AceyBongos' Xbox Life: Xbox Tomfoolery and Nonsense

AceyBongos = Secret Squirrel

Tue, 06 May 2008 21:23:58 GMT

HELLO! I'm still here, honest! Sorry for the lack of posts lately - I think I've mentioned it a couple of times but I'm just finishing up a diploma in my spare time at the moment and it's seriously biting into all my usual activities, blogging included. For instance, all this past weekend I was stuck in an office preparing for a presentation about equity ISAs when I should have been playing GTAIV. BOOOOO!

Happy days. I'll apologise now if my posting's a bit erratic over the next month but with the presentation and then essays (and the day job!) things are a bit mental. It'll all be over soon though and I'll be able to properly get back to normal. Who's idea was it to try and further myself?

Anyway, glad you enjoyed the Inside Xbox video where I introduced Dan (MrPointyHead), the new King of Inside Xbox. That's not his business card, but I like to call him it. Did you see the AceyBongos blog regulars make a cameo appearance? I was well tickled by that. I think Dan's done a great job on Inside Xbox since he started and he's got some brilliant plans for the future. I'll still be involved as much as possible though! He can't get rid of me that easy...

How Are You Distracting Yourself From GTAIV?

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:14:13 GMT

Given that we have to wait until Tuesday to get our hands on GTAIV, how are you distracting yourself from the intoxicating thought of exploring Liberty City? In this week's This Week on Xbox.com our expert Content Manager Pete Jarventaus lists out the ten things he's doing to keep himself sane, so i thought it would be fun if we all did the same thing. We might learn something from each other!

Check out Pete's ideas first, then take a look at mine, then list yours in the comments!

Rereading the OXM360 UK review again and again in a vain attempt to make me feel like I'm playing the game
Downloading the GTAIV Theme that's coming to Marketplace tomorrow
Finishing off Bully - the perfect appetiser for Liberty City!
Stocking up on energy drinks to keep me going during all night GTAIV sessions next week (my local Tesco has a two-for-one offer on Rockstar energy drink, which seems appropriate!)
And last but not least - doing work for my evening class. BOO!

COME ON TUESDAY!

How Desperate For GTAIV Are You? 20 Days Desperate?

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:39:07 GMT

I personally can't think of anything else at the moment. GTAIV has burrowed into my brain like a little uzi-toting field mouse, and it's nibbling on my synapses in such a ticklish way that I can't concentrate.

BUT - I'm not so desperate for the game that I would camp outside a game shop for twenty days. Yes, twenty. 20. Days. In Sweden, however, this is perfectly normal. Well, maybe not normal, but it is happening. A bunch of hardcore GTA nuts have been queing for the game since April 9, braving the Swedish spring in order to be first in line when the game goes on sale on April 29. They reckon it might even be a world record for queing for a videogame. It's impressive dedication, but haven't you heard of pre-order lads?

Check out the photos at Danish supersite Xboxlife.dk!

Where's Acey?

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:36:58 GMT

Isn't technology wonderful? One little thing goes wrong and everything else comes tumbling down like a meerkat learning to snowboard. I'm really sorry I haven't been posting much recently but I've been having the mother of all computer problems, and since I can't get into my work laptop I can't get access to all the stuff that usually lets me plan my posts. It's been pretty rubbish (and by that i mean TOTALLY MINCE), but I'm hopeful that it'll be sorted in the next couple of days and I can get back to normal...

Luckily things have been busy around here anyway so I have had stuff to think about - once service resumes I'll hopefully be able to start telling you about it all again!

Addicted to Achievements? Get Your Release Here...

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 21:55:25 GMT

So you know that phrase that conjoins the word 'Achievement' with a rather crude phrase for a 'lady of the night'? By the way, I'm not trying to be angelic or anything here, but I did want to point you to this video and it could potentially be construed as a little inappropriate, so you have been warned.

Anyway, saw this video on Kotaku today - it's a G4TV undercover expose of the aforementioned Achievement, er, lover, and it's genius. Check it.

Click here to witness the seedy underbelly of Achievement addiction.

I wonder if she could get me the Season Unbeaten Achievement on Football Manager 2007?

Sleepless in Seattle, Plus My Guest Appearance on the GamerScore Blogcast

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:47:32 GMT

*COUGH COUGH*

Hiya! So I'm well ill, possibly with the same crud that Major Nelson was twittering about the other day. I've barely slept for two nights and I was feeling so dodgy last night and this morning that I had to cancel an appearance on Major's podcast, which royally sucks. But then, nobody wants to hear me sniffing and barking into a microphone. Hopefully we'll be able to Skype something soon.

Aside from my dribbling body, this week has been brilliant. We had some great Inside Xbox meetings on Monday and it looks like we'll be bringing video to the UK edition very soon. It's not going to happen overnight but it is coming, and hopefully with some locally-shot stuff too. Then I managed to catch up with my pal TriXie and appear as a guest star on her Community Confidential video for the US Inside Xbox. Will let you know when it goes live - should be pretty funny as I'm not used to being in front of a camera (plus I was dosed up on all sorts of cold medicines!). I hope I don't look like a total nob!

