Posted on Saturday 24 May 2008

Posted by Jerry

As the first game in the series to be developed for next-generation consoles, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is designed to visually match each environment in the 2007 film. Gamers may take the role of Harry Potter, Sirius Black, and Professor Dumbledore as they explore the areas in and around Hogwarts. The teachers and officials in the magic community… More refuse to acknowledge the return of Voldemort, and so Harry and his friends have started training other students how to defend themselves against the Dark arts. Other aspects of gameplay include attending Herbology, Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions classes as well as completing side-missions for professors. ~ Gracie Leach, All Game Guide  Xbox 360 from $53.95  Reprinted from: The MSN Shopping Scoop: Video Games on July 7, 2007.

]]> http://videogamehoopla.com/action-video-games/harry-potter-and-the-order-of-the-phoenix-by-ea-games/feed/ http://videogamehoopla.com/video-game-articles/xbox-360-repair-how-to-get-rid-of-the-xbox-360-red-lights/ http://videogamehoopla.com/video-game-articles/xbox-360-repair-how-to-get-rid-of-the-xbox-360-red-lights/#comments Mon, 26 Nov 2007 18:49:29 +0000 Mark http://videogamehoopla.com/video-game-articles/xbox-360-repair-how-to-get-rid-of-the-xbox-360-red-lights/ If you’ve owned an Xbox 360 for any length of time or know someone who has, then you are probably aware of the dreaded “three flashing red lights of death.” What are the “three flashing red lights of death?” They are when three of the four lights around the power button for the Xbox 360 start flashing red when the system is turned on. This isn’t the only problem that can occur with the Xbox 360, but this problem is one that often requires repair work to be done on the Xbox 360 in order for the blinking red lights to go away.

The Xbox 360 three flashing red lights of death is an indication by the Xbox 360 unit of a General Hardware Failure. Turning the system on and off or allowing the unit to cool down will not eliminate the problem. The system will need to have repairs done. Microsoft support is able to perform these repairs, but there are some issues regarding this. First, in order for Microsoft to repair the Xbox 360, the unit must be shipped to them. This process alone can take a few weeks. Your other choice is to find a repair shop and depending on the severity of the problem this can cost around $150 to have the problem fixed. So after a few weeks or close to $150 you get your Xbox 360 system back and hopefully it is repaired. Hopefully meaning Microsoft or the repair shop was able to fix the issue and the system was returned without being damaged again in transit.

The other solution is to try to fix the three flashing red lights issue yourself. To do this you need to pickup the Xbox 360 Repair Guide. This guide offers step-by-step instructions on how to easily fix the “three flashing red lights of death” as well as other Xbox 360 issues like overheating, graphics errors, and freeze ups. Many people have reported using the Xbox 360 Repair Guide and getting their Xbox 360 back in working order in around an hour. Certainly faster than the turnaround from Microsoft and much cheaper ($25) than a repair shop.

While the Xbox 360 Three Flashing Red Lights is a showstopper for any Xbox 360 player, it’s a problem that can be quickly and easily resolved using the proper guide and tools. Instead of waiting 2 or more weeks for the Xbox 360 to return from Microsoft, a 360 player can perform the repairs themselves and get back into gaming.

Want to know what other flashing red lights mean on an Xbox 360 and how to fix them? Then check out the Xbox 360 Red Lights site and see how you can easily resolve some of the common xbox 360 Red Light issues. You can check out the site here=http://www.squidoo.com/xbox360redlights/

Tags: xbox, 360, repair,, xbox, 360, repair, guide,, fix, xbox, 360,, xbox, 360, red, lights,, red, circle, of, death

The Xbox 360, the latest version of Microsoft’s video game console, has an online component called Xbox LIVE that allows users in different locations to play each other.

It can also be used to send video or text messages, to download TV shows or movies.

More than 11.6 million Xbox 360 consoles have been sold across the 37 countries where they are available. Xbox LIVE is available in 25 countries across the globe.

Faster than expected, Xbox LIVE has eclipsed the 7 million member milestone and is on track to reach 10 million members by June 2008. Microsoft estimates it adds a new member every 8 seconds. 

Reprinted from The Dayton Daily Online Newspaper on September 29, 2007.

I have just joined this blog and I am excited about the future of it. It looks like it has been a few days since any one has wrote anything about video games. Please, don’t be shy. Jump in and get the party started. I look forward to blogging with you all in the future.

Yes, you have to wait for them to be delivered, but isn’t that better than spending $5.00 on gas driving to and from the store only to come back empty handed? Or worse, getting a game you really didn’t want, but feel you have to play to justify spending $8.00 on the rental. Been there, done that, never doing it again.
Gamefly is currently running a special 10 day free trial. You can check out 2 games for 10 days and see how you like the service. Not your cup of tea? Return the games and cancel the service. Worse case, you or your kids get 10 days to play two games at no cost.

I’ve been thrilled with the service ever since I joined. Even for $21.95 a month, my kids and I can have 2 games out at anytime for as long as we want. If it takes them 2 days or 2 weeks to complete the game, it doesn’t matter. They are happy and I am too. Going on a trip to the beach for a week or two? Get a couple of games from Gamefly to take with you. When you come back, send them back and get 2 more. Just make sure you clean the sand off first.

