Fly a Pelican in Halo: Reach

Ever since Halo: Combat Evolved fan boys have drooled over the prospect of flying a Pelican.  For those of you that don’t know, a Pelican is the name for the series’ human drop ships.  Rumors abound that you could pilot such a craft by activating certain panels, completing the game on Legendary, or jumping through flaming rings.  To everyone’s dismay, however, none such feats yielded the sought after reward.  In fact, most yielded nothing at all.

If you were one of these fan boys that searched high and low for a way to fly a Pelican, you can stop looking.  Developers at Bungie commented soon after Halo: Reach‘s release that the Pelican was, in fact, a pilot-able vehicle in the new title.  After long last, the solution has been found!

Here’s how to fly a Pelican:

• Grab a friend – It is a lot easier when you have a wingman to claim this easter egg
• Start the level “New Alexandria” from the beginning on any difficulty
• Complete the level to the point where you must defend the ONI tower
• Grab a jet pack – You can find them near the jammers at Club Errerra and the Hospital
• Now, you’re going to fly over to a building on the outskirts of town in a Falcon- Watch the video for a more descriptive guide
• Once there, jump out and jet up to the panel hidden on the bottom of the part of the building jutting out
• Fly over to the building with a hole in either a Banshee or Falcon – Use the Falcon if you want to fly a Pelican and a Banshee if you want to fly a Phantom
• Fly your Pelican to your heart’s content
• (Optional): If you want Marines to man the turrets, drop them off on a nearby roof top and pick them up after you have gained control of your drop ship.

There you have it, everything you need to fly your very own Pelican.  For a more complete and easier to follow guide, watch the video.

Image from The Escapist

Xbox 360 E74 Error

Last week, I turned on my console and was astonished to find a red light on the power button.  I turned on the TV and found a black screen displaying an E74 error along with a message saying “Please contact Microsoft Support.”  So, I did just that and am happy to say that my 360 is on its way back to me.  So how can you get back to playing as soon as possible when your console displays an E74 error?  Simple, read this guide and follow the steps.  That’s all there is to it.

Step 1: If your Xbox 360 isn’t working like it should, head on over to Xbox.com’s troubleshooting page (Clicking on the link will send you there).  From this page, you can easily diagnose any problems your system might have and find simple fixes if any are available.  If your Xbox has the E74 error, however, you will have to do something a little more drastic.  Read on to find out more.

Step 2: An E74 error requires you to send your console into Microsoft to be diagnosed and, hopefully, fixed.  The first time I sent my 360 in 2 years ago, with the Red Ring of Death, Microsoft sent me both the box and the packing slip.  Nowadays, they send you the prepaid UPS packing slip, meaning you will have to secure your own box to send your Xbox in.  Request your packing slip from Xbox.com’s Online Service Center.  You may have to register your system before sending it in, but it only takes a few minutes, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Step 3: Once you receive the packing slip, securely package your 360 in the box, placing the packing slip on top (of the box).  Go to the closest UPS distribution center and ship it out.  For complete packing instructions read UPS’s Manual.

Step 4: Sit back, relax, and wait for Microsoft to send your console back.  If you want to check the status of your repair, visit Xbox.com’s Online Service Center (linked to above) and insert your service request number, which Microsoft will send to you, along with your zip code.

A few caveats: Although my repair was free, not all repairs will be.  Microsoft’s base charge sits around $90.  But don’t worry, most repairs are covered by the standard 1-year warranty, while the Red Ring of Death and E74 error is covered by a 3-year warranty.  Oh, and just because some home-made remedies do exist, I would strongly discourage using them as you may end up voiding your warranty.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Achievements

This is a quick look at all of the achievements that appear in the critically-acclaimed Call of Duty franchise installment, Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Never get off the boat – 10G

Find the Soviet connection in Laos.

Up close and personal – 15G

Silently take out 3 VC.

Some wounds never heal – 10G

Escape the Past.

Broken English – 10G

Escape Kowloon.

SOG Rules – 10G

Retrieve the dossier and the defector from Hue City.

The Dragon Within – 15G

Kill 10 NVA with Dragon’s Breath rounds.

Looks don’t count – 10G

Break the siege in the battle of Khe Sanh.

A safer place – 10G

Sabotage the Soviet space program.

VIP – 10G

Receive orders from Lancer.

Give me liberty – 10G

Escape Vorkuta.

Vehicular Slaughter – 25G

Destroy all enemies on vehicles during the prison break.

Sacrifice – 10G

Ensure your squad escapes safely from Cuba.

Death to Dictators – 15G

Take down Castro with a headshot.

Slingshot Kid – 15G

Destroy all slingshot targets in 3 attempts.

