XBox 360 Rally

Kotaku had a sit down with Aaron Greenberg regarding many interesting things I’m sure, however, they decided to just post a blip of what was said. An interesting blip none the less, on the topic of the 360 quality issues:

“We have made all the improvements in our manufacturing process… All the consoles on the market have those improvements…. [We will] repair the console sent to us with these improvements. It should be similar to buying a new console off the shelf.”

Now, I am on my second console, so far, it has red ringed on me once, however never again (still, I don’t care as much as I should, I called Microsoft and am getting another new one, included with a free game which they actually already shipped me, but still haven’t received a coffin for it). Sadly, I have faith that what he speaks is true. I mean, if the trend of returned 360’s being returned and returned again went on, even the mighty Microsoft could fall. Once the general public found out about the Xbox’s breaking a lot, they did get right on top of things with the warranty extended and the new chips/heat sinks.
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NeoGAF user Hooterville somehow got himself a copy of Halo 3 early (hmmmm), chose to go with the “Limited Edition” version, and it came scratched brand new. He shows with three pics the packaging and the disc, and it is pretty easily seen why exactly the discs are scratching. You know that little circle thingy that actually holds the disc in place, it seems that someone forgot to put it there, I mean, there is something that resembles what would hold a disc in the middle, but it is more of a shadow of a little circle thingy than a full on nub that would hold the disc in. Enough of my scientific big words, look no further than the pictures below:

Is this how all our copies will come if we went with the Limited Edition (This was the one I wanted to get, Legendary was too much, but I can’t just get the regular). If you pre-ordered in store somewhere, make sure to open up your copy in the story at the clerks desk to ensure if it is scratched they seen you open it right in front of them and keep making them hand you over a new one. If you pre-ordered online, I pray for you, just expect the discs to be floating in the box and hope they aren’t bad enough where you can’t play. Thanks again Microsoft!
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You know, watching this video made me very envious of Japan. They have somehow found a way to find the perfect balance of style and substance, where as here in the US, it’s usually for former over the later. Either way, the video itself shows off some of the titles on the Xbox 360 that you fine folk in Japan can expect in the near future… although I’m not sure why you’d want NBA Live 08.

That is why you are a mysterious and captivating people.

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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]

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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”
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CVG was able to snag an interview with co-founder and president of Bioware, Dr. Greg Zeschuk and pull some good info for you to chew on as we all keep waiting for this title. Here is the cliff notes of what went down:

• Most challenging designed game they have ever done.
• Downloadable content is a must, he states the obvious of it “can really help and drive the longevity of a game“
• Because the way Mass Effect was designed, the DLC could not only be just extra weapons and features, but do not rule out more missions, as those could be added to bridge the gaps in storyline between Mass Effect one and the sequel.
• Still undecided if a demo is coming or not (This could go either way, Gears of War did fine without it, I have no doubts Bioshock killed in sales with the help of their demo)
• All three Mass Effect games will be on Xbox 360, however, they cannot comment on exclusivity.
• Without answering yes or no to the infamous “Will there be gay aliens,” the lack of an answer means “yes”

If you haven’t, I highly suggest checking out “Just the Facts” part 1 here, as when you put all the information for this game together, it shows depth like no other game out there.
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EA is hooking up those who are preordering the Game of the Year! You get a “Homerball” as seen to the right. UGO describes the portion of the game it comes from as, “Homer’s appetite gets the better of him and he turns into a giant blob of fat, rolling about levels, knocking crap over.” Beautiful Katamarish much? We’ll see how it all plays, this game looks to be covering all game type genres.

I can’t get enough of Simpsons game footage, all have been amusing, and this one is no different, it has Mr Sparkle and the Comic Book Guy as a Sumo wrestler, you can’t go wrong:

For more The Simpsons Game media, lots of video mostly, click here and here and here.
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As reported by 1PStart.com Call of Duty 4 has rightly not gone gold. I know myself and all my friends I have made through the Beta have strong opinions on some things, but overall, this is one fast action paced FPS. Battlefield 2 on steroids, quote me on that.

The infamous “fourzerotwo” who has been giving the CoD4 updates as of late, posted on this blog about the features that are still being tweaked, “We’re still testing Single Player and using beta feedback to fine tune the multiplayer experience via tweaks of spawn logic, optimizing netcode on the backend, tweaking matchmaking and game performance now that we see how it will handle with hundreds of thousands of players on at once. Keep in mind that we can tweak and use your feedback for the multiplayer portion of the game all the way to ship, and even after launch via Patches. So keep your beta feedback coming, it’s not going to waste simply because we’re putting the polishing details on Single Player. A lot of what we change in Multiplayer is able to be done on the backend here at the studio.”

It is also worth noting that he mentions that since the Beta has come out, there hasn’t been a Xbox Live Top Ten list posted, so there is no way to tell how just a Beta is comparing to other games (I can see this Beta being right up there with Bioshock this past week or so).
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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.

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EA sent out 9 new screen shots for us to ogle at. Bioshock Game of the Year, I don’t think so, you are looking at it right here. All shots were taken from the 360 version.

Now, I want to say those pictures don’t do the game justice on how it looks when in movement. Though they do show how crisp and colorful the game is going to be, if you teh funny, click here and here.
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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)
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I found this video at GameTrailers a few minutes ago. For those of you who just can NOT wait the week until Halo 3 is released, you can keep reading after the break to see the OPENING CINEMATIC to Halo 3.

Now, before you guys get all up in arms… the opening cinematic, as far as I know, contains no spoilers. I only watched 92 seconds of it, but still. What I saw was a starry night sky, and heard Cortana do a VO, talking about Master Chief, or apple pie, or whatever the hell holographic AI talks about. Either way, after the break is the full video. Enjoy… or don’t, I really can’t blame ya either way.

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You know, these people at the Sony Defense Force are a joke. Even by fanboy standards, these laughably bad bloggers are pathetic. After all, I’m sure we all remember their putrid attempt at a BioShock review a few weeks back, yes? If not, give it a read — you’ll then understand why I hate these guys.

Either way, now that the Halo 3 hype machine is in full swing, the fanbots at SDF have come up with their own spoof on the popular Halo 3 museum ad campaign. You can tell that it’s a spoof because it has none of the originality or brilliance of the item it’s spoofing.

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I swear, these Xbox 360 Achievement listing sites all sound the same. Achieve360Points, Xbox360Achievements, Xbox360Points, Judean People’s Front, People’s Front of Judea, it’s all the same! Regardless, Achieve360Points has posted the Call of Duty 4 Achievements list. There are a total of 37 for 1000 MS Points, and if you’re too lazy to click the link, read after the break for the full list.

Also interesting to note (I didn’t catch it right away) that NONE of these achievements are multiplayer. Huzzah! I [bleep]ing hate multiplayer achievements.

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Remember earlier this week when someone got their grubby little mits on Halo 3 early and tried to sell it on eBay? Yeah, well apparently that douche bag is hell bent on ruining the Halo 3 ride for everyone else, as apparently he has leaked the ending to Halo 3 onto the internet. Sites like Joystiq, Gaming Today and Gaming Nexus are all reporting that someone, who is RUMORED to be the aforementioned douche bag, is trying to spoil the ending to Halo 3 by posting it on YouTube.

For the record, it’s been taken down, and I hope Microsoft gives him the grade A banhammer. If you wanna watch it on your own, go find it. We won’t be linking you here, for we fear Microsoft.

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