Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated this blog!

A lot has changed since I last wrote here – My Xbox 360 got fixed, I played it a fair bit over the summer, then it died again – queue another round trip to the Microsoft technical support centre. Getting it back, so far I've had no problems (touch wood). I don't know how to check for upgraded internals without voiding the warranty, but I can certainly hope for an upgraded heatsink.

Games wise, Grand Theft Auto 4 has been the only game I've bought on the 360 for a while now, as I've moved over to the PC as my main gaming machine – no longer paying for Xbox Live Gold has been a factor too.

Borrowing Rock Band (and instruments) off a friend kept the console plugged in for a few extra weeks, actually managing to pull in my housemates to the gaming room for a change. I found the guitar solo tour nowhere near as hard as Guitar Hero 3, but was of similar difficulty to GH2. Of course, Green Grass and High Tides took a few tries but otherwise there aren't that many songs that were properly challenging. Drumming, however, was a completely different experience. Having never played the drums, learning to factor in the pedal with pad work was pretty challenging, although I'd made a good dent in the hard solo tour before having to return it. Fingers crossed we'll be getting Rock Band 2 as a house in the New Year.

My PC has seen a few upgrades recently, mostly in part to failed equipment. My ATi 2900xt started failing after loading any full screen direct3D game, so needed to be RMA'd. I replaced it with an HD3870 512mb, which is much quieter than the jet engine that was the 2900's stock cooling fan. This Christmas will see my biggest upgrade, moving from an original 2 GHz Athlon 64 to an Intel Core 2 Duo e6600, new motherboard and 4GB RAM. Being a student, I'm limited to upgrades scrounged from friends with more money – many thanks to my upgrade-happy friend from home that's bought an e8500 and a 4870, or I'd still be gaming on an x1800.

PC gaming wise, I've had an explosion in new games. Fallout 3, Dead Space, Need for Speed Undercover, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. clear sky, Red Alert 3, Tomb Raider Underworld, Spore, Far Cry 2, Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway and Call of Duty 5 have all seen varying levels of play, with Fallout being my favourite. I played Oblivion to death, so I love the free form game play. I enjoy the post-apocalyptic setting much more than the dungeons & dragons style of play when wandering through Cyrodil.

Going home over Christmas, I know I still have a few things to catch up on – Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2, but perhaps the biggest news is that my parents have bought a playstation 3 to use as a blu-ray player. It came with Mirror's Edge, which as an amateur traceur, I'm dying to play. Coinciding with the final release of the Home Beta, there's not going to be a shortage of things for me to do this holiday season!

Just in time for the launch of Halo 3, my Xbox 360 finally died, giving me the red rings of death. I'd only had the console for 8 months, but I expected it to fail soon, what with the random disk read errors, frequent freezing and wireless controllers refusing to connect to the console. Still, I was hoping it would last until I could complete Halo 3's campaign. I had managed an enjoyable few days on Stranglehold and was playing the Call of Duty 4 beta before it finally died.

Typically all this happened just as I was moving house so I didn't have access to the internet either, making arranging the return a particularly unpleasant procedure.Relaying information to a friend at home who found the entire phone numbers I needed was still less annoying than the actual conversation with Microsoft tech support, but once everything was confirmed the collection went pretty easily, with UPS sending me a label through the post and collecting the console the next day. That was on the 24th of September, and I was told the turnaround would be 20 days, so I should only have a week or so left before I get it back. Then I'll be straight down to my local games store to buy a copy of Halo 3 (The thought of buying it and leaving it on my shelf, mocking me for a month wasn't appealing).

I managed to miss out on the last experience unlock of the Call of Duty Beta too, so I'll have to wait until November to get my COD fix again!

Thanks to an informative post on Joystiq, I discovered recently that PSP firmware 3.03 could be downgraded to 1.5, unlocking the potential to use the console for homebrew apps and PS1 ISOs. I'd been using 3.01 for a while, seeing no point in upgrading any further as I am still waiting for the PS3 release in Europe, but this piqued my interest. Not wanting to miss out, I quickly downloaded all the necessary files and began the procedure.

When I got half way through the procedure the nerves started to kick in, particularly when the PSP did nothing for 10 minutes while I waited for it to unpack the EBOOT files, but I was rewarded with dark_alex's 3.03 OE-C firmware on the system information screen! Panic now over, I'm experimenting with ISOs, homebrew and emulators. So far, the experience has been great!

