Xbox Jedi

Downloading this gamer picture registers eligible gamers in the Epic RPGs sweepstakes. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States or DC 18+. Sweepstakes closes at 11:59 PM PT on December 14, 2009. By downloading this item you are allowing Microsoft to contact you from time to time about this promotion. For full details, including free, alternate method of entry, please see the Official Rules at www.xbox.com/epicrpgssweeps.

'Pro plantiff' Erik Estavillo subpoenas Bill Gates in RROD suit originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Despite its immense popularity, EA's Madden NFL franchise has a bit of a problem when it comes to courting the average consumer: It's gotten way too damn complex. Hell, it's even gotten too complicated for me! I know the difference between a 3-4 defense and a slant pattern, but even I have a tough time parsing the myriad formations and immense, bloated playbook of the modern Madden experience.

It might be more true-to-life than the franchise's more arcadey roots, but it's just not accessible enough for the casual football fan anymore -- even with John Madden's disembodied voice tossing out "helpful" formation suggestions. Madden NFL Arcade simplifies football down to the old-school Tecmo Bowl level, giving players the choice of four easy-to-decipher plays on offense (run, short pass, medium pass, and long pass) and four options on defense (blitz, short cover, medium cover, and long cover).

Hey Canadians! Yeah, you guys and gals huddled together attempting to maintain sustainable body heat. Just a friendly reminder that big-box retailer Futureshop is currently slashing prices on a slew of new video game titles. Dragon Age: Origins, Left 4 Dead 2, Brutal Legend and Need for Speed: Shift are all on sale for $39.99. Wait, what's this? NHL 10? Oh, Canada. You're so adorably predictable!

The online and in-store sale ends on December 3, so make sure to defrost your car, dust off your skates and hit the store ASAP. And before you ask: Yes, Rock Band 2's special edition is priced at $99 and does include a free mullet kit. We don't know what that is, but we know we want it. More Canadian deals can be found after the break.

Update: Best Buy Canada is offering similar discounts.

Continue reading PSA: Futureshop slashing prices on Dragon Age, Left 4 Dead 2, NFS: Shift

PSA: Futureshop slashing prices on Dragon Age, Left 4 Dead 2, NFS: Shift originally appeared on Joystiq Xbox on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The 2008 reboot of the Prince of Persia franchise (which, apparently, is getting shut down) featured some of the most enjoyable snark and pith we've ever heard in a video game. Fortunately, Andy Walsh, the man responsible for the Prince and Elika's sharp-tongued exchanges, was recently recognized for his witty dialogue when he won the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Games Award last night in London.

Normally, this is where we'd drop in a quote from Walsh about how excited he was to receive the award, but it doesn't seem that anyone initiated the optional dialogue with him following the Writers' Guild awards ceremony. Too bad, something tells us we've missed out on the best part.

Prince of Persia dialogue writer wins UK Writer's Guild award originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Serious Sam caused something of a murmur when it burst upon the FPS scene back in the early 2000's. Even back then, the FPS genre had backed away, bit by bit, from the balls-to-the-wall insanity of early genre heavyweights like Doom and Duke Nukem 3D and was easing its way into the sophisticated world of Half-Life and System Shock 2. Serious Sam, with its brightly colored, mow-'em-down ethos unexpectedly evoked the zeitgeist of an era long past, and tapped into an undercurrent of adrenaline-fueled gameplay that had been lying dormant in gamers' twitchy index fingers.

So developer Croteam must hope it will go, again, with the series' latest release: Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter. This budget-priced update of the original Serious Sam title features revamped graphics, a new co-op online mode, and a whole lot of old-school ass-kickin' for the greater glory of mankind. And while the new visuals go a long way in toward moving the series into today's world of bells and whistles, at its core, Sam HD is very much from the "old school."

Back at E3, we were briefly shown Brink's S.M.A.R.T. system for navigating around the Bethesda-published FPS' environment. Our play session was mainly focused on the combat and quests of the game at the time. Now, Splash Damage's own Paul Wedgewood has been kind enough to demonstrate how it works in-game, courtesy of the G4 video past the break.

Another interesting item brought up in this video is Brink's new release date: Fall 2010. Last we heard, it was destined for a Spring 2010 release. Not so anymore!

Continue reading Brink moved to Fall 2010; watch its S.M.A.R.T. system now

Brink moved to Fall 2010; watch its S.M.A.R.T. system now originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Podcasts

So, there isn't a full episode of the Xbox 360 Fancast this week. We're sorry. We were just so busy ingesting turkey over the weekend that we decided to take a little break. Fear not though, we put together a special little message just for you. As a special bonus, our good friend Dropbear says hello. See you next week!

