Through the end of October, Microsoft is running an "Extended Play Download Days" promotion on the Xbox Live Marketplace, where they've selected and discounted a few sets of popular DLC.
The discount priced DLC includes content from Beautiful Katamari, Forza 2, Guitar Hero III, Mass Effect and Oblivion with savings ranging from 25-60% off the original prices. That means you can get Mass Effect's Bring Down The Sky DLC for 300(originally 400), Oblivion's Shivering Isles for 1600(originally 2400) and GHIII's Foo Fighters Pack for 360(originally 500). View the complete list of discounted Extended Play Download Days DLC after the jump.
In its historic 1000th issue, Entertainment Weekly made a point to name the new classics of the last 25 years. While EW took everything from movies to tech to task, writers Geoff Keighley, Wook Kim and Gary Eng Walk clawed through the last 25 years of gaming to list the industry's most important releases. Two Xbox-exclusive titles landed in the top 25 of the 50 title list, at number 11 the classic 2001 Xbox launch title Halo: Combat Evolved from Bungie and ranking in at number 20 was Epic's Gears of War.
What are the most important titles in your gaming life and how do you think this list stacks up as a collection of gaming's new classics in the last 25 years? The full 50 title listing can be found after the jump.
Update: We're experiencing issues with the embedded video player from The Escapist. To watch the video you can click through to Zero Punctuation's section of The Escapist site by clicking the image above.
Zero Punctuation has decided to reach into a bag marked, "Games History Deemed Better Than Life" to find out exactly what the appeal is. Victim number one is everyone's favorite open world role-playing game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. From Bethesda, the guys working on the upcoming Fallout 3, Oblivion takes players on an epic adventure that Yahtzee suspects is really just a poor copy and paste extravaganza. Of course, the video is NSFW and can be found after the jump.
In celebration of the fact that the Best RPGs are on Xbox 360, Xbox.com is holding yet another Play & Win giveaway where Microsoft points can be won, a Mass Effect themed 360 can be earned and a trip to this year's Comic-con can be secured. But you'll have to get your DLC download on. To enter this Play & Win, you'll have to register here or download the Best RPGs gamer picture off of the XBLM. Then, once registered, you'll get one entry for every piece of DLC you download for either Mass Effect, Blue Dragon or Oblivion. And yes, you will earn an entry for downloading horse armor. This RPG themed Play & Win kicks off tomorrow March 7th and runs through March 11th, so be prepared to download and be prepared to select your favorite blogger when you win the grand prize trip to Comic-con and have to choose someone to bring with.
Microsoft just launched a new marketing campaign whose main aim is to get you trained so that when someone mentions the letters RPG your instant response will be Xbox 360. The Best RPGs Are On Xbox 360 is the campaign's name and highlights some of the best of the best RPGs that grace the Xbox 360 including Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Mass Effect, Oblivion and of course Fable 2. Simply head to Xbox.com to get the dish on these super RPGs and if your interest is piqued, make your way to Gamestop. There you will find a free retail disc that comes packed with information on these "Best RPGs" as well as never before seen videos of Fable 2 and the complete Sci-Fi channel "Sci vs Fi" episode featuring Mass Effect. Now how can you not agree? The Xbox 360 is hands down the best place to find RPGs ... just none that are on the Playstation platform.
Speaking with videogaming247.com, executive producer Todd Howard for Fallout 3 said that unlike the last Bethesda Softworks release, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, their latest title will launch simultaneous across all platforms.
The Xbox 360, PS3 and PC versions of Fallout 3 are expected to launch in the third quarter of 2008 and takes place 200 years in the future in a post-apocalyptic Washington, DC. We personally can't wait to see what the title has to offer especially considering the team is looking for inspiration from various forms of media, specifically Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road.'
We're not sure how the hell it happened, but it seems like nary a week has gone by lately without at least one game that we have to buy. This week is no exception, as we finally get to sink our teeth (thumbs?) into Beautiful Katamari. Through some bizarre rending of the spacetime continuum -- portals may have been involved -- we have avoided every previous entry in the series (all 48 of them), so we're looking forward to rolling things up in our giant ball of stuff. Fear not if you're sick of Katamari though, because there are other games available too. Behold "The List."
There's a couple of games getting new content today, so rather than spread the details across numerous posts (that'll only leave some dazed and confused) we've bundled all the new downloadable content news right here.
Today, Oblivion fans can get access to their own castle with the free The Fighter's Stronghold expansion download. Just be sure to keep your newly accessible living quarters clean and fresh. XBLA game Band of Bugs is also feeling the DLC love today with a the new 250 Microsoft point Ninja Sticks of Fury expansion that adds new achievements, a new shadowy character and more challenges to the Band of Bugs universe. Finally, Lumines Live! owners will be getting a new 400 Microsoft point Rockin' Holiday Pack expansion and two free skins ("Heavenly Star" and "Breeze") this Wednesday. Don't own Lumines Live! you say, well good news for you, because it was also announced that starting this Wednesday Lumines Live! will be permanently discounted to 800 Microsoft points. Smile.
