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First screens of GTA IV: The Lost and Damned DLC
Following yesterday's news in USA Today, Rockstar has officially announced the first of two DLC episodes for the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV, titled "The Lost and Damned." The first high-res screens of the episode are out, along with a bare minimum of new details. In addition to what yesterday's report contained – that players will control a new lead character, Johnny Klebitz, a biker with Liberty City motorcycle club The Lost – today's announcement confirms that the episode will contain "new missions that offer an entirely fresh way to explore Liberty City," along with new vehicles, weapons, multiplayer modes, and music. The episode arrives via Xbox Live Marketplace on Feb. 17, and (obviously) requires the original GTA IV to play. We've been wondering if a Gold account will be required as well, but Rockstar's announcement merely mentions an Xbox Live account as a prerequisite for download. So ... let's hear your theories on the plot. %Gallery-37692%
Branching Dialogue: Display of E-motion
Presenting Branching Dialogue, a weekly, wordy and often worryingly pedantic discussion of video game genres, trends and err ... stuff I didn't think to put in this introductory line. In his thoughtful review of Mirror's Edge, Eurogamer's Christian Donlan calls it a game "that's easier to love than like." He's quite right. DICE's first-person parkour platformer doesn't hold up to objective scrutiny, often coming apart under a reviewer's bit-by-bit examination. The discordant ratings are testament to that, if not to the claim that Mirror's Edge exudes a boldness and brilliance that's hard to capture in words, let alone numbers. You can certainly try lobbing several comparisons at the game's gestalt ("It's Sonic the Hedgehog meets Montezuma's Return!"), but its evocative nature really comes through when you have the controller -- and the life of a runner -- in your hands. For as much as Mirror's Edge is about relentlessly pushing you through an urban obstacle course, it's also about capturing a gripping, breathless exhilaration. It's an unfortunate consequence of the mechanical and very deliberate design of games: doing exciting things with an on-screen proxy rarely feels as exciting as it should.
NXE Avatars of the Rich and Famous
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/NXE_Avatars_of_the_Rich_and_Famous'; ...Well, OK, they're not that rich. Hell, if you want to get persnickety about it, they're not even particularly famous outside of a particular sphere. But you're reading Joystiq, so we're going to assume you're in said sphere and present you with some e-celebs, accompanied by their new NXE Avatars. Consider it a companion to yesterday's avatar look-a-likes.Along with those digi-stars, you're also going to see a lot of guys from Joystiq, because we know most of those guys and they have to do whatever we say. If you're a celebrity left off the list (or just know the gamertag of one) feel free to ping us: tips aat joystiq dawt com.[Update: We've added a ton more people, including 1UP's own Garnett Lee! Check it totally out.]%Gallery-37492%
Grand Theft Auto IV DLC named, detailed, dated: 'The Lost and Damned' on Feb. 17
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/First_GTA_IV_DLC_confirmed_for_Feb_16_stars_a_biker'; USA Today reports that the first DLC episode for the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV will be titled "The Lost and Damned" and will be available for download on Feb. 17, 2009. According to the article, the episode will star Johnny Klebitz, a member of Liberty City biker gang The Lost.The paper's website quotes Rockstar VP of creative development, Dan Houser, who calls Johnny "a very different character than Niko, with a very different background," adding on the topic of plot specifics, "I can't go into too much detail on the story, because we try not to give away too much plot before the game is released. But I can say that the story will show you a different side of Liberty City." Rockstar has not revealed pricing for the content, but we'll keep on top of that and any further details.[Update: Take-Two and Rockstar just confirmed the details with their very own press release, for those of you who refuse to believe anything in USA Today that isn't presented in chart form.] [Thanks, Ethan]
Metareview -- Tomb Raider: Underworld (Multi)
The reviews are in, and it looks like Ms. Croft has avoided jumping the shark – although she does shoot one in Tomb Raider: Underworld. Still, the game fared slightly worse than Tomb Raider: Legend at the hands of some of the very same media outlets. (Maybe they were experiencing a mild "Tomb Raider's back, and it doesn't suck anymore!" high back then?) IGN (75/100): "Only the upcoming downloadable content and achievement points make the 360 version stand out just ahead of the PS3 copy." 1UP (B): "Underworld is an incredibly abrupt experience, so much so that it makes me question whether content was removed from the complete game to be made available later as the previously announced downloadable content. Six levels in (seven if you count the prologue), the game just...ends. Sure, the last level is a cool showpiece, but it lacks any sense of built-up narrative and even a final boss – simply a closing cut-scene that wraps up most of the loose ends all too handily." Eurogamer (70/100): "At its worst, Tomb Raider: Underworld is everything that's wrong with videogames – clichéd, predictable, frustrating, inconsistent, repetitive and derivative. Legend was supposed to be the game that marked the series' return to form, and it achieved that. Underworld is better than Legend; meatier, more challenging, more atmospheric and with less silly nonsense like quick-time events. But Underworld was supposed to be the first real next-gen Tomb Raider game, and it isn't ... At its best, however, Tomb Raider: Underworld is everything that's great about videogames. It's beautiful, exciting, challenging, rewarding and absorbing. Many of the locations are stunning, and so's Lara." GamePro (70/100): "Overall, Underworld is a decent enough effort. It has slick controls, interesting puzzles and a story that's actually pretty interesting. However, it never fully compensates for a lack of compelling action and overall polish."
