Beware the Ides of March

No, don't take warning becuase of Ceasar's death; take warning because you might jyst be overwhelemed with all of the new info out today. Lucky for you, here's a Best Of Round Up, with nothing to fear:

• The Biggie: PS3 to launch Early November (11/11/06) in a worldwide manner. I wonder were they got that idea from. Blu Ray specs held it back.
• More Talk on the PS3 Online service. Only Talk.
• Viva Pinata Project Revealed: Rare's next crazy project for the 360. Has a TV tie-in. Think: Animal Crossing with pinatas.
• Feeding Frezeny out on Marketplace. Great download.
• Burnout Pics on Marketplace
• Top Spin 2 Trailer

Finished Quake 4

I just managed to finish off Quake 4 last Sunday night. Overall, it was pretty nice game. Some obvious flaws that I think most poeple have alreadly picked up on, but a good, immersive FPS nonetheless.

The odd thing about Quake 4 was the amount of walking invloved in it. Sure, there was plenty of Strogg to kill around most corners, but there was pletny of walking as well. To be fair, I played the game of "Nomal" level, so maybe there is less in the harder levels, but still, I found the amount of empty rooms and hallways a little odd. I'm not complaining, just commenting.

Expect a full review to be posted over at TeamXbox sometime this week.

Posted Before Major Nelson!

There is a new demo of Ridge Racer 6 available for download through the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Yeah for beating the insider!

Get GR:AW With a Two/1 Deal

/* Begin GameStop plug

OK, so usually I don't give out free advertising for game companies, but this deal is worth mentioning. Right now, GameStops across the country are offering a Two for 1 Deal with Xbox 360 games. It's simple...trade in two Xbox 360 games for 1 new 360 game. There appear to be some limits on the deal (No Pre-orders), but it's the perfect oppurtunity to get GR:AW, the highest rated Xbox 360 game so far.

Enf Plug */

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...

The Death of Next-Gen DVD

Here is the exact reason why next-gen DVD (both Blu ray and HD-DVD) will fail.

No, the HDMI requirments aren't the exact reason why it will fail--it's the movie studios new found protection war that will. This time, they have gone way to far. They need to remember that, in the end, they are trying to please us, the consumer. Without us, they loss their jobs and houses. The movie studios are in a critical point in history right now, and if they continual to pull crap like this, they are done, over. Gone. The music industry faced the same problem about 3-4 years ago, and they managed to get out of it alive, with alittle help from iTunes. If the movie industry can't pull off the same feat...than I expect a new wave of media by 2008.

This is sad news for everyone. HDTV owners now have lost hope for real HD Movies. PS3 fans may just have to worry about Blu-Ray. Movie fans have already lost the war.

At least the world can still take some comfort in the thought that DVD quality, as it is now, aint that bad at all.

8 Weeks and Still No Card

Well, it is now official: MS has let us down, yet again. The diamond card program was supposed to ship within 6-8 weeks from sign up. Geuss what? It was 8 weeks since I signed up last Wednesday. I have yet to recieve my card.

These delays are really, REALLY starting to piss me off. First, it's not like MS is open at all about revieilng any info to begin with. Than, whatever they do state turns out wrong. Take a look at the three phantom XBLA games to come out: Feeding Frezny, AstroPop and Jewl Quest. Each had a date of February 2006, yet each now is pushed back into March. Whats up with that? And, I don't buy the lie that the games are having probelms. garage Games was very open about their game, and showed the world that it was MS who held up the game FOR NO REASON. None of these games have problems, because none of them are really new. The hold up is al MS own idea: to spread out content so it seems like there is more of it. The reality is that right now, the 360 is in a really dead spot. March can't come soon enough for some REAL games (Yes, I'm talking to you COD2. Don't get too high on your great attachment numbers: it's only becuase you were the best of the worst. Once some real games hit, it's all over. GRAW should show Activison how a real multiplayer game is made).

Anyway, I emailed customer support at 6 PM PST 2/24/2006. I'll post back as soon as I get a real answer.

Finished FA Single Player

Last night I managed to get past the final three stages of Full Auto, thus unlocking 70 GamerScore points. The only level that gave me trouble was the "Pure Clutch" one. I even thought that the last one, oddly titles "The End?" was easier than that one.

