11.30.06

Halo 3 Ad & Beta Signup (Updated)

Posted in Halo at 12:59 pm by UNSCleric

This Monday night on ESPN Monday Night Football, the 60-second trailer for Halo 3 will be shown for the first time.  The ad will be aired on the European version of Xbox.com around 02.15 GMT on Tuesday for those with no access to ESPN.  The ad will also be on the Xbox Live Marketplace shortly afterwards as well.  I’ll personally be waiting for the Marketplace version, so that’s it in HD and in surround sound.

Also beginning Monday will be the signup for the Halo 3 beta program.  If you live in North America and want to play Halo 3 this spring, you should keep an eye on Halo3.com.

Also, yes, that is a new Halo 3 picture above, and it’s awesome.  My guess is that it’s from the trailer we will be seeing next week, which has story clues in it according to Bungie.

Update: It’s been confirmed that the beta will be available to Xbox Live gamers not in the United States as well.

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11.29.06

Premium Xbox 360 for $200

Posted in Xbox 360 News at 4:47 pm by UNSCleric

If you live nearby one of the 19 MicroCenter stores in the USA, you can get the Xbox 360, HDD, headset, wireless controller, and more for only $200.  MicroCenter has already been running a $100 rebate on the Core or Premium, but now today comes the news that if you apply for a credit card at their store, and use the card on a purchase of $399 or more, you earn enough “points” to recieve a $100 check.  This deal is legit and will work.  When/if I do it in the next month (the deal expires December 31st) I’ll confirm it personally.  This deal is incredible.

More confirmation here.

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Famitsu Reviews Blue Dragon

Posted in Xbox 360 News at 11:09 am by UNSCleric

Blue Dragon is one of the main games that will make or break the Xbox 360 in Japan.  The Blue Dragon/Xbox 360 bundle in Japan already sold over 100,000 systems, and there is many more that will come now that Japan’s most respected magazine has given out the following review.

From Xboxyde Forums -

I made some rough translations, ignore typo and bad grammar as usual.
But any corrections will be appreciated.
——————–
Storytelling is very effective and nicely done, Battle system is easy to handle and well balanced,
Having mass appeal for newbies as well.
Gamers will be satisfied with depth in battle,and tons of hidden things around objects.
We can say BD is very traditional but very evolved RPG.
– Score 9 –

It feels like traditional epic RPG revived with high-end technologies.
Softly and heart warming visuals.very customizable grow-up system with depth.
Effects and cutscenes are not so flashy, but techniques of storytelling are really skills.
– Score 9 –

Well balanced RPG with authority. Battle is very deep, Kudos to Shadow system with lot of categories and skills,
And some nifty systems like making enemies fight each other.
The story is very compelling, each events have moving dramas.
One thing that depressed me a little was there is a feature to check enemy’s poo.
– Score 9 –

Battles and UIs include command directions are totally stress-free.
You can play for hours w/o stress, This is relatively uncommon for typical RPGs.
We could find joy of Toriyama’s artworks, even in movies and battles.
And I really love the music on boss battle, performed by Ian Gillan.
– Score 10 –
— This weeks “summary” must buy! –
Reviewer1: You gamers must play Blue Dragon and better to try spreading this for non-gamers.
Reviewer2: RPG gamers won’t have any regret for buying Blue Dragon.
Reviewer3: I can recommend Blue Dragon for everyone. Cutting edge but Retro feeling. I’d rather say those kids will love it.
Reviewer4: Blue Dragon is very solid, Ian Gillan’s boss music made dug up old CD and listen in “Speed King”

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11.28.06

PS3 vs. Chainsaw

Posted in PS3 Related at 10:42 am by UNSCleric

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11.27.06

Epic comments on Gears of War trilogy rumors

Posted in Xbox 360 News at 4:13 am by UNSCleric

After Microsoft Corporate VP of Global Marketing Jeff Bell let it slip that Gears of War will be a trilogy in an interview, Epic’s Mark Rein has commented on it in their official forums:

Gears is a trilogy? If we can keep making quality games that fans obviously then why would we have to stop at three? I don’t see the Metal Gear Solid, Mario, Grand Theft Auto or Final Fantasy series (among others) stopping at three and they’re still delivering compelling entertainment content that’s easily worth the money (see Unreal Tournament as well). There’s definitely, as many of you have pointed out, a lot more to learn about what’s really happening on the plant Sera and in the lives of the members of Delta Squad.

In the mean time we’re working hard to support Gears of War (the first one) and come up with some great enhancements you’ll hopefully see before too long. We’re not ready to provide any details yet but I assure you we’re on the job.

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11.26.06

Fall of Hype

Posted in PS3 Related at 4:39 pm by UNSCleric

 - From Joystiq [thanks to Dan for the link]

Resistance: Fall of Man was billed to be the defining game for why Blu-ray exists in the first place. Resistance developers Insomniac stated that the game took up 22GB of space and that all those bits and bytes were necessary to make the game work. It would seem that ripping the disk in Linux shows otherwise.

