Official Xbox 360? Thread...Part Deux

[tw1164]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: jlmadyson
Oblibion Expansion: Shivering Iles, March 27, 2400 MS points ($30)

I was hoping since this would be download only, without box and shipping costs Bethseda would make it a bit less than the PC retail, it's 30 as well, but it's all good. This is still a day one purchase for me considering they have said it is going to have potentnially 30-60 hours of gameplay if not more. That is worth the ticket imo.

Makes me wonder what the download size of Shivering Isles is going to be...

Between this and the Halo 3 Beta...I doubt I'll have any room left on my HDD.

Can you erase games/movies on the HD to make space, and download them later w/o paying again?

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: tw1164

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: jlmadyson
Oblibion Expansion: Shivering Iles, March 27, 2400 MS points ($30)

I was hoping since this would be download only, without box and shipping costs Bethseda would make it a bit less than the PC retail, it's 30 as well, but it's all good. This is still a day one purchase for me considering they have said it is going to have potentnially 30-60 hours of gameplay if not more. That is worth the ticket imo.

Makes me wonder what the download size of Shivering Isles is going to be...

Between this and the Halo 3 Beta...I doubt I'll have any room left on my HDD.

Can you erase games/movies on the HD to make space, and download them later w/o paying again?

Games and TV Shows...yes. Movies...no.

 

[Queasy]

Blue Dragon in August, Lost Odyssey Holiday '07

We had a chance to sit down with Mistwalker's Hironobu Sakaguchi this morning to get an update on the current state of the man's two RPGs, Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey.

Sakaguchi walked us through one of Blue Dragon's boss fights, a mainly hands-off experience, plus one of the three on-rails shooter segments. The Blue Dragon North American release looks like it will be happening this August, with three separate pieces of downloadable content, described as "huge", released over a three to four month time period after launch. English voices were in place, but players who prefer Japanese dialogue are in luck?we were told that the original voiceover work will remain intact as an option for the US release.

The Final Fantasy creater then moved on to his more Western tailored RPG Lost Odyssey, previously demoed at the Tokyo Game Show.

While Sakaguchi prefaced his non-interactive demo with a warning about the early state of the game's lighting, the Unreal Engine 3-powered game still looked gorgeous. According to Sakaguchi, Mistwalker is "working to produce a level of graphics greater than Gears of War." Are they successful? I'll stand by a firm "umm maybe?"

We were shown an extended real-time cutscene, one that involved the male lead, Kaim Argonar, and his female compatriot meeting with their newest partner who just happens to be a womanizing drunkard. The animation and lip-synching was mostly spot on in the early demo. Sakaguchi let us know that the game would be originally voiced and synched in English, with a Japanese dub or subtitle treatment to follow for Lost Odyssey's native release.

Beyond Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey and the upcoming Nintendo DS RTS title A.S.H. (Archaic Sealed Heat), Hironobu wouldn't say what else he was working on. Sadly, Sakaguchi declined to answer my request for a Rad Racer III.

 

[Queasy]

Shadowrun Hands-On

The room is set up with two very large Samsung HDTVs. In front of one monitor is a slick gaming mouse and keyboard. In front of the other is an Xbox 360 controller. We sit through the expected spiel: Shadowrun has magic, trolls, dwarves, all that stuff. But how does it play? Is it fun? Microsoft's Michael Wolf and FASA's Technical Chraracter Designer, Michael Lowrance, sure make it look fun. Finally, we get our shot (that's me and two folks from Game Informer). I'm holding a pad, my foe wields the KB and mouse. I'm a dwarf. He's a troll. Time to ask it again: is it fun?

To put it succinctly, yes. The game is fun, but we didn't have nearly enough time to test it out. Admittedly, this meeting was more for FASA to show off the game than it was for us to play it, but we wanted a bit longer. Of course, wanting more time is usually an indicator that something is right. A match in Shadowrun plays out more or less like a game of Counter-Strike. At the beginning of a round, you purchase weapons, magic, and technology (better known as "tech." Shadowrun is bewildering at first, what with all the selections available for purchase. What weapons do you pick? What magic? What tech? Do you focus on one area more than another? We imagine this process will become second nature, as players develop their niches, but at first it's pretty confusing. It took a while to get the controls down (the game is still going on as you buy weapons, etc.), but after failing with a laser guided rocket launcher, we wound up settling on an up close combo: a katana and a shotty.

