Sorry!

I couldn't complete a post yesterday, I was unexpectdly invited around to a friends, but anyway, happy new year!  A great year of gaming awaits us!  

-Seb-

Halo 3 Ending...

You probably all know that if you completed Halos 2 and 3 on legendary, you get a bonus movie at the end.  Well my friends, if you haven't already seen the movie on Youtube, go down to your Xbox 360 and pop Halo 3 in (if it isn't already in there which is unlikely).  Start the second half of the 'Halo' mission on easy, yes, easy!  Complete the level and when that letter from Bungie thanking you opens, wait and credits will appear.  These take a while so please be patient.  After that the screen will turn black then the movie will commense.

Cheers and happy gaming!
-Seb-

Whoops!

Sorry, I should have mentioned this in yesterdays post, but you can now gift Microsoft Points to other users. However you must know the recipients Windows Live Hotmail email address and live in the United States to use this feature. I haven't used this yet (I live in New Zealand) however apparently it is possible to use Microsoft Points not only for use on the Xbox Live Marketplace, but also on the Zune Marketplace! More info at http://tinyurl.com/2spyy4.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your gaming!
-Seb-

Gears of War is 'not very good'

See above! That's what friend of mine said today. Try telling that to all the major gaming sites who gave it very generous scores, most 9+. Please feel free to flame this post!

Cheers and enjoy your gaming!
-Seb-

This is my 50th post!

Well, according to blogger.com, this is my 50th post! I would love some feedback on the blog and please, feel free to comment on my posts, however please note that unacceptable language will not be tolerated.

I am also the proud owner of Fifa 08, the most realistic soccer game on the market. I am not that good at it, scored a couple of crackers, that should be in my EA Sports World account, look under 'Covertbike'.

Thanks for reading and happy gaming!
-Seb-

Fifa vs. PES

After playing Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 today, I was left bewildered in what game to buy next. Fifa or PES? Well, this head-to-head comparison helped me figure out the best choice. Note that I am not a fanboy of either franchise.

Fifa 08 vs. PES 2008

Presentation – FIFA

While both games have true next-generation graphics, FIFA excels in the life-like look of the players, unlike some from PES, who look nothing like their real-life counterparts.

Sound – Tie

PES’ horrible soundtrack is what it lacks in the sound department. FIFA’s is considerably better, although with the Xbox 360 you always have the option to use your own music. In my mind, PES’ match commentary is better than FIFA’s, that maybe because I live in New Zealand and do not listen to the Sky Sport commentators featured in the FIFA game, whereas regular Barclays English Premier League matches broadcasted in New Zealand are often commentated by Jon Champion.

Online – Fifa

I was unable to test PES 2008’s online capabilities, however I was fortunate enough to try out FIFA’s, and boy, did it rock! With the newly addition of 5v5 on Xbox Live and Playstation Network, FIFA 08 puts many other multiplayer games to shame, being beaten by only some of the greatest shooters in history.

Gameplay- PES

This is one area that PES has always been marginally better than FIFA in, however this year was closer than ever. FIFA has opted for a more realistic, slow game, whereas PES has stuck to quick ball control and speedy players. With the addition of fake dives and quick free-kicks, PES looks certain to dominate for a while.

The winner is… FIFA 08! I will be heading down to Noel Leeming tomorrow to pick it up, however only just did it scrape past PES. Congratulations EA, you have created a successful football title!

Thanks for reading and enjoy your gaming!
-Seb-

Merry Xmas!

Merry Chrisrmas and I hope you enjoy this very special day as 2007 draws to a close.  Fear not, another great year of gaming, Burnout Paradise (of which I played the demo and looks amazing!), Alan Wake, MGS 4 and of course, the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto!  2008 could well be the deciding year of the next-gen console war, will it be Sony and the Playstation 3 with thier enourmous fan base?  Will it be Nintendo and the Wii with thier simplicity and huge sale numbers? Or will it be Microsoft's very own Xbox 360, with the largest library of games on any next-gen gaming system?  Whoever the winner turns out to be, this will be one hel* of a ride and I will be there, writing once daily, keeping you informed of latest news, reviews, previews, opinions and rumors.

Merry Xmas!
-Seb-

SWOS Avalible!

After months of delays Sensible World of Soccer has finally been released on the Xbox Live Arcade.  I was lucky enough to be able to try out the game and all I have to say is 'WOW'.  The game is still ar arcadey as ever, but more colourful and in glorious 720p high-definition.  IGN.com are yet to review it and I will provide a link as soon as I find out!

Merry Christmas Gaming!
-Seb-

I got my 120gb HDD, what about you?

The title really sums up the first part of the post, but don't fear, there is more to come!

Sensi Soccer is back on the Xbox Live Arcade after being removed due to an online bug only a couple of days ago.  More info at http://tinyurl.com/262vyj and http://tinyurl.com/yo96qr.

