i hope they hack tree and put his achievement points to 0

3/21/2007 2:41:47 PM

lol

3/21/2007 2:50:32 PM

Castlevania: SOTN should be out today. 800 MS points if anyone wanted to know.

3/21/2007 2:55:35 PM

^^^ dont know much about this game. Why is it so popular???? If I enjoyed the old castlevania games *minus simon's quest* will this be worth checking out???

3/21/2007 5:31:45 PM

most definately, particularly if you liked the gba/DS versions. it was basically the first to start the castle system as opposed to the stage system. has more of a rpg element as well since you level up, gain different weapons, etc. i already bought it and have started through, quite enjoyable though no map? perhaps i need to find it.

3/21/2007 5:37:30 PM

GUITAR HERO IS ALMOST OUT

3/21/2007 5:45:51 PM

Yeah, great stuff.

3/22/2007 10:41:58 AM

castlevania seems like it has a good amount of depth to it, i might just cop that.

3/22/2007 10:43:34 AM

it is what the kids now a day call "the shiz"

3/22/2007 12:09:25 PM

Quote :

"MS: Xbox Live security uncompromised Microsoft addresses recent reports of gamers' online accounts being hijacked and credit cards being charged for unwanted Microsoft points. By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot Posted Mar 22, 2007 1:56 pm PT Earlier this week, Microsoft said it was investigating possible fraud on the Xbox Live Marketplace after some gamers reported having their accounts hijacked and the credit cards linked with those accounts used to purchase unwanted Microsoft points. Reports of the potential security issues spurred the company to issue a statement on the matter yesterday. "Despite some recent reports and speculation, we want to reassure all of our 6 million Xbox Live members that we have looked into the situation and found no evidence of any compromise of the security of Bungie.net or our Live network," said Xbox Live group marketing manager Aaron Greenberg in a post on the company's GamerScore Blog. "There have been a few isolated incidents where malicious users have been attempting to draw personal information from unsuspecting users and use it to gain access to their Live account. We think this is a good time to remind our members that they should never give out any of their personal information." Greenberg said as far as the company can tell, the Xbox Live network hasn't been compromised, and no credit card or personal information was exposed by them. He also referred concerned Live users to the guidelines in the Xbox Live code of conduct. "

3/23/2007 10:39:01 AM

ace combat 6 looks so sick

3/23/2007 1:46:15 PM

guitar hero 2 demo at best buy now(in g-ville anyway, i assume in raleigh2)

3/23/2007 2:12:55 PM

blarg, i just cant find this last familiar in SOTN

3/24/2007 3:12:00 PM

This is fucking ridiculous. I've had my 360 for less than 2 months, have never had it on for more than 2 hours at a time, and used it probably on average 5 hours a week. I have the red circle already and it either freezes right when I load a game or the red lights come on (with the top right one not being lit) which is a hardware failure. I've never moved it or anything and I know it hasn't overheated.

What a fucking piece of shit...

3/24/2007 8:23:22 PM

3/24/2007 8:51:06 PM

^^ owned ...

3/24/2007 10:29:28 PM

it doesnt matter if you have it on for 1 hour a week or 20, if you have one of the defective ones it is gonna break. just send it in for a new one. i did and my new one has been quite fine.

3/25/2007 9:50:54 AM

^Yeah, I just did that on Saturday. They said about two weeks, but as long as it doesn't break again, I'll be satisfied.

3/26/2007 9:05:51 AM

i was quite impressed with the turnaround time...i had a new 360 within 2 weeks of shipping it off

3/26/2007 9:13:21 AM

don't forget to let us know how the wal-mart loaner worked out

3/26/2007 9:18:29 AM

it worked fine except it took me like 45 minutes to return it...but thats more because of walmart's bureacratic inefficiencies than anything else

short story: i returned the 360 and got a full refund

3/26/2007 9:26:52 AM

I cannot wait for Ace Combat 6. I do sincerely hope that a decent flightstick will be developed for the 360 now.