Tough Economy – 15G

Use no more that 6 TOW guided missiles to destroy the tanks in the defense of Khe Sanh.

Raining Pain – 15G

Rack up a body count of 20 NVA using air support in Hue City.

Heavy Hand – 15G

Use the Grim Reaper to destroy the MG emplacement.

Double Trouble – 10G

Use only dual wield weapons to escape Kowloon.

Lord Nelson – 25G

Destroy all targets and structures while making your way up the river.

Pathfinder – 50G

Guide the squad through the Soviet outpost without them getting killed.

Mr. Black OP – 50G

Enter the Soviet relay station undetected.

With extreme prejudice – 25G

Get to the POW compound in the Hind using only rockets.

Russian bar-b-q – 15G

Incinerate 10 enemies with the flamethrower attachment in the POW compound.

Light Foot – 30G

Escape the ship with 2:15 left on the timer in Veteran.

I hate monkeys – 15G

Kill 7 monkeys in under 10 seconds in the Rebirth labs.

No Leaks – 50G

Make it through the NOVA 6 gas without dying on Rebirth Island.

Clarity – 10G

Crack the code.

Double Whammy – 15G

Destroy both helicopters with one Valkyrie rocket from the deck of the ship.

Stand Down – 35G

Complete the campaign on any difficulty.

BLACK OP MASTER – 100G

Complete the campaign on Hardened or Veteran difficulty.

Frag Master – 15G

Kill 5 enemies with a single frag grenade in the campaign.

Sally likes Blood – 15G

Demonstrate killer economic sensibilities by  taking down 3 enemies with a single bullet.

Unconventional Warfare – 15G

Use the explosive bolts to kill 30 enemies in the campaign.

Cold Warrior – 25G

Complete “Operation 40,” “Vokuta,” and “Executive Order” on Veteran difficulty.

Down and Dirty – 25G

Complete “SOG” and “The Defector” on Veteran difficulty.

It’s your funeral – 25G

Complete “Numbers,” “Project Nova,” and “Victor Charlie” on Veteran difficulty.

Not Today – 25G

Complete “Crash Site,” “WMD,” and “Payback” on Veteran difficulty.

Burn Notice – 25G

Complete “Rebirth” and “Redemption” on Veteran difficulty.

Closer Analysis – 15G

Find all the hidden intel.

Date Night – 15G

Watch a film or clip with a friend.

In The Money – 20G

Finish 5 Wager Matches “in the money.”

Ready For Deployment – 15G

Reach rank 10 in Combat Training.

The Collector – 20G

Buy every weapon off the walls in a single Zombies game.

Secret – ???G

???

Hands Off the Merchandise – 20G

Kill the Pentagon thief before it can steal your load-out.

Sacrificial Lamb – 15G

Shoot at or be shot by an ally with a Pack-a-Punch crossbow and kill six zombies with the explosion

“Insert Coin” – 5G

Access the terminal and battle the forces of the Cosmic Silverback in Dead Ops Arcade

Easy Rhino – 10G

In Dead Ops Arcade, use a Speed Boost to blast through 20 or more enemies at one time.

Secret – ???G

???

Secret – ???G

???

Further Reading:

Call of Duty: Black Ops Pre-Order Bonus

Modern Warfare 2 Sniper Guide Released

I have finally released my Modern Warfare 2 sniper guide to the world.  No, it is not finished, well not as finished as I had hoped it would be, but it is out nonetheless and that is an achievement in it of itself.  I finished the bulk of the main body and, while I didn’t get to any of the multiplayer guides, I did link to other MW2 guides I had created previously.  I hope you enjoy my guide (it’s free): Click here to read my MW2 Sniper Guide.  Remember to share it with your friends!

Modern Warfare 2 Sniper Guide in the Works

Update: My Modern Warfare 2 Sniper Guide has been released.  If you want to learn more about it, keep reading.  If not, follow the link to get the Modern Warfare 2 Sniper Guide.

Ever since Modern Warfare 2 was released, I have been casually working on a sniper guide.  Seeing as Call of Duty: Black Ops hits store shelves in November, I have decided to release my ebook, free of charge, in October.  The book will feature a general sniper guide, with several map-specific multiplayer walkthroughs added as a bonus (subject to completion, of course). There was no reason to delay the guide’s release any longer as attention will have shifted to the new Call of Duty title and demand for a paid guide would have diminished drastically.

So, you’ll get a sniper guide in addition to several multiplayer walkthroughs free, a product that I was going to charge $4.95 for.  I hope you’ll enjoy my ebook and I ask that you send me feedback as well as tell your friends about it.  Look for the url popping up in a post sometime in October.  I hope to see you then!