November 2008 Archives
How to Identify an Xbox 360 with Jasper Chipset
In their bid to make the Xbox 360 quieter, less power-consuming and more reliable, Microsoft have been slowly rolling out new chipsets. The latest revision to the silicon inside the Xbox 360 is code-named "Jasper". It replaces the second generation "Falcon" chips that many credited with reducing the Red Ring... [More]
Last Remnant Gets Mostly Free DLC
Square Enix today announced four new downloadable content packs coming next month for The Last Remnant. These additions do not add a whole lot more in terms of content, but they should change up the game in a meaningful way. Best of all, they are all free, except for the... [More]
Square Enix Hearts the Xbox 360
Somebody find a way to break the news to Sony. While the undisputed champion of Japanese consoles has been busy trying to reproduce its trend of world domination with the PS3, Sony’s old sweetheart Square Enix has grown impatient. Signs are showing that the Japanese RPG maker has grown weary... [More]
Prince of Persia Achievements Checklist
How much of a man (or woman) are you? Do you think you've got what it takes to extract every last point of gamer score from the upcoming Prince of Persia adventure? Before you raise your hand, have a look at the list below. There are some tough challenges on... [More]
Fallout 3 DLC Announced, PC Version Gets Editor
Bethesda dropped a megaton's worth of news on Fallout 3 fans today, as the studio announced that its post-apocalyptic RPG will soon getting a whole lot better. Both the Xbox 360 and PC versions of the game will get new downloadable content starting in January. Two more downloadable content packs... [More]
Lionhead Reveals Fable 2 Expansion
Today, Lionhead and Microsoft issued an early Christmas present for Fable 2 fans: a downloadable expansion pack called Knothole Island. The downloadable content adds a whole new landmass, characters and quests to the main storyline. The extra content will be available for download in mid December, for the price of... [More]
Mirror's Edge Review
Do you think you have the guts enough to run across high buildings, evade police, dodge gun fire and do all of this while racing against the clock? If not, I know a couple of people willing to go that extra mile to make sure your package gets to its... [More]
Internet Pranksters Send Crowbar to Large Hadron Collider
The Internet was aflutter earlier in the summer with debate about the newly-built Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. Topics ranged from how awesome the giant particle accelerator is, to how much money it cost to build, to how the experiment will inevitably collapse the interdimensional time-cube and bring about the... [More]
Colin McRae: DiRT 2 Announced
UK development house Codemasters has officially announced that it is developing a sequel to current-gen rally game, DiRT. The multi-platform title won accolades from critics for its fluid and realistic physics, wide variety of gorgeous tracks, and incredible real-time damage system. If a car got too beaten up during a... [More]
Lost and Damned Screenshots and Details
Earlier we announced that the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV DLC, titled "The Lost and the Damned" will be coming to the Xbox 360 in February. Now we have an official announcement and some screenshots from the expansion pack directly from Rockstar. Most interesting in this new announcement is the... [More]
Grand Theft Auto IV DLC Announced, Delayed
The good news is that we now have details on the upcoming downloadable content for Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV. The bad news is that rumors of a delay have proven to be true. Fans of the urban crime title won’t be able to get their episodic DLC fix before... [More]
Sony Blocks Netflix Movies from Xbox 360
With the launch of the New Xbox Experience (NXE), 360 owners will be able to stream full-length movies through their console using a Netflix subscription. That is, unless the film they want to view happens to be the property of Sony Pictures. The Japanese media company has quietly blocked all... [More]
Is it Over for Rock Music Games?
Being a rock star is not all parties, groupies, and throwing furniture out of 5-star hotel rooms. Alright, well maybe it is, but like every seemingly awesome job, rock stardom also has its inevitable downside. As one much wiser than us once put it, every rose has its thorn. Anyone... [More]
The 5 Best Multiplayer Party Games
Just because we live in an era of ubiquitous broadband doesn’t mean multiplayer games should be played alone. Some of the best gaming experiences happen when we gather our friends together to play in the same room. Yes, you could trash talk someone over a mic, but it just doesn’t... [More]
Rare Teases New Games: Battletoads 2?
