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September 29 AceyBongos GamerScore Challenge: IT'S OVER!I'm not too sure about the rest of Europe, but the UK had a really bad summer. From June to September it dinged down with rain, washing out barbeques, ruining weekends in the countryside and generally making things quite miserable for everyone except ducks. Scientists, media commentators and the general bloke in the street all have their theories about why this happened - global warming, freak pockets of atmospheric pressure, bad luck, and so on.
But I know the real reason. It's no coincidence that the AceyBongos GamerScore Challenge kicked off at exactly the same time that the bad weather appeared. I've looked into it, and it turns out that the combined effect of 100 dedicated GamerScore Challengers rithlessly racking up GamerPoints precipitated a cataclysmic change in the weather. As each 'Achievement Unlocked' pinged up on a screen somewhere in Europe the rotation of the Earth and the movement of the tides were affected, sending the weather haywire.
The key culprits in this were OwningXylophone, x MwA x Viper and IRB, who between them racked up a planet-quaking 85,000 GamerPoints.
Thankfully for them, although they'll always have the poor summer of 2007 on their conscious, their efforts do mean that they win some prizes. Hooray! Here's the full list of AceyBongos GamerScore Challenge winners - and you can also view the full Leaderboard over at My360Stats.com. Congratulations to you all, and thanks to everyone else for taking part!
Oh, and there's one little problem - I can't get the Master Chief helmets I promised, so I'll have to make it up to you with some other goodies instead. I'll let you know what I'm thinking when you message me. Sorry, but as you'll be aware they were in quite short supply and I haven't been able to get them. I'll do my best to make it up to those affected!
Oh, and one other thing - I know I said I'd get prizes for the second and third place Challengers, but I can't remember if I specified what they'd be. I've had a trawl through my posts and can't find anything - does anyone remember if I did? If not we'll work it out. Sorry again!
ACEYBONGOS GAMERSCORE CHALLENGE PRIZES AND WINNERS:
If you're a winner send me a message through Xbox Live with your mailing address and I'll get your prizes out to you as soon as I can!
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the Challenge - I know it became more of a chore for some of you! Perhaps the stakes were too high, or the length of the Challenge too long, but if you did spend a lot of time working on your score I hope you're happy with the number you know have on your GamerCard!
Last, but certainly not least, I want to say a huge thanks to LeiChat at www.My360Stats.com for doing an absolutely amazing job of building the Challenge Leaderboard and doing all the technical stuff that makes my brain feel funny. Good work sir!
Right, the next Challenge starts on Monday.
Only joking. September 28 AceyBongos GamerScore Challenge - Last Minute UpdateJust a quick reminder that the GamerScore Challenge officially ends in, ooh, 85 minutes. It looks like OwningXylophone has secured first place, with x MwA x Viper in a safe second. But it's IRB and NakedAssassin in third and fourth who are having a last minute scrap for the third spot - good luck guys!
Results will be announced this weekend once we've verified the scores - hopefully tomorrow! Then you can go back to playing games for fun...
 Activision Buys Bizarre - What's the Score With PGR?I'm sure you saw the news that Activision bought Bizarre Creations, the developers behind the PGR series. Understandably this has caused a lot of fretting and sweating over the future of the series, but fear not - GamerScore Blog has just posted that the PGR franchise will powerslide on:
"Microsoft Game Studios is completely committed to PGR 4 now, and in the future. We consider Project Gotham Racing a signature franchise for the Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE, and we have definite plans to continue the series (though we have nothing further to announce now)."
Marketplace Update - 28/9The Marketplace Updates have been a bit wierd this week what with the Halo launch, but things seem to be getting back to normal now! Don't forget that Sega Rally, Juiced: Hot Import Nights, skate. and FIFA 08 (which I was playing last weekend at The Gathering and really enjoyed) are all out today - if you can tear yourself away from Master Chief...
I like that band Trivium, although I fear the song might be an absolute digit-buster. And I'm quite excited about GHII this weekend because I never earned enough money to unlock all the outfits and characters, but Making Sparks, the Xbox.com editor, gave me a good tip yesterday - just start a new band and play through on medium again, thus having fun and also earning maximum cash! Hooray! September 27 AceyBongos GamerScore Challenge - 24 Hours to Go!Can you believe it? The AceyBongos GamerScore Challenge is nearing the 16 week mark, which means its almost time to crown the ULTIMATE GAMERSCORE CHAMPION! Oh, and give out some prizes.
