http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/legacy/18174_Legacys_Allure_Bloodghast_Dredge_with_Matthew_Bartlett.html

Yeah, I got 3rd at a 147 man event in Philly, won $850, and got an interview on the largest Magic: the Gathering site outside of wizard's official site. My ego is currently mind-blowingly big.

E3 Thoughts: Microsoft

I haven't been on here in a long time. So I decided to jump back on, since I have more spare time. Most of the articles I have written have been about fighting games. And although that is my favorite genre of video game, I do enjoy video games in general. (I'm a male who is 21 after all.) And so I decided to watch the G4 network's coverage of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 the largest video game developers conference in the world. I will go over all three major companies (Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony) and talk about what I liked, didn't like, and what surprised me. For this article I'll cover Microsoft.

Microsoft XBOX 360:

Microsoft brought the heat this year just like they always have. Microsoft offered a lot of cool games, a couple surprises, and one huge announcement.

I'll start with something that will surprise my friends. I don't particularly care for the Halo series. It's not a bad game, but it never did anything special. I don't care that you could have a bunch of people playing at once, gameplay wise it never did anything special. With that said, and I can't believe I'm actually saying this; I am excited for the new Halo game, Halo: ODST

Halo: ODST is a game set in between Halo 2 and Halo 3. In this game, you do not play Master Chief, or any Spartan for that matter. You play as an "Orbital Drop Shock Trooper" (hence the acronym) who gets separated from your unit during your mission's orbital drop (think WWII paratroopers). You have to get back to your unit. This is a simplified story summary since I can't recall exact details.

Why am I excited for this game? It's different. First, since you are not a Spartan in this game, you don't have all the super soldier powers that Spartans do. Therefore, you have to be a little more strategic and stealthy, and pick your battles as opposed to just running in guns blazing. However since you are not a Spartan, you have gadgets/abilities Spartans don't, like noise suppression for your weapons.

Second, and probably the most important change; it's an open world game. That's right screw that linear BS, ODST goes where ever he wants. Ok I'm not sure how open it actually is, but it is still better than basic level progression.

And as icing on the cake, you have the Halo 1 pistol again. Keep it real homey.

They also revealed a teaser trailer for Halo: Reach. It was just a teaser, so no one knows anything more than that it exists.

Second thing I found really awesome: Left 4 Dead 2. The first game came out only a year ago, and already they are working on this. They even had a demo. New things include more weapons and campaigns (obviously), but also different weather/environment conditions every time you play. This time enjoy blasting a zombie's jaw off in the day time! They also include close combat weapons, like fire axes, frying pans and CHAINSAWS!!!!!! It's not a good day to be a zombie.

This next one was a big surprise. I don't know if I'll start playing this game now, but I know Matt will like it. The Metal Gear Solid franchise is no longer exclusive to Playstation. Playstation lost Final Fantasy XIII first as an exclusive, and now this. Great Job guys! They revealed a new game in the series, called Metal Gear Solid: Rising. It will probably be for both PS3 and 360. It stars Raiden (the new cool one, not the old gay one) and is said it will be more of an action game then the previous stealth based games. Supporting this claim, is the subtitle "Lightning Bolt Action" where traditionally it said " Tactical Espionage Action" If it is an action game I will play it.

The last thing, and the craziest, is Project Natal. Natal could be an entire article unto itself, so it would be easier to just watch the video I put up. But it is state of the art. Nintendo is in trouble with Microsoft's answer to their motion control. The video doesn't actually show the creators of Natal, but a group that developed a game using Natal. The game looks really gay, but try to look past that and see the innovations and what this could mean for the future of video games.

I'll put up additional thoughts on Microsoft after E3 is over. Tomorrow I'll cover Sony. Until then.

"

Video Games | Lionhead Milo Project | E3 09: Milo Tech Demo HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

2009 NBA Playoffs: The Finals

Why did Cleveland, the team with the best record in the NBA, arguably the best defense in the NBA, with the (arguably) best player in the NBA, lose to a Magic team that struggled to knock out a weak Sixers team and a corpse-like Boston team? Answer: Match-ups. This series, like the Orlando-Cleveland series, will again come down to match-ups at each position.

