Posts by Xav De Matos at Xbox 360 Fanboy

Xav de Matos
Toronto, Canada - http://www.thelevelgrind.com

It’s Xav de Matos. That’s like Have with a Z. Public Relations major by day, gaming journalist by night. Xav has been in the industry for over five years with stints in retail management all the way to blogging for www.Xbox360Fanboy.com; part of AOL’s Joystiq Network. Xav's GamerTag is: Snypz. Why is Xav writing in third-person? Xav doesn't know.

Bionic Commando gets boxed up

Posted Sep 30th 2008 7:30PM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: News

This ain't your daddy's Bionic Commando. Actually, this really isn't even your Commando really, considering younger gamers have been reintroduced to the series with Bionic Commando Rearmed. Wait...who is this guy? The appropriately named action adventure features a dreaded-out Nathan Spencer as he battles a terrorist threat within the fictional Ascension City.

Owners of Bionic Commando Rearmed also have the ability to play the game skinned as the original Nathan "Rad" Spencer using a code found within the game. Bionic Commando, from Swedish developer GRIN, is set to swing (pun!) into action this holiday season.

Gallery: Bionic Commando

Mega Man 9 blasts XBLA tomorrow

Posted Sep 30th 2008 7:00PM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: News

Remember old school fans and rejoice. Making his triumphant debut on the Xbox 360 tomorrow is Megs himself in Mega Man 9 for the Xbox Live Arcade. Priced at 800MS points ($10), Mega Man 9 was specifically designed to reignite nostalgic thoughts of classic Mega Man adventures on the NES with a retro look, old school graphical glitches and punishing difficulty.

It isn't all wondrous in the world of Mega Man 9 however, as the already released Wii version of the game inadvertently announced all of Capcom's DLC plans for the game. Among the downloadable content are a playable Proto Man with charge and slide abilities and new modes. For perspective, when all leaked DLC is included in the price of Mega Man 9 the retro-style downloadable title increases to an $18 purchase. Do you plan on going retro this week?

Rate your post maintenance Xbox Live experience

Posted Sep 30th 2008 6:30PM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: Polls

Xbox Live is back online. You know, we know it. But how well is the service performing after its 26-hour downtime? Reports indicate that some services are not working as expected but some say the online service is working fine in all areas. Who to believe?! X3F has consulted billionaire scientists, NASA specialists and the world's best sandwich makers for answers and created this poll in response. Uh, the sandwich makers are only here because we're getting a little hungry though ... they aren't voting on this one.

New achievements point to Marble Blast Ultra DLC

Posted Sep 30th 2008 6:00PM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: News

If a recent update to the achievement list - discovered by Xbox 360 Achievements - for Marble Blast Ultra is to be believed, new content is heading to the popular XBLA title. One of the original Xbox Live Arcade titles to be released, Marble Blast Ultra is the high-definition remake of the popular marble rolling PC puzzler.

The information provided in the three added achievements, which toss another 50 possible gamerscore points int the game, point to new multiplayer maps. Marble Blast Ultra sits on our personal favorite XBLA titles ever and is currently listed as one of the few Arcade Hits and asks 400MS points.

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Halo 3 EXP and TruSkill issues detected, under investigation

Posted Sep 30th 2008 5:45PM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: News, Halo 3

Early this morning when Xbox Live was reactivated from its 26 (or so) hour slumber, Halo 3 users in Matchmaking discovered a problem. Users were angered to find that their Halo 3 TrueSkill and EXP were not being rewarded properly after each match -- that is to say it didn't work at all. According to Bungie and the Xbox.com support page, the problem is being investigated and hopes to be solved as soon as possible. Bungie noted that the issue may appear, at first, to be an EXP ban but users will be able to tell the difference when a very specific warning message is displayed. X3F will update you as soon as it learns more.

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David Perry: Selling Earthworm Jim was the "dumbest move ever"

Posted Sep 30th 2008 4:30PM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: Interviews, Fan stuff

When you stop to think about iconic characters for each of the big three a few easy ones come to mind. Master Chief owning on Xbox, Super Mario fighting for Nintendo and Kratos breaking dudes on the PlayStation (or insert your own characters if these examples don't work for you). One character that had the potential to be a huge gaming icon after his introduction was Earthworm Jim.

Jim had it all. Fun games, ridiculous cartoon and even action figures. Then one day the team that owned the rights to Earthworm Jim decided to call it a night and sell the character off for fear they wouldn't be able to bring him into the 3D world. David Perry, founder of Shiny Entertainment, has recently come clean on one of the biggest mistakes his company ever made; letting Jim get away.

