Xbox 360 Marketplace

[Jacob Singer]

Thought I'd start a thread devoted to things you can find on the Live! Marketplace, like the demos, videos, new Gamer pics and themes, and of course, Live! Arcade.

Just in the last day or two they have added demos for both Quake IV and Condemned: Criminal Origins. I'm pretty sure there are downloadable demos of Kameo, NFS:Most Wanted, one of the EA basketball games, King Kong, and possibly others I've forgotten. I love the fact that you can just download these right to the drive and don't have to wait for a magazine disk to see them.

I believe there were some new Gamer pics and themes added today as well. If you see anything of particular interest or want to discuss one of these demos or something, do it here.

[Jason P. Thompson]

NBA Street is the demo available for demo, I believe.

[Domingo]

Xmen 3 trailer, and Geometry Wars demo are both available for free.

[yoda1]

NBA Live, Fifa and Need For Speed are the available EA demos.

[Eid Nilbog]

http://feeds.feedburner.com/xboxlivemarketplace

It's a Feed run by Major Nelson (www.majornelson.com) who works as Xbox Live Director of Programming. Any new content should be posted there as soon as it's available.

[Jason P. Thompson]

Played the Condemed demo last night.

It's on there for free too.

[otisthecat]

Got demos for Condemned (I'm buying this, soon), Quake and a trailer for some mech/alien war game that actually looked pretty cool.

My wife was intrigued that I could get movie trailers.

[Eid Nilbog]

Fight Night Round 3 Demo is up on the Marketplace, listed under EA Sports FN 3.

[Domingo]

HOLY SHIT. It was for free, and it was amazing. Marketplace RULES. Go check out Fight night now.

[Jacob Singer]

Downloading the Fight Night demo now. Too cool. I love the 360.

[JuddL]

this is the kind of shit that makes me want a 360. I might have to reconsider my financial priorities.

[gravedigger]

I still have no urge to own a 360 (other than the standard "ooh, new gadget!" urge) but I must say I like their plan for including the Quarter match mode on Street Fighter II. Actually, the entire Marketplace thing is pretty neat.

[Jason P. Thompson]

Indeed.

[Jacob Singer]

HOLY CRAP this game looks amazing. All you "360 ain't really next-gen" folks can lick my ballsack.

All I played was a quick 4-round fight against the AI, but I thought it was an absolute blast. Considering this is still a couple of months away from release, it should be a must-buy when it hits. I haven't really played any boxing games before this, though, so I can't really comment too much on gameplay comparisons, but I CAN say I'd rather play this than DOA4 any day of the week. Especially if the full game allows you to basically role-play through a new boxer's career.

Color me impressed.

[Count Floyd]

I'm pretty sure the Fight Night series is the first boxing game to be worth a damn since Little Mac star-punched Soda Popinski, so I don't think you missed much.

This + Burnout Revenge 360 = me saving pennies for a new system.

[Domingo]

Singer>I haven't really played any boxing games before this, though, so I can't really comment too much on gameplay comparisons, but I CAN say I'd rather play this than DOA4 any day of the week. Especially if the full game allows you to basically role-play through a new boxer's career.

My thoughts exactly.

[otisthecat]

Maybe it's because I haven't palyed more than a few minutes worth of a fighting game for years, but DOA4 on Live is a great time. Especially after 11PM, when the people causing lag seem to leave.

[Jacob Singer]

Maybe it's because I haven't palyed more than a few minutes worth of a fighting game for years, but DOA4 on Live is a great time.

I just suck at 12-button combos, especiallly the P P P P K K DOWN K DOWN AT AN ANGLE K K UP P P LEFT variety. I was practicing some of the moves in Training mode yesterday, and there was just NO FUCKING WAY I was gonna pull off some of those ridiculous things. It's cool and all, and pretty to look at, but for me those kinds of fighting games are mostly for parties.

[otisthecat]

I'm awful at it, I think I've won less than 20% of my games. It's just a fun setup, with your own lobby you can customize, and all the crap you can buy. I'll probably get bored with it quick, but for someone new to Live it has a lot to play around with.

[Jacob Singer]

Cool, if you suck too, we may have to play a few matches.

[otisthecat]

Anytime.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Other than the fact the boxers move slow as fuck the FN demo had me floored.

[yoda1]

I'm horrible at DOA 4 too.

This is why I all but gave up on the fighting game genre. Just not my bag. Never has been. Never will be.

[wadew1]

Yeah Fight Night looks pretty Amazing. Hitting Roy Jones Jr. with A slo mo ILLEGAL ELBOW to the face is a thing of beauty.

[otisthecat]

I got Gauntlet a couple days ago, not sure why, it's pretty terrible. I can't even imagine how many quarters I dropped into it in my youth.

[otisthecat]

There is a new marble game available in Live Arcade, I only played the demo but it's pretty fun. Marble powers, gravity changers and some other crap, controls aren't quite as tight as they should be though.

Also, the demo for Most Wanted (I think that's what it's called) is up. It's like NFS crossed with Twisted Metal, it's not great.

[David L. C.]

DOA4-I think- is catered to both the hardcore and casual fighter. I am also one of the few people who suck at it. I just hate the fact that in a couple of hours I can learn some really good combo's and moves or whatever but if I stop playing for a couple of days all that shit just doesn't stick with my memory. Then I start from scratch all over again. But the Fight Night Demo was awesome. Last boxing game I played was Super Punch-Out for the SNES. The game feels a little slow but the controls feel great when throwing a punch.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Also, the demo for Most Wanted (I think that's what it's called) is up. It's like NFS crossed with Twisted Metal, it's not great.

It's called Full Auto.

Apparantly an earlier build of the game. I just like taking it slow and blowing the shit outta everything every once in a while.

The unwreck feature is a nice addition and it definately helps when you fly off a ramp and slam right into a wall or get blowed up by a grenade.

It also controls pretty nicely but I sure hope they put a sensitivity adjustment option for your rocket/shotgun aiming reticle. It took me a bit of time to realize that I should only be aiming that damn thing when I'm driving straight.

I'll definately be renting this one.

I bought Marble Blast yesterday, went through the beginner levels and definately had fun with it. I don't regret the purchase (800 points = $10 or so).

The fun thing is, is that all the levels are unlocked and you can pick and choose which ones to do when. For fun, after I had completed the beginner levels, I went to the last level of the game (60)....it's definately some fucked up shit.

[otisthecat]

Anyone get the update yet?

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/10140/Xbox-360-Dashboard-Update-Released

I was on for a few minutes during lunch but didn't see anything about a new download.

[Jacob Singer]

Just saw this news myself, I'll be getting on here in a few minutes to get it. I assume it will all be transparent, they say no NEW features, just bug fixes and enhancements. I didn't see any mention of cosmetic changes or anything.

[gravedigger]

Remember the days when console game systems didn't need patches like a computer? Yeah, that was nice.

[otisthecat]

In defense of my expensive new console, the only problems I've had with it have been when on Live (COD2 & DOA4), and I think the vast majority of those are game issues not hardware problems.

[Domingo]

Patches aren't a bad thing at all. When horrible bugs and crappy balance is apparant, yes that's lazy design. However, balancing weapons, adding new maps, all sorts of neat things make patching worth it, it takes a game you'll get bored of fast and adapts it.

[flint]

Patches aren't a bad thing at all. When horrible bugs and crappy balance is apparant, yes that's lazy design. However, balancing weapons, adding new maps, all sorts of neat things make patching worth it, it takes a game you'll get bored of fast and adapts it.

True, but the big worry I have is that developers will start to push out lazily designed games because they feel they can patch them afterwards. This sort of thing happens with the PC all the time, and now that the consoles are pretty much internet integrated, with built in hard drives I wonder if we'll start to see a push towards getting games out before deadlines regardless of bugs.

Maybe the fact that the 360 doesn't come with a HD in the Core edition will forestall that... but given the greater financial pressures a lot of the game companies are under, I do think we'll start to see it happen.

[Jacob Singer]

But you see far more bugs in PC gaming because developers have to take hundreds (or thousands) of different configurations into account. Developing strictly for a console eliminates much of that.

And no matter how rigorous and determined the playtesting of a game is, bugs can still get through. I'm happy to have the ability to address programming problems in games. And if they add enhancements or new feature sets, so much the better.

[Jason P. Thompson]

Jacob hit it on the nail.

[phoenix_214]

And yet, they still haven't fixed superjumping. Fuckers. I keep getting pwn'd by 1337 sN1pZ!

