Want a free Chocobo for your avatar?

Well guess what now you can have one!

Not to long ago MS announced an exclusive free item for all the 360 Final Fantasy lovers, and all you had to do was register and then tweet about it, simple right? Well now the maximum number of tweets has been reached and the item will be available for all who register this December.

Head over to the US or UK xbox sites now and claim your free bird, you know you want one!

Xbox UK

Xbox US

Also check your countries Page to see if you can also claim.

Borderlands Zombie Island DLC

Do I really need to write anything about the up and coming DLC for Borderlands?  You guys have been playing this game like mad since it was released.  So you know when this DLC drops you’re all going to buy it!  You’ll snag some M$ Points and stay home the day it launches and play it non-stop.

And the main reason you’re going to buy it.  One word: ZOMBIES!!!

 

Millions Log Into Facebook Using Xbox LIVE

Looks like Facebook ’s popularity now stretches even further on multiple platforms now that you can access it via your Xbox 360 console.

Microsoft is reporting that 2 million users logged into Facebook once it went live on the 360 on November 17th.  And half a million accounts were created in the first 24 hours.  Hmmmmmm I wonder what the figure was for users who logged out after realizing the application is really just a half assed version.

Fallout 3 Avatar Clothing Coming On November 26th

Well it looks like Bethesda is releasing some Fallout 3 Avatar clothing this week.  So if you’re into changing up your avatar’s look then make sure you’ve got some Microsoft Points ready when this stuff drops.  Is anyone wondering where the Brotherhood of Steel armor is?  Come on Bethesda!  You deny us access to the coolest clothing in the game?  WTF?  And not for nothing but are developers aware of the Avatar Awards?  You know where unlocking certain Achievements in game also unlock clothing and props for your Dashboard Avatar?  Was creating a patch for the Awards to difficult?  Or is it just easier to have us pay a couple of bucks for this stuff?

GLG Review: Wet

Presentation

Get ready for a big nice pile of fail. Now that isn’t saying that Wet’s graphics are sub par in and of itself. The environments are well designed to show off her acrobatic prowess (although lacking a fine level of polish), the enemy units vary enough in appearance to not look like they came as a result of a money-saving copy and paste fest, and the main character is definitely easy on the eyes. The major fault for this game is the presentation of the game itself.
The game seems to be inspired by kill bill fanboy who liked cinematic adventures a bit too much as the intentionally over the top animations  go past the mark of awesome intensity and right into utterly lame territory that would make Devil May Cry star Dante facepalm. Why does Rubi toss EVERY bottle of liquor she drinks into the air, shoot it as it is right above her, strike a “mean” pose and then move on? Why must she stab every major male opponent right through the genitalia? Why must she spout cliché ridden and sadly generic over aggressive lines to anyone and everyone? It’s because the developers tried to force  “badass appeal” on the lead character and failed miserably.
Another aggravation is that there are commercials that come in between certain chapters (such as selling pickles) that you can not skip and are forced to watch, none of which are in any way entertaining. In addition to that, when you start getting low on health, it starts to tear like a movie reel. Cute touch to add a cinematic feel but this can block key areas on the map when in a firefight and is just punishing on the eyes (most noticeable as it starts to give and the grainy flashes of reel increase)
Lastly, this is the first game I have ever played in my entire life across 9 or so platforms that made me want to mute the T.V. (or turn on music via the hard drive, since you can on the 360). It is simply torture on the ears. I don’t think it came down to taste in music as I have listen to oldies, rock, rap, country, metal, ska, punk, etc. No matter what you like, it’s still tragic.
Kudos to the developers for trying to make a badass female lead and all but when you make her fail so hard it is almost an insult to female gender as a whole.

4/10

Story

You are Rubi, an angry gun wielding, sword carrying badass who is set to drop in and take back what is hers (she starts off mentioning good that are rightfully hers before she makes her first assault). Along the way she gets hired to track down a man’s son as he is set to take over the “family business”. It was around this point that I could no longer take anything seriously and had to skip scenes just to make it to the end.
The writing isn’t in any way deep or enlightening and seems to rely heavily on Rubi spouting off hard ass phrases and threats to enemies. The voice acting itself is done rather well though, so at least the voice actors did the best they could with the material in hand.
I know in most action games you don’t necessarily need a reason to tear foes apart or to empty clips into them but it would have been nice to see some kind of competent narrative behind the mayhem.

