XBox Game Players

We offer a few tips and tricks for surviving the streets of Paradise City in EA and Criterion’s Burnout Paradise.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Xbox.com Games RSS

Filed under: News

Wow, we thought last week was a big week for X3F. One week later and we’ve put out our first enhanced Fancast and our first video podcast (which we’re calling X3F TV, clever right?). We’ve also got yet another edition of Ask X3F in which we reveal our podcasting secrets and discuss the apparent disappearance of Xbox 360s everywhere. Of course, we’ve also got plenty of the latest Xbox 360 news and info. Peruse it all at your leisure below.

Community Stuff:

• Xbox 360 Fancast 053 — Number One Podcast of 2008
  Our first enhanced podcast!
• Ask X3F: podcasting is hard edition
  Where’d the 360s go?
  
• X3F TV: X3F vs Tomonobu Itagaki
  Our first video podcast!
• Fanpoll: Burnout Paradise and crash mode
  Do you miss Crash Mode?

News:

• Video: Bloodshot’s forensic funnery
  What you do when your not fighting hobos
• Mass Effect Shepard statue nears completion
  Take that, Gears action figures!
• Halo 3: get learned in Heavy Weapon tactics
  Prepare for the championship
• Video: Perfect Dark Zero on the black box
  The PDZ that never was
• Jeff Bell talks HD-DVD, 360 pricing and more
  Mentions possible relationship with Blu-Ray
• 360 attach rate now 7 games per console
  3rd party publishers bathe in money
• Pirates vs Ninjas Dodgeball’s new team: Robots
  Better than pirates or ninjas?

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Xbox 360 Fanboy

Filed under: News, Halo 3

X3F reader Terry Scott wrote in to tell us about Halocal, a website that allows gamers to find Halo 3 players based on their geographical area. In other words, you can find some like-minded gamers in your very own backyard (well, hopefully not actually in your backyard, but you get the idea). The site isn’t just a directory — although we imagine it would help if you wanted to start up a local clan — it also culls together lots of Halo 3 stats to please your inner geek (or outer geek). There are kills, deaths, rank, and of course the all important kill-to-death ratio. Not only that, but the site sorts out rankings for its registrants across many different criteria (by zip code, state, or nationwide). So, if you think you’re hot stuff in your neck of the woods, now you can prove it. Once you’ve done that, look up your nationwide ranking to see if you’re really that good or just a big fish in a small pond (don’t look at me, I’ll admit that I’m a small fish). We wonder how well Halocal works on an iPhone ….

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Xbox 360 Fanboy

Filed under: News, Halo 3

Good news fellow ranked playlist lovers of the Halo 3 world, Big Team Battle is now officially a ranked playlist. W00t, w00t! Big Team Battle has been social since the game’s launch, but now with today’s ranked change, you’ll be able to experience competititve 8v8 gaming. The new Big Team Battle will default players with BRs and Assault Rifles, be weighted towards Slayer gametypes (though CTF, Bomb and Territories are in the mix) and make use of Valhalla, Sandtrap, Standoff, Rat’s Next and Last Resort. So, go already. Fill up your ranked medals chest and push towards a 50 rank with seven other pals in the new (and improved) Big Team Battle playlist. Killtastrophe here we come!

[Thanks, Cole Mullenbach]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Xbox 360 Fanboy

Filed under: News

It’s a good thing too, because most of you would like to see more Portal. Speaking to Eurogamer, Valve spokesperson Doug Lombardi confirmed that there will be more Portal and, furthermore, it won’t simply be “a bunch of new puzzles.” When exactly we’ll see the next installment of Portal remains a mystery. Also a mystery is exactly what form it will take. At this point, it’s unclear if Valve intends to create a full blown sequel or if the company plans to stick to an episodic format in the vein of Half-Life 2. Speaking of Half-Life 2, Lombardi notes that Episode 3 details are still a long way away — “months not weeks,” according to Lombardi. Lombardi also reasserts that Valve wants additional content for its games to be free. That’s a good to hear with new Team Fortress 2 content in the pipeline.

