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2005 Hardware Review Xbox 360

Next Generation published an article earlier today that does a good job summarizing what the big three have been up to this year regarding hardware. The article mentions everything from PS2’s $149 fixed price to the Xbox 360’s launch shortages. And naturally, the article also includes talk of Nintendo’s Revolution controller.

While the article doesn’t feature any new content, it’s certainly interesting to look back and see what Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft were up to this year. Reading about what unfolded at this year’s E3 does bring back some fond memories but in all honesty, it just makes us anticipate E3 ‘06 that much more.


Read More | Next Generation


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Sly 3 GiveawayOkay, so we believed G4TV when they said that the Xbox 360 faceplates handed out to the press at E3 would not fit on the final 360 unit. So to make it right, we are giving away a brand new copy of Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves for the PlayStation 2. In order to win, just head on over to our forums and post an image of what you consider to be the coolest Xbox 360 faceplate design - whether it is official or a mockup. Next week we will choose the one that we thought was the best. Contest is open to US residents, and if a winning image is posted more than once, the first person who posted it gets the game. Now will you forgive us?


Read More | Enter Here


Final Fantasy XIISquare-Enix has dropped the announcement that Dragon Quest VIII will be available in stores on November 22nd and will include a Final Fantasy XII demo. With two great gaming experiences bundled into one great package, we’re sure this one is going to sell well for Square and provide great cross marketing for Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.


Read More | Syncgaming via Joystiq


EA Arena Football

EA announced on Thursday that they will be releasing a new game for the PS2 and Xbox called Arena Football.  Now, there are tons of football games out for every system that has ever been in existance, but according to EA this game will be different for a few reasons.  Arena Football consits of 8 on 8 gameplay and allows for checking players over the wall (much like Ice Hockey), with a field half the size of an NFL or NCAA version.  That’s all the information they’ve released so far, but we’ve managed to get some screenshots from them for your viewing pleasure.  Jump down to check them out!

Click to continue reading EA Announces First Arena Football Game


Burnout RevengeNot trying to start any riots or anything, but what the hell did EA do to the Burnout series? Burnout 3 was a nice, solid 10. It was a game that I could pick up and play with friends, and something that even my wife enjoyed - trust me, that is an accomplishment. That being said, I have been looking forward to the release of Burnout Revenge, but it seems that the series has digressed a bit from what made it great in the first place.

My biggest gripe is with the Crash Mode. EA has removed the distinct goals and obstacles which made the game fun and strategic. Gone are the multipliers, cash icons, and ever-so-frustrating (but in a good way) heartbreakers. In their place is a clunky “golf swing” mechanism used to boost your car from the get go. You need to hit the A button twice on this meter, and if you do it wrong, you stall or end up with a busted engine. It certainly takes the casual gamer a bit of getting used to, whereas with Burnout 3 you simply needed to press on the accelerator to move. Go figure!

The real goals are now gone, because you have no idea really what kind of traffic to expect. Even worse, the preview takes forever. Burnout is supposed to be about speed - so why the hell do I need a preview of the track, and then a reversed preview that I can’t hit A to skip through? I don’t! Adding to the frustration is the fact that if you are doing a multiplayer Crash Party, you no longer have the option of picking one car and having no choice but to stick with it for the entire time. You now get to preview the track, then choose a car before each crash trial.

Now, the actual racing tracks have been improved, but the edge-of-your-seat feel has been obliterated. In Burnout 3 you had to avoid every obstacle if you wanted to win. That meant you had to watch out for cars in all lanes and in cross traffic, along with other barriers like walls and such. Now, you can just boost away. If there is same-direction traffic ahead of you, you can literally hit it as hard as you want, and you won’t see a hint of destruction on your car. Half of the traffic that would have caused a ruckus on you in the previous game is now all of a sudden your friend. This is due to EA’s new “traffic checking” feature. Basically, you can now use same-direction traffic as a weapon to dish out punishment on rival racers. To me, it just makes the game a bit too easy.

Am I crazy? What do you think of the new Burnout?


Nubytech RE4 Chainsaw for PS2

Almost a year ago, Nubytech announced that they were releasing a chainsaw controller for specific use with Resident Evil for the Gamecube.  Now that RE4 is making it’s way to the PS2, Nubytech went back to the drawing board to come up with the PS2 version. The custom button layout and control design have been modified for comfort and ease of use.  One of the other cool features with this controller is that it contains Nubytech’s N-motion technology (read, a motion sensor) so that if you lift the controller up while playing RE4, the chainsaw in game goes up.  The PS2 version also has a ripcord which you pull to make the controller release a chainsaw noise.  The controller should be hitting stores sometime in October.


DescriptionPS2 owners, it’s time to check your serial numbers. It appears that Sony is following in Microsoft’s footsteps by recalling a bunch of faulty power cords.

Sony is recalling 3.5 million faulty power adapters for its popular PlayStation 2 video game console because they may overheat and cause injury, the Japanese consumer electronics maker said Tuesday. In the United States, Sony received 38 reports of the adapters overheating, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. There were two reports of minor burns, one minor shock and four reports of minor property damage, the agency said.

To find out if your system is included in the retail, click here.


Read More | News.com


Resident Evil 4 Limited EditionFor anyone falling into the category of “extremely obsessed” when it comes to the PS2 version of Resident Evil 4, Capcom is now offering a special Collector’s Pack by way of their official homepage.  The pack costs a measly $120 and includes the PS2 game, a 6-CD set of game music called the “Biohazard Sound Chronicle Best Track Box,” a 7” Leon figure, and a Resident Evil 4 t-shirt.  Only 100 of these Collector’s packs will be available.  The ironic twist in all of this is, of course, that if you’re obsessed enough to buy the Collector’s Pack, you probably own the game already, making its addition in this bundle somewhat redundant.  Well, at least the Leon figure will be good company for the equally-useless bookends and statuettes you got with the Lord of Rings movies.


Read More | Capcom


SoulCalibur 3The next title in the Soul Calibur series is hitting PlayStation 2 this October.  Namco has released an official site for the game that is full of Flash goodness.  You can view clips of the individual characters from the game, as well as read the Soul Calibur storyline.  This game is already shaping up to be one of the games that make us remember that there is still plenty of gaming left in this generation.


Read More | Soul Calibur 3


Zatch Bell Preview

This year at E3 we played a bunch of games, but one that hasn’t gotten much recognition is set to launch in October, that being Zatch Bell. Zatch Bell is an anime show in which there is a group of beings called Mamodos.  Mamodos are from another dimension and they have special powers which can only be activated by a human reading spells from a spell book.  They battle each other until one or the others spell book is destroyed. The last Mamodo standing after all the battles becomes Mamodo king. Zatch Bell is the main Mamodo character in the anime, and now Bandai is branching out and creating the game.  This is a fighting game which looks fairly decent, and plays nicely from what I gathered at E3. Read more for a good rundown of the game along with some screenshots.


Read More | Bandai Games


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