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Gears of War

Epic Games have launched their community site for their upcoming Xbox 360 game, Gears of War. Scheduled to ship in November, 2006, the game was one of the most anticipated releases for the Xbox 360 when it was shown off last year. The site contains sections for community and news, as well as screenshots and trailers. Currently the only trailer is the same movie that was shown at X05 2005 in October, but the trailer has some good shots in it. Gamers will get to see how far the game has progressed at E3 next week, but in the mean time, there is some good stuff to peruse on the site.


Read More | Gears Of War Official Site


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Crysis

Electronic Arts just released a bunch of new Crysis screenshots which show off some insane jungle environments, and some shots that look like they may come from cut-scenes in the game. While it is hard to get a feel for how a game is going to look in motion from static screenshots, these images show off some high poly-count models, awesome texture detail, and some cool lighting effects. The bar was set pretty high with the last batch of screens released, and the new shots definitely do not disappoint.


Read More | Shacknews.com


Half-Life 2: Episode 1

ComputerandVideogames.com have published some new details for the upcoming expansion, Half-Life 2: Episode One. Given that the ending for Half-Life 2 lacked a little closure, gamers may find some of their questions answered by the new episode. Of course, since that this is an expansion from Valve, one can be assured that the new content will raise new questions.

CVG lets drop that the new episode takes place almost directly following the events of Half-Life 2, within the Citadel that is rapidly crumbling. Players once again take on the role of Gordon Freeman. Alyx is much more of a key player, acting more as a partner for Gordon. Other characters, like Barney, make an appearance. Valve hinted at a mysterious “third power” rising up and disturbing the balance of power in the HL2 universe. With Half-Life 2: Episode Two now a given, it looks like Valve is trying to ratchet up both the action and the drama in their new expansion.

Read More | ComputerandVideogames.com


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Red Steel Logo
Following on the reported information in the May 2006 issue of Game Informer, Ubisoft has officially announced Red Steel for the Nintendo Revolution in a joint press release. The title will be an exclusive launch title for the Revolution, and will make use of the Revolution’s unique controller. Red Steel seeks to immerse the gamer in modern-day Japan, through swordplay and gunplay. Early screens look very good, and hopefully this will be the first of many third-party game announcements as we lead up to E3. Full press release follows.

Click to continue reading Ubisoft Announces Red Steel for Revolution


Battlefield MCTeamXbox.com has a video interview with Ed Thomas, lead technical artist on Battlefield 2: Modern Combat detailing the various upgrades that have been made to the Xbox 360 release. The visual comparisons in the video are very striking in the amount of changes that have been made. Some of the highlighted Xbox 360 changes listed in the video are:

  • 10x the polygon count from the Xbox version
  • 1.5 million polygons per scene
  • 15-20x the texture memory used
  • A more advanced lighting and shadow model
  • More dynamic lighting used, impacting gameplay (muzzle flashes will more accurately give away positions)
  • Overhaul of damage and effects engines
  • More AI units in game

Overall, do these changes make the Xbox 360 version worth $20 more than the Xbox version? Of course, it is hard to tell until the game is released, but the video changes and Ed Thomas’ comments certainly make it seem likely. The demo is also currently available via Xbox Live.

Read More | TeamXbox.com


Crysis

DailyGame has screenshots from Crytek’s upcoming PC Shooter, Crysis, and a link to the GDC Trailer. DailyGame gives the visuals high praise, and from the screenshots, it is easy to see why. The trailer was apparently promoting ATI technology, and its probably best to not think about what kind of monster CPU/GPU combination was running this demo. Screenshots and trailers never really tell the whole story, but it is easy to get caught up in the level of detail in the environments in the game, matched with Far Cry style gameplay.


Read More | DailyGame


Burnout Revenge GRAWFinally, some quality non-sports Xbox 360 titles are starting to trickle in. It has been confirmed that both Burnout Revenge and GRAW have gone gold, and will be on their way to retailers. You can get your hands on them next week, as Ghost Recon launches on March 9 (with original Xbox and PS2 versions shipping March 30) and Burnout Revenge dropping on March 7. The rest of the month will be rounded out by Far Cry Instincts Predator, The Outfit, Blazing Angels, and the much-anticipated Oblivion.


Black BFGLooks like someone uncovered the hidden code that you can use to unlock the BFG in BLACK right from the get-go. Here is the text from the hidden page on EA’s site:

Need some extra fire-power? Or do you just want to leave your mark with a few hundred bullet holes per minute?

Use the code below to unlock the BFG right from the start, and go in all guns blazing.

5SQQ-STHA-ZFFV-7XEV

Don’t forget to lock and load.


Read More | EA


Halo 2 VistaFor all of you who have been looking forward to playing Halo 2 on your souped up PC, it looks like you’ll have to update to Windows Vista first - that is, once it comes out. I doubt the Windows Vista requirement will be much of a downer for those who have been anticipating Halo 2 on the PC, since they’d most likely be updating to Windows Vista anyway. Additionally, it’s looking like Halo 2 won’t make it out on PC until the end of the year at the soonest - which would be a good two years after the game debuted on the Xbox.


Read More | BBC


DescriptionKikizo has posted a recent preview of EA’s upcoming FPS, Black. The game certainly looks impressive, and Kikizo says the game “could turn out just as great as Burnout” - since after all, it’s by the same developer. Of course, when it comes down to it, the verdict’s still out.

We haven’t seen enough of Black to be able to tell if it’ll live up to the hyperbole. Does it do for shooters what Burnout did for driving games? Mostly. But we’re betting (and hoping) that there’s still a lot for us to see. Check back next month when we jump the finished product through our hoops.

If you’d like to read more on the game and check out some media, check out Kikizo. We’re certainly looking forward to this one.


Read More | Kikizo


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