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Dead Rising trailer is out there. Just looks like an overall good time.

Word is we should be getting a LIVE multiplayer demo for The Outfit by Monday night.

Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter demo should be coming soon as well.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Being at work Sucks!!! (http://www.xboxcircle.com/content/view/1105/55/)

The Outfit demo is now available for download on the marketplace.

As far as I know it's like a Mercenaries 360 but with online play. Enjoy blowing shit up.

[otisthecat]

Looks like I have a couple trailers to check out after work.

If only Street Fighter 2 was available...

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

SFII is coming this month apparantly.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is coming eventually as well as Paperboy and Root Beer Tapper.

Huzzah!

[wadew1]

I just played the outfit for a couple of minutes. Not impressed.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Damn. That's one I was kinda looking forward to.

2 more hours until I can try for myself.

[wadew1]

Well I only played two multiplayer sessions. The controls seemed sluggish and the aiming wasn't very good.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Sluggish controls and tricky aiming...the 2 things I'm always worried about in a 3rd person shooter.

Shit.

[otisthecat]

The Outfit was aweful. There would have to be some serious polish added before it's gold for me to even bother renting.

Dead Rising, a pretty version of State of Emergency, like I figured. It'll be fun for a coule hours at most.

[mongycore]

The Outfit was aweful. There would have to be some serious polish added before it's gold for me to even bother renting.

glad I didn't lose much time trying to download that last night. the past weekend was spent here and there nabbing downloads for demo's I didn't get from any of my old oxm discs. Still looking for some titles for my collection; to add to PGR 3 that I got Friday. Fight Night looks alright, but I don't know if I'd play that game tons. Kameo will be a buy when I find it at a decent used price.

I hope BB or CC have GRAW and/or Burnout Revenge stocked when I get off work tonight.

[Slater]

GRAW is supposed to be in stores on Thursday.

[mongycore]

really...so much for trusting the usual suspects of online retailers.

Gives me time to replace my router though - which turns out to be incompatible with Live, dammit. The thing has been kicking me off Live tons the past few days. Did some outstanding laps in PGR to only have the game reset when I get booted off.

[Rene A. Moncivais]

GRAW is supposed to be in stores on Thursday.

Actually I called my local Gamestop and they said it was supposed to come out today but they are getting it tomorrow. I think Best Buy and Circuit City are getting it tomorrow. But then again this is Gamestop I am talking about.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

re: GRAW. It shipped on the 7th. Some places had it yesterday and others will get it when they get it.

Thinking of trading in Amped 3 and NBA Live and grabbing this. IGN gave it a 9.something.

The Outfit left me underwhelmed though....however, I didn't know what was goin on...and water kills you.

[Vader]

Best E3 2005 Memory: During a presentation of The Outift

"And the uh...black guy...is the explosives expert."

It looked like crap back then, sad that nothing changed about it.

[DJ HiPPiE]

Blazing Angels demo is up.....WWII dogfighting....and it's not just a quick level and then your done demo.....they take you thru training as well as a couple of battles.....bombing a target is not the easiest thing to do.

The controls are a little harder than Crimson skies but damn i'm hooked......can't wait for friday so i can pick this up.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Ubisoft released this game on Xbox 1. It's called "Heroes of the Pacific." Same controls. Same annoying voice over tutorial guy.

Didn't like Heroes not really enjoying this one yet either. Great sense of speed though.

Battlefield demo is supposed to be up in the next couple of days.

Plus 2 new Arcade Games were released. Feeding Frenzy and Astropop.

[otisthecat]

Feeding Frenzy isn't bad, but I hear the full game is short/easy. Where is SF2!

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

We were supposed to get it in March....8 days left.

They have a Virtual arcade set up for it as well. You stand in line and watch people play until it is your turn to take on the winner. Kinda like putting the old quarter down on the machine for next play. Can't wait.

[otisthecat]

Actually just read a little IGN preview from GDC, a release date wasn't mentioned.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Aw shucks.

Oh well....*waits for the Battlefield 2 demo*

[DJ HiPPiE]

there are rumors that SF2 will be out next week.....not gonna hold much into that since most of the XBLA games have been delayed.....plus we're still waiting for the BF and GRAW demos....although a demo for GRAW is kind of pointless now that almost everyone that owns a 360 has the game.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

I watched the Dead Rising trailer like 50 times already. I want a demo of this now.

Has anyone downloaded the music video that's on there?

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Battlefield 2 demo is up..apparantly (stupid work). It's a Live demo...I think.

Move, move, move!!!

[otisthecat]

there are rumors that SF2 will be out next week.....Internet speculation is still saying this week, right before the free Live Gold weekend.

[Eid Nilbog]

A multiplayer demo of GRAW is on the Marketplace, just in time for the free weekend.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Apparantly we're getting the new Tomb Raider demo sometime today (may already be out now...I'm at work) and we're also getting (or have gotten) an exclusive Marketplace trailer, six theme sets (five featuring Lara Croft and one of Karima Adebibe) and five exclusive picture packs.

And the village rejoiced...

[DJ HiPPiE]

The Tomb Raider demo is up....but the download is slooooooooooooooooow.

I played the demo.....If you like Tomb Raider then your gonna love this.....if you don't there is nothing that will change your mind.

And still no sign of Street fighter 2 or Texas hold em....people are really starting to get frustrated with Microsoft not giving any real acurate info about when either one of these games will come out.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Maybe they don't have a date. Maybe.

[DJ HiPPiE]

Maybe they don't have a date. Maybe.

maybe.....however a bunch of people at the xbox forums were talking about how they got the xbox newsletter in the mail saying that SF2 and Texas hold em was to be out on weds....which means when those were printed up they expected the games to be out by now....yet noone at microsoft can give anyone a straight answer on when these games will arrive

I can understand that things get delayed but lately Microsoft has done a horrible job when it comes to giving out timely and acurate information....other games such as hoopworld and madtracks that were announced by their developers as being released in march have not only not come out.....but now seem to have been swept under the rug.

I hope they come out soon cause the arcade has been pretty boring as of late.

Gamespot is reporting that Pac-man and Galaga will be coming to XBLA.....of course no one knows exactly when they'll come out....but they're coming.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Wasn't even aware of the newsletter.

Personally, I think everythings coming along nicely but I do wish they would stop saying they will release in March or any other month and not follow up at all.

As per Major Nelson they won't release anything from Friday-Sunday just in case something goes wrong noone's there to fix it. So never expect anything on the weekend and when they do release something...they don't tell anyone they've release unless you look in the Marketplace or know where to look online.

Maybe a nice pop-up as soon as I log onto Live telling me something new has been added since the last time I logged on would be a nice little addition.

But, I expect major changes to the Marketplace, and more games, over the next few months as we get more info on the Revolution and PS3.

As for the Texas Hold `em, it'd be kind of nice if we could actually wager money or MS Points otherwise it's just dumb. People will just make stupid bets and ruin the real fun of poker...me losing money.

[otisthecat]

Maybe a nice pop-up as soon as I log onto Live telling me something new has been added since the last time I logged on would be a nice little addition.I've actually heard the lack of a pop-up is on purpose, to help stagger the downloads a little.

[David L. C.]

Wow, the Tomb Raider demo was pretty good. The gameplay mechanics feels strangely alot like Prince of Persia but the game still seems like good times compared to the last few Tomb Raider entries.

[DJ HiPPiE]

As for the Texas Hold `em, it'd be kind of nice if we could actually wager money or MS Points otherwise it's just dumb. People will just make stupid bets and ruin the real fun of poker...me losing money.

yeah that is the one thing that ruined WCP and WSOP for the oldbox....nothing drives me more nuts than some clownshoe that goes all in every single hand.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

PGR 3 Updates and downloads available now.
Taken from MajorNelson.com:

PGR3 Auto Update

Toss in PGR3, and when you connect to Xbox Live, there is an awfully nice auto update waiting for you. This AU adds some new features, including the following:

Tournaments – Be one of 64 players to qualify with the best lap time using a car and route that’s predetermined. If successful, move on into the Elimination rounds to compete with 7 other drivers. The top 4 in each race move on until the final race where only the first place driver earns the victory.

Tournament Channel (Gotham TV)– Watch other players race in tournament Elimination rounds.

“Quit to Lobby” (Abandon option in PlayTime race) Host can now take all participants back to the lobby in a play time session, rather than booting them all back to the Play Time menu.

“Lock to Host Car” and “Lock to Host Car Class” (PlayTime | Xbox Live | Create Race | Race Mode | City | Route) are two new toggles that the lobby creator can turn on or off to limit what type of cars his/her competition can use in a play time race over Xbox Live.