And looking at the AceyBongos GamerScore Challenge leaderboard, it seems that the game's not over yet in the prize spots. OwningXylophone is in first place with a staggering increase of 33780, but x MwA x Viper isn't too far behind with 29061 - especially if he's got some games in the locker and plenty of Red Bull!
But the real ding-dong battle is for third place. Currently IRB has it with 25355, but NakedAssasin is right beind with 24940. Something tells me there might be some movement here over the next 24 hours!
Remember that there's lots of spot prizes for the other categories, so check them out on the leaderboard to see if you're in with a chance.
I'll update tomorrow night with the details, but the Challenge will close at midnight Saturday (ie a minute after 11.59pm tomorrow night) UK time and I'll officially announce the winners on Saturday. Me and LeiChat have had a good chat and everything's in working order to track your increases up until the Challenge closes, so don't worry.
GOOD LUCK!
PS: I am disgusted at my return of 2529 for four months of play. Ah well, that's summer for you... The Gathering 07 Round-Up
Wow! What a week! Not only did the BIGGEST GAME EVER launch the other day, but last weekend we also held a huge community event for 29 of the most important people from our Xbox Community Network of European websites. Called The Gathering 07, it was an opportunity for us to get everyone together in London, have a chat and some laughs, and play some of the biggest upcoming Xbox 360 games.
I did promise to post during the event last week, but to be honest that was wishful thinking. The day was totally packed and on the Sunday I felt like a truck had hit me, but it was definitely worth it. Here's the line-up we had:
You can find a full list of the sites who attended - and link through to their coverage of the event - here. There's loads of round-ups, hands-ons and reaction pieces, so check them out. There was plenty of time to get hands-on with everything and ask a few questions before we finished the day with a huge Halo 3 multiplayer tournament watched over by Lee Wilson and Joseph Tung from Bungie. XCN member Ross McClymont (www.XboxElite.co.uk) scooped the first place prize with a ridiculous display that drew a huge crowd and even had the Bungie guys shaking their heads - he'll be receiving a 37" HDTV courtesy of the wonderful people at Samsung, a Halo 3 Limited Edition Xbox 360, a Legendary Edition Halo 3, a Halo 3 LE controller and a wicked statue of Assassin's Creed's Altair courtesy of Ubisoft. In second place was Marcin Pawlowski (www.OnlineCenter.pl) who scooped a Legendary Edition of Halo 3 and a Halo 3 LE controller, as did Alexandre Mestcherinoff (www.XboxLive.fr) and Bert De Weerdt (www.X-Power.be) who tied for third place. Well done everyone!
I had a great day and I think the highlights for me were Peter Molyneux's keynote (he dropped a few more hints on co-op in Fable 2 and is always a cracking speaker), having the Bungie guys demo Forge and the Saved Films feature in Halo 3, playing Guitar Hero III on an impossibly large screen with the sound turned up to 11, and watching Ross from www.XboxElite.co.uk pwn in the Halo 3 tourney. But my favourite part of the event - aside from catching up with old XCN friends and meeting new ones - were the frank feedback sessions we had. I'd like to thank all the attendees for giving us such passionate and useful thoughts and opinions, and we'll be doing our best to follow up on them all!
I would like to say a huge thanks to all the developers, publishers, members of Xbox staff and also the members of the Xbox Community team who worked so hard to make The Gathering 07 happen.
And thanks to the XCN attendees who made the day (and evening in the pub!) such an enjoyable experience.
Hopefully in about a year I'll be posting about a bigger and better Gathering 08, so if you have any ideas about what you'd like to see from future Xbox European community events I'd love to hear from you in the comments. And don't forget to take a look at the photos from the day below and in the Gallery! UPDATED: Jericho Demo Ghosts Onto MarketplaceAre you wearing any socks? If not, don't put any on before you play the new Marketplace demo of Clive Barker's Jericho, which is now available everywhere except Germany. It's an FPS which places you in charge of a group of highly-trained special ops soldiers who unwittingly find themselves knee-deep in the undead city of Jericho, which aside from all the murderous ghouls and ghosts also apparently has a poor health and safety record because of shoddily-constructed walls.
