XBox 360 Rally

Just to make this a true ‘Part 2′ to the first Fire Up the ol Xbox post (link), if you just want freebies, the Marketplace is full of ‘em. A demo for the game “The Bigs” has been made available for you baseball fans as well as JW posting earlier about the Stuntman: Ignition being available too. Trailers for BlackSite, The Bourne Conspiracy (also look for a ‘behind the scenes’ video of the creation of the game), Assassin’s Creed, Frontlines: Fuel of War, Eternal Sonata, Bee Movie, Army of Two, and NCAA 08. Finally, the full E3 2007 Press Conference is available for download in 6 parts, all HD, will run you a little over 2 gigs, so free up some space!

Texas Hold ‘em had a very cool update today, introducing Xbox Live Vision Camera support. As the proud owner of the Cam (bought for very cheap here) as well as the proud owner of Texas Hold ‘em (Gotta love free XBLA games), this update is worth checking out. If you were ever looking for an XBLA game that was worth while, Texas Hold ‘em is one of my top 5 most played games on my 360 console, maybe no daily, but not a week or two won’t go by that I don’t fire the game up to play online. Some other features were added that more than make the update worthy of a download whether you own the cam or not (click here for full update list)

Now for the moment you all have been waiting for, the new additions and updates for all your original Xbox games onto your 360:

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Who doesn’t love Tron? Seriously. It’s one of the greatest sci-fi films to ever grace the silver screen, and spawned two memorable arcade classics, as well as a pretty kick ass PC sequel to the film. Well, as the 25th anniversary of Tron comes and goes (it was last Monday), Disney Interactive Studios informs us that both Tron and Discs of Tron will be re-released over Xbox Live Arcade by the end of the summer.

Here’s a quick look at the “enhanced” version of the classic Tron, complete with a fresh coat of paint and some audio improvements. Trust me, you’ll need ‘em after you realize that the classic Tron SFX make your ears bleed.

And here is Discs of Tron, the 1983 sequel to the original Tron arcade game. As you can see in the video above, Discs of Tron has also gotten some special attention to bring it into the 21st century. Both Tron and Discs of Tron will be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace by the end of Summer. When this reporter (listen to me, acting all serious) asked Disney Interactive’s Eric Wein, he told me that while no release date had yet been finalized, both titles WILL be released by the end of the Summer. He couldn’t disclose to me the prices, however.

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There are a few games that with only a mere mentioning can make gamers across the globe cringe. Most are because of just how truly awful they were, games like E.T., Superman, Big Rig and Galleon (it sucked, accept this). But there are also a select few games that make gamers cringe, scowl and openly cry out in pain for another reason. A far more sinister reason. Games like Contra, Ghosts n’ Ghouls, Battletoads, and Stuntman invoke these feelings of sheer dread and despair. Why?

Because they’re freaking IMPOSSIBLE! THAT’S WHY!

Now, as Major Nelson is more than happy to tell us, the demo for the sequel, Stuntman: Ignition is now available for download over Xbox Live. So, go on. Download it. Let yourself be driven to tears all over again. You all have fun with that. As for myself… I’m staying far, far away.

Far away.

Far.

[Major Nelson]

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Fresh off JW’s Live Blogging of the E3 Press Conference comes tons of new videos and other little downloads for you to enjoy. The videos are as follows (all available in HD btw): Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, Civilization Revolution, Too Human, Project Gotham Racing 4, Lost Odyssey, Viva Pinata Party Animals, Mass Effect, as well as montage videos for Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox 360 Games, Games for Windows, and Xbox Live Marketplace.

Onto the games! Most importantly, of course is the Blue Dragon Demo that is now up, as well as demo’s for the XBLA titles Sonic the Hedgehog and Golden Axe. That is it for the free stuff, check Major Nelson if you want to see some more things available that you can buy.

Update: Files added since I posted this: E3 2007 Theme and Picture Pack, trailers for NBA Live 08, Beautiful Katamari, Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero III, Call of Duty 4, Devil May Cry 4, and the demo for Ace Combat 6. I notice also available is an IGN E3 2007 Pre-show Wrap Up, all which can conveniently be found in the Marketplace blade in the Games section where that huge “E3 Bringing it Home” button is that takes up half the screen. Do some searching around also to find the “Halo 3: E3 2007 Trailer” .. if not, just scroll down.

Now, for one very important video that JW mentioned near the ending of his post (link), Halo 3. Now that video isn’t avaialbe for download on your 360 just yet, however, God bless Gamevideos.com, look no further than below:

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Who here loves football? I know I do, and deep down, you do too. It goes without saying that College Football is, was, and forever will be far superior to the Professionals, simply because there’s no distractions. No unions threatening to strike if they don’t get their way. Players don’t hold out for more money. It is, pure and simple, about football.

As I check my watch, and see that we’re in mid-July, it dawns on me that we’re approaching that time of year again. EA Sports is preparing their double-dose of football for the masses, and Maddenoliday quickly approaches. If you can’t wait for Madden, however, you can always hop on the NCAA bandwagon and check out the new demo for NCAA Football 08. It weighs in at a plump, but not fat 684MBs, and from what little I’ve played, does NOT disappoint. So go on, give it a download, and tell us what you think. Oh, one last thing…

Hail to the Victors, Buckeye Bitches.

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Whew, talk about a long title for a post. Mistwalker’s Hironobu Sakaguchi has recently attended a convention in Paris, spilling some good news pre-E3. Firstly, Blue Dragon demo will be coming out July 20th, with a size of just over a gig, promising TWO HOURS worth of content. Good good times. Just make sure to nab it before August 3rd, as at that time it will no longer be available.

