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• Week in the Xbox 360: 4/14-4/20/08

  by April 23rd 2008 9:35 PM CDT1 Comments

  Welcome to yet another late Week in the Xbox 360! Last week we had some cool stuff happen, and even though it was 4/20, we were here bustin' the majicks.
  
  A 360 power supply was cited as part of the cause of a fire in a Little Rock, Arkansas home. While 99.99% of people have had no such problem, local Little Rock news site todaysTHV.com is reporting to stay away from 360's, their power supplies and all electronics ever created. Because, you know, electricity creates fire. Duh.
  
  There's a Condemned 2 demo up on XBL, as well as an Iron Man demo that will most likely make or break your buying decision for both titles. Recommend that both of those be checked out, regardless of what you like to play. Use that bandwidth damnit.
  
  Unreal Tournament 3, which has so far only graced the PC and PS3 thus far, is set for a Summer release. Not only that, it'll come with 5 exclusive multiplayer maps (as if anyone would buy it for the single player). Can anyone say awesome?
  
  Quake Wars: Enemy Territory also got the lowdown with descriptions based on the differences between the 360 and PS3 versions, which mainly how the 360 is awesome while the PS3...just tries to keep the experience. Nerve is doing our version while Activision's Underground Development is doing the enemy's PS3's. They are "...focusing in on other things like ... making the game look as good as it could on the PS3" and "creating systems that do what Xbox Live [already] does like matchmaking [and] server migration." How pitiful.
  
  DC has been making headlines this week, first by announcing that they are going to publish the Gears of War comic book series, which we can only be excited for since DC does that for a living (a welcome change). Midway also announced that the newest Mortal Kombat would venture into the DC universe, with MK vs. DC. Sure, Marvel vs. Capcom was ok, and SNK vs. Marvel vs. Capcom worked, but the one thing Mortal Kombat had was a completely unique universe. Putting it together with DC? Hopefully I'm the only one going WTF. A fight between Batman and Scorpion is not exactly a fair fight, at least not in my book.
  
  Finally, some news on the Xbox Originals. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Metal Arms join the ranks, which are some good choices if you asked me. Though I see no reason to start at Chaos Theory...why not start from the Original? No matter, both were and are excellent games, and there's no good reason why any of you shouldn't have both.
  
  That about wraps up this weeks, once again late, Week in the Xbox 360. Come back next week to see, hopefully, some good news on GTA4 gameplay that we've had, the latest news, and for once something timely.
  
• Week of 4/7-4/13/08

  by April 15th 2008 2:08 PM CDT2 Comments

  Yar, another week has come and gone, another week of news filled splendor. So while you work to finish filing your taxes, we grabbed the best stuff from last week fer ye, right here.
  
  You may not be the type to hack or mod your hardware, probably due to the fear of warranty destruction and RROD, but hey, no worries! That's why we've got other 360 hardware to mod, like the controller. The guys at HackNMod found (and pretty much made) the top five controller mods, all of which are safe for just about everyone. Except your wallet, if you screw up.
  
  While not actually Xbox news, Dan "Shoe" Hsu, previously Editor in Chief at EGM and now the Editorial Director for the whole 1UP network, will be resigning after 11 years there. Many of us grew up reading his articles, and it's sad to see him go. We'll miss you while your gon Dan, and we're all waiting to see what you do next.
  
  Ikaruga was released on Wednesday, after being long awaited by many, and now feared by even more. The classic Dreamcast shooter is undeniably challenging, and we'll have a full review on it shortly.
  
  Another game you might be interested, but probably not really expecting much of, is Crysis. Crysis, so far a PC only title, has only unnofficially been slated for consoles, but from reports, it runs just fine. According to Crytek developers, "We expect the final outcome will result in games that look like they're running at high settings, or nearly high settings, on a PC." Considering that low settings looked frickin amazing, and Ultra High was like having an ice cream party while skydiving.
  
  

  
  We found out that you'll have the chance to do what has never been done before: play as Darth Vader. That's right, in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, the entire first level is played with the force powers, light saber and capable hands of his sithness himself.
  
