[Dakar the Fourth]

I won't even consider a PS3 until it has games I want.

[Hawkeye_a]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

So I had a fantastic experience with my 360 last night.

I was in the middle of Halo online co-op when my 360 suddenly dies, like someone cut the power to it. So I walk over and press the power button, which turns green, I hear the 360 power-up for half a second and then it shuts right back off. For those of you at home keeping score, I got NO RINGS OF DEATH. Zero. The thing wouldn't turn on long enough to display any.

So I immediately go to the internet where google reveals no people having mentioned this problem. Great. I register my 360 on support.xbox.com, look through their trouble shooting, and find out how to manually remove the disk. After that I change my underwear, put everything together, and reconnect everything for the Hail Mary. Turn it on - BOOM - pretends like nothing ever happened. 15 minutes later I load Halo in, get back into campaign co-op, play for 3 more hours, go to bed.

I'm going to have heartburn every time I think of turning it on for the next week.

Kind of like using Windows95 isnt it ? I have to say that the overall reliability/stability of consoles has gone down as they got more complex.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a 

I have to say that the overall reliability/stability of consoles has gone down as they got more complex.

As I commented in the RROD thread, the more like computers they've gotten, the worse their reliability has become.

[sek929]

It's funny that my original Xbox was super stable as computer-ish consoles go.

I would leave that sucker on for WEEKS, and once (while people were playing it) I kicked a soccer ball (my mom warned me about ball in the house) into a very large drinking glass which proceeded to annihilate itself on the top of the Xbox. It didn't even skip...

I remember Xbox being far more reliable than PS2, which was flaky under heavy gaming. Now, it seems, the roles have been reversed. PS3 is rock solid, and the 360 is a temperamental little bitch.

[Aegis]

Yeah my original Xbox is a monster. I've run it more than I have ever run a gaming system (in large part due to XBMC) and it's been rock solid. But I have a newish 360 and it's been solid so far. I ran it real hard during the holidays and never had a blip. Perhaps it would be wise to sell an old 360 and pick up a new (Falcon) Premium or Arcade on the cheap.

[sek929]

Basically, here's the breakdown.

Original xbox was inferior to me at first because of the obvious tie-in with Microsoft. The only thing Microsoft made that I enjoyed then and still enjoy is the Intellimouse Explorer which, after much searching, seems to be the only thing they are good at.

After beating the hell out the xbox I was most impressed with the hardware. These were the days of 16MB memory cards for PS2s so a 5GB HD was awesome more for the fact that it made f**kin sense, instead of $$$.

Then Halo 2 on Live consumed my world. Having never played any computer games online (hey, I'm a Mac user!) the matchmaking system completely sold me on the entire package that Microsoft had put together, from games to hardware to online play.

Xbox sold the 360 for me, and I'd assume a myriad of others. I certainly won't be as quick to adopt the next gen xbox after such a shabby showing by M$ in the quality department. The interface lags and performs inconsistently, at best. The machine is louder than a Quicksilver G4....nuff said. The games are fantastic, but I feel the UI freezes the game more than it would by itself. I used to be able to freeze my old 360 at will by selecting start (or some other game option) when the message blurb that someone signed in was on the screen. I LONG for the snappy old Halo 2 friends list but unfortunately we all know that sh!t ain't gonna happen.

My roomie will most likely get PS3 when GT5 comes out so there's no use in waffling on my decision. I have to many sweet games, which is 360s only redemtion, to get something new right now. I see a Wii in my future unless I get serious about a Macbook or iMac.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

I won't even consider a PS3 until it has games I want.

Ditto. I'll probably get one when the new Final Fantasy comes out, but I figure by then they'll be going for like $200 on eBay.

By the way, your 360 is well-ventilated, right? I think that happened to my brother once, but it turned out one of the vents on the Xbox was covered and it was trying to keep from overheating or something. (I didn't take notes, but I thought it was something like that.)

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

By the way, your 360 is well-ventilated, right? I think that happened to my brother once, but it turned out one of the vents on the Xbox was covered and it was trying to keep from overheating or something. (I didn't take notes, but I thought it was something like that.)

Yes sir, and more importantly, I felt up the thing like Prom Night Date because that was my first suspicion. It was surprisingly cool.

[Shaddim]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

Yes sir, and more importantly, I felt up the thing like Prom Night Date because that was my first suspicion. It was surprisingly cool.

Do you have one of the newer models? That article you posted really bothers me, especially in light of how well PS3 online gaming is implemented.

