I last wrote about my difficulties finding a working copy of Forza 2. Unfortunately, I never was able to find a copy that worked. I tried three different copies from two different stores. I chalked it up to being some sort of oddity with the firmware or a sign I didn't need another racing game since all the rest of mydiscs worked. I went back to Burnout Revenge instead and plowed my way through the ranks up to last level. It's really a fun game, especially the crash mode where you have to strategically crash your car in order to create the most damage. If you are looking for a fun arcade racer in the $30 range, definitely pick this up.

I played Burnout pretty exclusively over the last few weeks, but this weekend I had a desire for something different. I wanted to go back to MLB 2K7 and try to get the 20 runs in one game achievement, one of only four that I haven't gotten in the game. The only problem was, when I put the disc in the drive, it behaved the same way it did when I tried to play Forza 2. The drive closed, the status would change to "Reading", then after a few seconds would change to "Open Tray" as if there wasn't a disc in the drive at all. I proceeded to test all of my games and none of them worked, not even Burnout. I just bought Marvel Ultimate Alliance on Friday and shockingly it worked the first time, but not since. I'm afraid to say: my disc drive is borked.

So, I called Microsoft's support line and they are sending me a shipping box to send my 360 in for repairs. Until then I can still play XBLA games and demos, so I can take advantage of some of the E3 content this week. The customer support guy was cool, but he said the estimated turn around time for repairs right now is 4-6 weeks. Normally it should be no longer than 3 weeks, but he said "there are more consoles being sent in for repairs than expected". I guess if there is a good time for this to happen its now and not in two months when all the big games start coming out.

While I wasn't entirely blown away by the Microsoft press conference, it did highlight a ton of games which I'll definitely be buying this fall. Mass Effect, GTA IV, Assassins Creed, NHL 08, Bioshock, The Orange Box, PGR4.....it's going to be a busy season. I just need a working console.

If there is a silver lining to my 360 going down, it's giving me the opportunity to play some PS2 games which I had bought, but never got around to play. The last two nights have been spent taking down the first six Colossi in Shadow of the Colossus and it's been a really fun time. It's a really unique game and I love the strategy involved. Figuring out how to get to the Colossi and then how to climb up on each beast to find their weak points makes for some unique gameplay. Hiding under a ledge so it will bend down, so you can run out, jump on it's beard then climb up to the top of it's head, then holding on for dear life as it thrashes around before plunging your sword into it's skull. Its a very satisfying feeling to bring these huge creatures down. Once I'm through with that I have the original God of War &Mercenaries so I'll have plenty to keep me busy.

Enjoy the rest of E3!

After all the positive reviews and glowing word of mouth from friends that have it, I decided to pick up Forza Motorsport 2. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to run even one lap yet since my 360 refuses to boot the game up. I went to Best Buy yesterday, brought it home, loaded the disc into the drive and waited.......and waited. The drive status on the dashboard changed from "Reading" to "Open Tray" as if there wasn't even a disc in it.

I figured I had just been unlucky and gotten a bad copy, so I headed back to Best Buy with my receipt and exchanged it. I was looking forward to a night of racing and car painting, but the second copy did the exact same thing. Either my 360 is borked and can't read the Forza code or Best Buy got a really bad shipment from the game distributor. All my other discs work. I've never seen anything like it.

I'm going to try buying a third copy at a different store. If that doesn't work, I guess I won't be joining you guys on the track.

In happier news, my gamerscore has surpassed the 8,000 mark thanks to 5 hours spent with TMNT. I had fun with it while it lasted. I enjoy platform/action games and it was a nice casual experience. There isn't much challenge to it, but a good way to spend a few hours. Definitely worth a rental if you like Prince of Persia type games.

Wish me luck in my hunt for a working copy of Forza!

I've been MIA from blogging over the last few months due to a rather extended and intense busy season at work. I won't bore you with the details since everyone goes through similar times in their lives, but the important thing is the worst of it is just about over. I may not have been writing about games, but I definitely was playing them. Even though I didn't have much free time with the 12-14 hour workdays, I would use games as a way to unwind and relieve some of the stress built up from spinning that grindstone.

When life seems to become a recurring cycle of going to work, coming home only to sleep for a few hours before going back to work, you have to create ways to have fun in small doses. Gaming is perfect for that. Whether it was throwing a few innings in MLB 2K7, exploring 200.6% of Dracula's castle in Symphony of the Night or beating up some Footsoldiers in TMNT 1989 Arcade, I would try to turn on the 360 every night even if I didn't get home until midnight. For all the bad press that our hobby gets for it's bad influence on the physicaland mental health of it's participants, it sure helped me get through some pretty trying times.