  Unfortunately, that's it. We had a few things we covered over the week that are interesting, like the 360-Wiimote, though we did change our servers and were down for a few days. Don't worry though, we're back and ready to rumble. Now don't forget to finish those taxes filing, or you won't be worrying much about what you missed over the week. You'll be worrying about having a 360 to play.
• Week of 3/31-4/6

  by April 7th 2008 11:34 AM CDT1 Comments

  Welcome back! Last week we didn't have much to discuss at all, but this week's April Fools antics left us scratching our heads most of the week. Now we've got it all sorted out, so we'll lay down the real news for you right here.
  
  We'll start off big with the chance to make movie director Uwe Boll stop making films. That's right, there's a possibility in site, according to an interview over at Fearnet that went live yesterday. A petition started and had approximately 18,000 signitures, but he scoffed that off in the interview, saying at 1 million was needed to make him quit. It may be my untrusting nature, but this isn't the first time he's made such a bold statement, the last time where he said he would box anyone and knew full well that most people didn't know he was an amatuer boxer back in the day. However, you can sign the petition here. Right now it's at 51k, just 5% of what we need. Let's get to work people.
  
  A new video of Ninja Gaiden 2 popped up, and while it doesn't say much, we get a glimpse at Rachel's replacement and some backstory, involving Ryu with the CIA somehow. And, of course, she's exceptionally well endowed, which is an absolute, complete surprise.
  
  Remember Gertsmanngate? Just to give you the heads up, the guy who sacked him, Josh Larson, just got sacked himself. We're still not sure if all's better, but hey, Gertsmann's supposedly doing well for himself.
  
  The new Call of Duty 4 maps went live this week, knocking down the Xbox Live servers. It's all better now, but if you haven't gotten your hands on those new maps yet, take a look and pick them up.
  
  Ubisoft announced, after gaining full control of Tom Clancy's name for their titles, H.A.W.X., a flight simulator/wargame. They'll also have Tom Clancy's My Little Pony 1&2 later this year.
  
  Other than that, was of course the April Fools antics, which you can see in devine detail here, here and here. Come back next week when we show you the best of what'll happen...this week.
  
  
• Week in the Xbox 360: 3/24-3/30

  by April 1st 2008 3:07 AM CDT0 Comments

  Last week was a doozy. Not in news, oddly enough. Probably because we had so many good games that even those of us working in the games industry decided to take a break at the end of the month to sit down and enjoy.
  
  What's odd about it is that most businesses work the other way around. End of the month means bills need to be paid, inventory has to go, profits need to be made and so on and so forth. That doesn't mean nothing happened, though expect next week to be filled with much more, considering it will be april fools day.
  
  Remember a little game called Ninja Gaiden? Yeah, the one that came out for the Xbox and was critically acclaimed, given tons of extra's, put on the PS3 and DS and has thhe most badass ninja of all time. That one. While the game is scheduled for a summer release, the demo is going to be on XBL this May.
  
  Take Two had an investor conference call this week where they stated, in writing as well, that there are plans for a Bioshock MMO and movie. Not that we expect either to actually have anything to do with the 360, but hey, it's our game damnit!
  
  Netflix recently went around interviewing people online about the 360 and their viewing habits on it. We all know that Netflix has a kickass DVD rental business, but their streaming movie business is booming as well. We might just be seeing more of Netflix, and probably better deals on movies to rent, on a 360 near you.
  
  Some 16 year old punk stole a strangers 360 and got totally owned by the internet. After sending a message to the person who he stole the 360 from demanding money for it, the culprit was found and harrased anonymous style. A few days later the 360 was back in its owners hands and the punk got away with it because his mother, probably speaking for both parents, said "it was all a misunderstanding". If he was my kid, he'd have misunderstanding kicked so far uphis ass and need to get it removed by doctors.
  
  That's actually it. Really. I know, right? Basically nothing. Some smaller details here and there, but this is the good stuff. Check back next week for juicy details on April Fools day!
  
• Week in the Xbox 360: 3/17-3/23/08

  by March 24th 2008 9:58 PM CDT1 Comments

  Well wasn't that an exciting, fun time we had. It seems like every week in the month of March is a one game week for the console of choice, starting off with Condemned 2 and moving on to Army of Two, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 and in just a few short days Dark Sector. Four big games from four big publishers in one month...who's got time to look at the news?
  
