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GoldenEye on Xbox Live Arcade?

Akshay Masand — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:15:48 -0600

Rumor has it that the James Bond license issue has been finally simmered down as a clear winner approaches from the feud.

Xbox Evolved suspects that classic rare titles such as Goldeneye for the N64 will soon be on the Xbox Live Marketplace with better graphics and of course multiplayer.

Check back for further updates on the issue. More OddJob complaints are hopefully headed your way in the future.

Videogames to Blame for Child Obesity?

Akshay Masand — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:12:55 -0600

Steve Easterbrook, the chief executive of McDonalds UK, has recently blamed videogames for child obesity. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Are videogames really to blame? It seems kind of silly and stupid of a company such as McDonalds, which makes its money stuffing the mouths of children (see above), to blame the gaming industry and counter-culture for unhealthy eating habits.

It must be the games that have been climbing the sales charts lately - I bet Call of Duty 4 is responsible for thousands of pounds gained over the holiday season, not those Christmas cookies.

Blu-Ray to PSP Official!

Akshay Masand — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:27:48 -0600

Sony recently made an announcement confirming that Playstation 3 and PSP users will be able to directly transfer Blu-Ray content onto the PSP memory stick's for portable viewing. It was shown at the company's CES booth where they demonstrated step by step this new method of disc-copying. They put the Blu-Ray disc into the Playstation 3 and were able to copy the film onto the memory stick duo for their PSP.

One thing left unmentioned was the size of the copied film. Will it be suitable for the small memory stick sizes now? It isn't surprising that Sony also released a new 16GB Memory Stick Pro Duo. Hopefully the size isn't too big because it might hamper the usage of this newly announced feature.

Games For Windows Still Alive

Akshay Masand — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:50:01 -0600

Microsoft has made another CES announcement recently that many PC / Xbox 360 gamers will find interesting. In order to "revive" PC gaming, more Games for Windows titles are being announced. Amongst the titles addressed were:

Alone in the Dark by Atari
Bionic Commando by Capcom
Conflict: Denied Ops by Eidos Interactive
Empire: TOtal War by SEGA
LEGO Indiana Jones by LucasArts
Microsoft Train Sumulator 2 by Microsoft Game Studios
Sins of a Solar Empire by Stardock
Space Siege by SEGA
Tomb Raider: Underworld by Eidos Interactive

Microsoft also wishes to remind the public that these aren't the only titles being released for Games for Windows this year, as the anticipated Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures and Fallout 3 are also expected to ship soon.

Fully Hacked Wii's Coming Soon?

Akshay Masand — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 23:04:46 -0600

A fully hacked Wii that provides native Wii homebrew and runs with full access to Wii hardware was recently demoed at the 24 Annual Chaos Communication Congress (24C3).

What does this mean? For those of you who enjoy running hacked versions of consoles or are interested in experimenting with something of the sort are in luck. It is a recent discovery which was praised due to the fact that it was one of the only consoles that people were unable to hack.

Let's see how Nintendo handles the situation.

UT3 Content Released for Playstation 3

Akshay Masand — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 21:53:32 -0600

User content has been finally released for the Playstation 3 version of Unreal Tournament 3. The first release was a deathmatch map named Spire made by hobbyist designer Thomas "Setheran" Browett. Epic took the map and exported it to the Playstation 3 console. Since the first release, there has been much more user-created content also released by Epic. You can head over to FileShack's directory to download the releases for both the PC and Playstation 3 version of Unreal Tournament 3.

Unfortunately the company has NOT released the tools needed for people to edit content for the game on the Playstation 3. They are still currently working on an editor which they can release to the public. You can still enjoy the previous releases and it is a good sign with a promise for much more content that will be available for download in the future.

COD4 Christmas Gift for PC

Akshay Masand — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:05:20 -0600

PC owners of this popular game now can experience some Christmas spirit. Along with the CoD4 1.4 patch for the PC, a new release of the map Crash was released with some festive spirit. If you haven't already tried it, download it and check it out. Hopefully something of the sort will be released for the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 versions as well.

[GOTY] Best RPG/Strategy Game of 07: World of Warcraft : Burning Crusade

Akshay Masand — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 13:50:16 -0600

Why It Won: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade is the expansion to the award-winning, life-absorbing MMORPG World of Warcraft. It adds new battlegrounds, items, lands, races, and much more to the original game. This expansion bumps up the content of the original game tremendously and makes sure that there's never mindless killing to get the huge number of experience points needed to level-up. While most of the content is for post level 60 players, there are also two new races, the Blood Elf and the Draenei, alongside with two classes: the Shaman for the alliance and the Paladin for the Horde, available to new players as well as old-timers who'd like to experience the lower levels again but from a new angle.

