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X06: Gears of War impressions
At the X06 post-conference party, Microsoft showed off the first public (meaning not behind-closed-doors) demo of Gears of War. The over-the-shoulder camera work immediately stands out. By simply shaking the perspective as you move (and shaking it more severely as you run for cover), the game takes on an added cinematic feel unmatched by most other shooters. The shaky-cam doesn't get in the way of gameplay nearly as much as I expected, either, thanks to a well-designed tracking system that follows you around corners perfectly.Using the A button as an all-purpose run, duck and dive button based on the context makes is a welcome change from the usual mishmash of FPS button functions, though the game did occasionally have some trouble detecting when I wanted to duck behind some pylons. This is pretty key, because the entirety of the single player demo consisted mainly of ducking behind things and popping out to shoot wave after wave of enemies as they pop out of emergence holes. The fact that this pop-and-shoot gameplay doesn't get immediately repetitive is a testament to the enemy AI, which utilizes cover and team strategies surprisingly well, and a testament to the visceral thrill generated by the game's graphics, which are detailed enough to show off every scar on the soldiers' necks.My only major gripe with the game as it stands now is the ability to come back from the brink of death just by kneeling behind some cover for a short period of time. Between this feature and the frequent checkpoints, the game may not prove much of a challenge for FPS veterans. But the joy of playing Gears of War doesn't really come from the challenge of playing any more than the joy of an action movie comes from the challenge of watching. When everything flows this smoothly, and the details are all handled just right, who cares if you don't have to restart a level 50 times just to finish it?
Bringing home a barrage of Xbox 360 trailers
Major Nelson has once again updated his blog with a convenient list of X06 additions to the Xbox Live marketplace. If you're in any way enamored with glitzy trailers, pre-rendered footage or relentless teasing, you'd best switch on your console and start downloading some of these clips: Call of Duty 3 Banjo Kazooie Marvel Ultimate Online Viva Pinata Assassin's Creed Splinter Cell: Double Agent Blue Dragon Lost Odyssey Bioshock FIFA 07 Rainbow Six Vegas Halo Wars If you're a more traditional gamer and actually enjoy interactive forms of entertainment, you'll be pleased to learn that several of our readers have spied F.E.A.R. and Sonic the Hedgehog demos scurrying about in the marketplace. Be sure to let us know what you think of them, but not before viewing the embedded video (after the break) and answering one simple question: What the hell is going on with that nose?
It's official: Guitar Hero II heading to Xbox 360
As rumored and expected, Guitar Hero II is officially making the jump to the Xbox 360. RedOctane and Activision announced today at X06 that the rumors were true -- the power of the guitar shall no longer be confined to a single console.With the newly announced X-plorer guitar controller designed for the 360 (we wanna know, is it wireless?), the hard drive and Xbox Live Marketplace, this game is a match made in heaven for this system. Future downloadable songs, new bass and rhythm tracks, the mind just reels.Will we be able to one day jam with Drum Hero, Guitar Hero, Microphone Hero, and Keyboard Hero, and everyone on their own wireless instrument? Dare to dream.
Tons of new X06 Marketplace content
Following today's press briefing, there is now a boatload of new trailers on Marketplace. They are, in no particular order:Assassin's CreedBlue DragonLost OdysseyHalo WarsViva PiñataCall of Duty 3Marvel UniverseBanjo-KazooiePGR4Splinter Cell: Double AgentBioshockFIFA 07All this and a bag of DOOM. We have to wonder, though: what the hell will we get next? They've got two more days to fill after all. Any predictions?
X06: Two new Halo projects announced (w/ Peter Jackson!)
The most awkward moment of today's X06 press briefing may also have been the most profound. We are of course talking about the moment that Peter Jackson took the stage to massive applause. While PJ -- we call him PJ -- looked a little nervous talking in front of so many people, what he announced could turn out to be one of the biggest announcements for the video game industry this year.
Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh to make new Halo game, original IP
Microsoft has confirmed that the Academy Award-winning duo Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh (Lord of the Rings, King Kong) are set to create two "new interactive series" for Xbox 360 and XBLA. The first is a "collaborative effort with Bungie Studios to co-create the next great chapter in the Halo universe.""It's not Halo 3," said Scott Henson, Director of the Game Development Group at Microsoft. "It's a brand new game based in the Halo IP. In a phone conversation with Joystiq, Henson disclosed that writing credits will be given to Jackson and Walsh. As for how the full-fledged game will fit within the continuity of the Halo universe among three installments, a real-time strategy game, and a film, Henson was tight-lipped. "It's going to remain a mystery," he said.The second title will be an entirely new intellectual property -- "completely from scratch," Henson clarified -- created with the intention of "bringing new audiences into the captivating world of interactive entertainment." The game will be made in conjunction with Wingnut Interactive, a new studio created via a collaboration with Jackson/Walsh and Microsoft Games Studio."Fran is a really big gamer and really excited about telling stories through games," said Henson. "We haven't talked about any details and we will when we're ready." If the focus is mass appeal, then Jackson/Walsh -- who managed to make Hobbits cool -- are the best people to have at the helm.
Splinter Cell, BioShock, GTA IV episodes exclusive for Xbox 360
Both BioShock and Splinter Cell Conviction (the suspected title for the post-Double Agent iteration) will be console-exclusive to the Xbox 360; BioShock will still be coming to the PC, while Splinter Cell can still be released for the PC and various portable console (DS, PSP). BioShock publisher Take-Two will also be providing "exclusive access to two downloadable, epic episodes of Grand Theft Auto IV via Xbox Live, each with hours of entirely new gameplay ." Ubisoft's Splinter Cell Conviction is the title found during their "accidental" leak earlier this month. The exclusivity of BioShock was predicted by GameSpot back in January after developer Irrational was bought by Take Two. The GTA IV episodes are a "complete exclusive," according to Scott Henson, Director of the Game Development Group at Microsoft, and will not showing up on the PlayStation 3 download service. The episodes will be available a few months after the release of Grand Theft Auto IV on October 17 and 19 in US and Europe, respectively. Microsoft hinted at exclusive GTA IV content as early as July. While BioShock may not affect the mass audience, the loss of Splinter Cell and some exclusive GTA IV content could hurt the PlayStation 3's image in North America and Europe. Then again, Sony does have Metal Gear Solid 4 to satiate its consumers, but what are the long-term ramifications of Microsoft's exclusive deals?
MS announces Halo Wars, a new RTS [update 1]
A real-time strategy game based in the Halo universe has been announced. The project, entitled Halo Wars, will be designed by Ensemble Studios (Age of Empires) "exclusively for Xbox 360" (read: no PC). This announcement comes weeks after Bungie issued a cease-and-desist to the Halogen project, a C&C: Generals mod based in the Halo universe. It was at this time that 1UP's Luke Smith predicted an official Halo RTS in collaboration with Ensemble Studios. Somebody buy this man a drink, because he nailed it. After bringing Scott Henson, Director of the Game Development Group at Microsoft, up to speed on the Halogen incident, he assured us Halo Wars "has absolutely nothing to do with that" (whether he meant the mod's shut down or the game's inception is vague). The original Halo: Combat Evolved, in earlier stages of development, was a real-time strategy game in the vein of Myth, another Bungie RTS. You can read all about it in the pages of Bungie's lore. While we're very intrigued by the thought of a Halo strategy title, we're a bit concerned about how it will play on an Xbox 360 controller. Must ... use ... mouse ... [Update 1: The Halo Wars official website has also just gone live, with a pretty (yet entirely pre-rendered) trailer. The FAQ explains that Halo Wars takes place before the events of Halo 1 and its controls have been built "from the ground up" to work with the Xbox 360 controller. We have also embedded the trailer below, via Game Videos.]
