We'll start with the winners and it was a tough choice because each of the lists were of the highest quality, but there has to be three winners so here they are.

• DarkArmada for his exceptional list that I have wasted eons of time on
• Mojo XP for not only admitting he owned a N-Gage, but he bought 10 GAMES FOR IT!!!
• Barnzey for his irreverent humour

Well done guys!! You have all won redeemable codes for N+, Rez HD and Poker Smash which I will send you via e-mail. I encourage that if you already own any of these that you share with someone who has entered this comp

I was having a look at what I actually installed when I loaded up Civilization Chronicles and to my delight I found Civ 2: Test of Time, which is a range of modded Civ games based on the Civ 2 engine. My instant favourite was the Fantasy mod as one of my all time favourite turn-based strategy games is Master of Magic, a 4X classic as I've said a number of times on this blog. Combining fantasy with the greatest 4X engine in history equals a new time destroyer in my game collection!! Just what I need in the lead up to Civilization Revolutions which arrives June 6 for Xbox 360 and PS3. I'll be playing it on the Xbox 360... Xbox Live > PSN by a wide margin

Have you seen the Don King Presents Prizefighter trailer? This could be another launch in Winter to stay on top of as just the training modes look awesome. Right click HERE to download. For some stupid reason it won't play when I embed it so I'm being lazy.

IGN UK has got this absolutely right....

Mario Kart SNES > Mario Kart DS > Mario Kart GBA > Mario Kart Double Dash > Mario Kart 64

Sorry but Mario Kart 64 was not even close to the orginal goodness of the SNES classic. Double Dash was a massive disappointment too so its great to see that it looks like Mario Kart has got back to its exceptional roots. About time I say!!  I know there is that silly wheel thing for the WiiMote but I will be playing this with the Nunchuk as if I could I'd drive a car with a controller... scratch that... an Xbox 360 controller. Think Tomorrow Never Dies but substitute the phone for a wireless 360 controller. I was THIS close to buying a second hand BMW 750iL but got talked out of it due to the uber-expensive parts.... still a cool car anyway. For those wondering I went with a Monaro instead.

The van is still going strong!!

Oscar visited today and he still rules. Don't you love ex-girlfirends who need help with their IT dramas?!? Just stirring Katie She is still a Burnout Revenge guru!!

Thanks to Stu and my sis I now have the 'flu. If it gets worse I will have to bail on DarkLAN this weekend...

Stu and I have been playing a bit of Tiger Woods 08 of late. As my character is maxed out I am really enjoying crunching drives well over 300m... just like real life Actually the only thing accurately portrayed on my character is my large jaw.

If you like wrestling make sure you subscribe to JR's Bar-B-Q Blog. It's my favourite blog on the internet as JR tells it straight with honesty and no BS, without the arrogance often found out on the 'net. Next time I'm in the US I think I will make the trip to Oklahoma just to try his world renowned Ribs!! I constantly try to lift my game to match his excellent standards so keep the feedback coming. All (sensible) comments are welcome.

One thing I hear all the time is whinging and moaning about the length of games to complete, specifically their campaign mode. Now doing some simple maths, if you compare it to buying a DVD @ $20 which gives you at best 3 hours of entertainment plus extras barely anyone watches, you'd expect a gaming to deliver 15 hours of play time. Should games be given additional credit as they are interactive? To me, it's about quality. I'll take Gears of War on Insane, Call of Duty 4 on Veteran or Halo 3 on Legendary over pretty much any DVD I own and those who say these games are too short... stop playing them on Easy

On the whole value for money thing, I thought I'd put together my Top 10 Xbox 360 games in terms of value for money... if I'd actually paid for any of them hehe. I've estimate the amount of game time spent on them between Stu and I as well as our thoughts about how good the game actually was to come up with the rankings. Now I'm looking for your contributions and I have three XBLA games to give away to the best three Top 10 I get in the comments section. I'll edit this to put what games they are later on (can't remember right now)

 

Pidgeo and Stu's Top 10 Best Value games for Xbox 360

Honourable Mention: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, Crackdown, GRAW, GRAW2, Smackdown vs RAW 2007 and 2008 

10. Fight Night 3 (20hrs)

The campaign was short, and the bouts between mates even shorter as I'm not very good ("I AM GOOD"... Happy Gilmore rules) but due to the nature of boxing this is to be expected. Probably the first game that really showed what next-gen was all about... as Perfect Dark Zero sure as hell didn't!! Fight Night still gets a play on nights with adult beverages being consumed!! 

