Xbox News

• Ten Years of Too Human - A Retrospective
  When Too Human comes out this Tuesday, it will mark the end of nearly ten years of development for one of the most beleaguered games of all time. It's in the spirit of giving the game credit for making it this far that we present you with a brief retrospective of Too Human's life, from 1999 to the present
  
  
• ConsoleGaming's 10 Most Emotional Gaming Moments
  Sick of mindless violence? Pumping endless rounds of bullets into what are essentially moving mannequins on call of duty online? Feel that you need to reconnect with your feminine side a little? Then take a break from the everyday obsessions with K/D ratios and lets try and warm those cold ConsoleGaming hearts of yours; with number 10 of ConsoleGamings' 10 most emotional gaming moments!
  
  
• Consoles Have Batman Fever: He's breaking out everywhere!
  This article looks at three very different interpretations of Batman in upcoming titles LEGO Batman, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and the rumoured Dark Knight tie in, along with his role in Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe.
  
  XboxOZ360 asks:
  
  So with 3 different Batman games that are set for different audiences which Batman game would appeal to you the most? The family friendly LEGO Batman, the darker more gritty evil version of Batman or the movie tie-in Batman game?
  
  
• Ten most controversial games in history
  The ten most controversial games in history. From the past to the present with games like Death Race, Carmageddon, and Grand Theft Auto.
  
  
• (Unboxing) Halo 3 Plasma Pistols
  Kotaku: I received a box set of Halo 3 Covenant Plasma Pistols in the mail yesterday. The two guns and two targets are sold together as a Halo-themed laser pursuit game. I haven't had a chance to play yet (that's for this weekend), but they seem like they're pretty well put together and have a nice set of rules backing them. For instance you can fire off super shots with the gun by holding down the trigger for a few. You can also run out of ammo and shield. I'll make sure to update everyone on Monday about how they worked out. In the meantime check out the unboxing.
  
  
• Gamefly Charts: Too Human on Top
  For the week of August 15, 2008, Too Human takes the top spot on the cross-platform Gamefly Top Ten 'Most Queued' list. Following close behind is SoulCalibur IV (PS3/Xbox 360). Mario Super Sluggers is at the top of the Nintendo Wii Queue as well...
  
  Queue up the complete Gamefly Top 10 most requested lists:
  
  
• GamesRadar: Gaming's fittest fatties
  Video game characters are increasingly becoming the poster children for gym membership. With most of gaming's heroes and heroines being chiseled, pert and with cheek bones you could grate cheese on, there seems to be less and less room for the more gelatinous gentleman in the industry.
  
  That's why GamesRadar thought they'd celebrate those characters who said no to Atkins and still managed to pull off moves that would shame most gold-winning Olympians. But while they might seem fighting fit on your console, they'll look at the grim reality these gaming goliaths would face as a result of their big bones.
  
  
• Zero Punctuation: Prince of Persia Retrospective
  Yahtzee takes the time to explain his remarks about the awesomeness of the Prince of Persia series
  
  
• Far Cry and Clock Tower movie posters unearthed
  A new poster image and release date for Uwe Boll's upcoming Far Cry movie adaptation. Plus a gory new poster for Capcom's Clock Tower movie, based on the long-running survival horror series.
  
  
• Adam Sessler vs Geoff Keighley HipHopGamer Presents Journalist Battles
  You have the Console Wars, you have the Developer Wars, now the HipHopGamer is here to bring you even more excitement and raw energy to the gaming industry with The Journalist Battles. Round 1 Adam Sessler vs Geoff Keighley look at some of there highlights as journalist and then you decide. I hope you really enjoy this
  
  
• The RPGS of 2008: Handhelds Leading
  The role-playing genre has seen its ups and downs the past few years, but 2008 has paved way for a few clear cut answers to what the future holds for fans of the genre. Read on to find out every console's schedule for rest of 2008 in terms of role-playing games.
  
  
• Freep Review: 'Madden NFL 09' is the franchise's best offering in seven years
  Rashaun Rucker writes: "I remember twenty years ago, being a 10 year-old boy and running through a path to the next street over to a friend's house, with sweaty palms, clutching a Sega Genesis cartridge simply titled "John Madden Football".
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  Twenty years later I ran to my home with sweaty palms with an early copy of "Madden NFL 09" for the Xbox 360.
  
  Just as the NFL commissioner reinstated Brett Favre, EA Sports has reinstated Madden to its glory. Finally listening to the masses of gamers who craved a true next generation football game and not the watered down version of Madden we have dealt with over the past five years."
  
