Archive for the ‘Xbox 360’ Category

Disney/ESPN Planning to Bring ESPN to XBOX Live

January 19th, 2010
By: Chuckdogg80

Details are sketchy, but rumor has it that Disney, the parent company of the ESPN networks, is planning to stream live sports via XBOX Live.  According to the short article that I read, it will be similar to the ESPN360 service that is currently available online.  As an avid sports fan, ESPN is one of the major reasons that I still have cable at all.  If this plan comes to fruition, I will almost definitely kiss my cable bill goodbye.  Between Hulu, Netflix, and this, my entertainment needs will be satisfied.

While My Wallet (and my wife) Gently Weeps….

January 15th, 2010
By: storybook77

Did you ever get the sense at the end of last year that there weren’t as many AAA gotta have titles released as has been the custom of years past?  Wondered where all of the games were that you were supposed to be playing in 2009?

As every gamer knows, this is typically the time of year where we can all relax and catch up on our backlogs, aka the pile of shame, that we’ve added even more games to during the holiday season.   I hope you all were able to catch up very quickly because the AAA games are coming over the course of the next 3 months.  This is what last fall should have looked like had it not been for Modern Warfare 2.  There is just one problem. We no longer have an excuse to get other people to purchase all of this gaming goodness for us since Christmas has come and gone.  Everyone has to figure out a way to get the games they want on their own or coerce someone into getting them for you.  You might want to be a little more loving this Valentine’s Day! ;)

What follows is a rundown of significant titles that are coming in the following months, so if you want to see why you, your wallet, your family, and anyone who is used to seeing you, even for a minute, in the outside world should be worried, follow the link….

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GHR Review: Bayonetta

January 11th, 2010
By: ShoNuff71

Craftmanship. Its a word that 99.9% of the general public would never associate with a videogame. However, sometimes for a person like me, you come accross that ultra rare gem that meets that definition. In the world of brawlers, Ninja Gaiden stands out in a classroom of one, until now. The new star pupil is Bayonetta. It is without a doubt, the second best brawler I have ever played–but for different reasons than my fanatical fanboyism love for Ninja Gaiden.

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Demo Impressions: Bayonetta

December 2nd, 2009
By: ShoNuff71

bayonetta

With the current gen of game consoles, there has been a lot of hub-bub about demos. Some developers make the extra effort to put a sample of their project in gamers’ hands, while others would rather rely on pedigree from previous efforts, or the supposed legendary status of a given project’s lead developer, and skip the demo. Last week I had the opportunity to try out a demo for a game that has plenty of pedigree from the coders behind it. The game is Bayonetta, and it has the potential to raise the brawler genre quality bar to stratuspheric levels.

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Cody, Guy, & Adon Added to Super StreetFighter IV Roster

November 28th, 2009
By: ShoNuff71

adon and sagat

The guys at Capcom continue to have fighting freaks like me salivating, with the latest info released from Capcom Japan’s blog, and reported on by fighting game site iplaywinner.com. Announced are three additional fighters to the SSFIV roster: Adon, Guy, and Cody.

Posted up are some screenshots that you simply need to check out. In my opinion, Adon, Cody and Guy never looked better with this new art style. While no specifics are discussed with regard to moves, Adon is shown drilling Sagat’s grille his super, Guy is blocking a kunai knife with his saving attack (possibly a Guy specific counter to projectiles?), and Cody is introducing Chun Li to the painful end of a wrench.

Interestingly enough, to my knowledge, the only character from previous StreetFighter games that threw kunais is Ibuki from Street Fighter III. Hopefuplly this is a visual cue as to near future roster additions–hopefully to include my favorite StreetFighter character, Dudley. Time will tell.

One thing that that I’m personally happy to read in the translation from the Japanese blog post, is the apparent massive attention to detail the coders are giving character balance. While the final result won’t be in until the game releases, it looks as if Capcom wants to make this game everything purists could possibly want. It is the hardcore that put StreetFighter on the map and as long as they remember that and keep that the prime focus, this game will be fantastic. Just from these early pics, and the online updates alone, they’ve got my money.

