DOA 4 Patch

A patch has been released for DOA 4 over Xbox Live today. No word yet as to what it fixes.

Look for a demo of The Outfit latter on today.

CR Scoring System Revealed

There seems to be some confusion as to how CR (this blog) scores the games it reviews. Here's how it all works.

• Reviews are spilt into three catergories.
• The first catergory is Pre-Thoughts. This is usually posted along the same time that the game goes gold. Basically, this explains why I am going to purchase the game, or why I am not. These graded on a 5 star scale. A 1 represents no interest at all, a 2 represents possible rent, 3 a possible gift/purchase, 4 a definite purchase, and 5 a pre-order. These scores are converted, as shown below.
• The second category is Opening-Thoughts. This is usually posted the day I buy the game, after playing for around 90-120 minutes, or unlocking 200 GamerScore, whichever is first. These thoughts are often focused on just raw emotion, and what my opinion is while I'm in the game. It too is graded on a 5 star scale. A 1 represents returning right now, a 2 represents a trade-in, 3 a let down, 4 a good game, and 5 a must keep in collection.
• The final step is the Closing Review. All closing reviews are posted on TeamXbox.com, with a link provided here. This is the closest part to a "normal" review, and takes a look at the game once I have completed it. Complettion standards are as follows: complete finish with Single Player on medium level, minium of 2 hours on-line play (if available), minium 200 GS. These part is rated out of 10, however, this score itself is never revealed. Parts of it are, and those parts do make an average score, but it is impossible to determine this actual score.
• The final score shown on the bottom of the TeamXbox review is the final score, taking into accoutant all 3 parts of the review. Star reviews are converted in the following: 5 Star = 100, 4 Star = 85, 3 Star = 75, 2 Star = 55, 1 Star = 15. The final score is a sum of the adjusted Pre-thoughts score, adjusted Opening Thoughts score, and double the Closing thoughts score. Thus, the Pre/Opening thoughts each accoutant for 1/4 of the final score, while the closing score counts for 1/2 the score. This sum, refered to as The Games Score, is than averaged (divided by 4) to get a score out of 100 (known as Games Offical Score). The decimal is moved over to convert to an out of ten score (known as Standard Score), however, this is just to fit on TeamXbox. The offical score is the one out of 100.
• These rules only apply to games released since 11/22/2005. Different scoring systems were used before that, and scores can not be compared between the two eras.

GR:AW Gone Gold

Probably the most anticpated Xbox 360 game to date, Tom Clancy's GR:AW has gone gold today. Expcet the title to arrive in stores 3/8/2006.

The demo for this game, as reported by CR itself, was supposed to go Live on Monday. Theres no offical word yet as to the delay, but it is likely that (once again) MS is holding the demo back.

The title itself looks to live up to the expectations presented to it. So far, I've been impressed by the media releases and the way the game looks. It has managed to score a "Buy" from me in the pre-weeks, earing a respectful 4/5 from me.

Remember, this score does go into my final review. See this post for clarification.

MS Portable Sorta Unvield

An update to a viral wbesite shows a new, year-old viedo of project code-named Origami. This very well could be the Xbox Portable. Sorta. More like Windows Portable, featuring Xbox. Not much is known, yet, but it looks like more may surface on Thursday. Here's the only pic from the video that gamers care about. Yes, thats a Covy shield, and a battle riffle.

The Response

I posted before about my angry email to MS Support. Here's the email I sent:

I have a concern over the Xbox Live Diamond Card program. I signed up on December 22, 2005 and provided complete information needed. The offer stated the card would arrive within 6-8 weeks. It has now been beyond 8 weeks, and I am worried about where my card might be. Please respond as soon as possible. Microsoft should be aware that these frequent delays are rather annyoing and hard on the consumer.

And, heres the response I got back:

Hello -----------,

Thank you for writing Xbox Customer CareWe deeply apologize for the inconvenience. It sounds like this has been a very frustrating experience for you. After careful review of your issue, we have determined that it is best that you call the Xbox Customer Support number for better assistance;United States and Canada : 1-800-4MY-XBOX (1-800-469-9269) International direct dial to US : 1- 425-635-7180Our phone representatives will assist you 7 days a week from 9:00AM -12:00 MN CST (Central Standard Time). Thank you for understanding.

Sincerely,

Rb
Xbox Customer Care Team

If the card dosn't come this week, and others start posting that they gt theirs, than I guess I'll have to call. But talk about poor customer service---what's the phone call going to do that this email can't. Wait a minute, heres a cool idea- call the number, and repeat the email exatly. Than we could see the real difference...