NATO ~ Not Another Teen Organization

So....how u doin?

Yeah, you.
Me, oh, you know, I'm doin.
Oh, what are we doing? Good question! Well, things are pretty quiet right now, as most of us are enjoying the spring and playing some relaxing games. We have GTA4 for the console folks, which is a blast. The PC guys have latched onto the most evil of all games for entertainment - the WoW! Yes, it�s true. If you want to play with any of us, drop a line, hit the forums, or get on TS. There's always a NATO playing something!

NATO+COD4=TWL Competition

You see that math equation right there? It�s true. It better be�well, actually I was awful in math.

NATO is currently playing COD4 at teamwarfare.com and is looking for more people to join in on the fun. If you are interested in playing with a fun team of adults, then by all means hit us up by sending in an application.

NATO's Beta Division team is currently playing in the following TWL leagues/ladders:

CoD 4: NA - 5v5 Hardcore SD Season 1 League » CoD 4: NA - 5v5 Hardcore SD Season 1 Conference » Open Division

CoD 4: NA - Hardcore - 4v4 Team Deathmatch

CoD 4: NA - Hardcore - 6v6 HeadQuarters

NATO has been playing competition leagues of one sort or another for over 5 years now. So you can expect to play with others who aren't scared to jump in and go for the win.

America's Army on XBox 360

I just want to know - WTF is the Army and Ubisoft thinking? Seriously, what are you thinking? We all were looking forward to the release of America's Army: True Solders on the 360 and you gave us this crap?

Lets look at the reviews (which = a 42 on Metacritic):
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/americasarmytruesoldiers
The highest review was a 50 of 100 - GameSpot said: "The game that began as a free PC download has made its way to retail shelves with this Xbox 360 iteration, but it looks as if most of the fun was lost in transit."

IGN gave it a 3.7 of 10 saying: "It�s the kind of game that makes you want to write 43 and a half pages of cuss words, slam your head on your desk 13 times and hope and pray that you don�t remember having ever played it when you wake up. This game is just plain bad."

So, to the US Army and Ubi...what the hell are you thinking with this kind of shovelware junk? Give us a game worth a damn if you want us to renew interest in the America's Army series.

Old NATO's Come Home

Many of you in the roster, or who are off the roster, can attest to one fact around here - once a NATO, almost always a NATO. We have seen so many great members over the years leave for one reason or another, and almost always, they feel the call back to NATO. Heck, even members who we have kicked out for whatever reason almost always petition for re-entry

With this in mind I just want to say that we are all thrilled to see some of our guys come back to the roster and join in our COD4 efforts. This includes players such as Eric, Roughneck, Tailspin, Brood and Grimwolf - all who were part of this group since the earliest days. (Should I mention Scone who was lost to the Vegas strip for a while?)

You guys are always welcome in the family and we all look forward to playing with you again. Now someone go find Hypno!

NATO Returns to TWL

Remember all those good times we used to have at TWL? Well good, because we are jumping back in on the Call of Duty 4 ladders. So, if you are interesting in joining with NATO's Beta Team for some COD, then drop by our forums and let us know.

Good luck guys!

NATO_Charlie Has Returned!

As many people know, about 8 months ago a good friend of ours headed off to Afghanistan as part of the Canadian military. (Yeah, I know, I didn't know they had a military either - its mind blowing!) Marcin, also known as NATO_Charlie, spent that time fighting the good fight for this world, and all the while keeping in touch with all of us, so we knew he was doing well.

This brings the good news; Marcin recently came home safe and sound. So, if you are playing a game and you see a NATO_Charlie enter the server, give him a hello and a thank you for his efforts. He deserves our respect for doing his duty and aiding to bring peace to a troubles region. I know all of the guys here in NATO thank you and offer you our admiration.

Welcome home brother.

PC Gaming on the Rise Again?!

The recent release of Valve�s much anticipated Team Fortress 2 (TF2 for the cool kids) might have been just what was needed on the PC front around here. As many of you know, you can get TF2 though either the Orange Box, or through Valve�s download service Steam.

Xbox 360 owners aren�t left out in the cold either, as the Orange Box is now available for that system as well. Of course, you need to remember that TF2 is available alone for the PC, but comes as part of the Orange Box only for the 360.

If you are on the fence on these games, let�s look at some review numbers to help you out. Metacritic.com takes reviews from multiple sites, and then scales between 1 and 100. Currently, these titles show with the following scores

Orange Box (PC): 96
Orange Box / TF2 (360): 97
TF2 (PC): 93

As you can see, these games are being warmly welcomed by the gaming community and are on our own list of must own. Many of our guys can be found playing on the public servers and discussing the game here in our forums.

Also, lets not forget the guys who are still playing AA, BF 2142 and BF2! They can be found on the public servers nightly as well.

NATO on Bungie.net

OMG, run for the hills! The Halo bombs just keep falling.

The newest news is that we are gathering a squad together to have some Halo 3 fun and maybe some competition as well. What? You are interested in getting in on this? Well, hell son, why didn't you say so sooner?

I tell you what, just follow this link to our page at Bungie and try to join up. http://www.bungie.net/fanclub/nato/Group/GroupHome.aspx

If you are interested in joining NATO so you can get in on the start of our Halo fun, then be sure to hit the forums and let us know.

The Haloz Bomb Has Dropped!

Halo 3 hit the shelves this week, and it looks like a lot of folks grabbed it. I guess it made 170 million in 24 hours! Anyway, many of the guys are online playing it, and I hope we get to enjoy some MP action together. For those who have yet to get a copy - get a copy. There. Its an order.

Oh yeah, this was funny: When logging into xboxlive.com today this message appeared: "The page you tried is unavailable.

ALERT: Due to high traffic related to the launch of Halo 3, some site features may be currently unavailable. Please try again later."

That should give you an idea how many folks are playing it right now - enough to kill the internet!

Buy teh Haloz

Did you notice its fall already? Yeah, and that means games are going crazy. So I wonder, what games are people excited for? Me, Here is my list, hopefully some will be joiing me in playing them:

Assassins Creed - http://www.1191ad.com/link.html?i=lXX47J - This game looks amazing!
Halo 3 - www.halo3.com - C'mon now, you know you want it.
Mass Effect - http://masseffect.bioware.com - Looks tempting doesn't it?
Tabula Rasa - http://www.rgtr.com/ - These type of MMO's should change a lot in gaming.
America's Army - The new console game is coming soon, and should be a lot of fun.
Call of Duty 4 - www.charlieoscardelta.com - The Beta has been a blast to play, and you should head to their site to get in on it.

So, those are my big ones to grab, how about you all? Hit the forums and let us know. I know Duramax should be grabbing some and if we could only get Icemak to commit to a 360 now.