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in Zune Marketplace (MP3).
[RSS MP3] Add the Xbox 360 Fanboy Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.

Hosts: Richard Mitchell (SenseiRAM), Alexander Sliwinski (Sli Xander), Xav de Matos (Snypz) and Dave Hinkle (KnifefightYoDad)

Produced by Richard Mitchell

Music: Intro/Outro: "Electromooq" by Uma Floresta.

For fans: Xbox 360 Fancast Facebook group

Xbox 360 Fancast: Holiday greetings from Dropbear originally appeared on Joystiq Xbox on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good news, Japan! D3 Publisher is localizing Bioshock 2 for you and, this time around, you won't have to wait that long to get your ADAM-soaked hands on it. Andriasang reports D3 Publisher will release the 2K Marin, et al.-developed sequel sometime in early 2010 -- presumably close to the February 9 US release date. We just hope the new Japanese ad campaign dials back the completely frightening a bit.

Bioshock 2 coming to Japan, courtesy of D3 Publisher originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising DLC to add more multiplayer modes originally appeared on Joystiq Xbox on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Call of Duty Classic will be available this Wednesday for 1200 points.

According to a recent survey conducted by market research company VGMarket, Microsoft may be working on an "interactive, online version" of your favorite gaming conventions -- from E3 to ComicCon and everything in between. As noted by a Destructoid reader who took the survey, the online questionnaire presented the aforementioned hypothetical situation, and then went into detail about how such a situation might play out.

"Sign onto Xbox Live and you can enter a virtual version of that convention ... this virtual version contains 20-60 virtual booths sponsored by larger publishers and developers presenting at the real world show," imagined the survey. The possibilities then reached outrageous levels as the idea of downloading "demos and/or betas" directly from the virtual convention floor and playing them that very moment was suggested. However, as VGMarket doesn't list Microsoft among its clients on the company's official website, and a representative could not be reached for comment, the veracity of this survey and its information is still very much in question.

Rumor: Gaming conventions to convene in Xbox Live originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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During the question and answer portion of an investor conference call this afternoon, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot clarified his company's commitment to developing games for both the Xbox 360's still-codenamed Project Natal and the PlayStation 3's hopefully-still-codenamed PlayStation Motion Controller. "We have about ten games that will come for Natal during the first six months of the launch of Natal, and we expect between four to five games for the new controller from Sony," Guillemot explained. "That's the picture at the moment, it can change in the next twelve months." (That "twelve months" reference doesn't bode well for Sony's purported "Spring 2010" third-party launch lineup for the motion controller.)

When asked if those games were all new properties, or motion-enhanced updates of existing franchises (like Prince of Persia), Guillemot responded, "I didn't count the games that in fact are supporting the new functions that those accessories will bring. I was more speaking about casual games that we are doing on those two machines; we can consider that on those games it's 70 percent new property." Or - if you consider Guillemot's suggestion of ten games for Natal and "four to five" for PlayStation Motion Controller - that's roughly ten new casual properties coming from Ubisoft.

Ubisoft planning 10 games for Natal, '4 to 5' for PlayStation Motion Controller originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey, remember when we reported that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was slated to be the Xbox Live Deal of the Week for the week of November 30? Well, guess what? It is the week of November 30! Sure enough, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 can now be downloaded for a mere 240; otherwise known as three dollars. That's two bucks off, making It a pretty good deal, especially if you conveniently forget how many times you've purchased the game over the years.

Barring that, you can always shamefully push the purchase button anyway.

Shortcut: Add Sonic the Hedgehog 2 to your 360 download queue

[Via Major Nelson]

Reminder: Sonic 2 is Xbox Live Deal of the Week originally appeared on Joystiq Xbox on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Now Playing: November 30 - December 6, 2009

Now Playing: November 30 - December 6, 2009 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft has just announced a new Prince of Persia -- but it's not a sequel to 2008's polarizing adventure (if desired, add unhappy emoticons to sentence). Instead, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands will continue the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time trilogy series, complete with "many of the fan-favorite elements" and "new gameplay innovations that gamers have come to expect from the Prince of Persia brand." Oh, and an accompanying film!

You can catch the game's premiere trailer on Spike TV's Video Game Awards on Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 8 p.m. EST. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is scheduled for release on "consoles and handhelds" in May 2010.