Street Fighter HD confirmed for Nov. 25 on PSN, Nov. 26 on XBLA
Confirming yesterday's rumor that Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix will be making its long-awaited debut on Xbox Live Arcade next Wednesday, November 26th, Capcom has also officially dated the PS3 version – for a day earlier, on Tuesday, November 25th. The PS3 version of the game will also come with a exclusive, free bonus: hip-hop tracks inspired by Street Fighter from DJ Qbert, Redman, Hieroglyphics, and others as a digital album download.PSN releases have historically been "locked" to Thursdays – much as XBL releases hit on Wednesdays – so is this a sign of change? Not likely, as Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 27, making this an exception to the "rule." (Konami is releasing the Metal Gear Online MEME expansion next Tuesday as well.) Multiplatformers: which version of SSFIITHDR will you be getting?
Join Joystiq's Avatar Look-a-Like Contest
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/Joystiq_s_NXE_Avatar_Look_a_Like_Contest'; It's NXE launch day, and those of us who've been in for a while have been eagerly anticipating seeing everyone's avatars. If you bear a striking resemblance to your newly-minted doppelganger, not only do we want to see it, we want to share it with the world! So, here's what you do.1. Visit this link, but switch out "XXXXX" with your gamertag. 2. Send a pic of your avatar (not just the link) and a pic of yourself (or both in the same image) to joystiqblog aat gmail dawt com with the subject line "NXE Avatar Contest."3. Keep checking this gallery to see if you made the cut.4. Digg the post to further your stardom.We'll be putting the best look-a-likes up throughout the day. What's the prize, you ask? How about fame, how does that grab you? No? Well then, how about immortality? Yeah, we thought so.[Update: We've got more images, it's just taking the gallery below a bit to update. So go here and just start clicking through to see everything.Update 2: Hey gang. The servers seem to be slow, so please don't send us the link to your avatar but rather the actual file. And if you can put them both into one image it'd be a big help.]%Gallery-37315%
NXE Netflix streaming loses Sony's Columbia Pictures movies [update 2]
[Original headline: "NXE Netflix streaming queues suddenly gimped"] var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Xbox_360_Netflix_streaming_loses_Sony_s_Columbia_Pictures'; Our Netflix streaming queues just got considerably shorter on the eve of the NXE launch. Acting on a tip, we popped into our Netflix account and sure enough, our "Instant Queue" had a new "Notes" column with an oft-repeated, red (nobody likes red!) notice: "Not available on Xbox." Logging onto Xbox Live (with an NXE account) confirmed that these titles were no longer available for streaming on Xbox 360.We've reached out to Microsoft for a full explanation -- so keep your fingers crossed that this is just a launch period mishap (like someone flipped the wrong switch ... or something). We're betting on licensing issues, though, which could further cripple the service. Currently, there's no way to tell if a title is excluded from Xbox streaming until it's added to the Queue (reminder: this can only be done from a separate computer). We're not much for statistics, but we can tell you that 13 of 110 items in our Instant Queue are now unavailable, all of which are feature films. The blackout seems to have hit a range of flicks, from: Superbad to Bad Boys; Drunken Master to the entire Karate Kid trilogy (that's right -- the entire trilogy! We don't count that Next Karate Kid noise). We'll update when we learn more.Update: We've found a common