Thanks for reading and happy gaming!
-Seb-

P.S. I tried the Burnout Paradise demo and it rocks!

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 Preview!

The original Rainbow Six game by Ubisoft left many in apprehension, due to the games anti-climatic ending.  A sequel was sure to be on the way and was previewed in the very early hours of the 21st of December.  The full preview can be read
here: http://tinyurl.com/39vmgs

Not that this is the christrmas season and expect not to recieve a post everyday, at least once every two days

Thanks for reading and enjoy your gaming!
-Seb-

Sensi Soccer Delayed AGAIN!!!

Oh my god, I feel like ripping my hair out!  The Sensible World of Soccer has been removed from the Xbox Live Arcade due to 'an online bug'.  Only after hours after appearing on Xbox Live, the game was pulled down due to issues when playing online.  Codemasters is working on a fix and whether Sensi will be ready to download before Christmas as they promised is looking doubtful.  More information at http://tinyurl.com/ytbyt6.

Sensi Soccer Finally Released!

The title was delayed for month by Codemasters. Possibly the most anticipated arcade game of al l time. But today, on the 19th of December 2007, The Sensible World of Soccer has finally been released on the Xbox LIve Marketplace. Rumors and expectations aside, this game has yet to be reviewed by IGN.com and I will post as soon as I find out it's score out of 10.

Also according to Major Nelson's blog, Halo 3 is STILL top of the Xbox Live charts holding off extremely strong competition from Call of Duty 4 which has to settle for second place. Also amazing is that Gears of War, which has already celebrated it's first birthday is all the way up in THIRD, ahead of new boys Guitar Hero III, Assasins Creed and Mass Effect!

Tanks for reading and enjoy your gaming!
-Seb-

Upcoming Call of Duty 4 Patch!

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will be patches sometime, with no date confirmed however is expected 'inside this month'. The main tweaks inside tha patch come in the form of new maps being added to playlist rotations. For more information on this patch visit http://tinyurl.com/2m3oga and for a complete features list go to http://tinyurl.com/2v5rxc.

Not much today either!

Now it's not all that rare to find a few days in a row where we find nothing interesting in the world of the Xbox 360. Do not despair, usually when there is a fairly large gap in news, something good and big comes along. God hopes now is one of those times

Cheers and happy gaming!
-Seb-

Halo 3 Legendary Edition

This is amazing, the Halo 3 legendary edition is selling for $60 in Walmart.  This may not bother me as I do not live in the US, however I am sure some of my readers are.  Whether this phenominal price drop has anything to do with the success of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare I am not sure.  Check it out at: http://tinyurl.com/yx4j3p

Also some Guitar Hero III DLC is set to launch ' in time for the holidays'.  Take a look at: http://tinyurl.com/2zqnog.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your gaming!
-Seb-

Nothing interesting today

Sorry I was unable to find any interesting news to post today. If you find any interesting news I would really appreciate it if you could send it to smbailey900@hotmail.com as so we can all share news and learn more!

Thanks!
-Seb-

First Halo 3 DLC Released!

Yesterday, the first piece of downloadable content for the best-seller Halo 3 developed by Bungie was released. Dubbed the 'Heroic Map Pack' the content cost a whopping 800 Marketplace Points, the equivalent of around US$10. Three new maps were included in the pack, named Rats Nest, Foundry and Standoff. Foundry being the most interesting, as it lets users completely wipe the map in Forge, leading to interesting creations. A quick scan of Bungie.net's File Share should see you through a couple of classic map remakes from Halo's 1 & 2. The inclusion of a giant soccer ball in the map editor has sparked some creativity, using dumpsters as goals and using Gravity Hammers (and your opponents body) to force the ball into the net.

Meanwhile the Burnout: Paradise demo has been released on the Xbox Live Marketplace and the Playstation store for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 respectively.

Thanks for reading and happy gaming!
-Seb-

The Orange Box is released on the Playstation 3!

The Orange Box, which was only an Xbox 360 exclusive for mere weeks, has been released on the console's main rival: the Playstation 3 from Sony.  Many gaming websites have done a head-to-head review of the multi-platform game/s.  The two I read (IGN.com and oxm.co.uk) both stated the Playstation 3 version being inferior the the Xbox 360 one, long loadong times caused by the Blu-Ray disc and frame-rate issues being the main culprits

Cheers and happy gaming!
-Seb-

Bioshock is the Game of the Year!

Bioshock from 2K has been announced the best game of 2007, edging ahead of immense competition in the form of Halo 3, Mass Effect and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. If you were to take a peek at the Halo 3 forum on Xbox.com (http://forums.xbox.com/508/ShowForum.aspx) you will see many posts flaming the game of the year for 2007, some that consist of several pages! In my mind, Bioshock deserved Game of the Year. It brought something new to FPS shooters and was very innovative. That is not saying that Halo 3 is not innovative, of course not, but it is still the same Halo we have been playing since the original one came out with the original Xbox. Bioshock was something fresh and exciting and thoroughly deserved being the best game of 2007. Although, Halo 3 is undoubtedly more fun to play.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your gaming!
-Seb-

Leaked information about Call of Duty 5!

