Turok Returning To Its Roots?

We sure hope so. IGN has a preview of the to-be-released -sometime-2007 Turok game in development for Xbox360. It looks as if they've got some good idea's for gameplay, having multiple enemies, but those enemies not liking each other one bit either (dinosaurs don't like enemy soldiers either, apparently), which equates to these brilliant sounding three way battles - deathmatch style - in the middle of the jungle, sounds good to us! Also linked at the bottom of the article over at IGN are some new images which are running on 'old code', the graphics engine is soon to get an overhaul and will look much better - always nice to hear. Looks promising.

Just Cause Demo, Get Yours Now!

Thats right, the Just Cause demo was released a short while ago on XBL Marketplace. For those of you who are at work or are unable to get to your Xbox360 and download this gem, here is a hands on impression from the people over at gamespot to pass over the time till you can download it, sounds like the gameplay is really tight, just what i asked for :), and that they really didn't want it put it down once their time was up: just cause hands on

Pro Evo and Fifa Gameplay Enhancements? Yes please

After the fantastic news about Microsoft securing exclusive next gen iterations of Pro Evo and Fifa, the two, by far, biggest football series around, i thought i would try and dig up some information about these next gen footballing wonders other than the fact they will have better graphics and effects, namely, how is the gameplay going to differ, and i came up trumps...
IGN Xbox360 brielfy outlines the new gameplay enhancement being made to the Pro Evolution series, AI players are now much more adept at running into space when you have the ball; the shooting system has been seriously overhauled, with volley and half volley mechanics (my personal favourite shots in Pro Evolution 5) receiving the most attention; you are also able to backwards dribble now which is erm, great.
And for those of you who are, like me, seriously into you Pro Evolution Soccer, then it might be worth heading over to computerandvideogames.com and checking out their incredibly in depth article about the new refinements to the Pro Evo gameplay, although it is written up with the PS2 version in mind, rest assured that the gameplay enhancements are being made to all versions of the game. The article is definately worth a read for any Pro Evolution fan.

Now for the Fifa fans out there, the next Fifa ('07) boasts a brand new gameplay engine to "redefine the way sports videogames play and feel", a bold statement if ever i read one. IGN again has this one detailed.
Enjoy the read, i sure did.

(UPDATE: Added link to newly released Gamespot Hands-On Article)

360 Price Drops Happening Anyway...

So, it would seem the inevitable price dropping of the Xbox360 has begun, but Microsoft are insisting that it is not them forcing the price reduction, it is in fact the retailers which have decided to reduce the prices. I'm not sure about american retailers, but in the UK, play.com has reduced the price of the core package Xbox360. It remains to be seen whether Microsoft will reduce the price officially, but with retailers doing it at their own disgression, need Microsoft officially reduce the price??

Pro Evo 6 and Fifa '07 Xbox360 Exclusive for 12 months!!

In a major revealing today at the Leipzig Games Convention, Microsoft's Chris Lewis let it be known that "Xbox360 owns football!" There will be not even a whiff of Pro Evo 6 or Fifa 07 on rival gaming platforms (PS3 and Wii i'm looking at you) for one whole year. This is a fantastic move by microsoft, and it will make the Xbox360 incredibly more appealing knowing that there is no other place to gets your kicks (ahem). Lets hope there are more deals like this yet to be announced microsoft!

(FREE) Texas Hold 'Em Available For Download Right Now!

You read right, the much talked about poker game is out now. And i can confirm, it is absolutely free, for those naysayers which said it was just to build hjype for the game. Texas Hold 'Em has integrated support with Microsofts Live Vision Camera, so you can see whether (using your fantastic intuition) your opponent is bluffing when playing an xbox live game. Head over to Marketplace and download this game as soon as you can, because remember, you only have 48 hours to download the full game for free, after that 48 hours the game reverts to costing 800 microsoft points. I've no doubt this game will have strong 'sales' in its first 48 hours, and will sink veru quickly after that.
Remember, you heard it here first - check back for more updates on all things 360 when you get a chance.

