Category: XBox 360

Hands on with the NXE

So apparently, if you filled out an application for the NXE a few weeks back, you can already get online and grab your update for the XBox 360. I turned on my 360 earlier tonight and was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a new update, which then promptly replaced the old dashboard with the slick shiny new one.

All in all, while I like the way they’ve re-organized things, it all just seems overwhelmingly unnecessary, though I understand that something had to be done about all the clutter with the marketplace and the usability in general. I like the sleek look of it, and I can’t wait to test out the party system, which will let me bring several friends into games at once and do private chats with groups of people.
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Fallout 3 Versus Oblivion

So we are several weeks into the holiday season of video game releases, and no doubt many of you are already piled too high with games to play. Myself, I just finished Saint’s Row 2 over the weekend and have just jumped into Fable II as of yesterday. One game that I’m putting on hold so I can savor it in its entirety is Fallout 3, which has been good to me when I’ve had a chance to play it.

I know a lot of people are curious about how it stacks up against say, Oblivion, so CVG has put together a little article that stacks the two against each other head to head in terms of eye candy, combat, questing and the worlds that the games take place in. Looks like Oblivion wins, in their eyes. Definitely worth a look if you’re into either game.

Personally, it seems that Oblivion had way more interesting quests (dark brotherhood, wow), but Fallout 3’s story is very immersive, as is the world of the wasteland. What about you guys, what do you think?

Source- CVG

Bragging Rights: Pwning Call of Duty 4

Do you ever finish a game and don’t know what to play next? Man, I agonize over this sometimes. Should I go back and play some more Oblivion, but if I do will I not want to play Fallout 3 when I get it for Christmas? Do I want to finish Final Fantasy X-2 or find more prizes in Little Big Planet? When in doubt, I play Call of Duty 4.
Continue reading Bragging Rights: Pwning Call of Duty 4

Another Prince of Persia Story Trailer

Sigh. Another really cool trailer for Prince of Persia. I guess you can watch it and get happy or something. Me? I’ll just sulk because it means another $60 out of my pocket. Thanks video gaming. You rule like a kick in the nuts.

Call of Duty World at War Teases us with Jungles

Another trailer is out for Call of Duty: World at War, this one featuring sneaky foes hiding in secret jungles, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. This game released this week a little under the radar, considering how much hype was centered around it, but so far I’m only hearing great things. In particular, I hear the Pacific levels are wild and epic, with some huge clashes.

Has anyone played this? Tell us your thoughts!

Halo 3: Recon Details in New Game Informer

If you’re a Halo fan and a subscriber to the popular magazine Game Informer, then you’re going to be a very happy person this weekend. In the newest issue, there is a 10 page feature over Halo 3: Recon, due out in late 2009. While the article doesn’t have anything new in terms of gameplay or screenshots, it features tons of concept art, plus a few interesting details…

For one, Recon armor will be unlockable with all of the vidmaster achievements in Halo 3, so if you do those, yes, you can has. Second, Bungie doesn’t see Halo 3: Recon as a $60 game, especially considering that it’s an expansion pack that is about 5-6 hours long in terms of its single player campaign. This is exciting news, and I really wish more developers would follow suit on this.

Hopefully I’ll get my GI in the mail today or tomorrow, so I can provide some new details. Anybody else think this is cool, or are you just not that jazzed about Halo 3: Recon?

Source- HBO

Left 4 Dead Demo Impressions

As many of us know, the Left 4 Dead demo dropped on XBox Live as well as Steam yesterday, sending gamers into a frenzy much akin to the virtual undead hordes that awaited bullet-pummeling. After a bit of a download time, I managed to nab the demo myself over XBL for the 360, and I couldn’t wait to get into my first game.

The thing that was curious to me from the menus and even once the game started was how much it felt like a game that belonged on the PC rather than the 360. Something about the controls, the HUD, the interface, everything about it screamed PC at me. Even hooking up with a party didn’t feel completely intuitive, though after a bit the matter was settled. So how was the gameplay?

