Technofranki's blog

Every week until November 19, when you can update your Xbox 360 Dashboard to the New Xbox  Experience, Gamerscore Blog is telling you something about the update. This week they talk more about avatars.

So here’s a qoute from GamescoreBlog.com:

So, you’ve made your avatar and now you’re wondering what to do with it.  When the New Xbox Experience launches on Nov. 19, four existing Xbox LIVE Arcade games will be updated to include Avatar functionality to make your gaming even more personal.  Join your friends and play UNO!, Bomberman Live, Hardwood Hearts and Hardwood Spades and watch your Avatar come to life with custom animations throughout game menus and lobbies.

Here is also a videointerview with Larry Hryb, aka Major Nelson, and Stacy Law (avatar program manager) and Scott Brody (avatar program manager).

Last week I entered my application for the preview program to get an early access to the New Xbox Experience. Well, I got accepted! The update will be available on or before November 1st.

Larry Hryb posted on MajorNelson.com that all the e-mails to the lucky gamers was sendt out. He have, at time of writing, over 1000 comments. I don’t think I’ve seen that many on any other Major Nelson post. Most of the ones I’ve read, have complained about that they’ve not been accepted in the preview program.

So, here is the quote from the mail I received:

Congratulations on your acceptance into the Xbox 360 Fall Flash Preview Program. As a member of this program you will be receiving the New Xbox Experience (NXE) System Update.

The update will be made available to you on or before November 1^st. In order to receive the update, log in to Xbox LIVE with the Preview Program registered console.

In participation with this program, you should not move your storage device (hard drive, or memory unit if you do not have a hard drive) to any other console as it will also update that console. If an unregistered console is updated with the NXE update, that console will not be able to connect to Xbox LIVE until the NXE has been officially released on November 19th.

Please remember that your participation in the Public Preview Program is subject to the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use.

We thank you for your participation and hope that you enjoy the New Xbox Experience.

See you online,

The Xbox 360 team

The demo of Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts for Xbox 360 is now available for download from Xbox Live Markedplace.

I’ve played the demo a bit, and I think I like what I see. Need some more playtime, but it looks nice. I never played Banjo Kazooie on Nintendo 64, so it’s a new experience.

I’ve made a YouTube video of how you can, but not how you should, make a vehicle. It worked, but it was easier to drive in reverse. So something is wrong with my construction. There is also a video of the gameworld in the demo. And last, but not least, I extracted some screenshoots from my captured video. Enjoy!

Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts for Xbox 360 is available in November (date may differ from where in the world you live), and the game can be ordered from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Play-Asia.com.

A demo of Tomb Raider Underworld is now available for download on Xbox 360. I made a YouTube video with around 7 minute of gameplay. I think the graphics are good, the gameplay too. So this will be a definitive buy when it comes out in November.

Tomb Raider Underworld can be pre-ordered from both Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Play-Asia.com. The game will be available on Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PC, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS.

The screenshots bellow is from taken from the video I recorded of my gameplay.

Here is a new video interview with Shigeru Miyamoto where he talks about Wii Music. Video is from CNET.com, found on GoNintendo.com.

This weeks Xbox Live Arcade game is Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? at 1200 points and will hit Live on Wednesday October 29, 2008. There will also be free download content for Marble Blast Ultra. (Source: MajorNelson.com)

[UPDATE] Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode Two will also be up on XBLA this week.

Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?

Join Mr. Foxworthy’s class and play the Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?™ trivia game where every question is based on the grade school curriculum and the answers are elementary. Step up to the podium and put your smarts on the line with over 6,000 grade school questions in 21 subjects. Outwit, outplay and just plain cheat your way to the one million dollar grand prize. Collect extra credit to unlock achievements. Prove once and for all that you are indeed smarter than a 5th grader.

• Tons of questions: Step up to the podium and put your smarts on the line with over 6,000 grade school questions.
• Choose wisely: Do you want a smarty pants or smart Alec? Choose your partner from five brainy fifth graders and test your skills across 21 subjects.
• Gold stars: What would school be without gold stars? Earn gold stars as you work your way to the million dollar question.
• Multiplayer: Compete with your friends in single couch and online multiplayer.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode Two

The madcap Penny Arcade experience continues in Episode Two of the RPG-adventure game series Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness! Jump right in with a fresh character and new customization options or carry over your look and stats from Episode One. Plus, there are more puzzles, areas to explore, levels to gain, and new difficulty settings to make the journey more insane than ever before. Rejoin Gabe and Tycho to go crazy with a whole new episode, moving ever closer to solve the mystery in the heart of New Arcadia. Your hoe awaits!

• The madcap Penny Arcade experience continues: Meet all-new characters and see newly revealed strip favorites from Mike Krahulik, while reading laugh-out-loud dialogue from Jerry Holkins.
• Get value for your gaming dollar: Play the entire episode in 6-10 hours for 1200 Microsoft Points, getting tremendous value that fits into your busy schedule.
• Save what matters most: Carry over your character’s stats and look from prior episodes.
• Go crazy with a whole new level of customization: Check out even more options for you to design and develop your own character, seeing it come to life in 3-D and in the comic-style 2-D cutscenes.
• Play it safe or go insane!: New difficulty settings put you in charge of the action.
• Experience a deeper RPG-adventure: Get into the game with more puzzles, areas to explore, and levels to gain.
• Pick up and play from any episode: Enjoy each self-contained story without having to play previous installments.

When I saw Saw the first time, I was amazed. It was a genius film. When the second Saw movie came out, I had a opened mind, since I didn’t think it could out do the first one. It didn’t, but it suprised med positivly. It was a good movie. The third and fourth movie I saw because I did see the two first. Well, now number five is out and I guess I will see that to, just to have seen them all.

Here’s IGN.com’s videoreview of Saw V.