The game I've probably spent the most time with has been Crackdown, especially since the new content has been released. I beat the main campaign, what there was of one anyway, back in February, but I keep coming back. It's the perfect game to play in small doses, jumping in to hunt down a few orbs or complete a race or two before going to bed, so its spent a lot of time in my disc tray. I can't speak highly enough about the new content either. New modes, new weapons, new vehicles, new achievements, gameplay tweaks and enhancements, the abilty to play with friends who didn't buy the premium pack......it's the new gold standard for downloadable content. I also tracked down my 500th agility orb last night!!! That is probably the achievement that has given me the most satisfaction of any I've unlocked. The louder orb sound was a godsend and the new races and stacker missions took me to the places on the map I had missed the first time around. Another reason to love the new DLC.  

Bottom line, gaming has kept me sane, bringing fun & good times when I needed it the most. It certainly reminds me not to take it for granted and to appreciate how good we have it these days. Enjoy yourselves.

After reading about how excited people were about Worms coming to the XBLA, I decided to give it a shot when it was released yesterday. Having never played any of the classic Worms games on PC or the Playstation, I really didn't know what to expect. The concept seemed simple enough, you have four worms on a team, a bunch of different weapons (some in limited quantities, some unlimited), and you take 60 second turns taking shots at each other trying to either knock the other team's worms into the water or reduce their hit points to zero.

The gameplay is more addicting than I thought it would be. The weapon variety gives you a lot of attack options. If the worm you want to kill is on the other side of a peak you can try to launch a grenade at the right angle to land at his feet, you can call in an airstrike which will rain missles down on top of him, you can use a jetpack to fly over the obstacle and drop a stick of dynamite on top of his head, you can blowtorch your way through the obstacle and burn the opposing worm. You can do whatever you can get done with one weapon in 60 seconds.

This could be the best multiplayer game I've played so far on the 360. When you get 4 teams of Worms on the map, mayhem ensues. You can name your team and your worms so everyone brings their own personality to the table. I put Team Tremors, consisting of Hannibal, Faceman, B.A. Baracus & Murdock up against 3 other teams including the likes of Meatwad, Master Shake & Frylock. Everyone was laughing when a grenade shot bounced wrong and had unintentional consequences, or accidentilly set off a mine, or dropped a stick of dynamite on an enemy but missed a jump and ended up blowing themselves up too. Since you take turns, you spend more time spectating than actually shooting, but that what makes it such a good social experience.The anticipation of the next move, will he make the shot or not, while planning your next turn, makes it a very strategic game. So you get some thinking with your explosions which is always a good thing.

It's also a sharp presentation and a pretty game to look at. The animations and sound effects are humorous and give the game the light hearted spirit that keeps it a laid back, casual yet competitive experience. There are only 3 backgrounds, but with the level randomizer, every game is unique so the replay value is through the roof. You can also customize the settings so if you want to do an all bazooka battle or you only want to give 10 seconds per turn, you can. The achievements are also rather easy. After only two hours of playing, I already had 70 of the 200 pts. Most of the achievements are cumulative so all you have to do is keep playing and you'll get the majority of them.

This is the first arcade game I've bought since I picked up Geometry Wars & Doom when I bought the system and I can't recommend it enough. Pick it up and let's get our Worms on!

When screen shots leaked out a while ago, I was hopeful that it was coming, but today Ubisoft confirmed that they are releasing the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game on XBLA by the end of the month! Four player, side scrolling, beat em up action for only 400 pts! If the co-op doesn't have the same issues that Contra and Assault Heroes did, that's $5 more than well spent.

Hopefully the game holds up after 18 years and it's not just nostalgia clouding my memories of how much fun this game was. I'm shocked Ubisoft is releasing this game for $5 at the same time they are releasing the full retail game based on the new movie for $60. You'd think they wouldn't want to give people a cheaper alternative to get their Turtles gaming fix, but I won't complain.

Worms this week, Castlevania & TMNT probably coming by the end of the month....after a long drought, the Arcade is starting to live up to it's potential. Time to add some points to your accounts people!!