thread! All of the affected titles from our Queue are distributed by Columbia Pictures. Columbia Pictures, of course, is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Microsoft rival Sony. Case closed?Oddly enough, Sony Picture Entertainment movies (listed here) are still Xbox-enabled.Update 2: It appears that the sudden yoinking of Columbia Pictures films from NXE Instant Queue access is a licensing issue with Sony after all. MTV Multiplayer pinged us with word that, on the rental service's official blog, Netflix corp. communications VP Steve Swasey writes: "As watching instantly becomes a more prominent part of the Netflix service, our goal is to have all of our streaming content licensed for all of our partner devices. We're doing well in this area, but it will take some time before we fully achieve that goal. Today, titles regularly come in and out of license and there is a natural ebb and flow to what we have on license at any given point in time. In the case of Xbox 360, a few hundred titles are temporarily unavailable to be streamed via the Xbox game console. Those titles are still available to be watched on subscribers' computers and on TVs via other partner devices, and we hope they'll be licensed for Xbox 360 shortly."[Thanks, Mark]
Holidaze 2008: Xbox 360 SKU chart, revisited
We'd love to say picking up an Xbox 360 is as easy as going to the store and grabbing the first box with the console's name on it. For better or for worse, this generation of consoles gives consumers many choices at the (potential) expense of causing confusion at the store. This holiday, Microsoft has three different models (aka SKUs) on the market: Arcade, Pro and Elite. So, it's with all this in mind that we present you this handy guide for discerning the difference between the various Xbox 360 SKUs out there. Please note that the red, green and yellow coloring is not only festive decor for the holiday season, but a subjective highlight of what each version excels in (or subsequently lacks). #comparechart { border: 2px solid #333; border-collapse: collapse; } #comparechart td { padding: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc; vertical-align: top; margin: 0; line-height: 1.3em; font-size: 80%} #comparechart th { font-size: 80%; font-weight: bold; text-align: left; padding: 4px; background: #eee; } #comparechart th.mainth { font-size: 100%; border-bottom: 1px solid #333; } #comparechart td.red { background-color: #f08c85; } #comparechart td.yellow { background-color: #ffffcc;} #comparechart td.green { background-color: #b3e2c4; } Elite Pro (60GB) Arcade Pro (20GB) Halo Edition Core Hardware Price $399.99 $299.99 $199.99 $349.99* $399.99* $279.99* Storage 120GB HDD 60GB HDD 256MBmemory card 20GB HDD 20GB HDD none Color Black White White White Green/Orange White HDMI port Yes Yes Yes After July 2007 Yes After July 2007 Bundled Accessories Ethernet cable Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Headset Wired Wired No Yes Wired No Play &Charge Kit No No No No Yes No Video cables HDMI 1.2,RGB**,Composite RGB**,Composite Composite RGB**,Composite RGB**,Composite Composite Controller Wireless Wireless Wireless Wireless Wireless Wired Other Xbox Live Silver,1 Month Gold Silver,1 Month Gold Silver,1 Month Gold Silver, 1 Month Gold Silver,1 Month Gold Silver BackwardsCompatibility Yes Yes No*** Yes Yes No*** Notes:* Model has been discontinued. Price based on final MSRP.** To correct some formatting issues, "component" has been replaced with "RGB" in the chart*** Hard Drive required for backwards compatibilityI've got to ask some rhetorical questions, can you help me out ... again?Of course, it's always fun to talk to yourself.Awesome! Thanks!No problem.
