xbox360 | Procrastinating in the Heat

Posts Tagged ‘ xbox360 ’

Halo Day

By now, Halo 3 is in the hands of many Xbox owners in North America. It is currently set to be the largest gaming event since the console launches of Nintendo and SONY last year.

I know I stopped blogging about games here. But I got tired of moving from one blog to another and it seems that my gaming views are not that far off from my tech views. So to kick off my return to blogging about games, I shall begin with Halo 3.

I never owned the original Xbox, although I’ve played through the original game on my mac (ironically was originally created for the mac before Bungie was acquired by Microsoft) I skipped the second installment (it came out the same time as Metal Gear Solid 3) and now we have Halo 3.

It cannot be denied that this is the one game that somehow kept the original Xbox in the gaming map but now it enters into very different territory. It’s life begins as the console is the number 1 selling next generation console (although debatable with Wii sales still surging a year after launch). Most people buying the game originally had the first two games on the original Xbox and now it has a much bigger audience with the success of Gears of War and Bioshock. No doubt they will buy the game (I would too). But it’s on the heels of their recent admission of hardware failures.

This is the one thing that brings this game (and so many others) to a level even below of the PS3. Consumer confidence is quite low on the hardware itself. Everyone I’ve known who owns a 360 has had it repaired or replaced within 12 months of owning the thing. I also brought mine for replacement. This is sad. I am afraid of playing Forza even if they say that it wasn’t the game’s fault for breaking a console, but over 50 pages of user reports of hardware failure related to the game can’t all be wrong.

I’m sure the guys at Bungie did their job. And once I get my hands on the game I’ll post something here, but if the console that it plays on wont last long enough for me to finish the game (or any other for that matter) it’s a sad waste of gaming greatness.

2007: 09/25
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: bungie
halo
xbox360
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What would make me get a PS3?

Almost six months have passed since the PS3 was launched and currently struggles against the Wii and the Xbox 360. There have been a lot of reasons from gamers why they haven’t made the jump. Too expensive. No games. And let me think..no games. Yes, that’s it. There wasn’t one launch title I wanted in my room or I was even remotely interested in playing.

It was only good as a Blu-ray disc player. And not that many living rooms in the world have Hi-Def TV sets in their homes. Where was the Metal Gear Solid 4, Final Fantasy 13 (yes they just released 12 last year, I can wish can’t I?), Gran Turismo HD? The only reason why I got the PS2 way back when was the fact that GT3 came out. At the time, that was the most I had spent on a gaming console ever. You got to admit, it’s pretty hard to let go of your $600 cold hard earned cash on something you’re not going to be happy with.

But after GDC 2007 I’ll say only three words. Little Big Planet.

At first it looks like a Nintendo game but it turns out that it’s on the PS3. The music is catchy, I can make my own design levels. Think Pikmin in the real world but with four players and the ability to design levels. Plus the levels that you make can be shared with other PS3 users and you can rate them and download them for FREE without having to PAY for it (can you hear me Micro$oft?).

The same goes for Sony Home, that place (and I do mean a real 3D environment where you can interact with your friends in virtual space and see everything that is available to see and bring back to your home.

Yes Ace Combat 6 will be coming out on the 360. Another big hop from a Playstation exclusive into Xbox territory, and Blue Dragon coming out soon it seems that the Xbox is a better choice at this time. But all the innovative games are with the Wii and now PS3.

It seems that the console wars are just about to begin.

2007: 04/08
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: PS3
xbox360
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Gears of War and the Xbox

I finally gave in last weekend and bought Gears of War for the Xbox. It seemed like a nice game. But I was a bit hesistant to cough up the $60 to buy the game. I had gotten so used to the usual $50 with previous consoles so the price seemed a little bit steep for me.

Just to give a little perspective, I’m a Japanese console fan. I own both the PS2 and the Gamecube, PSP and the DS I didn’t give the original Xbox my time or my money. Until Final Fantasy XI Online came out for the Xbox.

I had been playing the game for around 2 years now and solely on the PS2. I started to think, “What would I do if my console suddenly broke down?”. That scared me into buying an Xbox.

My search for an Xbox is another story, let’s just say I was playing FFXI the whole time since May until December. I did buy Oblivion and Project Gothan Racing 3 along with it but it didn’t really earn my time on the console other than FFXI. That is until GOW came out.

I had read the reviews and heard my cousin raving about it but I coudn’t really see why. I never liked playing shooters on the console due to it’s lack of control compared to a mouse and keyboard. I played Halo on my Mac and it was satisfying enough. But not enough to convince me to get it on the console.

I checked the reviews again and listened to my cousin and since there was no Wii in stock that I could buy, I finally gave in and flopped the cash for what could be “The Game of the Year.”

I must say it is awesome. Console shooters require a little more help with the controls and GOW does it. It’s quite easy to get into the game and the difficulty is just right for people who aren’t used to console shooters. If anyone had any resistance (no pun intended PS3), buy it now and you wont be disappointed. Just as long as they don’t release it as a greatest hits version in the next year or so. It’s worth the console and it’s worth the game.

Now to see if another Xbox game comes along that will stop me from playing my FFXI and GOW. Until the Wii comes out, I’m out fragging.

2006: 12/11
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: ffxi
gears of war
xbox360
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The true cost of next gen gaming

People keep looking at the cost of the consoles. $499 for the XBOX 360, $599 for the PS3 and it’s currently unknown for the Wii (although rumors put it at $200-250). No one looks at the cost of the games.

Currently, games for all three consoles cost $50. For someone’s allowance, it’s a considerable price if you want kids to play the game and parents to buy it. But when it reaches a certain point where it’s too expensive, that’s where things get to be a bit iffy.

The most expensive 360 game is currently priced at $60. As a games used to the $50 mark I was shocked. I settled then for the used game so the priuce point would still be at the $50 range.

But as reports come out that games for the PS3 may reach as high as $99 I think Sony is crazy for placing prices that high. As it stands, console makers already lose money per console and the only way they can hope to earn it all back is to sell many games. But putting it at $99 will put the games beyond the reach of the mass market, the very market that they want to reach. If they want these consoles not just in hands of fans and gamers but in the living room, they have to lower the prices.

At this rate the Wii seems to have won the battle without a single console out in the streets. But who knows? Amazon Japan pre-sales are higher for the PS3 than the Wii. Will it be the same for the rest of the world? I guess we have to wait until November to find out. Unless Nintendo releases their console earlier than expected.