Apple Disaster

Today is iPhone 3G day and Wow! has Apple has really screwed it up! Everyone is trying to download the new iTunes 7.7 software, iPhone 2.0 update, the new applications and games in the App store and set up new iPhone 3G activations all on the same day! Apple's servers are down, phones can't be activated and 1st gen iPhones are being bricked upgrading to the new software. I'm a HUGE Apple supporter but this is really unacceptable and could have been avoided by doing the following:

1) iTunes 7.7 should have been released last week to get everyone ready.

2) 1st gen iPhone users should have been able to download the new 2.0 software on Monday as a thank you gift from Apple and been able to play with the new apps and games before everyone else. This would have made the early adopters happy and given Apple more free publicity that the new 3G iPhone was coming Friday.

3) With all this traffic out of the way, the servers would be open to handle all the new 3G activations on Friday making a great worldwide launch!

It makes no sense to expect your servers to handle all of this traffic on one day and after having launch issues with the original iPhone, I would have expected Apple to be more prepared this time around. Apple FTL

Full Story: Click Here
iPhone 3G Review: Click Here

Seven7th Day

Today, July 7th, Bungie has released a new Halo 3 map on Xbox Live for FREE!!! It's called "Cold Storage" and is a remake of "Chill Out" from the original Halo. You will need the Heroic map pack (it's free), and the Legendary map pack (it's being dropped from $10 to $7.50 today) to play this new map online. If your still waiting for the Legendary map pack to become free, you can still download this new map and play it in custom and offline games.

Get Smart

In "Get Smart," Steve Carell re-creates the bumbling Max Smart character, with Anne Hathaway playing the capable (and hot) Agent 99 as the duo try to stop a plot to arm unstable governments with nuclear bombs. Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson also co-stars as a superstar spy colleague.

Let me preface my review with stating that I've never seen the original TV show so I really didn't know what to expect. With that said, this movie is really good and funny! If you like "The Office" and Steve Carell's 2007 movie, "Dan In Real Life" you should really enjoy this. This is one of those movie's where you may think you have seen all the best parts in the trailer and commercials but that is not true. This movie is funny from beginning to end.

My only small criticism of the movie would be the story line was pretty predicable and weak. Surpisingly though, it doesn't hurt the movie that much and I still really enjoyed it overall. Exp. Rating +5

UFC 2009

Below is a link to the first trailer released for the upcoming UFC video game titled, UFC 2009 Undisputed. This game looks absolutely amazing and I can't wait to play it! Click Here to watch

Kung Fu Panda

"There is no charge for awesomeness... or attractiveness." One of the best opening lines by Po (Jack Black) in Kung Fu Panda. I have been wanting to see this movie since it came out, a few weeks ago, and finally got to see it. If you think this movie is only for kids you are so wrong! Jack Black is hilarious as Po the panda. This movie reminded me a lot of Nacho Libre and is just as funny. The animation is amazing and the movie, story and acting are as good, if not better, than a Pixar movie! I really enjoyed every minute and laughed A LOT! Kung Fu Panda and Iron Man are the two best movies so far this summer. Exp. Rating +10

Virtual NES

This is beyond awesome. VirtualNES.com is the largest Virtual Nintendo Entertainment System online with 765 Games! It's all free too! Go check it out!

Incredible Hulk

Let's get the obvious question out of the way first. Yes, it's MUCH better than the last Hulk movie. This is the movie they should have made the first time. Now that that is out of the way, this film was not amazing like Iron Man. It's pretty much a 2 hour chase film. The story is not that great and predictable. The special effects are an improvement over the first film but they are still disappointing. The Hulk still looks fake! Why does Hollywood always feel the need to go over the top with everything? It's time to go back to the "less is more" style of movie making. Let the audience use their imaginations a little. It's difficult to believe that a human being can transform into a giant Godzilla like monster. It would have been more believable to have a human actor become "enhanced" physically with special effects instead of becoming an animated character that looks like it came out of a video game. On a positive note, the acting is great in this movie and Ed Norton is a much better Bruce Banner than Eric Bana and Liv Tyler is way hot as Betsy Ross. Comic book fans will enjoy this version also because the Hulk has been provided with a more reputable villain to fight: The Abomination. Marvel really needs to ditch the over the top CGI and hire better writers next time if there is going to be a Hulk 2. Exp. Rating +1

SSFIITHDRLOLOMGBBQ

The Capcom Blog says a beta version of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix will begin June 25 and can only be accessed by purchasing the Xbox 360 version of Commando 3 on Xbox Live.