New Red Vs. Blue: Out Of Mind Episodes Up On Marketplace

This evening (in the UK at least) 2 new episodes of Roosterteeth's on going Red Vs. Blue mini-series were added, bringing the total episodes available to four. This mini-series had a slow start - they took too long to release following episodes which means the consumer has to go and re-watch the previous episode the realise what the hell is going on in the current episode and what the significance of the fact that omega is now out of tex's head (you'll need to download and watch the episode to understand that one). But with this latest double installment it now has me engaged in the story. Roosterteeth use some quite brilliant effects in the episodes and it really is halo machinima at its best. In addition, it is very funny, using some very dry, albeit, humourous punchlines. For those of you who aren't familiar with Red Vs. Blue, head over to the roosterteeth link at the top and be sure to check out some of the episodes from the regular on going series, they are on at least episode 60 now! Has quite a following to boot. Next time you log into live marketplace, check out the 'new releases' section of 'media and entertainment' and be sure to download this series, good stuff.

New batch of HD pics: 'The Darkness'

The Darkness - a new game which is in development by the team which brought original xbox owners 'The Chronicles of Riddick', Starbreeze - is certainly looking the part right now. At the bottom of the post is the rest of the newly released pictures. The Darkness is a ''Horror Themed FPS" and certainly looks to have a gritty feel to it. If the gameplay looks anything like what is shown in the pics, it certainly looks as if it'll be a very cool game to play, i mean, come on, being able to shove a handgun into some crooks mouth and threatening him (read: blowing-his-head-off) certainly gets the thumbs up in my books. I highly doubt that Jack Thompson would be impressed by that though - won't someone please think of the kids?
IGN says the following about the game:

"On the eve of his 21st birthday, fearless mafia hitman Jackie Estacado is suddenly possessed by the terrifying and spectacular powers of The Darkness. Though his supernatural entity lets him wreak terrible havoc on his enemies, the Darkness also has a strong will of its own and now Jackie must learn how to control it. Gameplay features include a seamless and unique blend of modern crime drama and supernatural horror with both first and third person non-linear progression, as well as highly destructible environments that enable players to stalk the gritty New York slums, harbors, subway tunnels and rooftops, then defeat the terrifying creatures of The Otherworld-a parallel reality where the Darkness dwells."

Well, that certainly sounds like a brilliant concept for a game, here's hoping the gameplay will be as tight as, ooh, lets say...the halo's, the f.e.a.r.'s of the FPS genre, and that Starbreeze will produce a worthy successor to Chronicles of Riddick. As promised, here are the pictures to whet your appetite for this game when it hits next spring.
Note - click for larger image.







Credit for these fantastic pics goes to xboxygen.

F.E.A.R. looks to be shaping up very nicely

F.E.A.R - standing for First Encounter Assault Recon, was released last year on the PC to great accolade. It was praised for its eerily creepy horror element, and the intensity of its combat.
I for one, due to my fantastically poor graphics card, did not manage to play this highly rated game, and so i just let my excitement for it die down. Until that is, i read that it was being brought over to the Xbox360. My only fears (pun fully intended :P) about the port over to the 360 was how the developer would handle the controller, and whether they could make the gameplay tight and responsive without the aid of a mouse.
These doubts soon shot out the window upon reading a new article on gamespot. Furthermore to confirming that the gameplay "plays as well as you'd expect" they also praise the graphics off the game, saying not to worry about your 360 being able to handle F.E.A.R. (the game is used as a benchmark for testing graphics card due to it being very process intensive) and that technically, it surpasses its PC counterpart in visuals, which, as a console only gamer (unless i absolutely have to play it on PC) makes me jump for joy, but that is my inner 360 fanboy which i try to keep at bay. Head over to gamespot for the full article and browse around for some gameplay footage also.


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Update: Xbox Live Vision Camera - Hands On Footage

New to the internet today is a video showing off the to be released Xbox Live Vision Camera (phew, long winded name anyone?) wide array of features. The video shows all the different filters which can be put on the video the camera is, er, videoing, there seemed to be around a dozen different filters (read effects) which all seemed good with lots of variety, the camera also has a small digital zoom.

A really cool feature i saw was that when on the xbox dashboard, whether it be switching blades or navigating menus, there is a faint image of you, or whatever the camera is pointed at, blended in to the blades. Check the video out and let us know what your favourite feature of the cam is, whether you think that having a camera with the video chat capabilities is a good idea, what ever your thoughts, just us know.
This update comes courtesy of xbox360 gamespot.