After much research and deliberation, I have come up with the top four reasons for owning a Microsoft Xbox 360 consoles. Contrary to my own reasoning, I have also derived a top four against owning the Xbox 360. Why? Because it seems it’s the status quo with this console. So many reasons to own, and equally as many not to own it. So without ado, here is my latest grindings on the Xbox 360. “Hey at least it doesn’t have Windows Vista right?”
You read the title of this article right, I have fried successfully more than seven Xbox 360 consoles over the course of less than four years; three in fact over the past year. I have had them repaired. I have had the mod done. I have even had the Artic Silver coating applied. They still break. In fact, I finally broke down today and bought a new one just so I can keep reviewing games for you all on this site. After getting burned so many different times, there is in fact a way to beat the system and get a new Xbox for only thirty bucks every time it fries.
I was a PC gamer originally, as a kid. Because for the most part, the computer games had more to offer than the games that were available on the older Nintendo consoles. And when the popular, sweeping and trendy, infamous hit that was Coaster was unveiled for the Windows 3.1 platform PCs – you know those 386’s that lauded having a whole 24 megs of RAM – wow – I was simply put: freaking hooked. If you don’t recall Coaster, as it does entirely relate to the game that I am about to review, here is the nutshell scoop. Coaster was an amusement park game where you could custom design any type of roller coaster that you could ever imagine. Then you had to open the ride and manage it, and make sure it was safe. Screw up the design and you could get sued and lose your park. Testing the coasters was the greatest of fun. If they were too dangerous, they would end up tossing your riders hundreds of feet in the air to their deaths. Coaster was awesome!
Damn I wish that I had not played so much freaking Ridge Racer when I was the proud owner of a Sega Dreamcast gaming console. You know the 32-bit piece of junk that collectively—with poor marketing a shoddy budget and the frustrations and market failure of Sega CD—helped to bankrupt Sega and force them out of the video game console business for good. And who says that there are not extraterrestrial forces at work within the video game business. At Any rate…Ridge Racer was one of my favorite games for the Sega Dreamcast, and it would not be for several years later, until Ridge Racer 6 was unveiled and released for the Xbox 360, that I would get to enjoy of my favorite arcade styled racing game again. But now, it has been out for quite some time and I have not had a chance to review for you all up until now. (Yes I am playing catch up.
The world of online video games and the reviews of such have grown in considerable leaps and bounds ever since the internet gave to us such resources. These days you need merely log on to a plethora of handy sites that specialize in featuring video games reviews, in-depth looks and the all too sought after inside scoops featuring video walk-throughs, gamer opinions and lots of stuffing for your noodle. In a world where the Gestapo that is the ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) rules the pack and makes or breaks even the best of the violent video games with their AO (adults only), or M (mature) ratings—you can never know what a typical gamer will say about such productions in their online video games reviews.
If you are as sick and tired of seeing the same old shooter over and over again, with just a minor variation between different, often overlapping and historically inaccurate World War Two themes, then join the club, because I am too! So when a gaming company, in this case Sandlot and D3, decide to make something that screams originality and difference, and that offers a unique approach the calamity and boredom the quite often is commonplace in the shooter genre, one has to pick up the controller, and pop the game into their Xbox 360 and say, “To hell with it, here goes.” This was my mindset as I rented and decided that I would devote at least an hour of my time to Earth Defense Force 2017, and you know what, I became haplessly hooked on a decent all around shooter that certainly garners my approval, and I will happily tell you why!
Not that this game has ever truly had much or any competition, does not mean that it still is not an awesome game that is truly original; as original as Guitar Hero or Rock Band. And the game has experienced little change since the days where throngs of quarter pumping neophyte arcade goers would line up awaiting their turn to get their asses handed to them by a fifteen year old Asian kid who could not be beat. But this time the game comes into your living room, adorned with a dance mat and everything that you need in order to become the best damn dancer on the planet freaking earth. 
If you ask me I am not so sure why Atari even bothers making video games anymore, because of the past several Atari mishaps that I have had the distinct unpleasantness of encountering, I always end up removing them from my Xbox 360 console shaking my head in disdain, a profound wondering and serious pondering follows, one that makes me think: why make such a shoddy video game when you could easily take your budget for five lousy games on the production agenda for that year and merge them into one awesome and lucrative budget, and then make a truly fantastic game like Bethesda constantly does.