Then I spent lots of time with the GamerScore Blog team, talking about some brilliant plans for future community stuff and guesting on their weekly blogcast too. That was a great laugh - and you can listen to it now over at GamerScore Blog. Let me know what you think - if you think it went okay maybe they'll let me back on...

Heading back to the UK now for Lemsip and Lucozade - normal service will resume on Friday once the illness and jetlag have worn off!

Back On My Travels And Offline For A Few Days

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 16:23:24 GMT

Just to let you know that I'm off to visit family for the New Year break and won't be online at all for the next few days. Hopefully the Xbox LIVE issues that some of you are suffering from will continue to clear up - apologies again for this, I've reported all the issues I have been messaged about and I know the technical teams are working on it. If you are continuing to suffer from problems please get in touch directly with Xbox Support. I know I say that a lot but they really are the best people to deal with any issues you are facing, and also to report those issues to the technical teams who can deal with them at the source.

Have a wonderful New Year and I'll see you in 2008!

Off On My Christmas Travels

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:48:02 GMT

Hmmm... It's been a bit quiet around here lately, eh? You'd think everyone was disappearing off on their Christmas holidays or something.

THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING! Yup, I'm off as of tomorrow, travelling up north home. I'll still be around online and posting from time to time, but things will be a bit quieter as I get stuck into Mass Effect and turkey and crisps. Have an amazing Christmas and new year, thanks for all your enthusiasm and support, and I'll see you in 2008!

Eight Year-Old Guitar Hero Legend

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 19:06:05 GMT

Since I've got TraceyBongos' sisters staying with us just now I've been playing a lot of Guitar Hero II again. Last night we finally nailed the 1000 Note Streak Achievement (yas!), but unfortunately we're not quite as good as this little legend yet:

Offline This Weekend

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 12:53:30 GMT

I won't be posting this weekend (apart from this one, obv) because I'm up in Scotland visiting family and chilling out after the E3 madness. So no GamerScore Challenge Update this weekend, but I'll have one for you next week.

Have a good weekend!

PGR3 Times A Charm For Sony

Mon, 21 May 2007 11:30:19 GMT

Hat trick! They've only gone and done it again...

Via Kotaku, from one of our Xbox Community Network sites in Portugal www.XboxTeamPortugal.com.

Killtacular: Playing Bungie At the Halo 3 Beta

Fri, 18 May 2007 11:36:04 GMT

Now, I was itching to post about this on Wednesday night but I didn't want to rub it in, what with all the Crackdown stuff going on. Now that everything's calmed down a bit I feel safe to break from cover though - on Wednesday I had the chance alongside the Xbox Community Network fansites to play the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta against Luke Smith (Bungie's new community manager, who you may also know from 1UP.com and the brilliant 1UP Yours Podcast) and Lars Bakken (lead multiplayer designer on Halo 3) from Bungie.

Well, I say 'play against'. I mean something more along the lines of 'get PWNED by'.

These guys clearly know what they're doing, so we figured the best idea was to jump into the new maps and game modes and get schooled. First up we tried some VIP on Snowblind. If you haven't tried this game mode it's pretty nifty - each team has a flashing VIP who is subtly powered up, but if he gets killed the other team scores a point. The trick is to gang up on the opposing VIP to drain his strong shields while still acting like a bodyguard for your own Very Important Spartan. Actually, I think I acquitted my self pretty well on this, and even managed to score the final kill by Assassinating the helpless VIP (Luke) with a cracking rifle-butt to the skull. SIT DOWN!

Next up we tried some Territories on Valhalla. Territories has been redesigned from Halo 2 and is now much better. You're either on attack or defence, with the attacking team aiming to occupy and capture as many of the marked zones as possible. Each one captured scores a point. This is where Lars and Luke really turned their game up, headshotting players from across the map, plastering attackers with Brute Spike grenades and even coating the Man Cannon landing zone with plasma grenades at the eact moment three players hit the deck. PHOOM - TRIPLE KILL!

We played more, but I recorded both of these games for posterity and I've uploaded them to my Halo 3 File Share so you can go in and take a look at them. They're called TERR VERSUS B and VIP VERSUS B - I'm the one constantly respawning...

The XCN sites in the games acquitted themselves far better, especially GB Nemshy from Austria's www.XboxBase.at and DTS Mr CaLi from the UK's www.XboxLiveAddicts.com. Both these guys were almost superhumanly good, and in my opinion even outplayed the Bungie boys.

Here's the full list of the XCN sites that managed to play - check them out:

UK: www.XboxLiveAddicts.com (forum reaction here and more coming soon: http://www.xboxliveaddicts.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=17446) (full write-up and video: http://www.xboxliveaddicts.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=17464)

UK: www.MSXbox-World.com (Loads of footage and reaction here: http://www.msxbox-world.com/xbox360/features/article/241/XCN-versus-Bungie---Halo-3-beta.html)

Austria: www.XboxBase.at

Austria: www.myxbox.at (Reaction and links to stats here: http://www.myxbox.at/home/specials/fullspecials/onenightwithbungie.shtml)

Spain: www.TodoXbox360.com

Thanks to Luke and Lars from Bungie for taking the time to play, and apologies to all the XCN sites that couldn't make it because of the Crackdown issues.

