Every week on Inside Xbox, Nelson & Natalie recommend a game for you to Pick Up & Play!
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Recent Reviews
Review: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
The basic idea here is pretty exciting. Finally, we get a chance to play as the evil apprentice of Darth Vader, destroying everyone and everything in our path. We’re unstoppably powerful, and we know it. How cool is that?!
The problem, though, lies in the... - Read the full review
It's here! After all the waiting, disappointment and speculation, it's finally here. Bungie's new project which was canceled from its E3 debut has been revealed ... and it's Halo 3!
No, wait. Halo 3 already came out, didn't it? Yes, yes it did. This must be an expansion, right?! A spin-off? Watch the teaser trailer (and I mean teaser in EVERY sense of the word) and you'll see some familiar locations and items from the Halo universe - namely what looks like New Mombasa in Halo 2 and the ODST landing pods, splashes of the Superintendent, references to Kenya and Sierra 117 and a note telling you to "prepare to drop." If you're a Halo fanatic, you can probably make all sorts of guesses as to what this new game might or might not revolve around.
Check out the listing for the trailer on LIVE Marketplace, and it lists this a "new Halo 3 campaign experience." An more realistic, gritty ODST-based campaign expansion - like the one that's been rumored to be in the works for months? What about the fact that this looks the initial attack on New Mombasa, prior to Halo 3, though? Yeesh, that's all sorts of confusing. Best to just let things stew over for a while. One thing is worth noting, during a split second in the video, a clear date of 01/06/09 is seen. Hmm. Expansion pack for the new year?
No gameplay, no other information from the big guys. Just the usual Bungie/Microsoft business. The teasing business. So, was it worth the wait and all the trouble? No begins the arduous task of examining the footage for months, picking out every little clue until Bungie decides to fess up.
...That is, if the cute little Superintendent countdown timer is telling the truth - this time. Bungie have updated their website with a cryptic note saying that something, the something that was canned from being shown at E3, will be revealed in teaser form at 7:07 a.m. PST tomorrow morning. In case you're not aware, exactly one year ago tomorrow, Halo 3 was just making its way into our disc drives. I found out what the announcement is and what is (hopefully) being revealed tomorrow this afternoon, so the magic (ie: ridiculous waiting) is gone for me; but now I'm cursed with sitting on this information for the time being.
So, let the speculation ensue. Is this the rumored XBLA game featuring the Superintendent? Is it the rumored realistic third-person, UNSC-based tactical shooter? Halo 4? Oni? Marathon? WHAT IS IT?!!! While it won't be revealed in great detail (it is a teaser after all), all shall be clearer very shortly. Be sure to check back here as soon as the announcement goes live, or hit up Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Hopefully. As [some] Halo 3 players have allegedly already found out, there will apparently be a video present on there as well. Regardless if that is true or not, hopefully nothing "happens" to repeat the events from July.
EA have anounced that their survival horror title, Dead Space, will be receiving the Limited Edition treatment when it releases October 14th, but it won't be a SKU that you're expecting.
Available only through the EA online store, the Dead Space Ultra Limited Edition will set you back $149.99 and will include a copy of the game, special ultra limited edition packaging, a copy of the Dead Space Downfall animated movie on DVD, a bonus disc, special lithograph, a 97-page art book, 160-page graphic novel and a Ishimura crew patch. Holy ... wow.
Interested? Hurry up and get yours now, there's only 1,000 copies available.
You've heard of Rock Band, right? You're aware of this sensational rhythm game movement that started really gaining steam when Harmonix released Guitar Hero in 2005 and then everyone was suddenly bursting onto the scene with tiny plastic guitars and now fake drum kits and elaborate karaoke system? I mean, there are no surprises here? I'm not going to shock or offend anyone if I refuse to mention the various, now painfully obvious, gameplay components, correct? Plastic drum kits no longer turn heads, right?
Alright, good. Because in most ways, Rock Band 2 is pretty much exactly like the first one. They tweaked some things, sure, but everything you could do or play in the original is here too. A more accurate name would have been "Rock Band Also," since the bundled game isn't even out yet, so only owners of the original are interested at this point in time. That doesn't mean that they haven't improved on an already great thing, I'm just saying that the industry needs to stop indiscriminately putting numbers on things.
What a happy day it is! Not only are we one more day closer to the release of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, but now we know exactly when Banjo-Kazooie will release on Xbox LIVE Arcade (and more).
Early this morning, Microsoft announced (and subsequently pulled) that the long-awaited Arcade port of the Nintendo 64 classic will release on LIVE Arcade November 26th, and will retail for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15). Honestly, that's a small price to pay. As previously announced, those that pre-order Nuts & Bolts for the 360 will not only get the XBLA game for free, but also a full two weeks early. That is all kinds of awesome. If that wasn't enough (was it?), Microsoft also confirmed in the same announcement that Banjo-Tooie will land on LIVE Arcade "in early 2009" - probably for the same price.
And if that wasn't enough, there's more! The first ever gameplay footage of Banjo-Kazooie - running on a 360 debug system - has popped up online (as well as a full on, HD preview at IGN). If you Banjo fans haven't passed out from hearing that opening intro tune yet, stay with me. You'll see a walkthrough of the entire beginning of the game, all in glorious HD ... and running in 16:9. Thanks to the video, we now also have the entire elist of achievements for Banjo's XBLA adventure, too. 12 achievements, as usual, though we don't know their exact point values. Yet. My god it's going to be a LONG wait.
Hit the jump for the gameplay video and achievement list.
