Triple the prestige

I ranked up to Prestige Level 3 last night in Call of Duty: World at War.

I enjoyed numerous rounds of multiplayer with the SB-S crew as I tried out the new Map Pack 2 on a double-points weekend. Like my friend Bama Breeze said, it was like having a whole new game.

Review to come on the new maps. What do y'all think of them?

Pursuing Prestige in CoD: World at War

Last night I ticked over Prestige Level 2 in Call of Duty: World at War online multiplayer! I know this is no big deal to my friends who already passed that mark long ago, such as Fartknocckker, Big Daddy Ogre and Bama Breeze, but I was pleased with myself.

I must thank my friend Fartknocckker again for a key piece of advice he gave me about ranking up in Call of Duty. My progress in ranking up in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was glacial because I had it in my head that I had to max out the potential points on every weapon. Yes, I know I hadn't thought it through very well, but that's what I did, and it took me forever to top out my rank. I struggled to score kills with weapons unsuited to my playing style.

The great Knocckker of Farts suggested sticking with the weapons with which I was most comfortable to score as many kills as possible, and thus help make sure that my team wins as much as possible. That's what I've done in World at War, and the points I score for doing that far surpass the points for using all the diverse weapons.

I tend to do best with bullet hoses -- submachine guns and the STG-44. I like the semi-automatic rifles, but I don't do quite as well with them. I also like the bolt-action rifles, even though I'm terrible with them.

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H.A.W.X review in progress

My next review on deck is Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. Flight sims and air combat are my first love in video gaming, so I've been excited about this game. The review will be on Techcetera early next week, and I'll post a link here in Sythbane Squadron.

As I was preparing the review poking around on the H.A.W.X web site, I discovered that an affordable flight stick controller is finally available for the Xbox 360!

It's the Saitek Aviator, and I can't wait to get my hands on one. I haven't found one yet, but when I do, I'm going to go back and try every fighter combat game in my inventory and review the joystick.

None of my shooter friends have joined me in the sky yet, but I hope some of you will try H.A.W.X and do some dogfighting.

New Call of Duty: World at War maps

At last, some new hunting grounds for Call of Duty: World at War are on the way. Activision said today that Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 1 will be available for download sometime in March.

Check out the details on each map that I posted here on Techcetera.

(Yes, I admit, I'm nudging my friends who read these personal notes on Sythbane Squadron to please look at my "official" reviews and essays on Techcetera, too, because that blog is for my workplace. The more hits Techcetera gets, the more job security I have! Many thanks to those of you who read it. A feed from Techcetera showing my reviews -- along with those by Arc Dream, ANT Pogo and jRySix -- is posted in the right column here.)

I apologize for neglecting Sythbane Squadron for a couple of weeks lately. A friend from my childhood passed away last week and I've been a bit addled. I'll post a more detailed note later as a salute to my friend Dusty.

I also have another post from our friend Fartknocckker in store for you, so stay tuned!

Heroes in fire and ice

My review of Call of Duty: World at War is posted. Take a look!

I hope to see some of you in my sights this weekend ...