EDIT: Added the link for XboxLiveAddicts.com. Thanks for the heads-up!

ANOTHER EDIT: DTS Mr CaLi has posted a brilliant write-up and a cracking video of the big night. Check it out here: http://www.xboxliveaddicts.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=17464

Sony Promotes PS3 with Project Gotham (Again)

Thu, 17 May 2007 09:21:09 GMT

Do you remember back in January when PlayStation decided to show off the amazing next-gen graphics of Gran Turismo HD with a screenshot of, er, Xbox 360's Project Gotham 3? Well, looks like they're still trying to convince themselves that PGR really is a PS3 game...

Car manufacturer Kia is currently running a promotion with PlayStation in Spain that compares the thrill of driving one of their real-life motors with the thrill of driving a Ferrari Enzo on your PS3. Except no PS3 game has a Ferrari Enzo in it.

Ah well, at least you can't clearly see that this screenshot has come from PGR3. Oh wait. Look at the number plate...

You can check the Kia/PlayStation website out for yourself here, but since it'll no doubt be pulled very soon I've captured the moment for posterity :)

EDIT: As has been pointed out by Lorenzo and several people over at Kotaku, the car in the screenshot is apparently a Ferrari F430, not a Ferrari Enzo. Turns out I'm not as much of an expert on the old motors as I thought I was, but then everyone makes mistakes...

ANOTHER EDIT: They've changed it - now a Kia is being compared to the nitrous-spitting motors in Ridge Racer. To be honest, guys, PGR3 looked better...

I Am Guitar Hero!

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 15:16:10 GMT

At work on Friday my Xbox team had an all-day meeting in a stifling hot room that was more like a tropical hothouse than an office (glass windows + sun = sweaty pits and tired mind). But it was worth it, because we knew when the meeting wrapped up we were all going to play Guitar Hero II on a ridiculously big projector screen with the volume turned up to 11. Rock and/or roll!

The idea was to have a straight knockout competition on the Pro Face-Off mode. Rock god moves and pouty posturing would get you bonus points with the crowd, but at the end of the day (song) the highest score went through to the next round. I'll give you one guess who won...

ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME! Not sure if I'm prouder of anything else in my life. Honestly, as I was scraping through the quarters and semis against strong opposition I was absolutely crapping myself - and when I won those face-offs I was literally shaking with adrenlaine. What a stupidly brilliant game it really is.

When the final came around I was matched up against my mate big mo diggity, another GHII fanatic. Obviously, the only choice was Free Bird at the Henge. It will be discussed in the history of rock for ever more. There were shimmies. There were struts. There were back-to-backs. There was a horrible moment when I pulled my guitar out of the Xbox as I tried to show off to the crowd. But the show must go on, and it did. In the end I nicked it from mo by about 10,000 points, and the guitar glory was mine.

Although, I do think mo diggity topped me for sheer rock and roll extravagance. Since he had scootered into town he needed to strap his guitar to his backpack, making him look like a thrash metal He-Man. On a scooter:

Funnily enough, I'm still waiting for my groupies to turn up and the record company to start ringing...

Guitar Hero 2: 100% on Expert?

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 14:50:40 GMT

I've been keeping a lookout for videos of ridiculous Guitar Hero 2 skills, and it looks like they're starting to appear. Check out this effort from YouTuber wulFE79, a 100% demolition of My Chemical Romance's DEAD! on Expert. Apparently it's one of the game's easier Expert songs, but still...

Actually, I've just checked his YouTube profile and he's got loads of Expert videos up there! LEGEND!

WOAH! Just checked his Xbox Live account and it turns out he has 5 stars in every Expert song, and I've heard he might actually be number one on the leaderboard. This bloke is my hero... His GamerTag is the same as his YouTube account, wuLFe79.

Rebell Robert Rocks Guitar Hero 2 - Great Vids

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:13:18 GMT

You may never have heard of Rebell Robert, but if you're Swedish then chances are you've seen or heard the bearded street musicians rock and roll antics before. He's a bit of a cult musical hero, meaning he was perfect to promote Guitar Hero 2 in Sweden. That's why Xbox Sweden put together these two brilliant videos of the Rebell learning to rock out with a whole new kind of guitar. First up, Wolfmother's 'Woman':

And working his magic on Spinal Tap's 'Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight':

If you're in Sweden you can download both these videos from Xbox Live Marketplace.

And while we're on Guitar Hero 2, Major Nelson was at the NYC launch event for the game yesterday, hanging out with Kiss legend Gene Simmons. Check out his video for a glimpse at the Major's tongue and other rock and roll tomfoolery.

Mission 11K - Prizes

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 20:06:25 GMT

Finally! Got my act together today and got the prizes for the Mission 11K winners sorted out. Here's what they've won:

1st Place: Figures - Crackdown, Fuzion Frenzy 2, TMNT, Virtua Tennis 3 and Brian Lara Cricket

2nd Place: Farrmark - Crackdown, Virtua Tennis 3, Fuzion Frenzy 2

3rd Place: AdamWebby - Crackdown, NBA Street Homecourt

Still working on the next GamerScore Challenge, but trust me when I say it will be bigger and better than this one.

