RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
edited February 2009
I'm late to the dance I'm sure but I recently picked up Fear 2 the other night (I already jumped on the first stage) and bought my kid a Playstation 2(Best Buy had them cheap). With the art stuff and work, I haven't had a chance to play my 360 much.
The wife has doodled around with a couple of games on the console while recovering from her injury and is beginning to like it but knowing her, I know that's short-lived.
Soon as she can get out without getting fatigued, we'll shop around for a nicely sized 1080p widescreen at good a good price of course.
I'll be going Live shortly,guys so get ready to kick my butt on alot of these games that I'm quite rusty on.
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
First and foremost, I hope your wife is ok and that her injury was nothing serious. Please pass along my wishes for a speedy recovery.
I played the first FEAR game; never really got into the mix of SWAT style combat and supernatural horror. Glad to hear you like it though; I'll have to look into it when it drops in price a bit.
Did you ever get Dead Space? For my money, that was the best survival horror game ever. Very reminiscent of the movie Alien and a great mix of sci-fi and horror.
I'll be looking for you online; when you do decide to sign up for Xbox Live, make sure to check out Amazon.com for the 12 month subscription cards as they always have good deals. Right now its going for $38.99, which is a savings of $12-$15 over the standard price.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
Thank you, Tony; I'll pass that along to her.
As far as finally getting Dead Space, I have to regrettably admit that I had forgotten about that one with everything going on in my neck of the woods but I'll quickly make amends of that the next time I head to Gamestop.
I will check Amazon for one of those deals so thanks for the info.
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Would anyone here recommend Left 4 Dead? I heard it's short but a lot of fun.
I don't have the game myself, but from everything I've read it seems that the game's multiplayer modes are its strongest aspect. As such, if you enjoy multiplayer and like the survival horror genre (and have Xbox Live, obviously), this may be worth your while.
Yesterday after finding a pretty good deal I got an Xbox 360, with it I got the new Resi Evil and also Call of Juarez, The Orange Box, Gears of War and Forza 2.
So fellow Xboxers what other Xbox exclusives can you recommend aside from Halo as thats a no brainer
1- On Her Majesty's Secret Service 2- Casino Royale 3- Licence To Kill 4- Goldeneye 5- From Russia With Love
So fellow Xboxers what other Xbox exclusives can you recommend aside from Halo as thats a no brainer
Congrats on getting an Xbox360; I'm sure you'll get a lot of mileage out of it. As to exclusives...
If you're into racing games you should definitely try out Project Gotham Racing 3 and 4 at some point; both games are now heavily discounted.
If you're into RPGs, Mass Effect is a good game where you basically become the captain of a starship and engage in a mission to literally save the galaxy. The 360 special edition now sells for $20.
Also Fallout 3, while not technically a console exclusive, does have some exclusive add-on content in the form of additional missions. So if you're into that franchise, the 360 version might be worth a look.
Crackdown is a very good open world sandbox style game in which you play a genetically augmented cop tasked with cleaning up the city; think Grand Theft auto with a sci-fi motif. Again, the game is very inexpensive these days.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance was a fun beat-em-up starring a bevy of characters from the Marvel Universe that now sells for around $20.
That's about it for notable exclusives that I can think of; of course there are tons of other games available. You'll find the 360 versions often look very good since its an easy platform to program and there is often lots more add-on content as well.
Ironically, I've been spending more time with my PS3 lately. I picked up the new Shadow Wireless PS3 controller, which reverses the placement of the left analog stick and the D-Pad so that it feels more like a 360 pad. I prefer that layout a lot more and the pad has a little more weight to it so I've been digging into Killzone 2, Resistance 2 and Heavenly Sword is waiting in the wings.
I've also picked up Halo Wars, Burnout: Paradise and Colony Wars for the 360 so I'll be a busy camper for the forseeable future.
Cheers for the recommendations Tony, I think my brother has a couple of those titles so i'll steal them from his collection for a while. I'm looking forward to playing some of the 360 exclusives as I have never really played Xbox before.
