XBox Gaming Blog

Halo 3 News from Europe

The Bungie team is in Europe, doing some interviews for the press there.  One bit of news was just announced.

Confirmed: 4 player co-op over Xbox LIVE or system link.

More details, including how it works, and which players you control (including two brand new characters) at “The Tru7h About Co-Op in Halo 3″ at Bungie.net.

Marathon: Durandal and Spyglass Board Games Coming to XBLA

This week, we have two anticipated titles coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade, Marathon Durandal, and Spyglass Board Games. Both will come to Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 this Wednesday, July 18, beginning at 9:00 a.m. GMT (2:00 a.m. Pacific)….(read more)

Seeing What You Can’t Hear

Some of us had to stay home this weekend instead of attending kick-ass comic conventions. I tried to catch a little of the G4TV broadcast but turned off after some guys started giving Munn a somewhat hard time during her interview. Just seemed a little mean. Anyway, I had better things to do - I had some achievements to earn.

I started playing through The Darkness a second time on hard but I then decided to try and get the Roadkill achievement. I thought, hey, if I put it on easy, I have a chance. Yeah, RIGHT. Things didn’t exactly work out the way I expected. I don’t think I shot a single worker, let alone all of them. Can anyone offer any advice? I’ve heard, “Memorize their locations” but if anyone has anything else to add, let me know.

While I was failing miserably at said task, I started thinking about how important subtitles are. Not only to help those who are hard of hearing but also to help some of us decipher the things that we think we hear but aren’t sure. I mean how many times have you heard a comment in the background and thought, “What the…” There were several times that I would spawn Darklings and I would swear they said something but they couldn’t have, could they? It made no sense. I had to find out what it was, so I turned on the subtitles. Sure enough, my little bundle of hell was yelling, “Lemon Curd!” What? Who? Anyway, it makes me wish I could go back to some of my older games and watch what they were really saying. We all know there are those horrendous translation like, “All your base are belong to us” but what about those intentionally baffling phrases? Have any to share?

Today, I watched Silent Hill (Pyramid Head didn’t do it for me) on TV and then spent a lot of time numbing my brain playing Solitro Solitaire. I’ve got some pretty stressful stuff going on (as well as trying to banish Chris’ Zardoz costume vision from my head) and I find that numerous games of Klondike, Memory and Free Cell let me escape for a little while. I think I must have played about 20 games of free cell this afternoon. Definitely worth the bucks if you have some time to kill and don’t want to really think about anything. You know it’s bad when someone yells, “Doesn’t that d**n game come with any other song?”

My last Xbox 360 venture for the weekend was Dig Dug. I was determined to get the “Dig” achievement. I played about 10 times before finally beating those digger freaks. YEAH BABY!

Comic-Con 2007 - I Should Press Charges Against Wolverine

I met up with Freaktrain on Friday for the San Diego Comic-Con, and we wandered around the huge show floor (I heard that over 50,000 people attended the show on Friday alone).  We took in some panels, and saw our fair share of folks in spandex (which is good or bad depending on the owner of said spandex).

One of the highlights for me was when we were sitting in on the Halo Universe Panel, and during the Q & A session, a younger fan asked “What’s the point/goal of the Halo game”?  There were a few sighs from the audience, but when the panel answer was “You are trying not to die”, the room erupted in laughter.

Since I gave a highlight, let me give a lowlight.  As a 6′1″, 260 pound adult male, it’s awkward standing next to another adult male who is dressed up like Wolverine.  The situation becomes MORE awkward when Wolverine took it upon himself to decide that I didn’t really want children anyway.  The look on my face is an indication of that awkwardness.

The rest of the mayhem from Friday can be found on the Flickr Page. 

Don’t forget that themes, pics, and videos from Comic-Con will be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for our US LIVE subscribers because we’re Bringing it Home.

Comic-Con 2007

Chris is running around down at Comic-Con.  You might run into him if you’re there, he’s the one in red spandex Zardoz costume. 

Larry and Craig are there, doing a ton of videos for Xbox.com.  And there’s a bunch more up on Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace. 

Check out this cool Comic-Con Interior Panorama. 

Okay, Chris and Larry, we need some photos.   Or we’re going to have to post more like this one! 

Wing Commander: You and 15 of Your Space Fighting Friends

Have you been playing Wing Commander Arena?  The game is fun, but playing multiplayer makes it that much more challenging.  And as the very first 16 player Xbox LIVE Arcade game, you can give the whole clan something to keep the competitive juices flowing. 

EA posted a few videos and screenshots on their site, and Xbox.com has a free pdf download of their “StarSoldier Magazine,” with tips on fighter maneuvers and more. 

Gamerscore Blogcast - Episode - 026 - E3 Recap, Events, and Peter Moore

Back from E3, so all the news is pretty much out there.  No “out-takes” this week - sorry, we’ll do better next week.

The abbrieviated video version will be available on Channel 10’s website.

MP3 File: 10.2 MB, 30 minutes

Remember that these podcasts are available via the RSS feed, or the iTunes feed as well.

This week John, Tony, and Chris talk about:
- Intro/Outro Music:  Phylum Sinter
- Upcoming Events – Comic-Con (Thursday - Friday, Bringing it Home on XBox LIVE Marketplace), PAX, TGS, Gamefest
- E3 Recap
- Gamertag Radio
- All Games Interactive
- Achievement Junkie
- Pinata Island
- JVB
- Peter Moving on, Meeting Don Mattrick
- “Let’s Kill Dave” Weller
- Question – Bob – Games for a 5 year old?
- Email us at GSBlog@Microsoft.com with questions/comments/audio

Extended Resident Evil 5 Trailer: Wow

I’m sure by now, you’ve downloaded the HD version of the new, extended Resident Evil 5 trailer from Xbox LIVE Marketplace (or from IGN.com Videos).  Wow. 

I’m not too proud to link off to a post on the Sony blog by Scarlett from Capcom-unity (com-unity, get it?).  She confirms that the trailer is indeed in-game footage, and links off to a be-a-utiful RE5 wallpaper you’re gonna want to download. 

Halo Happenings at Comic-Con

How does a Halo fan satisfy the Halo 3 craving between now and September? How about heading to San Diego ComicCon to attend a Halo Universe panel (sponsored by Topps), get your signed copy of a Halo bestselling novel and see firsthand all the new action figures, collectibles, artwork and more that will be available this fall. Halo 3 will be the biggest Halo ever, and we’ve got the goods on display at Comic-Con to prove it. …(read more)

HD DVD Accessory Drops US Price

Today at Comic-Con International 2007, we announced we’ll lower the price of the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player from $199 to $179 ERP (United States only) starting Aug. 1, 2007. 

The good deal gets even better.   When you buy one, you’ll be eligible for Toshiba’s “Perfect Offer” of five free HD DVD discs, that previously was exclusive to Toshiba HD DVD Players.  That’s a $140 value.  Not bad! 

More details in the press release that went out this morning.