by A 1 Phenomenal

I got a Nintendo Wii a few weeks ago now and it was Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit that I mainly wanted it for however I have not seen them any where.

The games came out in April 2008 but for the past few weeks I have looked all over for them. No one has them including various web sites. GTA IV is back in stock so why are these two games not?

I have seen Wii Fit on aution sites but I refuse to pay the price they are asking for. £125 is the asking price. Give me a break.

Nintendo you better sort this out. The games are still pretty new to the market so why are you not providing us with more stock. Hurry up before I decide to pack my Wii up and put away in the wardrobe and forget about it.

by Retrozoid

My good friends over at Brickfish are running a “design a poster” campaign and you can win prizes!

Click on the Link below and enter for yourself to win a copy of the game or money!

GRID Competition

by Retrozoid

I will be creating a new gamertag up later and i would like some ideas in what to call myself so i want the word retro in it or anything to do with retro,

Comment your gamertag ideas on this post

Many thanks

by Retrozoid

Just to update you on my Xbox issues, i was rung today by the supervisor looking into my case regarding my Hard Drive issue and basically as it is a second hand hard drive nothing can be done!

The woman was NASTY, VILE, HORRIBLE and UNSYMPATHETIC!

Im basically being punished for having a second hand hard drive, and if it was a new hard drive i would have had the 6 months live time left transfered, but there is nothing that can be done, It was not my fault and why should i spend another 5 months to build up my saves again wasting 5 months of live doing it!

There is no point so basically its a waste! I will have to ring GAME where i bought the Hard Drive and see if they can take reponsibility! pretty much doubt it!

Im seriously thinking of getting rid of my Xbox altogether

by Retrozoid

I was lucky enough to interview Inside Xbox’s Edtor MrPointyHead yesterday, so i want to say a big thank you to him for having the time to answer my questions.

So then Dan, tell us a bit about yourself(name,age,location and interests)

I’m Dan Maher aka MrPointyHead aka MC Unuzual Stain, I’m 27, based in London and I like gaming, movies, comedy, music, food and the finer things in life.

What got you into gaming?

It’s more who - my mum plonked me on a Pac-Man machine in France when I was 2 and bought me a Spectrum 48K soon after. The rest, as they say, is boring.

What was your first game you ever bought?

With my own money? Probably some budget Speccy game like Advanced Log Simulator (”Absolutely Brilliant” - David Darling)… The first games I owned were Horace Goes Skiing, Scrabble, Survival, Chequered Flag, Chess and one other thing I can’t remember. (’Make a Chip’ according to a quick Google search, but I really don’t remember that one)

What are your favourite games?

Oh gawd - this is in no way comprehensive: Dynamite Dan, R-Type, Parodius, Track & Field, Super Mario Bros. (in all its incarnations save Sunshine) Shinobi, Street Fighter II (again, all incarnations plus the Alpha/Zero series and SF3), Chrono Trigger, Tekken 3, Dance Dance Revolution, Zelda (Link to the Past onwards), Super Metroid (and the Prime series), Final Fantasy VII, Crazy Taxi, Soul Calibur, Goldeneye, Frequency, Amplitude, Guitar Hero (not a big fan of GH3 though, something’s not right about it), Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, Bioshock, Katamari Damacy, Taiko no Tatsukin, Daigasso! Band Brothers, Bust-a-Move, Puyo Puyo, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Resident Evils 2 & 4, Call of Duty 4… It just goes on and on and on, so I’ll stop now.

What are you looking foward to in 2008 for games?

Guitar Hero: World Tour, Alone in the Dark, Resident Evil 5 (if it makes it), Nobi Nobi Boy (again, if it makes it), Band Brothers 2, Street Fighter IV, Capcom vs. Tatsunoko, King of Fighters XII, Prince of Persia, Soulcalibur IV, Too Human, Ninja Gaiden II, SSFII Turbo HD Remix, Alan Wake (does it still exist?), Gears of War 2, Track & Field DS, Super Smash Bros. Brawl… again, there’s many more.

Do you own more than an Xbox 360? a PS3 maybe?

I had to give back my debug PS3 when I defected, but I have a Wii and DS Lite in regular rotation too. I’ve also got an Xbox, PS2, PS one, GBA, Dreamcast, Megadrive and N64 in storage too.

Looking back, would you have predicted that console gaming would be what it is today?

