XboxLiveAnywhere
Latest
Magic, science, and fun, Shadowrun preview
Evil Avatar scored a sneak preview of FASA's upcoming Shadowrun, the debut game of Microsoft's new Live Anywhere platform which will allow both 360 and PC players to hash it out online. Some of you may remember that FASA was involved with the debut title for Xbox Live -- MechAssault -- way back in 2002. The preview pretty much covers everything you need to know about Microsoft's would be multiplayer king. The game plays out like Counter-Strike. Each match is divided into six rounds. At the beginning of each round, players purchase magic, technology, and, of course, weapons. The interesting factor here is that magic and technology remain with players even if they are killed during a round -- weapons must be purchased again, however. Essentially this causes the match to intensify with each new round. Adding another layer of strategy to the game is the ability to resurrect dead players. As the author notes, there's nothing quite like resurrecting your entire team and fighting your way back to victory. The preview is full of other details about the game. For instance, PC and 360 players may not be able to answer the age old mouse vs. controller question after all. See, you won't be able to tell if your playing against 360 or PC players. As far as the game is concerned, they're one and the same. The game also has another way of leveling the playing field. The faster you move the targeting reticle, the less accurate your shots. The idea is to moderate the massive speed advantage that mouse players have over console players. According to the author the experience on both the PC and 360 versions is nearly identical. We're always excited by fresh multiplayer so, here's hoping Shadowrun really shapes up. Anyone looking forward to this cross-platform frag fest?
Microsoft plans "community-powered arcade" with new XNA tools
Microsoft spoke with us on the phone last week concerning the events going on at their Gamefest event happening in Seattle today and tomorrow. Two and a half years ago they unveiled the XNA platform at the Game Developer's Conference -- which promised to ameliorate the increasing burden placed professional game developers -- and today they've announced XNA Game Studio Express -- a free variant of XNA for hobbyists to develop games on both the Windows and, for a fee, Xbox 360 platforms. A beta will be available August 30th as a free download for Windows XP development, while Xbox 360 functionality will be added into the final version, expected to be available this holiday for a $99 annual subscription.
