At Lanwar’s eighth installment of the Million Man LAN Mike “mohawkmike” Bisson sat down with Mike Pass of Nvidia, the industry’s leading developer of graphical processing chips and Mike Grey of BFG the most forward looking and intimate manufactures of Nvidia chip based graphics cards.

1. CF) First off thanks to both you guys and your respective companies for supporting this LAN. What are your impressions so far?

Grey - BFG) This is the first Lanwar event that I’ve been to but it looks like a big turnout. I think it’s great. It has such a laid back felling.

Pass – Nvidia) I think the turnout is great. I can see why people are willing to come from all over to these events. It has a very family orientated and relaxed felling to it compared to all the other major events which it’s only competition based.

2. CF) How is the economy/recession affecting the industry as far as coming to events like this and/or providing sponsorship?

Grey – BFG) BFG has always been a big supporter of LAN events from the companies start. From marketing standpoint events like this give us the opportunity to get in touch with the gamers on a “grassroots” level. The fact that were not only at the event displaying our products but also interacting with the gamers is big to us because we in fact are gamers ourselves.

Pass – Nvidia) Certainly with the economy we’ve had to kind of pick and choose which events we can and can’t do and what level of sponsorship we can provide. Nvidia will always give support to events like this which is pulling over 400 gamers and when the economy gets better we’ll be able to support smaller events better as well.

3. CF) We’ve seen a large roller coaster type effect in competitive gaming recently with events like the Championship Gaming Series and World Series of Video Games going under. As a whole what are you ideals on “major” competitive gaming?

Gray – BFG) BFG is a smaller entity so for major events where it cost $10,000 just to get you foot in the door you wont see us their. It’s much easier for us to come to smaller events where their may not be all the big lights and coverage, but as long as were interacting with the gamers that’s why were here. Anything that furthers PC gaming were all for and love to see these events start with only 100 people and grow into large events where you have people coming from all over the world to attend.

Pass – Nvidia) Nvidia being a large company we love holding large events such as our own event Nvision which has a conference style directed towards the industry but we also partnered with the Electronic Sport World Cup to hold some of their tournaments at Nvision. For us were gamers ourselves and we understand the competitiveness behind it and being one of the industries leaders were in full support of it.

4. CF) Any new big announcements to look forward to? Any secret files you guys can share?

Grey – BFG) BFG is constantly introducing new KICK ASS products. We started solely as a graphic card developer and now have a large array of top of the line power supplies so always look to us for pushing forward in that area. The newest venture we have is called Phobos (www.bfgsystems.com). Phobos is a high performance gaming/home theater system that includes our standard lifetime guarantee and 24/7 live support as well as a first in the industy a concierge service. One of our expert technicians will come to your home and install Phobos for you which includes the service of transferring all other files from your other systems to Phobos. We also include a free service in which our experts will come out to clean and update your Phobos with the latest drivers and software.

Pass – Nvidia) Who knows what the future holds? Just look at the advancement with the GPU. Advancements in the industry are moving so fast. Right now were working heavily on the ability to run multiple cards with multiple GPU’s and seeing a less diminishing rate on power. Our other big project we’ve rolled out is the Nvidia 3D vision (www.nvidia.com/object/product_GeForce_3D_VisionBundle_us.html). It takes all the games you love and makes them come to life in a realistic 3D format. It truly is hard to tell someone how awesome it is so you’ll just have to check it out yourself.

Roxx will be holding a fighting game tournament of epic proportions this Saturday at 1pm! Get your game on with Streetfighter IV, BlazBlue, King of Fighters XII, Capcom vs SNK 2, and Marvel vs Capcom 2. Just bring a $5 venue fee and $10 per event you wish to enter as well as a controller.

If you’re up for it stick around that evening for grilled meat and half-price gaming all night for only $10! Roxx had to cancel the casino portion of the event that was planned earlier.

Welcome to the first CinciFrag gamer spotlight! About every other week we will be talking to a different gamer here in the Cincinnati tri-state area. Our first honored gamer is Sara Gross aka Cuppincakes! She’s been one of our biggest supporters online and we thank her for that. So without further adue on with our interview!

First off please tell us a little about yourself. Let’s meet the person behind the screen. What do you do when you’re not pwning nubs?

I do an ungodly amount of self-motivated and freelance illustration and design work in the hopes that one day I will not work a McJob. Most of my work is gamer/nerd culture related, but hey; do what you love, right?

Hell yea! If you don’t love what you do then why do it? So Cuppincakes eh? Where did that come from?

It all started with the first Halo. When I couldn’t use the “.” symbol as a way to further camouflage my character (I hate it when the glowing names give away your location) – I decided to use something cute and cuddly. Not only does it make people underestimate you, it makes them really frustrated when you kick their ass. Telling them you’re a girl is like an extra shame bonus during corpse hump sessions.

LoL I there’s nothing better than showing the boys how it’s done What first got you started in gaming and what keeps you going?

