Thurston Blogging

The Red Ring of Death

XBOX 360 - R.I.P.  My second XBOX 360 has now died.  Last weekend, I decided to play Grand Theft Auto IV while Sharon was shopping and Aud was sleeping.  Instead, I was greeted with a red ring on the front panel of the 360.

My first XBOX died, and was out of warranty.  Luckily, I bought that with my American Express card, which offers an extended warranty on electronics.  So, they replaced it.  Now, this XBOX is also out of warranty, but Microsoft covers this particular, and widely know defect, for an additional three years.

So, I wait for the box to ship my defunct gaming console back to Microsoft.  In the meantime, we have the Nintendo Wii to occupy my time.

Is it time for Halo 3 yet?

I am getting super-excited about receiving Halo 3 in the mail.  Any day now (on or after the 25th), a delivery dude will be delivering the most anticipated game of the year to the Thurston house.

Bring on the Flood.

Let's Play Tetris

I've killed a few hours playing this game in my day.  If you are ever bored, Uncle Tetris is here for you.  However, you've been forewarned that Uncle Tetris smells like Russian Vodka.

Space Invaders

Due to the incredibly wild success of Pac-Man, I have added another retro-classic video game.  Wanna play Space Invaders?  Be my guest!

It's time for Pac-Man

I wanted to play Pac-Man this morning.  Within 3 minutes, I was able to play Pac-Man from my Blog.  Find someone smarter than me. 

Coach Jayballs, or how I love XBOX 360

Do you XBOX?  I do.  I cannot get enough of Call of Duty 3.  The gameplay is exciting, the graphics are top-notch, but what makes it so great is gaming with my friends.  We can setup a quick game, and team up to defeat the Germans, or play "Battle" where its a free-for-all bloodbath.

With the ability to take out opponents with a tank, a sniper rifle, a bazooka, an air strike or a straight punch to the face - the options are limitless on how to take down the enemy.

Aside from COD3, Madden 2007, and Gears of War are also wonderful first-person and multi-player games as well.  However, once Halo 3 comes out later this year, these games will undoubtedly collect dust.

If you want to view my XBOX 360 progress, here is my XBOX Live Gamertag:

Call of Duty 2 Call Outs

To HD28, HAMZ, Prof. Hognutz & Saylor23 -

I'll be back in a week, so prepare for your certain and utter death by shotgun.  I've had a week to develop all-new shotgun and sniper rifle strategy.  It's not too late for you to sell your XBOX 360's and  buy a sewing machine or a Snoopy Snow Cone Machine.

Coach Jayballs will be back to train you in Shotgun Death 201, so bring your pencils, ladies.

Click here to see COD2 meets Brokeback Mountain.

Best Video Game Character

Who is the best video game character of all time, you ask?  That's a very difficult question to answer.  If you ask my nephew, he would say Mario.  Hard to argue with an Italian who could have had a prosperous career in the adult-entertainment industry, but instead decided to fight a big monkey with his cool brother Luigi.

Some would say that Tommy Vercetti from the GTA series is the best around.  What about Master Chief from the Halo franchise?  Who doesn't dig the dude from Metroid- he kicks Ridley like no one's business.

My favorite is a lesser-known character from the Tekken series.  Let me give you a hint - "No Swede!"  You know him as the Japanese Sumo Mack-Daddy, Ganryu.  His hobbies are gambling and smashing Gun Jack's balls into the dirt.  His moves include the Sumo Scoop, the Sumo Squash, the Jamming Palm and the Stomp.  You can't fight that Stomp.  Heihachi and Yoshimitsu don't stand a chance against the big man in the purple diaper.

All hail Ganryu.