Halo 3: 7/7 "Bungie Day"

Each year the developer makes a point to use this date to treat fans to something special – usually new content, a free download or other surprise. This year, Bungie is celebrating this day with the release of new multiplayer map Cold Storage, as well as new gamer pics and a Bungie Day Xbox 360 dashboard theme, all for free on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. The “Halo 3” Legendary Map Pack will also drop in price to 600 Microsoft points in honor of the occasion. This year marks the best “Bungie Day” yet, as eight million plus “Halo 3” players can now download Cold Storage, a free new multiplayer map inspired by the original map Chill Out found in “Halo: Combat Evolved.” The Cold Storage facility was once a vibrant, active research center on Installation 05. An accidental contamination resulted in an unforeseen outbreak, which compromised the Forerunner center. Now, emptied and silent, watched only by a local caretaker, the abandoned structure serves as a reminder of how something as powerful as science is ultimately beholden to nature. Fans will need to be sure they download these on 7/7, because they will be available for one day only.

Three Games To Notice This Week

It looks like we have three new games coming out this week from three different genres. How exciting! I cant wait to rent them and see which ones I want to buy. The games releasing for this week are:

Unreal Tournament 3: Another soon to be smash hit for the Xbox 360 by epic games. Releases earlier this year on PS3. Now we finally get to play! With the considerably better Xbox live multiplayer should be awesome. I mean come on, its the studio that brought us Gears Of War. My number one selling point of this game? I know, I know there is no mods on the Xbox 360 version but.. we get two player split-screen
online! Finally, there is so little games out that offer that. I want to be able to play with my buds on the couch playing on xbox live. I don't want to system link thank you very much! Put this one on your list.

Civilization: Revolution: Well the renowned epic single-player campaigns featuring with the incredible re-playability and unmatched addictive gameplay is back but this time on the console! Yes, now you can crush the world under your shiny boot-heel from the comfort of your living room. The "revolutionary" features like real-time interaction with leaders and advisors, the extensive multiplayer capabilities via Xbox live and integrated video and voice chat make this a definite contender.

Beijing Olympics 2008: I'm actually excited for this one to come out. I played the previous Olympic games and after seeing the gameplay videos of the swimming and archery I'm throughly excited. The visuals are incredible. I had to double check to see that it was gameplay footage and not a recorded event. I have high hopes for this one. Not to mention I heard you can compete against people from around the world via Xbox Live! Hello simulated Olympics minus the effort and sweat and tears and...well you know, Couch Olympics anyway.. I have no doubt my thumbs will be contenders for gold.

Holiday

Going to be gone for the Fourth of July weekend. But I will be back on Monday!

And remember...If it explodes.. its probably going to be awesome.

Have a happy Independence Day!

Updated & Improved Reviews

I have decided to go ahead and review some of the games I mentioned earlier in my posts. Starting today I'm going to post a more in depth review then I have in the past. Today we will be looking at the recently released game:


Ninja Gaiden II

1 Player > Action > Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Team Ninja >ESRB: M

This latest offering features a brand new health recharge system. This oddly enough seems to be built for the sole purpose for the game to throw seemingly endless hordes of enemies your way. It works by recharging your health bar to a certain point depending on if you took any damage in a fight, if you did it will not recharge as much. The challenge people played the previous installments of Ninja Gaiden for is still here but to make the game apparently more consumable they have added an easier difficulty called the Path Of The Acolyte. This is a great starting point for people who don't want to experience the terror that the game offers or for people just starting out. Returning Veterans can jump straight into the harder Path Of The Warrior. Which enables a few different enemies. Players wanting to challenge themselves to the extreme can unlock two more difficulties, Path Of The Mentor and Path Of the Master Ninja. The action is fast paced and incredible. Ryu can weild an whole plethera of weapons from duel swords to the Sycte. Controls are tight and easy to control. There is no online multiplayer however, but it does offer a leaderboard system which displays your ranking among the worlds ninja elite. The new Ninja cinema allows players to share their gameplay videos with friends in the community. The story is sadly unnessecary to the explosive action this game offers and sadly forgettable. The women are still sterotypically built perfectly. A few loading issues sometimes arose during play as well as a few contextual control issues which make it hard to perform some of the simple tasks in the game. The platforming elements such as wall running are touchy and the get "key A" to unlock "Door B" is tired. If you can tolerate these annoyaces in the game then this game will grab you for the ride of your life. Let's hope if they revisit Ninja Gaiden again they add something new to the mixing pot Try out the demo live on marketplace.
Review Score: 8.7

Price Cut For Xbox 360

The Hollywood Reporter got confirmation from a major retailer that the rumored $50 price cut for the 20GB Xbox 360 is real. A Radio Shack ad confirms the rumor too. It's coming around July 6th, and the new price will be $299.99. If you don't have a Xbox 360, maybe it's time to buy one?

Now to the Future

Now to look into the future at games you cannot afford to miss. It's a great time to be an Xbox 360 owner.

In the near future we have Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution it is the latest offering in the legendary award winning Sid Meier’s Civilization series of strategy games, featuring the famous “just one more turn” addictive gameplay that has made it one of the greatest game series of all time. Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution has been designed and built (by the legendary Sid Meier and his team at Firaxis) from the ground up for consoles and handhelds delivering graphics, gameplay and controls that take full advantage of the hugely popular gaming platforms.

Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution is a watershed game offering players a chance to experience the epic empire building world of Civilization in a whole new way – in an accessible, visually immersive, fast paced, action-packed world that gamers crave.The demo is on the xbox live marketplace for anyone to check out. The game is so addictive and the demo only gives you a limited number of turns which believe me are not enough. This releases for Xbox 360 on July 8th.