The Sega Master System’s Astro Warrior and Double Dragon had me hooked for hours. Once my family got a PC, I was officially an addict, playing Dark Forces, Diablo II, and Half Life until my eyes screamed for mercy. What continues to keep me playing games are the innovations and the stories. Co-op, especially, is an excellent motivator for me to keep my skills honed. That, and how I’ve managed to overcome my “girl handicap.”

Girl handicap? I know a few girls that throw down better than most guys in Halo. I think this generation has crushed that girl stereotype when it comes to gaming.  So what games will we see you playing if we were on your friend’s list and what games will you be playing?

Currently I’ve been playing more old school style games like Castle Crashers, ‘Splosion Man, and Geometry Wars 2. I plan on playing the crap out of the new Assassin’s Creed, Brütal Legend, and Splinter Cell games. ODST is going to be more about if people will play with me than about the game itself. Admittedly, I’m a big Halo buff deep down.

Halo FTW! (sorry, I’m obsessed) Gaming through all these years you must have some accomplishment that you are most proud of.

Hands down - my 52+million score in Geometry Wars 2 for Pacifism Mode.

Wow props for that. I suck at Geometry Wars!  Are you a member of any gaming communities? Who do you play games with?

The only gaming “communities” I belong to are Cincifrag.com, GameJunkie.com, and Roxx.biz. I’m probably the most forum/site active on Cincifrag. I hardly play multiplayer save for Castle Crashers with closer friends and a little bit of ‘Splosion Man. It might be neat to do Halo with the Cincifrag/ATF guys once, however, I don’t have all the maps and I’m certainly not up to par since my copy collects dust.

We’re only a message away Is there anything you would like to close with? Words of wisdom? Shoutouts?

Cincinnati needs a stronger gaming community. Small businesses, establishments, sites, even just people who have LAN parties on occasion need to band together and make Cinci’s community better. The Midwest gets overlooked too much in favor of the coastal states (Cali, WA, NY) for fun things like cons and events, and it’s depressing that we can’t get together and make some of those coasts jealous. Game Junkie talks about doing conventions, but so far the format isn’t reaching that far yet – so we’ll see. So if anyone thinks they can pull of a legitimate “con,” I’d love to see that happen. The Midwest needs more excitement to break up the long winters.

Otherwise, I’d like to take this time to shamelessly plug my online art portfolio: http://twobitart.carbonmade.com

So there you have it folks! Thanks Cuppincakes for being our first spotlight!

Roxx Website

Today we are reviewing Ghostbusters: The Videogame, the latest adventure in the Ghostbusters universe. The game is essentially a sequel to Ghostbusters 2 as it takes place in 1991 - two years after the events of the movie. You start the game off as the newest Ghostbuster member; appropriately the character you control goes by the name of Rookie. After the initial training level in the Ghostbusters Firehouse HQ you jump into the actual story mode by chasing down ghosts from the past two movies and even new phantoms exclusive to the game’s story.

This is not your typical action game; it mixes action with puzzle solving. During various events in the game the player will be blasting ghosts and also solving puzzles, even though the puzzles are easy to figure out it is a nice way to break up the action in between levels. Now as far as the action part of the game goes it is very well done. When I captured my first ghost it gave me a sense of accomplishment because the ghosts are not easy to capture. The player must use their Proton Pack to weaken the ghost, and then you must set a ghost trap. Once the trap is ready you have to use your Proton Pack to get a hold of the ghost, once you have them captured in your Proton stream you have to direct the ghost over the trap with the joystick, once the trap opens a ray of light will appear and the player will have to hold down the joystick to capture the ghost inside the trap. Besides ghost traps the Proton Pack is your best friend in this game because it is your main weapon. Unlike in the first two films the proton pack has various weapon modes such as the slime gun and the dark matter gun. Also each of these different weapons has various upgrades that make the Proton Pack more powerful as you progress through the game.

The multi-player is also very well done and creative. In the multi-player mode you assume the role as either the Rookie or one of the original Ghostbusters. Once you choose your character you will be partnered with three other people and you will work as a team capturing ghosts to earn money. Even though you will work as a team to fight ghosts the player with the most money is declared the winner of the match. I think this unique concept works very well with this game and makes the multi-player in Ghostbusters one of a kind.

Overall I was very impressed with this game. The graphics are amazing; the gameplay actually makes players fell like they are a Ghostbuster. I am also glad they kept the original soundtrack for the game. The only downside to this game is that there are not a ton of weapons and upgrades and the game’s story is too short.

Pros (+):

- Great graphics, music and gameplay
- Multi-player is fun and unique
- Good variety of levels and ghosts

Cons (-):

- Limited amount of weapons and gadgets
- Story is too short

Overall:
I give this game a 4/5 due to its great story and gameplay, this game has moderate to high replay value.