I have just got Killzone 2 myself but due to work and the newer console I haven't really got stuck into it yet. It seems fairly impressive though. Heavenly Sword is fantastic, if you haven't played it before and you like button bashing then you're in for a treat. Some find repetitive button bashing a bit dull but I find it strangely theraputic. The levels that use the sixaxis are very enjoyable too
I think i too maybe a busy gamer this week {[]
1- On Her Majesty's Secret Service 2- Casino Royale 3- Licence To Kill 4- Goldeneye 5- From Russia With Love
I beat Killzone 2 last week; it took me about 3 days - 8 hours total - to finish the single player campaign. That was a little on the short side but there's a lot of hidden stuff I didn't unlock and I haven't even tried multiplayer.
It was a good game with some very sharp graphics and a good sense of scale (some of the battles had a large, epic feel to them) but the aim left a little to be desired; I found it hard to accurately shoot my enemies and wound up wasting a lot of bullets (luckily, ammo was plentiful). I've heard that a patch was released which addressed several issues with the game including the aim so be on the lookout for that.
Also, I wasn't wild about Guerilla's retro World War II look for the structures and weapons. I know that it was a deliberate design choice on their part but mixing that look with two spacefaring cultures seemed anachronistic to me. There are also areas where the game just swarms you with enemies and you can easily get overwhelmed if you don't use cover and take it slow.
After beating KZ2 I started up Resistance 2 and that has been more to my liking. The AI of your comrades isn't always the best (KZ2 suffers from that as well) but it has a nice mix of traditional and alien weapons and levels that are all over the place; one started in an abandoned town and ended on a huge spaceship hovering in the skies above. Nice tight control in that one as well.
Yesterday after finding a pretty good deal I got an Xbox 360, with it I got the new Resi Evil and also Call of Juarez, The Orange Box, Gears of War and Forza 2.
So fellow Xboxers what other Xbox exclusives can you recommend aside from Halo as thats a no brainer
Welcome to the world of xbox360! I picked up my system at the end of 2007. Unfortunately I don't get a whole lot of time to play due to my schedule. So far, the games that I really have been able to immerse myself in are the Marvel Ultimate Alliance (which Tony mentioned), the Tomb Raider offerings (Underworld being the latest), and, if your are into light entertainment, the Lego games (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Batman) are surprisingly fun. The truth is, I haven't really plugged too many games into my xbox and found it to be a stinker. Most games have some redeeming value, whether it's graphics, story, or gameplay, to make it enjoyable.
How's 'Call to Juarez'? That one has often intrigued me and I think I might pick it up at some point.
jamesbondjr wants to know what Xbox game to play and no one recommends any James Bond game. If you can get it cheap, I would recommend QOS, it has some cool gun battles, although the story is convoluted. Also, my son loves Call of Duty "World at War". Enjoy your new 360.
How's 'Call to Juarez'? That one has often intrigued me and I think I might pick it up at some point.
I've not really played it yet, I had it on for 20 mins or so on Saturday but haven't had any length of time on it. What i have seen seems okay, I don't think it will top many peoples favourite game lists but it seems pretty fun.
I do fancy the new Tomb Raider I am a huge fan of the first game and the sequels left me a bit cold (Legend was ok) so i'm intrigued to see if it is an improvement
jamesbondjr wants to know what Xbox game to play and no one recommends any James Bond game. If you can get it cheap, I would recommend QOS, it has some cool gun battles, although the story is convoluted. Also, my son loves Call of Duty "World at War". Enjoy your new 360.
I have the 2 most recent Call of Duty games on my PS3 and have also completed Quantum of Solace on PS3. I may get the Call of Duty games for XBox as I know people who play it on Live. Are any of the earlier Bond games out on XBox?