One of the most endearing characters in Rare's new game, Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is the self-appointed Lord of All Games. This sarcastic robot dishes the trash talk like no other NPC before him, threatening to usurp even the deadpan GLaDOS for pure masochistic laughs. At one point in... [More]
Introducing the Zeebo: Brazil's New Console
Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo may dominate the global market for video games, but they don't rule in every corner of the world. The extremely high cost of new video game consoles and games in Brazil has led to unusual market conditions in that emerging country – and a potential market... [More]
US Hardware and Software Charts for October 2008
Results for last month's video game hardware and software charts are in, giving us a better idea of how the holiday shopping season is shaping up for manufacturers. This month was full of surprises. First, without a surefire hit game in sight, the Nintendo Wii still managed to blow away... [More]
Gears Of War 2 Review
Welcome back to the suck, soldier! You had better bring some extra ammo and a healthy side of courage, because the Locust is back and rolling fierce without taking prisoners. I bet you thought it was all over and you could take a vacation, right? Well get with the program... [More]
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Trailer
The fighting game with perhaps the most intense title ever now has a spiffy trailer to match. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is coming soon to the Xbox 360 marketplace, and the developers at Udon have released a brand new trailer showing off some of the gorgeous character... [More]
A Message From Adam Sessler On Fanboys
Attention members of the gaming community, I have one thing to say to all those fanboys out there. Shut up and do your talking on the battlefield! My biggiest pet peeve in the gaming world are the fanboys dissing other people that don't have the same interest in games or... [More]
Square Enix to Publish Supreme Commander 2
The Japanese publisher Square Enix has been on the prowl for Western game properties in an effort to expand its market in the lucrative North American and European markets. The Japanese company, most well known for its hit RPG franchises, has begun reaching out to smaller development studios in the... [More]
Console Modders Banned From Xbox Live
Microsoft has been busy this week banning users suspected of having modded (hacked) their Xbox 360 consoles. Certain Xbox 360 consoles can be modified using an unauthorized process in order to play pirated versions of games. Microsoft evidently has a system in place to detect when a modded console is... [More]
Rock Band Creators Earn 300 Million Dollar Bonus
While many game studios are facing closure in a tough economic climate, at lease two game developers are making out like bandits. Viacom has announced that it is set to pay the creators of the Rock Band franchise bonuses of more than USD 300 million as part of the 2006... [More]
EA Unveils "Premium" DLC for Dead Space
The horror! Downloadable content horror, that is. Mega-publisher Electronic Arts wants gamers to pull out their wallets to purchase additional skins and weapons for the recently released thriller, Dead Space. Thanks to these so-called "Premium Upgrades", players will be able to roast enemies harder and with more flair than ever... [More]
Rumor: Dead Rising 2, eh
Capcom isn't quite ready to reveal the sequel to their successful zombie kill-a-thon, but sources close to the company say it is indeed under development. In an interesting twist, industry insiders say that the game has been outsourced to a western development studio based in Vancouver, Canada. Blue Castle Games... [More]
Atari Revives Ghostbusters Game
Does anyone remember Ghostbusters, the game that was ingloriously cancelled in the wake of the Activision/Vivendi merger? Well, Phil Harrison, the new CEO of Atari certainly does. He and his beleaguered publishing company have signed an agreement with developers Terminal Reality to bring Ghostbusters to all consoles in 2009. And... [More]
Does Rock Band 2's additional songs rock-eth?
If you registered Rock Band 2 to receive an additional 20 free tracks to download, you may become slightly disappointed with the playlist. These songs are from lesser known bands - perhaps underground sounds. Is the free content worth the approximate 500mb download? You tell us! Here's the track-listing provided... [More]
Top 5 Xbox Gaming Costumes
We couldn't leave our 360 fan out in the cold when it comes to the best fan boy costumes, so we had to do a special for Xbox 360 games as well. Of course, I know some of these are cross platform, but they're still pretty damned popular on the... [More]
Your NXE Questions Answered
Lots of my friends and fellow gamers have questions about the New Xbox Experience which is scheduled to be released on November 19th. The NXE has received a lot of love and a lot of hate from both sides of the gaming spectrum, such as casual gamers embracing the avatar... [More]
Voice Acting in Fable: Why it's so Good
Anyone who has played Fable II has likely been impressed with the sheer scope of the game world crafted by Peter Molyneux and his team at Lionhead Studios. From the graphics to the wide array of moral choices presented in the sandbox adventure, Fable II exceeds the scope of any... [More]
Amazon: Pre-Order Lancer Get GOW 2 Free!
Marcus Fenix has recently become a gaming icon, not because he's a bad ass (because he totally is), but more so because his favored weapon is like a machine gun and a chainsaw had an affair and named the love child Lancer. Many a gaming fanboy has wanted one of... [More]
Microsoft: LittleBigBoku?
It looks like Microsoft will be cutting into Sony's build-your-own platformer, LittleBigPlanet, with the release of their programming tool, dubbed Boku. Boku is currently detailed on the Microsoft Research website and boasts such features as cross-platform production on both the PC and the Xbox 360, interactive terrain editor, and 20... [More]
Economic Crisis Hits Game Companies Hard
No sector of the economy is safe from the current financial crisis, not even the escapist video game industry. A plethora of studios have announced major job cuts in the past weeks, as tightening purse strings force developers to make tough choices and focus on key game properties. The latest... [More]
5 Ways the New Xbox Experience Will Change Your Game
On November 19, Microsoft will unleash its New Xbox Experience (NXE), heralding the next step in the company's plot to take over the world the living room. Much has already been said about the new multimedia features contained in the update: movie rentals through Netflix, cute player avatars, and photo-sharing... [More]
Burnout Paradise: Party Pack & More!
In all our days of gaming, Criterion Games is the first known to honorably continue to provide updates, expansions, and innovations to a game: Burnout Paradise. So what's next for Paradise City? Party Packs! Criterion Games classifies Burnout as an "awesome social game," but the social aspect is restricted to... [More]
