The Rabies Blog

That got your attention, didn’t it!

I mentioned in my previous post that there really wasn’t a whole heck of a lot I could share right now about last week’s Summit, however there are a few things that occurred that I can talk about and this happens to be one of them.

On Tuesday of last week, our hosts surprised us with a special dinner trip for some fresh seafood. What they didn’t tell us was they had made arrangements for us to tour the Deadliest Catch’s fishing vessel the Northwestern (which was docked for some routine maintenance) as well as a chance to go hands on with the upcoming Deadliest Catch Alaskan Storm video game.

We were treated to some of the best salmon and king crab legs that I’ve ever had as we sat along the pier with crew members and their families. Afterwards, Matt Bradley, deck hand on the Northwestern, took us aboard for a close-up look within the ship. During the entire time we were there, they had 3 Xbox 360 units for us to experience the game.

I was able to get a short amount of time in playing one of the included mini-games which challenges players to maneuver a much smaller water craft along the choppy ocean, hitting check points as you go. Although this was still an incomplete build of the game, I along with others in the group, were very impressed with the way it looked and played. The “campaign” mode of DC:AS will allow players to manage all facets of their ship as they tackle the icy waters in search of the ultimate haul and the big payday. The game is on track for release in mid-May and after having had the chance to test drive it last week, I can say that I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the final version.

Below are some photos that I took while aboard the Northwestern, more of which can be viewed on my Flickr page.

“Dude, where you been?”

I know I haven’t been around all that much over the past couple of weeks, although there are a couple of good reasons as to why. The first has to do with a job change that I won’t bore you with, but the second may be of a little more interest…

Last week I flew out to Seattle to attend Microsoft’s MVP Summit, an amazing event which brought together people from all over the world to collectively meet, exchange ideas and share feedback from the communities we are all involved in. While I really can’t discuss the majority of what went on during the event, I can tell you without reservation that the group of Xbox community members I met during my stay were among the friendliest, funniest and most passionate gamers I’ve ever had the pleasure of spending time with.

Most of their websites, blogs and forums are linked under the “Xbox MVP Webring” listing here on TRB, but they all deserve an additional shout-out, so here goes (if I’ve missed anyone, I apologize. It wasn’t intentional):

Kamshaft

Peench

Morgon

Wiseguy

Mordeux (who I owe a dinner next year for taking all his $$ in poker)

Avid X3ro (who owes me an “optimal temperature coffee”)

Club 108

CraigN

MASTAglach820

BAPenguin

boid

litheon

El Hatton

MPDamon

Fatty Chubs

PMS Kitty

FragMaster B

Tbird

SpaceGhost2K

Knuckles Dawson

de menace

cjivan

And last but certainly not least: John, Tony, Chris, Nelson and Sara.

Thanks to all for a GREAT week!

My buddy Morgon at My GamerCard.net has joined forces with Sierra Online to host the Battlestar Galactica Season Premier Play & Win Sweepstakes where players will have a chance to win some very cool prizes including a die-cast mini model of the Colonial Viper Mark II and a script from an episode of Battlestar Galactica signed by cast and crew members!

The Sweepstakes runs from Midnight April 10th (Eastern US Time) through April 23rd 11:59 PM. For the complete list of rules and prizes, head over to http://www.mygamercard.net/bsgsweepstakes/.

In case you hadn’t noticed the RSS link to the story at XE, some friends of mine from across the pond, along with Gaming4Others.org, are working hard to raise funds for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children by way of an online Rainbow Six Vegas 2 tournament:

“XboxGameZone, in association with Gaming4Others, are pleased to announce the first ever European charity gaming tournament to be held across Xbox LIVE. The event, which will take place on Ubisoft’s newly released Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2, will invite players and teams from across Europe to test their skills as they go head to head. But this time it’s not just about the winning - teams will be competing against each other to help raise money for NSPCC (registered charity - National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children), have some fun and maybe even win some prizes along the way.”

Registration is now open with full details listed here.

List of the participating community sites:

http://www.xboxgamezone.co.uk
http://gaming4others.org
http://www.matchbox360.co.uk
http://www.msxbox-world.com
http://www.play2compete.com
http://www.wonderwallweb.com
http://www.xboxliveaddicts.co.uk
http://www.xboxlivenation.com
http://www.xboxelite.co.uk

The Faceplate Addict Forums over at XboxAddict.com are running a faceplate give away with prizes that include:

* A complete set of all five Eternal Sonata Faceplates
* A complete set of all five Ace Combat 6 Faceplates (four giveaways + the promo plate)
* Five codes for the Mass Effect “Bring Down The Sky” DLC, GRACIOUSLY donated by the fine folks at BioWare, Edmonton.
* One custom faceplate made by SpaceGhost2K

All the contest details are here!

Sid Meier’s Civilization III and IV are two of my all-time favorite games on PC. In fact, the only game that I may have wasted more hours of my life playing would be the original Half-Life, so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t really excited about Civilization Revolution coming to Xbox 360 in June.

For those of you who also have June 3^rd circled on the calendar, 2K Games have launched the official Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution website at www.civilizationrevolution.com. The site contains a ton of info regarding the new game including fun and interesting facts about the in-game Civilization leaders, screenshots, concept art, the official game trailer and more.

They also have a nice community section for fans of the game which includes a game forum, podcasts from the developers and the ability to sign-up for community updates. It’s a fun, nicely designed site about what will hopefully be an awesome game!

For the third year in a row, 2K Sports will be taking their MLB franchise “on the road” with their Major League Baseball 2K8 Video Game Tour. This year’s event will feature six 2K Sports branded mobile entertainment trucks - each loaded with gaming stations - as the tour runs along both the East and West coasts simultaneously.