Right, off to get some more Five-Star ratings in Guitar Hero..

Another GamerScore Mission Update - Prizes and News On Your Next Challenge

Sun, 08 Apr 2007 11:45:24 GMT

Happy Easter! In between stuffing myself with bacon sandwiches and chocolate eggs I suddenly realised that I hadn't updated the winners of Mission 11K about what they would be receiving for their quality GamerScore efforts.

So, the good news is that I have a ridiculous stack of games to send out to the top three placed participants in Mission 11K (Figures, Farrmark and AdamWebby). The bad news is that I can't remember exactly what I have, and I won't be able to get them in the mail until later this coming week. Hold tight though lads, they're coming!

In the meantime, me and LeiChat have been talking about some cool ideas to make the next GamerScore Challenge bigger, better and more exciting. UNtil I can tell you more about that, why not take a look at the Xbox Blogging Network Leaderboard Farrmark has set up on MyGamerCard.net - if you want to get involved, post a comment here or on Farrmark's Space.

More soon! Have a good Easter...

Guitar Hero 2 Addiction - The Tell-Tale Signs

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 09:55:47 GMT

I can honestly say that Guitar Hero 2 is the most fun I've ever had on my Xbox 360. Simple as that. TraceyBongos' parents and sisters are staying this weekend so I've drafted them in to help with the co-op Achievements (even more fun) and I've been blasting through the career mode. It would be nice to see more modern songs in the track list, but when you do get the chance to play Sweet Child O' Mine or Dead! by My Chemical Romance it feels amazing!

I have noticed a few phyiscal symptoms of my new addiction however - if you've ever played the game check out this list and see how many you've experienced.

Fret Vision: After a prolonged rock session where you have been staring at the notes fizzing down your fret, this strange optical illusion means that your focus goes all weird and it looks like stuff is collapsing in on itself. You end up staring blankly at things like a heavy metal zombie, waiting for the next power chord to show up.
Rock Wrist: Pansy, pampered, game-playing wrists aren't normally up to the exertion of hammering-on between five fret buttons, jamming on the strum bar, and frantically wigglging the whammy bar. This results in tight tendons in the wrist and a stiffness that makes picking up a normal joypad strangely unappealing. However, symptoms seem to quickly subside when Star Power kicks in...
The Finger Twitch: An unusual side effect of thundering through countless noodley guitar solos, this affliction manifests itself in small but uncontrollable twitching of the fingers while not playing. Those suffering from The Finger Twitch take on the appearance of a gunfighter about to draw his gun, so if you are afflicted it's probably best to avoid the OK Corral at about 12 noon.
Guitar Groin: Playing Guitar Hero 2 automatically results in those involved assuming the most ridiculous rock poses ever seen. In untrained users, this can result in strains and aches around the groin, thigh and calf regions, particularly when a fast-paced song requires bouncing, swaying, or the good old Status Quo forward-and-back dance.
Axe Face: The most common and infectious of all symptoms of Guitar Hero 2 addiction, Axe Face causes anyone in contact with the game to adopt one of two facial expressions, often alternating depending on which portion of the song is being played. The first of these expressions is pure, giddy joy, with wide eyes and a daft grin plastered all over your mush. And the second is the epitome of rock and roll - brow lowered, eyes pursed and aggressive, with mouth fixed in a pout that would put Mick Jagger to shame. Common associated symptoms are strutting, flouncing, headbanging, moshing, bouncing, or sliding on your knees so hard that the carpet burns through your trousers.

If you are suffering from any or all of these symptoms, I suggest you keep playing Guitar Hero 2 as much as possible. After all, acting like a rock star is far more socially acceptable when you're throwing the horns and dancing like an eejit in your own front room...

Mission 11K Update

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 19:18:36 GMT

After I announced the winners of Mission 11K on Sunday I've been doing a bit of thinking about how we can make the challenge even better going forward. I've got some ideas about how we can make the whole thing a bit better, a bit more involving, and a bit more 'official', and I'll have more news on this soon. Until then please keep working on your GamerScore, and thanks for all the interest I've had so far in the next competition!

Oh, and I've got some good prizes sorted out for the top three placed people in Mission 11K - will let you know more tomorrow!

What Would You Want From Viva Pinata?

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 09:18:28 GMT

Saw this over on GamerScore Blog and couldn't resist sticking it up. It's a long cut of the Viva Pinata TV advert that was doing the rounds before Christmas, and in this version the Horstachio has some... interesting suggestions about what the kids might like in trade for his freedom:

"For you... Pants that fit."

Genius. Original heads-up from Video Games Blogger.

Mission 11K - Mission Accomplished!

