XBox 360 Rally

Yes. I am a Tetris nerd. I scoured 3 Wal-Mart’s the night that “Tetris Evolution” came out. Within a few days I had obtained 1000/1000 achievement points (still the only 360 game I have done this with). I lurk the forums over at TetrisConcept.com. I am even on the fence of buying a Nintendo DS just for that damn Tetris game! (Zelda DS is helping push that buy). Even with the terrible terrible terrible (terrible) d-pad that the Xbox 360 has, Tetris Splash is an instant buy. For all you old school Tetrinet players on PC’s back in the day (oh those IRC days), it is looking like there finally might be a near equivalent of that coming to the Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday at 9am EST, yes, I will set my alarm clock so I can buy it, and no, I am not kidding. Taking the multiplayer mode of Tetris to a new level with the addition of teams, I honestly can’t wait for this. The details from Xbox.com are as follows:

• Modes of play: Three different modes of play including Tetris, T-Spin, and Combo, plus a unique screensaver mode.
• Multiplayer: Playable solo, competitively or in teams, with an online multiplayer mode via Xbox LIVE® for up to six players.
• New twists: New, enhanced graphics, and beautiful aquatic backscapes add a real splash to the fun of Tetris.
• Content and themes: Exciting downloadable content will be made available including themes and background aquatic creatures.
• Achievements: Twelve new achievements to master and conquer.

• [Via 1pstart]
  —
  

  , , , , , ,

Get ready, October 10th, just a couple of weeks away, the Orange Box will be hitting store shelves and hopefully will not be ignored because of some other first person shooters recently released *cough*. Honestly though, I do wish this game well, as I love the Half Life series, however, do not care for keyboard/mouse as my FPS preference (yes, blasphemy for a PC user not to be a -->PC gamer -->, I know), so this is a set I honestly have been waiting for, specifically to check out “Portal” .. however the set also includes Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, and Team Fortress 2. At the cost of a regular priced game you honestly can’t go wrong picking this baby up or at the very very least giving it a rental, remember, this is the PC game that can only be second to World of Warcraft, but before WOW, it was #1 for quite some time, if you are like me and have not given this game the attention it deserves, now is the time (well not right now, but very soon!).
—

, , , , , , , ,

Great news! Yesterday at 10am (PST) the Call of Duty Beta raised the cap for levels to a rank of 25.

So if you aren’t leveling up and taking on challenges, now is the pretty obvious time to get on it to get the extra weapons and crap (crap includes some cool perks and an upgraded weapon in each category.. read full details at FourZeroTwo’s page).
Bad news! Sunday the 30th (11:59pm) the Beta will be done

So what have we learned from this great experience? Fast action first person kicks ass. It may be an acquired taste for all you Halo gun battlers, but this Beta convinced me that this just could be the best way to have objective type games, everyone was very talkative, a big plus, I know you silent players are out there, but stick to deathmatch only games please. Anyways, it was fun, good job Infinity Ward.

—

, , , , , , ,

I know Metal Slug has a large following, sometimes I wish I was a part of that, however, I missed that boat so I don’t get that feeling of retro fun while playing that. However, I do get that feeling with Samurai Shodown 2, one of the many “Street Fighter” clones that had a following of its own. Of course when I was a kid I couldn’t afford the massively price Neo Geo system to play this on, but when I was in a good enough arcade, I would let the quarters fly on this ‘cool at the time’ yet still very cool now, Asian fighting culture based fighting game (Made GameSpot’s 10 greatest fighting games of all time!). Check the press release below:

(more…)

We knew it was going to happen, and true to the hype, Halo 3 has indeed set a single-day entertainment record, gmabbing itself a cool $170 Million in the US alone!

Inside the first 20 hours, over a million users signed onto Xbox LIVE to play Halo 3, which makes September 25th the most active single day ever.

Now, it’s going to take a little bit to find out what Halo 3 made worldwide, but if the US sales chart is any indication… everyone who even touched Halo 3 during production is rolling in money.

