What celebrating will you be doing this year hmmm?
I think I’ve scared away my frequent visitors with all the Xbox 360 chat I’ve been doing recently of late! So to bring the people back, I ask you readers - What will you be up to this Xmas? Christmas is here once again, my favourite time of the year!
Everyone is happy, joyous and all that crap and…no wait. Everyone is still flippin miserable, not one damn shop out there in London has got a Baby Jesus in a manger display in their shop windows. It’s Sale this, and Sale that. Has everyone actually forgotten the meaning of Christmas and what it represents? Now I’m not a religious person, actually I’m not religious one bit but Christmas still means a lot to me, so it just gets to me when I don’t see stuff like that.
I always get chirpy around this time of the month, although I’m still amazed at how fast the year has progressed by. I mean, I still remember in detail exactly what I did last Xmas…drunk and sickly for the most part. This year I’ve been hoping to go to Hannover, Germany to visit my pals over there but I think I’ve left it a bit late to get my ticket, let alone make quick preparations to leave.
I just don’t know what to do this Xmas. Most people spend it with friends and family. All my friends have more or less immigrated out of the Uk, so that’s one idea gone down the pan. I don’t really have any proper family here, so that’s another thing out the way. I could spend it with my parents but then again I did that last year! I might call some work colleagues over for Xmas instead and have a get together dinner party or something. Right now given the situation, it doesn’t seem so bad.
So dear readers, what will you be up to this Crimbo?
Just like to mention that I’ll be adding Xbox 360 Reviews to the Reviews section on a regular basis now. I’ve opened up the section with a Gears of War write up. This is currently the biggest title available for the Xbox 360, and technology wise, the most advanced. Want my opinions? You know where to look.
Games Galore!
I’ve been feeling a tad ill lately, mentally ill mostly as I recently examined my expenses for November, which isn’t even at an end yet. Everyone is in the same boat though, due to Christmas approaching so spending habits are bound to go out of control anyway. I’ve tried hard as hell to save up this year, and for the most part I like to think that I’ve done really well…sorta.
My expenditure this month however has been something short of ridiculous. Most of it has gone on Xbox 360 games, not to mention a few accessories for the console too. I’ll be also looking at purchasing a 42" HDTV for the parents hopefully at the end of the month in addition to this.
Some of this month’s big Xbox 360 games are Pro Evo Soccer 6, Call of Duty 3, WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2007, Rainbow Six: Vegas and the king of them all - Gears of War which is already out in America and the Uk on the 17th November. This is visually, and technologically the most advanced game ever created at present. Nothing looks as stunning as this title thanks to it’s tweaked up Unreal 3 engine. I’ve also got the 360 Wireless Headset on the way, and bought a spare wireless controller just in case I lose my temper again playing Call of Duty 3 on its super hard Veteran Mode.
I’ve also recently purchased the superb
Saints Row, which is a brilliant Grand Theft Auto clone, and an oldie but goodie -
Condemned, possibly THE scariest game I’ve ever played, and I’m not alone on this.
I’ve got a reason for purchasing these older games, because I’ll be reviewing them. Strangely enough since I started this blog, I’ve had just over 70 emails from various people who used to read the reviews at the now defunct Halfmad.com. They’ve asked as to weather I’ll continue reviewing games for the PC or the 360. Most of these readers have read my old article which discussed why I switched to the Xbox 360 for gaming and have asked for 360 game reviews. I’ve thought about it, and will give it a shot, so this weekend I’ll begin writing up and finalising some reviews for Xbox 360 Games and Accessories. I won’t be doing PC games because I’ve given up on that area - too expensive, and hardly anything new or original nowadays on that format.
A little more complicated then one would think…
I’ve been trying to make sense of this for sometime now, and only finally understood it. Microsoft have tried to get one over Sony in the HD (High Definition) war, and to be honest they’re hammering them hilariously. Although MS forgot to mention that 1080p wouldn’t be as simple as most people would have thought. The techy geeks knew it would be a complicated matter, and to be fair - it bloomin is. Depending on the method you’re using to connect the Xbox 360 to your TV set, you’ll obtain various results while watching films and playing games. I’ve been staring at a forum for what felt like hours last night and finally got my head around it.