"[Selling the rights of Earthworm Jim to Interplay] turned out to be the dumbest move ever," Perry said in an interview with Kikizo. "There's been other versions of Earthwork Jim done that were done without our permission really, licensing deals, and I was very unhappy about them." We'd be happy enough to see the original titles added to the Xbox Live Arcade or any news on the announced fourth title in the series.

You know, it's funny to hear losing Earthworm Jim was the biggest mistake in Shiny's history. We could have sworn it was just being involved with Enter the Matrix. Just saying.

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Rumor: Max Payne 3 in development at Rockstar Toronto

Posted Sep 30th 2008 3:00PM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: Rumors

According to CVG, Xbox 360 World magazine claims that Max Payne 3 is currently in development internally within Rockstar at its studio in Toronto, Canada. Responsible for the fan favorite beat-em-up The Warriors, Rockstar Toronto would be taking the reigns from Remedy - who is currently working (we hope) on the Microsoft exclusive Alan Wake.

Details on the rumor are scarce as a release date, let alone an announcement date, has been set. We wouldn't be surprised if this rumor were true considering the credits of the Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (PC version only) proclaim, "Max Payne's journey through the night will continue." According the Rockstar career page, Rockstar Toronto is seeking experienced Xbox 360 and PS3 programmers, so we know something for this generation is planned. Take Two has yet to respond to Joystiq's request for a comment on the rumor.

[via Joystiq]

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Red Alert 3 trailer showcases actors, kinda sorta

Posted Sep 30th 2008 2:30PM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: Fan stuff

There are a few things that are wrong about the trailer you just watched, if you haven't watched it yet we'll wait. The montage of female actors taking on roles in Red Alert 3 is criminally short with a disclaimer that players can witness more by purchasing the special edition of the game. Now, we're not saying it's criminally short because we just want to look at beautiful women but can these actors get a name card?

Quick blurry images of female actors and not one mentions them by name but the male actor portion of the video is complete with multiple shots of each actor, their credits and spends so much time showing off one actor we could have read their biography if included. We know Electronic Arts wants to hype up the anticipated sequel and the Collector's Edition but let's use a little tact, shall we? We're not mad though because George Takei is one sexy beast of a man.

Force Unleashed getting Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan skins, new missions

Posted Sep 30th 2008 12:30PM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: News

Star Wars is popular for the multitude of memorable characters yet every decent Star Wars game is based on completely different people within the universe. Sure, The Force Unleashed main character Starkiller is cool but wouldn't it be fun to go all "Force crazy" as Luke Skywalker or Obi-Wan? LucasArts agrees and has announced plans via news release to add new character skins for the main character which will allow gamers to play as Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan, Ki-Adi-Mundi and Kit Fisto.

LucasArts also announced plans to release a new mission in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, where the Apprentice will learn more about his father and battle his inner demons while navigating through the rubble of a destroyed building.

No amount of Jedi Mind Tricks were able to extract the pricing or release details from our contacts at LucasArts. The Force is strong with them. For another image of the re-skinned Apprentice do as the Xbox ads say, jump in.

Continue reading Force Unleashed getting Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan skins, new missions

Xbox.com shifts friends list back to single page

Posted Sep 30th 2008 12:00PM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: News

During the Xbox Live service maintenance yesterday Xbox.com dropped off and back on Planet Internet. While we were aware the update to Xbox Live was simply back end additions in preparation of the next dashboard, the NXE, few people expected a major complaint would be addressed for Microsoft's Xbox site. During the Xbox.com redesign a few months ago Microsoft decided to separate friends through multiple pages instead of keeping the Friends List to one long list. Well, by popular demand, the separated friends pages have been removed and everyone you know and game with is on the same page when you log into your account on Xbox.com. It's a small change but we're happy. What changes would you like to see on Xbox.com come time for the New Xbox Experience?

Bleszinski: Xbox 360 graphical limit quote "taken out of context"

Posted Sep 30th 2008 11:30AM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: News, Gears of War 2

During a London event where Gears of War 2 was predominantly featured, lead designer Cliff Bleszinski attempted to clarify a point made by fellow Epic employee Rod Fergusson regarding the power of the Xbox 360. Fergusson, senior producer for Gears 2, was quoted as saying the Xbox 360 was reaching its graphical limit but Bleszinski says people took the remark the wrong way.

