CONNECT

Criticize This!

SPONSORS

August 24, 2007

Free BioShock Score!

2K Games just released the score for the amazing XBOX 360/Windows game BioShock - for FREE! Check out The Cult of Rapture site to download it now.

More info on the score from 2K Games:

The score was created by film, television and video game composer Garry Schyman and features a combination of early twentieth century writing, aleatoric elements, musique concrete, traditional tonal and late romantic styles that capture the distinct retro-futuristic aesthetic of the game.

Read my review of BioShock at Criticize This!

 

August 07, 2007

Microsoft drops price of XBOX 360 by $100 in Canada

Microsoft Canada has officially dropped the price of the XBOX 360 from $499 CDN to $399 CDN as of August 8th, 2007. To be clear - this is NOT the the XBOX 360 Elite, which is still $499 CDN. Press release below.

TORONTO, ON — Aug. 7, 2007 — Microsoft Corp. today kicked off the greatest holiday lineup in video game history by announcing it will reduce the Canadian retail price of Xbox 360™ by $100 (CDN) beginning Aug. 8 at Canadian retailers nationwide. Soon to follow, Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) will release its blockbuster video game title “Madden NFL 08” on Aug. 14. “Madden NFL Football,” one of the most important mass-appeal franchises in video games, was the top-selling game of 2006 and is the top-selling franchise of the past 10 years. Only Xbox 360 offers a console for all interests and budgets.

“The fact that we have been able to keep our launch price longer than any other console while retaining our leadership position demonstrates that consumers believe in the value of Xbox 360,” said Mitch Koch, corporate vice president, Global Retail Sales and Marketing Group, Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. “On the eve of the best holiday games lineup ever and the launch of ‘Madden NFL 08,’ there has never been a better time to jump into Xbox 360.”

Xbox 360 will enhance the value of its entire family of consoles beginning on Aug. 8. At a new price of $399.99 (CDN), Xbox 360 offers an unsurpassed experience right out of the box with a 20 GB hard drive, wireless controller, Xbox 360 headset, and more. For those looking for the ultimate value and the freedom to customize their console as they see fit, Xbox 360 Core System now has an estimated retail price (ERP) of $299.99 (CDN). Xbox 360 Core System provides everything gamers need to hit the ground running while giving consumers the ability to add new features and accessories they want. Dressed in black and equipped with a 120GB hard drive, Xbox 360 Elite will be priced at an ERP of $499.99 (CDN) for those who want the premium games and entertainment experience. In anticipation of this year’s largest blockbuster game launch, the Xbox 360 Halo® 3 Special Edition Console will hit store shelves in September with an ERP of $449.99 (CDN). Featuring an authentic Spartan green-and-gold finish, this console will include a matching Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, Xbox 360 20GB hard drive, Xbox 360 Headset an Xbox 360 Play and Charge Kit and more.

In addition to being a great value, Xbox 360 is the only place consumers will be able to play all of this year’s biggest titles: “Guitar Hero III™: Legends of Rock” (RedOctane/Activision), “Halo 3” (Bungie Studios), “Madden NFL 08” (EA) and “Rock Band” (MTV Games). Xbox 360 is also home to the most exclusive games, such as “BioShock” (2K Games), “Lost Odyssey™” (Mistwalker and feelplus Inc.), “Blue Dragon” (Mistwalker and feelplus Inc.), “Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action,” (Screenlife), “Project Gotham Racing® 4” (Bizarre Creations Ltd.), “Mass Effect” (BioWare Corp.), “Naruto: Rise of a Ninja” (Ubisoft), and “Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation” (NAMCO BANDAI Games). With a record-setting attach rate of 6.1 games per console sold (NPD, Life-to-date, June 2007), a new price and the greatest holiday games lineup ever, Xbox 360 has proved itself as the home of the best games and entertainment at the best value.

 

August 02, 2007

Chasing Ghosts

After my post on The King of Kong a few days ago, I got a comment (thanks Josh!) about another retro gaming documentary called Chasing Ghosts. This one focuses on Pac-Man (kinda obvious from the title) and looks just as interesting and fun as The King of Kong.

 

July 31, 2007

X-Women - the game that never was

X-Women was a planned sequel to the X-Men games for the SEGA Genesis (same format as the other games only with an all-female cast). According to Archive.org the game was dropped after SEGA started to concentrate on the SEGA Saturn game system.

Although the preview (embedded below) doesn't look that great, I believe it would have been the first game with an all-female cast (post a comment if I'm wrong).

           

 

July 25, 2007

Wii Fit Parody

The Sarcastic Gamer has done it again. First the excellent parody of the Microsoft Surface and now a parody of the Wii Fit.

 

July 24, 2007

Top 5: XBOX Live Arcade Games (July 07)

The XBOX Live Arcade catalog keeps growing each week, and with a great mix of new titles and old classics it's hard to decide what to spend your points on. This is my "Top 5" of what I'm currently hooked on.

1. Pinball FX (800 points)

Most pinball games fail on consoles, Pinball FX is the exception. This is fast and fun pinball! The sound, graphics, and vibration from the controller make this the next best thing to actually playing a pinball machine.

2. PAC-MAN Championship Edition (800 points)

PAC-MAN is a classic game that has never really been updated till now. PAC-MAN Championship Edition is PAC-MAN on crack. Fast, loud, colorful, and challenging! It brought back my love of the game.

3. Sonic the Hedgehog Arcade & Golden Axe (400 points each)

Sonic the Hedgehog put SEGA on the map back in the day and this classic arcade version of the game reminds us why. Very fast and fun (and the closest thing we have to Mario on the XBOX). Golden Axe is a typical side-scrolling hack-and-slash arcade game by SEGA. From an outsider it looks lame but once you start playing you'll be hooked.


