the-guide
Latest
The Guide: Community Organizing
Welcome to The Guide, an editorial feature in which former Xbox 360 Fanboy lead Richard Mitchell looks at issues important to Xbox fans. The opinions expressed here belong to the author and don't necessarily reflect those of Joystiq, Weblogs Inc. or its affiliates. The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai came out this week. It's a very good action game and I'm playing it as much as I can. Over the last year and a half or so, I've had the opportunity to talk with Dishwasher's creator, James Silva. You may remember that Microsoft devoted a hefty chunk of last year's GDC keynote to Silva, touting the fact that he created Dishwasher entirely on his own using XNA. Microsoft used The Dishwasher as an example of what could be accomplished with XNA and, by extension, Community Games. Thus far, we haven't really heard that much about Community Games -- apart from less than impressive sales.Playing Dishwasher, I started to wonder why. And then I found Rocket Fart.
The Guide: Master of Unlockables
Welcome to The Guide, an editorial feature in which former Xbox 360 Fanboy lead Richard Mitchell looks at issues important to Xbox fans. The opinions expressed here belong to the author and don't necessarily reflect those of Joystiq, Weblogs Inc. or its affiliates.The Joystiq masters have us working full-steam this week because of GDC, but that won't stop The Guide. Despite the fact that GDC is in full swing, there haven't been any major Xbox announcements. I was really hoping I might be able to write about some earth-shattering megaton too. Alas, it looks like a column about Metal Gear Solid 5 being Xbox exclusive just wasn't meant to be*. Thankfully, there are a few more things to say about Resident Evil 5.
The Guide: Gears of Evil
Welcome to The Guide, an editorial feature in which former Xbox 360 Fanboy lead Richard Mitchell looks at issues important to Xbox fans. The opinions expressed here belong to the author and don't necessarily reflect those of Joystiq, Weblogs Inc. or its affiliates.If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery -- and I have it on good authority that it is -- then Capcom and Epic must just love each other. Cliff Bleszinski has said that Resident Evil 4 was one of the main inspirations for Gears of War. It's easy to see the comparisons, with Gears apparently borrowing Resident Evil 4's over-the-shoulder perspective, aiming system and even a bit of its sense of survival horror. Both games even have blind bosses you have to trick in order to beat.If Gears of War paid tribute to Resident Evil 4, then Resident Evil 5 is definitely returning the favor. I can't decide whether that's a good thing for Resident Evil as a series, but its definitely a good thing for the latest entry.
The Guide: Don't Rush Good Strategy
Welcome to The Guide, an editorial feature in which former Xbox 360 Fanboy lead Richard Mitchell looks at issues important to Xbox fans. The opinions expressed here belong to the author and don't necessarily reflect those of Joystiq, Weblogs Inc. or its affiliates.Sorry, but I'm going to talk about Halo Wars again. I realize I've already devoted one column to the game, but it's really where I'm sinking almost all of my gaming time these days. I'm also really looking forward to Resident Evil 5, so maybe I'll squeeze that in there too. Probably not though.
The Guide: Downloadable Contentment
Welcome to The Guide, an editorial feature in which former Xbox 360 Fanboy lead Richard Mitchell looks at issues important to Xbox fans. The opinions expressed here belong to the author and don't necessarily reflect those of Joystiq, Weblogs Inc. or its affiliates.Once again, I find myself drawing a blank about what to discuss this week. Desperate for a topic, I sought out the advice of one Chris Grant (AKA "my boss"). Chris, smart guy and snappy dresser that he is, suggested I talk about exclusive DLC, something the Xbox seems to get in spades these days. There is a problem though. I don't own Fallout 3, so I have no opinion of its exclusive DLC. Also, I never finished GTAIV. I keep telling myself I will, but the day has yet to arrive.That leaves me somewhat ill-equipped to handle this topic, but let's give it a go anyway, shall we?
The Guide: Red Ring of Luck
Welcome to The Guide, an editorial feature in which former Xbox 360 Fanboy lead Richard Mitchell looks at issues important to Xbox fans. The opinions expressed here belong to the author and don't necessarily reflect those of Joystiq, Weblogs Inc. or its affiliates. Aaron Greenberg recently told Edge that Microsoft has "put the worst behind us" regarding the Red Ring of Death, the infamous mark of a dead Xbox 360. He noted that there are still some consoles out there that are affected by the widespread issue, but that Microsoft wants to make it right. That got me thinking. I'm not sure what's more amazing, that Microsoft shipped such an incredibly faulty piece of hardware, or that it's still managed to be successful.
The Guide: Dilutions of Grandeur
Welcome to The Guide, an editorial feature in which former Xbox 360 Fanboy lead Richard Mitchell looks at issues important to Xbox fans. The opinions expressed here belong to the author and don't necessarily reflect those of Joystiq, Weblogs Inc. or its affiliates. Truth be told, I can't think of a single thing to write about this week. Considering this is only the second week of The Guide, that's probably a bad thing. So, in my desperate search to come up with something, I look to the games I've been playing recently. Let's see, Far Cry 2? Nope, Ludwig already hit that a while ago. Condemned 2: Bloodshot? That just has "old!" written all over it (though it is an excellent game).That just leaves us with Halo Wars. With our review coming out shortly, there's a question as to what I should discuss. How about brand dilution? Yeah, that sounds good.
The Guide: Transcendental Blues
Welcome to The Guide, an editorial feature in which former Xbox 360 Fanboy lead Richard Mitchell looks at issues important to Xbox fans. The opinions expressed here belong to the author and don't necessarily reflect those of Joystiq, Weblogs Inc. or its affiliates.Change, as a rule, is difficult. The past week and a half has proven that fairly handily. After just over three years of existence, Xbox 360 Fanboy has become Joystiq Xbox. Overall, I feel like the transition went very well, with most technical issues resolved quickly and efficiently (for which I have the excellent Justin Glow to thank). That said, it's apparent that not everyone is thrilled with the change, and so I figured it would be appropriate to address that in this, the first edition of The Guide.
