halo | More Than Dodgeball

Josh GriffinMore Posts New Halo 3 Trailer

Man, this just keeps getting better …

JG

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Add Comment July 17, 2007

Josh GriffinMore Posts Halo 3 Box Art

Beautiful, I have to admit. Here’s my beta review, if you missed it.

JG

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Add Comment June 11, 2007

Josh GriffinMore Posts Video Game Review: Halo 3 Beta

Rented Crackdown for the weekend and have been enjoying the Halo 3 beta from the comfort of my couch. This thing is great!

At first, honestly I was a bit underwhelmed – the graphics at first glance are very similar to Halo 2 slightly bumped up on the 360. But that is neither fair nor true, the graphics are a huge step forward, but still very much stays true to the original look and feel. In fact, I would say that’s true of the entire beta – it is a step forward like an expected sequel, but not the giant leap I would think some are/were expecting.

The game is fast and furious, the new controls are intuitive, and the maps have that Halo-esque intangible that fans know and love. The new “x” button features – bubble shields and the like – take a bit of time to figure out how to use strategically, but all new depth to the run and gun shootout.

I played about 30 matches, here’s the progression of how I felt as it went.

Match 1: OK, renting Crackdown actually worked. Everything worked! I’m in for 5 days.
Match 2: Hmmm … the graphics are OK. The animation when you die (which I’m doing a lot) isn’t quite perfect yet. I love HD-Halo.
Match 3: Pretty sweet, these controls are going to take some time to get used to. That Bubble shield looks pretty from the inside.
Match 11: Now that my router firmware is updated, I can find a match in 30 seconds instead of 4 minutes. Should remind my friends to do that on September 24th.
Match 18: Shoot, I owned that match. Bubble shields are fun. More rockets!
Match 19: Time to try a big 16-player skirmish.
Match 20: This is awesome. I wish the whole game was here now.
Match 25: Having only 3 maps suck. But thank you Bungie, for 3 maps. I’ll bite my tongue.
Match 29: Hmmm … I’ve got this funny feeling this is going to be a glowing review on my blog.
Match 30: This game is amazing. I can’t wait to play the single player in September and the multiplayer for the rest of 2007/8.

Couple of downsides, to a great beta gametest. The grenades don’t quite release right (like Halo 2) and the rockets don’t roll out of the launcher quite as smoothly as they should. The theater interface is way to boring, and the personal settings is too buried.

Other than that, sheer brilliance.

JG

Add Comment May 20, 2007

Josh GriffinMore Posts Halo 3 Arrives in September

Bungie.net just announced today that Halo 3 will be available at retail on September 25th, 2007. Anyone going to be playing the Beta tonight?

JG

halo

Add Comment May 16, 2007

Josh GriffinMore Posts Google Searches That Lead Here: Volume 29

Here’s this weeks list of some of my favorite Google searches that led to the blog this week.

rockharbor youth pastor
glue boys
saddleback promise blog
cocaine energy drink downfalls
magnolia “freedom fellowship”
skits that teach patience
mac
the cliches believe nothing of what you hear and half of what you read
chris sligh
justin guarini april 2007
pastor rick booya
fellowship church grapevine incident april 22
saddleback church doug elliott
does anyone know how much it costs to start a chic-fil-a franchise
rock harbor church western roundup
allison snyder crocs
media effect on teens
brian regan comedy spiders
rock group little america walk on fire for you
redring shower california faults
the voice you hear when you voice when you read silently
spokane sabatticals
i believe everything i read tshirt
halo 3 assault rifle
angela griffin you gotta have art
any church that works with hillsong
area bible study saddleback church
formula coupons on ebay
gameshow in my head
stoplight video cameras orange county ca
thyspace bju
indiana jones and the city of the gods
achievement game
paul beloche
superman skit church
what’s in the cream
headless dog

JG

halo

Add Comment April 29, 2007

Josh GriffinMore Posts Halo 3 Mountain Dew

This is the best possible combination ever, aside from Goober peanut butter and jelly, of course. Mountain Dew and Halo 3? That screams, GAME FUEL.

JG

Add Comment April 18, 2007

Josh GriffinMore Posts Halo 3 Beta: May 16

Does this excite anyone else? I still haven’t decided whether or not to participate in the beta, wanting more to keep my experience “pure” – but don’t know if I can hold back. Knowing thousands of people are playing Halo 3 and I’m not … shoot …

Bungie and Microsoft have announced that the Halo 3 multiplayer beta will be gunning for Xbox Live on May 16, with three all-new maps and fresh vehicles to try out.

From 1pm (GMT) on May 16 any Xbox 360 owners who managed to secure their admission to the beta, either after buying a special copy of Crackdown or through the Rule of Three promotion, can don their Spartan helmet and get ready for some full-on Halo 3 action. The beta lasts until June 7.

JG

Add Comment April 10, 2007

Josh GriffinMore Posts I Like Violent Videogames

I love video games like Halo 2 and Gears of War. Are they OK for the youth ministry setting? Is it OK for my kids? An interesting perspective from this week’s Wired is certainly worth reading. Here’s an excerpt from the beginning:

I was playing a round of Gears of War, trying to redo a level on “insane” mode, and the walls were painted with guts. I slaughtered my way to the boss, revved up my chainsaw, and sliced into his chest — releasing a fractal fountain of gore. Woo!

At that instant, I heard the front door to my apartment open, and in walked my nanny … with my 15-month-old son, his eyes agog. Daddy, I could see him thinking, what are you doing?

Oh, nothing, son. Just kicking back with a mass-murder simulator. That’s all!

So I hastily clicked off my Xbox 360, and avoided the nanny’s eyes. But it got me thinking: Eventually he’s going to want to play video games. And then I’ll have to face the traditional child-rearing quandaries that games present. When will I hand him his first controller? Will I let him play the gory combat games I love so much — and, if so, when?

Gamers like me have spent years railing against ill-informed parents and politicians who’ve blamed games for making kids violent, unimaginative, fat or worse. But now we’re in a weird position: We’re the first generation that is young enough to have grown up playing games, but old enough to have kids.

So it turns out that, whoops, now we’ve got to make sober calls about what sort of entertainment is good or bad for our children. And what, precisely, are we deciding? I started making calls to my gamer posse find out.