Well I decided to try out a new pic as my header, something that reflects the gamer in me better, and one that better fits this little blog I got going here. Anyways, I think the pic fits, now if I could just come up with a cool banner *hint * hint*

Big Scare

Yesterday was quite a scary day for me. I was very happy with the fact that I had not recieved a lemon for my 360. It played perfectly the first 3 days. Then yesterday, after a long session, I was in the middle of changing games and using the cool remote control that came with the 360 when it all of a sudden suddenly froze, and so did my heart. I turned it off, and every other time I tried to turn it on 3 red lights would flash on the console and then nothing would happen. I felt the system and it was quite warm. I didn't exactly keep my 360 in the coolest place, as you can see below:

I let the system cool for about 30 min, I stood it on its side and it has worked great since, not a glitch. Now I know there have been rumors of a 360 malfunction epidemic, but I have to tell you, yesterday the Official Xbox 360 Hardware forums were blowing up with threads about malfunctioning 360s, I just hope this doesn't turn into a big deal, because in the end, Microsoft has made a great console, a very enjoyable one, and issues like this should not make or brake a console, games should.

That being said, I will be purchasing the warranty ASAP, just in case And tomorrow I will go for a nice stand on which to place my 360 safely away from the destructive hands of toddlers, wish me luck.

PS Also wish me luck on digging down the Christmas tree, and on the roof while hanging xmas lights

Gamer's Eye View #4

Its been a couple of very hectic days in my life lately, but I am happy to report that all is well, and I wish the same to you, as we welcome this holiday season. Well guess what, this thing called the 360 just came out, yea, its actually here, and guess what, its actually pretty good, truly next-gen even.  Yep, that's my impression of the 360, I wish I could tell you all in detail about its greatness, about its relevance in the context of gaming history, but honestly, its the day after Thanksgiving's, and that tryptophan is kicking in, if you know what I mean

What I will say is that Xbox Live is the 360's killer app, it offers what other consoles could only dream about: A reliable online service that spans over two generations and keeps your friends from all the way back to Crimson Skies, and it has gotten way better.

The new XBL is so versatile, I sometimes have to pinch myself to see if its real. Im watching a DVD and it notifies me that SuperDave has logged on. Me and Dave hooked up for a quick Perfect Dark Co-Op mission, my game is not even done loading, when Dave comes in clear as day. We play a little before I have to go, and the little I saw had me drooling on my foot. You see every Xbox 360 title has a series of objectives that when accomplished gives you points towards your Gamerscore. You Gamerscore is prominently featured on your profile along with your avatar and zone, everyone sees it, and although it sounds sort of childish, it kind of represents what kind of gamer you are, and it tells the world what games you have beaten the crap off, which has its own appeal

I found myself looking at what accomplishments each game has, some have a few, some have a lot, and they certainly can add playing time to a game if done properly. The fact that Perfect Dark offers points for many things, including beating the game in all 3 difficulty levels is awesome, but also for beating it on Co-Op well that is just sick. It means that I can hook up with my buddies online to achieve a common goal, to experience a whole game with a friend is very gratifying, and it can only be done on XBL.

Sorry if Im sounding a little fanboyish, I love all consoles, and right now I am loving the hell out of the 360.  I wish I could tell you more but this is it for me, The tryptophan has done its duty, perhaps  in the future we'll hook up on XBL, and beat the hell out of a game for the Gamerscore!

                   The SP in SW BF II is freaking sweet!

I recently purchased Star Wars Battlefront II, mainly to stop my addiction to sports games, but also to join my good friends at the OGU for some sweet online action. The game had good reviews, and plenty of people at the union owned it, so it was an easy decision to run and get it, after all, I am a strong supporter of online gaming, what it brings to the table today, and its potential for tomorrow.

