In our continuing effort to bring you fresh and interesting content, X3F presents Would You Rather ... a weekly feature that asks you the hard questions. The point? If you had to choose one or the other, which would you go for?
While we sit and wait for the Condemned 2: Bloodshot demo to hit Xbox Live (yeah, we know the game is out) and we boot up our beta version of Battlefield: Bad Company we got to thinking - do we prefer single player or multiplayer demos? It seems that ever since the Halo 3 beta, most online games are allowing players to play test their upcoming releases in multiplayer form rather than traditional single player demos. Shooters like Call of Duty 4 to fighting games like Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, it looks like developers would rather put us to work to test their upcoming releases.
There's always the rub with a beta that it could be a buggy mess and developers are able to throw their hands in the air and say "Oh, you knew it was a test so don't cry Sally." Traditional demos on the other hand are usually very polished, and game tested clips from a final game in order to showcase what makes it special. Considering devs have claimed single player demos can chew-up development time it appears multiplayer betas are becoming the new norm. So, we ask you in this week's WUR - which do you prefer a single demo or multiplayer beta (demo)?
Feel free to share the reasons for your vote in the comments. We'll share the results of the poll during the next edition of Would You Rather ... which hits X3F every Wednesday.
Last weeks WUR results can be find after the jump ... quick test out these sweet links!
Bungie's quirky sense of humor really shines in a newly discovered Halo 3 beta multiplayer medal. Halo 3 beta player Izequo discovered a new medal while pwning a bunch of noobs with his shotgun in High Ground. The multiplayer medal, aptly named "Cheneymania!", is earned when a player kills ten others, with a shotgun, and without dying. A feat Mr. Cheney would definitely be proud of, because we all know how experienced he is with a shotgun. Birdshot FTW!
Update 1: Looks like Bungie was feeling the political heat and changed the name of the Cheneymania! medal to Shotgun Mania. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
Update 2: They changed the name again. It's now called Open Season! Thank you David.
Fresh from the developer oven arrives two new Lost Planet multiplayer maps for download off of the XBLM. The multiplayer map pack #1 will include the two new maps "Radar Field" and "Island 902" and will set you back 400 Microsoft Points. So, according to our sixth grade math skills, that works out to be around $2.50 per multiplayer map. Are you willing to pay over $2 for a multiplayer map or does that just seem a tad ridiculous? It's kind of a hard pill to swallow since we received two free maps for Gears a few months ago ... although it was sponsored by the Discovery Channel. No matter, anyone feeling the squeeze of the corporate machine on this purchase?
So, Phase 1 and 2 of the Halo 3 beta have closed, with most of us getting in. We even know that parties and matchmaking will be available, so you'll be able to play with your friends. A bunch of you readers left comments about getting in and wanted to exchange gamertags with those who were in the same boat. While we were busy throwing paper airplanes around the office here at Fanboy Towers, the idea came about to put together a comprehensive list of gamertags of beta participants. Better yet, we'll leave all the hard work to you, dear reader. If you're in the Halo 3 beta, sign up at our fancy schmancy custom leaderboard. We ask that those relying on Crackdown's invites to please only put your tag on the list after you've nabbed yourself a copy of the game. While you're at it, if you haven't added yourself to either of our standard leaderboards, feel free to do so now.
Xbox 360 Fanboy Halo 3 Beta Participants
Other X3F Leaderboards:
Xbox 360 Fanboy Leaderboard
Xbox 360 Fanboy Leaderboard Mk. II
Edge Online posted an interview with Bungie, where various team members discuss Halo 3, the development process and other aspects of the team's infrastructure. One thing has seemingly stood out from the article, though, and that is their view on Halo 2. The comments from Technical Lead Chris Butcher seem to be generating the most buzz. He feels that the team miscalculated on Halo 2 and that the multiplayer should have been exponentially better than what was released on the disc. He even goes so far as to say that he can't even play Halo 2, and uses that as a springboard to illustrate that Halo 3 will not fall into the same trap. Bungie has been known to be hyper critical of their own work in the past. While their opinions may be a little on the extreme side, if it motivates them to make Halo 3 the best it can be, then everybody wins. So, what do you think? Was Halo 2 really that bad? It still set the standard of how party matchmaking should be done, right?
To have a look at the rest of the interview, which touches on many things other than what was wrong with Halo 2, click the "Read" link.
Gears of War is the Xbox 360's killer app and is carrying the 360 into 2007. Gears of War has been praised for its graphics, its innovative gameplay, and its visceral artstyle, but everyone soon started to find some small problems. The multiplayer seemed rushed and bugs were plentiful, but everyone has played on. The Xbox community has been vocal with their complaints and suggestions as to what needs to be fixed and has been a patient group. We've waited a long time, but we still don't have answers. So, let's delve into what the problems are, what can be done to correct them, and who needs to make fixes as we look into a Gears of War multiplayer hangover.