X06: Press conference liveblogging [update 28]
We're here live at Microsoft's premiere European promotional event, scheduled to start at 7 PM Barcelona time (1 PM Eastern, 10 AM Pacific). Continue reading and keep refreshing for all the announcements and updates straight from Microsoft.
Scenes from Barcelona: X06 pre-show mixer
Hello again from Barcelona, where the X06 press conference is scheduled to start in just under an hour. We'll be bringing you all of the show's big announcements live, but first we thought you'd like a little behind the scenes peek at the scene from the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya. Continue reading to get a feel for how Microsoft treats its honored developers, publishers and press.
Watch the X06 briefing live [update 1]
X06, you may know, is an invite only convention. Lucky for you, Microsoft has decided to invite everyone to the press briefing later today. If you'd like to watch a live webcast of the event, all you have to do is point your browser to the British Xbox site here. Set to go off at 6:00PM BST (that's 1:00PM Eastern), the entire event will be offered over the web. You can even test your connection by clicking here. It should be noted that the test video doesn't seem to view properly in Firefox (it's all squished-like), though this may have more to do with WMP 11 than Firefox. Hit the read link and keep your F5 keys handy, the event is only minutes away. For those of you unable to watch, we'll do our best to live blog the webcast.Update: The stream seems to be down right now. Lucky for you, Joystiq is blogging it live.
Black Xbox 360 rumors abound
When the rumor mill gets a'turnin' you're bound to have a few false-starts, and it seems the new black Xbox 360 meme is no exception. The snazzy "black Xbox" seen above might look quite black and Xboxy, but we're sorry to report that it's just a developer box, plenty of which have been out since before launch for testing out pre-release games. Also, if when Microsoft does actually build a black version, we're kind of hoping they stick with that chrome drive tray from the regular 360, and maybe go with a truer black instead of this piddling smoke color. We're definitely not writing off the rumor entirely, according to some "leaked info" from Microsoft's planned X06 announcements this week, they'll be announcing Xbox 360 Black for the holidays, along with 1080p Halo3 and other fanboy pleasers. We also got a tip from somebody who claims to have a friend at GAME that says the black Xbox 360 will be a premium only color, and might even come with an integrated or bundled HD DVD drive and possibly a larger HDD. We suppose we'll know soon enough -- X06 is over tomorrow -- but that doesn't mean we can't stay busy drumming up the hype and unrealistic expectations until then.[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]Read - Black Xbox at Microsoft eventRead - X06 info leaked
BIH content, 9/27: Sonic the Hedgehog edition
Another day, another demo in the latest batch of X06 content. Today we get a brand spanking new demo of Sonic the Hedgehog. Is it possible we could see a new demo every day? The possibility is titillating. As for the rest, well, there isn't much. Just this:Kane & Lynch: Dead Men trailerIt should also be noted that the Alan Wake theme and picture pack are also available now, though they weren't mentioned in yesterday's official list. The picture pack is 80 MS Points and the theme will cost you 150. Curious by their absence are the promised HD trailers of Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon. We can only hope they'll hit sometime today as scheduled. We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, we're downloading the Sonic demo and working on the sh*t-ton of X06 info that is starting to hit. Stay tuned.
Scenes from Barcelona: La Maquina de Bailar
I was literally in Spain for only an hour before running into the above ad for La Maquina de Bailar (The Dance Machine), the first film I'm aware of in any country whose plot hinges on Dance Dance Revolution. My Spanish is a little rusty, but according to this translated trailer, the movie seems to be a classic tale of boy meets girl, boy gets mentored by a curly-haired disco star to beat an Asian DDR-master in some sort of competition to impress the girl, boy gets girl. Also, organized crime seems to be involved. Fun for the whole family!Despite seeing this first ad poster almost immediately after entering the country, the movie seemed severely under-advertised around the streets of Barcelona. This could be part of why the movie opened in Spain last weekend in ninth place, behind such quality films as Little Man and Miami Vice. Continue reading to see a short clip of the movie that you and, apparently, much of Spain is missing out on.
