Forza Motorsport 3 - For those struggling with Drift Lap 100k Achievement

What to do:
Go to the main menu and select FREE PLAY, HOT LAP
Car: Mitsubishi, HKS Time Attack Evolution
Assists & Difficulty: Turn all OFF. Shifting Manual.
Track: Fujimi Kaido "Full Circuit".
Tips:
-First things first. Right after you start the race, press left on the Directional to bring up the DRIFT POINT box in the upper right.
-VERY IMPORTANT! The Rewind feature is your friend! Don't forget about it! Use it and abuse it!
-Manual Drive, keep it in SECOND GEAR. As you go into the turn, lift your finger from the right trigger, hit A to start drifting and gently tap the right trigger to keep the drift going. With practice you will get a feel for it. You don't need to be going all that fast to pull off a decent drift.
-Shoot for 1000 points each turn to practice. When I finally started to get the hang of it I was getting anywhere between 1500 to 3000 points per turn. Sometimes more.
-Squeeze the max amount of points you possible can out of each turn. If you feel you could have done better or you hit the side, rewind and retry till you get it right.

Here are the number of drift points I had at the start of each of the stone tunnels. I feel this is good reference for people on about how many drift points you should have. Restart if you need to.
This is for Fujimi Kaido "Full Circuit" NOT "Full Circuit Reverse"!
First tunnel: This is just after first turn in race.
Second tunnel: 26,197
Third and fourth tunnel (they are right after eachother): 72,894
Fifth tunnel (last): 100,019
Finished with 110,142

Good luck!

Realized this hadn't been added to my blog so I thought Id put it up. This is a guide I wrote and posted on xbox360achievements back in November 2009. I originally wrote it after purchasing several suggested tuning setup's from the Storefront and having no luck at all. This is the major difference between this guide and others. It requires 0 credits and is done in FREE PLAY! No need to purchase cars, upgrades or tuning setups. It also includes the drift score I had at certain points on this track just for reference.
This guide has helped many people and you are welcome to visit the original post here to view the success stories before you start to invest the time.

Please do not post or link this to another site without my consent. Thank you! =)

Halo Reach - Thanks for the Halo 3 version update?

HALO: REACH - Campaign

Outside of the gorgeous vistas and the score this campaign was a huge letdown! I WANT MORE SINGLE PLAYER CONTENT! Major releases could care less about the single player campaign anymore. ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IS MULTIPLAYER and I'm getting tired of it! It's your fault Bungie! You started this nonsense! You and your groundbreaking innovative plan to create the ultimate FPS turned MMO! Your supposed to be a pioneer in this industry! You start the series with a 16-hour thrill ride and end it with a 4 and what looks like a version update of your last game?
So far I've only played through the first two levels on Legendary but why does every enemy have shields and dance like the Locust from Gears of War? Do they really need three times as much ammo to put down than you supply? Why is my AI running against a wall while the enemy AI is dodging every hit like Manny Pacquiao? Why do I get a checkpoint every ten steps yet after I kill 6 Elites I get nothing? Your remedy is to kick up the level of frustration instead of delivering a fair and rewarding method of gameplay that we can all enjoy. Nice!


GRAPHICS ARE OUTDATED- Halo: ODST looked like Halo 3 v2.0 and Halo Reach looks like Halo 3 v2.1. Three years after the release of Halo 3, this game looks horrible and runs worse. Unacceptable!
I hate MOTION BLUR! I know a lot of people probably don't care or might not even notice it but in the realm of High Definition this is a terrible effect to lay on top of any image unless it has something to do with waking up from a dream. For any one person that likes it there are six people that hate it. The other three don't even care. It's a great effect to use under certain circumstances but your WHOLE GAME!? And without allowing us to have the option to turn this effect off? Now it just looks like your trying to disguise your crappy visuals. If I wanted a blurry, washed out image with jagged edges I wouldn't have thrown my SDTV to the curb four years ago. The majority of society has bought into High Definition for the clear, high resolution images that we now know and love and can't live without. Patch it and remove it!


