MTV Next Generation Xbox 360 special

XBox 360 Special on MTV

So last night I set my TiVo to record the MTV Next Generation Xbox 360 special featuring the band, "The Killers". I have been pumped up about watching this special ever since it was announced last month. I waited until the special was about 12 minutes in before I started it up (so I could still fast forward over the commercials).

Before I go on, let me reiterate that I hate advertising and marketing for the most part. It rarely sways my buying behavior. I also haven't watched MTV since that retarded guy and the gay guy who died of AIDS lived in that house together with other attention starved losers and fought. Yeah, this was the grand daddy of Love Cruise and Paradise Motel.

Anyway, I guess I was being naive thinking that there would be something really 'cool' XBox 360 related going down. It was a very fast half-hour show hosted by Frodo (c'mon, like Bob Denver doesn't get called Gilligan everywhere he goes?), and featuring 2 long songs performed by "The Killers", a Pimp-My-Pinto Xbox segment (with the original freakin' Xbox not the new one!), and a bunch of trendy clubbers screaming about how "amazing" the new Xbox 360 is. Oh yeah, and you got to see a politically correct mix of professional nerds (let's see, I need a black guy, someone with a vagina, and an elderly blind gentlemen with a speech impediment. What do you mean he died? Oh Fu*k, just put that white boy in then...) play each other in Perfect Dark Zero.

It was a show aimed at the MTV audience. You didn't really learn anything more that you already knew about the XBox 360. It starts with some dippy girl prancing down a catwalk with an over-the-shoulder bag. She goes up to a plexiglass podium and whips out her Xbox 360 and places it on top of a 80's style light show. XBox 360 - You're so SASSY! This made me think of the time I went down to San Diego in the early 90's and saw an M.C. Hammer laser show at one of the museums. Right at the part where he says, "Stop! Hamma-time" this big purple Vectrex looking M.C. Hamma sticks out his hand and it turns into a red stop sign. Wish I could buy a DVD of that somewhere...

Anyway, there was one really cool (although lightning fast) segment showing several earlier protypes that didn't make the cut. The brief history of video games convieniently omitted 15 years worth of healthy competition (can a brotha get a dream-cast? dream-cast!).

The Killers - not a terrible band, but I saw more of them than of the new Xbox. Seriously.

If you are a gaming hobbyist, check out the ourcolony.net video. At five minutes it contained more valuable info than that whole MTV sucka-jam. Well, looking forward to what the G4 coverage brings...

Clips from ames on XBScene :
ourcolony.net video

iRiver PMP 120 (Portable Media Player)

Excitement, Frustration and Sadness On The Go

The Tao of the iRiver PMP 120 Portable Media Player

After thinking it over, I've determined that the audio/video spirits are punishing me for buying this device for myself during the holiday season. I must have demonstarated intollerable selfishness by dropping 5 bills on this little guy in the month of December.

I wasn't wreckless in my decision to buy it though. I researched all of the comprable media players on the market. I basically was shopping for a device that could do three things:

1. Play MP3 files
2. Record voice notes
3. Display photos

The additional features I discovered that really really pushed me towards the iRiver PMP120 were the following:

1. Internal speaker. I use this to play audio books while I'm at my computer. No headphones needed.

2. FM Tuner - headphone wire acts as an antenna

3. Movie player that supports AVI, MPEG4, DivX and Xvid

4. Video OUT jack - nice!

5. USB 1.1 & 2.0 jacks with on the fly connectivity to digital cameras and other devices.

6. Plays MP3s AND WMA, ASF & WAV files. Great!

Sold! I went to Micro Center in Tustin California and picked up the PMP 120 (not before checking out the new iPod with picture viewing abilites - nice, but way overpriced). The product comes packaged nicely with care. The unit has a clip-on battery pack the fits the stylized body of the unit seamlessly. The charcoal hard clamshell case is very nice and durable. You really feel like you are getting your moneys worth when you unpack the box contents. Not at all like a toy.

The iRiver PMP 120 ships with a media conversion program to install on your PC. this lets you get video clips in the correct format to view. For the record, I hate the idea of a user having to convert video on any of these players. All mainstream codecs and supported bit-rates should be imbedded in the firmware in my opinion. Still, the unit plays AVI files which many don't so I didn't complain. Speaking of firmware, the box advertises that the unit's firmware can be updated. This sounded great! However, no updates have been made available as of yet.

When I finally booted the PMP120 up I was greeted with a decent color screen with simple looking menus. The boot time is too lengthy. It boots the OS which accesses the HDD like you're booting up a PC. 20+ seconds.

