Got Ideas?

Alright, seriously, i'm running out of ideas- help me out, will ya? Drop me an email at chilloutmon@gmail.com or leave a comment on this post saying what you want to know. It could be a system you want games and accessories for, buying advice, genres you want games in, or general questions. Anything. I will answer your questions in a post, and if you're not satisfied, you get your money back :P

Guitar Hero 2: XBox 360

You've waited long, ant it's finally here! Guitar Hero 2 is now available to XBox 360 owners. And it's a big step up from the PS2 version, with new songs, new guitars, downloadable content, and even a new controller.

There is no shortage of new songs in the 360 version of GH2. From My Chemical Romance to Alice Cooper, there are tracks from every corner of rock. For a full song list, scroll down. Also, developer RedOctane promises downloadable songs and guitars. Speaking of guitars, the 360 version features new guitars and finishes like the Gibson X-Plorer. And speaking of the X-Plorer, there is a brand new controller modeled after the X-Plorer. It's X-Plorific! Other than that, it's the same as the PS2 version, besides better graphics and HD capability.

And get this: there are versions of Guitar Hero slated for the Wii and the DS! Still not sure how the DS version is going to work, but we'll see. Also, the next installment in the Guitar Hero series is in the works, but thats all the general public knows at the moment. To top it off, the names Guitar Villain and Drum Villain are copyrighted for future use. Wait a minute, Drum Villain?!?!?!?

Now get off your ass and get rockin'!


GUITAR HERO 2 SONG LIST
XBox 360 exclusive tracks are in italic.

1. Opening Licks

Surrender - Cheap Trick
Possom Kingdom - Toadies
Heart Shaped Box - Nirvana
Salvation - Rancid
Strutter - KISS
Shout at the Devil - Motley Crue (encore)

2. Amp-Warmers

Mother - Danzig
Life Wasted - Pearl Jam
Cherry Pie - Warrant
Woman - Wolfmother
You Really Got Me - Van Halen
Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight - Spinal Tap (encore)

3. String-Snappers

Carry On My Wayward Son - Kansas
Search and Destroy - Iggy Pop and the Stooges
Message in a Bottle - The Police
Billion Dollar Babies - Alice Cooper
Them Bones - Alice in Chains
War Pigs - Black Sabbath (encore)

4. Thrash and Burn

Monkey Wrench - Foo Fighters
Hush (1968 version) - Deep Purple
Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet
Who Was In My Room Last Night? - The Butthole Surfers
Can't You Hear Me Knocking - The Rolling Stones
Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns 'n' Roses (encore)

5. Return of the Shred

Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo - Rick Derringer
Tattooed Love Boys - The Pretenders
John the Fisherman - Primus
Jessica - Allman Brothers Band
Bad Reputation - Thin Lizzy
Last Child - Aerosmith

6. Relentless Riffs

Crazy on You - Heart
Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart - Stone Temple Pilots
Dead! - My Chemical Romance
Killing In The Name - Rage Against the Machine
Freya - Sword
Stop! - Jane's Addiction (encore)

7. Furious Fretwork

Madhouse - Anthrax
The Trooper - Iron Maiden
Rock This Town - Stray Cats
Laid to Rest - Lamb of God
Psychobilly Freakout - The Reverend Horton Heat
YYZ - Rush (encore)

8. Face-Melters

Beast and the Harlot - Avenged Sevenfold
Carry Me Home - The Living End
Institutionalized - Suicidal Tendencies
Misirlou - Dick Dale
Hanger 18 - Megadeth
Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd (encore, final song)


