It’s great to hear about the price drops on the 360, but what’s with the downgrade in cables? A regular old A/V connection? Really? Granted HDMI cables are ludicrously cheap these days, but at least make an effort Microsoft.
And ‘Soft spokesdude Chris Lewis coughs up this lame excuse for the disappearance of high-def cables:
Removing the HMDI cable gives the flexibility to consumers who can then decide which type of cable they want for their specific gaming and TV screen set-up.
Blecch.
This is going to hurt come morning.
The Charge
One war, two epic sagas.
Opening Statement
A History Chanel fan’s electronic wet dream, Eidos Interactive’s Battlestations: Pacific, the sequel to Battlestations: Midway continues the tradition laid out by the previous installment of offering a unique twist on WWII-themed shooters, downplaying the “action” segments of WWII games and emphasizing the “strategic” and “simulation” aspects. Fancy yourself a general of the five-star variety? Think you can command a fleet of planes, boats and submarines to victory n the South Pacific?
Facts of the Case:
Pearl Harbor, 1941. The Japanese have attacked American soil, and the US now finds itself embattled into a conflict spanning the entire Pacific against a feisty and daring foe. Battlestations: Pacific puts you in command of entire fleets of naval vessels and airplanes as you march (uh, swim and fly) your way to victory. Experience one war from two perspectives—the American and the Japanese—and possibly even change the outcome of history. Well, for the Japanese at least.
Continue reading Review: Battlestations: Pacific (Xbox360/PC)
Erich, Dave, and Adam unpack all of the excitement, disappointment, big (and not-so-big) reveals, guest stars, and sci-fi future tech of Microsoft’s E3 2009 press conference. Will Project Natal redefine gaming, or fall flat on its motion-sensing face? What does Hideo Kojima unveiling Metal Gear Solid Rising at a Microsoft conference mean for fanboy flame wars? And do we really care about Facebook on the Xbox 360? All this, and last-minute speculation about the Sony and Nintendo press conferences. Join in the discussion in the comments below, in the Jury Room forums, or by emailing us at feedback@pixelverdict.com.
You can listen to the show with the player below, download it here, or subscribe through iTunes or by adding our feed to your podcatcher of choice.
The Softies just wrapped their jumbo press conference and there’s plenty to chew through. Did you get what you were expecting? Was there laughable corporate wanna-be cool FAIL strewn about? And how many Halo games exactly are in development? Two? Twelve? A jillion kabillion?
Join us as we apply our underdeveloped analytical minds and sift through the post-megaton (or mega-kilogram) announcement fest.
Halo 3‘s high-res screen capture and “video” replay features continue to entertain and amaze me even though the game’s been out a few months shy of two years, so I figured I’d resurrect a series of posts from my old blog chronicling various Halo-related hijinks I’ve experienced while competing on Xbox Live. Customarily, I recount the situation leading to the screen capture and try to impart some Halo wisdom in the process – a process that will quite possibly only be interesting to me.
Fallout 3‘s highly anticipated Broken Steel DLC came out last week, giving me the best reason yet to make a triumphant return to the Capital Wasteland. It’s the third downloadable add-on for Fallout 3, after Operation: Anchorage and The Pitt. The main differences with this content, and it’s biggest selling points, are the removal of Fallout 3‘s finite ending (which has been judged harshly in the court of public opinion) and the extension of the level cap from 20 to 30. Other additions include new weapons and gear, tougher enemies and new quest-related locales to explore.
Obviously, the increased level cap is huge incentive to buy the add-on, but one new weapon in particular is worth the 800 points (10 bucks) on it’s own: the Tesla Cannon. Not to be confused with Tesla’s canon, which includes such notable hits as “Signs,” “Love Song” and “What You Give,” it’s an energy-based heavy weapon that works best against mechanical enemies. Obliterating a low-flying, previously untouchable Enclave Vertibird with a blast from the Tesla Cannon makes for an extremely satisfying fireworks display. Maybe a little too easy to pull off, but still loads of fun.
Continue reading Review: Fallout 3: Broken Steel (Xbox 360/PC)
Next week on Deadliest Warrior...
The Charge:
Unleash the fury of Wolverine.
Opening Statement:
Licensed games, as a general rule, suck. There are the exceptions; every few years development studio comes along and gets it right; granting us gamers gems like Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, or Ultimate Spider-Man. Games based of licensed movie properties usually do far worse than suck (e.g.: last year’s Iron Man attempt by Sega), and I’ve been proudly avoiding such titles since I found not one, but TWO copies of E.T. the Extra Terrestrial in a box of used Atari 2600 games my mother bought from a co-worker in the late 80s. It’s part of an unfortunate “lowest bidder” situation that I’ll not bring up here, but long story short, licensed games are pretty much analogous to garbage. Raven Software, makers of many exceptions to the licensed game rule in recent years are looking to once again buck trend with their ultra-violent take on Marvel Comics’ Wolverine. While their track record with licensed material is more precious than putrid, Raven has never had to tackle the challenge of dealing with a video game tie-in to a big summer movie. So just how sharp are the claws on X-Men Origins: Wolverine?
Continue reading Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (PS3/XBox360)
Microsoft has had a whole lot of Xbox 360′s returned to them for repairs. This is not news to anyone in the gaming community, from the hardcore to the casual fringe. If your Xbox 360 hasn’t died (yet), you almost certainly know at least a few people whose machines have been KIA.
I only dredge this old news up because I was reminded of the prevelance of 360 hardware issues when somberly laying my Elite to rest in its coffin and dropping it off at The UPS Store nearest to my house. Here is how my exchange with the clerk began, almost verbatim, keeping in mind the coffin Microsoft sends out for your return is a completely nondescript white box:
Continue reading Non-News Flash:
Xbox 360′s Are Unreliable