1- On Her Majesty's Secret Service 2- Casino Royale 3- Licence To Kill 4- Goldeneye 5- From Russia With Love
The only James Bond games released for the first XBox that are compatible with the 360 are Nightfire and Goldeneye: Rogue Agent. In both cases, if you insert the Xbox disc into your 360 and are connected to Xbox Live, the console will download the appropriate backward compatibility update to let you play the games.
So far, the games that I really have been able to immerse myself in are ... the Tomb Raider offerings (Underworld being the latest)
Speaking of Tomb Raider: Underworld, there are now two downloadable chapters available for the game.
Beneath The Ashes is a fairly short excursion thru some labyrinthine passages beneath the remains of Croft Manor. There are a few clever puzzles along the way and a little bit of combat, but the emphasis is primarily on platforming action. The chapter is a little short as it only took me about 2 1/2 hours to complete it (though I didn't find everything). It also ends somewhat abruptly and in something of a cliffhanger.
Lara's Shadow is a more ambitious download where you take control of Lara's evil doppleganger from Tomb Raider: Underworld. The story ties in directly to the conclusion of Underworld as well as the events of Beneath the Ashes. It also fleshes out the double and gives her a backstory and a personality. Since you're playing as a slightly different character, you now have an enhanced set of abilities. Lara's double is much stronger and faster than Lara. In addition to advanced hand to hand combat moves, she can also slow down time for brief intervals to let her reach otherwise inaccessible areas and perform even more powerful combat moves. The areas in this chapter are very impressive, full of large rooms with ancient machinery and clever puzzles. While there is some backtracking, its also a lot of fun as the different character brings a new, fresher perspective to the game and opens up the possibilities for future Lara Croft games.
The downloads sell for 800 points ($10) each. Beneath the Ashes is a bit of a hard sell at that pricepoint unless you're a real Lara Croft fan, but Lara's Shadow is well worth the investment.
Sweepy the CatHalifax, West Yorkshire, EnglaPosts: 986MI6 Agent
Got my XBOX back a few days ago and have decided to get LIVE back
It is currently undergoing some updates but in an hour or so I WILL BE BACK!!!
Feel free to add me to your friends list, my gamertag is 'SuperiorPrince' and I currently have 'Burnout Paradise', 'Grand Theft Auto IV' and 'Quantum of Solace' although I'll be sure to get 'Call of Daty: Modern Warfare 2' in November
Sad news...the video seems to have crapped out on my xbox. I tried replacing the AV cable, and even hooked it up to another television, but with no luck. I've sent an e-mail to xbox tech support, so I'll just have to sit and wait for a verdict.
Feel free to add me to your friends list, my gamertag is 'SuperiorPrince' and I currently have 'Burnout Paradise', 'Grand Theft Auto IV' and 'Quantum of Solace' although I'll be sure to get 'Call of Daty: Modern Warfare 2' in November
Just added you Sweepy, I don't think we have any of the same games just yet but I am hoping to get COD soon
1- On Her Majesty's Secret Service 2- Casino Royale 3- Licence To Kill 4- Goldeneye 5- From Russia With Love
Sweepy the CatHalifax, West Yorkshire, EnglaPosts: 986MI6 Agent
Feel free to add me to your friends list, my gamertag is 'SuperiorPrince' and I currently have 'Burnout Paradise', 'Grand Theft Auto IV' and 'Quantum of Solace' although I'll be sure to get 'Call of Daty: Modern Warfare 2' in November
Just added you Sweepy, I don't think we have any of the same games just yet but I am hoping to get COD soon
Sad news...the video seems to have crapped out on my xbox. I tried replacing the AV cable, and even hooked it up to another television, but with no luck. I've sent an e-mail to xbox tech support, so I'll just have to sit and wait for a verdict.
Bummer. I recently read an article about how the 360's video subsystem has been getting a lot of failures lately (the E74 error if I recall correctly); that's what killed my second console.
Hopefully, MS will repair it at no expense to you. Let us know how things work out.
Bummer. I recently read an article about how the 360's video subsystem has been getting a lot of failures lately (the E74 error if I recall correctly); that's what killed my second console.
