Rewards and Frustrations

We've secured more preview code now as well, this time in the form of Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga.

I see a pattern emerging, both games we've had code for have been from Lucas Arts via Activision and if you remember back to Leipzig we gave Activision and Lucas Arts loads of cover on BXB. Force Unleashed, Call of Duty 4 and Guitar Hero 3 got shining previews and video coverage. I was pleased to show what we could achieve on BXB given the time and the money to do so.

This has been duly rewarded with code, and while I'll admit to being a little slow with the Thrillville: Off The Rails review (due to personal problems), I'll be putting lots of effort into getting the Lego Star Wars review up on the day the review embargo is lifted.

Again and again the same problem keeps coming back. We simply don't have the time or the man power to make BXB the site it could be. The lack of consistency and comprehensiveness holds us back.

As you can see, our Editorial team is currently churning out reviews and we've even had to draw on voluntary freelancers to pick the slack up on that as well. News updates have been almost non-existant. It's frustrating.

On the plus side, I've just seen the results of Phase 1 of the development process on the new BXB and it's looking fantastic. It looks a lot more professional than the current front page and able to deliver larger amounts of content as well.

Thrillville: Off the Rails

Well, we finally got our first peice of preview code which I can now take advantage of being as I'm on the EMEA reviewer's kit list.

Lucas Arts very kindly sent over Thrillville: Off the Rails and I've been playing it all afternoon. I'm quite enjoying some aspects of the game, for example of the min-games are really fun and simple to play.

On the other hand, it's not like good old Theme Park where you have to literally place all the paths and the rides to create your own park. I miss that freedom. I'll be writing up a full review on BXB soon so keep your eyes on the front page.

It's good that I've finally got some preview code. While it's not exactly for a huge game and not massively before release, hence allowing us to get some great exclusive content up, it's a step in the right direction and that's what it's all about when you're running a fansite like BXB.

You have to wait a long time to take a small step forward, but it's worth it.

Independence...

Wow, I've not written on my blog for ages, probably because I've not felt like saying anything or having a good bitch. So, I'm going to have a good bitch as I feel confrontational today.

So, this blew me away. Microsoft allowing Bungie to return to being independent, allowing them the freedom to do what they want and in return Bungie have promised to keep making Halo games and support the 360 as their main platform. You scratch my back...

I'm independent. I have my own mind, my own ideas and I speak them and, man, has that landed me in some shit. At the same time it's also been really rewarding.

Here's an example of where me speaking my mind is good.

At the same time, me speaking my mind got BXB removed from the XCN and damaged our relationship with the company that produces the product we're dedicated to covering. Not exactly a smart move.

So, I have a lot of respect for Microsoft for giving Bungie back their independence but it's not been easy, now, has it? Bungie have shouldered the success of the Xbox and the Xbox 360 with the Halo trilogy and made literally millions of dollars for the company since the original console launched.

Independence comes at a price. The question I ask myself time and time again, is it worth it?