Previously Played Routes List (PlayTime | Route Creator | Previous Live Routes) – Play other gamers routes that they created in the Route Creator over Xbox Live and store up to 10 in your “Previously Played Routes List”. You have the option to save or discard them and use them in your own sessions.

All Cars Position Toggle (More | Options | HUD | Position toggle) – In races modes with multiple cars where target is not displayed, this shows the current place every car in the race is in throughout the event.

Hide HUD Toggle (More | Options | HUD | HUD toggle) – This gives the player the option to turn off ALL in race HUD displays in all camera views.

Voice Communicator Identifier – In a multiplayer race the name of the gamertag will now flash in the upper left hand corner when speaking into a voice communicator, making it possible to identify the speaker.

Online Career rotating car class hoppers – All 8 hoppers in the Online Career (Breakneck Racing, Nurburgring F1 Challenge, Speedway Skirmish, Knockout World Tour, Nordschleife Drivers Club, Urban Rally, Gotham Duelling, and Dusk Til Dawn Racing) now change the required entry car class daily.

Wheel Support – Control set for steering wheels and dynamic updates have been added for the Hori, Mad Catz, and Joytech Nitro wheels (all via the More | Options | Controller | Wheel A configuration).

Online Qualifier Achievement – 50 gamerscore is now awarded for qualifying, then attempting the first elimination round of a tournament.

PLUS:
The HUD no longer remains invisible after looking back, hitting the Guide button, and then re-entering the game and it’s now possible to view if you have already purchased a car while shopping in the showroom via the “Cars Owned” tally under the Car Stats section.

AND

The race to the weekend continues with more content today. The PGR3 ‘Speedpack’ is now available in marketplace. You can buy the ‘Speedpack’ for 400 points, or each individual car for 60 points each, except for the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, which is free. Either way, I’d say the ‘Speedpack’ is the better deal.

This content is available in all Xbox Live regions.

Here are the vehicles available in the Speedpack (400 points) or for individual purchase (60 points/each) :

Aston Martin V8 Vantage Free
RUF RT12
Saleen S7 Twin Turbo
Audi RS 4
Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
Lamborghini Gallardo SE
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII FQ-400
Nissan NISMO R34GT-R Z-Tune
Pontiac GTO
Radical SR8

Looks like a good update and and I've just downlaoded the cars.

Let the bitchfest begin about paying for this. Sure it's not as bad as the horse armour...

[DJ HiPPiE]

Xbox live will be down tues may 2nd from 5am EST to 6pm EST

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

And then get ready for an E3 Explosion:

Xbox Circle (http://www.xboxcircle.com/content/view/1411/55/)

London, 2nd May, 2006 - For the first time ever, Xbox brings E3 – the biggest video game event of the year – to the people, by inviting the world to engage in the full Xbox Live experience free for an entire week.

From 8th May at 08:01 GMT until Monday 15th May at 07:59 GMT, connected gamers can access the best of E3 content, including the first-ever Gears of War high-definition game trailer on Xbox Live Marketplace, the playable demo of Capcom’s Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, and Game with Fame multiplayer sessions live from the floor with celebrities like Dave Navarro (Panic Channel), Method Man and Jenny McCarthy.

During E3 week, Xbox 360 fans will be able to download game demos and trailers from the hottest E3 titles and experience them in high definition. Over 60 pieces of new downloadable content will be available to gamers this week including:

Playable game demos and/or trailers from highly anticipated titles like:
Test Drive: Unlimited (Atari)
Moto GP™ ’06 (THQ)
Crackdown (Microsoft Game Studios)
Dead or Alive® : Xtreme 2 (Tecmo)
The Lord of the Rings ™, The Battle for Middle Earth™ II (EA Los Angeles)
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (Capcom)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega)
Splinter Cell: Double Agent ™ (Ubisoft)
Viva Piñata (Microsoft Game Studios)
Plus a flood of HD trailers from games that have yet to be announced
Call of Duty®2 – New Multiplayer Map Packs (Activision)
The release of UNO on Xbox Live Arcade


As per the "Lost Planet" trailer on the marketplace right now we're getting a playable demo of the game on May 9th. And I believe Live Gold is free the week of E3 as well.

[otisthecat]

I'm really not interested in any of those games. Although now that I have Live I may have to give Splinter Cell another shot.

New CoD2 maps though, that's cool.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

You abviously didn't see Uno on that list.

"Crackdown" has potential as it comes from the brain of the man that created GTA. And who couldn't be excited for DOA Volleyball? Other than humans.

[Milkyway]

The best news so far is new CoD2 maps, woot!

Other interests:

Crackdown
Gears of War
Double Agent
Viva Pinata
DOAX2
Lost Planet

And I may actually download Uno, seriously.

My Live tag is Milkway1010, and I'm actually a nice guy (despite my eradict behavior on here) and a good sportman on Xbox Live. If you want to send me a friend request just add a little message to it, letting me know your from CHUD and who you are, thanks.

[otisthecat]

Still no SF2.

[Milkyway]

Still no SF2.

Yeah, how hard can it be to put SF2, Galaga, and Paperboy on Live? I want those bad.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Last I heard about SFII was May and the reason for the delay was horrible online lag during the "Virtual Arcade" matches.

I'm sure the end of May will come and we'll hear June being thrown around. It'd be nice to have it for E3 though. Until then I shall become the Uno champion of the world.

[wadew1]

I was hoping for a Dead Rising demo.

[DJ HiPPiE]

Last I heard about SFII was May and the reason for the delay was horrible online lag during the "Virtual Arcade" matches.

I'm sure the end of May will come and we'll hear June being thrown around. It'd be nice to have it for E3 though. Until then I shall become the Uno champion of the world.

I might just have something to say about that......something along the lines of DRAW FOUR.

I find it somewhat amusing that UNO has now replaced SF2 and texas hold em as the most anticipated game on XBLA.....everyone on my friends list has given up on waiting for SF2

As for that many demos dropping next week.....it would be nice but I won't be shocked if we get less than half of that.

[otisthecat]

I'm curious what the Uno achievements will be.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Info on the CoD2 Map Packs

May 2, 2006 - As part of Microsoft's "E3 Bringing It Home" campaign and to extend the life of its already number one selling first-person shooter on Xbox 360, Activision today announced plans to offer nine new multiplayer maps on Xbox Live.

Four maps will be ready on May 10, the first day of the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3 runs from May 10 - May 12), and five more are prepped for July 2006. Two of the first four maps are free: The Bonus Map Pack features Vossenack and Wallendar, Germany. The Skirmish Map Pack includes a Kalach, Russia map and a Beaumont-Hague, France map and costs 400 Microsoft points.

The five maps slated for July are part of Activision's Invasion Pack, worth 900 Microsoft points. This pack features:

* Antoville, France (Crossroads)
* St. Louet, France (Newvillers)
* Amaye sur Seulles, France (Normandy)
* Alam Halfa, Egypt (Decoytown)
* Rostov, Russia (Harbor)

Microsoft's "E3 Bringing It Home" campaign offers Xbox 360 owners free Xbox Live Gold memberships for the week of E3. During the annual convention, participating gamers will be given a "virtual ticket" to the E3 show floor, given access to exclusive Microsoft news, video, and downloadable content.



From xboxcircle.com Courtesy of IGN

[otisthecat]

Great new update being released next week - particularly this

"under the marketplace menu, you'll also find a new menu link called Active Downloads. Guess what that means? You'll be able to queue up to six different, be they movies, game demos, or themes. The download feature is niftier than that. You can have six downloads queued up and play a full retail or Xbox Live Arcade game simultaneously without interruptions or slowdown, according to Microsoft. You also can prioritize the order in which you download the items mid-stream, if you want to. Finally, if you want to play a multiplayer game, the downloads will automatically stop and pick up when you finish playing online. Nifty."

and to a lesser extent this

"Microsoft fixed the start-up functionality. Now, if you have left a disc in the system and boot it up, there's an option to go straight to the main dashboard, as opposed to automatically (and frustratingly) launching the inserted game. You won't have to stop the game, and then switch to the dashboard"

full article

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/710/710202p1.html

[otisthecat]

Did the update come out today? They usually seem to do that stuff on Wednesday.

[Tom Magner]

So far, no. It could always come up later on today, though

[Jacob Singer]

Anyone tried that Hitman demo? I've never played any of those, was wondering if the new one is worth checking out.

