Xbox 360 Arcade Games
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Doom Is Back Again To Xbox LIVE

By
Chris
– January 23, 2012Posted in: New Games, News

The game ‘Doom’ was initially released in markets in 1993. This game had gained a huge popularity back then. Now it is again back to Xbox Live for the gamers.

John Carmack and John Romero, two video game enthusiasts have created this game. The game has been absent for about a year and now it has made a grand re-entry into Xbox360.

Once Doom is uploaded to Xbox 360’s services, users can download it in exchange of 400 Microsoft Point. The same can also be purchased for 3.50 pounds.

id-Software had launched the game initially in 1993. That time it introduced several new concepts for the shooter genre in the game.

Based on that the game was named as “genre definition”. Terry Pratchett, a novel writer once said that, for over centuries now human beings have been practicing several ways of fighting the evil. They include good works, fasting, prayers etc…; it was Doom who introduced the human beings to the double barrel gun fight.

The game made its first appearance in 2006 on Xbox LIVE. This entry was through Activision. In 2009, ZeniMax took over the id-software, the Doom developer. ZeniMax is an affiliate to Bethesda. Initial agreement made by Activision expired in 2010 followed by which the game was taken out from Xbox 360.

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Mass Effect 3 Demo Video is Out Showing Kinect’s Functioning

By
Chris
– January 21, 2012Posted in: Kinect Games

A trailer of Mass Effect 3 was out on the internet. It was showing the functioning of much anticipated Kinect. In this video players used their voice to command the allies. These commands were given to pick up guns, activation of special abilities by the allies, throwing grenades and firing of weapons.

However, it was not shown in the video if the users can move the characters and other aspects of the game with voice commands. From the video, it was clear that there was some time delay between issue of command and execution of task. It seemed that Kinect can effectively perform task of controlling the game in Mass Effect 3.

Though we are not used to shouting at ourselves for opening the door or firing a weapon, it is going to be fun to do the same with Kinect. This game will be made available for PC and Play station 3. However, it is not clear if same type of controls will be used on these platforms also.

Fans will have to control their excitement till 14 February 2012 for downloading the demo. Addition of a new layer by the narratives enables the user to draw the avatar reactions for a particular situation. With addition of Kinect, the game speed increases.

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Mass Effect 3 will now have kinect voice command for Xbox 360

By
Chris
– January 20, 2012Posted in: News

Mass Effect 3 has been integrated with Kinect for better functioning. This integration was demonstrated last year during E3. Finally it is out for our own use with little changes. It enables the user to manage the device, Xbox 360, with voice commands. By giving appropriate commands one can ask the Xbox 360 to do certain exercises like switching of tracks. This replaces the previous endeavors like managing the system through a popup menu or a keyboard.

During a demonstration, Kinect effectively carried out certain tasks like changing pitch, dialect and intonation over voice commands. The list of languages includes different variations of English such as, British, US and Australian. Besides this, it also supports Italian, German and French. Bioware is presently working to include Spanish too in this list.

It also has few drawbacks. Kinect faces little difficulty in recognizing the command given to it. It gets confused in receiving a command if there is any other conversation progressing in the room. Another drawback is that there is a small time delay from issuing of commands to execution.

Kinect will be released in US market in the month of March 2012. Kinect voice commands are available only with Xbox 360. Bioware has taken precisely nine months to integrate Kinect with Mass Effect 3.

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NeverDead: PS3 Vs Xbox360 Video

By
Chris
– January 19, 2012Posted in: Featured Games

The famous CVG’s video team unveiled a pair of videos which include NeverDead video game.

The first one was a comparison video between PS3 and Xbox360. The second one featured 10 minute long video play of NeverDead game.

The basic concept of the game is that the hero, Bryce Boltzmann, can have all detachable limbs. He will not die even if all of his limbs are detached by blowing them off.

Having all limbs attached will make him wealthy with several options available to confront the enemy. In a close combat battle with the enemy, all limbs are very essential.

In a case where all limbs of the hero are blown off, players can make use of his head. Head can be rolled down all around, even in to the places that are accessible. This option can be used to explore new areas on map in order to gain information of enemy.

Shinta Nojiri, the creator of the game had said that this game can be played on PS3 and Xbox360 and will be released in the month of February 2012.

