Recently in Follow-up Category

May 2, 2008

Thinking back on it, my PS3 HAS frozen a few times in the past

Posted by Doug

11:59 AM, May 2, 2008

I don't know why I didn't think about this before.

I've had some major PS3 freeze-ups in the fast, just like the 'GTA' bugs.

Once, when installing the 'Motor Storm' updates and DLC, I couldn't get past the menu screen in the game. I had to delete all downloaded content and re-install everything from scratch (I didn't lose my saved games, they are in a separate file). That worked.

While playing the 'Home' beta, I would constantly freeze every time I would reach a certain doorway in the game. I deleted those data files, re-downloaded, re-installed and it was fixed.

And finally, when adding DLC to 'Warhawk,' the game locked up my whole PS3. Deletion of the files and a fresh install, again, fixed the problems.

The 'GTA' problems seem awfully similar to what I was going through. I just think the sheer number of copies bought, brought the problem to a lot more people.

The 360 issues, I'm at a loss there.

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May 1, 2008

Now that 'GTA IV' is out, what's there to look forward to?

Posted by Doug

6:46 PM, May 1, 2008

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bored with 'Grand Theft Auto IV'... but I want to know what's next.

Seriously (or, um, SRSLY), what are you looking forward to, now?

For me:

• 'Iron Man'
• 'Lego Indiana Jones'
• 'Ninja Gaiden 2'
• 'GRID'
• 'Battlefield: Bad Company'

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Gears of War 2, Resistance 2, LittleBigPlanet (although I still have a sneaking suspicion that it will suck), Star Wars: Force Unleashed, Soul Calibur 4 (Yoda and Darth!), and first rumors of the Xbox 720 (yeah, I think we'll start hearing anonymous reports of the next console's specs by the end of the year).

Posted by: Victor Godinez | May 2, 2008 2:44 PM

Oh, duh, and Spore.

Which will almost certainly be a letdown after the years of hype, but still, I'm curious.

Posted by: Victor Godinez | May 2, 2008 2:49 PM

January 16, 2008

Anybody got cheese? Because I got lotsa whine.

Posted by Melcolm

7:52 PM, January 16, 2008

I told you all about my 2nd incident with the Red Ring of Death about a month ago. I have to give Microsoft credit for being faster than I expected them to be, because I received the replacement machine before Xmas (a little over 1.5 weeks turnaround time). Just two weeks after receiving the refurbished machine, can you guess what happened? Yup..RROD!!!

I screamed at the customer rep and emphasized that this was the 3rd time I was going through this. He mentioned that he doesn’t believe it will happen to me again and asked that I return the power supply along with the console this time around. I'm expecting my replacement machine to come in sometime next week. *fingers crossed for a brand new console with HDMI*

What pushed me over the edge to whine about this again is that I just got a call from my little brother. His Xbox 360 just died.

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January 11, 2008

Legs getting sore? 'Rock Band' drumming tips.

Posted by Doug

12:12 PM, January 11, 2008

I've nearly died from the shin-splinting pain that the 'Rock Band' drum set has caused my legs. I even got a real drum throne to help with this... it helps, but not completely. I've been sore for days after a few hours of playing.

Wired magazine has some fantastic hints, directly from developer Harmonix, on how to alleviate the pain and ultimately make you a better 'Rock Band' drummer.

Thank you Wired!

Check out the hints here!

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December 12, 2007

I got 'Rock Band' replacement guitar #2 and...

Posted by Doug

11:48 AM, December 12, 2007

... it's an empty box.

Really, I got an empty box that contains a packing slip stating: "Rock Band Guitar, Quantity: 1."

'Rock Band' is now on the top of my "Most Hated Games of 2007" list.

Yes, I said "hate." My nieces would be so ashamed of me.

Oh, and the drum pedal gave me plantar fasciitis. Seriously.

VICTOR COMMENT: Dude, I, well, I don't know, that blows. And speaking of the drums, I'm beginning to suspect that the drums might be the least used peripheral of all time. Seriously, they're impossible to play, a pain in the... foot, and all you can hear while playing is the thwap sound of the sticks hitting the plastic case.

