My 360 died a couple days ago, finally. I always thought i was lucky, that my 360 wouldn’t die but it finally has and now that its happened, I’m not too surprised.

It was purchased early January 2006 and while it wasn’t in the launch batch that had an extremely high failure rate it was the 2nd batch of 360’s. I never had to deal with customer support because this is my first console that has died and i can say now that there’s noting worse than calling up only to hear that you must pay $140 to fix a console that broke because of manufacture error. And even though i quoted reports saying failure rates where 30% and explaining the basics of why the 360 breaks i was unable to receive a free repair because “we have repaired to many 360’s for free” but i did get a 25% discount bringing the fee down to only $100.

Now Ive gotten over the anger of having to pay the fee, but i have not gotten over the fact that Microsoft knows they can give the $40 discount. And they refuse to do so without a little hassling which us not fair to a normal person who has a 360. If you’re not active in forums or read news sites and you’re just a guy who owns a 360 to play Madden once in a while you wont know that you can get the discount and i think its unfair that they have to pay the extra $40. Microsoft needs to help their customers not cheat them. Something needs to be done to protect the gamers and that something needs to be done quick.

Are you afraid of the dark? Your enemies will be. After developing the critically acclaimed Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, Starbreeze Studios comes out in full force with The Darkness. In short, this game is excellent and a must play. Story, style, action and character all merge together wonderfully. The story slowly unravels, the action steadily ramps up, and by the time the game is finished you’re left thinking “Wow, what a great experience, I want more.”

The Darkness is as much about first person shooting as it is about exploration. Between firefights you’ll spend your time visiting sections of New York. You’ll talk to residents and engage in some optional, yet entertaining, side quests. These interactions do a good job of keeping the story moving. The story is told through in-game conversations, text messages, phone calls, and loading segments. When you transition from one section of NY to another the game has to load, but Starbreeze took advantage of this. Instead of watching a loading bar fill, you’re given a short cutscene in which Jackie, the main character and victim of the Darkness, talks about himself. Some of these will be generic reflections on himself and the city; others will help propel the story. These are excellent and really help give the game its dark and gritty atmosphere. The story that is told, its twists and turns, and the general feel are its biggest strength. You don’t need to be familiar with the comic to enjoy it, I wasn’t. Starbreeze must have realized this isn’t a commonly known character, so as a bonus there are a couple issues to unlock, giving you a chance to familiarize yourself with Jackie.
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Topics Include:

Name Change
Microsoft Xbox 360 Reliability Issues
Cracked PSP Firmware, ver 3.5
Austin Powers for Free on Xbox Live
Konami’s E3 Announcement for Game Releases
No Playstation 3 Games From Square Enix Till April Next Year
Most Popular Video Game Websites
FASA Studio’s Says, “I think the reviews on my game suck ass”
Sony’s Confirmed E3 Lineup
Video Game Exclusives for All 3 Systems
Nintendo Wii and DS’s Lineup for E3
Win a Free Tansformers Xbox 360 Faceplate
and more!

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Topics Include:

Possible name change
145 Playstation 3 games by next year
Guitar Hero 3 pricing rumor
PSP firmware update speeds up PSP
Map pack for Lost Planet
Xbox 360 failure rate at 30%?
Virtual Fighter 5 looks better on the 360
360Friendspot.com awards
Our site is back up and better then ever
Time for an XBL Radio Gaming Night!
and more!

Music by Theme for Murder
http://www.myspace.com/themeformurder

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This is the Official Review of Pac-Man CE for the Xbox Live Arcade, which was developed by Namco Bandai Games

MSRP is a 800 mp or 10 dollars

Pluses
+ Its pretty and HD
+ Simple
+ New mazes

Minuses
- Price
- If your not a fan of Pacman, this isn’t to much different

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/p/pacmanchampionshipeditionxboxlivearcade

Music by Theme for Murder
http://www.myspace.com/themeformurder

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This is the Official Review of Mad Tracks for the Xbox Live Arcade, which was developed by Load Inc.

MSRP is a 800 mp or 10 dollars

Pluses
+ It won’t take away from your other gaming time
+ Simple, extremely easy to pick up and play

Minuses
- Sucks
- Graphics are nothing special
- Sound can get annoying
- Just a bad game overall

http://www.loadinc.net/madtracks

Music by Theme for Murder
http://www.myspace.com/themeformurder

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Our good buddies at 360friendspot.com are celebrating their one year anniversary.� And to help them celebrate, they are giving away Command and Conquer 3 for the 360. � Here is the link for more info. (more…)

I’m not sure if you guys caught this but if you didn’t you have to check this out.

Do You Know a Great Gaming Dad?

Do you know a terrific gaming Dad? Here’s your chance to show him some Father’s Day love and take a shot at winning an awesome prize for yourself*. Here’s how it works.

Write an original essay about a father (or male legal guardian) and gaming. Do you know a Dad who does a great job balancing gaming and fatherhood? Is he known for his patience with n00bs or his mad fragging skills? Does he play games with his kids? Is he raising his gamer offspring to play fair and follow the rules? (more…)

Ok, I just had my birthday and I was given a hundred dollars in Bestbuy dollars, which got me thinking;� I now can get a HD DVD player for only a hundred dollars(of my own money)!� But then Microsoft just lowered the prices of the wireless racing wheel and Bestbuy has them on sale for 109, which would really only cost me nine dollars.� But then that got me thinking, I have a Nintendo Wii that I haven’t touched since Febuary, so if I went and I sold it along with the games and accessories I have for it, add the Bestbuy dollars, I would probably only have to cough up max 200, more then likely 100-150 though.� And if I took that route I would have a high-def dvd player and another videogame console.� So with all this going on, I’m not sure what I should do, and this is why I am posting this here, to see what you all think.� So do me a favor and help me make my decision for me.

Gamers from all over now have the choice to choose their path to Lost Planet. You can choose to go through a casino in Las Vegas, or even the Las Vegas University while battling terrorist. Or you can trek your way through Mexico, where you’re the outsider and nobody wants you there. As the gamer, you have the option to choose how you get the copy of Lost Planet.

Please Choose either Rainbow Six: Vegas or Ghost Reacon Advance Warfighter 2. Which ever game has the majority of votes, will be the game the tournament is in. Once you have voted, please sign-up below by leaving your gamertag. Keep in mind that there maybe a chance your game is not the one the tournament is held in, so if you still want to play, please try to have a copy, or able to get a copy, of both.

The voting will go on for 2 weeks (June 11). At that point we will create the tournament and teams. Rules of the tournament and how it will work will be posted no later than Tuesday, May 29. I’m hoping for at least 48 players.

Thank you from all of us here at XBL Radio.