The Field Test: July 2010

July 31, 2010

Best Buy Manager Tried to Void Xbox Warranty

Hey Readers this is kind of old news but its still an awesome story. This is written from someone named steve and we have posted the original website below. Steve writes:

Dear Editors,

I was at the local Bestbuy here in Springfield, MO and was third in the line to exchange a product. I looked ahead and saw a gentleman with an Xbox360 with a faulty DVD drive trying to get an exchange. The clerk told the customer that Microsoft handles all warranties on the Xbox360 and that Microsoft would not allow BestBuy to exchange the device.

The customer asked again to exchange the product because he only had it for less than three months. The clerk asked the department manager over and he promptly removed the front bezel to view the anti-tamper sticker, and declared that they could do nothing for him because the Xbox360 anti-tamper sticker had been tampered with. The customer denied ever opening the case of his Xbox360.

I got quite interested and stepped to the side of the lady in front of me and looked at it from about 3 foot away (arms reach). The sticker was in place and had not been removed! The manager then picked at the sticker to my horror and I then quickly approached the counter and told customer, quite loudly, to not let the manager pick at the sticker.

I was prepared to throw a fit on the behalf of the timid customer right then and there and declare to all those that were around that the manager had voided the warranty himself, but the manager realized he was busted and quickly allowed the exchange.

Steve

So to all xbox owners, be aware of @^$#^%$ &%$#$% (fill in any colourful words you see fit) people out there.
You can find the original HERE.

July 29, 2010

Screenshot of the Week

This game was recently featured on a mashup by TheMlgGameroom. It is a multi-kill extermination with a single sniper shot by "Irock v4".

Click to Watch the Video Here:

July 25, 2010

StarCraft 2 is Finally Here!!

I remember those days of high school when we would sit around the cafeteria talking about star craft and how excited we all were for StarCraft 2. THAT WAS 8 YEARS AGO!!!. But none-the-less it is finally here. The game is being release on "Tuesday, July 27, 2010" and anyone willing to wait out side in the cold, you might just get a little prize. FutureShop is giving away a free hat and limited edition StarCraft 2 poster to the first 50 people to purchase the game and a free noise cancelling headset for the first 20 at all there locations. A similar offer is available at BestBuy who is giving away T-Shirts to the first 30 customers and a Sidewinder X3 Gaming mouse for the first 150. Being owned by the same people, the doors will be opening at 12:01 am at both Future Shop and BestBuy for all the UBER fans out there.

For the rest of us who may have work or would rather not stand in line at the sausage fest, EB is offering overnight shipping on July 26th 2010. That means your received copy will be waiting at your doorstep after your boring 9 to 5.

Road to 50: Day 4

I only played a couple games of halo on day 4. I leveled up once, from 39 to 40 in Team Doubles. the game went fairly well, I made several large mistakes that can be corrected.
1) Nade usage. Several times I had nades that I could have thrown but I didn't. I would have gotten several more kills and the game wouldn't have been as close.
2) Map Knowledge. Despite the fact that we won the game, our map knowledge was not nearly to the extent of the enemy team. Time to break out the custom games and learn the map.
3) Map Control. Several times in the game I noticed that a powerup had spawned and I didn't know. I need to make sure I can tell when the weapons and power-ups spawn to maximize my potential.

Hope you enjoy the game guys:
Part 1:

Part 2:

Enjoy!

- Knighted

July 23, 2010

Screenshot of the Week

I don't think this one needs any explanation…

Don't forget to send your screenshots to "FieldTestScreenShots@gmail.com".

The Road to 50 - Day 2

Day 2, all snipers. 9 games, 9 wins. I averaged almost 5 kills more than deaths per game. I am really enjoying snipers and I think it is my best shot at 50. About 12:30 am this morning I got my 45 back in Team Slayer, however that is for another day's video.

My tip of the day: If you can't carry your team in high ranked games, go in with a friend at least as good as you. Then you have someone to count on. That's why I lost my 47 in TS, no teammate.

Here is the video for day 2. Enjoy guys!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxFFXF1hbVo

- Knighted

July 22, 2010

Flailing Your Arms, Now for Your Computer

Now that Playstation Moves and Xbox Kinect have been announced, it is about time that the fade extends to computer gaming as well. Razer who is famous for there outstanding mouse and keyboards have come up with what they call "Sixence Technology". With duel sticks similar to what we have seen with Playstation Moves, at first glance there doesn't seem to be anything special. That is until you handle it on your own. The Sixence is running on magnets instead of the common IR and accelerometers. That means that there is no more fiddling around with calibration and allows motion to be accurate to less then 1 mm in location and 1 degree in orientation. With WOWing movement like that, Playstaion better make sure there Moves is nothing like the Time Crisis Gun.(Anyone who has tired it knows what i mean. Theres definitely something wrong with your gun when it shots a foot to the left.) Unfortunately the only developers working with the Sixence Technology at the moment is Valve but they are trying to get this system working on all consoles.(Good Luck Razer) None-the-less it might be time for some of us Gamer veterans to drop our controllers and hunt down our neglected copy of CounterStrike.

