Cyberclogs

Well I got my Xbox 360 a few days ago and well to say I've playing it seems to be a bit of an understatement. The first thing I noticed about the console is how neat it actually looks in comparison to its predecessor, which was to say about the original it was far from neat. Plugging it and putting on my packaged copy of Call of Duty 3 revealed even more joys as all this palava about HD gaming turns out to be true, the graphics for the game were stupendous (since I've got an HD ready LCD TV). Also since I've purchased Splinter Cell Double Agent (which I've already played on the PC and it looks much better than the PC version) and the excellent Gears of War, which is a bit of a slow starter but has you gripped as soon as the addiction fever takes hold.

But the appeal of the 360 doesn't just stop at its own games, you can also access the Xbox Live marketplace and download new demos too, or visit the Xbox Live Arcade and download old classic arcade games such as Pacman, Dig Dug, Defender, Doom, etc etc. The Xbox Live of course offers an effective way to link up and chat while multiplayer gaming, I haven't used it yet myself but probably will give it a go sometime.

Also in competing with the HD DVD and Blu-Ray market, Microsoft have released their very own HD DVD Xbox 360 player, at a fraction of a cost of what you would pay for an actual HD DVD player, for only £130. Although I've heard there are some connectivity issues with the player (you need a USB cable to connect the console and the player) and the occassional dialogue synch issue too (an issue with early DVD releases too I believe) it is the cheapest way to get HD DVD (if you already own a 360).

So in my opinion if you don't want to spend hundreds of pounds on upgrading your PC I'd definitely suggest getting an Xbox 360 (mind you hundreds of pounds is spent either way).

Well I've just watched the Doctor Who Christmas Special, Runaway Bride, which I must say I thoroughly enjoyed. Catherine Tate though I admit was somewhat annoying for half of the episode until she finally stopped yelling at and slapping the Doctor, but she does eventually calm down and gives flashes of charm in between the loud cockney bits. David Tennant is still good as ever as the Doctor, in fact it really was his show and no one stole it from him, it also nicely covered (although in a shallow way) his feelings of loss over Rose.

The special effects were again pretty impressive and the TARDIS chasing after Donna's cab was one of the highlights of the episode. Sarah Parrish (who I must admit to never having heard of before this) was also really good as the Racnoss Queen.

The teaser trailer for Season 3 also looked very promising not to mention the footage of the rather tasty looking Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones, the Doctor's new companion (whom she apparently has a crush on when she first meets him).

Anyway it was certainly one of the main televisual highlights of the Christmas season so far and sure beats repeats of old Christmas films and the latest dreary installment of Eastenders. So Happy Crimble everyone.

Well I finished up today for Christmas (yeeehhaaa!) for a couple of weeks so I'm happy to say I'll be off until January 8th (coincidentally also the date of David Bowie, Elvis and William Hartnell's birthdays). So over the festive period I've taken it upon myself to order an Xbox 360 console bundled in with Call of Duty 3 for good measure, which I look forward to playing of course (had a bit of a kerfuffle with the ordering as play.com took too long to dispatch it so I plumped for game.co.uk). The Xbox 360 has been on my list for a little while and with growing hubbub surrounding it, I couldn't resist anymore. I also use the PC for gaming (and the PS2 of course) but I think in terms of stability perhaps it would be a better idea to go over the Xbox 360 as the games that come out for both ports will be just as good on the 360 if not better (most of the games for the PC are available on the Xbox 360 after all) but we'll see.

And on a final note have a happy Christmas everyone. I'll be back on Crimble day probably giving my blog thoughts on the latest Doctor Who installment, the Runaway Bride. So Happy Holidays!

Ah well, I took it upon myself today to give the nasty final exam for CCNA semester 2 another go (Cisco for the uninitiated) after failing it last week and I'm glad to say after some fairly hard revision at the weekend I managed to pass with reasonably flying colours, with 81% (the pass rate being 70%). So I'm delighted to say I have no more study for the year, yowzer!!!! Roll on Christmas, just another 3 days of work then I'm off till January 8th.

Well on Sunday night I saw the film Tenacious D: Pick of Destiny, which was not too bad but nothing too great, and on Monday night I saw the D in concert, and they were really rather good. Even though I was sitting back in the seated rows (row H) it was still a good experience, but it was just a shame I could't have been a bit nearer the band at the front as all I saw was a kind of blurry vision of Jack Black and Kyle Gass. They started off with just the two of them guitar dueling and then went into a full band accompliment after a while (with a funny neat segue) and they proceeded to rock our socks off (to coin them). Only slight letdown is they couldnt get a hold of Dave Grohl to reprise his role as the devil (just some guy called Lee) for the finale. Other than that it was fun.

Just a shame tonight I sat my Cisco CCNA Semester 2 exam and failed it by the narrowest of narrow margins, 0.1% percent! Aghhhhhhhh!!! How sickening is that? Anyway at least I'll get the chance to sit it again next week (I shall pass it, oh yes I shall, hopefully gulp!).