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Unlock Xbox winners to get a special visit
If you entered your XBLA game idea into the Doritos sponsored Unlock Xbox contest be prepared, because winners will be getting a special visit soon. The Xbox community's very own Major Nelson is off on a mysterious trip around the country on a mission to surprise five lucky Unlock Xbox winners by stopping by their homes and telling them the good news. Major can't tell us exactly where he's headed, because that would of course ruin the whole "surprise" element, but be rest assured he's getting the first class travel treatment wherever he goes. And if you end up not getting a visit from Major, head over to the Unlock Xbox website August 20th when the top five better winning game ideas will be announced.
Bitter dregs: A brief round-up of new Xbox 360 DLC
This post is not necessarily for you. You may have already read the headline and moved on actually, in which case, thanks for visiting, please enjoy our other posts. But there are a handful of readers out there who will see the below information and triumphantly pump their spindly fists in the air and bolt for the couch, praying that they have enough points to make the purchase. It is for them that we present the following bitter dregs news.In the first batch, there's new DLC for Band of Bugs. It's 250 points ($3.12) and will get you new levels and units and some other stuff. There are new games for Soltrio Solitare for just 150 points ($1.87). Also, 300 points ($3.75) will get you (and we're not making this up) "12 new river tiles" in Carcassonne! Finally, there are about a bajillion new costumes for Rumble Roses XX, and each one's going to cost you 80 points (too much) so you better start stocking up, pervo.OK, that should cover it. Thanks for bearing with us.
False alarm: Target's not giving up on HD DVD
As noted on Engadget HD the other day, and further clarified by Major Nelson this morning, that story about Target going exclusively Blu-ray was false. Turns out they're just installing Blu-ray aisle end caps, thanks to a new promotional deal with Sony, but HD DVD isn't going anywhere. Hopefully you haven't chucked out your HD DVD collection just yet in a concession to defeat at Thursday's "news," but if you have it's always good to know you can score replacements at your local Target, just like always.
Xbox 360 gets backwards compatibility update
Taking a moment away from E3, Major Nelson updated his blog to give the latest information on Xbox 360 backwards compatibility. The whole list of new titles can be found after the break, and you can always go to Xbox's site to get the full list. This would typically be the part where we'd say something about how silly it is that the Xbox 360 has backwards compatibility issues in the first place, but now he's not the only guy in town with a problem. There aren't that many original Xbox games that are still worth worrying about. Our concern is more with the new version of the PS3 which will have "limited backwards compatibility," especially when there was nothing limited about its compatibility before. Oh well, if you're planning on getting the PS3 and you have a favorite old game on the system, make sure to check it will still work -- or got get yourself a current PS3 model while you still can.
Stuntman: Ignition demo crashes into Xbox Live
C'mon, everybody! Sing along!Well, I've never really sold that well, but I've frustrated plenty. It's true that you can try me for no pay, a-hey-hey. I've gotten burned over long load times after blowin' up for the 20th time, but at least I'm not as bad as on GBA, a-hey-hey. You might say you're gonna buy me, you may think I'm really lame, but I'm the Stuntman demo that just came out today.OK, so we're no Lee Majors, and the demo is actually for Stuntman: Ignition (try working that into a lyric!). But it's E3, cut us some slack. We're actually curious to see what you guys think of this one. So ... what are you waiting for? Go play and discuss!
Guitar Hero II gets new song pack
Boy, that Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Rock Band sure look exciting, don't they? The inclusion of Slash, new downloadable content every week? It's a very good time to love pretending to play guitar. But doesn't the axiom go "Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold"? You've got an opportunity to show a little love to an old friend with a new downloadable song pack for Guitar Hero II on Xbox Live.For 500 points ($6.25) you can pick up "I Wanna Be Sedated," "Smoke on the Water" and "You've Got Another Thing Coming." So, go ahead, spend some time with an old friend. Yes, he's an old friend who charges you six bucks to listen to old songs at his house, but he's a friend just the same.[Thanks, everyone who sent this in!]
Sonic and Golden Axe now on XBLA
You have to feel for the guy or gal who has to write the blade descriptions for Xbox Live Arcade games. Take this week's release of Sonic the Hedgehog and Golden Axe (both 400 points/$5) for example. What does one say about Sonic at this point? Our description would be something like "It's Sonic the Hedgehog. Buy it ... or don't." Then we'd just fill out the empty space with a picture of those cats playing Pokemon or something.Now, with Golden Axe, we'd probably write "It's not as good as you remember," which is why we don't work for Microsoft.
