Play in Style - Gamer Style
After all of the debates last year about which console ‘is the best’, Microsoft has just revealed that sales for the Xbox 360 during the Christmas 2008 period, were almost double those of Christmas 2007 in Europe. The gap between the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 has grown significantly due to the increase in Xbox 360 sales up to the end of 2008. Factors which have affected the growth spurt include the releases of more family games, such as ‘Lips’, ‘Scene It: Box Office Smash’ and ‘Rock Band 2′ and the launch of the New Xbox Experience. GfK-ChartTrack data shows that the Xbox 360 was the fastest-growing console in 2008, beating the Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii.
Chris Lewis, Regional Vice President, Interactive Entertainment Business EMEA, said “With eight million consoles sold since we launched, and consistently out-selling PlayStation 3 in EMEA, we’re poised to build on this success in 2009.”
Ontop of this success, new figures have just been released that show the Xbox 360 was the second ‘most played’ console last year. As you can see below, the Xbox 360 was the ‘most played’ next-gen console last year, and Microsoft’s first console the ‘Xbox’ was even more played than the ‘Playstation 3′!
There is a free download on XBLA for you all if you want it. It’s called Doritos Dino Dash. You can either play a delivery truck trying to get through levels and make deliveries or you can play the T-Rex trying to stop the deliveries. It’s fun for the most part, it is a free game after all to promote a food product.
Either way you can earn an embarrasing amount of gamerpoints if you wish.
Microsoft are getting all festive this holiday season. Following on from the Christmas Theme for Xbox 360 owners, along comes a virtual snow glove to download.
The Snow Globe can be obtained via the Holidays menu on your 360, which then puts your avatar in the Snow Globe. When selected for full screen, your friends avatars join you in the globe. Want different friends in there? No problem, just “stir” the globe by pressing X. Pressing A will shake the globe and give you that virtual snow globe feeling.
One thing that isn’t mentioned on the screen, is that the avatars will also do a Mexican wave when Y is pressed. View the video below to see the Mexican wave and the snow globe being shook.
Two New Final Fantasy Trailers!
Two new trailers have emerged of Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox 360 and the Versus Game for the Playstation 3. The 1st here is for both consoles:
Vs Trailer
Even with the release of Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Call of Duty World at War Halo 3 has topped the list of live games played the most for the second week in a row. What is it that keeps this franchise alive? Who are the gamers that keep playing Halo 3 and haven’t a care about a new release?
arien418, whom I quizzed stated that “the Halo community is like no other that he has come across. He has played other games online but felt that he wasn’t made to feel apart of something.”
I have included the full list from Major Nelson’s Blog
1 Halo 3
2 CoD: World at War
3 Gears of War 2
4 Call of Duty 4
5 GTA IV
6 Left 4 Dead
7 Madden NFL 09
8 Fable II
9 Fallout 3
10 FIFA 09
Now, I love the NXE. Microsoft have just added a free Winter Holiday theme on XBL marketplace which basically rocks in a Christmas way!
Major Nelson posted the news up on his blog and I’ve just downloaded the theme myself and it’s fab - the theme consists of a wintery scene with the friends menu being changed from the ‘original theme’ backgrounds to include ice sculptures of the Xbox 360 and other festive scenes. It’s a really nice idea to offer the theme and for free makes it a happy holidays all round, if you’re as shallow as me and are thrilled to bits with a simple theme that is! Come on, it’s the holiday season, download the theme and be merry!
Details below:
Content: Winter Holiday Theme
Price: Free
Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions
Dash Text: Enjoy this limited time offer. Let it snow! No matter where you are in the world, you can experience a holiday winter wonderland on your Xbox 360.
Mirror’s Edge Getting Time Trial Map Pack DLC in Jan, 2009.
Faith Sporting a Gun and nice Handbag.
According to Kotaku and various other News sites the wonderful athletic Mirrir’s Edge will be getting a specialised DLC in the form of Time Trials Map Packs in January for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC. The DLC Map Pack will contain seven new maps for your ‘running enjoyment’.
According to Kotaku ‘The freedom of movement and control in first person has been the most popular aspect of Mirror’s Edge so we decided to distil these down to their purest form for this map pack,” says Owen O’Brien, Senior Producer, DICE. “We deliberately chose a more abstract aesthetic that is still within our distinctive art style and then focused on flow and gameplay to create an experience and challenge very different from the main game.’ The PC version of this game is due for release on the 13th Jan, 2009 in North America and 16th Jan, 2009, in Europe.
According to Kotaku, ‘ Players will be challenged to achieve the fastest times possible on nine races across seven all-new and totally redesigned Time Trial maps. No guns, no cops, and no city: this is true aesthetics, agility and flow that will challenge any runner. This special DLC pack will be available for $10 USD or 800 Microsoft points. As an added bonus, all PLAYSTATION 3 Mirror’s Edge fans will be able to download an additional map for free.