Scenes from Barcelona: Space Invaders invade clothes shop
I ran into these blocky Space Invaders-inspired aliens near the escalator at a clothing shop in Barcelona's Las Ramblas shopping district. Why anyone thought these would complement the haute couture surrounding them is beyond me, but I still enjoyed the unexpected gaming reference. Continue reading for another shot of the wall monsters.
Scenes from Barcelona: Dirty bootleg PS shirt
Howdy Joystiqers. I'm here in Barcelona, Spain, eagerly awaiting the start of Microsoft's X06 conference. The event is Microsoft Europe's biggest promotional video game event of the year, and previous shows have revealed important details and announcement about the Xbox and Xbox 360, so keep it here for all the big news from the show starting tomorrow afternoon.With a few days to kill in Barcelona before the show starts, I thought I'd share some bits of game-related culture I've spotted as I traipse around the city. This first bit of Barcelona gaming detritus is a little unsafe for work, so click the "continue reading" link to see what the headline is alluding to.
LEGO Star Wars II demo impressions
LEGO Star Wars II, put simply, is a lot of fun. I downloaded the demo this morning and found myself playing it until lunch. If you've got room for a simple, lighthearted game, it's definitely worth checking out. Read on for a breakdown of the demo and my impressions.
Rumor: RE5 to reside solely on 360 [update 1]
Perhaps you noticed that there was absolutely no Resident Evil 5 information revealed at TGS -- not even a peep. This has led some to speculate that somebody -- Microsoft -- has secured the exclusive rights to the game. What's more, the head honcho of 360 Japan, Takashi Sensui, gave a tantalizing reply when questioned directly about the issue: "All I can say is we are very good friends with Mr. Inafune." As any good Fanboy already knows, Mr. (Keiji) Inafune is the producer behind Resident Evil 5 as well as the runaway smash hit, Dead Rising. Wait a minute, Scooby. Didn't we run a story last month about Capcom ending PS3 exclusives as a result of Dead Rising's high sales numbers? And Lost Planet looks like it could be pretty big, too. Hmmm, this RE5 exclusivity business just might have some legs after all. If only there were some huge convention where Capcom and Microsoft could reveal such a bombshell, somewhere in Europe. Spain perhaps. [Thanks, The1] Update: It looks like Capcom has officially shot this rumor down. Speaking with CVG, a spokesperson said, "Resident Evil 5 will release on PS3 and Xbox 360 as announced. There a no plans for an exclusive with the game." Oh, well. At least we know it won't be exclusive for that other console either. Thanks to Abraham for the tip.
New Alan Wake info to be revealed at X06
Yeah, we know. It's not exactly a news flash that developers will be revealing new info about their games at X06, but we're particularly interested in Alan Wake, Remedy's take on Stephen King style horror. In a recent forum post at the Alan Wake website, Remedy staff member, SamivRMD, posted the following:"For once in a lifetime there might be some new info popping up any moment now... :) ... Oh wait, it's not next week yet."Definite confirmation from an employee in the know, or hopeful speculation from an employee without a clue? Either way, at least we're guaranteed to get a theme.[Via K1lla's Xbox Domain]
Bringing It Home content, 9/25
Well folks, TGS is over, finished, kaput. As such, it seem only fitting that today's content is more oriented towards western audiences -- note also that there is no Japan exclusive content today. Here's the sweet sweet candy: Battlestations Midway trailer Eragon trailer Import Tuner Challenge trailer Need for Speed Carbon trailer The Darkness trailer Mass Effect Picture Pack (free!) Battlestar Galactica (United States) TGS Showfloor video 3 video F.E.A.R. demo We discussed the F.E.A.R. demo earlier: if you played the OXM demo, there's nothing new. With all this content, it may be time to start clearing out some of that old E3 stuff. Meanwhile, X06 inches ever closer. So, everybody make some room, download each and every one of these trailers, watch them, and then come back here and discuss them. Discuss them, I say!