[Tom Magner]

It's a fun demo, once you figure out what the controls are.

[otisthecat]

Anyone tried that Hitman demo?I wasn't a fan, but I've never cared much for the Hitman games. Way to much trial & error for my taste.

[Chris Allen]

SFII, wherefore art thou?

I've got points saved waiting for this. Novelty, maybe, but I'm still excited to see how it'll play.

[otisthecat]

SFII, wherefore art thou?

I've got points saved waiting for this. Novelty, maybe, but I'm still excited to see how it'll play.IGN has some new info/screens - I guess a test version was made available on Tuesday.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Q2 2006 was the only official date given...apparantly.

So by the end of June one would assume.

[Domingo]

What are you up to in points Mali?

[some guy]

Anyone tried that Hitman demo? I've never played any of those, was wondering if the new one is worth checking out.

big fan of hitman in general. the trial and error is the fun for me. its very satisfying to execute a difficult hit then exfiltrating unseen. figuring out how to kill the target is half the fun...
played the demo at a kiosk in EB. i dunno, it looks like a simple port. unless i see something really mind blowing, i'll wait for it to become cheaper.

[Egg]

The Hitman demo is worth a runthough or two, but it seems to be straight middle-of-the-road material. The controls work fine when you're going through your stealth routine, but it just doesn't feel very confident once you've been discovered or find yourself in a shootout.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

What are you up to in points Mali?

A pathetic 8090 points.

[Chris Allen]

A pathetic 8090 points.C'mon now. Don't be so hard on yourself. Out of my 35 friends, you have the most points. (Like that matters, I know.)

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

It doesn't matter when you look at this list:

http://top360tag.com/Reports/Rankings.aspx?id=1&pg=0

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Prey Demo comes out June 21st. Single player level and a couple multiplayer levels.

[B_MetalSucks]

It doesn't matter when you look at this list:

http://top360tag.com/Reports/Rankings.aspx?id=1&pg=0
I now weep at my lack of achievements. :..( I only have like 2660 pts. I only got my live account two months ago, but still 46K?? Wow.

[otisthecat]

Prey Demo comes out June 21st. Single player level and a couple multiplayer levels.Went home for lunch to check on this, not up as of an hour ago.

[Domingo]

Checking now...

Nothing yet.

[Egg]

You can get the PC demo on Gamespot today, but I don't think it's freely available on both platforms until tomorrow.

[Domingo]

http://www.gamespot.com/promos/2006/prey-demo/index.html?tag=prey_psbox_dl

I really want to play this on the 360. Somehow it seems like Quake type games would be more fun for the mean machine.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

I've been excited for this since I saw IGN's 12 minute gameplay video after last year's E3.

Can't wait to try out that spcaecraft dohickey thingamajig. Oh...and the achievements of course. heh.

Edit: Apparanlty we get FIVE single player levels/chapters and 2 multiplayer maps/scenerios to try out. That's one hefty demo.

[Domingo]

How much is the 360 demo?

[Jacob Singer]

I've never seen a demo you have to pay for on the 360.

[Domingo]

That's what I'm hoping for Jake, but this is a pretty big package. Biggest one yet if I'm right.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

It damn well better be free.

If it's not and people pay for this demo and then it starts a trend of purchasing demoes then hell shall be paid...

[DJ HiPPiE]

Looks like we might be waiting a bit more for the prey demo on the 360.

According to a post at the forums at 3drealms it appears that MS is still testing it and it could be a few more days until the 360 marketplace sees it.


Oh well.....it'll still come out long before Street fighter 2 hits the arcade.

[B_MetalSucks]

No shit, my buddy told me about SF on 360 about three months ago I think and it's STILL not here. If we get the Prey demo this week I'm not going to bitch.

[DJ HiPPiE]

I'm pretty burned out with FPS' at this point......but I am interested in seeing what Prey has to offer even though i'm more looking foward to Over G and Chromehounds.

Street fighter's delays have become such a joke now that I could personally care less if it comes out.....Frogger and Galaga are the games I want on the arcade more than SF2.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

No Prey Today (http://www.xboxcircle.com/news/360_prey_demo_not_coming_out_today.html?rid=6379)

[DJ HiPPiE]

GRAW chapter 2 map pack has been released on the marketplace.

And it's only 1200 Microsoft points

[Slater]

Only??

Fifteen bucks seems pretty fucking steep for an expansion pack of any sort.

[DJ HiPPiE]

Only??

Fifteen bucks seems pretty fucking steep for an expansion pack of any sort.

Sorry.....Sarcasm sometimes doesn't work well on a message board.

It's not steep......it's greed at it's finest.

Think that's fucked up then you love this.

There is now talk that when Lumines comes out on the XBLA it'll cost 1200 points......but if you want to play online multiplayer you may have to pay extra.

[B_MetalSucks]

I think now is a good time for XBL members to start bucking the trend on some of these "micro-purchases." I'm all for them when they are reasonable say like Oblivion which has several downloads but all are cheap and you can choose which you want to DL. But $15 for an arcade game plus more for the multiplayer online is pushing it in my opinion. And if we don't buy, then they may get the message and keep things reasonable. MAYBE.

[Domingo]

If these micro transaction things were free, they'd be the best thing to happen to the 360. That'd be an optional patch available whenever you want it.

[Chris Allen]

This is it. The last week of June. Will Street Fighter II make it out by the end of the month?

Any bets?

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

This is it. The last week of June. Will Street Fighter II make it out by the end of the month?

Any bets?

Nope.

End of July* I says.






*no year mentioned

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

How do you review a 300 year old arcade game?

Like this. (http://gaming.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=5942)

At least we know it's out there.

[Overlord]

My wish list of games I want for XBOX Live Arcade (Street Fighter II and Smash T.V. are already here, so I've left them out):

1)X:Men Arcade Game
2)Dungeons and Dragons 1 and 2
3)Simpsons arcade game (the side-scrolling group combat game)
4)Golden Axe 1 and 2
5)Tecmo Bowl and Super Tecmo Bowl
6)RBI Baseball


If all these were released, what little gaming time I have probably wouldn't be going to new 360 titles.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

TMNT!!!!!!!

4 player live co-op.

Eat it, Shredder!

[gravedigger]

Lumines is easily worth 15 bucks but paying extra for multiplayer support is a joke.

I'd go out and buy a 360 right now if the X-Men arcade game was going to be released for the arcade. Nightcrawler was the king in the game.

[Overlord]

Lumines is easily worth 15 bucks but paying extra for multiplayer support is a joke.

I'd go out and buy a 360 right now if the X-Men arcade game was going to be released for the arcade. Nightcrawler was the king in the game.

Nightcrawler's jump attack was all you needed to dominate. Wolverine was also playable, but the other x: men didn't have the range or jumping ability to be anything more than melee fodder. I always found it amusing that folks would line up to play, but simultaneously leave the Dazzler slot empty for hours at a time.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

5 New Call of Duty 2 maps coming this Thursday for 800 MS Points (http://www.xboxcircle.com/news/call_of_duty_2_invasion_map_pack_comes_early,_chea per.html?rid=6379)

Originally supposed to be 900 points and coming in July. New maps are:


Antoville, France (Crossroads)
St. Louet, France (Newvillers)
Amaye sur Seulles, France (Normandy)
Alam Halfa, Egypt (Decoytown)
Rostov, Russia (Harbor)

[Slater]

These pricing structures are completely out of control. I love CoD2--it's practically the only 360 game I still play regularly--but over fifteen bucks for seven maps is highway rapery.

[HBarr]

I always found it amusing that folks would line up to play, but simultaneously leave the Dazzler slot empty for hours at a time.

Her character was always my first choice. She was my favorite X-Men for years.

[otisthecat]

Her character was always my first choice. She was my favorite X-Men for years.So maybe I'm not the only person on the planet that loved the old Dazzler/Juggernaut issue of X-men.

800 points is a bitch, but well worth it for how often I play CoD2.

[gravedigger]

Her character was always my first choice. She was my favorite X-Men for years.

That's pretty gay, Joe.

[HBarr]

Admit it GD. Dazzler was your favorite too. Although, if I had to really take a guess I would say mid-80s Psylocke (back in the flowing pink dress costume era) was your favorite. Talk about gay.

[gravedigger]

Hey, I liked the butterfly that came out of her face every time she used her psychic powers. There's nothing wrong with that.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Other than that being gay.

[Overlord]

Her character was always my first choice. She was my favorite X-Men for years.

....Dazzler was your first choice?

