I spoke with Stephen on the phone today!

[l Maximus l]

Well, XBA Brethren, I had a very interesting conversation with Stephen-XBA this morning...and he let me in on some exciting news!

There is going to be some major giveaways coming....and it ridiculously easy to win. All we all have to do is review some games. The great news about this is that the review system is a lot more streamline...only 75 words are required! All we have to do to win is give our impressions of the games. They don't need to be elaborate - they don't even have to sound sexy! All they have to do is communicate clearly to precisely how you feel about a game. Do you hate the game? SHARE IT! Do you love the game?! Just say why!

I don't know if you guys can tell, but, this XBox fansite is unique from all other XBox fansites on the net in that it is a community operated website. This place is driven strictly by those that call this home. Good reviews are shown on the front page!

The better chance for winning a contest is to talk about a game that is relatively new...not from, let's say, 2 years ago. If it's a game released within the last year, then, it's definitely recent enough. I mean, if you think about it, I would say that some games almost require a year's worth of playing to get an extremely well-rounded and fair view of it. Personally, I think Halo 3, for example, is one of those games that a person can't play for just 8 hours and then write a review only because there is so much of the game to learn and because it's ever-evolving. Basically, what I'm trying to say is, if you own a game and it was released within a year, then, write a quick freakin' review! It only improves your chances! Also, read other people's reviews...they are invaluable for making game choices...and, I'm sure most of us can trust a real gamer over professional reviewers that practically HAVE to write a review, whether they like the game or not.

But, anyway, write some reviews! To me, this is a no brainer. He asked me not to let anyone know what the prizes are, and I respect that...but, I can honestly tell you that there's quite a few of them and all of them are freakin' awesome!

[Slowride]

This is great news. Especially considering my current financial crunch.....

I shall write some reviews!

[Kraft]

Was it one of those short 1 hour conversations or was it a long one? Haha, just kidding Stephen :)

[l Maximus l]

Was it one of those short 1 hour conversations or was it a long one? Haha, just kidding Stephen :)

hahaha....actually, it was about 1 hour 15 minutes...lol

It was kind of funny because we both actually had to get off the phone, but, there was so many cool things to talk about. So, yeah, it was longer than we both thought it was going to be :rofl:

[Kraft]

Woohoo! Beautiful Katamari review posted :) Though if I remember right there is a 'no ex-staffers' stipulations in contests, but oh well. I haven't gotten to write some reviews in a while.

[mattgame]

Oh well, let me get to work.:cheers:

[Kamshaft]

Though if I remember right there is a 'no ex-staffers' stipulations in contests, but oh well. I haven't gotten to write some reviews in a while.The no ex-staffer thing was stupid. ANYBODY can win! Now if you've been banned.....we'll see about that one.
:hump:

[Kamshaft]

Was it one of those short 1 hour conversations or was it a long one? Haha, just kidding Stephen :)

You know me, I hate typing. :bang:

[laughs]

The no ex-staffer thing was stupid. ANYBODY can win! Now if you've been banned.....we'll see about that one.
:hump:

So how long have you and Maximus been dating? :p

Seriously though, that's great that you changed that rule... Good stuff, Stephen :cheers:

[ShannonX]

In that case, I may have to write up some reviews or something, considering its been 2 or 3 years since I last wrote one. :D

[mattgame]

Yeah, I come out of retiement every now and again but now I may have to come for good.

[Reclaimer]

Awww... I miss my phone talks with Stephen. We'll talk about business for about 3 minutes, then it's 47 minutes about the military or dirt bikes.
That was the one thing I missed about leaving the staff.. talking with the boss.

Maybe I should ask to get back on the staff. Don't know what I'd do.. I'm too broke to buy any new games at the moment.

Who knows.
Like they would take this old beat up dog back.

[CarGuy]

I wish I could talk to Stepehen... I'd feel so much cooler. Like, omg.

