Home Console Gaming

Xbox LIVE Should Never Be "Down" for Maintenance

A few days ago, Microsoft took the entire Xbox LIVE Service down for around 24 hours to complete scheduled maintenance and perform upgrades. Sounds innocent enough, but for a paid service like LIVE, I'm finding it more and more difficult to accept these scheduled downtimes. Xbox LIVE is no longer a niche service for hardcore gamers to frag each other in HALO 2. Today it's the backbone to an entertainment experience that families, moms, dads, and kids rely on.

Now, I'm a reasonable guy. I understand that systems like LIVE, which are always being pushed to their limit, need maintenance, patches, and expansions. However, Microsoft's approach needs to change; they need to ensure a basic level of service for all their paid customers.

Top Ten Signs You've Been Playing Way Too Much Fallout 3

Befitting to the game that basically destroyed my social life for the past two months (and reviewed recently), I've put together a short list of ways that you can tell you're just a little too addicted to Fallout 3.

Remember, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

So, here goes:

Review of Fallout 3 - A Post-Apocalyptic Wonderland

Shake off those Muties, buckle up your Power armor, and fill up on some Cram... we're goin' wastelandin'!

Saddle up for the adventure you always knew you wanted to go on but hadn't been programmed yet.  Fallout 3 is simply the most exquisitely crafted, immersive world I've had the pleasure to be irradiated by... even better than Bethesda's previous masterpiece, Oblivion.  Stay tuned to your tube radio and learn why Fallout 3 had better be on your list of must have games.

HDMI Woes

As a Christmas present to myself, I purchased an Onkyo TX-SR705 A/V receiver. I've been very happy with it, especially since I can utilize the three HD audio options on Blu-ray Discs: uncompressed PCM, Dolby True HD, and DTS-HD Master.

Fast forward to now....

Sorry Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Blockbuster, and iTunes... We're Out of Internet

In just the past few months:

Netflix has struck more deals with more and more CE partners, now offering on-demand movie streaming capabilities through both the XBOX 360 and TiVo set-top DVRs.

Blockbuster has teamed up with 2-Wire to create their own set-top receiver, where customers can stream rented movies instead of getting them on disc by mail or in one of their stores.

Why I Might Just Re-Subscribe to Netflix (Hint: XBOX 360)

I was never a movie person.  Well, I don't mean it that way, in the sense that I never watched movies or didn't enjoy them - in fact - I enjoy movies immensely.

What I do mean is that in my "adult" life (when THAT started still remains subjective) I have spent relatively little time actually carving out a few hours on a regular basis to watch movies... until now.  The extent of my movie-watching experience usually extended to dates in theaters, which as you can imagine, didn't lead to me watching the movies I REALLY wanted to watch anyway.

Pages

 

Connect With Techlore