Point Guard
Starters: Derek Fisher vs. Rafer Alston
Backups: Jordan Farmar/Shannon Brown vs. Anthony Johnson
Frankly, I think the starters in this match-up are pretty even. Alston and Fisher are both solid point guards, but neither is going to kill the opposing team unless the opposing team wants him to (like Cleveland literally begged Alston to shoot). Back-up, however, is where I think we have a slight advantage. Both Farmar and Brown are much, much faster and more athletic than the aging Johnson. That being said, our PG’s need to be disciplined enough to stay at home or be prepared to close out hard, because both Alston and Johnson can hit threes when left open.
Advantage: Even

Shooting Guard
Starters: Kobe Bryant vs. Courtney Lee
Backups: Sasha Vujacic vs. Mickael Pietrus
Really, if I were in charge, the depth chart of the Magic would be reversed, with Pietrus starting and Lee coming off the bench, simply because Lee isn’t quite big enough to handle Kobe in the post and Pietrus is simply a better on-ball defender. That being said, I love, repeat, love Courtney Lee’s game. I have honestly yet to see him make a turnover, and all of his plays are simple, efficient, and always seem to be the right decision. I still don’t think either of the two can truly stop Kobe Bryant, but Pietrus proved himself to be a very capable stopper by holding Lebron down (in a relative sense) in the ECF. Still, Kobe is a very different player from Lebron, and if Pietrus gives Kobe as much space as he gave Lebron, Kobe will murder him with the mid-range shots. I’m not really so sure about Vujacic, though. While it is a big deal if he isn’t hitting his shots, I think it is even more imperative that he stays at home and makes sure neither of these guys starts stroking away from three. We’ve all seen how much Sasha over-helps; this is the one series where that should not be tolerated.
Advantage: Lakers

Small Forward
Starters: Trevor Ariza vs. Hedo Turkoglu
Backups: Luke Walton vs. Rashard Lewis
Hedo Turkoglu is really the only small forward that the Magic employ, although Lewis and Pietrus also take some time at small forward. The key to this match-up will be Trevor playing solid man defense against Turkoglu, especially not going for any of Turkoglu’s up-fakes. Turkoglu is a great decision-maker, as evidenced by his solid play against Cleveland, but his two patented moves are the drive and up-fake (a la Paul Pierce) and the drive and step-back three. Both Walton and Ariza should be able to cover Turkoglu effectively, especially after having to deal with Carmelo Anthony, who is easily the best pure scorer at his position. Overall, I think this series will turn on how much trouble Ariza and Walton give Turkoglu, and how much they punish Turkoglu for helping off them to double Kobe or Pau.
Advantage: Magic

Power Forward
Starters: Pau Gasol vs. Rashard Lewis
Backups: Lamar Odom vs. Hedo Turkoglu
Similar to Turkoglu, Lewis is really the only PF that the Magic employ, but as has been stated above, he and Pau both cause each other to have massive match-up problems. I really like Rashard Lewis’ game, with his almost automatic shooting stroke (courtesy of Ray Allen’s OCD infecting Lewis’ practice regimen while in Seattle), and his almost uncoverable pick and pop game with Turkoglu. That being said, Pau has to punish Lewis down-low. Hard. If Lewis is going to give us match-up problems on defense, we need to crush him for trying to defend Pau. In the low post, on the offensive boards, on the defensive boards, in transition, on the foul line, on the three point line, at half-court, everywhere Lewis goes, Pau needs to be beating him up. We’ll see how tough Lewis and his turd-like beard stand up to Pau’s pressure. While Lewis has the advantage on the perimeter, Pau definitely has the advantage inside, and it is the one advantage we will need to abuse the entire series. Odom, meanwhile, needs to keep Lewis in front of him. Lamar’s length should bother some of Lewis’ shots, but Lamar needs to abuse Lewis on the boards just as much as Gasol. If the Magic are goign to play Lewis, we need to exploit his weaknesses, not try and hide from them by trying to match-up on the perimeter. That plays right into the Magic’s hands.
Advantage: Lakers

