So Halo 3 has been out for a couple of days now. I thought I'd share with you it's impact it's had on me, a guy who doesn't hate it or love it, just two ships passing in the night so to speak. I made a list of things Halo 3 is indirectly responsible for, because in the end I guarantee you 50% of X360 owners still won't have a copy of it. After all, all of us X360 owners aren't Halo fanboys as many people think. So it's good to view Halo 3 from a neutral perspective, it reminds everyone that hype aside everyone considers it inferior to BioShock and that's the kind of irony you can't replicate with ad campaigns and marketing.
I went online to see if I could take advantage of the 3 free days of Xbox Live, I couldn't. But I did see the "Crash of the Titans" demo when I was there, good find and fun demo, like Kameo mixed with Crash Warped.
All those desperate Halo 3 fans are trading in their PS3's, sisters and other X360 games to buy the Helmet. That means plenty of selection of used X360 titles to choose from in game retailers and pawn shops everywhere.
More friends of mine buying 360's because they are Halo fans of yesteryear. It'll be like old times, except I'll coerce them into playing Ace Combat 6 instead of Crimson Skies when they get sick of Halo 3.
The flame wars have begun and the trolls carry large bloody clubs around in the forums. It makes for interesting reading and hilarious commentary.
When Call of Duty 4 comes out (shooter of the year BTW) all the whining pukes I find on XBL will still be playing Halo 3, so the matchmaking with strangers will be of higher quality.
All in all I have to thank Bungie for creating this diversion that both indirectly benefits me and amuses. The game may be forgettable but i'll always remember the money I've saved and the laughs I got.
Just a shout out to all of you Halo 3 fans who may have received scratched Halo 3 discs in your Collector's Edition boxsets. Microsoft has had a disc replacement program for quite some time now, so if you got home and opened your Halo 3 Limited Edition to find one or both of your discs scratched, well here's the link you need to be clicking:
You'd think the supposed "biggest 360 game of the year" wouldn't have cheaped out on packaging or quality. Really puts a dent into the validation of having so many LE versions of games coming out. Live and learn I guess.
It's no secret that I'm not a big fan of downloadable content. I've ranted plenty on it since I bought a 360 last year. Sure it's fine for MP3's and movie rentals, just not games in my opinion. Disposable content for a buck or two that I don't feel I've invested in I haven't got a problem with. I even have content on my X360 in the forms of games, add-ons and other misc stuff. It's when it costs more than $10 and takes a sizable amount of space that I'd rather it on disc.
Something like Shivering Isles or Knights of the Nine I want to actually own. A case to display, a disc to hold onto that has resale value both which I feel are important as far as collect-ability (is that even a word?) and value for the money.
So when I found out that they'll be releasing Oblivion GOTY Edition (Sept. 10) I was excited. The GOTY edition will have both expansions on it as well as the main game. Now today, I found out that I'll be able to buy the 2 expansions separately at retail for $30. Even better!!
Someone at Bethesda must have heard my pleas/rants and those of others who aren't ready to be "nickel and dime to death" with crap they can't keep longterm. In any case I hope this will become a trend where gamers have options. I mean why not? Music and movies can still be bought in stores, so why can't expansions to console games?
On another note, Prima is releasing a 500 page GOTY Edition strategy guide that takes all of the new content into consideration.
Before you ask, no I haven't beaten the game yet. But I figured seeing as this is quite a large game and will take many many hours to complete, I'd post my review of it for those who may be on the fence about whether they should buy it or not. Like a "game for lunch" type deal but after say 10-12 hours in or so. I suppose this could even apply to the PC version as well to some extent.
So we more or less have confirmation now. Advergames are coming. What's an advergame you ask? Well it's exactly as it sounds, an advertisement cleverly disguised as a game.
That picture on the right, is of a Toyota Yaris advergame that has recently been rated by the ESRB. As the original quoted article has stated, there's been no announcement or release date, or even if it'll cost anything for that matter.
Sure I hate in-game advertising and lame product placement as much as the next gamer, but give me a free game and some achievement points to go with it and I'll play it.
Not a bad game. No, not bad at all. I had the first Blazing Angels, and although this one has a few of the same problems it's still very much improved.
The demo put you into a theatre of operation along the coast with plenty of entrenched German defenses. Flak guns, destroyers, spotlights, spotter balloons, enemy aircraft and other immobile ground targets. You get the choice of three planes for the demo that has varying stats but similar weapons.
