Here’s the beginning of my post over at Blazersedge.com.  I’ve been a member over there for a while…its a great place for Blazer fans…of which I am the most diehard.  Dave, one of the site editors, asked for fan takes on the lockout as a part of a larger effort as bloggers to make our fan voice be heard.  So I had to weigh in on that one.  Enjoy…or catch the whole post over at Blazersedge.

We all know that the lockout is affecting workers…bars…the everyman.  Much has been said on the topic about how this goes beyond just fans wanting to see the games.  I really want to highlight our youth.  We were all there once.  And as a fan…a young fan…almost nothing beats interacting with the players on your team, taking pride in your city/town, and most importantly rooting your team on to a win!  That would be enough…but trust me…it goes way deeper than that.

Dave asked us to contribute to his collective post…I just wanted to remind them (us) that few things matter most than making a difference in the life of a child.  The NBA has a tremendous history of doing so.  Why stop that…even temporarily…over money?

Take this story as evidence:  Previously, I was the director of an after school program focused on technology.  We were three blocks from a high school with a dismal academic record.  Our most successful approach in building relationships and getting kids to commit to the disciple of learning new things was centered around video games…primarily NBA Live (and yes…I know 2K is better…now).

Join us as we launch Battlefield 3.

It’s going down all the way through to midnight and beyond.

Gamestop Sunset Esplanade
2351 SE Tualatin Valley Hwy.
Hillsboro, Oregon 97123
Phone: (503) 846-9197
9:00 pm until…

Did I mention we’ll be playing on the Xbus.

Hey Portland gamers…we’re going to PAX Prime up in Seattle.  Cya there.

So I’m only a few levels in, but this shooter Crysis 2 is amazing. The story doesn’t seem all that original, but the overall gameplay experience is quite riveting.

What I like most about it is that Crysis 2 seems to take the best elements from some of my favorite games and mashes them into one. In some cases that can be a recipe for disaster, but here they get the proportions right.

It bears the most overall resemblance to the Halo franchise in overall scope and concept: a soldier in a super-suit fighting off an alien invasion. But it also mixes in some of the complexity and customization of weapons that you have in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and COD: Black Ops. And if that weren’t enough, the suit adds a layer of stealth capability and several fields of vision that remind me of Splinter Cell, which really provides an excellent sense of balance and flexibility to the style of play you bring to the game. If you want to just move and shoot around a lot, you can. If you want to be more strategic and use the element of surprise, you can do that, too.

Visually, the game is absolutely stunning, and I love the fact, though you’re fighting through a dystopian version of New York City, the game is actually very bright — another thing it has in common with the Halo world. And through the good voice acting, the rich detailed environments and the cinematic score — courtesy of Hans Zimmer (Inception, The Dark Knight) — I was reminded of another sci-fi classic — Valve’s  Half-Life 2.

Since I’m only a few levels in, I can’t comment too much about the story just yet, but I’m so into it that on my first day off with good weather in almost 6 months, I’m still inside trying to find my next checkpoint. That should tell you something.

And oh yeah … I hear the multi-player’s pretty good, too.

Alright guys, sooo for the last like 4-5 years I’ve been addicted to this rpg Derby Owners Club World Edition. It’s a really fun game that never gets boring and requires a lot of strategy and knowledge about the game. Check it out in the video below:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_bIzsvwzm0

If anyone has already and still plays this game, get at me and I would love to talk about it with you. If you are interested in getting involved in this game, just let me know and I will tell where locations are to play.  If you need tips or pointers about it let me know because I myself have learned from other great people that play it.

It’s not out for the Xbox 360…but its still a great game.

After 6 qualifying events over the past month, and the most intense championship round we have had to date, while in front of a crowd of over three hundred gamers…there could only be one champion.

His name is Jeff.

His comments are following:

The Black Ops turn out was amazing,very fierce gaming going on. I thought it was the most intense yet. I hope there is more tournaments to come. Thanks to all, Jomo, the Xbus, Gamestop, and the marine’s. But most of all thank you monster for distributing your high power drink’s. Thank you all.  Game on.

Thanks again to all that participated…it was a great tournament.

You can see this interview here where he made it into the final round at qualifier #1 back on October 16.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uLULa6z2Q8

Championship Round

Featuring the 6 winners of the previous qualifying events.

November 8, 2010
Immediatey after Qualifier #6 concludes.
Gamestop Tanasbourne
18033 NW Evergreen Parkway, #K
Hillsboro, OR 97006
(503) 533-9541

PRIZES:

The winner of the Championship round will get his choice of either Prestige Edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops, or a free Xbus Mobile Lan Party.  In addition we are currently soliciting prizes to be given away during a raffle that night. As we get more prizes we will list them here.

My love for the Portland Trail Blazers is well documented…so I don’t need to say that I’m excited for this season to begin this Tuesday night.  Come on Portland…Rise with us!!!!!!

Update:  I found this amazing video…if you love Marvel Comics & the NBA…you gotta see the inspiration behind the above image. Thanks to Marvel Comics, ESPN, and all the artists.

You free for Halloween?