"[Rod Fergusson's] quote that was taken out of context," Bleszinski told Videogaming247. "I think we're pushing the 360, but the system's not going to get any more RAM, it's not going to get a faster processor, but at the same time that puts the impetus on our programmers and artists to be smarter with what they work with."

Bleszinski went on to compare the Xbox 360 life cycle to that of the Super Nintendo console; graphics gradually increased in quality and just as it seems to reach its limit someone uses "ninja code tricks" to push more out of the system. "It's amazing what programmers can do. I wouldn't count our guys out yet," Cliff added.

Gears of War 2 hits retail this November 7 exclusively on the Xbox 360.

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Age of Booty XBLA bound October 15 for $10

Posted Sep 30th 2008 10:45AM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: News, Xbox Live Arcade

We promised we would write this entire post without making a single lame pirate joke and we're sticking to it. Capcom announced yesterday that its Xbox Live Arcade real-time strategy pirate game, Age of Booty, would land on the service on October 15 and will be priced at 800MS points. Capcom, hot off the heels of the successful Bionic Commando Rearmed release and prepping for a Mega Man 9 launch this Wednesday, promises a great experience on the boardgame-esque high-seas.

Age of Booty from developer Certain Affinity, which once went by the less risqe title Plunder, has already received positive impressions from our sister site Joystiq from preview code in the past. Hopefully the multiplayer-focused, real-time downloadable title will be able to set itself apart when it releases among some of the most anticipated games of the year. Gather ye Microsoft Sea points and prepare for the adventure... Arrr! Well, we almost made it.

Gallery: Age of Booty (XBLA)

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Red Hot Chili Peppers DLC lights up Xbox Live

Posted Sep 30th 2008 10:00AM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: Xbox Live Marketplace, Rock Band 2

As players return to Xbox Live they'll be happy to know new DLC awaits them in Rock Band 2. Available now on the Xbox Live Marketplace is the entire album from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Grab the downloadable package for 1,600MS Points or 160MS points per track today via the Marketplace and start rocking. Not familiar with Blood Sugar Sex Magik? RHCP fans will tell you the album, the bands fifth, is widely regarded as the release that put the group in the public eye. Just how popular is it? Blood Sugar Sex Magik has sold a reported 12 million copies worldwide since its release in 1991. Included in the track pack are:

"The Power of Equality"
"If You Have to Ask"
"Breaking the Girl"
"Funky Monks"
"Suck My Kiss"
"I Could Have Lied"
"Mellowship Slinky in B Major"
"The Righteous & The Wicked"
"Blood Sugar Sex Magik"
"Under the Bridge"
"Naked in the Rain"
"Apache Rose Peacock"
"The Greeting Song"
"My Lovely Man"
"Sir Psycho Sexy"
"They're Red Hot"

Next up, Californication or bust!

Welcome Back... Xbox Live is online

Posted Sep 30th 2008 5:17AM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: News

Cue the "Welcome Back, Kotter" theme music! Xbox Live has returned to normal saving gamers unable to play their favorite online titles from boredom and saving Microsoft at least a few more hate letters to read. After hitting a speed bump during the maintenance, which only served as a stepping stone toward the New Xbox Experience, the Live service is back online.

Remember there are no new features added to the Xbox 360 or Xbox Live service at this time. We expect some connections to be a little bumpy as millions of fans attempt to reconnect at once but things will smooth over time.

So, the question now remains. Is Xbox Live working for you?

Xbox Live maintenance runs late [Update]

Posted Sep 30th 2008 3:23AM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: News

Quick update for anyone who decided to stay up and sneak in a few games of (insert your multiplayer game of choice here). According to Major Nelson, the scheduled Xbox Live maintenance is running later than originally expected. Originally scheduled to end at 11:59PM PT, according the Xbox.com support page, Major Nelson says the team will have an update on the status at 2AM PT. Maybe you should hit the sack and dream of a beautifully performing Xbox Live for the morning because we imagine updating and reactivating a service with 10 million plus Gold and Silver members might take longer than anyone thought.

For more information on the Xbox Live service tune into X3F or keep an eye on the Xbox.com support page.

[Update: The service is now online.]

[Update: Microsoft's support page has been updated thanking gamers for their patience reminding this update is important as the company plans to roll out exciting new features - also known as the New Xbox Experience - in the future. Remember, this is not the new system update but an important stepping stone. Another update coming at 2AM PT as the Xbox support team works "around the clock."]

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