Posted Oct 31st 2006 11:00PM by Ken Weeks
Filed under: News
Mmm....Call of Duty 3 multiplayer blows things up real good. Are you confident that Treyarch can take this series over from Infinity Ward without overlooking multiple bugs that end up necessitating an interminable wait for a patch? Wait a second.
People have been complaining about Saints Row multiplayer for a long time. Good news, it may be time to fire up Saints Row again, as Volition has finally released a patch. The patch fixes and updates a number of both single player and multiplayer issues. It does enough things that we won't bother to list them all here. Besides, we're pretty sure that most of you just want to know if the lag has been fixed. Supposedly, the patch will help out in the lag department, though we are unable to confirm this. Anybody out there gotten the patch yet? Are things running more smoothly? Leave some comments and let fellow thugz know what's up.
There are some of us (you know who you are) that have fond memories minigame festival that was Fuzion Frenzy. Others among us felt that it lacked the substance of, say, a Mario Party. It's interesting, then, that Microsoft has approached Hudson -- developer of the Mario Party series -- to create Fuzion Frenzy 2. We don't know if the game will feature an overall hub or board like the Mario Party titles, but we can at least be guaranteed that there will be tons of minigames. These screens show off some of the characters and what appears to be a casino themed world. Hopefully, Hudson has learned something from their recent effort and won't forget to include local multiplayer.
Are you and your Xbox 360 itching frag your obnoxious PC-loving cousin and his competition weighted mouse? Microsoft UK Third-Party Account Manager Steven Blackburn told a Leipzig crowd that MS will lure you to the blood feud with special online-only achievements designed to hype the Live Anywhere service. Start talking smack now because the the first truly cross-platform title, Shadowrun, hits early next year with plenty more to follow.
Our friends at Xboxic delivered some good news today. Mad Tracks, the wacky pull-back car racer, has been delayed. The reason why a delay is good news: Load is delaying the game so that Live Multiplayer can be added. Some of you may recall from our earlier post that Live play was not originally planned for the game. See, boys and girls, sometimes delays can be a good thing.
Does this news change anyone's mind about buying Mad Tracks?
In case you haven't heard, Capcom will debut Lost Planet's multi-player gameplay at the Leipzig Game Convention next month. A few lucky lost souls will get to play 4 on 4 matches showcasing one map and mode. Hey, since we got our hands on the single-player demo pretty early, they might as well throw this one on XBLM too.
Gamers who consider their purgatorial stay in the lobby prior to a multiplayer match a welcome respite from the steady siren call of Burger King may soon experience a whopper of a disappointment. Networking provider DemonWare is touting a solution for delivering personalized advertisements to any game lobby. It's not clear if the product will be aimed at consoles, PCs or both -- or how it squares with Xbox Live -- but DW's current networking customers include Activision, Codemasters, Eidos, Ubisoft, THQ and Sega. Of course, the revenue will be used only to create better games and improve the online experience, or so the champions of progress would have us believe.
Are lobby ads a form of in-game advertising you can live with, or should we send this demonic idea back to hell before it starts clogging up our consoles?
Giant mech fans rejoice, SEGA's team oriented, Xbox Live enabled, giant-robot-killfest, Chromehounds, has gone gold and should hit store shelves on July 11th. The game features massive online battles, including a perisitent war mode and more traditional deathmatch and CTF offerings. FROM software has a pretty good track record on the original Xbox. Here's hoping they come through for the 360.
Fresh from the developer oven arrives two new Lost Planet multiplayer maps for download off of the XBLM. The multiplayer map pack #1 will include the two new maps "Radar Field" and "Island 902" and will set you back 400 Microsoft Points. So, according to our sixth grade math skills, that works out to be around $2.50 per multiplayer map. Are you willing to pay over $2 for a multiplayer map or does that just seem a tad ridiculous? It's kind of a hard pill to swallow since we received two free maps for Gears a few months ago ... although it was sponsored by the Discovery Channel. No matter, anyone feeling the squeeze of the corporate machine on this purchase?
So, Phase 
Edge Online posted an interview with Bungie, where various team members discuss Halo 3, the development process and other aspects of the team's infrastructure. One thing has seemingly stood out from the article, though, and that is their view on Halo 2. The comments from Technical Lead Chris Butcher seem to be generating the most buzz. He feels that the team miscalculated on Halo 2 and that the multiplayer should have been exponentially better than what was released on the disc. He even goes so far as to say that he can't even play Halo 2, and uses that as a springboard to illustrate that Halo 3 will not fall into the same trap. Bungie has been known to be hyper critical of their own work in the past. While their opinions may be a little on the extreme side, if it motivates them to make Halo 3 the best it can be, then everybody wins. So, what do you think? Was Halo 2 really that bad? It still set the standard of how party matchmaking should be done, right?
People have been complaining about Saints Row multiplayer for a 
