Tech: Xbox turns X!

Wow, it's really hard to believe that ten years ago today a little company called Microsoft decided to launch a console. Apparently Sony and Nintendo was not enough, the Windows and Office makers just wanted to be part of the fun.

Released on November 15th, 2001, the OG Xbox was handed over by Bill Gates to the first lucky owner just after midnight at a Toys 'R' Us in New York. Starting off one of the most interesting periods in gaming history, across the board not just for this console, but throughout the industry.

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Bungie Reaches for the Stars with Final Halo Release

Three Words; Best Halo Ever.

What?  That's not enough for you to go out and spend $60 in this recession? Okay, just know every second you spend reading this, is a second you could have spent playing this instant classic.

With  Halo Reach, the developers at Bungie took all their favorite parts of Halo, Halo 2, Halo 3 and Halo ODST and put them into one game and the result will make fanboys and girls sigh.

With more multiplayer modes than ever before, Halo Reach gives the gamer more replay value than any other Halo title.  In addition, daily and weekly challenges give players a reason to play often and get rewarded for their many hours of gaming.  When achieving these challenges, the player is awarded with bonus credits, which can be used towards purchasing new armor and extras in the game like Birthday Party Armor (Confetti explodes from your armor every time you die in multiplayer).

Fans of the series will be thrilled to see many classic multiplayer levels from Halo and Halo 2 re-worked and integrated into this title.

One of the most popular new features of multiplayer is voting on different gametypes and/or maps instead of Halo 3's veto function.

The new social interface of the game makes it much easier for a player to see which of his/her friends are on Halo Reach specifically and what part of the game they are playing.

The campaign seems to the be longest since the original Halo game and equally as hard as Halo 2's campaign mode.  I've been playing with a friend on Legendary and it's really difficult (Imagine Halo 3 Legendary with Mythic Skull on).  There is an achievement for soloing the campaign on Legendary that's worth 150 gamer-points (That's gonna be tons o' fun).

As I said at the beginning of this article, I suggest you pick this game up as soon as you can.  Being a huge fan of the series, I had hoped for the best with this game and was pleasantly surprised that Bungie was able to go beyond my wildest expectations.

If you pick it up, add me on XBOX Live. My Gamertag is Jojopet1138

Regular Edition $59.99 ($58.10 + Free Shipping + $20 off Future Game Purchase at Amazon.com)
Limited Edition $89.99
Legendary Edition $149.99

Twitter @leeroyholmes
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wow

From Xbox.com:

Open Letter From Peter Moore
To our Xbox Community:

You've spoken, and we’ve heard you. Good service and a good customer experience are areas of the business that we care deeply about. And frankly, we've not been doing a good enough job.

Some of you have expressed frustration with the customer experiences you have had with Xbox 360; frustration with having to return your console for service after receiving the general hardware error message on the console.

The majority of customers who own Xbox 360 consoles have had a terrific experience from their first day, and continue to, day in and day out. But when anyone questions the reliability of our product, or our commitment to our customers, it's something I take very seriously.

We have been following this issue closely, and with on-going testing have identified several factors that can cause a general hardware failure indicated by three flashing red lights on the console. To address this issue, and as part of our ongoing work, we have already made certain improvements to the console.

We are also implementing some important policy changes intended to keep you in the game, worry-free.

As of today, all Xbox 360 consoles are covered by an enhanced warranty program to address specifically the general hardware failures indicated by the three flashing red lights on the console. This applies to new and previously-sold consoles. While we will still have a general one year console warranty (two years in some countries), we are announcing today a three-year warranty that covers any console that displays a three flashing red lights error message. If a customer has an issue indicated by the three flashing red lights, Microsoft will repair the console free of charge—including shipping—for three years from the console’s purchase date. We will also retroactively reimburse any of you who paid for repairs related to problems indicated by this error message in the past. In doing so, Microsoft stands behind its products and takes responsibility to ensure that every Xbox 360 console owner continues to have a fantastic gaming experience.

If we have let any of you down in the experience you have had with your Xbox 360, we sincerely apologize. We are taking responsibility and are making these changes to ensure that every Xbox 360 owner continues to have a great experience.

This will take a few days to roll out globally, and I appreciate your continued patience as we launch this program. I've posted an FAQ that should address some additional questions, and we'll update it over the next few days.

I want to thank you, on behalf of all us at Microsoft, for your loyalty.

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