Xbox 360 – Page 7

Crackdown 2 Demo available now

June 21, 2010 Doug Groves Billy Thomson, Crackdown 2, demo, Ruffian Games, Xbox 360, Xbox Live3 Comments

The public demo for Ruffian Games’ Crackdown 2 launched today, with a few interesting twists. Besides providing both single player and 4 player co-op modes, if you’re also a Facebook user, they’ve got a tie in game called Chuck’s Ducks 2, a carnival style game that allows players to earn and activate special sticky bombs, for use in the retail game. You can check out our hands on impression with the game last month, as well as our interview Ruffian Games creative director Billy Thomson. In brief, Crackdown 2 is…

E3 2010 – keynote round up.

June 18, 2010 Doug Groves 3DS, E3, E3 2010, EA, Electronic Arts, Kinect, Microsoft, Nintendo, PS3, Sony, Ubisoft, Wii, Xbox 3606 Comments

Even though you may have seen live blogs of the major keynotes from E3 this year, you may have missed some of the details, or even the nuance of having something told to you second hand. Luckily most of those keynotes can still be seen online. Now you can play the Sony and Microsoft keynotes side by side and decide who looks goofier, someone using Kinect, or someone using Move. In order of appearence: Microsoft – Electronic Arts – Ubisoft Nintendo – Sony – Kinect

New slim Xbox 360 to hit Canada on Sunday

June 17, 2010June 17, 2010 Doug Groves Best Buy, Futureshop, launch, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 Slim2 Comments

Announced at E3 earlier this week, the newly upgraded ‘whisper quiet’ version of the Xbox 360, which also more than doubles the hard drive capacity to 250GB, is slated to hit Canada’s two biggest electronics retailers Sunday June 20th, for $299.99. With the release coming so soon after the E3 announcement, I’m guessing the supply chain for the original design has been very much controlled for some time now, to minimize the number of orphaned original 360s. I have a few unused electronics gift cards sitting on my desk at…

Rock Band 3: Rock Out with your Natural Talent Out

June 17, 2010June 17, 2010 Danny X DS, harmonix, MIDI, Playstation, PS3, RB3, rock band, Rock Band 3, Squier Stratocaster, Wii, Xbox 3601 Comment

Remember when Rock Band first arrived on the scene? It, along with the venerable classic Guitar Hero, proved that it is possible to get up off the couch and interact with a game in a way that no Wiimote could ever hope to deliver. And the world lost its friggin’ mind. Suddenly people who had no interest in gaming had a way to channel their inner rock star without feeling like some pimply-faced teen or the pressure to be Teh Pwnerer; it was just a fun piece of kit that…

Xbox E3 2010 keynote highlights

June 14, 2010June 15, 2010 Doug Groves Fable III, Gears Of War 3, Kinect, Microsoft, Project Natal is Kinect, Star Wars, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 Slim6 Comments

Microsoft’s keynote at this year’s E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo, don’t you know), is probably the biggest one in the past few years, on a number of levels. Of course, all the big titles were trotted out, including Bungie’s final installment of the Xbox franchise, Halo: Reach, which looks like it’s adding space battles. Other big titles on display include the latest in the Gears of War and Fable franchises. There was even some footage from Metal Gear Solid: Rising. Although the games never take a back seat at E3,…

de Blob 2: Underground hitting the big three consoles

June 14, 2010 Doug Groves de Blob, de Blob Underground, Nintendo DS, PS3, THQ, Wii, Xbox 3602 Comments

For someone who hasn’t played a ton of Wii games, I can definitely say that de Blob was my favourite. In the original, you controlled Blob, who’s goal was to bounce around a city, and liberate the citizens from the evil INKT Corporation by painting the buildings in vibrant colours. It has an interesting control scheme, and the gameplay is a blast. Though not a runaway best seller (what non-Nintendo game IS on the Wii), it’s done well enough that THQ has announced there will be a sequel, called de…

Project Natal becomes Kinect

June 14, 2010June 14, 2010 Doug Groves Dance Central, Joyride, Kinect, Kinect Adventures, Kinect Sports, Kinectimals, Project Natal, Project Natal is Kinect, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 Slim3 Comments

With E3 2010 kicking off, Microsoft has decided that the official name for Project Natal will be Kinect, according to a since-pulled article from USA Today that was published on Sunday. Besides the name change, a number of games were announced… Kinectimals, which is a virtual pet game, with over 20 different animal. Joyride a racing game that is driven by your avatar. Kinect Sports, which includes bowling, boxing beach volleyball, track and field, table tennis and soccer, and sounds very much like a controller free Wii Sports. Kinect Adventures,…

Rock Band 3 brings keytar and ‘Pro’ mode

June 10, 2010 Doug Groves Fender, harmonix, keyboards, keytar, Mad Catz, PS3, rhythm game, Rock Band 3, Squier Stratocaster, Xbox 3604 Comments

A week before E3, it looks like it’s official. Rock Band 3 will be bringing both the keytar and a Pro mode, courtesy of a story on USA Today. Though the new keytar is being called a piano peripheral, when you have a 2 octave keyboard, with a handle so that you can play it standing up, it’s a keytar, and don’t let anyone tell you different! Seeing the play mechanic in action is actually quite interesting, as once you start playing at the Hard setting, you’re basically playing the…

Microsoft launches Mission 4 Miracles

June 2, 2010 Doug Groves Children's Miracle Network, graffiti, Microsoft, Patrick Thompson, Xbox 360, Xbox Live1 Comment

Giving begins at the console? It could be, as Microsoft launches Mission 4 Miracles, a new fund raising and awareness initiative for Children’s Miracle Network on Tuesday. Gamers will be able to use their Xbox Live points to donate money to the network of 14 children’s hospitals via the 360. In return the generous player will get access to exclusive content, including exclusive GamerPics and themes created by graffiti artist Patrick Thompson. Additionally, there’ll be chances to participate in special “Game With Fame” events throughout the summer. If you’re not…

Crackdown 2 hands-on and interview

May 31, 2010June 2, 2010 Doug Groves Billy Thomson, co-op, Crackdown, Crackdown 2, creative director, hands-on, interview, multiplayer, Ruffian Games, Show, Xbox 3607 Comments

When the original Crackdown came out, it came with a code to access the early beta of Halo 3. At the time, some considered Crackdown to be the bonus game you get when your buy your early access pass to the beta. Some complained that this was just a crass marketing ploy to move more copies, which it undoubtedly did. If you look past those meta arguments though, Crackdown was also a bright, vibrant, open world superhero sandbox which in many ways still holds its own against the newer entrants…

Crackdown 2 animated miniseries launches, so far Orb free

May 25, 2010May 25, 2010 Doug Groves animated series, Crackdown 2, Ruffian Games, webisodes, Xbox 360, Xbox Live1 Comment

The server switchover had kept us preoccupied here at the rgb HQ, so what better way than to get caught up in all the latest gaming news? In what’s becoming an increasingly popular way to keep your game on the forefront of gamers’ minds when a release date is imminent, the gang from Ruffian present a 5 part animated miniseries that takes place in Pacific City. For those who’ve played the first game, the familiar voice of the Agency is back to narrate the tale in his unique way. The…