BONUS TRACKS

Raw Dog - The Las Vegas (won the Be A Guitar Hero contest)
Arterial Black - Drist
Collide - Anarchy Club
Drink Up - Ounce of Self
Elephant Bones - That Handsome Devil
Fall of Pangea - Valient Thorr
FTK - Vagiant
Gemini - Brian Kahanek
Push Push (Lady Lightning) - Bang Camaro
Laughtrack - The Acro-Bats
Less Talk More Rokk - Freezepop
Jordan - Buckethead
Kicked to the Curb - Noble Rot
Mr. Fix-It - The Amazing Royal Crowns
The New Black - Every Time I Die
One For The Road - The Breaking Wheel
Parasite - The Neighborhoods
Radium Eyes - Count Zero
Red Lottery - Megasus
Six - All That Remains
Soy Bomb - Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives
The Light That Blinds - Shadows Fall
Thunderhorse - Dethklok
Trogdor - Strong Bad
X-Stream - Voivod
Yes We Can - Made in Mexico


The Guitar Hero for XBox 360 Bundle:

The XBox 360 'Ring of Death' (system failures)

Today, I experienced for the first time a hardware failure with my XBox 360. I took the incentive to write a guide with how to prevent, understand, and treat system failures.


Preventing

There are a few easy steps to help prevent system failures.

1. Keep your XBox 360 and power supply in a very well ventilated area. If you haven't noticed yet, the console can get very hot. To avoid an overheat, place it and the power supply in the best ventilated area you can find. DO NOT: Place on carpet or wood, place on top of a thick TV stand (anything more than one inch thick is a no-no), or keep on for more than 6 or 7 hours (probably shouldn't play that long in one sitting anyway). If the console freezes, TURN IT OFF IMMEDIATELY. It is not a problem, it's actually a safety device. When the XBox senses that it is getting too hot, the game freezes so it doesn't overheat, not because it overheats. It's basically a warning. If it freezes, shut the system off and keep it off for at least 10 minutes.
2. Don't move your XBox 360 when it is powered on. This can jar moving parts, damaging them. The only safe time to move is when the system is off. Even then, avoid moving the console at all.
3. DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT TOUCHING ANY WIRES WHEN THE XBOX 360 IS ON. Too many people wreck their consoles by unplugging wires when it is on. DONT DO IT. It can easily shock and hurt you or short-circuit the system. There have even been reports of killing the power in a house because of unplugging the power cord while the 360 is on. Not only that, but it can even wreck your TV.


Understanding

There is one thing you need to know about XBox 360 system failures. When a system failure occurs, the 'Ring of Death' turns red. You know the ring of green lights around the power button that indicate the connection of a controller? Well, if a system failure occurs, on or more of lights will turn red. Basically, your console is whack. You have a serious problem, the same one I had.


Treating

There is one thing you have to do to figure out what the problem is. The support website and telephone service say the same thing. You need to isolate the problem. Here is how.

1. Test the power supply. Turn on the console. The light on the power supply should turn from orange to green and stay green as long as the console is on. If it stays orange or turns red, the power supply is your problem. Move the console and power supply to a more ventilated area. Try putting the power supply on the corner of a topless box (probably not so great with the console). Make sure the four vents on the top and bottom are completely free and the big one in the back has lots of space. If the light on the power supply is green when the console is one, but you still experience the red Ring of Death, the power supply is not your problem. Proceed to step 2.
2. Test the hard drive and other memory units. Turn off the console and remove the hard drive. If there is any other memory units such as a memory card plugged in, remove those too. If the failure occurs again, the hard drive or memory card(s) are not the problem. If it doesn't occur again, make sure you know if it is the hard drive or the memory card (try with just the cards and then with just the HD, and whichever one is plugged in when the problem occurs again is bad). Once you know what the problem is, call customer service (1 800 4MY XBOX). The automated machine will have you do the same thing. Continue until you get a service rep. Follow his instructions and when he asks you to remove the hard drive, tell him that that is the problem. He should then help you fix the HD. If that doesn't work, well...

It's the console.

Basically, you have to send your console to Texas for repairs. If your console is more than three months old, your manufacturer warranty is expired and you will need to cough up 140$ for the fix. That is what happened to me, and boy, am I pissed. Call customer service (1 800 4MY XBOX) and tell them you need repairs. They will take your name, phone number, street address, and email address. They will then send you a prepaid shipping box. Send what they tell you to and wait. Usually, repairs take about three weeks, but you can get it back in two with a little extra green.