I must honestly admit that I expected far less out of the conceptualized Native American, first person shooter, Prey, than I had thought that Venom Games, Human Head Studios or 2k Games could ever fully deliver. And at the same time Prey is one of the oddest games that I have ever had the distinct pleasure of booting up in my Xbox 360 console. Being that it was one of the earlier games for the 360, and that it did not have very much hype at all surrounding its release, not many people were expecting a whole lot from Prey, myself included amongst the skeptics.
Ah yes, yet another video game after movie failure that could not even find successes even though its movie parent was one of the top grossing films of all time, and part of a three part movie series starring the twenty million dollar man – Johnny Depp – which did wonders at the box office. And hey, all of the Pirates movies in my opinion are not bad. Maybe it’s just because I am a big time Depp fan, or maybe it’s because I love the ride at Disney land. Either way, the good rule of thumb to follow here is the often diatribe that you here me complaining about when it comes to video games that follow movies, or TV series: they generally fail to deliver in any way, shape or form.
I have a major quip with Burger King on a number of levels. Firstly, they claim that all of their meats are flame broiled, but you can clearly see them putting them in the microwave when you order them – not that I ever recommend to anybody clogging their arteries with fast food. Secondly, they use some of the scariest advertising methods that I have ever seen, and tantamount to their frozen and microwavable burgers and stale buns, they think its genius to use a scary dude dressed up like a king with an enema smile on his face breaking into people’s homes and serving them some fat-filled, calorie-rich disgusting meals for breakfast. Okay, got the King out of my system – you scary clod you; back to the point, however.
If anybody can remember the mechanized warrior game, Chrome Hounds, then you will hate Armored Core 4. Mostly because the control sets are vastly different, and because Chrome Hounds was a big time hit long before this game was ever released, and has become an Xbox 360 classic of high caliber. Also because the entire interface is different, and the game offers more dumbed down graphics—somehow even though it was released about a year after Chrome Hounds—and an entirely different style of combat that may turn off many gamers who are avid fans of the Chrome Hounds franchise.
Let me turn you on to yet another failed Ubisoft prospect, this time coming from Ubisoft’s Montreal Studios – the assassin game called Assassin’s Creed. Where to start on this one, because oh boy, the list is really freaking long folks, and rest assured if you have not wasted your dimes on this puppy, better let it rest in the discount bin at the local Game Stop store, and you will be glad that you did, and here is why!
Never before has the video gaming world of tomorrow seen so many complicated games that can really wreak havoc on the thumbs, fingers and minds of the lesser active players. Some people I know will pick up games today and immediately put them down because they find them to be far too complicated for their likings. However, once in a while a truly decent and simplified games peeks its head around the corner and says, “Hey, I am good, easy to play, and fun!”
If only Microsoft had made a quality Xbox 360 console, millions of gamers would be far happier I think. But they really cut corners as much as humanly possible and the ending results are a lackluster unit that quite often breaks down during the first twelve months of usage. Although Microsoft much prefers it breaks after a year so they don’t have to provide free warranty work to the customers they are so busy ripping off.
With the year of 2008 officially in the books, it’s time to take a brief look back at all of those crud-filled games that were released for the Xbox 360 video game console. I have played more than 400 games on the Xbox 360, and in my opinion, out of all of them in the entire collection, these ones were quite possibly the worst games of 2008. I find it quite surprising that some of these games even had a budget, how you get people sold on something so shoddy is literally beyond me. So if you were ever wondering what the worst games of the last year were, these two ones easily top the list my friends. And I threw in one for the original Xbox that was still haunting me for its lameness.
Sneak King: And the ‘Lamest Game of 2008 Award’ official goes to this lackluster piece of garbage, and that is being nice folks.
So many games, so little time to burn out your thumbs and acquire a case of RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) playing them. But if you are like me, and your wrists are more worn out than a ninety year old carpenter, then you already know that there are ample amounts of great games that were released for the Xbox 360 during 2008. Of course, it would be far too lengthy for me to ever truly list them and yap about all of them for you in this blog. So I have been forced to boil it down to what I believe are the top three Xbox 360 games of 2008.
Grand Theft Auto IV: This game truly takes the wholly cake and the icing too for the best damn game ever to be created. You play a cunning and illegal Russian immigrant who must forge his way through the unforgiving alleyways of New York City, dubbed Liberty City for this game. You can pretty much do everything.