You start by shooting down slow moving V2 rockets, then move onto ground targets in several locations. The tactical map makes it easy to get around much like that found in the Ace Combat games. Then you have to defend an amphibious force as it moves towards the shore. A bit trickier as you need to avoid the spotlights that will mark you an easy target for AA guns aboard several destroyers patrolling the coast.
The graphics seem a bit better than the first game, but still not 360/PS3 worthy. Explosions look kind of odd but the smoke trails and spotlights look great. Get directly in the path of one at night and your blinded until you get clear of it, not easy to do with your doing strafing runs a few hundred feet above the water or treetops!
Sound is decent, but doesn't stand out. The first game had this problem as well. Everything seems to be a tame representation of the sounds you'd expect, but nothing comes out really loud and intense, not even machine gun fire or close flybys. That was one of the things I loved about Secret Weapons Over Normandy and Crimson Skies, the variation in loudness and directional audio.
Control is slick and smooth, very easy to pick up and play and again they have the arcade/sim styles depending on your preference. For the demo I used the "Arcade" style. LT for lock-on of a target, RT for your guns, RB for rockets/missiles, Y for your tactical map. Then you have your two analog sticks, Left for steering and pitch, Right for speed and roll. Very simple and very easy to master.
Overall I liked it. A big improvement over the first one when you add it all together. But I'll probably still rent it first. It may be a weekend love affair and after 5-10 hours or so it may get a bit boring. Especially with Ace Combat 6 overshadowing it this fall.
Just finished playing this demo a few minutes ago, not a bad game. I'm a Tony Hawk fan so it was interesting to play a non Hawk skateboarding game for a change. So most of my impressions will be comparisons between the two, i.e. challenger versus Champion of the market-share at the moment.
The demo starts out with a few quick tutorials to get you familiar with the controls. You use the triggers for grabs, left stick for spins and steering, the X and A for pushing off with your left and right leg respectively and the right stick for your ollies. Although in theory that sounds easy enough, pushing off 2-3 times for maximum speed, then swinging your thumb to the right stick to prepare for a jump will take a bit of getting used to, as you need to hold the right stick down when you do it. I well imagine a motion control alternative would be more practical. Not as easy to pick up and play compared to TH, only because of the pushing off that is necessary and the buttons used to do it. Grinds are automatic, as you only need to use an ollie to jump up onto it, then it's just a matter of balance.
Sound is fantastic, the wheels, grinds, jumps, all sound great and very realistic. graphics are good, though there was a bit of frame-rate stutter and pop-in that may be attributed to it being a demo. I wasn't super crazy about the camera angle, though maybe that will be another option added to the final build. It was a behind 3rd person off to the side a bit, like if you were 3 feet tall on a board behind the player following them.
Graphics are decent, but as it's a demo I won't judge them on that regard. If they remain the same for the final version it won't turn anyone's heads.
Overall I don't think either franchise will hurt one another. There's enough difference for both to co-exist. Though I will say the biggest drawbacks were the camera and the use of the right stick, both can be fixed with more options or the control with motion sensing.
Is Skate a sim or a arcade title? Well it doesn't seem to have the high flying crazy multiple tricks of TH, or the speed for that matter. It does take a lot more effort, timing and skill to pull off great moves. In my opinion it's a bit of both. This is one of those games that is hard to write about until the final version hits shelves but until then hopefully some of this makes sense.
Played the Beautiful Katamari demo on the X360 a while ago. For those of you wondering it's around 432 meg in size. As usual it's an addicting, fun and yet simple game, though the demo itself was a bit on the short side. Anyone who has played the PS2 versions will instantly be familiar with this one. Those who've never played it, imagine a puzzle game where you roll around the environment sticking objects, animals etc to your ball building it up as you go. Then add a time limit and obstacles to make things more challenging. Simple? Yes. Addicting? You betcha!
The best part of this version IMO is the achievements that will accompany it. This game will make me want to work hard for those 1000 points. The multiplayer aspect of it may even convince me to get off my ass and get Xbox Live Gold. Keep an eye out for this game this fall.
Here's a neat little App for all you Atari 2600 fans and classic gamers alike. You can add your own name, picture, text colour, controller etc and make a front and top label that's either 150 or 360 DPI in size.
Also for those of you who haven't seen this before, here's an Xbox 360 Achievement generator:
For others in the world outside of the US, the Xbox 360 price drop comes as welcome news or bitter disappointment. In Canada the price of the 360 has dropped to $299, $399 and $499 respectively for the three models which is a $100 price drop. These reflect the stronger Canadian dollar and is the latest price drop/adjustment because of the economy in that country.