I'M NOT A GUY WHO SKIPS CUT SCENES- I'm looking for a story and from all the hype that has surrounded the Halo series all these years I expect nothing less. But here we are, several Halo games later with apparently a lot of story still to tell and in the end I just.... don't... get it. The story is horrible and the characters are forgettable. THE SCORE IS STELLAR, probably the best score in the series. I get emotional whenever Marty plays the piano but the visuals aren't telling me why? The game tried so hard to pull on my heart strings without allowing me to get to know the characters that I'm supposed to have feelings for. I didn't even understand what I was supposed to feel, which usually, even at the end of a bad movie, is something you can figure out and understand. Seriously! Where is the other half of my campaign guys? Or the other half of my game rather? I swear the ending credits were longer than the campaign itself. When it ended I didn't even realize it ended! Where is that EPIC ending you spent the last 10 years on Bungie? I'm supposed to feel good at the end of all this but right now the only thing I feel good about is having saved $20.00 on your game.

Campaign Score: 6.5

To be continued...

Alan Wake- Complete

Alan Wake is an incredible game. One of the most artistic games, in my opinion, to be released since Okami. It is also very frightening. Resident Evil is one of my favorite series of all time but it never made me jump out of my shoes, or send chills up my spine the way Alan Wake has. It sets the scene of one of my real life fears; alone, in the dark, in a corn field and in the country. Thank you Alan Wake for scaring the Jesus out of me!
I just finished it on Nightmare difficulty, which was no nightmare at all. This game is pretty easy. None the less it's a classic and should not be missed.

Here are my end game stats:

Kills with revolver: 650
Kills with flare gun: 99
Kills with shotgun: 377
Kills with hunting rifle: 205
Kills with flashbangs: 460
Kills with vehicles: 124
Indirect kills: 197
Poltergeist objects destroyed: 269
Birds killed: 2837
Batteries used: 1018
Manuscript pages found: 106/106
Coffee thermoses found: 100/100
Can pyramids knocked over: 12/12
Chests found: 30/30
Radio shows found: 11/11
TV shows found: 14/14
Signs found: 25/25

Fourth Quarter 2009- My Reviews at a Glance

It's been a another busy holiday season. I have played the majority of all new titles to hit both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 with the exception of only a few. Here are my reviews at a glance.

5 Star Review
1-WTF!?
2-Working
3-Good. Worth a play via rent from gamefly or blockbuster etc.
4-Amazing! A must play. Vast improvement over the first (if series or sequel). Few flaws but nothing that holds the game back from being great. Decent replay value. Buy to own or to sell on eBay when finished.
5-Epic! Shadow of the Colossus caliber, one for the collection, enough said.

Xbox 360
-Assassin's Creed II ***
-Left 4 Dead 2 ****
-Borderlands ****
-Modern Warfare 2 ***
-Batman: Arkham Asylum ****
-Forza Motorsport III ***
-Halo 3: ODST *
-Dragon Age- Yet to play

Playstation 3
-BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger ***
-Uncharted 2: Among Thieves *****
-Infamous- Yet to play
-God of War Collection- Yet to play

At a glance what's first to notice? Hardly any exclusives. Most titles are cross platform... this is madness and needs to be stopped. And why are we still waiting for God of War III????

The Recipe for Survival- Bioshock PS3

In the midst of another crazy holiday gaming season I managed to pull off a complete runthrough of Bioshock Survivor difficulty on the Playstation 3. I cannot express my love enough for Bioshock. It has to be the best game since Shadow of the Colossus IMO and will go to the grave with me in my "Top 10" of all time.
Just guesstimating here, but I've probably played through it 30 times between Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. And if I had a good PC, you could add another 20x to that. Less than an hour ago I finally netted my Platinum Trophy for completion of Survivor Mode. Giving me 100% on both consoles (achievements/trophies). The timing on this playthrough has been planned with the sequel just around the corner. I'm crackin' out over Bioshock 2... I cannot wait!

