xbox360

Halo 3: ODST will be PACKED to BURSTING with premium Halo 3 maps and content

Gary Cutlack — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:10:34 GMT

Halo 3 "Oh Dee Ess Tee" - the downloadable all-new Halo 3 experience with stealth action, will also fill up your hard drive with all the previously released Halo 3 content - including the as-yet unreleased Mythic Map Pack. All 24 of the "after market" free and paid-for Halo 3 add-on maps will be stuffed into the Halo 3 ODST download, so if you've been a bit slack in updating...

Epic considering sweeping changes to Gears 2 - planning to introduce "experience levels"

Gary Cutlack — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:33:50 GMT

The rubbish old TrueSkill ranking system that Microsoft has been using to match people up online could soon be ditched from Gears 2, with developer Epic planning a switch to to a system that takes into account a player's experience...

Konami delivering the JOINED-UP DIGITAL DREAM - PES 2009 team rotas updating at the end of Feb

Gary Cutlack — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:00:57 GMT

It's always been the fantasy. The hazy, distant vision of a possible future - and Konami has finally MADE IT HAPPEN. It's rolling out new team rotas for Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 at the end of Feb, which will update the game with all the player changes that have happened since the marginally disappointing football game released last Autumn. So whichever team mental TIMEBOMB Craig Bellamy is playing for this month will be accurately represented...

Capcom cashing in on Street Fighter IV with massive DLC plans

Gary Cutlack — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 10:46:16 GMT

Hang on, the game's not even out yet, and we're already being told what downloadable content is going to be available and how much we're going to have to pay for it? Forgive us for being so cynical about a game as legendary as SFIV, a product we are not even worthy of looking at let alone daring to pass critical judgement upon, but if the DLC's already finished why not just stick it on the disc and make the game even better? You know, so we don't feel like we're being SHAFTED by the money-men?

Tekken 6 - new Xbox 360 shots of Namco's defecting fight game

Gary Cutlack — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:20:00 GMT

Tekken 6, the latest in the long line of PlayStation games we're now having to pretend to like since they've been announced for Xbox 360, is coming to Xbox 360. We already mentioned this a while back. But today, UK distributor Atari sent out a huge batch of new screenshots. They look like Tekken. They look like Tekken has always looked, and here's one of a man putting his arm into the chest of a bear. Tekken's never been about accurate collision detection. Looks great. I'm just very adept at containing...

Couple gloss over deeper problems in relationship by concentrating on making a replica Portal gun

Gary Cutlack — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:51:11 GMT

Instead of arguing about nothing, Emily Keith and her boyfriend Harrison Krix decided to spend their spare time focussing on creating a costume and replica gun - so she could cosplay as the woman out of Portal. She made the costume, because women like sewing stuff together all pretty like. He did the gun, because men like guns. This is the end result. There's a little visual guide on how to make one on the internet here, if you would also like something...

Mass Effect 2 confirmed by EA - arriving whenever "Fiscal Q4 2010" is

Gary Cutlack — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:01:18 GMT

Hooray! I can't wait until whenever Fiscal Q4 2010 might be, as that's when EA boss John Riccitiello has said Mass Effect 2 is coming out. If everyone's maths and understanding of EA's financial reporting system is right, Fiscal Q4 2010 is between January and March of 2010, meaning in about a year from now you might be pretending to be outraged while secretly...

DO NOT GET EXCITED: Today's dashboard update just fixes an HDMI audio bug

Gary Cutlack — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:06:27 GMT

The next time you turn on your Xbox 360 you'll be prompted to download a system software update. That's the most exciting part about this entire news story. There's no new stuff. No new menus, no new toys, no new complex group chat options, not even an alternate pair of trousers - all you get is a slightly updated dash that fixes some sort of sound...

Microsoft gets in on the user-generated thing again with Kodu Game Creator

Gary Cutlack — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 11:59:11 GMT

KODU was revealed by Microsoft fat-man Steve Ballmer during the company's keynote speech at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show last night, with MS hoping it'll become the next big thing in home game development. Massively simpler than the company's professional development tool XNA, KODU is being described as a "playground" for people to create extremely simple little games to play and swap. A bit like a certain high-profile recent PlayStation3 game, to be honest. Here's what Microsoft's Matt MacLaurin, the game's lead Kodu designer, had to say...