[Hawkeye_a]

GOtY 2007
IGN: Super Mario Galaxy
Gamespot: Super Mario Galaxy
GameTrailers: Super Mario Galaxy
X-Play: Bioshock

[Peter]

Bioshock deserved it

[Hawkeye_a]

3/4 chances ur wrong there

Although i must say im kinda surprised the hardcore (IGN and GameSpot) decided to give Galaxy the honors considering its the only game nominated without HD graphics, a broader age appeal and a rather predictable story line(from what i've heard) than the other nominees.

I would have liked to try BioShock, but that would involve giving money to M$ for Windows or an XB360, both of which imo have unacceptably low quality and reliability.

[jokell82]

Hmm...so is SMG worth hooking my Wii back up for?

[icruise]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Hmm...so is SMG worth hooking my Wii back up for?

It's very good if you like Mario games.

[Dakar the Fourth]

XBLA GoldenEye Was Real, Nearly Done, Now Dead

You may want to re-inforce your hearts before continuing. According to 1UP, an XBLA version of Rare's classic N64 shooter GoldenEye wasn't a rumour. It was real. It was a faithful port, with the same graphics, sound, etc. It would even have featured multiplayer over XBLA. However, only two months from completion, Microsoft and Nintendo couldn't agree on how they were going to split the proceeds, and the project was ****-canned. Game over. For those looking for a glimmer of hope, 1UP reckon the only way to salvage the project is to complain. Loudly.




In other news, no word on what craptastic arcade game we get for all of the Live downtime.

[jokell82]

Am I the only one who thought GoldenEye sucked ass? It was so freaking slow (especially compared to what I was used to at the time - Quake and Quake 2) and the controls sucked. Granted I did beat the crap out of anyone who played against me, but I just didn't enjoy the game at all...

[Dakar the Fourth]

GoldenEye rocked and the controls were awesome. You will burn in hell.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

GoldenEye rocked and the controls were awesome. You will burn in hell.

It can't even hold the jock strap of a game released less than a year later - Half Life.

[Dakar the Fourth]

To be fair, comparing console and computer games is pretty much worthless. And you're ignoring half the appeal of GoldenEye.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

To be fair, comparing console and computer games is pretty much worthless. And you're ignoring half the appeal of GoldenEye.

True. Although what half do you refer to? The fact that it's James Bond?

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Although what half do you refer to? The fact that it's James Bond?

Yes. I mean you're James Bond! And as if that wasn't enough, you're playing through the movie that kick started him back into popularity. (I for one, really loved that movie)

Now, since I'm no expert on movie vg conversion I can't claim it was the most accurate visually up until that time (Think Facility, Severnaya), but I sure as hell wouldn't be surprised.

Edit: And to this day, what other great movie conversions are there?

[icruise]

I loved Goldeneye when it came out, because it did a great job of letting you experience what it might be like to be James Bond, and gave you a level of freedom that you didn't see in many games up until that point. There were several ways to accomplish a particular mission, from stealth to all-out gunfights. And it did control well, too. If you go back and play it now, it's hard to figure out what was so great about it, since a lot of subsequent games have adopted the things that made it so impressive when it first came out.

[Hawkeye_a]

Seriously.... how difficult is t for the 2 of them to share this licence ? We'll make a copy for the VC and ou make one for XBLA and whatever we make goes into our pockets ? (I'm assuming that Microsoft did'nt like those terms).
I think golden eye was probably the only console game i touched(played) of that generation...good times in the drunken sophmore dorms.

On a side note.... if any of you have watched IGN's GOtY video...what is that song they play at the end ? its friggon catchy !!!

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a 

I think golden eye was probably the only console game i touched(played) of that generation...good times in the drunken sophmore dorms.

High-frickin'-five man. I always had people comin' to my room to challenge me.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by icruise 

I loved Goldeneye when it came out, because it did a great job of letting you experience what it might be like to be James Bond, and gave you a level of freedom that you didn't see in many games up until that point. There were several ways to accomplish a particular mission, from stealth to all-out gunfights. And it did control well, too. If you go back and play it now, it's hard to figure out what was so great about it, since a lot of subsequent games have adopted the things that made it so impressive when it first came out.

I see GoldenEye as the Halo of its day. It didn't innovate on any level and was in fact inferior to many other games available at the time, but it became insanely popular with the casual gaming crowd.

I don't think it was a bad game overall, but I wasn't a big fan and I never did understand the lavish praise it was given.

[exca1ibur]

It was all about the knife fight with 4 players.

[sek929]

For people who couldn't afford computers Goldeneye was the bees f**kin knees.

Not to mention being hilarious to play (sliding around when crouching) the levels were tiny and incredibly fast-paced. It revolutionized the FPS for consoles and it's younger sister, Perfect Dark, was a bit choppy but had incredible multiplayer aspects that aren't fully appreciated IMO. You could change where the weapons and powerups spawned, many of the weapons had secondary features like the laptop gun (awesome weapon), and you could add a slew of aptly-named bots to the mix just to make things crazy.