Capcom, what is the point of this beta? Are you worried Commando 3 won't sell without this? Just release the final version already plzzzzzzz!!!1!!one!!

Halo Wars

The latest issue of GamePro has information on the upcoming Halo Wars, including news that the game will support Xbox Live multiplayer with up to six players as well as two-player online co-op. The magazine also reveals new UNSC units such as the Vulture, Cyclops and Cobras and the game's current control scheme. Check out Halo Wars Addict for more information.

UEFA EURO 2008

The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2008, will take place in Austria and Switzerland from June 7 to June 29, 2008.

A total of 16 teams will participate in the tournament. Austria and Switzerland automatically qualified as hosts; the remaining 14 teams have been determined through qualifying matches which started in August 2006. Austria and Poland will be making their first appearance in the tournament. The winner of Euro 2008 will represent UEFA at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, unless Italy wins the tournament, in which case the runner-up will be entered, as Italy is already entered as the winner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

The XBOX 360 game is also really good and highly recommended! Exp. Rating +10

Lost Season 4 Finale

Season 4 of Lost was the best yet! This show is amazing and completely blows my mind every time I watch it. After watching the 3 part season finale last week, I came across some interesting articles on Popular Mechanics website about some of the crazy stuff going on in the show.

MythBuster: Lost Finale's Bombs Were Crap, but I Get Big Picture
Lost geek Adam Savage traces the chemistry of those 500 pounds of C4, and explains why the space-time continuum from the Season Four finale changed his theories on the future of our favorite sci-fi show. Click Here for Story

Physicist: Einstein Would Approve of Moving the Island on Lost
How did Ben make the island "disappear" in the season finale? It's all relativity, argues a top professor who even uses Lost in his classes. Wormholes, 305-degree bearings, the Casimir effect—it all checks out with quantum mechanics, and could explain a lot for next season. Click Here for Story

Time-Travel Expert: Lost Finale Opens New Trap Door in Space
How do you move an island, then show up halfway across the world? Let's just say the Looking Glass has nothin' on Ben Click Here for Story

Lost for Dummies: Your Must-Have Science Glossary on New Island Mysteries!
Click Here for Story

Street Fighter IV News

Capcom recently made mention on a press site that Street Fighter IV is headed to the PS3, Xbox 360, and the PC as well, with all three versions slated to hit retail shelves this winter.

Speaking in an interview with Japan's Weekly Famitsu, producer Yoshinori Ono revealed that the home version of the SF4 will include online play and exclusive characters. Two of the exclusive characters may be Fei Long and Dan. According to IGN, Japanese publication Famitsu Xbox released concept art illustrating a Bruce Lee-inspired Fei Long and Alpha vet Dan Hibiki.

Finally, check out the newly released trailer! Click Here
And actual game play videos here: Click Here

Retrospectives

There is an awesome site called GameTrailers.com and they have been doing a series of retrospectives on classic video game franchises. The first big one was The Legend of Zelda. Then they covered Metroid followed by a massive 13 part Final Fantasy retrospective. Currently they are doing both Star Wars and Metal Gear. Each series is done really well and watching them brings back a lot of memories. Highly recommended viewing for all gamers! Click Here to Watch

Prince Caspian

Prince Caspian is the second movie in the Chronicles of Narnia book series. The first movie, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was good but slow. I had higher hopes for Prince Caspian because the book has a lot more action.

Prince Caspian unfortunately is just another average movie. It's long, (2 and half hours) and the special effects are much improved over the first movie. For me though, the Narnia movies so far are not even close to the same level of greatness as the Lord of the Rings movies.