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Microsoft has no plans for any announcement on Xbox 720 at E3

By
Chris
– January 18, 2012Posted in: News

Earlier it was rumored that PS4 and Xbox 720 would be showcased in E3, 2012. A source claimed that Microsoft has already told its partners about its future plans and announcements at E3, 2012.

Then Sony confirmed that it had no plans of launching Play Station 4 in E3 2012. Kaz Hirai and Andy House turned down all rumors and reiterated that they will go as per their original plans on PS3.

Microsoft has not made any comments on this. As it found out later, they have not made any plans for announcing new console in the near future.

PR Jose, senior director of marketing of Microsoft also confirmed that they have no plans of any announcement. He also mentioned that it is unlikely to reveal Xbox 720 in the near future. He said that, they could see Kinect ending life of Xbox 360.

As told by Jose, launching of Kinect has resulted in resurging of Xbox 360 sales. Because of this, sixth or seventh year sales also is in a decreasing phase. If we considered Kinect, New Dashboard and new UI released in last November, 360 is a latest console.

With this, it is clear that Microsoft is not planning to announce Xbox in 2012 and to some extent in 2013 also. It seems they are planning to make an all–around entertainment hub from Xbox 360.

They want to make it an ultimate device for house hold use. It will be featuring sports, movies, music, tv shows and several other kinds of entertainment. So, we are going to see an all new Xbox 360. Probably, this will put all rumors on hold. At least till some other rumors come up from another source.

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NPD states that Xbox 360 is the No.1 selling Gaming Console of 2011

By
Chris
– January 15, 2012Posted in: News

Quoting NPD numbers, Microsoft has said that its Xbox 360 gaming console has outsold its nearest competitor by 2.7 million units last year in the United States. It has also been the best seller this holiday season outperforming Sony PlayStation and Nintendo Wii.

The exact number of units of the Xbox 360 sales in US was not specified by Microsoft but it has revealed that it has acquired 46% share in the market of game consoles. Selling 1.7 million units in US market in December has helped the game acquire the No.1 spot.

The Vgchartz web-site, which collates data from top market research firms including NPD and Media Create, has however said that Xbox 360 enjoys pole position only in the United States market. However, the platform of Xbox 360 (which includes its accessories, software and hardware) has touched the figure of $1.5 billion, which makes it lead in the United States. Even with these figures, the Microsoft game console leads PS3 by only a small margin if worldwide figures are considered.

Thus, it looks like that the massive success of the Microsoft gaming console is restricted to the US boundaries only. The scenario is different in Japan and European Union, where Nintendo and Sony hold strong positions.

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Ubisoft Holidays Sales and Delayed Game Till May

By
Fahad Majidi
– January 14, 2012Posted in: News

Ubisoft has come forth with its third quarter revenues which is claims to be a record holidays sales.

The major game publisher, Ubisoft, has also announced the delayed release of its major upcoming game Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier, the franchise is a part of one of Paris based company. The delayed time span is considered to be of three months.

The game is anticipated to hit the store of North America on 22nd May and Europe on 24th May and it will be available on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Ubisoft forecasted its third quarter sales to be of 650 million euros which is $828 million; this appears to be an 8 percent increase to the same period of last year.

Among all of the Ubisoft’s games Just Dance and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations were the two that stood out. And Assassin’s Creed: Revelations faced a tough competition from Activision’s Call of Duty and Electronic Art’s Battlefield 3.

And the story does not end here; Ubisoft is pretty much optimistic regarding its sales and says that it anticipates growth from online sales, including the social games. Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot reported record high sales during the Christmas period.

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Xbox planning to make up for the nightmare of the UFC 141

By
Chris
– January 14, 2012Posted in: News

Though technology has most wonderful facets, it often displays its ugly side as well. This is exactly the side that was exposed when Xbox Live stepped into the world of mixed martial arts with its UFC 141. Neither did this game load properly; it often crashed and had to be reset to a much earlier point. This was some of the many problems that were compounding this game.

Microsoft has however make preparations to correct these anomalies and restore the confidence of its customers. It has come out with the latest version UFC 142 free on Xbox Live. To the 30,000 people who suffered while playing this game last month, Microsoft has compensated by offering Gold Membership in Xbox Live for a month.  Using the same gaming tag that had been provided for the UFC 141, gamers can automatically access the UFC 142.