Now you know how I feel. But I wish you good luck with the repairs, and pray that you wont end up like this guy.

New: XBox 360 'Elite'

Microsoft recently unvieled the latest edition to the XBox family: the XBox 360 Elite. It's basically a premium 360 with advanced HD capabilities, better media use, and a slick black finish. Also, it comes with a gigantic 120GB hard drive, the biggest on any game system. Put it this way: thats about 100 hours of movies, 100 arcade games, 100 game save files, and 100,000 pictures. At the same time. The package includes a black wireless controller and a black XBox Live headset. The price is still undetermined, but my guess is about 500$. Check it out:

Phrase Contest!!

Now that all the next-gen consoles have been released, I think some type of contest is in order. So I thought it's necessary to hold a competition to see who can come up with the best action phrase! No clue what I'm talking about? If you read my Next-Gen post all the way to the bottom, i said some pitiful phrases about the Wii. 'Get my Wii on', 'get Wii'ing', and 'power up the old Wii' were among them. But it's obvious i need help, and that's where you come in!

Rules:
-There are three categories: Wii, XBox 360, and PS3.
-If two people submit the same line, the first to send it to me will get entered.
-You can submit as many lines as you want, but you can only win in one category (if you have a good chance in all three, I will decide which you win).

Submit your phrases to chilloutmon@gmail.com and i will enter you in. I will accept entries until the last day of February: all that come after will be ignored. I will take one day to make my decision about the winners, and announce them in one post. Good luck!

Grab Bag: Online

Don't got an XBox? A PS2? Even a GameCube? You poor, pitiful whelp. Well, I've got three great online games for you. Pro and Con style.

The first game out of this grab bag is Street Sesh. This one is for the sports junkies, especially skateboarding nuts like myself. This game can be located at several sites, but it's official home is Etnies.com. You will have to do quite a bit of navigating, so i recommend heading to AddictingGames.com to play. This game is a stunning 3D skating game there you take control of an Etnies rider (the name has been withheld due to charges of public drunkenness ;P ) and skate down a street course filled with kickers, rails, benches, stair sets, and even grindable trucks. Although there is only one course and not much variety, the game is well thought out (unlike many other online games these days). The only big downer is the lack of tricks. You've got two flip tricks - the 360 flip and the classic kickflip - and two grind tricks - 50-50 and tailslide. But the game makes up with its easy style. Fans of Etnies' previous games (such as Downhill Jam) will love this, but maybe in the future, they could add a couple more moves.

Pros:
Insane graphics
Great physics engine
Easy gameplay

Cons:
Not enough variety all-around

Rating: 8.5 out of 10



Our next game outta the bag is Sunset Driving. This ones for driving fans. Go figure. Stunning graphics and easy controls make this game a top pick, and a subtle variety makes it even better. Drive two laps around a track with every turn or obstacle imaginable. Change the color of your whip (which looks oddly like a Lamborghini) and even your camera view, a rarely seen feature online. And the controls follow the classic 'Left, Right, Accelerate, Brake' model. But it lacks a point unless you are a member of some website. There's not much to say about this game, all you can really do is go try it out. at AddictingGames.com.

Pros:
Even more insane graphics
Nice, rare features
Diverse track
Simple controls

Cons:
Lacks a point
High scores & secret track only available to members of some site

Rating: 9 out of 10



The final game is City Jumper. You may have heard of this or even played it if you are often found at AddictingGames.com, but it is a hidden gem. It's easy to play, but hard to beat. All you have to do is jump and time your jumps perfectly. There are small jumps and big jumps, and every level you beat gives you one life. Speaking of levels - there are about a billion of them. I don't think anyone has ever completed them all - not even the developer(s). See for yourself - check the scoreboards that are always close by. But this game will have you blowing your top in a minute - beware. And the simplistic graphics and sound deliver a 'homemade' feeling without making it a complete disaster.

Pros:
Really fun
Easy to play
Quite a challenge
Simple sound and graphics

Cons:
Too hard?

Rating: 9 out of 10.


Now get your ass over to AddictingGames.com and check some of these out.