“The freedom of movement and control in first person has been the most popular aspect of Mirror’s Edge so we decided to distil these down to their purest form for this map pack,” says Owen O’Brien, Senior Producer, DICE. “We deliberately chose a more abstract aesthetic that is still within our distinctive art style and then focused on flow and gameplay to create an experience and challenge very different from the main game.”
Mirror’s Edge has been awarded various awards for Best Original Game at E3 in July 2008, Best Action Game at E3 this year by IGN and Best Xbox 360 game at GC Developers Conference in Leipzip this year. The title is also on temporary sale for this week in UK GAME Stores for £24.99 so I smnapped up a copy as I been awating a price reduction. I will do a full review soon but I haveonly played the Prologue so afr and can asssure you that this game deserves the praise it is getting at the moment although this is not reflected in sales unfortunately.
Article: Skidpro
Game Rating: 9/10
Source: http://kotaku.com/5101853/mirrors-edge-getting-time-trial-map-pack-in-january
I thought it was about time I gave this full fledged review ,although I am on the last part of Coastal Thailand, I felt as I have played every other Tomb Raider game since the 90’s on PC, it was about time I did this.
Tomb Raider ‘Underworld’ I would consider the best game I played in the series ever, far better then ‘Legends’ and the god awful ‘Revelations’ which was easier on PC than on the Dreamcast. ‘Anniversary’ I am still playing on PSP/PS2 too.
‘Underworld’ I am playing on the Xbox 360 and what a treat it is! Crystal Dynamics have taken over the development of this game and improved the game play tenfold. Instead of playing Prince of Persia for the acrobatics, Lara now appears to have developed more realistic acrobatics of her own which is the main appeal of the game.
To Try not to spoil the game the game too much, you start of in the Mediterranean Sea where you find an artefact which is promptly stolen from you but, Lara doesn’t let that go without killing everyone on the ship that came behind her mercilessly! She is now a force to reckon with is Lara. Watch it, or you get shot or kicked in the head!
You will not be disappointed with ‘Underworld’ has the elements of excellent game play, stunning HD graphics, scenarios, locations and enemies that will keep you playing until the early hours of the morning.
So if you have not picked this gem of a game yet I suggest you do. You will not be disappointed at all and Lara is a tough nut now and a merciless woman.
Game Rating: 9.5/10
Review: Skidpro
Screenshots Courtesy: www.tombraider.com
It’s official. Ubisoft have finally confirmed that it is to bring out a sequel to the highly successful game Assassin’s Creed. It was announced at it’s first-half fiscal 2008-09 conference call this week. However, Ubisoft are still playing their cards very close to their chest stating that they cannot confirm a 2010 release date as they are still ‘awaiting more anticipation for the game’.
How much more can they need?!
This Christmas will be a struggle for families especially since the recent economic crisis. Average families will be looking for all sorts of ways to save money this Christmas and would really like to find just one present that all the family can enjoy at Christmas time, and all year round.
A recent survey of over 1000 people conducted by Xbox, finds that shoppers, and especially families, are looking to purchase an entertainment system that can play music, movies and games, and with many families tightening their financial belts this year, they don’t want this item to break the bank. This survey found that 72% of the people asked, are hunting for gifts that will not only keep the family entertained on Christmas Day, but throughout the year and 49% of the people surveyed said they want something that will bring the whole family together.
What Xbox found out was that British families are more likely to stay at home this year and have a typical Christmas meal together. The survey found that more and more families are due to stay indoors to save money, so of course they’re all looking for something to keep everybody entertained. Martin Olausson, Director of Digital Media Research at Strategy Analytics said “Gaming and entertainment consoles like the Xbox 360 are seen as good value, given they can entertain the whole household through Christmas and beyond.”
Martin goes on to say that with the Xbox 360 is a great purchase and with it retailing at £129.99, it’s not a bank breaker and it’s a console system that is sure to keep the family entertained and is great value for money.
So, that brings us to the conclusion. What will families be buying to keep themselves entertained this Christmas? Will this survey turn out to be right and will the Xbox 360 prove to be the popular choice for an entertainment system this year, or will it’s rival the Playstation 3 dominate? Or how about the family friendly Nintendo Wii? Head on over to the forums and let us know what you think.
With all the hype and expectations from GoW 1, when it finally arrived through my door day the before release, I was excited to say the least. My expectations were no disappointment at all too. I was hooked on it for a week. What a game! As Cliff Belizinki said, more & better gameplay, more Badass, and better graphically. How right he was.