Sun, 01 Apr 2007 20:34:03 GMT

Three months of blood, sweat, tears, and hour after hour of Xbox 360 gaming goodness, and the 11,000 mark has been obliterated. Okay, so I have to admit that it took me a few hours of play this afternoon to finally get past 11k, but let's not dwell on it... Condemned and Crackdown were definitely the games that got me there - out of those two alone I got over 1200 points, and enjoyed doing it. Bosh! Definitely less whoring from me this time too - I suppose you could accuse me of cheaping points out of Condemned, but I have definitely been meaning to play it for months.

Anyway, enough of me. You all set yourself targets back in January too and there's been some quality work going on. Here's some stats:

Average GamerScore increase: 2680

Most popular GamerScore boosting game: Crackdown

And without further ado, here's the winner of Mission 11K: With a stunning GamerScore increase of 7470, the winner is Figures!

Yup, 7470 points in three months! That's 1105 points more than Farrmark's winning increase in the last competition, and 1404 more than Farrmark's increase of 6066 this time around. Farrmark came second, with AdamWebby coming in third with a healthy increase of 3745.

Great work to all! I'll have a look tomorrow for the prizes I've got to send out, so I'll update tomorrow evening. In the meantime start thinking about your target for July 1. I'm thinking 14,000 is what I want to aim for - 15K would be nice but probably a little unrealistic.

Xbox Live Still Down and Other Irritations

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:16:46 GMT

So it looks like our scheduled downtime on Xbox Live is still ongoing. Apologies for the wait, especially if you're desperate to download The Shivering Isles.

As for me, I'm out of the country at the moment at meetings, so apologies that I haven't been posting. However, I did play Guitar Hero 2 tonight and I can confirm that it is the best thing since bacon crisps. Turned up to eleven. If there was an Achievement for looking like a grinning eejit in front of loads of people then I would have got it.

Hopefully be back online soon. Seriously worried about Mission 11k, but keep working on your scores even if I'm slacking.

Mitchell and Webb Do PS3/Xbox 360

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 12:22:50 GMT

It just keeps coming. This is a sweet take-off of the Mitchell and Webb Apple/PC ads that are running in the UK right now, except in this effort by YouTuber Dangerousdave86 it's PS3/Xbox 360.

Picked this up from UK Resistance, which has some stunning coverage of the European PS3 launch. Check it out.

Xbox 360 Sinks PS3 in The Seine

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:24:32 GMT

More PS3 launch fun - this time from Paris. To celebrate the French launch of the PS3 Sony set up a huge barge on the River Seine in front of the Eiffel Tower. On top of the barge stands a huge PS3, and last night's launch event was held on the boat.

Of course, Xbox France couldn't just sit back and watch without having a little bit of fun...

Yup, that's a 30 metre barge bearing a 3 metre high message from Xbox - XBOX 360 LOVES YOU!

Apparently the PS3 launch event being held at the same time ont he Sony barge was a flop with less than 100 paying punters turning up. Security had been briefed for 3000. And at the flagship FNAC store (like Virgin Megastores) on Paris's Champs Elysses only 12 people reportedly turned up for the midnight opening.

Putting all my Xbox 360 bias aside, you've got to love the theatre of all this!

Shouldn't Have Kept You Waiting...

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:08:07 GMT

More quality capers from the UK Xbox team last night at the PS3 launch event at the London Virgin Megastore. To ease the tired legs of those waiting, chairs were given out bearing the slogan 'Shouldn't Have Kept You Waiting' and a url: www.shkyw.org.

Go on, give it a click.

Kotaku has a photo of the chairs.

Xbox 360 + £146 of Beer = PS3

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 21:56:33 GMT

This is genius: To 'celebrate' the launch of the PS3 in Europe Xbox's UK team sent CVG a stack of beer worth £146 - which just happens to be the price difference between an Xbox 360 premium pack and a PS3.

Reads the note that accompanies the lager:

"What would you purchase for £146...? (The price difference between an Xbox 360 and a PlayStaion 3). Well, for a start we thought you might like £146 worth of beer to kick start your weekend early."

And I particularly like CVG's plea to Sony:

"Sony - we need £146 worth of pork scratchings and kebabs. PRONTO!"

So what would you buy with the £146 difference between an Xbox 360 Premium and a PS3? Oh, and save us a couple of tinnies boys, will ya?

PS3 Launch Washout?

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 21:12:06 GMT

I'm not long back from the Virgin Megastore on London's Oxford Street, Sony's 'Official PS3 Launch Partner in the UK'. They opened their queue for the console yesterday and planned to let the huddled masses sleep in the basement of their store while staff brought them food, water and entertainment. They had five people there overnight.

As of lunchtime today the crowd had swelled to eleven. And when I got there at 6.30pm there was an impressive twenty-three people faithfully waiting in line. There actually seemed to be more staff on hand than actual punters waiting to buy the console. That sounds bad enough, but it's especially shocking since Sony had promised the first 150 people in line a FREE copy of Resistance: Fall of Man and PS3 goodie bags. Looks like there may be some spare copies of Resistance going around...

At the head of the queue was a sofa, a huge HD screen and a PS3, with a mic-toting bloke frantically trying to whip up a bit of excitement. One young guy was playing Ridge Racer 7 on the PS3, and I almost dropped my camera when the presenter asked him how it compared to the racing games he was used to playing.

"Rubbish," said the young lad. Priceless.