So last Monday night was the night, I checked my friends list and I see about 4 of my friends already logged in, a very good sign, considering gamers aren't the most punctual people in the world So I try to send a message to Coleman to let him know I'm there, ready to kick butt, but oddly enough I'm not given the option to, instead I just get to either join his party or remove him from my friends list, ofcourse I try to join his party, but no luck, I just get this timer, it runs up to 30 secs, and then it tells me the session has ended, great.

Now most of you know that I am a father, and I really don't have that much time to begin with, I finally got in with Shame_Us's group, we have a blast fighting in space, but then that session ends, and I'm thrown back in the lobby. I spent another 5-10 minutes trying to get in to Jon's party, but it was futile. Minutes later I got lucky and managed to get into Coleman's party, and for like 30 mins we were in heaven. But I still wanted all of us to play together, that's the reason we go online right? So I left that party and tried to join Jon's again. I spent around 20 minutes and lets just say it ended with me almost slamming my Xbox to the ground. I went to bed very frustrated, and pretty much convinced I was going to return this game, the online, although promising, was just too quirky, and with the 360 so close, it just wasn't worth my time.

Then last night I decided I was atleast going to give the SP a shot, I had played the first mission, and it was actually a very good game. As with many things in life, one thing led to another and I ended up playing the game for about 4 hours straight, I never even watched a whole SW movie before (I know shoot me ) But this game actually convinced me to go and see what all the hoopla is about, Im going to my local Best Buy to get Episode III, and its all thanks to the Single Player.

I realized that in reality its going to be hard to get a 360, and I may need a game to fall back on just in case the worst happens (I don't get one ) Add to that Blackley's great blog entry, and my anxiousness about the 360 shortage has all but subsided.

Growing up with 4 brother, playing together was just part of life, it was fun, but it was also the cause for a ton of fights, Single player today sometimes seems like it has taken a backseat to online gaming, but the SP is the heart of the game, you can have a good game even if the MP is broken, just like with this game, but if the SP is broken, well then no matter how well the online runs, you still have a crappy game, so give some love to good SP games, you never know what may happen to the internet

P.S. I'm I going to regret watching Episode III before all the other ones?

Gamer's Eye View #3 Anticipation                    

GEV entries have been too few and far between, mainly because it is quite hard to take a relevant picture. That being said, you can expect the frequency of GEVs to pick up when the 360 hits, I'm going to want to share those amazing visuals with you all, and I'm sure there will be quite a few

In anticipation of the 360 release, I decided to replay the Halo 2 campaign, to relive the quintessential title of this generation, and to imagine how the graphics will be when enhanced by the 360s power. So today I had the whole day to myself, no kids, so I blasted the sorround sound to the max, and played Halo 2 for 6 hours on and off, notice the 10 o'clock shadow that developed throught the day

For a game that is a year old, it is still as pretty as anygame coming out these days. And although we are all familiar with the story woes, I'm still going to play it all over again on the 360. Everything is going to change in 9 days, someday I will look back on this generation and appreciate it for all of its wonderful moments, but right now Im just counting down the days for the welcoming of the next great generation, sweet anticipation!

There I am, in a pregame ritual, forcing my wife to take a picture of Dom and I right before the game, oh yeah, Im going to do the Heisman pose while I hold our son like a football.....she's a wonderful wife Nevermind that Miami was the underdog team, going in Va Tech's home, having lost 4 out of the last five there, and VT, who many were arguing were the #2 team in the nation. I didn't care, Miami was going to win, and win big, and boy did they win big, An amazing defensive performance that made Marcus Vick look like a lost little girl in his own house, the U is back baby.

We won despite loosing our star RB Tyrone Moss, who leads the ACC with 12 rushing TDs, but on a night like this things looked up as Charlie Jones, a freshman RB from South Dade High school (Where I freaking went to High School!) Took over and rushed for 97yds and a TD.

Power houses USC and Texas better not slip, because if they do, Miami will be in the national championship, and with a D like that, just might win it all.......BTW wouldn't a playoff be awesome, the BCS sucks