There’s a lot of death and destruction in Gears of War, my fav 360 title this season, but I found it difficult to believe a game could break the fourth wall and kill the console, too. In the middle of hosting a co-op campaign with Veronica, my screen went black and she lost her connection. I power cycled the Xbox… and got the red ring of death (right). So the rumors are true! (For reference, the Xbox has been running the fall update flawlessly for weeks, and the power supply is in fine condition.) So Xbox is going to repair the console — a replacement for my previous defective unit — but it’ll be 4-5 business days to get the return box, 2-3 for the repair, and another 4-5 to get it back. In other words, I’ll be lucky if I get this thing back before Christmas. Good thing I’ve got a spare, otherwise I might have to postpone Gears of Peace.