The Daily Sync for January 20th, 2010

Ok, first, because I know she probably won't read much farther than this sentence in this article, it is my wife's birthday today.  I owe her much, especially because on my birthday she allowed me to have the TV all day to play video games.  ALL DAY.  She's not a gamer, but that kind of gift to one means a lot.  Love you, Abby!  Ok, you can go download some more songs from iTunes for your new iPod. :)

Next, I'm sorry about this week sucking on daily synchronizing of news.  Life happens, you know?  Perhaps I went in over my head promising daily reports.  I'm gonna do my best, though.  And so as not to false advertise, I think I'll alter the title of these sections.  Keep your eyes open!

Over the past few days not a lot happened, at least in my opinion.  However, some biggies have dropped recently and I gotta spread my excitement!  Click below to read how you can be a hero, updates and previews of my next two anticipated releases, and other gaming news.

Play Halo, Support Haiti

There came a point last week when it seemed superfluous to play video games when faced with a huge tragedy that completely rocked another country.  The devastation in Haiti is immense, and I hope we don't sweep it under the rug easily.  Personally, I haven't felt led to donate money or items, but have offered prayers.  That's me personally.  But Halo creators Bungie have created a couple of ways to give, one of which by playing our beloved activity pasttime hobby-we-wished-we-could-get-paid-to-do.

Play Halo 3 or Halo 3: ODST today or tomorrow and for every 1,000 players (who make a special emblem), $100 will be donated to the American Red Cross.  Also, %100 of proceeds from the purchase of special apparel and accessories will go to the Cross.

Good job, Bungie.

UPDATE
Um, I've changed my mind.  Bungie, this is weird.  Thank you, Orlando! 

Until Colonial Marines, Get as Close to Living out Aliens as Much as Possible

IGN released a hands-on preview of the least discussed feature of Rebellion's upcoming redux Aliens vs. Predator, Survivor Mode, which IGN UK defined as the "core" of the game.

One of my favorite segments in all movie history is the intense "red room" battle from Aliens when Ripley and the surviving Marines discover that the bugs are sneaky; they can come through ceilings too!  Driven by James Horner's amazing atmospheric and powerful score, the sequence is nothing short of pure last-stand adrenaline.  So, when Rebellion mentioned Survivor Mode, my heart could have been mistaken for a Chestburster leaping out of my ... well, chest!

And finally, today, with 20+ days until release, we have some juicy tidbits of information, albeit not much.  Really, there isn't much to say.  You try to stay alive as long as you can against ever increasing swarms of xenomorphs.  I just wanna see it, you know?  Below is a video, but it only serves to tease as not much is shown.  Read the article, it'll "tell you what I know ..."

More Aliens vs. Predator Info

BioShock 2's Creative Director Totally Rocks the Blazer-Hoodie Combo

Jordan Thomas is the man behind BioShock 2, and boy does he know there's pressure in following up well-loved and well-critiqued media.  But he has faith in his teams' work.  I'll let the man speak for himself because he's such a cool guy, so click on over to Kotaku for a very reassuring breath of fresh underwater air.





Worthy Mentions

- I've kind of given up on multiplayer nowadays.  I just can't take any more, who I like to call, "shotgun runners" in Modern Warfare 2.  And now I've been given another justification to why I have no desire to play MW2 anymore.

- If you've played the Half-Life series, you know it's stinking awesome.  And also, if you've played the Half-Life series, you know you've lived half your life waiting for the story to finish!  All we're waiting on is Episode 3!!!  Sadly to say it might not happen again this year ... and then, maybe not in the manner we've been expecting.