Matt Gerlach : Windows Vista

I have lost Vista's Aero theme.

gerlach — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 19:06:00 GMT

My computer is a gateway laptop, purchased in May 2005. I have been part of the Longhorn/Vista beta since late July 2005 (when B1 released). My video card has displayed Aero, on EVERY build. ATI has it listed as being compatible with Vista since day one.

BUT, I have just installed Vista RC2, and It does not display. Heck, it doesnt even give me the option! I have updated to ATI's RC1 drivers (as those were more recent than the ones installed during Vista's installation.

Where I choose the theme, it doesn't even give me the option. Any clues on what to do?

PS: I love the snipping tool.

Xbox360's Holiday 06 Unwrapped

gerlach — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 01:58:00 GMT

Microsoft held an event here in NYC the past 2 days (August 2nd and 3rd). It was a showcase for the games that will be selling before or during the holiday season.

I took the railroad into the City and headed over to the place where the event was held. It was held in a studio in Manhatten. I got up there and met my MVP and Xbox's Online PR Community Manager, Tony Hynes (aka Bastelyon). He gave Godfree, DirtyDiva, S4Lee and I the rundown of the event. They were going to showcase some Games for Windows, and Xbox360 games. For the Xbox360 games (Sorry if I missed one), they had:

Test Drive Unlimited (There should be a 2nd demo)
Tony Hawk's Project 8
World Series Poker: Tournament of Champions
Crackdown
Dead Rising
Saint's Row
Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Madden NFL 2007
NBA 2k7
Smackdown vs Raw
Gears of War

Test Drive Unlimited

I am pretty excited about this game. I love racers, and what they are offering is pretty amazing. I was told that the game (with in game and post release download content) will feature 45 different manufactuers totalling 150 cars and bikes. With that you have the seamless play from Single player to Multiplayer. Ooo, take a left there and go to MP rounds, or take a right and continue with single player. It is definetly an awesome system they have with "M.O.O.R" (Massive Open Online Racer). I was talking to the game representative there, and talked about how sweet MOOR is. He then instructed me to drive through these different paths just to see how stunning the environment is. Yes, it is stunning.

Tony Hawk's Project 8

We all know the Tony Hawk series, and we are now on the 8th iteration of the game (I didnt even realise). What initially caught my eye was just how good this game looked. So, I sat down and decided to see whats up. After the rep gave me a run through with the game, showcasing the cool new features, I gave it a little try. Simply, it plays just as well as any Tony hawk game has ever played. A is your Olly, B is your grab tricks, X are your flip tricks and Y is for your grinds. A new feature (if I remember correct), was called "Hit the Trick". As you Olly, you click one or both of the tricks (sorry cant remember), and it goes into a zoomed mode of your board, where you control your right and left left with the joysticks, respectivly. It is a little difficult at first, but when you get it, it is definetly something cool. You can also go into "focus" mode, at any time in the game, when you click the right joystick. It slows the game down for you to nail everything.

Now for terms of story. There was always "do this trick" and "do that trick". But, now they all have levels. Lets give an example. You have to grind this rail to complete the objective. BUT, there are now 3 levels, Amateur (ama), Professional (pro) and sick. To achieve th ama status you have to grind 25 feet, the pro you have to grind 50 and the sick level, you have to grind 100 feet. It is definetly a cool system, and he said that for "sick", they wanted to make it hard so it lived up to its name. This new system is definetly cool and a great addition to one of the top 5 best selling franchises of all time.

World Series Poker: Tournament of Champions (Xbox360

I am not going to lie, I am not an avid poker player. I play with buddies, and in a friendly tournament every once in a while, but I am in no way close to my brother. He plays multiple times a week with his friends and if he isnt playing with them, he is on FullTilt Poker. But, to play poker online (for fun), this game is going to be good. It uses the Xbox360's Live Vision camera to mask your face onto your character. Seeing the examples they did in front of us, with the right lighting, it looks pretty freakin close. Couple that with the fact that the camera shows you decided what to do with your cards on your turn, makes it very very fun.

Crackdown

This is a fun third person shooter. I spent about 5-10 minutes with the game (finished off the level), to get a feel for it. They are encorporating the cell-shading type graphics. I was talking with the Project Manager for the game, and I was discussing how this was just a fun shooter. It was a very run and gun shooter. If you are looking for a pretty fun game, make sure to check out crackdown.

Dead Rising

Fun. Its a simple as that. It is fun and funny. The concept is that you are in a mall and have 72 hrs to complete the objectives, which relates to about 12 hrs in real time. But, this game is a game, like GTA, where you can play just to kill the zombies. You can pick up many objects that can become your weapons, like bowling balls, sickles, dumbells, and much much more. The games finish is depended on what you can complete. You can pick up the demo now on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Saint's Row

I did not play this game at the event because I have been playing the demo that has been available on the Xbox Live Marketplace since earlier this week. The game is similar to Grand Theft Auto, but has its own signiture feel. I haven't played it enough to make a decision on it though, but make sure you download the demo to get your own impression.

Splinter Cell Double Agent

You are still Sam Fisher...but a different Sam Fisher. You are now a rogue agent. The gameplay was very similar to the 3 previous Splinter Cell games, and that is good. The gameplay has been really great across the whole series. The one big different with this game is that there is barely a HUD. It is good, like Fight Night Round 3. It lets you see more of the environment, and just has that "cool" feel about it.

Madden NFL 2007

This is another version in the most popular sports franchise to ever hit the gaming world. It has distintive features for the 360 include the mini camp, where you can train your athletes. Check for it in stores soon.

