In about a week or so, I got a call from City Squares seeing if I want to advertise my video. I thought that was strange because he wanted me to advertise with pixel fish and who the heck was City Squares? I told the gentlemen I already had an account with Pixel Fish. So I called Pixel Fish to get an understanding, and make sure the video was on track. I thought it was funny because City Squares called me even before Pixel Fish had my video done. Once I finally received my video, I wanted to make some edits; my campaign manager was like it will take a day or two.

All the while the video was being edited I was preparing my landing page for the video. I was told to send pixel fish images and content for the page. My campaign manager Marlee, was horrible, she never uploaded any of the images I sent her, even to this day nothing has ever been uploaded that I sent over, it’s now October 2011.

Then two weeks later the edits had finally be done. I was then told my video was going to be sent to youtube for approval, which takes about two weeks or so I was told. So I waited and waited, then I happened to check my credit card bill in August 2011. I had a charge on my account from pixel fish. I was shocked; my dashboard showed nothing, no impressions, clicks nothing at all.

I sent a few emails to my account manager, still no response. Then I got busy and forgot to see what was going on. Then middle of September my credit card was charged again. Once again my dashboard was blank, so I called Pixel Fish and long story short, may campaign manager had been replaced. I was never once notified of this, and then the lady seemed shocked that I was getting charged, but had no impressions or nothing. I called back a day or two late, made sure I wanted this nightmare cancelled and my money back. Katie at extension 5018, said I’ve issued you credits and your account is cancelled. Then I check my credit card statement online in early October I was charged again. So I’ve finally started a dispute with my credit card company to get my money back.

To everyone considering Pixel Fish, Don’t! There are an unorganized mess that can’t deliver what they advertise. In the long run you will get ripped off!

Reason being is new construction is built with only one thing in mind; save money at all cost. Most developers can create such a building that may look beautiful, and the units on the inside may look amazing as well. One little thing you need to know, everything was built using the cheapest workers, cheapest products and materials. So that beautiful unit, over time will break, crack and show it’s wear and tear usually rather quickly. Every piece of material that went into your unit is the cheapest on the market. Generally you pay for what you get.

This brings me to the next point, the building as a whole. Chances are the developer took many short cuts to save cost re-habbing the building. All the while creating a perception everything is new, so a building inspector or individual unit inspector will see nothing wrong. How often does an inspector for a unit on the ground floor, really examine the roof and parapet walls? Not very often; in my experience most new condominium owners’ don’t understand if the roof leaks into a top floor unit. It will be all the unit owners’ expense to fix the leak in that top floor unit. Many times this is referred to as a Special Assessment or if the Board is managed well, money will be set aside for this type of expense.

In a recent building in which I lived in, the parapet walls looked nice on the outside. Due to a large amount of leaks, we investigated the problem and we found that the parapet walls were never re-constructed. The parapet walls were only tuck-pointed on the outside of the walls to look good, but the inside of the walls were filled with broken bricks, and construction debris. This potentially could have saved the developer thousands of dollars if he did not get caught.

There are many short cuts, like the parapet walls all over the building. The developer will also tell a fully competent contractor to not install things right, but install things only in a manor to get the job done, but not correctly. This ultimately saves the developer money, and if you the buyer don’t catch this short cut, then he saved money where he should not have.

There are so many places a developer can take short cuts. It’s up to you the buyer to catch them. Many home buyers are naive in thinking their new construction home, is great. You are so wrong. The bottom line is the developer is only in it to save and make money. Many of them are rotten people who will tell you what ever you need to hear.
Bottom line I wrote this article not telling you my exact location, but I bought a Condominium in Chicago Illinois from Paul Dukach, or BPL Construction, or Leaduk, Inc. Please whatever you do, do not purchase a condominium from the Dukach’s or have them do any work for you. You will only regret this mistake; chances are it will be a costly one!