[l Maximus l]

I wish I could talk to Stepehen... I'd feel so much cooler. Like, omg.

hahaha...seriously, dude...Stephen is a regular dude...the type of guy that you would have a beer or six with. He's just like all of us - a dude that loves games, works hard, loves games, drinks beer, loves games, enjoys sports, loves games, and last but not least...he loves games :D

In fact, from what I gather, he would rather not be referred to as the "Big Boss Man"...he's just a regular dude that loves games. That's what it's all about!

[GamerSince'76]

hahaha...seriously, dude...Stephen is a regular dude...the type of guy that you would have a beer or six with. He's just like all of us - a dude that loves games, works hard, loves games, drinks beer, loves games, enjoys sports, loves games, and last but not least...he loves games :D

In fact, from what I gather, he would rather not be referred to as the "Big Boss Man"...he's just a regular dude that loves games. That's what it's all about!

I was a mod on an Xbox site and the owner became a huge egomaniac. It really hurt the site. He got into huge trouble with MS as well. I stepped down when I got my PS3 and shortly after went to log on (as a member) and was banned for no reason. lol.

A popular PS3 site (Sony Protection Group) is down now. The owner was a young guy, pretty cool to talk to but he had lousy, inexperienced mods. I knew the site would fall. Good mods are also really crucial to a site as well.

When I chatted with Stephen (online) when I had problems re-signing up, he comes across as a really nice down to earth type of guy. Very refreshing these days. If he took the time to sign up just one member, his heart must be really into this site. I guess that's how XBA has survived and grown.

[Kraft]

Ahh, just finished off a 1 hour 27 minute session! I love kam-calls! We should post stats like they are marathon races :p

[ll Mista GT ll]

The no ex-staffer thing was stupid. ANYBODY can win! Now if you've been banned.....we'll see about that one.
:hump:

Oh damn, I'm guilty of both these things! :cool:

[mattgame]

There are other prizes you could win, like a cute little XBA roll of toilet tissue.

[Shawn-XBA]

Oh damn, I'm guilty of both these things! :cool:
That was Caddy, your Mista GT :D

Its times like this where I wish I was a member again, I still remember when I won some prizes a couple of years ago by writing reviews.

[Yannie Boy]

Hmmm...Well I've never written any type of review, but I might as well start now, even if I don't win, hopefully someone finds my review helpful.

[GamerSince'76]

Didn't XBA used to have a Contest on chat where members answered general knowledge questions to win games, etc? Or am I mistaken?

[Yannie Boy]

Didn't XBA used to have a Contest on chat where members answered general knowledge questions to win games, etc? Or am I mistaken?

Yeah they did once upon a time ago.

Also, is there any way to edit reviews? I forgot to look over my review and saw some errors. Just don't want my very first review to look grammatically incorrect.:bang:

[mattgame]

Yeah they did once upon a time ago.

Also, is there any way to edit reviews? I forgot to look over my review and saw some errors. Just don't want my very first review to look grammatically incorrect.:bang:


The new system tells you when you messed up. It told me that I didn't have enough words in one of my blocks.

[l Maximus l]

The new system tells you when you messed up. It told me that I didn't have enough words in one of my blocks.

Yeah, it's 75 words, man :)

[Kamshaft]

If you try and add another review of the same game, it will edit your old one automatically.:cool:
At least it should.

[Yannie Boy]

I might have to give it a shot then.

[Slowride]

Is this contest currently going and when is the end date? It'd just be nice to know.....

[Shadow20002]

Hmm... time to get back to work.. at XBA lol.

[thatdude222]

So, yeah, it was longer than we both thought it was going to be
http://www.quotesfromtheoffice.com/_images/employees/michael_scott.jpg

That's What She Said

[MXracer721]

Damn time for me to start writing a couple reviews.....Hey Kamshaft, do you know the prizes yet? Maybe an advance copy of MX vs ATV Untamed?!?!?!?!?! Eh don't think I'll get THAT lucky but I'm sure you'll have some badass prizes!

[mattgame]

One prize is a date with Jade Raymond.

[CarGuy]

jesus, this gay ass thread is still active.. no thanks to me, i suppose.. ::unzips pants::