So my Xbox 360 conked out for the third time in three years.
Yep.
I hadn't even turned it on in two days. I was playing various games on the PS2 and PS3, and had actually dug out my original Xbox to play the game Still Life because it isn't backwards compatible(more on that game later).
I turned on my Xbox 360 to play some Soul Calibur IV, and was greeted with the Red Ring of Death.
Two days later I called Microsoft. They offered an Xbox Live Vision Camera and some free XBL time for my trouble. I said "Ok.". Whatever; I just want to use my Kato online again.
When this happened, two things came to mind:
1. At least it happened now. Theoretically, I can play Gears of War 2 in November with no worries....for at least a few months.
2. Whenever I buy a multi-platform game for the Xbox 360, not only am I dealing with a subpar D-Pad (except in this case where I had an Xbox 360 Hori fighting stick...which also wore down after months of use, ugh), I'm taking a considerable leap of faith.
I'm hoping that I can play through the game at my own pace, uninterrupted by the red ring.
I'm hoping that none of my friends are affected by the red ring.
I may not say these things out loud, but they hover in the back of my mind whenever I go to turn my Xbox 360 on, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.
As much content as the Xbox 360 has, it's just not reliable. This is what happens when you're worried about getting a head start on the competition.
While the Playstation 3 fares better, it's not without fault. Call of Duty 4's launch was marred with Playstation Network errors. Certain system updates thus far have caused problems for various users.
However, with that said, I've come to the conclusion that the Playstation 3 is the lesser of two evils, and I'm going to start buying more non-exclusive games for the PS3. Any games that my friends aren't likely to play, and some that they are. Right now I'm on the fence as to whether or not I'll get Resident Evil 5 for the PS3. With this latest event, Sony's stock certainly went up in my eyes. I mean, I've got an XBL list full of people who would be great to tackle CO-OP mode with, but if something goes wrong with anybody's system....
Still Life is a fairly old game from "The Adventure Company". I saw it one day while cleaning the Xbox section. The cover looked interesting and it was used, so I put it on the side for myself. Eventually I had the time to play it, so I picked it up and brought it home.
It's sort of like Indigo Prophecy; heavy dialogue and a deep, dark story, only it's a bit more violent. The puzzles are intensely challenging in this game. I had to look for help with two of them(kinda sucked to see I was headed in the right direction, but that's the price you pay when you don't do it yourself:-P), and nearly did so with others.
I had various small gripes with the game, but the biggest by far is that the characters walk, and only walk, no matter what's going on, at a pace that's only slightly faster than casual. Covering large distances at that pace is annoying, and it's even worse when you've gone somewhere you didn't need to go.
You get around by picking spots on a map. You're basically picking static enviornments. A park, the shore, a sex club, you know...the usual. No camera control, and pretty much everything you need to progress is easy to find. It's just up to you to figure out the occasional puzzle.
The ending was anti-climatic. The publisher must have had alot of faith in the title, as they should have. A sequel is on the way, later this year, exclusive to PC. I'd really like to play it, but if it doesn't hit consoles, I probably won't get around to it.
If you still have your old Xbox, or a PC that can run it, I'd certainly recommend giving Still Life a try.
If only *The Last Guy had Trophies. The demo is fun and it seems like a game I'll eventually pick up. IGN gave it a 9.0, but some people feels that's too generous a score. If it had Trophies, they would have been "the nail in the coffin", and I probably would have snagged it. The lack of Trophies made me think and remember that Yakuza II is almost here(!) and I'll be playing that soon anyway.
How about some Trophies for Folklore? I'd love the "excuse" to play that again. Going through Uncharted yet again was a blast.