3/26/2007 11:55:30 AM

I WANT THE NEW ELITE

stupid vga cable keeping me from connecting my pc.

3/27/2007 7:41:50 AM

I don't know if I want to throw down $500 for another 360. I would rather pay $200 for the 120 GB HDD upgrade, and hopefully they will have something where I could transfer my stuff onto the new HDD.

That black case sure does look really nice, though.

3/27/2007 7:45:37 AM

i think i prefer the white one.

ps cod pissing me off again my games were like (k/d ratio) 18/6, 8/18, 12/8, 3/2, 5/11 in that order. talk about inconsistent, but i guess it is just who you end up with (both on and off your team).

that said im submitting bad player reviews for anyone who punishes me for obvious accidents from now on.

3/27/2007 8:15:16 AM

punishing is so fucking stupid unless it is obviously team killing on purpose. don't those idiots realize that that keeps you from ranking up faster, thus making the whole team weaker?but if you want to get them back, just run out in front of their bullets

3/27/2007 8:21:03 AM

Live is down until sometime this evening FYI

3/27/2007 10:01:12 AM

we got the memo

3/27/2007 10:01:48 AM

Quote :

"That black case sure does look really nice, though."

You know you can buy replacements right?

This is what my xbox has looked like for the past 8 months or so:

3/27/2007 10:08:41 AM

^sweet

3/27/2007 10:10:36 AM

^^damn do you literally have light shooting out of the top??

3/27/2007 10:13:39 AM

Only when I wear dirty glasses.

3/27/2007 10:46:18 AM

also its impressive that you clearly have a powered on xbox with 4 controllers connected...yet no power adapter, let alone data cable...quite impressive!

3/27/2007 10:47:12 AM

Just head that Ace Combat 6 will have an optional bundle with the Hori flight stick. The bad news is that it's gonna be $150. Ouch.

3/27/2007 5:40:22 PM

Is getting a refurbished 360 a bad idea?

They come with a warranty, and I figure if they have been refurbished and tested, you might have a better percent chance at getting a good one than buying a new one.

But I really have no idea.

3/27/2007 11:35:00 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/technology/28xbox.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Upgraded Version of Xbox 360 to Be Introduced by Microsoft

Quote :

" John Rodman, group product manager for the Xbox platform and Xbox Live, pointed to a recent Microsoft survey that revealed that nearly 40 percent of the time that Xbox 360 users spent with their consoles was for activities other than gaming. Yet when it comes to gaming, Xbox 360 users are serious, Mr. Rodman says. Six out of 10 Xbox 360 users use Xbox Live, Microsoft’s online gaming service. “We don’t feel like the Wii customer and the Xbox customer are the same thing,” he said. “We think that as soon as the Wii customer turns 14 they want something else.”"

lol

[Edited on March 28, 2007 at 12:43 AM. Reason : .]

3/28/2007 12:42:03 AM

Gaming: Serious Business.

3/28/2007 1:24:22 AM

so check this out right...has anyone gotten the Virtual Tennis demo? It looks pretty good but man its kinda tough...most of the shots I hit, I fall down on or dive...haha I know I'm not the only one

3/28/2007 12:23:52 PM

it sucks

3/28/2007 1:01:44 PM

Quote :

"Is getting a refurbished 360 a bad idea? They come with a warranty, and I figure if they have been refurbished and tested, you might have a better percent chance at getting a good one than buying a new one."

Actually, I would think you have 100% chance that your buying a bad one if you go with something refurbished, at some point the thing was not working properly... or had been used and returned for some reason you will never know.

New will always be > refurbs

used games we can let ya slide on

[Edited on March 28, 2007 at 1:03 PM. Reason : /]

3/28/2007 1:03:33 PM

I had high hopes for Virtual Tennis 3.. but after playing the demo, I think it really sucks..