I set out in the beginning of this year to create the go-to community for Cincinnati gamers. We’re about half way into 2009 and I’m pleased with our progress, but it could be alot better. I felt that it was proper to give an entire CF update on where we stand now and what we have planned throughout the summer and the rest of the year. Hit the jump to read the State of CinciFrag.

The State of CinciFrag

You may have noticed the drop in front page news posts. It was a decision on my part in order to bring the focus of CinciFrag right here in Cincinnati and purley origional content. You will no longer see CinciFrag report on general gaming news, because lets face it, you probably get your news elsewere from sites that have the inside scoop. This summer you should look forward to local gamer spotlights, local buisness spotlights, more tournament reports, and more origional articles period.

Our first tournament was semi-successful, but no where near wher we wanted it to be. The next Halo 3 tournament should be in August and only feature one tournament. We are leaning towards a 2v2 MLG style tournament. More details will be released soon.

You should also look forward to other CinciFrag summer events which are still to be announced.

We are still looking for people interested in helping out on the writing staff and we are also searching for local buisnesses that may want to support CinciFrag in our quest for world domination.

Rock on CF!

Today we are reviewing inFamous the long awaited sandbox action game for the PlayStation 3. The game starts off with the main character Cole, who has just survived an explosion that demolished six blocks of Empire City causing him to gain superpowers in the process, and now local gangs are taking over the city and it is your job to find out what caused the explosion.

This unique sandbox game is all about choices, and there are a lot of them. Not only do you have multiple options in the main story path, but there are also even more choices when it comes to the side missions as well. The basic side missions range from protecting civilians to preventing gang wars. I have had just as much fun from the side missions as I have with the main story missions.

Another choice presented to you early in the game is whether or not you are good or evil. During the game the player will be presented with a choice whether to use your powers for good or for evil. To help influence the character’s good and evil karma level the player can also choose good or evil specific side missions. There are also various “karma moments” in the main story that develop whether you choose to be good of evil. Depending on how you play the game the environment also transforms with your karma level. If you choose to be good the city will eventually clean up and look like a regular city, or if you choose to be evil the city will eventually become run down and very ominous looking.

The graphics for the various buildings and overall city design are very well done; the character models look amazing as well. Overall inFamous is a very good game it has a great story and great gameplay the only issues I have seen with the game is slight pop-in during gameplay.

Pros (+):
- Great story and graphics
- Smooth gameplay and easy controls
- Lots of mission variety

Cons (-):
- Slight pop-in during gameplay
- Same type of enemies for each gang, just different skins
- No multi-player

Overall:
I give this game a 4/5 due to lack of enemy variety and no multi-player, this game has moderate to high replay value.

Today we’re going to be taking a look at the last of the 3 confirmed pieces of DLC for Fallout 3. Once again, this is only available for 360 and PC gamers, so sorry about your luck people on the PS3.

Broken Steel picks up right where the main story line leaves off; with you waking up from a coma 2 weeks later to discover that the Brotherhood of Steel are scouring the Wasteland for remnance of The Enclave. You’re quickly dispatched on a mission to escort Liberty Prime while it takes out an Enclave Base.

What I Enjoyed: When I originally played through the game, I was rather pissed off when I discovered I could not continue my character after I dealt with Project Purity. In Broken Steel, however, your existing characters instantly start the new questline once they reach “Game Over”, and you can continue to play and explore after Broken Steel finishes. I also like the raise in level cap from 20 to 30, as well as all the new perks that come with it.

What I Detested: One word: Deathclaws. Next to the Supermutant Behemoth, these guys are the strongest enemies in the game, as well as being the fastest. In the past I’ve never had to fight more than 2 at once. Broken Steel sends you to the Old Olney Sewers, which is not only CRAWLING with these things, but is in close quarters, giving you very little room to run or dodge. Besides that, Broken Steel was fairly boring. All of the “new” enemies were just stronger versions of preexisting foes; Feral Ghoul Reavers, Super Mutant Overlords, and Enclave Hellfire Troopers.

Conclussion: 3/5 for this set. Broken Steel was a let down when compare to the other two, but was by no means bad. To finish the the wording from the image above, “This is how the game ends; not with a Bang, but a Whimper.” I can only hope that the rumored Fourth DLC turns out to be true.

As stated above we will be following the MLG version 6 gametypes and maps for this tournament. Check out all gametype settings and maps here on MLG pro.

Please bring a wired controller if you own one.

All preregistration must be done on CinciFrag Battles. Register your name, join the tournament of your choice and you will be prompted to submit payment via Pay Pal. The first person to sign up will be responsible for the whole payment. (For example if you are playing in the 4v4 you’ll be asked to submit $40). The $5 venue fee must be payed at the door. Pre-registration will end on the 10th. If you do not register you will have to pay $5 extra per tournament you are registering for so PRE-REGISTER NOW!

We are in need of 360s! If you can bring your 360 we will take $5 off of your entry fee per event. If you are interested please contact Josh Engel at josh(at)cincifrag.com or send me a private message on the forums.