New Modes for Super StreetFighter IV Announced

November 21st, 2009
By: ShoNuff71

sf4-network-1

Some very cool information coming from Capcom of Japan by way of iplaywinner.com is showcasing new modes coming to Super StreetFighter IV. Here is what’s showcased in the video:

Endless Mode: Also known as Quarter Mode. It’s old-school arcade action, where up to 8 players duke it out where the winner continues until defeated. While waiting your turn, you can spectate the fight, and chat.

Team Battle Mode: Up to 8 players can split into two teams (Red v Blue). Teams can be either selected by the game randomly from those in the lobby, or players can set their teams up the way they want to. You can also send team invites to your friends list, and–so your not just sitting in a lobby waiting for your buds to show up, you can play Endless Mode until the lobby fills. Teams don’t have to even either, you can go 1 vs 7, 2 vs 6, ect. Just like with Endless Mode, players can spectate the fight and chat while waiting their turn.

Replay Channel: This feature sounds like ESPN Sports Center for StreetFighter. Several different channels, including a custom play list you can fill out yourself allow you the ability to see how the best in the world get down. Search specifics will allow you to narrow things down to just the replays you want to see.

Revamped Tournament Mode: Basically this lets you host tournaments with up to 9 players (including the host). The mode boasts replay recording from spectators, a visual win/loss results bracket, and the ability for the tournament host to award titles to the winners. As with the previous modes, you can voice chat with all participants.

Bonus Stages: Beat up a Lexus and empty whiskey barrels just like the good ‘ol days. Looks real cool.

Combine this with the additional characters coming to the already well rounded SFIV roster, (please Capcom–give me Dudley and Adon) you have a D1C purchase for me. I hope they have a bundle with the Mad Catz Tournament Stick. I need another one for PS3.

Borderlands DLC Available Next Week

November 21st, 2009
By: JDsBlackBox

zombie

Gearbox announced that “The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned” downloadable content for Borderlands will be available November 24th.  It will set you back $10.  More varieties of skags to kill!

I’m definitely getting this, looking forward to seeing gearbox’s take on the zombie craze.

M$ Banhammer Working Overtime!

November 12th, 2009
By: Full Tilt 101

banhammer

Friends disappearing from Xbox Live? Did they suddenly find other hobbies? Are they busy decorating for Thanksgiving? Most likely no to both of those. Microsoft has polished up their banhammer and are busy whacking hackers off Live left and right. The initial rumors said the goal was 1 million Xboxes banned before Christmas. Reports now state that Microsoft made their goal early and have already banned 1 million units.

Stepto (Xbox’s Director of Policy and Enforcement) reportedly received death threats after his phone number was put on an IRC channel. Stepto then went to the IRC channel to confront the idiots that were calling him. An amusing copy of that conversation is here. I say amusing because the conversation was amusing, death threats to a person and his family because you got caught pirating is not amusing.

On a side note, expect the holiday NPD’s to show Xbox winning the war. It will be false because these will be replacement Xboxes but I think they will crush PS3 this quarter.

Dragon Age: Origins

November 11th, 2009
By: Bumblb19

Dragon Age: Origins

Its been nearly 400 years since the last blight and the Grey Wardens are few in numbers because no one believes that another blight is coming and they think it is just legend. You however soon find out that the Archdemon will be here in a very short time. You are recruited at a young age by one of the Grey Wardens who has been around for a long time and seen many battles.

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The Next New Hotness – Saboteur

November 10th, 2009
By: JDsBlackBox

sabo

Like Borderlands, The Saboteur is a game I’ve had on my radar for a long time.  Not the typical WWII shooter, The Saboteur has you play Sean Devlin, who has somehow been wronged by a Nazi general.  As Devlin, you set out sabotaging Nazi occupied Europe by joining the French Resistance in order to get back at those pesky Nazis.  The thing that interests me most about this game is the art style.  When you are in a Nazi occupied area, the art style is a black and white film noir (think Sin City) with the occasional yellow (and red :P ) accents.

From the videos I’ve seen, the gameplay seems to be a cross between Splinter Cell, Assasins Creed, and Call of Duty (or pick any WWII shooter).  There is some stealth to the game, but all of your standard era guns are in there as well, so you’ll have more than piano wire to help you out.  Also of note is Devlin’s ability to climb structures, although I doubt he does the Triple Lindy from the top of buildings like Altair to get down.  Due out December 8th.