[HBarr]

Well, like I said she was my favorite character in the comic books so yes she was my first choice.

Heck, back then I wasn't necessarily playing the game to win. I just thought it was cool to see their powers on the screen. Ahh youth.

[otisthecat]

"Winning" the X-men game was like 5% skill and 95% large pocket of tokens.

[HBarr]

Much like Gauntlet.

[Overlord]

"Winning" the X-men game was like 5% skill and 95% large pocket of tokens.

I tend to disagree. A buddy of mine, playing as Nightcrawler, and myself, playing as Wolverine, could beat the game with a cumulative total of about six or seven dollars. In fact, I think that of that six or seven dollars, four or five of it was mine (assuming a cost of 25 cents per game...I remember that some arcades had a barbaric 50 cent cost). If my buddy died with Nightcrawler before the Juggernaut level, he considered it a bad first life. I would routinely not see him take any damage until the Wendigo level or beyond (I played this game far too much, I now realize).

The real quarter eater was actually the final battle with Magneto. Unless you're playing as nightcrawler, who can time his powers to avoid being hit with the electro blasts, you're pretty much doomed to die at least four or five times.

Of the long, multi player games out there, I tend to think the Dungeons/Dragons and Golden Axe series were the most rewarding for the skilled player.

[otisthecat]

If I remember correctly X-men was released in the middle of the SF2/Mortal Kombat days. I think the time I spent Dragon Punching & freeze/slide/kicking hurt my X-men skills.

[Overlord]

If I remember correctly X-men was released in the middle of the SF2/Mortal Kombat days. I think the time I spent Dragon Punching & freeze/slide/kicking hurt my X-men skills.

I remember the lines that would stretch outside the 7-11 near my home for people waiting to challenge others at SF2...it got ugly, sometimes. The heated arguments over whether or not a player was using "throws" too often, and was therefore being "cheesy", were an epidemic. Also problematic was whether or not the defeated champion had to go to the end of the line, or was allowed one rematch.

[otisthecat]

Also problematic was whether or not the defeated champion had to go to the end of the line, or was allowed one rematch.Absolutely not. Back to the end of the line with your defeated ass.

[Overlord]

Absolutely not. Back to the end of the line with your defeated ass.

I agree, the "I put my quarter up there for a rematch" garbage was typically shouted down.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Can't wait for the bitch fights on Live over SFII and people being cheap.

[mongycore]

These pricing structures are completely out of control. I love CoD2--it's practically the only 360 game I still play regularly--but over fifteen bucks for seven maps is highway rapery.

It would have made more sense to include this new add-on with the Game of the Year re-release of COD2...instead of only bundling the meager 2 maps token included in the package.

[otisthecat]

Where the hell is that Prey demo? Marketplace is starting to piss me off.

[Chris Allen]

"Winning" the X-men game was like 5% skill and 95% large pocket of tokens.

I tend to disagree. A buddy of mine, playing as Nightcrawler, and myself, playing as Wolverine, could beat the game with a cumulative total of about six or seven dollars.

I don't know, 24-28 tokens does kinda constitute a pocket full of tokens.

[Jacob Singer]

Where the hell is that Prey demo? Marketplace is starting to piss me off.

Yeah, this delay has me wondering if we're gonna be seeing crappy Quake IV-like performance issues. Keeping my fingers crossed, because I really enjoyed the demo on the pc, but I'd rather get something new for the 360.

[Overlord]

I don't know, 24-28 tokens does kinda constitute a pocket full of tokens.

By arcade standards, 6-7 bucks for two people to finish a 2 hour game iss pretty good.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Yeah, this delay has me wondering if we're gonna be seeing crappy Quake IV-like performance issues. Keeping my fingers crossed, because I really enjoyed the demo on the pc, but I'd rather get something new for the 360.

Last I heard was something not being compatible with the last dashboard update. One thing is certain though, 3d Realms and Human Head Studios have no clue what's going on. (http://www.xboxcircle.com/news/3d_realms:_no_word_on_the_prey_demo.html?rid=6379)

[otisthecat]

Yeah, this delay has me wondering if we're gonna be seeing crappy Quake IV-like performance issues.I think I'm just setting myself up for disappointment anyway. After the daytime, outdoor levels of CoD2, I'm not sure how well I'm going to enjoy going back to the dark corridor FPSs (which I'm assuming Prey is).

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Dark corridors with portals....to DARKER corridors.

[Overlord]

I think I'm just setting myself up for disappointment anyway. After the daytime, outdoor levels of CoD2, I'm not sure how well I'm going to enjoy going back to the dark corridor FPSs (which I'm assuming Prey is).

I feel the same way after playing Far Cry. The next game I played on the 360 was Condemned, and it was so claustrophobic and dark I really couldn't enjoy the visuals or environment. It got to the point where I reached an abandoned metro train station and I was just happy the ceiling was more than 10 feet high.

I really enjoyed the COD2 demo, but I continuously died at it....to the extent that I began to question if I was playing the game properly whatsoever. I may be too used to fairly juggernautish FPS characters such as Gordon Freeman, Jack Carver, and my Oblivion avatar.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

You gotta be patient with CoD2. Rent it and beat it. Then start over and play it on the Veteran difficulty.

Always bring the gun up to your face to shoot and don't be stupid....this is WAR.

[Domingo]

This is a video game where you can shrug off arty rounds to the forehead.

:D

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

CoD2? Yes, unless it's played on Veteran. Then all you get is muzzle flash and instant death.

But yeah...you definately should not die during the demo...well not constantly. I think it's set to Easy.

[DJ HiPPiE]

Well just when I think i've seen it all.......Microsoft takes it one step further.

Earlier this afternoon.....The Demo for Chromehounds was released on the marketplace.......for every region except THE UNITED STATES.

This is without question the most FUCKED up thing i've seen yet.....the game comes out in America in 2 weeks but we can't get a goddamn demo for it......Completely unacceptable.

[Domingo]

Live needs to get its act together. I get free GRAW content for the PC, but my fucking 360 content costs $15? If I'm paying $15 I want this to be a major package. A blizzard sized expansion pack.

[DJ HiPPiE]

Yeah MS really needs to get it's shit together......between the lack of arcade games, no prey demo and now the chromehounds demo comes out for everyone except North America I gotta say that i'm beyond frustrated with what's going on with the 360.

They got 5 months to get it together cause after that they aren't the only kid on the block.

[otisthecat]

Earlier this afternoon.....The Demo for Chromehounds was released on the marketplace.......for every region except THE UNITED STATES.I think I read somewhere that we don't get the demo until the release day for the game.

***edit***

New CoD2 maps still aren't out.

[DJ HiPPiE]

I think I read somewhere that we don't get the demo until the release day for the game.

***edit***

New CoD2 still aren't out.

yeah I guess Sega doesn't want another repeat of what happened when they released the Full Auto demo.

The European members of the Xbox forums have trashed the Chromehounds demo.......but the demo is only a small single player demo and the truth is that nobody cares about the single player.....just like Mechassault this game will be all about the multiplayer.

Over G fighters came out yesterday.......and it's looking like it will flop harder than blazing angels.

And the COD2 maps are suppose to come out today......that pretty much kills any chance of seeing a Prey demo this week.

[otisthecat]

Haven't done it myself, but I guess you can just create a new Live Silver account with whatever country you want and get the demo that way.

[Overlord]

yeah I guess Sega doesn't want another repeat of what happened when they released the Full Auto demo......

What happened when they released the Full Auto demo?

I love the demo option, but I'm beginning to wonder if they aren't more likely to lead to my not buying a game. I didn't buy Blazing Angels specifically because of the horrid-ness of the demo (whoever selected the demo stage must have been selling short on that company's stock). While that is the only time that the Demo essentially changed my mind about buying a game, the demos for Quake IV, Tomb Raider Legend, and PGRIII removed the interest I had in those titles.

Then again, I didn't have much enthusiasm for Lost Planet until I played the demo, and now it's on my "must buy" list.

[Domingo]

What is the big deal about putting a 360 demo release along with a PC release? Is it a rights thing that's mucking up Microsoft? The PC is making them look really bad in these early months of Live.

[DJ HiPPiE]

What happened when they released the Full Auto demo?

I love the demo option, but I'm beginning to wonder if they aren't more likely to lead to my not buying a game. I didn't buy Blazing Angels specifically because of the horrid-ness of the demo (whoever selected the demo stage must have been selling short on that company's stock). Demos also turned me off to Quake IV, Tomb Raider Legend, and PGRIII.