(more…)

As the time of Halo 3 draws near and there is some sort of news about the game every.. eh.. 20 minutes or so, comes the biggest news of them all…. Halo 3 will have DLC!! This comes from a recent sit down with Next-Gen, having Jonty Barnes and Jay Weinland representing Bungie. When asked about what will happen after Halo 3 is actually released, their reply was:

JW: Although we haven’t announced details, we have talked about downloadable content at some point.

JB: Yeah, I think that’s inevitable. We have released DLC in spring this year for Halo 2, a game that is two-and-a-half years old. We’ve still got 300,000 players of Halo 2 still playing the game. The last DLC was purely to support the call-outs from the community. I imagine seeing more of that in DLC for Halo 3.

I’m really excited by the Forge [Halo 3's map editing feature], and we don’t really think we understand what the people are going to create.

Being a huge Time Splitters fan, I can’t lie, I am very excited about the map editing feature myself more so than having to pay for levels. All I can do is remember the days when they were free, hopefully Bungie will do the honorable thing and stick with what they did with Halo 2 and have a certain time frame for people to buy the levels or whatever else they offer, then give it for free 3 months later or something).

Another note from Barnes sitting down with GameSpot was a quick quote about the Beta and preparing their servers for the horde that will be playing very soon, “The amount of polish feedback was especially helpful, and we also found we had to triple our server capacity.”

[Source 1Pstart.com | Header image stolen from JW because it was too damn funny I had to steal it]
—

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

As reported at 1PStart… by me… Microsoft announced at their 25th anniversary bash in London a new HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360. No price tag has been revealed, however we were told to expect the new drive sometime in ‘08.

Director of Business for Microsoft Europe, Mark Bennett, showed off the new features of the upcoming upgraded drive:

The interactive features actually work on HD DVD whereas Blu-ray titles are six to nine months away from getting features that actually work… there are more plans to incorporate HD DVD into the PC platform in the future.

I have to think that those of you who bought the HD-DVD drive for the 360 may be a little ticked off about this. I know I would, especially when you consider just how much this damn thing costs.

[PCW]

, ,

For just the cost of under one gig of your hard drive, you can be the proud owner of a demo for Viva Pinata Party Animals. This complete Mario Party rip off game looks pretty damn good (Overlord ripped off Pikmin and that was fine and dandy by me). To see what you are getting yourself into, check a little video of some game play below:

Also note, when you did fire up your ol Xbox, there was a system update. Keep in mind, this is not the huge system update we are all waiting on, this is all about that big-button controller preparation, in fact, Major Nelson makes sure to point out “no new features beyond this big button pad support are included in this update and, once again, this is not the ‘fall dashboard upgrade.’ When I have firm details on the next major update, I will share them”
—

, , , , , , ,

Ok, people, here’s the deal — Paco and I are on our way out. We’re taking over at 1PStart.com in an effort to restore it to it’s former glory. …that, and I just plain want to write about another game every once in a while, is that so wrong?!

Anyways, here is what we’re looking for: A competent, capable writer with a love for all things Xbox. Now, by competent writer, we mean someone who spells “you” correctly, and knows when to capitalize. If you can do that, you’re a shoe-in. So, CLICK THIS DAMN LINK, do the required stuff, then get paid to play video games and write about stuff.

…hell, Mike and I did the hard stuff already, and YES, the GTA4 Banner contest will continue, and I will still give you a copy of GTA IV… or something. So, hop to it.

, , ,

Over 10,000 stores are going to be opening at midnight for you Halo geeks (I swear not me!). However, only four stores are going to be bringing out the big assault rifles.

New York: Best Buy on 5th Avenue (by Times Square)
Both Spike TV and G4 will broadcast from there, as well as appearances from Bungie team members and random celebrities.

Los Angeles: GameStop at Universal CityWalk location
Again, Spike TV and G4 will be there, also contests, celebrity autograph session (who, which celebrity?!), and an appearance by Master Chief himself (well, I guess that answers my celebrity autograph question).