You'll be able to harness supernatural powers as well as the latest military hardware, and I've heard that the best weapon in the game is a super-powered trumpet.
If you didn't go to Sunday school, please ignore that last 'gag'.
The Jericho demo is available everywhere except Germany now, but be warned that it's quite scary and violent. Very, in fact.
UPDATE: The wonderful peole at Codemasters have just sent through some extensive details for the demo. Check:
"Clive Barker’s Jericho dispatches players to the Middle-Eastern city of Al-Khali. Controlling the Jericho squad, a team skilled in both conventional and paranormal warfare, players fight through different time periods from the city’s history on a gruelling journey to unravel the legend of the First Born, God’s first aborted creation of man and source of ultimate evil.
Thrusting gamers into the heart of this unique horror FPS, the demo is taken from the time of the Crusades in Al-Khali’s past. A vicious attack has divided the squad, with one half presumed lost. As the demo opens, players join Sergeant Billie Church, Lieutenant Abigail Black and Sergeant Frank Delgado in the blood-drenched sewers and catacombs of a fortress.
Playing as Captain Devin Ross, the fallen squad leader who as a spirit is able to possess and heal individual members of the team, players must take advantage of Church, Black and Delgado’s paranormal talents. Delgado, a pyromancer and heavy weapons expert, can unleash a parasitic flame spirit to incinerate nearby enemies and wields a 7.62 calibre Minigun.
Church, a blood scribe, casts powerful wards, enchantments and banishments through the ritual of drawing her own blood. She also comes equipped with a customised Nodachi for ruthless melee attacks. Black possesses astonishing telekentic powers, which lets her guide bullets fired from her customised XM-110 sniper rifle with pinpoint accuracy through multiple targets.
Only by combining the unique squad abilities of this paranormal fighting force can gamers survive this hellish nightmare and come closer to the truth. Right from the off, players face a vicious onslaught from an army of grotesque crusader warriors. These twisted and tormented enemies, whose armour is fused with their rotting flesh and limbs replaced with axes and swords, are powerful, shocking realisations of monsters from the mind of Clive Barker.
Developed by Mercury Steam Entertainment, Clive Barker’s Jericho will unleash its supernatural assault from October 26th 2007 (PAL territories) for the PLAYSTATION 3 system, the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows." September 26 UPDATED: Problems With Your Halo 3 LE Disc?There are reports doing the rounds that a small number of discs are coming out of the Limited Edition version of Halo 3 slightly damaged. Here's the official word on this:
“We've have identified that there are some instances of blemishes on discs as a result of the packaging of the Halo 3 Limited Edition. It is related only to the Halo 3 Limited Edition version of the game. This is a small fraction of the total number of Halo 3 games shipped and sold, and is a limited production version of the game. We are currently investigating the scope of this situation and notwithstanding the outcome of the investigation, we have implemented a plan to address it. We encourage anyone experiencing these issues to go to xbox.com/support and click on the Halo 3 Limited Edition disc replacement link. We will be replacing these discs and apologize for the inconvenience.”
The link on the support section of Xbox.com is currently only live on the US version of the site, but it will be added to the European sites very, very soon. I'll let you know when.
UPDATE: The links should be live in all your local Xbox.com sites now: www.Xbox.com/support . Thanks for your patience! Happy Halo 3 Day!It's Wednesday, September 26, 2007, and the biggest game of all time has just launched in Europe. Hopefully you've already picked one up - or at work or school counting the hours until you can get home and play it - and I just wanted to say that I hope you have an amazing time playing Halo 3!
The UK Xbox team held a huge premiere for the game last night at London's iMax cinema. You couldn't miss it...