9. Gears of War (25hrs)

Yes the campaign was short but on Insane it was just awesome and we both are waiting for more later this year with the second installment. There is next gen and there is Gears of War. The PS3 wishes it could do something as nice as Gears (yes I know there is a game using the same engine but its not close to GoW) Good multiplayer added to the mayhem... but let's be honest Stu and I aren't that great at it!! Watching the elite play at WCG was a sight to behold. 

7. Puzzle Quest (ummm...)

Let's combine an RPG with a Tetris style puzzler.... a great way to ruin my productivity for three months!!

6. Call of Duty 2 (50hrs)

Superb. Just superb.

So many games try to do WWII but none are even close to COD2 on Veteran. Pure hardcore gaming at its finest. Stu and I still shudder at the Normandy landing scene. 

5. FIFA 07 (200hrs)

FIFA 06 was an abomination on 360, World Cup 06 was good but FIFA 07 got the most time of the three. It showed glimpses of greatness but due to the sheer amount of playtime it has to be on this list.

4. Halo 3 (100hrs)

It's the end of an era with more of the excellent multiplayer that made it a household name... who would have thought a certain Infinity Ward game would overshadow it on Live?!?! Still, we got some excellent value out of the Spartan helmet 

3. Oblivion (550hrs)

We keep asking ourselves.... when is the next Elder Scrolls game coming?? This is the epitome of what a WRPG should be which means some hate it, but those who enjoy what RPG's are all about loved this and lost similar amounts of time to it as we did.

2. Call of Duty 4 (750hrs)

Admittedly Stu accounts for about 700 of those and not because I dislike it at all. I've played through the campaign a number of times and think the multiplayer is glorious... Stu just plays it ALL the time!! Plus unless I'm playing with him, Barnzey and/or Atomic HellCat its not as much fun... because I suck!!  

1. FIFA 08 (Too bloody many)

Do I really need to explain this one? We're now 33-28 my way and most of those are 40 minute games. On top of that we've both played numerous managerial seasons.... bring on '09!! One quick question... what happened to the long shot control that was suppose to arrive in '08? Maybe I should be thankful considering Stu has Steven Gerrard.... for those who need a lesson of his greatness watch this clip.

 

 

Well there you have it. Get those lists in and I will announce winners on Friday.

 

 

 

How awesome is this?!?! Xbox and GAME are giving away an $80k Xbox 360 chopper as part of a huge competition where you can win loads of prizes out of a prize pool of $200k! Here's the press release with the details

 

Have you ever wanted to get your hands on an Xbox 360 that moves at speeds of up to 200km/hour? Aussie gamers now have the chance to live the dream with the Xbox 360 Chopper Bike, the main prize in a current retail promotion by GAME stores across the country. 

Handcrafted from the ground up by GHL Custom Choppers, the Xbox 360 Chopper Bike is the first of its kind with slick flowing lines to evoke the Xbox 360 console’s organic design. The massive 1200cc engine rolling on 18 and 21 inch billet chrome wheels makes this bike a dream to ride.

World-renowned airbrush artist Wayne Harrison is the creative brainchild behind the artwork. The bike is a must-have for any gaming guru, motor head or an admirer of fine design. With a string of awards already in his trophy cabinet, Wayne was the artist chosen by the builder of the V8 Trike which was used in one of the series filmed in Australia for ‘Orange County choppers. The Xbox 360 Chopper Bike is set to be one of Wayne’s best designs to date. 

Throughout April and May customers who purchase a special Xbox 360 console bundle at GAME will go into the major prize draw for a chance to win the Xbox 360 Chopper bike – which is valued at up to $80,000 -  and also receive one “scratch to win” game card. The instant win prize pool is valued at over $200,000 and includes prizes such as Samsung LCD TVs; exclusive GAME/MTV/Microsoft party tickets; Xbox 360 games; Xbox LIVE® trial kits; Halo® 3 hats; and GAME discount vouchers.