If you rent 3 or more games a month from the local video store or want to make sure your kids will like a game before you drop $50 on it, you owe it to yourself to give Gamefly a try. It’s saved me some money on bad games and brought nothing but joy to my kids.

The somewhat glossy visuals of Halo, Area 51, and Project Snowblind are acceptable because they are in the sci-fi genre. It’s cool to have a vividly animated feel when you’re blasting aliens and mutants.

But when it comes to the military genre of first person shooters, I think the gloss is a detriment. I much prefer the grainy, gritty feel of games like RS3 and RS3 Black Arrow.

These games have a more realistic, dirty feel to them because of the toned down graphics and unforgiving action. You can just about feel the sweat running down your character’s neck in the heat of battle, and the action is definitely more serious as just a couple of shots amounts to a game over.

On the other hand, take military first persons like the much accliamed Black.

Bah…

Yeah the audio was incredible. And the visual action was impressive, but inappropriate I believe for a military genre.

Just too damn glossy.

And the action was lame. In the first two minutes (which was about the time it took for me to decide to head back to EB and get a refund on this one) I must have shot down like forty bad guys.

Come off it. That’s just crap.

RS3 (aside from the series trip into Disneyland with the ludicrous Lockdown module) gives you a real challenge. The AI is smarter, and if you run into four enemies at once there is a real chance your man could get pasted.

So to recap:

IMO gloss is great for a far-fetched sci-fi adventure. But I take my military shooters without the shine.

This series is an awesome mixture of the best elements from splinter cell and grand theft auto in that it’s a smart game that gives you LOADs of options, allows for a stealthy approach, and gives you full freedom to blast anything you like without penalty.

To be clear I’m not a fan of GTA. I mean the games are ok but I think frankly a bit childish and definitely over-rated. But I do like the freedom of being able to unleash my frustrations with zero restraint.

The Hitman series have all kinds of rule busting features.

For instance you can access a map of the entire level which shows you exactly where all you enemies are… even in areas you have not explored yet! And you are alerted when your “cover is blown” or “the guards have found a dead body” which takes a lot of the guess work out.

Both Hitman 2 and Contracts are all about taking care of the business at hand; i.e. completing your objectives and moving on to the next level.

And each level presents you a variety of options.

You can utilize extreme stealth, get in and kill your target, then escape unseen. Or you can go on a full-blown rampage and shoot everything in sight.

But be aware if you opt for the berserker path, you could meet your match. The AI varies in its ability to fight you appropriate to the scenario. For example a group of biker thugs might be an easy slaughter for you, while a swat team that uses backup squads and sniper cover very intelligently can result in a swift end to your frontal assault approach.

The game is not primarily a 1st person shooter, and is played in the same “overview” mode as splinter cell, tomb raider, etc. But you can easily switch to first person view before the shooting starts.

I’m sure a critical eye could catch ample flaws, but overall I rate both titles I have played in the series as superb. Off the top of my head the only complaint I might file is I think the controls lose responsiveness when your enemy gets right on top of you (as in actually runs into you)… it seems harder to shoot them in these situations.

But then maybe that’s a touch of realism as it probably would be harder to shoot an opponent who barrells into you melee style. In other words when you are crowded it could be harder to raise your pistol and get a solid shot off.

Analysis of the close quarters firing difficulty aside I recommend Hitman 2 and Contracts to anyone who likes action games and shooters and games that are smart in their layout and interaction.

As much as I love to game, my business only allows a few hours of console time per week so often a game is on the shelves for months before I get to it.

But given the fact that Halo 3 will be a 360 only game… I predict I’ll be making the jump this fall. Halo is what brought me to the Xbox in the first place.

Hell the original Halo is what roused me from a gaming slumber that started when I got tired of Golden Eye on the old 64. If ever there will be a good reason to make this kind of investment it’s Halo 3.

I was a little disappointed by how quickly Halo 2 ended, so I’ve been looking forward to this piece of the series for quite a while.

This will be a whole new era for me. Not only will it be the new Halo, it will open an entirely new season of gaming at my place because I’ll be bringing the 360 home as well.

- Tim

Gay.

But her’es what REALLY irks me about this game. The traning phase is all about killing a bunch of animals.

Good grief part of the horse training is killing buffalo with a skid attack!

Look I know part of the gaming community are super childish little nerds who have never learned to stand up for themselves, and thus we have this whole flock of people in the VG niche who love cruel, gratuitous violence because it makes them feel better about themselves.

But I have to agree with Mel Gibson’s character in Lethal Weapon.

It’s ok to shoot people, but NOT ok to shoot animals. (dammit!)

Make fun if you will, but this really got under my skin. Call me a tree hugger, whatever…

I’m six feet, three inches tall and I weigh 205 pounds. I’m not a pansy on any level.

I just think it’s a wee bit stupid to kill a bunch of animals. I use video games to blow off steam.

I like blowing up heavily armed digital bad guys, not trampling buffalo. This intro really hurt my overall rating of Gun.

Which by the way, this blog really needs a rating system and a few reviewers. Interested?

Drop me an email and let’s get it going!