Rants and Raves

Top Five Ways that Xbox Live Could be a Whole Lot Better!

By Michael Jon Lazar on 4/20/09 10:10am
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If you are an avid Xbox 360 gamer, then you already have – without me having to even second guess – taken your gaming prowess to the next level by signing up for and using the all too popular internet medium that comprises Xbox Live. But let’s not be brash here shall we? Indeed, Xbox Live is a product of Microsoft, their servers and their defunct software. That being stated, we all know that it can be glitch-ridden and frustrating from time to time, or all of the time! So read on further to know why it sucks and how they could make it better!

Top Five Ways that Xbox Live Could be a Whole Lot Better!
1. No more freaking Xbox Live Points! This is a conundrum that really peeves me off! You already pay tons of cash to play the games, but now you have to pay to go Live? Please!
2. Real time servers that are updated! That’s right…how about giving us servers that can actually handle the intense payload that they are struggling to barely cover at the present?

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What Ever Happened to Virtual Reality Games: None for the Xbox 360

By Michael Jon Lazar on 4/19/09 2:46pm
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Do you ever recall all of those different virtual reality games that were out there floating around in the late nineties and throughout the first part of this new century. Well if you do, then – as the picture to upper left demonstrates – you would easily recall that such games required the wearing of rather bulky glasses, sometimes accompanied by gloves, a vest, and in extreme cases a sphere (see the video at the bottom of this blog post). But, unlike Nintendo, whom even bodes their current console on its semi-virtual reality offerings, Xbox 360 thus far has refrained. And if you ask me…they never will walk down that path!

Were Virtual Reality Games Just Lame?
These games always were limited. They had slower frame rates, bad graphics and terrible plots. Because of the propensity of the game itself, being that you had to see in 360 degrees around you at all times, they were by nature limited. So in answer, yes they were and are lame.

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Top Three Reasons Why Sports Games Are Never the Same on Xbox Live!

By Michael Jon Lazar on 4/18/09 2:26pm
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If you enjoy playing sports games on the Xbox 360 as much as I do then you already know what happens when you try to play your buddies online: the game play changes entirely and the experience is almost nearly never as fulfilling as a same console match up. Perhaps this is because of shoddy engineering. Or perhaps because of different internet connection speeds, who knows for sure. One thing that is prevalent – namely in games like Madden NFL 2009 and NCAA Football 2009 – is that most sports games really dwindle in their offerings once you take them to the online stage.

After having spent numerous amounts of gaming play hours jabbing the controller on a variety of different sports games online, I have come to the conclusion that most sports game blow on Xbox Live. But, to further my point I do present to you the Top Three Reasons Why Sports Games Are Never the Same on Xbox Live. And if you disagree, please feel free to comment in.

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Guitar Hero Quips: From the Musician’s Point of View

By Michael Jon Lazar on 1/30/09 4:47pm
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Let me first begin this gripe by stating very clearly, neither of the games I am about to moan about are faulty in the programming, have any glitches that I noticed, nor are they actually bad games in that sense. They are rather, well made games, some of the most successful games of all time actually, and I totally, entirely and fully understand why they are such cult classics. However, and I am sure there are some musicians out there who agree with me and many that don’t—from my point of view they are completely disenfranchising to the reality of being a musician, guitarist or band member. And, for the kids who get hooked on playing them, they will never really get to enjoy being a real musician, they will just stare at a screen, burning their eyes out and clunking away on an overpriced controller that is shaped to resemble a real instrument; a real instrument that could open their eyes to the joys and wonders of true artistic creation.

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