Center
Starters: Andrew Bynum vs. Dwight Howard
Backups: Pau Gasol vs. Marcin Gortat
While Bynum will be the probable starter (PJ hates changing his starting line-up to match-up with other teams. He prefers forcing them to match-up with him), Gasol will probably get the bulk of the minutes in the middle against Howard. While Gortat is no push-over, he doesn’t have half of Howard’s athleticism, and isn’t anywhere close to the one-man rebounding machine that Orlando forces Howard to be. Bynum has the length and strength to handle Howard defensively, it’s just a matter if Bynum can keep his head on straight, not pick up any quick fouls, and force Howard not to get deep position. This will take the whole team, but Bynum and Gasol need to deny the entry pass (something that Cleveland simply did not do, which was utterly idiotic), while pushing Howard off the block and out of his sweet spot. If you can push Howard from 8 feet from the basket to 10-12 feet, he loses all the accuracy on his lame jump hook and can’t use half of his spins and counter-spins against us. So long as we keep him off the offensive glass and out of good post position, I like our chances of forcing Howard into a bad series. That being said, our best chance will be to force the ball into Gasol or get Kobe to drive and try to get Howard into foul trouble when he comes over to help. If we can limit his offensive rebounds, not give up any dunks, and force him to make free-throws (we’ll see if he can keep making them at the same rate as against Cleveland), I like our chances in this series.
Advantage: Orlando

Overall, I think again that home court advantage will play a huge role in this series. So long as the Lakers take care of business and win games 1 and 2 at home, I don't think there's any way the Magic can beat the Lakers 4 out of 5 games. If the Lakers can hold Orlando to a relatively weak three point percentage (say 33%), and force Howard to make free-throws (no dunks, 20 free throws), LA will hoist the trophy with Kobe Bryant winning the MVP by default. Then again, so long as the Lakers actually show up and play hard, I think they would beat anyone in the league in a 7 game series.

Prediction: LA in 6

2009 NBA Playoffs: Conference Finals

In case you missed it, here are my predictions for the conference semifinals, which links to all my earlier posts. Huzzah for a 4-0 round. Sadly no perfects, more on that in a moment.

All right, it's down to the wire, and now it's time to get serious. Picks time, and once again, I guarantee only that I will tout my wins and forget my losses.

#1 Los Angeles (65-17)
#2 Denver (54-28)
Los Angeles won the season series 3-1
First, a recap of the previous series'. Denver played much, much better than I expected, and Dallas played much, much worse than I expected, so Denver winning in 5 came as quite a surprise when Dallas was playing pretty good ball at the time. Similarly, Houston played much, much better than I expected, and LA played much, much than I expected, so the Lakers pulling it out in 7 games was quite a shock. That being said, in games 5 and 7, when the Lakers actually showed up, they simply dominated Houston, like they really should have throughout the entire series. Yet, it seems like they're content to simply flip the switch when they feel like, which is unsettling.

That being said, now it is time to look forward instead of backward. I think this series will be a lot more difficult than most Laker fans are anticipating, but if the Lakers turn it on, I really think they could easily sweep this series. If they don't, however, I can also see it going 7 games. It really depends on which Laker team shows up on any given night. Here are a few keys to the series:

1.) Offensive Rebounding
The twin headed 7-foot monster of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum should eat the Nuggets front line. Kenyon Martin is 6'9, Nene is a very dubious 6'11, and Birdman Andersen is 6'10. So long as both those guys work on the boards, LA should have an enormous rebounding advantage. If Pau Gasol can come out like he did in Game 7 against Houston and really dominate the glass, this Laker team is unstoppable. Likewise, if Denver can play LA to a draw on the boards, that should be considered a win for them.

2.) Bench Play
The Nuggets bench of Anthony Carter, Birdman Andersen, and JR Smith have absolutely obliterated opponents. The Lakers bench has to match their intensity if LA has any chance of winning this series, so that means Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown, Luke Walton, and Sasha Vujacic are going to have to step up. Luke Walton and Sasha Vujacic will be especially important, as Walton will almost definitely draw the assignment of guarding Carmelo Anthony, who is literally a scoring machine, and Sasha Vujacic will have the uneviable task of covering JR Smith. If Sasha can shut down JR Smith he did to Von Wafer against Houston, the Lakers will win this series. Smith's shooting is so important to the Nuggets offense, as his bombing away threes really gives them momentum. Taking that momentum away will be critical, and Vujacic will be the key.

3.) Chauncey Billups
I would say Point Guards, but LA's point guard by committee group really can't measure up to Billups. However, it is important that Derek Fisher, Farmar, and Brown all body up to Chauncey and make sure he isn't able to bomb away from the three point line like he did against New Orleans. I think LA would almost prefer Chauncey getting in to the lane as opposed to bombing away from three, as LA plays the passing lanes very well and have very good help interior defense. If the Lakers PG's can play Billups to a draw, LA will walk through this series easily.

Denver is playing with a lot of energy and a lot of effort right now, so it is important for LA to match that intensity from the start, especially in Games 1 and 2. If the Nuggets manage to take either of the first two games in LA, like Houston did, the Lakers will not be able to pull it out. Denver is a very good home team, so it's important that LA hold serve if they want to win this series.

