Xbox 360 Fanboy

Update on Japanese 360 compatability

Christopher Grant — Fri, 09 Dec 2005 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: News, Call of Duty 2, Condemned, GUN, Kameo, Perfect Dark, Project Gotham Racing 3, Quake 4, Ridge Racer 6, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland

As suspected, Microsoft has left the decision of region-locking up to the publishers. Play-Asia has confirmed on a Japanese 360 that Quake 4, Call of Duty 2, and Condemned all work fine, while Microsoft published titles PGR3, Kameo, and Perfect Dark Zero do not. They also report European 360s behave similarly with Ridge Racer 6, Amped 3, GUN, and Tony Hawk all work outside of their regions.

So, while Microsoft made region encoding option for publishers, they themselves have opted to lock their titles down. So don't go importing your 360 to get one in time for Christmas.

[Via Gamebrink]

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What's your gamertag?

Ed Stasick — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 15:00:34 EST

Filed under: News, Amped 3, Call of Duty 2, Condemned, GUN, Kameo, Madden NFL 06, NBA 2K6, NHL 2K6, Perfect Dark, Project Gotham Racing 3, Quake 4, Ridge Racer 6, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, FIFA Soccer 06, King Kong, NBA Live 06, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06

It's time for the fanboys to unite. As we've been hearing over the past 24 hours, many of our usual online friends were not able to secure Xbox 360s yesterday. So, it's time to make some new friends (besides, the guys over at Joystiq won't accept our friend requests).

Continuing its long history (3 days now) of bringing gamers together, Xbox 360 Fanboy is providing some bandwidth for you to add your Xbox live gamertag, your zone and your list of 360 games to the comments below.

We'll go first:

Gamertag: Master Rogue (yes, it's lame. So, no need to waste valuable gaming time commenting on the obvious).

Zone: Underground

X360 Games: Quake 4, PGR 3, King Kong, Tiger Woods 2006, PDZ, Call of Duty 2, Condemed, Kameo

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MetaReview: Quake 4

Christopher Grant — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Quake 4

Quake 4 is out for the 360 and it ain't looking pretty folks. Literally, it doesn't look good. Reports of slowdown and poor framerate abound:

GameSpot (6.6/10): "Despite the 360's stature as the most powerful console on the market, it just can't keep up with this game's demanding visuals (which probably speaks more to the lackluster quality of the game's translation from the PC than to the system's power, judging by how well the 360's two other first-person shooters look by comparison)."
1UP (6/10): "...a Quake game must nail one thing: a rock-solid framerate. It's a non-negotiable point, and, on the 360, Quake 4 doesn't have that."
IGN (8.1/10): "It's a decent port, though it lacks 16-players online (it supports eight-player Xbox Live and SysLink), and the framerates drops significantly in the second half of the game..."

The total ranking is 77% based on 9 reviews, while the PC is 82% based on 46, so it is clear the framerate has affected the game negatively. id's own John Carmack even said the Xbox 360 is "the best development environment" he's seen for a console. These are probably just growing pains as developers accustom themselves to the new hardware. In the meantime, you might want to stay clear of Quake 4.

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Xbox 360 FAQ

Jennie Lees — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 18:03:23 EST

Filed under: News, Amped 3, Call of Duty 2, Condemned, Dead or Alive 4, GUN, Kameo, Madden NFL 06, NBA 2K6, NHL 2K6, Perfect Dark, Project Gotham Racing 3, Quake 4, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, King Kong, Need For Speed Most Wanted, NBA Live 06, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06

Everything you've ever wanted to know about the Xbox 360. Ever. All in one handy place for your perusal. Found a frequently asked question that you want answered? Add your questions in comments and we'll continually update this list of FAQs.

[Update - part 2 now available, delving into Xbox Live!]

We'll start off with the absolute basics, as inspired by the BBC's Xbox 360 Q&A.

Continue reading Xbox 360 FAQ

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Quake IV struggles on the 360

Adams Briscoe — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Quake 4

Word on the street has it that the latest installment to the Quake series is having a hard time making the jump to Microsoft's latest gaming console. The Gamespot crew reviewed it and says the framerate "gets downright atrocious in spots." Struggling under all kinds of graphical disappointments, Quake IV is said to just go limp on the Xbox 360. However, it's not an easy task taking those PC market graphics to a mass-marketable console. Other than having the multiplayer scaled back to a maximum of 8 players, when compared to the PC version's 16-player matches, the only real difference is in the aesthetics and performance.

[Thanks, bandersnatch]

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GameFly's most popular 360 rentals

Christopher Grant — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: News, Call of Duty 2, Condemned, Dead or Alive 4, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, GUN, Madden NFL 06, Perfect Dark, Project Gotham Racing 3, Quake 4, Need For Speed Most Wanted

GameFly's top 10 most requested Xbox 360 titles as of Nov. 15 are:

Call of Duty 2
Perfect Dark Zero
Quake 4
GUN
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Dead or Alive 4
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Project Gotham Racing 3
Madden NFL 06
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Does this seem like an accurate representation of what 360 buyers are looking for? If so, it's heavy on the FPS and light on the Kameo. Is Rare's title already forgotten?

[Via Team Xbox]

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