For a look behind closed doors of the Chopper bike workshop check out the following video:        www.xbox.com.au/chopper. 

For terms and conditions please go to

http://www.game.com.au/choppercomp

If there isn't a better excuse to get an Xbox 360 or a second or third Xbox 360 I'd like someone to show me it! Go to GAME.com.au to find out more!! NOW! GO NOW!!

With DarkLAN 2 only around the corner I was thinking about LAN's in general and was wondering if anyone else wanted to have an old school LAN in the next month or so? We could get a pile of N64's, Dreamcasts and MAME machines and really have some fun like the old TimeZone days. We could even have a few tournaments for GoldenEye and NBA Jam!!

If people in Sydney and Melbourne are interested let me know as I think we could organise something. Those in the other states... I'd love to head out your way but I'm am currently on an extended holiday so I can really only afford one extra city... and that's by using frequent flyer points!!

In any case I might bring the TankStick and MAME to the DarkLAN if the XboxOZ360 boys don't mind

I don't actually dislike Barnzey at all, he's a great guy and a freak at COD4 but he managed to send me a flash game that is more addictive than SWANK (Simpsons fans will know what I'm talking about). So because he has managed to grind my productivity to a halt (not really if my bosses are reading hehe) I will share the link to this awesome little game. I already got tranceVib and SWOOOOGON hooked yesterday hehe.

http://onslaught.playr.co.uk/

Play it if you dare  

I managed to set up the TankStick on my desktop last night. It's certainly not its permanent home as it is going in the MAME Cave and resting that thing on one's lap can become very tiresome indeed!!

Once we were all connected I did a quick search to find out if there was a newer version of MAME32 available.

MAME32 is dead..... but there is now MAMEUI which supports x64 which is great for my desktop as it runs Vista Ultimate x64! Once I'd upgraded that, added the config file for the TankStick into MAMEUI and plugged it all in it was time to test. My test games were

• NBA Jam
• NBA Hangtime
• Run and Gun (90's basketball fan here as you can see!!)
• Mortal Kombat II
• Golden Tee 2000
• 2020 Super Baseball

I only played each of them for a few minutes but all I can say is the TankStick is just amazing, by far the best arcade stick I have ever used. The real test will be when the MAME Cave is complete and two of us are giving it a good workout but so far it's a 10/10.

You can purchase the TankStick and it's smaller relatives plus a huge array of arcade accessories and machines from Arcade Gaming Australia. GO NOW... well after you read the rest of this post!!!

We had our second XBLA tounaments for the month last night and even with a few people going MIA on us, we still managed to get a decent tournament completed and more importantly a winner. In the triple threat grand final, DarkArmada managed to fend off Sonny AU and I ECG S3RP3NT I to be victorious 96-76-66! Well done mate!

The next tournament is for Undertow and next week I will have the basic structure and rules posted on the "Tournament Info" page.

It's the weekend in a few hours and I am planning on setting up the MAME Cave.... except i don't have a table for it yet!! I'll find something over the weekend I'm sure. Also I need to play some Lost Odyssey and some more Gears of War on Windows. I'd be up for a few games of Catan too so if you are online and keen, send me an invite! What gaming goodness are you enjoying this fine weekend?

Two quick things to wrap it up...

• Central Coast 3 Newcastle 2 in the A-League Grand Final
• Can the guys who won Gears for Windows send me their addresses via the Contact tab so I can get them sent out to you.
  

16-4 in a game of football is a disgusting scoreline. It's even worse when it's against your brother-in-law and he's playing as Liverpool. On Saturday night my best mate SWOOOOGON came down to mine and Stu's place for some co-op gaming, BBBQ and drinking (we're 27, 27 and 29 so completely legal!!). After I got WOMPED and I mean WOMPED at Fight Night Round 3 the other two had some classic brawls that Stu somehow won 2 games to 1 which I still can't believe. I'm sure SWOOOOGON will be training hard for the rematch!!

Afterwards, Stu and I loaded up FIFA 08 to have our championship battle and just like Arsenal later that morning when they lost 4-0 to Man United in the FA Cup, I should not have turned up. It was one of those games where everything was off... timing on runs and tackles, shots and passes... everything!! It was the biggest scoreline and margin of victory in the history of the championship and very embarrasing indeed. Last night before watching WWE No Way Out on PPV we had a game and after going down 3-0 very early and thinking "here we go again", I got back some form and won 7-4.

At least my team didn't lose to BARNSLEY in the FA Cup Stu!!! Let's all start a Barnsley chant!! It was a weekend on amazing results in football as no-one could have predicted the 4-0 Man U/Arsenal result, Barnsley shouldn't really have beaten Liverpool, and what a crazy game the Newcastle Jets vs Queensland Roar was?!?! Three soft as penalties, lots of niggle and a blinder of a goal from Tarek Elrich made for one heart stopping ending. I'm glad the Jets won and will certainly watch the Grand Final.

The other main reason SWOOOOGON came down was to drop off his old entertainment unit for my tech cave. I've started Operation Overhaul for it so that I can have all my new and old school gaming set up for maximum enjoyment and ease of setup. This the plan and it's actually not too far from completion. I just need to acquire most of the MAME Cave parts and set up that part... plus clean out the piles of junk in there right now.

1.  Entertainment Unit
   1. 46in Samsung M8 LCD for the display
   2. Samsung DVD and Surround Sound unit for sound
   3. Xbox 360 Elite and HD-DVD drive
   4. Old School Consoles I actually use
      1. N64
      2. SNES
      3. NES
      4. MegaDrive II
      5. Saturn
      6. Dreamcast
      7. Master System II
   5. RCA Switch box to change source for old school
   6. Foxtel Digital STB
      
2. Bench
   1. Open 624 ADSL2+ modem with 4 port router
   2. Linksys ABG wireless router
   3. Hot Dog Machine
   4. Toasted Sandwich maker
   5. Bar Fridge underneath
   6. Charging hub for all portable devices
      
3. PC Hub
   1. The Beast
   2. Samsung 226BW LCD
   3. MS Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000 for use on main TV
   4. MS Reclusa Keyboard
   5. MS SideWinder mouse
   6. Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition
      
4. MAME Cave
   1. 2 x 19in Dell CRT
   2. MAME PC with VGA splitter
   3. Xbox 360 Racing Wheel with PC adaptor
   4. TankStick controller (click here for details)
   5. 2 x USB Light Guns

 

So that is the plan! I can't wait to have the MAME Cave done with the TankStick and light guns all working so we can have some late night NBA Jam or Operation Wolf action!

Gears of War on Windows has been quite enjoyable so far, especially the amazing DX10 graphics and the additional achievements . I am a self-confessed FPS on PC n00b but I'm going along OK on Casual haha. I will definitely be up for some co-op over Live with the winners of the comp who are.....

TigerAUS because of his sledge on me @ DarkLAN was priceless... how's your Live account going anyway... MWHAHAHA
hergs13 for changing the binding of his mates controllers and....
TerrySpanks for his three simple things that are much better with company than solo.

Well done guys and to everyone who entered. I was really pleased to hear that local MP is alive and well, plus I think the message is loud and clear.... "organise some more LAN's and gaming events in the future Pidgeo".

Anyway, it's lunch time which means food, drink and more FreeCol.... damn you DarkArmada!!

 

 

Thanks for those who have commented so far on the last post where I asked if local co-op and versus gaming sill occurs, and so far it is unaminous - it's definitely alive and well! I'm glad because I know in my house it certainly is, with the FIFA 08 Championship taking place almost every day. I've finally updated the page on here with the latest scores and it's really close now. I'm still ahead on win/loss but Stu with his "fairer" play and a few massive wins has managed to sneak ahead on Lounge Points.

For those who haven't read the post below yet - please do as the three best comments will win a copy of Gears of War for Windows which I'll decide in the next few days. I finally loaded G4W onto my beastie at home to see how it looked and OMFG!