Cor, yes, we WILL HAVE SOME of R-Type Dimensions when it arrives tomorrow

Gary Cutlack — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 11:59:11 GMT

R-Type Dimensions is a combination of R-Type and R-Type II, mashed into one package for your shopping/playing convenience. It is this week's Xbox Live Arcade release, and yes, we shall be buying it. Few things make us as excited as playing through the first two levels of R-Type again, then realising it's BLOODY HARD and giving up. You're actually sort of getting four games, with both original R-Type versions also coming with remade alternate editions that feature "3D graphics" so the kids of today will hopefully give them more of a chance. It looks like this. The bad news is it costs 1200 MS Points for the...

1.8 million people had a bit of Resident Evil 5 for free, thank you very much

Gary Cutlack — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 11:23:16 GMT

That Resident Evil 5 demo everyone got excited about, and was so exciting that even we got a bit excited about it, really did get LOTS of people excited - Microsoft has said that a stunning 1.8 million gamers downloaded it via Xbox Live, making it the most-downloaded demo ever. There's been a bit of a "mixed" reception to it, to say the least, though. Everyone agrees the look of the game's sensational, but the idea of not being able to move and shoot...

Microsoft sending out freebies to "cleaners and hairdressers" to promote Xbox 360 to women

Gary Cutlack — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:20:36 GMT

Bloody women. Muscling in on our gaming action. Stopping us from playing Ikaruga so they can do a jigsaw puzzle, and turning gaming into some sort of acceptable social hobby for normal people. It's all been RUINED. And Microsoft isn't helping - a recent news report says the company's been trying to get more women into gaming by organising Ann Summers-style parties to encourage women to have a go on an Xbox 360. Gatherings of "ten or more" women (shudder) are being encouraged by the handing out of free games and hardware, with Heather Snavely, Microsoft's director of interactive entertainment business, saying...

There will be no happy ending with "Rumble Massage" - out now via Community Games

Gary Cutlack — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:03:36 GMT

Amateur developer Justin Le Clair has created a game for Xbox 360's Community Games channel which, supposedly, massages your neck by making the controller vibrate. Yes, the idea is you put the controller on your neck. The vibrations then somehow massage you. We can't imagine it generates the sort of friction you'd get from a lady in an East European in a proper massage parlour. It's definitely not a joke - there's an official page on Xbox.com about Rumble Massage where you can...

A very BIG LIST of all the Street Fighter IV Achievements

Gary Cutlack — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:08:54 GMT

If you used to be able to do a dragon punch, can still remember how to do a dragon punch and think you might be able to do a dragon punch on the GODAWFUL Xbox 360 d-pad, you're no doubt more than a bit interested in Street Fighter IV. You'll be interested to hear - or have it re-confirmed - that the game arrives on February 20, and here's the full list of Achievements. Big lists of Achievements aren't usually very interesting things to read, but it's nice to know what kind of hoops Capcom's design legends are having us jump through... 10 Years Too Early - Win 50 Xbox LIVE battles 10 Years Too Late - Win 100 Xbox LIVE battles All Dolled Up - Set your Title and Icon Arcade Rat - Clear Arcade Mode with one character on medium or higher difficulty Challenge Expert - Clear all challenges in Challenge Mode

Full version of Oasis album 'Dig Out Your Soul' arrives in Guitar Hero World Tour DLC format

Gary Cutlack — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:31:25 GMT

If you're still living in 1995 and madly excited about Oasis, this one's for you. The remaining album tracks from the band's recent 'Dig Out Your Soul' release have just arrived for downloading and technically owning, via the Guitar Hero World Tour download tab. Joining the tunes released late last year at Xtival 08, you're now able to have the full album for 1520 Microsoft Points, which is about £13 or thereabouts. You can also buy individual tracks for 160 points each, should you only want 'The Turning' and not be bothered about having 'Falling Down'. That's not a review, I just picked those two tracks out at random to illustrate 'choice'. The full list of new new tunes is up after the jump...

Halo 3's "Sandbox" Mythic Map Pack level revealed. It's sandy. But not very box-shaped.

Gary Cutlack — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:15:05 GMT

If you're still living in 2007 and madly excited about Halo 3, this one's for you. Bungie's shown off another part of its forthcoming Mythic Map Pack, this time giving the internet a look at a new map you'll be able to buy online soon - or get free with the limited edition version of Halo Wars if you can't wait for it to appear on Xbox Live. It's called Sandbox. It's in the desert. It's all yellowy and covered in sand. It looks a bit different, but, rest assured, the gameplay will be 100% as tedious as ever. In other Halo news, Bungie's also said that this weekend...

TRAILER: Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li, coming soon to a £1.99 DVD sale rack near you

Gary Cutlack — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:57:16 GMT

Capcom, and whatever sadly misguided production company is throwing its money behind the latest bound-to-suck video game movie, has released a new trailer for the upcoming Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li movie, the latest (third) attempt at capturing the essence of SF in film. The good news - it's got the lovely and flimsy little Kristin Kreuk out of Smallville in it, and she's wearing the right costume in some of the scenes. That is a good thing, I think we can all agree on. Here she is. The bad news - it's a film of a video game. It's going to be averaging...