Read - Oblivion The Fighter's Stronghold DLC
Read - Band of Bugs Ninja Sticks of Fury DLC
Read - Lumines Live! DLC and discount pricing
But you'd better get it while it's still free. Bethesda has announced the final bit of downloadable content for its latest time-swallowing RPG, Oblivion. Entitled "Fighter's Stronghold," it gives fighter characters a spiffy new castle to lounge around in. Within this castle, players can upgrade the furnishings, find the secret treasure vault, hire a taxidermist to create trophies, and much more. Players can even hire a vintner to make special ability enhancing wines. It has everything a fighter could want, including your own personal knights that patrol the premises (we wonder if you get XP for their kills). The best part of all is that it's free starting October 15th and will remain free for one week thereafter. Really, it sounds almost perfect. We have discovered one weakness though: no wenches. How can you have a fighter's paradise without wenches?
Bethesda has announced that Shivering Isles, the expansion to the life-owning RPG Oblivion, will soon be making its retail debut. Previously available only as a download on Xbox Live Marketplace, the retail disc will offer up both the Shivering Isles expansion as well as another piece of downloadable content, Knights of the Nine. As we've reported before, Shivering Isles offers dozens of hours of additional gameplay with new areas, items, spells, enemies, and ingredients. The disc is set to hit retailers next month. No price has been set at this time, but we imagine the pricing will be on par with the downloadable version.
If you've yet to step into the world of Oblivion, you might want to wait until the Game of the Year Edition ships this month. The GOTY Edition includes all the downloadable content for Oblivion includingShivering Isles and Knights of the Nine. For the rest of us (especially those without Knights of the Nine) the Shivering Isles retail disc might be a pretty good deal.
[Via Gamertag Radio]
Update: The Game of the Year Edition does not include all downloadable content. It includes only Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine.
Bethesda has announced on their blog that the Japanese version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has shipped. The Japanese version of Oblivion has been completely localized, with nearly a million words translated, including ever book in the game. The beginning and ending cinematics have also been re-recorded in Japanese, though spoken dialogue within the game remains in English with Japanese subtitles. What is more, the Japanese version includes the Knights of the Nine content right on the disc (as will the upcoming Game of the Year Edition in America). The game recently received rave reviews from Famitsu -- the game scored a 38, a score equaled or bettered by only 44 titles since September of 1986 -- and production director Ashley Cheng expects the game to be a "breakout hit." Furthermore, Cheng expects it will sell a few Xbox 360s, too (the localized PS3 version is expected in a few months). Whether or not Oblivion affects the 360's performance in Japan, we're happy that Japanese gamers finally get a chance to see what the rest of the world has been raving about.
Today, Bethesda announced that this September they'll be releasing a new compilation of our beloved Oblivion ever so lengthily named The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition. The GotY edition doesn't have a price-tag attached to it yet, but we do know that it will include all the previously released downloadable content including Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine. And, we hope, it'll include the horse armor too.
So, this GotY edition surely won't woo Oblivion fans who've already purchased all the DLC content, but for those who have yet to experience all the RPG fun, this September looks to be the time to jump in.
Another week goes by and another Live Top Ten is upon us. This week sees some things that don't change, the return of a few old faces, and other movements. The top four remain the same, with Shadowrun also remaining at tenth, though its demo dropped to 9th, which is unfortunate. Oblivion and GRAW 2 make returns at sixth and seventh respectively, as it looks like players are coming back to those in the summer lull. Full list breakdown after the break.
So, the weekend is officially upon us, and at least in the Great White North, the forecast is wet and gloomy, which pretty much means sitting back in a Sumo lounge chair and gaming away. We'll probably try to get some final matches of Shadowrun in before the beta ends Monday night, rock out to Guitar Hero II, or go back to old favorites like Oblivion and Gears of War. But that's us. What of you, fellow fanboy, what are you going to be playing?
Leaderboards: Xbox 360 Fanboy Leaderboard
Xbox 360 Fanboy Leaderboard Mk. II
X360F Gamertags: Richard Mitchell -- SenseiRAM
Dustin Burg -- SuperDunners
David Dreger -- Knuckles Dawson
Shivering Isles' form ID bug of a problem that we wrote about a while ago is going to be fixed next week with a patch coming Monday. Bethesda's community manager hopped on the official forums to announce the Shivering Isles patch, but acknowledged that Monday is only a target date and the release could get pushed back. So, even though most of you weren't having a problem with this little bug, it was there, Bethesda squashed it, and all is calm in the world.
Through the end of October, Microsoft is running an "Extended Play Download Days" promotion on the Xbox Live Marketplace, where they've selected and discounted a few sets of popular DLC.
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In its historic 1000th issue, Entertainment Weekly made a point to name the new classics of the last 25 years. While EW took everything from movies to tech to task, writers Geoff Keighley, Wook Kim and Gary Eng Walk clawed through the last 25 years of gaming to list the industry's most important releases. Two Xbox-exclusive titles landed in the top 25 of the 50 title list, at number 11 the classic 2001 Xbox launch title 
Microsoft just launched a new marketing campaign whose main aim is to get you trained so that when someone mentions the letters RPG your instant response will be Xbox 360. The Best RPGs Are On Xbox 360 is the campaign's name and highlights some of the best of the best RPGs that grace the Xbox 360 including 
There's a couple of games getting new content today, so rather than spread the details across numerous posts (that'll only leave some dazed and confused) we've bundled all the new downloadable content news right here.
Shivering Isles' form ID bug of a 
