So, you’re making good progress on your veteran play-through of Modern Warfare 2.  It’s all going reasonably well until you hit ‘Loose Ends’ like a brick wall.  Whatever you try and do, you just can’t get through it.  I’m talking about the part where you’ve got to run to the LZ from Makarov’s safe house.  So I’m going to give a few tips so that the mission will should be as painless as possible, as I found all other content on the internet to be pretty much useless.

I restarted the mission three or four times, and was stuck on this mission for days.  So whilst I can’t call myself an expert, I’m pretty well-versed in this mission!  If you’ve got any tips for this mission or anything else you’d like to add, please share!  In the mean time, here’s my guide:

Make it to the safe house etc

This should be straightforward.  If you can’t make it to the safe house, then you probably shouldn’t be playing on veteran.  It does help to hang back a bit, and use the trees as cover.  Once you’re at the safe house, you’ll have to breach four rooms within the house.  Again, straightforward.

You’ll then have to connect the DSM to Makarov’s computer to retrieve the intel.  You’ll be prompted by Ghost to start the download, but ignore him for now, as you’ve got plenty of time to prepare.  If you were to start the DSM download immediately, you’d be unprepared for the swarm of enemy forces that will storm the safe house.

Instead, go downstairs and set up claymores at all the entrances.  They won’t kill many, but every little helps, right?  You can pick up additional claymores in the armoury within the house.  Make sure you grab yourself a decent sniper rifle in addition to your machine gun and then place yourself wherever you fancy after you’ve started the download.  Good places to shoot from are either on top of the stairs, or in the far room looking directly ahead to the front door.  From the latter position, you can kill enemies storming in the front door, from the side door, and those coming up the stairs.

Kill them all.

Run!  Or not…

After the download has finished, you’d be pretty tempted to grab the DSM and run to the LZ, right?  Well, whatever you do, don’t!  If you do, you’ll find yourself in the middle of a small army of enemies just wanting to rip you to shreds.  You’ll be pinned down from your front and from behind.  This is not a good situation to be in.  you could probably do this on a lower difficulty, but on veteran, you’ll die.

Instead: grab the DSM so enemies can’t shoot it up, then position yourself at the top of the stairs.  Kill everything that moves.  At some point, a checkpoint will be triggered.  Kill all remaining enemies in the house, then meet up with Ghost.  Stick to the left side, and you’ll see another array of solar panels with a gap in the fence.  Run for cover and regain your health.  Watch as all the remaining enemies run down the hill, right past you.  Kill anyone foolish enough to engage you.

When it’s all clear, head down the hill with Ghost to the LZ.  Another checkpoint will trigger and Ghost will mention mortar fire.  There are more enemies down below with machine guns and RPGs, but this time, there’s now no one behind you!  Now,instead of hanging back and killing everyone, you must push forward.  I found that if you do kill everyone, the game doesn’t like that and always kills you with ‘random’ mortar fire.

You need to run forward and sling a few grenades and flash bangs as you hug the left side.  With a bit of luck, enemies will be stunned, and you can make it near enough (about 40m) to the LZ for the cut scene to be triggered.  Mission complete.  I mention ‘luck’ as when you have to make it to the LZ, so much is out of your control that unnecessary and instant deaths feel really unfair.  It seems to be that it’s either Infinity Ward’s way, or the highway.  You will die a lot on this mission, but persevere, because the rest of the game is a cake walk.

One last thing, if you use this guide to attempt Loose Ends on veteran, afterwards let me know how it goes and whether this guide actually helped or not.  Much appreciated.

