Xbox 360

Anomaly: Warzone Earth Arriving on XBLA in 2012

Originally released in April for PC and iOS devices, Anomaly: Warzone Earth will hit the Xbox Live Arcade sometime in spring 2012. The debut game from developer 11 Bit Studios, Anomalyon Xbox will feature six exclusive levels and be fully optimized for a gamepad. Dubbed as a “tower offense” game, a spin on the traditional “tower defense,” players must assemble convoys of vehicles and plot their path through cityscapes as they defend the Earth from an alien invasion.

The announcement on the official website for Anomaly: Warzone Earth states, “While it’s commonly known that strategy games are hard to control via gamepad, thanks to our model of gameplay where you have the on-field Commander and tactical view for controlling the squad, Anomaly is easily accessible and, so-to-speak, user-friendly strategy on console.”

Modern Warfare 3 Update Adds New Mode and More

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which has reportedly earned $1 billion in sales in the 16 days following its release, recently received an update which added a new mode, Drop Zone, and Community Playlists. In Drop Zone, players must secure an area and accumulate 7,500 points. The team with the most players in the area will receive a package that gives them a point boost, but receiving the package is not guaranteed, as it can be stolen by the opposing team. Drop Zone is the first entry in the Community Playlists section, where unique private match modes created by users are made available for the public. Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling described the Community Playlists: “Since we have such advanced private match options, we’ve been noticing a lot of user-created game modes, that in the coming weeks, we’re going to be adding to the public playlists in multiplayer…We’re going to be adding some in for the holiday, brand new modes that the users created, that we adapted, made more polished, and are putting into the game.”

Christmas: ‘Tis The Season To… Slice Fruit?

“If Santa were a ninja – and we all know he really is – this is how he’d keep his skills sharp in the slow summer months,” said Phil Larsen, the chief marketing officer of Halfbrick, the studio behind Fruit Ninja Kinect.  Ne’er a truer word has been spoken, as Halfbrick announced today the release of a completely free piece of Christmas-themed DLC for the title, featuring holiday-themed content such as a ‘Candy Cane Blade’ and a ‘Santa’s Workshop’level to slice fruit in.  It’s certainly festive of them, and the accompanying trailer supports that, with a heart-warming‘thanks for a great year’ message at the end.

Street Fighter X Tekken Screens Showcase

Some new screenshots of Street
Fighter X Tekken have hit the internet, and they confirm what we all knew
already- Kazuya rendered in blocky Street Fighter IV style is a fairly
terrifying sight.

A large part of the appeal in the two games will undoubtedly be how the characters from each franchise ‘work’when juxtaposed onto the pace and style of the other game. We obviously don’t get any idea of that from screenshots alone, but the images do confirm that the designers have spent a lot of time making the Tekken characters look similar in style to their Street Fighter counterparts. Kazuya looks like he could be a hidden character in Street Fighter IV.  Keep your eyes peeled for more info on these two titles as they become available!

Xbox 360 vs Playstation 3: 2011 Year in Review

The Holiday Season is coming to an end. It has been a great year for video games with console sales up from a year before. The industry has seen many games like Uncharted 3, Skyrim andGears of War 3 succeed in the market. Even though it was a big year for both Microsoft and Sony, the biggest debate in the industry is which one is better. 2011 was suppose to be the year of Playstation 3, but did it finally top the Xbox 360 and become top console on the market? From console exclusives, to online play, to the rise in motion gaming, who won?

First things first, I need to talk about online play for both respected consoles. Last year, one of the biggest strengths for the Xbox 360 was Xbox Live. Microsoft Summer Arcade was again huge during the summer. Games like Bastion, From Dust and Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet were available for a low price and were all editor choices here at Player Affinity. Along with that, it managed to improve on its online experience with the most recent dashboard update. Soon Xbox Live will be an entertainment complex that isn’t just known for playing games. In the coming months Hbo GO, Youtube, Xfinity TV (Comcast) andUFC will all be available, unlike the Playstation network

“My Xbox Live” Launches on Apple iOS Devices

In a somewhat controversial (yet understandable) move, Microsoft launched its “My Xbox Live” service today for Apple’s iOS devices.  This brand new cross-platform application allows you to do many of the same things that you’re able to do on your Xbox 360, but with limitations of course.  The app allows users to message their Xbox Live friends, change their avatar’s appearance, check out their achievements (as well as their friend’s), and get access to news and videos.

Some people may encounter a problem when first using the app, but the simple fix is to head to the Xbox Live website and agree to the new terms of service.  The “My Xbox Live” app is free to download from Apple’s app store.  Despite the new user-base the release of this app is sure to bring to Microsoft’s mobile Xbox Live platform, it still doesn’t offer the same amount of features as one who owns a Windows 7 phone has access to.  The new “Xbox Companion” for the Windows 7 phone is still the optimal way to get in touch with your profile while you’re on the go, but at least the millions of iPhone users have most of the access to their profiles rather than nothing at all.  Kudos to both Apple and Microsoft for seeing eye to eye on this one.

Gears of War 3: RAAM’s Shadow DLC Releases Today

Today, December 13, marks the release of the first major campaign DLC for Epic’s Gears of War 3.  The DLC is entitled “RAAM’s Shadow,” and it takes place prior to the first Gears of War game.  It’s all entirely new content, and it substitutes the familiar Delta squad crew for Zeta Squad, a team comprised of both totally new and familiar faces from the story’s canon (although none of the familiar faces were playable prior to this DLC).