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Xbox 360’s Sales Skyrocketing, CES

By
Fahad Majidi
– January 13, 2012Posted in: News

Microsoft sales are reaching the new heights and especially with the Xbox 360. At this Consumer Electronic Show the Microsoft’s chief executive Steve Ballmer told that Xbox sales are sky rocketing with more than 66 million units sold since its release back in 2005.

And the story does not end here, with over 40 million users on Xbox Live gaming and entertainment service and huge success of the Xbox’s motion sensor Kinect, selling over 18 millions units, the company sure is setting some stupendous milestones.

Back in 2006 Xbox lost much of its charm after the release of Nintendo’s motion sensing console Wii but then Microsoft came up with Microsoft Kinect which was initially called Project Natal.

When Kinect came out it was much faster and superior in technology than the Nintendo Wii. The sheer boom in the sales of Xbox 360 manifest the company’s hard work and devotion with which it gained its revival in the gaming industry after the setback it faced when it released Xbox.

Speaking of numbers, as of September 30th 2011, Microsoft had sold 10 million units of Kinect and 57.6 million units of Xbox 360. That shows Microsoft sold over 10 million units during the last quarter.

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Speculations over the latest Xbox starts just before CES 2012

By
Chris
– January 11, 2012Posted in: News

Microsoft has announced that the 2012 edition of the CES will be the last time it is going to participate in the event as exhibitor. This has increased speculations about the possible surfacing of the latest Xbox, which is supposed to be provided with capabilities based on tablets along with functions of media recording.

GameSpot has cited reference of the new software updates that has been provided to the present Xbox in lines with the OS of Windows PC and Phone, to suggest that the upcoming Xbox gaming console is going to have components heavily based on tablets.

This move is going to be in similar lines with that of Nintendo, whose latest Wii U has been making use of a controller styled like a tablet. The differences between the two gaming console is going to be the aspect that Microsoft might allow a number of its Windows tablets and Phones to work together with its Xbox 720 whereas the Wii U from Nintendo will have a proprietary controller along with potential support to 3DS.

Another rumor that is getting circulated widely is that the latest Xbox is going to be provided with a digital recorder for media content recording, which would be the result of the recent granting of a patent that Microsoft had applied for in 2007.

The PlayStation 3 from Sony has been provided with an add-on DVR, the Play TV (popular in Japan as Torne). But if the latest Xbox surfaces at the CES, Sony is going to be pressurized to reveal plans regarding its PlayStation 4, even though it is creating significant buzz regarding the February release of its handheld Vita in Europe and North America.

Both the companies had introduced gesture controls as an option in 2010, after the huge mainstream success that the Wii from Nintendo received.

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Soul Cailbur V Coming This Month

By
Fahad Majidi
– January 11, 2012Posted in: New Games

The awesome fighter Soul Calibur V is back.

Soul Calibur is a one on one fighting based game that offers variety of modes and features to choose from. Previously we have been receiving the news regarding the release of the Soul Calibur V. Another addition into the franchise, its new features, entry of some new faces and the comeback of the old favorite ones.

But now it has been announced that the game will be coming your way at the end of this month. We got a chance to get our hands on Soul Caliur V, the game certainly looks promising for both the old time fans and the newcomers and we were very much pleased with the game.

As for the gameplay, well, it seems almost similar to the Soul Calibur IV but there has been made some little tweaks that are of great importance. The game’s fighting mechanics is as fast and fluid as ever.

For the blocking mechanics, they have been augmented. Now you can block the unblockable attacks too but it costs you your Critical Meter, a gauge introduced in place of Soul gauge.

Another defense mechanics that have been introduced is the “Just Guard”, which is solely based on your timing of block. What it does it that it declines the counterattack time span.

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Dual-Band Wireless Headsets introduced for the Xbox 360 by Turtle Beach

By
Chris
– January 10, 2012Posted in: News

Wireless headsets designed for gaming purposes add a lot of convenience but fail whenever they encounter a network interface. This problem is well known to Turtle Beach and it is hoping to address the same through its latest X42 Wireless Headsets for Xbox 360, equipped with Surround Sound. The Headset has been priced at $159.95. The headset offers dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) Wi-Fi support and is automatically able to figure the best open bandwidth that is available, wherever you are, thereby eliminating interference from other devices or networks. The X42 is also offering 50mm drivers.

The lesser priced X32 Wireless Headset for Xbox 360 has been offered at a price of $99.95. This is identical to the above mentioned device but does not have the feature of surround sound.