In terms of how it has evolved from a technical perspective, yes. From a financial perspective, no. The money that goes into game development and promotion these days is crazy, as is the amount of revenue the likes of Halo 3 and GTAIV are generating. Mind you, Super Mario Bros. 3 was supposedly more profitable than ET way back when, so maybe things haven’t changed so much.

What are your predictions in terms of who will win the next-gen war, the PS3 is growing fast this year aswell?

It is growing fast, but now all three consoles make their respective companies a huge profit - profits of varying scales, yes, but profits nonetheless - all have must-buy software, and all have a dedicated fanbase, what does it really matter? The ultimate question is whether any of them will ‘do a Sega’ at the end of the current generation, and the answer to that is ‘No’. In that case, everyone’s a winner!

Rumors are flying about the potential motion controller for the xbox like the Wii remote. do you think we will see it by the end of the year?

Honestly? I have absolutely zero idea. Christmas is always a good time to release shiny new things though, isn’t it?

How did you scoop the role as Inside Xbox editor?

It’s all thanks to a considerate friend! I’d worked at SCEE for six years (four years as a Content Producer on PlayStation.com, two years as a games producer in their International Software Development team), and a call came out of the blue from a recruitment agency who said a friend (who worked at Cancer Research, not MS before you start asking questions) had recommended me for the position. I thought I’d give it a go and, eight (!) interviews later, I was deemed worthy of joining the fold.

Looking at AceyBongos and his role in the Xbox Community, do you see yourself becoming more like what Major Nelson is now? i mean in terms of his Blog and big involvement in the community for Europe?

I think AceyBongos has it sewn up on the blog and community front, but that’s not to say I don’t want to get involved too - I’d like to think I already am to a degree. Things work differently in Europe and the US, so it’s not really as simple as emulating the Major Nelson model; I certainly can’t get as involved as either AB or MN due to the daily demands of my role, but I still want Inside Xbox to act as an extension of the community network that they’ve worked so hard to forge.

As you’ll see from the Alone in the Dark feature we’ve got coming up, I’m doing what I can to get the community involved in the generation of content, even going so far as to let them decide what we ask the development teams! After all, who knows what the community wants to hear better than the community itself?

Of course, my Gamertag is also common knowledge now and I do my utmost to answer the messages I receive (within reason - there are only so many ‘Something’s wrong with my Xbox - what are you going to do about it?’ questions I can answer politely before I crack).

I see Europe especially the U.K one of the KEY areas for Console Gaming in the world, and a lot has been mentioned in the past that we miss out on great content that the USA get, is that being adressed by you, and do you have plans for Inside Xbox?

If you’re referring to the content on the Marketplace, then sadly I have very little say in what does and doesn’t go up. What everyone has to understand is that the US is (arguably) one nation, hence all the content they produce only has to be in one language, must comply with one set of laws, is generally relevant to all users, etc. By contrast, we’re generating content for dozens of countries in many different languages, and while we do have dedicated staff in each territory doing what they can to bring the cream of local content to their users, it still has to be managed from a single, central location. As you can understand, it makes things pretty complex from a logistical and financial perspective.

That said, we’re still getting stuff that the US doesn’t - we get a lot of music video exclusives, for one - and that includes a great deal of the Inside Xbox content that I produce. I feel fortunate that I’ve been given the freedom to give our version of IX a unique voice that’s suitable for the UK audience (and hopefully the rest of Europe once we get it rolled out) and the feedback - both internally and from users - has been almost universally positive to date.

We’re taking measures to increase the amount of centrally produced content so that it’s slightly less sporadic than it currently is, starting with the hire of a producer, who’ll become my right-hand man, shortly followed by a dedicated video producer who will allow us to produce regular programming along the lines of the features we’re currently borrowing from our friends over in Seattle - only more amusing, if I can help it.

©2008 Craig Green

by BA I Apocalypse

According to shacknews the Downloadable Content soon coming to Team Fortress 2 on The Orange Box will only arrive on the Xbox 360 leaving out the PS3.

PC have already had some extras added to their copy of the game and this will be the 360’s first and by the looks of it the PS3 won’t be getting any. Valve’s Marketing Director Doug Lombardi said “How and when is still sort of being determined, on pricing and that kind of stuff. On the PC it’s sort of wide open, you can release stuff whenever you want. On the console there’s a little bit more of a pathway, unfortunately I don’t know that any of that will make it to the PS3.�??

So no date and price have been set as of yet.

by Retrozoid

Its over…for my current Xbox 360 console anyway. My hard drive failed on me and i have lost ALL of my game data! My heart sank when i realised what had happened.