Hopefully, MS will repair it at no expense to you. Let us know how things work out.
It's not a E74 error as much as I can tell. There's no red light and absolutely no video. I'm doubting Microsoft will repair it no charge since it's out of warranty (by about 6 months X-( ). I see there are some people who have had the same issue online and one individual has a method of correcting the problem (attaching and re-attaching the hard drive while the unit is on, then re-booting the console). I may give it a try just out of curiousity.
My xbox was returned on Friday and everything is operating fine (I think). I really haven't had time to play it - only to hook it up and verify that it was functioning.
The repair charge was $100. That included all the shipping charges. I was a bit dismayed (unreasonably, I suppose) that the machine was 'repaired' and shipped out the same day it was received. It certainly cut down the wait time, but it leaves me wondering what exactly I paid for. As a nice touch, the xbox was returned with a pre-paid card for one month of xbox live. My wife and I have been taking advantage of the Netflix downloads over the weekend.
There is one irritating quirk since the unit was returned. There are two profiles on my machine - myself and my wife. My wife harldy ever plays the console, and when I would turn on the machine, it automatically signed on with my profile. Now, it doesn't sign on anyone automatically - it just says '2 profiles found' and I have to sign into my profile before playing. One of those little quirks I need fix at some point.
There is one irritating quirk since the unit was returned. There are two profiles on my machine - myself and my wife. My wife harldy ever plays the console, and when I would turn on the machine, it automatically signed on with my profile. Now, it doesn't sign on anyone automatically - it just says '2 profiles found' and I have to sign into my profile before playing. One of those little quirks I need fix at some point.
Glad to hear you're back in business Darenhat. Here's MS's support page on how to enable auto sign-in for a profile. Hope it helps...
BTW, I've also read that MS has just amended their warranty to now include additional failures not previously covered beyond the one year period. You may want to give them a followup call to see if the service performed on your console falls under this additional coverage.
Thanks for the link, Tony. I could never actually find the 'auto sign-in' on the dashboard. I could only find it when I was actually playing a game and hit the Guide button. Strange.
I tried out the demo to the new Wolverine game (loosely based on the new movie) and was quite impressed. Unlike most games based on movies or comic books, this one is actually very well produced with some good looking graphics, solid control and an art style somewhat reminiscent of the Tomb Raider games. The game is also ultra-violent, with tons of blood, impalings, decapitations and all sorts of additional mayhem. You really feel like you're controlling a deadly killing machine as Wolverine has a set of moves that are easy to pick up, responsive and quite versatile. The game has also gotten some good reviews. Definitely a game worth considering if you're an action fan.
A little article about the success of the XBox and especially XBox Live. I can report that my son spends hours online playing Call of Duty World at War with other users. He has downloaded additional maps, and other assorted upgrades. Hard to argue against the success of the X Box
The E3 Entertainment Expo is being held this week and Microsoft had a few interesting exclusive announcements during their keynote:
MS announced two new Halo games in the works. Halo: ODST is a first person action game being developed internally at Microsoft that explores events that happened concurrently with Halo 3. You play a rookie Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ie: ODST) who does not have all of the abilities of the Master Chief and the entire game takes place in the ravaged ruins of planet Earth. ODST is scheduled to be released in September of this year.
Original Halo developers Bungie are also working on a Halo game called Halo: Reach. While little info was released during the presentation, a Halo novel called "The Fall of Reach" told the story of the first meeting between Earth and the Covenant forces. The novel ended precisely where the first Halo game began so this game will most likely also be a prequel to the original game. It is currently scheduled for release sometime in 2010.
For Rock Band fans, MS was able to get Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to endorse the new Rock Band: Beatles game, which allows you to "play" classic Beatles tunes from their varied discography.
And in an interesting move clearly aimed at the Wii, MS announced their own motion sensing technology called NATAL. Unlike the Wii, which uses its Wiimote pointer, NATAL uses no controller at all. A special camera is attached to the 360 and it scans your body movements, voice modulations and even facial expressions. Using NATAL you can do everything from navigating the Xbox dashboard by waving your hand to playing a driving game by holding your arms out and simply mimicking a driving motion. Its an intriguing technology and it will be interesting to see how MS implements it going forward.
