Andrew Acomb

Here we have Ray on the left and Kurt on the right. Each one has mastered their very own distinct style of sword fighting. They meet in an epic battle at Kurt’s house. Who will win?

My Xbox 360 died again! I wouldn’t be so upset if I actual did something to it to make it fail, but I didn’t. I don’t hit it, drop it, or even leave it on for excessive amounts of time. I was just using it as it was intended to be used and it still gave me the three red rings which indicate a technical problem with the Xbox 360. These three lights are often referred to as the “Red Ring of Death“.

So I called Xbox Support. The person I spoke with was extremely helpful. I won’t be paying for a thing! I was worried that I might have to pay to get it fixed, because this is the second time I’ve received the “Red Ring of Death”. So just like last time, they are sending a shipping box out to me so I can put the Xbox 360 console into it. Then in a week or two, I should receive another Xbox 360. Last time, the turn around time was very fast.

I’m just a little dissappointed about this whole situation. After having back surgery, I was looking forward to playing a few games. At least I will have it back in time for some of the major releases later this year.

I’ve been hearing a lot about a new game called Spore. It was created by Will Wright who is best known for the The Sims and the SimCity series of games. What makes Spore interesting to me is that it “allows a player to control the evolution of a species from its beginnings as a unicellular organism, through development as an intelligent and social creature, to interstellar exploration as a spacefaring culture.” Anything that promotes creativity rather than mindless clicking is worth checking out in my book.

The full game is not out yet, but they did release the Spore Creature Creator last Tuesday, June 17th. I picked up a copy for under $10. It’s very easy to use. My niece Adele even helped me make a couple creatures. My first creature was a moose called Magnus. Then I made a lean, mean, flying fighting machine who I named Vincent Vega. You start off with the body where you manipulate the vertebrae to change shape and size. Then you add all the body parts. Each part will add different attributes to the creature such as “charm”, “charge”, “sneak”, “sprint”, “dance” or “sing”, just to name a few. Everything is customizable allowing for an infinite number of possible creatures. Every creature you create can be used in the full game.

You can “test drive” your creature to see its emotions, how it moves, and a variety of other actions. You can take pictures of your creatures and even record movies. Any movies you make, can be uploaded from inside the Spore Creature Creator directly to YouTube.

There is also a Sporepedia site where players can share their creatures online so others can download and use. They are many hundreds of thousands of creatures already. Check out my Spore page.

I picked up Gears of War on the 8th for the Xbox 360. This is the must have game of the year. Today is called “Emergence Day”. Microsoft is hosting 24 hours of special events beginning at 12:01 am and ending at 11:59 pm on Xbox Live. In the Xbox Live Marketplace you will find special free downloadable content for Gears of War that is only available today. There is a “Warzone” tournament where the top player wins big. Also, they are giving away 8 Samsung home theater systems. You are entered into the drawing for these by just being online. Plus, every hour one lucky Xbox Live player will get 1000 Microsoft Points for free. You might even get the chance to play against the developers who made the game including Cliffy B. You can find me online kicking some butt.