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Latest
Rock Band controllers to work with Guitar Hero: World Tour
At Activision's non-E3 conference Tuesday, Guitar Hero director Brian Bright surprised attendees confirming that any guitar and drum controllers players own for other games on the Xbox 360 will be compatible with Guitar Hero: World Tour. This news comes as quite a shock considering the current state of controller compatibility between the two music franchises -- a recent update apparently made all guitar controllers compatible with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith but we've heard of some issues. You may be asking yourself how the drums will work, considering Guitar Hero: World Tour drums use five-inputs while Rock Band uses four (see center of image above). According to Wired, Activision promises that using the Rock Band drums will cause the game to adjust the title to four inputs only. Now we wonder, will plugging in the Rock Revolution controller bring the input count to seven?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Covenant playable in Halo Wars
Some guy over at Joystiq named Richard Mitchell, swear that name sounds familiar, was able to finagle some details from Ensemble Studios during a demo of the game. Ensemble confirmed that the evil Covenant will be playable in Halo Wars. The only catch is that the Covenant will not have a campaign mode and the option to play as them is in multiplayer only. Now, if they would just confirm the Flood already -- we could I go home! Halo Wars is set to release sometime during the Spring of 2009. Looking for more information? Read X3F's hands-on impressions with Halo Wars today!
The E3 Experience: Wednesday edition
For the sake of needing to make a scheduled appointment in a few minutes, I'll just let today's The E3 Experience speak for itself. Click the gallery below to get updated on my daily E3 travels, what's new, why ninja poop buttons are so cool and how angry losing a piece of electronics will make you. For the record, losing expensive electronics will infuriate you to a high degree.%Gallery-27951%
E308: Madden NFL 09 Celebrations & Sadness trailer
Ah, sports games. You do not get enough love from us. But here's a freebie! Madden NFL 09 lands in stores this August and, so far, looks like a solid entry into the franchise. The latest trailer, now available on the Xbox Live Markeplace, focuses on the in-game celebration and frustration animations. Shockingly given permission for celebrations by the (usually) tight-laced NFL, EA Sports shows off a a handful of new moves you can expect to see in the endzone. Let's hope EA consulted with Ocho Cinco for the sake of realism (Sorry, maybe three of you know what I'm even talking about.)
E308: Bionic Commando gameplay trailer
Bionic Commando, from Capcom, is a strange beast. Traditionally players would attack the developer for changing the classic series so drastically but from what we've seen the game looks great. Sweeping landscapes and dreads? Sign us up. Check out this gameplay trailer, now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace, and tell us how you feel about the urbanized remake for the classic action title.
E308: Microsoft conference Bingo results
Bing-NO! Yeah, we didn't win in our network-wide Bingo game. But we came close! A few things here might need some gentle coaxing to fit but we think it works. It isn't like we won anyway right? Gears of War 2 has a 5 player online co-op mode, not 4 players - but we're counting it just because. Halo Wars got a release date window for Spring 2009 - again counting it. The new SKU, price cut and 60GB are generally accurate and if plans weren't canceled at the last minute we would have seen what Bungie is working on (hint, it's a Halo game!). Don't get too mad that we're taking liberties with this list, if we really wanted to we could argue that the LIPS motion control would count for G5 but we're skipping it!Lastly, we threw a dart at a wall of crazy and came up with Metal Gear Online, who knew one of those crazy ideas (Final Fantasy XIII) would have come true!
Treyarch's James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace in motion
Utilizing the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare engine, James Bond returns to gaming in James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace from developer Treyarch. Shown off at Activision's non-E3 press conference, Quantum of Solace takes place within the story of both Casino Royale and the upcoming Bond film of the same name. Starring new Bond, Daniel Craig, the game is presented in a first-person perspective but uses a cover system that snaps to a third-person view -- a la Tom Clancy's Rainbox Six Vegas style. Surprisingly (because it is based on a license) the game looks fantastic and we can't wait to see more. James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace hits shelves this November.