Heres a video. You guys have to see how well this works!

P.S i wonder what leaves more fingerprints this thing or the new 360. Just saying...

Road to 50: Day 1

Day 1. Overall not a bad day for Halo. I played 11 games, and won 10 of them. I've worked out in my head what kind of leveling I need to do in order to achieve my goal. Purely based on math, I have to level up 1/3 a level (based on a 40 start) each day. We all know though how much harder it gets later on, so I need probably to be at 44 or 46 by the end of day 7. It is definitely doable, and I've got some solid teammates now. I'm looking forward to see what the coming days bring.

Team Slayer: 44 (no change)
Team Swat: 39 - 40 (+1)
Team Snipers: 40 - 41 (+1)

You can watch the highlights from day 1 here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCnepFlBWso
If you have any comments or questions about TheFieldTest or the Road to 50, feel free to email us as thefieldtest@gmail.com.

- Knighted

July 21, 2010

Road to 50: KnightedLegend

Alright guys. My gamertag is KnightedLegend, I am one of the admin here at The Field Test, and it's time I went for my 50. I've given myself a goal of 30 days (After that I go on vacation for a couple weeks and that will be close enough to reach that I'll be pumped about that). I will be releasing videos on my YouTube channel "MLGLegendary" every couple days as updates on my progress. The closest I've gotten before is 12 games up on my 47 without a level up. Given that it is possible to get your 50 in around 15 games I was a little annoyed to say the least.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDd279Zbp8g

Here is where I sit right now:
Team Slayer      44    EXP: 67
Team Doubles 39 EXP: 102
Team Snipers    40 EXP: 68
Lone Wolves    40    EXP: 68
Team Swat        39 EXP: 106
MLG                26    EXP: 63
Squad Battle      22    EXP: 51

If you guys have any comments or suggestions, feel free to comment here or on YouTube.

Thanks guys.
    - Knighted

July 16, 2010

ScreenShot of the Week

"It is always nice when Halo hands you a freebie. This was a custom game on foundry and I had just been un-scoped from a for sure headshot and was rewarded with one anyway! Nice when things work out." - KnightedLedgend

Dont forget to send us your ScreenShots to FieldTestScreenShots@gmail.com!

July 14, 2010

Halo Reach Update

For all you Halo fans out there it looks like Christmas is coming early this year. With Halo Reach set to hit the shelfs on September 14th 2010. With this being the last Halo game being created by Bungie before the passing of the torch to 343 industries, you know there are bring out the big guns. With Jet Packs, INSANE ASSASSINATIONS and maybe even a flying mission. This is our update on the release of the globally anticipated game, Halo Reach.

As every Halo fan should know by now, Halo Reach is a prequel to the first 4 halo games. The storyline jumps all the way back to when you, a spartan, ran around with your crew the Nobals. With new graphics and A.I for the rest of the Nobal team the Campaign is looking really promising. But as everyone knows the beast is unleashed in matchmaking. This time Bungie has opened up a whole new world in matchmaking with playlists for everything. Anyone who was lucky enough to get a taste of the beta knows that this game will be packed with more flags more skulls and YES THE SKULLS WILL BE ON FIRE! With so many new things with halo reach like customized matchmaking searches and a new ranks system, there is not enough time for us to explain all of it to you. You will just have to experience it yourselves when the game comes out.

There is also big news for those of you who enjoyed halo ODST. Fire fight is back, with customizable levels where you can pick your guns and enemies. It's a whole new playing field for those of you out there who just love wrecking armies and armies of grunts.

And now for the good stuff. The latest news on the Halo Reach project.

- There is officially no more dual wielding. You can now say good bye to vetoing against all those annoying guardian duel maps.

-For those of you who got to play the beta its also time to say good bye to armour lock. Although there were mixed feelings about this armour ability. It has officially been replaced with a bubble shield.

-Lastly we here to Field Test are happy to confirm that the campaign will have a flying mission. Finally we will all know how the Pelican actually works!

So there it is, the latest buzz about the most anticipated game of the year. And remember where you heard it first, The Field Test bring you the latest news on everything Halo.

July 13, 2010

FREE Amazon Prime Membership

So you like to buy you favourite games and accessories online but you get tired of waiting for you games to show up? This is your chance to get FREE 2-day shipping from Amazon and next day shipping for only $4. And this is only where it begins.

