I knew something was wrong. My Xbox 360 had been acting "different" in the past few weeks. Slow to boot. Sluggish in game. Graphical "hickups" here and there. The occasional complete lockup. And then, as I was in the middle of Operation Anchorage (Fallout 3), kablooey. The screen went haywire and the last "note" of sound was playing in a high-pitched screech.

So, thinking it was just another lockup, I got up and reset the system. RROD.

"Oh s***" I said to myself. Turn it off, wait 10 seconds, turn it back on. RROD.

Waited 24 hours with the system unplugged and tried again. RROD.

I've been doing some research and it appear the most successful solution is to disassemble the unit, put heat pads on several of the chips, replace the x-bars with bolts, let it run for 30-60 minutes and restart. The kit for replacing the x-bars is cheap on ebay and I should be able to borrow a torx set from someone here at work so I may give that a shot. If it doesn't work, it's going to be months before I'm able to get back on my 360 and play again. It's not easy coming up with that kind of extra cash...

Anyone need a website designed or software written?

I have no idea what happened, but I lost my telephone and Internet service at home. I could care less about the phone. The only people who call me on my home phone are people trying to sell me stuff, get me to donate, or collect money. But it really sucks that I don't have Internet now!

That means no game night this weekend... Looks like I'll be scavenging the ruins of DC by myself in Fallout 3 instead of shooting up my friends in SOCOM.

I called AT&T to report the problem (which, btw, was the best computer I've ever talked to) and they are going to dispatch somebody to look at it. That's great, but what really irks me is that they're going to work on it next Monday sometime between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM. Gee, thanks guys. Could you be any more vague? Hopefully, it's something they can fix on their end and not have to access the box on my house. My killer attack puppies might try to lick them to death and scare them away.

Oh, and yes, we did pay the bill. Our cell phones (which are on the same bill) still work just fine.

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One last side-note... GORDON FTW!

It has been a little while since I posted a gaming update, so I though I would take some time to post one. I know it is a little long as I tend to get long winded...or fingered as the case may be, but it's everything that is going on in the past, present and future of my gaming.

Currently Playing

I'm borrowing Fallout 3 (Xbox 360) from a friend of mine while he borrows my copy of Bioshock. So far, I love it. Bethesda Game Studios is becoming one of my favorite developers as every game I have played of theirs so far, I have thoroughly enjoyed. I have not progressed that far into the story line of Fallout 3 yet, but that is only because the DC Wasteland is absolutely huge and fun to explore. In fact, I just met 3 Dog, which is at the beginning of the story, and I have been playing nearly 10 hours and am almost at level 10. Fun stuff. Unfortunately, it has locked up on my several times and I've had to reset my Xbox 360 to resume play, but after installing the game to my Hard Drive, it hasn't happened yet. My system is old (one of the originals actually) so I'm not sure if it is the game of my Xbox.

On the PS3, I have been working on Battlefield: Bad Company and love the game. I have restarted the campaign on Hard which offers a great challenge, but still a lot of fun. And the online, even though there are only two game modes, is also a blast to play, especially with friends. I played the Demo of the game a while back and wasn't too thrilled with it, but now that I have the full game, and have played the whole thing through, my opinion of it has changed drastically.

Just Finished

I have recently completed Fable 2 for now. Eventually, I'll buy the DLC and continue playing in Knothole Island and See The Future. Fable 2 was fun and I really enjoyed it, although it did become a bit stale doing the later quests. A lot of "been there, done that", but still overall enjoyable. I got most of the achievements (880/1000) and the biggest ones I have left are finding the gargoyles, the stupid Hero Dolls and getting all the expressions, but I refuse to buy the Pub Games just to get that achievement. I think that is the stupidest thing and refuse to do it just for the 50 gamer points.

Before that, I completed Half Life 2 and it's Episodes in The Orange Box. Those were absolutely amazing and very fun to play. I enjoyed playing Half Life 2 so much, I had to hunt down a copy of Half Life on the PS2. I haven't played it all the way through yet, but even it is a blast. Now I'm looking forward to either Half Life 3 or at least Half Life 2: Episode 3. Portal is also an amazing game that messes with your mind in places, but I love it. The Advanced Stages and Challenges are very tough, even after watching Youtube videos of them. I don't think I'll continue with it, although that is where the bulk of my remaining achievements are. I have played Team Fortress 2 a little bit, but not a lot. I cranked through most of the achievements you can earn solo just to get a feel of the game, but I don't see myself returning to it soon. Overall, I have 760/1000 gamerscore for The Orange Box.

I have been contiplating writing reviews for both of these games. I need to get caught up on my review writing as the last one I did was back in April of this year. For Fable 2, I would probably give it an 8/10 and for The Orange Box, a 9.5/10.

Future Gaming

I have a gaming dilemma right now; there are too many games I want coming out this fall and cash is nonexistant.

The first game actually comes out next Tuesday: Halo: ODST. I have some of the money, but not enough and I'm afraid, even if I pre-order, I'll won't be able to pay in full in time to receive the Halo: Reach BETA Key. The key is the only reason I even considered pre-ordering the game.

Another thing I'm considering doing, which is something I rarely do, is actually trading in some of my games! I'm one of these people that once I buy a game, I keep the game. That's why I have such a huge game collection. But, money is tight and I want too many games, so something has to give. I'm going to try trading Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (PS3), Call of Duty: World at War (PS3), TimeShift (Xbox 360...sory Safad0), Devil May Cry (PS2), Shadow Man: 2econd Coming (PS2) and Enter the Matrix (PS2 with Guide). I doubt I will get much trade in value for most of these, but it's worth a shot at least.

Anyways, next up is GranTurismo (PSP). Several of the guys at work are big GT fans, and I would love to be able to race with them, even though they will kick my butt all over the track... Don't get me wrong, I love GT as well, just not as much as these guys who have been playing it since the original do.

Then comes my next biggest wish: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. I absolutely loved the first game and have been looking forward to the second ever since I heard about it (and even more so after seeing the E3 Trailer!).

Later in October is Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. I love Ratchet & Clank...just look at my header image! Nuff said.

In November, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 comes out. I will not be getting this game right away, but eventually I will pick it up.

And then, on the PSP sometime later this year, Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier and SOCOM: US Navy Seals Fireteam Bravo 3 will be arriving.

And those are just the games I want for this year. Next year we have Bioshock 2, StarCraft 2 (hopefully), Final Fantasy XIII, Army of Two: The 40th Day and MAG. At $60 a pop, that's a lot of money.

Yesterday, I figured up how much I have spent on games over my lifetime. I bought a lot of them used and a lot of them new, so I estimated an average game cost of $40. With 234 games in my collection, it comes to $9,360.00 worth of games. That's just the games, not the consoles. Crazy money! And before the end of the year alone, there is probably $350+ worth of games I want.

And game publishers wonder why people buy used games cheaper...

Demos

I don't often play game demos as most of them just don't interest me, but there are a few I have played recently on the PS3.

The first is the demo of Wet. Based on the demo, I can honestly say the game will be interesting. Unfortunately, I was not impressed enough to want to buy it and will be passing on this title. Maybe in the future if I can find a cheap used copy I will pick it up.

The second demo was much more fun. It was for Dirt 2. The demo only has two tracks and two vehicles, but it is enough of a taste to make me look forward to buying the game...eventually. It all depends on when Gran Turismo 5 comes out...

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Well, that is it for now. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments.