S.C.G

called M$, got through and theyve taken my name and number and they say "we will call you back as soon as possible" that was like half an hour or so ago *sigh* looks like I've got to play an endless waiting game before I can even get anywhere. [update] argh! this sucks, they've kept me waiting for over 2 hours now, gonna phone them back, dam M$ wasting even more of my time. [up-update] argggghhhhhhhh! this sucks even more, after calling back after them wasting more of my time, I got through to someone who told me the same thing, I said "yeah I've already heard this earlier from some other guy" and he was like "were really busy etc etc" and I was like "erm ok, so this is the bit where I out the phone down right?" *puts phone down* Then later on, finally at like 8.30 PM!!! someone calls me back, and so I start explaning that the problem had been narrowed down to a faulty wireless receiving mechanism inside the console then he asked me if it was registered, I said yes and then he asks me for the serial, so I say, thats the number under the USB flap right? he says yes, I say is it ok if I go and get the number? he said yes and said he would wait, so I rush upstairs, jot down the number and am back in less than a minute... I pick up the phone and all I can hear is a silent tone (not a hang up tone but a noise canceling tone, sounded like he had muted something, so I said hello? etc for about 5 mins, no reply, so then I wait a minute, no one phones back... great now theyve obviously hung up on me, so I phone again and didnt get anywhere, and they kept me waiting for an additional half an hour on hold at which point I just said fukk this into the phone and hung up. arrrgghhhhh! dam M$... tomorow I'm gonna phone them up again, get through and make them agree to a new console replacement becuase this is unacceptable, all this bloddy hassle for this one overrated console which I just want to work properly to play the few bloody decent games that are on it! arrgh! ffs M$ you suck... *sigh* I can't wait until the day I can buy a Wii with all the games that I truly want and have yet another reliable console from a company who I trust and respect, Nintendo Wii salute you! Micro$oft you suck!

ah cool thanks again, I'm gonna get on the phone to M$ tomorow and hopefully get the ball rolling I hope they agree to replace it with a new one, still not sure if I should mention that I'm keeping the HDD or not... hmm we shall see I guess. < (message posted yesterday) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm going to phone M$ later today, still not sure whether to mention that I'm keeping the HDD or just keep quiet about it, did anyone else return theirs without the HDD? if so what did you do? Also, Owen when you said I dont have to send any of the leads etc, does that include the original box, power brick and wireless controller?

Thanks Owen, thats answered most of my questions I do have a few more however, some may seem a bit obvious but if you could answer them I would be greatfull, firstly I remember when initially getting a 360 and setting up a gamertag, part of the process was registering the serial number but if I have a new one, then doesnt that mean that my gamertag which I have registered on my current console wont work because it'd be under a different serial or something? another more straightforward question, postage, how did you post yours? howd you pack it etc and when posting did you have to pay anything (I know it's supposed to be free but y'know) I assume that I at least need a certificate of posting in case it gets lost in the post or something. Anyways, if you could answer these questions (or anyone else who has had similar experiences) it would be appreciated, thanks again. Edit : also do you know the number I need to call? I wrote it down the last time I called it but now can't find it, thanks.

Thanks rokhed00 I think I am gonna return it soon, will phone them up today if the phonelines are open and if not, then Monday, however I do have a couple more questions, when you send the console back do you have to send everything back? (excluding the HDD of course I'm keeping that) i.e like the controller, headset, power brick (my power supply has always worked fine so I'd want to try and keep that in case the one they send me with a new console is faulty) also do I need to put it all in the original box with manuals etc and then put it in the box they send me? Just wondered as obviously the three things I want to avoid sending back are the HDD, the power brick and of course the ltd ed mini media remote, also to anyone else who has returned in recent months / returned in recent weeks or days, what would you say my chances are of getting a new console sent to me? given that the problem is internal and probably not fixable I hope they will send me a new one, I figured I should do what I think it was Owen did and get them to agree to a replacement on the phone and attach a note to it saying "new unit required as stated on phone" or something, anyways thanks for your help rokhed00 and anyone else who has commented on my situation, any additional feedback appreciated.

Happy Birthday Sarka! don't get too drunk. :wink: hmm what am I saying? it's your birthday! get wasted!

If I do return it though, whats peoples opinions on the HDD? should I keep it and send just the system? did anyone who has sent theirs back keep their HDD's? and do I have to send back all the leads, controller etc and put it back in it's original box also? as thats gonna be an annoyance if I have to.

Hmm I dk if he posts much in General Chat, might repost this in the 360 thread when things get back to normal after E3, anyways thanks for the feedback Odwin & NM, if anyone else also has any info that may be of use then please post, thanks.

... My Xbox 360, that is the question... I have had it since a couple weeks after it's launch (I pre-ordered but y'know how the launch was, inadequate numbers etc) and everything worked fine for a while, until the rumble feature on one of the controllers didnt work properly, so I ended up buying serveral reaplcement wireless controllers, which have all since been returned because none of them connected to my Xbox 360. The guy at Game (where I got some of the replacement controllers from) said that it was probably a problem with the console and after contacting M$ with regard to the problem they seem to think that it's the wireless receiving mechanism inside the console, this was about a month or so ago that I contacted them and they offered to send me "the box" to put my 360 in to return it but I decided to put up with the problem and am currently mostly using a wired controller, not ideal but it works. Since then over the past couple of weeks I have had a recoccuring problem with the disc drive sometimes not closing, however this has only happened after watching dvd's for some reason but it's happened randomly about 4 or 5 times now and is just another annoyance. So my question (as stated before) is, should I return it? if so, (I'm kinda leaning towards returning it and hopefully getting a new one in return anyways) what kind of experiences have people had when returning their Xbox 360? and when M$ say they send you the box, do they just expect you to send the unboxed console? as I have heard some people have kept their Hard Drives and have been sent new sealed premium units so they keep their data and end up with an extra HDD. If I did send it back I would be inclined to keep my HDD for all the trouble it's caused me (they don't cost M$ that much to make anyways) plus I don't want to have to burn an excess of 44 full length albums onto the HDD again or risk losing my gamertag and save data, but if I was to do this, should I tell them that on the phone? or just not mention it? if anyone has done something similar some feedback on how everything went would be great. Anyways, any general feedback on the matter would be appreciated so that I can add up the pros and cons of if it's worth sending it back or not, I'm leaning towards sending it back because sods law if I keep it then something will go wrong when lots of decent titles are released for it, or just outside of the 1 year warranty or something, so yeah... feedback would be most welcome, thanks.

Hmm I'm about the same at the moment (read my overly long post for way too much detail lol) but yeah, my job = Tesco's, nuff said really, dk about arthritus though, although sometimes I get really bad aches and pains in my joints, but still, yeah the possibility of you having arthritus at an early age sucks I hope things turn out ok for you and that your in the all clear I guess you are right though, things could be a lot worse, I try and think like that also and I'm 20 and single, 21 in June *sigh* (I find the notion of turning 21 with my life how it is a little daunting ) but yeah, anyways positive thoughts are always good.

Did you read the accompanying article? if you did you would have learned that the screens were taken from the games real-time engine, so one would assume that they are indeed "in-game shots and not shots of CG footage" unless their (Ubisofts) definition of "real-time" means something else, in which case completely disregard this post, hope this helps.

A gun!... and no, I am not pleased to see you. :wink:

Anyone else read either of the aforementioned two posts? if so, grab an award before this title inevitably sinks even further down the topics list and into the void of the second page where no topic ever returns from... ever... probably...

One silver Twilight Award and my re-edited and re-posted gold award for anyone else who's read my post and if you have read both then cut and paste both, print out and give yourself a pat on the back / thumbs up : peace: or an equal metaphorical form of celebration.

Especially for everyone who read my post an award to print out and keep! don't you feel special? :wink:

I'll take the fact that you read it as a complement in itself the fact that it's the longest post you have ever read is good also, I'm glad someone read it anyways Oh I am indeed honoured as I wasnt even expecting anyone to read it all, so the fact that at the very least two people have read it is great at least in my opinion.

TL:DR - I'm not this person any more, I haven't been for a long time, and this no longer resonates with me. I'm a lot happier with my life than I was seventeen years ago, clearly. Sometimes, we just don't realise what we have, but I do now, more than ever, and I'm eternally grateful. If you don't like you life, then manifest one which you do like, you have the power to do it, you just need to realise it.

Hmm, my answer would be not to bother buying a PS2 but seeing as thats probably not a constructive comment seeing as you sound like your set on buying one anyway then I would say dont bother with modding, while it may seem tempting at the prospect of getting cheap games, the majority of games are allready cheap (cheap and nasty in my opinion with the exception of a small handfull ) but anyways, modding seems a bit pointless if your doing it for the cheap games, being that they are cheap anyway. Also if you still want to mod then the original PS2 is easier to mod so I've heard, but as most people know they do break very easilly, almost as if theyre programmed to break down about a week after the machines outside it's warranty so if your not bothered about modding get the slimline version as it's apperently more reliable and erm it could probably double up as a rather effective doorstop should you get bored with it lol So yeah... erm thats my guide of sorts to anyone who feels obligated to purchase a PS2, hope it's at least partially useful.

Probably just one of those things, One thing that applies in general though, Theres no such thing as a perfect piece of software.

You don't, it's not worth playing... Seriously though, when are there going to be more games with decent online modes? so far PDZ is decent (online) for what it is, PGR3 is too irratating to be any real fun, and Kameo apperently will have it but it needs to be patched first? ah well if it does get added it'll probably be fun for a while. Personally I hope that more games are released featuring more imaginative online modes, at least ones not limited soley to the FPS/stealth and racing genres, not that theyre not fun to play to an extent, but they do tend to lose their appeal quite quickly.

Having played Rares latest offerings for a reasonable period of time, I would say No, yes it is true that they dont have *exactly* the same charm as their N64 titles but don't forget that both Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero have been created with not just the hardcore Rare fans in mind but unfortunately the casual (spits) market as well. However in their transition for what they have lost they have also gained a new type of charm which is evident from their two Xbox 360 titles, also they havent forgotten about their past either, I won't go into too much detail but their heritage is still important to them, this is reflected in the intros to both PD Zero and Kameo, plus their are also hidden references in Kameo to it's long development cycle and a few other bits of info hidden away. So No, Rare hasnt lost it entirely, it knows what it's doing, even though I'm happy to admit that PDZ has it's issues (story, voice acting) and Kameo isnt perfect (longevity issues) but Rare can still hold it's own out there, and even if their recent titles may be lacking slightly they are still better than about 80% of the developers out there. (in my opinion ) Anyway, as it stands for Rare, they have continued well with their developing career and have managed to create two overly decent titles for a launch of c console despite having the challenges of changing platforms twice and for that I still have a certain ammount of respect for Rare and hope that they continue to create games with the same ammount of effort that they have put into every other title. In the meantime, my advice is to enjoy Rares current offerings, true they are flawed but theyre still nonethless brilliant in their own ways. Plus Rares work can only get better. (hopefully) :wink:

... He's pissing about right? Either that or he's just illiterate... or Scottish... one of the two... or both... ok, I'll stop typing now...

*pop* any advice?

Finally upgrading from 56k to Broadband, I know, should have allready upgraded ages ago probably but nm, Anyways, I've know what provider/package I'm going for (BT broadband option 2) however, I've got a few things to check/ sort out before I actually order it, so any help/advice relating to the following topics would be appreciated. I'm going to buy the modem/router from them for £25 as part of the package, I dont have a problem with that, however, I do have a problem with the BT voyager wireless 1040 USB adapter therye trying to flog me for £50, admittedly I need a wireless USB adapter to connect the main "family pc" *cringes* which is the main pc I want to connect initially (I will be connecting another pc of my own eventually, I had one up until recently but I have returned it for good reason) but anyways, I was thinking, surely I could get the same thing or equivelant for cheaper than that? Also I will be wanting to connect my DS to the BB connection (obviously) and so I want to get a wireless USB adapter that can be used to connect the DS as well, also does the official nintendo one come with software? I dont think it does as I assumed it requires no real software as such to run... hmm anyways... additionally, eventually I'll want to connect an xbox 360 to it also but I'm assuming that will be a simple setup process involving buying the wireless adapter for xbox 360 and adding it to the wireless network, oh and I also want to connect my GC wirelessly if possible (got to get a BB adapter for that too *sigh*) as I still play PSO a reasonable ammount. Hmm, think thats about it for now, so anyway, any help/advice appreciated thanks for your time