Both these headsets have been nicely upgraded from their erstwhile versions, the X41 and the X31 respectively. The erstwhile versions only functioned on the 2.4GHz band, which was very crowded always and hence resulted in a lot more interference.

If the gamers want to try out the surround sound but already have ownership of a good-enough pair of headphone, a DSS 2 Stereo Headset having a Processor for Surround Sound has been made available by Turtle Beach. This product has been priced at $79.95. This is going to provide the simulated effect of surround sound to the existing pair of stereo headphones. The DSS 2 has been provided with a processor for Dolby Surround Sound and has been made available with six different speaker configurations.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops most played Xbox 360 Live game in 2011

By
Fahad Majidi
– January 9, 2012Posted in: News

Call of Duty: Black Ops was the most played game on the Xbox 360 based on Unique Users that connected to Xbox LIVE in 2011 to play the game according to the news released by Microsoft on Friday.

The original Modern Warfare and World at War also make an appearance in the top 20. Now, the Call of Duty takes top spot on the retail title list: Black Ops was number one; November release Modern Warfare 3 was number two and 2009 release Modern Warfare 2 was number three, making Call of Duty the SEC West of video games.

In other Xbox game categories, Pinball FX2 was the top Xbox Live Arcade game, Full House Poker coming in the number two. The 3rd place was taken up by Castle Crashers in a relatively strong showing for a game that was released over 3 years ago.

For the indie games, the top game was the Minecraft clone FortressCraft Chapter 1. The rest of the list is dominated by the titles that involves, zombies, mining and avatar, which means that the Indie game section in just waiting for Zombie Mining Avatar to be the biggest hit for 2012.  

Age of Empires Online was the top Games for Windows game, and Angry Birds was the top Windows Phone game.

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New Pre-Order Bonuses for Mass Effect 3

By
Fahad Majidi
– January 8, 2012Posted in: New Games

Mass Effect 3, an ancient alien race known as the Reapers, has launched an invasion of the galaxy, to destruct and leave a trail of chaos on it. You, as a Commander Shepard, must lead the counter assault to stop the destruction and take back the Earth.

For the new Mass Effect 3, BioWare has recently revealed pre-order bonuses. A retailer-exclusive bonus of unique piece of armor and two guns have been announced in a new post on the games official site.

Customers who also pre-order this game from Origin will receive an AT12 Raider Shotgun. Players who pre-order from any retailer will receive an M55 Argus Assault Rifle for use in-game. Additionally, anyone who pre-order Mass Effect 3 from GameStop will also receive N7 Defender Armor, N7 Warfare Gear and an N7 Valkyrie Assault Rifle.

These items will only be available if it is pre-order of the N7 Collector’s Edition or the standard Edition. According to BioWare “if you have already pre-ordered the game then your pre-order will rollover and you will be automatically be granted with the items”.

According to BioWorld, Mass Effect 3 will be released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC this coming March 6, 2012.

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Rumor: Will Xbox 720 have DVR features

By
Fahad Majidi
– January 7, 2012Posted in: News

Now that the Xbox 360 is essentially a virtual cable box, many are asking what’s next?

From an essential virtual cable box of Xbox 360, what may be next? This question is slightly answered by the recent approval of the US Patent and Trademark Office that granted Microsoft a patent for DVR-like functionality on a gaming console. The patent was originally filed in 2007, which includes the following features:

A digital video recorder (DVR) feature would run “alongside a television client component”, letting owners record media content on the system while playing games Alternatively, users can record content when the gaming console is turned off.

The recorded content will not be limited to television, but also allow players to record local or online music, videos gameplay, DVDs, and more. Aside from that, when you are in the recording state, users can also switch between different media modes, whether music, television, gaming and more.

With this great advantage of having a DVR features, it will not limit users to record the same TV content, but they could also capture all their spectacular and exciting gaming moments. You will be no longer telling your friends about the time you have finished the Need For Speed Shift but you’d be able to show them.

This features made the feature Xbox 720 more exciting with its interesting ability to record from other forms of media such as DVD’s or music making it more powerful than any other recording device on the market now.

The existing Xbox 360 most likely will not contain this functionality but for sure on the next console, whatever that might be called. A move like this would certainly be a big hit for Microsoft pushing to make the Xbox brand as a key entertainment provider in living rooms.

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