NBA 2k7 and Smackdown Vs Raw

These are two games I did not get to sit down and play. NBA 2k7 (watching and listening to others) was another great iteration in the series. The graphics look a bit more realistic, and the gameplay is still good. The wresting game, looked very well, but not being a wrestling fan, it did not truly interest me. Again, basing it off what I have heard it is a pretty good game.

Gears of War

Finally, you read all that. Wow. What I saw/played was that. You can find my impressions inthis post.

Edit: Fixed some grammar.

Edit 2: Swapped "HUD" in for UI in the description of Splinter Cell Double Agent.

Xbox news for the Month of May.

gerlach — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 03:20:00 GMT

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Less than a month after E3, the buzz about Microsoft gaming continues to gain momentum. While others in the industry are clearly focused on launching computers, we are squarely focused on delivering next-generation games and entertainment. And with a growing list of games awards, coupled with our recent Xbox Live spring platform features update, the Microsoft gaming story is top of minds this summer and beyond.

Awards: Recognizing Gaming Excellence

Not only will Xbox 360 feature 160 games by the end of the year, those games– and their counterparts on Games for Windows – represent the finest gaming experiences available on any platform. Windows Vista and many of the showcase titles from first- and third-party publishers had an incredible showing, garnering a flood of awards and nominations.

For the full list of the awards and accolades received at E3, please check out. http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2006/06/09/535618.aspx.

Windows Vista Beta 2 Release and Spec Information

On May 23 at WinHEC, Microsoft took one step closer to final Windows Vista code with the release of Windows Vista Beta 2 for IT professionals and developers with MSDN and TechNet subscriptions. Windows Vista Beta 2 is a significant milestone for Microsoft and gamers, as the new operating system will offer innovative gaming features and an incredibly immersive entertainment experience for everyone from casual gamers to hardcore enthusiasts.

Microsoft also recently announced Windows Vista’s hardware specifications so that consumers can prepare for the launch of the celebrated operating system. "Vista-capable" machines must have at least an 800MHz processor, 512 MB of RAM and a graphics card that can run DirectX 9. "Premium Ready" machines will need a 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and a graphics card that supports the new Windows Display Driver Model in order to run Windows Vista’s high-end features such as Aero-glass.

Spring Platform Features Update Brings New Features and Fixes

Earlier this week, Microsoft deployed its Spring Platform Features Update, a massive overhaul of Xbox Live features and other Xbox tools. While a complete list of updates is online at xbox.com, a small sample of the most popular features includes:

New background download manager gives gamers the ability to queue up and download six high definition items at a time including playable game demos, Xbox Live Arcade games, music videos and movie trailers while actively playing games or browsing the dashboard. As an added benefit, if gamers engage in multiplayer gameplay while downloads are in process, the new background download manager will automatically pause the download queue until the multiplayer session is complete ensuring a continuously optimal gameplay experience.
Custom background music now continues to play without interruption during game loads and when transitioning from game to game or disc content.
During music play, the music playback screen now showcase the artist, song title and time remaining on the song along with a visualizer showing which song on the playlist or album is currently playing.
DVD movie bookmarking now allows gamers to pause a movie at any point, put in a game for gameplay and return to the movie at the exact point it left off.
Improved DVD movie playback for a smoother, higher quality viewing experience, including additional VGA support.

Xbox Live Marketplace Updates: From Cards to Pirate Ships

During E3, "UNO" (MGS) hit Xbox Live Marketplace, and has since become the single-most successfully-demoed game on the service. Its demo-to-purchase rate is between 40-45% (depending on the day), beating "Geometry Wars'" (MGS) previous record of 39%.

Two major game updates hit Marketplace in late May. Racing enthusiasts can now download a free "Project Gotham Racing 3" (MGS) expansion that adds several Cadillacs from the popular V-series to their racing stable, including the CTS-V, the XLR-V, and the STS-V. Meanwhile Bethesda added the Thieves Den content to their "Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" offerings, allowing stealth-based characters to take over and command a pirate ship and crew!

Hot Summer Games

Gamers know a good thing when they see it, and they are turning out in droves to get their hands on the latest high definition games on Xbox 360. The top five selling Xbox 360 games sold in the United States in May were:

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Take 2)
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)
Fight Night Round 3 (EA)
Battlefield 2: Modern Kombat (EA)
Major League Baseball 2K6 (Take 2)

The overall software attach rate for Xbox 360 is still a record-breaking 4.5 titles per console in the United States, and accessory attach rate remains at a record-breaking 2.9 units per console as well. As we head into the summer months, Xbox 360 gamers can’t wait to get their hands on upcoming favorites like "Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth 2" (Electronic Arts), "NCAA Football 2007” (Electronic Arts), the Xbox 360 exclusive "Chromehounds" (SEGA), the Xbox 360 exclusive "Dead Rising" (Capcom), "Madden NFL 2007" (Electronic Arts), and the Xbox 360 exclusive "Ninety Nine Nights" (MGS).

Additionally, the NPD Group released the findings of their PC Game Revenue survey which revealed that total U.S. consumer spending on Games for Windows Games reached $1.4 billion in 2005. Online subscriptions to specific Windows titles, such as "World of Warcraft" (Blizzard), and gaming web sites accounted for $344 million of the total. NPD's Anita Frazier stated, "The big message from this study is that as many have suspected, the decline of retail sales of PC Games does not fully reflect what is going on in that segment of the games industry. The total PC games market is approximately one-third larger than what pure retail sales have suggested."

As we head into summer and holiday, it is clear that the Microsoft gaming story has become the measuring stick for the gaming industry – and it's only getting better.

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Special Thanks to Tony Hynes. Happy (late) Birthday again Tony!