Mass Effect 2... Has Consumed me.

Like the title says. I pretty much lived and breathed Mass Effect 2 all weekend. Stayed up till about 3am Friday and Saturday night. Trying to do and find just about everything in this game. I currently Have about 40+ hrs logged.After a long play on Sunday, I have finished everyone's "Loyalty" missions. Which I wanted to get over with first and right away to get all the Loyalty powers unlocked for everyone. So tonight I am ready to continue on tonight with the main story. Really enjoying Mass Effect 2 and looking forward to Mass Effect 3.

I also heard rumors of Bioware maybe making a MMO some where down the ling called Mass Effect Galaxy. I know they are currently working on the Star Wars MMO which I am really looking forward too. After playing both ME1 and ME2 I have full confidence in them to make a killer Star Wars MMO. 

Oh Star Wars Galaxy, how I miss you before you were ruined, the hole you left in my heart has yet to be filled by any other MMO. But suddenly a challenger appears...

Launching a new blog!

Here in the Underground Basement I have decided to launch a new Blog.

DOA: Danger's of Asbestos!

http://doa2011.blogspot.com/

A Blog with a little more serious side, than my usual little gaming blog. You see I have a cousin that was affected by Mesothelioma and I wanted to help educate people out there about the dangers of asbestos and what products you can find this stuff in so maybe you can protect yourself and loved ones. Be sure to check it out I will be posting stories of people affected by this and just general tips on where to look out for asbestos.

The Masters is under way!

Well the Master's is underway!

Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer get things started this morning with a honorary tee off, before the first group set out. Personally I'm rooting for Tiger Woods to make a comeback. I know he may not be everyones favortie player, but I like a good comeback story. Also I am a fan of Anthony Kim since he is healed up this year I'll be looking for him to make a run at the green jacket. Thats one thing I like about golf, it all you. No teammates to help you out no one to blame but yourself.

I like the fact that I can play with my buddies, but if I can't find anyone to go with that day I can still get out there and play around.

The Underground Basement will provide updates on The Master's through out the day.

300!

Waaaahoooo! We hit 300 followers finally!

Thank you to all!

Trapper stayed up a little to late last night playing Mass Effect 2, it's a great game, but it's hard for me to walk away and go to bed! But I am loving this game and having a blast playing. Plus after my Monster Hunter post I gotta find some times to play that too.

Monster Hunter or My Secret Addiction!

"Yeah it's a lot like this."

Well I was reading an article a few days ago about "Why we love Monster Hunter" it awakened that old monster hunting spirit inside me! Now if your a fan of the Monster Hunter series like me then you know just what I mean. This is an action RPG, no leveling and really not much story. Sounds exciting you say? I know! It's all about the thrill of the hunt and collecting and building kick ass armor and bigger and badder weapons. To fight bigger and badder  monsters. 

Now there is a version that came out on the Wii not to long ago and it is pretty dang good, but I prefer to do my Monster Hunting on the move, with my PSP. A game long ago just sounded cool to me, but at first I really sucked at, and gave up. Then read some more about and gave the Hunting School a try and then made my first kills on my mission I was instantly hooked! Now I have logged over 100 hrs on my PSP which I hear isn't much compared to the some 200+ hours i hear on others. Sadly out of my gamer friends I am the only one who owns a PSP and who has even heard of Monster Hunter. So this Hunter hunts alone. In the last PSP version of Monster Hunter Freedom: Unite  it is all about hunting in  a group which I hope to try out sometime.

Side note in the game you have a NPC that is a cat that helps you on your hunts and hunts with you. Mine his name is Tango. Which is where I got the name for my cat that I posted not to long ago.

So if you like killing huge monsters, having awesome weapons, enjoy having a cat help kick some monster tail as your partner, and collecting cool armor you should really check this game out.

Catching Up From the Weekend!

It was a busy weekend! Sorry I hadn't been around much.

Trapper managed to crawl out of the ole Underground Basement on Saturday, the wife had been wanting me to lay some sod down around our patio. Took most of the day but now we have some fresh nice looking grass surrounding our lovely back patio. Now she is on me to find a set of outdoor furniture to back there too. I'd rather have a hot tub myself... we'll see! Saturday evening was spent at a friends house and grilling some very tasty burgers.

Sunday...

