So I’ve finally managed to get Chantelle to upgrade and move from the always fun to play Burnout: Takedown, a well worn PS2 release from back in 2004, to the newly released 2010 Blur on my shiny black XBOX 360.

To be honest, playing the PS2 on the big 40 inch full definition television is becoming harder and harder to enjoy now that I’ve been sitting with the HDMI-connected XBOX 360 for the better part of a year now, and so last weekend I took the plunge and headed into BT Games where I traded in a stack of my pre-played games and got a nice shiny black wireless controller in return.

The next step was convincing Chantelle to break away from the tried and tested and take me on in this new racing game, though I was quick to turn off all the power ups in order to keep things as similar as possible between the two racing games.

Thankfully, she took the bait and we were soon racing against one another and the AI full tilt, though it must be said that she is still getting to grips with this high powered racer with its vast array of very different handling cars – as can be seen by her increasing frustration, competitive spirit and seemingly insatiable desire to beat me.

Trust me, the best way to put your wife in a bad mood is to challenge her to a race and then beat her pants off at it! :)

Still, can’t say that she’s been deterred yet – now she’s calling me out and challenging me at the end of a hard day’s work – which seems to be working: She’s already managed to stun me with two great (and rather unexpected) victories! :)

So here’s to a whole lot more next gen racing fun in the future. After all, she’s going to be looking for something to do once she goes on maternity leave! ;)