Want inspiration for what to do initially as a new PS3 owner?  Step right this way… I’ve jotted some points down covering various areas that might be of use, and tips that I’ve found helpful to get up and running quickly, but also to provide the most enjoyment:

• The first switch-on- immediately get connected to the internet either by a wired or wireless connection.  You might need a system update for a start, and it’s pretty much essential for updating your games with the latest patches/improvements.  (See http://ps3explained.com/ if you want clear and detailed guidance.)
• Sign up to the PlayStation Network (it’s free!) and get yourself a PlayStation Network ID, which will give you access to the PlayStation Store, the ability to start collecting Trophies, PlayStation Home and most crucially perhaps, the ability to play against other people online.
• Try a great game- Now is the time to try a great game that will show off what the PS3 is all about: personally, I’d recommend Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, LittleBigPlanet, and Metal Gear Solid 4, to name but a few.  Visuals like you’ve never seen before.  At least rent one of these titles!  If you’d like a wider selection to choose from, and you’re in a bit of a hurry, you can’t go far wrong with No Fuss Reviews.
• Stay in the loop- If you want the inside scoop straight from the horse’s mouth, than you can do no better than paying PlayStation.Blog.US and PlayStation.Blog.Europe a visit.  For regular news, there’s Joystiq and TheSixthAxis.  Or for a more personal take on everything there’s always good old reliable Los Havros.  Ahem.
• Go beyond- The beauty about gaming on the PS3 is that the experience is as deep and rich as you want it to be: sample free demos or purchase extra content on the PlayStation Store, mix and mingle with people in PlayStation Home, go it alone in-game, or go out and play on the PlayStation Network.  For those feeling a bit philanthropic, then do some good with your PS3 and number-crunch protein folding for Folding@Home that is contained within Life With PlayStation.

‘no fuss reviews’
Ah yes- this is a site that I love due to its simplicity.  No fuss reviews for games, summed up in one word.  I’ve added a feed of recent ‘no fuss reviews’ in the sidebar, and linked to the site under the links section.  Whilst not a definitive resource for reviews, it’ll at least provide a selection of reviewed games at-a-glance.

‘hd wallpapers of paramour’
Spelt wrong, but never mind.  You can find a small selection of HD wallpapers over here.

‘how long is the ps3 warranty’
Bought from any store brand-new you get a one year, standard warranty.  I’d buy the store’s extended warranty to be honest.  See my post: ‘An insight into how faulty PS3s are dealt with‘ for why I recommend this.  Better to be safe than sorry.

‘more tv points in other rooms’
You need to be a bit more specific here, chief.  Does anyone know what this user means?  Aerial sockets perhaps?

‘can go!cam talk to ps3?’
Unfortunately, no.  Not that I know of, anyway.  Sure it’d be cool, but then there’s the PlayStation Eye for the PS3 for the purpose of video capture etc.  Although, I have to admit, video streaming from the PSP to the PS3 would be pretty sweet!

‘race driver grid trophies’
Doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.  I know, Codemasters are being really mean on this point.  Boo.  Hiss.  I cover this topic in some detail in my blog post: ‘A golden opportunity for Codemasters‘.

‘nathan drake jack o neill’
What could possibly link these two chaps together?!  Similar personality or sense of humour, perhaps?  With regards to Nathan Drake, I’ve always thought he shares a lot in common with the actor Joe Flanigan.

‘myplaystationnetwork.com’
Sorry, this is a bit of wishful thinking.  This site doesn’t exist. I’ve checked, honest!  http://uk.playstation.com/psn/ is where it’s all happening.

‘go cam psp reviews’
Step right this way for a full, comprehensive review.

‘hayley williams septum’
Yup, I have it covered.

‘hayley williams nipple pierced’
Wouldn’t you like to know?  I think this is some more wishful thinking!

‘sony ps3 price drop 2009′
Hah!  We all wish this was true.  For my thoughts on this you can see ‘Four things Sony can do to turn the tide for the PS3 in 2009‘ and ‘Sony drops price on the wrong PlayStation‘.  On both posts I’ve made my opinion perfectly clear in this regard.  Whilst this is a PS3-centric blog, I don’t pull any punches when Sony need a good kick up the ass every now and then.  The optomist inside of me thinks there’ still time though; it could still happen (everyone cross your fingers though, for good measure!).