Then again, I didn't have much interest in Lost Planet until I played the demo, and now it's on my "must buy" list.

Full Auto was a very anticipated game at the launch of the 360......in fact it was suppose to be a launch title but was then pushed back.

Anyways the Demo was released before the game came out and the negative reaction was massive.....When the game came out it tanked big time.....due to the reaction of the demo.

If you make a bad game......the demo will show that......just like a demo for a good game will help......like what happened with Fight night round 3.

Alot of people believe that Microsoft is weary of releasing demos now because of how badly Full Auto ended up doing sales wise.

[otisthecat]

Word on the street is the CoD2 maps are available.

Now I will stare at the computer clock until 5.

[DJ HiPPiE]

Yes the COD2 maps are out.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Word on the street is the CoD2 maps are available.

Now I will stare at the computer clock until 5.

Seconded...but until 8. Then and only then will Nazi blood spill to the soil of France.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Prey Demo on a Sunday? (http://www.xboxcircle.com/news/prey_demo_gets_another_date,_hits_xbox_live_market place_sunday.html?rid=6379)

Not bloody likely.

[mongycore]

more like...how about now?

Downloading it, as I type this, from Marketplace.

[Domingo]

Apaprantly the 360 demo has vehicles and more maps and weapons, which is something I didn't know. Here's hoping the Frame Rate is strong.

Is there a Dead Rising demo coming out anytime soon?

[Tom Magner]

What a wonderful time for xbox live to be freaking out on me. It's saying my IP address failed now. What the hell am I doing wrong here?


EDIT: Nevermind. I'm a dumbass and didn't realize that my wireless adapter turned off for some reason.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Apaprantly the 360 demo has vehicles and more maps and weapons, which is something I didn't know. Here's hoping the Frame Rate is strong.

Is there a Dead Rising demo coming out anytime soon?

I've heard the framerate is locked at 30FPS for 360. On PC it's at 60 but drops down.

I think Dead Rising is releasing in September so we should get the demo around New Year's or so. 2008.

[mongycore]

wasn't there a please-cut-my-eyes-out-for-clicking-this-link thread at gamefaqs talking about just how awful the idea of a solid 30 fps game is? fucking children.

[Domingo]

Dead Rising is slated for August in North America. I think...

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

August, you're right. September is the new Test Drive game. That demo sold me on the game...unless I have to pay a monthly fee for the online service as it works like an MMO.

[Domingo]

Here's a nice gift for you Mali. Prey demo for the 360... It's out right this moment. Go get it.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

I'll take my time getting it since I get no achievements in the demo version of the game :P

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Attention Canadians looking to buy Prey for cheap. GOt this e-mail from a co-worker, tried it out and it works:

For those of you not playing your XBOX 360 as much anymore waiting for a good game to come out. I think this is going to be worth buying.

Prey is on sale for $59.99
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/AS...5Fencoding=UTF8

Most places are selling it for $69.99

You can also use VISA coupon: MAPJUNNCSAVE
at checkout to save $10.00 off

It is only for new customers but you can just make a new account (e-mail) and use the coupon.

Item(s) Subtotal: CDN$ 59.99
Shipping & Handling: CDN$ 0.00
Promotional Certificate: CDN$ -10.00
-----
Total Before Tax: CDN$ 49.99
GST: CDN$ 4.20
PST: CDN$ 4.80
-----
Grand Total: CDN$ 57.49

I'm sure the coupon will work with other purchases too but only for brand new accounts.

[Domingo]

Point whore.

Thanks for the tip.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

I am what I is.

[mongycore]

Multiplay is out there. One of the maps went crazy with the ramps and having a room filled with people on every side...not bad. The server was laggy as hell though for everyone involved. And it takes some nerve to go spirit walking leaving your body to go kill folk with a bow and arrow, went on a spree of 3 kills before losing my nerve and returning to my body.

For multiplay I'd go with the 360 version because of the communicator option and somewhat intuitive control scheme. Singleplay - I'm leaning towards my pc as the game felt smoother and more responsive to this keyboard/mouser.

[DJ HiPPiE]

Multiplay is out there. One of the maps went crazy with the ramps and having a room filled with people on every side...not bad. The server was laggy as hell though for everyone involved. And it takes some nerve to go spirit walking leaving your body to go kill folk with a bow and arrow, went on a spree of 3 kills before losing my nerve and returning to my body.

For multiplay I'd go with the 360 version because of the communicator option and somewhat intuitive control scheme. Singleplay - I'm leaning towards my pc as the game felt smoother and more responsive to this keyboard/mouser.

I haven't played the PC demo yet but I'm of the opposite here.......I wasn't that impressed by the multiplayer on the 360......people were moving really really fast.....a little lag.....then again I'm kind of burned out by the whole FPS thing right now and the multiplayer of Prey seemed like a total spray and pray.

However I was impressed by the single player part of the demo.....I mean any game that has Judas Fucking Priest's "you got another thing coming" playing in the background while i'm wasting aliens gets major points in my book.

[Tom Magner]

Here are my quick impressions

GRAPHICS - Pretty damned nice for someone who's never seen Prey operate on the PC.

GAMEPLAY - Pretty similar to most other FPS' out there. That is, until the spirit walk. It adds a whole new level to the puzzles and combat to the whole game.

SOUND - Awesome. When you first get on the spaceship and hear everyone screaming and praying, it's pretty creepy.

MULTIPLAYER - Based on the few games I played, I'd have to agree with DJ hippie and say that it's pretty much pray and spray. The gravity walks make it pretty fun though.

[mongycore]

right now I like the point and spray multiplayer shooters...getting burned out with Battlefield 2 and CS-Source. Add to that the 3d aspect of hunting folk...can't do that in other shooters these days. A laggy experience I hope gets fixed before it's release.

I hope the rest of the singleplay game lives up to with what they've cooked for the demo. Just as F.E.A.R. didn't disappoint when it released, after having a great demo preview. That's something that felt missing with the Timeshift demo that was released...felt more me-too-ish even though it looked alright.

[DJ HiPPiE]

Hot rumor for the week.......We may see Frogger on the Xbox live arcade sometime this week.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

I heard August or September.

Check it. (http://i6.tinypic.com/123p1xe.jpg)

But, this week would be awesome.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Frogger Talk (http://www.xboxcircle.com/news/frogger_hitting_xbox_live_marketplace_soon.html?ri d=6379)

[DJ HiPPiE]

That magazine thing is not even close to accurate......if you look you'll see that it listed Street Fighter 2 as being released in June.

But on the official Xbox website it now has Frogger listed in the recent additions part of the Xbox live arcade.

EDIT: I see you've found the news......I'm hoping we'll see it this week......I would like to get some time in on this before next week's release of Chromehounds.

[gravedigger]

Frogger hits the Marketplace tonight at midnight pacific time. Here are a few more release dates for you:

July 12 – Frogger

July 19 – Cloning Clyde

July 26 – Galaga

August 2 – Street Fighter II’ Hyper Fighting

August 9 – Pac-Man

[Jacob Singer]

Frogger, Galaga and Pac-Man? I'm a happy old dude. Never gave a shit about Street Fighter, though. Does that make me gay?

[Alex Riviello]

Did you always play as Chun Li as a child?

[gravedigger]

Hey! There's nothing wrong with playing as Chun Li.

Frogger and Geometry Wars make me want to get a 360 more than anything else.

[Overlord]

Judging by what happened with Geometry Wars, I plan on being thoroughly embarassed by my inability to score forty million points in arcade games. Good times.

[Slater]

I can't imagine getting five dollars worth out of Frogger.

[Count Floyd]

I realize I will sooo be eating my words while waiting for Ducktales to be released on the WiiConnect service next February, but people, look at these posts. "Hot rumors" and excitement about Frogger, Galaga and Pac-Man. Did the recent Live update install Hypnotoad or something?

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

PGR3 Style Pack now available:

Featured in the pack are 12 new dream cars from the world’s leading manufacturers, including BMW, Ferrari, and Mercedes-Benz. The RUF R.K. Spyder 3.8 is available as a free download, while the complete car pack can be purchased for 400 Microsoft Points. Individual cars can also be downloaded a la carte for 60 Microsoft Points each. The following new cars are available for download as part of the Style Pack:

BMW M6 (2006)
BMW Z8 (2001)
BMW M3 CSL (2003)
BMW MINI COOPER S (2005)
Gumpert Apollo Coupe 4.2 V8 (2005)
2005 Chrysler® Firepower Concept
Ferrari 365 GTB4 "Daytona" (1968)
Ferrari F430 Challenge (2006)
Mercedes CLK DTM AMG (C209)
Pagani Zonda F (2005)
RUF R.K. Spyder 3.8 (2006)
Vanwall GPR V12 (2006)

The new pack also features Photo Mode Integration, allowing players to upload their best moments online. The pack also includes exciting new mini-games such as “Free Roam Points,” “Team Free Roam Points,” and “Cat and Mouse.”