There was more news as well including exclusive games and other content for the Metal Gear and Final Fantasy franchises, a new Forza Motorsports game and all kinds of additional functionality for the Xbox dashboard.
Interesting stuff Tony, thanks for the update. The Halo news interests me, as I really enjoyed the original Halo series from Bunge. As for the new camera controller, I am thinking it would be odd to be sitting in a chair pretending to drive a car with hand motions, but having nothing in my hands. I guess all the pantomimes will be able to put their skills to work.
Comments
The wife has doodled around with a couple of games on the console while recovering from her injury and is beginning to like it but knowing her, I know that's short-lived.
Soon as she can get out without getting fatigued, we'll shop around for a nicely sized 1080p widescreen at good a good price of course.
I'll be going Live shortly,guys so get ready to kick my butt on alot of these games that I'm quite rusty on.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
I played the first FEAR game; never really got into the mix of SWAT style combat and supernatural horror. Glad to hear you like it though; I'll have to look into it when it drops in price a bit.
Did you ever get Dead Space? For my money, that was the best survival horror game ever. Very reminiscent of the movie Alien and a great mix of sci-fi and horror.
I'll be looking for you online; when you do decide to sign up for Xbox Live, make sure to check out Amazon.com for the 12 month subscription cards as they always have good deals. Right now its going for $38.99, which is a savings of $12-$15 over the standard price.
As far as finally getting Dead Space, I have to regrettably admit that I had forgotten about that one with everything going on in my neck of the woods but I'll quickly make amends of that the next time I head to Gamestop.
I will check Amazon for one of those deals so thanks for the info.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Amazon Xbox Live Gold 12+1 Subscription
http://s274.photobucket.com/albums/jj258/monza860/
I don't have the game myself, but from everything I've read it seems that the game's multiplayer modes are its strongest aspect. As such, if you enjoy multiplayer and like the survival horror genre (and have Xbox Live, obviously), this may be worth your while.
Halo 3
Call of Duty 4
Call of Duty: World at World
my gamertag is UNSCDF 117
I also play:
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
Resistance 2
QOS 007
Killzone 2
on PS3, my name on there is Blackened88.
http://s274.photobucket.com/albums/jj258/monza860/
So fellow Xboxers what other Xbox exclusives can you recommend aside from Halo as thats a no brainer
Congrats on getting an Xbox360; I'm sure you'll get a lot of mileage out of it. As to exclusives...
If you're into racing games you should definitely try out Project Gotham Racing 3 and 4 at some point; both games are now heavily discounted.
If you're into RPGs, Mass Effect is a good game where you basically become the captain of a starship and engage in a mission to literally save the galaxy. The 360 special edition now sells for $20.
Also Fallout 3, while not technically a console exclusive, does have some exclusive add-on content in the form of additional missions. So if you're into that franchise, the 360 version might be worth a look.
Crackdown is a very good open world sandbox style game in which you play a genetically augmented cop tasked with cleaning up the city; think Grand Theft auto with a sci-fi motif. Again, the game is very inexpensive these days.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance was a fun beat-em-up starring a bevy of characters from the Marvel Universe that now sells for around $20.
That's about it for notable exclusives that I can think of; of course there are tons of other games available. You'll find the 360 versions often look very good since its an easy platform to program and there is often lots more add-on content as well.
Ironically, I've been spending more time with my PS3 lately. I picked up the new Shadow Wireless PS3 controller, which reverses the placement of the left analog stick and the D-Pad so that it feels more like a 360 pad. I prefer that layout a lot more and the pad has a little more weight to it so I've been digging into Killzone 2, Resistance 2 and Heavenly Sword is waiting in the wings.
I've also picked up Halo Wars, Burnout: Paradise and Colony Wars for the 360 so I'll be a busy camper for the forseeable future.
