Fallout New Vegas Caravan Master Achievement Guide

Decided to make this guide since I seemed to avoid playing Caravan like the plague because the concept seemed so confusing and time consuming.

So here we go, you can do this without any in depth  deck building, you will merely need to eliminate the Queens, Aces, and Jokers from your deck as they are pretty much useless (at least in my experience) you will only need to do it once so after you do that you are set for 30 games.  What you need to do is travel to Novac and find No-Bark since after he loses all his money he will just play for free so this is just easier.

Now for the rules of Caravan. The object of the game is to get your stacks as close to 26 as possible without letting your opponent do the same. I usually start my stacks as a each different suites starting with a low number card if possible.

Break down of cards:
Number Cards - Self explanatory they add up as your would expect

Kings - Double the card you place it on. So for example you have a 10 card placed down putting the king on it will bump it up to 20. This can work in your favor in two ways one giving you a high number for your stacks, and two using the King on the opponent stack to make him bust.

Jacks- Remove the card it is placed on, great for messing up the enemy caravan  or removing a king your opponent has placed to make you go bust.

Hopefully my guide helps as I was able to tackle the achievement in about an hour of gameplay, I also highly recommend saving after a few wins just in case the game decides to lock up on you. If you have any more questions or need more tips please let me know this is my second attempt at writing a guide and any and all feedback is appreciated.

Honest Brink Review

Well it certainly has been awhile since I have updated the blog and I feel the time is right to get it going again.

For those of you who don't know my Wife and I are expecting are 2nd child in January so things have been hectic getting things squared away at home.

So since it has been awhile I am going to start off with my honest take on Brink for the XBOX360. Now I know there are alot of mixed emotions about this game it's really a love it or hate it game which is fine, but what you have to know going in is Brink in no way was attempting to be the COD killer labeled it as. Brink goes back to what made games fun and that is having the ability to play with friends against Bots, I know what your thinking Bots are no where near the challenge as a Human player and you may be right, but for me as I  get older I have lost that competitive gaming edge  and would rather hang out with friends online and stomp some computers down.

Graphics - Brink has some pretty cool visuals but at the same time suffers from some texture loading which to be honest in no way takes away from the game play and usually happens right when a match is starting. I actually like the cartoony style of the character models as it lends itself better to the experience.

Sound - This is one of the places that Brink shines, the gun sounds are nothing short of awesome and if the SMG sound effects annoy my wife they have to be good. The music is sub standard but if you are playing Brink to listen to the background music there is something wrong.

Gameplay - This is where Brink shines having the ability to play as 4 different classes each bringing something unique to the mix  able to support their  teammates whether through either buffs, heals, ammo drops, or just spotting enemy locations and marking mines. My only complaint with the gameplay has to do with the body types, for the life of me I can't see any reason to play as the heavy or medium body types yes they get access to different weapons but currently as it stands I can do as much damage with an SMG as I can with a rifle using a medium or heavy body and this really takes away from the point of even having them. Another thing that can get a tad frustrating is the friendly AI sometimes forgets that there is a primary objective and leave you and your human friends to do all the work, while the enemy AI is focused on the main objective and work as a single unit to make your life a living hell.

Brink is an amazing games despite the flaws it has that I am sure can be fixed with some patches. Also the devs are releasing free DLC for a two week period this month so be sure to keep a eye out for it on the dashboard.

Overall I give Brink a 4/5. If your looking for a solid shooter to play with friends vs AI this is your game, also if you liked TF2 you will fit right into the Brink world.

Bargain Bin Bio - Batman Arkham Asylum

So I missed the first boat for Batman AA when it first came out mainly because my money was tied up in other new releases at the time. Recently however I was able to pick up a copy for about 25 bucks and was greatly pleased with what I had purchased.

• Gameplay - The gameplay is surprisingly solid with well executed puzzles, and fantastic stealth elements... oh did I forget to mention that the combat is absolutely superb? With the right timing and moves Batman can achieve a combo that allows you to flow from each baddie in swift motions allowing him to pretty much down an entire room full of them. Instead of making a separate control section I will just include it here, the controls are solid and allow for easy movement and to execute combos with ease... well once you get the hang of the combat.
• Sound/Music - Everything from the voice acting, to the sound of breaking bones is executed well. I can't recall too much on the music side but I do remember that it fit the mood.