I got drunk for the first time while playing all my older sister's friends (she was a soph at the time) at her apartment. I kicked their asses

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by sek929 

Not to mention being hilarious to play (sliding around when crouching) the levels were tiny and incredibly fast-paced.

True that, I miss those levels a lot.

Originally Posted by sek929 

It revolutionized the FPS for consoles and it's younger sister, Perfect Dark, was a bit choppy but had incredible multiplayer aspects that aren't fully appreciated IMO.

I was going to mention this. I thought PD did for multi what GoldenEye did for the single-player. PDs multi was deep, thanks to many more multiplayer only levels, and a bigger array of creative weapons (Farsight anyone?). The bets part was the 30 challenge based multiplayer objectives, able to be completed with 1, 2, 3, or 4 people. It's up there as one of the most fun things I've done with 4 people on a console. And we got through a good portion of them at all 4 numbers.

[sek929]

Originally Posted by exca1ibur 

It was all about the knife fight with 4 players.

Slappers Only! and License to Kill with 4 people is amazing

[sek929]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

(Farsight anyone?)

RCP120 with cloak feature and enormous clip anyone?

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by sek929 

Slappers Only! and License to Kill with 4 people is amazing

Nothing used to amuse me more than a person who had just spawned and was weapon-less ran into an armed person and the armed person would panic as the slapper person charged them. Ultimate kill.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by sek929 

RCP120 with cloak feature and enormous clip anyone?

Pffft... That actually requires me to move around.

[sek929]

Another similar weapon was the Railgun from Red Faction (PS2 game)

[Dakar the Fourth]

I did play that game. I liked it, but it did not leave a lasting impression with me. The environmental destruction was too controlled. Though we did do an amazing job of drilling a hole to the top of one of the multiplayer levels.

[Hawkeye_a]

Factor 5 is developing for the Wii. The whole reason i got a GCN was for the Rogue Squadron games....im stoked that they're developing for the Wii now.

IGN: Official: Factor 5 Back on Wii

*interweb-high-five back at ya Dakar*

edit>> the song i mentioned earlier is the final song in portal...very cool indeed.

[Aegis]

Vader and Yoda in Soul Calibur IV. Weird. Gametrailers.com - Soul Calibur IV - CES 2008 Trailer HD

[sek929]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

I did play that game. I liked it, but it did not leave a lasting impression with me.

The single-player was only fun for the first 20 minutes and the last hour or so since for 3/4 of the game you fight the exact same enemy over and over again. The weapons were cool and the multiplayer was kinda fun.

[Eug]

globeandmail.com: Nintendo tops 2007 gaming sales

NPD 2007 sales:

Wii: 6.3 million (with 1.4 in December)
360: 4.6 million (with 1.3 in December)
PS3: 2.7 million (with 0.7976 in December)

#1 game: Halo 3
#1 franchise: Guitar Hero series - $820 million in 2007 across the various consoles

EDIT:

Thx, Stogie.

P.S. I actually managed to find a Wii right after Xmas. Got one of the returns... but gave it to a friend of mine who wanted it for his dad. Otherwise it was sold out just about everywhere in Toronto.

[- - e r i k - -]

While no one can argue that GoldenEye wasn't a great game of its time, it really hasn't aged all that well. Nostalgia really is clouding a lot of gamers minds when it comes to glorifying certain games.

[Stogieman]

Originally Posted by Eug 

globeandmail.com: Nintendo tops 2007 gaming sales

NPD 2007 sales:

Wii: 6.3 million (with 1.4 in December)**
360: 4.6 million (with 1.3 in December)
PS3: 2.7 million (with 0.7976 in December)

#1 game: Halo 3
#1 franchise: Guitar Hero series - $820 million in 2007 across the various consoles

**Fixed. You need to read the article more carefully. That was the NDS with 8.5 million (2.5 in December)

The article doesn't state how may PSPs were sold in 2007. I wonder how many were sold.

[Brien]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

True that, I miss those levels a lot.


I was going to mention this. I thought PD did for multi what GoldenEye did for the single-player. PDs multi was deep, thanks to many more multiplayer only levels, and a bigger array of creative weapons (Farsight anyone?). The bets part was the 30 challenge based multiplayer objectives, able to be completed with 1, 2, 3, or 4 people. It's up there as one of the most fun things I've done with 4 people on a console. And we got through a good portion of them at all 4 numbers.