Activision have announced that the next game in the long-running Call of Duty series will NOY be set in present time and we will go back to fighting the Nazi's.  

Time.com has released 50 top-ten lists (in 2007) on it's site, one of those being video games.  The list stands as follows:

1. Halo 3
2. The Orange Box
3. Rock Band
4. Super Mario Galaxy
5. Bioshock
6.  Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
7. Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
8. Mass Effect
9. Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
10. God of War II

This almost sums up the dominant games console on the market:

#1   Xbox 360:  7 Top 10 games
#2   Playstation 3: 2 Top 10 games
#3   Playstation 2: 1 Top 10 game
#3   Nintendo DS: 1 Top 10 game
#3   Wii: 1 Top 10 game


Thanks for reading and enjoy your gaming!
-Seb-

Bungie Interview

Ign.com have interviewed Bungie and asked them to talk about the upcoming 'Heroic Map Pack' for Halo 3 and future Downloadable Content for the game (DLC).

Due to my average dial-up speeds (under 10 kb/s) I am unable to post the entrire interview on this blog post, however can be viewed here: http://tinyurl.com/2y6fyk.  Sorry no link, the toolbar which lets me hyperlink words/phrases refuses to load today.

Cheers and enjoy your gaming!
-Seb-

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Today I had the pleasure of playing this timeless classic on the Xbox Live Arcade, with a memorable soundtrack and true, nostalgic gameplay, this game is brilliant use of your 800 Marketplace Points. I would recommend the demo to anyone, now, since the arrival of the 2007 Fall Dashboard Update has fixed the issue of Arcade demos appearing on one's gamercard.

Thanks for reading and happy gaming!
-Seb-

A bit busy

Sorry, I am very busy today and am unable to complete a proper post. :-((

Sorry
-Seb-

New Heroic Map Pack screens for Halo 3!

The Heroic Map Pack must be coming soon, for even more screenshots have been released on oxm.co.uk.  I, personally was unable to view them due to my c*appy internet connection.  They can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/33ulza

Thanks for reading and enjoy your gaming!
-Seb-

Blogging Daily is hard!

Wow, I can't believe that this is my 30th post!  It is NOT easy blogging once a day, escpecially when your internet connection has been reduced down to dial-up speed!  OMG!  I loaded an Ign.com page in under 10 minutes!

Anyways, a demo for the upcoming Burnout: Paradise is set to be arriving on the 13th of December for the PS3 and the Xbox 360.

The team at Ign.com went head-to-head with the upcoming Halo 3 Heroic Map pack.  The full article can be read here: http://tinyurl.com/yojq5a (Warning! The three pages may take up to half an hour on dial-up speeds, under 10kb/s)

Thanks and happy gaming!
-Seb-

2007 Fall Dshboard Update... A disappointment

Alright, I finall managed to download the Fall Dashboard Update, no thanks to Microsoft and I notice some nice new features.  The Xbox Guide opens and closes much faster, plus when you turn the console off you get a nice fading effect.  The rest is poor.  The marketplace does not only not look as good as the previous one, but it is not nearly as easy to navigate around.  Plus, I am unable to access my video collection on from my computer.  File streaming in the form of
music and pictures has been okay however.  Not to mention that the 'Inside Xbox' news feeds are not avalible to New Zealand residents is another major drawback.  I managed to access these feeds using my dummy US account 'HatefulUniform'.  Add him if you want to.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your gaming
-Seb-

Sometimes I HATE Microsoft!

Here I am, sitting writing this on Tuesday, 4th December 2007 at 6:14pm (GMT + 13) and still no Dashboard Update.  Heck, I hardly got any sleep last nigh (Not really), I mean, wtf (excuse the bad languague).  But Microsoft, get real!  Have the Americans got it yet?   I bet my life they have!  Is this racism Micro$oft? First you leave us without any sort of Video Marketplace (with the exception of a few *rappy 360 ads) and now what?  You delay the 2007 Fall Dashboard Update???

Whatever happened to 'The customer is always right'?

Jeez, Microsoft
Vista > Leapord

Fall Dashboard Update... Tomorrow!

The 2007 Fall Dashboard Update will be released tomorrow, on Tuesday the 4th of December, 2007 (obviously).  I have already included a link to the complete list of new features about to be added in a previous post.

Some day next week, a patch will be released for the 2K first-person shooter, Bioshock.

Oh and by the way, I finally completed Halo 3!!!!! ...On easy...

Thanks for reading and good luck sleeping
-Seb-
 

Very boring...

Nothing interesting today, sorry :((

-Seb-