Microsoft: Bungie announcement 'held back' for special event
The saga of Bungie v. Microsoft in The Case of the Missing Haloes continues. The L.A. Times spoke with Xbox senior VP Don Mattrick regarding the omission of Bungie's announcement from its Monday press conference. Mattrick told the writers that Microsoft decided to nix the reveal during the show to "save time."Let that sink in for a moment, you 5+ million Halo fans. Time. Word around the campfire is Microsoft's conference was originally set to run for two-and-a-half hours, but Mattrick wanted to cut the show down to 90 minutes. Of the items to be cut from the show? Anything named Halo. Mattrick told the paper that Microsoft's conference already contained, "an embarrassment of riches," so the Halo trump cards were removed from the docket.At least we still got to see that sweet Lips presentation though. Now that's a franchise!Surely it had nothing to do with the fear of taking attention away from Final Fantasy XIII for 360. Balderdash! Or, Gears of War 2. Poppycock!Now the question remains, when will we see the new secret Halo game Bungie is working on? "We felt we could do this game more justice with a more dedicated event," Mattrick said in the L.A. Times piece. Sounds like it was planned all along, it's just funny that Bungie took it the way they did. It's almost like they were left out of the loop.
E308: Rock Band Bash in pictures
Late last night we had the privilege to attend the MTV Games and Harmonix Rock Band Bash at the Orpheum Theater in LA. With a secret performance no less. And after the making an eight block walk (maybe it was only three) from the Los Angeles Convention Center, we arrived ready to rock. During the pre-show festivities they had baskets of candy strewn about, an open bar and setup a stage for attendees to get their Rock Band 2 play on. Which we definitely had to try because it was a sold out audience you know. Finally, the icing on the Rock Band Bash cake was an hour plus long performance by non other than the secret performance guest: The Who. Oh yeah, it's okay to be jealous. View picture goodness below and even more over at Joystiq.%Gallery-27929%
Xbox 360 Fancast E3 08 Special: Day 2
Wow. We're really still doing these. Ahem. It's late, once again, but it's still E3 and that means you get another special edition of the Xbox 360 Fancast. Today we talk about our impressions of the XBLA offerings at E3 (Castle Crashers!), Halo Wars, Silent Hill Homecoming, and much much more. Oh, and yes, we're still super tired and super loopy. Enjoy.[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in Zune Marketplace (MP3).[RSS MP3] Add the Xbox 360 Fanboy Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Hosts: Richard Mitchell (SenseiRAM), Dustin Burg (SuperDunners), Alexander Sliwinski (Sli Xander)Produced by Richard MitchellMusic: Intro/Outro: "Electromooq" by Uma Floresta.For fans: Xbox 360 Fancast Facebook group
E308: Hands on with Fable 2's combat and story
Alongside Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts at the Microsoft press reception earlier this week was Lionhead's anticipated Fable 2. For the first time, I was able to test out all of the game's combat options, perform social interactions -- including playing with the adorable dog -- and glimpse the game's story, which once again begins during the hero's childhood. While much has been said about how Fable 2 innovates on the concepts in the first game, what I really took away from the demo is that the game is essentially just more of what was great about the original Fable with plenty of refinements. In other words, it's good stuff with more good stuff added to it. Read on for new hands on details.
E308 X3F Sticker Gallery: The lions roar
We have yet another photographic E3 delivery for you early this morning, so make sure you're at home ready for our arrival, sign on the dotted line and allow us to dump the visual goodness in your outstretched arms. It's totally worth it too, because we have another round of E3 X3F Sticker Gallery pictures for your viewing entertainment. We were able spread our sticker love onto the chests of Peter Molyneux and his entire Lionhead pride, the more than human Denis Dyack and Ensemble's long haired Graeme Devine. We'll continue our X3F sticker lovin' and you keep on your X3F sticker viewing. Go get viewing.%Gallery-27333%
E308: Hands on with Halo Wars
Since it was first announced, it was made clear that Ensemble Studios' goal in creating Halo Wars was to do for real time strategy games what Halo did for first person shooters: take a genre predominantly played on the PC and make it work on a console. Bridging the gap between a console controller and the combination of keyboard and mouse is no easy task. Beyond that, RTS games just don't feel like they belong on consoles. So, Ensemble set out to build an RTS title for the Xbox 360 from the ground up, a game designed to work with a controller and work. Did Ensemble do it? Based on my time with the E3 demo, I'm inclined to say yes.
