affectionately “Bloom Blocks” (not to be confused with Steven Spielberg’s Wii game “Boom Blox”), which can mix oxygen with bio-fuels such as natural gas to create electricity much more efficiently than current methods. Just 2 of these Blocks, which literally fit in your hands, can (theoretically) power the average US home 24/7/365! Best of all, they are very scalable and can be stacked to power even the largest data centers. Bloom Energy has been piloting the devices for the past year, and guess who was the first company to sign up. You got it – Google! In addition, they have numerous other big-name corporations in their pilot program including eBay, FedEx, Walmart, Staples, Coca-Cola, Bank of America and Cox Communications. They also have support from politicos like the Governator and Gen. Colin Powell (Ret.). With that level of support, its obvious this is not some fly-by-night start-up; this company has some mighty big ambitions!

This is an interesting contrast to Bill Gates’ recent TED Talk on clean energy. Bill goes for the top-down approach, promoting alternative ways to produce cleaner nuclear energy; Google seems to be taking the bottom-up approach, promoting clean energy at the consumer level. I expect big changes ahead with these two powerhouses driving the green effort from both ends of the spectrum!

Now, we can already assume Google will be buying energy in bulk for their own needs, and so far they are the only company in Bloom’s pilot program with approval to re-sell energy. Is it that much of a stretch to see them turn around and re-sell this energy to consumers? If there’s any company out there with the ambition and financial ability to take on the gigantic public utilities companies, it’s definitely Google. What do you guys think?

OMG Google Really Is Everywhere!

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Google let’s its employees spend 20% of their time working on personal projects, so there are certainly numerous other initiatives going on that have not gotten any publicity at all. Google, getting as big as it is, has already had its share of privacy complaints, as well as attracted the attention of antitrust investigators in the EU. This is definitely not an anti-Google article however. I am very much in favor of their policy towards using open standards and find their overall philosophy a breath of fresh air. Can they maintain their Jedi status without succumbing to the Dark Side? The skeptic in me has doubts, but the optimist in me is definitely hopeful.

I want to close out this week’s Tech Tuesday by sharing with you a video by Jesse Thomas called “The State of the Internet.” See you next week and don’t forget to leave me your thoughts below!

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from Jesse Thomas on Vimeo.

“SpecOps Memory” by McDonaldzz on 10.07.2008

“light/dark” by CN OvErLoAd on 06.10.2009

“Dark Chaos” by ZERO C0R3 on 07.12.2008

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Send an email to Screenshots@AMatchMadeInHalo.com with a link to your image or fileshare on Bungie.net

I will do my utmost to resist making blatant jokes about…things. Originally I bought Bayonetta for the nudi…err…the fact that it is made by the same guy who did Devil May Cry..? Yea, I wouldn’t buy that line from a guy either when it comes to this game. One thing came to mind right before actually purchasing the game, and that thought was: it is sad that Hideki will probably be far more well known for this game than Devil May Cry.

Once I had some time alone, and those of you that just snickered at your monitors have just lost the game, I popped the disc in and booted up the game. Immediately I was greeted by an intriguing cut scene and a remake of a very very familiar song. The game had locked in my interest for the next several hours. Not just to check out how well the physics engine works on…well you get the idea. The whole game felt really familiar considering I’ve played Hideki’s DMC series in the past.

When it comes to anything relating to any sort of time manipulation in a video game, generally I get really disappointed for various reasons. In Bayonetta I liked the way they handled the concept and back story behind the ability, but honestly wished it was expanded upon even more. Using Witch Time is the key to many battles and for gaining high amounts of Halos, but I would have liked to see it used a bit more creatively in some puzzles throughout the game. Other than that small personal quibble with the game I honestly can’t say I didn’t enjoy every other aspect of it.

The rendition of Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon used throughout the game could be considered a pure stroke of genius on the developer’s behalf. Not only was this new version catchy as hell, but really complimented the personality of the main character. Some of the alternate weapons you could unlock gives you a fairly decent mix and match sort of scenario to play in when it comes to deciding what sets of weapons you want to use to pound your enemies….with.

For fans of Hideki’s work, this is a pretty well rounded example of what the man delivers with each new installment thrust into the gaming market and as such a reasonable price tag attached. For anyone else? Still not a bad deal for an interesting game with a pretty good story. I’d recommend it as at least a rental to those unsure if it warrants the full price.

For a game that marketed itself on sex appeal. I wasn’t disappointed with overall quality of it. Hideki’s team took their formula for DMC and mixed it up a bit, tossed in an overly sexual female as the player character, topped it off with some story, and finally added in an awesome sound track. For those that have yet to experience the game, I want to reiterate one point I made earlier: fan service, this game is full of it from beginning to end…and then it has this dance sequence. Seriously, pretty much out of no where after the stripper dance during the credits, all the characters from throughout the game get together and decide to shake it with Bayonetta in a series of short clips.

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3

AMMIH Rating: 4/5

SMS (Sicky’s Motion Sickness) Rating: 2/5 (Lower is Better)

What I propose to you, is that we gather every single person we know that owns a copy of the game and has a few hours on that night in April to rally together and make sure that one of our most beloved games isn’t sent out with a whimper but with a bang. This is the end of an era, but that doesn’t mean we will forget those times we spent late nights just reaching for the next rank.

I’d like for all of AMMIH’s staff to edit this with their thoughts and list if you will be participating that night along with your gamertag. I plan to take the night off of work if I have to, so I don’t intend to miss out on this last hurrah. Time for me to sign out, come April 14th contact me at my gamertag Ryokea Hakubi if you want to get in on a team.

Ken Raves: Hey, this is…well, Ken. I came into Halo “late”, like, a few months before the Halo 3 Announcment trailer. And didn’t get LIVE til like, two years ago. But Halo and Halo 2 were…awe inspiring. I loved them, they were my first few games for Xbox. I have a history with this game and while I only ever played two online custom games, I will not miss this, and I may even beg to miss a day of school for this. Halo 2 launched Halo into what it really is today, in my opinion. It changed things. My gamertag is “Ken Raves” and I will personally escort Halo 2 unto the Great Journey if I have too. Semper Fi.

“Dark Shadow” by EPIC DarkSHAD0W on 04.16.2008

“EVA Evolved” by Ultimatum VI on 09.30.2008

“Dusk Execution” by IAwkwardSilence on 05.31.2009

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