Woke up late, my legs were very sore from all the lifting that sod, it is surprising how heavy it was. Had to do a little clean up around the house, and had a family birthday party Sunday evening. Hadn't been able to do much gaming all weekend I was starting to feel an itch. That I just had to scratch when I got home...

Been playing a lot of NBA JAM lately, but that just wouldn't do I needed some action and adventure. Hmmm Alan Wake DLC? Nah need something new... Bulletstorm? Nah I'm looking for something with a really good story. Then I notice something I had been putting off because I played the first and beat it 4 times, trying to give myself a good break between the two games also with he 3rd one being right around the corner my interest to see how this story unfolds is beginning to peak... Do I really want to take on a task this large? So soon being at least 4 months since I finished the first game. Cause These kinds of games consume me... "Ah well" I said, "It's Time!"

It's that time again... FEMALE FRIDAY'S!

This week spotlight shines on the lovely...

Michelle Tomniczak!

In the spirit of the new Wonder Woman TV show I thought she would make a fitting choice for our "Female Friday's" section! Enjoy!

Even though Ms Tomniczak isn't playing Wonder Woman in the new series those duties belong to Adrianne Palick. I think we could all agree though we would like to see Ms. Tomniczak  on a weekly basis :)

Have a good weekend and if you plan on doing any gaming be sure to mention what you might be playing. As always have a very gamer weekend!

Enjoy this 2nd picture to get us through the afternoon!

Will have on more picture coming to send us home too.

I forgot Friday I promised one more picture so here it is, better late then never!

MegaMan Universe, Sadly Canceled.

Those who are fans of the Megaman series the game Megaman Universe sadly, has been canceled. Set to appear on the PS3 and 360 that would offer, Little Big Planet like creation is no longer in line to get released Confirmed in  Capcom press release. 

"Capcom, the game's developer, is shutting the title down and ceasing development. Mega Man Universe has been canned.

In an official release, Capcom says the game is being canned for "various circumstances". It is unclear if those circumstances are related to the Tohoku Earthquake or, rather, to the fact that the designer of Mega Man Universe, Keiji Inafune, left Capcom.

Inspired by Mega Man 2, Mega Man Universe was a 2.5D platformer and was first revealed last fall in a clever launch trailer created by I Am 8-Bit. The game featured various incarnations of Mega Man. In Japan, Mega Man is known as "Rockman", and this was to be the first Mega Man to use the character's Western moniker in its native Japan.

Besides classic Mega Man play, the game also had a level editor in which players supposedly could create their own Mega Man stages." 

I guess they don't like money :(

1GB more for the 360

Well there will be a little bit more room to breather for developers on the 360. Turns out Microsoft is trying out a new disc format that will work with current consoles to give the new discs an extra 1GB amount of storage. Now I'm no programmer, but I do feel if I was, more space is always better than less in today's high graphic games. Also MS claims this will also help fight in the was against piracy on the 360 console too.

We hit 200... almost missed it!

Cause now were over a quarter of the way to 300!

Been so busy lately I failed to notice until yesterday that we hit 200+ in the Underground Basement!

Thank you to all who have joined and followed this little gaming blog! And may we keep growing!

The 3DS is out, did you get one?

"It's coming right at me!"

Well the 3DS is out! WAAAAAHHOOOOO!

Did you get one? It would be nice if one happen to fall into the ole Underground Basement, but sadly one did not. I'm still on the fence about this. I have said before that I will not embrace 3D until it can be done with out glasses. Well here it is! But I still didn't get one. I keep hearing about all the eye strain and headaches this thing causes. But all is not lost for a test subject!

My wifes little cousin is getting one next month for his birthday. So I will have found my test subject and a way to try it out for myself with out spending a ton of money on something that could turn to be a headache machine.

If you snagged one tell us about it!

Sunday Afternoon Rocking Out!

I reviewed my Fender Squire not to long ago.

"I got blisters on me fingers!"

Been having a blast playing this, it's my new addiction!

Seems like I have been playing anywhere 1-4 hrs a night. This makes for some number finger tips.

I can play most easy songs, still need to work on the Nightmare ones some more. But what's really been cool is I have started trying to play a few of the easier medium songs. Power Chords, my God, they have been kicking my but. But I can Play most of the warm up songs now and 4 star them. I still need lots of practice but I am having so much fun learning in the process. I even fired up Hard mode which I was told if you can play on Hard your playing the song, well I believe it! It was pretty challenging so I didn't mess with it to long, I still got a ways to go before I need to worry about Hard mode. 