If I can stop just one person from falling prey to any of the Dukach’s or BPL Construction, it would be worth it. I would rather live in a box than hand money over to anyone associated with BPL Construction!

Zombie Map: Ascension

The Zombie map is titled Ascension and is set in a Soviet space rocket launch station. Like most Zombie maps, this one features a horde of undead trying to overwhelm your position inside the Soviet structure. Earning points for ammo and guns while unlocking more and more of the map stays true the popular Zombie genre. There are a few new unlockable items and most surprising is the presence of a new foe: the Soviet Monkey Cosmonaut!

Multi-player Maps:

Berlin Wall

This map is the most interesting location, historically speaking. Set along side the Berlin Wall, the east and west are divided by a forbidden area. There are three channels that allow you to cross this area but deviating from these paths will result in gun turrets taking you out from atop the walls. This map is full of corners, balconies, long corridors and other vantage points. Taking advantage of these spots usually allows you a higher score no matter the game mode you are in. Some game modes that shine on this map are Domination, Team Deathmatch and Headquarters.

Stadium

Stadium is probably the most generic of the new maps. Not so surprisingly (due to the tile) it is set just outside a Hockey Stadium. The map has a centrally located fountain, flaked by a few high window locations and several choke points leading to the fountain. Besides a couple of buildings there aren’t really any interesting spaces to explore. While most game modes function well on this map always feel somewhat bored by it. It is best to move around in groups to better avoid being gunned down in all the open areas.

Discovery

Set in a snowy Antarctic Soviet Base (you may be wondering why the Soviets needed to travel to the bottom of the world to find another remote snowy location outside their own country) this Map is pretty creative with its use of pathways. One thing that I love about this map and I’d like to see used more is that the map gradually changes. This occurs when three of the six ways to cross the central ravine eventually collapse- because they are snow bridges. I’m not sure what makes them collapse, either foot traffic or explosions from grenades or C4, and they are still crossable with a well timed jump but taking out some of these snowbridges will slow down opponents. This is relevant to most game modes but can help your cause the most in a Capture the Flag setting by slowing down a flag runner or defender. I like this map because it has a dynamic layout and seems like a perfect size, not too big, not Nuke Town small. Discovery also really uses the maps location to create unique usable elements, like the already mentioned snow bridges, but additionally things like Ice Caves and catwalks make you feel like you are in a specific setting.

Kowloon

If you enjoyed the mad scramble across the Hong Kong rooftops in the single player mode you’ll like this map. Although the Kowloon map is more limited in the amount of levels (height) then the single player setting it still creates an intriguing setting that is fun to play in. Kowloon takes advantage of its setting much like the Discovery map, using elements like small walkways and ziplines to create a setting unique to a urban rooftop. The map also references the close proximity to the airport when a jumbo jet rumbles overhead at the beginning of each game. This map is great of strategic games like Demolition, Headquarters and Domination but because of all the nooks and crannies there are usually a lot of people camping out in games like Team Deathmatch. The ziplines are a great addition to the multiplayer game and I hope we see more unique features like that in future Map Pack releases.

All in all, you’re getting a familiar product from the Call of Duty people. But it’s a good thing, most of the time, and it only adds more variety to the online experience.

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Custom Setups -
Your custom setups – Having a variety of different set ups is a great facet to have during game play. For example I don’t always use a rocket launcher with my favorite set up. I like to carry the cross-bow, pistol or throwing knife. It’s advisable to have a rocket launcher, equipped in a custom set up to destroy enemy attack choppers. You can easily switch between classes once you die, then you can load the set up with the rocket launcher and destroy the attack chopper. Remember to design the custom setups, suitable for the games you generally play. I would recommend having one fast setup, meaning utilize the light foot pro for perk 1, perk 2 is your option, and perk 3 I use marathon pro. This setup is fast moving, since you have unlimited sprint, carrying the throwing knife works well with this set up. Many times with this set up I’m always achieving the highest points or most kills, and the same time I do die a fair amount.

