Sunday, December 16, 2007 while watching the end of Season 2 of Heroes on the Xbox 360 (streaming from my PC with the new DivX support) the video started skipping randomly. A four second freeze, then twenty second freeze, finally amounted to a perpetual video freeze that prompted me to reboot my Xbox 360. Well, there in-lies the problem. Instead of being presented with the lovely chime and brief animation of the usual Xbox 360 boot process, there was silence accompanied by the soft glow of a blank plasma screen. Perhaps I had knocked some cable loose or my network was on the fritz. Reboot number 2… Nothing! Wait… What’s that? The “Ring of Light” was taunting me with a display of 3 Red Lights. Reboot number 3… Of course, I was doomed (moreover my Xbox was doomed). Read the rest of this entry »

Playing Frets on Fire with the official Red Octane SG or Gibson Guitar Controller shouldn’t be difficult to setup, but it’s a little more complicated than Plug-N-Play. Frets on Fire doesn’t seem to retain joystick settings when mapping the buttons from a Guitar Controller into the game. It may work for a little while, but I’m sure many have noticed that the controller setup is bound to fail. Mainly the Strum Bar fails to function during the game (which really sucks when you’re in the middle of a song, hell, or just trying to navigate the menus). This guide will show you how to properly setup your Guitar Hero controller to work flawlessly with Frets on Fire everytime!
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The PC Meets Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero 2 is the innovative and highly addictive follow-up to the guitar playing simulation Guitar Hero for the PS2. Needless to say for those who play it, the gameplay is second to none. It will soon be available on all three Next-Gen consoles, but if you don’t own any machine (PS2 or Next-Gen) and would like a taste of Guitar Hero 2….fear not.

Freetar Hero is an Open Source Port of Guitar Hero 2 and the gameplay is fairly good for this barely beta port. Although it isn’t a complete port (it’s just starting for crying out loud) the basic gameplay is strong. Better yet, Freetar Hero allows you to use ANY song your want PLUS you may download the Freetar Editor which enables you to create your own gameplay using your favorite songs.
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This is the 3rd and FINAL part of this mod. Part III will show you how to wire up the switch panel and put everything from Part I and Part II together. Then everything is “crammed” inside the 8″x6″x3″ Project Enclosure. Soon you’ll be able to play some of the greatest games ever, just as you remember them!

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Part II of the NES Controller to Xbox Mod will cover how to prepare the Mad Catz Official Gamepad Pro 400 Series - Pro Series Xbox Controller as the control unit of this mod. All of the button presses made on the NES controller will be routed through the Xbox controller’s PCB and into the Xbox for a responsive and simple hookup.

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Since wiring an NES Controller for use on an Xbox is a fairly complex mod, I’ve decided to break this article into 3 parts to simplify the process and give you time to shop for the tools/parts you’ll need. Part I of How To: NES Controller to Xbox Mod will show you how to prepare the NES Controller for use on the Xbox. This article includes complete descriptions, an easy to follow wiring diagram, and a break down of all the tools you will need (for the entire mod).

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Xbox 360 owners who do not have Xbox Live still need to update their hardware in order to stay current with system changes and backward capatibility updates. This can now be done using only a basic internet connection and a CD or DVD burner. The original Xbox had to be connected to Xbox Live for updates (unless it was modded), but with the Xbox 360 Microsoft now releases updates online to be downloaded and burned onto a CD or DVD for use on the 360. Better yet, they offer complete instructions! [Link ]

The Xbox 360 may be an amazing console, but every now and then it will freeze or suffer from a severe framerate drop. I noticed this while playing The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Sounds didn’t match up during battles, the screen would freeze completely, and opening doors would take up to two minutes. This is caused when the cache files on the Xbox 360 hard drive become fragmented and need cleared. Don’t call Microsoft and wait an hour or more for a fix. Just read this VERY simple solution.

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Those of you who are familiar with XBConnect (a free online gaming service similar to that of Xbox Live) should already have an idea of how to setup a game as host, but if you don’t, Shaby has compiled a great tutorial showing just that. You will learn how to utilize a D-Link router as a host on XBConnect complete with screenshots. If you own another brand of router this article may possibly help you work through its settings as well.

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Anyone who has played Animal Crossing knows how insanely addictive it is, as well as how much of a pain it is to wait for certain items to become available (Most notably, the hidden NES games). Well wait no longer.

A programmer who goes by the name MooglyGuy produced an open source program called Animal Crossing Trade Code Generator, which generates item codes that can be used at the town store to obtain things for FREE! Almost every item can now be “unlocked” simply by entering your Character Name, Town Name, and the Item Code of what you want to obtain (a complete item code list is provided on his website) into the Trade Code Generator. So, whether it’s a Tiger Bobblehead, T-Rex Skull, Bottled Ship, or Donkey Kong 3, it can all be yours in mere minutes. Dust off your copy of Animal Crossing and read on…

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