If you one the fence about this guitar cause I know it can be pricey but if your ever wanting to learn guitar on your own terms with out having to pay for lessons and get some of that great instant feed back, then this is for you!

Uncharted 2: Revisited!

Well it's been a while since played this very awesome game. My schedule is cleared for the day I think I'll head down memory lane for a  revisit.

I earned the Platinum trophy for the original game it's time I get to work on the Platinum for the squeal.

 This is one of the few games I am able to play over and over again. Mass Effect being the other... Which I still need to play ME2 :) But thats another day.

Today I am in the mood to hunt for treasure and uncover ancient secrets with some really cool plat forming, awesome graphics and some sweet gun fights!

Female Fridays! Almost forgot!!!

Almost forgot about our ever popular "Female Friday's" Post!

Meet Ms Melyssa Grace!

Some one is ready for school! ;)

Enjoy and have a very gamer weekend everybody!

Here's another pic to get everyone through the weekend! Enjoy!

March Madness!!

Well today is Thursday! It's finally here! College Basketball is back baby! We are looking at some more March Madness!

Well after Notre Dame and Texas screwed me in my bracket, I still manged to hold on to 2nd place and be only one point out of first. My buddy is nipping at my heels only two points behind. So tonights games I am looking for a big win by from the mighty college of BYU. And for them to keep on winning in the tourney. It's long from over good luck to all those brackets out there!

OT: Home Refinancing Done! Part 3

Done and Done! 

House is done and refinanced, got my new mortgage rate locked in! Oh it feels so good knowing how much this refinancing will save. Time well spent and more money in my pocket. Thank you nice bank lady. 

Also had a little adventure last night too. Been using my Dad's washer and dryer at my house. I currently borrowed them from our storage unit and he's been bugging me to get in that unit for months to get his wash/dryer into his house, since it's finally ready. I keep putting him off saying, I can't find the key to the unit. Well last yesterday afternoon he calls and says they storage unit just needs my signature cause there going to cut the lock off! But they can't cut the lock until I sign. So well I grabbed my buddy we loaded up those washer and dryer got them down to the storage unit, I threw some dirt and boxes on them to make it look like they been there a while and we hauled ass out of there! No one none the wiser :)

I got a new set I'm buying dirt cheap off a buddy so I'm set there. I just don't want to have to listen to my old man about his washer and dryer I been putting him off for months about the key to the storage unit and dug myself into a hole. So I had to do the whole secret ops mission. haha

OT: Refinancing my house PART 2

Well while working on getting my house refinanced I am starting to feel like this guy. Well almost. My desk is cluttered with many other things I need to get done for my house. I got most of the info I needed from my bank. The interests rate are just to good to pass up being at 4.99% After talking with my nice Bank Lady, at a different bank, it looks like I may save about $75 a month on my home loan! Oh they things I can use this on.

My wife has been dying for a new dryer. So maybe in a couple months we can start looking at a new dryer for the house.

Only bad thing I have to repay the closing costs, but they just tack that on to the home loan so it's nothing extra I have to pay out of pocket. Only the refiling of my MCC bond which grants me a tax credit on my home laon for the first $40,000 of the loan.

It's been a pretty painless process so if you own a house I would at least suggest calling your bank to check the current interest rates, who knows you may save some money!

OT: Refinancing my house PART 1

 

A little off topic here, but I am sure every home owner out there can relate. Well my wife has been bugging me to get refinanced on our house. The interest rates are pretty low right now so now is the time. I calle dhte bank this morning and they had a rate of 4.99% so it better than what I am currently at sitting at 6.25% nota  ton but still better than nothing. So I'm in the process of getting this going. Gotta get all my info together, Payoff date, Insurance, when it was opened all that fun stuff. But when it's all said and done should be able to save a few dollars which goes a long way for anybody.

If you think about refinancing your home don't wait jump on it now! The rates are probably as low as they will ever get. Refinancing can be a tedious process but it will be worth it when you talking about saving some good money.