  
• GameZone: Madden NFL 09 Review
  Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the Madden NFL franchise finds itself being not only the most recognized football game that inspires its legion of fans to turn to it each year but it is also just about the only licensed NFL game in town. Madden NFL 09 is not just another game with an updated roster and better graphics but rather its an edition that brings the legion of Madden fans together with football fans giving the game a shot for the first time. In other words, Madden NFL 09 for the PlayStation 3 is a football game that's a major step in the right direction but also one that should please sports gamers of all levels.
  
  Gameplay 8.8
  Graphics 9
  Sound 8.5
  Difficulty Medium
  Concept 8.5
  Multiplayer 8.5
  Overall 8.8
  
  
• Unofficial Xbox Live app for iPhone
  Eurogamer writes: "Enterprising developers have been flooding the new iTunes App Store with games over the past month, and now developer Nicholas Pike has introduced an application for tracking your Xbox Live friends on iPhone and iPod touch.
  
  IXboxLive costs GBP 0.59 / USD 9.99 and allows you to add around a dozen gamertags to its friends list before loading times reach an unacceptable level, according to its author, but due to limitations with the Xbox Community Developer SDK it does not allow you to keep an eye on your entire friends list.
  
  For those players you do track, however, you will be able to see what they are playing, their gamer picture, their current gamerscore, reputation and location, and a list of their most recent games, including scores and when they last played."
  
  
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon storyline gets real
  Russia's invasion of Georgia Friday is eerily similar to the storyline of a video game, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon.
  
  
• GamesRadar: 10 industry-shattering stolen exclusives
  The biggest announcement at this year's E3 - that Final Fantasy XIII is going multiplatform - is about more than just a game being available to a wider audience. It's also a clear sign that the topography of the videogame industry has changed a little. While the 360 might not be doing so well in Japan, it's clear that Japanese companies are nevertheless taking Microsoft's console seriously - seriously enough to ditch their all-important exclusivity deals with Sony.
  
  As significant as the FFXIII announcement is, it's hardly the first time a major, major title or series has given up its long-held ties to a single console and experimented with other platforms. And it's not the first time such a decision has had a profound effect on the industry and its fans, either. In fact, GamesRadar can think of a bunch of other examples of a "stolen" exclusive rocking the entire industry - here are the 10 best.
  
  
• Become The Game Designer Your Mom Always Said You Would Never Be
  Ripten writes:
  
  "Did your mom tell you that playing video games would never amount to anything? Did she? Well, if becoming the next Cliffy B feels like it's beyond your grasp, and you can't command the respect of your peers like Ken Levine, you may still have a chance of breaking into the industry you love.
  
  Check out the swell video below and remember that having a clueless boss, saying "dude", wearing tight pink shirts, hard work, persistence, and the desire to defy your parents wishes will always pay off in the end."
  
  
• 3 Teens Arrested; Say 'Grand Theft Auto' Taught Them About Molotov Cocktails
  WSBTV writes: "Fulton County officials said they have arrested three teens and charged them with 57 felony counts in connection with a recent series of car bombings with Molotov cocktails in the city of Milton, north of Atlanta.
  
  The felony charges include arson, criminal damage to property and possession of explosive devices in six vehicle fires between 11 p.m. July 24 and 3 a.m. July 25. Each teen is charged with 19 counts.
  
  Officials said the teens -- ages 15 and 16 -- told authorities they learned "how to do it" from playing the video game 'Grand Theft Auto.'"
  
  
• Madden Curse Strikes...EA?
  News broke Thursday morning that Green Bay Packers mainstay (and now former NFL retiree) Brett Favre would be traded to the New York Jets.
  
  Unfortunately for EA Sports, Madden NFL 09 is launching next week, and the cover is plastered with the image of Favre donning The Green and Gold.
  
  
• The eight most powerful game studios in the world, decided by Gamepro
  It may have "OMG!" scrawled inexplicably on its sidebar, but Gamepro can put together a pretty solid list. Today, the site rattled off its top eight most powerful videogame studios, and we mostly agree. In no particular order, Gamepro gave the nod to:
  
  Epic Games
  Bungie
  Rockstar North
  Maxis Software
  EA Tiburon
  Sony Computer Entertainment
  Blizzard Entertainment
  Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development
  
  Valve, Infinity Ward, and Harmonix took home runner-up ribbons.