My screen froze on me when i went to play on a game, so natrually i reset the console, I then noticed that i had no profiles to log into. I had then went into system then memory and there it was, all my data was lost!

Absolutely ridiculous. I REALLY worked hard to build my gamerscore up and i have 8 months left on my live gold, so its taken me 4 months to build my score and progress only to have to spend another 4 months to get the saves up!

Ive rung Xbox Customer Support up and they hung up on me twice! how rude was that! so the third time i asked if they could transfer the remaining 8 months Gold time to a new gamertag so i can start from scratch and to at least make it all worth my time, they said and i qoute:

“as your 12 month subscription is via Pre-paid card, we cannot transfer, nor refund any time left on Gold”

So i have to wait and see what happens from their side now, within 48 hours il hear from them

I AM NOT IMPRESSED!!

by Retrozoid

Details have now emerged about the upcoming Gears of War 2. New maps, gameplay modes and a new weapon feature!

Here is the list:

The new gameplay mode, Wingman, sees ten players face off in teams of two. And Epic has invented its own take on the typical CTF scenario with ‘Meatflag’, in which the flag is a (presumably CPU-controlled) character who runs around the centre of the map trying to defend himself, while teams attempt to shoot him down and drag him back to base as a ‘meatshield’ (like a hostage).

Assassination mode has been renamed Guardian, and changes to the gameplay see team members respawn endlessly until the team leader is killed. The game ends only when the leader is dead and then everyone else on the team is killed.

Two new maps are detailed: River and Security. River is a symmetrical map, with two houses with sniping towers connected by a thin path and a river.

Security is said to be a long, thin map with two “power weapons” being guarded by deadly laser turrets at either side of the map. These turrets can be deactivated for 20 seconds by pressing a button in the centre of the map, apparently. Interesting.

A new weapon, called the Medusa, is described as a “power weapon” that shoots six shells with each shot - so like a powerful shotgun, we imagine. Bullet Shields - carry-able metal shields to guard you from enemy fire - have also been added. These shields can apparently be stuck into the floor to create new fixed cover.

The executions on each weapon will vary. The Sniper Rifle can be used as a club to beat opponents to death.

As well as grenade now being attachable to any surface - not just enemies - a new Poison Grenade emits a green gas that’s fatal to anyone within close proximity. Stick one of these to an enemy and not only do they die, but they’re be deadly to others aswell!

And lastly, a new screenshot mode has been added for players who’ve been killed in game modes where they can’t respawn. While they wait, players can fly around in a free-cam mode and take snaps of the action, which can then be uploaded to an online community source.

I cannot wait for this game, it will be right up there with GTA IV for the Game of the Year!

by Retrozoid

After playing Rock Band for the past few days, i have to say that i have mixed feelings towards this game, £180 for a game with instruments and a great choice of songs should be a fantastic investment, as i have traded games like HAZE and Lego Star Wars towards this.

I love the community side of these types of game and seeing Guitar Hero 3’s site and looking at Rock Bands, i think it is safe to say that Guitar Hero has the better ‘community’ side of the game. Taking nothing away from Rock Band but as i dont go on Xbox Live much due to working long hours, The cost of Rock Band has taken a toll on me and i will be trading this in for Guitar Hero 3 as it is £54.99 in GAME at the moment.

What a waste!

Microsoft has confirmed that it will break tradition and not offer any major updates to the Xbox 360 system software this spring.

Below is a comment about this from Xbox Live’s general manager Marc Whitten

“We have taken a different approach this spring and spent a lot of our time and resources of building the proper infrastructure and scale for the service not just today but also into the future. So while most users will not notice any significant changes to the dashboard this spring, I can tell you that the team will be releasing a new digital rights management (DRM) tool next month that will allow you to better consolidate your licenses for downloaded content to a single Xbox and allow you the freedom to be able to play your content both online and offline.”

So much for the awesome list we posted a week or so ago.

by Retrozoid

Great news for PS3 owners, as perhaps the best all round game on the Xbox 360 ‘BioShock’ will appear pn the PS3 soon

In the next issue of the ‘Official Playstation Magazine’ there will be a HUGE preview of Bioshock.

Even though this game has been released on the Xbox 360, will this be the game that will show true performance of the PS3?

I hope so

by Retrozoid

Im very happy that one of my favourite bands in the world “Disturbed” will be the Junes Artist Of The Month, With the song “Inside the Fire.”