"I was hoping for something a little bit more positive," said the presenter, after he gathered his jaw off the floor. Yup, and I reckon everyone else involved did too.

The latest I've heard is that the store will not be keeping its doors open until midnight as planned, but closing to the public early, locking in the folks waiting in line, and presumably letting them dribble out onto the street at 12.01am.

Now, I know that Sony is going to be putting at least 200,000 PS3s into stores tonight and that it's sure to have the biggest console launch ever by sheer number of consoles available, but surely this blatant show of apathy is a disaster? Add it to the stack of negative PR that's been doing the rounds today (including Chris Moyles on Radio 1 saying that he was loyal to Xbox 360 and asking if anyone on his team wanted the PS3 he'd just had delivered by Sony) and it looks like the European PS3 launch could be the biggest - but quietest - launch in history.

I guess we'll find out tomorrow morning. I'm going to head to the local shops and see how many consoles they have on shelf, but for now here's my photos from the Virgin Megastore.

Struggling to Find Those Crackdown Hidden Orbs?

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 16:02:29 GMT

Now that everyone here in the Xbox office has been playing Crackdown for a few weeks we're all at the stage where we're trying to track down those last few Orbs to get the Achievements. If you're in this situation you'll know how awkward it is, especially for the Hidden Orbs.

Luckily, we've come across a brilliant photo album posted by a bloke called Frodekn. It gives you a map of Pacific City with all 300 of the Hidden Orbs marked, then - and this is the really cool bit - a screenshot of each Orb in its natural habitat so you can get right at it! The Orb Hunter Achievement (50 Points!) will be yours in no time...

Check out Froedekn's awesome Crackdown Hidden Orb map here.

Now all we need is the same kind of thing for the Agility Orbs. They're pretty easy to find when you can see a big chain of them stretching across the rooftop, but when there's only a few left it can be a total nightmare to get them...

The Great Crackdown Giveaway

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 10:29:32 GMT

My fols are visiting this weekend so I'm going to sign off for a few days, but I didn't want to leave you without a treat. So here we go - I haven't done a competition in a while and I happen to have 5 copies of Crackdown (complete with invite to the Halo 3 Beta, natch) nestling under my desk. Why don't you try and win one?

Right, so it goes down like this. You send an email to AceyBongos@AceyBongos.com with the answer to the following question. To win you have to live in Europe, but unfortunately I can't send a copy of Crackdown to Germany. Closing date is next Friday (16/03/07) and the winners will be drawn at random from the correct answers.

Question: Crackdown was developed at Realtime Worlds, but in which Scottish city is Realtime Worlds based?

A: Aberdeen

B: Auchtermuchty

C: Dundee

Easy. Here's a few brief Terms and Conditions:

This competition is being run by me and is not affiliated with Xbox or Microsoft.
My decision on winners is final.
To win you must be resident of a European country excluding Germany.
All your emails will be treated as personal, deleted once the winners have been selected, and will not be used for any other purpose.
Prize is a single copy of Crackdown for the Xbox 360.
Closing date for entries is 11.59pm GMT, Friday March 16.
Winners will be announced on www.AceyBongos.com on Saturday March 17.

Okay? Go for it! I'll be back online Sunday evening or Monday morning, so have an ace weekend and don't forget that GRAW2 is out today!

How's Yer GamerScore Coming?

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 10:28:03 GMT

I ask how your GamerScore is coming along, but to be honest it was just an excuse to talk about mine! Yes, I finally passed the 10k mark over the weekend, and I'm happier than a meerkat with binoculars about the whole thing. I also polished off a couple of games from my pile of shame - GRAW (the original) and Saints Row, both of which I hadn't managed to complete but fell to my prolonged assault over the weekend.

Thanks to (or rather, no thanks to) MyGamerCard.net's completion leaderboard I've suddenly become a bit obsessed with finishing off the older games in my collection instead of just playing lots of new ones for a short time. Excellent, another Achievement-related obsession to add to the list...

So, I'm sat on a nice 10,160 GamerScore at the moment, with my 11k target for April 1 definitely back within reach. All I need to do now is work out where those points are coming from... Condemned (which I bought on Classics a few weeks back but haven't tried yet)? Or GRAW 2 (but I'm a bit burnt out on GRAW single-player after the weekend)?

Let me know how your GamerScore-boosting is coming along and we can all compare notes on April 1. I do have some prizes set aside for the most valiant services to Point-pumping, so get in now and register your score...

The PS3 Song - "How to Kill Your Brand"

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:44:27 GMT

You can see this as some razor-sharp criticism of Sony's PS3 roll-out, or you can dismiss it as a Xbox/Wii fanboy simply flaming the PS3 with flair.

Either way, you can't deny that it is quality. Check it out - Gamer Cast Network's 'PS3 Song' is sung to the tune of (former Xbox Live Artist of the Month) The Fray's 'How to Save a Life':

Check out the comments thread on the YouTube page for some quality internet outrage/kudos. Funny, funny, funny...