Then don’t miss this HALO-ween Halo:Reach Tournament.

Tournament details:

7 qualifying rounds with the first round starting at noon Pacific Standard Time.  Up to fifteen contestants will compete each round, with the top 2 advancing.  Each round will consist of as many games as we are able to fit into the round, which lasts approximately an hour and a half.  The gametypes/maps will vary according to player input, but will be focused around Slayer variants.  Points will accumulate throughout the round.  For each game played during that round, points are awarded as follows:  1st place – 3 points, 2nd place – 2 points, 3rd place – 1 point.  At the end of the round, the two contestants with the highest point totals will advance to the Championship round.

Championship Round details:

Once the last qualifier is concluded, the 14 finalists will compete in the championship round.  I anticipate this will start at 10:30 pm.  Again, the gametypes/maps will vary according to player input, but will be focused around Slayer variants.

Prize details:

The winner of the Championship round will win a $60 credit to the Gamestop store of their choice.

Tournament Registration:

1. This free tournament is open to all members of this site.  Sign up here if you have not yet done so.
2. Fill out the registration form below.
3. Invite your friends to join with you by posting on Twitter, Facebook, and the like.
4. Nazrhite will start sending friend requests on Saturday, the day before, so as to get through everyone by Sunday morning.  Be sure to accept the invite…or he can’t send you messages or invite you to play during your round.
5. On Sunday, October 31, 2010 sign into Xbox Live.  You will have a message from Nazrhite letting you know what round you will be playing, as well as any other last minute news.
6. Log into both Xbox Live & Halo Reach 10 minutes before your scheduled start and be ready to game it up.
7. As always, normal rules and conditions apply.

Good luck everyone.

FYI:  We have a educational initiative called the Teen Gamer Corps (TGC).  We have been feverishly working getting our new TGC Headquarters setup.  While we aren’t completely done, its getting pretty sweet.  We decided to run this tournament from the the TGC Headquarters to help break it in.  If you are interested in bringing a young person by to see the new setup…feel free to give us a call at (503) 719-6092.  We’ll be there all day.

Oops! We could not locate your form.

I want to see your GAME FACE!

As alluded to in some early posts, we are already working on the advertising  campaign for next year’s GAME IT UP NORTHWEST.  We need your help.  We want to feature the faces of actual gamers for the ad campaign.  Here it is…your chance at immortality.  Kind of.

You can see hear what last years collage of game faces looked like:

Here we go again.  To to sweeten the deal, I’m gonna give the winner in each of the four categories the game of their choice.  The four categories are:

• The Heat Vision GAME FACE
• The Assassin GAME FACE
• The Oscar GAME FACE
• Best overall GAME FACE

Here are the category descriptions to help guide you in your selection, or even staging, of the photos you will submit.

The Heat Vision GAME FACE: Also known as the most intimidating face ever, or the face from hell.  This is the face designed to cause fear to break out in the heart of men.  This is the face that cuts through the night, the fog, and even darkness itself and sends the message far and wide…Don’t Mess With ME!

The Assassin GAME FACE: Also known as the silent but deadly type.  This is the face of the man/woman/beast/predator you don’t want to see in a dark alley, or isolated jungle…or on Xbox Live.  This is the face, that once you’ve seen it…you’re done.  It’s pretty much too late.

The Oscar GAME FACE: The Oscar is typified by two different “Oscars”…both of which feature smiles when beating you.  The first is Oscar De La Hoya, a boxer with a pretty good face, but even better punch.  The second is probably the scariest man with a smile on his face…The Joker.  Heath Ledger’s performance of the DC villain was chilling…so much he won an Oscar for that performance…arguably the best of his career.  Frightening.  The winner in this category will probably be smiling.

Best overall GAME FACE: Overall, I’m looking for a combination of all three faces in one…if that’s possible.  I’ll know it when I see it.

HERE ARE THE OFFICIAL RULES:

• Before you submit a photo, please make sure you have registered as a member on this site. Only one submission per person is allowed.
• Submissions open at the time of this post, and close 11:59 pm, December 31, 2010, or when the total photos submitted get to 500.
• People can submit their photos by filling out the form below.
• The first 100 people to submit their pictures will be guaranteed a spot in the ad promotion… unless of course the picture is unacceptable.  See the submission details below.
• PDXBOX.NET staff will pick our top 5 in each category.
• We will post the top five in each category so you, the site members can vote on your favorites.  We will then tally up, and the bottom three finalists of each category will be removed.
• The votes will then be reset, and the voting will take place between the top two finalists.
• Winners will have the option of picking any game they they would like…as long it doesn’t go over $60.
• As always, normal rules and conditions apply.

PHOTO SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

• Photos must be color jpg files.
• In order for your picture to be used in the ad campaign, it needs to primarily be of your face…hence the term GAME FACE.
• We reserve the right to crop down a picture as we see fit.  All submissions will be cropped down to a perfect square for proper use in the ad.
• Photos will be discarded if there is any objectionable material included in the photo.  Use common sense people.
• We will be using some images in posters, so it would help if images are at least 1024 pixels wide.

Good luck, and remember… submissions will close December 31, 2010.