Also there will be two songs that will appear on Rock Band soon, “inside the fire” and “Indestructable” will be available soon to download,

The song “Stricken” and the WWE’s Steve Austin song “Glass Shatters” are the two best songs in my opinion

by Retrozoid

Its less than 24 hours until Rock Band hits the shelves of Europe and i cannot wait! i have played the previous Guitar Hero games and although i have enjoyed them, i had always wanted to have a microphone and sing to “3’s and 7’s” and “Message in a Bottle.”

Thanks to Rock Band i will have the opportunity to sing to the music.

Its not going to be a cheap purchase as if you decide to get the game from the shops rather than via the Internet, you will be looking at £150-£180, so trading in will help the pain, as i will be trading in Orange box and Condemned 2 towards this bad boy.

Shuten Doji will be reviewing Rock Band over the Bank Holiday weekend alongside some pictures of his concerts with his friends, which should be really funny(and interesting!)

©2008 Craig Green

by Retrozoid

I want to say a big thank you to all our visitors for help making this site have 10,000 visitors! Just to think that we have been up and running for exactly 3 months now!

To all our writers a big thank you for writing great news articles aswell, lets hope we can get 20,000 visitors soon!

©2008 Craig Green

by Retrozoid

When i came in from work on Tuesday i was greeted with a copy of HAZE at my front door. I had also read the IGN review of HAZE and to much of my dismay it got a 4.5/10. In my review i wont be as harsh as i really enjoyed playing this game.

Haze is the story of Shane Carpenter, a young Mantel soldier that’s dispatched, along with the rest of his squad, to the Boa Region of South America.

Mantel has an army of enhanced warriors boosted with their specialized “supplement” known as Nectar. With a large force at its disposal, Mantel has been asked to go in and pacify the region from the dangerous Promise Hand, a militant group of rebels headed up by the villainous Skin Coat. However, Carpenter finds that his mission to “liberate the hearts and minds” of the indigenous people is not what it appears to be, and after one objective takes an unexpected turn, he finds himself defecting to the rebel cause and fighting against his former squadmates.

Graphically HAZE is very good, despite not running in full 1080p, runs just as nicely in 720p and there are websites that have said that HAZE is not in HD, but im afraid they are dead wrong. Id be lying if i said that this game is the best example of graphics that the Playstation 3 has to offer but i can compare the graphics to FarCry and Just Cause, the effects on the environment are clear and there is nice work done on each and everyone of the characters.

In terms of gameplay, HAZE is not the best as the AI are not that threatening and the addition of ‘Nectar’ makes the game imbalanced in terms of the enemy will always lose the battle if you are hyped. Also the AI are not always easy to spot unless you are using the nectar, which i suppose in a good way they dont always come out to you and take the fight, making you work harder for the kill.

The Nectar high provides you with an additional boost of power to maintain your buzz. That gives you somewhat of an incentive to continue blasting any enemy soldiers that cross your path, as long as you don’t accidentally overdose on the initial injection of the drug into your system. This will cause you to lose control of Shane for a while as he shoots at friend and foe alike, which i have seen on loads of occasions on the Live Multiplayer.

The Controls in HAZE are not too bad although i wish they made the default controls have shoot as the R2 button and not the R1, then again i have been playing most shooters on the 360 and just think it works a whole lot better. You can cook grenades by pressing the L1 button and to release its the same again, the grenades look really powerful and are devestating even when a player is far enough away! L2 will make you inject Nectar and you have a gauge that will tell you if you have used too much.

As for Multiplayer, much like Perfect Dark Zero on the Xbox 360, this is the selling point for me, whether it be 4 player Co-op or deathmatches, HAZE is truly meant for the LIVE experience!

In the Co-op i felt that there was no lag, and if provided a great experience if you are stuck on a certain mission on a harder difficulty. It works the same way to Halo 3 but adds the option of joining a Co-op game. Having 4 people as allies, this makes the story more intreresting!

In terms of the multiplayer, i couldnt drag myself away from HAZE, as for each map there are objectives like defending the nectar crates from being stolen which i won each time! lol but is very lag free, you are awarded with ‘merits’ in each game like points and at the end of each game like Lost Planet, Medals are given like the person with the highest kills or the person who took the most damage. That is what i keep playing the multiplayer for, to see how many medals i can win.

There is a nice addition to the multiplayer, like the option to play dead(on the rebel team) and trick the other team, get up and them plant them with a nice bullet or two. How ace is this feature!

