Get To Know 33rd! (pt 3)

We have our third installment of our "Get To Know 33rd!"series. This time it comes from our one and only Outlaw! 

1. What is your Gamer name?

Outlaw953 is my first and longest-running gamer name, but I recently adopted Metal Bison.


2. Where are you from? Where do you live now?

I am from historical Virginia in the United States of America. I currently live in a small town called

Keysville: one that doesn’t even show on the map.


3. What do you do for a living?

I currently work at the Food Lion in my town as a stocker, but a few friends and me own a small hobby

shop known as Table Terrors because of our love of tabletop gaming.


4. Are you married, kids, family, pets etc.?

I am engaged. I do not have any kids, but I consider one of our seventeen chinchillas named Snake-
named after Big Boss from Metal Gear Solid due to his missing eye-my ‘son.’ We here also have a dog, a ton of outside cats, and a lot of fish.


5. How did you become a member? What member introduced you to the clan etc.?

Momentum_Killer1-my brother-introduced me to the 33rd Brigade, but I had always wanted to join an

organized gaming clan. My brother and I had started to form one of our own a few years ago, but it was

quite small and consisted only of a small amount of individuals we know.


6. How long have you been a member?

I have been a member a little over a year now.


7. What is your favorite thing about the clan?

My favorite thing about the 33rd Brigade is the connectedness the members have. Though there are

members of the clan I have yet to even talk to or meet, I feel as though I can talk to them about

almost anything.


8. Tell us something about you we wouldn’t already know....

I played tuba in my high school marching band for 4 years, have 3 years jazz experience, and had

played instruments for about 6 years. I am also trained as a Muay Thai fighter from an individual who

lived in Thailand for many years, accumulating 156 fight experiences before moving back to the United

States.


9. What games do you miss and what games are you looking forward to the most?

I miss good ole’ platformers and classic Sega games-such as Road Rash-but I am really looking forward to upcoming titles such as Evolve and the Pokemon generation 3 remake.


10. Where do you see the clan a year or two from now?

I see it either thriving, or at the very least, staying exactly the way it is. I have hope for the 33rd

Brigade.


11. What would you like to see happen with the 33rd?

I’d like to see a little more posting activity to the site, especially from newer members. I’ve been in

the clan for just over a year and have the same accumulation of posts as individuals that have been

around since the clan’s beginnings.


12. If you had a super power what would it be??

Definitely something psychological. I am not on who wants super speed or strength. My goal in life is to unlock my fullest potential, and what’s in your mind is the greats power possible.


13. What do you do with your spare time?

What spare time? Joking of course, I am a nursing student at Southside Virginia Community College so I

do not get much time to myself. On those occasions in which I do, I enjoy some good games such as

those on the PS3, PC, or tabletops. I also hang around the 33rd’s forums.


14. Do you like to travel? Where have you been or want to go?

I enjoy the travel, especially if the company is nice. I have been to California, New York, Philadelphia,

Ohio, Indiana, Nevada (between Vegas and my aunt’s in California; only place you can gamble at 18

legally!), used to have annual trips to Tennessee and Mississippi, pretty much the entire east coast,

Canada (exploring both the US and Canadian sides of Niagera Falls), and I regularly visit family in New Jersey. I’d wanted to go to Texas.


15. How would you spend a million dollars?

I would give some money to family and friends and just hold onto the rest just in case I need it. I don’t

live too lavish a lifestyle…well, maybe upgrading my internet won’t hurt.


16. What is in your refrigerator right now?

Leftovers, milk, some lunch meat, among other things.


17. What’s your favorite food?

Meatloaf, definitely meatloaf. I’ll eat anything, though.

Get To Know 33rd! (pt 2)

We have our second installment of our "Get To Know 33rd!"series. This time it comes from our one and only Momentum_Killer1

1. What is your Gamer name?

My gamer name on PSN is Momentum_Killer1, or just Momentum Killer.

2. Where are you from? Where do you live now?

I am from Keysville, Virginia and am currently residing here as well.


3. What do you do for a living?

Nothing at the moment but I’m currently a full-time nursing student.