4/10

Gameplay

If you didn’t take too well to Stranglehold, just stop reading as you will not want to play this game.
This is a third person action game which has heroine Rubi dual wielding guns to shoot down waves of criminals until she gets to her goal. The key element is the acrobatics system, which slows time down when she is jumping, sliding, or swinging off of poles to accurately target enemies while on the move. This sounds great in theory but somewhat fails in practice. The first major issue with this is that the aiming circle is miniscule and doesn’t variate with each weapon, so a pistol round has the same blast radius as a shotgun.  I don’t think the developers have ever handled a weapon in real life as that alone would have seemed laughable. Secondly, you have to move Rubi and the aiming circle at the same time which will prove frustrating. Trying to have her run off of a wall and then jump over a gap while trying to shoot down four enemies is as aggravating as you would think. There is some help as the dual wielded weapon autofires as you perform acrobatics but it doesnt do anywhere near enough damage to be deemed effective. Lastly, the game forces you to do acrobatics even when it doesn’t seem necessary. You will not gather any kind of significant points (which goes towards upgradeable skills) by just running and gunning (or slashing). And that is assuming you can even kill any enemies when not perform acrobatics as in normal time enemies can turn you into a sack of bullet riddled flesh within 10 seconds or less. Oh, and let’s not forger that you can’t zoom in on most weapons so trying to use your weapon effectively is a hardship. You will find yourself hopping and sliding around like a clown just to fight basic enemies.
Now as I mentioned before, there are upgradeable skills (which use points earned in the main campaign) to beef up Rubi and her weapons. I liked this system but since most of the upgrades are basic and vanilla you won’t be running with excitement towards the upgrade menu.
That isn’t to say the game is entirely bad.
The acrobatics (when used for navigating areas) are entertaining as you can run off walls, swing between poles, run along ledges, slide under obstructions, etc. They did a phenomenal job with this in regards to exploring the environments.
Also, rage mode is somewhat entertaining (although it’s still hampered down by the core gameplay issues) as it puts you in a small area with tons of enemies which you have to tear down in order to make it out alive. You could very well engage tens if not hundreds of enemies in some of the rage modes and that allows you to have at it with reckless abandoned. I found this small side mode more fun than the main campaign itself.
Lastly, they do provide extra content with challenge modes which test your proficiency in combat with a points count mode (which has you play each campaign chapter trying to rack up a specific amount of points) and your speed in specific time trials where you have to finish a race within a very demanding timeframe. This helps prolong the wet experience for fans of the game, so if your in luck if you beat the game and don’t want to get dry.

6/10

Achievements

This is one of the better areas of the game as the achievements are all offline (there is no MP modes) and are fairly easy to obtain. I got 500+ points with little effort and without a lot of hours clocked in. If the game was more enjoyable I would have pushed for more. If you can stand the game, you can get some nice gamerscore out of this one.

8/10

Overall

I get what the developers tried to do with the “Let’s make a crazy game in the kill bill spirit with a badass female lead who will rock out some insane action film moments ” approach but I found it to be as refreshing as six-day old cola, and by that I mean it comes up flat.
I can’t honestly recommend this game even as a rental until it comes down to bargain bin pricing (20 dollars or less). The action is hampered down by a poor combat system which relies way too much on the acrobatics system and the story by no means encourages you to play more of it. Only those desperate for gamerscore should look here.

5/10

Recommendation: Avoid

Microsoft Now Being Sued by Datel Over “Lockout”

Joystiq reports that memory card maker Datel is suing Microsoft over the forced lockout of all third party memory storage options that came as part of the last major Xbox Live Update. The claim for this lawsuit can be found below.

“Microsoft has taken steps to render inoperable the competing Datel memory card for no visible purpose other than to have that market entirely to themselves,” Datel attorney Marty Glick explained in a press release. “They accomplished their recent update by making a system change that will not recognize or allow operation of a memory card with greater capacity than their own. We believe that with the power Microsoft enjoys in the market for Xbox accessories this conduct is unlawful.”

