Beckett Gaming

We've been updating several of our Web sites over the past few months. Our Web designers recently finished the layouts. Let me know what you think of them. I'll take any comments or suggestions. This is the message I recently posted on the main Beckett.com Web sites: 

We've updated several our Beckett Gaming Web sites with brand new message boards. Here's a list of links to all of them. Check them out and leave a comment or two.

Beckett Cheat Codes Magazine Message Boards

Beckett Magic The Gathering Message Boards

Beckett Pokemon Unofficial Collector Message Boards

Beckett Anime & Manga Message Boards

Neopets The Official Magazine Message Boards

 Thanks! 

- Doug Kale 

The scene is simple enough: a group of Hobbits reclining in oak chairs as they enjoy a tall mug of ale, their feet bobbing in time with the music being played within the quaint tavern. Or what about a great, towering hall of silver where the tall, graceful Elves dancing lithely to the beautiful melody streaming forth from a flute?

These are the types of things that you’d encounter in the world of Tolkien, but it might come as a joyous surprise to most that the music, one of the most incredible things about both the LotR books and movies, is much like a mini-activity within the Lord of the Rings: Online.

Some of us here at Beckett have spent some time testing out the beta version of this new MMO, due out next month, but my biggest joy came when I realized that any character, no matter the class, can whip out an instrument (in my case, the lute) and by using the 1-8 keys on your keyboard, play real-time music with two octaves and the ability to strum flat notes as well.

Several of us spent an hour just standing around making music, taking turns as we played everything from classical melodies to Christmas carols to even Darth Vadar’s theme song/march. Once we got the hang of a song and wrote down the numbers to press, it was a simple matter of typing out the numbers in chat to let each other play the exact same songs.

Quite honestly, I’ve never had more fun just standing around. There was no combat, no bickering about class imbalance, no fighting over loot... just several people enjoying whatever tunes we could come up with at the time. It was simple, relaxing, and most importantly... extremely Tolkien-like.  

Once the game goes live, I can see people setting up open mic nights at various taverns all across Middle Earth. Guilds will form for the sole purpose of getting together to perform as a band. Players will become famous on their server, not for having the most kills or for wearing the best armor, but for being able to create music that reminds people that after a long, hard day of adventuring with their fellowship, nothing is better than relaxing to some real music.

-Rebecca Bundy

God of War 2 (M = Mature 17+)

REVIEWER #1

I had the privilege of sampling an advanced copy of the much anticipated PS2 release of God of War II, and I assure you it lived up to expectations.  The second installment to one of the most popular PS2 titles starts out right where it left off with Kratos installed as the ruling minion of the blade.  From step one you are thrown into a battle scene with a giant Colossus type figure who in a multitude of scenes tries to smash you to dust.  The brutal attacks are just as gory as the last game and will surely please the mob scene for this title.  PlayStation kept the controls consistent with the first game making the progression into this new chapter in the saga of Kratos a breeze.  The gameplay is slightly limited due to the restrictions on the console, and I would love to have seen what they could have accomplished on the PS3 or 360 platforms.  Game play is also constrained by not being able to rotate a full 360 degrees with the main character.  Due to this going backwards into areas you have already been through is a bit difficult, and at times feels like you are running blindly into sections.  I would give this game a 9 out of 10 overall.

- Brett Robertson

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REVIEWER #2

The graphics and sound were awesome.
It's a lot of fun decapitating bad dudes and watching them explode into pieces. The Colossus is very cool when he comes alive and you're forced to face him. I thought it was cool how you have to power up the cattapult to launch yourself onto the Colossus.
Overall, God of War 2 was very fun to play and deserves a 9 rating out of 10.

- Eric Knagg

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REVIEWER #3

I definitely have to agree with Brett and Eric. This game rocks! I was blown away by the strength of the Spartan warrior Kratos. He takes on hundreds of men that are coming at him in every direction and slices and dices them into pieces. You can also see him pick the guys up and smash them down to the ground with incredible force. He jumps onto ledges, rocks and windows, climbs ladders and walls, swings Spider-Man style, swims deep in water and does so many other things as well. The biggest test was Kratos taking on the huge Colossus marble statue dude. WOW! That is by far one of the coolest areas I've ever seen in a video game. The only negative side to the game was not being able to turn a 360 when Kratos is searching the rooms in the buildings. Other than that, this game is a MUST BUY for anyone (17+) with a PS2 or PS3 system. I give God of War II a 9 out of 10!