 September 21 Getting Ready For The Gathering 07
You might have noticed that I haven't been posting quite as much lately. There are a few reasons for this, like how things get busier when the BIGGEST GAME EVER is about to launch and other general work/life stuff. And there's one other reason - for the last few weeks me and the Xbox EMEA Community Team have been beavering away on a little something we like to call The Gathering 07. The first Gathering happened in 2004 and was an exclusive event for a select few Xbox Community Network websites from across Europe. During the event the guys got to go hands-on with some hot new Xbox games (I believe the original Fable was the big draw at the time) and had the chance to speak to some Xbox VIPs like developers. The Gathering 07 is bigger and, hopefully, better! We're doing it tomorrow in London and we have 30 Xbox Community Network editors flying in right now to take part. We've got a great line-up of stuff going on, like hands-ons with the biggest upcoming games, some amazing VIP speakers, and some quality Halo 3 multiplayer fun. I'm going to try and post tomorrow with photos and details from the event itself, but you should really check out the websites of the guys who are attending. I'm expecting them to be updating their sites with some pretty cool stuff over the next few days, so check 'em out - and they're all great sites anyway, so if you've never swung by them take a look and stick around. One thing - I know some of you have asked in the past why we don't do any public community events, or why we don't get up to Scotland etc. I don't really have any elaborate excuses for this - only that we have limited resources and can only do so much. Hopefully in the future we'll be able to do something like The Gathering with a little more of a public focus. Thanks for you enthusiasm! The Gathering 07 Attendee Sites: UK: Denmark: Poland: Austria: Germany: Switzerland: Sweden: Finland: Norway: Netherlands: Belgium: Greece: France: Italy: Spain: Portugal: Pro Evo Soccer 2008 Demo Available NowDOH! Almost forgot to post about this, and it's my favourite game ever ever. There's a demo up on Marketplace for PES 2008 now. It lets you play one five minute game (single-player only I'm afraid) with a choice of 6 international teams. Let the debate about how different it is from last year's version begin... NOW!
Oh, it feels GOOD. Marketplace Update - 21/9: TGS Day Two SpecialStacks more content today, mostly powered by the Tokyo Game Show. However, even with a Viva Pinata Party Animals demo, a new Halo 3 ViDoc and trailers for Lost Odyssey and Sega Rally, I can't seem to see past the Sexy Pirates Theme and Picture Packs. What's better than a pirate? A sexy pirate!
And what makes a pirate so sexy? It's because they have a lovely yars.
Think about that. It could well be the best pirate gag ever.
AMAZING New Halo 3 Vids and ViDocOvernight, www.Bungie.net has stuck up a bunch of amazing new videos which properly show off the video editing features and level editing features in Halo 3 for the first time. Seriously, they look amazing.
http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=h3savedfilms
http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=h3forgeadvanced http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=h3forgeobjects http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=h3forgebasics There's also a new Halo 3 ViDoc available now on Xbox Live Marketplace which pools these videos together in lovely HD. Only a few days to go now!
September 20 Create Your Own Halo Images - The Use Them On Your Website!Isn't it ace when you find a really cool image for your profile pic on Spaces, Messenger or your Facebook, Bebo or MySpace page? And wouldn't it be even cooler if you could design your own, totally unique picture without having a degree in computer art?
Well, GUESS WHAT? Yes, I've set you up for the news that Xbox.com in the UK has launched a brilliant Halo 3 Image Creation Kit that lets you put together totally customised and personalised Halo images that you can then use on your website or computer. It's ace - you just drag the background you want onto the palette, add in some characters, then overlay some text if you want - so it'll be great for creating Clan logos and stuff like that.
Check out the Halo 3 Image Creation Kit here on Xbox.com UK. My effort is below  Marketplace Update - 20/9: TGS SPECIALBeen away from the office for a couple of days so some of this stuff went live yesterday, but it's worth listing it all since the Tokyo Game Show has just kicked off in earnest and there's loads of good stuff to check out:
Haven't had a chance to try out Geon yet - has anyone played it? September 17 Marketplace Update - 17/9You win some, you lose some. Last week Scotland defeats France on a glorious night in Paris. Then on Saturday Aberdeen get beaten at home by Motherwell. Then on Sunday, my sunday league team The Greenford Gaints (yes, Gaints, long story...) gets horsed 10-0 in our first game of the season.
Ah well. At least I finally completed Bioshock and the Call of Duty 4 Multiplayer Beta has let me work out some of my frustration (usually by coming bottom of the scoreboard).