Miami: Circuit City (8575 Northwest 13th Terrace)
Some Bungie people will be here too! Along with some Miami Dophins players .. meh, they are going to sign autographs and play against fans. I *might* attempt to get to this Miami one as it would only be a couple of hours drive for me. I do love seeing geeks in groups.

Seattle: Best Buy (457 120th Ave NE, Bellevue)
Some Bungie people will be here, woo!

All four locations will have chances for prizes (shirts, books, other swag, even a Halo 3 Zune)
—

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I have emailed Hudson with no reply on whether this is pure lulz coming from the Dtoid guys, which though is possible, this is looking to be pretty true so far. A little background, much like sites such as Joystiq or Kotaku, Destructoid was a gaming blog, but with a little twist, they are more community driven and just a lot more fun, all while still keeping up with the video game news. Destructoid is pure indie, there is no AOL or other such “network” of sites backing them up, pure independent media. So for them to get the connections with Hudson, who is a company that would certainly have the fun enough attitude to support an indie web site that had a recognizable character that represents them (Mr Destructoid) into their game, it all does make sense.

If you see their announcement page for this news (Here) you will see the other new character models and levels that will come in the “Bomb Up Pack 2″ later this month. I have yet to get a press release for the pics of the new characters and levels, so I just await an email back from Hudson to at the least take this out of the Mill o Rumor section. No matter what, hats off from myself and JW here at Xbox360Rally.com for making it into one of the best XBLA games made (if its true!)

For now, here is the other updates that we should be seeing in the DLC pack:

* * Ten New Characters – In addition to Destructoid, other new characters include “Bomberella” the cavewoman and “El Bombito” the matador, resulting in countless new ways for players to customize their in-game Bomberman. Other characters include Alien Bomber, Bomb the Fool, Bomberbell, Flower Bomb, Debbie Downer, Bomber X, and Bomb of Doom. Check out the gallery for a first look at the other characters!

* * Two Additional Levels – New arenas include “Medieval Times,” a level in which bombs and sorcery collide and that allows players to select any gimmick they want, and “Full Tilt,” a level set at a racetrack which features speed circles that dictate how fast players move.
* * One New Game Mode – “Bomb Shelters” will allow players to hide from explosions in a small, fireproof building.
* * Two New Leaderboards – Dominate the competition on two new ranking systems on the Xbox LIVE® network. The new leaderboards will track performance on both a weekly and an all-time basis for the speed circle gimmicks on the new “Full Tilt” map.

—

, , , , , ,

A Microsoft spokesperson, in a statement to gamesindustry.biz spokesman said, quote:

While we cannot comment on specific numbers for the US sales of the Legendary SKU, we can confirm that demand remains high and the highly-collectible version of the game is on track to be sold out by the time Halo 3 launches next week.

This isn’t really surprising, especially since it’s already sold out in the UK. Hell, even I have pre-ordered the Halo 3 Legendary Edition. I admit that at first I pre-ordered it simply because I was expecting to be one of the few who were, as my mother put it, “stupid enough to spend $130 on a video game”. However, as the time has passed (I pre-ordered in April), I’ve become very excited about getting my hands on this…

…even if my Xbox isn’t back by then.

[gamesindustry]

, , ,

Though a complete rip off of that World of Warcraft diet guy (link), the concept of Gamercize is that you have to keep working out (like on one of those walk/run in place type machines) and that will keep your controller on. The way I think it worked with the Warcraft guy was that the exercise becomes a second thought, as you are concentrating on the video game.

Some information directly from their site:
“Gamercize interacts with your game console’s controller stopping it working when you are not exercising and letting you play normally when you are exercising.

Gamercize does not limit gameplay by physical skill or ability, and does not make games harder to control. You choose the exercise level for maximum enjoyment of the game and greatest fitness benefit for you.

Gamercize can work with any type of exercise machine but cycle and stepper are the best choice, as these machines leave your hands free to operate the controller.”