Your race definitely plays a factor in Shadowrun, as each race possesses special abilities. Our dwarf, for instance, sucks magical essence from every character and magical item in the game. This effect applies to characters and items on both teams, so if you're not careful, you might end up destroying your team's tree of life (a healing station) or sucking away a friend's essence. You really do have to be careful, dwarves suck up essence fast. Naturally, this has advantages, too. Which brings us back to races.

Trolls, you see, become harder to kill as they take damage. You can actually see rough patches of spikes sprouting from their skin as they get hurt. This ability, though it is passive, still requires magic to perform. Enter the dwarf. The dwarf can run up to the troll, sap its essence (thereby eliminating its toughness ability), and slash it with a katana for a quick, efficient, and ultimately satisfying kill. Yeah, landing a kill with a katana is niiice.

Spells -- including teleport, tree of life, smoke, and more -- can be easily mapped to the left and right bumpers and the left trigger. Simply press B, pull up the desired effect from a radial menu, and press the button you want it mapped to. Done. Players can also cast spells directly from this menu. The same system applies to tech, which includes abilities like the glider, enhanced vision (called smart link), and wired reflexes. Wired reflexes is particularly interesting for up close players, as it allows the deflection of bullets with a katana.

An interesting note, the game features bots that can be enabled during online play. The bots take up player slots, but will drop when a human player shows up to take its place. It's a small feature, but a much appreciated one.

Overall, we really enjoyed our brief time with Shadowrun. It's a solid multiplayer game. We're somewhat concerned that it's complexities will limit its broad appeal. The mere act of mapping magic to different buttons could keep, say, the Halo crowd from really enjoying it. Still, as the hardcore 360 fanboys that we are, we want more. And we want it now.

Oh, and you may notice that there wasn't any mention of the fabled mouse vs. gamepad debate. Honestly, we didn't notice. Sure, we've heard that before, but now we believe it. Shadowrun is one to watch.

 

[Queasy]

FYI if you didn't already know - Worms is up on XBLA now.

 

[Qwest]

Downloaded the 1 gig 720p South Park episode for free last night. Pretty funny since I had never seen it and for south park, it did look pretty sharp in HD.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Qwest
Downloaded the 1 gig 720p South Park episode for free last night. Pretty funny since I had never seen it and for south park, it did look pretty sharp in HD.

How long did it take you to download? I tried to download it last night but by the time I went to sleep (2AM) it was only at 75%. I haven't even checked it this morning to see if it completed.

That one episode must have been getting hammered with downloads...unsurprisingly.

 

[michaels]

Forza 2 Enzo gameplay
http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=2607

The game is looking nice and the damage is col, but all I have heard is how great the damage is and he hit the wall and 150 and that's all the damage??

 

[Suture]

I tried the South Park episode, too. I've never downloaded any TV shows/movies from XBL -- just demos and a few game videos. I started the South Park download, and got up to get a drink, and when I came back it said "South Park blah blah ready for viewing" or something popped up on the screen. I have Verizon FiOS but that was even rediculously fast for that 1GB download. I checked the download and it was at 20% or so. I started watching and fell asleep, lol. Not that it wasn't funny, I was just tired.

Glad to see Worms is available now; I'll download that when I get home from work.

 

[Qwest]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Qwest
Downloaded the 1 gig 720p South Park episode for free last night. Pretty funny since I had never seen it and for south park, it did look pretty sharp in HD.

How long did it take you to download? I tried to download it last night but by the time I went to sleep (2AM) it was only at 75%. I haven't even checked it this morning to see if it completed.

That one episode must have been getting hammered with downloads...unsurprisingly.

Not exactly sure, maybe 45 minutes? It let me start watching it while it was downloading, so there's no way to tell. Funny how the 480p version costs points but the 720p was free.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Qwest

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Qwest
Downloaded the 1 gig 720p South Park episode for free last night. Pretty funny since I had never seen it and for south park, it did look pretty sharp in HD.

How long did it take you to download? I tried to download it last night but by the time I went to sleep (2AM) it was only at 75%. I haven't even checked it this morning to see if it completed.

That one episode must have been getting hammered with downloads...unsurprisingly.

Not exactly sure, maybe 45 minutes? It let me start watching it while it was downloading, so there's no way to tell. Funny how the 480p version costs points but the 720p was free.

That's because they are running a promotion for the 720p version for two weeks. They've done this before with other shows - Sarah Silverman and the Nick Toon "Sky World" had a free episode to promote the service too.