Amazon is now releasing a Free one year trial of there Amazon Prime membership ($79 value) to all students. And for all you non students you can apply for a trial as well just a shorter one. All you have to do is go to this website and sign up.

As a Prime member you will also receive 90% off all used textbook and discounts on millions of other items. Theres no catch its just Amazon giving a discount to all the broke student out there.

disclaimer: This is not an affiliate offer and is available to everyone. We at FieldTest are just passing on the knowledge.

Send Us Your Screenshots!

Remember that time you got 2 headshot's with a single sniper bullet? or the time you exterminated the whole team with that carefully placed sticky? Well I hope you saved a screenshot to your bungie.net because we here at FieldTest want to see it. And better yet you could be featured on our screenshot of the week. It can be a picture of anything. A halo glitch, a insane multi-kill or just something funny.

All you have to do is send us an email to FieldTestScreenShots@gmail.com with a description of the photo you want us to display and a link to the picture and you just might see it posted right here at TheFieldTest for everybody to see.

July 9, 2010

Screen Shot of the Week

1v1 Pit Slayer:
I was retreating, running backwards down long haul when a nade was thrown off the wall and a sniper shot was fired. The bullet bounced off the wall and hit me, nullifying my shields. Then the nade ("with the hands of the guardians that hate me") lands right between my legs. Very unlucky!
Submitted by:
Luckylately

Cheap Xbox Wireless Network Adapter Alternative

This might be old news for some of you guys, however it is our job here at Field Test to inform the rest of you everything we know to make your Xbox gaming experience better. For just a Microsoft xbox wireless network adaptor G, $80 is way to steep a price for the gamer on a budget and upgrading to a N adaptor jumps up the price to $100. So what are the other ways to connect to Xbox Live? We have complied a list of our best Xbox network alternatives and links to where you can find them.

1. For those gamers who loath slow connections and truly believe anything not running a Wireless N is just a big waste of space, we have the Mad Catz Wireless Network N Adaptor. Coming in both white in back this alternative will hopefully satisfy the picky gamers out there who still needs to match there PJ's with there favourite Video Game. (mine are indeed the Halo3 PJ's i got from Walmart) but for only $20 dollars less we were determined to do you better.

2. For the gamer who doesn't want to have to tinker with their xbox for a few hours and would prefer a plug and play option we found this Xbox Wireless adaptor replica. Although not made my Microsoft this Wireless adaptor looks and works just like the real thing but for $45.64 its at half the price. You can find this HERE at Dealz Extreme. Although it only comes in the network G model, it does come in black and white to match your xbox.

3. An awesome alternative we found that beats any wireless network adaptor is a power-line network adaptor. What this does is it connects your network signal from your router into your house power-line. From there you can access your network signal from any room in your house that has a power outlet nearby.We found this Video to explain how it works HERE. This allows you to have ethernet quality internet connection anywhere in your house with out running 100 feet of cable. We found this adaptor for as little as $24.19 HERE. Please note that this option at a good price may be a difficult find but it is out there. With the best connection of all our options and a more than reasonable price this is defiantly a Field Test Favourite and we encourage anyone who is looking to re-amp there networking system to check this option out.

4. Lastly for the gamer who has just scraped the bottom of his pocket to pre-order halo reach this summer and is flat broke, we have an option that will cost you nothing. This is if you have a laptop. With just your Xbox, an ethernet cable(cross over cable in some cases) and your laptop we found a way to run xbox live off of your laptop's wireless connection. We cant say that it is super fast however he have tested it on both Mac and PC and it runs perfectly fine.

Mac
Windows XP, Vista and 7

So there it is folks. The good, the better and the free. We do advise that you research any option and read reviews before purchasing anything to ensure its the perfect fit for you. We are not paid by any of these products. These are just our opinions. This is Field test signing off and hoping one of these alternatives work out for you. If it does, we may be seeing you soon on Xbox Live.

July 7, 2010

Bungie Day! Can you say Flaming Armour?

With a surprise move, today July 7th 2010 Bungie has given everyone a chance to look like Bungie employees with their flaming helmets making everyone in the halo community go snap happy. Everyone is dashing to their consoles as word spreads trying to capture their moment with their character's helmet roasting under an inferno. We are just waiting for the youtube posers to upload new videos screaming "I'm a bungie employee!!!" Never-the-less, we at The Field Test cannot deny that we took a video running around with no apparent direction just to get ten minutes of video with our heads lit. After numerous photos being taken and several reminders that "You can only upload 100 custom content items and you are running close to that limit," we finally put down our controllers happily. Thanks Bungie!!!

July 6, 2010

The First Video - Quick Scope Tutorial!

Well, it has been in the making for many weeks now and finally the day has arrived! Field Test's first video has been released on youtube. The video is a tutorial of the quick scope, a necessity for any good sniper.