Picture Yourself Unlocking Achievements

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 12:21:13 GMT

MTV.com's Multiplayer column has been popping up all over the place lately - it's a consistently good read, with the author Stephen Totilo coming up with some interesting ideas and thoughts rather than just re-hashing the latest news. In his latest post he describes what he reckons is a 'million-dollar idea' - having your Live Vision Camera snap a picture of you every time you unlock an Achievement!

"Each of my listed Achievements would be matched with a photo of myself snapped at the moment of my accomplishment. Anyone on my friends list would be able to view them too. We'd wind up with a visual chronicle of the time I'd spent at any given game. There'd be shots of me bright-eyed and thrilled, winning an Achievement for completing the first section of "Halo 3," followed by a photo of me slouched lower in my seat, winning the Achievement for advancing to another section of the game. There would be a picture of me bleary-eyed next to an Achievement for finishing the game."

What do you think? Cool idea? I love the thought of the camera catching you with your guard down as you finally get that 10,000th kill in Gears of War or surprise yourself by unlocking an Achievement you didn't even know was on the way. As Stephen points out though, you'd have to be careful about not gaming in your dressing gown with your legs open... Re-lock that Achievement, please!

Get the full picture by reading Stephen's full MTV.com Multiplayer column here.

Are You Buying the Halo 3 Beta or Crackdown?

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 12:08:45 GMT

Probably shouldn't be posting this because a: Crackdown is so good deserves to sell millions anyway, regardless of what it's bundled with, and b: Realtime Worlds might be despairing about stuff like this (although I suspect they'll have a good sense of humour about it), but:

Check out this photo of some 'humourously' labelled Crackdown retail boxes in the stock room of a retailer.

So what's your money going on?

Via www.Kotaku.com, via www.AeroPause.com.

Finally - Proof That Games Are Good For You!

Sun, 18 Feb 2007 19:55:21 GMT

And - get this - it's being reported in a tabloid newspaper! Shockeroonie!

Yup, in Saturday's The Sun newspaper a story headlined Vid Games 'Get Teenagers Fit' reported that a study conducted by Liverpool's John Moores University found that motion-controlled games like those on Nintendo's Wii obviously helped burn calories - but apparently just playing games with a joypad burn 60% more calories than doing any other sedentary activity like watching TV or reading! Chuck out yer books (only joking)!

According to The Sun:

"Based on the average child's [because only children play games, obv] gaming weekof 12.2 hours, this would burn off 1,830 calories, or 27lbs in a year."

No wonder I've been losing weight recently - I've played Crackdown for at least 20 hours. Slim! Of course, this good news story was buried on page 36 of The Sun. If it had involved someone who had once in their life played a videogame killing someone, it would have been splashed across the front page. Ho-hum.

GamerPics for GamerPoints?

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 13:44:26 GMT

I feel like I'm well out of the loop on this one, and I could be exposing a shocking bit of ignorance about the console I work on. But when I was playing Paperboy yesterday I unlocked an Achievement and noticed that a message came up telling me I had also unlocked a GamerPic. Call me a kipper, but I didn't know you could do that!

So I went into my GamerPic gallery and noticed I had loads of GamerPics in there that I had never downloaded, but must have come with games or when I unlocked Achievements. Quality! Honestly, I'm quite excited about this. Imagine if the toughest Achievement in every game unlocked a really cool GamerPic that showed how hardcore you were?

I think games should be making much more of this. What do you think? Have I missed the boat completely on this? Does anyone have examples of game that give out GamerPics for Achievements? Or is it a surprise to anyone else?

8 Out of Ten Cats Prefer Xbox 360

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 10:44:52 GMT

If there's one thing I like it's pictures of animals doing funny videogames-related stuff. So I almost choked on my coffee when I saw these photos of a Japanese cat that likes nothing better than to chill out with its Xbox 360. What's it playing? Cat-tlefield: Modern Combat perhaps. Or maybe Kameow: Elements of Power? Thanks Kotaku for brightening my Monday morning.

And if you're feline in the mood for more fun, check out these pics of pets being forced to wear a Sonic hat on UK:R. Amazing!

When Coke Jacks GTA

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 21:50:55 GMT

exprohound pointed this advert out to me earlier - I think it was shown at the half-time break in last sunday's Superbowl (traditionally the time when the biggest and most expensive ads in the world hit the telly) but it's a clever flip-reverse of the whole GTA concept, fuelled by Coke. And not the kind of Coke you might normally associate with GTA. Coca-Cola. Check it:

Nottingham Forest Beat Chelsea On Xbox Live - Not In Real Life...

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 13:28:01 GMT

exprohound pointed this article out ot me the other day, but I've only just tracked it down online. It's about a Nottingham Forest player, Julian Bennett, who loves Xbox 360 and PES6 so much that he did a dress rehearsal of his team's FA Cup tie against Chelsea at the weekend - and won.

The only problem is that Bennett didn't use a digital version of his own team to administer the spanking:

"I play it online against people all around the world," said Bennett. "You can play against your friend down the road or against people in different countries, and I'm pretty hooked on it right now. I play with [Forest team-mates] James Perch and Wes Morgan, but I'm the best at it. I'll beat anyone. I'm always Inter Milan and I've played Chelsea loads of times. I get Adriano on the ball and he bangs in the goals - he's my man."