Gears Of War 2 is a typical 3rd person shooter ala Gears 1 jumping into and out of cover. A very clever system of controls which worked a treat. With some new weapons thrown for good measure plus use of the enemies shield when dropped was great. The gameplay was a typical of Gears 1 with better visuals, more weapons and more environments, more story then the previous game. Without spoiling the game too much, first you start off the story from the previous story/game defending a Hospital (albeit a rather run down Hospital) with tons of close quarters combat. This spills out onto the street where the Gears eventually meet up and decide new plans. Your Robotic assistant, Jack, now has a communications with central command centre making the Human resistance more organised then before.
More effort in this game was concentrated on taking the fight to Locust on the home turf this round and so underground you go several times. A wild ride it is too. You actually get to see Locust architecture, Locust lifestyle and living and how the populate the underground. Intense battles wave after wave, environment after environment lead you to some much unexpected places and the use of Lancer Rifles Chainsaw is more usable then just melee attacks in this game.
The game sets out to show a post apoclolyptic human World overcome by alien invasion and it does so really well. There is more colours in the game then previous Gears, which looked too B/W to me the last time but this game showed some colourful scenes and indicated better lighting effects in game. The introduction of some new weapons in game was a great attraction, the flamethrower a prime example. The shield you got off a huge Boomer when you killed it was useful too and heavy artillery in the form of Longshot was useful.
All in all, Gears of War 2 was everything Epic Games and Cliff Belizinki said it would be, better game play, better graphics, and MORE BADASS! A high octane action adrenaline rush! Having just completed the game after a week I must say it was a very enjoyable experience and I want more, they changed the Normal difficulty to casual in reality, so next play through will be hardcore or Insane. Also, do not switch off at the credits as you do so in games, there is a surprise at the end which has you thinking after defeating the last boss (which was easy with Hammer Of Dawn incidentally) which is puzzling and making you wonder what is in store in Part 3 and the end of the trilogy.
Game Rating: 9.5/10
Review: Skidpro
Pics courtesy IGN.
NXE for 360 Sneaky Videos!
We all know the NXE is coming to our 360 consoles on November 19th, so in anticipation of that, I have found a couple sneaky videos courtesy of CVG.com for you to peruse. Make of this what you will, personally I like what I see so far.
NXE Video 1:
NXE Video 2:
The first video concentrates on the dashboard and its features whereas the second video appears to concentrate a lot on the avatar system. Make of it what you, we all know the NXE will be fun for us 360 owners and make the 360 a new console experience.
Enjoy!
Skidpro
It’s touted as “a visual programming language for kid’s’.Really, Boku is a game, the 360 controller is its input, and you can bet this Microsoft project seeks to tap the enormous enthusiasm for user-generated content seen in games like LittleBigPlanet. No release date has been set for Boku yet, but at Microsoft’s Professional Developer’s Conference this week, project lead Matthew MacLaurin indicated we’ll get the chance to play it early next year. Whether that’s a beta or full release was not specified.
Here’s a video of Boku in action, to see what it’s getting at. It covers top-down mazes, platforms, POV racing, even Frogger-style games.
That screen above is an example of the game’s logic structure. Using it and a set of icons, kids (or adults) can build quickly build their own game and learn something about the process of creating a challenge that’s fun to solve.
Still, it’s unfair to call this a complete copy of LittleBigPlanet, as it sounds like Microsoft is gunning for a format that’s a little more open-ended than designing platform levels (even as deep and infinite as that experience is on LBP.) And Boku was originally demonstrated, without much hype, back in 2007. But I think it’s fair to see this, and Microsoft’s renewed interest in it, as an answer to a Sony exclusive and an experience no one has on the 360 so far.
So, withhold your reservations for the time being, Boku look’s like a fascinating project to rival Sony’s Little Big Planet. It appears t have the ability for gamers of all ages to mess about design fun type games of long type platform games. This gere doesn’t fit into any typical category but we hope that with the NXE coming on the 19th November 2008, in early 2009 we can see avatars running around in game shooting, jumping and solving puzzles designed by the gamers. I would hope we would be able to share these experiences across XBL.
Article: skidpro
Game Rating Anticipation: 8/10
If you were a fan of the soundtrack that was released for the original Gears of War, you’re sure to be a fan of the Gears of War 2 soundtrack. The epic score that has been produced by Composer Steve Jablonsky’s has been announced to be released on November 25th. Pre orders are available on amazon, and the soundtrack is expected to be carried in various video game stores including Gamestop. The soundtrack will also be available for digital download, and is being released through Sumthing Else Music Works record label. Below is the tracklisting, keep in mind that some of the title tracks may be considered slight spoilers, and if you are worried about this you shouldn’t read ahead.
