Archive for December 4th, 2007:
Microsoft Don’t Care About Silver Members
Due to the Fall update patch it seems that previously free content offered to both Gold and Silver members alike will now be somewhat Gold exclusive. While the content was released at the same time pre-Fall update, this is not the case any longer. Gold members will have access to free downloadable content from the Xbox Live Marketplace a whole week before Silver members get the chance to download it. This is obviously just Microsoft showing new users that in order to really get the full Xbox Live experience you need to go Gold.
The History Channel: Battle for the Pacific In Stores Now
The History Channel’s latest game involving World War II is available now. The game takes you through territories like the Philippines, Guadalcanal, and Iwo Jima. Supposedly ultra realistic with real life documentary footage and everything, the game will ship initially for 360, Wii, PC, and Ps2 with the PS3 version on the way.
WoW Edition Dell XPS M1730
For all of you die hard World of Warcraft fans out there you are in luck because there is now a gaming laptop as hardcore as your addiction.
Starting at $4,499 this WoW Edition Dell sports either Horde or Alliance graphics to your liking. Under the hood you can expect this thing to run an Intel Extreme Edition Core 2 Duo, SLI Nvidia graphics with 512RAM and DX10 capabilities, an Ageia PhysX physics processor, a 17 inch 1920×1080 LCD screen, an optional Blu-ray drive, among other cosmetic accesories like LightFX perimeter lighting.
CPL Announces Grand World Finals in UK
The Cyberathlete Professional League, or CPL, announced today that the last stop on their World Tour will be held at Gamerbase, a state of the art LAN center in Londan, UK. Co-sponsored by Sierra Entertainment, the event will have prize buckets of $300,000, the largest the UK has ever seen. Expect to see some hardcore F.E.A.R. and World in Conflict action come Feburary 27th and 28th of next year. Oh and for everyone in Australia, the CPL won’t be stopping there anymore, sorry.
Press release after the break.
Smash Bros. Dojo Update: Returning Pokémon
Over at the Dojo 11 Pokémon from the previous Super Smash games were announced to be making a return in the latest installment. Keep in mind that all of these Pokémon are the ones that appear when you throw a Pokéball and not ones that are actual players. The 11 following Pokémon were announced to be making a return:
– Suicune
- Lugia
- Entei
- Staryu
- Bellossom
- Ho-Oh
- Wobbuffet
- Togepi
- Snorlax
- Celebi
- Mew
The rarity varies, with Mew and Celebi apparently being the rarest, and they all share the ability to be able to some sort of present – like a CD.
Bioshock DLC Details
If you’re an achievement junkie and you’re starting to consider playing some terrible games just to boost your gamerscore, in a few days you’ll be able to get an achievement which promises to be truly epic. Along with a few new plasmids and gene tonics we’ll explain in a moment there’ll be a new achievement entitled ‘Brass Balls’. The name lives up to the accomplishment as to get this particular achievement you’ll have to brave the leaky halls of Rapture once again, only this time on hard mode and without dying. If you’ve already accomplished this feat you’ll unfortunately have to do it again as the game won’t register it having taken place before.
Here are the new upgrades you’ll be able to get in the course of your adventures:
Sonic Boom: Hurls creatures and objects back with a blast of force.
EVE Saver: Enables Plasmids to use less EVE.
Vending Expert: Reduces prices in the vending machines.
Machine Buster: Increases the amount of damage players deal to cameras, bots and turrets.
GameSpot Editors Address Controversy
The departure of editorial director Jeff Gerstmann following his critical review of Kane & Lynch has left many gamers with a bad taste in their mouths. Some have begun boycotting the website altogether. A new posting has gone up on the GameSpot website attributed rather vaguely to the ’staff’ which denies the accusations that Mr. Gerstmann was fired due to pressure from Eidos who had been advertising Kane & Lynch on the website. Considering that the ’staff’ of GameSpot could include anyone from copy editors to members of legal departments it’s hard to ascertain whether this is an honest statement from the writers or if it’s a statement coming from higher up.
Before I get further into this I would like to point out that I don’t have any affiliation with GameSpot other than an account I use to post on their forums.
Regardless of who issued this statement I feel it’s important to remind the general populace that there are times when it’s necessary to put aside the conspiracy theorist hat and consider the larger context going on here. Without having been directly involved with the workings and goings-on at GameSpot it’s very difficult to conjecture the real reasons behind this action. Many of us instantly jump on the ‘evil corporation’ archetype and assume that the single individual is the innocent victim of office damnations handed down by sinister executives. There are a plethora of other factors that could have contributed to the decision to fire Mr. Gerstmann. Perhaps he was frequently late to work or behind on company deadlines. The uproar caused by his review could have been the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
Xbox Video Marketplace Going International
Microsoft is finally taking their hugely successful Xbox Live Video Marketplace international, offering it in the UK starting December 11. Gamers in the region will be able to rent both HD and SD versions of full-length films such as 300, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and more for 250 to 380 Microsoft points. This is in addition to over 100 music videos currently avialbale to download from partners Ministry of Sound, Sony BMG, PIAS and Vid Zone.
Robin Truchy, Director of Xbox LIVE for Europe, Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division, commented: “Xbox Live Marketplace Video Store in Europe is all about adding to the ever-expanding number of entertainment choices that our consumers have on their Xbox 360. We want to give them the entertainment they want, in the format they want, when they want it and at an affordable price. We were already offering HD games, HD music videos and the option to enjoy HD-DVD format films, now we are offering HD movies to download and rent as well. This is very exciting for us and the consumer.”