You might have seen stories like this before, since there's a nightclub-full of professional footballers who love Pro Evo and have upgraded to the Xbox 360 version since the series won't be on PS3 until later this year.

You can read the whole article on the Guardian Unlimited website. For the record, Chelsea spanked Forest 4-0 at the weekend. In the real world.

While we're on the subject of football, check this out: Best goal celebration ever. GET THAT LION!

EDIT: Did you know you can now embed videos like this in your Windows Live Spaces blog posts? Pretty sweet. Just another reason to hook yourself up with your very own Xbox Live Space so you can become part of the Xbox Blogging Network!

Play Till You Puke

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 17:16:57 GMT

It's the weekend! I've been well busy lately with this and that and the other and it feels like I haven't played anything for weeks, so this weekend I'm going to furiously hammer the controller until my eyes go wrong and I smell like a turd dipped in ammonia. Hooray!

The reason I can get away with this is that TraceyBongos is away for the weekend. If you don't have/live with a girlfriend or partner, you'll know that when they go away for a while you can indulge in an orgy of ridiculous gaming indulgence without feeling one shred of guilt. It is truly wonderful.

So I'm going to play the following games (in between eating kebabs and staring at the football scores on Sky Sports News) to boost el GamerScore. I'm not really on track for my 11,000 target by April 1 so I better get cracking. I was going to arrange these into a schedule of playing time, but I can't even motivate myself to do that:

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter: Only five missions to go on Hard difficulty, but it's even harder because for some reason the threat indicators no longer show up on my HUD. Seems to be unique to my save game.
Amped 3: Haven't touched this since I got it cheap, but there's GamerPoints in them thar hills.
Pro Evo 6: Been away from PES for too long, and I'm about 50 games off the 100 games online Achievement.
Oblivion: Again, been away too long. What's wrong with me?
And I finally got myself a copy of Rainbow Six Vegas, so I'll try to give that a whirl - although since Making Sparks told me I'd like it more than GRAW I'm tempted to finish that first.

Too many games, too little time. What are you playing this weekend? And let me know if you've got a free gaming pass like I do - we could share stories of our hygiene and productivity-deficient debauchery.

You know, I've just realised that I'm not really painting a picture of myself as a modern, non-nerdy gamer with rounded interests and the Xbox 360 as the centre of my digital entertainment lifestyle. but sod it, sometimes you need to GORGE.

Oh, and if you happen to read this TraceyBongos, of COURSE I miss you! :)

Motion Sensing Controllers - Xbox Can Do It Too!

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 20:14:18 GMT

Who said that the PS3 and Wii had the monopoly on motion-sensing controllers? With a little bit of solder and a lot of electronical engineering know-how, you too could create your very own motion-sensing Xbox 360 controller!

Gadget-fiddler par extraordinaire Adam Thole has been beavering away on his motion-sensing Xbox controller for a while now and has posted videos of the working prototype in action. Check out his blog to see him controlling Full Auto, Marble Blast Ultra and Crimson Skies with his homemade device.

Of course, it might make more sense just to use the analogue sticks...

Via Kotaku.

Major Nelson and The Girls of CES

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 21:40:07 GMT

Given that Major Nelson pretty much invented this whole Xbox blogging malarkey I do view him as a kind of role model - a spiritual father, if you will. After seeing the following video, my respect for him has gone through the roof!

Watch Major Nelson spread the Xbox Live message to the Girls Gone Wild at CES.

Fine, fine work Major. When do I get to start doing stuff like that?

Xbog 360

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 21:32:53 GMT

Some quality nonsense floating around the internet today. Next on the list from www.Kotaku.com is news that an American plumbing company called Roto-Rooter (no, seriously) is offering one lucky bog-user the chance to win a 'Pimped-Out John'. And I don't mean a bloke called John wearing a floppy hat and a leopard-print velvet suit. I mean a toilet with such ridiculously decadent extras that you'd never want to stop crimping one off. Check this out.

I always new having wireless controllers would revolutionise going to the loo. In fact, in a house I used to live in I had my original Xbox and TV in such a position that I could literally play while I took care of some business. You should have seen the skidmarks. I was playing PGR2, obviously.

Dead Rising Appears Live Down The Shopping Mall

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 21:08:54 GMT

Sometimes when I'm down my local shopping centre I can relate to how Frank in Dead Rising felt, but one bunch of brave gamers has decided to go the whole hog and recreate the zombie-meets-retail fun of Capcom's survival horror game and commit it to the interweb. Over at www.Mega64.com the guys have just posted their latest spoofy gaming caper, which sees them heading down to the mall to snap photos of the 'undead', rearrange the furniture, and get into a bit of trouble from the security guards. It's hard getting the scoop...

Nice touches: The photographs with the genre rating (especially the 'Horror' one at the start), the little icons that appear over the benches and trashcans, and 'Frank' telling the security guard that he can't leave because there are still 72 hours left before the helicopter comes back...

Watch the video on www.Mega64.com. Thanks to www.Kotaku.com for the heads-up.