Different Gun Attachments -
Understanding different attachments for your guns. Some attachments are not necessary to have equipped at all times. For example if you are playing team death match, the grenade launcher attachment might not be the best for this game. Where if you are play say demolition, the grenade launcher is great choice for shooting enemies around the bomb site. Also some guns, may require the suppressor, the suppressor will reduce the kick a guns puts off when you are shooting it. Think the commando gun, and famas guns; I find these guns are way more accurate to shoot with the suppressor attachment in place.

Using Claymores -
Claymores if used properly will get you extra kills every round. The key here is to place them in areas not easily seen. If you see an enemy’s claymore all you need to do is shoot the claymore and destroy it. Place your claymores, behind doors, around corners, and in the well traveled paths hidden in the bushes.

Understanding Different Perks -
Many of the games you play may require a certain perk to be used over another. For example if you are playing capture the flag, you have to sprint to get the enemy flag to your home base. It’s advisable to carry light weight and marathon, so you can run fast and can sprint for longer durations. For some games, wearing the flank jacket is a nice selection, since you won’t die right away from all the grenades being thrown at you. Then second chance perk is nice to, since you don’t die and many times can kill the person who just killed you. This perk is such a love hate relationship. Another trick is using the reload perk with the grenade launcher; I find the grenade launcher without using this perk takes a long time to reload.

Care Packages -
All too many times people select a kill streak you don’t normally achieve. If you generally only reach a max kill streak at five kills. By all means don’t select the attack dogs, as your kill streak. Design the kill streaks based on your skill, and set reachable kill streaks. The spy planes and counter spy planes are not the sexy kill streaks, but at the same time they can be very useful.

Take the time to understand how you play, and how good you truly are. Then design you load outs for your skill level. The idea is to get lots of kills and points, so you can unlock levels and guns.

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This next part will really depend on what type of a gamer you are. If you like the retro stuff from: Atari, ColceoVision? Those consoles to; many are way out of date, but these beauties helped start the video game culture we know today. Sure the graphics are pretty bad compared to today’s standards, but think about how simple and fun these games really were.

Personally I grew up playing the Nintendo NES, Sega Genesis, and Playstation era of games. One of my favorite games growing up had to been the Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo NES. You can pick that game up around 7 to 10 dollars. Just think about the real entertainment value you are buyingfor 7 to 10 dollars. Heck you just bought hours of entertainment, a true trip back into time. Then for many of us, we are re-living our childhood memories. You can do all this for a 10 investment, heck I’d do this all the time. Some of the classic fighting games and role playing, that came out on the Genesis and PS1 are sure to bring hours of fun, and enjoyment.

With video games now costing around $60 brand new, I really wanted to explore some of the years past popular game titles that I have not played yet. I started reading some of the reviews for games release in the year 2008. Man let me tell you this was a great year for top notch video games. Since these games are pushing three years old on the market. Their prices are a reflection of their age, so I scooped up one of the best games in Bioshock. I was able to get this game for around 10 dollars. Come on once again, 10 dollars for the entertainment that Bioshock will be able to provide is a fantastic return on your investment. It really seems the Xbox 360 and PS3 have turned out some really great titles. The best part about that is, everyone else can pay big bucks for that new game, I’m content in buying it used for about half the original price new.

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The Playstation 3 has just released the playstation move controller. You first need to have purchase a playstation eye. Which is a camera, that can recognize the movements of the controller. The cost of the playstation bundle, which includes: Playstation move controller, playstation eye camera and sports game sells for about $100. What is the main selling feature of this controller? For many of us, who don’t have a Nintendo Wii, the playstation move now gives you that Wii like feel playing your PS3. Some gamers believe that the Playstation move controller is more accurate than the Nintendo Wii’s controller. The move has better feel for many of the different movements you produce during game play, which the Wii tends to miss at times.