Microsoft 'Bringing it Home' again for Min-E3
Microsoft is reemploying their Bringing it Home campaign for this year's Min-E3. The campaign has previously been seen during last year's E3 and their X06 event in Barcelona, Spain.As part of Bringing it Home, a barrage of content will be made available via Xbox Live, including their July 10 press conference, game trailers, themes, gamer pictures, demos and other video updates. Some of the games mentioned include Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, Blue Dragon and Project Gotham Racing 4. A partial list (expect surprises from the show) is available after the break.[Via X3F]
Rainbow Six Vegas Black Edition goes AWOL
So, the Rainbow Six Vegas Black Edition DLC really did appear on Xbox Live. It was brief, but it was there. But now, as you have already found if you've attempted a download over the past day or so, it is most certainly not there. The good Major offers little help on his blog, saying only: "This has been pulled. I'll let you know when it makes a return." Wow, cryptic.There are, of course, plenty of delightful theories as to why the pack pulled a Judy on Family Matters. Some think that it got on to Marketplace too early, some think a critical bug was discovered. We like to think that Ubisoft was so racked with guilt over charging $10 for five maps (when that amount previously got you five maps and two new modes) that they pulled it. We admit that's not really likely. We'll be sure to update this post when it triumphantly returns.
Rainbow Six Vegas expands yet again with Black Edition
Rainbow Six Vegas continues to roll along, picking up new levels like some sort of very specific Katamari. This new infusion of terrorist-thwomping action (just two months after your last hit) is called the Player's Pack Black Edition and will run you 800 points ($10).For your sawbuck, you'll nab three brand new maps like Red Lotus and Wartown plus a revamped version of Streets. You'll also get an appearance from a very special guest star: PRESIDIO, which the elderly among you may remember from Rainbow Six 3. The content weighs in at 705 MB and is available now.
Shadowrun demo is up ... what do you think?
Now the floodgates have opened and -- after a brief delay -- everyone's able to get their hands on (some) of FASA Studios' sci-fi/fantasy FPS, Shadowrun, via the demo on Xbox Live. The 1.1 GB freebie gives you access to three of the training chapters, bot and online matches (on one of the maps) two races and a smattering of the tech and magic abilities available in the full game.Our time with Shadowrun has proven it to be a compelling experience, but short-lived if you're not the sort who likes to really dig deep and explore how different weapon/ability/magic combos work together. It's a stance plenty of reviewers seem to share, but we're curious what you're thinking. Everything may be peaches and lemonade in the free demo, but is the sort of experience you'd spend $60 on?
Microsoft booting modders off Xbox Live
If you've been using a modified Xbox 360 to beta test first-person shooters on Xbox Live, you're about to be shunned by the online world like a leper operating a Simple Plan Myspace page. "How could this happen to me?" you ask. Well, Major Nelson bluntly blurts it out on his temporary post-meltdown page: "As you can imagine, we have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to modded consoles connecting to LIVE. We're very serious about this, and if we detect you have a modded Xbox then you will not be able to connect to Xbox Live."Aside from the sudden disconnection, modders will be informed of their newly-banished status by the above screen and the status code, "Z: 8015 - 190D." Those recipients without eye patches will no doubt be livid and ready to assault message boards with all manner of exclamations and emoticons, but when used for evil, the power of Mod can open the door to online cheating and other unfair unpleasantness. Sometimes innocent bystanders have to pay the price in Microsoft's war on enemy solders.[Thanks, keeel]
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End demo sailing into some ports
Remember your "Japanese friend" who helped you play that Eternal Sonata demo yesterday? Well, you may need a new friend. You've got plenty of choices, just as long as they're not in Asia, Canada, Mexico or the U.S., because those are the only nations that can't play the new Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End demo on Xbox Live. Of course, if you're already living outside those countries you can proceed to downloading the sample, which weighs in at 972 MB to make room for the trademark Depp swagger.If you can't find a friend in another country who'll let you use their Xbox Live account, you can always use our incredible PotC:AWE virtual reality system, which consists of watching the video after the jump and hammering buttons on your 360 controller. We know it's not quite the same, but, if the last game in the series is any indication, the controls would actually be more responsive with our system. Ooh, pirate burn. A bARRRn, if you will.