March Madness Monday Update

Well after a weekend of game I am no longer in first. I am bumped down to second place. But only bye a game! There is still plenty left to play. But Texas and Notre Dame screwed me pretty good. Plus I have a another guy nipping at my heels, by only one game. So it can go any where at this point. I need some Strong wins by UConn and BYU and that will help out greatly. 

Good luck out there March Madness players.

And the winner of the Sunday afternoon NBA JAM Championship is...

My buddy the co worker... NOOOOOOOO

Ok I don't feel that bad. LOL It was a good game came down to the last round of best 2 out of 3. He took the first game, I won the second. Then the final game, it even went into over time with me hitting a buzzer beating 3 point to send it into over time. But he had the ball with 21 secs left on the clock in OT. He runs down the clock for the final shot and.... Drops a fade away jumper at the buzzer from just inside the 3 point line! NOOOOOOOOOO.

Oh well I'll get my revenge MUAHAHAHA

Sunday Afternoon Gaming... BOOM-SHAKALAKA!

Well I was having a quiet Sunday after noon... I get a text. It turns out its from my buddy at work. He's challenged me to a throw down at NBA JAM on the 360! Oh yeah!

We have a 360 in the break room at work and sometimes we bring our lunches and play. But I guess he is itching to hit the court today. So challenged accepted sir! Best 2 out of 3.

We have our 2 teams. He is usually the Lakers and I am usually the Thunder! Durant and Westbook FTW!

Well the Sunday afternoon championship is about to go down...

BOOM-SHAKALAKA!

We have reached the 100 mark... and more!

Oh my! That has happened faster than expected!

We just crossed the 100 marker! Thank you to all my followers out there.

Game on!

Mission Accomplished!

Behold... I have the power!!!

Ok so after a short trip to the Music store and side trip to Petco for my cat Tango. Who needed some food and a fresh bag of Kitty Litter.

"I haz the foodz, now iz can make the poopz."

Me and Mr Tango are now ready to enjoy the rest of the afternoon!

Trapper Jones and the search for a new MIDI Cable...

Well I must have been rocking out to hard last night, the dang MIDI cable connection end came apart for the chord. So now the search is on for a new one so I can still play over the weekend. I found on at amazon.com but that wouldn't get here till Tuesday. Surely between the 2 music stores in this town I can locate one so I can get back to rattl'n my windows and waking the neighbors.

UPDATE:

Well I called a few places one of the two local music stores has a cable! So I am off in mighty jeep to go claim one for myself.

Female Friday's are here again! With Bianca Smith!

Tried to find a girl with a little bit of a gaming theme to go with the site. Low and behold Bianca Smith!

Holding a classic Gold coin box from Super Mario Bros.

This is one fine lady I am proud to have on our spot light of "Female Friday's"

Now I suddenly have the urge to play some Mario...

Jut had to post up another pic of Ms Smith especially this one!

Thats a lucky cube!

Day 2 of March Madness Bracket.

Morning basketball fans! After yesterday's games I am sitting at 12 -16 but hey thats good enough for being tied for first place! Heck yea! Still lots of basketball left to play. This thing could go anywhere! One day your in first the next day your in last. I just missed out cashing in last year, so I hope my bracket takes me all the way this year.

How's your bracket doing out there? Is it busted yet, or still pursuing perfection!

Good luck gamers!

Here is the Not-So Perfect Bracket!

Tip off is only a matter of hours away before this bracket gets destroyed!

Off to a great start! I am 2 for 2

Clemson vs West Virginia


Old Dominion vs Butler

SOCOM 4 Beta! Sharp Shooter!

Got my SOCOM 4 beta code and ready to play on March 29th! This one is made by the original creators, not the POS that was put out called SOCOM: Confrontation. Looking forward to some epic matches and for some very fluid teamwork. Plus the PlayStation Sharp Shooter works with this game also! Nothing like holding a freaking gun in your hands and picking off other players. This little piece of gaming goodness will bring you back to how much fun you though duck hunt was.

This is the one thing that makes you feel like your really in the game. You aim down the gun, line your shot up and pull the trigger. It's accurate what more can I say... BOOM HEADSHOT!

Happy Gaming!

Batman Arkham City!