"Best of Halo" hardware bundle launching alongside Halo Wars this February

Gary Cutlack — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:12:14 GMT

You'd think everyone who had a passing interest in Halo would already own an Xbox 360, with two or three worn out and broken ones up in the loft, by now, but Microsoft clearly doesn't agree. Hence the way it's releasing a "Best of Halo" box in Europe at the end of February, combining Halo Wars and Halo 3 into one handy set. You also get an Xbox 360 Pro, with 60GB hard drive, to play...

Those Japanese people don't half love their RPGs - five of the top ten games are adventures

Gary Cutlack — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:55:52 GMT

Some enterprising young chap, showing the short of self-starting initiative that would make his parents, future employees and young ladies very happy, has compiled a list of the 50 top-selling Xbox 360 games in Japan. As you know, if you've been paying attention, Xbox 360's had something of a massive sales renaissance in Japan recently, with hardware and software shifting like nobody's business. It is no longer a laughing stock, at least. Here's the top 10... 1. Blue Dragon 203,740 2. Tales of Vesperia 161,070 3. The Last Remnant 134,611 4. Infinite Undiscovery 112,444 5. Lost Odyssey 109,517 6. Dead or Alive 4 108,618 7. Viva Pinata (Platinum) 101,552 8. Forza 2 (Platinum) 100,591 9. Ace Combat 6 95,002 10. Halo 3 83,696 Numbers 20-50 are after the jump...

Avatars RUINED by the addition of football shirts for commoners

Gary Cutlack — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:37:22 GMT

It's another thrilling update about a new kind of pretend fabric! See that man there? That's me wearing an England shirt. Because today, Microsoft has basically RUINED all of Xbox Live by letting people put football shirts on their Avatars. Xbox Live now resembles a provincial pub. You can sense the air of menace. Some of those Avatars are packing knives. 18 European countries are represented in this new football-themed shame. Here's a list of the footie shirts now available for free, so you know if to get excited about making your man wear a shit-looking bit of nylon tonight or not. - Austria - Belgium - Denmark...

The Halo wedding :(

Gary Cutlack — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:22:54 GMT

Getting married by a man wearing an unconvincing Master Chief costume was presumably the groom's idea. Dying alone, aged 44, in a bedsit, surrounded by lemonade bottles full of your own urine is a better life to live than a life lived in the knowledge you had a Halo-themed wedding. Her Brute costume is pretty convincing, though. Imagine the daily sense of shame. How can they live with...

A dull but functional update about Rock Band AND Guitar Hero World Tour DLC

Gary Cutlack — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:47:00 GMT

Whenever there's an emergency no-news-day, like today, you can always rely on something to do with Rock Band or Guitar Hero DLC catalogues to fill the void. And that's what we have - Rock Band has been topped up with a few tracks from The Grateful Dead, with six new (to Rock Band) TGD tracks popping up for 160 MS Points each - or 800 for the lot. Meanwhile, DEADLY RIVAL game Guitar Hero World Tour has added...

Sigh Gears of War movie might turn out to be a TRILOGY

Gary Cutlack — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:54:08 GMT

Good luck to whoever's going to be put in charge of spinning Gears of War's plot ("Shoot the aliens!") and characters ("Holy shit, an alien!") out over three separate films. Because director Len Wiseman (left), who's in charge of the Gears movie project at the moment, told movie news site Bloody Disgusting of the plan to make not one, not two (thankfully not four or six) but THREE movies set in the wafer-thin Gears of War...

BREAKING: Woman threatens to "break" man's Xbox 360 in domestic argument

Gary Cutlack — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:02:20 GMT

A poster over at All Hip Hop forum 'Ill Community' was involved in a terrifying near-miss recently, after a row with some "damn girl" descended into CHAOS. The argument - probably over nothing - descended into a horrifying scene, as the girl PICKED UP and THREATENED TO BREAK the man's Xbox. Fortunately, common sense prevailed and she was talked down. The Xbox was not harmed. Here's how forum member TYJ81 described the events...

Braid man's next project - might be a 2D RPG, but then again might not

Gary Cutlack — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:47:17 GMT

It's no-news Monday! Speaking to serious gaming mega-blog Gamasutra, Jonathan Blow, he of virtually single-handed Braid development success, says he's currently working on a 2D RPG as his next game. But, then again, he might just bin it and do something else instead. Here's what he said...