On another note, I was shocked and saddened to hear about the death of Colin McRae, his young son and two family friends this weekend. He was a superb sportsman, an amazing driver, and a great ambassador for Scotland. He'll be sorely missed, and for what it's worth, my thoughts go out to his family. September 14 Behind the Scenes of the John 117 MonumentHot on the heels of the Halo 3 diorama advert comes the John 117 Monument, an amazing look behind the scenes of how the diorama was created for the Museum of Humanity. Love it.
The John 117 Monument video is available now on Xbox.com. Halo 3 TV Ad Live Now On Xbox.comSee the world premiere of the Halo 3 TV Ad - Diorama - now on www.Xbox.com across Europe.
Looks amazing, don't you think? Imagine the work that went into all those models... Here's some more details on how it was all put together:
"Every so often individuals are called upon to rise above themselves and act in a selfless manner – to help, to protect, to defend those in need. We call these people, who rise up in the face of great adversity, heroes. One such individual’s story is about to be told worldwide. On Sept. 25, “Halo 3’s” epic hero Master Chief will rise once again – he’ll face seemingly insurmountable odds with the entire fate of the galaxy riding on his shoulders.
In memory of this hero, and helping build to what promises to be the largest entertainment launch in history on Sept. 25, a series of dramatic and evocative communications elements, created by McCann San Francisco, T.A.G., AKQA, and Microsoft Global Marketing will offer a stirring look at the “Halo” universe and Master Chief.
The first of the films, entitled “Museum,” premieres today on www.xbox.com and provides consumers everywhere with a reason to “Believe” in the amazing stories and action within the Halo experience, bringing the epic battles to life in the style of a museum “diorama.”
Certain to catch the imagination of audiences around the globe, the ads are unlike any video game advertising ever created, and offer a powerful look at the world of “Halo”. Uniquely, the campaign experience does not focus on “Halo 3’s” graphics or gameplay, but instead looks at the themes that lie at the heart of the tale that spans the entire “Halo” trilogy: duty, sacrifice, and most importantly, heroism.
Through the eyes of celebrated Hollywood creature designer Stan Winston, known for his landmark work on Aliens and Jurassic Park;, as well as New Deal Studios, model creators for Spiderman 3, 300 and Superman Returns, and acclaimed director Rupert Sanders, people will experience a dramatic and moving look at mankind’s struggle against our future enemy, the fierce warrior force known as the Covenant.
The central element that much of the integrated marketing campaign centers on is a painstakingly accurate replication of a key moment from a climactic battle set in the "Halo" universe. At over 1200 square feet, reaching a height over 12 feet above the ground and with each handcrafted human and Covenant figure standing eight to twelve inches high, the diorama was large enough to fill an entire studio.
Filming the Experience
Shooting the campaign took several days as the individual soldier's stories were told, and as the camera spanned the landscape, finally resting on the mountain top where Master Chief appears to have been conquered by the Covenant enemy…or so it would seem. Viewers quickly realize that there is much more of the story that’s yet to be told – and the game will tell all.
The story of the diorama and the battle that day has been told through films that will be shown in 27 countries around the world on television, in cinema and on the web. But the Halo 3 experience is much larger than that, with future testimonial films depicting soldiers’ third-party accounts of their experience in the battles, and with the hero that is Master Chief.”
And remember that a making-of movie for the ad will go live on www.Xbox.com from 6pm UK time, 7pm CET. Let me know what you think of the ad! Marketplace Update - 14/9It's Friday, and that means there are new Xbox 360 games in the shops! This week it's KOEI's futuristic racer Fatal Inertia and Midway's John Woo-directed Stranglehold. The Stranglehold demo was a cracker so I reckon I'll check it out.
Just over a week until Halo 3 too! And remember that the (official
 ) world premiere of the Halo 3 TV ad airs exclusively on Xbox.com at 5pm UK time or 6pm CET this evening.But we're here for Marketplace content:
September 13 FIFA 08 Demo Hits Europe TonightDid you notice that a demo for FIFA 08 went live on Marketplace in the US earlier today. The good news is that it will be live in Europe tonight from around 9pm UK time, or 10pm CET.
The demo lets you play 1 four minute half of footie with a choice of seven teams:
Unfortunately the MIGHTY ABERDEEN FC didn't make the final cut. Let me know what you think - I'll definitely be giving it a go for some kicks. HAHAHA. |
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