4. Are you married, kids, family, pets etc.?

None of the above except for a dog. Well, it’s sort of the “Family Dog” but I guess it’s safe to say

she’s partly mine as well.


5. How did you become a member? What member introduced you to the clan etc.?

I’ll never forget it... The servers for Payday 2 were finally getting the maintenance they needed

and I hopped onto a server with Beast9000, Bones_99, and I believe JeepGuy. After a while

of playing with them Beast had asked me if I was interested in joining the clan and I was very

excited.


6. How long have you been a member?

I believe my 1-year anniversary with the clan just popped up not too long ago... Happy One Year

everybody, love y’all!!


7. What is your favorite thing about the clan?

This question is a bit tough... There’s just so much I love about the clan. They’re some of the

nicest guys and gals I’ve ever met with a goal of playing to having fun rather than that “Always

play-to-win” mentally a lot of people have.


8. Tell us something about you we wouldn’t already know....

Well, I own my own small business called Table Terrors, I used to be a Muay Thai Kickboxer and

a Black belt in Karate and I’m a fan of wrestling.


9. What games do you miss and what games are you looking forward to the most?

I just got new games for my Gamecube and, honestly.. I’m missing my Smash Bros. Melee

something fierce. One game I am looking forward to has got to be Killing Floor 2; the first

installment was one game you could sink hours of gameplay into.


10. Where do you see the clan a year or two from now?

Anywhere it wants. This clan is amazing and I don’t see it anywhere but the top.


11. What would you like to see happen with the 33rd?

I would honestly love to see a “33rd

huge meet-up. But honestly, I don’t think it needs to change; I love it just the way it is. Though

the Steam community I’d love to see become a bit bigger... lol.

 Brigade Clan Expo” sometime in the future. Or at least a


12. If you had a super power what would it be??

Teleportation, most definitely. Though I would probably find plenty of ways to be late for class...


13. What do you do with your spare time?

I’m a nursing student so spare time is a rare commodity with me... but I love playing video

games.


14. Do you like to travel? Where have you been or want to go?

It really does depend on who I’m with and I would like to go to Loch Lomond, Scotland one day.


15. How would you spend a million dollars?

Build a time machine and invest in Apple or Microsoft stock.


16. What is in your refrigerator right now?

Food.... I hope.


17. What’s your favorite food?

Whatever I can stuff into my mouth is fine with me.

Get To Know 33rd!

 So it has been a while since we have made a post on this blog, but we are coming back with an all new segment call "Get To Know 33rd!" It is quite simple really. Each month, a different clan member will fill out a questionnaire which helps us all get to know him/her better. 

It does not matter if you are a member, recruit, or just someone who supports us. This is intended for all of you reading this to help better know who we are as 33rd, member by member.

Starting off this month we have the creator of this idea, Nutridge.


1. What is your Gamer name?

Nutridge


2. Where are you from? Where do you live now?

Jeffersonville, Indiana – We are right across the river from Louisville Kentucky


3. What do you do for a living?

We own a Retail Nursery, Garden Center, 3 Wholesale Plant Nurseries, and a Landscape

Company. I am the fourth generation of our family to own the company. It named Walnut Ridge

Greenhouses INC. ( Walnut Ridge Nursery and Garden Center, Walnut Ridge Landscape and

Design, Ridge Wholesale Nursery)


4. Are you married, kids, family, pets etc.?

Married for 14 years with two kids. A boy and Girl ages 10 and 7.


5. How did you become a member? What member introduced you to the clan etc.?

I was on a Call of Duty website / blog looking for people to do co-op missions with. Thrown

Hammer posted something about the clan being down to earth and sent him a message.

Hooked up with him and 8-10 other members online the next night and the rest was history.

Within a few days I was playing Socom Confrontation with them which is where I met most

everyone else. I was really bad a Socom! If it wasn’t for Paragon or someone else giving me a

good gun I never would have gotten a kill.


6. How long have you been a member?

Joined in 2009


7. What is your favorite thing about the clan?

I have made some good friends through the clan. People I talk to outside of gaming. It started

out as finding people to play online games with and turned into so much more. It has enhanced

my gaming experience more than I could explain. I used to play all single player or solo online.