Before the expansion pack, World of Warcraft sort of "ends" once you reach level 60. With the addition of the expansion those who were already 60 now had the challenge of getting to the new level cap which is 70. New areas and quests were released to interest people to level-up alongside with all the player-versus-player action. New items encouraged many to farm for gold, PvP for honor points, and raid for goods to make their character all the more powerful. The new major PvP part of the expansion included an area known as "Eye of the Storm" which is a mixed capture bases and capture the flag type of game where whichever team gets 2,000 points first wins. It is exclusive to higher level players with two brackets, one for those who are levels 60-69 and another which is only for level 70 players. This all combined together proved to be a huge success for the WoW community.

The expansion added a rich new taste to the already great World of Warcraft which proved to be "The MMO to end all other MMO's". It's easy for any person to pick it up and enjoy it. It's well balanced and receives updates every so often as well. The decisions you make here are going to affect your character in the long run -- but you always have the option to change your mind. Overall, Blizzard did an excellent job and further enhanced the experience for older addicts and for those who are soon to become them. If you haven't tried this MMORPG, you need to head over to the site and check out the trial version to see what all the hype is about.

Why You May Disagree: World of Warcraft being a few years old, it's hard to believe that an expansion pack could be better than any original RPG or strategy game released this year. MMOs only appeal to a certain type of person. Most of the content is for level 60 players anyway.

But We Say: Burning crusade adds so much to the game that you could spend a whole year ignoring other RPGs just to hit 70. RPGs only appeal to a certain type of person too... RPG fans. And yes, the bulk of the new content is for people already at level 60, as the point of an expansion pack is to "expand" the game beyond its previous limit. The fact that there are two new classes and other treats for beginners/lower-levelers is a bit of a bonus.

Runner Up:

Mass Effect: The dialog and narrative system in Mass Effect is pretty innovative, but after hours and hours of listening to people talk, I'm not sure if there's anything else to do here. For a self-titled "Action-RPG," there's not a lot of action and the RPG elements become tedious after a while. It's beautiful and deep, but not a whole lot of fun. To be honest, if BioWare hadn't let it "slip" that there would be sex in this game I'm not sure if nearly as many people would have bothered.

Duke Nukem Forever Teaser Trailer On Its Way

Akshay Masand — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 02:08:05 -0600

What?! It's actually might happen? Yes! 3D Realms has announced that there will be a Duke Nukem Forever trailer later today at 9:00 AM PST. The game has been in development for way to long and us gamers finally get to see something about it after such a long time. Are you excited? Above is the image that was released alongside with the trailer. Check the trailer upon its release later today and tune in for more information.

Call of Duty 4 Patch is Available

Akshay Masand — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 01:58:16 -0600

If you hop on to Call of Duty 4, you will be able to download a patch which has all the playlist changes in place now. Amongst the updates is the new Mercenary Team Deathmatch and the now available Hardcore Team Deathmatch, which was previously combined with Hardcore Search and Destroy.

The Playstation 3 has also received a connectivity patch alongside with the regular patch which allows better connection for the game to US server centers as opposed to connecting to European servers and also provides Matchmaking optimization. For a detailed list of updates head over to www.fourzerotwo.com

EA Offers a Good Apology

Akshay Masand — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 01:40:07 -0600

Were you one of the many people who got a defective guitar with your Rock Band bundle? If that was the case, it really does suck to be you, but on the bright side, Electronic Arts is trying to do the right thing by promising customers a free game. When the news was first heard, everyone imagined this "free game" to be one of the less successful games made by the company, but little did we know!

EA released the news of what is to be offered as the "free game" and guess what? It isn't a bunch of crap titles! Unsatisfied customers can now choose from most of EA's 2007 catalogue of games. Amongst the list are games such as Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, Skate, and Fifa Soccer 08.

If you were one of the many who opened your bundle to find a broken guitar, you are in luck. Hit the link to see a full list of games available and get your copy if you are one of the unsatisfied Rock Band customers.

PS3 Firmware Update

Akshay Masand — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:54:14 -0600

A new Playstation 3 firmware update is headed out tomorrow. Version 2.10 is adding a bunch of features for Playstation 3 owners to use. The update includes a voice changer for users to change the high and low tone of their voice, a Blue-Ray profile 1.1 support, which boasts interactive features which have yet to be released on Blue-Ray discs, and a limited DivX support (amongst the restrictions is that any file over 2gb cannot be played).

The firmware addressed a few updates that were in demand but it isn't anything out of the ordinary. Hopefully the voice changer won't lead to children pretending to be adults because that would annoy many. It is surprising that they put restrictions on DivX support. We'll see how that turns out to be amongst the Playstation 3 community. Turn on the Playstation 3 tomorrow and download the update for your new firmware.

Guitar Hero DLC on the Way!