Totally Blizzard's fault: Boy collapses after WotLK marathon
Although most bets on real-world Wrath of the Lich King drama had good odds on it involving a dead gamer in Asia, we're sure the media will be more than happy to take its pound of flesh from an exhausted Swedish boy as the latest victim of "game addiction." The 15-year-old went into convulsions following a marathon World of Warcraft session in which he hardly ate or slept.Doctors say the boy will make a full recovery and the child's father expressed he'll limit the amount of time his son plays from now on. That must be awful for the dad; now he has to make sure his son is eating properly and pay attention to how the boy is spending his time. Parental responsibility is, like, totally not fun.[Thanks, Henry; Via WoW Insider]
Lips commercial: You will never sleep again
We're a little very confused as to what Microsoft is attempting to achieve through this TV spot for its karaoke title, Lips, which releases this week. Is it trying to sell the game – or cure any suffering narcoleptics who happen to see it of their inability to stay awake?If the latter's the case, we salute Microsoft on trying to make life better for sufferers of the condition. If not, and it's just a video game ad, we're not sure people will even want to leave their houses to buy the game, for fear of running into this ... thing. Or even ordering Lips online ... only to have a bipedal mouth appear at their door, the package clutched in its teeth.Weird, wonderful, or WTF? Watch the spot after the break and tell us what you think.
Report: Wii games dominate top 5 US sellers in '08 (so far)
Still obsessing over sales statistics, Gamasutra has crafted a report on 2008's five top-selling games in the US -- so far. Though some figures are approximated, there's assurance that "the maximum possible error in each figure should not affect the rankings." All consoles considered, the rankings are as follows: Super Smash Bros. Brawl (3.5 million, estimated) Mario Kart (3.4 million) Grand Theft Auto IV (3.2 million, estimated) Wii Play (3 million) Wii Fit (2.8 million) Be sure to check out the report for further details, several of which are likely to fuel the fanboy fires for, oh, the next fifteen minutes at least. We look forward to entertaining your "Wii games don't sell," "GTA IV is overrated" and "Wii Play is just a controller in disguise" arguments. We do not, however, want anything to do with your "Why isn't Golden Axe: Beast Rider on there?" madness.
And the 'Gears of War 2' Joyswag winner is ...
Carlos S. from Chicago. Congratulations! Now, if you'll kindly take your jealous glare off of Carlos and his mountain of Gears loot for a moment and refocus on the image above -- yep, much better. See that? That's this week's Joyswag prize (the World Tour band kit plus Rock Band 2) and it ain't Carlos' ... yet.Now's the perfect time to toss your name in the hat. Good luck!
Holidaze 2008: PlayStation 3 SKU chart, revisited
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Holidaze_2008_PlayStation_3_SKU_chart_revisited'; We'd love to say picking up PlayStation 3 is as easy as going to the store and grabbing the first box with the console's name on it. For better and for worse, this generation of consoles gives consumers many choices at the (potential) expense of causing confusion at the store. In all, there have been six different hardware configurations for the PS3, with two of those currently in production.So, it's with this in mind that we present to you a handy guide for discerning the difference between the various PlayStation 3 versions (aka SKUs) out there. Please note that the red and green coloring is not only festive decor for the holiday season, but a subjective highlight of what each version excels in (or subsequently lacks). #comparechart { border: 2px solid #333; border-collapse: collapse; } #comparechart td { padding: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc; vertical-align: top; margin: 0; line-height: 1.3em; font-size: 80%} #comparechart th { font-size: 80%; font-weight: bold; text-align: left; padding: 4px; background: #eee; } #comparechart th.mainth { font-size: 100%; border-bottom: 1px solid #333; } #comparechart td.red { background-color: #f08c85; } #comparechart td.green { background-color: #b3e2c4; } #comparechart td.yellow { background-color: #ffffcc;} 160GB 80GB(Aug. 08)80GB(Aug. 07)60GB40GB20GB Hardware Model # CECHP01 CECHK01 CECHE01 CECHA01 CECHG01 CECHB01 Price $499.99 $399.99 $499.99* $499.99* $399.99* $499.99* Chrome trim Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No USB 2.0 slots 2 2 4 4 2 4 802.11 b/g Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Flash cardreader No No Yes Yes No No Bundled Accessories Ethernet cable Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Video cables Composite Composite Composite Composite Composite Composite Controller DualShock 3 DualShock 3 Sixaxis Sixaxis Sixaxis Sixaxis Backwards Compatibility PS2 No No Software** Yes (NTSC),Software** (PAL) No Yes PS One Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Notes:*This model is discontinued. The price on the chart represents the listed price before Sony axed it.**See explanation in F.A.Q. below.Alright, Joystiq, time to answer your own questions.Let's do this.