Honestly, this isn’t a bad idea at all, sort of takes the Nintendo’s Wii Fit game idea and expands it to let you play any game, but there is a sad part to all this, the people who make this have the worst marketing team ever. Do yourself a favor and hit up Gamercize.net, where you too can find out that “Gamercize is 6 times more popular than exercise alone.” (I would like to see the scientific studies to back up such a claim of grandeur). Be prepared, the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions are coming soon!
—
(more…)

Dear Rare:

It’s time we talked about the future, or actually, the present plus the future, and hell, the past too. Presently there is no good fighting games on the Xbox 360, yeah, I honestly can’t wait for Soul Calibur, but Dead or Alive… meh, Virtual Fighter.. well, it is better than Dead or Alive at least. The other choices are Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. I thought RPG’s would be the top genre that would be ignored on the 360, however with Blue Dragon here, Eternal Sonata coming up, plus a decent amount more on the way, that is covered. “Casual” games, covered. Shooters, well covered (CoD4 Beta is win btw). So, now to get to the future, I think its time to bring back the past, with a little Killer Instinct.

To be honest, I would accept an XBLA version of Killer Instinct, maybe take a second out to HD the graphics (or go all out like that Street Fighter II HD Remix game). Just some nice online lag free play and throw in an extra character or level for good measure. Though I was honest, lets get down to business. Okay, Banjo-Kazooie is coming out, I am excited, but now time to move on to the next project. I realize you guys are hard at work on something already I’m sure… but, its still early, take a few of your staff (90%), and get started on Killer Instinct 360.

We all love you Rare, Perfect Dark wasn’t perfect, but, it wasn’t that bad. I have never heard anyone who has played Kameo say bad things about it. All Viva Pinata users are hooked from what I can tell. However, we want that “Goldeneye” game that will make people compare Rare to the mighty Bungie (which pound for pound I already think there is good arguments for who is “the best” out of each developer..but I digress).

Lets talk the game, 3D or 2D, I would honestly take either. I know you at Rare know the 360 inside and out by now, so go all out in the graphics department. Breakable and interactive stuff everywhere. Fire, explosion, electricity, etc. Oh, and bring back the combo system, so fun. New characters of course. As a bonus, maybe a throwback level. Killer Instinct, at the time of it coming in both arcades and even Super Nintendo, blew people away by being different and graphically amazing, now is the time to do both again. We are not alone in this way of thinking, look at these many requests:
(more…)

Quick update: Contest got put out at just the wrong time, but now its a little better. Who knew the day I started this Call of Duty 4 Beta Invite contest that all of a sudden Eurogamer AND GameSpot would copy our give-away and offer a crapload more invites. Rest assured, they are on our shit list. Well, the contest is still on, and as an added bonus, it is now 3 people who can win a code. Either way, if you get a code from elsewhere, go ahead and enter here too and find a friend to give the code to!

The Call of Duty 4 Multiplayer Invite only Beta. Didn’t get in?! Here is your chance. I received a copy of an invite myself just recently (Thanks EternalDarkWing of DESTRUCTOID), thing is, I had already been invited and have been enjoying the Beta for a while now, and it seems since our janitor JW doesn’t have a working 360 at the moment (DAMN YOU RED RINGS!), he is willing to give up his code as well on top of me giving up mine (I think it is safe to say our spots in heaven are reserved). We want to make this as quickly and painless as possible. Now, since the word on the street is they are going to cut the Beta till the 30th of this month (though nothing is confirmed), this contest is going to be a quick one to make sure you can get to playing as soon as possible so you can start leveling up! Without further adieu, the official rules on how to win one of the two beta codes we have:

Make a comment on this page including two things:

• Why you deserve to be in the beta.
• Your Xbox Live GamerTag.

• Make sure the email contact you are required to put in to leave a comment, is a valid address. Contest will end on Friday, September 14th at 11:59pm EST, so make sure to get your comment in before then.

Exactly like how the Golden Axe contest went, all entries will be thrown into a random.org list and the top 2 choices get to start kicking ass in the most played demo/beta out right now (you know you have someone on your friends list playing!) That’s it! That is all it takes, stop waiting, make a comment and just make sure your valid GamerTag is in there too!