Just another bolt on wonderboy lookin to get smoked

About a month ago I reached the 3,000 achievement points plateau. Well thanks to a few new games, and the incentive of the Old Spice XBox challenge, I passed the 5,000 point mark yesterday. Here is how I got there:

Old Games

Gears of War +90 pts. Thanks to playing with The Shoeman aka HighTimesBX

I was able to pick up a few of the multiplayer achievements. The only way I see myself getting any more points out of this game would be if the rumors about Gears achievements coming from non-ranked games turn out to be true.

PGR3 + 110 pts. I finished all the races on Silver difficulty so I also got the points for the Bronze level. I may go for Rank 1 since I'm at Rank 3, but I need to find a quick way to build up Kudos points.

Burnout Revenge + 10 pts. I took the game online for the first time and got two of the easier achievements. This game is really stingy on giving out the points, but it's a lot of fun to play.

New Games

Frogger + 200 pts. I received a code to download this game for free after registering my 360. I've heard a lot of people complain about the game and how it controlled, but I didn't have any problems with it. I enjoyed the nostalgia factor since I had this game for the Atari 2600 when I was a kid. Special thanks to BUGAJ75 for his co-op brilliance and advice for getting through Stage 5.

MLB 2K7 + 210 pts. I'm a huge baseball fan, so I was anticipating my first HD baseball video game experience and it hasn't disappointed. The visuals are amazing. At times it honestly looks like a real broadcast. The pitching mechanic is done well, allowing you to locate your pitches while offering an accurate pitcher specific pitch selection. The catcher will even call the game for you based on scouting reports for each batter. The hitting with the swing stick takes some getting used to and the game seems a little home run happy, but with so many adjustable sliders, it's a matter of finding the settings that work best. There is so much to do, it will take me the length of the real baseball season to explore it all.

Crackdown +750 pts. As I've blogged about previously, a very addictive game with inventive use of achievements. I still need to hunt down the last 11 agility orbs, the last 100+ hidden orbs, finish the road races and fly through all the stunt rings. I look forward to seeing what they do with the downloadable content which will put the last 100 pts into the game.

NBA Street Homecourt + 940 pts. As a fan of the NBA Street games on the PS2, I knew I had to pick up Homecourt. They did a good job with the game and it's really a lot of fun to play. The dunks and tricks are intricate and animated really well, but they are still easy to pull off. There are some things which could have been better. The create a baller option is limited and the customization is minimal, consisting of mearly changing the few clothing choices & shoes which you unlock as you level up. Also the career mode is way too short when compared to the previous iterations of the franchise. I miss the inclusion of NBA and Street legends as well. Of course they pulled these things out for the first "next-gen" version so they can start adding them back into next year's edition so you'll buy it again. Those complaints aside, it's a good game of basketball, looks great and has some of the easiest achievements out there. This is the game that pushed me over the 5K level.

Thanks to these great games, I reached and surpassed the 1,500 pts required to complete the Old Spice Challenge. Free Contra here I come!!! I'm glad I was able to meet the challenge without buying or renting games just for the points.

The next game on my radar is Earth Defense Force 2017. I saw it on On the Spot last week and it looks like a lot of fun. If it has online co-op and it's a new game for $40, I think I'm sold.

The last few weeks have been very busy at the office. Long, 10-12 hour work days spent preparing for our annual audit which begins in a fortnight. Despite being tired and weary by the time I get home, I have fired up Crackdown every single night and stayed up WAY too late exploring Pacific City.

I will echo what many people have already written about the game in that it's one of the most addictive gaming experiences I've ever encountered. The combination of crazy super powers, powerful weapons and an open ended world to play in is a very potent mix. The co-op in Crackdown is also the ultimate chat room. You jump into this vast world together and talk it up. You can take on gangs together or split up and do your own thing. They also did a great job with the achievements, rewarding you for doing crazy things like blowing up 100 things in under a minute, doing wild driving stunts, and accomplishments that utilize all your skills. While it may not be a game I come back to over and over once I find all the orbs, I've already gotten over 20 hours worth of fun out of it so it's definitely been a worthy purchase. I can't wait for the additional content.

Speaking of purchases, I've also bought NBA Street Homecourt and MLB 2K7. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get Crackdown out of my machine, so I'll have to get back to you with my impressions of those later. The demos impressed me and the ability to take them online and participate in leagues is a huge draw for me. If anyone wants to take me on, let me know. Just be warned, David Wright will take you deep! (Unless I'm completely terrible, which is possible). I can't wait for the real season to start next month!

