VampireG’s Blog

Yup that’s right finally at the end of this week we can get our hands on Assassins Creed. A game I was not too excited about but the excitement has grown after seeing the game-play footage available on the net.

The graphics look great on both PS3 and Xbox360, there has been some rumours that the PS3 version is going to be better than the 360 version? I guess we will wait and see, I have opted to purchase my copy on the PS3.

If you have any comments on whether the graphics are better on the PS3 post them here as I would be interested to hear your opinions to why etc.

Ok heart attack moment last night, my Xbox 360 decided to display a single red light and an error message of E74! I have already had one Xbox 360 display the three red lights of death and this is the replacement. Now would you say this is sods law, I have actually had my PS3 on over the last couple of weeks and more so than the Xbox 360. I come back to the 360 and low and behold it starts to play up, my guess this is either one jealous console who is warning me that it needs to be played or it is aware that November is a good month for games.

November we have Call of Duty 4 (out in 2 days), then we have Assassins Creed (out in about a week and a bit), and then we have the game which I have had on pre-order for over a year now which is Mass Effect. Sods law would tell me that my console is bound to pack up on the month Mass Effect is out!!! So far it seems to be working… but I am watching this closely!

Incidentally the E74 error message can be displayed for one of the following reasons: 

• There is a 90% chance it’s a scaler chip problem (the “ANA” or “HANA” chip near the AV cable connection) #
• Can be caused by a faulty AV cable.
• In rare cases it is a problem with the GPU

 (The above information was found at Xbox-Scene.com)

Gamecock Media Group announced today that Blazing Lizard’s Pirates vs. Ninjas™ Dodgeball will debut on Xbox LIVE™ Arcade on Xbox 360™ in early 2008. The title looks to answer the age-old question of which much-revered profession is better, by settling the score…with (dodge)balls.

“It is no secret that Pirates and Ninjas have beef,” stated Chris Stockman, Studio Director of Blazing Lizard. “But it turns out both have a great love for dodgeball and unique skills when it comes to playing the game. We are bringing together sworn enemies for what I can guarantee will be explosive dodgeball action.”

Pirates vs. Ninjas™ Dodgeball will have sea-faring thieves squaring off against stealthy martial artists in beautiful environments. The game will allow for up to eight players and offer five teams, including pirates and ninjas and three more that will announced soon. Each team has their own unique style and techniques and is hell-bent on destroying the opposition.

Look for Pirates vs. Ninjas™ Dodgeball to hit an Xbox near you in early 2008.

You may be too old to go trick-or-treating, but you’re never too old to game. October has been a month of fun treats on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for Xbox 360™, and there’s plenty to get excited about in the coming weeks. Here’s a sneak peek at this week’s freaky title, as well as several additional games that are coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade in the next few weeks.

Just in time for Halloween, “Mutant Storm Empire” is packed with sci-fi action as players crush gangs of robots, smash swarms of UFOs and demolish massive enemy bosses. “Mutant Storm Empire,” the latest shooter from PomPom games and the sequel to “Mutant Storm Reloaded,” features 16 unique levels spread over four richly detailed and varied worlds.

The game offers a seamless experience where players move from room to room without having to enter a loading screen, in addition to offline co-op and multi-player LIVE support for two people.

IGN have done their usual head-to-head comparison on the new Guitar Hero 3, if you have read most of the comparisons online between the Xbox 360, Ps3 and Wii you will know that is pretty much the order they come in.

Well once again Microsoft’s mammoth stain in my good looking gadget stand has beaten the rest again. It only won by a smidgen but once again the interesting note is that it beat the PS3 on graphics. Something the Xbox 360 seems to be doing time after time after time.

Anyways thought I would share that as I am sure a lot of you will buying Guitar Hero 3 and of course now you know that the Xbox 360 version is the version to have!

See the whole head-to-head here… (not sure if you need to have an insider membership to see this!)

OK well here is my take on the big debate on whether the 360 is better than the PS3 or vice versa!?!

Before I go into the nitty gritty I want to point out a couple of things first:

• I have a PlayStation 3
• I have an Xbox 360
• I am not a PlayStation Fan-boy
• I am not an Xbox 360 Fan-boy

Why did I mention the above? Well I really wanted to make the point that I am going to give this a fair go and try and understand the differences, the strengths and the weaknesses of both consoles before I make an opinion. It was also worth stating that I own both of the consoles as people who normally slate the 360 don’t actually have one and the people that slate the PS3 also don’t actually have one.

It is also worth saying I am not a fan-boy of either and I am coming at this from pretty neutral ground.

So where to begin!…

The looks

XBox 360 -Ok so this is a pretty ugly looking beast I would have to admit, yes the Elite is black and to be honest black is better but I don’t have a black one, I have the Premium Console which was purchased on day 1. I think standing vertically improves the looks by a small degree but overall I would have to conclude that it really does not make me feel I own a piece of amazing technology. The Green circle of lights is a nice touch although the 3 red ones are not (more on that later) however it looks like a nice shiny green ring of lights sitting on the front of a very big ugly lorry. Have you all seen those boy-racer blue lights that the lorry drivers have on their dash, well it reminds me of those really.

PS3 - So the PS3 is going to win round one hands down really, it is black and it is sleek. It looks like something that just broke the atmosphere and landed on my TV stand, I can almost imagine the back opening up and lots of tiny little spaceships to come flying out and shoot the shit out of the Xbox 360. It looks as if it was designed to be a sexy gadget that you would not mind taking front of stage in your living room. I love the cobalt blue light something I liked on the PS2, I like the front loading CD and I love the shiny black finish. (The wife incidentally hates the shiny black finish as she has to keep dusting it).

So round one would be a PS3 victory and probably by a long way. Yes the Xbox 360 hides the presence of dust and the PS3 is a dust magnet, it is just the PS3 is overall a damn nice looking gadget. You would not mind taking the PS3 out to dinner and showing it off to your mates, with the Xbox 360 however… well it has face made for radio! However in the next blog we will find out whether looks actually matter a hoot, when I will take on the first of what I know will be the crunch test “GRAPHICS!”