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Tomb Raider: Legend, Pandemonium coming to mobile phones
Alongside the Tomb Raider: Legend content that should be appearing on the Xbox Live marketplace anytime soon, Eidos announced today that they're working on a 3D mobile phone version of Tomb Raider: Legend. Apparently the title will feature a new movement system and back to basics gameplay; a given considering the technological limitations of mobile phones. Eidos also announced a mobile phone version of Pandemonium: a platform adventure game where the lead character Nikki can shape-change from an invulnerable duck and cover turtle to a fire-blasting dragon. Both titles will be distributed via QUALCOMM's "BREW" solution which will apparently make it easy for gamers with 3G phones to download the game onto their handset.
Tomb Raider content on Xbox Marketplace
Eidos Interactive announced today the availability of exclusive Tomb Raider Legend content for Xbox 360 on Live Marketplace, including a playable demo of Legend, and Lara Croft dashboard themes and picture packs. While this initial content is free, it's not hard to imagine Eidos and other publishers following in the footsteps of Bethesda Softworks, who is already taking some heat for selling Oblivion "extras" through the Marketplace service. The most obvious bonus content for a Tomb Raider game would be alternate outfits for Lara, or maybe enhanced weaponry, and although this content isn't necessary to play the game, the "just gotta have it" factor can be as seductive to gamers as Lara herself. In the end, this is basically legalized goldfarming, where the publishers benefit instead of some shadowy operation, and the wealthiest gamers have the most fun. Whatever happened to earning unlockable content the old fashioned way -- through blisters, sweat, and tearful bottomless pits of death? Welcome to next gen gaming, indeed.
Blazing Angels demo drops into XBLM
A demo for World War II dogfighter Blazing Angels is now available in the Xbox Live Marketplace for the Xbox 360. The marketing hype promises an environment "so real you'll feel like you're the pilot in a famous WWII movie." Wait a minute! Let's do some close reading on that bit o' marketing mummery. When did we suddenly become one more level removed from the actual experience? Today's game audiences can't know what it was like to be a pilot in an actual WWII dogfight and can only know what it's like to be an actor in a movie based on what some director imagined WWII to be. Sixty years from now, when few living gamers will have seen a WWII movie, marketers will be promising games that are "so real you'll feel like you're controlling a famous game based on a famous WWII movie based on a famous historical novel of a famous WWII battle." We tingle with excitement in anticipation of that glorious day. [Via Xbox360Fanboy.com]
The Outfit multiplayer demo now available on XBL
THQ had hoped that its multiplayer demo would be released this past Friday, just in time for weekend gamers to get a taste of The Outfit before GRAW and Burnout hit the Xbox 360 this week. Instead, the weekend passed by without an update. Today, the demo finally went live.Intended to showcase The Outfit's multiplayer gameplay, the demo will allow Xbox Live Gold subscribers to test out the full 8-player destruction-on-demand experience, while Silver subscribers will be limited to 1-on-1 split screen combat. The Outfit demo features a single map (Estate Assault) played on Strategic Victory mode. Let the chaos commence!
Ridge Racer 6 Marketplace content
Major Nelson has announced there is new Marketplace content for Ridge Racer 6 available, in the form of some music tracks, which ain't free, and some bonus cars, which are free. So if you're playing the latest in Namco's drift-racing series, check out those cars and let us know how they are. He includes the following caveat: This content is available in the following regions: Canada, United States, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and JapanHopefully Microsoft has plans for some PGR3 content...