Enjoy your weekend people!

*WARNING - OVERLY LONG BLOG ENTRY AHEAD*

After slightly over two months, I have reached the 3,000 point gamerscore plateau. As I have said in this blog before, I think the entire achievement system is brilliant. My pursuit of points has led me to go through games multiple times, to play more with people on-line than I would have otherwise and overall just get more value out of my games and system.

Here is a synopsis of how I reached the 3,000 level:

Lost Planet - 800/1000 total points, 33/35 Achievements

Last Achievement Gained - "BLIZZARD" Explorer for finding all target marks on Level 10 (20 pts)

Next Achievement to be Attempted - Complete the game on Extreme (150 pts)

Easiest Achievement Gained - Mission 1 Cleared (10 pts)

Hardest Achievement Gained - Online Master for reaching Level 50 in Multiplayer. It took hours and well over 100 matches to gain the 300K+ points to level all the way up to 50.

Most Satisfying Achievement - Worm Hunter (50 pts). The battle with the giant worm on Level 3 was epic.

Gears of War - 640/1000 total points, 32/49 Achievements

Last Achievement Gained - I Can't Quit You Dom for finishing all chapters as Dom (30 pts which got me to 3K)

Next Achievement to be Attempted - Mix it Up for winning a ranked match in every versus game type (20 pts). I've really only played Warzone matches so far, I need to try out the other modes.

Easiest Achievement Gained - Prison Breakout (10 pts) for finishing the tutorial or Always Remember Your First (10 pts) for simply completing a ranked match.

Hardest Achievement Gained - Finish Act 4 on Insane (30 pts). The only place I got stuck for an extended period of time on Insane was the end of Act 4 where you have to defend the mansion while Cole & Baird fix the APC. I must have died well over a dozen times before finally making it through to the last checkpoint.

Most Satisfying Achievement - For the Fallen (30 pts) for finding all 30 COG tags. When I finally picked up the last one before the RAAM fight in Act 5 and the achievement unlocked, I was relieved I didn't have to hunt around anymore for those little things.

PGR3 - 475/1000 total points, 17/25 Achievements

Last Achievement Gained - Race Against The Clock (50 pts) for setting a lap record on every track.

Next Achievement to be Attempted - Silver Champion (60 pts) for completing all championships on medium difficulty. I'm about half way to this one. I'll also unlock the Bronze Champion (50 pts) at the same time.

Easiest Achievement Gained - Arcade Player (15 pts) for finding and playing the Geometry Wars arcade cabinets that are located in your garage.

Hardest Achievement Gained - Mouse Master (15 pts). For winning a Cat & Mouse game as a Class E car. This one was hard for me because those class E cars are slow & don't handle well and you have to rely on your teammates to keep the other cats off you or to stop the other mouse. Not to mention it's tough to find a full game these days.

Most Satisfying Achievement - Steel Champion (30 pts). This one was satisfying because of how long it takes to win all 23 championships. Once I got through the behemoth in Germany and the achievement unlocked, I was a happy man.

Pocketbike Racer - 200/200 total points, 12/12 Achievements

Last Achievement Gained - Career King (30 pts) for completing all 12 tournaments.

Easiest Achievement Gained - Big Wheelie (15 pts) for doing a 2 second wheelie. I achieved this by getting stuck on a fence.

Hardest Achievement Gained - Time Trial Gold (10 pts) for setting a lap time of under 1:30 on all tracks. It took me a good 10 trys to get under 1:30 on the Construction level

Most Satisfying Achievement - Career King because it was the last achievement and when I gained it, Pocketbike Racer became the first game I completed 100%

Big Bumpin' - 200/200 total points, 12/12 Achievements

Last Achievement Gained/Hardest Achievement Gained/Most Satisfying Achievement Gained - Knockout King (20 pts) for getting 100 KOs in Last Man Standing. It was long believed this one was bugged and unlockable because no one on MyGamerCard.net had gotten it. Finally the PR department of Blitz Games emailed a few people back with how it is done & it got posted on a few message boards. After way too many hours, I finally achieved my 100 KOs, finished the game and vowed never to put the disc back in my 360 ever again.

Easiest Achievement Gained - Not Playing Anymore (20 pts) for ending a game of Own the Puck with zero points. All you have to do is not go anywhere near the puck until the game is over and it's an easy 20 pts.