New content goes Live for Bullet Witch, Test Drive Unlimited
Has your copy of Bullet Witch just been sitting around gathering dust? Well, there's nothing you can do about that; you traded it to EB Games fair and square. No, we don't blame you, we just wanted to let you know that the new content for the game on Marketplace isn't going to do you much good. For those of you who are still hanging with the B-Witch, you'll be able to spend a quarter on a remixed level or the new secretary's costume. ("Eyes like gun barrels hidden behind glasses." They should officially be charging for descriptions.) Also today, Test Drive Unlimited fans are even more unlimited in their choice of car with the new free Saturn Curve download and a 350-point pack that includes the Ferrari Challenge Stradale, Cadillac Cien, RUF RK Spyder, Dino 246 GT, Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster, TVR T440R. If a majority of that sentence wasn't moon man talk to you, it should be $4.37 well spent. Read -- Test Drive Unlimited DLC (Free and Premium) Read -- Bullet Witch In Game Content
Podcast Rodeo for May 13: Mutinear
Hey, it's time for the Podcast Rodeo once more. This is the very special episode where we learn a little something about ourselves. Hopefully, you'll come with us on this very emotional journey.1UP Show: The show returns for the summer with a hot new theme song, Odin Sphere video, a preview of Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings and tons of stuff on Team Fortress 2, which still looks incredible. Gamers With Jobs Conference Call: The old, old men of GWJ celebrate their 30th episode with special guest star Big Huge Games' Brian Reynolds talking about the making of Catan. Also, there's some interesting discussion of the debacle, if you've not yet grown tired of the topic.
Area 51: BlackSite demo Live, government still denying existence
You don't know, man! I've been living in a trailer in southern Nevada for nigh on 27 years, and I've seen some things. Things that Uncle Sam ain't exactly thrilled to be talking about sort of things. Just last night, I was laying in the back of my El Camino peering through my Advanced Ritchey-Chretien Telescope with UHTC Coatings when I saw it: A brilliant blue light, hovering right above Groom Lake. It was what Area 51 junkies like myself had been waiting for for since Art Bell was in short pants: Real proof.So, I tell my harpy of a wife this morning, what does she do? She says I never even made it outside last night. She says I blacked out on the Davenport after my 13th (possibly 17th) PBR. She says the kids were up all night playing the "new demo for BlackSite: Area 51," whatever the hell that means. Now, I'm not as concerned about another sighting going tits up as I am about the kids playing their AxeBox 360 without their foil hats. How can I protect them if they're not willing to save themselves?%Gallery-1680%
Major Nelson co-host burns Epic in 'free' debate
Those of you who regularly listen to the podcast for Xbox Live's Major Nelson may have noticed your clicking finger heating up as you moused over the "Download" link this week, probably because the Major's co-host "e" used the show to totally burn (In l33t parlance: own) Epic. It's either that, or you were having a stroke. Let's hope it was the totally sick burn.The burn-a-thon started last month with Epic's Tim Sweeney's complaint on 1UP Yours that they wanted to give their new Gears of War maps away, but Microsoft was forcing them to charge. On this week's cast, the Major's fellow Xbox Live staffer e retorted: "I do find this amusing though; a lot of people may not remember this but a year ago Epic was bragging about how they cost us one billion dollars." OMG! Burn!
How to make a million ... in Pac-Man
Tie that scarf around your head, put on your sweatbands, stock up on energy drinks. Major Nelson wants to help your Pac-Man game for the Xbox Live World Championship, and he's offering a downloadable PDF guide. Most of it involves memorizing patterns -- lots of patterns -- but if you're into a challenge, this 33-page book from 1982 may be up your alley. And before you laugh at someone making a book that long on Pac-Man, just take a gander at the sizes of some of the obscure guides on GameFAQs.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Podcast Rodeo for May 6: Ear's Mud in Your Eye
It's a fun week in the Rodeo, the sort of week driven by slow news and few releases, the sort of week that forces hosts to dig deep, let go of the magic feather and try to find the entertainment power that was inside them all along. The Hotspot: A story of tragedy, triumph and boredom on the Hotspot as a caller tells about working in an arcade while Billy Mitchell was trying to break the Pac-Man record. Long story short: A kid unplugs the machine, tragedy and hilarity ensue.
Catan now available on XBLA ... with no demo
[Update: The good Major says that everything's hunky-dory, so demo to your heart's content.]Xbox 360 owners are finally able to get a taste of the phenomenon that's been sweeping basements across the globe: Catan, based on the much more inconveniently titled board game Settlers of Catan, has rolled onto Xbox Live. Unfortunately, if you're interested in the XBLA download, you're going to have to take the guys in the basements' word on it, as Catan has arrived without a free trial.Major Nelson is already on the case, saying that an "issue" was discovered and the trial had to be removed from the service. To answer your questions: Yes, they have their top scientists working on the problem and no, they don't know how long it will take to fix. But hey, it's $10 (800 MS points), live a little! Thousands of guys in basements can't be wrong, and they had to drop $30 for the thing.
