I am appauled by the service I have recieved from xbox support. There have been many blogs and forum posts across the web in regards to issues people have had with their arcade consoles and the recent title update. I was one of the unlucky few that has had their console corrupted by the update. After hours of telephone conversations trouble shooting with them they have come to the conclusion that they arn't going to do anything about it. The only option i have is to pay 80 pounds for a repair or buy a new one. I will be reporting this to trading standards as I have been scammed in such a bad way it disgusts me. Below is the letter I sent to them.

To whom this may concern,

I would like to place an official complaint in response to the service given in result of an update from yourselves that has permanently damaged my console. I recieved a xbox dashboard update about 2 weeks ago now. Since downloading this update my console speradicly loads discs and wont load my modern warfare 2 disc at all. My console completley freezes when my girlfriend tries to sign in to her account when attempting to play gears 2 together. If I load her gamertag on the dashboard and then load the game, once the epic logo comes up the wholes console freezes. My young daughters non xbox live account and a friends has been deleted from my system, and the console freezes during gameplay, alot.

I must say that I have owned my console since 2008 and have never had any issues with it at all. It was working fine the day before my update. But as soon as the update was applied all these issues have begun.

When I contacted Xbox support today I was asked to go through a series of tests with the settings (clear cache), and remove hard drive. Neither of these steps have solved the issue which has only left the fact that your update has damaged my console. The soloution offered by your rep was to pay either 79 pounds or 64 pounds to get it serviced or repaired. Or by a new one!

This is completley outragous! Why should I have to pay to fix something that I didn't even break in the first place. The error lies with microsoft for sending me an update which has in turn damaged my console in some way.

When I had issues with my out of warranty PS3 last year (down to no fault of my own), a replacement console was on my door step within 3 days AT NO CHARGE.

I would be appriciative if you can sort this disaster out as soon as possible. If you tell me the same dribble i have already heard I will be on the phone to trading standards first thing monday morning, the press, and every forum on this side of the hemisphere. You can't honestly expect a consumer to pay for something that has been caused by yourself? Surley you can see that this is wrong on so many levels.

I might just give up gaming after going through all this. Just thought you guys should be aware of the service that awaits you if you get issues that are out of your control.

Just completed Darksiders and have to say I was quite impressed. The graphics were very good, and the fighting was intense with lots of special moves and abilities to help bring down the demons from hell and the angels from heaven for that matter. The story was interesting and left a great opener for a sequel. What surprised me the most though was the puzzles; in the sense that they were fun to do and some were damn right hard (light beam puzzles i'm staring in your direction).

This game has been out for a while now and is quite cheap, so if you haven't got it, it would be worthwhile picking it up.

Graphics 8

Story 8

Sound 9

Gameplay 9

Replayability 7

8.75/10

It's strange because i never used to do this until i got older. Before if i had a stack of video games i would play all of them, doing bits of each one as i went along. My younger mind was able to get back into the game and the controls, even if i hadn't played it for more than 2 weeks. However, now i tend to play one game through to the end, before starting another one. If i do switch games, once i come back to it my mind is frazzled. I need to check to options screen for the controls, and it takes a while to pick up the story or objective again. I have a few 360 games that I've had for over 2 months that haven't even been in the console. I tend to play an involved game with a racing game or something that doesn't take to mush concentration. I guess all the partying has killed some brain cells over the years, lol.

There's only one man to back the role of Barrack Obama in the first biopic of the new US President - Denzel Washington.

The Hollywood star turned up at a celebration shindig for the new president at the weekend, as did Jamie Foxx, who is also running for the Obama gig.

Washington, a 4-1 chance to get the role, has the perfect name for a US politician, but then again so does Foxx, whose surname is 50 per cent voting form and 50 per cent an instruction to George Bush.

Eddie Murphy is 8-1 to portray Obama on the big screen. America's most famous black man is ending eight years of Bush, and so is Obama.

Bill Clinton was the last president to be involved with a successful movie. That was Finding Nemo, based on a game he used to play with his interns.

Who will play Barrck (power): Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Denzel Washington or Eddie Murphy?

I was really looking forward to this new instalment to the Resident Evil movie series. Unlike the other three films this one was made using CGI and at last starred Leon from Resi 2 and 4. Considering that Leon is my favourite character and imagining the boundaries that could be pushed I was climbing the walls for like three weeks prior to the release date.

I invited a friend round, turned out the lights, opened the disc tray, inserted the disc, pressed play, and then it began. The most disappointing 92 minutes ever. Maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration. I mean it was OK but considering what they could of done with this it was a bit of a let down. The script was very clunky throughout and although the CGI looked good it wasn't spectacular. To be honest I think Final Fantasy the spirits within looked better. Another really annoying thing was that the original film was done with japanesse speech, so the american voice overs are all out of sync with the mouth movement. At one point Leon said something and his mouth never even moved.

One thing i did like however was the way they made it resemble the game. The characters movement was just like they move during the game and some of the camera angles were well thought out.

Overall it was a bit of a let down, but as I am a die hard fan of Resident Evil I was able to get some enjoyment out of it. However for twelve pounds I wish I had waited until the price dropped a bit. Unless you are a big fan of the series I would steer clear of this one for now and maybe grab it later from the bargain bin.