Continue reading Left 4 Dead Demo Impressions

Saving Seconds on those 360 Load times with NXE

The New XBox Experience is going live to the masses, bringing with it a variety of cool features for the XBox 360, replacing the current dashboard with something new, shiny and more avatar-y. One of the more notable features (in addition to group chat, finally) will be the ability to install games directly from your 360 game disc to your HDD. The idea is that this will significantly cut down on load times.

But does it? BingeGamer has put together a nice little chart that details just how much time is saved on game loads. It’s actually interested to check out, especially if you own any of the games that they tested. Apparently, Halo 3 is actually SLOWER after the install, and Lost Odyssey seems to have the most improvement.

Overall, the seconds saved seems pretty miniscule (around 10 seconds on average) compared to the several gigabyte installs. I guess i won’t be using this feature too much, then. What do you guys think? Are load times unbearable for you? Are you excited about the NXE at all?

Source- BingeGamer

Rumor: Fable II Announcement Tease

Lionhead Studios are a crafty bunch of dudes. Also, they’re European, so you know that makes them of an extra wily sort. Plots, schemes, tricks and even hijinx are a part of their repertoire. Well, it seems that those devils are up to no good again, as they are now teasing about a HUGE Fable II announcement coming next week.

I mean, I’m not trying to be a cynic… but how huge could it be? In all likelihood, it’s DLC, so why should I poop my pants about it? Unless they’re giving you a code that unlocks 20 more hours of gameplay, I can’t see what the big deal is.

So what do you guys think the announcement is? Horse armor? A new patch? More wives?!

Source- Eurogamer

Left 4 Dead Goes Zombies on a Plane

We all want Left 4 Dead. Zombies and such. Well, part of the goodness that is L4D is the main campaign which can be played as 4 player co-op, or if you have no friends, by yourself. This campaign is split into 4 acts. So far, we only know that one is in the corn fields, one is in a hospital, and some new details have recently emerged about a third act, “Dead Air”, which takes place in an airport.

The dudes over at Rock, Paper, Shotgun have meticulously constructed what they call a Photo Essay of this part of the campaign, spoiling everything and showing you all the details that you could possibly want to know about this great zombie shooter. Beware though, there are spoilers galore, especially considering that this is possibly the last act of the game.

The Left 4 Dead demo also drops on XBL today. Excited much?

Source- Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Mirror’s Edge Arrives, Sneaky Style

So in all the hoop-lah from Gears of War 2 over the weekend, I forgot that Mirror’s Edge was going to show up today. Today! I’m totally at a loss for how I’m going to manage to play this game with everything else, seeing as how I need to move on to other games, but keep playing Horde mode. Anywho, there are some new videos out on GameTrailers showing even more of this awesome gameplay, and reviews are starting to come out everywhere as well.

The question, as always- who’s actually picking this up today? Let us know!

Finish Him, MK vs DC Universe Style

A new video is out that showcases some of the finishing moves found in the soon-to-be-unleashed Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe game, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. While the middle schooler in me wishes that these were proper Mortal Kombat fatalities from the days of yore, it’s still incredible to see Superman whack-a-mole a dude down into the earth.

What were some of your favorite Mortal Kombat fatalities? I was a big fan of Liu Kang’s dragon bite in MK 2, personally.

Call of Duty: World at War Launch Trailer

Get your grunge rock hats and gaming helmets on, because the Call of Duty: World at War launch trailer is upon us. I can’t believe this game is out this coming Tuesday. Lots of sweet explosions, slow motion headshots, and action galore. Can’t wait!

Who Else Got Gears of War 2?

So I got Gears of War 2 at midnight last night, and then played til just after 4 in the morning, central standard time. I’m about to hop on it again, too. I got about almost halfway through the game I’m guessing, and I wanted to leave a few impressions.