Not saying the Nintendo Wii by any means is a failure. It is far from that, it is perceived as a revolution in the gaming industry. The only area the Nintendo Wii fails in comparison to the Xbox and the PS3 has to be the games. The Wii is so full of nonsense games, which no one wants to purchase. At the same time, the library for the PS3 and the Xbox 360 games are relatively small in their own accounts for similar movement games. Largely in part to the fact they have both been just released, but still don’t have any games worth buying to make the cost of the playstation move or xbox kinetic worth the price tag.

The Xbox 360 just released the kinetic, which has its own motion sensor technology as well. The main difference in the kinetic is, it will run you about $150 to purchase brand new. That seems an awful lot of money for a cool gadget. The kinetic does have voice recognition, so you can tell your Xbox to turning own and off. You also have the ability to go thru the console commands by voice which is fabulous. The kinetic plugs into your USB port on your Xbox and needs to sit on the top of your TV very similar to the Nintendo Wii. The kinetic isn’t a controller at all, but a device which enables the gamer’s body to be the controller. This is very unique in the fact; all of your bodies’ movements make a difference in games.

The Playstation move and the Nintendo Wii, seem very similar. They both operate in the same manor; just now you can mimic a Nintendo Wii with your PS3. The Xbox kinetic really seems like an innovative approach. It has more of an original feel, not just copying what some else has already done.

About the Author
Most gamers know The Old School Game Vault (http://www.wcityauctions.com/) offers great prices; when it comes time to trade in or to sell xbox games and get enough cash to buy new games.

Don’t look at that same stack of unplayed or unwanted video games and say, “trash,” “yard sale,” or “donate.” Consider reselling them. Odds are you’re not going to make as much money selling them at a yard sale as you would selling them through a company that specializes in buying and reselling. You’re certainly not going to make a return on your investment by donating them or trashing them.

You may not know this, but used games and consoles have a good resell market value. Companies that specialize in buying and reselling will pay you for what you don’t want or don’t need any more so you can buy new stuff.

Dust Collectors No More

That old Atari up in the attic you had when you were a teen doesn’t have to sit in a box collecting dust. That old Duck Hunt or Sega Genesis can be turned into cash in your hand. It’s as simple as logging onto a site that buys from the public and making the decision to sell used games to them.

Collectors

A lot of collectors scour used game stores looking for vintage titles they can’t find at big chain retail locations. You may be one yourself. Regardless if you’re a buyer or seller you’re going to earn a little money by reselling or save a little by buying used games.

How Old Is Too Old?

There is simply no such thing as too old in the video game market. As long as it works it can be sold. Remember, there are collectors, aficionados out there who would love to have an old Pac-Man for Atari or something for Sega Dreamcast, the titles you will not find in retail stores.

Save and Earn

Who doesn’t like those two words? Save and Earn! We’re all looking for ways to make money and save what we have made. Who says you have to buy brand new out of the more expensive retail stores? Companies that specialize in buying and selling ensure that what you’re looking for is in good working order.

It’s just good business to work with sites that are willing to give you money for something you paid for and used yourself. It’s also great that they sell items at deep, deep discounts for those who may not otherwise be able to afford those great titles.

It’s Really That Simple

Forget having to make an eBay account and write all the descriptions of what you have to sell. Don’t worry about having to deal with the customer or even shipping individual titles to different places when people buy things. The time to sell is now and the time to for it to be easy to sell is also here.

Go to a store that does it all for you. Just sell used games to them and forget about. Better yet, don’t worry about where in the world you would even begin to find a game for the original Nintendo. It’s as simple as logging on to the Internet and browsing through a selection of all sorts of vintage games, classified by system, and in alphabetical order.

Buying and selling made super simple, at your fingertips, from the comfort of wherever you happen to be sitting. Sell used games to a trusted resource and you have a business partner for life. You’ll always have the titles you want while letting those dust collectors go to others who will cherish them.

