On Gear Live: Circuit Breaker: The Tech Newsletter that Elevates Your Gadget Game

Latest Gear Live Videos

Bomberman Live Xbox Live Arcade

Another week with a dual release of Xbox Live Arcade games, and we’ve certainly got at least one solid title here. Bomberman is the classic you know and love, and for 800 Microsoft Points ($10) you get Xbox Live multiplayer support – that right there should be enough to earn your points. And the other Arcade release, Yie Ar Kung-Fu, is probably a game you’ve probably never heard of, but is only $5 and you’ve got Live multiplayer – give the trial a shot before you outright dismiss it.


Advertisement

Halo 3

The speculation is true – the latest issue of EGM confirms that Halo 3’s co-op (which will exist offline, with player two playing as the Arbiter) is not currently online. Bungie is working to get the feature implemented, but currently it isn’t happening. Considering they have a very limited amount of time left to work on the game, it seems highly unlikely that online co-op will make it into the retail version of the game. Of course, we could always get it through a patch or downloadable content down the road – but so help me if it costs even a penny.

“We’re not dumb,” says Bungie’s Frank O’Conner. “We know that people want it and we’re trying to make it happen. I think the biggest problem for us for online co-op is that we have a situation where you can be in a Warthog with five troops, almost a mile away from the other player. That’s a significant challenge. And there’s lots of design things you could do to prevent that from happening, but they would make it not feel like Halo anymore. If we can make it happen in a way that works well, we will - and if it works badly, we won’t.”

A smattering of other things are revealed in the EGM story, as well, including new weapons and gear: the Flare (flashbang), the Mauler (dual-wieldable Brute shotgun),the Gravity Hammer (according to CVG it sends vehicles flying), and the Regenerator (opposite of the power drainer). New vehicles include the Prowler, Hornet, and Elephant. They don’t sound quite as cool as Ghosts, Banshees and Warthogs, but hopefully they play well. Additionally, a remake of the popular Halo 2 map Lockout was revealed, now known as Guardian.

Read More | CVG

Peter MooreThe man who has really been the face of Xbox for the past several years, Peter Moore, has just resigned as corporate vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business. (IEB oversees both the Xbox and Games for Windows divisons.) He has decided to leave for personal reasons and will move his family back to the Bay Area. Don Mattrick, former president of Electronic Arts, will take over and lead the IEB division.

“Peter has contributed enormously to the games business since joining Microsoft in 2003 and we are sad to see him go,” said Robbie Bach, president of Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. “Since that time, he presided over the global launch of the Xbox 360, spearheaded a revitalized and rebranded Games for Windows business, and helped steer the console’s ascent.”

1UP initially reported rumors earlier today that Moore was leaving to head up EA Sports. Microsoft denied the rumors, but there has now been a confirmation from both Microsoft and Moore himself that this is indeed the case.

I wonder what he’s going to do about those tattoos…

Read More | 1UP

Madden NFL 08 coverXbox360Achievements.org has the full set of achievements for this year’s Madden – and the game doesn’t release until next month. Plenty of time to study up and plan strategies to get them all as quickly as possible. To me, these achievements are much better than last year’s insanely time consuming offering, and obviously better than the gimmes that we saw in Madden 06. But I really wish they had put some requirements on more of the achievements – 100% pass completion for a game won’t be that hard if you only have to throw it once on the easiest difficulty setting.

Read More | Xbox360Achievements

Paper Mario N64 strategy guideThe original Paper Mario – which was a straight-up RPG, unlike the recent Wii title – has finally made its way to the Virtual Console in the US. The timing of the release seems a bit odd – you would have thought it should have come out at the same time, if not prior to, Super Paper Mario did. Nevertheless, this was one of the best games on the N64 bar none, so make sure to pick it up for 1,000 Wii Points ($10).

The other two releases are both forgettable, however. Balloon Fight (500 points, NES) and Silent Debuggers (600 points, TurboGrafx16) aren’t worth their price tags, and by today’s standards, aren’t particularly good. Do the sensible thing; buy Paper Mario, and don’t waste any points on these two duds.

