Xbox 360 Features

What’re You Doing This Weekend? 7/30/10

Alan Wake DLC Code Giveaway

“Now is the time to descend into madness as you explore the dark and twisted world of “The Signal,” the first Game Add-on for “Alan Wake.” In this latest chapter to the critically acclaimed psychological action thriller exclusive to Xbox 360, our favourite writer is in greater peril than ever before as the boundaries between reality and nightmare become disturbingly distorted. Threatening to overwhelm Alan’s mind, the nightmarish mysteries feel chillingly familiar. Keep your flashlight nearby as you get ready to follow “The Signal.”

Madden 11 Preview

First of all, huge props to EA for being the first sports game that I know of to ever release a demo featuring a full game, 5 minutes, 4 quarters. It is almost August time which mean it’s almost Madden time which means it’s time for a Madden demo that makes me ooze absolute excitement about the game. Every year this happens, and this year is no different.

First change you see in Madden 11 is the new kicking system. Instead of using the right stick, you now have a bar that on one side says “power” and on the other side says “accuracy.” You then use A to set your power and accuracy via a meter that goes in and out. At first, this change was a little daunting as I had no idea what in the world I was doing but once you actually think about it for a second, it makes much more sense and you come to feel much more comfortable with it. It’s a nice improvement to a feature that has been the same for many years.

Halo Reach Preview

Ray Carsillo had a chance to sit down with Brian Jarrard, the Community Director for Bungie, to talk about this last Bungie derived Halo adventure, Halo Reach. Take a look to see how far Ray emerses himself into Noble Team and the totally revamped Firefight mode!

Xbox Economist (07/21/10)

Hello, and welcome to another session of the Xbox Economist! The feature where we show you the best way to spend your buck, and give you the best fun to price ration possible. This week we leave the fun loving zombie killing we discussed last week, and focus on something far more dark and scary. Come in, and be ready to see a shockingly good deal. ***warning naughty language***

What We’re Playing (7/13/10)

We’re back with another week of inane rambling about games! This week we’re fronting Steven Beynon, Tristan Wong, Josh Margolis, and myself. Here’s what we’re playing.

Steven – “DeathSpank currently hogs all my love and attention. This is one of the only games I’ve ever played that’s actually funny. It’s constant parody of fantasy titles feels refreshing and is a rarity in videogames. Oh, and the RPG-part is pretty cool, too. For the $15.00 I highly recommend this snarky loot-filled adventure. Check out my impressions on DeathSpank for more.”

Tristan – “This weekend, I’m actually going to shift focus and go back to an old classic on my PC, and a couple new games I finally got a couples days ago (EB games just don’t understand urgency…) I am to venture through three games, Singularity which I need to play through, Naughty Bear (terrible… god I wish I didn’t have to review this game), and ‘Sins of a Solar Empire,‘ the strategy heavy juggernaut from the guys at Stardock and Ironclad games. If you haven’t gotten to try Sins of a Solar Empire, you must do it–I mean, it takes the strategy of Civilizations (if you haven’t heard of that game, I’m going to find you and dig you out of that rock you hide under) and puts it into the real-time strategy genre, and the results as such are just… I can’t explain it, get off your ass and play it now! DO IT!

Xbox Economist (07/14/10)

This feature will present you with a little bit of gaming goodness that will be kind to your wallet in these harsh times. We guarantee you’ll never spend more than $20 on gaming goodness. These are not review, but are simply recommendations for games that are at a great price point, and games that are at a price that you can’t be overly picky.

DeathSpank Impressions

Supreme Justice, For $15.00 As a fan of action RPGs like Titan Quest, Diablo II, and Torchlight, DeathSpank has a lot to live up. Last  year’s Torchlight seemingly came out of  nowhere and became a darling among the gaming  community. DeathSpank unfortunately wont get the spotligh t li k e Torchlight did, but Hothead’s latest is a better […]

What the 360 Should Improve on

The 360 does a shit ton for a video game system. It plays movies, music, and even games! Microsoft’s Xbox is a great system, but it can do somethings a bit better, especially with their next system expected to drop within the next few years.

Interface:

The general idea of the 360’s interface is as awesome as it is modern. In practice though, the way every section presents itself makes it easy for content to get lost in the shuffle. The main problem is that when you’re in the Arcade section, your attention is on one game. How can Microsoft advertise features or even show you important information when each page is very obviously dedicated to one item at a time? Of course, I know Shadow Complex is out and one of the best arcade games ever, but how is Joe Gamer supposed to discover it? Especially since it’s a older title. Why is the link to Netflix overshadowing the stand-alone movies on the video marketplace? The 360 does have a highest rated game section, but hey can do better to showcase their titles.

What We’re Playing (7/9/10)

Time for the inaugural edition of “What We’re Playing”, a new weekly feature where we explore the gaming habits of the maniacal writers here at PA. This week, Steven Beynon, Tristan Wong, and myself blabber on about what we’ve played, and what we will play in the coming week.