This is the first of many ideas I, like many of the PSP community, have had regarding possible new features for the console.

 As firmware 3.0 came and went, many PSP users expected some crucial feature that would make owning Sony’s handheld truly worthwhile. Unfortunately, they were mostly disappointed, particularly those based in Europe without access to a PS3 for game downloads. Dark_alex certainly helped out those with older firmwares, but people with PSPs that can’t be downgraded are stuck waiting for Sony branded features, which look extremely far off as of now. As one of the core target audiences for Sony’s PSP system, teenagers and males aged 18-30, I can’t help but notice that there are several critical applications that Sony has yet to integrate into its handheld’s firmware.


Having made it through my first term of University, the sheer amount of notation and comprehension involved make a word processor invaluable to most students. The main solution to this is a laptop, with the majority of people owning light machines that will last for several hours before needing a recharge. If someone owns a PSP, it is likely they are interested in games of some kind which, in my case, led to my purchasing a gaming laptop to take with me to university, rather than bring a desktop and all the extra trouble that transporting electrical equipment contains. When my laptop is plugged in, it’s a dream, carrying out everyday tasks, but capable of playing oblivion on the highest settings when I’ve finished all my assignments. Of course, there are downsides to such a powerful machine. While the graphics chips can be set to power saving modes, the 17” screen drains battery constantly, meaning I can’t be too far away from a wall socket if I want to take the machine with me on the move. Carrying a gaming laptop to university is neither practical nor safe, and the additional power brick adds greatly to the total weight.


A simple solution to this problem lies in the PSP system. Bedroom coders have already come up with simple word processing applications for the system, although they rely on manually entering each key through an onscreen keyboard. Third party manufacturers have announced keyboard peripherals, but Sony has no plans to make one. Clearly, they are missing a trick. A fold-away keyboard, with a stand for the PSP to rest in, would fit onto a desk far easier than a laptop, and more importantly would fit into a standard rucksack, not requiring a separate bag as most large laptops do. With connectivity to a PC and the ability to output stored text files in .txt or even word and appleWorks formats would create a tool of use to not only students, but professionals as well, who also like to play while on the move.


A Sony branded keyboard, with the right software integrated into the PSP firmware, could make it an invaluable tool to the modern student.

Fresh back from Multiplay’s i29 LAN, the most important piece of news from a games journalist’s point of view was the hands on preview of Ubisoft’s next generation title, Crysis. This was one of the first times regular members of the public have been shown the latest code, and the team certainly didn’t disappoint on the graphical front. However, as I will explain, the game is very far away from completion.
The latest code on show was clearly far from finished, as many of the features promised have yet to be implemented. ‘Fully destructible environments’ turned out to be nothing more than trees that could be shot down, which admittedly does look very impressive. Some of the tech demos showing off foliage that responds to interaction clearly haven’t been added to the entire game, as driving some of the vehicles (including a familiar looking buggy and a tank) through forested areas did little to the surrounding undergrowth. The vehicles have been well designed, though, as individual tyres can be burst, until a vehicle is scraping the floor on its axles, giving off beautiful spark effects.
The version on show was reportedly not running directX 10, and the EA representative was ‘unable’ to reveal the hardware that was running the demo. The event was sponsored by Intel and Creative, and several of the exhibitors had Quad Core CPUs on display, so it is likely a Kentsfield CPU, several gigabytes of RAM and at least one nVidia 8800 was being used to run the demo, with an X-FI card being used for sound. It has been promised that the game will run on a ‘variety’ of hardware, although the minimum specifications cannot be revealed yet.
The demo on show was the multiplayer client, which promises the exact same features as the single player, but with support currently for 32 player deathmatches, as well as an all new game mode that involves controlling strategic points on the map, such as ammunition depots and tank factories, to fuel your war machine and dominate the other team. ‘extensive’ effort will be put into the net-code to ensure there are no issues with online play like the ones that plagued Far Cry.
Crysis certainly promises to be an impressive game, possibly one of the first to take full advantage of DirectX 10 hardware, but it is far from complete. Summer 2007 would be a realistic release date if every bug was to be ironed out, but with EA at the helm, it is possible an earlier release could be offset with many post-release patches, a la Battlefield. We can only hope the developers use the former, as it would be a real shame if this game was rushed, as it shows so much promise.