8. Tell us something about you we wouldn’t already know....

I played college Volleyball! I work a lot and am not your typical gamer. I force myself to find

time to play so I can stay in touch with you guys. Life changed a lot over the last few years

making gaming harder and harder.


9. What games do you miss and what games are you looking forward to the most?

I miss the old Socom games......mostly because it’s what had the most turnout and fun. I have

always enjoyed the Battlefield games and miss the Bad Company 2 nights. That was a lot of fun.

I don’t really have any games I’m looking forward to. I am curious about the new COD game

though. Would love to see something that the clan would play together again.


10. Where do you see the clan a year or two from now?

Good question, hopefully stronger and closer than ever. JBarry and the council are doing a good

job with ideas to keep things going but everyone is busy with life. We need to find a way to unite

everyone together again, either by a new game or website or something. When I first joined there

were always posts on the site discussing games or just about anything. There are so many new

members I haven’t met because I’m not in game as much as I used to be.


11. What would you like to see happen with the 33rd?

Unity. Right now everyone is spread out across platforms and games. That is great for a clan but

we still need a main hub for communication and clan related activities. It concerns me that there

are so many people that are members that I do not know or haven’t even seen post. I’m sure that is

the case for many of us. In order for the clan to be strong we need to know each other and interact.

Just my thoughts. All in all, I think things are good and I love the way we are growing. We just need

to figure out how to grow with the new members.


12. If you had a super power what would it be??

I want to be invisible.........


13. What do you do with your spare time?

I still play in volleyball leagues, golf, and go to my kids sporting events.


14. Do you like to travel? Where have you been or want to go?

Of course. We take the kids to Disney every couple years and try to do a beach vacation in between.

I really like Hilton Head, SC. That was the last place we went and it was great. Been to Mexico but

that’s about it.


15. How would you spend a million dollars?

Save for the kids school......damn its expensive! Upgrade and pay off the house, buy something

stupid that we always wanted and save the rest. A million bucks doesn’t go that far anymore.


16. What is in your refrigerator right now?

Only exciting thing would be different craft beers. Right now the fridge is empty because we were

out of town last week. Probably have some ketchup in there.....always need that!


17. What’s your favorite food?

Steak and Pizza

I hope everyone has the opportunity to fill this out. It would be cool to learn more about you!

The Troubles of Being a Girl Gamer

Before I get into some of the issues that I and girl gamers everywhere face each time we turn on our consoles or launch a game from our PC, I want to begin with a quick story. 

Last night, after a long day of work, I logged into my PS4 to join a fellow gamer, Draco, in the hopes of playing some Battlefield 4. I joined him in a party chat with 5 other players, when one of the player's friends joined. Upon hearing my friend Sac talk, noticing his deep and masculine voice, the newly joined player stated “Hey you're black man”. After chiming in to correct the player on his incorrect assumption and upon hearing my own voice, the player exclaimed in excitement and disbelief, “You’re a GIRL!”, “You sound like Selena Gomez!” before proceeding to get vulgar with me. Due to this, Draco quickly left and started a private party chat so that we would not have to deal with this rude gamer. 

Now this is a situation which occurs far too often in my gaming experiences and, quite frankly, it is becoming unbearable. Why should I have to mute my mic or stay in private chats simply due to my sex and gender? I like meeting new people in game, but some gamers just have no manners or social skills. More specifically, who cares if Sac is black, yellow, purple, or blue and if I am female? Why is it that being a girl playing video games automatically subjects me to verbal abusive and vulgar comments? I guarantee you that these same gamers who berate me would never talk to their mother, sister, wife, or girlfriend in that same way. However, because they don't have to look me in the eye and can hide behind their TV or computer screens they suddenly have balls the size of Saturn and act like cave men. 

Let me share with you some of the experiences I have run into:

1) One night on Call of Duty, a guy literally said the word Girl for twenty minutes straight and nothing else. Just "girl, Girl, GIRL!" for twenty minutes straight. Then, “Bitch go make me a F**King sandwich”. “You must be a fat ugly slut and have blue waffles” (which I had to Google to find out what that meant. If you are squeamish or faint of heart don't...I cant unsee that one).

