New XBox Experience
November 14, 2008 | 0 Comments
Today I was lucky enough to be included in the final wave of invites into the NXE Preview — that’s New XBox Experience to you n00bs. This Wednesday Microsoft will drop the update on all 360s around the world, but today I was lucky enough to get a taste. The following is my impression after a few hours with the new system.
Installing
Considering this is a completely new operating system for the XBox 360, I figured the download would take a while and was planning to wait a few days after the update dropped on Wednesday. To my surprise, the updated downloaded and installed in less than five minutes. Once installed, you’re treated to a wild, but strange, introduction video.
Setup
After the video, I was asked to choose which account to login to. Once logged in, I began the avatar creation process. When I first heard about NXE avatars I figured it was a pretty cheesy Mii rip-off. It seemed to cheapen the 360 experience a bit. They also seemed pointless. All that said, I did have fun creating my avatar and trying to get it to look like me. I’d show you how it turned out, but short of taking a picture of my tv (which is lame) I can’t get the image off — the XBox.com site won’t display them yet.
Dashboard
I don’t even know if it’s called the dashboard anymore, but that’s what I’ll call it for lack of a better term. Despite looking completely cluttered and slightly unorganized, finding what you’re looking for is fairly simple. The graphics make the old “blade” system look rather archaic (although that is more or less what you get when you hit the XBox button on the controller) and look awesome in HD. There is now a quick button to the Marketplace to make purchasing Rock Band songs even easier. Also easier to find is the newsfeed that was added in the last console update, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Games
If there is a game currently in the drive, the first panel on the Games blade (are they still called blades?) is dedicated to that game. In my case, there is a pretty cool image of a member of the Brotherhood of Steel letting me know Fallout 3 is currently ready to go. Subsequent panels feature recently played games and a much better way to look through a games achievements.
One of the NXE features that I didn’t find out about until recently is the ability to install games to the hard drive. It took about 10 minutes to install Fallout 3 to the hard drive and while I didn’t really notice any in-game load differences, the initial launch seemed more snappy. Though playing a game without hearing the crazy-loud disc drive was a huge bonus.
Netflix
A huge addition to the NXE, and one of the reasons I left Blockbuster, is the ability to stream movies from Netflix. This comes in the form of a 3MB download that, once run, gives you an activation code to enter on Netflix’s website. Once activated, about 30 seconds, my instant queue was brought up. There is no way to add titles to the queue, though you can remove titles and rate them. Quality is pretty good and looks a little worse than a typical HDTV broadcast (I tested with an episode of the Office). The function of the Netflix portion of the NXE is great and goes a long way in making the 360 an actual entertainment hub, especially for us Mac users.
Network
The 360 is notorious for having trouble handling extended networks using Apple routers — using multiple routers to extend a wi-fi signal. In my house, I do just that. My 360 is on the complete opposite end of the house from the initial router and, despite an AirPort Express relaying the signal only 20 feet away, the 360 has trouble with the network. Now, I have absolutely no proof or way to test this, but it seems that with the update I have better signal strength. Again, there’s no way to know if this is a placebo effect or not, but it does seem quicker, especially when downloading things from the Marketplace.
Final Thoughts
Note: One thing I want to test but haven’t yet had time to do so is the DVD playback. The 360’s playback has always been mediocre at best, especially when displaying text. I’m hoping that the NXE update addresses this issue, but I’m not going to hold my breath.
All in all I’m pretty impressed with the New XBox Experience. Looking at the pre-release features it looked like the NXE could be a lot of eye candy and very little substance, but instead the update is a welcome change. While the avatars do seem a bit cheesy, they aren’t too bad. Unfortunately I can see the money hounds on the horizon as paid avatar updates and themes will come — there’s already a spot for it on the avatar editing screen. It’s a nice update and if you have a 360, be sure to download the update on Wednesday.
DeVron: The Untold Story
September 17, 2008 | 2 Comments
It all started a little less than a year ago in a small garage in Los Angeles. Legendary and militant solo artist Smash decided to put together a band. Many people auditioned, but only three were accepted. On that fateful night, Lord Pantsville, Esq. was born.
Lord Pantsville, Esq. on stage.
At the time DeVron was just another member of the undead roaming the earth, wondering what was to come next. A talented bassest, DeVron decided to audition for Smash’s band. It was a move that would change his unlife forever. DeVron joined flamboyant vocalist McGillicuttie and bikini-clad drummer Foible XL^2 as the chosen three in Smash’s newly formed Lord Pantsville, Esq.
The band rose to astronomical popularity worldwide in unfathomable time. Lord Pantsville, Esq was playing extended sets to sold out crowds in towns as close as Seattle and as far away as DeVron’s own hometown of Stockholm. The band had so many fans their manager told them they were no longer capable of gaining any more, the height of popularity had officially been achieved. This was the beginning of the end for Lord Pantsville, Esq.
Foible XL^2 was told to put on a shirt one too many times and decided to lay down her sticks once and for all. McGuillicuttie moved back to San Francisco to see what opportunities were waiting for him there. Smash went off to live in the mountains and is rumored to have started a militant cult. DeVron wandered back to Stockholm to return to the world of the undead. Lord Pantsville, Esq. was officially disbanded. There are currently rumors that the epic group may reunite for one endless set in Moscow sometime later this year, but at the time of publication no date has been booked.
DeVron, the worlds best undead bassist.
This, however, is not where the story ends. After returning to Stockholm, DeVron decided to return to the underground undead scene and played pickup gigs at a local zombie club. The club DeVron frequented was also very popular with American tourists — thanks to Lord Pantsville, Esq., there has been an increase in interest in the Stockholm zombie scene. One such tourist, Sandy Starfleet, sang in the club one night and again changed DeVron’s unlife. DeVron could see his new goal, create a band of his own and return to the stages of the world. He gave the hipster product of hippie parents the lead spot in his new band and decided to let her name it. Thus, DeVron and Sandy Starfleet formed Requiem for a Dweeb.
Sandy Starfleet
A little known fact is that DeVron originally wanted to call the band DeVron Comes Alive. Sandy thought this was particularly funny considering DeVron is, in fact, an undead zombie not capable of actually being alive. Sandy started to call DeVron a dweeb and then settled on the band’s actual name.
DeVron and Sandy Starfleet spent the next few days recruiting the final two members of Requiem for a Dweeb. The first was Lead Pipe Palin, a little known son of the Vice Presidential nominee, Sarah, who had been living out of a van prior to joining the band. The final member, Annyong, was the basis for a character on Arrested Development. Though, according to her (yes, her), Ron Howard didn’t really do her character justice.
DeVron and company have been playing to sold out shows across Stockholm and are preparing to tour the rest of eastern Europe. They even played a recent benefit show to promote equal rights for the undead everywhere.
Requiem for a Dweeb’s future isn’t certain. DeVron is hoping to return to the glory he once had while Sandy Starfleet is hoping to make a crap-ton of money and cash out before DeVron eats her. Will they rise to legendary heights and follow in the steps of Lord Pantsville, Esq. or will Requiem for a Dweeb fail out of one too many mystery sets and fade into musical obscurity? Only time will tell.
Rock that band a little harder… in July
January 13, 2008 | 0 Comments
I can’t really wait.
As if playing Rock Band wasn’t one of the greatest group gaming experiences to come along in years, it appears that a new accessory is set to amp up the fun even more by bringing an “interactive light and smoke stage show” to your already thrashing performances. Apparently you can already pre-order this so-called Rock Band Stage Kit from GameStop for 100 bucks
(Via Engadget.)