I have just got Killzone 2 myself but due to work and the newer console I haven't really got stuck into it yet. It seems fairly impressive though. Heavenly Sword is fantastic, if you haven't played it before and you like button bashing then you're in for a treat. Some find repetitive button bashing a bit dull but I find it strangely theraputic. The levels that use the sixaxis are very enjoyable too
I think i too maybe a busy gamer this week {[]
It was a good game with some very sharp graphics and a good sense of scale (some of the battles had a large, epic feel to them) but the aim left a little to be desired; I found it hard to accurately shoot my enemies and wound up wasting a lot of bullets (luckily, ammo was plentiful). I've heard that a patch was released which addressed several issues with the game including the aim so be on the lookout for that.
Also, I wasn't wild about Guerilla's retro World War II look for the structures and weapons. I know that it was a deliberate design choice on their part but mixing that look with two spacefaring cultures seemed anachronistic to me. There are also areas where the game just swarms you with enemies and you can easily get overwhelmed if you don't use cover and take it slow.
After beating KZ2 I started up Resistance 2 and that has been more to my liking. The AI of your comrades isn't always the best (KZ2 suffers from that as well) but it has a nice mix of traditional and alien weapons and levels that are all over the place; one started in an abandoned town and ended on a huge spaceship hovering in the skies above. Nice tight control in that one as well.
Welcome to the world of xbox360! I picked up my system at the end of 2007. Unfortunately I don't get a whole lot of time to play due to my schedule. So far, the games that I really have been able to immerse myself in are the Marvel Ultimate Alliance (which Tony mentioned), the Tomb Raider offerings (Underworld being the latest), and, if your are into light entertainment, the Lego games (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Batman) are surprisingly fun. The truth is, I haven't really plugged too many games into my xbox and found it to be a stinker. Most games have some redeeming value, whether it's graphics, story, or gameplay, to make it enjoyable.
How's 'Call to Juarez'? That one has often intrigued me and I think I might pick it up at some point.
I've not really played it yet, I had it on for 20 mins or so on Saturday but haven't had any length of time on it. What i have seen seems okay, I don't think it will top many peoples favourite game lists but it seems pretty fun.
I do fancy the new Tomb Raider I am a huge fan of the first game and the sequels left me a bit cold (Legend was ok) so i'm intrigued to see if it is an improvement
I have the 2 most recent Call of Duty games on my PS3 and have also completed Quantum of Solace on PS3. I may get the Call of Duty games for XBox as I know people who play it on Live. Are any of the earlier Bond games out on XBox?
The only James Bond games released for the first XBox that are compatible with the 360 are Nightfire and Goldeneye: Rogue Agent. In both cases, if you insert the Xbox disc into your 360 and are connected to Xbox Live, the console will download the appropriate backward compatibility update to let you play the games.
Speaking of Tomb Raider: Underworld, there are now two downloadable chapters available for the game.
Beneath The Ashes is a fairly short excursion thru some labyrinthine passages beneath the remains of Croft Manor. There are a few clever puzzles along the way and a little bit of combat, but the emphasis is primarily on platforming action. The chapter is a little short as it only took me about 2 1/2 hours to complete it (though I didn't find everything). It also ends somewhat abruptly and in something of a cliffhanger.
Lara's Shadow is a more ambitious download where you take control of Lara's evil doppleganger from Tomb Raider: Underworld. The story ties in directly to the conclusion of Underworld as well as the events of Beneath the Ashes. It also fleshes out the double and gives her a backstory and a personality. Since you're playing as a slightly different character, you now have an enhanced set of abilities. Lara's double is much stronger and faster than Lara. In addition to advanced hand to hand combat moves, she can also slow down time for brief intervals to let her reach otherwise inaccessible areas and perform even more powerful combat moves. The areas in this chapter are very impressive, full of large rooms with ancient machinery and clever puzzles. While there is some backtracking, its also a lot of fun as the different character brings a new, fresher perspective to the game and opens up the possibilities for future Lara Croft games.