Microsoft Did Not Ban 1 Million Users

In an interview with Venture Beat XboxLIVE general manager Marc Whitten had this to say regarding the banning of LIVE subscribers who modded their console and play pirated games:

“Microsoft looks at banning users “from a safety and anti-cheating perspective” and that the company looks out for its partners. These were people that were pirating software.”

And how many users did Microsoft ban?  It’s been stated by everyone except for Microsoft that the number reaches 1 million users.  Mr Whitten states:

“I cannot explain to you why people would think it was a million people.  It wasn’t a million people.”

Well there you have it.  It was not a million subscribers.  It was 999,999!

Check out the whole interview here

Microsoft Facing Class Action Law Suit For Console Banning?

Well look like the Microsoft lawyers will be finding themselves back in court defending the company for its recent banning of users from Xbox LIVE.  Law firm Abington IP recently announced its filing of a class action suit on it’s website.  Abington is asking all those who have been effected by the ban and not refunded  for the time left on their subscription to contact them.

Abington states Microsoft “conveniently” waited until after the launch of two of Xbox 360’s biggest holiday titles before banning up to one million consoles from accessing its online gaming service.

A spokesperson from Microsoft had this to say regarding the possible lawsuit on Friday. “Piracy is illegal and modifying an Xbox 360 is a violation of the Xbox Live Terms of Use. Microsoft is well within its legal rights to ban these users from Xbox Live.”

Microsoft has been rumored to have banned anywhere between 600,000 to 1 million users.  They have not released any official numbers.

The law firm did acknowledge the piracy issue stating:

“Although modification of Xbox consoles is ‘arguably’ against the terms of use for Xbox/Xbox Live, Microsoft conveniently timed the Xbox console ban to coincide with the release of the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 game and less than two months after the release of the very popular Halo: ODST game.  Piracy is a legitimate concern for Microsoft and other content producers.”

If this suit gets into a court room, it could set precedence regarding laws against piracy and online gaming.

Source: The Province

 

GLG Review: Left 4 Dead 2

Presentation

The graphics in L4D2 are somewhat disappointing, at least in some regards. First off, the title looks all too similar to the original L4D, which was an underwhelming title in terms of its visual quality. Secondly, the environments look flat and grainy while the character models are simply unappealing. Lastly, the returning special infected (zombies) show a major lack of progress as you can’t, in any way, spot a difference between their appearance in this title and the original.

Happily, I can report that there are some positive points to make a note of. The level designs themselves (regardless of the quality in which they were implemented) are very diverse in regards to concepts and color palettes used, so that is a major plus. Also, the combat effects are spot on, such as the sound and look of slashing a zombie with a katana being nearly immaculate. The gore and destruction is shown well with different parts of zombies being torn off, slashed apart, or blown off with accuracy in terms of place of impact and the visual effects of the injury.

In regards to music, there isn’t really much of it. You have some piano cues which signal the presence of special infected along with a few cryptic scores to accompany certain firefights. It works, but doesn’t go much beyond the score of satisfactory.

5.5/10

Story

You’re one of four unlucky survivors who must fight their way past hordes of zombies to sweet and beautiful freedom. Once again, the narrative in L4D2 is by no means deep or rewarding as it is virtually non-existant.

On a positive end, the mid-battle commentary is fairly entertaining although nothing to really pay excessive attention to. This includes, to a small degree, stories being told about memories of the survivors past as well as their reactions to the situation at hand.

Overall, I don’t think the developers cared too much about the story and neither will you.

2.5/10

Gameplay

This is a first person shooter which followed in the same footsteps as its predecessor and didn’t choose to deviate from the basic gameplay formula in any significant way.

You have to shoot your way past hordes of zombies and make it to some kind of evacuation point, albeit signaling a chopper, making it to a boat so you can sail away or fueling a car to drive away from the ensuing madness.
Basically, the game goes like this: you see zombies, you point, you shoot, you kill. This game doesn’t deliver anything new to the genre and most certainly provides no revolutionary aspects to fans of the series.

That last statement, however, isn’t necessarily a negative one. The gameplay is as deliciously fun and intense as the original L4D with some worthwhile additions (although none are major ones). You still will have to be aware of your surroundings, will still need to play as a team to win, and you will still get to mow down wave after wave of aggressive zombies and feel a true will to survive. Sadly though, this game does suffer if you play it by yourself as the core experience is built around a team effort, on the concept of people fighting on a united front.