2) One time a guy through PSN messaged me and asked what I would do if I was tied, gagged and sacked. I blocked him immediately, but he did get one more message through before saying he thought I would be fun to capture and tame. Wow creeper! 

3) Another night on COD I was playing with a group of friends and this guy said something so rude and crude that I do not even want to write it in this post. I spouted off a five minute line of curse words and quickly ejected the game. I cant even remember what he said because I just saw red and lost it. I felt bad and ended up having to apologize the next day to my friends who were in the game with me. But hey a girl can only take so much. 

4) I do have one story that actually was innocent and sweet, but still shows the sexism us girls face. I was playing BFBC2 with a teen boy. He says to me you’re a girl? I said yes I am a 33 year old woman actually. He replies to me don't you have kids to take care of , dinner to cook and laundry to do? I know that sounds rude, but the kid was seriously just innocently asking a questions. In his mind a woman doesn't have time to play video games. Her role in life is to be barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen. Glad I am not that woman! 

I know not all male gamers act in such a rude way, but a great deal of them still do. So guys I ask you next time you run into a girl gamer, please treat her as you would your mother, sister or any other woman you know in real life. Just because she cant physically kick you in the balls, donesn't give you the right to act like you have giant gonads. Plus you might just get lucky enough to end up with a girl gamer as a wife some day. Think about it, she is not going to nag you to stop playing your games! The only down side is that it's expensive as two systems is a must!

Until next time,

Keep Calm

      &

Game on

-GambitPro

Infinite Crisis Review

Another PAX East Review! 



This time it's Infinite Crisis which is the game that we played the most over the three days at PAX. I'm gonna break this game down simply into the good and the bad. 


First I’ll start by explaining what a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) is for anyone who has never played one before. It is a 5v5 tower defense game in which the goal is to kill the enemy base. The typical setup is 3 lanes with 3 towers in each lane leading to the enemy base. By killing your opponents, as well as killing creatures or objectives around the map, you gain gold. This gold is then spent on items to gear up your character as the game progresses. The real fun of a MOBA is the ability to outplay another person in your lane. It is unlike shooters in that dying is a huge deal. This makes each and every kill much more satisfying.



The Good - The first thing of note is that this game was really fun! It may not be League of Legends quality but that certainly does not discredit the title. Having all of the playable characters be superheroes adds a very fun quality to the game. Dropping jets on the entire team as green lantern and sprinting around as the flash was a much different type of combat experience compared to other MOBAs. The roles seemed to all make sense, of course following suit with league, and the layout of the map was nice and easy. My favorite innovation that they made was the changes to the tower system. The towers in this game hurt. Even late game they tear people apart. The answer to this is to drop an EMP on them to disable them for a time. This adds quite an interesting dynamic, giving you the ability to tower dive safely for a short amount of time. This could make for a much more aggressive game.


 The Bad - Before I start to pick at some of the problems with this game, the first thing to mention is that the game is still in its beta stage. However, with the way a lot of games launch, I'm not convinced a whole lot will change. My first problem is with the graphics of the game. To me it really does seem a little low on quality. This also flows into the way which combat is played out. It feels a little less fluid than League and just seems a whole lot less polished. Hopefully this will change before the game launches though. My only other worry is that the game will rely too heavily on the DC theme and as opposed to focusing on the mechanics of the game. As a side note, there is also no ladder play as of yet which means no competitive aspect to the game as of yet. At the end of the day, it is most likely going to be a fantastic MOBA when it is finished. I have already downloaded the beta on my computer at home and I'm sure I’ll be playing quite a few games of it. 

Infinite Crisis Trailer 

- Ambushsniper

Twitter
Facebook
33rd Official Website
Email: 33rdbrigadeclan@gmail.com

Shout Outs!

Every once in a while we over here at 33rd will post a shout-out blog dedicated to anyone who we think is a cool blog, website, organization, store, etc etc. For this first one, I am just going to list some people I know and want to promote as they have made some sort of impact on me. As time goes on we should hopefully have more people to promote ahead of time as to bring some new faces to light. Without further ado, here are our monthly shout-outs to some of our friends.