Going to America was probably the best experience I've had yet, well, that and beating expert mode on Guitar Hero 2. It could have gone terribly wrong all from the beginning after a sniffer dog at Orlando International Airport stuck its nose in my bag. Fortunately all there was to find were toffees, so i guess all that sniffing just gave him a small case of the munchies. Oh, before i go on just one more thing, don't let anyone tell you that 9 hour flights are fun, because there not.

The one thing that i really noticed different from England was the heat, which at ninety degrees was a struggle but thanks to in-car air conditioning i was cool for at least 30mins of the day. Driving on the opposite side of the road took a little while to get used to, and being able to turn right on a red light was very strange.

The food was to say the least absolutely awesome. I went for breakfast on the first day and asked for bacon and eggs. I got bacon, eggs, hash browns, tomatoes, sausage, toast, 4 pancakes and a litre of orange juice. words can't really describe how i felt when that lot landed in front of me, or how i felt after i had eaten it. The one thing i can say is that you haven't tried pancakes until you go to America, they were awesome.

During the holiday we went to most of the attractions it had to offer. Magic Kingdom was magical in every way. As i walked through the gates i suddenly realised i had become 8 years old again, and the fireworks in the evening were just unbelievable. I personally starred in the Indiana Jones show as an Arabian extra at MGM Studios, and got to play my own death scene which was fun. We got to see loads of animals at Animal Kingdom and even got the chance to throw up my lunch after taking on expedition everest. Tasting foods from all over the world was interesting and disgusting at the same time at Epcot, and Helen Degeneres energy show was interesting.

Downtown Disney was really good as well, with loads of stuff to do. There was ample shops with all sorts of themed knick knacks, and boats to hire out in the lake. However if you go to Downtown Disney the place to go is Disney Quest. In here is five floors of arcades all on free play mode. on some of the games like Mario Kart GP, there are eight machines which you line up for a wicked multiplayer experience. A cool touch was having the monitors above the machines showing the facial expressionsof the players.

One of the most amazing things though was seeing Shamu the killer whale at Seaworld. It was the first time I had seen them and it's an experience im never gonna forget.The best place to go for roller-coasters we saved until our last day. Busch Gardens was well worth waiting for. However the animal side of it wasn't as good as i was hoping for. The best roller in the park was Sheikra, which takes you up 200ft and then drops you vertically 90 degrees straight down. By this point of the holiday i was starting to go a nice golden colour, but when I'd got off this ride i was as white as a bed sheet.

We did loads more but for me to write it all down would mean writing a novel, so i just thought a few highlights would do. Oh one more thing i almost forgot. While i was out there i got bit by a snake in our pool. Spent the night in celebrations hospital with a drip in my arm, that wasn't much fun but it non-poisonous so its all good.

Hey gang, how has everyone been?

Been a while since i last posted on herejust thought i'd let ya know im off to Florida on thursday. Anyone been there and have any info on some good night spots? I think im gonna need a place to chill after all the rollercoasters! Also found out that theres gonna be a launch from kennedy space centre on the 23rd some im definetely gonna try and get there for that; even though the closest il get will be about 10 miles.

As far as gaming goes i've pretty much been playing guitar hero 2 & rocks the eighties.

well i'm off, il try and get online soon and get back into the forums but for now il guess il just say cya.

Thats right, I never really got the chance to get into this game when I bought it so long ago. However the last two weeks I have had some free time so I devoted it to Samus' second adventure, which i have to say was very enjoyable. The end boss was a bit tricky but nonetheless still defeated.

Just wanna say sorry to my friends on here for not being around for a while. I've got some problems with my internet at the moment, hence why i'm using my mates laptop to type this. I hope you all had a nice christmas & new year.

Hopefully my internet will be back on soon, and i can get back into the forums more often. Anyway take care and see ya soon.

Hey guys, long time no writing?? does that work?.....anyway.

Not been on hardly at all due to finding a gaming addiction in the form of command and conquer: tiberian sun online. I have probably spent more hours playing this game than i did with the N64 classic goldeneye. I have also founded my own clan the 'fury fighters', and now have about 14 members.

Please if any of you play command and conquer TS online, then let me know and il give ya a game, and if your not in a clan then mabye you can tryout?

The ankle is a lot better, the pain comes and goes but overall im doing fine.

I've been playing my ds like a madman, as well when TS isn't in the driving seat. I'm waiting for my wi-fi adaptor to arrive from mail order so i can take that online as well.

Anyway im off, speak to you guys in the forums again shortly k.

Bye.

First of all i want to apologise for the lack of activity from me of late. I have been very busy with the new job i have started and have had little time for posting and blogging.

Anyway back to the topic, i have had a little accident.Two days ago i was going down some concrete steps, tripped, and broke my ankle. I am now bearing a plaster cast and hobbling around on crutches. The pain was really bad, but isn't so bad now, just more of an inconvienience. I will have to wear this thing for 6 long weeks which really pleased me.

Anyway, things arn't that bad considering that my DS Lite has arrived which will pass a few hours of the the torment. Mario kart DS is great, and i have realised my brain needs some training as well, lol.

I've decided that this injury wont stop my life, so i went to see Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Mans Chest yesterday which was really good. I would definetely recommend you guys to go see it if you havn't already, it's awesome.

That's it for today, will post again soon. Laters.