Overall, I could easily see this series being long, with home court dictating who wins in the end. So long as Denver doesn't have a massive meltdown, and LA doesn't give Denver a gift of one of the games in Staples Center in LA, this one goes the distance, going to LA due to homecourt.
Prediction: LA in 7

#1 Cleveland (66-16)
#3 Orlando (59-23)
Orlando won the season series, 2-1
I was very impressed by Orlando's Game 7 win against Boston in Boston. Hedo Turkoglu hit some really tough shots, and Rashard Lewis really took advantage of whoever the Celtics through at him. Still, Cleveland has absolutely dominated these playoffs, winning every game by double figures. Yet, Cleveland played Detroit and Atlanta in their two series, who wouldn't even make the playoffs if they played in the Western Conference. That being said, Cleveland's lop-sided victories are a little bit misleading. Orlando really clobbered Cleveland late in the season, a 29-point whomping on April 3rd in Orlando, so it's not as if Orlando simply can't beat Cleveland. However, Cleveland is a different animal in the postseason when Lebron James plays more minutes and the Cavs rotation shortens. Much as I would love to pick the Magic to pull it out, I just can't see the Cavs and James losing, especially when the refs are basically allowing James to bull his way to the hoop whenever he wants. I think Orlando makes this one difficult, especially given that Orlando has beaten Cleveland in Orlando both times that they played in the regular season. Yet, James still gets the edge.
Prediction: Cleveland in 7

2009 NBA Playoffs: Eastern Conference Semifinals

In case you missed it, check out my Western Conference Semifinals picks, and my first-round picks if you're so inclined to see how awesome I am. Pfff, no one saw Dallas dominating San Antonio, admit it... Overall, I'm 7-1 picking winners with 3 perfects.

Wow, talk about polar opposites. While 5 out of the 7 games between Boston and Chicago were decided by 3 or less points, none of the 7 games between Atlanta and Miami were decided by less than 18. While BOS-CHI was arguably the most exciting series ever, ATL-MIA was a huge snoozefest, every single game decided before the half was over. That being said, after a somewhat exciting Orlando-Philly series in which Philly snuck in a couple victories before going quietly into that good night, and a heinously predictable 4-0 pounding Cleveland unleashed on Detroit, it's time for the 2nd round of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.

#1 Cleveland (66-16)
#4 Atlanta (47-35)
Cleveland won the season series 3-1
Atlanta is a very good home team. Once more just for emphasis' sake, Atlanta is a very good home team. At home, Atlanta was an impressive 31-10, while they were a paltry 16-25 on the road. That being said, I can't see them taking more than one game from Cleveland. Cleveland is a different animal in the postseason when they shorten their rotation and basically play LeBron for all 48 minutes. However, I really feel like Atlanta is talented enough, and shown by their excellent team defense against Dwyane Wade, they should be able to contain James to some degree. I like their chances of taking at least one game on their home floor, but I don't think Atlanta has it in them to win both. With that and Cleveland's nearly impeccable home record, this one still ends quickly.
Prediction: Cleveland in 5

#2 Boston (62-20)
#3 Orlando (59-23)
Season series tied 2-2
Boston is simply a different team without KG, as shown by their struggles against the young Chicago Bulls, despite 5 amazing games from Ray Allen, who's making the case to be the best clutch shooter ever. Orlando, meanwhile, is playing terrible and will be without their best perimeter defender, Courtney Lee, at SG. The one of the big matchups will be PF, where Rashard Lewis plays an undersized, shooting oriented style, going against the much bigger, fatter, whinier CryBaby Davis. Oh, and Orlando does have Dwight Howard, the 6'11" athletic monster in the middle who is much too fast for Kendrick "I Eat Babies For Pleasure, Not Sustenance" Perkins. This will probably force Boston to double team, something they hate doing, so look for Orlando's shooters to have tons of open shots. Without KG, I just don't think Boston can pull out the victory, especially after playing so hard against Chicago, who were also young and athletic and had shooters galore.

That being said, so long as Boston has Ray Allen and is within 6 points in the final minutes, I'm shaking in my boots if I'm an Orlando supporter. Allen has proven himself to be an assassin, and not just a one-time assassin either. He can do it night-in, night-out, so stopping Allen will be Orlando's toughest mission and the key to this series.
Prediction: Orlando in 6