 

[Queasy]

Windows Live priced the same as Xbox Live. Xbox Live accounts can be used on Windows Live and vice versa.

hile Microsoft was quite quiet about Live for Windows Vista, today during a press event prior to the Game Developers Conference the company revealed to Game Informer Online the exact pricing structure for the service. Live for Windows Vista will actually be the same exact price for Vista as it is for the Xbox 360. Just like with the Xbox 360 there will be a free Silver package as well as a Gold package which retails for $49.99 for a year subscription, $7.99 for one month, and $19.99 for three months.

Good news for gamers who already have an Xbox Live Gold Membership ? you?ve already subscribed. Your Live membership works on the Xbox, Xbox 360, and Live for Windows. Your gamer tag and achievements will be used across both Xbox and Vista PCs. Upcoming Vista games like Halo 2 and some exclusive Vista casual games will include achievements and will be able to add to your gamer score.

 

[UpgradeFailure]

GRAW2 is only $35 at Frys starting tomorrow

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: michaels
Forza 2 Enzo gameplay
http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=2607

The game is looking nice and the damage is col, but all I have heard is how great the damage is and he hit the wall and 150 and that's all the damage??

Car companies won't let them fully destruct the cars. That is why Burnout does not use real tcars.

 

[dlock13]

Originally posted by: UpgradeFailure
GRAW2 is only $35 at Frys starting tomorrow

Get me an ad for that, and I will get Best Buy to price match it since it is right down the street from me.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: UpgradeFailure
GRAW2 is only $35 at Frys starting tomorrow

You sure? If so I'm stopping by Frys at lunch. SWEET!

 

[UpgradeFailure]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: UpgradeFailure
GRAW2 is only $35 at Frys starting tomorrow

You sure? If so I'm stopping by Frys at lunch. SWEET!

Yep

 

[50cent1228]

awesome

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: UpgradeFailure

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: UpgradeFailure
GRAW2 is only $35 at Frys starting tomorrow

You sure? If so I'm stopping by Frys at lunch. SWEET!

Yep

Dood you rock. Thanks for that...loved the whole GR series but wasn't impressed by the demo to buy it @ $60. For $35, hell yea though Thanks!

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: michaels
Forza 2 Enzo gameplay
http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=2607

The game is looking nice and the damage is col, but all I have heard is how great the damage is and he hit the wall and 150 and that's all the damage??

If the damage was 100% realistic, no one would finish a single race.

 

[bucwylde23]

So i know nothing about GRAW 2 (haven't had interest, didn't like GRAW all that much).

Does it have online coop with 4 players? and can you coop all of the actual single player missions? can I expect a similarly good online game like R6? (I know it's not R6, but still..)

 

[UpgradeFailure]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: UpgradeFailure

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: UpgradeFailure
GRAW2 is only $35 at Frys starting tomorrow

You sure? If so I'm stopping by Frys at lunch. SWEET!

Yep

Dood you rock. Thanks for that...loved the whole GR series but wasn't impressed by the demo to buy it @ $60. For $35, hell yea though Thanks!

No Problem. I loved the last graw, but I have a few games to play still so I was going to wait on graw2, but at almost half off, the DAY it comes out, how can I pass up? You're welcome, hope it doesn't sell out!

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: michaels
Forza 2 Enzo gameplay
http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=2607

The game is looking nice and the damage is col, but all I have heard is how great the damage is and he hit the wall and 150 and that's all the damage??

If the damage was 100% realistic, no one would finish a single race.

Heh...all it would take is one noob to take out the entire field. :laugh:

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: michaels
Forza 2 Enzo gameplay
http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=2607

The game is looking nice and the damage is col, but all I have heard is how great the damage is and he hit the wall and 150 and that's all the damage??

If the damage was 100% realistic, no one would finish a single race.

Heh...all it would take is one noob to take out the entire field. :laugh:

I'm the guy who would purposely take everyone out just to piss people off

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: michaels
Forza 2 Enzo gameplay
http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=2607

The game is looking nice and the damage is col, but all I have heard is how great the damage is and he hit the wall and 150 and that's all the damage??

If the damage was 100% realistic, no one would finish a single race.

Heh...all it would take is one noob to take out the entire field. :laugh:

I'm the guy who would purposely take everyone out just to piss people off

Yeah, there's always bastages like you out there too.