Sonic
Sonic the Hedgehog

4. Contra (400 points)

Although it's not the NES version, Contra is still one hell of a classic game that defines the XBOX Live Arcade.

5. Hexic HD (FREE)

The only XBOX Live Arcade game that I can play for hours after a year of playing it. Hexic HD is up there with Tetris when it comes to my obsession with puzzle games.

With the release of Super Contra, Bomberman Live, and Wing Commander Arena in the last couple of weeks I figure I'll be doing this list monthly from now on.


 

May 16, 2007

HALO 3 Beta via Crackdown?!

The HALO 3 Beta was finally released today to people who either had a special invite or the game Crackdown - and unless you were trying to get it via Crackdown you are most likely playing it now.

So what happened with the Crackdown download? I tried downloading it this morning with no luck (the "Download HALO 3 Beta" button was not live). I checked online and sure enough, people were freaking out that they could not download it (Major Nelson's site went down due to high traffic so many people were freaking out).

Updates during the day stated that Microsoft and Bungie (the maker of the HALO series) knew about the problem and were working on it.

The most recent update from the Bungie site states:

We're happy to finally announce that the issues being faced with the Halo 3 beta and Crackdown will be resolved shortly. The Microsoft team has found a solution and it's undergoing final testing now. Assuming the test pass goes according to plan, the fix will come in the form of a Crackdown title update within the next three to six hours.

Waiting sucks! I hate it! In this case though I can tell you it is worth the wait. The demo is fun and I'm sure it will waste many hours of my time until September 25th (when the full game is released)

 

May 15, 2007

Interested in a $10,000 scholarship to design video games?

The International Academy of Design & Technology (IADT) and the folks from the show Electric Playground have joined forces to hold a video game design contest. The prize? A $10,000 scholarship at the IADT Game Design School.

More info from the press release:

Beginning May 1st, Canadian residents 17 years of age and older can enter the contest by registering at gamedesigncontest.ca. Registrants must submit a fully functioning version of their Flash game by July 2nd. Games will be judged by a panel of experts on their creativity, technical expertise and originality. The Grand Prize winner will be announced later in July and awarded a $10,000 scholarship to IADT’s Game Design School in Toronto.

So there you have it. Good luck to all who enter.

 

May 10, 2007

Holy new Crackdown content!

Microsoft just released some new downloadable content for the XBOX 360 game Crackdown - and some of it is FREE!

New vehicles, achievements, and weapons are included in the FREE update. For 800 Points you can get an additional three vehicles, four weapons, a "cloaking device", and a new street-racing mode!

Sounds fun.

More details from the press release:

With more than 900,000 units of “Crackdown” sold-through in only two months, Microsoft Game Studios and Realtime Worlds are extending the game’s unparalleled experience, offering gamers several exciting new features, including vehicles, weapons, game modes and seven highly explosive, new Achievements. In addition, Agents will have free access to improved mission time trials, an option to repopulate gangs and kingpins after they have beaten the game, a vehicle impound garage, and the long-awaited Keys to the City — a comprehensive cheat mode including new “super agent” abilities and the option to create ramps, vehicles and explosives anywhere in Pacific City, at any point in the game.

For 800 Microsoft Points, Agents can also access the full Crackdown armoury, which includes three unique vehicles, four new devastating weapons, co-op game types, an Agent “cloaking device” and an added dynamic street-racing mode.

The new and improved street-racing mode brings several white-knuckle races to the streets … and everywhere in between. Agents can win by any means necessary — via speed or sabotage.

Vehicle selection is imperative to an Agent’s success, and the premium vehicle additions will help gamers dominate their foes. The Agency Buggy, fitted with a turret for the new, ultimate fast-firing projectile chain gun, is the vehicle of choice in rough and tumble off-road races. The low-profile battering ram of the Agency Armored Vehicle is strong enough to knock vehicles out of the way and protect Agents from an onslaught of gunfire, and is fitted with an independently aiming rocket turret. The Agency Racecar is the high-speed car of choice on the long stretches of city pavement.

In addition to a flocking rocket launcher (the MSK Lobber) and the all-powerful MZ360 Mini-Gun, the premium content will feature both proximity mines and the HRX Harpoon gun capable of stopping crime in its path by nailing criminals to nearby cars and walls.

In addition, if a player who has yet to purchase the PDLC content enters into a co-op game with a partner who has, that player will be able to preview the new content for the duration of that game.

May 09, 2007

H.264 and MPEG-4 on your XBOX 360

UPDATE: TVersity posted an update to work with the new firmware patch.

The Spring 2007 Update for the XBOX 360 was released this morning - adding the ability to now play H.264 and MPEG-4 encoded video files (as well as a bunch of other things including instant messaging with friends on Windows Live Messenger).

I tested the new video capabilities with the most recent episode of commandN. The iPod formatted .M4V file we encode looks the best - even better then the the .WMV file we currently encode specifically for the 360. This is great news for Podcasters as it opens up a new market for them without having to encode and host another file.

The only real downfall is that you still can't play XviD/DivX formatted files natively (and I doubt you ever will). I also noticed some issues connecting with TVersity after the update (which is the best way to stream XviD/DivX files) and you still can't stream H.264/MPEG-4 files from a Mac until Connect360 updates. Will be checking into both of these issues further.

Even with some minor bugs, I am glad I waited on purchasing that AppleTV.

 

SEARCH

SUBSCRIBE

  • AddThis Feed Button

    AddThis Social Bookmark Button