‘tips for race driver:grid’
I’ll only answer with regards to what I’m most experienced at, and that is muscle cars.  I’ve found that aggressive driving is the key, and if you time your braking right when going round even the trickiest corners, you can do some insane drifting whilst keeping your speed relatively high.  When it comes to some of the faster classes of cars, I find them to be uncontrollable!  Hope this helps.

‘eu.playstation.com/manuals’
This is quite weird- this URL search directing people here.  Actually entering this address redirects to http://uk.playstation.com/help-support/manuals/

However, if that page bamboozles you I have a number of short, useful links headed under ‘resources’ at the bottom-right of the page.

‘ps3 disk warranty’
I’ve found out what the deal is from the horse’s mouth- PLAYSTATION 3 Warranty Guidelines.  This is from the Australian/New Zealand site, but it mentions the UK and Ireland.  I’d say the general principles listed apply, but as always it is probably a good idea to contact the Sony care line.

That’s all folks- That’s all I want to cover for now, as most searches will take people to what they want to know.  I’ll add new posts to this series as and when such questions arise.  However if there’s something you want to know and it isn’t here, then you can reply to this post.  I’m usually very quick in replying (varies between a few minutes and a few hours).

NB: if you want to see the documentation directly, I’ve linked straight to the source.  Anything I am directly referring to will be quoted, and my own advice written underneath.  So, shall we begin?

Common solutions for troubleshooting the PLAYSTATION 3 system

Check your Environment

• Make sure to allow adequate ventilation to flow from the PLAYSTATION 3 system’s vents (i.e. avoid obstructing the vents etc.).
• Make sure to keep the PLAYSTATION 3 system away from excessive dust, smoke, steam, extreme temperatures, humidity, or direct sunlight.
• See the PLAYSTATION 3 system Safety and Support guide for full details on Safety Precautions and Use and Handling.

I’ll add that the best way to position, and therefore cool your PS3, is to stand it on its side, so that it is in the vertical position.  This ensures that a greater surface area of the PS3 can be in contact with air.  If you have enough room, place your PS3 on the same level as your TV, rather than in a confined shelf where there will not be much fresh air circulating.  See the picture below:

Notice the location and position of the PS3- allows for optimum cooling efficiency

Anyhow, let’s have a look at the next document, shall we?

PLAYSTATION 3 system Safety and Support guide

Use and handling

• Do not allow liquid, small particles, or other foreign objects to get into the system or accessories.
• Do not expose the system or accessories to dust, smoke or steam.  Also,  do not place the system in an area subject to excessive dust or cigarette smoke.  Dust build-up or cigarette smoke residue on the internal components (such as the lens) may cuase the system to malfunction.

Vents

Do not block any vents.  To maintain good ventilation, follow the guidelines below:

• Place the system at least 10cm away from a wall surface.
• Do not place on a carpet or rug with long fibres.
• Do not place in a narrow or cramped space.
• Do not cover with cloth.
• Do not allow dust to build up on the vents.

Cleaning
- Vents

• When dust accumulates in the system vents, remove the dust with a low-powered vacuum cleaner.

Other Issues

- The system makes noise

• When using the system in a location where heat can build up, such as an enclosed AV cabinet, the fan will rotate rapidly to reduce the system’s internal temperature and this may generate increased noise.  Move the system to a location with good ventilation.

Most of this documentation is common sense, but what is the main message flowing through the documentation?  You could say ‘location, location, location’.  But in this case, it’s probably ‘ventilation, ventilation, ventilation.’  If you follow official Sony guidance (listed above) then you shouldn’t be having any problems.  Check your environment and follow the steps for cleaning your PS3 and removing dust.  As for running the PS3 fan test on 40Gb PS3s… rather you than me.

The PS3′s fan is very quiet.  If you are experiencing abnormally loud fan noises for a sustained amount of time, then double-check the location of your PS3.  If the location is fine, then you may have a faulty PS3.