Farsight XR-20 with the secondary mode was the best weapon ever invented. Ever.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Random thoguht for the day: The other day I realized that we're finally past the days of tagging system by their "bits". I recall the PS2 being mentioned as a 128-bit system a few times, but that's pretty much it.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by Brien 

Farsight XR-20 with the secondary mode was the best weapon ever invented. Ever.

Oh man, what about these two?
I remember battles where the two of us would be navigating hallways with our rockets looking for our prone opponent.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

Random thoguht for the day: The other day I realized that we're finally past the days of tagging system by their "bits". I recall the PS2 being mentioned as a 128-bit system a few times, but that's pretty much it.

Well, they got to the point where they couldn't honestly post higher numbers (even the PS2 had to fudge it) and there really wasn't any need. Going from 8 to 16 bits is a big improvement, and going from 16 to 32 bits is also a big improvement, but you get rapidly diminishing returns after that point.

By the way, does anybody else remember the multiplayer scenario mode in Perfect Dark? That was so pointless and yet still awesome. The other player would randomly possess some enemy in the level and he could run around and do whatever he wanted — and when he died, he'd just possess the next nearby enemy. The cards were totally stacked against Jo. I always find myself wishing more games would have that mode.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

Well, they got to the point where they couldn't honestly post higher numbers (even the PS2 had to fudge it) and there really wasn't any need. Going from 8 to 16 bits is a big improvement, and going from 16 to 32 bits is also a big improvement, but you get rapidly diminishing returns after that point.

Yeah, I realize that. But it's always interesting when a unit of measurement falls by the way-side.

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

By the way, does anybody else remember the multiplayer scenario mode in Perfect Dark? That was so pointless and yet still awesome. The other player would randomly possess some enemy in the level and he could run around and do whatever he wanted — and when he died, he'd just possess the next nearby enemy. The cards were totally stacked against Jo. I always find myself wishing more games would have that mode.

I had forgotten. I'll be damned if I can remember how well I fared though. I thought the enemies had ridiculously low health in comparison to Joanna.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

I had forgotten. I'll be damned if I can remember how well I fared though. I thought the enemies had ridiculously low health in comparison to Joanna.

They did, but it was possible to do some really cheap tricks when you were playing as the enemy — and the enemy player basically had an unending supply of really good weapons (like sentry laptop guns). I remember there were some things that were so bad my brother and I had to agree not to do them because they were basically insta-win for whoever was playing the bad guys.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Everyone, please contain your excitement.

Undertow Free of Charge Next Week on Xbox LIVE Arcade

Recently, Xbox.com posted a letter from Marc Whitten, General Manager of Xbox LIVE, thanking subscribers for their patience with the service. We’ve implemented several improvements to the service, to help ensure ongoing reliability and performance. As the popularity of Xbox LIVE expands, we’ll continue to closely monitor the service and make adjustments. As always, if you are having any problems, please contact your local support (1-800-4-MYXBOX in North America) so that we can assist you.

Marc announced that all Xbox LIVE members (Gold and Silver) around the world would have access to a full Xbox LIVE Arcade game to download free of charge. We’re pleased to announce that beginning next Wednesday, 2:00 a.m. PST through Sunday, 11:59 p.m. PST, Xbox LIVE members worldwide can download the full version of the recent award-winning Xbox LIVE Arcade game, Undertow.

Developed by Chair Entertainment Group, Undertow is one of the highest-rated and best looking games available on Arcade. Undertow redefines aquatic based shooters through a mix of high-definition graphics, intuitive controls and multiple modes of game play action. The game features a full story driven-single player campaign, on and offline co-op, and multiplayer for 2-16 players over Xbox LIVE for Gold subscribers. Players battle for control of the oceans as one of three selectable races, each with four unique, upgradeable units. "Undertow" is available worldwide (normally 800 Microsoft Points) and is rated E10+.

For, other than obvious reasons, I wish this was a better game, if only to see Live go back down under the strain of everyone trying to download it at once.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

Everyone, please contain your excitement.

Undertow Free of Charge Next Week on Xbox LIVE Arcade



For, other than obvious reasons, I wish this was a better game, if only to see Live go back down under the strain of everyone trying to download it at once.

Boourns!

[Shaddim]

Frak! That 360 will be here tomorrow and I haven't decided what to do about it yet. I'm just about certain it's a new model, it's shipping from Ingram Micro.

[Brien]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

They did, but it was possible to do some really cheap tricks when you were playing as the enemy — and the enemy player basically had an unending supply of really good weapons (like sentry laptop guns). I remember there were some things that were so bad my brother and I had to agree not to do them because they were basically insta-win for whoever was playing the bad guys.

Ah man, I forgot about the laptop gun. That thing was pretty awesome, set it up on a wall near an entryway and you'd be fairly set.. especially in that mode of play.