About the Author
Take the hassle of out selling video games, The Old School Game Vault (http://www.wcityauctions.com) gives you great prices when you sell used games for cash.

The Xbox 360 has just jumped into the motion sensor gaming technology. The Playstaton 3 just released the playstation move controller. Xbox had to come up with something unique of their own, so Xbox has just release the kinetic, which enables full body game play.

The Xbox kinetic is very unique in the fact the kinetic isn’t a controller at all. It’s a sensor which plugs into your console via USB port. The idea behind it, was to create an innovative way to bring games to all ages of people. The kinetic wants to bring people and families together in a social way as you can all play together. So in sorts, the Xbox 360 is now advertising itself as the new family gaming console. The kinetic is very cool, in the fact you play a game the way you think it should be played. If for example you are playing a soccer game, you would use your legs and feet in a similar fashion as playing soccer. This is a perfect way for kids to exercise in the dead of winter. Even for adults of all ages, video games are a perfect way to get off the couch and moving.

The kinetic uses no controllers or cords to play, all sensor technology. The coolest part is the fact it is voice activated. Meaning you can know tell your Xbox 360 console to turn on, shut off, and browse all with the quick movement of your hand. This quite possibly could be the future of the gaming industry.

The kinetic does sound like a great gadget to enhance your gaming experience. The motion sensor sounds great, but how good are the games going to be? Gamers want to be able to play the action adventure, role playing games with this device. The current library only consists of: sports games, exercise games, and so on. The kinetic will cost you around $150, which is pretty expensive for a gadget. I just need to know if quality games or going to be released or will it have the same lack luster library of the Nintendo wii.

About the Author
Most gamers know The Old School Game Vault (http://www.wcityauctions.com/) offers great prices; when it comes time to trade in or to sell xbox games and get enough cash to buy new games.

Where do you begin your quest to sell games online? It’s as easy as a Google search. You may choose to sell to a local store or ship your items elsewhere if you receive a better quote. No matter which you choose, make sure to stick with a company that offers to reimburse your shipping on every item they purchase.

Easy as 1-2-3

The process to sell games is very simple. Most companies that sell used games make it a priority for their website to be very user friendly. The easier it is to sell to them, the more business they receive. If you have questionable titles or broken consoles, ask if they accept those before you ship your items.

Browse the Site: Simply browse the site and add specific items to your cart, just like shopping online but you’re actually creating a shopping cart of things to sell.

Fill Out a Form: Provide your name, address, contact information and payment request information. Print a copy of your invoice for your own records as well as to include with your shipment.

Ship Items: Ship your items to the store. Insurance is optional but may be beneficial if something is lost or damaged during transit.

Read FAQ and Policies

No company will guarantee that they will buy all of your used items without seeing them first. The quote you receive from the website is usually an estimated amount and will be paid providing everything is in working order. Broken consoles and damaged discs don’t resell and usually won’t bring the total amount due.

Broken equipment may be purchased by some companies. Make sure to read all FAQ and policies before shipping broken items. Send an e-mail asking specifics if you’re unsure as to whether the company buys non-working items.

Getting Started

The most important thing to keep in mind if you plan to sell games to make room for new ones is to keep everything looking new. CDs must not be scratched and to receive top payment for them, keep them in their original packaging with all booklets in good condition. No one wants to buy used items that don’t have the needed instructions or accessories.

If you’re a vintage collector, you may also sell games to select online stores. Old school games are often in high demand and may bring a nice price. Check in that big box in the attic or basement to see if you still have old games from your childhood. As they say, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Avid collectors pay quite nicely for those older titles.

About the Author
Take the hassle of out selling video games, The Old School Game Vault (http://www.wcityauctions.com) gives you great prices when you sell games online for cash.

There are a lot of First Person Shooter games out there including Medal of Honor and Battlefield Bad Company but Call of Duty tends to put together the best package of storyline, online play and other features (such as zombie mode or co-op missions). Most people these days buy a FPS for the online play; some gamers don’t even play the campaign missions because they get immersed in the addiction of leveling up in the multi-player games online.

