And so the new year arrives, and it already brings about change. It also is the time for new resolutions.

2009 marks changes for the Dark Watcher. Ole DW will be trying their hand at marriage, but preparations for this event will be taxing. Regardless, we made a new years resolution to complete the many videogames that have been piling up, and enjoy those wonderful videogame consoles that have been without power for a time.

We got a good start on the new year with a stubborn addiction to Pac-Man Championship Edition for the Xbox 360. This fabulous remake to the classic franchise was bundled with the Xbox 360 Arcade we recieved as a gift for Christmas. Our beautiful fiancee had done well. She kept the cost low by getting the “Arcade”, but made sure the package featured the new 360 RROD resistant Jasper chip (with built-in memory), and a wireless controller. Talk about a dream girl…but we digress.

We then spent some time figuring out ways to prevent Micro$oft from squeezing more money out of us. Times are tough, and we are proud being a cheap gamer. It is funny how PS3 is getting so much flack for it’s retail price. What you get is almost everything you need to get current Gen gaming. Our new Xbox 360 was functional out of the box, but the additional perks sure add up.

360 Arcade = $199
Online Adapter = $99
HDD = $99 to $130
Xbox Live = $$$ Ongoing

So by comparison 360 full featured cost is the same if not more then PS3. “DW you should have just asked for a ‘Pro’ or ‘Elite’…” Ha! If our fiancee could spend that kind of money then we would have married her years ago! No worries…DW has been a gamer for a long time, and is quite resourceful.

360 Arcade = $199 gift
Online Adaptor = Wireless laptop with shared bridge connection = No cost
HDD = Buddy with an old spare 20GB HDD
Xbox Live = Abuse free Gold till expires then re-examine the need later = No cost

Now we have some catching up to do gaming wise, but we are sure the cheaper Platinum Hits 360 games will do us well. So its back to gaming when we can…and back to writing for VGCL.

See you online!