There are weaknesses in HAZE, but which games dont have them, if i can recall Perfect Dark Zero, the story and graphics were all over the show but that got a 9/10 in OXM. If you are not playing the story mode in Co-op, the chances are that playing it on your own is boring really as easy and normal are very easy.

In summary, please dont go assuming that IGN has always got its review score right for HAZE, i founf the game, fun and the Multiplayer is the best ive seen on the PS3. Trust me people, go buy it Friday

Gameplay 7

Lifespan 8

Sound 8

Graphics 8

Overall 87%

In this weeks episode of OzBoxLive Radio�?�

- News and Announcements with Kane and Mick

- Review - Devil May Cry 4

- Interview - Kelvin (Dwight19)

- Xcessory of the Week - Microsoft Points

- Group Discussion - Xbox in Japan

- Competition - Tell us in 25 Words or less�?�

What would you do to make the NEXT Xbox console a hit in Japan?

You could win a copy of Dynasty Warriors - GUNDAM, along with a copy of Australian 360 AND a �??Making of - MASS EFFECT DVD�??, AND a Halo 3 Bag worth $50 Bucks AND lots more goodies.

REMEMBER our final OzBoxLive Game Night is this Sunday. We are playing HALO 3.

Go to www.OZBOXLIVE.com Now to sign up and check out the latest episode.
 

by Retrozoid

Due to unforseen circumstances the WGB Tournament will be delayed until mid June. I am having major connection issues with GTA IV and my Xbox Live isnt running very well so i apologise for this.

I will post a date when the tournament will be happening next week

Thank you for your time

©2008 Craig Green

by Retrozoid

Sorry for the lack of interviews recently but they are back. This week i interview “The Thai Tanic”
So enjoy



Name: Louis Ellison

Age: 15

Favourite Games of All time: GTA San Andreas, Gears of War and Oblivion

Best Retro Game of All Time: Super Mario

Best Moment on Live: Beating General Raam on insane difficulty in Gears of War. I must have tried it and failed it 200 times before I tried it in a co-op match over Xbox Live. I got set up with someone from Portugal and there wasn’t much conversation, just a passion to finally win. I remember after the cutscene started indicating that we’d beat him I actually couldn’t believe it and I was elated with joy and relief. Another great moment was once in an online Warzone match on Gears or War in the Gridlock map, and there was one person left on the other team so everyone was ‘doing’ him. very funny. I happened to have a Boomshot with me. With one long range shot, I took their whole team out. The other guy started completely going mental and taking the piss out of the other team is the restart screen and singing. It was so funny.

Best unlocked achievement: Has to be ‘Commando: Complete all acts on Insane difficulty’ as described above.

Most looking foward to: Gears of War 2

By Shuten Doji

Now in the run up to PS3 exclusive HAZE getting released I have been very hyped about this game, but the constant changes in release dates and rumors of a Xbox360 version kinda put me off a little.

But hey like most gamers I buy all the good titles and enjoy them loads but today I find that HAZE does not run in High Definition’ below is a little something I found today about this news: 

Haze creative lead Derek Littlewood confirmed that HAZE does not run in high definition.

The shooter runs in 1024�?576 (576p) and not 1024�?720 (720p), meaning it leaves the PS3 to upscale.

Littlewood, however, doesn�??t see what the fuss is about:

�??Personally, I don�??t really buy the whole thing. People did the same with Call of Duty, they did the same with Halo, and they say with those games �??It�??s not running at true HD!�?? And it�??s like, �??I don�??t care�??. If the game looks good and it runs smoothly, those are the important things to me.�??

Well I care you have already postponed the release date for more time to improve the game, and yes COD4 and HALO3 have the same problem but they did not postpone there release dates.

Personally Free Radical�??s you have had extra time to improve everything in my eyes and I thought this was the era of HD Gaming?

This is why we the public pay our hard earned cash for our HD consoles? for HD Gaming?

 ©2008 Darren Emery

by Retrozoid

There are some new rumors around that Sony are going to jump abord the achievement bandwagon within the near future.

Acording to Kotaku, Sony has released a ‘fact sheet’ for a upcoming PSN game which has ‘Trophy Support.’ this does not conifrm what form the trophies are going to be apart of.

Last year PlayStation Network director of operations Eric Lempel told Next-Gen that, “in addition to Home,” Sony had “some very exciting programs planned to recognize our consumers gaming skills and loyalty in new ways that go well beyond a single score.”

lets just keep our hopes up for this!