Click Here to Comment, Thumbs-Up and Subscribe for more great videos.

Quick scoping is a skill that is great to have in your arsenal when it comes to sniping. Everyone and their grandmother can snipe a guy standing still while zoomed, but this will teach you how to take out almost anyone, before they have a chance to shoot back.
Here’s the theory. While zoomed, you have better accuracy. That’s obvious. So we are going to take full advantage of that.
1)Coarse Adjustment: No scope. Make your major adjustment without scoping. This isn’t too hard and is fairly easy to get good at.
2)Zoom: Once your reticule is close to your target, zoom in.
3)Fine Adjustment: Once zoomed, make any small adjustment needed. This shouldn’t be very much since you did all the work before you zoomed.
4)Shoot: Pull the trigger.
Quick scoping has saved my tail more times than I care to mention. It is a must in team snipers and comes in handy when playing Team Slayer or MLG. You can even quick scope while being battle rifled. There is enough time in between the battle rifle shots that you can scope and give the opponent a quick headshot leaving him shocked that you just “no scoped” him.
As always, techniques don’t come right away. Practice, practice, practice. Take some time and get to know quick scoping well. I promise, it will help your K/D in team snipers and improve your gameplay. Keep the scope moving.

If you want to see a quick scope master at work, then look no farther than Neighbour in this gameplay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dLSHUbxkYI

July 2, 2010

WHERE DO I WATCH MY TV SHOWS NOW!?!?!?!? RIP Ninja Video

It was a sad day yesterday for the crew here at Field Test. Our daily ritual has been jerked into a sudden hult when the news about the end of Ninja video hit the news papers first thing July 1st 2010. Thanks allot for dealing with the issue on CANADA DAY by the way.(HAPPY CANADA DAY BTW) It seems that the TV and film industry has had enough of us watching everything on the net. I mean you can't really blame them but you can't blame the rest of us either for making our lives easier. Now a days everything is done over the internet like Banking and shopping. It was just easier to watch the shows we wanted in the comfort of our homes on our own time schedule. For a minute it seemed like the way of the future. Never the less its their right to fight back and ninja video seems like just another beautiful thing the american government have destroyed like the Avro Arrow.

On the morning of July 1st 2010 United States Federal Agents shut down 9 websites charged in Film and TV piracy. Sites include NinjaVideo TVShack, ThePirateCity and PlanetMoviez. NewYork Times stated, "The sites had made pirated versions of Toy Story 3 and Iron Man 2 available within hours of their release in theatres". I would firstly want to point out that they have ALL movies out in a matter of minutes after the first showings. If your gonna charge them atleast give them the credit they deserve. Secondly i personally watched both those movies on opening day. I do Understand piracy is wrong however allot of us out there still go to the movies and watch TV. These sites just provide us with the ability to watch some of the shows and older movies at a moments notice with out having to remember to stop by the local video shop or rush home to make the 9 o'clock airing of "Big Bang Theory". But thats just this writers opinion.

Update: July 12, 2010 GreatStuff TV Bites the Dust!

July 1, 2010

Xbox 360 is Back With New Pet Tricks?

Thanks to the economy in the current state it has been for the past few years, Microsoft has gone ahead and declared that the Xbox 360 will be the latest console from Microsoft until at least 2015. This is great news for the money conscious gamer who wants to keep up with all the new games. With this said, Xbox has released its Xbox slim which has been rightfully nick named “The New Xbox”. With only a 17% size reduction compared to the PS3 30% reduction, it has us at Field Test wondering what crappy diet Xbox has been on. With all joking aside the new Xbox was designed to prepare for the system requirements of the Kinect system designed by Natal. Microsoft intelligently took this opportunity to throw on some of the add-on’s the fans have asked for like built in Wi-Fi.

With the biggest complaint about the Xbox so far, its inability to hide finger prints, we at Field Test would have liked to see Microsoft to throw a HD player on there console. Playstation was able to slap on Wi-Fi and a blue-ray player the first time. With that said the verdict is that for only $50 more at FutureShop, anyone looking into buying a Xbox should defiantly look in to the “New Xbox” considering a wireless add-on is going to run you 70 bones. For existing Xbox users, Unless you are crazy enough to fill up 120Gb on your HDD (Cleanup those friggen demos already) or are extremely acoustically sensitive to the loud disk drive, we at Field Test think we all can last till 2015. That’s unless we all RED RING!

For Those of you worried about not being able to running Kinect on your old Xbox, Microsoft has announced that the old Xbox will be compatible. We at Field Test however are assuming you will need an additional wall outlet to make up for the "USB on steroids" build in on the New Xbox.

Amazingly, for the first time in Xbox history, there are currently no known over heating problems with the "New Xbox"as of yet however you can be sure that if there is, The Field Test will be here to inform you.

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