- Doug Kale, Editorial Director

Pick up a copy of Beckett Cheat Codes magazine at your local newsstand.

Sports video gaming has certainly come a long way. MLB 07 The Show for your PSP is as close as you can get to a real ball game and the best thing about it is you control the outcome.

All of the teams along with the players that made each team's everyday lineup in 2006 are included. You get to pick the teams that you want to play including inter-league matchups. You could play Cardinals vs. Yankees  or perhaps you could relive last year's World Series.

Each team takes turns hitting and fielding just like in a real game. Plus, you'll put your pitching skills to the test. After playing my first game I can tell you that pitching definitely plays a major role in the outcome.

MLB 07 has many levels of gameplay such as Exhibition games, Home Run Derby, King of the Diamond and regular season games.

The game comes with a 19-song jukebox, online leagues and player cards. One of the additions to MLB 07 is the ability to create a user profile and track your progress. This built-in profile system contains goals that when reached will earn you points that can be used towards unlocking specific items and superstar players from the past. There are several new features to this game. However, the most unique new feature is something called API, or Adaptive Pitching Intelligence. API allows your catcher to give suggestions to you (the pitcher) on which pitch to throw and where to locate it for each individual player. The catcher looks at each batter's strengths and weaknesses and then takes them into account when selecting a pitch. This feature can also help to improve your pitching skills. This is a big change from the past game that just randomly picked a pitch.

This game has so many amazing features it's hard to put it down. Even the play-by-play calls from the announcers make you feel like you're really in the game.

I would rank the quality of this game right up there with Madden NFL. Anyone who has watched or played in a baseball game will love MLB 07 The Show. I give this game a 10 out of 10!

-Doug Kale

Last night we said goodbye to these four A.I. wannabes: Alaina, Leslie, AJ and Nick.

I think a lot of people were surprised to see AJ go, but remember what the three judges said, it's the people calling into vote that count. Randy, Paula and Simon were a little surprised by the votes, but whether or not one person is a better singer than the next doesn't always matter. Last season many people were upset when Chris Daughtry was voted off. Now look at who has a hotter music CD... Chris sold 1.2 million against Taylor's 700,000. That's a big difference.  So, winning or losing doesn't neccesarily matter on A.I.  Antonella is still on there because she looks amazing and she has lots of pics on the Internet, ahhh, you know what I mean. As for Sanjaya, well he's probably getting the 10 to 15 year old girls to vote for him because they all think he's so cute.

Next week is going to be a tough one too. It will be interesting to see how some of these lesser intense singers will perform.

- Doug

Okay... every day we're busy writing, reviewing, previewing and featuring games in our Beckett Media publications. Almost everyone in the Beckett Gaming Group is watching American Idol each week. So, this week we launched our first American Idol Vote Off Marathon. We're picking who should get voted off.

This week's A.I. choices are:

BOYS

• AJ Tabaldo
• Blake Lewis
• Brandon Rogers
• Chris Richardson
• Chris Sligh
• Jared Cotter
• Nicholas Pedro
• Phil Stacey
• Sanjaya Malakar
• Sundance Head

GIRLS

• Alaina Alexander
• Antonella Barba
• Gina Glocksen
• Haley Scarnato
• Jordin Sparks
• Lakisha Jones
• Leslie Hunt
• Melinda Doolittle
• Sabrina Sloan
• Stephanie Edwards

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As of today our top 4 vote getters to be voted off are: Sanjaya, Nick, Haley and Antonella.

Now, since Brandon wasn't very good in the last two weeks, he could be heading home very soon too. 

Or, do you think Alaina is on her way out?

What do you guys think??? Let us know right here. Send us the comments.

Thanks,

-Doug Kale