©2008 Craig Green

Ubisoft�??s confirmed that Haze will have a mandatory 4Gb install. So reckon it�??ll take about 20 minutes to install :d ?
The Free Radical shooter�??s out Friday 23rd May in europe, and is exclusive to the PS3.

Here it is the first shots of Soul Calibur on XBLA in all its HD glory

I cant wait for Soul Calibur on XBLA as it is one of the best 3D fighter ever, now all we need is a firm release date and how may Microsoft points this going to cost .

©2008 Darren Emery

by Retrozoid

Our partners Oz 360 Gamer have details on the upcoming dashboard update, these are rumored BUT do seem more likely

I guess the key thing is Group Chat! and more detail on your gamercards are the better additions

Xbox Live

1. Option to delay sign-in to Xbox LIVE upon booting console (to allow user to set Online Status).
2. Option to promote Child Account from Family Settings.
3. Disallow Child Accounts [over 18] to override Family Settings by launching Privacy Settings through a title.
4. Option in Family Settings for Child Accounts to enable child-oriented/non-mature advertisements.
5. Introduce a group chat (4) for Private Chat and conferences through Video Chat.
6. Support to indicate media being watched to gamercard status (video content from Marketplace only).
7. Extend height for Bio field in Personal Profile, easier navigation through text.
8. More fields present in Personal Profile - recent achievements, interests, games, movies, links, custom section.
9. Compact Personal Profile for new fields (navigating to field will open it up).
10. Mandatory option to delete duplicate titles from gamercard (excludes Games for Windows - LIVE). User disconnected from Xbox LIVE when booting any title until action complete.
11. Option to remove payment information from gamertag.
12. New payment methods for international users.
13. Download History on Account Management better organized - games, genre, type, download date, miscellaneous.
14. Long descriptions of items on Marketplace can be scrolled using right stick.
15. Better organization of free content on Marketplace.
16. Option to �??ping�?? when testing connection.
17. Allow re-connection to Xbox LIVE if Ethernet cable is re-inserted whilst powered on.
18. New strip colors available to developers, staff gamercards.
19. New corner icon available to ambassadors.
20. Re-introduce Messages button for Inside Xbox updates only.
21. Option to store up to 10 messages permanently on server (excludes invites, status messages).
22. Increase character limit for text messages between friends only.
23. Option to disable invites from non-friends or all players.
24. Option to disable invites from titles not on gamercard (excludes demos).
25. Option to have smaller items moved up in Active Downloads.
26. Automatically re-connect to Xbox LIVE if disconnected unexpectedly (set intervals).
27. Option to download gamer picture (if available) from a gamercard being viewed.
28. Display random tips to replace static text on Xbox LIVE and Games blades.
29. New button on Marketplace for optional dashboard features - uses Storage Device memory.
30. Option to donate Microsoft Points to anybody with a Windows Live ID.
31. Option to purchase Membership for charities (includes benefits).
32. Integrate file-sharing for selected titles on Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows - LIVE.
33. Disable notifications to friends of user repeatedly signing into service (set period).
34. Option to see �??snippet�?? of text message in notification.
35. Windows Live Mail integration - includes support for Xbox LIVE Vision.
36. Web feeds integration - text, images, audio. Includes support for specific item codes on Marketplace.
37. Option to display gamer picture or standard picture as display picture in Windows Live Messenger.
38. Support for headset, Xbox LIVE Vision in Windows Live Messenger.
39. Support for limited �??winks�?? that display on dashboard interface. Option to disable �??winks�?? and �??nudges�?? added.
40. Notifications separate from Windows Live Messenger to Xbox 360 notifications.
41. Disable multiple languages from being used in any Xbox LIVE editable fields.

Games

1. Option to delete titles from gamercard with 0 gamerscore and 0 achievements (excludes some titles that will be re-added to launch another title).
2. Organize My Games at the Games Library section better (includes disc-based titles) - sort by genre, platform (Games for Windows - LIVE), percentage completion.
3. Support to display friends leaderboards for disc-based titles.
4. Show dates of an achievement unlocked when comparing.
5. Preload Games Library upon dashboard bootup for faster access.
6. Game updates now shown as items in Memory, increased amount of updates on Storage Device.
7. Option to delete game updates, removed �??cheat code�?? as no longer needed.
8. Support for more titles to display banner when accessing guide in-game.
9. Option to re-introduce awarded gamer pictures from titles that do not have their own re-introduce feature (requires saved game).
10. Disable gamer pictures from being awarded from trials.
11. Support for titles to store installation data on Storage Device for faster loading.
12. Synchronization to achievements offline/online that were deleted and then re-added from developers

Media

1. Option to hold LT and RT for rewinding/fast-forwarding video content.
2. Option to delete individual music tracks from storage device.
3. Option to rip music CD at different quality.
4. Copy non-protected files (pictures, music, videos) from USB storage devices, CDs and computers to proprietary storage devices.
5. Support for menu, top-menu features on video content downloaded from Marketplace.
6. Section added for audio delivered through feeds (podcasts). Option to stream, download to Storage Device.
7. Support added for video titles/description to gamercard status.