E308: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 hands on
We just got a chance to play one Xbox Live Arcade title that we knew about heading into E3 and the one XBLA game this blogger was most excited to get his hands on, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2. Bizarre Creations takes the ever enjoyable GeoWars formula and brings it into the multiplayer realm, ratches up the graphics and adds new game modes that'll satisfy. Click towards the break to read our hands on impression of Bizarre's geometry arcade shooter. W00tz! %Gallery-27593%
E308: BioWare says there is no KOTOR MMO (wink)
We just saw BioWare show off their new Dragon Age: Origins here at E3, and while that singleplayer game looks great (imagine a Mass Effect game set in the world of Baldur's Gate), we did spring the requisite massively multiplayer question on them for you. At the very end of the Q&A session with developer Dan Tudge after the demo, the PR rep told us there was just "time for one more question," and we threw it out there: "So, how's the Knights of the Old Republic MMO coming?"There was silence in the room for a moment. Tudge quietly said, "I... have no idea what you're talking about," and then everyone laughed as the PR rep nervously said, "Good answer." Tudge added, "You're asking me that in front of my boss?" And so we revised the question: Dragon Age has a very MMO-style design -- there's a minimap in the upper right, party portraits in the upper left, and a bar with icons for skills across the bottom. Does BioWare really want to make an MMO? "The interface looked like Baldur's Gate to me," said Tudge cooly. "The real question is, how much of the MMOs did Baldur's Gate influence?"Touché. But we left the press conference with a smile, a special secret that we'll share with you now. As much as Tudge was thrown off by the question, as much as the PR flack was aghast that we asked it, we did leave with this satisfactory piece of information: they didn't, in point of fact, deny. Did you enjoy this? Check out all of our E3 coverage as the week rolls forward!
E308: Gears of War 2 on-stage demo
Gears of War 2 is arguably the biggest and most anticipated release on any platform for Holiday 2008. Solidifying itself as a force to be reckoned with, Gears 2 was the poster child at Microsoft's E3 press conference. Showcasing a new single-player level, design director Cliff Bleszinski walked attendees through the new Gears experience. Intricate and beautiful environments, large sweeping battles and a horizontally moving elevator? Epic win. Pun is completely intended. If you happened to miss it, or require a place for multiple viewings, we present to you the entire Gears of War 2 on-stage demo from E3 2008.
E308: DS Fanboy hands-on with Away: Shuffle Dungeon
When I arrived at Majesco's booth on the now very diminished E3 show floor, I saw their offerings and immediately leaped toward Away: Shuffle Dungeon. The demo build only had one dungeon available, as well as the world hub and a boss fight.%Gallery-20078%
E308: Fable 2 and Banjo reception in pictures
Here at X3F, we're party animals. No, no, no, scratch that, we're PAAARRRTAY ANIMALS! That's just how we roll and that's why we traveled back into Los Angeles last night to attend Microsoft's Fable 2 and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts reception. So, as part of the umbrella of news coverage we're churning out of E3, we thought we'd offer up all the pictures we took from the event similar to our Gears 2 reception pics. Which, coincidentally, was in the same venue. Enjoy the picture show and make your way to the break for a short (super short) off screen video of one of the Fable 2 Pub Game's "Wizard's Tower".%Gallery-27887%
E308: Up close and personal new red and green controllers
This E3, not only did we receive megaton Xbox 360 software announcements, but we also received two megaton peripheral announcements too. Well, not exactly megaton in scale, but there are two brand new controller colors hitting retailers later this September.High resolution pictures of he red and blacked controller as well as the solid green wireless controllers (with matching battery packs) can be viewed in the gallery below. If you're a Gears of War 2 fanboy, then we say go with the red / black controller. If you're all about saving the Earth, then go green with the green controller. Then again, if you're all about saving the planet we wouldn't recommend purchasing a factory manufactured petroleum plastic based product. We'd feel dirty.%Gallery-27882%
E308: Project Origin trailer
The Xbox Live Marketplace videos keep rolling in. This new trailer for Project Origin showcases a few things, namely: chills, thrills and kills. Alma is back in the non-FEAR named sequel to FEAR. Immediately the game looks amazing, it looks like ol' Monolith found the smoothing button on their graphics engine! Seriously though, prior to watching this trailer we just shrugged at a chance to play Project Origin -- but now that it looks this good we will need to check it out!
