Black Ops II Review Event

Ashley and I attended the Black Ops II Review Event last month. We couldn't speak about any of it until the embargo lifted, so all we could do is anxiously await the Black Ops II launch date. Now it has been released, so I am free to discuss it a bit.

Thanks to the review event, we were prepared to publish our review of the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops II on launch day. As the required disclaimer states,"this review reflects the opinions of two Game Vortex reviewers (Psibabe and Geck0) who attended the Call of Duty: Black Ops II Review Event in Carlsbad, California. Travel, accomodations and food for this event were arranged and funded by Activision. Additionally, Call of Duty: Black Ops II licensed products were provided at the event. We have reviewed (or are in process of reviewing) these items and their reviews may be read on this website."

Review events such as these allow Activision to maintain better security over the product (to prevent piracy) and allow reviewers to interact with each other, which helped to reveal the multiple paths in the Campaign mode. Our review is based on our game-testing experience at the event, but we strive to remain as objective as possible.

I assure you that, along with the many COD fans out there, we anxiously awaited the launch date to get our own copy in-house and, when it arrived, shot zombies, yelling and cursing, into the wee hours of the night - in Split-Screen mode, no less.

Farewell to a Friend...

Gary Coleman passed away yesterday. Gary Coleman, from Different Strokes and Postal 2. Gary Coleman from that E3 where Kudo Tsunoda never got the message that Psibabe was looking for him. Gary Coleman from the Sony Party from that time I didn't approach him to ask him to walk up to Ashley after she returned to the table and simply point up at her and say, "You!" The Gary Coleman who, with buxom blonde on arm would somehow always be in front of us at any Johnny Rockets we went to. That very same Gary Coleman.

The gaming industry will mourn his loss, as will we, here, at Game Vortex.

The Snowman Cometh

Long time, no talk, but we've been busy, what with Christmas just around the corner. The latest noteworthy thing is that we actually got snow at the GameVorplex. I know, I know... a lot of places routinely get snow... and in much greater quantities than this, but this is LOUISIANA. I've seen, maybe, four or five snowfalls in over twenty-five years. Also, none of those occasions did we get this much snow. In all, we got between one and three inches of snow, but for those in Louisiana or familiar with Louisiana, pics of the snowfall we got in Baton Rouge may be interesting.

(The yellow car is Psibabe's, the Green car is mine (Geck0's) and pictures are courtesy of J.R.Nip.)

We lost power for a total of, maybe, a couple of hours, so this isn't going to slow our publishing or anything.

Smoke and Mirrors (and Lights)

So, I got the Rock Band Stage Kit in for review. You know, the fog machine / strobe light / LED lighting effect kit that says, "Hey, I take Rock Band waaay too seriously."

Well, you can see my review of the Rock Band Stage Kit at GameVortex.com, but in summary, I'll just say that it really does change the feel from simply playing a game to much more of a performance. This is just the desired effect for parties that I go to, so I'll have to tote it along.

I tried it out at a "Gaming Day" at work, with Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360), Guitar Hero World Tour (PS3) and some various Wii games and it was a big hit. The gaming session lasted from 4:PM to 8:PM and, at the end of the day, we were down to five people rotating in and out of a Rock Band 2 game, with the Stage Kit going... well, without the fog, since you can't lower the amount of fog to reasonable amounts... and we wanted to actually see the screen.

Meeting "Chuck"

So, we got a TV series, "Chuck" in for review. I wasn't reviewing it; Psibabe did that one, but I got to watch it with her. Perks of being married to the boss, I suppose. Anyway, Chuck is an awesome show. I loved the blatant parody of "Best Buy" - "Buy More," as they called it in the show.

Chuck is part comedy, part espionage and often has the feel of a show from the eighties, with the occasional flub of the way technology works. It's laughable at times, but that somehow works for a comedy.

Anyway, if you watch Chuck, then I'm sure you're waiting anxiously for a fix, as I am. If you're not familiar with it, check out Psibabe's review of Chuck: The Complete First Season.

Taking over the world from a small bedroom in the mountains

I recently took a vacation with my in-laws. I know, most people immediately think, "big mistake!" Actually, it wasn't all that bad; yes, there was some friction, but we all lived through it.

My mother-in-law (and for that matter, my brother-in-law) didn't seem to want to do as much "active" stuff as I would have like… I could have spent most of my trip divided between walking up and down the strip in Gatlinburg and riding go-carts and playing mini-golf in Pigeon Forge. Of course, since the 18-wheeler incident, Ashley can't take that kind of walking, either. So, instead of having someone else to run up and down the strip with, I had a group of people who didn't want to do much. Although Ash and I were up for it, they weren't even interested enough in the Incline Railroad (Chattanooga, TN) to wait to ride it. True it was a projected one hour wait (how?!), but still, it's not like we go there once a week.

Regardless, there were several early evenings and late mornings that I found myself in a bedroom with my PS3 and Civilization: Revolution to keep me company. We didn't even have Internet access in the room! Luckily for me, Civ Revolution is certifiable crack. I could have played that game holed up in a room for another week if there was somewhere comfortable to sit. I was playing it to review it for GameVortex, so I was quite sad to finish the review and turn it in, as that usually means I won't find another chance to play the game.

Actually, I'm considering writing a strategy guide for Civ Revolution, to give me a "reason" to play it some more. It's really fun. I highly recommend it if you're into that sort of thing… or for that matter, if you're curious about Turn based Strategy games. If you're interested, check out my review of Civilization Revolution on PSillustrated.com.

- Robert "Geck0" Perkins

Welcome to GameVortex, behind the scenes...

GameVortex is not just another website. It's a network of friends who love videogames and movies, watching, playing and researching what they love and doing their best to share their excitement and knowledge with gamers the world over. Everything we do is on a volunteer basis... we don't get paid to review things, the only "payment" we get is that we get to keep the product we reviewed.

I guess that's why I, for one, love each and every one of our reviewers. They have something special about their characters, something distinguishing about their abilities... they have a way with words, an eye for analysis. They are quite often regarded as "experts" in their favorite genres. And, they're genuinely likeable people. Yes, I love every one of our reviewers.

Especially the girls. They're hot. No, seriously. Gamer girls are hot by definition. Yum. Luckily, I'm married to the Queen Bee, Psibabe.

So, this blog is intended to be a glimpse into the lives of GameVortex's staff members as we go about the business of play. Hopefully you'll get to know us better. Perhaps we'll get to know you a bit better, too. Maybe... just maybe... you'll find that you belong among our ranks.

Until next time,
Game On!

Robert "Geck0" Perkins,
Director of Creative Development,
GameVortex.com