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands to continue 'Sands of Time' series originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lucky Brits. Not only do they get to be in closer geographic proximity to the dreamy David Tennant than we do, they're also extended some amazing post-Thanksgiving deals on typically pricey gaming equipment. Electronics retailer HMV is currently running two such offers in the UK -- the company has dropped the price of the PSP Go to £148.99, down significantly from the handheld's MSRP of £224.99. In addition, it's reduced the cost for DJ Hero, normally £107.99, down to just £69.99.

We're not sure how long these prices will stay this low, so if you live in the United Kingdom and have any interest in turntabling or digital distribution revolutions, we suggest you get while the getting is good.

HMV slashes price for DJ Hero, PSP Go in the UK originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And there it is, people: The second "mystery" teaser for this year's Spike VGA award show, shown first here on Joystiq. (The first, you'll recall, was 2K Games' franchise reboot of Spec Ops). Since we don't have any insider info on the developer or the publisher behind the game, we'll simply share what we know: This is a new, unannounced game that will be revealed for the first time at the VGAs; the trailer's narration is delivered by a "well-known actor" (Tom Wilkinson?); and the reveal at the VGAs will have actual gameplay.

Share your best educated guesses in the comments below and we'll bubble the best to the top. We'll start you out: That's a Hong Kong police badge, so we're saying True Crime 3: Hong Kong.

[Update: Internet sleuth superannuation posits that this mystery title is none other than Black Lotus, the as-of-yet-unnamed Activision-published, United Front-developed action title announced earlier this year. Just about the only thing we know about the project on the record is that it's "a new action-based game set in Hong Kong" by the studio working on ModNation Racers. Do we have a winner?]

Spike VGA's second 'mystery' teaser originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision is pulling out a majority of the stops for the last month of 2009, adding a highly varied assortment of tracks to Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero throughout the next 31 days. Included are track packs from OneRepublic and The Fall of Troy, an "Indie Rock" pack which includes songs from Spoon, Pavement and Nada Surf, a "New Years Rock" pack which features music from Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 and No Doubt, and finally, a totally free song which will arrive shortly before the holidays: Steve Ouimette's version of "Hark The Herald Angels Sing."

These songs follow the franchise's usual DLC pricing structure: Each single track will cost 160 ($2, 200 Wii Points), while each track pack will cost 440 ($5.50, 550 Wii Points). For a full list of song titles and release dates, just click past the break.

Continue reading Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero: December DLC

Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero: December DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sorry, challengers! Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed 2 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii have again landed the top three slots (respectively) on the UK charts, and it looks like they've settled in for a long winter's nap. MW2 is in its third week at the top, while Italian buddies Ezio and Mario are celebrating their second week, according to GfK.

We're not sure if anything will be able to unseat these three before the holidays but, if history is any indication, NSMBW might as well build a summer cottage in the top 10.

Modern Warfare 2, Mario, Assassin's Creed 2 still running the UK charts originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Though we're confident Infinite Interactive's Puzzle Quest 2 will eventually be a mega-multiplatform release like its predecessor, D3Publisher announced that the game's roll-out will start on DS and Xbox Live Arcade. It'll be out in spring 2010, along with every other game you've ever heard of, which means that you'll now have the choice to play all those games or Puzzle Quest. They'll occupy about the same amount of time.

Puzzle Quest 2 will let players match gems as one of four new character classes: War Mage, Inquisitor, Barbarian, or Assassin, using "all-new weapons, spells, and shields." Sorry if you just got over a Puzzle Quest addiction.

Puzzle Quest 2 coming to DS, XBLA in Spring 2010 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox LIVE Gold Members can save 40% this when they purchase Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Normally 400 points, this week it’s only 240 points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kristin Adams gives you tips and tricks for 'WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2010' including tag team strategies, aerial strategies and help with signature and finishing moves in this edition of cheat.

"You are Dante, a veteran of the Crusades who must chase his beloved Beatrice and try to free her soul from Lucifer’s grasp. As your pursuit takes you deeper into the pits of Hell, you must battle ever more fierce and hideous monsters—while also facing your own sins, a dark family past, and your unforgivable war crimes. Go to Hell."

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Explore Greed, the fourth circle of Hell.

Explore Lust, the second circle of Hell.

Explore Anger, the fifth circle of Hell.

Delivering best-in class vehicle warfare and unprecedented levels of destruction Battlefield: Bad Company™2 will deliver an all-out war experience unlike any other. In the second episode of the ‘Battlefield Moments’ series see ‘Destruction 2.0’ in full effect as a sniper fights his way through the war-torn streets of Arica Harbor in order to secure a valuable objective for his team.