1. Do not connect the receiver yet.
2. Download the driver for your operating system from the Microsoft download site (direct link to Windows 7 64-bit version).
3. Install the drivers.
4. Connect the receiver.
5. Windows will try to install the drivers for the connected device and fail miserably. But there’s no need to panic!
6. Open the start menu, right click on “Computer” and click “Properties”.
7. Select “Device Manager” from the menu on the left.
8. You should see an “Unknown device” under “Other devices” in the device tree.
9. Right click the “Unknown device” and click “Update Driver Software…”.
10. Select “Browse my computer for driver software”.
11. Select “Let me pick from a list of devices drivers on my computer”.
12. From the list, select “Microsoft Common Controller for Windows Class” and click “Next”.
13. From the list, select “Xbox 360 Controller For Windows Version: 2.1.0.1349 [13.08.2009]” and click “Next”.
14. Click “Yes” when the “Update Driver Warning” dialogue box is displayed.
15. The drivers should be installed successfully. Click “Close”.
16. Turn on your wireless controller by pressing the Xbox button for a couple of seconds.
17. To sync the controller and the receiver, first hold the little white button the the front of the controller. The green lights on the controller should start to rotate clockwise.
18. While the lights on the controller rotate, click the button on the receiver connected to your computer.
19. The controller and the device will sync and the upper left green light on your controller will eventually be the only green light turned on. You can now enjoy console gaming on your Windows 7 computer.

So what have I been up to? Nothing exciting, really. Beside a few social happenings, I’ve been playing Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City, Yes, I’m not that many days away from turning 32 and I can still play a video game for an entire evening without getting bored. Rumors have it I should enjoy it while I can, though, because some day that Xbox will suddenly turn into an expensive dust collector. I’m now fighting my way through The Ballad of Gay Tony, and I’m starting to see the first few actual signs that I’m turning old and grumpy – I find some parts of the game a little too violent!

Who would’ve thunk it? Margot might have been a psychotic stalker, but I still think there should have been an option to save her. Maybe RockStar did something ingenious and made me somewhat emotionally attached to the characters.

Am I starting to become emotional now as well!? Where will this end?

I’d forgotten all about how much noise the Xbox 360 makes. Compared to my PS3, it’s like sitting next to a jet engine. Fighting fire with fire, I turned up the volume of my amplifier, effectively drowning the Xbox noise in the sounds of screeching tyres, gun shots and police sirens. That worked out nicely for about twenty minutes, when this happened:

Come on! This is the second Xbox 360 that has died on me. The first one simply went black without warning and this one fell victim to the infamous Red Ring of Death^TM. I should mention that the Xbox did start up again after I turned it off, but my guess is that it’s probably a matter of time before this happens again. Of course, the warranty period expired a long time ago. I really haven’t had too much luck with hardware lately. The good news in all of this is that the Episodes from Liberty City disc will be available for the PS3 soon.

The picture above is taken with my HTC Hero, by the way. It proves well my earlier statement that the camera simply sucks ass.

This is what you’ll get:

• Xbox 360 console with 20GB harddrive, wireless controller, headset with microphone and all the cables you need to hook the console up to your TV and stereo.
• Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel with force feedback. Supports both the Xbox and the PC platform.
• Xbox 360 Memory Unit (64 MB)
• Xbox 360 Quick Charge Kit with one rechargeable battery that’ll fit in both the racing wheel and the wireless controller.

You’ll also get these 14 high quality games:

• Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock (with guitar – this game is bought at Platekompaniet and still sealed, so you can go to the store and exchange it for something else if you want to).
• Battlefield 2 Modern Combat
• Need for Speed ProStreet
• Need for Speed Carbon
• Kane & Lynch Dead Men
• NASCAR 08
• Test Drive Unlimited
• Project Gotham Racing 3
• Project Gotham Racing 4
• Command & Conquer Tiberium Wars
• Saints Row
• Forza 2 Motorsport
• Colin McRae Dirt
• The Orange Box

All this is yours for a mere 6995 NOK! That’s over 500 NOK off the price I’m advertising elsewhere on the interweb. Why? Special price for you, my friend.