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Well, I got my replacement guitar yesterday...LOVE the new strum bar, but the new buttons SUCK!!! They're so, 'clicky'...if there is such a word. And with my fast fingers, I feel like the buttons are too slow to 'pop' back up. If only I could rig my GHIII guitar with the new Rockband strumbar, I'd be set :)

Posted by: Melcolm | December 12, 2007 3:12 PM

December 7, 2007

My replacement 'Rock Band' guitar is a dud too!

Posted by Doug

11:54 AM, December 7, 2007

I received my first replacement guitar for 'Rock Band' and after just a few minutes of "rocking," the tilt feature stopped working. I went through the whole process of connecting, re-connecting, turning on, turning off and re-praying. Nothing will fix it.

I ordered my second replacement, but the sad thing is... I had just put a $10 cool skull-covered skin on the newly broken guitar. Ta-da... I'm out 10 bucks.

I was a little shocked that the replacement controller comes in a thin cardboard box with the impact resistance of a piece of toilet paper. Does EA really think that holiday shippers are going to be gentle with these things?

I called EA... and, after a lot of whining, they gave me a $20 gift card to the EA store to accommodate my frustration (and whining).

What is up with these controllers? Even punchbutton's other non-blogger, Melcolm, had a faulty guitar.

I think it would have been cheaper to make a higher quality axe from the get-go.

Anyone else having problems?

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December 5, 2007

Jeff Gerstmann's 'Kayne and Lynch' review.

Posted by Doug

5:54 PM, December 5, 2007

Here's the oft-mentioned "controversial" review that may, or may not, have had something to do with Jeff Gerstmann's firing from GameSpot.com.

Doesn't seem so bad to me.

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I dont get it. I was about to buy this game without renting, because the commercial was so cool. Otherwise, I do exactly what jeff does here when I rent a game. I play it and then make an informed decision on whether or not this game is worth a hard earned 50 bucks. I appreciate what jeff did as a game reviewer, movie critics do not suck the teat of all movies and studios, so why should jeff. Apparently the game just isnt that good. Not the first shooter to fall into that category.

Posted by: JOSH IN ATHENS | December 6, 2007 2:35 PM

December 3, 2007

So is the Gamespot controversy dying down?

Posted by Victor Godinez

12:06 PM, December 3, 2007

No. Not really.

Kind of getting worse, actually.

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November 30, 2007

The day the music stopped. My 'Rock Band' guitar broke.

Posted by Doug

11:44 AM, November 30, 2007

I usually have awful luck. Stupidly awful luck.

BUT, I made it through a year with my first 360 never getting the red-ring-o-death. I never had problems with my 'Guitar Hero III' wireless guitar. My 'Halo 3' disc wasn't scratched. Obviously, because it's me, my short streak of good luck ran out.

I played 'Rock Band' for two days and on day three, IT happened.

Last night, I turned on my 360 and started 'Rock Band.' Navigation through the menus was kind of sluggish, but it was working. I had four songs left to finish Career-mode on Medium... I started the first of the four. I couldn't hit a note to save my life. Maybe one in six down-strums would register.

I unplugged the guitar's USB connector then re-connected it to the system... the problem continued. Then, I tried every other USB port... same results. I restarted the Xbox, removed the disc, blew in the air vents, shuffled voodoo cards, prayed a little bit, turned on the air conditioning, complemented the guitar, jumped up and down, crossed my fingers and tried it again. The guitar still wouldn't consistently register a down-strum.

I was able to hold on to the strum bar and tilt it up and down to finally register a strum. This was an extremely irritating gameplay method, but when I tilted the guitar up to unleash my "rock energy" (or whatever it's called) the guitar started working again. That was, until I tilted it up about 30 seconds later. This is clearly a hardware problem... something is shifting around in the guitar. I don't think a patch would ever clear this up.

So, needless to say, my new $125 guitar replacement it on it's way. I'm planning on getting hit by a bus later today.

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