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Perfect Dark XBLA will keep GoldenEye maps
While you probably won't be experiencing any classic GoldenEye action on Xbox Live Arcade anytime soon, it looks like Perfect Dark will let you do the next best thing! Yes, the real GoldenEye will likely never see the light of day on XBLA, but that doesn't mean its maps and weapons can't appear in Perfect Dark. According to Kotaku, Microsoft's Ken Lobb has confirmed at DICE that the unlockable GoldenEye weapons and maps featured in the N64 version of Perfect Dark will be included in the upcoming XBLA version as well. Of course, there really wasn't any reason to think they wouldn't be, but it's nice to hear all the same. So, if you've got the unlocking talent, you'll be mowing down your friends with a Klobb* in the Felicity, Temple and Complex maps in no time. *Yes, GoldenEye fanboys, or the RCP-90.
New Banjo-Kazooie vid fuels Xbox 360 motion controller speculation [update]
About 4 minutes into a new Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts developer commentary video, Microsoft Game Studios creative director Ken Lobb drops the line, "So you basically grab with the wrench and then you twist the controller around and it'll move different things in the game." Twist, you say? Earlier, we catch Kazooie doing just that: twisting an Xbox 360 controller (recreated above; full video embedded after the break). So what do we make of all this?Well, there's that nagging rumor of some Abracadabra action going on behind closed doors at Microsoft, with Rare allegedly being one of the first studios to waggle the magic wand before passing it up for Vision cam support in the upcoming XBLA title, The Fast & The Furriest. It's not much of a stretch to assume that if Microsoft is to unveil a motion controller (say, next week!), Banjo-Kazooie could be one of the first titles to support the new feature. Waggletech® isn't exactly cutting edge or expensive, so a hardware manufacturer can essentially tack on motion sensitivity at any point (to varying degrees of success).One theory suggests that Microsoft could install motion control into preexisting gamepads with an add-on device; perhaps a modified battery pack that also plugs into the headset port. Bundle the gizmo with Banjo-Kazooie, and you've got yourself a tried and true practice. Case closed? Certainly not.Update: Microsoft has this to say.
GoldenEye 007's KLOBB returns in Too Human
Silicon Knights' long-awaited Xbox 360 action game Too Human is giving a shout out to a N64 classic, according to Wired. GoldenEye 007, the groundbreaking console FPS developed by Rare, featured a gun called the "KLOBB" – a nod to then Nintendo designer Ken Lobb, who helped out during the game's development. The gun was also the weakest in the game. D'oh!Too Human promises hundreds of items ... and one of them, as Wired has uncovered, is the KLOBB. Not surprising considering that Ken Lobb is now serving as Creative Director at Microsoft Game Studios and is working closely with Silicon Knights on its game. For the record, it has a damage rating of 18.%Gallery-16464%
Ken Lobb thinks Crackdown is the best game EVAR
Of course, being involved with the game's development may have swayed his opinion just a tad. Speaking to Newsweek's N'Gai Croal, Microsoft design director, Ken Lobb, drunkenly divulged that his very own GoldenEye 007 had been surpassed by the fun presented in Crackdown. Since Ken previously considered James Bond's N64 outing to be among the best games ever, it follows that Crackdown is among the bester games ever. It's not an unreasonable opinion to have; certainly not with all those supercops leaping over buildings and kicking crooks in the head. Then again, Mr. Lobb once described Perfect Dark, which he also worked on, as "the best FPS ever, for any system, period." It's all very confusing, but if you want to extract a key piece of information here, it's that Ken Lobb is constantly working on the best game ever. Though we say that with tongue planted firmly in cheek, a positive mindset like that would probably be quite motivating in our rough games industry.
