Xbox 360 Fanboy

The headline says it all folks. 1up seems to have gotten their hands on some new Gears 2 footage, and come Friday we are going to be, by their own admission, blown away. We're thinking massive amounts of enemies on-screen and nice water, but whether or not we'll be privy to anything at all close to gameplay is unsure. Epic has proved before that their Unreal engine is up to the job, but gamers will want more than just a tech demo. For now it's just a waiting game till week's end. Oh, and the video won't go live till 10:30pm PST so those of you overseas or cross country may have wait until morning. Boo hoo.

Fresh out of hell's oven is the first review for upcoming 360 release The Darkness and word on the street is that it's actually good. 1UP posted the first review and gave the game a whopping 9.0 out of a possible 10. They felt that the presentation, the look, the gameplay and overall incorporation of the Darkness features (tentacles and all) were very polished and fun. As the saying goes, "it just works". Completing the game will take an average of ten or so hours, but 1UP feels that players can easily get distracted by messing around with the physics engine or taking advantage of the game's down times by roaming the city. The only drawback to the game is its somewhat gimmicky multiplayer, which developer Starbreeze even admits shouldn't be taken too seriously. Overall, we're impressed by how much 1UP was impressed by the game and will be patiently watching metacritic for more reviews to hit the internet. Who knows, The Darkness could actually be a solid game.

[Thanks, intRvenous]

1UP received some hands on time with BioShock and aren't afraid to spoil the first few hours of gameplay. Their BioShock preview article is more or less a recap of the gameplay and events of their play session. So, if you don't like spoilers, stay away from this BioShock "preview". But we'll sum up their overall impressions. 1UP feels BioShock is more of a shooter than anything else with solid controls and a great atmosphere all rolled up into a very fun free roam adventure. The encounters are memorable, the look is unmistakable, and they really enjoyed their time with the game (end summation). They also posted a few new screenshots of their underwater adventure, so be sure to check those out. And yes, we're just as excited to take down a Big Daddy ... we can't wait.

[Via Game Stooge]

Our compatriots at PVRWire uncovered a 1UP video interview with Microsoft's Chris Satchell and Albert Penello. The group discuss the Xbox 360's feature set and what sort of improvements we might expect in the future. Some of the more interesting topics discussed include Xbox Live, features that the 360 should have, and, of course, a larger hard drive. The interview is broken up into two parts. The first part mainly covers IPTV and the possibility of a larger hard drive for DVR functions. The second half focuses on the 360 itself and its future potential. Part one is embedded above and you can watch part two after the break.

For Christmas 1UP decided to hand out gifts to the gaming industry's most elite, selecting only gifts that suite their prospective owners. Not only is their list hilariously true, but we're a little bitter that we didn't think of doing this. Some of our favorites have to be a one year Xbox Live subscription card to Phil Harrison to show him how an online service is supposed to work, the matchmaking source code from Halo 2 given to both Cliffy B and Mark Rein, a box of Trojans to Bethesda because whoever purchased that horse armor got it up the a**, and an apology letter to Rare because first impressions aren't always accurate and Viva Piñata rocks. We agree, these are the gifts everyone should have received. Do you have any gifts that 1UP forgot to mention and who should Santa deliver them to? Make a list, check it twice, and post it for all to see.

1UP continues their month long barrage of Halo 3 coverage with a breakdown of what Bungie is doing to address the multiplayer concerns from Halo 2. In short, these concerns are:

• Weapon whoring
• Duel Wielding and the "noob combo" (plasma pistol and battle rifle)
• Player designations

A big problem in Halo 2 multiplayer is weapon whoring. In other words, once a power weapon -- like the rocket launcher or sniper rifle -- is obtained, it cannot be obtained by anyone else until it is emptied or dropped by the player holding it. In some cases, a team will grab both sniper rifles on a large map and dominate, while the other team is denied any kind of counter measure. Another way to whore a weapon is to grab it and just not use it. As long as it is in your possession, it will not respawn, thus keeping it from everyone else. For instance, the team that grabs both snipers could also pick up the rocket launcher and sword just to make sure your team never has a chance. So, how does Bungie fix this?

