Archive for the ‘XBOX 360’ Category

Elder Scrolls : Oblivion

November 7, 2008 by john No Comments »

Crikey. I’m hooked on Elder Scrolls : Oblivion for my XBOX 360. I’ve been playing just long enough to realize how big this game actually is… my sad little character is frequently pincushioned with arrows, but I’m learning how to run away (Monty Python style). So far I’ve scratched the surface. This is the “game of the year” edition, so it comes with additional stuff to do once you’ve completed the main quest in the game arc. There are several (probably hundreds) of little side quests that you can get sucked into, and being a generally nice guy, I always tell people “sure, I’ll go fetch / kill / stop / undo whatever you need”. And then it takes me a few hours to do that task and return to the activity I was originally engaged with.

This game seems to have a massive environment and I’m going to spend far too much time working my way through the fabulous detail. Sheesh. What a time vortex this game is… good thing it’s autumn and there’s no yard work to do…

 

The Falcon Has Landed

May 12, 2008 by john No Comments »

XBOX 360Yesterday I purchased an XBOX 360 with the new 65 nm “Falcon” chipset, which is smaller and more energy efficient than the previous 90 nm build. The biggest differences between this new chip and the old one is heat,  which is the prime suspect behind the dreaded RROD. It took a few days of research to understand how to discern whether a unit has this new chipset by inspecting the outside of the box. The best ways to tell all involve a quick glance at the barcode label on the box:

  • The build team should be FDOU. This is the only build team that has been confirmed to have access to the Falcon chip.
  • The power supply should be 175 watts. The Falcon chip requires less power than the previous 203 watt power supplies.
  • Lot # 735 or higher.
  • Manufacture date 8/24/07 or later.

The sales person at Best Buy was cooperative about going to the stock room to check on the label for me, and he understood exactly what I was looking for. He told me they sell through a lot of units and are constantly restocked by Microsoft, and at this point ALL of their stock is Falcon-based. I hooked it up last night and fired up a few games. So far, so good. Assassin’s Creed is going well, although I’m back to the beginning so there is some tedious rework until I’m caught up to where I was before. Hopefully no RROD on this one. I purchased the 2 year no-bull extended warranty thing through Best Buy, so if there’s so much as a minor glitch I’m heading back there for a replacement.

Bring on the beasties! I’m looking forward to some serious clobbering this week.

 

XBOX 360 : "he's dead, Jim"

May 4, 2008 by john No Comments »

he's dead, JimTen days. Then the dreaded Red Ring Of Death. XBOX 360 owners universally dread the RROD, and it seems to happen to every unit eventually. Oh sure, you can cheat the RROD briefly with the old “wrap it up in a towel” trick, but it will just RROD again (permanently) in short order. Mine died an ignoble death without so much as a whimper. Oh well. I’ll replace it with a new unit and should be back in the gaming saddle again without too much delay. But sheesh… I’m thankful Microsoft doesn’t design airplanes.

 

XBOX Crashfest

May 1, 2008 by john No Comments »

Gah. My XBOX 360 is turning into “mr freeze”. Seems like every game eventually hangs and requires a system reboot! I hope this isn’t a sign of misery to come…

 

XBOX 360 – Considering A Purchase

April 20, 2008 by john No Comments »

XBOX 360I’ve been considering the purchase of an XBOX 360 for some time and have finally arrived at the conclusion that I should get one. My mission at this point is to locate one of the new “falcon chip” units which are supposedly less prone to the overheating problems associated with earlier units. I’ve made a list of what to look for when examining the packaging to ensure I’m getting the new version.

Yesterday an employee at Best Buy offered some helpful advice including “buy the extended warranty.” I don’t find that to be very surprising in terms of advice, given the reliability track record of this gizmo. Still, I’m thinking it’ll be fun to have it, and I’m planning to make the purchase some time in the next week or so.