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Joystiq hands-on: Xbox 360--Live Arcade
I was pleasantly surprised with Microsoft's enthusiasm for the Xbox 360's Live Arcade. The team is determined to do it right this time around-no hunting around for an installation disk. At launch, 12-15 games should be available, 15-20 by the end of the holiday season. Here's a list of definite launch titles: Hexic HD (original game from the makers of Tetris; comes pre-installed on the HDD) Bankshot Billiards 2 (it's pool) Geometry Wars (upgraded port) Joust (upgraded port) Marble Blast Ultra (original title) Mutant Storm (upgraded port) Wiki: Fable of Souls (original title)
Xbox 360 hard drive content revealed
In another X05 announcement, our favorite Michael Stipe look-alike, J Allard, gave us the goods on the content that will be pre-installed on the 360 hard drive - for those of us who pony up for it (the more budget-conscious can stop reading now). This bonus content will showcase the 360's "user experience" features such as system wallpaper and gamer profile customization, as well as a sample soundtrack. Also included is the puzzle game, Hexic, and a behind-the-scenes video of the 360's evolution. While many were anticipating backward compatibility files for games like Halo 2, Microsoft has chosen to remain mum on the subject. Let's hope this isn't another Windows 95 Plus! pack. TyeDye desktop theme, anyone?