All in all, no surprises at the end, and overall just more of the same. Now it's time to log on to XBL to get that Level 10 Achievment. Right now, I think I'm at Level 4...I've got some work to do.

Also, I'm pretty close to hitting the 4000 GS point mark. It's not as big as the 1000 moment, but still cool. I predict to be at around 20000 GS points by the end of this year, based on current speed and the fact that more games will be out by than. Imagine what it will be like when we reach the stage we're at now on the Xbox 1 with the Xbox 360....over 800 games, each with 1000 points, thats 800000 possible points, plus the XBLA titles. It will be very intresting to look at people's GamerCards once that starts happening. I can see it now: "It was my sister playing Barbie's Horse Adventure's 2, I swear! (But, hey, I still got 400 points from it!)"

Xbox 360 Camera Info, Date

A new article in the Offical Xbox 360 Hong Kong Magazine has shed some light onto the elusive camera for the 360. the article stats that the camera will support up to 640 x 480 video at a solid 30 fps. The camera will also be able to take 1.3 MegaPixel still images. It has a street date of May 2006.

The ad also included a picture of the fabled "Quick Charge Kit" which is similar to the play and Charge Kit, except that it holds two batteries and can charge without a controler. It too is expected in May.

Full Auto Review

I just posted my Full Auto review over at TeamXbox. Remember, the review system has three steps: pre-thoughts, first thoughts, and than full review. The two opening steps play a role in the final review.

FULL AUTO REVIEWED

Full Auto: First Thoughts

So, I just finished playing FA for about 90 minutes or so, and here are some thoughts.

First, the postivies, and there are a lot of them. The game plays much smoother than the demo, and boosts better graphics all around. There are plenty of cars and tracks to choose from, and some creative weapon choices, The game is challenging, but not hard to play. Xbox Live play runs without a hithc, and is much smoother than some of the other laggy games out there (caugh...COD2...caugh).

On the negative side, the game isn't very deep, and I could see how this could ware out pretty fast. There are some framerate issues (ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!) but overall it dosn't subtract too much from the game.

So far, Full Auto looks like a nice game with some solid potential. My opening thoughts rating is a 4 star rating out of a possible 5.

Stats on Cursing on Halo 2

Heres a link to an interesting study on the frequency of cuss words on Xbox Live's Halo 2. This is good stuff, although it's pretty easy to predict, no surprsies here. The Internet is full of normal people pretending to be morons.

LINK

Full Auto Ships

Full Auto shiped today. Cetris paribus, I'll be picking it up sometime tomorrow. The game recieved a 7.1 or so from both IGN and TeamXbox. However, what I cared about was fixed--the frame rate. I personally liked the way the demo played out, just was disappointed by the horrible frame rate.

Expect a first impression post sometime tomorrow about opening thoughts. I'm still playing through Quake 4 and PDZ, so I can't write a full review yet...however, as a "pre-review" so far PDZ is looking like an 8.5 and Quake about an 8. Both have fun multiplayer and an OK single player, but Quake 4 just misses the graphic boat, and PDZ has really bad level desgin, so much so that little arrows have to guide you through the level.

King Kong Demo Up

Sure, the movie isn't in cinemas anymore, and the Xbox 360 version was bad-mouthed by its own dev team, but we can beat a free demo. It's up now over at the Martketplace.

GW:AW Demo Coming 2/27

A demo of the up and coming Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfare is going to hit the marketplace on Monday, February 27, 2006.

In other news, Full Auto hits store shelevs this week. Full Auto is by far the most debated 360 game, as some love it, or others hate it. I personally will (probably) be getting it some time this week. The only that sucks is I have to buy it from Amazon to use my $30 gif card, and Amazon dosn't offer the free faceplate deal, which sucks.

CR Is On, MN.Com is Off

Despite some reports, this blog is still up and running just fine. Any crashes/downtime is mostly on your end, except for a few Blogger downtimes for maintaince, which, as luck would have it, starts tonight at 7 PST.

Majornelson.com is not as lucky, however. After the server seitch last Friday, his site has not been fully operational, and his Blogcast was very hard to download from the main source: his site. Currently, the enite blog is pulled down right now. Eailer, at around 1:30 PM, the site said it was going up in about 15 minutes, but than that message too dissappeared. Now a thrid message is here, with a more vague and less promising "Will return soon" warning.

Just a reminder: While the Major is down, the CR is still up. Cheek here for any news updates, as always.