In the end it's worth seeing if your a fan of the books. The next movie planned is the Voyage of the Dawn Treader and let's hope it's much better! Exp. Rating +1

Indiana Jones

I have been really anticipating the new Indiana Jones movie. It's been 19 years since we last saw him ride off into the sunset, closing out the classic 80's trilogy. Raiders of the Lost Ark and Last Crusade were both great movies - where Temple of Doom was just ok.

All this to say that I saw Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Friday night and WOW, what a disappointment! This is by far the worst Indy movie ever and a complete disaster! The story is terrible, the acting is cheesy, and the whole movie is just too unbelievable that it's ridiculous.

Problem is, no matter what anyone says, people are still going to go see it. It's one of those movies that is critic proof. Everyone knows and loves the 80's movies and will want to see new one. I was the same way. I had a few people tell me who saw it earlier that it was bad but I didn't care. I needed to see it for myself!

For me personally, I will pretend that this movie doesn't exist. I would never want to sit through this mess again. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg should not be allowed to make any more sequels (or prequels) to their classic movies. The Star Wars prequels sucked and now they are ruining Indiana Jones! Exp. Rating -10

The Bloopcurve!!

We are excited to announce a new link to the Experience Points blog, something a little unrelated, but we figured with all the other random stuff this baseball blog should be just fine.


Bloop Curve is a Baseball related blog written by two brothers, whom some of the editors here at Experience Points have the wonderful privelege of knowing. Check out their site for all MLB related info, the guys really know their stuff over there.Click Here for Link

Rockin' out in Albuquerque

We are now featuring some new content on Experience Points. While we normally try and stick to all the techy and nerdy stuff going on in the world of video games, TV, and movies, we figured it would be good to show some outdoor related stuff. Two of our local writers are into Bouldering and we hope to have more articles and problem guides up in the future.

For now though, you will have to enjoy some pics from a cool bouldering spot out in Albuquerque, New Mexico that I went to with my girlfriend and some friends.

Oh and here is a picture of Hansele too. Probably the meanest looking cry baby in the whole world.

Iron Man

This weekend I saw the first summer blockbuster, Iron Man. It stars Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow. First off, I don't read comic books and haven't really liked most of these comic book movies, but Iron Man has changed me. I really, REALLY liked this movie! Great story, acting and special effects (which were done by the same people who did Transformers). Unlike Transformers though, this movie is good! The director, Jon Favreau, did an amazing job with everything.

In an interview on the radio, Jon Favreau said big movies like these don't start out with scripts (like most other movies do). They start with an opening date. Then all the special effects and fight scenes are planned, because those take the most time to complete. Finally, the story is filled in around all the fight scenes and special effects shots. Using this model, you can now see why most comic book movies are terrible! He said it was a lot of work to make sure this movie was good. I say he did his job! Exp. Rating +10

Halo Fiesta

It's a Halo 3 Double XP weekend! There is also a new playlist (which spawns players with random weapons) called "Cinco de Mayo." Everyone can get double XP this weekend but you need the Heroic and Legendary map packs to play in the new playlist "Cinco de Mayo". The party ends on Tuesday.

How Long Have You Been....Dead??

We all know that fatality is a fleeting thing in Halo 3. You die, maybe take a breath or two, yell a little bit, or complain about lag and then hop right back into the game. Have you stopped to wonder how much time all those deaths actually add up to?

Well we found a cool little script that pulls out that info from your Gamertag name at Bungie.net. Not sure who the orginal creator of this was, but here is the website, go check it out here and see what your death stats are!!

Here's one of our Gamertag results:
killer moike
You've wasted 0 days, 8 hours, 54 mins, and 30 seconds waiting to respawn
In ranked matches, you've waited to respawn for: 0 days, 3 hours, 24 mins, and 25 seconds
In social matches, you've waited to respawn for: 0 days, 5 hours, 30 mins, and 5 seconds

You've caused people to waste 0 days, 12 hours, 49 mins, and 45 seconds waiting to respawn
In ranked matches, you've caused people to wait to respawn for: 0 days, 4 hours, 36 mins, and 20 seconds
In social matches, you've caused people to wait to respawn for: 0 days, 8 hours, 13 mins, and 25 seconds