Just imagine being able to do all those acrobatic things that Altair did in Assassin's Creed ... but in a near-futuristic city ... with a gun ... and in first-person. That's part of what you'll be doing in EA and DICE's Mirror's Edge as you take protagonist Faith through the game's mysterious story about a corrupt and watchful society.
But before they went ahead and began to create the fantastic looking action game we see running on PS3 and Xbox 360 now, they had to conceive the idea. Many moons ago, the team created the video below to show what they hoped to bring to the table in Mirror's Edge and you know what? They came pretty damn close.
Ensemble were building a Halo MMO. Yay! The title was canceled and Ensemble is no more. Boo! Yet, hope remains that Microsoft was smart enough to have their internal studios get cracking at continuing and/or restarting the project, because it looked awesome.
Following yesterday's reveal of the now-axed project, there appears to be even more concept artwork popping up to tease you. That is, unless these are from one of the three other Halo titles Microsoft is slaving away on. Just think, right now there's a possibility that you could be leveling up your level 39 UNSC Marine in a quest on Reach ... all for only $39.99 a month! Maybe.
Remember when Capcom and Nintendo were all buddy-buddy? That little, short-lived partnership led to things like the amazing remake of the classic Resident Evil for the Gamecube (which eventually paved the way for Resident Evil 4). Unfortunately, as great as the game is, it's been whored spread out across so many platforms that it's become something of an embarrassment to the series. Really, I can't recall exactly how many versions exist.
Hopefully, Capcom are nearing the end of that trend, and will release the definitive version of the classic Resident Evil on the Wii later this year. Joining the ranks of RE0 and Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil's Wii-make has been outed for release December 25th in Japan. There's no word on if it will make it across the sea, though.
Not much is known about the port other than the fact that if you're ot feeling the waggle, you will have the ability to use the regular Gamecube controller. I'm not sure what to make of this. On one hand, it's great for the Resident Evil fans that are waiting for the new installment. On the other, Capcom have hinted they plan on pretty much following this model for a lot of their successful Gamecube titles. Me thinks I want to see Resident Evil 2 and 3: Nemesis remade. Now.
Years of TV viewing desensitizes you to advertising and commercials. It's life, it happens. So when someone sent us a link tothe new Wario Land: Shake It commercial on YouTube, we were pretty apathetic. It took some cajoling and persuading, but when we finally watched the video, we were laughing heartily. It's not just cute, it's totally awesome.
We won't spoil it for you, but suffice it to say, you need to click this link as soon as you can and watch this thing. We promise, it's not a Rick Roll.
Spore’s Digital Rights Management system has caused more than a tiny bit of uproar from the gaming community. Last week, we reported how the DRM caused thousands of Amazon.com members to give the game a 1-star rating. Well, it appears that the trouble is not over as it was discovered today that a class action lawsuit has been filed against EA over the DRM system in Spore.
The lawsuit, filed in the District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that the current DRM remains installed within the user’s computer, even after they uninstall the game. It claims that EA has been:
engaging in deceptive and unlawful conduct in designing, marketing, distributing, and selling a computer game disk that contains undisclosed and unconsented to Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology.
The lawsuit cites the numerous complaints filed on Amazon.com, filling about 2 and a half pages with complaints filed on the site. It then goes on to list the numerous ways that they feel EA has deceived the buying public. The suit demands restitution for the money spent of the game, along with an undisclosed amount for damages and legal fees.
With EA announcing that SecuROM will be used in Red Alert 3, the question of DRM protection seems to now fall into the hands of the courts.
Late yesterday, Activision posted a list of FAQ's for their upcoming Call of Duty: World at War beta. The announcement sheds some light on a few things and reminds us that the first chance to play the game is just a few weeks away. Well, for those lucky enough to get a beta key, at least.
The good news is that if you're already a member of the Call of Duty page (or a user that migrated from CharlieOscarDelta.com), you're automatically entered into the drawing for a beta key, no work required. Activision is trying to reward the long time fans of the game, and will be handing out beta keys based on seniority. The longer you've been a member of the site, the better your chances of getting access to the beta. Of course, if you just don't feel like playing the Beta Lottery yet again, you can always head down to Gamestop and pre-order the game, guaranteeing you a spot in line.
Sadly, the company has also confirmed that there will be no beta for the PlayStation 3, offering up the following statement in condolence:
No, there won’t be a PS3 beta. The Xbox 360 and PC environments will
provide the feedback that we need to make any back-end technical
modifications to the co-op and multiplayer features, which means an
optimized experience for everyone, independent of the console they own.
Ouch. That has to hurt. The company goes on to say that the PC beta will also be occurring in October, with full details coming soon.
Parris is back from his trip Down Under, and we're jumping right back into things with Episode 92 of UncleGamer Radio!
This week, Parris talks about his recent hands-on experience with Guitar Hero: World Tour. Listen in as he talks about his experiences with the game, and find out which version impressed him the most. You might be surprised!
We also talk about the recent release of Spore for the PC and Mac. Is Will Wright's latest opus worth the hype? Listen in and find out what we both think of the game.
And with the start of the Fall season comes the Holiday gaming line up. Listen in as we talk about why we're shocked, pleased, and annoyed with the upcoming attack on our spare time and our wallets.
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Today we're talking about Rock Band 2 and an upcoming Xbox Live Arcade title called Age of Booty, that we are super excited about! We bring back a question of the week & are wondering if we should pick up a second XBOX 360 now that the price has dropped.... Hmm. What do you think?
Review: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
The basic idea here is pretty exciting. Finally, we get a chance to play as the evil apprentice of Darth Vader, destroying everyone and everything in our path. We’re unstoppably powerful, and we know it. How cool is that?!
The problem, though, lies in the... - Read the full review