Europe, Australia and Japan on the other hand may have to wait for a while longer for an announcement. Perhaps during Leipzig's GC2007 this month or the Tokyo Game show this fall, but don't quote me on that.
According to an official press release from Take-Two, they are delaying GTA IV for both platforms until spring, possibly as late as April.
Here's an excerpt from the presser:
Quote
Take-Two is reducing its fiscal 2007 guidance primarily to reflect the movement of the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360â"žÂ¢ video game and entertainment system from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2008, due to additional development time required to complete the title. The title is now planned for release in the Company's second quarter of fiscal 2008. Additionally, Take-Two is updating third quarter and fiscal year 2007 guidance to reflect the movement of Manhunt 2 for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and the Wiiâ"žÂ¢ out of the third quarter and the fiscal year.
Another 7 more songs have been revealed for Guitar Hero III. Is it just me, or have we been spoiled by the thought of original recording so much now that we tend to look down on "as made famous by" songs for the upcoming titles? Some of them I actually prefer to the original, others I'd like to forget. In any case here's the latest batch:
"Miss Murder," by AFI
"3's and 7's," by Queens of the Stone Age
"Raining Blood," by Slayer
"Reptillia," by The Strokes
"Paranoid," as made famous by Black Sabbath
"Cities on Flame," as made famous by Blue Oyster Cult
"Mississippi Queen," as made famous by Mountain
Head over to Joystiq for the complete list to date as well as Youtube links to each song in case you need to jog your memory.
Here's four more Guitar Hero III tracks as listed from the ScoreHero forums:
Suck My Kiss - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Original recording)
La Grange - ZZ Top
Number Of The Beast - Iron Maiden (Original recording)
Through The Fire And Flames - Dragonforce (Original recording)
This game is shaping up to please so far. There hasn't been anything on the total list so far I wouldn't play. Check out the ScoreHero forums to read their exclusive coverage and play-through of the game along with other details from their experience:
A nice video of gameplay footage including physics, car damage and A.I. narrated by one of the developers. I haven't been a fan of the series since it switched to the "street racing" format, but this one shows a lot of promise. Just check out those smoke effects, very impressive. Information at present states that this game will be on every major console and handheld on the market late October or early November of this year. Having said that you can probably guess that these are shots from the PS3/X360 version. As for the others, well your mileage may vary.
For more information check out the official EA Games NFS: ProStreet website at: http://www.ea.com/nfs/pro...reet/locale_selection.jsp Also feel free to discuss this game in our forums and post your comments here.
Finally, Finally Morrowind is backwards compatible. Personally for me the most important title for the system on that list and one that I've been waiting for since the 360 launched in 2005. I'm also very happy that both Project Gotham's and Sega GT's are on that list as well. Not all of these are new games mind you, some of these are merely fixes for previous ones. But as a 360 owner with little space left in his entertainment center, this is a welcome announcement. I also bet a few of you are happy that JSRF is there as well, it's been one of the most asked for titles second only to Psychonauts. Here's the the list:
It's no secret that I'm not a big fan of downloadable content. I've ranted plenty on it since I bought a 360 last year. Sure it's fine for MP3's and movie rentals, just not games in my opinion. Disposable content for a buck or two that I don't feel I've invested in I haven't got a problem with. I even have content on my X360 in the forms of games, add-ons and other misc stuff. It's when it costs more than $10 and takes a sizable amount of space that I'd rather it on disc.
Before you ask, no I haven't beaten the game yet. But I figured seeing as this is quite a large game and will take many many hours to complete, I'd post my review of it for those who may be on the fence about whether they should buy it or not. Like a "game for lunch" type deal but after say 10-12 hours in or so. I suppose this could even apply to the PC version as well to some extent.
So we more or less have confirmation now. Advergames are coming. What's an advergame you ask? Well it's exactly as it sounds, an advertisement cleverly disguised as a game.
Not a bad game. No, not bad at all. I had the first Blazing Angels, and although this one has a few of the same problems it's still very much improved.
Here's a neat little App for all you Atari 2600 fans and classic gamers alike. You can add your own name, picture, text colour, controller etc and make a front and top label that's either 150 or 360 DPI in size. 
For others in the world outside of the US, the Xbox 360 price drop comes as welcome news or bitter disappointment. In Canada the price of the 360 has dropped to 
