Posted on Feb 02, 2010 under Main |
This week on XBLA is light-ish on new releases, but has the usual deluge of content, including a pretty great Deal of the Week and Games on Demand releases that couldn’t be more different.
This week’s new XBLA release is Chime, from OneBigGame, at 400 MS Points ($5.00 USD). From our Chime review:
“Ultimately though, at 400 points (or about $5 USD), Chime is easy to recommend. It manages to take inspiration from known quantities in the puzzle and rhythm genres to create something that feels distinctive and, more importantly, is a lot of fun. That the bulk of your money is going to charity is a feel-good bonus for a game that deserves your time regardless.”
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Posted on Feb 01, 2010 under Main |
Mass Effect debuted a little over two years ago to almost universal praise, getting high marks for the rich story, endless exploration options, and entertaining gameplay. Despite the game’s success, BioWare listened closely to player feedback, promising to revamp the parts of the game that needed improvement while developing the sequel. They didn’t hesitate to refine the elements they wanted to keep and do away with the ones they didn’t. The result is a familiar, but much more streamlined experience. Rather than being a shooter with a great story added in, Mass Effect 2 a great story that often has you shoot things. Read on for the rest of my thoughts.
- Title: Mass Effect 2
- Developer: BioWare
- Publisher: Electronic Arts
- System: Windows, Xbox 360
- Reviewer: Soulskill
- Score: 9/10
The Story
Mass Effect 2 starts off with a bang, immediately putting Commander Shepherd in rather significant peril and setting him to work with Cerberus, an organization of questionable morality that made a brief appearance in ME1. Shepherd often has reason to doubt Cerberus’s trustworthiness and stated goals, but has little choice since they’re the only ones who seem to be fighting the latest threat to humanity. The conflict between Shepherd and Cerberus’s leader, the Illusive Man, is a plot thread that runs through the entire game, and you’re given quite a bit of control over how trusting or defiant you want to be. After settling in aboard your ship, you’re given a kick in the pants to begin recruiting a new team.
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Posted on Feb 01, 2010 under Main |
andylim writes “According to Engadget, John Koller, Sony’s head of PlayStation marketing, recently said that ‘Apple’s entrance into the portable gaming space has been a net positive for Sony. When people want a deeper, richer console, they start playing on a PSP.’ What’s odd though is that everyone knows that the mobile phone gaming market is a huge and yet neither Sony nor Nintendo has made a gaming phone yet. Recombu.com thinks that Nokia could enter the space with PSP-like devices and it has come up with a concept phone called the Ovi Orion, which would bridge the gap between phone and console, ‘If the iPhone is Wii, then Ovi Orion would be Xbox and offer Xbox Live style features. A serious gaming phone for serious gamers.’”
Posted on Jan 29, 2010 under Main |
Andreas(R) writes “The Freeciv.net crew has benchmarked their web client, which is a rich web application using the HTML5 canvas element. This shows how fast Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer perform using the latest HTML5 web standards.”
Posted on Jan 29, 2010 under Main |
andylim writes “recombu.com is running an interesting piece about how Apple has created a ‘Jumanji (board game) platform.’ The 9.7-inch multi-touch screen is perfect for playing board games at home, and you could use Wi-Fi or 3G to play against other people when you’re on your own. What would be really interesting is if you could pair the iPad with iPhones, ‘Imagine a Scrabble iPad game that used iPhones as letter holders. You could hold up your iPhone so that no one else could see your letters and when you were ready to make a word on the Scrabble iPad board, you could slide them on to the board by flicking the word tiles off your iPhone.’ Now that would be cool.”
Posted on Jan 29, 2010 under Main |
Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that a six pack of songs from country greats including Kenny Chesney, Willie Nelson, Rascal Flatts and others will be added next week to the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and WiiTM.
These artists are among the more than 390 bands currently available through the Rock Band platform. With more than 1,000 songs available, Rock Band is, without question, the industry leader in providing the best selection of interactive musical content, songs and artists.
Rock Band DLC Additions for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 System and Wii
This Rock Band Music Store update represents some of the hottest artists in the country music genre. Kenny Chesney burst onto the scene in the early 90s and has been a staple since, with hits such as “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” from 1999’s Everywhere We Go. Montgomery Gentry, composed of Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, offer their 2004 single “Gone” from their fourth album, You Do Your Thing, while country/pop crossover sensation Rascal Flatts brings one of their most successful singles, “Me and My Gang” from the 2006 album of the same title. “Suds in the Bucket” (Sara Evans’ third No. 1 song on the country charts and the third single from 2003’s Restless) and Trace Adkins’ “Swing” (a single from 2008’s Dangerous Man) are also included in this week’s additions. Rounding out the pack is Willie Nelson’s timeless travelling classic, “On the Road Again,” from 1980’s Honeysuckle Rose.
Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (Feb. 2) and PlayStation 3 system (Feb. 4):
- Kenny Chesney - “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy”
- Montgomery Gentry - “Gone”
- Rascal Flatts - “Me and My Gang”
- Sara Evans - “Suds in the Bucket”
- Trace Adkins - “Swing”
- Willie Nelson - “On the Road Again”
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Posted on Jan 29, 2010 under Main |
Strawdog Studios, an independent multi-platform game developer, is excited to announce that its classically addictive Arcade game, Space Ark will be launched into orbit on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 in spring 2010.
With your crack team of animal arkonauts, you have escaped your once peaceful solar system, which has been shattered by a wandering black hole, and are now looking for new places to live. With a trail of damaged planets left in the black holes wake, the space travelling animals board the Space Ark and fly across the galaxy on a mission to repair the damaged worlds. At each planet your arkonauts must bounce in the air and bag DNA combos, power-ups and all the fruit they can catch so ultimately inhabitants can return!
A fun homage to the bright and bouncy arcade games of the late 1980s such as Rainbow Island, Bubble Bobble and Arkanoid, Space Ark is an addictive, original arcade action game which appeals to both casual and hardcore gamers alike with its laid-back, stress free gameplay, and its addictive gem collection element.
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Posted on Jan 28, 2010 under Main |
Blitz 1UP, an initiative run by UK developer Blitz Arcade, announces the release of word puzzle game KrissX on PC and Facebook, and have partnered with Konami Digital Entertainment Inc. for the release on XBLA. KrissX (pronounced ‘kriss cross’), developed by Regolith Games Ltd., is a casual puzzle game designed to test your vocab and brain power to their limits with a plethora of mind-bending word games.
Help Wordsworth the Owl on his mission to solve jumbled word puzzles by following clues and swapping letters around. With over 3,500 words to unscramble and a variety of game styles including Quests, Time Attack Mode and Timeless Play, there is endless replay value. Uncomplicated controls mean instant pick up and play appeal so it’s an interactive and fun gaming experience for players of all ages.
Decipher brainteasers and test your knowledge with a host of great features:
- 150 vibrant levels to master at your own pace in Quest Mode
- Beat the clock in Time Attack mode
- If you’re successful you’ll be rewarded with badges and high scores
- Huge numbers of bonuses to unlock to complete your collection of badges
- The option to challenge family and friends with puzzles of your own creation
- Unique puzzles every time you play - never play the same game twice.
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Posted on Jan 28, 2010 under Main |
The legend has been reborn! ZEN Studios, a videogame developer and digital publisher known for its innovative arcade, strategy and action games, announced today it is releasing Excalibur, the next add-on table for their wildly popular Pinball FX game on Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Excalibur launches today and is available for 200 Microsoft Points.
“Ever since our launch back in 2007, we knew we had a great pinball game on our hands,” said Zsolt Kigyossy, Managing Director for ZEN Studios. “We love to return the support of our fans by releasing addictive add-on tables, and Excalibur is no exception. We hope everyone enjoys this fun and multi-faceted table as much as we loved creating it.”
Excalibur follows in the footsteps of fellow expansion tables Buccaneer, Nightmare Mansion, Street Fighter II Turbo and Earth Defense in delivering a fast and frenetic pinball experience. Earn your seat at the Round Table amongst the greatest knights in King Arthur’s court! Participate in duels or jousting tournaments for honor, and defend Camelot against the Robber Knights!
Excalibur features include:
- Duel with other Knights of Camelot and try to retain the “King’s Champion” title as long as you can
- Utilize Merlin’s tips and suggestions to lock balls in his tower in order to start Magical Multiball
- Relive some of the most famous Arthurian legends by spelling T-A-L-E and spinning the Round Table
- Hit swinging targets to open the hidden path that leads to Morgana’s lair filled with sorcery
- Sneak into Mordred’s dungeon, or lead a full siege against his fortress
- Earn some extra points by participating in jousting tournaments
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Posted on Jan 28, 2010 under Main |
Xbox 360 owners have had to watch from the sidelines over the last several weeks as PS3 players have shot each other through walls and scenery in the Battlefield Bad Company 2 beta EA and DICE have been running on Sony’s system, but we had intended to post some good news for Xbox 360 owners this morning in the form of a multiplayer demo releasing later today on Xbox Live. We would have, except the demo mistakenly appeared early on the Marketplace, meaning you can get in on some sweet multiplayer right now. We’ll have more media up for you later, but in the mean time, enjoy!