Now, to address additions to Left4Dead2. The amount of zombies that come at you seems to have increased so you will find yourself shooting and sweating bullets as you try to fend off impressive waves of hungry zombies. Also, the special infected are more intelligent and will truly fight as a team. One example is when common zombies are swarming you to slow you down so a charger can slam into your party and grab a survivor to smash and crush over and over. Or when a jockey will take you over and bring you right into a pile of dangerous vomit from the mouth of a spitter (or in some cases, simply walk you off a building and to your death). This adds to the significance of tackling the special infected quickly and with a true sense of urgency.

Oh, and I can’t forget to talk about the weaponry. Not only do you have a larger arsenal of firearms (I saw at least 8 truly different types of guns to use) but now you have melee weapons. When I played the demo, I was afraid they would be simply for show and they wouldnt play differently from the others. I was somewhat mistaken. The chainsaw (a limited use weapon) tears apart your foes but is very loud and somewhat clumsy to wield. The nightstick is quick and damaging, but has a small range. The katana is fast and lethal with a solid range of damage. They play out to some degree of variance and can help clear out a swarming pile of zombies effectively.

As for the online MP, the basic modes are back in tow with a new scavenge mode thrown in. This pits a team of survivors against an army of zombies in a race to collect fuel cans. This seems as a bit of a novelty and not that different from the basic versus experience (which has survivors trying to make it to safe rooms while the infected try to stop them) but is an honest attempt to try and diversify its online experience.

In a nutshell, take the original, add more weapons and zombies, spice up the environments and sell it as a new game. It may not be a new experience but it definitely is a fun time.

8.5/10

Achievements

If you are hoping to get some good points added to your gamerscore, you will have to depend on others to get you there (but it won’t be that difficult for those not flying solo).

The A.I. allies will zealously deny you from most, if not all, of the very specifically detailed achievements (such as melee killing a tank or sneaking past a vast number of witches). Also, due to the presence of online achievements, you would be easier off getting a party together to boost them vice earn them, as some of them are very situation dependent (such as charing into four survivors at once) and can be somewhat hard to achieve. I am already at 500+ points in a few days and am not the most skilled player out there by any means but without the aid of allies, I don’t see how some of these are even feasible, yet alone possible.

8/10 (if you have friends on live/make friends on live)
3.5/10 (if you fly solo)

Overall

For those gamers looking for a brand new and startling experience like the original L4D, prepare to be disappointed. The core experience is a carbon copy replica of the original title and the graphics are lacking in comparison to other high-profile shooters on the market. Also, if you play by yourself you will have a hard time offline and on.

However, if you have consistent friends on Live and want more of the same thrilling gameplay alongside new weapons and locales, you simply can’t go wrong with Left4Dead2. It’s an exciting title which will test the teams tactics and gunplay at virtually every turn.

8.25/10

Recommendation:
Rent – (If you play by yourself and won’t make friends online)
Purchase – (If you enjoy co-op games and don’t mind being a bit social)

Msn Player launches! only in UK?

could this be a possible dashboard addition?

Note: I am not 100% if this is UK only, If more worldwide users are getting this please let me know!

So as of today people will be receiving emails from Microsoft announce their new MSN Player, no? well if yes you know what im talking about, if no, follow me.

Microsoft have taken a leap into the TV industry with their new MSN Player, the Player will allow you to watch over 300 TV shows, for… this is the surprising part, free! yes I said free and yes Microsoft are in on this, hope your as surprised as I am.

Anyway why dose this strike so much in my tiny little brain as interesting? well we all know Microsoft are looking to make the Xbox 360 a massive social experiance with Twitter, Facebook, Last.FM, Sky, Netflix, Zune and so forth so why not add their new MSN Player into the mix? I cannot see why they wouldn’t, can you?

Of course it will be some time before we see this integrated into our beloved dashboards or maybe they have no plans for it at all (which would be a huge shame as it has large attentional), all I can say is Microsoft I want the free player!

So if your in the good old UK head over to: http://player.uk.msn.com/default.aspx?OCID=Male16-24CTA and check out their new player and well enjoy!

I’ll update this more when some more information arrives.