A NeoGAF forum member by the name of squatingyeti posted a long list of padding files on the Resistance disk; the padding took up approximately 17.75GB of space. Padding is frequently used to push data to the outer edges of the disk to improve read times, but Blu-ray is supposed to be a constant read over the entire disk.

It is possible that the data isn’t fully true and we would like to see some confirmation. However, if this report that 81% of Resistance is just empty filler and could fit on a single-layer DVD is true, will this put a hole in Sony’s claim that Blu-ray is absolutely necessary this generation? The padding isn’t needed to make the read speeds any better and (if true) is a lame way for Sony to justify Blu-ray for gaming.

Here’s an entry I posted a month ago where the developers of Resistance say they supposedly cut 10GB off the game using compression.  It seems Sony, and their exclusive developers, have a resistance to telling the truth.

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11.25.06

No 1080i TV fix for PS3

Posted in Xbox 360 News at 3:39 pm by UNSCleric

Remember the story about the PS3 not up-scaling to 1080i if your TV doesn’t support 720p?  That’s something the Xbox 360 has done since day one, but it seems Sony puts zero value into providing this feature for its customers.  Here’s Sony’s new stance regarding this issue:

From GameDaily -

Sony has contacted us to let us know that they may have spoken a bit prematurely (regarding the issue of a patch coming). SCEA’s Dave Karraker, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications, informed GameDaily BIZ that they currently cannot confirm that this 1080i issue will be resolved via a firmware patch. The official line is now that they are “looking into the issue and haven’t stated any actions that will be taken regarding it.”

Sony’s new PlayStation 3 has encountered problems displaying high-definition visuals on HDTV sets that do not support 720p. Today Sony Computer Entertainment America confirmed the problem to GameDaily BIZ.  PS3 games render images at either 720p or 1080p for High Definition, and you need 720p input on the TV to play select games that do not support 1080p.

This is an issue on the side of the individual television sets (not with the PS3 of course), which do not accept 720p input, so when a game outputs an HD signal only at 720p, these select TVs have to display the game at 480p instead.”

There’s just something about a company, who brags they could sell five million consoles with no games for it, that just screams arrogance.  This story is just another example of that.  

Sony: “With the PS3, Next-Gen & True HD starts with us…if you have the right TV.”

[Thanks to Mike (GT: Twisted Plastic) for the story]

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11.24.06

GameStop PS3 robbery was fake

Posted in PS3 Related at 11:56 am by UNSCleric

Last Friday I reported on the story that a GameStop in California was robbed of four PS3s and Xbox 360s, but today comes a twist in the story.  Here’s the article, but you need to be a subscriber to view it, so here’s a copy of it:

Two employees are facing criminal charges following the reported theft of four coveted PlayStation 3 game consoles last week from an Elk Grove business, police said Wednesday.

Tauryn Robert Hodge and Gerald Anthony Keys, both 19, were arrested Tuesday on charges of suspected embezzlement, burglary and conspiracy. Hodge is facing an additional charge of filing a false police report. Both were employees of the GameStop on Laguna Boulevard.

On Nov. 16, a day before the consoles were to go on sale, Elk Grove police received a report from Hodge that masked gunmen had robbed his store.

“It was Hodge who initially called the Elk Grove police,” Officer Christopher Trim said.

“There are things we are continuing to investigate,” Trim said. “There may or may not be additional parties involved. We still haven’t recovered the merchandise.”

Police were tight-lipped about how they discovered that the robbery report was bogus.

“Our detectives were able to gather information that wasn’t consistent with a robbery,” Trim said. “They felt there was more to the investigation than meets the eye.”

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11.23.06

Why slot loading is bad…

Posted in PS3 Related at 4:40 pm by UNSCleric

This is why the Xbox 360 has an open/close DVD drive, and not a “cooler” slot loading drive, they’re not as good, especially when they have the Sony brand name on them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Demo: Lost Planet Multiplayer

Posted in Xbox 360 News at 6:19 am by UNSCleric

It is 174MB.

Name: LOST PLANET Multiplayer Online Demo
Price: Free
Available in: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: The online demo for the highly anticipated SciFi action shooter LOST PLANET is here! Snow pirates around the world await your entry into the hostile, frozen world of LOST PLANET!
*This content will be available for all Xbox Live Silver members on 11/30/06.

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11.22.06

Sony loses more exclusives

Posted in Xbox 360 News, PS3 Related at 4:25 pm by UNSCleric

From Joystiq -

It’s said that the rats are the first to abandon a sinking ship. While not rats, publishers are beginning to abandon the PS3 after its less-than-impressive launch and news of production woes. Three titles have pulled up stakes and moved to the Xbox 360 (as cross-platform).

Koei, long time PlayStation supporter (and company frequently billed as key support to win the generation) has pulled Fatal Inertia and Blade Storm: The Hundred Years’ War from the PS3 exclusive list and plopped them squarely into the Xbox 360 camp. Another PlayStation staple, the Armored Core series, is also coming to the white box in the form of Armored Core 4.

Sony is going to be in for a difficult battle if key players keep moving over party lines; Microsoft is doing far better coaxing exclusive content over to the 360. If Sony continues to lose its differentiation, why should gamers continue to shell out up to $200 more just to play the same games?

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