Because of the size of the bundle it’s preferable that you can come pick up everything in the Oslo area, but I can of course ship worldwide at the buyer’s expense.

Grab it now before it’s too late!

The game as only gotten mediocre to crappy reviews in the gaming press, but I’d still want to play a game that looks like it’s a console game version of the bank robbery scene from Heat. Still, I’m not sure I’ll want to use my money on a game the gaming press and gamers agree is not living up to its full potential. What I need is a place where I can rent the game to really test it so I can decide wether it’s worth the buy or not.

Actually, what I really need is to start writing for a gaming site or magazine so I can play the games a week or two before they are available on the streets. Sweet dreams. Or a friend with an unhealthy obsession with console games who buys all the new titles that are released regardless of the reviews.

Anyway, when browsing through the shelves at the store, I failed to find Kane & Lynch anywhere. When I asked, they didn’t even have the game. What’s that all about? Today I realized they don’t have it because the game is not released in Norway until Thursday. Bummer.

When we’re on the subject of games; Liv Marie stopped by today to thank me for helping her buy an iPhone. To me the fact that she paid for it and actually let me have another go on not bricking an iPhone are more than enough, but she gave me Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock as well.

I’ll say!

If you know me, expect to be invited to a Guitar Hero party in the not so distant future.

Even if that is indeed the case, fear not fellow gamers! Here are a few titles that will be released for the Xbox 360 in October and November. Surely the wait for GTA IV will be entertaining.

Project Gotham Racing 4

Yes PGR4 has already been released in the US, but for some weird reason it’s not available in Europe until next Friday. Out of the four games in the PGR series, I’ve only tried PGR3 but found it very amusing. It’s a racing game that does not take itself too seriously, but at the same time doesn’t back off when it comes to gameplay, graphics and audio. New additions from PGR3 are motorcycles, strong focus on weather effects and some very polished graphics according to the reviews I’ve seen. European release date for Project Gotham Racing 4 is October 12. Or you can buy it at Platekompaniet in Norway right now.

The Orange Box

The Orange Box is without doubt, _the_ release of the year. Not only do you get the long anticipated Half-Life 2: Episode 2, you get the original Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Portal (a game you probably shouldn’t play when drunk or high) and the possibly even more anticipated Team Fortress 2. All that in one box! The Orange Box is released in the US on October 10 and in Europe on October 18.

Need for Speed ProStreet

Some might argue that the Need for Speed series would be better off dead and buried. I agree to some extent, every Need for Speed game is more or less the same game. Try to find 3 differences between Need for Speed Underground 2 and Need for Speed Carbon and I’m pretty sure you’ll have a hard time finding them. The next game in the Need for Speed series is Need for Speed ProStreet, which is released with the tag line “Design and tweak your car to perfection, then lay it all on the line in high-speed events around the globe.” That sounds pretty damn familiar, doesn’t it? Even so, there are times when you just want to play a game where you can floor it to pumping electronica until the power goes out and ProStreet looks like that kind of game. US release date is November 13, while we have to wait until November 23 here in Europe.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Call of Duty is also a game series that have been around for quite some time. The next game in the series will be Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. And let’s face it, modern warfare is a hell of a lot more fun that dicking around in World War II trenches. I’m not that updated on the game since I’ve only seen one video, but that was more than enough to make me want more. It’s hard to believe that it’s possible to come up with fairly innovative ideas for first person shooters these days, but Infinity Ward has managed to put some rather nifty stuff into their game. Each character type has three perks. For instance, one of the bad guys has a “last stand” perk, which enables him to fire a few extra rounds at an enemy even if he should be dead, possibly taking his enemy with him to the other side. Interesting. If you live in the US you can start play Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on November 5, but Europeans have to wait until November 9.

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men Men

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men will be a crazy game. If you thought you’d seen the most brutal computer generated violence in public places you’d ever see in GTA or Saints Row, you were wrong. Both those games will look like a Disney production compared to Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. That the game are developed by the Danish creators of the Hitman series should say it all. If you liked the movie Heat, you will love Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. The game is released in the US on November 20 and in Europe November 23.