Joystiq hands-on: Prince of Persia, the 'it's done!' version
click to enlarge Stick a fork "do not sell until Dec. 2" label in on it, because Prince of Persia is done. The game has been submitted to Sony and Microsoft for certification and will, we've been promised by series producer Ben Mattes, ship the first week of next month as planned. Mattes, seemingly as eager to get it in our hands as we were, freed up the controller for a private play session of the game in advance of last night's (for all intents and purposes) wrap party. We unfortunately had to put it down ... eventually. But not before taking in the beginning of the game as you'll experience it in only a few couldn't-be-longer weeks. %Gallery-23908%
Street Fighter IV coming to consoles Feb. 17 in US, Feb. 20 in Europe
Japan isn't the only territory getting the home version of Street Fighter IV in February. Capcom has announced via its official forums that the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game will be available in the US on Tuesday, Feb. 17 and in Europe three days later on Feb. 20. The promised PC port of the series' latest installment is still without a solid release date (or window, even) anywhere in the world, warriors.%Gallery-21918%
October NPD: Wii up, Sony down, Fable 2 raking in the gold
October hardware sales in North America were not good for Sony, with all three of its consoles seeing at least an 18% drop, according to this month's NPD report. The Nintendo Wii maintained its top spot with a 17% increase in sales, likely due to an increase in supply, while Xbox 360's price drop acted as the likely catalyst for its 6.85% increase.Overall, total sales reached $1.31 billion, an increase of 18%. While accessories dropped 8% to 120.19 million, hardware increased 5% to $494.74m and software sales increased 35% to $696.79m. Fable 2 took the top spot, selling an impressive 790K copies after only ten days of release. Speaking of software, Fallout 3, which we know has moved 4.7 million units worldwide, placed third for the Xbox 360 with 375K. Not making it into the top ten? Wii Music, which sold a disappointing 81K in its first 11 days of launch. That wouldn't have made the top ten for any NPD report this year. - Wii: 803K 116K (16.89%)- DS: 491K 45.8K (-8.53%)- Xbox 360: 371K 23.8K (6.85%)- PSP: 193K 45.1K (-18.94%)- PS3: 190K 42.4K (-18.24%)- PS2: 136K 37.5K (-21.61%)Full software sales after the break.
World of Goo has 90% piracy rate
We received a tip pointing to the comments section of a recent RockPaperShotgun post, in which World of Goo designer Ron Carmel mentioned the game had a staggering 90% piracy rate. We contacted Carmel directly, who confirmed the figure was "about right."Carmel informs us that he's seen torrent sites with "500 seeders and 300 leechers" and has received emails from people who initially stole the game but ended up buying the full product; unsurprisingly, they make up a "very small percentage." He concludes, "We're doing ok, though. We're getting good sales through WiiWare, Steam, and our website. Not going bankrupt just yet!"Although Carmel takes it in stride, this is probably a good time for us to reiterate that the charming and fun World of Goo was developed by 2D Boy, which consists of Carmel and his design partner, Kyle Gabler. We want more goo, so please support the 2D boys properly.[Thanks, Luis]
Branching Dialogue: Wild file preservation (and other Far Cry 2 stuff)
Presenting Branching Dialogue, a weekly, wordy and often worryingly pedantic discussion of video game genres, trends and err ... stuff I didn't think to put in this introductory line. Alright, that's it. After starting, deleting, undoing, regretting and then restarting this opening paragraph numerous times, I'm just going to write things as they tumble out of my brain and work their way down to my fingertips. Far Cry 2 is a struggle. Narratively, mechanically, stylistically, everything about the game is a to-and-fro tug-of-war. And for me, Ubisoft's open-world shooter is a struggle to decode, to disassemble in my mind's eye and discover that one piece that makes everything click into place. But I think I've found that critical cog in the machine -- the relatively limited save system. Why? Well, now that I've saved that paragraph for the last time, I'm just going to have to figure that out as I go along.
A look inside Gears of War 2's arcade
Players who have wandered around spilling blood on the Day One mutliplayer map in Gears of War 2 might have noticed the retro "Playland" arcade in one of the corners, but have any of them checked out the amount of detail that's in there? It's pretty impressive. There are a lot of throwback games referencing 1980s - 1990s coin-op fare, a Thrashball machine and even "Swee Ball," which looks like Sera's version of Skee Ball.Check out the gallery below and read on for more.%Gallery-36688%