Black Ops continues the great online tradition of the series with fast paced, multi-tiered maps and true to life weapons. Black Ops tweaks the linear system of leveling up from past games by giving you points that act as cash. With those points you can “buy” weapons, attachments, camouflage, perks, customizable graphics for your player card, different color “red-dot” sights and so on. The great thing about this format is that you don’t have to spend points on buying a gun you will never use and go straight to your favorite weapons.

Furthermore, the points system factors into other game modes that are new to the series. A gambling component allows you to wager points in Wager Matches, if you finish in the top three then you take home a nice reward, if you don’t then you’re out your “buy-in”. This becomes a lot of fun once you get your load-out set up to your liking and gain the confidence from hours of online play.

Another way to get the most out of your points (and fuel your ego / gambling habit) is to take out contracts. Contracts such as “Team Death Match Brutality” cost a buy in of 50 points and if you win three TDM games then you get a pay out of 300 points. That is just one of over 30 contracts in the game but the main point is to add a layer of pressure and in some cases change your motives during the online games (for instance with the Pistol Challenges you may find your self sprinting around with a pistol in situations where you would never use that weapon).

Some other new additions to the online game modes (the standards are still there: Team Death Match, Free for all, Domination, Hardcore modes, etc) include Gun Game and One in the Chamber. Gun Game has a randomized rotation of guns you are given. This mixes things up and you end up with guns you might not use in any other part of Black Ops. It also changes your strategy, if you have a shotgun or pistol you might want to stay in close quarters whereas the longer-range rifles will send you seeking out higher ground. One in the Chamber gives all the players a pistol with one bullet; if you successfully shoot someone with the one bullet you gain another bullet. You can also knife people to gain more ammo. Both modes are fun and add a twist to how you approach online play.

One refreshing thing about Call of Duty Black Ops is the storyline of the Campaign. If you played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 you know how a convoluted, ragged storyline can make you not even care about the Campaign mode. Black Ops injects some life into the single player story arc by using a good combination of history, framework and location. Let me go into further detail without providing any spoilers.

Like Call of Duty: World at War, Black Ops is set in the past, primarily the 1960s. The angle throughout the story is that you follow a group of soldiers on secretive missions (hence Black Ops). These missions range from Cuba (Castro is involved) to Russia and Vietnam. Each setting is geared toward the audience reliving specific historic moments and the events leading up to those moments. There are cameos from other historic figures besides Castro but we’ll keep quiet on that.

The way Black Ops frames the story line is by using an interrogation room setting. You, the solider being interrogated, start having flash backs to different points in your past, not necessarily in linear order. This provides some intrigue and a personal stake to the storyline that was lacking in previous installments.

As in past installments of the developer Treyarch’s Call of Duty games there is a Zombie mode. The Zombie mode pits you against an unending wave of Zombies in cramped quarters, usually a building with multiple entries. You can play it alone, with friends offline or online with friends. It’s fun and addicting but there isn’t really any new material here from the last game’s Zombie mode.

All in all Call of Duty: Black Ops provides enough fresh elements to the already solid Call of Duty franchise to justify a purchase. A lot of people and critics are calling Black Ops a more well rounded release than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. In some ways this series is becoming like the Madden football games, slight updates to a solid game that comes out each year. I’m not sure if the Call of Duty series can keep finding ways to change the game enough to justify an every year release (although the popularity and high sales will ensure that we keep seeing a new title each year) but if I was going to change anything about the game it would be to update the textures and polish of the graphics to a Uncharted or Killzone 2 type level of detail. Until then – I’ll be online honing my headshot skills.

About the Author
Take the hassle out of selling video games, The Old School Game Vault (http://www.wcityauctions.com) gives you great prices when you sell PS3 games online for cash.