UGR Gaming: 
A video game entertainment company that features the latest in gaming news, reviews, and previews
Facebook
Twitter
Website

Jerky XP: 
Easy to chew, high quality beef Jerky
Facebook
Twitter
Website

Good, Better, Dressed:
A predominately female fashion blog run by an inspired college student trying to make it into the fashion world.
Website

The Snake Pit:
A local Boston sports radio show held at Framingham State University on Wednesdays at 2pm EST
Facebook
Website

The Press Box: 
A local Boston sports radio show held at Stonehill College on Fridays at 4pm EST
Facebook
Twitter    

The Poison Girls Club:
A pop punk/alternative band from Boston, MA and Salem, NH

Facebook 
Twitter
Soundcloud
 
PSN Circuit:
A Call of Duty competitive video game league created by gamers for gamers.
Website
Twitter 

Facebook


That's all we got for today! Go give each of these people a visit an see what they have to offer!

Want to be featured in our shout-out blog or know someone who should be? Let us know in the comments section or in one of the below ways!

Twitter
Facebook
33rd Official Website
Email: 33rdbrigadeclan@gmail.com

-JB

War Of The Vikings Review

     Continuing from the PAX East themed post from the other day, another game I got to try out was War of the Vikings, Paradox Interactive's spiritual successor to War of the Roses. War of the Vikings, similar to its predecessor, is a third-person multiplayer close quarter combat game set in Saxon controlled England during  the Viking Age.

     Having played the alpha of this game, I was excited to try out the improved product at PAX. The demo was set up in a 4v4 fashion for a ten minute round of team deathmatch. There are several classes to choose from including an archer class and a warrior class, which carries an ax and a shield. Being rather new to the War series, Ichose the shielded class in hopes of dying less than anticipated. I was successful early on as I started the game with a three kill-streak, but then I died.....a lot. Ambushsniper, being on the other team, was quite the headhunter as an archer and took me out a few times. I finished the match 8-11 (somehow best on my team) and our team lost by about ten kills. 

     Overall, this game is very fun. It plays similar to War of the Roses or Chivalry and is quite the challenge. A cool feature integrated into the War series is that the direction you move your mouse in while attacking is the actual direction you attack in. You can also charge an attack in any direction for more power. The movement is very smooth and Fatshark has put in a lot of time and effort developing this game since the alpha came out.

     I currently give this a 4 out of 5 and can only assume it will get better as the bugs get fixed with its launch tomorrow. I definitely recommend this game to anyone looking to get into PC gaming or to get away from the FPS world they live in.

War of the Vikings Trailer 

 

War of the Vikings Gameplay

 

For more information see the official website:

War of the Vikings

-JB

Sniper Elite 3

     During my time at PAX East this past weekend, I got to check out most of the exhibits, with the exceptions of Borderlands, Evolve, and Wolfenstein due to the fact that their lines were constantly three to five hours long. However, I did get a sneak peak at a lot of cool new games coming out, one of which was Sniper Elite 3, which will be coming out for PS4, Xbox One, and PC this summer.

     Continuing with their theme of World War 2, this third installment in the Rebellion sniper series takes place in the exotic, yet deadly, terrain of North Africa during the Second World War. You play as American OSS agent Karl Fairburne deep behind Nazi lines, providing crucial sharpshooter skills as the Allies battle Germany's fearsome Tiger tanks across the Western Desert. But it's not just the famed Afrika Korps that Karl has to worry about. He soon uncovers German plans to build a "wunderwaffe" - wonder weapon - with the power to crush any Allied forces in its path, and turn the tide of the whole war.

     I got a chance to go hands-on with the Sniper Elite 3 demo Friday at PAX East and, being a newcomer to the 505 Games series, I was rather impressed. I joined mid-demo, so I when I began I was entering a village attempting to take out the stationed guards in the area. The controls are rather standard when coming to shooters, in this case a third-person shooter, but they do come with some kinks in them. When attempting to look around I had a hard time keeping the movement and look joysticks in sync. The look joystick (R3) appears to be either too sensitive or not sensitive enough, as trying to look around and aim was quite hard and resulted in the camera moving rather large lengths across the screen. Movement in itself was fairly easy and smooth and I did not have any issues with that. Keeping stealthy is also moderately difficult as you can only stay in one spot for so long before you attract attention, especially if you fire a shot.

     One other issue I had with the game was the kill shot cams. Whenever you one-shot an unsuspecting guard, the game takes over and shows a seven second, or so, clip of Karl firing his gun and the bullet entering and killing the guard wherever you shot him. This is a cool feature and I enjoy it...just not on every single one-shot kill. During my time paying I had to watch this scene at least ten times out of the twenty-five or so enemies I encountered (MP40 is a lovely weapon) and it got old very fast. I would much rather it be a random event or a less occurring event, as it took away from the gameplay and became repetitive quickly. However, it is still a neat feature and something fun to watch the first few times it happens. 

     Overall, the game play was about average and had a few kinks to it. However, it is still fun nonetheless, even with the constant kill cams, and could be a blast online. I give this game a 3.5 out of 5 in its current state, but assume these bugs will be fixed before its July 1st 2014 launch. Definitely something to look into if you are itching for a third-person shooter and a tactically based game.

Sniper Elite 3 Trailer

 

Sniper Elite 3 Gameplay 

 

Developer: Rebellion

Release: 2014
Genre: Shooter
Platform: PS4/Xbox One/PS3/X360/PC
Publisher: 505 Games
Website: http://www.sniperelite3.com

-JB

33rd Brigade Weekly Update April 6th 2014

Have you guys checked out our most recent update video?

Here it is if you have yet to see it!

-JB

My Introduction

Hello Everyone,


     I will soon be writing blogs for the 33rd Brigade clan, but I first want to introduce

myself before I begin doing so. I am 35 years old, I am married, and I have no children.

But more than that, I am a girl gamer. My first experience with gaming, was when my best

guy friend received an Atari for his 7th birthday. After playing it for the first time, I

was hooked. I would be at his house for hours any chance I got to play asteroid, frogger,

and any other games he may have had. My grandma used to take my uncle and myself to the

mall and, instead of wanting candy like a normal 7 year old, I would want to go to the

arcade and play as many games as I could. My uncle would always end up beet red because he

could never beat me at Mortal Kombat. Safe to say, gaming and I were in love at first

sight.


     However, being a girl gamer is rough to say the least. It is sad that I sometimes

have to mute my mic to play a game, due to the fact that I am welcomed with belittling

comments, vulgarity and rudeness. When you look at blogs about girl gamers there are always

comments from guys claiming, "She must be fat, a troll, socially inept, or must just play

for attention." I am attractive, funny and intelligent, no where near those descriptions. I

could go to a bar and get way more attention than in game. Lastly, I would never spend 20

hours a week doing something I dislike.


     About 3 years ago I met a gentleman with the gamer tag Roasted-Scar. He sent me a

scathing message, yet somehow we ended up friends. That was one of the best things to

happen to me in my time as a gamer. I have now met the most respectful and amazing people

ever. I was always anti clan for the longest time, but have now been reformed thanks to the

33rd Brigade Clan. They are all about respecting any and every person, and they are one of

the best groups around.


     This is my first blog and I am going to continue to go more in depth about my

experiences as a girl gamer (among other things), as I continue to write for 33rd. Until

then, thank you for reading and have a wonderful day.

Yours,
GambitPro09

...And We're Back!

Well that was quite the long break, wasn't it? No worries though, we are back and will be better than ever as always! We plan on doing a lot of renovation with this blog in terms of physical appearance, the topics being discussed on this blog, and the blog writers themselves. It will be somewhat of a lengthy process, but blogs will be posted along the way so please hang in there with us! If anyone out there is interested in being a writer for 33rd or has any suggestions please email us at 33rdbrigadeclan@gmail.com or find us over at www.33rdbrigadeclan.com. Thank you all and please spread the word! -JBarry465