See also: PS3 Fan Noise Controversy.  It contains extra info which may help you to  put this article into context.  If I’ve missed something then either send me an email, or comment on this article, and I’ll update it!

You might remember my previous look at a rather substantive PSP firmware update. So, what is new in the ever-evolving world of the PSP?

The firmware update lists the following changes

[Internet Radio] has been added as a feature under [Network].
The importing of channels in OPML format is now supported under [RSS Channel].
Photos can now be displayed under [RSS Channel].
New effects have been added to the visual player under [Music].

I was going to call this post “PSP Firmware 3.80 in-depth” and go through all the features in turn.  However in my opinion, Internet Radio is the only substantive feature that has been added- the rest are superficial yet still welcome nonetheless.

Internet Radio
This is probably THE killer feature of this particular firmware update; increasing the PSP’s ever-expanding features and value proposition. On reboot, the first thing you’ll notice is [Internet Radio] under [Network]. When you click on [Internet Radio] you’ll see [About Internet Radio] which you can click on. You are then sent to the PSP Internet Radio site, shown below:

You can access the page directly here.

You then click on “adding an internet radio player”, shown below:

You can access the page directly here.

Here you can download either player 1 or player 2.  The only difference I’ve noticed is that player 1 gets its radio list from SHOUTCAST and player 2 gets its list from ICECAST.

How it works
Depending on which one you download (or even both), the relevant icon will display within [Internet Radio].  You just click on this option, which takes you to a webpage.  But before you do so, you have to accept the message: “do you want to run the plugin embedded in this page?”

At first, the internet radio was quite slow to load up, however in successive tests (even after having the PSP turned off) performance has increased greatly (due to the player being cached in the browser’s memory.)  Internet radio works by ‘tuning’ into a broadcast streaming off the internet.  A definition/overview of internet radio is available here from Wikipedia.

Not an exact science
To select the radio station you want, you just choose your genre and then click elsewhere on the radio ‘frequency’ gaug, just like you would on a real radio.  Yet you can’t find exactly what you want.  How do I mean?  I found a helpful comment from Gaffman on PSP Fanboy:

The radio is fairly well implemented but hard to find anything specific. You have to pick a genre, then manually skip through stations without really knowing what’s coming up. Its a bummer because I was hoping to be able to search for specific stations, say if a friend had a shoutcast station setup you could tune in on PSP wherever you were. The current setup seems to be based on popularity with no regard for language or anything else.

If there ever was a criticism about the implementation of Internet- then that just about sums it up.  However Sony were probably trying to come up with a fairly simple implementation for the average consumer.  It is also interesting to note, that in theory, internet radio is not too dissimilar from streaming audio podcasts off the internet on a PSP, yet its actual implementation is quite different.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 STARS

PSP’s new killer feature.  Even if it’s not what you always desired; check it out, have a play with it.  Therefore PSP firmware 3.80 comes highly recommended.

Introduction

Want to watch Sky TV in your other rooms for free?  The solution isn’t perfect, but it works.  Please note that I have only tested this on a standard Sky box.  Could those of you with Sky+ or Sky+HD either confirm or deny whether this works for you as well?  Many thanks.  Update on 18/06/11: For Sky+ please scroll further down the article for more information.

This article assumes you already have:

• A Sky box installed and working in one of your rooms
• A basic working knowledge of coaxial (TV aerial) connectors

Decisions

Now, you have two options;

1) Get Sky multiroom which is “£10 a month per additional box on top of your Sky TV subscription and mirrors your channel package” yet enables you to “enjoy different Sky TV programmes in different rooms at the same time”.  At £10 a month per additional box, this is quite costly, I think you’ll agree.

2) Use the method I am about to explain. below. In Sky-speak, you’ll still “get all your Sky TV channels on another TV ” like in option 1 but you won’t be able to “enjoy different Sky TV programmes in different rooms at the same time”. However, you’ll be pleased to know that after initial setup costs, this method is free; no extra subscription charge per month.