If you were even remotely a fan of the first campaign, get this game. So far, I’d have to say it’s tougher, huger and more epic than the first. There are constantly more enemies, more objectives, and all the new gameplay features work out really well together. I haven’t even dipped into the multiplayer modes yet, but I think the campaign is going to be a distraction for hours to come. Save for one completely out of place level (you’ll know it when you play it).

So yeah, weigh in if you got this game already or plan on getting it in the near future. If there are enough of us, I’d like to try a GamerSushi community match at some point in the near future. Let me know!

Sega to Sell Retro and Happiness

In news that is totally awesome, it seems that Sega is going to be packaging Sega games, Master games and 80’s arcade games in a hugely ridiculous bundle for sale on the XBox 360 and Playstation 3 in early 2009.

I know, this might sound like one of those “big effing deal” kind of things, but wait until you hear just how many games are going to be included. Forty. That’s right, the big four zero. It will include the three big Sonic games as well as Streets of Rage, Ecco the Dolphin, and more.

The Sega Genesis was one of my favorite systems ever, so it’s really great to hear this news. Basically, they will be selling me my childhood on a disc, and I will give them money hand over fist to remember those blissful halcyon days. Anyone else excited about this?

Source- Shacknews

EDIT: In a very “dude” worthy move, Sega has posted the official list of games for the Ultimate Collection. It has games like Comix Zone, Shinobi III, Vectorman (I and II), Shining Force II, Phantasy Star, Sonic, and way more. Check it out.

Crazy Impressions of Left 4 Dead

The more I see out of Left 4 Dead, the more I want it like a baseball player needs his next inject. All of the modes of play, the co-op, the hordes of scrambling frothing undead, it all just looks like pure entertainment to me.

That being said, it was cool to read some Left 4 Dead impressions from Rock, Paper, Shotgun today. They go pretty in depth about their experience after delving into the game for several hours, and play through the game on a high difficulty setting.

To me, one of the coolest things is the need for teamwork, the way the “Director” AI makes the game different each time you play it, and the sheer numbers of the zombies. Seriously, they said they killed over 11,000 in their playtime. No lie. Go give it a read if you’re interested in this game!

Source- Rock Paper Shotgun

Mirror’s Edge Impressions: Free Running Bliss

So last week, the Mirror’s Edge Demo dropped with a mighty splash on Sony’s PSN as well as XBox Live, bringing with it the stylized First Person Platformer that we’ve been catching tantalizing glimpses of for months.

The demo comes with a trial mode (if you’ve pre-ordered the game) as well as a tutorial and a small bit of the single player campaign. Having been excited about this one for a few months, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it and give it some control time myself. So how does it hold up?

Continue reading Mirror’s Edge Impressions: Free Running Bliss

Gears of War 2 Opening Cinematic

Since I did it for Left 4 Dead, I couldn’t help but post the opening cinematic for Gears of War 2. From the looks of it, this game is way more cinmea-riffic than the first one, which only had a small amount of cutscenes. I’m loving the tone, and the crazy battle sequences set up the game to be pretty huge and dark. Loving it. I might pee a little when I play. But only a little.

Next Gen Underachievers

Remember when your teacher would give you progress reports and it always said something like, “Not living up to potential”?
Yeah, me either. But I am sure it happens to people out there, just as we know that some games are not living up to their next-gen potential. This post will examine these chronic underachievers.

Continue reading Next Gen Underachievers

Gears of War 2 Reviews Rolling In

As many of you know, Gears of War 2 finally hits this Friday, November 7th. I am actually taking off work for the day, not just for the release, but let’s be honest, it played a big part of it. The exciting thing is that Microsoft has now lifted the embargo on reviews of the game, so they’re starting to pour in like crazy.

Videogaming247 has put together a list of some of the reviews, and I couldn’t help but glance at a couple of them. All told, Gears of War 2 sounds awesome, and is longer, deeper and more epic than the original. I can’t wait. GOWFans also has 50 new high-res screenshots.

Who else is getting Gears of War 2?

Source- Videogaming247