(2 x 8800GTX) + DX10 + Max Video Settings @ 1680 x 1050 = Winner

I was fairly certain it would run like a dream but until I saw it in person I wasn't 100% sure. There are a few very minor loading stutters  between checkpoints but during combat I got a consistent and smooth framerate, and once I got used to the controls everything was good in the world.... except for the Locusts hehe. Also, it was the first shooter I'd used the SideWinder on and I am very happy with how it performed. I've always been a fan of MS mice as are 90% of the PC players at World Cyber Games but I just wanted a little extra weight in them and the SideWinder delivers that with its heavy 30g butt

Keep those comments flying in and just a note to DarkArmada - I dislike you A LOT for introducing me to FreeCol as I'm extremely sleepy this morning...

Online gaming in all its forms has taken off astronomically over the last few years. I remember back to the days of playing Warcraft 1 by direct dialing my mate's modem (9600 BAUD!!) and thinking it was amazing, but I never imagined things like Xbox Live coming along. If I had I'd be much richer than I am now!!!

Back in those days, competitive and co-op gaming for the vast majority consisted of inviting mates over and playing together on the one TV and console or playing games like Stunts or Civ 2 and just swapping seats for each players turn. Ah the memories!!

What I am wondering is how many people still play local co-op or competitive games? Is it just easier now to play over Live than organise the mates to come around for a bash? Do you prefer the deeper competition that you get online compred to your neighbour, brother/sister or in my case gigantic headed brother-in-law? Or has Live and other online gaming just added to the experience without taking away from those local multiplayer experiences? Also, what games do you play local MP? Sports, driving, hack n' slash...

I have three copies of Gears of War on Games for Windows to give away to the three comments I like the best on the topic above. Don't forget that I need to authorise the comments before they appear so please be patient and resist the urge to double post hehe

Now to some other random thoughts and news

• I downloaded FreeCol that DarkArmada suggested and I love it! I didn't play nearly as much Colonization as the Civ games so this is almost a completely new gaming experience. What is really great though is seeing the original Home City that was enhanced so well as a feature of Age of Empires 3. No real surprise there as Bruce Shelley worked on both games I believe. DarkArmada once I have a few games under my belt we'll have to organise an online game.
  
• Speaking of open-source remakes of classic games, if any of you were fans of Chris Sawyer's masterpiece Transport Tycoon Deluxe, head to http://www.openttd.org/ to download the clone that fixes many of the bugs and adds a huge amount of customization to it. I set it up over the Xmas/NY break and had a blast! You should see the new airports you can build
  
• SimFarm rules! Did anyone else play or remember this little gem? Same with SimTower and its little known but superior sequel Yoot's Tower... classic gaming!!
  
• I thought my desktop had some grunt, but I now have a new target to try and build starting with the Intel D5400XS motherboard. It supports 2 x Intel QX9650 CPUs, 8Gb RAM, 4 x NVIDIA 8800 Ultras.... <drool>
  
• Catan AI on Hard cheats! I literally had 30 minutes where I could not build a single thing due to the AI ganging up on me and using the robber almost every go! I was 8-2-2-2 up but lost 10-8  I have beaten them a few times though hehe
  
• I finally finished Rainbow Six:Vegas campaign! If you don't own it already it's an absolute steal at RRP$49!! What an awesome game it still is and I am salivating at the thought of R6:V2 and killing the traitor!
  
• I'm picking Newcastle to win their way into the A-League grand final 2-0. If they do win, I will be avoiding the F3 on grand final day like the plague!!
  
• I still need to update the FIFA 08 page but it's now 26-22 my way with only four goal diffrence. Maybe Stu could take over from Rafa Benitez @ Liverpool haha
  
• Pidgeo is a dateless wonder for Valentine's Day hahaha.

I always look forward to reading your comments and thoughts so keep them coming in!!

This is not going to be too hard and as per usual the first two people with all the right answers will win a copy of Lost Odyssey!! You MUST spell each word correctly to win!

LOST ODYSSEY FILL IN THE BLANKS!

1. _ i _ _ _ o _ _   S _ _ _ g _ _ h _

2. _ _ s _ w _ _ k _ _

3. _ a _ m

Use the contact form above to send your answers through now!!

Yes I know that is a little mean, but in good news I have two copies to give away which also includes the bonus pre-order content!! We will do the usual Q&A thing and these will go up at 4pm AEDT

EDIT - Due to being caught in a meeting that ran long, I will post the questions to win the Lost Odyssey comp at 6pm AEDT. Apologies for any inconvenience caused