Click to continue reading Virtual Console 7/16: Finally, We Get Paper Mario In The US


Hellgate: London Logo

Here’s a quick rundown of what we learned about Hellgate: London as I got a tour of a few levels with Tyler Thompson, Flagship Studio’s director of technology.

Platform: PC

Release date: Still shooting for summer 2007 - which, let’s face it, is right now. According to Tyler, “We’re still working for that. If it takes a little bit longer, then we’ll let it take a little bit longer.” In industry speak that means, “If you don’t see it by August, you’ll see it for the holidays.”

Look: Flagship Studios, at its top levels, is populated by ex-Blizzard brains, including Diablo creators Erich Schaefer and David Brevik (and don’t forget Bill Roper, who played an integral role in the Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo series). So, think Diablo, but much, much better looking. Tyler told me that the game is in the alpha stage. I’m used to seeing games in alpha looking a bit rough around the edges. This game was, in the levels he toured me, free of jaggies and visual glitches. The word that comes to mind is “shiny.” I found it to be very reminiscent of Diablo in look and feel. Of course, bear in mind the tour was guided, which means I only got to see the best looking areas.

The biggest improvement in look, and, ultimately, playability, is the improved camera from Diablo 2. Gone is the fixed, third-person isometric camera in favor of 360-degree, fully rotational viewing.


More after the break.

Click to continue reading E3 2007: Preview: Hellgate: London


Fallout 3 teaser poster

Here’s a quick rundown of what we learned from Bethesda‘s demonstration of Fallout 3.

Story: Post-apocalyptic teen ventures out of underground vault in which he’s been born and raised to find his dad and his fate in new-post nuclear world. Mutants, animals and humans hate you.

Setting: Washington DC, both downtown and outskirts.

Look: It’s Bethesda. Of course it looks good - for a post apocalyptic world. Very cool mix of art deco and post-modern ‘50s kitsch.

More after the break.

Click to continue reading E3 2007: Preview: Fallout 3 Details And Impressions


Xbox 360 backwards compatibleIt’s about time – finally, Xbox 360 owners who weren’t fortunate enough to play The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on Xbox or PC can now do so on Xbox 360. The update brings the total number of back compat Xbox games to over 300. And all games are upscaled, so those who have been waiting to play NBA Live 2002 in 720p or 1080i can now do so.

Updated:

  • Crash Bandicoot 5: Wrath of Cortex
  • Jet Set Radio Future
  • Rogue Ops
  • Sega GT 2002

Check out the new games after the break.

Click to continue reading Morrowind Headlines New List Of Backwards Compatible Xbox Games On Xbox 360


I’m a huge, huge fan of Unreal Tournament – I have been ever since the original was released on PCs nearly a decade ago. It’s about time we got a true sequel, as opposed to the incremental upgrade of Unreal Tournament 2004 (it’s been what, nearly five years since the true sequel in UT 2003?). The gameplay footage above focuses on vehicles quite a bit, but you can tell that this is still the same fast-paced, crazy shooter that made the original game so special. I can’t wait for some next-gen Instagib.


This post make your head explodeThere were plenty of releases on the Xbox Live Marketplace this week, and thanks to Major Nelson we can now easily compile it all for you en masse. Demos, trailers, Arcade games – you name it, you got it. Apologies if anything was missed, but there was an insane amount of content. Hit up the comments section if you like this story and would like to see a weekly round-up of downloadable content each week. And just as a warning: if lists irritate you, your head will likely explode if you check out the rest of the story after the break.

Demos:

  • NCAA Football 08
  • Blue Dragon
  • Ace Combat 6 (campaign)
  • Stuntman: Ignition
  • The Bigs
  • Harry Potter OOTP

Click to continue reading E3 2007: This Week’s Xbox Live Marketplace Content Update


Advertisement

{solspace:toolbar}