Akshay Masand — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:44:19 -0600

Those of you who have been sitting around waiting for some Guitar Hero content are in luck! Activision has recently announced that they have a bunch of songs that will be available to download for the holidays. It's good news for Guitar Hero players tired of being left out as their Rock Band brethren secure Foo Fighters packs.

The most popular songs from the DLC include a three-song pack for Guitar Hero 3 which includes "No More Sorrow" by Linkin park, "Sleeping Giant" by Mastadon, and "Pretty Handsome Awkward" by The Used. Unfortunately these songs do not come individually so if you don't like one, you're stuck with it. There will be individual songs available as well, such as"So Payaso" by Extremoduro, "Antisocial" by Trust, and "Erten Was Wir S?en" by Die Fantastischen Vier. The individual songs are hit European tracks. We'll have to see how those turn out to be in terms of success.

Prices have not yet been revealed but they will most likely resemble the prices for packs that were available for Guitar Hero 2. For those of you who can't spend the money for these extra songs or don't want to, a free rendition of "We Three Kings" done by Steve Ouimette will be available. So pickup those guitars, pop in the Guitar Hero CD,and head over to the Playstation Network or the Xbox Live Marketplace this holiday season for some new songs. Sorry Wii owners, news for DLC content for Nintendo's console is still yet to come.

Demo Impressions: Burnout Paradise

Akshay Masand — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:01:07 -0600

Today was the day that the Burnout Paradise demo hit the Playsation Network and the Xbox Live Marketplace. With many hopes for the second next-gen Burnout game in the series, many users rushed to download and try the game. Criterion Games has been releasing information out to the public slowly piece by piece with the previous release of a gameplay trailer, a map of the track available on the demo, and many screenshots. We slowly found out that Paradise City was going to be an open world that the players would be able to roam around then heard about other features such as new tracks, cars, etc. With the release of the demo, all the hype behind the new content in the game has been done just right. Read more after the break.

The graphics are amazing and truly do shine. The cars look great, the city looks beautiful, and you can easily distinguish between objects. The car crashing physics have been improved as well. When you drive directly into a wall, you can see the front part of your car being crushed whereas the back isn't affected as much unlike in Burnout Revenge where the car would just explode. The car handling is very responsive and although there is an arcade-style touch to it, you shouldn't expect any less from an arcade-style racer.

One of the things that was being questioned was the online play. With a jump to an open world, many people were wondering how the online play would turn out. Criterion Games has handled this very smoothely. Its very easy to get online by just using the d-pad menu's to get you online. You automatically get put into a free roam world with other players where you compete for game goals, such as "Best Drift", "Highest Jump", "Longest Distance on a Jump", etc. If you want to race with anyone, you go up to the correct part of the map, and you hit the correct combination of buttons to get a race started. Countless hours of fun should be had online.

Overall, Burnout Paradise should be a game to look forward to. The demo was short, but it is a demo afterall, so you can't expect much. For those of you who haven't checked it out yet, head over to the Playstation Network or the Xbox Live Marketplace and download the demo to give it a shot. Criterion Games has successfully moved the Burnout franchise to a next-gen style title utilizing more of the features from the newer systems.

Sega's New Software Tool

Akshay Masand — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:00:18 -0600

Have you ever been watching a cut scene when you suddenly notice that the character's lips don't move along with the words? This is because many developers get too lazy to do the lip movements for all the scenes because it usually takes up a lot of time. It gets even harder if you have multiple cut scenes (which most games usually do).

Sega recently released a new software tool which analyzes a voice sample and is able to match the words of the character to realistic facial movements. It has been said to even report different expressions such as happiness and sadness. The cost of this specific tool is $1,862. Although there are many software tools such as this one out in the market, tests show that this is one with higher efficiency. Will more developers utilize this tool? Only time will tell.

Level Editor for EchoChrome Unveiled

Akshay Masand — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:44:32 -0600

One of the most eagerly anticipated games for the PSP is EchoChrome, which is due out in spring. If you don't already know about the game, its a puzzle game where you have to go from point A to point B. The game is heavily focused on camera angles and challenges the users to think creatively. The game became an instant interest for many gamers who saw it during its development in E3 earlier this year.

The game demo has been circulated around on the PS3 and it has been confusing those playing it quite a bit. Like every game it does have its learning curve but in EchoChrome the learning curve might be a little longer, as it is not like any ordinary game you can just pick up and play. The Playstation PR Manager announced that the game is tentative for a spring release but currently the only thing holding it back from its release is the development and testing of a game level editor. That isn't exactly bad news because a level editor may extend the replay value of a puzzle game extensively. For those interested in the demo, try it out through the PS3 network. Lets hope that this game lives up to its hype.