Yes, it's that time again, I'm off to the UK's biggest Bring Your Own Computer LAN party, i29 comes to newbury this weekend! I'm participating for the first time this year, so as well as playing for Total Insanity Gaming's CSS team, I'm going to be reporting on all the action as it occurs. I'll be taking my laptop as my main gaming system (yes, it is that powerful), and my trusty camera to capture events as they happen.

Now that I'm gamespot level 10 I can post videos too, so I can bring you video updates, interviews with players and coverage of the latest technology and games, including the nVidia 8800 GTX, the directX 10 offering from one of the biggest graphics cards manufacturers. I don't know how far I'm going to get in the tournaments, but with the big guns in UK CSS attending, I expect to have sunday off from tournament play, so all the more time for me to get the latest scoops!

I realise gaming on laptops is still far from mainstream, but early adoptors are being put through quite a tough process compared to the desktop community. Take my recent Just Cause escapades for example. Anyone that read my review will recall my problems with the water effects not displaying properly. Having just ordered Need For Speed Carbon I decided it would be a good idea to update my graphics drivers, so as not to spoil my enjoyment of another game. However, this was far from an easy task.
    The ATi website does not even have a download for mobility drivers, only a tool that tells you if your system is compatible. I tried this out, and despite my hardware manufacturer being listed, I was told my system was unsuitable for a mobility driver. Maybe if you install the checker it will allow you access to the driver, but I couldn't see it at all.
    This led me over to the fujitsu siemens driver page, only to be confronted with a driver name about thirty digits long, which I had to compare to the one in my Catalyst Control Centre to see if it was newer or not. Considering it was a standard ATi installation, I think they could have labelled it using the conventions ATi themselves have used.
    Still, no matter, as the driver installed with only one hitch (the catalyst control centre install froze after completion, I just ctrl-alt-del'd it and rebooted. Suffice to say, the water effects are now in place in Just Cause, and they look nice and shiny.

As a side note, I realise I'm only telling one side of the story here. Does anyone have a similar (or better/worse) experience with nVidia products? I'd love to know because eventually I'll be looking at Direct X 10 hardware and I'd like that experience to be a pleasant one.

Why do all the great new games have to come out once I get to university? I don't have a job yet and already I'm struggling with money, avoiding both my overdraft and eating into my savings - but every day I walk past several games shops in my town and see the latest offerings on the shelves - Tekken Dark Ressurection (Bought), Powerstone Collection (Bought) Just Cause (bought then returned - see my video), Company of Heroes (Bought, got Dawn of War free - bonus!), the list goes on. How I managed to afford these games is beyond me, but it's only going to get harder, with Vice City Stories, Need for Speed Carbon, Call of Duty and Medal of Honor PSP and Killzone Liberation all debuting sometime soon. If I go hungry for a few weeks, I think it'll be worth it...

I've finally moved into my University accomodation here in sunny Bournemouth, despite having actually stayed here for over three weeks now, I've only just got the internet up and running, so I class this as my first real day away from home. I'm having a blast, it's going to be a shame to have to come home for Christmas! I've booked up for Multiplay i29, where I will be reportin on, among other things, Rainbow Six Vegas and Splinter Cell: Double Agent, as Ubisoft will be hosting Fuse06, a music and games mash-up that promises excitement and adventure (the line up includes a real life counter terrorism simulation, live bands and countless free gifts). Stay tuned for more!

After eagerly awaiting the start of the month, I finally got a copy of PC Gamer, flicked quickly to the disk pages and discovered my words, on the page! After several air punches, I flicked through the rest of the magazine, only to discover my face staring back at me on not one, but TWO pages! admittedly, this was merely me being in the right place at the right time, but it's me all the same. Yay!

If you want to see it for yourself (and who wouldn't?), grab a copy of the UK edition of PC Gamer, turn to page 5 to see my name under the contributors section, page 6 for a small picture (I'm in the middle of the portal), page 47 for a larger version of the same image and the disk pages (140 - 143) for my actual words.

 Finally, something on my CV I can be proud of!