360 with component cables:
- Xbox 360 games will be upscaled to 1080p, and games which are 1080p native will run without a hitch.
- HD-DVDs will run at a maximum of 1080i, which is due to the AACS DRM implemented into HD-DVD’s.
- DVD’s will only play at 480p, due to the CSS inside DVD’s, which prevents upscaling any higher…bummer.
360 with a VGA cable:
- DVD’s, games, as well as HD-DVD’s will display in full 1080p. Sweet!
Microsoft has been very quiet about this, and it’s obvious why. They know a lot of people use Component cables to connect the 360 to their HDTV, and to have DVD’s playing at 480p is quite frankly pathetic. However most people will already have separate DVD players anyway, so this situation isn’t that bad. MS were quite foolish not to have seen the HDMI bandwagon coming when they released the 360, and even bumbling giants Sony saw it. I wonder what the video quality will be like on the HD-DVD drive coming next month in November for the 360?
A weekend of gaming fun!
Two of my most long awaited titles for the Xbox 360 came out on Friday 8th. Dead Rising from Capcom and Test Drive: Unlimited from Atari. I can’t even say how long I’ve been looking forward to playing these two titles. So much so, that I ended up taking a holiday on Friday just so I could play them.
In Dead Rising you play the role of a freelance photographer Frank West. Trapped in a huge mall…teeming with zombies. I literally mean thousands and thousands of the buggers. There’s no way out, the US Military have barricaded the town so Frank and a handful of survivors have to fight for their very lives until the rescue chopper arrives in 72hrs. So you’ve got to survive for 72hrs and unravel just what on earth is going on here. EVERYTHING is your weapon!
Furniture, garden tools, toys, plates, chairs, knifes and the odd firearms here and there - use anything at your disposal to wipe out the zombie hoards. Sounds good doesn’t it? It’s all too similar to Dawn of the Dead too even though the developers say that the game isn’t related.
Test Drive: Unlimited is even more fun! Atari have seen fit to map out the entire island of Oahu with remarkable accuracy. There’s many car dealerships on the island and you can visit any of them at will, purchase a car, then a house to store your cars in and take part in a rather large array of races. The island is home to 60,000 players worldwide all hooked up by Xbox Live, and you can race against them at anytime you wish. It’s a brilliant game and hugely enjoyable, even though it’s suffered from teething problems right now with server issues.
Cruising down a beachside road in a Shelby GT500 during a sunset is a lovely experience. Ever dreamt of driving a supercar in a paradise island? You can now!
My 360 has never had a more thorough workout this weekend, and I’ve had a total blast playing both these games. Sadly the weekend ends now as I’ve got another busy week packed with meetings ahead of me. Boo 
My most recent purchase for my Xbox 360? Decalgirl.com has a lovely limited edition Mirrored Chrome Faceplate for purchase. It’s amazing metallic finish is just gorgeous and at night the 360 just looks utterly stunning. It’s a major fingerprint magnet though and I just know I’ll end up polishing the thing every couple of days!
Qj.net have a report up detailing one of the largest water balloon events in Australia. The Water Balloon Challenge was held on Coogee Beach, Sydney and celebrated the launch of the Xbox 360 in Oz! It’s stated that 50,000 water balloons were thrown on that day too! Major Nelson, Director of Xbox Live has updated his Flickr site with photo’s from the event.
In other news, the first batch of games for my Xbox 360 have kept me busy for roughly a week so far. Fight Night 3 is so sodding good, that Ghost Recon aka GRAW has hardly had a look in. Too many games on the way and no time for them, it sucks!
France trip which was meant to begin 8th March has been delayed till later this month - nerf. Life is great! Sort of, until I buggered things up with lovely Tasmin by not agreeing to go to a restaurant with her. Hey, not my fault I don’t like Thai food that much! So I shall apologise here and say that I am er sorry and we can go out wherever…just not the london eye *grumble*
Lastly, while most of the Uk has fun in the snow, I ask one simple question - Where the hell is the snow in London I ask!? Over this weekend we’ve had clear blue skies and a warm breeze!