Dashboard

1. Option to navigate quickly out of several menus back to respective blade home (applies to Games, Media, System).
2. New blade trim styles added.
3. Introduce expanded Inside Xbox as a portal to news, weather, entertainment, help and community features.
4. New sounds for various functions (notifications, blades, navigation).
5. Calibration options for display/sound.
6. Calibration options for motion sensor devices.
7. New effects for Xbox LIVE Vision and dashboard background.
8. Disable changing of Theme when on Memory to prevent �??hanging�??.
9. Preload recent, limited items upon dashboard bootup on Memory.
10. Faster loading of Themes section on guide.
11. Option to see what items will not work offline due to DRM license changing from Memory.
12. Option to automatically associate new DRM to items downloaded for free.
13. Indicate �??charging�?? status on guide when Play & Charge kit is connected.
14. Option to change text colors on guide to better contrast some backgrounds.
16. Language improvements.
18. Word censor updated for fields.
19. Privacy Settings/Family Settings updated for new features.
20. Voice, picture messages can be read at Xbox.com (Gold accounts).

©2008 Craig Green

by Retrozoid

It has now been announced that Banjo Kazooie’s next gen game will be called Nuts and Bolts. In San Francisco more details were unveiled about RARE’s game.

Slated for a November 2008 release, the game is going to be a bit different

To complete most missions Banjo will have to use a vehicle of some sort which will require you to build a custom built car using parts that are unlocked when you complete an objective.

As for levels there are ‘globes’ that each one will give you access to four more levels and they look amazing! You can still unlock jiggys and feathers and Gruntilda will be the main bad guy(yet again)

Cannot wait

©2008 Craig Green

Well here it is the game I have been waiting for Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, the second Viva Pinata game from Rare.

Loads of news is all over the net about this title so here are some of the new features it will contain:

Rare has confirmed that offline cooperative play will feature the game.

Rare have also implemented a new game mode, whereby you can jump straight into the action with no long, drawn out tutorial.

Also the newly-revealed game will feature support for physical cards and Xbox 360�??s Visions Camera. VP2 uses the Vision Camera in combination with physical cards a bit like Eye of Judgement on PS3. So it basically scans a small code on the card, when it�??s being held up in front of the camera, and this can both insert custom designed pinatas, unlock buildings or abilities, change the weather and many other things.

So this will be a amazing leap from the first Viva Pinata game, what is a great causal game in my eyes.

©2008 Darren Emery

by Shuten Doji

The service launches on May 20 in Europe and here are the release line up and pricing and a few pics.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (Square Enix) - 1500 Wii Points

LostWinds (Frontier) - 1000 Wii Points

Pop (Nnooo) - 700 Wii Points

Dr. Mario & Germ Buster (Nintendo) - 1000 Wii Points

Star Soldier R (Hudson) - 800 Wii Points

TV Show King (Gameloft) - 1000 Wii Points

Toki Tori (Two Tribes)

Pirates: The Key Of Dreams (Oxygen)

Pricing is still to be revealed on Pirates: The Key Of Dreams and Toki Tori but there prices cant be far off

Personally I will be getting Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King even though it is the most expensive launch title at 1500 Wii Points, my friends in america say the game is amazing, even though it is very different to the usual Final Fantasy games.

©2008 Darren Emery

by Shuten Doji

Now in the count down to Rock Band getting a UK release I was in my local HMV and spotted Singstar on PS3 for only £24.99 with the microphones, and thought why not im not a Karaoke fan or have any intention of becoming one as I cant sing. But like I said why not ill try an conquer my fear of singing so when Rock Band lands I can make a complete fool of myself and not feel stupid about it

Karaoke a Japanese import that has grown men and ladies gathered around a TV screen, pretending to be Mariah Carey or Prince by following the bobbing dot bouncing over the chosen song�??s lyrics. Now Sony�??s London team, by combining some slick visuals, trendy graphic design, original music videos and effortless style has created videogame dynamite in SingStar on PS3.