[Edited on March 28, 2007 at 2:01 PM. Reason : so what about hdmi adapters for current gen 360s?]

3/28/2007 2:00:12 PM

Quote :

"so what about hdmi adapters for current gen 360s?"

SOL

3/28/2007 2:22:32 PM

Yeah the demo is aggrivating. It's rare that you can just dominate from the baseline(but I have gotten decent at it), but if you make it up to the net it's not too bad.

I just hate how when you dive at the baseline they can just slam it from the baseline and it's NEARLY impossible to return with much effectiveness.

3/28/2007 2:52:17 PM

yeah i got 30 points in one of the games but lost each match 2-0...and you know i was playing as federer and trying to beat one of the girls haha

the controls for Top Spin seem a lot better

3/28/2007 2:53:22 PM

Well I got where I could win consistently after getting whipped 2-3 matches in a row. And yeah the first thing I tried was Federer against one of the girls and that went over bad.

The girls typically have an advantage over Federer at the baseline because he really can't hit a hard shot so just get to the net with him and you stand a MUCH better chance.

3/28/2007 4:29:36 PM

my main problem was not being able to consistently hit a shot without falling or diving to the ground

3/28/2007 4:35:21 PM

I'm looking forward to the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance downloadable content. The heroes and villians pack...The Hulk, Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Hawkeye, Venom, Magneto, Sabretooth, and Doctor Doom. Here's the article.

Quote :