Uno - 200/200 total points, 12/12 Achievements

Last Achievement Gained - Win 40 games of Uno (25 pts)

Easiest Achievement Gained - Uno (10 pts) for calling Uno and winning a game

Hardest Achievement Gained - There are no hard Uno achievements.

Hexic HD - 175/200 total points, 11/12 Achievements

Last Achievement Gained - Big Cheese of the South Seas (20 pts) for making a black pearl cluster.

Next Achievement to be Attempted - Grand Pearl Pooh-Bah (25 pts) for getting a black pearl flower. I've gotten up to 4 black pearls 3 different times but always get a bomb I cant clear.

Easiest Achievement Gained - Cluster Buster (5 pts) for 25 total combos

Sneak King - 150/200 total points, 11/12 Achievements

Last Achievement Gained - Sneak King! (25 pts) for finishing all challenges in the game. By the time I got to the 80th challenge I was sick of the game and was happy to be done with it. I'm content leaving 50 pts on the table. 550/600 from BK games is plenty.

Hardest Achievement - Area Master (25 pts) for getting A ranks in all 20 challenges in one area.

Easiest Achievement Gained - Winner! (5 pts) for beating one challenge.

Robotron:2084 - 80/200 total points, 7/12 Achievements

Last Achievement Gained - High Score (15 pts) for getting 1st place on the in game scoreboard .

Next Achievement to be Attempted - None, the rest of the achievements are insane. Very frustrating game.

Easiest Achievement Gained - Glue (10 pts) for passing wave 1 without moving.

Hardest Achievement Gained - .Co-Op (15 pts) for passing wave 5 online with a partner.

Geometry Wars - 30/200 total points, 4/12 Achievements

Last Achievement Gained - Score 250,000 (10 pts)

Next Achievement to be Attempted - I'll try for 250K without dying (10 pts) someday, but I'm way out of practice.

Easiest Achievement Gained - Score 100,000 (5 pts)

Hardest Achievement Gained - All the achievements really make you earn them.

DOOM - 30/200 total points, 3/12 Achievements

Last Achievement Gained - Clean Slate (5 pts) for killing all monsters on Hurt Me Plenty or higher

Next Achievement to be Attempted - I'll get back to this game soon. Finishing the game and the Co-Op achievements should be next.

Burnout Revenge - 20/1000 total points, 2/36 Achievements

Last Achievement Gained - Check It Out! (10 pts) for sharing a Burnout clip

Next Achievement to be Attempted - Once I finish PGR3 I'll hop back on this one.

CONGRATULATIONS

Every year I run a unique Super Bowl pool at my office. About 6 or 7 years ago I got tired of doing traditional box pools because the winners are determined by luck. So I came up with an idea to pull together all those exotic bets that they have in Vegas and put them on one sheet. This has proved to be pretty popular. I figured I'd throw it up on here for anyone that may have an interest in playing along. This is just for fun with the Gamespot crew.

Here are the categories, make your pick in each one:

Winner - Colts/Bears

Over/Under 48.5 pts

Coin Toss - Heads/Tails

Coin Toss Winner - Colts/Bears

First to Score - Colts/Bears

Last to Score - Colts/Bears

More Sacks - Colts/Bears

More INTs (Defense) - Colts/Bears

More Recovered Fumbles - Colts/Bears

Most Penalized Team - Colts/Bears

Longest Kickoff Return - Colts/Bears

Longest Punt Return - Colts/Bears

Most Punts - Colts/Bears

Will There Be a 2 pt Conversion? - Yes/No

More Passing Yardage - Manning/Grossman

More Rushing Yardage - Addai/Jones

More Rushing Yardage - Rhodes/Benson

More Passes Caught - Wayne/Muhammed

More Passes Caught - Harrison/Berrian

More Passes Caught - Dal.Clark/Des.Clark

Longest Field Goal - Vinitieri/Gould

More Touchdowns - Colts/Bears

More Field Goals - Colts/Bears

Time of Possession - Colts/Bears

Total Yardage - Colts/Bears

Which Team Will Cover the Spread? - Colts-6.5/Bears+6.5

Will There Be a Safety? - Yes/No

Tiebreaker: Combined Total Number of Points

Leave your picks in the comments section. If anyone plays, I'll grade the picks after the game and crown the Gamespot champion. I don't get that many views, so if you know someone who would be into playing, pass it along.

Thanks and enjoy the game!