There are so many different ways that they could go about improving the Xbox 360 gaming console, that it is not even funny. And while I wish that I could say that most of the problems that have occurred on the console have been because of rushed production, or common oversights, these are not the culprits. Rather, the monopoly that is Microsoft has once again proven why the masses are benevolently opposed to the ‘Gates’ philosophy on software and hardware. That being: use the masses as your guinea pig and when your lousy software or hardware malfunctions do nothing to fix it until you release another more costly version that they can use, which has its own fare share of bugs. Kind of like the Windows Vista shuddery.
Calling all you avid shooter fanatics, myself included, out there who have been rampant fans to the original Xbox smash hit shooter, Red Faction and Red Faction II – they are finally working on the new Red Faction, due out for the Xbox 360 gaming console sometime during the middle or end of 2009, and I could not be more giddy with anticipation over what it will bring to all of us anxious gamers out there. Then again, after seeing how they destroyed some familiar two player aspects of Far Cry with the release of Far Cry 2, I am also hesitant to get too excited for Red Faction in fears that they may take away more than they add in the end.
One of the largest shooters to debut in 2008 was Rainbow Six Vegas 2, but the hype aside, there were many ways that this sequel failed to live up to all that it promised. To clarify to all of you who love shooters out there, and especially to all other fans of the Rainbow Six franchise: I love Rainbow Six Vegas – I am big time fan of all of the games in the Clancy series and have been playing them since they first made their way to the consoles of yesteryear on the Nintendo 64. But, when you take an awesome game like Rainbow Six Vegas and you screw up a lot of it with a rushed and shoddy sequel, you are going to hear me whine about it. So, without any more waiting, here are my gripes and my likes.
If you have not been keeping up with the numerous gaming console forums and blogs, all which are inundated with angry posts from pissed off and super perturbed consumers who got bilked out of hundreds of dollars at a time by placing their trust in the two largest video game console manufacturers, Sony and Xbox – then read on, because I aim to tell you all about this ridiculous load of mish mash people! Where to begin, where to begin, oh, I know, let’s start by talking about Sony’s Playstation 3, and go from there. And believe you me, it’s quite a story, more or less a scam at any rate.
If you are a football nut and you are a hapless fan of the EA Sports football franchises, then you already know that there are some pretty major differences between the juggernaut games that represent the college and the professional football versions of the popular sports—in their video game format. And seeing how both of these popular games are both developed and designed by teams at the EA Sports buildings, and how they both drive off the same engine for a basis, how in the heck are there, and more importantly why are there so many differences between the interfaces and game play options.
The NFL loving sports fanatic world of video gamers eagerly anticipated the release of EA Sports Madden NFL 2009 for almost an entire year. But after hurriedly ripping the shrink wrap packaging off and discarding the Microsoft seal, I was abound with joy and the similar letdown that I have experienced with all previous Madden Franchises. And it seems that the dudes over at EA, while they have made a pretty decent video game, have also made it entirely clear that they do not keep their ears to the ground when avid gamers complain of common problems with their games. That being said, here is my scoop on Madden NFL 2009 for the Xbox 360 gaming console.
Have you ever wondered why there is entirely a huge lacking in the two player department for newer Xbox 360 games? And no, I am not talking about two player games enabled via Xbox Live – that is nice and dandy. But what I am talking about are two player Xbox 360 games that can be played off the same console. It seems that with every single passing year, month, or week that newer Xbox 360 games are introduced, they commonly lack one thing in comparison: some freaking 2 player same console play, like the video games of our trodden past! But why is this the newest trend in Xbox 360 games?
Have you seen the newest release from the juggernaut software company, Bethesda? The company has recently been garnering much praise from the video gaming community as a whole for their fantastically successful debut of ‘Elder Scrolls: Oblivion’ which was one of the best selling video games of all time, and has been lauded by many as one of the best role playing or RPG games of all time. And now, Bethesda Software is hard at work again, this time bringing to the eager video gaming world their next latest and greatest RPG innovation: Fallout 3.
If you have not been hearing about all of this news with regards to the common dilemmas that many consumers are experiencing after purchasing the lofty and expensive Xbox 350 video gaming consoles, here is the scoop. Many people are finding that their Xbox 360 console is overheating far too quickly; the fans and the heat synch devices inside of it are not able to properly cool the system.Recent Posts
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