Cool YouTube Users: officialxboxmag

I bought my first Xbox 360 magazine when I was first interested in Guitar Hero: World Tour. I bought the magazine with the glossy cover and Guitar Hero on the front despite the fact that it wasn't "official". I was, indeed, susceptible to anything that looked good so at the time I bought games depending on their trailers or cover art or what a friend owned. Then, about a year and a half after my first purchase, a member of my family offered to buy my magazine for me. Not knowing which one I usually purchased, they bought the Official Xbox Magazine (OXM) as it was the most expensive of the solely Xbox 360 magazines. Having read the magazine and used its disc, I was certain that I could only buy this magazine in the future months to come... And I still do.

As with most businesses/brands, they have their own Facebook and Twitter pages along with a very extensive website which is run by some top people (as is most of the things they do :S). The most recent of their uses of popular "social" websites is their use of YouTube.

Despite not having a lot of time to do YouTube videos (they have to work for their actual jobs), there is a large variety of videos that make up their uploaded videos section.In the last month or two it has, admittedly, been a lot about Minecraft due to the immense popularity of it on XBLA. However, even one game can bring about a diverse selection of different videos from an introduction, to gameplay to OXM Land which is basically their world and they let 100 people onto it to build whatever they want... The results are quite staggering and impressive.

That's not to say that it's just Minecraft. Their most popular videos have come from Matt Lees (AKA OXMJamSponge or "the guy with the weird hair-do") and his ability to make any game sound quite exciting. An example of this is Dragon's Dogma. Not an extremely successful game, by any means of imagination, but Matt has made introductions to different types of systems found in the video game including the Pawn system, level system and the different classes, though he's only shown us a few in his videos. :'(.

The most recent video of interest is a Star Wars 1313 gameplay video, with Matt asking someone from the development team about LucasArts' CGI effects team (which recently worked on The Avengers) while showing off the latest of gameplay shown by the developers. It looks really good, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it be for the next generation of consoles. However, it's Matt being there that consoles any worries about it and I'm sure it will be great whichever generation it comes out in.

I've been subscribed for about seven months and I always look forward to seeing an OXM video pop up in the subscriber's box... Maybe you should too.

SkyrimAddict

Star Wars 1313 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbhcsrYnW1c
Dragon's Dogma - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c8krHCKHDI&feature=relmfu
Minecraft introduction - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jt9dHr0Veo

Wow...

Yep, it's been quite a while. No excuses for it either... I just didn't feel like writing as it turns out. Lots has happened in that that time too; I've mined diamonds in Minecraft, been shredding guitar on Guitar Hero III etc. but the most exciting thing has been the introduction of Skyrim's new expansion pack/DLC... Dawnguard. Set in the normal world but with a whole host of new things to do/fight/collect/use, it really has added several 10s of hours to the game. At the moment my character has levelled up on the Vampire Perk tree and has several of the perks available that allow it to use daemonic powers that can suck the very soul out of enemies... NICE. It's just added something new and fresh and it was well worth the 1600 MSP.

If you have Skyrim, have played it to the brink of exhaustion and thought that it was time to put it away for a few weeks/months/years... well, you'd be wrong. :P

SkyrimAddict

Ignoring Past Excuses

As the title suggests, I have ignored the rule of not buying and playing Minecraft and I now play it often... and it's great! Really, really good and I can't believe how good it is... The way that the map you play on is randomly generated (mine's called "Brave New World"), the fact that you can do anything you want with no constraints and that your friends can come into your world and help you build that amazing skyscraper you had plans to build or you could go into their world and blow their house up by inviting some creepers to stay ;)

So far, I have built a mine-shack that is next to a mine I have dug with the finding of iron, coal, gold and redstone being one of the best experiences in gaming. Near to this is my main house in the middle of a body of water with a bridge of sand joining from all directions at the front of the house... and I'm proud of it! That's why Minecraft is so great; it takes the idea of crafting and if you put the effort in, you can create some truly amazing pieces of art/architecture.

I must go, "Brave New World" calls me.

SkyrimAddict

Sorry

I haven't been doing this blog for about a week now thanks to exams :( and just generally chilling when I'm not. The main news is that Minecraft comes out on Xbox Live this week and it looks awesome!! I've never played Minecraft on the PC but my friends have and they're all addicted so I can't wait. Plus, there's a lot of Internet culture surrounding the game with Newgrounds, YouTube and Reddit full of Minecraft videos, articles and references... many of which I don't understand but I hope to soon!

SkyrimAddict

Exams

Examinations are coming up in May that just adds to the frustration as games such as Minecraft and Dragon's Dogma are coming out in the same month. With five AS exams to do and only two and a half weeks until the first exam, gaming time is in short supply...

My exams end on the 25th of May so that will be the day that gaming becomes key again but it really sucks that a month has to be waited to play some of the best games coming out this year. Plus, my friends don't have the same work ethic as me and so when I go to join them they will be 10x the level I will be.

I hope the 25th of May comes around soon!

SkyrimAddict

Minecraft for 360

The news that Minecraft was branching out to different gaming consoles was of no surprise to me as it was the most popular game on the computer over the last few years and the owners were looking for new revenue streams. Minecraft will get it's release as an Xbox Live Arcade game where people can do as they do on the computer; namely mining, crafting and fighting with creepers. You can basically do what the computer guys are doing minus the regular packs and updates that the computer game gets.

When I first saw Minecraft I thought it would be a fad and one that would be over quickly due to its block-y graphics and its weird game play. But then it turned out to be a long-running, extensive gaming experience that most people I know have played or are playing.

The release is welcome and I for one will be buying it... little pickaxes and beds here I come!

SkyrimAddict