That issue of EGM isn't even out yet and the Halo 3 hype train keeps a' rolling. The editors of EGM/1UP have posted some of their thoughts and impressions of their visit to Bungie. Though they don't give away anything that hasn't already been leaked, they do announce that they definitely liked what they saw. Dan Hsu makes a time honored point, noting that the graphics weren't "that impressive for an Xbox 360 game," but it was so fun that it didn't matter. He goes on to say that he doesn't want to go back to Halo 2 now that he has been spoiled by this (pre-alpha) build of Halo 3. Mark MacDonald probably gives the most concrete info, giving speculators and Halo fanatics something to chew on.

"I very rarely dual-wielded in the few hours we got to play Halo 3, and after some early experimentation, I mostly stuck with the Assault Rifle. I'd pick up a Battle Rifle or Shotgun if I had the chance, but unless I was super close or far from a target, the AR suited me just fine. More than fine. OK I f*king love the assault rifle. It might as well be an entirely new weapon. (I hope they don't mess with it too much between now and the final game.)"

He goes on to discuss some of the new weapons, the new maps, and the overall candor of the Bungie team. Fans slavering for info would best be served to read his impressions first. The last impression comes from Luke Smith, who paints Halo as his Mario. His is more nostalgia and hope than the factual accounts of the other two. Still, if you love Halo, or hearing people wax romantic about videogames, give it a read.

So, with all this pre-hyped hype, has anybody actually gotten the new EGM yet?

[Via HBO]

Sure, the 360 is routinely outsold by used panties every week, but the Japanese recognize good design when they see it. The aptly named Good Design awards are given to many products that exhibit, what else, good design -- previous winners include the PSP and the DS Lite. The award was given to the 360 this year for many of its spiffy features, including:

• Vertical or Horizontal alignment
• The iconic ring of light and its functions
• Wireless controls
• Customizable faceplates
  
• The "inhale" concave design

Also noted was the international design effort that put the box together in the first place. Many will recall that the 360 was designed through a collaborative effort between Hers Experimental lab of Japan and Astro Studio of the US. So, congratulations 360, for winning an award that will likely have no impact whatsoever on Japanese sales!

According to 1Up, Sony head honcho, Howard Stringer, claimed yesterday that the PS3 is "future-proof." Speaking of the 360, Stringer said that it was a "cheaper transitional" product. Stringer re-emphasizes the idea that PS3 is going to magically break the console cycle and last for decades:

"When you bring into new technology, do you go for a cheaper transitional [product], or do you take a chance on future-proof, higher technology which will keep you going for many, many years?"

Concerning PS3's incredibly egregious price, Stringer stated, "The price of the PS3 is high, but you're paying for potential."

Really? Potential? And all this time I thought I was paying for something that plays video games. Of course the PS3 will be successful, but come on. Lay off the shtick, Howy. You're starting to sound like Krazy Ken.

[Via Aggravated Gamers]

By the way, Weblogs Inc. started having server problems as I typed this post. It happened at about the same time that I uploaded the pic of Howy there. I'm not saying the two things are related. I'm just saying is all...

Peter Moore, Microsoft cheerleader and spinmeister, recently sat down with Gamertag Radio and discussed today's complicated controls. While he did say that the novelty of the Wii may wear off after half an hour, he also admitted that today's control schemes are too complicated for some -- including his 14-year-old daughter. The big question is: does Microsoft have newer, simpler, friendlier, and gentler controls on the way? According to Peter:

"We're doing a lot of stuff there. Nothing that we're ready to talk about, and we're not going to force anything that is not going to be intuitive and innovative."

I think Moore is likely talking about 360's upcoming Vision camera, but the idea of an Xbox ThWiimote is intriguing.

Anybody have a chance to listen to the whole interview?

[Via openXBOX360]

Peter Moore may think backwards compatibility is for chumps (or does he?), but some of us would like to enjoy our Xbox classics. Psychonauts has been an especially vocal candidate for the back compat list lately. Tim Schafer, creator of Psychonauts, even launched an email campaign to get the game on Microsoft's sacred list. It looks like the petition got someone's attention over in Redmond, because a Microsoft back compat team member was compelled to post this on the IGN forums last week:

"Rest assured, we are working on Psychonauts."

Good news indeed. Now if they could just do something to make the game sell...

[Via Xboxic]