This is achieved not by changing the core mechanics but rather by broadening the access to music of all tastes and genres. The PS3 hardware and its seamless network integration mean that no longer are you constrained by the tracks on the disc. Instead you now have access to an iTunes-style store allowing you to download each and every one of your favourite songs for 99p a song, personally I think there should be more Rock/Metal but thats me

Thirty are tracks included on the disc. The disc-based song selection provides a good mixture of pop and rock tunes to get started with including favourites from various genres such as Toxic by Britney Spears, Moving On Up from Primal Scream as well as music from The Killers, The Fratellis, Outkast and The Scissor Sisters.

But slip into the SingStore and these restrictions dissipate. Here you�??re able to select songs from all across Europe and the rest of the world in a wide variety of styles and eras. You can browse by artist, song name or genre and you even get short previews of the song�??s video (just like in iTunes) to help you decide if you want to download the song or not.

As if this weren�??t enough the game also brings to the table a kind of online social networking application for singers dubbed �??My SingStar Online�??. Here every player is given a homepage which can be customised with a personal picture (either taken by the PSEye or a digital camera) and all of your high scores and stats are resented allowing friends and other users to compare and compete. You can even film yourself singing and post a 30 second video of the performance to your page a la Youtube and some of the stuff people have posted is funny as hell. Because of the online and updateable nature of the service one can only imagine how the area of the game will grow and develop as users begin to explore and play with its many features.

You can sing along to tunes in either solo, competitive or duet modes at various difficulties. The song marks you on your tonal accuracy for each phrase and, at the end of the piece, you�??re given a score for your efforts. Sony has been wise to invest their efforts into functionality while leaving the core game and aesthetics mostly unchanged. The resulting package is one of evolution then rather than revolution I have been told by a strong Female source who loves the Singstar series. So Singstar on PS3 is a must buy for stag-dos, hen-nights or those long, lonely nights where you simply must croon into a microphone and trust me I sound like a cat getting strangled but im loving Singstar on PS3.

My score 85%

©2008 Darren Emery

WiiWare is now out in the USA as of today, you could say the service is somewhat like Nintendo’s version of Microsofts Xbox Live Arcade, the service will arrive in the UK 20th May. The channel offers 40Mb-ish games for various amounts of Wii Points, though we have a date for the UK service, pricing of games is still to be announced for the UK, but this announcement cant be far away (I hope).

Games out in the USA today for WiiWare are:

FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Players are challenged to rebuild a kingdom, leading its young king on a path of discovery through an adventure bristling with mystery and intrigue.

LOSTWINDS: A fresh, enchanting platform adventure.

DEFEND YOUR CASTLE: Defend your Castle takes place on a grassy plain surrounded by invaders.

POP: Pop bubbles to score points and stop the timer from running out.

V.I.P. CASINO: Blackjack re-creates the casino experience, with fully animated players and a realistic Las Vegas dealer. Single players can increase their bankrolls, while multiple players can engage in a head-to-head mini-blackjack tournament.

TV SHOW KING: TV Show King transforms your living room into a real TV quiz show studio where you�??ll face the challenge of answering more than 3,000 questions across six different categories.

©2008 Darren Emery

by BA I Die Hard

Sorry if i am having a go and i know it isn’t the staffs fault that some of the prices for the trade-ins are low and some games and consoles are being undervalued. I notice that a year or two ago the gamecube console was only going for £20 trade-in, now c’mon thats pathetic, £20 for a console that was still £80-100 to buy new.

Also the other day, i just bought a wii last friday and i needed wii points for the internet channel so i took stranglehold and saints row expecting a fair price for them, but i took them both to gamestation and game and at both i got offered only £12. £8 for Saints Row and £4 for Stranglehold. Stranglehold is a couple monmths old and Saints Row nearly a year and a half and i got more for Saints. I had to go ahead cos mi needed the points and now i lost two excellent games for the smallest of prices that were ridiculous.

What do you think about the trade-in values are they fair or should they be revised?

by A 1 Phenomenal

With Facebreaker on the way it was believed that EA had given up on the Fight Night Series especally with EA closing down the Chicago studio that made the previous games.

Well this is not the case as it has been reveled that EA Canada have taken charge and Fight Night Round 4 is on its way in 2009 for the 360 and PS3.

The game will feature Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali. How it will fare against Facebreaker and Don King’s Prizefighter is any ones guess and weather it will contain the analogue control system is yet to be revealed. More info when I get it.

©2008 AJ