What you’ll need

Assuming you’ve chosen option 2 (good choice, I might add) then you will need to buy the following:

• Plenty of coaxial cable for what you require
• 1 Marmitek Powermid Receiver
• A Marmitek Powermid Transmitter for every room you want to get Sky TV in
• An additional ‘Rev8′ Sky remote for every room you want to get Sky TV in
• An aerial booster which splits the signal into at least 4 more cables

Regarding the Marmitek Powermids, I recommend the Marmitek PowerMid XL infrared extender set from Amazon.co.uk which gives you 1 transmitter and 1 receiver.  If your Sky box is hidden away in a cupboard then you can connect an optional Marmitek IR Eye infrared extender cable to the receiver and you can control your Sky Box without having to open the cupboard doors.  If you want to extend Sky to more than one extra room of your house, then you’re going to need additional transmitters.

The concept

You need to run a coaxial cable from one of your RF Output ports on the back of your Sky box, to the aerial input on the booster/splitter. Then you just add additional coaxial cables running off from the splitter to the different rooms in your house where you want Sky TV.

Additionally, you can also blend or merge your terrestrial signal with your Sky signal, using a simple 2-way splitter before feeding the cable into the input. This enables you to watch different terrestrial TV channels in any room with the addition of Sky.

After the Digital Switchover: If you blend your Sky signal (from the RF Output) with your terrestrial signal, you can also receive Freeview.  Even before the switchover, this is currently possible.  You just hook up a Freeview box on your other TVs like you normally would, and you’re away.  If you’ve got TVs with Freeview built-in, you don’t need a box.

A little snag

Sky of course, don’t want you to do this. They want you to get Sky Multiroom and pay them an extra £10 a month. You may need to enable RF Output on your Sky box. To do this, press ‘Services’ on the Sky remote, then type 4 0 1 and press ‘Select’ then select Option 4 “RF outlets”. This should enable you to watch Sky TV on any other room in your house via a coaxial cable.

The End Result

Remember those Marmitek Powermids? You just plug the receiver into the mains and set it up so that it is facing your Sky box. You then simply place a transmitter in each of your rooms next to your TV, facing towards you. With your additional Sky remotes, this enables you to change your Sky TV channel on your Sky box, without being in the room where the box actually it is.

Important note: If people are watching Sky TV in multiple rooms, then they will have to watch the same Sky channel, as if you change a Sky channel with the remote, you will change the Sky channel on all the TVs watching it. Feel free to do what you want with terrestrial though.

The Digital Switchover and more

Once you have all your equipment set up, you’ll have to re-scan your channels to find your Sky signal.  It will appear on analogue due to the RF Output on the Sky Box being analogue.  In areas which have not switched over to digital, you can stick the Sky channel on anything you want.  Personally, I stuck the Sky channel on channel 6.  So I had BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV 1, Channel 4, Five, and the Sky Channel on 6.

After the digital switchover, you will only be able to get channels 1 to 5 on digital through a digital set-top box (a Freeview box), or through your TV’s built-in digital capability.  Channels 1 to 5 will disappear on analogue, but your Sky channel will remain on channel 6.  So in effect, you don’t need to mess about with analogue again.  You will, however, need to re-scan for digital channels each time they alter the signal when turning analogue off in stages (as the specific frequencies of channels on digital are changed to boost signal strength).

Specifically for Sky+

Patricia got in touch with me about Sky+ and came up with the following solution:

It worked ok on my Sky+ box but it took some time to find RF outlet on the new type menu: So…SERVICES  down to OPTIONS  > SETTINGS press select  >> PICTURE…(put in )  401 ..select  ..scroll along to RF out …select

If there are any mistakes in this article, please let me know and I’ll endeavour to correct them as quickly as possible. I hope you’ve found this information useful.

See also: You might also be interested in one of my other posts, ‘Tips to speed up your home network‘.