[otisthecat]

Hey! There's nothing wrong with playing as Chun Li.Chun Li was for people who couldn't get the Dragon Punch down.

[Milkyway]

I realize I will sooo be eating my words while waiting for Ducktales to be released on the WiiConnect service next February, but people, look at these posts. "Hot rumors" and excitement about Frogger, Galaga and Pac-Man. Did the recent Live update install Hypnotoad or something?

It would just be convenient to have Galaga, Paperboy, SFII (multiplayer or LIVE), and anything else on the same machine I play Geometry Wars, Halo2, and GRAW on, but content has now screeched to halt, so I'm just waiting for Dead Rising and Saints Row (both look mediocre, but fun and Saints Row has Keith David!).

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

UPDATE: Microsoft has announced that the Style Pack is not up yet and is currently in certification. (http://www.xboxcircle.com/news/project_gotham_racing_3_style_pack_available_in_xb lm.html?rid=6379)

[gravedigger]

Chun Li was for people who couldn't get the Dragon Punch down.

Never have, probably never will.

[otisthecat]

Never have, probably never will.There is a whole world of F,D,DF,F moves awaiting you. Someday your eyes will be open.

[Jacob Singer]

I can't imagine getting five dollars worth out of Frogger.

Eh, you're probably right, but it's only twenty quarters. Adjusted for inflation, that's like one play session from the eighties.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Arcade Prices:
July 12 - Frogger, 400 points ($5)
July 19 - Cloning Clyde, 800 points ($10)
July 26 - Galaga, 400 points ($5)
August 2 - Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting, 800 points ($10)
August 9 - Pac-Man, 400 points ($5)

[ShortRound]

lame, i want small arms and lumines live

[Capt. Cutshaw]

Prey definitely wins 'best use of "don't fear the reaper" in a game'.

If there's anything those damned aliens hate it's...cowbell.

[Tom Magner]

NCAA Football 07 demo hit the marketplace tonight. I'm downloading it as I type.

From what I've heard it's Florida vs. FSU in the swamp.

Edit: After half an hour, I'm at 15%. This is gonna take a while.

[Slater]

Frogger's out. And it's just as lame and unsatisfying as ever. I lasted two whole games with the demo before moseying on over to Geometrywarsville. A lot of classic arcade games still hold up today. Frogger, not so much.

You have to hand it to the Live Marketplace, I guess. The prices to actually own most of this crap are retardedly high, but the free demos are pretty sweet.

I'm curious how badly these 360 demos are cutting into the Official Xbox Magazine's sales numbers. I know that as soon as I saw that every single demo on one of the recent discs had already been released to the Marketplace weeks earlier, I cancelled my subscription, and I can't be the only one.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

There's a video entitled Mass Effect Demo Walkthrough on the Marketplace right now. I'm assuming we will be getting a demo for this game soon since we have the demo walkthrough.

There's also some Halo 3 video of the making of the trailer. This was apparantly on Bungie's site earlier for those that have seen it already.

[Jacob Singer]

I believe there's supposed to be a demo of the rts Battle for Middle-Earth II released today. Curious to see how it plays.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

I acquired LOTR:TBFMEII (wow) recently. Crappy framerate. Like horrible.

I gotta give credit to EA though, they did seem to get a RTS playable without a keyboard and mouse.

Penny Arcade's take on it. (http://www.penny-arcade.com/)

[Egg]

Cloning Clyde on Arcade is worth a look. Pretty funny game reminiscent of Lost Vikings.

[otisthecat]

Cloning Clyde is probably the best game to hit the Marketplace since Geometry Wars. I still don't feel like blowing 800 points on it.

[djhotpocket2001]

...content has now screeched to halt, so I'm just waiting for Dead Rising and Saints Row (both look mediocre, but fun and Saints Row has Keith David!).

Now I know my opinion may not be worth shit to anyone, but after the countless hours I've spent with the Saint's Row Demo I picked up at Toys R Us, I can say that the game will be anything but mediocre. Everything so far is beyond awesome.

Graphics = Stellar. Truly next gen, jaw dropping graphics. Especially the blur effect from flaming police cars. I literally threw a pipe bomb in an open cop car window, turned around and ran, only to be knocked over by a flying car door after the car exploded. Now how fucking cool is that? You can also derail passing subway cars with said pipe bombs, bringing them crashing down from the elevated tracks and causing havoc on busy streets.

Controls = Are pretty tight so far. no lock on aiming like the GTA games, but after about 10 minutes I was nailing head shots from a block away with a shitty little 9mm pistol. Driving is also very well done.

Gameplay = Even though the demo is confined to a certain section of town, the area you get to play with just feels alive. Lots of other cars about, lots of pedestrians to harrass. My favorite thing is the gang members you can recruit to tag along with you. The men basically followed me around and did what i was doing, attacking targets that I'm attacking, helping me rob liquor stores, etc. The female gang members, however, are fucking hardcore.

They run around, pulling innocent people and cops out of their own cars and execute them on the spot. they are absolutely nuts.

This was only the demo and I can't wait until the end of august to get the final game. Do yourself a favor and go reserve it at Toys R Us and get the demo disc. I'll probably play the thing until the final release comes out. My purchase of the 360 was worth it for this demo alone.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Apparantly "Alien Hominid" will be making an appearance on the XBL Arcade sometime in the future.

Edit: Here we go. The creators of Hominid are also bringing a game out next year called "Castle Crashers" for the arcade.

LInky (http://www.playfuls.com/news_6325_Behemoth_Brings_Alien_Hominid_And_Castle _Crashers.html)

The Behemoth developer of Alien Hominid is taking out its 2D action game to 360's online. The game will hit the Marketplace for the holidays.

Don't know how many are aware that before jumping to the console world, the Behemoth's 2D action game called Alien Hominid started its virtual life as a digitally downloaded Flash game for PCs. This happened in 2002. But now, versions of the game for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube are being developed. The European gamers will also receive Xbox, Game Boy Advance, and mobile phone editions.

According to Behemoth developers, Tom Fulp and Dan Paladin, a console Hominid is expected to take on the Xbox Live Arcade, but only by the end of the year. Until now, the confirmed changes of the game include a widescreen presentation and higher-resolution graphics. Still the developers are not sure about the intorduction of an online multiplayer functionality.

"It's just scary. We started playing with the multiplayer stuff. We could definitely do it but you have to deal with all of the stuff where someone has lag and everything else has to catch up", told Fulp.

The same people said that the game will include "extra fun stuff". But they didn't mention what form the content will take.

From the same company we have a new game called "Castle Crashers". The two said that the next game, will be another Xbox Live Arcade game release. The game will let the players take control of knights with elemental powers and set out on a quest to regain a stolen idol and a kidnapped princess.

"You're more out to just destroy everything and find out where it is. You don't really have any idea where you're going. The guys are kind of like antiheroes. You still root for them, but they're not really being very straightforward about it", Paladin said about the characters' motivations.

The developer hopes for a 2007 release of Castle Crashers for the Xbox Live.

[Quatermain]

Just noticed that a Dead Or Alive 4 demo has been added to the marketplace.

Not my kinda game, but I thought I'd give a heads-up.

[B_MetalSucks]

Not my kind of game either but I will download it to have something different to do when I'm tired of CoD2, Oblivion, or the Saints Row demo. Thanks for the heads up.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

More Arcade games coming by September 4th

Maybe (http://www.xboxcircle.com/news/more_xbox_live_arcade_titles_dated.html?rid=6379)

Lumines Live!, Texas Hold 'Em, Time Pilot, and Scramble

[B_MetalSucks]

So the maybe part is that on the YEAR they'll be released?? Never can tell with Arcade games on live. I would like to try Luminies as I hear it's good fun and I haven't played it yet. DOA4 however can suck my donkey balls. Now I remember why I was a Tekken fan and hated DOA. Just my opinion though.

[DJ HiPPiE]

Just a little over 3 hours from the release of Galaga on the Arcade.

Next week is Street fighter 2.......3 months ago I was excited about this.......Now I could really care less.

