So the year is coming to and end, and it's the perfect time to look back at the year that was, 2007. Being the rap and hip hop fan that I am, I decided to rank my favorite albums of the year, and my favorite songs from each. Though the styles of each album are quite unique to the others, I feel these are all a good listen for people who like rap & hip hop music. Check them out...

1. LUPE FIASCO - The Cool
"Superstar"
"The Coolest"
"Hip Hop Saved my Life"





2. KANYE WEST - Graduation
"The Good Life"
"Stronger"
"Can't Tell Me Nothing"
"Everything I Am"





3. JAY-Z - American Gangster
"Roc Boys"
"Blue Magic"
"Success"





4. UGK - Underground Kingz
"International Players Anthem"
"Real Women"
"Grind Hard"





5. DJ KHALED - We The Best
"We Taking Over"
"I'm So Hood"
" S On My Chest"




Brent

Posted by Brent at 03:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I need to learn (once again) to check my sources before posting. Real winners are below. Though, the awards still sucked.

STUDIO OF THE YEAR: Harmonix

BEST SHOOTER: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision/ Infinity Ward)

BEST RPG: Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios/ BioWare)

BEST MILITARY GAME: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision/ Infinity Ward)

BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME: Skate (Electronic Arts/ EA Black Box)

BEST HANDHELD GAME: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo/ Nintendo)

BEST GRAPHICS: Crysis (Electronic Arts/ Crytek)

BEST GAME BASED ON A MOVIE OR TV SHOW: The Simpsons Game (Electronic Arts/ EA Redwood Shores)

BEST RHYTHM GAME: Rock Band (MTV Games/ Harmonix)

BEST DRIVING GAME: DiRT (Codemasters/ Codemasters)

BEST ACTION GAME: Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo/ Nintendo)

BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME: Madden NFL 08 (Electronic Arts/ EA Tiburon)

BEST SOUNDTRACK: Rock Band (MTV Games/ Harmonix)

BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY: The Orange Box/ Portal (Valve/ Valve)

BEST XBOX 360 GAME: BioShock (2K Games/ 2K Boston - 2K Australia)

BEST WII GAME: Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo/ Nintendo)

BEST PS3 GAME: Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (Sony Computer Entertainment/ Insomniac Games)

BEST PC GAME: The Orange Box (Valve/ Valve)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: BioShock (2K Games/ 2K Boston - 2K Australia)

BEST MULTI-PLAYER GAME: Halo 3 (Microsoft Game Studios/ Bungie Studios)

MOST ADDICTIVE VIDEO GAME FUELED BY DEW: Halo 3 (Microsoft Game Studios/ Bungie Studios)

Conclusion: The VGAs are STILL a joke. Spike TV is not television for gamers. I could see G4 hosting a somewhat valid form of these awards, but I just don’t really see the point.Also, Kid Rock?

Kris

Posted by Kris at 05:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

One of the newest features that I've discovered for your internet browser, which I personally love, is Stumble Upon. Stumble Upon is an application you can download for either Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Internet Explorer that fits nicely in your tool bar. The basic premise of this feature is that it helps you discover and share really cool websites that you would otherwise generally miss. When you click the 'Stumble' button on you browser, you are directed to a website matched on your personal preferences. The pages you are shown are recommended from your 'stumble friends' and the other million users who have similar interests. Once you are on a page you can rate it as a page you like or do not like and thus will influence which sites you discover and share with your friends.

I really enjoy the fact that your are only shown websites that are affiliated with your interests. Stumble Upon gives you a long list of topics and categories to choose from which is nice. Simply check the boxes to the types of pages you want to discover. They have everything from video games, cooking, humor, magic, sports & much more. As you continue to use the service they will periodically check back with you to see if you'd like to change or update your preferences in order to specifically target you interests more closely.

Stumble Upon feels to have somewhat of a MySpace feel to it in regards with its social platform. You are free to view anyone's profile, although there are privacy settings everyone can use. User profiles consist of general information about themselves, favorites that they've rated on Stumble, and who their friends are. The social network is relatively easy to navigate through, and also allows you to create blogs on your personal account. But anyways, just thought I would share my thoughts. Might as well give it a try, maybe a nice little break from work.

Start Stumbling!

Happy Holidays!

Brent

Posted by Brent at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

So here we are one year since the Console War of 2006. Many lives were lost in those epic battles, and for that past 12 months we’ve been quietly licking our wounds. A new holiday season is upon us, and the conflict of old has arisen to a newly heated pace. The contenders this year remain the same, but each has brought a new trick to the game that could easily sway the battle to their favor. So lets take a look on the battlefield and see where things stand in 2007.

The Playstation 3 – The Underdog.

It may be shocking that the system that brings the most power to the table is actually the underdog in this contest. In fact, it seems that this battle is far more about strategy and finesse than it is about raw power. The PS3 does wield a whopping graphics capability, but it seems to still be plagued by a lack of exclusives. Sure, they do promise you Grand Theft Auto 4, Final Fantasy 10…billion, and many more, but have yet to really execute on any of the promises. In fact, many of the major exclusives have turned out to be much less than expected. There is some shining light in the dark for the Playstation 3 however. Games like Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune have seemed to do a pretty good job of stepping up the plate for the PS3. Also the Playstation Network is nicely filling out with some quality downloadable titles. This system has had quite a rebuilding year, and it looks as though it’s paid off.

The Wii – The crowd favorite

Everyone loves the Wii. Maybe it’s the insidious cheer that it seems to exude from its very being, but the Wii has garnered a serious crowd following in the year it’s been on the market. The system really is fantastic for what it does. It’s a casual gaming system for people who have never played video games before. However, this year has taught us core gamers that we will be very disappointed at a system aimed at casuals. Waves of mini-games were spewed at us at record breaking pace. Only a few real core games have come out, but they seem to be plagued by gimmicks and faulty use of the “waggle” controls. The online offerings are barely even worth mentioning. Virtual Console may be a great way to rekindle memories of the past, but compared to the other systems robust offerings leave much to be desired. It still is a fantastic system for the kids, and for grandma, and grandpa, but the Wii is really missing some substance for us in the core.

The Xbox 360 – The Veteran

The Xbox 360 this year taught us that sometimes the best way to win a fight is to be the most experienced player in the game. It seems like this was the year were everything that could go wrong for Microsoft did. It seemed that near 75% of the consoles were imploding before their sad owners eyes. Red Rings of Death haunted our dreams and drove us into insanity. Finally, as the year neared an end another ring brought hope to the broken souls at Microsoft. A ring called Halo. Halo 3 was the biggest launch in video game history. Just ask the 600,000 branded products that preceded the launch. I’m still burning through my Halo 3 Toilet Paper. After Halo came Mass Effect, and a slew of pretty incredible downloadable titles that seem to really place the Xbox in the lead of this fight. They have also introduced a few new versions of their system in order to really target specific groups of users. All of this really comes out to a pretty interesting strategy

The Winner: Well, it’s a close one. Every system seems to have a niche. The Xbox is far better for the general hardcore gamer. The PS3 is much better for the person who is really into visuals. If you have 54” big screen 1080i plasma TV then you’ll want to pick up a PS3. The Wii is for everyone else. In the end if you’re really looking for a system that has a pretty solid chance of being enjoyed then the Xbox 360 seems to be the best bet.

Kris

Posted by Kris at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (143) | TrackBacks (0)