When updating, you’re presented with the following change log:

• You can now set custom themes in [Theme Settings] under [Settings].
• Support has been added for assigning buttons in [Remote Play].
• A scene search feature has been added under [Video].
• Sequential playback is now supported under [Video].
• Simultaneous playback of content under [Music] and [Photo] is now supported.

However I want to see exactly how this works, and whether there’s more features (as I never installed 3.60). I’ll start from right-to-left, beginning with [Network]. The 1st thing I notice is a new funky orange and black logo for PlayStation Spot. What is PlayStation Spot? It’s a wifi spot set up by Sony in certain public locations for you to download game demos, trailers etc. Anyhow, on the PSP, clicking on PlayStation Spot creates a new wifi connection: ‘PS Spot’. Apparently, if you are in range of a PlayStation Spot, you will also be able to access the Internet for free and browse the web, and even play multiplayer games in infrastructure mode. So that’s the PSP Spot.

Moving to [Game], I thought I could delete the 3.70 file, and quickly move onto exploring what else is new. However, on hitting [triangle] to bring up the menu…something has changed. On the menu, I can either start the update, delete it, or find out information about it. However, on the ’start’ option, there is a graphical PSP ’start’ button. I’m guessing the aim of this change is to expose extra functionality, and different, perhaps easier ways of doing things. Anyhow, there’s nothing else new under [Game].

Onto [Video], as I hover over a particular video for a while, a little guide pops up in the bottom-right corner of the screen saying ‘[triangle] options’. Which again, is exposing functionality that may not be obvious to a new PSP owner. On hitting [triangle], there is again another graphical PSP ’start’ button next to ‘play’. So, I hit ‘play’ and immediately as the video started another pop up guide says ‘[triangle] control panel’. Looking at the control panel, the PSP system again exposes secondary button options that you can operate without using the control panel such as play/pause, next scene etc…

THE coolest new feature under video is ‘Scene Search’. It is a revelation; simplicity itself to use, and very very useful. It appears as a new icon top-right of the control panel, or alternatively you can hit [square]. What it does is dynamically create scenes into the videos you’re watching which is very, very handy. You can press up or down to select anything from 15 second intervals to 5 minutes (on a short video), and left and right to ’scene search’. I’ll now try the same with a UMD film. Unfortunately, it doesn’t, which is a shame because some UMD films don’t have a chapter menu, meaning you have to keep hitting [R] once you’re watching the film. Anyhow, the ’scene search’ still undoubtedly a very nifty feature.

I’ll now cover both [Music] and [Photo] together, as they now share a new, very cool feature. Now, I’ve known for sometime now that if you hit the ‘home’ button, you can jump out of the current track you’re playing, and you can view other songs you might have, and even browse the main XMB menu. However, the moment you tried to access anything else other than music, the music would stop playing. That is still the case, but now if you go into [Photo] the music keeps on playing! I have noticed one thing though, if you want to view a set of photos with the music playing, it is best to use the slideshow mode at its default setting as my system was unable to cache both the thumbnails and pictures if quickly flicking through them. Maybe that’s just because I’m using a PSP-1000? With the added RAM of the PSP-2000, those users may not experience this minor thing. Again, the pop up guide and secondary button options are present throughout.

Onto the big one- [Settings]. I find myself both disappointed and intrigued by what has changed. Under [Theme Settings] there is now ‘themes’ where you can set background, colour and most importantly… icon design! At the moment, there is only ‘original’ theme, which shows a screenshot of the XMB with a mysterious new icon between [Video] and [Game]. It could be something to do with the Japanese TV tuner, and the screenshot has got left in other regional firmware OR it could be something to do with the upcoming TV tuner for the PS3. My guesses though, are only speculative at best. And now for the disappointment- PSP-2000 users get new colour backgrounds, but it seems like we PSP-1000 users do not, which is a shame.

Under [Video Settings] there is the new ‘Sequential Playback’ feature that was mentioned- useful, but nothing spectacular. And that, my friends… is it!

If you spot any mistakes, please let me know, and remember- I have only looked at this update with the PSP-1000.