Thoughts on Bioshock- Survivor Mode. Tips and tricks.
The hardest part of this mode is Medical Pavilion and getting past the first Big Daddy. Things start to get easier in Neptune's Bounty. Right after you get the camera, get researching and battle Peach Wilkins.

-Save often! I think I was saving every time I turned a corner up until Arcadia. Make sure to save just before and after a fight that you know is coming up or whenever handling a BD.

-Hack and loot everything! The reinforcements help and with Hacker's Delight you can gain Health and EVE everytime you hack something. Helps out alot! Ammo like Electric Gel, Explosive Buck and Heat-seeking RPG's work wonders against BD's. I would hack some camera's and turrets only to destroy them immediately for ammo.

-Health Upgrades at the Gatherer's Garden come first. In Medical Pavilion when you first receive ADAM and when reaching any new level. Some may find this hard to believe but EVE Upgrades are unnecessary. I never upgraded once through the entire game on Survival.

-Research, research, research! As soon as you get the camera get to work!

-Best Plasmids. They give them to you- Electro Bolt and Telekinesis. You will take these to the end. You can opt to skip Electro Bolt 2 if you want and get 3 as soon as you see it. Another must have is Target Dummy. It's cheap and the only plasmid you'll need for the final boss fight with Fontaine. Throughout the game you will get rushed by several enemies at the same time. They also like to rush you during a battle with a BD. This is where Target Dummy is a lifesaver! It helps you deal constructively with each enemy, picking them off one by one in a less stressful manner. Alot of people say that Hypnotize Big Daddy is one of the best... I highly disagree. Hypnotize BD uses too much EVE, it never seems to last that long and you almost always end up attacking BD by mistake, causing him to rip you a new one! Also, it forces you to rescue the Little Sisters for HBD and HBD2. This restricts the gameplay and makes things all that much harder in the beginning of the game. On top of that it's kind of annoying to get around BD when he's by your side. He's always blocking a doorway, shooting turrets that I intend to hack or triggering canisters to explode that either hurt me or prevent me from using them on BD in a more strategic fashion. Go with Enrage over HBD. I feel you can have alot more fun with it as you can throw it at either BD or enemies, it costs alot less EVE which is really important in this difficulty and it wont restrict your game. So Electro Bolt, Telekinesis, Target Dummy, Enrage and Incinerate just for melting ice. Most ADAM spent on health upgrades, tonics and slot upgrades for tonics.

-Camera research is vital and will lower the difficulty immensely the sooner you max it out.

-Don't forget about your wrench! I think you'd be surprised at how powerful it is. Even in the later levels. Wrench Jockey 2 coupled with SportBoost 2... can't go wrong. Ammo and money is sparse in this mode, and your wrench is here to help.

-Power to the People/Weapon Upgrade Stations: I did them in this order: Shotgun Damage, Grenade Launcher Damage, Machine Gun Damage, Grenade Launcher Immunity, Shotgun Rate of Fire, Crossbow Damage, Machine Gun Kickback. Pistol was last as I didn't really use it throughout the game other to get a BD's attention from afar.

-Dealing with Big Daddy's: First, save before attempting. Plan ahead. Aim for the back if you can. This is a very vulnerable spot on a BD. Look around for explosive canisters and plant a few Proximity Mines around them (without hitting them of course). Fire at BD and lure him over. Hopefully you been working on camera research as this would oppose the only threat for not being able to take them down with ease. Electro Bolt to stun, Frags, Heat-seeking RPG's, and the incredible power of Electric Buck and Shotgun rate of fire equals pawn-age!

-Final Boss fight with Fontaine: Ready up Target Dummy and the Chemical Thrower. Round 1: Stand still and use Electric Gel, dance and reload, Electric Gel. Round 2: Electric Gel, Target Dummy, dance, spam Proximity and or Frags, Target Dummy. Round 3: Target Dummy, dance, Proximity, Frags, Heat-seeking RPG's, Target Dummy, RPG, Trophy!