The unit has 4 buttons situated vertically on the right side of the screen, a DVD like nagvigation menu with a select button to the left of the screen with 3 additional buttons below. Looks slick and easy to use - almost like a gameing system. Unfortunately, navigation involves an akward combination of holding and tapping these buttons. Timing is critical and a real pain in the ass. Not intuitive at all. The initial function menu at boot up fakes you out. You use your DVD controls to pick music/video/FM Tuner, etc. and then click the select button. That is how everything should work. Instead, you have to navigate the file system with a combination of select button and pressing right/left on the directional pad. Lame. Confusing. The playlist function is awful. I was experiencing random track repeats so I called iRiver support. They told me it was due to the way my files were names - a known issue. What the Sam Hell is that about??? I could go on for days about the craptastic interface menus - but I think you get the idea.

The drive space is 20GB which isn't bad, but just a few short weeks after buying this I saw the PMP140 for sale which is exactly the same but with a 40GB drive - for the same price!!! I was bummed out! I got over it fast. I loaded the PMP 120's drive up with tons of audio books and cd rips and still had about 12GB free. No need to cry, right?

Wrong. In January I went out to Las Vegas to attent the CES (Consumer Electronics Expo) to check out all the new gadgets. The pre-show has Bill Gates on stage with Conan O'Brian. What do I see in Bill's hands? A new, improved iRiver PMP with a very slick Windows Media Player like menu system with a suggested retail price the same as my PMP120! The body was black, and frankly not as nice as the silver PMP120, but you could easily navigate and use the device features quickly. I went to the iRiver booth and talked to the gal there (really just whined like a baby about my recent purchase). She had a blank look and just continued to tell me about the new unit - as she should I guess. Whatever. I went home and got used to my clunky little Portable Media Player. And... it became tollerable over time.

Not so fast grasshopper, we don't have a happy ending yet. I used the unit daily in and out of my car. I noticed in April that every now and then the MP3 player would go crazy and play a track at about 1/3 normal speed or with mass distortion. The only recovery was to reboot. I don't expect technology to work 100% of the time, but the problem became more frequent. I called up iRiver and the technician on the telephone quickly diagnosed the problem as a failing hard drive and issues me an RMA. I was impressed with how quickly and hassle free the support call went. I packed up the unit and sent it off the same day for a replacement (April 20th, 2005). I still have not received my replacement yet. For such a straightforward issue I would expect quicker turn around. I do miss the little guy, but I believe the audio/visual spirits are trying to now teach me a lesson in patience. Eh, F&5! 'em, I want my damn player back!

Adding to my pain is the fact that a friend of mine just got the new Archos PMA400. It's about $700 but... wow, what I nice toy. Nicer than my toy... if it were here for me to play with. Seeing that look of pride on my friend's face as he connected to the web over 802.11g hurt. Then I saw the reasonable Unix kernel OS. Oh well. I should have waited and spent the extra $200 bucks. Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda. I have to go get some tissue now...

*** 5/23/05 UPDATE ***

I recieved a brand new PMP 120 in the mail from iRiver yesterday! Not just the base unit, but a complete brand new retail boxed package. Took a bit longer than I'd like, but that is commendable service for replacing a defective piece of high-end electronics. A+ for effort on their part. Unit works great so far. www.iriver.com

Sony PSP vs Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS vs. Sony PSP

Okay, being the videogame geek I am, I had to run out and get each of these as soon as they were available. Comparing them is a bit hard since they really have different applicaitons. Regardless of the bells and whistles touted, I imagine they will ultimately be used primarily for gaming. I'll be talking about the US Nintendo DS, the Japanese Sony PSP as well as the US Sony PSP. Are there any portable games really worth $30-$50? Not really - check eBay. Lots of slick advertsing and fanboy drool going around for both. But here's the lowdown411:

Nintendo DS ($150.00)
The first thing I said when I powered up this guy was, "This is way too nice to get for my 9 year old son, he's gonna break it." Compared to the toy-ish compact Gameboy SP, this thing is in another class. If you have kids you have undoubtly already experienced that clanging noise in your dryer that would be a loose, faded-label Nintendo GBA game cart. Those are small cartridges, but the DS cards are much smaller - like tiny SD memory chips. Expect to have your kids lose them. The Case is larger than a GBA and has very smooth rouded edges. This = slip out of your hands and bust open. So, as far as a kids toy goes - this is heartbreak waiting to happen. But let's assume from here on out that you are not some clumsy kid (you can be a clumbsy adult like me).