"Marvel's Ultimate Heroes and Villains First screenshots and a Q&A about Marvel's Ultimate Alliance add-on pack. by Douglass C. Perry March 28, 2007 - IGN caught up with Activision to get the lowdown on its upcoming Heroes and Villains add-on packs that complement last fall's release of the action-RPG, Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Today, we reveal the details on how the characters fit into the story, how they play, and how it was quite a challenge to keep a good balance with The Hulk in the game. For those who missed out on the action, last week Activision announced it will sell three add-on packs, a Heroes pack containing The Hulk, Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Hawkeye, a Villains pack including Venom, Magneto Sabretooth, and Doctor Doom, and a combined pack of both. All three packs will be available on Xbox Live Marketplace, Tuesday, April 10. We spoke with Chris Palmisano, associate producer at Activision (Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, X-Men: The Official Game, X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse), about the new add-on packs. IGN: Thanks for adding new characters to Marvel Ultimate Alliance; it will be interesting to see The Hulk and Venom in action. So, why did you choose these particular characters -- The Hulk, Venom, Cyclops, Magneto, Nightcrawler, Hawkeye, Sabretooth, and Doctor Doom for the add-on pack? Seems like a good number of them were already in the previous X-Men action-RPGs (X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse). Chris Palmisano: One of the big factors in choosing the new characters was based on feedback from our fan community site Marvelultimatealliance.com. Not to over-simplify it, but we basically surveyed our most vocal and active fans and then tried to narrow it down based on popularity. We also ran the list by Marvel for their feedback, but the VIP's won out for just about all of the eight spots we had for new characters. IGN: How difficult was it to create a working Hulk? Was it any more difficult than the Thing? Also, does The Hulk have a different character model and/or animations than the Thing? Please explain. Chris Palmisano: The hardest part about creating a working Hulk was properly balancing the game. As fans probably know, he is one of the most powerful characters in the entire Marvel Universe in terms of brute force. In comparison to the Thing; Hulk is actually a lot taller and has a different posture, so the model is entirely different. In respect to the animation and super powers, Hulk has an element of ferocity to him compared to Thing that we really wanted to bring that out in the combat. IGN: How much will the add-on packs cost? Chris Palmisano: The downloadable content will be released in three packs actually. The Hero Pack and Villain Pack will each be 500 Microsoft points ($6.25) and the Combined Hero and Villain Pack will be 800 Microsoft points ($10). Heroes and Villains gamer pic packs will also be available for 80 Microsoft points each ($1). IGN: Please give us examples of some of the cool, killer moves that the new characters can pull off? For example, what can Hulk, Venom, Hawkeye and Doctor Doom do? Chris Palmisano: Well from that list of characters there are some really cool buffs and awesome moves. Hulk can almost double in size so normal characters only come up to his waist and Venom grows tendrils and giant claws. Moves-wise they all have cool abilities, though my favorite is Doom's "Doom Warp," which inflicts damage on everything around as it teleports him out of harm's way. Hawkeye also has a really visually exciting attack -- the "Ice Pick" -- where he jumps up in the air and blasts everything below him with his arrows. IGN: Also, since Cyclops has shown up in both X-men games before Marvel Ultimate Alliance, how will he look and play differently? Chris Palmisano: Cyclops's powers have all new visual effects and have also been completely overhauled from what fans have seen in previous games. As one of the most classic X-Men, this was a good opportunity to show what next-generation flare can do to his abilities. His attacks look amazing and also do some serious damage. I would recommend the "ricochet blast." IGN: This is essentially the first game to show increased Achievements beyond 1,000 points on a standard retail Xbox 360 game, giving gamers 10 new Achievements for a total of 60 altogether (normally a standard retail game offers 1,000 achievements total and developers can split those up as they choose). Please tell us what kind of Achievements you worked into the game? What can we look forward to? Chris Palmisano: The new Achievements really enabled us to highlight the new content and characters. There are eight Achievements awarded for unlocking all the costumes for each new character and there are four achievements for players who play through the new plot points created by the new characters. I would love to talk more about them since they are quite cool, but I don't want to give them away. IGN: Will we see any more add-ons to this game in the future? If so, what type? Chris Palmisano: I can't confirm any details at this time. IGN: Since you can play as Doctor Doom and The Hulk in the game now, does that change the story? For instance, Doctor Doom is a villain in the game, and Bruce Banner appears in a cutscene already. How have you changed, altered, or massaged the story to work in the new characters? Chris Palmisano: We have recorded all sorts of new dialogue for the game and added to the script. I don't want to give away exactly how it works, but we hope players enjoy the small touches the development team added in to make the story work out. IGN: What happens, for instance, if I have already started a game of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and I'm, say, 50% done. I then download the new content. Can I use the new characters in my already existing game? Or do I have to start a new one? If not, why not? Chris Palmisano: In this scenario you will be able to play from your old save with the new characters. You could even host an online game where players who have not downloaded the new characters would be able to play your save and your new characters as well. (The other players have to get a special download for online games only that can be found on marketplace and is free.) IGN: Will the new characters appear in the standard menu seamlessly? Or will there be an indicator flagging them as newly downloaded? Chris Palmisano: The menu looks awesome with all the new characters in there. We are really starting to run out of room though."

[Edited on March 29, 2007 at 11:46 AM. Reason : awesome stuff ]

3/29/2007 11:44:04 AM

i'm surprised yall aren't a little more upset about the new gen xbox

I certainly am not dropping another $120 just to get a bigger HD, and i'm certainly not dropping $450 for a different case and output...I think it's very typical microsoft to put out a product just to beat everyone else, and then have to put out something later with "new technology" but give no chance of letting the loyal customers that purchased it in the beginning to upgrade at a cheaper cost.

I guess that's why several of them make more money in 1 year than i'll make in my whole life

3/29/2007 11:56:26 AM

Oh yeah, I'm mad about the new system. I just want the bigger hard drive, personally.

3/29/2007 12:57:04 PM

The new HDD is $180 of you buy it standalone, not $120 right? That's what I read. That's the part that pisses me off most. There's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be allowed to connect a USB HDD to your 360 and use it. Or buy your own HDD and put it in the current casing. $180 for a 120GB HDD is raping the customers, pure and simple.

I couldn't care less about the HDMI or the black case however.

3/29/2007 1:03:31 PM