Tag Archives: Xbox 360

Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death (…again)

Posted on by

So, yesterday afternoon while the wife was sick in bed, I was playing a bit of Fable II (which I’m rather enjoying). I paused for a moment, and when I came back my game was frozen. At first I thought the issue was with the controller, but quickly ruled that out. I shut down the system, and when I turned it back on a minute later, there was nothing.

No video, no audio, and not even a Red Ring of Death. The power light was there, and the drive would eject, but other than that I had nothing.

So this afternoon, I decided to give it another try. Turned it on, and bam! Red Ring of Death. So, I’ll be sending my Xbox 360 back to Microsoft so they can fix it a second time.

I applaud Microsoft for attempting to fix the issues with the Red Rings of Death, but when are they just going to give up on the 360 like they did with Vista and just do stupid commercials? :D I kid, the 360 is nowhere near as bad as Vista (or Office 2007!).

What if Apple Created a Gaming Console?

Posted on by

Everyone refers to the Xbox 360, PS3, and to a lesser extent the Nintendo Wii as a “next gen” gaming console. Does that mean the next round of consoles (Xbox 3602, PS4, Wii2) will be third gen, or will they just be the new “next gen”? I know, who cares, right?

A while back Apple announced to investors that there would be a “product transition”. No one is really sure what this is, or when it would be. Some think it was the new iPod Nano, the change to the iPod Touch, or even the new MacBooks. Others think it may be some kind of NetBook or Apple Tablet. Still others think it could be a new networked type TV. And some people think we have yet to se it.

Well, what if Apple were to venture into the realm of console gaming systems… better yet, what if they already had, and you didn’t know it. Perhaps you already have an Apple console in your living room, office, or bedroom. It may not be as big of a stretch as you think. Continue reading →

Too Human (Redux)

Posted on by

The other day I posted some of my thoughts concerning what I considered flaws in Too Human. I wanted to follow up on that now that I’ve played a bit more, and explored some of the other classes.

First off, apparently my first choice for a character, the berserker, wasn’t exactly the most noob friendly. I started another character as a defender and the first level was much different. My berserker died a good two dozen times during the first level, whereas my defender made it through without a single death and earned me the Xbox Live achievement.

Granted, this time through I had a much better understanding of the game. Even my 2nd time through as a berserker (now level 30-something) I only died a couple of times. So maybe not every class needs healing help, but the berserker sure needs some love in that area.

And, I still by my original statement concerning death. While it’s not a bad implementation in this game, sitting around for 25+ seconds watching the entire scene over and over again sucks. Right now my berserker is sitting at over 100 deaths, and I read a post on the Xbox 360 forums where someone else had reached the 200 death mark. That’s insane.

I really do like this game. This is the first game to really make you feel like a bad ass. You’ll be swarmed by 40 creatures at a time, and you’ll obliterate them… unless you end up getting stuck in a “knock back” hell. When that happens, you’ll just have to wait for death’s embrace and start back over.

Another part of my problem the first time around was I really didn’t understand the spider or the sentient weapons, and really didn’t make much use of them. It’s amazing how much easier things get once you use your full arsenal of weapons. ;)

I’ve played through the game completely once, and have a second character already on “stage” two. Playing it through over and over again is fun, as you’re always getting new and better equipment. Hopefully when Too Human II comes out, you’ll be able to take your characters across directly.

For those of you considering Too Human. It is a game that is very cool, but has some annoying issues right now. There isn’t anything I’ve found yet that cannot be fixed via a patch. Just remember, the game is brand new, and it’ll take some time before a patch can be released.

Too Human

Posted on by

Too Human might best be summed up as a beautiful disaster.

So far, it has been an extremely fun game with some major flaws. Flaws that for the most part have really aggravated me. It leaves me wondering how any developer who played through this game while testing could have found it to be fun or enjoyable.

Flaw #1: Death – Death in Too Human is inevitable. Sure, there are achievements available for completing a level without dying, but if you aren’t playing in co-op with a healer, I do not see how this would be possible. Thankfully, when you die the monsters do not regain health. They are, as they were at the moment of your death.

So then, what is the problem you ask? My problem with death in the game is the 25+ second “animation” that you are forced to watch each and every time you die. While it is a beautiful animation the first time around, after that it is simply annoying, and by the time you finish the game you’ll have spent a good hour or more  doing nothing more than waiting for this sequence to finish.

Flaw #2: Lack of Healing – Flaw #1 is greatly brought on by Flaw #2. There is only one class withe the ability to heal himself, so if you are any other class you have two ways of recovering health. Leveling up, which you should not rely on as your healing method, and picking up health orbs. The bad news about health orbs is they are few and far between. And when the monster’s swarm at you, you’ll need them a lot fast than you’ll get ‘em.

Flaw #3: Control – Too Human is one of the few games I’ve ever seen where the developers for some reason decided not to allow you to edit your controls. Personally, I think the game would have been much easier had the attack been based off of the left control stick rather than the right stick. Alas I cannot test my theory.

Flaw #4: Into The Great Wide Open – Too Human has some amazing areas. Most of which are grand, and empty. Take Cyberspace for example. You’ll spend a ton of time in here. Never once fighting an enemy, but rather running back and forth waiting for areas to become open to you. Sadly, the greatness of these areas don’t really make much since. It’d be like playing GTA with no people or vehicles around. Just a power up every 20 miles or so.

Thankfully, done of Too Human’s flaws are anything major and pretty much can be fixed with the release of a patch. And, as this game is first in a planned trilogy, I’d like to see some fixes before the next game is released.

In all, Too Human can be a fun game. Though my recommendation is to wait and see if a patch is released. Without a patch, I can see a number of people throwing their 360 controller through their TV.

Red Ring Of Death

Posted on by

Yesterday evening while at Target I picked up Guitar Hero III. This is the first video game I’ve purchased since well before Christmas. Ever since our New Year’s Eve robbery, I’ve just really not had the urge to play video games… that, and as I said earlier, I’ve been making an effort to get back into shape, which doesn’t exactly mix well with video games. :p

I loved Guitar Hero II, and have missed playing the game (it was stolen). Well, the game and the music actually. So, I finally after months of delay picked up the sequel.

This morning, I connected up the wireless Les Paul controller and popped the game in. The system said there was an update, so I downloaded it. After that, the game restarted and froze. I rebooted my Xbox 360 only to get the dreaded ‘Red Ring of Death’. With all the reports and complaints I had seen over the years, I was hoping mine would be one of those very few that would never have a problem. Sadly, that turned out not to be the case.

Good news is, the system is still under warranty, and I’ve already contacted Microsoft. With any luck, I’ll have a replacement in… about 2 months. Does anyone know what the turn around time is for 360 repairs?

This sucks… but it gives me more time to exercise.