[Milkyway]

Just a little over 3 hours from the release of Galaga on the Arcade.

Next week is Street fighter 2.......3 months ago I was excited about this.......Now I could really care less.

I agree. They really fucked up with the Live Arcade.

[DJ HiPPiE]

I agree. They really fucked up with the Live Arcade.

Well at least things are getting better........Picked up Galaga tonight and nailed every achievement in just over a hour......not like they were really difficult to begin with.

So this appears to be the lineup for the next 4 weeks

Aug 2nd: Street fighter 2
Aug 9th: Pac-man
Aug 16th: Lumines live
Aug 23rd: Texas hold em

Lumines and texas hold em haven't been officially announced but if I was a betting man I would say these will be the ones following Pacman.

[Jacob Singer]

I agree. They really fucked up with the Live Arcade.

WTF?

[Slestak]

Well at least things are getting better........Picked up Galaga tonight and nailed every achievement in just over a hour......not like they were really difficult to begin with.

So this appears to be the lineup for the next 4 weeks

Aug 2nd: Street fighter 2
Aug 9th: Pac-man
Aug 16th: Lumines live
Aug 23rd: Texas hold em

Lumines and texas hold em haven't been officially announced but if I was a betting man I would say these will be the ones following Pacman.

I have a theory that they are alternating 400 pointers with 800 pointers.

Texas Hold 'Em is no longer a freebie, either. Price hasn't been announced yet, I don't think.

[Milkyway]

WTF?

I just meant that they should have had more content more often. Sure theres really no competition right now, but this fall might change things and Cloning Clyde ain't gettin' it. They left us hanging for a long time, and it's made lots of people angry.

Though I am a giant hypocrite, because today I bought Galaga and downloaded the demo for Rockstar Table Tennis (which is great!), and next Wednesday I'll be buying SFII and losing to people all across the net, and Small Arms and Castle Crashers look great (whenever we get those). Still though 1 release a week is kinda gay.

Edited to add that last bit.

[Slater]

Wow, that Galaga demo is like 30 seconds long. Plenty long enough to decide that Galaga's not worth five of my precious, precious dollars, but still. Shit's short.

[Egg]

I've put far more than five dollars worth of quarters into Galaga over the years, so it was a worthwhile purchase. Love this game.

[Jacob Singer]

I just meant that they should have had more content more often. Sure theres really no competition right now, but this fall might change things and Cloning Clyde ain't gettin' it. They left us hanging for a long time, and it's made lots of people angry.

Though I am a giant hypocrite, because today I bought Galaga and downloaded the demo for Rockstar Table Tennis (which is great!),

I guess I see where you're coming from, but frankly I love the fact that I can log in on a console and get free versions of simple little arcade games to try out, and decide afterwards if I want to purchase or not. Sure, more content would always be great, but really, no one else is doing this, and now that they're offering at least one new title every Wednesday, on top of their regular demos, I'm a happy camper.

And I agree, that Table Tennis demo is a blast. I just might have to pick this game up.

[mongycore]

awesome news on the demo for table tennis...will nab it right now.

galaga does nothing for me. actually hated the game, and it's sounds, when I hung out at our small family run arcade. look forward to contra and lumines...

[otisthecat]

Galaga, not even a spark of the gaming magic it had when I was little, what a waste of $5. Old games suck.

[B_MetalSucks]

Man I'm glad to see others are getting into the greatness that is Table Tennis. I thought I'd never get to play anybody at it. My friends tried it once and when I beat them they decided the game was "gay." Which basically means "I can't beat you at it." I will probably lose every online game but it's still a blast and a lot deeper than first appears.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Ya seriously. I own this game, haven't touched it in a while though. We should get a CHUD tourney set up one night.

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Ninety Nine Nights (N3) demo is apparantly out now.

[B_MetalSucks]

N3 is Dynasty Warriors amped up on roids. At least that's what I got from playing the demo. Button mashing fun for everyone. :-)

[DJ HiPPiE]

N3 is Dynasty Warriors amped up on roids. At least that's what I got from playing the demo. Button mashing fun for everyone. :-)

The graphics are nice and it has some killer moves......But after a hour it became boring and repetitive.

I was planning on picking this up......but after playing the demo it's slipped into the rental catagory for me.

[Slater]

I don't know if anyone else signed up to host a "Retro Live Party" on Xbox.com, but they just sent me 1,000 free points, a coupon for a free Papa Johns pizza, and fifteen free Napster downloads. So that's pretty cool.

[B_MetalSucks]

The graphics are nice and it has some killer moves......But after a hour it became boring and repetitive.

I was planning on picking this up......but after playing the demo it's slipped into the rental catagory for me.
After some more time with the demo I would have to agree, WAY repetitive. It's nice looking and has some cool moves but a rental at best for me as well. I should learn to wait on my posting till I have played the demo to death, because I definetly jumped the gun on this one.

[B_MetalSucks]

I don't know if anyone else signed up to host a "Retro Live Party" on Xbox.com, but they just sent me 1,000 free points, a coupon for a free Papa Johns pizza, and fifteen free Napster downloads. So that's pretty cool.
So do you intend to actually send them pics and all that they asked for in return? I would sign up but none of my friends would bother to help me stage the photos and all that I'd need to meet their requirements(I know, my friends are dicks.) I may sign up though, can't beat free pizza and free DL'able music.

[Slater]

So do you intend to actually send them pics and all that they asked for in return?

Fuck no. What are they gonna do, come to my house and personally delete Bejeweled off my hard drive?

[B_MetalSucks]

Glad to know I'm not the only mooch out here. How long did it take for you to get confirmation once you signed up?

[TheTwist]

I have to agree about the N3 demo. I still had plans to purchse it even with all the negativity around the japanese release months back, but the demo killed my enthusiasm very quickly.

Meanwhile the Table Tennis demo has made me want to actually purchase a game that I considered a joke.

[Eyeball Kid]

I'm a mark for Dynasty Warriors - I've even been having to restrain myself from picking up DW5, even though I know it's basically the same game again and doesn't take advantage of the hardware in any significant way.

I'm also actually looking forward to Samurai Warriors 2.

So, yup, I like the Ninety-Nine Nights demo quite a bit, even though I know it's not very good.

I'm sick and I need help.

[otisthecat]

N3 was fun for 30 minutes, killed 3 or 4 thousand bad guys, racked up a combo over a 1000. After I died, I sat there for a second and thought "nope, don't want to start that all over" and quit. I'll rent it at some point, maybe.

[Quatermain]

The Saint's Row demo is up now for those of us who couldn't get one before now.

[DJ HiPPiE]

Street Fighter 2 will hit the arcade at 4am eastern.

[Milkyway]

Street Fighter 2 will hit the arcade at 4am eastern.

Cool, as soon as I wake up I'm gonna be giving out Dhalsim nuggies, and Guile backfists to everyone I can. Hope to see all you chewers there, my Xbox Live handle is Milkway1010.

[Tom Magner]

Well, this sure is a good night to be wired. I should be on whenever it gets done downloading. The gamertag is in the signature.

[DJ HiPPiE]

Well I picked up SF2.......At first I was only planning on getting the trial version but then my girlfriend found out that it was street fighter and with that I was out 800 points.

The game is getting mixed reviews at the official Xbox forums.......which is what I kind of expected......I think some people let nostalgia cloud the situation.

The single player is almost unplayable......I remember playing SF2 in the arcades.......But I don't remember it being this difficult......I mean the AI is beyond cheap......Even at the easy difficulty.

Online did seem fun......The quarter mode is great.....Didn't see any problems with lag but there does seem to be some connection issues.

Overall this game should never have been given a 800 point price tag......Even with the new online features.......If you loved Street Fighter then it's a nobrainer......but if not a fan or on the fence then you may wanna save your points.

Next week........PACMAN.

[Slestak]

The few folks at my board who have downloaded it are completely unimpressed. I remembered SFII Anniversary Edition on Xbox as being a piece of crap, so I think I'm gonna pass on this one.

I don't think the controls on these ancient arcade ports translate well to the 360. They just don't seem as crisp.

I downloaded and finished the Saints Row demo last night. I thought it was pretty fun -- graphics were nice, the controls were a little bit better than GTA. Plus -- Keith David!!

[otisthecat]

I remember playing SF2 in the arcades.......But I don't remember it being this difficult......I mean the AI is beyond cheap......Even at the easy difficulty.Glad I'm not the only one. I played a few rounds against the computer before work this morning and got my ass handed to me. Just about every time I connected with a jump kick the computer was throwing me across the screen.