The downloads sell for 800 points ($10) each. Beneath the Ashes is a bit of a hard sell at that pricepoint unless you're a real Lara Croft fan, but Lara's Shadow is well worth the investment.
It is currently undergoing some updates but in an hour or so I WILL BE BACK!!!
Feel free to add me to your friends list, my gamertag is 'SuperiorPrince' and I currently have 'Burnout Paradise', 'Grand Theft Auto IV' and 'Quantum of Solace' although I'll be sure to get 'Call of Daty: Modern Warfare 2' in November
Just added you Sweepy, I don't think we have any of the same games just yet but I am hoping to get COD soon
Request accepted
Bummer. I recently read an article about how the 360's video subsystem has been getting a lot of failures lately (the E74 error if I recall correctly); that's what killed my second console.
Hopefully, MS will repair it at no expense to you. Let us know how things work out.
It's not a E74 error as much as I can tell. There's no red light and absolutely no video. I'm doubting Microsoft will repair it no charge since it's out of warranty (by about 6 months X-( ). I see there are some people who have had the same issue online and one individual has a method of correcting the problem (attaching and re-attaching the hard drive while the unit is on, then re-booting the console). I may give it a try just out of curiousity.
That sucks, I heard the repair could cost somewhere around $150.
http://s274.photobucket.com/albums/jj258/monza860/
The repair charge was $100. That included all the shipping charges. I was a bit dismayed (unreasonably, I suppose) that the machine was 'repaired' and shipped out the same day it was received. It certainly cut down the wait time, but it leaves me wondering what exactly I paid for. As a nice touch, the xbox was returned with a pre-paid card for one month of xbox live. My wife and I have been taking advantage of the Netflix downloads over the weekend.
There is one irritating quirk since the unit was returned. There are two profiles on my machine - myself and my wife. My wife harldy ever plays the console, and when I would turn on the machine, it automatically signed on with my profile. Now, it doesn't sign on anyone automatically - it just says '2 profiles found' and I have to sign into my profile before playing. One of those little quirks I need fix at some point.
Glad to hear you're back in business Darenhat. Here's MS's support page on how to enable auto sign-in for a profile. Hope it helps...
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/907708?sd=xbox
BTW, I've also read that MS has just amended their warranty to now include additional failures not previously covered beyond the one year period. You may want to give them a followup call to see if the service performed on your console falls under this additional coverage.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/140237-the-genius-of-microsoft-20-million-xbox-live-users-and-counting
MS announced two new Halo games in the works. Halo: ODST is a first person action game being developed internally at Microsoft that explores events that happened concurrently with Halo 3. You play a rookie Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ie: ODST) who does not have all of the abilities of the Master Chief and the entire game takes place in the ravaged ruins of planet Earth. ODST is scheduled to be released in September of this year.
Original Halo developers Bungie are also working on a Halo game called Halo: Reach. While little info was released during the presentation, a Halo novel called "The Fall of Reach" told the story of the first meeting between Earth and the Covenant forces. The novel ended precisely where the first Halo game began so this game will most likely also be a prequel to the original game. It is currently scheduled for release sometime in 2010.
For Rock Band fans, MS was able to get Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to endorse the new Rock Band: Beatles game, which allows you to "play" classic Beatles tunes from their varied discography.
And in an interesting move clearly aimed at the Wii, MS announced their own motion sensing technology called NATAL. Unlike the Wii, which uses its Wiimote pointer, NATAL uses no controller at all. A special camera is attached to the 360 and it scans your body movements, voice modulations and even facial expressions. Using NATAL you can do everything from navigating the Xbox dashboard by waving your hand to playing a driving game by holding your arms out and simply mimicking a driving motion. Its an intriguing technology and it will be interesting to see how MS implements it going forward.
There was more news as well including exclusive games and other content for the Metal Gear and Final Fantasy franchises, a new Forza Motorsports game and all kinds of additional functionality for the Xbox dashboard.