Not only.......

Now I’m Angry!

Not only does my 360 eat my disks and nobody is responsible!

Not only does my 360 suffer DIRE connection problems, in virtually EVERY game!

Not only does my 360, which has been replaced recently, decide to freeze for no reason!

But now, it prevents me from playing a game that is listed, by Microsoft themselves, as being backward compatible!

The game in question is Rainbow 6 : Black Arrow, arguably one of the best on-line shooters available for the original Xbox and immensely popular online.

Now, I have played Ghost Recon : Advanced Warfighter to, literally, death, and I am bored! The maps haven’t the depth of the maps in Ghost Recon : Summit Strike, and it feels more like Rainbow 6 in big, open air maps. An excellent game, nonetheless, don’t get me wrong, but……..

So, I decided to revisit my Rainbow 6 : Black Arrow, just for a change. Besides, I never managed to complete it on the hardest setting.

I loaded my disk into my 360, and it informed me that there were updates required to download for the game and my 360. All good! Said ‘Y’ at the appropriate places and downloading commenced.

Now, after downloading and starting the game, the familiar “Downloads” option on the Menu screen was flashing, as I expected. After all, I haven’t played this game since my 360 arrived, which in retrospect is a bad thing. Rainbow is a fantastic game on-line. Must be the ‘randomness’ of your kills, players will know what I mean.

Anyway, I get to the downloads screen, and the 4 packs were there to download. Again, all good! I expected them there……but…….

On closer inspection, it appears that if I want to play my game on-line, I have to pay AGAIN for map packs that I have previously paid for. 2 of them at £2.99 each.

Now, I know that in the past, your ‘history’ of downloads etc. was held on the hard drive of the Xbox, unlike now where it’s held against your Gamertag, but nevertheless.

If this IS the case, shouldn’t there be something on the ‘Compatibility List’ that states that if you are playing Rainbow 6 : Black Arrow on-line, as it doesn’t affect single player, that you will have to re-pay for the map packs if you want to play on your 360? Otherwise, the only option is to have your ‘black-brick’ parked next to your 360 to play online. (Or networked in, for all you ‘techies’ out there! LOL!)

I do understand the technical problems etc. but I think that this information should be stated SOMEWHERE!

Ah well, I’m used to being disappointed with the whole 360 experience. I don’t remember this many problems with the original Xbox and Xbox LiVE.

So, with trepidation, I load my Summit Strike disk. ‘Download Required’ my 360 tells me, all good! I proceed with the download. Completes and my 360 proceeds to load the game.

Mmmm, worrying screen! The Main Screen is ‘blocky’ and my 360 is ‘clicking’ away merrily! However, all is well, as eventually the game loads and the intro runs.

Now, it tells me I have to create a profile, as expected. Again, this is another excellent online game I have ignored since I got my 360.

At this point, it tells me a download is required. OK, all good! I’m presented with the familiar Xbox dashboard theme(?) and the download begins.

After download, my 360 reboots and loads the screen, which is not blocky this time, and immediately ‘locks’! Not an uncommon occurrence. I turn my 360 off, wait the recommended 10 seconds before turning back on.

Main screen is OK…..intro……Menu screen. Select Multiplayer. Forgot where the downloads section is. Suddenly remember it’s in Multiplayer Options at main screen! Doh! Well, it has been a long time since I played it!

I come out of Xbox Live and I am greeted by a screen saying new content is available for me to download! WOW! My 360 can now pre-empt my thoughts! Freaky!

Anyway, select ‘A’ to continue and my 360 proudly announces that I need to re-connect my controller to port 1 and to press ‘A’ to continue. Eh?

I press ‘A’, what else can I do except turn it off? And……….it signs me in to LiVE and tells me that there’s bonus content available for download?!?!? Phew! Not exactly the way I would have done it, but I got there in the end.

So I’m counting the seconds until the download completes. That may sound sad, but I’m still bitterly disappointed that I can’t play Rainbow 6 don’t forget?

Download complete! Yeah! Press ‘B’ for back, I’m greeted by a totally black screen as my 360 whirs and clicks. Finally, the familiar intro FMV starts, and I pump the ‘A’ button to get to the start screen.

Press ‘A’ to start…’Verifying Download….., all good!

And I’m in, ready to rock and roll!

So, Ghost Recon:Summit Strike is OK. (Perhaps because the map pack is free and available to all.)

Rainbow 6 is OK Single Player, but you can’t play it on your 360. Unless you pay for the packs again. Or so it seems.

And another incidental. When you are playing an original Xbox title on your 360, you lose all dashboard functionality, such as music selection, messaging etc. I know that if custom soundtrack is available in the original title, you can still select from your hard drive. However, if like me, you have your 360 streaming music from a PC, you’re out of luck.

Rant over, goodnight!