Army of Two

When it comes to video games I’m a sore loser, so it’s not very often I play deathmatch games, I prefer co-operative mode. Army of Two does, as the name indicate, focus on co-operative game play. I certainly hope it will possible to play the game without having to get a buddy to join you all the time, but if that’s the case you can always play a little bit of Kane & Lynch while you’re waiting.

They had solved the hardware issue the easy way; by sending me a spanking new console. Good. They had, however, failed to return the game that was bundled with my first Xbox 360 and that had I returned as per their instructions. Bad. Also, all my save games are on the hard drive attached to the malfunctioning console. Bad. And, just to top it off, one of the fans in the new box is making the familiar sounds of a fan that has only a few days left to live. Bad.

One “good” versus three “bad” is not good. It’s bad.

The failure rate could have been 99% for all I cared, as long as my own console was safe. I know a few people with a 360 and none of them have had any problems similar to The Red Lights of Death. Sure, the console hangs from time to time due to bugs in the game code and overheating, but it’s never anything serious.

Yesterday Hans Olav came over, we played a little Dirt, talked a little about the failure rate and what do you know; the console hangs in the middle of a race.

It’s hot as hell, so we turn it off for a few minutes, let it cool down and turn it back on. This time the console hangs even before we reach the Dirt menu. No red lights, but the 360 is now no more than a piece of plastic taking up space in my living room.

This morning the behavior was the same, no matter what game I tried, what controllers were connected or how cool or hot the console was – it locked up without warning. It even started to hang when the 360 logo shows up just after its turned on. Solution: Put the console in a box and send it by mail to the online store where it was bought. Even though merchandise are usually a bit cheaper online compared to real stores, it’s quite a lot of hassle when things break down.

The console is probably sent from the online store to some Microsoft certified repair shop where it will be stuck for at least two months. No Xbox 360 for me in a while.

• The ting still tends to wake from sleep in the middle of the night, but I have yet to find a pattern. As with the Windows Media Center 2005 edition it’s probably the EPG being updated and I need to get into the registry to modify the time of day this should happen.
• Sometimes, when waking from sleep, the sound card stops responding. This is probably something that can be fixed with new drivers.
• If you hook the Media Center to an extender, like the Xbox 360, know this (if you plan to stay sane): DON’T enable the Away Mode! This will replace your Media Center’s sleep mode, but you’re not informed about this when you’re asked if you want to enable Away Mode. After connecting the Media Center to an Xbox, it simply refused to go to sleep. It turned off the video output and muted the sound card, but didn’t put the PC to sleep. It took me two hours of swearing to figure out why the hell nothing happened and at one point I was about to put the Media Center to sleep for good, If you have turned on Away Mode, you can disable it in the Power Options in the control panel; go to advanced options and change the settings for multimedia sharing.

Apart from that, little has happened lately.

As you know I’m a big fan of the Great Grand Theft Auto computer game series. Since it’s still a while until GTA IV is released – if all goes according to plan, it will be available on the on October 16 this year – I laid my eyes on what can only be described as a desirable GTA clone: Saints Row.

I tried the demo and it felt a lot like GTA, me like, so I decided to get the game while waiting for GTA IV. For some reason it was a bit hard to find it in the stores downtown. When I finally found a copy my crave for the game disappeared as soon as I saw the price tag. It was 699 Norwegian kroner (NOK)! To put things into perspective; NOK 699 is USD 110 at the current exchange rate!

So I decided to check out the online stores to see if it was possible to get the game a little cheaper there. No luck. The best price I found was NOK 549 (USD 86), which is still a tad ridiculous, and with P&P it would get close to the store price anyway. Amazon.com sells the game for USD 53.99 (NOK 342), and that’s an acceptable place.

Can someone please explain to me what the fuck is going on that makes it possible for Norwegian stores to sell computer games for twice the price of Amazon.com? In my quest for a cheap copy of Saints Row I stumbled across an auction site and that affair ended up costing me USD 150 and beyond. But that’s another story.