I harvested the first little sister for max ADAM so I could buy the Health Upgrade and Armored Shell. I then rescued the next 3 Little Sisters so I could get Hypnotize Big Daddy. Only to find out it wasn't working all that well for me on Survivor difficulty. Harvested the remaining Little Sisters. I sacrificed gifts for saving LS's like Armored Shell 2 and Prolific Inventor for an easier game earlier on and I'm glad I did. I was never low on ADAM. I was able to purchase health and track upgrades quickly. The last two BD's I brought down were so easy one would think I had changed the difficulty. They couldn't even get a shot on me. Five frags and a few pumps of Electric Buck and they were toast. I ended with $462.00 and 650 ADAM left over. Here are the Plasmids and Tonics I ended up with for end game and what I ultimately would recommend for anyone playing on a harder difficulty.

-Plasmid Track: Electro Bolt 3, Telekinesis, Incinerate! 3, Target Dummy, Enrage, Hypnotize Big Daddy.
-Physical Tonics Track: EVE Link 2, Medical Expert 3, EVE Saver, Sportbooster 2, Security Evasion 2 (replaced Natural Camouflage), Hacker's Delight 3
-Engineering Tonics Track: Security Expert 2, Speedy Hacker 2, Vending Expert 2, Hacking Expert 2, Clever Inventor, Alarm Expert 2
-Combat Tonics Track: Armored Shell, Static Discharge 2, Wrench Jockey 2, Damage Research 2, Electric Flesh 2, Human Inferno 2 (replaced Photographer's Eye 2 when research was maxed)

Forza 3- Solid Gold Achievement!

Finally! Forza 3, Solid Gold Achievement... mine!! I have been working at this hard since last Friday which was about 9 days ago. And I didn't just play a few hours everyday, it was a painstaking 16-18 hours a day. I have had Assassins Creed II in my possession since the day it came out and have yet to touch it simply because I wanted to get this game over with. It was the last achievement I needed.
Race time in total was 117 hours, 26 minutes and 33 seconds. 90-100 of it had to be the stretch for Solid Gold. This has to be the most time consuming and tedious achievement I have pursued to date.
Here are my final stats for Forza 3:

Percentage complete- 100%
Level- 50
Experience to next level-0 XP
Total winnings- 8,385,239 CR
Online winnings- 0 CR
Current credits- 2,575,948 CR
Distance driven- 11,160 mi
Average speed- 95.0 mph
Number of victories- 1,060
Number of podiums- 1,070
Number of races- 1,070
Total repairs- 39,583 CR
Number of cars in garage- 120
Parts value- 3,401,250 CR
Garage value- 41,135,250 CR
Time driven- 117 h 26:33
Top speed- 226.7 mph
Distance jumped- 148.8 ft
Time spent in menus- 52 h 54:20
Time spent upgrading- 1 h 16:20
Time spent tuning- 00:41
Time spent editing designs- 19 h 00:03
Time spent in auction house- 1 h 12:47
Time spent in storefront- 6 h 11:07
Time spent test driving- 04:14

100,000 GS November 16, 2009

100,000 GS... It was my goal to reach 100k by the end of 2009 and I did it. >:] I've been pushing hard the past 3 or 4 weeks, managing to completely finish 12 games from start to finish and clean up on about 8 titles that just had a couple achievements left. Out of all of these games, the game I probably spent the most time on and still have yet to complete is Halo 3: ODST. This game is just terrible. One achievement left and I have to admit I haven't even tried just because this game is so boring. The campaign is dull. Firefight sucks! I mean is that the natural way to present more fun for the consumers... horde? Bungie couldn't think of anything else exciting to give Halo fans? ODST is garbage, don't buy it!
Anyway, I just got home from Gamestop. Picked up my reserves for Assassin's Creed II and Left 4 Dead 2 and I'm pumped!