Lost Odyssey is, to quote Blimblim of Xboxyde “..about 80 % done and will be finished in about 3 months, they are now working on the game balance. It will be released at the end of the year in Japan and in the english speaking countries (USA and UK too), but the other territories will have to wait until a few weeks later in Q1 2008.” 2 months ago it was stated that Lost Odyssey was 70% done, so they sure are working quick (link). Blimblim also states he will be posting a short interview with Sakaguchi sometime this afternoon, so keep an eye out for that.

Lastly, about that MMO/RPG, TotalVideoGames reported from the same event that Sakaguchi described the game as “50% MMO and 50% RPG” and definitely not Cry On or Blue Dragon.” Definitely a great news round up thanks to Sakaguchi who doesn’t seem shy about giving up details on the games.
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Today brings to a close one of the greatest cock tease demo of them all, the Halo 3 Beta. Now with my cousin out of town, I was able to nab his 360 and hook up my hard drive to get some more game time in (see: Red Ring of Death). Though I didn’t get to play the full time the beta was available, I actually feel I got to play enough of it, didn’t touch custom games, but I was already getting sick of playing the same levels over and over, good levels mind you, just annoying after a while.

Well, since I still had this working 360 over this weekend, I did manage to nab the new demo’s available. I can’t lie, I am very impressed so far. Check the rest of this entry for my thoughts on the new stuff.
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I come bearing good news! The underwhelming demo to the underwhelming First-Person Shooter “Shadowrun” is now available for download over Xbox Live. The fact that the demo was released so long after the game was released is only but the most recent failing by Microsoft in supporting this game. Between wiping FASA off the face of the Earth, and releasing this game during the Halo 3 hype without little to no publicity, Microsoft always seemed to act as though they figured this game would be a stinker.

Unfortunately for those of us who love the original pen & paper Shadowrun, this uninspired and unoriginal First-Person Shooter brings nothing new to the table in regards to either the game genre, or the table-top basis for which the game is influenced. Of course, outside the name “Shadowrun” there is practically NO influence from either the pen & paper game, or the 16-bit classic.

In short, kids — this game is a waste of time. Don’t bother with it.

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Xbox Live Demo for Overlord is available! Well, I am so excited, I just broke into song and dance () and quickly sat back down in my chair to bring this news to you as well as showing you two new trailers for this game if you are unable to download the demo.

Moar you say!?! Read the rest of this entry for the second clip!
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Right now I would be telling you how cool both these games are on a normal day, however, today is not that day, my Xbox is with its maker right now (ie w/Microsoft getting the red rings out of it).

Here is the info from Major Nelson’s blog:

Name: Shadowrun Demo
Price: Free
Availability: Available in all Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Download Shadowrun’s multiplayer demo, an intense FPS experience that rewards cleverness and split-second improvisation through a unique combination of modern weapons, ancient magic and advanced technology.
Size: 1.07 GB (approx.)

Name: Tenchu Z Demo
Price: Free
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Tenchu Z Demo includes a single player mission and pre-selected ninja accessories from the full game. Master the Ancient art of Stealth in Tenchu Z using your keen senses and wide array of Ninja weaponry to become the Ultimate Ninja Assassin.
Size: 641.8 MB (approx.)

If one demo doesn’t get you going, two should be enough, I knew a guy who got 30+ hours playtime out of the Saints Row demo! Now get to downloading!

[Major Nelson]

This time Midway has decided to throw their hat in the WWII FPS ring with their offering, Hour of Victory. Now you can see exactly what all the fuss has been about, because the Hour of Victory demo is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

The single-player demo offers you the chance to play through one of the North African levels as any of the three heroes: The Army Ranger, a Covert Operative, and a British Commando. The big headline catcher with this game is that it’s running on the Unreal 3 Engine — the same game engine that gave us Gears of War. So we expect this game to be quite pretty.

Now, there were a few problems with the downloading of the demo last night, but I can assure you all now that the download is up and running. It’s just going pretty damn slowly, but I’m sure they’re working that problem out. So download it, and tell me what you think.

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I’m going to leave this brief, since I am very, very pissed. I have spent the past seven hours pushing my car four miles. I drive a 1992 Cadillac DeVille. A heavy beast of a car. So, I am tired. I am grumpy. I am really not giving two shits about the fact that the Hour of Victory demo is available on the Marketplace. You want to know what it’s like? Download the damn thing.

Business will resume as normal tomorrow.

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Announced earlier this year to come out ‘Summer 2007′ and exclusive to Xbox 360. Unreal Engine (this has to be the best engine ever!.. or at least most used). Another World War II game. FPS. By Midway.

I can’t judge it yet, but thank the good lord for demo’s, cause this game that normally does sound ho-hum to me and would pass over buying for sure, at least now I will have a shot.

Want to see/know/experience more about this game, head over to their official site @ HourofVictory.com

World Rally Championship style events and off road racing, get to it!

Name: DIRT Demo
Price: Free
Availability: Not available in Mexico or Asia
Dash Details: High speed, adrendaline fuelled, off-road racing.
Size: 768.9 MB (approx.)

[Major Nelson]

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In the demo you will be able to toil around with the following:

* Training: Chapters 1, 2, and 3
* Solo Match and Public Match (so both bot play and multiplayer)
* One map: Power Station (which means only one game type: Raid)
* Two races: Elf and Human
* Magic: Tree of Life, Resurrect, Gust, and Teleport
* Tech: Glider, Enhanced Vision, and Smartlink
* Weapons: Pistol, SMG, Rifle, Shotgun, Katana, and Sniper Rifle

This is a game I am mildly interested in. So the sooner the demo the better, nice to already have a date for it.

[source]

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