The unit is beautiful. You notice the high quality audio as soon as you power up. For having 2 little speakers it projects stereo effects nicely. The Nintendo DS PDA style launch pad is nice - although again I don't know that kids are into that. It is backwards compatible with all previous Gameboys via a seperate cart slot. The unit folds open vertically displaying 2 screens. The bottom one being touch sensitive - the wacky gimmick Nintendo came up with. Look, before I continue I need to state that I'm a big fan of wacky videogame gimmics. I love all those messed up Sega DC titles and accessories. Innovation is a good thing in an industry full of crappy clones. I really was looking forward to what the DS would offer. So here they have an enthusiastic owner looking to enjoy the hardware... but, what's missing? Some software titles of course!!! What is up with the trickle of titles? No killer Apps? Rehashed N64 titles? Oh man, this sucks! There is also built in wireless and the ability to draw crappy pictures. Wow.

I bought (and recommend) a neat little case that holds your Nintendo DS, power cord, manuals and 12 game carts. I have purchased a total of 9 so far. The only one I really play is "Zookeeper". It's Bejeweled for crying out loud! I just don't care about the other titles at all. Here's a quick lowdown411 on the carts I have:

Mario64 - Blew me away... for about 45 minutes. Then I realized that I was just replaying the N64 mario title. Sure they put Yoshi in the beginning to make you think that it was new, but you still end up morphing into Mario in order to get past areas. This is like a tech demo really. This should have been an onboard rom that shipped with the system.

Metroid DS Demo - Nice demo to get you used to the freaky thumb plastic nub controls. Yes you heard me right. Along with a plastic stylus, you can use your finger nail or a freaky thumb plastic nub on a strap. Think of looping a strap around your thumb and melting a drop of wax on the outside. Then you slide this on the bottom touch screen to emulate a right-side FPS view control. Ugh! You will finally get used to it - buy WHY? And the actual game isn't coming out until the end of 2005. Lame-o-rama. Nice looking though.

Feel the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - This Sega title has you joining a blue-man-group like performace troupe in order to impress some 2-toned babe. Seriously, I was on a business trip in Chicago when I picked this one up. I played it's ridiculous rubbing/blowing/scratching mini games for about 20 minutes before pulling out the Giddeons and promising not to abuse my hands like that ever again.

Ridge Racer - Seriously, didn't we already play this on the N64? Very few tracks/cars/music to pick from.

The Urbz - Look, I already have a freaking job. Getting loser video game characters from point A to B is not my idea of fun.

Mr Driller - I love Mister Driller. But you've played this before, no?

Yoshi Touch and Go - I played this for approximately 7 minutes. Another attempt to use the stylus and justify incorporating the touch screen. You draw clouds to steer a falling Yoshi. So lame. So boring. So disappointing.

Rayman - Deja Vu... This is the same game I played on the Dreamcast. It's kind of neat to play a portable version, but so what? Boring.

Zookeeper - What can I say? This is the cart that keeps me from packing the DS back into it's box and storing it in the archives next to my 3DO. Bejeweled rocks but why can't I retry tasks in the quest mode?

Games that I will probably buy for Nintendo DS when the actually come out: Metroid, Castlevania, New Mario, Nintendogs.

So there you have it - the lowdown411 on the Nintendo DS. A portable gaming device for non-clumbsy children or emotionally retarded adults.

=======
Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) (starting @ $250.00)
You'll quickly realize that this is another non-child friendly device. Beautiful design and materials but just begging to be broken. The Sony PSP screen is simply amazing. Far superior to the Nintendo DS in every way. However, many owners have experienced dead pixels. Sony is trying to do damage control - whatever. The thing reads games from yet another new Sony media (can you say mini disc?) the UMD which stands for Useless Method of trying to keep the PSP Disc from getting hacked. Sorry Sony - it's already been done. The Sony PSP games look very nice. Not quite on par with PS2 but somewhere between PS1 and PS2. Impressive looking. there are some problems though. Optical Disc = long loading times = massive use of battery to spin disc = out of batteries frequently. Very annoying. This device is however marketed as more than just a gaming device. It plays media files (that you have to re-encode as MPG4... pain in the ass) and mp3s. Also wireless is built in and is definitely superior to the DS wireless setup. Keeping with tradition, Sony has forced the user to spend ridiculous amounts of money on proprietary low capacity memory cards. Seriously, how hard would it have been to use MMC? I almost forgot to mention, Sony thinks that were going to re-purchase all of our DVD movies in UMD format so that we can watch them on a small portable screen with a battery lifespan of 1.5 hrs. - that's funny! Both the US and Japanese value packs included some decent extras - case, micro-memory card, strap, headphones and a remote but still costs more than it should. New consoles go for $250 - $300.

Moving on to the main use of this fancy thing - Gaming. I originally purchased a Japanese value pack because it came out much earlier than the US version. It can play all region games so it seemed like a good bet. Additionally, the JP firmware allows for the latest hacks. The US upgrade plugs some holes. The Japanes games I have are as follows:

Metal Gear Solid Acid - Seriously, I heard this was a good game. I simply cannot figure out what the Sam Hell is going on in this Japanese language game. I can't bring myself to buy the the English version yet. When it's $20.00 we'll talk.