Tour goers will have a chance to play Major League Baseball 2K8 while jamming out to some great tunes. West Coast attendees will be joined by Sirius Satellite Radio DJ and emcee, Statik Selektah while the East Coast leg of the tour will feature Boston-based celebrity DJ, Eskillz as they deliver a variety of hot tracks and remixes from all of the best 2K Sports in-game soundtracks.

And that’s not all. Attendees can also participate in the “Major League Baseball 2K8 Home Run Derby” for a chance to win exclusive prizes from 2K Sports and Major League Baseball. Other giveaways include complimentary music cards and game demo discs plus, all participants will receive a $5.00 Best Buy discount coupon to purchase the game.

For more information on the Major League Baseball 2K8 Video Game Tour, including dates and locations for tour stops, head over to www.2ksports.com.

I’ve been writing about other site’s giveaways for a while now so I figured it was time to have one of my own.

If you’d like a chance to win a download code for Rez HD or Tron from Xbox LIVE Arcade, just drop a comment in this post telling us about your favorite Arcade game and you’re entered! Two winners will be chosen at random to receive a code for one of the games. Please be sure to include your gamertag in your comment as winners will receive their code through an Xbox LIVE message.

The contest is open now and ends Wednesday March 5th at 11:59 p.m. Eastern so get posting!

* My thanks to the great folks who make up the Xbox 360 team at Microsoft for providing the codes to make this giveaway possible.

For the first entry in the “Spotlight on Community” series, I present to you 360Voice.com.

While the website drew initial attention from its unique and humorous “Give your Xbox its own blog” features, 360Voice.com has grown into one of the most comprehensive statistic-tracking websites in existence.

Members get their own personal page which includes their Xbox 360’s blog entries, a list of their most played games, world leaderboard standings, earned badges and more. Links within these lists lead you to even more refined statistics, giving you a finely detailed picture of your gaming prowess.

Ever wonder what happened to the Old Spice Experience Challenges that first appeared on Xbox.com? 360Voice.com has got ‘em. Members can join a challenge or start their own with winners receiving prizes from Microsoft Points cards to Best Buy gift cards and more.

What I find to be just as impressive as everything listed above is the fact that the three administrators of 360Voice.com all have full-time day jobs while managing the website in their spare time. That, my friends, is community dedication!

I highly recommend you check out their site. Membership is free and the resources they provide are outstanding!

After tallying the more than 26,000 votes cast, the winners of the inaugural Xbox LIVE Arcade Awards were announced today by Microsoft during a private developer reception at GDC.

And the winners are:

* Best Overall Arcade Game: Bomberman Live (Hudson Entertainment)
* Best Classic Game: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Konami Digital Entertainment)
* Best Original Game: Pac-Man: Championship Edition (NAMCO BANDAI Games)
* Best Family-Friendly Game: Pac-Man: Championship Edition (NAMCO BANDAI Games)
* Best Competitive Multiplayer Game: Bomberman Live (Hudson Entertainment)
* Best Cooperative Multiplayer Game: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Ubisoft Entertainment)
* Best-Selling Game: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Ubisoft Entertainment)
* Most-Played Game: Worms (Team17 Software Limited)
* Highest-Rated Game: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Konami Digital Entertainment)
* Xbox LIVE Arcade Staff Choice: Pac-Man: Championship Edition (NAMCO BANDAI Games)

NOTE: The finalists in each award category were chosen by a panel of select industry journalists, and the winners for the first six categories were determined by popular vote, with the final four categories decided by sales and gameplay data, Metacritic score or staff vote.

There’s no question that the biggest factor separating Xbox 360 from the other 2 major consoles is the community that surrounds it. From Microsoft and the Xbox.com forums to the remarkable fansites that exist, the Xbox community offers up countless ways for fans to share their thoughts and, in essence, their passion for gaming.

Beginning this week, I will be highlighting some of the best community-oriented sites that I’ve come across in my travels. My hope is to introduce you to some outstanding websites which you may not have known about, while also acknowledging the great people who have dedicated so much of their time to help bring the gaming community together.

My friends over at Vivendi contacted me today with a nice little surprise! Free tickets to give away for the New York City premier of Paramount Pictures The Spiderwick Chronicles!

In conjunction with their upcoming The Spiderwick Chronicles video game, Vivendi has provided me with a free movie pass, good for 2 admissions, to The Spiderwick Chronicles premier taking place at AMC/Loews Kips Bay 15, 570 Second Ave., New York, NY on Wednesday, February 13 at 7:00 pm.

If you’re in the New York City area (or plan to be on the night of the event) and you’d like a chance to win, send an email with the subject line of “Spiderwick” to therabiesblog@gmail.com (SEE UPDATE BELOW). Be sure to include your name, age (18 years and older only) and a valid email address. Entries must be received by this Monday, February 4 7:00 pm Eastern Time. One random winner will be drawn from all entries received and will be notified by email. *NOTE: The pass will be sent out via snailmail so a mailing address will be required IF you are notified that you have won.

Also be aware that:

• Every individual will need a pass to attend their advance screening
• No recording device, including camera-equipped call phones, will be allowed in the theater — don’t bring any to make your life easier!
• Even though theaters were under booked whenever possible, seating is NOT guaranteed so please arrive early.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

My sincere thanks to Vivendi for making this give-away possible!

*FINAL UPDATE: THE GOOGLE EMAIL ISSUE IS NOW CORRECTED. I WILL KEEP THE CONTEST EXTENSION IN PLACE SO PLEASE MAKE SURE TO GET YOUR ENTRIES IN BY 7:00PM EASTERN TIME MONDAY FEB 4TH*