  Here's the important stuff you missed that you'll need in that upcoming "Why Xbox wins at everything" fanboy argument:
  
  Sonic Unleashed had a great big news leak, with pictures and a video that you can watch here. Brief warning though, it has the worst videogame music you may ever hear...ever. The 2D action is a welcome comeback considering Sonic never really did good in 3D except in, well, Sonic 3D on the Sega Genesis.
  
  Midway's CEO David Zucker officially left the company who gave us Mortal Kombat and other more frivolous titles, which of course led to investigation and finding out that they haven't made money since...far too long. I guess this captain decided not to go down with the ship, but to quit while he was ahead.
  
  We got our first look at Ubisoft's EndWar, and while the video is lame because these girls don't know how to taunt (or maybe they want to look attractive...if only they knew) and there's far too much side commentary, we did get a glimpse at how gameplay functions both through the controller and voice commands. Of course, all we saw with the voice commands are selecting specific units and giving the order to attack, and I'm guessing these Fragdolls have actually played a game prior to this one.
  
  While most of you probably think either little about or think highly of the Xbox Live Arcade, not everyone does. So it was surprising to find out that the N+ developers were pretty steamed about using it entirely. After admitting to speaking quite poorly of it over XBL, investigations on the internet ensued and the truth was dug up. Today we found out that they were actually talking about royalties in particular, but it's safe to say if you're even semi-famous, or people may know who you are and care what you talk about, then watch what you say. That verbal diahrea will haunt you.
  
  Remember last time we talked about the guy who's 360 got wrecked and Bungie came to the rescue? Well, the big MS feels bad about it too. So bad that they went crawling to Bill Gates for some help. He, a man of excessive strokes of genius, took a photo of his dashing self, signed it, and simply said, "mail it." Now all reparations have been made.
  
  500 Grand Theft Auto IV 360's have been made, and you can't have one. Don't worry, we don't have any either. They supposedly went out as personal favors press kits, so you may seem them lurking around large sites or magazines. They're all the Elite models and they're all numbered, so don't expect to see too many of them going up on Ebay unless it's for some charity work. Which we've seen plenty of...OK, go check ebay.
  
  That Bully patch we've been waiting for is up, so feel free to move about the cabin and pick up a copy. It's safe now. No radiation suits required.
  
  You already know that Rainbow Six Vegas 2 came out this week, but chances are you didn't know that Comcast has a free map for you to download. Yeah, Comcast! Unbelievable, right? Anyways, don't question it. Just download it. Go to extras, select "Comcast gift and type "COMCAST FASTER". It's called advertising children. And while you're at it, get in the game and type in this code: (Hold RB) Down, Down, Up, Up, X, B, X, B, Y, Up, Up, Y. A free gun from Best Buy, should you have purchased the game from them OR have an internet connection.
  
  Doom and Assault Heroes got cheaper, from 800 to 400 points on the XBLA, meaning if, for some odd reason, you don't have both these grade-A titles, now's the time to get them.
  
  That about wraps up the important stuff. Tune in next week when we give you codes to Dark Sector, which will undoubtedly allow you to throw a boomerang shaped like a box!
  
• Week in the Xbox 360: 3/5-11/08

  by March 11th 2008 7:59 PM CDT2 Comments

  
  It hasn't been a huge week for our prized console, but there were some big rumors being spread. First is that Resident Evil 5, one of soon-to-be games of the year, is rumored to be out this October. Why so late, who the hell knows, but at least it's still set for this year.
  
  
  Next is the possibility of seeing Blu-Ray drives for the 360. Oddly enough, because Sony is the company that made Blu-Ray and currently owns the technology, Microsoft needs to work Sony to make it happen. Seeing that they're direct competitors in the console business...Or at least that's the current word from Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. There's actually no word on the 360 at all, but we don't think Microsoft is totally shifting to the hardware business just yet.
  
  Have you heard about the Xbox 360 owner who got screwed over by Microsoft Support? In case you haven't, gamer Nathaniel had some serious signitures on his console, as well as custom artwork. But, like everyone elses 360, his was attacked by the RROD monster. He decided, after speaking to Support over the phone, that his console and not someone elses would be returned to him, signitures, pictures and all intact. Lo and behold his console returned plush white. Same exact console, same case...just polished over. What kind of douchebag would do such a thing? Some things can be nothing short of stupendously astounding.