Video Game Training DS Announced by Namco Bandai

Akshay Masand — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:40:09 -0600

Are you interested in improving your video game skills? You might be in luck if you have DS. Namco Bandai announced a new game that supposedly trains you to play video games which improves your gamer skills such as reflexes and memorization. Video Game Training DS is a collection of mini-games based on Namco's classic games which include Galaga, Xevious, and Mappy. The new DS game reportedly has over 500 mini-games based which are based on over 30 different titles developed by Namco.

How much will this actually help your skills? Will it be fun? We'll find out in time. The game is will be released in Japan on March 20, 2008. No announcement for release in the United States as of yet.

FURY; Free to Download & Free to Play

Akshay Masand — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 13:44:21 -0600

Gamecock Media Group and Auran Games announced that Fury will be free to download and free to play starting December 14, 2007, due to the release of their first free major update. Their update is known as "Age of the Chosen" and is the company's answer to hopefully get more people to play their game. The company's new business model was their solution to the problems they had after a big loss in capital along with laying off a bunch of employees.

The "Age of the Chosen" does come with its catches though. The new category of players will be labeled "Chosen" and can participate in all the game types, equip all the weapons, and unlock all 400 abilities, without a time limit of how long you can play. It does have its catches though, players who are "Chosen" will be unable to trade with other players, they will earn less gold and essence as well. We will have to wait and see how this business strategy will work out for the Gamecock Media Group and Auran Games.

It might be something to consider if you can get your hands off all the other games released this last quarter. After this Friday, head on over and give it a go!

Tired of Paying For Microsoft Points You Don't Need? Get Used To It

Akshay Masand — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:12:49 -0600

Have you ever purchased a bundle of Microsoft Points so you can get something you want only to find out that you have an obscure number of points leftover? It has been a common thing for a while on the Marketplace and even more so recently thanks to DLC from games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero 3. With the newly released single song downloads for the following games, many of the users find themselves having an odd number of points leftover and then having to purchase another bundle of points for future purchases.

The aggravation had risen to the point where 1up editor Patrick Klepek decided to speak to a product manager Aaron Greenberg about the issue. Greenberg mentioned that the reason Microsoft does this is because they don't want to "burden" the consumers with the publishers, themselves, or transaction fees. He mentioned that they bundle the points to keep infrastructure costs down even though it is frustrating at times.

Regardless of whether we like it or not, we're stuck with these bundled Microsoft Points as Greenberg had mentioned that there is no future plan to change this process. We're going to have to put up with the issue unless for some odd reason you don't want any DLC, Xbox Live Arcade Games, or anything else the Xbox Live Marketplace has to offer.

Call Your Auto Insurance Agent; Burnout Paradise Date & Demo Confirmed

Akshay Masand — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 10:37:17 -0600

Criterion Games is releasing the demo for the newest installment in the Burnout series, Burnout Paradise. They have recently announced that the game's exact release date will be on January 22nd. The new game boasts a free roaming world with better graphics than ever. It has new modes, new cars, and new tracks but will that be enough to offer a new interest in the series?

This Thursday (December 13th), the Burnout Paradise demo will hit the Playstation Network, Playstation Store, and the Xbox Live Marketplace. This demo will allow you to explore 3 neighborhoods that are a part of Paradise City, play in 3 events (one of which include the new mode Stunt Run), and go head to head against your friends. The developers have recently posted a glance of a new demo map that will be available for play this Thursday. Just a little longer before you can start revving your engines and hit the Paradise City streets.

Microsoft Series Licensed by New Studio

Akshay Masand — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 20:28:40 -0600

Founder of the now closed FASA Studios, Jordan Weisman, is now the founder and CEO of Smith & Tinker which is good news for fans of series such as Crimson Skies, MechWarrior, and Shadowrun. Weisman has announced that he was able to license the rights to each of the Microsoft series as well as other properties recently owned by FASA.

The new studio has also announced that their goal is to "surprise" and "delight" their older fans while welcoming new fans to their "fantastic worlds". The announcement isn't surprising because the new studio Smith & Tinker also focuses on other "entertainment products" such as books, games, and toys. Lets see what Smith & Tinker has in store for us, in the mean time, for those of you who still play games such as Shadowrun, you can still pick up your copy and enjoy.

Activision Not Neglecting Wii Guitar Hero III

Akshay Masand — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 19:20:01 -0600

For all the Guitar Hero 3 fans who unfortunately own their copy on the Wii, it is a time to rejoice. Activision is not neglecting their product for the Wii whose copies had shipped out with mono sound. Stereo-enabled discs will be given free of charge from Activision when they are released sometime early next year. The method of shipment is still unknown as of right now as is the date of release.

RedOctane has also announced working with Nintendo to help get DLC out for the system and fix some of the multiplayer bugs along with it. Guitar Hero fanboys for the Wii now have something to look forward to as they too will be able to play with all the functions the PS3 and the Xbox360 version have.