They went with a more cartoonish look but the Civilization we know at love is preserved intact and is very pretty to look at nonetheless and with online multiplayer via xbox live!

Gears Of War 2: Gears of War 2 continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad, locked in an increasingly desperate battle against the nightmarish Locust Horde for the survival of humanity. Gears of War 2 is an epic saga of survival, loss, and retribution. Gears of War 2 raises the bar even further with the amazing technological advances of Unreal Engine 3, delivering a bigger, badder, and more intense experience as the story continues. Only on Xbox 360!






Fallout 3: Vault 101 – Jewel of the Wastes. For 200 years, Vault 101 has faithfully served the surviving residents of Washington DC and its environs, now known as the Capital Wasteland. Though the global atomic war of 2077 left the US all but destroyed, the residents of Vault 101 enjoy a life free from the constant stress of the outside world. Giant Insects, Raiders, Slavers, and yes, even Super Mutants are all no match for superior Vault-Tec® engineering. Yet one fateful morning, you awake to find that your father has defied the Overseer and left the comfort and security afforded by Vault 101 for reasons unknown. Leaving the only home you’ve ever known, you emerge from the Vault into the harsh Wasteland sun to search for your father, and the truth. This is by Bethesda Studios, the same developer who made the Elder Scrolls Oblivion for Xbox 360.



Borderlands: An extraordinary cooperative experience, allowing for multiple players to share the same game experience simultaneously online. Players can freely join or leave each other’s games at anytime, or choose to play in the full single-player mode. Borderlands features life-like character animations, impressive real-time physics, and customizable vehicles.

Gearbox Software has developed revolutionary new technology to create Borderlands’ incredible layers of gameplay depth. Borderlands features a groundbreaking content generation system allowing for near-endless variety in missions, environments, enemies, weapons, item drops and character customization.

Return Part 2

Well, finally after I had just posted my return on my blog my computer decides to join the junk heap and I had to replace it. But, I'm back now and now I have a spare computer in case of calamity. I know I have been gone a super long time and I apologize. Looking back on my last posts I realize just how much I have to post. I will post mini-reviews of what I have played and enjoyed to keep the space to a minimum.

Grand Theft Auto IV:

Grand Theft Auto IV is the greatest game to come out for the Xbox 360 so far. Hands down the best open world game ever. And with the promised episodic content planned for later this year it can only get better. With the addition of online multiplayer it's even better. But come on its Grand Theft Auto what more do you need?




Battlefield Bad Company:

Built from the ground-up for next-generation consoles using Digital Illusion s’ bleeding-edge Frostbite™ game engine, Battlefield: Bad Company drops gamers behind enemy lines with a squad of renegade soldiers who risk it all on a personal quest for gold and revenge. Featuring a deep, cinematic single-player experience loaded with adventure and dark humor, the game delivers the series’ trademark sandbox gameplay in a universe where nearly everything is destructible.





Alone in the Dark:

Provides a complete next-generation, action-packed experience within a highly detailed, free-roaming environment, featuring a mixture of astonishing real-time physics and full environmental interaction. The game is being developed by Eden Games, a leading first-party studio of Infogrames/Atari and considered amongst the finest in the industry. (Debuted worldwide for the first time at the Microsoft X05 event in Amsterdam. Original PC game released in 1992 is widely considered the first "survival horror" game.)

- I wanted this game to be good so badly. It wasn't the worst game I have played but the camera gives you endless headaches and makes you want to quit. It's a pretty good rental if anything.

Ever since THQ released a title update for Frontlines: Fuel of War that enables all multiplayer maps to support up to 50-player online battles on Xbox Live I have been playing it every now and then as well. It's not the best shooter I have played but it adds some pretty interesting elements to gameplay. Climbing up a one hundred foot crane in a huge city and sniping is quite the memorable experience. Not to mention that it now bosts the highest player count to date for online console game-play.

For Stratagy Fans: Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath

Just released. The single player campaign will allow players to experience a new story that spans 20 years – from the rebirth of the Brotherhood of Nod after the Second Tiberium War through the dramatic events of the Third Tiberium War and beyond. The story is told through a new set of high-definition live action video sequences starring a celebrity cast. Joe Kucan, the original actor who portrayed the character Kane in Command & Conquer games over the last decade, will reprise his role as the megalomaniacal leader of the Brotherhood of Nod.

Well, even to this day Call Of Duty 4 is still at the top of the number one played game on Xbox Live. You just can't beat the polish Infinity Ward puts into their games. These are just a fraction of what has come out since my last post. These are the ones that I'm personally playing at the moment. A few of the others such as:

Condemned 2: Bloodshot - Awesome Game. Recommended. Lighting and atmosphere make the tension palpable.
Dark Sector: -Weird Storyline but main weapon is awesome. Finishing moves almost make the game worth buying.
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty: -Wow, just...*ugh* its crap. Alternate ending to WWII and an end to this game. Poor...everything.
Lost Odyssey: -Incredible game. Four discs of turned based combat with an engrossing story. Voice acting is really good and extremely hilarious at times. But the packaging for the game....
Conflict: Denied Ops: -Based for co-op gameplay. Didn't enjoy it that much. Played the demo saw the flaws and decided to pass on it.
Devil May Cry 4: -Devil May Cry action is back in form on the xbox 360. But you don't play as Dante...at least not at the beginning?
Ninja Gaiden 2: -You must play this game. Incredible selection of weapons you can wield. And seriously, your a friggin Ninja who can sever your opponants in half with the grim reapers blade..
Turok: -Adds interesting elements like dinosaurs to online play but story falls flat. The close quarter knife kills never get old..