Oh yeah! First footage of game play for Batman Arkham City! Really enjoyed the first game a lot and have been looking forward to this. Really digging that song they choose in the trailer too. Like in the original game it's very cool that they got the old voice actors from the classic Batman The Animated Series to do the voices, ahhhhh child hood memories... for my money Mark Hamill's Joker is at the top. Looks like Rocksteady has another hit on their hands. I will be buying this game day one.

March Madness Bracketology!

Well it's the time of year! We just passed out our brackets here int he office. Not gaining much headway on where to begin. Think I have been over thinking this. So I turn to you help me make some picks, so I'll destroy my co-workers! I'll post my submitted bracket and we can follow to see how we did. Make your picks in the comment section if you want to help out!

Link to view the bracket match ups.

http://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-tournament/2011-march-madness-bracket-printable-blank.jpg

Mortal Kombat Demo... FATALITY!

OHHHHH YEAAAAAA!

Man I forgot I had this little gem recorded on my iPhone. Scorpion's Fatality from the demo of the new Mortal Kombat game. I remember playing MK3 with my SNES Advantage back in the day. Haven't played a MK game since. After having a blast with the demo I think I may have to check this out. Killer graphics, huge list of Klassic Kombatants. Deadly Kombos and some sick nasty Fatality's have my interested peaked again!

I hear the demo is being released for all in the coming week, so I highly recommend checking it out, preferably on Playstation cause I hate 360's D-Pad.

"I could see the squirrels, and they were married..."

Man this is a long day, with that dang time change, loosing a hour of sleep, the afternoon is dragging on!

If you doing some gaming tonight. let's hear what you playing. Me probably some more Rock Band with that sweet guitar. And maybe a round or two of NBA JAM.

Trapper's Review of the Rock Band 3 Fender Squier

Well after one night and almost a full day with this bad boy. This Rocker is blown away! I feel like Marty McFly in Back to the Future when he overloaded the Amp!

"Whoa... Rock'n Roll!"

Anyways from the moment is plugged this baby up I felt like I had picked up Guitar Hero 2 again for the first time. A new way to play, that was fun and instantly rewarding. Except this was a real freaking guitar. Not some plastic "Baby's Toy" it's the real deal with Bill McNeil! I'm no guitar expert but I thought the design of the guitar was really well made. Plus it just looks really cool.

As far as game play works it's challenging cause you know... a real guitar is challenging. But after today I have 5 stared most of the warm up songs in RB3, but thats on easy mode. One step at a time here. But with each pluck of the string I feel more and more relaxed. I know this will be a long road but with a killer soundtrack lots of DLC this game goes along way.

If you have always wanted to learn the guitar this is what you have been waiting for. Yeah it's a little pricey to get in the door at $270 + $40 for the midi controller and $40 for the game. But the instant feedback of playing a song with the real music is it will keep you coming back and not getting frustrated with you purchase and will hold your interest.

Trapper's Underground Basement Rating...

9 out 10

Final thoughts:

I try not to let price be a factor in rating, but lets face it, this is a big investment. Were talking the price of more than all 3 consoles. From what I have read though this is the cheapest midi guitar out there. Plus if you have an amp you can plug that bad boy in and rattle some windows in you house!

Rock Band Pro Guitar Mode Fender Squire

Been thinking about getting this Fender, always wanted to try and learn guitar and I think this would be a great way to start. Been reading the reviews all have been very positive so far. I'll keep you readers updated if Trapper pulls the trigger on this thing.

Something Pretty to look at for the weekend!

Ms Justene Jaro is always easy on the eyes. This is one stunning lady IMO.

Well after the good feedback with Ms Jaro just had to post up another pic of her!

Might have to make this a Weekly thing, call it our "Female Fridays"

The Great Kevin Butler

"Well played Mauer"

Always love a good KB commercial.

Tempted to try The Show. I haven't played a Baseball game since EA's old MVP Baseball series.

"Daddy's Little Helper!"

Played half way through Killzone 3 with this bad boy, and it works, it flat out WORKS! This reminds me when I first got a hold of Duck Hunt for NES. Looking forward to SOCOM 4 next month.

Haven't tried any online multilayer with it yet, I hear it's challenging, but do able.

More thoughts to come as I finish the game.

BulletStorm!

Great song in the commercial anyone play this yet? This game is on Trapper's radar!

Welcome to Trapper's Video Game Basement!

This is where we talk about Video games, new, old, MMO, Shooters, or RPG's