Luminares - Music Tetris Puzzle Game. Most played game on this system. What strikes me about both the DS and the PSP is that my favorite games on both are puzzle games. This was the case when the original Gameboy came out in the late 80's. The Sega Game Gear was superior in graphics but Gameboy won the market because everyone got hooked on Tetris.

Armor Giant Mech Core Chaos - Honestly, I can't figure out what the hell is going on in this game. Giant Mechs and a mess of crazy action you cannot possibly follow. This reveals a real problem for me with the PSP gameplay. Everytime there is rapid movement of objects on the screen, the whole field of view begins to slightly tremor and blur. Have you ever been on a freeway and one of your tires is about to go and you feel that rumbling in your steering wheel just before... BAM! The visuals in this game are REALLY annoying and hard on your eyes. Unplayable.

Japanese Limited UMD Demo Disc - Weird J Pop songs and videos. No playable demos - unforgivable. Show off to your friends what a game might look like in a demo MOVIE??? Lame.

Okay so finally I purchased the US PSP when it came out. Value pack comes with a similar lame demo disc that has no playable content. Weak!

The lowdown411 on US Games I purchased:

Tony Hawk - Nice graphics and presentation. Controls are weird and take getting used to. Finally made me feel like the PSP was worthwhile.

Spiderman Game - Nintendo must be so embarassed. Comparing this version to the DS is such a joke. This is superior in every way.

Ridge Racer - My God Nintendo, what were you thinking??? The comparison is even more brutal than Spiderman. This really showcases the PSPs potential.

Ape Escape - So there aren't any little boys vacuuming the pants off monkey's this time round, but still just a boring PS1 port. What was the point?

Wipeout Pure - I only got this because you can hack the hidden web browser. Don't let all the Sony fanboys fool you, this is a mediocre title.


Conclusion:
Let me tell you that although these systems are an exciting progression in portable gaming, there is not a single Nintendo DS or Sony PSP game that is worth more than $20.00 of your hard earned dollars. Need for Speed Underground is $50.00 at Toys r Us - What a joke!!!! Many retailers are pushing/requiring that you buy a PSP bundle. Ouch! Very overpriced. Don't be a sucka like me. Check out eBay if you really want one of these systems.

***Sucka Alert***
A new Internet rumor suggests that Sony is going to redesign or repackage the PSP with a better screen and longer battery life for holiday release. Bastards. Will there be any compensation for loyal customers who already own a PSP.. we'll see. You can't trust this damn Internet thing anyway.
***Sucka Alert***

Project Snowblind for Xbox

The Lowdown411 – Project Snowblind for the XBox
Do you remember when all the magazines were hyping Brute Force as the “Next Halo”? Remember how pissed off you were when you put that disc in your XB and it was mediocre at best? Well, since then I don’t get too excited about games that are in production for years and constantly hyped. I’ll admit that it was hard to resist the urge to get excited when I saw the release date for Project Snowblind come closer, but I held out. I even waited until I finished Republic Commando before picking it up (another fine game). Let me tell you, Project Snowblind was sooo much better than I expected. Nice responsive controls, cool story, gadgets and environments. Very challenging - but not obnoxiously difficult. Project Snowblind really entices you to go on and experience more of the game.

Summary: 4 out of 5 power-gloved fingers.

Good

- This game has a great variety of weapons & special abilities at your disposal. You can make yourself invisible and perform melee attacks on goons – how cool is that??? When you die (and you will plenty at first) you can try another strategy to get past.

- Cool story. Sure it’s hokey sci-fi, but Project Snowblind kept me intrigued.

- Great level design. Nice multi-tiered levels with creatively placed power-ups and enemies.

- Great graphics and frame rate even when the action gets hectic.

- You can jack into computers, mechs and even a little vacuum cleaner! ( I think that’s what that was…)


Not so Good

• Now I really did like the level design, but they put the player through a really crappy parking garage level early in the game. This is probably the lamest level in Project Snowblind and you haven't really even learned how to use you special abilities yet. Some gamers will get turned off here and never experience the rest of this great game.
• Oh, was that it? For being in production for so long it was way too short.
• Annoying alarm sounds still haunt me.
• Not enough vacuums to blow stuff up with.
• So there’s this red boss towards the end that just doesn’t look like it even belongs in the same game. Really silly looking, like you’re suddenly transported into a He-Man game or something.

Welcome To Lowdown411.com Blog!

• ...ah, here at last! A place devoid of fancy advertising with beautiful models to distract you from what is really going on as a consumer. I'm just an average guy here to give you the truth about my experiences with products. Welcome to the lowdown411.com blog. Hope you find it useful in the pursuit of spending your hard earned cash.
  
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