The following titles will be available on day one on the service:
300
HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
ZODIAC
MATRIX, THE
MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, THE
MATRIX RELOADED, THE
OCEAN’S ELEVEN
PERFECT STORM, THE
SWORDFISH
THREE KINGS
TRAINING DAY
FUGITIVE, THE
RISKY BUSINESS
SPACE COWBOYS
EYES WIDE SHUT
ANALYZE THIS
DEMOLITION MAN
ERASER
EXECUTIVE DECISION
LETHAL WEAPON 3
LETHAL WEAPON 4
LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION
MARS ATTACKS!
CLASH OF THE TITANS
SUPERMAN III
DEAD CALM
Switchblade Giving Away WoW Subscriptions
Want to feed your World of Warcraft addiction, but no money to feed it? Try your luck with Blue Orb, the company behind SwitchBlade, the software that lets gamers play the MMORPG with the Xbox 360 controller, as they are giving away a year-long subscription to the game for 12 lucky users.
Between December 4 and 31, gamers downloading their software and registering it will be entered into a drawing that will see them vying for a chance to win the coveted subscription. Existing registered owners will automatically be entered into the drawing.
Pirates of the Sea Open Beta This Friday
Wannabe-pirates across the world can join the open beta for Pirates of the Burning Sea which launches this Friday. The MMORPG, as the title implies, is centered around the life of pirates on the sea, looting and pillaging as they go.
To get into the beta, North Americans will have to head to FilePlanet, with Europeans heading to the official website for localized links. There is also a retail pre-order campaign that will begin on December 12. Those who pre-order will receive and initiation to join the game 15 days prior to launch, a pet, exclusive in-game weapon and an original soundtrack CD featuring 60 minutes of music.
Prince of Persia Film to Begin Shooting in June
Through an interview with Collider, producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that the movie adaptation of Prince of Persia might begin filming in June 2008. This depends on whether the writer’s strike is mediated by summer or not, according to Bruckheimer.
“Well we’re not going to film until June, so hopefully the writers will come to some kind of consensus with the studios and we can continue,” he stated to Collider.
He revealed that though no actors have been cast yet for the film, he has faith in Mike Newell, the newly appointed director, who is known for “Donnie Brasco” that features both Johnny Depp and Al Pacino.
Xbox 360 Gamers Face Brain Challenge
Already revealed through Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade Hits announcement, Gameloft today announced that it is bringing its popular Brain Challenge game to Xbox Live Arcade soon.
“The tremendous growth of mass-market, casual games coupled with the massive consumer acceptance of gaming platforms such as Xbox LIVE Arcade, has opened up a significant opportunity for Gameloft,” said Gonzague de Vallois, senior vice president of Publishing, Gameloft. “Xbox LIVE Arcade is the perfect vehicle for us to expand our presence with players of all types.”
The game has seen 1.5 million units being sold to date and continues to be ranked in the top downloads on carrier decks more than a year after initial release on mobile phones. To be available in early 2008, the Xbox 360 version will see expanded features and a new personal coach function.
It will also be available soon on iPod, Nintendo DS and PC.
New Dead Space Screenshots
EA has released quite a few new screenshots from Dead Space, its upcoming survival horror game set in deep space. The game is said to take inspiration from similarly-themed hororr movie Event Horizon as well as other modern horror movies and survival shooters. It is being developed for the PS3 and Xbox 360.
The shots depict the various monsters that will appear in the title, as well as how they will be smashed to bits and whatnot. Enjoy.
Most Irritating Old School Games
From the yet-more-lists department comes a brand new list that chronicles the ten most irritatingly impossible old school video games ever created. Yes, games were harder back then, which actually appealed to gamers since they would go back not for multiplayer or any other fancy features, but for the difficulty of the game itself. I myself remember pouring hour after hour in Contra.
Some of the games listed deserve their places quite rightfully. This includes Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, Ninja Gaiden and Contra itself. I won’t quote any bits here, because the whole article is an interesting read.
Folklore Competition Winner Announced
Sony and Game Republic announced the winner of the ‘Design a Folk’ competition that saw gamers submitting designs for creatures to be included in Folklore. The contest ran on PlayStation’s EU site, seeing the pictured entry get the winning spot. Dubbed ‘Malion’, the character will be made available exclusively from the PlayStation Store in the New Year.
The winning entry was from Jeff Read from the UK, with runners-up from France, Spain and other countries. Describing his creation, Jeff said, “The Malion (Spore Lion) runs circles around the enemy whilst creating an intoxicating spore cloud from its tail and thorny mane. When the prey is dazed The Malion jumps in for the kill. The tail and claws are primary attacks, but this Folk is highly poisonous… wear protective gloves! The Malion fears fire.”
Okamoto-san and his team at Game Republic were impressed with the quality of designs the competition produced, “To decide a winner was very difficult because the standard was so high. Congratulations to Jeff, the runners-up and all the people who took the time and effort to design a new Folk. We hope you enjoyed being creative and that you continue designing.”
The winner will also receive a Folklore goody bag and a copy of the game in addition to seeing his character immortalized in the game, with the runners-up receiving the game and the goody bag.