Final Word: If you are looking for a solid single player experience at a killer price look no further than Batman AA. It features awesome combat, as well as a stellar voice cast that will make the entire game an enjoyable experience for hardcore Batman fans, to those just looking for a fun platform game. I give Batman AA a 5/5.

Batman Arkham Asylum

Back again.

Been awhile since I have updated the ole blog, been really busy with house stuff, and drama.

Anywho I plan on trying to keep this updated as there are a bunch of games hitting store shelves this year that I am psyched about. Recently picked up RDR again and have been playing through that and a little Fable 3 when I have time. I also plan on bringing back the Bargain Bin Bio  article so I can review some good games that meet anyone's budget. So stay tuned as I put together some more articles and hopefully pull back some of my readers :).

Bargain Bin Bio: Spider Man Web of Shadows

This week I dive into the Bargain Bin once again to bring you a review for one of the latest entries into the Web Slinger series Spider-Man Web of Shadows.

• STORY: 

 Our story finds us taking over the role of Spider-Man it what shown to us by the tutorial to be in the heart of terrible goings on as we soon discover that Venom is back and he is up to no good, but it's not just Venom you have to worry about some of Spider-Mans other iconic villains make an appearance and can potentially become allies to our wall crawler. Overall the story is what you would expect from this sort of game where our hero sets out to save the city and potentially the world, however along the way choices can be made that affect not only who will fight alongside you but also can affect the outcome of the game.

• GAMEPLAY:

The gameplay overall is fairly decent, but most of the OPTIONAL tasks get really really really repetitive and you will find yourself sighing after saving 100 citizens only to find out the next goal is 200 more. The good news is if you don't care for optional goals you do not need to complete them to move on, however if you are an achievement whore like myself you will need to complete 60 to get the achievements associated with them.

•  CONTROLS:

The game controls very well, and you will find yourself easily pulling off high hit combos with no problems. The only real bad thing is the insanely crappy camera angles that randomly make it to where you cannot see anything at eye level as trying to adjust it will either place you looking up at the sky or down at the ground an easy fix is to re-center the camera by pushing the left stick in.

• GRAPHICS:

The graphics are pretty decent with crisp textures on some of the character models, however as with any open world game there are some draw distance issues, and the occasional texture pop in but nothing that really detracts from the experience.

• SOUND:

Probably the weakest point in the game. The music I  noticed at times would skip, and some of the sounds would stutter but really its not anything that would stop you from enjoying playing the game.


Overall I would give Spider-Man Web of Shadows a 3.5 out of 5, while it is not up to par with other open world games it is probably the best Spider-Man game since the one based on the second movie. For any fan of Spider-Man I recommend a rental at least, but at the low price of about 17 bucks it worth checking out.

Another Left 4 Dead Expert run complete

Well we have done it again. Another person on my friends list has been helped to attain the "What are you trying to prove" achievement in Left 4 Dead last night after completing Blood Harvest on expert. Blood Harvest is probably by far the most difficult campaign on Left 4 Dead with some of the cheapest Director spawns for the Tank and witch. However with a little will power and 1hr and 47 mins of our time we were able to get NvaderJim safely on the rescue vehicle. I believe this marks the 3rd or 4th person I have helped through on this but each time is just as satisfying.

Next up on the agenda is expert on Left 4 Dead 2.

If anyone reading this needs help on Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 please let me know I really enjoy running through them. You can reach me via comment here or by sending a message to me on Live GT: Biohzrd451

Update

Well I should have been updating but have been busy with my Final and writing my research paper, but fear not I am still here.

So here is the low down, tomorrow my wife will be getting surgery so I will be at the hospital pretty much all day until she is discharged that evening, after that it is pretty much going to me being Mr. Mom and taking care of things around the house, however in between that there is gaming to be had.

On the agenda:
Complete the 7 Day Survivor achievement in Dead Rising... this baby right here is a 14 hour endeavor so I plan on getting up early to complete it, probably try and tackle this on Thursday if possible.

Complete the last two achievements on Tropico 3 finishing that game completely.

Finally trade in Just Cause 2 for ODST, while I have had tons of fun with Just Cause 2 I cannot pass up another opportunity to get some more co-op games in. I have already completed ODST but Rift33 showed an interest in playing it so I would be more than happy to assist, he also interested me in getting Halo Wars again which was a freaking blast.

So that is what is on the list right now, probably more to fall in there somewhere but who knows.

So if you read this blog which I seem to get atleast a few hits a day and would like to game with me sometime drop me a line on XBL: Biohzrd451.

Till next time.