XBox 360 Rally

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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You can say a lot about game publisher Ubisoft, but you can’t say they don’t treat their user base well. If you recall a week or two ago, there was an issue with their Black Pack. Apparently it was intended to be free, but that’s not how it worked out. Well, as a token of their appreciation, Ubisoft has not only promised to reimburse those who purchased the Black Pack, but they have also made their Red Pack free of charge as well.

So, if you’re one of the big RSV fans out there, and were waiting to pick up these packs, you’re in luck. Go DL it right now!

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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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Slaughtermode: Basically your typical deathmatch. Only this time with minions, and that is going to be a mess. Especially with the amount of minions you can command (a maximum of fifty i the Singleplayer portion) and the amount of enemies the game can portray on screen at the same time. Which is about 80, so better be prepared for a lot of megabattles.

Co-op: It’s you against the world baby, litterally. Well, you and a friend that is. Try to survive the amount of enemies this mode will throw against you. And it will be everything but the kitchen sink from my understanding.

Plunder Challenge: Loot, pillage, rifle and plunder. Grab your hands on everything you can get, or rather let your minions do it. The one with the most loot will win ofcourse, so better protect your ‘investments’.

Those are the three confirmed modes we can expect so far, and ofcourse these are not their final names.

He further states that Triumph Studios plans also include, after the release of the game of course, more Multiplayer Maps and a whole new chapter to the game (including new monsters and new items + weapons). I better have my 360 back from Microsoft in time for this game! Click here to watch 10 minutes of Overlord running and enjoy the thoughts of how great multiplayer will be.

[source]

If you bought the Collector’s Edition of Lost Planet, you already know the awesomeness that is the Battleground map. It’s the extra map that the users who didn’t buy the regular ol’ version of Lost Planet didn’t get. Until NOW!

…well… June 7th, actually. But still, come June 7th, all you Lost Planet owners will be able to download, and throw down on the “Battleground” map. And the best part? It’s absolutely free! There are already two map packs available for 400 MS Points apiece. Map Pack #1 features two maps, “Island 902″ and “Radar”. Map pack #2 features “Hive Complex” and “Trial Point”.

If you own both these map packs, then you have absolutely no reason not to download this map. Unless you already have it. In which case, congrats on 1uping the system.

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We have some new videos for us this week inside the Xbox Live Video Marketplace, and here is a quick rundown:

TV:
~Babylon 5: Season Five
~Shooting Sizemore
~Comedy Central Stand-Up

MOVIES: (All films also in HD)
~Team America: World Police
~Happily N’Ever After
~Freedom Writers

SHORTS:
~Baxter & Maguire
~Guacamole
~The Golden Age

Also, there is a sneak-peek at Season Three of the hit “Chris Angel: Mindfreak” that, personally, I am psyched for. So if you see anything on this list that you’ve been waiting for, now you can get it. So get it. Now.

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Possibly the most unimportant thing you will ever read unless you own Dead Rising, and even then, I put this on a scale of 1-100 as a .. 2, possibly 1. However, if you own the game, take a few seconds to get yourself a Pure White Suit, Stripe, and Accountant outfits.

Check out the Marketplace for some other goodies for sale today, such as Red vs Blue episode 20, Call of Duty 3 “Bravo” map pack, and some new Lost Planet pictures and themes.

[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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The good ol’ boys at Team 17 have announced some upcoming DLC for Worms. Here is all the content that will be available next Wednesday for download:

~Space level (Free)
~Hell level (150 MS Points)
~Jungle level (150 MS Points)
~Sound Bank Pack 1 (Free)

Now, obviously the levels are different landscapes for your little worms to destroy. The Sound Bank pack is a series of voice overs in many different languages, as well as some classic voices from Worms games past.

Team 17 is also working on a series of gamer pics and a dashboard theme.

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“You buy the product, you get the content,” Team Fortress 2 designer Robin Walker told us. “We make more money because more people buy it, not because we try and nickel-and-dime the same customers.”

“[In multiplayer games] the content you’re playing is being created by the players you’re playing against, so the more people that get into the game, the more content you’re going to have,” Valve’s Charlie Brown concurred.

I ponder if the words of Valve have already been given a stamp of approval by Microsoft. Already knowing how they seem to feel about free content on the marketplace with Gears of War wanting to give free content as well as Geometry Wars was meant to be free. I honestly can’t wait to see how this plays out, as if anything, Valve has the money to pay off Microsoft to ensure their products are put on the Xbox Live Marketplace for free, where as on the other hand Microsoft has a little bit more money, and the will power to say “NO, this is our marketplace, you do it by our rules.”

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Today starts episode one of the Lionhead diaries. It is available on their own site, along with the Xbox Live Marketplace. Throughout the series of videos, they will take and answer questions from fans, as well as be showing unreleased gameplay footage. You can find the files in 720p, 640×360 wmv, wmv streaming, and the marketplace.

Click to see video streaming in good quality below the jump (screen size width too big for front page) (more…)

At the Sasaki.ms blog, they have the list of 10 (worst) to 1 (best). At first I thought it was an all just humor list, but then I realize these are things really sold on Live, and the top 5 are some good choices as far as where to use your points.

• Rank: 10
  What is it: BradyGames Gears of War COG Tag Locations strategy videos
  Price: 5 Videos at 100 Points. 500 Points.
• Rank: 9
  What is it: Infamous Oblivion Horse Armour
  Price: 200 Points
• Rank: 8
  What is it: Aquazone. 18 fish. 100Kb each.
  Price: 5000 Points.
• Rank: 7
  What is it: A-Train HX. 21 Trains. 50 Points each.
  Price: 1050 Points Total
• Rank: 6
  What is it: Guitar Hero Song Packs. 3 Songs Per Pack
  Price: 500 Points Per Pack

• Now we start getting into what this person feels is the good content… (more…)

Major Nelson, or as he is referred to by us 360 fanboys, “The Touched One”, has passed along to us all that there is new downloadable content for Test Drive: Unlimited.

Name: Free Saturn Curve
Price: Free
Availability: Available for all Xbox Live Gold members
Dash Details:Download the Saturn Curve for free (in-game currency still required for purchase at respective dealer).

Name: Test Drive Collection - Volume 4
Price: 350 Points
Availability: Available for all Xbox Live members
Dash Details:Premium set includes the Ferrari Challenge Stradale, Cadillac Cien, RUF RK Spyder, Dino 246 GT, Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster, TVR T440R and Saturn Curve. In-game currency still required for purchase at respective dealer.

Now, if you play this game, go you. Personally, I don’t think I have a single person on my friend’s list who actually DOES play this game. But hey, if you do, hooray for you. Go hug a rainbow.

[Major Nelson]

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Talk about sneaking up on you, eh? No press release, no online announcement, not even an appearance in the ol’ rumor mill. But, according to super stud Major Nelson, the demo for the sequel to the remake of the light gun classic Area 51 is now available for download over Xbox Live.

Name: Blacksite: Area 51 Teaser Demo
Price: Free
Availability: Not Available in Germany or Asia.
Dash Details: Modern day fears come to life in a familiar, yet extraordinary setting: A small American town swarming with alien life. The government is desperate, struggling to contain secrets so terrible they can no longer be kept. Everything hinges on the actions of Aeran Pierce, a former Special Forces assassin thrown into one of the most explosive moments in American history.
Size: 583 MB (approx.)

[Major Nelson]

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