Now that we know there will be more Portal, allow us to create a subtitle for the sequel: The Quest for Cake. What would you call it?

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Xbox 360 Fanboy

Filed under: News, Xbox Live Marketplace, Video Marketplace

Available on the U.S. video marketplace is some free content to help nourish your insatiable appetite for free visual stimulus including some cartoonified anime. The first episode of the animated series Witchblade titled “The Beginning” is a free 269MB download that’s ready to make your HDD its home. Also, under the “Shorts” section, you’ll find a free 139MB episode of Disney’s step-brother cartoon Phineas and Ferb, titled “Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror”. Finally, we thought we’d mention that there are a few free music video downloads to check out on the U.S. Marketplace, including Jay-Z, Finger Eleven and even some Chemical Brothers. So, be sure to check those out if you’re interested. That’s all we could scrounge up for today’s free goods, but be sure to keep checking the XBVM as there’s bound to be more free stuff releasing in the near future.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Xbox 360 Fanboy

Filed under: News

The Call of Duty 4 versus Halo 3 drama took an interesting turn this week via an email sent out to CharlieOscarDelta.com subscribers yesterday (we got ours this morning). The email proudly proclaims “COD4:MW SOARS TO THE NUMBER ONE SPOT!!!” Obviously, the email is referring to Major Nelson’s listing of the top Live games for the week of January 14, in which Call of Duty 4 managed to knock Halo 3 off the number one spot. What’s funny is that the same list for the week of January 21, released two days ago, revealed that Halo 3 has once again claimed the top spot. We’d suggest that Activision put a little grease on the PR machine’s gears the next time one of their games snags the number one Live spot.

[Thanks to everyone that sent this in]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Xbox 360 Fanboy

Filed under: News

Electronic Arts has announced a new boxing title from EA Canada, one of the teams behind Fight Night Round 3. Entitled FaceBreaker, the game ditches the hyper-realistic pugilism, opting instead for cartoon graphics in the vein of older arcade boxers like Ready 2 Rumble and Punch-Out. The game derives its name from the ability for players to actually break the faces of their avatars using “real-time facial deformation.” And it won’t just be the faces of the game’s pre-made characters like Molotov, “the oversized Russian demolitions expert with a penchant for fighting dirty” either. Players will also be able to slap their own face onto a boxer using a photograph, the Vision Camera, and EA’s Game Face technology. More info regarding the game will be available in the next issue of EGM.

[Via Joystiq]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Xbox 360 Fanboy

Filed under: News

Bungie’s 2008 Winter Pentathlon wrapped up Friday evening (hence no Weekly Update) and from the writeup over at Bungie.net, they had a little too much fun. Don’t get us wrong, we would have been honored to have been invited to such a spectacle, but seeing Marty in eye-liner, an “I killed your mom” black wig and an opened shirt … well, yeah. For the Pentathlon, Team Bungie split up into various teams according to how long they’ve been with the company, played games ranging from Pictionary to Wii Bowling to (of course) Halo 3 and drank the night away. And after the dust settled, the Rock Band costumes were taken off (we hear Marty is still wearing his getup) and the building was thoroughly disinfected, the Grizzled Ancients walked away with trophy in hand. But in reality, everyone was a winner, because they are a part of team Bungie and that should be good enough. Full Winter Pentathlon recap including pictures of Bungie employees in drag various costumes can be experienced after the break. Now, about that Bungie Weekly Update …

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Xbox 360 Fanboy

Filed under: Fan stuff

Now that Grand Theft Auto IV has an official release date, it’s time to let the viral marketing begin. Enter this scarily realistic wanted poster uploaded by Flickr user freshyill. Honestly, is that the kind of face you’d want to see at your car window late at night? The answer to that question is an emphatic no. Actually, we’re a little curious to see if these posters raise any stink, because they could be mistaken as real posters by those who aren’t in the know. Let’s just hope the folks behind the viral marketing don’t take it too far and actually rob a bank.

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Xbox 360 Fanboy