1. Return of the Omen
2. Hope Runs Deep
3. Green as Grass
4. Expectations
5. Finally, a Lead
6. Armored Prayer
7. Hold Them Off
8. Derrick Chase
9. Building Thunder
10. Hell Breaks Loose
11. Bedlam
12. Breakneck
13. Landown
14. Racing to Extinction
15. If They Can Ride Em
16. Hollow
17. Unexpected Changes
18. March of the Horde
19. Highway
20. Denizens of the Deep
21. With Sympathy
22. Insurmountable Odds
23. Bump in the Night
24. Frenzy
25. Outpost
26. Finale
27. Autumn of Mankind
Since its release, the XBox 360 has been turning heads and breaking barriers. It’s large list of unique titles and great Live features has made the Xbox 360 a favorite among American gamers, and gamers worldwide alike. The games have been innovative and visually inspiring, as have some of the titles.
It’s almost impossible to choose a top 5 list of games for the 360, there are just too many superb games but, how’s about this list for starters?
5. Halo 3
Halo 3 was supposed to complete the Halo series in style, and it pretty much lived up to that promise. This series alone was able to keep the XBox competing with the likes of the PlayStation and Wii, and has become one of the top selling game titles in the history of video gaming. With a plethora of new weapons, massive never before seen battles, and a campaign that allows you to play exclusively as Master Chief, Halo 3 has been an exciting and innovative title for the XBox 360 and avid gamers across the world.
Since its release, the XBox 360 has been turning heads and breaking barriers. It’s large list of unique titles and great Live features has made the Xbox 360 a favorite among American gamers, and gamers worldwide alike. The games have been innovative and visually inspiring, as have some of the titles.
It’s almost impossible to choose a top 5 list of games for the 360, there are just too many superb games but, how’s about this list for starters?
5. Halo 3
Halo 3 was supposed to complete the Halo series in style, and it pretty much lived up to that promise. This series alone was able to keep the XBox competing with the likes of the PlayStation and Wii, and has become one of the top selling game titles in the history of video gaming. With a plethora of new weapons, massive never before seen battles, and a campaign that allows you to play exclusively as Master Chief, Halo 3 has been an exciting and innovative title for the XBox 360 and avid gamers across the world.
4. Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV was the largest step forward the series has ever seen. With a barrage of new weapons, a humongous amount of new vehicles, and a physics engine that allowed police and pedestrians to act much more life like than previous GTA titles, Grand Theft Auto IV is a premier title available for the Xbox 360 and the first GTA game to be released for the Microsoft console. The city is a great representation of New York, and the storyline, while slightly repetitive at times, leaves you on the edge of your seat throughout the entirety of the campaign.
3. Mass Effect
While Mass Effect was not a perfect game, video game wise, it certainly had a story line leaps and bounds above most other video games available today. The storyline of the campaign alone is Hollywood worthy, and the ability the developers had to tip toe genre’s made Mass Effect one of the greatest games ever released for the Xbox 360.
2. Gears of War
Gears of War was the 360’s first game that was so visually stunning mouths dropped when they played it. Not only was the visually leaps and bounds above previous games, the gameplay was great as well. The ability to duck behind virtually any object in the game made combat interesting and unique from other games. That coupled with a storyline to kill made Gears of War the second greatest XBox 360 game ever released.
1. Call of Duty 4
Call of Duty was really the first game of its caliber. What a great choice the developers made when they decided to move away from world war 2 to explore modern combat. The guns are true to life, and each gun is great in different situations. The graphics are stunning and very lifelike. While playing CoD4 you may have to keep reminding yourself that it is in fact a video game. The online play is top of the line and offered players with competition online that they may not be able to find in their immediate friend group. These factors combined with a great storyline made Call of Duty 4 the number 1 pick for the greatest Xbox 360 game ever released.
So, now is the time to throw rotten tomatoes at me. Are those games really the top 5? I’m slightly convinced. They are certainly 5 superb games. What do you think?
Valve are offering a fantastic AMD gaming PC and 25 copies of Left 4 Dead in their latest L4D contest.
As part of the marketing campaign for their new PC and Xbox 360 game, Valve have set up a Left 4 Dead Zombie Photo Contest - the “Dude, Where’s My Thumb” contest! To enter, contestants must “take a creative photograph of themselves in front of one of the outdoor media placements in London, New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area”. Full terms and conditions are available on the Left 4 Dead website here.
Go on, get those cameras out and be creative and if anyone finds that thumb, let us know!
While this may not be new news, it’s news to me and great news at that.
Sony’s smash hit series Tekken, is due to release their next game, Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion in Fall 2009. Originally it was to stay a Sony exclusive and be released on the PS3. This was sure to be a great way to increase PS3 sales. Many Tekken fans and 360 only owners, would have bought a PS3 for this game, myself included.
For 360 owners, thankfully, that’s not the case but there’s sure to be many Sony fans who are unimpressed with this decision. How many other Sony exclusives will move to the 360?
